The Spectrum Volume 61 Issue 66

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Who are you going to vote for? Read what The Spectrum thinks. >> Page 3

Vol. 61 NO. 67

ubspectrum.com

Monday, March 26, 2012

Candidates for Vice President The Vice President both directs and assists the Student Association’s recognized clubs and student organizations. The Vice President advises and oversees the needs of these organizations.

Candidates for President The President shall serve as the chief executive officer of the Student Association and has the ultimate responsibility for the enforcement of the constitution and bylaws of the Student Association. He or she also serves as the official representative of SA, both inside and outside of the UB community.

Name: Darwinson Valdez Year: Junior Major: Dual Major in Political Science and Philosophy Party: United Current SA Position: Senate Chair Extracurricular activities: Mock Trial club, Bible Study, PODER Latinos Unidos, Phi Alpha Delta pre-law fraternity Relevant Experience: SA Student Assembly, SA Senator, treasurer and president of PODER: Latinos Unidos, treasurer of Lamba Sigma Upsilon Kyodrowe Chapter Darwinson Valdez has been involved in the Student Association since his freshman year, and he says he has always asked himself the question: “How can I change, and make SA better?” Valdez credits his desire to run from his experience as Senate Chair for the 2011-2012 academic year. He saw clubs come in and out of Senate meetings requesting needed funds, and not having those requests met.

Photo illustration by Meg Kinsley /// The Spectrum

Name: Ted DiRienzo

Name: Travis Nemmer

Name: Judy Mai

Year: Junior Major: Accounting, economics, and mathematics Party: MVP

Year: Junior

Year: Junior Major: Health and human services Party: United Current SA Position: Senior office personnel

Current SA Position: None Extracurricular Activities/Relevant Experience: Master of Rituals for Alpha Kappa Psi, UB’s co-ed professional business fraternity; longest tenured executive board position. Looks over risk management and is control of the pledge process. Sub-Board Ticket Office cashier.

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Ted DiRienzo is an outsider who has tried to get involved with the Student Association since his freshman year, but he felt he was pushed to the side after every attempt because he didn’t have connections within the organization. This spring, he is running with the MVP Party in hopes to change what he feels is the current

Extracurricular Activities: Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Alliance (LGBTA), UB Glee, Latin American Student Association (LASA) Relevant Experience: LGBTA President, Undergraduate Adviser for UB Glee, LASA member, attended SUNY-Palooza 2012 Judy Mai has been involved in the Student Association since her freshman year, and this year she began working as senior office personnel within the organization. She, along with the help of the United Party, wants to change the divide between executive boards and the rest of SA.

Major: Classics, history, and political science Party: Reason Current SA Position: Former Elections and Credentials Chair (had to resign due to participation in election) Extracurricular activities: College Republicans, SA Senate, Sub-Board I, United Nations, Student Alliance, Credentialing Committee of the New York State Federation of College Republicans, UB Mock Trial. Relevant Experience: Vice President of College Republicans, Recording Secretary of SA Senate, Parliamentarian of SA Senate, Assistant Elections and Credentials Chair, Sub-Board I Board of Directors Member, President of United Nations Student Alliance, Parliamentarian and head of the Credentialing Committee of the New York State Federation

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Candidates for Treasurer Candidates for The treasurer is the chief controller of the Student Association’s multi-million dollar budget. He or she is in the president’s cabinet, is Chairperson of the Senate Finance Committee, and is a voting member of the Emergency Powers Council. The treasurer is responsible for the disbursement of the SA budget and revenue. The treasurer must also keep a strict inventory, as well as communicate with Treasurers of all SA-funded groups to inform them of any changes

SUNY Delegate Every year, UB undergraduates elect four SUNY delegates to act on the students’ behalf in Albany. The four delegates travel to the state capitol to meet with members of the New York State Assembly and Senate, raising legislators’ awareness of issues that matter to UB students. It is their job to effectively communicate with the undergraduate student body so it is well represented at the state level. UNITED PARTY

Ofir Yakobowicz

Photo illustration by Meg Kinsley /// The Spectrum

Freshman business marketing major Photo illustration by Meg Kinsley /// The Spectrum

Name: Adam Zimnicki Year: Senior

Name: Justin Neuwirt

Name: Ayyaz Tufail

Major: Business management and computer science

Year: Junior

Year: Junior

Current SA position: SISH Coordinator

Major: Finance and management information systems

Major: Mechanical engineering

Extracurricular activities: Ultimate Frisbee, Strategist and Role Player Association, SARPA

Party: United

Current SA position: None

Current SA position: SUNY Delegate

Extracurricular activities: President of Muslim Student Association (MSA)

Relevant Experience: SA Senator, Strategist and Role Player Association Vice President, SARPA’s e-board (UBCon 2011 organizer), created position of Temporary Club Liaisons, Senate’s Alcohol Committee, Senate’s Finance Committee, Assistant at Office of Student Life Adam Zimnicki said his time spent as Special Interests and Special Hobbies (SISH) Club Coordinator, during which he managed the largest and most diverse SA club council, was the reason for his choice to run for vice president. While Zimnicki feels he has been able to help the certain clubs under his councils, he cites the reason he joined SA was to help clubs as a whole, something that the vice president is responsible for. As SISH Coordinator, he began to understand the difficulties clubs face – like dealing with Continued on page 2

Weather for the Week:

Monday: Sunny- H: 39, L: 23 Tuesday: Mostly Sunny- H: 46, L: 41 Wednesday: Showers/Wind- H: 58, L: 39

Extracurricular activities: President of Zeta Beta Tau Relevant experience: Co-founder of Zeta Beta Tau – worked closely with the treasurer in the beginning when the fraternity had no funding. Led fraternity in finding ways to make money, like collecting a mandatory fee from his brothers and working to budget those fees, eventually being promoted to president. Interned at Gerstein Fisher and Associates for three years. Justin Neuwirt is bringing his educational background as a finance major, as well as his work experience as a financial planner, to run for treasurer of the Student Association. “The SA has close to $4 million in its budget,” Neuwirt said. “Should it really be trusted to a student who has never learned about finance,

Party: Reason

Relevant experience: Fundraised over 90 percent of MSA’s budget, worked at World Link Solutions, helped raise over $80,000 for a nonaffiliated UB fundraiser. Gained analytical skills as an engineering major. Ayyaz Tufail may be a mechanical engineering major, but he believes he has the best administrative and financial skills to be the SA treasurer for next year. “I believe that the SA treasurer position does not only require the understanding of the numbers or the bookkeeping, but at the same time you have to have the administrative skills, the financial skills to balance out the budget, and the analytical skills to fulfill the vision for the organization,” Tufail said.

A marketing intern with the SA this year, Yakobowicz is also an active member of the Jewish Student Union and Hillel. At the beginning of the academic year, he organized a political party of freshmen to run for the Senate – a rare undertaking for newly arrived students from high school. They didn’t win, but Yakobowicz’s freshman status gives him much more time to make a large impact at UB. Continued on page 6

REASON PARTY

Mira Pandya Junior biological science major (pre-health concentration) Pandya is the president of the Indian Student Association and a member of the Association of Pre-Medical Students, in addition to holding a job between Rachel’s Mediterranean and Three Brother’s Burgers in the Commons. Pandya promised to advocate for the needs of international students if she were elected as a SUNY Delegate, proposing an international students’ committee within the SA.

I N S I D E

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Opinion * 3 Life * 4,5 Arts * 7,8 Classifieds / Daily Delights * 11 Sports * 12


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