Tuesday, February 28, 2023 | Vol. CI, Issues 38 & 39 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com
‘As long as it takes’
The Free Word on Campus Since 1946
BU hosts Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo The unique performance took place at the Osterhout Concert Theater on Feb. 25. Margaret Giordano
arts & culture contributor
joanna fishman contributing photographer The rally featured musical performances and religious ceremonies alongside stories from Ukrainian refugees.
Around 130 community members honored the Ukrainian lives lost in war this past Saturday. Brandon Ng and Tresa Karnati news interns
The Binghamton community rallied for Ukraine outside the Broome County Courthouse on Saturday. Around 130 people attended the gathering, which included an interfaith prayer service, speeches from local activists, live music and appearances from elected officials.
The rally was organized to “express support for Ukraine in its fight for freedom, democracy and justice on the one-year anniversary of the unprovoked full-scale Russian invasion in Ukraine,” according to a press release from the Together for Ukraine Foundation. The organization was formed in 2014 as a response to Ukraine’s growing needs in medical and humanitarian aid. The Russian military invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022 in an attempt to prevent Ukraine from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), according to
the BBC. The war has continued for a year with a current estimate of 8,006 civilian deaths and 13,287 civilians injured, according to Statista. In 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden created the “Unite for Ukraine” program, which allows Americans to sponsor Ukrainian citizens and expedite visa applications for asylum seekers. Anatoliy Pradun, president of the Together for Ukraine Foundation, opened with a tribute to Ukrainian lives lost during the war effort, also recognizing networks that have emerged to help survivors.
see ukraine page 3
Community members flocked to the Osterhout Concert Theater on Saturday to attend Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, a male comedic ballet company that has been performing en travesti — drag — since its founding in 1974. The ballet company has garnered both critical success and a dedicated audience with its playful parodies of well-known pieces. The Trockaderos, or the “Trocks” as they are also known, engage in a kind of “character-ception.” These performers are not just playing the characters of the piece they are performing — they are also taking on a dancer’s persona. Takaomi Yoshino does not just play the Queen of the Swans, they play as Varvara Laptopova — a dancer who is credited within the program as being “awarded for her artistic misinterpretation.” Each performer takes on a specific kind of personality that affects how they perform each of the piece’s roles. Giovanni Pesce, a Binghamton resident, said that he felt inspired by the show. “I thought it was amazing,” Pesce
said. “When you step back from it all and look at all the dancers, you kind of realize how arbitrary gender is. Being a queer person, seeing this dismantling of binary parts — something about that is just really beautiful.” The night began with Le Lac des Cygnes, or Swan Lake, Act II. The set design was elaborate, featuring a backdrop of a mountain and a lake as the evil wizard Von Rothbart cast a spell that ushered in a giant cloud of smoke. This piece combined incredible technique and storytelling with comedic elements that kept the audience delighted. A recurring comedic gag of this piece was all of the swans disliking Prince Siegfried’s friend, Benno, who they continuously deny the advances of and even beat up on stage. The Trocks’ reimagining of Swan Lake featured incidents of musical cues gone awry, where in one instance the Prince did his starting position across the entire stage waiting for his music to begin — only to be forced to give up and leave. Other examples were dancers that were out of formation and one performer who embodied the classic “hi, mom!” archetype — dedicated to waving at the audience whenever they got the chance.
see ballet page 5
BNL’s 14 Going on 40 delves into college romance HPC’s show was codirected by students Aubrey Strier and Anne Muha. Hudson Burrows
arts & culture intern
“Hey, how would you feel about directing Binghamton Night Live with me?” Aubrey Strier, director of BNL 14, asked their co-director, Anne Muha, an hour before the
application deadline. A month later, ‘14 Going on 40’ became a testament to the latent greatness of their spur-of-themoment decision. This past weekend, Hinman Production Company (HPC) put on their 14th production of Binghamton Night Live (BNL), ‘14 Going on 40.’ BNL is noted for showcasing the comedic talent that runs within the campus community, and BNL 14 did
just that by satirizing the romcom that is none other than an authentic college experience. Muha, a junior majoring in political science, expanded on how sometimes the funniest content is sourced from real life. “In the sketch ‘The Outbreak,’ pretty much all of the main character’s dialogue was based on DMs that I wrote to my friends, and we recontextualized [them] for the purpose of the show,”
Muha said. “Everything from ‘God smiles upon the wicked’ to the ‘femcel T-swift style poetry,’ you look into yourself and make fun of yourself a little bit.” Getting by in college means poking fun at the utter absurdity of each day. A situationship, for example, is a dramatized, all-consuming relationship that avoids the dreaded act of confrontation, an effort feared by many. “The Outbreak,” a sketch
written by Muha and Strier — a junior majoring in computer science — themselves, brought the situationship to the stage by portraying it as a deadly disease, rendering the gravity that college students place on their social lives. Muha discussed how the relatable content was perceived by the cast.
see bnl page 5
Swimming and diving competes at AE Championships Men earn second place, women finish fifth in final standings of conference competition finale. Aidan Jennings
assistant sports editor
Over the weekend, the Binghamton swimming and diving teams competed in the culmination of their entire season at the America East (AE) Championships in Massachussets. After four days full of events, the men and women achieved second and fifth place finishes, respectively, and several BU students received individual honors for their performances. “Both of our programs had great weekends that we are very
proud of,” said Binghamton head coach Jerry Cummiskey. “We had multiple school, freshmen and conference records throughout the weekend, and collectively, I think it was our best conference meet in the last four years. Our team got better this week, and we look forward to building off this meet into continue success in the seasons to come.” Highlighting day one of competition for BU was the 800 free relay team composed of juniors Jake Vecchio, Henry Shemet, Liam Murphy and freshman Liam Preston. The quartet took first place with a time of 6:30.57, setting a new conference, meet and pool record.
see swim page 10
ARTS & CULTURE
sourced bubearcats.com Junior Liam Murphy won two individual events and was part of the 800 free relay team that broke the conference record at the AE championships over the weekend.
OPINIONS
SPORTS
BU’s newest stage play “Thrive, Or What You Will,”
Multiple Binghamton museums come together for glass exhibitions,
The Editorial Board discusses the benefits of Binghamton’s new marijuana dispensary,
Men’s basketball loses senior day game to Maine,
Baseball plates second most runs in program history against Mount St. Mary’s ,
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