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Monday, October 23, 2017 | Vol. XCII, Issue 15 | Binghamton University | bupipedream.com
Professors submit brief to Supreme Court case Orla McCaffrey News Editor
Research by a team of Binghamton University professors could be considered in a gerrymandering case currently being seen by Supreme Court. The case, Gill v. Whitford, deals with possible partisan gerrymandering the manipulation of a districtâs boundaries to give one party an advantage by Republican legislators in Wisconsin when drawing the stateâs assembly districts in 2011. According to Michael McDonald, a professor of political science at BU, the case stands out as the first time in 30 years that the potential to identify partisan gerrymandering has been so clear-cut. âThe Supreme Court gets 7,000 cases a year and they take 75,â McDonald said. âItâs a big deal.â The lead plaintiff in the case is William Whitford, a University of Wisconsin Law School professor, who said he believes the 2011 map doesnât correctly reflect the stateâs voters. In the 2012 Wisconsin state assembly elections, Democrats received 52 percent of the votes, but won just 38 percent of seats. In contrast, Republicans received 47 percent of votes, but won 62 percent of seats. âAll the data shows that gerrymandering is only getting worse, by both sides,â Whitford said in an interview for Salon. âItâs a problem, and a national one, of single-party control.â If the Wisconsin maps are determined to have a clear partisan gerrymander,
theyâll be the first of their kind. The Supreme Court has never before ruled district maps unconstitutional. In 2004, another prominent case of partisan gerrymandering, Vieth v. Jubelirer of Pennsylvania, came before the Supreme Court. Eight justices were split on whether a proper standard to determine the existence of partisan gerrymandering existed. Justice Anthony Kennedy agreed that there was no judicial solution to the case, but noted the possibility of court intervention if a workable standard was agreed upon. Thatâs where the research of BU professors comes in. Political science professors Robin Best, Jonathan Krasno, Daniel Magleby and Michael McDonald, along with Shawn Donahue, a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate studying political science, filed one of 54 amicus curiae briefs submitted to the court. The brief describes their standard, that of equal vote weight, which says three specific conditions must be present to determine a case of partisan gerrymandering. But their standard isnât the one being used in the case. Instead, the efficiency gap, or the difference between each partyâs wasted votes those that donât contribute to a politicianâs victory in an election divided by the number of votes cast, is being used by litigators. Last November, a Wisconsin district court composed of three federal judges found the stateâs districts to be gerrymandered and ordered them
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CLINCHED Women's soccer secures AE title for first time in 13 years Jonathan Flores/Design Assistant The Binghamton womenâs soccer team clinched a shared America East regular-season title on Sunday, marking the programâs first regular-season conference championship since 2004.
Evan Cole Assistant Sports Editor
In the 75th minute of the Binghamton womenâs soccer teamâs final home game, with the match tied at two, the Bearcats found themselves in their most pressing moment of their 2017 regular season. After falling quickly to a 2-0 deficit, Hartford clawed back when the game
became more gritty. Hartford sophomore forward Kaila Lozada was on a breakaway, poised to take a commanding 3-2 lead, until she was tackled by sophomore defender Sam OâMalley, who drew both a foul on the play, with a penalty kick awarded to the Hawks. âIt was unfortunate,â said BU head coach Neel Bhattacharjee. âIâll take a look at the call. I thought Sam did well in a
rough moment, but thatâs the nature of the game.â Called upon to save the game on her senior day, goalkeeper Katie Hatziyianis entirely reversed momentum, diving to her left and snatching the ball before it snuck in the goalâs lower corner. Her play proved to be integral in the Bearcatsâ
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SUNY project aims to support Haitian village Gillian Kenah Contributing Writer
Katherine Scott/Pipe Dream Photographer Antonia Nevias-Ida, a junior majoring in human development; Ana Maria Suarez, a junior majoring in integrative neuroscience; and Grace Sullivan, an undeclared sophomore, build a cardboard home during the fourth annual Shack-A-Thon on Oct. 19.
In a small village 25 miles north of Portau-Prince, Haiti, a long-awaited medical center will soon be built as part of a new SUNY collaboration. In September, 10 SUNY campuses, including Binghamton University, introduced a collaborative project that will help support the Haitian village of Arcahaie by improving food supply, building a medical center and providing an educational focus on its economic and social programs. Partners include the African Methodist Episcopal Church Service and Development Agency
(AME-SADA), Effort Commun Pour Le Developpement de LâArcahaie, the Haiti Development Institute, Hope on a String and YouthBuild International. According to Sally Crimmins Villela, the SUNY associate vice chancellor for global affairs, each nonprofit organization involved in the project has previously worked in Arcahaie, so their knowledge of the community is essential to the success of the collaboration. The 10 SUNY institutions involved include University at Albany, University at Buffalo, SUNY Buffalo State, SUNY Cobleskill, SUNY-ESF, Nassau Community
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Shack-a-Thon raises over $300 J.U.M.P. responds to NFL player protests Julia Donnelly
Contributing Writer
A campground of cardboard homes littered the Spine on Thursday, Oct. 19 as a part of Habitat for Humanityâs fourth annual Shack-a-Thon event. Binghamton Universityâs Shack-aThon is held each year in order to raise money for the Broome County Habitat for Humanity chapter. This year, participating organizations spent three hours building cardboard homes, helping to raise over $300 and further Habitat for Humanityâs mission of ensuring that everyone has access to affordable housing. With these funds, the BU chapter will help build homes for local residents in need. The cardboard huts, which were built by eight teams, were meant to raise awareness for the inadequate housing options faced by some residents of the greater Binghamton area. Broome
Countyâs poverty rate is 17.7 percent and the city of Binghamtonâs rate is 33.9 percent, higher than the national average of 14.7 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. According to Jacqueline St Pierre, a member of BU Habitat for Humanity and a sophomore double-majoring in mathematics and computer science, the annual Shack-a-Thon carries greater weight than a typical campus event. âAlthough it may seem fun to build a cardboard house with your friends, this is how some people actually live,â St Pierre said. âAs members of Habitat for Humanity, we hope to make people aware of the homelessness issue surrounding us here in New York state.â Shack-a-Thon participants included a variety of student groups, some of whom were new to the event and hoped to make it a tradition. Matthew OâMalley, a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and
ARTS & CULTURE
a sophomore majoring in geography, said he believed the event was a worthy cause. âMy fraternity is new to campus, so we thought Shack-a-Thon would not only help us in supporting a good cause, but get our name out there,â OâMalley said. âWe feel that building our cardboard house has brought us much closer as brothers.â In regard to creating their shacks, some teams were more strategic than others, constructing preplanned designs with ease. Anna Domagala, a member of Alpha Omega Epsilon engineering sorority and a senior majoring in electrical engineering, said she felt fortunate her group was involved. âBy building our shack, we are able to put to use our design skills as future engineers,â Domagala said. âWe want to make sure that we are more than an
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Eric Lee Contributing Writer
On Sunday, Oct. 15, 11 NFL players from three different teams protested during the national anthem. On Wednesday, Oct. 18, the Juvenile Urban Multicultural Program (J.U.M.P. Nation) and the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity at Binghamton University came together to present âYou Canât Protest If Youâre Black,â a conversation on activism for people of color, the backlash NFL players have received for kneeling during the national anthem and the systematic oppression of African Americans. The title of the event came from a
OPINIONS
quote by Trevor Noah, the host of âThe Daily Show,â who spoke out against this backlash on a recent episode. Protesting of the national anthem during NFL games began when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat and later kneeled during the duration of the national anthem last year. This form of protest gained popularity in September 2017, when approximately 200 players kneeled in response to President Donald Trumpâs comments on firing kneeling players. Brittney Anderson, a member of the J.U.M.P. Nation fundraising committee
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SPORTS
BU professor connects classrooms across the world,
Laugh in Lecture Hall with Binghamton Comedy Festival,
Contributing columnist Jessica Gutowitz discusses the high cost of graduate school admissions exams,
Womenâs soccer secures playoff bye,
UMass Lowell shuts out menâs soccer at home,
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