THE SPECTRUM VOL. 67 NO. 43 | APRIL 9, 2018
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UBSPECTRUM
UB alum hopes app will help UB’s parking problem
Dancing with purpose: Zodiaque Dance Company brings intricacy and enlightenment to CFA
UB Athletics’ top 10 moments in March
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ALLISON STAEBELL | THE SPECTRUM
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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950
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SA Senate elects new vice president After a 2-month vacancy, Benjamin Harper fills the position HARUKA KOSUGI ASST. NEWS EDITOR
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On March 7, The Spectrum swabbed 39 locations and commonly touched objects around North Campus to collect samples of microbes, which include bacteria, fungi and mold. Samples from places like a Knox 20 table were identified as mold whereas a Putnam’s fork dispenser was relatively free of bacteria.
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02 PORTER women’s bathroom toilet seat
What’s lurking at UB?
03 PORTER men’s bathroom door (going out of bathroom)
KIRSTEN DEAN
04 PORTER women’s bathroom sink
STAFF WRITER
01 SILVERMAN LIBRARY women’s bathroom sink (third floor by elevator)
05 NSC stairwell hand rail (between Talbert and NSC) 06 Table in KNOX 20 lecture hall 07 PORTER women’s bathroom door (going out of bathroom) 08 CAPEN CAFE Pike Place coffee dispenser 09 SILVERMAN LIBRARY men’s bathroom toilet 10 PORTER men’s bathroom door (going into bathroom) 11 SILVERMAN LIBRARY men’s bathroom sink 12 SILVERMAN LIBRARY women’s bathroom door (going out of bathroom) 13 SILVERMAN LIBRARY women’s bathroom door (going into bathroom) 14 KNOX vending machine 15 PUTNAM’S touchscreen to order burgers 16 PUTNAM’S fridge door 17 SILVERMAN LIBRARY elevator (up button to third floor) 18 PERKS touchscreen to order ice cream 19 PORTER men’s bathroom toilet 20 SILVERMAN LIBRARY men’s bathroom paper towel dispenser 21 SILVERMAN LIBRARY computer keyboard (third floor) 22 PUTNAM’S fork dispenser 23 STAMPEDE pole 24 SILVERMAN LIBRARY women’s bathroom toilet 25 SILVERMAN LIBRARY library couch (third floor) 26 GREINER door (going out) 27 STUDENT UNION ATM - Bank of America 28 STUDENT UNION - the Spectrum door 29 SILVERMAN LIBRARY Whisper’s Cafe sugar holder 30 PUTNAM’S spoon dispenser 31 PORTER women’s bathroom door [going into bathroom]
E. coli was flourishing in a men’s bathroom in the Porter dorms. Mold and other fungi were growing on a couch in the Silverman Library, on a door in Greiner Hall, on a microwave in Pistachio’s, on a coffee dispenser in Capen Cafe and on a table in Knox 20. Some students were outraged by the discoveries The Spectrum made this month during our first science-based campus report, which involved swabbing 39 spots or objects on North Campus and seeing what microbes, or microorganisms, were growing on them. After we took our samples, we transferred them to agar plates. We stored the plates in an incubator kept at optimal human body temperature, 37 degrees Celsius or 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, for almost a week. With the warm temperature and the agar media to provide nutrients necessary for microbial growth, what were once microscopic, individual microbes divided and grew into large, visible colonies. Most of the samples contained microbes like fungi, mold or bacteria, which students find disgusting, but doctors say are quite common. Jacob Chambers, a professor in the department of microbiology and immunology at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, helped The
Spectrum identify the microbes growing on the plates. He said the high bacteria counts in the Porter bathroom were “disturbing” and suggests students are not washing their hands enough. Chambers said a lot of the growth on the 39 plates was likely a combination of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis. E. coli, a type of bacteria called a coliform, is part of a healthy gastrointestinal tract. Most strains are benign, but some can be more harmful and could lead to food poisoning if consumed. E. coli is easily transferred from person to person. Chambers said it is common everywhere. “A lot of [E. coli] is transmitted through what’s called the fecaloral route. It is where people are not washing their hands well enough after using the restroom and are transferring bacteria to whatever surfaces they touch,” Chambers said. He added that often “parts of the men’s or ladies’ rooms –– doorknobs on the inside, outside or even just doorknobs in general,” will have more of the bacteria and “that’s unfortunately how things like food poisoning are transmitted.” UB residence hall bathrooms get cleaned every weekday, said Kimberly Navarroli, senior associate director of residential facilities.
The Spectrum’s swab test shows E. coli and Staph call UB home
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LURKING | PAGE 5
32 Door to hall between KNOX/SU 33 EDGY VEGGIES salad counter 34 SILVERMAN LIBRARY printing computer keyboard (first floor) 35 PISTACHIOS microwave 36 SILVERMAN LIBRARY women’s bathroom paper towel dispenser 37 SILVERMAN LIBRARY men’s bathroom door (going out of bathroom) 38 SILVERMAN LIBRARY men’s bathroom door (going into bathroom) 39 PORTER men’s bathroom sink
ESCHERICHIA COLI, associated with the human gastrointestinal tract, was identified in a ELLICOTT men's bathroom sample.
STAPHYLOCOCCUS EPIDERMIDIS, part of a normal human skin microbiome, was identified on a SILVERMAN LIBRARY keyboard sample.
FUNGAL GROWTH was identified on a PISTACHIO'S microwave sample and a SILVERMAN LIBRARY couch.
The Student Association appointed a new SA vice president on Thursday, after the SA Senate approved current Director of Club Services Benjamin Harper to take over the role. The position has been vacant since Feb. 2, when former Vice President Jamersin Redfern resigned after citing undisclosed family issues. A previous attempt in filling the role failed on Feb. 22, when the Senate voted down Samirra Felix, President Leslie Veloz’s nomination for vice president. Eleven senators voted in favor of Harper and four senators abstained. Harper, a senior mechanical engineering major, couldn’t attend Thursday’s senate meeting because he was unable to get his lifeguarding shift covered, but communicated with the senate via phone call. Treasurer Janet Austin and Veloz nominated Harper and cited his two years of experience as the Director of Club Services and former experience as the president of the UB water polo club. > SEE
SENATE | PAGE 4
Affordable housing projects underway at architecture school Students, faculty work to address affordable, inclusive housing shortage in Buffalo
SARAH CROWLEY SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
On Tuesday, UB will host a symposium to begin an effort in the architecture school to address Buffalo’s affordable housing shortage. As graduate students wrap up a semester-long design project focused on creating affordable, inclusive housing, Tuesday marks the beginning of a more collaborative effort to bring together alumni, interested donors and experts in affordable housing development. The students’ models will be on exhibit during the event, where attendees will also hear from keynote speakers Henry Cisneros, former secretary for Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton, and sponsor Donald Capoccia, a UB alum and real estate manager in New York City. The event aims to connect alumni, students, faculty and experts from around the U.S. who are doing work in affordable housing development, said Mark Foerster, professor of urban and regional planning. > SEE
HOUSING | PAGE 4