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Friday, November 11, 2016 | Vol. XC, Issue 21 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com
Campus sees record voter participation
App aims to make finding a cab easier Started at Cornell, RedRoute connects taxis and passengers
In 2016 election, turnout increased 45 percent from 2012
Alana Epstein Pipe Dream News
Alexandra Mackof
After a night in Downtown Binghamton, catching a cab back to campus can be a difficult process. Aiming to make that process easier, a new app that originated at Cornell University launched at Binghamton University on Tuesday. RedRoute was created by three students at Cornell this past March and has since spread to Syracuse University, SUNY Oneonta and now BU. Available in the iTunes App Store, the app works similarly to Uber: Users can request a taxi based on location, and are given the option to pay the driver through the app. Taxi cabs are run by independent companies in Binghamton, making the process of signing up each individual company difficult for RedRoute. As of now, the app has partnered with Yellow Cab of Binghamton, Binghamton’s largest taxi operator, but no other companies. According to Brian Schiff, a junior at Cornell and one of the creators of the app, the idea came about casually. “It was a few hall-mates with an idea to solve a problem in their own lives,” Schiff wrote in an email. “We were not satisfied
Barry’s approach centers around a drug policy paradigm referred to as “harm reduction,” which prioritizes harm to individuals as the metric by which policy effectiveness should be measured, as opposed to approaches which emphasize drug use prevention or law enforcement metrics. “We are trying to keep people alive long enough to quit,” Barry said. Wilmarth takes a different approach to drug treatment. He believes that injection facilities have not been proven to lower the rate of intravenous drug usage in
Binghamton University saw a record turnout in voter participation on Tuesday, with 2,480 students casting ballots. Democrats received the majority of votes for each race on the ballot, despite sweeping Republican victories. The 2,480 presidential votes cast was a 44 percent increase from 2012, where 1,719 votes were cast for president. The 2012 turnout was already a 35 percent increase from 2008. Campus votes accounted for 3.2 percent of all votes cast for president in the county as well. 405 votes were cast on campus for Republican President-elect Donald Trump, while 1,798 ballots were cast for Democratic runner-up Hillary Clinton. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson received 94 votes, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein gained 69 votes. Claudia Tenney, the newly elected Republican congresswoman from the 22nd District, received 399 votes from campus voters, while Democrat Kim Myers received 1,714. Martin Babinec, an Independent, received 81 votes. In the State Senate race for the 52nd
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News Editor
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Sean Lastig/Pipe Dream Photographer Alan Wilmarth, administrative director at United Health Services, speaks at about heroin addiction treatment. Wilmarth spoke on the use of a drug called Vivitrol that is used to help addicts detox.
Solutions to heroin epidemic debated
Discussion topics included need for safe injection sites, needle exchanges Brendan Zarkower Assistant News Editor
A new series of public debates at Binghamton University began on Wednesday night with a contentious debate concerning opposing treatment philosophies for heroin addiction and the promotion of safe injection sites. A safe injection facility is a legally sanctioned, medically staffed and supervised location where intravenous drug users can go to safely inject controlled substances. They are designed to both reduce the public health issues caused by intravenous drug use and
provide a safe and hygienic environment for those addicted to drugs to utilize. Two debaters participated in the contest. Each of them is an expert in the field of public health, specifically with regards to addiction treatment, and the pair have decades of experience between them. John Barry is the executive director of the Southern Tier AIDS Program and a supporter of safe injection sites for heroin users. Alan Wilmarth is the executive director of New Horizons Alcohol & Chemical Dependency Treatment Center at United Health Services hospitals and an opponent of safe injection sites.
Roosevelt Institute launches 'Blueprint' Campus branch of think tank aims to engage students with Broome County Amy Donovan Staff Writer
A new initiative on campus is helping students advocate for and write policies in Broome County to deal with society’s most pressing issues, such as poverty and safety. The Roosevelt Institute is a national liberal think tank founded to carry on the legacy of former president Franklin Roosevelt and former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. They operate the Roosevelt Institute Campus Network, which is a student-run organization that creates and advocates policies in local communities and has a chapter at Binghamton University. Partnering with Bing for Broome, the BU Roosevelt Institute surveyed 635 students last semester to gauge the concerns of the student body, as well as their knowledge about local politics in Broome County. The survey found that 60 percent of students believed that their opinion
had no weight in local politics, and that 76 percent had never voted for a local representative in Broome County. Some of the main social problems students brought up in the survey were poverty, a lack of job opportunities and safety in the area. Brianna Cea, president of the Roosevelt Institute and a sophomore double-majoring in political science and politics, philosophy and law, said that the results from the survey led to the creation of the Binghamton Blueprint Campaign, which will call for local politicians to take action on issues important to students. Ideas include a blue-light system in Downtown modeled after the campus safety system and a food co-op on the North Side. “We’re citizens of Broome County, which means we actually have a stake in what happens here,” Cea said. “We want students to view this place as a home away from home, and if you are going to view it as a home away from home we
should have a say in what happens with it, and we should have more representation in local government.” The Roosevelt Institute will be hosting a launch party on Monday, Nov. 14 where local representatives, including Conrad Taylor, a Binghamton City Council member and a junior majoring in political science, State Senator Fred Akshar and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, will speak and discuss the new initiative. The launch party will be the first time the Roosevelt Institute is putting the blueprint into the hands of policymakers. Taylor said that the blue-light system is an example of how both students and local community members could benefit from policies suggested in the blueprint. “For a positive, bright future in Binghamton, we need to improve the relationship between the city of Binghamton and Binghamton
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Study re-examines depression diagnoses Research looks at correlation between disease, reaction to negative images Alexandra Hupka Contributing Writer
A study conducted at Binghamton University suggests that the risk of depression can be predicted with a simple visual test, providing possible methods for diagnosis at routine doctor visits. The research was spearheaded by Anastacia Kudinova, a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate studying psychology. The work examines how to predict depression reoccurrence in individuals with a history of the disease. Major depressive disorder affects roughly 10 percent of men and 20 percent of women worldwide. It is a highly reoccurring condition, and statistics show that approximately 60 percent of individuals with a history of depression
will relapse within five years. “Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide,” Kudinova said. “Finding potential ways to intervene and prevent depression from progressing is very important. The study aimed to examine whether physiological reactions could be predictive of depression.” The studies consisted of showing participants images of different facial expressions and then measuring their pupil dilation. The results of the study suggested that high degrees of pupil dilation in response to negative facial expressions could potentially be used to predict the risk of a depression relapse. Brandon Gibb, the director of the Mood Disorders Institute and Center for Affective Science and a psychology professor at BU, said that the research
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The theatre department’s latest Mainstage show, “Bells are Ringing,” opens tonight,
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holds promise for clinicians and patients and could impact the future of mental health research and care. “We were trying to figure out if we can determine who is most at risk for depression in the future,” Gibb said. “We are now wondering if pupil dilation can be used as part of regular checkups to determine depression risk. Compare it to getting your cholesterol checked as part of your annual checkup; we are trying to figure out ways in laboratory tests for assessing the risk for mental health disorders so we can have early interventions.” Funded by a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grant and a National Institute of Mental Health grant, the study focused on
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BU ambassadors recruit future undergraduates Students visit high school alma maters, speak with current high schoolers about University Amy Donovan Staff Writer
The admissions department at Binghamton University is trying out a new recruitment method in high schools, using people who know the University best: the students. The Binghamton University Student Ambassador Program (BUSAP) consists of a group of undergraduate volunteers who engage with prospective students through open houses, Q-and-A panels and the new High School Visit Program, where ambassadors visit their old high schools to recruit prospective students. Josh Goldberg, the High School Visit Program supervisor and a junior majoring in mathematics, said that BUSAP provides more than just facts about the University. “The whole point of the Student Ambassador Program, as much as it is really about talking with students and teaching them about Binghamton, it’s really about sharing your personal story, sharing what you like about Binghamton,” Goldberg said. Ambassadors participate in events with high prospective student attendance, including open houses and information sessions where they answer questions about the University and share their own perspectives and stories. The High School Visit Program is a subset of BUSAP in which volunteers go through a separate training process where they learn about how to present and promote BU to prospective students in their old high schools. Emily Davan, the program coordinator for BUSAP and a senior majoring in nursing, wrote in an email that the High School Visit Program allows for ambassadors to connect with
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high school students and share their college experience in a different setting aside from campus. “Each student here has a unique and different story that is worth sharing,” Davan wrote. “Many BU Ambassadors have strong relationships with their high schools and may still know students attending. By allowing students to go back to high schools, Binghamton is represented in not only a professional manner, but also a relatable one too.” Davan added that she first became a student ambassador in 2013 because of her own college application experience. “The most memorable part of any campus visit I did as a high school student was the student presence at these events,” Davan wrote. “You can gauge a lot about a campus just
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Laura Schorr/Contributing Photographer Pictured: Tova Goldfischer, events supervisor for Binghamton University Student Ambassador Program.
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Upgrade your macaroni and cheese with Pipe Dream’s recipes,
Contributing columnist Aaron Bondar discusses a brighter future,
America East basketball games to be broadcast on ESPN3,
Women’s basketball adds two to 2021 recruiting class,
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