Fall 2014 Issue 24

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PIPE DREAM Friday, December 5, 2014 | Binghamton University | www.bupipedream.com | Vol. LXXXVI, Issue 24

PROTESTERS SEEK JUSTICE Hundreds rally on campus to address recent racial tensions Carla Sinclair

Assistant News Editor As protests were staged in New York, Missouri and across the country, hundreds of Binghamton University students came together to make their voices heard on campus.

The Binghamton Speech and Debate Team, the Black Student Union (BSU), College Democrats, Asian Outlook and many more student groups took to the Spine, Marketplace, Glenn G. Bartle Library, Tillman Lobby and East Drive in a demonstration after the police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner, a Staten Island resident, was not indicted.

Lenny Herrera, president of the Speech and Debate Team and a junior majoring in Latin American and Caribbean Area studies, said the protest was held to incite a larger conversation about racism across the country, as well as on campus.

“Binghamton students are apathetic and apolitical,” Herrera said. “And this assembly’s main purpose is to create a political consciousness on campus.”

The protest began in front of Bartle and split into two, with organizers leading groups through the Pods and Marketplace, parading signs reading “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” and holding four minute

A lot of people, they post a tweet or a status and that's it. This protest shows that we care more than that —Sam Catalano BU Junior

See RALLY Page 2

Tamar Ashdot-Bari and Neil Seejoor/Contributing Photographer

Groups from all around campus, including the Binghamton Speech and Debate Team, the Black Student Union (BSU), College Democrats and Asian Outlook took to various spots around campus including the Spine, Marketplace and the Glenn G. Bartle Library to protest the lack of indictments in Michael Brown’s and Eric Garner’s cases.

SUNY rolls out uniform sexual assault policy Cuomo's call to action enforces uniform definition of consent, rights Alexandra Mackof Assistant News Editor

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the implementation of a SUNY system-wide sexual assault policy on Tuesday, which standardizes a policy of affirmative consent across all state campuses.

The rule, which mimics the policy of the California state school system, states that sexual partners must actively agree to sexual intercourse in order for it to be considered consensual.

“Today, SUNY is taking a critical step toward combating the epidemic of sexual violence and misconduct on our college campuses,” Cuomo said. “By implementing a uniform sexual assault prevention policy, we are better protecting our students and our communities and setting an example for other states and schools to follow.”

SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher worked with representatives from different universities since Cuomo’s original October announcement of the

planned policy to prepare schools for the change. Binghamton University’s representative in the process was Brian Rose, the vice president for student affairs.

“We need to educate our student population on our definition of consent; you need everyone to understand it,” Rose said.

President Harvey Stenger said that the University will not have to make many changes to adapt to the new policy. According to him, updates to written resources and guidelines will constitute the

largest difference.

“I believe that as cases are heard and have been heard, people know what ‘no’ means. We believe that that was something the student conduct boards always used as their definition,” Stenger said. “But to put it in writing makes it more clear. This is no longer a judgment call by the student conduct boards; they now have to follow this tight definition of consent.”

In addition to having a formal

See SUNY Page 2

BU gets a lesson in HIV/AIDS awareness, tolerance Fourth annual festival educates campus with speaker, performances Stacey Schimmel Contributing Writer

HIV/AIDS affects millions of people around the world, from wealthy celebrities like Magic Johnson and Arthur Ashe to minimum wage workers struggling just to survive. On Tuesday, Binghamton University

campus groups helped bring the issue home.

Charles Drew Minority PreHealth Society (CDMPHS) hosted the fourth-annual AIDS Awareness Festival in the Old Union Hall as part of national AIDS Awareness Week. On-campus organizations SHADES, REACH, WE SPEAK BU and Delta Epsilon Mu tabled and

gave out informational pamphlets and condoms.

The festival included musical performances, a spoken word performance, trivia challenges and guest speaker Kenneth Naughton, who spoke about his experience with HIV/AIDS. Naughton volunteers his time as an inspirational speaker

to STAP (Southern Tier AIDS Program), which has supported past BU AIDS Awareness events.

He spoke about his struggles living with AIDS for 18 years and how he used to feel ashamed because many people in his life shunned him and were afraid of it.

See HIV Page 2

In one night, a holiday trip around the world Sixth annual Global Fiesta showcases cultural traditions Gabriella Weick Staff Writer

Decorated in lights and adorned with colorful posters and decorations, the Mandela Room in the Old University Union came to life as students danced, sang and performed a diverse range of presentations to showcase their unique cultures.

Attendees gathered Thursday night for Binghamton University’s sixth annual Global Fiesta, an event celebrating holidays around the world hosted by the Multicultural Resource Center. Various student groups, including the Black Student Union, Muslim Student Association and Asian Student Union, presented and tabled to share information about their religious and cultural traditions both during the holiday season and throughout the year.

Tanya Barnes, a diversity

fellow for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, said organizers hoped the event educated and relaxed students as well as encouraged campus diversity. “[I hope] that they learn something new about a different cultural group or celebration that they haven’t learned about,” Barnes said, “[that] they feel like they’re supported if they celebrate a particular holiday — they can come here and know that we recognize and support them.”

Student organizations presented on upcoming winter holidays, including Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas, as well as other important cultural holidays such as Chinese New Year, Eid-al-Fitr and Nowruz.

The event included performances by the Ballroom

See FIESTA Page 2

2

NEWS

www.bupipedream.com | December 5, 2014

Energy execs talk power options, sources Speaker discusses SUNY BEST hosts speakers to discuss green solutions to local needs living with HIV/AIDS Emilie Leroy

Pipe Dream News Energy bills may not be the highest priority for students while studying during final exams, but according to Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger, the University spends approximately $10 million of taxpayer and student tuition every year for electricity and heating.

SUNY BEST (Business and Education Cooperative of the Southern Tier) hosted the New York Winter Statewide Energy Tour Thursday at BU to discuss the state’s clean energy policies and initiatives and how changes in policies will affect consumers.

Featured speakers discussed the problems with the state’s current energy policies such as affordability and efficiency, extreme weather effects on energy costs and how new technologies and community input can have an impact.

John Rhodes, the president and CEO of NYSERDA (New

York State Energy Research and Development Authority) highlighted issues with transporting energy to consumers. Many consumers get electricity from central grids that are connected to consumers’ homes and businesses by transmission lines through which power may be lost. Rhodes warned that if the grid is not modernized, New Yorkers may end up spending nearly $30 billion on energy in 10 years.

“We can’t just use public dollars, ratepayer funds, customer funds to patch an antiquated system,” Rhodes said. “We’ve got to modernize the system and take advantage of all the opportunities to do things smarter and better.”

Instead of centrally located plants pumping power to consumers, Rhodes emphasized providing locally generated power to communities through solar power, wind power and microgrids, which are energy networks that can fully separate from the larger electrical grid.

He said with locally generated

power, consumers will have more control over energy policy.

“They can produce energy locally, they can decide how they’re going to manage the energy locally,” Rhodes said.

“That is going to create a lot more opportunity for making choices.”

Micah Kotch, NYSERDA director of NY Prize, a $40 million competition that incentivizes communities to design local power structures, discussed how New Yorkers can get involved in energy policy through his program. With extreme weather and emergencies like blackouts costing New Yorkers billions of dollars, Kotch emphasized the need to come up with innovative and cost-effective ways to supply power.

“There’s a real sense of urgency and we need good projects that are ultimately serving community needs,” Kotch said. “A lot of answers are going to come from the community.”

NYSERDA will fund 25 feasibility studies across the state.

Ten designs will be selected and

at least five will receive funding for construction. Projects must be replicable across the state and include third parties, such as private businesses, the local utility and local government.

Criteria for the feasibility will be available in the next few weeks.

An example would be a community setting up a microgrid that could power residential areas and private businesses.

The feasibility study would address legal impediments like zoning laws, space, environmental impacts, equipment needed, financial costs and overall benefits for the community.

The event was the first in a four-part energy series that will run through March. The second part of the series will discuss NYSERDA’s renewable heat initiative and K-Solar, a program that brings solar power to schools and surrounding communities.

The third and fourth parts will have regional speakers describe energy-related progress from across the region.

Students protest race relations in United States RALLY continued from Page 1 and thirty second moments of silence, to honor the four and a half hours Michael Brown’s body was left on the sidewalk in Ferguson, Missouri before being removed.

Sam Catalano, a junior majoring in marketing who participated in the protest, said he thought it helped bring the discussion to a forefront.

“A lot of people, they post a tweet or a status and that’s it,” Catalano said. “This protest shows that we care more than that.”

Students studying in the Pods, like Zsuzsanna Orban, a senior majoring in art history, looked up from their textbooks and computers as dozens of marchers walked through.

“Having them walk through the library definitely makes other students aware that people are doing something and having a voice, and thinking about their actions,” Orban said.

Over 100 regrouped in the University Union and took to East Drive to Academic A, causing traffic jams past the Union. They staged a

“die-in,” lying in the street while Binghamton Police cars watched from yards away.

Returning to the Tillman Lobby, the discussion turned to racism on campus. Speakers discussed both institutionalized racism and inflammatory comments made on anonymous forum app Yik Yak, which increased after groups staged a “die-in” in the Marketplace this past Monday.

Alim Uddin, a senior doublemajoring in Arabic studies and economics and the president of the Men of Color Scholastic

Neil Seejoor/Contributing Photographer

Protesters gathered in the Marketplace late Thursday evening to protest racial inequality. The protest began in front of the Glenn G. Bartle Library and split into two groups, with organizers leading groups through the Pods and Marketplace, carrying signs and holding moments of silence for Michael Brown, a teenager who was killed by the police in Ferguson, Missouri.

Society, said the responses were due to stigmas against activism on campus.

“We saw things on Yik Yak saying, ‘oh, protests don’t work,’ ‘stop disrupting things on this campus,’ ‘we’re going to see you guys hanging on trees,’” Uddin said.

“These are things we don’t want on our campus.”

Herrera added that protests, while good at getting emotions high, were only the beginning of change.

“It’s not enough to do protest,” Herrera said. “We’ve had protests.

Now what happens after? We want concrete political solutions to implement on campus, as well as for the populations of disenfranchised off campus, that all of America need to see.”

A town hall forum in the Old University Union following the protest allowed students to voice their experiences facing racism on campus, and ideas on how to improve BU’s approach to them.

“I think that Binghamton is one of the premiere SUNYs, and we have to be able to set an example,” Herrera said. “We talk about how we’re a diverse campus, but how can we begin to show that we’re racially conscious, and that we’re truly diverse with truly diverse ideas?”

SUNY defines sexual assault across the system SUNY continued from Page 1 definition of consent, Stenger said that the University will work to more clearly outline the resources that are available for students.

“We have to make sure that we put things in writing for victims so that they know exactly where to go as quickly as possible, and that when they go there they will find very supportive people who will listen and help with the process,” Stenger said.

Stenger also addressed the importance of educating incoming students. With a turnover of between 3,000 and 4,000 students annually, the University constantly has to make sure that it has open communication with the student body.

Deirdre Sullivan, the Intercultural Awareness (ICA) representative for the Women’s Student Union (WSU) and a junior majoring in history, said that awareness of the new definition

Poetry Slam

Finals with Slam Poetry Club

of consent will make it easier for victims to come forward and address sexual assault.

“I think it is remarkable that all first-year and transfer students are made aware of this policy,” Sullivan said. “I think it will contribute to a campus-wide understanding of what consent actually is and recognize that it can be withdrawn at any time.”

According to Rose, BU has been working to enhance its resources and outreach policies addressing

sexual assault for almost four years. Additional staff hirings and training sessions have been part of that process, and the SUNY-wide policies align with the University’s mission.

“At the Binghamton campus level, we’ve been building a stronger infrastructure to really try and address this concern in a systematic way,” Rose said. “The issue of sexual violence isn’t unique to a college environment, but we have a specific responsibility to address it.”

HIV continued from Page 1 “This is a big thing for me to come out and speak because I feel it’s very important that all people, young and old, need to educate themselves against the virus and need to protect themselves,” Naughton said. “If you don’t protect yourself, no one is going to protect you.”

HIV, which stands for human immunodeficiency virus, infects a certain type of white blood cell called a CD4 cell, or T-cell.

It takes over the cell and begins reproducing. When a person’s CD4 cell count is below 200 (a normal count is between 8001200), HIV leads to AIDS, which leaves the immune system unable to fight infections.

The virus can be transmitted through contact with HIVpositive bodily fluids by having unprotected sex, sharing needles or breastfeeding.

According to aids.gov, over one million people are living with HIV in the United States and 1 in 7 living with HIV are unaware of their infection. Symptoms include weight loss, night sweats and fever, blotchy skin and memory loss. People can live for an average of 10 years with HIV without showing symptoms.

In the past, there was a $3 admission fee to the festival, but this year students were able to witness an African Olu dance, a spoken-word poem about sex and self-worth, and songs sung by the Gospel Choir and Pegs a cappella for free.

In between each performance, members of the CDMPHS Executive Board asked trivia questions to the audience for free shirts. Questions ranged from what kind of cells the virus attacks

to what percentage of people are infected via sexual intercourse.

Uloaku Ireaja, a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience and the vice president of CDMPHS, said that the event has grown since it was first held, and she hopes to see the same growth continue as the society works toward eliminating AIDS-related discrimination, deaths and new infections.

“It’s something that we’re all susceptible to, especially at this age of people not being as careful as they should be when it comes to the protective method while having sexual intercourse,” Ireaja said. “We work within the general theme of AIDS awareness week which is Getting to Zero.”

Mikhail Bryan, senior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, said that he enjoyed the performances and gained new insights about living with HIV/ AIDS. “I learned about a lot of the stigmas that are related to HIV and the hardships that these people go through every day, but it’s not the end of life,” Bryan said. “You should just spread that message to family members, friends and anyone who might know somebody.

Naughton said that many people still believe that the virus can be contracted through general touch, like high-fiving and hugging. He said that HIVpositive people have nothing to be ashamed of and he wanted to keep spreading that message after the festival.

“I can’t change my past but I can change my future,” Naughton said. “My future is telling me to keep speaking for those who are HIV positive and those who are afraid to accept it.”

Different countries, same holiday cheer FIESTA continued from Page 1 Dance Association, Slam Poetry, Abhishek Sharma and the Confucius Institute of Chinese Opera (CICO). Dan Roman, a senior majoring in English and the president of Slam Poetry, said he was grateful to be a part of such a diverse group of performers.

“What we do doesn’t usually go alongside with what they do,” Roman said. “It’s just a cool excuse to get everyone in the same room sharing our talents.”

The CICO’s performance displayed an example of Chinese Kun Opera, with a vocal performance by BU professor Linghui Tu and a bamboo-flute accompaniment by visiting professor Shijun Cheng. Cheng is from the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, and is teaching Chinese music ensemble at BU this semester.

Sulpoong, a Korean percussion and instrument group, also gave a percussion performance involving synchronized drumming and chanting. Drummers wore traditional Korean garments and performer Gina Lee, a

junior majoring in integrative neuroscience, said she hoped attendees appreciated the display of Korean culture.

“Just an awareness of Korean culture, we are out there and it’s not just a typical Chinese culture,” Lee said. “We want people to try to expand and have people know the difference between Chinese culture and our own distinct Korean culture.”

Groups tabled, offering information on more holidays and events specific to their organizations. Israel Silva, a junior majoring in human development who tabled with the Latin American Student Union, said he enjoyed both representing his culture and learning more about others.

“It’s great that we get different cultures and different holidays that aren’t all mainstream,” Silva said. “It’s a great way to educate yourself.”

Nick Natalizio, a sophomore majoring in chemistry, said he was glad he took a study break and attended the Global Fiesta.

“The performances, the food — everything was awesome,” Natalizio said. “I’m really glad I came tonight.”

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Woman hitchhiking on road hit, killed by truck Authorities say a 43-year-old woman has been hit by a vehicle and killed while hitchhiking before dawn on a road in the Finger Lakes region. The Ithaca Journal reports that the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office says Rosalyn Degraw of Ovid was walking in the northbound lane of Route 96 around 4:45 a.m. Thursday when she was hit by a box truck in the town of Ithaca, on the southern end of Cayuga Lake. Deputies say the truck is owned by a Rochester delivery company and was driven by a Binghamton man. The driver wasn’t injured. Police say alcohol or speed weren’t contributing factors to the accident, which remains under investigation.

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NY court: Chimps don’t have same rights as humans A chimpanzee is not entitled to the rights of a human and does not have to be freed by its owner, a New York appeals court ruled Thursday. The three-judge Appellate Division panel was unanimous in denying “legal personhood” to Tommy, a chimp who lives alone in a cage. A trial-level court had previously denied the Nonhuman Rights Project’s effort to have Tommy released.

The group’s lawyer, Steven Wise, told the appeals court in October that the chimp’s living conditions are akin to a person in unlawful solitary confinement. Wise argued that animals with human qualities, such as chimps, deserve basic rights, including freedom from imprisonment. He has also sought the release of three other chimps in New York and said he plans similar cases in other states. But the mid-level appeals court said there is no precedent for treating animals as persons and no legal basis. That, they ruled, makes it “inappropriate” to grant the rights of a human to the animal. The Nonhuman Rights Project said it will appeal to the state’s top court, citing other New York appeals court rulings it says are at odds with Thursday’s decision.

Cuomo: NY will mull police training, body cameras Gov. Andrew Cuomo says New York should consider better police training, body cameras on officers and other changes following a grand jury decision not to charge a white police officer in the chokehold death of a black man. Speaking on public radio’s “Capitol Pressroom” Thursday, Cuomo said the Eric Garner case and others like it around the country have a “corrosive” effect on society and cause many to lose faith in the criminal justice system. He said lawmakers should have a “comprehensive” discussion about improving the system and restoring public trust.

He suggested topics including police cameras, law enforcement training and changes to the grand jury process. The Democrat says he supports the Justice Department’s decision to investigate the case. Cuomo says he expressed condolences to Garner’s family Wednesday night.

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY NEWS Two charged with rape at Johns Hopkins fraternity house Two Maryland men have been charged with raping a 16-year-old girl at a Johns Hopkins University fraternity party, Baltimore police said Wednesday. Chaz Haggins, 20, and Ethan Turner, 19, both of Reisterstown, were arrested on charges of rape and sexual assault stemming from the alleged attack at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon party in the early morning of Nov. 2. They were being held without bail at the Baltimore City Detention Center. Their arrest follows a report by a 16-year-old girl who told police that two men forced her to perform sex acts before they raped her at the party. Haggins and Turner are not members of the fraternity, nor are they students at Johns Hopkins, university spokesman Dennis O’Shea said. The fraternity has been suspended pending the investigation and is working with the leadership at all campus fraternities to ensure “the safety and well-being of attendees at their social events,” O’Shea said in a statement. Johns Hopkins has been under federal investigation for its handling of sexual assault complaints.

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Pictured: The Pegasus Statue, which displays a T-shirt saying “Black Lives Matter” in protest of police brutality. The main purpose of the demonstration was to spread awareness throughout campus about a recent ruling failing to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo who used a fatal chokehold on Eric Garner.

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Police Watch A lighter take on campus crime Aaron Berkowitz | Police Correspondent

Wasted Wednesday WEDNESDAY, NOV. 3, 1:14 a.m. — A SUNY security guard at the University Downtown Center noticed an intoxicated male inside one of the foyers of the building, said Investigator Patrick Reilly of Binghamton’s New York State University Police. The suspect was having difficulty standing, and had a fresh puddle of vomit at his feet. The suspect initially did not cooperate with officers. He would not show his ID and eventually took out a fake New York state license, which he hid under a pack of cigarettes. He then showed his real New Jersey license and stated that he used the fake to get into JT’s, where he had 12 or 13 beers. He was then transported to Binghamton General Hospital.

Going Green . . . And Black And Blue WEDNESDAY, NOV. 3, 2:43 p.m. — Officers responded to Cayuga Hall in College-in-the-Woods due to reports of a fight between two 20-year-old females, Reilly said. The argument began earlier in the day when the two females argued about the placement of a recycling bin in their room. The suspect called the victim derogatory names before the victim left the room. When the victim returned to her room, the suspect lunged at her and hit her. The victim initially refused medical attention, but later she said her neck hurt. She was taken to a local hospital and was released soon after. The suspect was charged with harassment and was given a ticket returnable to Vestal Town Court.

Spookie Ookie WEDNESDAY, NOV. 3, 12:18 p.m. — Officers responded to Fillmore Hall in the Hillside Community due to reports of a suspicious character, Reilly said. Two 21-year-old males noticed an unknown person in their apartment. When the suspect noticed the victims in the room, he quickly left the room. The victims did not notice anything missing, but they did notice that one of their apartment mate’s doors was open and that no one was inside the room. The case is still under investigation.

You Go To The Gym For Gains, Not Losses WEDNESDAY, NOV. 3, 2:53 p.m. — A 20-year-old male was the victim of a larceny at the East Gym, Reilly said. The victim said that he placed his belongings in a locker, but did not put a padlock on it. When he returned, he noticed that everything was missing. This included a sweatshirt and a North Face backpack. Inside the backpack were the victim’s keys and his wallet, which had $11 cash inside of it. The case is still under investigation.

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RELEASE Arts & Culture

You'll be floored by the flora Raquel Panitz/Pipe Dream Photographer

The BU greenhouse: a place where winter ends, and flowers bloom around the year Samuel Titus | Contributing Writer “Come forth into the light of things, Let nature be your teacher,” reads the plaque just outside the doors to Binghamton University’s Teaching Greenhouse.

The building, attached to Science 3, has gone relatively unexplored by most students. They’re missing out.

Simultaneously relaxing and educational, the greenhouse is home to a collection of amazing specimens of varied color, size and scent.

The first greenhouse still standing on Binghamton’s campus was built in 1981, succeeding several other smaller ones, the first of which was completed in 1965. In 1996, another greenhouse was built, expanding the complex into the E.W. Heier Teaching & Research Greenhouses it is today.

If you walk straight through the double door entrance to the complex, you’ll be warmly greeted by the Warm Temperate room. Here, you’ll find plants native to climates that do not freeze, but which generally have a cooler seasonal resting period.

You may also find Josh DeMarree, the greenhouse assistant, as he tends to the plants, both caring for the greenery and invoking the spirit of education for which the Teaching Greenhouse takes its name.

Making his way down one of the Warm Temperate aisles, DeMarree ducks, avoiding the large fronds of Cycads, a plant that evokes images of the

Jurassic period with shady fernlike leaves that could belong in the canopy of an ancient forest.

“We have a number of Cycads,” DeMarree said. “They are an extremely old species of plant and are kind of the precursor to what you think of as Conifers today, the two being separated by millennia of development.” DeMarree said that the greenhouse’s collection of Cycads genoa outnumbers that of London’s Kew Gardens, the world’s largest collection of living plants.

Passing beneath a cashew tree, DeMarree shows off the greenhouse’s orchid collection.

“We had a number of water issues a few years ago,” DeMarree said. “I think we lost almost half of our collection due to the very salty and basic water we used to use. We’ve since been building our collection back because we lost most of our orchids.”

While students have school off for winter break, there’s still work to do in the greenhouse.

A typical day consists of a few hours of watering, sweeping and maintenance work, as the plants produce an enormous amount of biomass that needs to be cleaned up and controlled. The effort that DeMarree, the volunteers and Greenhouse manager Laurie Kasperek put into working with the plants isn’t fruitless, however: There can be edible benefits that go along with the job. The greenhouse is home to cashews, key limes, bananas, figs and coffee trees, to name just a few. Last year, seven of the greenhouse’s volunteers

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harvested, dried and fermented all of the coffee beans from the tree over four months.

“Through that entire process, we barely brewed enough for one pot of coffee” DeMarree said, laughing. “It was hundreds of beans and hundreds of hours of work, but the volunteers and I took small sips.”

Since cactii are extremophiles — meaning they’re capable of surviving in a number of different conditions — they’re found in every room. The Desert Room, however, isn’t dominated by cactii, but by euphorbias that tower over the planting bed and reach as high as the glass panes on the greenhouse roof.

Commonly confused with cacti, euphorbias are an unrelated genus of flowering plant which evolved to inhabit similarly dry and extreme conditions.

“They grow like crazy,” DeMarree said, pointing to the arm-like protrusions of the massive euphorbia. “We just pruned the top about a year ago and they’ve already grown back.

In the tropical house we take the top six feet off the ceiling every six months.”

The Tropical Room is the most overgrown and shaded of the greenhouse’s sections, with some of the tallest plants almost obscuring the view of the ceiling altogether. When entering the room, there’s a noticeable temperature and humidity change.

Perhaps the most interesting specimen of the Tropical Room — and without a doubt the most bizarre — is the Titan

Arum, otherwise known as the “corpse flower.” Named “Metis,” Binghamton’s corpse flower last bloomed in spring 2013, producing a six-foot flower and a stench of rotting flesh which, according to DeMarree, could attract flies and beetles from up to a mile away.

Don’t let the threat of the corpse flower’s scent scare you away; it smells like that only on the rare occasion it blooms.

Normally, the greenhouse is as beautiful as it is tranquil, open to all students from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.

It can be a fantastic space for relaxation and learning because of its quiet atmosphere. The Warm Temperate room even features a small pond opposite the entrance, which fills the room with the soft and calming sound of running water. Some other campuses use their botanical collection to help students relax.

Cornell University, for example, sets up impromptu plant displays around campus to help alleviate stress during finals week.

“Especially during the winter, this can be a great place for students to come and visit,” said

Kasperek. “They can escape the snow and see a little bit of green instead of white.”

Tucked away among the science buildings, the greenhouse hosts an incredible collection of plants, with a knowledgeable and pleasant staff.

Whether your passion lies in botany and biology, or you simply want to visit the greenhouse for aesthetic reasons, let nature (or the self-guided tour script available on the greenhouse’s webpage) be your guide.

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9

Kitchen dishes out for needy

File Photo

Student volunteers provide not just meals, but community Erin Rosenblum | Contributing Writer Binghamton University offers, at the least, foggy memories of State Street and OCC Transport.

At the most, the best four years of our entire lives. And since Binghamton gives us so much, it seems only fitting that we should give back. For those with packed weekdays and busy weeknights, there is a perfect place to help out in the community, and it can be found in a kitchen.

Joy Kasmarick, the fourth Saturday Captain at All Saints Soup and Sandwich Kitchen, dons an apron, a baseball hat and an authoritative, motherly attitude that makes me feel guilty for the brief moments I’m not chopping vegetables or setting a table for the 50-plus expected lunch guests. From 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Joy doesn’t take a break, and neither does her team of dedicated volunteers.

Every Saturday at All Saints Episocal Church in Johnson City, the Soup and Sandwich program provides local people in need with a hearty lunch for the past eight years. Unlike other soup kitchens, All Saints doesn’t just feed the hungry – it provides the lonely with a chance to socialize.

“Some people just want to be with other people,” said Debbie Thorpe, the program’s founder.

“Eating alone get old.”

All Saints operates with a restaurant style as opposed to buffet style, where volunteers act as makeshift waiters responsible for taking orders and serving food. Even though this style was originally chosen because a sneeze guard wasn’t in the budget, it’s become a part of the program’s mission. Restaurantstyle serving provides a more personal, dignified experience.

Volunteers are assigned to one of four teams, each with its own captain and culture. Teams are given one Saturday of every month, so volunteers really come around only once every four weeks.

The day involves two parts

— cooking and serving, but volunteers aren’t required to come for both parts. Cooking begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends at noon, when serving begins and goes until 1 p.m. The day ends around 2 p.m., after the kitchen and dining hall have been cleaned.

Binghamton students make up an impressive amount of the total number of volunteers. The CCE has a listing for All Saints on their website, but the cadre of volunteers has grown through word-of-mouth as well.

“Its a very humbling experience. It makes you value the little things: social interaction, warm meals,” said Ishara Quick, a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law who came to All Saints with the Poverty Awareness Coalition, a campus organization that has been providing volunteers for the past three years.

Because All Saints relies heavily on Binghamton University volunteers, Thorpe struggles to run the program during the winter, when most students leave the area.

For most of us, Binghamton is only home for our four years as students. We pass through this city for a brief point in our lives, brief enough so that we don’t consider ourselves part of the larger Binghamton community — a community that provides a lot for us. The least we could do is give back.

Since Binghamton gives us so much, it seems only fitting that we should give back

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5

RELEASE

December 5, 2014 | www.bupipedream.com

Dress for Santacon like a Santa-pro This weekend, don't just walk down State Street — jingle all the way Odeya Pinkus | Assistant Release Editor When Andy Williams first sang “It’s the most wonderful time of the year,” we’re pretty sure he was mainly referring to SantaCon. The Winter Bar Crawl, a festive drink-a-thon — whatever you call it — is here, and the city is ready. JT’s, Tom & Marty’s and Venue are just a few of the Downtown establishments getting ready to serve daytime seasonal hot drinks as well as the classic favorites. Sure, you’ve been excited for weeks, but do you know what you’ll be wearing? Perhaps one of the most crucial elements of SantaCon is the festive attire.

This year, don’t go in a bland red cardigan with a green necklace and a santa hat. Go crazy and try something new with Release’s Santa-themed costumes.

Lumberjack Santa — Channel your inner lumbersexual with this easy and festive look. A pair of jeans, a red plaid shirt and a pair of suspenders will give you the woodsy vibe, especially if you already have a beard. If you don’t have a beard, or if the thought of how you can’t grow one makes you sad, then forget that part. Throw on a Santa hat to bring in the Christmas cheer.

Protip: Do NOT bring an axe Downtown.

80s Santa — Wake me up before you ho-ho, am I right, people? This costume can be done with a red crop top and green leggings, or vice versa. If you are still confused, go look up an Olivia Newton-John video and do that with Christmas tree

colors.

Punk Santa — You might be too angry for society, but you’re never too angry for Christmas.

Show your angsty side by turning Green Day into Green and Red Day. Wear dark eyeliner and buy some fun jingle bells to offset the fear factor. Put on a Santa hat, but write a Blink-182 lyric across the top.

Elvis Santa — People won’t be able to help falling in love

with you this holiday season, especially when your outfit is a crossover between Santa Claus and this 1960s crooner. Borrow a white pleather jacket and then go crazy with the hair gel. If it’s dripping into your spiked hot chocolate, you’re doing something right. Don’t forget the Santa hat, or reindeer ears, if you prefer.

Hanukkah Harry — Woah there, I know what you’re

thinking: “Are they crazy?”

Maybe we are, but if you wanna be the talk of the town, then consider taking an alternative look this holiday season. Go for the Hanukkah theme! Wear some blue and white, and glue four Hebrew letters to your stomach, back and sides. That way, when you are spinning from being drunk, you can just say you’re a dreidel.

Miriam Geiger/Editorial Artist

Something new is brewing in Bing BU alums use engineering skills to build local establishment Emily Mancini | Staff Writer Kristen Lyons and her husband, Jason Gardner, love beer. That love, fermented with some brains, some brawn and some good friends, ultimately led to the creation of Binghamton Brewing Co., the fifth and newest addition to Binghamton’s growing number of impressive, independent craft breweries.

Located on 15 Avenue B in Johnson City, Binghamton Brewing Co. stands out from the crowd with its creative brews and sleek-yet-cozy space, which was previously the historic Endicott Johnson Fire Station building.

With the help of several beerloving friends, owners Lyons and Gardner put their degrees in industrial and systems engineering from Binghamton University to work and transformed the old firehouse into a fully functioning brewery, equipped with a two-barrel

electric brewing system.

“The engineering degrees basically helped us build everything,” Lyons said. “We customized the brewing system we bought using our engineering brains, allowing us to really experiment and get creative when we brew. You can’t do that with big, massproduction brewing.”

Carrying on that spirit of creativity and ingenuity, Lyons, Gardner and a few friends built almost everything by hand from repurposed material.

Binghamton Brewing Co.’s bar is an upcycled bowling lane, the barstools are repurposed tractor seats (which Lyons affectionately calls “universal ass chairs”) and even the three walk-in coolers were custom-constructed to fit the brewery’s needs.

Binghamton Brewing Co. has a wide variety of beers to choose from, from light ‘n’ wheaty ales to dark ‘n’ heavy stouts and everything in between.

We recommend the five glass

flight, where you get a generous sample of each of the brews on tap for only $7. If you’re a fan of milder brews, go for the Sunshine Wheat or the Citra Pale Ale, which are crisp, light and refreshing.

If you’re looking for something unique, definitely try the Eternal Wit, a creative spin on the witbier loaded with aromatic anise and coriander.

Like your beer strong and dark? The Belgian Dark is your brew, strong but smooth with a punchy 10.5 percent ABV (alcohol by volume) to get your night going. Big fan of Guinness? You’ll delight in their Coffee Dry Stout, a delicious, dark and creamy dry Irish stout loaded with coffee and chocolate flavors. As a feel-good bonus, Binghamton Brewing Co. is a farm brewery, which means they source their hops and malts from local producers in New York state.

Even if you’re not a total craft beer geek, Binghamton Brewing

Co. is a great place to sit down in front of a cozy fireplace, relax, have a drink with friends and meet new people.

“Everyone here is so welcoming,” said Bob Olcott, a Johnson City resident and regular customer at Binghamton Brewing Co. “I’ve met all different types of people and had some wonderful conversations.

It’s a really nice place to be, with a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.”

Although Binghamton Brewing Co. doesn’t serve food, they encourage a B.Y.O.F (Bring Your Own Food) policy, and you’re welcome to share with friends. If you don’t have time to sit and sip, you can take home a custom growler of any one of Binghamton Brewing Co.’s beers, which also make great holiday gifts for the craft-beer lovers at home. Beer lovers, rejoice.

6

FUN

www.bupipedream.com | December 5, 2014

Fun.

RELEASE DATE– Friday, March 20, 2009

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 Catch lots of rays?

5 “Dark Angel” star Jessica 9 Positive 14 “May I say something?”

15 Le Sage novel “Gil __” 16 Basket maker’s supply 17 Livestock fence feature 18 Red state?

20 Father of Ishmael 22 Drop a bit 23 Stan Musial wore it 24 Summary 26 “A Yank in the __”: 1941 war film 28 “Yippee!”

31 Perfect 36 Site for a union meeting?

37 Ivy leader 38 Scent 39 Teen’s bane 40 Somewhat soused 41 “Thérèse Raquin” author 42 Anticipatory times 43 Count (on) 44 They’re tightened during hard times 45 It might be heard from one going to court 47 Salon jobs 48 Really got into 49 Check mates?

51 Electrical gap filler 54 Trash 56 Type of motor 60 Blue state?

63 Wasn’t straight 64 Eighth century pope 65 Backspace, perhaps 66 Notion 67 Language suffix?

68 Many a minor 69 Tim of “Private Practice”

DOWN 1 “__ O’Riley”: song by The Who 2 Fictional skipper 3 “An Affair to Remember” costar 4 In a red state?

5 Monastic jurisdiction 6 South American carrier 7 Prohibit 8 Invites 9 Washington State athlete 10 Dangerous snake 11 Carping subjects 12 Liter lead-in 13 Desert antelope 19 Thin out 21 Get wind of 25 Red and blue states?

27 In a blue state?

28 Visibility reducers 29 Pimiento container, possibly 30 Playful swimmer 32 Inappropriately involved

33 Superstars 34 “The Spiderwick Chronicles” actor 35 Rye, for one 37 Mottled 40 Like many Aeschylus works 44 Iceberg alternative 46 Annoying type 47 Writer whose stories inspired “Guys and Dolls”

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

xwordeditor@aol.com

By Anthony J. Salvia (c)2009 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Delectable Desserts to Celebrate the Season!

December 8th—11th, Dinner Hours C4 on December 8th Hinman on December 9th CIW on December 10th ACC on December 11th

50 Mark in español 51 Concert gear 52 Cut with a scythe 53 Hint 55 Closed 57 1871 Cairo premiere 58 It holds the line 59 Invasion time 61 Styled after 62 Pepsi brand that’s also its calorie count

03/20/09

03/20/09

OPINION Friday, December 5, 2014

Speak Up and Listen

Sudan conflict requires IGAD mediation Benjamin Goldberg Contributing Columnist

S

purred by the two recent grand jury decisions to not indict white police officers accused of killing unarmed black men, hundreds of students gathered on campus to protest.

One of the largest and most diverse campus demonstrations in recent memory, the protest indicates that Binghamton University students do not view these court decisions as remote events, but as something that could happen in their own lives. We hope that this is only the beginning of increased political engagement on campus.

As SUNY students, holding government institutions accountable is our responsibility. Protest leaders reminded demonstrators that Eric Garner, a man from Staten Island killed by an NYPD officer, died on New York soil, and a public servant took his life.

Regardless of one’s stance on race relations, students should be troubled that government employees charged with protecting the lives of citizens have violated precisely that, and have walked unhindered. For far too long we’ve been silent on the issues that matter, engrossed by our studies and personal

lives.

While the scale of the protest showcased the student body’s political engagement, some student responses dishearteningly reinforced its importance. Several aggressively racist messages were posted on Yik Yak. These anonymous comments cannot be characterized as anomalous — they are attacks intended to disrespect minorities in the wake of tragedy and they are not uncommon on this campus. It was disappointing to see that when given the chance to engage in racist, hateful discourse anonymously on the internet, so many of our fellow students chose to do exactly that.

Other students complained about the disruptive nature of the protests during peak studying periods. The purpose of a protest is to occupy a physical area to raise awareness. A successful protest disrupts our routine and temporarily rouses onlookers from their complacency.

Academic pursuit is valuable, but to hold it above civic duty betrays a lack of perspective. People were killed. Families are grieving. Communities feel alienated from their nation and feel anger toward injustice built into the system meant to house them.

The duty of a college student is to become educated, but narrowing the definition of education to schoolwork is a disservice. The protest’s organizers and attendants realized that, despite the crushing onslaught of finals week, there’s something more important: civic duty. It is a civic duty to learn about, understand and engage in the world beyond simply academic pursuit. Though students are entitled to their own opinions, the least we can do is allow our peers to peacefully show solidarity in a public space. In our effort to ace tests, we’ve forgotten our duty to organize and express discontent with the policies of the status quo.

Views expressed in the opinion pages represent the opinions of the columnists. The only piece which represents the views of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board is the Staff Editorial, above. The Editorial Board is composed of the Editor-in-Chief, News Editor, Opinion Editor, Sports Editor, and Release Editor.

Tuition-free SUNY is possible Tyler Sparks Contributing Columnist

Discussions of America’s student debt crisis and increasingly unaffordable college costs are primarily centered on minor reforms in student loan interest rates.

Such proposals are sensible and would significantly reduce the debt burdens faced by many college graduates. However, these proposals fail to target the institutional issues at the root of the rapidly increasing college costs.

Rising SUNY tuition costs must be viewed under the broader scope of public school underfunding. Over the past few decades, local school districts have had to contend with continual cuts in state aid to public schools. Complaints of underfunding, understaffing and inadequate services are nearly unanimous among New York state parents, teachers and students. Additionally, local school funding produces massive inequalities among school districts, as oftentimes wealthier districts collect more in tax revenue and can therefore provide better schools. Cuts in state aid also force local governments to raise property taxes, increasing the burden on taxpayers irrespective of their ability to pay.

The privatization of higher education

will require New York to restore its formerly progressive tax structure and create a state bank. These reforms are necessary to implement a tuition-free SUNY and CUNY education system that guarantees higher education to all New Yorkers. State cuts to education closely follow drastic changes in New York state tax structure, which began in the 1970s. It is estimated that restoration of the more progressive tax structure would provide nearly 30 billion dollars in increased revenue as well as tax cuts for 95 percent of New Yorkers. A state bank would enable the state to collect interest on the money it spends and lends when it finances public projects.

While most people dismiss the idea of a tuition-free SUNY and CUNY system as impossibly expensive, it is clear that methods for increasing state revenue clearly exist. What is absent is the political willpower and organized political pressure from those affected by the erosion of New York’s public school system.

In January, Assemblyman James Skoufis (D-Woodbury) introduced a Tuition-Free NY bill to the state legislature. This bill would allow students to participate in a free tuition program in exchange for 250 hours of community service for each year they participate, and for a promise to reside and work in New York state for at least five years after the completion of their degree. While this proposal is certainly more promising than the current system of massive student

Nearly every developed country offers free higher education loan debt, it fails to accept the basic logic of public education; that it is a human right and should not require qualifications. Such qualifications are only necessary when the larger picture of a just tax policy and increasing state revenue are ignored.

Achieving tuition-free higher education is a lofty goal. It is essential to remember that the current funding crisis is the result of continual, systemic policy decisions by the state government to increase costs for students rather than change existing tax loopholes. Under current management, costs are increased and services are cut.

A more just education system is possible.

Nearly every developed country in the world offers free or significantly cheaper, higher education options to its students.

But tuition-free education will only become a reality if students, parents and educators organize to expand access and quality for all.

— Tyler Sparks is a senior majoring in English

When South Sudan officially declared its independence in July 2011, there were celebrations in the streets of Juba and the international community had high hopes for the world’s youngest country. But just three and a half years later, the country finds itself embroiled in yet another devastating civil war. This war, now almost a year old, has already resulted in thousands of deaths, over one million internally displaced persons and the threat of a serious famine in the coming months.

The war initially began as a political dispute within the ruling party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), namely tensions between President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar. But it very quickly evolved into a multi-faceted dispute that flamed ethnic tensions, particularly between Kiir’s Dinka people and Machar’s Nuer.

Since December 2013, there have been peace talks sponsored by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). These talks have only resulted in several incredibly brief ceasefires and very little real progress.

While there is much to be done before a lasting peace can be achieved, there are two major steps that IGAD needs to take to speed up the process. First, they need to lead the way in imposing an arms embargo and other sanctions on both sides of the conflict. Second, they need to pave the way for a broader national political dialogue and include all armed factions in peace negotiations.

The sanctions and arms embargoes are necessary steps for a number of

reasons. Such measures would help decrease the flow of weapons into the country, reducing violence. Placing sanctions on those who violate ceasefire agreements would incentivize warring parties to negotiate. IGAD must lead the way in the imposition of these measures because, as the mediator of the conflict, it has tremendous influence over how it is viewed by the international community.

No international body such as the United Nations is going to impose sanctions if it doesn’t have the backing of regional powers like Uganda and Kenya.

While no members of IGAD are impartial, these measures are necessary to involve the international community and decrease the chance that this civil war will escalate into an all-consuming regional conflict.

Currently, the peace negotiations in Addis are focused on ending the conflict between Machar and Kiir; however, finding a resolution for the two of them only solves a small portion of the conflict. IGAD will have to open up more negotiation tracks to deal with the numerous armed groups that have plagued the country since (and before) independence and agree to disregard any settlement between Machar and Kiir. IGAD will also have to tackle the intercommunal violence that has defined this conflict and mediate between villages and ethnic groups. Finally, they’ll have to reopen the nation’s political parties forum so that marginalized politicians or political groups don’t see the need to launch an armed revolt.

With the rainy season over, there’s bound to be an escalation in the violence.

Now, more than ever, IGAD must take the steps to ensure the success of the peace process.

—Benjamin Goldberg undeclared freshman

is

an

Domestic violence policy should protect both sexes Miriam Geiger Contributing Columnist

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), the rate of serious violent victimization — rape and sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault — has declined 77 percent from 1993. While women are more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence, to every four women that are domestically abused, one man also suffers domestic abuse. Though a gender disparity exists in these statistics, we must create policies that account for all victims of domestic violence, regardless of gender.

Men who reach out for help from domestic violence agencies are often told that the agency only helps women, while many others are assumed to be perpetrators. Another troubling factor is that statistics on rape in the most recent NCVS are representative solely of females over age 12. When the United States Department of Justice was accepting proposals for Justice Responses to Intimate Partner Violence and Stalking, it was stated that “proposals for research on intimate partner violence against, or stalking of, males of any age” would not be funded. Whether or not male victimization through intimate violence is rare, refusing to research these instances is tantamount to refusing acknowledgment. It is difficult to formulate a response to something that is as good as ignored.

However, since NCVS was published in 2010, the legal definition of rape has changed. Rape was formerly defined as “the carnal knowledge of a

female, forcibly and against her will.”

The new definition, as of 2012, is: “The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”

This new definition removes gender from victimization and creates a more complete understanding of the perpetration of sexual violence as a whole. By presenting a comprehensive view of sexual assault and domestic violence, reactions can be tailored to the facts of reality and not preconceived notions of who can and who cannot be a victim.

Changing the legal definition of rape creates room for more nuance and inclusion in discussions about interpersonal violence. Incidents cannot be brushed aside because they do not subscribe to a narrow definition.

Removing the gendered aspects of sexual violation creates a space where rape and domestic violence can be talked about and treated as events that everyone has the potential to experience. Acknowledging the diversity of experiences removes that dichotomy of often-assumed roles, allowing the issue of domestic violence to be addressed as not solely a women’s or men’s problem, but as a human problem.

Even as rates of violent victimization decrease, more can and should be done to acknowledge and ameliorate what occurs. If an aspect of domestic violence is not recognized, it is much more difficult to fix. By expanding definitions and eschewing assumptions, especially about gender roles, more avenues are created for acknowledgement, and by acknowledgement, healing.

—Miriam Geiger is a senior majoring in studio art and English

SPORTS

BASKETBALL

Follow @BingBBallBlog on Twitter for updates on Binghamton basketball

Friday, December 5, 2014

PIPE DREAM PICKS

WEEK 14

It all comes down to this. Welcome to the ninth week of Pipe Dream NFL Picks! Every week, Pipe LOCK GAME +3 POINTS Dream sports editors and one guest attempt to correctly predict the outcome of four upcoming games of their choice, selecting one prediction as a LOCK. A correct LOCK is worth three points; a wrong LOCK costs one. The other three games are worth one point each. There are no penalties for wrong OTHER GAMES guesses on these. Ties give you a half-point. After week eight, Twitty stays strong ahead with 24 points while E.Jay threatens a coup with 19. The guest jumps back into third with 14, and Ash returns to last with 11.

ASHLEY PURDY'S PICKS SPORTS EDITOR SEASON RECORD: 16-16, 11 POINTS FAVORITE NFL TEAM: DALLAS COWBOYS

LOCK: Indianapolis (-3.5) over CLEVELAND

Contra E.Jay, Hoyer has something to prove, but he’ll choke. Because how embarrassing is it to be outperformed by Johnny Football?

SCORING SYSTEM

-1 POINTS +1 POINTS

0 POINTS

+.5 POINTS

Houston (-6) over JACKSONVILLE

Pittsburgh (+3) over CINCINNATI

GREEN BAY (-12.5) over Atlanta

I can’t pick Dallas, so this is the closest thing.

I’m going to watch the Cincy game so the Bengals lose. Sorry, Twitty.

Rodgers is a guy.

Carolina (+10) over NEW ORLEANS

NY Giants (PK) over TENNESSEE

San Francisco (-8) over OAKLAND

LAST WEEK: 3-1, 2 POINTS

E.JAY ZARETT'S PICKS ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR SEASON RECORD: 12-20, 19 POINTS FAVORITE NFL TEAM: NEW YORK JETS

LOCK: CLEVELAND (+3.5) over Indianapolis

Hoyer is going to have something to prove after getting benched last week. Think it will be a career week for him.

Both of this teams are trash, Giants need a win, and so a 10-point spread is too Tennessee is just a little much. more horrible.

The Raiders met their win total for the next three years two weeks ago.

Baltimore (+2.5) over MIAMI

PHILADELPHIA (-1) over Seattle

CINCINNATI (-3) over Pittsburgh

Air beats water in Pokémon — I think. This is more than enough logic for me.

In Marshawn Lynch’s own words, “yeah.”

Divisional game, in Cincy, early December, no one’s watching. Bengals win big.

LOCK: NEW ENGLAND (-3.5) over San Diego

MIAMI (-2.5) over Baltimore

I overheard a particular sports connoisseur in the office say that New England is “totally going to win.” So, I also think New England is going to win. Weird coincidence, am I right? Generous, Corey.

South Beach, though. A place where gays are indigenous. With a place like that to chill on the weekend, I have no doubt Miami is relaxed and ready to win.

Carolina (+10) over NEW ORLEANS I lost my face in

NY Giants (PK) over TENNESSEE

LAST WEEK: 2-2, 4 POINTS

JEFF TWITTY'S PICKS ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR SEASON RECORD: 17-15, 24 POINTS FAVORITE NFL TEAM: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

LOCK: St. Louis (-3) over WASHINGTON

I’ve repented to the LOCK gods, and I’m ready to get back to my winning ways.

LAST WEEK: 2-2, 1 POINT

ZACK FELDMAN'S PICKS MANAGING EDITOR - GUEST SEASON RECORD: 14-18, 15 POINTS FAVORITE NFL TEAM: NEW YORK JETS LAST WEEK: 2-2, 4 POINTS

New Orleans. I also lost a lot of money, my self-respect and all self-control. If anyone is going to lose, it’s New Orleans.

“PK” sounds mysterious, and also I have strong NY pride so this is a given. NY trumps everything.

Bearcats fall to Boston, 77-65 Women's basketball Perovic scores program-high 34 points in fifth-straight loss

Ashley Purdy Sports Editor

Most games have their highs and lows, but the Binghamton men’s basketball team faced mountains and valleys against Boston University on Wednesday. Binghamton’s skid extended to five in the 77-65 loss, keeping the Bearcats (1-7) winless against Division I opponents in 2014-15. But the same night saw resounding success for one Bearcat: Freshman forward Dusan Perovic shattered a program record, dropping 34 points in the contest to surpass former guard Jordan Reed’s 33-point mark against Hartford, set last February.

Perovic dominated in the second half, pouring in 29 points for a Binghamton squad that trailed Boston (2-4) by as many as 22.

The 6-foot-9 sharp shooter out of Montenegro sank 11 of 18 from the field, including 6 of 8 from 3-point range. Those numbers bumped up Perovic’s America East-leading perimeter shooting percentage, which now sits at a 71.4 percent clip.

Perovic has seen success before — Wednesday was the third time he’s led the team in scoring this season — but not quite like this. Almost every time the ball came into his hands in the second half, his shots fell in, despite being double-teamed, despite launching from everywhere on the floor. And though he proved extremely effective from distance against Boston, Pervoic is capable in the lowpost region as well. That much is evident from his performances against Hartwick and Providence, in which he went 6 for 9 and 5 for 8 from in the paint, respectively.

Though Perovic’s late-game heroics were sufficient to break the school record for points in a contest, they weren’t enough to pace the Terriers, who got their first win over an America East opponent this season at Binghamton’s expense. Boston — part of the AE until 2013 — fell to its former conference rival in University of New Hampshire, 75-68, before dropping its next match, 69-59, to the AE’s newest addition, UMass Lowell.

And in the first eight minutes against Binghamton, it looked like Boston might not secure a win over an AE team this season. The Terriers lagged behind, 11-6, while they shot 0 for 7 from 3-point range.

But with 10:32 left in the half, things turned around. Ignited by a sunken trey from junior guard John Papale, the Terriers were suddenly

aflame. They shot 7 for 10 from the perimeter, building a double-digit lead over their visitors with a 25-5 run. Papale and sophomore guard Cedric Hankerson combined for 18 points from outside, with Papale shooting 3 for 5 and Hankerson converting 3 of 6. Binghamton requited with a 7-0 run of its own nearing the end of the half to close up the gap, and the visitors entered the locker room down by only 11, 34-23.

In the second half, the hosts didn’t let up, gaining as much as a 22-point advantage. With the pressure on, Perovic began taking more shots, and they started falling in. Almost single-handedly, Perovic kept Binghamton on pace with Boston. But the Terriers kept their heat on and finished out the half shooting 64 percent from the field. The Terriers actually only outshot BU by one in the latter 20, holding a 4342 advantage. Overall, Boston shot 50 percent on 14-of-18 shooting from 3-point range, and finished shooting 51.9 percent from the field.

After this matchup, Perovic overtook fellow freshman forward Willie Rodriguez as the team’s leading scorer. Rodriguez had averaged 11.5 points through the seven games heading into Case Gym on Wednesday.

A quiet performance against the Terriers, in which he scored just three points, saw Rodriguez’s mark dip to 10.4 points per game.

Perovic, on the other hand, jumped from 9.9 to 12.9 points per contest.

Rodriguez and Perovic have been the core of Binghamton’s offensive production this season.

Each has led scoring in three contests apiece, with Rodriguez eclipsing the 20-point mark twice.

Freshman guard Romello Walker was the only other Binghamton scorer to reach doubledigits against Boston, contributing 12 points and a team-high six rebounds.

Next up for the Bearcats is a home contest on Saturday against University of Pennsylvania.

Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Events Center.

Michael Contegni/Pipe Dream Staff Photographer

Freshman forward Dusan Perovic broke the program’s Division I record for most points scored in a game, pouring in 34 on 11-of-18 shooting from the field against Boston University.

seeks win at NJIT

Bearcats hope to snap four-game skid on the road Saturday Brett Malamud

Contributing Writer Carrying a four-game losing streak into the weekend, the Binghamton women’s basketball team hopes for a positive result when it heads to New Jersey Institute of Technology for a Saturday matchup. Despite their skid, the Bearcats have competed against top-tier programs this season, and the team remains positive and upbeat moving forward.

“We’re losing, but our locker room doesn’t feel like we’re losing because we’re competing,” BU head coach Linda Cimino said. “My goal has been that we get better every day and that we compete everyday … Even though our record doesn’t indicate it, I think we’re a pretty good 1-5 team right now.”

That the team is competing is evident by the weekly awards its players have accrued. For the third consecutive week, a Binghamton (1-5) freshman captured the America East Rookie of the Week award. After guard Imani Watkins earned the honors in the first two weeks of the season, teammate Jasmine Sina garnered the most recent accolade, scoring 20 points with five 3-pointers against St. John’s on Friday. Sina currently ranks ninth in the nation in 3-point field goals made per game.

“It was an honor getting Rookie of the Week,” Sina said. “Obviously if it wasn’t for my teammates and coaches I wouldn’t have gotten it. I think it’s a great step for the program … It shows that we’re going to keep improving, keep getting better and our freshmen are ready to play.”

Cimino echoed that sentiment and added praise for the freshman standout.

“Jasmine has thrived on and off the court,” Cimino said. “She’s not just a scorer — she’s an actual point guard.

She’s smart, she has a high basketball IQ,

she studies the game, she loves talking the game and I think that’s a foundation to build around for the future.”

Thus far, BU has competed against teams from the Big East and Atlantic 10 conferences — two of the top in the nation. Although the Bearcats have struggled to capture victories so far this season, they view facing tough opponents as a learning opportunity.

“I know that we’re giving our hardest and we’re getting better each game,” Sina said. “I think we’re playing the best against Big East schools. I think that’s a good test to see how we’re doing. [Losing] does get to us, but I think it’s going to help us in the long run this season.”

NJIT (4-4) heads into the weekend on a hot streak. The Highlanders have won three of their last four games and are led by senior guard Alyssa Albanese, who is averaging 11.4 points per game, and sophomore forward Leah Horton, who is averaging a second-best 11.1 points per game as well as 8.4 rebounds per contest. “[NJIT] has a win streak,” Cimino said. ”They’re playing good basketball, but so are we. We’re just not getting the results we want, but we’re still playing good basketball. This weekend we want to win. We want to do all the right things — which we’ve been doing; we want to compete — which we’ve been doing; and now we want the end result. We want to win.”

Tip-off is scheduled for noon on Saturday at the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Now we want the end result. We want to win — Linda Cimino BU head coach