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SA, Inc.
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The SA may replace the current student government with one that would be a legal corporation
The Free Word On Campus for 64 years
Vol. LXXIX, Issue 11
Binghamton University
lifestyles
Feeling sleepy
Getting by on little sleep is unfortunately the norm for many college students
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opinion
New constitution, again
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An editorial flashback to 1998
Bearcat logo inspires sports team imitations University ranking bumps up two spots
Miranda Langrehr Pipe Dream News
For an animal that many people have never heard of, the bearcat has caused a significant number of legal problems for sports teams across the nation. High school and semiprofessional sports teams represented by a bearcat mascot have had to alter their logos because of similarities with the Binghamton University Bearcat logo. “Our logo is protected with a ‘TM’ trademark logo, meaning we intend to copyright it at a later point,” explained Jim Norris, interim athletic director at BU. Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a similar mark, but not to prevent others from making the same goods or from selling the same goods or services under a clearly different mark. The University has been using the Bearcat logo since the late 1990s, when the University retired its former “Colonial” nickname and identity, Norris said. This change coincided with BU’s shift to Division I sports. “The BU Bearcat logo is protected and when we hear about someone or [an] organization using it without our permission, we contact the individual or group
Justin Baer and Jacklyn Spaeth Pipe Dream News
Daniel O’Connor/Photo Editor
Pictured, Binghamton University’s Bearcat logo on a dance team flag and the floor of the basketball court. The logo has been trademarked, meaning that Binghamton has reserved rights to the logo until it obtains a full copyright.
through Strategic Marketing Affiliates, who handles the licensing of our logo. SMA will then send them a cease and desist notification,” Norris said. Jack Shepard, the former president of the Ohio River Bearcats, a semi-professional football team based in Evansville,
Ind. received such a letter from BU two years ago. “Our use of the bearcat as a mascot was short-lived. We used it for two years, until we received a letter from Binghamton telling us we weren’t allowed to use it anymore,” Shepard said. Shepard admitted that the
Ohio River Bearcats’ logo was similar to BU’s, and said the team had no qualms about rectifying the situation. “We weren’t aware that is where it had derived from,” he said. “We changed it within the following
See LOGO Page 4
Binghamton University ranked fourth in The Princeton Review’s 2011 publication of the “Top 10 Best Value Public Colleges,” despite an economy and fiscal climate in which SUNY and BU have seen dramatic cuts in state funding. The rankings, which were unveiled about a week ago, focus on academic criteria, cost of attendance and financial aid. According to Robert Franek, the vice president and publisher of The Princeton Review, this change from being ranked sixth was perfectly warranted. “This shift to the fourth position was well-deserved based on how aggressive Binghamton gives aid to the students,” Franek said. “Binghamton places a great deal of value on academic experience.” The three schools ranked ahead of BU were, in order, the University
See RANK Page 4
Professor publishes article on Senate filibuster reform Maria Amor Pipe Dream News
A Binghamton University professor has proposed a way to reform the filibuster process in the U.S. Senate in an article slated to be published today in the Christian Science Monitor. The article is one of three written by Jonathan Krasno, an associate professor in BU’s political science department, and his co-author Gregory Robinson, a professor in the political science department, about filibuster reform. The two previous pieces appeared in The Hill on Nov. 3, 2009 and Roll Call on Jan. 29, 2010. “There used to be a sense of manners in the Senate,” said Krasno, while explaining why filibusters have become such a big issue. According to Krasno, there were certain rules that everyone used to abide by and senators understood that a filibuster was not a good thing and should not be abused. It has now become “literally effortless” to hold a filibuster. “Someone could be sitting on their couch at home holding a filibuster,” Krasno said. He also said this has made the process of passing bills a difficult task. Most bills now need a supermajority to be passed. Furthermore, the same number of senators must vote in order to stop a
filibuster, which is used almost every time there is a disagreement in the senate. This and the constant threat of filibuster has stopped senators from even proposing bills that might otherwise have a chance of being passed. Krasno said that the reason that filibusters have gotten so out of hand is that it is too easy to keep one going. His reform plan focuses on the rules that sustain a filibuster. Traditionally, in order to stop a filibuster, senators must vote for cloture. Sixteen members who opposed the filibuster must present a motion for cloture. Once that motion is presented, three-fifths of the members present must vote to stop the filibuster. Currently, the senators who are in favor of the filibuster do not need to be present on the Senate floor to continue it. In the past there needed to be at least one person who was part of the filibuster doing some work. “Rules should require senators to work for filibusters,” Krasno said. His proposal is in favor of a more traditional type of filibuster, “like the type you see when you watch ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,’” Krasno said. The unique part of Krasno’s proposal is that it reverses the way clotures work. Instead of senators voting to stop the filibuster, senators must now vote to keep the filibuster
going. In this way, senators must work for and show support for the filibuster they have started. To show support for these reforms, a coalition of interest groups including the AFL-CIO signed a letter that outlined the premise of Krasno’s proposed reform. “Instead of requiring that those seeking to break a filibuster muster a specified number of votes, the burden should be shifted to require those filibustering to produce a specified number of votes to continue the filibuster,” the letter stated. The proposal was worked into a bill proposed by Oregon’s Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley, but the bill did not pass. Recently, Krasno has been trying to get the proposal looked over by Sen. Charles Schumer, the chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration committee. According to Krasno, the treatment he received from Schumer’s office was disappointing. “I thought that it was the sort of thing he’d like to see, but after repeated efforts, I never got any response,” Krasno said. He explained that he was “treated like a pest,” rather than a constituent with a helpful idea. Schumer’s office did not comment in advance of Krasno’s article, which is scheduled to be published today.
Daniel O’Connor/Photo Editor
Pictured, Jonathan Krasno, an associated professor in BU’s political science department, proposes a way to reform the filibuster process in the U.S. Senate in an article in today’s Christian Science Monitor. His reform plan focused on the rules that sustain a filibuster.