la
~<%
~\..el1t.ew
Volume V., No.2
A Choice Not all Echo
+
It.~~ ~~
November 1991
~
UI-I . . . SIR, TI-IERE'S A GROUP I-IERE DEMANDING TI-IAT WE I=IND A NEW MASCOT.. .
r'== BEARS ,I) CWICAGO
, ~ ' '.
Multiculturalism goes to the bears. President DeFleur : Profile in Cowardice Homosexuals and the Military Clarence Thomas Disbanding the SA ... and much more
"'QI, ~Qf
Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief... ..... .. Michael Thomas Malloy
Table of Contents
Executive Director. ... ... ......... .Adam Bromberg Publishing Editor.. ..... ........ .... ..Paul D . Schnier Managing Editor.. .... ... ............. Andy C. SlOl Jr.
Copy EdiIOr. ................. ...... ........ ..John Magg io reasurer.. ............ ...................... ..Jeffrey Weyl
Contri bu tors Layout Coordinator.. ...... ... ..Alexandro Aucone Seeretury ...................... Gerhm路dt J. Feichtimger Ephraim Bernstein Steven Schwamenfeld
Ken Trcptn A . Aroya W. Gloflke Kevin Jones
Brian Degano T. Kotch Chris Vanderwinckel
Alumni Board Brian Sullivan Kathryn Doherty ames T. Sheka Paul Scolese oseph Rosenthal
Katri na Schwing Mathew Caff Richard Carr Yan Ru sanovsky Bill y Schor
Advisor. ................................. Dr. Herb London Honorory Advisor. ..................... Ronald Reagan Emperor of the Universe ... ..... ... .. Peter Kaplan
"/ shall do nOlhing in malice, whal I'm dealing with is 100 imporlalll for nalicioliS intel/I." Binghamton Review is an independent
Letters to the Editor.. ......................... 4 President DeFleur: Profile in Cowardice .......................... 5 Promise of a Color Blind Society....... 6 GSEU Demands Unreasonable .... ....... 8 Is the Military's policy Regarding Homosexuals Justified? .. 10 The Diversity Debate Continues ....... 18 What's in a Name .............................. 22
Departments
'ournal of news, commentary, and analysis publi shed month ly. Students at Binghamton receive the Review free of charge.
The Right Side ............ ........................ 12
Letlcrs to the editor arc encouraged
Book Review...... ............................... 16
and should be sent to the Binghamton Review, SUNY -Bingham ton, P.O .Box 6000, Binghamton, New York 13902-6000. A ll submissions to the Review become the propert y of the Review. The
Review reserves the right to edit and print an y submissions. All opinions expressed arc those f the author's and do not necessarily represent thai of the Rev iew.
FROM THE EDITOR: 1lle purpose of any govern ment is to represent not a few voca l and powerful speeial interests. bu t all of its constitu ents. The Student Assembly of SUNY -B has failed to represent the people for who m it was designed . The reaso n for this is simple: stude nts do not actively participate in the elec toral process. This lack of studen t parlicipalion in th e govcmm cilt enahles the special illlcrcsis on campus to use th e S.A. as their refu ge. As ev idence o f this. le t's look at so me of th e resolutio ns th at have been passed by our S.A. I. Author: Angus Johnston. Whereas: The SA strongly opposes any furthe rescalati on of th e war by the U.S .. including the bombing of civi lian targets and the introduction of gro un d forces ..... Should a n association c ha rt ered wi th representing th e students of this university be making foreign policy? Further. did the members of the SA have a poll showing stude nts viewpoi nts before they adopted this resolution? Orwas that the SA actin g asan reac tionary tool for the lefti sts special interests? 2. Author: John Choe . Be it Resolved: T hat the SA of SUNY-Binghamton condemn and oppose Ihe mil itary invasionand annexlliioll of Kuwait by th e Republic of Iraq ..... Readers should be aware that neither the State Depa rtm entn orth e Republican Guard in Iraq heard of the SA's resol uti on . If they had. ["m sure Saddam wou ld have left wi th out a fight. 3. Author: Dan Tabi tcheff. BARK/RAG Be it Resolved: The th e S.A. oppose the servi ng of veal in the dining halls and demand that the product be rem oved from the Credi-Dine me nu at SUNY -B. I suppose stude nts ca n not decide forthemselves as to eat Veal or not. The S.A. obviously feels that c hoice is only appropriate when it concerns anoth er issue. 4. Auth o rs : Dav id Baranov. Jo hn C hoe. Khaldo un Sammon Be it Resolved: That the SA of SUNY- Binghamton write a lett er to the appropriate media and governm ent o rga ni zat io ns. co ndemni ng th e ki ll ing o f th e 21 Palest inians by Israeli police and the re taliatory ki lli ng of three Jews by a Palestinia n..... . Should the elected officials of the S.A con·
cent rate on student life and th e problems at Binghamton or urc their interests elsewhere? 5. Author: Christ ine Fecko Whereas: The SA support s Lesbian . Gay. and Bisexual people taking ste ps toward eo min g out of the closet. particul arl y th ose who arc People o f Colo r. Wome n. Bisex ual. Diffe re ntl y-a bled . HIV-infec ted. or me mbers of other oppressed groups. expressing proudl y who th ey are .... The obj ectives of this resolutions clearly show that it does not nessearliy represe nt the opi nions of the campus community. 6. Authors: Christine Fecko . Abby Cohen Be it Reso lved: Tha t the SA strongly encourage President Bush to sign an Executive Order to immediately rescind 000 (Depanment of Defense)directive 1332. 14 which excludes lesbian. gay. and bisexual people from the US Armed Forces .... Please refer 10 this months arti cle wrillcn by Kevin Jones abou t the debate bet ween the Armed forces and the Gay communit y. 7. Authors Julie t Lyttl e. Angus Johnston Be it Further Resolved: The Stud e nt Assoc iation wi ll rev iew its sup port of blood drives after th e FDA has reviewed its policy. Did the S.A . polilhe students to sec if they wanted to hold blood drives. or was the blood drive ended because of the special interests. These resolutions we re passed at a time when the Un iversity's budget was bei ng slashed. course offerings were being cuI. and our university's national reputation was being tarnished by Ihe now infamousdisruplion o[Professor Hofferbert"s lecture on the fall of the Berlin Wall. The list of the Student Associations resolutions goes on and on. The common link to most of these resolutions. hereafter known as sC3molulions. is that the SA of Ih is Uni vers it y arc out of to uch with th e needs of the students. Instead they pande r to special interes ts that are outside of the "mainstream... Binghamton needs lodcccntralize the SA by giving thccol11munity governm entsmore power. Thi swill empower students and allow th e elec ted representa ti ves to be direc tly accountable to their respec ti ve communities.
What's your opinion? Send letters to
• •
Binghamton Review, P.O. Box 6000, Binghamton,N.Y. 13902
Letters to the Editor: To Jeffrey Weyl: rc: "Ques ti oning Abortion Rights versus choices" Pa rt I : The fetus has not bee n scie nt ificall y dee med a child. nor
a li ving being. Therefore. your a nalogies of husband to wife and of child 10 burglar is wrong and ina pplicable. In fact. I would cali yo ur a nalogy of husba nd to
wife sexist. Part 2: D & E. What a re the stati sti cs on aborti ons Inking pl ace 12 weeks int o t he pregnancy? 1 would imagine there are ve ry few . and therefore the number of cases in volving
"slicing and cru shing" of the FETUS (not the c hild ). ra nges from very low to nonex istent.
Furthermore. it seems th at in this pari ofyour"th eory." there is too m uch spec ula tio n and false representati on con cernin g the
feelings and happening duri ng an abort ion. Incide nt all y. ho w wo uld yo u k now abo ut th e
"slicing and crushing?" Have you ever heard it? Has anyone e ver hea rd it? Do you believe e very scie nt ist's theory. or onl y th ose Ih at agree wit h yo ur hypothesis? Pill13: The psychological aspects ARE wha t many women thi nk abo ut . before. during. and after. accordi ng to those women who have a nd have not had abort ions. Those who have not te nd to try .and imagine what it would be like. But. take note: yo u cannot discuss or speak absol utely unless you have been through il ! Have you. Mr. Wey l? The n how exactl y is it that yo u know abou t th e psyc ho logical effec ts and repercussions. Funhcrmorc. I despise the idea o f you telli ng me, a member of th e fcma le racc, what I s hould and sha ll fecI. For yo u to all ude to wlwt we. as Page 4
wome n. shoul d be feeling, leads me to th e co nclusion that yo u have the mllkingsof a malechlluvinist, thinking th a t wo me n do no t have th e inte lli ge nce to th ink abo ul th e psychological implications of having an abortion, On th e other side. do you kn ow the psychological effects o f carrying Il child that you do not want. but that some man has forced upon yo u, whether through rape or just unplanned sex? Is thnt the women's fault. blame. or proble m? How is it tha t the male tends to be removed from the picture at th at mome nt? Furthermore. yo ur position as a "ProLife" advoca te leads me to believe tha t th ere arc many people who feel as you do. Even worse. there must be those who corne across as you do. who desire to keep fe ma les from th e freedom to sta nd up and fi ght. not to ment ion th e ri ghllo choice in mlllters of their own bodies. By being " ProLife: ' you remove th e female from the picture and looko nl y atthe morals. th e " fac ts .. ' a nd th e " poss ib le implica tions on society." (?????). It is fine th at you believe in thc"ProLi fe" movemenl.a nd that you walllto be conservati ve. But beequal. and be co nsiderate of the "other" sex and the "other" side: th e " left " side. the fe male side. And j ust because you feel as you do. docs eve ryone else have to? The "ProChoice" movement lets yo u follow your beliefs, but docs not force any or its stanceson anyone! Yo ur Ilfticlc made interestin g, anger provoking reading,
Bebe HU ller
Le t me be gin please . by stating simpl y: I am not a feminist. I sta te this so that Mr. Jeffrey Wehl. au th o r of an edit o ri a l e ntitl ed "Questioning Abortion." published in
the first issue of The Binghamto n Re view . won ' t double over in painful spasms while rav ing abo ut how th e ab ortio n iss ue. an par ti c ul ar ly th e "proc ho iec" Ilrgume llt, has been reduced nothing more th an a means to rileup a fem inist. So. having sta ted this. 1 woul d like to also ex plain that th e fa ult I find so prevale ntly existe nt in Mr. Weyl's argum enl does not lie wi th his perso nal beliefs. Instead, it is his usc log ic to draw a n "ethi ca l" conclusion with which I take issue. (Pe rha ps it would also be wise to state th at I a m no t "another one of those liberals ," at least not in the traditional sense of the word: rather, I would like to be viewed as " liberal min ded" implying th at I s uppo rt th a t leg isla ti o n whi c h upholds individualliberlies.) It seems obvious to me, above al l else. th at Mr. Weyl is sore ly mis in fo rm ed abo ut the relati onship of morality and the law. Irresponsible journal ism as ide. I fin d it hard to believe thai Mr. Weyl attempted 10 define what is right by his own idea of morality a nd therefore. in his ow n words, conclude that .... .it is legall y right for a state to prohibit a ny ac tion that is morall y wrong." Forgive me if I seem nai ve, but I w,mrl erl exac tly how Mr. Weyl fo und tha t " legal" definition to be support ive of the "ProLife" movement. In addi tion. the conclusions he had draw n fro m th e Roe v. Wade decision have premises which arc fac tually incorrect. I offer as a re futa tion Mr. Wey l's blanke t statement " In conside rin g murder. ..the only important fac t is Ihal the m,,,m pri took place ... : ' the idea that it is legal! y pernlissible for a n individual to kill another person in selfdefense. Sure ly Mr. Weyl would no t hesita te Continued on Page 15 Binghamtoll Review
President DeFleur : Profile in Cowardice
w
hen Lois B. DeFle ur was chosen to be the president of SUNY Binghamton in the summer of 1990. she said. 'The nex t few years are going to be difficult." lillIe did she know just how difficult they would be. During her tenure she has had numerous occasions to show that she is a leader who can rise to the loccasion and meet th ese difficult challenges. but she has failed every tim e. In fac t s he has shown the faculty . students and outside communit y that she is no leader at all. On May 3 1. 1990. after a lengthy search. Lois DeFleur was chose n to be the president of SUNY Binghamton. DeFleur had previbeen the Provost at the University of Missouri at Columbia. She is a Sociology professor whose specialt y is juvenile delinquency in America. She became president of this universit y after the resigna ti on of Clifford D. Clark. fo llowing a stormy tenure as president. Whe n DeFleur took over. a virtuall y all new administration
was in place, with few members who had any long-standing ties with this universit y. The new Dean of
She did not even have the decency to show concern that a student on her campus had been punched in the face just for attending a public lecture.
Arts and Sciences Sharon Brehm was ex ternall y hired. The Academic vice-president. PcterWugner came from anot her uni vers it y a
couple of years ago. as had the new VP for Administration. The onl y Bin ghamto n Review
person wi th any long term relation-
ship with the universit y was David Anderson.theacting VP for Student Affairs. who has since been replaced by Rodger Summers. also ex ternally hired. The first instance in which Pres. DeFleur' s leadership was tested was the issue of th e blood drives. After numerous demonstrations by students calling for blood drives to be banned, DeFleur acquiesced to the wishes of radical students. Despite the fac t that a maj ority of studen ts on this campus supported the continuation of blood drives. DeFleur still caved in to this radical group. During the time that blood drives were banned. the Gulf War had begun and man y called for the debate over the blood dri ves to end so that we cou ld have blood for o ur soldiers who may need it. but DeFleur continued to ban the blood dri ves an yway. DeFleur could not even stand up to protesters and allow students to donate blood to soldiers (or others) who ma y be in need.
campus. much less his ow n o ffi ce. 1 - - - - - - should be fired ." Adam The most importa nt tes t of ~B!!!!!!~~!. Lois DeFleur's ability to deal with crisis came after the March 14 NAS lec ture by Prof. Hofferber!. There is no need at this point to rehash the events that occurred at the infamous March 14 lec ture. It is pertinent
__
"A University president who negotiates with storm troopers who have occupied any part of his campus, much less his own office, should be fired. "
howevcr. to discuss theevcnts which occurred after the lecture and how
the president hand led the difficult situation. Afterthe incident . DeFleur did
110 t
corn e out and condemn the
violence whi ch occurred. In fact she basicall y ignored the si tuation unli l
During these limes olher
the national media got involved.
incidents tes ted her leadership. When students took ove r her offi ce to demand the resignation of the Chairman of the Latin American and Caribbean Studies and de-
Once th e Wall S treet Jou rn a l. theWashington Times and th eNew York Pos t condem ned the incident and the administratio ns handling of it. she fin all y spoke o ut about it. After the incident. nobody in the adm inis tration took any tim e to get in touc h wi th Prof. Hofferbert and apologize for what happened or even to find out if he was okay. The presiden t did not even feel it necessary to call a professor who has bee n hereforover 15 years and say. " I am so sorry this happe ned to you. if there is anything I can do please feel free to call me any time." She
manded the hiring of more minor-
ity faculty she immediately caved in to the students. Without any disc ussion with other faculty. the administration made deals with these students toappease them. The head of th e Latin American and Caribbean Studies departm ent resigned under pressure. Once again. a vocal group of students caused the uni versity to give in to its demands. Eugene Genovese. the na-
tion s most prominent Marxist sc holar. wrote in a New Republic article. "A universit y president who negotiates with storm trooperswho ha ve occupied any part of his
evcn refused to admit th at anything
wrong had happened. Hofferbert wrote lellers to DeFleur and o thers Continued on page 9
Page 5
Promise of a Color Blind Society
T David Holland
hcrecent confirmation hearings for Supreme
COUri Judge Clarence Thomas once again bro ught th e so enlied 'race question to the forefront of American society. Clarence's
con se r vat ive v iews bro ught
charges and name calling from
theestablished black leadership. He was torn aparl in the liberal med ia for havi ng sold out his own past. He was referred to by many black leaders, (and many of our own facult y) tiS being an
' uncle Tom' and a'house Ne-
Liberals generously dig deep into the pocket of the American taxpaye r 10
give handouts to minorities on Ihe
basis that they have historicall y been
under af fi rm ati ve action
oppressed. These liberals arc doin g favors for no one but
helping anyway'! Certainl y not t
themselves. that of reli ev in g th eir guilt y cOl1sciouses. Imagine
the sense of pride a yo ung minorit y student feels knowing th nt he has been admitted to college not on the basis
of his achievements, but because of his color. Just like people who
When minorities are seen truly as equals and not as inferior races needing to be coddled and cradled, only then will the . promise of a color blind society . become a viable reality.
gro ', 1l1Omas. his conserva ti ve
,Issumcd Judge Thom:lS
supporlers, and his liberal attac kers both claim to have the same goal s in mind when it
because orll is color and not hismerit . The message bein g taught is not one
comes to civil ri ght s: Ihe crc-
ation of a trul y color blind society. The split in the two ideologies isnot over the goal itself. but over th e means of achievin g
th is goa l. To the uninformed and the ill informed. the conserva ti ve viewpoint
on such issues as quotas. alli rmative llclion and the 'welfare mentality' may appear to be
The resourcefulness that developed during the civil rights struggle led to enormous and well deserved gains for oppressed minorities. racist in nature. No thing could be farlher from the truth . In fac t. it is the liberal view point that keeps minorit y groups in thi s country from achi ev ing tru e
equalit y.
see how destructi ve these privileges and handouts really are. Who are the quotas malnd:ateld I
was accepted into Yale law school
of equality but one of white superiorit y. This is why the liberal course is inherently racisl in nature. II says minoriti es ca n't compete on an equal
level therefore quotas must be established to achieve rac ial dive rsity. It 's simply a nice way of saying that minorit ies are academically inferior
but in order to compensate for past victimiz<ltion quotas are necessary.
I don' t deny that mi norities have historicall y been oppressed or thnt rn cisrn still exists in Ihis country, but
quotas and handouts are not the solution. They simply sweep an ugly problem under the rug where it continues to fes ter. Handouts and the li bera l 'we lfare mentali ty' breed idleness. and quoins destroy dignit y as wellnsrei nforce feelings of inferi-
orit y. Can li berals trul y believe that mi norities ~lfe equal while cont inually pushi ng pri vileges on them sim-
ply because they are minorities. It makes one contemplate if they are doi ng it to achi eve true equality among th e races or arc they doing it
to relieve guilt complexes. Perhaps their goa l is sim ply to gain votes among th e minori ty groups who don'(
student admitted because he is a member of a minoril y group and not for his abilities . Findin g himself among academically superior
stude nts will not help his self esteemorhisG PA. Theschool gains no th ing but the false piece of mind that comes from thin king thnt il is doin g something to help minori-
ties. The claim of ac hieving di ve rsilY c:tIl be dismissed. Can they truly believe that ethnic di ve rsity is so important while discouraging and frownin g upon intellec tu al diver-
sity in the name of political correclness'! What about the work force? A blac k police sergeant may receive disdain from fellow officers who automatically assume Ihat he achieved thnt posl due to his color and 1I0t his merit. Inslend
or leaching minority
yo uth that they are inferior by con vi ncing them they require constant handouts, society should instead encourage the same values
that characterized the civil rights movement of th e 1950 's and 1960 's. The resourcefulness that developed during the civil rights struggle led to enormous and well deserved COlltillll ed Oil
21
Binghamfon Review
After the Firestorm : Clarence Thomas
c
larc nce Thomas has takenhisscatas the 106th ju s ti ce to s it o n the
Supreme Court. Hc is the second black man 10 receive this honor. Clarence Thomas brings to th e nalion's hi ghesl court a solid se nse of the proper ro le of the judiciary in Ihe American sys le m: a body charged wilh Ihe interpre tation of the law. as opposed 10 a policymakin g body. Furthermore. hc has arti cul aled a philosophy of consti lutional law Ihal is rooled in thc underlying precepts oflhe American system of governmelll as expoundcd in Ihe Declarat ion of Independence. What is perhaps mosl stri ki ng aboullhe man himsclf is Ihat his life slory is a Iribule to Ihc Amcri can system functionin g as the Founding Fathers had inte nded: a sys te m where Ihe individual can. o n his own me ril s. s hape his des tin y. C larence Thomas has repea tcdly cited the profound innue nce of his upbringing. in th e course of which he was inSlilled wilh the va lucs of selfreliance and personal dignit y values Ihm have shaped his judicial philosophy as well as his political ideals. Indeed. T homas' fierce espousal of thcse valucs has dccply un scnl ed thc cont e mporary civi l righ ts eSlab lis hm ent. It is. perhaps.
Clarence Thomas brings to the nation's highest court a solid sense of the proper role of the judiciary in the American system thc shock oflhe familiar as wcre the values Ihm comprised. in part. th e
Billgham/oll Rel'iew
mcssagcoflhcori ginal civil rig hts lcadcrs. bcfore the movc mcn t becamc dominated by a leftist ideology.
harassment allegat ions. thc unauthorized publ ication of those allegations. and th c subseq uent co ntinuation of the hearings marked the beginning of a spectacle tha t
A. Araya
From Ihe moment. last June. when President Bush nominated
Clarence Thomas. a polit ical storm secmed inevitable. What could not ha ve bee n imagin ed was th e un savory spec ta cle th a t wo uld unfold several months latcr at the confinntllion heari ngs. L1S1 summer it came as no
surprise when the Congressional Black Caucus stridcn tl y came out against the Thomas nominat ion: the NAACP fo llowed suit. (Clare nce Thomas isoneofa growing number of black conscrvmives. suc h as Thomas Sowell and Shelby Steele. who challenge th e lcgitimacy of th ose liberal demagogues who claim to bc the heirs of the civil right s move ment. ) The Urban League. however. re mained neutral. wh ile th c So uth c rn C hris ti a n Leadership Confcrence endorsed the nomina ti on. Nor was the initial oppos ili o n of thc feminis t movement unexpected. One such acti vist was widelyquotedassaying "we're going to Bark him".
Thc fir s t pha sc of Ihc confirmu t ion h e~lfing s. wh il e inquisi torial in nature. did not serio us ly detra c t from th e nominee's level of support among Ihc American public. He was grilled on abort ion by thc Dc mocrats o n the Senate Judiciary Comm inee. and was queslioncd suspiciously on his belief in the natural law principles which inspire hisj ud icial philosophy. among oth er indignities. But Clarence Thomas survived: he seemed headed for confinmllion. Professor Anita Hill' s sex ual
Had Clarence Thomas been reo jected solely on the grounds of what one senator described as "doubt sown by a single individual," it would have been a de facto guilty verdict which he would have been sentenced to bear for the rest of his life.
Americans will not soon forget:: that of an already tarnished selec tion process turn ed into a grim circus where reputations and ca ~ reers hung dangerously in th e balance. This final episode was seized upon by the professional feminis ts who have. lu dicrously. accused the Democratic members of the Senat e of "betrayal" of women in th eir confirmalion of
C larence Thomas. While a "hcightened awareness" of sexual hmassmcnt has, arguably_ cO lll e abo ut as a byproduct of these hearings. th e primary purpose lest we forge t was to dcte rmine the suitability of a nominee to th e Supreme Court. It is di sturbin g that fe mini s t
groups. having failed to convince the American public Iha tthc hea rings werc somc son of forum on scx ual harass mc nt . nonctheless latched on to Ihe idca: inlhe wake o r Clarcnce Thomas' confinnalion these groups have created an exc use to funher villify Thomas (whom they presumc "guilty") and 10 confer Vic tim sinus upon Co ntinued on page 21
Page 7
GSEU Demands Unreasonable T. Kotch W
....:.:.;路:...:.:.:~~-I
A
bouttwowccksago lhc
firs t iss ue of "The Grad ume Student Em-
ployee Un ion Times" in grad uate stu de nt campus mailboxes. The sclfproclaimed goal of this newslener is to "" . educme slUdents about the GSEU and facilitate discussion of union iza tion [or
SUNY's grad ume student employees. " An initial reaction was to dismiss this newslener as ano ther example of th e ultm-Ieftist claptrap which is occasionall y litteredabout bytheGSO. However. as grad uate students. we felt compelled to at least read the newsletter (partially because it was printed o n ye llow paper and therefore is not recyclable). Basicall y. th e GSEU wa nts full employeestatus gmnted to all SUNY GAs and T As along with the right for graduate students to fonn a
They speak of watching ..... each other spill sweat and tears in isolated battles... " Surely Upton Sinclair or Emile Zola would have lots to write about after visiting a li路 brary carol, the modern day sweatshop. union . The ncwslcllcr also COIl-
tains a plmform for th e GSEU which goes on ad absurdum . The followin g is the list of "rights" ou tlined in the GSEU Platform 199 1- 1992.
I. The ri ght to barga in collectively. 2. The ri ghllo a living wage.
3. n,e ri ght to health care provided as a benefit by th e employer and to the needs of Page 8
ees. theirdependents and their spouses and/or mates regardless of a fonnal marriage .
4. The right to adequme child-care benefits provided by the employer. 5. n,e ri ght to parental leave. and to
15. The right to work at jobs related to the employee's field of grad uat e study. and atjobs Ihat do not unduly deprive the employee of time to deVOle to his or her
leave for primary cm'c givers in geneml. 6. The right to complete remission of tuition. as we ll as the cost of books and other items related to a graduate student employee's education, teaching. and research. 7. The ri ght to full representation and participation as teac hin g/researc h colleag ues on all SUNY -wide carnpus govern ance bodies. 8. The ri ght to work under clear. equitab le. and mutually agreed- upon job desc riptions and working conditions. 9. The ri ght to an impartial. just. and mutually agreed-upon set of procedures for the sw ift resolution of workplace grievances. 10. The righ t to be free of any sort of reprisal for ac ti vi ti es related to organizing graduate student employees or promoting their interests. 11 . The right to a workplace free of sex ual harass me nt . a nd free of discrilllinalionbascd on sex, .age. race, religion. creed, political philosophy.
ethnic or national origin. sexual orientation. disabilit y. or status as a studen t. 12. The ri ght of international students to be free of the unilateral im position of discriminatory fees and requirements. as we ll as the right to equal treatmen t by the State University in all phases of their em ployment and study. 13. The righttoa safe workplace. free of exposure to hazardous conditions and substances. as well as the ri ght to be informed of any potential hazards. 14. The ri ght to employment by the univers ity for the same num ber of yeMs as it should reasonably take a gradume student to complete the degree program in which he or she is enrolled.
Like it or not we are ina subordinate position. It's surprising that these students aren't asking for tenure.
education. The manifesto goes on to proclaim that ..... education is tI
right. not a privilege. and thm grad uate student employees ha ve a basic right to jobs that both provide
a living wage and allow sufficient tim e for th eir studies:' WRONG!!! A grad uate
education is an em-ned privilege. TIle "righ'" 10 pursue an advanced degree comes only after intense
work and successful complet ion of an undergraduate degree. Furthermore, the option o f graduate school isachoicemade by thoseofus who are looki ng for a more sec ure future; we choose grad uate sc hool as a means to anend notasanend unto itself. The sti pend provided by this (or any) uni versity is to he lp the graduate student in pursuing his or her advanced degree. It is not meant to be the sole source of famil y income. pay for day ca re. or provide health insurance for you and your spouse (or significant other). The au thors of this list speak o f ha7~1rdou s work condiContinued on page 19
Binghamton Review
--DeFleur, continued from page 4 illg the usc of violence a president can sel a tone for behavior on camshould condemn Ihe usc of violence pus. thai is what leaders hip is all in a university. None of them took aboul. DeFleu r chose nOI 10 be a him up on Ihis and in faci only one leader and inslead look Ihe role of member of the administration even appeasement. spoke 10 Hofferbert and lold him Afrer a period of receivIhal he was concerned aboul whal ing negalive press. Pres. DeFleur had laken place. responded 10 some of Ihe news paAI leasl a dozen ol her pers. In a Ieller 10 Ihe New York professors wrole lellers 10 DeFleur POSI on April 29. DeFleur nOl ed describing Ihe incidenl as Ihey had Ihatlhe entire lecrure was delivered. seen il and urging her 10 lake aC lion. nobody was hUrl . onl y one sludenl These professors. like Hofferber! was disrupti ve. and one ULE D ofemphasized 10 DeFleur Ihallhe ad- fice r was prescnt and fell no need 10 miniSlJ'alion should keep in close call for assislance. Man y of Ihese COnlaCI wilh Ihe NAS professors 10 things wcre parlially true. Theenl irc avoid a serious public relalio ns lecture was delivered. only because problem. The presidenl chose 10 prof. Hofferberl had the courage 10 ignore many of Ihese facully mem- go on Ihe whole time. Nobody was bers and in faci wrole lellers 10 hUrl (my jaw was only a lillie bil some of Ihem which said Ihal Ihey sore Pres. DeFleur). Only one Sluwere exaggerating the si tuation and denl did acl up (well. excepl fOri he were spreading "malicious rumors." . others who were cursing at profesShe refused 10 lake Ihe side of her sors inlhe aisles and th ose rew that
in the administration saying that they
own professors over a group of
sludenls. Many of Ihese professors have been leachin g allhis universily since Lois DeFleur was slill in graduale school. Afrer Ihe leclure. 1was followed and punched in Ihe face by some of Ihe sludenls al Ihe lecl ure. lusl like in Ihe OIher cases. Pres. DeFieur chose nOI to ever get in touch with me, or have anyone in
her adminis lration get in lo uch wilh me to see if I wasaLrighl. She did no t even have the decency 10 show concern that a student on her campus had been punched in Ihe face for allending a public lecture. DeFleur has never even publicly admilled thai my incidenl ever look place at all. Many facully and alumni were simply askin g the president to come out with a stron g statement
,,.,ying thai a uni versily is no place for violence and Ihal il will nOI be loleraled. She could have said thai any Sludenl has a ri ghlto allend any public leclure and challenge th e speaker as par! of academic freedom. butlhal cursing at professors. carrying canes and throwing thin gs across a leclure hall is nOI a part of free condemn-
Bingham/oil Review
followed and punched me). The one officer who W:IS at lhe lecture adm illed ri ghl Mler th e leclure thai he was in the back and was afraid that he could nol get to Ho rferbert in lime ir somelhing had happened and Ihal he was nol sure whallO do. Pres. DeFleur has eve n recentl y said that the whole situation was blown OUI of proportion. She claims Ihal a local colum ni,1 look Ihe ac tions of one Sludenl and exaggeraled them which was Ihen followed by Ihe nalional media. II is hard 10 believe Ihat newspapers like Ihe Wall Street l ournal or the WashinglonTimes wou ld condem n a whole sc hool based on a local columnists account of one students ac tions. Another instance where
DeFleur had show n her cowardice and eve n a lack of respeel and hospitali ly was on April 22. 199 I. On Ihal dare Herb London a Dean of New York University and a former candidate for governor of New York came 10 speak a l Binghamton. Pres. DeFleur'soflice was called by Ihe sponsorin g organizations (the Binghamton Review and College Republicans) and
asked ifshe would li ke to meet Dean London. a fellow academic and polilical figure in Ihe slale. AI first. the ofrice s:,id Ihal she had no plans Ihal day and Ihey wo uld check w ilh her. When Ihey were called back. they said she did nol have time. The president of our universily would not even spare a couple of minutes to say hello 10 Ihe Dean of one of Ihe nations Illost prestigious universities and also a prominenl polilical figure in New York. Being Ihal Herb London is the national chairman
Ihe Na lional Associa tion of Scholars (NAS) . she probably fell she could not handle Ihe criticism fro m him so she dec lined. Dean London and the sponsoring organizations
were glad to sec DeFleur's hospilal-
Her record of appeasement has given vocal student groups the idea that they can do anything they want and get away with it_
ily 10 a visiling scholar. Eugene Genovese in his New Republic article said , "The campai gn for 'political correclness' invites ugly lactics thai could never be susrained. however. without the campiicil y o f Ihe ve ry ad minislrators and Ihe very racully members at whom lhey are directed." In Ihecase of Lois DeFleur Ihis is cerlainl y Ihe case . Her record of appease ment has give n vocal srude nt groups th e idea lI,allhey can do anylhing Ihey w:U11 and get away with it. in th e trying limes 11'31 this universit y has faced during her tenure. DeFieur has done nOlhin g 10 prove Ihat she is a leader who can handle Ihese difficulti es. she has onl y provcd her moral cowardice.
Page 9
Is the Military's policy Regarding Homosexuals Justified? Kevin Jones
I
n loday's environment of hypersensitivity and group
Ihink_ seldom do "incorreel" criticisms receive an ything
morc than slogan ridden rhetoric
from Ihe moulhs of uplighl aCliviSIs. The cause at issue is the current drive by certain clements 10 ban ROTC programs and mililary reeruilers from college cam-
simply because some weaker arguments against homose xual cnln.lllCC into the servi ce can be invalidated
the opening up of the military (a
docs nOI mean Ihal Ihe debale is fin-
a more accurate comparison. it is
ished and oth er stron ger underl ying
nonelheless slill dissimilar 10 \Vha! could be expecled upon homo-
reasons call simply be brushed aside. The strongest of th ese underlying reasons. though morc il11angiblc than
olhers. is nOI so easi ly discarded. 11 SlaieS Ihal Ihe free elliry of homosexuals illio Ihe armed forces would c:lUse such morale problems among
What must be asked is whether there exists valid and necessary reasons behind the pentagons policy.
Ihe majoril y of Iroops Ihal il would severely hindenhe efficielll operalion of Ihe mililary. CCriainl y some will say Ihal allihis may sound similar 10 Ihe ralionale give n by Ihose who opposed the integration of blacks and women
illio Ihe armed forces when Ihose
women as a model for homosexual illiegralion? Though Ihis would be
sex ual integration.
The reasons
behind Ihis will also ellier Ialer in Ihis arlicle. Over Ihe pasl decades homosex uals have made considerable and righlful g<lills in Ihe area eliminating discriminati on against them
in Ihe workplace. Legislalion has been passed across Ihe coun lry prohibiting discrimination in hiring against a person based on his or her "sexual orientation." This leg-
islalion eXlends 10 bOlh Ihe privale and public seclor. The
puses across Ihe cOUiliry on Ihe grounds Ihal Ihey represelll Ihe
groups were nttcmplillg integration. At Ihctim cofbiack illlcgralion during
homo$exual argument is that since
military. which "discriminates" aga inst homosexuals. bydcnying them en try into Iheservices. This
Ihe 1950's and 60's Ihere we re pro-
government. thislegislation should
ponents of th e argumellt that white
npply 10 Ihem as well . BUllhis is a
anic le is nol illlended
10
be a
"homophobic" monll or rel igious
condemna!ion of homosex uals. bUI simply an allempl 10 objeclively explore if Ihe Ihe armed forces' conlinued excl usion of homosexuals remains valid in
1990-s America. Th e co mm onl y held view among clcmcllIs who sup-
pOrllhe ban of mililary programs on US campuses is Ihal by denying elliry 10 homosexuals. Ihe military is practicin g some sort
Ihe armed forces arc pari of Ihe
lroo ps would nol perform eflicienil y
weak conclusion. as the military
with black and minority Iroops in ill-
legrmed unils. These fears IUflled oul 10 be unjuslified. as Ihe end resuli of
and ils unique lifeslyle cannOI be fairly compared 10 work m a govemmenl office building or sl:1Ie
black integration is a military that is
university.
possibly Ihe mOSIracially harmonized illSlilulion in Ihe couiliry. Could Ihe same inilially bumpy period. followed by great progress be expec ted upon Ihe free enlrance of homosex uals illio
spend an 8 hour day al Ihe workplace and Ihen relurn 10 a privale home and more or less privale lifeslyle. Iflhis were Ihecase Ihere would indeed be very difficuli 10 juslify Ihe furl her exclusion of ho-
the service'? Or iscomparing th e bl ~lC k experience to the homosexual un-
sound? As \V iII be explained below_ Ihe Ialer is mOSI likely Ihe case. Should one illslead lurn 10
One doesn't simply
mosex uals fro m military service.
BUI in realily_ which is so oflen ignored in these issues.
life. on all levels. involves a low
of blind and haleful bigolry against a"minorily"' group. They
asserllhal Ihe mililary is deny ing Ihis "minorily" Ihe carcers and benefils Ihal il offers 10 helerosexuals. Whal musl be asked is whelher Ihere exisls valid and necessary reasons behind Ihe Penlagon-s policy. Ii is Irue Ihal some of th e traditi onal reasons
given by Ihe mililary. such as Ihal homosexuals arc more subjecllo blackmail Ihall helerosex uals. have fairly weak gro unding. Bul Page 10
In commemor~tion of Veterans' Day, the Binghamton Review would like to thank all those who have helped America remain free through the past decades.
Binghamtoll Review
degree of pri vacy and a hi gh degree constant interac tion and interdependence. A "daya t the office" may mean spending several months at very close quarlcrs in ex tremel y spartan condi tions at worst. or aday to day life of close contact barracks life at bes t. I f today's military were made up entirel y of people from places like San Francisco or The Village, th is lifestyle might not prove to be as much of an obstacle. But a look at th edemographicsof thecontemporary anned forces reveals th at their members arc not from such "cosmopolitan", "frcc thinking" arens, but instead predominately from such places as East T exas. th e Kentucky hills. or the coal country of West Virginia elc, .. As a result . Christianit y along with its morals and values is the mos t predominately represented religion in the armed forces. These are people who rel y on Christi anit y and its notions of ri ght and wron g as their gauge to whnt is acceptable and what is not. Regardless of whether it is justifi ed or nol. Christianit y rcgards homo· sex uality as a sin. and an unaccep table practice. Th e purpose of thi s article i s not to debate indi vidualliberl y and where do th e ri ght to believe one set of morals impose upon the freedoms of :lIloth er group. and vice versa. but it is worth while 10 alleast comment Ihat no individual can be coerced to accept anothe"- s beliefs: society can only insisl upon lolerance. integralion of homosex ullls into th e military would by necessit y have to invol ve more than simply tolerance if th e military can expec t tocontin uc it 's opera tions withoul scvere and dangerous interruptions. It issafe 10 say that the majori ty of these people followin g these much mali gned traditional values will not now, nor in th e foreseeable future simpl y accept newly ad mitted homosexu· als as normal indi viduals doin g nothing more than adopting a different "sexual orient ati on:' In th e beSI case scenario. these homosexuals will be and unCOI1l Bing/WIIIIOIl RlJ\'ie\!'
fortably toleratcd. and in the worst c~lsesce nario, regarded asrepulsive
and os tracize d. Eitherway . significant disruptj ons will beexpcrienced wi thin th e military, which from soc iety's standpoint as a whole is ex tremel y undesirable. Some may. innocentl y or nol. advocate saying: to hcll with the " nllITOW minded. backwards" people and push in tegration one way or the other. Here is where they point to previous integration effon s by blacks and women as evidence th at it can be done. It would requ ire a separate article to illustrate that looking at the black drive for integrati on ~I S a precedent for a homosexual one is indeed dodgy. It is sufficient to say here that th e same moral and religious objeclionslo black integrati ononly existed among very ex treme clements of society, and th ey were quick ly forced to chan ge or make wa y. Such a solution is not appli cable to homosex unl integration , for a majorily of the service wo uld have to make way. Are homosexuals prepared to fi ll such a void? There is somc legitimacy to lookin g at th e experience of women asprecedent. bu t instcad of revealingcvidcllce that homosexual integralion would be successful. it instead gives strength to the argu· ment against il. Despite what the Pat Schroeders of the world would like th e public to believe. Ihe integration of wom en into the armed forces has been farfrom smooth. It has led toanenvironmen tofblatanl double standards and impractical segregation that isal best tenuously maintained. A u·uthful. politically unbiased in vesti gaii on reveals continued trouble with fraterni za· tion among the ranks. How would homosex ual acti vi sts propose 10 carry out th eir integra ti on? Somehow, the mi litary must ensure that the potential for sex ual relations be tween troops iscomplctely minim ized. Even the simple separation of men and women within the b~uTacksand field has been difficult. To Ihrow an -
other variable: homosexuality . the equation would make thin gs surdly confusing. The cos t and fi ciency involved in such a I • would be inestimable. One may gesl th at no segregati on based sexual ity would be needed at Such a person should offer an amiw,:rl to the followi ng problem. X has taken his squad out to th e
Would society approve of letting a man shower in a group shower with women even if he isn't sexually attracted to most of the women? and finds that th ey arc short on How does he explain to Private Y from Snake B luff. South Caroliinal thai he has to share a cramped person tent with Privalc Z, who openly homosex ual? A ll the about nltcmative l ifestyl es and nogamoushomosexual rei:" i()n<hir,<1 in th e world isn't going to CO il an 18 year old B ible Belt bred that he can sleep soundly that This is IlOt even taking into a O';Olll>'I the fact that Pvt. Z mi ght actuall y desirous of Pv t. Y. Would so<:ietvi expect a woman to endure such ditions wi th a heterosexual Would sociel y approve of letting man shower in a group shower . women even if hc isn' l sexually trac ted to most of the women? about th e one women he is at to? Should she be forced to en," 1II1" thi s? Certainl y one needn' t " homophope" to see the en'viabililvl of sim ilardi lemmas be tween helerr)-I sexuals and homosex uals. Thi s article is in no meant to imply th ai homosex ual s unable to perfonn th e:tmiks lha,t wou:ldl be required of them in the m)llIlarv.t In faclmany homosexuals are al moment actively and dutifully . al beit cont inued on page 19
Page II
"/ felt intimidated by H orowitz... he affected the way / voted[on SA decisions]. " John Choe describing charges of racial 路 harassment against Student Assembly Academic VP Jason Horowitz. John, be a man.
te路. ~~--'-'-7'-"
. --
-
"The choice of a black-like Clarence Thomas replicates the slave master's practice of elevating those slaves willing to mimic the master's views, carry out the master's orders and by their very presence provide perverse legitimacy to the racial oppression they aid and approve." Derrick A . Bell, Weld Professor of Law at Harvard Law School
"Mario Cuomo's economic policies have turned the Empire State into the Vampire State." - Dr. Herbert London, Dean of NYU's Gallatin Division
Did you hear about the new Anita Hill doll? You pull a string and it talks ten years later.
"<. h'lr:J
:lea
Ql. N;dd\ill 0IlM ~ .l';NftI~ .I.N3W9Cln\: :am~" ~ :3)I'IW . S':I10l m~M .1\ ~'111 .l.'711!' GO). .1.1 'm '~
3N30S80 A"\f.LO~
XXX I
Governor Mario Cuomo offers you his words. Now consider his actions: Governor Cuomo claims that New York's deficit is the result of a miserly federal government. His own budget office, however, estimates that this year New York will receive 13 percent more in federal grants than it received last year. Since 1983,federal aid to New York has increased by 111 percent. Governor Cuomo and the state legislature approved over $1 billioll ill tax and fee increases in each of the past three years,incIuding $500 million in personal income tax increases this year. Governor Cuomo just approved a 7.1 percent increase i1l5pending, despite the state's $6 billion dollar deficit. Governor Cuomo item vetoed almost $1 billion in spending earlier this year but then agreed to restore spending for porkbarrel and other itemsthat brought the total increase in spending to $3.5 billion. Governor Cuomo approved spendi1lg i1lcreases of 103 perce1lt since he took office in 1983 , almost three times the rate ofi1lflatio1l over this period. Governor Cuomo's budget office admitted -less than a month after the state budget was adopted - that New York already faces a $1.8 billi01l deficit next year. Governor Cuomo and the state legislature approved one-shot fiscal gimmicks that prompted the state comptroller to file a lawsuit and contributed to a drop last year in New York's credit rati1lg, now the third lowest in the llatio1l. Governor Cuomo and the state legislature have run New York's economy into the ground. Since 1983, over 280,000 people have fled New York on a net basis.
Governor Cuomo: It's time to stop talking. There's work to be done - and undone. YCHANGE - NY, P.O. Box 21169, Albany, New York 122211.
Letters, Continued from page 4 to defend an attack on his own life in spite of his belief that murder. in and of itself. is immoral. I wonder why. then. he expected us to accept his misdirected analysis. In one of the worst examples of misrepresentation I have ever seen, Mr. Weyl offered a completely ludicrous analogy in order to prove why abortion in wrong: he stated that a woman is responsible for the life of her fetus, and therefore. the question ••.. .if a woman is dependent on. and has her life sustained by her husband. ...would it be the right of the husband to kill his wife if he no longer wanted her?" is valid. Please. Mr. Weyl. would you really have us believe that the two situations are equal? If you truly wished us to come away from your article better educated on this issue. could you explain to us in what situation is a woman' slife ••...sustained by her husband ... ?" Forgive me too, if I failed to see the connection in this analogy; perhaps this was due to the fact that I have not been properly "sustained." Mr. Weyl went on to provide some medical documentation to support his argument that a fetus is a human being. However. any educated individual knows that there is an equal amount of medical data to support the "ProChoice" argument. Regardless, I think that it is most important for me to say that the question of fetalrights vs. matemalrights is another debate altogether. I do take issue with Mr. Weyrs completely questionable use of "ethics" as the basis for a poorly analyzed argument. And, his "open message" to women at the close of his article is insultingly condescending to both men and women: it left me with the awful feeling that Mr. Weyl may someday pursue a career in politics.
Page 15
Dear Binghamton Review: I am writing in response to an article you published in your October 1991 issue. on page 8, entitled "Questioning Abortion Rights versus Choices." After reading through it carefully, I believe that there are serious flaws in the argument of the author. Mr. Jeffrey Weyl. and I seriously disagree with his assertions. For instance. when Mr. Weylquestioned whethera husband had the right to kill his dependent wife. he was making an irrelevant and ludicrous analogy. A wife and husband cannot be logically compared to a fetus and mother. The wife does not depend on her husband to breathe, and if estranged from him. she could well survive on her own. On .the other hand. an embryo in the first trimester cannot survive out of its mothers womb. Weyrs analogy would be more relevant if "ProChoicers" were advocating parental rights to kill their alreadyborn children, but their stance is nothing of the sort. Personally, I support a woman's right to have an abortion in the first trimester. My argument is as follows: 1) There is no right to life in our society. Human beings kill thousands of organisms daily for the sake of ··sport.·' Our society certainly does not respect
the sanctity of nonhuman life. 2) There may not even be a right to human life. The existence of deathpenalty laws renders obsolete any arguments that our society considers the right to human life inalienable. **3) Before the second trimester. the embryo is not human. Anyone that knows anything about human biology must acknow ledge this fact. A sperm alone is not human. nor is an egg; else birth control would be an instrument of death. Nor is the gamete, the production o(spermegg union, human. In fact, throughout the first trimester of pregnancy, the embryo has gill slits and a tail it looks no different than a fish embryo. It is a biological fact that the only thing that distinguishes human beings from other animals is a highly developed neocortex. or brain, capable of abstract thought. Without our neocortices, we would behave just like gorillas (in fact, gorillas would be smarter). THE NEOCORTEX DOES NOT APPEAR IN THE HUMAN EMBRYO UNTIL THE SECOND TRIMESTER. Therefore, before the second trimester, an embryo is not human; and our society does not recognize the sanctity of nonhuman life. Since the embryo can not survive without the mother's placenta, it may not be life at all merely an extension of the woman. The woman nurtures life; it does not develop in its own right. I encourage Mr. Weyl and all other "ProLife" advocates to carefully consider my argument. True, murder is defined as the termination of another life. BUT WHAT IS LIFE? And what is human life? Certainly not the human embryo. Gary Lai
Binghamtoil Rel'ieK'
Book Review Steven Schwamenfeld
-------1
The Disuniting of Americ Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Whittle Direct Books $11.95 The era that began with he dream of integration, ended p with scorn for assimilation:' his is the lament of author ichard Rodriguez and it is one hared by Professor Arthur chlesinger in his new book, The isuniting of America. chlesinger has been liberalism â&#x20AC;˘s eading defender for five decades. hus to have him come down on he "conservative" side of the ulticulturalism debate is omething of an event. Yet even quick glance through this book ells us why this result is hardly urpnsmg. Schlesinger is atching the liberal dream of an ntegrated. yet individualistic merica falling before a crush of ivai nationalisms: foremost mong them, the racist ideal of frocentrism. Florence King has oked about the prevalence of the xymoron "Americans of all ationalities" on TV news and her purveyors of culture have one the same. Schlesinger's k shows that this oxymoron is o joke. Schlesinger begins his k with an intellectual history f ethnicity in the United States. ere has long been two distinct iews of this phenomenon. One as seen the American as a new rson abandoning old ethnic ties nd em bracing democratic values nd culture. This has long been he liberal view and was the
Page 16
guiding ideal for advocates of immigration. American was a melting pot or "crucible" in which various ethnic types were broken down into a common culture. Early defenders of the American experiment celebrated this phenomenon. Indeed, de Tocqueville thought that new immigrants to America were more devoted patriots to their new land then they could could ever have been to their country of origin. This was a byproduct of democracy, and the exercise of the duties and responsibilities of a citizen in a Republic. Politicians like Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt echoed these sentiments,although they did recognize the possibility of leSs desirable results of immigration. Against the "meltingpot" idea of "cultural pluralism" or the "unmeltable ethnics." This points to the persistence of immigrants native cultures throughout the United States and the impossibility of eliminating these cultural identities. This, of course. has been the view ofopponents of immigration. These people have always argued (since Jefferson at least) that permitting large ofexserfs. slaves etc. into a democratic society would lead to that society's undoing. Thus immigrants should be kept to a minimum and should only be.drawn from nations with a democratic tradition (Western Europe). It is only recently that the idea ofethnic diversity has been embraced by advocates of immigration. Now it is widely believed that America has no single national culture and it is wrong to try to give it one. How this is to be reconciled to a single political allegiance is something that has yet to be explai~ed.
Historically there have been several examples of "militant ethnicity" on the part of the hyphenated Americans before the present day (especially during the "melting pot" era). One prominent example was
William Hale "Big Bill" Thompson, long time mayor of Chicago and devoted employee of Mr. AI Capone. Thompson saw a British conspiracy behind American foreign policy and ran an attempt to expose this infamy. He also sought to aUertext books to change their AngloSaxon slant. Thompson's tradition is carried on today in our own state. However, it must be admitted that there are differences. Although, as W. E. B. DuBois said, "the racial angle was more clearly defined against the Irish than against me," (in Massachusetts in the 1870's) the great majority of the Irish immigrants strove to intricate into American society; and Hibernocentric scholarship never really caught on in academia. Now we are faced with ethnic leaders bitterly opposed to asSimilation and a ruling establishment (especially in academia) that is utterly submissive before these leaders. In Scoop Evelyn Waugh's hero encounters a Hyde Park orator whose harangue reads as follows: 'Who built the Pyramids? , cried the Ishmaelite orator. ' A Negro. Who invented the circulationoftheblood? ANegro. Ladies and gentlemen. I ask you as impartial members of the great British public, who discovered America?' This is from a novel written in the 1930's. It is a criticism, not only of the thirdworld nationalism that was beginning to flourish at that time, but alsoofit' s irrationalist European counterpart, Naziism. Indeed today the agenda of the Afrocentric "scholars" Professor Schlesinger discusses would warm Alfred Rosenberg' s heart. Here is professor Amos Wilson: "Black superiority in the area of mental development. neurological functioning. and psychomotor development, are ...a11 related to the possession of a high level of melanin." Black psychology, sociology. and speech patterns are all unique things set apart from the
Binghamton Review
rest of mankind. And th ere arc also differen t types of intellige nce . There is "eommu nieation and ca lc ul at io n." Th is is w hite . accord ing to Afrocentrist Charles Wi llie of Harvard. Then there is
Alexandria's library wasapparently never learned by this Afrocentrist. Cleopatra and man y other pharaohs were Negrocs. That Cleopatm was descended directl y from one of Alexander's genera)"s has also es-
"singing and dancing:' which is
caped Afrocentric attention. That
Black. Schools should thus test for singin g
~.IIld
dancin g abi lit y whe n
Egypti an art shows theNegroeither
absent or subservient . also receives
measuring intelligence. If. twe nty lillie allen ti on. Well, if not Egypt. years ago. George Wallace had told than what about Carthage? Surely us that sc hool integra ti on would Hannibal was black? That Carthage lead to mandat o ry tes ting for was found ed by Se mitic rh ythm he' d have been laughed al. Phoenicians is an other fact best even by his support ers. However. ignored. Finally. the Afrocentric here we have professors at the so- historian informs his readers that called "cullin g edge' of their field, the reason that th ey have never calling for just th at. One doesn't heard his views before is because know whether to laugh or cry. of a conspiracy. A prime mover In no o ther field has the behind the conspiracy theory is none Afrocentri s m s pread as in ot her th a n Professor Je ffries, Schlesinger's ow n. history. For leading advisor to the New York many year consc rvati ve historians State Task Force on Minorities. have warned aga inst the effects of . Eq uity and Excellence. To th is th e "New History." Professor ' wonh y.the West is exemplified by Gertr ud e Himme lfarb wro te th e three "D 's" : domination. warnin g us about "Hislory without destruction. and death. they are ice politics," allempts to rccapture people. Blacks. on the other hand. social and economic conditions.
thanks to their melanin . arc warm.
wh ile paying no attention to ideas and in d ividua ls. She had no t
humanisticandcomrnunitariansun people. Naturally the abse nce ofa wr illen hi story of subSahara n Africa is a conspiracy by the ice people. Afrocentri sm is clearly a series of transparent lies. Are its exponents foo ls? No. they are ideologues. They have learned the lesson firsI13ught by GeorgesSorel. of the need for a common myth to unite a people or a movement. By fa lsifying history . the Afrocent rists seek to create a feeling of shared heritage. and grievance among all Blacks. This will unJfy blacks politically and give their leaders morc power to innuence Ameri can soc iety. That it will help to keep Blacks out of that society is either ignored or viewed as a positive good by the Afrocentrists. They are, after aiL as much reucia ldeterminists and segrationists as any unreconstructed Southerner. This leads us to Professor
He also gives us hope by attempting to highlight the differences between the Black community and its ideologically driven leaders. reckoned with Afrocentric history. a romantic th eory which wi ll have even th e mos t antimodcrn conservative pray ing ror some statistics. Slavery in West Africa was a " human e and kindly servitude." Pytha goras "stole" mathem,"ics from the Egyp tians. Alexander the Great destroyed th e li brary at A lexa ndria to hid e Aristo tlc's plagiarism rrom Egypti an sc ho lars. T hat Alexanderbuilt
8illghamlol/ Redl'n'
Schlesinger conclusions. First. he addresses th e PC phenomenon. Not surprisingly. Schlesinger is in favor of free speech and opposed to the censorship of "hate" speech. What worries him on campus is th c continuance of segregation. In the univers ity. the results of the Afrocentric agenda ror all of American society are put into practice. The American university is divided into separate racial enclaves, both among it s students and its "specialist" fac ult y. As Schlesi nger exposes. "Certain act ivities are labe led Black and White." There exists " a kind of cultural orientation which defines academic learn in g in schools as ' actin g white. '" In Oberlin. with its long tradition of integration, today "studen ts think. ac t. study . and live apart. " there eve n exists a belief ;!mong Black students that Whites 路 c reated th e AIDS virus as a genocidal device. Not surprisingly. this is the view of Professor Jefferies. If a black s tudent believes that melanin makes him biologically superior and that all whites are his enemies, then why should he ever want to integra te into American White soc iety? Professor Schlesingerends his book wi th a defense of the West as the one beacon of indi vid ualism and disse nt on earth. He feels th at today's critiques are themselves only possible in a Western setting: thus they are against their will. a product of the West. He also gives us hope by alle mpting to hi ghlig ht the diffe rences between the Blac k community and its ideologically driven leaders. Integration is still possible. Prior to his encountering a mob shouting. " You slept in caves. You sold slaves" ( a commonplace se ntiment am ong Afrocentric scholars) and "Heil Hitler." YankeI Rosenbaum probably believed the same thing.
Page 17
The Diversity Debate Continues Brian Degano Andy Szul Jr.
s
cvcrnl weeks ago. the
HarpurCollegeCouncil passed a re so luti on
calling for a diversit y require-
melll. The passage of thi s reso-
lution means that there will be a diversity req uirement. which has not ye t been defined. One resolution currently being debated by the Council stipulates a two-course requirement.
The
first course in a nOll-European culture and the second course emphasi zing non-w hite male.
alternati ve affection preferen ces. and/or non-European ethnicity. One of the major reasons for the diversity requireme nt is th e ever c han gi ng politica l environment. Wit h th e
movement towards a global economy. as seen in the devel -
opment of the European Economic Commun ity. the collapse of Communism. the subsequent freeing of oppressed puppet regimes. and the growing Ameri-
presence in foreign markets. students need 10 be more diver-
C,II1
s ified in order that they ga in a bel ler understand ing of d ifferent cultures. Diversity is a grcnl
thing and no OIlC in their right mind would argue with that.
Diversity is a great thing and no one in their right mind would argue with that- However, the diversity requirement is not what it is made out to be. However. the diversit y requirement is nOI what il is made out to be. A diversi ty requirePage 18
mcot. according to its definition , trinsic in every course. Most likely , means bei ng ahle to take classes with those are the same people who condifferent themes and being able to sider Marvin the Martian a raci st choose thec lass yourself. But the themes of the classes that would be ... the title "diversity required by a diversity requirement are all the requirement" would same - anlj~whiIC . antiimply that its male, anti-European and opponents are against anti-heterosexual. This is diversity. quitedislurbing since the cultures of all the European countries are being lumped togetherand then forgollen. The present world order cartoon. must facilitate the call for increased Fortunately. the imm knowledge of other countries. many table laws of science protect themof which are in Europe. selves from this sort of idiocy. Proponents of the diversity However. olherdisciplines or '''UllYI requirement are trying to disguise the won ' t be as well insulated from issue using marketing ploys. Exam-
req ui reme nt. 1l1crc is no require-
ining therequirernenl on its own merits one sees that this is lrue. Forexample. proponents of the diversity req uirement usc a clever technique thm has been mastered by the pro-abortion act ivists who don ' I call it pro-abonion but "pro-choice:' Why? Because if you' re nOl pro choice. what arc you. anti-choice? By the same token. the title "d iversity requirement" would imply that its opponents arc against diversity. Proponents of the diversity requirement would have you believe that this so called "Canon" exists m SUNY -Bi nghamt on. Th e term "Canon" supposedly denotes a core curriculum that is dominated by white. male, heterosex ual. :\Ild European
mentthat every student must read the works of Shakespeare. !',""o. or , even Marx. One must carefu lly examine the motives behind the diversity requirement in order understand its hypocrisy. Many of lhe courses that would now be forced upon lhe dents would belong lO small departments. Therefore, prior to requirement. they were most threatened by budget cuts and of student demand for such courses. Usually small departments arc first to be curtailed when there arc budget cuts. Bul when a small department is shrunk. it cou ld quite possibly mean its extinction. Students who register
though!. However. if one looks at the
ce rtain co urses. in crease
course guide. there is nothing stated emphasizing these criteria in any courses. As a mailer of fact. a student
courses value. By doing this. departments arc beller protected from being shrunk. Small classes
can go through college without ever
cannot be guaranteed the same pro-
taking a course emphasizing American or European history. Where is the white heterosexual male European requirement? Some people would have you believe that this bias is in-
tection and some semesters there may not be enough demand to even COlltillued Oil page 19
Binghamtoll Review
Diversity, continued From page 18 hold a part ic ular class. By imple-
menting the diversit y requirement. man y student s would now be rorced take the co urses orrered by these special interest departments who otherwise would not be able 10 survive on their own meri t. The diversity requireme nt is onl y the rirst step III a process or co mple tely indoc trilUlling the c urri c ulum m SUNYBinghamton. Rece ntl y. oth e r sc hools have had their core cUITicuium totally corrupted by poli tical correctness. Forexample. at Stanrord Universit y. a book writtc n by a communist peasant wo man rrom Guatemala. has become a required reading for att studen ts. Proponents of political cOITcctnessdon'tcarcabout quality. bul ralher about who wrote the book and wha t ideas it promotes. 10
SUNY -Binghamton is a great institution of highcr educatioll . One of its strongest attributes is the d iversity of courses it orre rs. so long as th e stude nts' freedom to choose courses is not restri cted. Military, Continued From page 11 clandeslentl y. serv ing in th e armed rorces (though ir their homosex uality is exposed. problems arise). Nor is it implied that all ho mosex uals. ir allowed into the service. will be sex uall y harassing everyone around the m. What it is implying is that the allowing of admilted homosex uals into military service wou ld inevitably result in open disrupti ons in the morale of the military as a whole that would have very undesirable res ults for socie ty. Those who sit on our hermetically sealed campuses ac ross th e co untry and dcmand the end to "discriminati on" agai nst homosex uals by th e mililary should try to objeclive ly look at the very real problems such a policy wo uld present the nation as a whole. before they shout homophopia. The military is not the place to push such an age nda.
Billgllllmlf.JIl Rel'ielt'
Graduate Dem:mds, Co ntinued from page 8 \Ions and ill delined job dese rip- compa n y ing rinan c ial burden? tio ns. They speak of watc hing Where will th e doll,"'s come rrom to .. ... eac h other spill sweat and tears sUppOil the cos ts in volved in meetin isolmed battles ..... Surely Uplon ing these demands? Surely reSinclair or Emile Zola would have questin g this rrom Alban y would I?ts to write about after vi siting a bel eag uc~ the already impoverished libra ry carol. the mod e rn da y State Uni vers ity Syslem. swemshop. Regardless orw hat rie ld It seems that the propone nts one is in Ihere are dues to pay. A o rtheGSEU platrorm (in ilsc urre nl graduale student is nOl a"colleaoue" inearnali on) ha ve a very dislorted o . of a tenured professor. Like it or view or whal it means to choose 10 not we are in asubordinal cposilion. attend graduate school. The word Ji's surprising Ihal these sludents sacririceshould come to mind whe n aren', asking for tenure. Point mak ing the decision to spend the number 14 rrom theGSEU plalroml nex t seve ral years atlaining the dementi ons thai the university should gree whi c h will lead to e mployment employ the student for the sa me and long term benerits. We must be number o f years as il should rea- careful nol to make the acade my too so nably ta ke a gradum e sludent to eomrortable forthe studentotherwise complete his or her degree program. he or she will be inclined to stoy and at
become complacent. Most impor-
SUNY-B ingha mt on il was show n that. in so me fi elds. Ihe average lime lodegrcc (PhD) is in cxccss of len years. Can Ihe universil y system be expected 10 provide "employec' status and shoulde"he ac-
In
arecc nl
survey
lanll y. we arc here ror a selr-se rvin g pu rpose. to ge t a degree: why s hould we be so opposed to giving some of ourselvcs back to the syslem whic h IS helplIlg us. This mOlherl y cliche sums it up quite nicely. " I give ,md I give. So Ihis is th e thanks I gel?"
ADVICE AND DISSENT They're co z:atcntiou s and co nta gious. Thcy 'l'c the MCLaughhn Gro up. (clockwise from left) Jack ~ermond, Elea nor Clift , John McLaugh li n, Fred Barnes orton Kondracke, and Pat Bu chan'l n ' Made possible by a grant from
CE..
â&#x20AC;˘
TilE McLAUGHLIN GROUP Check your local li sLi ng for stalio n and lime,
Page /9
Do you feel intimidated on this campus? Are you afraid to speak your views and let others know how you feel? Do you feel you are discriminated against because of your political views? Is the SA misrepresenting your needs as a minority group?
Well you're not alone.
This Friday is ConselVative
Coming Out Day. This Friday wear a shirt, any shirt, to show your support for the conservative movement. Wear your shirt to show your solidarity with the Conservative movement. It's time for Conservatives to take back the campus. Sponsored by conservatives for a harrassment free environment
Continued from page 6
Thomas, Continued from page 7
gai ns for oppressed minorilies. It was Ihis reso urcefuln ess and persevera nce Ihal C lare nce Thomas adopled 10 work his way inlo Ihe posilion he is in loday. Inslead of anacking Thomas. his lessons of hard work. dignity and
Anila Hill (who is presumed 10 be lelling Ihe lrulh). They have even vowed political revenge on the
eleven Democrats who. along with mOSI Republicans. vOled for Ihe co nfirm ati on. Their twi sted reaso nin g coupl ed w ith th eir
perseverance in Ihe face of seemingl y in surm ou nlable Opposilion should serve as a shining exa mple nOI onl y 10 minorilies bul 10 all of us. It is unfortunate Ihallhese very
lransparenl polilical opportunism has fumi shed Ihem wilh a (male) Villain. a (fe male) Viclim, and a shorllerm polilical goal.
va lues that are so beneficial are
The accusations leveled 3gainst Clarence Thomas co uld nol be proven. hence IheScmtlors in whose hands his fale resled could do no less Ih an abide by Ih e lega l precedenllhal isa foundationoflhe
being undermin ed in loday ' s soc iety by the many regressive social
welfare and affirmati ve aClion programs.1t is sadderslililhal so many view these destru ctive programs as progressive and anyone who opposes Ihem is immedialel y branded
American criminal justice system.
i.e .. Ihal Ihe acc used is innocenl a racist. When minorities are seen unlil proven guilt y. Had Clarence lrul y as equals and nOI as inferior 路 Thomas bee n rejecled solely on Ihe races needing 10 be coddled and groun ds of what one se nator cradled. o nl y Ihen wililhe promise desc ri bed as"doubl sown by a single of a color blind soc iely become a individual:' it would have been a viable realily. de faCIO guilt y verd ici whi ch he
ULJ NAACP @
Binghamton Review
would have been sentenced to bear
for Ihe resl of his life. This is. hopefu ll y. lhe lasllime in Ihe hisloryoflh e Uniled Stales Senale Ihal such a spec lacle shall overwhelm
The disgust of the American public, evident in the polls, has been duly noted by our elected officials in Washington. Ihe process whereby nominees 10 Ihe Supreme Couri arc con finned. The d isgusl of Ihe American public. evidenl in Ihe polls. has been duly nOled by our elecled officials in Wllshingloll. 111is episode. which has painfully touched upon crilical issues of race. class and ge nder. promises to open a more meaningful di scourse on these iss ues
and
hopefull y one freed from ideological constraints.
What's in a Name
if everyone ca \ls Ihe lea rn Big Green. bUllhey sec Ihe uniforms as orange. Who's 10 say Ihallhe way mOSI of us see colors is Ihe eorrecl way.
lomahawk chop. Lei's name Ihe leam
Joeseph Rosenthal
A
committe of Ihree people. Alan . Paula and C ha rl es arc
meeting to discuss changing the name o f Ihe SPOriS lea rn s aI SUNY -B ingham Ion. Lei us lis le n in o n pari of Ih eir discussion. Alan : I never undeslood whal wasso bad aboul Colon ials. Ii' s not the ca tchiest name. and maybe Colon ials does n' l SIir up much excitement. but wll:lt"s wrong with it? Paula: Usc your brain. Alan. The name Colonials celebrales We stern co lon iali sm and c uliu ral imperialism.
the Braves. Paula: TIlai would be insulting.
Alan: I know a name you mighl go for. In honorofeveryone's favorile five- time loser. Lcif King. let's name the Icarn the Kings.
Alan: Wh y is saying Ihal a group is Paula: Bul he's in Ihe Siudeni brave insulting'! Asse mbly and we can'l name our Charles: Ii neg leels Ihe nUriuring side learn afler a n oUldaled. patriarchal of Ihei r personalily in fa vor of Ihe syslem of governme nl. Ala n: 1 give up, whal do yo u war-mongering stereotype. suggesl? A lan: How abo ul so me lhin g comp lcle ly apo lili ca l. like Ihe C harles: Paula and 1 were Ihinking
Cougars'!
of calling the tcams ... Diverse
Members of a M uliic uliura l. Paula: Apolilical!? Using a cougar as Polilica\ly Correc i Universily a mascot is the ultimate in spec ieism . Communily", lhe"DMMPCUC's". Cougars don '1 use humans as maSCOIS. for shorl.
Alan: Well. we could name our lea rn s Alan: We won'l win a game wilh a afler an inani maleobjecl. I've always name like Ihal! liked Ihe l eiS, and we have Ihe sa me AI:m: llho ughl ilj usl referred 10 Paula: Who wanls 10 wi n? We colors. How abou l l eiS? Ihe peoplc who buill up Ihis should encourage ourleams 10 play area. They li vedin lheco lonics . Paula: The colonials is bad enough. for a lie. Ihal way nobody loses. Ihe refore Ihey were colonials. Wc don' l havc 10 namc our Icamsaflcr Ihe phallic IOys of Ihe American Alan: And nobody wi ns? How do Charles: Bul Alan. Ihe people impcriaiisl war machinc. Wcmighlas we reward excellence'! Ihal buill up Ih is area were Ihe we ll call our Icams Ihe Fl ying Penises Nati ve Americans. and be honesl aboul il. C har les: How do yo u defi ne Let's name our tcam s for them. excelle nc e? Exce ll ence is Alan: I'm a!rnos l ready 10 give up. subjecli ve. If llhink Ihe Colis are Alan: Okay. well. I love Ihe How aboul jusl calling our leams Ihe beller Ihan Ihe Redskins, Ihal'S a val id opinion . .-------1--------------, Big Gree n'? Charles: Thai would be consid- Alan: BUIlhe Colis haven'l won a The Redskins are ered di scriminalory againsl Ihe game! differellil y visually abled . undefealed! Alan: The d iffere nil y vis uall y Charles: Thai's your trulh. abled,? trulh can le \l me IheColisarebeller. Trulh, like excellence, is subjecti ve. Charles: Yes,l hose who non-P.c. people used 10 call color-blind. Alan: I can't win! Alan: Why wou ld Ihal be dis- Paula: Nor should you Iry. Bul you are free 10 agree wilh us. crimimll ion? EA FOQTlI.llL WIN "Oft THE WASHINGTON NAnVE "''''OICAN!. .wO WE KAVE NEWS A800T TKI!: ATUHtA AMERICAN ABORICJNES ANO THE C1.EVELANO OIIKUNA1.INHAtUrANrs â&#x20AC;˘. â&#x20AC;˘ IM
~
M
Page 22
Pau la: Because Ihe di fferenil y visunJl y abicd mighl be Iraumatized
Binghamtoll Review
Its the that
•
Recendy, asurgical teclmique ~rrected on animals was used to remove a malignant tumor fromalillie~rls brainWe lost somelab animals. But look what wesaved.
Foundation for Biomedical Research
i'Folindolion for BiomedlCol Rt5lllr(~
I 818 Connecticur AI't., ,\n,V, SUlle JOJ Waslllngll:ln, DC 20006
-
~)I~ send~ -
- infonnallon on how ammal research has impro"cd [he
-
-
-
-
-I
I
I 2021457·0654 quality of my life. I Nam, I Add"" Sta" ZiP I CLI)' Tht foundarion for Bromtdl(o/ non.profi.t [a)' c.templ 50 tel (J) ol'gunliUl10n I \~~ 'It dtdl(4Jltd 10 hdping [hepublic UndtrSlOnd Ihe ncu1Sll)'ojhllmanr and ,npon.ib!c anImal '(starch In rhc Rtstlluh IS II
J
I I I I I
LdMlopmcnr of rtt~t~nd CIITCS fo r d lS(a~ d,sordt~nd lnJunn \\hrcfi oJJw hum~ond animals ~
D
Binghamton Review SUNY-Binghamton P.O. Box 6000 Binghamton, N.Y., 13902-6000
Are you tired of jou路malism that's way OFF! Had enough of Looking Left's looney liberalism? Do you think SUNY-Binghamton needs a lobotomy, not just a F acelift? Then join the
Binghamton Review because we're RIGHT on the issues Meetings every Thursday, 8:00 p.m. in UU 104