November 1996 - Binghamton Review

Republicans Fight for Affirmative Action?

The Protesters Give Up

The Administration Grows a Backbone and Stands up 'for Itself Ralph Nader Visits Campus and Says Several Sillv Things , 4\'

An Evening With Distinguished Speaker Erik VonKuhnelt-Leddine

BINGHAMTON REVIEW " God who gave us life gave us liberty"

BINGHAMTON REVIEW Departments

-Thomas Jefferson lldJror-lu-ChIer Amy L. o.telncr

Business T\oJana#('l' Paul Torr~

Editorial: America is not getting any smarter and this is reflected by who we choose to represent us in public office

A1 Campus Presswatch reveals that Pipe Dream is kind of ~ liberal and Anthony Benardello is kind of delusional

DtstJ1budob Manager Alex G3litsky

In this edition of Quibbles & Bits, Bob Dole robs a bank--<Jr does he?

Aesthetics and Morals Editor Jolm Camey

Features

Page Nine E4Jtor NIl\llau L. WUJtZOI Good T.., .. ArbJ"""

leresa McGoff l'reasue.r JcifCohen

November, 1996

Volume 10, Number 3

Amy L. Gardner gives an comprehensive summary of the now-concluded occupation of the Couper Building

r=7 Allison Dembeck reports on recent Bingham/on Review t1 leclure series speaker Erik VonKuhneldt-Leddine

starr Allison ))cmbcok. Eya l Bisig. Joff'Oolnnt Ja500 Kovaca.Randall McNally,Tom Tobin

~

John Carney hypothesizes about what Ralph Nader might

C:Y be like if he were Pat Buchanan's blood brother Ifarutty Advisor

Dr. AJdo Bernardo BINGHAf.\TON REVilW is an independent journa l ofncws, an alysis. opinion, 3nd commeot!lry.

Students at.. Bingbamlcn Univer.lity receive two CQpicsofthc J\l VlfW free ofcbarge. ,\dililional

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It's election time, which can only mean that political forecasting expert Nathan Wurtzel occupies these three pages

o:::D Jeff Golant reports about his recent Jimmy CarterQj) like atlempl at peacemaking

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Randall McNally suggests that it's time for a new election for the BU Council student represenlative Jason Kovacs suggest some ways by which America might save itself fTom multiculturalism

Allison Dembeck is back again-this time to review the Parents' Day gala at Watters Theater

Nathan Wurtzel is also back again-this time to warn of the impending Republican uprising on campus

Next Month °AnIYfJys goodbye and we all get depressed oJohn'Carney writes something long and incomprehensible oNathan urtzel's holiday gifts for campus personalities The nexl issue will be available on December 6, 1996

NOVEJ'.!UER 1996

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EDITORIAL

BIN GH AMTON REVIEW

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Choose or Lose?

If You Choose, We all Might Lose

E

lection season is upon us yet again. As you wonder around sunny Binghamton, you' ll sec a plethora of political propaganda, lawn signs, billboards, radio and television commercials, and newspaper ads. You would have to be deaf, dumb, and blind to miss it all . I would sat that most of you are not deaf and blind, but I would have to question the intelligence of most people when it comes to politics.

I know many of you probably won't boUler to vote. I have a question for those of you who are voting, HHow much do you really know about the candidates?"

From my involvement in politics, I have come to th e conclusion that most people arc ignorant about what most of the candidates that arc running for office stand for. It is all part of the cycle of the dumbing of America. In a time when more people than ever arc going to college, it seems that more people than ever are lacking in their knowledge of Ule political process.

Much of this problem can be blamed upon the increasi ng reliance on modern technology for information. People no longer read their newspapers to find out what is going on in the world. They will listen to the news on their car radios as they commute to work, or they' ll watch the news on television as they arc eating dinner. These modern conveniences have been taken for granted. They are a fast source of information, but they do not provide you with as much information as a good old-fashioned newspaper.

Modern tec hnology has provided people with a fast source of information, but we have lost out because of it. The average attention span appears to be decreasing. People want all their information fit into thirty-second sound bites.

Politicians have had to adjust their campaign strategies to fit in with the attention spans of the general populace. Candidates no longer seriously debate the

issues. All of their views arc fit into a can or will deliver. They can try to get series ofthirty-sccond sound bites. Many their policies enacted, but it all depends of the ads do not even deal with issues on the Congress supporting the Presiat all . Politicians spend more timesling- dent. ing mud at one another than talking People blame the President when abou t what they will do to help their things are not going well, and they give constituencies. the President all the credit when things There have been lots of complaints are good. In reality, the President probabout politicians ignoring the issues and ably had very little to do with any of it. aU the negative ads being broadcast. But, He may have rubber-stamped legislation, this is what the Americans are secretly by signing it, but it is really the Congress demanding. No one listens if a politi- that does most of the work. When Bill cian tries to seriously deal with the is- Clinton takes credit for how great everysues. Even if people were paying atten- thing is going, remember he probably tion, they probably wouldn 't understand didn't have much to do with it. half of what is being said. Very few Many people are ignorant of these people actually understand how their simple and rudimentary facts about how government works. !fyou ask them who the national government works. You've their elected officials are, they could probably heard many people telling you probably name a few, but they couldn 't lately how important it is to go out and tell you what these people actually do. vote. Voting is your way to have a say in In the two years I have spent working your government. I am not going to tell for a State Senator, I couldn 't tell you you to do this. I personally believe if you how many people have called or written are ignorant of the facts of who and what the State Senator asking for his help and you are voting for, you should just stay support on national issues. home and enjoy your day 01I. It is very How can people make informed deci- disheartening for me to say this, but I sions when they are in the voting booth. would rather have you not ·vote at all, if they don't know what the positions than have you go out and make uninthey arc voting on entail? formed decisions. I believe voting is a In this year 's Presidential Election, privilege, not a right, and if you do not and others in the recent past, you hcar ,care about your governnlent enough to both candidates making all kinds of know what is going on, then maybe you promises. Many times these candidates shouldn't be allowed to vote.

People used to have to pass a literaey fail to come through on these promises.

Why? It is not so much that their views test to be able to vote in some places. changed or that they were lying to you. Tins isn 't such as bad idea, but instead They could never keep these promises, of a literary test, you should have to pass because it wasn't within their power to a general civics exam. make them to begin with. They talk So on this election day, I encourage about all kinds of legislation they will you to either educate yourself on the canpass. Presidents do not pass legislation, didates first, or stay home. If you choose the Congress docs. If Congress docs not to stay home, or you decide to vote igpass a bill to enact legislation that the norant of thc facts, I don 't want to hear President wants, then that legislation you complaining about the government, cannot be implemented. Presidential because you didn 't care enough to know candidates can make all the promises in enough about it.

- Amy L. Gardner for the staff the world, but that docsn't mean they

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NOVEMBER

CAMPUS PRESSWATCH

1996

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Pipe Dream October 16, 1996

Fair Usc late October 1996

Afler a brief respile from the haunts of the Looney Lefllast year, our suppos-

An undoubtedly unintentional compliment flies from the mOlllh of an as yet

edly objective and mainstream campus

unidenlifiedCouper Building temporary

new.paper has fully reentered the ranks

occupant ...

of the extremists with this editorial de-

"Binghamton Review has published nothing in support of our efforts. The ractically right publication has therefore implied an alliance with the president and the SA E-Board. The fact that they can publish so quickly and efficiently is quite a bother."

fending the right of student protesters to charge, punch, slap, and physically assauit Public Safety ojjicers...

"When you take a mob of angry students who feel that their voices will not be heard and mix in Public Safety who has been instructed to ' intervene' ifnecessary, then no matter how large or small the room, and no matter how many officers attempt to 'keep order,' there is no hope for peace. A solution could have been arrived at, had the problem been adequately precticted and prepared for.

"The fault of the 'riot' does not belong to the angry students wanting nothing more than what is guaranteed to them in the SA constitution. The fault belongs to those whose responsibility it is to look out for the students' best interests-the SA E-Board and the administration-and their careless underestimation of the problem at hand."

Why, thank you, Pooh Bear. Let s see, the reason we published nothing in s upport of the protesters is because ... we

don t support the protesters. But we are hardly allied with Lois DeFleur, as any ofour readers can aI/est, and as for the SA E-Board, read on ...

From th e "I Can Spot Homophob ia From a Nlile Away Department" comes an interview with QSU President Wei, conducted by K. Y. Kim. Wei seems like a nice guy, but his "oppression de/ec-

Pipe Dream October 18, 1996 This thoroughly melodramatic and silly Perspective written by James Petras, Martin Murray, and Philip Kraft, who are professors in the Department ofSociology, proves that a Ph.D. j ust doesn t carry the same weight iI used to. Spot the lies and grammar mistakes...

"The pepper-spraying and beating of Binghamton Unive rsity student protesters is one of the saddest days in the 50 years of this university. The basic problem, however, is not the police behavior and their excesses. They were acting lmder presidential orders. That 's where the political responsibility lies. Police repression has no place in resolving political and social issues, least of all in an institution of higher learning."

Pipe Dream October 25, 1996

Asian Outlook October 1996

tor " is running atfilil blast ..

Three qu estions arise afler reading this

final paragraph of an otherwise excellent Anthony Benardello perspective: I) Is he nuts? 2) Does he really believe this? Does anybody else really believe this? 3) Is it too late to withdraw our

endorsement? Okay, that s fo ur ques"Q: How open do you think Binghamton University is to gay students?

W: This campus is quite homophobic. ... Lillie looks here and there basically. I go roaming around the campus wi th a little pink cloak. People give me looks and respond negatively."

Gee, Wei, do you think itmigh/ be the cloak instead oJ you? However, Wei does provide us with a big surprise ...

"Basically [SA President] Anthony Benardello sta ted that whenever we needed help he would be available. He helped us to look for a new office and stayed in touch with the QSU. Benardcllo even reached out to us by pointing out that ' Queer ' has negative connotations."

tions ...

" In conclusion, I would like to thank those of you at the Pub, Uncle Tony's and the fraternity parties for all your kind words of support (not to mention all the beer you have bought me) telling me you approve of the job I am doing.

To those who have sent me e-mail asking me to ' stand firm ' , ' we like what you are doing' and 'don 't give up' don't worry I won 't. To the student who bought me the 'Don't tread on me' tie, asking ' don 'tletthem walk all over you Anthony'- don 't worry, they won ' t. ... Lastly, a very special thank you to those lovely lacties at West Side Cheers who said: 'Anthony, all you have to do is 'ask ... Well, I guess I have something in common with Bill Clinton after all."

NOVEMBER.

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COVER STORY

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The Multicultural Crack,up Continues ...

The administration grows a spine and the protesters leave

By Amy L. Gardner

TI

e turmoil and chaos of the past few weeks has apparently come to an end. The students roam this campus as if none of it had ever happened, and for the most part none of it ever really did for the average student. The protests and the occupation of Couper Administration Building affected only the few people active in campus politics. With everything back to normal, one thing still remains unresolved: what really happened?

It all started when a group of students shut down the October 8 meeting of the Student Assembly. They were chanting, ranting, and raving, making it impossible for the Assembly to conduct business. The source of the unhappiness for these students was SA President Anthony J. Benardello's appointments to the SA Judicial Board These students were upset because the six appointees were all white males. Most of the students who were upset about the J-Board appointees were minority students who felt that they would not be adequately represented on the J-Board. What they failed to tell you is that there are two minority members, Baseemah Bashir and Sandra Grey, left over from last year. These two were appointed last year by former SA President Doug Boettner. J-Board appointments are two-year terms.

Some minority students, the multiculturalists, felt that the Judicial Board appointments were undemocratic. I

would have to agree that the J-Board within the governmental process, they appointments were undemocratic. resorted trying to shut down the StuThey are designed to be that way. In dent Association. They started with the the United States Government and on October 8 Assembly meeting. They this campus people are appointed, not succeeded in shutting that meeting elected, to judicial positions on pur- down. The Student Association Execupose. It is felt that if they are appointed tive Board then tried to devise a rather than elected, they can be more method with the Administration impartial because they do not have to within which the Assembly could concater to the constituency that voted for duct business and student voices would them in order to get reelected. They still have the opportunity to be heard. can base their decisions on their own The people who shut down the first feelings and beliefs. Judicial members meeting said the Administration and are supposed to be impartial not in the SA E-Board were silencing them by sense that they have no preconceived limiting the number of people who opinions, but in the sense that there were, allowed into the meeting. It reare no outside influences that have ally was not a question of their being power over how they decide. silenced. If they really wanted to have Of course, this is not why the mul- a voice in the student government, ticulturalists felt that the process of ap- they would never have shut down the pointments to the Judicial Board was first Assembly meeting. The Assemundemocratic. They felt it was un- t bly is the place where they can have a democratic because BenardeUo did not voice. If they are shutting down the seriously consider anyone who dis- place where they can have a voice then agreed politically with him. This is the they are not really interested in havway politics works. President Clinton ing a voice in their government. is not going to seriously consider any Their lack of interest in really bemember of the Christian Coalition for ing heard by their government was a Supreme Court appointment. If the further displayed at the October 15 minority students were in power, they Assembly meeting. These students rewould not seriously consider anyone sorted to violence in another attempt with political beliefs similar to to shut down the Assembly. They claim they just wanted to have access to the Benardello's.

The real grievance of the multicul- meeting. There are better ways of turalists is that they no longer have showing you want to be heard than trythe power they used to have on this ing to force your way past Public campus. Rather than accepting their Safety officers who are trying to prodefeat and working to regain control tect the students inside the meeting.

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BINGHAMTON REVIEW

NOVEMBER

1996

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COVER STORY

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When these student took over the administration building, one of their primary demands was to dissolve the Student Association and set up a new government.

This is another example that they are not trying to work within the governmental process to ensure that they have a voice, They are trying to ensure that they are the only voice, Tltis is demonstrated in their continued attempts to silence the Student Association and Binghamton Re view~ the two main sources of dissent to their views.

The protesters have tried to make Public Safety out to be the bad guys, In press releases and letters made out to SUNY Central they have stated that Public Safety showed up in riot gear.

The Public Safety officers present at the October 15 Assembly meeting were in normal uniform , All you need to do to prove this is to look at the video coverage of the meeting , They protesters say Public Safety initiated the violence, Many students inside the Assembly meeting have a different account stating that it was the protesters outside the meeting who started pushing and shoving and hitting Public Safety officers to get inside the meeting, Who is telling the truth? Again, all you need to do is look at the video coverage of the event to see that it was the protesters who first initiated the violence, This is not the only ract that the protesters cannot seem to get right about

that night. Depending upon what you read by them the number of students injured vary, Three students were actually brought to the hospital, but it was not for injuries, it was for reactions to the pepper spray, The only person really injured was a Public Safety Officer. Officer John Nunez suffered a severe sprain to his right arm and wrist.

The protesters have a real problem getting racts straight in general. They repeatedly refer to SA President Anthony J, Benardello as an ex-Marine, Benardello served in the United States Army, They also say that the Benardello was the one who removed the Vice President of Multicultural Affairs, This decision was made by the E-Board as a whole, He cannot be blamed for it all, just as he cannot blame the whole riot on the Administration, as he tries to do, How can you trust people who cannot get their facts straight?

I am not the only one who feels this way, Very Iiberd Press & S un Bulletin columnist David Rossie repeatedly refers to the claims of the protesters as fiction and creative writing in his columns on October 23 and 25 , It was not just students who got involved in this mess , Letters were placed in faculty mail boxes asking them to join in the fight. Professors were solicited to teach their classes

out on the Peace Quad, to join in the protest, and to use their classrooms as forums of discussion on the matter, It was another cheap attempt by the multiculturalists to indoctrinate the student body into their way of thinking, We are here at this university to learn, not to be indoctrinated, The best thing that came out of the whole situation is that the Administration finally stood up to these radicals . University President Lois DeFleur did not cave into any of their demands like she usually does. She supported Public Safety and their actions, This is probably the first time I have had respect for any of DeFleur's actions, She stated that the students should resolve student issues among themselves, Maybe Big Brother isn 't watching, There was also good discussion between the opposing sides on panels held on WHRW, which had the best day to day coverage of any campus mainstream media , and at the open forum held on October 21. However, the mock wedding outside the forum was deplorable, Racial divisions are only promoted by such actions, Students dressed in white-face and making personal attacks on individuals only add to tensions already existing on campus , Believe it or not, we are not out to silence the underrepresented on campus. We are seeking that all students are treated with the respect and dignity they deserve, Many of the protesters fail to do that. When we are not treated with respect we will not give it to others, I'm happy to say that the Assembly meeting on October 22 was open to all , The sad thing about it all, which only reaffirms my belief that these students were not really concerned with having a voice is that about only 40 people were in attendance at the meeting, This is only 10 above the number of students who were to be allowed into the previous meeting.

Our

in pi

Amy L. Gardner is a senior majoring in philosophy, politics, and law.

NOVEMBER

1996

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BINGHAMTON REVIEW

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REVIEW • ••••••••••••••••••••••••

7.:)emOCf[aq tV1d the ef[lsls

~ Authdlltlf

By Allison Dembeck

O

n Thursday, October 17th world-renowned author and political scholar Erik VonKuhnelt-Leddine came to Binghamton University to speak about ''Democracy and the Crisis of Authority." This 88-:-year-old Austrian scholar spoke for approximately 2 hours, sharing his views on liberalism, democracy, The French Revolution, Vietnam, and other controversial ideas. His lecture was sponsored by Broome Community College, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and Binghamton Review.

VonKuhnelt-Leddine opened his lecture by defining a liberal as "a man who flirts with socialism," and democracy as "the rule of the majority of politically equal citizens." These two definitions came back throughout the rest of his lecture.

VonKuhnelt-Leddine explained that the first expansion on the idea of democracy came about in the philosophies of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. These philosophers did not believe in democracy.

They felt that society needed set authority figure that democracy does not allow.

The lecture then quickly went to a lengthy discussion of the French Revolution and the influences of the Marquis de Sade. He described First Enlightenment as a "sadistic, sex orgy" where society began to focus of the rights of the

people ra~er then on the rule of God. The result of this switch in focus led to such atrocities as Vietnam.

VonKuhnelt-Leddine, who went to Vietnam five times for a total period of seven months and witnessed the progress of the war, stated the Americans and Europeans knew "absolutely nothing" about the events that happened. This was made clear

against his ideas.

One of the most interring questions of the evening was "Does democracy have a future ot will we finally return to a monarchy?" VonKuhnelt-Leddine replied that democracy must die because of the "growing abyss between the actual amount of knowledge between voters and those being voted for compared to the amount of knowledge that is necessary." He also felt that America will eventually become a monarchy. There have been clear examples in American history emphasizing the desire for a monarchy rather than a democracy, he asserted.

The founders of the United Stated did not want a democracy, VonKuhneldt-Leddine said. Time and again there has been the legacy of the Presidency passing down to family members. The audience mentioned such families as the Adams, the Harrisons, and the Roosevelts.

A mixture of adults and students attended the lecture. Most seemed to find it interesting. Several people asked questions, creating a good interaction between the speaker and the audience. The lecture was a learning experience for everyone who attended.

during the lengthy question and answer period, when a member of . the audience, Professor Melvin Shefftz of the Department of History, challenged VonKuhnelt-Leddine's ideas, saying that he played into the "political propaganda" to make the Viet Cong seem like barbarians. VonKuhnelt-Leddine's responded by asking, "How long were you in Vietnam?" Shefftz stated that he was never there, so VonKuhneltLeddine continued answering ques- Allison Dembeck is a sophomore mations, disregarding the challenge made joring in philosophy.

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RALPHIE BOY

NOVEMBER

1996

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By John Carney

S

uppose I kill Ralph Nader. Catching sight of him emerging from a press conference in some cowcum-coUege town, I stomp on the accelerator of my Corvair and grind into the street his charcoal-pinstriped scarecrow figure. Would Nader's untimely death make any difference in the history of the republic? Probably not.

Nader is a marginal figure, sleeping in the spare room ofAmerican politics. Running for president on the Green Party ticket, he has done almost everything imaginable to prevent his fellow Americans from taking seriously his candidacy.

Unlike Europe, where the green party makes successful appeals to disillusioned voters both on the moderate left and the moderate right, America's Green Party is for the most part overrun with left-wing cranks. Even Nader has disavowed their kooky platfonn (something oddly reminiscent of the tactic of the major parties giving their platfonns over to their respective right and left wings while the ,party leaders claim to have not even read the thing). Nader cannot expect many votes from people who see he is running on the Green Party line and infer an alliance with the Earth Firsters and PETA. To make matters even worse, his most prominent supporters are driving away potential right-leaning supporters with accusations of racism, sexism and disingenuousness.

On the campaign trail Nader tactfully avoids too much talk of the Green Party, but he also avoids talking about almost everything except corporate greed. His amazing abili1¥ to stay "on message" during press conferences and stump speeches can become infuriating as he repeatedly refuses to discuss matters such as foreigJi policy or the culture war. In the Republican primaries, Steve Forbes came across the same way, offering his :Oat-tax as an

answer to every question. This unwilling- sphere in which believing in the so-called ness to broaden his message makes him two party system is nearly a requirement seem two-dimensional, almost cartoonish, for citizenship. When talking about these and perhaps uninfonned. problems, Nader is dead right It also cuts Nader off from the populist The official conservative and liberal removement that has coales=edaround tIade, sponses to these problems are nothing culture and immigration. With Pat more than the sound of wind blowing Buchanan attached to the sinking Repub- through the heads ofhoDow men. Theconlican ship and Ross Perot failing to attract servative, more accurately called the his 1992 supporters, Nader could poten- democratic capitalist, seduced by the mystially gather this movement around his tique of the market, finds his solutions in candidacy. As Missouri Green Party an imagined opportuni1y society or emfounder and chairman Jeff Thcker wrote powerment zone. But the dream and the in a recent issue ofChronicles, "Nader and mantra of John F. Kennedy's followers in Buchanan clearly agree on many issues." the Republican party-"A rising tide lifts Unfortunately, Nader is not talking about all boats"-is at best nice sounding nonmany of those issues. sense. History shows that rising tides do The one issue Nader is talking about is not lift all boats. Democratic tides lift ''the excessive concentration of corporate democratic leaders, communist tides lift power." While the officialliberal-conser- communists, and monarchical tides lift vative division long ago erased this issue monarchs. Nearly everyone on earth from the political scene, a revival of sorts drowned in the worlds most famous Flood. bas sprung up in the wake ofthe GulfWar, Today, our managerial tide lifts the manaNAFfA, GAIT, the Wall Street Mexican gerial elite. bailout, and the GOP Congress's rewritThe market mystique holds sway over ing Federal environmental regulations at the liberal as well. Not concerned with the the behest ofcorporate lobbyists. By build- globalized economy or the disappearance ing his campaign around this issue Nader of traditional communi1¥, the liberal is joins the ranks of worthy champions of a worried only that the managerial overclass humane economy including Teddy consists ofthe right percentage ofwomen Roosevelt's Progressives and G.K. and favored minorities. This is the theory Chesterton's distributivists. behind Bill Clinton's administration, and Nader deserves credit for casting a cold explains why he defends partial birth-aboreye on our current maladies. He keenly tion, affirmative action and homosexuals perceives the danger to the Old Republic illegally infiltrating the military while posed by a growing managerial overclass cutting o.ffweIfare to impoverished single that has no loyalty to these United States mothers and signing job killing and sovbeyond a desire to bring them under the ereignty threatening trade deals. How control of global institutions. Political does Nader respond to our predicament? power and wealth are increasingly con- Although he avoids temptation to the centrated away from middle America. We market mystique, he is equally superstiare aftlicted by what Nader calls "a two tious in his own way. His answer is inparty duopoly that is essentially one cor- variably to replace corporate power with porate party with two heads wearing dif- government power. The impressive abilferent make-up" and a political atmo- ity of the central government to organize

NOVEMBER

1996

••••••••••••••••••••••••• immense amounts of money and force have seduced Nader into believing that he can use government to perform amazing feats of social engineering. But the force used to bomb the cradle ofci\jlization back into the stone age, or propel a rocket to the moon, is entirely di1ferent from the more subtle energies needed to ensure s0cial justice and concern for community.

To take one example ofwhere the mystique of the state mislead him, Nader's campaign reform would replace the influence of corporate money in politics with the influence of government money. But would this help anyone except the overclass bureaucrats who would manage Nader's MinistIy of Elections? Another example is his redistnbutive agenda. He would take control ofvast amounts ofcapital out of the hands of corporate managers and place it in the coffers of government managers. Middle America is passed over once again.

Nader's approach is based on a double standard that looks with suspicion at the market but trusts the government abun-

HEY RALPHIE! dandy. This leads him to propose as the answer to the excessive concentration of corporate power an excessive concentration of power in government. Nader suggests exchanging one set of bosses for another, but this holds little appeal for many Americans, who don't care for rule from Wall Street or Washington, D. C. The populist revival in America is directed, first and foremost, at self-government. To paraphrase Tom Joad, we don't want any bosses that ain't our people, and as the song says, "We won't get fooled again."

In fact, the two sets of bosses are really one. Wbetheryou call them the New Qass, the managerial elite, or the overclass, the deracinates looking with disdain on America's traditional communities and folk ways populate both the elite financial institutions and Federal departments.

Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, on leave from Wall Street's Goldman-Sachs, is the most prominent member of this class, and the Mexican bailout, which used the good faith and credit of the American people to launder money through Mexico City into

BINGHAMTON REVIEW

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• •••••••••••••••••••••••• the boardrooms of Goldman-Sachs and Chase Bank, is its most infamous endeavor. What we have here is not a battle between Wall Street and Washington, but between both of them and Main Street.

We need a political realism that avoids the mystique of the market and the mystique of the state. The vast concentrations of power that threaten our liberty and our communities must be devolved, not simply sent through Nader '5 revolving door.

Our situation will not be helped by a p0litical figures who ignore the vital roles of Burke's "little platoons" and De Tocqueville's "intermediate institutions."

Robert Frost had it right when he said we are too far out, and need to spend some time coming in. Until Nader learns that we n~ to come home again, that by coming home we come to our senses, he will remain an interesting aside to American politics, loose change on the dresser, easily forgotten.

John Carney is a senior majoring in English and philosophy, politics, and law.

c~ liberal is a man who is willing to spend somebody else's money" - Carter Glass, quoted in the New York Times

A message from

Senator Thomas W. Libous

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BINGHAMTON REVIEW

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ELECTION

'96

NOVEMBER

1996

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Which W®1Q ig

The Wind

BI~\ITin9P

A novice politicaljunkie looks at the presidential, Senate, and House races in 1996

By Nathan Wurtzel

N

ovember has arrived and with it the end of a thoroughly dreary political season. The presidential campaign has served to inspire no one save hardcore supporters of each candidate and the incredibly negative atmosphere in Senate and House campaigns has turned off all but the most dutiful ofvoters. Nevertheless, the results of Tuesday's elections should be awaited with breathless anticipation simply because control ofboth houses of Congress depends on the outcomes of dozens of deadlocked races. The following is a guide of what races to look at as harbingers of the outcome on Election Day, plus my predictions of the results.

1\vo things must be noted at the outset: 1) I am not a professional political analyst and therefore my writings are

based on pure research and pure instinct; and 2) I am a partisan Republican and may very well be biased towards certain candidates, though I have tried as much as possible to base my analysis on nonpartisan facts.

The Presidential Race

At the time this was written, Bill Clinton held a 12 to 19 point lead in public opinion and tracking polls, though many of these polls were beginning to show a tightening of the race as Republicans returned to the fold to support Bob Dole. Based on a well-documented past history of Republican underpolling, look for a six to nine point victory for Clinton on Tuesday. Clinton will most likely win between 380 and 430 electoral votes on Election Day, with 405 being the most

likely figure at present time.

A more interesting phenomenon will be the performance of the independent candidates on Thesday. Widespread voter dissatisfaction will lead to a very low turnout, probably less than 51%, and increased support for small party candidates. While Ross Perot will not approach his 1992 performance, he will outperform his current polls and receive at least ten million votes. Green Party candidate Ralph Nader will probably receive between one million and two million votes.

Libertarian candidate Harry Browne and American Taxpayer Party nominee Howard Phillips also have a chance of receiving one million votes, with Browne's chances looking better due to widespread support on the Internet.

The Senate

• 47 percent think the polls are accurate 62 percent of the lime, 34 percent think they are aCcurate 58 percent of the time, and 81 percent think the margin Of error of pI~ or mlrws 4.5 percent has a margin of error of plus Of' minus 8.7 percent 53 percent of the lime ••••

Republicans currently hold the advantage in the Senate by a four seat margin and can afford no more than a net loss of two seats this year due to Vice President AI Gore's tiebreaking privileges.

Democrat hopes are currently strong in New England, where one Republican open seat and one Republican incumbent are in danger.

In Maine, Republican Susan Collins and Democrat Tom Brennan are running for the seat being vacated by Republican William Cohen. Collins has held a singledigit lead in the polls for the last two months and looks strong and wellfunded. She will likely win, making Maine the second state to have two concurrent female senators.

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In New Hampshire, Republican in- Bedford by a wide margin in their quest victory due to low Democratic turnout. cumbent Bob Smith is in trouble. His to win the seat vacated by Democrat Minnesota incumbent Democrat Paul opponent, former Democratic congress- Howell Heflin. Alabama's recent Repub- Wellstone, one of the most liberal memman Dick Swett, is receiving strong soft- lican tendencies make this a sure bet for bers of the Senate, has been engaged in a money support from labor unions and Sessions. . spirited rematch with fonner Republican special interest groups. Smith's numbers A clear division of ideologies marks senator Rudy Boschwitz. In a state overare in the low 40's-a danger for any the Senate race in Louisiana. Liberal whelmingly for Clinton, Wellstone incumbent 1beRepublicans wi1l1ose this Democrat Mary Landrieu, state treasurer should grab enough coattails to squeak seat on Tuesday. and daughter of former New Orleans by for a second term.

The most exciting Senate race in the mayor Moon Landrieu faces conservative Look for Michigan Democratic incumcountry is taking place in Massachussetts. Republican Woody Jenkins in the battle bent Carl Levin to bury Republican chalTwo-term Democratic incumbent John for Bennett Johnston's seat. Louisiana lenger Ronna Romney on Tuesday.

Kerry faces popular liberal Republican has not had a Republican senator since Democrats are polling well on the governor William Weld The race has ReconsbUction, nor a female senator ever, traditionally Republican Great Plains as been a dead heat for six months and will so history will be made regardless of who South Dakota congressman Tim Johnson go down to the wire. Pick John Kerry to wins. The nod goes to Jenkins in a close looks to unseat Republican senator Larry win by the narrowest of margins. race.

Pressler. Pressler's ethics problems may Look for Rhode Island Democrat Jack Bill Clinton's coattails may not .even cost him this election-look for Johnson Reed to easily defeat his opponent and reach into his home state of Arkansas, to pick up this seat on 'fuesday. take Claiborne Pell's vacated Senate seat. where Republican congressman Tim Both senate seats in Kansas are up for Republicans hope to counter on the Hutchinson is battling with Democratic grabs due to the retirements of RepubliEastern Seaboard by defending two high- attorney general Winston Bryant for cans Nancy Landon Kassebaum and Bob profile seats and picking up an open David Pryor's vacated seat. The recent Dole. Republican Pat Roberts will easily conviction of Democratic governor Jim defeat Sally Thompson for the first seat, Democratic slot.

The most expensive and ugly race of Guy Tucker in the Whitewater I Madi- but Republican congressman Sam the season has been waged in New Jer- son Guaranty scandal will playa pivotal Brownback is in a dead heat with Demosey, where Democrat Bob Torricelli and role in this race as Hutchinson triumphs crat investment banker Jill Docking.

Republican Dick Zimmer are squaring oft" by a narrow margin.

Kansas has not elected a Democratic In Georgia, Republican millionaire senator since the 1930's and this tendency to replace Senator Bill Bradley. As ofthis writing, Torricelli had a 32-31 edge over Guy Millner, a twice-failed gubernatorial combined with some Dole coattails will Zimmer, with an astounding 37 percent nominee, faces former Carter adminis- send Brownback to victory.

In Nebraska, popular Democratic govundecided. Still, it is likely that Torricelli tration secretary Max Cleland in a race will benefit from Clinton's strong New to succeed Senator Sam Nunn. Cleland ernor Ben Nelson has lost much of a 30 has held a sizeable lead through this race point lead over Republican lawyer Chuck Jersey coattails and edge his opponent.

Although Democrats Harvey Gantt and and though it will be closer than expected, Hagel, but he still should hold on to win Elliott Close have given longtime sena- Millner will become a three-time state- retiring Democrat James "The Internet tors Jesse Helms and Strom Thurmond wide loser in Georgia Thus, the Demo- Censor" Exon's seat. good challenges in North and South crats will lose three of their four open J Look for Democratic senator Tom Harkin of Iowa to be easily reelected on Carolina, respectively, both incumbents seats in the South.

Tuesday.

In other Southern races, expect Repubwill likely win by comfortable margins In the Rockies, Democrats are polling on Tuesday. Thurmond, at age 93, will lican incumbents Mitch McConnell of for two open Republican seats. In well Kentucky, Thad Cochrane of Mississippi, achieve the distinction of being the oldColorado, Republican congressman Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Fred Thompest man to win a federal election.

Wayne Allard has a narrow lead over of Tennessee, and Phil Gramm of son Expect Democratic incumbents Joe Democrat Tom Strickland for retiring Texas to win by large margins.

Biden of Delaware and Jay Rockefeller senator Hank Brown's seat. Allard In the Great Lakes area, there is a close of West Virginia and Republican inannshould maintain this lead through Elecrace for the seat of retiring Illinois senabent John WamerofVllginia to win landDay. tion tor Paul Simon. Democratic congressman slide victories on Election Day. Wyoming Democrats are beginning to Republicans are pinning their hopes Dick Durbin has led conservative Repubfeel as if nominee Kathy Karpan can of gaining a veto-proof majority in the lican state senator AI Salvi by a comfortupset state senator Mike Enzi to win Senate this year on winning four open able margin throughout, but a recent Republican senator Alan Simpson's seat. tightening has been noted. This state has Democratic seats in the South.

However, Wyoming's strong Republican In Alabama, Republican attorney gen- "upset special" written all over it-so tendencies will likely carry the consereral Jeft" Sessions leads opponent Roger look for Salvi to pull oft" an improbable

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BINGHAMTON REVIEW

••••••••••••••••••• ••••• vative Enzi to victory on Tuesday.

In Idaho, incumbent Republican Lany Craig has looked a bit shaky due to a controversy over storage of nuclear waste, but he should prevail on Election Day, as will Montana Democratic incumbent Max Baucus.

The only competitive race on the West Coast is in Oregon, where Republican Gordon Smith and Democrat Tom Bruggere are fighting for retiring Republican senator Mark Hatfield's seat. Smi!.h narrowly lost a Senate race earlier !.his year to Ron Wyden, but he will pull through this time against a weaker opponent.

Expect Republican incumbents Pete Domenici of New Mexico and Ted Stevens of Alaska to win by a mile. Overall, the Republicans will pick up a net of two seats in the Senate for a 55-45 margin entering the 105th Congress.

The House Space limitations preclude a comprehensive look at House races, but the ma-

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jor battle pits the Republican freshman against the retiring Southern Democrats.

Current projections show twelve to twenty freshmen in danger oflosing their seats, however six to ten of the open Southern seats will likely go Republican.

For an accurate early indicator on election night, look at the two House races in New Hampshire, the I st House district in Maine, where Republican freshman Jim Longley is in a dead heat with his Democratic opponent, and !.he 3rd district in Kentucky, where Democratic freshman Mike Ward is in a pitched batUe with anti -tobacco Republican Anne Nor!.hrup. If the Democrats win all four races, the GOP will most likely lose the House.

Another important area for the Republicans is Washington, where four freshmen-Rick White, Linda Smi!.h, George Nethercutt, and Randy Tate-are all locked in tight reelection battles. The Republicans probably need to hold at least three of these seats to maintain Uleir House majority.

A third factor is Texas. Due to a judge's ruling on redistricting, half of the congressional district.s are having all-party "jungle primaries" on Tuesday, which means that races where no candidate achieves a majority will be resolved by a runoff election in December. If control ofthe House teeters by two or three seats after Tuesday, look for !.he entire American political community to descend on the Lone Star State for the next five weeks.

Current data suggests the Democrats ,vill gain from five to twenty seats overall, so it is possible but very unlikely that !.hey will regain control of the House. The final breakdown prediction is 224 Republicans, 210 Democrats, and socialist Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

For more information, a good source is the PoliticsNow home page on the World Wide Web. The URL is http:// wwwpoliticsnowcom.

Nathan Wurtzel, a graduate student, watches way too much C-SPAN.

Vote for

Sue Wittig U.S. Congress

• Lower taxes • Less government • More freedom Political advertisement paid for by Friends of Sue Wittig

NOVEMBER

1996

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AVP SPEAKS

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ND~

I HAVE NDT IiIONE I

By Jeffrey Golant

B

y now almost every Binghamton University student is roughly familiar with one version or another of the events which have been taking place on our campus since the start of the semester and came to a head during the recently concluded, week-long student occupation of the Couper Administration building. However, the purpose of this piece is not to rehash any of tilesc events, but rather to explain my own participation and hopefully to share some of the lessons I have learned during tilis tumultuous seven day period.

debate between these two warring factions. This being the case, it is easy to understand why the fact that I made frequent visits to the protesters in the Couper Building was a source of so much confusion on both sides of the campus political spectrum.

Many of my friends and political allies, believing that my actions were motivated by my deeply held and long-standing hatred of the University Adnunistration, have accused me of adopting the cynical mantra "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" and e>'"ploiting the situation in order to "pit my enemies against

each other." Among those who believe tlus there is considerable disagreement as to whether such behavior is morally bankrup~ tactically ingenious, or perhaps both. Not surprisingly, many figures on the other side automatically concluded that I was up to no good and cautioned their supporters not to talk to me. Nevertheless, tile entire assertion that I was engaged in any Machiavellian antics is incorrect, although questionably flattering.

I will admit when I first went to the Couper Building that Wednesday afternoon it was for no other reason then to

*. **** • ••

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any democratic political structure, it seems that two opposing factions ventually emerge. As hard as this may be to believe, our student government is no exception. Membership in Student Association factions is informal, and it is fair to say that there arc a few student politicians who arc not rcallyaffiliated Witll either side. Nevertheless, it would be insane for me to argue that my own beliefs, record, and platform do not put safely within the campus faction regarded as moderate to conservative.

Conversely, those who occupied the Couper Building were virtually, without exception, proponents of a more liberal outlook. As hard as it may be for those who are not directly affiliated with campus politics to believe that there is such a thing as ideological groupings WitiUll tile SA, it would be even harder for a student who is not directly involved to apprcciate the incredibly acrimonious tone of the

But Perhaps A Littte Neurotic? ~

Tt's bard to watch a good friend fall

culturalists, but thc-y are participating ~~ctiJllto the platitudes of liberalism, . in ·abaus cheme.

'In"f~~P6ose, ' we can onJy liQpe ' to 's:OS ve treat our.JitUebuildy Jeff w illi the softest of kid gloves. We treat.aUf' friend Jeff with palliative kilo", Jeff was only trying to do the measW:es-perhaps a good cigar folriglit thing, but then .again, so was 10wed;i;ly,Dinesh D'Souza's Illiberal Yitzhak Rabin when he signed the Edueation, just so Jell' can be IeOslo accord willi Yasir Arafat and mindej.\" of What Ihe multiculturalis.ts 'look what he got for his tTouble, really.want. .~ When we say "the platitudes of libWe;can,aiso perhaps send an o~­ ~," we mean that Jcffhas'becn invitatiQ!!' to the i'nlCC-" multicultui:~Ccd into complying wi th !ltc-Grcat alistS"1eff .has )Jlet re1iently=-come tibenil Dea!lt Wish--enibracing one's visiCus;- Perhaps a ·feW h()urs away "enemies. And while Jeff may very weU from"MSSrs. Beojantio andDaughtrc-y have met some nice people in the and Maaame Flores will set you 00 ,Couper Building, Ihe faCt remains that Ihe path to greater underSlilnding and the leaders of these nice people arc tolerance. And if that- (loom '1 work, Ijell!>ent on ruining OOr educational theciil'~"agoodsingla-1tIai1, Scotch., ~rience and our culture. W()'re~nol and D!S<!uza·are still~oil the table: ~. ;.~ ~.Jeff~ concerned Jr/ends 's.u nn1sedthat!ltere are "good" multi-

will

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•••••••••••••••••••••••• satisfy my own curiosity. However, this visit, as well as my participation in a four hour listener call-in forum on WHRW took me by surprise. I fuund that there were actually many students all across campus with diverse political orientations who were willing to engage in civil and productive dialogue about the issues we face. This revelation, combined with the very disquieting fact that physical violence had actually erupted at a meeting of the Student Assembly, led me to a rather simple conclusion: tensions on this campus have reached the breaking point As I see it Binghamton University Students have a choice. First, we can thank G-d that those members of the university community who were injured on Tuesday, October 15, are all right now, and we can begin talking to each and working towards peaceful reconciliation. On the other hand, we can refuse to learn from our mistakes, circle the wagons and prepare forviolence to become the rule rather then the exception when intense disagreement arises. I choose the first option.

THE

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there were some specific points of common ground between myself and the pr0s obvious as my choice may testers. Not surprisingly, most ofthe points ~ seem, it is not as easy as it we had in common did concern general sounds. The first step in estab- student dissatisfaction with the University lishing the necessary preconditions for Administration. Those pernicious bureausuch dialogue will be for all students crats, especially Lois B. DeFleur, Binginvolved in the intricacies of campus hamton University's own campus tragedy, politics to abandon the notion that should be very concerned about the filet people who disagree are required to that students as philosophically divergent hate each other. Unfortunately, this as the protesters and myself can unite in notion up until now, has been deeply our mutual contempt of them and their held Nevertheless, I strongly believe inept and corrupt policies which have that the University is intended to be a driven this once venerable institution into market place of ideas, and that some of the ground Interestingly enough, contempt for the most edifying and enriching experiences of our college careers will take DeF1eur and her bureaucratic sycophants place not in the classroom, but in were not even the only things I found friendly discussions with our peers. In myself to have in common with the proorder for this to take place we will have testers. We all agreed on the importance to talk with people who disagree with of open government, and of representation. Unfortunately, we have di1ferent us.

My intention behind writing this article conceptions of the neceswy precondiis not solely to pontificate on the merits of tions for the former, and disagree on the the concept of the "market place ofideas." interpretation ofthe latter. However, there I did learn in my many conversations that is a third point in which my partners in

A

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NovamER 1996

•••••••••••• ••••••••••• •• dialogue and 1agree, and that is the need for more discussion and for such discussion to be civil, respectful, and productive. Unfortunately, there are ex1remists on both sides who are working to make sure that such a positive development never comes to fruition. Nevertheless, I strongly believe that the gains we have made recently are strong enough that the extremists will not win. Respectful dialogue will soon lcad to mutually acceptable compromise.

*********

B

ut Jeff- what about the Memo?

This is a question that I have been confronted with quite a bit lately.

It usually comes immediately after the one inquiring about my sanity. For those of you not familiar with tlle controversy, "The Memo" refers to a malicious slander canlpaign waged against me last semester by some of my political opponents.

In a desperate and brutally lmsuecessful, attempt to discredit my ideas and prevent me from being reelected some individuals fabricated a horribly written docunlent filled with hateful racial and etlmic slurs, attached my name to it, made OlOusands of copies, and plastered it across the entire campus and much of the surrounding community. When it became immediately apparent that virtually no one was fooled by this fiendish conspiracy those at the center of the plot redirected their energy into spreading a new, benign message: that the author should not be the focus, but that all students should be concerned Olat such a doerunent was ever

AVP SPEAKS

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taking action against certain students who were Olfeatening my physical safety.

I hope you can understand why my friends ' repeated reference to "The Memo" weighs so heavily on my shoulders. All I can say is this: virtually all of those responsible for that vile campaign are gone now and it would be wrong fo r me to hold a grudge aga inst other people just because they have similar politics.

No, I have not forgiven those who slandered, harassed, and threatened me, but Olen again none of them have even apologized. From now on, I will look at "The Memo" in the same way I hope all of us will look at the events of Tuesday, October 15, as a warning and an opportunity.

Much like the unfortunate events of that

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conclusion, I would like to thank those protesters who I have been peaking with recently. Although you disagree with me, you showed me respect, even friendship. I honestly believe that together we have the opportunity to work Waugh our differences and thereby make Binghamton a school we can enjoy attending and look back upon our time here with fondness and pride.

Jeffrey Go/ant is the Student Association Academic VIce President. He is a senior majoring in political science.

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evening, we all came out of it OK.

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Although the hoax was unsuccessful, it was tile source of tremendous grief, frustration and torment for me as a person. Not surprisingly the admi nistration reacted like the typical bureaucratic swine that thcy are, and preceded to seize on the opporturtity to maximize my personal difficulty at this time. One senior figure in the Administration went so far across the boundary of human decency that he directed the Department of Public Safety to cover up key aspects of Ole investigation of the incident, and to refrain from

BINGHAMTON REVIEW

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BU COUNCIL

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NEW TIME FOR

By Randall McNally

~

thOUgh the countdown to the

CHOOSING

of the vote compared to runner-up Jeff decision of the fate of Austin Weisel's 32%. Even though Graff had raff's position as Student not garnered the normally necessary Representative to BU Council lies in the 40% of the vote, a runoff election was shadow of the recent rioting and pro- not held. Marc Blo~h, the Elections testing, the Council's decision as to Committee Chairperson, requested to a whether Graff shall remain in position compliant Judicial Board that Graff, or not will have a large impact on our Bloch's good friend and roommate, be campus community. The nullification of declared the winner.

The J-Board's validation of Graff's his being elected to the position would serve justice not only for the Graduate election was constitutional because the Student Organization (GSa), which is SA Constitution does not include the p0calling for his ouster, but for the cam- sition ofBU Council and therefore does not hold its elections to the same guidepus as a whole.

The uncertainty of his position be- lines as the elections for the SA Execucame an issue over a month ago when tive Board. The final decision rested GSa President Jesse Benjamin brought upon the J-Board's shoulders, but this to the Council's attention that graduate does not make Bloch's request less ethistudents were not given the opportunity cal. If Bloch had been concerned about to vote in last Spring's SA elections. the need for a runoff, he should have Regulations established by the SUNY discussed it with the J-Board before the Board of Trustees stipulate that all stu- outcome showed Graff as the leader. I dents of the university must be given the doubt that Bloch would have chosen to chance to vote for the student represen- do so in fear that Weisel could edge tative of the Council. If the Council fol- Graff, leaving his friend out in the cold. lows the advice of attorney William E. Graff's receiving of only 36% of the Knight, the election will be invalidated vote· coupled with the disenfranchiseand a reelection will occur. ment of the graduate students establishes The Council was scheduled to decide him as an invalid representative of the Graff's fate at the meeting on October students. The reason the 40% rule ex18, but the occupation of the Couper ists is to ensure that a candidate has supBuilding caused the meeting to be re- port from a significant base of students scheduled. At the time of this writing to effectively do his jolr-Graff's 36% the Council still hasn't met. Although I backing does not necessarily reflect such can't be sure how the Council will de- support. Regardless of whether their discide, it does not bode well for Graff that enfranchisement was illegal, the graduthe lawyer contacted by the Council has ate students deserve to vote for reprethe same opinion as the GSa. sentatives whose positions affect them.

The logical and fair choice would be Graff cannot represent students that to hold a reelection. This would put an were never given the chance to vote for end to Graff's controversial reign. Graff him. was elected last Spring with only 36% Bloch's political gambit took the vote

A reelection would signify

a victorylor all students-graduate and undergraduate -in reclaiming their privilege olvoting out of the hands of the students, making a mockery of the spirit of the democratic process. Although the graduate students were denied the vote through no fault of Graff's, measures beginning with a reelection should be taken to ensure that all students are given the chance to vote for those who will represent them to achieve a more efficient, representative government. leffWeisel is skeptical that the Council will remove Graff because as Weisel has angrily said many times, "he [Graft] always wins." Weisel mentioned in his grievance to the J-Board last Spring about its decision to eliminate the runoff that the graduate students were not given the chance to vote, but his point fell upon deaf ears. If the Council decides to remove Graff, Weisel will have a chance to reclaim the election that was unfairly stolen from him by running against Graff in the reelection. Without political loopholes and maneuvering, it shall be interesting to see if Graff does indeed receive the mandate of the students. Regardless of the winner, a reelection would signify a victory for all students, graduate and undergraduate, in their reclaiming of the privilege that was wrongfully taken from them last spring.

Randall McNally is a sophomore who has not yet decided on a major.

NOVEMBER

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How to Sa(Je America from

ffla'tica'tara'ism

By Jason Kovacs

Al

fter a wild and crazy month that can be pretty much chalked up o the antics of a rew childish multiculturalists, I thought it would be appropriate to illustrate the opposing viewpoint without a full-scale protest movement. The evils of multiculturalism need to be e~"plained to an unsuspecting campus comlllunity which has recently seen only one side of the issue.

Multiculturalism is simply tlle e~"pres­ sion of many dilferent cultures (e.g., race, religions, nationality, etc.) in one unit.

The unit can be a nation, a state, a nation-state, or the unit can even be as small as a university. On paper, multiculturalism doesn ' t sound that bad. That 's because on paper, without the intervention of polities, it really isn' t that bad. There's nothing wrong with wanting to e~"press your ancestry. I'm proud of my Hungarian background, just as much as an African-American is proud of Uleir African heritage. However, the important part which most, if not all, multiculturalists miss is that we are all Americans.

By Americans, I mean that we all live in the United States, the greatest nationstate that has ever existed. There are three important geopolitical terms that have relevance here that you, the reader, should know. A nation is a group of people that share common characteristics that need not actually have a government over them. The Kurds of Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Iran come to mind. A state has a government, and has land that the government controls. For example, the Federal

Republic of Germany is an example of a state. And, most importantly, a nationstate is a slate whose people all share a set of conwlOn characteristics; that is, it

is onc nation in one state.

Multiculturalism seeks to destroy the Anlerican nation-state by suggesting that our new, politically correet culture needs to not only co ntain, but represent many different cultures. Mulliculturalists say that the Anlerican nag is a symbol of racism. They believe we should be teaching our school c hildien in Spanish or whatever their first language is. They claim whell ULED officers lise pepper spray on them that it represents five hWldred years of oppression. They wallt anything that remotely resembles traditional American culture to be banished from our schools

and universities.

This is pretty dangerous stuff. We' re talking about nothing less then the complete destruction of Anlerican society. " Oh calm down," you say, "you ' re just overreacting." I'm not. Like I said before, there's nothing wrong witil being proud of your heritage. The Bill of Rights grants us that freedom.

However, multiculturalists want more than this. They want the United States to move away from its roots as a nationstale, and move toward a status where

we will be one state with many nations inside it. What 's wrong with that? Multicultural slates are inherently more unstable U,an nation-states, and have a inclination to break up into many smaller countries. Modern examples of this are

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the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, a nd Czechoslovakia.

We don 't even need to look to another continent to prove my point. Just look at our neighbor to the north . The French-Canadians in the province of Quebec have their own, distinct culture from the rest of Canada. Every once in a while, whenever they feel repressed

by Ottawa, they threaten to declare their independence. In fact , just last yea r, they nearly voted to secede. In Canada 's case, multiculturalism has nearly torn their nation-state apart. French-Canadians more readily associate themselves with Quebec than with the rest of Canada . The sa me type of situation could happen here, only on a much larger degree.

Multicultura lism favors a " salad bowl " ana logy over the traditiona l "melting pot. " Instead of different nationalities blending together to create a unique American culture, multiculturalists today favor an America where its many cultu res never rea lly jell together.

Ameriea will become like a salad where the lettuce and the tomato share a plate, but they have little else in common.

Should America really be like this? Is this truly better?

The political situation in Canada, as well as the situation at our own university have both shown us that a multicultural unit, where large sections of its population tend to identify with a smaller group rather than with the whole, will eventually explode into disarray or worse. Unless Ottawa can get its ac t together and fin a lly solve Canada's bicultural dilenuna, Quebec will become independent. Unless this university sits down and really examines the problems that the multiculturalists have created, instead of caving in to them, we will continue to have problems on this side of the Susquehanna.

United We Stand, Divided We Fall, the state motto of Kentucky, is true now more than ever. As the United States is becoming a more and more diverse nation, it is becoming extremely important

that we put aside where we came from, our differences, and our distrust for one another and help America remain a great nation-state.

But how can we do that? At the university level, we ean completely eliminate the position of Vice President for Multicultural Affairs. This position, which is not democratically elected to begin with, only creates more division.

The cultural organizations that it is supposed to protect are strong enough that they are not going to be destroyed without the protection of the VPMA. On the national level, we can start by getting rid of affirmative action and racial quotas, enacting laws protecting the American flag, the adoption of English as our official language, and stopping illegal immigration. With the previous adoptions in place, we can begin to turn the tide against multiculturalism and start to save America.

Vis~ the

Jason Ko vacs is a freshman majoring in history.

New SA Web Page http://www.sa.binghamton.edu All groups can now obtain space on the SA Web Server, including a web page and e-mail accounts For information on the SA Web Page, contact Mark Bloch at x6503 or email satech@server,sa.binghamton.edu

NoVEMBER. 1996

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MUSIC REVIEW

BINGHAMTON REVIEW

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Parents' Day . Performance Blows HOfandku

By Allison Dembeck

F

amilies and friends gathered in Watters Theater as they awaited the start of the annual Parents' Day Concert, on October 12. Binghamton University Department ofMusic presented the Women's Chorus and the Harpur Choral, conducted by Bruce Borton and accompanied by Karen Smales, and The University Wind Ensemble, conducted by Dr. Timothy Perry and assistant conductor Hugh

Williamson.

The Women's Chorus walked onto the risers in front of the stage at 3:00. The Women's Chorus sang four songs, one of which was a capel/a. Their performance was lacking in energy and feeling until they began the last song, "Matchmaker" from Fiddler on the Roof, when their energy picked up.

The Harpur Chorale, which had thirty-four of its thirty-five members perform, also gave a lackluster performance. The soloists for "Selections from Candide," seemed nervous and unprepared, especially when the female soloist for "0 Happy We" stumbled over her words. The last song they performed, John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever," is clearly better left as marching band music and not for a chorus.

The University Wind Ensemble was

the last to perform. Before each song,

Dr. Perry gave background information, so the audience would have a better understanding of the music. The selections were intended to cover all musical preferences. The performance was the best of all three, but the middle selection, the "Coronation Scene" from the opera Boris Godunov, was too contemporary for many people in the audience.

The overwhelming attendance for the

concert was enough to delight the performers. The concert showcased many talented musicians from Binghamton University. You can see some of these musicians every Thursday at 1:20 in the Casadesus Recital Hall, the music department features a different talented musician. Anyone is welcome to attend these free concerts.

Allison Dembeck is a sophomore majoring in philosophy.

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BINGHAMTON REVIEW

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NATE WURTZEL

NOVEMBER.

1996

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The Great Republican Slt...ln of 1996

By Nathan L. Wurtzel

N

ow that the hostile occupation of the Couper building is over, I think it is time for us to sit back and take a long, hard look at the act of political protest and what it might signify. The first and most obvious fact about political protest is that it is almost exclusively a tool of the Left. When was the last time you heard about a bunch of Wall Street financiers conducting a sitin at the House Banking Committee to protest Charles Rangel's ridiculous economic ideas? Never, of course, because Wall Street fmanciers are too busy trying to hide that extra two million or so in some offshore account to worry about having a sit-in. That is their form of protest, a truth that leaves the unmonied Right without an obvious form of redress.

The time, however, has come for those of us who have been long underrepresented and ignored at Binghamton University to rise up and claim our rightful places. I speak not as an addle-brained multiculturalist, but rather as an honest-to-goodness, Godfearing, tax-cutting, budget-balancing Republican. Republicans are an endangered species at Binghamton University-only seven percent of the faculty ofHarpur College are registered members of the Grand Old Party, according to a groundbreaking study conducted last year by Alex Galitsky of the Review.

In addition, Republican ideas are poorly represented in student government~espite what may appear to be a conservative Executive Board in the Student Association. Those guys,

presumably elected to reduce the size and scope of government, have instead spent student money like it's going out of style. And you can forget about the Graduate Student Organization and its foam-at-the-mouth leader, Jesse Benjamin. When I was a student senator on the GSO a few years ago, and I swear I am not making this up, I could not even persuade that governing body to withdraw several hundred dollars of funding earmarked for a· lecture conducted by two Marxist terrorists.

This same body, however, had "philosophical trouble" giving money to help graduate students in the Department of Economics upgrade their computers from abacus to Pentium, despite the fact that they had already raised part of the money themselves.

This is not a rant against the extremist and weird policies of the GSO, of course.

That would take an entire book, not a three-page column in the Review. What I mean to suggest, however, is that there is a deadly dearth of Republicanism on campus-a deficit that requires immediate amelioration if we are to provide a balanced education for students.

There are several ways in which Republican ideas can be introduced to campus and promoted vigorously thereafter. One would be to seek out as many conservative students and faculty as possible, form a club, send out information, and so forth. That would be hard, however. We Republicans have learned at least this much from liberals-hard work is stupid, despite the fact that conservative guru William

Bennett promotes it as a virtue. The easy option, therefore, is affirmative action for Republicans.

Let me say that this must be an inclusive form of affirmative action, by which I mean all forms of Republicanism must be brought into the Big Tent of victimization. So I probably shouldn't pick on the SA E-Board too much, scurrilous traitors to the cause that they are. After all, my mean libertarian streak-pro-gay rights, proimmigration, and pro-drug legalization-casts me as a figure of suspicion in Republican circles as well.

No less than my good friend and fellow Review journalist John Carney has referred to me as a "liberal," which I'm sure strikes my College Democrat friends Tom Scotto and Rob Pitkofsky as absolutely hilarious. Still, I think it would be in poor taste to refer to Carney as a "xenophobic Buchananite" in return, so I won't do that. The most important thing is that all of us rightwingers band together and demand equality by government fiatindividualism be damned.

We would begin our quest for equality by first barging into a Student Assembly meeting and then disrupting business by jumping on tables and chanting slogans loudly. We would carefully scrutinize the nominees to the Judicial Board to see if there were any traces of liberalism in their views. We wouldn't care if they were black or white, male or female, gay or straight; what would matter is that they pass our Republican litmus test.

Should any of the nominees be a registered Democrat or harbor any

NOVEMBEll1996

••••••••••••••••••••••••• liberal views, we would then intimidate and harass enough Student Association representatives so that they would not vote and have to cancel the meeting.

We would also do this at the Graduate Student Organization, but since they have no judicial branch, which should further enlighten readers on how fair the GSO is, our purpose would be limited to annoying Jesse Benjamin. This would be fun.

Our next step would involve trying to disrupt a second SA meeting. However, we would not rush the door if there were Public Safety officers present, because unlike some other members of the student body, we Republicans are not fools. We also genuinely like Public Safety officers, who most of the time appear to be the only sane people on campus. Instead, we would take over the Pub, cleverly disguising our action by buying drinks for everyone in the bar at the time.

The next day, we would hold a giant rally at the Fine Arts Fountain. We would claim that we had been brutally attacked by hordes of registered Democrats in riot gear the night before.

Some might say that this is dishonest, but outright lying has been shown to advance the multiculturalists' agenda, so why shouldn't Republicans adopt the same tactics? We would also begin to advance our plan for Republican affirmative action at this time, bringing forth speakers to talk about the rampant GOPophobia on campus. We would claim that scores of people had been injured the night before as a result of Democrat "wilding." We would lie to the media a lot, portraying ourselves as victims of a liberal power structure.

My speech at the rally would go something like this: "Fellow Republicans, I don't know about you, but I have had enough of the oppressive atmosphere on this campus.

I have felt the unabashed stares of liberals when I walk into a room. 'There goes the Republican, ' they say. 'Look at the Republican" I have felt the intellectual hunger, the yearning for the teachings of Edmund Burke and

NATE WURTZEL Benjamin Disraeli. And what do they give us? Toni Morrison! Kate Millett!

Eno~gh is enough! Why, I'm so mad, I'm going to knock over this podium!"

I would then have two people knock over the podium for me, because, as you recall, Republicans never like to do hard work if they can help it.

"There, I feel a little better now," I would continue. "Hey, look at that!"

While the crowd turned around in the direction I was pointing, I would dump a bottle of RevIon Glistener into my eyes.

When they turned back, it would appear to all that I was sobbing uncontrollably.

"We must seek justice for these inequalities," I would conclude. "Let's march around campus and chant various things!"

As one, we would rise and stomp around campus with signs and banners.

The signs would have various clever slogans on them, such as: "We want Newt and we want him now!"

"Welcome to liberal university!"

"Fight the Democrats' power!"

"No Justice Thomas, no peace!"

We would also cleverly misspell some of our signs, as past multiculturalist rallies have shown this to be an effective tactic, presumably in gaining sympathy from the public.

"Look," the public must say. "Look at these poor oppressed, disadvantaged youths who haven't yet learned to spell elementary words even though they are at least eighteen years old It is obviously the fault of the Binghamton University administration. "

BINGHAMTON REVIEW

As I mentioned, we would also chant as we walked around campus. Some of our most popular chants would go like this: "Fight, fight, fight! Bring education to the Right, Right, Right!"

"We won't back down; we won't submit; we won't take this leftist shit!"

"Hey, hey; ho, ho! Those Democrats have got to gol" We would not satisfy ourselves by marching on the outside of the buildings, but we would also invade the classrooms, which would cause distinguished left-wingers on the faculty to pass a resolution condemning us in Harpur College Council. This would be the highlight of our protest, in the minds of many.

Following our march around campus, we would brazenly occupy the Couper Administration Building, which would be conveniently left unlocked. We would then issue an initial demand: -Impeach Student Association President Anthony Benardello.

This first demand would make us extremely popular among all factions on campus, whereupon we would then proceed to the following demands: -In light of the fact that there is a Nelson Mandela room on campus, we Republicans would want a room named after one of our own.

Many people, even some Republicans like me, respect Nelson Mandela's struggle, despite his near-Communist beliefs. Therefore, Republicans would demand a room named after a member of our own party who has been

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-Fire as many registered Democrat faculty members as is necessary and, by the same token, hire as many registered Republicans as is necessary for the ratio of Democrats to Republicans on the faculty to mirror society.

This may seem unfair-in fact, it is.

We wouldn't care, though. Ifall that was necessary for a faculty position was ability and experience, there wouldn't be a thing called affirmative action. As long as racial and sexual quotas exist, we might as well have ideological quotas, too.

-Implement a "Republican Requirement. " This would require all Harpur CoUege-hell, let's go for the whole ball of wax-all Binghamton University students to take two courses in Republican philosophy and Republican history. Currently, most Binghamton University students have little or no knowledge of such exciting Republican figures as Garret Hobart, Hannibal Hamlin, and Margaret Chase Smith.

Let's use this requirement to indoctrinate-heh, heh, did I say indoctrinate? I mean educate, of course.

Let's educate our students about free trade, the flat tax, and forcibly keeping gay men and women from serving honorably in the military. On second thought, let's do everyone a favor and bag that last one.

One of the most important features of our "Republican Requirement" is that all of our history and philosophy would be taught from a positive perspective. In multicultural studies, this is referred to as "political correctness," which means: A) any perspective is correct; B) provided that multicultura1ists agree with it.

Similarly, any dissent from Republican philosophy or any hint that Republican history may contain some evil chapters will not be tolerated. Since the multiculturalists have recently demonstrated that support for free speech is wholly dependent on whether or not you feel like supporting it in a given year, why should we stick to our principles?

So, Teapot Dome, Watergate, and the

NATE WURTZEL stolen election of 1876 will not be taught here at the Public Ivy. Sorry, folks.

- Create a Department of Republican Studies.

Some might suggest that this is redundant, given that a "Republican Requirement" will be imposed on the students, but we will have none of that.

The departments of history, philosophy, economics, and other areas, as they are presently staffed, cannot possibly handle the needs of campus Republicans.

For example, recent studies, conducted by the respected polling firm of Dewey, Screwem, and Howe, have revealed that 73% of Binghamton University philosophy professors think that Russell Kirk was "the captain of the Starship Enterprise." This blatant ignorance, which I might hastily add for legal purposes I have completely fabricated, clearly establishes a need for an entire department where scholars and students can pursue their dreams of uncovering "Great Republican Discoveries" without having to worry about basic academic matters such as peer review and competitive funding.

Haven't Republicans been persecuted enough already?

- No amnesty for those who have taken over the Couper Administration Building.

This might seem like a strange request, but it must be kept in mind that Republicans are generally respectful of law and authority. We have always been disgusted when multiculturalists break the basic rules of decency during their protests and get away with it. Therefore, we would implore the administration to throw the book at us.

Sadly, the issue of demands would be the highlight of our sit-in. We would naturally demand to see University President Lois B. DeFleur, but she would be out oftown for several days-no doubt making vitally important trips to the Italian Riviera in order to further our educational experience. We would be referred to Rodger Summers, vice president for student affairs, but our meetings would be judged futile when Summers ultimately would be unable to

NoVEMBER. 1996

•••••••••••••••••••••••• reconcile his recent statements at an A.M.E church supporting "tough discipline" with his penchant for refusing to support tough discipline for students of color who make lots of anti-Semitic statements.

De Fleur would finally agree to meet with us, but with the stipulation that only as many people who could fit themselves into one Couper Administration Building elevator would be allowed to attend This strategy would backfire on her, however, as the entire contingent of Republicanregistered Harpur College professors can easily fit themselves into an elevator, with room to spare for Rush Limbaugh.

Once again, our meetings would be lUlproductive, as DeFleur would point out to us, "No offense, but your demands violate several portions of the Constitution. They're also pretty stupid, if you think about them. Except the part about impeaching Benardello. I like that."

Chastened and cowed by authority, we would slink out of the meeting, but present a tough face to the media, claiming that we would stay in the building until our demands were met.

We would hang on for a few days longer. Student Association Academic Vice President Jeff Golant would spend several hours a day with us, which would be annoying since he is my housemate and I see him often enough as it is.

However, he would probably bring us beer, so he would be forgiven. He would then write an article praising himselffor his outreach to Republicans. The article would be printed in Fair Use. Eventually, Friday night would roll around and we young Republicans, fearful of missing a night at Uncle Tony's and lonely for the mutual fund listings in the Wall Street Journal, would leave.

The great Republican uprising of 1996, like Newt Gingrich's popularity, would fade into oblivion.

Nathan Wurtzel. who is a registered Republican proudly casting a vote for Libertarian Party presidential candidate Harry Browne. is a graduate student majoring in the p~hologyofautomobiles.

NovamER 1996

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QUIBBLES

&BITS

BINGHAMTON REV IEW

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Lost in Space

Thumb Guys Have All the Luck

Strong Party Backing

Bill Clinton has said he wants to send a robot to Mars. What the people at National Review want to know is what Vice President AI Gore will do when he gets there? [National Review, October 14, 1996]

In Miami, Rafael Santiago and a friend allegedly broke into an apartment and tried to burglarize the place. They tried stealing a shotgun, which turned out to be loaded. Santiago ended up shooting his thumb off. The two men fled Ihe scene leaving evef)1hing behind, including the thumb. [Reason , November 19961

Of the 18 cars driven by bipartisan congressional leaders, the majority of which arc Republicans, to the While House for a recent discussion wilh President Clinton on Iraq, only one carried a " Dole for President" bumper sticker.

[Washington 71mes Weekly, September 29 , 1996]

Correct Christ

They Really are Crooks

The United Church of Christ recently revised its official hymnal, and it updated some of the language for the ' 90s.

The gender ofthe baby Jesus is no longer mentioned in " Silent Night. " God is referred to as her in some songs. "Just As I Am" no longer contains a reference to the "poor wretched blind." The phrase "right hand of God" in one song has been changed to the "mighty" hand of God, as not to offend left-handed people.

[Reason , November 1996J

A man wearing a Bob Dole mask and a "really ugly yellow tic" robbed a bank in Wheaton, Illinois, and, as he left, reminded everyone to vote. [National Review, October 28, 1996]

Pachyderms on the Prowl A heard of elephants in search of drink destroyed six illegal breweries in two days just outside of Calcutta. The district forest officer said "They are notoriously famous for their fondness for liquor and are great guzzlers." Maybe their next stop will be a BU frat party. [Washington Times Weekly, October 20, 1996] The Other Senate Spectres Dennis William Hauck, an internationally known authority on paranormal phenomena, has recently published a guide to ghosts, angels, demons , and other strange phenomena around Washington D.C. One of the strange things heard is the singing of the late barber, Bishop Simms, outside the U.S. Senate barbershop, where he used to sing to his clients. The ghost of John Quincy Adams appears in his old House floor seat, where he suffered a stroke while giving an impassioned speech on the Mexican War. It is said Adams returns to finish his speech.

To this day the spirits of two House speakers, Joseph Canon and Champ Clark, return late at night to continue their series of debates begun in 1910. The ghost of Rep. William Taulbee, whose blood stains the marble steps leading to the House gallery, is seen often haunting those very same steps where he was shot.

The ghost of a stonemason sealed behind a wall during Senate construction in the 1790's has been seen passing through a wall in the Senate basement.

Then there's the ghost of a worker who fell from scaffolding during construction of the Rotunda that is seen floating through a hallway carrying his wooden tool tray. [Washington Times Weekly, October 20, 1996]

Lifting the Campaign to a High Level Democrats have "Butt Man" following Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole. Now the GOP has responded with "Tort Man." Tort Man wears a shark suit with white socks, much like your typical Democrat trialla'ryer. [Washington Times Weekly, October 13, 1996]

Don't Call Me Liberal Rich Galen , an aide to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, decided to grow a beard a short time ago. As the beard took shape, people on Capitol Hill began commenting that Galen was looking more distinguished. One person said he looked more academic. Another said he looked more interesting . Then a third said he looked like David Bonior, the ultraliberal minority House whip from Michigan . In response, Galen said he had no choice but to remove the beard.

[Washington Times Weekly , October 13, I

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