For whatever reason I'm terribly sentimental about the "golden age" of television (which ended about half an hour before I returned my cable box in disgust last year). I love those grainy shots of Edward R. Murrow, chain smoking while propped on the edge of his desk, telling us how we were pretty much doomed. I love the one where Lucy and Ethel get the job in the chocolate factory, or the fact that the woman chosen for the Westinghouse appliance TV ad campaign became a sex symbol in an age of nearly Victorian social repression. There's a certain kitschy "ye olde" quality to television in the 50s, possibly because I wasn't actually there to endure it in real time.

We have in our midst a treasure from that age, and it shows no signs of slowing down. ICTV went on the air March 3, 1958, which makes it the oldest student-run television station in the state.

In the country.

In the western hemisphere.

In the world, people -- the world!

Even the Sputnik-era Soviet edu-factories couldn't top the mighty Ithaca College. My pobedim! (We will prevail!)

Anyway, on Oct. 18 ICTV is putting on an all-day shindig, complete with tailgating BBQ, studio tours, cocktails, and more. Watch some football, eat some grub, and if you're lucky, watch some REALLY old student TV.

Read all about it: http://www.ithaca.edu/rhp/community/ictv50/

Oh, if you're an alumni planning to attend, you might want to sign up today. October 8 is in fact the deadline for registration.