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Thursday , April 25, 2019 | Vol. XCV, Issue 22 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com
The Free Word on Campus Since 1946
Plastic dining containers met with outcry
University to produce affirmative action report Data on diversity, hiring practices to be analyzed by PeopleFluent Laura D’Angelo & Melanie Gulbas pipe dream news
in an email. “We were hopeful that new items may be recycled which would take them out of the waste stream.” Despite this, many students think the plastic containers are a step in the wrong direction, including Jessica Dennehy, a junior majoring in biology. “I think it’s awful, I think they suck — I didn’t realize they would still be giving out plastic containers,” Dennehy said. “I think it’s a bad decision.” Bryan Obregon, a senior majoring in biology, said he sees a potential benefit of the plastic containers, but thinks the move goes against current trends to eliminate single-use plastics.
In an effort to evaluate diversity and hiring practices on campus, Binghamton University will be working on its first comprehensive affirmative action report in 10 years with the help of PeopleFluent, a software support company that uses workforce analytics to report the patterns of diversity within an institution. The report, which was requested by the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, will outline BU’s strengths in diversity practices as well as its weaknesses and areas of improvement. PeopleFluent will use past employee rosters and evaluate the workforce across New York state to compare it with BU and assess the University’s representation of all demographics. Nicole SirjuJohnson, interim chief diversity officer, wrote in an email that the report is a tool to help institutions in case they are randomly audited by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, the entity that conducts federal audits of all federal contractors. According to Sirju-Johnson, the report will aim to reveal how BU’s hiring practices compares with other schools on a national level. “The overall goal of reports received from PeopleFluent is to serve as a guide for our initiatives around diversity hiring and retention in addition to revealing new information we need to be aware of as it relates to compliance goals with the federal government,” Sirju-Johnson wrote. Sirju-Johnson wrote that organizations are usually audited every 10 years, and since BU has not been audited in a decade, it should be prepared. “It is among the primary initiatives I wanted to conduct in coming into the role of interim chief diversity officer,” Sirju-Johnson wrote. “If the campus is to be intentional about [its] diversity, we cannot arbitrarily prescribe change, we need real data to indicate the areas in need of our immediate efforts, specifically as it relates to what the government wants to see of its contractors.”
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theo mason pipe dream photographer Binghamton University dining halls recently switched from eco-friendly paper to-go containers to single-use plastic boxes to offset a rise in meal plan costs due to minimum wage increases planned for next year and rising prices of raw materials.
Students voice concerns that Sodexo’s to-go box change could hurt the environment Jackson Galati
Contributing Writer Over the last several weeks, the eco-friendly paper to-go containers that retail dining establishments used to package food have been replaced with single-use plastic ones. The change, which is an effort by Sodexo and the Student Culinary Council (SCC) to offset a rise in meal plan costs as a result of a minimum wage increase and the rising price of raw materials, has been met with concerns about environmental impact. Noah Tanenbaum, an undeclared freshman, said he would not mind the cost increase if it were for eco-friendly containers. “I know they’re worse and they’re cheaper,
which is obviously the reason they bought them,” Tanenbaum said. “Frankly, I wouldn’t care if I had to pay a little more on my tuition for the eco-friendly containers.” But James Ruoff, resident district manager for Binghamton University Dining Services, wrote in an email that the plastic containers might not be as environmentally damaging as they seem. Before spring break, if a student wanted their meal to-go from the Marketplace or the dining halls, it would be given to them in a paper container touted as being ecofriendly. However, the only way in which these containers would avoid going to a landfill was if they were sent to be composted. “There currently is not a mechanism to compost all these containers on our campus and most end up in the landfill,” Ruoff wrote
Toussaint speaks on progress at annual ‘State of the SA’ Address focuses on this year’s SA E-Board accomplishments Kimberly Gonzalez contributing writer
The Student Association (SA) held their State of the SA address on Monday night to discuss the initiatives that have been implemented over the course of the 201819 academic year and the organization’s future goals. Presented by Jerry Toussaint, president of the SA and a senior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, the address highlighted various projects completed this year by members of the SA Executive Board. Toussaint touted the accomplishments of his own office, which include participating in the search for the new University Police Department chief of police and taking an active role in providing more services to High Hopes Helpline, which recently changed its name to SEEK. “My office has uplifted the voices of students to University administrators on issues such as transparency and parking,” Toussaint said. In the 2018 SA election, Toussaint ran on a platform to improve transparency
between the student body and the SA, off-campus safety and inclusion within the organization. He also pledged to continue space reallocation projects and reclaim the University Union for students, something he has accomplished through the Executive Vice President’s office, and planned renovations to the University Union basement, which will begin this summer. However, his proposed interface for seeking student feedback and connecting with students outside the SA, BU Onward, has not materialized, and recently, there has been controversy regarding transparency from the SA. For the entirety of the fall semester, SA Congress failed to make meeting minutes accessible to students, violating their own management policies, and freshmen and transfer students at BU did not receive SA newsletters until March 1, preventing them from receiving announcements about SA elections and initiatives. Additionally, despite helping SEEK provide more services, the SA continues to see criticism about the lack of mental health resources on campus. According to the address, Courtney Mitchell, vice president for programming and a junior majoring in computer science, contributed to 17 events with four more still to come, including Spring
ARTS & CULTURE
kimberly gonzalez contributing photographer On Monday, Student Association (SA) President Jerry Toussaint spoke at “State of the SA,” aiming to inform students of progress made by the SA Executive Board during the 2018-19 academic year.
Fling, which will be headlined by Playboi Carti. Despite Mitchell’s campaign goal to extend communication between the students and the SA, many students were initially left confused over the cancellation of Fall Concert, featuring rapper 21
Savage, and whether or not they would be reimbursed when the event could not be rescheduled. The address also listed the accomplishments of Andy Jean-Baptiste, vice president for multicultural affairs and
OPINIONS
a senior double-majoring in economics and philosophy, politics and law, which highlighted continued attempts at creating Grievance Procedure Guides and an Off
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SPORTS
Go back to ancient Greece with the last Mainstage production of the year,
Celebrate the Tri-Cities Opera’s 70th anniversary with the final show of the season,
The Editorial Board emphasizes the importance of student journalism,
Dan Schaffer breaks BU’s 5K record during standout season,
Women’s lacrosse falls to Canisius,
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