Some stories are last year's news, and senior Tim Bojanowski's is one of them.
Bojanowski, a psychology major from East Aurora, N.Y., fooled the whole campus last spring by switching out real issues of that week's Lamron for ones he had collected from February 2008.
The idea grew from a prank he pulled on a roommate, making him believe he had ordered a box of pinecones from Australia. "I even had him call a number and faked an Australian accent over the phone, saying if he didn't pay for the pinecones, they would charge his credit card," he said. "Eventually, I told him it was me."
With this prank under his belt, Bojanowski had his sights set on a grander scale. "I wanted to make someone believe they were living the same week over," he said, citing the movie Groundhog Day as inspiration. Bojanowski collected as many copies of the Feb. 14, 2008 issue of The Lamron as he could, planning to redistribute them the following year.
"I called it Operation Y.T.D., or year-to-date," he said. "They were kept in my grandma's basement." Bojanowski said he saved 1,185 copies of the issue.
The plan hit a snag when Bojanowski realized that Feb. 14, 2009 did not fall on a Thursday, which is the day new copies of the newspaper are distributed. Luckily, another holiday did fall on the right day that year.
"I looked at the calendar and realized April 1 was a Thursday," he said. The evening prior, Bojanowski traveled to newspaper stands around campus to drop off the year-old papers. "People would pick it up and think it was the new Lamron," he said.
Needless to say, the plan was a success.
"I got a text from my friend that said he saw someone reading an old Lamron and looking very confused," he said. "I was like, 'OK, good.'" Bojanowski kept two copies of the paper for himself for preservation.
"I guess I've always liked pranks, the methodology behind them," he said. "The more elaborate it is, the prouder I am. I guess I like watching people look confused when I know what's going on."
Bojanowski said he takes pride in his idiosyncratic interests.
"I like to embrace my geekiness," said Bojanowski, who has been an orientation advisor and is the senior resident assistant in Jones Hall. "My residents know I like to get really excited over trivial things that have no importance other than being geeky or funny."
In his free time, Bojanowski said he enjoys spending time with friends or watching a number of television series, his favorite being "LOST."
"I've seen many of the episodes over three times," he said. Although he's a devoted fan, he said he's happy to see the series is coming to a close. "The story can end, and everything else can be your own speculation. I always see the glass half-full."
After graduation in May, Bojanowski said he hopes to eventually end up in Europe, traveling and teaching English. His first stop, however, is New Zealand, visiting the sites featured in the Lord of the Rings movies. "I can pretend I'm in the movie," he said, noting that he already pictures Frodo and company trudging through snow whenever he faces the wintry slush on Main Street.
When asked if he's planning another prank before he leaves Geneseo, Bojanowski said he is unsure, knowing he'll have to top the large scale of his newspaper switcheroo. "I could either retire, or come out with a huge bang."