Spring 2016 Issue 9

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Tuesday, February 23, 2016 | Vol. LXXXIX, Issue 9 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com

Celebrating 70 Years as the Free Word on Campus

SA PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION EVP Zachary Vigliani assumes role of SA president, appoints interim replacement

Dillon Schade's resignation to take effect starting Feb. 24

Alexandra Mackof News Editor

Zachary Vigliani, the current SA executive vice president (EVP), will be replacing Dillon Schade as president on February 24. Vigliani has appointed SA member Naomi Barnett as interim EVP until formal elections are conducted. Barnett is a senior double-majoring in business administration and English. She has been an assistant to the EVP since August of 2015. Barnett is also a hiring supervisor for Binghamton University tour guide positions. Barnett will take office on Wednesday, Feb. 24. Both Barnett and Vigliani declined to comment.

Franz Lino/Photography Editor Pictured: Naomi Barnett

EVP re-election process explained: 1. After Dillon Schade resigns, who will be the next Student Association (SA) president? Zachary Vigliani, the current executive vice president (EVP) and a senior majoring in business administration, will become president after Schade’s resignation goes into effect on Wednesday.

committee will be accepting letters of intent from Feb. 25 until March 4. On March 7, the ballot will be voted on for approval at the Student Congress meeting. The candidates can then begin campaigning on March 7, after their approval. An election will be held on Wednesday, March 16. A candidate must receive at least 40 percent plurality to win the election. If no candidate earns at 2. Who will take over for the least 40 percent, a run-off election will be current SA executive vice president? held between the top two candidates. According to the SA constitution, the Planning, Research and Elections 4. Will the EVP candidates have committee is required to hold an election sweeps? for a replacement within 15 class days No, there will be no sweeps for the of the position’s official vacancy. This new EVP. Each candidate can campaign replacement executive vice president on their own to promote their platform, will hold the position until the end of the following regular election campaign spring 2016 semester. rules. While the election process is underway, the new president must 5. Can clubs endorse EVP appoint an interim executive vice candidates? president. The appointed individual Yes, clubs can endorse candidates. must already be a member of the SA. The same endorsement rules apply Viglianni nominated Naomi Barnett as those in place for regular E-Board during Monday night’s Student Congress elections. Any executive board, judicial meeting. board or member of the legislative body can endorse a candidate. No group 3. How will the EVP election can explicitly say to vote for a specific process work? candidate. The Planning, Research and Elections

Franz Lino/Photography Editor Dillon Schade, president of the Binghamton University Student Association, reads his resignation speech to the Student Association Congress and other attendees Monday night.

Nicholas Vega Editor-in-Chief

“People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.” Outgoing Student Association President Dillon Schade recited Mother Teresa’s famous poem, “Do it Anyway,” during his final speech to the Student Congress Monday evening. In his address, Schade claimed that his decision to resign came after a meeting with the Black Student Union’s (BSU) executive board, where he was given “an ultimatum.” “It was either I resign my position as SA president and they go quietly, or I do not resign and they threaten to use their alumni base to reach out to local, state and national media and the NAACP and force my resignation,” he said. The president also alleged that he was not allowed to attend BSU’s town hall meeting on Thursday to defend himself.

Pipe Dream reached out to BSU for comment about Schade’s claim, and to Schade for more clarification about the circumstances under which he was not allowed at the town hall, but did not receive a response. Schade also criticized Pipe Dream’s coverage of the events, and said that he was not given an opportunity to speak for himself. Pipe Dream spoke with Schade about his Tinder profile last Monday afternoon, but he declined to go on the record. On Tuesday, Pipe Dream reached out again and was referred to Assistant Dean for OffCampus Services Milton Chester. Schade’s speech capped off what was a tumultuous week for the president. Following the revelation that his Tinder profile contained offensive, racially charged language, BSU authored a letter calling for his resignation, which was promptly signed by other prominent student groups. He attempted to limit the damage by first issuing an apology on his Facebook

page, which deferred responsibility for the offensive language to an unknown party, and later by sending a formal apology to the student body via email. However, the requests for him to step down did not go away — the Pipe Dream Editorial Board also called for Schade to resign. “Given the situation, and the fact that I have a job [that is] at-will at a major firm in Washington, D.C. after graduation, it was in my personal best interest to [resign],” Schade explained Monday evening. Schade went on to thank many of the people in attendance at the meeting, including his executive board and the students of congress, as well as the “hundreds of people” who reached out to him in support. “Certainly, this has been a tough time for myself and my family,” he said. “I am looking forward to graduating and moving forward from this experience [and] watching the students who are a part of the SA grow together.”

Leadership series grows in second year SA election candidates Semester-long forum features female alumni to mentor, empower students approved by congress

Stacey Schimmel Pipe Dream News

An intensive one-day women’s leadership conference has turned into a semester-long series of female alumni speakers to empower, educate and inspire women at Binghamton University for life beyond the classroom. This past Thursday was the kickoff program with alumna Christina Muscatello, who graduated in 2008 with a degree in history. Muscatello is the co-

founder and program coordinator of the Memory Maker Project, a Binghamton charity that works for advocacy programs and art therapy for those suffering from memory-loss diseases. She hosted a workshop that encouraged students to think about their passions, hobbies, interests, strengths and weaknesses in order to find career directions they may not have previously considered. The Alumni Association started the program last spring as a conference that consisted of a networking lunch,

a keynote alumni speaker and three sessions of two programs. The program ended with a networking reception filled with local alumni and roughly 40 students. Now, the program includes two to three sessions each month, in the form of either a speaker with 50 students, a workshop for 20 students or a brown bag lunch for 10-12 students. Students can complete the enrollment form and

SEE LEAD PAGE 4

Pepsi engineer talks path to success Ariel Posner, '12, stresses risk taking to kick off engineering week Alana Epstein Pipe Dream News

The Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science hosted alumna Ariel Posner to kick off this year’s Engineering Week, and invited her to share her journey from Binghamton University to PepsiCo. Posner, who graduated in 2012 with a bachelor’s of science in bioengineering, now works in the PepsiCo Global R&D Beverage Platform Team. She supports the coffee and hydration platforms by working on systems to create and develop new products from the brainstorming stage until they reach the hands of customers. Posner said she was excited to share her experience of growth with her fellow Bearcats. “My initial thought was, ‘I only

SEE ALUM PAGE 4

Rebecca Kiss/Contributing Photographer Alumna Ariel Posner, ‘12, kicks off this year’s Engineering Week. Posner discussed her journey from Binghamton University to PepsiCo and was excited to share her experience with fellow Bearcats.

ARTS & CULTURE

The Black Student Union brought poets to Binghamton for its annual poetry slam, See page 5

OPINIONS

Go behind the scenes of Binghamton University’s costume shop, See page 5

The Editorial Board discusses Dillion Schade’s resignation remarks and the work ahead for the SA E-Board, See page 8

2016-17 Student Association E-Board hopefuls to begin campaigning, seeking endorsements Alexandra Mackof News Editor

Letters of intent for 2016-2017 Student Association (SA) E-board positions were due on Friday, Feb. 19, and all candidates were approved for elections in Student Congress on Monday night. The positions available are president, executive vice president, vice president for academic affairs, vice president for finance, vice president for multicultural affairs and vice president for programming. Nicholas Ferrara, Adina Matos and Ruslan Klafehn, the current vice president for multicultural affairs, are running for president. Raaga Rajagopala and Justin Santabarbara submitted letters of intent for executive vice president. Bradley McBride and Adam Wilkes are running for vice president for academic affairs. Kate Tashman, the current vice president for finance, will be running for re-election against Serena Tesler. Jeremy McClure, Jr. is running against Tori Peña for vice president for multicultural affairs, and Max Maurice is running unopposed for vice president for programming. Candidates may begin campaigning on Feb. 23. Each candidate has an $80 spending limit for campaigning and access to SA Ink for a maximum of 300 full-sheet flyers and four posters. All other SA resources are off-limits

for campaigning purposes, including Listservs. Putting up flyers is allowed in dining halls, but solicitation is prohibited. All types of campaigning are allowed in the Marketplace and Glenn G. Bartle Library. Any executive board, judicial board or member of the legislative body can endorse a candidate. If an organization publicizes its endorsement, it must mention endorsements for more than one position, or mention other positions. No group can explicitly say to vote for an endorsed candidate, and members of the Planning, Research and Elections Committee (PRE) and Student Congress are prohibited from endorsing candidates. Sweeps will be held on Tuesday, March 8. Each candidate will have the opportunity to give a three-minute speech to each housing community, followed by a five-minute question and answer session. Afterward, housing communities will also endorse candidates. PRE will confirm the ballot with a two-thirds majority in Student Congress on Wednesday, March 9 and elections will be held on Friday, March 11. On the day of elections, all campaigning flyers must be removed from any designated voting areas and campaigning is prohibited within 100 feet of these locations. Voting centers will be the

SEE SA PAGE 4

SPORTS

Binghamton hosts 11th annual Celebrating Women’s Athletics Luncheon, See page 9

Five players score in double figures to lead Binghamton men’s basketball past UMass Lowell, See page 10


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