VOL. 69 NO. 36 | MARCH 2, 2020 VOL. 69 NO. 36 | MARCH 2, 2020
The
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950 THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950
International Issue
UBSPECTRUM UBSPECTRUM
STUDENTS SHARE THEIR FAVORITE CULTURAL RECIPES PAGE 5
EUROPEAN FOOTBALL PLAYERS OVERCOME OBSTACLES, EMBRACE CHALLENGES PAGE 6
ITALY STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS CONTINUE DURING CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK PAGE 5
Puzzling Pathways: Students concerned with UB general education topics
PROFESSOR MOPELOLADE OGUNBOWALE SHOWS STUDENTS HIP-HOP’S INTERNATIONAL PAGE 8 EFFECTS
Analysis finds UB administrators make combined $23 million more than their peers’ average
LASA wins International Fiesta Club’s performance portrayed domestic violence, highlighted Saturday’s theme of ‘resilience’
THE FULL GALLERY OF INTERNATIONAL FIESTA IS AVAILABLE AT UBSPECTRUM.COM
UB says financial analysis is based on ‘perspective,’ students say it’s based on analyst’s ‘expertise’ JULIAN ROBERTS-GRMELA SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
ALEXANDRA MOYEN SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
At the end of its International Fiesta performance Saturday, the Latin American Student Association stormed the Center for the Arts stage, holding signs to protest domestic violence. The display was the final emotional moment in the club’s first-place victory at SA’s annual dance competition. It marked LASA’s fourth win since 2011, with a performance that illuminated domestic violence within the Latin American community. And the routine emphasized this year’s theme of resilience as 11 clubs performed in front of roughly 1,500 audience mem-
bers at the sold-out show. Judges scored clubs on creativity, choreography and story line, according to Omran AlBarazanchi, SA International Council Coordinator. LASA’s first-place dance portrayed the story of a domestic violence survivor who searches for the strength to leave her abuser. Indian SA and Pakistani SA finished in second place with a collaborative performance that also portrayed a theme of domestic violence, as last year’s firstplace club, Korean SA, came in third with a performance encouraging the audience to break from societal norms.
Anthony Vargas, LASA president, said domestic violence is “prevalent” within the Latinx community but isn’t widely talked about. “It’s such an important issue, it’s very critical to us in making sure that we got our message out to the public and showing that as Latin Americans we are resilient to whatever we face –– domestic violence or whatever else,” Vargas said. LASA’s dance told the story of an abusive relationship, starting with bachata, a SEE FIESTA PAGE 4
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UB spends over $23 million more on administrative salaries than the average of their “peer institutions,” according to an accounting professor’s independent financial analysis report. The analysis, conducted by Eastern Michigan University’s Howard Bunsis, found roughly 13% of the money UB spends on salaries is on upper administration. It also cites faculty salaries are $20,615 less than the average at “peer institutions” and found UB had a 22% decrease in the amount of assistant professors it hired between 2009 and 2020. The report calls UB’s financial reporting “less transparent” than any of the over 100 universities Bunsis has examined over the last 15 years. The analysis comes roughly one year after the UB Living Stipend Movement commissioned Bunsis to determine UB’s “financial condition and situation.” Bunsis analyzed UB’s “actual financial results” instead of its budgets and compared UB to schools it considers “peer institutions.” The 12 public AAU institutions are: -University of California San Diego -University of California Los Angeles -University of Arizona -University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill -Rutgers University -University of Iowa -University of Wisconsin-Madison -Pittsburgh University -Stony Brook University -University of California Irvine -University of Michigan -University of Washington LSM members said Bunsis’ figures revealed that “UB is not prioritizing its research mission.” SEE ANALYSIS PAGE 2