BINGHAMTON REVIEW Editor-in-Chief Contents
P.O. BOX 6000 BINGHAMTON, NY 13902-6000 EDITOR@BINGHAMTONREVIEW.COM
Founded 1987 • Volume XXXIII, Issue XII Jake Schweitzer
Managing Editor Matt Gagliano Copy Desk Chief Madeline Perez
Business Manager Joe Badalamenti
Social Media Shitposter Arthur O’Sullivan
Editor Emeritus
Patrick McAuliffe Jr.
Staff Writers
Jon Lizak, Dillon O’Toole, Will Anderson, Spencer Haynes
Contributors
Marc Anthony, Jonny Fast, Charles Forman
Special Thanks To:
Intercollegiate Studies Institute Collegiate Network
NEXT YEAR’S E-BOARD
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by Our Staff
3 Editorial by Jake Schweitzer 4 Press Watch by Our Staff 5 Top 5 Most Dangerous Incel Movies by Madeline Perez 6 An Ethical Oversight by Jonny Fast 7 Publication Report Card by Our Staff 10 Parting Advice by Jake Schweitzer 11 Why New York Should Get Rid of Income Tax by Charles Forman 12 Cowardly Cuomo’s Capitulations & Closed Conferences by Patrick McAuliffe 14 How To Speedrun Life 15 “For Your Health”
by Matt Gagliano by Marc Anthony
Binghamton Review was printed by Gary Marsden We Provide the Truth. He Provides the Staples
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK! Direct feedback to editor@binghamtonreview.com 2
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Vol. XXXIII, Issue XII
EDITORIAL Dear Readers,
From the Editor
“If someone is able to show me that what I think or do is not right, I will happily change, for I seek the truth, by which no one was ever truly harmed. It is the person who continues in his self-deception and ignorance who is harmed.” —Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Welcome, everyone, to the final issue of Binghamton Review! That’s right, this is the last issue of the academic year. But don’t fret! We’ll be back in Fall 2021. We also changed shelf locations, with the Admissions shelf being placed in the CIW dining hall now. Considering this is the last editorial of the semester, I can reflect on the unique challenges that we faced coming in this semester. In short, it was a logistical nightmare; between lacking an office, needing to coordinate a new location for distributing issues, and even our website temporarily going offline, the start of 2021 was not exactly ideal for us. To put the cherry on top, I had virtually no experience using photoshop or InDesign. Yet, we kept pushing forward; we secured an office in Academic B, we coordinated a way to distribute issues from print to the shelf, and we restored the website from cyberspace. I even grew as an online editor! All in all, I think that this semester went relatively well, and I’m proud of the work that we were able to accomplish. In terms of on-campus news, you may be wondering who will be taking over Binghamton Review for the 2021-2022 academic year. Well, wonder no longer; if you turn to page 8, the future E-board provides a brief introduction to who they are and their plans for Binghamton Review’s future. You may also not be aware, but there are other publications on campus. To be fair, it’s hard to tell, given that no one is printing besides us. If you want to see their grades for the semester regarding the quality of their writing, check page 7. Additionally, Jonny Fast decided to respond to some claims made by Pipe Dream as well as responding to “Contemporary Stupidity: A Response to Contemporary Arrogance”. A response to a response, oh boy. Lastly, I provide some parting advice for those that may be new to Binghamton so that they can prosper on campus. Outside of campus, Madeline Perez gives her take for the top five most dangerous incel movies. Marc Anthony goes over the recent FDA ban of Menthol cigarettes, and the issues this could pose in minority communities and policing. Editor Emeritus Patrick McAuliffe recounts the recent visit Governor Cuomo took to Johnson City, and his criticisms of the Governor’s controversial actions as of late. Charles Forman decides to provide a fiscal policy that would help benefit New York: eliminating the income tax. Lastly, Matt Gagliano provides a humorous piece on how to speedrun life. Overall, it has been an amazing semester, and serving as Editor-In-Chief has been the highest of honors. I have high hopes for the incoming E-board, and know they will continue to represent Binghamton Review’s dedication to free speech and freedom of expression. I wish the best of luck to my successor, Matt Gagliano. Sincerely,
Jake Schweitzer Binghamton Review is a non-partisan, student-run news magazine of conservative thought founded in 1987 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. The mark of true maturity is being able to engage with these perspectives rationally while maintaining one’s own convictions. In that spirit, we seek to promote the free and open exchange of ideas and offer alternative viewpoints not normally found or accepted on our predominately liberal campus. We stand against tyranny in all of 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. It is our duty to expose the warped ideology of political correctness and cultural authoritarianism that dominates this university. Finally, we understand that a moral order is a necessary component of any civilized society. We strive to inform, engage with, and perhaps even amuse our readers in carrying out this mission.
Views expressed by writers do not necessarily represent the views of the publication as a whole. editor@binghamtonreview.com
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CPampus resswatch “The stigma surrounding artistic hobbies, careers prevents creative expression” By Doris Turkel, Pipe Dream, 05/03/2021 “The stigma surrounding careers in the arts affects practicing artists as well, fostering insecurity in the way their occupation is viewed by others and adding pressure to prove their work deserves to be taken seriously.” Art is, to some extent, a measure of what people think. If the art is not able to provoke something to its intended audience, it will not sell or be successful. Additionally, if you are good at creating art, you can find careers where such works are absolutely taken seriously, such as marketing or graphic design. It’s a bit reductionist to simply say that their work is their occupation isn’t taken seriously. “...the line between your hobbies and your career becomes blurred, or there is no line at all. Pursuing a career in the arts is controversial, as it is questionable whether the value of art can properly be measured monetarily, or whether the value of art can be objectively measured at all.” Art can be measured monetarily. Art can create demand based on how it impacts an audience, and, if it worth something, it will sell. If it does not sell, it may be monetarily worthless, yet it could still hold sentimental value. However, in the age of non-fungible tokens (NFT), it has become much easier to make money from art, and if one is truly a good artist, such as Beeple, their art will sell for a lot of money. In Beeple’s case, he made 69.4 million dollars. “However, there is a stigma even about art as a hobby. There is an increasing pressure to be “good” at our hobbies, or have something to show for them rather than just enjoying the act.” There is only a pressure to be good at a hobby if you need to make money from it. I am good at watching television, but I am not selling my ability
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Written by our Staff
We know you don’t read the other campus publications, so we did it for you. Original pieces are in quotes, our responses are in bold.
to watch television. Hobbies are for yourself, and for you to spend your time productively. If art is how you do it, it should not matter if you are good at it or not. If you want to pursue art as a career, you should focus on how your art will impact your intended audience to create demand. “TikTok promotes unnecessary, cyclical materialism” Nechama Chabus, Pipe Dream, 4/29/21 “However, like social media tends to do, TikTok has taken a predictable dive toward romanticizing an idealized lifestyle which revolves around unnecessary spending and unhealthy expectations of what one’s life should look like.” Really, that’s your argument? Do you know how excited I got when I found out that there was a Pipe Dream article against TikTok? Of all the things that suck about TikTok, you choose to write about how influencers acting rich forces poorer people to buy stuff? Simply DON’T BUY STUFF. It’s that easy! My expectations were low but holy fuck! “Beauty gurus on YouTube will create videos about their beauty favorites, Instagram models will promote their favorite outfits and accessories and TikTok creators promote beauty items, health tips and unnecessary kitchen items from Amazon in short, attention-grabbing clips.” Wow, it’s almost like the only way these people can make money as an “influencer” is by making and selling merchandise. Hate to break it to you,
but standing in front of a camera and saying some words doesn’t magically put money in your bank account. “At the core of this movement of excessive spending is the incessant need to buy and have, regardless of an item’s worth or use, also known as materialism.” At the core of this movement of excessive stupidity is some people’s need to spend, regardless of if they have enough money, also known as being fiscally irresponsible. “Thus, this way of advertising to the masses by claiming such items will change your life exemplifies peer pressure.” Have you never seen ANY infomercial on TV? They all do this. This is nothing new. This is how advertising always has been, and always will be. The consumer has to come to their own conclusions about whether or not they need an item, and if they make an irresponsible choice, that is their own fault, not the advertisers. Unless the advertiser blatantly lies about the function of their product, which can happen, they are not at fault for the consumer’s poor judgement. Rational decision making is a necessity.
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TOP 5 MOST DANGEROUS INCEL MOVIES
Top 5 Most Dangerous Incel Movies By Madeline Perez
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nside of me, there are two wolves. One is very passionate about movies and film analysis and wants to talk about it. The other doesn’t want to come off as a pretentious asshole. Every day they have epic battles in which there is no winner and they will go on fighting, forever and ever, until the end of time. Like the conflict in the Middle East, this battle between my two selves seems to be never-ending with no solution in sight. But why can’t I fully unleash my inner movie-loving wolf on unsuspecting friends and strangers? Why does the phrase “film analysis” make me want to puke my guts out? What has caged me inside my own head? There is a terrible plague upon our society. No, this time I’m not talking about photography students. Self-proclaimed “Movie Buffs” are constantly using a baseless knowledge of cinema to put themselves above others and channel their horrible personhood. This normally does not come from a love of the craft, but the love of “feeling superior” and, in other cases, “owning the libs.” The existence of these situationally unaware narcissists makes me fear unleashing my movie-loving self, lest I be lumped in as one of them. Who knows? Maybe I am one already, but I try not to be, so hopefully that’ll be enough when judgment day comes. You may find these pseudo-intellectuals trying to bring someone down for liking something recent, family-friendly, or, worst of all, something with a dreaded “female lead.” Whether they’re raging about the girl in Star Wars or still hung up on the verdict of Roe v. Wade, they probably hate you for not enjoying “true film.” You, in your ignorance, may be prompted to ask “So, what is ‘true film’?” With a smirk, they will look down on you and probably utter the name of their favorite movie, the pinnacle of cinema and art alike. For your convenience, I have compiled a list of their most dangerous answers. So, look out drywall and reader alike, your local Rorschach impersonator is going to educate you on their favorite movie, and, if it’s one of these five, I suggest you start running.
5. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World This is not a red-flag movie per se, but if it’s your favorite movie I’m going to assume you self-insert as Scott. Let me guess: virgin? If you encounter a Scott Pilgrim fan and have any manic pixie dream characteristics, do not interact. Chances are they will become deeply infatuated with you but still refuse to see you as a fellow human being. The best cure for liking Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is getting laid and finding a better movie. 4. Pulp Fiction I love Pulp Fiction. It was secretly my favorite movie back when I was young and still believed there was good in everyone. Then I met other Pulp Fiction fans, that belief changed faster than you can say “what,” again. I have seen Pulp Fiction weaponized and used to hurt others. I have been personally victimized by cringy Pulp Fiction fans who think knowing the movie automatically makes them the hottest bitch on Earth. Which it
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can’t, because that spot has already been taken by me. Overall, if someone goes out of their way to let you know that they know Pulp Fiction, they probably secretly like feet. 3. Fight Club Though Fight Club fans have been dying out, their power fantasies rage on stronger than any star in our galaxy. For those under the shoe of a boss, parent, or other unspecified authority figures, it’s not uncommon to desire “cool, masculine violence” to prove that you’re actually not to be fucked with and have a very big penis when you think about it. Die-hard fans misinterpret the underlying fight-club message of “find your own identity rather than what society holes you into” and instead are obsessed with proving they’re dominant, manly, and that it’s only a matter of time before “they’ll all see.” Maybe herbal tea and a hug will help with that deep-seated anger towards the world. Then again, maybe not. 2. Joker Buckle your seatbelts, folks, because this off-brand Taxi Driver movie is, dare I say it, the incel film of our generation. Obsessive fans jerk themselves off about being special social outcasts while simultaneously disagreeing with the movie’s actual messages about bettering mental health services and wealth disparity. It’s hilarious. Again, the power-fantasy elements and “I’ll show them all” vibes make this movie a hot commodity for step-dad hating, wall-punching piss boys. Sadly, they’re probably not going to get the loving mother figure or therapy they so intensely need. 1.Taxi Driver I will stress that Taxi Driver is a perfectly good movie. These are all perfectly good movies and there is nothing wrong with liking them; my point though is that sometimes obsession with these movies comes with certain implications, and none is worse than that of Taxi Driver. Will all the incel vibes of Joker, the pretentious “Movie connoisseur” aura around Pulp Fiction, and some extra “the streets are extended gutters” Watchmen undercurrent, the idolization of Travis (our quirky main character) is a recipe for disaster. All and all, if you encounter someone who is unreasonably obsessed with one (or several) of these movies, don’t fret, because not all hope is lost. Over time they will most likely grow out of it, or maybe, one day, even learn the touch of a woman. Unless they’re majoring in film—I don’t think there’s any way to recover from that. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy all the “bad movies” you want; I’ll protect you from the “film critics” (unless it’s Toy Story 4 because fuck that movie). Who knows, maybe after society heals and the grass once again grows on the graves of our strife, we will all be able to fearlessly unleash our inner wolves to feel the sun once more. All I can do is hope for a distant utopian future where people have stopped being assholes about movies and everyone can enjoy and discuss them in peace. Until then, stay strong, pure-hearted movie lovers, your time is coming, though it might not be any time soon.
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AN ETHICAL OVERSIGHT
An Ethical Oversight
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By Jonny Fast
On April 12th, Pipe Dream published an article titled Banning gender-affirming care is unscientific, abhorrent, discussing a recent wave of legislation banning certain gender dysphoria treatments for minors. The article was, in my personal opinion, a showcase of progressive ideas in their most radical form. While it is shocking to see such ideas being discussed, it does not surprise me, given the reputation of Pipe Dream, that they would publish such an article. Moreover, in the latest issue of Binghamton Review, an article written by a colleague of mine, Madeline Perez, responds to the article “Contemporary Arrogance”. The response is mostly fine, as the article in question was poorly written and contains many baseless claims. However, the response brings up the same points which were presented from Pipe Dream. While progressives may claim that there is nothing wrong with these prepubescent hormone treatments, the truth of the matter is that if given to minors, these treatments are misguided at best and unscrupulous at worst. In her article, “Contemporary Stupidity: A Response To Contemporary Arrogance”, the author claims that puberty blockers are prescribed, safe, reversible, and can be used to successfully treat patients, and possibly prevent the need for further surgery. To back up her claims, she cites an article by the Mayo Clinic describing said puberty blockers. According to the Mayo Clinic article, puberty blockers, specifically GnRH analogues, are molecules that block sex hormones, such as testosterone, from causing changes that would typically occur during puberty. Switching focus to Pipe Dream, the author of that article makes similar claims, more or less, though in a more condescending tone. As a result, I will take the claims in the Binghamton Review article as the main focus, as it features the same points but without any of the hallmarks of Pipe Dream opinion pieces, i.e. bad faith generalizations of political opponents and lack of Oxford commas. While puberty blockers will not result in death, this does not mean that these drugs are harmless. The Mayo Clinic report states that the changes are not permanent. However, if one reads further down the Mayo Clinic article, one would notice that puberty blockers have certain side effects including longterm effects on bone density and fertility. While this could be avoided by only prescribing these treatments in the short term, the only way to effectively pause the effects of puberty is to prescribe them in the long term, as puberty is a phase which lasts throughout adolescence. Despite what our two aforementioned authors would like to claim, the possibility to cause abnormal bone density, or even worse, infertility, is not an effect of a “reversible treatment”. The research article cited in the report concluded that further studies are needed to determine the effects of this medication. It’s clear from this article that there is no scientific consensus on the issue of puberty blockers; in fact, it seems that this treatment is quite experimental. However, this has not caused practitioners to cease these treatments on minors. In fact, access to these experimental treatments has been labeled as a human right (see Pipe Dream). Given the severity
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of these effects, the continued use of puberty blockers on minors should be considered unethical. Even if scientists were able to develop a completely reversible and harmless version of the puberty blocker, there would still be ethical issues involved with administering the treatment. When looking at the impacts of these treatments on the incentives of those receiving them, one would conclude that the opposite is true. When puberty blockers are given, they restrict the development of masculine/feminine traits that would develop during puberty. This is because these treatments are designed to halt the release of hormones that trigger many of the changes brought about by puberty, thus keeping the minor in this transitional state. Without the release of these hormones, the patient would maintain an incentive to desire a more permanent solution, such as gender reassignment surgery. Since the patient would be making an uninformed decision due to their unfinished development, it is unwise to give minors the choice to make such a severe decision. Finally, the author states that if the minor is under the age of medical consent, 14-16 depending on the state of residence, the minor would require parental consent to undergo these treatments. However, the parents of such minors may be just as uninformed as the minors themselves, as misinformation regarding the treatment is constantly being spread. Moreover, activists and clinics have been pushing to administer these treatments so far as to ignore other possible causes for their discomfort, such as social pressures or a different, unrelated condition. This leads to some people with circumstances like Keira Bell and a subreddit of almost 20,000 people, who have de-transitioned and likely will not be able to revert back to their conditions before treatment.1 If patients are directed towards an option by manipulated incentives with no consideration of alternatives, then one can hardly say that this is an informed decision. If puberty blockers are unethical for use, then how should minors who suffer from gender dysphoria be treated? Looking at alternatives, the best option seems to be psychotherapy and/ or mental health resources. Given that gender dysphoria is a physiological phenomenon, it seems appropriate that experts who understand how the mind develops can treat these patients. While there are currently issues about the accessibility of therapy, there are also benefits from its use. First off, therapy can be used to treat depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and other symptoms which are common comorbidities in minors with gender dysphoria. Additionally, therapy does not have the ability to cause any drastic changes similar to puberty blockers. Finally, it’s possible that some minors may overcome their gender dysphoria and become comfortable with their own body, though this outcome is best achieved from the use of therapy. While advocates for puberty blockers may be well-intentioned, one can see that there are multiple ethical concerns with the use of these drugs to treat minors. These concerns regard the long-term impacts that come from the use of these treatments on minors who have yet to understand themselves.
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Publication Report Card
PUBLICATION REPORT CARD
By Our Staff
At the end of every year, Binghamton Review looks at all the student publications and the content they provide before giving a grade on the quality of the writing. Unfortunately, this year was quite different for school publications, considering all publications ceased printed publication. Well, almost everyone. Anyway, most content being moved online anyway, we decided to review all the student publications, so you don’t have to! Presenting: Binghamton Review’s Publication Report Card for 2020-2021! Free Press/Asian Outlook/Ellipsis: F Little to no content produced this year. Kind of hard to give an actual grade and feedback when there is nothing to give feedback on. We’d blame it on the pandemic; however most of these publications have been ghosting us and all Binghamton students, long before the pandemic even existed. Sorry, guys. Pipe Dream: DSTOP WRITING ABOUT TIKTOK, GOD DAMMIT! -Matt Gagliano Another year of disappointing articles from Pipe Dream. As someone who has been working on Press Watch almost every issue, I have to say, there is nothing that pains me more than reading whatever garbage Pipe Dream published each week. Whether they’re writing their fifteenth article on why TikTok is great, or writing about why we need to wear masks even after the pandemic, or why we should abolish the Senate, or why BU should institute a marriage pact program, or about how guys are apparently measuring the diameter of their penis, it gets more and more painful the more you read. Even after pleading with them for years, Pipe Dream still refuses to use the Oxford Comma in their articles. It’s annoying, painful to read, and hurts me physically. You see what I did there? I used a fucking OXFORD COMMA! Take notes, Pipe Dream, it’s really not that hard! They also still haven’t responded to our diss track. We would give them an F, but they are one of the only other publications to actually publish content consistently this year, albeit online only, so we bumped them up to a D-. The BUTT: D You would think that a publication called The BUTT would actually be funny...and produce articles consistently...or produce any articles for the semester at all. While solely an online publication, they stopped publishing articles after the fall semester. What a twist! The few articles that they did publish were subpar at best. Their funniest article, “The University Hand Sanitizer is Delicious, No Sign Will Stop Me”, was shockingly boring for satire. Their only saving grace this year was a photoshop parody of a Pipe Dream article advocating for the abolition of the Senate ala Emperor Palapatine, which genuinely gave most of us a hearty chuckle. For this reason, the BUTT gets the D. Binghamton Review: A++ I mean, really, was there any doubt that we would be at the top of the class? Not only has Binghamton Review printed in spite of the pandemic, not only has Binghamton Review maintained a strong online presence via our website and Twitter, but we didn’t even have an office to begin with! Great job, SA, on the space allocation! We’re sure getting kicked out of our office in favor of other publications that have not produced a single printed issue was worthwhile this year, huh? You would think that so many difficulties, from a world-wide pandemic to administrative incompetence, would cause Binghamton Review to stop printing, but apparently not! Regardless, an ever-expanding list of contributors, fun and creative articles, and a dedicated staff easily earn Binghamton Review its high grade. editor@binghamtonreview.com
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NEXT YEAR’S E-BOARD
Next Year’s E-Board
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By Our Staff
Editor-In-Chief: Matt Gagliano What’s up gamers! My name is Matt Gagliano and I have finally made my way through the ranks to the Editor-in-Chief position. Last year I was the Copy Desk Chief, and this year I’ve had the honor of being the Managing Editor. You may recognize this picture as the same one that I used in my E-board intro last year. However, if you look closely, you’ll notice that unlike the poorly edited one from last year, this one has been properly photoshopped, and doesn’t look like shit. That is my plan for next year: to produce issues that don’t look like shit. After spending the past two years in editing positions for the Review, I believe that I have learned much about the editing process, and now have the skills required to lead Binghamton Review to another year of outstanding issues, dunking on Pipe Dream, and occasionally uploading subpar videos on our YouTube channel. I believe we have a very strong E-board set for next year, and I can’t wait to continue to work with all of them. Managing Editor: Madeline Perez Greetings, faithful Bing Review readers! I, Madeline Perez, am back for another successful year on the E-board. While it was a great honor being the Copy Desk Chief, I knew in order to fulfill my lifelong dream of writing emails, I needed to become Managing Editor. As some of you may remember, I am a neuroscience major and will be a Junior next year, so calling me a “baby” will be both hurtful and factually incorrect. My hobbies include reading, writing, and rolling around in the mud to stay cool during the warm summer months. Chances are you may find me around campus walking or eating, so don’t be afraid to say hello! 8
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NEXT YEAR’S E-BOARD
Copy Desk Chief: Joe Badalamenti Hello Everyone, it’s me, Joe Badalamenti, here to introduce myself again. I am leaving my role as Business manager for a position along the front lines of journalism. Personally, I would have preferred a bigger role for next year, but I believe I can make do with what I have. I am an engineering student but I do have interests in cultural and economic issues which I will write about throughout next semester. As for my plans, my first goal is to improve the editorial process at the Review, the past two semesters have not been as smooth, editorial wise, as I would prefer. In executing my role, I will see it that every article published by the Review meets a standard of grammatical quality to defend our reputation as a college publication. Moreover, I would like to expand our role in reporting on campus matters. Throughout my time in both the Review and Binghamton, the most significant articles published by Binghamton Review relate to reporting information which was unknown to the public. The continuation of this tradition is necessary in order to maintain our principles. Finally, I will continue to write articles which present different ways of thinking about society. Business Manager: Charles Forman Hey everyone! My name is Charles Forman, and I am a rising sophomore at Binghamton University. I am an English major who intends to pursue a career in Law, likely in a business law-related field. In high school, I started a blog called Disclosed Gamer which received thousands of views every month and had a following of over 40,000 across platforms. I am so excited to become the business manager of the Review and use my previous experience to help advance our school’s paper to new heights. I write about Business, Politics, and Pop culture, and school-related issues. I enjoy watching television (a little too much), reading the news, and playing sports (Tennis, swimming, running, and biking). I am so excited to see what the future holds, and I am more than ready to be a part of this journey. Social Media Shitposter: Arthur O’Sullivan Ahoy. My name is Arthur O’Sullivan. My pronouns are I/you/he/she/it/we/you all/ they. I am a rising sophomore, and my major is…I’ll get back to you on that. I am the Social Media Shitposter for the Review, meaning that I post the articles, e-magazine, and other review-related (and unrelated) things on our social media. I write about the society in which we live. editor@binghamtonreview.com
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PARTING ADVICE
Parting Advice
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By Jake Schweitzer
Frankly, I can not believe that four years have passed since I began my education at Binghamton University. To me, it doesn’t seem real; I still remember waking up and being packed into my parents’ car, before being driven four hours across the state while the sky was still kissed pink-rose, thinking it was just another day before high school. The anxiety and, to a lesser extent, homesickness, really hit me a week after staying in my cramped, three-person dorm in CIW. Beyond the unideal room situation, I knew practically nothing about Binghamton beyond the brief tour I was given. While I did know some distant acquaintances that went to this University, we always stood on the periphery of each other’s lives, meaning that any close friendship between myself and them was highly unlikely, despite my best efforts. Nonetheless, I took solace from the fact that this was a new setting, and over time I gradually became acclimated to my new home, made new friends, and pushed myself to do well in class. Over this time, I’ve read books ranging from Jonathan Haidt to Marcus Aurelius, and think I have learned a lot from my time here. Therefore, I want to leave Binghamton University with some parting advice for those that may have been in a similar situation to me. Who knows, you may learn something from the advice I provide. They go as follows: I. Understand your limits. Entering Binghamton for the first time felt like an ambitious undertaking and, the truth was, it wasn’t something to be overwhelmed with. Between the academic aspect of doing well in classes, knowing practically no one when first arriving here, and trying to get by day-to-day, managing my time was extremely difficult. I noticed, especially during my first two years at Binghamton, that you had to understand “time management” in order to succeed. While this in and of itself is sound advice, it is missing an important caveat: manage your time with things that are actually worthwhile or can provide you with feasible benefits. Sometimes this could include doing work or simply engaging in hobbies that you find enjoyable. However, if you find yourself being stretched thin, even with your schedule in order, only for you to engage in something you have no interest in, why do so? From my own experience, this results in you becoming stressed, tired, and miserable. Don’t just simply “manage” your time; understand HOW to use such time effectively. Find what works for you within your abilities and stick with it. II. Assume good faith. It is very easy to become lost within the machinations of one’s own perspective. We can think of this in a political sense. Given that we live on a college campus, the dominant school of political thought skews towards the left, although there are certainly some voices (albeit few) from the political right. At the very extreme ends of the spectrums, the most polarized voices from the far left and far right engage in a dualistic sense of thinking that reminds me of the religious wars of old. Does someone hold right-of-center views? Then obviously they are
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evil bigoted authoritarians, says the polarized far-leftist. Does someone hold left-of-center views? Then obviously they must be evil communists, says the polarized far-rightist. From this point of view, it’s merely a battle of good versus evil, a “cosmic war”, if you will. Of course, this can be applied in a more general sense, when we automatically assume a drastic extreme about someone or something without evidence. The solution to this social ill that you may encounter on campus and beyond? Assume good faith; assume that the person you are interacting with can teach you a thing or two, and that their perspective is not influenced by a genuine sort of malice. Try, instead, to truly consider things from their point of view. Not only does this sort of thing help with understanding political opposition that you disagree with and humanizes their perspectives, but it can be applied in everyday life. Think of this when you may be having difficulties with roommates. I know I have had such issues at Binghamton. III. Reject iconoclasm. Iconoclasm is defined as the destruction of images or statues for some religious or political goal. The term has often been applied to mean that such images are denigrative to the practice of one’s faith, and thus must be destroyed. Obviously, when I am discussing iconoclasm, I am not referring to the literal destruction of icons on campus or even the mass trashing of Binghamton Review issues that I’ve seen firsthand. Rather, I use iconoclasm in the sense that some simply seek to have their own opinions validated, and those that choose not to conform to this validation are to be excommunicated from the social sphere, or, as some people say with varying levels of seriousness, become “canceled”. Again, while this could be applied in a political context, it could also be applied to an absolutest mindset that is inculcated within us from a lifetime of comfort and yes-men. My point is that you, as a Binghamton student, should not expect such affirmation constantly for every opinion you hold from everyone under the sun. Rather than holding a desire to remove any opinion that does not automatically validate yourself, as would be the norm for iconoclasts, approach such arguments as being a vehicle for understanding. The added perspective could give you a real sense of gravitas to the opinions you hold, why you hold them, and a good look at the true face of those who disagree with you. It may even convince you that perhaps you hold your views based on irrational premises and that it is better for you to adjust or change your argument for your benefit. These are rather general recommendations, though I think that, had I had this advice before coming to Binghamton, I would have been better off knowing such information. Nonetheless, I see it as my responsibility to pass what I have learned to you, the average Binghamton student. Always remember that you can succeed and that you are not alone.
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WHY NEW YORK SHOULD GET RID OF INCOME TAX
Why New York Should Get Rid Of Income Tax By Charles Forman
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or too long, New York City has been on the decline. Crime is up, businesses are failing, and many citizens are finding that the government has not been working for them. Due to these circumstances, New York’s population is leaving in drones. To maintain our status as the Empire State, we must change our course of action. With a corrupt Governor and an incompetent mayor in office, our leadership is failing us. New York State has over nineteen million residents from all walks of life. As one of the most diverse cities in the world, New York City has become a model for what other cities should be. However, in the past year, that has changed. To get New York back on track to its glory days, I am proposing that the state follow the fiscal policy of states like Florida and Texas, where they do not impose an income tax on their people. With the average rent in Manhattan being $3,628 a month, it is difficult for those earning under $145,000 a year to live comfortably. In the fiscal year of 2020, there were over 122,000 homeless people, including children, in New York City, many of which have taken to the streets in tents and under scaffolding. As the gold standard of cities in the United States, how has the government allowed this crisis to happen? The answer is through high income taxes and little support for those who cannot afford the high rents and costs of living expenses. When taken into account with other expenses such as food, water, utilities, and transportation, it is becoming financially unlivable for many. The response has been a mass exodus, so much so that, during the last census, New York lost a seat in the United
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States House of Representatives. With so many facing financial hardship, getting rid of income tax could be the solution to our woes. When thinking about our state’s policy, the main idea I thought of is to follow the states where our fellow citizens have fled to. Many see states like Texas, Florida, and Nevada as a golden standard of living. For all intents and purposes, take Houston, Texas, the fourth biggest city in the United States. In Houston, the average cost of a house is $210,000 and the average salary is $72,000 a year according to payscale. In New York City, the average salary is $93,196, according to Smartasset, with the median home price being $916,000. Comparing the average price of a home to the average salary in New York City vs. Houston, the cost of a home is 3 times the average salary, while the average salary is only 1.2x as large. Another example of a lower cost of living brought on by no income tax is Florida. In 2019, the poverty rate in Florida was 12.7%, while in New York, the poverty rate was 13%, according to Statista. While these percentages are close, this is despite the fact that the population of Florida is larger than that of New York. A possible reason for this is that Florida does not have state or local income taxes. New York could greatly benefit from getting rid of income tax. Currently, even those who earn less than $8,500 a year have to pay 4% of their salary to income tax. That does not even include local or federal income. Income taxes already place strain on those earning minimum wage, who struggle to afford basic necessities. While programs like Section-8 housing have eased the burden on lower-income earners, it prevents those in the lowest income brackets from saving money for retirement, because they have less money they can put into their savings account, which means less money to invest and grow wealth. This proposal could create a fi-
nancial burden on the state’s budget. New York has been a safe haven to some lower-income earners and immigrants due to our rigorous social programs, and we would not need to get rid of these programs if we were to get rid of the income tax. While income tax does make up 62% of the state budget, we could raise property tax rates for residential homes in high-income earning areas. This would allow lower-income earners to save more money and have more money to spend on their needs. Raising sales taxes would also benefit our state while not taking as much income because most sales taxes are for wants, and not needs. After getting rid of the income tax, we could make up for it in the budget by raising the capital gains tax, as well as estate, real estate, and sales taxes. This would ease the financial burden of taxes for those in the lower-income bracket, and give them more money to spend on things they need. Eventually, they would be able to purchase homes and make other investments that could lift them out of poverty and allow them to have a better quality of life here in the Empire State. In turn, this would help small businesses and allow for larger investment into businesses, which would raise employment and not force more than 1 percent of the biggest city population into homelessness. By getting rid of income tax, we can help the lower-earners take in more money, allowing them to spend it on things they need: food, shelter, and transportation. However, getting rid of income is not easy, which is why I would propose raising the real estate tax, sales tax, and capital gains and estate taxes. This would ease the burden on the lower-income taxpayers, while simultaneously stimulating the economy and making our state more attractive to high-income earners. By enacting these policies, lower-income earners can begin to build wealth and become the common core foundation of our state’s economy.
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COWARDLY CUOMO’S CAPITULATIONS & CLOSED CONFERENCES
BINGHAMTONREVIEW.COM
Cowardly Cuomo’s Capitulations & Closed Conferences By Patrick McAuliffe
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espite my own southern European heritage and the continuation of the Gagliano dynasty (congrats on being elected EIC for next year, Matt), Binghamton Review is not a safe space for Italian people. More specifically, the Review is not a safe space for one Italian man. My animosity for Governor Andrew Cuomo is old news, but the news on Big Fredo seems to change every day. He continues to be hostile to the press in new and impressive, albeit cowardly, ways; he likes to invent pissing contests with NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio; he stands his ground and denies any wrongdoing in the THREE separate investigations into his administration and conduct. What is simultaneously disgusting and relieving is that, as the walls close around him and his executive powers are subject to ever-growing oversight, Cuomo is lifting many of New York’s COVID restrictions, such as on the capacity of buildings and nighttime curfews. A broken, gaudy Rolex is right twice a day, and even though the Italian Stallion is finally coming around to matching the mandate policies of other, much freer states, his self-centered reasons for doing so are all too apparent. I’ll begin with a story, a tale of euphoric excitement that ultimately ended in tragic disappointment. On April 27th, at 12:09pm, the Governor’s office put out a press release, stating that he would be giving a speech at the Binghamton University Foundation on Gannett Street in Johnson City. The problem with this press release is that it listed the speech as happening an hour from when it was released (1:30pm), and over two hours from where the Governor had traditionally been giving his press briefings in Albany. The event was closed to the press, consistent with his weeks-long policy for previous press conferences after questions about his sexual harassment allegations have gained steam. I was Doordashing at the time, and upon seeing the press release on
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Capitol reporter Zach Williams’ Twitter, I was elated. I had no intention to cause trouble or heckle the Governor, but I suppose I wanted two things: to see whether Big Fredo would allow a lowly citizen of his own state to attend his speech, despite forbidding members of the press; and to see whether his apparent charisma carried over in person, instead of through my small phone-sized window into his near-daily proclamations. Nervous and excited, I parked my car at the park next to the Johnson City Walmart and approached the building. Right away, I clocked four police SUVs, two of which were UPD cars. The parking lot was almost entirely blocked by cones, which supported a “DO NOT ENTER” sign. I crossed the street and walked around the parking lot side of the building for a bit, trying to find a public entrance (the normal BU Foundation front doors read “Entrance for Employees Only”). A woman in full desert camo walked into the building as I approached, and she ended up standing behind Cuomo during his speech. After inspecting the building to no avail (and seeing another
State Trooper car further in the lot), I went to leave the parking lot and asked a UPD cop stationed in his car at the entrance if the Governor’s speech was open to the public. He was unsure but hypothesized that, since “they” (meaning UPD) were all there, it probably was a closed event. I thanked him and, as I left, a black Cadillac SUV driven by a man in a suit pulled in front of the cones. Neither the cop nor the SUV driver talked to me further, and I left in my own car with the same feelings one will often feel after leaving the Johnson City Walmart: disappointment, and sadness for the experience that one just had. To be fair, I didn’t identify myself as a member of the student press corps at BU, despite my lack of identification that would back that up. It didn’t appear to be a press conference-style event, however, judging from what the local news stations live-streamed at 1:30pm. Cuomo announced that all state-run vaccination sites would now permit walk-in vaccinations for everyone ages 16 and up, and tried to reason with (while, admittedly, strawmanning) those that are vaccine-hesitant. The speech was just another opportunity for Big Fredo to project his strength, with military personnel and people in scrubs standing behind him, and lay into the help that the SUNY system provides the state in its continuing vaccination effort. He didn’t totally fool the Albany media, however, as Bernadette Hogan from the New York Post was able to make it down to Binghamton in time to ask for Cuomo’s comments on his current scandal-ridden administration after the speech. According to the Washington Post, this is not the first time this has happened recently, nor is it something totally unexpected for the Albany-based press corps. Cuomo hasn’t been taking questions from the media in recent weeks, as he probably grew tired of the badgering about his sexual
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COWARDLY CUOMO’S CAPITULATION & CLOSED CONFERENCES
harassment allegations and the nursing home death scandal. He drives out to Syracuse, Binghamton, and Buffalo for publicity events without giving members of the Albany press sufficient time to get to these events, usually about an hour and a half notice for trips taking several hours of driving. How Hogan was able to make it down to Binghamton to question the governor is also explained in the WP: while Cuomo’s location may not be revealed to reporters in Albany until it’s too late, he will usually tell local TV stations of
“All he seems to have in life is his governorship, but do New Yorkers really want this cowardly narcissist lording over us for any longer than necessary?” his plans to travel so that they can be the ones reporting on and live-streaming his events. The local stations then reach out to reporters that they have a relationship with, allowing them the foresight that Big Fredo tries to avoid. Cuomo’s contentious relationship with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has also become a cornerstone of his recent meteoric fall. Cuomo and de Blasio have been at each other’s throats for much of the pandemic, as the governor ordered top-down restrictions on NYC dining capacities and consistently tried to get credit for COVID precautions. According to the New York Times, Cuomo set up a separate publicity event from de Blasio to welcome the military hospital ship the U.S.N.S Comfort back to the city, and aggressively berated the regional FEMA administrator, Thomas Von Essen, who had acted on de Blasio’s orders to ship medical supplies, such as ambulances, throughout the region; Cuomo believed the supplies needed to be shipped throughout the state. According to the New York Post, de Blasio was furious that Cuomo moved up the date of a full reopening of New York City from July 1st to May 19th, saying that the earlier reopening
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will not provide ample time to watch trends in COVID transmission and take appropriate action. Besides sticking it to de Blasio and taking credit for himself, as a narcissist is wont to do, Big Fredo most likely expedited NYC’s reopening because his house is crumbling around him. He has three separate investigations pending with NYS Attorney General Letitia James: his coverup of the true death toll in NY nursing homes; the more than ten accusations of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct that began in December 2020 with Lindsay Boylan; and misuse of campaign funds to promote his COVID leadership book (which was published at a time when New York was only second to New Jersey for the highest death rate in the country). Naturally, like any good politician, Cuomo has put his head down and charged right through the public outrage and calls for resignation: he blames the miscounting of nursing home deaths on the “political Department of Justice” under President Trump, according to Fox News; he denies any wrongdoing or inappropriate touching in the workplace; and refuses to comment on the financial aspects of his book deal until his tax returns are released. This is a bad guy, right? His knee-jerk reaction is to shift blame away from himself, and only takes responsibility when something good happens, even if it’s someone else doing it. I’m not crazy? The New York Times put out a stunning character study of Big Fredo called “The Rise and Fall of Andrew Cuomo”, updated on April 13th, 2021.
I encourage every voting-age person in New York to take a look at it for themselves, because it details extensively just how many people in New York politics, including fellow Democrats, have such a disdain for the governor. Even his alleged threatening of NYS Assemblyman Ron Kim was so in line with something that he might do that his office’s denial of the bullying phone call was, for the most part, publicly ignored. None of this even gets into how quickly Cuomo is reopening New York. His stranglehold on curfews and “food with drinks” rule at bars and restaurants is now suddenly gone. New York City, the site of a year-plus-long draconian lockdown and a place of so much COVID death, is suddenly losing all of its restrictions. Cuomo’s emergency executive powers were set to expire on April 30th, but a bill passed the NYS Assembly on March 5th that prevented him from passing any new executive orders, only permitting him to amend previous orders indefinitely with oversight from the state legislature. April was a rough month for Big Fredo; one can surmise that the full state reopening is a last-ditch effort to salvage any sizable chunk of public support before his gubernatorial term ends in 2022. Who knows whether he’ll run for governor again and try to beat his father’s three consecutive term record? All he seems to have in life is his governorship, but do New Yorkers really want this cowardly narcissist lording over us for any longer than necessary? I would hope, by now, the answer is a resounding “fuggedaboutit”.
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HOW TO SPEEDRUN LIFE
How To Speedrun Life
BINGHAMTONREVIEW.COM
By Matt Gagliano
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his article is about how to speedrun life...and time! Hell yeah, that’s a new personal best: 3 seconds on my “writing an introduction for a Binghamton Review article” speedrun. As you can probably tell, I’ve been getting into speedruns lately. While I’m not good enough to actually speedrun any games myself, I still find it very entertaining to watch others effortlessly fly through a game in ways that don’t even seem possible. My original idea for this article was met with some opposition from the Editor-in-Chief; mayhaps it will finally see the light of day next year, when there’s a new Editor-in-Chief, who I have a strong feeling will support said idea. Anyway, in an attempt to come up with an alternative topic for me to write about, he mentioned something about speedruns, and much like when Newton got hit in the head with the apple, it hit me. Not an apple, that would be weird. Especially because I was inside when it happened. Like, where would the apple even come from? Is there some delinquent running around just chucking apples at people for no reason? What does this apple chucker stand to gain from this? Is he trying to be like Cupid, but instead of shooting arrows to make people fall in love, he throws apples at people to give them sudden bursts of inspiration? I suppose it doesn’t really matter; what does matter is that it was this new idea that hit me, not an apple. I should write a tutorial on how to speedrun the game that all of us are forced to play: life. First things first, no, I’m not talking about the board game. Why the hell would I be talking about the board game? It’s literally not even possible to speedrun a board game; all your movement relies on the luck of a dice roll. No, I’m talking about speedrunning your very existence; from the moment you emerge from the womb to the moment you take your last breath. Now, in order to give you valid advice on how to speedrun life, we have to first establish the type
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of speedrun we plan to do. Some of the most common speedruns are the any-percent speedrun (typically written as “any%”) and the 100% speedrun. While there are a lot of other types of speedruns (some of my favorites being the “get laid%” in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and “nipple%” in Super Mario Odyssey), the any% and 100% runs are what people usually think of when they think of speedruns, so those are the runs that I’m going to discuss today. Also, we technically all hold the record for the nipple% speedrun of life, seeing as we were all born without a shirt. Well, at least I hope we were all born without a shirt. I’m looking at you, Baby Shirt Larry. In an any% speedrun, the run is complete once you reach the end of the game. Typically there are no requirements as to how you get there, as long as you make it to the end. If you’re currently reading this, then I’m sorry, you’ve already failed the any% speedrun of life. Since the any% run only requires that you finish the game, the fact that you didn’t die immediately after being born means you’ve already lost. The current world record for the life any% run is .08 seconds. This was achieved by exploiting a famous glitch known as the “pussy clip”. If you press down and jump at the exact frame in which you emerge from the womb, you can actually clip through your mother and, with another frame perfect input, land at just the right angle to break your neck, killing you instantly. This clip can only be pulled off by some of the most talented life players, so don’t feel ashamed that you couldn’t do it first try. After all, if you really want your name in the life speedrunning hall of fame, there’s al-
ways the 100% run. As you can probably guess from the name, a 100% speedrun is complete only after you beat 100% of the game. This usually involves beating every level, completing all objectives, and pretty much just doing everything there is to do in a game. So, how does this apply to life? Well, if a 100% speedrun is completed once you finish all the objectives, then a 100% speedrun of life should be completed once you achieve everything you hope to achieve in life. For some, this involves getting a job, getting married, having kids, and other generic, boring, SLOW garbage like that. Only real, competitive life speedrunners know, if you want to shave precious seconds off of your life 100% run, you need to set the bar real low, and be ready to die as soon as you’ve hit it. The bar, I mean, not an apple. If you really want to optimize your run, you could have your only goal in life be to die, then utilize the pussy clip to get the world record for both the any% and 100% speedruns at the same time. I think it’s about time to wrap this up; I’m already way off pace for the Binghamton Review article speedrun. While it may be fun to think about how speedrunning can be applied to things other than video games, it’s important to remember that life is not a race. There is no leaderboard for accomplishing certain things before everyone else. It may be really cool to see people beat games insanely fast, but ultimately it’s better to take your time and enjoy the game; you’ll have a lot more fun playing the game for 30 total hours than speedrunning it in 3. The same applies for life. Rather than counting the seconds, you should try and find a way to make every second count. Haha, just kidding, that’s what a SLOW LOSER would say! I’m going to invent time travel just so I can go back to before I was born and be the first person to complete a life speedrun with negative time! Smell you later, you turtle-adjacent idiots!
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“For Your Health”
“FOR YOUR HEALTH”
By Marc Anthony
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or better or worse, the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, has approved or banned things “for people’s health”. A few of the things the FDA has banned include Haggis, flavored e-cigarettes, unpasteurized cheese, various colorant chemicals, oil of saffron, and tonka extract, citing their potential for harmful effects to the body as cause for their bans. However, I’m not writing an article to argue about how wonderful Haggis is and how we should all be eating it (I personally am not a fan of animal innards, but you do you). This article is about how the FDA has moved to ban the sale and production of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars to “significantly reduce disease and death.” While yes, it’s likely that this move will reduce the amount of smokers who smoke these products, it’s also incredibly likely that this will increase a fresh hell of racial injustice and over-policing, further driving a deeper wedge between communities of color and the government at a time when tensions are already high due to excessive force used by cops for arbitrary reasons. Menthol is the last available cigarette flavor, after all others were banned in 2009. Flavors like cherry, chocolate, and various others were taken off the market because they appealed to minors and young adults, since the flavoring tends to mellow out the strong and harsh taste of pure tobacco. In 2014, the FDA polled a group of 12-17 year olds and 18-25 year olds, and found that 80 percent and 75 percent respectively reported that the first tobacco product that they tried was flavored. In another poll, the FDA noted that 85% of black smokers prefer menthol products, compared to 30% of white and 35% of Hispanic smokers. This is understandable, since for many years Big Tobacco aggressively marketed menthol cigarettes to the black community. In the United States, around 39% of all cigarette smokers use menthol. Similar to flavored cigarettes, the ap-
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peal is that the cooling mint flavor masks the abrasive taste and allows for deeper inhalation since the pain receptors in the mouth and throat are blocked by the cooling effect. According to a 2018 study by the University of North Carolina, despite this sensory illusion, only seven percent of people who smoke menthol cigarettes actually believe that their brand is better for them than regular unflavored cigarettes. The vast majority know that their cigarettes are just as toxic as any other kind; it comes down to a matter of preference, especially in communities of color.
“The ban will be for naught, at the expense of the black community.” The FDA has come out with a statement saying that the ban will only directly impact manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, importers, and retailers; they will “work to make sure that any unlawful tobacco products do not make it onto the market.” That’s all well and good, but you know which country didn’t ban menthol cigarettes? Mexico. The demand will still be there after they’re banned, and people will either travel to Mexico if they live close by, or participate in the inevitable black market right here at home. In a similar way, this has already been proven true: New York banned the sale of flavored e-liquids for vapes, and people either go to Pennsylvania to buy them or they have them imported (here’s looking at you, gas stations selling mint Juul pods in French). Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and people will always find a way to get what they want: in this case it’s that sweet, sweet chilly taste of minty death sticks. Regardless of the ban, there’s still going to be a demand for this type of cigarette. Maybe a little corner store imports them and keeps selling them to cater to their customer base; what are the cops going to do? They’re going
to barge in, shut it down, confiscate the offending minty plant, and arrest people. As seen in many past situations (or basically anything involving cops, really), this is going to be enforced with excessive brutality. Another negative inevitability is that police will crack down on the sale of loose cigarettes, under the guise of “safety” to make sure that menthols don’t reach the lips of any innocent person. We’ve seen this already happen in the case of Eric Garner, who in 2014 was murdered by police for allegedly selling loose cigarettes without a tax stamp. Since the black community reports that they use menthols more than any other group, this really seems like just another excuse that police can use to target them. Police are going to use the ban as an excuse to burst into black and minority-owned stores to make sure nobody is selling menthols and stop black people on the street to make sure they aren’t smoking any minty bois, at a much higher rate than they will for white people and white-owned businesses. Menthol cigarettes were banned in Canada nationwide in 2018, so there is already evidence as to what will happen if, and when, the ban goes into effect in the United States. A study done by the National Bureau of Economic Research revealed that a menthol ban didn’t have a great impact, because many people just switched to non-menthol, or purchased their menthols from Native Canadian reserves, because they were exempt from the ban. In short, the ban on menthol didn’t really do much; people still found a way to get what they wanted to get. I imagine the same sort of situation will occur in the United States. The ban will be for naught, at the expense of the black community. If the FDA truly wanted to help people to be healthier, they would speak to the communities plagued by the issue and work with them to find a solution instead of a catch-all ban that has the strong potential to cause more harm than good.
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