To the Editor:

We were very saddened to read in the Winter 2003 Alumni Journal about the death of Peter Salgo '72. Although we have been out of touch with him for many years, your obituary captured elements that recalled what made him such a special friend and mentor when we were students. It came as no surprise to us that he had devoted his life to work both as a Legal Aid lawyer who handled discrimination cases pro bono and a social worker to the terminally ill.

Peter was an extremely bright man with a strong social conscience, a gentle spirit and a good sense of humor. And he was one of the first people we met when we arrived at SUNY-B in autumn 1970; we were rookie reporters and he was the editor of Pipe Dream.

Your readers should know that he plays a part in the University's history, for he was the first editor-in-chief of the re-christened Pipe Dream. During the previous school year, the campus experienced protests in opposition to President Nixon's waging of the Vietnam War. Peter and his editorial colleagues determined that they would make a point about American policy by changing the name of The Colonial News to Pipe Dream -- in the sense that students longed for a peace in the new decade that had been an elusive pipe dream during the 1960s.

Peter spent his adult life trying to help his clients, patients and friends realize such pipe dreams in their own lives. We mourn his passing.

-- Ellis Bromberg '74 and Ellyn (Mel) Cohen Bromberg '74

To the Editor:

I enjoyed the winter issue of the Alumni Journal, but I think there is a mistake on page 3. In the Construction Update you state that Marcy Hall and Hunter Hall are named after the highest peaks in the Adirondacks and Catskills. I know Mount Marcy is the highest peak in the Adirondacks, but I believe Slide Mountain, in Ulster County, is the highest peak in the Catskills.

-- Sincerely,
Warren Glaser '77

Editor's note:

We stand corrected! Rene Coderre, assistant director of Residential Life, said that the original idea was to name the new residential halls after the highest peaks in the Adirondacks and Catskills, but "Slide Hall just didn't sound right for a residential hall, and, since it is built on a hill, we could imagine people joking about the name -- 'Slide Hall sliding down the hill.' So we settled for the second highest peak in the Catskills, Hunter. It's a popular resort, so people are familiar with it -- and it makes for a better name."

To the Editor:

It is my hope that there would be interest in obtaining a carillon for the University. A carillon is a special set of tuned musical bells, a true musical instrument. Many of the great universities have carillons and Binghamton should be the first public college in New York to have a carillon. (There are 160 carillons in North America and only six in New York, all more than 100 miles away.) A carillon would be a great addition to the campus and community. I feel that this would be a great project for the Alumni Association to undertake. I shall be happy to answer any questions and assist in any way.

-- Charles Semowich '70 semowich@att.net

Editor's note:

Binghamton has an electronic carillon in the Library Tower that is programmed to chime and play traditional carillon music on the hour and chimes every 15 minutes. These are not actual bells, as bells require a bell tower, which Binghamton doesn't have. The University has had a carillon music box since the 1960s, which uses paper rolls to play individual tunes, similar in technology to a player piano. It was not operational for many years, and the actual paper rolls were deteriorating. Within the past few years, music from these rolls was converted to CDs, and these carillon music CDs are what we now hear on campus.