Vol. 61 NO. 41
ubspectrum.com
Friday, December 9, 2011
Life Beyond the Hardwood Former basketball star returns to studies at UB AARON MANSFIELD Senior Sports Editor Mark Bortz is nearly seven feet tall. Bald head. No eyebrows. Big biceps. Students see the peculiar looking giant and think “monster,” but their opinions might change if they met the charismatic graduate student. If only they knew he was a star on one of the best teams – and biggest disappointments – in UB sports history. They probably wouldn’t judge his odd look if they knew he suffered from a rare disease. Imagine if those onlookers knew Mark’s dream led him to a continent far away from his new wife and two loving parents – who were both diagnosed with cancer. His playing career was exceptional. His story? Unforgettable. The journey back to Buffalo Seven years ago, heads would turn as Bortz passed by. He was one of the most recognizable people on campus. As he walks the same steps he did then, he still gets the stares. But students these days only see the off-the-court version of Bortz. They don’t see the gritted teeth, furrowed
Former Bulls center Mark Bortz has a special place for UB and Buffalo in his heart - it's where he met his wife. Meg Kinsley /// The Spectrum
For Sean Polan, music was just a part of growing up. His dedication to music has caused him to flourish into a musical mutitasker. From an early age, Polan, a senior vocal performance major, was exposed to all sorts of music, which has guided him toward becoming a broad musician. He is an avid singer, as well as a player of the piano, harp, and organ. “Probably the oldest memories I have of music are of my grandfather singing to me when I was a child,” Polan said. “Every night he would sing to me Irish lullabies and different folk tunes. We would sing wherever we went, even when we were doing things like grocery shopping. I didn't realize how important music would be to me until I started spending time with my grandmother, though. She was an extraordinary pianist and she began to show me some things on the piano.” Jennifer Polen, his aunt, reflects on Polan's younger years when he was starting to learn the tricks of the musical trade. She has commended him on his improvements and developments as a musician. “My first memory of Sean and his music was him singing along to Andy Williams and insisting that he was a better singer than Andy Williams,” Jennifer said. “In fact, he was truly dreadful…At least he doesn’t suck now.”
wife was at home).
He used to own an unmatched level of ferocity, a level so intense that he was considered a demon on the basketball court. Students in 2011 see the laid-back, easygoing scholar. He’s back in the same place, but his priorities are different.
He was seeing the world and living his dream life (but he decided there were more important things in life than basketball).
The former standout athlete – who is most recognized for his all-conference play on the 2005 men’s basketball team that lost to Ohio in the MidAmerican Conference championship game – is back at UB to earn his Master’s degree in business administration after overcoming copious challenges in his basketball career. The amiable center starred on arguably UB’s best basketball team of all-time, and returned to his studies this year following seven years of professional basketball in seven different countries. Honestly, he loved his life. He was a local celebrity – known as “The White Ghost” – who won two championships in Uruguay (but his
He was getting paid to play the game he loved 24/7 (but his family was devastated by cancer).
At first, everything was going according to plan overseas for Bortz, but troublesome times soon followed. Bortz was a rookie in Turkey in 2006, but he was cut from his first professional team. Then he developed alopecia – a medical condition in which hair is lost from some or all areas of the body, often called “spot baldness.” Then disaster struck. His mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and she needed surgery right away. Outside of his mother’s predicament, nothing fazed Bortz. He was cut from his team, but he responded with a firm: “it’s just basketball.” His hair loss? He’s able to laugh at himself, shaving his head completely and even describing his look as “Mr. Clean.” But his mom’s cancer really got to him. Continued on page 4
Chasing Dreams
Music in His DNA SOPHIE TRUTER Staff Writer
brow, and signature wristband which always accompanied him on the court at Alumni Arena. Rather they see an infectious smile, subdued demeanor, and argyle sweater.
Hip-hop, poetry, and an unshakable passion
always listening to music and always asking me, ‘who’s that, mommy? Who’s singing that? What does that mean?’ and those kinds of [questions] in terms of the words,” Saunders said. “To me, he’s the lyricist.”
AKARI IBURI Senior Life Editor
He roams the streets of New York City for hours, decoding the world around him through poetic prose. The beating of his feet on pavement is the metronome to the lyrics that flow in his head. From his hometown of Brooklyn to the streets of the Upper East Side of Manhattan, Akin Walker snakes through the corners of his favorite places to find inspiration for his words. Walker, a senior English major, has been writing lyrics and poetry since the age of 9. He has been striving toward his vision of becoming ‘Darth Dream’; the name he calls himself and what will be his stage name as a professional hip-hop star.
Sweet_ness 7 Café, located on Buffalo’s West Side, has served as a melting pot of diversity and a catalyst for change in the surrounding area. Akari Iburi /// The Spectrum
Walker was raised in a musicoriented family. His older brother played guitar and his god brother is pursuing a rap career, as ‘Deevious,’ in Atlanta, Ga. Walker’s mother, Andrea Saunders, danced professionally alongside Michael Jackson and Diana Ross in ‘The
Wiz,’ and performed for awardwinning choreographer Michaels Peters in several shows.
Walker’s involvement with music was inevitable. “I do have a memory of [Akin]
Growing up, Walker always kept journals and rewrote lyrics to songs by artists such as Jay-Z and Backstreet Boys. When he was 15 years old, Walker joined a poetry group at Benjamin Banneker Academy high school. The support and feedback he received from the group encouraged him to take his writing seriously. “I’m an introvert so I definitely have a lot of time to think,” Walker said. “I just write about anything and everything that goes on in my life. Even as a kid I would write about stuff that [went] on in my life. That’s always Continued on page 6
UB Faculty And Staff Working to Keep Native Americans in College
There is more to Polan than just his musical talents; he is also involved in realms of theatre. While he has changed from a musical theatre major, his interest in theatre still influences his music tastes. “I love playing show tunes. I grew up listening to Phantom of the Opera, Godspell, Mame, everything and I still love it today,” Polan said, “I also love Irish music. There is something about it that speaks to the part of me that loves fantasy. The music is sometimes mournful and sometimes joyous beyond belief. I love the extremes.” Kevin Westermann, a senior business and English major with a music theory minor, is a close friend to Polan. He believes Polan’s interest in the theatre world is one of his most eccentric traits. Continued on page 2
UB is attempting to increase the enrollment of Native American Students. JESSICA BRANT Special to The Spectrum Karlee Bigtree grew up on the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian reservation, located about six hours away from Buffalo. While her sister became a teenage mother, her own mother was battling with substance abuse. Bigtree was the first in her family to graduate with a high school diploma. Next spring, she will also be the first to graduate with a degree from college.
UB student, Sean Polan, is working toward a career in music and teaching, while improving his skill and helping his community learn the basics of music and instrument playing. Courtesy of Sean Polan
Weather for the Weekend:
Friday: Snow Shower- H: 34, L: 21 Saturday: Partly Cloudy- H: 28, L: 25 Sunday: Sunny- H: 36, L: 30
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The junior business major and president of the Native American Peoples’ Alliance at UB has had her share of adversity. That’s why she plans to return to her reservation after graduation: to use her degree to help others who face
adversity in her community. “I heard an expression once: red on the outside, white on the inside. ‘Like an apple,’ I hear people say on the reservation. ‘Yeah you look Native, but you’re going to change by going off the reservation,’” Bigtree said. “But I didn’t change. I’m still tied to my community and my culture. That was always my goal: to go back to my community after I graduate.” Native American college students attending SUNY colleges have stories similar to Bigtree’s, but not all end with an optimistic outlook. Native American students have the highest college dropout rates of any other minority in the SUNY system, a trend that campus organizations and faculty at UB are working to reverse.
Junghyun Kim /// The Spectrum
That includes Dr. David Patterson, assistant professor in the School of Social Work and director of the Native American Center for Wellness Research. Patterson spoke to a colleague on the scholarship committee at the university in 2006, expressing concern about finding students to apply for the Morris K. Udall scholarship, a merit-based scholarship open to Alaska Native or Native American students studying fields related to health care or tribal policy. “Since this person [on the scholarship committee] had been at UB for 10 or 15 years, she has never been able to get native students to apply for her scholarship. That sort of set the ball rolling of, ‘What is going on with the native population here at UB?’” Patterson said.
I N S I D E
Continued on page 2
Opinion * 3 Life * 10,11 Arts * 12,13 Classifieds / Daily Delights * 15 Sports * 16