Binghamton Political Initiative was formed in the closing months of 2004. Since then we have made an impact on the university and the community at large. B.P.I. has sponsored and coordinated many different events. Below is a somewhat abbreviated list of events that B.P.I. has sponsored and/or coordinated. Check out what B.P.I. has been proud to offer the university and the larger community of Binghamton and the Southern Tier.

Life from Death Row - Campaign to End the Death Penalty National Speaking Tour at Binghamton University This event featured former Black Panther and death row prisoner, Lawrence 'Ghana' Hayes, as well as a live call-in to John Booth-El, prisoner on death row. This event was organized together with the Campaign to End the Death Penalty (CEDP). For more information visit: http://nodeathpenalty.org/content/index.php Film Screening CAPITALISM HITS THE FAN With breathtaking clarity, Richard Wolff breaks down the root causes of today's economic crisis, showing how it was decades in the making and in fact reflects seismic failures within the structures of American-style capitalism itself. Wolff traces the source of the economic crisis to the 1970s, when wages began to stagnate and American workers were forced into a dysfunctional spiral of borrowing and debt that ultimately exploded in the mortgage meltdown. By placing the crisis within this larger historical and systemic frame, Wolff argues convincingly that the proposed government "bailouts," stimulus packages, and calls for increased market regulation will not be enough to address the real causes of the crisis, in the end suggesting that far more fundamental change will be necessary to avoid future catastrophes. Richly illustrated with motion graphics, this is a superb introduction designed for anyone to understand, and react to, the unraveling economic crisis. - For more information visit: http://www.capitalismhitsthefan.com/ Whose State is it Anyway? Democratic Process and the Neoliberal Economy in India Preeti Sampat has been an activist with the Right to Information Campaign led by the rural collective of peasants, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, and an independent researcher for several years before coming to CUNY for her Ph.D. in Anthropology. Her current research is on dispossession caused by Special Economic Zones in India. She is the author of Economic Globalisation Today (Bangalore: Books for Change, 2004). Her M.A. is from Binghamton University. S. Vivek is currently pursing a Ph.D. in Social Sciences at Syracuse University, focusing on collective action for public services in Tamil Nadu, India. Before this, he worked with the Right to Food Campaign and another campaign to make education a fundamental right in the Indian constitution. Understanding the Conflict: Israel's War on Gaza. A Panel Discussion. While this event did not serve as a debate between the "two sides" of the issue, not all panelist shared the same perspective of the conflict or its foundations. The event served to connect attendees to ongoing human rights activism within the United States on this important issue. Panelists included: Nada Khader - A Palestinian-American activist and Executive Director of Westchester People's Action Coalition. Nada served as a consultant to the United Nations Development Program in the Gaza Strip and served for two years as a Fulbright Scholar in Tunisia. Jonathan Karp - Associate Professor of History and Judaic Studies at SUNY-Binghamton. Professor Karp has written extensively on Jewish cultural and economic history, and teaches courses on Jewish responses to Zionism. Ali Mazrui - Ranked by Prospect Magazine (UK) as among the top 100 public intellectuals in the world, Dr. Mazrui currently directs the Institute of Global Cultural Studies at SUNY-Binghamton, where he's the Albert Schweitzer Professor of Humanities. Among his many positions include the Vice-President of the World Congress of Black Intellectuals and a member of the Pan-African Advisory Council to UNICEF. Omar Baddar - The Executive Director the Massachusetts American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Omar is a Palestinian-American who grew up throughout the Middle East. He is a graduate of the University of Memphis Political Science program, where he earned his MA in International Relations and Comparative Politics. He was also recently elected to the Steering Committee of the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. Film screening of DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE Some time in the 1960's, in the heart of Africa, a new animal was introduced into Lake Victoria as a little scientific experiment. The Nile Perch, a voracious predator, extinguished almost the entire stock of the native fish species. However, the new fish multiplied so fast, that its white fillets are today exported all around the world. Huge hulking ex-Soviet cargo planes come daily to collect the latest catch in exchange for their southbound cargo… . Kalashnikovs and ammunitions for the uncounted wars in the dark center of the continent. This booming multinational industry of fish and weapons has created an ungodly globalized alliance on the shores of the world's biggest tropical lake: an army of local fishermen, World bank agents, homeless children, African ministers, EU-commissioners, Tanzanian prostitutes and Russian pilots. - The film screening was part of the International Film Series on 'Social Justice, Peace, and Exploitation' of the Graduate Student Organization (GSO) at SUNY Binghamton. SUNY Social Justice Conference 2008 at Binghamton University The first SUNY Social Justice Conference was a staging ground for over 350 students, organizers, activists and allies to build a united movement across our diverse communities for solidarity and social change. Budget cuts and privatization close doors to public higher education, but the state's prison system drains away funds into an ever-expanding industrial complex. As more young people of color enter penitentiaries than enroll in the SUNY system, campuses reap the benefits of forced prison labor. As educators and students fight to be heard, the state suffocates the power of unions to organize and negotiate. And as endless wars rage overseas, vital resources are wrested from communities back home. Drawing upon the rich history of vital student participation in struggles for social change, we gathered on the first weekend in November to build new movements for justice. It was a most successful weekend of organizing, learning, networking, and connecting, feauturing workshops, strategy-sessions, discussions and a keynote address by people's historian Howard Zinn. For more information see: http://www.sunysocialjustice.org/ Film screening of THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO BPI screened the film 'The Road to Guantanamo,' which is the terrifying first-hand account of three British citizens who were held for two years without charges in the American military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Known as the “Tipton Three,” in reference to their home town in Britain, the three were eventually returned to Britain and released, still having had no formal charges ever made against them at any time during their ordeal. For more information see: http://www.roadtoguantanamomovie.com/ - The film screening was followed by a discussion with George McAnanama (B.C. Veterans for Peace) and Anna Gotlib (Department of Philosophy, BU). Anti-War Protest on March 18, 2008 On March 18th, 2008, a group of anti-war protesters from Binghamton University and the surrounding community was marching on Binghamton campus to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Approximately 130 students and community members participated in the event that culminated in a number of speeches by peace activists. (After the protest: http://www.solidarityanddissent.blogspot.com) "Oral History in Palestine" - A talk by Adel Yahya (PACE) The Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange (PACE) online: http://www.pace.ps/ The Bread & Puppet Circus For more info on Bread & Puppet: http://www.breadandpuppet.org/index.html Dissent on Trial: The St. Patrick's Four The St. Patrick's Four - Daniel J. Burns, Clare T. Grady, Peter J. DeMott, and Teresa B. Grady - spoke about their experiences of having engaged in an act of civil disobedience and facing the consequences of felony charges. The Q&A part of the event involved both members of the Binghamton University community and the larger community of the Southern Tier of New York and beyond. For more info on the St. Patrick's Four: http://www.stpatricksfour.org/ - The event was sponsored by the Graduate Student Organization (GSO), the Anthropology Department, the History Department, and the Sociology Department. Weekly Peace Vigils This long- running protest had started on February 2, 2005, with a lunchtime march around the school that began with a silent vigil at the fountain in front of the G. Bartle Library at Binghamton University. After then, this event continued for more than three years: Until the end of 2008, a number of BPI members stood n silence every Wednesday from 11:50am-12:00noon by the fountain, holding signs that were commemorating the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, a similar peace vigil is held community members in dowtown Binghamton. Join them, every Monday from 4:30-5:30pm on Henry St. in front of the Court House! Ivan Eland reads from "The Empire Has No Clothes: American foreign Policy Exposed" In his book "The Empire Has No Clothes: U.S. Foreign Policy Exposed," defense policy expert Dr. Ivan Eland (senior fellow and director of the Independent Institute’s Center on Peace & Liberty) details how most Americans don’t think of their government as an empire, while in fact the United States has been steadily expanding its control of overseas territories since the turn of the twentieth century. - The event was cosponsored by the BU Geography.