Administration: D 

Binghamton University’s administration needs to pull it together.

Amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Middle East, the student body has continued to be largely divided, and the administration has been unresponsive in effectively addressing the issues at hand.

When Pipe Dream has reached out for University comments regarding protests on campus, specifically about support for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and the implementation of Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS), the responses we have received from administration have been lackluster, if existent at all. One particular statement in response to students’ demands for the University to divest from the Israeli military and its suppliers, including Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems, the University vaguely expressed support for Jewish, Muslim and Palestinian students. What the statement failed to address was any of the specific demands that protesters had concerning divestment and University funding for these entities.

The statement consisted of three full sentences that ultimately said nothing at all, emphasizing a disregard for students’ care and investment in real issues. Administration should be able to address students’ concerns in a timely manner and, after two full semesters of protests and campus division, they have failed to do so immensely. They have not only been unsuccessful in mending a negative campus climate, but in failing to appropriately respond, they have contributed to it.

Administrators have disregarded students’ best interests on several other occasions this semester. The continuous efforts to turn recreational fields into turf, despite backlash from the student body, highlights a lack of attentiveness to the students’ opinions. Student employees were also asked to volunteer at the Student Employee Appreciation event, an incident that, although the administration claimed was an accident, demonstrates gross carelessness on their part.

Despite many shortcomings on their end and their lack of involvement students’ affairs, the administration has allowed for students to organize rallies and protests as well as voice their opinions at the latest SA Congress meeting, which went well past midnight, while voting on the BDS resolution. Though this is seemingly the bare minimum, it does not go unnoticed.

Understandably, these circumstances are unprecedented and we recognize that navigating them successfully is difficult. However, after two semesters, administration needs to do better— if not for their own sake, for the sake of students.

SA: C+ 

Our assessment of the Student Association (SA) this semester weighed on us.

On one hand, they, as student leaders, shouldered an immense burden representing the countless competing interests and perspectives of our campus community while balancing an academic course load.

On the other hand, many of the SA’s elected representatives were consumed with infighting and personal attacks, which distracted from deliberations over issues important to the student body during one of the most eventful semesters in recent memory.

The Editorial Board’s assessment of the SA would be remiss without mentioning a defining moment of the semester — the SA Congress passing a resolution in support of the BDS movement during a marathon meeting. We commend the SA for providing a thorough debate and a platform for issues students care about deeply to be heard.

We also applaud the SA for its various successes, including work on a Plan B vending machine, collaborations with outside groups, such as Sonic Connections, to enhance programming for students, creation of the Title IX Peer Advisors Program and a resolution to revive the Campus Sleepout to raise awareness on student homelessness.

For the second year in a row, the SA’s E-Board experienced difficulties with ranked-choice voting during election, which resulted in a runoff election to decide the vice president for programming. Despite a lively campaign period, this error created uncertainty at a point in the semester when students needed confidence in the SA.

Interpersonal issues within the organization, as noted in a previous editorial, also gave us pause. As student leaders, we expect those in the SA to pursue their goals with professionalism. The revolving door of representatives with secret recordings of each other combined with petty personal arguments at a time that required maturity, sensitivity and respect was disheartening to see.

Though we recognize the struggles many in the SA have faced given uncertain times, the Editorial Board hopes that next year some in the SA can reflect on their organizational mission and refocus on issues deeply important to students.

Campus Climate: C+ 

BU’s campus has been alive, tenacious and resounding this semester. The BDS resolution and the ongoing war in Gaza remain the most divisive issues on campus as student groups, such as Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), the Yiddish Bund of Binghamton and BU’s Zionist Organization (BUZO) and their allies continue to rally for their causes. A glance around the Union lobby or Old Union Hall at the April 16 SA Congress meeting should be enough to indicate the state of disunion on our campus as students self-categorized into two predominant groups.

BUZO has been vocal about BDS’ potential to fuel antisemitism and jeopardize Jewish students’ well-being. Other multicultural organizations have also consistently identified Islamophobia and a lack of support for vulnerable Muslim, Arab and Palestinian students on campus. While it is too soon to confidently tell the impacts of the resolution, it is clear that, after a semester of student activism, the feeling of a safe and inclusive campus is still not a guarantee for all students.

Even on a national scale, doxxing, harassment and other intimidation tactics continue to pose material threats to BU students and their right to free speech. The delicate nature of this ongoing conflict in Gaza, combined with the administration’s inadequacies, has resulted in a volatile campus climate, one that necessitates student protestors cover their faces with masks and scarves at a SA Congress meeting, ignore phone cameras thrust in their faces and private their social media profiles.

Amid the division and peril, microcosmic displays of community prevail, serving as an emblem for what we hope our campus will embody in our lifetime. The Divest from Death campaign, for example, is an incredibly diverse coalition bolstered by over 20 student organizations, including the Latin American Student Union, Muslim Student Association, Arab Student Association, Disabled Student Union and SHADES. A rally held at the University Downtown Center in March displayed equal levels of kinship as local organizations, such as Veterans for Peace and the Islamic Organization of the Southern Tier, joined forces with students all over New York State through SUNY BDS.

At the SA Congress meeting, Old Union Hall quickly maxed out on capacity, though more dedicated students waited outside for hours. Inside, students were seen handing out snacks and water and volunteering their seats to those that had been standing — acts of care that reflect the resiliency our on-campus collectives are capable of.

Fostering productive debates on campus is not a lost cause. A program hosted by Hillel in February, “Two Truths, One Land,” in which Palestinian activist Noor A’wad and Orthodox Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger shared their stories and engaged in a conversation, highlighted peace and cohabitation as a non-mutually exclusive goal, not only in Gaza, but also on our campus.

We recognize the potential for mutual understanding everywhere on our campus. From watching the solar eclipse together on the Peace Quad to attending a vigil for Ukrainian refugees, we hope our campus can find solace in recognizing shared humanity.

SAPB: A 

Student Association Programming Board (SAPB) brought some impressive entertainment this semester, ranging from “The Office” actor Rainn Wilson to internet sensation Brittany Broski. SAPB has continued to keep up community engagement as well by hosting student- and staff-centric events, such as the Student Flea Market and their Professor Spotlight series.

In early February, SAPB had Jake Ewald — the lead singer of Slaughter Beach, Dog, as their final BUMP show of the year. Later in the month, they hosted their highly anticipated Battle of the Bands, with Husband Material taking home the win as student opener for this year’s Spring Fling.

March was packed with a slew of events for students to enjoy. SAPB started off on a high with the Student Flea Market in mid-March and, for the first time, introduced student artists alongside vendors. This new addition continues to show SAPB’s commitment to fostering a student-led community at BU. The SAPB also highlighted faculty through their professor spotlight series. This semester, they featured Anne Bailey, a history professor, who gave a talk on her experiences as an author, former United Nations speaker and African studies researcher.

SAPB finished off the month strong as the Anderson Center saw a packed crowd for Broski, an internet celebrity and comedian. Her announcement was met with overwhelming praise and was by far, SAPB’s crown jewel for spring semester’s entertainment.

SAPB rounded off the semester with their annual Spring Fling, featuring Neon Trees, students’ alleged top choice, as this year’s concert headliner and Laundry Day as the opener.

We believe that the SAPB has continued to offer high-quality entertainment and events for students. We recognize their dedication to enriching the BU student experience and hope that they continue to keep up the level of commitment for next semester.

Athletics: A- 

This spring semester has seen many bright spots for Binghamton Athletics. Most notably, the Bearcats have won two conference titles so far this semester. The men’s tennis team won the Northeast Conference (NEC) championship in its inaugural season as a member and the men’s swim and dive team took home the America East (AE) championship — its first since 2021. The women’s lacrosse team has also won a share of the AE regular season title for the first time in program history.

Ultimately, the men’s basketball turned around its 0-5 start in AE conference play but failed to get past UNH in the quarterfinals. Furthermore, after a shaky start to the season, women’s basketball defeated Bryant in the AE quarterfinals but blew a fourth quarter lead against the eventual champions in Maine in the AE semifinals. After parting ways with Bethann Shapiro Ord, Binghamton is looking to bounce back next season with recently-hired reigning NEC head coach of the year, Mary Grimes, at the helm. The wrestling team had a successful season as well, sending four Bearcats to the National Collegiate Athletics Association championships in addition to going 7-3 in conference duals.

Meanwhile, spring sports are off and running, and the Bearcats are faring quite well against AE competition. The baseball team struggled with injuries early on in its season, but they are getting back on track. The softball team is in the midst of a strong season and was on a 12-game win streak at one point. The women’s lacrosse team will enter the AE tournament on a six game winning streak and both track teams will compete for the AE title once again.

Overall, we feel that a grade of A- accurately reflects Binghamton Athletics’ performance as a whole, as teams continue to build momentum going into playoff competition and finish the semester off strong.

Sustainability: B+

Sustainability has been a growing focus at BU and this year has seen a mix of encouraging focuses and some unfortunate decisions. This past summer, the University announced that they would be replacing some of the real grass fields with turf. While University officials and some students felt this choice was a win for sustainability efforts on campus, many other students and campus environmental organizations spoke out about the turf as they felt it removed true green spaces and went against students wishes.

Recently, the turf project expanded to the Newing field and Zero Hour, one of the campus environmental organizations, started a petition to stop the project because of turf’s “variety of health, safety and environmental concerns.” Pipe Dream agrees that the change to turf fields causes more harm than good for the student body and we wish the administration did not pursue this project.

However, there have been really wonderful efforts to increase sustainability on campus that we cannot ignore and they are the reason this topic has such a high grade on the report card. Multiple organizations on campus, such as Zero Hour and the Fleishman Center, have held various events this year to promote environmental efforts including an Environment and Sustainability Careers Fair, Off Campus College Transport busing to the farmers market and the second-annual EcoBlitz.

Furthermore, SUNY as a whole is working to phase out single-use plastics from campuses. These events and future plans are great steps toward creating a more sustainable University, and Pipe Dream commends the efforts to help the environment in these ways.

This staff editorial solely represents the majority view of the Pipe Dream Editorial Board. It is the product of discussions at regular Editorial Board meetings.