SUICIDE PREVENTION Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in college students, see page 2
Comment for guilty, share for innocent The real crime is not liking the Binghamton Police Department’s Facebook page, see page 5
PIPE DREAM Friday, September 12, 2014 | Binghamton University | www.bupipedream.com | Vol. LXXXVI, Issue 4
Campus remembers 9/11 On 13th anniversary of tragedy, Mitzvah Marathon spreads goodwill Carla Sinclair Assistant News Editor
On Thursday afternoon, Binghamton University students honored the memories of the 2,977 victims who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001 by contributing to the greater good of society. “Mitzvah Marathon,” coordinated by Chabad and Hillel, encouraged all BU students to do a mitzvah, or good deed, in honor of those who perished in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. “We’re trying to commemorate people who passed away in a positive way, so light can come from darkness, do good in the place of bad,” said Leora Lyon, president of Hillel’s committee of social justice and a junior majoring in psychology. “Some people can’t connect to the sad part, so we’re finding a way so everyone can connect to the day and commemorate it.” The mitzvahs included a blood drive in the Old Union Hall, making
Local cop assigned to serve BU students Officer Dan Flanders stationed downtown Joseph Hawthorne Assistant News Editor
Although half of Binghamton University’s undergraduate student population resides off campus – many in the city of Binghamton – the University has never employed an officer to work off campus. Starting this semester, the school will have a presence Downtown. Officer Dan Flanders, a veteran of the Binghamton police force, was selected in Franz Lino/Photo Editor
See 9/11 Page 5
Students walk down the Spine on Thursday, September 11. Flags were placed to remember those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks of 2001.
See BPD Page 5
Website to streamline job search Prof. receives $500K grant hireBing provides portal for open opportunities Waldron It's a real Pelle meetings with career advisors. Pipe Dream News Students can “save” their employers’ information positive As of Aug. 19, Binghamton favorite for easy access and can view students have a new upcoming campus job and resource University and improved way of finding internship fairs. jobs and internships. In addition to it being a to connect HireBING is a website platform for current students, created by the Fleishman Center hireBING is also open to BU Career and Professional alumni, as all students will students to for Development, formerly the stay in the system once they CDC, as a way for students graduate and may continue opportunities to search for employment as using it to look for jobs free of — Kelli Smith Fleishman Center Director
well as upload resumes and charge. information about themselves Brandy Smith, an assistant for potential employers to see. director at the Career The site allows employers to Development Center, helped reach out to specific students and lets students schedule See HIRE Page 5
BU ranked 88th in nation University placed 97th in 2014 college list Habin Kwak
Pipe Dream News Binghamton University has jumped nine spots in U.S. News & World Report’s 2015 national college rankings list, landing in a seven-way tie for 88th place. This year’s rankings, which were released on Tuesday, placed Binghamton University in the same slot as Stony Brook University, the University of Alabama, the University of Colorado–Boulder, the University of Denver, the University of Tulsa and the Colorado School of Mines. The performance of BU and other SUNY schools on the list elicited praise from SUNY
Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “Again this year, we are proud to see so many of our SUNY campuses recognized as being among the best nationally by U.S. News and World Report,” she wrote in a press release. “In every community across New York State, SUNY colleges and universities like Binghamton offer students top quality degree programs and applied learning opportunities that prepare them for success in today’s 21st-century global economy.” University President Harvey Stenger said he was pleased with the ranking, but admitted that there is room for improvement. “The metric that they use
We could always do better, but 88th ...is very good — Winnie Ng Sophomore majoring in biology
that has the largest weight is the ‘academic reputation,’” he explained. “And because we don’t have a football team and we are not the flagship school
See RANKING Page 4
Levy studies nanotubes, DNA movement Alexandra Mackof Assistant News Editor
Assistant physics professor Stephen Levy was awarded a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his research that could help transform how we treat diseases. The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program awards NSF grants to teachers who exemplify outstanding research and incorporate it into their educational methods. Levy submitted his 15-page proposal to the Division of Materials Research at the NSF, where it was evaluated by a board of reviewers. According to Levy, it was one of only about 10 percent of proposals that received funding. His work focuses on how DNA and other fluid materials travel through carbon nanotubes, which can help mimic and explain how small molecules are transported through cells. A carbon nanotube is a cylinder of carbon whose wall is one atom thick. Levy’s research examines why and how DNA molecules travel through these narrow channels. While most labs study thousands of DNA molecules at once, Levy and his lab created a method that allows them to examine single strands individually. “I am interested in this research because we can use this system to understand more about how nucleic acids like DNA are transported into cells through very narrow channels,” Levy wrote in an email. The money awarded will
Duncan McInnes/Staff Photographer
Assistant physics professor Stephen Levy was awarded a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his research that could help transform how diseases are treated.
go to funding for new imaging equipment like microscopes and charge-coupled devices, which move electrical charges to an area where they can be manipulated into digital values, as well as various necessary lab supplies and tuition for a graduate student. In addition, the grant will help fund a physics outreach program, which will increase physics instruction and programming in elementary schools in the Binghamton area. Levy said he found his passion for physics in high school. Originally studying physics in math, he switched his focus to experimental biophysics during his postdoctoral at Cornell University. Experimental biophysics applies the laws of physics to explain biological phenomena. Levy also works alongside researchers at Cornell University, who are experts in creating carbon nanotubes, on his current project. He said he hopes his research will contribute to finding new ways to treat diseases and detect
This has tremendous impact on the education of our students. — Bruce White Associate Chair of Physics Department
dangerous molecules. “This process could help us design better methods for injecting DNA into cells, which some medical researchers are interested in as a method to combat certain types of cancer,” Levy wrote. Bruce White, associate professor and chair of the physics
See GRANT Page 4