Spring 2017 Issue 29

Page 1

Thursday, May 11, 2017 | Vol. XCI, Issue 29

bupipedream.com | Binghamton University

Pipe Dream Photographers

Herff Jones overtaxes 2,300 gown orders Commencement memorabilia company to reimburse over $8K Pelle Waldron Assistant News Editor

Kevin Paredes/Photography Editor Tremayne Stewart, a first-year graduate student studying computer engineering, has created CConnect, an app that allows Binghamton University students to view campus events that they find interesting and relevant.

App provides centralized stream of campus events

CConnect builds individualized profiles for users based on interests, history Pelle Waldron Assistant News Editor

Every morning, Binghamton University students wake up to a B-Line email listing various events being held on campus. But an app created by a BU student has taken that information, which is easily lost in inboxes, and made it more user friendly. CConnect was created by Tremayne Stewart, a first-year graduate student studying computer engineering. It was launched on April 20, and is currently available in Apple’s App Store. The app functions similarly to Tinder: Users are prompted to swipe right or left on categories such as “sports” and “art,” and once their interests are gauged, they are presented with various events on campus they may find interesting. By continuing to swipe right or left, a profile

is accumulated which the app uses to suggest more events. “[The idea was] what if we have a system that learned the type of events you like to go to, and then went all by itself and found those events for you, then presented them to you and then reminded you about them as they were happening throughout the day,” Stewart said. The app is currently only available for use by BU students, who can log in using their University email addresses. The app is able to recommend events tailored specifically to individual users, based on an accumulation of the user’s history and other users with similar profiles, similar to the way YouTube or Netflix make recommendations. The project has been headed by Stewart, who designed the interface

SEE APP PAGE 3

ARTS & CULTURE

Over 2,300 Binghamton University students preordered caps and gowns for commencement this year from Herff Jones, a national company that specializes in manufacturing and selling graduation memorabilia. Due to an error in the amount of sales tax applied to the orders, each one of those students was overcharged $3.54, totaling over $8,000 in incorrect taxes. According to Yona Benyamini, a representative for Herff Jones, the company is aware of the problem and is working to resolve it. “It was an accounting error and we are rectifying it immediately,” Benyamini said. “Even though it is a small amount, it was still a mistake, and we’re happy that it came to light.” Herff Jones is contracted by Barnes & Noble, the company that runs the BU Bookstore in New University Union, which in turn is contracted by the University. Heather Sheffer, the BU bookstore manager, said that all three entities work together before graduation. “Herff Jones is our provider, and

they work closely with the Bookstore and the University to get everything the University wants [students] to wear,” Sheffer said. “They contract with us to take care of everything for [the students].” In New York state, sales tax is comprised of two components, the state tax and the local tax, the latter of which is determined by individual counties. Under Publication 718-C from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, Broome County’s tax rate for eligible clothing costing less than $110 only includes the local tax, which is 4 percent. A detailed list of clothing that is eligible under the document TSB-M-06(6)S includes “graduation caps and gowns” under exempt items. A representative from the New York State Sales Tax information center confirmed in a call with Pipe Dream that graduation caps and gowns, purchased under $110 and delivered to Broome County, are eligible for the state tax exemption. Each online preorder for a cap and gown from Herff Jones came out to $88.50 and should have been taxed at 4 percent as a result of the aforementioned

laws. However, an 8 percent tax was applied to the subtotal, resulting in $7.08 being added to the total, which is $3.54 more than what they are allowed to charge. Each student who was overcharged will have the $3.54 refunded to the credit card used for the purchase, according to Benyamini. The timeline for refunding students and the process of doing so has yet to be announced. Elliot Kamlet, a lecturer of accounting at BU, said that sales tax in general is very complicated and mistakes like this are frequently made. “The question becomes, why are they doing it?” Kamlet said. “And the likely answer is because it is as confusing for them as anyone else.” Elisabeth Gray, the director of special events and commencement at BU, said that Herff Jones has been a longtime supplier on campus and that this has not changed the relationship the University has with the company. “Yona [Benyamini] and Herff Jones truly have the students’ best interests in mind,” Gray wrote in an email. “I without a doubt know they will reimburse all students for the discrepancy.”

Downtown gears up for Bar Crawl Twelve establishments to participate in annual end-of-year tradition Alexandra Hupka Pipe Dream News

On May 18, some students will be busy moving out for the summer, but others will be celebrating the end of finals with a few drinks at the 2017 Binghamton Bar Crawl. Organized by the Off Campus College Council (OC3), Bar Crawl is an annual

tradition at BU. Every spring, students go to the bars in Downtown Binghamton and celebrate the end of the semester and the beginning of summer with drinks and friends. Bar Crawl has its origins as a humble event, when roughly 100 students would get together at the end of the spring semester on State Street, and go from bar to bar, having a drink from

OPINIONS

each. Gradually, the event started to grow larger, and in the late ’90s, the University’s senior class council began selling mugs to students, and planned the event alongside the bars so that students could get deals on drinks. After doing so, Bar Crawl grew rapidly, and eventually became the event it is today.

SEE DRINK PAGE 2

SPORTS

Pipe Dream’s guide to making the move off campus,

Stay sane during finals with our workout plans and meal-prep tips,

Pipe Dream’s graduating staff members say goodbye with their senior columns,

Softball to face off with Albany in America East Tournament,

Baseball scores 22 runs in a victory over Siena,

See page 4

See page 5

See pages 7 and 8

See page 10

See page 10


2

NEWS

bupipedream.com | May 11, 2017

Bars to offer deals on drinks for annual crawl DRINK FROM PAGE 1 This year, OC3 is selling Bar Crawl mugs for $3. Bar Crawl will start at noon and run until 1 a.m. There will be all-day specials for anybody carrying a mug from the 11 establishments participating, all of which are located Downtown. For students with mugs, prices will range from $1 to $3 for unlimited refills of beer, although each bar’s prices and specials may vary. State Street will be closed to traffic during the event; however, the city’s open container law will be strictly enforced, and participants must not be in possession of a container that has alcohol in it outside of the establishments that are licensed to serve drinks. Students are asked to have proper identification on them at all times during the event, as they may be asked to show it at any time. Additionally, bars and other establishments can refuse to sell alcohol to any patrons who appear to be intoxicated. For many establishments, Bar Crawl serves as the second most highly trafficked event of the year, after Parade Day. Students flock Downtown, drawn by the promise of cheap drinks. Usually, Bar Crawl falls sometime during the middle of finals season; however, this year it will take place on the day after finals, when all students living on campus will be required to vacate their dorms. Because of this, there will likely be fewer students at the bars than usual. Despite the possibility of a smaller crowd, Bryan Whiting, the owner of Uncle Tony’s, will still have his staff come in early on the morning of Bar Crawl to prepare. “It’s basically just another weekend day, but longer,” Whiting said. “Generally, it’s a lot of draft beer, but we are also

serving other things that are part of our everyday menu, like shots, food and wine.” Whiting stated that Uncle Tony’s has been participating in the event for as long as he can remember, and that Bar Crawl is always a good time. “It’s always been a really good event for the students,” Whiting said. “It’s supposed to be a senior event and it’s a reward for their hard work. Everybody has fun, and it’s a really great day.” Alex Jaffe, co-owner of The Colonial, stated that his bar will also be participating in Bar Crawl. To get ready, he will make sure he has all hands on deck, and has ordered the appropriate amount of supplies to keep the drinks coming. “We try to have fun that day,” Jaffe said. “It’s a fun day for students, so we try to make sure we’re adequately staffed to keep wait times down, and we serve food. We want everybody to have a couple drinks, blow off some steam at the end of the semester and have a good time at Bar Crawl, since it’s their last day in town.” Some students were happy that the Bar Crawl will be occurring after finals this year. Nicolas Valentino, a junior majoring in integrative neuroscience, stated that when he went to the 2015 Bar Crawl, he arrived late because he had a final prior to the event. “I went freshman year, and it was a good time,” Valentino said. “I’m going to go with some friends and have a good time at the end of the semester.” The full list of bars participating includes The Belmar Pub, The State House, Callahan’s Sportsman Club, The Colonial, JT’s Tavern, The Rathskeller, Sake-Tumi, Thai Time, Dillinger’s Celtic Pub & Eatery, Tom & Marty’s and Uncle Tony’s.

Jingyu Shi, a news presenter for Shanghai Media Group, spoke to students Tuesday afternoon about modern media’s transformation.

Casey Tin/Pipe Dream Photographer

News anchor explores changing media Jingyu Shi discusses emerging digitalization in Chinese broadcasting Stacey Blansky Staff Writer

On Tuesday afternoon, Binghamton University’s theatre department invited Jingyu Shi, a news presenter for Shanghai Media Group, to speak to students about new media in China. The event was held in New University Union and comprised the talk followed by a Q-and-A session where students could engage with Shi. Shi discussed how he was able to witness the transition from traditional media like newspapers and radio to new media, such as the internet, through his past four years spent working for Shanghai Media Group. In technological terms, Shi equated traditional media to the 1999 version of the PC, whereas new media was represented by the development of the smartphone and tablet in 2010. He explained that social media and networking have been going on in the United States for many years, but China has more recently

reached a peak development period of information flow. “When we talk about the professional and the credibility, the traditional media has its own advantage over the new,” Shi said. “However, with diversification in the terms of content and communication, it is not hard to find that new media has a higher impact.” Shi said that he was interested in hearing what the listeners in the room thought about the information he presented. He tried to engage everybody in the room and showed videos of how news anchors presented themselves more professionally 30 years ago, whereas today’s anchors are less concerned about formalities such as the backdrop, outfits and scripts. “Media plays an important role in everybody’s daily life and we come in contact with media every day, every moment. We come in contact with media through phone, computer and advertisements,” Shi said. “The information transfers, so it is very

important for us. If we don’t come in contact with this information, we might be behind the people who have come in contact with this information.” During the Q-and-A section, one student asked if the traditional media will disappear as a result of new media becoming so popular in such a short period of time. Shi does not believe the traditional media will disappear because there is still a wide audience that obtains their news in the traditional format, such as through reading the newspaper. KeHan Zhu, a senior majoring in graphic design, helped coordinate the event and explained that, overall, the theatre department wanted to invite more speakers to give presentations for students this semester, and Shi’s job position incorporates many of the communication and performance skills taught in theatre. Zhu explained that Qianghua Wang, scenic artist and assistant technical director in the BU theatre department, knows Jingyu

personally and invited him from China to give his presentation. After watching the talk, Zhu agreed that new media is changing the rate at which information is spreading throughout China. “The speed of news is very fast, way faster than TV programs and newspapers, like that of old, traditional media,” Zhu said. “That is why new media is important right now.” Kyle Lin, an undeclared freshman, said he came to the event because new media is playing a huge role in the technological developments within China. He wanted to hear about this topic from Shi because he thought someone in a news-related profession would offer a unique outlook. “I think media, especially in China, is evolving really fast,” Lin said. “I wanted to see and listen to what a news anchor’s perspective is on China’s media and how it is changing and transforming. It is a new perspective for me. I think it’s really interesting.”

BU researchers get $1.6M to study effects of alcohol, drug abuse National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism funds to go toward interdisciplinary training program Samuel Abaev Pipe Dream News

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism recently awarded Binghamton University researchers J. David Jentsch, Terrence Deak, Lisa Savage and Linda Spear a grant of more than $1.6 million over a fiveyear period for their work on the developmental effects of exposure to alcohol and drug abuse. Jentsch, Deak, Savage and Spear are all professors in the behavioral neuroscience program within BU’s psychology department. The grant money will be awarded in $325,000 increments over a five-year period to provide graduate students and postdoctoral trainees with an interdisciplinary training

program, called Development and Neuroadaptations in Alcohol and Addictions. The program focuses on researching the developmental influences of drug and alcohol use, with the intention of applying their findings to enhance human health through new treatments and preventative measures. The faculty members who are eligible to train students in their laboratories are primarily working in behavioral neuroscience, but also include faculty in clinical psychology and in the College of Community and Public Affairs who specialize in interventions for alcohol use. Those involved will extend the use of their laboratories for the common purpose of understanding the functional and neural effects of alcohol exposure throughout brain development,

as well as train students on the efficacy of interventions that may reduce problematic substance abuse in adolescents. Jentsch, a professor of psychology and the co-director of the training program, stated that exposure to alcohol and other drugs during critical developmental vulnerability periods, or periods of brain development during adolescence, alters individuals in ways that may put them on a pathway to later mental and physical health problems, including anxiety disorders and substance abuse. Thus, Jentsch claims it is crucial to understand how exposure to alcohol or drugs alters the biology of a developing organism in ways that redirect their trajectory from health to illness.

“Only by uncovering the currently unknown biological pathways affected by alcohol and other addictive agents can we advance new methods, medical and psychological, for undoing these harmful effects and promoting a healthier lifespan for those affected,” Jentsch said. The grant directly supports a total of four graduate students and two postdoctoral researchers who are training in laboratories by learning how to conduct research on the developmental effects of exposure to alcohol or drugs. It provides them with a stipend, tuition and funds to support their research and their professional development, allowing each of them to dedicate more time to scientific research. Spear, a distinguished professor

of psychology and the director of the Developmental Exposure Alcohol Research Center at BU, believes that the training grant will help create a new generation of scientists with more advanced knowledge, research skills and insights to counter the harmful effects of alcohol or drugs during developmental, vulnerability periods in adolescents. “Alcoholism and addictions have their origins in development,” Spear said. “Consequently, the next generation of addiction researchers should be trained to conduct rigorous work that uses developmental approaches to characterize antecedents leading to alcohol- and drug-use disorders and strategies to mitigate these outcomes.” Looking forward, Jentsch

expressed his excitement in initiating the training project, stating that he believes the training grant will allow for more resources to be dedicated to expand and elevate the faculty’s efforts to recruit more talented graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to the University. “We need a new generation of scientists with more advanced knowledge, research skills and insights to accomplish our goals,” Jentsch said. “This new award recognizes our past accomplishments in training scientists, bringing us more resources to dedicate to expanding and elevating our efforts to train a skillful new generation of developmentally oriented addictions neuroscientists.”


PAGE III Thursday, May 11, 2017

Address: University Union WB03 4400 Vestal Parkway E. Binghamton, N.Y. 13902 Phone: 607-777-2515

Pipe Line LOCAL NEWS Binghamton police sergeant assists flock of ducks A Binghamton Police Department officer helped a family of ducklings cross State Street on Tuesday, according to WBNG. Mimicking the plot of children’s book “Make Way for Ducklings,” Binghamton Police Department Sgt. Robert Kunzman stopped traffic to allow a mother duck and her ducklings to cross the intersection of Hawley and State streets, right outside of the police station. Kunzman and other community members then escorted the ducks to the Chenango River behind the Holiday Inn. STATE NEWS Heroin network busted, 31 people charged with distribution Last Wednesday, 31 people were charged with distributing heroin in a large heroin network that covered New York City, the Finger Lakes region and Schuyler, Tioga and Tompkins counties, according to the Press & Sun-Bulletin. The investigation lasted five months and on March 12, a search warrant was executed by members of nine different law enforcement agencies to search eight different residences throughout New York state. More than one kilogram of heroin and dozens of grams of cocaine were seized.

editor-in-ChieF* Jeffrey D. Twitty editor@bupipedream.com

Pistol permits issued in New York state in 2016 have increased by 34 percent since the 2012 presidential election, according to the Press & Sun-Bulletin. Broome County saw the number of pistol permits issued spike in 2013 to 783, and after a steady decline over the next two years, 860 were issued in the first 10 months of 2016. The Press & Sun-Bulletin stated that the cause of these spikes is due to people’s fear of candidates like Hillary Clinton, who are advocates for greater gun-control measures.

MAnAging editor* Rohit Kapur manager@bupipedream.com

neWs editor* Alexandra K. Mackof news@bupipedream.com Asst. neWs editors Pelle Waldron Gabriella Weick Brendan Zarkower oPinions editor* Caleb D. Schwartz opinions@bupipedream.com

NATIONAL NEWS

Asst. oPinions editor Emily Kaufman

President Donald Trump fires FBI Director

Arts & Culture editor* Odeya Pinkus arts@bupipedream.com

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced the ousting of FBI Director James Comey, according to a White House press release. In a letter written to Comey and released to reporters by the White House, Trump stated that Comey was “not able to effectively lead the bureau.” The termination came just days after Comey asked the Department of Justice for more resources for the FBI’s investigation of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Asst. Arts & Culture editors Rachel Greenspan Georgia Westbrook

Pitom Saha/Contributing Photographer Andy Sun, a sophomore majoring in financial economics, also known as DJ XCRPT, DJs the Library Rave located underneath the ramp of Glenn G. Bartle Library on Tuesday Night.

App allows users to find campus events events for users, advertisements will go toward those more likely to be interested in the product. According to Stewart, a deal with BCC could happen as soon as July, which would allow him to implement the app on their campus for the fall 2017 semester. For BU, the process is slightly longer, but he is confident it will come to fruition. The “lofty goal” for the app, according to Stewart, is to eventually allow it to be used in cities. “When you go to a new city, what do you do?” Stewart said. “You download Yelp, maybe the transit app for that city, maybe Tinder if you’re going on vacation, and the idea is that you would also download CConnect as well. After you use it for a while, it builds this personality matrix of you. We want to have it geolocated so that if you go somewhere it would tell you what’s happening around you.” According to Harris, the app will help students become more involved on campus, but it is the software behind the interface that has allowed it to succeed. “While we have an app, we are a software development company,” Harris said. “It is very hard for students to navigate all the daily events on a campus and we will make it easy. Using machine learning we will be able to find the events that are most relevant to students based on their interests.”

sPorts editor* Orlaith McCaffrey sports@bupipedream.com Asst. sPorts editors Noah Bressner Kyle McDonald

Police Watch

This Day in History

and wrote the code for the app. Neil Harris, a senior majoring in business administration, and Christine Manasterski, a student at Florida State University, are now helping spread the app to other campuses. Stewart has met with administrators from BU and Broome Community College (BCC), and he said that the meetings were productive. “They care about the students on campus going out to stuff and actually being a part of the campus, which in turn, builds up campus pride, which in turn, allows [schools] to do more marketing,” Stewart said. The app will generate revenue through two different means: Currently, Stewart and his team are proposing deals with various universities in which schools can subsidize the app at around $1 per student, and Stewart will implement his software into pre-existing apps from those universities. This way, it can be tailored to match the needs of each campus it is used on. If a university is not interested in paying for the app, Stewart said they will still operate on the campus, but look to other sources of funding. This will come in the form of targeted advertising from local businesses. Using the same algorithms that suggest specific

Web: bupipedream.com

Spring 2017

Pistol permits in NY increased this past election year

Woman accuses ex-boyfriend of harassment MONDAY, May 8, 3:26 p.m. — A 20-year-old female contacted police from the University Counseling Center to report that her ex-boyfriend had been harassing her, said Investigator Robert Meddleton of Binghamton’s New York State University Police. The female stated that she had broken up with her boyfriend, a 20-year-old male, and that the split had been amicable. However, once she started seeing somebody else, the male had begun calling her, texting her and stopping by her residence. After “I told the president, ‘Mr. President, with all due speaking with the female, officers advised her respect, you are making a big mistake.” to tell the male that she wanted no further contact with him, and to inform him that — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, if he continued to contact her, he could on President Donald Trump’s decision to fire be arrested. The following day, the female contacted police again, FBI Director James Comey. and stated that the male had come to one of her classes. Officers contacted the male and informed him that he needed to stop contacting the female, and advised him that he could be arrested if he continued to try to speak with her. The male May 11, 1949 told police that he understood and that he would no longer try Israel is admitted to the United Nations. to contact the female.

APP FROM PAGE 1

FAx: 607-777-2600

Rock and Rave

Female reports car damage, scratch MONDAY, May 8, 7:53 p.m. — Police were called to Parking Lot M2 after a 43-yearold female reported that her car had been damaged, Meddleton said. Upon arriving at the lot, officers spoke with the female, who stated that she had parked her car at approximately 7:30 a.m., and went to work in Academic Building B. Upon returning to her car, she noticed that somebody had put a 3-foot-long scratch in the hood of her vehicle, possibly using a key. While speaking with police, the female asked officers to find and criminally prosecute the individual who caused damage to her vehicle. There are currently no suspects.

Alexandra Hupka Police Correspondant

Males questioned for smell of marijuana in dorm room MONDAY, May 8, 8:27 p.m. — Officers responded to O’Connor Hall of Dickinson Community after receiving a marijuana complaint, Meddleton said. Upon arriving in the hall, officers noticed an odor of marijuana in the hallway. Officers knocked on the door of the suite that the smell appeared to be coming from. Inside the suite, there were two 20-year-old males and one 19-year-old male, all students who lived in the dorm. The males refused to answer any questions related to the presence of the odor, and when asked by police if they had any prior contact with UPD, one of the males stated that they had, “because people think that our room smells like weed.” Officers advised the males that they would be referred to Student Conduct due to lack of cooperation and the smell of marijuana. Male reports harassing phone calls suggesting impending death TUESDAY, May 9, 8:31 p.m. — An officer spoke with a 21-year-old male who stated that he was receiving harassing phone calls from a blocked number, Meddleton said. The male stated that the calls were coming to his cell phone, and that the person had been calling him every day for the last week. In the first call, the caller stated that the male had “seven days to die,” and hung up. The calls continued, with the caller counting down the number of days that the male had left to live. When the male contacted police on Tuesday, he stated that he had received what was presumably the final call, with the caller stating that “Today is the day, time to right your wrongs.” The male described the caller’s voice as that of a “creepy clown.” Officers gave the male advice on safety precautions that he should take, and instructed him to call police immediately if he felt that he may be in danger or was further threatened.

Corrections Pipe Dream strives for accuracy in all we publish. We recognize that mistakes will sometimes occur, but we treat errors very seriously. If you see a mistake in the paper, please contact Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Twitty at editor@bupipedream.com.

PhotogrAPhy editor* Kevin E. Paredes photo@bupipedream.com Asst. PhotogrAPhy editor Rebecca Kiss Fun editor* Elizabeth A. Manning fun@bupipedream.com

design MAnAger* Teri Lam design@bupipedream.com design Assts. Airi Kojima Casey Tin CoPy desk ChieF* Shauna R. Bahssin copy@bupipedream.com Asst. CoPy desk ChieF Bridget McCusker digitAl editor Brendan Zarkower digital@bupipedream.com neWsrooM teChnology MAnAger* Henry Zheng tech@bupipedream.com Asst. neWsrooM teCh. MAnAger Michelle Tan editoriAl Artist Elizabeth A. Manning business MAnAger* Michael A. Contegni business@bupipedream.com Asst. business MAnAger Andrew P. Genussa businessassistant@bupipedream.com distribution MAnAger Justine L. Seliger distribution@bupipedream.com Pipe Dream is published by the Pipe Dream Executive Board, which has sole and final discretion over the newspaper’s content and personnel. *Positions seated on the Executive Board are denoted by an asterisk. Pipe Dream is published Mondays and Thursdays while classes are in session during the fall and spring semesters, except during finals weeks and vacations. Pipe Dream accepts stimulating, original guest columns from undergraduate students, graduate students and faculty. Submissions should be 400 to 500 words in length and be thus far unpublished. Submissions must include the writer’s name and phone number, and year of graduation or expected year of graduation. Graduate students and faculty members should indicate their standing as such, as well as departmental affiliation. Organizational (i.e. student group) affiliations are to be disclosed and may be noted at Pipe Dream’s discretion. Anonymous submissions are not accepted. Any facts referenced must be properly cited from credible news sources. Pipe Dream reserves the right to edit submissions, and does not guarantee publication. All submissions become property of Pipe Dream. Submissions may be emailed to the Opinions Editor at opinions@bupipedream.com.

stabilizing: serif

p 3 :destabilizing


ARTS & CULTURE Alex Niman/Contributing Photographer Binghamton University students from African dance and drumming courses rehearse for their ensemble performance. Nukporfe, Binghamton University’s bi-annual African dance and drumming performance, will be on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Classes collaborate to showcase African culture

Dance and drumming students will perform in bi-annual Nukporfe show on Thursday Hannah Ettestad Staff Writer It’s a collaboration of cultures — and college classes. On Thursday, four classes — Africana Studies/Theater 229: Beginning African Dance, Africana Studies/Theater 329: Advanced African Dance, Africana Studies188B/ Music 144: Intro to African Drumming and Music Performance 257A: African Music Ensemble — will collaborate for the biannual Nukporfe African Drumming and Dance Ensemble performance. “Nukporfe” is a Ghanian word that means “seeing is believing.” Music Department Chair James Burns, who teaches African Music

Ensemble, founded the Nukporfe ensemble in 2006 and now acts as a co-director for the event. The African Music Ensemble is the official name of the class, but the group is also known as Nukporfe; during its history, the names have been used interchangeably. “Our group builds on the strong African and Caribbean heritages represented among the students, staff and faculty of BU by teaching about important cultural traditions from these regions in a way that encourages group cohesion, understanding of diverse perspectives and artistic fulfillment,“ Burns said. For the African Music Ensemble and this event, Burns collaborates with the show’s other co-director,

professor Samuel Elikem Kwame Nyamuame, who also teaches the beginning and advanced African dance classes as well as the African drumming class. Nyamuame is from Ghana, and the majority of the dances that will be performed originate from Ghana and Papua New Guinea. The classes that he teaches allow students to explore the cultures behind the dance while learning the choreography. “[Nyamuame] makes sure that when he teaches the dance you’re not just learning the movement, you’re learning where the dance came from, how it originated and how people back in the day used to dance it,” said Uchenna Okpalor, a teaching assistant for Nyamuame

and a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience. A typical semester begins with learning simple steps, then these steps become part of the warmup as students gradually build on them to learn more complex routines throughout the semester. “[Nyamuame] is a great teacher, and really fun and laid-back,” Okpalor said. “Sometimes at the end of a dance routine we’ll get in a circle and he’ll tell us to just dance it out. There’s definitely a sense of community.” The classes are featured in several performances throughout the semester. The venues vary, and this past spring they included performances in the Oakdale Mall and Tabernacle United Methodist

Church. The final collective Nukporfe event is an end-ofsemester tradition. According to Okpalor, the event draws a lot of former Nukporfe performers, as well as African dance groups from other schools and community members that are interested in African culture. The traditional dances in Thursday’s performance will be performed in handmade African costumes that are donated by community members and Nyamuame himself. Additionally, the drums that the drumming class will use are all hand crafted, and authentic to the musical styles being performed. The event is a celebration of collaboration: dancers from the dance classes, drummers from the

drumming class and the Nukporfe ensemble from the ensemble class will come together for this performance. “We aim to represent the music traditions as they occur in their original context, where drumming and dancing occur within a larger performance environment that also includes choral singing, costume, symbolic gestures and a deep connection with social life,” Burns said. The show is at 7:30 p.m. in the Anderson Center’s Watters Theater and will last around 90 minutes with a 20-minute intermission. Admission is $7 for general admission, $5 for faculty, staff, alumni and seniors and free for students.

From dorms to Downtown What to save, toss when making the move Melanie Gulbas Contributing Writer

Emily Earl/Pipe Dream Photographerwv Maddi Flick, a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience, snaps a picture of Miku the Wolf at the Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park, where the “Zoo Brew and Wine Too!” event will be held this summer.

Summer in Binghamton Local events to enjoy while school is out Gabby Iacovana Staff Writer In June, July and early August, State Street might lose the appeal it usually has during the school year, as our fellow Bearcats are home for the summer. The greater Binghamton area, however, has a lot more to offer when school is out. If you plan on staying in Binghamton over the summer, there are plenty of nearby festivals and events to keep you occupied through the months of break. July Fest A Binghamton tradition that’s been going on for 54 years, July Fest is a three-day celebration that brings live jazz music, food and crafts to Downtown Binghamton. On the second day, participants can run in the Parlor City 5K Run, which starts on the east side of the Court Street Bridge and circles around the West Side of Binghamton. The festival is scheduled for July 14 to July 16 and will be located on Court Street between the Binghamton City Court and Water Street. Participation in the 5K costs $18, but admission to the festival itself is free. Binghamton BBQ Bash If you want to try local foods while supporting a good cause, this festival is a great opportunity to do both. The Binghamton BBQ Bash will allow visitors to sample food from local restaurants and cast votes

for their favorites. Participating restaurants will compete to win prizes in different categories. There will be a cash bar, craft beer tasting and live music throughout the event. The event will take place Saturday, July 29 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Traditions at the Glen Resort and Hotel in Johnson City. General admission is $20, which includes 10 “Tasting Tickets” that can be exchanged for food samples from participating restaurants. All proceeds from the event will go to the Family Enrichment Network, an organization that provides families with child care and educational services. Spiedie Fest and Balloon Rally If you’ve yet to have a spiedie or are curious about what makes these sandwiches so special, you might want to check out this event. The annual festival, most famous for its spiedie cook-off and hot air balloon rides and displays, will also feature craft and food vendors, a beer and wine garden and a volleyball tournament. It is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 4 to Sunday, Aug. 6 at Otsiningo Park, about a 15-minute drive from campus. The festival will begin at 3 p.m. on Friday and continue until dusk. On Saturday and Sunday, the hours are 6 a.m. to dusk. Balloon launches start at 6 a.m., and other activities begin at 8 a.m. Tickets are not yet available for purchase, but will be available

in late spring on the Spiedie Fest website. Zoo Brew and Wine Too! This event takes place a month after Binghamton’s 2017 Bar Crawl, giving beer and wine connoisseurs plenty of time to recover. The Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park’s annual fundraising celebration gives zoo visitors the opportunity to taste wine and beer while enjoying live music, activities and of course, the sights and sounds of the animals. The event will take place Saturday, June 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets cost $30 for zoo members and $35 for nonmembers, and admission includes 10 beer and wine tasting tickets and a free souvenir glass to the first 300 people to arrive. “Designated Driver” tickets are $10, and include admission to the zoo and complimentary soda or water. All proceeds from the event go toward the zoo’s conservation efforts. Broome County Fair For almost 150 years, the Broome County Fair has been a summer highlight for many Southern Tier residents. Visitors can expect food, carnival rides and games, livestock auctions, tractor pulls, a demolition derby, motorcycle stunts and more. The fair will run from Tuesday, July 25 to Sunday, July 30 at the fairgrounds in Whitney Point, about a 25-minute drive from campus. Admission is $6.

With the end of the semester approaching, many students are getting ready to leave Binghamton University’s campus housing for good. Though it seems like tossing out everything in your tiny dorm room is a smart idea, some of it might be perfect for your new room off campus. Whether you’re going to be moving into an apartment or a house, these tips will help you stay organized and ready to tackle the “real world” on your own. First, go through everything in your room. If you have your own nightstand and desk lamp, keep those. If your carpet is still in decent shape, then keep that and steam clean it over the summer. Also save small organizational bins,, as they will be helpful to store miscellaneous items such as sunglasses, portable chargers, spare change and all those hair ties you need to wrangle on a daily basis. Keep all of your photograph collages and wall hangings so you can put them up in your new room. You also might want to keep a mini refrigerator in your room, so don’t sell your campus one just yet. All BU dorm rooms have twin XL beds, whereas most apartment buildings and houses have full or queen beds, so you can get rid of your campus bedding and start fresh. Remember to buy new mattress toppers and mattress pads because your new bed might be just as uncomfortable as your campus one. Coordinate with your future roommates on what to bring for the common areas. Discuss who is going to bring items like a television, vacuum, kitchen appliances and common area decorations. Your parents are going to bug you about buying cleaning supplies, laundry detergent and cooking supplies — listen to them. Those yellow dishwashing gloves, Lysol disinfecting sprays, Clorox wipes, jumbo bags of

paper towels, measuring bowls and fabric softener are going to be a blessing to have the night after a sticky pregame. As soon as you move in, disinfect your place with the brand new cleaning supplies you bought — you never know who was living there before you. If there is any damage, notify your landlord before you move all of your stuff in, so you don’t end up with charges at the end of the year for things that you had nothing to do with. Take photos of your rooms and common areas, so that if something is broken, you can prove that that was how you found it. Once you set up all of your decorations — tapestries, decorative lamps, wall hangings and photograph collages — it’s time to talk about grocery shopping. It’s important to stock up on certain items such as cereal and oatmeal, because they won’t go bad and you will no longer be able to roll out of bed and go to the dining hall. Buy easy snacks to have

lying around, like small packs of pretzels and protein bars. These are great when you’re in a rush to class. You can buy meat in bulk and freeze it and fill your pantry with pasta for quick meals without a trip to the store. Although eating at a dining hall is super convenient, you will be able to learn how to cook new dishes and choose the food you actually want to eat, so the trade-off will be worth it. Even though you’re off campus and will have many restaurant options, make a habit of using your kitchen. Not only will you save a lot of calories by eating in, but you’ll be saving money, too. Just don’t forget about doing dishes because you can’t just leave them on a conveyor belt for someone else to clean anymore. Although it may be a hard transition leaving the dorms behind, having your own room, bathroom and kitchen will be worth it, and keeping some of your dorm supplies will ensure you have the best of both worlds.

Elizabeth Manning/Editorial Artist


5

ARTS & CULTURE

May 11, 2017 | bupipedream.com

FITNESS, FOOD AND FINALS

Easy and effective workouts anyone can try during exams Julianna Klein | Contributing Writer You know the drill. During finals week, there’s no time for food, sleep or anything but studying — and definitely no time for exercise. But exercise is a great stress reliever, and if you have even five minutes on your hands, you can get an effective workout. Take a quick break from studying, get your body moving and try some of these easy finals week workouts.

HIIT Workout One of this year’s hottest workout trends is HIIT, or high-intensity interval training. These are cardio or body-weight exercises that are done for a short period of time with rest in between. They don’t take too long — only a few minutes. Try this HIIT workout, adapted from Pinterest. Squats: 45 seconds, rest 15 seconds Pushups: 45 seconds, rest 15 seconds Situps: 45 seconds, rest 15 seconds High-knees: 45 seconds, rest 15 seconds Lunges: 45 seconds, rest 15 seconds Squat jumps: 45 seconds, rest 15 seconds Total time: six minutes, or 12 if you want to go through it twice

Stretches

Core Workout

For those of you who don’t even have time to consider working out during finals week, try some of these stretches that you can do while you study, adapted from Pinterest. Neck stretches: Gently pull your neck forward to your chest and to each side. Shoulder stretch: Pull your arms above your head and reach for the ceiling. Forearm stretch: Extend your arm out straight in front of you, and pull your hand back toward your body by using the opposite hand. Repeat this with your other arm. Tricep stretch: Pull your elbow behind your head with the opposite arm. Repeat this with your other arm. Chest stretch: Put your hands behind your head, and push your elbows back. Leg stretch: Extend your leg in front of you. Flex it and release five times. Repeat this on the other side. Hip stretch: Cross one leg over the other, and pull it toward you. Repeat this on the other side.

Core workouts can also be a quick way to get toned. If you’re stress-eating your way through finals week, but you still want to work on your summer body, try this quick core circuit. Full situps: 30 Plank: one minute Crunches: 30 Side plank: 30 seconds each side Flutter kicks: 30 seconds (lay on your back and kick your legs like you’re swimming) Side crunches: 30 each side (lay on your side and crunch) Plank: one minute

Focus on your studies and prepare food before hitting the books Hannah Reichelscheimer Contributing Writer For most college students, studying for finals is a rather unappealing activity. In order to reduce the misery that comes with finals week, a copious amount of food is necessary in order to make spending a day in the library a little more enjoyable. This means not only packing your laptop and textbooks, but also a meal or two, as well as some snacks. If you’re as dedicated to your schoolwork as you probably should be, eating breakfast in the library is something you might have to do. For this meal, there are many options. Some scrambled

eggs and toast or even a cheesy omelet can start your day off right. Eggs are super quick and easy to make in the morning, perfect for when you don’t have much time to waste. Hard-boiled eggs in particular are easy to make in big batches and bring to the library with you. If you’re not a fan of eggs, opt for some oatmeal dressed with berries. You can microwave instant packets in the Marketplace or Jazzman’s, or even make a large amount at the beginning of the week and store it in trendy Mason jars for the ultimate onthe-go breakfast. For lunch, packing a salad is a great option. While it may not fit the academic apathy you

have, it will make people around you believe that you have it all together, even if you’ve only been pretending to do work all day. A Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup is a great dessert because it contains a few grams of protein in the peanut butter and the sugar in the candy will keep you perked up. You could also pack a Panera Bread-style sandwich if you’re feeling up to the task, using one of the many recipes they have on their website. One includes toasted sourdough bread with a chicken breast cutlet, chipotle peppers, tomato, lettuce, avocado and some spices. All of these items can be found at a dining hall on campus so if you want to meal prep in the dining

Library celebrates '60s

Books, artifacts to be displayed in Bartle

Shauna Bahssin Arts & Culture If you’re already in Glenn G. Bartle Library for finals week and looking for an escape from your studies, try traveling back to the 1960s through the library’s new exhibition, “Summer of Love: 50 Years.” The exhibition, which showcases literature, posters and artwork from the decade, will open on Thursday in both the upper mezzanine on the second floor of Bartle Library and the Special Collections reserve. The majority of the objects on display were made available to the University by a recent acquisition from historian Stephen McKieran, ‘70, who donated thousands of books and ‘60s-era objects to Binghamton University’s collection. In conjunction with the exhibition, the donated materials have spurred the founding of BU’s Center for the Study of the 1960s, an online resource that is intended to benefit scholars focusing on that decade in U.S. history. “We have all this cool stuff, we wanted to put it up and let people take a look at some of what we have,” said Curtis Kendrick, the BU dean of libraries. “It [the exhibition] goes along with [the Center for the Study to the 1960s], to support that.” Kendrick, who conceptualized the exhibition, said he felt that the themes of the 1960s hold parallels to the current political climate on both a national level as well as a collegiate one. “A lot of social movements that we think about today really started then — so if you’re talking about the environmental movement, for example, a lot of that can go back to the publication of ‘Silent Spring’ by Rachel Carson,” Kendrick said. “Silent Spring,” an environmental book that

advocated for an end to the use of pesticides and other detriments to nature, will be included in the collection, as well as other books that are now considered literary centerpieces of ’60s movements, like “The Feminine Mystique” by Betty Friedan. The collection will include materials from University archives as well, expressing what the culture of the 1960s at BU was like at the time. Images and other memorabilia from University performances, protests and yearbook clippings will be included in the display. Though many of the works on display are not related to the University and are more generally about the time period and its culture, the BU-related pieces serve as a lens through which to see the University’s past. Kendrick says that the themes of the exhibition go beyond the gates of Binghamton University. “It’s not just Binghamton — I think all across the country

you’re seeing a renewed interest in people expressing their voice,” Kendrick said. “You’re certainly seeing that on college campuses, and Binghamton is just part of that. I think that’s just a positive trend. You did see that also in the ‘60s, people were very aware of what was going in the country with the government, with politics, and I think that’s very important.” The 1960s exhibition will be the Library’s second collection this semester devoted to the area’s history of activism. An earlier collection initiative founded in January holds artifacts from the Women’s March on Binghamton, which brought over 2,000 people to Downtown Binghamton from the community and the University. “Summer of Love: 50 Years” will be open from Thursday to Oct. 9,. The opening reception for the collection will be on Thursday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the second-floor mezzanine of Glenn G. Bartle Library.

Kevin Paredes/Photography Editor Books that are part of “Summer of Love: 50 Years,” a collection of 1960s materials in Glenn G. Bartle Library. The exhibition, which opens on Thursday, celebrates the social movements of the ’60s.

hall before you head to your desk, a quick walk to Hinman Dining Hall or Appalachian Collegiate Center will do the trick. By the time dinner rolls around, you’re well in need of a break, so taking a trip to the Marketplace might not be the worst idea in the world. Indulging in some pizza is not something you’ll regret during finals week because you have too many other regrets to focus on. If you’d rather not leave the library for fear of losing your spot, bring some pasta to microwave. If you’re looking for something a little more healthconscious, use a spiralizer to make zucchini or sweet potato pasta. Pasta is easily stored and can be

heated up quickly. Grilled chicken can be eaten at room temperature, as can sauteed tofu, which add protein to your meal to keep you fuller for longer. Snacks should also be consumed periodically throughout the day to keep your brain fueled and your spirits up. If you’re feeling healthy, go for an apple or banana with peanut butter, which you can get in the dining halls or the Marketplace. An assortment of nuts (especially almonds), some vegetables with hummus and granola bars are also great foods to snack on. If you are more of a grazer, chips and dip are an great option because both can be eaten at

room temperature and provide a healthy crunch. A mix of popcorn and dark chocolate, which are both considered to be brain foods, will satisfy your not-so-healthy cravings. You can make a large batch of this at the beginning of the week and package it in individual bags to grab on your way out the door. Students turn Glenn G. Bartle Library into their dorm room, among other things, all the time, so there is no shame in turning it into a cafeteria too. During finals week, if you’re not studying, you’re procrastinating. Use that time as wisely as you can and stuff your face because you deserve it no matter how unprepared you are.


OOPINIONS PINON Thurdsay, Thursday,April May 27, 11, 2017 2017

Committing to inclusivity The administration must recognize student concerns Adam Wilkes

Contributing Columnist

Elizabeth Manning/Editorial Artist

SPRING 2017 REPORT CARD Athletics : ADespite lackluster seasons from the Binghamton women’s lacrosse team and both basketball programs, three spring teams — men’s lacrosse, baseball and softball — put on an impressive campaign that featured several postseason runs and multiple broken records. Men’s lacrosse had a tremendous bounceback season behind redshirt senior attack Tom Moore’s offensive prowess and BU head coach Kevin McKeown’s calls from the sidelines. The squad was nationally ranked for the first time since 2006, reached the conference championship for the first time since 2004 and improved its win total by seven. Softball recorded another America East (AE) regular-season title and will try to repeat its 2015 championship run this weekend when it hosts the conference tournament. The Bearcats finished with seven all-conference picks, including a conference-best four first-team selections. Junior outfielder Jessica Rutherford carried the team from the batter’s box, ranking third in the AE with a .362 clip. Baseball is poised to repeat as regular-season champions before seeking their fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament in six years. BU’s success is due in part to freshman second baseman Justin Drpich’s impressive rookie season. Administration: Incomplete The administration has come under fire this semester for failing to adequately address student concerns, most recently regarding its agreement to fund the installation of blue lights on

the West Side of Binghamton. Its decision to re-explore uses of this funding was appropriate, but its choice to vacate the Couper Administration Building after it became occupied by protesters wasn’t. Avoiding the problem — literally or figuratively — will do nothing to gain the student body’s trust. Degree Works/MyCourses: CComplaints about University technology are nothing new, but this year enough problems popped up for us to add it to our list. The University made the switch from Blackboard to MyCourses, and while Blackboard was nothing special, it definitely should not have been changed for the worse. Some students had to wait until the end of the semester to see all of their courses appear online. We’ve written in the past about how there needs to be more streamlined grading timelines in place at the University, with the regular posting of grades online. If MyCourses wasn’t even recognizing student registrations, how are we expected to move toward timely feedback? Degree Works also has been especially unpredictable this year. Only toward the end of the semester did the site come with a warning message it was not working properly, and that many credits had not been transferred. For those trying to check degree progress for graduation, as well as for those looking to register for classes that satisfy requirements, this can pose more than one obstacle. These online systems satisfy very basic needs for student success, and it is ridiculous that

they have come with so many problems. Student Association: B The Student Association was largely static this semester, and for the body, no news is good news. At the beginning of the semester, current SA President Nicholas Ferrara proposed legislation to simplify its operations and voting procedures, signaling an acknowledgement of what has long been a problem in the SA: unequal voting processes. This change was put into practice during the SA elections for 2017-18, which occurred in March. The race for president, in particular, which featured an established executive board member against a relative outsider, was indicative of the association’s future direction. This race challenged the comfort of SA leaders and the assumption that their positions of power are guaranteed. With this event, and the results of the other SA races on that ballot, the SA seems poised for more positive change in the coming year. Campus Dining Services: C+ Although Sodexo seemed to be doing well last semester with its permanent housing of ChickN-Bap in the Marketplace, its contract ultimately led to a scandal that caused harm to the student body. Chick-N-Bap’s so-called lamb meat did not, in fact, contain any lamb at all; it was beef, which misled many customers, including students of the Hindu faith who are forbidden from consuming beef. Although Chick-N-Bap is run independently by a student, Sodexo is in charge of purchasing the popular spot’s ingredients

and failed to properly oversee a business they helped create — at the expense of students. Additionally, despite Sodexo’s B-Healthy initiative and healthoriented programs, we haven’t seen a great improvement in healthy campus dining options. Campus food continues to be primarily processed and unhealthy, while clean, nutritious food tends to be more expensive and less accessible. Off-campus Housing: C+ There’s a greater sense of initiative on the part of residents and independent parties to police the deficiencies of individual unethical landlords, but by using everything from flyers to pilots, Binghamton’s giant apartment complexes have yet to halt their grab for students. But there might not be anymore students to take — and this could mean disaster on the horizon for Binghamton’s student housing market. UClub’s expansion still appears to be random at best, and by resorting to timeshare tactics to rent out their units — so are its marketing schemes. Gentrification in Binghamton’s Downtown and West Side still remains a threat, as does student safety — and the police doesn’t seem to be providing any peace of mind for some students. SAPB - A The SAPB did all that it could to give the students a great semester. It listened to student input, and really did its best to put on great events. Often, nature tried to rain on the parade, but the SAPB made consistently made arrangements or offered alternate programming when it did.

The occupation of the bottom floor of the Couper Administration Building is nearing 250 hours. Rumors are about as to where the offices of the top administrators have been relocated for the long haul. Misinformation is abundant: Who is reaching out to whom? Who is being ignored? Regardless of what one thinks of the overall methods and goals of the Frances Beal Society, the organization facilitating the occupation, its specific rejection of the Town-Gown Advisory Board to oversee the University’s relations with the community is certainly justified. As is its demand that the University commit, in writing, to a format of participatory budgeting through town halls inclusive to all community members, especially those with the least economic and political power. When I was on the Student Association (SA) E-Board, my one job was to represent student concerns on all academic matters. But not only was I shut out of the committee to select a new dean of the Harpur College of Arts and Sciences last fall, but to the best of my knowledge, University President Harvey Stenger lied in front of Student Congress, falsely claiming no student was nominated by the SA. Provost Donald Nieman’s office instead selected a student they knew, manufacturing the student perspective on that committee as one that didn’t challenge theirs. Now, in light of recent concerns regarding both off-campus safety and the expansion of policing in Downtown Binghamton, the administration is accelerating the creation of a Town-Gown Advisory Board, which has been an idea for some time. But just like their refusal to

include an elected student representative on the Harpur Dean search committee, this idea sets the stage for potential exclusion. The University refuses to commit, in writing, to include a student on this board, even one that they can appoint themselves. They also haven’t clarified which local organizations will be represented. While a concretized channel of dialogue between the University and the city government might enhance the internal communications between those two particular parties, this is a poor means for deciding how $1 million of Federal Impact Aid will be invested in the community. It’s a proposal that exists in a political paradigm that prioritizes not just the speediness of decisionmaking, but the concerns of the most powerful political and institutional managers over the community. This is precisely why a broad forum for discussing how the Federal Impact Aid is spent is most important. Even if it’s true that the protesters mishandled their one encounter with the Dean of Students April Thompson, or missed the initial emails from Brian Rose, BU’s vice president for student affairs, offering to meet and talk, the ball is still in the University’s court to propose a long-term structure of horizontal dialogue. This dialogue must include students who don’t always agree with their institutional goals. It must include grass-roots community organizations that might not agree with the vision of gentrification. What they can’t do is play a PR game in which they pretend to be accommodating of student concerns when students protest, but don’t commit to including students and community members in the actual processes of policy development. — Adam Wilkes is a junior double-majoring in economics and sociology.

Challenging the traditional education model

Alternative education practices better prepare students with skills they actually need Hooman Ibrahim

Columnist

Imagine on one of your first days of a new course your professor tells your entire class to get up and walk to the window and connect the seemingly unrelated things you see outside. You struggle, but eventually connect the snow falling to a Harvard Business School case study on JetBlue you just read the previous night. It may seem strange, but it is precisely these kinds of unconventional activities that allow students in Leadership 353: Strategic Leadership, a course taught by Kimberly Jaussi, an associate professor in the School of Management, to augment their cognitive capabilities and develop themselves personally and professionally. Unlike the common lecture-based courses which adhere to more traditional formats, those taught by Jaussi challenge the status quo in

academia. Universities are theoretically supposed to be the vibrant social institutions that enlighten, inspire and acclimate students for the transition into life after college. However, it’s not a secret that instead of a system fully dedicated to education and serving as an impetus to challenge one’s perceptions, we have a schooling system that is solidified on information being regurgitated to obtain grades. This type of environment forces students to focus more on grades than the actual pursuit of knowledge. It is not unexpected then, that this atmosphere contributes to feelings of apathy, meaningless memorization, cutting classes and varying forms of academic dishonesty. With students worrying more about grades than engaging in their classes, it’s unsurprising that a Rutgers University survey found that 43 percent of undergraduate and graduate students admitted to cheating at some point in their collegiate careers.

Alternative education programs similar to those taught by Jaussi, however, can prove to be an effective means of edification and can mitigate the feelings of indifference toward courses or the perpetual desire of students to only focus on grades. Essentially, alternative forms of education are those that stray away from the traditional lecture-test format, where students are forced to sit at desks in rows and barely contribute to discussion. It is through nontraditional education that students can get the chance to apply the theoretical knowledge they’ve repeatedly learned about in a real-world setting. Furthermore, alternative learning experiences attempt to transcend the constraints of the traditional classroom by having classes take place in more unusual areas. Google exemplifies this concept by creating unique work environments through nontraditional offices and clustering employees into “nest teams” of 6-8 people to

foster more communication, collaboration and camaraderie. Google has found that by allowing their employees to interact with one another that they are more inclined to be engaged and produce more creative solutions to problems. Although Google’s end goal is not to educate its employees, these ideas can still be reproduced in academia having immense benefits on the cognitive development of students and this is currently happening at Binghamton University. Leadership 353 is the embodiment of an extremely dynamic alternative educational experience. She’s stated that “holding class outside, lounges, hallways or [even] underneath desks opens parts of your brain and allows your mind to enter a high state of creativity and efficiency.” The class itself, which I have been a part of since January, takes place in the Chenango Champlain Collegiate Center Fireplace Lounge, as opposed to a typical classroom. We sit

on couches in clusters with teammates. Team projects aren’t criteria to be quickly checked off after completion on a syllabus, but do form the nucleus of the class as teams work with the same members throughout the semester. The main project consists of consulting for a local nonprofit organization. Jaussi makes no reservations about emphasizing the intensity of the course but it is perhaps some of the most meaningful work I, and many fellow students, have done. Students are taught by Jaussi to disregard their myopic visions that see grades as the sole metric to gauge success. Instead, she encourages students to look at the greater goal of making a difference in the community. Jaussi frequently mentions that her former students often stay in contact with her, each other and even their nonprofit organization, creating lasting relationships. Perhaps some of the most impressive tangibles to come from Jaussi’s unique course and teaching style

are the hundred-page books students produce for their nonprofit organization. These books produced by teams are the synthesis of hundreds of hours of research, planning, consulting work, multiple revisions and intense refinement contain recommendations backed with financials, like ROIs, designed to ameliorate the nonprofits. I’ve witnessed firsthand how alternative learning initiatives can allow far more collaborative and creative work to take place within the class. Alternative forms of education like this class can offer a new paradigm to universities ultimately producing substantially more multifaceted students. While the traditional methods of teaching seen in a majority of classes aren’t going away anytime soon, it’s imperative that we challenge them in order to get the most out of our higher education system. — Hooman Ibrahim is a senior majoring in business administration.


7

OPINIONS

May 11, 2017 | bupipedream.com

<svg xmlns=”http://www.w3.org/2000/svg” xmlns:xlink=”http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink” version=”1.1” x=”0px” y=”0px” viewBox=”0 0 30 37.5” xml:space=”preserve”><g transform=”translate(-570 -380)”><g xmlns=”http://www.w3.org/2000/svg” xmlns:xlink=”http:// www.w3.org/1999/xlink”><path d=”M592,395.965v-0.036c0,0-1-2.929-7-2.929s-7,2.929-7,2.929v0.036V400c0,0,1.664-0.665,3.457,0 c1.315,0.488,2.697,1.153,3.543,2c0.848-0.847,2.23-1.512,3.545-2c1.791-0.665,3.455,0,3.455,0V395.965z”/><path d=”M597,393.082l21.153L585,384l-14,7.929l6.117,3.526c0.309-0.68,1.928-3.455,7.883-3.455c5.955,0,7.576,2.775,7.885,3.455 l3.115-1.797V398h-1v1h3v-1h-1V393.082z”/><polygon points=”596,400 595.5,408 597.5,408 597,400 “/></g></g><text x=”0” y=”45” fill=”#000000” font-size=”5px” font-weight=”bold” font-family=”’Helvetica Neue’, Helvetica, Arial-Unicode, Arial, Sans-serif”>Created by Hea Poh Lin</text><text x=”0” y=”50” fill=”#000000” font-size=”5px” font-weight=”bold” font-family=”’Helvetica Neue’, Helvetica, Arial-Unicode, Arial, Sansserif”>from the Noun Project</text></svg>

Senior Columns

Hating, loving and leaving the corner Pipe Dream gave me everything that I wouldn't give myself Jeffrey Twitty Editor-in-Chief

I’ll never forget what my father told me after our first, particularly atrocious golf outing. “Golf is a sport for men who want to look like they’re more than they are.” Sour grapes from a pair of sorry golfers? Most likely. So of course, I was shocked when he brought home a pair of clubs for me later that week. But I did want to learn, and someone was willing to give me free lessons. Free-ish. The deal was I’d cover a few golf tournaments for him, write a couple of articles, and in return, get that elusive backswing down. It was one hell of a bait and switch, and I’ve been writing ever since. I’ve also yet to cash in a single golf lesson. I never felt

like I belonged at country clubs unless I was glasses-deep in my steno pad. I left for Binghamton that summer, and I’ve never quite felt like I belonged here, either. Joining Pipe Dream and becoming a journalist actually came naturally. I constantly felt like an outsider looking in. I was getting a peek into a world that I knew I’d never belong to, but one that nonetheless embraced me — all from the view of my little corner in the office. There were times when I rejected this embrace — many, actually. I wanted to be more than I thought I was becoming. To see myself, to be listened to and taken seriously, to be, or at least look like, more than I thought I was. More than anything, I wanted to leave that damn corner. And when it was all too much, I wanted to leave Pipe Dream and Binghamton before they edited me out. Choosing abandonment before facing rejection is probably why my golf clubs have sat in a

bedroom corner for four years. But somehow — in a first for me — I mustered the courage to leave my corner. And chalking it up to “somehow” is probably unfair. I can’t tell if I’m cursed or fortunate to have my biggest flaw double as my biggest blessing: It’s never been hard to find people who want more for me than I want for myself. If it were up to me, right now I’d be a morally conflicted soldier marching toward an unsure future in the name of unattainable masculinity. Maybe I would golf on the weekend too. But mom and dad wanted me to go to college, Mr. Honicki wanted me to be a storyteller, Dr. Moore wanted me to be a writer and Ari wanted me to be on Pipe Dream. Ashley wanted me to think, E.Jay wanted me to have heart. Rachel, Jacob and Nick wanted me to be a leader. Franz wanted me to speak, Rohit wanted me to be strong, Mike wanted me to be available. Shauna wanted me to

Awkardly stumbling into news Laughing at controversy is healthy, right? Brendan Zarkower

Asst. News Editor

I have always been a bad writer. When I was in middle school, I remember a teacher telling me that my essays were too short, composed primarily of quotes and broken up into far too many paragraphs. Instead of fixing those mistakes, I found a place where they are not only accepted, but encouraged. Writing for a newspaper was never how college was supposed to go. As it happened, I got advice my freshman year from some idiot who lived in my hall that if you go to every GIM for the first two weeks of school, you won’t have to pay for any food. The results were mixed: In my first two weeks of school, my nutrition (shoutout to Nirchi’s) was so bad that I fell asleep in nearly every class. However, I also got involved in several great organizations, including Pipe Dream. Even though I was pretty obviously not a great writer, they took me on as a contributor. The test to get in isn’t hard — you just need to put forth the effort, ask good questions and be on time. It is that reassuring attitude, which emphasizes that we are

all here to learn, along with the culture of mentorship, that is why I like it here so much. We are in it together, passing down advice from news editor to assistant to writer probably since the 40s, with no interruption from faculty advisers or so-called ‘professionals who know what they are talking about.’ I can’t really think of a great way to do shout-outs, so I’ll start out with UUW-B03. This room, even after being gutted and improved by Rohit and Mike, has been my refuge for the year. Sleeping on the couches and rolling around on newspaper racks made campus feel kind of like home. To Alex, Gabby, Pelle and all the ghosts of news editors past, thanks for teaching me how to be an editor. You all have a significantly better grasp of the English language than me, and being around you has made me smarter. Thanks to Chick-N-Bap, the BU administration, Sodexo (sorry, Campus Dining Services) and various protest groups for giving me interesting stories to cover. I’ve had the pleasure of writing positive and negative things about all of you, and what would a college campus be without the occasional controversy? Rohit, thanks for always being down for the bit, even

when it involves driving all the way to New Hampshire for beer or buying a MAGA hat. Gabby, please wear the hat, you look almost as good as Pelle in it. Michelle, I’m sorry for killing so many plants in the office this year. Please do a better job than I did of taking care of them. Don’t let Orla anywhere near them and please continue to troll Henry’s life for me. Jeff, I appreciate all you’ve done leading this paper. Sometimes I think you’re the only level head in a sea full of crazy people. Odeya, as you always say, let’s keep being friends, for real. You’re the queen of the cool girls. Alana, thank you for stepping up to be our first-ever real digital editor. I know you’ll make something great out of it. You and Noah are going to make this paper digital first, or something like that. Working with people who I both respect and enjoy being around has been the best part of this experience. Some of you seem like, I don’t know, maybe you could even go to Harvard or something. I’ll always remember this job/ club/hobby/liberal-fake-newsrag, and I’ll always be thankful for it. — Brendan Zarkower is a senior majoring in business

be correct, Henry wanted me to be up to speed, Teri wanted me to go faster. Orla wanted me to be understanding, Odeya wanted me to be kind, Caleb wanted me to be punny (and fly), Alex wanted me to get back on topic and, finally, I wanted to be me. Now, I just want to say thank you. Alex, Caleb and Orla, I’m so thankful for having the chance to work with each of you. I’m proud of everything we’ve said and you’ve done this year. I didn’t deserve it, but thanks for giving me a chance. You’ll never know what that meant to me. Odeya, I used to see kindness as a weakness. Thanks for proving me wrong. Thanks for giving me a heart. Thanks for being you. Rohit, between our shared love for old Kanye and puns, we became partneribarelyknowhers in crime. Thanks for your generosity and your courage. Pipe Dream, thanks for your

corners. Thanks for your quiet assistants, your loud editors, your timid contributors afraid to talk at press conferences and your unrefined spirit. Thanks for the fun page editor who remembered my name, the release editor who asked what I wanted out of life and the editor-in-chief who told me that I belonged here. Thanks for your embrace. Thanks for your forgiveness. Never lose any of it. You all do a lot more than make a newspaper. You all made me into who I wanted to be, and I got to be Jeff the whole time. Mom, thank you for your fight, your strength, your sacrifice and your love. You’re my soul. Dad, thank you for your understanding, your calm, your insight and your love. In case you couldn’t tell from the beginning — you’re my hero. Let’s figure out a day to hit the driving range.

I was getting a peek into a world that I knew I’d never belong to, but one that nonetheless embraced me

— Jeffrey Twitty is a senior double-majoring in geography and English.

More than a diploma

There's a lot to get out of Binghamton University Pelle Waldron

Asst. News Editor

Whenever I’m asked what I’m doing after I graduate, which is a lot recently, I usually feel a brief moment of anxiety. My answer is concise, practiced; I say that I don’t have much of a plan besides working at home to save up money, and then from there, hitting the road to travel out west. This answer is met with various responses: My friends have teased me about sounding like a John Steinbeck novel, my parents’ friends have praised me for “taking advantage of being young,” but most often I’m met with a skeptical look masked by a “good for you” or a “sounds fun.” Nearly at the culmination of four years studying English at Binghamton University — yes, I’ve heard all the jokes of what I can do with that degree — I still don’t have a clue what I want to do with myself. Yet I truly believe that’s okay. I’ve sat here for more time than I can afford trying to make this not sound corny, but I don’t know how, so here it is: I learned so much more in college than what I got out of my classes, and even

though I’m not walking out of here into a serious job, I feel like I am prepared for whatever it might be that lies ahead of me. Living away from home, meeting lots of new people and studying various subjects are all things that have helped me feel prepared for the future. But above all, one thing stands out, and that is this newspaper. Whether it was spending countless hours in that dungeon of a basement, covering meaningless Student Congress meetings or arguing over headlines, I’ve learned a few things. I’ve learned to work with others and to move past differences to create something truly impressive. I’ve learned to listen to a diverse range of voices and beliefs and to appreciate each one for what it is. I’ve learned that in the end, work is hard, but it should be because working hard toward a goal and achieving it is incredibly satisfying. That is why I feel as though I am prepared for the future; I know that I will do what makes me happy and that I can succeed if I push hard enough. I don’t know where traveling will take me, where I’ll end up or what I will do with myself. But whatever that may be, it will be something that I’ll put

my heart into. Maybe I didn’t need college to teach me that, but it definitely didn’t hurt. Gabby — you get the first shout-out, as promised. It makes me sad that I won’t be giving you any more rides up to Susq, or studying in the library with you, or texting each other while sitting a foot away. But we’ll stay in touch, I promise. I won’t go completely off the grid … Alex, Brendan and Carla — you guys are all awesome and I can’t imagine working with better people. I learned a lot from each of you, all in your own ways. Binghamton friends and roommates — I can’t list everyone, but you know who you are. From the Nature Preserve to the nursing home, there are a lot of memories I will never forget. Mom, Pop and Emil — you guys are the best, and nothing I write here can do that justice. Thank you for everything. The rest of Pipe Dream — it has been an honor working with each and every one of you. To those graduating, I look forward to hearing what the future brings, and to those sticking around, I wish you guys the best. — Pelle Waldron is a senior majoring in English.

To Pipe Dream, with love

My degree is the second most important paper that I worked for at Binghamton Odeya Pinkus

Arts & Culture Editor

When I was first starting here at Binghamton University, I remember talking to someone about what clubs I’d like to join. I remember that I said something along the lines of “I want to be involved with Hillel,” “I want to join a sorority” and “I don’t think I want to work on the school paper.” Now, looking back on the last four years, I did end up joining a sorority, I haven’t been to that many Hillel dinners (sorry mom) and I am so unbelievably

deep into this school paper that the thought of leaving makes me feel like an old-timey printing press is sitting on my chest. Binghamton University was not my first choice. It wasn’t even my second choice or my third. Realistically, I applied to eight schools and it was my eighth choice. It didn’t really offer a program I was interested in (still accurate), there wasn’t a big sports fan environment (would have been nice) and the weather wasn’t supposed to be great (meh, there were some nice days.) When I compare what I had wanted out of college versus what I got, I find what I had wanted to matter a lot less.

Because of Pipe Dream, what I got out of this school was more than I ever could have expected. Even if I wanted to, it’s impossible for me to separate my college experience from working at this paper. For me, there is no Binghamton University without Pipe Dream. It has been my major, my club, my job, my family, my home. How I feel walking into the office is how you feel when you finally crawl into your bed after a long day. I’ve always heard people say that college is the “Best four years of your life,” to which all I have to say is I hope to GOD that’s not true. Not that this wasn’t great, it definitely was,

but there is way too much life left for everything to just be downhill from here. Pipe Dream, you’ve assured me that college won’t be the peak of my existence. I’m not totally sure where my career will take me, but I know that this experience — being with you all, working together to make something we love — has given me an ideal for my future. If I can love something like I love Pipe Dream, I will know that I am in the right place. Basically, I’m saying that while this chapter is closing, the idea of Pipe Dream isn’t necessarily over. Earlier this semester, when we painted the written-on walls and re-did the

office, I cried because I thought things wouldn’t be the same from then on; that somehow the layer of paint would cover up what made the office special. But I was reassured that it was not the decorations, but rather the people. And months later I found this to be true, which is comforting. It means that while my time at this paper is done, the things that I love about it can stay with me always. To all of those whom I’ve had the privilege of working alongside with at Pipe Dream, I really can’t thank you enough. You all mean so much to me. — Odeya Pinkus is a senior majoring in English

If I can love something like I love Pipe Dream, I will know that I am in the right place


8

OPINIONS

bupipedream.com | May 11, 2017

<svg xmlns=”http://www.w3.org/2000/svg” xmlns:xlink=”http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink” version=”1.1” x=”0px” y=”0px” viewBox=”0 0 30 37.5” xml:space=”preserve”><g transform=”translate(-570 -380)”><g xmlns=”http://www.w3.org/2000/svg” xmlns:xlink=”http:// www.w3.org/1999/xlink”><path d=”M592,395.965v-0.036c0,0-1-2.929-7-2.929s-7,2.929-7,2.929v0.036V400c0,0,1.664-0.665,3.457,0 c1.315,0.488,2.697,1.153,3.543,2c0.848-0.847,2.23-1.512,3.545-2c1.791-0.665,3.455,0,3.455,0V395.965z”/><path d=”M597,393.082l21.153L585,384l-14,7.929l6.117,3.526c0.309-0.68,1.928-3.455,7.883-3.455c5.955,0,7.576,2.775,7.885,3.455 l3.115-1.797V398h-1v1h3v-1h-1V393.082z”/><polygon points=”596,400 595.5,408 597.5,408 597,400 “/></g></g><text x=”0” y=”45” fill=”#000000” font-size=”5px” font-weight=”bold” font-family=”’Helvetica Neue’, Helvetica, Arial-Unicode, Arial, Sans-serif”>Created by Hea Poh Lin</text><text x=”0” y=”50” fill=”#000000” font-size=”5px” font-weight=”bold” font-family=”’Helvetica Neue’, Helvetica, Arial-Unicode, Arial, Sansserif”>from the Noun Project</text></svg>

Senior Columns

No news isn't always good news When a community refuses to listen, too many important stories risk going unheard Alexandra Mackof

News Editor

I first stepped into the Pipe Dream office in September of 2013, and I hid in the corner. I liked to write, sure, but I would be damned before I considered putting my name next to 550 words for everyone to see. I left the office and never expected to return. Well, spoiler alert — I came back. This will be my 112th article for Pipe Dream, and while I am no math major, that should equate to well over 60,000 words. More importantly, that represents a whole lot of stories. And these stories, unsurprisingly, have not always been good ones. Juicy, sure. But the more clicks, views and page turns a story gets, I have come to learn, the more frustration or outrage has been caused. So here I am — scrolling

through Pipe Dream archives, publishing articles in my last few days at this university about students having occupied an administration building for almost two weeks — asking why. I’ve watched the University ignore and disregard its students’ protests and students insult and attack each other. I’ve seen safe spaces become compromised and student leaders alienate and disrespect entire student groups. I’ve heard accusations of harassment, of complete disrespect and disregard and of abuse and assault. Discourse is healthy, and many would say that speaking out is part of the college experience. While that may be true, having these voices fall on deaf ears should not be. Listening is not glamorous, it frequently is not good publicity, and the messages are not always easy to hear. In fact, standing up for students and standing by students — that can prove to be downright inconvenient.

But as fate would have it, the most difficult tasks are frequently the most important, and a lack of willingness to do the heavy lifting is toxic. Turning the other cheek shows that the University was not built on a mission made for a diverse student body, but simultaneously tells students to make the most of the school anyway. Throughout my time here, students have been trying to create spaces for themselves at a university that is supposed to be a catalyst to a successful future. I’ve heard the words “premier public” enough times to make my head spin. But there is nothing premier about ignoring students until they are forced to protest across campus in search of someone to hear them. Three and a half unpredictable years of news have flown by and now, in typical Pipe Dream fashion, I am writing this article just before the deadline while trying to remember everything I meant to include.

Originally, I was going to write a sappy column. I was going to talk about how much Pipe Dream has taught me about myself and others — because it’s true, this office has brought me everything from an ability to see the most extraordinary in the most ordinary to an inexplicable love for em-dashes. I was going to write about how Pipe Dream also threw challenges my way I never would have anticipated — and taught me how to handle conflict, tyrannical leadership, sexism and blatant pettiness in a workplace that is forced to maneuver the personal mixed with the professional. I was going to write about how leaving this office, both the good and the bad, will bring one of the most difficult goodbyes of my 22 years. But this newspaper is not about me, and this newspaper was never about me. One of the most important parts of being a journalist is understanding that the words, the platform and

the space — it is all made for everyone else. I hope, naively maybe, that one day students will not have to fight to be respected by each other or to be heard by their administration. But for now, all I can say is that the paper I am tearfully leaving behind is one that will strive to listen and is full of reporters with open ears. I am woefully bad at conclusions, probably because most of our news articles rely on quotes for profundity. Since this is my final article for Pipe Dream, I might as well stay on trend. Only two words come to mind — which my favorite professor uses as an email signoff — that have come to punctuate my college career: Keep pushing.

One of the most important parts of being a journalist is understanding that the words, the platform and the space — it is all made for everyone else

— Alex Mackof is a senior triplemajoring in Africana studies, English and philosophy, politics and law.

Designing a delightful college experience Principles of effective design have been present in my past four years

Emma C Siegel

Managing Editor '15-'16

The first full page of Pipe Dream I designed had four photos and two articles about BU Acres. I whipped up a masterpiece with a lime-green background, script headline with stroke, a massive dark green tree and photos of broccoli I collaged in the negative space. I was so proud of it. As I look back on that page, I can’t help but cringe. It’s absolute garbage. I later asked Zack, my manager at the time, why he had allowed my abomination of a page layout to be printed. He told me that I took a risk with my design and he wanted me to gain the confidence to take risks. He wanted me to feel empowered to take initiative on bigger design projects in the paper. Also, it was just one page of a paper, which would only be

on the stands for a few days, so ultimately, if it made me happy, that’s really all that mattered. Reflecting, I wondered how I could even begin to describe all the memories, knowledge and lessons I took away from the past four years. Then, I realized the best way to do so would be through the lens of what I know best: design. My life is an experience and I am the user. The principles that apply to effective user experience (UX) design, including empowerment — allowing users to feel ownership and control, intentionality — deliberate decision-making based on research and goals, and delight — maximizing user happiness, have all been present in my own experiences. As they say at Google, “focus on the user and all else will follow.” The UX design process requires intentionality. User research can uncover what people like and dislike about an experience and help the designer to make informed

decisions. It’s important to not settle for surface-level answers, to continue asking “why?” After several chains of questioning, it is often revealed that the underlying reasoning to any decision made is the desire for happiness. While the desire for delight unites us, the steps we choose to take in order to get there are what makes us differ. For some, it’s studying in the library all night; for others, it’s dancing or performing. But for me, it’s been making a newspaper. My time on Pipe Dream provided me with the delight I sought through the relationships I made along the way. When designing, I try to incorporate elements of happiness in my designs through color, animation or illustration. Delight creates a positive experience and gives the user another reason to return. In the human experience, delight isn’t achieved through pleasing aesthetics, but it is achieved through interactions

with other people. I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by friends who not only mentored me, but made my experience fun. I joined Pipe Dream to create a newspaper, but I stayed because I loved the community. In my experience, delight was sitting in my corner of the newsroom and reading quotes on the wall to connect with previous generations of staff who came before me. It was the nights when I finished my work at 11 p.m. but stayed till 3 a.m. just to hang out. Delight was eating cups of pasta at 2:30 in the morning for a predeadline snack. It was spending 20 hours a week in the office for production but spending 30 more, just because I wanted to. An experience can be informative, usable and useful, but the reason a user comes back every day to spend countless hours in a basement — that is because of delight. The UX design process is iterative. We design a solution, find out why it fails and iterate again. Even after a product is

shipped, it can continue to evolve with updates. In life, no one gets it right the first time, no one knows what they’re doing. We try, fail, find a new solution and try again. We have unlimited opportunities to continue to find solutions. That’s how I went through Pipe Dream. I started with a laughable broccoli-filled tree design, and after many hours of production work, I slowly built the skills I needed to design an effective newspaper page. I made innumerable mistakes, but every time I cringed looking back at an old newspaper page, I knew what to improve upon next time. The fast-paced twice-weekly schedule of Pipe Dream forced me to create design on demand, have it sent it out in the form of thousands of newspapers, and then get critiqued on it every week at a staff meeting. Though I ended up becoming managing editor of the paper, my iterative process didn’t stop there. I continued

to design, make mistakes and get better as a result. Now, I’m graduating with design skills far beyond what I came in with, but if Pipe Dream has taught me anything, I still have much room for improvement. A good UX gets the job done and does it well — but it’s not the only one with which the user interacts. The user’s holistic experience is diverse. It is designed within a social ecosystem, in which the user and the product interact with other uses and the environment that surrounds them. To all of the individuals who have helped shape my experience: my mentors, friends, family and fans, in Pipe Dream, Binghamton, Livingston, the Bay Area, Honolulu and elsewhere: thank you for supporting me, mentoring me, empowering me, bringing me delight and helping me to design the most perfect experience I could imagine. — Emma C Siegel is a senior majoring in graphic design.

Learning patience and self-love The two must go hand-in-hand to reach success and happiness Elizabeth Manning

Fun Editor

There are two pieces of advice I would like to give. One, learn patience. And two, remember your self-worth. I say this especially for those of you who don’t have it all together or haven’t reached all your milestones, for those who feel like less of a person because of something you did or did not do. Patience and self-worth go hand in hand on many occasions. It means being patient with yourself even if you embarrassed yourself in front of someone or gained 10 pounds or got rejected after the first date. It’s remembering that even though something isn’t going as planned that you’re not a fuck up, and there is always, and I mean always, time to improve. It’s giving yourself more chances, but certainly not taking advantage of yourself. It’s not doing something wrong over and over and hoping it’s right because it’s with another person. It’s like having sex, hoping it will make that person like you back. Sex won’t make someone like you back. Neither does

impatience or low self-worth since that’s called, like I have been called many times, desperate. And if you are desperate, don’t deny it; change it. Don’t sell yourself short and settle on trying to please someone who isn’t nice to you, like someone who says you’re too fat to be pretty or the wrong race to be attractive. Don’t let someone continue to sit in your bed if that someone has the actual audacity to say, “I don’t know why I asked you to have sex since you’re really not my type at all. I like petite girls. And Asian girls. Quiet. Like an anime character, you know?” An important lesson in gaining patience and self-love is not coddling yourself, but at the same time, not being an asshole to yourself. This is certainly difficult to do if you sway between mottos like “treat yo’ self” and “deprive yourself.” Patience and self-awareness is learning what foods you know will make you upset after eating them and not eating them. And no, it can’t be reversed if you throw it up. Remembering self-worth is allowing yourself to get a B when you know you could have gotten an A, and it’s learning the lesson to put a little more effort into a class next semester instead

of worrying about someone or something that isn’t as important as you are. And trust me, you’re very important. Patience and self-worth is remembering to study an extra five minutes because you know you’re smart when you try. Be patient with other people when you need to be, and find that balance of saying what you believe in without stepping on too many toes, since there’s self-love in being a nice person. Especially if someone or something is changing, step back and analyze why you’re worrying and if it’s even something to worry about — and if confrontation is necessary, don’t waste your time trying to think of what someone else is thinking. You only know what you’re thinking. Lastly, and most annoyingly, be patient and remember your selfworth, especially when time is the only thing that will make you feel better. In most cases, something will hurt less or at least hurt less often, as time passes. It might not heal completely, but if you accept distractions like a new favorite show or playing board games with friends, it will get easier. — Elizabeth Manning is a senior majoring in English.

Elizabeth Manning/Editorial Artist


FFUN UN

Thursday, Monday, April May 11, 3, 2017 2017

Smart Boy #6

Sudoku

Annabeth Sloan

Carry On My Wayword Son

Nate Walker

By The Mepham Group

Level: 1 2 3 4 Solution to Monday's puzzle

© 2017 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.

5/11/17

FOR RELEASE MAY 11, 2017

THE Daily Commuter Puzzle 1 5 10 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 25 26 28 31 32 34 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 44 45 46 47 50 51 54 57 58 59 60 61 62 63

ACROSS Large vases Wooden shoe Play divisions Dread Lying flat __ market; swap meet Breakfast cereal Unyielding __ Lanka Lemon peel Pool toys Greek letter Male sheep Historical records Most pleasant Fabric softener Royal decree Traffic ticket issuer French friends Cease-fire Chilly Deranged Sign another’s name Game of chance Winger and Messing “Groovy!” Youth 1st extra inning Word to a pest Ruby & scarlet Bathing spot Unable to get out and about Foundation Leave out __ food cake; spongy dessert Mimicked Geologic periods Speediness Koppel and Kennedy

DOWN 1 Flying saucers, for short 2 Backside 3 Throughout the country

by Jacqueline E. Mathews

Previous Puzzle Solved

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 19 21 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 32 33

Fathers of Jrs. Bits of parsley Amphitheater Courageous Small bill Reasonable bedtime Blazing Treble __; musical symbol SAT, for one Talk back Stretch of land __ on; have confidence in “A __ home is his castle” Stuff thrown at weddings Eden resident Wanderer Fifth most populated city in France Sticky strip Molar or canine Slips up Used a shovel

©2017 Tribune Content Agency, LLC All Rights Reserved.

35 37 38 40 41 43 44 46 47

Stratagem Frog’s cousin Outer garment Picture border Part of the eye Explosions Sell from a cart Religious belief Oxford or clog

48 49 50 52 53 55

Singer Perry __ Wreck Carpets Secondhand Cots and cribs Word of disgust 56 Stop __ dime 57 Flying mammal

when ur graduating so u can stop bein fucked by school n it feels gooder than a bitch


TWITTER

@PipeDreamSports FOR UP-TO-DATE COVERAGE Thursday, May 11, 2017

Softball prepares to host AE Tournament After first-round bye, regular-season champion Binghamton to face Albany in postseason opener Grace Palumbo Pipe Dream Sports

For the second straight year, the Binghamton softball team is carrying the top seed into the America East (AE) Tournament. The Bearcats (21-23, 11-4 AE) will look to avenge their semifinal upset loss against Albany last season. BU has captured the regularseason championship. On Thursday, the Bearcats will begin their quest for their second conference title and their first since 2015. At a press conference Monday afternoon, junior third baseman Kate Richard, senior right fielder Bridget Hunt, junior center fielder Jessica Rutherford and BU head coach Michelle Johnston discussed hosting the conference tournament for the second season in a row. “We’re all pretty excited; we’re finally done with classes,” Richard said. “We’re mostly focused on softball so that’s the main thing right now. We know how to go out and win one game at a time.” Richard has had tremendous success this season; in the AE, she ranks seventh in batting average (.350), first in RBIs (46) and is tied for second in home runs (12). In a recent sweep of the Black Bears, Richard proved her hitting

prowess, belting two home runs in the first game. Hunt has also proven her ability to thrive at the plate this season. She has reached base in a team-best 18 straight games and leads the conference with six triples. She said the Bearcats are looking forward to having home field advantage again. “I think we’re just so excited to be on our home turf,” Hunt said. “It’s always a great feeling to come out with the fans that we have and have our community base come support us. I think what we want to focus on for this weekend is to just truly take the game one pitch at a time, we don’t want to get to far ahead of ourselves.” In 2015, Binghamton defeated Stony Brook in back-to-back games on the road to take the conference championship. “I think we’ve now had the experience of playing in the tournament both at home and on the road, so I think we kind of know the pressure of being at home and expectations,” Johnston said. “I think we’ve taken a few things from last year and we’re going to work to play nice and loose this week and come out and play our games.” Rutherford, who broke the Binghamton single-game hit record with five hits against UMBC this past April, expressed

Katherine Scott/Pipe Dream Photographer The Binghamton softball team is set to play its first game of the America East Tournament on Thursday at 11 a.m.

her eagerness to continue the Bearcats’ high level of play. “The mood is definitely excitement, the excitement is there, we’re all pumped,” Rutherford said. “We all know that we did our job to get here

and now we just want to be able to finish it off at home. We want to be able to finish it off with our fans here. We’re doing it for the community, the fans and ourselves.” The All-Conference Awards

Banquet was held Tuesday night at the University. The Bearcats walked away the victors with nine players honored spanning seven all-conference picks, and four First Team selections — the highest in the conference —

among other accolades. BU is set to play its first tournament game Thursday against Albany. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. from the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

Garn continues success Former standout wins mile at Penn Relays

Samuel Ditchek Pipe Dream Sports

Rebecca Kiss/Assistant Photography Editor Senior right fielder Eddie Posavec had three runs, four hits and four RBIs in Wednesday’s blowout of Siena.

Binghamton routs Siena, 22-1 Bearcats ride 11-run first inning to victory

Evan Cole Pipe Dream Sports

In a break from America East (AE) action, the Binghamton baseball team extended its win streak to six in impressive fashion, completing a 22-1 rout against Siena Wednesday afternoon. The performance marks the Bearcats’ highest run total since 2016, when BU (27-9, 11-2 AE) piled 23 runs on NYIT. The Bearcats poured on 11 runs in the first inning and cruised to an easy victory, complimented by the contributions of several relievers to keep the Saints’ offense in check. “Scoring early took a lot of pressure off us,” said BU head coach Tim Sinicki. “We were able to get a lot of guys out there pitching today. In a lowpressure environment, they did a great job throwing strikes and competing.” After sophomore starting pitcher Robert Brown set down Siena (17-25-2, 8-10 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) in the top of the first, Binghamton did not hesitate to take a commanding lead.

Siena sophomore pitcher John Nolan had no answers for the Bearcats’ offense, retiring only one batter while allowing seven hits and nine earned runs. BU quickly followed up on its initial barrage, tallying three runs in both the second and third innings. Home runs from senior outfielders Darian Herncane and Eddie Posavec highlighted the team’s secondary explosion. After Brown pitched three scoreless innings, sophomore Anthony Meduri, junior Jake Erhard and redshirt senior Jake Cryts took the shutout into the eighth inning. Sophomore pitcher Cal Lawrence surrendered the Saints’ first run, but managed to get through the rest of the inning unscathed. A flawless final inning from junior Dylan Stock ended the game. On offense, a couple of reserves flourished when they entered in place of the game’s starters. Sophomore left fielder Sean Trenholm batted 2-for2 with three RBIs, and senior catcher Henry Pellicciotti hit his first career home run to add to Binghamton’s onslaught. Several other Bearcats stood out at the plate, with Posavec and senior first baseman Brendan

Skidmore each driving in a team-high four runs. Such complete dominance in every facet of the game indicates the Bearcats are hitting their stride at the right point in the season. “We always try to peak toward the end of the year, as the playoffs come up,” Sinicki said. “I think we’re playing … as well as we’ve played all year, so just an effort to keep things going is what we’re looking for.” With nonconference play now wrapped up, Binghamton heads into the final stretch before postseason in position to clinch its second consecutive regularseason AE Championship. The Bearcats are just one victory away from earning this achievement. “All we need to do is keep playing good baseball,” Sinicki said. “Hopefully we’ll have a chance to accomplish what we set out to do, which is win a regular-season championship.” BU is set to resume conference play this Saturday when it faces Stony Brook in a two-game series. First pitch is scheduled for noon from the Joe Nathan Field in Stony Brook, New York.

In his first year as a professional athlete, former Binghamton track and field standout Jesse Garn has thrived. Garn captured first place (4:00.83) in the men’s mile at the Penn Relays in late April and narrowly defeated Andrew Wheating in the men’s 800-meter (1:49.31) at the Oregon Twilight this past Friday. Prior to inking a contract with HOKA New Jersey New York Track Club last August, Garn competed in the 800-meter at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field trials. During his five years at BU, Garn earned All-American honors twice, including a fourth-place finish in the 800-meter at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. On top of his accolades on the track, Garn was also a member of the 2014 fall athletic department honor roll (3.3 GPA or above) and the 2014 America East (AE) fall academic honor roll while majoring in biochemistry at BU. “I had tremendous success under [BU head] coach [Annette] Acuff at Binghamton … we keep in touch very often still,” Garn said. “She is still a very prominent figure in my life and played a huge influence on me for the five years I was at

Binghamton.” Instead of managing an academic workload, Garn now balances rigorous training with a part-time job at a physical therapy office. He attends practice in the morning, follows it up with a workout and a shower, and then goes straight to work. In addition to these new commitments, preparing for meets consists of an entirely different atmosphere for Garn. “Training is a lot different than I was used to at Binghamton,” Garn said. “The intensity has certainly ramped up. Everybody I’m training with now has been an Olympic trials qualifier and multiple AllAmericans.” Although the competition undoubtedly changed from the collegiate to professional level, Garn continues to shine in the spotlight, especially when the stakes are high. Despite admitting to feeling some nerves before competing at Penn, Garn said he enjoyed the challenge that comes with the bigger stage. “Right now, I’m a top-10 in the U.S. for the 800-meter and all that means is that there are still guys who are better than me and I really love the challenge of taking on other guys,” Garn said. “It’s still a humbling experience knowing that I’m getting good. I feel like I’m performing a lot better than I ever have.”

After his first-place finish at Penn in April, Garn headed to Oregon’s Hayward Field, the home of last summer’s Olympic trials and the NCAA Outdoor Championships. “Hayward Field is probably my favorite venue to compete at the University of Oregon,” he said. “It has always been a great environment; [there are] tons of fans and they call it TrackTown USA. This place is just very special to me.” Garn’s mentality is the same as when he competed for Binghamton. He said he always remains confident, no matter who he is facing off with, and despite any advantages a competitor may have. The biggest difference for Garn, compared to his college career, is simply having more opportunities. In addition to his first-place finishes at the Penn Relays and Oregon Twilight, Garn took home a victory in the 1500-meter at the Sam Howell Invitational in early April, with a time of 3:47.25, and recorded a personal best of 1:45.96 at the Larry Ellis Invitational in the 800-meter a few weeks later. In the upcoming weeks, Garn is set to travel to Atlanta, Georgia for another 800-meter race and then to Sacramento, California for the 2017 National Track and Field Championships on June 22.

Provided by Penn Relays Former BU track and field runner Jesse Garn took first place in the men’s mile at Penn Relays.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.