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Friday, October 23, 2015 | Vol. LXXXVIII, Issue 15 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com
The Free Word on Campus Since 1946
Activist breaks down the costs of human trafficking
Carol Metzker warns against stigmatizing sex education, encourages students to take action Brendan Zarkower Pipe Dream News
Tamar Ashdot-Bari/Pipe Dream Photographer Students rally in solidarity during a vigil to honor those killed during a wave of violence in East Jerusalem between Israelis and Palestinians, leaving 10 Israeli citizens and 48 Palestinian citizens dead.
Israeli victims remembered at vigil In wake of recent violence, campus groups mourn deaths in Jerusalem Michelle Kraidman Pipe Dream News
With Israeli flags draped across their backs, Binghamton University students showed their support for Israel with a vigil honoring those killed in the violence this past month. The vigil was organized by BU group Bearcats for Israel. Jewish groups
on campus such as Hillel, Chabad, Maimonides and the Binghamton University Zionist Organization, and Greek organizations Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi and Alpha Epsilon Pi came to show their support. Nearly 100 people attended the vigil. The vigil was in response to the wave of terrorism that has hit Israel and Palestine in the past month. There has been a surge
of violence in East Jerusalem between Israelis and Palestinians, leaving 10 Israeli citizens and 48 Palestinian citizens dead. The vigil was held to honor Israeli civilians who were attacked in the streets with shootings, stabbings and random acts of violence. Students showed pictures of civilian
See ISRAEL Page 2
Though slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865, it is still prevalent throughout the world in the form of human trafficking. Activists like Carol Metzker are trying to do something about it. On Tuesday night, Metzker spoke on the human impact of modern slavery in a talk entitled “Passion to Action: Human Trafficking.” The lecture, given as the second part of the Center for Civic Engagement’s Passion to Action speaker series, focused on the human costs of the industry where many are forced into sex work or forced labor. Much of Metzker’s speech focused on the victims of human trafficking. According to her statistics, 80 percent of those trafficked into the United States are sex workers, around 13 percent are laborers not involved in sex work, five percent are involved in both and the rest are uncategorized. The last case of trafficking in Broome County was in January 2015. Metzker offered practical advice to audience members if they are ever in a situation where they think someone could possibly be a victim of trafficking, such as seeing a younger girl with an older man either alone or during school times. She advised them to always make a call, either to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center or to the local police.
“If you make a call and you are wrong, nothing happens,” Metzker said. “If you make a call and you are right, you could save a life.” She became involved in the cause while vaccinating children against polio in Asia with Rotary International, and her presentation contained pictures of many of the formerly exploited children that she met during her travels. She also discussed how people find themselves in situations where they are most likely to be a victim. “When people are isolated,” Metzker explained, “when they don’t have love and don’t believe in themselves, they become more vulnerable to traffickers because traffickers are con artists.” In reference to sex trafficking victims, Metzker addressed the stigmas and perceptions associated with the issue. The stigma around sex, she said, prevents earnest discussion about trafficking and the dangers of buying sex. “When we begin to think of these folks as victims, we treat them differently,” she said. “If we start getting them help instead of arresting them, we actually tackle this problem.” Many of Metzker’s comments concerned trafficking in and out of India specifically since much of her experience stems from her time in that country. “There is a very high illiteracy
See ACTIVIST Page 4
Harpur researchers showcase findings
From economics to neuroscience, undergrads help peers kickstart studies Kanchi Chandwani Contributing Writer
Neil Seejoor/Pipe Dream Photographer Close to 50 people attended an event at the Innovative Technologies Complex to hear expert advice about consulting, manufacturing, marketing and funding information available to budding startups in central New York. Attendees were able to network with business representatives and learn how their company could help out.
Startups get kickstart with tips from local businesses Students and local companies network in ITC, gain insight on how to foster development in Central NY Stacey Schimmel Pipe Dream News
Looking for more than just free muffins and coffee, close to 50 attendees went to the Innovative Technologies Complex on Tuesday to hear expert advice about consulting, manufacturing, marketing and funding information available to budding startups in central New York. The event, entitled “Southern Tier Solutions Forum,” featured 17 booths from a variety of companies. Attendees were able to network with business representatives and learn how their company could help out. Organizations tabling included Cornell Center for Materials Research (CCMR), FuzeHub, Integrated Electronics Engineering Center (IEEC), Small Scale Systems Integration & Packaging Center (S3IP), NYS Trade Adjustment Assistance Center (NYSTAAC), START-UP NY and the Fleishman Center. Katelynn Hrywnak, project staff assistant for S3IP and event organizer, said she hoped students would be able to
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network and forge partnerships with the businesses at the event. “The goal of the event is to network, collaborate [and] just kind of get to know how each booth here can be helping one another,” Hrywnak said. “I hope they can see what’s available in our community as well as the surrounding areas.” Ercin Yildirim, a senior majoring in computer science, is developing software to create a smart bracelet business. He is currently working with the founder of IP Technology Farm to develop the product and came to the event to get feedback. He said the representatives advised him on how to use smart energy for his prototype. “They are really helpful, and I think it’s a really good way to get your idea out there and get some feedback,” Yildirim said. The companies present ranged in the services they provided, from tech support to learning how to navigate the grantwriting and funding processes. NYSTAAC, represented at the event by outreach
See ITC Page 2
Binghamton University’s student researchers shared their stories and advice on Wednesday for how their peers can get involved in various Harpur College fields. The “Harpur Research Panel,” held in the University Union, was organized by Holly Horn, the assistant director of the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development, and Zoe Liebmann, the senior student associate
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University. They also discussed what resources, including those found in the library and in the undergraduate research office, are available on campus for researching. “Some students need to do research, and that is their high-impact learning experience,” Horn said. “Many times people think that research is only going to be in the sciences, but we really have people from across the disciplines. We’ve got humanities, social sciences
See PANEL Page 2
Scholar takes deeper look at first president Ph.D candidate Kenneth Lane granted fellowship at Mount Vernon Gabriella Weick
Assistant News Editor To uncover the secrets behind George Washington’s early political career, one Binghamton University Ph.D. candidate is going straight to the source. Kenneth Lane, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate studying history, was one of 20 scholars chosen for a fall fellowship at the Fred W. Smith National Library in Mount Vernon, Virginia for the Study of George Washington. The library is the only place in the world where scholars have access to primary sources, including letters and original documents, from the first President of the United States. Lane applied for the fellowship with the help of his former mentor and founding director of the library, Douglas Bradburn. At BU, he now hopes to write his dissertation on the British Empire’s manipulation of people like Washington and expand on not only Washington’s influence in shaping American history, but also aspects of Washington and his family that most Americans are unaware of. Lane said that he is also looking to focus on how there is a desire to protect Washington as a monument to
RELEASE
You won’t be able to help but “Binge” on Tyler Oakley’s new book,
for Harpur Edge. Horn and Liebmann said they chose the five panelists from a pool of undergraduate students who were either known researchers at the University, in the Binghamton University Scholars Program or in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH). Panelists Che Sun, Anita Raychawdhuri, Rujul Patel, Anna Brooks and Arianna Gorkowitz shared how they were able to approach their professors and secure research positions within different fields at the
Get your scare on at Mohawk’s “Haunted Hall,”
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American values, when in reality, he took advantage of those around him to advance his career. “Washington was a highly astute political actor,” Lane explained in an email. “He was inventive, aggressively ambitious, at times arrogant and overbearing and more than willing to play the game of patron and client to achieve his ends.” According to Robert Parkinson, Lane’s advisor and an assistant professor of history, Lane’s dissertation seeks to explain how Washington’s familial and political connections, as well as his imperial negotiations, helped his family succeed in the Ohio Company of Virginia, a land company involved in western expansion. Particularly, Parkinson said, Lane is looking to examine the few remaining letters of Washington’s half-brother, Lawrence, which can only be found at Mount Vernon. Lane said that during his time at the fellowship, he will not only be exposed to information he could not have have studied anywhere else, but to experts in the field as well. “The fellowship provided me with access to a unique set of documents, including Lawrence Washington’s surviving letters and just as importantly, interactions with other scholars of
George Washington whose consultation and advice has been invaluable,” Lane wrote. Parkinson said that he hoped for Lane to return from his time at the library with both scholarly and
See G.W. Page 2
Neil Seejoor/Pipe Dream Photographer Pictured: Kenneth Lane, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate studying history, in the Fine Arts courtyard.
OPINIONS
SPORTS
The Editorial Board imagines Binghamton University in 2045,
Women’s soccer wins second straight game,
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