The Spectrum Vol. 68 No.38

THE SPECTRUM VOL. 68 NO. 38 | MARCH 14, 2019

THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950

March, 14, 1979 - Student Activist Michael Levinson said he would “fight” The Spectrum regarding alleged violations of its charter and of state and federal laws. Levinson said he spoke with then-UB President Robert L. Ketter who asked his lawyers to investigate the alleged violation. If substantiated, Levinson said Ketter would order The Spectrum off campus.

A student representative to the UB council said Levinson did not have this > SEE PAGE conversation with the president and The Spectrum continues to exist today.

UBSPECTRUM

Hozier opens ‘Wasteland, Baby! Tour’ at Shea’s

Anthony Johnson shines on Pro-Day

> SEE PAGE 7

> SEE PAGE 10

‘Living the dream:’ International Fiesta winners Korean SA reflect on journey to the top

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

SAMANTHA VARGAS ASST. ARTS EDITOR

Inha Jung remembers a time when her club did not have a set room.

The Korean Student Association and Kasanova Dance Team had to travel around North Campus looking for a space to practice last year. The group would go from the Richmond Hall gym to the Student Union Flag Room looking for a vacancy.

The club, which has grown in the last year by accepting students of different cultures, won first place at the Student Association’s annual International Fiesta dance competition Saturday.

It was their first time competing.

Jung, the KSA president and a sophomore business major, said she never expected the group to win the competition.

“After they announced second and third place, I had already told people ‘Guys, we had so much fun, it’s totally fine. We really got to show what we wanted to show.

They know who KSA is now.’ Just getting on that stage was a big step in itself,” Jung said. “The group before this year didn’t have the courage to go out and perform at International Fiesta. I think a lot of people related to our message; I saw a lot of tears.”

The group performed on the Center for the Arts mainstage on Saturday night to an audience of roughly 1,750 people, according to Elise Helou, international council coordinator. They placed alongside the Malaysian Student Association and Latin

HANNAH STEIN

COURTESY OF MALKIJAH GRIFFITHS The Korean Student Association accepts the first place trophy at the 2019 International Fiesta.

American Student Association in SA’s $19,500 competition with 312 performers.

The group’s performance focused on the pressure that Korean youth experience and acknowledged the high suicide rate and the bullying epidemic. The performance followed the Korean students and their journey through cultural and social pressure.

It ended with a depiction of suicide, as members of KSA took to the stage with flowers to memorialize suicide victims.

The group drew inspiration from their own lives. Many members were born in the U.S., but came from ethnic backgrounds where education holds a strong presence.

Jade Olusoji, a sophomore biology major, said she related to the pressure portrayed in their performance.

“Most of us are children of immigrants.

Our parents expect for us, since we had the privilege of being born in this country, to at least do this [level of work] when it comes to our studies,” Olusoji said. “They don’t think of it as much as a burden as it actually is on us. Some people think when you fail a test that ‘Oh that’s life,’ but for some of us, failing a test means we can’t go home.”

The similarities they share bring the group together.

KSA managed to exceed expectations with its first performance. The group had to compensate for not having a budget and relied solely on its own members to pay for expenses. Each member bought their own costume and supplied the small props.

Jung initially joined because of her interest in dance, but the group incorporates > SEE KOREAN

Our paper had a blank front page on March 11. It was blank, but it contained a promise: We would explain why we couldn’t provide coverage of International Fiesta or document the dramatic win by the Korean Student Association.

The answer is simple.

SA President Gunnar Haberl turned away our reporter at the door. He wouldn’t let our reporter –– a student he knows and has worked with before –– into the building to cover the $19,500 SA-sponsored event. SA didn’t allow our photographers in either.

By turning us away, the SA turned you away. We represent you, the students.

We’re your voice on campus. We’re the university’s historical record.

We sat down with Gunnar, SA International Coordinator Elise Helou and SA Chief of Staff Jacob Brown Monday to understand what happened.

We wanted to print this letter on Monday, but wanted to give Gunnar a second chance to explain his side.

Our meeting left us even more baffled.

SA | PAGE 2

> SEE LETTER | PAGE 2

Graduate students stage demonstration during Faculty Senate Executive Committee meeting

Students continue to advocate for more black faculty

Students representing the Living Stipend Movement hold signs behind the speaker’s podium

Black Student Union discusses support for investment in African and African American Studies

TANVEEN VOHRA CO-SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

timistic about the resolution initially passing in the Faculty Senate Executive Committee but he was disappointed when it didn’t go through to the Faculty Senate.

During the Wednesday meeting, five graduate students –– who were part of the LSM — got up from their seats and assembled behind the podium as Philip Glick, chair of the Faculty Senate, introduced the topic of graduate student stipends to the floor. The students held signs saying “You voted to keep us poor,” and “You will be held accountable.”

Glick said the FSEC had endorsed the resolution to increase graduate stipends when students brought a petition to them a year ago. But the resolution to increase stipends never made it past the FSEC. “We have failed to pass the resolution along in our senate and there have been specific concerns both in the executive committee and the senate,” he said.

Glick asked Jason Benedict from the Budget Priorities Committee to “lead a small discussion” about the stipend reso-

English Ph.D. student Willis McCumber spoke at Wednesday’s Faculty Senate Executive Committee meeting and voiced the Living Stipend Movement’s dissatisfaction with the executive committee’s lack of support.

“I don’t know what else to say, you voted to keep us poor and you will be held accountable,” McCumber said.

The demonstration came two weeks after the Faculty Senate Executive Committee voted against moving a resolution to increase graduate stipends to the Faculty Senate, and a week after a UB Council meeting went into executive session following an interruption from McCumber.

M c C u m b e r, TANVEEN VOHRA | THE SPECTRUM who is the meGraduate students from the Living Stipend Movement hold up dia coordinator signs during Wednesday’s Faculty Senate Executive meeting. for the LSM This was the second demonstration by the LSM in two weeks. said he was op-

> SEE DEMONSTRATION | PAGE 4

THOMAS ZAFONTE, ALEXANDRA MOYEN FEATURES DESK

Black Student Union members discussed systemic racism, representation in faculty and UB’s treatment of the African and African American Studies program at its general body meeting Wednesday.

BSU members and students talked throughout the meeting about the current state and future of the AAS program.

Roughly 40 club members and students attended to voice concerns over the number of black faculty and AAS classes offered in the UB curriculum.

The meeting started with a vote on a number of topics. No one at the meeting voted that UB has “properly invested” or “cared” for its AAS program.

Fatima Nor, a senior psychology major and AAS minor, said she was concerned with the “very low” number of black enrollment at UB and the school’s “failure” to reach out to its minority population.

“They are not hiring black faculty or teachers. It’s getting to the point where it comes down to student activism,” Nor said. “We need to speak up for the things that are important to us, so [BSU] coming together is the first step toward that.”

The number of black tenure-track fac-

ulty has decreased from 61 in 2008 to 31 in 2018. In UB communications article released last week, UB President Satish Tripathi admitted UB has “more to do” in terms of minority faculty recruitment and recognized the potential of programs such as SUNY’s PRODI-G initiative to add 1,000 minority faculty to state campuses in the next decade Nor said it’s important to get people in the president’s office and that “higher ups” should hear their complaints in order to implement change.

The meeting comes after a rally on March 1 by the Pre-Law Chapter of the National Black Law Students Association.

The organization listed eight demands for the university to improve black students’ experiences at UB. BSU vice president Daniel Edwards, who oversaw the open discussion, said BSU “demands” UB restores the AAS program’s Clemens Hall floor. He called on UB to restructure the UB Pathways, as well, which he said doesn’t always list AAS classes.

Edwards said a new UB Pathways criteria would highlight and promote students in AAS courses.

“When it came to the inception of the African Americans Studies program, BSU played an integral part in it,” Edwards said.

“It makes sense that we continue that connection between us and the [program] …

Making sure it is intact, well funded and prosperous is something we definitely have to do.”

Only one of the roughly 40 students at the BSU meeting voted that they had an academic advisor who suggested an Afri> SEE ADVOCATE | PAGE 4

NEWS

2 | Thursday, March 14, 2019 FROM PAGE 1

KOREAN SA different elements of Korean culture into their club activities.

The group primarily performs dance covers of Korean pop songs. They also discuss Korean dramas and explore different Korean food.

Jung, within a year as president, grew the club from 10 to 26 members. The club had to reassess its strategy in order to compensate for its negative SA budget, according to Jung. She attributes the group’s growth to the willingness of KSA to accept all members, regardless of the group’s race or ties to Korean culture.

FROM PAGE 1

LETTER

Gunnar, who gets paid $15,000, said he is not in charge of the international coordinator or her choice to not let us in. He was the one standing at the door with our reporter, but he said it was Elise’s decision to keep us out.

“I said [to the reporter], ‘Well, you need to talk with Elise because there’s a line that goes all the way out to the door of students who have tickets and other members of the public for a sold-out event and there’s procedures that need to be followed,’” Gunnar said.

He does not appear to accept the responsibility of his own position. The SA constitution states, the president has “the power to exercise final authority in the supervision of the office and … may give binding direction to any directors, ad hoc appointees or staff of the Student Association, except that such direction may not require such person to commit any unlawful or dangerous act.”

He and his staff also showed a stunning lack of understanding of the role of the press in society and of my staff on this campus.

We asked Elise why she “decided” not to let us cover this event. We recorded our conversation to ensure accuracy.

“I was in the stage and I was like, ‘I’m going to think about it.’ And then I thought about it in those two minutes and

ubspectrum.com

KSA has multiple members that are not of Korean descent, Jung said.

“This is one of the biggest reasons why KSA was inactive before I came. I don’t know what the president thought before, but it used to be ‘KSA is an association just for helping Korean students,’” Jung said. “I never think [my members] are different from me. We are all the same although we look different. We became a team because we all have the same interest in Korea. That’s how I became a leader to such diverse people and friends.”

Olusoji is Nigerian, but was drawn to KSA because of her interest in K-pop.

“It takes a lot, especially since UB is such

a big school, to break out of your comfort zone. I have a group of West African friends. I have a group of Asian friends. I have my friends at Kasanova, but obviously when I first came to UB, I was moving with people who I knew shared a similar culture to me,” Olusoji said. “Most people assume that if you join Korean Student Association that you’re Korean, and if you’re not Korean and you join it must be because you fetishize Asians or something like that. We just joined because we like Korean music.”

It is this sense of community that drives KSA members to continue working on their passions.

I was like, ‘No, it’s not fair’ and then I said, ‘No, don’t let them in,’” Elise said.

Two minutes.

In that time, she did not think about the First Amendment or about the historic role the press plays in democracy.

Rather, she said, she thought of the families and students she turned away from the sold-out event and decided it was “not fair” to let the press in. Not fair?

What is truly not fair is that we couldn’t provide the students, families –– including the parents of international students who live abroad and regularly read our paper to get news of their kids –– and alumni with coverage.

Elise also admitted she “does not know journalism.” Gunnar and his staff did everyone a disservice by shutting us out.

He should have stood up for the student body and for press freedom and let us in.

Covering an event like International Fiesta should be simple. It’s a win-win for everyone. There’s little controversy –– although we do always include the budget and report on how the evening transpired.

Interestingly, this year, the Korean Student Association, with only $352.36 –– the second-lowest budget of any club according to the SA General Ledger –– pulled off the win. But we couldn’t tell you that since we didn’t see the event.

We tried explaining our role as journalists to our SA officers. All Elise and Gunnar wanted discussed was protocol. In-

Gunnar also told our class he is not gendeed, our arts editors forgot to apply for a press pass. We admit, our editors should erally available after business hours and have done that. But editors have forgotten that he tries to keep his phone away. in the past without being turned away. We Again, we didn’t know how to respond. cover many events all over the city without We regularly talk to UB administrators press passes. On campus, we are all stu- and faculty after hours and on weekends. dents, we know each other. This was not We talk to city officials, too. a high-security event with press jockeying News doesn’t happen neatly during for angles. business hours. It’s rarely convenient. PoliWe were the only journalists there. ticians –– even student ones –– know that.

And when it comes down to it, a press Or they should. pass is a formality. It’s useful to separate Instead of us, SA had a pr team of 7 real press from outsiders. Gunnar knows paid students, according to the SA budget. who we are. He knows what we do. He The team posted about fiesta on social should have helped us, not blocked the media. door.

That is not journalism.

We don’t always agree with student body That is not public record. officials. Our job is to cover them, not beElise told us UBNow was covering the friend them. event.

We’re appalled by their behavior.

That, too, is not journalism.

It’s particularly ironic since this week It’s public relations. is Sunshine Week across the country. It’s We’re taught that in our journalism an annual, nationwide celebration of free classes, but we need our student body reppress and access to public events and in- resentatives to understand it in practice. formation. We had a press conference cel- It’s especially true if they aspire to hold ebrating it in our class on Monday. And future community or state leadership posilast Monday, Haberl appeared in our class tions. to talk about his job and the relationship We hope our student leaders think about between SA and our staff. this. We hope it inspires a campus dialogue We thought we were making inroads. about The Spectrum’s role and the imporPart of Gunnar’s job is to talk to stu- tance of a free press. dent press. Part of his job is to understand We’re disappointed our student presipress freedom and the important role The dent and his staff prevented our coverage.

Adm_SUNYBuffaloAd_002_FA18.pdf 1 1/24/19 2:03 PM Spectrum has played for the past 68 years in We expect more from our leaders. covering UB events.

Charity Nwadike, vice president and sophomore psychology major, aspires to reach a wider range of students.

“Most dancing SAs aim to win International Fiesta and we actually did it, so now we aren’t sure where to go from here,” Nwadike said. “Everyone was like, ‘You have 10 people, how is that going to happen?’ Look at us now. Our next goal is to stand on the stage at Spring Fest. It’s reaching out to an audience of UB students who don’t necessarily know of the international SAs. We’re just looking for more people to make connections with.”

Email: samantha.vargas@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @SamVargasArts

Email: eic@ubspectrum.com

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OPINION

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THE SPECTRUM Thursday, March 14, 2019 Volume 68 Number 38 Circulation: 4,000

EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Hannah Stein MANAGING EDITOR Brenton J. Blanchet CREATIVE DIRECTORS Caitlyn Di Vita Grace Klak COPY EDITORS Savanna Caldwell Cassi Enderle Lauryn King Cherie Jacobs, Asst.

NEWS EDITORS Tanveen Vohra, Co-Senior Jacklyn Walters, Co-senior FEATURES EDITORS Thomas Zafonte, Senior Isabella Nurt, Asst.

ARTS EDITORS Brian Evans, Senior Samantha Vargas, Asst.

Julianna Tracey, Asst.

SPORTS EDITOR Nathaniel Mendelson, Senior

EDITORIAL EDITOR Benjamin Blanchet MULTIMEDIA EDITORS Shubh Jain, Senior Davila Tarakinikini, Asst.

CARTOONISTS Ardi Digap

Thursday, March 14, 2019| 3

The Student Association needs to understand our role EDITORIAL BOARD

The Student Association turned our reporter and photographers away at International Fiesta on Saturday.

In doing so, they torpedoed themselves.

They prevented us from covering the months of work they and the clubs under their watch did.

SA officials regularly criticize The Spectrum for not covering the work they put into their jobs.

They want us to cover “positive” events and show how well they spend your money.

Yet, when we showed up to a “positive” event they left the student press behind a velvet rope.

Our editor didn’t reach out to SA for a press pass for the event. We understand that it’s a courtesy to let SA know we’re attending the event and that’s something we didn’t do.

But student journalists should have been allowed in a student event — press pass or not.

On Monday, we gave them a chance to explain in a meeting.

SA President Gunnar Haberl said it wasn’t his responsibility to decide whether The Spectrum could cover Fiesta on Saturday.

As the SA president, we know he has a responsibility to look after student journalists, because we’re students, too.

SA officials insisted that since

they had allowed their marketing team and the university’s UBNow staff in, the event received coverage.

The argument made no sense.

It’s rather frightening and disheartening that they put it forward. It shows us that the student leaders in charge of more than $4 million of our money do not know the difference between news and public relations. Both their staff and UBNow are versions of marketing and PR. SA has seven paid positions for its media and marketing staff, according to the SA budget. At least $10,900 combined goes toward SA’s media director, public relations director and head outreach coordinator, according to the SA 2018-19 budget. That’s a lot of money for publicity.

But a buzzy social media post isn’t valuable to the university’s history.

Publicity offers a “positive” spin, not honest critiques. It doesn’t have to be balanced or fair.

The Spectrum doesn’t work like that.

We ask tough questions and are critical.

That’s what this space (and this time in our lives) is for. That’s what university life is supposed to be teaching us.

SA International Council Coordinator Elise Helou said our

empty front page on Monday was “a slap in the face” since there was no photo of Fiesta.

Indeed.

But SA’s actions were a “slap in the face” to us and to you, the student body.

SA wants us to cover “positive” events. Yet, our most senior staff only remember a handful of times in the past three years when SA sent us press releases. Typically, we have to find out about events on our own, through SA’s school-wide calendar. SA Entertainment staff is always on top of this, but International Fiesta is not an SA Entertainment event.

We do, however, hear their voices when they are angry at what we write.

Just last month, one SA council coordinator banged on our office walls and criticized co-senior news editor Jacklyn Walters’ grammatical choices. The behavior was egregious and shocking not only for an SA official but for a student, in general. The coordinator said they don’t typically read The Spectrum but when they do, they only see “negative” content.

We resent that. We, like the SA, work every day to start discussions about the university. It’s our job to ask questions, be a watchdog and help students navigate college life better. We are successful when students are in-

formed about campus events and are talking about issues that matter. By not letting us into events, this hurts you, our readers.

When legitimate complaints do come, we answer them and always explain our choices coherently. We correct mistakes quickly and apologize openly if we make them.

We wish we could have given the International Fiesta bold front-page coverage.

That was our plan.

Those hard-working students deserved more, as did their parents, our alumni and everyone who reads our paper.

We hope SA has learned something from this fiasco.

We hope we will never have this problem again.

A number of SA officials strive to be politicians in Albany, D.C. and beyond.

Some of us plan to be professional journalists in the state and the capital, too.

If SA leaders can’t understand the media’s responsibility to report on campus life, they’re going to have a tough time in the real world.

Email: opinion@ubspectrum.com

PROFESSIONAL STAFF OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Helene Polley ADVERTISING MANAGER Ayesha Kazi

The hard work of international students went unrecognized yet again

GRAPHIC DESIGN MANAGERS JuYung Hong

ABOUT THE SPECTRUM The views expressed – both written and graphic – in the Opinion section 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.

For information on adverstising with The Spectrum: VISIT: www.ubspectrum.com/advertising CALL US: 716-645-2152 The Spectrum offices are located in 132 Student Union, UB North Campus, Buffalo, NY 14260-2100

JOIN OUR STAFF Do you have an interest in journalism, graphic design, photography, social media, advertising, cartoons or copy editing? The Spectrum is always looking for enthusiastic students who want to be part of our team.

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Anyone interested in joining The Spectrum’s editorial staff can email Hannah Stein at: eic@ubspectrum.com.

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CORRECTION VOL. 68 | NO. 36

The original UB Council article and editorial in the March 7 paper stated the Living Stipend Movement broke New York State’s Open Meetings Law. LSM didn’t break the law; it broke the rules set

by SUNY Associate Jessica Baker at the beginnng of the meeting.

TANVEEN VOHRA CO-SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

When I first came to UB as an international student last August, Elise Helou — the Student Association’s international council coordinator — gave a speech at the international student orientation.

She talked about the magnitude of diversity and representation at UB and spoke at length and with pride about International Fiesta.

I was mesmerized.

As someone who came to the U.S. amidst heated immigration debate, I was unsure of how international students such as myself would be treated. But I felt much more confident about my position and identity at UB when I learned about the international council and how diversity was celebrated here.

I didn’t have any time to join any international groups because student journalism has me busy for 50 hours a week. Nevertheless, I was excited for International Fiesta.

I interviewed Sikh SA— the group that represents my heritage — and wrote about what they were doing to prepare for their performance.

It was the first article in The Spectrum covering a Sikh-related topic since 2015 (and 2001 before that) and I was really proud

of it. I’m the only Spectrum writer on the editorial board who is an international student, so I felt that it was really important to represent cultures at UB that aren’t always covered.

I was attending a conference in New York City with some of my fellow editors during the weekend of the fiesta, and I was really bummed to be missing out.

But when I heard Nate –– our sports editor — offered to cover the event for us, that made me really happy. It showed The Spectrum and my peers cared about international students enough to want to cover the International Fiesta regardless of the availability of our arts staff.

But I never got to read Nate’s article because Nate never got to cover the event.

Helou worked tirelessly to put on this show — and it never got covered.

The Korean SA’s friends texted them asking where our coverage was. They expected to read about it in our Monday paper.

Our senior arts editor forgot to apply for press to the SAsanctioned event, and Nate was turned away at the door because Elise Helou thought it would be “unfair” to let him cover the event because he didn’t have a press pass.

Helou said she felt as though she would be doing a disservice to the friends and families of participants who were lining up outside, hoping to get in.

She didn’t think about the fact that Nate doesn’t represent just himself — he represents the 30,000 students at this university when he covers events for our paper.

He represented the families of international students who don’t live in the U.S. and can’t watch their kids proudly represent their cultures.

Helou said it was enough to have SA’s “media team” and UBNow covering the event. But UBNow and SA’s “media team” are not journalists and their organizations are not the historical record of UB. The Spectrum is.

Everyone at SA knows this.

Yet, they turned Nate away.

They didn’t once think that for many of the international students performing in the fiesta, sending a newspaper clip home would have meant more than a screenshot from SA’s Instagram.

I tried speaking to Helou about this. But it always came back to just one thing — that we didn’t apply for press.

That is true, but she has a responsibility as the international coordinator to look out for the interests of the international students and groups that were performing at the fiesta.

She explained to me multiple times “an action has a reaction,” as a way to explain why she acted the way she did.

Again, asking for a press pass is definitely a good journalistic practice. But, as a student news organization that operates on campus and regularly covers SA events, we should have been allowed to cover the event regardless. How else would the parents of these international students be able to read about the event?

But Helou argued it was a private event, not a public one, even though the event was paid for by student funds.

And she kept repeating that “any other respected organization” would have applied for press, she said she wouldn’t have let any other news organization in, and it wasn’t a direct attack on The Spectrum.

But, as an international student, it was hurtful for me that she failed to see the importance of documenting international students showcasing their identity and sharing their culture.

The Spectrum has a long record of covering international student issues at UB, and I often work on stories that are critical of the way international students are treated on this campus. The stories are heartbreaking and devastating and are often about issues I too have faced.

International Fiesta was supposed to be different. It should have been an article about pride and celebration of one’s culture rather than the social ostracization these students face.

I’m saddened by the actions of SA and upset that, of all the events they wouldn’t allow us to cover, it had to be one where international students celebrated their cultures.

And we could all go back and forth for days on end trying to argue about who is in the wrong.

But the fact of the matter remains that international student groups spent hours practicing for months trying to put on a show for the UB community — and SA wouldn’t allow us to cover it.

Email: Tanveen.Vohra@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @TanveenUBSpec

FEATURES

4 | Thursday, March 14, 2019

ubspectrum.com

FROM PAGE 1

DEMONSTRATION lution while the graduate students held up signs.

Benedictbegan the discussion by citing Macy MacDonald’s March 4 letter to the editor published in The Spectrum, and said he felt the opinions in the letter were a “pretty gross mischaracterization of the discussion we had at the meeting.”

The BPC proposed a new resolution, Benedict said, and the language was “softened.” It was also Benedict’s personal opinion that the language of the resolution should be more aspirational than negative.

“I’d like to maybe see the tone of the resolution flipped instead of being very negative-negative. Maybe talk about the benefits that could come from paying our graduate students more, paying a higher wage and really turn the tone of the resolution on its head,” Benedict said.

McCumber said this comment was disappointing.

“We’re dismayed they focus on tone rather than substance. We’re dismayed they focus on departments rather than the public good of the entire institution,” McCumber said.

The latter half of McCumber’s comment referred to members of the executive committee such as Cemal Basaran, professor and director of Electronic Packaging Laboratory, who said at the meeting that the responsibility to decide stipends should be the departments’ decision.

Basaran said students were not being paid “below minimum wage or poor wages” by the university but are being paid “non-living” wages by their departments.

Basaran believes the low wages are a result of departments hiring “more TAs than they can support.”

“The source of the problem is the department, not the university,” Basaran said.

Glick gave the students two minutes to

speak at the podium, during which time McCumber addressed members of the executive committee who believe stipends are the responsibility of departments and not upper administration.

Graduate students who hear these comments, according to McCumber, “don’t believe it.”

“They think that this committee has abdicated its responsibility to send a clear ringing message to the systemic budget priorities,” McCumber said.

After McCumber’s short speech, Joseph Moore asked members of the executive committee if they knew what the lowest annual stipend received by graduate students was.

No one answered.

Moore said the lowest stipend was $9,959.

“It’s $9,959. We have students making $9,959 for full TA appointments. Now, ask

yourself and ask the administration how that base minimum compares with other institutions,” Moore said.

Glick said that, although he didn’t answer the question at the time, he knew the answer.

“I was definitely within $100,” Glick said.

Glick believes other members of the executive committee also knew the number but didn’t speak up because they weren’t entirely sure, and said as academics they may feel uncomfortable speaking about something they hadn’t researched.

“They don’t want to sound wrong in public,” Glick said.

Email: tanveen.vohra@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @TanveenUBSpec

FROM PAGE 1

ADVOCATE can American Studies course. A number of students said they were discouraged by their advisers to take AAS classes, with one student saying they were told the classes “had no meaning.”

“When I was [submitting applications] to UB, the [university was] speaking about diversity a lot, showing how diverse UB is,” said Velldreice Cadely, freshman chemical engineering major.

“I get here now and I am trying to take an AAS class and it’s not the same at all.

The whole engineering department, I don’t feel they care about black students.”

Cadley said her adviser didn’t want her to take any AAS courses because “it had nothing to do with” her major. Cadley said being around people who look like her helps to make UB a more comfortable environment.

BSU opened the floor to suggestions on how to act on representational issues.

Students discussed the need to hire black

DAVILA TARAKINIKINI | THE SPECTRUM Black Student Union Vice President Daniel Edwards addresses the room during a BSU meeting Wednesday. Club members and students shared their opinions on the amount of black faculty on campus and more.

faculty in any program.

Deborah Pierce-Tate, a black faculty member in the Transnational Studies department, spoke at the meeting and said

UB TEACH

combined

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UB has its own definition of diversity that currently does not include hiring black faculty.

Pierce-Tate said English department

advisers told her not to advise students to take an AAS course. The room voted in unanimous favor on making an AAS course a requirement of all undergraduates. One audience member said if the UB Pathways were meant to make you “well- rounded,” they would include AAS courses.

Multiple attendees said a lack of black faculty does not encourage success for black students on campus. BSU reported that, by Fall 2020, there will only be two black faculty members.

“I think the amount of tenured black faculty on campus is about 1.6 percent,” Nor said. “The fact that Buffalo’s population is 40 percent black, it’s hard to say that it’s not institutionalized racism.”

BSU will hold a coffee talk on Friday in Clemens 1004 at 5 p.m. on social media in the black community.

Email: features@ubspectrum.com

ubspectrum.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Thursday, March 14, 2019 | 5

Student Association commemorates Mental Health Awareness Week SA to host ‘Plant & Sip’ and ‘SUNY’s Got Your Back’ events this week TANVEEN VOHRA, JACKLYN WALTERS CO-SENIOR NEWS EDITORS

The Student Association is holding events to commemorate Mental Health Awareness Week through Thursday in the Student Union. The events are part of SA President Gunnar Haberl’s push to address mental health awareness on campus.

Haberl said this week’s events have included mental health trivia on Monday and

“ask a counselor in training.”

Thursday’s upcoming events include “Plant & Sip,” where students can “create succulents” and enjoy tea, coffee or cocoa. SA will host SUNY’s Got Your Back, where community members can create comfort kits for violence victims, in Alumni Arena from 7-10 p.m. on Thursday.

Haberl said he is most excited for “Plant & Sip,” an idea which he got from the popular painting activity “Painting with a Twist,” where people paint while drinking wine.

“There’s gonna be like tea and stuff, we can’t offer wine on campus,” Haberl said.

Mental health is one of Haberl’s initiatives this year, and he looks to have UB’s

mental health resources printed on the back of all UB ID cards for next year.

Haberl said he hopes to make mental health resources mandatory in UB professors’ syllabi.

Haberl said the Faculty Senate was working on a resolution for this cause.

The senate voted to pass the resolution at its Wednesday meeting, to “strongly encourage” faculty to include the syllabi statements.

Haberl discussed the week’s events in his student-wide email on Monday, which also included links to sign SA’s petitions to include mental health resources on UB IDs and mandatory syllabi statements.

Mental health advocacy is personally im-

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portant, Haberl said, due to his own experiences working a 40-hour work week as SA president while also being a student.

“Being a student who is so involved in many different things that have so many expectations, sometimes I forget about my own mental health,” Haberl said. “UB Counseling Services has helped me tremendously.”

Additionally, Haberl said mental health and sexual violence prevention were among the top concerns for UB students according to a university-wide survey last year.

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

‘Mean Girls,’ ‘The Band’s Visit’ and more traveling to Shea’s usual six. Highlights of the upcoming Shea’s Performing Arts Center announces 20192020 season JULIANNA TRACEY, SAMANTHA VARGAS ARTS EDITORS

Buffalo theater-goers have a lot to look forward to next year.

Shea’s Performing Arts Center announced its M&T Bank 2019-2020 season. This year’s lineup will include seven national tours, opposed to the location’s

shows include “Mean Girls,” “The Band’s Visit” and “Come From Away”.

“Mean Girls” the musical will launch its national tour at Shea’s from Sep. 21-27. The musical, inspired by a book written by Tina Fey, follows Cady Heron, a teenager transferring to an American high school after living in Africa. She infiltrates a group of popular girls known as “the plastics” to take down their queen bee, Regina George.

“The Band’s Visit” is another highly anticipated musical coming to Shea’s. The musical won the 2018 Tony Award for

Best Musical and tells the story of eight Egyptian musicians as they accidentally visit a small town in Israel’s Negev Desert, called Bet Hatikva. During their stay, the band members overcome ethnic barriers and befriend the town’s Israeli inhabitants.

The tour will play at Shea’s from April 1419, 2020.

Other shows that are part of the Shea’s 2019-2020 season are “Come From Away,” Oct. 15-20, “Jesus Christ Superstar - 50th Anniversary Tour” from Feb. 11-16, “Hello Dolly!” from March 10-15, “Anastasia” from May 5-10 and “Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville” from June 2-7.

Shea’s also announced its Special Engagement performances. The three shows in the lineup are “Jersey Boys” from Nov. 14-19, “Les Misérables” from Dec. 10-15 and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” from Dec. 19-22.

ubspectrum.com “Jersey Boys” tells the true story of the creation of the 1960’s band, The Four Seasons. The hit musical features the band’s classic hits like “December 1963 (Oh What a Night)” and “Sherry.”

The classic musical, “Les Misérables” sold out Shea’s the last time the tour came to Buffalo. The musical tells a story of love, hope and redemption during France’s 1832 June Rebellion.

Shea’s also announced its 710 Theatre lineup. upcoming performances include “Superior Donuts” from Oct. 10-27, “Xanadu” from Nov. 5-10, “Christmas Over the Tavern” Dec. 5-22, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” from March 12-29, and “Bright Star” from May 7-17.

Email: Samantha.Vargas@ubspectrum.com and Julianna.Tracey@ubspectrum.

Twitter: @SamVargasArts and @JTraceySpec.

Police Blotter Breaking news reports on campus NEWS DESK

3/04 12:02 a.m. A caller reported a motor vehicle crash in Hadley Village. No injuries occurred. Patrol arrived on the scene and filed a report. A second caller later reported their vehicle was part of the accident.

4:11 p.m. The Clark Hall Fitness Center manager reported two people fighting in the main gym. UPD arrived and reported the subjects separated. UPD gave them a warning.

3/05 1:41 p.m. A caller reported someone took their shoes and heart rate monitor out of an unlocked locker in the men’s locker room of Alumni Arena. UPD filed a report.

3/06 8:16 a.m. A caller reported a loose dog near St. Joseph’s University Parish. UPD dispatched patrol, who reported the dog had left the area and was running through backyards on Winspear Ave. They notified an animal control unit.

12:19 p.m. A caller reported a two-car crash in Governor’s A Lot, and the drivers were arguing. The caller called back and said the drivers exchanged information and left the area.

3/07 1:27 p.m. A student reported someone stole $300 from her wallet on March 5.

The wallet was in the drawer in her dorm room in Fargo Quadrangle. UPD took her information.

11:15 p.m. A caller requested assistance with a marijuana complaint in Dewey Hall.

UPD arrived and reported there was no smell of marijuana, and occupants of the room did not open their door.

3/08 8:16 a.m. A person reported someone stole a Frigidaire Microwave out of the kitchen in Goodyear Hall between March 1-4. UPD filed a report.

4:23 p.m. A caller reported a propertydamage-only motor vehicle crash on Flint Rd. and John James Audubon Parkway.

The vehicles blocked the southbound lane of Flint Rd. UPD provided assistance and filed a report.

3/09 2:31 a.m. A caller reported two “unwelcome guests” in Clement Hall who refused to show ID. UPD arrived and subjects showed ID. UPD warned them to display ID when entering the building.

6:11 p.m. Patrol reported catching three to four occupants of Goodyear Hall

NEW

smoking marijuana. UPD filed a report.

11:18 p.m. A caller requested assistance with a person with a beer on the fourth floor of Clement Hall. The person claimed they are not a student and don’t have ID. Housing called UPD back and stated they no longer needed assistance.

3/10 12:51 a.m. Patrol requested medical transport for an alcohol overdose in the Flint Loop. Medical transport brought the subject to the Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital and UPD filed a report.

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Thursday, March 14, 2019 | 7

Hozier opens ‘Wasteland, Baby!

Tour’ at Shea’s on Hozier’s ‘Wasteland, Baby!

Tour.’ The North American tour is in support of the rock musician’s recent album of the same name. But Hozier didn’t JULIANNA TRACEY just celebrate the first tour stop ASST. ARTS EDITOR at Shea’s that night. The singer announced that he officially Hozier took a sip of his water after topped the Billboard 200 chart. strumming the final notes for his song, The titular number, “The “NFWMB.” He changed guitars and Wasteland, Baby!” was a highPRANAV KADAM | THE SPECTRUM leaned into the mic to address the packed light for fans. The song felt in- Hozier’s “The Wasteland, Baby!” tour opened at Shea’s on Sunday night. The tour is audience. timate and simple, with some in support of the Irish singer’s newest album, of the same name.

“This is a new one, which I never sang of Hozier’s band members The singer-songwriter encouraged audi- but the show had a feeling of connection. in front of a crowd before,” Hozier said. leaving the stage and reducing the instruence members to clap along throughout Anna Reed and Kendra Craik, Buffalo “In fact, that’s true for a lot of songs this mentation. During the intro of the song, the night. The audience participated in residents, said they felt a sense of intimacy evening.” the lights fell, leaving Hozier’s silhouette a call and response during track “To Be throughout the performance.

Sunday night’s performance at Shea’s against a red-lit background.

Alone.” The house lights rose during the “It was a huge venue, but it felt really Performing Arts Center was the first stop audience’s turn, encouraging the crowd to intimate,” Reed said. “There was an enersing along. getic exchange that was palpable.”

Lauren Guy, a freshman English and art The audience came together the most history major, enjoyed the opening track, during his closing number and the most A SMARTER SUMMER “Would That I.” She said she thought that anticipated song of the night, “Take Me the number was beautiful and comple- to Church.” From the first chord of the mented Hozier’s vocal talent. song, the crowd cheered and clapped.

STUDY ONLINE OR “His music and his performance was Many sang the entire song along with the ONSITE AT GCC just so ethereal.” Guy said. “It’s like bring- singer. ing the entire room together in one soul.

But Hozier wanted to give back.

Get prerequisites out of the way It’s amazing.”

Hozier showed his gratitude to fans, fel Lighten your fall semester course load Opener Jade Bird charmed the crowd low band members and crew. During the Get ahead on your degree program with her excitable attitude. The singer was encore, “Cherry Wine” and “Work Song,” able to fill the stage with just her voice and the singer devoted time into introducing Maintain your Excelsior Scholarship! her acoustic guitar, cracking jokes about each member of his band, and gave spe GCC offers 120 summer courses slipping into a fake American accent. cial thanks to the crew for making concert more than 50 online!

“There it is again. The American accent. possible.

I don’t know what’s going on.” Bird said.

“I’m probably forgetting probably a few “It’s like a tiny little cowboy is just like, you people, but you’re all legends,” Hozier know, hiding there.” said. “It takes more than a hammer and 7 Campus Locations and Online Emily Haas, a Niagara University stu- nails, as they say, to make a house a home.” dent, was impressed by Bird’s energy.

Albion • Arcade • Batavia • Dansville • Lima julianna.tracey@ubspectrum.com “She was fun. She was quirky,” Haas Email: Medina • Warsaw Twitter: @JTraceySpec said. “I didn’t know her before, but now www.genesee.edu 1-866-CALL-GCC I’d definitely listen to her again.”

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SPORTS

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ubspectrum.com

Anthony Johnson shines on Pro-Day Johnson runs long-awaited 40-yard dash NATHANIEL MENDELSON SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR

ORCHARD PARK, NY –– The Buffalo Bills AdPro Sports Training Center felt less like of a homecoming for UB football seniors and more like every player for themselves as they try to continue their football careers.

Representatives from 31 of 32 NFL teams were in attendance as the Los Angeles Rams were the only team not represented. Anthony Johnson and Tyree Jackson drew in attention after their combine performances but over 10 Bulls and local players were hoping scouts would notice their athletic abilities, too.

Still, the biggest news of the day was Johnson’s 40-yard dash time.

Johnson did not run it at the combine two weeks ago due to a sore ankle that he suffered at the Senior Bowl in January.

Johnson has been looked at as a top receiver in the class but without his 40 time, teams would not know the speed of the projected early-round pick. The Spectrum clocked in his times at 4.41 and 4.43 but consensus from other scouts in attendance says he averaged closer to a 4.50 in the dash.

All times are unofficial and were taken by hand.

The Spectrum also recorded defensive end Chuck Harris with a high of 4.56, cornerback Cameron Lewis at 4.48 and corner-

JACK LI | THE SPECTRUM Anthony Johnson makes a catch along the sideline last fall. Johnson performed well in his much anticipated 40-yard dash with multiple outlets reporting a time around 4.50 seconds.

back Tatum Slack at 4.41 as well.

Tim Roberts, who graduated UB in 2018, returned to action and ran a 4.50 as he continues to pursue his NFL dream after receiving an invite to the Washington Redskins rookie minicamp last season.

Jackson did not run the 40 or participate in any drills other than throwing and showed his athletic abilities to scouts at the combine. Jackson, under the direction of quarterback consultant Jordan Palmer, made 54 throws and attempted to show

off improved mechanics. Mechanics were the number one criticism of Jackson at the combine.

Palmer has previously trained Buffalo Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen.

No official stats were kept but The Spectrum recorded Harris with the top bench press at 22 repetitions and Lewis having a broad jump of 10’4”.

Linebacker Khalil Hodge, who has the most tackles of any player in the NCAA the last three seasons, ran the 40 only one

time and had a 5.03, according to our times.

Center James O’Hagan had the slowest times with an average of 5.65 but should not be a concern since he is an offensive lineman.

Bulls players now await the NFL draft that will take place April 25-27 as they hope to continue their football careers.

Email: Nathaniel.Mendelson@ubspectrum.com

Bulls advance to semifinals Women’s basketball dominates Kent State 85-52

==| THE SPECTRUM Senior guard Cierra Dillard lays it in against Kent State. Dillard and the Bulls move on to face Central Michigan on Friday in the semifinals.

NATHANIEL MENDELSON SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR

CLEVELAND – Buffalo women’s basketball lost Saturday to Kent State to secure them as the four-seed in the Mid-American Conference tournament.

The Bulls automatically advanced to the quarterfinals and were happily greeted by the Golden Flashes in the first round. Buffalo lost by nine points last Saturday. On Wednesday, they won by 33.

Buffalo (21-9, 12-6 MAC) advances to the MAC semifinals after defeating Kent State 85-52 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. UB locked in on defense, holding Kent State to just 30 percent shooting and easily managed the Golden Flashes, going up 11 points in just the first quarter.

“You know, we didn’t know what we were going to expect,” head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said. “We didn’t know with Cierra [Dillard] coming back and then Summer [Hemphill] put on the shelf for the first nine games. We just said we’re going to keep going forward, take steps forward and find out what happens. When you’ve got a Cierra and a Hanna [Hall] on your team, you’ve got a chance. And we just kept getting better and today is just a culmination of us deciding we’re just going to continue to take steps forward and getting better as a team.”

UB opened the game on a 11-0 run.

A 3-pointer by sophomore guard Hanna

Hall, a jumper from senior guard Cierra Dillard, a 3-point play by junior guard Theresa Onwuka and another three from Dillard had Kent State looking lost in just the first three minutes.

The Bulls finished shooting 57 percent in the first quarter. They finished with a 26 percent shooting percentage for the entire game last week against Kent State.

Hall knocking down her opening shots was more important than the team’s hot shooting start.

“Just focus,” Hall said. “I knew this was the stage that I had to come through, especially with teams playing the way they’re playing against Cierra and Summer and our main players right now, it’s important for me to be able to be that third option as well as like Courtney Wilkins, a great shooter. To have that third option, it makes teams really tough to guard us, so I

was just locked in and ready for when the ball came.”

At halftime, Buffalo was up 41-21.

Hall felt that the Bulls executed their skill better than they ever had. They were locked in, set the tempo and dictated where they wanted the game to go. The way that they communicated on defense compared to last week was “amazing.”

Defensively, Buffalo forced 14 turnovers and blocked five shots. Kent State head coach Todd Sharkey thinks the Bulls are the most athletic team in the conference and the Golden Flashes did not have the personnel to match up and beat Buffalo twice in one week.

“They’re one of the top 35 teams in the country,” Sharkey said. “With the right draw they could see themselves back in the Sweet 16.”

The Bulls could see themselves back in

the Sweet 16 with another performance like junior forward Summer Hemphill had.

Hemphill finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, including a three. It was just the third make from deep in her college career.

Hemphill consistently makes threes in practice but doesn’t attempt them in games. She feels it’s someone else’s responsibility to shoot from deep, according to Legette-Jack.

“Everything we talk about is a microcosm of life, and I think the light’s kind of flickering with this young lady,” Legette-Jack said. “If the light ever comes on with Summer Hemphill we’re going to be real dangerous.”

Buffalo will need everything it can get from Hemphill, Hall, Dillard and others when they take on Central Michigan in the semifinals.

The Chippewas defeated Eastern Michigan 88-80 in overtime on Wednesday.

The Bulls have lost twice to Central Michigan, which defeated them in last year’s MAC tournament final.

“What we’re trying to do is say we were good at a lot of things but let’s make it even better,” Legette-Jack said. “So we’re looking at this as a three-game situation.

We just got through with game one. If we won by 1, 30, doesn’t matter. And now we’re going to game two and now we have to continue to go forward.”

The teams will meet Friday at 11 a.m. to decide who heads to the championship game on Saturday.

Email: Nathaniel.mendelson@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @NateMendelson