The Spectrum Volume 61 Issue 50

Vol. 61 NO. 51

ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

A Woelfel Ballad

Modern-Day Mass Hysteria UB doctors treated patient in Le Roy outbreak ERIN MAYNARD Special to The Spectrum A mysterious illness has brought the small Genesee County town of Le Roy, NY into the national spotlight, and two UB-affiliated doctors have joined the medical debate on what might be causing it.

In September, several teen girls in Le Roy spontaneously developed tics and twitches, which media outlets initially reported as resembling Tourette’s syndrome. Concern in the school district grew as the number of teens exhibiting the symptoms increased from three to eight to upwards of fifteen. Rumors flew through the community, blaming everything from a 1970 train derailment that spilled two toxic chemicals to a combination of vaccinations for human papilloma virus and meningitis (Gardasil and Menactra).

But Dr. Laszlo Mechtler of Buffalo’s Dent Neurologic Institute examined 12 of the Le Roy patients and diagnosed them with a little-known condition called conversion disorder, which has also been referred to as a type of “mass hysteria.” And Dr. David Lichter – a children’s neurology specialist at Buffalo General Hospital who examined one of the patients – agrees. Both Mechtler and Lichter are professors of neurology at UB. Mechtler’s diagnosis of conversion disorder is controversial. It is a psychological diagnosis; one in which mental stress “converts” into physiological manifestations. Not all of the families have accepted the diagnosis, but Mechtler did not arrive at his conclusion lightly.

While Mechtler and his associate Dr. Jennifer McVige were examining patients and running a large battery of tests on their patients, school district officials were examining air quality to test for mold, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide. All testing done by the district came back negative. Genesee County Public Health Director David Whitcroft called in the state Department of Health. Consultations were conducted with the state Office of Mental Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and researchers from Columbia University.

In an interview with The Buffalo News, Mechtler stated that not only is conversion disorder common, but that it is especially common in close-knit, rural communities. He further stated that there may be an “index” case – a patient with a physiological condition whose behavior then effects those around her.

Lichter concurs with Mechtler’s diagnosis. The Le Roy patient he met with already had a pre-existing history of tics – as do two other girls with the cluster of symptoms.

JOE KONZE JR. Staff Writer

Dr. Joseph Woelfel writes two questions on the board for his midterm. He wants his students to first tell him what they’ve learned in lecture and discussion, and then tell him what they have learned from readings posted online.

His midterms do not have a grade distinction. The first well-done paper that Woelfel reads receives 100 points and is used as a comparison for the papers that follow.

Any paper written better following this is given higher than 100 points.

“I personally prefer no grading system at all,” Woelfel said. “I would prefer a European grading system where people other than the teacher grade your work. I feel that the teacher should be on the students’ side.”

The catch is this: students are not exactly getting 100 points or 1,000 points – it is just a scale to measure if they get the material or not. The person with the most points gets a pink bag filled with two old chapter books.

“I love to teach, but I don’t like to be in the classroom,” Woelfel said. “Giving out prizes is a tradition; it keeps the students interested in the course.”

Woelfel, a professor in the communication department with his own Wikipedia page, has dedicated his life to the study of human behavior and interactions. He has participated in numerous projects that help measure the media’s effect on human behavior.

Courtesy of Joe Woelfel

Dr. Joseph Woelfel, a professor in the communication department, boasts a teaching style unlike a traditional lecturer – he has no curriculum and doesn’t give out grades.

ence and mathematics. He had uncles who shared the same interest, and they helped point Woelfel in the direction he wanted to go.

Through teaching and research, Woelfel has found a way to help students gain knowledge and remember what that they have learned.

“I was always interested in science and electronics,” Woelfel said. “Two of my uncles, after World War II on the GI Bill, had both taken correspondence courses in electronics and they gave me all of their textbooks and things like that. I worked my way through them and found them interesting.”

As a child, Woelfel had an interest in learning sci-

He started to wonder how science and mathematics

could be applied to the study of human behavior.

Woelfel graduated from Buffalo’s Canisius College in 1962 and went on to the University of Wisconsin, whose scientifically oriented approach he described as the right fit for him. He received a Ph.D. in sociology and a minor in philosophy.

From there, Woelfel went on to teach at UB’s fellow SUNY university center, the University of Albany, where he founded an institute for studying information science with colleagues who also had Continued on page 2

Skiing Back into the Spotlight: Schussmeisters Responds AARON MANSFIELD

Club says article ‘spreads negativity’

Senior Life Editor

Kathy Witt, office manager of Schussmeisters for 25 years, said the club would love to travel to Holiday Valley on the weekends, but it’s just too expensive; the club would need to increase prices by at least 200 to 300 percent.

On Monday, The Spectrum published an article entitled “Thanks, But No Thanks, Schussmeisters.” Schussmeisters responded only a few hours later, full of rage and frustration.

The organization – a ski club founded

by UB students in 1960 – said the article paints what the club stands for in a negative light. Schussmeisters is a not-for-profit club that is “dedicated to providing inexpensive skiing to the University at Buffalo community,” according to its website.

Monday’s article suggested that buying a membership directly from a ski resort would be more accommodating and, effectively, more affordable.

Several leaders of the organization spoke with The Spectrum and said these claims couldn’t be further from the truth.

According to the club’s mission

like she did.

“In years past, the club operated with a higher cost, albeit more popular schedule, and it forced the club into bankruptcy when our more expensive passes wouldn’t sell,” said Alex Goodnough, Vice Chairman.

Courtesy of that Trist guy

Schussmeisters, the UB ski club, responds to the article, “Thanks But No Thanks Schussmeisters,” published in Monday’s edition of The Spectrum.

statement: “We negotiate with the mountains every year and try and get the lowest prices to pass along to our members. Also, we negotiate with the bus companies.”

Monday’s article mentions that Holiday Valley is a favorite destina-

tion for many members and Schussmeisters only travels to this resort on Mondays and Tuesdays, which is inconvenient to many students. While this is true, Shelley Visone, the club’s social director, said students could easily form their academic schedules around Schussmeisters’ travel times,

The article also points out that SUNY Fredonia students can buy a season pass to Holiday Valley for just $395, allowing them to go to Holiday Valley at any time of any day. The article also suggests that, “UB certainly has the ability to negotiate a deal with Holiday Valley similar to that mentioned from Fredonia State, if not better.” However, Witt said that statement is just untrue.

Continued on page 2

Continued on page 2

Buffalo Welcomes New Defensive Coordinator Lou Tepper TYLER CADY Senior Sports Editor Former defensive coordinator William Inge may have left the university for the larger market of the NFL, but he made sure to have a hand in who would be the man to replace him. That’s where Lou Tepper comes in.

Inge and Tepper have had a long relationship.

Tepper attempted to recruit Inge to come play for him at Illinois, and although Tepper was unsuccessful, the two had remained in touch ever since and always made a point to meet at conventions within the coaching industry.

Their paths crossed once again this winter, meeting to discuss “X’s and O’s” for a few hours before Inge stood up, grabbed his phone and told Tepper to sit still. As a diabetic, Tepper was concerned about his blood sugar, but decided to wait it out.

It turned out to be a pretty good decision for him.

The man on the other end of the Inge’s phone was head coach Jeff Quinn. Quinn was still searching for a man to replace Inge, and Inge insisted that he had just found his replacement in Tepper.

Weeks later after successfully making it through Quinn’s interviewing process, Tepper is now the man at the helm of the Bulls’ defense, anxiously trying to get a feel for the team, and prepare for next season, after just arriving in the city of good neighbors on Monday.

“We’ve got 17 things on our agenda, and right now we’re on number two,” Tepper said.

Tepper comes to Buffalo attempting to finish off that agenda with his wife of 44 years, and his high school sweetheart Karen, who he jokes has been in football longer than he has, as the daughter of his high school football coach.

Continued on page 8

Weather for the Week:

Wednesday: Party Cloudy- H: 33, L: 28 Thursday: Sunny/Wind- H: 35, L: 30 Friday: Snow Showers- H: 32, L: 14

ddd

Meg Kinsley /// The Spectrum New defensive coordinator Lou Tepper stands next to the 2008 Mid-American Conference championship trophy – a trophy he hopes to lead his defense to in his tenure at Buffalo.

Opinion * 3 Life * 4 Arts * 6,7 Classifieds / Daily Delights * 9 Sports * 10

ubspectrum.com

Page 2 Continued from page 1: Modern-Day Mass Hysteria “[There’s] some kind of subconscious modeling that goes on in these children,” Lichter said. “Modeling their behavior after the original index cases.”

an example of a culture-bound syndrome, a combination of psychiatric and somatic symptoms that manifests itself as a recognizable disease only within a specific society or culture.

However, some of the parents are reluctant to accept a psychological diagnosis.

“Culture is different, but physiology is the same,” Stevens said.

Taking the issue to the media in hopes of getting an alternative diagnosis, these parents and their children have gotten national attention, which Lichter says may even make their children worse.

This difference in culture may manifest itself in how society treats the individuals displaying symptoms.

“Children that have continued to appear in the media…are not getting better,” Lichter said. “Those who have…accepted the diagnosis of conversion disorder, and who are getting the underlying stress and anxieties addressed with counseling and psychological support are actually improving now.”

In their quest for another explanation, the parents have been bombarded with suggestions. Dr. Rosario Trifiletti, a New Jersey-based child neurologist, said the students could be suffering from PANDAS – pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections – a rare and controversial diagnosis in cases where strep infections are believed to trigger tics. He has been the only physician to publicly dispute the conversion disorder diagnosis.

However, he is not the only person to disagree with the diagnosis. Consumer advocate Erin Brockovich has been to Le Roy, campaigning for more testing for environmental contaminants. In addition to the cyanide crystals and carbon tetrachloride that spilled during the 1970 train derailment, other sources for pollutants like the five natural gas wells owned by the Le Roy School District and water supplied by Monroe County Water Authority are being looked at by those suspicious of the diagnosis of conversion disorder.

Phillips Stevens, Jr, an associate professor of anthropology at UB, calls it unfortunate that the parents of the affected children are unwilling to accept the conversion disorder diagnosis.

“The diagnosis makes good sense,” Stevens said. “It’s too bad that parents don’t want to accept it because of the words ‘hysteric,’ ‘psychological,’ and ‘psychiatric.’ Those three words are words people don’t like, but the people from Dent are absolutely correct.”

Stevens’ work in anthropology gives him a cross-cultural perspective in mass hysteria. He cites the Le Roy outbreak as

The symptoms displayed by the students in Le Roy are not unique. There have been cases in Roanoke, Va., Los Angeles, Calif., and McMinnville, Tenn. There have been cases as far away as Trinidad and Mexico and as close as Lockport. The cases in Trinidad were attributed to demonic possession, an example of cultural factors at play.

While the exact symptomology may vary from case to case – for example, the Los Angeles case presented as symptoms of food poisoning but with no bacterial causative agent – there are a few characteristics of conversion disorder that tend to be the same – most notably, the age and gender of those affected.

Overwhelmingly, those suffering from conversion disorder are adolescent females. Lichter believes this is because females internalize stress more and are more empathetic than males. Stevens goes even further, linking culture and biology.

“Female biology is constructed to have sharper sensory perception,” Stevens said. “It’s important in a female’s role as a mother to be more empathetic, to hear her child stirring in the night.”

Lichter thinks that changes in culture may increase the incidence of conversion disorder. He cites Facebook and YouTube as modern ways of spreading the mimicry.

“Some of these girls have uploaded videos of themselves to YouTube,” Lichter said.

“People can model symptoms they see in people and in the environment. This used to be from direct face-to-face contact… and now with social networking, you can be exposed to this over the Web. It’s possible this could lead to [a] further spread of the symptoms beyond the originally involved geographic region.”

Continued from page 1: A Woelfel Ballad backgrounds in sociology and political science.

“I became the first director of research of that institute,” Woelfel said. “The group had a deep connection to the Rockefeller Institute, so I ended up being appointed a fellow of the Rockefeller Institute.”

Woelfel joked that he had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with a lot of people smarter than him at the institute.

After leaving Albany, Woelfel came to UB, where he served as professor and chair of the communication department from 1989 to 1995.

As a research associate at Wisconsin, Woelfel did research under Archibald Haller. Woelfel and his colleague, Dr. Edward L. Fink – a communication professor at the University at Maryland – explored the “role relationships” of “significant others” in the lives of high school students. Woelfel was the project’s director.

“Initially, we worked on that project together,” Fink said. “We did a lot of data analysis for Professor Haller. We did a lot of interviews interviewing high school students, and we both learned a lot from that.”

Following the research, the data would serve as an explanation for a theory both Fink and Woelfel would be notable for. That theory is the “Wisconsin Model” – a theory that measures the aspirations of high school students and what they want to do after high school. It attempts to describe and explain the various economic, social, and psychological determinants of an individual’s social mobility.

Woelfel’s intention is to teach students so that they remember taking his course and remember the knowledge they have learned, rather than simply memorizing facts for an exam.

“No, I don’t find my teaching styles to be conventional,” Woelfel said. “I do feel, however, that you have to give the student an opportunity to learn.”

Fink thinks Woelfel’s teaching styles are effective.

“He’s very intense,” Fink said. “He has a strong background in philosophy and understanding of science. He used these to always advance in questions of importance. He is very good at getting his students involved in his teaching.”

But, why does Woelfel stand by his unique style of teaching?

Additional reporting by News Editor Rebecca Bratek.

“If you really want to do something that is worthwhile to the students, you have to do something that influences the way that they think,” Woelfel said.

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 8, 2012 Continued from page 1:

Club says article ‘spreads negativity’ Fredonia has 5,388 undergrads, according to collegeboard.com, while UB has 19,395. Witt said Holiday Valley would go out of business if it were to offer the same discounted price to a school as big as UB.

“It’s sort of like belonging to AAA; not everybody gets in a car accident or gets a flat tire,” Witt said. “This is the first year ever that we’ve had this kind of season. The past three years have been phenomenal ski seasons.”

Alex Brennen, a freshman environmental engineering major, said in the original article that he purchased a season pass to Holiday Valley instead of joining Schussmeisters. He said that plan works for him because he doesn’t like waiting for long lift lines at places like Kissing Bridge. Schussmeisters responded to Brennen:

Daniel Fabian, Chairman of Schussmeisters, went even further than Witt, and said signing up for the club isn’t a gamble whatsoever.

“Our main goal isn’t to provide a pass to Holiday Valley,” said Mark Capenhurst, Business Manager. “We love Holiday Valley and we’d love to go there as many times as we can, but it’s unrealistic.

Our goal is to make skiing available to the students that can’t afford that $400 or $500 dollar pass, and provide transportation to local mountains.”

Monday’s article suggested joining Schussmeisters might not be worth the money this year (passes range from $155 to $230 depending on when students sign up), because the snow has been practically non-existent.

“The mountains are all still open. They make their own snow, so it’s not like people can’t go,” Fabian said. “We go to five mountains, and our pass is cheaper than a pass to any individual mountain.”

Schussmeisters averages 2,200 members a year, and those members receive free ski/snowboard waxing, free rides to the board shop, and discounts at local shops.

Lastly, the club said it benefits students’ social lives.

The organization hosts events every month – the most recent being last month’s “Blizzard Beach Bash,” which was a party at Kissing Bridge.

“I’ve met all my friends through riding with Schuss,” Goodnough said.

Email: features@ubspectrum.com

Police Blotter

02/01 – A hit and run occurred on White Road.

02/01 – A drug overdose was reported on Main Street.

02/02 – A hit and run occurred on Frontier Road.

02/02 – Graffiti was reported in the Natural Science Complex.

02/03 – Grand larceny was reported in the Student Union.

02/03 – A marijuana complaint was made in Abbott Hall.

02/04 – A marijuana complaint was made in Clement Hall.

02/04 – A DWI occurred on Chestnut Ridge Road.* 02/04 – A fight occurred in Alumni Arena.

02/04 – An alcohol overdose was reported in Wilkeson Hall.

02/04 – An alcohol overdose was reported at Alumni Arena.

02/05 – A fight occurred in Millard Fillmore Academic Center.

02/05 – An arrest was made in Greiner Hall.

02/05 – An arrest was made in John James Audubon Parkway.

02/06 – A marijuana complaint was made in Wilkeson Hall. *Patrol stopped Nicholas Aronson on Chestnut Ridge Road for driving while intoxicated at 3:30 a.m. Aronson was transported to his off-campus residence by patrol after the arrest processing.

Opinion ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Low Marks

EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR IN CHIEF Matthew Parrino SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR James Twigg MANAGING EDITOR Edward Benoit EDITORIAL EDITOR James Bowe NEWS EDITORS Luke Hammill, senior Rebecca Bratek Sara DiNatale, asst.

Lisa Khoury, asst.

ARTS EDITORS Nick Pino, senior Vanessa Frith, senior Brian Josephs Elva Aguilar, asst.

Vilona Trachtenberg, asst.

LIFE EDITORS Aaron Mansfield, senior Keren Baruch Lyzi White Rachel Kramer, asst.

SPORTS EDITORS Tyler Cady, senior Bryan Feiler Nathaniel Smith PHOTO EDITORS Meg Kinsley, senior Alexa Strudler Satsuki Aoi WEB EDITOR Matthew Parrino James Twigg GRAPHICS DESIGNER Haider Alidina

PROFESSIONAL STAFF OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Helene Polley ADVERTISING MANAGER Mark Kurtz CREATIVE DESIGNERS Nicole Manzo Aline Kobayashi ADVERTISING DESIGNER Aline Kobayashi Liam Gangloff, asst.

The views expressed – both written and graphic – in the Feedback, Opinion, and Perspectives sections of The Spectrum do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board. Submit contributions for these pages to The Spectrum office at Suite 132 Student Union or news@ubspectrum.com. The Spectrum reserves the right to edit these pieces for style and length. If a letter is not meant for publication please mark it as such. All submissions must include the author’s name, daytime phone number, and email address.

The Spectrum is provided free in part by the Undergraduate Mandatory Activity Fee. FEBRUARY 8, 2012 VOLUME 61 NUMBER 51 CIRCULATION: 7,000 The Spectrum is represented for national advertising by both Alloy Media and Marketing, and MediaMate.

For information on adverstising with The Spectrum visit www.ubspectrum. com/ads or call us directly.

The Spectrum offices are located in 132 Student Union, UB North Campus, Buffalo, NY 14260-2100 Telephone: (716) 645-2468 Fax: (716) 645-2766 Copyright 2011 Buffalo, N.Y. The Spectrum is printed by The Buffalo News 1 News Plaza Buffalo, N.Y. 14240 email any submissions to info@ubspectrum.com

Earmarks need to truly be eliminated Sometimes being an American citizen feels more like being the parent of a bratty kid. You turn your back for one minute and they have their spit covered fingers in the cookie jar and are ready to set the house on fire in an attempt to make s’mores in the living room.

In a way, we’re all the not-so-proud parents of a bouncing baby Congress.

Lets take the case of the congressional ban on earmarks. They may have only accounted for less than a half a percent of the total federal budget, but we the people were angered by the fact that Congress was simply attaching pet projects to bills that were all but guaranteed to pass.

We don’t like being taken for fools.

The projects may have been useful or they may not have been, the problem was that it was circumventing normal oversight procedures. Public opinion turned strongly against earmarks, so the Republican-led Congress banned the practice.

Finally, our most potent governing body actually listened to the will of the people.

Kind of…

See, rather than leaving well enough alone, Congress included 26 different funds for the Army Corps of Engineers to spend on construction and other projects that weren’t originally in President Obama’s final bill.

Add up the funds, and you have about as much money as was put into earmarks in 2010.

If you think this is déjà vu, you’re right. Last year something remarkably similar happened where the House Armed Services Committee created a billion dollar special fund that allowed members to add amendments that funneled money to their own districts.

Members of the committee said the amendments weren’t earmarks, but once the public found out that over half of the 225 amendments added were earmarks before the ban there was almost no way to defend it. The amendments were removed.

Now it’s happening again, only more sneakily.

Americans don’t have the ability to babysit every little action Congress does. We have jobs, school, and our own lives to deal with, and each time we get outraged and do our part to get the government back in line it

just finds another way to do what it wanted to anyway.

Sure, it might amount to only a .5 percent reduction in spending even if every single earmark-style fund were eliminated, but it’s not just about the money. It’s not going to be long before Social Security needs a complete restructure in order to not fail, and that accounts for literally 40 times the amount of spending.

If we can’t be sure that Congress can handle a measly half percent, how can we be confident that it can manage any more?

Congress has to gain back our confidence. First, they need to make the ban on earmarks completely permanent. It’s not about being in a bad economic climate; it’s about preventing it from getting this way again.

Second, the system needs to be reformed on the legal level. A law must be written to ensure that the ban is actually followed, because a simple rule is obviously not good enough.

Only time will tell if Congress actually cares about doing what we want rather than trying to get re-elected.

We’re just hoping there’s enough time left.

Hero or Villain?

Bradley Manning committed a crime Back in late 2009, the U.S. Military realized it had a problem on its hands. A video of a deadly helicopter attack from 2007 was released to the well-known online whistleblower haven WikiLeaks. The site released it to the public in an edited state and titled it “Collateral Murder.”

Soon, however, the problem exploded.

In all, roughly 700,000 documents and videos were handed over to the website, and it was eventually traced back to one man, Bradley Manning.

Allegedly, the 24-year-old private used his security clearance to break protocol and transfer the information.

It took quite a while, but Manning now faces a court-martial for his actions. He is accused of 22 charges, including aiding the enemy, which could carry the penalty of death.

Prosecutors say they will not press capital punishment.

However, supporters like the Bradley Manning Support Group don’t cast it in that light at all. They claim that Manning is not a criminal, but a whistleblower that exposed corruption and war crimes in the military.

The group has been actively campaigning since Manning was jailed for his release via Internet petitions and protests all over the world.

From cablegate, as the information dump is now known, some good did come. Some of the hundreds-ofthousands of documents did expose corruption. Some of the documents exposed war crimes.

But let’s think about this a little more.

Even if you were to very generously assume that each of the thousands of documents was two pages long, that would still mean almost one and a half million pages of reading.

Imagine it like this: that’s the equivalent of reading Moby-Dick 1,700 times.

Obviously Manning thought that some of the information contained in the dump would expose corruption, but would be practically impossible to assume that over the course of less than a year he actually read that many documents.

harmful to national security. Yet not only is the damage from this information dump very difficult to quantify, there are examples where the information was harmful.

In one case, WikiLeaks published information that contained the names of Afghans who were working with the US Military. That kind of information would be very useful to the Taliban, and could deter civilians from aiding in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

What it all boils down to isn’t whether or not good came of what he did or whether or not everything that came of his actions were bad. What he did was a criminal act of taking sensitive, classified information.

He wasn’t just giving out vital information; he was wantonly spewing everything he could get his hands on.

Let’s make an analogy. You break into 700,000 peoples houses and find information that 1,000 are involved in various crimes ranging from illegal file sharing to murder and drug trafficking. Sure, you did some good by exposing the bad things, but you also committed the crime of breaking and entering. Shouldn’t you be punished for that?

Manning’s lawyers argue that the information that was released (one of their many pronged “hope one of them stick” defenses) wasn’t very

Manning is not a hero. He disregarded the lives he could hurt and damage he could do in an ill-conceived effort to expose corruption.

What are you thinking?

Tweet it! @UBSpectrum

Page 3

Half Time Fumble VILONA TRACHTENBERG Asst. Arts Editor

Who knew a group of people could transform themselves into an army of Greek troops five minutes after a leadchanging touchdown?

The halftime show – aside from the two rival teams, the chicken wing dip, and the commercials – is the most anticipated part of the game. However, more often than not, the halftime show is usually a disappointment, and there is seemingly no way to fix the outbreak of bad intermission performances.

In general, the halftime show is unrepresentative of actual artistic talent.

Rather, the show serves as a nostalgic look at the bygone talent and popularity of the performing artist or artists.

Madonna’s performance was no exception.

Even though the show was high-energy, and arguably one of the most entertaining in a few years, the theatrics and over-the-top transitions were a bit on the tacky side.

The medley of popular hits commenced with Madonna’s dramatic entrance onto the stage heralded by the entrance of the Greek hoplites. This merged into one of her most famous hits “Vogue,” and flashed an entire stage production of the celebrities mentioned in her song. Photos of James Dean and Betty Davis sparked the crowd, as Madonna’s backup dancers adorned the stage.

The whole presentation was flashy technological displays, completely detracting from Madonna’s actual performance. Although people may enjoy these distractions, the focus should be on the artist and the raw talent.

Lately, the halftime shows have featured talent from the days of yester-year, including Prince, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, which could have been good displays of talent, but the medleys of their songs aren’t a display of their shows. They are a shortened version of what could be good, but without enough time to display their worth.

Throughout recent years of Super Bowl halftime shows, the “lucky” audience has experienced shows with different genres of music. From rock to pop, no genre or performer seems to win over the audience. Take The Black Eyed Peas performance from last year, for example.

All the gimmicks and theatrics in the world couldn’t make Fergie sing well.

However, credit does need to be given to the producers of these shows. It is difficult to please everyone in the audience, especially without Janet Jackson-esque accidents.

The addition of rap superstar Nicki Minaj and English singer M.I.A. in Madonna’s new song “Gimme All Your Luvin” with a posse of cheerleaders in the background gives Madonna the “fountain of youth” elixir that she needs to keep her career going, and to continue living vicariously through Lady Gaga.

The highlight of the performance was the entrance of a marching band led by conductor Cee Lo Green, with a lead in to “Like a Prayer” featuring an entire gospel choir.

However, the performers on stage were geared to all ages. Madonna reached out to the big-haired, retro ’80s rockers, while Nicki Minaj and LMFAO had the youth on their side – a strategic move that the previous years’ performances lacked.

VISIT US

The lip-syncing is also not a lot to look forward to. It’s basically saying, “Here, we’re completely lying to you and you all know it, we’re not fooling you, but we’re going to keep propagating this illusion anyways.” Singing and showmanship has been what made Madonna’s career in the first place, so lip-syncing should not be expected.

AT

In general, the halftime show is probably the time where you should go eat your wing dip and collect your earnings from Super Bowl squares, not watch the second-rate displays of talent.

ubspectrum.com

Email: vilona.trachtenberg@ubspectrum.com

Page 4

Life ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Health and Fitness with The Spectrum Don’t be ‘that guy’ at the gym AARON MANSFIELD

5. The Faux “Expert”

Senior Life Editor Everyone’s come in contact with “that guy” at the gym.

You’ve seen him: the guy who destroys your motivation to complete a focused and intense workout because he can’t stop distracting you with his annoying habits. Here are 10 examples of annoying gym personalities that you should want to avoid at all costs and will almost surely run into if you make it to the gym.

1. The Screamer Everyone is working hard, but this guy has to let you know just how much harder he’s working than you.

Whether it’s a loud grunt or “AHHH!” or even counting out his reps (“FOURRR! FIIIVE!”), this guy always makes as much noise as he can. He moans, yelps, and wails while you’re trying to focus.

2. The Flexer It’s no secret that gym mirrors are flattering, particularly because people look their best when they’re exerting their muscles. But man, this guy cannot get enough of himself. He examines his biceps and triceps, and might even occasionally lift up his shirt to catch a glimpse of his abs in the mirror. For God’s sake, keep the self-indulgence for your mirrors at home.

Oh, you’re a trainer at the gym? You’ve been working out for five years? Most of us just don’t care, and we don’t see the need for you to correct our form on every exercise. “Did you know that if you keep your knees wider on your squats, you could go up by 15 pounds?” Thanks, bro. Your input was totally needed.

4. Mr. Socializer This guy goes to the gym but does nearly nothing physical. He sits at machines or walks on the treadmill and spends the whole time on his phone. He also walks around the gym and talks to everybody, distracting them from their workouts. You’ll probably find him wasting his time socializing on the machine you’ve been waiting to use for half an hour.

KEREN BARUCH Life Editor Vampire got your neck?

6. Mr. Gym Pimp What’s up, ladies? This guy spends most of his time around the cardio machines, because that’s where you’ll find most of the women. “So what are you doing later?

Can I get your number?” Please, if you want to pick up a girl like that, just go to a bar.

7. Mr. Inappropriate Gym Attire

I know undead bloodsuckers are the up-and-coming trend amongst many teenage girls and even some boys – but let’s leave the vampires to the television screen and keep the red and purple bruises off our necks.

While foreplay before sex is even better than miso soup before a spicy tuna roll, it’s easy to get carried away and let your partner get a little too into kissing your body. Although him sucking on your neck gives you a great sensation in the heat of the moment, looking into the mirror the next morning and realizing you look like you’ve been mauled by a gorilla definitely takes away from the pleasure.

This is the guy who wears jean shorts, slippers, and a polo to the gym. How do you even work out in that?

I recently saw a guy going hard at the gym in scrubs.

Really? Scrubs? This one can also double as “Ms. Inappropriate Gym Attire” – the 250-pound woman wearing a sports bra and spandex.

8. The Sweaty Man You want to use that machine? First you need to wipe it down, because this guy never cleans the machines after he uses them, but always makes sure to leave a giant sweat stain.

3. Mr. Red Carpet This guy dresses like he’s going clubbing when he heads to the gym. He walks in with stunner shades on, maybe some jewelry, and a button down or super-tight Express T-shirt. He swags his way to the locker room as if thousands of cameras are snapping with every step he takes.

The Art of Hickeys

9. Mr. Way-Too-Loud Party Animal We’re not at the gym to hear about how wild your night was last night, so stop talking to your friends so loudly.

“Yo, dude, I got so drunk last night!” Awesome, so glad to overhear that. “Did you know I banged that blonde chick last night?” Sweet, thanks for the information. Don’t mind me; just trying to do some curls here.

10. Mr. I-Don’t-Return-the-Weights Is there just one bench press at your gym? Want to put, say, 45 pounds on each side like a normal person? That’s too bad, because this guy left 200 pounds on each side.

He doesn’t bother with putting the weights back after he’s done. Why would he, when you can do it for him?

While you’re locking lips in your bed – or, if you’re super classy, at the bar – it’s fundamental to remember that once you wake up the next morning, you will spend three hours rubbing the bruise on your neck with a frozen spoon and then three more scraping your temporary neck tattoo up and down with a toothbrush.

I think the hickey phenomena ended when we were all in eighth grade. You know, when your parents asked what happened to your neck and you told them you burned yourself with your hair straightener.

So why are boys still leaving their marks on girls’ necks and vice versa?

Email: aaron.mansfield@ubspectrum.com

Not only do hickeys make you look like a slut, but they also turn off other people that you may be interested in.

A hickey is an automatic trademark on your neck and even if you don’t want it to be, it’s a “taken” sign. No one is going to park his or her car in a spot that’s clearly been reserved by someone else.

More than that, sometimes they hurt. What we consider to be hickeys, doctors consider to be bursting blood vessels under the skin. Hickeys should be treated equal to bruises, and they take as much time to heal, according to www.eHow.com.

Granted, mistakes happen. Too much alcohol is consumed and it “slips your mind” that he’s actually leaving marks on your body. For this reason, I think two to three hickeys are acceptable throughout your college career.

If you show up to class or – even worse – your job with constant neck bruises, you’re just openly telling people that you got it in last night. Nobody really wants to know about your sex life, and if they do, they’ll ask about it on their own and don’t need an everyday reminder that you’re getting action.

You’ve all heard the phrase “never kiss and tell,” so if you have the ability to keep your mouth shut, why let your neck do the talking?

Most of all, be safe, be smart, and keep it classy – don’t let your professors and classmates know what you did last night.

Email: keren.baruch@ubspectrum.com

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

A Week in Ink: Issue No. 43 NICOLAS PINO Senior Arts Editor

Detective Comics No. 6

Infestation 2: Transformers No. 1

Winter Soldier No. 1 Fear Itself, Marvel’s 2011 summer crossover event, bent the rules for some of the world’s greatest heroes. Thor died and was resurrected, Asgard was sealed for the time being to limit themselves from the fragile world too soon tampered with and, most importantly, the believed death of Bucky Barnes and continuation of his Winter Solider days were all the aftermath of Marvel’s summer masterwork.

For the world’s so-called greatest detective, solving a crime that occurs at a criminal overlord’s casino should be a walk in the park. But that doesn’t seem to be the case for writer Tony Daniel’s slightly slower and all-around worse written Batman.

Leading off with what is sure to be one of the worst puns of Batman’s 70-year career, Daniel writes an issue both somewhat uninteresting and completely mediocre. Daniel, by trade, is not one of comic’s low-end writers and in fact has collaborated with some of the greatest minds in the industry to work on comic masterpieces like Batman R.I.P. and contributing his own work in the form of 2009’s Battle for the Cowl.

Now, under the experienced penmanship of Ed Brubaker, the Soviet secret weapon has returned, though this time fighting for Nick Fury and the good ol’ red, white, and blue.

Detective Comics’ largest faults revolve around the characters Daniel works so hard to create, and in turn do little to forward the actual plot. Juggling between three main characters leaves little room for readers to fully comprehend the stakes of Batman’s current case, and while Penguin himself is actually written with incredible skill and grace, he becomes more of an afterthought in his own setting.

Brubaker’s first foray into the revamped world of covert warfare and steamy love lives is an absolutely brilliant adventure, rife with intrigue and suspense with some of Brubaker’s best writing this side of a Daredevil issue. The team of Barnes and Natasha Romanoff work together in incredible ways, half lovers turned coworkers, the other half contract killers turned friends. From start to finish, the teamwork presented is both adorable and vicious to read.

While his writing isn’t quite there to keep readers enthralled, Daniel’s artwork is. A beautiful sanguine, noir color palette adorns every panel in the Dark Knight’s perspective, while his criminal counterparts Snakeskin and Chase see the world in blazing reds and rich purples.

Butch Guise and color artist Bettie Breitweiser put an art style together all their own. From well-defined, sharp imagery to the intentionally vague scenes of Barnes’ vocation, the team finds ways to create panels that both enhance Brubaker’s writing and even work as a story within themselves.

With new creative teams coming in many series’ Issue No. 7, the next few weeks should reinvigorate stale writers and serve as the ideal whetstone to sharpen the cutting power of the DC Universe.

The series, still in its fledgling form, shows serious promise and with a creative team as dead set in its mission as the Winter Soldier himself, and nothing short of Red Skull can stop a team with this much momentum.

What happens when Lovecraft meets Optimus Prime and Nikola Tesla meets the Elder Gods? The answer is one of comic’s most interesting and historically informative issues that comes from the world of IDW and, while it has its fair share of serious WTF moments, it’s one of the most interesting crossovers that any sci-fi fan can ask for.

The Elder Gods have awoken; they plan to take Earth’s inhabitants by storm, bringing about a new era of change in the late 1800s. Only a team of sentient robots from Cybertron, Tobias Muldoon, and the heralded master of electricity, Nikola Tesla, can stop them.

As an independent publisher, IDW has complete editorial power to publish whatever suits its fancy and that control is nowhere more apparent than in its legendary Infestation crossovers. While Marvel and DC typically unite over a villain grown too powerful, or the Flash upsetting the balance of space and time, IDW intentionally chooses events both completely laudable in theory, but absolutely absurd on paper.

Transformers accomplishes what the comics set out to do on all accounts. Cthulhu meets America plot line: check. Autobots versus zombified shells of Decepticons: check. Tesla conducting insane experiments on sentient robots: double check.

Every ingredient for a formula made entirely of madness is there, and while the coming weeks will see both Dungeons and Dragons and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles inhabited by Lovecraftian lore, one can hardly imagine that it will be more over-the-top nonsensical than this issue.

If nothing else, this $3.99 treasure is worth owning, if only for its use as a conversation starter.

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

Courtesy of Marvel

Courtesy of DC Comics

New Game, Same Soul

of pixels that flaunt what is surely one of the prettiest fighters of all-time. Music, provided by industry veterans from all over the electronic entertainment landscape collaborate to produce a phenomenal soundtrack both in and out of the ring.

NICOLAS PINO Senior Arts Editor Developer: Project Soul

Publisher: Namco Bandai Games

Online play, Soulcalibur’s armor-plated bread and butter, pits players from around the globe in the 3-dimensional ring to see who’s truly worth their weight in souls. Ranked matches and their casual counterpart player matches create an ambience of competitive nature while typically keeping matches from being overly intense.

Release Date: Jan. 31 Grade: B Great fighting games nowadays follow a simple formula: two parts fluid controls, one part enormous online community, and three parts busty women. When these ingredients are stirred to perfection, the only results are either that they’ve finally announced Dead or Alive 5 or there’s some soul reaping to be done.

Adversely, those lacking the technology to take the fight online are left with little content to contend with. A standard versus, character creation, six-stage arcade, and “Legendary Souls” modes are all that players lacking a CAT-5 cable can indulge in. While character creation can be quite entertaining, no amount of interchangeable brassieres and lengthy leggings can compensate for the game’s key faults.

While the world waits on the voluptuous ladies of Team Ninja origins to return, Namco brings its own brand of swords, shields, and breastplates into its fifth installment with the wonderfully executed Soulcalibur V. Soulcalibur V makes newcomers to the land of blades and babes feel at home immediately while managing to accommodate veterans of the ring with the game’s relatively deep story mode.

Assuming the role of the Sophitia’s son Patroklos, players slash and slay their way across 16th century Europe in the attempt to reunite the Greco-protagonist with his estranged sister.

Told through the use of mind-melting full-motion videos and sepia-toned story sequences, the main plot has gone from a forgettable side-note in previous entries to one of the game’s main attractions, adding both depth and replay value to a genre that most often revolves around a second controller port.

Gameplay additions like character’s “Brave Edge” and “Critical Edge” attacks replace the outdated mechanics of the “Critical Finishes” and Soul Gauge found in Soulcalibur IV. The com-

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Courtesy of IDW

Unfortunately, the same flaws that haunt previous iterations linger and, while it doesn’t condemn the game to GameStop’s coveted $10 and under box, it’s the deciding factor to stop many from paying the full retail price.

Courtesy of Namco Bandai Games

Just like Chef Tony’s patented Miracle Blade, the Soulcalibur series still cuts through its opponents like butter, and hasn’t lost its edge.

plaints of the game favoring colloquially dubbed “button-mashers” have been heard, and the new “Just Guard” feature both provides a source of cover and quick-steel retort against players too heavy on their gamepads.

Like the game’s turbulent changes in gameplay, Soulcalibur’s roster has seen its fair share of improvement. This time around, players can choose fighters from a long list of the previ-

ous game’s green-footed, but equally endowed progeny. And while previous intriguingly odd combatants are missing from the battlefield, the creative minds at Namco have chosen Ubisoft’s most deadly Italian acrobat, Ezio Auditore, to join in the frenetic fray.

What really helps Soulcalibur V stand out in its super-saturated genre is the heaping helping of fluid, eight-way controls and a shiny coat

Limited content, a steep learning curve, and a very lacking tutorial mode are still the series’ insurmountable antagonists, and until Namco can K.O. these gameplay killers the series will stay exclusive to its core demographic of players.

Though the cast has changed, mechanics altered, and swords swapped out, Soulcalibur V manages to keep the same fighting spirit of previous generations, and beyond the acute chinks in its armor, the series is still king of the ring.

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Page 7

Subversive Brings a Ray of Sunshine Tumultuous Teenaged Telekinesis

DELANEY MARSCO Staff Writer Nothing quite sets the tone of American hardship than Lorraine Hansberry’s iconic play of a family struggling to make ends meet. While A Raisin in the Sun has seen productions the nation over, it finds a perfect fit in the metropolitan center of Buffalo.

Subversive Theatre Collective, temporary home of A Raisin in the Sun, uses this production to continue its aims to be a “people’s theatre” and to “raise awareness, provoke, challenge, empower, incense, inspire, and even agitate.”

Mixing teen angst and super powers gets messy in Chronicle.

JAMES TWIGG Senior Managing Editor

Set in the post-World War II Chicago’s Southside, the play focuses on a struggling African American family as it is about to receive a large insurance check from the deceased patriarch’s life policy.

Movie: Chronicle Studio: 20th Century Fox Release Date: Feb. 3 Grade: B+

The matriarch, Lena (Beverly Crowell), decides to use some money to buy a new house for the growing family of her son Walter Lee (Peter Johnson) and daughter-in-law Ruth (Candace Whitfield) and set the rest aside for Walter’s investments and her daughter Beneatha’s (Lydia Douglas) medical school. Emotions run high when the twists of everyday life compromise some of the family members’ big plans.

Courtesy of Kurt Schneiderman

The unique stage setting and powerful performances from the actors make the Subversive Theatre Collective’s production of A Raisin in the Sun one to remember.

layout of the theatre was a conscious decision.

The play takes on themes like material race relations, financial struggles, interfamilial relationships, class disparity, and identity, to name a few.

Essentially, A Raisin in the Sun attacks all the issues that still plague our society today. Victoria Perez, director of the play and member of the Subversive Theatre Collective, said that it is precisely this thematic timelessness that makes the play a bit easier to execute, despite its heavy subject matter.

“We had to make the space itself feel cramped,” Medlock-Turek said. “A lot of times what they’ll do is just put the seats [at a distance from the stage] and the actors [squarely in front of them], but we wanted to do something a little bit more interesting.”

Perez notes that this also adds to the actor-audience relationship.

“It’s so universal,” Perez said. “They are topics that everyone can still understand, that everyone has still lived through. It’s not something that is surreal. [The thematic realism] is not something that we have to build so much upon, but it’s something that we have to dig for, because it’s there.”

“[The play was] designed so that the audience feels the awkwardness of the space, of how tight they have to live together,” Perez said. “We wanted the audience to practically be in the living room.”

The space used to house this play is especially distinctive, and it perfectly fits the production team’s ideas for the play’s execution. The play is performed in the tightly packed Manny Fried Playhouse in Buffalo, which seats a bit less than 50 people.

What is most striking about the layout of the theater is that it purposely thrusts the audience into the stage space, as the front row is on equal footing with the players and is just inches from the stage. Not only does this setup allow the audience to admire the painstaking detail of the set (from a 1940s-era record player and clock, right down to the flour containers atop the refrigerator), but it also allows for a real engagement with family’s plight.

Seating and light designer Patrick Medlock-Turek, also a senior chemistry major at UB, confirms the

While all the actors are extraordinary talents, the most notable performance was Beverly Crowell’s Lena. Crowell wielded her maternal authority with power, pride, and emotion, allowing her to embody that gentle yet iron-fisted mother as though she has lived through the plight of the character she embodies.

How cool would it be to throw a bus with your mind? Found footage superhero flick Chronicle answers this and other vexing questions.

Found footage films aren’t exactly anything new. The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, and the Paranormal Activity series are just a few that have hit it big at the box office and, as a result, the first-person-shaky-cam style alone isn’t enough to excite audiences anymore.

That’s why the latest film from director Josh Trank (The Kill Point) and writer Max Landis (The Death and Return of Superman) is such a success – it’s something fresh. Well, at least fresher than almost anything else gracing cinemas in recent months.

The plot follows three high school teenagers who develop telekinetic powers after making a mysterious discovery in a hole in the ground. As the film progresses, the three teens’ powers gradually grow stronger, all while learning new abilities like flying.

All goes well for the three for a bit, but it doesn’t last. Eventually one of them is seduced by his new power and lashes out at the world. While someone losing him or herself to incredible power is a story older than the actors in this film (Darth Vader, anyone?), the performance given by Dane DeHaan (True Blood) as the corrupted Andrew is haunting.

A monologue that he gives about animals not Subversive Theatre’s production of A Raisin in the Sun feeling bad about killing those below them on puts an interesting twist on an iconic classic, and it the food chain is particularly chilling. keeps the focus on the plight of the ordinary people, shunning all notions of theatrical elitism.

Yes, the superhero movie has been done – about a thousand times – but Chronicle isn’t A Raisin in the Sun can be seen at Subversive Theatre your typical brightly colored spandex-clad through Feb. 25. tale. It takes a more down-to-earth approach to the whole situation without sacrificing any of the high-flying excitement of more tradiEmail: arts@ubspectrum.com tional superhero flicks.

Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

What makes Chronicle so refreshing the way the characters choose to use their powers for the first half of the film. They don’t don masks and go out fighting crime. Instead, they do what almost every other teenage boy would do granted the same opportunity – they use their newfound powers to become popular, pull pranks, and sink incredible beer pong shots. This, mixed with the handheld camera perspective, gives Chronicle a more realistic feel and really helps audience members connect with and care about the characters involved.

As you might expect, the camera work is a bit shaky for the first part of the movie, as is the nature of the found footage beast.

However, Trank and Landis thought up a rather ingenious way of getting around this.

Once they’ve refined their powers enough, the main characters begin levitating the camera to record all of the action. From that point on the shots become a lot smoother. The camera work is able to retain that personal in-themoment feel without making half of the audience nauseous. It’s a cheap trick, but an effective one nonetheless.

The transition to the levitating camera was essential for more than just helping keep moviegoers’ popcorn down, though. In the latter half of the movie, when the action picks up, shots needed to be quick and smooth in order to keep track of everything going on.

Especially when Chronicle switches gears from high school seniors goofing around to angst-ridden teenagers throwing buses at one another (one of the most intense scenes of the film).

To say that Chronicle is one of the best superhero films of all time would be a stretch, but it should be regarded as one of the better ones. The portrayal of its characters, the way it was shot, and the overall tone all do well to help make a film with an unbelievable plot feel genuine –something that’s not easily accomplished – and for that the cast and crew deserve some praise.

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

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Page 8 Continued from page 10:

Bulls Look for Lucky Seven in Michigan The consistent theme in the Bulls’ six-game winning streak has been their rebounding and defensive efforts.

The Bulls are currently ranked third in the country with 41.6 rebounds per game. The Bulls have been tremendously consistent in this facet throughout the year.

“We work on rebounding every single day, and we realize that it’s an important part of the game,” said Witherspoon. “We’ve been consistently one of the better rebounding teams in the country and that’s because we work and focus on it every single day.”

The Bulls’ rebounding success is something that they should be able to continue against the worst rebounding team in the MAC. The Chippewas have been unable to control the glass this year, pulling down only 33 boards per game.

On the defensive front, Buffalo is the best in the MAC at opponent field goal percentage, at just 37 percent.

The guards have been playing aggressive in their 2-3 matchup zone, and with the shot-altering presence of senior forward Mitchell Watt in the low block, teams have had trouble getting easy looks as of late.

“If we can defend well and rebound well there’s a chance for us to have success, and we have done that,” Witherspoon said. “We’ve been doing that consistently we just have to keep doing it better.”

The Bulls will look to make it seven in a row as they travel to take on the Chippewas Wednesday night at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Continued from page 1: Buffalo Welcomes New Defensive Coordinator Lou Tepper

“She was 15 at the time,” Tepper said. “I don’t know how or why he let her date me. But we were under the microscope and it was a bit uncomfortable.”

Over the course of Tepper’s coaching career, Karen has been the only constant as Lou has held a number of different positions across the country.

“I’ve coached in a couple of conferences that don’t exist anymore,” Tepper said. “I was in New Hampshire when they were in the Yankee Conference.”

New Hampshire is where his career started on the defensive side of the football, from 1968 to 1971.

Tepper then moved to William and Mary (’72 to ’77) before stepping up to the Division I ranks at Virginia Tech (’78 to ’82), back when they were an independent school without conference affiliation.

“That’s until we recruited [NFL Hall of Fame defensive end] Bruce Smith,” Tepper said. “Once we recruited Smith and he won the Outland trophy, that put Tech on the map. No one in the ACC wanted to play us.”

Following his time in Blacksburg, Virginia, Tepper headed west to be the defensive coordinator at Colorado (’83 to ’87), taking over the Buffaloes when they ranked dead last in total defense two years in a row.

“They were the doormat of the old Big Eight,” Tepper said. “The year before I got there they gave up 80 points to Nebraska and 80 points to Oklahoma. My thought was, ‘Hey, I can’t do worse than this; I’ve got to be an improvement.’ We went from 120th my first year down to 101st, we made great progress, then 81st, then 17th, then down to 11th. Five years later Bill [McCartney] won the National Championship [at Colorado]. So that was a great experience for me.”

Following his time at Colorado, Tepper went to Illinois to be the defensive coordinator in 1988, a position that he held until accepting the head coaching position in 1991. In over five seasons as the Illini’s head coach he posted the best winning percentage of any Illinois coach in the past 20 years leading the team to a 25-31-2 record, until he was let go in 1997.

After the ’97 season Tepper had an opportunity to head to the NFL with the St. Louis Rams and coach under close friend Dick Vermeil. Tepper decided to turn the opportunity down however, due to wanting to remain closer to his family.

“Professionally it was a no brainer, I should have gone to the Rams,” Tepper said. “But my son (Matthew) was in his senior year as a player at Taylor University. It’s an NAIA school in Indiana.”

Still under contract from Illinois, Tepper decided to take a year off, but not from coaching entirely. Tepper joined the staff at his son’s Alma Mater to help out, and be with his son.

“I was probably the highest paid volunteer in America that year,” Tepper said. “I had a linebacker with the Cowboys let us house sit his home in Indianapolis, and would drive 40 minutes every day to coach at Taylor. It was the best year, and the year I wrote my book.”

His book, Complete Linebacking, is a 328-page tell-all about the art of being a good linebacker. Tepper should know having coached three Butkus Award winners (for top linebacker in college football), Alfred Williams at Colorado, and Dana Howard and Kevin Hardy at Illinois.

Following his stint as a volunteer Tepper returned to the Division 1 ranks as the defensive coordinator in the elite South Eastern Conference for LSU (’97 to ’99).

After his time at LSU, Tepper got back to head coaching and accepted a job at Edinboro, going 40-26 and leading the team to two Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference titles in the Division 2 ranks.

In his final stop before joining the Bulls’ staff he coached at Indiana University of Pennsylvania from ’06 to ’09.

The 66-year-old Tepper admits his situation is a bit unusual: being hired by Quinn after having no previous interaction with the head coach is a rarity in the college football coaching industry.

“Because of my, I’ll say maturity, if you don’t know Lou Tepper, and just got my résumé passed across your desk, your liable to think I’m using a walker,” Tepper said.

Although he may be 66, Tepper is still very active. As an avid racquetball player, Tepper is hoping to win the over-70 National Championship someday.

He’s still four years away from hitting the 70 mark, but he’s got plenty to occupy his time before then, taking over a Bulls’ defense that surrendered just under 30 points per game last season.

Having just arrived in Buffalo this week, Tepper still hasn’t fully assessed his team yet. In fact, he’s still meeting the Bulls, but Tepper plans on having them ready to compete for a Mid-American Conference title come Fall.

Obama Campaign to Return Donations Linked to Fugitive Alberto Rojas Cardona and Carlos Cardona, brothers of a criminal Mexican casino tycoon, have been noted as major fundraisers and donors for President Obama’s re-election campaign.

On Monday, the Obama campaign announced they would be refunding the money given by the family.

The money donated totals to over $200,000.

Juan Jose Rojas Cardona, or “Pepe,” skipped his bail in Iowa in 1994, disappeared, and is now tied to violence and corruption in Mexico. His brothers resided in Chicago.

Pepe Cardona is suspected of organizing the assassination of a business rival and illegally making donations totaling of $5 million to Mexican officials’ campaigns.

The brothers began raising money for the Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee last fall. They appeared suddenly on the Democratic fundraising scene and had no history of political giving.

Both brothers each gave $30,800 (the maximum allowed) to the Democratic National Committee and lesser amounts to the state victory fund. One of the Cardonas’ sisters donated $13,000, and another relative from Illinois gave $12,600 to the national committee. Pepe Cardona is not believed to have made any donations. However, the brothers all remain in contact.

The Obama campaign stated most of the money raised came directly from the Cardona brothers or their relatives. Obama’s campaign announced it will return any of the money given by the brothers, or other donors they attracted.

Greece Drafts Bailout Plan Greece’s government is preparing needed reforms that aim to help the country avoid a debt default.

Officials drafted a €130 billion ($170 billion) bailout plan.

The document is pending political leaders’ approval.

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos negotiated with Greece’s European Union and IMF leaders. A 24hour strike began against the reforms. It shut down tourist sites and disrupted public transportation.

Papademos is making efforts to persuade leaders of three parties to accept the conditions of the expensive bailout.

Charles Dallara is also expected to meet with Papademos. Dallara is negotiating for the banks and insurers on a bond swap to assist the debt issues.

The suggested package has to be approved before Feb. 15 by the eurozone, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

This time is being allotted due to the complexity of the legal procedures involved in a bond swap deal.

The private investors’ holdings will be radically cut in value so Athens can receive rescue funds before March 20.

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Citizens of Greece are frustrated with the wage and spending cuts, especially as they make their way through the country’s fifth year of recession.

Wienckowski's Cause of Death is Considered ‘Undetermined’ by Independent Medical Examiner

for fall 2012

Kenmore native Amanda L. Wienckowski’s cause of death should be classified as “undetermined,” according to an independent medical examiner hired

by Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III.

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The independent medical examiner is Dr. Scott F. LaPoint, and his opinion differs from the two previous autopsy reports. The Erie Country medical examiner’s 2009 report ruled the death accidental due to an opiate overdose, and the other one determined Wienckowski was strangled.

The new report was forwarded to the Buffalo Police Department’s Homicide Bureau; Sedita is urging detectives to keep the case open, according to The Buffalo News.

Wienckowski’s body was found on Jan. 9, 2009 after she had gone missing on Dec. 5, 2008. She was found upside down, frozen in a garbage can.

Sedita hired LaPoint after Erie County’s examiner report came out last November. Sedita remains willing to move forward with the case and criminal prosecution if sufficient evidence is provided by the police investigation.

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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

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4-BDRM, 2 BATH house. W/D, D/W, off-street parking. Heath St. $1060.00 716-877-0097.

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Page 9

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Daily Delights

SPONSORED BY Villas on Rensch

HOROSCOPES

Visit ubspectrum.com/games for our online game of the week Also see the crossword and Sudoku answers from last issue

Crossword of the Day STEVEN WROBEL Life Editor It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a…weather balloon.

While many students spend their weekends partying, studying, and hanging out with their friends, one club at UB spent its weekend studying the outer realms of Earth’s atmosphere.

UB Students for the Exploration and Development Space (UB-SEDS) is a club that sets its ambitions skyward to generate interest and activism in the community for any and all space-related topics, according to Sean Lyons, a senior aerospace engineering major.

Lyons was the project manager of the Edited by Timothy E. Parker February 8, 2012 club’s High-Altitude Weather Balloon

LEADERSHIP COURSE By Gary Cooper Project (HAWB). The project’s goal

ACROSS was to send a weather balloon into 45 Electrician's alloy 1 Candied tubers the sky to measure temperature and 47 Kennel sound

5 Put in a cell atmospheric pressure. In addition, the

48 Not well, mentally 10 "Shoulda, thinker team wanted towoulda, capturecoulda" pictures and

52 Requiring medical attention

14 Square-footage measure video footage to document the trip and 53 Replies of rejection 15 Exit the the atmospheric premises measure boundary

55 Word in wedding notices

layers.

16 Bedfellow

57 Homer Simpson's shout

17 Dad's royal nickname?

58 "Scram!"

20 Prolific “This projectwriter is one Asimov of the most chal 61 Musical stage production

21 ___ l'oeil (visual deception in paintings) lenging yet rewarding feats of my 63 One wearing the pants?

22 "Agnes of God" actress Tilly undergraduate career,” Lyons said.

67 ___ mater

“The lessons I have learned and [the] 23 ___ for tat 68 Muse of love poetry success of this projectmilieu have given me 26 Rubber ducky's

69 Computer operator an27 inspiration no course Biology class initialsoffered at this university could ever provide.”

70 Carpe ___ ("seize the day") 30 Yet another time

71 School social

32 Confused noise

72 Dusty and dry

The of sorry the balloon last 34launching One feeling for another

Saturday, Oct. dish 22, was the culmina36 Breakfast DOWN tion many hours of planning. The

39of Fall off, as support group hadwith to not only raise the funds 1 Washington city or river 40 One dependents to 42 take on this project, it also had

2 Antonym for "fallen" Words of praise bybut King David to develop the means by which to 3 Social unit living together 44 Subject of a will, sometimes perform all the desirable functions.

UB-SEDS procured $1,100 in funding from sponsorships from local companies and from Sub Board I Inc. “The idea for this came about in either October or November of last year, when we saw a video of a father-andson team that sent an iPhone aboard a balloon and recovered it, becom-

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8 FROM UNIVERSAL UCLICK

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- You'll receive a message that has you considering two very different possibilities today.

The choice will be made for you at some point.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- You may not be seeing all the details -- or interpreting them correctly if you are. Get the advice of someone who has been there before.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- You've been trying to solve a personal mystery for quite some time, and today you're likely to receive information that provides real momentum.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Your efforts will surely be appreciated today, but you may not receive the tangible rewards you're after unless you ask for them directly.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- Your perspective is certainly valid, but it may not take into account all eventualities. You will want to open your mind further.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- Things are likely to develop quickly today, without regard for your level of preparedness. You must be willing to jump in as needed.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Criticism comes your way, but you're ready for it.

Despite your best efforts, you're likely to take some comments in a negative way.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- Someone else's behavior may have you doubting yourself -- but you cannot afford to have your confidence diminished for any length of time.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- Take care that you don't let another's aggressive nature influence you. Do your best to maintain a calm demeanor.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- The work you are doing at this time is characterized by a clear concept and focused energy. Others are likely to emulate you.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- You may sense that there's too much talk and not enough action. When it's your turn, you'll want to do what is right, not talk about it.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- You'll be ready for almost anything later in the day, but only after you are allowed a slower, more relaxed and forgiving start.

4 "Lonesome Dove" genre 5 Renowned toymaker 6 Covered, as expenses 7 It's banked in Bangkok 8 Head off, as disaster

9 Get back, as losses

10 Speak hoarsely 11 Concealed, as a motive

12 90-degree building wing

13 Type of sandwich bread

18 Mo. of Canada's Thanksgiving

19 Completely surrounding 24 Invention beginning

25 Diacritical mark 28 Simpsons' neighbor

29 "My feet ___ killing me" 31 Globe representation

33 Like a catching-up letter 35 Cornered, in a way 37 Keepsake

38 Nashville-based athlete 40 Sporting event 41 Mane site 42 Last Greek consonant 43 Fa-la link on a musical scale 46 Worked with shingles 49 Provide counsel 50 More revolting 51 "And ___ off!" (racetrack announcement) 54 "Kama ___" 56 Pitcher's stat 59 Red-coated cheese 60 More ___ enough 62 Down Under birds 63 Possessed 64 Wallach of "Tough Guys" 65 Space-saving abbreviation 66 Enemy

Sudoku

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Sports ubspectrum.com

Page 10

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Bulls Look for Lucky Seven in Michigan TITUS ROBINSON PLAYER SPOTLIGHT:

NATHANIEL SMITH Sports Editor

Scouting Central Michigan

After a thrilling come-from-behind triumph against Toledo (10-13, 2-7 Mid-American Conference), the men’s basketball team is looking to continue its demolition of MAC West competition.

Buffalo (14-6, 7-2 MAC) takes its show on the road as they take on Central Michigan (7-15, 2-7 MAC) Wednesday.

Current Record: 7-15 (2-7, Mid-American Conference) All-Time Record:12-10 Central Michigan

The Chippewas come into the contest following Saturday’s 68-42 loss at Ohio (19-4, 7-2 MAC), and the team’s young talent is struggling to win.

Despite two squads’ differences in the win column, head coach Reggie Witherspoon knows firsthand the level of competition that the Bulls have to face night in and night out.

Last meeting: 64-50 Buffalo (March 8, 2011 in Alumni Arena).

Two Chippewas to Watch: G-Trey Zeigler: Zeigler leads his team with 15.8 points per game. He also leads the team in assists with 57. The offense runs through Ziegler as he’s shot 50 more field goals than anyone else on his team.

However, he’s not a guard who will put up a lot of shots from long range, as he’s sixth on the team in 3-pointers attempted. He is a constant threat to take over every contest as he has only failed to score less than 10 points in a game twice this season.

Nick Fischetti /// The Spectrum

Senior forward Titus Robinson has emerged as one of the best sixth men in the Mid-American Conference.

His minutes off the bench against Toledo were huge part of the Bulls overcoming a 13-point deficit. He tied a season-high 14 points, including 12 in the second in the half to help the Bulls keep their win streak alive.

Season Stats: Games played/Games started: 20/0 Minutes per game: 18.6 Points per game: 7.5 Rebounds per game: 3.8 Assists per game: 0.8 Turnovers per game: 1.8 Steals per game: 0.6 Field Goal percentage: .573 This is your first year coming off the bench and you are playing some of your best basketball.

What has changed?

“Not too much changed, besides starting. I mean starting isn’t really too much of an issue with me. Coming off the bench isn’t a problem with me.

Just whatever the team needs at a certain time is good for me.”

“One of the good things about our conference is the parity,” Witherspoon said. “Every team presents a challenge and every team is pretty close to as good of a team as the one we just played. It’s been a while since we won at Central [Michigan] so there’s a big challenge for us.”

The challenge in this game is to curtail the exploits of Central Michigan’s 6-foot-5 guard Trey Ziegler.

The sophomore has led the team in a number of categories and is the leading scoring threat with 15.8 points per game. He’s also tops on the team in total rebounds with 151, and in assists with 57.

“He’s an explosive athlete,” Witherspoon said. “He’s very versatile; he handles the ball well, he gets to the basket. He plays in the post as a forward and he can also play the point sometimes. He’s a talented kid.”

Ziegler isn’t the only scorer on the roster. Two other Chippewa players have double-digit scoring averages to compliment the coach’s son. Guard Derrick Jackson with 11.1, and guard

G-Austin McBroom:

Courtesy of Jason Paul Kaufman

Trey Zieleger hopes to lead the Chippewas to an upset victory over the Bulls on Wednesday night in Michigan.

Austin McBroom with 10.6 round out the team’s leading scorers.

Stopping this trio of scoring guards will be key for containing a Chippewa offense that is tied for second with the Bulls in 3-point baskets made per game in conference play with 6.8.

“We have to make their shots as difficult as possible,” Witherspoon said.

“That’s our goal, to get a hand up on every shot. We want to limit them to no more than one shot. If we can find a way of keeping them from getting easy baskets - they will make tough shots - but we want to make the shots as tough as we can.”

Continued on page 8

What music do you like to listen to leading up to the games?

“I like to listen to Drake, [more recently] Rick Ross’ new [mixtape].

That’s pretty much the main two CDs I listen to. Not too much more cause there’s not a lot of time in between [games].”

Boogie Time!

What’s the best part about playing on the road?

“Best part is coming out with a win and you get a lot of time to bond with your teammates. It’s just fun.”

What NBA player do you most model your game after?

I really like Brandon Roy’s game. He works hard like most of the NBA players work hard. But he’s a very versatile athlete. I feel like I’m versatile. I can guard wings and guard posts.”

Any pre-game rituals?

“I keep everything the same. Get taped up, listen to music for a little bit and then go back to the training room and get extra [work done] and that’s about it.”

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Check out our podcast at ubspectrum.com

NATHANIEL SMITH Sports Editor After an interesting week in the NBA, a special, slightly-biased committee (of one) is here to present the risers and fallers over the past seven days in the Association.

One player that is rising fast is Jeremy Lin. “Linsanity” has taken control of New York City, as the Knicks seem to have found their savior at the point guard position. After being called up by the Knicks last week, and getting kicked out of his own brother’s apartment for a party and forced to sleep on the couch of fellow Knick Landry Fields, Lin finally got a chance to shine with his 25-point, seven-assist effort against the (Brooklyn) New Jersey Nets on Saturday.

He then gave the Garden faithful an encore performance on Monday night, dropping 28 points and eight assists against the Jazz without the services of Amare Stoudamire and after a first quarter injury to Carmelo Anthony.

Will this last? Probably not. But as long as Lin is impressing, it may not matter much. Enjoy the ride.

Another player who just deserves more attention is fellow point guard Tony Parker. Over the past week, he has averaged 26 points and almost seven assists for the San Antonio Spurs, who continue to retool around their geriatric big three of Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan.

In a 107-96 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Parker took over, scoring 42 points to lead the Spurs, who have now won five straight and are making noise in the crowded Western Conference.

A player who might need Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak after last week is Thunder center Kendrick Perkins.

He is slumping this year, averaging just 5.6 rebounds per game.

His rebound rate, which is a stat used to determine the percentage of missed shots that a player grabs on the boards, is only 11.6 percent this year, and only four other centers have a lower percentage than Perkins.

And then there was that incredible, posterizing, demoralizing, ego-bruising dunk that Blake Griffin threw down on him, which will probably end up being dunk of the year when this season is all over, and will fill the bedrooms of young children.

A team that desperately needs a vacation and a giant hug is the New Jersey Nets. Why? Lets see: they’ve lost five of their last six games including a curb-stomping at the hands of the Chicago Bulls, an 108-87 game that was much worse than the final tally suggests.

The team has lost its exciting young players, rookie Marshon Brooks and streaky scorer Anthony Morrow, to injury.

Nobody seems to go to Nets games anymore, as they are less than a year away from going to Brooklyn.

Their best player, point guard Deron Williams, seems to have no interest in being with this team past this year, and according to reports from Russia, neither does Nets owner Mikhail Prokorov. He has stated in a debate that if he defeats Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and three other candidates to win the presidency of Russia, he will sell all of his assets to charity, which includes the Nets.

I would feel bad for Nets fans, but I doubt they exist.

Email: nathaniel.smith@ubspectrum.com

uB Basketball double header @ 3pm

Alumni Arena Free for UB students

The Bulls will win if... They keep doing what they’re doing. They are riding a six-game win streak and have been finding ways to win. If they continue to shoot the three-ball they will be successful against a struggling Central Michigan team.

The Chippewas will win if... Zeigler can dominate early. The Chippewas need him to have a big game. Ziegler is known for being able to penetrate, and can play big for a guard. If he can get inside on the Bulls’ bigs he can force them into foul trouble as well as open up the outside for McBroom.

BRYAN FEILER Sports Editor

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH

Women’s Basketball vs. Central Michigan

McBroom has picked up his play during the MAC portion of Central Michigan’s schedule. He has reached double-digits in five of seven games.

Over half of his shots are from beyond the arc and he has the fifth-most made 3-pointers in the MAC (44).

The Bulls are riding a win streak and it will continue against the Chippewas.

I think they will contain Zeigler for the most part and they will not stray from their zone and be able to limit the three-ball.

Buffalo-69 Central Michigan-62 TYLER CADY Senior Sports Editor Buffalo has just had its first threegame road-winning streak in conference play since its inception into the MAC, and Central Michigan’s record speaks for itself on why Buffalo should win this game. However, this is a trap game if I’ve ever seen one. Buffalo is on top right now, and Central Michigan is much more talented than its record indicates. I still think Buffalo will win, but it’ll be a close one.

Buffalo-71 Central Michigan-69 NATHANIEL SMITH Sports Editor This is a very dangerous Central Michigan team. It is a team that can match up with Buffalo offensively, especially from 3-point range. The key to this game will be on the glass. Buffalo should be able to dominate this No. 257 ranked rebounding Chippewa team, and eventually the game. But it won’t be an easy one, especially on the road.

Buffalo-75 Central Michigan-68

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