The selection process is extensive, with candidates submitting two letters of recommendation and a copy of their potential speech with their application.

Janathri Nanayakkara, a senior double-majoring in economics and political science, will speak at the 3:30 p.m. ceremony on Sunday.

A transfer student from Sri Lanka, Nanayakkara wanted to speak at commencement to give her parents something a little extra to see after their 23-hour journey.

Her dad went to school in England, so going abroad for a college education is something that she always thought she would do.

She started school at the University of Maine on a full scholarship, but wasn’t happy with the level of diversity. She decided to transfer to Binghamton despite her parents having to pay tuition.

“I wanted to do this basically to say thank you,” she said. “To my parents it was more important that I was happy. I am so grateful, so I had to do something special.”

Nanayakkara is no amateur at public speaking. In high school she was part of a group called Toastmasters that participated in public speaking events regularly. In 2006 she was internationally recognized as Asia’s best orator.

“I get excited about it and I’m someone I think who feeds off of the audience,” she said of public speaking.

Nanayakkara has held internships at Law and Society Trust and UNICEF in Sri Lanka, as well as at the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York City. Focusing on the realm of international human rights, she claims some of the experiences she has gained through these internships have changed her life.

When she worked with Law and Society Trust and UNICEF, Sri Lanka was undergoing a civil war. The war included a lot of terrorism and during her internship she went to help some of the innocent victims in the north.

During this summer internship, Nanayakkara taught English, basic Sinhala, her mother tongue, and math to children living in refugee camps. She was living in a war zone and wasn’t able to have any communication with her family at the time.

“I feel very strongly about the well-being of people,” she said. “I saw gruesome things, heard gruesome stories, but I helped people out.”

Nanayakkara will work at the United Nations as a diplomat next year, but is unable to disclose her assignment because of confidentiality reasons. She said she hopes one day to become an ambassador for Sri Lanka.

“I grew up in a country where every day, bombs would go off, people I knew died,” she said. “Just to see Sri Lanka improving and doing so well economically and politically makes me happy and gives me reason for my passion. I want to stand up for countries like that.”

She credits Binghamton with giving her the confidence to talk about her accomplishments after experiencing a bit of a culture shock at first.

“I went to job fairs here where people were pitching themselves to employers and I was shocked,” she said. “Later on I got that confidence, and now I can talk to you about who I am.”

Nanayakkara said her speech will incorporate her “foreign sense of humor.”

Benjamin Summers, a senior majoring in history, will speak at the 8:30 a.m. ceremony on Sunday, and plans to focus on perspective and the fact that nothing in life comes easy.

“It’s kind of like being at the starting point of a board game,” he said about graduating. “It takes a lot of dice rolls and twists and turns, but you’ll make it in the end.”

Delivering a commencement speech is something Summers said he always pictured himself doing because he likes public speaking, but it wasn’t until this year that he knew what he wanted to say.

“None of us are the same as we were freshman year,” he said. “We’re different forms of ourselves, one could say more developed forms, but I would say we’re just a lot more confused.”

Summers hopes that the speech will help people feel like they’re not alone on this journey. Whether it’s the day of graduation or over 20 years from now, Summers said that he wants everyone to know he will be there for anyone who needs him as they head toward the future.

In addition to honoring his graduating class, he also wants to honor his family and thank them for the time and energy they spent raising him.

After graduation, he plans to go to Atlanta, where his parents live.

“I’m going to go to a new city and starting my adventure from scratch,” he said. “Where that takes me and what that means, I don’t know and frankly I don’t think I want to know. It just makes it more exciting.”

Michelle Eberhart, a senior double-majoring in human development and English, will speak at the professional schools ceremony at noon on Sunday.

Speaking at commencement wasn’t something she planned early on, she said, but when she saw the opportunity she jumped at it.

“I was at Starbucks procrastinating and I said, ‘I’m going to try it and see what happens,’” she said. “I enjoy writing and want to pursue a career within the writing spectrum so why not?”

Eberhart plans to work as a personal trainer before applying to jobs in social media and public relations.

She said her time at Binghamton has taught her independence.

“When I came in as a freshman I thought I knew everything,” she said. “Then Binghamton came, and I realized I knew not nearly as much as I thought I did. I’ve been able to develop as a person and learn skills that I’ll be able to take with me forever.”

Eberhart plans to focus her speech on social media because of its relevance to today’s generation and her interest in the subject.

She wants to send a message that stresses the importance of interacting in person, rather than just communicating through a phone.

“I want to make sure people appreciate everything going on around here at Binghamton because our time here went by in a blink of an eye,” she said.

Jennifer Tomas will be the graduate commencement speaker at Saturday’s ceremony at 5 p.m. She has just completed her doctorate in American history.

She plans to teach two courses at Binghamton next year and then proceed to look for other jobs and publish some articles from her dissertation.

Tomas was nominated by her department chair to speak and was asked to submit a speech. She said she felt surprised when she was chosen and is grateful for the education she received at BU.

“I didn’t ask for this,” she said. “I am going to talk a little about my own experience at Binghamton and also about the value of a public university education and where I think that fits in American society.”

Tomas received her undergraduate degree at Wells College and entered Binghamton’s doctoral program in 2005.

Throughout her time at Binghamton, Tomas has completed a 500-page dissertation and hopes to mentor graduate students in a similar position one day.

Her time at the University has reshaped her conception of someone who could be a research scholar as well as a teacher and educator, she said.

“There are so many role models within the history department,” she said. “I came into this changed idea of who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do.”

As the only Jewish a cappella group at Binghamton University, they cater to the extensive Jewish population on campus, but also work to appeal to anyone who enjoys a cappella.

“The group’s message and sound is universal,” said Max Buckler, the show’s coordinator and a senior double-majoring in history and English. “I’ve had people say to me ‘I’m not Jewish, but I could understand exactly what you were singing about from the emotion and sound of the performance.’”

Unlike most of their shows, Saturday’s show will feature Kaskeset alumni for most of the performances, according to Buckler.

“This will be our biggest show ever because instead of 15 people singing, they’ll be 50,” Buckler said. “Our alums have been instrumental in the progress of our group. It’s so important to bring them back and do a big show and show our appreciation.”

They plan to perform a total of 16 songs that will include well-known tracks like “Belegan” and original music, Buckler said.

The group currently has 17 members, and Buckler said he admires how much they’ve grown in just his four years at Binghamton through touring and other efforts.

“We’re always trying to expand and take on new things,” he said. “We maintain a very professional attitude about the way we operate.”

The group is known to take classic Jewish and Israeli songs and incorporate different rhythms and languages to make them more original.

“We’ve sung in Spanish, Italian, Yiddish, Hebrew, English and Arabic,” Buckler said. ‘We take a lot of pride in the subtleties, which is something the audiences pick up on.”

This pride and identity is something Buckler holds close to him after watching the group grow. He’s worked with other members to improve the group’s caliber and professionalism.

Debbie Veetal, a BU alumnus who graduated in 2000, is one of the original members of the group.

Veetal said she is looking forward to being back at BU and having the opportunity to sing. Now an elementary school math and science teacher, it’s one of the few chances she gets.

After watching Kaskeset develop for 15 years through her strong connections with the group, she is amazed at how much they have grown and how the talent has improved.

“I never would have gotten into the group if I was auditioning now,” she said, laughing.

When she was in the group, they rehearsed one night a week, which has now changed to three nights a week. While singing was just a hobby of hers when she started, being involved in Kaskeset turned into a way she formed life-long relationships.

“I probably wouldn’t have been friends with most people in Kaskeset unless I was in the group, but there’s no question that those people became my closest friends,” Veetal said. “I still hang out with people from Kaskeset in New York all the time.”

This isn’t Veetal’s first time back with Kaskeset, as she was involved with rehearsals in New York City this semester with some other alumni to prepare for the upcoming show.

In our digital era, Veetal said she learned her part, as did others, by communicating via the Internet.

“It’s really amazing how just even through technology you can send voice parts over email or through a website,” she said. “You can learn your part at home, and then everyone comes together.”

Veetal has come to support the group at almost every show since her graduation and continues to form friendships with Kaskeset’s new additions.

Even the group’s youngest members feel this sense of community. Rachel Schy, media correspondent for the group and an undeclared freshman, explained the closeness between everyone.

“You get to do something you love with people you love,” she said. “It’s hard not to become close with these people.”

The group continues to grow each year. They have toured extensively around the country and hope to travel abroad one day, according to Buckler.

Kaskeset’s ambitious spirit is complimented by a down-to-earth energy and love for singing anywhere from a synagogue to a lecture hall, according to Buckler.

“I can’t wait to come back for the 20th anniversary show and sing with the fresh-faced college students when I’m out in the real world — I mean teal world,” Buckler said, referring to the group’s colors of teal and black, which they wear to most shows.

“It’s important to keep it going because the experiences that we get from doing it is something you want to see other people get to experience,” he said.

The doors open at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday in the Osterhout Concert Theater. Tickets are $4 at the door.

There are fewer than 170 antique carousels in the United States and Canada, and the Binghamton area has six, making it home to the biggest collection in the world.

The carousels make the city unique, according to Judi Hess, tourism and special events manager for Greater Binghamton.

“To have a collection of six in one area, the largest collection in the world, is really exciting,” Hess said.

The six carousels are located in parks in Johnson City, Binghamton, Endicott and Endwell. They’re open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

The carousels were a gift from George F. Johnson, a shoe manufacturer and benefactor, who donated them between 1919 and 1934 so anyone could ride for free.

“They’re historic and treasured by everyone here,” Hess said. “There are so many dimensions to them as part of our life.”

Rod Serling, the creator of “Twilight Zone” who grew up in Binghamton, drew inspiration from Recreation Park for one of his scripts.

The episode, called “Walking Distance,” is about a gentleman who returns to his childhood hometown as an adult, according to Hess.

“They recreated the park setting on a Hollywood lot,” she said. “Last year when they redid the carousel they included pictures of the episode all around it.”

The redone carousel in Recreation Park includes images from other episodes, as well as a tribute to Serling.

The largest of the six carousels is located in Johnson City’s C. Fred Johnson Park and contains 72 original figures. With mirrors and painted scenic panels, this carousel is a decadent attraction.

The oldest carousel resides with the animals at the Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park, and boasts some creatures of its own. With 60 jumping horses, two chariots and monkeys, this one turns to the tune of its original 51-key Wurlitzer Military Band Organ.

The municipality where carousels are located are responsible for their upkeep, and additional funding is sometimes provided by grants and donations to help with the cost of refurbishing, according to Hess.

They are all now currently in enclosed areas to keep them from being exposed to the elements, to save on maintenance later.

Still free, some of the parks ask for a piece of litter in exchange for an admission ticket as a way to have the community help keep the community spaces clean.

Now in their eighth decade, the carousels have become a part of many memories, young and old.

Aaron Wolff, a senior majoring in economics, grew up in Binghamton and remembers riding the carousels when he was young. He’s been to three of the six and plans to visit more throughout his life.

“It’s good because something like the carousels gives Binghamton a larger appeal to draw people to the area,” Wolff said.

His favorite is in Binghamton’s Recreation Park. He still continues to visit the park during the summer with some of his hometown friends. Like Serling, it brought back many childhood memories, and he recommends others check them out too.

James Burns, who specializes in ethnomusicology, the study of music and world cultures, has worked at Binghamton University for seven years.

While he devotes time to teaching inside the classroom, his greatest lessons are taught outside of it.

In his second year at BU, he started a student ensemble of 40 to 50 singers, drummers and dancers called NukPorfe. The name is in Ewe, a language from Ghana, and translates to “seeing is believing.”

“When you meet someone you’ll never know what their skills and talents are until you actually see them in action,” Burns said. “If you just saw us on the street with our instruments, you may question if we know anything, but you realize it’s true when we perform.”

Burns, raised as a Latino Jew, speaks Spanish, Mandarin and a half-dozen African languages. His mother is Hispanic, so he learned Spanish growing up and mastered Mandarin in college, where he took years of courses in Chinese and lived in Bejing for a summer abroad.

Though he initially planned to return to China after college, a sudden interest in Africa changed his plans.

“I had done Asian studies for many years and had reached the breaking point,” Burns said. “I had a lot of African friends at that point and wanted to see where they came from.”

He decided to go to Ghana, without knowing much about it. In an age before the Internet, he gleaned what he could from an encyclopedia.

But Burns didn’t need much time to adjust.

“The people were so beautiful and friendly,” he said. “I probably made more friends there in a week than I had my whole life.”

With those friends, he also made music. He started his two-year stay at the University of Ghana and then traveled to villages. For a good portion of his time in Ghana, he stayed with “drumming families.”

“These are families that have music all the way back through their history, they’re known as community musicians,” Burns said.

Burns moved in with one family and became their long-term apprentice. Starting with smaller drums, he worked up to the lead drum and before long, was leading the ceremonies.

“That gave me a sense of, and taught me about the cultural side of music,” he said. “I wasn’t just studying music at the school but really being involved in the life of the community.”

It’s this sense of community that he brings to NukPorfe at every rehearsal.

He is “moved by the music,” according to Marcel March, an adjunct instructor in the theater department who teaches African dance and is one of Burns’ former students.

“Through any form of music: jazz, modern, African, he feels the rhythm,” March said. “Whether he wants to get up and dance or he’s banging on a drum or playing on a piano, he’s someone who’s not afraid to be himself around other people.”

While working toward his doctorate from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, he returned to Ghana and conducted research on a group of performers that was primarily female. He interviewed them about their lives and the meanings of songs and dances.

“They were expressing social criticism and commentary in their music that had to do with issues affecting women in the village,” he said. “Most are illiterate, so by dancing symbolically they have a voice in what the community knows or learns.”

Burns turned this research into a book called “Female Voices from an Ewe Dance-Drumming Community in Ghana.” He also created a documentary about the group.

When he returned from Africa, he brought back more than knowledge. Burns brought back a new way of life.

“[In Ghana] they have a culture of hospitality. It’s an honor to receive a guest,” he said.

Burns tries to make his own guests feel the same way.

“He’ll invite us to dinner and you feel like you’re a part of something,” March said.

Patient and fun, Burns devotes extra time to making sure his students are cared for as well.

Maritza Rodriguez, a junior majoring in biology, has been a member of the ensemble since her freshman year and describes Burns as someone who will always go out of his way to help.

“He has a lot of faith in his students, and I know I can’t let him down,” she said. “I go to practice rooms and go through it over and over again. I want to prove to him that I can do it.”

She started dancing in the back during rehearsal on Friday afternoons, but leapt through many parts and is now one of the lead drummers.

The group has in a way, developed into its own Ghanaian community.

“We’re a big family and we watch out for each other and care for each other,” Rodriguez said. “We have each other’s back, it’s really cool.”

NukPorfe is performing this Thursday at 8 p.m. in the Anderson Center’s Chamber Hall. Tickets are $3.

The Rathskeller Pub was one of the first bars raided, giving other bars a chance to check and remove underage people from the premises.

“We saw the paddy wagon [police vehicle] across from The Rat,” said a bartender at Scoreboard, who was interviewed but requested to remain anonymous. “After that, we started randomly IDing people within the bar.”

He said there were not many people removed from the bar because of the tight security at the door, but many left on their own after word of the raid spread.

“Very few underage people get in here without a picture-perfect ID,” the bartender said. “We have ID scanners. If it doesn’t scan, they’re not allowed in.”

Scoreboard bouncers said they plan to be stricter with admitting people into the bar.

“We’re not going to be taking anything that says ‘Under 21’ from now on either,” he said.

The bartender said that when raids occur, students, rather than those who run the bar, usually take the heat.

“If you’re under 21 and want to be in a bar, it’s at your own risk,” he said. “If they have a valid ID that looks like them, we have to serve them.”

However, Rathskeller owner Christine Pasquale was ticketed for selling alcohol to a minor and is facing charges because of the underage people found in her bar during the police raid.

Several students were arrested, handcuffed and brought to the police station in the “paddy wagon” on the night of the raid.

A Binghamton University student who requested to remain anonymous was one of the first arrested at The Rat last week. The student spoke to Pipe Dream about her experience on Friday night.

Dancing with a drink in hand, the student felt a tap on the shoulder and turned to find a police officer. The student, who claimed she was sober, was brought outside for questioning, and after admitting she was underage, the officers brought her to the police station.

The student described the whole process as time-consuming.

“They kept us in the van for 45 minutes or an hour and kept adding people in,” she said. “Everyone was from different bars. They squished us in there like sardines. They fit as many people as they could in the van.”

According to the student, the officer told them that they were headed toward correction facility in Syracuse, but only drove the van, which did not have any windows, around briefly before stopping at the Binghamton police station. At the police station, the girls, about five in total, were kept in a cell while the boys were handcuffed to a bar to wait.

Students were allowed to leave after their information was collected, which totaled around four hours. They left with appearance tickets.

While some students were in tears, according to the anonymous student, most said they were frustrated.

“It’s ridiculous that students are getting in trouble for things that’s the responsibility of the bar,” she said. “Who they tapped in the bar was completely random. There were people with drinks in their hands that they didn’t go near. There was no organization, it all happened so fast.”

Matthew Sackett, a senior majoring in management, was present at The Rat last Friday. He said the cops started coming down the steps of the bar suddenly and everyone stopped what they were doing and ran out. Of legal age, he stood with his drink observing the madness.

“The bouncers didn’t seem too concerned,” he said. “As I was leaving I heard one say ‘here comes the mass exodus.’”

Assistant Chief David Eggleston of the Binghamton Police Department did not respond to calls for comment by press time.

McCarthy, who goes by Laurie, is a Binghamton University adjunct professor at South Wind Stable through the Outdoor Pursuits program. Both her mother and grandmother were riders, so when she jumped on the saddle for her first lesson at 9 years old, it felt natural.

Born and raised in Binghamton, Laurie was 12 years old when she joined the local pony club where she participated in horse shows.

“It was a three-day event,” she said. “You have to do a cross country ride and a stadium jumping round. Some of the jumps on these courses were pretty scary; that was a whole stage in my life.”

She borrowed a horse from her stable for the shows, but through the support of her family, was also able to own several horses of her own.

“We had a little pony named Skipper,” she said. “My brother and I would play Lassie with him.”

After Skipper came Lancer, Missy Lola, Arista, Spenser and Faxx, each one with its own story and charm. Faxx, for example, is Laurie’s nickname for a huge black horse originally named Karbon Kopy. When she eventually needed to find a new home for him, he landed on a farm that did Olympic vaulting.

“They jump on the horse’s back, then they hop off,” she said. “He was so big that you could land a helicopter on his butt.”

Laurie doesn’t currently own a horse, but alternates between different ones at the stable.

“It’s just such an escape from stress to be around [the horses] when you can relax and enjoy them,” she explained.

She savors that relaxation now, as it wasn’t always so convenient for her. A graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in advertising design and illustration, she spent time in corporate America.

“When I got out of college, horses were always my hobby, but I started doing art direction at a couple local ad agencies,” she said. “Then I shifted more toward marketing.”

Laurie worked in marketing and communications, moving between New York, Texas and Connecticut. During those career shifts it was hard to keep riding a part of her life. In Connecticut, high living costs prevented her from riding for five years.

“It was agonizing because I drove by this gorgeous horse farm every day on the way to work,” she said.

She finally felt at home again when she moved back to Binghamton in 2009 and became a part of the horsemanship classes through Binghamton University. Teaching is something Laurie admits she truly loves.

According to Syd Davis, a friend and another instructor with the BU horsemanship program, Laurie took the program and ran with it.

“She got it to the way it needed to be for the University,” Syd said. “Laurie did a great deal to set the program up the way you see it today.”

Laurie even put her graphic design skills to work to make a pamphlet informing students about the progran run under Roni McAbee, owner of South Wind Stable, who started riding classes at BU years ago.

Laurie’s artistic talents haven’t only made an appearance through the horsemanship program. A painter and a sculptor all her life, she is also the owner of a brand new jewelry business. She became interested in this avenue back in 2006 when she was still in Connecticut, but it was more of just a hobby. She now sells her creations and has a website at www.ltmcartjewelry.com.

“My jewelry is more sculptural,” she said. “It’s art jewelry. I work with metal clay and wire. It’s different.”

She also uses her talent for charity through her work on the board of directors of the Mental Health Association of the Southern Tier. Her cousin committed suicide 15 years ago on Laurie’s birthday, so this is an association she holds dear to her heart.

Mental Health America created a 300-pound bell made of melted shackles and chains from different asylums across the nation in the early 1950s. Laurie turned the symbol into a charm for necklaces and bracelets, and travels to state conferences to sell the jewelry fundraising for the association.

“We sold about $1,000 worth of stuff at a show in Albany last week,” she said.

And like her jewelry shines, Laurie is known for her sparkling personality.

“She is the most energetic person I know,” said Annette Bakic, a friend of Laurie’s. “She’s like a sister to me.”

Annette and Laurie initially bonded over their love for horses, and their friendship has lasted for more than 20 years. Annette owns three horses at South Wind Stable now.

“She’s a wonderful friend,” Annette said. “I really respect and love her as a person.”

Syd calls this horse aficionado a ball of fire.

“She’s very bright, hard-working and loves horses to death,” Syd said. “She’s a very enthusiastic instructor; I can barely keep up.”

The Law Day consists of a law school fair from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m in the Mandela Room, followed by a panel discussion held from 3 to 4 p.m. made up of admissions officials from schools such as Duke University Law School and the University of Connecticut School of Law.

The representatives will speak about the admissions process and take questions from students.

“We try to get a diverse sample on the panel,” said John Appelbaum, BU’s pre-law adviser.

The fair portion of the event will host representatives from 79 law schools.

A full list of institutions attending is available on the Career Development Center’s website. The event is being co-sponsored by the CDC and the Pre-Law Advising Office. Several hundred students are expected to attend.

Appelbaum said students need not bring a résumé, because the fair’s purpose is for students to ask questions of law school representatives and see what programs they offer.

Attire is also more casual, according to Appelbaum.

“There’s no dress code for the event … I would say that students should look presentable,” Appelbaum said.

He suggested students prepare for the fair by devising questions to ask, on topics like the programs schools offer, student life and the admissions process.

“I encourage students to go and get the information straight from the representatives,” he said. “There are over 200 institutions in the U.S. and every school has their own policies about the process.”

Jami Goodman, a senior double-majoring in history and philosophy, politics and law, said she is looking forward to learning more about schools’ specific requirements.

“You can look schools up online but it’s better to ask representatives certain questions you have in person,” she said.

Law Day is open to everyone, regardless of year or major.

“For underclassmen, they’re really there to see what law school representatives are like and sort of make a decision to enter the legal profession,” Appelbaum said. “There’s no such thing as a typical law school applicant.”

Michael Wong, a senior earning a dual degree from Harpur College and the School of Management in accounting, financial engineering, political science and English, has attended past law days and said he also plans to attend this year’s fair.

“Law Day is incredibly helpful because even if you know where you are applying to, you can talk to the recruiters about things they would like to see on applications,” Wong said. “They’re also very honest and straight-forward with you, so it helps you learn more about the school than just reading it in a book.”

Holly Horn, the assistant director for career development at the CDC, said that going to Law Day in your freshman or sophomore year can help you plan out your college career and make you feel more comfortable at future law fairs.

“They feel like they know what to expect due to seeing the environment,” she said. “It’s a little anxiety reliever for them.”

According to Horn, students will fill out contact cards during the fair so they can get more information from law schools later.

“It always helps to put a name to a face,” Appelbaum said.

Horn suggested bringing address labels if possible, so as to save time when filling out contact cards for the schools.

To prepare for the fair, Goodman has made a list of the schools to which she is considering applying. But she said she plans to keep an open mind and check out any other schools that attract her interest.

Appelbaum said that going to the fair is crucial to helping students figuring out if law school is right for them, and if it is, to gather as much information as possible before applying.

“It’s a very important step in taking control of your own professional destiny,” Appelbaum said.

— Sophia Rosenbaum contributed reporting.

Will Merchan, a senior majoring in graphic design, was evacuated from his Conklin Ave home at 10:30 a.m. yesterday — in a raft.

Firemen came and knocked on the door of the house to assist in their evacuation.

“When we opened the front door, water was starting to come in,” he said. “Our front door is probably a good five feet above the ground.”

A car parked in front of Merchan’s house was very close to being totally submerged in water.

Both Merchan’s car and his roommate’s car were parked behind the house, which they couldn’t see at the time of evacuation.

“We assume both of our cars are gone,” he said.

With little time to evacuate, Merchan packed his laptops and grabbed his phone before leaving. He said he didn’t know when he will be able to return.

“It still hasn’t hit me really, it won’t until I see the damage,” he said. “I’m just assuming the worst.”

Merchan plans to stay at a friend’s house for the time being.

Evacuation calls were made all around Downtown Binghamton, ordering other students to leave their homes.

Jeanette Paez, a senior majoring in biology, was evacuated from her home on Court Street. She first received a phone call from her landlord at 6:30 a.m., and then heard firefighters making announcements between 10:30 and 11 a.m. on Court Street.

“We decided we weren’t going to move until around 12,” she said.

Paez and her roommates are staying with friends on Walnut Street.

But even their shelter had water problems of its own.

“At the house we’re at, the basement has about five feet of water,” she said.

While the water crept up, life for Paez and her friends remained relatively calm. They even went out to grab a bite to eat at Cyber West Café.

Paez’s friends live on the third and fourth floor of their apartment building, and she remained hopeful that there would not be too much damage there.

Gina Aufiero, a junior majoring in biology, received the same wake-up call this morning.

“[The firefighters] came and knocked on the apartment building,” she said. “We weren’t going to leave, we figured it was optional.”

Aufiero and her roommate went to move their cars into a parking garage, but when they returned, warnings intensified.

The two eventually drove to campus for shelter and are staying there with friends.

“I’m really nervous,” she said. “I have no idea what it looks like now, but there was water coming up from the river about two blocks down from where we live.”

Aufiero is hoping to return home on Friday, but like the others, she can’t be sure when the mandatory evacuation order will be lifted.

“On the ride over we saw water up to at least the second story of the houses,” she said. “I felt terrible.”

But while a manicure can be an easy way to relax after a stressful day, the worries of the manicurist on the other side of the table may not be as easily remedied.

Some had jobs as scientists or lawyers in their home country. Others come to the United States with little more than the shirt on their backs.

Minh Nguyen, 40, the manager of Nail Trix in the Oakdale Mall, immigrated to the United States from Vietnam with his mother and brother when he was 18.

“Nobody was hiring in Vietnam,” Nguyen said. “It was very poor over there.”

He arrived in Syracuse, where he worked in a factory making parts for televisions.

“In the factory we had to work for four hours straight and only got a 15-minute break before going back to work,” Nguyen said. “And the supervisor was always watching.”

Nguyen was soon encouraged by his girlfriend to enter the nail business.

With the help of his father, who ran a nail salon in Syracuse, Nguyen got his current job at Nail Trix and he has been there for about 10 years.

According to the Office of National Statistics, certain ethnic groups tend to gather in particular industries when they immigrate to the United States.

For example, statistics from 2004 show that three-fifths of Bangladeshi men and just less than half of Chinese men worked in the distribution, hotel and restaurant industry, compared to the just one-sixth of white British immigrants who worked in the same industry. Pakistani men were the group most likely to work in the transport and communication industry — 23 percent of them worked in this sector compared to 10 percent of employed men overall.

Similar statistics hold true in Binghamton.

Andrew Baranoski, executive director of the American Civic Association, said many Vietnamese gather around the nail industry while many Iraqis become cab drivers.

According to Baranoski, it is common for newcomers from a certain country to go into the same field when they come to America.

“It goes back decades,” Baranoski said. “There are the Italians that would come here and work at EJ [the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company] … So it’s just a continuation of folks from the same backgrounds taking care of one another.”

The ACA is a private, not-for-profit association that has existed in Binghamton since 1939. The community center provides citizenship and language assistance to local immigrants.

Nguyen spent his first two years in America learning English with the help of a local church. Once he became more proficient in English, he went to New York City to take classes on how to do nails.

Nguyen said he fell in love with the trade. He went from making $1 a day in Vietnam, to $4.10 an hour at the factory in Syracuse, to $8 an hour about 10 years ago. Nguyen is now making $10 per hour, a figure that exceeds the expectations he had when he first immigrated here.

“I’m very happy because I can meet a lot of people, and it helps me learn English,” he said.

However, not every immigrant is so lucky. According to Baranoski, employment is one of the greatest challenges an immigrant faces.

“If you were a professional back at your home country and are now stocking shelves at Wal-Mart, that would be a considerable step down in many ways,” he said.

Modesta Lesniewska is a manicurist at Dieci Lifestyle Spa in Livingston, N.J. Before, she was a lab scientist in Poland, where her education included more than lemon and honeysuckle spa treatments. After she immigrated, she needed to adjust from her Polish life to enter the world of polish.

Lesniewska went to the Capri Institute of Cosmetology and the Star Nail Tech Institute. She has now worked at Dieci Lifestyle Spa for most of her 23 years in the beauty industry.

Baranoski said he once helped bring another refugee over from Poland where the man was an attorney, but could only find work digging ditches when he arrived in America.

Jennifer Trinh, a manicurist in San Francisco, was wealthy in Vietnam, but she began working seven days a week at a nail salon to make ends meet after immigrating, according to a 2006 CBS news report.

Trinh said she hopes to go back to school to become a real estate agent.

But for many older immigrants in the U.S., attaining a professional career can take tremendous work, if not prove impossible.

“It can be a slow process to recertification as you have to go back to school and improve language skills in some cases,” Baranoski said. “It’s doable but requires effort and resources.”

However, having to maintain jobs for which they are overqualified can do more than lessen immigrants’ incomes. It can have a difficult emotional impact and make it hard for them to cope with their new life, according to Baranoski.

“I came here and had nothing,” Trinh said. “I accepted the job, but I cry a lot.”

Baranoski said mental health services are available, but often require language assistance, and many never take advantage.

“It’s also hard to raise your hand and say, ‘I’m depressed.’ It’s tough stuff,” he said. “I have the greatest admiration for these people.”

The walkathon, hosted by the Chabad Center for Jewish Student Life, the Alumni Association and the BU administration will commence at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 11 with a ceremony to honor the attacks’ victims, which included 15 BU alumni.

During the opening ceremony there will be three specially-dedicated stations, one for each of the three sites where American citizens died at the hands of terrorists on Sept. 11: the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and a field in Shanksville, PA.

Alpha Epsilon Pi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi will be the hosts of the World Trade Center station, Pi Kappa Phi will be the host of the Pentagon station and the men’s lacrosse team will be the host of the Shanksville station. The lacrosse team became involved in the walkathon as a way to honor a team member’s father who died in the attacks.

“The Twin Towers station has an interactive portion where you can make cards for soldiers,” said Rebecca Bandler, a sophomore in the Decker School of Nursing who is also majoring in psychology, who is helping to coordinate the event.

The walkathon, which will circle the Brain, will begin after the ceremony.

Teams will be representing an alumnus or alumna who died with a card containing information about him or her. Other teams will have cards to honor more people who died in the attacks from other areas.

“[Walkathon participants will] realize that they fundraised in the person’s memory,” Bandler said. “The cards hit really close to home, it was very sad and emotional to read them.”

Planning for the event has been underway since the end of last semester. Over the summer, coordinators from the Chabad Center spoke to the administration to finalize the details.

“They loved [the idea],” said Dayna Driscoll, a senior majoring in political science and the recruitment coordinator of the event.

Driscoll contacted various student groups early on to get them involved with planning the walkathon.

“We made a page where groups can sign up, not to walk but just to help for the day of set-up,” she said.

Sodexo is helping sponsor the event by providing snacks and water. College Republicans, which usually plants flags along the Lois B. DeFleur Walkway to commemorate 9/11, will plant flags around the Brain this year in conjunction with the route of the walkathon.

Driscoll said that about $1,000 has been raised so far in donations, and that the goal of the walkathon is to raise at least $10,000.

“We’re hoping to maybe even go above the goal because people may bring donations the day of the event,” she said.

The coordinators chose two charities to which to donate the money raised by the walkathon: the Twin Towers Orphan Fund, which helps children of 9/11 victims afford college, and the Broome Volunteer Emergency Squad, who were part of the first responders to help on 9/11. The team drove from Binghamton to Ground Zero after hearing about the attacks.

“We wanted to do one local cause and one national cause,” Driscoll said.

The money raised will be split evenly between the two charities, according to Bandler.

There is no fee to register for the walk, but participants are encouraged to donate to the cause.

“You don’t have to raise any money to walk, but if you do happen to raise $10 per person, you can get a T-shirt at the walkathon,” Bandler said.

T-shirts will also be sold at the event.

Although the idea for the walkathon originated with Chabad, Driscoll stressed that the event is being jointly run with the BU administration and Alumni Association and that no students should feel excluded from participating.

“We want everyone to be together, that’s what is most important,” Driscoll said.

Sign-up will be open until the day of the event. People can register as individuals or as part of a team along with a group of friends or fellow student organization members. Registration is open at www.walktoremember911.com, where more information is also available.

“If she picked up a rock that had a different coloration, she could just become engrossed by how beautiful it was,” said Justin Wohl, Zoe’s boyfriend. “She saw beauty in everything.”

Wohl, a recent Binghamton University graduate who double-majored in graphic design and marketing and entrepreneurship, had been dating Damon since the beginning of December.

Their relationship bloomed quickly after their first meeting in the New University Union during lunch.

“I started leaving class early to get lunch so I could see her,” Wohl said. “She was just amazing, I couldn’t get enough.”

Damon, a senior double-majoring in biology and art, died on Thursday, July 14 during a study abroad program in Costa Rica when the van she was riding in skidded and fell into a river. The van had pulled over to let an oncoming car pass when the road beneath it gave way, said BU professor Richard Andrus, who was driving the van.

Andrus, an associate professor of environmental studies and biological science, has led groups around Costa Rica on this summer program for 20 years. He said he does not believe the incident will affect future trips.

“The accident itself was such an incredibly freak event,” Andrus said. “[It was a] very unusual situation involving some very poor road construction, we just happened to be there at the wrong time.”

Andrus described Damon as a strong student who enjoyed being surrounded by the nature in the tropics of Costa Rica.

“When we had classes she would ask very good questions,” Andrus said. “She was an active participant in everything we did.”

Damon’s love of nature stemmed from her childhood. Wohl, who often walked with Damon through the Nature Preserve, explained that when she was growing up, her dad would teach her about the planets, forests, bugs and animals.

“She was always telling me about different plants and flowers,” he said. “She just had a tremendous knowledge of it.”

Her love for the outdoors complimented her love of art from the age of three, when she started drawing. One of her first paintings was called “Snakes and Turtle” and consisted of a circle and two lines, according to Wohl. Although the subjects of her paintings changed as she got older, her inspiration from nature persisted and soon she was painting sunsets by the Hudson River and scenes from Ireland and Greece.

“Her most recent ones are photo realistic,” Wohl said. “You look at it and say this has to be a photo … she recognized beauty on a different level.”

Damon’s family supported her love of art. Her mother is also a painter and Damon, along with her mother and two brothers, would paint together every Thanksgiving.

She was close with her family, describing her mother as one of her best friends, Wohl said. She was also close with her brothers Patrick, 26, and Colin, 30, who frequently sent her care packages at school.

“They’d always be the most wacky things from wine to lollipops,” said Elena Herrera, a close friend. “They had a really good bond, they were really close.”

Damon was a pre-med student who excelled academically.

“I’d be struggling in every subject we were in together but it came all so easy for her,” said Herrera, a senior majoring in sociology. “She was a natural student who was really interested in everything.”

Aside from her studies, she also spent time skiing with the Snocats, rock climbing and trying new exotic foods, according to Wohl.

“I was so amazed just by how complex of a person she was,” he said. “There was just so much going on, so much to learn and so much to be attracted to.”

Herrera noted that Damon, a girl with many passions, was most passionate about other people.

“She always made sure other people were doing what they loved too … always watching out for everyone else,” Herrera said.

According to Herrera, Damon was tenacious and never stopped pursuing what she loved. Herrera said she hopes to emulate this quality in her own life.

“She did what interested her and she didn’t get away from those things for any reason,” Wohl said. “That is something that I can only wish for everybody.”

If there was one thing she would want all people to know, it would be to open their eyes and appreciate the beauty of the world by taking time to love it, according to Wohl.

“The most amazing person I’ve ever met in my whole life … she was my puzzle piece,” Wohl said. “I love her from the bottom of my heart.”

According to her Facebook page, she was from Kingston, N.Y. and was studying biology at BU.

Damon was killed while traveling in a van that skidded and fell into a river, according to La Nacion, a Costa Rican newspaper. Richard Andrus, associate professor of environmental studies, was driving the vehicle.

The Press & Sun-Bulletin reported that the van rolled down an embankment more than 100 feet into the El Guabo River.

It took rescuers about two hours to get to the victims. Three other students were injured, but the injuries are not considered to be life threatening.

Most students have returned home, with the exception of two who will remain in order to get their passports replaced after the documents were lost in the accident. Andrus will remain with them to take care of any other details in Costa Rica.

Damon was one of 16 students on the annual summer trip. The students were taking a six-credit summer course, sponsored by the Environmental Studies Program through the Tropical Forestry Initiative.

BU President C. Peter Magrath said the entire University community is saddened by this tragic news and offered thoughts and prayers for the families of all those involved.

The University Counseling Center is available to help students at (607) 777-2772 during normal business hours. For anyone who would like to reach the after-hours Counselor on Call, the University Police is available at (607) 777-2222.

Kirschenbaum focused on the accomplishments the executive board has completed throughout the year.

He mentioned Off Campus College Transport’s growth and credited Adam Shamah, vice president for finance, for handling procedures to “sustain and secure the longevity of the corporation.”

He also included the doubling of late night service of OCCT buses, something Kirschenbaum promised in his campaign last year.

Kirschenbaum also credited the Student Association Programming Board with creating high-quality events with high attendance such as Dr. Ruth and Frost Fest.

“Our SA Programming Board is the best I have seen in my four years here,” he said. “The leadership and creative talent on SAPB is unmatched and I look forward to an extremely successful spring semester of programming.”

Daniel Rabinowitz, vice president for academic affairs, has also seen success in publishing the results of SOOT surveys and seeing “significant traffic” on http://www.mybingprofessors.com, according to Kirschenbaum.

He said that the SA has been a more cohesive body than in years past.

“We’ve gotten off to a slow start, but I know that next semester we will be in great hands,” he said.

Kirschenbaum took a break from the words on paper to talk not only about the effectiveness of the SA this year, but also the need for improvement.

“In the past I’ve seen a lot of legislation that is improving the campus,” he said. “I’d like to see more of that because that’s our job. The SA assembly is supposed to improve campus and improve the collegiate experience here.”

One of the improvements Kirschenbaum is working on is a bike sharing program. He plans to have a meeting with a company from Canada, but the overall outcome will depend on funding.

Other plans include smaller improvements such as adding a doorknob on the door of the union by the bus stop.

“A lot of the stuff we dealt with came up as the year went on,” Kirschenbaum said. “It’s like a game of basketball, you don’t know what you’re going to do, but it’s about being in the right spot at the right time.”

This includes the situation with Phillip Calderon. Kirschenbaum said he is proud of the way the SA handled the situation.

“As leaders we took care of business. Like a test, we can’t really look back,” he said.

Kathryn Howard, a junior majoring in political science and chief of staff for Kirschenbaum, said the SA needs to work on its image in the next semester.

“[The SA] can continue to do all these projects behind the scenes, but they need to help students realize it’s the SA that’s doing it,” she said. “We do the work but things don’t come off that way all the time.”

The Judicial Board was the last point of Kirschenbaum’s speech in which he mentioned the difficult procedure the SA is going through in “advertising and procuring quality candidates.”

“I do feel that it is important that we have a strong Judicial Board and have been putting in strong effort to ensure the quality of its members,” he added.

Prior to the speech the SA listened to and voted on two potential J-board candidates.

Kevin Fischer, a freshman majoring in chemistry, was approved for the board. Nicholas Jacobson, a junior majoring in history, was not.

As the academic vice president of Newing College, Jacobson was involved in the process of filing the Newing election grievances earlier this semester.

Though the Judicial Board selection process is still not complete, the SA hopes to have a full board in place by the beginning of next semester, according to Howard.

Howard, also a student assembly representative for Mountainview College and chair of the student outreach committee, said there are a lot of applicants Kirschenbaum has not brought forward yet due to the semester’s end.

Regardless of the lack of a complete judicial board, the assembly continues to test applicants on their knowledge of judicial laws and incurred long debates on the candidates’ potential.

“Any candidate that goes before the assembly will get the same kind of questions,” she said. “It’s to make sure solid candidates get onto judicial board.”

According to Danielle Kutas, a Newing College assembly representative and sophomore majoring in management, not everyone will agree on the Judicial Board candidates, which creates a lot of debate, but the debate is important.

“We are now one step closer to a full Judicial Board, which is ultimately what we need,” she said.

She has to balance her EVP office hours, jobs, class schedule and social life — a juggling act many college students run into.

When forced to cut something out, sleep may be the first to go. Many college students are struggling to catch some z’s and often find counting sheep a thing of the past.

“Sometimes I only get five hours of sleep a night,” Goldin said.

According to Tammy Martin, a physician’s assistant at United Medical Associates Sleep and Diagnostic Center in Binghamton, five hours is usually not enough.

“Some people can feel good at five hours, but in most it can cause fatigue, which doesn’t allow you to function properly,” Martin said.

Though some students may be night owls or force themselves to stay up late cramming for a test, Martin insists that they should at least practice good sleep hygiene.

“Sleep hygiene means having a good diet of sleep,” Martin said. “This is productive sleep, not being broken up with a nap here or a nap there, but being able to say, ‘OK, I’m really going to sleep and turn off my phone and computer.'”

Attaining this vision of sleep may be a nightmare for some, and for the sleep-deprived, the choice between a shower and an additional half hour of sleep may not be so clear-cut.

But a lack of sleep does not have to be an excuse to show up for class looking like the most recent castoff of “Survivor.”

By following these quick, easy tips, you’ll be turning heads across campus faster than you can say “sleeping beauty.”

GOOD LOCKS AND THE BEARCATS

Goldin has natural curly locks, and on a time crunch she will leave the waves and use products by Aveda to tame the frizz. However, if she has 10 extra minutes, she will put in the effort to straighten her brunette cut.

She has used a CHI ceramic flat iron for six years.

“I feel like it gets better with age,” Goldin said. “It’s like wine, it’s true. I love it.”

Jackie Onysko, a cosmetologist and four-year veteran of White Rose Day Spa and Hair Salon in Binghamton, said washing hair at night can be a time saver.

“When they wake up they can straighten it, curl it or just leave it natural without having to go through the whole process,” Onysko said.

If there is just no time to wash your hair before class, try baby powder or dry shampoo. Sprinkling a little in your hands and rubbing them together before applying to overdue tresses will make a hairstyle look brand new.

And never underestimate the power of hair accessories. Onysko suggests throwing a headband on for a little variety or creating a Pocahontas-like side braid to forgo the bad hair day blues.

TIME TO MAKE UP

When you’ve reached the point where the bags under your eyes should have TUMI stamped on them, there’s no need to jump ship. A little concealer can do the trick. Just dab a few dots under each eye and rub with the ring finger to achieve a natural glow.

Goldin’s go-to product is her eyeliner.

“If I have no time and I can only pick one thing, it’s always eyeliner because if I don’t wear it, I can look like a corpse,” she said.

Onysko suggests using an enzyme peel from Arbonne to look a little more alive.

“It’s a nighttime treatment mask,” Onysko said. “It makes your skin moisturized and when you wake up in the morning you’re glowing.”

The appeal of this mask is that there’s no waiting. Instead of having to put it on and take it off within a certain time frame, it works through the night as the skin goes through its repair mode, leaving a vibrant, refreshed feeling throughout the day, according to Onysko.

MIRROR, MIRROR ON THE WALL

Snow White said true beauty comes from within. So even though products may cover up some effects of little sleep, radiating from the inside will help you light up Binghamton University’s grayest days.

To stay healthy, Martin suggests doing what you can to ensure a good diet and exercise routine.

“Even with the stresses of school, you definitely need to have a good diet,” she said. “Even as little as 20 minutes of exercise a day is better than none whatsoever and is just one of those things that will decrease stress.”

Goldin, who is a vegetarian, runs to keep in shape. She also takes a tap class, which she said is a great way to incorporate exercise into her class schedule.

And to add a little more sunshine to your facial expression, Onysko suggests some deep breathing and stretches in the morning.

“This will get your blood pumping and put some color in your face,” Onysko said. “It’ll keep up your natural flush tones and help you feel better.”

Now, after two months of keeping quiet since the show was first recorded, he can share that news with the world.

“I was thrilled,” Harrigan said.

The Oyster Bay native auditioned to be on the show after viewing a taping earlier in the semester. According to Harrigan, at the end of the taping the audience members can take a test to audition for a future episode. The answers are tabulated on the spot, and those who receive a passing mark go through an interview process.

“The quiz had really random material on it, from geology to pop culture,” he said.

During the interview round, producers asked Harrigan what he would do with $1 million and for unique information about himself.

“I put I have a gigantic Lego collection, something that came up later on in the show,” Harrigan said.

A couple weeks after he auditioned, Harrigan received the call that would change his life.

“They called me at 6 p.m. on Wednesday and told me to come in at 7 a.m. on Thursday, the next day,” he said.

Despite the short notice, Harrigan’s father immediately drove up to Binghamton to get him ready for the next day.

“We managed to get back to Long Island in time, but I don’t think I got any sleep that night,” Harrigan said. “It was crazy.”

On the morning of Oct. 10, Harrigan was put into a room with the other contestants. His cell phone was confiscated to keep him from looking up any information.

“I think there were about 10 other people there,” he said. “I was definitely the youngest and I think the oldest person was 70-something.”

From 7 to 10 a.m. the contestants were prepped about things they would talk about in between questions, and signed forms to ensure they would not talk about the outcome of the show, Harrigan said.

The show aired at 5 p.m. Wednesday night on NBC. Meredith Vieira, the show’s host, spoke about Harrigan playing hooky from school before starting the questions.

The first question asked about which of the Pope’s possessions was smashed after his death, and was one of the hardest, according to Harrigan. He chose to skip over it, using one of his lifelines. But that did not stop Harrigan from moving up the ladder and reaching the $45,500 level. On his eighth question, he decided to bow out, unsure and without lifelines, which left him to back down at the $22,750 mark.

“If you don’t get to round two, there’s no milestone and you walk away with an $1,000 consolation prize, but that’s it,” Harrigan said. “It’s either risk it and give up all of it or walk away, so I’m glad I didn’t try and guess.”

Harrigan brought his mother Eileen, father Bryan and grandmother to the taping. According to Harrigan, his mother was screaming at the top of her lungs at the results. She had auditioned for “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” in the past, but had not been selected.

Harrigan seems to have game shows in his blood. His grandmother was once a contestant on the game show “Password.”

His mother Eileen said she knew he would make it on the show.

“When the show first came on he downloaded the logo and made the millionaire set out of legos,” Eileen Harrigan said. “So from that point on I said when he gets old enough he has to try out for the show.”

Once Harrigan was faced with the outcome of his winnings, the question changed from one about the Pope’s possessions to what to do with more than $20,000.

According to Vieira, he promised his suitemates a flat-screen television, something the two laughed about on the show.

“We’re still talking about the TV,” Harrigan said. “I did promise though so I think that’s going to happen.”

Except for the TV, and possibly a new laptop or flying lessons for himself, Harrigan plans to devote the majority of the money to tuition.

“It’s probably the biggest check I’ll ever get in my life,” Harrigan said. “My parents are thrilled, we basically get to write off a year.”

To celebrate the win, Harrigan plans to have a “Millionaire” party.

“We’re going to invite all his friends over who are still at school and decorate the house with ‘Millionaire’ logos,” Eileen Harrigan said.

According to Harrigan, he would like to go into aviation and design airplanes in the future.

“I went from worrying about the first day of classes to thinking what I’m going to do with 20 grand,” he said. “You never know what’s going to happen the next day.”

According to 2010 Twitter statistics from The Huffington Post, 45 percent of users are between the ages of 18 and 34, more than any other age group. The four-year-old website has its sweet spot in the mid-20s, the generation right above college students.

Thirty-five to 49-year-olds make up 24 percent of the users, marked as the next highest group.

“There’s a perception that younger people are good at social media,” said Andy Neusner, web content manager for The Jewish Federations of North America. “But they’re really part of a larger package, not the whole thing.”

According to Neusner, college students don’t always have enough time to add an extra media outlet to their day. Some have never developed an interest in Twitter.

Jami Goodman, a junior double-majoring in history and philosophy, politics and law at Binghamton University, stared blankly when asked about Twitter.

“I barely know what it is,” she said. “Something about birds?”

Unlike Twitter, Facebook includes a lot of different media, making it more popular among college students. According to Neusner, Twitter can be considered old-fashioned because it’s just text.

“Sometimes they’ll say I’ve already been on Facebook and checked my e-mail today,” Neusner said. “Maybe they’re overserved.”

Elianna Mintz, a freshman majoring in English at Barnard College, attended the General Assembly’s Do The Write Thing Conference in early November and took part in a session called “Being Effective in the Digital Age.”

Esther Kustanowitz, a writer, editor and social media consultant, led the session with Florence Broder, a marketing professional from the Jewish Agency for Israel, and discussed the importance of Twitter.

“Journalism is usually a one-way street,” Kustanowitz said. “Now people have the opportunity to engage actively.”

But after learning more about the micro-blogging site, Mintz believes Twitter takes away from life outside the realm of a computer screen.

“I like having interactions with people face-to-face,” Mintz said. “I don’t completely understand communicating with people in this way.”

Neusner explained that these students might not realize Twitter’s real-life benefits.

“It’s a great medium, more so than Facebook, for other students to instantly see what’s going on,” he said.

Neusner called on Twitter for support when floods hit Nashville last year. It allowed him and his organization to fundraise nationally and quickly.

“While it wasn’t everything, and we also used other outlets to gain support,” Neusner said, “Twitter had a lot to do with our success.”

Tweets on the site can range anywhere from Hillshire Farm sausage to campaigns to stop world hunger.

Still a young website, Twitter has room for improvement. According to statistics on http://www.mashable.com, Twitter has a user retention rate of 40 percent, and many people drop the service after a month.

The mode of citizen journalism is in constant competition with Facebook and has added components such as twitpic and links to videos in order to match up.

At the same time, Facebook is trying to become more “twitterific” by adding the option to tag other people in status updates and posts using the “@” symbol.

Neusner hopes it will be easier to embed images and videos into tweet messages. If that happens, the competition will increase.

According to http://www.networkworld.com, the popularity of Twitter is on the rise.

“I can tweet at celebrities and get a response,” said Stephanie Pisciotta, a junior majoring in sociology. “That kind of thing could never have happened before.”

It’s true. Instead of tabloids sharing the news, celebrities do it themselves.

Lady Gaga, the No. 1 “Twitterholic,’ according to http://www.twitaholic.com, uses Twitter to talk about her yoga classes and thanks more than seven million followers for their support.

A second trend is tweeting live during events. Attendees can quote speakers and share with others so they feel like they are actually there.

Alyx Rimberg, a junior majoring in English, was initially turned off by Twitter, but after attending the same DTWT conference as Mintz, is now giving it a chance.

She attended lectures with thousands of others at the conference, listening to Vice President Joe Biden and prime minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu speak about the conflict in the Middle East. Thousands more were able to follow along at home.

“I think people have learned to live their lives through technology, but seeing how Twitter worked at the [conference] when the tweets rolled in about different speakers made me more aware of its benefits,” she said.

Neusner credits this sudden interest with a first-hand look of seeing Twitter in action.

“When you see something work, you want it to work again,” he said.

The event was filled to capacity in the Old Union Hall with faculty and staff, but few students turned out for the meeting.

Miller discussed his own background, as well as today’s major issues in public higher education and student achievement.

He completed his undergraduate and master’s degrees in biology at The College of William and Mary and described it as a “transformational experience.” He earned his doctorate in biological sciences at Mississippi State University, where he then stayed on as an assistant professor.

He then became a professor at the University of Mississippi before becoming dean of the College of the Pacific and a professor of biology at the University of the Pacific and finally, in June 2006, provost and vice president for academic affairs and research at Wichita State University, a position that he currently holds.

Miller explained his goals of creating covenants among the students, faculty and the greater Binghamton community.

However, most of his presentation was tailored to the large presence of faculty and staff.

“The faculty will have the freedom to teach and discover, and from that freedom will come a wave of innovation and new knowledge,” Miller said.

In Miller’s view, this idea is under assault and is one of the most important problems that will need to be faced in the next 10 years.

Part of his plans to promote that freedom and retain alumni is to make graduate programs a priority.

“We have to spend money to support graduate students, particularly at the doctoral level,” Miller said. “This actually pays off in measurable ways. If we’re going to grow, let’s grow and maintain.”

To promote scholarship and research, he plans on adding innovations in learning that will include new technology.

“I’m not suggesting an arms race with students for the newest gadgets,” Miller said. “But we have to be in the game … we have to have students that are world-wise and world-connected.”

This connection includes the local community, in which Miller’s plans include economic development, and a greater call for institutions to drive the economy. He explained that this call contains the need to partner with businesses and the local government to add value to commerce and create jobs.

“Binghamton has a chance to really lead,” he said.

In light of recent issues within the athletic department, Miller believes student athletes should have the same performance in the classroom as on the court or field.

“We will not build the reputation of this University on athletics,” he said.

Once the questions began, some of the biggest concerns included Miller’s decision to eliminate physics as a department and degree program from Wichita State University.

According to The Wichita Eagle, a local newspaper, Miller said in April 2010 that the program had to be cut because the number of graduates in previous years could be counted on one hand, and that the cuts were not due to budget reductions.

The idea was met with a lot of criticism from both faculty and students. In a later article in May, it was reported that the faculty senate voted 27 to 3 to recommend to Wichita State President Don Beggs that he not cut the physics program.

This proposal, however, resulted in concern from science and math professors at BU.

Miller chose not to comment on the University’s specific budget decisions, but he did say, “We would figure out what’s precious and preserve that.”

According to Miller, this is one of the most important times for public education. The economy is a large part of that. However, Miller cited the need to rely on what is strong in higher education.

“The elephant in the room in higher education is not the budget, it is the way we deliver education, that’s where all the money is,” Miller said.

He mentioned this “elephant” again later when talking about entrepreneurial spirit when Katharine Krebs, vice provost for international affairs, asked how he would approach that spirit at BU.

“Back to the elephant in the room being the delivery model … that is a place where entrepreneurship needs to be applied,” Miller said.

Miller said he has a lot of experience championing innovative thinkers.

“I think that Binghamton can easily be a leader,” he said.

But perhaps the simplest question of the afternoon still of utmost importance was “Why Binghamton?” asked by Paul Parker, associate vice president for research.

Miller said he liked BU’s interest in research and that the institution “has some direction.”

“Binghamton has that reputation of being a model for other institutions to follow and a lot of potential for growth,” he said. “I want [BU] to set an example of how to do things right.”

Anyone interested in providing feedback on Miller can do so at www2.binghamton.edu/presidential-search/input-and-feedback.html.

Slonim co-founded Chabad at Binghamton 25 years ago in 1985 with her husband, Rabbi Aaron Slonim.

On the outside, she is always covered to the forearm and calf by her clothing, but on the inside she has a fiery passion that never fails to release its warmth to others.

‘I definitely don’t think she is the norm ‘ she has some special energy,’ said Rabbi Levi Slonim, her first-born child and director of programming and development of Chabad at Binghamton.

She walked into the conference room on the second level of the Chabad house wearing a long-sleeve, maroon-colored T-shirt and a denim skirt that brushed against her ankles at the hem.

Apologizing for being a few minutes late to the interview, she explained that her son had just hurt his arm the night before, and she was planning to take him to the doctor a little later that morning.

Even through rough times, Slonim maintains the balance between mother, wife and Chabad’s education director.

She also apologized for her appearance, explaining that she had planned to go home and change before the appointment.

Even though she looked perfectly presentable, as someone so focused on modesty, dressing appropriately is of the utmost importance to her.

According to Slonim, modest dress is part of a Jewish ritual that has roots in the Bible and expands into more specifics in the Talmud and Code of Jewish law.

She explained that women who follow these traditions understand that to reveal and expose one’s mind and real persona, it’s necessary to cover that which may distract others.

‘It’s the same way that any serious female attorney is not going to try to argue a case in front of a jury in a bikini for very obvious reasons,’ Slonim said. ‘It’s about retaining one’s dignity and showing oneself in a way that’s whole.’

Slonim said she wonders if women might not do more to change the stereotypes about themselves.

‘We live in a society where women complain about being treated as sex symbols but don’t really do enough to discourage that way of thinking by presenting themselves differently,’ Slonim said.

According to Levi Slonim, practicing modesty allows them to focus on what’s really important in life.

‘It allows us to connect with people in a true way and focus more on the interior as opposed to the exterior,’ Levi Slonim said. ‘That being said, I think that Judaism leaves a lot of room for people to look good within the confines of modesty.’

Slonim does this in myriad ways ‘ with both her appearance and her actions.

She has compiled books, traveled around the world ‘ to Israel, South Africa, Canada and Panama to name a few ‘ and spoken to thousands as a part of her mission to promote Judaism.

Humble and modest, she still stands out.

‘People rush over to speak with her after public appearances,’ Levi Slonim said. ‘She just gives everything she’s got.’

That ‘everything’ gets stretched in many directions. On top of her family of nine children, she is mother to a family that includes hundreds of students.

‘She really treats all the students just like her own children,’ Levi Slonim said.

Slonim also balances many different roles at once in the workplace, from cook to counselor to nurse. She’s program director and dishwasher, too. The fuel for this woman’s fire is not hard to find.

‘I feed off of the inspiration of the students,’ Slonim said. ‘In many ways I’ve grown up here as a person.’

For students, the feeding comes every Friday night at Shabbat dinner. Students who go there every week have learned to expect baskets of Challah, sesame seed pasta salad, sweet Kugel and wonderful company. But perhaps the warmest addition to the dinner is Slonim herself.

Ariella Fineman, Greek liaison for Chabad’s student executive board, said Slonim is one of the people who most attracted her to Chabad.

‘Because of how welcoming and loving she was when I first got to Chabad, I felt like it was the right place for me,’ she said.

Fineman’s favorite Chabad treat is the pumpkin pie served during the fall months, but she also looks forward to the sense of community she takes away with her every week.

‘Ever since I’ve been there it felt like home,’ she said. ‘Rivky has a lot to do with that.’

Slonim also keeps it real. According to Levi Slonim, his mother went to speak in a community setting about strengthening Jewish observance. At a certain point in the talk she said, ‘Don’t think it’s easy, at times it’s difficult for me, but I know what I’m doing brings meaning into my life.’

When one woman heard this statement, she could immediately relate.

‘The statement had a big impact on this woman, and she felt for once that she met someone who was realistic and honest about things,’ Levi Slonim said.

Slonim’s main goal, she said, is to give every student the opportunity to find themselves within the Jewish community on campus.

‘I think I was intimidated at first by the size and the level of observance at Chabad,’ Fineman said. ‘But after being there and experiencing a true, real, full Shabbat dinner, I realized they were people just like me.’

The idea for ‘Pygmalion’ started in April in the mind of JoEllen Kuhlman, a choreographer for the performance and teacher of ballet, jazz, modern and tap at Binghamton University.

‘I’ve always wanted to have a dance company to be able to do what I want to do and put it up on stage and have a performance,’ Kuhlman said.

For Kuhlman, this production of ‘Pygmalion,’ a ballet based on the Greek myth of the same name, was the start of that.

She contacted Santino DeAngelo, a junior double-majoring in classical civilization and theater and the producer and composer of the show.

‘I approached him because I wanted original music,’ Kuhlman said. ‘I didn’t want anything that people have heard before.’

DeAngelo works as a composer but is not technically trained.

‘I study privately now, but when I started I didn’t know that much about it,’ DeAngelo said. ‘I don’t know if anybody can teach you how to create ‘ if you wait until you’re ready to write, you will never do it.’

DeAngelo and Kuhlman chose ‘Pygmalion’ because they felt it would relate to a wide audience.

The classic tells the story of a sculptor named Pygmalion who falls in love with the statue (Galatea) he creates. His love gives her life and shows the relationship between an artist and his work. In the meantime, he is being lusted after by the goddess Aphrodite.

The ballet executed this plot without words, but with extravagant lifts, beautiful turns and passionate emotion.

The cast was made up of BU students. Pygmalion was played by William Matos, Aphrodite by Amanda Thomas and Galatea by Alessandra Rannazzisi. Other dancers included Ben Elling, Summer Hill, Vivake Khamsingsavath, Erin Murphy and Laura Siciliano.

DeAngelo recruited Cayenna Ponchione, an internationally-known conductor and percussionist, to conduct the orchestra, which was made up of professional musicians from the Binghamton and Ithaca area.

However, these musicians did not start to play until the Sunday before the performance.

Before this, Kuhlman created the dance to sounds DeAngelo made on his computer.

‘We met three weekends over the summer to learn some phrases and the bulk of everything,’ Kuhlman said. ‘Then once we were back at school we had rehearsals every weekend.’

Last-minute details were added up to the day before the show, with rehearsals occurring every day until performance day.

‘When I heard the instruments, I added more things to make everything blend better,’ Kuhlman said. ‘The dancers were great, so they picked it up.’

The ballet was funded partially through a grant from the Classical Association of the Atlantic States, which has criteria based on spreading awareness of classical mythology and its themes and motifs.

‘The purpose is not only to entertain, but also educate,’ DeAngelo said.

However, the production received most of its money through donations from the community.

‘I am incredibly grateful to local sponsors and contributors because without them, this wouldn’t be possible,’ DeAngelo said.

According to Kuhlman and DeAngelo, the production has the possibility to perform again at other schools in New York state, but nothing has been confirmed thus far.

However, Kuhlman hopes this will lead to more dance productions like this in the future.

‘One of the reasons I wanted to do this was because I want dance to grow at the University,’ Kuhlman said.

DeAngelo said that this is the first show in a series of projects to come and emphasized the opportunities it creates for students.

‘Not only have we created an opportunity for dancers to work with professional musicians, but also the community to be a part of our school’s education,’ he said. ‘We’re taking what we learn in the classroom and putting it on stage in which the audience becomes the greatest teacher of them all.’

This practice is a common thread that links many newcomers to the Downtown bar scene. But the man looking at the IDs has another story. His persona covers a sober, no-tolerance attitude, and ‘ if there’s time ‘ a little room for amusement.

Charles Kelly, a junior majoring in computer engineering, is a bouncer at Scoreboard. He has been working there since the beginning of spring 2010 and said on any given night he turns away about one in 10 people.

Kelly said he sees a lot of blatantly fake IDs, but they also like to keep the bar student-friendly so when a person at the door appears older than a typical student, he will ask to see their student ID.

‘The people who aren’t students are generally the ones who start problems,’ he said.

Reuben Pearlman, a senior majoring in history, has been working at Scoreboard since it opened in April 2009. He is now the head bouncer.

According to Pearlman, people get turned down at the door all the time, but the ones that are directed away are usually non-students.

‘As far as BU students go ‘ we understand that not everyone’s actually 21, but it’s our job to make sure that the fault is on them, they have to prove they’re 21,’ Pearlman said.

However, some people have a harder time proving that than others.

BEING YOURSELF

‘I had a pale, pale white girl give me a black girl’s ID to get in, and then actually argue that it was her,’ Pearlman said.

The ID was then passed up and down the line at the door for everyone else to confirm that the girl in the picture did indeed have black skin, while the girl in front did not.

A similar incident happened last Tuesday ‘ a night that tends to be slower.

According to Pearlman, a girl handed over her ID, which showed her picture on the card. After she was let in she went to wait on the steps for her friend behind her. Before she went inside, she handed her friend a pack of cigarettes. Without smoking a single cigarette, the girl handed Pearlman an ID card.

‘She hands me the ID that I just saw, while the girl in the photo is still standing on the stairs,’ Pearlman said. ‘Even further, the girl in front of me is Hispanic, while the girl in the picture is a white girl. She flipped out when I wouldn’t let her in.’

The bottom line is, bouncers may appear lenient, but they are not stupid.

‘If your ID is from 1974 or if it expired before you graduated high school, you’re not getting in,’ Pearlman said. ‘Sometimes people give me IDs that are friends of mine. I always turn those kids down.’

Kelly said foreign students may be more lucky.

‘A lot of foreign IDs come in the form of passports or IDs from back home,’ Kelly said. These IDs often state the date of birth in a non-American format, leading bouncers to confuse the month and day in the patron’s date of birth.

Adam Tewksbury, a sophomore at Broome Community College majoring in liberal arts, has been working at The Rathskeller Pub for three years.

According to Tewksbury, as Binghamton starts to plunge into freezing cold temperatures, a bouncer can get more irritable.

‘We’re out there for five hours at the time when it’s 10 degrees outside, when people still don’t care it’s really annoying,’ he said. ‘The cold takes the tolerance down.’

While the subzero temperatures also bring students rushing to the basement of the bars, that is where a bouncer’s job takes a different turn. Guys tend to be the rowdy ones, but girls take the lead in numbers of people peeing in the corner or passing out, Tewksbury said.

GETTING PHYSICAL

‘My second week working I was working outside at the back door and I hear glass breaking inside,’ Tewksbury said. ‘There’s a 10-person brawl in the back where the bathrooms are with people lunging at others with broken bottles.’

Tewksbury almost got stabbed by one of those broken bottles, but was intercepted by another bouncer just in time. It shook Tewksbury up, but prepared him for more to come. Last year, there were about five or six fights per night, he said.

But the good news is that students have become less physical in recent years, Tewksbury said.

Another trend frequenting bars that gets people thrown to the curb is sneaking in alcohol.

Pearlman spotted a man one night drinking a bottle of Hennessy. When he questioned the man about it and took the bottle away, the man became upset.

‘He started grabbing at us to get it back because he thought we were taking it to drink for ourselves,’ Pearlman said. ‘He stood at the door for 10 minutes trying to get his bottle back. He was thrown out.’

Yet despite the chaos, the fights and the frozen toes, the bouncers say they have learned to love their jobs. Pearlman cites the stripper poles at Scoreboard as a great addition.

‘The other night there was some Turkish dude on the stripper pole hammered,’ he said. ‘He turns around the stripper pole onto his two male friends before sliding around four little sorority girls.’

According to Pearlman, the poles were a pretty logical conclusion to spruce things up.

‘It definitely provides entertainment while we’re working,’ he said.

So when Friday and Saturday night roll around and the lines can get a little long, remember to be nice to your bouncers. As it turns out, they’re people too.

‘We started this for emergency purposes only, for students that did not have enough funding or extra money,’ Donahue said.

Chris Knickerbocker, the director of financial aid at the time, founded the food pantry in 1991. She found her inspiration within the student body, when a student approached her who could not go home for Thanksgiving break.

‘He came to me and asked about food. He didn’t know what to do,’ Knickerbocker said.

Knickerbocker contacted the Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse (CHOW), and they donated two bags of groceries to the student. Knickerbocker decided that she did not want to have to work through CHOW each time a student needed food.

The pantry first received donations from the Student Affairs office and at the annual staff holiday party, said Knickerbocker, who is now director of student affairs assessment and strategic initiatives.

In addition to food items, the pantry also includes items for babies and certain staples such as toiletries and brown paper bags.

‘But also, someone once told me, just don’t give staples,’ Knickerbocker said. ‘People need to enjoy their life so we put cake mixes and things in. It may be something someone might think isn’t necessary but people like to have something beyond the essentials.’

The food pantry received many of these improvements the first semester it started, according to Knickerbocker.

Donahue, who has worked in the financial aid office for the past seven years, said it hasn’t changed much since that semester, and even though it has been around for almost 20 years, it has not changed drastically in size either.

‘We kind of keep it under wraps because we don’t want to have tons of students coming in here just because; we want it to go for those in need,’ Donahue said.

The people who do use the pantry are kept anonymous.

Although bags were previously tracked for inventory purposes, Donahue said there is currently no tracking to respect the student’s privacy.

‘We never asked if they were a student, we didn’t pry because we just didn’t want to,’ Knickerbocker said. ‘We thought it was hard enough for them to come in the first place.’

Knickerbocker said she wants students to know it is there to use, and she hopes other students who do not have the need that others do will donate instead.

‘If any student organizations are thinking about donating to CHOW, think about our students first,’ Knickerbocker said. ‘I think we have this vision of who our students are, and metro New York may be well off, but we also have students that don’t come from places like that.’

Messages are sent out on Dateline, a faculty and staff e-mail newsletter, before the winter holidays and various times throughout the year, and donations are accepted year-round.

‘I’d love there to be no need for a food pantry, but as long as we have need I think we should serve our students well,’ Knickerbocker said.

Within 24 hours of applying, students will get matched up with a tutor. From that point, they can start their first lesson within three days, according to Hope Eaton, coordinator of tutoring services. Due to budget cuts, students can request help in a maximum of two classes for a total of two hours a week.

Right now there are about 1,000 students signed up for tutoring and 60 to 80 tutors, so some tutors may be responsible for as many 20 students.

Tutoring sessions can range from one-on-ones to groups of seven, but they should never get larger than that, Eaton said.

According to Eaton, tutors are advised to run group tutoring sessions in order to work with more students, who can then discuss ideas with one another.

Tutors Lizz Magowan, a sophomore double-majoring in biology and French, and Minji Kong, a sophomore majoring in chemistry, became friends after meeting each other in tutoring sessions.

‘In a class with hundreds of students, I probably wouldn’t have known her otherwise,’ Magowan said.

Magowan and Kong tutor on average about 10 hours per week and believe that all students should take advantage of the free service offered.

‘Oct. 29 is the last day to withdraw from the class,’ Eaton said. ‘In the beginning, we try to build relationships between our students and tutors, so we don’t want them to come in December, just to cram for an exam.’

In the event that students decide after that deadline that they need a tutor, certain classes such as physics, chemistry and writing, offer walk-in hours. According to Eaton, fliers are being put up in Hinman College, CIW and Mountainview College, where the walk-in sessions will be offered.

‘If we see higher requests for other classes, we can add more walk-in sessions,’ Eaton said.

Students interested in tutoring sessions can visit the CIW library and fill out a card with their contact information and classes they need help in.

‘I advise it to pretty much everyone, because everyone could use a little extra help now and then,’ Magowan said. ‘Tutors can be more approachable than a professor, and because we’re students, it’s a more relaxed environment.’

The CIW library also hosts the Discovery program, designed to help freshmen adjust to college, according to Discovery Adviser Ben Repak.

Repak said the job of a Discovery Adviser is to keep in touch with students throughout their college career and to help them with a variety of issues ranging from school to personal.

‘We go into Writing 111 and HDEV 105 classes and schedule appointments with the students,’ Repak said.

Repak, a senior majoring in management with concentrations in finance and leadership, said that advisers meet with freshmen in those courses twice, the first time to see how they are getting acclimated to college and the second before scheduling sessions to help them choose classes.

Students who are not in either of those courses can visit Discovery Advisers at their office in the CIW library from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday to Thursday.

Students in the two courses took a survey at the end of the year and 97 percent said they would definitely recommend an appointment with a discovery advisor to their friends, Repak said.

‘The students don’t really know what the appointments are at first, but once they get them they come back for more,’ Repak said. ‘It’s great for them to make connections and have someone to talk to.’

More information on the Discovery program is available at discovery.binghamton.edu.

About 15 schools, most from the SUNY system, will be presenting a number of study abroad programs at the fair, which will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Mandela Room in the Old University Union.

There are currently 550 programs available through the SUNY system according to Katharine Krebs, vice provost for International Affairs at BU.

‘The biggest improvement in studying abroad is the number of Binghamton programs,’ Krebs said. ‘Fifteen years ago we maybe had six or seven BU programs and now we have about 30. The same thing happened on other campuses.’

Organizers expect between 700 and 900 people to attend the fair, with the target audience being freshmen and sophomores.

According to Susan Lewis, senior assistant director of International Programs, the fair is mainly for students who want to study abroad in a year, but still may allow time for students who decide now that they want to study abroad in the spring.

Pedro Di Pietro, assistant director for Study Abroad, advises students to come not only to conduct research about programs, but to learn from face-to-face contact.

‘Many advisers from schools are willing to guide you over the phone, but there’s nothing like that face-to-face interaction,’ Di Pietro said.

Lewis said the real benefit of the fair is to speak with people from other SUNY schools who know their program in detail.

‘Through the SUNY-wide consortium, students really have the whole world at their fingertips,’ Lewis said.

Volunteers from past programs will help staff the fair, along with Baxter the Bearcat, who will be there to ‘internationalize the Bearcats,’ Di Pietro said.

‘I think the wonderful thing about the Study Abroad Fair is that students can talk to past participants, so part of the value of going is that they can learn about their experiences,’ Krebs said. ‘A second value is that you see so many options and opportunities laid out before you.’

The layout of the event will be arranged by continent and by type of program. There will also be an area for winter and summer programs specifically, Di Pietro said.

‘Maybe students are interested in a certain country, there is also a learning-by-doing option where they can do experiential programs,’ Di Pietro said.

Lewis said students should not be intimidated by studying abroad.

‘Any major at Binghamton should be able to study abroad and transfer those credits for their major,’ Lewis said. ‘ If they want to just come and browse and see how much is out there, they might find programs that they weren’t aware of.’

Lewis also suggests students visit the SUNY system website beforehand to research programs in order to help them focus further at the fair.

According to Di Pietro, close to 20 percent of BU students study abroad, the highest percentage among the SUNY schools. Currently, BU students travel to between 25 and 35 countries a year.

Krebs hopes these numbers continue to expand.

‘Study abroad is a fabulous experience to explore a different part of the world,’ Krebs said. ‘Part of it is the wonderful adventure, but living with a culture that’s different is really great preparation for careers. We want every Binghamton student to have this opportunity.’

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a method of drilling for natural gas, was first commercialized in 1949, according to Walter Hang. Hang, who spoke at the event, is the owner of Toxics Targeting, a website which maps toxic sites throughout New York State.

The event also featured a panel that included Mark Ruffalo, an actor recently seen in ‘Date Night’ and ‘Shutter Island;’ Julia Walsh, an activist for Frack Action; and Adam Flint, a representative of Binghamton Regional Sustainability Coalition (BRSC) and an adjunct lecturer at BU.

Hundreds of people gathered at 7 p.m. in the Mandela Room of the Old University Union to learn about fracking and how they can organize to prevent it in New York.

‘We have to come together as a community to figure out how we’re going to move forward,’ Walsh said. ‘We have to step up and stand firm and tall to battle the industry and not let them set a foot on our land.’

According to Walsh, one of the main purposes of the event was to get young people to register to vote. A follow-up to the event will include a voter registration drive starting next week.

According to Ruffalo, New York Congressional candidates in favor of drilling have received $400,000 from gas companies in the past few months.

Ruffalo stressed the importance of coming to a university as a means to get young people involved.

‘You put Obama in the White House,’ Ruffalo said. ‘I really do think it was because of young people, you did change the course of history.’

According to Flint, this is the first public event of any kind on this campus regarding the issue of fracking.

He said that although it can be a depressing issue, there are some issues that require further investigation, such as how the process affects drinking water.

While one girl took the microphone and admitted her initial attendance was due to Mark Ruffalo’s appearance, she also indicated that she has taken away a lot of new information.

Other students that came because they were interested in the subject may have ended up leaving with new insight as well.

Matt Potel, a junior majoring in environmental studies and president of the BU Outdoors Club, said he and his organization plan to get people to register to vote for the upcoming elections. He eventually hopes to get someone in a Congressional seat that will represent them.

‘I knew a lot of the information about hydrofracturing but I think that [Walsh] kind of instilled in me and the crowd a sense of rebellion against this concept,’ Potel said. ‘We’re in control of what happens to our water and our land.’

Supporters of hydraulic fracturing say that nationally the industry supports 2.8 million jobs and $385 billion in economic activity. The Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York sees fracking as a ticket to economic prosperity. They maintain that hydraulic fracturing could change the U.S. energy landscape by creating jobs, advancing the economy and decreasing the U.S. dependence on foreign sources of energy, according to their website.

But instead of halting the process entirely, Ruffalo suggests waiting until more tests are complete.

‘Everywhere I’ve gone that has had this kind of gas extraction done has resulted in poisonous waters, increased asthma in young people due to poor air quality and there’s been a lot of incidences of neurological damage. I’m not so much anti-fracking as I am pro-scientific study of hydro-fracking,’ Ruffalo said.

Ruffalo, a resident of Sullivan County on the Delaware River, is raising three kids in the area.

‘This is not my little pet project, this is my life,’ Ruffalo said. ‘I had this crazy idea of leaving this place to my kids one day. What really pushed me over the edge was going to Dimock, Penn., and seeing how desperate these people were to have someone speak up for them. I felt like I had to do it.’

The event was part of a larger effort of Binghamton University advocacy groups.

Several groups have joined together to create an unofficial group called Binghamton Environmental to collaborate on a variety of ecological issues, including hydraulic fracturing.

The groups joining together in BE are the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), The Campus Climate Challenge, the Experimental Media Organization/Student Action Collective (EMO/SAC) and the Student Environmental Action Collective (SEAC).

According to David Frey, president of EMO/SAC, each of these groups has been working in its own realms rather than together on common issues about the environment and came together to put on yesterday’s event.

‘[We’re] trying to bring all those people together,’ Frey said. ‘We belong to it [the environment] as much as it belongs to us.’

BE’s current goal is to increase awareness on the issue of hydraulic fracturing, according to Hyo Kim, a senior majoring in environmental chemistry. The objective is to make students conscious of what the issues of fracking are and to then discuss what the best choice of action is for the various groups.

Kim, the co-environmental coordinator of NYPIRG, echoed Frey’s comments.

‘We got together to talk about issues we could collaborate on because this campus is huge and we probably need as many people as we can get.’

‘ Aaron Axelson and Sophia Rosenbaum contributed to this report.

Binghamton University was chosen by the Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA) to host the first tournament of the year on the East Coast, known as the East Coast Regional Debate Tournament opener.

It was not only the first of the year, but it was also the first debate tournament to attempt to go waste-free, according to Joe Leeson-Schatz, director of Speech and Debate at BU and a professor in the English department.

‘As of yesterday, we composted 580 gallons of compostable waste,’ Leeson-Schatz said on Sunday. ‘We bought everything that was biodegradable and hope to get up to 900 to 1000 gallons.’

Leeson-Schatz and his team of coordinators collaborated with the environmental science department and arranged for them to pick up the compost and deposit it to a heap in Binghamton.

‘After the event we divided everything into compost, recyclables and other trash,’ said Diane Wong, a junior double majoring in Asian American studies and political science and a member of the junior varsity debate team. ‘Joe also calculated very well how much food he needed to order so there wasn’t much wasted afterwards.’

The food offered at the event also included fruits that were provided by local farms.

In addition to composting, all participants received mugs instead of disposable cups. This way they could refill their drinks and leave the debate with a souvenir.

‘This was a major change,’ Leeson-Schatz said. ‘It was more expensive, but also more environmentally-sound.’

The style of debate is also shifting to become paperless. According to Leeson-Schatz, teams usually travel with thousands of pages of debate evidence marked with notes and highlights, but that is now becoming a part of history.

‘I’ve been noticing a lot of the debaters have been going paperless,’ Wong said. ‘Instead of printing so much, they operate using their laptops. Debate is definitely going to be a more green community.’

The event hosted 154 teams of over 300 debaters, totaling 400 people including coaches.

According to Leeson-Schatz, every classroom in the Fine Arts Building, Library North of the Library Tower, Science I and II, Science Library, Student Wing and the Lecture Hall building was used.

About 30 different universities participated in the tournament including Cornell, James Madison, Rutgers and Liberty University, BU’s main competitor.

Because BU played host to the tournament, its team wasn’t allowed to compete, although some members were at another tournament at Georgia State.

Leeson-Schatz leads the team along with head coach Guy Risko and assistant coach Lauren Cameron. Both are graduate students in the English department.

This tournament served as a warm-up for the national competition in March, which BU will also host. BU will be allowed to participate in that competition, because the scores are entered into the computer system and calculated by the executive committee of CEDA, instead of the host school.

Mike Davis, president of CEDA and director of debate at James Madison University, said BU was chosen from bid applications about a year and a half ago.

‘Binghamton was very generous in terms of providing food and other amenities. We want to go places where people are good hosts,’ Davis said. ‘We also keep an eye toward diversity. We haven’t had a regional tournament in the northeast since 1998.’

‘Ten years ago, we weren’t even in the top 100 and now we’re ranked one or two,’ Leeson-Schatz said. ‘Each year we generally get a little more funding and continue to expand.’

‘She was always in the best of moods even in the worst of situations,’ said Yutong Chen, a senior majoring in political science and friend of Lee’s.

When Lee wasn’t focusing on her biological science major, she spent her time contributing to many clubs and activities on campus, according to Chen.

Lee was in Sulpoong, a Student Association chartered traditional Korean percussion team that performed at different campus events throughout the year, and was also a member of ThiNK. ThiNK, an acronym for Tomorrow’s Hope in North Korea, is a North Korean activist club that Lee worked with to raise awareness for North Korean refugees.

Beyond her involvement in student groups and her studies, Lee also made time to have a job as the lead of the overnight shift at the Glenn G. Bartle Library.

‘My strongest recollections of her are of her sitting by the front desk at 3 a.m. studying and working at the same time ‘ or of a passing glimpse of her as she tried to restock books,’ Chen said. ‘Her personality was infectious and she made the atmosphere brighter when present.’

Her mother Chun Lee told www.NorthJersey.com, ‘She was always busy for other people’s lives, sometimes more than her own.’

Chun Lee could not be reached for comment.

According to a report by www.NorthJersey.com, authorities said 21-year-old Lee walked around a crossing gate and onto a set of railroad tracks when she was struck by a New Jersey Transit train at the Ramsey station.

Lee went behind the northbound Train 1145 as it was leaving the platform. At the time, lights were flashing and bells were ringing, signaling another train was arriving. The Southbound Train 52 struck her moments later, at 7:45 a.m., according to Dan Stessel, an NJ Transit spokesman.

Lee was reported to be seen walking across the tracks with her head down, indicating that she could have been texting on her cell phone, according to the report.

Dave Macrie, who was waiting for the Hoboken-bound express train at the time, told the website that he saw the accident.

‘She never even looked up,’ Macrie said. ‘The collision was as head-on as it could be.’

Lee was originally majoring in computer engineering and later switched to biological science. She did not return to school in spring 2010 and had not registered for summer or fall courses, the report said.

A lover of the arts, Lee played piano since the age of five and in high school, started playing the violin and French horn. She also had a passion for photography.

Elizabeth Droz, dean of students at SUNY Binghamton, said in a statement that the school was ‘deeply saddened to hear of Christiana Lee’s death.’

The tragedy reminded Chen of the fragility and importance of life.

‘Life is fragile ‘ the space between life and death is a needle’s thread. Today is the the day those who left this world wished they had,’ he said.

Williams, a former major gifts officer for Binghamton athletics, will receive $280,000 from BU and the state of New York in a settlement. She will keep $140,000 after legal fees, which is more than twice what her salary was, at $61,800.

Williams accused two athletic department officials of sexual harassment.

Louis DiLorenzo, a New York City labor lawyer who represented BU, said the majority of the money, $218,200, is provided by the New York State Comptroller, while the remainder of $61,800, comes from BU through the payroll division.

Williams filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in March 2009, alleging sexual harassment.

Four months later, she filed a federal suit in U.S. District Court against BU; Jason Siegel, senior associate athletic director; Chris Lewis, associate athletic director for development; and two BU alumni who attended a fundraiser in Manhattan in January 2009.

Williams accused Siegel and Lewis of making inappropriate advances toward her during school fundraising events.

According to a report from the Press & Sun-Bulletin, one example of Williams’ accusations was said to occur at a University fundraising dinner in New York with Siegel and Lewis. At the dinner, one of the BU alumni present began putting $100 bills on the table and told her to stop him when there were enough in the pile for her to sleep with him and his wife.

On October 19, the case’s defendants motioned to have it moved from the Southern district of New York to the Northern district. According to DiLorenzo, it was during the next few months while waiting for the decision that the defendants began having meetings with the plaintiff in an effort to resolve the case without a trial.

They agreed on the settlement with a condition being that Williams resign her position, and according to the settlement, she will ‘not apply or reapply for employment at SUNY Binghamton, the Research Foundation at Binghamton, any of the Binghamton Foundations affiliated with SUNY Binghamton on the SUNY Binghamton campus.’

‘Put yourselves in our position,’ DiLorenzo said. ‘If she didn’t resign, even after the retaliation claim was resolved, she could just have claimed it again if she was still working there. In order to get some finality, we thought this was necessary.’

DiLorenzo said that these types of cases do not have a specific formula and this was the best option after considering the cost of moving forward.

All accusations have been dropped and both Siegel and Lewis remain employed by the University.

According to a statement released by Siegel and Lewis, the University’s report found the claim to include false and unsupported charges. But now that it is over, they look forward to putting the issue behind them.

‘We will continue to focus our energy on the management of a strong athletic department and the enhancement of the experience of our student-athletes,’ the statement read.

Williams is also pleased with the outcome.

According to a statement sent by her counsel at Vladeck, Waldman, Elias & Engelhard, P.C., ‘[Williams] hopes and believes ‘ that it will send a message. She is looking forward to moving on to the next chapter in her life.’

‘ Aaron Axelson contributed to this report

Hirsch, a sophomore majoring in biochemistry on the pre-med track at Binghamton University, was inspired largely by his mother, Stacey Dranscak, a five-time cancer survivor.

He became very involved in the Reaching & Inspiring Survivors Everywhere (RISE) group, the first group in the country to raise money for the financial needs of those diagnosed with breast cancer. Dranscak started the group in 2001. Hirsch always wore a pink bracelet in honor of his mother.

He was still wearing the bracelet when she saw him at the hospital.

‘That was all he had. They took all the other things off,’ Dranscak said. ‘The funeral director came over and said Jordan was the only person in the Onondaga office to go wearing any kind of jewelry. I see it as a sign that says ‘Mama I’m OK.’

Hirsch died Friday, May 14 at the age of 19 due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

According to reports, Jordan was close to his home in Auburn when his 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo went off Route 20 in Onondaga and into a group of trees at about 5:30 p.m.

Jordan was taken by helicopter to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse where he was pronounced dead. The cause of the accident has not been confirmed.

The funeral for Jordan was held at St. Mary’s Church in Auburn.

According to Kersten Hirsch, Jordan’s father, the entire city had to be shut down in order to accommodate all the traffic arriving at the funeral.

‘There were people standing outside of the church because there were no more seats left,’ Kersten Hirsch said. ‘It was unbelievable how strong the energy was that day. I could feel it.’

The large showing for Hirsch was an echo of his passion for others.

‘He was just always there for you,’ said friend Nicole Kazav, a sophomore majoring in sociology. ‘Jordan was a person who would give up his jacket and his shirt just so you’re not cold. It was crazy how much he did for people.’

According to Dranscak, Jordan overcame a lot of challenges in life and always managed to turn the negative into a positive.

His father said that even though some kids may have treated him poorly in the past, he would always give them a second chance.

‘He was one of the rare gems that sometimes you meet,’ Dranscak said. ‘He sought out the kids that were more of a genuine heart.’

At BU, Jordan found some of these kids in the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity and in the pep band.

According to his father, Hirsch taught himself to play the saxophone around age seven and developed this talent through high school and college.

To honor Hirsch and his love for music, Dranscak and her three other children, Shana, Brock and Ciara, will be holding an event called ‘You will never be alone if you have music in your life.’

The day will include many bands, local musicians and horn players where kids and families can come and listen to music. She hopes to hold it at the end of September.

‘No one [will have] to pay anything,’ Dranscak said. ‘It will just be a beautiful day in his memory.’

More information will become available on Facebook under the name Stacey Ann. Dranscak can also be contacted at beautifultomorrows@roadrunner.com.

Kersten Hirsch and his wife Jasmine Hirsch are also working to honor Hirsch by creating a scholarship at BU in his memory. The criteria have not yet been decided, but they will be determined once sufficient money has been raised.

To jump-start fundraising for the scholarship endowment, Hirsch’s father and stepmother will be hosting an event at The Spinning Wheel restaurant in North Syracuse on Aug. 29 from 1 to 5 p.m.

They can be reached at (315) 727-9169 for more information about the event.

The scaffold fell from Building 3 of the multi-phase housing project that is in progress on that part of campus. Bingham Hall of Newing College was the first completed building of this project.

Some injuries have been reported, although specifics have not yet been determined. University spokeswoman Gail Glover insists that people avoid the area.

‘Responders need to get in and out so the area needs to be as clear as possible,’ Glover said.

According to the alert, updates will be made on BU Alert line at (607) 777-7700.

Check www.bupipedream.com for updates.

But after June 1, this may no longer be a common sight.

New legislation passed by Broome County officials in March will prohibit taxi drivers from picking up customers on the street unless they have received a phone call or there is an official taxi stand in place.

‘If you’re on State Street and there is a big fight, I cannot pick you up. It’s dangerous,’ Nas Huseyin, owner of Express Taxi, said. ‘I can’t go to Wal-Mart to pick up customers. They [county officials] make up a bunch of stupid rules; they don’t make sense.’

The legislation also states that drivers will need to finish one route before picking up another person who wants to go to a different destination. All routes will have to be documented.

When the legislation goes into effect, cab companies throughout Broome County will have one set of laws to follow, according to Darcy Fauci, deputy county executive.

‘There were no regulations in the town of Vestal where the University is located,’ Fauci said. ‘We felt it made more sense to have regulations county-wide so there were no discrepancies.’

The legislation includes new costs for license applications, renewals and replacements. Registration for non-hybrid vehicles will have a separate annual cost.

‘It’s tough for them [taxicab drivers] to come up with that amount of money especially in the middle of summer,’ Bob Pornbeck, owner of Courtesy Cab, said. ‘I’ve got a lot of cab drivers that are quitting in June.’

Fauci said the money collected would go back into the business to manage the oversight of the industry.

According to Fauci, the legislation was enacted to ensure people are serious about their business.

‘We want to see a business that is well-operated and well-managed,’ Fauci said. ‘Frankly, it appears that the registration fees are actually quite low. We don’t think it’s out of line.’

Even with these fee increases, the price of a cab ride will remain at the discretion of the company or driver.

However, to prevent over-charging, drivers will be required to post their prices on the vehicle so the passengers know upfront.

‘They can still charge each passenger individually even though we discourage that,’ County Executive Barbara Fiala said. ‘If we get a lot of complaints about it, we will use it against them.’

According to Fauci, the legislation came as a result of a series of complaints from elderly county residents and BU students.

Hotel and motel workers also complained about calling for a cab that never showed up and if it did, the driver and car would be dirty, Fauci said.

Therefore, a dress code mandating the driver to be ‘neat and clean’ by wearing a shirt or blouse with a collar, slacks or skirts and closed-toed shoes, was added to the legislation.

‘We’re not asking for spick-and-span uniforms, just some level of appearance for the drivers,’ Fauci said. ‘The [cab drivers] are kind of a first impression to people in our community.’

According to Jami Goodman, a sophomore majoring in philosophy, politics and law, a nicer and more presentable appearance would provide a greater sense of comfort when getting into a cab.

‘A lot of them look really sketchy and I’m a little skeeved out by them,’ Goodman said.

To increase credibility within the industry, background checks and drug tests have been mandated. The regulations will be enforced by the Broome County Security office.

Both Fiala and Fauci said the point of the legislation is to make riding in vehicles better for students and the community.

‘We want to be sure [students] are getting what they pay for, being picked up and delivered to their destination in a quality vehicle that is safe and with a driver who is safe and courteous,’ Fauci said.