Vol. 61 NO. 8
ubspectrum.com
Friday, September 16, 2011
Talking Leaves Books Talks Local SARAH AKERS Staff Writer If you’re one of the many students who has bought course books at Talking Leaves on Main Street, you’ve probably taken a crowded shuttle to South Campus, walked a few blocks in the snow, and navigated your way through overflowing piles of books to get to the back of the store, where, (finally) you found your book. Since 1975, many UB professors have ordered their textbooks through Talking Leaves Books, Buffalo’s oldest independent bookstore.
Pokémon Club is Evolving! Pokémon club meets every Thursday evening, stirring up a sense of nostalgia as they try to “catch ‘em all.” LISA KHOURY Staff Writer “Gotta catch’em ALL!” Those who grew up in the ’90s recognize this phrase as the iconic slogan to the hit trading card and video game franchise: Pokémon. For those who participated in the poké-phenomenon that involved spending more money on cards with pictures of different battling monsters on them than they would ever cough up for text-
books today, UB has some news: Pokémon still has some fight left in it. Joshua Cao, a junior accounting major, is the mind behind the evolution of the Pokémon Club. He hoped to get the name out there and catch everyone’s attention. It all started last fall at a Pokémon event. Surrounded by about 20 of his fellow Pokémon enthusiasts, a thought struck him like a Pikachu thunderbolt.
Alexa Strudler /// The Spectrum
“I [thought] if 20 people without even a club formed are playing Pokémon, what if we all made a club where we could all meet at a time and place,” Cao said.
Professors who recognize the bookstore’s unique position in the community and encourage students to shop there do more than provide an alternative to the long lines at the University bookstore – they help students get off campus, explore the city, and experience firsthand the benefits of shopping locally. “Professors have said to me that they want students to see what is called, for better or worse, a ‘real bookstore,’” said Jonathon Welch, owner and co-founder of Talking Leaves. “The focus of many university bookstores is selling school supplies and school paraphernalia. Their idea was that a bookstore should be a bookstore.”
By the spring semester, the club was established with meetings every Thursday in Student Union 145A from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Online giants like Amazon and Chegg are creating a new set of problems for local shops: students looking to purchase inexpensive textbooks often favor the hefty discounts online. For the last 40 years, Talking Leaves has made it their mission to support local businesses and citizens.
“It started off with 10 people,” Cao said. “It slowly grew and grew, and now we get about 30 or 35 people each time.”
Now, in record numbers, the same community is turning to cheaper, faster, and more disconnected ways of getting their books.
Continued on Page 8
Continued on Page 2
Upvoting UB JAMES TWIGG Senior Managing Editor When most people think of reddit, they think of rage comics, funny memes and perplexing pictures. Now, though, UB is getting in on the karma whoring. Reddit, a social news website on which members can post anything they want, is currently hosting the Grow a College Subreddit Competition.
The Bulls head to Indiana focused on avenging their 17-point loss to Ball State last year, and prove that they are a better team.
Courtesy of Sean Baker/ Ball State Photo Services
Bulls March into Indiana Buffalo takes on Ball State in first MAC matchup AARON MANSFIELD Senior Sports Editor
Mid-American Conference football: the rivalries are heated, the competition is elevated, and the teams simply don’t like each other. The Bulls (1-1) seek their second consecutive win this week, as they take on the Ball State Cardinals (1-1) in their first MAC game of the year. The MAC is widely considered one of the most underrated conferences in the nation. Already this year, Ball State beat Indiana, Toledo took Ohio State to the wire, and Northern Illinois came within an inch from ousting Kansas. Fans who have watched the Cardinals this year still aren’t sure what to make of the team. In the squad’s first matchup, Ball State pulled off an impressive 27-20 win over the Hoosiers. A week later, though, the Cardinals got hammered by South Florida, 37-7. Members of Ball State said they were humbled by the loss. Nevertheless, South Florida is the No. 20 team in the nation – a tough opponent for anyone. Consequently, the Bulls aren’t sure which team they’re going up against this weekend – the one that shocked Indiana, or the one that got throttled by a dominant South Florida team. Regardless of which Ball State team shows up, the Bulls know they need to play as a team if they plan on winning.
terback Chazz Anderson, sophomore running back Branden Oliver, and sophomore linebacker Khalil Mack, just to name a few. The Bulls will only succeed, however, if they continue to work as a unit. “The most important thing is that we become a stronger team, that we become closer together,” said head coach Jeff Quinn. “When we’re out there, there are 11 players selling out for each other. Every play, every player. “…I told [the squad] the best team is going to win the MAC. Not the team that has the best players, but the best team.” The outcome will likely depend on which team wins the turnover battle. Ball State is negative one in turnovers this year, while the Bulls are positive two.
Thanks to Krista Armbruster, a junior biology and Spanish major, UB has had its very own corner of the reddit universe for nearly a year now. It’s located at reddit.com/r/ubreddit and is now a contender in the contest. Although it only started with about 50 schools, the size of the competition has quadrupled and today features over 200. “It’s a competition put on by reddit as a whole for the fastest growing college subreddit,” Armbruster said. “It’s based on how many subscribers [the subreddit] can get in a set amount of time, how many posts, how many different hits from people and pretty much how cool it is.” The prizes include stickers and posters custom designed for the winning college’s reddit and a potential meet up hosted by a reddit admin. The biggest part of the prize pack, though, is the chance to have the winning school’s colors and mascot on the reddit homepage for a day. “There are millions of hits on reddit
The UB subreddit, aptly titled UBreddit, currently has about 240 subscribers and gets roughly 200 page views a day, according to Armbruster. However, she is currently working on getting that number larger. For the past year she has been hanging posters up around campus advertising for her subreddit. Those who don’t frequent the website, though, may be unaware that they have even seen them on the bulletin boards. “My personal goal isn’t exactly to drag in every single person that has never heard of reddit. I wanted to bring in people who are already redditors who didn’t know about UB’s reddit yet,” Armbruster said. “My poster is very simple, it’s just the reddit alien with ubreddit underneath it to bring in people who already know about it and to raise awareness about my subreddit.” On UBreddit, members are able to discuss anything and everything UB. Or, if it’s more their thing, merely post some funny pictures. Currently, there are topics on favorite UB professors and a discussion of the ever-changing times of meal exchange. This ability to talk anonymously with others about topics unique to UB has helped foster a distinct feeling of com-
Continued on Page 8
“If you turn the ball over, you’re not going to win,” Quinn said. “There are a lot of teams right now that aren’t where they want to be because of the turnover factor. So far, we’ve been pretty solid. We need to do a great job of taking care of the ball on the road.” Mack was last week’s top performer on defense. His accomplishment garnered national attention, as he was named the MAC East Player of the Week and National Defensive Player of the Week by College Football Performance Awards. Naturally, teams are game planning to stop Mack. “Teams are going to try to attack us and run away from Khalil and stop him from making big plays, and that’s when everyone else needs to step up and make the big plays,” said senior defensive tackle Richie Smith.
I N S I D E
Buffalo is loaded with individual stars – senior quar-
every day,” Armbruster said. “Everyone sees that homepage. So if UB is on there, that will raise a lot of awareness that UB exists and that it’s a large and awesome school.”
Continued on Page 8
Opinion * 3 Life *4 Prodigal Sun * 5,6 Classifieds / Daily Delights * 9 Sports * 10
Reddit alien sports some unique UB attire.
Courtesy of mkultra2
psun... I’ts Back