With all of the construction and modernization sweeping across campus, it’s easy to forget what life was like before our time at Binghamton University. As Homecoming weekend approaches, however, returning alumni and current students alike may feel nostalgic for the “old” BU of years past.

While the beautiful Mountainview College of recent years seemed to be the epitome of modernity, current campus renovations, like the high tech dorms in Newing College, far surpass them. Students can easily enter their building of residence by simply swiping their BU ID card against a sensor. “Green” water fountains efficiently cater to those who wish to fill reusable water bottles with filtered water. Students have access to bathrooms on their floor that are equipped with modern appliances, as well as fully furnished lounges.

But back in the 1970s, Mountainview was not even a concept, let alone an existing community. The New University Union had not yet been built leaving students with few eating choices outside of the dining halls to enjoy.

“Good options after the dining halls closed were limited to the Shake Shack at Newing, where one could get french fries or a hamburger or a shake, or at the Hoagie Hut at CIW [College-in-the-Woods],” said Martin Piazzola, a 1981 alumnus.

The Old University Union, in much the same fashion that it is used today, was a place to socialize and play ping pong, pool or go bowling. There was no Events Center, so basketball games were held in the gym, and concerts took place at the Downtown Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena. Although the Glenn G. Bartle Library was used to study and accomplish work, it also had a social aspect to it.

“The library’s lobby was the social gathering place during the day as students met between classes,” Piazzola said. “For a few minutes it was the in-person version of Facebook where all that happened earlier in the day was discussed and future party plans were made.”

Most students take the amount of technology at our fingertips for granted. We can write a paper during class due that day, while simultaneously Facebook stalking and texting from our smart phones. Wi-Fi is available anywhere, at any time on campus, including the dorms.

Knowing all that we have access to now, life a generation ago would have been pretty frustrating for a Binghamton student. Everyone had a phone in their dorm room that was used to call family and friends in other dorms. Other than that, students could leave messages on friends’ front doors, but communication was pretty much limited to in-person interaction on campus.

Forget about flip cams, digital cameras or anything else besides a Polaroid, whose quality of photos fade over time. Friends could not laugh at or relive the events of the night, whether funny or mortifying, before by looking on Facebook. And there was definitely no YouTube, Twitter or any other media to minimize boredom during class. A generation ago, not even the bulky desktops we remember from our youth were available for students to get their work done, let alone communicate through.

“On campus there was one elephant-sized computer that no one got to ever actually see,” Piazzola said. “It was like the Wizard of Oz of computers.”

To produce a term paper or a report, students used typewriters, which proved to be fickle and arduous machines. The closest thing to a delete key was correcto-type, a small strip of paper that had some kind of whiteout on it that was used to type over an error by making that spot white again.

And the nightlife at Binghamton 30 years ago would seem unimaginable to students today. Since the drinking age back then was 18, the most popular social activity by far was the “dorm party.” Most nights, one could find a floor in a dorm that was “hosting” a party by providing a keg of beer, which was situated in the lounge room of the host floor. Usually, there were multiple parties going on, so it provided an on-campus, bar-hopping experience of sorts.

As juniors and seniors moved off campus, the house party took the place of the dorm party. There was also a bar on campus, The Pub, which had specials like 25 cent beers and half-price drinks for ladies’ night.

Although it is a major part of nightlife today, not many students dared to venture Downtown in the late ’70s. The disco era, for those who were actually into disco, brought the “wildly popular” Power & Light Club, located where the Marriott Residence Inn stands today on Vestal Parkway.

While there are things we are grateful to have in this day and age, and others we might wish would make a comeback (dorm parties perhaps?), it’s nevertheless important to understand how Binghamton has progressed over the years and the part our generation will play in its future.