February 2010 - Binghamton Review

Truth and Two Staples

FEBRUARY 2010

Binghamton Review

CITY EVICTS MORE STUDENTS

Learn How to Protect Yourself Inside!

AND: REVIEW CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY MONTH ...WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

Binghamton Review

P.O. Box 6000 BinghamTOn, NY 13902-6000

editor@binghamtonreview.com

Founded 1987 • Volume XXIII Number 5 • FEBRUARY 2010 Editor-in-Chief Adam Shamah Managing Editor Randal Meyer

Contents

Assistant Editor Ethan Day Associate Editors Edmund Mays Rachel Gordon Elahd Bar-Shai Copy Desk Chief Yadin Herzel

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Copy Editors Lawrence Faulstich Stephen Herman William Obilisundar Brian Curatolo Layout Editor Elahd Bar-Shai Treasurer Rod Alzmann Business Manager Michael Lombardi Secretary Marissa Beldock Contributors Nick Valiando, Jason Birriel, Aaron Sebag, William Griffin, Nicole Narmanli, Joseph Aguiar, Taylor Arluck, Gabrielle Pontillo, Katie Dermigny Godfather of the Review Louis W. Leonini Friends of the Review Dr. Aldo S. Bernardo The Leonini Family Mr. Bob Soltis WA2VCS The Shamah Family The Grynheim Family The Menje Family The Leeds Family The Lombardi Family The Packer Family Mr. Michael O’Connell Binghamton Review is printed by Our Press in Chenango Bridge, NY. We provide the truth; they provide the staples.

City Evicts more Students Residents of 63 Helen St. are ordered to leave

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Hidden Realities by Ethan Day

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Finger Lickin’ Good by Katie Dermigny

Affirmative Action at Binghamton University

Sodexo celebrates Black History Month

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How I Aced College by Kevin Carey

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Playing the Game by Adam Shamah

An alumnus tells of his regrets fast-tracking his way through B.U.

Review gives advice on avoiding eviction by the city

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De Jure Diversity by Rachel Gordon

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Be Careful What You Wish For by William Griffin

Imagine the Democrat’s Healthcare System, Overseen by the G.O.P.

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Reviewing Restaurants by Michael Lombardi

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The Bryans of Our Time by Taylor Arluck American leadership without guidance

A look at multicultural representation on other campuses

Review takes another look at good local eats

Departments 3 4 6 12

EDITORIAL CAMPUS PRESSWATCH LETTERS SATIRE

Tell us what you think! Direct letters to editor@binghamtonreview.com.

EDITORIAL

From Breadth. Through Depth. To Perspective?

S

pending only four years on a college campus does not afford the average student much in terms of perspective, and as such, B.U. students do not give much thought to our university’s academic philosophy. We assume that our departments have been around forever and write off complaints about our confusing course requirements as an initiation ritual necessary to achieve a diploma. But, as Kevin Carey explains in his article, “How I Aced College—and Why I Now Regret It,” reprinted on page 10, a B.U. diploma may no longer be that much of an achievement. Our university’s system of passive advising, its conglomeration of autonomous departments, and the pervasive pressure on students to focus solely on the acquisition of a degree, all contribute to an environment in which undergraduates such as Carey are compelled to squander an unparalleled chance at a fully immersive liberal arts education.

Let us be clear: Carey tells of a very deliberate plan to short-cut his way through college, exchanging a comprehensive education for an easy ride and a high G.P.A. But can he be blamed? Should a college freshman even be expected to know better? These questions are not endemic to B.U., but our university’s history has much to say about its current curricula and may even provide a framework for B.U.’s future.

Just a few months ago, in the October issue of Review, we reprinted an October 1997 article by former Review faculty advisor Dr. Aldo S. Bernardo. The article described Harpur College's academic program at its inception in 1946, a program whose motto is set in a stone monument in the Peace Quad: "From Depth.

Through Breadth. To Perspective.”

When Glenn G. Bartle was first appointed Dean of Harpur College in 1946, he brought with him an academic program unlike any other in the nation. Bartle served at Swarthmore College during WWII and became enamored with their curriculum. By 1955, Bartle's dream of establishing a "public Swarthmore," with a twist, became a reality at 1964 Harpur College (in the days before Binghamton

University). The college was organized into three major divisions: Humanities and Fine Arts, Social Sciences, and Sciences and Math. There was little in the way of departments within these divisions.

The program was designed to give students a general perspective of all subject areas with their first 60 credits, taking classes in all schools, then gradually narrowing their focus into a specialization once a solid groundwork had been established. The final credits would be aimed at giving the well-rounded student perspective in a specific subfield. This style of education was so unique and produced such amazing results that Dr. Bernardo credits much of Binghamton University's current public reputation as a vestige of that original program.

For better or worse, since the 1970s, the program has been all but axed and the three general areas of study that Bartle created were replaced with the individual departments that we see today. With the increased freedom of less rigorous general education requirements and more individualized departments comes increased opportunity for confusion, wasted time, and gaming the educational system like Carey.

As Carey's case clearly shows, B.U. has not yet completed its transition away from the divisional structure. A major component of a liberal arts education must involve a full sampling of fundamental coursework in many fields, an end which is not realized with our current general education requirements. This is one diversity requirement Review would stand firmly behind.

B.U. needs to drastically revamp, and possibly combine, its advising departments to ensure that those graduating from B.U. actually are worth the paper their diploma is printed on. Advising on this campus, and in particular at Harpur College, leaves much to be desired. We have seen too many students graduate without a cohesive education in any field and we've seen too many mad dashes to fill basic general education requirements in the semester before graduation.

More funds need to be allocated to advising. Cases like Carey's are becoming increasingly common among B.U. students the further we stray from Bartle's program. Hopefully, B.U.'s next president will make this fundamental academic issue a priority. B

Our Mission Binghamton Review is a non-partisan, student-run periodical of conservative thought at Binghamton University. A true liberal arts education expands a student’s horizons and opens one’s mind to a vast array of divergent perspectives.

In that spirit, we seek to promote the free exchange of ideas and offer an alternative viewpoint not normally found on our predominately liberal campus. It is our duty to expose the warped ideology of political correctness that dominates this university.

We stand against tyranny in all its forms, both on campus and beyond. We believe in the principles set forth in this country’s Declaration of Independence and seek to preserve the fundamental tenets of Western civilization. Finally, we understand that a moral order is a necessary component of any civilized society. We strive to inform, engage, and perhaps even amuse our readers in carrying out this mission. www.binghamtonreview.com

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CPampus resswatch County, won’t have access to the “new urbanism” ushered in by Newman’s development.

Asian Outlook December 2009 “What is up with Asian women?”

We are certain that Newman could develop a nice 8x8 living space for this immigrant with a high level of security, including cameras and reinforced doors... somewhere near Attica. B

What we learned in the last issue of Asian Outlook: "The Asian woman, especially in America, is one of the most indecisive, hypocritical, elitist, extreme, narcissistic, manipulative creatures on the face of the planet."

Pipe Dream February 9, 2010 “Ryan emphasizes value of community, teamwork”

And...

"Asian women can be extremely unreasonable."

We've met Alice Liou. But wait, there's more...

"Asian women are probably the most manipulative people on the planet."

Asian Outlook: Fighting Prejudice and Stereotypes since 1989! B

Pipe Dream February 12, 2010 “It’s someone’s life, not just a coffee” Just when you thought you were socially conscious, Pipe Dream’s got a new guilttrip for you...

Slavery, injustice, poverty and coffee are all directly related to one another. Believe it or not, more often than not we endorse slavery and poverty, and empower injustice, when we buy a cup of coffee.

[Sips coffee] Mmmmm...injustice never tasted so good. B

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Binghamton Review

A dangerous promise from the Mayor...

Education Worker February 2010 “Five Reasons to Question Newman’s College Suites Development in Downtown Binghamton” Reasons to oppose Newman’s downtown student-housing proposal: it’s a woodframed fire-trap, it’s receiving millions of dollars in corporate welfare, it’s rates are twice those of west side homes, it doesn’t have nearly enough parking. Not a reason to oppose Newman’s project: [The] plan replicates the global apartheid developing in modern capitalism, where islands of excess are guarded from the social warfare raging outside them.

Got that? “Andrew E.” (Epstein?), former campaign worker for Mayor Ryan, who has been in bed with Newman’s top lawyer for years, explains: The proposed college suites promise “high security,” with surveillance cameras and reinforced doors protecting the private green-spaces and courtyard…I met with an immigrant facing years in prison and potential deportation. He, like so many others targeted by racist cops in Broome

Ryan devoted a significant amount of attention to Binghamton University students' impact on the city. He pledged to "once and for all end the debate over what constitutes a functional family equivalent," indicating that the definition would likely stand at three to four unrelated persons.

We'll take the current, "debated" definition over one that specifically outlaws larger groups of students living together, thank you very much. Winning by 60 votes is not a mandate for Matt Ryan to eject students from the west side. B

Pipe Dream February 2, 2010 “UPD: Vandalism in MSA office shows no connection with stabbing death” In response to the vandalism of MSA’s prayer rug, a BU professor pulls out his “jump to conclusions” mat... “[The vandals] were registering a protest,” said Donald Quataert, distinguished professor of history who offers courses in Middle Eastern studies. “It seems they knew something about Muslim practices. They don’t like Muslims praying.” B

FEBRUARY 2010

Letters ACTING ON URGES To The Editor: I was frustrated with Ethan Day’s recent article, “Acting on Our Urges.”

While I agree that seeking instant gratification “by any means necessary” is a terrible way to live one’s life in general, I felt that Day portrayed human sexuality as an incredibly twodimensional, uniform thing. We are not all the same; no one expresses love or forms their relationships in the same exact way that everyone else does. For example, there are people in committed, loving, successful, open marriages. Another example, there are people in committed, loving, successful, polyamorous [sic] (three or more partners) relationships. A third example, there are loving, monogamous, heterosexual relationships which include what, by Day’s arguments, could be termed “unnatural” practices like anal sex, oral sex, and BDSM. Furthermore, as advice columnist Dan Savage put it, “Sex is the cake, love is the frosting- and, yeah, frosting is the best part, but cake can be delicious even unfrosted.” Casual sex doesn’t have to be a one-sided, selfish act; all the partners involved can enjoy it and be happy, self-respecting people.

Day called homosexual behavior “unnatural by definition.” I’d like to point out a few other things that are also “unnatural by definition”: condoms and other forms of birth control, medicines like Tylenol, polyester, eye glasses, automobiles, Coca-Cola, air conditioning… well, you get my point.

While I don’t agree with Day, I think the least he could have done was include some form of support for his argument that homosexuality is “unnatural by definition” and therefore wrong (I thought BR frowned on logical fallacies and weak arguments?).

Day concludes his article explaining that there is a right and a wrong way to live life, to pursue sexual and emotional contentment, and that hurting others for personal sexual fulfillment is definitely the wrong way. Day has the right idea there, that using and disrespecting people is bad, but he is completely misguided by assuming that anything other than heterosexual monogamy equals selfishness and temporary gratification and that all heterosexual monogamous relationships are blissful partnerships filled with equality, mutual respect, and love. Come on, BR, we’re all reasonable adults here, we should know by now that real life is not so black-and-white. ­ Brooke Kolcow ‘12 — Comparative Literaterature Major Ethan Responds: To best explain my reasoning, I should explain where my opinion on relationships comes from. I believe that traditional marriage, meaning a union of one man and one woman, is the absolute cornerstone of our civilization.

As such, it is essential to the upbringing of children – the future of our society who, as social science shows, do best when raised within the confines of traditional marriages. It is the best emotional environment for adults as well. Any alternative “family” forms should be discouraged.

Yes, I did call homosexuality unnatural by definition. Here is why: There are three aspects to one’s “sexual orientation:” attraction, behavior, and self-identification. Attractions are indeed involuntary, but how and if one acts on them is completely voluntary. According to the 1994 National Health and Social Life Survey, the most comprehensive

national survey of sexuality conducted to date, “2.8 percent of American adult men and 1.4 percent of American adult women identify themselves as homosexuals. But the same survey showed that only 0.6 percent of men and 0.2 percent of women report having had only same-sex sexual experiences since puberty. So, about 80 percent of self-identified “homosexuals” have engaged in heterosexual relationships.

I would never say that anyone decides one day to be homosexual, but it is a subconscious “choice” resulting from circumstantial predispositions. Robert L. Spitzer, a psychiatrist who was key in the controversial 1973 decision of the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders, has since recognized that a “Reparative Therapy” proves the subjectivity of homosexuality. A simpler way to consider the nature of homosexuality is this; Humanity could not naturally exist if we were all homosexuals. Reproduction, the most natural and essential process could not happen without heterosexuality.

I wish I had the time and space to further explain this argument, but both are limited. I will write an in-depth article on this subject in the future.

Finally, you see heterosexual monogamy and the institution of traditional marriage as restrictive and perhaps dated. I see it as a gift from God that can bring true happiness and a satisfaction no other relationship could touch. Our differing perspectives can be explained best by Dr. Patrick F. Fagan’s (Family Research Council) statement “The culture of monogamy views freedom as the freedom to be good while for the culture of polyamory freedom views freedom as having no constraints imposed on you.”

—Ethan Day B

Tell us what you think! Direct letters to editor@binghamtonreview.com.

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Binghamton Review

FEBRUARY 2010

GOING GREEN To The Editor: While Meyer makes a compelling case for the short-term costs of making our campus more environmentally efficient and sustainable, he disregards the long-term savings and opportunities associated with such a transition. Energy efficient design can cut the overhead expenses of heating, cooling and electric use by up to 30% in commercial buildings like the ones we have on campus, while renewable technologies like wind and geothermal end up paying for themselves and saving the university money. And any upfront costs can be severely curtailed by state and federal grants and subsidies. Moreover, our reliance on fossil fuels – particularly coal – to heat our campus only seems cheap if you disregard the subsidies that allow coal companies to sell their product at such low rates – subsidies furnished by our (and the university’s) tax dollars.

And that’s not to mention the environmental costs associated with coal.

America’s coal plants produce 40% of US CO2 emissions and contribute 25% of this country’s CO2 emissions overall. From the destruction of some of the planet’s most biologically diverse ecosystems (the Appalachian mountains) in the mining process, to the lead, mercury and CO2 emitted on site at BU’s campus and around the US, to the toxic ash that’s dumped in holding pools in undisclosed locations after the fuel is burned, coal’s true cost dwarfs the amount we pay for it as it’s dumped off the train at our power plant.

Of course the $38 million needed to bring BU towards carbon neutrality is a substantial cost, even over 20 years. But when you add up a 10-30% reduction in our heating and electricity bills from energy efficiency work, curtail the cost of importing and burning coal, and factor in substantial state and federal subsidies, you’re left with a plan that will make BU a leader in sustainability while maintaining the economic and educational integrity of the university. Moreover, BU has an opportunity to lead the country (that’s right, the nearly 5,000 college and university campuses in the US) by swearing off of coal by 2015. Only a handful of schools in the country have agreed to go coal free, and those who have, including Cornell, right up the road, have won national media attention and respect from www.binghamtonreview.com

alumni and prospective students. (It’s also worth noting that Cornell received over $1 million in state subsidies for going coal-free – a substantial portion of the $1.3 million needed to do the same here).

At the end of the day, what kind of BU do you want to call home - a BU that continues to rely on finite, and ever more expensive fossil fuel while other colleges leave us in the dust by adopting renewable technology and energy efficiency programs?

Or a BU that puts our collective ingenuity to work, utilizes state and federal funds and savings from renewable energy to maximize our educational excellence and environmental efficiency, and becomes a national leader in sustainability? President DeFleur has led BU to national academic and environmental standing over the last 20 years. Implementing energy efficiency programs over the next two decades, and vowing to go coal-free by 2015 can be capstones on an already distinguished tenure for her and the university.

—Lauren Hammond ‘12 Political Science Major Sierra Club Chair Randal Responds: To quickly respond, my main point was to state that B.U. does not currently have funds

to commit to this project without making significant sacrifices elsewhere, namely academic departments and programs. Our endowment is $73 million; Cornell’s is well over $4 billion. The costs of subtracting $38 million from the budget in the short run significantly impacts the degree programs and educative quality offered in the near future (well into 2020) whereas in Cornell, it has no impact on their course offerings.

Even granting the point that this may reduce costs in the long run, it is not economical to do this in the short run, nor is it wise.

Binghamton is an academic institution first, not a pioneer in environmental sustainability.

Its focus for all of its funds should be on the academic curriculum, and other programs that increase the value of our degrees, until our endowment and income allows us to do other projects without adversely affecting our main goal as an institute of learning.

Just last semester, students were rallying to stop Patterson’s tuition hikes and the diversion of tuition funds from SUNY. These programs that Patterson proposed included environmental initiatives. In essence, this is the same thing that students last semester signed petitions against: use of tuition dollars on programs that do not increase the value of their degrees. What students want is clear: degree value before sustainability.

—Randal Meyer B

Sorry, we’re from

BINGHAMTON REVIEW. We didn’t realize campus publications were supposed to suck.

BTW, we’re looking for writers.

Interested? Come to our meetings every Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in New Union WB05 or email editor@binghamtonreview.com.

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RACE

Hidden Realities Affirmative Action at Binghamton University

by Ethan Day

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he broad concept generally labeled “affirmative action” has many different meanings and sparks a host of varied emotions depending on whom you ask about the controversial topic. The most discussion, and ensuing misconceptions, happens when affirmative action is debated in relation to the college admissions process and employment.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 authorized courts to take "affirmative action" to uproot racially discriminatory practices. That goal was, and continues to be, morally correct. An important part of the same statute forbade “race preference;” a practice that is as illegal as it is morally wrong. Race preference, or preference by skin color, was pioneered in the early 1970s under the respectable title of affirmative action. Carl Cohen, PhD, of the University of Michigan explains the confusion best: “Preference and affirmative action are widely confounded in the public mind because race preferences were introduced in the honorable name of affirmative action.

What was to have been eliminated was given the name of what had been designed to eliminate it. Most folks today, with unintended irony, mean by "affirmative action" that very preference by skin color that affirmative action was devised to eradicate.”

Affirmative action, untainted by race or gender preference, is a policy that can be universally embraced. Valerie J. Hampton, Director of Affirmative Action at SUNY Binghamton, oversees the University’s plan to encourage diversity in employment.

Hampton uses census statistics to determine the number of positions held by certain races and genders to see how BU compares nationally. If one race, gender or ethnicity is underrepresented in a certain position at Binghamton, but national statistics show a strong presence of the group in that position

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Binghamton Review

nationwide, Hampton can encourage diversification based on availability. It is important to note that there are no gender or racial quotas that BU is forced to attain; the intention is simply to promote diversity and equality when the national employment pool allows.

Frequently, affirmative action is associated with the idea that certain people are getting preferred treatment they may not deserve – the very core of what affirmative action was designed to eliminate. These sentiments, as mentioned earlier, can be traced back to preference polices that put certain races ahead of others. In an interview with Valerie Hampton, it was made clear that no one is being given a job they are not qualified for based on social standing. “No one gets a job here that can’t do that job,” said Hampton, who, along with her position at B.U., is also a Board of Education member for the Binghamton City School District and served on a diversity recruitment task force for the city of Binghamton in 2006. For her position, Hampton always asks, “Are we representative of what is available to us?” While it is reassuring to hear that the most qualified applicant is still getting the job, what about the college admission process? Is achievement the only determinate, or are there other factors that play into a university’s decision?

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Binghamton University‘s Admission Department declined to be interviewed for this article, so I will examine procedures on the national level. According to Dr. Cohen: “In its original sense, affirmative action was intended to insure the elimination of racially discriminatory practices, and no reasonable person would want to oppose that. But if by affirmative action one means (as is the case now with many Americans) preferential devices designed to bring about redistribution of the good things in life to match ethnic proportions in the population, affirmative action in that sense must be rejected…”

In effect, are institutions of higher learning creating equality or haphazardly charging toward racial proportionality at any cost?

Discriminating to right the wrong of past discrimination is happening at colleges across the country. The concept of ending discrimination with new discrimination is pitifully ironic, yet many public universities are more than willing to do just that. It is commonly masked in the pleasant term “striving for diversity,” but as past court cases have shown – they aren’t fooling anyone. In University of California v. Bakke, a white male student was rejected from the University of California’s medical school twice, while “special applicants” with significantly lower academic standing were admitted. The United States Supreme Court ruled that quota systems in college admission are unconstitutional, but affirmative action programs are constitutional. “A diverse student body is an appropriate goal for a university,” however, that goal, as Justice Lewis F. Powell noted in his opinion in University of California v. Bakke, “is intellectual diversity, diversity of judgment and viewpoint.”

One’s constitutional right is clear. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 603 reads: “No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination

The concept of ending discrimination with new discrimination is pitifully ironic, yet many public universities are more than willing to do just that.

FEBRUARY 2010

under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” This is not a statement to apply selectively. Colleges are permitted to use race only as one factor among many.

Beyond this stipulation is a vast area of gray allowing public schools to continue with racial preference. If institutions truly wanted to protect Americans’ constitutional rights, they would be entirely blind to race, ethnicity and gender, barring its use as a benefit for some and a flaw for others. Worse still, racial preference can only

lead to self-segregation and racial tensions. If everyone were truly treated equally instead of being forced into an endless game of settling scores, old wounds would finally be able to heal and progress could be made. The true objective of affirmative action, ending discrimination, is unquestionably virtuous and necessary.

Preference, on the other hand, is unjustifiable and dangerously counterproductive to a cause that could serve to end inequality without discriminating. B

Finger Lickin’ Good!

Sodexo Celebrates Black History Month

by Katie Dermigny

E

arlier this month, Sodexo dining services wanted to take part in celebrating the rich history of African Americans for Black History Month. And what is a better way for a food company to contribute than through an evening of delicious, culturally themed food? So on February 3, when our daily dose of B-line was delivered, it included this enticing little memo from Sodexo: “Celebrate Black History Month Today: Enjoy special menu offerings celebrating traditional African American fare at all dining halls during regular dinner hours.” Encouraged, students ventured to their dining halls, undoubtedly excited for an evening to be marked by the blissful union of gastronomy and cultural sensitivity. Upon arriving, however, horrified students discovered that the meal Sodexo had chosen to represent the heritage of over 41 million African Americans was none other than Fried Chicken and Watermelon Salad.

While most of us do not quite understand it, the majority of Americans are aware of the long and tense relationship the Black community has had with fried chicken and watermelon.

But why are African Americans associated with fried chicken and watermelon? And why is that necessarily a bad thing? And why on Earth did Sodexo think it was OK to serve racial stereotypes to celebrate

www.binghamtonreview.com

Black History Month? To answer all these mystifying questions, we have to look back to when cotton was king and slavery was the economic backbone of the South. Slaves ate whatever foods the slave master gave them, and these foods tended to be cheap and easy to grow. Because of this, ubiquitously inexpensive foods such as chicken, watermelon, or chitterlings were eaten by slaves across the South.

Seizing upon these common themes, cartoonists and blackface minstrels turned watermelon and fried chicken into recurring gimmicks that came to represent all the racist concepts of the era.

One of the oldest and most reliable stock characters born from the blackface minstrelsy was that of the “coon,” a repugnant character that depicted African Americans as “unreliable, crazy, lazy, subhuman creatures good for nothing

more than eating watermelons, stealing chickens, shooting crap, or butchering the English language.” Borrowing the popular concept, restaurants such as Sambo’s and the Coon Chicken Inn used this grotesquely distorted image of black people to promote their cuisine, namely, deep fried chicken. Their advertisements reinforced the relationship between African Americans and fried chicken to support the authenticity and quality of their food. These advertisements – along with postcards, cartoons, and films – perpetuated the stereotype of the bumbling, lazy, dull-witted, fried chicken eating, watermelon-chomping African American whose effects linger into today.

So, with all of this in mind, the big question is, “how did this happen?”

How, on a university campus, a bastion of liberal thought and ideology, was so blatant a stereotype flaunted and ignored? And even more confounding, why on a campus full of eager young liberals endlessly reaching for a politically correct utopia did it take a conservative publication to point out this egregious violation of political correctness?

Sodexo can argue that all the decisions were made with the best intentions (they did provide an educational pamphlet available at the cashiers with information on African American achievements in music, science, and politics), and they probably were, but it should not be lost on Binghamton’s impressionable young diners the subtle messages that are being served to them with their cornbread. And it should equally not be lost on Sodexo that we are so desperate for a change in menu that most who did pick up on the racist connotations were willing to swallow our indignation along with our tasty Sweet Potato Crunch.

Of course, it is important to remember that there is nothing inherently wrong with these foods. Because racism ran unchecked and unchallenged for so long, does not mean we need to punish ourselves, watermelon farmers, and the Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation as stand against historical injustice. But, we should be aware of the sad irony in celebrating Black History Month with the very stereotypes that African Americans are still trying to shake off. B 9

HARPUR

How I Aced College—and Why I Now Regret It

by Kevin Carey

I

t has recently come to my attention that my college degree is something of a sham.

This explains a lot, actually. I spent phenomenal amounts of time during my four undergraduate years on wholly nonacademic pursuits—drinking beer, hanging out with my girlfriend, playing poker (thank God the Internet hadn’t been invented yet or I’d be doing this still), watching the 11 p.m. ESPN SportsCenter, watching the 2 a.m. ESPN SportsCenter, killing time between the 11 p.m. and 2 a.m. SportsCenters, and so on.

I thought I had all this free time because I was an efficient student. It turns out that I wasn’t really pursuing a four-year degree.

The trouble began years earlier, in 1985, when I was 14 and signed up to take AP European history in my sophomore year of high school. I lived in an upper-middle class suburb, one of those places where everyone’s parents had college degrees and AP courses were taken as a matter of course. I crammed the weekend before the exam and got a 3 on the scale of 1 to 5, the equivalent of a C. AP American history came the next year, then a full AP course load when I was a senior. Some courses, like biology, were pretty challenging. The AP language exam, by contrast, involved simply coming into school for three hours on a Saturday morning and writing some essays. I ended up getting a 3 or better on six AP tests. In return, when I matriculated at the State University of New York at Binghamton in the fall of 1988, I was awarded four credits per AP course, giving me 24 of the 126 credits I needed to graduate. I was nearly one-fifth finished before I even began.

Deciding how to pick up the 102 10

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remaining credits wasn’t easy—or it was too easy, depending on how you look at it.

I was handed a catalog filled with gnomic course descriptions and shuttled into a gym along with thousands of other students at 15-minute intervals. I wanted to take art history because I had a vague sense that it was the kind of course freshmen took.

But that course was full. I took history of architecture instead because it seemed similar, it was available, and the line was short.

Six of my credits could be earned in phys-ed courses. So I took lifeguarding for three credits, which was good for a summer job. A one-credit “Advanced Basketball” class involved little basketball instruction, but it was a great way to get access to scarce court space for five-on-five full-court games in the middle of the day. “Weight Training” did the same for the weight room, and “Intro to Karate” filled out the slate.

Binghamton had a science distribution requirement, but you were allowed to take some courses pass/fail. I signed up for planetary astronomy, in a classic big lecture hall where the professor, a man of considerable girth, would stand in the well of the room and play the role of the sun. By the end of the semester, I calculated that I had to answer 20 percent of the final-exam questions correctly to pass the course. Since the exam was multiple choice, with only four possible answers to each question, that wasn’t much of a challenge. I also took Drawing I that semester because I was told there would be nude models. (There were, but not the kind I had hoped for.)

That left me with me with 88 actual college credits to earn. Except, not really.

Late last year, I was reliably informed that Binghamton, unique among the scores of

individual SUNY campuses, awards four credits for classes that require only three faculty-contact hours per week. The origins of that sweet, state-approved deal for faculty members are shrouded in the mists of time, dating back half a century. When asked about it, a university spokesperson told me that “Binghamton faculty well understand what student work is required to satisfy a four-credit designation.” She didn’t explain how the policy is enforced, or how it could be, given the autonomy that faculty members enjoy in defining course content.

I also talked to the provost, who insisted that Binghamton’s four credits are more substantive than, say, the State University of New York at Stony Brook’s three. But there are no external studies or standards to verify that. Speaking as someone whose housemate once entered slacker Valhalla by skipping the entire months of October and November while still earning 16 credits for a full four-course semester, I am, to say the least, unconvinced.

Discounting 88 by 25 percent leaves me with 66 legit credits to my name. It turns out that I have an associate degree.

Who knew? Fortunately for me, not the graduate schools I applied to after leaving Binghamton or the employers who have subsequently given me jobs. I’m trusting everyone to be cool about this and judge me on my work experience. Otherwise I’ll end up like the lawyer in the new NBC sitcom Community who had to enroll in the local community college after his degree from “Colombia University” was exposed.

At least I have some disciplinary training, however—a full slate of politicalscience courses, all taken in an actual university, for grades. Right? Well, sort of. I took some really good poli-sci FEBRUARY 2010

“

An institution which describes itself as “the best public university in the Northeast” shouldn’t hand out four credits for a 10-th grade C. It should aspire to be more than just a knowledge vending machine [...] with little in the way of guidance or forethought.

classes at Binghamton, including one on game theory from a professor who deftly explained why China would surely become America’s biggest international rival by the early 21st century. (That was not at all obvious in 1989.) I went on to grad school in public policy mostly because the man who taught my senior seminar in American politics took a few minutes after class one day to encourage me to do so. He was the only professor who had noticed me, so off I went.

But the poli-sci department didn’t exactly enforce a rigorous, coherent curriculum. You had to take political philosophy, for example, but you could take it at any point during your undergraduate career. I waited until my final semester, when, despite a carefully planned strategy of non-course-taking, I still needed eight credits to finish. I signed up for “Gender, Policy, and Law” because I figured there would be a lot of women in the class. (There www.binghamtonreview.com

were, but not the kind I had hoped for.) It also met in the middle of the afternoon on Tuesdays, perfect for a lifestyle centered on four-day weekends and the 2 a.m. broadcast of ESPN SportsCenter.

And I took that pesky philosophy course, where I read The Republic, On Liberty, and a number of other great books that colleges have traditionally required students to read in their first semester, not the last, in that they pretty much lay the groundwork for everything else.

Who’s to blame for this? First and foremost, I am. I was an adult at the time, technically, and I could have chosen to work much harder. Plenty of other students did, and do. As time goes by, my squandered undergraduate education stands as one of my bigger life regrets. The more the demands of career and family build, the more wistful I become when I look at the pile of unread volumes on my nightstand and linger in the philosophy

and literature sections of my favorite bookstore—knowing with more certainty each year that you can read only so much in life, and that some of my chances to experience great artistic and intellectual beauty are simply gone and won’t return.

At the same time, this kind of wisdom tends to accumulate with age and experience, things I had in short supply when I pulled up in front of my freshman dorm two months shy of my 18th birthday, stereo system and Pink Floyd posters in hand. That’s why colleges are run by people who are more than technically adults.

An institution that routinely describes itself as “the best public university in the Northeast” shouldn’t hand out four credits for a 10th-grade C. It should aspire to be more than just a knowledge vending machine of courses to be chosen at semi-random with little in the way of guidance or forethought. It should look for opportunities to teach undergraduates more than its peers, not less—indeed, that’s what phrases like “best public university” ought to mean. It should have done so 18 years ago, and it should do that today. All the policies I encountered—four credits for a 3 on an AP test or three hours of instruction, credit for gym, credit for pass/fail—are still in place. And while I’m picking on my alma mater because I was there, I’m sure that a great many other colleges and universities are guilty of similar conduct.

I have little to complain about in the grand scheme of things. I had the opportunity to spend four years learning; most people never get that chance. And although I wasted most of it, things worked out well for me anyway, as they tend to in a society that replicates privilege in an evermore-efficient way.

But I’m also sure that callowness and youth will continue to go hand in hand, and that multitudes of students in college today need their institutions to care enough about their education to ask more from them than they ask of themselves.

Some of life’s hard lessons are better left unlearned.B Kevin Carey is a Binghamton University alumnus, Class of 1992, and is the policy director of Education Sector, an independent think tank in Washington.

This article was originally printed in The Chronicle of Higher Education on January 31, 2010. Reprinted with permission.

11

HOURS See Basketball Practice Times CONTACT Joel Thr…Kevin Br…Lois De…yeah…

RETAINED COUNSEL Marylin Desmond, Esq.

BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS WRITING CENTER Bring your “A” game!

We at the Department of Athletics realize most of our athletes were admitted to Binghamton University on a “special D1 track.” In light of this, we have decided to open the doors of our new $34 million “Writing Initiative Office/Events Center” for those who feel the need to “hone” their off-the-court skills.

This Initiative is a place for BU Athletes to get help with ANY aspect of literacy, from writing to reading. The Athletics Writing Center is staffed by trained coaches who provide individualized “writing aid.” You don't have to be finished with your essay, started with it, or know what its on to schedule an appointment. You can come with ideas, notes, a failed paper, or a link to a Wikipedia article.

Conferences last thirty to forty seconds and should be scheduled using incriminating texts and e-mails. Our “editorial work” will be completed during your practice. You do NOT need an appointment or any scheduled time block.

Services Drop off the assignment your professor gave you and Broadus himself will “edit” it!

If you (misguidedly) tried to write the paper yourself, and your professor toed the line, we have several Assistant Coaches who will take special care to ensure your “rewrite essay” is perfected!

If you (misguidedly) tried to write the paper yourself, and your professor doesn’t toe the line, we can draw you a map to the Provost’s office where your complaints will 12

get them fired!

Kicked to the Curb ZONING

West Side Nazis Evict More Students

by Adam Shamah

I

t’s official. Seven Binghamton University students have been served by the City of Binghamton with eviction notices after the Zoning Board of Appeals ruled last month that their living situation violates Binghamton’s zoning laws. But before the students leave their home, their landlord has appealed the City’s decision to the Supreme Court of New York State, setting up what could be a major turning point in the off-campus housing drama.

Last month, Binghamton Review reported on a ZBA determination which stated that seven students living at 63 Helen Street—on Binghamton’s west side—do not satisfy the conditions to be considered the “functional equivalent” of a family, a requirement for living in the city’s residential districts.

The ZBA referenced “a lack of evidence that the group was not a group of seven college students involved in a temporary living arrangement that would likely not continue past the duration of the individuals’ college attendance” in justifying its decision. “The fact that the residents' automobiles were not registered to their 63 Helen Street address, that the

www.binghamtonreview.com

residents' driver's licenses did not list the subject property as their home address and that none of the residents were registered to vote in local elections contributed to the Board's conclusion that the appellant did not demonstrate that the occupants had a stability akin to a permanent family structure,” read the official ruling.

In a letter from the City’s Corporation Counsel, dated February 5th, landlord Emine Bayram was instructed to begin eviction proceedings against her tenants, and was threatened with fines if the City were forced to remove them itself.

Ms. Bayram, who owns and rents several student properties in the City of Binghamton, has appealed the ZBA ruling to the Supreme Court of New York State, citing several of the City’s requirements which the students did in fact meet. One tenant acts as the “head of household” and all seven share expenses. Five of the seven are even related by blood! Her attorney has also asked that the court issue a "stay" of eviction, which would delay any action by the City until after the outcome of her appeal.

The appeal argues that the ZBA acted above the law by strongly basing its

decision upon the fact that the tenants are students. “It cannot decide based on the fact that these occupants happen to be Binghamton University students and that the neighbors do not want these students to live there,” says the appeal. Much of the testimony from complaining neighbors at last month’s ZBA hearing centered around the effects student housing has on their neighborhood.

In 2008, when six students living at 8 Lincoln Avenue were found in violation of the functional family rule, a member of the ZBA admitted that the ordinance had never been enforced against anyone but students. According to attorney Douglas Walter Drazen, who represented the students in that case, this could have set up an equal protection claim had the case gone to appeal.

The attorney for Ms. Bayram, John DelVecchio, himself a Binghamton University graduate, is working with a constitutional lawyer to determine whether to make a constitutional claim with this case.

If the appeal is successful, it could provide precedent in future cases involving students living on the west side. B

13

i I

Playing The Game Tips From Your Friends at Review For Avoiding A Zoning Board Eviction

by Adam Shamah

f you live off campus, you need to protect yourself. Not only from the crack dealers downtown, but from your neighbors on the west side.

Readers of the Review should all be aware of the struggles facing off-campus students. The City maintains in its Zoning Ordinance a rule which requires anyone living in a residential district to be either a biologically related family or "a group of unrelated individuals living together and functioning together as a traditional family." This is known more colloquially as the "functional family rule." Anyone living in a residential district—including most of Binghamton's west side—can face eviction if the city finds that they do not meet the standards of the functional equivalent of a family. This does require that a neighbor register a complaint first, but members of the West Side Neighborhood Association (WNSA) and other anti-student residents have been known to check mail boxes, car plates, and even facebook profiles in search of student properties to report.

Once a report is filed, a zoning inspector will examine the property to see if the occupants are a family or the functional equivalent. His ruling can be appealed to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), which must examine the living situation of the occupants in relation to

several standards outlined in the zoning code to determine whether there is a violation. What are these standards? And can students meet them?

The Zoning Ordinance allows the ZBA to consider several factors when determining whether a group qualifies as the functional equivalent of a family. These criteria include "the presence of one individual acting as head of household," proof of shared expenses, common ownership of furniture and appliances, whether the living situation is "transient" in nature (meaning the tenants change year to year), and whether the occupants share the entire house or act as separate roomers. By becoming familiar with these requirements and taking proactive measures to meet them, students can avoid ending up on the street.

According to local attorney Douglas Walter Drazen, the single most important thing one can do to protect themselves is to register to vote locally. This should prevent the ZBA from labeling your living situation "transient," as was the fate of the students on Helen Street and Lincoln Avenue. It's not only effective, but extremely easy.

Turn the page, fill out the form and slip it under the Review office door (B05 in the New Union), and we'll bring it to the Board of Elections. If you cannot make it to the Review office, mail your form to the

Board of Elections at 44 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901.

Drazen also recommends changing the address on your drivers license to your local address in Binghamton, and, if possible, registering your car locally.

Then, make sure you or one of your housemates acts as the "head of the household." This means your lease, utilities, and cable should all be under one name. The additional renters can reimburse the head. If your house did not come furnished, buy some furniture collectively and prepare proof of shared expenses. These are relatively easy things to do if you are friendly with your housemates. Do not give the ZBA any reason to believe that you and your housemates act as separate renters.

That means no locks on the bedroom doors, a shared refrigerator, and a common internet connection, if possible.

Our goal as students at this university should be to fight for the repeal of any zoning laws which unfairly target students and limit our off-campus housing options. But in the meantime, it does not hurt to protect ourselves under the current law. At the very least, we'll make life harder for people like Binghamton University professor Marilyn Desmond and WSNA-chief Amy Shapiro, who have it out for any student who dares venture west of Front Street. B

Registering to vote LOCALLY is the easiest thing you can do to protect yourself from a Zoning Board hearing. Plus, you can vote out the assholes who perpetuate anti-student sentiment on the West Side. There’s a voter registration form on the opposite page. Fill it out and mail it to the Broome County Board of Elections.

No stamps? Slip it under the Binghatmon Review office door in New Union WB05. We’ll submit it for you.

Yes, even if you register Democrat.

14

Binghamton Review

FEBRUARY 2010

New York State Voter Registration Form You Can Use This Form To:

• register to vote in New York State • change your name and/or address, if there is a change since you last voted • enroll in a political party or change your enrollment

To Register You Must: • • • •

be a U.S. citizen be 18 years old by the end of this year not be in jail or on parole for a felony conviction not claim the right to vote elsewhere

Need More Registration Forms?

You can get registration forms at most state agency offices and post offices or at any county board of elections or call 1-800-FOR-VOTE.

In Order To Vote:

Questions? Call your county board of

elections. Find the phone number on the other side of this form.

Hearing impaired people with TDD/TTY may call the New York State Relay #711.

Visit our website - www.elections.state.ny.us Información en español: si le interesa obtener este formulario en español, llame al 1-800-367-8683

• you can register in person at your county board of elections • to vote in an election, you must mail or deliver this form to your county board no later than 25 days before the election in which you want to vote • be 18 years old by the date of the election in which you want to vote • your eligibility to vote will be based on the date you file this form • your county board will notify you of your eligibility

TO COMPLETE THIS FORM:

IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS Your identity must be verified prior to election day, so that you will not have to provide identification when you vote. Your identity can be verified through your DMV number (driver’s license number or non-driver ID number), or the last four digits of your social security number, as requested in Box 9 of this application.

If your identity is not verified before election day, you will be asked to provide identification when you vote for the first time. Samples of the identification you may provide include a valid photo ID, a current utility bill, bank statement, government check or some other government document that shows your name and address.

If you include a copy of any identification with this application, be sure to tape the sides of this form closed.

Box 9: If you have a current DMV number, you must provide that number. If you do not have a current DMV number, you must provide the last four digits of your social security number.

Box 10: If you have never voted before, write “None.” If you can’t remember when you last voted, put a question mark (?). If you voted before under a different name, put down that name. If not, write “Same.”

Box 11: Check one box only. In order to vote in a party primary, you must be enrolled in one of New York’s 5 constituted parties. *Except the Independence Party, which permits non-enrolled voters to vote in their primary elections.

If you would like an application for an ABSENTEE BALLOT or would like to be an ELECTION DAY WORKER, please check the corresponding box below.

Yes, I need an application for an Absentee Ballot Are you a U.S. citizen?

1 3

Yes

Please print in blue or black ink

Yes, I would like to be an Election Day Worker

I will be 18 years old on or before election day:

2

No

If you answered NO, do not complete this form.

Last Name First Name

Yes

For Board use only!

No

If you answered NO, do not complete this form, unless you will be 18 by the end of the year.

Middle Initial Suffix

Home Address Where You Live (do not give P.O. address)

Apt. No.

City/Town/Village

Zip Code

County

4 5 6

Address Where You Get Your Mail (if different from home address)

Date of Birth

7

The last year you voted

Sex (circle) M

8

F

P.O. box, star rte., etc.

Home Tel. Number (optional)

Zip Code

ID Number - Check the applicable box and provide your number New York DMV number

Your Address was (give house number, street, and city)

10 In county/state

Post Office

9

If you do not have a New York DMV number, please provide Last four (4) digits of your Social Security number

Under the name (if different from your name now)

I do not have a New York DMV number or a Social Security number.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY REPUBLICAN PARTY

11

INDEPENDENCE PARTY CONSERVATIVE PARTY OTHER (write in)

I DO NOT WISH TO ENROLL IN A PARTY

12

AFFIDAVIT: I swear or affirm that • I am a citizen of the United States.

• I will have lived in the county, city, or village for at least 30 days before the election.

• I meet all requirements to register to vote in New York State.

• This is my signature or mark on the line below.

• The above information is true. I understand that if it is not true I can be convicted and fined up to $5,000 and/or jailed for up to four years.

Signature or mark in ink

➡

WORKING FAMILIES PARTY

To vote in a primary election, you must be enrolled in one of these parties. * See above

➡

}

Choose a Party — Check one box only

x

Please do not write in this space

Broome County Board of Elections, 44 Hawley St., Binghamton, NY 13901

Date

RACE

De Jure Diversity A Look at Multicultural Representation on Other Campuses

by Rachel Gordon

“There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him.”

- Robert Heinlein

M

ulticulturalism is a topic which has been covered on these pages before: a debate over the term has been raging on campus for years. Proponents of multiculturalism often call their opponents ignorant, call their opponents racist, and accuse them of not wanting to be involved with people of another background or a different culture. Anti-multicultural arguments, however, have nothing to do with intolerance and they certainly have nothing to do with racism. The main standpoint of anti-multiculturalists is that it is not the job of any governing body, including those on campus, to promote any one set of values. Important values regarding culture should not be promoted by the Student Association, but through the liberty of its students. It should not be forced down on students; the students themselves should be propagators of the cultural values that are important to them.

Take, for example, the Student Association, whose Vice President for Multicultural Affairs is charged with “spreading culture” on campus. Compare this with other universities. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hills’ Student Government Executive Branch contains no offices other than the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Chief of Staff. There are twenty-four cabinet committees, of which two are “Minority Affairs and Diversity Outreach”, and 16

Binghamton Review

“Women’s Affairs.” Keep in mind that this school is almost 70% White/Caucasian.

Another highly ranked public university is the University of Florida. Again, the only Executive Branch members are the President, Vice President, and Treasurer.

There are 21 Programming Cabinets and 16 Policy Cabinets. Two of these Cabinets include the “LGBTQ Student Affairs Cabinet” and the “Women’s Affairs Cabinet.” The rest range from “Technology Cabinet” to the “Community Involvement Cabinet.” Similar demographic statistics are also present at this university. These two schools are ranked first and second according to Kiplinger’s Best Values in Public Colleges, respectively. They do not have the same structure of student government, and seem to be more focused on the education and benefits of all the students. Obviously, this concept is working for them.

It is important to understand that sometimes the concept of multiculturalism is highly skewed, especially on our campus and around our state. The greatest diversity is the freedom and liberty of the students to choose for themselves, not the forced educational programs and the contrived sympathy of creating innumerable, budgeted cultural groups using the students’ own money.

A common debate that occurs regarding multiculturalism on campus is over whether part of this tuition should fund multicultural activities. These student

activity funds do not go towards helping all the students, some say. When every student pays the same price for tuition, and not every student receives the same benefit, it becomes unfair. For example, Cornell University is a very well known Ivy League University located in Ithaca, New York. It is a private school, and the students pay some $34,000 per year to attend. There are 880 student groups at this campus. 306 of these groups are considered “cultural,” or “international.” Cornell University is approximately 54% Caucasian, 6% Hispanic, 6% African American, 18% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 16% unknown.

Of these 306 cultural groups, all but two pertain to the minority demographic of the school. (There is a European Club and a Bulgarian Club.) Thus, 304 student groups and unions represent 46% of the ethnic population, and 2 student groups represent 54% of the population. This is clearly not an accurate illustration of the students comprising Cornell. In fact, it is obviously backwards. The argument stands; the majority of students are paying for activities that do not pertain to their needs. Thus, the solution to this problem is that the students’ activities funds be distributed fairly, or they should not be collected at all.

Therefore, it is extremely important to make sure that we the students understand how we are represented. Not only could you be losing money, you could be losing a chance at a better education. B FEBRUARY 2010

Fly Me To the Moon!

THE FINAL FRONTIER

by Michael Lombardi

“And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God's blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.”

W

ith these immortal words, President John F. Kennedy closed his 1962 “We choose to the moon speech.” In that speech, Kennedy outlined a plan for the United States to put a man on the moon before the end of the 1960s. A task that seemed to be impossible was given a time frame of less than eight years. As we all know, man did embark on that journey. In July of 1969, we landed on the moon. This was a triumph of proportions that to this day has never been matched. The last manned mission to land on the lunar surface was in 1972, over thirty seven years ago. Members of my generation cannot comprehend what accomplishing this feat was like. I myself was born almost seventeen years after the last landing on the moon In 2006, then-President George W. Bush outlined a plan for the United States to return to the moon by 2020, finally ending our stagnation in space technology. Recently, in his new budget, President Obama has cancelled this plan. His budget ends manned space exploration by NASA for the foreseeable future once the Space Shuttle is retired.

This is a grave error. Narrow sighted cost cutting will not serve to advance our nation. Space is still something the United States has by far the greatest expertise in exploring. I am humiliated to live in an age where the government bails out companies losing hundreds of billions of dollars in the process, yet cuts something

www.binghamtonreview.com

so vital to our future. The Apollo program spawned many of the technologies we take for granted today. When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon over forty years ago, they had a computer with less power than a modern calculator. The space program ushered in a new wave of development in computers, composites, nanotechnology, metallurgy, solar panels and plastics just to name a few. Furthermore the Apollo program gave America a sense of national pride and prestige like never before. I am envious of those who were able to witness such a feat firsthand. The United States once again needs to take the forefront in space science and exploration. Letting China

or some other nation land on the Moon before we return would run contradictory to the primary goal of the Apollo program all those years ago, peaceful exploration.

We cannot wait or stagnate anymore.

I can only imagine what technologies would come from a new and revitalized space program and the benefits they would offer mankind. Humanity must explore the moon and the planets beyond it. Man was not meant to stare at the stars and wonder. From the beginning of existence, man has explored and pushed the boundaries. We must choose to return to the moon and all those pioneers who ascended to the heavens over forty years ago would not have it any other way. B 17

PARKER

Review Sits Down With Star Parker

Former Welfare Fraud Turned Conservative Crusader Binghamton Review: Can you just tell us a little bit about your background,? Specifically what parts of your life that have influenced your views on race and/or politics?

Star Parker: Well, the major turning point to change my world beyond thinking was when I accepted Christ. I had a born again experience, adopted a Biblical world view. Because, up until that time, I had a very secular world view...; I was also very left wing. I bought the lies of the left and the liberals and I lived an aggressive life, a criminal life, a drug life, a sexually promiscuous life. I ended up on welfare for in total seven years…three and a half years consistently. And it was when I met Christ that I was able to rethink my decision. I could channel myself differently, get off welfare, get a degree in marketing, and then start my own business. After that business was destroyed in the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, I transitioned from there into policy work. Today I have a foundation, a think tank in Washington D.C. , and it is called the Center for Urban Renewal and Education.

We explore and promote market based solutions to fight poverty.

BR: Can you tell us a little more about C.U.R.E. and how you founded it? What are specific things you get involved in?

SP: I founded C.U.R.E. in 1995 during the middle of the welfare reform discussions. At that point I was a consultant with the G.O.P. in Congress, and worked to change welfare. This had done significant damage in the black community specifically, in the majority community, and all of America as well. So, we needed to reform the system. As we were in the process of reforming, many questions came up. What do we do, if we are not going to have this great society? At a point, I started addressing those concerns.

Today we work on issues, and have for the last 15 years on education, school choice policy, and various policies. (Example: wanting school 18

Binghamton Review

choice vouchers, wanting areas removed for entrepreneurs: especially in urban centers as well as the rest of the country, wanting families to change, so families can develop healthy relationships and nourish before producing children). The most recent thing is fighting on the health care overhaul, making sure that the market is still free, and allowing people more access as opposed to less when it comes to real health issues. We are also very engaging on the legislation in the financial industry, in particular with the attack against pay made loans, that takes place in urban centers. We also work very aggressively in pro-life work, not just within our centers, but ultimately to lay this over time. Of course we are concerned about the impact with abortion in all of our societies, but we are specifically and more deeply concerned with how abortion is impacting the black community. It is destroying the black community, with 300,000 black babies being aborted a year. This equates that for two every black pregnancies, one is being aborted.

So it is an extremely dire situation when it comes to how Planned Parenthood has targeted minority communities, and it is genocide in the black community. Abortion is genocide itself.

BR: When you use the terms “plantation” and “welfare plantation,” can you explain to our readers what you mean?

doesn’t. We should be appalled as a nation, and we are all addicted to the government in some way or another, by tolerating that they force us into a retirement program that we may not want.

They force us into health care situations where we might not want to be. They force us into educational systems for our children that we may not want. And this goes on. So we basically have all become more enslaved to the nanny state than we should want to be. And the people that can get hurt the most in this welfare plantation are often the most vulnerable, and most at risk, which are most often minorities.

BR: Why do you think Democrats use such strong support from those minorities, in the inner city communities, etc.?

SP: Because when you promise someone that you will steal from Peter to pay Paul …… the Pauls’ are going to vote for a Democrat.

BR: Can conservatives do anything to reach out to these communities, and fight against that?

SP: The best way that conservatives can reach out to these communities is to engage them where they are already pulling conservative Evangelical, in their churches.

SP: When we think about the plantations of the south, men were enslaved by others to produce.

Today we have with a welfare state, a situation where men are enslaved to not produce. And this was just not in our welfare state, but in all entitlements. The mentality that follows the idea of redistribution damages people’s ability to think straight, to engage their own lives. The very notion of redistribution of wealth first and foremost is inconsistent with scripture. It is to look at someone that has something, someone that doesn’t, and then petition to take it from the one that has something and give it to the one that FEBRUARY 2010

Binghamton Review We already control campus.

SOON, IT WILL BE THE WORLD.

JOIN US BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE Meetings every Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

New Union Basement UUWB05 Email editor@binghamtonreview.com for info 32% of the African-American community polls that they are Evangelical and conservative. That’s the base that we build on. What Republicans have traditionally done to reach out to these communities is to develop that one size fits all programs the same way the Democrats have developed the one size fits all property programs.

But one size fits all does not work in the minority communities because they are not the same. You have hard left, you have hard right, and you have everybody else in the middle. The natural alliance of the conservatives in the Republican Party would be the conservatives in these Black and Latino communities. www.binghamtonreview.com

BR: Great. What do you think of Barack Obama’s Presidency in terms of its impact on race in America?

BR: On university campuses, what do you think the impact of politically correct liberalism and multiculturalism has been?

SP: I think that this country has never been more divided when it comes to race in America. And when once in our history we had a moral question on the table, the question of slavery, the President at that time did not say that the answer to question was above his paygrade. Abaham Lincoln …he said all one thing, or nothing at all. And that is the question on the table today. We are in a cultural war, and this President today says this is above the paygrade, to make hard decisions, and he is going to get up to unify us. But we have never been more divided in this country.

SP: I think that political correctness and liberalism has divided the student body to where we are in the 21st century, we have still divided ourselves on racial lines. We should reconsider the social engineering that has taken place through multiculturalism; we should rethink the polarization that has taken place through the affirmative action program, and we should return to what our founding fathers had in mind in regard to free country, Stop political correctness, so free men can speak freely.B 19

Celebrate Black History Month with Binghamton Review

Star Parker Author of

Uncle Sam’s Plantation

Hear the story of a former welfare fraud turned conservative crusader February 23

Mandela Room 6:30 p.m.

Sponsored by Binghatmon Review, SA VPMA, SA VPAA, College Republicans, Theta Delta Chi Fraternity

DEMAGOGUES

The Bryans of Our Time

American Leadership Without Guidance

by Taylor Arluck

I

n the aftermath of the economic storm that engulfed our markets, homes and people in late 2008, we are now left to wonder what its legacy will entail. Commentators diametrically opposed on the political spectrum each rail against the different corollaries emerging from its wake. Those among the right despise the intrusion of government within the private sector, a legacy of debt and increased moral hazard. Whereas those among the left lament the frailty of our labor markets, the weakness of our fiscal stimuli and the erosion of home ownership in America. It seems as if members of both ideologies finally have something in common: their unceasing fatality with regard to the State of the Union. However, I would wager that in fact both are wrong and that the State of the Union has never been. Here is why‌ While pundits, commentators and politicians all despair over the loss of material well-being we have suffered, they fail to recognize what we have gained as a result. Under the specter of mounting deficits, record unemployment and unprecedented government intervention, citizens across America are finally emerging from their complacency and reasserting their role within the political arena. The recent upset in Massachusetts is a testament to this assertion; however, there is a caveat in the midst of this brewing populism.

Our dialogue on the resurgence of populism in America unfortunately comes not on wings of honest grace and virtue but on www.binghamtonreview.com

virulent rage and frustration. What appears to be a promising movement of generally concerned Americans can just as easily be viewed as one of dangerous populists located on the fringe. To convince the two opposing viewpoints that the recent surge of populism is something in the political center would be a futile attempt; thus my concern lies solely with the protestors that trod our state capitals. These protestors are not the scions of Andrew Jackson, Alexis de Tocqueville or William Jennings Bryan that brought about the expansion of suffrage, civic participation and banking reform.

Rather, these protestors augur the potential for something far more unwieldy given their lack of direction. The essential ingredient lacked by this new generation of reformers is an apparatus founded upon sound leadership.

In the absence of prescient and tempered guidance these reformers inadvertently risk the possibility of facilitating the rise of demagogues and fanatics. The rise of Huey Long and Father Coughlin rested on the backs of the working poor suffering from a fate all too similar to the one we find ourselves bearing today.

These were not men of reason, but of passion. Governance, regardless of political orientation, must be shackled to the limitations of human reason lest capriciousness overwhelm a government’s throne of power.

The vacuum that currently exists among these populists possesses great promise and power to any who wields it. The question yet to be answered is who will and for what cause? B 21

DINING

Reviewing Restaurants

For When You Realize Adriano’s Sucks

by Michael Lombardi Crepe Heaven 217 Main Street, Binghamton, NY

Phil’s Chicken House 1208 Maine Road, Endicott, NY

NĒZÜNTŌZ Café 50 Pennsylvania Ave., Binghamton, NY

Located down Main Street near Price Chopper, Crepe Heaven is a great destination for cheap delicious crepes. A meal should come to around ten dollars.

For those unfamiliar with the dish, crepes are a French creation in which thin dough (similar to a pancake) is stuffed with various ingredients. Crepe Heaven features both sweet dessert crepes and savory crepes that can be enjoyed for lunch or dinner. The sweet crepes are extremely tasty and feature all sorts of concoctions such as crepes filled with fruit, nutella, and chocolate. The savory crepes are also excellent and feature such fillings as chicken, beef, various cheeses, and vegetables. Crepe Heaven also offers burgers, panini, espresso, and a nice selection of coffees. With the atmosphere of a café, and delicious low-cost food, Crepe Heaven is a must-see during your stay in Binghamton. B

Why journey fifteen minutes for chicken? The answer is simple: Phil’s Chicken House serves the best roasted chicken that I have encountered, bar none. I heard about Phil’s from, believe it or not, Maxim magazine. It was written up by Maxim as one of the best chicken joints in America, and I had to see if the chicken lived up to the hype. Featuring incredibly cheap prices (dinner should run you around ten to fifteen dollars) and large portions, Phil’s is a great choice. Although the roasted chicken is paramount, Phil’s boasts a full menu with continental fare such as roasted turkey and barbecued ribs.

Additionally there is a full service soup and salad bar. As should be expected, the chicken noodle soup is impeccable. Phil’s also boasts a full scale catering operation. If you don’t mind being forty years younger than the next-youngest customer in the restaurant, delicious food and reasonable prices make Phil’s well worth the drive into Endicott. B

If you are fine with being surrounded by hippies, fair-trade coffee, and other various hallmarks of liberalism, NĒZÜNTŌZ—on the south side of Binghamton—is a great place to grab breakfast or lunch. Their bagels are as good as any you'll find in Binghamton, their soup is homemade and scrumptious, and a they offer more varieties of wraps and flatbread sandwiches than you'll have time to try during your time here. Start with the chicken parm; it's great. But we're serious about the hippie thing; it's basically the Lost Dog Café without a dinner menu. B Old World Deli 27 Court Street, Binghamton, NY The Old World Deli is a great place to get lunch downtown. Their sandwiches are as good as what you'll find downstate (and they serve spiedies), and they have a wonderful selection of homemade soups.

A few caveats, however: they close at 4:00 PM, and often run out of sub rolls before then, so get there early unless you care for wraps. B

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