BUC$ and ATM plans
BUC$ is planned to be brought to off-campus stores and restaurants in the spring. Mike Smyth, the Student Association president, worked with University President Lois B. DeFleur, Sodexho and Blackboard — which owns BUC$ — to bring the project to fruition. Smyth met with the Blackboard marketing staff after Thanksgiving break to decide on which venues will be allowed to accept BUC$. Students were also given the opportunity to vote for specific stores in a poll held on the S.A. Web site. In addition, student demand for more 24-hour ATM access on campus was met with plans to move one of the machines from the New University Union to the Old Union.
Old Union renovation
Plans are underway to remodel the Old Union. The State University Construction Fund has allocated nearly $14 million to the project, which has to be completed in the next five years or the money will no longer be available. Concerns over the structural integrity of the roof will be a major factor in the plans, as well as asbestos abatement and electrical problems. Renovations of the Old Union started three years ago when the New Union was built, but lack of funds stopped the project. One of the focuses of the renovation will be providing more office and meeting space to student groups.
Save the South debacle
The Student Association’s Hurricane Katrina relief fund raising campaign was cancelled because its slogan had perceived connections with racist post-Civil War sentiments. The Black Student Union objected to the slogan of the campaign, “Save the South,” which was printed on orange bracelets and sold for charity. Some felt that the slogan was reminiscent of a Civil War hymn, “God, Save the South,” which calls for the preservation of the Old South and makes references to re instituting slavery. The campaign, which was headed by S.A. President Mike Smyth, took in $15,000 before it was aborted.
VPMA resigns
Ju-Sun Lee resigned his position as the S.A. vice president for multicultural affairs on Nov. 7 — two weeks after he had dropped out of BU to pursue a lucrative career in software programming. An election was coordinated to meet the deadlines set forth by the S.A. constitution and bylaws, which conflicted. Jesse Nathaniel Reed won the election with 42 percent of 769 votes, and was later approved by the Assembly. Reed promised to expand his office to address student body concerns about minority marginalization on campus.
Student information leak
The confidential details, including names and Social Security numbers, of 414 students were exposed on an insecure server in September, sparking University officials to recommend abandoning Social Security numbers in favor of randomly generated numbers as student identifiers. University officials said there was no indication that the leaked data was used inappropriately, but advised the affected students to file credit fraud reports to minimize the risk of identity theft. Over the last 12 months there has been a surge in the number of information leaks at universities across the country, furthering a national trend of adopting random student identifiers.
St. Patrick’s Four trial
Four local Iraq War protesters dodged a six-year prison sentence when a jury acquitted them of federal conspiracy charges; it was the first of its kind since the Vietnam War. On March 17, 2003, the Ithaca residents, known as the St. Patrick’s Four, entered a military recruiting station and poured their blood on the walls, floor and a U.S. flag. They then read a Bible passage criticizing the impending invasion of Iraq and laid down to symbolize the resulting death toll. The group defended their actions under international law, maintaining they had performed a “peaceful protest” against an “illegal” war.
Attempted campus rape
The campus police arrested freshman William Marulanda Oct. 15 after his neighbor in Dickinson’s Digman Hall accused Marulanda of trying to have sex with her after she said no. According to a police report, the victim fled before the assailant could complete the sex act. Marulanda, 20, was held in the Broome County Jail for 19 days and will be tried on the sex-assault charge, a felony. In the wake of the charges, the University highlighted statistics indicating that more than 1 in 3 women are sexually assaulted during their college careers and reminded students of a newly-hired counselor, paid for by a federal Justice Department grant, recruited especially to deal with sex assault.
Wrestler arrested in bar fight
BU’s varsity wrestling team — resuscitated by a $230,000 state grant after President Lois B. DeFleur killed the team a few years ago — suspended its only heavyweight wrestler, Edward Bordas, after the Binghamton city police accused him of punching a 22-year-old woman at the Rathskeller Pub, a popular downtown bar. The local Fox TV affiliate reported that the punch was an accident. The police added two more misdemeanor charges after, police allege, Bordas resisted officers’ attempts to handcuff him and damaged a holding cell at police headquarters later that night. Dean of Students Lloyd M. Howe suspended Bordas, 18, the day after he found out about the misdemeanor arrest.
Frat house vandalized
The former frat house of Alpha Epsilon Pi at 76 Conklin Ave. was the site of a violent invasion by a group of men, at least one of whom, Daniel J. Venditti, is a member of, as the police put it, “an opposing fraternity,” Alpha Phi Delta. The city police arrested and jailed Venditti on a trio of felony charges, including assault, burglary and criminal mischief. According to court papers filed the night Venditti was spotted by the police at the Conklin house, Venditti and others stormed into the house by kicking down the door. A witness said Venditti brandished a piece of wood, tried to attack another student and destroyed stereo equipment totaling more than $1,300. Venditti was released several days later from the Broome County Jail.
Thou shalt not steal
The owner of Rocky’s Pizza, the post-bacchanal caterer of BU’s most notorious bar strip, gave one barhopper an unsolicited lesson in the eighth commandment. The young man learned that “thou shalt not steal” after he tried to pilfer the Rocky’s tip jar and an employee delivered God’s lesson by powerslam-punching the young man in the back of the head. The young man fell to the ground, bleeding, and was taken away by ambulance. Our readership got a vicarious Sunday-school lesson after we published photos of the aftermath: a blood-stained State Street.
Newing Dining Hall renovation
Early this semester, residents of Newing were forced to eat elsewhere while their community’s dining hall underwent a drastic interior makeover. Newing Dining Hall, once the oldest on campus, reopened early in October following several weeks of construction and heavy publicity. When it finally opened renovated doors, Newing residents were generally pleased with their eatery’s aesthetic update and larger food selection. Perhaps the dining hall’s greatest improvement was the loss of its unappetizing notoriety as it managed to catch up with the times — and its cafeteria counterparts.
Tulane Transfers come to Binghamton
The beginning of 2005’s fall semester saw the arrival of more than just the usual crop of overwhelmed freshman as BU welcomed a handful of students from Tulane University after Hurricane Katrina forced them from New Orleans. Generally pleased with the show of support from the University administration and the student body, these honorary Bearcats took courses and became involved on campus. Now as the semester comes to a close, many of these students have decided to continue their educations at Binghamton indefinitely.
Rising Gas Prices
Several devastating hurricanes toward the beginning of the semester ravaged the Gulf Coast states and caused massive damage. The relatively long-term effects, such as the dramatic spike in the price of gasoline, were felt by the entire nation, including college students. The increase in prices, which economists attributed to the damage and subsequent closing of several Gulf Coast oil refineries, caused pump increases from around 50 to 70 cents per gallon, with the average price around $2.50 to $3 per gallon. Fortunately, prices have been waning as refineries reopen and the winter months settle in.
Mayoral election
Democrat Matthew Ryan, a local Broome County public defender, won the Binghamton city mayoral race with 4,814 votes in one of the nastiest political battles in local memory. More than 11,000 people voted. His chief opponents, Douglas W. Drazen (I) and Naima Kradjian (R) got 3,776 and 3,210 votes respectively. The local Republican party mailed fliers accusing Ryan of being inexperienced and too cushy with the criminals he defends. Kradjian accused Ryan of running an under-the-table dirty campaign through Citizen Action, an activist group he champions. Ryan succeeds Mayor Richard Bucci, who has been hired as a Vestal Town school district official.
BU’s concert season
The semester saw two blockbuster names visit BU’s Vestal campus on account of the University Programming Board and its vice president, Patrick Craig. Rapper Ludacris — who topped the charts most recently with “Pimpin’ All Over the World” — visited the Events Center. Comedians Lewis Black, famous for using the f-word and being contrary, and Steven Lynch, who delivers his comedy through song, drew a sell-out crowd — more than 3,000 people in the West Gym. Vice President Craig recently announced that he wanted to put in a bid in for another comedian, Dane Cook, but Events Center managers rejected Craig’s plan because the Binghamton men’s basketball team — who have lost six out of seven games this season — could feasibly make the America East Conference Championship. Managers said the team might need the space to practice. Instead, Craig put in a bid to bring Cook to the Broome County Veteran’s Memorial Arena, located downtown.