Correction appended
Students packed Frist Campus Center last night for their own Oscar night gala celebration.
Beginning at 8 p.m., hundreds of students streamed into a transformed Frist 100-level. The setup included red carpets lining the floors, complete with black curtains and dressed-up attendees.
The event, hosted by members of the new Princeton Student Television Network (PSTN), which launches next week, included sushi, desserts and — for those over 21 — alcohol.
Formed last year by a merger of the Princeton Film Foundation and Tigervision, PSTN aims to offer campus residents a respite from the University admissions video that plays in a perpetual loop on the student channel, launching several programs over the course of this semester, instead.
"We knew we're going to make it happen only if it becomes big fast," station manager Greg Marx '07 said. "There's no way of doing this slowly simply because you can't have a slow, low-scale budget operation, because then people don't want to watch shows that don't look like shows but rather like home movies. We need an audience."
PSTN set up tables next to the television area where interested students signed up for positions including lighting crew, editors and hair/makeup personnel.
"A lot of people have shown interest in writing and producing shows," PSTN development director Erica Duke '08 said.
Students waited in 30-minute queues to obtain their free food, and many lingered to watch the Oscars in the television area.
The event represents the first time that an open bar was available at a student event in Frist, organizers said. Security guards checked proxes and gave wristbands to students over 21, who could then obtain and consume two drinks inside the Healthy Eating Lab.
"The University has wanted to try to serve alcohol at student events. This is a cool way to try it out," PSTN advertising director Kira Mesdag '07 said.
Meanwhile, the newly-created student shows, set on mute, were projected on a screen nearby.
So far, four shows have been taped. One is called "Princeton Sprint," a comedy about the University's Sprint Football team. Another, created by Robert Moore '06 and Nate Domingue '06, is called "Grounds for Expulsion," a sketch comedy show designed after the Chapelle Show. "Shaymon University" is a sitcom about college life. A news show is also available for viewing.
"For the first couple of weeks of broadcasting, we're going to try to get a feel for what primetime should be," Marx added. "Saturday night at nine o'clock?"
A game show called "Sixth Quintile," created by Leon Skornicki '06, has already been filmed and is in post-production. "It's interesting to see how smart Princeton students fare in a trivia competition," he said.
Seven contestants from all classes compete by answering non-multiple choice trivia questions. A $500 prize, courtesy of the Office of Undergraduate Students and the U-Store, was awarded to the winner.
"Every aspect of the show will be student-created," said Skornicki. "We don't take clips or music from other shows."
One idea in development is called "Yada Yada Yada," which would consist of an enclosed camera set up outside of Frist, which can be pushed by anyone at anytime to record their thoughts. It can be "when you're coming back from the Street," said Marx, or to "send birthday wishes to a friend." PSTN would edit and highlight the contents.
Other shows include broadcasting performances by student-formed bands on campus and a reality show.
Prior to this year, PSTN obtained funds primarily from the USG Projects Board.
In addition, Marx explained that PSTN obtained permission from the Development Office to attempt to raise $100,000 from alumni. PSTN will also seek funding from media corporations such as Time Warner and Viacom.
"Ultimately, in order to buy the equipment and construct a studio and really be up and running, that will happen when we get the big bucks from alums and corporate sponsors," Marx said.
PSTN operates from the basement level of Bloomberg. Although it has official studio space just beyond Lot 23, most of the filming is done in the Wilson Blackbox.
Correction
This article originally misstated the name and nature of the new PSTN show, "Shaymon University."Read More
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