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Thursday, September 28, 2017 | Vol. XCII, Issue 10 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com
BU EOP boasts 89 percent grad rate
Mayoral candidates face off
Jillian Forstadt Assistant News Editor
The Educational Opportunity Program’s (EOP) town hall, held at the beginning of each semester, looked more like a family reunion than a gathering of 700 students in the Mandela Room in the University Union. According to EOP Director Calvin Gantt, that’s the exact impression he hopes students get. “We’re letting students know that it’s okay to be vulnerable,” Gantt said. “It’s okay to come in and talk about how things are going — good, bad and indifferent.” First founded in 1968, EOP works to fulfill New York state’s commitment to providing economically disadvantaged students with higher education. The program is run by SUNY and similar programs can be found at private and CUNY schools throughout the state. The BU program’s graduation rate of 89 percent is the highest among all SUNY institutions and is higher than that of many institutions across the nation. In the spring of 2017, 605 students were enrolled in the program, with 94 percent of students in good academic standing with GPAs of at least 2.0. This month’s town hall was a community builder and allowed students to become more familiar with the statistics associated with the program, both at BU and statewide. According to Gantt, the program is often an integral part of students’ lives while at BU. “Many of the students just feel a sense of comfort, knowing that they have a home base in which to go, kind of just to rejuvenate themselves,” Gantt said. “I think it’s important for them to see that others are celebrated and we recognize
SEE EOP PAGE 2
The Free Word on Campus Since 1946
Katherine Scott/Pipe Dream Photographer At the first mayoral debate Tuesday evening, Republican incumbent Rich David and Democratic opponent Tarik Abdelazim discussed various issues facing the city of Binghamton. The debate grew heated at times, as each candidate attacked the other’s record in office.
Debate spans business, infastructure; candidates question opponents' records Orla McCaffrey & Erin Kagel Pipe Dream News
Binghamton Mayor Rich David, the Republican incumbent, and Tarik Abdelazim, his Democratic challenger, faced off in their first debate Tuesday night, sparring on topics including infrastructure, crime, tax rates and affordable housing. The event, hosted by the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce, had a stated focus of business and economic development, but covered a range of issues affecting the Binghamton area. Near the start of the debate, David, who was first elected in 2013, and Abdelazim, disagreed on the most pressing issues facing the city of Binghamton. Abdelazim, who served as director of planning, housing and community development under former Mayor Matthew Ryan, said jobs are lacking in the city, while David
pointed to infrastructure improvements he said are vital. “The lack of jobs and crippling levels of poverty,” Abdelazim said. When the topic of job creation was brought up, David said his administration had taken numerous steps to spur local economic development. “You don’t create jobs, you create an environment that is attractive for business owners, investors, developers and residents,” David said. More than 100 community members, but few students, attended the debate on the 18th floor of the New York State Office Building in Downtown Binghamton. Supporters of both candidates listened intently, occasionally breaking debate rules by breaking into applause. Affordable housing was an issue of contention, with Abdelazim saying
SEE DEBATE PAGE 3
David campaign alters headline of debate coverage on Facebook page Orla McCaffrey News Editor
Shortly after Tuesday night’s mayoral debate, the Press & SunBulletin posted a summary of the event with the headline “Face Off in Mayor Race: Housing, crime hot topics.” Later that night, the article was shared on Mayor Rich David’s official Facebook page with an altered headline: “Tarik Abdelazim backpedals on record in first mayoral debate.” Sean Massey, associate professor of women, gender and sexuality studies at Binghamton University, shared sideby-side screenshots of the differing headlines on Facebook. “Interesting that Rich felt the need to edit this article to include a fake headline before posting it,” Massey wrote. “From what I read in the article, Tarik offered smart responses to every
claim Rich made.” In an email to Pipe Dream Wednesday regarding last night’s post, Deputy Mayor Jared Kraham said he is responsible for David’s campaign Facebook page. “In an effort to share an objective report by the Press & Sun-Bulletin of last night’s debate, a Facebook ad was created with a link and some short text,” Kraham wrote. “Being a paid post, the format of that link was optimized for multiple social media platforms, including Instagram. The post has been removed as to not become a distraction.” The post was taken down on Wednesday morning. When Pipe Dream counted on Wednesday afternoon, 24 of 43 headlines of reposted local media coverage since Jan.1 had been changed on David’s
SEE DAVID PAGE 3
Student business flourishes NSF funds software to Infiniti Greens provides microgreens to community, restaurants Yuri Lee & Victoria Cappo
preserve data credibility
Contributing Writers
Ari Bateman & Rachel Lackow Joe Rigoroso said he was tired of his spinach going bad. He was tired of constantly having to go to Wegmans for fresh greens, tired of the quality of produce given, tired of not knowing the origin of his greens or what types of pesticides were used on them. What originally started as a hobby with his suitemate to produce solutions to these problems has become a business catering to students, community members and local restaurants. Rigoroso, a senior majoring in business administration, is the creator and co-founder of the startup Infiniti Greens, alongside suitemate Ray Gochuico, a senior majoring in biology. With a company motto to “never stop growing,” Infiniti Greens aims to provide the Binghamton community with fresh, locally grown microgreens all year long. “We wanted to always have a source of fresh greens, even throughout the winter and when the growing season is done,” Rigoroso said. “We never stop growing and we always have them.” Microgreens, according to Rigoroso,
Contributing Writers
Rebecca Kiss/Assistant Photography Editor Joe Rigoroso, a senior majoring in business administration, tends to his microgreens at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator. Rigoroso is the co-founder of Infiniti Greens, a startup that provides fresh produce to the community and various restaurants.
are essentially baby versions of plants with just one or two sets of leaves. Despite their size, they’re nutritionally dense, making them ideal additions to people’s food. “[Microgreens] add that extra flair and color and flavor,” Rigoroso said. “They are great as a stand-alone salad,
but you can also add them to your existing salad or sandwich. Their use is only limited to your imagination.” The feedback to this variety in use and the promotion of healthy living, sustainability and local food, Rigoroso
SEE GREENS PAGE 2
According to a recent Nature.com study, more than 70 percent of scientists surveyed were unable to reproduce the results of other researchers’ scientific studies, and more than 50 percent were unable to reproduce the results of their own. Ping Yang, professor of computer science at Binghamton University, has been working to combat this “crisis of credibility” for over a decade. Yang, along with Guanhua Yan, an assistant professor of computer science, and two co-researchers at Wayne State University, Shiyong Lu and Fengwei Zhang, was recently awarded $999,999 through a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The funds will be used to develop a computer program that helps boost the credibility of scientific research by preventing scientists from falsifying their findings. Grants awarded by the NSF, a government agency that allocates funding to researchers whose work it deems important, are highly competitive,
with fewer than 20 percent of applicants receiving the funds that they request. Anita Nikolich, cybersecurity program director at the NSF, said she believes this research is uniquely deserving of funding because it can influence scientific research without disrupting it. “Dr. Yang and Yan have introduced cutting-edge research concepts into well-known software without impacting the work of scientists and have, in fact, improved the trustworthiness of their results,” Nikolich said. “If research results are questionable because the underlying data has been corrupted or altered, faith in all scientific results can be lost, something we definitely don’t want to happen.” The well-known software Nikolich refers to is called a workflow, which automates the process of data analysis, lending accuracy and efficiency to the process of scientific research and discovery. Yang said that current workflow systems are not perfect and lack necessary functions. “The problem is that although there
SEE NSF PAGE 2
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