Wednesday, November 9, 2016 | Vol. XC, Issue 20 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com
Celebrating 70 Years as the Free Word on Campus
Trump takes White House, local elections see mixed results
Clockwise from Left: Photo from Pipe Dream Archives, Photo Provided by The Associated Press, Kevin Sussy/Photography Editor
Students, campus reacts to unexpected turnout in US presidential race
Tenney, Akshar and Lupardo among area victories
Alexandra Mackof & Brendan Zarkower
Pelle Waldron
Pipe Dream Editors
In what many are calling a major political upset, Republicans regained control of the White House as Donald Trump won the race for president of the United States. Max Newman, a sophomore majoring in political science, supported Donald Trump. He said he had hopes for the ripple effect that a Trump presidency would cause. “I think Trump will not just defeat Hillary Clinton, but defeat the entire political establishment,” Newman said. “The corrupt media, the political elite, the Silicon Valley advocates of globalization and the naysayers of populism have all lost tonight, and Trump’s hopeful victory should serve as a reminder that when the elite reject the people, populism always wins.” Students watched the results roll in
all over campus, and had many strong reactions as projections were made. The Black Student Union (BSU) hosted a viewing party in the Undergrounds. At around 10 p.m., as the election tightness became obviously close, tensions ran high. Bradley Toran, a senior majoring in political science and a former Bernie Sanders supporter, voted for Jill Stein. Toran said that there was a lot of confusion surrounding the election cycle, and that a Trump presidency would be a detriment to the country. “I am actually terrified of the outcome of this election,” Toran said. “I feel that a lot of people wanted to see change and they didn’t see that in Hillary Clinton. As far as human rights goes, if Trump wins we are going to go backward instead of forward.” Viewing party attendee Onyx Ramirez, a senior triple-majoring in political science, Latin American and Caribbean Area studies
and sociology, voted for Hillary Clinton. She said she was extremely surprised and disturbed to see the results as they became available. “It is really shocking,” Ramirez said. “It has been really interesting to see the variety of people’s views throughout this election. As a black woman, seeing someone so hateful do well is just terrible.” Some students took to the Marketplace to catch election results. Peter Warneck, a Sodexo employee who voted for Gary Johnson, said that the election results were different than he expected. Close to 11 p.m., he said he was preparing for a Trump presidency. “It’s a lot closer than anyone thought it might be,” Warneck said. “At this point, I’ve got to say it looks like it is going to go Trump. Whoever wins Florida is definitely going to take it.”
Assistant News Editor
Local races in Broome County were decided on Tuesday night amid a tumultuous election that saw Republicans take control of the Senate, the House of Representatives and the White House. Incumbent Democrat Chuck Schumer won handily over Republican Wendy Long in the U.S. Senate race, holding on to the seat that he has held since 1998. Kim Myers, a Democratic candidate for the 22nd District of the House of Representatives was defeated by Republican Claudia Tenney in a race that was described as one of the closest in the country leading up to the election. On the state level, incumbent
Pipe Dream Editorial
An Uncertain Aftermath On Nov. 8, 2016, Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. As we headed into Election Day, tension was present, but many were relaxed under the assumption that we would be electing our first female president. Despite her flaws or shortcomings, we were confident that Hillary Clinton would see victory over a racist, sexist and xenophobic candidate. We assumed there would be reason, but as the polls closed and results rolled in, we saw that there was none to be found. As we looked around our newsroom, exasperation and defeat were evident on a night we had hoped would move our country forward. While many of us may be in shock at the result of this election, the fact is that the conditions for this outcome have been present in our country for much of its history. The hateful rhetoric and divisiveness that have risen to the surface over the last year and a half are not new characteristics of the United States’ identity. The language that Trump and his supporters used was shocking but not foreign. He did not introduce any new language or ideas to the people of the United States. Rather, he created a haven from which hate speech has freely flown. Trump tapped into a market of bigotry that had been repressed to a degree and invisible to those unaffected, but had always existed. The breaking point didn’t come when Trump won the majority of electoral votes. It didn’t occur when he won the Republican nomination for president. If there had been one definite point of no return, then perhaps this election would be more comprehensible. Instead, there were multiple breaking points that never came to be. The American people should have disqualified Trump’s candidacy when
he said that Mexicans were rapists. Support for his campaign should have fallen off when he made constant degrading comments about women. But, it didn’t. And that begs a major question: What about Trump’s horrible statements enabled us to bypass his corruption, when Clinton’s scandals remained such static obstacles in her candidacy? What kind of values do we possess, that such overt and damaging discrimination can be overlooked? How have we fostered a culture that allows this? Even looking around a college campus, we see strict policy preventing and punishing cheating on exams, but no such extreme practices are in place to prevent hate speech. As a University we accept that a stolen paper is met with potential expulsion, but Title IX investigations are quickly minimized or forgotten. As we embark upon the next four years, we cannot allow the negative features of our society that this election has uncovered — the misogyny, the racism and the general hatred for anyone who represents difference — to take deeper root. Just because a man who espouses these values has been elected to the highest office, does not mean that ascription to these beliefs should be tolerated. Rather, we must remain steadfast in our intolerance of these values and our commitment to progress. We must be careful not to rush to unity as the first and only answer. There is an instinctual need to fix problems in a way that can just cover up the damage. We should instead take the following days (or years) to understand why the election unfolded the way that it did, and to understand the concerns of those that
influenced it. It seems now that only way for us to move forward is to take a step back and re-examine what went wrong. This examination must start as close to home as possible; we have to carefully consider the practices and ideas that allowed such a bigoted candidate to appeal to so many Americans. It’s tempting to label all of Trump’s supporters as racists and misogynists. But the fact is, their beliefs must come from somewhere, and we must seek to learn more about them. As a nation, we do ourselves no favors by refusing to listen, even if every instinct tells us to ignore them. We have to make the effort to understand the needs of the people that found their concerns addressed by the promises of a Trump presidency. It will take humility and courage to face not only those we consider our political opponents, but also ourselves. In the upcoming years, it is likely that much of the progress on issues that we — as the Pipe Dream Editorial Board and a majority of the student population at BU — have supported will be lost. For a large portion of the student body, the values and beliefs that we hold close will be threatened. We cannot continue to view supporters of an opposing candidate or party as others, less-thans or irrelevant. We cannot fight divisiveness with more divisiveness. We cannot fight hate with hate. In the next months, our country and society are destined to maneuver a tumultuous political and social climate. We pledge, as the Pipe Dream Editorial Board, to face it head-on.
Republican Fred Akshar defeated Democrat Sharon Ball for the 52nd District of the State Senate, and incumbent Democrat Donna Lupardo defeated Republican Dorollo Nixon for the State Assembly seat in the 123rd District. Binghamton University alum Jason Garnar, a Democrat, defeated Republican Debbie Preston in a close race for Broome County Executive. Conrad Taylor, a junior majoring in political science and a Binghamton City Council member, said that he looks forward to seeing what the future holds for the area. “While Kim Myers was a disappointing loss, Jason Garnar and Donna Lupardo’s wins were inspiring,” Taylor said. “I’m excited to see what they both have in store for Broome County.”