the Independent Student Publication of the University at Buffalo, Since 1950
The S pectrum ubspectrum.com
Volume 62 No. 19
Monday, October 15, 2012
B u l l s r o u gh e d u p a t N o r th e r n I l l i n oStory i s on page 8
Cuts on Campus Story on page 5
Student homeless due to bed bug infestation Housing blitz continues to uncover University Heights’ dirty secrets ERIN ELLIS Staff Writer Jordan Little has been homeless since late August. His Merrimac home is infested with bed bugs. Little and his two roommates have paid $3,000 collectively in rent since August for a house they could never live in. The landlord made them pay for the extermination, which wasn’t done correctly. Little, a senior psychology major, said he signed his lease during the last week of July for 97 Merrimac St. He and his roommates paid rent through September. Director of Off-Campus Student Services Dan Ryan and Buffalo city inspectors met Little, along with other students in troubled Heights homes, during Saturday’s housing blitz on Merrimac Street. Little told them he now sleeps on his friend’s couch. He is working to break his lease because he has already emptied his pockets for his uninhabitable home. “[The landlord] said he needed the money in order to pay for the extermination,” Little said. “I expected [the exterminator] to spray everything, but he only sprayed the bedrooms. After that, my roommate still got bit.” The extermination was done improperly and likely not by a professional, according to Charles Didio, a Buffalo city building inspector. As of now, it is unknown where Little’s former roommates are living. Little, an aspiring singer known by his stage name, Jayo LeGrand, doesn’t have family he can stay with locally. He and his parents are trying to figure out the next best step – but Little is concerned by the high prices of North Campus apartments. “I didn’t expect things to be like this for the first semester but it is what it is,” Little said. “I’m not fed up with the Heights. I’m just more cautious now.” Little, who is active on campus, has the new hassle of dealing with an unpredictable schedule. He doesn’t have a key to where he is currently staying, so he has to live on his friends’ time. He said he moved into his house the first week of August and went back to his home in New York City until the new semester began. When he returned, he learned his apartment was infested. After back and forth phone calls, emails and texts with his landlord, who he only knows as “Victor,” the house was exterminated on Sept. 8. But the job was done poorly.
Alexa Strudler///The Spectrum
Charles Didio, a city inspector, finds remnants of a raw sewage backup in the basement of 49 Merrimac St.
Every room in his home is stripped bare. There is a thick dusting of an unknown pesticide on the bedroom floors. Hundreds of dollars worth of bedding and furniture are scattered around the side porch and backyard of the residence because of the infestation. Little is frustrated by all the waste. Didio explained the average size of an adult bed bug is the size of a bean and the bugs can spread rapidly throughout a dwelling. “We don't usually see them in Buffalo,” Didio said “They more than likely came from somewhere else and were brought here, but there is really no way to tell how they got there.” According to Didio, the duplex – which used to be the home of six people – will not be habitable until the entire house is treated, not just the bedrooms on the top floor. “I’ve just got to figure out where I’m moving now,” Little said. “I mean, I can’t stay on a couch forever.” Continued on page 6
Alexa Strudler///The Spectrum
Senior pyschology major Jordan Little can’t live in his Merrimac home because it is infested with bed bugs.
SUNY releases Shale Institute’s report SARA DINATALE Senior News Editor On Friday, SUNY released the report UB sent to the SUNY Board of Trustees regarding the founding and operation of the controversial Shale Resources and Society Institute (SRSI). On Sept. 12, the SUNY Board of Trustees passed a resolution to investigate the heavily contested institute. UB was required to send the trustees a full report. That report is now public. The report was delivered to the Trustees on Sept. 27. “The Board reserves comment at this time as it continues to review and analyze the Shale Institute report. The Board may discuss further responses or related actions at a future public meeting,” according to the official state-
ment released by SUNY through its Director of Communications David Doyle. The report notes the College of Arts and Sciences has been the only source of funding to the institute, again reiterating the institute has received no industry funding. The $177,442 in annual funding for the institute through the College of Arts and Sciences comes from the UB Foundation, which handles all donations made to the university. Where the money came from before going through the foundation is not specified within the report. “President Tripathi continues to ignore seriously and repeatedly raised questions about the corruption of UB by corporate money,” said James Holstun, English professor and founding member of the UB Coalition for Leading Ethically in Academic Research (UBCLEAR), in an email.
He questions if the university is “using the UB Foundation to launder oil and gas company contributions to the Institute.” University officials continue to emphasize no industry funding has gone into the institute, but they expect the institute to generate support for research through grants, philanthropy and industry. In the Oct. 2 Faculty Senate meeting, Senate Chair Ezra Zubrow said he was organizing a public debate with members of UBCLEAR and members of SRSI. While UBCLEAR was considering the invitation, members now feel “a debate would be beside the point” because the trustees’ ongoing review, Holstun said. Much of the UB report echoes comments made by Provost Charles Zukoski in the last Faculty Senate and UB Council meetings earlier this month. Especially SRSI’s first report – the start to all the controversy – followed all
the university’s ethics and conflict policies. Holstun doesn’t think SRSI’s report is accurate. He agrees with the counter report, by a public watchdog group, issued in May against SRSI by Public Action Initiative – a public watchdog group – which states SRSI’s calculations are inaccurate. He believes the data shows major environmental events per drill didn’t decline like the SRSI report states, but its data shows they increased. SRSI stands by the calculations, and the UB report states the “relevant scientific community” has raised no concerns. UB’s report notes there were two inaccuracies in the SRSI report, but it states the two editorial errors were corrected and don’t affect the overall accuracy of the report. Continued on page 6
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