Theatre department explores new turf with “The Wolves,” See page 5
Monday, October 21, 2019 | Vol. XCVI, Issue 16 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com
The Free Word on Campus Since 1946
Roosevelt Hall criticized on ‘tar and feather’ event E-board issues apology after backlash, cancels fundraiser Nicole Kaufman news intern
spent $8 million of its reserves and delayed University initiatives. After a full year of reorganizing, Stenger said progress has been made in tackling BU’s fiscal challenges. “We are in much better shape now,” Stenger said. “We are not out
A University-wide email sent by the Student Association (SA) announced the cancellation of a Hinman College fundraising event where the executive board and resident assistants of Roosevelt Hall were going to be “tarred and feathered.” The event was supposed to take place on Oct. 16 and was set to include syrup, feathers, glitter and eggs. According to a Listserv email sent by the Roosevelt Hall E-Board, “there will also be opportunities to make them do other things like chicken race, Hula-Hoop, play [Duck, duck, goose] and more!” But the event saw backlash from students who criticized the e-board for making light of tarring and feathering, a form of public torture and humiliation that has been used by hate groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, throughout American history, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Following the event’s cancellation, the SA wrote they are working with the Hinman College community to rectify the situation, although they noted the event’s name did not appear to be intentionally spiteful. “Although the naming of the event did not seem
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liat katz staff photographer
Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger delivers his annual State of the University address on Oct. 17.
President Stenger gives ‘State of the University’ Address highlights steps to overcome budget crisis Mabel Bassi
contributing writer
Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger delivered his annual
State of the University Address on Thursday, where he emphasized the year’s progress as well as one major “bump in the road.” Stenger highlighted BU’s move to No. 31 of all U.S. public universities in the U.S. News & World Report college rankings. BU also became the top U.S. university performer in
sustainability research and the School of Management was recently ranked as the seventh-best business school in the country with the least debt for master’s students. But while the University continued to rise in rankings, 2019 marked a year with financial difficulty. BU originally missed its enrollment revenue targets,
Bearcat BU students fail to turn out for fall concert men win at Albany meet Ticket sales hit 713 out of approximately 5K seats Leora Schwadron & Valerie Puma pipe dream news
Chigatayeva places third in Princeton cross country meet Joe Tonetti
Student attendance at Thursday’s fall concert was noticeably low, with most of the Events Center left empty. According to Joseph Gallagher, an investigator with Binghamton’s New York State University Police, the department was told that approximately 700 tickets were sold for the concert. The Events Center seats 5,142 people, not including
standing room on the floor, according the BU Bearcats website. “The crowd was the smallest I have seen at a fall concert in my 15 years here at the University, by far,” Gallagher said. “We were informed that 713 tickets were sold, but it looked like maybe 500 to 600 people actually showed up. The people that did attend did seem to enjoy themselves, though.” The Student Association Programming Board (SAPB) is in charge of organizing the fall concert, and information about the date and artists of the event was not publicly available until a few weeks before the concert. SAPB’s official Facebook page posted on
Sept. 22 to announce the fall concert date, without the names of the artists performing. The fall lineup was not posted on the page until Oct. 7, 10 days before the concert was scheduled to take place, followed by a website link where individuals could purchase tickets at $25 for general admission and $40 for floor tickets. Sam Backner, a junior double-majoring in sociology and philosophy, politics and law, said the timing of the concert was not ideal for a lot of students, which historically takes place at 7 p.m. on Thursday night around mid-semester. “I was interested in attending the concert,” Backner said. “But since it was
during the height of midterm season — and I had a commitment at 8 p.m. — I did not go, sadly.” Some students also expressed disinterest in the artists performing. Devon Close, a junior majoring in integrative neuroscience, said that Gucci Mane and Doja Cat were not artists that would entice him to go to the fall concert. “Personally, I wasn’t so interested in attending the concert, because I’m not the biggest rap fan,” Close said. “From the people I spoke to, there were a bunch of people who might have gone if it were a different artist.” The SAPB could not be reached for comment.
contributing writer
The Binghamton men’s and women’s cross country teams delivered two of their best performances of the season this weekend in two meets. The men’s side took home the title at the Albany Invitational and sophomore Aziza Chigatayeva finished third out of 207 runners at the Princeton Invitational. “I really feel like that [Albany] was the best meet so far for the majority of the team,” said Binghamton head coach Annette Acuff. At Albany, six runners on the men’s team finished in the top 10 overall of the 8K race. Freshman Ryan Guerci finished fourth overall with a time of 25:20, followed by freshmen Marty Dolan (25:27) and Matt Cavaliere (25:37), redshirt junior Mitch Halpern (25:47) and sophomore Dan Gahagan (25:49). Redshirt sophomore Kevin Moshier finished 10th out of 82 runners, clocking in at 26:01. On the women’s side, Binghamton’s top three finishers in the 5K course were freshmen Kyra Guerci in 12th (19:01), Carolyn Burnell in 19th (19:21) and Kaitlyn DeYulio taking 21st (19:24), giving the Bearcats a fourthplace finish out of 10 competing schools. Eighty-six other runners competed in the
Fall concert stars Doja Cat and Gucci Mane Rappers perform for a small, costumed crowd Lakhsmi Chatterjee arts & culture intern
Even with a small crowd on a cold October night, students crowded the front of the stage at the Events Center this Thursday to see rappers Doja Cat and Gucci Mane perform for this year’s fall concert. The show served as the first fall concert in two years, following 21 Savage’s abrupt cancellation last year because of travel difficulties. Doja Cat was greeted with a dedicated fan base, many of whom came dressed as cows to pay homage to her viral 2018 song, “Mooo!” Donned in a leopard print outfit herself, Doja Cat enjoyed the company of those who showed up, while commenting on the perceived crowd size. “This venue makes you look so small,” Doja said in between songs. “It’s
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ARTS & CULTURE
sidney slon assistant photo editor Doja Cat performs in the Events Center.
sidney slon assistant photo editor Gucci Mane’s 15th album, “Woptober II,” dropped hours after he performed at fall concert.
OPINIONS
SPORTS
Parlor City Vegan brings plantbased eats to Binghamton,
BNL brings laughs to Hinman College,
Contributing columnist Hanako Montgomery discusses sex culture in Japan,
Volleyball swept by Albany and UMBC,
Men’s soccer rallies to defeat Stony Brook,
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