The Spectrum Vol.69 No.15

THE SPECTRUM VOL. 69 NO. 15 | OCTOBER 17, 2019

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

Zodiaque prepares for ‘versatile’ fall performances

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UBSPECTRUM

Campus Critters

Get to know an opponent: Akron

Get to know some of the Critters owned by your peers.

The Bulls take on the Zips in Akron Saturday.

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Latin American Student Association protests for UB to celebrate more diversity Some LASA members feel UB doesn’t follow through on diversity efforts BRITTANY GORNY, SAMANTHA VARGAS SENIOR NEWS EDITOR, SENIOR FEATURES EDITOR

Twenty-four students, including Latin American Student Association members, marched in the pouring rain Wednesday to demand UB celebrate its minority students.

Protesters began in the Student Union and made their way, with arms linked, through the academic spine to Capen Hall. They carried flags from Puerto Rico, Mexico, the Domincan Republic, El Salvador, Venezuela and others, while chanting “LASA, LASA” and “Hispanos unidos,” which translates to “united Hispanics.” Participants said the protest was in response to the university’s failure to acknowledge Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. As of 2018, 7.5% of students at UB are Hispanic, according to UB’s common data set.

Protestors called for UB to make specific changes because they felt individual SA clubs are the sole groups sharing their cul-

ture. They called for different activities and cultural demonstrations to educate others throughout the academic year.

Anthony Vargas, the president of LASA and whose mother is a firstgeneration immigrant, said the university not celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month felt “like a slap in the face.”

“You can stand in the middle of the Capen library for two minutes and see like 20 different cultures, and to think that those cultures aren’t celebrated just shows how isolating being away [at school] can be,” Vargas said. “The moment we decide to not celebrate something so big at such a big school, we fail.”

Despina Stratigakos, UB’s Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence, wrote in a statement Wednesday that her office issued “a call for proposals” Wednesday for the spring’s Inclusive Excellence Summit, where the UB community discusses diver-

UB opens tutoring center Peer tutoring now available in one location for all undergraduate majors BRITTANY GORNY SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

UB’s new Tutoring and Academic Support Services (TASS) in Capen Hall has seen roughly 1,000 students since opening on Sept. 9.

Cheryl Taplin, director of student success and retention, proposed the idea for a center to teach all undergraduates, as UB’s previous tutoring services only catered to select majors. Now, UB offers free hourlong tutoring sessions in 130 Capen Hall Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Students can book appointments ahead of time through the Student Success Portal or walk in to the office, according to Vivian Jimenez, interim director of the Office

for Tutoring and Academic Support Services. The 36 undergraduate and graduate tutors are paired with students based on subject.

TASS doesn’t have a tutor for every course, but Jimenez says it will work with departments to pair students with a peer or hire a tutor in subjects they need help in.

Jimenez said TASS serves students who previously didn’t have access to tutoring services in one location.

“There was a definite need on campus, not just for a small subset of the population, but for the whole undergraduate population to have a place where they could go and get the help that they need,” Jimenez said.

Support services, part of TASS, offer one-on-one coaching in skills including time management, learning styles and learning to retain information.

Before TASS, tutors were trained at

sity, equity and inclusion. She reiterated that “diversity and inclusion are strongly held values” at UB. Vargas, a senior sociology and criminology major, wore the Dominican Flag around his neck while walking down the academic spine.

LASA, which has roughly 200 members and is a recognized Student Association club, was founded to educate and promote

VindhyA BuruGupAlli / The SpecTrum lasa members marCh from The sTudenT union To Capen on wednesday afTernoon.

awareness regarding the Latin-x community.

Vargas said he was upset that UB President Satish Tripathi spoke highly about the university’s diversity during his State of the University Address on Oct. 4, yet did not acknowledge Hispanic Heritage > SEE LASA| PAGE 2

CJ Massinburg signs with Brooklyn Nets Former Bull signs contract with NBA team RICHARD LOUIS STAFF WRITER

The Brooklyn Nets announced on Tuesday afternoon they signed former Bulls basketball player CJ Massinburg. Details

er of the Year, averaging 18.2 points per game. He finished his career with 1,990 points, the second-highest point total in school history, only behind Javon McCrea with 2,004 points by the end of his 2014 season. During the 2018-19 season, he led the Bulls to a Mid-American Conference championship with a 32-4 record and UB’s second-straight NCAA tournament

> SEE TUTOR| PAGE 2

The SpecTrum ArchiVeS former bull CJ massinburg dribbles up The CourT in 2017.

Gordon myerS / The SpecTrum sTudenTs working in ub’s new TuToring and aCademiC supporT serViCes CenTer in Capen.

of the deal have not been announced.

Massinburg is the first UB player to sign with an NBA team and join a training camp since Mitchell Watt joined the Golden State Warriors in 2014, according to The Buffalo News. Massinburg, who set a school record at UB of 636 points in a single season, played for the Brooklyn Nets in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 4.8 points in four games.

Massingburg was the 2019 MAC Play-

appearance.

Massinburg puts the Nets roster at 20 players, but the organization will need to cut down to 15 players by Saturday.

If Massinburg doesn’t make the final roster, he could be headed to the Long Island Nets, which is the organization’s GLeague team.

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

NEWS

2 | Thursday, October, 17, 2019 FROM PAGE 1

FROM PAGE 1

TUTOR

various centers and departments across campus, so the center is trying to make training uniform.

“We’re trying to train all tutors across campus out of this center, so that there’s a consistent message being delivered to the students that are being tutored,” Jimenez said.

Students who want to be tutors must apply and be endorsed by faculty. TASS then interviews each applicant to ensure they “not only know the content, but have a personality.”

Once selected, each tutor goes through 10 hours of training, 25 hours of tutoring and then a short observation period, according to Linda Zilgme, assistant director of the Office for Tutoring and Academic Support Services. Tutors work around 10 hours per week and receive hourly compensation.

The center will be starting a peer mentoring program for first-generation students, and on Friday they started study groups for chemistry, physics and biopsychology of six to eight students.

Email: brittany.gorny@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @BrittanyGorny

LASA

Month.

Other members of LASA agree and said attending a large university can feel lonely, especially a university that they feel doesn’t celebrate their culture.

Lilian Macancela, a senior legal studies major, said she protested because coming to UB was “very difficult” and it felt “isolating” knowing she was one of the few Hispanic students on campus.

“When I found LASA, it was one of the few communities [celebrating diversity], so having that support system is really helpful for us,” Macancela said. “And if we got recognition from the university, it would make us feel like we’re a part of something bigger.”

Macancela referenced the quotes from prominent people in different buildings across campus, few of which are from Hispanic Americans.

“I felt like I would be the only Spanish person in the room a lot of times, and it’s intimidating at a school with 30,000 students,” Macancela said.

As of 2018, 1.7% of UB’s faculty is Hispanic or Latin-x.

Diving into Buffalo’s waste UB Sustainable Urban Environments Initiative conducts waste audit ALEXANDRA MOYEN NEWS EDITOR

UB students were elbows-deep in garbage on Wednesday, searching for sustainable ways to manage large-scale waste and encourage companies to do the same.

Eight Fundamentals of Sustainability (SSN 501) students participated in Western New York Sustainable Business Roundtable’s Dumpster Dive to teach students and companies how to implement waste audits into their sustainability practices.

WNYSBR is an organization comprised of Buffalo-Niagara companies that come together to find ways to better the environ-

ment. The dumpster dive, held at the Tri-Main Center, included collecting and looking through the center’s garbage to see what could have been recycled or reused.

Sustainability Initiative Director Susan Clark believes the dumpster dive helps minimize waste and showcase trash which could have been recycled.

“If we’re keeping those materials within our economy, they become resources that can be used over and over again, rather than just putting a landfill and then have to use raw material from nature,” Clark said. “It represents an economic opportunity, but it also reduces the energy, carbon footprint, all of these things that hurt our environment.”

As students at the event searched through trash, composting and recycling specialist Andrew Goldstein presented

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“Several months ago I convened a group of faculty to explore how UB might strengthen its support for Hispanic/Latin-x faculty and students,” Stratigakos’ statement read. “While the university typically doesn’t celebrate specific heritage or commemorative months we will continue, through our programs, initiatives and conversations, to ensure that UB is welcoming and diverse.”

Alexandra Cuatlayo said it coming to UB “hurt”, because she was excited to see diversity celebrated often, but says she hasn’t seen it.

“I never realized how little the Latin culture is represented here, we are a very diverse school but the school doesn’t celebrate it enough,” Cuatlayo said.

Ming Chen Deng, a sophomore business administration major and vice president of LASA, wore the Venezuelan flag while protesting to represent his heritage.

“I believe that if UB wants to promote that they’re really a diverse school then they should be showing it through their actions,” Deng said. “We need to see business representatives with ways to improve their companies’ sustainability plan through waste auditing and assessments.

He also emphasized ways companies can use these measures in their branding, and that recycling doesn’t always save money, but waste auditing can reduce garbage costs, “save material and save our planet.”

Goldstein wants businesses to “take action” to help the earth and believes that improving a sustainability plan is a “team effort.”

“Most often there’s somebody under your wing that is your recycle or die kind of person that can’t understand why you’re not recycling –– look for those people and give them some responsibility over this,” Goldstein said. “But make sure it’s part of the team and as part of your goal setting for all of [you].”

SA Assistant Director of Environmental Affairs Sadie Kratt believes the event was important because it educates both

VindhyA BuruGupAlli / The SpecTrum lasa members marCh in proTesT To Capen from The sTudenT union on wednesday.

things in the Student Union. It’s where everybody passes through every day. Awareness should be emphasized in this area especially.”

Vargas said LASA is ready to stand with any other club that decides to protest UB’s display of diversity.

“Silence is quiet, but silence is also very powerful. We made sure that we aren’t going to remain silent. It’s all about advocacy and standing up for our students,” Vargas said. “The diversity is there, but the celebration of it isn’t.”

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

the student participants and the center’s employees.

“Until you’re going through a bag that smells like a diaper and is covered in yogurt and coffee grounds and cereal, you don’t really get the experience of knowing what is in the trash,” Kratt said. “It was really gross but very eye opening so it was worth it.”

Kratt said UB’s sustainability office hasn’t done a waste audit in six years and she hopes to apply what she has learned from the dive to UB. “I think this would be a really cool club opportunity perhaps to go through just the garbage like on the [Student Union] third floor because that’s where all the club offices are located,” Kratt said. “So that might be a potential SA club opportunity to get clubs more involved with their personal trash and see their personal impact.”

Email: alexandra.moyen@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @AlexandraMoyen

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OPINION

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Happy Columbus Day, not Indigenous Peoples’ Day Remembering and honoring the nobleness of Christopher Columbus

DONOVAN NEWKIRK STAFF WRITER

In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

Many of us have read, or even recited portions of the Columbus Day Poem in elementary school. And many of us did so proudly and confidently.

Unfortunately, a lot has changed since we’ve been in elementary school.

Columbus Day became a federal holiday in 1971, celebrated on the second Monday in October. As with all federal holidays, it is recognized by the United States government so some government offices close to observe the holiday.

The left and historically illiterate activists have censured Columbus and labeled him a “tyrant,” “racist,” “anti-native” and a “murderer.”

As a result, in recent years, 13 states and the District of Columbia have decided not to honor Columbus for the hero that he is and change the name of the holiday.

Hawaii observes Discoverers’ Day. South Dakota observes Native Americans’ Day. Washington D.C., Oregon, Vermont,

Maine, New Mexico, Alaska, Iowa, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota and Louisiana have keelhauled Columbus and now celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Columbus was none of those horrible things. In fact, he was innovative, courageous and dedicated to bettering the world.

The burden of proof falls on the accuser, not the accused.

If you are going to say that someone is a racist, you are the one that needs to prove your assertion.

Today, a conflation of identity politics, talk of slavery reparations, intersectionality, radical feminists and the infamous #MeToo movement have inspired people to seek sympathy from society by pretending to be victims.

It is absolutely repugnant.

We live in a time when fraudulent victims are hurting real victims.

No matter how trivial or egregious the crime may be, the American legal system is based on the notion that you are innocent until proven guilty.

In the wake of Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court in 2018, as well as the Trump-Russia investigation, we have seen the presumption of innocence become obscured. Sadly, guilty until proven innocent is the new norm. Although this is unfortunate, at least these two men were alive to defend both their positions and their names.

Columbus is not as fortunate.

He can do nothing as his statues are vandalized in Blue States, such as California and Rhode Island. He can do nothing as his name is slandered by bored, ungrateful liberal college students. He can do nothing as “woke” members of the Democratic party rebuke him.

He cannot defend himself.

So I will.

Columbus was not a tyrant.

From the beginning, he sought to explore and discover a direct water route west from Europe to Asia.

Columbus was not a racist.

Sure, evidence suggests that Columbus and his men did enslave some of the natives; however, his rationale was not based on their skin color or ideas of of racial inferiority. Instead, he saw the “Indians” as suitable servants because of their familiarity with the land and vast knowledge of the location of resources.

Slavery was not introudced to the New World by Columbus. In fact, slavery was common even among native people in the Caribbean. Instead, Columbus sought to be kind to the natives because he knew that they would be an essential component in not only his survival, but the survival of the men that accompanied him as well.

Owning or facilitating the trade of slaves is not indicative of racism, especially not during a period of time in which slavery was orthodox.

The father of our great nation, George Washington, purchased and owned slaves.

Does that make him a tyrant or a racist?

Of course not. It makes him normal with respect to that time period.

Columbus simply acted in accordance with what was considered common practice back then. Slavery was not abolished in Portugal until 1761, over 200 years after Columbus’ death.

He adopted the son of a deceased native chief. In all of his writings, he did not delineate the natives as inferior based on the color of their skin.

Columbus did not commit genocide against the natives.

Natives died as a result of diseases and viruses, not because Columbus and his men slaughtered them for fun. These diseases were unintentionally brought over from the Old World.

Indigenous people were not victims.

Celebrating Columbus Day doesn’t detract from indigenous peoples or Native

Americans’ accomplishments and contributions to America.

But not celebrating Columbus Day does detract from the brave voyage and achievements made by Columbus and his men.

Columbus didn’t “discover” America, in fact, he never set foot on what is now American soil, but Benjamin Franklin didn’t “invent” electricity, either.

Columbus did, however, introduce the Americas to Western Europe and initiated the influx of Western Europeans who eventually established Canada, Mexico and the U.S. Columbus was not perfect. He was human and all humans make mistakes.

Though not perfect, he still should be rightfully honored.

Heroic and iconic figures such as Martin Luther King Jr. and former U.S. presidents John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt were apparent dishonest womanizers; nonetheless, they each made substantial contributions to both the development of the country and the world and are revered for their respective contributions.

We all have shortcomings and flaws.

However, we cannot allow the left to belittle the successes and achievements of honorable people based upon their imperfections –– especially if these imperfections are merely alleged.

Before you condemn Columbus, rip away praise and tarnish the day that was designed to honor and respect him, think about how different your life could be had he not taken that journey. As you sit in the single greatest and most prosperous country in the world, I urge you to celebrate the courageous man who unequivocally made it all possible.

Please take into consideration the conclusion of that elementary school poem: The first American? No, not quite.

But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.

Columbus was not the first to encounter indigenous communities, but his arrival is renowned for changing the course of history and marking the systematic demise of a population that flourished for at least 12,000 years. The written history of this comes from one main source –– Columbus’ personal diary, his documentation of the wonders of the “new world,” which he gave to his patrons, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain when he returned home.

This romanticization of history is onesided and was written with a purpose –– to impress the monarchs enough to convince them to bankroll Columbus’ next voyage.

From the moment he stepped foot in the Americas, Columbus was ready to claim his newfound territory, even if it meant taking advantage of his newfound “friends.”

In his mind, Columbus was bringing “religion” to “a race of people very poor in everything.” Or at least that’s what he wrote in his journal on October 12, 1492.

He went further to say, the natives “should be good servants and intelligent, for I observed that they quickly took in what was said to them, and I believe that they would easily be made Christians, as it appeared to me that they had no reli-

gion.”

Columbus proceeds to explain his plans to take six natives back to Spain as slaves for Queen Isabella I. This diary entry clearly implies he believed indigenous people were less than him, allowing him to justify their enslavement.

Columbus’ presence in the Americas was detrimental to indigenous populations.

Yes, Europeans bringing over smallpox and the diseases of the Old World definitely played a part in the deaths of America’s native population.

But so did the violence, rape and systemic genocide that Columbus, along with other high-ranking European officials, inflicted upon the natives.

Columbus never even intended to seek new land. The whole “adventure” was much less the brainchild of an avid explorer looking to discover the world and much more a cruel twist of fate mixed with a lot of bad math.

And Columbus’ grand mistake –– along with his misidentification of natives as “Indians” –– continues to affect indigenous people’s lives right here and right now.

Buffalo has its own history of colonization, with the French settling in the Buffalo Creek area –– on land which Haudenosaunee people already inhabited –– in 1758. According to Partnership for the

Public Good, many indigenous people in Buffalo were forced out of their land, onto small reservations or even out of state, through the treaties of Buffalo Creek.

Colonization is real and it happened right here and it’s time we started acknowledging our problematic past rather than remaining willfully ignorant for the sake of nostalgia.

Columbus’ actions led to the genocide of millions of Native Americans, and claiming they didn’t is revisionism at best, and ignorance at the very least.

We still have not adequately acknowledged America’s history of colonization, and we continue to take land from indigenous communities to this day. But natives’ history isn’t just a chapter in eighth grade history books, and the past still affects people’s lives right now.

In order to defend America’s racist history, we first need to acknowledge the real, documented instances of racism and violence in our past.

Next year, Indigenous Peoples’ Day falls on Oct. 12, the anniversary of Columbus’ aforementioned journal entry. I hope we utilize this anniversary to accurately recall the story of Christopher Columbus, and that we work to honor the lives of natives rather than the racist’s.

We need to give indigenous people the respect they deserve

JACKLYN WALTERS MANAGING EDITOR

Christopher Columbus should not be celebrated, and that’s not a matter of debate.

I am currently sitting on colonized Haudenosaunee land.

And you might be too.

America’s history of colonization is exhaustive and –– conveniently –– whitewashed in the public education system.

On Monday, many Americans celebrated one of our nation’s most infamous colonizers, and they shouldn’t have.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019 VOLUME 69 NUMBER 15 CIRCULATION: 4,000

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The views expressed – both written and graphic – in the Opinion section of The Spectrum do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board.

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Email: jacklyn.walters@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @JacklynAWalters

4 | Thursday, October, 17, 2019

FEATURES

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Cosplay artform brings UB students together The UB Cosplay Club welcomes everyone to explore and create art through costumes ANASTASIA WILDS ASST. ARTS EDITOR

When Jennifer Dudzinski started her freshman year at UB, she had one friend and a casual interest in cosplay –– an artform where people create and wear costumes of characters from movies, books, video games and other forms of media.

After her friend persuaded her to join the UB Cosplay Club, Dudzinski, who had no prior experience making costumes, says she fell in love.

Now, as a senior media studies and English double major, this is Dudzinski’s second year as president of UB Cosplay, where she helps other students discover their love for costume design just as she did.

UB alum Devon Marr started the club in 2014, after seeing similar clubs at other universities. By 2015, UB Cosplay became an official Student Association-funded club and has continued to grow over the years. People often cosplay, a combination of “costume” and “play,” at conventions around the world to either participate in cosplay contests or to simply show their work.

During the school year, UB Cosplay meets weekly to discuss upcoming events, important club information and a cosplay topic of the week such as how to style a wig or how to survive a convention. After the presentation is over, members use the rest of the meeting time to work on costumes, use the club’s materials such as the sewing machine and fabrics and just to socialize.

“There really is nothing like it,” Dudzinski said. “When everyone comes together to celebrate different fandoms and to admire all the hard work that other people

put into their costumes, it’s just amazing.”

Kaitlyn Johnson, a senior media studies and theatre design technology double major, was the UB Cosplay president before Dudzinski.

Johnson was interested in cosplay before joining the club and said cosplay helped her find her place on campus.

“Some people cosplay [to] escape from reality, to show their love of a character, to be able to make something and bring it to life, [or to have] a creative outlet,” Johnson said Despite the struggles Dudzinksi has faced as president, such as the stress that comes with running events, her love of cosplay and the strong connections she’s made with other members make her role “an experience like no other.”

“I have the opportunity to work with my friends to create a space for people like

CHLOE FERNEY STAFF WRITER

Getting a tattoo is risky business.

There’s always the chance of getting stuck with a bad tattoo for the rest of your life, and unfortunately, it happens all too often. Roughly 23% of people with tat-

walk from South Campus, on the corner of Winspear Avenue and Main Street.

The parlor encourages customers to design their own customized tattoos, with base prices starting at $60 and costs increasing depending on the time a piece takes to complete.

The parlor accepts walk-ins and creditcard payment, but does not offer piercings.

ployees who specialize in each area.

The base price for tattoos is $80 but prices increase with the tattoo’s size. Ear piercings start at $45 and nose piercings start at $30.

If you’re planning to get a tattoo, make sure to call ahead because the shop requires appointments.

Cowpok locations do not accept appointments for piercings. Customers typically experience a 30-40 minute wait, according to Yelp reviews.

And keep in mind, you can only pay for tattoos in cash.

Hand of Doom Tattoo 734 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY 14222 Located in the heart of Elmwood Village, Hand of Doom is about a 26-minute drive from North Campus.

Hand of Doom is on the pricier side, but you get what you pay for.

The base price is $100 for a tattoo and increases for larger tattoos, but the shop accepts credit cards.

Hand of Doom only offers tattoos (no piercings or jewelry) and accepts walk-ins when there is room.

Gordon Myers / The Spectrum The Renaissance Custom Tattoo storefront.

toos in the U.S. regret them, according to a poll by the Fresh Start Laser Tattoo Removal Clinic.

Despite the risk, about 40% of U.S. adults have tattoos, according to a 2017 Statista survey.

And many who don’t have tattoos want at least one. Roughly 19% of U.S. adults without tattoos consider getting at least one, according to a 2017 Statista survey.

So, if you’re one of the inexperienced but interested 19%, we’ve got you covered.

We compiled a list of some of the best tattoo parlors in the Buffalo area.

Renaissance Custom Tattoo 3223 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14214 Renaissance Custom Tattoo is a 20-minute drive from North Campus, but a quick

ing major David Fusani is a regular UB Cosplay member who loves the social aspect of the club.

“The best part about the club is the cohesive friend group aspect,” Fusani said.

“The people in the cosplay club are naturally really open to even those who might not initially understand it, like yours truly, and will gladly introduce you to what they’re passionate about.”

Dudzinski says she hopes the club will continue to grow and be able to do things with and for the cosplay community.

“Everything is the best part of UBCosplay. I know it’s cheesy to say, but it’s true,” Dudzinski said. “From the friendships I’ve made to the accomplishments we’ve achieved, everything makes me love this club.”

Email: anastasia.wilds@ubspectrum.com

Alexander Brown / The Spectrum The Cosplay Club eboard discusses upcoming meetings in front of the Student Union.

Think before you ink Popular tattoo studios near campus

us,” Dudzinski said.

UB Cosplay participates in multiple events throughout the year, including UB’s Miniclash, the cosplay fall dance, club trips to conventions outside of UB like Buffalo Con and UBCon, which is UB’s main convention. UB Strategist and Role Players Association started the popular annual convention which is now jointly run during the spring semester every year by UB SARPA, UB Anime and UB Cosplay.

During her time as president, Johnson said she worked hard for UB Cosplay to be considered equal to UB SARPA and UB Anime. Johnson remembers fighting to co-run UBCon. “[The SARPA president] was being intimidated by us four girls saying, ‘We want in to UBCon and the profits,’” Johnson said. “We got it.”

Senior chemical and biological engineer-

The Parlour 437 Franklin St., Buffalo, NY 14202

Arboreal Ink 1745 Hertel Ave., Buffalo, NY 14216

Oak & Iron Salon and Tattoo 176 Franklin St., Buffalo, NY 14202 Oak & Iron Tattoo & Salon is a fullservice salon and tattoo studio. It offers a plethora of services including tattoos, manicures, microblading and hair styling.

The shop hosts guest tattoo artists and monthly special events. This month, the shop offers a Halloween-themed special where customers may prepare for their costumes with hairdos, makeup and even prosthetic accessories.

The base price for a tattoo is $80 and prices increase depending on the time they take to make. The hourly rate is $125.

The shop, located downtown, is a 24-minute drive from North Campus.

Email: features@ubspectrum.com

The Parlour is located in downtown Buffalo and is about a 22-minute drive from North Campus.

The stop offers tattoos, piercings and jewelry and the minimum price for a tattoo is $80, but varies based on tattoo size.

The Parlour accepts credit-card payments but customers are required to schedule an appointment before arrival.

Cowpok 177 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY 14201 5651 Main St., Buffalo, NY 14221 Cowpok has two locations –– one on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo and another on mainstreet in Williamsville, both serving as tattoo parlors and jewelers with em-

Located in North Buffalo, the parlor is a 23-minute drive from North Campus.

Arboreal Ink specializes in custom tattoos and customers are welcome to bring original artwork that the artists will use as a model for the tattoo.

The parlor accepts walk-ins.

The base price for a tattoo is $50 and touch-ups are free for the first six months after the initial inking. Prices increase for larger tattoos. The parlor does not accept credit-card payments.

Arboreal Ink offers special deals for students and customers celebrating birthdays.

Gordon Myers / The Spectrum Owner of Renaissance Custom Tattoo poses for a photo.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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Thursday, October, 17, 2019 | 5

Zodiaque prepares for ‘versatile’fall performances Dance students discuss upcoming weekend of performancew JULIANNA TRACEY SENIOR ARTS EDITOR

ditional view of dance this weekend, with one performance projected on film, rather than live on stage.

Students worked with MFA student Mary Schnepf as she choreographed a filmed dance. This onstage film will explore how different angles and editing connect with the dancers’ movements.

Zodiaque also worked with Los Angeles-based dance company Entity Contemporary Dance to learn a contemporary style of dance popular in LA for this weekend’s performance. Entity, which members founded in 2009 to “forge connections between the Southern California hip-hop and contemporary dance communities,” is an award-winning company with three evening-length works, according to its website.

Versatility matters.

Zodiaque Dance Company’s artistic director Kerry Ring knows this. And she wants her students to know, too.

Zodiaque, the long-running and highly praised on-campus dance company made up of 25 dance majors, is hosting its fall performance on the Center for the Arts Drama Stage from Thursday to Sunday.

The company is known for its stylistic versatility and Ring wants the phrase “versatility matters” to be the main focus in every Zodiaque performance, every year.

Its 46th season is no different.

During the “fall performance,” which will cost $10 for students to attend, according to Eventbrite, Zodiaque will showcase a variety of dance styles, which members have practiced for weeks on end to execute, including jazz, ballet, modern and even one performance that isn’t live on stage.

“My role is to bring versatile styles to the stage and therefore, the dancers are practicing those different styles,” Ring said. “I also try to bring that sense of versatility to the audience so that the audience is sort of exercising their awareness of all the different things dance can be.”

For some dances in the performance, dancers can spend 15 to 20 hours rehearsing in a weekend, Ring says. Other rehearsals span three to four weeks, comprising of a few hours each session with some days off.

Zodiaque hopes to push the tra- Christine Hanratty / The Spectrum

Kennedy Jordan, a senior dance major, is excited for the opportunity to work with Entity.

“This is the first time [Entity] is setting their work on other people. So we are like the guinea pigs of this,” Jordan said. “It’s been an amazing process like the movement style’s amazing.”

Zodiaque dancers have also been working on tap, jazz, contemporary ballet and modern styles for the performance. They will perform a piece by professor Thomas Ralabate, fusing the Brazilian-style martial art dance, Capoeira, with salsa.

Maria Gionis, a sophomore dance major, believes these versatile styles help with her dance training.

“It’s nice to be able to learn and train in those specific [styles], even if it’s not par-

ticularly your strength,” Gionis said. “Also, there’s a lot more styles in the show like tap and jazz … So I think everyone gets a little taste of versatility.”

Ring hopes students not involved in the arts take advantage of seeing high-quality dance on campus from Thursday to Sunday. She also hopes students not familiar with watching dance take the opportunity to see it on stage.

“There’s just a lot of advantages to opening yourself up to any kind of art,” Ring said. “And it may speak to somebody that they didn’t even know it could speak to.”

Email: Julianna.Tracey@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @JTraceySpec

Zodiaque dancers rehearse during their practice last Monday.

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FEATURES

6 | Thursday, October, 17, 2019

Creator] last night. He was pretty good.

We wanted to see BROCKHAMPTON, Blood Orange and the Internet and everyone.

We got here just as Tyler started so we were a bit late. We saw half his set.

It was f-----g sick. And there’s loads of people today I want to see, so hopefully we don’t have too many interviews.

BRENTON J. BLANCHET EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Kevin Abstract may follow Easy Life on Instagram, but the English band still isn’t sure if he’s a fan yet.

To be fair, the Brockhampton rapper probably heard the horn section in their track “Nightmares” –– along with roughly 10 million other people –– and hit the follow button.

But the group stays humble about it.

Easy Life, which laces each track with brass riffs and rap verses, prides itself on its jazz-band roots, which have earned the group 640,000 monthly Spotify listeners, prove it’s on the up.

We caught up with the jazz heads after their Governors Ball 2019 performance this summer and printed it today as part of our new “Artist to Know” interview series. Throughout the series, we will highlight rising international (and local) musical talent before they, inevitably, take off.

The interview, lightly edited for style and length, follows below: The Spectrum: I know you guys tweeted out you were pretty excited to do all these festivals in America.

EASY LIFE: Oh, we’re just like, super stoked to be here. Most of us have never actually been to America until we came out here playing music so it feels good to be here, man. We travel around and see the sights and meet people. It’s good, man.

S: And who are you most excited to see, at least this weekend?

EL: Some of these lads saw Tyler [the

S: And I know at least Kevin Abstract is a big fan of you guys, right?

EL: Well I don’t know if I can say that, but we’re a really big fan of his. He’s dope.

I don’t know if he even knows who Easy Life is.

S: You guys actually announced you’ll be playing Glastonbury. That’s humongous.

How does it feel?

EL: It’s going to be mad, to be fair.

We’re well excited. It’s going to be nice to go back to England and just do some English festivals, where it’s really muddy and not so hot and everyone’s going to be miserable, it’s going to be fun.

S: Glastonbury is big. But I think what’s cooler is you guys are actually on the FIFA ‘19 soundtrack. What does that mean to you?

EL: Oh, it’s amazing. Obviously, we’ve all played FIFA growing up and stuff. So super cool. But that came at a really weird time in our story. It was super early and we hit the fan.

S: Another accomplishment I saw, or at least what I deem an accomplishment, was that “Sunday” video. The whole “Father Time” idea, who decided on that?

EL: Man, you know what, we can’t really take much credit for that. We sent the track to the director Greg, who’s super

ubspectrum.com

creative, super dope. We love working with him. And he was like, ‘Why don’t you just, you know, use hair growth to show a passage of time’ and we were like, ‘Let’s do it.’ And then just saw it go from there. But yeah, it’s cool.

man. Thanks for saying that.

S: I’ve listened to all your music. A lot of horns, like pretty beautiful horns. You looked over right away when you heard the horns over there [at the festival] as well.

How does it feel to be pushing out brass in 2019?

EL: Just keep putting out music we love.

As long as we love it. We’re coming back to America. We’re going on tour in December. I don’t know where it is that we’re going but lots of places. New York, we’ll be back for a show.

S: It’s a big day today at Gov Ball. You guys had a pretty big set today. What are you looking forward to most leaving Randall’s Island Park?

Brenton.Blanchet@ubspectrum.com EL: Yes, super relevant and important Email: Twitter: @BrentonBlanchet for our sound as well as always having that brass element because a lot of it is jazz inspired, most of t h e m .

They’re like harmonies and chord movement and stuff.

So yeah, me and Sam started this music, getting into music, by playing in jazz bands, like big bands and show bands and stuff like that. And it’s always a highlight for us when we get to just jam out. courTeSy of eASy life JaZZ group easy life spoke To us afTer goVernors ball and is feaTured in This week’s arTisT We love it, spoTlighT.

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IF YOU’D LIKE YOUR PETS TO BE FEATURED, CONTACT OUR ENGAGEMENT DESK AT BENJAMIN.BLANCHET@UBSPECTRUM.COM

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SPORTS

8 | Thursday, October, 17, 2019

Kicking and screaming Another football game lost because of missed kicks has fans in an uproar

ZACH MCADOO STAFF WRITER

After another loss that comes from missed field goals, fans are not happy.

The football team has been plagued with missed field goals and something needs to change.

In the last two seasons, Adam Mitcheson was the guilty party.

His four-year college career mark for field goals (48 of 75, 64%) and his extra point mark (making 89%) weren’t good enough for a kicker anywhere in the Division-I level. That is barely even good for a low-level D-II team.

Mitcheson is gone now and I thought that redshirt freshman Alex McNulty would be better.

He was the kicker fans wanted until he missed two kicks against Liberty. He hasn’t attempted a kick since.

Jackson Baltar took over from that game and has made only one of his four kicks since. The Ohio game –– where he went 0 for two on field goals and two for three on extra points –– was enough to prove that Leipold needs to make some adjustments.

“To the UB fans, God has a plan for us and yesterday his plan wasn’t what we had hoped for,” Baltar tweeted after the game.

“I’m going to move past this and work my ass off for my guys and I know they will too.”

I’m glad that Baltar is keeping his head up and not letting the kicks get to him too much. He can bounce back and I believe he will if he puts the work in.

I try to think of a kicker as part of the team so it isn’t all on him.

But that has to come to an end at some point and you have to recognize that they have a job to get done.

In the case of the Buffalo kickers, they are not getting the job done when they need to.

I understand that Buffalo doesn’t get the first choice for kickers. Buffalo isn’t a top school with any of the top players for any position. So the kickers are usually two or three-star recruits.

This might not just be on the kickers though. The special teams coordinator can take blame, too.

Kicking has been a problem for years now and it started about the time Taiwo Onatolu came here to coach them in 2015.

Since he took over, we’ve gone 53 for 86 (62%).

The team needs to figure out who should take the most blame and try to fix the problem before it escalates.

It may have already gone too far, as poor kicking was one of the reasons Buffalo lost the MAC championship last season.

The 30-29 loss was on the missed extra point. If UB didn’t miss the extra point, it wouldn’t have gone for two after their next touchdown. Both teams would have been tied at 31 to send the game into overtime.

I think the majority of the blame is on Onatolu, since the team has had kicking troubles since he started.

But the best way to fix this is to bring in another special teams coordinator and not just appoint someone to the spot.

Granted, this is going to cost Athletics more money, but the Bulls have proven that they can get to the MAC Championship and with kicking help, they might win it next time.

Get to know an opponent: Akron The Bulls take on the Zips Saturday JUSTIN WEISS STAFF WRITER

Coming off their bye week, the Bulls will travel to InfoCision Stadium in Akron, OH to take on the University of Akron Saturday.

The Zips are 0-6 following a 26-3 loss to Kent State. In his first season as head coach, former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Tom Arth has struggled to get much out of his offense, which has produced just 86 points.

Akron went 0-4 in non-conference play, with losses to Illinois, UAB, Troy and UMass. The Zips were projected to finish fifth in the East Division, according to the 2019 Mid-American Conference Football Media Preseason Poll.

Buffalo is 2-4 entering the Akron game, after wins over Robert Morris and Temple and losses to Penn State, Liberty, Miami

Courtesy of Jeff Harwell Akron quarterback Kato Nelson runs the ball this season.

(OH) and Ohio. The Bulls have struggled on offense, where they average 368.5 yards per game, ranking No. 91 in Division 1-A. “We for sure have the talent, we just need to be more consistent,” said offensive lineman Alain Schaerer.

Here’s what to expect when the Bulls take on the Zips Saturday afternoon:

COACH: Tom Arth, 0-6, first season

at Akron

LOOKING BACK

The Zips were one of just five teams to average less than 100 yards per game

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Courtesy

of

Jeff Harwell

rushing last season. In his final season at Akron, Van Edwards Jr. accounted for 558 yards and three rushing touchdowns.

He and then-freshman Keyondre White shared the bulk of the carries, but neither eclipsed 4.0 average yards-per-carry.

Quarterback Kato Nelson completed 52% of his passes for 2,329 yards, 15 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He threw for 115 yards and an interception in a 24-6 loss to Buffalo last October. The Zips failed to score a touchdown that night.

The Zips were shut out on offense in the 2018 MAC Postseason Awards. Wide receivers A.J. Coney and Kwadarrius Smith finished the 2017 season with a combined 1,277 receiving yards, and tight end Kobie Booker had eight catches for 126 yards and four touchdowns.

On the other side of the ball, cornerback Alvin Davis Jr. was named first-team All-MAC in 2018 after recording 75 total tackles and four interceptions, including two for touchdowns. He was instrumental

in Akron’s 39-34 upset of Northwestern last September, snagging two interceptions for touchdowns en route to getting named the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week.

The 2018 Zips allowed 27.2 points per game, ranking No. 65 in Division I-A. Akron finished with Davis as a first-team AllMAC defensive back, and five second- and third-team All-MAC defenders, including linebacker Ulysees Gilbert III and defensive back Kyron Brown.

Overall, the Zips finished with a 4-8 record, with two of their wins coming against MAC foes. The school announced the firing of head coach Terry Bowden with two years left on his contract.

ubspectrum.com

LOOKING FORWARD

Things have not come easily for the Zips in 2019. Over their first six games, the team is averaging just 307.8 yards per game on offense, and allowing 439.3 on defense.

In his redshirt junior season, Nelson has thrown for 1265 yards and eight touchdowns. He is dealing with an arm injury sustained during a 37-29 loss to UMass.

He has developed a rapport with Dustin Burkhart and Nate Stewart, who have amassed 711 total receiving yards.

Meanwhile, after losing eight defensive players from a season ago, the Zips have just four sacks on the year and are tied for last in Division I-A. Kicker Jerry Fitschen is two for four on field goals and five for six on extra points.

Heading into the season, the Zips had six players named to the Athlon Sports MAC Football 2019 All-Conference Team, including wide receiver Andre Williams and offensive lineman Brandon Council.

Under Arth, the Zips are employing different schemes than in years’ past. On offense, Akron has switched from the spread

to a pro-style offense. On defense, they have gone from a 4-3 to a 3-4. The 2019 season was expected to be a transition year for the Zips and it has proven to be just that.

BOTTOM LINE

The Bulls started off conference play against the two top-ranked teams in the MAC East, so they should be able to breathe a little against Akron. The Zips have struggled on both sides of the ball and are projected to finish toward the bottom of the conference. For Buffalo, it’s a good opportunity to come out of the bye week strong and take advantage of the Zips’ transition.

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com