Pipe Dream’s News Editor Jacob T. Kerr sits down with M. Stanley Whittingham, 2019 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry for his work on the lithium-ion battery, alongside Akira Yoshino and John B. Goodenough. Whittingham is a distinguished professor in chemistry at BU.

This episode was hosted by Jacob T. Kerr and post-production work was done by Design Manager Kade Estelle and Digital Editor Kimberly Gonzalez. Thank you to Stan Whittingham for her support of the show.

Pipe Dream’s News Editor Jacob T. Kerr and Arts & Culture Editor Gabby Iacovano sit down with Laura Johnsen, a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate studying anthropology. Johnsen studies the technology surrounding the world of sex and the social implications it carries with it.

This episode was hosted by Jacob T. Kerr and Gabby Iacovano and post-production work was done by Design Manager Kade Estelle and Digital Editor Kimberly Gonzalez. Thank you to Laura Johnsen for her support of the show.

Pipe Dream’s news editor, Jacob T. Kerr, sits down with Bill Clark, a lecturer of health and wellness at BU who has earned Guiness world records.

This episode was hosted by Jacob T. Kerr, and post-production work was done by design manager Kade Estelle and digital editor Kimberly Gonzalez. Thank you to Bill Clark for his support of the show.

The law states that a host of a social gathering where alcohol or drugs are being “possessed, served to or consumed by a minor,” can be imprisoned for 15 days or receive a fine of $1,000. This legislation comes after an unrecognized fraternity hosted a large gathering on 82 Front St. where an attendee tested positive for coronavirus. Jared Kraham, executive assistant to the mayor, noted that the legislation was being developed before the large gathering.

“The law was in the works in terms of going to be proposed prior to that event at 82 Front St.,” Kraham said. “But that event kind of crystallizes and is a good example of the types of potentially high-risk activity with underage drinking parties. And certainly in the world that we live in with COVID-19, packing in people together from a public health standpoint is a high-risk activity. So certainly the intent is to curb high-risk underage drinking but in the world of COVID-19, there’s other impacts of these parties as well.”

In a statement regarding the law passed by the city of Binghamton, the word “fraternity” is specifically mentioned.

“In the case of a fraternity house party, individuals on the lease or the entity that owns the property would be subject to prosecution or fine for hosting underage guests,” the statement read.

Kraham said that there could be exceptions to that rule if an individual under the lease was found to be absent and had no prior knowledge of the party after a thorough investigation was conducted. Additionally, Kraham noted that the legislation does not change any probable cause or privacy laws for the occasion when it may be suspected that underage drinking is occurring.

“The intent of this new law, really for the first time in a significant way, allows law enforcement to hold accountable the folks who are hosting parties that have underage drinking,” Kraham said.

According to the statement, the Binghamton Campus and Community Coalition (BCCC), an on-campus organization dedicated to reducing underage drinking, was heavily involved in the producing the legislation. Kraham noted that the partnership with the BCC was the first of its kind in creating a law with research support from a campus organization. Kraham said the city of Oneonta adopted a similar law and that the city of Binghamton mimicked their piece of legislation with their advice.

“One of the lessons learned from other communities that have adopted this is that this can be a tool for proactive prevention as well,” Kraham said. “If you have areas off campus which are known to host large gatherings and large amounts of suspected underage drinking, the folks living at these places can be made aware in advance that this law is in the books to be sure they are not supplying alcohol to minors, to be sure that you are engaging in safe activities and that kind of thing.”

In the statement released by the city of Binghamton, Joseph Zikuski, chief of Binghamton Police Department (BPD), said that this kind of legislation is groundbreaking in its ability to hold individuals accountable.

“Without a social host ordinance on the books, [BPD] would routinely respond to a large party with suspected underage drinking, assess the health and safety of participants and simply disperse the gathering — not having the means to arrest the hosts,” Zikuski said. “Now, responding officers can immediately ticket those in charge of the party or refer the case to detectives for further investigation.”

Theo Watson, a junior double-majoring in history and English, said the legislation strengthened police power during a time when police brutality is being protested nationwide.

“There are so many other things that need to be addressed in Binghamton University, and expanding police power at this moment is a clear statement that the University will disregard students’ wants and needs in favor of … what exactly?” Watson wrote. “More power where it is not required?”

Chris Pereira, a senior majoring in environmental studies, said the penalties of the law are too far-fetched.

“I think that the new social ordinance will be effective in reducing future COVID-19 cases in Binghamton, but the penalties for violating this ordinance are a little extreme,” Perriera wrote. “I believe that this ordinance will deter some students from hosting house parties, but overall will have very little effect on those who are no longer afraid of being exposed to COVID-19.”

Anna Shaheen, a senior majoring in environmental science, said the legislation is important in the age of COVID-19.

“In terms of the city being strict on parties, if they didn’t say anything, they would face backlash and they’re setting a boundary and still facing backlash,” Shaheen wrote. “Either way, you come out on top when you take into account scientific findings and show at least a shred of concern for other people’s livelihoods. So yes, maybe this upcoming school year will be boring, but at least it’s not a sorry excuse for normalcy free-for-all.”

The initial release of this article stated that Mayor Rich David announced the legislation on June 17. The legislation was actually released on July 17. This article has been updated to reflect that information. 

Allen, a sophomore double-majoring in biochemistry and environmental studies, was looking at the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) map of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The map shows which United States counties have worse air quality than national standards, designated as “nonattainment.”

While looking at the map, one student asked the professor, Robert Holahan, an associate professor of environmental studies, why Hawaii was not included on the map. A conversation ensued about map justice — one that ultimately led the EPA to change its own map.

“Map justice is the idea that how you display data in maps matters — ranging from the over-projection of the Northern Hemisphere to leaving Staten Island off of many New York City maps,” Holahan said.

Holahan told the class that Hawaii probably abided by all the air quality regulations, so the EPA felt it did not need to appear on a nonattainment map. But when class ended, Allen continued to think about map justice and what she could do to help Hawaii be recognized.

Eventually, she simply decided to email the EPA and ask about it.

“I used the ‘contact us’ feature on the EPA website to ask why Hawaii wasn’t on the map, and within an hour I had received a response from an employee,” Allen said.

The employee was Butch Stackhouse, an EPA mapmaker who oversees ozone information at the EPA’s headquarters. Stackhouse confirmed that since Hawaii had a perfect record, it did not need to be included. But he also wrote that he would consider adding a footnote to the next map he made.

A few weeks later, he did.

Then, on March 31, the EPA’s map looked slightly different again. The footnote on Hawaii’s clean record was gone. In its place was the actual outline of the state. Allen said showing which states are doing everything right is just as important as showing the ones that are not.

“I think it’s important to have Hawaii on the map because it provides a better representation of the data, since it’s important to acknowledge both the areas in compliance and those that are not,” Allen said. “Instead of just showing the bad, we also need to celebrate the victories of environmental regulation, no matter how small the state.”

Holahan said Allen’s small message is a perfect example of how an individual’s voice can be heard on a large scale.

“To me what this story really exemplifies is how simple comments can make a significant impact at high levels of the federal government because, while it’s easy to complain about the bureaucracy, in reality the distribution of small authorities (i.e. the EPA mapmaker has the authority to add Hawaii without needing more approval) has enormous benefits for responding to relatively simple changes,” Holahan wrote. “Bureaucracies are individuals who recognize good points and ideas when they see it, just as in any other scenario.”

When the coronavirus pandemic forced all SUNY schools, as well as universities across the country, to switch to an online format, many research conferences were canceled completely. The Research Days planning committee was determined to avoid this fate for their event.

The planning committee consists of 18 members who are all faculty, staff or students from BU, and is chaired by Valerie Imbruce, director of the External Scholarships and Undergraduate Research Center. Imbruce wrote that with the transition to an online format, the student researchers still performed up to and beyond expectations.

“We knew that the students would be prepared to talk about their research — that is the heart of the event and students who participate in the poster sessions are very passionate about their projects,” Imbruce wrote in an email. “Students really came through and did an amazing job. They practiced and revised their posters in class beforehand, it is an enormous effort by students and their faculty mentors, but one that paid off.”

More than 300 students presented 128 research projects, varying from a study on incarceration rates at the Broome County Jail to optimizing treatments for duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). The presentations were broken up into two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Within those sessions, different research groups had their own Zoom rooms, including the Source Project, Dickinson Research Team, First-Year Research Immersion (FRI) and independent researchers in two categories: social sciences, arts and humanities and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Jackson Hengsterman, an undeclared freshman, presented his research investigating why the incarceration rate at the Broome County Jail is higher than most counties in New York state at 39 per every 10,000 residents. Hengsterman started his research when he enrolled in the Source Project in the discovering place stream. The Source Project is a one-year research program for first-year students and currently offers three research streams students can choose from: human nature, human rights and discovering place.

Hengersterman said even with the limited time to convert Research Days to an online format, the committee created a successful event.

“I was extremely impressed with how organized the online presentations were, especially with the short amount of time there was to do it,” Hengersterman said. “I actually submitted my poster not even 24 hours before the actual presentation, so the fact that [it] was able to get compiled and put on the website, which worked really well, and everything was ran smoothly over Zoom was impressive.”

Antonietta Macri, a senior majoring in biology, and Rebecca Harris, a senior majoring in religious studies through the individualized major program (IMP), presented their work on DMD. They began their research in fall 2019. With Macri setting up their cell cultures and testing them to determine inflammatory reactions to certain treatments and Harris researching and determining the best way to deliver the treatment, the duo was headed into the spring semester ready to collect data when the spread of COVID-19 cut their research short.

Despite the fact that their research was brought to a sudden halt, they did not lose hope that they would be able to present their completed work at Research Days.

“I did not think Research Days was going to be canceled and I’m glad it wasn’t,” Macri wrote in an email. “A lot of people worked very hard on their research and they deserved the opportunity to present their findings. Everything was being shifted online, so I assumed this would be no different and they would find a way to have us present. ”

Lisa Theo, research and scholarship advisor in the External Scholarships and Undergraduate Research Center and a Research Days planning committee member, led the event’s transition to online poster presentations. Theo wrote in an email that she had confidence she and the committee would be able to figure something out.

“I never entertained [canceling the poster presentations entirely], and I would have argued vigorously against it,” Theo wrote. “But, I also know that the Research Days planning committee was supportive of us finding a way to make this work for the students.”

The committee had approximately one month from the day BU classes were moved online and, according to Theo, the transition was a success with only one meeting delay that was fixed quickly. Theo wrote that opportunities to share research are vital for the success of undergraduate students.

“When I was an undergraduate student, the part of my education that was most impactful was the research that I conducted under the mentorship of numerous faculty,” Theo wrote. “And, conducting the research is rewarding, but the opportunity to discuss that work with colleagues and faculty is the culmination of that work. Our students deserved this, and I was going to do whatever I could to make sure it happened for them.”

All of Research Days 2020’s poster presentations can be viewed on their website, which includes a comments and questions feature to connect the research community with a general audience beyond the event.

The rest of Research Days 2020 will continue this week with a Citizen Science Wikipedia Edit-a-thon on April 21 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., where BU Libraries is inviting participants to edit science-related Wikipedia articles. There will also be a student curator presentations event on April 23, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., where student curators from the BU Art Museum will be virtually presenting their exhibitions.

Around March 18, his father, Chris Loche, started showing cold and flu-like symptoms.

First, he moved to a hospital. Then, the intensive care unit (ICU).

And last week, Chris, 49, of Amityville, unexpectedly died of COVID-19, leaving Ryan, 20, a junior double-majoring in economics and political science, and Ryan’s sister Kaitlyn, 16, behind.

Chris passed away the day before his 50th birthday. He was a single father, and since his passing, Ryan has taken on full responsibility for the family, including their mortgage, bills and taking care of his younger sister.

“Right now, I’m problem-solving,” Ryan said. “Everything is now my responsibility and in my name. Money, debt and all.”

Ryan said he has been working with estate lawyers to itemize all of Chris’s property, family lawyers to get full custody of his sister, wealth managers, actuaries and accountants. On top of that, he is still a full-time student at BU, although he is taking a brief break from classes.

Prior to the passing of his father, Ryan had his eyes set on Columbia Law School to study intellectual property law. Now, he said, his only focus is the well-being of his family.

“Right now, the most important and immediate concern is that my sister stays ahead in school, and then my sister gets to go to college and that we get to keep the house,” Ryan said. “I’m really just concerned with making sure my sister ends up on her feet, so I’m willing to do anything and everything.”

To help pay the mortgage, bills and other necessities for him and his sister, Ryan set up a GoFundMe page with the help of the Freeport Fire Department, where Chris formerly was a volunteer firefighter. On Sunday evening, a week after the fundraiser was posted, Ryan surpassed his $100,000 goal, raising $101,325.

At the fire department, Chris was admired by many, including former Chief Don Mauersberger. Mauersberger met Chris in 1986 when he first began volunteering with a different company, and he eventually joined Mauersberger’s Truck Company One in 1988. By the ’90s, Chris was a captain of Truck Company One, a job which Mauersberger said he did with great success.

“He was in charge of a company of over 50 men of all ages and he did it with his ever-present smile,” Mauersberger said. “He was known as an outstanding firefighter that all would follow. He had the respect of all.”

Mauersberger also recalled Chris as a gifted athlete who played baseball and hockey throughout his life. When he was with Truck Company One, Chris was the co-captain of their drill competitions team and won seven New York state tournaments.

After 25 years of volunteering, Chris left the fire department to spend more time with his two kids.

“Chris could light up a room with his smile and he was at ease with anyone or anything that came his way,” Mauersberger said. “I watched this young man grow over the years to be an outstanding parent and respected firefighter, again always with a smile. I will miss him dearly.”

Ryan said his close bond with his father was always a lighthearted one, with neither taking things too seriously. When Chris and his girlfriend, Meredith Meyka, both showed minor symptoms, they joked together that it was COVID-19. Because of Chris’ prior history of health complications, including multiple heart surgeries, he was more susceptible to the virus. Up until the day of his passing, Ryan said everything was unexpected.

“I get a call very shortly after [he was brought to the hospital, him] saying he feels fine and just really wants to go home, but [doctors] wanted to move him to the ICU,” Ryan said. “Then I went and took a nap, and honestly, by that point, we weren’t expecting it. Nobody was — including the doctors. And then I took a nap and I woke up, and you know … ”

Both Meyka and Kaitlyn are currently isolated from Ryan as they are facing confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Mauersberger said he will most remember Chris for his bright smile, which appeared through his entire career, in both good times and bad.

“The world is a little darker with his passing — rooms will not light up the same,” Mauersberger said.

According to the University’s website, the fees that will be refunded were determined based on which campus-based services have since been discontinued because of COVID-19. For undergraduate students the prorated fees that will be refunded are the activity fee, intercollegiate athletics fee, campus life fee, recreation fee and transportation fee. For graduate students, the prorated fees are the activity fee, recreation fee and transportation fee. Tuition fees will not be refunded because courses are continuing online.

In a B-Line statement on Thursday, President Harvey Stenger announced the refund is intended to help lift some of the financial burden students and their families are currently facing.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is creating challenges for our society unlike any I have seen in my lifetime,” Stenger wrote. “While we all worry about the health and well-being of family and friends, I know that the pandemic is causing financial stresses and uncertainties for many across the country, including our students and their families.”

According to Emma Ross, Student Association (SA) president and a senior double-majoring in political science and psychology, 43 percent of the total fees will be refunded.

Prorated housing, meal plan, parking permit and FitSpace membership charges are being determined on an individual basis for each student, according to the University’s website. The refund will not affect University scholarships or financial aid for students who plan on completing their courses online. Students’ eligibility for financial aid packages also will not be impacted if they choose to switch their classes to the pass/fail option or withdraw because of reasons linked to COVID-19.

University officials said the refund balance will not be applied as payment for future semesters to ensure BU is abiding by federal financial aid regulations. Administrators recommend that students set up direct deposit accounts to get access to their refunds as early as possible.

“We hope these financial adjustments to your account provide an additional element of assistance during this challenging time,” Stenger wrote. “All of us at [BU] are committed to helping you be safe and successful during this time of unprecedented disruption.”

Editor’s note: This article was updated at 11:53 a.m. on April 3 to reflect a correction regarding financial aid packages. The article initially stated that if a student withdrew from their classes during the spring 2020 semester, their financial aid could be impacted. This was incorrect; if a student withdraws because of reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic, their financial aid eligibility will not be effected. Pipe Dream regrets the error.

According to the B-Alert, the patient, who is isolated, lives off campus and has not been on campus since March 13. In the message, University officials did not specify whether the patient is a student, faculty member or staff member, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

Public health officials will reach out to those who may have come into recent contact with the individual, according to the B-Alert, which also provided suggestions on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Officials wrote that the University is working to prevent the continued spread of the virus among students, faculty and staff, but warned that community spread is ultimately “inevitable.”

“The University has taken the necessary precautions, working with the Broome County Health Department, to help reduce further cases,” the B-Alert read.

Along with the B-Alert, the University released a COVID-19 video update on Thursday. In the video, University President Harvey Stenger spoke about COVID-19 and where the BU community stands amid the pandemic. He also encouraged students to focus on their classes.

“I’m coming to you today with a heavy heart, because I miss you,” Stenger said. “Campus just isn’t the same without you here, but we made the right decision. We wanted to protect your health and your safety, and that was our highest priority. But now, we’ve made it through the transition and it’s time to focus on your online classes, and I want to wish you the best of luck.”

The results of the races saw Khaleel James, a junior double-majoring in economics and human development, win president; Maggie Koekkoek, a junior majoring in biomedical engineering, win executive vice president (EVP); Jacob Eckhaus, a junior double-majoring in economics and business administration, win vice president for finance (VPF); Joshua Dorfman, a sophomore majoring in integrative neuroscience, win vice president for academic affairs (VPAA), David Hatami, a sophomore majoring in political science, win vice president for multicultural affairs (VPMA) and Sophia Cavalluzzi, a junior majoring in English, win vice president for programming (VPP). Additionally, Willa Scolari, a sophomore majoring in biology, took the BU Council representative position.

The online election marked one of the lowest SA election turnouts in the University’s history and is the only time in the past four years that less than 2,000 students voted. Ross Mesnick, chair of the SA Elections and Judiciary Committee and a sophomore majoring in business administration, said the lack of participation came amid class cancellations related to the COVID-19 outbreak.

“I think the low turnout can be attributed to the fact that since a lot of people moved out on Tuesday, the response might have been lower than if people moved out later or if the University hadn’t canceled classes on Tuesday,” Mesnick said. “If we weren’t dealing with the coronavirus epidemic, I believe turnout would have been higher.”

Another reason for the low turnout might have been the lack of opposition for most of the candidates. Only the BU Council representative position was officially contested. The vice president for multicultural affairs (VPMA) race saw a write-in candidate, but all other SA E-Board positions were uncontested.

Despite the lack of competition, a large number of students opted to not vote in individual races, and across the board, the average no-vote for each election was 22.44 percent — almost a quarter of student voters. Koekkoek had the most votes of any candidate in the race, receiving 64.3 percent of ballots. Still, her lead was notably lower than that of uncontested candidates in last year’s elections, where most candidates received more than 90 percent of their respective vote.

The no confidence vote total was especially high in the BU Council representative race, which was between Scolari and Dante Turnbull, a junior double-majoring in history and philosophy. Scolari narrowly won, receiving 29.32 percent of the undergraduate vote, while Turnbull received 27.54 percent, and 15.02 percent of voters indicated they had no confidence in either candidate or a write-in.

The BU Council representative is elected by both undergraduate and graduate students at the University. Mesnick said these totals only included undergraduate votes, and when the Graduate Student Organization (GSO) votes were included, Scolari’s lead increased. The GSO only takes part in the BU Council representative election, and not the SA E-Board elections.

The only race to see close results was the election for the VPMA position. The ballot had only one official candidate, Hatami, who won with 38.21 percent of the vote; however, Michael Messina, a junior double-majoring in physics and political science, ran as a write-in candidate. While it is unclear how much of the write-in vote was directed toward Messina, the write-in total made up 33.68 percent of the election.

On election day, students also voted continue the student activity fee. About 74 percent of students voted to keep the $99 fee, which provides funding for SA-chartered groups, on-campus performances, Off Campus College Transport and Harpur’s Ferry. The SA is required to hold a referendum on the fee every two years.

Roughly 92 percent of voters also approved changes to the SA constitution, which set a timeline for community governments to fill vacancies, revamped the way SA E-Board vacancies are filled and made several wording and grammatical changes.

The 3MT competition originated in 2008 from the University of Queensland in Australia, and was created with the purpose of helping students spread their research in a concise manner. Since then, the competition has spread across the globe, with more than 900 colleges and universities representing 85 countries now hosting their own events. BU is the last of the SUNY schools to host a 3MT competition.

Each student has only three minutes to present what is often a product of years of research. They are limited to only one PowerPoint slide. The preliminary round occurred on Feb. 21, with 25 BU graduate students competing for 10 finalist spots. One of the judges, Gretchen Mahler, associate dean of the graduate school and an associate professor of biomedical engineering, said she was surprised by the diversity of topics.

“I really loved all of the presentations,” Mahler said. “I am in a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) field and I thought I might be biased toward the STEM presentations, but I thought it was so interesting to hear about other types of work that are happening on campus. It was really hard to be a judge.”

According to Ellen Tilden, one of the event organizers and assistant director for academic and graduate student affairs, of the 25 competitors, 16 were international students who represented Bangladesh, China, Ecuador, India, Iran, Jordan, Peru, Switzerland and Turkey. In October 2019, Tilden was tasked with increasing professional development for graduate students at BU and she said hosting this competition was a great way to do so.

“For us in the graduate school, this is an opportunity to not only help prepare our graduate students for the next chapter of their professional lives, but to better showcase the exciting and promising research being conducted across campus and disciplines,” Tilden said. “Since [BU] is a notable research university, the 3MT competition seemed like a natural next step for us.”

The 10 finalists of BU’s 3MT competition are competing in the next round of the event on Wednesday at Old Union Hall from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The winner of this next round will be awarded $500 and will represent BU at the 2020 Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools (NAGS) annual meeting in Quebec City, Quebec. Tilden said the graduate school plans to sponsor and host the event every spring semester before the annual NAGS meeting.

One of the finalists, Erika Diaz, a second-year graduate student studying biomedical engineering, presented her research on how food additives can weaken the human gut and worsen celiac disease. Diaz said the competition enabled her to fully express her passion for her research topic.

“I am a very passionate person by nature, often too passionate, to the point where I might seem a bit insane when talking about my research,” Diaz said. “I saw the 3MT competition as a wonderful opportunity to allow myself to both feel and show the passion I hold so dear to its full extent.”

Smaraki Mohanty, a third-year Ph.D. student studying management, presented her research on how emotions, specifically anger and empathy, can affect people’s preferences for automated services such as Amazon Go and self-checkout aisles at grocery stores. Mohanty said the competition connected BU students across many disciplines who may not have known about each others’ research without it.

“Sometimes when we are in the field of research, we tend to stay in our cocoon and hardly get the opportunity to know the different kinds of research going around in the other departments of the school,” Mohanty said. “Hence, it was also fascinating to know about the work of other student researchers at [BU].”

Diaz also highlighted the work of her fellow competitors and said presenting alongside them pushed her to better her research.

“It was mind-blowing to be presented with the high-caliber research being conducted at BU; we should definitely make a more significant effort to voice out these fantastic endeavors,” Diaz said. “Additionally, the mental exercise of reducing the research problem to its very fundamentals, disregarding complicated immunological mechanisms, has been crucial for me to gain a much deeper understanding of my topic. It has been impressive the amount of research I have accomplished in these past few weeks and can better explain my experimental results because of that required simplification.”

Other winners of Wednesday’s final round will also be rewarded. The second-place winner will receive $400, the third-place winner will receive $300 and one competitor will be named the People’s Choice winner by the audience and awarded $150. Looking forward to the event, Diaz said she just wants to make an impact on the audience members.

“If I manage to attract attention to my research from people who don’t necessarily get excited about statistics or the methodology, or who think laboratory work is mind-numbingly boring, I will be greatly satisfied,” Diaz said. “I hope there are some people with that mindset in the audience. Maybe I get to change their minds, just a little bit.”

When the project was first published in August 2019, Anne C. Bailey, a professor of history at Binghamton University, contributed an article on what slave auction locations look like today. On Feb. 12, Bailey expanded the article, publishing an essay on all of her historical research identifying where these auctions occurred throughout the country and sharing the stories of some of the people sold during that time period.

“At that time, during much of the period of slavery, the voice of the enslaved would not have been honored, would not have been something documented in any important way,” Bailey said. “Their experience would not have been worthy of documentation or worthy of giving any kind of substantial attention to. It is incumbent upon us here in the present to go back and restore that perspective lost from history.”

As the reader scrolls through “The 1619 Project” page, essays on other topics relating to American slavery emerge, such as “Myths about physical racial differences were used to justify slavery — and are still believed by doctors today,” by Linda Villarosa, and “Our democracy’s founding ideals were false when they were written. Black Americans have fought to make them true,” by Nikole Hannah-Jones.

Bailey’s essay is titled, “For hundreds of years, enslaved people were bought and sold in America. Today most of the sites of this trade are forgotten,” and is published alongside a photography gallery by Dannielle Bowman. Bailey said she finds inspiration for her research in the necessity of it.

“I am certainly honored to be a part of this project,” Bailey said. ”I say to students and to others, ‘Just do the work you think needs doing and you let the rest take care of itself.’”

Bailey did not compile the information entirely on her own — she worked with research assistants Morgan Rachlin, ‘19, Mone’t Schultz, ‘18, Kelly Wu, a sophomore majoring in biology and The New York Times editorial team at the Harriet Tubman Center for the Study of Freedom and Equity. Bailey and her research assistants used primary sources from the Civil War era to document both marked and unmarked slave auction sites in America, and her research expands upon the historical record of these sites.

Kent Schull, chair of the history department and an associate professor of history, said Bailey’s work advocates for the awareness of inequalities and diversity throughout history. Schull also said he is fortunate to be her colleague and that her accomplishments will positively impact the department.

“Having our faculty publish in such a well-known platform always raises the department’s profile and demonstrates to a broader audience the need for a historical perspective for understanding past and current issues, challenges and successes,” Schull wrote in an email. “Bailey’s piece is doing this same thing for our department.”

Bailey’s history of researching slave trades and auctions in America extends beyond these articles. She also published two books on the topic: “African Voices of the Atlantic Slave Trade: Beyond the Silence and the Shame,” and “The Weeping Time: Memory and the Largest Slave Auction in American History,” in 2005 and 2017, respectively.

Bailey highlighted the importance of recognizing auction sites and other significant locations. During a recent trip to Richmond, Virginia, she said she was walking across a bridge and found a small marker stating that the bridge was built by slaves.

“It’s a simple thing, but here that bridge stands 150 years later and we are driving across it,” Bailey said. “The very infrastructure we all use was built by people of African descent, built by slaves. How can you not acknowledge that contribution?”

The student activity fee is a mandatory $99 charge per semester for all students and helps fund approximately 250 student groups. In accordance with the SUNY’s Board of Trustees Policy 3901, the fee is up for a vote every other year to determine if it will remain mandatory or become voluntary.

During a SA Congress meeting on Feb. 11, Alec Somerstein, SA vice president for finance and a senior double-majoring in mathematics and business administration, emphasized the importance of the fee and said students should vote in support of it. John Santare, SA vice president for academic affairs and a senior double-majoring in biology and comparative literature, wrote in an email that he feels the fee is an invaluable asset to the SA and student body.

“Keeping the fee mandatory is extremely important to anyone on campus who is a part of an SA-chartered group,” Santare wrote. “You should vote yes because it ensures that funding for our 300-plus organizations does not dissolve, that [Off Campus College Transport] buses run, Harpur’s Ferry ambulances are stocked and [Support, Empathy, Empowerment, Kindness] has call handlers. It also ensures that students are still able to go to [the] fall concert, Spring Fling, comedy shows, Fall Fest and guest speakers.”

In fall 2019, BU reported that 14,021 undergraduate students were enrolled at the University, according to their official website. Based on those numbers, the fee brings in about $1.3 million each semester to support these organizations and student groups. Jonah Maryles, a sophomore majoring in art and design, said he believes most students are positively affected by these funds.

“I feel as if most people don’t know what the fees are for, but still pay them,” Maryles said. “I can see both sides of the vote, but ultimately believe that a majority of students reap benefits from at least one of those resources and therefore should pay for it. If made optional, why would you willingly spend more money?”

Graduate students at BU are also charged a mandatory fee, but it costs slightly less at $65 per semester. Liam Rodden, a first-year graduate student studying education, said the thinks the fee is a positive aspect of BU, especially compared to other University fees.

“Though mandatory fees can often seem erroneous or redundant, part of what makes [BU] able to serve thousands of people with moderate satisfaction is the fact that everyone pays into our services,” Rodden said. “While I would like some other fees like the gym or parking to be reassessed — this fee seems to go toward things that make everyone’s time here a little better, easier or less anxious, at least.”

Santare said a vote for a voluntary fee could have a detrimental effect on the SA as a whole.

“I cannot, in a single quotable sentence, stress that the future of the [SA] hinges on this vote,” Santare wrote. “If you care about any of these programs, resources or organizations, please vote yes.”

The age of the crowd was diverse — attendees ranged from a toddler to a few elderly couples, with a group of BU students in the middle. Science Pub BING aims to connect BU research with local community members, regardless of their age, to teach science in a more casual setting, according to Julie Weisberg, one of the event organizers and director of public communications at Family Planning of South Central New York.

“Just as there is a thirst for arts, culture and music [in Binghamton], I bet you people are interested in science topics,” Weisberg said while explaining how she got involved with the event. “And not just for science folks — for everybody.”

Drinks in hand, attendees took their seats and the event began. Jessica Hua, head of a wetlands ecology laboratory and an assistant professor of biology, came front and center to kick off the event with frog trivia. Each question asked about the shape, color or sound of certain frog species and after each answer was revealed, Hua took a few minutes to discuss them.

Hua’s ability to effectively communicate her research, according to Nancy Coddington, another Science Pub BING organizer and director of science content, services and programming at WSKG Public Media, is why organizers wanted her to lead the event.

“[Hua] is definitely very inspiring and I love the way she infuses [communication] into her work and teaches her students how important that is,” Coddington said. “It doesn’t matter how smart you are — if you can’t communicate what you know, it’s as good as not knowing anything.”

Alongside Hua, several Ph.D. candidates from her laboratory also gave brief presentations on human pollution, invasive species and parasites in relation to their effects on amphibians.

An audience member pointed out that some of their research appeared to show that plastic pollution in wetlands can benefit amphibians through the killing of parasites. Hua responded by explaining that this is not the case as local ecosystems are sensitive and need host-parasite interactions. She said false connections like this are exactly why scientists should be the ones presenting their work.

“A pesticide company picked this [false connection] up, and basically wrote that pesticides are beneficial to amphibians,” Hua said. “We absolutely need good science communication, which is why we are all here today trying our very best to make sure we are the ones telling the research, not some third party that can take our research and twist it in a way that is beneficial to them.”

One of the attendees, Sheila Moore, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate studying ecology, said she came to the event to support the other Ph.D. candidates from her department and was shocked at the number of people in attendance.

“The turnout was super impressive,” Moore said. “I didn’t expect so many people to come from outside of the University and everyone seemed super interested, so that was cool to see.”

The organizers said more people showed up than expected, and they hope to carry that excitement to the next event in March. They plan to hold an event every second Tuesday of each month, with each one focused on a different scientific topic. Coddington said March’s event will center around genes.

Pipe Dream’s News Editor Jacob T. Kerr and Arts & Culture Editor Gabby Iacovano sit down with Laura Johnsen, a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate studying anthropology. Johnsen studies the technology surrounding the world of sex and the social implications it carries with it.

This episode was hosted by Jacob T. Kerr and Gabby Iacovano and post-production work was done by Design Manager Kade Estelle and Digital Editor Kimberly Gonzalez. Thank you to Laura Johnsen for her support of the show.

Phoebe Clark, a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience, said talking with her friends about sex helps her have a more positive experience.

“My friends are super important as people to bounce ideas off of and talk out situations with,” Clark said. “They help me feel more comfortable in my decisions, and when I’m not being as rational as I should, they definitely bring me back down to earth — especially when it comes to sex. I think it’s super important to have someone to even just chat about it with. It normalizes sex more and makes for an overall safer environment around it.”

Other, less chosen, answers to the question about resources surrounding conversations on sex included “Decker Student Health Services Center” and “University Counseling Center.” One student, Chris Kollman, a junior majoring in history, said these options are less appealing because students have a difficult time being comfortable around them.

“I think that I am more comfortable talking about issues like this with my friends over family, because they are closer to my age than say any of my family members,” Kollman said. “This is because it is a different time period and there were different standards that your parents may have had 40 years ago than today.”

According to Kollman, the major difference between older generations’ knowledge about sexual relationships and younger generations’ primarily stems from social media.

“They did not have to deal with social media and the decisions you make can have the ability to change your life drastically,” Kollman said. “It is important to have friends to discuss these issues with because you can learn from their mistakes and better yourself.”

Social media, as well as the rise of dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble, has drastically changed how people find sexual and romantic partners over the past few decades. Despite the millions of users on dating apps, Kollman said most of his friends met romantic partners through mutual friends.

“It is not true for me but a majority of my friends have met their significant other through means other than bars and social media apps,” Kollman said. “I think meeting through mutual friends is effective because you have similar interests with your friends and those friends will introduce you to their friends that they think you will like.”

Starting conversations about sex may not always be the easiest thing to do, but Owen Lucano, a senior majoring in biology, said people can strengthen both their sexual relationships and friendships by talking about it.

“It’s not always the most comfortable conversation, because sex is something that’s personal to a lot of people,” Lucano said. “But if you keep an open mind, you might learn a thing or two, and perhaps even bond over it. When we disclose information on the things we like or dislike about sex to each other, it strengthens relationships because of the trust that’s built.”

John Murphy, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, said he also has closer bonds with friends whom he can talk about personal topics with.

“I think my friends have helped me learn a lot about my sexuality and help me feel comfortable talking about really anything,” Murphy said. “I think it’s super important to have friends you can talk to about stuff like sex. If you can’t talk to your friends about sex, I feel like that means there are plenty of other topics where you’re not being yourself around who you call your friends. Casual conversation about sex and other personal things is what I think makes you close with your friends.”

Pipe Dream’s news editor, Jacob T. Kerr, sits down with Bill Clark, a lecturer of health and wellness at BU who has earned Guiness world records.

This episode was hosted by Jacob T. Kerr, and post-production work was done by design manager Kade Estelle and digital editor Kimberly Gonzalez. Thank you to Bill Clark for his support of the show.

The bar and restaurant is hosting “Science Pub BING: Pollutants, Parasites & People,” bringing in researchers from Binghamton University to have a casual conversation about science over drinks and food. According to its Facebook page, the event aims to connect scientific ideas with nontechnical audiences in an engaging way.

“[It is] [i]ntentionally informal, designed for both folks who classify themselves [as] ‘not really into science’ as well as science enthusiasts,” a flyer on the page read.

Kristine Kieswer, a freelance writer who lives in Montrose, Pennsylvania, is one of the “Science Pub BING” organizers. She previously lived in Richmond, Virginia, and attended similar events called “Science Pub RVA.” She said she wanted to organize one in Binghamton because of the growth she noticed at the University.

“[‘Science Pub RVA’] was always a favorite activity and I thought it might work in Binghamton as well,” Kieswer said. “I’ve been away for a few years and was really impressed to see how much it’s grown — especially the University. It seemed like a great time to give it a try … [Jessica] Hua even enlisted her students to share more about what they’re working on in the lab.”

The centerpiece of the event is Hua, head of a wetlands ecology laboratory and an assistant professor of biology, who will be giving a casual presentation on amphibians and the human effect on their ecosystem. Afterward, she will answer discussion questions.

Hua said her lab has done public outreach many times before, but the setting is what makes this event unique.

“My group has done similar events at schools, local club meetings [with] naturalist clubs and libraries, but never in a bar setting,” Hua said. “We’re excited to have this chance to connect with people we might not normally cross paths with.”

On a campus dedicated to student and faculty research, Hua said they have many opportunities to discuss important scientific topics with other academics, but not always with the general public which is also affected by environmental issues.

“My lab group works on topics that are directly related to human society, yet we often only have the chance to communicate our research to other scientists,” Hua said. “Events like these are wonderful because it gives us the opportunity to reach broader audiences who might also care and contribute to solving complex environmental issues.”

Cities across the country host events connecting science to the public, and Kieswer said they all tend to follow a similar concept and format.

“It goes by different names, but the concept is the same — bring people together in a nonacademic environment to discuss interesting science topics,” Kieswer said. “We drink, we dine, we debate. It’s a cool learning opportunity, plus the chance to get out on a Tuesday evening and meet new people.”

Ultimately, Hua boiled the entire event down to one question.

“My lab does the research, but if what we learn doesn’t reach the right people who can help enact positive change, what is the point of our work?” Hua said.

Chester, who died in his home of natural causes in January, began working at BU in 2000, launching his career in the Division of Student Affairs. He was known for passionately advocating for the success of men of color on campus and for University outreach to youth within the community, according to a B-Line announcement released on Jan. 7.

At the memorial celebrating Chester’s life, a number of his former colleagues and students he mentored over the years volunteered to speak. Nicole Sirju-Johnson, director of the Multicultural Resource Center, said she worked very closely with Chester in the Office of the Dean of Students (DOS) for more than four years.

“I will share with you that we disagreed often … often,” Sirju-Johnson said. “However, I am grateful for the times that we were able to agree on what work needed to be done for our students, and also what was important for communities of color … I could always count on him to support me in one way or another.”

Others at the memorial shared poetry and art in Chester’s honor. Stacy Marrow, director of College of Community and Public Affairs (CCPA) career and professional services, sang for Chester, and Khaleel James, Student Association (SA) vice president for multicultural affairs and a junior double-majoring in economics and human development, read a Maya Angelou poem titled “Still I Rise.” Former students and colleagues shared their stories of how Chester positively affected their lives.

Chester’s passion for his community was admired by many in attendance. Randall Edouard, assistant vice president for student affairs and interim dean of students, said Chester was constantly challenging and pushing his colleagues and students — pushing them to do and be better.

“[Chester] was always there for students,” Edouard said. “What I loved most about [Chester] is that he would challenge anyone, but, in the same light, he would help anyone … Let’s celebrate Milton Chester. Let’s remember that he was a powerhouse, a fierce warrior … an agitator … a mentor, but most importantly, let’s remember that he was a giver, that he was generous and let’s remember that he was a blessed, kind soul.”

Edouard shared a story about Chester’s giving nature, telling the audience that after his death, the authorities found that Chester’s car was filled with Christmas gifts and toys for children, although he did not have any kids of his own.

“When I think about [Chester], the character, the person, the man — he did what made him come alive,” said Greg Johnson, a Protestant chaplain at the Greater Binghamton Health Center. “I am often reminded that our lives teach us as we live — but those who leave, the lives that they leave, also teach us. The lesson that Milton’s life teaches is that we ought to be doing what makes us come alive.”

Former SA President Jermel McClure, ’18, was mentored by Chester during his undergraduate years. McClure spoke about cherishing those in your life while they are able to feel your appreciation.

“It’s important that we are able to uplift and embrace the people that we care about while they’re still here,” he said. “It’s important that we commit ourselves, to really bring it upon ourselves, on inspiring others, to do more, learn more and be more.”

McClure said he believes Chester would want everyone to live their lives this way in his absence.

“Life is extremely uncertain — you can be here one minute and gone the next — but what lasts forever is the impact that you’re able to have on your community and on the people you care about most,” McClure said.

In the recording, which was reportedly taken on Nov. 21, 2019, members of TPUSA, College Republicans and the Binghamton Review discussed ideas for future events which included purposefully provoking responses from other students, according to the Frances Beal Society, a grassroots organization composed of students and community members dedicated to fighting oppression and liberating marginalized groups. TPUSA members also reportedly threatened to sue Binghamton University’s Student Association (SA) to secure funding for their organization in leaked text messages.

“We have a plan — go to the SA, try and get chartered, get denied and then open up a lawsuit against [BU] for freedom of speech,” the text reads.

The leak of the recording comes after two protests erupted on campus last semester. The first demonstration occurred after BU’s TPUSA and College Republicans displayed pro-gun signage during an unofficial tabling event. Days later, when the same two groups hosted economist Arthur Laffer for a speaking event, another protest formed, resulting in Laffer being escorted out of the Lecture Hall by police.

In their Twitter and Instagram posts, the Frances Beal Society wrote that TPUSA, College Republicans and the Binghamton Review “broadcast inflammatory and bigoted rhetoric, record the backlash and post it online for attention, funding and to expose protesters to harassment online.” While discussing what their next event would be, one recorded voice, which the Frances Beal Society said is Kestecher, is heard saying, “We got to just keep it going. Honestly, I’m having too much fun.”

Other unidentified voices in the recording are also heard discussing the protesters and backlash against specific student groups. Pipe Dream cannot independently confirm the claims made by Frances Beal Society regarding who is speaking in the recording.

One voice is heard yelling, “Scorched earth! Kill them! Get them!” The other students then join in by repeating, “Scorched earth.”

While discussing how to provoke other students, the voice said to be Kestecher is heard saying, “Honestly, if they jump me, big money,” after proposing the idea of wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat around campus. “Big money,” according to Frances Beal Society, is referring to TPUSA receiving donations after gaining public attention.

Videos of the first protest in November did reach a mass audience, collecting hundreds of thousands of views online. According to the Frances Beal Society, multiple protesters and students of color received threats from strangers as a result of the videos. The videos eventually led to President Donald Trump commending BU’s chapter of TPUSA at a national TPUSA event and bringing Kestecher to the stage to let her speak.

At the beginning of her speech, Kestecher said, ” … What [the protesters] didn’t know about me is that I do jiujitsu … ” The voice said to be Kestecher in the recording makes a similar remark, stating, “I have my jiujitsu” while discussing the potential of provoking students.

Kestecher denied responsibility for remarks made in both the recording and the text messages.

Emma Ross, SA president and a senior double-majoring in political science and psychology, said if groups applying for charter follow the SA’s policies, they will be chartered. Nevertheless, she said the application process is not a simple one.

“I am hopeful that students would not put the necessary time and energy into the chartering process if their goal was to be denied,” Ross said. “Having gone through and overseen the chartering process myself, it is not something to be taken lightly, but it is designed to help students succeed.”

The recording cuts off midway through the conversation, and the Frances Beal Society writes that the rest of it contains explicit threats directed toward specific students. The Frances Beal Society declined to share the remainder of the recording because of safety concerns for those named.

“The general trend has been that the people harassed have been women of color on this campus and that the threats and harassment have all been racist in nature, as well as some that are misogynistic,” a representative of Frances Beal Society wrote in an email.

Binghamton’s New York State University Police (UPD) said they did not receive any formal complaints of threats or harassment from students as a result of the protests or recording. The Frances Beal Society said students didn’t trust UPD enough to make official reports.

“We can also say that the threats we’ve been notified about were not reported to the University, UPD or [Binghamton Police Department],” the representative wrote. “The majority of them had absolutely no faith in the University to handle these threats, especially regarding the racial aspect behind them.”

University officials could not be reached for comment.

The BU Forum is a membership-based group consisting of Broome County and BU community members. Each semester the Forum hosts guest speakers, including BU faculty and alumni, to discuss topics related to their work. The Forum’s first event of the semester brought Whittingham and BU President Harvey Stenger to the stage to have a conversation about Whittingham’s trip to Sweden.

On Dec. 10, Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus, king of Sweden, handed Whittingham a diploma and the gold-plated Nobel Prize. After receiving the award, Whittingham spoke in front of 1,300 banquet attendees as many more watched from around the world. During the Forum event, Whittingham said since the Swedish people are proud of hosting the award ceremony, many dressed up at home and made the same meal as the banquet so they could also join the celebration.

Upon arrival in Stockholm, Sweden, Whittingham said he bypassed airport terminals and was picked up in limousines. He slept in five-star hotels and ate top-notch meals. Other than the traditional banquet, Whittingham attended a myriad of events, talks and meetings throughout the time he was there.

“It was great,” Whittingham said. “It was go, go, go. It was 12 hours every day. We had a chauffeur waiting for us to rush us from one place to the next.”

One of his favorite events, Whittingham said, was video calling astronauts in the International Space Station (ISS) to talk about how they are using his work in space.

“They understood what we were doing,” Whittingham said. “As it turns out, they just put lithium-ion batteries in the space station within the previous month, so they knew all about it and they were excited about it. It was wonderful how smoothly it went. I was down on Earth and they were up there.”

Another of Whittingham’s most memorable moments in Sweden took place just after the banquet. He sat for a televised roundtable discussion with other Nobel laureates, called “Nobel Minds,” hosted by the BBC. There, Whittingham spoke on the potential effects of lithium-ion batteries.

“The batteries we have are really a first step,” Whittingham said at the roundtable discussion. “They will get us to the next step and help us reduce some of the CO2 we generate. We can easily convert vehicles over to electric transportation. We can clean up the cities by only allowing electric vehicles in the center of cities like Stockholm, London and New York.”

Jason Andrews, chair of the BU Forum, said the group aims to connect local residents with University faculty and administrators through regularly scheduled talks. Andrews said he believes having faculty such as Whittingham working and living in Broome County inspires many.

“It’s certainly an inspiration for our community and our leaders,” Andrews said. “But it’s also [an inspiration] from the seat of an educator and a parent thinking about our students working in a school that this type of success in creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship is right here. It just speaks to the deep quality of the program here at [BU].”

According to Ryan Yarosh, BU’s senior director of media and public relations, Chester, who began working at the University in 2000, died of natural causes.

Chester launched his career at BU in Division of Student Affairs, where he held multiple roles, including his most recent. As assistant dean for off-campus programs and services, Chester was directly involved with assisting students with problems and concerns related to off-campus living. He also was active in BU’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and Juvenile Urban Multicultural Program, also known as JUMP Nation.

“Chester was further a passionate advocate for the success of men of color on campus and for University outreach to young people of color through programs such as JUMP Nation,” the B-Line announcement read. “He was a strong supporter of the cultural student community as illustrated through his assistance with programming for multiple cultural organizations.”

Before coming to BU, Chester earned his bachelor’s degree from Albion College and his master’s degree from Michigan State University. During his time at BU, he “embraced the role of student mentor, confidante and advisor,” according to the B-Line announcement.

“Not only was his door always open to any student who wanted to talk, but he was a constant presence at student events on and off campus,” the B-Line announcement read.

Vanessa Young, a senior academic counselor at EOP, wrote in a statement that Chester will be remembered for his “kindness and good works.”

“Milton always took the time to listen and understand the needs of others,” Young wrote. “He was known for always attending the many campus events held by students, departments and programs … He enjoyed attending such events because it gave him the opportunity to compliment students, to provide encouragement as well as congratulate them on their success in and outside of the classroom.”

Campus officials are urging students and staff struggling with Chester’s death to reach out to the Dean of Students Office and the CARE Team. A remembrance ceremony will be held in the beginning of the spring semester, but the University has yet to announce a date for the event.

William Clark has spent his life focusing on personal health and fitness through weightlifting. After racking up multiple international medals for lifting, Clark became an adjunct lecturer in health and wellness studies at BU.

On Tuesday, Clark set his second Guinness World Record as he bent seven metal spikes in a one-minute period, breaking the previous record of four. However, Tuesday’s event meant more than just breaking records for Clark.

“This record means absolutely nothing to me,” Clark told the crowd before he attempted the record feat. “At this stage in my career, what is another record? Unless I can attach it to something bigger, something more important.”

That “something bigger” for Clark is spreading awareness for dealing with mental illnesses like anxiety. Throughout his talk, Clark said anxiety and stress are not things to fight, they are things to learn to live with.

“I know I may look calm and cool, but I’m about to throw up,” Clark said. “I’ve been through this enough times, I’ll tell you the difference is this — I am comfortable being uncomfortable.”

In August 2018, Clark ripped 23 license plates in a minute to set his first Guinness World Record.

After he finished speaking on Tuesday, he performed an extra demonstration of lifting his son in the air and simultaneously ripping an entire deck of cards. Then, he left to change into his dirty jeans so he could attempt the world record.

With encouragement from the crowd and loud yelps of his own, Clark bent seven chalked-up spikes over his quadricep area.

One of the students watching the performance was Helen Najjar, a senior majoring in biomedical engineering. She previously took Clark’s weightlifting class, and said she was so inspired by his motivational talks that she decided to help spread his message as Clark’s social media coordinator.

“I got involved because I believe that [Clark] is a genuine instructor on this campus who has a strong passion for helping anyone who needs it, whether it be advice about how to handle an issue in life or a question about fitness and lifting,” Najjar said.

Najjar said she was most fascinated by Clark’s ideas of connecting anxiety and excitement, and thought this is an important concept to keep in mind heading into finals week.

“He talked a lot about the idea that there is no difference between anxiety and excitement,” Najjar said. “I thought this was extremely interesting. In our minds we can be anxious and stressed out and at the same time, be excited by telling ourselves that we can overcome that stress. Going into finals week, I am definitely going to implement some of the techniques that he mentioned.”

The event was part of the University’s Stress-free Bing initiative, implemented with the aim of providing students with mental health and wellness events around finals season. Owen Collier, a resident assistant in Dickinson Community and a senior majoring in Spanish, brought some of his residents to the event to de-stress.

“It’s also a little bit more outside of the ordinary programming that happens at [BU], so I thought it was a good thing to expose people to and show them what else is happening in the community,” Collier said. ”It was unlike anything I’ve seen and it was interesting to see how his mentality on facing anxiety, on facing stress [and on] facing fear can be translated across more things.”

One of Collier’s residents, Ivy Lu, a freshman majoring in geography, said she almost did not attend the event, but was thankful she did after hearing Clark’s motivational advice.

“Now, with finals coming up, everyone is really stressed out, especially me,” Lu said. “[Clark] really taught a lot about anxiety and not giving up and how to stay on track. It’s great to even hear it from someone like him who is super accomplished [but] he feels anxious and gets stressed out too. It’s very inspiring.”

The University has come under fire from multiple government officials and right-wing online blogs after student activists protested members of College Republicans and Turning Point USA while they were tabling to promote gun rights and an event featuring Arthur Laffer, a former adviser to President Ronald Reagan and President Donald Trump. Days later, at “Trump, Tariffs, Trade Wars,” Laffer was interrupted after a few sentences by one of many sit-in protesters. Laffer eventually left the event, and the initial protest speaker was arrested by Binghamton’s New York State University Police (UPD) officers.

The protesters aimed to draw attention to racism on campus, inaction on the part of University administrators and police brutality.

However, arguments against the protesters quickly surfaced online, with some students receiving racist and threatening messages. Additionally, misinformation, including rumors that the protests were being led by Antifa, began circulating online in right-wing forums.

Some arguments against protesters claim the demonstrations call for the use of the heckler’s veto. According to The First Amendment Encyclopedia, the heckler’s veto gives governing bodies the right to suppress speech in the event in “which opponents block speech by direct action or by ‘shouting down’ a speaker through protest.” The veto was first recognized by the Supreme Court in the 1966 Brown v. Louisiana case.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a nonpartisan nonprofit that aims to maintain individual rights in university communities, wrote a response to Monday’s protest saying the heckler’s veto applies to this situation, giving UPD the right to interfere with the protest.

“The First Amendment right to peaceful protest doesn’t override someone else’s First Amendment right to speak — and to hear those they’ve invited to speak — in spaces they’ve reserved,” FIRE’s statement read.

Several government officials have also written direct responses to Monday’s protest, including State Sen. Fred Akshar (R-Binghamton).

“Like many campuses across the country, it appears that leftist mob mentality and brute force intimidation have been given preference over free speech and the right to peacefully assemble,” Akshar wrote in a statement on Twitter on Nov. 18.

Akshar also canceled a scheduled appearance at the University on Tuesday, writing that “Binghamton University’s campus has no longer become suitable for civic engagement.” After meeting with Binghamton University’s College Republicans and College Democrats on Wednesday, Akshar wrote that he hopes to “[continue] the dialogue on policy and a variety of other important issues at future meetings with both groups.”

The University’s Student Association has also seen criticism from conservative students online after SA President Emma Ross announced College Republicans have been banned from making room reservations. According to Ross, the organization was tabling on the Spine on Nov. 14 without reserving the space, a direct violation of Student Association (SA) rules.

University officials said the public statements made by government officials, including Akshar, are based primarily on their own political gain. While the University is currently investigating the protests, Brian Rose, vice president for student affairs, said these statements hold no power in their current and future decisions.

“Opinions expressed by political figures for political purposes have had no bearing on our decision-making, and won’t have any bearing on our decision-making,” Rose said. “I’m not interested in aligning ideas or statements with any external statement — we’re going to continue to be guided by our own values, our own principles and our own policies and procedures and our understanding of our responsibility under law.”

Rose also said the University is making plans to prevent this situation from happening again.

“We certainly are already in conversations about what type of programming and ways we can facilitate a campus conversation, particularly in the context of the upcoming national election,” Rose said.

Donald Nieman, vice president for academic affairs and provost, said he knows several professors have taken it upon themselves to have in-class discussions about the recent events. Nieman said discussion like this is productive.

“I think it is probably in those small groups, medium-sized groups, that you have an opportunity for discussion for reflection and to get away from an environment where people are more about theatre and acting out than they are about a dialogue, and I know a quite a bit of that has gone on,” Nieman said.

Although SA Congress will not vote on their formal resolution until their next meeting, the legislation calls for Binghamton University officials to fire Skormin after two controversial incidents. The resolution was drafted by John Santare, SA vice president for academic affairs and a senior double-majoring in biology and comparative literature, Hunter Andrasko, SA Congress speaker and a senior double-majoring in human development and political science and Maxwell Hisiger, SA vice president for academic affairs chief of staff and a senior double-majoring in mathematics and economics.

“We introduced this resolution for a variety of reasons but first and foremost as a result of our obligation to represent the undergraduate student body,” Andrasko wrote in an email. ”As students, we know what this school stands for more than anyone else and we want the 14,000 students we represent to know that we are fighting for them.”

Skormin’s first incident occurred in 2018, when he responded to an engineering department Listserv email about a fundraiser for the National Society of Black Engineers with another email asking about the “Society of White Engineers.” In October, Skormin came under fire when he posted a photo on his Facebook page of a man, that was not him, wearing a Confederate flag hat with the word “REBEL” and a shirt that read “REDNECK JEW.” The man was carrying a rifle.

“The usage of his position as a state-employed professor to send out an implicitly racist email should have been a red line the University acted on,” Andrasko wrote. “If the administration of this school cannot directly call out these actions then, as student leaders, we will.”

In addition to calling for Skormin’s termination from his University position, the SA also wants to implement annual faculty-wide cultural competency training.

“While asking for Skormin’s termination is significant, the more important aspect is focusing on how to prevent something like this from happening again,” Andrasko wrote. “This training would be the least the University could do.”

According to the SA, the resolution was sent to BU community representatives for feedback, and a vote will be made at Congress’ Nov. 19 meeting.

University officials declined to comment on the matter, and Skormin could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

After the trial was temporarily delayed because of a 5.3 magnitude earthquake, a Nicaraguan judge deliberated for roughly an hour and a half before handing down the verdict. Now, Tercero, 23, faces a sentence of 25 to 30 years in prison.

Anderson, 22, a nursing student from Westbury, New York, was found dead in Tercero’s residence at 23 Oak St. after Binghamton police officer Kristi Sager went to the house for a welfare check. On Oct. 12, Sager testified to the judge that she found Anderson’s body in the bedroom, a sheet partially covering her.

The same day, Tercero landed in Nicaragua, where he holds dual citizenship. After U.S. officials issued a warrant for his arrest, Tercero was detained on March 13 by Nicaraguan police and transferred to El Chipote, a prison in Managua, Nicaragua. Nicaraguan officials consistently denied requests for Tercero to be extradited to the United States.

On Friday, Tercero’s defense attorney presented one witness, a forensic psychiatrist who administered a mental evaluation for Tercero in jail. The doctor noted that Tercero tried to commit suicide twice in the hours following Anderson’s death, and was temporarily admitted to a psychiatric hospital following his arrest in Nicaragua. He also testified that Tercero experienced several epileptic incidents while incarcerated. Tercero now appears to be mentally stable and is not currently receiving therapy, according to the doctor.

During the trial, prosecutors called upon multiple former BU students who knew Anderson and Tercero. According to Anderson’s friends, Anderson and Tercero were in a romantic relationship, but after their breakup, Tercero became “obsessive.” While discussing her verdict on Friday, the judge told the court that Anderson’s friends knew Tercero had “aggressive tendencies” and that he would “yell at her indicating he wanted to be with her.”

Prosecutors also presented surveillance footage of Tercero and Anderson entering Tercero’s residence around 4 a.m. on March 8. Later video footage showed Tercero leaving the residence around 9:45 a.m. the same day. Tercero’s blood was also found in the vicinity of Anderson’s body, and officers at the crime scene found a notebook with a handwritten letter in Tercero’s bedroom, apologizing for his actions.

“I’m sorry, this is stupid, I’m sorry,” a portion of the note read. “Mommy taught me life is a momentary thing. Nothing is ours. Mommy, I’m sorry, I don’t have any words.”

Prosecutors believe Tercero attempted suicide twice before leaving his residence for John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, where he boarded a flight.

Dr. James Terzian, a pathologist with Lourdes Hospital who performed an autopsy on Anderson’s body on the morning of March 10, 2018, also testified earlier in the trial. Terzian said he found microhemorrhages on Anderson’s face, abrasions on the inside of her lower lip and bruising around her neck with fingermarks.

“There were a lot of findings in this case,” Terzian said. “[She had] marks on her neck, including fingerprint marks, one on the right and one on the left.”

Through his examination, Terzian concluded that Anderson was manually strangled, although there was also evidence that the necklace she was wearing at the time of her death acted as a ligature and impeded her breathing.

In closing statements on Friday, the prosecutor said Tercero was conscious of what he was doing while murdering Anderson, and argued the crime deserves to be classified as femicide because of their previous relationship.

“This is a woman we’re talking about,” she said, as interpreted by a translator. “It doesn’t matter what nationality.”

Through tears, Karen Anderson, the victim’s mother, said “not a day goes by” that she does not think of her daughter.

“She was an aspiring nurse and had her whole life to look forward to,” she said. “She was, and still is, my best friend and I miss her every day. She has many friends that miss her every day and she had one of the biggest hearts for all of her friends and all people that she knew … She is unfortunately not here to advocate for herself.”

Tercero was afforded the opportunity to speak to the court, as required under Nicaraguan law, but declined to talk.

The date of his sentencing has yet to be determined, and will be negotiated by Nicaraguan and U.S. officials.

Gorden Anderson, the victim’s father, said he hopes Tercero receives the maximum sentence. In the meantime, he will think of his daughter, who he described as “a beacon, a lighthouse” for others.

“She lighted the paths of the unfortunate, the searching and the ones who needed help,” he said. “Her flame is now extinguished.”

More than 1,000 people, including students, faculty and scientists from as far as China, came to campus to hear Whittingham speak. The distinguished professor of chemistry and materials science and engineering won the award on Oct. 9 for his work with lithium-ion batteries, but this is the first local public event he has been able to attend since returning from a conference in Germany.

“I am hoping this prize will raise the level of interest in energy storage and make it possible for this country to manufacture batteries and not have them all done in Japan, South Korea or China,” Whittingham said. “We will have a real business going here.”

On stage, President Harvey Stenger, Merryl Tisch, vice chair of the SUNY Board of Trustees, SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson and Emma Ross, Student Association (SA) president and a senior double-majoring in political science and psychology, joined Whittingham to speak on his success.

“I am so happy that what is arguably the single most important invention of our lifetime is being celebrated,” Johnson said.

During a press conference before the event, Whittingham said for a few days post-award, he received around 200 congratulatory emails a day, which has since gone down to around 50. Many of the emails, he noted, have come from past students.

Ross said she has heard from many current students as well.

“As leader of the student body, I often have the chance to speak with our students and so often when people decide to come to me it is with a concern or a complaint,” Ross said. “But this week has been a breath of fresh air to see the joy of the student community as we celebrate this award and accomplishment with [Whittingham].”

Johnson said Whittingham’s contributions are also helping New York state achieve environmental goals. In July, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which included goals of reaching 70-percent renewable energy in the state by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040 — goals that are impossible without the lithium-ion battery.

“The first important steps call for decarbonizing the electric sector, and electrifying personal transportation,” Johnson said. “The key to both of these initiatives working is the ability to store energy when the sun doesn’t shine and when the wind doesn’t blow. High-density battery storage using lithium-ion … will allow us to switch from fossil fuel to electricity for heating, cooling and personal transportation.”

Whittingham continues to research lithium-ion batteries. He hopes to eventually double the amount of energy a battery can currently store per cubic foot.

Still, Whittingham had one unique request for the future of Binghamton University and SUNY, reflecting on his time as a student at Oxford University.

“England at that time thought language was very important,” Whittingham said. “I am concerned these days that maybe this country is saying languages aren’t so important. Please, President, Chancellor, keep languages on your screen.”

The group was headed by members of Progressive Leaders of Tomorrow (PLOT), which includes Binghamton University students and local residents. They were joined by other unaffilated community members to protest against the recent deaths at the Broome County Jail. One protestor, Anthony Georgiou, a sophomore majoring in anthropology, said he heard about the protest during a College Progressives meeting and was interested in participating after hearing demonstrators speak at another jail protest on Sept. 1.

“There were a number of people who spoke at the [Sept. 1] action whose family members or even themselves suffered under the malpractices occurring in that institution,” Georgiou said. “I felt that it is a really important issue that hit a lot of people in this community, so it was important to get the word out there.”

But as a result of the showing, four protestors were arrested, and demonstration was met with backlash from government officials and some community members, including Mayor Rich David, who made a statement over microphone to the crowd after the protest was cleared. Later, David also released a press statement.

“You have hundreds of kids who have practiced to be in this competition,” David said on Tuesday. “It was really selfish and disgusting that these individuals would choose this particular venue to try to protest.”

Emily Jablon, 35, of Binghamton, also condemned the group’s actions. Jablon, who participated in the parade with a group of mosaic artists, described the parade as “joyful” and “happy” before the protest.

“It was scary to say the least,” Jablon said. “We were stopped on the bridge while cop cars flew by us, we could see physical interaction at the end of the bridge, and children were crying. Everyone protesting [had] masked faces from what we could see.”

A few members of the protest did cover their faces, including a man who led the protest with a megaphone. PLOT members discussed the demonstration on Facebook on Tuesday, writing that they succeeded in their goals.

“Yesterday’s action was an undeniable win for those of us in the community attempting to dismantle oppressive power structures and institutions,” PLOT’s post read. “The politicians and law enforcement present yesterday only served to reinforce their incompetence and inefficiency to the public.”

Their official goal, according to the same post, was to stop the parade for a minute for each of the 10 recent deaths of Broome County Jail inmates. In total, the parade was stopped for approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Although PLOT saw the protest as a success, Robert Murphy, Binghamton’s director of economic development, said it accomplished the opposite.

“If they want, they can make a statement on Facebook, on their own publication, with leaflets — there are many other ways to get your point across,” Murphy said. “And frankly, I think if nothing else, they hurt their cause in the process of just turning people off.”

Nevertheless, other local officials, including Binghamton City Democratic Chairwoman Teri Rennia, voiced support for the protestors, writing that “civil disobedience is a cornerstone of our society.”

Elizabeth Nutig, a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, participated in the protest and said she experienced a lot of pushback at first, but also some support afterward, with some people shaking demonstrators’ hands and thanking them.

“Some people came up to us and were asking, ‘Why are you doing this?’” Nutig said. “Two people came up and tried to rip the poster from us, which I thought was a pretty violent reaction to a nonviolent protest … The police started showing up and more people started yelling. I personally didn’t interact with the police, but some[one] near me I know did.”

The protestors are being arraigned in Broome County Court on Monday, and PLOT created a Facebook event titled, “Pack the Court for Binghamton Protesters.” Nutig and Georgiou said they will both be attending.

Victor Skormin, a distinguished service professor of electrical and computer engineering, posted the image on Sept. 30 at 1:21 a.m. The picture displays a man in a Confederate flag hat with the word “REBEL.” The man, who is holding a gun, is also wearing a shirt that says “REDNECK JEW” and shows the Star of David.

In March 2018, Skormin also saw criticism from students and University officials for his reply to an electrical and computer engineering graduate Listserv email about an event being hosted by the National Society of Black Engineers.

“Please let me know about a dinner of the National Society of White Engineers,” Skormin wrote in the email. “Thank you.”

Skormin later apologized for his email.

He said his recent post is a “photoshopped cartoon” that was intended to be humorous, and noted he is not the person in the image.

“The photo is humorous because Jews are not known of being rednecks, and the antisemitism is very common among rednecks,” he wrote in an email. “I put on my [Facebook] page everything that I believe is humorous and useful to my students and friends.”

Skormin added that he feels clothing choices, such as wearing an article of clothing displaying the Confederate flag, are an individual decision.

“I believe that people are entitled to wear whatever they want providing that it does not insult others,” Skormin wrote. “Many people are offended by holes in ladies’ jeans exposing parts of the body and nobody protests this.”

In a later message to Pipe Dream, Skormin declined to answer follow-up questions about the source of the photo, and said he would “contact my lawyer” if the article was published.

On Thursday, several University administrators and student leaders reacted to Skormin’s post. Khaleel James, vice president for multicultural affairs for the Student Association and a junior double-majoring in economics and human development, said the image negatively impacts the University’s image among communities of color.

“Just how we recognize one of our professors for winning the Nobel Prize, we should also recognize our professors for posting this kind of content,” James said. “Every time you post something like this or you respond in the way he has in the past, it does damage to Binghamton University in terms of how we are marketed from students who have had this negative experience.”

He also said that even if Skormin isn’t in the photo, it remain deeply offensive.

“It doesn’t have to be you — you should be more conscious of what you post,” he said. “It doesn’t change the fact, even if that is photoshopped or whatever, at the end of the day it’s on his page.”

In an emailed statement on Thursday, Donald Nieman, provost and vice president for academic affairs, condemned Skormin’s post and wrote these types of images do not represent the University’s values.

“Posting a photo that displays a symbol of racism is hateful, bigoted and creates a chilling environment for many,” Nieman wrote. “While the University has no jurisdiction over a professor’s social media account, we find it imperative to condemn any expression of racism that is inconsistent with our values and longstanding efforts to create a campus that respects all individuals.”

It is unclear if the University will take any action against Skormin. Ryan Yarosh, senior director of media and public relations, said administrators dealt with Skormin’s Listserv email in March 2018 “in a timely and appropriate manner,” but declined to comment on his recent post.

“Because it is a personnel matter, we are not free to disclose any actions taken,” he wrote in an email.

James said he intends to speak with faculty in the engineering department about the incident and encouraged students in need of support to contact his office.

On Wednesday morning, Whittingham was in Germany for a meeting when the organizer told him that people from the Nobel Prize committee were trying to get hold of him.

“Some of us, or some of the community thought this might happen five or some years ago,” Whittingham said at a press conference. “And it mostly had [dotted off] our radar screen until I think about 11:15 [a.m.] this morning.”

The distinguished professor of chemistry and materials science and engineering was awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry, along with Akira Yoshino and John B. Goodenough, for his involvement with the invention of the lithium-ion battery. The development of the rechargeable batteries, which are commonly used in laptops, cell phones and electric cars, was revolutionary in advancing portable technology.

Whittingham’s résumé includes a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degree from Oxford University, more than 200 research publications and 16 patents, as well as working 16 years at ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company and 31 years at BU. While discussing the experience of receiving the award, he acknowledged that there is a larger community working together to solve the same problem.

“This is recognition for three of us, but it is also recognition for the entire field,” Whittingham said. “We bring great indivisibility to raise [the bar] on energy storage and I think it will pass along the message that we can have a cleaner and nicer world and, perhaps, start to solve the climate problem.”

Since Whittingham was in Germany during the press conference, Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger, Donald Nieman, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at BU and around 100 attendees communicated with him via a livestream chat at the Innovative Technologies Complex. Stenger opened the event with an appreciative speech dotted with humor.

“I had the opportunity this morning to brag about [Whittingham] in front of a group of people I was meeting with, one of them was a Syracuse University alum[nus],” Stenger said. “And I said, ‘Hm, one of our faculty members won the Nobel Prize today, and you know what? That’s even better than winning the NCAA Basketball Championship.’”

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to 110 people since 1901, but this prize marks the first awarded to a faculty member at BU.

As a former dean of Harpur College, Nieman has had an extended relationship working with Whittingham. Nieman followed Stenger’s introduction by talking not only about Whittingham’s professional accomplishments, but also his personal qualities.

“Stan is a great scientist, but beyond that he is a wonderful human being,” Nieman said. “He is unassuming, he is a wonderful colleague and collaborator and one of the things that will not show up on the accolades that are written about Stan for winning the Nobel Prize is all the work he does with undergraduate students.”

After the press conference, Stenger made the connection between Whittingham’s work with lithium-ion batteries and BU’s new $1.75 million materials research equipment, the HAXPES-Lab, which was acquired by Louis Piper, director of the Institute for Materials Research and an associate professor of physics. Stenger said that looking to the future, there is hope for another award just around the corner.

“Professor Piper is right behind him,” Stenger said. “He is going to be using [the HAXPES-Lab] aspects to analyze the battery components in ways no one else has ever done.”

Whittingham ended his virtual conversation with life advice for students pursuing ambitious goals.

“Take risks, don’t be conservative and only do those things you really want to do,” Whittingham said. “Take a job that is exciting. You love it — don’t do it for the money.”