March 1996 - Binghamton Review by Binghamton Review

Student Association Election Endorsements

Caught in the Crossfire Total Crime . Up 429/0 ,' .~

Newing Slashing

Administration Cover-Up of Newing Slashing Hurts Students Unconstitutional VPMA Referendum Struck Down By J-Board The Winning Entry From Our "Pipe Dream Mad-Lib Editorial" Contest

BINGHAMTON REVIEW March. 1996

Volume 9. Number 6

Departments Editorial: The administration 's continuing insistence that campus is safe is a dishonest scam and Public Safety should be upgraded

At Call it Pipe Dream, Jr. or Pravda 11. the Student Advocate

":il:: is in the headlights of Campus Presswatch Find out why Pat Buchanan is a Democrat and Bob Kerrey should be a Republican in Quibbles & Bits

Features Paul Torres and Nathan Wurtzel investigate the Newing slashings and discover some disturbing information Juliet Shields shows how the University refuses to separate the bad guys from the good guys Tim Neal writes on the urgent need for Public Safety to be upgraded to police . Adam Rosen shows how the SA Constitution dealt a bitter defeat to Yumeris Morel's ambitions

]lJ1 118

Amy L. Gardner reports on the need for lower taxes and spending in New York and what it means to you Our SA election endorsements-sanitized for your protection Gordon Sharpless returns to action in a poignant. yet thoroughly silly trip to the 'Net Dawn M'Kibbin discovers parallels of the present in latest installment of her fantasy epic "Keilka" We present the winner plus a bonus entry from our Mad-Lib contest- thanks for playing

Next Issue • More on the Newing slashings and University crime policy • A modest proposal to change the way student activity fees arc collected • Complete results of the SA elections and more SA news Anilable on April 3, 1996

MARCIl 1996

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EDITORIAL

BINGH AMTON REVI£W

Mr. Summers' Neighborhood e've had just about enough of the careless and ovcnvccning manner in which this university treats its students . O n one hand. incoming students are babied- forced to endure a two-day orientation where they unlearn everyt hing Mo m a nd Dad taught them in favor of becoming Res Life 's pliable drones. On the other hand. basic concepts like studen t safety are ignored and discussed only in hushed tones behi nd closed doors. T he recent bloodbath at Newing Dining Hall in the early morning hours of Saturday. November 10 on ly typifies the unsavory results of the admi nistration 's "shove it under the ru g and hope it disappears" public safety policy. In retrospect. it now appears clear that damage control- bad damage control. at thatwas underway less than 12 hours after the brutal slashings. Don Chier. who normally serves as the Public Safety media information officer. was silenced and all official statements were to be made by Rodger Summers. University vice-president for student affai rs. Summers told a coupl e of real whoppe rs in this ro le. The media were informed that the worst injury was a mi-

nor cut "Iess than an inch long on someone's arm." These alleged minor injuries facilita ted a seven-hour-Iong cleanup at Newing Dining Hall- which was said to be "closed for maintenance." as if horrific blood stains arc common maintenance. For his part. Summers said he based hi s orig ina l reports- and he didn ' t modi fy hi s position very much afterwards--{)n "hearsay." Why the official media liason had no official informati on- and a Public Safety report was reportedly nearing complet ion long before Summers came to ca mpus that Saturday- remains a mystery. Summers said he "had nothing in his head" at the point in time he spoke to the media on Saturday. We'd li ke 10 believe lhat- there's cerlainl v a long history of supporting evidencc-but we think Sum-

• ••••••••••••••••••••••••

mers either arranged mailers so he would have little infonnation to report or deliberately failed to level WiOl lhe media. In lhe weeks following the incidenlB INGHAMTON R EV IEW has attempted to talk with dozens of people who we believe have knowledge of lhe incident. In most cases, they have refused to speak. Public Safety officers. with the lone exception of one who is protected by his union. have referred us to "managc-

mcnt'"- Swnmers. we presume. Harpur 's Fer/)' has refused to talk with tile REV IEW. referring us to Public Safety. Greg Briggs, the head of maintenance. referred us to Public Safely. sayi ng he "[docsn'tl do information ." The manager of Ne\\i ng Duting Hall. Kim Hart. made a brief commen t and immediate ly sa id she "shouldn't have opened her mouth." We believe. based on lhe statements of uni on members Doug Bonawitz and Doug Kreger. th at Summers and the administration arc engaged in a coverup of lh e seve rity of lhe Newing slashings and oth er incidents (look at the crime figures on page 5) in order to improve the image of Binghamlon University. Summers took umbrage at that suggestion. saying. "T haI's a bunch of crap. il really makes m)' blood boil when I hem that. ... Image is never put ahead of safely. il is nOI a concern when it comes to the safet y of individuals." Mr. Summers. ilmakes our blood boil when we thin k of the unnecessa/)' danger in which this university places its students. The community should be full y informed of criminal incidents. Furthermore. Public Safely officers should immedi ately be upgraded to police officer status. Had one of the firearms present atlhe Newing Dining Hall that evening been brandished as a weapon- and we know they were lhere- Public Safety wou ld have had no way to protect the attendees or themse" ·es. Keep this in mind. Mr. Summers-if someone is killed because of administrative negligence. il will be awful hard to cover up.

No, Pat, No!

t Buchanan has risen to national prominence the last few weeks as a result of his stunning win in lhe New Hampshire primary and strong showings in the Iowa, louisiana and AIaska caucuses. The pugilistic commentator, best known for his long-running appearances on Crossfire and The McLaughlin Group, has radically transformed the perception of the Republican party. Buchanan is an economic nationalist who bitterly opposed free trade between nations and a cuilural xenophobe who aims to ban immigration to the United States-at least temporarily. he says. Buchanan also has a paper trail of highl y questionable statements concerning the veracity of parts of the Holocausl. on the alleged influence Jewish lobbyists and "Jewish money" have in Congress and on "nature 's ... horrible revenge" on those suffering from AIDS. In short. Buchanan may call himself a Republican and a "conservative," but he actually combines the worst elements of the Left (his economic ideas) with the worst clements of the Right (his stance on immigration) with a heailhy dose of Archie Bunker-like stupidity. Buchanan is really one of those populists in the William Jennings Bryan / George Wallace model. These men attempted to divide AmericaBryan on economic lines. Wallace on racial lines and Buchanan on religious lines. All failed because voters sensed there was a larger message out thereone of prosperity and hope. We're glad Buchanan is talking about jobs and the eroding middleclass-Republicans too often ignore lhese issues-but his solutions are dead wrong. Both immigration and free trade have greatly benefited Americans over the years . We need more freedom and more enterprise. Let's not take a trip back to America 's Dark Ages this election year.

BIN GH AMTON R EVIEW

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CAMPUS PRESSWATCH

M\RCH 1996

•••••••••••••••••••••••• Student Advocate February 8, 1996

Student Advocate February 22. ·1~96

This ediloria/ was wril/en by Head Ring-

Ollr o{(vssey hegi ns here as the Slut/ellt A dvm:ale Slllffprepares- f/a.v, warn.\'iI ....· 10 look for Ihe fil l lire growlh fmlll jiJUr-page propag anda rag to eight-page pIVpaS!anda rag ..

mosIer Doug Boettner, ai ded by an eclectic group of hire -wire artists in-

cluding editor·in-chie} Alyson Heegan , produ c ti on dire c tor Christopher Sc:hwegei, Josh Waterston and (il S true)

Ihe

"The Slu deni Advocale will look much different next Thnrsday. The staff has grown tremendously and so w ill the number of pages in th e Advocale. T he stalT is co mmitted to producing an in-

" Usually we have to wait until the

want to read, and that the staff wi ll really be proud or. "The News stalT will work hard to

write about important events and issues on campus. Student Asse mbly meetings will always be covered. as well as SA Judicial Board decisions. All studenl leaders of SA chartered gro ups and stu ·

dent representatives arc encouraged to

Student Adwcate February 8. 1996 Le/~'

hope this i.\' nol an example of the ;'Ne ws " 10 be covered by Ihe new beacon afjournalism on call/pus- A I 'P .Ie}! Go/ant and his caloric 1'1I111;rwlions ..

..... Serving as Student Association ac.:1dcmic vice-president can take a toll on your health and well·bei ng . The de·

mands which have been placed on m)' time have frequen tl y forced me to skip meals and a tte nd to SA business. Unfortunately. this results in m\" becoming intensely hungry later on and end-

ing up in the

Mini ~Ma ll

munching on

a cholestero l burger from BUB ·s. This

was a frequent enough occurrence last semester that the effects were starting to show by Ihe lime fina ls week came around . I fonnd myself faced with a

choi ce- either slim down or bea r a stri king resemblance to a certain. more notable public figure in ou r na tion 's capital. ..

Nate Wurtzel...

sunmler before the circus comes to lon·n .

formative newspaper that everyone will

report information abo ut their events and meetings to be placed in the News section of th e Sllidelll .1 dvocale ."

REVIEW;'

Student Ad,'ocate Fcbruary 22, 1996 In another exciting op-ed in our favorite piece a/propaganda, an IInconslilll~ liona/ /osl call;'e (J PUA Yllmeris Morel) writes in favor of an u n co nslilli~ lionallost calise (affirmative action) ...

Unfortunately, we don 't have to travel far to see a weekly show. Upon stepping inside the big top of University Union 22 1B. Spectalors will find that some student assembly representatives behave like c ircus performers rather than c1ected representatives. "The Sludent Assembly is supposed to be an organized and civilized forum for discussion and should highl y value and respect student concerns. This was nol the case on Tuesday night as many representatives shouted at one another rather than engaging in debate. Parliamenlary procedure was also blatantly

ignored." Pipe Dream February 27. 1996 Jnslin clive~y.

"T he Binghamton Universi ty Affinna· ti \"e Action Office. in compliance with Exec uti ve O rder 11 246 . embodies the double co nccpt ofbolh I) ' non-discrimi· nation' and 2) 'affirmative action. ' My ro le as thc supervisor of the Affi rmati ve Ac ti on Guidelines is parall el to the

fanner in ensuring non discrimination witlti n the SA. T he Inter Cultural Awa re·

ness Committee is the embodiment of BU 's 'affirmative action ' within the SA. As worded in the Binghamton Univer· sily Affirmative Acti on package. ' the

premise of affi rmative action is that unless posi tive action in [siciundenaken. a beni g n neutrality... will tend to perpetu· ate the statns quo ante indefinitely... .[AJn a ll whitc. helerosexua l male E· Board would have the propensity towards ignor-

ing or dismissing certain issues."

we know that somehow Ihis was an important edi torial. We know this

because Ihere was [and sli II isJ a hal story on the Newing slashing. g rad slu~ d ents l obby ing in class and posers

claiming all sorls of budget hypochon· dria. But this was more important ..

" With the approaching of the Academy Awards, Hollywood has once again chosen for its nominations family pictures. which have little artistic value, inslead of lhe many low-key piclures lhal have acltieved critical acclaim ... "Hollywood is still selling standards and it feels America is still in a formula mode. It still looks for Ihe feel-good movie. Why do we still need a movie to reassu re us U,at life is good. everyone (including a pig) is a winner in the end and lhal everyone lives happily ever after?"

SECRECY Administration slams tile door Oil details oltlle Newing Dillillg Hall slasllillgs

By Paul Torres and Nathan Wurtzel

e shrill summons of a telephone broke the silence at the Depart ment of Public Safety at 12AS A.M. on February 10. Courtney Watson, a member of the events staff at a dance sponsored by the National Pan-Hellenic Council, had called to tell Public Safety that "something was going on upstairs" at the Newing Dining Hall event. Something was going on, indeed. When Public Safety arrived-less than a minute later according to some accounts-students fleeing the sce ne stopped to warn the officers. "Don 't go up there- you' ll get shot! " the students told the Peace Officers. according to Doug Bonawitz. chairman of New York State University Police Local 1792. Inside the dining hall. at least three people were bleedin g from wounds caused by a single-roged razor bladeall non-Binghamton University students. According to Bonawitz and sources at Binghamton General Hospital. it took over 100 stitches to close the decp incisions-many in the head area-suffered by the three individuals at the hands of a still-unkno"n assailant. Vestal police. who arrived at the scene more than IS minutes after being summoned. immediately declared Newi ng Dining Hall a crime scene. asking all remaining party-goers to exit the bui Iding. One witness said the inside looked like "a slaughterhouse" - with enough blood and debris on the floor to delay the opening of the dining facilities un-

til I :30 PM. later that Saturday. Later that morning, Uni versity vicepresident for student affairs Rodger Summers told the news media. including the Press & Sun -Bu llel in . Binghamton ' s prima ry print media source. that the events of the previous night were the result of the escalation of a "bumping incident" and the worst injury incurred was a cut " less than an inch long on someonc's arm." This description is quite obviously at odds with the snippets of information gleaned from the crimescene- inforrnation which has been increasingly difficult to obtai n since that fateful weekend Almost all individuals contacted for this story have declined to eommentciting various real or imagined portions of New York State law or openly fearing for job security. "U nfortunately for the campus community. it appears as though Bingham-

ton campus administrators arc more concerned about trying to portray an image of a safe campus than they arc in providing for one." sa id Donald Kreger, president of New York State University Police Loca l 1792. Kreger noted that Donald Chier. normally the public information officer for BU's Department of Public Safety. had his duties suspended shortly after the media frenzy began the week following the slashings- although he had made some initial state ments to the press. Summers claimed it was decided that

Murder

Rape

Sexual Abuse

Robbe!)'

Assault

50%

81%

Violent All Crime

1202

+lnf

1711 42%

Chier would not be the spokesperson " when th e incident firs t broke out...because Public Safety did not have all the details." Chier did not return our phone calls. Summers certainly did not seem to have all-{)r any-{)fthe details. Se"eral hours after his original statements. when information began leaking from students who had attended the dance. Summers said he called a Pipe Dream reporter to make some amendments to the infom,ation he had released. He did not extend the same courtesy to the Press & SunBullelin. which savaged Summers in a biting editorial the ne~1 Monday. The primary poi nt of discord between Summers ' initial account and the truth

BINGHAMTON RE V IEW

••••••••••••••••••••••••

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Pitcher (Soda or Beer) 5:30-9:00 $6.50

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1996

• ••••••••••••••••••••••• stems from the origin of Summers' information . Summers claimed to have given information from "hearsay, from what was told to me by people at the seene and also some from Public Safety." However. it's hard to imagine people at the scene furnishing Summers with any of that information given the carnage at Newing Dining Hall. In addition , Doug Bonawitz said Summers should have had a written report at the time he spoke to the media, noting that it was being written at the time he left his shift at 8 A.M. that Saturday morning. Bonawitz did not know if Summers actually received a report and Summers said he had "no written information" at the time and has not checked to see if there is a conclusive report. It may seem odd for the media liason to have no information, but Bonawitz noted, " It 's very common for SUNY campuses to take that kind of approach- 'Let's cover up as much as we can. We' re going to give out as little information as possible to make this place look like Utopia . '" In addition to the discrepancies involving the severity of injuries that night, the REVI EW has been informed U,at a partygoer has come forward to tell Public Safety that attendees at the Newing event were carrying firearms. Bonawitz said that the informant told Public Safety that he saw someone draw a firearm, whereupon he pushed the armed individual towards a staircase and lied the scene. Summers claimed he had no knowledge of firearms in regard to the incident. Incidents such as this on campus are relatively rare, but newly-released crime statistics for 1995 show cause for concern. Violent crime increased by 81% in one year while all crimes increased by 42% during the same period. Currently, Public Safety officers have limited powers- they cannot defend themselves or innocent students from armed intruders, nor can they make off-<:ampus arrests in crimes such as this. Paul Torres is a freshman who has not decided on a major. Nathan Wurtzel is

the editor-in-chiefofthe

REVIEW.

Lst Public ~afuty Offics~ PtOtsct Don't compromise student safety for marketing image

By Tim Neal e members of Council 82, Lo

rape. Below are several specific situations which show this inefficiency. If a would like to respond to recent campus police agency arrests a person articles that made it to print regarding and has to arraign them before a judge, the status of the law enforcement offic- current law empowers them to transport ers that work on SUNY campuses. The a defendant to the court for arraignment, campus was asked to consider a proposal but does not empower them to transport which was being established by SUNY the defendant from the court to jail. If a Central Administration which would de- campus agency is investigating a rape velop a two-tiered system for providing case, current law dictates that rape kit law enforcement and security functions evidence be turned over by a medical on the State operated campuses of the personnel to a police service. If a camState University of New York. pus police agency arrests a person who New York State is the only state in is a danger to himself or others, they the nation that provides such an ambigu- are not empowered to arrest that person ous enforcement agency, such as Public under the Mental Health Law, however, Safety, as its primary law ~nforcers on they are not empowered to transport that the campuses. New York State is the person to the nearest mental health crionly state in the nation that employs of- sis center, which was the reason for the ficers that are represented as police of- arrest in the first place. There are many ficers, however, in reality, have only other unreasonable stumbling blocks peace officer status. This severely re- which the campus officers face on a daily stricts them in the service and protec- basis. Police professio~als across the tion they can provide to the members of state believe that campus law enforcethe campus community. The rest of the ment needs to be brought into the 20th nation's state operated colleges use Century and that those agencies be emarmed police protection, who are in fact powered as police officers. police officers. New York State is the The problem comes when state law only state that goes only part way in pro- empowers the head academic at each tecting the members of its campus com- university to dictate policy relative to a law enforcement department, rather than munities. This legislative proposal or the legis- the establishment of a statewide operatlation being submitted by Council 82, ing procedure based on law. The system Local 1792 would effectively rectify the now in place allows campuses to dictate idiosyncrasies in the law relative to uni- who gets arrested, what they are arrested versity law enforcement departments for, or if they will be arrested at all. Keep throughout New York State. There are in mind that the campuses' first concern many occasions that SUNY officers are is the image of the university to prospecplaced in conflicting situations due to tive students and second, the number of the fact that they are not police officers. job placements upon graduation. If the Unfortunately, the limits placed upon campus academics allow their law enthem hinder the efficiency of the law forcement departments to operate effienforcement process on campuses. It is ciently, fairly, and equitably, a larger our opinion that much of this is by de- number of arrests both tarnishes the imsign so that the market analysis for these age of the university and lowers the campuses remain untarnished by un- number ofjob placements upon graduapopular arrests for drugs. weapons and tion. Imagine a municipality of other ju-

cal 1792, AFSCME, AFL-CIO,

risdiction that would be allowed to dictate who would be arrested, and what they will be arrested for (if at all) for the sole purpose of moving that locale to a higher ranking on the Top 300 Places to Live in America list. It doesn't sound feasible, does it? But this is exactly what is happening on our SUNY campuses. The current system should be viewed as a marketing scheme and why administrators say they "want more flexibility" to provide the type of law enforcement needed at a particular school. This is why many college presidents oppose putting in place a system that would treat all people that come in contact with campus law enforcement fairly and equitably on any campus according to the same set of laws established for the rest of the residents of the State of New York and why they opPose a switch to a police designation~ and fmally, why they revel in the tomfoolery called Public Safety. By operating in this manner, the campuses enjoy an image of having less crime and are perceived as being safer. By not allowing the officers to have police status. universities such as Binghamton are forced to contract out work that the personnel they already employ are trained and capable of doing. Binghamton University pays for an additional contract to have Brink's Security guards provide armed protection for the money that the university takes in on a daily basis~ despite the fact that there is no immediate threat to that money. When it comes to providing armed police protection to protect the lives of a faculty, staff, or student member of the campus community, the administration is willing to wait five, ten, or fifteen minutes for an armed outside agency to arrive and assist. All this despite the fact that Brink's Security personnel are not required to have police training and are

BINGHAMTON REVIEW

•••• •• ••••• ••••••••••• •• required only to have a high school diploma and a pistol permit. The people that are already being paid to do this job are college educated, have a documented response time to anywhere on

campus of two minutes of less and do have police training (consisting of a sixteen- week basic training held at the State Police Academy in Albany) are not allowed to be armed during their tour of duty. Law enforcement is not a college program that a school should need to maintain autonomy on. It is not a variable that should be directed by different academics throughout the state. It is not a degree program that is special to a particular school. It is a set orIaws established by the people of the State of New York that should be enforced on a fair and equitable basis across the state- not infected by market minded administrators. We need to switch the entire focus of campus law enforce-

MARCH

1996

PEACE OFFICERS

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ment to one of providing a safe and

that has been presented in recent pub-

secure environment for a person to at-

lications. it is important to realize that

tain an education. Binghamton University often touts the fact that it has been in Money Magazines Top Ten for "Best College Buy" for the last several years, but neglects to mention that it has also at-

the opinion poll completed by the Student Association only represents approximately five percent of the entire student body. Please consider the information presented here with an open mind. It portrays a much different perspective than the one which University officials have allempted to portray and would prefer the public to believe. The point here is that such a professional law enforcement organization should not have to constantly overcome unnecessary obstacles just to do the job that they were sworn to do.

tained a position on The American As-

sociation of Public Colleges and Universities Top Ten list for Class I crimes per capita. according to crimes reported to the FBI on the Uniform Crime Report, within the last several years. With this in mind, the only question to be asked is "do the members of a college campus community deserve the same police protection as enjoyed by their municipal counterparts'!" If the answer is "yes." then with the current system, they are gelling less than they deserye. While considering the information

71m Neal is a stale trustee o/Council 82, Local 1792 of Ihe A FL-CIO. This piece was endorsed by twelve olher members of Local 1792. Local 1792 is the union of the Bingham/on Uni-

I'el'sily Public Safely Division.

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Nay, Nay, VPMA By Adam Rosen ....

e Executive Board of the SA, which runs the daily operations of the organization, is composed of four people: the president, the executive vice-president, the academic vice-president, and the fmancial vicepresident. Together these four people are empowered to spend money, oversee our student government and its chartered organizations, and most importantly, to represent the entire undergraduate student population. Over the course of time,the position of vice president of university programming, or the activities coordinator, developed, as well as the post of vice president for multicultural affairs (VPMA). All of these officers-except the VPMA-are chosen through popular election, with each student casting one vote for the candidate of their choice. The VPMA is elected by a group of no more than twelve people and receives a stipend, as well as an operating budget comprised of money taken from student activity fees. The people voting for the VPMA are representatives from the African Student Organization, the Asian Student Union, the Black Student Union, the Caribbean Student Association, the Haitian Student Association, the Indian International Student Union, the Jewish Student Union, the 'Latin American Student Union, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Union, the Muslim Students Association, Students for a Barrier Free Campus and the Women's Center, which are organizations composed of students who are historically underrepresented people and are members of the Inter-Cultural Awareness Committee, or the ICA., The ICA is a committee created by Bylaws IV of the SA Constitution to enforce a code ofethics prohibiting any form of discrimination, to enforce the SA's affirmative action policy, and to assist a VPMA, even though there is no VPMA in the SA Constitution. To clarify the point, the

VPMA-whose office does not existis elected by the ICA-by custom -to serve as a de facto E-Board member, giving them more representation than all other students. For several years students who were underrepresented-as well as those who were not-have been working to get rid of the position, but their efforts have always hit a wall. Any effort to remove the VPMA from existence would acknowledge its existence, so failure would result in establishing it as a real position. The claims laid against the office are simply that as a de facto E-Board member representing the undergraduate student body and receiving a stipend and an operating budget from student activity fees, slhe should be chosen by popular vote and not by a small clique of students: This year the VPMA was elected by six people. With a student population close to 10,000, having only six people put an individual in office to enforce affirmative action policies and to give a voice to the thousands of students who are historically underrepresented people is clearly a case of discrimination. Realizing the tenuousness of her position, Yumeris Morel, the current VPMA, sought to put her office into the SA Constitution by popular referendum. To accomplish this she wrote a petition with the proposed constitutional changes and-as required-got ten percent of the undergraduate student body to sign it. The proposed changes would make the VPMA a constitutional member of the E-Board, representing only those students who are historically underrepresented people, and elected by the ICA representatives. When this was presented to the Student Assembly Rules Committee. they approved the petition and upon presenting their report they made no mention of the glaring contradictions between the proposed amendment and the constitution, and the total

disregard and violation of students ' rights. This was the final straw for many people in the struggle against the VPMA's office. After the Assembly meeting Austin Graff, the Assembly representative from Roosevelt Hall, filed a grievance with the SA Judicial Board against Morel's referendum, citing numerous constitutional contradictions and violations of students' rights. The grievance Graff filed listed five constitutional contradictions between' the referendum's proposed changes and the unaffected parts of the SA constitution. First, Article II, Section 2, ~a, which says 路'all members share equally in the rights of the Student Association and no rights shall be abridged" would be violated because ICA members would have special voting privileges over other students. Article II, Section 2, ~ b, saying 路'all members may participate in the elections of the Association, no rights shall be abridged" is contradicted by the proposed change to allow only ICA representatives to'vote for the executive position ofVPMA. Article II. Section 2, ~ f, reading "equality of rights shall not be denied or abridged by the Association on account of race, creed. religion, or sex" is violated because the ICA's membership is restricted to groups representing certain races. religions, semal orientations. creeds. and sexes. The final problem Graff listed in his grievance was t~t the Bylaws IV. Part I. Code of Ethics forbidding discrimination by the Student Association "against any individual or group on the basis of race, gender, religion. ethnicity. sexual or political orientation. disability. age, vetera'n status, national origin. or marital status" would be breached by creating an office of the VPMA because it would not be representing non-ICA students, like white. male. heterosexual Christians. The J-Board met to hear Graff's grievance on February 15. During the J-Board hearing both

.'M ,r.l ....................... .

10 BINGHAMTON REVIEW ~ ...................... "~~f [ I . !t,~,'0 ~

Graff and Morel presented their cases. supporting and attacking the grievance. respectively. Speaking first. Graff explained the constitutional problems and offered the J-Board "the opportunity to protect [students ' rights)" by suggesting three possible options for the JBoard to choose in making its final decision-to stop the referendum. to ask the Ad Hoc Constitutional Review Committee to suggest an amendment protecting students ' rights or to let the referendum run and blatantly violate sludents rights. Graff emphasized to lhe J-Board Ihat "these [rights are) of the utmost importance" and that ifthey failed to "protect students' righls. why should students respect their governmentT His underlying theme. like all opponents of the current and proposed VPMA, is the assurance that all students are treated equally. with the same individual rights . The VPMA. Yumeris Morel. attempted to defend her proposed referendum by stating that she could. constitutionally, restrict students voting rights for E-Board elections and she questioned the validity of the SA JBoard's jurisdiction over the constitutionality of the referendum . This issue was swiftly resoh'ed when it was noted that J-Board has jurisdiction over all cases "it deems appropriate. brought to it by any member of the Student Association." The J-Board reached its decision later that night. with a vote of ~-2-2 . finding that while the proper procedures were followed in initiating it and

collecting signatures. " ' the referendum

as it stands does not comply with the constitution and ... must be sent to the [Student Assembly's) Rules Committee for reeval uati on so that it can be brought into collusion with the Constitution '." The vo ting pattern of two abstentions renected a previous closeddoor decision that two J -Board members, presumably Katrina Huffman. the VPMA's house mate and president of the Black Student Union . and Baseemah Bashir. the ALANA chairperson. who works directl y beneath the VPMA. would not vote on the matter because of connicts of interest. The VPMA will continue to be an issue for weeks to come as we wait for the Rules Committee to present its recommended changes. for J-Board to hand down its decision on the changes. and ifit is still around. to vote on the referendum. Still. this decision was an important victory

in the work to protect students rights . The reaction to the J-Board decision came from many corners including

emotions as varied as delight and disappointment. The VPMA herself stated she was "shocked. " while Assembly representative Paul Torres. of Digman Hall. said "it was a great relieL .. [the VPMA) is inherently di visive and racist. " Austin GrafT exclaimed that .. this decision shows that the members of the [Judicial) Board respect students ' rights." During a year that has brought many problems with the judicial branch of the SA to the forefront. GrafT felt that this decision is a step in the right direction .

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Other students also expressed their happiness with this decision coming fro m the J-Board as a much needed protection of their rights . When confronted wi th the inequality of the VPMA's election. Morel tried to explain that there is a democratic process. but ignored the fact that her election by the twelve member ICA violates the principles of "one man. one vote. no ta xa tion without representation and equality." While Yumeris Morel claims to represe nt th e historically underrepresented people on this campus. she and her position perpetuate discrimination and inequality. Recent meetings have revealed that the VPMA acknowledged-according to an unnamed source-that she fears the J-Board wi ll decide the VPMA is only constitutional if elected popularly. and that it wi ll conclude the VPMA's ex istence is unnecessary because she would not be representing historically underrepresented people. These ve ry ideas ha ve been echoed by the chair of th e Rul es Commi ttee. Dana Bulkenstein. who. in expressing her dissatisfaction wit h the J-Board 's ruling. said that the position of VPMA should not exist if it is going to be elected by all students because she only represents the underrepresented students. What will happen with the constitutional contradictions only the Rules Conunittee knows. and the)" re not telling anybody. The vice president for multicultural affairs is seen as an extraordinary position by many students. and its detractors arc often attacked as racist. It is important. howeve r. to realize that we arc onl y asking for the same rights historica lly underrep resented people have always asked for- to be treated equally. The denial of the right of cach person to cast 'a \'ote for the VPMA and the proposed referendum would enshrine the inequality and discri mination of lhe VPMA into the SA Constitution . Adam Rosen is a junior majoring in politica l science. lie is ajvrmer Jewish Student Union representative to the leA.

Don't Believe the Hype By AlYlYL.

Gardner

Tllose posters you see around campus dOll 't tell tile wllole story about tile budget

s you wander around campus. ing hcalth-<:arc market while making thc I'm sure you have secn signs transition to a more autonomous strucprotesting budgc t cuts to ture. If increased productivity and cost SUNY. The signs tell you to get involved efficicncy are achieved in the delivery of by writing and/or lobbying your legisla- hig her education. it will permit SUNY tor, and by also registcring to vote. Thc to achieve a savings while maintaining signs infonn you that your right to higher acadcmic quality and student acccss . education is under threat. Budget cuts. SUNY tuition. even if there is a $250 tuition hikes, and cuts in financial aid incrcasc. will still rcmain below the tuare going to make a collcge education iti on rates of ma ny other peer public unaffordabletoyou. However. these sig ns universities in the Northeast. ...-!"'!!!!I!! leave out a lot of important information. It is true that for the 199697 academic year, SUNY will be required to achieve a savings of$71.8 million from its 1995-96 gross operating budget. You have probably heard that this will result in a The budget would also re$250 tuition increase. This does not have movc current disincentives for campuses to be the situation. The budget does alto sa\'e money by allowing them to carry low for a tuition increase not to e,coed forward operating surpluses from year to $250, but this is to be used as a last reyea r. This enables campuses to plan on a sort. The SUNY Board ofTrustccs should multi-ycar basis. Campuses would be entry to achieve required savings through a couraged to rein\'est savings in programs combination of e~-penditure reductions of high academic quality. The additional and revenue measures. TIle goal is to crebe reinvested to strengthen revenues could ate a more efficient SUNY system. The SUNY Board of Trustees has education quality \\'th such initiatives as made recommendations on how to be honors programs. merit scholarships. and more cost efficient. These recommenda- competitive facuity awards for innovations consist of accelerating timc-to-de- tions in teaching. A portion of these adgree completion: improving facuity pro- ditional revenues could also be redirected ductivity by adjusting course load re- to supplement the amount of fin ancial aid quirements and aligning student/faculty available to students. This increased campus autonomy will rations with national averages: establishment of differential tuition: and provid- result in increased campus accountabiling university hospitals with the freedom ity. Academically and fiscally. individual to compete more effectively in Ule chang- campuses will be held responsible for

providing high quality academic programs. as well as prudent e~-pe nditure of campus resources. Attending college may cost more now. but the GOI ernor is trying to ensure that New York can provide a better education for less in the future. These cuts must be looked at on a long term basis. If the system continued as it was. tuition would rise with inflation. but you wouldn 't be getting a n)' more for your money.

There have also been complaints about students being required to maintain a "C" average after five semesters in order to continue to receive their TAP (Tuition Assista nce Prog ram) grants. This requirement is designed to emphasize student achie\'ement by strengthening acade mic standards. TIlis new requirement makes TAP consistent with federal requirements. It is not unreasonable to require stude nts to maintain a "C" average. They are being gi\'en assistance to get an education. If your average is below a "C." you arc not obviously not getting that education and therefore do not deserve the assistance. Anyone who works hard should be able to maintain at least a "C" a\'erage. TAP is the most generous noedbased financial aid program in the nation. providing assistance for approximately 290.000 students. There is nothing wrong WiUI making students work in college for that generosity. The budget also Crc.1tes a new meritbased program. Scholarships for Academic Achievement. which will recognize high sehool scholastic achie,路cment.

BINGHAMTON REVIEW

•••••••••••••• •••• • •• • • • TIle 19%-97 budget allocates scholarship funding totaling $3 million to be awarded to 5.000 top high school seniors. The top 1.000 students will receive awards of $1.000. The additional top 4.000 students will receive awards of $500. Funding for this program is expected to grow to $12 million in four years. These scholarships will encourage academic achievement among high school students. As to the "right" to higher education. what are students planning on doing once they get that education? The job market in New York has been horrendous. so how do they e~1JCct to find a job? Job growth in New York has been consistently and sharply lower than national job growth for more than ten years. In December 1994. New York ranked 48th in the nationinjobgro\\1h. From November 1989 through April 1993 New York lost in excess of 570,000 jobs. TIlis was over seven percent of the state's employment base at the time. This trend has changed under the Pataki adntinistration. Since December of

SUNY BUDGET 1994, approximately 96,000 new private sector jobs have been created. New York ranks fourtll in the nation in tile number of private sector jobs created in 1995. Tltis was more tilan double the employment gro\\1h projected. New York has moved to 28th in tile nation in overall job grmv1h as of September 1995. In spite of a national economic slowdown. an additional 60.000 private sector jobs are expected to be created tltis year. What has caused the change in New York 's job market'11t is precisely the budget cuts that people arc complaining about. Through a series of business tax reductions, income tax cuts. and regulatory relief programs. the direction of New York's economy has changed. According to a study published by the National Governor 's Association and tile National Association of Budget Officers, last year New York cut income taxes and business ta'es by more than any otilCr state in the past year. Twenty-two percent of all net dollars &wed by the taxlJUyers in the nation tltis year due to income tax cuts will

MARCH 1996

•••••••••••••••••••••••• be saved by New York taxpayers. Nearly 42 percent of all net corporate income tax cuts were made in New York, by more than double the nearest corporate tax cutting state. While SUNY students may be complaining about budget cuts to higher education. Governor Pataki is irying to ensure that Olere will be jobs for these students when OICY get out of college. Lower ta,es and less regulation allow New York to compete in the intense national competition for jobs. New York has to be able to match financial incentives provided by other states. New York has been unable to do that in the past, and that is why Ole job market declined. You can protest budget cuts all you want, but wouldn' t it be better to pay a IitOe more now and have a job when you finish college? Your education, no matter how cheap it was, \\;11 be worthless if you cannot find a job.

Amy L. Garn er is a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law.

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SA Election Endorsements

REVIEWIS

SA Elections: March 19-20

"Laugh about it, shout about it, wilen you've got to choose... "-Paul Simon President-Anthony Benardello The candidates for president arc Anthony Benardello. Jessica Flores and Dave Siegel. Flores did not allend our endorsement meeting. She is a member of the small gang of thugs whose primary purpose on campus is ramming the diversity requirement down innocent students' throats. Flores was also involved in the distribution of illegal campaign material during last fall's acc elections. She should not be silling on the SA at all- let alone as its president . Dave Siegel has been a major disappointment this year. We think he 's basically a decent guy who tries to separate himself from the issues. but in doing so he sacrifices any pretense ofleadership. Siegel has not shown any ability to control the Assembly this year and has conti nuou sly refused to make difficult choices as EVP. True. he has been blamed for things that weren 't his fault and has faced heavy pressure from all sides on various issues, but leadership involves stick ing to one's principles and were not sure if Siegel has any. Anthony Benardello has brought some compelling ideas into this year 's campaign. Benardello wants to reduce the size and scope of the Student Association by devolving some of its functions to the conununities. He also is for an open curriculum and strongly opposes the diversity requirement. Although Benardello is a controversial personalit~'. we believe he is willing and able to follow through on his ideas. We

endorse Anthony Benardello for SA president. Good luck in reforming the SA. Anthony- you ' ll need it. Executive Vice-PresidentChristopher Abdoo The candidates for executive vicepresident are Christopher Abdoo and Brent Landau. Landau did not attend our endorsement meeting. He is a dedicated and capable legislator and we don 't

doubt that he would give full and complete effort to his job. However. he has been known to distort facts in his zeal to win debates- namely on the public safety legislation last fall . Landau may brag about his role in that fia sco. but we would prefer an EVP who is for student safely. Christopher Abdoo is a relative newcomer to SA politics, but has already made an impact as the temporary chairman of the J-Board. That body has been run far more responsibly and openly this

semester-a result of Abdoo's fairness and leadership. As EVP, Abdoo promises to be accessible to all students and to strictly enforce Robert 's Rules of Order at meetings- something none of his predeeessors in reeent history have accomplished. We endorse Christopher Abdoo for EVP and wish him luck. Financial Vice-PresidentErik Kopelman The candidates for financial vieepresident are Erik Kopelman and Dennis Morales. Morales did not allend our endorsement meeting and we haven ' t the foggiest idea of who he is or what he stands for. Maybe he doesn't exist. Erik Kopelma n was the FVP this year and performed adequately in this role. He takes his job very seriously and places himself above the pelly arguments which have crippled the SA. We endorse Kopelman for a seeond term as FVP. Academic Vice-PresidentJeff Golant The candidates for academic vicepresident arc Jeff Galant and Aristotle Ngaseo. Ngaseo did not allend our endorsement meeting. He has served as the AVP of the Asian Student Union. He has written ex1ensively in Asian Outlook, claiming that organizations should not follow the will oftlteir members and that the word '"woman" may have no mean-

ing . We believe that the acronym AVP should have no meaning for him either. Jeff Golant has been a bang-up AVP with a positive agenda for students. This year, he took the lead in the quest for an

MARol1996

BIN GHAMTON R EVIEW

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ENDORSEMENTS

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•••••••••••••••••••••••• open curriculum, fighting both the diversity requirement and Gen Ed. Golant successfully organized the advising fair and the graduate school fair. He also has begun a process of reforming the rules and expectations so they are applied fairly to all students. We enthusiastically endorse Jeff Golant 's reelection as AVP. VP for University ProgrammingAndy Hollander The candidates for this position are Felipe Ayala, Jr. and Andy Hollander. Ayala did not attend our endorsement meeting. We have no knowledge of his plans for ne,,1 year, but we know him to be a strong proponent of the diversity requirement. He also was involved in the illegal distribution of campaign literaelections. Strike ture in last fall 's Ayala from your ballot. Hollander has been a professional and competent VPUP who deserves reelection. We endorse Andy Hollander and ask him to continue to bring quality programming to our campus.

acc

BU Council Student MemberAustin Graff There are other candidates for this position, but only Austin Graffbothered to come to our meeting and identify himself. Graff has a mixed history as a student leader; a man with good ideas and good knowledge of government. but at the same time someone who has the propensity to engage in incredibly childish and destructive pursuits. We believe that Graff will be best suited to this more carefully structured council of adults and wish him the best in his new role. NYPJRG, SASU, USSA Reps-Leave your ballots blank These three organizations have little to do with students and more to do with political lobbying. These organi7.ations have a long history of supporting lefiwing causes and they use student fees to finance their lobbyists. No political lobbyists-liberal. conservative or othenvise-should sit on the SA. Do not vote for any of the candidates. - Nathan Jr-iirlzel/or th e

R EVIEW

staff

BHAFlPEFIIMAIC;E O/the Internet, Moose and Pat Buchanan

By Gordon Sharpless

Febmary 9, the following was sted to various Uscnet groups on the Internet. The author encouraged its distribution in any manner, way. shape. or form , with or without attribution. I present it in its entirety and without comment. My monthly drivel follows . A DECLARJlJION OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF CYBERSPACE Govern ments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel. I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have

no sovereignty where we gather. We have no elected goverrunent. nor are we likely to have one. so I address yon with no greater authori ty than that with which liberty itself a lways speaks. I declare the global social space we arc building to be naturally independent of the tyra nnies you seek to impose on us. You have no moral ri ght to mle us nor do you possess any methods of enforcement we have true rea son to fear. Governme nts derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. You have nei ther solicited nor received ours. We did not invite you . You do not know us, nor do you know our world.

Cyberspace does not lie within your borders. Do not think that you can build it. as though it wcre a public constmction project. You cannot. It is an act of nature and it grows itself th rough our collective actions. You have not engaged in

OUf

great

and gathering conversation. nor did you create the wealth of our marketplaces. You do not know our cuIture. our ethics, or the unwritten codes that already provide our society more order than

could be obtai ned by any of your impo-

sitions. You claim there are problems among us that you need to solve. You use this claim as an excuse to invade OUI preci ncts. Many of these problems don 't exist. Where there are real conflicts, where there arc wfongs. we will identify them a nd address th em by our mea ns. We arc forming our own Social

Contract. This governance wi ll arise according to the conditions of our world. not yours. Our world is differcnt. Cybcrspace consists of transactions. relationships. and thought itself. arrayed like a standing wave in the web of our

communications. Ours is a world that is both everywhere and nowhere. but it is not where bodies live. We are creating a world that all may enler without privilege or prejudice accorded by race. economic power, military force. or station of birth. We are creat ing a world where anyone. anywhere. may e:xpress his or her bel iefs, no matter how singular, without fea r of being coerced into silence or conformity. You r legal concepts of property. expression. identity. movement. and context do not apply to us. They are based on maller. There is no matter here. Our identities have no bodies, so. unlike you, we ca nnot obtain order by physical coercion . We believe that from ethics. enlightened self-interest. and the commonwealth. our governance will eme rge. Our identities may be distributed across many of your jurisdictions. The only law that all our constituent cultures would generally recognize is the Golden Ru le. We hope \\'e will be able to build our particular solutions on that basis. But we cannot accept the solutions you are attempting to impose. In the United States. you have today

created a law. the Telecommunications Reform Act. which repudiates your own Constitution and insults the dreams of Jefferson, Washington. Mill. Madison, De Toqueville. and Brandeis. These dreams must now be born anew in us. You are terrified of your own children, since they are natives in a world where you will always be immigrants. Becausc you fear them. you entmst your bureaucracies with the parental responsibilities you are too cowardly to confTont yourselves. In our world. all the sentiments and expressions of humanity. from the debasing to the angelic, arc parts of a seamless whole. the global conversation of bits. We cannot separate the air that chokes from the air upon which wings beat. In China. Germany, France, Russia, Singapore, Italy and the Uni ted States. yo u are trying to ward off the vims of li berty by erecting guard posts at the fro ntiers of Cyberspace. These may keep out the contagion for a small time. but they will not work in a world that will soon be blanketed in bit-bearing media. Your increasing obsolete information industries would perpetuate themselves by proposing laws, in America and elsewhere. that claim to own speech itself throughout the world. These laws would declare ideas to be another industri al product. no more noble than pig iron. In our world. whatever the human mind may create can be reproduced and distributed infinitely at no cost. The global conveya nce of thought no longer requires your factories to accomplish. These increasi ngly hostile and colonial measures place us in the same position as those previous lovers of freedom and self-determination who had to reject the authorities of distant, uninformed powers. We must declare our virtua l selves immune to your 'sover-

BINGHAMTON REVIEW

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SHARPLESS

MAltcH 1996

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Log off. any of these groups? Jello is fun but I eignty, even as we continue to consent prefer pudding. "Goodbye. " to your rule over our bOdies. We will AOL disks make great mini frisbees. altsociety. underwear. Had a Bob Dole spread ourselves across the Planet so that My dog chases them. Fun. joke... something about which kind of no one can arrest our thoughts. I have a'backup. Two, actually. As a underwear he prefers. Replies: " ... de, We will create a civilization of the Mind in Cyberspace. May it be more -student I have my stude~t account. And pends ... " Get it? Ha, ha. And their FAQ's? humane and fair than the world your as a human being who .would like to have an identity beyond Binghamton What is a1t.society. underwear? governments have made before. A group of people furthering the John Perry Barlow (we do have a Nature Preserve) UniverDavos, Switzerland sity, I have my Spectra. Net account. So cause of lovers of fine underwear evelYFebruary 8, 1996 back to the web in search of something where. different. Moose. Search 'moose.' And this cause is? 56,264 citations! Pat Buchanan in frilly lace. r whatever reason our ultiversity Gordon (silently): "!I!!I!" alt.pissed. federal. employees. This is leaders have deemed it appropri Okay let's get more specific. Search where disgruntled postal employees conate to give us a five-week winter break. This is one more way they pre- 'Moose Sex.' 20,000+ matches! verse. They also had a histolY of the Gordon (not so silently): "Huh?" word f**k, including some great mopare us for the world beyond Bhigo, Search 'Pat Buchanan Homosexual ments of its usage. where evelYone gets five week vacations. Italy 1348: "I'm not,that sick, it's just Without enough money to go any- Moose Sex.' Approximately 30,000 a f**king cold, now leave me alone'" where exciting, my options were more matches! Huh? sci. physics. computational. fluid-dyor less limited to hanging around BingI found no less than 10,000 matches namics: This is a fun group! hamton. What do you do in Binghamalt. psychotic. roomrnates. ton in JanualY? Make ice sculptures? for each of the following: Karl Marx Binghamton University~ My roommate has stinky feet, what Run around naked and see if the hypothermia charts are accurate? Program a Binghamton University Pat Buchanan; should I do? random number generator to spit out Diversity Binghamton University ReSee alt.pissed.federal.employees. four and five syllable words and call the quirement; Homosexual Moose Bingalt.religion.barfing-yak. I read all output "Postmodernism?" Yeah, right. hamton University; Homosexual Moose their postings, I still couldn't figure I needed a more intellectual environ- Diversity Requirement; Karl Marx Ho- what this one was all about. .. FAQ file? ment. Cyberspace. And with a 28.8 mosexual Moose Pat Buchanan; Karl What is alt.religion.barfing-yak? Marx Sex with Pat Buchanan,; Pat modem it's the only way to fly. We worship yak who barf. I decided first to find out if AOL is as Buchanan is a Moose; Pat Buchanan How do I become a follower? worthless as everyone says it is. Having Moose Excrement University. Lie down under a yak and wait. Let's try the Usenet. Will I wait long? one of their free disks and the free hours Bill and Hillary post on the U,senet. I Not likely, it's an election year. they give you, I tried them out. They There are numerous alt. political wanted a credit card number immedi-.. recall reading a posting in ately. I gave them my opinion in lan- alt.personals.spanking signed Hillary Usenet groups and they tend to be exguage recently banned by the govern- with an address of investments tremely popular-l,984 postings to alt. politics. libertarian; 1,290 postings to ment but thankfully delayed by court _r_us@1600pa.gov. And what newsgroups are there? alt. politics. radical-left and 2,530 order. "Goodbye," my computer responded to me. I tried it again, this time 14,550 on my service. Some of the bet- postings to alt.politics.correct. and that's just in the past week. Ifyou really want following the instructions. "Welcome, ter ones are: alt.pets.chia. This included one to have fun, post a few megs of binaries you 'have maill" Some gibberish about welcoming me as a customer and do I posting from a woman in Canada who to a discussion group. Perhaps photohave any other credit cards, blue chip had a dream she was at the Republi- graphs of Ronald Reagan posted to stocks, off shore bank accounts, etc. File: can convention when a giant Chia pet alt.politics.radical-Ieft. Big phototrash. Where to first? How about the came in and threw Spam all over the graphs. Lots of big photographs. Or inPhish bowl. Real-time online discussion place. The Chia pet turned out to be stead, a photo or two of Anthony Bernardello. Steve Forbes. about Phish. alt. sex. aliens "What do you think of Trey with Gordon Sharpless is a graduate student. alt.sex.bestiality. barney shorter hair?" We don t know what he is studying. We it' alt.sex.fetish. diapers "I liked it better when it was long." not sure we want to know what he is alt.sex. fetish.jello "Me, too." You don't think I'd actually look at studying. Gordon (silently): "?in??"

)

Keillfil: The CruSifde 8~ Lunatic Fringe, I know you're out there. You're in hiding and you hold your meetings. I can hear you coming and J know what you're after, JHm t rise to you this time, IJ0n t let you ki lithe laughter. -Red Rider, "Lunatic Fringe ,>

DAWN rl[KI881N

Just as the police were leaving, Chris- at the University, Keilka had been out.. tian came back. "More hate mail," spoken, but was that any reason for the Mordy informed him in a cold, terse sort of slurs and attacks he now suffered? voice as if the newcomer were respon- Mordy didn't think so. sible. ***** "Really," Christian replied with cyniJulia was at a loss for what to do and cal mock alarm. "If you can't stand the wanted to cry over the whole thing just heat; get out of the kitchen," he added out of sheer frustration. Yet again she'd bluntly and stalked off to his room. come home to find those little threats Mordy watched him go with an irri- tacked up on her door. At first they were tated look, but said nothing. Maybe amusing. in their own dark way, and Keilka had brought this upon himself made Keilka even more desirable beby being a vocal critic of-well, every- cause he was something forbidden and body. He had become the campus mis- slightly dangerous. Later they annoyed anthrope by disagreeing with everyone. her. Now they made her want to scream Keilka had mocked the proposed -and cry. Clarissa and Patrice, her suitemates, "Curriculum of Inclusion" because from his vantage point as a representative of had been voices of sanity and called the a newly-hatched victim group and a police, who dutifully took this newest campus minority of one, it was ludi- sample from the hate group she'd run crous. He also attacked demands for an afoul of for Keilka's sake. Later. when the tears finally came, equally political American History requirement because he said given the pro- Clarissa and Patrice comforted her and fessors involved the classes would teach said, "He's a good man, whatever he is. George Washington never told a lie. " but A good man's worth hanging onto." not '"Lynne Hama slept here and with Julia wasn't so sure about an)1hing anywhom." In his one and a half semesters more.

eilka awoke to the sound of Sawa's loud cursing outside the dorm room door. "What the frick is this?" his suitemate said irritated. 路'Not again." Mordy replied. hOh, this isn't the first time the League For Humanity has plastered our door?" Sawa asked in disgust. Keilka couldn't hear the reply over the creaking door hinges as they walked into the room. 'Not again, ' was exactly what Keilka thought too as he pulled on shorts and hurried out to the common area. He intently read the hand written threat over the two other men's shoulders and scowled. He wasn't afraid, although the League For Humanity threatened his life--no mere humans. college kids at that, could reTherefote ~~9Qk I to them In ~lItliblegi ally hurt him-but their beCQu~e they ~eeJng ~ee not; lind heatactions made him angry. 路路You going to tum this ing they heat not, neithet do they unin to the campus police?" detrhlnd. Sawa asked. "They should have a stack of evidence by now. Enough to find the perps if Julia reported these .. .letters too." Mordy opined. Keilka just nodded as he went to call. When the authorities arrived, they took statements from Sawa. Mordy and Keilka and set off about their business.

BIN GH AMTON REVIEW

MARCH 1996

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KEILKA

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......... ,.. ...

chine printed material, some of the writing did look a bit familiar- like Keilka 's. He brought his suspicions up with Sawa and K ' Jana when Keilka wasn ' t there. Even to K ' Ja na, with whom Keilka was closest, this was not absolutely preposterous .

HE at least had never seriously doubted Keilka's integrity in the whole affair. K' Jana knew that although Keilka might enjoy the danger of the situation, he had not, as some had suggested, done this for his own benefit. K' Jana knew him better than that, and now the police had confirmed it. The perps were definitely human.

Isaiah and Christian silenUy trudged up the steps to the suite. They had just come from the campus mediation center (a.k.a. RA Ryan) who had arbitrated the latest of their frequent disputes. Neither was in a mood to talk. When they saw the note posted on the door, both cursed softly at the reiterated threat to kill Keilka-not so painlessly now that he had gone to the cops -and "teach that whore Julia and the rest of them to stay on the straight and narrow and stick with their own kind by any mcans necessary." As they tore it off to carry it into the room to be trashed, Christian said, "I koow that writing." Without further explanation, he stomped off to his room and slammed the door. He would discuss it no further. Isaiah took it as a sign that he was thinking along the same lines. To 22nd century eyes used to reading mosUy ma-

... ... ...

"Yeah, uh huh, 1...1 understand ... the sample was taken from my finger prints at the state lab ... ft docsn 't match the skin oils smeared on the paper... 1 see ... an art student with priors of forgery ... Oh ... So then it's possible that sometiling bigger is going on... Wri ting positively identified from three individuals ... " As K' Jana lay in bed reading, he was quite sure that Ke ilka was maki ng a point of repeating everything the police officer said loud enough for him and anyone else that might be around to hear. Like he cared what the state lab, who the campus autho rities had asked for help, said.

*.* ••

Sawa, Julia and Mordy trudged up the snowy hill from the campus to the dorms reading the student newspaper. The Keilka story was the biggest thing they had seen in, oh, ages. Doubly so since the campus police had revealed to them in confidence the three suspects' identities. They couldn 't keep a secret like that, now could they? "That's preposterous! " Mordy exclaimed as he read. "There has to be some nllstake. This time, sheer reason says their hi-tech equipment struck out. I bet ya' that art student is sitting back

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~d sci~nc~

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MARcH 1996

••••••••••••••••••••••••• laughing that they fell for this. There's no way the head of Kahane Youth could be involved. None. Especially not with the head of the Christian Crusade. No way. This has gotta be ajoke!" "It's no joke, Mordy," Sawa replied. "Look, stop and read the rest of the article. It's as clear and reasonable as this paper gets." After Mordy had read, he still couldo't believe that this plot against Keilka had been carried off by the two most mutually antagonistic leaders on campus. "What would they gain? It's crazy!" "Mordy' Have you had your head in the snow for the last few months?" Julia asked. Mordy turned crimson. He dido't like the implication that he was a fool, especially from a girl who could be tops in their mutual major-economics-if she only half-tried. "Be gentle with him-he's not as devious as you," Sawa said soothingly. He had just understood. "Look," Julia continued, "Keilka's been a pain in everyone's ass. He goes after anyone who's being stupid." Sawa sense a bitter undercurrent. Julia wasn't fond of his activity, but then she-like her sci-fi club co-president, K' Janadido't like spending much time in the real world anyway. "I think they've finally had enough and begun seeing him as an even bigger enemy." "Why," Mordy asked still not wanting to see. "Because he threatens their cozy little politics as usual. With him active, they can't fight their formulaic, ding-dong little battles. They had a real threat on their hands, so they said, 'let's get that uppity, little frosh before he does some real damage to the status quo. '"

***** Isaiah sat in the dark room at with his head in his hands. "I can't believe it's true," he said "He told me point blank," Isaiah continued shaken, "he said that Keilka, my friend, was just a tool for The Order and shouldn't be allowed the run of the campus to disagree with us. If he couldn't 'see the right way, ' then we would have

KEILKA to make him see it." "I thought we were special. I thought none of us could ever do something like this ... "

***** Christian watched C. Mather Weems write something up on the board during the Crusade meeting. "It is a terrible thing not to have Faith!" the man thundered. And an even more terrible thing to lose it, Christian thought, brimming with self-pity as he stared at the man's familiar, neat, up-right printing. Too bad he wasn't as upright as those letters and words suggested. Christian listened to the man sermonize in agony. Betrayal stabbed at him like a knife as disaffection opened his ears to the real message for the first time. Bitterly, he remembered what drew him to this radical group. He thought they shared his ideals. All of the other campus conservatives who were not mealy-mouthed waftlers from the days of the Republic either adopted Alliance colors or spent their time apologizing for the past sins of ideological fanatics. They had to distance themselves from the nuts who had betrayed the Republic not once, but twice. First when one group made a deal with the devil to form the Oligarchy and second when a another group in the resistance decided that Gen. Jason DahlbeIIo, the 'nethead "daemon-generaI" to those who were not "wired" was not worthy enough to lead and assassinated him. If he and the African-American General Blair had lived, the world would have been spared more than seventy years of horror. For that they apologized and kept their distance. Crusade did not apologize, and he admired that. He had thought that Crusade was merely dedicated to preserving the religious rights of Christians in a society where their powers, and since the Alliance, their numbers, were increasing declining, but... The meeting's end curtailed Christian's reflection. "Christian, you seem distracted. Is something troubling you?" Weems asked. "Yes," Christian replied in a hissing,

BINGHAMTON REVIEW

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acid tone that he did not intend, but felt. "Well, you can come out with it to me. Comrades in Christ should never keep secrets from one another," the leader said in a soothing, pious voice that almost sounded forced to Christian's ears. "Look, I know he's your suitemate, but he's wicked. The devil himself just like the people who bred him and let him live. You have no business being forced to deal with him, and he bad no business being here acting... " By now, Christian was wroth, "Is this your idea of Christian Charity? Forgiveness? Meekness? Can you follow our gende savior by casting stones at whores and refusing the company of lepers? Is this... " "This isn't Sunday school any more, Chris... " "No, this is college, an even more unreal place where you can spout your rhetoric and do your dirty deeds with almost no consequences. But your words... " "Are the words and deeds of a free, Christian Conservative." "No! Never. Not under the Republic. Not under the Alliance, and not even under the Oligarchy. A free man is wise enough to know that to enjoy his liberty he must not take another's. A Christian is patient, humble and long-suffering like Jesus and tries to show the righteous way by example. A conservative believes in the freedom to choose the righteous way or the not~ otherwise faith become a series of meaningless, pagan rituals practiced not for the glory of god but the edification of the state. A conservative also longs to live under a limited government which only intervenes when someone is gravely wronged " "But we must fight, Christian, to protect not only our faith from the rising pagan tide, but the heritage of this country."

"Heritage? Ha! Have you forgotten the 75-year gap between republics? Or the leaders who could say names like Michael Collins, Boris Yeltsin, Vaclav Havel and Lansbergis without stumbling, but whose tongues tripped over names like Madison and Jefferson? Or

BINGH AMTON RE VIEW

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the "35 God·Damn Protesters" in Salt Lake City whose actions lead to the Al· liance because they wanted not only the right to worsrup the one god as they saw fit. but also the right to worship many gods or goddesses or none at all? "This is our heritage as citizens of the second republic. This is what the AlIi· ance, the people, fought for : tolerance bordering on apathy, religious choice and a government so hamstrung it can only intervene in the most blatant cases of abuse. It is only related to the first Republic like a streetwise bostard grand· son to its grandfather by the UN's Succession Resolution. The only reason why they wanted that was so that they could collect on the Republic 's loans, and more importantly billions of rubles worth of interest. But, since you believe the UN is a foreign, illegal imposition, I guess you can't cite that connection can you?" "But. .,"

Christian was determined not to let him get a word in, "But the Republics share two things in common. One: they never stay the same. Change, and grow· ing diversity. is the only constant. Two: an increasing regard for freedom that goes along with that, and an understand· ing that tolerance is necessary to sus· tain a healthy democratic system. In tltis

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, KEILKA they are the same. Why else would all our money now bear the mOllO, E Plurib us VIllim front and centcr in about 48·pointtype? Tolerance is important to freedom and democracy and we all have a right to it. " "Yes. but not the breeders. They were not created by God, so ... " "So we must take some responsibility for our mistake ," The man made a strange face at those words, and Chris· tian could guess how he would prefer to take responsibility. "We created them, and they' re mostly human. We can't will them to go away. and any other mea· sures would be untltinkable to a free, Christian man. What else is there to do but admit that what happened was wrong and get on with it..." Christian didn 't get to finish the rest of rus ha· rangue as the room had already begun to fill up for the n e~1 meeting. The two men parted ways with no further words. As Christian walked home, he felt young and naive, but he had matured several decades in the last few minutes. He knew what he was and what he be· lieved and would never betray that again. Back at the room, he commiserated with Isaiah. Both had lost idols that day; both had matured politically witrun the space of those few hours. At that point, it seemed like they would never again believe.

*****

K ' Jana and Julia decided that all this fuss was get ling to be too much. They needed an escape from reality al the end of this grueling week. so Julia got tick· ets to a play from her suitemate. When Sawa heard, he was amenable to bring· ing them downtown in the car he so carefu ll y hid from the campus authori· tics. All seven of them talked about the in· cidents of the past few weeks as they wa lked down to the highway and across the bridge to the old. perpetually vacant mall where Sawa stowed his car. They all agreed that the Justice Council was useless because of its political nature. Most also agreed that si nce the Council would not give all the culprits the same

MARCH

1996

• ••••••••••••••••••••••• sentence because allies of some of the perps had put them there, it was unfair. They generally supported Keilka's de· cision to extract justice through his pen and the campus newspaper which had waffled through the whole thing, but had allowed him to write whatever he wanted (Keilka suspected this was merely for their convenience since his writing needed no editing) , They knew that a letter war intended to shame the culprits could drag on for weeks. Sawa and Julia grumbled about that. Sawa thought that making them pariahs was not good enough. He wanted to see some real punishment. "Don't worry. They ' ll be put on pro, and it'll go on their transcripts." Sawa was mollified but not completely sat is· fied. His sense of fairness called for more. He would not have handled it this way. As they walked across the parking lot to Sawa 's battered old car talking in the darkness, Keilka was the first to sec it. Christian saw it next and groaned as Keilka pointed it out to Sawa. "MY CAR! " Sawa cried as he raced like a mother to an injured cruld. The vandals had spray painted a huge, red swastika all over the one side. "MY CAR!" Keilka had been playing campus poli· tics but, so what. To Sawa, this attack meant war! "Those .. ," he couldn 't find a word vile enough. Mordy went to call the cops as Sawa exclaimed, "If I get my hands on their little. red necks. I'm gonna squeeze every last cent of my de· ductible out of ' em. I'm even gonna get ' em to pay for the razor blades to scrape the windows clean." he said spitting

mad. "I'm gonna ... " "Get the car painted something other than the color of Banda." Julia replied droolly as the police arrived. Strangely enough. once an investigation began in the real world. the hatc mail and attacks ceased as suddenly as they began. Dawn 1\4rKibbin holds a master .S· degree in political science Ji·om Binghamton Universi Iy and is cllrren/~v a )i'er-Iance writer living ;n Wvol1ling.

MAROII9%

BINGHAMTON REVIEW

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CONTEST WINNER

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And Our Mad-Lib Winner Is ...

ur winners are Debbie Edelstein and Naomi Rabinowitz, whose clever usc of "rapscallion" <as well as the gratuitous insult to the editor) mesmerized the staff, Ms. Edelstein and Ms, Rabinowitz also correctly noted, much to the chagrin of the editorial staff, that there was a position in which a noun should have been inserted instead of a verb, hence their insertion of the word " noun" in that position, A pizza and milk await the victors, whose entry follows ... Polite People Protest Pataki's Decision to Defenestrate the Neutron Bomb

Largest Individually-Owned Arsenal of Weallons in N. Y. Our view: Quit arguing like Communist pigs and give us the guns Yesterday. numerous students from Lenin. Marx and Other Larks occupied the Hinman Parking Lot, demanding they be immediately given $6.66, Bass Ale, and hammers and sickles. In response, Benardello cited U,e U,S, Constitutio n and told th e protesters to sodonuze themselves and the take a flying free-fall off of the Library Tower.

Protest leader l.M.A. Liberal called this demands Reaganesque and the result of a militaristic way of thinking and an even 1110re Limbaughist culture. We can't believe that at a university of this politicaUy unified composition, students would resort to such divisive tactics to aellieve orgasm, The administration continues to prove their utter e1uelessness by doing absolutely nothing about the situation, obviously hoping to secure all the 'shrooms, saliva and M-16's for themselves. Both parties arc being selfish and all the "pinko" flantingoes, fl at tax revenues and ear wax should come to us,

Full Service Florist

Our view: Quit arguing like wombats and give us the Lorena Bobbitt Yesterday <sin/cos)x students from orchestra occupied the office of the head librarian, demanding that th ey immediately be given $4,73 , Listerine, and seed packets, In response, Beavis ci ted Bylaw pi and told the protesters to gerbil themselves and then take a flyi ng noun off of the Hinman Dumpster, Protest leader Butthead called these demands punctilious and the result of a breadist way of tlunking and an even more mallardist culture , We can't believe that at a university of this disingenuousness, students would resort to such rapscallion tactics to achieve more desks, The administration continues to prove Uleir invertebrateness by doing bad mad-libs about the situation, obviously hoping to secure all the Vick 's Vapor Rub . WD-40 , a nd PMSing women for themselves. Both parties arc bemg selfish and all the fences, RuPaul, and Nate Wurtzel should come to us,

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mous individual : B.U. Communists Protest Anthony Benardello's Decision to Possess the

MARCH 1996

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LETTERS

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Unsinking SUNY

view is to eliminate programs of questionable quality as well as unnecessarily duplicative programs, especially those with low enrollment and high costs." This process will help protect SUNY's goals of access and excellence. To suggest otherwise is a "head in the sand" approach to SUNY's honest effort at better management with reduced resources. It is for this reason that we also need the legislative reforms developed by the Trustees over the last six months. Without these measures, SUNY faces even greater obstacles to protecting access and quality. Respectfully yours, Ken Goldfarb Director, Media Relations

"conducting activities with the objective of influencing public officials and especially members of a legislative body with regard to legislative and other policy decisions." Based on this definition, I cannot see how any objective person could classify this campaign as anything but lobbying. I suggest that in the future, you assign someone to proofread your propaganda. In your letter to the students, you use the wrong spelling of capital. Capitol is a building, capital is a city. It does not look good for a group fighting cuts in the budget of a major university to have such a basic error in its literature. Sincerely, Andrew Felo School of Management

,Dear Editor: It is unfortunate that there have been some incomplete and possibly misleading news stories concerning program cuts at the state-operated campuses of SUNY. It needs to be stressed that SUNY and state officials insist that this high quality University system remain accessible to students from throughout New York. Therefore SUNY and campus administrators, while preserving SUNY's reputation for quality and access, are properly analyzing many long-range cost saving measures in order to deal with diminished state resources. This includes a review of what appear to be high cost, low enrollment, and duplicated programs. It is important to understand that the preparation of this overall broad-based list was advisory by system administration. Therefore it does not necessarily mean that all or even most of those programs would be eliminated. The addition or deletion of programs is a routine and ongoing process initiated at the campuS level and ultimately involving the State Education Department. As a result, there's been no secret here. On the contrary, this process has been a free and constant exchange with campus presidents in consultation with other academic administrators. The end result, of course, will be fewer programs. At the same time, campuses will be able to ensure students of a higher quality and more concentrated campus mission. It is hard to understand how anyone would object to this necessary reexamination of SUNY programs, especially when the Legislature, in its mandate to the SUNY Board of Trustees, called for the "strengthening of academic specialization". This certainly should be no surprise to anyone concerned about SUNY since the "Rethinking SUW' report issued two months ago specifically and clearly stated, "The State University is no engaged in a wide-ranging review of its degree programs at the associate, baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral levels. The objective of the re-

Editor s Note: This letter was originally addressed to Anna Beckwith (Sociology), Diane Allen (English), Marcia Bertsch (Anthropology), Neda Hadjikhani (Philosophy), Trent Hamann (Philosophy), Peter Morse {History}, and Sonke Zehle (Comparative Literature). The letter was written in response to To the graduate students responsible for the letter appearing in my mailbox (full literature these individuals asked to he distributed in the classroom, presumably list below), by employees of the Graduate Students I am absolutely outraged that you are Employees Union. We have been furencouraging me to take advantage of my nished a copy ofthese materials and have relationship with my students in order found them to indeed represent an atto influence their political opinions. This tempt to encourage graduate student is exactly what you are asking me to do, educators to undu~y influence their sturegardless of the caveat in your letter dents. The relationship between educator ("We are not suggesting that you encourage students to assume anyone point of and student is one postmodernists would view, ... "). If you are truly interested in label "unequal in power. For an edunot having me influence political opin- cator to "ask" his or her students to ions, then you would include a form let- send a letter to the governor of New ter that supPorts Governor Pataki's bud- York is tantamount to academic thugget. If I only provide a form letter pro- gery. This group of erstwhile Boss testing the proposed cuts, then I am ad- Tweeds recognizes its pOsition ofpower vocating a particular opinion. Students as educators and are attempting to use might be influenced by my advocacy it to gain supportfor a dying ideologybecause I am ..... a particularly impor- the welfare state. tant, credible. and reliable source of inEducators should work on their poformation and orientation for everyone litical agendas on their own time and in (my) classroom." not attempt to co-opt their students in I also cannot believe that you do not their ventures. Lobbying is not a popufeel.that this campaign is a lobbying ef- lar vocation right now and this particufort. The dictionary defines lobbying as lar effort is one reason why this is so.

Graduate Students Promote Lobbying in Classroom

,OJ

MARCI-I

1996

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QUIBBLES

& BITS

BI NG H AMTO N RE V IE W

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(post) Modern Language Association

Zambia Needs a Womyn's Center

No, You Were Right the First Time

The Modern Language Association held its annual convention of scholars in English and foreign languages last December in Chicago. Illinois. Some of the scholarly works presented were discussion groups on "Cannibalism in Postcolonial Fiction" and "Opera and Disease," as well as papers entitled "If Wombs had Windows: Pregnancy and Ultrasonic Discipline" and "Bell Curves and Idiot Savants : Ideologies of Masculinity in Forres/ Gump ." Our personal favorite. though. is a paper presented by Cynthia Ryan of Purdue University. "Breast Humor in the Age of Breast Cancer." Never let it be said that the ML A has no important function in academia . [Campus Repor/, January I Fcbruary 1996]

Edith Nawaski . the Energy and Water Minister of the African nation of Zambia, was recently admonished and banished from parliament. Why? She was wearing slacks. 111e speaker ordered Nawaski to "dress like a woman." An hour later, Nawaski reappeared- wearing a skirt. [Reason , March 1996[

Senator Bob Kerry of Nebraska, a Democrat. recenlly apologized for telling an Esqllire interviewer that Bill Clinton is "an unusually good liar." Kerry said he wished he had never made the comment. Senator Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, alsoa Democrat, sent the president an apology afier saying Clinton is "aboul as popular as AIDS in South Carolina ." [Washing /on 11mes lJ eek(v, February 12-18. 1996]

Keep it in the Family Thomas and Melinda Wilde arc an Oregon couple who may face each other in the District 8 State Senate race this year. Mr. Wilde. a Democrat. faces a

long-term incumbent in the primary while Mrs. Wilde. a Republican. is the only candidate to file from her party. Mr. Wilde claims he is "a good speaker and a much beller debater" than his wife. For her part. Mrs. Wilde says she was wary of her husband from the start. saying she "thought he was really granola ... really out there." The couple has an 18-monthold son. who is cared for by Mr. Wilde. Does anybody smell a made-for-TV movie here? INew York 'l7mes: Febmary 18. 1996] Ideological Brethren Maurice Hinchey. a liberal Democrat who represents the 26th Congressional district of New York. which includes Binghamton. recentIy praised Pat Buchanan 's economic ideas. The congressman said he was in "total agreement" with Buchanan 's protectioni st trade position. Perhaps Buchanan would be more welcome in Hinchey's party. [PIT!SS& Sun Billie/in. February 22. 1996[

O'Rourke on Hill",), Clinton Libertarian humorist reviews Hillary Clinton 's // Takes a l'i llage : " Nearl y everything about ' It Takes a Village' is objectionable, from the tille- an ancient African proverb that seems to have its

origin in the ancient African kingdom of Hallmarkcardia .... And let us avert our eyes from the Kimll-Sung-typedustjacket photograph showing Mrs. Clinton surrounded by joyous-youth-of-manynations. [Washing /on Jim es "''<!eklv, Februa ry 19-25. 1996[ He's Still no Strom Thurmond Bob Doles stafT cancelled a trip to the Old Man Ale brewery in Derry. New Hampshire because the)' were concerned about their candidate 's age image. [The New Republic, February 26. 1996]

But The)' Didn't Ha\'e Snowballs Nearl y 70 people were injured in Bangladesh last summer when students battled police over the right to cheat on college finals. One teacher was hacked to death when he tried to stop the cheating. [Comic Reli ef, April 1996] Too Much Time on Their Hands In Indiana, Pennsylvania . the city council voted to stop residents from using furniture outdoors if il is not "constructed for outdoor use." The illlent of the law is to keep sludents at Indiana University of Pennsylvania from pulling a n old sofa on their porch . Property rights. anyone? tReason . March 1996[

un tilt SA Charte red

BIN GH AMTON R EVI EW

Umbrella Group

You'll just die to meet us! Legion of Death is an umbrella group of BINGHAMTON R EVI EW dedicated to committing random acts of senseless, bloody violence on campus. B INGHAMTON REV I EW cannot be held responsible fo r an)' acts committed by Legion of Death, even if it would appear that Legion of Death is composed of the same membership as BI NGHAMTON R EV I EW. We are different from fraternity brothers in that it takes two six-packs for a fraternity brother to commit random acts of senseless, bloody violence whereas we do these th ings while we' re sober. The views of Legion of Death arc not necessaril y those of BI NGHAMTON R EV I EW, even though the membership lisls of the two organizations are identical. Legion of Death is chartered by the Stupid Association, so you have no choice but to endure these offensive and ultimately divisive posters.

Legion of Death-Your Student Activity Fees at Work

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Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postllgt PAID Permit 61 Binghamton, NY