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GIMs Monday, February 4, 2019 | Vol. XCV, Issue 4 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com
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The Free Word on Campus Since 1946
Students live in converted study lounges as BU sees overcrowding Amy Donovan
assistant news editor
rebecca kiss photography editor Twenty-eight students have lived in converted lounges in Hinman and Newing Colleges since the beginning of this semester.
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At Binghamton University, 28 students have spent their first weeks of classes living in converted lounges located in Hinman and Newing Colleges. The temporary living situation was implemented to accommodate an overflow of transfer students and spring admits. Depending on the size and configurations of the lounges, each temporary dorm houses four to six students. There are currently 11 students who are still waiting to be relocated to permanent housing, and seven in the process of relocating. According to Paola Mignone, the interim director of Residential Life, while BU admits new students every semester, more students committed to the University than in previous years. According to Ryan Yarosh, senior director of media and public relations at BU, enrollment numbers have increased by around 300 students since last year, with almost 17,800 undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled. “More and more students are interested in Binghamton and with that comes an influx of students who want to live on campus,” Yarosh wrote in an email. “It’s not uncommon to start the semester with slightly more students than we can accommodate and I commend the [Residential] Life team for coming up with a
creative solution.” It is not the first time the University has grappled with overcrowding. In fall 2017, approximately 200 students were housed in forced triples at the beginning of the year, and in fall 2016, roughly 160 students found themselves living in temporary housing with an extra roommate. For this semester, ResLife decided to convert two lounges in Hinman College and three lounges in Newing College into temporary dorm rooms, rather than making existing rooms into triples, as BU has done in the past. According to Mignone, students are receiving a discount for the number of days they’re in temporary housing. “Relocating students out of temporary spaces and into more permanent spaces is a priority,” Mignone wrote in an email. “We are working quickly and diligently to offer students a permanent room to move to as spaces become available.” Students such as Anna Siu, an undeclared freshman temporarily living in a lounge in Bingham Hall of Newing College, have posted signs to their doors to indicate the rooms are dorms to prevent residents from walking in. For these students, the only way to get out of temporary housing is to find and take an open spot in a dorm, which can be located in any of the seven housing communities on campus. Siu said students were allowed to turn down a room option if it wasn’t in a living community they wanted, but had to take the second option ResLife
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Chancellor County sees spike in opioid-related deaths opposes Title IX proposal Recent increase in overdoses tied to fentanyl-laced drugs Hannah Walter pipe dream news
Proposed changes see nationwide backlash
Since the start of the new year, there has been an uptick in overdoses in Broome County linked to fentanyl-laced drugs. Although government departments have yet to release information on how many fatal overdoses occurred in Broome County in January, Truth Pharm, an addiction advocacy group, estimates there
were at least five fatal overdoses in one week alone. Last year, the Broome County District Attorney’s Office reported four fatal overdoses in January 2018 and 13 overdose deaths during the entire first half of 2018. Neighboring Chenango County has also seen an increase in overdoses. According to Truth Pharm, the Addiction Center of Broome County and the Southern Tier AIDS Program, the recent uptick in overdoses can be attributed to a new supply of opioids in the area compromised with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine. According to
reports from local residents who use and sell drugs, these contaminated opioids are named “Juice Stamp.” To combat the increase in overdoses, Broome County Executive Jason Garnar planned a Narcan training event with local grassroots organizations on Jan. 26 to raise awareness about the problem and train local residents to use and carry Narcan, an overdose reversal drug. Marissa Lamphere, the opioid overdose prevention coordinator at the Broome County Health Department, said training people in overdose reversals is the key to stopping the recent increase in fatalities.
“We know from 911 overdose calls to the emergency services, hearing from grassroots organizations, talking to our treatment providers, that there has been an increase in overdoses,” Lamphere said. “Because of that, we wanted to try to do something. We know that Narcan saves lives. We know that there’s a lot of civilians in our communities that have been trained in Narcan and that it is working. Our fatal overdose number was down by over 50 percent in the county for 2018, partially because so many more
see opioid page 3
Kelly Coyne
pipe dream news
SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson condemned the Department of Education’s proposed changes to Title IX rules in a public letter released on Tuesday. Betsy DeVos, U.S. Secretary of Education, has been receiving backlash from thousands of universities across the nation since the release of rules in November. Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act protects students from discrimination on the basis of sex and sets guidelines for sexual assault accusations. The Department of Education’s proposed changes would include narrowing the definition of sexual harassment and allowing for live cross-examinations in trial proceedings. Andrew Baker, Binghamton University’s Title IX coordinator, said BU will continue to provide the same support, outreach and resources it currently does in Title IX investigations, regardless of the proposed changes. However, the changes could amend how mandated reporters, such as faculty and staff, are defined, allowing some professors and staff members who are currently obligated to report sexual harassment or assault complaints to stay silent.
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Professor conducts research in Antarctica Molly Patterson studies lakes beneath ice sheet Laura D’Angelo news intern
rose coschignano pipe dream photographer Molly Patterson, an assistant professor of geological sciences and environmental studies at Binghamton University, participated in a scientific research project called Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access (SALSA).
ARTS & CULTURE
Not many people can say they have visited Antarctica, but Molly Patterson spent part of her winter break conducting research on the southernmost continent. In December, Patterson, an assistant professor for geological sciences and environmental studies at Binghamton University, participated in a scientific research project called Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access (SALSA). The project aimed to achieve a better understanding of interactions between the Antarctic ice sheet and the rivers and lakes that exist beneath the ice. “In a very simplistic statement, we drilled into subglacial Lake Mercer, which is part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and are attempting to examine how the breaking up of rocks by active glaciers
OPINIONS
provide the [remobilization] of very old organic carbon to promote life in extreme environments,” Patterson wrote in an email. The project involved a team of 50 scientists, support staff and technical staff using specialized tractors, sleds and skiequipped aircrafts to establish a remote field camp roughly 500 miles from the South Pole. Once there, researchers explored the Mercer Subglacial Lake, which lies beneath West Antarctica’s Whillans Ice Plain and is over twice the size of Manhattan. Using hot water to drill through the ice, the team was able to gather clean samples of lake water, ice and sediment. They also filmed video underwater, capturing footage of an environment that has been isolated from the ocean and atmosphere for millennia. The project was funded by the National Science Foundation. Patterson got involved with SALSA in January 2017 while she was on another expedition
see antarctica page 3
SPORTS
Sloth makes special appearance in Downtown Binghamton,
Binghamton Art Museum features Argentinian and Cuban American art,
Contributing columnist Tiffany Dun advocates for living a minimalist lifestyle,
Wrestling defeats Sacred Heart for fifth straight dual win,
Women’s basketball overpowered at home against Albany,
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