the spectrum vol. 65 no. 8

8
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2015 UBSPECTRUM.COM VOLUME 65 NO. 8 THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950 3 2 The Spectrum staff’s stance on sign controversy Read statement from student who posted signs How to stay afloat at UB amid student debt ONLINE GABRIELA JULIA SENIOR NEWS EDITOR Laverne Cox remembers listening to Be- yoncé while walking down the street in New York City years ago. She heard someone be- hind her say, “That’s a man!” Moments later, the person kicked her. Cox, a transgender activist and award-win- ning actress, walked confidently into Alum- ni Arena with her blonde locks and red lips as the first guest of the UB Distinguished Speakers Series this year. But it didn’t take long for Cox to show the audience that her appearance is just her outer layer. In an hour and 30 minutes, she disclosed her life sto- ry and explained how her upbringing helped her define her sole core. Her story left some audience laughing and others in tears. Cox opened up by telling the audience about the oppression of transgender people in the community. “Let’s face it, being a black working class transgender woman isn’t necessarily a cele- brated class in this society,” Cox said. She quoted Sojourner Truth’s famous say- ing, “Ain’t I a woman,” from the women’s liberation struggle in 1851. She also quot- ed Simone de Beauvoir, saying, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.” Cox then made it clear that she wasn’t al- ways as free-spirited and self-accepting as she is now. She grew up in Alabama with her single mother and twin brother. She lived in a town where church was mandato- ry and “transgender” was a foreign term. Cox remembers being chased by five or six kids while walking home from school. She was bullied and was told that she acted like a girl. Her teachers advised therapy to her mother after seeing Cox fan herself in the middle of class. “I look back now and think what’s wrong with a kid fanning themselves thinking they’re Scarlett O’Hara? I think it’s ador- able,” she said. When she was in third grade, her therapist asked if she knew the difference between a boy and a girl. She replied with, “There isn’t one.” But the torment didn’t end once Cox left school. She admitted her mother and grand- mother weren’t very accepting. Her moth- er often shouted at her telling her she was a boy and she should act like one. As she grew up, she felt herself develop feelings for guys and decided to do something to get rid of the voices of her grandmother and people in the church. The idea of growing up into a man ter- rified Cox. So one night, she swallowed an entire bottle pills hoping to never wake up. But she did – and with a stomach ache. Cox said she only felt comfortable in her imagination. She loved to dance and want- ed to study it after high school. Since her mother told her ballet was “too gay” as a child, her only hope for getting into Ala- bama School of Fine Arts was to audition as a creative writing major, take ballet class- es and switch her major. That’s exactly what she did, but was dis- appointed when she realized the students didn’t dance on the tables like they did in Fame. Cox wanted to explore her femininity more and left Alabama. She transferred to Indiana University Bloomington and then to Marymount Manhattan College, where her life started to take a turn. When she moved to New York, she felt the freedom to express herself. She “fierced up” her wardrobe and turned Salvation Army into Salvation Armani. She learned a lot about self-respect going to NYC night- clubs in the ’90s. “For the first time in my life my gender expression was something that was valuable and I was treated very well,” she said. Although there was a drastic change be- tween Alabama and New York, Cox made sure she stayed focused on what she really wanted. “I know drugs were a big thing in the club scene during that time but I’ve honestly nev- er done a drug in my entire life,” she said. Cox said she isn’t judgmental of people who do drugs, but knew if she wanted to live her dreams and be successful, as a work- ing class black woman, doing illicit drugs wouldn’t get her there. Cox then told the audience how her past has shaped who she is today. Her love for the center stage is what landed her a lead- ing role in the Netflix series Orange is the New Black. Her adolescence in Alabama has made her appreciate people like Caitlyn Jen- ner, who can document their life and help young people who are experiencing the same battles. “If I could say something to my young- er self, it would be that you are not weird or different for feeling like a girl,” Cox said. The evening ended with questions from students. One UB student stood up and with tears in his eyes, introduced himself as transgender. He asked Cox for advice on how to stay positive when family members take a person’s transition negatively. The crowd cheered for the student and Cox replied saying, “Moments like these re- mind me that there is so much love in the world.” email: [email protected] ‘Ain’t I a woman?’ Transgender advocate Laverne Cox appears as first Distinguished Speaker of the year ANGELA BARCA, THE SPECTRUM Laverne Cox, transgender activist and award-winning actress, was the first guest for UB’s Distinguished Speaker Series of the 2015-16 year. A UB graduate art student has ad- mitted to hanging the ‘White Only’ and ‘Black Only’ signs seen in Cle- mens Hall Wednesday as part of a class project. Ashley Powell, a graduate fine arts student, while standing in front of a group of more than 70 students at a Black Student Union (BSU) meet- ing Wednesday evening, admitted to hanging the signs. Powell declined to be interviewed but submitted a statement to The Spectrum Thursday night. The full statement can be read on ubspec- trum.com. I apologize for the extreme trau- ma, fear, and actual hurt and pain these signs brought about,” Powell said in the statement. “I apologize if you were hurt, but I do not apolo- gize for what I did. Once again, this is my art practice. My work directly involves black trauma and non-white suffering. I do not believe that there can be social healing without first coming to terms with and express- ing our own pain, rage, and trauma.” Powell said she might be open to an interview eventually. A university spokesperson re- leased a statement to The Spec- trum Wednesday night that the uni- versity is continuing to review the matter through appropriate universi- ty policies and procedures. Powell, who is black, posted the signs for a project for her Installa- tion in Urban Spaces class, a 400-lev- el arts class that required she make an installation in an urban area that involved time. The Spectrum reached out to the professor of the class, Warren Quig- ley, but he did not respond by the time of press. Starting at around 1 p.m. Wednesday, University Po- lice received 11 calls from students stating they saw “White Only” and “Black Only” signs in Clemens Hall. Chief of Police Gerald Schoenle said the officers removed four signs and checked the building for any others. Many students took to social me- dia to voice their opinions. Sever- al students said the signs disgust- ed them while others were simply shocked that this was happening on campus. Many students called the signs racist while some even called them acts of terrorism. Deidree Golbourne, a junior African Amer- ican studies major, said the signs caused cultural trauma and her initial reaction was that she didn’t feel safe. GABRIELA JULIA AND MARLEE TUSKES SENIOR NEWS EDITOR AND ASST. NEWS EDITOR Signs, posted for class project, caused outrage Wednesday Art student admits to hanging ‘White Only’ and ‘Black Only’ signs on campus CONTINUED ON PAGE 6 COURTESY OF MICAH OLIVER Wednesday afternoon, students called University Police about a “White Only” sign posted outside a men’s bathroom in Clemens Hall.

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Page 1: The Spectrum Vol. 65 No. 8

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBL ICAT ION OF THE UN IVERS I TY AT BUFFALO , S INCE 1950

Friday, September 18, 2015ubSpectrum.com Volume 65 No. 8

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBL ICAT ION OF THE UN IVERS I TY AT BUFFALO , S INCE 1950

32 The Spectrum staff’s stance on sign controversy

Read statement from student who posted signs

How to stay afloat at UB amid student debt ONLINE

GABRIELA JULIASENIOR NEWS EDITOR

Laverne Cox remembers listening to Be-yoncé while walking down the street in New York City years ago. She heard someone be-hind her say, “That’s a man!” Moments later, the person kicked her.

Cox, a transgender activist and award-win-ning actress, walked confidently into Alum-ni Arena with her blonde locks and red lips as the first guest of the UB Distinguished Speakers Series this year. But it didn’t take long for Cox to show the audience that her appearance is just her outer layer. In an hour and 30 minutes, she disclosed her life sto-ry and explained how her upbringing helped her define her sole core. Her story left some audience laughing and others in tears.

Cox opened up by telling the audience about the oppression of transgender people in the community.

“Let’s face it, being a black working class transgender woman isn’t necessarily a cele-brated class in this society,” Cox said.

She quoted Sojourner Truth’s famous say-ing, “Ain’t I a woman,” from the women’s liberation struggle in 1851. She also quot-ed Simone de Beauvoir, saying, “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman.”

Cox then made it clear that she wasn’t al-ways as free-spirited and self-accepting as she is now. She grew up in Alabama with her single mother and twin brother. She lived in a town where church was mandato-ry and “transgender” was a foreign term.

Cox remembers being chased by five or six kids while walking home from school. She was bullied and was told that she acted like a girl. Her teachers advised therapy to her mother after seeing Cox fan herself in the middle of class.

“I look back now and think what’s wrong with a kid fanning themselves thinking they’re Scarlett O’Hara? I think it’s ador-able,” she said.

When she was in third grade, her therapist asked if she knew the difference between a boy and a girl. She replied with, “There isn’t one.”

But the torment didn’t end once Cox left school. She admitted her mother and grand-mother weren’t very accepting. Her moth-er often shouted at her telling her she was a boy and she should act like one. As she grew up, she felt herself develop feelings for guys and decided to do something to get rid of the voices of her grandmother and people in the church.

The idea of growing up into a man ter-rified Cox. So one night, she swallowed an entire bottle pills hoping to never wake up. But she did – and with a stomach ache.

Cox said she only felt comfortable in her imagination. She loved to dance and want-ed to study it after high school. Since her mother told her ballet was “too gay” as a

child, her only hope for getting into Ala-bama School of Fine Arts was to audition as a creative writing major, take ballet class-es and switch her major.

That’s exactly what she did, but was dis-appointed when she realized the students didn’t dance on the tables like they did in Fame.

Cox wanted to explore her femininity more and left Alabama. She transferred to Indiana University Bloomington and then to Marymount Manhattan College, where her life started to take a turn.

When she moved to New York, she felt the freedom to express herself. She “fierced up” her wardrobe and turned Salvation Army into Salvation Armani. She learned a lot about self-respect going to NYC night-clubs in the ’90s.

“For the first time in my life my gender expression was something that was valuable and I was treated very well,” she said.

Although there was a drastic change be-tween Alabama and New York, Cox made sure she stayed focused on what she really wanted.

“I know drugs were a big thing in the club scene during that time but I’ve honestly nev-er done a drug in my entire life,” she said.

Cox said she isn’t judgmental of people who do drugs, but knew if she wanted to live her dreams and be successful, as a work-ing class black woman, doing illicit drugs wouldn’t get her there.

Cox then told the audience how her past has shaped who she is today. Her love for the center stage is what landed her a lead-ing role in the Netflix series Orange is the New Black. Her adolescence in Alabama has made her appreciate people like Caitlyn Jen-ner, who can document their life and help young people who are experiencing the same battles.

“If I could say something to my young-er self, it would be that you are not weird or different for feeling like a girl,” Cox said.

The evening ended with questions from students. One UB student stood up and with tears in his eyes, introduced himself as transgender. He asked Cox for advice on how to stay positive when family members take a person’s transition negatively.

The crowd cheered for the student and Cox replied saying, “Moments like these re-mind me that there is so much love in the world.”

email: [email protected]

‘Ain’t I a woman?’Transgender advocate Laverne Cox appears as first

Distinguished Speaker of the year

ANGELA BARCA, THE SPECTRUM

Laverne Cox, transgender activist and award-winning actress, was the

first guest for UB’s Distinguished Speaker Series of the 2015-16 year.

A UB graduate art student has ad-mitted to hanging the ‘White Only’ and ‘Black Only’ signs seen in Cle-mens Hall Wednesday as part of a class project.

Ashley Powell, a graduate fine arts student, while standing in front of a group of more than 70 students at a Black Student Union (BSU) meet-ing Wednesday evening, admitted to hanging the signs.

Powell declined to be interviewed but submitted a statement to The Spectrum Thursday night. The full statement can be read on ubspec-trum.com.

“I apologize for the extreme trau-ma, fear, and actual hurt and pain these signs brought about,” Powell said in the statement. “I apologize if you were hurt, but I do not apolo-gize for what I did. Once again, this is my art practice. My work directly

involves black trauma and non-white suffering. I do not believe that there can be social healing without first coming to terms with and express-ing our own pain, rage, and trauma.”

Powell said she might be open to an interview eventually.

A university spokesperson re-leased a statement to The Spec-trum Wednesday night that the uni-versity is continuing to review the matter through appropriate universi-ty policies and procedures.

Powell, who is black, posted the signs for a project for her Installa-tion in Urban Spaces class, a 400-lev-el arts class that required she make an installation in an urban area that involved time.

The Spectrum reached out to the professor of the class, Warren Quig-ley, but he did not respond by the time of press.

Starting at around 1 p.m. Wednesday, University Po-lice received 11 calls from students stating they saw “White Only” and “Black Only” signs in Clemens Hall.

Chief of Police Gerald Schoenle said the officers removed four signs and checked the building for any others.

Many students took to social me-dia to voice their opinions. Sever-al students said the signs disgust-ed them while others were simply shocked that this was happening on campus. Many students called the signs racist while some even called them acts of terrorism. Deidree Golbourne, a junior African Amer-ican studies major, said the signs caused cultural trauma and her initial reaction was that she didn’t feel safe.

GABRIELA JULIA AND MARLEE TUSKESSENIOR NEWS EDITOR AND ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Signs, posted for class project, caused outrage Wednesday

Art student admits to hanging ‘White Only’ and

‘Black Only’ signs on campus

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

COURTESY OF MICAH OLIVER

Wednesday afternoon, students called University Police about a “White Only” sign posted outside a men’s

bathroom in Clemens Hall.

Page 2: The Spectrum Vol. 65 No. 8

NEWS2Friday, September 18, 2015

Close to 30,000 students attend the University at Buffalo. Unfortunately, a handful are giving the rest a bad name. The University and members of the University Heights community are expressing outrage over overcrowded parties, litter and disorderly and disrespectful behavior exhibited by some students in the neighborhood. There are serious consequences for this behavior. In the past few weeks we have had close to a two dozen arrests and violations carrying significant fines and attorney costs. 17 students have already been suspended and 12 have had their parents called. 30 or more students have been sanctioned to community service hours and to educational programming. Buffalo police, Amherst police, and university police are committed to maintaining the quality of life in our community. They will be strictly enforcing disorderly conduct, open container, underage drinking, DWI/DUI and other ordinances in the weeks ahead. Be aware! Students should also know that the University Heights area can be considered a target-rich environment for crime. Intoxicated people, people traveling alone or in pairs, carrying cell phones or laptops, outside of well - lighted areas, and people using headphones are particularly viewed as prime targets. student-affairs.buffalo.edu/public-safety/offcampus.php Consider crime, housing conditions, and community standards when making housing decisions. Please protect yourselves at all times and when in the community, practice the same courtesy, respect and behavior that you would exhibit back home or on campus.

“The police will be

strictly enforcing

disorderly conduct,

open container,

underage drinking,

DWI/DUI and other

ordinances in the

weeks ahead”

!

UB A GOOD NEIGHBOR

ASHLEY INKUMSAHNEWS EDITOR

Samiha Islam is no stranger to stress – and most of it has come from trying to find ways to pay back her student loans.

Islam, a junior biomedical engineering ma-jor, saw how much debt she was accumulat-ing and started working two jobs to help pay it off before she graduates.

But Islam isn’t alone. According to college data website College Factual, 48 percent of UB undergraduates have taken out loans.

As the cost of tuition continues to rise across colleges and universities nationwide, student loans are becoming all the more necessary. The average national student loan debt is $28,400, according to the Insti-tute for College Access and Success, while UB’s average student debt at graduation is $21,228.

“UB strives to offer students a high-quality education at an affordable price,

and I think our below average student debt loans and student loan default rate are evi-dence that we are succeeding in that goal,” said John Gottardy, UB director of financial aid.

The NYSUNY 2020 legislation, passed in 2011, holds that a predictable tuition pro-gram would assist students and families in their financial planning process. This tuition measure will only allow UB to increase tu-ition by $150 each semester, in theory allow-ing students and families to plan ahead for tuition hikes.

In January, Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed improving the higher education system by forgiving student loans for recent college graduates living within New York State. Cuomo also propositioned to provide free college tuition for students who commit to teaching after receiving their degrees and increasing expenditures by $50 million with-in the SUNY system.

On Monday, President Barack Obama announced changes in the federal aid fil-ing process for college students. Beginning in fall of 2016, high school seniors can be-gin to apply for loans in October – three months earlier than the current date.

President Obama visited UB in August 2013 and proposed a new rating system, in which federal tax dollars would be direct-ed toward institutions for students based on factors such as student loan debt.

But current college students are still strug-gling.

Terika Pereira, a sophomore nursing ma-jor, said she is taking out all of her federal student loans and her current balance is ap-proximately $6,000.

“I plan on going to graduate school, so I know that I will have a higher income so paying off loans shouldn’t be troublesome,” Pereira said. “Even as a sophomore in col-lege, I’m already looking into different pro-grams for loan forgiveness.”

Pereira said she would attempt to pay off her student loans prior to graduating.

Demetria Anderson, a sophomore medical technology major, said she is currently not taking out loans but witnessed the burden loans can create from her sister, who gradu-ated from SUNY Buffalo State in 2013.

“My sister is in a lot of debt because of loans and it dragged her credit score way down,” Anderson said.

As student loan debt rises nationwide, UB students strive

to stay afloat

All information according to University Police

9/88:23 a.m. – A 19-year-old female passed

out at Tim Hortons in the Student Union. An ambulance was called to the scene how-ever the female declined treatment.

11:35 a.m. – A UB student reported a car struck Furnas Hall close to Putnam Way. No injuries were reported.

12:25 p.m. – Six people were entrapped in an elevator on the second floor of Baldy Hall. A technician was notified. The occu-pants were freed prior to the patrol’s arrival.

12:46 p.m. – A UB employee reported what appeared to be intentional damage to a vehicle parked in Red Jacket lot. The em-ployee stated that the vehicle had notice-able kick and punch marks.

5:44 p.m. – A UB student reported her bicycle lock was cut and moved one spot away from where her bicycle was original-ly stationed. The bicycle, which was locat-ed at the bike rack in the main circle, was locked with another bicycle lock. The stu-dent was able to free her bicycle. 9/9

2:13 a.m. – UPD was called after a resi-dent adviser reported a male was found un-responsive from a possible alcohol over-dose. The male was transferred to ECMC for medical care.

2:18 p.m. – A UB student reported his Ray Ban sunglasses were stolen from Lock-wood Library.

7:19 p.m. – A former UB student re-ported his bicycle was stolen from the Main Circle bike rack. 9/12

12:53 p.m. – Buffalo police reported having a UPD warrant suspect, Alvin Hen-derson, in custody.

5:59 p.m. – UPD reported that there was three students found urinating on ve-hicles parked in the Bissell Lot. The stu-dents were given Student-Wide Judiciary paperwork.

email: [email protected]

Police Blotter 9/8-9/12

STAYING AFLOAT IN A SEA OF DEBTCOURTESY OF FLICKR USER, TAXES CREDITS

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

ACCORDING TO THE BUFFALO NEWS

SCHOOLTUITION AND FEES

AVG STUDENT LOAN DEBT

University at Buffalo$8,871

$21,228

SUNY Buffalo State College

$6,470/year$25,010

Canisius College$33,282/year

$37,903

Alfred State College

$8,057 /year$14,356

St. Bonaventure University

$30,424/year$26,873

Medaille College$33,282/year

$37,024

SUNY Fredonia$4,037 /year

$26,876

SUNY Geneseo$4,056/year

$ 26,916

Stony Brook University$4,427/year

$26,160

Binghamton University$8,981/year

$26,916

University at Albany

$8,696/year$26,588

The following is a list of tuition and fees rates for undergraduate students and average student loan debt upon graduation, after four years:

The Spectrum

Page 3: The Spectrum Vol. 65 No. 8

A graduate art student posted at least four signs near bathrooms and water fountains in Clemens Hall Wednesday with broad letters stating “White Only” or “Black Only.” University Police took the signs down, but the impact was still felt around campus.

The intention of the student may have been to create a piece of art and start a discussion , but The Spectrum editorial board finds it to be in bad taste a misguided act.

Ashley Powell, who is black, posted the signs for a UB art class project. Still no word if she had the permis-sion of her professor or de-partment to do so. She at-tended the Black Student Union special meeting in re-sponse to the signs and ad-mitted to the room that she posted the signs and to “get a reaction out of people.” Many at the meeting were deeply offended, with some leaving in tears. While a few defended her provocative statements, many more ex-pressed anger and disgust.

Race relations are still a pressing issue in the Unit-ed States.

Such problems need to be discussed freely and openly. A public awareness of such problems remains necessary for our society as a whole to move forward. But the posting of racially disturb-ing signs in a public forum, with no advance warning or notification, crosses the line of artistic venture. The initial reaction of many students was horror and disgust. The signs brought back feelings of segregation and Jim Crow laws. No one wants to be reminded of that.

For others, the incident provoked rage at the idea of someone perpetuating rac-ism on the UB campus. Few students gained anything out of this experience. In-deed, one could argue that the signs actually damaged the conversation about race.

This is not to say that art cannot provoke questions about race and society’s is-

sues. An art gallery in Chicago ran an exhibit called “Confronting Truths: Wake up!” The primary feature of the exhibit was a recre-ation of the crime scene involving Michael Brown Jr. – a Ferguson, Missouri black teenager who was shot by a white police officer last year.

There are massive differences between that exhibit and the signs in Clemens Hall.

To view the Chicago exhibit re-quires a conscious decision to en-

gage the art with full knowledge of what you’re being exposed to. The signs in Clemens Hall were posted in a highly public venue without any kind of context.

Students were, essentially, tricked and manipulated.

Powell admittedly was trying to get a reaction out of students. Her art could have created a discus-sion about race and how we view it in 2015. Her intentions may have been good. But the execution was all wrong.

Some students, regardless of race, had first reactions of disgust and fear. Black students felt target-ed. Some felt unsafe. They had a right to look at a ‘White Only’ sign next to a bathroom and feel of-fended and scared. In the United States’ current racial climate and with the power of social media, posting the signs were a recipe for disaster.

It’s natural for students to not view the signs as art. Students have a right to be mad even after learn-ing the signs were posted without racist intentions.

The artist should be held ac-countable for her misstep, but she should not be harassed or ex-pelled. While her decision to post it without first warning her poten-tial viewers was a disastrous and sad mistake, it may prove to be a valuable learning experience for her and her art career.

Although Powell may have wanted to start a discussion, so far students feel nothing good has come of the incident. Maybe that can change with time, but right now, students just feel anger.

email: [email protected]

The views expressed – both written and graphic – in the Feedback, Opinion and Perspectives sections of The Spectrum do not necessarily reflect the views of the

editorial board. Submit contributions for these pages to The Spectrum office at Suite

132 Student Union or [email protected]. The Spectrum reserves the right to edit these pieces for style and length. If a letter is not meant for publication, please mark it as such. All submissions

must include the author’s name, daytime phone number, and email address.

The Spectrum is represented for national advertising by MediaMate.

For information on adverstising

with The Spectrum, visit www.ubspectrum.com/advertising

or call us directly at (716) 645-2452.

The Spectrum offices are located in 132 Student Union,

UB North Campus, Buffalo, NY 14260-2100

THE SPECTRUM

Editorial BoardEditorial Board

Friday, September 18, 2015Volume 65 Number 8

Circulation 7,000

EDITOR IN CHIEF Tom Dinki

MANAGING EDITOR

Alyssa McClure

OPINION EDITORRicky Nolan

COPY EDITORS

Kayla Menes Renée Staples

NEWS EDITORSGabriela Julia, Senior

Ashley InkumsahMarlee Tuskes

FEATURES EDITORSTori Roseman, Senior

Dani Guglielmo

ARTS EDITORSBrian Windschitl, SeniorKenneth Kashif ThomasAlexandra Saleh, Asst.

SPORTS EDITORSJordan Grossman, Co-seniorQuentin Haynes, Co-senior

PHOTO EDITORSYusong Shi, Co-seniorKainan Guo, Co-senior

Angela Barca .

CARTOONISTS Joshua Bodah

Michael Perlman

CREATIVE DIRECTORSKenneth Cruz

Pierce Strudler, Asst.

Professional Staff

OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Helene Polley

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Nicole DominguezLee Stoeckel, Asst.

Zach Hilderbrandt, Asst.

ADVERTISING DESIGNERDerek Hosken

OPINION 3An artistic intention, but a botched execution

‘White Only’ and ‘Black Only’ signs cause offense and outrage rather than discussion

ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL PERLMAN

The Spectrum

Teachers inherently form the bedrock of our community. Through them, generation after generation forms into coherent, mature and educated adults.

Our country seems to have for-gotten this. Teachers have been subjected to intense and often un-realistic scrutiny and recent educa-tional reform has proven unwieldy at best and damaging at worst. Worst of all, we pay teachers a pit-tance compared to most jobs in the United States.

The teacher’s strike in Seat-tle that ended this past Tuesday is cause for celebration. The teach-ers’ union had gone on strike for a variety of reasons and Seattle Public Schools yielded on most of

them. Pay increases will go up to 9.5 percent during the next three years, in addition to the 4.5 per-cent cost-of-living increase that will happen during the next two years.

Yet the strike was not just about the teachers. Several other impor-tant points were conceded a well. Thirty minutes of recess has been guaranteed for elementary stu-dents, special education student-teacher ratios and caseloads will be lowered and new committees will be formed at 30 schools to investi-gate racial equity.

Most important of all, standard-ized testing will no longer be used as an evaluation tool for teachers and teachers will have more of a

say in how often students are test-ed.

Our society has gotten used to the idea of standardized testing. It has pervaded every level of ed-ucation except for collegiate. Yet the benefits are uncertain at best. Teaching-to-the-test has become such a widespread notion that no explanation is needed for the phrase. Parents and students be-moan the limited scope of class-es as teachers hurriedly attempt to train students on how to ace the standardized test for the year.

Standardized testing fails to teach the most important aspect of learning: how to learn. Students are taught how to pass a test. Log-ic and intellectual discourse have fallen by the wayside.

Memorization is being priori-tized more than actually under-

standing. New York has not proven to be

friendly toward teachers. Multi-ple qualifying exams, the loathed Common Core and other prob-lems prove serious stumbling blocks for teachers.

The strike in Seattle provides hope.

Our educational system is cur-rently poorly ranked considering our position in the world. The ef-fects can be felt throughout our society. Social issues, unemploy-ment and foreign policy are just a few examples of problems that could be better solved with a more educated country.

If the United States truly wants to be great, we have to start from the beginning: education.

email: [email protected]

Teaching: not for the faint of heartA teacher’s strike in Seattle shows some

progress toward education reform

Friday, September 18, 2015

Page 4: The Spectrum Vol. 65 No. 8

FEATURES4Friday, September 18, 2015 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTThe Spectrum

DANI GUGLIELMOFEATURES EDITOR

Marwan Elbliety’s on-campus job has re-quired him to jump into a pool fully clothed.

Elbliety, a senior business major, works as a lifeguard at UB. Last year, he had to per-form a save while he was acting as a teach-er’s assistant during a beginners swimming class.

“One of the girls entered the water and panicked right away, so I jumped in fully clothed wearing a hoodie, shoes and sweat-pants – since I wasn’t on duty I didn’t have my swim gear on – and I carried her out,” Elbliety said.

Not every job at UB requires experience with food or customer service. There are 86 students and three recent alumni who serve as lifeguards at UB, according to Na-than Bourke, the aquatics director. Current-ly, 27 students are on the waiting list to be hired for next semester and need to take a lifeguard assessment.

Lifeguards are hired to observe and en-force rules at the pools at Alumni Arena on North Campus and Clark Hall on South Campus. Students who serve as lifeguards work at the pools as a way to make money during the semester.

When Kristina Goehringer, a senior ac-counting major, applied to be a lifeguard at UB, her “interview” consisted of a 500-yard swim and a 2-minute tread without hands followed by a four-part lifeguard skills test.

These four parts included a spinal rescue, passive victim rescue and two written tests.

The lifeguard assessment is a 30-hour course that evaluates students’ skills to de-termine whether or not they are qualified to be a lifeguard at UB. Students have to per-

form saves, use CPR, first aid and back-boards, retrieve a brick from the bottom of the pool and be able distance swim.

“I’m a lifeguard back at home and also needed to work at school to make money so it was kind of just the perfect job,” Goeh-ringer said.

In order to be qualified to work at the pools, you need first aid, CPR and lifeguard certifications, all of which are certified by the American Red Cross.

Lifeguards can work various shifts, includ-ing recreational shifts where guards keep an eye on students coming to swim freely and shifts for the swimming and diving team practices for the Division I and club teams at UB. Student life-guards also super-vise community members and lo-cal club swimming and diving teams like the Buffalo Area Aquatic Club (BAAC) and Wings Diving.

During these shifts, students have to oversee pa-trons, enforce rules and complete oth-er tasks assigned by their supervisors.

“Rules that need to be enforced in-clude no run-ning, no diving, no swimming in closed lanes, no hanging on the lane lines and oth-er standard pool

rules,” Goehringer said.Andrew Funk, a senior business major,

works seven shifts per week, which comes out to about 13 hours per week. He is also an LGI, which means he co-teaches the ATH122 class called lifeguard training – this adds another five hours to his work sched-ule.

Regular lifeguards make $11 an hour. Su-pervisors make $13 an hour. LGIs (lifeguard instructors) and WSIs (water safety instruc-tors) make more when doing lessons or teaching.

Although saves don’t happen often at the pools at UB, Funk once had to save a girl from drowning in the Alumni Arena pool.

“Saving people here tends to be unevent-ful,” Funk said. “There aren’t as many inci-dents in recreational lap pools – ocean life-guards have to perform a lot more saves. In my case, it was just a girl drowning in the diving well so I had to get her back to the surface and to the wall.”

Though it’s important to always keep an eye on the pool, friendships develop from taking the class together and working to keep everyone safe.

Elbliety said that he has made a lot of friends from working at the UB pools and the only difficult part of the job so far has been dealing with disrespectful patrons.

“I love it,” Funk said. “Good people, nice environment and opportunities to get involved with other aspects of Alumni. There’s not much I personally have to com-plain about working there – I kind of have a good niche there.”

email: [email protected]

Diving into a new jobStudents work as lifeguards at Alumni Arena and Clark Hall

KAINAN GUO, THE SPECTRUM

UB lifeguards watch the pools in Alumni Arena and Clar Hall for both recreational and Division I swimmers and drivers

SOPHIA MCKEONESTAFF WRITER

You want to look like $1 million – but only have four dollars in your bank account.

Even though you dragged your entire wardrobe from home to school, there’s nev-er anything to wear.

Fear not, Buffalo area college students, because UB is located near a variety of thrift, consignment and discount shops ca-pable of regenerating your wardrobe even with that “hoping for the best ’cause I didn’t buy books for any of my classes,” budget.

Here some of the stores around both North and South Campuses to help you stand up to that fair-weather denim and re-claim your dreams of stylistic excellence.

SaversAlthough chiefly filled with racks of

clothing for all sizes, genders and ages, Sav-ers suffers no shortage of shoes, bags, fur-niture, jewelry and even electronics. The av-erage item is priced at $10 or less.

Savers is a thrift store and community do-nation center less than five miles from UB’s North Campus. Located at 2309 Eggert Road in Tonawanda, the store doesn’t waste one square inch.

Ally Pawlowski, a senior dance major at UB, can frequently be found rummag-ing through the store’s masses of jeans and browsing its boy’s section for updates to her beloved flannel collection.

“You can find good quality things if you take the time to look and for a small price, which, especially being a college student, is important,” Pawlowski said.

If you need to make room in your clos-et before filling it with great second-hand finds, the community donation centers sit-uated at each of the store’s locations are a

great resource. In addition to saving your closet

from the hottest items of 2005, donations will also help to create revenue for a local non-for-profit charity. Tonawanda’s location is specifically helping to fund the Epilepsy Foundation of Northeastern New York.

Salvation ArmyEvery item in the Salvation Army comes

in through donations, so you will likely spend some time pulling back hangers of ’80s windbreaker pants and getting hit in the face with shoulder pads. The great finds to be discovered are well worth a little pa-tience.

Located almost right across the street from Savers, at 1089 Niagara Falls Boulevard, Sal-vation Army – although not as big – boasts a similar variety to Savers. The store is mostly filled with racks of clothes, household items, furniture, records and jewelry.

Becca Corbin, a senior dance major at UB, can attest to the hidden gems at the Salvation Army. One day, she left the store having paid only $5 for a brand new, origi-nally $300 parka.

Taking the time to browse through the Salvation Army store is not just worth it in the weight of uncovered treasures. Anoth-er benefit is that money spent at Salvation Army is money spent on a good cause be-cause revenue from the stores used to fund their Adult Rehabilitation Programs.

Tuesday MorningIf you’re looking to make your dorm

room or apartment a little more like what you had envisioned before moving in and a little less like a scene from “Animal House,” Tuesday Morning, located at 3344 Sheridan Drive in Amherst, might be where you head.

Other than a couple shelves of bags and a small variety of jewelry near the check out, Tuesday Morning has little in the way of clothing. Most of what you will find is household items like comforters, towels, home décor and dishes.

Tuesday Morning is not a used store, but a close-out, off-price retailer – this means you are likely to find designer, name-brand prod-ucts for a much more affordable price than where the products were originally sold.

This doesn’t necessarily mean what you find will be cheap. If you are looking for the best deals around to spruce up your liv-ing space but willing to spend a little money, Tuesday Morning is a great option. If you’re looking for a $10 sofa, you’ll find more luck elsewhere.

Second ChicAlong with new items and local designers,

this store only sells donated clothing that aligns with the store’s contemporary vision.

Unlike Savers and Salvation Army, at Sec-ond Chic you won’t have to spend as much time sorting through heaps of what your

mom wore when she was pregnant with you in the ’90s.

Second Chic is a consignment shop with three locations in the areas near UB – two in the city at 1421 Hertel Avenue and 810 El-mwood Avenue and one in Williamsville at 5454 Main Street.

Second Chic doesn’t filter its donations for you for free, so prices at the store may certainly be higher than other second-hand stores. Its goods aren’t too pricey, but a nice dress you found at Savers for $3 might cost closer to $20 at Second Chic.

The store’s consignment process means frequent sale items and an opportunity for customers to make a little money if they do-nate.

The discounts occur when a store item has been on the racks for 30 days – that’s when it gets discounted at 25 percent. Once an item is still in store for 60 days, it is dis-counted by 50 percent.

If you make donations that the store chooses to sell, you will receive 40 percent of the amount it sells for or 50 percent of the price in store credit.

So ditch those ripped pants while you’re still the only one trying to pretend not to see them. The only barrier between you and a polished new wardrobe or trendy living room is a little patience and imagination.

email: [email protected]

How to pop tags with $20 in your pocket

Frugal fashion

TORI ROSEMAN, THE SPECTRUM

Local thrift store Tuesday Morning offers more than

just clothing - the store also has a selection of supplies,

electronics and knick knacks.

Page 5: The Spectrum Vol. 65 No. 8

ALEXANDRA SALEHASST. ARTS EDITOR

The end of the September opens to a year of new releases seeking to engage au-diences of all sorts. Films of the fall are set to portray the realities of life and conse-quences of moral relativism to its audienc-es while also creating a community of co-medic refuge. “The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials”Release Date: Friday, Sept. 18PG-13

The maze was only the beginning. One of the most highly anticipated films of the fall, “The Maze Runner” sequel continues the daring journey of Thomas and his fel-low Gladers. Now, the Gladers must sur-vive an even greater challenge: defeating the W.C.K.D., an organization set to con-quer the good of humanity. The Gladers face another obstacle when the W.C.K.D. release them into a desolate landfill meant to destroy all hope of survival. Directed by Wes Ball and starring Dylan O’Brien (“Teen Wolf ”), Kaya Scodelario (“Skins UK”) and Thomas Brodie-Sangster (“Game of Thrones”), “The Scorch Tri-als” is going to be a sure-fire success.

“Black Mass” Release Date: Friday, Sept. 18R

Directed by Scott Cooper, “Black Mass” is an American crime thriller based on the 2001 book, “Black Mass: The True Sto-ry of an Unholy Alliance Between the FBI and the Irish Mob” by Dick Lehr and Gerard O’Neill. Whitey Bulger (John-ny Depp) is an infamous Irish-American mobster and leader of organized crime in South Boston. After years of carry-ing out criminal acts, he joins the FBI to help stop ruthless killings by another Mafia gang. “Black Mass” features an all-star cast with Depp as Bulger, Benedict Cumber-batch as his brother, William “Billy” Bulg-er, and Kevin Bacon as FBI agent Charles

McGuire.

“Captive”Release Date: Friday, Sept. 18PG-13

Based on the nonfiction novel, “Unlike-ly Angel” by Ashley Smith, “Captive” fol-lows Brian Nichols’ (Oyelowo) 2005 trial for rape charges. During the proceedings, he manages to escape the Fulton Court-house only after murdering the judge and court reporter (Rowan Barnes). While in prison, he shoots Sergeant Hoyt Teasley and later kills Agent David G. Wilhelm at his home. He then captures Ashley Smith (Kate Mara) as a hostage. The film follows Smith’s journey as a hostage with the hope of freedom.

“The Intern”Release Date: Friday, Sept. 25PG-13Starring Robert De Niro and Anne Ha-

thaway, “The Intern” is a comedic display of old meets new. As part of a commu-nity outreach program, founder and CEO Jules Ostin accepts intern Ben Whittaker to be part of the business. Will Whittak-er be able to keep up with the fast-paced fashion industry or will Ostin manage to match his wit and charm?

“Hotel Transylvania 2”Release Date: Sept. 25PG

The second installment of the animated comedy is now here to entertain audiences of all ages. While directed at children and pre-teens, “Hotel Transylvania 2” incorpo-rates simple life lessons to inspire anyone.

The hotel is now open to humans. What will happen to the relationship between monsters and people? Will it remain peace-ful or end in chaos? Audiences will see the relationship unfold through this whimsical and exciting adventure between the mysti-cal and the natural.

“99 Homes”Release Date: Friday Sept. 25R

Dramatic film “99 Homes” will follow single father Dennis Nash (Andrew Gar-field) after the foreclosure of his Orlan-do home. Because he has to care for his children, Nash is out of options. He reluc-tantly joins real estate broker Rick Carver (Michael Shannon) and is forced to use the same corrupt practices on other families that Carver used on him. Nash, cornered into a moral dilemma, has to choose be-tween right and wrong – not just for him-self, but also for the greater good.

“The Walk”Release Date: Friday, Oct. 9PG

French high-wire artist Philippe Petit walked between the Twin Towers of the

World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. A quarter mile above the ground, he per-formed a 45-minute nail-biting routine of dance and aerobatics. With Joseph Gor-don-Levitt as the audacious performer, this biopic centers on his daring perfor-mance with reference to his earlier years.

email: [email protected]

5ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Friday, September 18, 2015

The Spectrum

BRIAN WINDSCHITLSENIOR ARTS EDITOR

Until recently, Alex Schwartz would never have described himself as artistic.

Schwartz, an electrical engineering major, never touched a piano in his life until about three years ago when his mother bought him and his brother a keyboard.

He said it changed his life.“My whole life I thought I wasn’t artistic

and then I started playing piano,” Schwartz said. “Once I started, I found out it was ev-erything I ever wanted.”

Schwartz, founder and president of the Student Association’s Piano Club, has been working hard to create a space for musicians and non-musicians alike to try their hand at piano. He said starting the piano club, which is just a temporary club as of now, has been difficult, from lost club applications to a lack of practice space.

“I love the challenge of building a club from the ground up,” said Austin Cadore, the Piano Club’s treasurer and a biomedical engineering junior. “When I graduate I want to leave my mark. I think that UB doesn’t have enough music-oriented clubs, so I think what I’m doing is really important.”

Schwartz said that SA lost his initial club application, preventing him from becoming a temporary club for an entire semester.

“We were ready to go forward in Decem-ber [2013] and applied in January [2014],” Schwartz said. “We didn’t hear back from SA until March [2014], when they told us they lost our application.”

The Piano Club finally got approved for temporary club status in May 2014, six months after the original application was

filed.SA Vice President Sean Kaczmarek said

the process for a club to even gain just tem-porary status is a long one. He said for clubs to reach temporary status, they must have at least 10 members, a full executive board and a club constitution.

Now, despite having temporary club sta-tus, the Piano Club has another problem to deal with: finding a practice space.

Schwartz said there are many pianos around campus – in the Landmark Room, the Flag Room and the Fargo dorms – but none of the pianos are in very good playing condition.

The pianos in the Landmark Room and Flag Room are at least 20 years old – they were acquired from the Music Department when it was upgrading its performance pi-anos, according to Michael Odojewski, as-sistant director of Student Life, in an email.

Odojewski said the pianos are tuned and repaired, on the recommendation of their professional piano tuner, twice a semester.

The pianos, however, are constant-ly in disrepair from their constant usage, Schwartz said.

“The piano in the Flag Room has keys that don’t even work anymore,” Schwartz said. “Finding a piano that is good enough is the hardest part for us right now.”

Cadore said he’s had his own struggles as the treasurer of the club.

Temporary clubs at UB do not receive a budget – they have to raise club funds themselves until they receive a permanent club status and hold at least two fundraisers per semester. They must also have to fulfill two SA community service requirements, two SA participation events and hold two

club meetings.Cadore has been planning events for the

club since last May to raise funds.He held a movie night last semester and

is planning another one on Sept. 25 – he is also planning a piano concert in October.

Nathan Dawson, a biomedical engineer-ing freshman, is not apart of the piano club, but often studies in the Flag Room and hears the pianists playing.

“When I visited Geneseo, there were pia-nos everywhere you looked,” Dawson said. “They were painted and artsy and anyone could play them. I wish UB had something like that – it gives people an opportunity to learn and play whenever they want.”

Charles Smith, an associate professor of music theory, said the Music Department used to have two practice rooms available to anyone who wanted to come in and play the pianos.

But irresponsible students regularly de-stroyed the pianos and the repair costs were not worth the communal piano rooms, he

said.Schwartz is trying to bring back a com-

munity of musicians who care about the music and the instruments they use.

“My goal is to foster a community of mu-sicians – to give students who have wanted to play piano their whole life but may have not had a chance to,” Schwartz said. “The club is for anyone and everyone, and that’s all I want it to be.”

email: [email protected]

Piano Club trying to build ‘from ground up’Temporary SA club finally finding footing at UB

BRIAN WINDSCHITL, THE SPECTRUM

Alex Schwartz, the founder and president of UB’s temporary Piano

Club, shows off his skills on the Flag Room piano, which was donated

to the Student Union over 20 years ago.

On the queueUpcoming films to be released at the end of the month

COURTESY OF WAVERLY FILMS

“The Intern,” featuring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, is just

one of several films - comedic and poignant - set to be released

at the end of September.

Page 6: The Spectrum Vol. 65 No. 8

SUNY Buffalo State tuition costs around $7,347 per year, according to its website.

The possibility of having debt doesn’t phase some students.

Justin Hollins, a sophomore business ma-jor, isn’t concerned about student loans. Hollins said his parents pay for his entire tuition, so student loans are not burden for him at all.

“We recognize that student debt is an im-portant issue for many of our students, and we are always working to improve the ways in which we assist students and their fami-lies with financial planning,” Gottardy said.

One innovative step UB has taken is of-fering the Finish in Four program, which provides students with the support they need to graduate in four years, which can

help limit debt, Gottardy said. The Finish in Four program, which

launched in 2012 and is being adopted by SUNY, provides students with enhanced support throughout their entire undergrad-uate career. UB’s four-year graduation rate has increased from 39 percent in 2007 to 52.6 percent in 2015, which exceeds the na-tional average of 36 percent.

Gottardy said UB also offers competi-tive need-based and merit-based aid to stu-dents, awarding $3.5 million annually in un-dergraduate merit scholarships.

This information is according to The Buffalo News.

email: [email protected]

The thought of helping future generations of UB students to share the opportunity I was given through my planned gift was im-portant.”

Gross said the bequest to the program and the Athletic Directors Discretionary Fund would go toward helping students and student-athletes. The bequest was given to White and the program for financial flex-ibility. The bequest will be used in various areas, including scholarships, facilities, en-hancements and programmatic support.

Rubin, a 1974 graduate of UB, graduat-ed with a BA in anthropology and current-ly has a successful chiropractic orthopedist firm in Hampton, Virginia. During his time at Buffalo, Rubin spent time as a manager, trainer and assistant coach for the hockey

program. The men’s ice hockey team, which is cur-

rently just a club sport and not affiliated with UB Athletics, is just one of the pro-grams that Rubin would like to see some of money go to, but understands if it goes to others.

“I would absolutely like to see varsity hockey return to the University at Buffalo,” Rubin said. “I think it would create an im-mediate tie between the university and the greater Buffalo area. Additionally the geo-graphical location of Buffalo seems to be a perfect fit to develop a national power. However, in my conversations with [Danny] White, we both agreed that until such time that the university sponsors a varsity pro-gram the funds will be best spent at the dis-

cretion of the AD.”One of the main reasons Rubin decided

to grant a gift to UB Athletics was due to the direction that White has taken the pro-gram. In White’s tenure, the Bulls experi-enced plenty of ups and downs, but also reached unexpected and unprecedented highs, including NCAA Tournament bids for men’s basketball, women’s soccer and men’s tennis.

“The Athletic Department has made great strides under the leadership of Dan-ny White,” Rubin said. “The move to the New York Bulls has significantly increased national exposure. Living out of state, I can tell you that people living outside of Buffalo are much more aware of our program over the last few years.”

Ultimately, Rubin would like to see his be-quest be the start of former students donat-ing back to the University.

“Hopefully I will inspire other former let-ter winners to consider the UB Athletic De-partment in their estate planning,” Rubin said. “Finally competitive athletics benefits all aspects of a university, increasing student applications, national recognition for grants and attracting faculty and most importantly school spirit.”

Jordan Grossman contributed to the reporting story

email: [email protected]

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The Spectrum

UB Athletics receives $1.5 million bequest from alumnusCONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

STAYING AFLOAT IN A SEA OF DEBT

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

“If you’re walking and see the sign, the first thing you think is, ‘Wow, not our uni-versity,’” Golbourne said.

BSU held a special open meeting for the general student body Wednesday in place of its regularly scheduled meeting. The meeting was designed to give students an opportunity to discuss the signs.

Students voiced their outrage throughout the meeting. Powell, whose art class joined her in attendance at the meeting, stood up and admitted to hanging the signs.

As Powell spoke, some students left the meeting crying and one slammed a door as he walked out.

“I apologize for hurting people, but I won’t apologize for what I did,” Powell said to the group.

Powell said she was trying to reflect her own personal experiences with racism with the art project. She said she has been called derogatory racist terms and dealt with po-lice intimidation.

Most students were shocked that Pow-ell is black herself and hung the signs that evoked segregation and that she believed the signs were “OK” because it was art.

“The first thing you do when planning something like this is seeing if it’s ethi-cal or not and that was where the line was crossed,” said a student at the meeting.

Eric Turman, a UB graduate, went to the BSU meeting not knowing what the topic of discussion was.

“After I got a gist of what happened, no one understood the problem,” Tur-man said. “Everyone attacked [Powell] for awakening us and acknowledging the fact that white people didn’t care about the signs and we are still hurt.”

Chelsea Whitney, a freshman biomed-ical sciences major, said she was appalled the signs would be hung in 2015. Whitney,

who is white, said no matter Powell’s inten-tion, there was no excuse for the signs to be put up.

“Even white students were offended,” Whitney said.

Some students were also upset they didn’t receive an alert from the university.

“They sent out an alert about a possi-ble gunman on campus so I don’t know why police couldn’t send out an alert about this,” said one student at the meeting. “We didn’t know it was an art project, it could’ve been an act of terrorism.”

A UB Alert was sent out Monday after a student reported seeing a man drop what looked like a gun in the Student Union. The suspect picked up the could-be gun and exited the building with it, according to the report. No suspect matching the de-scription was found.

Powell confirmed she didn’t ask for per-mission from UB officials before posting the signs.

Before Wednesday’s meeting ended, Je-fry Taveras, a junior psychology major, had some final words.

“As an artist, I respect you as an artist,” Taveras said regarding Powell. “But you should know racism isn’t art, it’s a reality and traumatizing.”

BSU e-board members said the discus-sion about the signs would go on for a few days. Members have taken to social media with the hashtag #WeWantAnswers, hop-ing for a response from administration.

email: [email protected]

Art student admits to hanging ‘White Only’ and ‘Black Only’ signs on campus

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Page 7: The Spectrum Vol. 65 No. 8

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Friday, September 18, 2015The Spectrum

Page 8: The Spectrum Vol. 65 No. 8

QUENTIN HAYNES SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR

The Buffalo football team has a lot to feel good about.

The Bulls routed Football Champion-ship Subdivision (FCS) team Albany (0-2) in Week One before suffering just a 13-point loss game against Penn State (1-1) in Happy Valley last week.

But to Buffalo, the only number that mat-ters is the ‘1’ in its loss column.

The Bulls (1-1) now turn to this Saturday’s game, a road trip to Boca Raton, Florida to face Florida Atlantic University. Against the Owls (0-2), the Bulls will look to get back

over .500 before coming back home to UB Stadium and closer to conference play.

“We’re excited to get back on the prac-tice field this week,” said head coach Lance Leipold. “I thought we took a very good step against Penn State, but it wasn’t enough. Need to clean up on some penal-ties, clean up on some things in the special teams department.”

Heading into Saturday’s game, Florida Atlantic is coming off a 44-20 loss to Miami Florida (2-0). The Owl’s quarterback situa-tion is in flux as both starting quarterback Jaquez Johnson and backup Jason Driskel have seen time in the first two games. John-son is listed as “questionable” for Saturday’s

matchup. Leipold said Johnson is a bit bigger and

can run the ball more, while Driskel, a red-shirt freshman, did a good job filling it and can run the speed opition. Leipold said the Owl’s quarterback situation wouldn’t phase the Bulls’ week of practice.

“For us, it’s a slight change, but it’s worth the extra time of preparation for both,” Leipold said.

Last week, the Bulls’ offense stagnated early and finished with 274 total yards of offense. Senior quarterback Joe Licata fin-ished with 205 passing yards and two pass-ing touchdowns on 24-of-36 passing. Senior running back Anthone Taylor finished with 93 rushing yards on 18 carries.

One reason for the Bulls’ offensive strug-gles was the play of the offensive line, a unit that fell under scrutiny during the offseason for its inexperience. Penn State’s defensive line created pressure – highlighted by the Nittany Lions’ six sacks – and as a result, the Bulls were forced into several long-yardage plays and their offensive rhythm was killed.

On the other side of line, the Bulls failed to muster up the same pressure with their defen-sive line. Buffalo finished with zero sacks and just three tackles for losses. The lines, on both sides of the ball, have been a “disappoint-ment” to Leipold and he expects change.

“There are some things we need to do to improve on the line, as some of the things we did against Penn State forced us into

long-yardage situations and forced us to play for behind the entire game,” Leipold said.

Along with Bulls’ offensive woes, the run defense will have to improve. The Bulls al-lowed 4.0 rushing yards per carry against Albany and 200 rushing yards against Penn State.

Junior defensive tackle Brandon Craw-ford, healing from a hamstring injury, said the defense is still adjusting but made im-portant strides against Penn State.

“We’re very excited about moving for-ward,” Crawford said. “We noticed and we saw in that game that we are heading in the right direction. After watching the film, we saw some great things we can do as a de-fense. Any mistakes we made, we’re just go-ing to have to clean them up this week as we prepare for FAU.”

Crawford is a part of a defense that is in the midst of a transition. Not only are the Bulls still adjusting to the 4-3 defense, but they’re also continuing to see which players can help them moving forward. In the first two games, 10 defensive linemen, eight linebackers and eight defensive backs have seen the field in an effort to find one consistent unit.

Leipold mentioned he was “pleased” with the improvement by the defense and ex-pects them to make strides as it heads deep-er into the regular season.

With just two games left before Mid-Amer-ican Conference play, Leipold expressed be-ing “comfortable” with the remaining non-conference schedule and how this team mea-sures up against their opponents.

“I think the next two weeks before con-ference play is the way [Athletic Director] Danny White is scheduled it to be and one that I’m comfortable at,” Leipold said. “It’s a good measuring stick for us as we head into conference play.”

Kickoff for game is set for 3:30 p.m.

email: [email protected]

QUENTIN HAYNES SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR

After receiving the second-largest dona-tion in school history for the new down-town medical campus Monday, UB received another historic commitment on Wednes-day: a record $1.5 million toward its athlet-ic program.

UB Athletics received a $1.5 million be-quest commitment from Buffalo alumnus Dr. Burt H. Rubin. The bequest is the larg-est planned gift received in the athletic pro-gram’s history.

“We are incredibly grateful to Burt for his exemplary leadership,” said Assistant Ath-letic Director for Development Eric Gross in email. “Burt has stipulated that this gift, once realized, will go into the Athletic Di-rectors Discretionary Fund.”

A bequest is a set amount of money promised to an organization that can be

used over a certain amount of years. The bequest granted does not specify how long the donor has to pay out the full commit-ment, but it can extend past an administra-tor’s tenure if they leave the program.

Rubin’s bequest could go far in the de-velopment of the program, including an in-door field house. In 2014, UB Athletics re-vealed a plan to create an indoor field house on campus and even secured $13 million of the necessary $18 million needed to build the facility, according to Buffalo Business First. Buffalo remains the only program in the Mid-American Conference without a func-tional field house for the program.

This is the second bequest that the Uni-versity has received for the athletic depart-ment in the last six weeks. The program re-ceived an undisclosed donation in August that led to naming UB Stadium’s new pre-mium seating club the Edmond J. Gicewicz Club, in tribute to the former professor and

a current program booster. “Giving back was important to me,” Ru-

bin said in an email. “Not only did I receive my education but was afforded the oppor-tunity to become involved in the intercolle-giate family at UB.

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8 SPORTSFriday, September 18, 2015The Spectrum

Buffalo: I worry about Florida Atlantic’s speed on both

sides of the ball, but the Bulls have the offense to exploit a

questionable Florida Atlantic defense.

9:37 AM - 16 Sep 2015

PREDICTIONS: BUFFALO(+1) VS. FLORIDA ATLANTIC

After loss in Happy Valley, Bulls look to get back on track against Florida Atlantic Owls

Owl city

COURTESY OF

JC RIDLEY, FAU ATHLETICS

Florida tight end Nate Terry celebrates with the football in front of his Florida Atlantic home crowd. Buffalo will play the Owls on Saturday in each team’s third matchup of the season.

UB Athletics receives $1.5 million bequest from alumnusDonation is the largest in program history, donor

would like to see a varsity hockey program

ANGELA BARCA, THE SPECTRUM

Students stand in the grandstands during Buffalo’s home opener against

Albany. Dr. Burt Rubin donated a $1.5 million bequest to UB Athletics

earlier in the week.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Tom Dinki@tomdinki

Jordan Grossman@jordanmgrossman

Quentin Haynes@Haynes_Spectrum

Buffalo: They held PSU to 13 point through 3 quarters.

FAU gave up 40+ points in two games. High scoring, but

Buffalo will come out on top.

10:03 AM - 16 Sep 2015

Buffalo: Buffalo historically doesn’t play well on the road,

but I think they get it done in a high-scoring game so it

can be 2-2 after loss to Nevada.

8::24 AM - 16 Sep 2015