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Friday, September 30, 2016 | Vol. XC, Issue 11 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com
Celebrating 70 Years as the Free Word on Campus
Housing communities vie to register voters
Residential area with most Broome County sign-ups to win $1K prize
Gabriella Weick Assistant News Editor
For this year’s November election, residential communities will go headto-head to see who can register the most student voters. While only two communities will win a cash prize of either $1,000 or $500 from the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE), associate professor of political science Jonathan Krasno said that all Binghamton University residents will benefit from the civic participation. The idea for the competition was thought of by BU alum Kyle Seeley, who graduated with a degree in political science in 2011 and is currently the upstate New York regional organizing director for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. While doing research with Krasno during his junior year, Seeley thought of the concept to make registering on campus less of a chore. “My research was focused around how turnout on campuses could affect elections,” Seeley said. “Then, I was thinking that one way to incentivize registering to vote is to create competition; competition between living communities and creating a competitive environment seemed like an interesting concept.” With the help of the CCE and Krasno, the competition was implemented for the 2012 election. That year, Krasno observed that 1,719 campus residents voted in the election — a 32 percent increase from 2008. In the 2004 election, Krasno said, there was an effort made by the University to encourage competition between organizations on campus, but it was
too difficult to keep track of. While the increase in voting in 2012 is not entirely due to the new competition, he said, he believes it played a part in increasing BU’s voter turnout. “If a large number of BU students plop down at that election board with thousands of voter registrations, adult politicians in Broome County will pee their pants,” Krasno said. “It represents a massive voting bloc that has the power to swing elections.” Each week until the competition ends, Krasno observes the newly registered voters through the Broome County Board of Elections. By matching students’ names and birthdays to those on the registration roll, he counts each student and the residential community in which they live. Krasno said this competition is particularly interesting to him because BU’s campus is a largely ignored campaign stop for candidates in the county. “Show me any other place in Broome County where there are thousands of votes that can be gained in a single location,” Krasno said. “We’re talking about thousands of potential voters that are completely ignored by local politicians out of the belief that they will never participate in elections.” Voting locally, he said, is important for students. Krasno said issues like better public transportation and safety are platforms that politicians should continue to address, and students have the power to demand them. “I want students to think of Binghamton as a place they can stay
Over 250 silently protest police violence
SEE VOTE PAGE 2
SEE PROTEST PAGE 2
Katherine Scott/Pipe Dream Photographer Over 250 students remain seated during the national anthem at Tuesday’s men’s soccer game to protest police brutality.
Students, faculty sit during national anthem at BU men's soccer game
Alexandra Mackof News Editor
Over 250 students, faculty and staff dressed in black and walked from the Clock Tower to the Bearcats Sports Complex on Tuesday to protest police brutality during a Binghamton University soccer game against Bucknell University. During the silent demonstration, participants filled the bleachers and remained seated during the national anthem. This instance was meant to mirror other protests happening on college campuses nationwide, such as Georgetown University and Amherst
College. All of these protests are inspired by the San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem. Jermel McClure, Jr., the Student Association vice president for multicultural affairs and a junior majoring in political science, helped organize the protest. He worked with student groups such as the College Progressives, the Black Student Union, the Latin American Student Union, the African Student Organization, the Men of Color Scholastic Society, the Juvenile Urban Multicultural Program and the Thurgood Marshall Pre-law Society. McClure and these groups also
submitted an open letter to Pipe Dream, which was published on Tuesday. “We are not protesting Binghamton University, the athletes on the soccer team, or the U.S. Military,” the statement read. “We are protesting our ailing criminal justice system.” At the beginning of the protest, McClure addressed those gathered on the Spine. He thanked everyone for their support, and stressed the importance of drawing attention to police brutality and social inequity. “A lot of students may be asking us why we’re here,” McClure said. “We’re
WHRW celebrates Visiting prof. discusses PTSD in Japan 50-year anniversary Isaac Gagné examines psychological effects of 2011 disasters Campus radio station hosts over 100 weekly shows, wide variety of music Alana Epstein, Sarah Buerker & Allison Detzel Pipe Dream News
In 1966, a group of students set up a radio with a 10-watt transmitter on top of their Old Rafuse Hall dorm room in Old Dickinson Community. It was the start of what would turn into WHRW 90.5 FM, Binghamton University’s freeformat radio station. An AM radio station called WRAF had been founded at what was then Harpur College in 1954, but it could barely be reached throughout the campus. The transition 12 years later to FM radio happened in a dorm room, and WHRW, also known as the Harpur Radio Workshop, was founded. “We are a free-format station, which means there are no restrictions on what we can play,” said Jeffrey Goldberg, the
director of public affairs at WHRW and a junior majoring in geography. “If you want to go from playing classic rock, to jazz funk, to EDM, to folk, you can.” In order to become a DJ and have a show slot at WHRW, all members must go through an apprenticeship in which they shadow a DJ for a full semester. They also must take three courses in rules and regulations, complete a tech class and fill out logs for the station. Once this is done, and apprentices pass a clearance exam ensuring they are familiar with necessary information learned through training, they can get their own shows. Slotted air times range from 30 minutes to an hour and a half, and show times are determined by availability. There are currently 105 different shows on the weekly schedule.
SEE WHRW PAGE 2
Brendan Zarkower & Samuel Ditchek Pipe Dream News
Isaac Gagné, assistant professor of Japanese studies at the University of Hong Kong, visited Binghamton University on Tuesday to lead a discussion on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and postdisaster recovery in Japan. On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake shook the Tohoku region of Japan. Eleven minutes later, a 10-meter tsunami added to the decimation of the area. Disrupted by both the tsunami and earthquake, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant melted down. The series of events resulted in 15,893 deaths, 6,152 injured, 2,572 missing and 400,000 people displaced. “It has been called Japan’s 9/11,” Gagné said. “Not because it was a terrorist attack but because of how it shaped the Japanese mindset.” In Japan, it is considered atypical for those without a chronic mental illness to seek psychiatric help or guidance. This created an unusual phenomenon after the
2011 disasters, since a large number of survivors needed mental help, but few were willing to seek it out. Survivors experienced trauma from the loss of family members, jobs, property or a combination of the three. In an effort to comfort the survivors, many began participating in keicho gatherings. Keicho volunteers were local community members, a majority of whom were from the area that was affected by the disaster. At the gatherings, these individuals, who were not trained in mental health, would lend an ear to people who wanted to talk about their trauma. The idea was to “repair the heart” through communal rebuilding. “From the Japanese perspective, healing must be social,” Gagné said. Gagné’s research shows that keicho gatherings proved to be beneficial for the victims. The meetings are considered by professionals to be a combination of psychotherapeutic talk therapy and occupational therapy. But for the participants, the talks mostly
SEE JAPAN PAGE 2
Katherine Scott/Pipe Dream Photographer Assistant professor of Japanese studies at the University of Hong Kong, Isaac Gagné, led a discussion in Glenn G. Bartle Library on post-disaster recovery and post-traumatic stress disorder in Japan.
Alum offers advice for diverse and fulfilling career
Merrit Hartblay, '76, spent time at multiple media companies before devoting life to social work Chloe Rehfield, Andrea Papp & Jillian Forstadt Pipe Dream News
On Wednesday afternoon, Binghamton University alum Merrit Hartblay spoke to students at a Harpur Edge Lunch and Learn event about taking risks to reach success while maintaining a positive outlook on life. Lunch and Learn is a subset of Harpur Edge that works to enrich student connections in a more relaxed environment, through a round-table discussion over a meal. Hartblay was asked to speak at the event to discuss his own path and encourage
Harpur College students to pursue multiple careers until they find their own happiness. Hartblay, who graduated from BU in 1976, grew up in Jamaica, New York, and was pushed into the pre-law track from a young age by his family. He double-majored in political science and history, and upon graduation, decided to pursue work in broadcasting instead of going to law school. Hartblay talked about his multiple career-path changes and how students should deal with career obstacles as they come. From network operator at CBS Corp. to working on satellite communications at Telecom to managing various small bands
ARTS & CULTURE
all over the nation, Hartblay said he quickly moved between jobs, and that taking risks is crucial to career success. “If you have one foot on the past and one on the future, you’re pissing all over the present,” Hartblay said. “All you have control over is today. Life begins when you step out of your comfort zone.” After being involved in a bankruptcy case at WorldCom when he was 48 years old, Hartblay went from making six figures to nothing overnight. He said he turned to alcohol and drugs, but once his marriage fell apart, he knew he had to amend his lifestyle. After he initially got the opportunity to
share his experience at Paul D. Schreiber Senior High School in Port Washington, New York, Hartblay began to lecture at schools to enlighten students on the danger of drugs and the importance of taking care of one’s mental health. Now eight years sober, Hartblay is obtaining his master’s degree in social work at BU and works as a counselor at the Addiction Center of Broome County. He continues to give motivational speeches at high schools. “I work with students with mental health issues, who come in with so much pressure on them,” he said. “They start drinking
OPINIONS
and smoking pot to calm themselves. I’ve got freshmen who are freaking out about graduation, and a lot of students end up self-medicating.” Paige Dufresne, a junior majoring in human development, said she learned that while she may have many things on her plate, like raising her three-year-old daughter, she has to find opportunities to achieve success. “There are more opportunities here on campus than I’ve actually realized,” Dufresne said. “I need to be
SEE EDGE PAGE 2
SPORTS
Election Day is just around the corner. Haven’t registered yet? Here’s how,
Bruce Springsteen makes his memoir debut in "Born to Run,"
Binghamton’s director of University career services responds to our 9/27 editorial,
Volleyball prepares for two-game homestand,
Men’s soccer earns second straight shutout,
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