Orientation 1993 - Binghamton Review

TJjingljamto .

Volume VI, No.1

A Choice, Not an Echo.

bitw Orientation, 1993

Welcome to Binghamton!

Not Alwa s Sunn As it Seems

Inside this Issue: Guide to Campus Social Life Ditch the 'Rents, Then Have Fun

Re-Orientation Supplement Don't Let Them Take You Without a Fight

Also, the Real Campus Map

Inside This Issue Table of Contents

Re-Orientat

by Mark To Be Right

by Mike , Year in R •• "i... by "",'IrE;" Opportun by Inside b .

Page 4 , ,.;;'l 'ii.W. Page 6 )} \ ">-:-::i

." .i~ :"'.~" .•" ............. :! ...:•••••••••••• L ~-=

Letters to the Edito r should be addressed to: Bitlgha mlon Review

SUNY Binghamton p O. Box 6000 Binghamton, NY 13902-6000 Contributors: Ju lie t Shields, Brad Lev ine, VincentAita, Duane Farabaugh,

Alumni Board: Drian Sullivan, Katrina Sch w ing, KaLhryn Doherty, Mathew Carr, Pe ter Kaplan, Ad'lm Bromberg, Paul Schnier,John Magg io, Dave Al exa ndra Ho ll and, AuconeRic hard Ca rr , Paul Scolese, Van Rusanovsky, Joseph Rosentll al, Billy Schor

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ORIENTATION

The BinghamlonReviewis an independentjoumal of news, comme ntary, and analysis published monthly. Binghamton students rece ive the Review free of charge.

All sub missio ns to the Review become the property of the Review. The Reveiw reserves th e ri ght to ed it and print any submission. All opinions

expressed are those of the au thor's a nd do not necessarily represent that o f the Review ,

BINGHAMTON REVIEW

From the Editor elcome to Binghamton University, often re ferre d to as the Public Ivy and the flagship school of the SUNY system. Binghamton draws its students from the top percentile of New York State high schools, and its esteemed faculty has credentials to match. With well equ ipped libraries and computer facilities, a diverse offering of classes spanning five colleges, and attractive campus grounds, Binghamton seems to have all the components of a top notch educational institution. All but one: courageous leadership.

Recall the turbulent year the University of Pennsylvania just concluded under the leadership of William Hackney, Clinton's pick to head the National Endowment for the Humanities. The exemplar of University cowardice, Hackney stood idle as freshman Eden Jacobiwitz was prosecuted for racist speech after calling no isy black sorority girls the Hebrew term for "water oxen." And when black students confiscated and destroyed 14,000 copies of the school newspaper because they perceived a staff writer to be raCist, Hackney justified the vandalism , suggesting the perpetrators' feelings outweighed the First Amendment.

Unfortunately, Binghamton University tends to mimic the real Ivy in their complacency towards student activist demands. TI1e Administration has caved in time and time aga in to the rallies and riots staged by small groups of radical students. This past academiC year, PreSident DeFleur crumbled under the pressure put on her by students opposed to arming our Un iversity Law Enforcement Department (ULED). Even though d1e campus crime rate exceeds d1at of the entire Town of Vestal's, and despite the recent episodes of assault, kidnapping, and anempted rape d1at have occurred on campus, DeFleur was easily swayed by bullhorns outside the administration building and an angry mob of protestors stomping through lecture hall, disturbing classes. Their arguments, "minority students will become targets of police brutality," and "ifthe police have gu ns, students w ill need them too," defeated the state's recommendation and the necessity of the situation. Another example of emotion overruling logic in the university.

During d1e last week of classes this May, students angered by the Binghamton Revieuis article "Gay Myth-Perceptions" created a ruckus on campus. Angered by the author's straightforward and factually correct assessment of homosexual activism at Binghamton, the protestors sounded the Homophobia Alarm through their bullhorns. Now, if the Binghamton Review wasn't so wise as to be financially independent from the University, it is conce ivable that this Orientation issue wouldn't be in print. The repercussions of offending an "oppressed" group on d1is campus are severe. It seems the Administration has a hard time standing up to hysterical factions of students who behave like spoiled children.

Perhaps the administration's mentality is traceable to d1esocial idealism of their heyday, the 1960s.

Now that these retro-hippies have received degrees and state jobs, d1ey fancy themselves the social engineers of the 1990s. Although their pursuit of justice and equality is a noble one, the tactics they use to erect this utopia conflict sharply with the traditional definition of "liberalism". The recent trend has been to stifle ideas and speech that are contrary to their prescription for a racism/sexism/ claSSiCism/homophobia-free world.

College is a time for exploration, and more importantly, open-mindedness. If the administration can't see to it that tolerance is granted to d10se of uS on the conventionally "right" side of the political spectrum, they aren't doing their job. Some may argue that this "political correctness" is endemiC to college campuses, butthatshould not lessen it's graveness. Our constitutional rights are in jeopardy.

The quality of our education is at stake. Binghamton University lacks an effective Administration to protect these things.

Your eyes pulled open, courtesy of the Bingballllon Review.

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ORElNl'ATION

3

Re-Orientation PC Orientation reshman orientatio n was once a time In w hich incoming stude nts learned about the school they were to attend. For most studen ts, however, o ri en tation will not be Mark a pe ri od in Schmidt which their familiarity with the university grows, bur the ir firs t introductio n to the contemp o ra ry ph e n o me n on known as political correctness.

Therevision ism and e u phemisti c labeling of certa in groups begins with the freshme ntl1e msel ves, h e n ce f or t h known as "first year students" , part of the in c r easingly successful effort to purge the English la nguage of the word "man ".

"First year students" will the n encounter a myriad of po litica ll y correct terms like

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ORlENfATION

"diversity", "multiculturalism" "i ncl usion" , and have the terms "racism," "sexism," and

"homophobia" e nc o d e d within their brains. This programming begins at a most oppurtune juncture, as most freshmen are really worried about registering for classes and finding out where the location of the bookstore. The culture of complaint that has evolved on the modem college ca mpus allows n o o ne to deviate from its orthodoxy.

Beginning wit h the first games

of "Cultural Pursuit" and "Wheel of Oppression", .a dministrations throughout the co untr y, in c luding Binghamton, attempt to in-

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doctrinat e students. Freshmen thus fa ce four years in an environment Balkanized by po liti ca lly correct gerrymande ring that di ctates which groups are "in" based on whether or not politcally cor路 rect charlatans believe t.he group to have passed t.heir litmus test of being "nonWeste rn" and having suffered from "oppression" .

Many college freshmen are idea listic; almost all harbor some hope that they can affect mea ningful change. This idealism is ex pl o ited by radical administrators and the small group of students who are their allies.

By manipulating students' desires, politically co rrect forces garner sup po rt o r at least acquiesce nce for their social engineering projects by claiming to be champio ning extremely worthy causes.

What po litica lly correct ad-

ministrators have done is to transform the campus into a microcosmic totalitarian state.

Students who are even suspected of using "offensive" speech-such as Eden Jacobowitz at the University of Pennsylvania who called a group of loud black women "water buffaloes"-are immediately censured and put before leftist tribunals. What these pho ny "multicultarlists" failed to discover about Mr. Jacobowitz was that he was raised in Israel, where the insult is used to decry noiSy or disruptive behavior.

Incide nts such as this have also occurred here at Binghamton University. A few years ago, a conservative organization, the National Association of Scholars, sponsored an event on ca mpus. The NAS was o n the PC hit list because it frequently discredits the devaluation of the curriculum that multiculturalism has wrought. True to fom1 , radicals appeared wielding canes, shouting verbal epithets and even attempting to spit upon speakers at the meeting. As is usually the case in such incidents, the first amendment rights of those who with courage to sway from PC extremism were simply ignored by BU's left-win g

administration.The BI11ghamlon Rev iew, often at the center of ca mpus controversy, was recently embroiled in a battle with the ca mpus Gay/Lesbian Alliance. After exposing their fascistic tactics in attempting to silence a loca l radio talk show host, the Gay/ Lesbian Allinace held a ....Jllyin which they denounced the Rev iewasa "homophobic" journal (We're not scared of gays!) that misportrayed their tacti cs. A news report on a

mate result o f the full implementation of their policies.

Radical PC'ers, who cheer as they witness America's decline toward Third Worldism, may now be able to fully realize their goal. With a friendly administratio n in Washington, they are well on their way toward destroying traditional American democracy in the name of "democratization" (a fav orite PC buzzword).

While not particularly large in number, PC'ers control the vast majority of ca mpuses and have allies in gays, ethnic student unions, and campus radito cals. These groups also receive whatever they ask for at the mere mention of the word "protest". Most students, concerned w ith passing classes and erecting some sort of social life have little time for, or interest in, such issues. It is upo n these apathetic students that the program of the politica lly correct is imposed. Unfortunately for today's college freshmen, worries about being censu red for using "offensive" speech rank with grades in terms of

True to form, radicals appeared wielding canes, shouting verbal epithets and even attempting spit upon speakers at the meeting.

loca l radio station verified the Reuieuls innoce nce, but the

"Big Lie" tactics used by these radi ca ls mos t definitely reached more people, especially students, than our vindication o n AM radio ever could have.

These tales are necessary to simply begin to describe the magnitude of political correctness on the college campus. The devaluation and eventual destruction of Western culture will be the ulti-

Orientation continues on page 15.

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ORIENTATION

5

To Be Right Conservatism Today

D

efining conservatism is a task tha t has befuddl ed even the most ca pable minds o f o ur time.

And if anything has been agreed o n it is tha t there is no severa I de finiti o n.

Mike sentence Conservatism is an Valdman eclectic smorgasbord of ideas with o nly o ne thing in common-their attachment to the conservative viewpo int.

Yet as ambiguous as conservatism may seem, there exist some general premises which conservatives must accept. Conservatism is embedded in the rituals and customs of a culture . Conservatism is the belie f that tomor-

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row is yet another day in the natural successio n of thousa nds o f yea rS of history. Conservatism is a belief that radica l cha nge is usually not for the better. Familiarity, ritual, wisdom, and prudence should be the way to run a natio n, not Utopian vision.

O ne o f the finer e lements of conserva tism is that it allows for d isse nsion o n the inside, w hereas an adherent to li bera lism mu st support a strict party line. Fo r exa mple, some conservatives feel that the state should be a powerful entity, favoring o ne form of exp ressio n over another.

Other conservat ives fee l that loca l autono my and freedom o f associa tion su it us best.

Some conservatives wou l d rather see th e stat e take nothin g mo re th a n an umpire position actin g comp lete ly as an impartial media tor-w ith no agenda of its own .

This pheno men o n

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is quite apparent today, since anyone ca n witness how conservatives constantly deba te issues such as gays in the military, term limitations, abortion, and many o ther contorversial topics amo ng the mselves . Conservatism is pluralism in its finest fom1all owing for a ll legitimate voices to be heard so that we ca n bring ourselves closer to the truth.

Conservatism is a be lief that change, ifabsolutely necessa ry, must come from within the system, and must never be a change o f the system. As Edmund Burke once said, "A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation."

But Burke also explai ned that to preserve a nd a t the sa me time refo rm is a demo nstratio n o f prudence and prolific wisdom. And Burke also warned us that we shou ld never begin the "refo rmation ofa system by its subversion."

Th is be lief, so eloquently stated by Burke, is the epitome o f the conservative batt le cry.

Proceed , but proceed with extreme cautio n. Preserve and reform, fo r no man can fathom the complexity of relatio nships which one stroke of the pen or one dagger through the hea rt ca n set into motio n. Adhe re to the prece-

dents set by our forefathers , content to live within the others. This aggravates the respect. the rituals and cus- frameworko f an unequal ma- opposing Left, who fee l that a toms our society has estab- terial SOCiety. This, however, fully integrated "multicultural" lished over the centuries. And in no way implies that conser- society is somethi ng to strive any attempt at re fo rmatio n vatives are a constant hin- for, not something to be proshould be aimed at tected against. But correcting a particular even that argument defect in the system, is becoming obsonot the system itself. lete. Although con1/ A state without the means of As Santayana, o ne of serva tivesare strong the great thinkers of propone nts of trasome change is without the our time, once wrote, ditio n, they are not "the innovator never means of its conservation." averse to cha nge. knows how near to ",nd conservatism, the ta proot of a tree he withi n the last few is hacking." decades, has underConservatives ungone a sma ll revoluti o n of its own. derstand and respect the inherent inequ alCo nservatism ity o f distribution of abilities drance to poli cies o f social today is about the defense of among men. The only way to welfare. Conselva ti ves sim- human rights and constitu place people in an equa l po- ply feel that it is in ou r best tio nal rights . Conservatives sition, explains Hayek, is to inte rests to work wit hin t.he today battle for a color blind treat them differently. Equal- boundaries o f the system, pru- society where hard work is ity before the law and mate- dently and deliberate ly, in or- the key to success and merit is rial equality are, therefore, der to ensu re that an at.tempt the key to promotion. No no t only different but in direct at "social justice" wi ll not lead lo nger is conservatism excluconfli ct with o ne another. to chaos. Attempts at socia l sive but, if anything, ethniConservatives understand that welfare are often in violation ca lly inclusive. Conservatives equ ality is a Utopian myth , of our ca pitalist traditio n, and are proponents o f a curb on the "opiate of the people. " must therefore handled w ith the government and its interve nti o n in individual lives.

Conservatives recognize that extreme ca ution. a perfectly free society is just Arguments against conser- Conservatives are staunch as untenable as a perfectly vatism ofte n point out that by defenders of capitalism and just society. iI.S very na tu re conserva tism the free ma rket. Conserva Conservatives, acknowl- insists o n traditional privileges tives today are the true guardedging that any attempt at and the ir protection, to the ians o f the "America n way" Utopia ends in disast.er, are exclusion o f privileges fo r all and the "American spirit."~

-Edmund Burke

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OHlENI'ATION

7

Year in Review PC on the Rampage hen the Binghamton Review publishes its special orientation issue, we like to look back at some of the many liberal excesses of the past year. We have three Mitchell major motivations for doing so. First, Berger we believe freshman should be aware of just how left-wing this university is. PC (Political Correctness) makes its presence felt not just in the classroom, in courses such as Lesbian Poe tic s , Carribean Women Writers, Psychology of Prejudice and all of sociology, but o utside the classroom as well. It assau lts the senses and slowly degrades the mind into mush. Second, we realize that some of what happened last year will directly affect your education and experiences here at Binghamto n.

Also, many similar outrages will probably occur this year.

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was probably the only time in the year many of these students actually went to the library.) Outspoken radicals blamed Columbus for events centuries after his death, such as the slave trade. Not even for one day could these fanatics set aside their hatred , anger and Anti-European bigotry and join us in the day we Americans have devoted to a great man and glorious nation. As conservatives, we believe Columbu s' faith in God, singleminded devotion to an idea and courage in achieving his aims should be emulated and taught to our child r en.

Therefo re, we reject the vicious distortion of history groups like the Black Student practiced by groups like Union, Carribean Student As- HASU. sociation, Haitian Student What this Columbus-bashUnion and Latin-American ing illustrates, besides a transStudent union set up graphic parent lack of patriotism, is revisionist exhibits in the Ul1i- how the left at Binghamton versity union and library. (This views history. Radical students

Finally, as conservatives we have fun expOSing radical groups on ca mpus for what they are- pathetic, hypocritica l and in opposition Coften openly) not only to God and Country but to the best interests of students who attend this university.

Surely the most repulsive display of PC occurred in October of last year. To celebra te Columbus' courageous voyage to the New World

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and professors do not distinguish between different people and events in history.

Every European-American, they believe, bears responsibility for "400 years of oppression .路 Europe's great scholars and authors-Francis Bacon, Dr. Samuel Johnson, Alexis De Tocqueville, Miguel de Cervantes and Johann Goethe-are DWEM's (Dead White European Males) and no longer worthy of study . As you become part of this campus community, you will not be able to avoid the revisionism the campus left presents as historical truth. However, by reading, questioning your radical professors and challenging revisionism, you can help prevent the PC movement from taking the truth out of our classes.

You will also be assailed by radicals claiming to be non-partisan. SAVE (Students are Voting Everywhere) which was active last November is one example of such misrepresentation. Using MTV's slo gan "Rock the Vote," SAVE registered students not only in the presidential election but local elections also. By encouraging students to vote locally rather than in their home elections, SAVE may have caused local Republicans to lose elections though supported by a majority of the townspeople. Like most "non-partisan" groups on

campus, SAVE worked to the advantage of the left. Expect to see SAVE active again this November.

Another issue sure to arise again next year is the debate over arming campus security officers (ULED or Public Safety). Both the state legislature and SUNY Central have reccomended arming officers.

In December, prior to Christmas break, University President LoiS De Fleur surrendered to radica l protests and decided not to arm offi cers at this time. You would not believe the ou trageous protests, editorials and screams of oppreSSion that preceeded this deCiSion-though you will in a few months. Radicals went so far as to occupy the administration building (Just like back in the 1960s, Dude!) in protest and demand officers not be armed or even have access to guns. "liberals" interrupted classes and stormed the dining halls demanding more minority hiring and PC courses.

A September 4, 1992 Pipe Dream editorial epitomizes the left-wing paranoia o n this campus, especially where ULED is concerned. "Guns fo r UJ.ED are dangerous to min or ities, " whined the Carribean Student Association, " .... our efforts to achieve academic success will clearly be violated by the first gun-toting public safety officer who

imagines some 'large, dark figure' posi ng some sort of threat ... " But as no n-radicals rea lize, the main threat to law-abiding students comes from crimina ls not the courageous me n and women in blue who protect our society from evil. If a crime occurs on campus and the criminal won't be a nice, no n-oppressive kind of guy and surrender we must wait ten-20 minutes fo r armed off-campus o ffi cers to arrive.

Clearly, liberal hysteria worked against the best int erests of most students. Since President De Fleur only deferred arming o ffi cers and the state reccomends it , this issue is sure to reemerge.

The word "emerge" leads to a discussion o f SUNY-B's active , out-of-the-c1oset homosexua l community. Organized in the LGBU, t.his movement typifies left -wing militancy and intole rance. For instance, in March several members of this group held a "die-in" in the Mini-ma ll. Students lay down o n the fl oor and pretended to be dead! A few students were angered by this in-your-face "liberalism" and many more were bewildered as to the po int of this protest, a classic case of "symbolism over substance."

In April, milit ant gays went

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Year continues on page 15.

OIUENfATIoN

9

Opportunity Knocks Making your own opportunities

A

lmost everyone who gives advice to incoming freshmen tells them to take advantage ojopportunities, not to hesitate to jo in this group, or that collective, o r to become active in the other Scott activity or spo rt.

But all this advice ta kes for granted that one s hou ld jo in groups which already exist.

Squirreled away in the Rules and Obligations booklet, one will find a brier description o f the procedures necessa ry forcreating a new student group at Binghamto n.

It is a fairly simple, stra ightfo rward process. But for all that Simplicity, most people take it as a given that one need o nly become involved with an ex isting group to express one 's inte rests. The ethos seems to be "t he System provides ." This is, I think, somewhat symptomatic o f a larger world-view shared by most people, conservative, moderate and libera l alike.

It's also unrealistica lly lim iting.

There are, at present, several gaps in po tential student activities at Binghamton. To

J. Epstein

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name a few, there is no cu rrently active humo r magazine, no science fi ction publication, and the Clarendon is the o nl y "lite rary" magazine on campus. And that's just in the ca mpus media, a sma ll sector of a ll ca mpu s activities. But tl)is articl e is probably the on ly one suggesting activities not currently listed in the Billie/in.

I don 't mean to encourage everyone to go out and start a group-t here are many o n ca mpus which fulfill most functions. For instance, all

people don 't think mu ch about it. This I believe, is symptomatic o f a larger, more importa nt blindspot.

Most people like to talk about something ca lled the "System ." This usually refe rs to "SOCiety," and "getting ahead" is playing by the "rules." This worldview treats as negligible the sovereignty o f the individual. Or, put anothe r way, this view sees the world in a top-down fa shio n-what you get is given to you by the "System"-not hing new is made, and the individual , per se has negligible impact. This ca rries through to the commo n view of educa tion. One attends college and "receives" an education. Upon graduati on, o ne "gets a job. " Another worldview would see all humans as active in their own fates. This the "Peoples" on ca mpus al- would see the beauty o f the ready have unio ns , and du - free market operating in the plicating group fu nctio ns is a theoretica lly unlimited oppo rtunities in small and new busiwaste o f resou rces.

The re's something of a ness, not just in large corpoblindspot regarding the found - rations. This would see ca ming of new groups. It hap- pus oppo rtunities which do n't pens occasiona lly, and no one yet exist. This worldview is rea lly opposed to it (de- would see education as an pending upon the group un- active process, with the studer conSideratio n) but most dent, no t the p rofessor as the

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be taken for granted. Per- eluding the opportunities preactive role.

Most writing on contem- haps the best advice I can sented in the student government. Don't let your porary education sees classes get in the way the student as a pasof your education. sive, empty vessel, Follow curiosities. waiting to be filled. on Don't take anything The traditional left for granted, and don't and right disagree take anything anyonly on what should one tells you as a fill this vessel, not on given. Think things the nature of the stuthrough, and trust dent. However, it on your thoughts. And seems a truism that if anyone, eve-n a the only true educaprofessor, tells you tion is self-education, your conclusions are no matter how much wrong, but can't tell it might be guided by a mentor. Some complain give would be to use the you why, don't take their word that to get a good education resources of this university to for it. The mind is the most one must do the work one- their fullest. Use the library, important human resourceself. However, this should the computer resources, cam- don't let anyone make you not be a complaint, it should pus organizations, even in- distrust yours.!

Most writing contemporary education sees the student as a passive, empty vessel, waiting to be filled. The left and right disagree only what should fiN this vessel, not its nature.

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ORlENfA110N

11

The Real Wheel of Oppression::::;,~,:.~ ~

"To wnics~

with

fam il y values

-l

fess io nal Olp it:l li st s~ ~_",,---Greeks

Do you question PC orthodoxy?

Don't be surprised to find yourself broken on the Wheel.

SUNY Admi nistra tio n Re pu b li c a n s

R:c.s Lt r:r:

0

White Ab1c-Bod-

Meolor'"

cr:uic F:ICldty

Conservative Cultural Pursuit In country highest standard of living on the con 'on.,,(( ~ What radio personality recently had a ~ the New York Times Bestseller li st? ~WhosediscOyery indirectly resulted in the f,cccst ~ country in the history of the world? ~What former presidential ca ndid ate wrote the ~book Con5C~nce of a Conseroativt?

速What percentage of Americans arc homoscxua 11 _ .... ,,"a, is the only organiza tion working to pro"""-"...",.., second amendmant rights?

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BINGHAMTON REVIEW

Orientation meets Trivial PursuiU See u you can separate truth from myth and misconception. Turn the paper upside down to see u you answered correctly.

Map of the Occupation After even a few days on campus, you may begin to feel as though Binghamton University is a battleground, or at least, feels like one. Never fear! This map, courtesy of the Binghamton Review reveals the where the safe parts of calupus are. Although the enemy is advancing, there is yet hope. Some of our campus is stHI Free. .

Resistance __,......-_ .., Headquart e r s

: -----~

~INGHAMTONJ UNIVERSITY ._0 _ _-

(BinghamlOn

Review Office) \I~

Kan1pus Kremlin Resistance Boot Camp

BL~GHAMTON REVIEW

Site of most recent enemy incursion

ORIENfAnON

13

PPOAi wag aqJ Uto.tJ samod puv Jd

Orientation Continued from page 5. importance . The co llege ex perience, once a period during which young people could learn and "discover themselves", has been transformed into a hostile and embattled four years that a student may we ll wish to forget. As Dinesh 路

D'Souza correctly observed: "Young people are not in college to change the world.

They are there to learn. There is nothing wrong with develo ping a heated response to the injustices of our day . But it is o nly in later, more mea-

sured moments that these injustices can be pra ctically addressed. More important than activism is an investment in enduring boo ks, enduring issues, enduring tnllh . That will equ ip to day's rebels for tom morrow's controversies."~

further, threatening to ruin f'romma le "o ppression. " Sevthe ca reer of local conserva- era l wo men we re embartive radio host John Lesley by rassed by having lesbians having "someone kiss him on o utbid male oppo nents! This the lips while someo ne else incident demo nstrates how (took) a picture" when he militant campus radicals are. and his family ate at the Vestal H also shows that when it Steakhouse. Review write r co mes to to le rance these Mi c hael Valdman rightly groups have a lot to learn!

Completing this years outca lled this militancy "fascism posing as sensitivity and td - rages was the appo intment of erance!" In May, during fi- Ma ry Ann Swain as provost nals, 30 radicals so meho w and academic vi ce -president found time to protest in May. This cru cial pOSition inOu en ces courses, fa culty Va ldman's article!

To the gays and other radi - 11iringand graduatio n requi recals the most innocent activi - me nts . Swain fo rmerly ties are racist o r homophobic. worked at Michigan where When the Asian Student Union she defended the PC "Antiheld its "date for a day" char- bias" speech code ruled unity fundraiser, members o f the constitutio nal by our Supreme LGBU and Womyn's Center Court in 1988. Swain will (the two groups o ften go pressu re professo rs to conhand-in-glove) insisted o n lib- form to the liberal orthodoxy, erating female participants o ffe r mo re cra p cou rses and

continue Suny-B's tradition of mediocre PC beaucrats at the higher levels of our admi nistratio n.

As freshman you will likely see mu ch o f the same militancy and parano ia next year., more bigotry and censorship in the name o f to lerance, more beaucratic mediocrity. Some of you wi ll be so disturbed at what happens here that you wi ll join the ReI/jell! or College Republicans . Many more will be less active but equa lly dismayed that arrogant militants complain o f o ppreSSion even as they viciously exploit the o pportunites the tax-subsidized SUNY system has made available to them. As you experience the PC "orientatio n" rememher that they, not you , are the racist, int o lerant hypoc rites .~

Year Conitinued from page 9.

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The Decline of Education Book Review Inside American Education

by Thomas Sowell Hardcover $24.95 Macmlllian Publishing

''V

irtually everyone has heard how poorly American students perfo rm, whether compared to foreign students or to American students of a generation ago," Dr. Thomas Sowell observes in his brilliant tome Inside A mericall Educalion,"What everyone

may not know are the specifics of how bad the situation has Brad become, how and the public has Levine why been deceived, or the dogmas and hidden agendas behind it all."

Academic performance in America has declined sharply. In 1963, an average SAT score was 980; by 1991 it dropped to 900, with verbal scores at an all-time low. Over the same time period, grade inflation has become a common phenomenon.

According to Dr. Sowell, "American high schools gave out approximately twice as many C's as they did A's in 1966, but by

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197R, the A's exceeded the C's. At private universities, entering freshman with an Aaverage were an absolute majority, 54%." These statistics tell part of the story of the deterioration of American edu cation . This decline , Sowell states, has resulted from shifting allention from the basic disciplines-math and English-to things like sex and environmental education.

Living in New York City, I have heard several responses by liberals regarding educational decline. As pointed out

by Sowell, they include secrecy, camouflage, denial,

social factors-poverty, crime, racism, etc., is a common tactic. Although social factors may be partly to blame, they do not justify the responses of our educational establishment nor do they fully explain the decline o f American education. A study by the Rand Corpo rati o n involved taking children from low income, crime ridden schools and placing the m in Catholic schools in the same area. Naturally those students performed much better than their peers on standardized tests. This study conclUSively proves that a good school gives a good educatio n, regardless of location.

Another common excuse for the failure of our schools is that we do not devote enough money to educashifting blame and, finally, tion. But if more money transdemands for more money. lates into a better education, The practice ofinJlating grades then N.Y.C. schools should to conceal test score deficien- be the best in the world! After cies illustrates the first three a II, the city spends $6000 per responses. Shifting blame to student- far more money per

BINGIJAMfON REVIEW

student than anywhere else in the world. Yet the N. Y.C. system in reality is very fa r from be ing the best--or even cl ose to it.

O ne reason fo r o ur educa tio nal p roblems is that publi c schools are indoctrinating instead o f teaching stude nts the facts behind complex socia l issues. Supposedly this is done in order to increase stud e nts ' thinking capacit ie s .

Iloweve r, not o nly ca n stude nts not think, but they do n't eve n know what thinki ng is.

The problem is that thi nking is o ften confused w ith fee ling. Fo r instance, Sowe ll po ints out, in teaching nuclea r science to young stude nts, a teache r would s how a graphi c vid eo o f Hi ros hi rna a n el Nagasaki being ob literated as a resu lt o fd1eAto m bomb. Of course, after seeing thiS, the impressio nable stude nts we re neve r e nlightened as to w hy th is h appe ned-o nl y that what happe ned was inhe re ntlyevil. The purpose o f all this is to brainwash the stu dents. Similar techniques are employed in sexual and e nvironmental educa tio n. In sex education, for exa mple, teache rs atte mpt to separate stude nts from the ir

po rtrayi ng pare nt s as instrume nt s o f evil.

Acco rding to Sowell, the po litical correctness endemic to college campuses was and still is a ma jo r fa ctor in the d ecline o f higher education.

It sta rred with affirmative actio n. Some de fe nd this policy because they fee l it p rovides mino riti es with opportunities prev io us ly withhe ld fro m the m. Howeve r w hat affirmative anio n tru ly accomp lishes is misp lacing the stude nts-putting them in an envi ro nme nt w hich does not re Oect their tale nts. When they reali ze that they ca nnot compete , they shift the b lame to an externality, much like the education system itself.

Berkeley, to cite o ne insta nce, now grad uates fewer black stu de nt s than they did in the seventies, despite the fa ct that they admit more .

Mino rit y stu dent acti vism has lead to a new campus pro blem known as "the new ra cism." There is an antiwhit e, anti -"europea n" establis hme nt o n this campu s.

Cu ltura l unio ns exist because they supposedly help cure ra cist fee lings o n campus .

However, there seems to be bette r ra ce relatio ns at more

conservative schools. At Oklahoma Unive rsity, a black activist student body president was elected . The end resu lt was a startli ng increase in group sepa ratism . O ppositio n to this age nda was silenced by call ing all those opposed "racists. " Such actio ns have o nl y exa cerbated the p roblems o f the past, not assuaged the m. Such incidents have occurred o n our campus ~ s we ll. A group of black students charged into a cl assroom bra ndishi ng sticks because they suspected that the class was really a KKK meeting! The administrati on o f cou rse igno red the event.

Sowell 's book is wistfully poignant a nd e nl ighte ning.

The proble ms he high lights are no trivia l matter; they impact every educatio na l institution. Living on this ca mpus, I can. observe the problems described by Sowe ll. When anyone criticizes the left-wing establishme nt on ca mpus, they are au tomatically derided as a ra cist. Yet, ironically, minority stud ies courses can teardown America and Whites with imp unity . Schools must return to tea ching acade mics o r the p roblems Sowell ex路ns will wr,"Sf' n

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17

1999 In the Near Future ... e had been awake for This class was a history ca ll ed "Columbus and Hitler: more than five minutes before he rea l- Separate Paths to the Same ized that his alarm had no t Goal." The subject matter gone o ff. Fu ll of foreboding, didn't grea tly intrigue him , he turned to look at the lit -up bu t li ke most o f his classes, he numbers o n hi s needed it to fulfill hi s Diverclock.

Sure sity Requ irements . Registerenough, they in- ing for classes was quite an formed him that ordea l these da ys. Not onl y he had less than did stude nts ha\'e to contend ten minutes before wit ilthe formidable Diversi ty his fj rst cla ss Req uireme nts and the manstarted. da to ry "U nderstanding OthHe flew out o f his dorm e rs " classes, but placeme nt in room and down the steps, past the soda, ca ndy, and condom ma c hines in the lobby o f the buildto ing, and o ut into the to b lu ste ry mo rning.

The ca mpus was full o f others who hadn 't gotten up o n time, but he rushed past "Oh's" the m and into the building where his first class was being held .

He passed th e posters o n the wa ll (whi ch desired Courses was o ften a no tified stude nts o f such problem . The ma keup o f things as the newa ll -nude every single class had to have theater production and the the sa me pe rce ntage o f each abo rti o n-o n-demand clin ic sex, race, and ethnic group loca ted in the Union) without thm the school as a whole so much as a glance. Qui('kly did . And the school as a he entered his classroom and whole had its popu latio n carediscreetly took a sea t in the fully cra fted to reflect the back.

Stat es.

H

Josh Trapani

In additio n, students also had the responsibility of making Su re that thei r professors were mixed according to the sa me Ii nes. There were stories of seniors w ho'd had to sta y a n extra semester and take an unnecessa ry course with a pro fessor o f a certain color o r ethni('ity in orde r to gradu ate. ."And so you see," the professor (inCide ntall y a white male) addressed the class, "we ca n neve r establish full equalit y in this country until we pay for our past.

Therefore, I would argue that all European-American citizens should have to to pay, as a portion of their taxes, repa ra ti o ns to AfricanAmerica n citi zens for the years of suffering as slaves which the latter e ndured ."

A black student raised his hand , and the professor pointed at him .

"Are yo u proposing," asked the student, "that I should get mo ney from the whites ... because I was enslaved?"

"Yes, I am," a nswered the pro fessor.

"But I wo uldn 't want the mo ney. Besides I was never

"... and he had the audacity go up her and ask her out right herface!" one ofthem was saying, and the mouths of the others formed big in response.

"What did he expect?"

18

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BINGHAMTON RIMEW

a slave!"

The professorsmiled . "But yo ur ancesto rs were. And their ancestors were the slaveowners, and so they have to pay for the sins of their fo refathers. " Now a white student raised her hand, and the professor ca lled o n he r. "How come I should have to pay," she asked, "when my ancestors didn't even arrive in this country until after the slaves were freed?"

The pro fessor looke d at her oddly and shook his head, but made no re ply.

His next class was an English course. It was ca lled "American Literature During Periods o f Repressio n ." It dealt primarily with books from the 1950s and 1980s. He liked a lot of what they read, and was glad he'd taken the course. Especially since his only other choice had bee n a Compara tive Literature course entitled "Poetry of Parisian Lesbians," which some how sounded more like the to pic o f a bad talk-show then a serious literature course .

Besides those two, he took the aforementioned "U nde rstanding Others" course and a Biology class. The "Understanding Others" class was a sensitivity seminar, aimed at placing the blame for all the world's ills o n white males.

He thought it was racist and prejudiced, but he didn't have the nerve to say a nything

about it.

Th e Bio logy class was straight scie nce. It was by far his f,[vorite.

I n English, he was gett ing an essay exa m back. "As you know," sa id the professor, "we ca n no longer tell you what the class average was, for fea r of making the more inte llectually challenged among you inad e quate or fe e l unintelligent. And please rememberthat when I give these ha ck you're not allowed to show the m ro a nyo ne, or ro te ll o the r people how you did. You can be expe ll ed fo r sharing grades. Especiall y those o f you w ho did well .

Those are the rules and you know as we ll as I do that

they wished. This was because, according to the guidelines, a stude nt 's need to take a class was mu ch mo re important tha n his or her ability in the sub ject.

When English was over he went to the Un io n in o rder to pick up the sc hool newspaper. As always, the Uni on was ali ve with people and b uzzing with conve rsation, espec ia lly in a reas w here stacks o f the newspaper had been p laced . He knew w hich part o f the paper attr acted th e most atte ntion, the List of ExpulSi o ns. Eac h week the paper publi shed names of stude nts who had heen expell ed that week, and o n wha t gro unds.

H

d~e

e

grabbed a copy and opened it up to see what a ll the fu ss Stilf(.' was about.

This The li st v,<ml was relath e o nly restriction that had been tively ShOI1, on ly about twenty placed on academiC achieve- this week. But the reasons me nt. Graduation honors had they'd been expe ll ed seemed bee n abolished, as had all re lative ly g lamorous.

"Look at this one," said ho nors programs. Higher level classes in rhe arts no longer someone nea r him to her required auditi o ns or portfo- fri e nd . "Expell ed for te lling a lios from potentia l e ntrants, derogatolY jo ke about ho moa nd prerequisites for the sci- sexua ls. I know what jo ke he e nces had almost all been told." aboli shed as well . Everyone Future continues on was allowed to take any class been e nfo rcin g them

page 20.

BINGHAMTON REVIEW

OIUE."TATION

19

Future From page 19 "What was it?" asked he r friend eagerly.

"I can't tell you ," she answered, looking at her friend as if she were crazy. Then she looked around warily. "I ca n't say it in public. I don 't want to get expelled, too. I'll te ll you later."

He turned away from them and toward another group discussing the list. "... and he had the audacity to go up to her and ask he r out right to her face!" one of them was saying, and the mouths of the others fonned big "Oh's" in respo nse. "What did he expect?"

He looked down at his list and read through the names.

Under the reaso n for expulsion: sexual harassment.

Looking around, he saw that most of the groups were made of one type of person.

All blacks or all whites, all Asians or all Hispanics, all males or all females . Most people were very uneasy around groups of others because it was so easy to get in trouble around them.

On his way out of the Union he passed an old friend of his from high school. They hadn 't been very close, but they'd hung out a little ba ck at home . She was Asian, and she was female, and since coming here he was afraid to

20

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talk to her.

"Hi," he said curtly, and didn't stop walking.

"Hi," she answered back, and didn't stop either. She was afraid to talk to him, too.

That night there was a Coalition meeting. The Coalitio n was the student government, and membe rship was mandat o ry (though attendance at the meetings was not), The Coa lition's full name had once been "The Coalition for a Right-Free America" but since virtually all conservative and moderate thought had been eliminated from the ca mpus, the name was abbreviated . This student-led organization had been instrumental in many of the more drasti c charges that had occurred in the school recently, including the Diversity require ments and the expulsion lists .

He did not like to attend Coalition meetings, but they were big social events, especially outside the meeting room. He headed down to see if anyone he knew was there . All around him he caught pieces of excited conversatio n.

"And did you hear, the professor failed her because she wrote a paper and spe lled 'women ' with an 'e' instead of

a 'y'?"

"But you ca n't jo in the

BINGHAMTON REVIEW

school paper. They already have their qu ota of AsianAmerican males. " "Ma rx was actua lly a genius . It was just the wrong type of countries that first experimented with his ideas."

"How do you know she's doing so well in that class?

She hasn't been showing you her grades, has she?"

"Reverse discrimination is just a myth, created and perpetuated by the ruling class to prevent the spread o f sensitivity and understanding."

"Censorship? That's a terror tactic of the right. You know as we ll as I do that libera ls believe in free expreSSion . We never censor anything."

He started to feel a little sick to his stomach. He was sorry he'd come. Just then, he sa w some o f his friends sta nding with a big group o f stude nts . They beckoned him to approach, but there we re people he didn't know in the group, and in his strange mood , he didn't want to take the chance of o ffending anyo ne. He smiled weakly and waved at them, but didn 't go over.

Instead, he went back to his room and to sleep, remembering this time to carefully set his a larm .~

I"

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Miller Time A Guide to Campus Social Life ontrary to popular belief, the Bingham/oil Review is not comprised of a bunch o f stu ffy killjoys. Although conservative in our views, we are not prohibited from having a good time. Yes, we do Donlon e ngage in the soc ial aspe c ts o f ca mpus life-as lo ng as it's not some si lly liberal ritual of passing vegetables ... But, after a lo ng hard day o f battling po litica l correctness and dealing with w hining leftists , a little unwinding is necessary-and by the e nd of the week it's required.

Believe it or not, there is some stuff to do during your stay at th e "public ivy."

Okay, so it's nothing compared to Manhattan' s club scene or the the fine Irish establishments in Rockaway, but socia l life does exist in Binghamton.

As incoming students, most o f you are unaware o f the various social activities (read: BARS), that are

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ava il able to you. It's very easy to get lost within the huge student body here and go through Binghamton w,th the Friday night knowledge of the study lounge. So, being the kindhearted person that I am, I'm going to offer you a gu ide to having a social life.

BINGHAMTON REVIEW

First of all, weekends here begin o n Thursdays, and Tuesday night is the mid-week break. If you've been cursed wit h 8:30's o n Wednesdays and Fridays, be prepared to stick to a solid Friday/Saturday routi ne or become a consistent class-cutter. The second thing to be aware of is transportation. The Off Ca mpus College (OCC) buses, known as the blue buses, wi ll pretty much ta ke you where you want to go. The good thing is tha t they are free and convenient.

Try and read a schedu le, ge t in touch with BURP (i nformation at the Unio n, reached by dialing those letters), or get o n a packed ].c. Westside at 9 p.m. and you can see the bad poi nts fo r yourself.

Go in g o ut invloves a processstart early (l ike 6 p .m.) and find out which bus you need and when it leaves; then get there a good ] 5 minutes before that time. Or, you ca n opt to take a cab. If one shows

up for you, it'll be semi-expensive. Go for the City Cab shuttles (around $2.00 per person) or call either Frank or Luigi. These guys are independent cabbies and are by far the best. Always have money for a cab home because the buses don't run after 1 a.m.

Well now that you know how to get there, I guess telling you what "where" is would be a nice idea. There are the three standard places forunderagers: Cheers, Bourbon Street, and Bobby Dee's.

Cheers is a bar that every so often has bands--eighteen to party, 21 to drink. It's the one that has been here forever.

Bourbon is more of a dance c1ub ... sort of. (It's no Palladium, but it has an actual dance floor and stage.) Bobby Dee's just opened last year, and on Tuesday and Thursday nights you can get in if you're under 21. It's kind of a mix of Cheers and Bourbon-a decent place if you don't go on "Townie" night. ..

If you're over the ripe old age of 21, or have a good ID that says you are, try The Ratt or Mad Murphy's. Keep a lookout for those Rugby Socials!

And, there's always the pub on campus.

These places will all keep you busy for a while, but will eventually bore you. Plus, what are you going to do at

1 :30 a.n1. when these places

to the non-rushes. are eOlpty? Thank God for Frat parties are risky, fraternities! A good frat party though, sometimes they are is always a way to end a great and sometimes they can week. There are two types, be dead. If the kegs are regular parties and afterhours. kicked it could be lethal, and A party goes from 9 p.m. on, there's always the possibility while afterhours don't start of the police breaking it up. If until midnight.

The brothers willi either pass out invites or word of mouth \vi II let you know which frat is doing what and where.

Sonle famous things to keep eyes and ears open for: I,t'Y En's Red Death and Purple Haze parties (we're talking sonle serious Š1989 Dream Maker Software. punch here), All rights reserved.

TEn's Club Tepno, I,AE's End of Classes party, AEn's it's invite only, make sure you beach party, and, the fine have one, 'and if there's a brothers of TAY sponsor na- really long line to get into the ked beer sliding at their Hal- house, be prepared for an loween costume party. As a alternate event for the rule, TA Y throws nlore beer evening.

Binghamton has plenty of then they consume. These are nlerly a few special events things to do, but you have to that the Greeks offer, but an go out there and find them. If unthenled party is nlore com- you sit around and wait for mon and just as interesting. them to come to you, have in the study lVtake sure you go to some of fun these before rush starts and lounge ...unless, of course, you the fraternities are off-limits happen to live in Newing ... ~

BINGHAMTON

REVIEW

OKlENfADON

23

Fools and Sages

= =~

Notable and huotable ~ ;- -~ SlatJety is not uniquely Westen?

Abollition is.

- Barbara Walton A nd for once, the lyrics are guaranteed politically correct.

- Neil Pearl, referring to an instntmental The persistence of fools in the University world is one of God s great mysteries - John Gardner Truth can never be told so as to be understood and not be believed - William Blake Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause.

- Chinese Proverb The people who are abroad are nil those that have no religiol1, neither one based on speculatioll norOlle received by tradition. I consider these as irrational beings, and not as human beings, they are below mankind but above monkeys.

- Moses Maimonedes

Lately mallY on the liberal and Might I suggest a hybrid of "he," progressille left halle been "she, "and "it, "shorle,.,edto. ~v. disconcerted to find that words, "s'h'it?" ph1-ases. arid concepts thought to - /al1 Williams be their property and gelterative of their politics have been There are men who fear and appropriated by the forces of resent intelligent, ambitious neOCOllsen'atism. women. WomensLibproposesto -- Stanley Fish eliminate such feelings by asserting that intelligence and The spirit of improvement is not ability do not matter, on(vgender always a spirit of libel1y. for it d~.

-AynRand nzayaim atforcing improL1ements 011 an Ul111'illing people: and the spirit of liberly. irl so fnr as it The lesson..~ that are remembered resists such attempts, may ally the longest... are always the ones that are self-taught. itself'oca/~val1dtempora"i~vu,;th - Stephen King the opponents of impr0l1ement; but the ol1ly ul1jniling and pernJanellt source of How funny the whole thillg can inzprovenlent is Iibel1y, since by be... When a drunken visitor to it there are as nlany possible Mount Holyoke gets accused ofa illdepelldent celltres of racia/~v motivated crime for inlprOl lenlel1t as there are urinating Ott a door that turned out to be a black woman s, thats indil'idunls.

--.Ioh1'1 Stllal1 Mill rife with hilarity. Sure the guys a pig for doing it, and sure the To call sonJething public is to accusation is an otJen-eaction, define if as dirty. inslifficient, but pigs and overreactions are and hazardOlls. The ultimate funny. paradigm of social spellding is - David Greenberg the public restroom.

-P.]. O'Rourke

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