THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950
ubspectrum.com
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Volume 62 No. 60
D.J. Cooper thwarts Buffalo’s senior night
The Bob Dylan essentials
Story on page 14
SA pushes to become notfor-profit
UB community debates holidays in jeopardy RACHEL RAIMONDI Asst. News Editor A friend wrote “Happy Rosh Hashanah, Julie” on the whiteboard in her dorm at Buffalo State College. Another student approached Julie and said accusingly, “So, you don’t believe in Jesus.” As a freshman adjusting to life at a university that did not recognize Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Julie Rockmaker, now a social worker in UB’s School of Dental Medicine, felt unwelcome to not only practice her faith but also be at the school. “That was enough to intimidate me for four years never to ask a professor if I could have off for Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur,” she said. More than 10 years later, Rockmaker remembers the incident every holiday season. On Tuesday, she told her story at the Faculty Senate meeting in which UB community members debated the university’s recognition of Jewish holidays and Labor Day. Fewer than half of the Faculty Senate members attended the meeting, forcing the organization to adjourn without voting on the issue “Discrimination is out there,” Rockmaker said adamantly. William Baumer, a professor of philosophy and member of the Calendar Committee and Faculty Senate Executive Board, argued that having Jewish holidays off from university activities is discrimination, as well. In 2002, Baumer motioned to approve the proposed academic calendar that included the Jewish holidays, according to Faculty Senate minutes.
“I think in retrospect that was an error and I point out that we are in the unhappy position of discriminating in favor of one particular religious group and we do not do that for any other religious group or belief at all,” Baumer said. He suggested the Faculty Senate practice “non-discrimination” by removing all religious holidays from the academic calendar. However, Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashannah are exceptions because Jewish faith prohibits attending work or school, whereas Christian faith requires attending Mass, said Michael Ryan, former vice provost for Undergraduate Education, to The Spectrum in March 2010. Some students suggest the issue is larger than Rosh Hoshanah and Yom Kippur. Ilana Saffeir, a sophomore occupational therapy major, believes Saturday exams should no longer be scheduled as they conflict with Shabbat. Saffeir said she chose UB over a private school because of the university’s observance of the holidays and the larger Jewish community. However, last year, one of Saffeir’s professors refused to honor the tradition of not using electronics or modern transportation during the holy days. Saffeir was unable to get from North to South Campus and missed her class. Her grades were
docked even though she told the professor in advance, she said. “What is the difference between a tenured professor and a terrorist?” joked Elias Kaufman, an associate professor emeritus in the School of Dental Medicine. “The answer is you can sometimes negotiate with a terrorist,” he said. Kaufman believes although the university may observe the holidays in question, not all professors will follow suit. Since joining UB’s faculty in 1966, Kaufman said he has witnessed several “overt as well as covert violations” of the policies. Departments decided to stay open if the adversely affected population was small. Professors still gave exams on holidays. Faculty went unpunished, he said. “The university did nothing,” Kaufman said. Kaufman wonders how the policy and failure to adhere
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to it would be handled after the change. Cindy Konovitz, assistant dean of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, attended the meeting as a trained mediator and hoped to create a compromise that fulfilled the state’s education requirements and appeased the debaters. Continued on page 6
Alexa Strudler /// The Spectrum
Professor William Baumer argues in favor of removing Jewish holidays from the academic calendar at the Faculty Senate meeting Tuesday.
SAM FERNANDO Asst. News Editor While Student Association President Travis Nemmer admits it isn’t the “sexiest issue,” he thinks it’s the most important change being made under his administration. On Feb. 17, Nemmer made a proposal to the SA Senate to turn SA into a not-for-profit organization. The proposal was overwhelmingly supported by the Senate, which approved it with 13 senators voting for it and two abstaining. Nemmer worked with SA attorney Joshua Korman to produce the document outlining how SA would benefit from incorporation and how to start the process. The main purposes for becoming a not-for-profit is to strengthen liability protection, establish an independent identity and streamline finances, according to Nemmer. He said he didn’t need Senate’s approval but wanted its support. The Senate also voted to make the proposal a referendum issue, which means the student body will vote on whether to incorporate SA during the upcoming election. The referendum proposal was approved with 14-0-1 vote. If the student body votes to approve incorporation, SA will officially become the Student Association, Inc., at the end of spring 2014 semester. Senate Chair Jonathan Grunin said the approval from the Senate was largely based on the liability issue. “The senators felt that full liability upon the executive board was one, unnecessary and two, unfair,” Grunin said. “God forbid anything happens to the organization that is not their fault, the executive board as individuals should not be held liable for million-dollar lawsuits.” Continued on page 6
Bulls host annual pro day at Ralph Wilson Stadium For senior OLB, exposure Means chance of a lifetime AARON MANSFIELD Editor in Chief Western New York native Steven Means grew up a Buffalo Bills fan. After four years on the gridiron for the University at Buffalo Bulls, Means has a chance to achieve his dream of reaching the NFL. On Tuesday afternoon, the senior flaunted his athletic prowess in front of 18 NFL teams in the Bills’ practice facility. Twenty-one scouts watched, took notes and recorded iPad videos as Means worked out alongside seven other participants: fellow UB seniors Gokhan Ozkan and Willie Moseley, former UB punter Jacob Schum, former UB basketball player Byron Mulkey, Albany’s Jon Morgan, Buffalo State’s Pasquale Vacchio and Alfred University’s Jon Jackson. Ten NFL teams made the trip to Buffalo last year for the annual pro day. Means said the eight-team increase says a lot about UB’s football program.
Alexa Strudler /// The Spectrum
Senior defensive end Steven Means (left photo) and former UB basketball player Byron Mulkey (right) worked out alongside six other football players for 21 scouts from 18 NFL teams at UB’s annual pro day in Orchard Park.
“It says people are looking now,” said Means, who had 77 tackles, 6.5 sacks and three blocked kicks in his final year. “They aren’t treating us as a joke. This program is getting bigger and bigger … Confidence is going to be built in this program.” Three UB alumni – James Starks (Green Bay), Trevor Scott (New England) and Josh Thomas (Carolina) – are currently in the NFL, and
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a handful are between teams. Head coach Jeff Quinn said his team’s tough 2012 schedule helped this year’s players get exposure. “We play great competition, the Georgias, UConns and Pitts,” he said. “We’re playing against some of the best talent in the country, and our kids have really proven they can handle their own.”
Means and Moseley have been preparing for the draft at Proformance Sports Training in the Northtown Center (former Pepsi Center) across from North Campus. Means, a freak athlete who starred in track and field and basketball at the local Grover Cleveland High School (now International Prep), is a rare physical specimen. At 6-foot-
4, 257 pounds, Means fits the mold for an ideal outside linebacker. He said scouts have been impressed with how well he moves; Means ran an estimated 4.6-second 40-yard dash, though he was shooting for a 4.58. He also put up over 20 reps on the bench press (225 pounds). Continued on page 6
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