the Independent Student Publication of the University at Buffalo, Since 1950
The S pectrum ubspectrum.com
Volume 62 No. 6
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Bianco’s benevolence
Art breathes new life with City of Night
Story on page 5
Story on page 6
Remembering and contextualizing
the events of 9/11
class studies 9/11 and its evolving impact BEN TARHAN Asst. Sports Editor On Tuesday night, students gathered in the small clearing between Bell Hall and the Student Union; they assembled around small flags staked in the ground that read “USA” and “9/11.” Thirteen students stood in remembrance, sharing their memories and experiences from Sept. 11, 2001. The candlelight vigil was hosted by the UB Conservatives to honor the tragedy’s victims. But the way Americans choose to remember this tragedy is changing beyond memorial services, and professor Tyler Williams and his AMS 375: 9/11: Event & Memory class epitomizes the ongoing shift. The class serves as a semester-long remembrance of one of the most difficult days in American history. It gives space for students to learn about Sept. 11 from the perspective of many different people. “The point of this class is to study these narratives that attempt to give meaning to Sept. 11,” Williams said.
“But in order to do this, the class must refrain from instituting or endorsing its own system of memory.” Williams said in order to successfully study 9/11, individuals have to keep their minds open to all the ways the events affected people around the globe. He strives to make his students put aside their own experiences and view the tragedy from all possible perspectives. Williams leads his small class in analyzing novels in the context of 9/11. The class doesn’t take place in a lecture hall of 300 students, but an intimate group of 8. The atmosphere allows for deep class discussion; Williams talks with students, rather than at them. “The ways in which the events are remembered are constantly changing,” Williams said. “By reading literature, it makes that change obvious.” Students in the class are exposed to elements of 9/11 they probably wouldn’t have previously considered. Students from Buffalo, the New York City area and even the United Kingdom come together to discuss the tragic event within their Fillmore classroom. Continued on page 7 Alexa Strudler /// The Spectrum
On Tuesday evening, 13 students gathered in the small clearing between the Student Union and Bell Hall in remembrance of the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. They shared memories and said prayers for those lost in the attacks.
Rintamaki talks sex KEREN BARUCH Life Editor Students looked to the front of the class. Some judged her, while others grew embarrassed as they realized why she looked so familiar. A porn star was standing in front of the over crowded lecture hall. Lance Rintamaki, assistant professor in the Department of Community Health and Behavior, found the secret to attracting students to his class. Rintamaki taught his first sexual communication course (COM 492) last fall at UB. It was a huge success. Where it all began Rintamaki was at dinner with his advisor from the University of Illinois, where he got his Ph.D. in speech communication. His advisor, Dale Brashers, whom Rintamaki considers to be one of his biggest role models, made a suggestion that altered Rintamaki’s career. He suggested they write a book about sexual communication together. Rintamaki thought about it for days. It was when he thought about his roommate from Illinois that the decision was made. His roommate, Wesley, was a wrestler and was incredibly buff. He graduated in the top 5 percent and was very smart. He owns two businesses and is financially very well off.
Nick Fischetti /// The Spectrum
Lance Rintamaki teaches sexual communication in honor of his mentor and second father, Dale Brashers. Brashers was supposed to teach a similar course of his own, but he had a heart attack before he had the chance.
“You put this all together and you think this is someone who’s going to do really well in social situations,” Rintamaki said. “But if you put Wesley in front of a woman that he thinks is attractive, he can’t string words together into a sentence.” Wesley would call Rintamaki every other month and say things like, “All right, I just read this new book and this one’s called ‘Pimpology.’ You have to do this and then do this and then be mean to her, and then she’ll like you!”
Inside
Wesley’s desperation to find advice on how to improve his sexual communication skills inspired Rintamaki to say yes to Brashers and to begin writing the book about the science behind all of what Rintamaki calls “nonsense” that most published books explain about relationships. On July 5, 2010, Rintamaki suffered a tragic blow. Brashers had a massive heart attack in his office. He didn’t survive.
Opinion 3 News 4 Life 5
Rintamaki is continuing to write the book on his own and hopes to use the proceeds to fund a scholarship in Brasher’s name. He wants to title it “Sexual Communication,” because he just wants a simple title to get the point of his writing across. “I quite literally think of [Brashers] as my second dad,” Rintamaki said. “We referred to him as my gay dad because he was a flaming gay man. He was very different from my biological father but they both had tthese major influences on me. “Dale was so funny. Whenever he was around everyone was happy. It’s just really sad that type of presence is gone from the world. He’s the reason why I’m moving forward with this book.” In Sept. 2010, Brashers was supposed to teach the first ever sexual communication class at Illinois. After his death, there was no one to teach the class 500 students had already enrolled within in the first two days of registration. Rintamaki quickly helped one of his graduate students from UB, who was attending Illinois at the time, draft up a class structure. She became the new sex communication professor. Although she was overwhelmed and had no experience in teaching the course, her class of 500 students ended up being 1,000 – half the students just stopping by to hear the interesting lectures. Continued on page 7
Arts & Entertainment 6
Classifieds & Daily Delights 9
Sports 10