March 2012 - Binghamton Review

Truth and Two Staples

March 2012

Binghamton Review

It’s Not Just For Townies Anymore!

Binghamton’s Transformation Into a College Town

Binghamton Review

P.O. Box 6000 BinghamTOn, NY 13902-6000

editor@binghamtonreview.com

Founded 1987 • Volume XXV Number 6 • March 2012 Editor-in-Chief Aaron M. Ricks Managing Editor Mark Soriano

Contents

Copy Desk Chief Eric Larson Associate Editors Chris Formisano Ari Greenberg Nick Fondacaro William Obilisundar Nick Valiando Editor Emeritus Rachel Gordon Contributors Will M. Griffin, John Ewing, Daniel Rudder, Venanzio Cortes, Michael Hickey, Steven Kwon, Bridgette Cook, Heather Sherman, Eric Fitchett, Daniel Milyavsky Secretary Marissa Beldock Patriarchs of the Review Louis W. Leonini Adam Shamah Friends of the Review Dr. Aldo S. Bernardo The Leonini Family Mr. Bob Soltis WA2VCS The Shamah Family The Grynheim Family The Menje Family The Leeds Family The Lombardi Family The Packer Family Mr. Michael O’Connell Binghamton Review is printed by Our Press in Chenango Bridge, NY. We provide the truth; they provide the staples.

Downtown Transformation The Creation of a College Town

6 In Memoriam of Andrew

by Nick Fondacaro

Page 8

Breitbart

10 SA Elections Candidate List 12 How AMC Came to Campus Cable

by Ari Greenberg

14 Academic Arrogance

by Jake Hayutin

Departments 3 EDITORIAL 4 CAMPUS PRESSWATCH 5 what you missed

General Staff Meetings: Every Tuesday at 7:30pm in UUW-B05

EDITORIAL

From the Editor...

M

y fellow students, Binghamton is changing all around us. Besides the obvious sunny disposition that this weather has afforded us lately, it seems Binghamton is finally making the transition that Review editors have been dreaming of for years: a city that revolves around the university and its students, not the other way around. That’s right; Binghamton is not just for townies anymore. With the help of Review editors, leaders in the Student Association, and organizations like the West Side Neighborhood Project, we can work together to ensure that Binghamton’s future is one that is friendly to the community and to students that live here.

One thing that always struck me as odd about Binghamton has been its lack of a legitimate college town.

Before coming here, my experience with universities had always been when I would take visits to Cornell University and the University of North Carolina located in some of the best college towns in America, Ithaca and Chapel Hill, respectively. It wasn’t until I joined the Review that I learned that part of the reason that Binghamton isn’t like those great college towns was because of active opposition to the notion of students living in the downtown area. It seems that time has run its course and the community has finally accepted the university and its students as the future

for the economic health of the community. With all the changes that are going to be happening in the downtown area, students and adminstrators at Binghamton University have the unique opportunity to shape a new relationship with the greater community and make a brighter future for Binghamton.

Lastly, remember to vote in the Student Association Executive Board election on March 26th and 27th. Take a look at page 10 for a list of all candidates and the positions they are running for. We are not going to tell you who to vote for, but I think you will make the right choice. B

Tell us what you think!

Direct letters to editor@binghamtonreview.com.

Our Mission Binghamton Review is a non-partisan, student-run periodical of conservative thought at Binghamton University. A true liberal arts education expands a student’s horizons and opens one’s mind to a vast array of divergent perspectives.

In that spirit, we seek to promote the free exchange of ideas and offer an alternative viewpoint not normally found on our predominately liberal campus. It is our duty to expose the warped ideology of political correctness that dominates this university.

We stand against tyranny in all its forms, both on campus and beyond. We believe in the principles set forth in this country’s Declaration of Independence and seek to preserve the fundamental tenets of Western civilization. Finally, we understand that a moral order is a necessary component of any civilized society. We strive to inform, engage, and perhaps even amuse our readers in carrying out this mission. www.binghamtonreview.com

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CPampus resswatch

by The Editors

Pipe Dream February 28, 2012 “Length minimums place emphasis on quantity, not quality” Collin Mullahy complains about writing essays... “but does that [page length minimums] really help make a paper better?”

Page minimums are not tools used by teachers to improve the quality of your writing, they are in place to ensure that lazy college students don’t hand in a one sentence essay.

Pipe Dream March 9, 2012 “What Women Want” A list of our favorite phrases from their “Checklist for Guys” on how to better pleasure a woman. We don’t disagree with them, they are just hilarious.

“If you really have to blow your load, make sure you’re down for round two.”

Amazing phrasing. “don’t twist too hard; you’re not trying to start a car here.”

“Would your boss put a page minimum on a report?”

For a lot of guys, cars and women are the same.

No, they would not. However, our bosses will have a length in mind, and if you fail to meet it, you will face the consequences.

“Remember, we’ve got more than one pair of lips for you to kiss.”

“As clever as we may think our ideas are, with serious thought, any idea could be summed up in one sentence.”

Collin, why do people write books?

“In the end, it comes down to the simple fact that a paper is either good or it isn’t.”

So there are only two possible categories that writing can fall into? Collin, please don’t make us choose where your article belongs.

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Thank you for this.

“Who doesn’t like a nice throwdown?”

We’d love to know.

“If you still haven’t seen her “O” face, there’s no doubt you will after this.”

A lot of college hook-ups involve neither person maintaining any eye contact with the other person.

The Free Press March 12, 2012 “The Great Wall of America” Zachary Greenberg gets facts wrong...

“From Al Gore’s Judaism to Mitt Romney’s Mormonism, religion has persistently remained an issue that has influenced who rises to the Presidency of this country” Al Gore is not Jewish. Source: http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Gore “This speech [JFK’s speech about his Catholicism] must have had the desired effect because in 1952, JFK became the first and only catholic President” JFK was elected president in 1960. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_F._ Kennedy “And [Santorum’s extreme social conservatism] that is why Santorum will never become President of the United States.”

There are many more better reasons for why Rick Santorum will never become President of the United States. Source: http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Santorum

March 2012

WHAT you missed SA Inc. vs. SA Ink The Student Association successfully incorporated, creating the Student Association at Binghamton University, Incorporated, or SA Inc., for short. This is not to be confused with SA Ink, the keeper of the SA’s copy machines and ticket sales in the basement of the Union.

writer asked a local woman how she felt about the finding. Unfortunately, she was too busy chewing on a hamburger to give an intelligible answer.

That time of year again...

The SA election season officially started, as candidates began racing for the March 26th and 27th finish line. Get ready for candy and quartersheets, everyone.

What is all the fuss about?

The Academy Awards took place on February 26th, with many of the awards going to the silent film The Artist. The movie had received stellar reviews across the country, besides the notable exception of a New York Times reviewer who called the plot “difficult to follow.” It was later discovered that the reviewer was blind.

Hot and bothered An already mild winter took a turn for the better, as temperatures settled above 50 degrees in early March. As predicted in our last issue, hoards of amatuer musicians took to the courtyards, and have been strumming their guitars ever since.

Safe to get Sh**faced Hapur’s Ferry was rated the #1 collegiate medical service in the country, due largely to its work during the the flood this past fall. After hearing the news, students, safe in the knowledge that they have access to quality medical care, began binge drinking at record rates.

Pouting during Purim Binghamton’s Purim Carneval was a huge success for everyone involved, except for member of the L.A.R.P. club, who were angered by the hoards of costume waering “posers” who attended the event. “Look,” said one disgruntled LARPer, “dressing up is our thing, you’re all lucky that we even let you guys have Halloween!” Before the reporter had time to ask a follow-up question, the LARPer jumped on his trusted steed and set off into the sunset.

Fatties Binghamton was rated the second most obese city in the United States. A Review www.binghamtonreview.com

Shocking?

Rush Limbaugh said something offensive., and people freaked out. What else is new?

Super Tuesday Candidates for the Republican nomination went to the polls in several states on March 6th. Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich were marginalized, with failing to win any contests and Gingrich winning only his home state of Georgia. Rick Santorum walked away with three victories, while Mitt Romney pulled farther ahead of the group with wins in seven states, including a narrow win in the important swing state of Ohio. Despite his success, Romney was unable to pick up enough momentum to scare any of his rivals out of the race. Aides of the candidate conceded that Romney’s biggest liability is his lack of a personality, which is apparently one of the few things that money cannot buy.

France for Frenchmen On March 6th, while on the campaign trail for re-election, French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared that there were too many foreigners in France, and announced plans to cut by half the number of new arrivals during his next term. The remark played well among the extreme right of the French political spectrum. However, seeing as Sarkozy’s father was himself an immigrant,

many listeners were left feeling confused.

Royal Race During a visit to Jamaica in early March, Britain’s Prince Harry, currently third in line for the British throne, engaged in a mock race with Olympic record holder Usain Bolt. Bolt was unsuccessful in his attempt to make the Prince win the race, as Harry got distracted by a thirty-rack, after which he started a conversation with a prostitute. Needless to say, the Prince did not finish the race.

Tsar Putin II On March 4th, Vladimir Putin was elected to his third term as president of Russia with a record breaking 146% of the vote. Putin attributed his success to tiger’s blood, which he bathed in every day for a week before the election. Critics of Putin point out that the President-elect’s victory was due to wide spread voter fraud and a wholesale subversion of democracy.

Putin reacted with an announcement that effective his first day in office, the word “democracy” will be removed from dictionaries in all public schools and libraries.

Nukes for Food North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong-un, determined that he would freeze his country’s controversial nuclear program in return for food aid from the United States.

Kim Jong-un made an announcement to his adoring subjects through state media channels, declaring that “the time of eating dirt out of broken sea shells is at an end.”

Think of the Children!

Kony 2012 filmmaker Jason Russel had a public meltdown in early March, in which he stripped naked and masturbated in public. Supporters remain convinced that this act will somehow benefit the children employed by Kony’s regime.

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ANDREW BREITBART

In Memoriam of Andrew Breitbart The War Will Continue

by Nick Fondacaro

A

little past midnight on Thursday March 1st, an idol to me and many others, Andrew Breitbart passed away. He was walking home with his Father-in-Law when he collapsed. Paramedics were called but could not revive him. He had a history of heart problems. Breitbart

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was 43; he is survived by his wife and four children. Andrew Breitbart was a man of great courage. He loved to fight with his political opposition.

He always met them on their own turf. He was known for re-tweeting all of the hateful tweets that were sent to him. His professed goal was the destruction of the institutional

left. He would report on the stories the left wind media would not, and in most cases cover up. He is known for releasing the photos that led to Rep. Anthony Weiner’s resignation.

He also helped release the damaging video taken by James O’Keefe that led to the fall of ACORN. His latest accomplishment occurred a few weeks before his death. At CPAC he had a confrontation with Occupy CPAC that led to the media reporting on the numerous rapes that occurred at occupy camps. He had the confrontation because left wing media outlets were ignoring the rapes and the occupy cover up of them.

The favorite target for his attacks was the left wing media complex. He was tired of how the left controlled the media, the narrative, and the imagery. He saw how the media is set up to protect and promote Democrats. He saw how the media vilified the Tea Party yet praised the riots of Occupy. When the left was calling the Tea Party racist he stepped up to protect us. He would go around with his famous roller blades and video tape the real violence and Astroturf rallies of the left. When the left accused the Tea Party of spiting on black members of congress he proved the accusations false and a sham. He called the media out on their hypocrisy and their one sided attacks. His efforts helped the Tea Party get a breath.

His book Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World is a great motivational source for me and many other conservatives. In it he talks about how the early internet

March 2012

ANDREW BREITBART

was a place for conservatives while the main stream media was and still is for the left. In the early internet The Drudge Report was the number one source for conservative news, that’s where Breitbart first made his stand.

His influence grew and he helped pioneer the new media on the internet.

He created numerous websites for conservatives like BigGovernment.

www.binghamtonreview.com

com, BigJournalism.com, and Breitbart.tv, which have recently been conglomerated into Breitbart. com. Through these websites he was able to call out the left media, liberal progressives, and occupy defenders.

As a result of his efforts against the left he became the largest target for their hate and vitriol. Because of his courage and his strength facing the

hatred, from the people who want to “Stop the Hate”, he gave the rest of us the courage and strength to do the same. He gave me the courage to walk up to the people that call me, and people like me, ‘racist’, ‘uneducated’, ‘insane’, ‘hick’, ‘evil’ and say FUCK YOU! Andrew Breitbart may no longer be with us but the effect he had will stay and grow. Conservatives will no longer sit by and be the target of left wing media attacks. We will no longer curtail our beliefs to fit the left’s view of the world. We will be calling the left out like never before.

We will be pulling them into the light to show who they really are to the public. You call us racist for wanting all people to be equal in the eyes of the law. You call us anti-immigrant for wanting to secure our borders. You call us war mongers for wanting to have a military that could actually defend us.

You call us heartless for wanting to cut the size of government. You call us antiintellectual for not wanting our kids to be taught to worship the government.

You call us evil for wanting to make sure the future is bright for our children. You call us backwards for believing in Nature’s God, who gave us our unalienable rights. We will not take it any longer. We will shed the lies placed upon us. We will no longer let the left wing media define who we are.

The effect of Andrew Breitbart’s life will forever be felt in the conservative movement. In the coming months a documentary made by Breitbart, documenting the true Occupy, will be released. Another film titled “Hating Breitbart” will be released this spring showing all of the hate and vitriol Andrew Breitbart took from the left.

He gave our movement a chance and he gave our movement new life. We will carry on, push forward, and push back. His fight will continue on. We will pick up his flag and go to war. B

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DOWNTON BINGHAMTON’S TRANSFORMATION

Downtown Transformation How a Town with a College will Finally Become a College Town

by The Editors

A

nyone that goes to Binghamton knows that this university has a very peculiar relationship with the city itself. The campus itself is essentially a juvenile prison; seven communities surrounded by a fence, with each community holding different types of inmates: potheads (CIW), Greeks (Newing), crackselling athletes (Mountainview), the rejects (Dickinson), the socially awkward (Hinman), and those cowards that were too afraid to move off campus (Hillside and Susquehanna).

Unlike popular schools like Cornell or UNC-Chapel Hill, Binghamton has never actually had a major presence within the wider community. The city itself has been deteriorating for five decades, but it has been slow to embrace the university as the city’s only saving grace.

Although Binghamton University has been a premier public university for over a decade, it wasn’t until recently that the city government began giving into reality: the city is crumbling, and the only thing that can save it is the 13,000 intelligent, energetic, and affluent (by Binghamton standards) students living in the city’s backyard. Instead of focusing on community gardens and welfare programs, the city has finally accepted the inevitable and has put major emphasis on expanding the university and its students into the downtown area. But it 8

Binghamton Review

seems that this transition was never meant to be without some tension. Think about it: starting this upcoming fall, Binghamton will finally enter the beginning phase of its transformation into a college town. The housing complexes at 20 Hawley and Twin Rivers will contain roughly 600 students combined, all within a two-block radius of the downtown area and the bars on State Street. While the Review has poked fun at the University’s Downtown Center before, with students actually living nearby, the project is starting to make sense.

But the transformation is much bigger than just the introduction of 600 students in the downtown area. Most students who have signed their lease at Twin Rivers or 20 Hawley may not think about it, their decision to live downtown

will likely have a profound impact on the local economy. Take this as an example: Excluding Family Dollar, is there even a grocery store within three blocks of State Street? What about a Starbucks?

It is safe to say that a Starbucks in downtown Binghamton would probably be the first sign of renewed gentrification to the area. In fact, is there anything to do in downtown Binghamton besides drink? Escape State Street, a favorite diner for Review members, closed indefinitely last summer (rest in peace). The reality is, downtown Binghamton has little to offer students right now. Unless your daily caloric intake consists of Long Island Iced Tea, Pasquale’s pizza and Chinese Food, weekly voyages to Wegman’s seems destined to be apart of your life in downtown Binghamton.

Apart from the material and economic infrastructure that will likely develop over the next few years, students are already feeling the impact of increased police presence on State Street. As of now, officers from the New York State Liquor Authority and the Binghamton Police Department have raided the bars on State Street five-weeks in a row. How long can we expect law enforcement to have a regular and heavy presence downtown? Serving under-21 customers is the sad reality for most of the bars in the area. If the Rat is not indefinitely shutdown by state authority for blatantly serving underage customers, it october 2011

DOWNTON BINGHAMTON’S TRANSFORMATION

probably won’t survive the competition from the less... disgusting bars.

The creation of a real college town and student investment in the downtown area has long been a dream of Review editors for over a decade, but how does our relationship with the rest of the community change? Students on and off campus will probably continue to flood the bars on the weekend, but the 9:00 to 5:00 weekday demographics of Binghamton will indeed see a massive transformation.

Townies in Binghamton already www.binghamtonreview.com

resent university students as it is, now imagine 600 students occupying the heart of the city.

Will the greater Binghamton community embrace students as a resource for economic revival, or will they treat students with the same neglect and slight harassment that students living downtown already feel?

The point of this article is not to be critical of the changes happening; in fact they are probably for the best. It is to provide readers with perspective to the changes that are happening. Not since University

Plaza opened in 2005 has offcampus housing changed so much, and even that was isolated in Vestal. Binghamton will be going through a lot of changes, hopefully for the better. Turning Binghamton from the epitome of a post-industrial city to a major education center will take time.

But it is up to individual students and student leaders to make sure that these changes occur in the best interests of students, and not sour the opportunity to recreate a city that is student friendly and also serves the needs of the community. B 9

Student Association E-Board Elections The Review will not be endorsing candidates for the upcoming SA E-Board elections. However, we want out readers to stay informed, so please take some time to acquaint yourself with the positions and candidates below.

President: - Mark Soriano - Lindsay Frankel - Travis Rochon Vice President for Academic Affairs: - Aaron Ricks - Sandra Harper - David Blair

Executive Vice President: - Anthony Galli - Derek Gumb - Carlton Ramsay - James Kissmer Vice President for Finance: - Eric Larson - Stacey Troy

Vice President for Vice President for Programming: - Lian Brianna Fria Multicultural Affairs: - Carl Schrecongost - Teddy Gyamfi - Daniel Adeyanju Vote March 26 and 27 in your community dining hall for on-campus residents, and the New Union for off-campus and apartment residents.

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Binghamton Review

Press Release:

John Stossel: The Man and the Mustache come to Binghamton University Binghamton University College Republicans are proud to announce that celebrity guest John Stossel will be visiting Binghamton University Sunday, May 6 at 3PM in the University-Union Mandela Room. Mr. Stossel, a libertarian economist, host of “Stossel” on Fox Business Network, and former cohost of 20/20, will speak on a variety of issues including the economy, current events, and education. A Q&A session with the audience will follow the main presentation.

In addition, Mr. Stossel will be personally signing copies of his new book, “No They Can’t” (available for purchase at the front door of the event).

This appearance is one that you do not want to miss. It is open to all BU students, BCC students, and residents of the greater Broome County area. Admission is free for all and refreshments will be provided.

FIRST 100 PEOPLE AT THE DOOR RECEIVE A COMPLIMENTARY “STOSSEL ‘STACHE” - You know you want one.

March 2012

www.binghamtonreview.com

11

AMC

Zombies, Meth Chefs, and ‘60s Ad Men How AMC came to Campus Cable

by Ari Greenberg

O

n February 15th, the Office of Residential Life sent out an email informing BU students that AMC is now broadcasting on the campus television network. I soon received a text from my Breaking Bad watching-buddy, “about time”, and thought others fans of the network might be thinking the same thing.

I wondered what finally brought my favorite TV, drug-dealing dad as well as Mad Men and The Walking Dead to campus, so I sent out some emails and made a few calls to the Residential Life and the Telecommunications Offices.

With the start of NCAA March Madness basketball on Turner Broadcasting’s truTV, which is one of those networks that is not currently on our channel lineup,

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Binghamton Review

it would be nice to know how to resolve this and also add new services in the future. The solution is actually pretty simple: talk to your campus community government.

Ever get an annoying email about a “town council” or “college council” meeting? Apparently, all campus cable requests are funneled through area governments like the Dickinson Town Council or CIW College Council, which means you are probably going to have to attend one of these meetings in order to get a request in. After that, the area government presidents bring the request to the Office of Residential Life. In the case of AMC, recently there were quite a few requests over a short period of time, which caused Residential Life to work with Telecommunications to look into the feasibility of adding AMC to the lineup.

Telecommunications contacted our campus cable service providers, Time Warner Cable and Campus Televideo, and Time Warner offered the best plan that could easily be implemented within our existing cable bundle. Essentially there was no change in payments or contracts, just a request for a cable network that was already part of our existing package. However, there are technical limitations in adding new networks and channels to our lineup.

Our campus cable system is composed of a mix of the two previously mentioned cable providers and nine local broadcast digital channels pulled in from an over-theair (OTA) antenna. Now a national standard, the local channels are also broadcasted in high definition using Clear QAM (unencrypted digital TV), while the cable channels are transmitted in Cable NTSC. Overall,

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AMC

the system has a bandwidth in the range of 650mhz with each carrier (channel) being spaced at 6mhz plus overhead (extra space between frequencies), which allows for an upwards of 80 channels. At the same time, Clear QAM can broadcast more than one channel on the same frequency, which allows for even more channels overall.

Additionally, a few channels and frequencies are reserved for public access and emergency services.

When adding a new channel, Telecommunications adds the carrier to a frequency on the system, which is then accessible at a specific channel number.

If there were enough interest, it would even be possible to add specific high definition cable channels like Comedy

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Central HD to the lineup because the channel could be inserted into the campus cable system just like the nine OTA digital channels are. Other improvements like the option of renting a cable box could be made, but it would require a lot of pressure from students and BU would most likely have to make a deal with a cable service provider like Time Warner. If you want a DVR and channel guide in the meantime, it is worth purchasing a TV tuner, which is a device (around $50) that allows you to watch and record television on your computer.

Telecommunications would also like to redesign their cable television headend (the signal

distribution system) in the near future, so TV-heads should have other improvements to look forward to.

Sorry if I bored you with the technical details of how television works. Yes, it is more than just “pressing a couple of buttons.� But now that you do not need to worry about how you are going to pirate the final season of Breaking Bad (yes, it is ending), you can finally begin to concentrate on more important things like Don Draper’s next conquest or who is going to remain uneaten on The Walking Dead. B

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ACADEMIC ARROGANCE

Academic Arrogance

The bane to freethinking...

by Jake Hayutin

I

have encountered a strain of noxious hubris that exists within some parts of our school’s professoriate. Like Sophocles’ Oedipus I do not believe that these particular professors are malicious.

However, I do agree with the old proverb that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. So, let’s not be so hasty as to dismiss a trend that can be potentially detrimental to our education. It is an age-old conservative criticism that public educator’s professional self-esteem surpasses their actual contribution to education. But, how can we as students decide which professors or departments are guilty of this hubris?

In my three years here at Binghamton University I have experienced instances of both structural and intellectual academic arrogance in the philosophy and history departments respectively. Only recently have I realized how far the problem reaches on our campus.

I believe the root of this problem exists in that the faculty has an overwhelming infatuation with their own academic prowess that encourages them to make unwise decisions that disturb the functions of a progressive education. I fear that too many professors may fall victim to the typical middle-aged professional complacency, or in laymen’s terms laziness. Arrogance coupled with laziness among professors seems to logically repress progressive freethinking.

I was failed from a 100 level 14

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Philosophy course last Spring, not because I lifted another author’s material, not because I neglected to quote my sources appropriately and not because I did not understand the material. I was failed from a class that I deserved at least a B in, because I admitted to the Academic Honesty Committee that I read from a secondary source. I initially admitted this fact to my philosophy professor to appeal to his sense ethics.

I honestly told him I used an example that I found on page 19 of the text and did not continue to read further, because one example was sufficient for the purposes of the assigned paper. While surfing the Internet for information on the primary source, I found the same example used by another writer and considered that to legitimize the examples strength.

The Committee told me that the policy of the philosophy department prohibits the use of any information that did not come from the primary source itself or was dictated to me by my professor. Because the general discussions of this class was not quite as controversial as let’s say a political science class can be, I cannot claim that this policy has directly promoted propaganda, but how can I not acknowledge it’s repression of free thinking?

Obstructions to freethinking in our system such as this were likely written to justly punish plagiarizers.

However, this structure has unintentional collateral damage that has the potential to cause more harm than good. Ideology is step one in shaping human action. Philosophy is the study of which course of action provides the best results. Control

over freethinking in the philosophy department is deplorable from a purely educational perspective.

Despite the decision of the Academic Honesty Community, I continued to go to class and took the final. After all grades had been submitted and I was well into my summer break, I emailed my professor. Despite my failure in the course, I requested some feedback on my final. After a few emails back and fourth I was ultimately ignored. I was curious to learn from my performance and my professor was unable to show me the decency of the most minimal response.

This arrogance and laziness is symptomatic of the specific strain of hubris that I have found to be afflicting our professorate. To this day when I run into my old philosophy professor on campus, he sheepishly looks away.

The following semester I developed an exceptionally stimulating relationship with one of my professors that works in the history department. This class was much more politically controversial and therefore I became especially engaged in the discussions. Unlike most classes I have taken, this professor encouraged freethinking in the discourse of her lecture.

One day in class the topic of discussion was eugenics. Like most of the academic community, my professor romanticized Darwin’s legacy. I cannot deny how monumental his legacy is to science is, however in my experience the academic community tends to romanticize his legacy by ignoring his most controversial work The March 2012

ACADEMIC ARROGANCE

Descent of Man. I would bet that nine out of ten students on this campus are at the very least familiar with Darwin’s Origin of Species but very few have studied any of his other works.

I have only read excerpts of The Descent of Man, however the excerpts I am familiar with came from a book I read in my leisure by a famous author and PhD. of history, Benjamin Wiker. These passages shed light on a much darker side of Darwin. For example, Darwin writes in The Descent of Man: “A most important obstacle in civilized countries to an increase in the number of men of a superior class is the tendency of society’s very poor and reckless, who are often degraded by vice, to increase faster than the provident and generally virtuous members.”

After class that day I challenged my professors knowledge of www.binghamtonreview.com

Darwin’s more radical work, and offered to let her borrow my book.

After several months had elapsed I came to my professors office hours at the end of the semester to retrieve my book. My professor admitted to me that she had only read the introduction and had dismissed the author’s credibility because a private company, not an “academic” one, published his work. I was shocked by her lack of open mindedness. To make things clear my professor and the Wiker, have identical credentials in the same field.

This sort of prejudiced attitude is an example of how academic arrogance represses progressive freethinking. My history professor is one of the most dedicated and passionate teachers that I have had.

And even she fell victim to this hubris.

Furthermore, I believe that our higher education system has drifted too far away from the objective of learning and has slipped too far down the slope of rat-race capitalism. Every year the administration continues to increase enrollment. This fact is consistent with most universities in our country. 57% of the Baby Boomer generation is reported as having some level of college education in 2006 where as 59% of Millenials are either still in school or have some college education already. I am not so arrogant that I believe my generation is any smarter than our parents’. So, the only explanation for this dramatic increase in students and graduates must be a lowering of standards. I believe this phenomenon has directly affected our professor’s attitudes about our

competency. When our professors were studying (most of whom are boomers) the title of professor was more exclusive. Therefore, I believe they have a general lack of respect for the capabilities of their students and therefore do not sufficiently challenge them. I do not believe that we are smarter, but I do believe that we are much more fortunate in the sense that, a greater percentage of us have the opportunity to be intellectually challenged. Unfortunately, I have found that many of the officials of our academic community are selling us short.

I questioned my history professor about this conflict and her response to me was that our school practices regurgitate learning for the most part until you reach courses in the 400 level. I am a PPL Western Track major; so 400 level classes will ultimately represent about 10% of my coursework upon graduation. I believe this to be the greatest structural flaw in the operation of our school. How am I supposed to get engaged in my studies knowing that the majority of my classes are going to be centered on the practice of tedious memorization that represses stimulating and progressive freethinking? At what point did our liberal arts education system become so detached from learning?

The last 500 years of Western civilization can be credited for the most tremendous advancement for humanity in all areas. Individuals who regurgitated the intellectual status quo were not members of the exclusive group of freethinkers who propagated these advancements. B

15

The Freshman’s Guide to a Night Out GIRLS

Guys

BOTH

1. The more axe you wear, the more likely you are to hook up with someone, right?

1.

WEAR THE SHORTEST SKIRT YOU HAVE, REGARDLESS OF THE FREEZING TEMPERATURES.

2.

2. Pre-game in a friend’s suite with some Absolut your Dad gave you.

TAKE SOME GROUP PHOTOS WITH THE OTHER GIRLS ON YOUR FLOOR, POST THEM IN A FACEBOOK ALBUM TITLED “BEST NITE EVERRR!!!,” “I LOVE MY BITCHES!!!!,” OR “MY GURLS KEEPIN’ IT CLA$$Y!!!”

3. WAIT FOR A CAB IN FRONT OF

THE UNION, COMPLAIN ABOUT THE COLD EVEN THOUGH YOU CHOSE NOT TO BRING A COAT. 4. Argue with the guy collecting money at the frat’s door. After all, you are friends with literally everyone in the frat.

4. PURPOSELY HAVE A BRITNEY SPEARS

TYPE WARDROBE MALFUNCTION AS YOU EXIT THE CAB iN FRONT OF THE FRAT HOUSE.

5. Brag about how great you are at keg stands; vomit all over the wall after five seconds.

5.

DEMAND SHOTS FROM EVERYONE WITHIN FIVE FEET OF YOU; ALMOST GO BLIND AFTER HALF A SHOT OF TEQUILA.

6. Lose at beer pong; say something insightful like “these aren’t Long Island rules!”

6. START CRYING AFTER SOME GUY IN THE CORNER FEELS

YOU UP. GUY IN THE CORNER TURNS OUT TO BE A COAT RACK.

7. BECOME BORED; START SPREADING

7. Get into a fight with a coat rack; lose.

RUMOURS ABOUT YOUR FRIENDS.

8. HEAR THAT THE FRAT RAN

OUT OF ALCOHOL; IMMEDIATELY LEAVE FOR DOWNTOWN.

9.

GET INTO A BAR USING AN ID OF A GIRL WITH DIFFERENT HAIR AND SKIN COLOR FROM YOU.

9. Use your older brother’s ID; nearly have an axiety attack while the bouncer checks it.

10. STAND IN A CIRCLE WITH YOUR

FRIENDS IN THE MOST INCONVENIENT PLACE POSSIBLE FOR OTHER PEOPLE.

11b. HOOK UP.

11a. START SOBBING BECAUSE NO ONE WANTS TO DANCE WITH YOU.

12b. REGRET IT.

12a. CONTINUE SOBBING AS SOMEONE

10. Offer to buy everyone shots without knowing how much shots cost.

11a. Girl won’t dance with you, but you don’t care. You just want to have fun with your bros tonight anyway, right?

12a. Die a little inside.

SPILLS A DRINK ON YOUR FACE.

13. WANDER AROUND LOOKING FOR A 14. STUMBLE AROUND CRYING ABOUT HOW

CAB; HOW YOU GOT BACK TO CAMPUS REMAINS A MYSTERY.

14. Go to Hinman Night Owl, eat

everything you buy within five seconds.

MEAN EVERYONE IS ABOUT EVERYTHING.

15. ACCUSE RANDOM GIRLS OF BEING “SLUTS.”

15. Throw up everything on the 16. PASS OUT SOMEWHERE.

carpet of your building’s lounge.

17. WAKE UP NO EARLIER THAN 11:30AM. 18. WAIT HALF AN HOUR IN A LINE FOR DINING HALL PANCAKES. 19. PLAY DAMAGE CONTROL FOR ALL THE

GOSSIP YOU SPREAD/STARTED LAST NIGHT.

20. SAY SOMETHING LIKE “I WAS SOOOOOOOOO DRUNK LAST NIGHT!” TO NEARLY EVERYONE YOU ENCOUNTER.

19. Tell everyone about

all the girls you got with.