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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
6
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.
Sports Pipe Dream
Pep Band leader Mo Taylor breathes music See Page 18 Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Women’s basketball enters AE tournament without leader Aaron Gottlieb Pipe Dream Sports
In what has been one of its most successful seasons since moving to Division I, the Binghamton University women’s basketball team is set to head into the upcoming America East tournament as the third seed. Binghamton has never made much noise in the conference tournament as symmetry has defined its fate in each of the last six years. The Bearcats have played in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup each year, winning three times as the No. 4 seed and losing three times as the No. 5 seed. The team has never advanced past the semifinals. But Binghamton looks for this year to be different as its 18-11 (11-5 AE) record is its best heading into the tournament since its 19-9 (10-6 AE) mark in 2002. This year’s team was extremely successful early in the season while lone senior Jackie Ward began the year on the bench as she recovered from ankle surgery. In those games juniors Andrea Holmes and Viive Rebane cemented their places as team leaders, while sophomore Kara Elofson and freshman Jasbriell Swain stepped in and impressed as role players. Scattered through the Bearcats’ season were five conference losses, but in their second-to-last game they defeated Boston University to take over second place in the AE with just one game to play. But in that vital win for Binghamton came a devastating injury. Midway through the second half, star guard Andrea Holmes came up limping on defense and was unable to walk off the court. Tests revealed a torn ACL in her left knee and she is out for the remainder of the year. Undoubtedly the team’s leader, Holmes was averaging just over 14 points per game in conference play, good for fourth in the AE and nearly
three points more than fellow junior Bearcat Viive Rebane. The team trailed 43-40 when Holmes went down, but the Bearcats then worked together and staged a game-changing 17-6 run to go ahead by eight. Four different Bearcats scored in the stretch that took the lead and sealed the important victory. Head coach Nicole Scholl was ecstatic with the way her team responded to Holmes’ injury. “Fantastic. I mean case in point, we pulled away with a win without our starting point guard who’s started since her freshman year,” she said. “I don’t know if I’ve seen [our players] as focused as what they were tonight. They just seemed determined that it didn’t matter who was on the floor, we were going to win this game.” But in their regular season finale, the Holmes-less Bearcats dropped to third place with a loss at eighth-place Stony Brook on Saturday. Holmes’ presence will surely be missed. Possibly her biggest contribution in the latter part of this season was the attention she drew from opposing defenses. But with her offensive threat now gone, those defenders will be able to shift their focus to other Bearcats as they did on Saturday. Upon returning from her early season surgery, Ward gave the team stability and leadership. By far her best game this season came on Jan. 29 at home against the University of Maine Black Bears when she single-handedly staged a 12-0 run to spark her team to a 70-56 victory. Ward finished with a season-high 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. The consistent play of Viive Rebane and Kara Elofson gives Binghamton a steady inside presence. The duo ranked among the leaders in the AE in field goal percentage and rebounding while Rebane ranked second in those categories.
But by far the biggest surprise on the boards for Binghamton has been the play of its newest addition, freshman Jasbriell Swain. Standing at just 5 feet 8 inches, she finished fifth in the conference in rebounding with just under eight per game and 10th in steals with 1.7 per game. Swain has been named AE Conference Rookie of the Week five times, more than any other Bearcat in the history of the program. With Holmes’ year over, Scholl’s implementation of her bench players will be critical if BU intends on making a run in the tournament. Only two non-starters saw significant playing time this season in twin juniors Orla and Sinead O’Reilly. But in Saturday’s loss at Stony Brook, Scholl was forced to dig deeper into a bench that had not seen much action this season as sophomore Simone Thomas and freshmen Kyra Aloizos and Stephanie Jensen all saw action. “Those kids came in and played with a lot of energy,” Scholl said. “[They] tried to compete to the best of their ability and that’s all we ask for, just to play as hard as you can for as long as you can.” When the Bearcats take the floor on Friday in the America East tournament it will be against the sixth-seeded University of New Hampshire Wildcats, a team that hasn’t posed much of a problem for Binghamton this season. In both of the teams’ matchups this year the Bearcats came out victorious. Holmes’ 24 points at the Events Center gave the team a 72-60 win, and in New Hampshire Rebane recorded her 10th career double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead Binghamton to a 59-50 win. Holmes added 20 points of her own. But this time around, Binghamton must find a way to make up for the absence of its star. “Our defense has been key for us all
Daniel O’Connor/Photo Editor
With junior Andrea Holmes out for the rest of the season, fellow junior Orla O’Reilly has taken over as the Bearcats’ starting point guard.
year long and they need to continue to defend,” Scholl said. “I don’t think any one player is going to be able to account for Andrea’s scoring, it’s going to have
to be a balance from everybody.” Tip-off is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. Friday in Hartford.
Wrestling looks to repeat as champions at CAA tourney Justin Tasch Assistant Sports Editor
March Madness is a phrase reserved for college basketball, but college wrestling has its own madness in March, the month in which wrestlers make their quest for a national championship. The dual meet season is over and the conference tournaments are next on the docket. The Binghamton University wrestling team is set for the Colonial Athletic Association tournament this weekend. The Bearcats are the defending CAA champions and have three returning individual champions. Senior Anwar Goeres, junior Justin Lister and sophomore Nate Schiedel
won titles at 141, 157 and 184 pounds, respectively, last year. Lister parlayed his NCAA qualification into a fourthplace finish in the national tournament, earning All-America honors. This year he will look to make another run, this time at 165. At the CAA Duals on Jan. 15, Lister lost all three of his matches. That was seemingly the turning point of his season, as he has lost just one match since, a 5-3 decision to Cornell University’s Justin Kerber, who’s currently ranked No. 5 at 165 pounds by InterMat. Lister has added motivation with a chance at revenge on his CAA opponents this weekend. “You’re taking a kid who took fourth in the country last year and you’re gonna put him in the fourth seed in the
Sasa Sucic/Staff Photographer
Since going 0-3 at the Colonial Athletic Association Duals in January, junior 165-pounder Justin Lister has built up momentum heading into this weekend’s CAA Championship.
CAA tournament,” Binghamton head coach Pat Popolizio said about Lister. “If that doesn’t motivate somebody I don’t know what else would.” Each team in the conference enters 10 wrestlers into the tournament, one at each weight class. According to Popolizio, sophomores John Paris and Cody Reed will enter at the 197-pound weight class and 285-pound weight class, respectively. Those were the two weight classes that were questionable leading up to the tournament. Every other weight class will be filled with the starters that have been wrestling at those weights all season. Conference champions earn automatic bids into the NCAA tournament. The NCAA allocates additional qualifying spots across all of the conferences. According to an NCAA release, “Each qualifying tournament was awarded spots per weight class based on current year data. Each wrestler was measured on the following: Division I winning percentage; rating percentage index (RPI); and coaches ranking.” The CAA has been given one additional spot in the NCAA tournament at 125 pounds, two at 133, one at 149, two at 165 and one at 174. Additionally, at-large selections will be made after the conference tournaments to fill the remaining spots at each weight class. Each weight class at the NCAA tournament will consist of 33 wrestlers. The allocations bode well for some Bearcat wrestlers who might have a tough road toward winning their bracket, such as sophomores Derek Steeley (125) and Dan Riggi (133). “Steeley’s a perfect example of a kid who’s beaten the No. 2 seed at his
weight, but has also lost to the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds,” Popolizio said. “If he can stay consistent, then he should be right on track to get to the national tournament. Riggi on the other hand, he’s going to have to wrestle very well; he’s at a very tough weight, but there’s another extra spot there. In this sport, any given day, anybody, if they put their mind to it and believe, they can beat anybody. So it’s in their hands.” Sophomore Donnie Vinson, currently ranked No. 9 at 149 pounds by InterMat, and junior Matt Kaylor (157) both qualified for last year’s NCAA tournament without winning conference championships. Vinson placed second and qualified based on weight allocations, and Kaylor placed fourth and earned an at-large bid into the national tournament. Both wrestlers are seeking to win their respective brackets this year. “We’ve talked about it for a while now — if you want to get to the national tournament you’ve got to win,” Popolizio said. “You’ve got to take it out of the hands of the people who decide the at-large bids. Those guys [Vinson and Kaylor] know what they have to do to qualify, and they’re wrestling good and they’re both going in with No. 1 seeds. If they’re looking to place at the national tournament then this is just a steppingstone for them right now.” The Bearcats had a program Division I record six NCAA qualifiers last season. Popolizio wants to at least match last year’s total and believes the team is capable of more. “We have nine guys that have a real shot at getting to the national tournament,” he said. “Is that going to
happen? You can’t predict that, but we know we have a shot at qualifying nine guys. I’d definitely like to match what we did last year and we always look to do better. To go from six to nine would be a great accomplishment for us. We’re going to set our goals high and work for that.” After winning their first-ever CAA Championship last season, the Bearcats have a shot at winning the tournament again this year, with their main competition being Hofstra University, who they beat at the CAA Duals 23-15 when Hofstra was ranked No. 25 in the nation. Although the emphasis for the rest of the season is on individual successes, repeating as conference champions would be a sign of further progress for the program, according to Popolizio. “It’s not the end of the world if we don’t win it, but I know the way we’ve been training and the mindset of our program is to keep winning,” he said. “We need to keep momentum going for our program. Our guys believe it, our coaches believe it, so we expect that to happen. But we also know we have our work cut out because there’s a lot of good programs and good individuals in our conference. Hofstra’s probably, on paper, a little better, a little more favored. I know our guys are going to have to have a couple of upsets. [Hofstra’s] going to have the No. 1 seed at 165, and someone like Lister is good enough to take that spot. We want to keep winning; our goal is to win.” The two-day CAA Championship is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start Friday at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J.