The Spectrum Volume 60 Issue 51

photo by Linda Davidson /// Washington Post

The Independent Student Publication of the University at Buffalo WEEKEND EDITION v February 11, 2011 Vol. 60 No. 51 v ubspectrum.com

Mubarak Addresses Nation, UB Reacts LAUREN NOSTROSenior News Editor Worldwide media sources anticipated that embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak would step down from his post Thursday evening. Mubarak put the speculations to rest as he refused to step down from his post or leave the country.

According to reports from Al Jazeera English, the Arabic-language news network, Mubarak refused to “bow to foreign pressure” in his televised address to Egypt on Thursday evening.

However, he announced that he was delegating “some authorities” to Omar Suleiman, the new vice-president and a close confidante of Mubarak’s.

Source: buffalowinterfest.com

Powder Keg Festival to be Held Downtown Downtown Buffalo will become a winter wonderland this weekend with the second annual Buffalo Powder Keg Festival, which begins on Friday and runs through Sunday.

After the huge success of the Pond Hockey Tournament, which began in 2008, urban activists Newell Nussbaumer and Jeff Empric had realized the city needed to embrace the cold and snowy months. In 2009, the Powder Keg Festival had become a reality. The inaugural event created a sensation that had residents begging for another year of winter fun.

“The growth in the popularity of the annual Labatt Blue Pond Hockey tournament, along with the Powder Keg Winter Fest, proves that Buffalo truly is an all-season city,” said Mayor Byron W. Brown. “As with last year, we expect hundreds of participants and thousands of spectators for the pond hockey tournament and thousands more attending the winterfest activities, so expect to see a very lively and fun-filled Buffalo waterfront this coming weekend.”

Nussbaumer and Empric are not experienced event planners, and this year they sought to find someone who could expand the event’s potential. Drew Cerza, creator of the Buffalo Wing Festival, is familiar with planning large-scale events and took over the organization of this year’s festival.

“We haven’t had a winterfest [in Buffalo] for years,” Cerza said. “We get a bad rep for this season. Why not celebrate what winter offers?”

The festival is expanding its reach this year, as it is taking over the waterfront, HSBC Plaza, and the area stretching from Coca-Cola Field along Seneca Street to Pearl Street Grill and Brewery. “[The Powder Keg Festival] is one big event of winter fun,” Cerza said. “It creates civic pride and allows people to get out of the house and enjoy winter.”

The celebration kicks off Friday night at 5 p.m. with the Powder Keg “Ice Breaker” party featuring a trivia contest and live music by Eric Crittenden

INSIDE NEWS :: 2 OPINION :: 3

and Friends, who will be followed by Suckerpunch. A giant 200-by-66-foot pavilion, sponsored by Labatt, will keep guests warm during the night of entertainment.

Saturday includes events for all ages.

Ice sculpture, blacksmith, and woodcarving demonstrations will highlight the Seneca Street strip. A sculpture park will allow children to get creative with food coloring, buckets, and snow.

At 10 a.m. on Saturday, the American Lung Association is hosting “Climb for Air,” a footrace to the top of HSBC Center. For their effort, participants will collect pledges to benefit the association.

At noon on Saturday, Aqueous, a band partially comprised of UB students, will be performing. They’re set to play until 3 p.m.

Additionally, “Buffalo’s Winter Beach Party” kicks off in the afternoon and extends into the evening, bringing summer to the snowy streets of downtown. The Boys of Summer, a local act known for warming up the summer months, will perform and heat up the chilly night.

Sunday will feature a Sabres pregame party, reminiscent of the favorite “Party in the Plaza” usually thrown during playoff runs. Fans will be able to watch the Sabres battle the New York Islanders on the big screen, while musical acts take to the stage in the heated pavilion.

Tubing off of the Seneca Street Skyway exit will return this year by popular demand. Rotary Rink will also be open throughout the weekend, offering free skating to festival attendees. Horse-drawn sleigh rides taking guests for a picturesque trip down Pearl Street will be offered for $5. Historic hikes offered by the Buffalo Hiking Group will take guests through many of the Queen City’s landmarks.

The winterfest wouldn’t be complete without a celebration of local culture. Food vendors will be catering the weekend with local favorite foods. Pearl Street Grill and Brewery will offer pancake breakfasts Satur-

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WEATHER FRI

REBECCA BRATEKStaff Writer

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Hundreds of thousands of Egyptian civilians gathered at Tahir Square in Cairo, and Cario and other major cities erupted in angry chants against Mubarak, according to Al Jazeera.

Previous to his announcement, the military announced on state television that its Supreme Council was in permanent session, which suggested that the military was taking control. Civilians that gathered in Cairo were told by the top general that “all of their demands would be satisfied,” which protestors believed meant the end of Mubarak’s nearly 30-year authoritarian rule, according to the Associated Press.

Suleiman spoke to Egypt in a televised address shortly after Mubarak, where he called on protestors to “go back home and go back to work” and stated that

New UBLearns Causes Confusion Do not attempt to adjust your screens; this is how the new UBLearns really looks.

Students were in for a surprise when they signed on to their UBLearns accounts for the first time this semester- the entire format of the program had been changed. It looks different, the links are different, and the content is different. Upgraded on Jan. 8, UBLearns version 9.1 hopes to make use of the program easier for students.

The only problem was, students were not exactly informed of this change and how the new format would be set up. Many students did not go out of their way to look up the features of the new program, and were unfamiliar with the new system when they attempted to use it this semester.

“I did not know that there was going to be a new version [of UBLearns],” said Cassandra Warsaw, a freshman pharmacy major. “I could not find the readings that my professor assigned for my class…my [other] professor had trouble posting homework.”

RUN FOR EDITOR IN CHIEF OF THE SPECTRUM

Protests began against Mubarak’s regime on Jan. 25. Members of the UB community have weighed in on the demonstrations, Mubarak, and the future of Egypt’s government.

David Westbrook, a Floyd H. & Hilda L. Hurst Faculty Scholar and professor in the School of Law, supports the demonstrations but also hopes for peace and a constitutional change in Egypt.

“I think Hosni Mubarak should leave. Thirty years is a long time to exercise power. Too long,” Westbrook said in an e-mail.

“Moreover, he has lost most of whatever authority he once enjoyed. Finally, transitions are inevitable. One of the key problems with authoritarian regimes is that they do not manage transitions well.”

In terms of the reaction of the U.S. to the demonstrations, Westbrook believes that the Obama administration has been “understandably cautious.”

“There are real dangers here.

The country could slide into chaos, there could be a real hardening of attitudes toward minorities and Israel and the United States, and so forth,” Westbrook said. “But there are also real opportunities to extend democracy and human rights, which I be-

Many professors use UBLearns as a primary form of communication between themselves and their students, so a knowledge regarding how to use the website is imperative.

HANNAH BARNESStaff Writer

e-mail ajwiktor@buffalo.edu

he had been “delegated by the president the responsibilities to safeguard the stability of Egypt, to safeguard its…assets…to restore peace and security to the Egyptian public, and to restore the normal way of life,” according to Al Jazeera.

The UBLearns help website created a page detailing a few features of the new program and ways to help students familiarize themselves with the new look of UBLearns. The site stated that the new format should help faculty to more easily organize their courses and connect with their students, and that students will be better informed of their assignments and due dates with the new dashboard. The new version also added new features for instructors that allow them to more easily manage their courses.

Version 9.1 introduces a new drag and drop function to improve organization, a relocation of the Control Panel to a side menu, and a customizable Home Page. The UBLearns support team declined to comment on the program’s new format.

The school is doing its part to help students and staff to become familiar with the program so they will be able to effectively use it in the future. A free workshop called UBLearns: What’s New was held on Feb. 4 for students

ARTS BUFFALO WATERFRONT PAGE 5

lieve the administration also recognizes. A fundamentally more democratic and simply happier Egypt is in the region’s interest, and so in the interest of the United States.”

Westbrook maintains that he is optimistic.

Tarek Ragab, a member of the Buffalo Chapter of the Egyptian Student Association in North America, hopes to see a more democratic Egypt as well but argues that Mubarak is not the only problem.

“Mubarak is only the face of the current regime. The whole regime must go now,” Ragab said in an e-mail. “If that happens, I think there is no problem for Mubarak to stay [until] September, but he doesn’t want to sacrifice his corrupted regime. That’s why everyone thinks that he should leave too.”

In terms of the future of Egypt’s government, Ragab hopes to see an increase in equality and freedom. “[New laws should] allow for more freedom of speech, freedom of academic and teaching institutions, allow for free and fair elections, and allow for more transparency. That is what the new government can do other than major constitutional changes that have to go through the parliament,” said Ragab, who is also a joint research scientist in the electronic packaging laboratory in the Department of Civil Engineering. g

E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com

and faculty to introduce them to the new features of version 9.1.

“We taught [students and faculty] about the new features, the change of interface, and the terminology of the new version,” said Christopher Wells, a student assistant at the Teaching and Learning Center. “The new version is exciting to look at, easy to navigate, and there is more you can do with it. There is now a homepage, a new module, and easier access to course content.”

As for the problems that have been reported, Wells says that many can be explained by the fact that “instructors sometimes forgot to set items as available to students,” so some instructors saw the document as being available on the site when, in fact, the students were not able to access it. There have also been some browser-based issues.

Some browsers, such as Internet Explorer, develop problems when using UBLearns.

Adjustment is required for any kind of change, and the situation with UBLearns is no exception. With continued use and upgrades, the new version of UBLearns seems like something UB simply has to learn. g E-mail: features@ubspectrum.com

PHOTO PAGE PAGE 7

NEWS

Local Concert Celebrates Buffalo Waterfront Development REBECCA BRATEKStaff Writer

News Briefs 2/11

Brazil Pledges To Reduce Spending The Brazilian government has announced its plans to cut spending by 50 billion reais, the equivalent of nearly $30 billion. Officials have stated the cuts are needed to curb inflation and prevent the economy from overheating.

Brazil has Latin America’s largest economy, which grew by 7 percent last year. It is expected to increase another 5 percent by the end of this year. Inflation was at nearly 6 percent last year and is not predicted to change significantly.

In addition to the spending cuts, the government has implemented other steps in keeping inflation in check.

Finance Minister Guido Mantega said all stimulus packages introduced since the onset of the global financial crisis would be removed. Social spending and infrastructure projects will be left untouched.

The central bank also raised its interest rates from 10.75 percent to 11.25 percent to further minimize inflation.

These moves have been made just a month after new President Dilma Rousseff took office. She has been applauded for taking these economic measures but some analysts maintain that even more should have been done. g

Highest Terror Threat Since 9/11 U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has announced that the threat of a terrorist attack is at its highest state since 9/11. She has stated that the possible terrorism that the U.S. faces has evolved in past years.

The biggest threat against the U.S. is terrorist groups that are already established inside the country. State and local law enforcement are going to be more crucial than ever in combating terror, and the federal government should be supportive of the measures that each community takes, Napolitano stated in her testimony to the Homeland Security Committee.

In recent years, terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda have increased efforts in recruiting individuals in the U.S. Anwar al-Awlaki, a U.S.-born Muslim cleric, has been labeled “a specially designed global terrorist,” according to U.S. officials. He has been known to spread Islamic militant propaganda over the Internet while he is believed to be hiding in Yemen.

Since 2009, more than 60 U.S. citizens have been charged or convicted of terrorist acts or plots. Currently a nationwide initiative is in place called “If you see something, say something,” which encourages citizens to report any suspicious activity. g

Chancellor Addresses SUNY Future This week SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher addressed multiple issues concerning the direction the SUNY system could take in the future. One of her main points was that the system is strong but not invincible.

In a joint Assembly and Senate fiscal hearing, Zimpher addressed the threats the system faces if Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s budget cuts are implemented. The SUNY system has already seen increased class size, decreased class offerings and more reliance on adjunct professors which all make it difficult for students to graduate on time. With Cuomo’s proposed cuts, the quality of education could decline even further.

Zimpher and other SUNY officials have maintained that a tuition hike is necessary to make up for lost state aid. Zimpher has proposed a five-year tuition increase plan with annual raises to make the changes more manageable.

The increased tuition is also critical to the UB2020 plan that needs the additional money to carry out the proposed development of a downtown Buffalo campus. g

The City of Good Neighbors has long been in debate over how to develop the valuable waterfront district into an area that promotes a center of green economic and cultural growth. On Friday, local community activist groups will join together to get the public involved in the cause.

Transform, Love, Connect: Buffalo; Buffalo First!; and the Canal Side Community Alliance will join together to promote waterfront development through a free concert and art display, entitled “Buffalo Harbors: A Concert for Our Waterfront,” which begins at 8 p.m.

Andrew Stanek, producer of the event and leader of Transform, Love, Connect: Buffalo, is excited to get the community talking about the waterfront in new ways.

“Buffalo Harbors is meant to help people envision the work being done at the Canal Side as a public space that will thrive with their inclusion and attendance,” Stanek said. “The atmosphere will be one of advocacy and optimism, not of tearing down ideas or the progress that has so far moved the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp. along its plans.”

Another big supporter of the advocacy of the waterfront development is Buffalo First!, a not-for-profit organization that is working to build a sustainable and equitable living economy in Western New York by educating local businesses and consumers about the benefits of supporting the local community.

Buffalo First! is working with the Canal Side Community Alliance to help bring national businesses to the waterfront and make local businesses the focal point of the development.

“We are here to build a waterfront we can all be proud of – this goal can be accomplished with local minds and local businesses,” said Sarah Bishop, executive director of Buffalo First!

The concert Friday night will focus on these ideals while celebrating local culture. Stanek came up with the idea of a concert to promote awareness.

Local musicians will take the stage in support of waterfront development. Stu Fuchs (of local act Babik), On Guard, Mel Latimer, A Relative Term, and Breckenwood are all scheduled to perform throughout the evening.

The night will offer more than just good music. Members of the Canal Side Alliance will deliver a few short speeches about the negotiation of a community benefits agreement, which would ensure quality jobs, green design standards, and operations while providing a

Continued from Page 1 day and Sunday, while Chef’s Restaurant will be hosting pasta dinners. Sunday also brings the Mark Twain Chili cook-off, inspired by the Buffalo-based film, Bruce Almighty.

Guests 21 and up will also be able to enjoy draft beer tastings on Sunday afternoon with the purchase of a $25 pre-sale ticket or $30 at the door.

The Powder Keg Festival is also joining forces this year with the Labatt Pond Hockey Tournament, which takes place at Erie Basin Marina, and the Buffalo Auto Show, held at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center.

Russell’s Steaks, Chops, and More restaurant is also sponsoring this year’s event. Owner Russ Salvatore is serving as honorary chairman of the festival. Partial proceeds from the event will benefit the Buffalo Police Athletic League and Alzheimer’s of Western New York.

For more information on the Powder Keg Festival and a complete listing of the weekend’s events, visit http:// buffalowinterfest.com. g

E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com 2

NEWS FRIday, FEBRuary 11, 2011 v THE SPECTRUM

voice for local businesses in the development of the waterfront.

Attendees will be provided with a pamphlet outlining the history of the harbor development, the major local players in the cause, and where more information can be found.

Guests also will have the chance to participate in a community art project in the form of a do-it-yourself poster collage entitled “The Infinite Canal.” Visitors will be able to take cutouts of waterfront property and write down and design what ideas they have for future developments.

This project, along with the full video recording of the event, will be brought together with insights of local professionals to create a mini-documentary, “Buffalo Harbors: A History of Waterfront Development.”

Caz Café will provide refreshments throughout the evening, along with Liquid Energy Juice Café. Flying Bison Brewery, Dolci Bakery, and Merge restaurant have also generously donated refreshments, appetizers and desserts.

supporting all efforts that take into account Buffalo and its unique character,” Bishop said. “We want people to know and enjoy Buffalo, New York – not Anyplace, New York.”

The celebration kicks off Friday night at 8 p.m. at The Game Room, located at 700 Main St. above The Vault Art Gallery.

The event is free and open to all ages.

Volunteers will be present throughout the night, accepting donations that will directly go to continuing Canal Side development efforts.

“You can do your homework, look up the transparent plans, and interviews already done on the subject,” Stanek said. “The benefit of this event is to make that sort of thing less cumbersome, to throw it all into a cozy little package, and hope it still inspires some thought.” g

E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com

“[We’re] committed to maintaining and

Today in UB History – Feb. 11, 2004 Richer than stick figures: UB student to appear on Millionaire RACHEL BELLAVIAStaff Writer Paul Hebert stared into the eyes of Meredith Viera, awaiting a response as 600 faces and intense spotlights focused in on them.

“Is that your final answer?” Vieira said.

Viera, host of the show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, rambled off a series of questions while Paul Hebert, a sophomore English major at UB, sat in the hot seat.

“It’s all so surreal when you’re there,” he said.

Powder Keg Festival to be Held Downtown

Courtesy of Frank Miller

Network rules prevented Hebert from telling The Spectrum how much he won on the program, which is scheduled to air at 7 p.m. tomorrow on Buffalo’s NBC affiliate, WGRZ-TV Channel 2.

Making the cut for the show came as a surprise to Hebert, who had merely entered as a joke.

According to Hebert, his friend John Adamec, a student at Coastal Carolina University, was the one who was intent on being on the show. Hebert said he accompanied his friend to the preliminary testing in New York City just for kicks.

“I just went there to stand around and make fun of him, because I’m a good friend like that,” he said.

While at the testing studio, Hebert decided he might as well take the preliminary test, which included a short SATstyle exam and a five-minute interview.

A few weeks later, a postcard and a phone call verified that Hebert had

qualified to be on the show. His friend John received a letter of rejection.

“I’m the one who got it, because I’m the one who thought it was a goof,” says Hebert. “At this point, I was ecstatic.”

Once in Florida, where the show is taped, Hebert spent a day striking poses for promotional photos on Disney theme park rides. A few episodes were taped later in the evening, and Hebert watched from the sidelines as contestant after contestant stepped up to the center stage.

“I joked with the producers in the deck area – we had a little party,” says Hebert.

On the second night, Hebert watched the line of contestants in front of him dwindle away until it was his turn to step up and be tested.

“I was on auto-pilot. You just do what they instruct and answer the set of questions they ask you,” Hebert says.

His friend Lizzie Goldfarb, a freshman math major, cheered him on from the audience. “(The taping) was very exciting for me,”

she said. “I can’t even imagine what Paul was feeling. The audience was going wild for him, more so than for the other contestants.”

Though nobody knows how much Hebert won on the show, his friends and professors said they have every confidence in him.

“He’s so quirky, I was hardly surprised that he was chosen for the college edition, even over his brainiac friends,” Goldfarb said. “They were looking for students with a certain ‘spirit.’ I think Paul did a great job.”

At UB, Hebert sings in the UB Choir and pens the comic strip “Better Than Stick Figures,” which appears in The Spectrum.

“Paul Hebert has an active and inquisitive intellect,” says Michael Basinski, Associate Curator at UB’s Rare Poetry Collection, where Hebert works. “He is representative of our best students and was an excellent ambassador to Millionaire land.” g

E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com

OPINION Editorial Board

Resignation The Right Move For Lee

Editor in Chief

Political credibility severely damaged

Andrew Wiktor

had he stayed in office.

Democrats would’ve called him out for his hypocrisy, and frankly, they would’ve had a point.

Managing Editors

Luke Hammill, senior Amanda Woods Editorial Editor

John Hugar

News Editors

Lauren Nostro, senior David Weidenborner Dannielle O’Toole, asst.

Investigative Reporter

Amanda Jonas Arts Editors

James Twigg, senior Jameson Butler Vanessa Frith, asst.

Life Editors

Jennifer Harb, senior Mike Tyson, asst.

Sports Editors

Matt Parrino, senior Carey Beyer Brian Josephs, asst.

SOURCE: GAWKER.COM

On Wednesday, Western New York was shocked to find out that Rep. Chris Lee, a Republican who represented New York’s 26th district, had sent revealing pictures of himself to a woman that he met on the popular website Craigslist.

Lee, who is 46 and married, described himself as 39 and divorced, while sending flirty messages to a potential female companion.

He also awkwardly referred to himself as a “lobbyist.”

of family values, this incident exposed him as a major hypocrite who could not live up to his own high standards.

Shortly after the pictures were released, Lee resigned, and The Spectrum believes this was the best possible route he could’ve taken. Quite simply, his credibility had taken too much of a hit for him to be effective in Congress.

Considering that he was a proponent of “traditional values” and was opposed to things such as the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” it would’ve been difficult to take him seriously

Admittedly, Lee’s escapades are far from the worst things that politicians have done while in office. After all, we once had a sitting president receive oral sex from an intern, which is a far bigger breach of conduct than Lee’s actions.

President Clinton’s actions are far from the only example of this, as many Senators and Representatives have had similar scandals like this in recent years. As much as we want our politicians to have flawless personal lives, that is the rarely the case.

Transgressions like this are, if anything, all-toocommon.

While Lee’s district, which comprises the northeastern suburbs of Buffalo and the western suburbs of Rochester, has historically been

Republican, Democratic challengers have made very strong runs at the district in recent years.

If he had run in 2012, he likely would’ve been defeated, and his party would’ve lost a seat.

Beyond the strategic perspective, it is good to see a politician take responsibility after making a mistake like this. Consider Sen. David Vitter (R-Louisiana), who was caught having sex with a prostitute, but chose to stay in office, where he remains today.

Another social conservative, Vitter was just as much of a hypocrite as Lee, but he did not have the courage to admit this and step down.

While The Spectrum condemns Lee’s actions, we support his choice to step down, and believe it was the best decision he could’ve made. If nothing else, it was nice to see a politician demonstrate some accountability for once.

Photo Editors

Naturally, this was a huge embarrassment for Lee. As he had previously run on a platform

WEB Editor

Prosecution of Berlusconi Justified

Clinton Hodnett, senior Megan Kinsley Alex McCrossen Adam Cole

PROFESSIONAL STAFF Business Manager

Debbie Smith

Administrative Assistant

Helene Polley

Advertising Manager

Marissa Giarraputo

CREATIVE DIRECTOr

Jeannette Wiley

Advertising Designer

Aline Kobayashi

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 spectrum-editorial@buffalo.edu.

The Spectrum reserves the right to edit these pieces for style or length. If a letter is not meant for publication, please mark it clearly as such. All submissions must include the author’s name, daytime phone number and e-mail address.

Abuse of power is a reasonable suspicion Whenever Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is in the news, chances are it won’t be for something good. His reputation as a womanizer precedes him, and his encounters with women much younger than he is have led to a lot of criticism and mocking in recent years.

Until recently, however, he had never been in any real trouble for these escapades. While his approval rating was considerably low, no one was accusing him of doing anything illegal.

Until now, that is. Berlusconi was accused of paying for sex with Karima El Mahrough, a 17-yearold dancer. Here’s where the situation gets a bit interesting: in the Italian legal system, sex with a 17-year-old is legal (the age of consent is 14), and sex with a prostitute is legal. So, it would seem like there’s no problem.

But there is. While those actions, independently of each other, are

both legal, it is illegal to pay for sex with a minor. So, on a rather strange technicality, if Berlusconi did have sex with for money with El Mahrough, he can be convicted of a crime.

Unfortunately, for Berlusconi, this is not the only legal issue facing him. He has also been accused of bribing judges to receive favorable testimony, and has faced several accusations of corruption throughout his time as prime minister.

The biggest obstacle facing him is the allegation that he abused his power when calling the police on behalf of El Mahrough. If this is the case, he may have attempted to ensure a favorable outcome for her in any future legal action.

It is unknown if this actually occurred, but if so, it does constitute an abuse of power, and it is reasonable for Berlusconi to be prosecuted. Quite simply, if he attempted to use his position to his

favor and prevent El Mahrough from facing legal prosecution, then he broke the law and should face the consequences for it.

What’s interesting is that this would hardly be the worst perversion of the prime minister’s role that has taken place during Berlusconi’s administration.

When looking at his history of bribery, sex scandals, and corruption, this is far from the worst thing he’s ever done.

Still, if this is the manner in which the Italian people will be able to bring down Berlusconi, then by all means, they should go for it. We can’t say for sure if Berlusconi is guilty, but considering his reckless disregard for the respect his position is supposed to inspire, it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise. g

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FEBRuary 11 , 2011 VOLUME 60 NUMBER 51 CIRCULATION: 7,000

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The word around campus Although not quite as raunchy as Generation’s personals once were, these are the voices of UB’s students who have something to say. If you want to be heard, too, write us a blurb online at ubspectrum.com. Some of the wittiest remarks will appear in the paper in no particular order.

It’s that terrible time of year again when fraternities and sororities take 85% of the chairs and tables in the Union hostage. It’s hard enough to find a place to sit and eat at lunch time; now, it’s near impossible with three girls “reserving” 20 empty seats. I’m making it my goal to sit at a “taken” table every time I’m in the Union, and I hope the rest of the non-Greek students join me to stop the madness. Take back the Union!

This is my third year at UB and I have to say The Spectrum has never looked better. New layout, new logo, new editor-in-chief (he’s a cutie, by the way). Bill Keller, watch out.

CONTESTS Poetry Contest: Submit your love-themed poem for our Valentine’s issue. contest ends 2/12

Illustrations!

Love to draw? Calling for all doodlers and serious artists to enter their creations.

Your artwork could make the front page! contest ends 2/31

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e-mail any submissions to info@ubspectrum.com

Bring back the old Spectrum. This black on green/blue is killing my eyes!

LETTER TO THE EDITOR This school’s smoke-free policies claim to be based on respect (Re: “Tobacco-Free Policies Based on Respect and a Balance of Rights”, Wednesday). Our policies, however, lack much respect for reality. UBreathe Free has failed, mistaking high ideals for effective policy.

Our “smoke-free campus” policies have all of the flashiness and glamour of a Kevlar balloon, and just as much substance.

There’s supposedly no smoking on campus, but this has not been enforced. Instead, smokers smoke wherever they please, affecting those around them with secondhand smoke. To augment the problem, we’ve removed all butt stops on campus, so smokers throw their cigarette butts on the ground. We managed to get lots of signs and promotions about our smoke-free campus, all the while we’ve created a new littering problem. Despite our efforts, I still get a whiff of smoke every time I go into Capen.

In explaining these kinds of policies, the National Center for Tobacco Policy points out that tobacco is bad and students here seem to understand how bad it is. Unfortunately, these facts don’t make all smoke-free policy automatically virtuous and good. As we’ve seen here at UB, there’s a wide gulf between

good intentions and good policy.

Fortunately, there is an easy way to let smokers smoke while keeping non-smokers’ lungs clean: designated smoking areas.

The university can establish a handful of these areas around campus, close enough to be convenient for smokers yet far enough away that non-smokers can avoid them. We can put butt stops in these areas, so that the people who choose to smoke can get rid of their butts properly. We’ll punish smokers who don’t utilize these areas, citing the reasonable alternative we’ve provided.

The policy I’ve just outlined won’t make UB smoke-free, and it won’t sound as exciting in newspaper write-ups. But it will accomplish our ultimate goals of greatly reducing exposure to secondhand smoke on campus. In the words of an American Cancer Society representative, “We’re not saying people don’t have a right to smoke; they’re more than welcome to, and they can do it in a place where it’s not affecting others.”

-Paul Stephan Sophomore, Environmental Design Letters to the Editor are not edited by The Spectrum.

*SATIRE Just Some Harmless Punditry LUKE HAMMILL Senior Managing Editor The Spectrum recently published an editorial that reflected on the proposal, made by U.S. House Republicans, to eliminate many restrictions on greenhouse gases, prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and eliminate portions the Clean Air Act. Republicans argue that such a bill would be greatly beneficial to businesses and corporations that lose money when they are forced to abide by the EPA’s regulations.

This newspaper has also printed editorials that have dealt with the Republicans’ pledge to “repeal and replace” President Barack Obama’s landmark health care law. That law, say those on the right, reeks of socialism, and giving a free handout to Americans who haven’t earned it is downright unfair to those who have.

My opinion on either issue is irrelevant to the purpose of this column. What I want to talk about is what the Republicans are going to do next, because it seems to me like they want to go backward rather than forward.

Now, you don’t need a political science degree to know that conservatives do not like things to change quickly (or at all, for that matter) because they are happy with the status quo. But to me, today’s Republicans are more reactionary than conservative. They want to return to a glorified past instead of gambling on a shaky future or even settling for the present.

So, what will they propose next?

Here’s a couple of guesses:

1. Bring back slavery. No, not the

racial kind. But still the kind where rich people own poor people, profit from work that they perform without paying them, torture them, and restrict them from learning anything or having any other sort of rights.

This might have really thrown you off, but think about it. If the Republicans are looking to help out big businesses at the expense of everyone else in the nation (a la polluting the shit out of the air that everyone breathes in order to help out the only people who can afford health care when they get lung cancer), then this is the ultimate way to help out big business.

Here’s the logic: why pay halfstarving unemployed people welfare when we can use them for free work and guarantee them a free meal?

Hate your job? Is it torture to you?

Do you feel that you have no rights while you’re there? Well, be thankful, because if my analysis is correct, the Republicans will attempt to stop paying you.

2. Eliminate every gun law. First off, it would help every big gun company, and I’ve already explained about how Republicans love big businesses.

It would also cut through all of the bureaucratic red tape involved with background checks and safety precautions, which would also save the government money and help to eliminate that huge deficit – you know, the deficit that would be substantially lower if the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans gave up their tax break.

Nobody likes paying taxes, so it’s much easier to give everyone guns and stop regulating them. It would hearken to the thoughts of the founding fathers when they wrote the Second Amendment to allow citizens to own AK-47s. And we all know how the Republicans love the Second Amendment.

Key point: hospitals will not lose any money from this, even though there would probably be a lot more violence and bloodshed.

They repealed health care, remember? g E-mail: luke.hammill@ubspectrum.com

RELATIONSHIP STORIES! Submit your story for a chance to get printed here on Valentine’s Day and receive a Salvatore’s gift card.

E-mail: amanda.jonas@ubspectrum.com Submissions Due Friday by 12am OPINION FRIday, FEBRuary 11, 2011 v THE SPECTRUM

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ARTS & LIFE Getting Caught Green-Handed

The environmental department is participating in RecycleMania, a nationwide recycling competition, this semester. This competition is a way for the 64 SUNY schools and 607 other colleges across the nation to help the environment by recycling and producing less waste.

In previous years, the competition helped to generate 84.5 million pounds of recycled products. Charts are posted across campus showing where UB ranks among other colleges and the amount of recycled goods it has produced. So far, UB’s weekly recycling rate is 31.72 percent, beating the university’s highest record of last year (23.35 percent).

“Recycling is a pretty big issue and we definitely want to work on that,” said Emily Gibson, a junior communication and economics major and student representative for the communications and outreach environmental stewardship committee. “We are trying to drive home the RecycleMania to increase recycling across campus.”

During the RecycleMania Campaign, members of the environmental department will be walking around campus handing out prizes such as T-shirts, gift cards and water bottles to students who get “caught green-handed” by recycling or refilling reusable water bottles.

Jessica Lin /// The Spectrum

Students can win prizes if caught recycling or refilling bottles around campus.

BRIDGETT GIRDLESTONEStaff Writer Students casually fling their water bottles into the trash can, barely missing the plastic bottle bin only two inches away. Discarded handouts and flyers advertising campus events litter lecture halls and hallways.

UB recycles nearly 30 percent of its waste flow every year. With thousands of people on each campus, students have the power to help UB go green by simply recycling and reusing. The Student Association’s environmental department is trying to promote that idea this semester with many different events.

The Sustainability Bazaar, scheduled for late March or early April, will feature local businesses and not-for-profit organizations that promote sustainability.

Many of these organizations are environmentally friendly or sell green products and technology. The purpose of the bazaar is to promote awareness of the many different ways that students can help out the environment.

On April 2 at 11 a.m., the environmental department will be hosting a bike ride for students. The ride will be from North Campus to South Campus, and will act to promote environmentally friendly transportation. Local bike shops will be present to lend bikes to students who do not own one. For those students in need of some bike tune-ups, free minor bike repairs will be given out along with free food and prizes.

Additionally, the environmental department will be sending representatives and interested students to Power Shift, a nationwide conference in Washington D.C. that focuses on local, regional, and national environmental action. This year’s conference will focus on a national shift to clean energy, an economy based on green jobs, and more sustain-

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able college campuses.

Transportation will be provided for those interested in attending the weekend-long conference from April 15 until April 18. More details will be provided closer to the event date. For more information regarding the conference itself, visit powershift2011.org.

“We want students that haven’t really been involved in environmental work here to come down to Power Shift because we want to open this up to a lot of people,” said Paul Stephan, a sophomore psychology major and the climate neutrality director in the SA environmental department. “Environmental leaders on college campuses get together and talk about how they can push for reforms on their campuses.”

For those students wanting to be more environmentally friendly in their own lives, there are many simple ways to help. According to Gibson, turning off the lights when leaving a room and unplugging electronics when not in use are major steps. Better known as “vampire power,” many students tend to leave their appliances plugged in all the time, sucking out wasted power.

Another way to be more environmentally savvy is by means of a reusable water bottle. Located between Knox Hall and the Student Union near the ATMs is a water fountain equipped with an easier way to refill water bottles. It also has a digital tally to show the amount of water bottles that UB students have saved, which has added up to 29,793 thus far.

Gibson also advises riding bikes instead of always driving, taking the bus or carpooling, and lowering thermostats. Another idea is to eat more local or organic foods, which tend to travel shorter distances to get here and use less pesticides and preservatives that are harmful to the environment and the body.

“These tips save you money, so you’re helping yourself as well as the environment,” Gibson said. “Even though organic food can sometimes be a little bit more expensive, it’s healthier for you because you are not ingesting the chemicals that are harmful to your body.”

As for those groups on campus whose flyers are littered across the lecture halls and campus floors, events could be advertised by use of Facebook groups, digital invitations, websites, or UB’s radio station WRUB, among many other options. g

E-mail: features@ubspectrum.com

Courtesy of Behnam Saghafi

You Are Getting ...Very Healthy MICHAEL TYSONAsst. Life Editor There is finally an answer for people who have problems with overeating, smoking, addiction, and lack of exercise. That answer is hypnosis. Don’t laugh or stop reading; this is serious.

Benham Saghafi, an adjunct professor at UB as well as a certified hypnotist and grandmaster in Tae Kwon Do, will be speaking about his techniques for improving life on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in 4 Knox Hall.

“My work in martial arts and hypnosis for the past 30 years has naturally led to the development of this methodology,” Saghafi said. “By exercising our body and mind we can learn how to apply this knowledge. I dehypnotize people.”

The focus of Saghafi’s techinique is on the mind, because that is the root of all that the body does.

“Self-enforced mental challenges are simply the tapes in our head that run subconscious negative thoughts,” Saghafi said. “They can be rewritten in a positive manner with work and conscious thought. Eventually they run on their own as the former tapes did, generating new productive thoughts and behaviors.”

The philosophy of this change addresses the underlying causes for why people engage in un-healthy activities.

“Everyone who has the dream, drive, and the desire can improve their quality of life,” Saghafi said. g

E-mail: features@ubspectrum.com

Who Will Copy Cut Copy?

ZACHARY BOURQUE Staff Writer

YOUTUBE Videos of the Week

Artist: Cut Copy Album: Zonoscope Label: Modular Recordings Release Date: Feb. 8 Grade: A

Clinton Hodnett /// The Spectrum

Participants made outfits of sustainable and recyclable materials this past Wednesday for Passion for Eco-Fashion.

Passion for Eco-Fashion Reveals Sustainable Looks HANNAH BARNESStaff Writer The distinction between trash and fashion has been stretched to its breaking point.

Whenever there is a challenge involving reusing materials on Project Runway, everyone wonders how they do it. It turns out that challenges such as this are in fact possible, as evidenced by the very imaginative eco-friendly looks presented at Wednesday’s Passion for Eco-Fashion event.

The Student Union lobby played host to the eco-friendly looks presented by various clubs and organizations to help promote environmental awareness. Clubs could win money and Student Association credit for demonstrating creativity and eco-friendliness with their outfits. Along with the fashions, participating clubs and organizations such as AMVETS and the Environmental Network were presenting their reusable and sustainable products.

Some clubs provided a single fashion while others presented multiple. Free food and door prizes were offered, as well as free reusable water bottles to the first 50 visitors. From dresses made out of newspaper and skirts fashioned from Wegmans bags to shoes made out of caution tape, cardboard shirts, and magazine collage dresses, the outfits used a variety of materials. No two outfits were alike, demonstrating the originality and imagination of the participants.

“I liked the Ultimate Frisbee Club’s outfit, and there was [another] one with bottle caps that was cool,” said Kristina Blank, a junior environmental studies major and president of the Environmental Network, whose club entered five outfits in the shows, including a hula outfit, a skirt made out of beer cans, and a look made with over 500 plastic bags.

“We heard that the average person uses about 500 plastic bags a year, so this was a cool way to visually represent that,” Blank said.

The event’s organizers watched footage of the event afterwards to judge the winners. The first prize was $200, second was $150, and third place received $50.

“The purpose of [Passion for Eco-Fashion] is to promote recycling and reusing, and also to kick-off RecycleMania,” said Emily Gibson, a junior communication major and the student representative in the communication and outreach subcommittee of the SA Environmental Affairs Department. “About 15 to 20 clubs are participating, which really shows [that] people are for sustainability.”

RecycleMania, an eight-week tournament at over 630 colleges that promotes recycling and environmental awareness, is a chance for UB to display its pride in the environment, and Passion for Eco-Fashion was used as a way to draw attention to the contest. During the contest, participating schools report their recycling and trash data, and it is then ranked according to the most recyclables, the least amount of trash, and the highest recycling rate.

“One of the best ways to raise awareness to RecyleMania and recycling as a whole, would be to bring out recycled outfits onstage,” said Matt Kopalek, a senior international business major and the department’s materials communication representative. “[Organization began] about one month ago, and we are really pleased with how it turned out. We want to encourage people to be environmentally active in all aspects of their lives.”

The Passion for Eco-Fashion event was just the first step on UB’s journey to become a more environmentally friendly school. Look for upcoming events such as the Power Shift conference and a campus-to-campus bicycle ride in April. g

E-mail: features@ubspectrum.com

Dance music freaks and indie hipsters alike can rejoice over Aussie group Cut Copy’s third studio album, Zonoscope.

From classic pop music to ambient trance, Cut Copy’s new album transcends genres to provide a record that appeals to everyone.

In comparison to its 2008 predecessor, In Ghost Colours, Zonoscope tones the ecstatic energy down just a notch to make room for a more spaced-out approach to dance music. The result is a quality experience that carries many of their melodic strengths into a new territory.

Opener “Need You Now” quickly establishes the mission statement. In essence a pop song, the track slowly builds the excitement with an everpresent pulse and dashes of synthetic melody. By its end, there is no doubting the song’s versatility.

The body of the album continues to explore variations of complex yet upbeat dance-pop. “Take Me Over” is a brash, energetic tune with nuances like African rhythms and sports stadium enthusiasm in co-existence. “Pharaohs and Pyramids” keeps the energy and directs it toward a more bittersweet, mysterious sound.

1. Eagles Are Turning People Into Horses: The Movie Way to blow up boyfriends’ spots.

2. “Food Should Taste Good” Touchdown Dance Winner!

This guy should win both the NFL MVP and So You Think You Can Dance?

3. Bomb-omb 64 cover Keith Drago Move over, Mike Portnoy.

The most interesting track is the epic closer “Sun God,” which clocks in at over 15 minutes. The first of three sections is not far off from the tracks preceding it, but the remaining pieces of the song form a real standout moment on the album.

“You’ve got to live/ You’ve got to die/ So what’s the purpose, of you and I/ You want some passion/ You can receive/ And it ain’t no question/ In this I believe,” sings vocalist Dan Whitford.

4. Adorable Chipmunk in Slow Motion Spazzing out has never looked so cute.

The life-affirming chant continues until a fantastic ambient chillout closes the album in peace and happiness.

Zonoscope is a welcome burst of positivity in the package of a skillfully crafted dance album. Whether it is played for its sense of melody, movement or spirit, it will likely score high on top-10 lists at the end of the year. g

E-mail: arts@ubspectrum.com

5. Little Kid Dance Battle Some stereotypes are just true…little kids are terrible at dancing.

ARTS & LIFE FRIday, FEBRuary 11, 2011 v THE SPECTRUM

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CLASSIFIED ads may be placed at The Spectrum office at Suite 132 Student Union, Amherst Campus. Office hours are from 9:00 - 4:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday. Deadlines are Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 12:00 for display and 2:00 p.m. for classifieds for the next edition.

Weekly rates are $10.00 for the first ten words and 75¢ for each additional word. All ads must be paid in advance. The ad must be placed in person or send a legible copy of the ad with a check or money order for full payment. No ads will be taken over the phone. The Spectrum reserves the right to edit any copy. No refunds will be given on classified ads. Please make sure copy is legible. The Spectrum does not assume responsibility for any errors except to reproduce any ad (or equivalent), free of charge, that is rendered valueless due to typographical errors. Please call 645-2152 for any additional information.

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PHOTO PAGE Happy Friday from The Spectrum. Here’s some recent eye candy from the Spectrum photo desk.

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PHOTOS |1| Clinton Hodnett /// The Spectrum

Both the men's and women's basketball teams saw success on the court this week, with the men's team defeating Central Michigan, 72–43, and the women conquering Western Michigan, 53-39. |2|+|3| Brandon Freeland /// The Spectrum

The world-famous Harlem Globetrotters returned to Alumni Arena on Saturday, Feb. 5, entertaining crowds with their antics and prowess on the basketball court. |4| Candy Weng /// The Spectrum |5| Nyeri Moulterie /// The Spectrum

SA Environmental hosted the Passion For Eco-Fashion contest in the Student Union on Wednesday, Feb. 9, where competing SA clubs donned outfits made completely from recycled materials. |6| Audrey Lin /// The Spectrum

On Feb. 5, the University at Buffalo Confucius Institute teamed up with the Chinese Club of Western New York to put on a Chinese New Year Festival in the Center for the Arts, featuring many celebrations of Chinese culture.

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start later into their freshman year or later into their sophomore or junior year, but our freshmen came in and got Division I playing experience from the get-go. I consider them veterans in the sense that, they may just be sophomores, but they’ve played a lot of college games.”

SPORTS

The experience the Bulls gained last season provides a great learning opportunity for the incoming freshman class. According to Teague, the team has bought into the philosophy and has really adapted to what is expected of them.

When a coach has a team that buys in, the players become an extension of the coach and are able to bring others along.

Satsuki Aoi /// The Spectrum

The Bulls closed out their season strongly with a win over St. Bonaventure.

Bulls Finish Regular Season Strong

The past three years have been part of a rebuilding effort by Teague and her staff. They have worked to make the team competitive in the MAC, and it has helped to have a few players start to perform like superstars.

ERIN McCORMACKStaff Writer The Alumni Arena Natatorium was splashing with excitement last Saturday afternoon as the men and women’s swimming and diving teams were triumphant in their last regular season meet.

The men’s team (6-2, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) defeated St. Bonaventure (2-5, 0-1 Atlantic-10 Conference), 161-127 while the women’s team (7-2, 2-1 MAC) took home its sixth straight win of the season, disposing of St. Bonaventure (2-6, 1-1 A-10) by a score of 174-103.

The evening before, the men’s team faced off against Penn State (5-6, 1-4 Big Ten Conference). The Bulls lost 129-110 to the Nittany Lions, but head coach Andy Bashor believes that the result does not mean the meet was not a success. He believes that the meet was good preparation for the postseason.

“I wanted to get [Penn State] on the schedule because that’s probably going to be the best team we see all year before we get to conferences,” Bashor said. “We really go there for the competition knowing that it’s going to be really, really tough. It [also] helped us because our MAC Championship meet is a three-day meet and so we swam last night and we’re swimming today so it’s kind of a little bit of a rehearsal.”

The Bulls kicked off the meet against St. Bonaventure with a one-two finish in the 200-yard medley relay for both the men and women’s teams. The men’s relay team showed no discouragement from their loss at Penn State as freshman Phil Aronica, sophomores Matt Hogan and Matt Schwippert, and junior Jared Heine swam a season-best time of 1:30.91.

Following the medley relay was the lengthy 40-lap, 1,000-yard freestyle in which Bulls junior Amanda Reall placed first with a time of 10:41.29. Her teammate, sophomore Emma Miller, followed shortly after with a time of 10:44.05, leaving St. Bonaventure’s swimmers in their wake.

During the final 10 laps of the men’s 1,000 freestyle, the Bulls cheered on their teammate, freshman Eric Culver, as the intensity heightened with each flip turn against the Bonnies’ sophomore Ethan Rowan. He came up 1.10 seconds short against Rowan with a time of 9:32.54. Later in the day, Culver went on to win the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 1:54.28.

The Bulls continued to have success throughout the meet, as more season-best times were recorded by the swimmers. Sophomore Karly Moore clocked in at 24.17 in the 50-yard freestyle, sophomore Logan Mason finished the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:08.37, and freshman Tracy Vogel earned a 1:56.00 in the 200-yard freestyle.

Spectrum File Photo

Alexandra Bejarano (15) and the softball team are looking to go far this season.

Bulls Aim To Make History This Season MEG LEACHStaff Writer The softball team had only a fleeting moment of success as it closed out last season before bowing out of the MidAmerican Conference Tournament after two losses. With a new season about to begin, the Bulls look to field what is arguably their best team ever in hopes of finally capturing a MAC title.

Buffalo is extremely young but very talented. The future seems very bright for the Bulls in spite of low expectations by critics.

“This is the best team that I have been able to be a part of since I’ve been at Buffalo,” said head coach Jennifer Teague. “I don’t really put a lot of stock into our pre-season rankings. Being second-to-last in the East doesn’t bother me at all; in fact I kind of enjoy it. Our girls are encouraged by it, and if we didn’t make a top three finish in the MAC, I would be extremely surprised.”

The team ended the regular season

Senior Kenny Rhoades won the three-meter dive for the men’s team, earning 348.45 points, while junior Colin Patrician finished in first place in the one-meter dive with 332.33 points.

Bashor was smiling at the end of the meet, proud of the men and women’s performances.

“It’s good to finish like this to give us the confidence to go into the MAC [championships],” Bashor said. “We still have a lot of work to do. There’s still a lot of things we need to correct and fine-tune, but I believe that we’re going to get there.”

Saturday’s meet was not only a victory for the Bulls, but a celebration for the men and women’s graduating seniors. Before the first event, seniors Sterling Gell, Jordan Deren, Jessie Koltz, Alisa Koopman, Catherine Scharf, Renae Sharkey, and Rhoades were honored by their teammates, friends, and family. These seniors hold a special place in Bashor’s heart.

“This is my fifth year [as head coach] so this is my first class that I recruited,” Bashor said. “They put their trust in me and it’s been really great to see how the program has grown. Each year they’ve been here, they just keep getting better and better.”

Next stop for the Bulls are the MAC Championships. The women’s team will be competing in Athens, Ohio from Feb. 23-26, while the men’s team will be in Carbondale, Ill. from March 3-5. g

E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com

After a 7-0 loss to Ball State in their first game of the tournament, the Bulls simply could not compete offensively. In their second game of competition, they got hammered by Miami (Ohio), 17-1.

When the season started, ESPN announcer Jeff Van Gundy stated that he believed only four teams could win the title. Think about that for a second. The season had just started, and already 26 teams had nothing to play for. How very depressing.

In each of the last two seasons, everyone thought the Cavs were headed to the Finals and LeBron was getting his first ring. Each year, they were taken down by an Eastern Conference foe that no one took seriously, and all those commentators looked like fools.

A similar situation happened in 2004. Everyone thought the Lakers, with their all-star team of Shaq, Kobe, Gary Payton, and Karl Malone, were unstoppable. Then, a scrappy Pistons team that had much better chemistry took them down easily.

Better yet, look at 2007. The favorite in the Western Conference was

The Bulls were in top form going into the contest. After dropping the first match of the afternoon, the team won five in a row to take a commanding lead over the Eagles.

that night. He really allowed himself to go out there and wrestle and stop thinking so much. When he opens up, he’s as good as anyone in the country.”

CAREY BEYERSports Editor

Junior Kevin Smith earned the Bulls’ first victory of the day with his 10-5 win over Filiberto Colon in the 133-pound weight class. The victory made Smith the team leader in wins, as he is the first Bull to reach 30 wins on the year.

Junior Desi Green continued his destructive run through MAC opponents with his 5-3 defeat of Corey Phillips in the 149-pound class. The victory brings Green’s career win total to 96. He is undefeated this season against conference opponents and is 9-1 against the MAC in his career.

The Bulls (8-7, 1-2 Mid-American Conference) topped the Eastern Michigan Eagles (11-8, 0-2 MAC) 20-12 in Alumni Arena. The meet marks the Bulls’ first conference win of the season after dropping their first two meets.

“It’s always good to get a MAC dual because it is an extremely tough conference,” said assistant coach Frank Beasley. “I thought that it was closer than it should have been.

We were in a position, if everybody wrestled well, to shut them out.”

The most dominating performance of the night came from junior JohnMartin Cannon in his 165-pound bout with Nicholas Hendrick. Cannon crushed Hendrick 18-8. Hendrick never had the upper hand in the contest as all of his points were awarded for escapes.

Beasley has been looking for more out of his junior and finally saw it in this match.

“Cannon has not been wrestling his best in the last few weeks or so,” Beasley said. “He can be an AllAmerican if he wrestled like he did

SWEET TWEET

The season kicks off this Friday in Jacksonville, Fla. at the Jacksonville Tournament. First pitch against Kansas is on Friday at 11:45 a.m. g

“I think one thing that will help us this season is how much experience our sophomores got last season,” Teague said. “Freshmen in Division I softball don’t usually start. They may

Bulls Top Eagles For First MAC Win With losses accumulating rather quickly for the wrestling team, the squad needed something good to turn the tide in its favor. That something came in the form of Wednesday night’s dual meet.

“We’re going to look at who really develops in the first couple weekends as to who will be our main go-to [pitchers],” Teague said. “We like to develop two starting pitchers, and right now Johnson and Land are doing a great job for us.”

Teague is confident in her team because of the core of players at her disposal. The Bulls are made up of 10 underclassmen, which may not be the typical definition of veterans, but Teague thinks this particular group goes against the norm.

Of course, none of this would be so egregious if there was any bit of truth to it, but there really isn’t. In recent years, the NBA playoffs have been full of surprises.

Let’s just have the Spurs play the Celtics right now. Or the Heat and the Lakers. Or the Mavericks and the Bulls. Or whichever teams you think can go the distance.

The biggest question facing the Bulls right now is how the pitching rotation will come together. At the moment, junior pitchers Holly Johnson and Haylee Land will get the starting nod, but the coaching staff will evaluate every player as the season gets underway.

“Our expectation this year is that we’re going after a MAC title,” Teague said. “It’s not just good enough to get to the tournament. Last year raised the bar and raised the expectations with the team and the players themselves. This year we’re going after titles.”

It seems like the only thing any NBA commentator wants to do is pin down how many teams can win the title – and try to keep that number as low as possible.

It wouldn’t be so bad if Van Gundy was the only perpetrator of this nonsense, but he isn’t. Just this week, an article on ESPN.com appeared stating that only two teams had a real shot. Why even have the playoffs?

Sophomore infielder Ashley Bertot is another rising star. Last year, she claimed the record for stolen bases in a single season. As a freshman, she started in 36 games, missing 18 because of injury. At the end of the season, her hard work earned her a spot on the MAC All-Freshman team.

The Bulls lost star pitcher Sharon Barr to graduation, but Teague feels her team should compete and surprise people.

If you listen to any commentary about the NBA lately, you’d probably think that the playoffs don’t matter that much.

JOHN HUGAR Editorial Editor

“Going into this year, I feel like a lot of people look up to me and expect me to lead the team,” Waldron said. “I have a lot of high standards that were set last year that I expect to reach and even beat this year. Every day, I am pushing myself and my team to become the best we can possibly be on defense and on offense.”

a year ago with two wins against Toledo. Those victories helped the Bulls clinch the seventh seed in the MAC Tournament, which marked only the second time in school history that the team qualified for postseason play.

What I’m getting at here is that making these rash, dismissive predictions belittles the game. The NBA playoffs are one of the most exciting things in sports, and these commentators are taking all the fun out of it. When Charles Barkley goes on TNT and gives you his latest version of who the only real contenders are, just see if it doesn’t bring you down a bit.

Let the Playoffs Play Out

Sophomore Christian Muller also earned a season-best for the men’s team in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 58.85.

Buffalo finished on top in both diving events. Freshman Ava Giachino won the one-meter dive with 247.43 points and the three-meter dive with 234.45 points.

Last season junior catcher Kristin Waldron led the Bulls in virtually every statistical category. She assaulted the MAC with her offensive exploits and looks to step up even bigger this season while becoming more vocal.

Senior Jimmy Hamel earned his 116th career win against Khodar Hoballah with a 9-2 decision in the 184-pound match. Sophomores Chris Conti and Mark Lewandowski rounded out the Bulls victories by taking their duals in the 141 and 157-pound classes.

The Bulls will look to take this momentum on the road, as they travel to Central Michigan (5-8, 1-1 MAC).

The Chippewas were upset by Ohio in their last meet but in the most

E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com the Mavericks, who had dominated all season under the leadership of league MVP Dirk Nowitzki, who seemed destined for playoff glory.

What happened? They were sunk in the first round by a Golden State team no one had given a second thought to. Once again, every socalled expert in the country was made to look like an idiot by a basketball team that was a little tougher than they thought.

The point is, things aren’t as cut and dry as they seem. It’s easy to watch a game where LeBron scores 50, or Wade gets a triple-double and think, “Wow, the Heat are unstoppable,” but that’s not really how it works.

The team that looks good now may not be built for playoff success.

As for 2011, no one knows how it will play out. Maybe the experts will get it right this time. Maybe an obvious pick like the Spurs will get the glory this year. Or maybe it’ll be upstart team like the Thunder or the Bulls who end up having the right stuff when it matters. The point is, we won’t know for sure until June, and all these NBA “experts” need to stop thinking they do. g

E-mail: john.hugar@ubspectrum.com

Troi Williams /// The Spectrum

Last Wednesday, the Bulls snapped their two game MAC losing streak against Eastern Michigan. recent national rankings, CMU was ranked number 12 in the country.

Central Michigan is always the top squad in the conference. A victory over the Chippewas would be a major accomplishment for the Bulls.

The meet is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the Rose Center in Mount Pleasant, Mich. g

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