EDITORIAL: UB Foundation’s budget should be public
Comedian Brian Regan to perform in Buffalo THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950
ubspectrum.com
Bulls face Bonnies in Big Four showdown
Friday, DECEMBER 6, 2013
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Volume 63 No. 41
Bulls win frenetic, First on-campus ice rink to fast-paced shootout open spring semester Women’s basketball narrowly takes down St. Francis
Chad Cooper, The Spectrum Sophomore guard Mackenzie Loesing had a career-high 29 points against St. Francis (Pa.) on Wednesday night to lead the Bulls to an 87-77 victory.
JEFF PLACITO
Staff Writer
The women’s basketball team got a scare on Wednesday night. The team committed 27 turnovers and had just a four-point lead in the game’s waning minutes. The Bulls (5-2), however, defeated St. Francis (Pa.) (2-4) 8777 on Wednesday night at Alumni Arena. The game turned into a track meet as both teams played with rapid offensive pace. Buffalo had its highest offensive scoring outburst in a single game since the 2011-12 season. Sophomore guard Mackenzie Loesing led the team in scoring with a career-best 29 points, despite being in foul trouble throughout. Loesing finished the game 9 of 17 from the field and 11 of 17 from the free throw line. In her absence early in the first half, her teammates stepped up. “I have a lot of confidence in my teammates this year,” Loesing said. “It’s really great to be a part of a team that you can rely on every single night.” Along with Loesing’s foul trouble, the depth was tested when senior guard Margeaux Gupilan was sidelined for the final 30 minutes due to a head injury. Freshman forward Alexus Malone had the performance
of her young career, filling the stat sheet with 16 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals. It was her first doubledouble as a Bull. Head coach Felisha LegetteJack loves what Malone brings to the team, especially Malone’s determination to win at all costs. “I think she’s going to be one of the best players in our conference,” Legette-Jack said. “She is a very humble person and wants the team’s success more than the credit.” Buffalo started the game strong, as it led by double digits throughout most of the first half. The ‘D’ was the key to the team’s success, holding St. Francis to only 26 percent from the field and 23.8 percent from behind the arc in the opening half. The Bulls held the Red Flash to just 1-of-18 shooting early in the game. Buffalo ended the first half with a 41-31 lead. The biggest challenge for the Bulls was dealing with St. Francis’ full-court press. The Red Flash used the press the entire game, which led to 31 points off 27 Buffalo turnovers. Though the Bulls got off to a fast second-half start as they widened their lead to 53-35 with 16:15 remaining, St. Francis rallied midway through the half and closed the gap to four points with 6:40 left. SEE B-BALL, PAGE 2
KEVIN HONG
Staff Writer
Before the start of Thanksgiving break, a sign was posted outside the Student Union telling students not to forget to bring a pair of ice skates back to UB after winter break. Starting this spring semester, UB students will be able to ice skate for free on campus. Spearheaded by Student Life and Student Affairs, the new ice rink will be located in the field between the Commons and Clemens Hall on North Campus. Director of Student Life Tom Tiberi said one of the main reasons for having the new rink is to provide a venue for winter activities, like ice skating, hockey and broomball. “We want to celebrate the UB experience year round,” Tiberi said. “The winter months offer many unique opportunities to do this, and what better way is there than to provide a place for students to participate in outdoor winter activities?” The rink is still being built and will consist of a wooden frame and plastic liner. The frame was completed recently and the liner will be completed later this month and then filled with water. The ice rink is a temporary addition on campus. “I think it’s great,” said Josh Bush, a senior biomedical engineering major. “Ice skating is always fun and very accessible. It helps promote some sort of physical activity during a time of year when most people just want to sit on a couch and do nothing.” Buffalo is known for its chilly winters and activities that go along with it. Having an ice rink seems an appropriate addition to some of the winter activities students can enjoy throughout the winter season. In order to maintain the outdoor rink, a contractor will apply hot water twice a week to smooth over the surface. Any snow will be shoveled as soon as possible. The Student Association is looking to be involved with hosting events at the new rink. SA President Sam McMahon looks forward to potentially having pe-
Aline Kobayashi, The Spectrum Starting in the spring semester, students will have the opportunity to skate on an outdoor ice rink located in between the Commons and Clemens Hall. Student Life and Student Affairs have spearheaded the effort with the Student Association’s support.
riodic free skate rental events when the ice rink opens. “It’ll be a great activity for international students to experience the Buffalo experience and climate,” McMahon said. “Why don’t we have a way for students to get a taste of the Buffalo winter and sporting activities?” Tiberi said the ice rink should debut Jan. 27, the first day of the spring semester, but cautioned that date is dependent on weather. The rink will be open for as long as it is cold enough – he hopes it will stay open into March. The tentative schedule is currently from Thursday to Sunday from mid-day until midnight and will also be free of charge. Different activities will also be run during varying times in order to fairly distribute the amount of hockey and ice skating time available to all students. Winterfest 2014, an annual event that features both indoor
and outdoor events, will be using the ice rink extensively. The ice rink will be a focal point of the Feb. 1 event. UB has never had an ice rink before this year and many students have been excited for the project to be finished. “The landscape around Buffalo is perfect for an ice rink,” said Decearee Paningasan, a junior nursing major. “I’m really excited for it and can’t wait for it to be opened.” Tiberi hopes that the ice rink contributes to the UB experience by providing another opportunity for students to come together and create lasting memories. Student Life will also be looking for volunteers to help out with maintaining the ice rink. email: news@ubspectrum.com
A new meth-od to the madness UB to offer graduate seminar on Breaking Bad next semester MOHAMMED SHARIFF Staff Writer
Daniele Gershon, The Spectrum Word of UB’s new Breaking Bad class for graduate students has already spread around the nation. The class’ instructor, Bruce Jackson, has received requests for enrollment from around the country, including many from UB’s undergraduate student body.
Bruce Jackson is “crazy” about Breaking Bad. The SUNY distinguished professor is teaching a graduate course this spring about the television show. UB will join the University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Irvine as one of three schools in the nation to offer classes about the AMC original programming. The graduate seminar is titled ‘Breaking Down Breaking Bad’ and will only be available to students in the visual studies, media study and theater departments and students in the law school. Word of the class has already spread around the nation. Jackson has received requests for enrollment from around the country, including many from UB’s undergraduate student body. For Jackson – who teaches in various graduate departments in-
cluding English, sociology and law – Breaking Bad is more than just a show; it’s a 60-hour epic storyline. He compares the single narrative of the series to classics such as Homer’s The Odyssey and Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace. He believes the show sets itself apart from other cultural icons like The Sopranos by cutting any side-plots and focusing on the transformation of the show’s central protagonist, Walter White. In a way, Jackson said, teaching the show is like teaching a novel. “[Breaking Bad] isn’t as episodic as, say, Boardwalk Empire is. It’s episodic the way a large book has chapters,” Jackson said. “So it makes it easier to talk about.” Breaking Bad is the story of an overqualified high school chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with lung cancer. With no options for affordable health care and given a few months to live, he turns to his skills as a chemist and the expanding drug mar-
ket to earn money for his cancer treatment and for his family. The show has earned 10 Primetime Emmy Awards. Senior communication major Steve Willert agrees with Jackson in that, in a way, each episode represents a chapter of a large book. “It’s definitely one of those shows where, if you don’t watch from the beginning, it might not seem very exciting,” Willert said. “Every episode was important in its own way. Something happened in every episode where it was kind of building up. But I think that’s what made the show – the build-ups were slow and they didn’t rush.” Although other universities have held classes about popular television shows in the past, such as Harvard University’s class on The Wire, Berkeley’s class on Mad Men and Irvine’s class on The Walking Dead, Jackson believes SEE BREAKING BAD, PAGE 2