Student Affairs

Harpur’s Ferry adds an ambulance

Harpur’s Ferry Ambulance Service – a student-run Advanced Life Support service – has been focused on developing and implementing a plan for strategic organizational growth as the demand for emergency medical services on the Binghamton University campus, and for students living off campus, has increased steadily over the course of the past few years, bringing our current call volume to about 1,200 calls per year. The plan includes an increase in membership paired with implementation of intensive training programs designed to prepare members to provide care that meets and exceeds requirements set by state health laws.

To accomplish this, Harpur’s Ferry developed a plan to acquire an additional vehicle, which would bring its total transport fleet to three Advanced Life Support-equipped ambulances. The University’s administration recognized the need and supported purchase of the vehicle.

Harpur’s Ferry staff researched types of ambulances – looking into features that would increase its crews’ abilities to provide high-level care to patients, and keep both EMTs and those being treated safe during the course of an operation. Some features include added emergency lights to make the vehicle more visible when operating in potentially unsafe locations, reinforced construction materials to protect those in the ambulance in the event of a collision, as well as an all-electronic stretcher to decrease the chance of crew-member injury and increase patient comfort during transport. Ultimately, with the help and support of the University administration, Harpur’s Ferry purchased a Chevy Ultramedic Road Rescue ambulance, slated for delivery and immediate use at the end of March 2017. 

The new ambulance will support Harpur’s Ferry’s ability to treat all patients who call for help, even during high-volume times, while adding an additional vehicle on which its increased membership can train. The third ambulance further identifies Binghamton University as one of very few universities across the nation that is able to provide the level of care that Binghamton University students, faculty and staff receive when Harpur’s Ferry arrives on the scene.

MLK and Black History Month events

With a change to the University’s academic calendar, we returned to school earlier than usual for the spring 2017 semester, just in time to kick off programming in celebration of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and later, Black History Month.

Highlights of the ways our campus breathed life into his legacy included:

• A week of events available to all campus constituents from Jan. 14-22, from a viewing of Hidden Figures, the incredible untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson — brilliant African-American women working at NASA — to a reception at our new LGBTQ center for new students, to traveling to Washington, D.C. for the Women’s March and more!

• Participation by about 400 faculty, staff and students in a “Building the Binghamton Dream” event, helping to kick off a collaborative and inclusive spring semester. Participants filled five Dream Walls, writing how they are fulfilling MLK’s dream on and off campus. This event occurred concurrently with the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) National Day of Racial Healing.

• Participation by students in a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service and the Bearcats March to Washington, D.C. trip for the Women’s March.

• Welcoming singer, songwriter, actress, musician and record producer India Arie as the keynote speaker for Black History Month, attended by about 300 students. Her presentation through spoken word and song delivered her message of celebrating blackness unapologetically.

• Participation by the campus community in over 20 programs during the month of February for Black History Month. Events ranged from deep, thought-provoking conversations and educational events to celebrating the deep and rich significance of Black History and the importance of recognizing and interweaving it into the fabric of the University.

Fraternity and sorority recruitment numbers and update

Fraternity and Sorority Life continues to grow at an exciting pace. In particular, the Panhellenic Council had an extremely successful spring recruitment when 291 women participated in the process and 214 received an invitation for membership. This was an extreme increase from spring 2016, when 197 women participated in the process and 136 were offered membership. Average Panhellenic Sorority size has increased from 102 in spring 2016, to 114 in spring 2017.

STEAM Room established

Binghamton University strives to provide students with world-class educational experiences in and out of the classroom.  These efforts include opportunities to work with professors on cutting-edge research projects and to be engaged in high-impact learning opportunities. To fully integrate this approach across campus, Binghamton has opened a makerspace in one of its residential communities. Makerspaces are physical locations that bring people together to collaborate, network and create exciting new ideas and projects. Makerspaces provide the tools and resources to take charge of one’s own learning and to explore new possibilities. The STEAM (science, technology, engineering and math plus the arts) Room at Mountainview College gives students access to electronics, computer programs for design and creation, musical key boards, sewing machines, arts and crafts tools, and supplies to engage their minds outside the classroom. The STEAM Room is open during the evening and on weekends so students can experiment, build, explore and be creative within their residential community.