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WEEKEND WARRIORS
For snapshots of Saturday's events, see PAGE 2. Check out a special edition of Weekend Warriors on PAGES 8 & 9. Don't see yourself? Visit our Facebook page for more.
PIPE DREAM Tuesday, May 6, 2014 | Binghamton University | www.bupipedream.com | Vol. LXXXV, Issue 25
Experts dissect Middle East conflict Professors explain Israeli-Palestinian history and consequences Margaret-Rose Roazzi Pipe Dream News
The Binghamton University Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) held a discussion on Monday to outline the history and consequences of the Palestinian refugee situation. Two professors gave presentations, after which audience members wrote questions on notecards and had them answered by the speakers. Kent Schull, an assistant professor of history at BU, explained the history of the conflict. Before he began his presentation he said that he had no ideological bias in regards to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. “My approach to this type of issue is looking at it from a humanist perspective,” Schull said. “I don’t have an ideological axe to grind; I’m not Palestinian, I’m not Israeli.” In his presentation, Schull linked the beginning of the conflict to the War of 1948, where he said that territorial control of the region was disputed. He detailed the history of dispute in the region from World War I through 1948 and the problems that colonial
OC3 election results announced
Off-Campus College Council finalized Joseph Hawthorne Pipe Dream News
Xindi Tian/Staff Photographer
Kent Schull, assistant professor of history, outlines the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Binghamton University Students for Justice in Palestine hosted the event on Monday to discuss the consequences of the conflict.
Britain left behind when it withdrew from the country. He said that when Britain withdrew, a three-way civil war broke out between Jews, Palestinians and foreigners. According to Schull, the state of Israel was formed with boundaries never fully established to this day. Land left
behind by exiled Palestinians was given to Jewish immigrants and he said that Palestinians still live in refugee camps if they cannot afford to leave. Afterwards, Eric Cheyfitz, an English professor from Cornell University, discussed the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement
created to protest Israeli acts against Palestinians. The goal of the organization, created by Palestinian activist groups, is to put economic pressure on Israel to recognize more Palestinian rights. Cheyfitz said that he was Jewish and had family in Israel, so he had no intention
of bringing bias into his comments. “I’m not here to delegitimize Israel,” he said. “I think Israel is doing a good job of delegitimizing itself.” Cheyfitz said that he got involved with the BDS
See SJP Page 6
Elections for the Off Campus College Council (OC3) concluded with two runoffs last Thursday night, following the April 28 elections that settled the other three positions. On April 28, the race for president went to Lynn Mugodo, a junior double-majoring in political science and philosophy, politics and law. Nicole Lebowitz, a junior majoring in psychology, was elected vice president of communications, and William Quick, a junior doublemajoring in history and political science, was elected program director. On Thursday, Steve Molinari, a junior majoring in political
See OC3 Page 6
Groups showcase War hero's life remembered firefighting skills Father shares Pike's Fireman Challenge raises $2,000 for burn center Joseph Hawthorne Pipe Dream News
On Friday afternoon, students were challenged to see if they had the mettle to be part of the Binghamton Fire Department. During Pi Kappa Alpha’s (PIKE) Fireman’s Challenge, cheerleaders, athletes and members of Greek Life competed in teams of 10 to pull a fire truck, run a water-themed relay race and complete an obstacle course. PIKE sponsored the
fundraiser with the Binghamton Fire Department. Firemen came out in uniform to oversee the games and let students try on actual equipment. According to Joseph Pellegrino, community affairs chair for PIKE and an undeclared sophomore, the Fireman’s Challenge is the largest fundraiser for PIKE chapters across the country. “We have chapters around the country raising up to $50,000,” Pellegrino said.
See FIRE Page 6
stories about Lt. Michael P. Murphy Nicolas Vega
Assistant News Editor
Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a Navy SEAL from Patchogue, N.Y., was killed in action in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. On Friday evening, his father came to Binghamton University to speak with students. Daniel Murphy addressed a
See MURPH Page 5
Michael Contegni/ Staff Photographer
Daniel Murphy, father of Lt. Michael P. Murphy, addresses a crowd of close to 70 students in the West Gym. His talk covered the life and death of his son, a Navy SEAL from Patchogue, N.Y., who was killed in action in Afghanistan on June 28, 2005 and posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his bravery in battle.
BU students to vote on activity fee May 7 vote to determine if charge will remain mandatory Rachel Bluth News Editor
Tycho McManus/Staff Photographer
Students from the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity pull a fire truck as part of the Fireman’s Challenge. Firefighters and students participated in various activities outside the Events Center on Friday to raise money for the Clark Medical Burn Center in Syracuse.
The Student Congress approved a proposal from the Planning, Research and Elections committee for a ballot referendum regarding the student activity fee. The fee is currently $95.50 per semester, and every two years the student body must vote to keep it mandatory or make it voluntary. The referendum will be sent to undergraduates via SurveyMonkey at 8 a.m. Wednesday, May 7. Polls will close at 6 p.m. Paper ballots will be available in the Student Association office between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.
for students who have opted out of SurveyMonkey at any point. According to SA President Eric Larson and Congress Speaker James Grippe, the SA was under the impression that when students voted to increase the fee last year, that referendum was sufficient to make the fee mandatory. However, the SUNY Board of Trustees informed the SA on Saturday that a separate vote had to be held incorporating specific language written by the Board of Trustees. Grippe noted that the referendum did not raise fees, and said he was confident that students would vote to keep the fee mandatory.
“Typically we don’t have a problem with [passing a referendum to make the student activity fee mandatory] because we advertise to all the student groups and all the students that they all have something that will directly impact them,” Grippe said. “Everyone has an interest in keeping this mandatory.” All SA-chartered organizations, Harpur’s Ferry, Off Campus College Transport (OCCT), SA Ink, Binghamton Sound, Staging and Lighting and all residential communities rely on funding from the student activity fee. “It is in everyone’s best interest, if you approve of what the Student
Association does in the smallest amount, to make sure that this activity fee remains mandatory. We do not have the funds that we would need to otherwise operate without it being mandatory,” Larson said. Harpur’s Ferry is one group supported by the fee, and Larson joked that people would “literally die” if it became voluntary. Larson and Grippe said that they are trying to avoid what happened to the Graduate Student Organization last year, when they did not vote to make their activity fee mandatory and subsequently have had difficulties collecting funds.