About Us

Happy Medium — a satisfying compromise; an impossible standard.

Happy Medium’s mission is to create a space for all Binghamton students to respectfully and productively discuss the politics of our nation and world.

Rhea Da Costa’s depiction of House minority leader and Binghamton graduate Hakeem Jeffries is one of seven pieces created during her tenure as Happy Medium Magazine’s artist-in-resident for its third print edition.
Undergraduates teach political journalism to local students at Chenango Valley High School through Happy Medium’s High School Magazine Development Program
The presidents of the Binghamton University College Democrats (left), College Libertarians (middle), and College Republicans (right) parntered with Happy Medium and the Center for Civic Engagement in April 2023 to found the Summit on Student Polticial Engagement
Happy Medium editors receiving the 2023 Binghamton University awards for Outstanding Organization of the Year, Excellence in Community Engagement, and Student Organization President of the Year
State Senator Lea Webb visits Happy Medium’s table at the Summit on Student Political Engagement’s 2023 National Voter Registration Day Fair
Editors discuss marketing strategy, courtesy of Binghamton University photographer Jonathan Cohen

In a democracy, compromise is a requisite of progress. We weigh what we are willing to lose against our potential to gain. This process can give us clarity about what is most important.

Happy Medium Magazine is Binghamton University’s student-run, nonpartisan, politics magazine. Founded in December 2021 first as an online magazine, Happy Medium expanded into print in August 2022. HM Publishing—Happy Medium’s publishing group—was created in July 2023 as a subsidiary of the Happy Medium organization to provide publishing and distribution services to its subsidiary and affiliate publications: Happy Medium Magazine, Valley Unveiled, The Blueprint, and Sharpur Edge.

Happy Medium’s other subsidiary organization, the Summit on Student Political Engagement, is a coalition of Binghamton University student groups dedicated to advancing civic engagement and civil dialogue on campus. The five current member organizations include Happy Medium, College Democrats, College Libertarians, College Republicans, and the Center for Civic Engagement’s Vote Everywhere Ambassadors. For inquiries regarding the Summit on Political Engagement, contact the Summit leadership team at summit@binghamtonsa.org (inquiries sent between June and August will be answered once new officers are elected in the fall).

Happy Medium’s High School Magazine Development Program aims to match Happy Medium editors (undergraduates) with local high school students to teach them the skills needed to create a student-run politics magazine at their high school, including journalistic ethics, research tools, balancing viewpoints, and peer editing. Students are guided through the process of starting their own magazine and have access to resources through Happy Medium, such as editorial assistance, mentorship, funding, and the services provided by HM Publishing to create print editions. The program’s pilot magazine Valley Unveiled, starting in March 2023 at Chenango Valley High School, has published three print editions as of July 2024.

Happy Medium is chartered by the Student Association and an official Harpur College Organization. All Binghamton University undergraduates and graduates are eligible to apply unless otherwise determined by the Student Association or Binghamton University.