Ink that tells a story
Behind every great tattoo is a great tale, so Release asked Binghamton University students to explain the meaning behind their tats, See page 7
PIPE DREAM Friday, November 22, 2013 | Binghamton University | www.bupipedream.com | Vol. LXXXIV, Issue 21
Digital poetry fuses art, lit. Professor examines electronic medias Carla Sinclair
Gas drilling may not create jobs How will wind, water and solar power help the New York State economy?
Existing industries will be protected Wind, water and solar (WWS) jobs are more labor-intensive New Yorkers will be hired
Dollars will stay in New York state Reduce health costs WWS less subject to boom/bust
Contributing Writer
While a picture is worth a thousand words, there is no accounting for art made from words. As part of the Harpur College Dean’s Workshop in Visual Culture series, or VizCult, Jeroen Gerrits, an assistant professor in the comparative literature department, discussed digital literature with a group of professors and students. Digital literature, or textbased art, is created using digital mediums such as computer coding. It is a relatively new art form that can only be created and viewed on computers. “We are all familiar with new media: We use laptops and iPhones, are constantly connected to the web, interact on social media, stream music and videos online and so on,” Gerrits said. “But we are not very familiar with art and literature that actually makes use of new, digital media. What I’m interested in is the question, how is literature made specifically on a computer or for the web different from print literature, as well as from film?” The presentation outlined different concepts and examples of digital literature, as well as the issues surrounding the medium. According to Gerrits, digital literature can come in different forms. However, he focused mainly on poetry as the way digital literature transcends the boundaries between art- and object-hood. The digital nature of the art means it doesn’t exist as a physical object. Digital literature and the dialogue surrounding it serves to explore the question of not necessarily how it is, but how it works and what the patron sees. Poetry in the form of digital literature is made up of animated text on the screen, which gives a new dimension to the meaning and perception of the piece. The art is therefore based on the perception by the viewer, not as it was intended by the artist. “I got to know it because of my interest in contemporary film and poetry generally, but it wasn’t love at first sight,” Gerrits said. “Digital poetry is very difficult and when you first encounter it, you don’t really know how it works. It can be intimidating too because you need to know about computers as well as about literature to enjoy it.” “Mesostics for Dick Higgins” by Miekal And was one of the pieces used in the presentation. It is made up of a series of 17 poems constantly in succession, revolving
See LIT Page 5
Reduce air pollution Prevent water and land contamination Improve national security
Oil 3.7
Solar 9.5
Wind 9.8
Jobs created for each million of expenditures spent on producing energy Kendall Loh/Photo Editor
Jannette M. Barth, Ph.D., speaks Thursday evening in Science I against the possibility of shale gas development in upstate New York. The talk was sponsored by NYPIRG, in coalition with Vestal Residents for Safe Energy (VERSE), I.D.E.A.S. and Democracy Matters.
Research indicates that renewable energy sources are more economically viable Davina Bhandari
Assistant News Editor Amid ongoing debate regarding the economic benefits gas drilling could bring to New York state, Jannette M. Barth, Ph.D., delved into the often exaggerated realities of a potentially destructive industry. “Despite all the industry rhetoric, I’m here to tell you tonight that shale gas development will really not be
good for the economy of New York state,” Barth said. “It will not create a lot of good jobs for New Yorkers, and it will devastate the economy in other ways.” Shale gas, which has become an increasingly important — and contentious — source of natural gas in the United States, and its development has been a topic of focus for Barth, an economist with Pepacton Institute LLC, a research and consulting organization. Sponspored by New York
Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), in coalition with Vestal Residents for Safe Energy (VERSE), I.D.E.A.S. and Democracy Matters, Thursday night’s event, titled “Frackenomics,” revolved around the concept of moving past fossil fuels. Barth has spent the last five years investigating economic claims made by the gas industry. She believes, according to her research and work experience, that renewable energy will help
the New York economy in ways that fossil fuels cannot. Matthew Lemke, projector coordinator for NYPIRG, also encourages investment in renewable energy, not fossil fuels. “CO2 in the atmosphere is at its highest level ever, the sea levels are rising and politicians are crippled by inaction and special interests,” Lemke said. “If we don’t do something soon, it’s going to have drastic consequences on our environment, on our health and on our way of life.”
Barth focused on tackling sweeping claims made by the oil and gas industry, which say that shale development will bring a lot of jobs to New York state. She urged caution in choosing which sources to listen to because “numbers can be highly exaggerated.” After looking at the economic situations of counties that allowed shale gas extraction,
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Students celebrate Italian language, culture Performances include Dante readings, original songs, poems and skits Madeline Gottlieb Contributing Writer
A celebration of Italian language and culture brought more than 70 students together at this year’s Italian night. Binghamton University students taking Italian classes spent Thursday night enjoying the country’s culture, food and performances. Dana Stewart, an associate professor who teaches Italian 241: Conversation and Composition and Italian 481A: Dante’s Inferno, organized the event. “Every semester or year for the past several years, we have
gotten together,” Stewart said. “It’s a chance for students of all levels of Italian to get together and celebrate their progress and celebrate Italian.” With a room full of students majoring in Italian, taking Italian classes or who just like Italian culture, attendees and performers were able to display their knowledge of Italian language and culture. “It’s fun for the beginning students to see what the advanced students can do, and it’s for the advanced students to give encouragement to the beginning students,” Stewart said. Performances included poems, small skits and some
songs. Robert Milano, an undeclared freshman, wrote his own song in Italian for the event. “Because I’m a musician, I took Italian because it would
help me in writing and going around the world. I wanted to write a song because I love the language and its fluidity. It’s very romantic,” Milano said. Alexandra Iannelli, a sophomore majoring in medieval and early modern studies, performed her own poem. “The poem that I wrote myself that’s based off of Dante’s poem that we learned about in class,” Iannelli said. Students from Stewart’s Dante class performed “The Divine Comedy” from Dante’s “Inferno,” and her conversational Italian students performed a song called — Nino Samiani “Sentimento Pentimento.” “I came for my class to Father of alumna perform, and I’m also 100
“It's nice to see people want to learn about Italian language and culture”
percent Italian. I felt at home,” said Gina Natoli, a student in Stewart’s Dante class and a junior majoring in economics. Allison Licciardi, an undeclared freshman, also performed a poem for the large crowd. “It was really scary, but then once you’re up there, it’s really not that bad,” she said. The event featured pizza donated by Endicott restaurant Consol’s Family Kitchen and traditional Italian cake and a cookie cake decorated with an Italian flag. There was also a performance of an Italian Christmas story, a
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