Vol. 61 NO. 80
ubspectrum.com
Friday, April 27, 2012
Lives Lost, But Not Forgotten UB community remembers students who have passed REBECCA BRATEK News Editor
Around midnight on March 4, 2009, Andrea Zlotowitz was doing laundry in Spaulding when she heard an awful, deafening sound – as if something had hit the pavement outside. She walked into the tunnel of the Ellicott Complex and found a body on the ground. To her horror, it was the body of Jonah Dreskin, a fellow UB student and her childhood pal. She called University Police. She also called his family. “It was weird because it looked like Jonah, but it didn’t look like Jonah,” Zlotowitz said. “I was freaking out. I remembered his parents’ house number, [called], and said: ‘Something is wrong with Jonah; he’s hurt, I don’t really know what’s going on.’” Jonah died at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital a few hours later. Police reports say he had fallen from the seventh floor of the Spaulding Quadrangle tower. To this day, no one really knows why. Police have closed Jonah’s case and classified his death as undeterminable. Jonah would have walked with the class of 2012 at UB’s commencement services this May. Dealing with death Several other UB students have died in recent years, and their legacies, too, are remembered.
Michael Israel died in June 2011 after a long battle with prescription drug abuse. He suffered from Crohn’s disease and depression related to his struggles with the illness. He shot himself. Israel would have started his junior year this fall. In January 2010, Nicholas Orrange was killed in a one-car accident off campus. He was a senior at the time and also the Special Interest Services and Hobbies coordinator for the Student Association. Just over a month ago, junior Kevin Breen was killed in a car accident driving back to UB after spring break. Breen was a member of the ROTC program through Canisius, and his peers in the program initially had trouble coping with the sudden loss. Although students don’t like to think about it – or maybe they’re simply not aware – four to 10 students pass away in any given year at UB, said Barbara Ricotta, the associate vice president for Student Affairs, who is among the first UB officials called when students die. She serves as the liaison between the university, families, and the surrounding community. Often, as with Jonah’s death, the calls come in the middle of the night. “I hate it,” Ricotta said. “It’s the hardest part of my job. There’s kind of a joke among my colleagues that the best part about my job is that nobody else wants it because nobody else wants to do that. People ask me sometimes how I keep from crying; I say I don’t.” The night of Jonah’s death, Ricotta met Continued on page 9
Courtesy of Billy Dreskin; Courtesy of Samantha Orrange; Courtesy of Kevin Breen Four to 10 students die each year in on or off campus incidents. The university community mourns and remembers each loss, even if students aren't aware of the incidents.
Student Rapper A-West Reps Roc at North Campus Sophomore will open at Spring Fest BRIAN JOSPEHS Arts Editor This year’s Spring Fest performers thrive off energy. Rick Ross hypes up his audience with his drug-addled lyrics, while Fabolous’ turns heads with his instant quotables. Tyga and New Boyz have only a few hits to their arsenal, but those hits are enough to incite riots. Aaron Westbrooks – a sophomore communication major who goes by the stage name A-West – is the antithesis of these artists. While this year’s performers boast a larger than life façade, A-West is more self-contained.
Photo illustration by Aline Kobayashi/// The Spectrum
NBA Playoffs Preview
A-West and New Boyz were announced this week as this year’s Spring Fest’s opening acts. The Rochester native said the opportunity was a blessing, but also noted that performing at such a big stage was all part of the plan. “I’m surprised, but at the same time I’m not,” Westbrooks said. The announcement marks the second consecutive time a UB student has performed at an SA sanctioned concert. Senior communication major Trevor Eckman, a fellow Rochester native who performs under the name Bagginz, opened for the SA Small Concert featuring hip-hop duo Chiddy Bang. SA Entertainment Director Monique Mattes noted that signing on student acts for these concerts is a trend the organization would like to continue. “We would love to have more UB student be openers for our shows,” Mattes said. “The only issue is that SA sometimes only has two large concerts a year (due to funds, locations, artist availability, etc.) and we are not always guaranteed smaller shows for the students to perform. We get many emails a week with local artists looking to perform at UB and if we can find a spot for them, whether it would be at a fest or at another student run event, we help them as much as we can.” Like Bagginz, A-West was contacted by the SA after he reached out to the organization. He had a short time to prepare for the show after he was
Inside
Opinion 3
Nyeri Moulterie /// The Spectrum Sophomore communication major Aaron Westbrooks will be the second consecutive student rapper to perform at an SA concert this Saturday.
confirmed last week. A-West isn’t worried about the short preparation time, however. He said that he had even less time to prepare in other venues – a list that includes Club Infinity and Buffalo State College. He believes that he has a solid plan going into Sunday. “The whole plan is to go up there, treat it like it’s nothing new, have fun, and leave an impression,” Westbrooks said.
MATTHEW PARRINO and NATHANIEL SMITH Editor in Chief and Sports Editor After 66 games in about 123 days, the NBA regular season has finally come to a close. With the playoffs just around the corner, 16 teams have a chance to win it all. The Spectrum’s NBA experts, Matthew Parrino and Nathaniel Smith, are here to break down the storylines, the upsets, and the break out players in the 2012 playoffs. Storylines Is Derrick Rose healthy enough to lead the Bulls on a deep run into the playoffs?
Having fun with music is something Westbrooks has been doing since he started rapping in elementary school. The sophomore said he started by writing jingles before moving on to do parody style raps during his high school years.
Is this the year LeBron finally wins that elusive first ring?
His peers thought his satirical verses were so good that he was inspired to take rap seriously.
Will the 2010-11 demon of Westbrook-Durant show its face this postseason or will the Thunder take the next step?
Westbrooks’ multi-racial background also contributes to his love of music.
Will Kobe pull even with Michael Jordan and win his sixth ring?
Continued on page 2
Are the Spurs for real, or are they doomed for another early exit? What Knicks team shows up in the playoffs?
Can the Clippers shake off their ‘loser’ label and make a run in the Western Conference?
| Life 4,6 | Arts 7 | Classifieds&Daily Delights 11 | Sports 12
Upset Alert When discussing the upset possibilities here on the committee of two, we had trouble committing to one team we thought could pull off an upset. As a matter of fact, we have come to the conclusion that we don’t feel any lower seed is going to advance in the first round. But what good is that? This is the upset portion of our program. Nate thinks the team most likely to upset its opponent is the New York Knicks. He feels they have the better bench and that Carmelo Anthony is capable of putting a team on his back in a seven game series. The key is Amar’e Stoudemire. If he is able to allow Anthony to do his thing on the offensive end and pick up the effort on the defensive end, New York has a prayer. While this is a complete stretch, Matt thinks the only team that could pull off a miracle upset in round one is the defending champion Dallas Mavericks. Playoff experience is so important in the NBA, and Dirk Nowitzki finally knows what it feels like to reach the top of the mountain. Dallas beat Oklahoma City last season in the Western Conference Finals, and even though the Mavericks lost all-world defender Tyson Chandler, history is a good friend to have in the postseason. Continued on page 2