It’s been a pretty eventful semester here at the Ivy of the SUNYs. A look at our front-page headlines is proof enough: in our first issue of the semester, a philosophy, politics and law professor (John Arthur) taking off to battle cancer and the Student Association levying financial penalties on some of its groups provided a backdrop for the hustle and bustle of students moving in.

In the following issue, we saw that construction had finished on model suites in College-in-the-Woods. More importantly, we took a look at Binghamton University’s Strategic Plan — its guiding principles over the next five years. Basically, it told faculty to get out there and raise as much money for their studies as possible, because it sure isn’t coming through from the state.

The next week, we reported on the fact that the course add/drop deadline was still stuck at 10 days into the semester — despite strong student opposition. Provost Mary Ann Swain was dead-set against changing it, saying it was better for teaching and the school’s finances. The bigger shock was a fire that rocked the Riviera Ridge apartments, a complex that housed a number of BU students and alumni. Nobody was hurt, but some alum claimed the University’s student-only relief efforts ignored their needs — despite the fact that they had graduated only months earlier.

Relief, meanwhile, had also been doled out in New Orleans by BU students over their winter break. A number of them had gone to the hurricane-ravaged city and donated their time and effort to rebuilding the city. Some rebuilding was also in order, as we reported in Issue 5, when a man crashed his SUV into BU’s Glenn G. Bartle Library. A staffer inside was mildly injured, as was the man. In the same issue, we took a look at a planned restructuring of the freshman-year class registration to make it more user-friendly by instituting a form of block scheduling. Some students were against it, but BU administrators maintain that it will help newly minted Bearcats get into classes they want.

One policy that garnered the ire of most students was BU’s online alcohol-education program, alcohol.edu: any students who were required to take it, and didn’t, were put on judicial probation. If they got in trouble for something else, they could be kicked out of school. Student Affairs defended the move as a way to get everyone to get to know alcohol better; but most Bearcats saw it as heavy-handed intervention where none was required — especially the ones who did get in trouble.

Ironically enough, also unloved was Valentine’s Day — or so we reported. A number of students saw the holiday as little more than a ploy to force men into buying flowers and candy in exchange for the promise of sex. College love seemed doomed; was it the death of romance?

Continuing on the “love” theme, BU students were less than enamored by remote “clickers,” the devices that more and more professors are using to take attendance and quiz their classes. The devices are expensive and have a big-brother feeling to them, the complaints went. We (read: our editorial page) liked the idea of incorporating some digital data capture into classes, but thought that the University should make an effort to universalize the devices so we don’t have to buy a dozen of the things.

Tragedy again struck off-campus when hateful graffiti was scrawled all over the University Plaza apartments and buildings inside the plaza. Student Association cultural officials alleged that the apartments’ management company, which has ties to BU, tried to sweep the news under the carpet. Our editorial page called them out on it, and they promptly sent a letter out to residents — and cut off advertising with us. (They’ve since taken out more ads.)

Back on campus, Harpur College began the process of getting a few more advisers for its thousands of undergraduate students. The hope was to cut down on the waiting, hassle and general pain-in-the-assery that seemed to be a General Education requirement of visiting the advising office. Down the hall at the Registrar’s office, notices that went to some students’ homes saying they might not graduate scared the crap out of BU parents — despite the fact that students could just as easily have had the notices, some of which were generated in error, sent to their school addresses.

Black Panther party founder Bobby Seale spoke to a crowd in the Lecture Hall, again to the ire of many. He was a militant, but at his lecture he pushed peace — and his upcoming book. During the day in Lecture Hall, though, we couldn’t be sure how many students were paying attention to their classes, as our report on laptop use in class showed. Some students checked their e-mail, some their stocks; but nearly as many said they were doing coursework … but not all for the course in front of them.

At around this time we first reported on the fundraising effort that was underway to help out Physical Facilities mechanic Christopher Klimuszka and his family through his fight against brain cancer. The fund raising continued through the semester but sadly, Klimuszka died last week. By then it was SA elections time, and Michael Schiffman was elected to president for 2006-2007. Jesse Nathaniel Reed, the enigmatic incumbent vice president for multicultural affairs, came in close for his election but abruptly conceded before the runoff was to take place. David Bass will now do the job.

Noam Chomsky came to speak; some of campus rejoiced, some was infuriated but many students didn’t seem to care about the famed linguist and his just-as-famous political views. Yeah, we’re apathetic like that. Wanna fight about it?

If you’re still reading by now, we commend you. This is getting quite long — and we’re only a little past halfway. To condense things, here are some of the highlights of Spring 2006, as reflected by our front-page headlines and cutlines:

– Alum summit participants see possibility of a BU media major

– Lawsuits threaten affirmative action

– Campus mourns death of student

– A West Side Story: peers as landlords?

– Harpur lowers bar on required courses

– Rock band O.A.R, along with opener The Format, plays to a crowd of around 2,000

– Relay for Life raises $90k for cancer

– BU programming team advances to world finals

– Athletic fields to receive makeover

– Censorship angered the BU radio star

– Hookahs: smokin’ hot in Binghamton

– Break schedule cuts it close for Passover

– Students create petition to revive theatre dept.

– Alum indicted in Wall Street scam

– Administrators speak, few turn out to listen

– Information Commons: still a work in progress

– Alpacas?

– Weekend eats: not much to swallow

– Syphilis back in Broome

– Motion City Soundtrack at Spring Fling

– BU joins in nationwide rally

– Killer Coke sets sights on SUNY

– 2 professors to leave BU

– Officials warn: beware of STDs

– BU senior on a quest to aid school in Peru

Our word, but that was interesting! Be sure to check out Pipe Dream next semester — we’ve got a whole bunch of new ideas and we’re rip-roaring ready to get them out there to you, the reader. Expect more from us, because you’re going to get it.