Victims of human trafficking honored at UB Louis C.K. performs in front of sold-out crowd at Kleinhans THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950
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Friday, April 8, 2013
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Volume 62 No. 68
MAX CRINNIN SENIOR ARTS EDITOR Bob Dylan’s “Last Thoughts On Woody Guthrie” is a farewell address. Before legendary folk artist Woody Guthrie died, Dylan visited him as a young musician on a quest for something magical Guthrie had touched and grasped in his own time. The farewell poem is a long list of gratitude, wonder and appreciation Dylan felt toward Guthrie. Its last lines are especially powerful:
You can either go to the church of your choice Or you can go to Brooklyn State Hospital You’ll find God in the church of your choice You’ll find Woody Guthrie in Brooklyn State Hospital And though it’s only my opinion I may be right or wrong You’ll find them both In the Grand Canyon At sundown
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n Friday night, as the sun prepared to go down over UB’s North Campus, thousands flocked to the church of their choice and waited in line in the still-chilly air of early spring. Bob Dylan was playing in Alumni Arena. According to Student Association Communication Director Ned Semoff, 2,097 undergraduate students and 1,846 members of the general public attended the show for a total attendance of 3,943. SA had reserved 4,500 free tickets for undergraduates and 2,000 tickets for the general public.
Alumni Arena was packed with thousands who filed in through the pesky security check into an atmosphere dense with anticipation for Dylan to take the stage. UB was Dylan’s first stop on the current leg of his so-called Never Ending Tour, which will be visiting many universities across the country in the coming months with opening act Dawes. Dawes, a four-piece band based out of Los Angeles, took the stage on schedule promptly at 7:30 p.m. Dylan shows are known to run like clockwork. SEE BOB DYLAN, PAGE 2
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ORTMAN’S OBSTACLES Former tennis star turns around women’s program as both player and coach OWEN O’BRIEN SPORTS EDITOR
When Kristen Ortman left her Buffalo home to sign her letter of intent at American University, she thought her tennis career in Western New York was over. After arriving at American and being told her scholarship was no longer there, she found herself on the phone with former Buffalo women’s tennis coach Kathy Twist. Upon the conclusion of the conversation, Ortman decided she would give the Bulls a shot for one season and weigh her options after the year. It took until just her 13th career match to realize she was where she belonged. Ortman was competing in the second singles event against Miami Ohio. The RedHawks –one of Buffalo’s biggest Mid-American Conference rivals – were always a big game, but for her it was personal. She was facing a team that only offered her a partial scholarship. Buffalo lost the match – as it often did during Ortman’s early playing career – but Ortman won. She was the only Bull to emerge victorious in the match and she wanted more. Her eyes were set on the entire MAC. She wanted to return the favor to the school that had helped her out in a pinch: UB. “Miami had only offered me half a scholarship and that really irritated me,” Ortman said. “I wanted Buffalo to get so good that we are winners. We are the school that people want to go to.” The match against Miami Ohio took place nearly 10 years ago to the day. Today, Ortman is still in blue and white. Ortman was a member of the Buffalo women’s tennis team from 2002-06. A Buffalo native, she graduated from Amherst High
School and left UB leading the women’s tennis program in singles and doubles victories with 59 in each. She was also named an Academic All-MAC player in 2006. On Aug. 23, 2012, she was named the interim head coach for the same team she played on, taking over for Twist, who was promoted to senior associate athletic director following 16 years at the helm of the women’s tennis program. Ortman’s Buffalo story never would have happened if it wasn’t for two things – rejection and Twist. Following Ortman’s senior season in high school, she decided she wanted to play away from home. After a long recruitment process, she finally decided on American University in Washington, D.C. When she went to the school to sign her letter of intent, however, she was told the school had changed athletic directors and her scholarship was no longer available. Ortman was devastated. She had told family, friends and other universities she was going to American. Still eager to play tennis in college, she called Twist, who was the “only reason [she] chose to go to UB.” “I was discouraged [after losing my scholarship],” Ortman said. “I had finally made up my mind and saw myself somewhere. I knew Buffalo was always an option, but at that point it was at the bottom of the MAC. I wanted to win. I wanted to be somewhere that was proven already.” The Bulls went 20-65 and 1-35 in MAC competition the four seasons before Ortman joined the team. That was the culture Ortman was destined to change. SEE ORTMAN, PAGE 2
NICK FISCHETTI, THE SPECTRUM
Head women’s tennis coach Kristen Ortman (right) advises one of her athletes. Ortman played tennis for Buffalo as a last resort from 2002-06 after her scholarship offer from American University was pulled, and she has been with the program ever since.