RPU
adds fairy-tale twist to annual drag show The Free Word on Campus Since 1946
Monday, March 20, 2017 | Vol. XCI, Issue 17 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com
STUDENT DIES OFF CAMPUS
see page 5
19-year-old Conor Donnelly was a Binghamton University freshman Brendan Zarkower/Staff Photographer
Binghamton Police Department officers respond to a call Saturday morning at 92 Front St., after it was reported that a person fell from a fourth-floor balcony located behind the house.
Alexandra Mackof News Editor
A Binghamton University freshman died off campus on Saturday, March 18. Nineteen-year-old Conor Donnelly was from Pearl River, New York. The Binghamton Police Department responded to the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity house at 92 Front St. around 2 p.m., after it was reported that a person fell from a fourth-floor balcony located behind the house. Donnelly was taken to United Health
Services Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, where he was pronounced dead. A statement was released by Binghamton University around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. BU President Harvey Stenger expressed his support for the campus community. “It is always difficult to lose someone, but it is especially difficult to lose a young member of our campus community so suddenly,” Stenger said in the statement. Donnelly had allegedly been attending a party as part of “New Parade Day.” The day was organized in reaction to a
University break that overlapped with the city of Binghamton’s annual Parade Day, which had fallen on March 4 this year. Many students who had wished to attend the original day could not because of the University’s closing. Binghamton Mayor Rich David said in an interview on WNBF’s “Binghamton Now” program that he anticipated this day would be similar to other bar crawl events that students partake in each year, and that additional police presence would probably be needed.
L.C. Coghill, the director of Greek life at Binghamton University, sent an email to Greek organizations on March 12 discouraging participation in the event. “Unlike actual Parade Day, this day will not have the approval of the city nor will it have appropriate police presence and security,” he wrote. “It is my understanding that the police do not support this day and therefore it is likely they will have very little patience for questionable behavior.” The University Counseling Center added additional hours on Saturday and Sunday
for students who were affected by Donnelly’s death. The Binghamton Police Department confirmed that they are investigating, but had no further comment at press time. BU Greek life organizations have requested that their members not speak to any media outlets about the incident. This story is developing, and will be updated when more information becomes available. Visit bupipedream. com throughout the week for more information.
BU staff works overtime to clear campus
After storm, National Guard called in to assist with snow removal Alexandra Hupka News Intern
Last week, the Binghamton area received 31.3 inches of snowfall within a 24-hour period, courtesy of Winter Storm Stella. While students celebrated two consecutive days off from classes, Physical Facilities had all hands on deck, with 245 employees working to clear snow around campus. Physical Facilities is responsible for maintaining 6.3 miles of roads, 3.5 miles of service drives, 23 miles of walks and 38.5 acres of parking on campus, as well as both the University Downtown Center and Innovative Technologies Complex. According to Karen Fennie, the communications specialist for Physical Facilities, the priority during storms such as Stella is to maintain access to main roads so that fire and emergency services can access campus. During large storms, Physical Facilities employees also focus on clearing walkways to student dining
centers and ensuring that health services can remain accessible to students. “Tuesday was focused mainly on these tasks, so plows and brush machines were out continuously keeping up with the snow that was falling and maintaining access in these areas,” Fennie said. “As an example of how time consuming this can be, one of the tasks is to dig out the 75 fire hydrants around campus.” After a large storm, outside resources may be needed, and contractors can be contacted to help with cleanup efforts. In the aftermath of Stella, third-party services were contacted by Binghamton University to help Physical Facilities employees clear snow. In addition, 18 members of the National Guard assisted Physical Facilities staff with snow removal over the weekend. “The National Guard brought five dump trucks with them and assisted with the removal of large snow piles,” Fennie said. “We were able to secure an off-campus area to relocate the snow.” Due to Stella, some employees logged
over 80 hours of work last week. Besides keeping vital roads and pathways open, employees were also responsible for plowing commuter parking lots and salting and sanding pathways. Fennie stated that accomplishing these tasks often requires many different tools. “A variety of methods and machines are used depending on the area,” Fennie said. “[We use] everything from shovels, snow blowers, pickup trucks with plows and skid steers.” Currently, efforts are focused on freeing up parking on campus. Over the weekend, residents were asked to move their cars to commuter lots so that Physical Facilities could plow these areas. The Parking Lot M and Parking Lot F commuter lots have been entirely cleared, as have all residential lots. In addition, several smaller paths in residential communities have yet to be cleared of snow. Physical Facilities employees will continue to work to clear these areas throughout the week.
Ph.D. student's program can predict terrorism Doctoral candidate's framework forsees events with 90 percent accuracy Peter Brockwell Pipe Dream News
Photo provided by Salih Tutun Pictured: Salih Tutun, a Ph.D. candidate studying industrial and systems engineering. He created a framework that prevents terrorist activity as part of his dissertation.
A Binghamton University Ph.D. candidate has created a new framework that helps protect against and predict terrorist activity by identifying interconnected patterns in attacks. Salih Tutun, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate studying industrial and systems engineering, created the new framework as part of his dissertation. His framework considers terrorist attacks as interconnected events rather than individual occurrences, an approach that he said is often taken by counterterrorism agencies like the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency. His paper, “New Framework that uses Patterns and Relations to Understand Terrorist Behaviors,” was published in the international open-access journal Expert Systems with Applications. It was co-authored by Tutun’s Ph.D. adviser Mohammad Khasawneh, chair of the systems science and industrial engineering department at BU, and Jun Zhuang, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering and director of
ARTS & CULTURE
undergraduate studies at the University at Buffalo. According to the paper, the framework is able to predict the facts of future attacks with 90 percent accuracy. The framework operates by comparing aspects of multiple different terrorist events that occurred between 2003 and 2015. Tutun used data sets from 150,000 events, including hijackings, suicide bombings, armed assaults and assassinations. The tracked data consists of latitude, longitude, type of attack, weapon type and terrorist group responsible. By using these data sets, he was able to analyze the actions of terrorists and the direct responses to the attacks from various intelligence agencies. In Tutun’s tests, the framework was able to accurately predict responses made by terrorist groups to intelligence agencies’ actions. By drawing connections between events and using the framework, Tutun created a theorized result of what had happened and then compared his theory with the actual event to test his predictions. “With our framework, we understand what the patterns are and worry about
SEE TUTUN PAGE 2
Rebecca Kiss/Pipe Dream Photographer Sociology professor Juanita Diaz-Cotto speaks to students, faculty and staff Sunday afternoon for the first Women’s Empowerment Brunch.
Women share stories of success, empowerment
As part of Women's History Month, speakers discuss overcoming struggles as professionals Amy Donovan Pipe Dream News
In honor of Women’s History Month, over 75 students, faculty and staff gathered in Old Union Hall of Old University Union on Sunday for the first Women’s Empowerment Brunch, sponsored by Binghamton University’s Multicultural Resource Center (MRC). The three keynote speakers at the event were Sarah Saad, a senior majoring in human development; Juanita Diaz-Cotto, a professor of sociology; and Estacy Porter, a member of the local community. Jose Maldonado, one of the organizers of the event and a fellow for the MRC’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, said they decided to hold the first annual Women’s Empowerment Brunch to celebrate the different contributions women make to BU. “There’s a lot of people on this campus and, it being Women’s History Month, I think it’s important to acknowledge the women and the scholars on this campus and the great work that they do in regard to education and scholarship,” Maldonado said. Saad spoke first and emphasized the importance of choice in all aspects of a woman’s life, as well as the struggle of understanding the traditional viewpoints of various family members within a
OPINIONS
feminist context. “Rejecting every feminine norm is not what it means to be a feminist, but rather acknowledging that we have the freedom to choose because of our womanhood,” Saad said. “When I look back at the community I grew up in, I regret what I thought about my cousins. I looked down on them for pursuing a career as a wife.” Diaz-Cotto spoke about her role models, as well as about the discrimination she’s faced as a woman of color and a lesbian within academia. “I have had five men be promoted over my head and one white lesbian, so I wouldn’t say that I’ve been discriminated against just because I’m a woman, lesbian or person of color,” Diaz-Cotto said. “I was in a Catch-22 situation.” Yaa Takyiwaa, a junior double-majoring in comparative literature and integrative neuroscience, said that she attended the brunch to be with people who have the same goal of empowering women. “I feel like right now, with the climate with Trump and the Women’s March, I just came here to be in an environment where we all have the same agenda and where we’re just trying to move each other forward,” Takyiwaa said. The final speaker was Porter, who enlisted in the army when she was 17 and
SEE EMPOWER PAGE 2
SPORTS
Milky Chance updates sound with sophomore effort,
“Beauty and the Beast” lives up to the hype,
Columnist Kristen DiPietra argues against mandatory participation policies,
Men’s lacrosse cruises to fourth straight win,
Justin Yurchak impresses in his first year as a Bearcat,
See page 5
See page 5
See page 8
See page 10
See page 10