Fall 2017 Issue 14

The Free Word on Campus Since 1946

Wednesday, October 18, 2017 | Vol. XCII, Issue 14 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com

Outdated flood maps leave Broome County in limbo

Lack of accurate FEMA flood maps impacts local insurance, housing markets Orla McCaffrey News Editor

Carol Grippen remembers watching the water creep toward her house as she backed away in her yearold black Hyundai Elantra.

She recalls the smell, a combination of mold and rotten fish, that lingered in her nostrils for weeks after floodwaters seeped into her two-story house on Laurel Avenue in the city of Binghamton.

She remembers thumbing through waterlogged mementos from her 34 years as a first-grade teacher — class pictures, student projects, letters from parents — and her reluctance to discard them.

When Grippen, 73, saw the devastation caused by

recent hurricanes, the memories came rushing back, just like the water had into her home that warm Wednesday in September 2011.

And in 2006. And 2005. The flooding of 2011 was the third time in seven years that water from the Susquehanna River rose above the city’s levees, crawled toward her home and ensured a long recovery.

over the rust-colored floodwaters, declaring a state of emergency that lasted over a week.

It has been more than 30 years since the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood maps for Broome County have been updated.

Time Lapse

“New Maps = A Safer Public.” That was the message printed in bold type on flyers distributed to Broome County residents in April 2010. FEMA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation held four public open houses outlining the county’s

Last month marked six years since southern Broome County was inundated by the worst flooding to date. The remnants of Tropical Storm Lee caused 24,000 people to evacuate and levied $502.8 million in property damage. Gov. Andrew Cuomo helicoptered

“New Maps = A Safer Public”

SEE FLOOD PAGE 4

Provided by Pipe Dream Archives

Emergency workers enter MacArthur Elementary School on Vestal Avenue in Binghamton on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011.

Officials talk BC opioid epidemic Residents weigh economic impact Michael Levinstein Contributing Writer

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (R22) held a forum to discuss the effects of the Broome County opioid epidemic on Tuesday night.

The forum, held in Symposium Hall at the Center of Excellence at Binghamton University, was meant to raise awareness on the challenges of combating addiction.

A panel answered questions from the community attendees.

The panel included Jill AlfordHammitt, the manager of the alcohol and drug education prevention team at Lourdes Hospital and member of Broome Opioid Abuse Council; Alan Wilmarth, administrative director of behavioral health at United Health Services Hospitals; Alexis Pleus, chief rainmaker at Truth Pharm, a nonprofit that attempts to decrease the stigma associated with addiction; and Jessica Dube, an addiction survivor.

The number of people gaining assistance in combating addiction in the county has risen in recent years.

According to data from the New York State Department of Health, the number of unique clients admitted to Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services certified chemical dependence treatment programs in Broome County rose from 821 in 2015 to 924 in 2016. Many community members who attended the forum looked to increase these numbers by spreading awareness of where addicts can access opioid addiction treatment.

However, according to Wilmarth, treatment can be hard to find for addicts and their families. Due to strict regulations, few doctors are certified to prescribe opioid addiction treatments. Physicians can write prescriptions for narcotics, but need special training to prescribe addiction treatment drugs. Additionally, Wilmarth discussed the links between addiction and mental illness and stressed that the two often need to be treated in harmony.

Dube said she believed the public should be educated on the signs and treatment of

Town hall highlights potential effects of new Johnson City Pharmacy School Valerie Puma Contributing Writer

Stephen Ruiz/Staff Photographer Congresswoman Claudia Tenney answers a question at the Opioid and Heroin Community Forum. A panel of Broome County officials, including representatives from the Broome County Sheriff’s Office and local hospitals, addressed concerns from attendees at the forum.

addiction as a whole, rather than for any particular substance. But despite the talk of treatment, Alford-Hammitt stressed the importance of prevention starting at a young age. Broome Opioid Abuse Council is currently introducing alcohol, tobacco and other drug information widgets on the school websites. She said she believes reaching out to students in the elementary and middle schools who begin abusing substances will reduce stigma and raise awareness of treatment programs.

In order to maintain successful treatment programs, Tenney said funding is needed. She held the event to discuss ways to sustainably invest in opioid treatment, and answered questions from community members, many of whom expressed their dismay at her vote to begin repealing the Affordable Care Act earlier this year.

Mark Walker, a 65-year-old physician in the city of Binghamton, was one of several constituents who disagreed with Tenney’s vote.

ARTS & CULTURE

Learn more about the on-campus office that oversees laundry, dining and more,

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“[Tenney is being] disingenuous and hypocritical because she voted … to repeal the [Affordable Care Act] which is … the only thing we’ve got now through Medicaid supporting 1.3 million people for mental health care and opioid abuse,” Walker said.

Others also appeared to disapprove of Tenney’s vote against the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act. The event ended with a call by Pleus to stop the criminalization of drug use, a stance that is at odds with Tenney’s political views.

Nevertheless, Alford-Hammitt said one of the most important weapons in the fight against the opioid epidemic might not be so political, and hinge more on acknowledging humanity. She said she believes it is important to remember people dealing with addiction should not looked at as morally inept.

“These people, who are dealing with a brain disease are suffering, and yet it’s a moral failing on their part?” AlfordHammitt said. “It is most certainly not.”

Local residents joined the Binghamton University School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SOPPS) faculty and staff last week at a town hall to discuss the economic impacts of Binghamton University’s new Health Sciences Campus in Johnson City.

The town hall, which was held at the George Korutz Justice Building in downtown Johnson City, featured announcements on the status of the new campus and initiatives on how the campus will be integrated with the local community. An online map initiative called Stony Map was announced at the town hall, which will serve as a

public website to include information on the site’s history and the changing economics and demographics of the area surrounding 96 Corliss Ave. This collaboration between BU administrators and the geography department will be headed by John Frazier, director of graduate studies in the geography department.

Frazier said it’s important to take the opportunity of SOPPS’ opening to monitor the transformation of Johnson City.

“We want to know — what are some of the conditions on the positive and negative sides on statistics like crime, drugs and housing?” Frazier said. “We

SEE CAMPUS PAGE 2

Incubator holds first student open house Eric Lee Contributing Writer

The Koffman Southern Tier Incubator held its inaugural student open house at its high-technology space in Downtown Binghamton on Tuesday evening.

The Incubator’s directors and student developers led a tour around the threestory collaborative space, explaining the various opportunities that exist for

OPINIONS

students within the innovator-focused offices and laboratories.

The initial plans for the Incubator date back to 2012, when Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger took office. Stenger was previously a dean at the University at Buffalo, where there was a successful business incubator that partnered with the university.

SEE KSTI PAGE 2

SPORTS

St. Vincent electrifies in fifth solo album,

Contributing columnist Hannah Gulko discusses public breast-feeding laws,

Start ‘em or sit ‘em?

Fantasy football picks,

Men’s soccer defeats Bucknell,

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2

NEWS

bupipedream.com | October 18, 2017

Koffman Southern Tier Incubator welcomes entrepreneurs KSTI FROM PAGE 1 “On his first day here, one of his questions was ‘Where’s your incubator?’” said Laura Holmes, assistant director of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships.

According to Holmes, there were 22 startup offices located inside the Innovative Technology Center, however, these were limited to BU faculty and student use. In 2014, START-UP NY, a tax-incentive program, gave the University the opportunity to open startup “suites” to outside companies.

The Incubator, which is open to both local and student business, accepts applications for a chance to work in the Downtown space. The startup’s Laura Schorr/Staff Photographer mission needs to comply with the University’s aim of educating The Koffman Southern Tier Incubator hosted an open house on Tuesday to welcome student-entrepreneurs to the building. student entrepreneurs on the The open house featured a tour of the incubator and speakers who emphasized the various resources the space offers startup businesses. business process. Holmes said

that despite low attendance at the open house, students have shown interest in the building.

“We had a lot of students reaching out over the summer who wanted to come see the new Incubator building, so we’ve been doing a lot of individual tours,” Holmes said.

According to Holmes, some nights there may be over a dozen people working in the space, but other nights there may be only one or two. Many of the people running startups are only working with the Incubator part-time, as they are full-time students or adults with other jobs and responsibilities.

Matthew Gill, the founder of the Enhance VR startup and a senior majoring in electrical engineering, said that the Incubator provides resources for new entrepreneurs that cannot be found in any other project at the University.

“There’s just something about like-minded entrepreneurs that also want to put in the work to get our businesses going,” Gill said.

“We’ve already reached so many goals, and now we’re working on customer outreach. We’re trying to push the word out there of what we are, what we’re doing and what we can do.”

Melanie Chen, a junior double-majoring in computer science and music, learned about the open house from a friend’s father, who is involved with entrepreneurship in Ithaca and encouraged her to come check out the new Incubator.

“I think Binghamton is really an interesting place to see since there’s so much development that’s always going on,” Chen said. “I don’t currently have a startup idea, but if I did, I feel like now I would know where to come to start and which people to talk to.”

Town hall highlights local economic impact CAMPUS FROM PAGE 1 are going to monitor all of these things over a long period of time, which has not been done before.”

Frazier said important elements of the project will be taking the concerns of residents into account and providing community members with tangible information.

“One of the goals of this project is to provide information on what residents think are the issues and what small businesses think are the issues,” Frazier said. “We heard some of those concerns tonight but we are going to put those packages together and go to the meetings and tell them what they are saying.”

Johnson City resident Laura Bilek raised concerns about her experiences with crime and safety issues, but said she’s encouraged by the potential of upswing for the community by the new school.

“It may increase my property value, and I am sure that it will increase my quality of life when I retire and stay here without all the bad elements around the area,” Bilek said. “Despite the concerns of gentrification, I nevertheless think that it will be better in the long run and it is going to be awesome for Johnson City.”

The issue of the opioid crisis in the local community and how SOPPS might help was also addressed. Gloria Meredith, founding dean of SOPPS, said the

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issue will be undertaken from a research-based standpoint.

“We’ve started a number of projects with other health professionals in this area, so we will be tackling the problem from a research standpoint,” she said. “But that will be a research standpoint that will involve patients, and involve mental health care … no one person or school is going to solve this problem, but we are already putting boots on the ground and we are collaborating a lot with the nursing school to be able to tackle in terms of services and research.”

BU President Harvey Stenger noted the potential of the school to bring more employment opportunities to the area.

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“We are going to create a lot of jobs in Johnson City,” Stenger said. “We hope that through new job opportunities that range from retail to technicians in the Pharmacy School … hopefully they will be able to improve on their standard of living. However, that’s hard and it sounds like it could work, only if we are actively helping them.”

Stenger said that tracking changes through Story Map and making decisions with the relevant community in mind would aid the school’s integration into the community.

“If we are watching it and monitoring it, I think we can identify problems that might occur and maybe some possible solutions

for that as well,” he said.

Johnson City Mayor Greg Deemie said he hopes to see the former site of the EndicottJohnson Shoe Factory become a center of revitalization for Johnson City, as long as its effects on the community are taken into consideration.

“As President Stenger said, it is something that we are going to have to look at, as time goes by and to base our decisions in the future on those who may be displaced, and to address the needs of the community,” Deemie said. “It’s a process.”

Jerry Putman, a resident of Johnson City, said he hopes the school’s development allows the village to flourish and experience

the same benefits as the city of Binghamton following the establishment of the University Downtown Center.

“Just imagine the possibilities that can exist from this community and this construction,” Putman said. “It’s a whole revitalization.

Neighborhoods change; cities change. It’s a great project and I think that we as village residents have got to help make this successful because the University can’t do it by themselves. It’s got to be done with the residents and local politicians — everyone’s going to have to make it work.”

SOPPS’ first classes started in August. Students and faculty are expected to begin using the facility in the summer of 2018.

PAGE III Wednesday, October 18, 2017

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DUIs and Turtle Shells

Fall 2017

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Aditya Tilyalkar/Contributing Photographer Residents of Endicott Hall gathered in the great room for an resident assistant event called “Drunk Mario Kart.” The event was co-hosted by University Police Department who discussed the dangers of drunk driving by letting students wear beer goggles while playing the video game Mario Kart.

Pipe Line

This Day in History Oct. 18, 1867

After purchasing the territory from Russia for less than two cents per acre, the United States formally takes possession of Alaska.

“The behavior is inexcusable, but the abuse of power familiar. Each brave voice that is raised, heard and credited by our watchdog media will ultimately change the game,” — Meryl Streep, in a statement to the Huffington Post, in response to the sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

LOCAL NEWS Mayor Rich David endorsed by Binghamton police union

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar, who expressed his support for the partnership and has committed to protecting vulnerable families from poor housing conditions in the past.

Phelps Mansion gets spooky for Friday the 13th

Mayor Rich David was endorsed by the Binghamton police union on Monday for the upcoming election, according to the Press & Sun-Bulletin. Other unions that have endorsed David include the Binghamton Professional Firefighter’s Association and the Binghamton Teamsters labor union. Mayoral candidate Tarik Abdelazim has been endorsed by 17 different local unions including the Laborers Local #17 and the Iron Workers Local #60

The Phelps Mansion Museum held its annual candlelit tour on Friday the 13th, according to WBNG. The mansion’s hosts took people through the house and taught them about the history of the mansion as well as how 19th-century people mourned deaths and believed in various superstitions. The mansion will be hosting tours from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. over the next two weekends.

Abdelazim announces Broome County housing partnership at press conference

Broome County Humane Society hosts free adoption event

At a press conference on Tuesday, Binghamton mayoral candidate Tarik Abdelazim announced his intent to partner with Broome County on Operation Slumlord, a code-enforcement pilot program, if elected. The partnership would act as a third part to his “Fight the Blight” plan. At the conference, Abdelazim was joined by

The Broome County Humane Society held a free adoption event this past weekend where 25 cats and 16 dogs were adopted. The adoption fees were paid by the Bissell Pet Foundation and it is the second free adoption event at the Broome County Humane Society within the past few weeks.

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NEWS

bupipedream.com | October 18, 2017

FEMA to use levee-analysis method to redraw flood maps FLOOD FROM PAGE 1

are not necessarily disasters.”

Projects include buyouts of properties in flood-prone zones, considered by experts to be one of the most effective ways to prevent repetitive loss. Since 2006, there have been 377 buyouts of county properties at the local, state and federal levels.

Improvements to various flood-control structures including dams, drainage systems and floodwalls have also been part of the county’s effort.

“We’ve done a lot more than people might realize,” Evangelisti said.

According to Knuepfer, the seemingly back-to-back floods have made communities increasingly proactive.

“What I see very clearly both in government at the local and county levels, is a very strong recognition that we do have a flood problem,” Knuepfer said.

new flood maps.

“By showing the extent to which areas are at risk for flooding, the new flood maps will help home and business owners understand their current risk and make informed decisions about protecting their property,” the flyer read.

After the flood of 2006, FEMA began to redraw the maps, which determine hazard levels for properties based on location. The primary area of concern is the special flood hazard area, where properties are at a one percent annual flood risk and homeowners are required to purchase flood insurance if their mortgages are federally backed.

The new maps identified 12 sections of Broome County’s levee system that failed to meet FEMA flood-protection requirements.

The original maps include 1,955 properties within the special flood hazard area. That figure nearly tripled to 5,606 under the preliminary maps released in 2010.

Will LAMP light the way?

Scrap the maps Shortly after the maps first went public, Sen. Chuck Schumer and former Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) penned a letter to former FEMA Director Craig Fugate, asking for them to be put on hold.

They were, and the following year, the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee threw southern Broome County into another state of emergency.

Schumer and Hinchey, along with local officials and their constituents, took issue with the binary way that flood risk and insurance premiums had been determined.

“In the old process, called the no-levee approach, they said, ‘We’re going to imagine there is no levee whatsoever,’” said Frank Evangelisti, Broome County director of planning.

The shelving of the maps was surprising, Evangelisti said, because they’d been so close to effective status.

“It was a very unusual circumstance because we do have a lot of levees and floodwalls in Broome County — it’s a big part of our landscape,” he said.

The typical time frame for a map to go from starting point to effective is around five years, according to J. Andrew Martin, chief of FEMA’s Region II risk analysis branch.

Broome County’s has been in the works for twice as long.

“I feel like we are not providing a good level of customer service to property owners in Broome County by not providing this information,” Martin said in a recent interview.

Insurance Insecurity Grippen had purchased flood insurance in the past, but let it lapse when nothing happened. After all, her home wasn’t mapped into the

Top: provided by Craig Cooper, left: provided by Pipe Dream Archives, right: provided by Binghamton National Weather Service Water rises above the flood wall on the South Side of the Susquehanna River on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011 (bottom right). The Susquehanna River crested at 35.25 feet, beating the previous record of 33.5 set five years earlier.

flood zone.

“Four houses from the river and I wasn’t in the flood zone,” she said.

In June 2006, an early summer storm pounded the area, causing heavy rainfall and flash flooding for three days. When the clouds parted, two feet of water stagnated on the first floor of Grippen’s home.

“Everything on the first floor got destroyed — it was a real mess,” she said. “We were out of the house until the fall.”

A $71,000 loan, which took 10 years to pay off, helped finance the remodel.

Under the preliminary FEMA map update, Grippen’s house would have been within the special flood hazard area, so she would’ve been forced to buy insurance.

Insurance rates can range between $1,800 and $2,400 for one year, according to Jim Rollo, a State Farm Insurance agent in the Binghamton area.

“Everybody should have flood insurance, regardless of whether you’re mapped inside the special flood hazard area or not,” Martin said.

But for some Broome County residents, that extra cost could mean not being able to afford their monthly mortgage payments. The median household income in the county is $46,261, well under the New York state median of $60,850.

The poverty rate is 17.7 percent, higher than the national average of 14.7 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

More than 7,000 properties are at least partially mapped into the special hazard flood area according

to the preliminary map, but there were just 1,433 flood insurance policies in effect in the county as of July 2017.

“I could take you to places that were totally underwater, but very few people have flood insurance,” Rollo said. “Even places that flooded are not currently mapped into a flood zone because the maps haven’t changed.”

After Grippen fixed her home,

“I’m like, ‘Oh, crap,” Grippen said.

It was worse than 2006. The Susquehanna River crested at 35.25 feet, beating the previous record of 33.5 set five years earlier. This time, three feet of water, all the way up to the countertops, filled the house Grippen had lived in since 1992.

“It was the same thing again — only this time, I had flood insurance,” Grippen said.

“I could take you to places that were totally underwater, but very few people have flood insurance,” Jim Rollo a State Farm insurance agent in the Binghamton area descending into the basement daily to spray Clorox on neon-green mold, she knew what she had to do next: get insurance.

She called Servpro, a Southern Tier restoration company, and paid less than $1,000 for her policy.

On that Wednesday five years later, the rain started after dawn.

Grippen kept getting up to look out the window.

“Marcia, the river is really coming kind of high,” she kept saying to her daughter.

A few hours later, a neighbor rang their doorbell.

“Carol, they say it’s going to flood again and it’s going to be higher than it was in 2006,” the neighbor told Grippen.

Levee Limbo One of the main determinants of flood-insurance premiums is the presence of levaees and floodwalls and their ability to meet a number of FEMA-set criteria including structural integrity and adequate height.

Broome County has 17.5 miles of levees, or embankments designed to stem a river’s overflow, and 21 floodcontrol structures like watersheds.

But the existing infrastructure fails to meet basic federal requirements.

“Given that we do not have the information necessary to map those levees as providing protection for the one percent annual chance flood, they are mapped as

not providing that protection,” Martin said.

Peter Knuepfer, associate professor of geology at Binghamton University, who has conducted extensive research on the impact of local flooding, said that assuming there are no levees is irrational.

“That means all of a sudden places, in some locations, thousands of people are in a heightened flood insurance location where it may or may not be relevant,” he said.

If the levees were built today, taking into account weather patterns and past events, they’d be much higher.

“There’s no money to make them higher, though, so they’re not as high as they should be in order to provide the protection that would put those properties into a preferred-risk category,” Knuepfer said. “But they do afford some amount of protection.”

Improved Infrastructure Since 2006, more than 170 small- and large-scale projects that aim to make the county more resistant to floods have been completed, according to a report published by the Broome County Department of Planning and Economic Development in 2016.

Evangelisti said he believes Broome County is considerably more equipped to handle a similar event.

“Broome County is more prepared, but the key is you can’t prevent floods — it’s like trying to prevent a tornado,” he said. “But you can make yourself so that floods

At the start of this year, the phones of Evangelisti and other local officials rang. It was FEMA, proposing a new initiative that might finally end the map-making logjam.

The Levee Analysis and Mapping Procedure, started in 2012 after successful implementation in Louisiana, reformulates the way FEMA determines flood risk behind levees. It moves away from the binary nature of risk determination and focuses on a more holistic assessment.

“This [Levee Analysis and Mapping Procedure] process allows us to take into account existing flood-protection structures, to some extent, without providing all of the necessary requirements that are in the code of federal regulations,” Martin said.

That means Broome County’s existing structures won’t be treated as invisible.

“It takes four or five different methodologies and applies whichever one seems to make the most sense for a given community,” Evangelisti said.

The 2010 maps are not longer accurate, according to Martin, because they don’t include information from the most recent flood.

“We’ll need to include that information in the analysis and re-issue the maps with the revised flood hazard, so it’ll be some time,” Martin said. “It’ll be some time.”

The floods of 2006 and 2011 hit Broome County hard. As images of the destruction caused by natural disasters flood the national consciousness, Broome County residents keep a close watch, willing the Susquehanna and Chenango rivers to continue flowing quietly past their confluence in Downtown Binghamton.

Visit bupipedream.com for the full version of this story.

ARTS & CULTURE

'Belleville' examines race, relationships, immigration Directed by Anne Brady, the thriller opens this Friday at 8 p.m. in Chamber Hall

Kevin Paredes/Photography Editor From left: Robert Edwards, a junior majoring in theatre; Liz Sierra, a junior double-majoring in theatre and Spanish; and Trey Santiago, a senior majoring in theatre. The three make up 75 percent of the cast of “Belleville,” the first Mainstage show of the season.

Rachel Greenspan Assistant Arts & Culture Editor From the first moment of “Belleville,” tension is palpable, shocking and disconcerting. The play opens to modern French reggae and a series of fights between Abby and Zach, where the lines between sensuality and anger are difficult to draw. From the first interaction between these characters, marital anxieties are immediately on display.

In this first scene, they’re both home from work in the afternoon.

Abby, played by Liz Sierra, a junior double-majoring in theatre and Spanish, spent money with her husband’s new credit card. Zach, played by Trey Santiago, a senior majoring in theatre, seems to have spent the day watching porn, rather than working — he’s a doctor for Doctors Without Borders. This scene encompasses the central energy of “Belleville”: deliciously confusing, stressful and strangely funny.

The first Binghamton University Mainstage play of the season, directed by Anne Brady, professor

of theatre at BU, “Belleville” tells the story of Zach and Abby’s life in a trendy neighborhood in Paris, whose picturesque marriage is clearly not what it seems. With the complicated friendship of another couple — Senegalese immigrants Alioune and Amina (played by Robert Edwards, a junior majoring in theatre, and Mayah Wells, a sophomore majoring in theatre) — the once-bright Belleville becomes dark and menacing.

“I feel like working with a smaller cast allows you to really think about every single thing you

do,” Edwards said. “In a bigger cast, sometimes that gets lost.”

Written by Amy Herzog, “Belleville” is a thriller in the style of Alfred Hitchcock films. Brady said that it is difficult to create that kind of intensity onstage.

“I need to find places to set up suspense and set up possible places of conflict that intrigue the audience,” Brady said.

In order to establish this dynamic between characters, Brady worked privately with each actor in the four-person cast. Edwards said that working with Brady helped

him better understand the play. “[Advice from Brady] is just more vision that fuels your intention and your objectives and how you want to affect the other characters,” Edwards said.

Awareness onstage is one of many challenges facing Edwards and Wells, both of whom are making their Mainstage debut in “Belleville.” The characters have dialogue both in English with Senegalese accents, as well as in French. Edwards, who has been taking Spanish courses for three semesters at BU, has no experience with French.

Dora Polachek, visiting associate professor in the department of romance languages, assisted the actors with the French dialogue. As for the Senegalese dialect, Brady reached out to Ibra Sene, associate professor of history and global and international studies at The College of Wooster, whose research examines French Colonial Senegal and Senegalese immigrants to France. The cast had the opportunity to video call with Sene, along with his family, to learn about their culture and speech. “[Sene] had also read the play, so he gave us some feedback and thoughts about that,” Brady said.

Much of the research for the show was conducted by the actors themselves. While one may assume “Belleville” has a dramaturge — a professional who researches and consults on the playwright, the play and its cultural context — Brady said it’s actually beneficial

to the production to have actors do this work.

“They come up with things that can help them in the world of the play, and then we can talk about it,” Brady said. “I think it’s useful for actors in training to do that.”

Wells said she found frightening similarities between the experiences of Senegalese immigrants in France and the experiences of black Americans throughout her own research.

“Well, people usually think that Paris is kind of like the most amazing place to be, and it’s lovely — Eiffel Tower, beautiful romance, everything like that,” Wells said.

“But, for people of color, it’s completely different.”

Edwards said that he hopes students of color will come see “Belleville” — starring four nonwhite students — and learn about the theatre department’s opportunities. Having the four leads be people of color is “wonderful,” Edwards said, especially in a play where race is such a central theme.

“I think we have a terrific group — a fabulous group of actors who are just giving their all — their heart, their soul, their guts, their humor,” Brady said.

“Belleville” debuts in the Anderson Center’s Chamber Hall this Friday, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m., and runs on Oct. 21, 27 and 28 at 8 p.m., as well as Oct. 29 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are available online and at the box office, and are $10 for students and $18 for the public. On opening night, tickets will be $5 for students at the box office only.

St. Vincent digs deep on 'MASSEDUCTION'

The office manages banking, laundry, dining and more

The Grammy-winning songstress released her latest album Oct. 13

Georgia Westbrook & Noah Bressner Pipe Dream Editors

Shauna Bahssin Copy Desk Chief If you’ve followed indie-rock musician St. Vincent’s career, you may have noticed that each album she produces reaches greater commercial success than her previous releases. Her self-titled album, which came out in 2014, peaked at No. 12 on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart and earned the musician a Grammy award for Best Alternative Music Album. If her newest endeavor, “MASSEDUCTION,” follows suit, it should reach even greater acclaim.

Aside from an upward trajectory in popularity, this album adheres to the capacity that the artist has for keeping her sound new and distinct in each album. “MASSEDUCTION” is the fifth record from the solo St. Vincent, the stage name of Annie Clark, and the variety of glamrock and electropop numbers, along with the stripped-back piano ballads, distance her latest work from even her recent, heavily synthesized albums.

The album opens with “Hang On Me,” a hushed and slow-paced late-night call that St. Vincent makes to a romantic partner. She expresses a few dark, profound anxieties — taxi cabs crashing and planes hurtling out of the sky — while the central line of the song dictates, “You and me / We’re not meant for this world.”

It’s an excellent precursor to what the listener is about to embark upon: identity, on a number of deeply personal levels, controls the album, and that theme repeats itself in nearly every song.

In the supersaturated “Sugarboy,” St. Vincent growls in the lowest register of her voice, “I am a lot like you (boys) / I am alone like you (girls),” expressing the fluidity of her own gender identity, while she contemplates the different sexual guises and costumes she’s placed herself in for the satisfaction of others

in “Savior.”

Despite this instance of coherency, it’s easy to hear the album as disjointed due to the sequence Clark has chosen for her track list, particularly in the middle of the record. Aggressive and lovelorn “Los Ageless” is jarring when placed next to “Happy Birthday, Johnny,” a piano ballad in which St. Vincent mourns a dissolved friendship, and “Savior” sounds almost crass when it prefaces heartbreak-centered “New York.” A closer listen reveals that these songs are carefully connected, though.

A number of St. Vincent’s first songs on the album face repercussions later in the track list, too: “Pills,” a song filled with static, forced delight over the stabilizing effects of drugs, meets its match on the B-side of the album when the musician’s “Young Lover” overdoses on a mix of medications she can’t even pronounce. In “Sugarboy,” she rather romantically claims she has “a crush on tragedy,” a statement that also becomes abundantly clear in “Young Lover,” when she voices, “I wish that I was your drug.”

In terms of subject matter and lyricism, this album is St. Vincent’s most accessible yet.

Typically, her songs are opaque in their messages and instead opt to promote a feeling. But the songs of “MASSEDUCTION” are far more direct, which not only entertains the abject sexuality of songs like “Masseduction” and “Savior,” but also the bleaker sides of the album that examine topics like addiction, overdose and suicide. These topics are certainly not the first somber ones that St. Vincent has explored within her music, but for the first time, her meaning comes across to the listener instantaneously.

When St. Vincent announced the album, she declared that it was the “boldest work [she’d] ever done,” and it’s her openness about her personal life that makes this statement true.

Auxiliary Services puts students first

If you buy anything on the Binghamton University campus — from a textbook to a bottle of Sprite — it has likely been subject to a discussion in the Auxiliary Services office. Located on the sixth floor of the Couper Administration Building, the office does more than the average student realizes.

The five staff members of the Auxiliary Services office manage the University Bookstore as well as dining, catering, banking, vending and laundry services.

Beyond that, they coordinate the BU Acres project and Campus Pre-School & Early Childhood Center.

Peter Napolitano, the director of Auxiliary Services, sees himself as the mediator between the needs of students and demands of vendors that serve college campuses. “[The vendors are] in business to make money — I get it, I understand that — but by the same token we have thresholds and I don’t want to overtax our program,” Napolitano said. “We try to keep each other in check — I’ll push back and they’ll push back, and somewhere in the middle is where we’re going to meet.”

Student input is important to Napolitano. The Student Culinary Council (SCC), a team of students who meet weekly to advise administrators about food on campus, nutrition and

sustainability, drives decisions like changes to retail options in the Marketplace.

Since current seniors arrived on campus in the fall of 2014, a lot has changed in campus dining. Chick-N-Bap replaced Wholly Habaneros, Starbucks and Subway arrived in Hinman College and Nite Owl shifted service from four locations to two. Napolitano explained that student feedback from the SCC, a survey and informal meetings with students drove these decisions and others, which included replacing The Diner with Tully’s and Pandini’s with CopperTop Tavern.

“We listened to the Student Culinary Council, what they wanted — they don’t want personal pan pizzas, they want pizza by the slice and they want it quick,” he said. “So we put CopperTop in to get us quick service, and we have gotten that.”

According to Napolitano, it should take about three minutes from order to pick up at CopperTop. Because CopperTop is an outside vendor, bringing it to campus required a contract process between the restaurant and Sodexo. The Marketplace now has six outside vendors, who have similar contracts to CopperTop’s.

All of these involve a careful dance between the interests of the University, Sodexo and the vendor.

It usually takes Auxiliary Services nearly a year to complete a contract. Even before the office issues a request for proposal from outside groups, the staff are

Katherine Scott/ Pipe Dream Photographer Peter Napolitano, the director of Auxiliary Services, stands in the University Bookstore. The bookstore is one of the many services on campus that the office supervises, including banking, dining and laundry.

busy preparing multiple drafts and projecting the impacts.

After the request for proposal is issued, groups submit proposals for the project. Then, the office either negotiates the terms or selects a choice outright and offers it for approval by various University entities.

The University’s contract with M&T Bank, for example, ends this year (after a one-year extension), and the request for proposal process for a campus banking service is underway. Napolitano is reaching out to other banks that might be interested in competing with M&T for the bid. M&T pays the University $30,000 per year to be on campus.

While the contract with M&T lasted a total of six years, contracts with bigger services like Coca-Cola and Sodexo often last a decade. Napolitano said

that 10-year contracts allow himself and the University “to get the biggest bang for our buck.”

“I’m asking these companies, these big companies — Coke, Sodexo, Barnes & Noble — I’m asking them to invest in us,” he said. “They need time in order to recoup some of that investment up front.”

Napolitano encourages students to reach out directly to him with feedback and suggestions, and said that talking to them is one of the best parts of his job. “[With students], there’s no pretense, they’ll tell you exactly what’s on their mind,” he said.

“And you know what? I love it that way. You guys should be pushing me and you do. When students are pushing, I know we’ve got a good, healthy program.”

LAW OFFICE OF PATRICK J. KILKER “Protecting you and our constitution”

PATRICK J. KILKER, ESQ.

Stephens Square Building 81 State Street, 5th Floor Binghamton, NY 13901 Phone: (607) 238-1176 | Fax: (607) 238-1489 Email: kilkerlaw@stny.rr.com Website: patrickkilkerlaw.com

OPINIONS F UN Wednesday, Thursday, Monday,October October April 3, 5, 2017 18,2017 2017

Jorden James/Editorial Artist

Why do we devalue our teachers?

The continued mistreatment deters prospective educators from pursuing the career Sarah Molano Contributing Columnist

If you’re majoring in a subject that falls under the humanities, like English or history, you’ve probably heard the familiar jeer: “Oh, so you’re going to be a teacher?”

The question would be harmless if it were genuinely out of curiosity. However, most who have been asked that question probably sensed the tone of condescension. This isn’t a piece about the devaluing of humanities majors, though. This is about how we talk about and devalue teachers.

You’ve heard the cliche a million times: Stay in school if you want to do well in life. It’s

not a stretch to assume that parents place a great deal of importance on the quality of their child’s education. That’s integral, especially in low-income families; for a lot of people, getting a good education is the best way to escape their poor financial situation.

While there are a lot of roadblocks for struggling families when it comes to public education, getting effective teachers remains a top concern. When I say effective, I don’t mean just qualified; minority representation in teaching makes a difference.

One study looked at longterm school records for more than 100,000 black elementary school students in North Carolina and found that the students who had at least one black teacher graduated high school at higher rates. According to the study, the probability of low-income black

boys dropping out of school was 39 percent lower when they had one black teacher in elementary school.

The continued mistreatment of teachers also deters students from wanting to pursue this career. Just imagine how many more wonderful instructors there would be if students could pursue it without worrying about the pay or the treatment.

But just in general, there are many reasons we should care about teachers. They spend a great deal of time with a child during the developing stages of their life, they act as role models and they are responsible for keeping children engaged with education.

There is no shortage of stories that detail how just one special teacher can change someone’s life.

We know that teachers are important. So why do they

continue to struggle?

First, they have to get more degrees. While an undergraduate education used to be the norm, most K-12 teachers are now required to have a master’s degree if they want to earn more. That makes it sound optional, but it’s really not; the Economic Policy Institute found that teachers make 17 percent less than similarly educated professionals in other fields. That gap is wider than ever. So, teachers now need to pay for more school — getting buried in more student loans — but are getting little in return.

Aside from the massive debt and lower pay than similar workers, teachers are often forced to pay out-of-pocket for supplies.

According to the Education Market Association, teachers collectively shelled out around $1.6 billion of their own money

on school supplies in 2016.

Therefore, even if you think that teachers are sufficiently paid, some of that money is spent on the basic materials for their job.

When it comes to college professors, the story doesn’t get much better. College professors need to get master’s degrees or doctorates, raising the debt issue again. Additionally, many adjunct professors, who account for the majority of college faculty, have their hours limited by their institutions so they can avoid having to provide health insurance. Another survey found that 31 percent of part-time faculty are living near or below the federal poverty line.

This doesn’t even mention the increased cuts to federal funding for education.

There is a clear disconnect between how we claim to value

teachers and how we actually treat them. That goes for us college students as well. Comments like those I mentioned at the beginning continue to devalue the role of teachers, and they’re fairly normalized. Instructors have a crucial job — a job that isn’t always easy — and they provide the much-needed service of educating the future generations.

If we really care about our youth and our future, we must invest in our teachers. If we care about our workers at all, we should invest in teachers.

Whether they’re dealing with screaming kindergarten kids or half-asleep, arrogant college students, teachers deserve a great deal of respect. And more-thansufficient pay.

— Sarah Molano is a junior majoring in English.

Protecting the right to breast-feed in public We must take action against the notion that breasts can only be shown in a sexual way Hannah Gulko Contributing Columnist

Victoria’s Secret: the feminine haven of overpriced bras and soft and sexy tees.

Victoria’s Secret: the place where boobs go to be pampered, lavished and proudly displayed among a sea of multicolored lace, sequined embellishments and models whose bodies look like they were genetically engineered

by Russian scientists to one day take over the world with their razor-sharp cheekbones and smoldering eyes.

Victoria’s Secret: the place where a woman gets kicked out of the store for breast-feeding her child.

You’d think the last place

a woman would be criticized for revealing her breasts for the purpose of feeding her child would be in a store that literally advertises boobs, however, it happened to 27-year-old mother of two Ashley Clawson. Clawson was forced to tuck away her actions and breastfeed in an alleyway behind a Victoria’s Secret location, where she was assured that no one would be able to see her.

This effectively sends a message to all the girls out there that it’s OK to love your breasts when you sexualize them, but as soon as you use them for their evolutionary purpose, you should be ashamed of them.

How can a modern working woman tend to her child in this ostensibly civilized world? In 1994, a New York state law was passed, stating “Notwithstanding

any other provision of law, a mother may breast feed her baby in any location, public or private, where the mother is otherwise authorized to be, irrespective of whether or not the nipple of the mother’s breast is covered during or incidental to the breast feeding.” Shoutout to the #freethenipple campaign.

A 2007 New York state labor law claimed that employers must allow breast-feeding mothers unpaid break time to pump and make a reasonable attempt to provide a private location for her to do so. This law also prohibited discrimination against breastfeeding mothers.

Unfortunately, although they exist to protect women, the majority of public breast-feeding laws in the United States have no enforcement provision. That means that while a state may

have a law that says a mother has a right to breast-feed in public, if someone harasses her while she does it, there is no legal action she can take against the harasser, making it as applicable as Bette Midler’s Tony Award cutoff music: not applicable at all.

We have feminists marching the streets of New York City and across the country with their pink pussy hats and their proud tattoos. In full disclosure, I was one of them. But what scared me was that once the Women’s March was over, this wave of perceived self-love and selfimportance seemed to fizzle out.

What frightened me was that people were only willing to show solidarity when they could take cute and inspirational Instagram pictures.

The movement’s momentum seemed to be missing in the weeks before and

after the march when the issues concerning gender wage gaps, representation in elected and corporate offices and access to health care were still extremely relevant. Where were all the “pussycats” when abortion rights were being tested?

Here’s the thing: Unless you have literally sustained a child’s life through a chemical cocktail your body produced, please stop propagating the idea that breastfeeding is shameful, that it is akin to public indecency, or that it has no place in public areas.

Because if you get to sit and eat that burger in front of me with an animalistic passion, a baby definitely gets to have their lunch too.

Ann Merriwether, instructor of psychology and human development at BU, teaches HDEV200: Introduction to

Human Development, a course that introduced me to a rather amazing term: lactivist, or lactation activist. I’m a passionate advocate of mothers everywhere not having to feel ashamed when their bodies provide for the literal well-being of the future generations. I’m a supporter of laws protecting these rights and honoring the women who go through complete body and mind transformations to give and nourish life. I feel that through open conversation, public protest and active support, we can all be proud lactivists.

And I’d really like to see Victoria’s Secret make a silk pajama set emblazoned with that term.

— Hannah Gulko is sophomore majoring human development.

a in

Illiberal liberalism If liberals continue to shut out dissenting beliefs, they risk creating an echo chamber Gunnar Jurgensen

Guest Columnist

Liberalism today has morphed into a constraining — yet ironically out-of-control — illiberal monster. It is no longer an open-minded or well-rounded political philosophy, but instead it has evolved into an ideology based on political buzzwords and confining identities.

This is seen across college campuses, where anyone moderately right of center, supporter of President Donald Trump or not, is bombarded with accusations of racism, homophobia and xenophobia.

These accusations are largely

unfounded, with the accuser knowing little of the accused aside from a small aspect of their political opinion. I have seen numerous posts on my Facebook feed of students saying they will not be friends with a Trump voter (different than supporter), or even a Republican for that matter.

Interestingly enough, a study was conducted at Dartmouth University that found that only 39 percent of students who identified as Democrats said they would feel comfortable living with a Republican and 16 percent said they felt neutral about it, while 45 percent said they felt uncomfortable with the hypothetical arrangement.

On the other hand, 69 percent of Republican students stated they would feel comfortable living with

someone with opposing political viewpoints. The difference and sheer disproportion in tolerance of other opinions is astounding and frightening.

Are blatant intolerance and the ostracizing of differing opinions not a hallmark of fascist ideology? Ironically, are so-called liberals not the ones espousing that all mainstream conservatives are fascist? And are they not the ones taking violent action against people trying to hear right-leaning opinions? For example, the farleft group antifa protested the arrival of conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro at the University of California, Berkeley for an event that was ultimately canceled, calling him a neoNazi. The group also set fires and threatened violence to prevent

other right-leaning opinions from being heard on Berkeley’s campus.

Where is the openness that liberalism once entailed? It seems like liberals don’t practice the tolerance they seem to preach.

I myself identify as a classical liberal, and based on that I must hold myself to a standard where I am open to any and all forms of civil discourse, because how else are opinions formed or changed?

How else are fair and conducive solutions generated?

Being liberal on college campuses today seems to translate to mean that you have the moral high ground to denounce all those who reasonably question your opinion. For many on the left, it seems totally valid to label anyone who does not share their stances as being a racist, homophobe,

xenophobe or any other offensive political buzzword. Even my coming out as a former Trump supporter was met by “liberal progressive” hate in saying that I am still a racist xenophobe, unaware or simply looking for a “pat on the back.” It is almost as if these self-proclaimed liberal progressives would prefer a Trump supporter to stay on the Trump train rather than remain open to different possibilities and opinions.

Maybe this is just another example of far-left psychological projection, but hey, I’m not one to judge.

Quite frankly, this is how constructive discourse is eliminated. If we want to keep our campuses unified under a shared ideal of free thought and speech, we must collectively attempt to nip this intolerance in the bud

before it blossoms into a truly fascist ivory tower. By drowning out defiant opinions, no matter how unfounded they may be, we are drowning out intellectual discourse and entrapping ourselves in echo chambers that only serve to stagnate our awareness of the world rather than progress it.

As liberals, we should champion open progress, not shrink away from it out of some false sense of subjective groupthink moral righteousness. Liberalism on today’s college campuses seems to have become intolerant, hence illiberal. If you are not open to new or different opinions, or changes in belief for that matter, you cannot call yourself a liberal.

— Gunnar Jurgensen is a junior majoring in political science.

7

OPINIONS

October 18, 2017 | bupipedream.com

Conquering fear of missing out The benefits of studying abroad can outweigh the negatives Brad Calendrillo Columnist

AP Photo/Akex Brandon President Donald Trump prepares to choose a reporter to call on for a question during a media availability in the Rose Garden with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, after their meeting at the White House on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, in Washington, D.C.

Recognizing reductionism Donald Trump's rhetoric funnels down to the masses Alec Weinstein Contributing Columnist

President Donald Trump’s erratic rhetoric has veered into new territory with his recent assessments of Puerto Rico, Las Vegas and the sinister cabal of ‘fake news media’ that supposedly wishes to undermine his believed heroic efforts at presidency.

Trump’s worldview, as evident from his Twitter feed, is one in which things occur passively rather than by causation.

I don’t believe there is anything anti-intellectual about Twitter, but Trump deploys a reductionist language that is as easily swallowed as segments of cable news. Phenomena such as “gun violence,” “global warming” and “racism” are either ignored, dismissed as fake news or left unnamed.

Instead, Americans live in a world and a nation that is subject to the whims of God and the subjectivity of destiny. Trump’s speech divides experience into a world of brute dichotomies of good and bad, “nice” (the citizens of Puerto Rico) versus “traitorous”

(the NFL), fake news and truth.

Although I have always felt a sense of danger from his style of speech, it is most worrying to see it seep into our own discourse at Binghamton University. The administration’s response to the recent racist drawings in Endicott Hall of Newing College was wholly inadequate. The incident was “characterized as hateful and bigoted” and “inconsistent with the values of inclusion and engagement.” The word “racist” is never explicitly stated. It was only when racist drawings were found a second time in Onondaga Hall of College-in-the-Woods that University President Harvey Stenger used more specific terminology when denouncing the finding.

Now, in the United States, it seems as though evidence is up for debate and ultimately subjective.

The pros and cons of a neo-Nazi being punched in the face are left to the niceties of salon debate.

Counterprotesters assaulted and murdered by white supremacists are somehow responsible for the violence inflicted on them.

All sides are equal in blame. Our president and the “alt-right” employ erasure to propagandistic effect. A similarly meek response

from the administration, despite my belief that they are very much opposed to racism, is a feckless response to this new discourse and will do little to counter what is becoming the new status quo.

In “Anti-Semite and Jew,” philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre argues that anti-Semitism — and any form of bigotry — is a passion, not an opinion. He argues to try to debate an anti-Semite and you will find that “they know their remarks are frivolous … but they are amusing themselves … if you press them too closely they abruptly fall silent.”

The rhetoric or diction of a society exists in a hierarchy.

Adaptation of specific styles at a higher level is then sifted through the pyramid of power into popular discourse, affecting consciousness and ideology as it is funneled down to the masses. This style of thought-negating speech must be countered at the highest level and through channels of power — independent of the executive branch of our country — if we are to resist sliding down the national funnel of racism and creeping authoritarianism.

— Alec Weinstein is a senior majoring in English.

While scrolling through Pipe Dream’s website, I discovered an advice column from February of last semester in our Opinions Section regarding one’s uncertainty about studying abroad. It caught my attention because last semester, I studied abroad in London, England. A fellow Binghamton University student wrote to former advice columnist Kristen DiPietra about how they were questioning whether or not they should study abroad, and I completely saw myself in the tentative traveler’s shoes.

Although the tentative traveler was very interested in studying in South America, they did not want to be separated from their friends or girlfriend, who were all graduating after the semester that the program took place.

I wholeheartedly agree with Kristen’s response that while it is normal to have this fear of missing out, studying abroad is possibly a once-ina-lifetime opportunity, and one may regret passing up this chance.

Furthermore, she mentions that it is better to step out of one’s comfort zone, and if one has a close bond with their friends, they will keep in contact while apart from one another and their friends will fully support the decision to study abroad.

Also, they will likely see each other again after the program terminates, even if it is not on BU’s campus.

To add on to Kristen’s point, it is best for one to go with their gut feeling. She advises to not let other people influence your decision, and I completely agree because ultimately, other people are not in your shoes. Other

Appreciating modern horror movies Although different from the classics, their merits should still be recognized Kristen DiPietra Columnist

Halloween is upon us yet again, and with it comes plenty of spooky movie nights in which we ask a friend to accompany us to the bathroom lest a monster creep out of the toilet. Your annoying cinema major friends may compel you to watch films by directors David Cronenberg, John Carpenter and the like because “they just don’t make them like they used to.”

While I have an incredible amount of respect for older horror films and the pioneers behind them, you need not look past 2010 to find an overabundance of films that will age to become classics.

Upon writing, I tried to research articles that supported my claim about modern horror movies.

Instead, I found a plethora of opinions that lamented the death of the genre and censured the decade’s heavy reliance on jump scares, gore and poorly conceptualized foundfootage films. But as ‘torture porn’

and the like began to wane at the end of the early 2000s, movies of the last 10 years have warranted critical and commercial acclaim through their revitalization of old tropes, complex narratives and social commentary.

Independent horror and foreign horror films from Iran, Austria and Korea, which are being imported through remakes, have mastered the art of storytelling and are attracting more dramatic actors and directors to the genre.

I believe we’re entering a golden age of horror in which these newer films are about something larger than themselves. They are stories of family, struggle, survival and offer great reflections on race or capitalism. Good modern horror often incorporates elements of the fantasy, thriller and drama genres, while still providing fresh scares and more insightful characters.

Arguably this year’s best horror movie, “Get Out” explores the power dynamics of race and privilege and ultimately leaves viewers with a responsibility to stay woke. Its protagonist, Chris, is far more savvy than your average horror victim.

Audiences didn’t find themselves vainly yelling at Chris, telling him not to make stupid moves that would get him killed. Chris made intelligent decisions and this made it easier for viewers to identify with and root for him.

Horror’s main challenges are to be both scary and original. There’s an expectation that a scary film will produce a reaction in a viewer, manifested through yelps, jumps and goosebumps. If a horror movie doesn’t yield fear, it’s simply not doing its job and can be dismissed simply as bad. An exceedingly large number of tropes force horror masters to think outside of the box, because they know their audiences will grow bored of a little girl singing the same creepy nursery rhyme. “The Girl With All the Gifts,” a recent independent zombie movie, flips the narrative and focuses on the zombies themselves, investing more in the characters while also providing genuine scares.

Critics are often quick to denounce jump scares as cheap, a bodily manipulation for which the film does not deserve credit. Director James Wan, of “The Conjuring”

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and “Insidious” franchises, makes exquisite use of the jump scare.

By refraining from the false-alarm jump scare, he rewards the viewer with a genuine shot of terror. Wan’s films introduce suspense with their first scene, often an unrelated narrative that will become more relevant by the end.

It may be in vogue to deride contemporary art because the works that precede it have already been hailed as classics. Current music, television and movies apparently just can’t top our parents’ generation. Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin explains that the music people listen to as teenagers is the music they’ll like for the rest of their lives. This grumpy-old-man phenomena may hinder movie lovers from tasting new works that enjoy larger budgets, more practical effects and more nuanced story lines. This Halloween, avoid the cult of nostalgia and embrace newer titles. I guarantee you’ll need a fresh set of pants.

— Kristen DiPietra is a senior double-majoring in English and human development.

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Europe — an opportunity I probably wouldn’t have after graduating from BU. Not only do I feel more confident and independent after such extensive travel, but I believe that I better understand cultures that are not my own.

Students studying abroad are also forced, to some extent, to immerse themselves in the culture by speaking the country’s language. For those who are proficient in a foreign language, their skills undeniably improve and strengthen social connections with people across the globe.

According to a survey conducted by the Institute for International Education of Students to observe the long-term impacts of study abroad on students, 98 percent of students stated that studying abroad gave them a better perspective of their own culture and 82 percent reported that they have a more sophisticated way of viewing the world. In the same group, 95 percent of the students reported increased maturity, 96 percent felt that their self-confidence went up and 95 percent of them said that their worldview was greatly impacted.

I have come to learn that no matter what, life goes on at school without me if I am not here, just like how life goes on at home while I am at school. While this may sound pessimistic, it was not a bad thing at all. My friends and the BU campus were here for me when I came back this semester and I found time to communicate with my friends back home while I was away. Coming from someone who experienced separation due to study abroad, it is worth embarking upon the experience of a lifetime — as long as you have the desire to do so.

— Brad Calendrillo is a junior majoring in English.

Letter to the editor: Call to investigate changed newspaper headlines This Binghamtonian requests Pipe Dream to call for a full investigation of the mayor’s office regarding re-writing sixteen local newspaper headlines and posting them in communications to the public to make the mayor look better. Re-writing history is wrong, it is fake news, it is dishonest, it is cheating, and the most scathing criticism of a politician is probably being compared to the character “Big Brother” in George Orwell’s 1984 where rewriting history meant that those who control the past control the present and those who control the present control the future.

One must investigate fully when the Office of the Mayor

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people may not have the desire to study abroad, and that’s completely fine. It does not mean they are wrong nor that they like to stay in their own bubble. I know many people who are genuinely not interested in studying abroad. However, if you feel that it is worth taking the chance to be self-sufficient in an unfamiliar place, it’s best to go for it. Don’t let other people’s different wants and interests influence yours.

The Huffington Post published an article about the fear of missing out, citing a former student at Asbury University in Kentucky who was impacted greatly by it.

She was accepted into a study abroad program in Paris, but she ultimately did not go because she did not want to miss out on social interactions at school. When she stayed at school rather than going abroad, she said that her friends did not seem to care that she decided to stay with them. She limited her social media use to lessen her fear, and ultimately reapplied for the same program a year later and later studied Paris.

I clearly remember questioning my decision to study abroad on several occasions. Since I just found my place at BU last year, I felt bad leaving somewhere I finally felt comfortable.

Admittedly, I have a strong fear of missing out. I always prefer to be where the action and fun is, and I felt that being away for an entire semester would make me miss a variety of lifelong memories with my friends. Even though I still thought about the events I missed on campus from time to time, I made a lot of lasting memories and many new friends while studying abroad.

After only a couple of weeks into studying abroad, I knew that I made the right decision. I was able to travel throughout

puts untruths in the mouth of the local newspaper. Also, there is a lack of transparency by the Deputy Mayor whose responses appear show him covering up misdeeds he himself knew about. Please call for a full investigation because re-writing the past to give oneself a cushy future is completely wrong. The biggest problem is that a mayor who stresses his training and hands-on experience in communications and public relations did not notice this smoking gun in his office.

This is hard to believe. The public has a right to know all about who fired it and under what circumstances.

-Jefferson Rose, Citizen of Binghamton

Voices A free-form piece that shares your unique story or experience Less formally structured than a column, meant to share an experience in a meaningful way, not necessarily to argue a point Varying lengths Optionally accompanied by a headshot portrait (taken by our photography staff)

OPINIONS FFUN UN Thursday, Wednesday, Thursday, Monday, Monday, September October October October April 3,2,5, 2017 28, 18, 2017 2017 2017 2017

Fingers Crossed

Nate Walker

Punnywise

Sudoku

Annabeth Sloan

By The Mepham Group

Level: 1 2 3 4 Solution to the previous puzzle

© 2017 The Mepham Group. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency. All rights reserved.

10/18/17

FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 18, 2017

#freeharvey

Nate Walker

THE Daily Commuter Puzzle ACROSS 1 Undies, for some 5 Exhibitionists 9 Frighten 14 Hose problem 15 Way out 16 Oct. 18, 2017 17 Military arms 19 Proverb 20 Win __ nose; finish first, but just barely 21 In case 22 Minded 23 Is able to 24 Pull along 26 __ point; dot used in math 30 Fold marks 35 Amphitheater 36 Crew members 38 Unclothed 39 Snouts 40 Name for a candy bar 41 Part of the arm 42 Actor __ West 43 Children 44 Honking bird 45 Colorful shawls 47 Child’s vehicle 49 Make well 51 Shoot carefully 52 Hit hard 56 Night __; those who retire late 58 Deuce 61 Thai or Kuwaiti 62 Still the same 64 Cyclist __ Armstrong 65 List of dishes 66 Regretted 67 Leg joints 68 Linkletter and Carney 69 Cincinnati team DOWN 1 Spill the beans 2 At the __ least; minimally 3 Facts & figures 4 Enjoy a snow sport 5 Capital of Montana

by Jacqueline E. Mathews

Previous Puzzle Solved

6 Chain saw predecessors 7 Glee 8 Pig’s home 9 Unchanging 10 Word with zip or Morse 11 Call it __; quit working and go home 12 In a __; irate 13 Black-__ peas 18 Peruvian pack animals 22 “Yours, Mine & __”; Dennis Quaid movie 23 Film industry 25 Come __; find 26 Plato & Delany 27 Wear away 28 Actor Romero 29 __ May Alcott 31 Flowering 32 Wooden shoe 33 Uneven 34 Septic tank alternative 37 Conjunction

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41 Boaster 43 Hold on to 46 T-Mobile store purchases 48 Patch of hardened skin on the foot 50 Solitary person 52 Stroll

53 54 55 57 58 59 60 62 63

As strong __ ox Long thin mark Mantilla fabric Desire __ or false test Garden intruder Probability Ms. Thurman Go astray

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@PipeDreamSports FOR LIVE COVERAGE Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Week 7: Start or sit 'em?

Evan Cole Assistant Sports Editor

Fantasy Football

Rachel Tomei/Pipe Dream Redshirt freshman back Kurt Wesch found his offensive game this week, netting two goals over Binghamton’s past two games, including the game-winner against Bucknell.

Men's soccer takes down Bucknell Wesch's game-winner powers Binghamton to fifth victory Yedidya Naiman Pipe Dream Sports

With less than 15 minutes left in the second half and the score tied up at one point each, the Bearcats looked as though they were headed for their fifth straight overtime game. Redshirt freshman back Kurt Wesch had other plans in mind as he scored his second goal in two games to give Binghamton the lead, and ultimately the game, 2-1, over Bucknell University. With this win, the Bearcats improve to a 5-6-3 overall record and maintain their 1-1-2 American East Conference record.

The game began relatively slowly, with BU and the Bison exchanging shots, but neither finding the back of the net.

Both teams played similarly as the Bearcats earned a slight advantage in time of possession as the half neared.

When the first period ended, the score was stuck at 0-0, but the Bearcats were making the necessary adjustments.

“We started out fairly even, and then we just started to grow in possession more, and I thought a couple of our guys were really, really good,” said BU head coach Paul Marco.

The second half started right where the first left off until a foul on Bucknell senior forward Ben Derleth set Binghamton up for a free kick. Freshman midfielder Noah Luescher fired a cross to junior midfielder Harrison Weilbacher, who redirected the ball for the first goal of the game, and his first of the season.

This was Luescher’s fifth assist of his rookie season, leading the team. The Bison struck back quickly, however, as freshman midfielder Matt Thorsheim scored off of a

deflection just 25 seconds later.

“We go up, and then all of a sudden, I look back, and the ball is in our goal,” Marco said.

After the two quick-fire goals, both teams settled down, until Binghamton was given a second free kick opportunity in the 77th minute. Redshirt senior back Charlie Novoth took the free kick from around midfield, and Wesch managed to head the ball into the back of the net.

Wesch’s goal marked the second week in a row that he has scored either a game-winning or gametying goal. “[Wesch has] grown leaps and bounds this year, we knew he was gonna be a good one, but we didn’t know he would be able to show such growth,” Marco said.

Prior to this game, the Bearcats had done something they had never done before: played four straight overtime

games. Capturing the victory in regulation was a nice change of pace for the Bearcats.

“We were hopeful that this game wasn’t going to go to overtime, we were fortunate, obviously it was an even game, to come out on top, on a very well-organized Bucknell team,” Marco said. “We’re feeling fortunate now that we’re driving home, on time.”

The Bison outshot the Bearcats 19-8 throughout the game and 5-2 with regard to shots on goal. Both of Binghamton’s shots on target found the back of the net. In goal, redshirt freshman Isaiah Pettis made his first career start, recording four saves against Bucknell.

BU will face off against UMass Lowell next Saturday in a conference matchup. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Bearcats Sports Complex in Vestal, New York.

Golf struggles in fall season finale Despite Lane's strong showing, BU finishes ninth of 11 teams

Justin Zion Contributing Writer

In its final tournament of the fall season, the Binghamton golf team posted an underwhelming ninth place finish out of 11 teams at the F&M Bank APSU Intercollegiate this past Monday and Tuesday. The team finished with a total of 900 shots over the three-round tournament, which was held in Dickson, Tennessee, amounting to a final score of 36 above par.

Throughout the two-day tournament, the Bearcats were consistently plagued by bogeys and double bogeys, collectively scoring a bogey or worse on 77 holes over three rounds. In contrast, the Bearcats posted only 41 birdies and no eagles.

“We definitely didn’t reach our objective,” said BU head coach Bernie Herceg. “We wanted to move up three or four spots on the leaderboard and it was doable, but we didn’t score well.”

Individually, the Bearcats’ best performer was freshman Justin Lane, who tied for 13th in a field of 75 total contestants.

Lane put forth a consistent performance throughout, finishing each round at one over par for a total score of +3.

Freshman Nacho Glagovsky turned in the second-best performance for the team, accumulating a tally of nine over par that included a final round of one under. “[Lane] played real solid

all week,” Herceg said. “He was the most consistent and bestfinishing. And Nacho really had a strong day today, birdieing two out of his last three holes to finish under par … it isn’t anything shocking to me, they’re very talented players.”

The tournament started early Monday morning, and Binghamton’s struggles began almost immediately. Three of the five Bearcat competitors bogeyed their respective first holes, setting the tone for what would be a lackluster round for the team.

BU seemed to be unable to find any rhythm, as there were very few long stretches of bogey-free play. Still, the Bearcats ended the round in sixth place, right in the middle of the leaderboard.

It was in the second round on Monday afternoon that the Bearcats’ struggles really intensified. Consecutive pars and birdies continued to elude most of the players. Meanwhile, the bogeys continued to pile up, including a quintuple bogey by sophomore Tom Mandel on the first hole. Their secondround performance was tied for the worst, and by the time it was over, the Bearcats found themselves firmly entrenched near the bottom of the leaderboard, something that a decent third round on Tuesday couldn’t remedy.

Ultimately, Binghamton finished 27 shots behind the eventual winners, Missouri State and UT Martin, who both turned in scores of nine over par.

Quarterback Start: Carson Wentz (PHI): Wentz has impressed in his sophomore season and currently tallies the fourth-most points among QBs in ESPN standard scoring this year.

Facing a depleted Washington secondary and posting three or more touchdowns in each of his last two games, Wentz is poised for another explosive performance on Monday.

Alex Smith (KC): Smith has proven capable of posting elite numbers when facing a weak pass rush, and the Raiders’ defense is well below average in getting to the QB. Smith has great potential this Thursday night.

Sit: Jameis Winston (TB): If Winston plays this Sunday, he is facing a tough Bills defense that just defeated the Falcons’ potent attack. Leave Winston on your bench this week.

If you’re desperate: Carson Palmer (ARI): Palmer just shredded the Buccaneers’ defense for three touchdowns last week. With the arrival of Adrian Peterson, the Cardinals’ offense looks rejuvenated. Against a decent Rams defense, an effective running game could give Palmer another opportunity to put up multiple touchdowns on Sunday.

Running back Start: Jerick McKinnon (MIN): McKinnon jumped on the opportunity given to him following Dalvin Cook’s injury, posting at least 95 all-purpose yards and a touchdown in each of the past two weeks. Facing a Ravens front that just allowed over 200 yards on the ground, McKinnon should have another big game this Sunday.

Tevin Coleman (ATL): While used sparingly, Coleman is incredibly efficient with his touches. Slated against a Patriots defense that cannot handle any aspect of the passing game, Coleman’s versatility gives him plenty of touchdown upside on Sunday night.

Sit: Latavius Murray (MIN): Murray was given the first crack at seizing Cook’s role, but McKinnon has proven to be a significantly more effective back.

Murray cannot be trusted in a starting lineup at this point.

If you’re desperate: Derrick Henry (TEN): Despite being the clear secondary back to DeMarco Murray, the Titans are still actively looking to get Henry plenty of touches.

Against the Browns’ almost nonexistent defense, Henry possesses a high ceiling.

Wide receiver Start: Chris Hogan (NE): Despite a lowly, one-catch performance against the Jets last week, Hogan is poised for a bounce-back game against the Falcons. Emerging as one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets, Hogan has a high floor.

Rishard Matthews (TEN): Matthews has been extremely reliable this season and has incredible potential facing off against the Browns.

Sit: Amari Cooper (OAK): Cooper has been in an extreme slump and a matchup against AllPro cornerback Marcus Peters will not help him regress to his normal self.

If you’re desperate: Mohamed Sanu (ATL): Like Coleman, Sanu has big play potential against the Patriots’ weak secondary. He could rip off a few big plays in this potential shootout.

Tight end Start: Evan Engram (NYG): Engram has emerged as Eli Manning’s top target due to the lengthy injuries to all of the Giants’ top four receivers. Even facing a stingy Seattle defense, Engram still receives enough targets to warrant a start.

Cameron Brate (TB): Brate continues to produce as one of the Buccaneers’ favorite receiving options. Regardless of who starts at quarterback, Brate should see plenty of red-zone targets against the Bills.

Sit: Martellus Bennett (GB): With Aaron Rodgers suffering a broken collarbone, the Packers’ passing offense has become severely depleted. Bennett’s targets will probably be ceded to more reliable receivers such as Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb.

If you’re desperate: Austin Seferian-Jenkins (NYJ): ASJ has impressed mightily the past two weeks, posting at least six receptions and a touchdown in each of his past two games. He again holds plenty of upside as the Jets’ only viable red-zone threat against a shoddy Dolphins defense.

Week 7

Fantasy Standard PPR Scoring Leaders

by Position

Quarterback

Deshaun Watson

Provided by BU Athletics Freshman Justin Lane led the Binghamton golf team this week, finishing three over par at the F&M Bank APSU Intercollegiate tournament.

Individually, it was sophomore Austin Knight of Murray State who took first place with a score of six under, after a close battle with junior Ryan Knop of Auburn and senior Hunter Richardson of UT Martin.

This was the final tournament of the fall season for BU, and despite ending on a negative note, Herceg still took an optimistic take on the season overall.

“We’re a better team than a lot of the scores that we’ve had throughout the year,” Herceg

said. “We had a really good home event. The final round that we had at that home tournament, that’s the capability we have … in every tournament that we played in, let alone if we played good or bad, we took a lot from it and gained a lot of experience.”

Following this invitational, the Bearcats embark on a fivemonth offseason through the winter. Their next invitational is scheduled for Friday, March 9, when the team heads to Boulder City, Nevada for the Jackrabbit Invitational.

136.1

Points

Running Back

Kareem Hunt

143.5

Points

Wide Receiver

Antonio Brown

130

Points

Jonathan Flores/Design Assistant