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Volume 62 No. 54

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Chinese students find ways to celebrate New Year Story on page 5

Art students compete for Rumsey Scholarship Story on page 8

Students dissatisfied with UB’s response to CO leak Damaged boiler hospitalizes Richmond residents Spectrum File Photo

Bulls wrestler Justin Lozano (above) is being pressed with second-degree assault charges after his involvement in a fight in the University Heights early Saturday morning.

Two UB wrestlers arrested for South Campus assault RACHEL RAIMONDI Asst. News Editor On Sunday, two UB wrestlers were arrested in connection with an assault that left a student unconscious and bleeding from the head on Main Street.

Justin Lozano and former wrestler Clayton Reeb attacked Joshua Rubin at approximately 2:30 a.m. Saturday. Rubin was released from ECMC and is pressing second-degree assault charges, according to the University Police Department (UPD).

Rubin, his roommate John Brito and their girlfriends were attacked on the edge of South Campus on the pathway adjacent to St. Joseph’s University Parish. The attackers followed the four victims from The Steer for approximately three blocks, according to Brito.

In an attempt to escape the harassment of inebriated wrestlers, the four students headed to the South Campus bus stop to go home, they said. By the time they reached the church, the assailants were “waiting and hiding” near the steps, according to UPD. Lozano attacked Rubin, picking him up and slamming him into the concrete head first. At the same time, Reeb went after Brito, according to a female victim who wishes to remain anonymous for her safety.

“He’s a wrestler,” she said.

“He knows how to hit people.”

Blood covered the pavement as Lozano “stomped [Rubin’s] head into the concrete with his foot,” she said.

One of the female victims attempted to pull Lozano away but he pushed her into the snow. He told her he would “handle her boy,” she said.

Brito ran in the opposite direction of the campus as the two wrestlers focused on him. He was able to flag down a Buffalo Police officer who responded to the scene. But Reeb and Lozano had already left the area, according to Brito.

Brito said he tore a ligament in his leg during the fight. He and one of the female victims were treated at ECMC for minor injuries. The second female victim was not injured, according to UPD. Reeb and Lozano were unable to be reached for comment.

Reeb, a junior communication major, left the team in December for undisclosed reasons. Sophomore exercise science major Lozano’s wrestling career will be at the discretion of the team’s coaches, Joe Kepler, UB assistant director of athletic communications, told The Buffalo News.

The investigation by the Buffalo Police Department is ongoing.

The Spectrum will continue to follow the story.

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

LISA KHOURY and REBECCA BRATEK Senior News Editor and Managing Editor Richmond roommates Neil Campbell, Bennett Sciacca and Tijo Mathew were three of four students hospitalized late Sunday night after carbon monoxide reached their dorm room in Richmond Hall. Three others received medical attention on campus.

The three 18-year-old freshmen felt lightheaded, dizzy and numb. At least four other students felt similar symptoms. The two carbon monoxide detectors that were supposed to be on the Richmond Building 5 floor were missing, so the poisonous gas went undetected and rose to the top of the dorm.

Campbell, an exercise science major, said he felt like he was going to pass out while watching a movie in his dorm because of “the worst headache in his life” that night. He couldn’t feel his hands.

Mathew, a psychology major, felt lightheaded and “drunk.”

Not knowing the symptoms were related, the two went to Urgent Care while Sciacca, a business major, was sleeping. Urgent Care sent them to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, where doctors found Mathew’s carbon monoxide level was 27 times the normal level and Campbell’s was 26 times the normal level.

The hospital immediately contacted UB to check on Sciacca, who was sleeping in his dorm.

Upon arrival, University Police found Sciacca very pale and he could barely stand. Doctors told Sciacca his carbon monoxide level was 17 times the normal amount.

“If we tried to sleep it off, we probably would not have woken up the next morning,” Campbell said.

The leak happened because a hot water boiler on the ground

Adrien D’Angelo /// The Spectrum

Neil Campbell (above) and his two roommates were three of seven students who were hospitalized Sunday night after carbon monoxide leaked in Richmond Quadrangle. Campbell suffered “the worst headache in his life” and went numb in his hands. His carbon monoxide level was 26 times the normal level.

floor malfunctioned. A piece of the boiler shifted approximately an inch and the exhaust gas, which contains carbon monoxide, didn’t ventilate out of the building properly, according to Vice President for University Communications Joseph Brennan.

The detectors were missing when maintenance workers checked on Sunday night, though Brennan said UB passed the annual fire control and prevention dormitory inspection in October. The Spectrum asked for documentation regarding the inspection, but UB did not provide it by the time of press.

Continued on page 4

Oh, academia UB crosses borders with joint Master of Arts degree in Canadian-American studies TONG MENG Staff Writer Two schools sit on opposite sides of the American-Canadian border, but their distance doesn’t keep them from working together.

Instead, the unique proximity is allowing UB and Brock University to establish a joint degree.

They’re establishing a joint interdisciplinary Master of Arts degree in Canadian-American studies.

It is a concerted effort by the Canadian Studies Academic Program in the Department of Transnational Studies at UB and the Faculty of Humanities at Brock University, located in St. Catharines, Ontario.

“This is [the] first international joint degree being offered by the

entire SUNY system, so students in this program will be pioneers in higher education in the state,” said D. Munroe Eagles, a UB professor of political science, in an email.

Eagles is a Nova Scotia native and the director of the Canadian Studies Academic Program. He is also a key figure in developing the program.

The interdisciplinary program allows students to approach their respective studies from both American and Canadian perspectives.

The joint degree will cover a wide variety of disciplines - students will study a “comparative analysis of social, economic, political and cultural issues in the two countries,” according to Brock University’s course website.

Inside

However, a particular focus will be on the shared Niagara region and border. Students will investigate “the challenges and opportunities that the border provides to citizens in terms of realizing their common interests and objectives,” Eagles said.

Opinion 3 Life 5, 6

The program commences this fall and will take place on both UB and Brock University campuses.

Students will study at both universities during the program.

The new program is part of an agreement between President Satish Tripathi and President Jack Lightstone of Brock University

signed on Feb. 1. The agreement extends the two universities’ partnership in education and research for five more years; the original one was signed in 2007 by Lightstone and former UB president John Simpson. “[The signing] was a wideranging meeting at which the presidents and provosts of the two institutions discussed a number of promising opportunities for expanding cooperation relating to economic development in the binational Buffalo Niagara region, cross-disciplinary research in targeted areas of mutual interest and exchange of faculty and students,” Stephen Dunnett told UB News Center. Dunnett is the vice provost for international education and a professor of foreign language education.

Continued on page 4

Arts & Entertainment 8, 9

Classifieds & Daily Delights 11

Sports 12

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ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Opinion

Wednesday, February 20, 2013 ubspectrum.com

Holiday erode

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in Chief Aaron Mansfield Senior Managing Editor Brian Josephs Managing Editor Rebecca Bratek Editorial Editor Ashley Steves News EDItors Sara DiNatale, Co-Senior Lisa Khoury, Co-Senior Sam Fernando, Asst.

Rachel Raimondi, Asst.

LIFE EDITORS Rachel Kramer, Senior Lyzi White Lisa Epstein, Asst.

ARTS EDITORS Elva Aguilar, Senior Lisa de la Torre, Asst.

Nathaniel Smith, Asst.

Max Crinnin, Asst.

SPORTS EDITORS Joseph Konze Jr., Senior Jon Gagnon Ben Tarhan Markus McCaine, Asst.

PHOTO EDITORS Alexa Strudler, Senior Satsuki Aoi Adrien D’Angelo Nick Fischetti, Asst.

CARTOONIST Jeanette Chwan PROFESSIONAL STAFF OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Helene Polley ADVERTISING MANAGER Mark Kurtz CREATIVE DIRECTOR Brian Keschinger Haider Alidina, Asst.

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Potential changes to UB calendar are beneficial to the university Don’t start excitedly circling the holidays on your fall calendar quite yet – UB has some big changes in the works.

Last Wednesday, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee met and voted to alter UB’s academic calendar in a few big ways: class sessions would be added over winter break, classes would be held on Labor Day to make Thanksgiving break a week long and classes would be held on Jewish holidays.

The proposals, of course, still await decision from President Tripathi, as well as an opportunity to allow students to express their opinions on the alteration, but if the final decision approves it, the changes would most likely go in affect for fall semester.

You may hem and haw over the some of the aspects – specifically the holiday class proposals – but overall, the potential changes are beneficial to the university.

There should be no debate over the option of winter intersession. UB is currently the only SUNY University Center out of the four (University at Albany, University at Binghamton, Stony Brook University and UB) that does not offer winter courses, leaving students in need of more credits to spend their money at other schools to make up for lost time.

Add the headache of transcript requests and credit transfers, and students are fed up with even the idea of more school by the time spring semester starts. There’s an understandable amount of prudence in regards to finding professors willing to give up their winter break, but any “understandable amount” should be diminished by the financial implications. As mentioned in an article we ran in Monday’s issue, Kara Saunders, university registrar, cited Stony Brook’s winter session as an example. Two thousand two hundred students at the SUNY school yield approximately $2 million.

Art by jeanette chwan

The actual controversy lies in the details of when students are required to go to school.

Whether students will be loading onto the Stampede and into lecture halls on Labor Day is the first thing to consider in the proposal. While it is ideal to say Labor Day should be given off so people can celebrate it with their families and reflect on what the holiday means, let’s be honest: we are a self-involved society, and the benefit of Labor Day to us is that we get off class.

We’d be willing to bet the majority of students are just concerned about losing a day to lie in the comfort of their beds. If that’s what people are really concerned about, then they’re ignoring the trade-off. In return for required attendance on Labor Day, the days off for Thanksgiving will be extended to a full week off. Fair trade. Pro-

fessors and the Executive Committee are likely concerned about how disruptive Labor Day is to the beginning of the semester – the change would eliminate that concern.

But the majority of outrage and angry anticipation is coming as a reaction to the suggestion of holding classes on Jewish holidays. Edward Herman, secretary of the Faculty Senate, said, “the reasoning is that one religion should not get favorable treatment over others in the academic year.”

If the plan goes into place, attendance will be required on Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, which UB currently has both off for in the fall semester. Twenty-two of the 29 four-year SUNY campuses, including Stony Brook and New Paltz, do not cancel classes on Jewish holidays, and both recently implemented the policy.

The Jewish community argues the change would force them to choose between their school and faith. However, there is nothing that says they would not be able to take off school for religious practices, as is currently the policy in most classes.

Professors are and should be required to respect that, meaning no exams or important projects should be scheduled on those days, and no student should be penalized for missing class to practice his or her faith. That is common sense.

If it moves along the curriculum and doesn’t tack on any more days to the summer, then we’re willing to get on board with the benefits of a few more classes, even if means – God forbid – we have to set our alarm clocks in the morning.

Email: editorial@ubspectrum.com

Dogged new tricks

ADVERTISING DESIGNER Joseph Ramaglia Ryan Christopher, Asst.

Haley Sunkes, Asst.

Obama’s expertise in media manipulation shows importance of new media in politics February 20, 2013 Volume 62 Number 54 Circulation 7,000 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 news@ubspectrum.com. 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.

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The Spectrum offices are located in 132 Student Union, UB North Campus, Buffalo, NY 14260-2100

Two days after his State of the Union address, President Obama left the confines of the House chamber to a cozy spot sandwiched in between a fireplace and a camera. The president participated in a Q&A session through Google+ Hangouts.

It was hailed as the “Fireside Hangout,” homage to FDR’s fireside chats during the 1930s and 40s, where Obama responded to citizens’ questions about the Feb. 12 address, as well as light-hearted questions.

This isn’t the administration’s first attempt at the FDR rehash. Last January, Obama hosted his first Fireside Hangout, and Vice President Joe Biden hung out with his circle just three weeks ago.

Time after time again, Obama has been referred to as the first “digital president” and the first real communicator of the electronic age.

He has embraced those titles every step of the way, participating in Reddit AMA campaigns and Twitter town hall meetings. He can be found on every network from Facebook to Ustream, creating content and releasing exclusive footage – not just campaigning but also using it to govern his people.

It’s actually brilliant.

All of this has one thing in common: it’s all interaction, not information. If the medium actually is the message, then the importance of adapting to social media in politics is vital because of what it is able to do: manipulate an audience that doesn’t know any better.

There has been plenty of research that shows Internet technology can make it less likely to lie to one another, making people more honest. But

it’s really difficult to believe that tidbit applies to politicians.

Back during the debates of Election 2012, we talked about the use of social media during the campaigning and how it deters from the actual ideas the candidates had to express. Is it the same case here? Does Obama: The Sequel have anything to new to say this term, or do we have nothing more than a campaign of rhetoric, a shiny, stylized presidency that relies on the short attention span of the people?

Well, let’s look at the actual issues. While last Tuesday’s State of the Union address had all the behind-the-scenes digital bells and whistles this administration has been known for, including livetweeting and interactive features, Mr. President still had to stand in a room full of Congressmen and other politicians to deliver the raw issues.

A new and notable focus was centered on education reform that would pull the system closer to Germany’s highly successful system, which brings schools and businesses together to create tailored jobs for skilled and qualified workers.

But besides that, it’s more of the same. With no new plans for job creation or restructuring the economy, the president was left to do nothing more than challenge Congress to come up with something better. No tweets, no GIFs – just an outline of his plan or lack thereof.

That is why he needs new media, and that is how it has made him an important and relatable president. Because of social media and digital tactics, voters feel like he is trying to reach out to them personally and actually get in touch with the younger voting public.

Obama – whether you want to admit it or not – has nothing new to say, but day by day, there are new ways being invented to say it. His administration is masterful at this in particular, using a combination of old and the new to interact with his audience, to get its attention and entertain it.

What you don’t notice due to all the flash is that these are necessary tactics. In his Google+ chat, Obama boasted about the transparency of his administration, but as Politico noted, he has a history of shutting down interviews with many White House reporters, choosing to spend his time speaking directly to voters through easy, breezy Q&A sessions.

Martha Joynt Kumar, a political scientist at Towson University, found that in his first term, President Obama held one-third as many brief press availabilities or announcements as President George W. Bush did in his first term. He dances and skirts around large, complex questions with short, vague answers, then proceeds to release footage and content previously off-limits to the press to his masses. His brand as promoted as he ignores the people asking for questions that are closest to him.

And somehow, few people seem to mind, even when once we realize it’s all just a game. That is impressive.

Email: editorial@ubspectrum.com

Letter to the Editor JOSHUA ANBAR It was with great dismay that I read in your paper an article about how the Faculty Senate Executive Committee voted to amend the academic calendar to have classes on Labor Day and the autumn Jewish holidays. While the reasoning put forth by the faculty members who voted for these amendments is understandable, these amendments end up causing more harm than good.

First, by having classes on Labor Day, we lose an opportunity to reflect on the rights that labor activists fought for and developed over the course of our history. Considering the importance that many professors place on the virtues of the working man, one would think the faculty of the University at Buffalo would want their students to have this time off. Yes, it may be disruptive to the academic schedule in some respects because it happens so early in the academic year, but it gives us a tangible connection to the labor movement within the United States.

Second, how does having classes on the autumn Jewish holidays enable a productive educational environment? By having classes on two of the most important Jewish holidays of they year, we force the sizeable Jewish population on this campus to decide between its faith and studies.

This is not a decision any person should have to make. Sadly, many students at UB are already forced to make this decision on days like Good Friday. Forcing more students to make these decisions will only compound the situation and make an already lamentable situation worse.

Further, the statements made by Edward Herman were quite uninformed. On a regular basis, professors schedule exams and project due dates on religious holidays. In particular, I personally have had examinations scheduled on the first day of the Jewish holiday of Passover, have had many projects due on Good Friday and have taken many classes that mandate attendance on a variety of religious holidays. UB is already interfering with religious observation that is harmful to the academic success of its students.

If, as Mr. Herman implies, such infringement is a violation of New York State law, then the proposed changes to the academic calendar will only harm the university.

As an institution that champions cultural sensitivity and progressive values, the University at Buffalo should be striving to provide its students with a world-class education while maintaining a level of cultural awareness that enables its students to be knowledgeable world citizens.

The proposed amendments to the academic calendar would only harm that education, and they show the university has little appreciation for the positions they champion. This will only serve to damage the reputation of the university and make students rethink their commitment to attending the flagship of the SUNY system.

Joshua Anbar Jewish Student

ubspectrum.com

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Continued from page 1: Oh, academia “I joined the program because I believe it will be relevant to my future and the future of the Buffalo/ Niagara area,” said Bobbie Thoman, a UB graduate with a bachelor’s degree in political science, in an email.

Thoman sees environmental policy as one of the issues that needs to be fixed as her generation enters the professional world and believes the joint degree program will help her gain a better understanding of both countries’ policies.

“When dealing with the environment, in regards to protecting land and resources, there is no border,” she said. “What we do here in the United States directly affects Canada’s air and water quality and vice versa. Therefore, it is important to understand policies and opinions on both sides of the border to make environmental decisions.”

She thinks the location of UB and Brock University “couldn’t be more perfect.”

“I think an ‘international joint degree’ is a very exciting thing,” Thoman said. “It’s one thing to sit in a classroom and learn about the Canadian government and policies, but an entirely different experience to go over there and learn what’s going on firsthand.”

Eagles also sees the need for a firsthand experience in learning on both campuses. He believes “the deep and rich array of faculty expertise and interest” would not have been available to students otherwise. He said it’s beneficial for American students to interact with their Canadian counterparts and immerse themselves in the Canadian education environment.

UB provides many opportunities for students to gain an international educational experience. For instance, the university has numerous study abroad programs that students can engage in. Nonetheless, Eagles believes the joint M.A. program will offer students something different.

“It is impossible to be indifferent to the opportunities that any international educational experience provides,” Eagles said. “But this particular program puts this experience within easy reach of UB (and Brock) students by taking advan-

tage of the fact that - for our campuses - the international is local.”

The joint M.A. program has come a long way. It was conceived five years ago in a discussion between Eagles and Jane Koustas, an associate professor and former associate dean of humanities and director of the Canadian studies program at Brock. They had brought their Canadian studies seminars together and students found these joint meetings to be very valuable, Eagles said, so he and Koustas considered a joint M.A. degree.

The program, for which a proposal was written in 2010, finally received approvals from the New York State and Ontario governments recently, Eagles said.

“Obtaining official approvals for the program, not only at the campus level but within the system and state/provincial levels, has been a major challenge for both [universities],” Dunnett said in an email. “Brock and UB have worked very closely to make this happen and thus have strengthened their partnership in the process.”

As part of the agreement for the program, participating students will have unlimited access to resources of both Brock and UB without having to pay additional tuition, according to Eagles.

Despite the challenges met along the way, Dunnett is optimistic about similar collaborations in the future.

“We certainly hope this first program of its kind is successful and leads to other joint degree programs,” Dunnett said. “If so, these are likely (in the short term at least) to be with Brock University, since a truly joint international program (one that isn’t purely online) requires the physical proximity of the partner institutions so that participating students can move back and forth between the campuses in doing the program.”

In the meantime, the joint M.A. program plans to welcome its initial cohort this fall, which will consist of six students of different disciplines from each university.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Continued from page 1:

Students dissatisfied with UB’s response to CO leak Brennan said UB is compliant with Amanda’s Law, which protects New York State citizens from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning by requiring carbon monoxide detectors in each sleeping unit on the same floor as a carbon monoxide source.

Detectors aren’t required within the dorms because Richmond Quad’s source is located on the ground floor, according to the New York State Division of Code Enforcement and Administration.

There are no dorm rooms on the ground floor.

UB is now going “through extraordinary measures” and installing detectors on each floor of Richmond, according to Andrea Constantino, the director of Campus Living. But Campbell, Sciacca and Mathew still aren’t happy with UB’s response. They feel the university is ignoring them personally.

Sciacca is concerned with whether UB will send his hospital bill home or take care of it for him. So far, no one from the university has reached out to him. He noted UB did not check if he and his roommates had transportation from the hospital and they had to ask friends for a ride home.

Campbell said Bianca McGraw, Richmond’s hall director, and Ryan Spearer, assistant hall director, came to check on him and his roommates – the only contact he had with university officials. However, Sciacca was not present at the time of their visits.

“I don’t feel the university is going to take any measures to reach out to us in any way,” Sciacca said.

“I do feel when they came here, it was just them checking up. I don’t think it is going to go any further than that.”

Sciacca said when he and his roommates moved into the dorms, they were only briefed about smoke and fire detectors – not carbon monoxide detectors. His father looked into the law that requires detectors near potential leak sources, and his mother is talking to government officials to see if this type of incident can be prevented in the future.

Sciacca said he has been thinking about transferring and this occurrence has confirmed his decision to leave the university.

The New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control states Amanda’s Law – effective Feb. 22, 2010, which protects New York State citizens from the No. 1 cause of accidental poisoning deaths in the nation – is not practical or enforceable for each building.

While UB is compliant, the biggest concern is that people can still get poisoned, the office said.

To prevent similar events in the future, UB will immediately add more plug-in detectors to each Richmond dorm floor, according to Brennan. In a few weeks, hardwired ones will be installed into the ceilings in all Ellicott dorms. The university will further analyze where detectors are needed on campus, Brennan said.

All SUNY schools fall underneath Amanda’s Law, but the amount of detectors varies from school to school because each school heats buildings differently.

For example, the University at Albany has only one quad with a carbon monoxide source near the living quarters. In that area, the university installed hardwired detectors – approximately 824 of them in 200 rooms and their surrounding hallways – in the past two years for

an approximate total of $138,000, according to Greg Amyot, the fire protection supervisor at Albany.

The new 500-bed apartment complex at Buffalo State College, located on Grant Street, has two hardwire detectors in each unit.

Each unit consists of four bedrooms, grouped in twos, and the building is heated by a local natural gas boiler. Detectors are required within 15 feet of each sleeping area in accordance with the law, according to Jerod Dahlgren, Buffalo State’s spokesperson.

The older dorms do not have detectors in the rooms because the boilers and back-up generators are located on non-sleeping floors – similar to UB’s setup. Detectors are located in the basement with the gas sources, according to Dahlgren.

Albany and Buffalo State are up to Amanda’s Law code. So is UB, but Sciacca doesn’t think it is enough.

“In a completely unselfish way, I really feel like they should be doing more for us,” Sciacca said. “It’s wrong for anyone to live in these conditions. It makes me personally feel that the university wasn’t there for us when we needed them to be.”

The university has not issued any formal apologies or response to the students, according to Mathew.

Constantino said representatives from Campus Living, Environmental Health and Safety and University Facilities would meet and make sure the entire university is aware of the situation and what the university’s long-term steps are going to be.

Additional reporting by Asst. News Editor Sam Fernando Email: news@ubspectrum.com

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

*We now accept campus cash!*

Wednesday, February 20, 2013 ubspectrum.com

Life

Same spirit, different scale

Chinese students find ways to celebrate New Year

Can’t sacrifice my Judaism RACHEL KRAMER Senior Life Editor

ANDREA SAADAN Staff Writer Ziqian Wang spent her first Chinese New Year away from home studying in her dorm room alone. She spent the day feeling sad and lonely while her friends and family in China were celebrating.

Although it was her country’s biggest celebration of the year, at UB, it felt like any other day of the week.

Not all students who move abroad can return home for the holidays, according to Eric Yang, executive director of Confucius Institute (CI). Celebrating in a foreign country is difficult for some students, like Wang.

Still, Chinese students in the Buffalo community found different ways to celebrate the Chinese New Year, despite many being far from home.

On Feb. 10, 1,700 people gathered in the Center for the Arts for the annual celebration thrown by the Chinese Club of Western New York (CCWNY) and CI. Some watched the National Spring Festival Gala, while others made traditional paper cuttings and hung them around their home.

“In this global village that we live in now, to live happily and comfortably we need to respect and appreciate other people’s language and culture,” Yang said.

Yang said it is a gift to be able to appreciate different cultures and it is not good for a Chinese individual to forget his or her cultural roots.

The Chinese New Year typically lasts 15 days. The celebration runs from the New Year Day – the first day of the first month of the Lunar Calendar – to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day, according to history.com.

Typically, those in the northern part of China make dumplings as a family. People living in southeastern areas light up firecrackers for three to four days, according to Ken Hu, president of CCWNY. Because of the festivities, one “could hardly fall asleep,” he said.

One thing done as a nation in China, however, is watching the live broadcast of the “National Spring Festival Gala.”

Siena Sun, a first-year graduate student in linguistics, said the gala was the only form of televised entertainment during the festive

Yan Gong /// The Spectrum

The Center for the Arts hosted a Chinese New Year celebration thrown by the Chinese Club of Western New York to help students celebrate China’s biggest annual event. The festivities drew in 1,700 attendees.

period, watching the event later became a Chinese New Year custom.

Sun had a difficult time during the holiday her first year in the United States.

“Two years ago, when I spent Spring Festival for the first time here, I felt very homesick because I really wanted to speak Chinese that day but all my friends around me were Americans,” Sun said.

The response from her non-Chinese friends, upon being told it was Chinese New Year, left much to be desired, according to Sun. It was only then that she realized how important Chinese New Year was to her – it represented China and who she is as a Chinese student.

There was no holiday atmosphere and it was really sad, according to Sun. But things looked up for her when her American friends came to her place with chocolates. They knew it was her first time being away from her family during the festive season.

By the third year away from home, Sun didn’t care as much.

Sun made traditional paper cuttings and hung them around her home to make the atmosphere for suited for the festival.

Hu encourages members of CCWNY to form close ties with one another and cher-

ish the Chinese culture they all share. One way to do this is through the celebration of the Spring Festival.

“It’s a great holiday and it gives me the right opportunity to remind my kids where they came from and to also enrich some traditions of the Chinese heritage,” Hu said.

Wang believes it is very helpful to be around friends especially when without family during the festive season. Wang, who is also the vice president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), wants fellow Chinese international students to be more open-minded and make new friends so that they don’t have to be alone during Chinese New Year.

Hu believes the Spring Festival is a dramatic holiday and said it is certainly a different celebration in the United States because not everyone participates in the festivities.

Still Hu has hope for those who wish to celebrate the Spring Festival in the future.

“The spirit is still there,” Hu said. “Just that the scale is different … I would love to see a bigger scale and have more people celebrating together.”

Email: features@ubspectrum.com

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FELICIA O. Special to The Spectrum I want to go to Europe. I want to skydive and see the Grand Canyon.

I want to have sex simultaneously.

While some people make bucket lists for places they want to visit, mine consists of the places I want to get laid. My bucket list started back in my freshman year, on accident, when I crossed off South Campus before I had even written anything down.

For those students who are too young to know this, Kapoor Hall wasn’t always the fancy pharmacy building filled with the hightech labs and Tim Hortons. Three years ago, it was just “that construction site” on South Campus – a half-built structure protected by a 10-foot metal fence and locked gates, surrounded by rickety scaffolding that shook as you climbed and loosely monitored by patrolling UB police officers.

To adventure-seeking freshmen like myself, the unfinished Kapoor Hall was just a tantalizing place to break the rules – or the law, in this case – and be naughty.

And like most of the ridiculous moments from my freshman year, it all started with a lot of alcohol and a trip to Northside.

Trust me, I’m more ashamed of how I used to frequent the cesspool they somehow mar-

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ket as a “bar” than I am of anything in this column.

Nevertheless, this adventure began on Northside’s dance floor. It was the last weekend of the spring semester and my mom would be picking me up the next morning to return home for the summer. Around 4 a.m., Northside was closing shop, but I didn’t want the night to end. Luckily for me, neither did one of my girlfriends and three of my guy friends.

We sat in front of Northside after they kicked us out, and we debated what our next move would be. Our dorm rooms were out of the question –we all had roommates who would not be happy to host an after party they were not a part of – but one kid had a brilliant idea: go to the jungle gym on South Campus.

As we sat there, our buzzes wearing off, my friend told us about the time he climbed to the top of the construction site. Minds made up, we ran back to the dorms, grabbed some beer and made our way to the construction site. Sans my one girl friend, who decided to go to bed, we jumped the jagged fence, climbed the rickety staircase and sat on top of the roof that overlooked the entire campus. We drank beers as the sun came up and made plans to stay up until Amy’s Place opened (because I had never been there before and apparently it was amazing).

Continued on page 6

The Faculty Executive Committee voted to hold classes on Labor Day and on the Jewish High Holy days in order to have a class session over winter break and add two days to Thanksgiving break.

As a Jewish student, this is not OK with me.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur – the Day of Atonement – are the two “High Holy days” of the Jewish faith. On Yom Kippur, which occurs 10 days after Rosh Hashanah, you are supposed to fast for 24 hours and spend the day praying and repenting your sins from the previous year. Both of these holidays are considered a “complete Sabbath,” which means those observing aren’t permitted to use technology or do any work.

That means I can’t attend class.

I am aware that 22 out of the 29 other SUNY schools hold classes on the two high holidays, but I did not choose to attend Buffalo State College or SUNY Plattsburg. I chose UB – a place where my religion was accepted without question.

I don’t believe Jewish holidays are any more or less important than any other religious holiday. Whenever the decision was made to cancel class on the High Holy days, the decision should have also been made to cancel class on Good Friday. It was wrong of the university to provide one religion priority over another.

However, because UB has canceled classes before, they can’t take it away now without backlash and uproar from the Jewish students.

I grew up in a highly Jewish community in Long Island, N.Y., and I have never experienced an issue where my religious practices were in danger or even questioned. Since kindergarten, my schools have always been respectfully closed on the two most important holidays on the Jewish calendar.

The days off from school enabled me to go to temple, spend time with my family and fast without worrying about what crucial content I may have been missing in my classes.

My past two years at UB have been the same way. I had no pressure to worry about my academic career.

Although I was lucky enough to be able to go home this past Yom Kippur to atone with my family, I stayed at school my freshman year. Like many Jews on campus, I spent the day miserable with my stomach growling. I could barely rise with the congregation at the Hillel services, let alone function in a classroom.

On the Jewish New Year, I was able to eat my apples and honey – a traditional Rosh Hashanah snack – and listen to the shofar with my friends in Hillel without working around my class schedule.

If classes aren’t canceled, I’ll skip them.

Because of that, my education will be at a disadvantage because I chose to celebrate my religion.

Edward Herman, secretary of the Faculty Senate, said in a Spectrum article, according to the New York State law, professors cannot give exams, set due dates for projects of papers or mandate attendance on a religious holidays or interfere with religious observance in any other way.

I’m not only worried about the day of the holiday. It’s also the day after.

Because it’s religiously forbidden to study or do any work for those two days, you are unable to study for the important test in your 9 a.m. class the following morning. Even if I was to break that rule, think about how unfocused you are when you skip breakfast. Now think of that all day. Personally, I couldn’t do it.

These added school days are still awaiting President Tripathi’s approval.

While the student body sits in anticipation, waiting to hear if their Labor Day plans, Rosh Hashanah celebrations or Yom Kippur fasting will be disrupted, Daniel Ovadia, the UB Council student representative said the administration will likely set up a group to provide student input.

Class or no class, I plan on spending the holidays as a proud Jew – not just a UB student.

Email: rachel.kramer@ubspectrum.com

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6

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

UB’s own winter wonderland BETHANY WALTON Staff Writer Behind South Lake Village’s Community Building, students Christina Zhen, a senior business major, and Marissa Lum, a senior biomedical sciences major, were sprinting back and forth as they carried jugs of water in the cold and dumped them in containers.

On the other side of the building, students with sticks in their hands yelled as they shoved and ran into each other they fought over the possession of a small ball.

These were just some of the sights seen at UB’s Winterfest this past Saturday. Winterfest, the free annual celebration of the winter season, was held from noon to 4 p.m. in South Lake Village. Approximately 100 UB students participated in wintertime activities ranging from ice-skating to snowman building.

The winter festival dates back to 1948, when the event was titled “Winter Carnival” and held on South Campus, according to Thomas Tiberi, the director of Student Life and creator of Winterfest. It used to be sponsored by The Sitzmarkers and the Schussmeisters Ski Club in the ’50s and ’60s, according to UB Reporter. Currently, it is sponsored by a variety of UB organizations: UB Athletics Department, Student Life, Campus Living, Environmental Health and Safety, University Police and University Facilities.

Presently, the festival consists of Broomball, Polar Kick Ball, Ice Skating, Ice

Bowling and The Amazing Race.

Many students enjoyed playing broomball, the main event of the festival. The sport is similar to hockey where students – wearing sneakers, padding and helmets – form teams of six and work together to shoot the ball into their opponent’s net using brooms. Players needed to register prior to participating in a game, but unexpected guests enthusiastic about the game quickly created teams and were allowed to play pick-up games, Tiberi said.

Broomball is usually played on ice, but the weather conditions were not optimal enough to play on Lake LaSalle. The games went on as planned in a nearby parking lot.

The weather also hampered other activities like ice bowling, igloo making and snowman building.

“If there’s one thing I wish we could improve, I would say the unpredictability of the weather,” Tiberi said. “We can’t do certain activities without cold conditions. I made the decision to cancel ice-skating [the day before], although we still had hopes it would freeze up.”

However, students still found ways to enjoy themselves. Zhen and Lum, first-time participants in Winterfest, loved the Amazing Race challenges. The Amazing Race is a series of challenges that gave students the opportunity to compete in different activities including running water between two different jugs, a marshmallow toss using shovels, trivia on UB and Buffalo, tic-tac-toe, making a building with marshmallows and spaghetti and building snowmen.

Joyce Adiges /// The Spectrum

Many UB students enjoyed the annual Winterfest, despite the antagonizing weather.

Zhen and Lum thought the competition would require running and a lot of physical exertion, but they were surprised by how enjoyable the activities were.

“When we first came here, we had a whole different idea of what we thought it was going to be because Buffalo has had different versions of The Amazing Race … but it was fun because each event was fun, but it was definitely competitive,” Lum said.

International students like senior biomedical science major Marina Carelli and senior environmental engineering major Ariane Gabriel enjoyed the activities because of how rare such weather is in their home countries. “[Carelli and I] are international students; we live in and are from Brazil,” Gabriel said.

Read the rest at ubspectrum.com

Continued from page 5: Straight from the source: public sex adventures The rush of committing a crime – breaking into a construction site as well as drinking on school property underage – really got my libido going. So while two of our friends fell asleep, my friend and I decided to take the opportunity to have a steamy makeout session. The sun was rising, cars were driving through campus streets, a student or two walked through campus – all while I was enjoying a hands-all-over make-out session as I committed a crime.

We never made it to Amy’s Place, but I still consider that night a great end to my first year of college.

That was my first public sexual experience; it was nowhere near my last.

Senior year, I moved to a house in the University Heights. It had a balcony. There was one thought I couldn’t get out of my head: I really want to bang someone on this.

It didn’t take very long. I ran into a friend of mine at a bar on Main Street – a very handsome friend, mind you. After a ridiculous amount of Mexican Happy Meals (which consists of one shot of tequila and a Corona), the two of us started making out at the bar. We decided to leave, and I yanked my friend out of the bar. I’m sure the stumbling make-out session from the bar to my house was hilarious to watch.

With most of my roommates back at the bar, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to bang on my balcony. My friend agreed.

The two of us ran through my house stark naked, snuck onto the balcony and proceeded to “do the dirty.”

But when you have sex in public, be prepared for the public to see you. I learned the next morning that we were not quiet, nor were we very secretive. My friend saw what

appeared to be a guy receiving fellatio on my balcony as she walked home. My neighbors also saw the two of us getting down and dirty – literally dirty after it started down pouring rain.

I doubt I was the first one to do naughty things on that balcony and I doubt I’ll be the last, but hey, I set a goal, I accomplished it and I had a fun time doing it.

While construction sites and roofs hold pretty fond memories for me, there’s one place I urge you to never attempt having sexy time: public trains. Some friends of mine have done train or bus sex with no problem.

I had difficulty.

After an insane trip to New York City – which included missing a train and being stranded until 6 a.m. – my night ended with a public hookup that went from ridiculously hot to impatiently long and ended up being

just plain uncomfortable.

First, it was no secret. My friends sat in the seats both in front and behind the two of us. They could hear us, they could see us and nothing stopped them from making comments. We would have just hopped into the bathroom then, except we thought it was just a 10-minute connecting train. It wasn’t.

I’m almost 100 percent positive the conductor saw a little more of my partner’s member than he would have liked.

The entire situation was tiresome and anti-climatic. Seriously, if you’re planning on trying public transportation intimacy, use the bathroom.

Email: features@ubspectrum.com

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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

7

Engineering Week

February 17-23

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Wednesday, February 20, 2013 ubspectrum.com

Arts & Entertainment

Art, aesthetic and the apocalypse

Student Spotlight

Students compete for Rumsey Scholarship

Kurtis Sprung, Two-time Mr. Dance of New York LISA DE LA TORRE Asst. Arts Editor

NICHOLAS C. TURTON Staff Writer

It has been said that art can take you places; looking at a well-crafted piece of artwork can lead viewers into imaginative spaces worlds away from their ordinary lives.

The saying isn’t just figurative.

For four art students in the Department of Visual Studies, competing for the Rumsey Scholarship has provided the chance to go somewhere with art. The Rumsey Scholarship is an annual award given to two junior art students for summer travel to expand their artistic education and knowledge.

Junior art students Alissa Bailey, Bailey Danahy, Rosemary Williams and Tanya Dorph-Mankey presented their work last Thursday evening in the Basement Gallery of the UB Center For the Arts.

Each of the promising artists offered her own imaginative spaces and artistic perspectives. Their work encompasses vast areas of art making, ranging from printmaking and fabric art to installation art and metalwork.

According to Mark Snyder, a Master of Fine Arts student in the Department of Visual Studies, the work of the four artists appeared unified despite the variance in mediums.

“It’s a very nice, [cohesive] show,” Snyder said. “The [artists] seem to complement each other very well … they all have a similar palette. They all have earth tones and muted, quiet colors.”

This coherent color scheme in the show is exemplified well by “Spheres,” an installation piece by Bailey, who specializes in largescale installation art.

“Spheres” features several basketballsized, hollow spheres made of resin; each sphere is suspended in midair with clear wire.

The spheres are a brown-amber color that blends with the black holes. The result is an abstract art piece that evokes questions of the artist’s own thought process.

The piece is a result of Bailey’s musings about the end of the world.

“I was thinking very organically and cellular about the apocalypse,” Bailey said.

“How [it] can represent the death of things, but also regrowth, rebirth and a new chapter.”

A focus on death and the revival of life was also portrayed in the work of Danahy, who incorporated metalwork into her pieces.

Danahy’s work combined a multiplicity of materials such as bread, books, wire and silverware to form intriguing three-dimensional artwork. Her most notable piece, “Grains of Animacy,” fused metal wire, bread pieces and black paper within the bends and folds of an open book.

The result: a transfigured hardcover book with pointed metal wires jutting out of it in multiple directions. Another notable aspect of the work is the smell, which stemmed from the mold forming on the bread.

Danahy considers her work a portrayal of objects that are slowly becoming obsolete – for this instance, books.

“You can get them online now,” Danahy said. “They’re starting to decay … they’re starting to rot. It’s about books as a dying form.”

Dorph-Mankey, another competing artist, merged influences from Japanese anime into her printmaking pieces. Her work consisted of striking, selectively colored portraits printed on wooden panels.

Kyle Tymon /// The Spectrum

Four UB art students competing for the Rumsey Scholarship displayed their work in the basement of the CFA last Thursday. For these students, the Rumsey Scholarship would mean a summer to travel and expand their artistic education.

“My Friends Call Me Little Red,” one of her prints, illustrated a young man in a hooded sweatshirt dyed in a stark, deep red color with one hand covering his mouth in shyness. The word “LOVE” was tattooed on his fingers.

The overall aesthetic of the work has a likeness to a graphic novel drawing; it captures the young man’s most striking facial features in a simplified manner.

“I love working with art about people,” Dorph-Mankey said. “With different types of people, you get different types of stories.”

Williams also used printmaking techniques for her work but in a much more abstract manner. Her work is devoid of any noticeable subject matter; for Williams, it’s mainly her techniques of creating her work that give it meaning.

“When I go into making a piece, I don’t have a set idea,” Williams said. “During the process of making the piece is when I understand more about what I’m doing. The aesthetic leads to more thought.”

Williams’ art demonstrated her experimental and process-oriented art practice.

Her work consisted of numerous fabric pieces under the collective title “Collections 1, 2, and 3.” Williams’ most notable piece in this collection comes in the form of a largescale fabric piece draped along the height of the gallery wall that flows into the middle of the gallery floor. The majority of the fabric is printed in dark blue, burgundy and purple.

The unique texture of the fabric is acquired using objects such as rocks, needles, tacks and rulers; it gives the piece a unique aesthetic based on intricate textures.

As for Williams, her work is a testament to individual experience and our own modes of thinking and seeing.

“It’s just the different perspectives of how we can look at things,” Williams said.

Submissions for the Rumsey Scholarship will be on display through March 1.

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

Kurtis Sprung was only 3 years old when he began to dance. When most other toddlers were running around on the playground, Sprung was honing his own dance skills, tackling genres like ballet, rap, jazz and gymnastics, just to name a few.

Today at 19, the sophomore dance and math major competed in countless dance competitions, winning the title of Mr. Dance of New York twice and finishing in the top five both times he participated in Mr. Dance of America.

And although some might use these accomplishments as an excuse to slack off, Sprung only uses his successes as fuel to improve. He hopes to join the Bad Boys of Dance before he graduates, a company known across the world for electrifying performances and inarguable talent. And even if he is recruited, his plans for the future don’t end there.

Sprung’s ultimate goal is to start his own dance company, much like the creator of the Bad Boys did.

Though a passionate dancer and hard worker, Sprung appeared laid-back and peaceful when The Spectrum sat down to speak with him this past Sunday.

The Spectrum: What is it about dancing that you love?

Sprung: I was in the studio just the other night and I had the music on, and I was just kind of dancing and all of a sudden the music ended and I didn’t remember anything I did. And I didn’t know how it happened or what it felt like, but I just know that it was perfect. It’s a feeling when the music’s there and you feel the beat and you know what you’re capable of doing, and just going out there and enjoying what you love to do.

TS: Do you think the ability to dance is something you’re born with? Or can you develop it?

S: Some people say you’re born with it, however, my feet were turned in and I didn’t even know what turn out meant. The only way to move is to finally say, ‘I’m going to let my arm just flop.’ And then, there’s a sense of finding a technique, and that’ll make it pretty, but anyone can move as long as they can relax—they’ll find a way to move. Everyone moves differently… our bodies are designed so much differently. Some people’s hips don’t open as far as others… my split is not going to be like any of the girls that are in there, but I’ve found where it works. And I feel like anybody can move, they just have to take the time.

TS: Who are your idols?

S: My sister. She was a dance major here then she graduated. She’s done a couple cruise ship jobs all over she was just in Dubai yesterday looking at pyramids. I want to be like her, I want to see the world …

Other than her, there’s a man named Albert Cataffi. He’s doing the Cirque du Soleil Love show and he’s trying to get me a job there.

He’s also helping me out with the Bad Boys and he was a choreographer when I went to Teen Mr. Dance of America… he was the first person who showed me contemporary dance, and he kind of molded me into who I am today.

Nick Fischetti /// The Spectrum

TS: As a dancer, how do you feel about dance shows on television like Dancing with the Stars?

S: I like Dancing with the Stars. I like So You Think You Can Dance, some of the kids who have won it are in the company that I want to get into … it’s unbelievable how good they are. [Dance Moms], however … [Abby Lee] is a friend of my teacher and we’ve worked together so we know her, and she’s nice, she’s not even mean. But that’s the drama. That’s more of like a soap opera to me.

Those dancers are very good, I just feel like they shouldn’t be subjected to that as a child.

That’s a little crazy to me.

TS: Do you have any other interests you wish you could dedicate more time to?

S: Guitar. It’s definitely one of my favorite hobbies. Even when [dance] gets stressful, that takes me even further away because you’re creating your own music. You’re grooving to what you feel inside. My roommate plays guitar and we’ve got a friend that’s a drummer and we always go down and find an empty lecture hall and just … we forget whatever’s outside the door, and we just jam. We love the music. Creating our own music, that’s something I love to do. And I’ve found that not trying as much [and] just enjoying it has just progressed me so much further than anything else.

TS: What tips would you give an aspiring dancer?

S: Don’t forget why you do it. We have girls in our studio – these girls know they’re good, and they’ve lost why they dance and they’re stuck in this world because they hang out with Abby Lee’s students … They know how good they are and they take it for granted. And I would say don’t take the ability to move for granted, because it may not be there [in the future.]

Sprung and his colleagues will be performing in the upcoming Zodiaque Dance Company production in the CFA the next two weekends.

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

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ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

9

What’s the “Harlem Shake?”

BRIAN JOSEPHS Senior Managing Editor

Courtesy of the cfa

CFA production group nominated for Emmy MAX CRINNIN Asst. Arts Editor UB’s Center For the Arts Video Production Group has been nominated for a 2013 New York Emmy Award by The New York Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NY NATAS) for its informational video on UB’s Solar Strand project.

The video, “UB Solar Strand: The Vision,” was made last year and explores the now-completed UB North Campus Solar Strand’s original inspiration and construction process. It features lead designer Walter Hood, a world-renowned landscape architect, along with other members of the construction and design teams discussing the symbolic yet practical approach constructing the 750 kilowatt solar power source.

The video itself exemplifies a commitment to creativity and practicality with its stunning aerial and time-lapse footage of the construction process matched with in-

depth analysis about the project from Hood and leaders of the construction team from UB and local contractors.

The Solar Strand is approximately a quarter-mile long, consisting of 3,200 photovoltaic panels that generate clean, renewable energy for hundreds of campus apartments, streetlights and the Melvin H. Baker Chilled Water Plant. The project was funded with $7.5 million from the New York Power Authority.

As of 2006, the CFA Professional Video Production Group has won multiple awards, including a New York Emmy in 2011 and 14 national Telly Awards. Its work focuses on the CFA, UB and its partners for educational and entertainment purposes.

“UB Solar Strand: The Vision” can be viewed on the UB’s official website under the sustainability section. The New York Emmy Award ceremony will be held on April 14 in New York City.

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

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It looks like 2013 didn’t waste any time.

It’s not like we were looking for the next trend, especially after a year chock full of them. Last year, the foreign charm of “Gangnam Style” broke YouTube records, the addictively saccharine “Call Me Maybe” caught our attention, and zombies, bath salts and Molly were actually a thing. We didn’t need another trend, but the Internet gods thought otherwise.

Internet gods don’t exist, but what else is there to attribute the spread of the Harlem Shake?

Here’s the premise: “Harlem Shake” plays for about 15 seconds while one person (who’s usually masked) does this mid-tempo dance move with other people in the background. The craziness starts to happen when the beat drops – and by craziness, we’re talking about men in chicken suits humping the air, crotch thrusting in locker rooms and … just a lot groin movement and body suits.

That’s it. That’s the point.

Most people who are anti-Harlem Shake say this “point” is exactly the reason they’re against it, because humping and jumping isn’t much of a point. But the lack of the point is, in fact, the point of “Harlem Shake.” Follow me?

A common problem people run into with “Gangnam Style” is how it hides its nonsensical lyrics with a dance and foreign charm. “Call Me Maybe” is a guilty pleasure because of how unashamedly pop it is. I doubt I need to detail the inherent problems with zombies and drugs.

But what is there to criticize about “Harlem Shake?” Baauer’s hit is noteworthy because it was able to spur this seemingly senseless viral craze by using tried and true

methods: inventive sampling combined solid song craft, minus the lyrics. Pitchfork was on the money in its review of the song when it described it as a “visceral pleasure,” because that’s all it is. The track has no aspiration other than taping into our inert need for a thrill, unintentionally deconstructing music criticism in the process.

Even the details surrounding the track are hard to grasp. The hipsters are probably in a fit of rage because “Harlem Shake” actually came out last year. The same goes for the diehard practitioners of the original Harlem Shake. The latter is interesting because Baauer’s vision of the Harlem Shake is essentially as hip-hop as the original. There’s the genre’s trademark use of samples (that lion sample is undeniable) and rhythm.

This isn’t a bastardization of the original Harlem Shake. It’s the rejuvenation of it.

It manages to tap into the tempo and panache of the dance while peeling away its urban façade. The thrill isn’t just for the streets anymore, and perhaps it never was, and Baauer’s feud against Harlem-based rapper Azealia Banks over her remix of the song seems almost too symbolic.

This insanity that’s unleashed by “Harlem Shake” is the sort that’s beyond fiscal or ethnical boundaries. Maybe that’s why there needs to be a mask in these viral videos – the mask sort of draws attention away from the people. It’s about the madness not the person. Under this context, sexually suggestive locker dances feel necessary rather than blatantly homoerotic, and men in bird suits feel more cathartic than weird.

Essentially, the question isn’t, “What’s the point of the ‘Harlem Shake’?” The question is: what’s the point of denying it?

Email: brian.josephs@ubspectrum.com

10

ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

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South: dozens in prime locations on Winspear, Northrup, Englewood, Merrimac, Highgate, and more! Most have large bedrooms, hardwood floors, offstreet parking, laundry.

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Crossword of the Day

HOROSCOPES

Wednesday, February 20, 2013 FROM UNIVERSAL UCLICK

ACROSS

53 Attack from all directions 55 Eb's wife?

57 Cleverly

1 Bygone big birds

61 Experienced sailors, slangily

5 John of "Coming to America"

65 Bout of indulgence

9 Rear of a plane 13 Assign as one's share 15 Chantilly product 16 Balm base 17 "___ Andronicus" (Shakespeare play) 18 Final unpleasant moment 20 Cheered, in a way 22 Sticks that go boom

66 Salt Lake City's home 67 Doomed (with "for")

Edited by Timothy E. Parker February 20, 2013 A TASTY PUZZLE By Gary Cooper

68 Bonnie and Clyde caper

25 One who's moping

61 Day light?

69 Reporter's quest

26 Little rascal

62 Partook of

70 Some babies

27 Bad way for a ship to be driven

63 Type of suit

28 "___ & Mrs. Miller" (Robert Altman film)

64 "Look at that!"

71 Planning to vote no

DOWN

29 Became weatherworn 30 Consumed slowly, as a drink

1 Addition or subtraction

32 Measure of resistance

2 Melange

33 Chinese restaurant freebie

3 Singing voice

35 In an unrelaxed manner

28 File, Edit, or Help

4 Grouchy sort

39 Two-year-old

31 Tediously repetitious

5 Reflective power, as of a planet

34 Pie part

40 "What did I tell you?"

6 Damsels

36 Tool repository

42 Climbing legume

7 Six mos. from Apr.

37 "That turns my stomach!"

45 Cheesy pasta dish

8 Paving stone

48 Some bottles of liquor

9 Bagpiper's wear

49 Meetings of lips

10 Pub offering

50 Decide on, as a date

11 Charged atom

54 Babble enthusiastically

12 Conducted

56 Bookie's numbers

47 Tournedos, e.g.

14 Pre-Soviet royalty

58 "___ go bragh!"

51 Art Deco illustrator

19 Makes cryptic

59 "___ we forget ..."

52 Murphy of Hollywood

21 Substitute for forgotten words

60 Abominable snowman

23 Overly proper person 24 "It Happened One Night" director Frank

38 Old tummy tuckers 41 Conductor's nickname 43 TiVo users may skip them 44 Yuletide song 46 Use choice words

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) -- The news you have been waiting for is likely to come your way today -- though from an unexpected and perhaps highly unusual source.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- The position you find yourself in today may require you to follow someone else's rules to the letter -- and some may seem a little odd.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- After a good deal of back and forth, you and another are likely to come to an agreement today that works for both parties.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- You'll require some more information today before setting off on a journey of discovery. You are emotionally ready, however.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- Putting your best foot forward today should not be difficult -- though you may not always get the reaction you were expecting.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- You may have to explain yourself more than once today before you get the go-ahead for a plan that you've been working on for quite some time.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22) -- You may be surprised to learn that someone else has been working on the very same "surprise" project. Perhaps you can work together?

LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 22) -- The best thing you can do for yourself today is to entrust a certain friend with the bulk of the time-sensitive work that remains to be done.

Now leasing for Fall 2013

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SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- You may not be able to join in the fun today, but you can appreciate that others are enjoying themselves as much as possible.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- You're not in a particularly social mood today; avoid coming in contact with those who may challenge you in an unpleasant way.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- You can pick up the pace today and challenge your closest rival in a new and spectacular way. All your plans are coming together.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- You know what it takes to get certain things done today, but you may have to interpret the rules in a rather creative fashion.

12

Sports

Wednesday, February 20, 2013 ubspectrum.com

Bulls axe Vikings

Men’s tennis defeats Cleveland State in front of record crowd, snaps two-game skid JEFF PLACITO Contributing Writer In front of a record crowd at Cleveland State’s Chagrin Valley Athletic Club, the men’s tennis team snapped a two-game losing skid and sent the crowd of more than 200 home disappointed.

The Bulls (3-2) secured a 4-3 win against the Vikings (2-6) on Saturday, giving the team its first-ever victory against Cleveland State.

“It could have been a 6-1 match,” said head coach Lee Nickell. “We had a little bit of an issue closing out some matches in the second set and that’s kind of our focus for this week – to make sure we can start fast and continue that intensity for two sets so we don’t have to go three.”

The Bulls, who were coming off backto-back losses, needed a spark to help them overcome the tough away match against Cleveland State. The win was crucial for Buffalo after a tough defeat at Penn and a brutal 7-0 loss to nationally ranked Cornell.

Sophomore Damien David and freshman Akhil Mehta started strong and defeated Ali Shabib and Niklas Johnson, 8-4, in the first doubles match. David and Mehta, who currently make up the No. 1 combination for the Bulls this year, improved their record to 4-1 on the season.

Nickell changed up the other doubles pairs for the first time this season, pairing senior Vusa Hove with sophomore Sebastian Ionescu and freshman Sergio Arevalillo with freshman Ashwin Sharma.

“We found some good chemistry, and that’s what we’ve been lacking the past few matches,” Nickell said. “It’s taken us a while to figure things out and I don’t think were over the hump yet, but this was a good step for us.”

Nick Fischetti /// The Spectrum

Senior Vusa Hove (above) and the Bulls were able to pull off their first-ever victory against Cleveland State, 4-3 on Saturday, snapping a two-game losing streak.

Arevalillo and Sharma’s performance proved the change was warranted, as the duo won their match 8-6.

After clinching the crucial doubles point, the Bulls’ No. 1 singles player, Hove, lost the first singles match in three sets. The team rallied behind his loss and singles two through four won all of their matches.

David and freshman Pablo Alvarez also earned victories, both winning in straight sets.

Ionescu defeated his opponent in three sets.

“To come down to that last match and have Sebastian clinch it for us is very positive.

I think two weeks ago we lose that match,” Nickell said.

Nickell believes the Bulls are improving slowly but surely, and the underclassmanladen team gains more experience after every practice and game.

“To play a team like Cleveland State, who is at the level of the MAC teams we play, and to be able to handle adversity and to get through that match was a big step for our program,” Nickell said.

The Bulls play their first home match of the season against Niagara (4-2) on Friday and Nickell wants his team to be ready for a tough home stand.

“I want to see us stay focused all the way through the match and dominate Niagara from start to finish,” Nickell said. “Duquesne is a very tough team, so we need to again remain focused and not let them take away our momentum.”

The Bulls will square off at home against the Purple Eagles on Friday at 6 p.m. and continue Saturday morning at 9 a.m. against Duquesne (6-2, 0-1 Atlantic 10).

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Shooting into an ocean

Senior guard’s leadership has ripple effect on men’s basketball team JON GAGNON Sports Editor There are two things an onlooker notices from senior guard Tony Watson during shooting drills at the end of the men’s basketball team’s practice: He talks to the ball whenever he shoots.

And he doesn’t miss.

“Come on, 1!” Watson yells, referring to his jersey number in the third person. “Get up! Get in there!”

Swish. Swish. Swish.

Watson was named the Mid-American Conference Co-Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 27.5 points per game in his team’s two victories last week.

“It’s a great feeling,” Watson said. “It’s something that every player doesn’t really work toward, but once you do get it, your hard work is really paying off. You’ve always got to give the credit back to your teammates.”

Watson scored a career-high 24 points on Wednesday in a win against Toledo, and then topped his performance, scoring 31 on Saturday against Miami (Ohio). He shot 12 for 18 from three-point land in the two games.

“We always knew Tony had this in him,” said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. “He’s a terrific player. He understands the game.

When you have someone who can shoot the ball as good as he [can], when they keep getting good looks, eventually, they’re going to knock them down.”

Watson is finding his rhythm at the right time, as this is his last year in a UB uniform.

But hot shooting from the perimeter isn’t the only thing Watson has been contributing to this young Bulls team.

As one of the team’s two seniors, he feels it is his responsibility to take on the leadership role.

“Each team, the leadership comes from within and it’s important for me to step up

Nick Fischetti /// The Spectrum

Tony Watson (above, shooting) was awarded Mid-American Conference East Co-Player of the Week. His leadership and willingness to step up in clutch situations have the Bulls feeling good about the rest of the season.

as a leader and guide these younger guys and set a good example,” Watson said. “I’m just pushing my guys as hard as I can for my last go-around.”

The team has responded and is currently on a three-game win streak as the conference schedule dwindles. The Bulls have four MAC games before the conference tournament.

“All the great players have that within them, where they are competitive in nature and have drive to succeed, and he definitely has that,” said sophomore forward Will Regan, one of Watson’s best friends. “He’s a great leader and he’s showing it through example right now.”

After junior guard Jarod Oldham went down in practice in December with a wrist injury, the team has relied heavily on freshman point guard Jarryn Skeete for minutes. Skeete has taken a lot from the veteran Watson.

“I think his leadership is rubbing off on me,” Skeete said. “He’s setting the bar at a certain level and I’ve got to get to that level in order for us to be successful. He’s an easy

assist; when he’s open, you give it to him, run back and it’s good. In that way, too, it’s been really helpful.”

Watson is the same driven person off the court that he is on the court. This past summer, he interned for UB Athletics, working with external affairs. Watson spent his time in marketing, helping develop relationships between athletes and students.

His first option after graduation is to play professional basketball overseas, but he is happy to have other options as a marketing major.

For now, he’ll keep his focus on the Bulls’ remaining games this season, and he hopes to continue his hot streak.

“The hoop feels like it’s as big as the ocean right now,” Watson said. “Every time I let the ball go, it feels pretty good.”

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

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My unsung hero JOE KONZE JR Senior Sports Editor In recent weeks, amongst the Baseball Hall of Fame fiasco, the Ray Lewis hoopla and the Oscar Pistorius case, people have discussed what exactly the term “Role Model” means. It brought back memories of when I was 4 years old.

I stood at the chain-link fence. In my sight, there was a baseball diamond and a man whom I aspired to be like.

I was always his biggest fan, whether he was crouching behind the plate catching pitches or taking ground balls in the middle of the infield.

Every time he hit a home run – which was only a couple times in his career – he would write on a baseball which park he hit it at so I could keep it as a novelty item.

He never made it to the major leagues, but he was a person I looked up to. It wasn’t just because of his on-field actions, but what he exemplified off the field.

That man was my father.

When he wasn’t spending time playing baseball in a local senior baseball league, he was working as an electrician – a job he had been doing since he was in his early teens – and being a father figure to my sisters and me.

From when I was born until today, he would come home with grease and ink on his uniform; he was the epitome of a bluecollar guy.

But no matter how tired he was, he found a way to teach me his love for the game of baseball. I admired his work ethic and everything he had done for us. He was the centerpiece of our family.

And then one day, the person who had been the strongest, most heroic figure in my life was no longer invincible.

It was March 2, 1996, and my mom stood still in the kitchen with the phone in her hand. Her eyes swelled up and tears began to pour out. I had no idea what was going on because I was so young, but from the constant sobs and loss for words, I knew something was wrong.

I had learned that my father was involved in an accident and was hospitalized.

It was an electrical fire; the machine he was working on tripped and started a fire. He was seriously burned.

After he went through months of recovery, I didn’t know what to expect from him. He could have easily thrown in the towel and quit his job because of his traumatic dance with death.

But he went right back to work. He knew he had to in order to support his family.

Looking back on this event has shown me integrity holds more power than what a skill set or talent can provide.

That is something that seems to be lost in the minds of sports fans. Many times we have fallen victim to on-the-court talents a player possesses, but off-field actions don’t back up the image portrayed on the playing field.

We see athletes like Lance Armstrong, who overcame obstacles and won seven Tour de France titles but later was found lying about testing positive for performance enhancing drugs; Oscar Pistorius, a double amputee sprinter and one of the world’s best-known athletes who recently allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend; and Ray Lewis, whose legacy has been a mystery ever since he beat charges of the alleged murders of two people in Jan. 2000.

When do we stop using the terms “Role Model” and “Hero” to describe athletes?

What they do in competition is amazing.

They possess the ability to excite a crowd and win cities a championship, but do we really know what kind of people they are?

What it comes down to: although the bright lights and championships look good on paper, there is still another side of athletes that we do not see and will never fully understand.

Integrity goes a long way; it is more valuable than a check with seven figures.

Email: joseph.konze@ubspectrum.com

716.635.6333