The Spectrum Volume 63 Issue 65

Seasonal Affective Disorder impacts students

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950

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Volume 63 No. 65

SA announces The Band Perry to headline Spring Fest Students have mixed reactions to choice of performers JOE KONZE JR

Senior Arts Editor

On Monday, the Student Association announced The Band Perry, Gloriana and Citizen Cope will perform Friday, May 2, at Spring Fest.

The event will either take place at Alumni Arena or in the Alumni A parking lot depending on the weather.

Students had varying reactions to the announcement.

“I think that that’s the dumbest lineup I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Temi Ola, a sophomore exercise science major. “Basically, we look bad. We’re the biggest campus in Buffalo. Why do we have such a bad lineup? We could do better. [The SA] has so much money, and they’re not doing nothing with it.”

Freshman undecided major Kathryn McSpedon doesn’t mind the change of genre from recent years, which have featured predominantly hip-hop acts.

Rap/hip-hop has been a major part of the past four Fests.

“It’s going to be nice to enjoy some country instead of rap,” McSpedon said. “It’s definitely a good change of pace and variety.”

SA President Sam McMahon said his team chose country to bring variety to Spring Fest.

“It’s impossible to make everyone happy,” McMahon said.

“And I completely expected that there would be a vocal number of students who had an is-

Courtesy of flickr The Band Perry (above) was announced as this year’s headliner for UB’s Spring Fest. The lineup will also include Gloriana and Citizen Cope.

sue with our genre of choice this year. But I think there are a lot of students who are also very appreciative, and we’ve had a lot of feedback from students who say, ‘Finally, a Fest I want to go to. Finally, a Fest I’m interested in.’”

The budget is slightly below average for Spring Fest this year, according to SA Entertainment Coordinator Marc Rosenblitt.

“We are looking at about $190k in talent fees (includes all artist costs and agent fees), and about $125k - $150k in production costs; these costs vary de-

Center of Excellence in Material Informatics seeks to reinvent the ‘Rust Belt’

pending on personnel costs, rider requirements and ultimate location of the show (inside vs. outside),” Rosenblitt wrote in an email to The Spectrum.

McMahon said the decision was also based on bringing comedian Aziz Ansari to campus to round out the SA Comedy Series.

Ansari is performing April 28.

“Aziz was not a budgeted expense and we kind of made a decision,” McMahon said. “We thought the students would really appreciate the chance to see Aziz Ansari. So we kind of made the

tradeoff for a three-act Fall Fest in return for an extra comedian, who I think is a pretty big name.”

The Band Perry is a Tennessee trio led by Kimberly Perry on guitar and vocals, alongside her siblings Reid and Neil.

The group is most known for the songs “If I Die Yong,” “Better Dig Two” and “You Lie.” The band performed at this year’s Super Bowl pre-game party and the members serve as mentors on NBC’s show “The Voice.”

Rosenblitt said although there has been some uproar over the

MADELAINE BRITT Asst. News Editor

The Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics (CMI) is doing what it can to revitalize the City of Buffalo.

Founded two years ago, CMI is a catalyst for regional growth and economic development in the Buffalo-Niagara region, spurring progress in manufacturing technology.

For local companies, the center is a resource for research and development, faculty and student expertise and modern facilities that allow for businesses to expand and reinvent their products in the area of materials informatics. In an effort to increase local business development and employment rates, it has formed up to 20 coalitions with companies in the area and around the country.

Dr. Marnie LaVigne, the associate vice president for economic development, is confident in the work the center is doing for this community in the field of urban revitalization. She said the center produces innovative methods for businesses to solve technolog-

ical inefficiencies and encourage revenue growth.

“The NYS Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics (CMI) is a relatively new effort, but it already has made contacts with dozens of firms in the manufacturing sectors, who now can look to the university for cutting edge resources to help them drive innovative new and enhanced products and services,” LaVigne said in an email. “A single point of entry to the myriad resources at UB via CMI is incredibly powerful in helping companies who may be facing an uncertain future if they don’t grow their revenues through innovation while controlling their costs.”

For LaVigne, UB is serving a pivotal role in the future of Buffalo’s growth as a leader in the manufacturing and technology industries. Considered a “Rust Belt City,” Buffalo’s reputation doesn’t always need be cast in a “negative light,” she said, and initiatives like these can help turn around the stereotype.

“CMI will be working hand-inhand with community partners, particularly the new advanced SEE ‘RUST BELT,’ PAGE 2

email: arts@ubspectrum.com

Ahmed claims injustices in Student Association election Treasurer candidate believes election proceedings favored party candidates SAM FERNANDO Senior News Editor

Jordan Oscar, The Spectrum Mark Swihart, a chemical and biological engineering professor, is the co-director of UB’s Center of Excellence in Material Informatics (CMI). CMI has formed about 20 coalitions with local and national companies to increase economic development in Buffalo.

announcement, he thinks it will be a great event.

“Despite the loud voices on Facebook and Twitter, I have personally received more praise for our selection from students who are outside of the SA bubble than most of the past lineups,” Rosenblitt said. “Despite the naysayers out there, I personally believe that this is going to be a great show with a ton of energy. I’m very hopeful that the weather will cooperate and we will be able to go outdoors.”

Gloriana has written and produced two albums – a self-titled album, Gloriana (2009), and A Thousand Miles Left Behind (2010).

Six of the group’s songs have been on Billboard’s Top 40 Country Songs. “Wild at Heart” received gold status in U.S. record sales in 2010 and “Kissed You Goodnight” reached platinum status last year.

Citizen Cope will bring a musical fusion of soul, blues, folk and rock when he takes the stage to play an acoustic set.

The solo artist’s songs have been featured in shows like Entourage, Scrubs and CSI: Miami. His song “Let the Drummer Kick” was in the 2005 movie Coach Carter.

Doors will open at 5 p.m. and the show will commence at 6 p.m.

Ali Ahmed, a treasurer candidate in last week’s Student Association election, feels he was treated unfairly throughout the election process and thinks the election was invalid.

Ahmed, who ran independently, said various members of SA – whether intentional or not – hindered his ability to effectively campaign and be a viable candidate in the election. The Value Party’s Sade Cadle was elected treasurer. SA has ruled the election was valid, but Ahmed disagrees with that determination.

Ahmed admitted he still probably would have lost if he were treated fairly, but it is the principle behind the injustice – and the potential future injustice toward students who choose to run independently – that he finds necessary to point out.

“I simply was not treated as an equal candidate,” Ahmed said.

“I understand that I don’t have a party, I didn’t run on a party’s ticket or have anyone with me, but I think it is completely unreasonable to ignore a candidate. I had the sheet, I signed up, I got the signatures, I went to the meetings and put the time and effort in … But I was still ignored.”

On Feb. 23, the SA Senate passed an amendment specifying the window of time for the election. This year’s election didn’t take place within that time, but SA officials say the new amendment doesn’t take effect until next year. Ahmed says SA’s bylaws state otherwise.

He received 155 votes in the election. His opponents, Cadle and Juan Jimenez, received 1,021 and 965, respectively.

Ahmed’s election grievances include being left off of emails, receiving late invitations to speaking events and being mistreated on the election floor, which is located in the Student Union.

Accusation against e-board March 24, SA President Sam McMahon and Vice President Judy Mai sent an email through the SA listserv, which goes to the e-boards of all SA clubs, addressing the validity of each party’s platform. Ahmed’s name was not included in the list of candidates and his ideas were not addressed.

Ahmed said he sent an email to McMahon and Mai asking why he was left off the email. McMahon said there was nothing he could do at that point, according to Ahmed.

When The Spectrum asked about Ahmed’s complaints, McMahon responded in an email: “I don’t have any comment with respect

to Mr. Ahmed’s accusations.”

Ahmed said students who saw McMahon and Mai’s email told him they did not know he was running for treasurer.

“You are influencing the students by letting them know what is going on and who the candidates are,” Ahmed said. “If you ignore me, you aren’t treating me fairly as an equal candidate. And especially if I am an independent, it is even bigger because I am banking on these mediums to get my name and my message out there, which was completely ignored.”

Ahmed secured endorsements from two of the six SA Councils, one more than Cadle.

Accusation against Assembly March 11, SA Assembly Speaker Melissa Kathan invited the Impact Party and Value Party via Facebook to speak about their platforms at the Assembly meeting the following day.

Ahmed claimed he was invited “last second” and the other candidates were informed “a lot earlier.” Though the meeting was canceled because of the weather, he still feels the principle is evident.

Kathan said she was unaware Ahmed was a candidate for treasurer. James Ingram, the SA president-elect who ran with the Value Party, noticed Ahmed was not invited and informed Kathan of the oversight.

She said upon receiving Ingram’s message, she immediately contacted Ahmed and invited him, which was about an hour after she sent the original invitations. Ahmed never responded, she said.

SEE AHMED, PAGE 2

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Wdnesday, April 2, 2014

Continued from page 1: Ahmed Kathan said her position as Assembly speaker calls for her to remain neutral during the election. But she feels running as an independent is difficult in itself.

Ingram agreed, but he said he doesn’t think Ahmed was “intentionally treated unfairly.”

“I do think just by the nature of it, when you do have a full party ticket, there’s more people talking about it, there’s more people getting other people informed and excited about it,” Ingram said.

“For Ali trying to do that on his own, it’s just harder in general.”

Accusation against Election and Credentials Committee Fifteen supporters of each party were allowed to campaign on the

election floor during the election.

All supporters received lanyards designating the party they were backing.

Because Ahmed didn’t attend the first day of the election, Election and Credentials Chair Matt Siwiec assumed he wasn’t going to campaign the next two days, Siwiec said.

“It was my fault; I take the blame for that one,” Siwiec said. “I tried to scramble and get them made … but that is beside the point. If I was to treat all three parties fairly, I should have made the passes. It was an oversight on my part.”

The validity of the election At the February Senate meeting, senators approved six amendments for the SA Constitution in under an hour, in what Ahmed called “the in-

famous Senate meeting.”

The second amendment passed states: “Elections of officers shall take place no earlier than six weeks before the last day of classes and no later than three weeks before the last day of the spring semester.”

Because of this amendment, Ahmed claims the election was invalid because it took place seven weeks before the end of the semester.

According to the constitution, any amendment made by the Senate must be signed or vetoed by the president. If the president signs the amendment, the “By-Law change shall take effect immediately.” If the president takes no action, the bylaw change shall take effect after seven

school days. Ahmed said the amendment was not vetoed.

Before the results of the election were announced, Ahmed brought his objection to Siwiec. Siwiec, some SA members and SA lawyer Joshua Korman looked over the objection but ruled the election valid.

Korman said the election process had already begun in January and the amendment was passed during the election period, Ahmed said.

According to SA rules, New York State law takes precedence over the SA Constitution, and according to state law, if bylaws are changed during an election period, then the election period supersedes that change.

The amendment would take effect after that.

Siwiec confirmed Korman’s reasoning for the ruling.

Ahmed, who has worked in SA the past three years as an SA assemblyman and senator, called the SA election system a popularity contest and thinks qualified candidates are overshadowed by the presence of parties.

“It speaks to how much the SA elections are about party politics; it’s not about the individual anymore,” Ahmed said. “You’re leaving out the biggest part: the students’ voice.

You’re forcing it to be something about popularity and how many people you know and not about qualifications anymore.” email: news@ubspectrum.com

Continued from page 1: ‘Rust Belt’ manufacturing institute just announced as part of the Buffalo Billion Investment Development Plan, to be at the hub of innovation that fuels our industrial transformation,” LaVigne said. “Buffalo will shine on the national and international stage as the best place to learn, work and live.”

Sarbajit Banerjee, an associate professor of chemistry and the codirector of the center, agrees with LaVigne.

In his seventh year at UB, he has come to have a new perspective in the university’s actions and outreach efforts, and he feels the center can make a difference in the region. In his eyes, the university can serve as a community facilitator and economic booster – similar to how Stanford has shaped the Silicon Valley and MIT with Boston – he said.

He said the university acting as a resource for local companies could help them become “relevant and competitive,” by giving them costeffective resources and technologies they may not otherwise be able to afford.

“I can speak from the perspective of a faculty member. This is obviously a region that has been in the decline for a long time,” Banerjee said. “I think what the university has realized, or has to be one of our major roles, is to be an engine for the economy and that we are already an engine for the economy and can do a better job.”

Though he says there is more to be done, and it is the role of the university to think unconventionally when it comes to educating students and interacting with the Buffalo community.

“We haven’t done that as well because, a lot of times, we have trained our young people to work jobs instead of creating their own jobs, and I think that mindset has to change,” Banarjee said. “We’ve been in this old-fashioned state university mode for too long. We have to be this dynamic, entrepreneurial university.”

Di Qi, a third-year chemical engineering graduate student, has worked in one of UB’s labs for close to two years under co-director of CMI and professor of chemical and biological engineering Mark Swihart.

Qi has had the opportunity to immerse himself in material technology at the lab, experimenting, writing and reviewing papers, and gathering research that can potentially evolve into bigger projects.

He said his work in Swihart’s lab has prepared him for his future ca-

reer and hopes the research and development that comes from the lab will improve the Buffalo region.

Swihart said the opportunities through the center are great for both students and businesses. Companies are able to access licenses or some sort of payment in exchange for the university’s services, while students can have hands-on learning experiences in their field. He hopes manufacturing companies will settle in Buffalo and the services UB provides will influence this decision.

“The idea is very simple: If we can create manufacturing jobs in high-tech areas, those are hard to move relative to other things,” Swihart said. “Part of the idea is a bootstrap process. If you have more opportunities, you reverse some of that brain drain. If you were to reverse some of that, you become

a more attractive place for someone to locate. It bootstraps its way up. The more students that stay, the more attractive we are as a place for high-tech companies to locate.”

For the CMI team, the only way to go is up and there are no bounds for UB’s influence on the City of Buffalo.

“We want to help local businesses that exist … We want to create new business,” Banerjee said. “We want to work with the biggest companies in the world that are out there, that have the resources to bring here, so that they decide that the next time they decide to choose to build a plant, they build it in Buffalo. I think the university can help a lot. We can do our part.” email: news@ubspectrum.com

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EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR IN CHIEF Aaron Mansfield MANAGING EDITORS Lisa Khoury Sara DiNatale OPINION EDITOR Anthony Hilbert COPY EDITORS Tress Klassen, Chief Amanda Jowsey Samaya Abdus-Salaam NEWS EDITORS Sam Fernando, Senior Amanda Low Madelaine Britt, Asst.

FEATURES EDITORS Keren Baruch, Senior Anne Mulrooney, Asst.

Brian Windschitl, Asst.

Emma Janicki, Asst.

ARTS EDITORS Joe Konze Jr., Senior Jordan Oscar Megan Weal, Asst.

SPORTS EDITORS Ben Tarhan, Senior Owen O’Brien Tom Dinki, Asst.

PHOTO EDITORS Aline Kobayashi, Senior Chad Cooper Juan David Pinzon, Asst.

Yusong Shi, Asst.

CARTOONIST Amber Sliter

PROFESSIONAL STAFF OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Helene Polley ADVERTISING MANAGER Emma Callinan Drew Gaczewski, Asst.

Chris Mirandi, Asst.

ADVERTISING DESIGNER Ashlee Foster Tyler Harder, Asst.

Jenna Bower, Asst.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014 Volume 63 Number 65 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.

The Spectrum is represented for national advertising by MediaMate.

For information on adverstising with The Spectrum, visit www.ubspectrum.com/advertising or call us directly at (716) 645-2452.

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

OPINION (Local) food is (local) culture WNY’s restaurant week offers unique access to area’s cuisine Drop the dining hall dishes and Student Union tedium. Western New York’s Local Restaurant Week offers the perfect opportunity to venture off campus and away from mundane mediocrity.

WNY’s Local Restaurant Week is a biannual event that runs in the early spring, when restaurant attendance tends to sag. It is currently running from March 31 to April 6. The event offers discounted and promotional deals at nearly 200 local participating restaurants. Many establishments offer two for $20.14 deals, particularly for lunch, and meal and beverage deals for the same price.

Beyond being an excuse to escape from repetitive campus dining, the event is a perfect door to a variety of new places and experiences across the city and region that students should take advantage of.

The week provides the opportunity for locals to explore new and adventurous restaurants or save money at mainstays. For college students, however, this is an invitation to integrate with this city’s abounding culture and cuisine, to explore unique dives or experiment with foreign fare.

This region is rich with local classics – beef on weck sandwiches, pierogies and its iconic wings – in addition to a breadth of cultural gastronomy, from Indian and Irish to Thai and Polish.

“You can’t go wrong trying a new restaurant at such a low price,” said Crista Hobart, the event coordinator for Local Restaurant Week.

“For college students looking to save money, this is a perfect way to break the chain.”

Offering quality food at a good price for students, this promotion is invaluable to local restaurants and family-owned establishments that often face a decline in business during colder months and stiff competition from fast-food huts and major chains.

Both Local Restaurant Weeks contribute approximately $8 million to the local economy a year, according to organizers, helping to stimulate further investment into this region’s second-largest employer, food service. And because local restaurants often source from local venders, these weeks also provide valuable spillovers for related industries.

The idea for WNY’s Local Restaurant Week came about during 2009. Led by local restaurateur and owner of four restaurants across WNY Mike Andrzejewski,

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the event aimed to counter the period’s economic downturn, which was particularly difficult for local food service.

The event has been a huge success since its inception, more than doubling participation by local partners from the original 60 supporting local businesses, jobs and continued economic recovery.

As college students, many of us are new to the area and plan on leaving Buffalo in the coming months or years. The week provides us with an opportunity to ex-

plore the community around us in a particularly intimate way.

“Our local independent restaurants are as much a part of the fabric of [WNY] culture as any landmark or museum,” Andrejewski remarked in a press release.

Food is culture, in much the same way as art, monuments and music. It offers a window into the ethnic and cultural makeup of a region or city, an entry to understanding a place and its people, in an uncommonly direct and internal way. It provides the most personal

and sharable method of experiencing the fabric of the area you’re in.

Local restaurants reflect the character and culture of a place; chains reflect only profiteering and distant head office business strategies.

As visitors or long-time residents of Buffalo, we owe it to ourselves, and this community, to “dine local, dine well, dine often” all year round. This week is the perfect kick-starter. email: editorial@upspectrum.com

Road to a poorly selected Fest paved with good intentions Spring Fest lineup announced, bemoaned The Spring Fest 2014 lineup, chosen and organized by the Student Association, draws some immediate questions, including but not limited to: Who are these bands?

Why is the selection so poor? What else is going on May 2?

The Band Perry is headlining the show with openers Gloriana and Citizen Cope. The selection reflects a shift in the typical hip-hop/ rap bias of past Fests by focusing squarely on country music, with Citizen Cope bringing a more soul and folk vibe.

Though this change in genre follows growing calls for more diversity in school concerts, the selection is disheartening at first blush, and potentially downright dreary – these artists aren’t known for lively revelry and songs conducive to an exciting college atmosphere.

Spring Fest, arguably more than any other concert in the academic year, offers the opportunity to blow off finals steam and begin to shake off the stress from a long year. In years past, this has been a time for upbeat artists like Steve Aoki, Rick Ross and Wiz Khalifa, not softer country and acoustic sets.

This is not to say the lineup had to be anything but country, as the genre and its concerts are rapidly becoming known for rabble-rousing, stadium-filling shows. Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean and Dierks Bentley are all examples of artists with the appropriate vibe.

For those less schooled in modern country repertoire, this year’s artists are either completely unfamiliar or just barely recognizable, further limiting pre-concert excitement.

The Band Perry is unmistakably known best for their 2010 hit “If I Die Young,” which topped country charts and hit No. 14 in the Top 40.

The song’s penetrating vocals and somber lyrics defined its success.

As its title suggests, however, it is less than a thrilling, vivacious tune.

The sibling band hasn’t since seen success like that first hit sine, the closest being 2012’s “Better Dig Two,” though the song has an equally depressing theme. The song centers on the female narrator assuring her husband she’d rather die and be buried next to him than live without him.

Cute or not, death and burials are usually low on the list of things students want to jam to after a long academic year, two weeks before summer break.

Citizen Cope will be performing an acoustic set. The ability of an amplified acoustic six-string to drown out what is typically drunken carousing by the student body has yet to be seen.

This one-man-band is best known for a handful of television shows and movies his songs have been featured on, including Entourage and Coach Carter. His biggest hit, his album Every Waking Moment, piqued at No. 69 on the Billboard Charts – in 2006. He would have likely been a better lineup choice for Justin Long’s conjured-up South Harmon Institute of Technology (the movie Accepted came out in 2006).

Gloriana is likely the most, or only, relevant artist on the lineup.

Well known in the country realm and with up-tempo, enjoyable and non-morbid songs like “Wild at Heart” and “Wanna Take You Home,” they may be the injection of life this fest will need.

With bemoaning across social media at the announcement, morale is not high at the outset. The genre change was welcome, particularly for those students who enjoy country, but the artist selection itself was simply suboptimal.

Whether due to rushing, a limited budget (despite not having a small concert series this semester) or other confounding factors, our seniors’ final Spring Fest likely will not be the most memorable – at least not for the right reasons.

There is more to putting together a good, diverse concert than a genre change. email: editorial@ubspectrum.com

Take our survey to tell us what you think about Spring Fest. bit.ly/springfest14

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Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ubspectrum.com

FEATURES

Seasonal shifts can get some down and depressed After an especially extreme Buffalo winter, students are eager for spring BRIAN WINDSCHITL

Asst. Features Editor

Aniruh Ojha says wintertime blues plague him. An international business student from New Delhi, India, he has struggled through Buffalo’s long snowy season, and the cold weather has negatively impacted his mood.

Buffalo’s long winters can bring a host of seasonal problems. Getting sick, slippery roads and blustery struggles through seemingly endless piles of snow are all common problems in the chilly season. But winter can also cause a less-publicized problem: Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.).

“Seasonal affective disorder is not a diagnosis that stands on its own,” said Sheila Figliotti, a member of Counseling Services, in an email.

S.A.D., when diagnosed, is typically paired with clinical depression. Though none of the students interviewed for this article have been formally diagnosed with S.A.D., they have all noticed their day-to-day outlook changing based on the weather.

“Many people will report feeling a lower mood, irritable or sad after a long stretch of cloudy weather without actually being clinically depressed,” Figliotti said.

This Buffalo winter has been long – it was snowing on the first day of spring – and it was the ninth-snowiest and eighth-coldest March ever recorded, according to The Buffalo News.

Estimated to affect up to 10 million Americans annually, S.A.D. is typically worst during the winter months, according to

Chad Cooper, The Spectrum Buffalo’s long winters can bring on a slew of problems like slick roads and cold walks, but Seasonal Affective Disorder is also an issue. Some students have noticed the changing weather has impacted their mood.

Psychology Today. Brought on through a lack of sunlight and Vitamin D, S.A.D. causes people to struggle with depression, laziness and lethargy.

Cases range in severity. Buffalo winters can be harsh, and for some, the cold, gray days feel as if they suck up any extra energy.

Nirosh Jayakumar, a senior cultural anthropology major, can relate. Jayakumar describes his winter experience as “hibernation.” The Sri Lanka native said he is being “uplifted” by the transition from winter to spring.

“I do feel myself becoming much happier with the amount

“I certainly feel much lazier in the winter,” Ojha said.

Compared to the relatively mild winters in New Delhi, Buffalo has a much snowier season, Ojha said. New Delhi weather ranges from hot and humid in the summer, to chilly and rainy during monsoon season, he said.

The key difference, according to Ojha, is that the weather in New Delhi never requires more than a jacket, which is certainly not comparable to the layers of clothing necessitated by Western New York winters.

For Ojha, the contrast in climates is quite dramatic.

of sunlight,” Jayakumar said.

Figliotti said not getting out in direct sunlight could definitely have an impact on students’ moods.

“A low level of Vitamin D can be linked with depression,” Figliotti said.

She recommended going outside in direct light and getting regular exercise as effective methods to fight moodiness during the winter.

Ojha, a freshman business major, said he doesn’t feel depressed but can still feel mood changes based on the weather.

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“I just feel better in the sun,” Ojha said. “A sunny day is just better than a snowy day.”

As the snow starts to clear, students like Ojha are eager to get active in warmer temperatures.

“This spring and summer will be one of the greatest yet,” Jayakumar said. “Even though I say that every year, I still can’t wait for the great outdoors, festivals and immersing myself in the upcoming season.” email: features@ubspectrum.com

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Master’s program for theater combines theory with practice In its second semester, program enriches student engagement with craft ANNE MULROONEY

Asst. Features Editor

The act was over, the audience was sitting silently and there was a moment of breathing. Just breathing. Mary McLaughlin had just seen the act she wrote come to its dramatic conclusion and, in that moment, she knew her work had truly touched the audience.

She burst into tears.

That was when she knew she was hooked. Playwriting was what she needed to do.

McLaughlin is currently a student in the graduate program of Theatre & Performance, where she hones her craft and works to make herself a better artist.

UB began offering a master’s program for theater this past fall.

Dr. Sarah Bay-Cheng, the director of graduate studies, came to UB in 2005 with the goal to create a graduate program in theater; after years of hard work, the idea has become a reality, she said. Combining theory and practice, the one-year program offers students a close-knit environment to cultivate research, writing and production and performance skills.

Six to 10 students can enroll in the master’s program per year, in addition to two to five Ph.D. students. Bay-Cheng believes the program’s small size is vital to its success, as more intimate settings can provide more sincere mentorship.

“We really looked at what we could offer, and one of the things we thought the field needed and would serve our students best is very close mentorship,” Bay-Cheng said. “Because it’s such a relatively short program, we want to make it dense in terms of quality and attention.”

A student’s course track is designed to revolve around a core set of classes, but many also take classes in English, gender stud-

Priscilla Kabilamany, The Spectrum Jon Elston, a graduate student, has been taking a poetry workshop to help improve his play writing.

ies and media study departments.

McLaughlin and Jon Elston, another student in the program, take a poetry workshop Thursday nights to improve the lyrical elements of their writing.

Despite never having written poetry before, McLaughlin finds the class to be one of the most stimulating and inspiring courses she’s taken at UB. “I feel that out of all my classes, that’s the one that’s sparking new ideas and possibilities for theatrical works in me,” McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin entered the theater world as an actor, but after meeting her now-husband and becoming a mother of three, she’s been happily propelled into the world of writing. She wrote The Buddha’s Wife, a play publicly read this past August by Road Less Traveled Productions in Buffalo, and she is currently working on her master’s thesis.

“Writing is something you can do anywhere, anytime – in between loads of laundry and dur-

ing nap times,” McLaughlin said.

“It suits my constitution better.

Acting was really stressful. It was powerless. I felt like I had zero control over my life, my fate, my destiny.”

Now, as a writer, McLaughlin says she feels more in control of her craft.

“You can create something and say, ‘I did that. That’s mine,’” McLuaghlin said. “No one else owns it, no one else is going to tell me how to change it, how to be, that it’s not good enough, that I need to be shorter, skinnier, prettier. That has no bearing on whether I can create art.”

Elston, a fellow playwright, recalls beginning his journey into theater during his freshman year of high school. Playing a soldier with only five or nine lines in Leonard Wibberley’s play The Mouse That Roared, Elston found a home for himself. The upperclassmen were kind to him, befriended him and made him “feel like a human engaging with other humans, engaging with artists.”

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In 2008, Elston’s play The Elliptical debuted at the Road Less Traveled Theater, located on Buffalo’s Main Street. In the play, the relationship between three close friends, Camille, Ches and Michelle, evolves from high school into adulthood. At one point during the performance, Ches says: “I won’t tell you I wanted a life in the theater. I was really just looking for someone to talk to me. The rationality was drama club, acting, the arts – gotta be a population of lonely, maladjusted introverts, right? Let me tell you, that is a monumentally naïve misconception.”

Elston cites this semi-autobiographical piece of script as his reason for staying in theater after all these years.

Though McLaughlin and Elston’s main focus is scripts and playwriting, the master’s degree caters to students with all kinds of theatrical interests.

“Performance is a really big tent,” Bay-Cheng said. “It’s this magical and really unique inter-

section of aesthetics, design, technology, collaboration, text music – it all comes together.”

Both Elston and McLaughlin appreciate the balance between practice and theory within the program. Though they consider themselves to be artists first, they believe their encounters with the theater’s academic side have helped them grow immensely. The combination of scholarship and practice is intended to help immerse students into their craft and fully know their whole practice.

“I have never considered myself a theorist, an academic,” Elston said. “But being in this program has really given me a sense for the flavor of theory and discourse and how really smart people all over the world write and think about theater.”

McLaughlin shares a similar sentiment, although she sometimes grows frustrated with the heavy dosages of theory. She’d rather be creating, and the theory doesn’t always seem relevant to her craft.

Still, she and Elston see and appreciate the value in the theoretical explorations and enjoy engaging with their peers and professors. email: features@ubspectrum.com

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ubspectrum.com

‘TM’ – The Students react to Spring Fest lineup Match How I Met Your Mother finale disappoints many fans, but is only sensible ending

Shawn Ossla, junior undecided major: “I’m not really into country too much. I feel like they should have definitely gotten one other genre. [And] The Band Perry – I know one song of theirs. If they got Dave Matthews, Luke Bryan or something like real good country, then I would totally be fine with it. Citizen Cope, I know him from like 10 years ago. I’m going to go to the Bisons game the same day.”

Alberto Santiago, senior mechanical engineering major: “First thing, I didn’t really mind. I haven’t been able to go to these Spring Fests or Fall Fests. However, with this lineup, I have no idea who they are. Most of my friends do not like the lineup except for, like, one person. It’s like a big ratio of ‘No’ toward the Spring Fest lineup. I honestly don’t know any of these country music singers or who they are.”

Jennifer Swain, senior sociology and biology major: “I just feel that, if you’re not going to get rap, at least get someone that everybody knows … somebody that people actually listen to. I feel like the genre they got is so enclosed – even if you look diversity wise, it’s not going to have a lot of cultures going out to it. But wouldn’t you want to get as many people as possible, seeing as how you spent our money to get these performers?”

Temi Ola, sophomore exercise science major: “I think that that’s the dumbest lineup I’ve ever seen in my life.

Basically, we look bad. We’re the biggest campus in Buffalo. Why do we have such a bad lineup? We could do better. They have so much money and they’re not doing nothing with it.”

Kathryn McSpedon, freshman undecided major: “It’s going to be nice to enjoy some country instead of rap. It’s definitely a good change of pace and variety.”

Connor Arquette, junior pre-med major: “I know The Band Perry, but just from their one big song and I couldn’t even tell you what that’s called.

Then the other two [acts] I don’t know.”

Michael Bella, senior communication major: “I think they could have done better – there’s better bands out there.

Last year was better.”

Kayla Morey, freshman psychology major: “I personally don’t like the people that are going to be there. I definitely am not going.”

OWEN O’BRIEN Sports Editor

Warning: This article contains spoilers.

It may not have been the ending we wanted, but it was the one Ted Mosby needed.

I wish I could say I was shocked while reading mostly outrage when searching #HIMYMFinale on Twitter about an hour after the How I Met Your Mother finale Monday night on CBS. And I understand the reaction. We meet the mother, we fall in love with her and then she’s immediately removed from our lives?

She was perfect for Ted. She truly was.

Much better than Robin. That’s why we were so furious. If the first interaction between Ted and “the lady with the yellow umbrella” didn’t bring a tear to your eye, you either aren’t human or you haven’t watched Ted struggle during the nine seasons. To top it all off, her name was Tracy McConnell (TM), leading to a brilliant first exchange about the ownership of the yellow umbrella.

“No Tracy McConnell, it’s ‘TM,’ totally my umbrella,” Ted said, only for Tracy SEE HIMYM, PAGE 8

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Wednesday, April 2, 2014

7

Every season is beer season A guide to the perfect spring six-pack

BY ANTHONY HILBERT Opinion Editor

As the Buffalo winter melts into spring, it’s time to celebrate the season as you’d welcome any other long-awaited arrival – with good times accompanied by good brews.

Spring beers bring the sweet, complex and floral tastes that are strongly evocative of the flower buds pushing through the earth again and warmer days to come. In the spirit of unpredictable Buffalo weather, this six-pack offers the essential springtime classics with a couple surprises for the daring.

Victory Swing Session Saison (4.5 percent Alcohol by Volume) ($1.79 per bottle/$9.99 per sixpack) Saisons and farmhouse ales are quintessentially spring, deeply rooted in Belgian brewing history. Victory delivers an approachable and accessible foray into this classic style with Swing. A pale, hazed yellow pour and thin head gives way to a floral and lemon aroma with just a streak of spiciness. Citrus is the most prominent, forward flavor with peppercorns giving the beer a unique and appropriate balance. Light wheat and hops close, with medium effervescence tingling the tongue. Flavorful and light, this beer is an easy go-to with familiar flavors and with a reasonable price point; it’s the perfect beer to swing into spring.

Wolaver’s Wildflower Wheat (4.25 percent ABV) ($1.79/9.99) Dark brown and cloudy in color, this beer’s sweet tinge of honey is clear with each sip, particularly in the aftertaste. Floral notes are stronger on the nose, but it can be lost to the honey in taste.

As expected from an American pale wheat ale, the drink offers strong carbonation. The drink is certified organic, making it a perfect choice for that beer-loving environmentalist you’ve been wanting to take on a lakeside stroll. Generally, a sweeter beer that is well balanced overall, this wheat ale’s agreeable price and low ABV makes for easy sipping on lazy Spring Sundays.

Smuttynose Durty Mud Season Hoppy Brown Ale (8.4 percent ABV) ($1.79/8.99) This spring seasonal captures the rich complexity that American brown ales are known for, with a stronger focus on hops and slightly higher alcohol percentage than usual. With a dark, tan head that hangs on ‘til the bitter end, sweet, earthy aromas will keep you dreaming of muddy springtime walks in the woods until the last sip. The ironic blending of darker, heavier coffee and brown sugar flavors sliced through with prominent hops makes this a perfect beer for a New York spring, with summery hops piercing dark, wintery notes upfront. And like the tree buds just beginning to emerge from a heavy winter, the medium-mouth feel and carbonation covers the higher alcohol, with just a trace coming through at the end. At under $9 for a sixpack, this perfect seasonal beer will fit into most post-spring break budgets.

Einbecker Mai-Ur-Bock (6.5 percent ABV) ($2.99 /15.99) Bocks have historically been intertwined with festivals and revelry, and Einbecker’s take on the spring standard is the perfect start to your seasonal celebrations. The only imported beer on this list, this traditional maibock skillfully captures the profile of this crisp, hoppy classic. A rich amber color and visible carbonation that rushes to the surface entice immediately, followed by a light bread and grain scent punctuated by caramel and malt notes emanating from a short, pale head. The smooth, full flavor follows the aroma closely with a sweet malt and toasted bread flavor predominating. The pleasing, approachable flavor makes this a perfect introduction to other bocks for first-timers.

Brewed year-round, Einbecker’s Mai-Ur-Bock can surely fuel festivities for long past spring.

Southern Tier Gemini (9.0 percent ABV) ($3.59/19.99) As the beer with the highest price – and highest alcohol content – on this list, Gemini is not for everyone. But what this beer costs you upfront, and likely the next morning, is more than made up for with a complex flavor profile with as many shades as a springtime sunset. A sweet, hoppy scent delights the senses like a fresh-cut bouquet, with a beautiful golden color that is unmistakably seasonal. Sweet, tangy citrus hits the palate first, with notes of orange before melting to a warming touch of alcohol, with a hoppy finish rounding out the sip. With a medium body and relatively mild carbonation, this beer is a must-try as we see the thermometer begin to climb from the doldrums of winter.

Stillwater Artisanal Folklore (8.4 percent ABV) ($3.49/11.99 for 4) The lessons in folktales are often hidden beneath layers of allegory as significant and enjoyable as the deeper meaning itself. Perhaps it’s appropriate then that Stillwater’s “Folklore,” their take on Belgian strong dark ale, hides its high alcohol content below such rich flavors. Don’t let the nearly black pour fool you; the delightful scents and tastes of this tale are anything but hidden. The quickly dissipating head leaves the nose wandering through deep woods with yeast at the forefront, followed by ripe plums and just a note of smokiness, reminiscent of a distant wood fire. Low carbonation keeps the roasted flavors in focus, with herbs, yeast and chocolate tied together by a wisp of smoke. Though not as traditional of a spring pick as the others on this list, Folklore offers a distinctive experience perfect for those chillier Buffalo spring nights, with an ABV that will ensure a memorable time. email: anthony.hilbert@ubspectrum.com

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Wdnesday, April 2, 2014

Continued from page 6: HIMYM to respond with, “No, you’re ‘TM,’ terribly mistaken, because this umbrella has always belonged ‘TM,’ to me.”

Ted has found his woman.

Now, think back to the emotional speech that Ted wishes he gave to the mother 45 days before the two met. While narrating the story to his children, he says, “Kids, you know what I would have done first?” And then he takes off to the mother’s apartment and professes how he “wants those extra 45 days.”

At the time, I never thought this scene would symbolize her passing.

I thought it was Ted just being his romantic self and wanting the extra 45 days on top of the 30 or 40 years of growing old together on their front porch.

As we know, this wasn’t the reason. Ted’s wife passed years before

he began to tell the story to his children about how the two met. And it was this “45 days” speech that first came into my head as I tried to keep my composure during the finale.

Also, why else are these kids listening to their father tell the story of how the two met for so long?

You have to assume the kids asked this question before, and then Ted and the mother told them the story in about 5 minutes – like any other family.

However, when discussing a loved one who’s died, you hang onto every word. Time becomes obsolete.

The kids stayed throughout the story because they wanted to hear every detail pertaining to their mother.

And Ted wanted to give every description – to hold onto his wife’s memory for every possible second.

And it’s interesting how the entire

story is based around Robin. Robin, in my opinion, is the most appalling character in the show. Her personality is even more selfish than Barney’s, yet the storytelling seems to hide this. And why is that? Because Ted loves her and is trying to sell Robin to his kids.

Ted has always wanted to be with Robin. Even after Barney and Robin’s marriage, he couldn’t stay halfway through the reception. He had to get out of there. And I don’t think Barney is the biggest reason Ted and Robin didn’t initially end up together.

Ted needed kids. When you watch him, he embodies a father and husband. He knew he’d never be able to have kids with Robin. But once he had kids of his own, kids who said they love Robin, he’d finally be able to be with Robin and have ev-

erything else he not only wanted, but needed.

Robin’s goal was always success. She left her home country in dreams of becoming a well-known and respected journalist. It was always her No. 1 goal – over any relationship she ever had.

The marriage with Barney could have never worked. The two are way too individualistic. I’m struggling to think of one episode in which the two didn’t fight. And when they made up, it was due to some kind of trick or lie. A relationship can’t survive like that.

And for Barney, what’s a better finish for him? He knocks up the final girl in his perfect month and has a baby girl? I think we can all appreciate this.

Nobody likes finales. It’s very rare to see one that satisfies all fans.

Continued from page 6: David

Continued from page 10: Top 10

on it a lot.”

David’s improvement has shown in the classroom, as well.

“He had some struggles right at the beginning,” Nickell said. “He’s overcome them, he’s worked hard on them and now he’s got a 3.6 [GPA] in engineering so you can tell his English has gotten a lot better just in terms of how he’s such a smart young man that now he’s doing so well in engineering.”

David is a civil engineering major and wants to design bridges and other structures. Shkodnik said David is constantly studying. Shkodnik also noted that he couldn’t use enough “very’s” to describe how competitive David is, whether it’s on the court or playing video games.

“Even when I play [Call of Duty] with my mom, I want to win,” David said. “I’m just very competitive.

Let’s say I’m losing, I don’t want to lose. I’m going to try my best to fight back.”

David’s competitive nature has brought him success on the court.

He set the program record for most wins in a season (25) and was named to the All-MAC first team as a freshman. David’s other biggest strength is his backhand.

His teammates and Nickell praised his backhand shot, and David described his backhand as a “counterattack.” Nickell said David sees things better than most players,

Saturday, senior pitcher/infielder Mike Burke finished the improbable victory with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the 11th inning with a game-winning hit. He also finished as the winning pitcher.

2. Bobby Hurley named finalist for Joe B. Hall Award; Evans named to Kyle Macy freshman All-America team Following the men’s basketball team’s 19-10 (13-6 MAC) record, head coach Bobby Hurley was named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award, which is given to the nation’s best first-year head coach.

and Mehta praised David’s physical conditioning.

“He’s willing to hit 50 balls to win a point,” Mehta said. “He’s tremendously fit and in shape. He’ll win matches where he’ll simply tire the other guy down. He makes you earn every point you get against him.”

David embraces his role as the No. 1 singles player and as a part of the Bulls’ No. 1 doubles team with Mehta. The pressure of being the Bulls’ top player in the rotation does not faze him.

“I don’t feel there is a pressure because a win is a win whether you play six, one or three,” David said.

“Your win is still going to count the same. I just try to concentrate and win my match. I feel the No. 6 and No. 5 have the same amount of pressure as No. 1.”

Being a top player hasn’t gone to David’s head either.

“Being a top guy on our team, he has a lot of respect for everyone on the team,” Shkodnik said. “A lot of guys at different colleges who are top guys, usually they think they’re so good that they don’t want to be a part of the guys. He’s very supportive; he’s always willing to help. The thing about Damien is that he’s very humble.” email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Freshman guard Shannon Evans was one of 25 freshmen named to the Kyle Macy Freshman All-America team. He is also in the running for the Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year award. Other prominent names on the list include Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid and Tyler Ennis.

1. McCrea named AP All-America Honorable Mention After winning the MAC Player of the Year, senior forward Javon McCrea was named an Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention. McCrea finished his career as

When you invest nine years into a show, it’s easy to come up with this dream conclusion that probably isn’t feasible.

But when you take a step back, it’s the only ending that ties everything together.

Robin doesn’t deserve Ted, but Ted deserves happiness. This is what he received. He has the family, job and, ultimately, the girl he’s wanted since he was first introduced to us.

And he started this family with the perfect woman. She was just as nerdy, quirky and weird as Ted. And now, her personality will live on through her children.

Don’t be angry with Robin. Be happy for Ted. email: owen.obrien@ubspectrum.com

the Bulls’ all-time leading scorer and the only Bull to ever reach 2,000 points.

The last Bull named an AP AllAmerica Honorable Mention was center Mitchell Watt after the 201112 season.

Do you have a play that you think should be on #UBTop10? Tweet your nominations to @ubspecsports with #UBTop10 to be considered for the next edition. email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Continued from page 10: Softball Although the Bulls have won many close games, most of their loses have also come in a similar fashion. Nine of Buffalo’s 14 losses have been by two runs or fewer, including two 1-0 losses.

“We have to figure out how to play a complete seven innings, 21 outs of error-free defense,” Peel said. “That’s our biggest struggle.”

Peel compares each game so far to a homework session. She calls April the “final exam” and “fourth

quarter” of the Bulls’ season.

The Bulls haven’t won consecutive games since Feb. 28. They are 6-11 in their last 17 games. Peel said it’s important to sweep games in the conference rather than split games as the Bulls have done lately.

“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished up to this point,” Peel said. “I think they get it. We’ve had a lot of tough lessons in the past three weeks I would say, but some good humbling experiences.”

The Bulls travel to Akron (156, 2-0 MAC) and Ohio (18-14, 3-1 MAC) this weekend to begin MAC competition. Buffalo was supposed to open with four home games last weekend, but the games were canceled due to weather. Friday’s doubleheader against the Zips is set to start at 1 p.m. email: sports@ubspectrum.com

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ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Focus on that which is hardest to see, and you'll have the advantage over the competition when the fog lifts.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- There's no reason to say something twice when once is clear and concise.

It's certainly not your fault when someone doesn't heed you!

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- The ticking of the clock is sure to remind you that you have a few important things to do before the day is out. An expiration date looms.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- A good friend is willing and able to give you the advice you need -- especially if you find yourself stuck trying to do too much at once.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- An attraction between you and a member of the opposite sex is readily explained, but you are eager to maintain a certain element of mystery.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Your ideas are likely to be quite fresh all day long. In fact, certain powerful individuals may fear what you have planned for them.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- It's time to get back in the swing of things after taking a break of sorts. Not everyone is able to resume work the way you are.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- You may have to withdraw temporarily from a certain favorite activity -- either for health reasons, or to let another have a turn right now.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- Certain technological advances are supposed to make things easier for you, yet today you may encounter more difficulty than you should.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- You've had plenty of time to assess the assignment you have been offered, and weigh your chances of success. It's time for an answer.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- Something you and a friend enjoy together regularly is likely to be even more enjoyable to you both on this rather unusual day.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Interaction with a Cancer native may be unusually slippery throughout the day. You may have the advantage, but only for a short time.

ACROSS

56 Existed 58 Squirm 62 Artist’s device 1 Great Lakes acronym 66 “Fifteen Miles on the 6 Enormous mythi___ Canal” cal birds 67 Ukrainian capital 10 Bend in a sink pipe 68 Perceives a sound 14 Join with others in 69 .00001 newton a cause 70 You may film on them 15 White-hat wearer 71 Intensely interested 16 Surrounding atmosphere 17 Gin-and-brandy cocktails 20 Grosse ___, Mich.

1 Farm door fastener 21 John who might be 2 Musical miscellany anybody 3 “Bus” or “sub” starter 22 Escape clause 4 Cold weather drink 23 Multi-legged swim5 Kidnap, slangily mers 6 Density symbol, in me26 Church residence chanics 28 Enjoy a joke 7 “Star-Spangled Ban31 Novel creator ner” preposition 33 TV show interrup8 Charging need tions 9 Nothing special 34 Horse’s wild cousin 35 Big name in flatware 10 “Chi” lead-in 11 Overly long, as a sen39 Epic achievement? tence 43 Errors in printing 12 100-eyed giant 44 Golf average 13 Kindergarteners do it 45 Dancing specialty 18 Hamster or hound 46 Narrow waterway 48 Floats in the harbor 19 Jalopies 24 Hops drier 50 Fast dance with 25 Bulletin board fastener many sharp turns 27 Rug buyer’s concern 53 Not observed 28 Football part 55 Hail, to Caesar

DOWN

Edited by Timothy E. Parker April 2, 2014 ON THE MEND By Corey Bowers

SUDOKU

FALL SPACES ARE WHERE YOU SHOULD

BE LIVING! GOING FAST RESERVE YOUR SPACE TODAY BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

29 Month on the Hebrew calendar 30 Cold War rival of the USA 32 Happy ending?

34 Safest place to love from?

36 Obsessed with 37 Time of reckoning 38 Cobras’ kin 40 Chore 41 Home of the Senators 42 Some cereal grains 47 “G’day!” sayer 48 Big ___ (large cannon) 49 Nobel-winning relief org. for kids 50 Walked nervously 51 Estrogen producer 52 First Soviet premier 54 Barnyard bleater 57 Offers a question 59 Bangkok citizen 60 Mister, in Mannheim 61 Scot’s language, say 63 Churchill signal 64 Holiday in Hanoi 65 They’re slow on mountain rds.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ubspectrum.com

10

SPORTS

BLUE AND WHITE STEEL Quebec native David overcomes language barrier to lead Bulls TOM DINKI

Asst. Sports Editor

Damien David is quiet, but you wouldn’t know it if you saw him on the dance floor.

He was born fewer than 400 miles from Buffalo, but English is not his first language. David – a member of the men’s tennis team – is a native of Montreal, Quebec, where the official language of the province is French.

Language created a barrier between David and the people he met in the United States when he moved here for college.

Dancing, however, allows David to have a good time without having to speak in his second language or worry about people not understanding him. He breaks out of his quiet persona when he and his teammates go to parties and clubs to dance, often making the ‘Blue Steel’ pose from the movie Zoolander while he dances.

“I won’t talk that much because in the beginning people didn’t understand me anyway, so why would I talk if people don’t get me? Dancing, there’s no talking,” David said.

The dance floor is not the only place David shines. His skills are also on display on the tennis court as UB’s No. 1 singles player. David, a junior, has overcome the language barrier and the adjustment of living in a foreign country to help lead the Bulls (9-5, 0-1 Mid-American Conference) to a No. 59 ranking in the country this season.

Jason Shkodnik, a senior on the men’s tennis team and one of David’s roommates, thinks

Yusong Shi, The Spectrum Junior Damien David, a Quebec native, could barely speak English before he came to UB. David expresses himself through dancing with his teammates and has overcome the language barrier to become the men’s tennis team’s top player.

one of the biggest adjustments David has made since coming to the United States is learning to eat different foods, like macaroni and cheese.

“It’s cheap,” David said. “It’s 33 cents a pack and four bucks for 12 meals, so why not? Here, I don’t have meat and s*** so I cannot cook some good food so I have to go with the mac and cheese.”

Another one of David’s adjustments coming from Canada to America has been learning to speak English. David only spoke French growing up in Montreal; he only took a few English classes in school.

David had long planned to attend college in the United States and had considered going to Michigan State and Arkansas, according to head coach Lee Nickell.

David came to UB because he liked the environment and the people. When he first came to Buffalo, he could not speak English fluently and struggled to communicate with his teammates.

David also had trouble understanding his professors, which made doing well in class difficult.

“My first class was sociology. That killed me,” David said.

“I didn’t know anything that was

going on. That was difficult, but if you go to math classes, it was very easy. It was just the talking classes that were hard.”

David says his situation was easier because so many players on the tennis team are international students – currently seven of the nine players on the Bulls are from outside the United States. David’s last roommate was from Russia, and although they both were struggling to adapt to English, they could understand each other.

Shkodnik said his squad goes everywhere together and many of them love to dance.

“I just like to have fun,” David

said. “You go out, you go party, you just have fun with the boys and then whatever happens afterward happens. It doesn’t matter. Just go with the flow of the music.”

The tradition of doing the Blue Steel in clubs was started when the Bulls watched Zoolander during a road trip earlier this season. David and the Bulls often make the Blue Steel pose while dancing in the club. The pose – done by Ben Stiller’s male model character Derek Zoolander – involves tilting your head back, squinting your eyes and pouting your lips.

“Damien kind of thinks of himself as the pretty boy on the team,” said sophomore Akhil Mehta, one of David’s teammates. “So we make fun of him a little bit like that to get him to do the Zoolander male model face and he loves to do it.”

David has overcome the language barrier. He talks with a thick French accent but can speak English fluently now. Mehta is from Canada as well, and he knew David from national tournaments before they were teammates at UB. When Mehta arrived in Buffalo last year, he was shocked by David’s improvement in English.

“It’s crazy. The guy didn’t know a word of English, like whatsoever,” Mehta said. “I remember talking to him at nationals and you could not have a conversation with the guy whatsoever … When I came here last year, I was surprised to know how much English he knows now. He has the accent but it’s improved so much … He’s definitely worked See david, page 8

Softball looks to build off strong start as conference play begins

#UBTop10

10. Baseball rebounds from a 15-9 loss at Northern Illinois to take series After the Bulls lost their MidAmerican Conference opener to Northern Illinois 15-9, their pitching rebounded and allowed just three runs over the next two games. The Bulls won, 3-2 and Yusong Shi, The Spectrum 3-1, to clinch their 11th straight Junior third baseman Hayley Barrow went 1 for 5 with an RBI and MAC series, dating back to 2012. a run scored on Tuesday against Canisius. Barrow and the Bulls 9. Candanoza claims two extravel to Akron and Ohio this weekend as they start MAC play. tra-set games to help UB win match “You learn from those one-run OWEN O’BRIEN Anamaria Candanoza had to Sports Editor games more than you do from earn two extra-set victories to blowing someone out,” Peel said. help the Bulls capture their first Buffalo has claimed five of its conference victory on March The softball team has finished with its most wins (15) before 15 victories by one run. Only 22. With the match tied 2-2 at the beginning of Mid-American three of its wins since the open- the time, Candanoza won the Conference play since 2009. But ing two games have been by first game 7-6 (6), followed by a head coach Trena Peel knows it’s more than three runs. game 7-6 (3) for the victory in Peel credits most of the suc- the match. not what a team does in the early parts of the season that dictates cess to the seniors’ production.

Senior Tanvi Shah clinched the success; it’s how a group plays Senior centerfielder Holly Lucia- fourth and final game, 4-6, 6-3, no leads the Bulls with a .357 av- 6-1, to secure the win for Buffaonce the weather warms up.

The Bulls (15-14) are enter- erage, along with RBIs (22) and lo. ing conference competition this steals (8). Senior shortstop Sam- 8. Speckman throws comweekend. Buffalo’s first-year mi Gallardo leads the team with plete-game shutout head coach has helped spearhead five homeruns and 18 runs.

On March 15, senior pitcher Peel said despite Gallardo’s av- Tori Speckman took the mound the softball team to one of its greatest starts in recent memory. erage being lower than she may against Iona in Clearwater, Fla. “April is when we need to start like (.284), Gallardo is making Speckman tossed a completepeeking,” Peel said. “We need to the most of her hits. Her 21 hits game gem, striking out 12 and albe great in April. It doesn’t mat- rank fourth on the team and her lowing only three hits to lead the ter if we’re great in February or 18 RBIs are second.

Bulls to a 2-0 victory.

“Sammi is Sammi,” Peel said. 7. Lacrosse defeats Vanderbilt, March because we don’t get a “[It’s not about getting] hits starts season 4-1 trophy for that.”

The team’s improvement from when nobody’s on, but can you The men’s lacrosse team travlast season was evident from the hit when people are in scoring eled south for Spring Break and opening weekend. The Bulls fin- position? And she does a great a five-game road trip. Despite ished a perfect 6-0 in the 2014 job at that.” spending the beginning of its Senior pitcher Tori Speck- season practicing indoors, the Lion Classic, hosted by Southeastern Louisiana University, man has started 19 of 29 games team lost just one game. The trip from Feb. 7-9. Last year, Buffa- and totaled a 10-8 record with a included two overtime victories, lo didn’t win its sixth game until 2.12 ERA. She has 12 complete with the Bulls’ only loss coming games, three shutouts and one in overtime.

March 30.

After winning by a combined save.

6. Flannery represents Bulls in Juniors Karly Nevez, Hay- NCAA Wrestling Tournament 29-6 in the team’s opening two games, the remainder of the ley Barrow and Alexis Curtiss all Nick Flannery was the lone Bulls’ contests have been much have batting averages over .300 Bull to compete in the NCAA closer affairs – something Peel on the season.

Tournament this season. The sesaid will help the team in April SEE SOFTBALL, PAGE 8 nior competed in the 141-pound and beyond. weight class, but was eliminated

Counting down the top 10 plays in UB sports over the last three weeks

Chad Cooper, The Spectrum Javon McCrea is the third player Buffalo basketball player since 2005 to be named an AP All-America Honorable Mention. McCrea averaged 18.5 and 9.9 rebounds for the Bulls this season.

on the first day after losing two matches.

5. Magovney dominates on mound over Spring Break Junior pitcher Anthony Magovney pitched twice during Spring Break for the Bulls, totaling 13 innings and allowing just four hits and one run. Magovney leads the Bulls’ pitching staff with a 5-0 record.

4. Kuras competes in NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships After winning her third straight MAC Outstanding Swimmer award, Kuras advanced to the NCAA Championships, where she swam in the 200-yard indi-

vidual medley, 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle.

Kuras set new school and MAC records in the 200-yard individual medley (1:58.01) and the 100-yard freestyle (48.53). Kuras missed qualifying for the finals in both those events by .66 seconds and .21 seconds, respectively.

3. Burke’s walk-off hit lifts Bulls over Ball State After falling behind 8-0 early against the Cardinals, the Bulls fought back to force the game to extra innings. But the game was delayed due to darkness at the end of the ninth inning.

SEE TOP 10, PAGE 8