UB alum draws upon lifelong interests to make films Veterans’ Assoc. hosts Combat to Classrooom event
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950
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Men’s tennis in midst of historic season
Friday, february 21, 2014
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Volume 63 No. 52
AN INTERNAL FIRE For tennis captain Shkodnik, dreams of professional career are motivation JOE KONZE JR
Senior Arts Editor
Yevgeniy Jason Shkodnik knew what he wanted. As an 11-year-old at the Gordon Kent’s New England Tennis Camp in Connecticut, he fell in love with the sport. The quick lateral movements, the demand of split-second reaction time, the culture – he wanted to be part of it all. Many 11-year-olds dream of pursuing a career in professional sports. Some write their goal down on a piece of paper, some tell their parents. On that fateful day, in an instant, like a tennis ball meets the chalk line on a scorching serve, Shkodnik felt a fire lit in his heart. It was his new dream. He knew what he wanted. He wanted to be a professional tennis player. *** Among the roughly 30,000 students who attend the University at Buffalo, it’s tough to stand out. But it’s not hard to find Shkodnik in a crowd of people. Down the middle of his back, a bushel of dreads flows freely. He has grown the dreadlocks for seven years, and they have become one of his defining characteristics. The strands of hair range from 12-18 inches. That’s about the length of 4.5 pens. “We’ve been in a four-year wrestling match in terms of him getting it cut. I feel like he’ll be faster,” said UB men’s tennis coach Lee Nickell. “We’ve toyed with the idea of doing the thing that they do in Jackass where they carry the razor behind.” But the hairstyle is part of who Shkodnik is. “We’ve battled with that for quite some time,” said Shkodnik’s mother, Maya. “We can’t force him to cut it. Now he’s almost 23 and I can’t do anything about it.”
Chad Cooper, The Spectrum
At the age of 11, senior Yevgeniy Jason Shkodnik fell in love with tennis. His personality, hairstyle and drive differentiate him from others at the University at Buffalo. His dream of playing professionally has helped fuel his path to UB.
Chad Cooper, The Spectrum
The tennis environment was one thing that attracted Shkodnik to Buffalo. When coach Lee Nickell recruited him, UB was coming off a successful 2010 season in which the Bulls won the Mid-American Conference regular season championship before advancing to their first-ever MAC title game.
SEE SHKODNIK, PAGE 2
Aziz Ansari to perform as part of 2014 Comedy Series MEGAN WEAL
Asst. Arts Editor
On Wednesday, the Student Association announced that Aziz Ansari will perform in Alumni Arena April 28 as part of the 2014 Comedy Series. SA made the announcement via its Facebook page. The announcement came a week after SA announced its 13th annual comedy series. The event will be free to UB students with a valid student ID; 5,300 student tickets are available. Ansari is well known for his role as Tom Haverford in NBC’s Parks and Recreation, in which he plays an administrator with the lifelong goal of becoming a mogul. In his stand-up comedy routines, he’s known for his quickwitted social observations, audience interaction and fresh, relevant material. “We think he’s one of the biggest names in comedy right now, especially for college-age adults,” said SA President Sam McMahon. “His shows and comedy features have been extremely funny and extremely successful. So we really thought this was a
He is an athlete and young man who stands out. His hairstyle is symbolic of that. *** It’s a February afternoon. With snow coming down in Buffalo and frigid temperatures forcing practices inside, the UB men’s tennis team files into Miller Tennis Center in Williamsville to practice. The players are preparing for a match against Marist, a strong opponent. The team breaks after a brief meeting. Out of the circle, the 6-foot Shkodnik emerges. He takes his position on the court and prepares to receive a serve. Shkodnik reacts quickly. He moves laterally, winds up and swings his racket with so much torque the tennis ball looks like a neon green Indy car hitting its top speed and racing to the finish line. The sound of rubber meeting nylon and titanium caroms loudly off the walls. A barbaric grunt follows. *** The tennis environment was one thing that attracted Shkodnik to Buffalo. When Nickell recruited him, UB was coming off a successful 2010 season in which the Bulls won the Mid-American Conference regular season championship before advancing to their first-ever MAC title game. Nickell saw Shkodnik’s athleticism and knew he was full of potential, though he was a somewhat raw product in need of development. But there was one thing that made Nickell’s recruiting decision easy: Shkodnik’s mentality. “When I first started talking to ‘Yev,’ he communicated well, which I liked,” Nickell said. “And he was under the radar a bit. When we got him up here on a visit and we got to know him, I saw potential in him not just tennis wise but as a leader as well.”
Courtesy of Flickr user Vans 66
Aziz Ansari will perform at Alumni Arena April 28. The news was announced Wednesday. Ansari has starred in the NBC hit show Parks and Recreation as Tom Haverford. He also starred in Thirty Minutes or Less.
great chance to bring in someone who speaks to this generation.” Ansari will be joining a long line of renowned comedians who have performed at the SA Comedy Series. Previous performers include Craig Robinson, Tommy Davidson and Chris Rock. The comedy series is in its 13th year at UB.
“We got an email from one of his booking agents saying that he was well-routed through the area on April 28 and asked if we had any interest,” McMahon said. “The whole e-board knew right away that it was something we were interested in.” The event will take place in the Alumni Arena, which has a holding capacity of 6,500. Six-hundred tickets are allocated to the general public and 600 to students in the area with a valid college ID. SA has not finalized its ticket giveaway system yet. Ticket information is still in planning stages. “We’re thankful that fundingwise we got some co-sponsorships from around the university,” McMahon said. “Student Affairs co-sponsored us, as well as the Graduate Student Association (GSA).” SA announced comedians H. John Benjamin and Aisha Tyler from FX’s hit show Archer will also perform on campus. That event will take place on March 1. email: arts@ubspectrum.com
School of Management resolves commencement scheduling conflict AMANDA LOW News Editor
The School of Management has changed its final exam schedule to end before UB’s commencement ceremonies. Initially, the final exams overlapped with graduation. Julie Farrell, the School of Management commencement coordinator, said her department moved back its exams to avoid potential conflicts for students. The School of Management would be most impacted in the overlap of spring 2014 final exams and commencement ceremonies, said A. Scott Weber, the senior vice provost for academic affairs, in an email. The final exam schedule was set for May 12-17, and the School of Management commencement was planned for May 16. Farrell said the school noticed the conflict sometime before winter break and formed a committee to work with the Office of the Registrar and arrange exams to run Monday to Thursday. “We worked very closely with the registrar’s office to ensure our students would be set and be able to celebrate,” Farrell said.
If there is a conflict with a general education exam and the ceremony, the student can contact the School of Management and they will work together with the faculty to reach a solution, according to Farrell. The biomedical sciences commencement ceremony also fell during the final exam schedule on May 15. Kelli Hickey, the senior academic advisor for biomedical sciences, said the school’s commencement is usually the last day of final exams and they have had to work out issues in the past. “This year, I am not aware of any conflicts during our ceremony, [but] some of our graduating seniors have exams afterwards,” Hickey said in an email. “We have advised those students to communicate with their professors to see if they can work something out.” Weber also said students should contact their professors if there is an overlap, and professors should treat it as a normal exam conflict. email: news@ubspectrum.com