Fall 2019 Issue 21

Find out what professors are reading, See page 8

Thursday, November 7, 2019 | Vol. XCVI, Issue 21 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com

The Free Word on Campus Since 1946

BU faculty, alumna victorious in elections District attorney race will be determined by absentee ballots Jeremy Rubino

assistant news editor

predicament. Classes are set to recess at 1 p.m., leaving many with little time to travel.

The calendar is not new — BU has recessed classes the day before Thanksgiving and required students to return to Binghamton on Easter Sunday in the past. But this year, the schedule raised frustrations, with a petition on Change.org attempting to convince University administrators to adjust the break schedule garnering more than 500 student signatures.

The break schedule is also drawing attention from the Student Association (SA).

Nearly all of the 2019 elections have wrapped up in Broome County, resulting in two Binghamton University faculty members and an alumna winning council seats. However, the Broome County district attorney (DA) race will hinge on the absentee ballot count.

In the DA race, Libertarian candidate Michael Korchak has emerged as a frontrunner. Although the race has yet to be determined, Korchak has accumulated 14,882 votes against Republican Paul Battisti’s 14,760 votes, a close 122-vote gap with about 1,560 absentee ballots waiting to be counted. Debra Gelson, the Democratic candidate, trails with 10,863 votes.

In a statement from on his campaign Facebook page, Korchak thanked supporters and workers at the polls, acknowledging his top spot in the race.

“We are very pleased to be 122 votes ahead of our opponent and looking forward to the counting of the remaining ballots on Nov. 19,” Korchak said. “We believe that the incredibly high-voter turnout demonstrates the importance of this election and we will not rest until each and every vote is counted.”

see holidays page 3

see elections page 3

taylor hayes pipe dream illustrator

SA passes resolution for extra holiday time Students, RAs voice concerns about travel conflicting with holiday plans Gillian Mathews news intern

In a few weeks, Binghamton University students are scheduled to head home the day before Thanksgiving. Next semester, students are set to return to classes the day after Easter.

But for some, the University’s break schedule will force them to make a choice between academics and family.

The University’s academic calendar is coming under fire from students after administrators did not schedule travel days for students heading home during the Thanksgiving and Easter breaks. BU’s spring break is scheduled from April 4 to April 12 this year, with Easter Sunday as the final day of vacation. The schedule could force students celebrating the holiday to travel to back to Broome County instead of eating Easter dinner to make it back to BU in time for Monday classes.

Students preparing to go home the day before Thanksgiving on Nov. 27 face a similar

SA calls for firing of Victor Skormin

Alumnus shares battle with brain cancer

Student representatives condemn Skormin’s social media post, email

Postmodern Jukebox gets festive at BU

Jacob Kerr news editor

The Student Association (SA) called for the termination of Victor Skormin, a distinguished service professor of electrical and computer engineering, at their Congress meeting on Tuesday night.

Although SA Congress will not vote on their formal resolution until their next meeting, the legislation calls for Binghamton University officials to fire Skormin after two controversial incidents. The resolution was drafted

by John Santare, SA vice president for academic affairs and a senior doublemajoring in biology and comparative literature, Hunter Andrasko, SA Congress speaker and a senior doublemajoring in human development and political science and Maxwell Hisiger, SA vice president for academic affairs chief of staff and a senior double-majoring in mathematics and economics.

“We introduced this resolution for a variety of reasons but first and foremost as a result of our obligation

Performance highlights journey from senior year diagnosis

year at Binghamton Unviersity, and he first noticed symptoms on campus when his left, dominant hand lost its fine motor function. As a composer and concert pianist, this rendered Zachary unable to write and play music. When he approached the Decker Student Health Services Center, Zachary said they simply gave him Robitussin.

“Spoiler alert, it did not work,”

Nicole Kaufman news intern

In 1995, Matthew Zachary, ’96, was diagnosed with pediatric brain cancer.

It was the fall semester of his senior

Zachary said. “It was ultimately brain cancer. I was actually quite relieved to hear that there was something wrong with me because when your left hand stops working and nothing else is wrong with you, everyone says, ‘It’s in your head,’ and it was.”

Zachary, the founder of Stupid Cancer, a young adult cancer community, presented his journey from

an end-stage cancer patient to a cancer survivor during a talk and musical performance on Wednesday afternoon.

As he told his story to a crowd in the Fine Arts Building, he gave personal anecdotes — pausing only to play original piano pieces related to that specific time in his life.

see survivor page 4

YouTube-famous musical group performed on Tuesday Cristina Zirilli

contributing writer

Binghamton University got a taste of Christmas early as one of Postmodern Jukebox’s first holiday shows of the year echoed through the Osterhout Concert Theater on Tuesday.

Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ) is a group of musicians, singers and dancers best known for performing modern pop songs in vintage styles, utilizing the genres of swing and jazz. The group’s YouTube channel, which has gathered over 4 million subscribers and 1.2 billion views, features weekly covers. As one of their first concerts since Halloween, the show was holiday-themed and featured tap dances and popular Christmas songs such as “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” “Feliz Navidad” and “Santa Baby.” Along with the festive tunes, performers donned sparkling bright suits, dresses and fur coats to represent the upcoming holiday season.

see skormin page 4

see pmj page 7

ARTS & CULTURE

rose coschignano photo intern Postmodern Jukebox played one of their first holiday shows of the year at the Osterhout Concert Theater on Tuesday.

OPINIONS

SPORTS

Comedy club to open in Binghamton,

DJs to take over hookah lounge this weekend,

The Editorial Board looks at the recent NCAA ruling on student-athletes’ profits,

Wrestling team prepares for 201920 campaign,

Women’s basketball blows out Siena in season opener,

SEE PAGE 7

SEE PAGE 7

SEE PAGE 6

SEE PAGE 11

SEE PAGE 12

PAGE II Thursday, November 7,2017 2019 Thursday, Thursday, Monday, Monday, September October October April 3,2,5, 2017 28, 2017 2017

ADDress: University Union WB03 4400 Vestal Parkway E. Binghamton, N.Y. 13902 phone: 607-777-2515 fAx: 607-777-2600 weB: bupipedream.com

Stop, chop and roll

FALL 2019 eDitor-in-Chief* Sasha Hupka editor@bupipedream.com

“Those open hearings will be an opportunity for the American people to evaluate the witnesses for themselves, to make their own determinations about the credibility of the witnesses, but also to learn firsthand about the facts of the president’s misconduct.”

MAnAging eDitor* Katy Wong manager@bupipedream.com

news eDitor* Jacob Kerr news@bupipedream.com

— Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, on Wednesday regarding the upcoming public impeachment hearings for President Donald Trump, which start on Nov. 13.

Asst. news eDitors Valerie Puma Leora Schwadron Jeremy Rubino

opinions eDitor* Evan Moravansky opinions@bupipedream.com Asst. opinions eDitor Elizabeth Short

Arts & Culture eDitor* Gabriela Iacovano arts@bupipedream.com

lucas peterka contributing photographer Students get together to make onigiri, a traditional Japanese rice ball, with the Binghamton University Japanese Association (BUJA) on Monday night.

Asst. Arts & Culture eDitors Calendra Scahill Patrick Earns

Police Watch

sports eDitor* Justin Zion sports@bupipedream.com Asst. sports eDitors Edward Aaron Samantha Marsh photogrAphy eDitor* Ariel Kachuro photo@bupipedream.com

Asst. photogrAphy eDitor Sidney Slon fun eDitor* Annabeth Sloan fun@bupipedream.com Asst. fun eDitor

Daniel Eisenhower

Design MAnAger* Kade Estelle design@bupipedream.com Design Assts.

Mikayel Harutyunyan Charlotte Monsour Copy Desk Chief* Lia Berger copy@bupipedream.com Asst. Copy Desk Chief Cherie Litvin

DigitAl eDitor* Kimberly Gonzalez digital@bupipedream.com newsrooM teChnology MAnAger* Michelle Tan tech@bupipedream.com

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Business MAnAger* Maryam Soomro business@bupipedream.com Business AssistAnt Samantha Agnoli businessassistant@bupipedream.

The following accounts were provided by Investigator Mark Silverio of Binghamton’s New York State University Police.

It’s not rocket science TUESDAY, Oct. 29, 8:00 p.m. — Two Town of Vestal firefighters contacted UPD on Oct. 25 and said they received a call from a 20-year-old student requesting a fire truck on standby at Lone Maple Farm in Binghamton for an experiment that he and his friend were conducting. The firefighters did not think much of the request at the time, but after speaking to Lone Maple Farm personnel, they found out that the two young men were experimenting with rocket fuel.

Once the fire department got the list of the chemicals involved in the students’ experiment, they became concerned about where the students were storing the materials. Officers contacted the students, went through the list of chemicals they were going to be using and got in touch with a University chemistry department faculty member to make sure the chemicals were not an immediate health threat. Based on the opinion of the chemistry professor, the students’ conversation with the fire department and the fact that the amount of the chemicals they had was not enough to pose a real threat, the students were allowed to proceed with their homemade rocket test. According to those present, the test was a success.

stabilizing:formal

editorial:destabilizing

possession of a forged document.

Sleep-peeing SUNDAY, Nov. 3, 3:09 a.m. — Officers responded to Johnson Hall of Dickinson Community for a report of an unconscious, intoxicated male. Upon arrival, officers spoke with the reporting party, an 18-year-old female student, who claimed that the male was visiting another student in the same dorm and was walking around the room and peeing on the floor. The 18-year-old male did not respond to the student when she tried to get his attention by calling his name and just continued peeing. When officers got there and spoke to the young man, the suspect stated that he had a history of sleepwalking and urinating while unconscious. He was extremely apologetic during questioning and showed no signs of intoxication, as he was soberly sleepwalking.

Now hising Franc

Download the B

Sprayed down FRIDAY, Nov. 1, 1:33 a.m. — Officers responded to a complaint of a skunk in Endicott Hall of Newing College. Officers spoke with a member of the Residential Life staff, who explained that a skunk was found under a stairwell.

The officer had the staff member block off the stairwell to the best of her ability and proceeded to prop open the door in hopes the skunk would find its way back outside, but it did not. While in the process of locking down the stairwell, another Endicott Hall staff member alerted the responding officer of an intoxicated male in the building, prompting the officer to leave the stairwell unmanned. While the officer was gone, the intoxicated male arrived at the stairwell, ignored the resident assistant’s verbal and posted warnings, proceeded into the stairwell and got sprayed by the skunk. By the time the officer was able to check on the skunk’s victim, he was already in the shower.

Eventually, the skunk left the stairwell. Afterward, video footage revealed that the skunk entered the building on a rainy afternoon after a group of three girls left the building and accidentally swept the skunk inside as the door was closing.

Head full of glass SATURDAY, Nov. 2, 9:30 a.m. — Officers responded to Hughes Hall of Hinman College where the glass of the main entrance doors had been smashed out.

Officers found a rock on the inside of the entryway. Upon reviewing video footage, officers found that at about 6 a.m. a suspect threw the rock through the window and then reached in to unlock the door to enter the building.

Using the camera system for Hughes Hall, officers followed the suspect’s route through the building to his room. Officers then responded to that room, knocked on the door and were met by the resident, who directed them to his visiting friend sleeping on the couch. When the 18-year-old male was questioned, he claimed he had no recollection of the incident nor of how he got back into the building. The suspect stated that he and his friends went out the night before and he got into a disagreement with the student he was visiting. He went outside and had no way to get back in, so he picked up a rock and threw it through the window to open the door. The male was charged with criminal mischief for smashing the window. While speaking with the male, officers also found a fake ID, and the student was charged with

DistriBution MAnAger Preston Hill distribution@bupipedream.com

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Rose Coschignano Pipe Dream News

This Day in History Nov. 7, 1931 The People’s Republic of China is proclaimed by Chinese communist revolutionary Mao Zedong.

Fourteen years earlier, on the same date, Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power and overthrew the Russian monarchy during the October Revolution.

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bupipedream.com | November 7, 2019

NEWS

3

New club aims to promote student entrepreneurship Bingtrepreneur Club aims to utilize local incubator Richard Jannaccio contributing writer

The Koffman Southern Tier Incubator offers resources for aspiring entrepreneurial students in Downtown Binghamton. But one Binghamton University student thinks it is an underutilized resource, and is working to fix that.

Andre Haykal, a sophomore majoring in business administration, launched the Bingtrepreneur Club at the beginning of the semester, aiming to boost visibility, accessibility and utilization of the Incubator, located at 120 Hawley St. in Downtown Binghamton.

Haykal said the club currently boasts about 70 members and meets every Friday evening, either for relevant workshops led by local business professionals or its monthly meetup event.

Roughly 90 percent of its members are current BU students, and the remaining 10 percent is split between BU alumni and Broome Community College (BCC) students.

Paulina Weinreich, a senior majoring in business administration, said she first went to the Incubator because of a Bingtrepreneur Club

provided by andre haykal Binghamton University and Broome Community College students meet to discuss business ideas at a Bingtrepeneur Club meeting at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator in Downtown Binghamton.

meeting. After watching episodes of Shark Tank on television, Weinreich wanted to become an entrepreneur and saw the club as an opportunity to do so.

“I was on the Listserv and got an email saying we’re having a meeting at the Incubator, and I was like, ‘This is the time for me to do this,’” Weinreich said. “So I

got involved and it’s been really great.”

Weinreich said the workshops inspired her to continue following her goals.

“The speakers that they brought to the workshops were the reason that I decided to take the jump, as opposed to just the idea,” Weinreich said.

In addition to starting the club, Haykal also acts as the Incubator’s student ambassador.

He said the role includes scheduling events and recruiting local entrepreneurs to lead workshops, as well as networking to recruit new student members, both in person and through social media.

The Incubator, which opened in May 2017, supports regional startup business ventures in partnership with BU and BCC, utilizing 35,000 square feet of offices, science laboratories and a variety of other workspaces, conference rooms and study lounges for group and individual use.

The types of businesses that the Incubator supports range from hard sciences to information technology, product design, cinema, retail, restaurants and more, according to Haykal.

Parlor City Vegan, owned by Sara Liu, ‘06, and Lei Liu, ‘07, is a local restaurant startup that developed at the Incubator and opened for business on Oct. 23 on Binghamton’s West Side.

Bharath Reddy, a secondyear graduate student studying systems science and industrial engineering, became affiliated with the Incubator through joining the Bingtrepreneur Club.

Reddy’s new business venture proposal develops reusable bottles out of hemp plastic, starting with protein shakers as his first product.

Reddy said he participates in all of the workshops and finds them very helpful. He also credited Bingtrepreneur Club and the Incubator for connecting him with Enactus, an international organization of 72,000 students that aims to

promote socially responsible entrepreneurship.

“They encourage you to create a business that is sustainable and environmentfriendly,” Reddy said. “Enactus is helping me with a business plan and an action plan. They have helped to construct my idea into a reality.”

Weinreich also started a project through the Incubator, but described her startup idea as being in the formative stages.

“I’m not quite sure how it’s going to end up,” Weinreich said. “But the idea is for a multimedia platform with contributing writers and editors writing content for University students.”

Weinrich said she recently participated in “Think, Link, Launch,” a startup businesspitch competition held at the Incubator and sponsored by International Business Machines (IBM). She said her startup business proposal was among those selected to advance to the second round.

“The experts in the field were coming up to me and talking about collaboration and stuff like that,” Weinreich said. “So those are some really valuable contacts that I will definitely try to optimize. It’s really exciting and I’m really happy that people see validity in this idea and this mission.”

Korchak leads in close race for district attorney elections from page 1 Voter turnout for in Broome County was roughly on par with 2015 elections, with approximately 42,000 voters heading to the polls.

2019 was the first time New York voters saw early elections, with about 5,800 voting before election day.

In a statement on Facebook, Battisti stressed the importance of the Board of Elections in determining the final count for the DA race.

“It appears that we’re down by 122 votes as of [Tuesday night’s] unofficial results,” Battisti said.

“There are still more than 1,500 absentee ballots to be counted, and the Board of Elections must re-canvass tonight’s numbers to ensure that no errors were made.”

Absentee ballots can take up to 10 days to be fully counted, according

to the U.S. Vote Foundation.

All seven of the seats in the Binghamton City Council were up for election this year, with more than half of the seats left vacant by the incumbent council members.

In district two, which encompasses the area west of Laurel Avenue between Main Street and Riverside Drive on Binghamton’s West Side, incumbent Democratic council member Dan Livingston was defeated by Republican Sophia Resciniti, ‘06, by 154 votes.

Resciniti, who held the council position before Livingston, is a lecturer of social work at BU and totaled 1,148 votes.

Resciniti thanked supporters on Tuesday night and said she will get to work as soon as possible.

“An enormous thank you to each and every one of my supporters,” Resciniti said in a statement on Facebook. “My family, campaign

volunteers and complete strangers who put their faith in me to make the West Side better. Let’s get to work.”

In neighboring district three, which is comprised of the area east of Laurel Avenue between Main Street and Riverside Drive on Binghamton’s West Side, Democratic candidate Angela Riley won against Republican Shawn Atkinson. Riley, assistant dean of BU’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and executive director of experiential education at BU, won with 723 votes — 487 more votes than Atkinson’s count. The district three seat was left vacant by Dani Croce, who announced in March that she would not be seeking reelection.

In a statement from Riley’s Facebook page, Riley thanked her supporters and looked toward her future role.

kade estelle design manager

“This election has been an incredible experience for me,” Riley said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do in this city and will be leaning on all of you again to get this done.”

In district four, encompassing Downtown Binghamton and the city’s North Side, Democratic candidate Aviva Friedman, ‘14,

beat Republican John Cordisco.

Friedman, a member of Progressive Leaders Of Tomorrow (PLOT), won with 429 votes against Cordisco’s 322 votes. The district four seat was vacated by Conrad Taylor, ‘17, who also announced in March he would not be seeking reelection.

Friedman’s win marks a major

victory for PLOT, which has drawn praise and condemnation for its progressive stances and demonstrations.

Nevertheless, the council will maintain a Republican majority, with the winners of districts one, five, six and seven setting the tone for the year ahead.

Current break schedule interferes with holidays, students say holidays from page 1 At a SA Congress meeting on Tuesday, representatives passed a resolution calling on the University to amend the 2019-20 academic calendar to dismiss all classes at 11 a.m. on Nov. 27 and close residential halls at 1 p.m., buying students a few extra hours of travel time. Additionally, the resolution advocates for spring break to be extended until April 13. Proponents of the effort said students deserve the opportunity to celebrate holidays with their families, without having to drive late into the night to avoid missing classes.

“My concerns lie with the fact that students will be faced with the choice of heading home [or] staying home, depending on the break, to celebrate the holidays with their family or attending their classes,” wrote Hunter Andrasko, SA Congress speaker and a senior double-majoring in human development and political science, in an email. “Students should not have to make that choice.”

Clarissa Agate, a sophomore majoring in art history, said coming back for classes on Easter Sunday or the day after will be a struggle, considering how far away from the University she lives.

“As someone who comes from a religious family, celebrating Easter is a big deal in my

household,” Agate said. “Being expected to leave my home to come back up to Binghamton the day before Easter or on actual Easter, just to make it to class on Monday, is ridiculous. It also does not help that I live about four hours away and most students in my situation live even further, so leaving on Monday to make it to class on time is not an option.”

For some students, the academic calendar is even more restrictive. Many resident assistants are expected to stay behind to close residential halls and show up early to reopen them.

On Easter Sunday, residential halls open at 2 p.m., and opening staff members are required to be on campus several hours prior.

“The timing of these breaks has the potential to prevent students from enjoying the holidays with their families, especially concerning Easter,” said a residential assistant in Dickinson Community, who asked to remain anonymous.

“Even those residential assistants and students who do not have to be back to open the building for Easter may be forced to leave their celebrations early to be back in time for Monday classes.”

But Donald Nieman, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, said ResLife employees know they will sacrifice time immediately before and after breaks when taking their position.

“ResLife concerns are just one

element of the many concerns that have to be accommodated,” Nieman said. “There are student roles on campus that carry with them obligations that include time on break periods. This includes not only residential assistants but intercollegiate athletes, tour guides and others.

That is part of assuming such a role.”

Nieman also noted that BU’s calendar committee has already amended the 2020-21 calendar to make the Monday after Easter a holiday.

“To the extent we can avoid the need to include an obligation over break and manage all of the other considerations that influence the

academic calendar — we will do so,” he said.

Passing the resolution will not immediately affect the academic calendar, as only administrators have the power to make changes to the University schedule. Still, Andrasko hopes the resolution will draw attention to the issue and inform BU officials of student concerns.

“As speaker of Congress for the SA, there really isn’t anything I or the SA can do besides continue to advocate for our students,” Andrasko wrote. “We have brought this issue to administrators and at the end of the day, they are the ones responsible for deciding on these policies.”

He and other members of SA Congress plan to meet with administrators to continue to encourage them to make changes to the current year’s academic calendar. Agate said she hopes they are successful.

“I find it very unfair, and frankly disrespectful that students

are expected to attend classes the day after Easter,” Agate said. “The University should take into consideration the fact that most students want to go home to celebrate Easter with their families and by making us have class the next day, they are robbing us of that opportunity.”

4

NEWS

bupipedream.com | November 7, 2019

Ambassador program aims to fight campus tobacco use Tobacco-free campaign recruits student volunteers Rebekah Ehrlich

contributing writer

November is designated as Tobacco Awareness Month and will kick off BU’s Health Promotion and Prevention Services’ (HPPS) new tobaccofree campaign.

HPPS created the campaign to help raise awareness about Binghamton University’s tobacco-free policy.

The campaign, according to Kimberly Peabody, director of HPPS, is looking to recruit at least 30 student volunteers. The program will run for two weeks, from Nov. 6 to Nov. 20, and volunteers will receive a free tobacco ambassador shirt and a tobacco-free campus button.

“The tobacco-free ambassador internship was developed to ignite awareness and compliance with the tobacco-free policy, encourage quit attempts among smokers, provide social modeling to the campus community on how to approach smokers [and] vapers and collect data to describe the current status of nicotine use on campus properties,” Peabody wrote in an email.

The tobacco-free policy was implemented on campus in August 2017, but Binghamton’s New York State University Police Department (UPD) has no ability to legally enforce it.

Therefore, the University relies on the community to abide by the rules. Although the policy’s name specifically targets tobacco, other forms of smoking that don’t contain tobacco are also not allowed, such as electronic cigarettes.

Lizz Schmidt, a sophomore majoring in psychology, is one of five consistent smoke- and tobacco-free ambassadors, and is helping recruit the 30 student volunteers that will help HPPS throughout the month. She

provided by katie nardone

As part of their tobacco-free campaign, tobacco-free ambassadors will aim to raise awareness about the campus policy during the month of November.

said the campaign is important because it will allow for more students to help spread the policy.

“We have the tobacco-free ambassadorship and those are the main interns for the program,” Schmidt said. “But then we’re doing this 30-people campaign just for a section of November, so we’re just trying to get 30 volunteers and that could be anyone. We’re getting these volunteers to specifically promote the tobacco-free policy, and if anyone’s breaking the policy,

then the point of the program is for the volunteers to report it on this Google form.”

According to Schmidt, students may not be aware of the policy since it was only recently implemented.

“Our main goal with the program is to educate campus about the policy since it’s relatively new,” Schmidt said.

“We’re trying to just educate everyone about it because some people still don’t know. There aren’t going to be any punitive

consequences or anything if you are smoking on campus, but it’s about if you see someone smoking, just making them aware of the policy.”

BU’s decision to go tobaccofree was in the interest of the entire community as well as the campus itself, according to Schmidt.

“This policy is to benefit everyone on campus first,” Schmidt said. “The people that are engaging in smoking were trying to help their health overall

because of all the negative effects of smoking and same with vaping. But also, secondhand smoke and something that people don’t think about a lot, cigarettes are the most littered thing in the world, so our campus we’re trying to keep healthy overall by prohibiting this.”

According to Peabody, participants in the internship will complete the certification exam for the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Certified Peer

Educator training program and gain numerous skills that they can apply to other aspects of their life.

“By the end of the internship, I hope that students will learn about nicotine, nicotine addiction and available local, state and federal resources, share their knowledge of health implications associated with smoking and tobacco use, manage crises, respond as an empowered bystander and refer to appropriate resources,” Peabody wrote.

SA calls for Skormin’s termination, more faculty training skormin from page 1 to represent the undergraduate student body,” Andrasko wrote in an email. ”As students, we know what this school stands for more than anyone else and we want the 14,000 students we represent to know that we are fighting for them.”

Skormin’s first incident occurred in 2018, when he responded to an engineering department Listserv email about a fundraiser for the National Society of Black Engineers with another email asking about the “Society of White Engineers.” In October, Skormin came under fire when he posted a photo on

his Facebook page of a man, that was not him, wearing a Confederate flag hat with the word “REBEL” and a shirt that read “REDNECK JEW.” The man was carrying a rifle.

“The usage of his position as a state-employed professor to send out an implicitly racist email should have been a red line the

University acted on,” Andrasko wrote. “If the administration of this school cannot directly call out these actions then, as student leaders, we will.”

In addition to calling for Skormin’s termination from his University position, the SA also wants to implement annual faculty-wide cultural

competency training.

“While asking for Skormin’s termination is significant, the more important aspect is focusing on how to prevent something like this from happening again,” Andrasko wrote. “This training would be the least the University could do.”

According to the SA, the resolution was sent to BU community representatives for feedback, and a vote will be made at Congress’ Nov. 19 meeting.

University officials declined to comment on the matter, and Skormin could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

Matthew Zachary, ‘96, tells survival story through music survivor from page 1 Zachary had brain surgery a few months after he was diagnosed in January 1996, and was later treated with radiation.

When doctors wanted to give him chemotherapy, however, Zachary refused.

“They did want to give me chemotherapy,” Zachary said. “It turns out the chemotherapy they wanted to give me would not

have actually helped me.”

Zachary’s godfather, who was a genetic researcher, discovered the chemotherapy the doctors wanted to give Zachary contained vincristine, a chemical that would have permanently damaged Zachary’s fingers and toes. Zachary decided he would rather die in five years playing the piano rather than die in 80 years and never play again.

“I actually chose not to do

chemotherapy and take a major risk,” Zachary said. “[Playing the piano] was more important to me than what they thought was more important to me — the longevity.”

Zachary credits his godfather for inspiring him to make the decision.

“That level of dignity that he gave to me was bereft of the medical community at the time,” Zachary said. “How many concert

zachary canaperi contributing photographer Matthew Zachary, ’96, plays piano in the Casadesus Recital Hall of the Fine Arts Building on Wednesday. Zachary discussed his experiences as a 25-year-old end-stage brain cancer survivor and founder of Stupid Cancer, a cancer patient advocacy group.

pianists that are cancer patients do you get? Very few.”

Although he was 21 years old at the time of his diagnosis, Zachary was placed in the pediatric ward to receive his treatment. Zachary said seeing children with cancer so frequently was scarring.

“Until you’re in the club, you don’t know the club,” Zachary said. “That’s OK. It’s a blessing to not know the club, but these kids sent me in the direction to be a cancer advocate.”

As a cancer advocate, Zachary founded Stupid Cancer in 2007. The group aims to build community among young adults affected by cancer and end the isolation that is often brought on by constant doctor appointments and health concerns. Zachary said Stupid Cancer has become the largest community for adolescents and young adults affected by cancer in the world, a community Zachary longed for during his time as a cancer patient.

“I hope that I could become the guy that makes it suck less for the next me,” Zachary said.

“This is a very instinctual human inclination to want to give back.”

Last year, Zachary chose to step down as the chief executive officer of Stupid Cancer.

“I needed to reinvent myself,” Zachary said. “A lot of this came because of [BU]. It dawned on me that I need to give back in a different way.”

His next project will Off

Script Media, a patient advocate health podcast company which is planned to launch next year.

Zachary said he wants to involve the University in bettering patient advocacy in the media.

“The goal is to give a raw, reimaging of conversation to people around the world who feel like there’s no one like them,” Zachary said.

Darren Tun, a junior majoring in cinema, came to support Zachary during his presentation as Zachary’s mentee. Tun met Zachary through a distance mentoring program at Harpur Edge, and said Zachary is always eager to give back.

“The presentation was really inspiring,” Tun said. “He told his

story in a really interesting way by incorporating his original music.

It highlighted his emotional connection with Stupid Cancer really well.”

Bringing awareness to cancer research is a by-product of his advocacy, and Zachary said he hopes to continue bringing survivors together.

“This is about when you get sick, no one should give you Robitussin for brain cancer,” Zachary said. “No one should tell you, ‘You’ll never play piano again.’ No one should tell you, ‘You’ll never get married. You’ll never have children.’ You need to be part of a community that gets you with no judgments and no stigma.”

COMIC CLUB

A place For Everything Comics! everyone is welcome! comicclub@binghamtonsa.org

SA CHARTERED

OPINIONS Thursday, November 7,2017 2019 Thursday, Thursday, Monday, Monday, September October October April 3,2,5, 2017 28, 2017 2017

EDITORIAL: PLAY BIG, PAY BIG Last Tuesday, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced a shift in policy which will allow college athletes to earn revenue from the use of their likenesses.

stephanie chin pipe dream illustrator

The change was unanimously passed by the NCAA Board of Governors, but it’s a move that’s long been backed by many. This year, California passed a law that allowed student-athletes to acquire agents to represent them in earning revenue, which was set to go into effect in 2023.

While many other states sought to pass similar legislation, highprofile politicians like Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) have also pushed against NCAA limitations, telling the association, “We’re coming for you,” just weeks before its reversal.

While the policy change is effective immediately, each tier of collegiate athletics will have to determine how they will handle the new rules. To give time to the divisions to make these decisions,

the NCAA stated that they’ll have until January 2021 to implement the new policy. This means that current freshmen and sophomore college athletes will likely see the new policy influence their careers. The careers of past college athletes, however, have already seen harm from the NCAA’s previous rules.

Donald De La Haye was a star football player and junior at the University of Central Florida in 2017 when the NCAA forced him into an ultimatum: stop making money off Youtube videos related to his athletics, or abandon his full scholarship. La Haye chose to continue producing monetized sports videos, but he could not afford tuition and had to leave college entirely. He’s since been hired by the company Whistle

Sports and continues to make profit off the video content he creates, but not all players have been so fortunate. Should the NCAA have kept their rules as they were in 2017, there’s no telling how many more college athletes would have to face similarly difficult choices in their career, and how many already lost their chance to play professionally.

Still, the move comes with some concerns.

Although Binghamton University isn’t the largest sports university by any means, it remains a Division I school where student-athletes have gone pro in the past.

It’s unclear if the new NCAA policy will mean that we’ll see more students graduate into professional leagues like Ben Anderson did when he was

drafted by the Texas Rangers as a pitcher this summer. The ability to generate revenue may incentivize — if not prioritize — sports over academics, more than they already are. There are eligibility requirements such as the NCAA’s GPA standards, which mandate that first-year college athletes need to maintain a GPA average of 90 percent of the minimum to graduate. But at BU, that’s a 1.8 GPA — just a C-minus letter grade average.

While these standards are meant to keep student-athletes engaged in the academic side of their lives, it may prove too little to counter the financial benefits of putting more focus into the sport.

Even Romney, despite his previous comment on the NCAA, expressed concern over how

the rule will be implemented going forward. Other politicians, like Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), responded more incisively, calling for college athletes who “cash in” on the NCAA ruling to see their scholarships be taxed as income.

While we recognize the merits to Romney’s suggestion of an unstable and imbalanced college athletics system, Burr’s idea of punishing athletes for their hardearned revenue is simply wrong.

Moreover, their income would already be taxed according to state and federal laws.

BU men’s basketball head coach Tommy Dempsey touched on the nuanced approach needed in the new wild west of college athletes and their new avenue for revenue in a press conference on Oct. 31. Dempsey expressed

support for the NCAA’s ruling, saying, “I think it’s great.”

However, he also acknowledged that he doesn’t “have the answer” to “how it’s going to play out,” simply stating that “our job is to provide the best experience we can for our players.”

The NCAA’s change in policy will finally end the all too common university practice of exploiting the hard work of student-athletes to make a profit, but the new policy isn’t without its own issues. The Editorial Board supports the NCAA’s decision, but cautions against its potential to leverage athleticism over academic performance. The balance between being a student and an athlete is a difficult one — here’s to hoping the new policy won’t make it any harder.

Views expressed in the opinion pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece which represents the views of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the Staff Editorial, above. The Editorial Board is composed of the Editor-in-Chief, News Editor, Opinions Editor, Sports Editor and Arts & Culture Editor.

It’s never too late in life to go to therapy Mental health issues are lifelong, but it’s always better to get help sooner rather than later Elizabeth Short Assistant Opinions Editor

Last February, I was going through a lot. I was standing on the precipice of turning 20, had one of my parents get injured at their job, another facing a serious cancer scare, one sibling nearly lost to domestic violence and felt guilty about losing contact with the other. When a friend suggested therapy, I thought, “Finally, I have a reason to go.”

I, like so many others, assumed that I needed to be facing a “serious issue” in order to seek out help.

Yes, a lot was going on with my life, but I had been seriously depressed

the semester before and hadn’t sought out help. I wasn’t “dealing with a lot,’’ so I felt selfish and ungrateful to be feeling so down.

And yes, I was worried what people would think of me. But even as the problems in my life began to clear up, therapy was still immensely helpful. The best days were when I entered feeling that I “had nothing to talk about,” and left having outpoured a wealth of emotion, armed with a new perspective.

With nearly 40 million Americans facing anxiety and 16.1 million American adults having experienced a major depressive episode in 2015, it’s clear that mental health is an all too common part of the human experience and it’s a problem we can’t ignore.

So many people are dealing with some form of mental health

issues and it’s never something to be ashamed of. Mental health coverage isn’t guaranteed for all those people, as even those with insurance can face tough requirements to receive coverage, which is often accompanied by long and difficult processes. A whole separate conversation must be had about the right to mental health services, but even for those who have access to it, it remains daunting to try and find the right professional for you. For those looking for a therapist, know that access aside, choosing one is like trying on clothes — it’s a process in itself.

One hopeful light for the future of mental health is that more people, especially younger Americans, are seeking out therapy or counseling. It doesn’t

matter when you decide you want to start trying out therapy; you can be a student, working professional, parent or grandparent. Mental health issues can arise at any point in your life and time alone won’t necessarily help heal from them. Up to 70 percent of adults have experienced trauma at some point in their lives, with nearly 20 percent going on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder.

Our generation appears to be the most open to the idea of seeing a therapist, but there are still those who struggle with making the appointment.

Men also happen to be one of the largest demographics that can’t seem to make therapy work as well as others. There’s this idea that going to see a therapist means you’re weak — that you can’t

handle your own life well, so much so that you need someone else to do it for you. Rather, it’s better to think of therapy as seeking advice from someone outside the issue you’re facing. It’s no secret that mental health isn’t a race with a destination in sight; regardless of who you are, it’s a marathon that endures the entirety of our lives. While the concept of dealing with illnesses like anxiety and depression well into adulthood can seem daunting, there is some comfort in the idea that you may be coping better with life in the future than you are now.

Going to therapy will not fix all your problems. It will simply give you tools and a new perspective in order to face the future with a little more confidence. It isn’t “for” anyone specifically. You

could be dealing with a recent death, anxiety about school, depression, facing relationship problems or just want to get some worries off your chest without feeling like you’re dumping it on your friends. If you have access to help, just go for it. Take baby steps on your journey toward better mental health and stability.

There are resources like treatment coordinators here at Binghamton University, who can help you find a psychiatrist off campus, and websites like Psychology Today to help you filter through therapists nearby. Mental health coverage is a gift that not everyone possesses and I can only hope more receive it in the future. My only regret is not signing up for therapy sooner.

Elizabeth Short is a junior majoring in English.

With darker days and winter weather comes psychological weight Although the cold is inevitable, there may be ways to counter its emotional toll Hannah Gulko Senior Columnist

As the frost begins to settle in on our campus and November brings the freezing promise of winter, early nightfalls accompany a slightly dreary, melancholy ambiance.

The lampposts lighting the Spine emit a soft glow, standing seemingly alone against the backdrop of a Binghamton frost; students are rushing to and from their latenight discussions, clutching onto their hot Jazzman’s for life support, distraught by the enveloping darkness as the clock tower strikes 5 p.m. It is during this time in particular that we

all might find ourselves craving those few extra moments in bed, enveloped in thick blankets and dreams free of responsibility and stress. We might notice a less social mood, a persistent sadness or a heavier disposition. We might feel, with the exception of the joys of the holiday season, a personal struggle for motivation, inspiration and ambition. This phenomenon is more than just a feeling; it’s a biological reaction to the unwelcome environment.

Aptly named, this so-called ‘seasonal depression’ is known as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and can be recognized through symptoms of continuous low energy, hypersomnia, overeating, consequent weight gain, craving for carbohydrates and social withdrawal. If these characteristics should

resemble anything, it’s that of a “hibernation,” a natural response to uninviting living conditions. In Binghamton especially, it’s important to notice these warning signs, as those at higher risk for this diagnosis are young adults who live further from the equator and have less exposure to sunlight — and as any Binghamton resident would know, our sunlit days are few.

A factor to explain this response to the changing seasons could be a highly sensitive circadian rhythm, or biological clock — the body’s natural, internal mechanism for telling time. Reduced levels of sunlight might enhance the effects of SAD by disrupting the body’s internal clock and leading to feelings of confusion

and depression. Serotonin levels, neurotransmitter chemicals that play a role in modulating reward and happiness feelings among other mechanisms, can drop in response to reduced sunlight and may trigger depressive signs. Additionally, the change in season can disrupt the balance of the body’s level of melatonin, which plays a role in sleep patterns and mood.

There are a few ways students can combat the symptoms of SAD. Outside of the recommended physical and mental exercises for overall well-being, students can aim to maximize exposure to sunlight or undergo light therapy, commit to a healthier diet, heighten their intake of vitamin D or use therapy techniques such as behavioral activation. According to the

National Institute of Mental Health, “Behavioral activation seeks to help the person identify activities that are engaging and pleasurable, whether indoors or outdoors, to improve coping with winter.”

It is so important to understand that we are going through this together. There are so many things that we can do alone, and with one another, to support ourselves during this experience. Mental and physical exercises in encouraging and maintaining positivity are incredibly important. Remind yourself to take the time to breathe deeply, to go easy on yourself, to do what you need to make yourself feel more confident and to truly take care of yourself, however that may look to you. I promise, if

that means meandering the home section of Target for a considerable amount of time designing the alternative-reality Brooklyn two-story brownstone you own, I would be the last to judge. Honestly, find the most effective unconventional act of self-care that can work for you and run with it — have a twosong mini dance party, take a 20-minute nap, find an animal of choice and ask to pet it, indulge in a homemade spa day or if none of these: Ask for help.

So get moving, let the sunshine in and surround yourself with the motivated, the inspired, the passionate and the grateful. Winter might be coming, but it isn’t here to stay.

Hannah Gulko is a senior majoring in human development.

Binghamton’s first comedy club to open on Water Street ‘The Boho’ is based out of the DoubleTree basement Krishna Patel

arts & culture intern

On any given Friday and Saturday night, one can expect to find a multitude of students pouring in and out of the State Street bars. However, among the things to do in Binghamton, attending a comedy club for a few laughs has never been an option.

With this in mind, the organizers of Comedy Crawl are opening Binghamton’s first and only comedy club, The Boho, on Nov. 8.

Bill Lake, a member of The Boho team and a Johnson City native, said the community responded positively to the team’s early fundraising effort.

“As we did the Kickstarter program as well as posting on our social media, we had a lot of people say, ‘This is so cool that you guys are doing this to bring comedy to Downtown and have a club,’” Lake said. “Binghamton has needed a comedy club forever because the closest legit club is in Syracuse.”

The new club will create a dedicated space for humor, something Lake said is currently lacking.

“What we lacked in Binghamton was a venue to put shows on, specifically to do comedy, so it was always shows in bars, restaurants, whatever we could grab, so that’s what led us to make this space a comedy space where there is no competition with TVs, bars and conversations,” he said.

The founding and creation of The Boho was originally spearheaded by Giordano “Giordi” DeAngelo, who passed away in September at the age of 27. The Boho team has been keeping DeAngelo’s spirit and vision alive through the final stages of preparing for the grand opening.

“Giordi loved comedy, loved to laugh, loved to bring laughter

ezra beede contributing photographer

The Boho hopes to form a comedy community in Downtown Binghamton.

to people, and I was his wife and came along for the ride,” said Stephanie DeAngelo, widow of Giordano DeAngelo and a team member of The Boho. “I went on this adventure with him. For me, it’s about keeping his passion and desire alive.”

Lake said the team intends to carry Giordano DeAngelo’s vision forward.

“Giordi was the driving force of this and we’re just picking up where he left off,” he said. “Part of why we jumped in so enthusiastically to finish where he left off was to honor his dream of having this here and his motivation to do that.”

By doing so, the team hopes to

create a community of comedians in Binghamton.

“Being completely honest, none of us are trying to make money from this,” Lake said.

“This is just to bring good comedy shows to Binghamton. That’s our honest motivation for this. We just want to see a cool comedy community here.”

Paul Kozlowski, a Cortland native, recounted DeAngelo’s desire to build a space that would be based in the local community’s desires.

“He was very communityoriented and we are trying to be community-oriented in that we are trying to bring comics that we think

will appeal to broad audiences,” Kozlowski said. “We are not a clean club. We’re not a dirty club. But we’re a comedy club.”

The club will be located in the basement of the DoubleTree

by Hilton Hotel, according to Stephanie DeAngelo.

“Giordi started The Boho because there are a lot of places that the Comedy Crawl team was doing comedy at,” Stephanie DeAngelo said. “Unfortunately, a lot of the venues didn’t have the capacity for seating that we needed.

We were finding that we were selling out shows and having a lot of success with it. DoubleTree told us, ‘Hey, we have a room we’re not

using and we’ve had a lot of events here before.’ DoubleTree needed something to go in this room and all the comedians were looking for places to come and have quality comedy shows.”

The Boho plans to put on shows twice a month, featuring carefully selected headliners.

Michael Ciurzynski, a Buffalo native, said The Boho has shows and performers booked well into February.

“We know that for a lot of people, they may not be names that people recognize,” Ciurzynski said.

“They’re people we are familiar with and we’re totally confident in them.”

He also emphasized the value of going to see up-and-coming comedians.

“I think it’s that level of comedian that’s the most fun to see because they’re still working really, really hard,” Ciurzynski said. “If you see someone you already know, you know their style. You have a pretty good idea of what to expect but when you come here, you know you’re gonna see somebody good and it’ll be a little bit of a surprise, but we’re pretty confident that once we’re done, the names will stick in people’s heads.”

Lake said he hopes The Boho will give Binghamton University students something to do on weekend nights apart from barhopping and house parties.

“A lot of students come from the city and are used to having comedy clubs down there,” Lake said. “This gives them an option to do something that they get to do in the city. They don’t just have to go to Dillinger’s or Downtown bars. They can go see a comedy club where there’s gonna be quality people and comics from [New York City] coming up to do shows as well.”

Kozlowski added that The Boho will provide opportunities for BU students interested in comedy to get a start in a budding community.

“A lot of my friends and a lot of famous people went to [BU] — guys like Andy Kindler,” Kozlowski said. “A lot of times, you’ll see a lot of [BU] students at open mics just starting out. From my experience, they’re always hilarious and smart so if you have any interest in performing, it’s good to have a place to see people and see what it’s all about without having to go to New York [City].”

The Boho will be hosting its grand opening with shows at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8 in the basement of the DoubleTree

by Hilton Hotel. The shows will be hosted by Michael Ciurzynski, featuring Bill Lake, with Moody McCarthy as the headliner.

O’Spacis provides student DJs with a musical platform WHRW’s annual event returns this weekend Sarah Merke

contributing writer

This weekend, student DJs will showcase their music and rock the house as the space department at WHRW 90.5 FM returns with their annual event, Cafe O’Spacis, from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Cafe Oasis. Over the years, O’Spacis has become a staple event for WHRW, thrown each semester.

O’Spacis is a live show that will feature a lineup of six Binghamton University students who are station members of WHRW. Jacky, The Space Dandies, Roni, Jordanmasc, Ora Z and Double Negative will all take the stage, in that order.

According to Alyssa Boyle, director of the space department for WHRW and a senior doublemajoring in linguistics and Korean studies, the goal of the event is to display students’ talents in a diverse range of electronic music.

“The event is a great opportunity for students to

practice their music and show the kind of music they like,” Boyle said. “Electronic music is not always easy to find, so this provides a space for anyone who appreciates the music or a highenergy dancing environment.”

While O’Spacis is centered around the student body this semester, all are welcome to come out and get involved, and the space department is always open to newcomers. Boyle said both alumni and members of the Binghamton community have performed at the event in previous years.

“Our goal is to get new people involved, you don’t need to be an expert,” Boyle said. “We always encourage new people to try it out. If you’re interested, then you should apply. I’ve only been DJing for less than a year, so I’m not a pro, but it feels like a real achievement to have the chance to perform in front of an audience.”

Although O’Spacis has been around for years, Boyle is especially looking forward to this year’s performance, as it will be her first time DJing in front of a live audience. She hopes to continue the event’s mission to allow individuals

whrw

WHRW’s annual event will return to Cafe Oasis this weekend.

the space to practice their craft and meet others who share similar interests.

“It’s a really great event that’s been happening in Binghamton,

and I would say it’s probably the most anticipated event within the radio,” she said. “By the second week of school everyone’s thinking about it already. I’ve

spent the last month planning it, there’s a lot involved, but I’m really excited. It’s a really cool scene, I’m grateful the space department offers spaces

like this.”

Admission for the event is $5. Guests must be 18 or older to enter and 21 or older to drink with a valid ID.

Postmodern Jukebox gives BU a taste of Christmas pmj from page 1 Some songs were sung in their traditional ways, but others, like Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” were given jazzy upbeat twists.

Along with catchy tunes, the performances included playful banter between performers, funny poses from singers, dancers and musicians and a Mario-inspired tap dance. Singer Maiya Sykes, dubbed the “Queen of Soul” by other members of the group, garnered substantial applause

with her impressive vocal range and stamina on tracks such as “All About That Bass” by Meghan Trainor, “Closer” by The Chainsmokers and “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen.

To end the show, PMJ members talked about their appreciation for the audience and took a selfie with them to commemorate the concert.

Adam Kubota, one of the founding members of PMJ, told the crowd about the humble

beginnings of PMJ during the show, beginning with a small group of friends in co-founder Scott Bradlee’s basement in Astoria, New York. From there, the group gained prominence through its YouTube channel and now includes 70 members with performances on six continents, with a European tour coinciding with their current North American tour. Although media helped the group expand, Kubota said PMJ’s fans are the main

reason why the group became so successful.

Longtime fans of PMJ attended the show, including Matthew Bauco, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering, who said he was excited to finally see PMJ in person.

“I think the show is pretty amazing so far,” he said. “I remember years ago I first found them on YouTube. I haven’t watched anything from them in a while, [so] the instant I found

out they were to be here, I bought tickets right away.”

Even those who previously saw PMJ live enjoyed the festive energy. Zach Feldman, a senior majoring in psychology, expressed his love for the group.

“I think the show is fantastic,” he said. “I love Postmodern Jukebox. This is my second time seeing them but my first time seeing the Christmas show.”

Abby Kress, a junior double-majoring in biology

and environmental studies, said she was impressed by the musicianship of the concert and how PMJ transforms modern pop music into vintage musical styles.

“The key changes are normal for a jazz setting but not a pop setting,” she said. “Their use of tap shoes as a percussion being the highlight of a song is cool. They all can play multiple instruments, and vocally, their ranges are insane. I wish I could do that.”

8

ARTS & CULTURE

bupipedream.com | November 7, 2019

Ask a professor: what are you reading?

Makoto Toyoda

If you have ever taken a college course, you know that professors have a love for learning, especially about the things they teach. Moreover, they usually have a love for reading about their specializations and interests. Have you ever wondered what professors read in their free time? Look no further — five professors from five different departments and backgrounds told Pipe Dream about their latest reads. shutterstock

Gerardo Pignatiello, a visiting assistant professor of romance languages and literatures, is reading “Las aventuras de la China Iron” by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara.

Pignatiello has been spending this semester engrossed in “Las aventuras de la China Iron,” written by up-andcoming Argentinian author Cabezón Cámara. The novel centers around Liz, an English woman, and her journey

through the Pampas as she discovers new sights, sounds and experiences.

Pignatiello noted that his interest in Cabezón Cámara’s published works led him to read “Las aventuras de la China Iron.”

“I was analyzing another novel by the same author and I wanted to read more from her,” he said. “[I have read] ‘La Virgen Cabeza,’ and ‘Le viste la cara a Dios,’ both by [Cabezón Cámara].”

Pignatiello said “Las aventuras de la China Iron” leaves its mark on both the reader and Argentinian literature as a whole, challenging the previously established order and narrative in which national work has been created. “[My favorite part was] the fascinating way [that it] rewrites the national literature [from Argentina] and the national birth of a nation from a queer perspective,” he said. “The most

powerful image is of these two women (one Argentinian, the other one [British]) in a stagecoach through the Pampas going to the indigenous territory.”

Pignatiello absolutely recommends that students give “Las aventuras de la China Iron” a read, especially those who like to be whisked away into a world of thrill and excitement.

“I think people who like adventure fiction [will like this book],” he said.

Collin Lam, a graduate teaching assistant of English, is reading “Romantic Moods” by Thomas Pfau and “Simulacra and Simulation” by Jean Baudrillard.

For Lam, whose interests include British romanticism and deconstruction, “Romantic Moods” was the perfect, nobrainer piece to read this fall. He noted that the book, which encapsulates the progression of romanticism in Britain and Germany, as well as a new perspective on the romantic writer’s voice, was a good way to gain background knowledge in his field.

“I began reading Pfau’s book because of its chapter on the use of melancholy in John Keats’ early poetry,” he said. “I am currently working on my

dissertation, and the beginning chapter deals a lot with how the romantics employed melancholy as their literary mood par excellence, so his book is incredibly useful. The whole book is a brilliant analysis of how moods function within romantic writing. I would suggest it to anyone seriously interested in the romantics.”

Lam’s second literary choice, “Simulacra and Simulation,” touches on the concept of “simulacra,” known as the representation or imitation of a person or thing, similar to the abstract and imaginary nature of romanticism where both question the reality of the human experience as it exists in a society. Lam revisited this treatise, which he had read in his college days, with his students as

part of a technoromanticism course he teaches.

“I first read [‘Simulacra and Simulation’] while I was an undergrad and became enamored with it,” he said.

“Even though it was published roughly a decade earlier, it articulated what I think a lot of us in the late 2000s were intuiting about the anxiety that comes from our loss of anything ‘really real,’ not to mention our almost expected initiation into the forever wars following the 9/11 attacks.”

For Lam, the experience of reading “Simulacra and Simulation” has been more enriching with each read.

“To me, it’s a fascinating book because with each new reading it becomes more scandalous — if that’s

even the right word — not because of its irreverence, but because of its dismissal of that kind of dialectical faithfulness to truth and untruth,” he said. “We often refer to ourselves now as living in a ‘post-truth era. Yet, in the dying of that light, we still anxiously cling to those same faithful structures of order, balance, justice, truth, in-text citation and the ‘really real’ that marked our before. It’s incredibly difficult to imagine a world that does not found its systems on some form of truth because it would require us to think without valuing.

Therefore, the world is always in crisis — some system of value is always under threat. The romantics felt this deeply in their writing, just as much as we do now.”

David Wynen, an assistant professor of theatre, is reading “Mao’s Last Dancer” by Li Cunxin.

“Mao’s Last Dancer” by Cunxin is a memoir detailing the life of a small boy from a peasant family who lives in Maoist China. After being chosen by Madame Mao’s cultural delegates at 11 years old, Cunxin uproots his entire life to study ballet in Beijing, and later

the United States, becoming one of the greatest dancers of his time. Wynen, who studies musical theatre and both jazz and tap dance, has the knowledge to appreciate the work from a dancer’s perspective.

“The subject matter fascinated me — [Li is] an extraordinary artist [who] overcame obstacles,” he said.

Wynen emphasized Li’s perseverance

through his struggles as an important part of the memoir.

“My favorite part of the book deals with the lengths Li went to in the audition process,” he said. “[He knew] that he must push through the pain for an opportunity to escape his poverty.”

“Mao’s Last Dancer” is a piece that is recognizable to many in the dance field, with the author Cunxin being a

major artist within the dance field.

Wynen recommends the memoir to anyone who is interested in a story about overcoming challenges, noting that it could be an interesting read for international students studying at Binghamton University as a way to gain perspective on a similar experience.

William G. Martin, a Bartle professor of sociology, is reading “Pacifying the Homeland: Intelligence Fusion and Mass Supervision” by Brendan McQuade.

Martin, who studies sociology with a specific focus on justice systems and social movements, has been reading up on work within his own community; “Pacifying the Homeland: Intelligence Fusion and Mass Supervision” was written by Brendan McQuade, a

Ph.D. recipient at BU. The book, which is an account of the influence recent developments in surveillance, supervision and policing have had on criminal justice reform, was published this year. Martin saw the impacts that McQuade’s research could have on our day-to-day.

“Criminal justice reform has been matched by the development of extensive new forms of surveillance, supervision and policing,” he said. “It

has local implications. Imagine that everywhere you drive your car in this area is tracked, reported, stored and made available to every local and federal police force — and managed by regional intelligence centers.”

Martin commented that this is already taking place within local communities, such as Broome County, with its installation of license plate readers and facial recognition devices.

He argues readers will be able to see

McQuade’s strong desires to find innovative takes on criminal justice reform.

“What animates the text is a drive to find ‘non-reformist; reforms — reforms that will increase community power and dismantle the emerging police state,” he said. “We need more works like this.”

In preparation for his scholars course, “Understanding Your World in a Post-Truth Era,” Mark Reisinger, an associate professor of geography and collegiate professor of Newing College, read “Post-Truth” by Lee McIntyre over the summer. Although Reisinger does not have much time during the semester to read, his love for current events fueled his interest in the concept of post-truth.

“Like many other[s], I want to try to understand the phenomenon of ‘fake news’ [or] ‘alternative facts,’” he said.

“I want to understand why people are

swayed by an appeal to their emotions rather than making decisions based on scientific evidence and facts. Why are we so gullible?”

Reisinger is also a fan of journalism and news consumption, which is heavily impacted by the concept of post-truth. Reading “Post-Truth” has helped him connect the ideas he has taken from works on similar topics, such as “Weaponized Lies: How to Think Critically in the Post-Truth Era”

by Daniel Levitin, “War Is a Lie” by David Swanson and “Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s

Stealth Plan for America” by Nancy MacLean.

“I spend several hours a day reading the news from all perspectives … The concepts in ‘Post-Truth’ have enabled me to sort through the lies that you get from all sides of an issue,” Reisinger said. “Post-truth, fake news [and] alternative facts are not new concepts.

They have been used throughout history to fool people into supporting particular issues.”

Reisinger recommended “PostTruth” to those who want to understand the importance of critically

thinking about current events. He was particularly impacted by the difficult questions the book poses to its readers. This is evident in his favorite quote from “Post-Truth”: “Why search for scientific disagreement when it can be manufactured? Why bother with peer review when one’s opinions can be spread by intimidating the media or through public relations? And why wait for government officials to come to the ‘right’ conclusion when you can influence them with industry money?”

F UN

Thursday, Weekday, November Month XX, 7,XXXX 2019 Thursday, Thursday, Monday, Monday, September October October April 3, 2,5, 2017 28, 2017 2017 2017

It’s a giraffe

Two weeks with no alcohol joke

Daniel Eisenhower Humanimals: the humovebirds

Kevin Brown

Sarah Teper

Sudoku

By The Mepham Group

Level: 1 2 3 4 Solution to last issue's puzzle

© 2019 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.

Release Date: Thursday, November 7, 2019

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Watchdog

You know it’s true

Tara Regan

Spencer Lubell

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis ACROSS 1 Astrological Ram 6 Cleans out badly?

10 __-pitch softball 13 Dry up 14 Old photo hue 15 Equivocate 16 International waters 18 Scrabble vowel value 19 Focus of a modern crisis 20 Branch bit 21 “The Persistence of Memory” artist 24 Teleflora rival 25 Ice Capades setting 26 Word with string or sing 28 Washington post 31 Ulaanbaatar native 33 One concerned with bites 35 South of France?

36 Trifling amount 38 Former NBA exec Jackson 39 “Dumbo” (2019) director Burton 41 Off-leash play area 44 Like many courtside interviews 46 Pine detritus 48 New York Harbor’s __ Island 49 “Mad About You” daughter 51 __ Zion Church 53 Actor Alan 54 Runs 55 Audit 58 Holstein sound 59 Politically diverse ballot ... and an apt description of each set of puzzle circles 63 New Haven alum 64 L.L.Bean headquarters locale 65 River in some Renoir paintings 66 “Voices Carry” pop group __ Tuesday 67 Unaccompanied 68 Lauder of cosmetics

DOWN 1 Fitting 2 Root word?

3 Hot temper 4 Bouncing off the walls 5 Castaway’s salvation 6 Lived 7 Slanted page 8 Slant 9 KLM rival 10 Locker room feature 11 Red Square honoree 12 Luxury watch 14 They’re poured at bars 17 Many an animated Twitter pic 20 Picard’s counselor 21 Stops up 22 Vocally 23 Marinated beef dish 25 Harmonize 27 Grammy category 29 Game console letters 30 Member of the opposition

32 Attachment to a car or a boat?

34 Shy 37 Result of Googling 40 Natural table 42 Heist units 43 “How to Get Away With Murder” lawyer Annalise 45 Quick looks 47 Clobber, biblically

49 “Glengarry Glen Ross” playwright 50 Garlicky spread 52 Tonsillitis-treating doc 55 Row 56 Parts of hips 57 65-Across feeder 59 Texting format, briefly 60 Set for assembly 61 Dallas-toMemphis dir.

62 Simple top

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

By Sean Biggins (c)2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC

11/07/19

11/07/19

10

SPORTS

bupipedream.com | November 7, 2019

Men’s soccer edges Albany in regular-season finale McDonnell scores gamewinner in 88th minute Edward Aaron

assistant sports editor

It was a scoreless tie. It took until the 83rd minute for the Binghamton men’s soccer team to get its first shot on goal. Albany had the game’s first shot on goal five minutes

prior. Nothing noteworthy had happened in the team’s regular season finale against Albany for the vast majority of the match.

However, in the 88th minute, redshirt sophomore defender

Ryan Pyszka delivered a pass in front of the net. The Great Danes’ goalkeeper went off his line to play the ball, but sophomore midfielder Andrew McDonnell got to the ball first.

He launched a header into the back of the Albany net, and the Bearcats finally broke through in a defensive battle.

“Me and Pyszka kinda made eye contact and he hit the ball long,” McDonnell said. “I tried to get a hit on it and I did, and after I headed it I didn’t know where it went and I got up and saw that it bounced into the back of the net.”

The Bearcats (6-8-3, 3-4-0 America East) closed out their regular season with a thrilling 1-0 victory over the Great Danes. Albany (9-6-1, 4-3-0 AE) handed nationally ranked New Hampshire its first loss of the season on Friday and had the potential to earn a first-round bye in the AE Championship by winning. Binghamton denied the Great Danes that chance.

“It was a very tight game,” said Binghamton head coach Paul Marco. “I didn’t really see a goal coming in the game, to be honest. Both teams played very tight … The excitement there at the end was really good.”

The Bearcats, on the other hand, had nothing to play for. The team had clinched a spot in the AE Championship and was locked into the No. 6 seed. The team was playing with house money in its final home game this season, but the players rallied when it mattered the most.

“It felt really good knowing that no matter what the outcome was, the season was going to continue,” Pyszka said.

“Hopefully we can keep it going in the long run.”

McDonnell’s goal was his third career goal. All three have come at pivotal moments in games, with the previous two being overtime winners.

Now, the Bearcats will look forward to their first postseason appearance since 2016.

Binghamton is set to take on No. 3 Hartford in a road quarterfinal this Saturday. The Hawks (10-4-4, 4-2-1 AE) defeated Binghamton in a 1-0 contest last Saturday.

The team competed well in that tight game, despite not earning a result.

“We were very happy with how we played and the performance that the guys put in, but the outcome didn’t match the performance we put in,” Marco said. “Hartford did great in that moment to get that goal.”

Since being blown out 4-0 by Vermont on Oct. 12, the Bearcats have gone 3-1-2 to close out their season. This team was able to do what the team in the past two years hasn’t been able to — stay composed, persevere and earn a spot in the postseason.

“One great thing about this group of guys — it doesn’t matter who we’re playing,” Marco said.

“Tomorrow’s training will be great. The group really has just come every day to get better, enjoy each other. The spirit of the team has been fantastic.”

New Hampshire and Vermont shared the regular season title, with UNH owning the tiebreaker and earning home-field advantage in the playoffs. Albany’s loss dropped the Great Danes into the No. 4 seed and allowed Hartford to take the No. 3 spot. UMass Lowell enters the playoffs seeded No. 5 and will travel to Albany for a quarterfinal matchup.

For Binghamton, kickoff in its quarterfinal against Hartford is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Al-Marzook Field in Hartford, Connecticut.

BEARCAT BRIEFS MEN’S TENNIS Aidan Higgins

Contributing Writer david grinberg contributing photographer Sophomore midfielder Andrew McDonnell broke a scoreless tie in the 88th minute, delivering the Bearcats’ game-winning goal against Albany.

College football week 10: winners and losers Justin Zion Sports Editor

We’re now two-thirds of the way through the college football season. The first official College Football Playoff Rankings have been released, and Selection Sunday itself is less than five weeks away. Things are definitely heating up. Here are this week’s winners and losers.

Winner: Jake Fromm After two miserable games in a row for junior quarterback Jake Fromm and Georgia’s offense, some inklings of doubt were beginning to surround Fromm’s playing ability. Some were questioning his reputation as a great quarterback. After a dominant performance in a rivalry game against No. 6 Florida, however, Fromm immediately silenced those doubters. Going 20-for-30 for 279 yards and two touchdowns, Fromm was proficient in throwing the football and did a great job executing No. 8 Georgia’s crafty offensive game plan to lead his Bulldogs (7-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) to victory against the Gators (7-2, 4-2 SEC). Not only did Fromm’s performance restore his own reputation, but it completely revived Georgia’s entire season,

after its previous two games left many doubting if they were true competitors this season. The Bulldogs have returned to the driver’s seat in the SEC East and are fully back in the playoff hunt, and Fromm is a big part of the reason why.

Loser: Florida State The Seminoles have hit rock bottom. Last season, Florida State’s historic streak of 36 straight bowl game appearances was snapped under first-year head coach Willie Taggart. Now, after a dispiriting loss to Miami (FL), a rival, the Seminoles (4-5, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) are in danger of missing out on a bowl game for the second consecutive season, something they haven’t done since a five-year bowl drought from 1972 to 1976. As a result of the program’s failure to achieve any sort of success under Taggart’s tenure as head coach, Florida State relieved him of his duties on Sunday, something which many FSU fans have been wanting to happen for a few weeks now, at least. Seminoles fans will hope that firing Taggart represents a turning of a corner for this troubled program, but with two out of three remaining games on the road, and one of those at No. 10 Florida, FSU’s bowl chances are very much in doubt.

Winner: Utah If anyone would have told me

that No. 9 Utah would still be in the hunt for a playoff spot 10 weeks into the season, I wouldn’t have believed you. Yet, there stand the Utes (8-1, 5-1 Pac-12), a oneloss team that’s eighth in the first College Football Playoff Rankings of the season. Their playoff hopes almost died against Washington last Saturday, but Utah hung in the game and waited for the moment it could use to turn the game around. That moment turned out to be a 39-yard picksix, which completely turned the game around in Utah’s favor.

Washington (5-4, 2-4 Pac-12) is a tough team to play when it’s at home, and the Huskies are better than their record suggests, but Utah survived and got the victory to validate the fact that they’re legitimate contenders this season.

Loser: The first College Football Playoff Rankings of 2019 As Tuesday afternoon turned into Tuesday evening, I was very excited for the reveal of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee’s first rankings of the season. The first rankings give college football viewers the first inklings of what the Selection Committee is thinking, and how it feels about certain teams.

After the rankings were revealed, however, I was very puzzled. It seemed to me that No. 2 LSU should have been ranked first, given its tough schedule and

its undefeated record, but the committee gave the top spot to Ohio State. Those weren’t the only problems I had with the rankings, either. No. 10 Florida, No. 11 Auburn and No. 13 Wisconsin, all two-loss teams, were ranked very highly, while Minnesota, an undefeated Power Five team, was placed well back at 17th, behind even No. 16 Kansas State. I understand that the committee has access to all sorts of statistics and metrics that the rest of us have no clue about, but there are certain obvious factors that any college football fan can see, such as a team’s record, and the committee seemed to have ignored them and produced a set of wacky rankings. Hopefully it can sort itself out soon.

Honorable Mention: The Fine-osaurus Rex I did not catch wind of this until a couple of days after week 10 ended, but boy, did it make me laugh. North Texas senior quarterback Mason Fine had quite the day in his outing against UTEP, throwing for 332 yards and seven touchdowns in a rout of the Miners (1-7, 0-5 Conference USA). And in honor of Halloween, Fine dressed for his postgame press conference … as a T. rex.

He sat there, next to two of his teammates, answering serious questions about the game in this ridiculous getup. Can’t argue he isn’t brave.

The Binghamton men’s tennis team put forth a solid performance over the weekend at the Cleveland State Invitational, with a number of Bearcats advancing through several rounds of singles play and a doubles pairing reaching the semifinals.

Most notable was senior Tiago Lourenco, who won three straight matches. One of those victories was against his teammate, freshman Michael Pawlowicz, 6-1, 6-4, before losing in the semifinals (6-3, 6-3).

Pawlowicz, prior to losing to his teammate, racked up two wins against opponents from Youngstown State and Cleveland State.

Binghamton sophomore Dylan Friedman secured victories against junior Joey Matthews of Duquesne 7-5, 7-6, and CSU sophomore Clark Bilinovich 6-4, 6-7, 107, before losing in the quarterfinals to junior Luke Phillips of CSU 7-6, 6-1. In similar fashion, Bearcat freshman Dan Pergel defeated freshman Will Everett of Youngstown State 2-6, 6-3, 10-7, and Duquesne junior Alex Mascioli 0-6, 6-4, 108, before falling to junior Matthew Terry of CSU 6-1, 6-3.

Other notable performances came from Binghamton senior Kushaan Nath, who lost his opening round to senior Anthony Kanam of Case Western 6-2, 6-2, before bouncing back and winning three straight matches in the consolation bracket. Additionally, junior Alejandro Pena and senior Sebastian Quiros went 2-2 and 2-3, respectively, in their matches.

Overall, Binghamton had a strong presence in the singles bracket as Lourenco, Pawlowicz, Friedman and Pergel were four out of the eight final competitors.

In doubles play, Nath and Pawlowicz won two matches before losing to opponents from CSU 6-3. The double teams of Pergel and Pena, along with Friedman and Lourenco, each secured victories throughout the event.

The Bearcats return to action this Friday, Nov. 8, to compete at the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championship. The event will take place from Nov. 8 to Nov. 10.

bupipedream.com | November 7, 2019

SPORTS

11

Wrestling Preview

sidney slon assistant photo editor Redshirt sophomore Zack Trampe finished fourth in the 133-pound weight class at the 2019 EIWA Championships en route to an NCAA Tournament berth.

sidney slon assistant photo editor After transferring to Binghamton, senior Anthony Sparacio reached the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time after a successful junior season.

Three NCAA qualifiers return for new season

— we have a very young team,” Borshoff said. “The first semester always is kind of a learning experience for us. What I’m looking for is for us to go out and wrestle hard.”

Some of the experience lost from last season comes from DePrez’s siblings, former standouts Anthony DePrez, ‘19 and Vincent DePrez, ‘19. For several years, the DePrez family name has been making a mark on Binghamton wrestling. This year, the final brother, freshman Sam DePrez, joined the program. He is expected to redshirt his freshman year and begin competition next season.

As they do every season, the Bearcats will open their season with their own event — the

Binghamton readies for upcoming 2019-20 campaign Edward Aaron

assistant sports editor

With 10 consecutive dual meet victories, a programhigh sixth-place finish at the Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Championships, four NCAA qualifiers and a wrestler one win away from being an All-American, the Binghamton wrestling team finished its 2018-19 season on a roll. This year, the Bearcats will look to take their program to new heights as they open their season on Sunday.

“We talk all the time about

cracking the top 20 of the country,” said Binghamton head coach Kyle Borshoff. “It’s only ever happened once in program history as a Division I school, but that’s not the final goal.

We want to keep climbing that ladder … We want to be a top-10 team, a top-five team, a national championship team.”

With bold ambitions, Borshoff enters his third year at the helm of the Binghamton program.

As he looks to increase national recognition for the team, he has scheduled a challenging slate of matches. The Bearcats are set to take on preseason No. 5 NC State on Nov. 23 at home, and will wrestle No. 6 Lehigh, the defending EIWA champions, and No. 13 Virginia Tech later in the

season, among others.

The Bearcats return several key contributors from last season, led by redshirt sophomore Lou DePrez. DePrez, ranked No. 11 in the 184-pound weight class, was one win away from being named an All-American in his freshman campaign. Borshoff noted his success against other nationally ranked opponents in his weight class and believes he can compete for a national championship this season.

DePrez was one of two freshmen to qualify for the NCAA tournament, along with redshirt sophomore Zack Trampe. Senior Anthony Sparacio also returns after qualifying for nationals last season.

“I think we have a tough team

Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open this Sunday in the Events Center.

“The Bearcat Open is always a good time,” Borshoff said. “A lot of our guys’ parents make it, a lot of our alum[ni] that wrestled here a while back come up for that event.

It’s always special to get that home event out of the way earlier in the season.”

The Bearcat Open also gives the program a chance to showcase the Events Center to the many visiting opponents and coaches.

The Bearcats will wrestle in four dual meets in the Events Center this year, starting with the NC State match.

“The Events Center is a premier facility of really any Division I school in the country,” Borshoff said. “I think having

our team compete in there is important as we build our identity across the country.”

Two of those matches will be doubleheaders with the men’s and women’s basketball teams. The unique marketing opportunity will give all three programs a chance to showcase themselves in front of different fans.

“I’m hoping that we get some people who come for the basketball game to stick around and check out a wrestling match,” Borshoff said. “I’m hoping we can get some basketball fans converted into wrestling fans and vice versa.”

The Jonathan Kaloust Bearcat Open will take place all day on Sunday, Nov. 10 at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

Lou DePrez seeks to build on standout freshman year Redshirt sophomore went 33-7 in 2018-19 campaign Ryan Giglio

pipe dream sports

For the Binghamton wrestling team, the upcoming season represents a chance to build upon last year’s successful campaign and cement itself as a top program in the nation. After a strong freshman year, one individual on the team, redshirt sophomore Lou DePrez, has the potential to achieve stardom as he looks to become an All-American or national champion this season.

DePrez was the only Bearcat to advance to the second day of the NCAA Championships last March.

The then-freshman turned in a 3-2 record and an impressive stint in the consolation rounds after losing to the eventual champion of the 184-pound bracket. However, he said his failure to claim a national championship or AllAmerican title taught him lessons and became motivation during his offseason workouts.

“I didn’t accomplish my goals, as in, becoming a national champion or All-American,” DePrez said. “[Last season’s experience] puts in perspective what I still need to get done this season.”

According to DePrez, he worked on the “small details” of his game that may not seem important but will play a huge role in taking him to the next level. He credits Binghamton head coach Kyle Borshoff in his detailed approach to training. The

rose coschignano photo intern Redshirt sophomore Lou DePrez finished his freshman season one win short of being named an All-American at the NCAA Tournament.

Binghamton wrestler also realized he was way too tense and stressed at the NCAA Championships, so he’s learned to stay more relaxed and have fun.

Although there is still plenty of room for improvement, the Hilton, New York native had an outstanding start to his collegiate career. DePrez posted a 33-7 record as a freshman, going an

undefeated 11-0 in dual matches and scoring 47 team points.

DePrez came to Binghamton as a three-time New York state champion (2015-17) and was the No. 1 recruit in the nation by InterMat at 182 pounds. However, he has still found ways to improve throughout his time at BU. “I think I am 10 times the wrestler I was out of high school,

but each year I’m working on something different,” DePrez said.

Now, DePrez and the coaching staff must work to ensure his growth continues, starting with this season.

“We just got to make sure we’re training smart throughout the season and that we’re prepared for the end of the year,” Borshoff said. “The sky is the limit for Lou,

and I know he’s thinking national championship. That’s really the only way he should be thinking because if you don’t believe it yourself, it’s pretty darn hard to go out there and face another man one on one and beat the defending champion.”

Borshoff added that, when examining his successful history against potential competition

this season, DePrez is “right there in the conversation to be a national champion.”

Perhaps the biggest change from last year for DePrez is his role as a leader, especially when it comes to his brothers.

DePrez’s two older brothers, Anthony DePrez, ‘19 and Vincent DePrez, ‘19, were his teammates over the past two seasons before graduating. Lou DePrez was able to grow as a wrestler and an athlete by watching, and then matching, his older brothers’ work and intensity in the gym.

“They’re my older brothers, so I’ve always looked up to them,” Lou DePrez said. “They pushed me every day and were always someone to lean on if I needed help.”

Though his older brothers are gone, Lou DePrez’s younger brother, Sam DePrez, is now a freshman for the Bearcats. Lou DePrez’s shift from the youngest to oldest brother on the team has definitely been different, but it is something Lou DePrez enjoys.

“There’s more responsibility because if something happens [to Sam], he’s the baby,” Lou DePrez said. “I like it. I can teach him some stuff I’ve learned.”

With a talented roster and high expectations, Lou DePrez is ready for the season to begin and excited about the team’s potential for success this year.

“I think we have a lot of potential,” he said. “Last year we showed that, and this year we have a better schedule so I think we can take down some of these bigger schools and show that Binghamton means business.”

MEN’S SOCCER

BU downs Albany SEE PAGE 10

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Women’s basketball cruises past Siena to open season

ariel kachuro photo editor

Senior guard Kai Moon scored a career-high 29 points in her season opener as the Bearcats rolled past Siena.

Moon tallies career-high 29 points in 31 minutes Kiernan Fischer

contributing writer

In a dominant showing in their season opener, the Binghamton women’s basketball team rolled to an 89-62 win over Siena on Tuesday night. The Bearcats (1-0 America East) led the game from start to finish, and were led by a career night for their top scorer, senior guard Kai Moon.

Moon scored 29 points in the game, a career high and the most points scored by a Binghamton player in a season opener in the team’s Division I history. She had success in many facets of her

game, including shooting 5-8 from 3-point range. Along with her lights-out 3-point shooting, Moon, known for being a strong free-throw shooter, converted 10 of 11 attempts in the game.

“We know that going to the line is easy points for us,” Moon said. “We practice free throws a lot and we knew that their zones had gaps in it and we wanted to attack those and get to the line.”

Along with Moon, Binghamton had two other players score double-digit points in the game. Senior guard Carly Boland had 16 points and junior forward Olivia Ramil scored 14.

“They know that we look to them to do that,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “They are putting the team on their back and

saying, ‘Look, everyone needs to step up.’”

The performance by the Bearcats’ upperclassmen allowed them to build a strong lead, helping the younger players on the team gain valuable experience in the later stages of the game.

“We were up by quite a few, so it was a really good game to get an opportunity for them and they need these minutes,” Shapiro Ord said.

Binghamton set the tone

immediately, leading 24-13 after the first quarter. The Bearcats as a team shot 50 percent (9-for-18) in the first 10 minutes.

Siena cut the lead to 29-22 with 6:46 remaining in the first half, but from there the Bearcats blew the game wide open with a 12-0 run, ultimately taking a 47-29 lead into the halftime locker room. Already holding a commanding lead, the Bearcats had their highest-scoring output of the game in the third quarter, scoring 27 more points to take

a 74-46 lead. Sophomore guard Hayley Moore ended the period with a deep 3-point field goal at the buzzer.

“We had to keep our foot on the gas,” Moon said. “We knew once we got up early, we couldn’t just coast. We had to keep playing the way we knew how, especially with them being at home. It was important to not let any momentum on their side.”

Binghamton maintained its lead in part by winning the turnover battle decisively, earning a 20-8 advantage. The Bearcats scored 23 points off turnovers and gave up just six points. Another area where Binghamton dominated was rebounding. The Bearcats had a plus-10 advantage in the

offensive rebounding margin, leading to 13 second-chance points compared to Siena’s five.

The Bearcats also buried 10 out of their 21 3-pointers for an impressive 47 percent.

The game was extra sweet for Boland, as the Clifton Park, New York native got to play in front of her family and friends in her hometown of Albany.

“It felt really good playing at home, a lot of people came,” Boland said. “Every time we have played here we have lost, so it felt good to play well and get the [win].”

After winning their season opener, the Bearcats will compete in their home opener this Friday, Nov. 8 against Lafayette. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from the Events Center in Vestal, New York.

Men’s basketball overpowered by Big Red, falls 84-64 Sarr scores 16 points in first game with Bearcats Aidan Higgins

contributing writer

As college basketball fans around the country watched the season’s opening night on Tuesday, the Binghamton men’s basketball team began its season.

With a completely retooled roster, the Bearcats were defeated in their season opener, falling to upstate rival Cornell 84-64 in Ithaca, New York.

The Bearcats (0-1 America East) were competitive initially, trailing 45-38 at halftime.

However, the Big Red (1-0 Ivy League) got hot and pulled away in the second half, ending the game on an 8-1 run to seal the win. Despite the loss, Binghamton head coach Tommy Dempsey seemed happy with how the team battled, stressing that the team’s performance is something that will need to be improved upon as the season progresses.

“I thought we hung in there a long way,” Dempsey said. “We need to keep getting better. That’s the biggest thing.”

Senior forward Pierre Sarr, a graduate transfer student playing in his first game as a Bearcat, led the team in scoring with 16 points, tying his career high. Eleven of those points came in the first half, and Sarr shot 50 percent from the field. Sarr also accumulated four

rebounds, two steals and a block in his performance.

“That was good to see from [Sarr],” Dempsey said. “He came out here and delivered a good performance. He got his senior year off to a good start.”

Senior guard Richard Caldwell, Jr. came off the bench and scored 12 points, good enough for second on the team.

He finished 4-for-7 on field goals in the game.

The reigning AE Rookie of the Year, sophomore guard Sam Sessoms, did not have an ideal start to his sophomore campaign.

He scored just six points in the game and was held scoreless in the second half, but did record five assists on the night.

The starting lineup for Binghamton featured four newcomers, showcasing the young core of the team. Four starters made their Bearcat debut in the game, including freshman forward George Tinsley, who scored 10 points and collected five rebounds in his first collegiate appearance.

Additionally, freshman guard Brenton Mills made his debut, scoring eight points off three field goals. Freshmen guards Hakon Hjalmarsson and Dan Petcash and freshman center Ador Athuai also got some playing time in their first taste of collegiate basketball.

“It was nice to get a lot of guys their first action out there,” Dempsey said. “At the same time,

that’s a lot of guys getting their first action out there. Our club is going to get better and better.

This was a starting point.”

Despite the loss, the game served as a pivotal transition for a majority of the Binghamton men’s players, who are playing in college for the first time. The pace and competitive nature of college

basketball is a big leap from the high school level. Dempsey said there is plenty of time before the start of conference play for the team to improve.

“As much as anything, it was about guys getting some experience and getting their feet wet,” Dempsey said. “It’s going to be [a] work in progress through

this first half of the season, but we were very prepared for that. Tonight was about seeing where we are, and then we gotta get better.”

The Bearcats’ next game this Sunday marks a significant challenge for Dempsey’s team.

For the first time in program history, Binghamton will take

on the top-ranked team in the country when they play No. 1 Michigan State. The game will be nationally televised on the Big Ten Network.

Tipoff against the Spartans is set for 7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10 at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing, Michigan.

rose coschignano photo intern Senior guard Richard Caldwell, Jr. came off the bench and scored 12 points in Binghamton’s season-opening loss to Cornell.