The Spectrum Volume 62 Issue 22 by The Spectrum Student Periodical

the Independent Student Publication of the University at Buffalo, Since 1950

The S pectrum ubspectrum.com

Volume 62 No. 22

MONday, OCTOber 22, 2012

Homecoming bluesStory on page 8

Bras against cancer Story on page 5

Landlord responds to negative publicity Jeremy Dunn discusses student complaints and housing blitzes LISA KHOURY and ERIN ELLIS Senior News Editor and Staff Writer Jeremy Dunn owns 65 houses in the University Heights. One of his tenants, Mark Vega of 66 Northrup Place, described him as an “absentee slum lord.” Students complained to The Spectrum during the past four housing blitzes about Dunn’s slow and sometimes lack of response to their frequent calls and complaints. A girl on Winspear Avenue has been calling Dunn since June to fix her shattered window. Vega asked Dunn two years ago to rid the clutter and garbage from his attic. A student has left Dunn numerous voicemails to fix his leaking sink since June. The two students besides Vega asked to remain anonymous. They were afraid of the backlash they would receive from Dunn if they gave out their names. Dunn was shocked to hear students are afraid of him. He also finds the recent negative publicity of landlords in the Heights to be unfair. Dunn is mainly focused on his longterm plan for the Heights. He wants to see his neighborhood thrive, and he’s already seen progress. Dunn began investing in the Heights eight years ago. He knows landlords who came to Buffalo 11 years ago and have done enormous upgrades to a neighborhood that was an “absolute wreck” when they arrived. While Dunn said the Blitzes are ultimately good for the neighborhood, they are interfering with his ultimate goal. Dunn said that as far as he knows, the City of Buffalo went decades without inspecting properties in the Heights. Now since 2011, city inspectors and UB Off-Campus Student Services inspect the properties twice a year. “That sort of catches the landlord in a precarious position,” Dunn said. “A wellmeaning landlord like myself, who might be on a long-term schedule like putting 10 or 20 years into really fixing that neighborhood up, suddenly looks like a bit of a ‘shmuck.’” Dunn’s tactic for addressing housing issues from residents in 65 houses is simple: prioritize. “Personally, I think he only comes around when it's time to count his money,” said Vega, a senior international business major. “He’s overstretched himself, so he really can't take care of every house.” Dunn said he delegates housing jobs to his staff: two full-time partners and repairmen, one part-time repairman and a part-time cleaning and painting person. He also has working arrangements with a master plumber and roofing company. He is the “first line of defense.” Tenants call him, and then he dispatches the appropriate person if it’s not something he can help with – like leasing plans and rent. Though it may not seem like it to the city inspectors – who often give Dunn notices to Continued on page 2

Alexa Strudler /// The Spectrum

Bob Neuman, a senior mechanical engineering major (red), was one of many students who made an adamant case against the legislation that Director of Student Life Tom Tiberi (front) is proposing.

Students revolt against proposed Student Life legislation ‘Sledgehammer to SA’ could shift power from students to professional administrators AARON MANSFIELD Editor in Chief Student Association President Travis Nemmer is “professionally and personally” offended. The way he sees it, the Office of Student Life is saying every SA club needs a UB staff member to “play mommy or daddy.” Director of Student Life Tom Tiberi says Nemmer is wrong; Student Life is just trying to help SA.

But Nemmer is not alone in his concern. Much of UB’s student body packed the Student Union Theater on Sunday night to rebel against a new policy introduced by Student Life that would change the way clubs operate and exist. A thick spirit of angst filled the room as students attacked Tiberi, who was unsure how to answer most questions and responded almost exclusively with “I’ll write that down” or “we’ll consider it.” The policy, which spread on social media over the weekend via a MediaFire document, said it would be effective next semester. But upon hearing the students’ passionate concerns,

Tiberi retracted that timetable and said, “This is not a rule in effect.” As of Sunday night, it is a proposal that will be discussed and modified between Student Life and the SA executive board over the course of this school year. The reason for the chaos? The policy states every club must have a university adviser, cannot be dual-recognized and must be annually re-recognized by Student Life, among other things. Essentially, it shifts a lot of SA power to Student Life. Continued on page 6

An evening with Cam and Mitchell Modern Family stars gratify CFA audience

RACHEL KRAMER Senior Life Editor In a venue that holds approximately 1,744, a near-capacity crowd focused on two people this weekend. That duo managed to take the venue and turn the atmosphere into that of the typical American living room. On Saturday night, Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Mitchell of ABC’s Modern Family) and Eric Stonestreet (Cameron) came to the Center For the Arts for a night of discussion, laughs and quality time with their fans at UB. The first half of the evening consisted of the actors interviewing each other, while the second half was an open forum for fans to ask the Modern Family couple anything they wished. Ferguson and Stonestreet play a gay couple and fathers to a toddler on ABC’s hit series. Since the show’s premiere, the two have been considered a representation of gay culture in American society – a topic they immediately confronted on Saturday. Ferguson, who is an active member in the LGBTQ community, commends Hollywood for its encouragement and use of gay characters in shows and films, and he hopes his time on Modern Family has helped pioneer the change. “We have to remember the social relevance,” Ferguson said. “I think for some people, we make them think that since Cam and Mitch are a gay couple, maybe it’s an ‘in’ for other people to think: ‘Oh, if [they] are gay, then maybe it’s OK if I am, too.’” Unlike his character on the show, Stonestreet is not gay. According to Stonestreet, his epiphany came while filming the pilot. Stones-

Inside

Alexa Strudler /// The Spectrum

On Saturday night, UB was treated to a visit from Modern Family’s Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Mitchell) and Eric Stonestreet (Cameron).

treet’s character continuously used the phrase, “Oh my God, do you love it?” He realized how similar the character was to his mother – a passionate, maternal figure. From there, Stonestreet took cues from the woman who raised him. In recognition of his performance, Stonestreet received an Emmy this year for Best Supporting Actor. The audience responded well to the dynamic duo and appreciated how their onstage chemistry mimicked their chemistry on the

show. Their witty banter throughout the night coupled with finishing one another’s sentences, which kept the audience clapping and laughing along with the actors. One highlight of the show included Stonestreet and Ferguson answering a question about their craziest college stories. This moment received the loudest roar of laughter of the night. Ferguson and Stonestreet both admitted to getting arrested. Continued on page 5

Opinion 3 Life, Arts & Entertainment 5,6 Classifieds & Daily Delights 7

Sports 8

ubspectrum.com

Monday, October 22, 2012

Continued from page 1: Landlord responds to negative publicity

Election Cheat Sheet: Education In the weeks leading up to the election, The Spectrum will be providing facts about the Democratic and Republican candidates’ platforms so students can make an informed decision in the voting booth on Nov. 6. Today, we will present both President Barack Obama’s and former Governor Mitt Romney’s stances on education. President Barack Obama Obama’s plans for higher education include doubling college students’ financial aid. He also wants to give incentives to schools that successfully slow tuition growth. He set a goal to cut tuition growth in half over the next decade to make higher education accessible to all Americans. In 2012, Obama launched the Race to the Top program to recruit 100,000 science and math teachers over the next decade. He hopes it raises the standards for college and career readiness. Obama’s “Pay As You Earn” program caps the monthly federal student loan payments. A student can choose to attend a college based on their career goals, not on the price of tuition. As long as students make their payments on time, they won’t owe more than they can reasonably afford every month. In 2009, Obama established the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which allowed 9.4 million students and families to afford a higher education. The plan doubled the funding for Pell Grants. It also raised the maximum amount of each Pell Grant to $5,700. Head Start is a 46-year-old federal program that promotes the school readiness of children from birth to age five from low-income families by enhancing cognitive, social and emotional development. It emphasizes the role of parents as their child’s first and most important teacher. Head Start promotes children’s growth in language and literacy, cognition and general knowledge, physical health and social and emotional development. In 2011, Obama said investments in early education are critical to the future competitiveness of the United States. He also said the government would, for the first time, require Head Start programs to meet certain standards to qualify for renewal of federal grants.

Obama also invested $2 billion in community colleges and proposed new partnerships between community colleges and employers. This plan includes training 2 million workers for already existing jobs. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney Romney’s education plan revolves mainly around the education system between kindergarten and 12th grade, but he also has plans for higher education. He plans to give students who are “trapped” in “bad schools” the opportunity to get into better schools by giving parents information of schools’ performances. This will allow students to transfer to new schools. The government will fund colleges to support new students. Romney also wants to make data about schools more available to parents to hold the school district and state accountable for the results of students. Ideally, these new measures, coupled with the ability for parents to make more choices, would give parents more control over education. Romney also believes that a school is only as strong as its teachers. He plans to make it easier for talented educators to join the teaching profession by attracting and then rewarding them with block grants and discouraging unnecessary certification requirements. In terms of higher education, Romney wants to make traditional community college and four-year universities more affordable and make the content taught at these schools more applicable. Romney’s policies will allow private companies to compete with federal student loan lenders. He said the flood of federal dollars into colleges is driving up tuition and making immense debt a reality for millions of college students. Allowing the private sector to grant student loans will strengthen and simplify the financial aid system because it will increase competition.

immediately attend to housing violations – he and his staff work to fix half a dozen houses at a time. He expects to get “quoteunquote violations” a lot within the next couple years. “It’s going to take us that much time to make that a neighborhood that is nice and makes people want to see it,” Dunn said. “And, that’s my goal anyway. I’m not fighting this. I’ll be very happy when we get to that point. But in the meantime, we’re going to have a lot of bad publicity because it’s like the media just suddenly sees this and they are like, ‘Oh, why aren’t all of these things fixed up?” When Dunn began buying his properties in the Heights eight years ago, he said the neighborhood was “devastating.” He has done his best to try and tackle the issues. Dunn was taken aback when told students are afraid of him. He said he was “surprised.” He thought he was one of the students’ friends. A resident of Winspear Avenue, Dunn makes himself available to tenants every day. His full-time job is maintaining 65 houses, 35 of which he owns by himself. On Thursday night, he said students came to his house at midnight to talk about water issues. Before he came to Buffalo eight years ago, Dunn worked toward his Ph.D. at Cornell University after getting his master’s in economics. He left five months before finishing his dissertation to build a real estate career in the Heights – a neighborhood he said had housing values that were low, yet it had a high demand for students. The first properties he bought in Buffalo were vacant, foreclosed Winspear Avenue houses. He loves college students. In fact, he wanted to be an economics professor while studying at Cornell. Student housing has an unusually high turnover – Dunn has new tenants every year. The clutter in students’ attics are from years of students not coming back to get their belongings, though City Inspector Charles Didio said the clutter is a fire hazard. The frustrated students who leave Dunn voicemails about their leaking sinks don’t know he is working on bigger projects. As a local house owner, he said he and his team are not capable to take on the amount of projects that corporate real estate agencies can.

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

Spectrum File Photo

Jeremy Dunn, owner of 65 houses in the University Heights, has recently come under fire for negligent upkeep of his residences and lack of communication with his tenants.

But students living in the houses have temporary, but important, needs. They are asking for, at minimum, an acknowledgment for their concerns – though Dunn said he and his staff respond to tenants typically within 24 hours. “[Dunn] never responds to our calls unless it’s about rent,” said a student tenant who asked to remain anonymous. “When we moved in, we didn’t have working keys for three weeks. He won't clean out the attic or the basement and we feel like it’s a fire hazard.” Dunn said it would be foolish for someone with “real money” to invest a lot of money in the Heights because he or she would never “get the payoff.” He said the value of the houses never rises. “So it’s been sort of up to people like me that are smaller-time people who are willing to go in there and do some work and spend more money each year trying to upgrade them, with the goal of eventually five, 10, 15 years down the road, it’ll be a much better neighborhood,” Dunn said. Not every tenant will always be pleased, according to Dunn. Though many don’t see it, he claims to be contributing to the betterment of the Heights. Email: news@ubspectrum.com

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Opinion

Monday, October 22, 2012 ubspectrum.com

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in Chief Aaron Mansfield Senior Managing Editor Brian Josephs Managing Editor Rebecca Bratek Editorial Editor Ashley Steves News EDItors Sara DiNatale, Co-Senior Lisa Khoury, Co-Senior Ben Tarhan Lisa Epstein, Asst. LIFE EDITORS Rachel Kramer, Senior Lyzi White Keren Baruch Jacob Glaser, Asst. ARTS EDITORS Elva Aguilar, Senior Adrien D’Angelo Duane Owens, Asst. Lisa de la Torre, Asst. SPORTS EDITORS Nate Smith, Senior Joe Konze Jon Gagnon, Asst. PHOTO EDITORS Alexa Strudler, Senior Satsuki Aoi Reimon Bhuyan, Asst. Nick Fischetti, Asst. PROFESSIONAL STAFF OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Helene Polley ADVERTISING MANAGER Mark Kurtz CREATIVE DIRECTOR Aline Kobayashi Brian Keschinger, Asst. Haider Alidina, Asst. ADVERTISING DESIGNER Joseph Ramaglia Chris Belfiore Ryan Christopher, Asst. Haley Sunkes, Asst.

October 22, 2012 Volume 62 Number 22 Circulation 7,000 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

Taking the life out of the students

New club policy puts control in the wrong hands A leaked MediaFire file caught the attention of a few UB students over the weekend, especially those who participate in clubs. Anyone that took even a moment’s glance at the document, entitled “University-Wide Recognition Student Club and Organization Policy,” will notice that something is amiss: it’s not property of the Student Association, which currently has full control over the university’s clubs – from recognition to funding. Instead, the document comes from UB’s Student Life, which wants to take the reins. If it goes uncontested or unaltered, the policy will start come spring semester, and the university will decide which clubs get recognition. Student Life hasn’t showed interest in what the clubs are doing until now, so what has changed? UB, you’ve made it evident you’re a little more than just tentative about allowing students have full control or letting the SA make decisions. Sikander Khan and his $300,000 scandal are still fresh in your mind. And you’re just as unwilling to forget the back-andforth between the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) and SA last school year. This is just

easier – making sure you have the control and the power to fix your reputation. Maybe it’s too easy. In fact, it’s the most lazy way of “doing something” imaginable. The school wants to lower its liability by making sure it has full control. If something goes wrong, it’s in the school’s hands instead of putting trust in student control. After years of being preached to that clubs and organizations give you “real world experience,” students will now have their hands held through every fundraiser and financial transaction. Under the new rules, clubs are required to find their own advisers, a move that is just going to make it more difficult for prospective clubs to be added, especially if those advisers are nothing more than names on a paper. Who is liable for them, and who’s to say that these adults won’t be just as corrupt as students have the potential to be? Despite not being what the university considers adults unless it’s convenient, these are studentrun organizations without administrative control. Every now and then, a mistake will be made – after all, we’re only human – but the same can be said for mistakes the administration makes.

If your club doesn’t fit the mold of what UB deems to be acceptable or possibly doesn’t agree with your mission, you can kiss your club goodbye. In case you missed it (and you probably did), Student Life held a public forum Sunday night to talk about the changes. Why didn’t more students get an email or even know what was going on? Perhaps the school is relying on student apathy – after all, if people don’t show up, there won’t be anyone to contest the changes. SA spent a lot of time rewriting club rules while school was out of session to make it easier for prospective clubs to be created. Now, if the proposal goes into effect, those previous complications are going to reinstate and double. Student government may have its flaws, but it gives students the powers to create clubs and run them on their own with fingers crossed. The policy attacks the heart of the school – the students. Take that away, and you’re stuck with more of what we already have – out-of-touch leaders running what they work hard to create. Email: editorial@ubspectrum.com

Turning the rugs Universities need stronger enforcement of sexual assault

A flier discovered in the men’s restroom of a Miami University of Ohio dorm has been making the rounds on the web the last couple weeks. Its purpose? How to get away with rape. The tips ranged from slipping “roofies” into the girl’s drink to slitting her throat to keep her from identifying the attacker and rounded off with “RAPE RAPE RAPE, its [sic] college boys live it up!!” October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the statistics for sexual abuse are harrowing: one in three women report sexual assault in their lifetime, and one in six men report the same. For college women, it’s one in four. How does UB compare? According to the 2010 National College Health Assessment Survey, nearly one percent of the student body (over 28,000 students) reported nonconsensual sex during the year. You do the math. It’s disgusting that in 2012 we’re discussing “rape culture,” but it’s very much a reality – there was a long summer of incidents, such as Paul Akin’s “legitimate rape” comments, to prove that. In many schools, administrations are doing the bare minimum if they even react at all, and victims are left helpless. Actions need to be as serious as the crime. Contrary to popular belief by people who have assaulted somebody, their victims weren’t “asking for it,” and “leading you on” doesn’t give you any justification if the “yes” becomes a “no.” And yes, you could help it. If you think that nobody actually thinks this way or that rape doesn’t happen that much, think again. Thirty-five percent of men report at least some degree of likelihood of raping if they could be assured they wouldn’t be caught or punished.

There are examples evident in the media multiple times a year. Last March, an email among the boys in USC’s Kappa Sigma chapter referred to females as “targets” that aren’t actual people and read “non-consent and rape are two different things. There is a fine line, so make sure not to cross it.” And just last Wednesday, a former student at Amherst College in Amherst, Mass. wrote an account of being raped on campus for the school’s student newspaper. Just as disturbing was her account of the administration’s response when she came forward – how it swept the assault under the rug, telling her she couldn’t change dorms, how pressing charges would be useless since her attacker was about to graduate and being told she should forgive and forget. There’s a lot of debate on whether or not the flier was a joke, but does that change anything? We laugh at the jokes we see on TV shows like Family Guy and South Park, but television is what most people would consider an escape from reality, and people need to learn that separation. The way we laugh is a testament of how terrible we are as a culture, but overall, it’s a show – it lasts 30 minutes, and when it ends, life resumes. Life doesn’t resume as it was before for a rape victim, and the rape doesn’t magically go away; it continues and eats away at him or her, keeps that person up at night. It makes that person lose all faith and trust in people. Overall, 42 percent of rape survivors told no one about the rape. It could be anyone, from the person sitting next to you in class to the person sleeping across the hall from you at home. That “Roofie Colada” that Quagmire serves up for his dates seems a little less funny when your sister or your daughter becomes a victim.

But for schools, it just continues to get swept under the rug. It isn’t widespread enough of an issue or it didn’t really happen or the infamous “boys will be boys.” Student organizations at Miami U that work to prevent sexual assault criticized the school’s response. The campus has allegedly had at least 27 assaults reported since 2009 – an allegation that university officials deny. It’s very possible the flier creator didn’t have the intention to hurt as many people as he did. It’s very possible it was a joke after all, but something as simple as even a satirical flier is enough to set a victim off. He may not have had the intention to hurt this many people and for the flier to get so much attention, but it did. This flier was found in a freshman dorm. These students are on their own for the first time and still completely impressionable. If you don’t come down hard on them, you’re only continuing to enable it. Behavior like this should be completely zerotolerance – you do it, and you’re gone. Welcome to the real world. Sexual assault is obviously a serious matter, and if our schools are going to shrug it off and refuse to set an example to society, what hope do the victims have? So many don’t report – only 10 percent of female college victims – their attacks because they don’t think they’re going to get help, and judging by these college responses, they might be right. Whether Miami finds the creator or not in its investigation, the university needs to set an example by strengthening any assault or threat of assault, and every university needs to follow suit. Email: editorial@ubspectrum.com

A self-sufficient government BRIAN JOSEPHS Senior Managing Editor I’m one of the many executive board members in one of the Student Association’s 130+ officially recognized clubs. Yes, each club – and SA itself – has its flaws, but I’d like to think we’re doing a pretty good job. Caribbean Student Association (CSA) – the club I’m a member of – is one of the only organizations in Buffalo that brings Caribbean artists to perform. Asian American Student Union’s Danny Chen Project brought attention to military hazing – a rarely discussed problem – and the African Student Association prides itself on exposing UB students to African culture. At the same time, the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship incident is still a relevant issue and last year’s $300,000 scandal is still in the back of our heads. In 1994, then-SA President Karen Hilary was accused of embezzling SA funds and forgery; in 2010, UB’s chapter of the NAACP was derecognized after it was being investigated for illegal activities. Clearly, SA and its clubs aren’t perfect but here’s my retort: What government is? SA and its clubs are unique in that it gives students a large amount of power over their student activities and events. The University is showing it does believe in its students by allowing SA to produce events like Fall Fest, manage an over $1 million budget and remain self-sufficient. A student government will naturally have its flaws, but part of being a student is learning from mistakes. Learning from those mistakes is also a part of life. Student Life’s mistake in the new legislation is that it mistakes this learning process as only a coming-of-age deal. It’s clear these “adults” who run the school have some learning to do of their own. Requiring each SA club to have a faculty adviser implies there’s a childlike incompetence within the clubs. It’s as if we’re well-meaning children just waiting for some adult to hold our hand for unnecessary guidance. We doubt these suggested guardians would want anything to do with any of the organizations; this is a research school, and I doubt student activities is one of the faculty’s top priorities. Student Life is casting the faculty as deus ex machina – these perfect adults with the power to change SA organizations for the better. We, the students, are hypothetically obliged to find a faculty adviser in addition to the already difficult job of maintaining a club and staying on top of our academics. Frankly, I don’t trust that sort of ideology. The legislation feels like less of an attempt to aid students and more of an attempt to maintain power. This conclusion makes sense after looking at some of the university’s recent controversies. UB’s main concern seems to be UB 2020, despite the ongoing problems – especially the strife in the University Heights. Blocks away from UB we have crime, students getting evicted because of poor living conditions and lack of landlord supervision. However, bettering the Heights wouldn’t further UB’s agenda – whatever that might be. Improving the neighborhood would encourage students to live in the area and that could potentially lose money for UB. It’s as the saying goes: more money, more power. But UB2020 can only mean big things for the university. It’s the plan to make UB one of the nation’s top research schools. Never mind the increased tuition students must pay for the private institution (even though affordability is one of UB’s main selling points). Never mind the large costs of building these state-of-the-art buildings or the fracking controversies. As long as UB’s in control, we’re supposed to believe everything’s all right. Student Life’s new legislation is another example of the university’s quest for control. It’s especially unfortunate for an institution that gave its students a sense of empowerment. In his farewell column, former Senior Managing Editor/Senior News Editor Luke Hammill praised UB for making him feel like more than just his person number. But if UB is only looking to gain control over the students who help fund this institution, what are we really? Email: brian.josephs@ubspectrum.com

Monday, October 22, 2012 ubspectrum.com

Life, Arts & Entertainment It ain’t easy being 14

JAKE KNOTT Staff Writer Film: The Perks of Being a Wallflower Release Date: Oct 12 Studio: Summit Entertainment Grade: AThe Perks of Being a Wallflower could reflect anybody’s life. Surviving in the vast, dramatic high school universe is laborious on any mind – whether you’re a spastic underachiever, an undervalued Goth, an ethical English teacher, a popular jock who’s still in the closet or an introverted wallflower. This film supremely grasps and exploits these concepts, encompassing the struggles of several lives during an entire school year. The drama is persuasive, effective and inspired by real-life events from writer/director Stephen Chbosky’s (Jericho) teenage years, who wrote the original best-selling novel in 1999. Chbosky wrote his characters with underlined realism, which means he likely knew people like this growing up. Charlie (Logan Lerman, The Three Musketeers) is the adolescent wallflower and for suitable reasons. He destructively relives the demise of his Aunt Helen (Melanie Lynskey, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World) and has also recently lost his best friend to suicide. Charlie estranges himself in class, at ball games and at his school dance; he surveys his classmates in accepted solitude and doesn’t foresee change, nor does he initially want it.

Courtesy of Summit Entertainment

Against his better judgment, Charlie befriends – or is befriended by – two fellow outcasts who choose their alienated status for different reasons than Charlie. They are Patrick (Ezra Miller, We Need to Talk About Kevin) and Sam (Emma Watson, My Week With Marilyn), both seniors who first appear as lovers, but are actually stepsiblings. They could not be more independent thinkers, outlawing themselves from the mainstream crowd. “Welcome to the island of misfit toys,” Sam tells Charlie at their group’s party. Patrick is a flamboyantly gay crackpot who jesters at anyone he can, particularly his woodshop instructor. Sam is an angelic free spirit who’s finally recovering from a lost

childhood. Charlie falls for Sam and helps her study for the SATs in hopes she can be admitted to Penn State and even records a mixtape of her favorite music. But Charlie cannot dominate his wallflower status and accepts his place on the sidelines. Also in the group is the gothic Mary Elizabeth (Mae Whitman, Secret of the Wings), who secretly crushes on Charlie, and the school’s quarterback Brad (Johnny Simmons, 21 Jump Street). Charlie cannot comprehend why a divine jock like Brad would hangout with such a group. “But, isn’t Brad a popular kid?” he asks. “Then what are we?” Mary Elizabeth retorts.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower isn’t so much the coming-of-age tale of its adolescent protagonist as it is a demonstration of self-rejuvenation for everyone involved. High school is normally the period when this happens. He successfully avoids the generics in most high school movies and delves into down-to-Earth issues that are relatable to most people. Although it’s widely accepted that college years contain more experimentation and self-defining for students, the contrast between freshmen and senior year of high school is indisputable. Consider Charlie, who begins high school lost in a dreary maze and eventually ends up befriending two extremely open-minded people. Lerman is confident in acting an unconfident role, serving as a likeable and relatable lead. Miller goes all out playing Patrick, nearly resembling his similarly psychopathic role in We Need to Talk About Kevin. And Watson, in her own coming-of-age acting job after the Harry Potter franchise, delivers a spellbinding performance. This is her best work yet, and she might receive her first invitation from the Academy. It’s rare for an author to direct his own work on the big screen, but Chbosky didn’t seem to mind. He knows his characters’ feelings inside and out, and proves that in both his writing and direction. If he was a wallflower his freshmen year, he has certainly come a long way, just like Charlie has. Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

The new era of electronic music ADRIEN D’ANGELO Arts Editor Artist: Papadosio Album: To End the Illusion of Separation Release Date: Oct. 16 Label: Rootwire Records Grade: A Familiar electronic groups agitate the senses into experiencing joy through repetition. These melodic mantras take shape in dub step, electronica, dance and house – as bass lines and arpeggios, crescendos and drops, kicks and snares. Electronic dance music’s (EDM) mantras form the motion, repetition and harmony as a cyclic force of energy. But rarely does an electronic group use these tools to portray the essence of spiritual interconnectivity, stating boldly that humans are a single being who inhabits a living, breathing world. One group has decided to echo these concepts, including one that gurus and spiritual leaders have tried frequently to illuminate. Separation is just an illusion. When music inhabits a realm of thought, it gains the glimmer seen in livetronica quintet Papadosio. With a high amount of sheer concentration, Papadosio has birthed a 20-track, two-hour long expression, which they call To End the Illusion of Separation (TETIOS). When Papadosio took on the task of opening minds through its music, the group packed into its studio, tucked under the Smoky Mountains of Asheville, N.C. and hit record. This environment gave the band what it was searching for: tranquility, and it provided a lush green atmosphere for organic allure. “We feel it is extremely important as artists to surround ourselves with natural beauty and silence to allow inspiration to erupt out of us unabated,” said a post on Papadosio’s blog, Tales from the Studio. TETIOS opens strongly with “Direction Song” and begins to immerse the listener in spatial synthesis while keyboards and bass step strikingly into the mix. The lyrics put in place the mantra of a required direction and put the album into metaphorical motion.

Courtesy of Rootwire Records

“Able minds are working/Open hearts are learning/Give me some direction,” Papadosio sings. “We Are Water” picks up the electronic elements of the album even more with synths and MIDI devices making good use of stereo effects and high-end production. The track contains sound samples from interviews with Dr. Masaru Emoto – a scientist who has researched a concept called water memory – while the group attempts to imitate the sound of water with digital and organic instruments. This produces a very intimate, experimental and psychedelic experience that projects itself onto the listener. “Mancoluto,” a song named after a Peruvian Shaman who can be heard singing on the track, acts as a small break from high-quality, punchy tunes into something more tangible. Papadosio uses this recording to represent the spiritual nature of the album by gently plucking a guitar in the background and using electronically generated sounds to fade out. Papadosio’s musicality is quite poignant throughout TETIOS, and the development of its composition displays a highly attuned understanding of form and progression. Several songs contain a groove that quickly turns around into something unexpected, with immense transitional sophistication. The group includes songs in odd-meter – a beat structure that contains an odd number of beats per measure like in Pink Floyd’s “Money.” Papadosio’s “Puddles for Oceans” is able to feel natural while implementing this comContinued on page 5

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Monday, October 22, 2012

Bras against cancer

Continued from page 4: The new era of electronic music plex structure. This is in part due to the precision and tightness of the bass and drums while a lead piano melody creates continuation. “Don’t limit emotion/Trade puddles for the ocean/What will it take to make/ Sense out of human beings?” Papadosio sings. “Cue,” one of the singles on the album, dispenses a serious synth solo, which keeps the tone comparable to Datarock’s airy rock songs. The groove backs up just enough for a mandolin solo to take hold, and then with another transition, back into the original hook. It is one of the most successful tracks on the album, because of its ability to alter the emotions of the listener through rising action. The repetition of the phrase, “Why don’t we own up to it?” is sung with vary-

CHELSEA SULLIVAN Staff Writer Save the Boobies. Wine Rack. Perky Posies. Screw Cancer. These are only a few of the names of the bras making a statement in the Center for the Arts. Each year, UB staff and members of the community design brassieres to be displayed in the CFA from Sept. 29 through Nov. 2. The “creative brassieres” will be auctioned to raise money for the American Cancer Society for Breast Cancer Research. The innovatively designed bras are put in display cases and are visible to anyone who walks through the CFA. These works of art have grabbed the attention of many students. “It is really cool and impressive to see how far people will go to get the message across,” said Kristin Przybyla, a sophomore communication major. “It’s a funnier, less serious way to raise awareness about this cause. I think that if the display was also in the Student Union it would be able to reach more students.” Many staff members like Samantha Calabrese, undergraduate academic adviser of the School of Management, are involved with the design and creation of the bras. “Creating the bras is a fun way to get the message across,” Calabrese said. “We went off the idea that bras support us, but we want to literally show support by creating these bras, auctioning them off and raising money for the cause.” Calabrese made three different bras this year to raise money: Wine Rack, Screw Cancer and Hugs and Cures. She enlisted the help of her mother, her roommate and her roommate’s mother to help her create the bras. Getting together to design the bras was a bonding experience and Calabrese hopes to make the artful bra creations an annual event with her friends and family. Mary Camille Schwindler, assistant registrar for degree audit, wants to implement Pink Week with Greek Life. She hopes to get more students involved with the Artful Bras Against Cancer “I’m hoping something can be done during Pink Week where students and groups can buy a bra for five dollars and design a bra,” Schwindler said. “I am more than happy to get people involved because the more people we get involved the more people become aware of it.” After all the bras are created, they are put up for display in the CFA and online, where anyone can place a bid to purchase one of the bras of his or her choice. The bids start at a

Nick Fischetti /// The Spectrum

UB students have designed artful bras – currently on display in the Center for the Arts – to support the fight against breast cancer. The bras will be auctioned off, and the money raised will be donated to cancer research.

minimum of $25. This nation-wide fundraiser takes place all over the country. “It’s a way to get people to forget about the serious aspect of the cause for a moment and to enjoy the creative aspect of it,” Calabrese said. Since UB first became involved with this fundraiser four years ago, close to $3,000 has been raised and donated to the American Cancer Society. The display has improved each year because the bras become more eye-catching and more creatively produced, according to Calabrese. “Each year you try to outdo yourself from the year before,” Calabrese said. “My friends and I have a little friendly competition with who can come up with the most creative ideas.” However, one thing that remains the same each year is the message these bras are trying to get across. Though the fundraiser is of a light and silly note, the intensity and importance of the message remains strong. “If there were two things I’d want to tell everyone, it’s to get a mammogram and to do self examinations,” Schwindler said. “If you don’t want to do it, I’m sure your partner won’t mind – they’re the only person that will know what your breasts feel like normally.” The UB Artful Bras Against Cancer bidding takes place online at wings.buffalo.edu/ org/artfulbra, and the auction closes on Nov. 10. Email: features@ubspectrum.com

ing harmonies, showing focus on using every instrument as a means to move forward. It is clear from this release that electronic music will no longer be deaf to concept albums. Papadosio has proved there’s more than just dance in EDM; there’s a world of discovery – of interconnectedness. This band has made a huge step with this album, and we can only hope other groups will follow in its footsteps. This is not an album to approach lightly. It is an album that requires a few deep breaths and an open mind. Regardless of listeners’ approach, however, they will not be disappointed. Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

Continued from page 1: An evening with Cam and Mitchell On the count of three, they voiced their indiscretions: Stonestreet got into a bar fight and Ferguson got arrested for jumping a turnstile in NYC on his way to attend a Broadway show – something that didn’t surprise Stonestreet. “I thought they were both hysterical,” said Zach Koman, a sophomore business major and avid Modern Family fan. “My favorite part was the college story because it showed how well they interacted with each other.” The high level of audience involvement had much to do with the upbeat, humorous mood within the theater. Throughout the show, the actors checked their Twitter feeds and answered questions that fans at UB tweeted at them. One fan named Bridget asked if she could serenade the two actors. Ferguson and Stonestreet made jokes about the wish and continued with their conversation, not expecting it to be brought up again. However, during the open question and answer session 20 minutes later, Bridget’s father got on the microphone and asked why they wouldn’t let his daughter sing for them. Eventually Stonestreet gave in and urged Bridget to sing any song she would like, which ended up being “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Audience members stood up, put their hands on their hearts and listened to the girl croon from the balcony level, which brought out Stonestreet’s character on Modern Family as he encouraged her to always follow her dreams.

The comedic relief then came from Bridget’s brother when he grabbed the microphone and apologized for his “annoying older sister.” During the question and answer session, discussion topics ranged from life on the road to expectations for Buffalo’s beloved Bills – a team Stonestreet wasn’t very confident in. The most endearing question of the night came from a young boy who asked: “How are you guys so funny?” Ferguson answered by praising his costar’s ability to make people laugh. “You can’t learn how to have chemistry with someone, and since Eric is a funny guy, it’s easy to be funny with him,” Ferguson said. Corey Rosen, a sophomore communication and film studies major, thought the speakers were fascinating. “They have great chemistry on screen as well as off screen, which is comforting to know,” Rosen said. Stonestreet and Ferguson closed the night by thanking the audience and relayed hopes that Modern Family will continue to be a relatable, comedic show for families to enjoy for years to come. Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

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Monday, October 22, 2012

Continued from page 1: Students revolt against proposed Student Life legislation “If it’s being run by the administration, then you don’t really have a Student Association,” said Darwinson Valdez, president of PODER (Puerto Rican Organization for Dignity, Equality and Responsibility). Nemmer said Sunday’s forum was simply an effort “to present a semblance of legitimacy.” Tiberi said otherwise. “I learned many things [from the meeting],” Tiberi said. “I learned just how big of an issue the required adviser is, how passionate the student groups are. The last thing I want to have happen is students thinking the university is trying to control student groups or taking civil liberties away.” The policies will not be voted on – because Student Life has power over SA – though Nemmer thinks they “absolutely” should be. He said he has not met one club member who endorses the rules in whole or part. Nemmer wrote a letter to Student Life and is hoping to have it signed by every concerned student. “All we can do is speak as much, as constructively and as comprehensively as possible,” Nemmer said. Tiberi, who was officially announced as director of Student Life in June 2012 after serving on an interim basis since Jan. 2011, formed the legislation alongside two other Student Life administrators. Many club heads assert the policies allow an unelected, bureaucratic board to take their control. “The intent of an adviser is not a supervisor,” Tiberi said. “To limit their powers is not what I ever would support that an adviser does.” Tiberi said he is implementing an adviser to help clubs navigate a big school and advise on everything from getting space and money to passing down tradition. Nemmer does not buy it. “His talk is cheap and his actions speak a lot louder than his words,” Nemmer said. “In its present form, these rules would be a sledgehammer to the Student Association.” Carson Ciggia started UBiz, a business club, and is now an SA senator. He said Student Life planned the forum in a shady manner.

“They didn’t shoot the president when he had his secret service next to him with automatic weapons; they shot him when he was coming out of a small fundraiser out the back door,” Ciggia said. “They did it in a really dirty way. They gave it to us Thursday or Friday and said, ‘Oh, there’s a forum on Sunday,’ during spirit week, during homecoming, all of that, and we have to scramble.” Ciggia said SA’s biggest strength is that it is for students, by students. If the legislation were to go through in its current form, he said, SA would be for students, by the administration. Valdez’s PODER club recently won Homecoming Club of the Year for raising school spirit. He is among the many club presidents who were boisterous at the forum. “We need to remind Student Life that students are running the show,” Valdez said. “Once Student Life gets involved, you’re taking the student aspect of it out and students are not involved.” Nelson Yu is the president of the Asian American Student Union. “We run the clubs,” Yu said. “We vote on the people who can lead the club and speak on behalf of the members. Now they’re telling us we need an adviser? What will they be able to do? They can’t do anything that will help us. Maybe they think we are not capable of doing things right, or maybe they think it will be better with an adult there to watch over us.” Christian Andzel is the president of UB Students for Life and the vice president of UB Conservatives. Andzel received the loudest applause of the forum when he stood up and fervently said: “let us have our freedom back to run our clubs how we see fit.” “I know this Tiberi guy,” Andzel said. “I dealt with him last summer when our crosses [an anti-abortion ‘cemetery for the innocents’ display] were destroyed. It took him until August to call us in and write a little statement. He put a little ad in the back of The Spectrum saying: ‘Oh, we’ll have this little forum to see what you guys think.’ And they’re having it on a Sunday. He’s just a scumbag, in my opinion.” As for the SA e-board, Treasurer Justin Neuwirt said this legislation would “strip us of our power.”

Vice President Adam Zimnicki said: “I believe this meeting was productive and we have a long way to reach a good middle ground.” Nemmer said, with 500-600 clubs at UB, it is very likely there will be more clubs than faculty members who are interested in being advisers. Therefore, he said, many clubs would cease to exist. Tiberi assured the crowd Student Life would be patient and wouldn’t immediately de-recognize a club if it couldn’t find an adviser. After the forum, he told The Spectrum he might consider dropping the adviser clause entirely. Andzel is one of the e-board members whose club would have a hard time. “From the UB Conservative point of view, we know the professors here are not conservative,” Andzel said. “They’re liberal. If we need to have an adviser, it’s going to be very hard for us to find.” Additionally, the legislation states all organizations must be annually recognized by Student Life, which “seeks to promote maximum flexibility and autonomy [self-sufficiency] for student clubs and organizations,” according to the document. Tiberi said this clause ensures clubs are still active and functioning every year. UB Conservatives is a temporary club, but Andzel said it is aiming to become permanent in a year. “Now Student Life has dominion over saying if we’re accepted or not,” Andzel said. “That’s the Student Association’s job. That’s why we have senators. That’s why we have an e-board. That’s the normal process.” Andzel believes this legislation came to fruition because of the controversy surrounding InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) last year, when the club was de-recognized by the SA Senate but later re-recognized by the Student-Wide Judiciary (SWJ), which investigated the situation more thoroughly. IVCF allegedly pressured its homosexual treasurer to resign and ordered all officers to sign a faithbased agreement. “That is why this is happening,” Andzel said. “I guarantee it, 100 percent. [The SA Senate] got it wrong. They got it wrong in the courts that are supposed to interpret the Constitution, interpret university law. There was a disconnect,

and Student Life doesn’t like that.” Nemmer thinks last year’s SA scandal – when former Treasurer Sikander Khan attempted to invest $300,000 in a fraudulent company – was the “catalyst” that made this legislation possible. Tiberi said there is no specific reason it is happening now, but it has been in the works for several years. While Nemmer and Andzel differ in their opinions of what caused the new regulations, they agree the proposal is unfair to students. The document also states nonuniversity membership must be restricted to less than 10 percent of the organization’s total membership. Non-university members are not considered active members; they cannot work at tables or distribute materials on campus on behalf of the organization unless assisted by an active club member from UB. “If I want to have community members pass out literature about an event, we can’t have them be on campus any more without someone being with them all the time,” Andzel said. “That is ridiculous. What are we going to have, the Student Life police come and handcuff the community members who just want to be a part of our group?” In another controversial policy, clubs are not permitted to be dualrecognized. Any organization recognized by SA and another group/ department must choose between the two. For example, True Blue receives support from SA and UB Athletics and the engineering clubs receive labs from the engineering department but money from SA. This legislation states each club must only be recognized by one organization. Ciggia thinks Student Life doesn’t take SA seriously. “We all work our asses off in SA,” Ciggia said. “We’re here when we’re not on the clock. They don’t realize how much responsibility we take and how seriously we take this.” Another forum is slated for Nov. 5. Additional reporting by Managing Editor Rebecca Bratek

Continued from page 8: Get ready to cheer: Winter is almost here So perhaps the near future of UB sports isn’t as bad as it looks. Although the fall season has been brutal on Bulls fans, the winter season will breathe new life into this campus and student body. Disgruntled fans will shed their winter coats and fill gratefully into the seats in Alumni Arena to watch teams that have a legitimate shot at winning games. So shake off the moist fall weather and get your foam fingers ready. It’s almost time for the best teams UB has to offer. Email: ben.tarhan@ubspectrum.com

Continued from page 8: Homecoming blues Freshman running back Devin Campbell, another player who in the beginning of the season seemed unlikely to get significant playing time this year, bounced back from a subpar performance last week against Northern Illinois (7-1, 4-0 MAC) by rushing for 104 yards on 19 carries. He became the first true freshman in UB’s modern Division I era to have two 100-yard rushing games in a season. The loss leaves the Bulls without a win against Football Bowl Subdivison (FBS) competition this season, as they end the non-conference portion of the schedule. They will play their last five games of the season against MAC competition. It doesn’t get any easier, as Buffalo will face MAC West powerhouse Toledo (7-1, 4-0 MAC) next Saturday at UB Stadium. The Rockets are flying high, coming off a 29-23 upset win against Cincinnati (5-1, 1-0 Big East), which was previously ranked 21st in the country. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

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