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Our first issue from 1946 Monday, November 21, 2016 | Vol. XC, Issue 24 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com
Celebrating 70 Years as the Free Word on Campus
Pipe Dream News rides along with UPD on Saturday night BU police officers spend the weekend on patrol, keeping campus safe and working with students Brendan Zarkower & Alexandra Hupka Pipe Dream News
Katherine Scott/Pipe Dream Photographer Chemistry department lecturer Benjamin Turnpenny speaks to faculty in the Center for Learning and Teaching. He discussed ways to integrate office hours to ensure student success.
Professors to bring office hours online Benjamin Turnpenny explains how to increase interactions with students Alexandra Hupka Contributing Writer
Benjamin Turnpenny, a lecturer in the chemistry department at Binghamton University, is no stranger to the problems posed by large lecture courses. On Friday, he spoke to a group of faculty in the Center for Learning and Teaching (CLT) on ways to integrate office hours to ensure student success. Integrated office hours are a new method of combining in person office hours with online resources and tutoring to ensure students constantly have access
to help — particularly in large lecture courses where resources are often stretched thin. Turnpenny teaches Chemistry 107: Introductory Chemistry I, an introductory course that has over 900 students and is expected to increase in size following the opening of BU’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Turnpenny surveyed his students and found that most wanted to see more office hours, even though many were not attending the ones already available due to not having time, being intimidated by professors or not knowing which questions to ask.
“We know that students consider our introductory chemistry courses some of the toughest here at the University,” he said. With this information in mind, Turnpenny began to work on integrating office hours with online resources. He began to live stream tutoring sessions once per week using the CLT’s new learning studio, which features touch-screen smart televisions and video recording as well as editing equipment. After live streaming the sessions, he posts them to Blackboard so
SEE OFFICE PAGE 2
Administration encourages inclusivity at BU In letter to campus community, president calls for productive communication Peter Brockwell Staff Writer
In the wake of the presidential election, Binghamton University administrators came together to reiterate a message of support for those who are feeling the effects of the divisive political climate. BU President Harvey Stenger, Provost Donald Nieman and Chief Diversity Officer Valerie Hampton said they wanted to assure students that the campus community will continue to be a safe and inclusive space by issuing a message to the campus community through B-Line and an email to all students and staff. The statement attempted to highlight the diversity on campus, while also acknowledging that BU students may feel vulnerable or insecure because of the rhetoric surrounding the election.
The BU administration said that efforts to be a more welcoming community must increase in the coming years, and they provided contact information for on-campus resources available to students who feel threatened or insecure. “Know that those of you who are feeling fearful are not alone,” the statement read. “This is a trying time in our nation’s history with consequences that will undoubtedly impact our campus. But we will do everything in our power to assure that you are a safe and valued member of our community.” The administrators also encouraged productive dialogue between all groups of students and respect for the ideas of others. “We are committed to pursuing knowledge and truth through robust debate and the free exchange of ideas,” the statement read. “This requires an
environment characterized by civility, mutual respect and kindness. Even — indeed, especially — when we disagree, we must honor these values and treat each other accordingly.” Nieman said that he was not aware of any reports of threatening language on campus directed at minority groups in the wake of the election, but that members of the faculty and student body had reached out to administration. Multiple groups published open letters asking the BU administration to issue a statement about the election. One of the letters was signed by 127 different BU students, groups and faculty members. According to Nieman, the administration was hoping to reaffirm the core principles that unite the BU campus. “The message we sent in the letter
SEE LETTER PAGE 2
Most students have seen Binghamton’s New York State University Police Department around campus in their blackand-white patrol cars, but don’t know what being a police officer on a university campus entails. Pipe Dream News did a ride-along between midnight and 4 a.m. on Saturday to find out more about what a typical night shift looks like for UPD. UPD is a fully empowered law enforcement agency, meaning it can write tickets and make arrests just like state troopers. The department operates independently from other state and local police departments — its primary goal is to keep the campus community safe. As such, officers say that there are no quotas or expectations for them to write tickets. During the night shift, which starts at 11 p.m. and ends at 7 a.m., officers divide the campus into zones. Since there were three officers on patrol in three cars, campus was divided into three sectors. On this snowy Saturday night, UPD officer Christopher Meyn was assigned to Zone 1, which covered the dorms of east campus, including College-in-the-Woods, Newing College and Dickinson Community. Around 1 a.m., Meyn did a walk-through of Onondaga Hall in College-in-the-Woods. Entering through a side door into a stairwell, the air was immediately filled with the smell of marijuana. But as he walked through the halls of the dorm, no bedrooms stuck out as particularly pungent, so Meyn continued
walking through the hallways and common rooms, saying hello to those he passed on his way. On the fourth floor of the dorm, a loud party was underway. After a quick sniff of the hallway outside that revealed the smell of marijuana to be coming from elsewhere, Meyn chose to move on. “On these walk-throughs, we are just trying to make sure everyone is safe,” Meyn said. “We don’t try to ruin people’s nights.” Across campus on West Drive, UPD officer Andrew Schneider was on traffic patrol. He pulled over a 25-year-old male for running a stop sign. The man claimed he did not see the sign and was let go with a warning since his license came back as clean. “You never know,” Schneider said. “We could be driving and see someone collapse, or see someone trying to damage property. Especially with traffic stops, it’s never routine. You never know who you are pulling over or what is going on.” Shortly after 2 a.m., Meyn spotted an intoxicated female being propped up by her friends as they walked toward Newing College. Being a nine-year veteran of the department, Meyn has responded to countless ambulance calls on weekend nights. The student said she was at a fraternity party and drank too much punch. After a quick reprimand, a Harpur’s Ferry ambulance arrived within minutes to take her to the hospital. Back on West Drive, Schneider said that
SEE UPD PAGE 2
Research looks at ways to predict flight delays New model to better estimate frequency of airline issues, duration of problems Pelle Waldron & Jillian Forstadt Pipe Dream News
A study led by a Binghamton University Ph.D. candidate is looking at a new, more efficient way to predict flight delays, potentially providing airlines with the ability to better inform their passengers. The project was led by postdoctoral associate Sina Khanmohammadi, who received his Ph.D. in systems science in October. He was assisted by Salih Tutun, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in industrial and systems engineering, and Yunus Kucuk, a second-year graduate
student in computer science. Currently, flight delays are predicted using an artificial neural network, a computer program that is designed to simulate the biological learning process of the brain. This works by using existing data from previous flights, and analyzing different variables of that data to look for patterns and estimate an outcome. The use of these programs is flawed, however, due to the absence of an ability to handle qualitative variables. Factors such as weather and security have
SEE FLY PAGE 2
BU Council 11/18: Provost gives update on economic development Donald Nieman discusses Pharmacy School, undergraduate ambassador talks revival of DCL bus route come next semester Hannah Walter Contributing Writer
On Friday, Nov. 18, members of the Binghamton University Council convened in the Couper Administration Building for their monthly meeting. The focus was on research and economic development as well as updates on transportation and recent University news. To start the session, President Harvey Stenger recapped Gov. Andrew
Cuomo, Sen. Fred Akshar and State Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo’s visit on Tuesday to Johnson City where they confirmed the future location for the Decker School of Nursing at 48 Corliss Ave. The location is expected to open by 2019. Stenger also addressed the University’s response to the election and the reaffirmation of the University’s position on open dialogue and respect for diversity. He also touched on the scholarship
luncheon which celebrated funders and recipients, the new parking renovations that will add 200-400 additional spaces and recent faculty achievements, such as anthropology professor Douglas Holmes receiving the honor of Distinguished Professorship from SUNY. “In a thank you letter to me, [Holmes] said he was so thankful to be at a University that gave him the freedom to do creative research that is outside the box,” Stenger said.
BU Council student representative Ryan Sheppard, a first-year graduate student studying accounting, talked about the student body’s reaction to the election, the finishing of the new graduate student library space and campus transportation. Sheppard said that the University Downtown Center Leroy Street bus route should be back by the time students return from winter break in January since the lights on Beethoven and Leroy streets have been replaced with
a flashing four-way stop signal, and stop lines are expected to be moved further back to create a wider turning lane for buses. When Sheppard campaigned for his respective position, he promised to widen the roads to make bus travel on campus safer and easier. While this is an extremely expensive process, Sheppard explained, an alternative solution could be moving
SEE COUNCIL PAGE 2