Spring 2016 Issue 17

Page 1

CREED BRATTON OF

"THE OFFICE"

IS COMING TO CAMPUS, SEE PAGE 8

Celebrating 70 Years as the Free Word on Campus

Tuesday, April 5, 2016 | Vol. LXXXIX, Issue 17 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com

SUNY 2020 tuition plan not renewed In-state tuition to freeze for 16-17, outof-state rate in flux

Alexandra Mackof News Editor

The New York state legislature failed to approve the SUNY 2020 tuition plan for the new fiscal year, meaning instate undergraduate students in the SUNY system will experience a tuition freeze for the upcoming academic year while out-of-state students now face uncertainty. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the news Thursday as part of the finalized New York state 2016-2017 budget distribution agreements. The budget’s total of $145 billion will also be used to focus on pressing statewide issues, such as increased minimum wage and lower tax rates, throughout the new fiscal year. The SUNY 2020 tuition plan had capped tuition increases at a $300 maximum annually for the past five years. Before the SUNY 2020 plan, tuition increases changed from year to year and students frequently faced hundreds of dollars in variations. Critics of the plan have cited that tuition, although capped, still increased by the maximum $300 each year. This means that tuition increased $1,500 over the past five years, or by 30 percent for in-state students on all SUNY fouryear campuses. Tom Mastro, the SUNY Student Assembly president and a senior majoring in human development, explained that the plan had ensured a level of dependency for students. “Before five years ago, the determination of what our tuition would be was in the hands of the state,” Mastro said. “There was no predictability for our tuition. In 2003 our tuition went up by $950, in 1995 our tuition went up by $750.”

SEE TUITION PAGE 2

Kevin Paredes/Pipe Dream Photographer Queen Latifah, speaks during a question and answer session after talking about her career in entertainment in the Osterhout Concert Theater Monday night. A day after winning a Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation award in sunny Los Angeles, California, Queen Latifah made her way to the Binghamton cold to speak about the lessons she has learned from her time in the entertainment industry. SEE PAGE 8 FOR PIPE DREAM'S FULL COVERAGE.

SUNY to aid assault victims with backpacks

Title IX Coordinator Association, NYSCASA to provide resources to thousands

Carla Sinclair Assistant News Editor

A backpack can be a fashion statement, a school necessity or just a place to store odds and ends — but a SUNY-wide initiative is turning the backpack into a way to help survivors of domestic violence. The “SUNY’s Got Your Back” program is the product of a partnership between SUNY’s Title IX Coordinator Association and the New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NYSCASA). The goal is to provide 2,016 backpacks that

hold shampoo, toothpaste and other items for victims of domestic violence by the end of the year. The project, which will be spearheaded by the Title IX coordinator at each participating SUNY school, will collect these bags and distribute them to local shelters and organizations that assist those escaping interpersonal violence. Joseph Storch, SUNY associate counsel and Title IX project coordinator, said the program aims to alleviate some of the burden placed on both the victims and the shelters they use as resources. “Every day, men, women and children

seek assistance from rape crisis and domestic violence shelters across New York state, often with little more than the clothes they are wearing,” Storch said. “The goal of ‘SUNY’s Got Your Back’ is to provide ongoing support for these individuals, while also ensuring that more of the money shelters and other response organizations have can be spent on critical support and services.” The NYSCASA executive director, Joanne Zannoni, agreed that the program will help to serve and better the community.

“The ‘SUNY’s Got Your Back’ project engages campus community members in sending a positive message of support for victims and survivors of sexual and interpersonal violence, as well as the community-based victim advocacy programs that serve them,” Zannoni wrote in a press release. SUNY Title IX Association President Lisa Evaneski, who is also the Title IX coordinator at SUNY Oswego, said this was just one of the ways the system plans on combating violence on their

SEE TITLE IX PAGE 2

Watson appoints new dean of research Alumna founds grant John Bay, former Air Force scientist, selected for position Amy Donovan Contributing Writer

The former chief scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in Rome, New York has been named the new associate dean of research for the Watson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. John Bay, who previously held the position of information directorate at the AFRL, was selected from a pool of candidates following an application process and review by a search committee comprised of Watson staff. The position became vacant after the acting associate dean, Weiyi Meng, left to return to his previous position as a professor in the computer science department to focus on teaching and personal research. Bay will assume the position on June 6. Krishnaswami Srihari, the Watson

dean, said Bay was chosen based on his experience in the field. He added that Bay’s credentials and knowledge will positively impact both Watson and the University as a whole. “He’s got a really good background to help the Watson school and our campus enhance our research and scholarship footprint,” Srihari said. Bay previously worked for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is an agency within the United States Department of Defense that helps with the development of technologies used by the military. He was also an associate professor of electrical engineering at Virginia Tech from 1989-1999, and he said that he is excited to return to a university setting. “I had always wanted to go back

He's got a really good background to help the Watson school and our campus enhance our research and scholarship footprint — Krishnaswami Srihari Dean of Watson

SEE WATSON PAGE 4

ARTS & CULTURE

Don’t let leftover Easter candy spoil,

See page 9

Christian Louboutin expands his Nudes Collection to include shades for all skin tones,

15 Chenango St. Binghamton, NY 13901

Ellen Kaschak, '65, will provide funding to student conducting research over summer Alana Epstein Pipe Dream News

Ellyn Kaschak always saw higher education as a priority, but found that financing it was a challenge. To help others get around this, she founded a grant that will provide a Binghamton University student with an opportunity to conduct research in the field of social justice for women and girls. Through multiple scholarships and student grants, Kaschak was able to graduate from Harpur College in 1965. After receiving her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Ohio State University, she is now a professor

OPINIONS

emerita of psychology at San Jose State University in California and a professor in the gender studies program at the University for Peace in Costa Rica. She is also the author of the book “Endangered Lives: A New Psychology of Women’s Experience.” The $1,500 Dr. Ellyn Uram Kaschak Summer Research Grant, which will be funded yearly by Kaschak, is set to begin this summer. Students in Harpur College with at least a 3.0 GPA and interest in research in the field of social justice for women and girls can apply through the Harpur Edge page;

SEE GRANT PAGE 4

SPORTS

The Editorial Board discusses potential SUNY tuition hikes,

Women’s lacrosse drops overtime contest to New Hampshire,

Softball sweeps UMBC, extends winning streak to 11,

See page 7

See page 11

See page 12

See page 9

AMENITIES: Great Midtown Location Cyber Lounge with Business Center State of the Art Fitness Center

607-235-5852 ulbinghamton.com

for social justice work

NEW AMENITIES: Virtual Fitness Center Theatre and Conference Room

Luxury living at an

AFFORDABLE PRICE


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