The Spectrum Volume 61 Issue 81

Vol. 61 NO. 81 | Friday, April 30, 2012 | www.ubspectrum.com

Opinion

Arts

CHECK OUT

Leaving a Lasting Legacy Story on page 19

Goodbye columns of graduating Spectrum staff throughout the paper!

Cayden Mak Defies Society’s Conceptions Of education, politics…and gender

SARA DINATLE Asst. News Editor

NATHANIEL SMITH Sports Editor

When Cayden Mak applied for his New York State driver’s license, he questioned if what happened in the DMV office was legal.

When former Bulls’ running back James Starks went to the NFL in 2010, he left his shoes for wide receiver Marcus Rivers to train in.

In a society that identifies everyone as male or female, Mak chose not to check a gender box on the DMV’s form. He watched a comical argument play out between the two DMV employees. The woman processing the application dropped phrases like “young man,” seeking some sort of response from Mak, while her coworker pointed out subtly that he thought Mak was a female.

Now, two seasons later, Rivers finds himself in the shoes of Starks once again.

On Sunday, Rivers signed a free agent deal with the Green Bay Packers. Although former Bulls wide receiver Marcus Rivers’ name wasn’t called during the NFL Draft over the weekend, he received a call afterward from a Super Bowl contender.

Mak said the woman must have won the argument; his license is marked “male.” But to Mak, neither box truly applies.

“If you’re on the outside looking in, you should just see a little Asian dude,” Mak said. “But if you get to know me, you come to understand how much more complicated things are.”

Mak, a third-year media study graduate student at UB, reinvented himself going into his freshman year of college. Mak is a female-to-male transgender. He has plans to get reconstructive chest surgery this May. He is a campus figure, a teacher, an activist, and a video game connoisseur. Being trans affects his views on the world, politics, and life.

The Transition: Second Puberty Mak looked at his enrollment as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan as an opportunity to transform himself. It was empowering for Mak; he said he “molted,” and he invented the person he wanted to be. He even chose a new name.

Mak started taking testosterone the summer after his junior year. He still

Rivers Gets the Call, Joins Packers

Rebecca Bratek /// The Spectrum Cayden Mak, a UB graduate student, sits in his Allentown apartment discussing how being transgendered ties into his research in media study, politics, and his views on gender.

vividly remembers the changes he experienced once he started.

“It’s like real puberty, but weirder,” Mak jokes. “With real puberty you ease into it, but [with hormone therapy] it’s like pedal to the metal.”

In the first two months, Mak’s weight fluctuated. Overall, testosterone speeds up metabolism. His face shape changed and his fat moved around. His ability to build muscle mass increased, and he started growing body hair – something he found alarming, considering he barely had any before testosterone.

Mak described himself as being “irrationally angry” during the first nine months of taking hormones – he was the guy rolling down his window at stoplights, yelling at other people on the road. But as someone who stands at 5-feet-4-inches, Mak laughed as he said, “It [was] just a terrible idea for

me to be antagonizing people.”

His sense of smell even changed, not for better or worse – just different, Mak said.

Taking doses of testosterone comes with some risk. Female to male trans people who start testosterone are more likely to over-produce red blood cells, according to the National Health Services’ A Guide to Hormone Therapy for Trans People.

Taking testosterone hasn’t been extensively studied, according to Mak. But to him, the tradeoff is worth it.

“The first time I took a dose of testosterone, it made a lot of sense, like, ‘Oh wow, this is supposed to be in my body actually,’” Mak said. “Something in my brain rearranged itself.”

Mak has dealt with depression since elementary school, and while testosterone hasn’t solved the problem, it’s made it a lot easier for him to manage.

He feels there is a chemical connection behind the experience.

When he compares how he was six years ago to how he is now, Mak says he doesn’t feel like an alien anymore.

He calls the whole transition his “second puberty” – an experience more cathartic than the puberty he experienced as a teen.

The most profound changes he experienced weren’t physiological or psychological, but in how he perceives the world, and how the world perceives him – it’s something he struggles to find the words to justly explain.

“There are some things about this process I don’t know that I can explain because they are so fucking strange,” continued on page 2

UB Law Dean Mutua Faces ICC Allegations MARK DAVIS Staff Writer In addition to being sued by an ex-UB professor, UB Law School Dean Makau Mutua is facing allegations of witness tampering in an International Criminal Court (ICC) case, according to news reports from his native Kenya.

The case concerns four prominent Kenyans charged by the ICC with inciting waves of violence throughout the country following a heated and controversial presidential election in 2007.

For almost a decade, Mutua has been a columnist and op-ed contributor to the Sunday Nation, a Kenyan newspaper. Mutua has recently published articles in the Sunday Nation regarding the testimony of James Maina Kabutu, known as prosecution “Witness Number Four” in the ICC case.

Kabutu is known to have recanted his evidence against two of the four charged Kenyans in a 2009 proceeding.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

*Editorial*

Blood from a Stone Goodbye, Sikander Khan During the final drive at the end of the year, lots of stories need to get artificially wrapped up. We’re still students and have exams and papers to work on all while trying to keep up with articles that might come up.

That’s why our editor in chief Matthew Parrino was so excited when Sikander Khan reached out to us to answer some questions. In an electronic conversation, Khan told Parrino to come up with 100 questions to ask about the entire Virtual Academix scandal.

So we reached out to you, on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit, trying to hear what you wanted to know from the former SA Treasurer. Most of your concerns were our concerns too. When did he learn of Virtual Academix? Why would he resign if he didn’t do anything wrong?

The list goes on for 98 more questions that we took from students’ responses on social media and many that we formulated on our own.

Without a doubt, it would have been one of the most rigorous interviews we’ve ever conducted at a distance.

But Mutua wrote in a March 18 Sunday Nation column that Kabutu had been forced to recant his testimony.

In a piece entitled “How They Tampered With Ocampo Witness,” Mutua wrote:

Considering we now know that the owner of Virtual Academix knows former SA president Viqar Hussain, answers are needed to untangle a story that is turning shadier by the day. We know that Hussain almost always meets with incoming SA e-boards. Khan most likely had met Hussain well before the Virtual Academix deal.

“Today, I can absolutely – and without equivocation – confirm that Mr. Kabutu was put under unbearably incredible pressure to recant his testimony…and refuse to testify at the International Criminal Court.”

Mutua went on:

Unfortunately, it won’t happen. Unsurprising to anyone following this entire tornado of incompetence, he’s dodged the questions again.

We’re starting to believe that he takes legiti-

“I can now confirm that Mr. Kabutu never actually ‘recanted’ his testimony... He was instead forced – under threat of dire consequences – to continued on page 6

“My agent was calling me and telling me a bunch of teams were calling me to be a free agent,” Rivers said. “When I found out I was going to be a Packer the first thing I thought about was James. I tried to get in contact with him, and just take in the process.”

Courtesy of university at buffalo

continued on page 3

Fabolous Fest BRIAN JOSEPHS, ELVA AGUILAR, and NATHANIEL SMITH Arts Editor, Asst. Arts Editor, and Sports Editor It was an ugly prelude.

A lackluster Fall Fest, internal disputes, and the notorious scandal surrounding treasurer Sikander Khan have stigmatized this year’s Student Association. The ill will seemed to spill onto the crowd, as it grew increasingly restless in the moments before the opening act.

Alexa Strudler ///The Spectrum Rick Ross, Tyga, Fabolous, and New Boyz’s charismatic performances pleased the crowd on Sunday’s Spring Fest.

Inside

Opinion 3

Then New Boyz took the stage, and the agitation turned into celebration.

SA held its annual Spring Fest Sunday at Alumni Arena.

UB students praised the lineup during the weeks leading up to the show and they didn’t leave disappointed. New Boyz, Fabolous, Tyga, and Rick Ross had the attendees in a frenzy during the five-hour show.

A-West’s opening set was effortful but standoffish, as he sprayed the crowd with water because of their unfamiliarity with his music. The audience remained fairly hostile after the end of his performance, resulting in increased shoving within the crowd and a physical altercation.

The bad taste vanished as soon as the New Boyz hit the stage. Instead of solely relying on their hits, or freestyl-

| News 4 | Life 12-13 | Arts 16,18,19 | Classifieds&Daily Delights 23 | Sports 24

ing off other artists’ beats, they decided to perform songs from their new mixtape, The Foolies.

After the show, New Boyz recognized the fact that they were experimenting with their new works for the eager audience.

“I think they felt it, but they didn’t know the words, so they got to listen to it first,” said Ben J, one half of New Boyz. “We don’t necessarily have one sound. I know a lot of people know us from that ‘jerking sound,’ but with the second album we did more like pop music and took that overseas, and then when we did The Foolies mixtape. It’s more urban, more street, you know? So a lot of people mess with us.”

The popular songs they did play were a hit with the fans. continued on page 14

Page 2

www.ubspectrum.com

Monday, April 30, 2012

continued from page 1: cayden mak defies society’s conceptions Mak said. “They’re not within the spectrum of human experience we have established language to describe. I can’t even concisely describe my gender identity let alone the experience of almost becoming a different person.”

The upcoming surgery For the last eight years, Mak has been binding his chest to conceal his breasts.

In May, he is undergoing reconstructive chest surgery.

Binding – the flattening of breasts with materials like bandages – has become a part of his everyday life, so it’s almost easy for him to forget the constant strain it puts on him. Physicians have told him that he is destroying his rib cage by binding, leaving him with long-term health concerns. Mak also worries that his appearance puts his personal safety in jeopardy.

For example, Mak isn’t comfortable in locker rooms; while he’d love to work out at a gym, he is uneasy about how people will react to him in that setting.

“The choice between outing myself and having to take care of my body is not a choice I want to have to make,” Mak said.

“I don’t think that’s a fair choice for anyone to have to make.”

He said the surgery will “remove a major piece of [bodily] evidence” – something Mak knows sounds strange. But ultimately he feels the surgery will make it easier for him to “function comfortably like a regular person.”

Mak is getting the surgery in Cleveland.

It’s a decision he came to because of the strong ties he holds with the trans community at Michigan. In that network of friends, Mak saw in person the results of the same surgeon who will operate on him. That speaks volumes louder than pictures on the Internet, Mak said.

He will be recovering after the surgery with his mom in Michigan. It will be months before he can get back to his normal mobility, and even as an avid cyclist who will obviously have to take a break, he knows he is making the right decision.

It’d be insane not to be somewhat nervous in regard to any major surgery, according to Mak, but in his “conscious rational mind” he isn’t concerned, and he’s prepared for what will be a summer of recovery.

Addressing Gender Mak chose the name “Cayden” because it wasn’t overtly masculine.

“Maybe some people think I am [masculine],” Mak said. “Maybe some people think I’m supposed to be because why would you want to be masculine if you don’t want to be ultra-masculine, but I’m really not.”

Mak has two cats that scurry around his tastefully decorated Allentown apartment.

He loves his cats and interior design – two attributes he knows don’t fall under the conventional definition of “masculine.”

Gender studies and queer theory scholars place gender on a spectrum. Mak doesn’t think anyone has a stable gender, but acknowledges his may “fluctuate more than others.”

When Mak first entered the media study graduate program, there was a social awkwardness with some professors, according to Jordan Dalton, who is also a third-year media study graduate student and a friend of Mak’s.

Some professors didn’t understand that Mak was transgendered; they fumbled his name and struggled with pronouns, Dalton said. But after three years, they got the hang of it – there was just a bit of a learning curve that Dalton credited to a generational gap.

Mak knows the greater population is going to perceive him as a male, which is what he explains. Mak is okay with being seen as a man, but he also won’t berate people for using female pronouns when addressing him. There was a time when he requested people address him using gender-neutral pronouns. But he got to the point where he was tired of correcting people and trying to explain exactly what gender-neutral pronouns are. He said there are more important things for him to focus his energy on.

“As someone who is a public figure, I need to be chill [when people ask questions],” Mak said. “Sometimes I don’t have the patience for it, but for the most part, I’m interested in making bridges.”

The Activist, the Gamer, the Politician Mak is passionate about education – it’s a reason he organizes and protests. He champions accessible higher education that provides students with the opportunity to study and think about what they want.

He worries that options for students are vanishing and opportunities are being swallowed up.

“The university should be a place of magical potential, not of looming debt and future unemployment,” Mak said.

But Mak doesn’t sit idly facing a system he thinks is broken. He acts.

Mak has been one of the forces behind multiple campus events organized through New York Students Rising (NYSR) and Defend Our Education Coalition (DOE).

In March, Mak traveled to Albany with NYSR, a group that aims to defend higher education and empower students who it feels are under-represented to state government and university administrations.

There, he visited the state capitol to stand up for education.

“He’s only lived in Buffalo for three years now, and he’s just so in Buffalo,” said Theresa Warburton, a fourth year Ph.D. candidate in gender studies and a friend of Mak’s.

Neither DOE nor NYSR were on campus before Mak came to UB, and while he didn’t start these things single-handedly, he was instrumental to their success, according to Warburton.

In October, he helped orchestrate a “walkout” of UB students; he and over 100 students ditched class and stormed the campus promenade in protest of tuition hikes and loss of services while administrator salaries continue to rise. He also helped organize a breakfast to feed UB students who were unable to buy groceries in the wake of the delayed financial aid disbursements in the fall semester. In March, he helped organize a mock telethon to bring attention to rising student debt, complete with a satirical check that he delivered to the UB administration.

“The thing that makes him different than a lot of people I work with politically is that he’s fun,” Warburton said.

Warburton feels that “fun” is something that gets lost in a lot of activism, and it can seem draining. She thinks it’s important that Mak involves fun and excitement in his protests.

Mak acknowledges his approach as playful – he has a passion for video games (and “games” in general) and makes that work in accordance with all he does.

“He has literally turned his practice into his passion,” Dalton said. “There is no

real boundary line or barrier between his personal life – what he does in his free time – his professional practice – what he does for his work – and his academic practice, his research. His thesis is around campus organizing. All of those things blend seamlessly together.”

Being trans also plays a vital role. Mak isn’t in favor of a capitalist society with set boundaries. Laws are designed to regulate gender without accounting for what doesn’t fit in conventional categories, Mak said. He feels that because of this, he lives in a space outside the law. To him, trans people live in a state of exception because the law is designed to regulate men and women.

Mak’s research in media study connects his political views to his love of video games. It’s all deeply connected, according to Mak. Through his life and his research, he wants to create media that can get people to “collectively imagine a postcapitalist future.”

“It’s not easy to explain these things to people, because they sound really crazy a lot the time,” Mak admits. “They’re so wildly outside what we think about and can imagine. One of the compelling things about integrating my identity of trans into this work is it’s like, ‘Look, you can actually be something and you can self-actualize outside of the capitalist system while still using the tools of capitalism.’”

Mak said the world has “biopolitical” controls – both in “gender policing” and a university environment that he feels trains students for a docile workforce.

Mak believes universities used to be theoretical “games” because they provided an exchange separate from real life that allowed students to do things they couldn’t normally do outside of school.

“It’s not just about the education you receive,” Mak said. “It’s about the people you come in contact with and the other opportunities that present themselves.”

Mak stressed that higher education should exist as a place with options for students to explore – like a bunch of doors that students are permitted to open. But Mak has some fear those doors are closing. “[Education is] so important to the mental political and emotional wellbeing of the country,” Mak said. “We are so fucked if we can’t get people a broad and deep base of knowledge of the world.”

The Force of Nature

of nature” – he’s always doing something.

When he isn’t helping organize students, he’s engaging with them in the classroom.

He is currently is teaching Game Studies Colloquium in the media study department.

Mak also travels to Stony Brook University multiple times per month for the Graduate Student Employees Union. He is working to reorganize the university’s recently unionized research assistants.

Mak’s friends are amazed at how he balances everything. He has an incredible work ethic, according to Dalton.

Mak said his apartment helps him manage the madness because it’s the perfect workspace, which is surprising considering live music constantly pulsed through his floorboards and walls; Mak’s Allentown apartment is near the heart of Buffalo’s music scene.

But through all the craziness, Mak has been able to sustain a relationship with his partner, Liz Rywelski, a graduate teaching assistant in the visual studies department.

The two have been together for about 18 months; they met when Mak gave Rywelski a tour of the media study department They bonded over “[a] similar lust for life, nerdy YouTube videos, and long working hours,” according to Rywelski.

Mak says he has been lucky to meet people who generally don’t care about the gender of their partners. Rywelski feels people have fluid identities, and that potential is limited when individuals are fixed in binary roles.

What really sealed the relationship for her was the evening Mak hopped on his bike and rushed to her apartment. She had texted him a picture of a huge moth she referred to as “the monster.” Mak trapped the moth in a cooking pot, slid a piece of paper beneath it, and set it free outside.

That evening’s events instantly put Mak at hero status in Rywelski’s eyes.

Whether it’s saving those he cares for from pending moth doom, taking extra time outside the classroom to help his students, or organizing protests to defend education – Mak is clearly someone who is constantly extending himself for others. “[He] genuinely cares about other people,” Warburton said. “At the core at everything he does is his desire to see a world where people have what they need.”

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

Mak’s friends lovingly call him a “force

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Thank you to all the seniors who made a donation to the 2012 Senior Challenge!*

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Opinion

Monday, April 30, 2012 www.ubspectrum.com

Page 3

Future Events, Such as These Get active, and make a brighter future for UB

Welcome to the end, folks. We hope you have enjoyed the show that is the University at Buffalo.

The past year has been a wild ride for us, and we wish it were the same for you. Yet, we’ve seen the reaction this year. A couple stories riled you up, and the rest were widely ignored, even the hardhitting journalism.

To begin the year, we watched as the university royally screwed us. With a grand flourish, UB blessed us with a massive debacle with our student aid. After basically telling us to cry about it, our aid was disbursed after many of us had bills to pay.

You took some action. A protest was staged over inflammatory comments that showed just how little the administration really knows about our challenges. Attitudes were changed, even though policy may not have.

But that uproar wasn’t as loud as it seemed. Most of the rage was vented on Facebook and Twitter; only a few vocal students put the team on their backs and did the majority of the demonstrating.

The rest of us agreed, but watched from afar.

Fall Fest was the same way, many were pissed that SA booked The Fray instead of [insert whatever band you like]. Around that same time, however, we uncovered some disturbing information.

UB had, for some reason still unknown to us, made a campaign donation to the Chris Collins’ campaign for Erie County Executive. The administration simply brushed it away, hid in its ivory tower, and now we have no information at all.

And who can blame the administration? It saw the writing on the wall. Nobody cared but us; it didn’t affect any student’s life directly so there wasn’t a loud blast of rage from students. Apparently, we don’t mind when an institution that is supposed to be public blatantly donates to a political campaign with our money.

None of this is intended to demean the students of this school. We know you’re here to mainly get your education, and that many of you are commuters and don’t have as much time to get involved on campus and interested in what’s going on.

What we do want is for the future of UB to be

better. We’ve seen what can happen even when a small percentage of us rise up. This year we’ve seen how just talking about a story and voicing your opinion can instigate change. Being informed has a significant impact on the world.

If you don’t, we get what happened with the Collins contribution. It’s really easy for the school to ignore the problem when it knows that the people they answer to are ignoring it as well.

So get involved. It doesn’t have to be a massive rally, or part of a gigantic group. Being informed and voting in the SA election puts you heads and tails in front of everyone else, and if you don’t you have no right to complain about how bad any fest is, or when the e-board does stupid things.

In short, we’re both proud and disappointed this year. We had hoped for more action to be stirred out of you. Maybe we were being optimistic.

We’re proud, however, that you cared about some big issues this year, and showed the world that we might not be apathetic forever.

We’ll work until the end to make sure that you get the information that matters to you.

continued from page 1: blood from a stone mate pleasure in deceiving people.

tell us that he doesn’t work on our deadlines.

buddy, journalism doesn’t work that way.

It’s not simply that he’s ignored us. That we somewhat expected, being as he’s not going to be in the country in a month. In reality, unless criminal charges are filed against him and he’s forced to stay in the U.S., he’s going home.

We’re sorry, Sikander, but if you want to say something to the student body you damn well do prescribe to our deadlines. It’s a fact of life, publishing is going to end very soon and the voice of the student body will be silenced for a season.

We sincerely wished we could answer some of these questions for you, especially for seniors who have been soured to the SA over the past few years.

It’s imperative for the questions to be answered so the school and SA can move forward and figure out how to fix the problem.

At this point, it’s like getting blood from a stone.

Surely he knows that, and he’s probably banking on that to avoid any further shame. Khan continues to avoid the will of the student body, even though it’s evident that we need and want the answers now.

What incenses us more is the sheer arrogance.

We told him plainly that there is a hard deadline to publish his statement. After today’s issue, there will be no more until July. He will be long gone by that time.

Instead he has the nerve, after all that he’s done and all the garbage he’s saddled this university with, to

Then he has the arrogance to tell us how we’re going to publish the information he gives, even going so far as to try and get us to sign a document that forces to present the information his way. Sorry,

You can’t repair something correctly if you don’t know what’s broken. Without more information, nobody knows how the Virtual Academix deal was forged, and nobody knows how much SA Vice President Meghan McMonagle was involved.

The clock is running out. Will we be left with questions or answers? Only one man can answer that.

Finding My Future Took a Few Tries Thank you, UB MATTHEW PARRINO Editor in Chief

It was Aug. 28, 2008.

The day a part of me was jump-started; a part of me that was dormant for over a decade. It wasn’t a very spectacular day by most accounts, but for me it was the starting point for redemption.

That day was my first day of classes at UB. To fully understand what I’m talking about, I have to take you on a little journey into my life.

Bear with me.

I never graduated high school. That’s right, I have my G.E.D. The three-letter word that’s haunted me since I dropped out of high school in 1999. There were reasons. I could list them all off right here, but that’s the past and I’ve learned to move on from it.

I will tell you that I never really took to school.

I liked to play sports, hang out with my friends, watch movies – I even sang in my high school show choir (not as scary as you might think, but surely I was no Danny Zuko). The problem was that I just hated doing schoolwork.

After I dropped out, I spent the next six years on autopilot. I had a couple jobs that I hated but that allowed me to drift to the outskirts of society. I was comfortable there for a while – miserable, but comfortable. It helped to have a family that truly cared for me and helped me through it. My mom and dad are the two most giving people I know. They give of themselves always - usually too much even - but never expect anything in return. I hope I can apply that in my whole life.

Then one day – I couldn’t tell you an exact date – it hit me. I had to be a writer. I don’t know where it came from or how I hadn’t realized it before, but it was like I was born again with a purpose for my life.

But there was a problem – to be a writer I had to go to college and to go to college I had to be accepted. Thankfully Erie Community College opened its doors. For whatever reason, ECC gets a bad rap around Western New York, but I really enjoyed my time there. It’s there that I found journalism. It’s there where I started to realize I might have a future.

So I busted my ass for a year and a half and earned my way into UB – the school that probably laughed when it got my transcripts and application almost two years prior.

That’s why Aug. 28, 2008 was so special. It was validation. It meant I was worthy of setting my sights on something better. I knew that day that I wanted to be a writer, but it was what I learned the following four years that made me worthy of such a distinction.

My time at UB has been packed with frustration and obstacles. To make things even worse, I started out as a 26-year-old freshman. When I walked into the first Spectrum class and was surrounded by 40 early 20-somethings, I knew breaking in to the culture was going to prove to be a challenge. I mean, how awkward do you feel when you get stuck with an adult learner in a group project?

Let me clarify – there’s nothing wrong with going back to school when you’re older (look at me), but it’s no secret that the gap between generations is unavoidably awkward at first.

I was working under editors at the paper that were like five, six, sometimes even seven years younger than I was and it was humbling. Especially when I was passed over for a promotion after my first semester by a 20-year-old. It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened.

That person was former Editor in Chief Andrew Wiktor – one of the most important people in the history of The Spectrum, and a friend of mine.

He gave me a chance almost two years after leap-frogging me and allowed me to run a desk as senior sports editor. It was a dream come true.

If you know me at all, you know how I bleed UB True Blue. Some people come to UB and leave remembering their classes or the clubs they were in, I will leave remembering the memories provided by Byron Mulkey, Mitchell Watt, Zach Filzen and Javon McCrea. Those guys were a huge part of my UB experience. It’s truly a great experience when you’re able to meet great people in the sport that you love. It kind of reignites the passion for it all.

When I was elected editor in chief – after accomplishing more than I ever expected – my journey became even clearer. I finally realized that part of being worthy of calling myself a writer. I finally understood the recontinued on page 6

April 30, 2012 | VOLUME 61 NUMBER 81 | CIRCULATION: 7,000 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.

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

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

Vilona Trachtenberg, 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 DIRECTORS 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. 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

Page 4

News

Monday, April 30, 2012 ubspectrum.com

Burglaries Continue

Today in UB History A look into The Spectrum’s archives Wednesday April 20, 1983 UB looks to make Diefendorf Annex more a home JON GOLDSTEIN Spectrum Staff Reporter

The Diefendorf Annex might be the site of a temporary Main Street student activities center, according to Sub-Board I (SBI) Chair Dave Hoffman.

While the fate of a centralized student union rests with future SA governments, their respective constituents and the University administration, there is nevertheless an attempt being made to give the Main Street Campus (MSC) a location for student gathering. However, this is pending the transition of Harriman Hall assuming a more permanent MSC role.

Yet before the School of Performing Arts, now situated in Harriman, moves to the Amherst Campus and more extra-curricular-oriented activities take place there, a proposal has been put forth to use the Annex in such a capacity.

Asserting that the Annex “is not a bad facility,” Hoffman related that an “expansion” of already existing student space at the Annex is being sought for “large meeting rooms, and electronic games – traditional student union accessories. The plan has been on hold.”

After school ends, the University will “draw up plans,” Hoffman explained.

Once the administration allocates space for the plan, it will then be forwarded to the Division of Student Affairs to determine who has authority over the activity center, with the final nod needed by the House Council.

“It really has to go through. It’s time to give heed to the non-food service (entities in the Annex),” Hoffman said. Because of what Hoffman predicts as up to a five-year

in Diefendorf Annex

wait for Harriman to be sufficiently vacant for adequate usage, “there will be changes

by September 1 for the Annex’s application,” he explained.

Despite the claim by University Union Activity Board (UUAB) Director Bill Hooley that the Annex is “not viable space” for concerts and other stage events because the “ceiling is too low” to allow a stage to be built, Hooley contended that the Annex would be a “great space for ping-pong and pool tables.” Musical groups not requiring a stage could perform, such as “rowdy local bands,” Hooley said. He foresees the Annex as a location for “beer-blasts.”

Squire Amherst Division Director Quentin Robinson cited flaws in the Annex proposal. “One of the problems is that it’s a temporary building. Another difficulty is that food service has control of it,” Robinson said. An additional obstacle “has been the recent classroom shortage,” which the Annex helps to alleviate, he commented.

“There have been various student activity center plans trying to replace the uses of Squire (Hall),” Student Activities Centers Director James Gruber said. “We’re in a state of flux. Proposals have to be looked at to see what they contain,” Gruber observed.

He noted that the Annex plan must be dealt with carefully because there are “academic needs, service needs and student needs.”

Finance and Management Vice President Edward Doty said, “Diefendorf Annex is used for lunch now. At about three or four o’clock it’s left open for students to use.”

Robinson asserted that he would like to see “one-third” of the Annex “for lounge furniture to provide some casual places where students could sit down.

But analysis of the Annex proposal and subsequent decision making will not occur until this summer, University officials report.

LISA KHOURY Asst. News Editor For the sixth time since last year, an intruder attempted to break open and steal from cabinets in South Campus’ Diefendorf Annex during the weekend of April 21 and 22.

No physical damage was done to the door, window, or ceiling tiles in the office, so it is suspected that the intruder was someone who had a key to the office. Only faculty and staff are given keys to the annex.

The incident is the latest in a series of suspicious activity at Diefendorf Annex: On April 2, pry marks were found on cabinets in an office in the annex.

In March, cabinets were reported as damaged, and a key to an office cabinet was stolen.

In November 2011, cash and bus passes were stolen from an office.

In May 2011, a cabinet was forced open in an office, but nothing was stolen.

In February 2011, cash from an envelope in a cabinet was stolen.

The unknown intruder removed the locks from cabinets – which contained office supplies – over the weekend of April 21 and 22 while the office was closed. Office staff reported the incident the following Monday. Nothing appeared to be missing from inside, according to Assistant Chief of University Police Chris Bartolomei.

“Right now, anyone who found a lost key, stole a key, copied a key, or formerly had legitimate access to the area anytime over the past year and a half could be responsible for this,” Bartolomei said in an email.

A staff member who works in Diefendorf Annex said that office break-ins occur approximately every two months. She said she has no idea who could be breaking in, but that it is common knowledge in Diefendorf Annex to not keep belongings out in the open in offices because they might get stolen. But Bartolomei points out that these instances were only reported to the University Police six times in the last year.

The source said her colleagues who have worked in Diefendorf Annex longer than her, for six or seven years, have been experiencing these problems since they began working in the annex.

The incident report from last week notes that some of the ceiling tiles in the women’s restroom were disturbed.

“It appears person or persons went in the women’s restroom and tried to lower [themselves] through the ceiling tile,” the police report says.

Diefendorf Annex and Acheson Annex are the only two standing temporary buildings on South Campus, which were built as temporary buildings in June of 1966 and June of 1965, respectively.

Neither was rebuilt. Intrusion through the ceiling is possible because the wooden drywall does not reach past the ceiling tiles like it does in permanent buildings, but according to Bartolomei, that is not what happened in the most recent incident.

“We have looked into this previously and it seems very unlikely that someone has been entering the room through the ceiling,” Bartolomei said in an email. “There are electrical wires and other structures within the ceiling that would obstruct access. Tiles would definitely be broken or disturbed and debris would fall to the floor, etc…

Anything is still possible, but I think it’s more likely that someone is using a key to get in.”

Bartolomei said someone who is authorized to have a key to the office would probably know what is inside the cabinets, so they would not have to pry them open looking for something to steal.

“If they would change the locks and issue new keys only to a limited number of authorized persons, these occurrences would likely stop,” Bartolomei said in an email.

“Or least give us a limited number of possible suspects with a key.”

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

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Monday, April 30, 2012

Lance Armstrong Speaks at UB TYLER CADY Senior Sports Editor

A “dumb idea” – that’s what Lance Armstrong called the now-famous LIVESTRONG yellow bracelets when Nike came to him with the concept in 2003.

Eighty-four million dollars later, Armstrong admits he might have been wrong.

The seven-time Tour de France winner, cancer survivor, and LIVESTRONG founder said as much at Alumni Arena on Saturday, as part of the 25th-annual Distinguished Speakers Series.

Speaking to a near-sold out crowd, Armstrong talked about what he’d overcome and accomplished in his lifetime by sharing many mostly humorous personal stories.

Armstrong, who was diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer in 1996, kept the crowd’s attention for nearly an hour. The stories ranged from his diagnosis and subsequent treatment to what he’s done after recovery.

Almost the entire speech was kept light-hearted, a surprising task for subject matter as sensitive as overcoming cancer.

Armstrong joked about making sure the doctor ate a good breakfast before removing lesions from his brain.

Based on the crowd’s reaction, he pulled it off quite well; his quick wit when dealing with crowd’s questions on the fly drew laughter. At one point, a 12-year-old girl took to the microphone to ask Armstrong about what it was like when he conceived his first child post-cancer – something doctors told him was impossible.

He whipped off a quick response detailing the phone conversation with his wife, and skepticism that he wasn’t sure how his wife got pregnant because he was told he couldn’t do it.

Still, in the midst of the joking, Armstrong conveyed a serious message – that cancer was “the best thing that ever happened to him.”

He says it changed his entire approach to living. When Armstrong was about to leave the doctor’s office after his initial treatments, Dr. Craig Nichols gave him advice that would stick with him for his entire life.

“Imagine there are two exits to this hospital,” Armstrong recalls Nichols telling him. “One is very private, and no one will know you were here. If this is embarrassing for you, go out that door. The other one is very public and has a bunch of people outside it. Everyone will know you were here, and what you had.”

Courtesy of Brandon Freeland As part of the 25th annual Distinguished Speakers Series, Lance Armstrong spoke at UB Saturday night. His mostly light-hearted speech recalled his survival of cancer, what he now calls "the best thing that ever happened to him.

to decide he wanted to exit through the “public door.”

From that point forward, Armstrong has helped raise well over $100 million for cancer research and awareness, and he credits all that work to having to overcome the disease.

Armstrong says it took him about two seconds

It’s Been Fun

My years at UB have been great. I made some life-long friends, got a degree, some semblance of a direction in life, and some outrageous stories to boot. But that’s not to say I don’t have any qualms about my stay here.

JAMES TWIGG Senior Managing Editor Let’s just put it out there, student apathy

As you may have noticed, this paper is brimming with goodbye columns. Most of which are probably a bit sentimental or sappy, and justifiably so. I, however, will do my best to not get too weepy on you.

No promises.

plagues this school. In fact, I’m convinced maybe five of the people who pick up this issue will read this column.

I can’t say I blame you for not reading this in particular. The only reason I read any of the goodbye columns is because I know the people writing them. (Well, that, and it’s kind of my job.) But not reading my opinion columns isn’t where my problem with your lack of caring comes from.

The majority of you don’t seem to care about, well, anything. We’ve reported on a lot of big stories this year involving contributions from UB to a political campaign, the financial aid crisis, and

the Sikander Khan debacle. But what do you get the most riled up about? Tattoos.

Way to make our generation look good.

It’s more than that, though. Our sports teams deserve attention and you give them far too little. I can say with confidence that I attended more football games than the vast majority of people on this campus. Since freshman year I’ve tried to make it to every single football game I could – including a trip to Toronto for the International Bowl.

They’re free Division-1 games. Why would anyone claiming to be a football fan not go? Yet, for some reason, the attendance at games has always been atrocious. I’m not going to harp on this much more, but I never understood why. Just get out there and support them. I apologize in advance for all of the fun you’ll have.

He now lives by the words of Muhammad Ali. “Service for others is the rent we pay for living on this earth.”

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Still, the good far outweighed the bad over these past few years. For anyone who lived on the third floor of Goodyear Hall in 2007-08, you all ruled. I’ve always considered myself kind of a shy person, but you pried me out of that shell with hall dodge ball, movie nights, and the eels.

Kassim Kassim, you are still by far the greatest enigma I have come across in my life.

Then there’s everyone who ever lived in or came to 233 Highgate Ave. Those were some of the best days of my life.

Strangely, even getting robbed at gunpoint there I look back on with fondness. (So if anyone currently living there is reading this, make sure to keep your doors and windows locked.)

As for everyone I’ve met through The Spectrum, it’s been a headache; a tire-

some, frustrating, all-consuming headache that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

From the days of John, Steve, sweet baby hills, Di Matteo, Adrian, Rachel, Squid and all of the others to this year’s editorial board and our advisor Jody Biehl, it’s been a blast. You have all helped define my time as a college student and I can’t thank you enough for it.

Every one of you that I came across during my stay here helped shape me into who I am today.

Well, I guess I’ll wrap this up. It’s proving to be a bit difficult to do, though.

After all, I’ve spent the last four years writing for this paper and these will be the last words I ever have printed in it.

I won’t leave you with some profound self-discovery or a golden nugget of advice. All I’ll say is this: so long. It’s been fun.

Email: James.Twigg@ubspectrum.com

Page 6

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continued from page 1: rivers gets the call, joins packers

Monday, April 30, 2012

continued from page 1: ub law dean mutua faces icc allegations read the ‘affidavit’ on the video ‘recanting’ his testimony.”

These statements have gotten Mutua the attention of the ICC and Kenyan authorities. Some commentators have wondered how it is that Mutua had inside knowledge of the witness and of the testimony. Mutua’s assertion that Kabutu had been intimidated has also been called into question.

Alexa Strudler /// The spectrum Wide receiver Marcus Rivers was signed to a free agent contract by the Green Bay Packers following the NFL Draft.

Starks and Rivers helped lead the Bulls to their only Mid-American Conference title in the 2008 season. The two will now be on the same field as the defending NFC North Champions.

I’m trying to stay humble,” Rivers said.

“I’ve got a lovely mother who always keeps me grounded so I’m just taking it all in.”

Rivers, native of Lackawanna, N.Y., had a solid 2011 season, catching 60 passes for 615 yards and two touchdowns. Over his four-year career, he has amassed 117 career catches for 1339 yards and eight touchdowns.

He will join a squad that has an elite passing game, with former Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and

receivers Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson, and James Jones.

“Not in a million years [did I envision myself catching passes from Rodgers],” Rivers said. “I’m glad it’s him. I can’t go wrong. He’ll make me look good and I’ll make him look good.”

With all these players on the roster, earning a spot on a team that went 15-1 during the regular season will be tough.

So what’s next for Rivers?

“Football is everything,” Rivers said.

“There’s no more school so it’s just going to be football. Just learning the little techniques that make people great.”

Last March, Charles A. Taku, a lawyer involved in the case, wrote to the Daily Nation – the publisher of the Sunday Nation – in defense of his client, Dr. David Matsanga, who had been accused by Mutua for coercion and intimidating Kabutu.

Taku and Matsanga countered that Mutua and Maine Kiai, a co-contributor to the Sunday Nation, have hurt the integrity of the judicial process. Matsanga has been reported to openly oppose the ICC, describing it as a political entity used against African leaders on behalf of powerful Western nations.

“These are the people who should be investigated for incitement, interfering with the judicial process, malicious publications and incitement,” Taku wrote. “Prof. Makau Mutua perpetrates the crimes he is accusing my client in the most egregious manner bordering on impunity. He has not only exposed the identity of the witness but he provides details which only an insider to the prosecutor’s office could possess.”

Mutua denounced the allegations in an article at Mwakilishi.com, a Kenyan news website. According to the article, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID, a division of the Kenyan police) contacted Mutua with a message, of which Mutua said: “The message did not disclose any laws that I was alleged to have broken, except make unintelligible references to vague offenses…Why the CID would waste scarce resources on such a wild goose chase beats me.”

The article also says of Mutua: “He described as ‘a sham’ the [CID] investigation and said it ‘is part of an orchestrated campaign to intimidate and harass those who support the ICC process, the press, and thwart justice for victims. My message to the CID and those on whose behalf they seek to silence me and the press is simple – back off. I take this incident as an attempt by the CID – and the Kenya government – to obstruct justice at The Hague [where the ICC is headquartered in the Netherlands].”

In 2007, Kenya witnessed extreme violence in the wake of its presidential election. After Mwai Kibaki was announced as the winner of the election, thousands of men in the village of Kibera went to the streets and incited a tribal war. Kibaki, who is a Kikuyu, was charged with rigging the election against his challenger, Raila Odinga, a Luo. When

the dust of the violence had settled, at least 1,600 people were dead and 500,000 injured.

Since then, four Kenyans have been charged by the ICC for inciting the violence. Uhuru Kenyatta, the deputy prime minister and the son of Kenya’s founder, Jomo Kenyatta; William Ruto, a Kenyan parliament member, Francis Muthaura, former head of the civil service, and Joshua Arap Sang, a radio and media mogul in Kenya.

Odinga and Kibaki have shared the powers of the Kenyan government since the two sides brokered a deal in 2008 with help of thenUN Secretary General Kofi Anan.

Odinga spoke at UB’s Law School commencement ceremony in 2009 as a guest of Mutua’s. Some have speculated that Mutua would stand to benefit if Odinga wins this year’s Kenyan presidential election.

The allegations come on the heels of The Spectrum reporting that Mutua is facing a federal civil rights lawsuit. Former UB Law Professor Jeffrey Malkan filed the suit against Mutua and Vice Dean of Legal Skills Charles P. Ewing, contending that Malkan had been illegally fired from his tenured clinical position as the director of UB’s Legal Research and Writing program.

Mutua did not respond to a request to be interviewed for this article.

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Whelp, Bye EDWARD BENOIT Managing Editor

I have to admit, I often have trouble doing this kind of thing. Politically charged rants or ironic social commentaries or media reviews or 45-page honors theses, sure, but heart-felt goodbyes are another thing entirely. I don’t want to fall into the many clichéd traps that await someone in my position. Conversely, though, I don’t want to come across like a jaded postmodern hipster or something. Because my name is not David Foster Wallace, I am not able to somehow pull off both. So, without further ado…

First off, I would like to thank my girlfriend, Mara Deckard. You mean the world to me. I love you. Without you, I would be a less open, less genuine, less complete, less actualized person. You’ve changed me, and for the better.

I can’t imagine, nor would want to imagine, the kind of person I’d be if you weren’t in my life. There’s so much more I want to say; squeezing it all in here seems undignified and cheap, somehow. So, Miss Goose, just know this: thanks for everything.

I’d like to thank all the friends I’ve had here at UB. You’ve all, to some degree, challenged me to be a better person, or, failing that, were at least there to joke around and coin in-joke-y neologisms with. I will miss the days of COD before class, hyper-regimented D&D, and going “Oh hai [your name]” like 14 months after first viewing The Room and having it still be funny, sort of, to say nothing of the other 96.5 percent of my college social experience not covered by those three particular memories. Thanks guys, it’s been a lot of fun – I daresay writing these lines is TEARING ME APART!

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for being, well, my mom and dad.

You were there for me throughout my whole college experience, to say nothing of being there my whole life before that, too. A simple “thanks” doesn’t really suffice, but at this point it’s the best I can do.

The tons of great professors I’ve had here also deserve a special mention. I’ve learned a ton here – more than the know-it-all freshman I entered as probably thought possible. For this, I have my professors – as well as books, BitTorrent, the programs on the History Channel not about UFOs, and reddit – to thank.

I’d also like to thank everyone here at The Spectrum.

Thanks, Matt Parrino, for giving me an incredible opportunity I like to think I made the most of. Thanks, James Twigg, James Bowe, and Nick Pino for giving me someone to talk about .gifs, video games, and Dragon Ball Z with. Thanks, everyone on Arts Desk, for giving me the chance to do absolutely awesome stuff (or, more often, listen to crappy CDs on AOL listening party) and be incredibly opinionated about said stuff in an official capacity.

Thanks, everyone who joined the Spectrum Fantasy Foot-

ball League, for all eventually losing to me, your (ahem) reigning champion.

Finally, I would like to thank a group that is very near and dear to my heart: the right side of the political spectrum.

Without you guys, the world would be a much better place and I would have far less to write about. Thanks for, among other things, claiming there’s no “war on women” even though all 31 senate votes against the Violence Against Women Act came from Republicans. Seriously, thanks, I couldn’t even make something like that up if I wanted to.

It’s been a great ride, UB, and I’ve had a lot of fun, all unnecessary political jabs aside. So, then, here we are – the end. To quote the woman at the end of Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, “It is finished.”

To be much less pretentious about it: “Whelp, bye.”

Email: eabenoit@buffalo.edu

continued from page 3: finding my future took a few tries sponsibility that came along with it.

I wanted to tell peoples’ stories and somehow impact others through my words. I accepted something – The Spectrum – as something bigger than myself; something so important that it required my undivided and unrelenting attention and dedication.

I don’t like singing my own praises; in fact I never do it. But I think it’s important to mark this time in history for this paper.

I’ve seen it slowly develop into an awardwinning and well-respected publication over the course of my four years here, and I want to take this time to recognize the people that have scratched and clawed to get us to this point.

Wiktor was the visionary that set everything in motion. He changed the way we did things and the expectations for everyone that stepped foot in 132 Student Union.

I just kept it going. I couldn’t have done it without Luke Hammill – the best journalist I’ve ever worked with. He’s made me so much better in the short time I’ve had the

chance to work with him, and I will cherish the bond we’ve built because of it.

Lauren Nostro was my first real friend and professional confidant at the paper, and she’s been there for me even after leaving for greener pastures in New York City. James Twigg was my number two all year and stood by me when times were tough and others ran. I can honestly say that Twigg is one of the most loyal and hard-working people I’ve met at UB, despite the fact he’s had to deal with me for 50 hours a week for a year.

Aaron Mansfield is the next in a long line of sports editor-to-EIC, and you couldn’t be getting a better leader or journalist to continue The Spectrum’s mission. He’s been my protégé since the day I met him and his work ethic and care for UB and the city of Buffalo will shine for years to come. Brian Josephs: now there’s a success story, folks.

The most determined, kind, giving, funny, and dedicated person I’ve met in my time at The Spectrum. I wish I could put a little bit of him in everybody at the paper.

Pino, thanks for all the dashes. Your lunchline companionship will forever be considered legendary in my book. Rebecca Bratek, thank you for your unfaltering dedication to this paper and I can’t wait to see what you have to offer next year.

Aline Kobayashi, Meg Kinsley, and Nicole Manzo – my wife is probably the only one who knows how truly special you all are for being able to deal with me for a whole year.

Benoit, wink wink buddy. Bowe, you’re a sick man – but we wouldn’t have you any other way. Cady, Feiler, and Boogie: thanks for stepping up. The great sports tradition lives on after your semester.

My family has been the rock behind me throughout this journey - always believing in me and cheering on. My brother has always been my biggest fan, little does he know I’m his. My two sisters have always been there for me, through my toughest times, with a smile on their faces. They make life better - my whole family does, really.

I don’t have enough room for everybody, but there are three more people I have to thank. I want to say thank you to Jody Biehl, our advisor who believes in every one of us, every day, when nobody else does.

A person who has revived a journalism program here at UB that remains on life support despite her unbelievable efforts.

I haven’t had another instructor at UB or anywhere else that puts more time in or cares more about his or her students. Everything we accomplish has her fingerprints all over it, as will happen with a good teacher.

I can’t get out of here without sending out a super big thank you to The Spectrum’s savior – our office director Helene Polley. Her work ethic, passion, and love for students have saved the paper from sure extinction.

I couldn’t finish a thank you column without mentioning my beautiful wife. Let me just say that I won the wife lottery. The simple fact that she’s still with me after this year is a testament to her ability to always put others before herself. She’s my

best friend and my editor. (Yes, that’s right.

She’s the editor in chief’s editor!) I’d be lost without her.

We kind of got off track here, but I think it’s important to leave this for those in the future, so that they can realize the importance of this institution and the people toiling within its walls.

I want to say thank you to UB. Despite my constant disappointment in the apathy and SA ineptitude, this is a special place with a lot of special people.

So now I leave UB, hopefully returning a few of the gifts it gave me through the stories I wrote. The people in those stories are the ones I hope get remembered. It’s their inspiration that impacts people, and that’s what I came here to do and what I hopefully will be doing after I leave.

Email: matthew.parrino@ubspectrum.com

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Monday, April 30, 2012

Explore. Dream. Discover. The Matter of Opinion paying part-time job.

I went from never being away from my family for more than a weekend hockey trip to not being able to see them for a month at a time; from a cocooned life to living with two strangers in a dorm room.

Tears were shed when they left, but my dad – who I thought would be the most upset – was the strong one.

He told me that there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that I would succeed here. These are my type of people, outgoing and full of life.

BRYAN FEILER Sports Editor I never really considered going away to college.

For most of my senior year of high school, I had it in my head that I would go to Stony Brook, ref ice hockey on the weekends and live at home on Long Island, rent-free. But at some point late in the year, I decided to look at some of the schools that I had been accepted to.

I visited Buffalo that April. My parents and I went to sleep and woke up to a Buffalo greeting – snow just about up to our hotel window. But a little snow never hurt anyone.

I walked around campus and fell in love with the school. I saw all the clubs and activities UB had to offer and knew it would be a great adventure.

We went back home and started filling out all the paperwork. I stopped my parents and said I’m not 100 percent sure. Summer came and went as it always does, and I stuck by my decision and arrived on campus in August.

To say that first week was an eyeopening experience is an understatement.

People always ask: “why Buffalo?”

I would joke by saying, “it’s the school that was furthest away from home with state tuition.” But that wasn’t true. I have the life when I’m home. Parents that give me space, while still helping me with anything I need, my own room, and a great

the way, in particular, my roommate of three and a half years, Joe Ricci. I’ve told him before, that if he and my other roommate, Steve Pehta weren’t my roommates that first year, I wouldn’t have ever lasted. The first weekend, Joe walked in, took the only open bed and said “well I guess this is my bed.” Based on that alone, my dad told me he knew we would be best friends.

My dad brings up that week from time to time, in part to remind me why I chose to come to Buffalo and in part to gloat about how he was right.

But, most importantly, going away to school really made me grow up and learn how to act in the real world. I’m not just talking about doing laundry or not showing up to class drunk. I mean how to solve a problem when other people depend on you – like when I had to get 15 guys out to San Jose for the collegiate roller hockey championships as a sophomore. Or make my mom proud – like when I achieved her goal for me of two A’s and no parking tickets in one semester. Or how to let people know how much they mean to me – like when I drove 14 hours in less than two days to make it home just in time to miss a eulogy at a funeral, but still give them the hug they needed.

His story is always the same, no matter how many times I hear it. He called me one day during the second week because he hadn’t heard from me in a couple days. He couldn’t even get a sentence out because I had five people talking to me about different plans we had. He knew then I was where I was supposed to be.

Before I wrap up, I want to say goodbye to all those I may not stay in touch with despite how much we tell each we will. To all The Spectrum people I have become such great friends with in too short a time, to all the people I lived with, and to the girl I’ve called almost every night to say goodnight to for the last two years.

Just this past weekend, we talked about how short a time it has been since my parents came up to drop me off, and now we are talking about picking me up.

So if you’re thinking of going away, whether it be transferring, going to grad school or taking a job somewhere else in the country, think of the quote that I read almost every day outside my English classroom senior year of high school that made me leave my cocoon:

Well, I called them every night that first week, practically begging them to let me come home. As hard as it was for them, they said no. I had to stay through the semester.

It was the best thing that happened to me.

The last four years have been a trip to say the least.

I played for the roller hockey club and went all over the country with those guys. We always complained about the 14 hours of traveling six times a year but there were times we almost drove off the road because we were laughing so hard. I thought the road trip was often the best part of the weekend.

I’ve met some great people along

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.

Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain Email: bryan.feiler @ubspectrum.com

have salvaged an editorial. All the talent for wordsmithing in the world can’t make up for a lack of mind. Our collected effort in thinking about key issues is what made those short writings.

JAMES BOWE Editorial Editor The editorials you see here today are the final iteration of that wonderful coalescence of ideas for me. I’m leaving this school for a while, without a degree. Most of what I’ve done throughout college has been unfocused. Until very recently, I had no idea what the For last year I’ve been the shadowy hell I wanted to do with my life, and voice of The Spectrum. Every issue, I’ve paid for it in money and time.

I’ve chronicled the changing tides of recent events and our opinion about this little slice of the universe we call home. Last spring, I felt focus come to my life You see, I was the editorial editor for for the first time ever. Years of underthis publication. Remember when you achieving was flipped by a single class saw one of those opinion pieces with- and the students in it. out an author and thought “what idiot wrote that?” That was me!

About this time I’m sure you’re asking, There was a reason behind that pseudo-anonymity, and that reason has brought me much closer to understanding something. Every editorial is the collective opinion of our editors, not me. Although I often agreed in part or in whole with the ideas presented, my writing was intended to bring you into a discussion about what’s important to all of us.

Our little half hour meetings got heated sometimes. Many issues had multiple facets, and intense feelings would come booming out of our yellow conference room when disagreements arose.

We had the godless and believers, prolife and pro-choice, black and white, loud and soft, calm and animated, yet somehow we cohered. We accepted each other unconditionally. After we voiced our opinions, things would return to normal. It’s actually kind of bizarre thinking about it; we broke a universal maxim of friendly conversation: never talk about politics or religion.

I’m not entirely sure why it worked.

Maybe it had something to do with knowing that the editorial meeting was a place for people to safely say what they thought truthfully, or because more than ever there was a feeling of real camaraderie between us. At this point, I haven’t a clue.

What I do know is that every editor and writer for The Spectrum taught me something in that room. Without them, even Kurt Vonnegut himself couldn’t

just like I am as I write this, “who gives a s***?” Why should you care about anything I say? This is just another column by another sentimental senior from a long string of sappy statements.

What I want you to know, more than anything, is that these conversations aren’t what separate us. That old maxim about never talking about politics and religion is wrong. Those are the things you need to talk about, but with the understanding that it’s perfectly fine to disagree. At our core, we all want the same things for ourselves, our family, our friends, and our nation. We just have different ways of achieving those goals.

Editorials may be published and permanent, but that doesn’t mean that the discussion is dead. When you read a column, like this, an editorial, or any opinion piece, you are taking part. It’s those discussions that are the essence of democracy and freedom.

That’s why I’m glad some of you got pissed off at what I wrote. I’m sincerely happy to hear that some people got riled up enough to call me an idiot, because in your own crass way you have taken part in what makes our nation great, and what makes a free and open society work.

For the next editorial editor’s sake, though: remember that everyone’s opinion matters, especially yours.

Email: james.bowe @ubspectrum.com

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Dear UB

A Creative Desk Perspective

If I learned anything at UB, it’s that most students don’t care. (Yes, I know, there are always a few exceptions.) Frankly it makes me angry.

UB tried to raise our tuition and barely told us why and when it was increasing. The Student Association Treasurer tried to create an app for students but chose the wrong way to do it. The situation that earned the most student responses?

Who headlines Fall Fest.

MEG KINSLEY Senior Photo Editor

It’s been fun. Occasionally, it’s also been rough.

Psychology was not very friendly to me. Neither were those late nights studying or that World Civilizations final sophomore year. Those communication classes taught me the same thing and a third of my exams were pretty much a joke.

If I hadn’t joined The Spectrum, I probably would have floated through my undergraduate career without ever caring what happened at UB. A lot of students out there bash The Spectrum.

(Like UB Memes. Those memes are not as funny as you think they are.) Those same students fail to realize what we do as a student newspaper. Let me spell it out for you: We tell students what is happening on campus.

I know, it seems so complicated, right? Just like our readers, we are students. We take classes, do homework, and study for exams. The only difference is that we spend our free time trying to keep students informed. We might not have the best writers, but that doesn’t stop us from trying. This might sound like a public service announcement for The Spectrum but I assure you it’s not.

Monday, April 30, 2012

You pay almost $7,000 or more on tuition, yet you never step up to make your voice heard. I think it’s sad that so many students simply don’t care what happens. What’s even sadder is that I was almost one of them.

As long as I have been at UB I have worked for The Spectrum. If I never signed up my freshman year, I never would have stopped to think about what happened on campus. I would have been clueless and carefree.

The last three years were a blessing in disguise.

I’m not going to get sappy, but I will say that The Spectrum was the best part of my life at UB. I met a lot of great people and I’ll miss most of them when I move on to the “real world.” It had its ups and downs but in the end, it helped shape me into who I am today.

The Spectrum is the student’s voice. It’s been in publication for about 60 years, and I truly hope it will survive another 60.

To the current staff: Thank you for everything.

To future staff: Don’t blow it.

Love, Meg

NICOLE MANZO Co-Creative Director I began working for The Spectrum in the fall and had no idea what I was getting myself into. Being a creative person surrounded by all writers was a tough adjustment to make.

While their main concerns were to create interesting and exciting content for people to read, mine was to make sure it looks good and that people can actually read it. I have to admit – it was not as easy as I thought it would be.

A lot goes into creating a newspaper. The life of a story begins with many phone calls, interviews, and sometimes quite a bit of investigating. Once it makes it to the first draft phase it moves on to the “alteration phase.” This process allows desk editors to give some articles a makeover, some more than others, but the process doesn’t end here. The second to last phase is the final tryout where it must face the toughest judges.

The editor in chief, senior managing editor, and managing editor must “OK” the story and decide its fate. If the story makes the cut it moves on to the final stage of its life, the layout phase. Now there’s where I come in.

Margins, columns, font size, leading, kerning and a ton of formatting are in this story’s future, and as any designer would know Adobe InDesign has become my best friend. Luckily, I don’t have to share this burden alone.

Co-Creative Director, Aline Kobayashi, is my partner in crime and my knight in shining armor. I entered this position knowing almost

nothing about newspaper layout and only a little experience in graphic design all together.

But I have grown since then and have everyone at The Spectrum to thank for that. I was given an amazing opportunity and have grown as a designer and a person because of it.

If there is one message I would like to leave readers with it would be that there is a lot more hard work and dedication that go into this student periodical than people think. I have seen great things come out of this office and it is all because of the talented people that work here.

This office and every one that is involved in this paper have become my second family. I will never forget this experience and I hope to work in a similar environment in the future.

So look out, there are more great things to come from this student-run newspaper.

Email: nicole.manzo@ubspectrum.com

Email: meg.kinsley@ubspectrum.com

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Monday, April 30, 2012

The Final Panel NICOLAS PINO Senior Arts Editor

Goodbye columns are scattered throughout this paper and while I can’t speak for any of my colleagues, mine is more for me than it is for you.

I don’t mean be egotistical and say I don’t care about you, dear reader, but I needed some space to layout exactly where the last four years went – because honestly I can’t remember.

I guess we all look for some trite advice to dole

If I Knew Then What I Know Now

out at the end of our collegiate career, something to say, “Hey, I’ve learned at least this much from four years and $20,000.” Well I don’t have anything like that, just my thanks to everyone who’s read A Week in Ink, my two year ongoing comic column, and two sentences from my favorite author Kurt Vonnegut. “If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.”

I cite the aforementioned speech for a simple reason, no matter where you are in age, you’re about to embark on an adventure. Summer is a time for most of us to return to our places of origin, stay with the progenitors, and work either that coveted internship or a new nine-tofive grind. This adventure may be the greatest endeavor of your life, or a way to make a quick buck. I could prattle off advice on how I’ve succeeded (and failed) during the course of my

son Madden franchise was fun. Unfortunately, general manager of a virtual football team can’t go on my résumé.

Two years later I was driving three hours home to Whitesboro, N.Y., praying that I had miraculously passed the chemistry final (in the class that I was re-taking) and a physics exam I was not at all prepared for.

TYLER CADY Senior Sports Editor

Four short years ago, my parents dropped me off in the Ellicott parking lot, said their goodbyes, and wished me luck.

I remember turning around heading back to my dorm room and thinking “what the hell do I do now?”

At the time, I was an immature freshman who thought he could – despite what my professors said – balance getting his doctorate in physical therapy with drinking in frat house basements on Tuesdays (and four other days per week), and going to Mojos on weekends (yes, I said Mojos).

Surely, I could skate by with minimal work and maximum Xbox with my roommates, because well, it worked in high school and the eight-per-

Page 11

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A 1.6 GPA for the spring ’10 semester later and I was having a conversation with my dad in our backyard trying to convince him that he should let me come back to UB in the fall.

To this day I’m really not sure how close he was to not letting me return, or if he even would have if I were not already locked in on a lease for an off-campus apartment.

The only thing I know is that I’m glad he did.

And I’m really glad I told them it was a 1.9 and that I wasn’t on academic probation (sorry mom), because that definitely would have ended my time at UB. However, if it weren’t for that conversation with my parents I wouldn’t be writing this column today, and I most certainly wouldn’t have done anything close to what I’ve been a part of this last year.

When I returned for my junior year I switched my major to communication, because it’s what

four-year stay at UB. I could tell you about the incredible experience I had working for Official Xbox Magazine in San Francisco last summer.

I could tell you about the amazing events like BlizzCon, Buffalo ComicCon, and UBCON I’ve had the pleasure of attending during my three-year stint as a journalist, or I could tell you about the amazing staff I worked with right here at The Spectrum. But rather than all the above, I’d rather give you the simple adage: wherever you go, wear sunscreen.

Four years and 150 articles ago, I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life and with graduation two weeks away, I still don’t. That’s OK. I guess this is the roundabout way of saying – and reiterating to myself – that’s a part of life.

As for me, I’m going to spend the better part of the next few months wandering. I have no job lined up after college apart from a few freelance gigs, no apartment to move into, and no love interest to finally tie the knot with. I’m leaving this university with a few hundred in the bank

all kids who fail out of their first major do, and it’s really easy.

I decided I want to work somewhere within the field that had interested me the most my entire life: sports.

It was here that I started putting thought into my résumé, and joined WRUB and The Spectrum in subsequent years to cover UB’s sports teams.

What I thought would be just a cool thing to do took more time and dedication than really anything I had ever taken up in my entire life.

But the most surprising thing was how much I enjoyed it. For those who don’t know, Spectrum editors are required to be in the office pretty much all day on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. It was a lot of time, but I wouldn’t change it.

I soon found myself hanging out in the office on days I didn’t even need to be there, because I liked the work I was doing so much, and liked spending time with my new co-workers even more.

With graduation approaching, I’ve done a lot of looking back on the past four years, and it’s incredible to think how much has changed.

I was a kid who spent freshman year copying chemistry homework from my friends and trying to convince myself that I was putting a lot

account and a slightly more convoluted understanding of computers – trust me, a computer science degree will do that to you.

I shouldn’t try and dissuade myself. I’m scared out of my mind. I have no idea where I’ll get swept off to on the sea of life, I have no map or compass, and I’ll be quite honest, I never could swim well. I take some solace knowing I’m not the only one, but the idea of being turned loose on the real world sounds absolutely horrifying.

In short, I have no idea where life is going to take me and honestly I’ve never really known, but my mantra always been, “it’ll all be OK in the end. If it’s not OK, it’s not the end.” I can’t promise you’ll ever feel this way, but knowing that someone else has been there and came out alive hopefully can provide some sense of security. So while I set out on my own adventure May 14, the only thing I know is that I’ll be wearing sunscreen.

Email: nicolas.pino@ubspectrum.com

of effort into my classes because I pulled an all-nighter before the exam. I was someone who always looked for the easy way out, including using Wikipedia for research papers.

Four years later, I’m running the sports section of what I think is a pretty damn good newspaper, and still using Wikipedia on research papers (because I don’t care what any professor says, it’s a perfectly acceptable source).

I just wish it didn’t take nearly flunking out for me to join The Spectrum, because the one semester I was on the editorial board was by far the best one I’ve had. I made a lifetime of memories and friends in that office.

By the time anyone reads this I will have finished my undergraduate requirements and will be awaiting graduation.

After four years, I’m still not really sure what I learned in the classrooms at UB. But I definitely learned about myself.

It took my entire college career, and one wake up call of a conversation with my dad, but I’m proud of what I accomplished here and who I became.

I just wish I started it sooner, but at least there is something to be said for saving the best for last.

Email:tyler.cady@ubspectrum.com

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Mud, Sweat, and Tears WESTON SHAPIRO Staff Writer

He leaped to bump the ball, only to realize his feet were buried in the quicksand-like floor. The swamp he was standing in caused him to lose his balance and fall face first – with a splash. He was covered from head to toe in wet, freezing, chunky, brown mud – and he loved it. He used a teammate’s shirt to wipe the mud out of his eyes and was ready to play again.

There are few reasons for college students to get up on a Saturday morning before 8 a.m. with upbeat demeanors and smiles on their faces. But one day a year, UB students get to disregard the lessons their parents taught them as kids – they get to play in the mud. This fiesta of mud, music, and competition is known as Oozefest.

“We’re still verifying but I think we’re the largest double-elimination collegiate mud-volleyball tournament,” said Patty Starr, the assistant director for student alumni programs.

At first sight the spectacle can be overwhelming to onlookers. As the crowd poured into the usually dormant volleyball pits adjacent to Southlake Village, students were seen securing the duct tape holding their sneakers to their feet as they prepared for a volleyball mud battle with over 190 other teams.

Food, music, and an electric atmosphere all came with the $150 team entry fee. The money generated from Oozefest is partially spent on student alumni planning while the rest goes toward the J. Scott Fleming scholarship, one of the only student-to-student scholarships on campus.

Oozefest has become a popular reason for alumni to return to their alma mater. The 28th annual event this past Saturday was no exception. Graduates like Josh Sommer came all the way from Long Island just to get dirty.

“We were on the Mudweiser team,” Sommer said. “This is my fourth year doing Oozefest and it’s a great time. It’s a good time to coordinate with people and just come back for an alumni event.”

Sommer spent the day with mud caking his face and hair and weighing down his clothes that were duct taped to his body. He loved every minute of it.

Yeo Jung Lee /// The Spectrum

Typically, tradition calls for everyone to jump into the lake to clean off, but this year the frigid weather made students apprehensive. Hot show-

Yeo Jung Lee /// The Spectrum Current UB students and UB alums gathered in the muddy volleyball pit near Southlake Village on Saturday. Over 190 teams faced each other in intense games of volleyball, getting soaked in water and mud for this year’s Oozefest.

ers were available outside of Alumni after teams finished up. One shower is usually not enough to feel clean. Sommers said he usually finds dirt in his ears and nose for up to three days.

Other alumni come back to experience Oozefest for the first time after not participating during their undergraduate career.

“This is actually my first year doing it,” said Ryan Linden, a UB school of accounting alumnus who graduated in 2011. “It’s basically just volleyball in disgusting mud and it’s fun because everyone gets gross. It’s the cool thing to do.”

Finding a Spirit in Buffalo LYZI WHITE Life Editor Every day after middle school Alex Levine went straight to his computer, as did most teenage boys. But Levine wasn’t playing video games or surfing the web – he was checking on his business.

Some UB students and faculty strive to turn Buffalo into a city of budding young entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial clubs were created with hopes of connecting students who share a desire to start their own companies or share their ideas with likeminded people.

Levine is the founder and CEO of OldVersion.com, a website that gives its visitors the option to downgrade various programs – like AOL Instant Messenger, Microsoft Office, Windows Media Player, and many more – if the newer versions cause problems for their computers. The website acts as a “museum of software,” Levine said, and if someone likes a program the way it is, they aren’t forced to make the change.

This wasn’t Levine’s first shot at starting a business. Levine immersed himself in the world of technology after the purchase of the first family computer. An older friend had already set up his own website that reviewed Internet service providers, and after Levine saw that his friend was making money from it, the light bulb went off in Levine’s head.

“Being 10 at the time, I was like: ‘I’ll just copy his idea and it’ll be the exact same thing.’ I created a website – it looked horrible – for free Internet service providers,” Levine said. “He was really pissed, we got into a fist fight at one point, [he was] beating me up for doing this.”

Eventually the two friends made up and went into business together. They took over another website that also dealt with free Internet service providers, but one that received much more traffic than their own.

This website did not last long either. Part of the reason, Levine believed, was because he kept imitating his friend’s ideas.

He was told he needed to do something that had never been done before, but Levine wasn’t sure that was possible.

The idea for OldVersion came to him unexpectedly. Levine and his father were using Napster to download music, but the newest version at the time caused their computer to crash. He scoured the Internet for almost 40 minutes before he found the older version, which functioned much better, he said.

That’s when his business began. He paid someone to register a domain name – as he didn’t have a credit card – and the website was set up within a month with the help of Levine’s virtual tech community.

Within three months, Levine’s website was featured in The New York Times. He was still in middle school.

Now, Levine is a fifth-year UB student.

He created his own major called Theatre Anthropology: The Russian Experience.

Theatre, because it helps him with storytelling and marketing, anthropology because it is the study of technological culture, and the Russian Experience because Levine moved to the U.S. from Russia at the age of 5.

When he came to UB, Levine didn’t even know that there was a community of entrepreneurs. But after his business was featured in The Buffalo News, someone reached out to him.

UB lacks a vibrant atmosphere for entrepreneurs, according to Levine. Although he believes that many students are being inspired to become entrepreneurs, he said the school lacks the resources and mentorship that allows them to pursue their dreams.

To Levine, UB is in a great position to make a culture of entrepreneurship happen in the Buffalo community.

Mark Greenfield, director of web services at UB, agrees.

“I think it’s a combination of doing things both inside the classroom and outside of the classroom,” Greenfield said. “I believe UB is starting to do things – even with the undergrad academies – to be able to provide these kinds of opportunities.”

Greenfield recently spoke at the #140cuse conference at Syracuse University, which focused on how social media and technology is changing society. Greenfield discussed the concept of higher education getting flattened, meaning how technology impacts college.

The world is a much different place from what it was during previous generations, Greenfield said. College graduates do not leave school and wait to work for a big company until retirement anymore.

The 21st century is changing, and Greenfield believes that higher education must change with it. Entrepreneurial skills are necessary to survive and an important skill set to have, according to Greenfield.

Linden came from New York City. His biggest reason to come up for the weekend, other than Oozefest, was to see his old friends. He regretted not participating as an undergraduate and was glad he finally got to jump into the mud pit this year. With both of those goals out of the way, Linden was looking forward to a much-needed shower – or maybe three.

Oozefest represents the final hurrah before finals week begins. It helps students let off steam after a semester full of hard work. What students don’t see, however, is all of the planning and coordination that goes into the event.

Thank You, Class of 2012

“Part of it is a lot of the work UB is doing in terms of building programs around that idea,” Greenfield said. “But I also think there needs to be, at the core of almost all the instruction we do, the recognition that the work force is different now and really trying to build that entrepreneurial understanding into all the ways we teach students.”

While UB does offer classes that relate to entrepreneurship, Levine thinks that there can be more. He also believes that including a class in the general education requirement would inspire students.

continued on page 14

AARON MANSFIELD Senior Life Editor

Unlike most of the columns in today’s paper, this one isn’t saying goodbye to UB. I’ve got a couple years left to don the blue and white as an undergrad. But this column is still a grand goodbye.

Goodbye to a class that has left its mark. Goodbye to some people that just shouldn’t be leaving so soon.

“Why would I want to spend my time reading 50 pages out of this [World Civilizations] textbook that doesn’t give you the history of the world?” Levine said.

“F*** that. My time is worth more than that.”

Class of 2012, I know it probably seems you were just the Class of 2008, and I’m not sure anyone could have predicted that your four years would vanish with such callous rapidity. It’s funny how we all start thinking about time around graduation every year.

The Class of ’11 has already been gone a whole year, and they weren’t too bad.

Instead of just creating a hypothetical business plan, Levine wants to help connect UB students with an entrepreneurial drive with members of the Buffalo community. Levine isn’t the only one in Buffalo working on establishing an entrepreneurial spirit at UB.

But you, 2012, you are the first class that’s really impacted me.

Pretty soon you’ll have been alumni for a year, too. Snap your fingers and my Class of 2014 will be leaving.

Tom Flynn, a co-founder of UB’s Entrepreneur Club, created the club this semester in hopes of giving students a place where they could share ideas.

My point in all this time babbling is as follows: the years fly with such haste that it’s easy to minimize your importance. It’s easy to think: “I didn’t really change stuff at UB.” Don’t.

You have changed me forever – cliché but factual.

In addition to connecting students with similar interests, the club also reaches out to businesses within the Buffalo community. The members choose a featured business of the week and come up with ideas on how to improve it within a few weeks.

From Matthew Parrino, who took a shot on me as a scared little Spectrum staff writer and ended up turning into my big brother, to Akanimo Akpan, who taught me to look beyond the surface of everything and remain humble above all. From Tyler Cady, who showed me that you can step into adverse circumstances and absolutely thrive, to Bryan Feiler, who has made me laugh since the moment I met him.

One business was Nette’s Fried Chicken, which is located on Main Street on South Campus.

I could go on for hours – not just about these four, but about everyone in the Class of 2012. I probably know less than 1 percent of you graduates, but to those I do know:

The club compiled a list of suggestions they believed would increase business: simplifying the menu, keeping the doors open so the restaurant would receive more business, as well as promoting with flyers at the dorms and more populated areas.

Damn, you’ve been spectacular.

UB’s Entrepreneur Club isn’t the only group giving UB students the opportunity to test their skills. The ACM computer science club recently held UB’s first Hackathon – an event that gives its participants 24 hours to create their own product.

“I think the energy at UB is here and I think that the pieces are coming together,” Levine said.

Email: features@ubspectrum.com

You’ve been crazy and stressed and frazzled and drunk. You’ve been fun and exciting and unpredictable and responsible. You’ve done things you swore you’d never do and you’ve accomplished more than you could’ve ever expected. You have cried and laughed, smiled, and puked.

You’ve learned so many names and memorized so many faces that you might’ve forgotten that you were once a lost freshman.

Picture yourself on your first-ever day of college classes. Now look in the mirror. What a journey it’s been.

You might not be ready to leave this phase behind. I know the feeling; I’m in the midst of leaving the restaurant I’ve worked at for four years to get a “grown-up” job. You probably feel like college is your last tie to adolescence. Growing up sucks sometimes.

But I want to remind you that as you’ve grown up in front of our eyes, it has not been in vain.

continued on page 14

Page 13

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Monday, April 30, 2012

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes DUANE OWENS Staff Writer It was a busy day for the Monro Muffler Brake and Service on Main Street, with a packed parking lot filled with people in high heels – men and women alike.

Walk A Mile In Her Shoes is an event held to support victims that have been raped or assaulted, violently and/or sexually. This is the seventh year the program has been held in Buffalo.

Both males and females can be victims, and although the use of “her” in the title may look to target specifically females, it strives to tackle all gender issues.

The event began at the Crisis Service center on Main Street. Its title stems from an old saying: “you can’t really understand somebody until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” The phrase shows how difficult it is to grasp others’ pain without sharing their perspective.

Jimmy Janowski, co-chairman and Buffalo United artist, has been one of the event’s most active members. He gets the LGBTQ community involved and this year got Maryalice Demler, from WGRZ-TV, on board.

“The original idea was violence against women so that men would be walking in women’s shoes,” Janowski said. “But it’s calling to all sorts of gender violence – any kind of violence toward women, toward gays, toward transsexuals, and men also. Violence in itself.”

The smiling faces in the crowd belonged to different ethnicities, orientations, and genders. Though they were from different backgrounds, they all supported the victimized.

Even before the walk began, the amount of people in attendance had already topped last year’s three-fold.

Qing Zhang /// The Spectrum Members of the Buffalo community gathered on Main Street to support victims of sexual assault and rape. The event, “Walk A Mile in Her Shoes,” consisted of people walking a mile in heels to promote awareness.

To hold an event of this magnitude, every member used resources to promote wherever they could – especially social media.

The direction of the walk proved to be a factor as well, according to Shandra Whitefield, domestic violence case manager.

In the past, the mile was walked toward UB, but this year The Crisis Center felt it should be more community centered, so the group travelled down the opposite direction – toward North Park Theatre.

It wasn’t the direction of the walk that mattered, but what it represented.

Enthusiastic men were eagerly hold-

ing their own as they walked as best they could in high heels. They walked with calves bulging as they tried to get a feel for the new footwear. Other men sat on the curb, trying to figure out how the heels actually fit. In either case, the heels were a prominent standout with pairs ranging from red to rhinestones.

“This is my first year walking in shoes, not my first year walking; last year I chickened out,” said Arlen Boyer, a former worker for the Crisis Center.

“Last year I just walked in my sneakers, I was supporting, but I wasn’t wearing the shoes. This year I’m wearing the shoes. I wanted to be a larger voice. I wanted to have a more significant impact.”

Under the white tent with the lone red balloon that symbolized the “Walk a Mile” international colors was a number of volunteers who took time out of their day to work registration, handle donations, and pass out shoes. “[The event] is huge. All the money that’s donated is going towards the advocate program, which is a program for sexual violence,” said Bessie Fitzgerald, a social sciences student at UB and member of the crisis services advocate program. “I just volunteered for the event because, why not?”

Police escorts were present, with two squad cars stopping traffic from both directions, and Buffalo Police Department motorcyclists followed and kept a close eye on the walk.

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes has so far reached about two-thirds of its goal – $7,007. Charitable donations are still being accepted and will go directly back to the advocate program to help those who are victims of domestic violence, rape, and assault.

Email: features@ubspectrum.com

When it was time for the walk to begin, people grabbed their children, dogs, and high heels and hit the sidewalks.

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continued from page 12: Thank you , class of 2012 Your years have been impactful. You’ve witnessed easily the most successful four-year tenure in UB’s athletic history. You’ve seen two university presidents, a fake gunman, and some bizarre scenes that could only happen at UB. You have set an example. A couple years from now, when I’m about to graduate, you will be on my mind. As Death Cab for Cutie has so aptly put it, “every plan is a tiny prayer to Father Time;’” but as I hear my name, grab that diploma, and look out to the crowd with a huge smile, I’ll be thinking of how good you guys looked in your caps and gowns. I’ll think of how kind you were to a little kid like me.

You accomplished so much from 2008-12, and I know even bigger things are in store from 2012-16. Bigger than I can predict. Bigger than you believe.

Monday, April 30, 2012

continued from page 12: mud, sweat, and tears “It’s a year-long planning effort,” Starr said. “We have two staff and one student staff devoted to it and 200 volunteers helping out as well as the rest of our regular staff, since it’s all hands on deck.”

other talented and gritty teams.

The culmination of a year’s worth of planning and preparation must end with a victorious team that rises above the rest of the field.

In Oozefest’s wake, trails of muddy footprints followed participants back to the dorms and cars. Mud littering the sidewalks and roadways as herds of dirty UB students walked to the warm showers for the first round of cleaning. The squishing of waterlogged shoes and irreversibly dirty clothes was all worth it at the end for a day full of fun with friends and peers.

After nearly eight hours of bloody, muddy, volleyball action, team “Seven and a Half Men” rose to the top after defeating “The Sheepherders” in the final round of volleyball. “Seven and a Half Men” were last year’s reigning champions and managed to pull off another win amongst many

With muddy hands and dirt caked into their skin, the victors held the trophy high in the air, chanting: “We’ll be back next year for the three-peat!”

Yeo Jung Lee /// The Spectrum

Email: features@ubspectrum.com

It would be impossible to count all your memories, but what stays behind the most are the people you’ve impacted – people like me.

So when President Tripathi hands me that diploma, I will breathe deep and see Matt and Akanimo and Tyler and Bryan – I will see all of you, Class of 2012. And when I exhale, my breath will proclaim: “I am ready for the real world, for the Class of 2012 has set the stage and trained me well.”

Your time with us has been a flash, an instant.

But man, it’s been a great instant.

Email: aaron.mansfield@ubspectrum.com

Continued from page 1:Fabolous Fest “You’re a Jerk” and “Tie Me Down” got the fans going, as people formed small circles to dance and have fun.

Headliner Rick Ross made it to the stage, despite news of canceled shows due to health concerns earlier this month.

The Teflon Don opened his show with radio-hit “I’m a Boss” with two gleaming Jesus piece chains hanging from his massive neck. Ross then segued into his verses on fan favorites such as “9 Piece,” “I’m on One,” “I’m Not a Star,” and “B.M.F.” Ross connected with the audience throughout his 45-minute set, with some even calling it the best performance of the night. Ross took a moment to acknowledge the college students in the crowd and advise them on their future endeavors.

“To be rich forever you got to be rich with ideas,” Ross said. “You got to be rich with concepts.”

The audience made efforts to connect with Ross during pieces that weren’t radio-friendly. Ross performed tracks “New Bugatti” and “Stay Schemin’,” off his 2012 mixtape Rich Forever, and before rapping the mixtape’s title track.

The show’s highlight came near the end of his set. Fatigue had caught up to the larger than life rapper as his bulging eyes struggled to keep focus. But the Boss took energy from his adoring fans and performed two more songs to end his set.

Though performing earlier in the night, Fabolous had the loudest crowd reaction out of the five performers. The hype reached its peak when the rapper performed throwback hits from the mid aughts. “Young’n (Holla Back)” had the audience waving their hands in unison, while “Into You” was pure nostalgia.

The crowd was so lively that when Fabolous questioned the Buffalo audience about whether or not they heard “Breathe,” an urban classic, it came off as an absurdist statement rather than a rhetorical question.

“It brought me back,” said Alisha James, a junior communication major. “It made me happy and got me hype.

So I enjoyed it.”

Tyga’s set, which came right before Ross’, started slowly at first. But when he played his hit song “Faded” the crowd suddenly came to life.

selected 15 female fans to join him on stage to dance with him while he performed his hit. They reacted in the exact way normal fans would: by grabbing his chest and gyrating around him. He still managed to bob and weave through the throng of eager females.

Surprisingly, Tyga wasn’t completely satisfied with his performance.

“I think it could’ve been better,” Tyga said. “But the energy was crazy. You never know what to expect going to colleges. This is my first time in Buffalo and I think it’s great.”

He pranced back and forth on the stage and was openly interacting with fans. He let some fans sing words to his songs and was the only artist that was up close and personal with his followers.

The fans weren’t as critical, however, as they left Alumni Arena ecstatic about the stars they’d just seen.

Right before he played his biggest hit, “Rack City,” Tyga

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

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www.ubspectrum.com

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Page 16

Wednesday, April 4, 2012 ubspectrum.com

Home Disadvantage Buffalo hip-hop struggles to hit mainstream BRIAN JOSEPHS Arts Editor Short, one of the many rappers who hail from Buffalo, has been writing verses since he was 14 years old. Now 24, he’s getting ready to release his second EP entitled O.U.R. He explained that the backronym represents Queen City’s struggle. “[People] don’t think there’s something that could come out of Buffalo that’s significant,” Short said. “That’s the thing I said about Buffalo – the underdog. ‘Only Underdogs are Remembered’…we’re the underdogs, we know that we’re the underdogs. We’re the Bills, we’re the Sabres, we’re everything.”

The aforementioned sports teams are known for their supportive fan base, unlike the Buffalo rap music scene.

Satsuki Aoi /// The Spectrum

Short, one of Buffalo’s more well-known rappers, is optimistic about the local scene’s chances of becoming mainstream.

Many people involved in the lo-

Invest in yourself!

cal hip-hop community believe that it has more than enough talented artists. However, there has yet to be a hip-hop artist to successfully break into the mainstream. Followers have attributed a variety of factors as to why.

hop acts because of the stigma behind it…fighting, stabbing, shooting, stuff like that,” said Valentino Shine, a member of promotions group After Dark Entertainment. “And all the shows that I’ve booked thus far haven’t had any of that.”

Derrick Jackson, Buffalo rapper’s G5GI’s manager, theorized that the lack of prominence in the hip-hop scene stems from the famed Wu-Tang Clan concerts back in the ’90s.

G5GI explained that rappers Method Man and Redman would crowd surf while passing out marijuana during their performances. This recklessness led the mayor of Buffalo to ban the outfit, according to Jackson.

Shine has hosted numerous hiphop concerts at venues such as Broadway Joe’s. He explained that these concerts usually draw in a diverse crowd, instead of the stereotypical thuggish audience.

Even though the ban has been retracted, Jackson explained that the perceived stigma left by those concerts hasn’t changed.

He describes the stereotype as “ratched” – a term that describes undesirable urban traits.

“A lot of venue owners steer away from hip-hop and hip-

Physical altercations are a rarity in hip-hop shows. A particularly tragic case of such violence was correlated with the death of Javon Jackson in 2009. The recent UB graduate was walking from a party near Main Street when he was gunned downed because of a prior scuffle.

The fact that hip-hop was being played at the party furthered the negative stereotype.

“Venue owners became even more standoff-ish because they

unfairly associated the incident with the hip-hop/urban demographic,” Jackson said. “Unfortunately, you have ignorance that blinds people. Combine that ignorance with fear and that’s what you get. Obviously, I have strong views on everything surrounding the events that occurred that night. But the more I speak on it – my heart goes out to his mother and his family.”

DJ Noodles is the closest thing Buffalo has to a mainstream talent. The DJ was renowned in Buffalo for his work in various clubs and Wild 101, a defunct radio station. His name blew up after he moved to Florida for further opportunities. He has worked with known artists like Pitbull and currently DJ’s at WiLD 94.1, a famed radio station in the Tampa Bay area.

DJ Noodles doesn’t regret having to move south to gain success. In fact, he believes the lack of a definitive scene in Buffalo is actually what makes the city what it is. continued on page 17

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Monday, April 30, 2012

continued from page 16: home disadvantage “If that scene was in Buffalo, then Buffalo wouldn’t be the same type of city,” DJ Noodles said. “It wouldn’t be the type of city that tailgates the way it tailgates on Sundays…in other cities you don’t see other people going out and help people push their cars when they’re stuck [when] we, as a city, went through in all those snowstorms.”

However, many involved with the local hip-hop scene believe that it may be able to gain national attention if the circumstances are right.

Going Solo Many of the talents within Buffalo aspire to be mainstream names, but a few understand that establishing their name in the Queen City is essential in doing so.

Lucky Seven, an Amherst native and member of hip-hop collective Howhood University, noted that one of the reasons Buffalo artists don’t make nationwide success is the lack of unity amongst artists and their fan bases.

“The [fans] don’t care to hear anybody else,” Lucky Seven said. “The fans need to love and respect Buffalo artists first before we get loved by other people.”

Dennis Ferry, a talent buyer at After Dark Entertainment, has seen the side effects of this sort of loyalty. He observed that a different crowd would come out to concerts as After Dark booked different artists.

It’s a trend he hopes to change.

“If you’re only supporting your friends that are in the game, it’s not really going to build a big community of music fans here,” Ferry said. “I rather really

see people go out, try new things, and listen to an artist they’ve never heard before, than go out, see their man perform, and then leave.”

“We want these artists to come in here, perform, [and] see the talent we have here,” Short said.

Some artists have been able to draw a cult following despite the lack of home support. G5GI was able to book shows at New Orleans and recently performed at SUNY Fredonia, while rapper 7’4” (named after his height) claimed that he even had fans overseas.

When the Hip-Hop Student Association dissolved two years ago, local rappers were left without an outlet to display their talent. The club used to host concerts and more than 50 percent of its performers were natives who were unaffiliated with the university.

However, 7’4” was still adamant about the need for unity between Buffalo fans and artists. It’s necessary for him to fulfill his aspirations of becoming a legend in hip-hop.

“What I try to explain to people is that you got to come together,” 7’4” said.

“When you mention New York, they think about New York City. This is the forgotten city. You’ve got to build a force that can’t be ignored. You’ve got to come together and really push each other; but everybody’s ego is just too high here.”

DJ Noodles noted that the scene was divided when he was still involved seven years ago. He still keeps track of what’s going on while he’s in Florida, and he said the scene was getting better because of the efforts of some promoters and artists.

Additionally, nationally recognized artists have been noticing local talent. A few months ago, Lucky Seven opened for A$AP Rocky at the Town Ballroom. Local rapper Jae-Skeese (who was noted by many as one of the Queen City’s top talent) is set to open for Schoolboy Q at the Soundlab on May 6.

Short believes that having the opportunity to perform for such acts is crucial.

School Spirit

Isaac Kramer, Hip-Hop SA’s former president, thought that being able to expose these talents was one of the clubs main accomplishments.

“Because most of our members were not from the Buffalo area, these shows exposed the local acts to a new audience,” Kramer said. “I believe performing at our events helped several acts improve their stage skills and definitely elevated the reputation of several.”

The Hip-Hop SA’s involvement allowed local artist Edreys Wajed to perform at the 2009 Fall Fest. SA hasn’t booked a local artist for either Spring Fest or Fall Fest since Hip-Hop SA disbanded.

Jackson thought that campus involvement would be a huge boost to the local community because of how many students hail from other cities, especially New York City.

“Most of them are from the city. They come from the city and they don’t really get exposed to Buffalo…It’s not [their] fault,” Jackson said. “That’s all [they’re] exposed to because you got these party promoters trying to make a buck, and they’re throwing the same parties every time.”

Students from the city have gained a reputation for their skepticism and blunt opinions. The Big Apple is known as the mecca of hip-hop and its natives are naturally critical against music from cities with a lesser reputation.

Pittsburgh has Wiz Khalifa, whose most popular song – “Black and Yellow” – is a love note to his hometown.

Eminem and newcomer Danny Brown have also openly represented their industrial hometown, Detroit, in their music.

Omari Thompson, a junior psychology major and Harlem native, gave Buffalo hip-hop a chance. However, he believed a majority of it was unoriginal.

Short believes that the power to finally have a mainstream Buffalo artist lies in themselves because of these examples.

He’s seen a lot of talented artists during his years in Buffalo, but he thinks that they lacked the one attribute that would propel them to national success.

“The perceptions I have about Buffalo artists are the same as southern artists.

Catchy hook, nice beat, whack lyrics,” Thompson said. “Of course, there are some [exceptions] here and there, but the majority sounds like southern hiphop to me.”

Dela Yador, the 2005-06 SA president, thought that part of UB’s purpose was to allow students to grow. However, he also stressed that a bulk of a local artist’s success is his or her own responsibility.

Hip-Hop SA’s departure is detrimental to local acts, but Yador believes that there are multiple avenues for an artist to get his or her voice heard.

“It’s unfortunate that Hip-Hop SA isn’t around anymore, but if local Buffalo rappers are only depending on HipHop SA to get their music out, there’s a bigger problem,” Yador said. “Buffalo is bigger than just the colleges.”

Confidence There are other mid-sized cities similar to Buffalo that have artists who received mainstream success. Rapper Kid Cudi has a wide national fan base even though he came from Cleveland, a forgotten city in hip-hop lore.

“I don’t think they believed in themselves. I don’t think they believed they can do it. Look at Cleveland with Kid Cudi and Chipp the Ripper,” Short said. “Those dudes believed in themselves, and they believed that they could [succeed] with their own art without conforming to anything. Artists today in Buffalo, we believe in ourselves. It’s a movement.”

G5GI believes that Buffalo artists are talented enough to perform on the same billing with artists like Rick Ross and Tyga.

For him, performing at such big stages should be more than just a dream.

“It should be way bigger than what it is,” G5GI said. “I believe that we’re in a position where we should be rocking those shows. When they do come in with the Spring Fests and Fall Fests, we should be on them. I’m not just saying that because we do music, but because we’re great at what we do.”

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

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Page 18

How Music Changed My Life

VILONA TRACHTENBERG Asst. Arts Editor Since September I have been pretty much living a double life. I have been living at concerts at night, about four nights a week, and taking my honors economics and political science course load during the day while juggling five other jobs on the side. As an economics and political science student I never thought music would maintain such a strong presence in my life, but I couldn’t be happier I was wrong.

Through being an editor for The Spectrum this past semester and interning for a local music company, After Dark Entertainment, since September, my life has changed for the better.

When I first stumbled on Facebook and saw that After Dark was looking for interns, I didn’t know whether I should even bother applying. I knew I

www.ubspectrum.com would have no chance of getting it because my strong interest in music happened later than others, less than two years ago.

I knew there would be a ton of people applying for the job who have been on the Buffalo music scene and have been in bands, and thought I did’t fit the mold to work for this type of industry.

But, I figured it was worth a shot, and I applied.

Through the two interviews I had with the company, I was a nervous wreck and didn’t think the interviews went as well as I wanted them to.

I also never thought I’d be an editor at The Spectrum. Sitting among amazing writers and great personalities over the past few months and seeing the progress this paper has made has been a privilege. Seeing the reporting that has been done which uncovered some of the biggest scandals has allowed me to see the impacts that people my own age can have, and what can be achieved with hard work and dedication. I never thought I’d be able to be among these people or have this experience.

I was gladly wrong. My life has changed ever since.

After Dark has been the dream job over the past few months, and it was better than I could have ever imagined. I’ve been able to meet some amazing musicians, and people at shows, which turned out to be some of the nicest people I’ve ever met in my life. I felt empowered to be able to hang out with Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory, I Am The Avalanche, and Mac Miller –

and making this a nine-month, weekly deal.

You’ve probably seen your friends tagged in Facebook pictures from random concerts. I was the girl behind the camera taking pictures of kids at concerts. I was the one cutting the flyers and hanging them up all over Buffalo. I was the one updating the websites and promoting for shows.

I was the one people looked up to and wanted to talk to at shows.

Through being an editor at The Spectrum I have also encountered life-changing experiences, and over the past months I’ve been able to talk to and learn about amazing people and breakthrough stories, which I was able share with the student body. I feel honored to have been able to tell people about To Write Love On Her Arms, an organization that works to help people combat depression and uses music to connect to people, to the latest story I wrote about a person who gives non-verbal people the ability to communicate.

Working for After Dark and The Spectrum have been the most rewarding experiences of my life. The people I have met, and the friends and memories I have made, will always stay with me.

I have learned so many life lessons throughout both experiences that I would not have learned any other way.

Every single day with both of those experiences I have made new friends and new people who inspire me and give me a positive outlook on life. I never thought in a million years I’d ever be doing something like this, interviewing my

Monday, April 30, 2012 favorite bands through The Spectrum, and working for bands and promoting shows through After Dark. After all, I study “nerdy” majors and never thought I’d have the long-lasting desire to make a career out of music. I never thought I’d be able to be outgoing and talk to people at shows. I never thought I’d get the opportunity to hang out with bands all the time and just all-around awesome people every single night.

I don’t mean to write this to receive a pity party.

Although my internship at After Dark is coming to a close, I will continue writing for The Spectrum next semester and will hope to continue experiencing these amazing things.

I have had amazing experiences through jobs I never thought I’d ever get. The point of all of this is, don’t miss out on any opportunities no matter how far-fetched you think they are. Set goals for yourself, and don’t doubt yourself. Take every single opportunity that comes your way, even if you think it’s a long shot. More often than not, you may be more qualified for these opportunities than you think and they will change your life. Even if they aren’t your initial goals, if you see something that interests you, don’t pass it up.

Always give it a shot, because you never know how it’ll turn out or where it will lead. Even if you fail, don’t pass up the initial chance, because you never know when it will come around again.

These will be the greatest opportunities of your life.

Email: vilona.trachtenberg @ubspectrum.com

continued from page 21: local woman wins “duel” The race was a small part of the collaboration between Livestrong, which is a foundation started by Armstrong, Roswell Park in Buffalo, and Teens Living with Cancer (TLC), a non-profit organization that helps kids that have gone through chemotherapy treatments recover.

It all started on Twitter, where Eggers challenged the cycling legend.

fight against Myelodysplastic Syndrome became the inspiration for TLC. Zach was a friend of Eggers, a guy with a connection to the seven-time champ – he won one of Armstrong’s events a couple years ago. He passed recently, and Eggers said that if he was still around, he would be the one racing Saturday. TLC is the organization in which she fights for an age group that often gets overlooked.

“When he was invited to the Speakers Series, I wondered ‘wouldn’t it be funny if I Twitter-challenged him to a race and he accepted?’ and they thought I was out of my mind,” Eggers said. “I never expected him to actually accept it, I’m really grateful that he did.”

“I found in my work with Teens Living with Cancer that ages 13-19 seems to be a forgotten age group. These guys are discharged from their chemotherapy and told to go get healthy. So that’s where we saw the need for post chemotherapy, or even an ‘in-chemotherapy’ fitness program to help them get back to health.”

With three names etched onto her right hand, Eggers dove into the pool, and took on her adversary. Those words are a constant reminder of who, and what, she fights for.

The event raised over $51,000 for the organization, which was a far cry from the $1,000 that was originally expected.

The first name, Melissa, is the daughter of founder Lauren Spiker, whose two-year

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

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Monday, April 30, 2012

Leaving a Lasting Legacy Newman’s brother, Max, has noticed the effects Fulcher has had on Jared’s reading and realizes she is patient at teaching Jared. Before Jared met Fulcher he couldn’t spell at all. Now, he can break down words, read two to three sentences independently, understand more vocabulary, and can formulate entire sentences.

VILONA TRACHTENBERG Asst. Arts Editor (Disclaimer: The names besides Fulcher, Neth, and Higginbotham have been changed to protect clientdoctor confidentiality).

A strong vocal vowel inflexion “aaah” from a four-year-old, a shape-sorter, and an inspiring babysitter set Katrina Fulcher’s future. She was 16 years old and her parents were worried that her passion for acting would not lead to a stable career. They suggested Fulcher spend the day with her former babysitter, Shawna Slater, who worked as a speech-language pathologist.

He was an emergent preschool-level reader because he wasn’t taught reading skills. He still has words that might be difficult for him, but jumped two reading levels because of Fulcher’s work.

Fulcher constantly motivates Jared, as she doesn’t ever want him to feel that his cerebral palsy can get in the way of his success, and she reiterates this during her sessions.

Fulcher didn’t know what speechlanguage pathology was at the time, but she decided to shadow Slater, especially since she didn’t find her niche after shadowing lawyers, doctors, and stock brokers.

“You’ve learned way too early that sometimes life isn’t fair, and sometimes people aren’t always nice,” Fulcher said. “Every morning you’re going to have this choice that you need to make where you’re either going to show the world that everything they think about you is wrong and you’re going to show them every single day, every single sentence how smart you are, and how funny you are, or you can sit in a corner and people will just pass you by.”

The epiphany happened when she watched Slater and 4-year-old Jenny Miller sit on the floor during a speech therapy session. Jenny had never spoken a sound in her life. Suddenly, when she and Slater were playing with a shape-sorter, she looked at Slater and handed her a block. She let out an “aaah” sound with a rising intonation, as if she was asking Slater to continue to play.

Barb Neth, a speech-language pathologist and Fulcher’s colleague, has worked with Jared since he was 5 years old. According to Neth, Jared has blossomed since his sessions with Fulcher began. She believes it is crucial that he learn to read and write using his device because he’s non-verbal.

The whole room stopped. The girl’s mother started to cry. Her daughter had a voice.

Slater kept eye contact with Jenny and coaxed more sounds out of her.

“I’ve seen significant improvements in his reading skills,” Neth said. “This is a bright little kid that nobody directly ever taught how to read.”

Fulcher stared in disbelief. She also knew she had found her calling.

Today, Fulcher, 26, is a speechlanguage pathologist and third year doctoral candidate in communicative disorders and sciences at UB. Her research and clinical work focuses on clients who have lost the ability to talk because of debilitating illnesses like Parkinson’s, autism, and Lou Gehrig’s disease.

“Unfortunately, in society people look at somebody that has this physical manifestation of a disability and they make judgments on them, make judgments on their intellectual abilities or what they can do or what they can offer to society, and I always want to prove those people wrong,” Fulcher said.

She has.

Just ask 12-year-old Jared Newman, a cheery blond boy whose cerebral palsy makes it impossible for him to

Alexa Strudler /// The Spectrum Kat Fulcher, a speech-language pathologist uses AAC devices to give non-verbal people the ability to communicate and leave their legacies.

verbalize speech. Sarcastic and funny, Fulcher helps him reveal his personality and lets his interests in scary stories, haunted houses, and caskets shine through in sessions. He even jokes with Fulcher and calls her “ the evil one” while she jokes back thanking him for the compliment.

Fulcher has been working with Jared for two years and has been using a touch screen device that helps him talk. Jared uses a DynaVox, with programmed features including folders of categories like family, holidays, and colors, as well as a keyboard Jared has

access to. The device allows Jared to access the part of his body he has most control over, his knees.

As he sits in his chair, he uses his knees to control two red buttons, which connect to the screen. He also uses this device to access the Internet and complete school work. A text-tospeech function allows him to verbalize his thoughts.

Fulcher also uses the device to help Jared learn to read. Before she started working clinically with him, he didn’t

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have that ability.

At a recent session, Jared read a full page of Mystery Photo at a first grade level, and there were only two words he didn’t know out of 30. “[I want] to show people that he can read, and he can learn if you give him the chance and the time and something that’s structured,” Fulcher said. “[I also want] to show everybody at his school he is smart, [and] he does not have an intellectual disability.”

Part of Fulcher’s appeal, Neth said, is her dynamic personality and desire to always create ways to help her clients improve. If there is a conflict with a client’s interest, she wants to make sure his or her well-being is placed in the forefront.

Fulcher adapts her teaching skills to meet the learning needs of each particular person.

When Fulcher works with clients, she motivates them based on their interests. Fulcher uses Jared’s love of scary stories and uses the vocabulary from those pieces to spark his interest during sessions. Fulcher is also adamant about being open and honest about what she does during her time with Jared and what her goals are so he can be an active member in his personal progress. continued on page 20

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continued from page 19: leaving a lasting legacy “She tempers her deep caring and responsibility for her clients, [and] she doesn’t go over the edge into pity,” Neth said. “She has a nice balance there.”

Fulcher’s mother, Gina, 49 of Lockport, said her daughter never wavered once she decided to study speech-language pathology. She went to Elmira College for four years and then on to UB for her Master’s and Ph.D. “She is very focused,” Gina said. “It’s really difficult in a Ph.D. program.

Every time you keep on going higher and higher up on the education scale there’s always people there trying to break you down.”

She realizes her daughter does not succumb to this, however, and describes her as hopeful, even when her studies become difficult. Fulcher has continued to study in this field for 10 years, and looks forward to learning and meeting the challenges.

Jeff Higginbotham studies people with severe disabilities, continues to develop technology to help them communicate, and has mentored Fulcher for her past four years at UB. Fulcher decided to work with Higginbotham because of his research in naturalistic social communication. He studies individuals who use technology to communicate and continues developing technology for conversing about daily topics, including making friends, talking about politics, and current events. Higginbotham examines how people are able to accomplish these tasks and how technology can be influenced.

This field, called Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), uses devices to help non-verbal people communicate.

AAC devices are assistive technology and cater specifically to each person who requires this service. AAC devices can be as simple as someone using a white board and writing, or pointing to letters to spell out words.

The devices can also be as complex as head-tracking, which includes slight head movements that can control the screen, or eye-tracking which uses infrared cameras to catch pupil and eye movement. These machines can also be touch screen or have keyboards, and users can type or select images or categories they want using a button that runs a text-to-speech component so the computer reads the text out loud.

Higginbotham is also a founder of the AAC-RERC, the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Communication Enhancement, which is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research. Fulcher’s work is also funded through AAC-RERC. Right now, Fulcher’s main goal is to use the technology they research and continue developing it to give people the ability to show their personalities and to say everything they want to say.

“It’s really incumbent on the speechlanguage pathologist to provide the right kinds of technical assistance so that an individual can communicate with their family members, with their doctors, and with their friends during that part of their life,” Higginbotham said. “[Fulcher’s] work was really instrumental in giving [people]…that ability.”

Although at times her job and Ph.D. program can be stressful, she stays cheery with comedy. On weekends, she performs improv with Buffalo ComedySportz. She’s been doing it

for over a year, and it’s helped connect her love for performing with helping people.

For Fulcher, the people she worked with who suffered from illnesses have been some of the funniest people she’s met, and full of sarcastic wit. Her clients realize how necessary it is to make jokes and laugh, and even break the stereotypical taboo of making jokes about having disabilities. “[They tell me] ‘You have to look on the positive side,’” Fulcher said. “‘You have to have fun. You have to make a joke of it or else this will just get you down every day that you have this illness.’”

After joining ComedySportz she learned she needed to laugh. Performing in ComedySportz gave her the confidence and courage to even joke back with her clients.

“It’s a time where I can shut the analytical part of my brain off and just really live in the moment,” Fulcher said.

“I love being up there, I love being goofy, I love making people laugh and clap and have a good time, and it’s a huge adrenaline rush.”

Fulcher realizes that when people laugh and make jokes they’re already thinking on the positive side and turning negative attitudes into positive ones.

Like all good comedians, she integrates her job into her routine.

For Halloween, one of her clients with Lou Gehrig’s disease dressed up as Lou Gehrig, the famous New York Yankee player, which surprised many people. Fulcher realized, however, that it’s good to joke and maintain a positive attitude with her clients. It’s OK to

make light of their illnesses to make it easier on her clients and herself.

She even made her ComedySportz jersey flaunt the number 4, Lou Gehrig’s Yankee number, to represent the people she works with.

Fulcher also knows that her work is critical to giving terminally ill people a final word.

She learned that lesson early, just after she left college when she started working with Jim McCarthy, a lawyer who contracted Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS) in his late 50s. McCarthy went from being able to talk, walk, and drive, to only having residual movement in his pointer finger and thumb on his left hand and eye gaze.

McCarthy was diagnosed with ALS in December 2008, and Fulcher started seeing him in June 2009.

During the year she worked with him, Fulcher watched helplessly as the once-gregarious lawyer lost his ability to communicate vocally. He was living his last months and Fulcher knew McCarthy still had a lot to say to his family and friends. Her main goal was for him to say everything he wanted to say and to leave a legacy.

ALS patients lose motor functions quickly and have a life expectancy of between two and five years. Fulcher taught McCarthy to type what he wanted to say on a keyboard using his thumb, including one of her most memorable moments thus far.

McCarthy programmed “happy birthday” for his daughter’s birthday and as she walked down the stairs, he pushed the device to sing happy birthday to her. His daughter had the biggest smile on her face.

“That’s what a device needs to do, because that’s what’s important,” Fulcher said. “Nothing is more important than telling your daughter ‘happy birthday.’”

McCarthy taught Fulcher it’s important to leave something behind, and that everyone has a story and legacy he or she wants to leave behind. Fulcher helped him, and many other terminally ill patients, leave theirs.

“I loved the feeling of working with them and their families, and the fact that you got to have this impact, giving them something back that they had lost,” Fulcher said.

Then on May 4, 2010, Fulcher showed up for her regularly scheduled session with McCarthy and learned he had passed away an hour before. It had been less than two years since the initial diagnosis.

Dazed, Fulcher got in her car, called Higginbotham and sobbed.

Still, her greatest consolation was that in his final months he had managed to say almost everything he wanted to say to his family.

“I did something good for him,” Fulcher said. “Me being there was a positive thing…He was able to talk to his wife, he was able to say something…so I just said to myself, ‘I did my job, he was a great person, he taught me so much, he wanted to leave something behind. I’m now going to make sure that he leaves something behind because everything that I do, all of my research, why I still want to get my Ph.D., is because of working with him.’”

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

continued from page 24: the donor that keeps on giving entire Murchie Family is supportive of UB Athletics and we are grateful for their past and continued support.”

Buffalo has won three Mid-American Conference titles in the last five years after not winning any in its first nine years in the MAC. The recent success of the athletic program is in part due to donations like Tunney’s.

“What teams do on and off the fields of play help to showcase the impact of donor gifts,” Lambert said. “You witness donor dollars at work when our student-athletes achieve excellence in the classroom and our teams win championships. From facility renovations to tutoring and studentathlete development programs, private donations help our teams fl ourish.”

The department’s response to the donations has been great. Murchie’s son, Nevin

Murchie sees firsthand from attending the sporting events, which makes Tunney’s decision to continue donating an easy one.

“I think it’s overwhelming,” Nevin said. “I think that’s why he continues to give because he’s seen how motivated and how excited the department is and how grateful they are. It makes it that much easier for him to give that department. They work closely with him and he really enjoys the people there.”

After playing for the ice hockey team, Tunney was an assistant coach and still has a passion for collegiate sports. He also made a $50,000 donation to the club ice hockey team last year and has been in talks with their director of hockey Matthew Baumgarten to help make the program a varsity sport.

“That’s why it’s so easy for him to do it. He likes college athletics actually more than he likes professional because there’s a lot of heart from the kids. He played college sports so it may actually bring him back.”

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Nevin also feels that being around the university and more specifically the athletic department brings up some nostalgia.

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Page 21

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Monday, April 30, 2012

continued from page 24: bulls storm towards mac title but fall just short the regular season title and almost winning their first ever tournament title.

The match on Friday against Ball State was a microcosm of the Bulls’ season.

Ball State was the only MAC opponent to beat the Bulls this season, and that victory had come just one week before the MAC tournament.

Ball State got ahead early but Buffalo was able to fight all the way back and put itself in a position to win.

“After losing that doubles point our guys could have said ‘we’re done,’ because we hadn’t won a match all year after

losing the doubles point,” Nickell said.

“And then we go into singles, and to see the shift and to see the guys fight – it was phenomenal.”

Nickell was initially confident that the Bulls would be able to handle Western Michigan in the finals, and actually preferred the match up because of a fight that broke out between the teams when they met earlier in the season.

Due to poor weather the final was forced inside, a move that benefitted Western Michigan. The Broncos have a roster full of players that hit the ball hard, and that is magnified when playing on faster indoor surfaces.

“When we played them earlier in the spring we played them outdoors on our outdoor course, which is very slow, and it slowed the ball down so they couldn’t hurt us as bad,” Nickell said. “But today they were absolutely just a buzz saw, they were just banging balls left and right and there was nothing we could do.”

The Bulls had some incredible performances over the two matches. Freshman Ivan Vereschchaga came back from a game down against Ball State to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and continue the match and give junior Vusa Hove a chance to win.

Hove won that match 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 and was leading in Saturday’s match before

it was called because Western Michigan scored four points.

Despite the disappointing finish, Nickell is impressed with the progress the Bulls made this year and the steps forward that the program has taken in the past few years.

“It definitely doesn’t feel good to lose in the finals, but look at where we have been and look at where we are now,” Nickell said. “Look at where were four years ago, even three years ago when we got to the finals, we’re miles ahead of where we were then.”

Under Nickell the tennis program has gone from being perennial cellar dwellers to conference contenders. Nickell has brought the program into the light, and the Bulls don’t seem to be letting up anytime soon.

“We’ve got a really good base, we’ve got Damien David and Ivan Vereschahga as freshmen, they both dominated for the most part, through the MAC this year,” Nickell said. “[Junior] Vusa Hove didn’t lose a match in the MAC. Next year is going to be an amazing year, so I am excited about what is to come.”

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

continued from page 24: the specty awards Best Team Candidates: Men’s basketball – It finished higher in the MAC standings than any team prior. The two seed in the MAC Tournament was better than any other team in school history. Along the way there were many memorable moments including a nine game winning streak, and a sweep of the MAC West. Ultimately the Bulls fell to Ohio (a team that advanced to the sweet-16) in the MAC semifinals, before receiving a bid to the CIT. Men’s tennis – It won the MAC regular season title for the second time in program history this year. After a slow 1-7 start, the team finished with an 11-10 record, behind the strong efforts of freshman Damien David and junior Vusa Hove.

Women’s soccer – Perhaps the greatest turnaround in school history, they went from a 1-162 team in 2010 to the MAC runner-up in 2011.

They fell to perennial power Toledo in the finals, but it was still one of the most successful years in program history.

And the winner is…men’s basketball Reasoning: The Bulls brought an incredible amount of excitement to campus this year – something that UB doesn’t get to experience often. Watt and company provided plenty of exciting nights in Alumni Arena, so they get the nod over a much-improved women’s soccer team because of overall impact on campus.

Best Game Candidates: Senior Night – The basketball game with Bowling Green would decide whether or not the Bulls would get a bye to the conference of the semifinals with a win. Down by double-digits in the closing minutes, it looked as though the Bulls would choke away their regular season finale.

That’s when Mitchell Watt took over. A couple of big-time plays including a coast-to-coast steal and dunk that excited the crowd snatched the win from the Falcons. Watt was hoisted over the

heads of the fans that came on the court and carried him off to chants of “M-V-P.”

in style.

Wide Right – Down by 21 points midway through the fourth quarter didn’t bode well for Buffalo’s chances on Homecoming Weekend against Northern Illinois. However, Chazz Anderson led the Bulls on a furious comeback capped off by a potential game-tying touchdown – but Peter Fardon pushed the extra point. As the ball sailed right of the upright, so did the Bulls’ chances at victory.

Lee Nickell (men’s tennis) – Nickell’s coaching job led to an impressive mid-season turnaround for his squad. In March, they were sitting at 1-7 in the midst of a five game losing skid. Toying with his lineup led to a 10-3 record the rest of the way and a MAC East crown. His squad fell in the MAC Championship, but in March its chances of getting there looked bleak at best.

STAIIIIIIINNNNNBROOK – Who can forget the Broncos’ 7-footer Matt Stainbrook standing at the free throw line, down by one, with the decibel level in Alumni Arena reaching levels that are seldom heard. Stainbrook missed both attempts and the building erupted, sealing the win and a MAC West sweep for the Bulls.

Upset Alert – The men’s soccer team had quite the season in 2011 against stiff competition. But we’re not talking about the near-upset against nationally ranked No. 2 Akron. This one the Bulls would be able to close out, defeating then No. 18 Northern Illinois on the road during a cold night in Dekalb, Ill. It was a defensive battle, but the Bulls found the back of the net twice, which was good enough for a 2-1 win.

So Close – The MAC semifinal had so much potential for the Bulls, but D.J. Cooper’s unconscious first half, and a questionable (I guess that’s the word) technical foul on Watt left the Bulls in a hole. Watt and the rest of the Bulls wouldn’t go down without a fight, however, and Buffalo came storming back to within three.

But on the final two possessions three separate 3-pointers rattled in and out, ending the Bulls remarkable season.

And the winner is…Senior Night.

Reasoning: How can your star player getting carried off the floor in a moment straight out of a movie scene not take the award? The emotion inside of Alumni Arena that night will be tough to top. It was a great way to send the four winningest seniors in school history – Watt, Titus Robinson, Zach Filzen, and Dave Barnett – out

Coach of the Year

Mike Thomas (women’s soccer) – 1-16-2: The record of the 2010 Bulls. 12-5-4: The record of the 2011 Bulls. It’s not exactly a no-brainer why Thomas is on the list. He took his team all the way to the MAC semifinals in a season where two wins would have been an improvement.

More impressively, he did it with a team that was largely led by underclassmen.

Reggie Witherspoon (men’s basketball) – Despite the obvious success his team had in 201112, the Bulls were picked in the preseason media poll to finish fifth in the MAC East and ninth overall out of 12 teams. Needless to say, they proved some people wrong this year and they did so while providing the biggest buzz on campus since the ’08 football team.

And the winner is… Mike Thomas and Reggie Witherspoon (Tie) Reasoning: Trust us, the committee nearly came to blows debating this pick. We can’t overlook the fact that Thomas led a team that was considered to be the worst team at Buffalo a season ago, to the best turnaround in the NCAA this year. We also cant overlook Witherspoon’s impact on a club that made a substantial impact on a campus that is known for not caring about anything much less its sports teams. Basketball games were packed during the stretch run, and making sporting events popular at Buffalo might be tougher than beating Akron twice. After rounds of voting, it was still a draw.

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Courtesy of Brandon Freeland Mary Eggers challenged Lance Armstrong to a swimming race at Alumni Arena to raise money for the fight against cancer. The event raised over $51,000.

Local Woman Wins ‘Duel’ NATHANIEL SMITH Sports Editor

It’s not every day a seven-time Tour de France winner, and tri-athlete gets defeated in the pool, but it happened Saturday afternoon. Lance Armstrong was barely beat out by Mary Eggers in the ‘Duel in the Pool: Armstrong vs. Eggers’ in a race for charity.

The race was a 50-meter kickboard race in the Natatorium at Alumni Arena. Armstrong started strong, but Eggers finished even stronger, winning by an arm’s length. Eggers was gracious in victory.

“It felt good,” Eggers said. “He was gracious and kind, not too much trash talking behind the scenes.”

Ever the competitor, Armstrong was seemingly embarrassed by the loss.

“With a loss like this, I don’t know if I can show my face at the Speakers Series later on,” Armstrong joked.

continued on page 18

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continued from page 24: a long road traveled Johnson’s father, Curtis Johnson, has specific reasons for pushing the switch: that softball was a much better opportunity for her to get a good education.

she would argue it, or if she got the second highest grade in the class, she would be upset. Her competitive ability eased the transition into her softball life.

“You go to school to get an education as your number one priority,” Curtis Johnson said. “When you look at the handful of schools that she could have gone to for bowling, you have to weigh the educational options and they just weren’t there like they were for softball.”

“Even to this day I am competitive with everything I do,” Johnson said. “I make everything a game or a challenge ranging from eating competitions with my friends to rock-paper-scissors. Either way, I want to win.”

Holly Johnson, an only child, is a local product who attended high school in Amherst. In her freshman and sophomore year at Amherst High School, she lived with her mom. She would then transfer to Culber Boarding School in Indiana her junior year where she lived with her aunt and uncle and their two boys and really had to adjust to now having to share and cooperate with others.

“Being an only child my entire life, it was a tough adjustment to go from having no siblings to now all of a sudden having two younger brothers living in the same house that I live in,” Johnson said. “They really brought out a competitive side to me, a quality that really describes my personality the best.”

Johnson became the starting pitcher at Culber and would eventually graduate.

She had also picked up the nickname “HoJo”, a name that has stuck with her ever since.

“My main reason for transferring from Amherst to Culber was because Culber had a better opportunity for me academically and for sports,” Johnson said. “Leaving my high school in the area where I basically grew up was tough as I had to leave all of my friends, teammates and coaches and go live in another town.”

It was a theme that would continue through her entire life as she attempted to advance her education and athletic career.

Johnson would fit in quickly with her new family and friends and her competitive nature started to blossom. She not only was competitive on the field, but in the classroom as well.

Johnson strived to be the best and if she did not receive a 100 on an exam,

Competitiveness in the classroom and an excellent study routine allowed Johnson to graduate from high school top of her class and prepare her for her next big step: college.

She planned on playing college softball but always had her priorities straight as she always put schoolwork ahead of sports.

“I wanted to go away to a college after living my entire life in Buffalo,” Johnson said. I wanted to go to a school that had a good softball team but more importantly a good science program, especially while majoring in math and science.”

Johnson chose Piscataway, New Jersey to go to Rutgers University, a top 25 public school. She immediately became the starting pitcher for the softball team. Once again, Johnson would need to try and ease her way into a new lifestyle like she had done in the past.

Just when things started going well for Johnson, things took a turn for the worst.

In her freshmen year, Johnson received a 30 percent scholarship. Her sophomore year, Johnson’s coach at Rutgers increased that scholarship to 90 percent and promised Johnson that she was going to be the team’s ace for the future.

Little did she know that her coach planned on reducing her scholarship significantly to recruit more pitchers despite giving Holly the idea that she would remain Rutgers’ number one pitcher.

“I was extremely disappointed and it was hard to handle when I heard the news that my scholarship was decreased,” Johnson said. “I knew that

“The coach reduced her scholarship to the point where it was difficult for [us] to afford payment for the school,” Curtis Johnson said. “We were in some financial trouble at the time and so I felt it was wrong of him to increase her scholarship and then bump it back down.”

“HoJo is so different outside UB softball,” Gleiser said. “At first glance, she seems quiet and shy but she’s totally outgoing and a goofball at times.”

Gleiser agrees that it was a rough period for Johnson the first year she transferred to Buffalo.

“I always considered UB a school that I would attend,” said Johnson. “I was excited to come back home but was also nervous for the difficult transition it would take.”

“Since HoJo is shy, I felt as though the players on this team were not very accepting as they did not take the time to get to know her and try to help her during a rough spot,” Gleiser said. “Since I know her, I know how to deal with her and know how to handle her when she shuts down. But this year, things are very different with HoJo as she has come out of her shell and has really opened up to everyone.”

Curtis Johnson felt that she had made the right decision to come back home and continue her softball play and academic career but at the same time wanted her to get out of Buffalo and experience other places.

“In a selfish way, yes, I was really happy to hear that she was coming home,” Curtis Johnson said. “But at the same time, I felt Buffalo was a dying area and I had previously stressed to Holly to go away to college and not look back.”

Now fully adjusted to a new environment, Johnson is thriving not only on the mound, but in the classroom as well. She plans on going to medical school at Buffalo and still finds time to separate sports from academics.

“HoJo” was eager to get out on the mound and play for her new team but still had to adjust to her new teammates and her new coaching staff.

Head coach Jennifer Teague has watched Johnson flourish into not only an all-round player but an all-around person.

“For the most part, everyone accepted me but I still kind of felt like an outcast,” Johnson said. “I felt as though there was some jealousy amongst the other pitchers when it was announced that I would become the starting pitcher. At times I wasn’t sure how to act around my new teammates and it

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“I expected more from her this year than last year and she is really stepping up to the plate,” Teague said.

“She’s the type of person that needs to know why she’s doing something before she really buys into it and this

year, she has done anything and everything we ask of her.”

Johnson’s father attends almost every game she plays in, remaining her biggest supporter. Her teammates have grown to love her and depend on her not only out on the field, but in the classroom as well.

“HoJo always finds time to tutor myself and other girls on the team whether it be on the bus back from an away game or in our rooms at night,” said freshmen catcher Alexis Curtiss.

“HoJo is so smart and will always go to extreme lengths to help me with my math and chemistry homework. One time I had a homework due before class but I was late to class but HoJo wouldn’t let me go until I finished the homework.”

Although she does miss bowling, Johnson admits that her bowling career helped pave the way for her softball career.

“I basically learned how to pitch when I learned how to bowl,” Johnson said.

“The way I bowl is actually the same way I throw my curve ball in softball. I am glad that I chose softball, but every now and then, when I watch professional bowling on TV, I think to myself that I can do so much better than them and that’s the frustrating part.”

Johnson still remains optimistic and believes that she will one day become a professional bowler.

“You can only play softball until your body can’t handle it anymore,” Johnson said. “When that time comes for me, I’m definitely going to turn back to bowling.”

Her road to success and acceptance has not been an easy one. She has endured multiple obstacles throughout her life.

Her knack for change followed by immediate adjustment reflects the winning mentality that Johnson carries with her whether it’s on the mound, in the classroom, or between the lanes.

Her end result sums up her early lifestyle and the events that helped shape it. Life is not a perfect game – Johnson he knows that all too well.

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

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Gleiser is two years younger than Johnson, but felt she knew Johnson better than anyone else on the team.

Like many times before, Johnson had to move once again, but this time to a more familiar setting. Johnson transferred back home to attend UB where should would need to work on fitting in once again not only on the softball team, but in a much bigger university.

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“I have been playing travel ball with HoJo since I was about 11 or 12 years old,” Gleiser said. “She actually helped coach one of the team’s that I played for and through playing together and her coaching me, I got to know her really well. Also the fact that I transferred to UB from St. Bonaventure at the same time that she did definitely helped her cause as she now had someone to relate to.”

Johnson made the radical decision to tell her coach that she was not going to come back next season and that she was going to transfer.

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She would seek guidance from sophomore outfielder and long time friend Kelli Gleiser. Gleiser grew up in the same Buffalo area as Johnson and could relate to her on a personal level.

Curtis Johnson was just as upset at the situation as Holly was.

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I would have to transfer somewhere else and I was just overall upset that my coach went back on his word.”

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Daily Delights

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

HOROSCOPES

Crossword of the Day

ACROSS

1 Complete, as a crossword 6 Tinseltown award 11 Decay 14 "In an ___ world …"

15 Knee-high, bearded figure

Edited by Timothy E. Parker April 30, 2012

R-RIGHT YOU R By Edna Staples

Sudoku

16 Middle of the "Able... Elba"

palindrome

17 It came bob-bob-bobbin' along 19 It helps Tiger Woods drive off

20 Guards in a slammer

21 "The Ten Commandments" role

23 Mischievous spirits

26 Raise in relief

27 Baby's foot

28 Comparatively neat 30 A friend in need 31 Screen legend Sophia 32 Dining table scrap 35 0, in soccer terms

36 What excessive violence may

lead to 38 Country legend David Allan

39 A couple in Mexico?

40 Abates

41 Polar gull relative

42 Form of intolerance

44 Not punctual for 46 Geometric figure with equal angles

48 Steel worker of sorts

49 Louisiana backwater

50 More tightly stretched

52 "And all that jazz"

53 Stir the public

58 "Absolutely, Admiral!"

59 Fine-grained sedimentary rock

60 Four-footed fathers

61 Post-nuptial title

62 Dog-___ (well-worn, as pages)

3 Played the first card 4 A-team 5 Appoints democratically 6 Bedtime story baddies 7 Chilly powder?

8 Corn leftovers 9 "Who ___ to judge?"

10 Attaching a new handle to 11 Auxiliary engine in space 12 Best-selling cookies 13 Winter temps, perhaps 18 Squirrel's nest 22 "Fish" star Vigoda 23 Concessionaire's place 24 Salk foe 25 Some very high-end automobiles 26 Where the snake lost its legs 28 Carved pole emblem 29 Writer Murdoch 31 Scottish girl 33 A deliveryman may have one 34 "Coffee, ___ Me" (1973) 36 Contingency plan 37 Wet forecast 41 Banned body builder 43 "Star Wars" prologue word 44 Adspeak for "less caloric" 45 ___ to (not in favor of) 46 Construction girder 47 Goat-legged deity 48 Having parallel lines, as paper 50 Alternative to a chairlift 51 "... ___ to leap tall buildings" 54 "Caught ya!"

55 The mysterious Mr. Geller 56 Triple ___ (liqueur variety) 57 "To the max" suffix

MONDay, APRIL 30 FROM UNIVERSAL UCLICK

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Focus on what is going on between you and a friend -- not on the surface, but underneath where things that really matter are happening.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) You may have to ask around before someone you trust is willing to do you a certain favor.

Once this is done, you'll be off and running.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) There is more going on today than you may understand, but if you follow the instructions given to you, you will surely come out on top.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) You have what it takes to inspire others to change for the better.

Today, you begin to enjoy the fruits of past labors.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) It's not the time for you to make demands; rather, any requests you make will have to be properly timed and worded. Use extra care.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) The future is in your hands today, if only for a few precious moments. You must not underestimate the power of a well-timed decision.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) You may have to negotiate carefully with a rival in order to put yourself in a position that is not insurmountable.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) You will want to keep others in the loop today as you experiment with different ways of doing things that require a new creativity.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) You may have to wait until someone close to you works through a technological difficulty before you are able to progress as planned.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) A little relaxation is all you need today before you can power up once again and focus on finishing the things you need to get done.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) You can expect something very easy to take a long time today -not because you are ill prepared, but because of external circumstances.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) You may be tempted to explain yourself in situations that require no explanation. Your best choice is to keep your words to a minimum.

63 A famous one was issued at Nantes

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Monday, April 30, 2012

A Long Road Traveled BRAD PARKER Staff Reporter

TYLER CADY Senior Sports Editor It should surprise no one that UB isn’t considered a national powerhouse when it comes to sports.

That may sound disappointing, but it’s the truth, and it doesn’t always have to be that way.

In fact, I think UB is already on the way to becoming a solid athletics program, and the proof is just what I’ve seen and experienced over my four years here.

Admittedly, I knew little about Buffalo’s athletic programs coming into school, which says a lot from someone who follows sports religiously. I stepped on campus in April of 2007 for a tour, and was wowed when the tour guide pointed out that it was a school with Division-1 athletics.

I thought it was pretty cool, but still I could not name one single player from Buffalo sports history at the time.

The teams were here, but the legacy wasn’t.

I think that has changed in the last four years.

Maybe it’s because I go here and am closer to it, but even at games and around campus there seems to be talk of our own athletes rather than those that go to Syracuse or other major programs.

In the last four years, UB has won a conference championship in football by beating a team ranked in the top 15. It also went to its first bowl game and now has a bunch of players in the NFL, one of which was the starting running back in a Super Bowl.

Senior pitcher Holly Johnson had a perfect game going into the ninth; she had never recorded a perfect game before and was extremely eager. Anticipation mounted as she took the ball, ready to make the biggest throw in her young life.

The throw sailed wide right. Goodbye perfect game.

She ended up bowling a 279 for the afternoon, just 21 points shy of a perfect game. That was at age 16.

Johnson, now a pitcher on the softball team at Buffalo, didn’t have dreams of continuing the sport that she now excels at in college. She wanted to be a professional bowler – and even has skills that can back it up – but her dad pushed her to pursue softball. He didn’t hate that his daughter wanted to be a bowler, but thought that softball would be her ticket to college. This has been a consistent theme, as she has learned to adjust to many events throughout her life.

He was right about softball being her future, but Johnson still harbors dreams of the bowling ally instead of the pitching circle.

Up until the age of 16, bowling was at the center of her future plans. Espe-

Satsuki Aoi /// The Spectrum

Senior pitcher Holly Johnson has taken a path much longer than the dugout to the pitching circle to find herself as the starter for Buffalo.

cially after setting all the records for her high school’s bowling team.

Johnson blames her father for the drastic shift from wanting to bowl

BEN TARHAN Staff Reporter The men’s tennis team appeared to be doomed for an early exit in the Mid-American Conference tournament when it dropped the doubles point to Ball State (1810, 4-3 MAC) 2-1 on Friday.

The Bulls had not won a match this season after losing the doubles point.

But the drama of Friday afternoon’s match proved to be too much for the Bulls, who were swept 4-0 by Western Michigan (17-10, 6-2 MAC) in the finals, falling just short of the ultimate prize.

It was a wild season for the Bulls – a season where they started 1-7, losing their numbertwo player in the process. Even head coach Lee Nickell had a hard time believing that his team could compete in the MAC.

To cap it off, Mitchell Watt won Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, and is projected to be drafted in the mid-second round of the NBA draft by some analysts.

But Buffalo (11-10, 5-2 MAC) would not be denied; winning

The Bulls surprised him, and just about everyone else, by winning continued on page 21

Courtesy of Toledo Athletics The men’s tennis team fell just shy of its quest for a Mid-American Conference Championship on Saturday.

The Specty Awards As the 2011-12 year of Buffalo sports comes to a close, it’s time for The Spectrum to hand out the annual awards recognizing the past year in sports.

Sure, it’s not LSU football or Syracuse basketball crowds, but it’s a start.

Programs aren’t built overnight, and Buffalo will take time to get there, but I think it’s coming.

Almost a decade ago, the school was conducting studies as to whether or not keeping a sports program would be viable. The state of the 2012 Buffalo Bulls is miles from where it was then, in every sport.

In 2012, people on tours might not know much about UB sports either when they start. But passing the banners in Alumni that weren’t there in ’07 and seeing James Starks on Monday Night Football is certainly a start.

Email: tyler.cady @ubspectrum.com

A collegiate athletic department can only go so far without the help of financial donors from the community.

Candidates: Damien David – The true-freshman played first singles for the men’s tennis team. A team that won its second division title in program history, David compiled an impressive 25-7 record this year, including an undefeated 5-0 record in the MAC. Branden Oliver – The sophomore running back ran for more yards than anyone in Bulls’ history in 2011. He ran for 1,395 yards and 13 touchdowns. His 365 receiving yards also puts him as the Bulls’ third-leading receiver.

Mitchell Watt – The senior forward on the men’s basketball team had quite the impressive season. He finished as the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year and led his team to the highest seed in the conference tournament ever. Watt averaged a team-high 16.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks. Even with all his offensive production, he was also second on the team in assists as well.

And the winner is…Mitchell Watt Reasoning: While David and Oliver both had impressive seasons for the Bulls, this was a pretty easy call. Watt had one of the best seasons in Buffalo sports history this year, and is storming up NBA draft boards.

Best Female Athlete Candidates: Brittany Hedderson – The first-team AllMAC selection didn’t get much help in 2011.

She was the only scorer in double figures for the Bulls with 20.4 points per game and there

The Donor that Keeps on Giving BRYAN FEILER Sports Editor

Best Male Athlete I can’t tell you how many times I bemoaned about lack of fan support over the last four years, and this year’s crop of fans was the best of that four years. The showing in the stretch run of the basketball season was incredible, especially in Cleveland at the MAC Tournament.

continued on page 22

the last three singles matches, two of which went to three sets, and advancing to the MAC tournament finals for the second time in three years.

They didn’t appear to be ready to buck that trend as things became even more desperate when they dropped two singles points, falling behind 3-0, only one point away from elimination.

Even better, the fans are starting to notice.

“My dad said to me pretty straightforward that I am going to play softball and that there are more opportunities

on the collegiate level with softball than bowling,” Johnson said. “I agreed with him, but was definitely upset that I would need to give it up.”

Bulls Storm Toward MAC Title but Fall Just Short

The basketball team won more games in the last four years than any four-year span in school history, and this year’s squad had Alumni Arena rocking like I’ve never seen it before.

I’m not native to Buffalo, but I can’t remember any Buffalo athletes making this kind of impact at the national level prior to these guys.

competitively to playing softball.

were moments during the season in which she single-handedly willed her team to wins they otherwise wouldn’t have won.

Brittney Kuras – The only Buffalo athlete to compete for a National Championship was Kuras. She placed 32nd out of 59 competitors in the NCAA meet after winning the MAC title.

Her time of 1:59:67 in the 200-meter individual medley was good enough for a school record.

Ainsley Wheldon – The goalkeeper on the soccer team had a stellar 2011 campaign. She led the Bulls to the MAC championship in soccer, one of the most improved teams this year. After a disappointing 1-16-2 record in 2010, the Bulls came back in a big way finishing 12-5-4.

Wheldon played a major role in that with a .79 goals allowed per game and 10 shutouts.

And the winner is…Brittany Hedderson Reasoning: This one was much tougher to call.

Kuras received consideration because she was competing on the national level, and Wheldon brought her team much more success than the women’s basketball team experienced this year.

But the previous two are underclassmen, and ties go to seniors. Hedderson also was nearly all her team had.

continued on page 21

Tunney Murchie has donated over $1.2 million to the athletic department on behalf of the Murchie family since 2009.

Tunney is a former scholarship ice hockey player who received his bachelors from UB in 1975 and his MBA the following year.

“One of the reasons I’m having the good success that I am is because I was educated at UB and I was recruited by Coach Ed Wright to play hockey for the university,” Tunney said. “I don’t forget people who have helped me or things that have helped me and I’ve had some good fortunes because of that.”

Interim director John Lambert is in charge of determining where the money will be spent.

Lambert decided to use the $220,000 donation Murchie gave in 2009 to renovate the triple gym. Once Tunney learned where the money would be spent, he ensured it

would be named the Edward L. Wright Practice Facility after the coach that recruited him.

“I wanted that because he was one of best coaches,” Tunney said. “When it came down to where they wanted to allocate the donation, rather than connect it to [Murchie] we decided to bring attention to Coach Ed Wright. He’s worked for 40 years at this school.”

Tunney has remained active in the athletic department in addition to giving financial support. He’s had a suite at football games since 1999 and has courtside seats to both men’s and women’s basketball.

Not only did Tunney graduate from UB, but his wife and son also have degrees from UB. Because of the time spent at UB, and in the community he understands how important financial support as well as attending games is to the success of an athletic department.

“Tunney was a former studentathlete and understands that private, philanthropic support is needed in order for athletic departments to build championship-caliber programs,” Lambert said in an email. “The continued on page 20