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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950
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Friday, October 11, 2013
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Volume 63 No. 20
Sam McMahon voted SA president Contentious reelection process ends in McMahon’s victory SAM FERNANDO
Senior News Editor
Sam McMahon said he isn’t one to show a lot of emotion, but after hearing he had won the Student Association’s presidential election Wednesday, his immediate reactions were to pump his fist, kiss his girlfriend and call his parents. McMahon received 1,087 votes, beating Mohammad Alwahaidy, his closest competitor, by 309. A total of 2,260 students participated in the election, roughly 11.6 percent of the undergraduate population. Though seven candidates were running for the position, McMahon, Alwahaidy and Jessica Honan were the only ones to attend the result announcement in the SA office, 350 Student Union. “One thousand eighty seven votes – I don’t know nearly that many people,” McMahon said. “So there are a lot of people who put a lot of faith in me because of something they heard … I am just so grateful to everyone who came out and voted for me … I am very happy the students made an informed decision.” The Student Association’s former president, Nick Johns, resigned his position on Sept. 18. Before the reelection, Vice President Lyle Selsky was working as the interim president. Tensions were high throughout the three-day election; candidates and their supporters packed into the Union handing out fliers and trying to get students into the voting booths. The tensions continued after the results were announced. Shortly after the announcement, Elad Eliahu, one of Alwahaidy’s supporters, stormed into the SA office. McMahon had left the room at that
time. Eliahu claimed that, right as the election ended, McMahon had told him to “go [expletive]” himself. McMahon admitted initiating the exchange. Academic Coordinator James Ingram, who was one of McMahon’s campaign supporters, said he saw the incident and had to hold Eliahu back from McMahon. McMahon was frank with his explanation. “I am not going to lie to you guys – that is exactly what I said to him,” McMahon said. “He was extremely disrespectful to my girlfriend and all of my campaign supporters the whole time. He exploited every loophole in the elections and credentials rules to be rude throughout the entire process. So I told him exactly what I thought about that. I just needed to say it once just to let him know that I was disgusted with his behavior.” McMahon chose not to elaborate further on Eliahu’s behavior. Elections and Credentials Chair Steven Rupp said this election had more complaints than any election he had ever been a part of. “The complaints all came from the fact that Sam’s party was following the rules to a tee,” Rupp said. “So, when they saw other parties not following the rules, they made complaints.” Alwahaidy was banned from the election floor from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday for three violations of SA election rules, Rupp said. He said candidates were not allowed to campaign until they had officially met with Rupp. Alwahaidy had set up his campaign Facebook page prior to this meeting, so he was assessed a onehour penalty. SEE MCMAHON, PAGE 2
Aline Kobayashi, The Spectrum
SA President Sam McMahon celebrated the announcement of his victory by pumping his fist and immediately kissing his girlfriend.
UB Safe Day offers safety advice Keeping it fresh and precautions on and off campus Jazz legend Herbie Hancock SHARON KAHN
improvises to thunderous applause
Senior Features Editor
Hongzheng Han was walking back to his Goodyear dorm from the Health Sciences Library on South Campus when he felt a gun pointed at his head. In shock and fear, Han looked around to see if there was help nearby. A car noticed Han and his attacker and pulled over to help. The suspect fled the scene and Han was safe. Unfortunately, though, he has never felt safe again, he said. Han, a sophomore business major, returned to his home in China for the summer, shortly after the incident. Although he does know his attacker was found and arrested, he still does not know what kind of punishment he received. To this day, Han refuses to go out alone – ever. In light of ongoing concerns over safety at UB, both on and off campus, International Student and Scholar Services, OffCampus Student Services, Campus Living, the Erie Department of Health, University Police (UPD), Student Health Services and SBI Legal Assistance held UB Safe Day on Thursday to provide students safety information. Students walked around the safety booths set up in the Student Union, after receiving a “passport.” At each station, they had the opportunity to learn how each organization offers safety services. Students had their passports stamped at each station and were able to try out various sim-
JORDAN OSCAR
Staff Writer
Juan D. Pinzon, The Spectrum
Mechanical engineering major Rafid Hossain sits in a car-crash simulation test that was set up outside the Student Union Thursday for UB Safe Day.
ulations. David Hohl, a UPD officer, said the university is always preaching safety precautions, but students don’t always listen. He said UPD takes part in events like UB Safe Day to emphasize the importance of personal safety. The campus police also offer seminars on rape and crime prevention. Hohl said international students, like Han, are often victims of crime. Hohl said some international and domestic students don’t pay attention to or don’t understand the safety precautions UB offers at orientation. He said events like UB Safe Day help instill these precautions. Daniel Ryan, director of OffCampus Student Relations, said he doesn’t think international students make up the majority of crime victims, but he said they are impacted significantly. “Language barriers, the timing of their application/acceptance may make them less likely to get housing on campus, and clear-
ly students are safer on campus than off,” Ryan said. Ryan said international students may feel less familiar with Buffalo, but he encourages all students – international and domestic – to visit crimereports. com to understand where crime usually occurs in particular areas. “Ultimately, each student is responsible for their own safety, so we try to teach students to lock their doors and windows, travel in groups, inspect properties before leasing, etc.,” Ryan said. When students are on campus, UB assumes responsibility to keep students safe, according to Ryan. “That is why the University Police patrol regularly, why Environmental Health and Safety and Campus Living professionals inspect buildings and why Student Health Services provides vaccines, medical services, etc.,” Ryan said. “When students are off campus, they share the responsibility for their safety with the municipality they are in.” SEE SAFE DAY, PAGE 2
As the lights dimmed, the vibrant audience grew quiet with anticipation. Within a few moments, drummer Vinnie Colaiuta appeared on stage and began hammering away on his drums. As the beat began to transfix the audience, bass player James Genus and guitarist Lionel Loueke chimed in. Jazz legend Herbie Hancock walked on stage to thunderous applause. After briefly waving and bowing to the audience, Hancock sat down at his clavinet and piano and added the iconic melody of his music to the mix. The world-renowned jazz musician, whose career spans over five decades and includes 14 Grammy Awards, commanded the Center For the Arts (CFA) stage with his presence Thursday night and delivered an unforgettable performance. Hancock is well known for his ability to transcend and culminate musical genres in his performances, and this performance was no different. During the two hours that Hancock played, there was plenty of jazz, funk, pop and R&B, with some classical music thrown in. There was no warm-up routine or opening act; this was two hours of non-stop musical bliss. After the musical ensemble’s first song, which lasted over 10 minutes, Hancock stopped to thank everyone in attendance and in-
Jeff Scott, The Spectrum
Herbie Hancock brought many of Buffalo’s jazz fans to the Center For the Arts on Wednesday.
troduce his fellow musicians. After that, there was rarely a pause other than to introduce the next segment of the show. The group played a variety of beats; some were familiar, like “Watermelon Man,” one of Hancock’s first hit songs; others were seamlessly sewn together for 1015 minutes at a time. A highlight of the show came halfway through as Hancock, Genus and Colaiuta abandoned the stage mid-song, leaving Loueke to perform a 10-minute-plus solo. Loueke played “Come Running to Me,” one of Hancock’s more well-known songs. SEE HERBIE, PAGE 2