The Spectrum Volume 62 Issue 49

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the Independent Student Publication of the University at Buffalo, Since 1950

The S pectrum ubspectrum.com

Volume 62 No. 49

Friday, February 8, 2013

UB asks for $50 million in state funding

Harlem shakes back onto the stage

Story on page 5

Story on page 4

The first rule of UB Fit Club: you talk about UB Fit Club Determination, sweat lead on-campus exercise revolution to promote healthy living LYZI WHITE Life Editor While he was recovering from an emergency appendectomy, Joseph Steet gained 70 pounds from the fall of 2010 to the end of the year. With a diet mainly consisting of Taco Bell, Four Loko and mozzarella sticks, Steet weighed 210 pounds. Two years later, he weighs 165 pounds. Steet’s physical transformation started with UB Fit Club. One morning, he woke up to an email from Randy Thompson, the founder of UB Fit Club, informing him weigh-ins and baseline tests were that very afternoon. Steet then remembered walking through the Student Union the afternoon before, “fairly inebriated,” and signing up for UB Fit Club’s Biggest Loser competition. Despite joining accidently, Steet went on to win the contest by losing the most weight. UB Fit Club, a Student Association club that gained permanent status this year, strives to push students to find their inner athlete. The club received temporary status in 2010 and has been providing free workout classes for students ever since. The club promotes healthy lifestyles through conditioning classes, a CrossFit-style cornerstone and nutrition workshops. The classes aren’t easy, which is something Steet realized quickly in his first class. He ran up 24 flights of stairs and was exhausted. That was only the warm-up. “We promise you that by the end [of a conditioning class], you will be on your ass, staring up into the ceiling in a puddle of your own sweat, thinking: ‘What the hell just happened to me?’” said Thompson, a senior exercise science major. “And then you’ll come back for more.” Steet agreed. After his first class, he couldn’t stop complaining about the difficulty of the class – but he also couldn’t wait for the next one.

Nick Fischetti /// The Spectrum

UB Fit Club performs burpees (above) as part of conditioning classes, hosts nutrition workshops and gives a welcoming atmosphere to motivate members into living an overall healthier lifestyle.

A typical session contains some basic elements – such as warm-ups, dynamic stretching, body weight exercises and cardio circuits – but no two workouts are the same, according to Shauna Murphy, a sophomore exercise science major and the UB Fit Club president. Whether members are doing “underovers” (jump over another person, who is in a push-up position, then crawl underneath them) or “burpees” (standing, drop to a squat, extend into plank position, back to squat, then stand again), each class helps them become better than the day before, Murphy said. Although they are not certified trainers, Murphy and sophomore exercise science major Michael Reinhardt provide difficult workouts that are designed to “kick your butt but not kill you,” according to Murphy.

Murphy believes students might be intimidated by the club; they might believe the classes contain elite individuals working out and some could be nervous to join. But she stresses no matter your skill level, UB Fit Club is for you. The trainers excel at specific tailoring for each member, Murphy said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re an MMA fighter, a lacrosse player, a weekend warrior or haven’t exercised in years,” Thompson said. “You’re all able to work out together and, by the end of the day, you’re all going to be on the floor.” When someone is struggling, members motivate each other to keep going. Steet believes UB Fit is a better workout than going to the gym, largely because of its encouraging environment.

UB 2020 brings dissatisfaction among some SA members SAM FERNANDO Asst. News Editor Student Association President Travis Nemmer doesn’t see much of a plan in UB 2020. On Tuesday night, Provost Charles Zukoski held an open forum for students, mainly SA senators and e-board members. The session allowed students to share their input on the future plans of UB 2020 – UB’s $5 billion renovation plan. The plan is partially funded by annual tuition hikes that started this year and will equate to $100 million over a total of five years. The provost asked for student opinions to help shape what he called “Realizing UB 2020” – a written plan on how to achieve the goals of UB 2020. “The document has ‘draft’ stamped on it because it is now open for discussion,” Zukoski said. “We are looking for feedback. We are looking for questions. Is it good, complete or incomplete?” Nemmer had a response. “I don’t know,” Nemmer said. “There is nothing for me to influence because there is no plan.” The document sets out four goals: make UB a national leader in education, research and innovation; make students effective leaders for tomorrow; strengthen UB’s engagement in the local community and become a top-tier Association of American Universities public research university.

In the two years Murphy has been a part of UB Fit, she has not heard one judgmental comment from anyone. The participants are there to push themselves to be better; the encouragement is contagious. For the people who have been discouraged from exercising because of people who told them they couldn’t do it, UB Fit Club helps its members to “shut those people up,” said Courtney Hanusch, a junior exercise science major and the club’s vice president. If someone is doing a movement incorrectly, the trainers will help. If a movement might be too hard for someone, the trainers will modify it. The UB Fit Club did not start out the same as it functions today. The club’s first classes were martial arts conditioning classes for Combined Martial Arts Club (CMAC) taught by Thompson and senior media studies major Ryan Monolopolus. Soon, Thompson began teaching the class by himself. He kept much of the martial-arts style movements – punching, kicking, kneeing – and the beginning stages of UB Fit Club formed. Thompson eventually decided on a CrossFit style for the class because it was tough but required no equipment. He stumbled upon CrossFit during his freshman year in his search to get in shape after he joined UB’s boxing club. “I figured out I liked lifting heavy weights and crazy workouts better than getting punched in the face,” Thompson said. The club has grown from just hosting conditioning classes. UB Fit Club also deals with nutrition. The club holds workshops, in which the members come together and learn easy, inexpensive healthy recipes – such as chicken with sautéed zucchini and onions. Soon, Murphy hopes to showcase a burger bar with beef, turkey and other burgers along with non-traditional condiments instead of ketchup and mustard. Continued on page 5

Pending gay membership in Boy Scouts draws campus response TAYLOR BRUNDAGE Staff Writer

photo illustration by haider alidina

UB Provost Charles Zukoski (left) gave a presentation on “Realizing UB 2020” to students, mainly SA senators and e-board members, on Tuesday night. Some SA members, like President Travis Nemmer (right) are unhappy with UB’s drafted plans.

But the document is just “fluff,” according to David Murphy-Longhini, a junior business finance, human relations and management information systems major and SA webmaster. “What if you I told you ‘I am going to make you the most attractive man on the planet, the most wealthy, with girls all over you?”’ Murphy-Longhini asked. “What do you think about that? Of course you are going to say all that is cool. They didn’t seem to have a plan, an objective or a focus.” When asked to respond to the negativity his presentation received, Zukoski said in an email, “I encourage students to read the narrative and ask questions if it is not clear to them.”

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Zukoski added, “Realizing UB 2020 is meant to be ambitious. The challenges facing higher education are large and complex and can’t be addressed with simple solutions.” Murphy-Longhini, like Nemmer, said the document and presentation seemed disconnected – a disconnect mirrored in the relationship between the administration and its students, he added. Dan Ovadia, a senior in the School of Management and the student representative for the University Council, felt the provost did a good job of articulating the overall direction of Realizing UB 2020. Ovadia also stressed student engagement is important and “the plan doesn’t end Continued on page 6

When Gregory Duckworth was 13 years old, he wanted to become an Eagle Scout. During the process, Walter Andrews, his Boy Scout troop 121 leader, told him if he didn’t believe in God, he would not be allowed to join. Andrews told Duckworth to lie if he wasn’t religious. On Wednesday, Feb. 6, the Boy Scouts’ executive board was set to meet and vote on a proposal that would allow troop leaders of each area to set up their own policies. It was postponed until May because of the “complexity of the issue,” according to the committee. If the vote passes, the troop leaders will be granted the authority to choose if openly gay men or lesbians would, for the first time in history, can join the Boy Scouts. “I don’t know why you should even have to tell the Boy Scouts your sexuality,” said Duckworth, a senior English major. “I don’t think that homosexuals are these sex-crazed individuals who will impose their sexuality on unwilling parties. I mean, it’s not like they’re going to rape you just because you’re sleeping in a tent with them.” The machismo, close-mindedness, and pseudo-military aspects of the Boy Scouts are what made his experience negative, according to Duckworth. Continued on page 6

Opinion 3 Life, Arts & Entertainment 4, 5 Classifieds & Daily Delights 7

Sports 8


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