The Spectrum Vol. 71 No. 15

Gov. Kathy Hochul visits UB to present $227 billion budget proposal, including over $124 million toward UB

to get UB $1 billion in research funding by 2030.

Students tell cultural stories through dance

FASA takes first place, ‘People’s Choice’ and ‘Most Inspiring’ awards in this year’s ‘Circle of Life’-themed

By the time doors opened at 5:30 p.m., the CFA’s atrium was packed and any semblance of a line was long gone. Dancers in stunning dress from their respective cultures carried props through the crowd or waved to loved ones from a staircase above. The whole building buzzed with undeniable anticipation.

International Fiesta, UB’s annual dance competition showcasing international clubs and organizations on campus, took place Saturday in the CFA Mainstage Theatre.

The hosts of the night, Askari Medhi and SA assistant director of communication Tendaji Ya’Ukuu, a junior environmental design major, prepared for their big entrance outside the theater doors.

“I’m so excited about all these dances,” Medhi, a junior biomedical engineering major, said. “People were practicing hours and hours every day. Seeing that all come together — it’s gonna be a great experience.”

This contagious excitement had been growing since the event’s theme, “Circle of Life,” was announced months ago. This concept encompasses cultural pride, historic events, and imagining a promising future.

The International Fiesta itinerary, provided by SA, explains the theme as “a homage to the past for the ancestors that guided us, a look to the future with pride at how far we’ve come, and how much

more there is to learn and experience in the world around us.”

To be considered for first place, dancers had to not only impress the judges with their skill but also with a story told through their performance that illustrates the circle of life. Groups could also choose to forgo the theme and compete for the audience-determined awards of “Most Inspiring” and “People’s Choice.”

The Filipino-American Student Association took home three trophies: “First Place,” “People’s Choice” and “Most Inspiring” at this year’s International Fiesta. First Place, “People’s Choice” and “Most Inspiring” — FilipinoAmerican Student Association

FASA’s 2023 performance showcased various traditional styles of dance. Sam Urriza, FASA president, said the styles they picked were the formal national dance of the Philippines: “tinikling” (a war dance), “escrima” (the candle dance), “pandanggo sa ilawllaw” (the bench dance), and “sayaw sa bangko” (a formal flower and scarf dance).

They wove all those styles together to tell the story of the various invasions and terrorist attacks the Philippines has endured throughout history.

UB Box Office’s third-party vendor reports data breach

dents.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced her Fiscal Year 2024 New York State Executive Budget proposal at UB’s North Campus on Monday. During her visit, Hochul highlighted funding allocated toward UB and the City of Buffalo.

Hochul announced in a speech at the Center for Tomorrow that she plans to allocate $100 million to UB for new and renovated research buildings, laboratories and state-of-the-art instrumentation. The announcement follows her previous goal

The budget proposal allocates an additional $24 million to help upkeep UB maintenance projects and to make sure all facilities remain “top notch.”

UB currently has $605 million in deferred maintenance costs, according to UB’s 2022-23 Operating Budget Report.

SUHA CHOWDHURY ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

UB Box Office’s third-party vendor, AudienceView, reported a data breach Wednesday that may have jeopardized the personal information of 292 customers.

Those who made purchases at the UB Box Office between Feb. 17 and Feb. 21 are at risk for having their information compromised, UBIT’s Vice President and Chief Information Officer J. Brice Bible said in a Thursday email to students.

UB spokesperson John Della Contrada said that credit card numbers are among the compromised information and AudienceView “will provide further details along with free credit-monitoring services.”

Della Contrada added that it is currently unknown how many customers were stu-

Nawal Ismail, a senior biomedical sciences and neuroscience major, is among those potentially impacted by the data breach. Ismail reported receiving notifications for several unauthorized UberEats transactions after she made multiple purchases through the UB Box Office.

And she isn’t alone: Something similar happened to three of her friends.

“It’s scary how much info and access UB has, particularly the ticket office,” Ismail said. “Everything is online, and it’s never a guarantee our information is safe. With the volume of information UB ticket office has, they’re definitely an easy target and at high risk for a breach.”

SWIMMING AND DIVING PLACES SECOND AT MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS

‘It felt like a dream’:

competition

JULIA MARCOTULLIO STAFF WRITER ALISHA ALLISON STAFF WRITER ALEX OLEN STAFF WRITER

Hochul’s budget proposes creating jobs, addressing mental health and developing Western New York VICTORIA HILL SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

vendor, AudienceView, will provide free creditmonitoring services to those potentially impacted

UB medical residents and fellows petition to form union

An election date for the 810 employees has yet to be determined

GRANT ASHLEY MANAGING EDITOR

UB medical residents and fellows filed for a unionization vote with the National Labor Relations Board on Feb. 22, according to filings with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

If formed, the union would cover all 810 residents, fellows and interns — commonly referred to as house staff — who work in UB-affiliated hospitals under the Union of American Physicians & Dentists (UAPD), a Sacramento, California-based union that represents doctors and other healthcare workers. A simple majority of those voting would have to approve of forming a union in order to do so.

A date for the election has yet to be determined, but a hearing with the NLRB is scheduled to take place in a matter of weeks, according to Dr. Stuart Bussey, president of UAPD.

“They want a union,” Bussey said of the UB house staff. “They called us up, and they’re tired of working long hours, low pay, a sort of condescending attitude from the administration.”

Some UB house staff said that they have “continuously been overworked and underpaid” on ubhousestaff.org, an anonymous website set up by some employees to push for a union.

“During the Buffalo blizzard of 2022, many residents and fellows were forced to stay at their respective hospitals and work overtime, breaking ACGME [Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education] duty hours,” the site reads. “None received extra compensation... Why do we accept payment for ourselves in the form of a pat on the back for a job well done? It’s time we advocate for ourselves.”

In a Feb. 23 statement, the Jacobs School of Medicine said it was “highly appreciative” of trainees’ work and that house staff didn’t “identify worrisome concerns about working conditions” in surveys.

“We are aware of the organization efforts of our residents, fellows and interns — the latest in a growing number of graduate medical education unionization efforts taking place across the country,” the Jacobs School of Medicine said. “We look forward to continuing to work with our

University Police hosts ‘Run, Hide, Fight’ training

UPD informed students, faculty and staff on to how to prepare for an active shooter

KIANA HODGE NEWS EDITOR

RYAN TANTALO SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR MATTHEW SHUTTIE

STAFF WRITER

University Police held a training session Wednesday that provided students, faculty and staff with information on what to do in the event of an active shooter on campus. UPD will be holding another session on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

The training, instructed by Deputy Chief of Police Josh Sticht, provided tips on what to do before law enforcement arrives on campus in the event of an active shooter scenario.

According to data collected by the FBI, 18 out of 333 mass shootings from 200019 happened at institutions of higher education.

Sticht said the odds of being involved in an active shooter incident on campus is rare.

Although the statistics show this occurrence to be infrequent, Sticht stressed the importance of developing a personal escape and lockdown plan.

The “run, hide, fight” protocol was established by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with the city of Houston, Texas and has been adopted nationwide.

That same protocol was used by the Michigan State University community during the shooting that took place on Feb. 13 which claimed the lives of three students.

In the event of an active shooter, UPD will send out a UB Alert text message and email to the university community. At that point, those on campus are advised to follow the “run, hide, fight” protocol.

The first option — run — is at the top of the priority list. If it is possible to evacuate, members of the community are urged to observe exits and alternate routes on campus to escape. Convincing other individuals to run is encouraged, but do not stay behind for those who refuse to leave.

People involved in an active shooting should run away from the sound of gunfire and get as far away from the scene as possible. Sticht says if one can see police responding to the scene, they are too close.

Once in a safe space, those involved are urged to call UPD directly at 716-6452222.

If escaping is not an option, hiding is the next-best course of action.

Due to the relatively short durations of active shooting incidents — six minutes on average — the shooter is likely to keep moving if a door is locked or a room appears unoccupied.

doors with heavy objects and remain completely quiet until an officer says it is safe to open the door. Sticht says individuals should wait for an officer to identify themselves via badge to verify that the situation is over.

The last resort in an active shooting situation is to confront and fight the shooter.

The protocol heavily encourages coordination and communication between those involved, as well as full commitment to fighting the shooter. The recent Lunar New Year shooting in California and the Club Q shooting in Colorado were provided as examples of individuals who successfully intervened to stop active shooters.

According to Sticht, New York State residents are within their rights to use any necessary force — even deadly — to defend themselves from an active shooter. If shooting is still occuring when first responders arrive, they will not initially tend to the wounded; their priority is to neutralize the threat. Once the shooting is over, emergency personnel will evacuate victims and begin medical care.

People are encouraged to notify loved ones that they are safe in an effort to minimize traffic on communication lines and at the scene. Emergency responders will set up medical care and reunification centers in safe locations, such as UB’s apartment complexes, which feature open community areas.

Throughout the incident, the UB emergency alert page will be updated with new information as it arrives. UPD also encouraged downloading the Guardian App for emergency communication and notification.

Sticht provided additional resources for students and faculty to report a UB community member who demonstrates concerning activity.

The UB Students of Concern team was established to “proactively identify, assess, and offer coordinated institutional response,” assessing referred students for their potential risk to the campus and community.

Anyone can report concerning behavior to the Dean of Students or UPD.

Email: kiana.hodge@ubspectrum.com

Email: ryan.tantalo@ubspectrum.com

trainees to ensure they have a first-class learning environment and are compensated fairly and competitively.”

Pro-union house staff say they make less than residents and fellows at other universities in Western New York. Data compiled on their website shows that UB house staff make less than their counterparts at the University of Rochester, the University at Albany and Upstate Medical University. Fellows and residents at the University of Rochester also get a limited tuition waiver, retirement benefits, housing stipends and childcare benefits.

But while union organizers contend that UB’s compensation package “falls significantly short” of the University of Rochester’s, the Jacobs School says that organizers’ data doesn’t “reflect the vastly different benefit packages offered at the different upstate institutions.” UB, for example, pays for house staff’s medical and dental insurance in full, while the University of Rochester simply subsidizes their employees’ policies.

“When accounting for the differences in benefits, the UB compensation package is

much closer to our colleagues across the state,” the Jacobs School said.

UB also says that all of its house staff received a 3% pay raise at the beginning of the year and will receive another 3% pay raise in July. Residents and fellows had previously negotiated for a 2% overall raise.

Bussey says the newly announced raises amount to an anti-union tactic designed to convince house staff that they don’t need a union.

“One of the reasons they did that is because about 100 people signed a petition,” he said. “It can be very subtle, the antiunion thing. They want to be the good guy, but they’ve had the opportunity to be the good guys for a long time.”

Bussey also said he expects to see other tactics considered by activists to be antiunion, including meetings with would-be members to explain why they don’t need to organize.

UB has not held such meetings as of publication.

Email: grant.ashley@ubspectrum.com

Young Americans for Freedom to host Michael Knowles next Thursday following monthslong postponement

The conservative commentator will speak at Slee Hall on March 9

Conservative political pundit Michael Knowles will deliver a speech titled “How Radical Feminism Destroys Women (And Everything Else)” to UB students in Slee Hall at 7 p.m. March 9.

The event, sponsored by the UB chapter of Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), will be open to the public and include a Q&A and a closed meet-and-greet with YAF club members.

The speech was originally slated for April 26, 2022, weeks after another YAFsponsored speech by Allen West sparked student protests on North Campus, which prompted UB and University Police to investigate YAF’s allegations of violence as well as online threats toward protestors.

YAF ultimately decided to postpone Knowles’ speech, with now-chairman Connor Ogrydziak citing “time constraints, and discussions with the Student Association (SA)” and a “need to hire security outside of the university,” in an email to The Spectrum last spring.

As of August, no criminal charges related to the Allen West protests have since been filed by University Police.

Ogrydziak did not respond in time for comment on Knowles’ event and the fallout of last year’s Allen West speech.

The SA has allocated the organization $3,361.36 to cover contract, food and security costs this semester, according to the SA general ledger. YAF will enlist the services of local security firm Excelsior

Management ahead of Knowles’ arrival on campus.

Knowles is a political commentator who rose to prominence at The Daily Wire and hosts a daily radio show at WHD, a commercial station serving the Buffalo-Niagara area.

He is known for authoring a 266-page satirical empty book titled “Reasons to Vote for Democrats: A Comprehensive Guide” and has made appearances on The Rush Limbaugh Show, PragerU and Fox News.

Knowles sparked controversy on Fox’s “The Story” for calling Greta Thunberg a “mentally-ill Swedish child” in September 2019. He made headlines earlier that year after student protestors sprayed him with lavender oil and other non-toxic liquids at his April 2019 speech at the University of Missouri - Kansas City, titled “Men Are Not Women.” In 2018, Knowles publicly reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage and gender fluidity.

In the wake of the Allen West protests, the university reiterated its position that SA-sponsored organizations have the freedom to “invite speakers of their choosing” as long as they abide by university guidelines and corresponding state laws.

UB also says it does not “take a position on the views expressed by those who visit its campus” but commits to “upholding its core values of diversity, inclusion and mutual respect at all times.

Email: kyle.nguyen@ubspectrum.com

I am more than my LSAT score

Law schools’ emphasis on the exam leaves me worried about my future

me to hold an important position.

I did it all with a GPA above 3.5.

You’d think that I’d be proud of my accomplishments and on a steady path as I apply to law school.

That’s not the case.

to identify highly qualified candidates who might otherwise be overlooked on the basis of undergraduate institution, GPA, lack of access to extracurricular activities or other factors,” according to the admission council.

I attended workshops and took multiple practice exams.

But the thing is: I’m not confident in my test-taking abilities.

KIANA HODGE NEWS EDITOR

I’ve worked my ass off throughout my three and a half years as an undergrad.

Since my freshman year, I’ve pushed myself outside my comfort zone, learning about new interests and working on skills that helped my development over the years.

I’ve been involved in a pre-law organization since my sophomore year. I’m now the president. I joined various clubs like mock trial and Her Campus to work on my communication skills and use writing as an outlet.

My biggest accomplishment has been my recent promotion to a news editor at The Spectrum. I sometimes still can’t fathom that people saw my potential and wanted

Unfortunately for me, law schools use a standardized test as one of their most important criteria for admissions.

The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) isn’t like the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), which tests your mathematics and reading comprehension.

The LSAT is a type of exam that you have to learn to take.

The exam takes approximately three hours to complete and is composed of four sections: reading comprehension, analytical reasoning, logical reasoning and writing.

LSAT questions aren’t law-related. But according to the Law School Admission Council (LSAC), the organization that administers the LSAT, the skills assessed by the LSAT are essential to success in law school and legal practice.

The LSAT was created to “allow schools

But that couldn’t be further from the truth. The LSAT actually hinders highly qualified students from being admitted into their dream schools.

LSAT prep can be exorbitantly priced. Although there are resources available to cut down on prep costs, getting a good score definitely requires receiving some type of assistance — whether that be tutoring, prepbooks or another form of aid.

The LSAT also contains material and concepts that take hours to learn and practice.

That gives some students an advantage. Many of us have to juggle college, work and their lives at home, making it difficult to dedicate more than 15 hours a week to study.

I did the best I could with preparation and even paid for a subscription that offered lessons before my last exam.

Grow up, Mr. West

Kanye ‘Ye’ West’s antisemitic rampage has been swept under the rug and overlooked

ences a tweet West posted that said “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up, I’m going death con 3 on Jewish people.”

DYLAN GRECO OPINIONS EDITOR

Kanye West used to be one of my favorite musicians and personal role models.

Now, I see him for what he is: a disgusting, antisemitic fool.

Granted, I still listen to some of his music. But when I do, all I can hear are excerpts from his interviews with Alex Jones and Piers Morgan. I’m not saying you’re a bad person if you listen to Kanye West. There’s something to be said for separating the art from the artist. But if you agree with his statements about Jewish people, you too are a disgusting bigot.

In his interview with Morgan, West repeatedly tries to justify his claims about Jewish people and doubles down on his prior antisemitic remarks. Morgan refer-

“Defcon 3” is a military term for “defense readiness,” a reference to war. After Morgan asks West if he regretted tweeting that statement, for billions of influential fans to see, Kanye repeatedly replied with, “No, absolutely not.”

Various Kanye fans have recently commented on his Instagram, saying that the rapper has “opened their mind” and calling him some sort of secret genius for making these remarks about Jewish people. Many of these comments claim that West is “doing God’s work.”

These revolting comments are a direct result of Kanye’s repeated, blatant manipulation of his immense Christian following.

A common belief among Christians is that if one accepts the lord Jesus Christ, they will be saved. Since Kanye is a devout Christian, his religious fanbase looks past his tornado of hate.

In his last tweet before getting deplat-

formed on Twitter, Kanye posted a picture of the Star of David with a swastika worked into it. His caption for the post said “Well everyone, we had a nice run, Jesus is King.”

Kanye tends to chalk his actions up to his faith in God, and his hate-inducing tweet with a swastika-involved Star of David followed with “Jesus is king” is no exception.

In his interview with Morgan, Kanye responded to a question about whether he regrets his anti-semitic remarks by saying, “Nah, not really. Because the things I say are on behalf of God.”

Perhaps the most blatant exposition of Kanye’s antisemitism was in an interview with Alex Jones where he claimed to “love a lot of things about Hitler.” He also claims that during World War II there were “a lot of good Nazis fighting for their country.”

Ever since, he’s been completely deplatformed on all social media outlets and dropped from his deal with Adidas.

But West may be making a comeback. He’s reportedly been offered a BBC pod-

The test is rigorous and dense. At 75 questions, many students struggle to answer every question to the best of their ability in three hours. And unfortunately I, like many other students, don’t have any accommodations.

I have to prioritize which questions to answer, and I can’t spend time working through the ones I don’t know.

The LSAT was created to make the law field more inclusive, but it still serves as a barrier for many.

This system serves neither students nor law schools. Hardworking, smart students can have their futures thrown off by a bad day or nerves, and law schools aren’t getting a complete picture of the students they’re choosing.

Internships, let alone full-time jobs, don’t place a huge emphasis on a GPA.

So why should one test decide my professional future in law?

Email: kiana.hodge@ubspectrum.com

cast as well as a documentary focused on his life. It’s also rumored that Adidas is in talks to re-associate and create a new contract with him.

You’d think that Kanye would be labeled as an antisemite for the rest of his days after all of the hatred he’s spewed. But when you search his name on Google, you’ll only find articles about how the demand for Yeezy Boosts has skyrocketed since his so-called deplatforming.

It amazes me how someone with such a powerful influence could openly spread violence and hate, especially in 2023.

As a Jew, hearing these words come from a celebrity, an influencer, with billions of fans makes my stomach churn. The fact that his fans are mindlessly praising his incitement of hate lowers my faith in humanity.

He’s manipulated millions of people and scapegoated millions more. Kanye is living up to many of Hitler’s qualities, qualities he’s claimed to love. That alone should be enough to remove him from public life.

Email: dylan.greco@ubspectrum.com

THURSDAY, MARCH 2 2023 VOLUME 71 NUMBER 15 CIRCULATION: 3,000

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Flooding in Flint Village causes over $1.5 million in damage

Damage in 3 buildings forces 50 residents to relocate; repairs expected to take 3-5 weeks

One instance of flooding in Flint Village on Dec. 24, 2022 and two more instances on Feb. 3 resulted in over $1.5 million in damages and the relocation of 50 student residents.

A total of three buildings were affected, with students relocated to other on-campus apartments.

Campus Living has been working with the Environment, Health and Safety Office and engineers assigned by the UB Foundation’s insurers to restore the facilities and ensure that all campus safety measures are adhered to.

Reconstruction will likely take place over the next three to five weeks.

An inspection found the sprinkler pipes had been placed too close to the roofing soffits and exterior walls, exposing the pipes to the extreme cold and causing them to freeze, expand and crack.

Campus Living reported that an initial inspection had confirmed there was insulation around the pipes. An investigation is ongoing.

Demolition work has begun in Flint 303 and 306, with electrical demolition complete. Rebuilding will ensure there is an appropriate amount of insulation in all non-heated spaces, with existing freezemitigation methods, such as freeze alarm

notifications, to be re-evaluated and inspected.

Interim Director of Housing Operations Brian Haggerty said that Campus Living has provided moving supplies, transportation of belongings, and a $200 campus dining credit to those displaced.

Haggerty added that UB doesn’t carry insurance to cover theft or damage to personal property due to “an act of God,” natural causes or the actions of others, and is therefore “not liable.”

Haggerty “recognizes this situation is inconvenient for these impacted students” and recommended students apply for small claims through UB’s Environment, Health and Safety department if applicable.

Campus Living “strongly encourages all resident students to have a renters insurance policy or be covered by their family’s homeowners or renters policy,” Haggerty said, adding that Campus Living’s recommendation is “clearly communicated” in resident agreements.

Haggerty also recommends that students be “proactive” by “securing doors, turning off lights when they are not needed, closing windows during high wind or low temperature conditions and submitting work orders in a timely fashion.”

Email: suha.chowdhury@ubspectrum.com

“I’m looking forward to realizing my dream and your dream of this being a true flagship institution for the state of New York,” Hochul said to UB President Satish Tripathi during her speech.

Hochul also drew attention to last year’s launch of a $102 million project for a new engineering building. The state will provide $68 million of that funding.

“As one of SUNY’s flagship universities, we are investing in the University at Buffalo to make it a world-class research institution to create an ecosystem of technology and advancement,” Hochul said in a June 2022 press release announcing the project.

The 2024 budget will also grant $1 billion in aid to help transform the New York mental health care system.

in the U.S. in Central New York, with the goal of creating 50,000 jobs throughout the state.

“You know how many engineers I promised Micron to come here? A lot,” Hochul said. “So if you know anybody who is not sure what they want to do, have them come to UB and become an engineer because I need to hire them for Micron very, very soon.”

Hochul also discussed hopes to “boost preparation for storm emergency response,” allocating $10 million of her proposed budget to the City of Buffalo to create a public works and storm recovery building.

Ismail added that she is “not confident it won’t happen again.”

UBIT is encouraging students to monitor all their financial records and statements to ensure that no unauthorized transactions have been made on their accounts. AudienceView did not respond to a request for comment.

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“Another way to make our community safe is to deal with the specter of mental illness,” Hochul said. “There’s a lot of people left on our streets or outside of the system of support. We’ve been ignoring these needs for far too long, and I’ve just declared that the error of ignoring these individuals is over.”

In her speech, Hochul also encouraged students to consider pursuing a degree in engineering at UB. In October, Hochul announced New York State’s partnership with Micron Technology to build the largest semiconductor manufacturing facility

Hochul said she is aiming to improve and support various other initiatives in Buffalo with her proposed budget, including increased housing, addiction support, veteran services, gun violence prevention and mental health. She also mentioned plans to revitalize buildings like the Boulevard Mall.

“I believe we can do it,” Hochul said about efforts to gain approval of her 2024 budget proposal. “There’s so many different ways we could achieve this, and if we do this, there’s no stopping us. There’s absolutely no stopping us.”

Email: victoria.hill@ubspectrum.com

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DATA BREACH FROM PAGE 1 SUHA CHOWDHURY ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR RYAN LACKI / THE SPECTRUM MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF FLOODING IN FLINT VILLAGE RESULTED IN OVER $1.5 MILLION IN DAMAGES AND THE RELOCATION OF 50 STUDENT RESIDENTS KATHY HOCHUL FROM PAGE 1 MOAZ ELAZZAZI / THE SPECTRUM GOV. KATHY HOCHUL DELIVERED A SPEECH AT THE CENTER FOR TOMORROW MONDAY ANNOUNCING HER 2024 BUDGET PROPOSAL

Black Explosion ‘Mosaic: Collections of the Divine’ showcases creators of Black art

BSU celebrated its 54th annual Black Explosion fashion show

Attendees of the Black Student Union’s 54th annual Black Explosion were dressed to impress in sequin dresses, tuxedos and tulle dresses.

BSU treasurer Jewel Moore said that Black Explosion is UB’s version of the Met Gala — and she’s only half-joking.

“One of the best things about Black Explosion, in my personal opinion, is the fact that you get to see everybody come out in their outfits,” Moore, a sophomore communication major, said. “That’s definitely the most exciting part, seeing what people come up with.”

The show is a staple for BSU, bringing together students and alumni to appreciate Black culture and expressive attire.

The theme of this year’s show was “Mosaic: Collections of the Divine,” which BSU activity coordinator Ashley Mathieu says allowed creators to showcase Black art, something Mathieu was personally interested in.

“We decided to celebrate Black artists who helped shape our current visual culture and share their art on the runway,” Matheiu, a senior public health major, said. “Our show is meant to be a love letter to underrepresented creatives in the art space. We wanted to give designers, dancers and other Black artists the space and freedom to exhibit their work and creativity.”

The show, hosted by social media content creator D1Pop, kicked off with the UB Gospel Choir’s performance of “Lift Every Voice.”

The models walked the runway, seamlessly twirling and shaking each other’s hands as they went. That execution took

a lot of practice to nail down. The models worked on their chemistry and poses with model coordinators Derric Jordan, Imani Bailey, Isaac O and Janelle Addo.

The show featured looks inspired by artistic movements such as Surrealism, Afro-futurism, Romanticism, and NeoExpressionism. At the direction of their designers, some models incorporated a skit or dance into their walks.

In between runways, performance groups such as 8 Count, Crossfyah and Step Troupe took to the stage. 8 Count and Crossfyah danced energetically and Step Troupe stepped powerfully.

During 8 Count’s performance, dancers took off black, long-sleeved shirts and skirts to reveal white tops — emblazoned with their names — and gold shorts.

“I loved all of the outfits. I loved all of the designers,” Amara Fauntleroy, a junior health and human services major, said.

“When [Step Troupe] did their steps, I felt it in my heart, my soul, it was powerful.”

Toward the end of the show, each eboard member graced the runway, modeling their outfits. BSU undergraduate advisors Micah Moore and Polo Ramone announced their entries and shared touching sentiments about each of them. BSU President Sanyia Julien became emotional as she talked about first joining the organization, her growth and how much she’ll miss BSU after graduating.

She thanked the audience, the other executive board members and the undergraduate advisors for coming. The latter were called onto the runway by Julien and stood beside her as she held a moment of silence in remembrance of a BSU member who had passed away.

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

MOAZ ELAZZAZI / THE SPECTRUM FIVE MODELS’ OUTFITS DESIGNED BY BLACK CREATORS AT BSU’S 54TH BLACK EXPLOSION

MOAZ ELAZZAZI / THE SPECTRUM THE BENGALI STUDENT ASSOCIATION TOOK THIRD PLACE

Judge Lourdes M. Ventura reflects on becoming a

supreme court justice

KIANA HODGE NEWS EDITOR

During her freshman year of college, Lourdes M. Ventura received a knock on her door from her neighbors.

The neighbors were involved in a criminal case, but were unable to speak with their attorney since they only spoke Spanish. They asked Ventura for interpretation assistance.

Ventura accepted the role, and while working with that attorney, she first heard the words that would follow her throughout her undergraduate career: “You should consider law school.”

Ventura, who double majored in Spanish and social sciences, initially wanted to be a social worker. But that foray into law changed her life.

Now, she’s a New York State Supreme Court justice in the 11th district in New York, Queens County.

Her former Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) mentor, Cheryl Maribel, pushed Ventura to focus on school and keep an eye out for any and every available opportunity to advance her personal and professional development.

“It [college] was a whole new world, and I was not doing too great,” she said. “But she sat me down and said, ‘This is not why you came here.’ Thanks to her, I started doing well.”

Throughout undergrad, Ventura worked at the UB School of Law through a work study program. She gained more knowledge about the field while working closely with professors.

After being nominated for the Arthur A. Schomburg Fellowship Program and gaining full funding for graduate school, Ventura decided to pursue a joint masters in social work and Juris Doctor degree at UB.

“I was going to go to law school for free,” Ventura said. “I thought I could be a social worker with better advocacy skills because I went to law school. So I said, ‘Let’s do it.’”

Ventura said that sometime during her second year of getting her masters, she decided that law was the right choice and that she could “do more by advocating as a lawyer” than she could as a social worker.

After graduating and attaining her Juris Doctor, Ventura went on to work in both private and government sectors for over two decades.

From serving as an Assistant District Attorney in Queens County to a partner at law firm Ahmuty, Demers and McManus, she gained a number of experiences that helped her attain the position she currently holds.

Ventura also found herself breaking barriers throughout her career, becoming the first Latina to serve as president of the Queens County Women’s Bar Association and the first Latina to serve as an official of the State Women’s Lawyers Association

of New York.

She would become recognized for her contributions to her community and her work as a civil rights attorney. Eventually, colleagues started telling Ventura that she would make a good judge.

“That’s not something I dreamt of, or considered, until someone said it to me,” Ventura said.

During years she was not considered for nomination as a judge of the city civil court, she turned to another mentor, Jose Peralta, the first Dominican-American state senator in New York, who offered her reassurance and helped her strategize how to win.

Peralta was able to witness Ventura finally receive her nomination before he passed away two weeks after. Ventura remains forever grateful for his “encouragement and support” throughout her path.

Ventura gained enough signatures and support to be nominated as a judge of the New York City Civil Court.

Within eight months, the Democratic party told Ventura they wanted to nominate her for the New York State Supreme Court.

“That was unheard of,” she said. “That does not happen. But to be a judge you only have to practice for 10 years. I’ve been practicing for 20 years, and I have been involved in many extracurricular activities. So a lot of people knew me, thank God. They knew my reputation and my work, and that’s what counts.”

Ventura took office as a justice of the New York State Supreme Court’s 11th Judicial District on Jan. 1, 2020.

Ventura believes that her own life experiences provide her with a good foundation. From understanding cultural nuances to her legal knowledge, Ventura brings a different perspective to her current role.

She says she still receives reactions from people who are excited when they walk into the courtroom and see a woman of color behind the stand.

“Even though you think Queens is diverse, there are still not a lot of us [in the courtroom],” she said. “I feel a duty to make sure I am not the last. I want to instill the love I have for law and for life into people that come after me to continue the legacy of helping people.”

To that end, Ventura says she feels a responsibility to “pay it forward” by motivating others and connecting young law students and lawyers with the opportunities they need to jumpstart their careers.

“Let’s keep teaching people what this [legal field] is about,” she said. “And do not let anyone or other factors cloud your judgment and dissuade you from your passions if you are interested in the law. You have to do things to challenge yourself sometimes. Just know that you can do it.”

Email: kiana.hodge@ubspectrum.com

In a matter of weeks, the ice will thaw and avian bleating will fill the air as students and geese flock in tandem to signal the arrival of spring.

But this semester, the honking hallmarks of warmer days echo with the anxiety of public health officials.

A record-breaking outbreak of bird flu, or H5N1 avian influenza, is sweeping poultry, wild birds and mammal populations across the globe. Over 58 million poultry across 47 states have been killed due to the outbreak in the U.S. as of Feb. 20, a record death toll, according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Beyond poultry, the current strain of bird flu is already “well-adapted” to spread among wild birds, according to Dr. Tim Uyeki, Chief Medical Officer of the Influenza Division at the CDC.

The World Organization for Animal Health estimates that more than 50,000 wild birds, including geese, have died from the current strain of bird flu since October 2021.

As of March 1, no cases of H5N1 have been reported among goose populations in Western New York, according to the CDC, but Canada geese in nearby Monroe and Livingston counties have been infected.

The university said it will “continue to monitor” the bird flu and echoed assessments of the outbreak as a “public health concern” with low “immediate health risk,” in an email to The Spectrum

“At this time, there are no planned changes to health and safety guidelines or geese management policy,” the university said. “This may change as the situation evolves.”

With the spring semester and surging geese populations on campus in tow, students spoke to The Spectrum about the bird flu, coexistence with geese and pandemic preparedness.

Dr. Thomas Russo, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the UB Department of Medicine, isn’t worried — yet.

“Presently, there are no grounds for panic,” Russo said, citing a lack of evidence of “efficient transmission” to and between humans.

According to the CDC, bird flu is transmissible through direct contact with infected animals or their bodily fluids — including saliva, mucus or feces — and prolonged exposure to a “contaminated environment.”

The CDC suggests avoiding “direct contact” with wild birds and poultry as well as any “surfaces that appear to be contaminated with feces from wild or domestic birds.”

The university says it considers geese “a public nuisance on campus.” New York State houses over 200,000 resident Canadian snow geese, and each spring carries in a surge of over 600 migrant geese onto UB’s campus, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Borders on Patrol, a company hired in 2016 to contain goose presence on campus with specially trained border collies, will continue patrolling the premises, the university confirmed.

Logan Stafford, a junior mathematics major, says that tiptoeing around the geese and their excrement won’t be a vast departure from his current daily commute.

“I just try to walk where there isn’t anything there,” he said. “I’m not really petting them so I’m not too worried about it — but I get the concerns.” At the end of the day, Stafford says he’s “pro-geese.”

“I’m actually a bird owner, so I do like birds,” Stafford said, lamenting the bird flu outbreak. “It sucks to see it, but it sucks to see it happen to any animal.”

Ysai Huebner shares an appreciation for UB’s geese but wishes the university would clean up after them, especially in the wake of the avian flu outbreak.

“I don’t mind that they’re here, but I

wish they [the university] would wash the sidewalks.” Huebner, a sophomore political science major, said.

Fellow sophomore and psychology major Mimi Joseph agrees.

“The poop is annoying,” Joseph said. “But I think it’s nice to have a little bit of life around on campus. It makes me feel less depressed.”

The chances of the bird flu being able to spread between humans are low. A study of an October bird flu outbreak in a Spanish mink farm uncovered an adaptation optimized for mammal transmission, according to The New York Times. The study noted the likelihood of transmission from wild bird carriers and found evidence of mammal-to-mammal spread.

Russo, though, pointed out that none of the farm workers, who had “close, unprotected contact with the minks,” contracted the virus.

In general, human infection is uncommon but potentially fatal, with a 53% mortality rate in just 868 globally-reported cases between January 2003 and November 2022. (That high mortality rate may be because infected individuals without serious symptoms never sought testing, according to The Seattle Times.) Eight global human infections occurred within the past year, including one U.S. case in April, according to the CDC.

The World Health Organization (WHO) assessed the global outbreak as “low- risk” for humans but emphasized a need for “vigilance” in a press briefing earlier this month.

“We need to be just vigilant to make sure that the spread in animals is contained because the more the virus circulates in animals, the higher is the risk for humans,” Dr. Sylvie Brand, WHO Director for Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention, said. “The virus circulating in animals can evolve to forms that are more transmissible.”

But some students are still worried about the outbreak escalating. Joseph and Huebner were both high school juniors when COVID-19 broke into pandemic status in 2020.

“I wasn't happy in school, so when I heard we could stay home and do all our classes, I was actually over the moon,” Huebner said. “But then a year passed and I was still at home. There was just nothing going on in my life.”

Joseph echoed that sentiment, recounting the social toll of lockdown as her final years of high school slipped by.

“I wanted to experience the rest of high school. I wanted to walk back to school with my friends. I wanted to hang out a few more times,” Joseph said. “I’d lost two friends. We all lost friends. People's friendships were breaking apart.”

Semesters into post-lockdown campus life at UB, Huebner doesn’t want to imagine a return to familiar pandemic pains.

“If we went back, I would just kind of miss being forced to do things, being forced to meet people -- even if sometimes I feel like I don't want to,” he said.

Bryan Fernandez, a sophomore media study major and current RHA president at Hadley apartments, says that pandemic isolation continues to be an obstacle to engaging students and community-building on campus. He bristled at the prospect of another lockdown at the hands of bird flu, recounting the decisions that led to COVID-19 breaking out into a pandemic.

With the bird flu outbreak in flux, Fernandez hopes that a vigilant international and university response will spare a pandemic-weary student population from reliving the worst years of COVID-19.

“It could have been preventable if the proper steps had been initiated,” Fernandez said. “Hopefully we’ve learned our lessons because taking a few days to come up with measures is a lot better than sacrificing potentially two or three years like last time.”

KYLE NGUYEN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER

‘I feel a duty to make sure I am not the last’: UB alum on breaking barriers as a Latina in law

Pandemic pains: UB monitoring

‘historic’ bird flu outbreak as migrant geese return to campus

state

‘No planned changes’ as an uptick in mammalian transmissions draws concern

‘I’m the space where you could be yourself’:

Jarael Adams speaks on his opportunity in the Buffalo art scene

Former UB student discusses his businesses, portrait art and community art

Jarael Adams has been an artist his entire life.

As a self taught craftsman, Adams made art throughout his childhood, perfected his style through his high school arts program and studying under artists he admired.

Growing up in Buffalo, Adams didn’t always have the best resources. But he and his friends always made it work. “[As a child, I have] memories of… drawing with rocks, painting with mud, those types of things,” Adams said. “We couldn’t afford the pens, the crayons, the paper, but we’re able to paint with whatever we had.”

Years later, Adams, a former student at UB’s Center of Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL), is the owner of two businesses in Allentown — Paint the Town, an art studio and The Ink Gallery, a tattoo and piercing studio.

Founded in 2013, Paint the Town hosts “paint parties,” events where anyone of any experience level can visit and be guided through recreating a custom painting of a local artist. The parties draw a crowd of people, creating a sometimes chaotic yet communal atmosphere in the studio.

Although portraits are Adams’ speciality, his background allows him to break

down and teach any painting the customer chooses.

“I was able to introduce other people to art in a way that they never experienced,” Adams said. “We’ve got customers who’ve been coming for 10 years and who still have a ton of paintings.”

Next door to Paint the Town is The Ink Gallery, a tattoo parlor Adams founded four years ago.

Unlike the bustling ambiance of Paint the Town, Adams prides himself on creating a personal, one-on-one experience with his customers at The Ink Gallery. The parlor is outfitted with a quiet, creative atmosphere, consisting of music softly playing in the background, with paintings displayed and a singular tattoo chair.

“Painting and art and tattoos are so intimate to me,” Adams said. “I feel like the shared experience between the art and the person who’s enjoying it at the moment is super important for me. To broadcast it in such a way [posting the art online] is a little too out there… It takes away from the essence of that experience.”

While both businesses stem from Adams’ love for art, they’re also a way for him to financially support his passion for painting portraits.

He recalls one of his first experiences with portrait art, a shadow silhouette activity he did in speech therapy when he was a preschooler.

“I actually didn’t talk [when I was younger],” he said. “But I remember when I first started talking was when we did shadow silhouettes — I remember the light and

year it’s only gotten better and more fun’: SAE wins E-week’s Battle Bot Competition

The annual competition brings sparks and excitement to the Student Union

A wooden arena with plexiglass walls and white net on top stands in the Student Union. It rests on a platform — a large black table with underlying metal rods for support — for onlookers to see from afar. Students set up cameras, sending a live feed from the arena to the SU’s big-screen TV.

Students walking in the SU slowly gather around, some looking down at the scene from the balcony. Judges, coffees in hand, are waiting at two tables.

“Good morning Buffalo Student Union,” Parker Fields, a UB mechanical engineer alum and emcee for the event, shouts into the microphone, marking the start of the annual Battle Bot Competition.

Last Friday’s event signified the end of UB’s Engineers Week, a time where engineering clubs host various competitions for students to compete in. The first, second and third place winners in each competition rack up points toward winning Eweek, with the Battle Bot event offering the highest amount of points to the top three.

Each engineering club makes their own bot in an attempt to beat up and beat out the others’. Their abilities are put to the test in the arena constructed by one of the engineering clubs, with this year’s being made by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).

Before the first competition, Jesse Orozco, a junior civil engineering major and planner of E-Week as SA engineering council coordinator, explained the rules and safety precautions.

Two teams gathered on opposite sides of the arena, all wearing their matching

black E-week shirts. “Dumpster Driver,” the biomedical engineers’ (BME) bot and “Scraps,” Engineers for a Sustainable Worlds’ (ESW) bot, competed first.

BME’s bot sported a spiked wheel in the front with a picture of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson taped to the top. The countdown finished and the bots went at it, with “Dumpster Driver” ramming into “Scraps.” ESW’s bot hit back, knocking “Dumpster Driver’s” wheel off.

After four minutes of mechanical melee, “Dumpster Driver” was declared the winner. The teams shook hands and made their way off the arena.

Nico Hadlick, a freshman biomedical engineering major, and Zachary Pike, a freshman environmental engineering major, created “Dumpster Driver.” They stayed up all night making their bot because their original bot wasn’t ready yet.

The two came into the competition with excitement after winning second place in the maze competition, which tests the maneuverability of the bots.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers’ (IEEE) club also pulled an all-nighter working on their two bots: “Nokia” and the comically-named “Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max Plus XL.” Both bots’ wheel motors weren’t working the day before the competition; IEEE members spent 10 hours fixing them.

This was Gia Germain’s first time being the project lead for her team. The sophomore mechanical engineering major said it’s been fun but also a challenge that comes with a lot of work, as she spent three months welding the bot together. Their bot put up a good fight and made it to the 11th of 19 rounds.

The judges, rulebooks in hand, con-

tinued to watch intently while scribbling down notes.

Abi Kerkezis, a UB mechanical and aerospace engineering alum, participated as a student in the competition last year. But this time she was on the other side as a judge. She said watching the bots is like an adrenaline rush.

“It’s cool to see them flame and fly. Last year there weren’t that many that actually did that,” she said. “To see it happening this year and to see the new bots come into play is pretty cool.”

As the semi-final and final battles approached, Fields kept the energy up by hyping up the crowd of onlookers and dawning a banana costume. Fields says it was the enthusiasm of the emcee from when he was a participant in the competition as an undergraduate that inspired him to take the position himself. He started emceeing for the Battle Bot Competition three years ago and has never looked back.

“Every year it’s only gotten better and more fun,” he said. “To see the same people again and again and see their bots get better or absolutely destroyed, it’s been a blast.”

The semifinal saw “Slayer,” SAE’s bot, take on “Icebox,” the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ (ASME) bot. At first, “Icebox” was able to dodge “Slayer’s” spinning rod, which was designed to hit with the power of a 12-gauge shotgun.

But “Slayer” eventually landed a hit, sending sparks flying. “Slayer,” a rectangle with slants on the front and back and a

the drawing to cut that piece of paper out.”

Despite his successes, the journey to becoming a staple of the Allentown community was “difficult” for Adams. He describes making it in the Buffalo art scene as “difficult,” especially when he founded Paint the Town in 2013.

“Every challenge that an artist, especially a Black minority, could face, I was able to bust that door wide open,” he said.

“One of those things was if you didn’t go to [art] school, it meant you weren’t going to be in a gallery… There are about seven galleries over here [Allentown] when I first opened up and it was very, very difficult to get in.”

Now an established member of the Allentown art scene, Adams aims to showcase fellow artists in his community.

Paint the Town currently employs over 15 artists from a variety of different backgrounds, providing opportunities for them to be seen within the community.

While the current culture is helping create spaces where artists can be highlighted, Adams still remembers a time where he was one of the few people willing to help other artists showcase their work or build their experience.

“I don’t need you to perform,” he said. “Because that’s how we represent art… The most free liberal thing. And sometimes when you go into spaces you have to be a certain way, but I’m the space where you could be yourself.”

Email: jasmin.yeung@ubspectrum.com

steel exterior, ended up breaking the entrance to the arena. The competition was put on pause for 10 minutes as students worked to repair the arena. SAE took the win and advanced to the finals.

“Slayer” took on the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in the final. ASCE’s bot, “Snyder Bot’s” main weapon, a swinging chain perched on the bot’s top, got caught in SAE’s rod. After breaking loose, “Snyder Bot’s” side was dented, but both bots continued to land blows.

“Slayer” emerged victorious, winning the Battle Bot Competition for SAE. The driver, Ivan Ristow, a senior mechanical engineering student, and a fellow team member cheered with excitement. ASCE placed second with “Snyder Bot” and ASME placed third with “Icebox.”

SAE’s team spent a couple hours each day for the past two to three weeks assembling their bot. Ristow said there were many little components that had to be made for their specific style of design.

He and his friend designed the exact same bot four years ago, and it didn’t work until this year.

“Finally, we had enough time and enough materials to make it work the way we wanted it to,” Ristow said. “It’s a lot of work gone into trying to get it to win and finally we’re here. This year we went all the way.”

‘Every

ian Baksh / The specTrum The socIeTy of auTomoTIve enGIneers won e-week s baTTle boT comPeTITIon lasT frIday

LaQuill Hardnett uses personal tragedy to advocate for gun violence awareness

Hardnett, a forward for the Bulls, lost his childhood friend to gun violence in 2020

HAYDEN AZZINARO STAFF WRITER RYAN TANTALO SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR

LaQuill Hardnett just got home from basketball practice when he learned that his childhood friend, Brishaun Lamar Hall, had been shot and killed.

“I couldn’t breathe,” Hardnett said. “I had to walk outside.”

Hardnett, a senior forward on the men’s basketball team, grew up in Philadelphia. He became friends with Hall at the age of 6.

“He’d been everywhere with me, [he] was like my first friend ever,” Hardnett said. “Everywhere I’d go to play basketball, he’d come and watch all my games. [He] was really my right-hand man.”

Hall was killed in West Philadelphia while walking to the “same store he walked to every day of his life.” He died on Sept. 28, 2020, two days after Hardnett’s birthday. Hall planned to visit Hardnett in Buffalo before his death.

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, 2020 was one of the worst years on record with 447 fatal shootings and over 2,000 total shootings.

“It’s always been a problem, ever since I was young. But ever since COVID, it’s been even worse,” Hardnett said. “You can’t look left or right without someone having a gun.”

Hardnett said pandemic relief funding may have contributed to the issue, because it gave people who previously “didn’t have the money and access” the resources to buy guns.

“And now it’s to the point where people feel like they’re not safe unless they have a gun,” Hardnett said. “It’s just been a downhill trickle.”

This problem is not unique to Philadelphia. According to Pew Research, gun murders are up over the last 10 years. Buf-

falo reported 292 shootings in 2020, according to WGRZ. The U.S. saw over 70 mass shootings in the first six weeks of 2023, according to USA Today Hardnett wants to use his platform as a Division-I basketball player to change that. At the beginning of the season, the UB Athletic Department encouraged players to choose a cause to promote. Hardnett chose gun violence awareness, in large part because of his friend’s tragic death.

“Gun violence resonated with me because I dealt with it first hand.” Hardnett said. “His death opened my eyes to a problem that has been going on in our inner cities.”

On Feb. 21, thanks to Hardnett’s activism, UB men’s basketball hosted “Gun

Violence Awareness Night.” Before their game against Central Michigan, the team played a video message from Hardnett about his personal experience.

“Wear Orange” apparel filled Alumni Arena and players wore “End Gun Violence” warmup shirts and orange socks during the game.

“It felt good having all the support from everybody, all my teammates and coaches,” Hardnett told The Spectrum after the game.

Hardnett hopes the UB gun violence awareness game will continue annually, but he admits there is no “concrete solution” to gun violence. He does have some policy changes he’d like to see pass.

“Making the gun laws more stern, so people who have guns can’t just get out in

six months,” Hardnett suggested. “Maybe if we make the consequences for guns more steep, so people are afraid to go to jail for years at a time.”

Hardnett mentioned his plans to meet with local pastors and community leaders to “spread awareness to the youth” about the issue.

While remembering his childhood friend, and working to honor his legacy, Hardnett spoke emotionally about the impact that Hall had on him.

“He always believed I could go to the NBA, so I’m going to try to make his belief in me a reality,” Hardnett said. “I just try and dedicate everything I do to him.”

Email: ryan.tantalo@ubspectrum.com

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Get Ahead This Summer

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International FIesta

FROM PAGE 1

Urriza says their group’s performance was highly anticipated following their second place win at the 2022 International Fiesta.

“I think for those people who did see our performance last year, they were expecting something big,” Urriza, a junior intended nursing major, said. “I think we did provide that.”

Jun Qi, FASA’s performance cultural chair, described their performance as a “continued story of building resistance and growth.”

“Our circle of life is the way our ancestors and us today have come together and united under one flag, one national identity after each of these invasions drove off the conquerors, and through that built a stronger cultural identity,” Qi, a junior computer science major, said.

Second Place — Sri Lankan Student Association

While FASA walked away with the top spot, an incomparable sensation of pure joy and gratitude radiated from a different group in the CFA atrium. The Sri Lankan Student Association laughed and embraced one another as they rejoiced over their underdog success story.

“We literally started this club last spring and within a year we’re at this point where we’re winning second prize at Fiesta,” Shruti Kunadia, club vice president and a sophomore architecture major, said. “There’s so much work that has gone behind this. We have been working since day one when Fiesta was announced, nonstop, day and night. We made our own music, our own costumes, our own choreography, every single thing.”

“Last year when we created this club, we didn’t even think we could get this far. Fiesta was like a dream,” Joshane Fernando, club president and a junior computer science major, chimed in. “And here we are. First time ever performing for Fiesta and we win second place. It’s crazy.”

SLSA’s dance told the story of a woman explaining to her son how she received the scar on her face during a battle. The performance took the audience through Sri Lankan history, from the 1948 Independence Day and how the country dealt with a corrupt president in 2022. The group formed a human pyramid in their final moments on stage, impressing the audience.

“Before the performance, everyone was super tense, but we knew that we had a very creative story, like a very true and creative story,” Nirav Kanadia, a dancer and freshman business major, said. “So more than trying to win we wanted the audience and everyone who was watching to let them know our story and express it creatively.”

Third Place — Bengali Student Association

The Bengali Student Association hadn’t performed at International Fiesta until this year’s competition. Their performance told the story of a young couple who were separated when the man was called to fight in a war. He dies in battle, leaving the woman to care for their newborn son. This son grows up to display his own sense of nationalism by representing Bangladesh in the National Cricket League.

Other competing organizations

Buffalo Bhangra opened the show, wowing the audience with a high-energy performance and hyping up the already animated crowd.

Despite being noncompetitive groups, the Korean Student Association and 8 Count left especially strong impressions on the audience.

“I would love to see other groups participate in the competition,” Kesha Boateng, a senior law and sociology major, said. “The [Korean Student Association’s] K-pop number was phenomenal, and 8 Count went insane. I would love to see them tell a story as well because I think there’s always a story there.”

The second act of the show brought the crowd to their feet. By executing a flawless dance while wearing blindfolds, the Asian American Student Union left viewers picking their jaws up off the floor.

“Dancing blindfolded!” Boateng exclaimed. “Top notch. That is something I would never even anticipate people doing.”

The Organization of Arab Students performed a dance about classism, and Friends of Ukraine combined a wedding dance and military ritual for their performance.

Last year’s winners, the Indian Student Association, returned to the International Fiesta stage with a story about mental health.

When the show finished, audience members battled against inadequate WiFi to cast their votes while the judges quietly deliberated behind the scenes. FASA proved that they were the true fan-favorites by winning both the “People’s Choice” and “Most Inspiring” awards in addition to First Place.

Terrence Li, the main lead of the FASA performance and choreographer for the tinikling dance, said that this year’s International Fiesta was his first time performing.

“To win three awards was honestly surreal. When we went onstage and they announced that FASA had won, I just couldn’t believe it,” Li said. “It felt like a dream.”

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

A.J. FrAnklin / The SpecTrum the BengaLi Student aSSociation took third pLace

‘To dream the impossible dream’: Michael

Formato’s last bow at UB

After 29 years, the Department of Theatre and Dance bids farewell to Formato

ALEX NOVAK ARTS EDITOR

In the back of the CFA’s basement, on a now-vacated desk, sat a bizarre assortment of pooping animal figurines. Much like the office’s former occupant, these figurines have since retired from the UB Department of Theatre and Dance.

Michael Formato, production manager at the department for nearly three decades, received the first of these figurines — a pooping cow — from a student in the late 90s.

“It was a hit. People loved the pooping cow. I had to keep feeding the cow,” Formato said. “Students over the years brought me more pooping stuff.”

By the time he retired in mid-February, his infamous collection totalled around 70 items.

His animal figurines have since moved on to greener pastures. About two weeks ago, he began distributing the defecating figurines to his students.

“As people came in, I said, ‘Hey, you want a pooping animal?’” Formato said.

The remaining seven figurines were placed next to the candy machines in the CFA’s student lounge. He hopes these beloved figurines will help students to think of him fondly à la “Phantom of the Opera.”

Before Formato became the department’s production manager, he spent a year as a corporate event planner. When UB called asking for his assistance with an event, Formato jumped at the opportunity and never looked back. That same night, the dean hired him on the spot.

As production manager, Formato took on many tasks, including everything from budgeting productions to securing the legal rights and royalties for performances.

“Sometimes I describe it to folks that I’m a plumber,” Formato said. “I just make sure everything flows.”

Formato didn’t shy away from an honest day’s work. He gave the department “150%” — and then some. Every five years, an outside entity conducts an evalu-

ation of the department. They certainly noticed Formato’s fierce work ethic.

“[The evaluators], 25 years ago, told the department that the amount of work I was doing was illegal,” Formato said.

Although an additional production manager was brought on board to alleviate Formato’s workload, he remained tireless in his mission to help young people succeed in the arts.

Formato recalled an instance where

three female students were chatting in the hallway about various faculty members. Two professors were thought of as their uncles and one was like a grandfather, they decided. At first, Formato was not mentioned in their conversation.

“So I said, ‘So what am I chopped liver?’” Formato said. “And they say, ‘Oh, no, you’re our dad.’”

This cherished moment in Formato’s extensive career is merely a reflection of

his No. 1 priority: his students.

“Very early on in my career, I had a lack of understanding with an administrator, and he thought that I worked for him,” Formato said. “I informed him that I worked for the students.”

Now free from burdensome administration and the heaps of responsibilities placed on a production manager, the world is Formato’s stage. Formato pondered returning to Cradle Beach, a summer camp for disadvantaged children — whether it be financially, socially, physically or developmentally — that he himself attended as a young boy. After being a camper, Formato spent 25 summers at Cradle Beach from 1969 to 1994 as a counselor, supervisor and program director. He is honored there as one of Cradle Beach’s “legends.”

“My theory is if you hang out somewhere for about 25 years, and you’re not a jerk, they give you a plaque,” Formato mused.

In addition to volunteering his time — and maybe adding to his collection of plaques — Formato contemplated returning to musical theatre as a performer.

“I’m just going to keep my eyes and ears open for somebody who needs an old guy in a musical,” Formato said. “Cause I’ve got the old guy part down.”

One particular “old guy” puts a sparkle in Formato’s eye. Accompanied by a beautiful score, Don Quixote sees windmills and thinks that they’re dragons.

“‘To dream the impossible dream’... That’s one of the [lyrics in one of the] songs and I try to live my life that way,” Formato said.

While Formato is off seeing dragons in inanimate objects and chasing the impossible dream, it’s unquestionable that he has left his mark on UB and in turn, UB — mainly his decades of students — has left its mark on him.

“At UB, I got to work in the arts and help young people, and that was beautiful to me,” Formato said. “I’ve only ever done what I love to do.”

Email: alex.novak@ubspectrum.com

‘For you, for me, for everyone’: The Harlem Quartet brings diversity to classical music

The renowned string group played at UB’s Lippes Concert Hall Saturday

The Harlem Quartet delivered an immersive performance full of energy and humor to a packed Lippes Concert Hall last Saturday. The Grammy-winning string quartet played a uniquely diverse program that spanned several centuries, genres and styles, with a special focus on composers of color and female composers.

The group was formed in 2006 by finalists of the Sphinx Competition, which is for young Black and Latino string players. Since then, the Harlem Quartet have been devoted to promoting diversity in the world of classical music by exposing new audiences to composers from historically overlooked groups.

The program kicked off with “Strum,” a piece by contemporary violinist and composer Jessie Montgomery. The song began with the gentle, rhythmic plucking of strings, immediately quieting the chattering audience. A dynamic piece, the music swayed between loud, frenetic chaos and moments so quiet one could hear a pin drop. The song culminated in a triumphant flourish, as the musicians exchanged knowing glances with one another and lifted their bows in the air.

The next piece, “Lyric Quartette, Movements 1 & 2,” was written by William Grant Still, a leading figure in the Harlem Renaissance and the first African American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra.

Cellist Felix Umansky introduced the piece as a “character sketch” of two people in Still’s life. The two movements, “The Sentimental One” and “The Quiet

One,” were lush and romantic.

The night took a turn when the group pivoted from classical to jazz, performing two movements from “At the Octoroon Balls,” by Wynton Marsalis. Second violinist — UB faculty member Melissa White — introduced the first section, “Rampart Street Row House Rag,” with much enthusiasm, asking the audience to imagine the number playing in a smoky old saloon.

“Sometimes it’s funny, but if it’s not, it’s OK — you don’t have to laugh,” White said.

The movement, a bouncy pastiche of ragtime music, did indeed draw some amused giggles from the crowd. But it was the second movement, “Hellbound Highball,” that seemed to truly delight the audience.

The chaotic, unconventional piece is a musical interpretation of a train headed for a station in hell. To bring this concept to life, the musicians used different string techniques to mimic the various sound effects of that doomed train.

White plucked the strings of her violin to create the sound of the train’s bells, while violinist Ilmar Gavilan imitated the train’s brakes with a screeching, atonal flourish.

Their instruments combined to represent the quick, repetitive chugging of the train’s engine. Toward the end of the piece, the musicians abruptly stopped playing to bring their feet to the floor in a single, synchronized stomp. The cacophony of the performance aroused a wave of laughter from the audience, with the musicians smiling as they played.

“I don’t know if you know this, but we like to have fun while we play,” violist Jaime Avador said after the piece’s conclusion.

Further proving the group’s versatility, they launched into an Afro-Cuban number, “Cuarteto En Guaguancó,” composed by Gavilan’s father, Guido López-Gavilán. The piece was anchored by Umansky’s cello, which he plucked like an upright bass. The group kept things upbeat and danceable with percussive embellishments, rhythmically tapping the bodies of their instruments.

After intermission, the quartet finished off the night with two pieces: “Entr’acte” and “String Quartet in E-Flat Major.”

The latter piece was composed by Fanny Hensel-Mendelssohn, the lesser-known sister of Romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn. Gavilán’s introduction to the

piece was touching, describing it as something Mendelssohn composed for herself to enjoy, “dancing around her room [and] not caring how she looks.”

“We think this piece deserves to be heard not because of her family connection, but because it’s beautiful,” Gavilan said. “It’s for you, for me, for everyone… it’s gorgeous.”

The group received a standing ovation as they left the stage, prompting them to return for an encore: a joyous rendition of Duke Ellington’s iconic “Take the ‘A’ Train.”

The Harlem Quartet’s performance at UB was engaging enough to impress even an audience member thoroughly unacquainted (or even uninterested) with classical music. There’s a commonly held notion that the genre is inaccessible, stuffy or too high-brow. The group challenged this stereotype with great enthusiasm.

The spring concert season at Lippes Concert Hall continues next Monday with a performance of Beethoven’s string quartet cycle from the Parker Quartet.

Email: meret.kelsey@ubspectrum.com

2023 NFL Draft profile:

James Patterson

The fifth-year linebacker announced that he’ll be entering the 2023 NFL Draft held April 27-29 in Kansas City

With the NFL Draft just over two months away, many of UB’s impact players are hoping to hear their names called in April.

Receivers Justin Marshall and Quian Williams declared for the draft, and on the other side of the ball, UB’s defensive enforcer will also pursue a shot with the NFL. Fifth-year inside linebacker James Patterson — who’s played an integral role in the Bulls defense since his freshman season in 2018 — announced his decision to enter the NFL Draft last month on Instagram.

Patterson is twin brothers with former UB star running back Jaret Patterson, who now plays for the Washington Commanders after signing in 2021 as an undrafted free agent.

While James will also likely be an undrafted player, his versatility and skill set provide him with the ability to land on an NFL roster just as his brother did.

Here’s what Patterson, who hopes to become the first UB player drafted in two years (since Malcom Koonce, 79th overall in 2021), brings to the table as a draft prospect:

Measurables

Listed as 6’0” and 232 lbs., Patterson is slightly undersized compared to the prototypical modern-day NFL inside linebacker.

While he’s far from the smallest linebacker to enter the draft, his height puts him in the 18th percentile of linebackers to participate in the NFL combine historically, according to nfldraftbuzz.com.

But with an above-average wingspan of 72 inches, Patterson sits at the 64th percentile of all-time NFL draft prospects. NFL scouts are likely to notice, as Patterson’s long reach allows him to knock passes down in coverage and wrap up ball carriers.

With hands measuring just under 9 inches, Patterson is on the lower end of the NFL Draft percentile at 17%. While hand measurement isn’t as detrimental to a linebacker’s draft stock as it would be for a quarterback, it’ll be an interesting storyline to follow throughout his draft process. (It’s worth noting that Patterson intercepted four passes in his five seasons with the

Bulls.) Patterson is a solidly built linebacker who offers some things to be desired physically, but certain measurements such as his wingspan will likely draw the attention of NFL scouts.

2022 season performance

As a fifth-year senior this past season, Patterson had another solid season as a Bull. Finishing second on the team with 120 tackles, Patterson and fellow linebacker Shaun Dolac combined for 267 tackles, making them one of the best linebacker duos at the Group of Five level.

Starting almost every game since his freshman year in 2018, Patterson compiled 417 tackles (211 solo) in his five-year career at UB.

He also had 12 tackles for loss in 2022, finishing with 41.5 in his college career.

In arguably his best game of the season on Nov. 1 at Ohio, Patterson racked up 16 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

Patterson’s play helped him earn an AllMAC Second Team nod in 2022. Perhaps a step back from his 2020 and 2021 AllMAC First Team selections, he still had another dominant season.

Some other stats from his 2022 season include 1.5 sacks (8.5 career), one interception (four career), three passes defended (10 career), two forced fumbles (nine career) and two fumble recoveries (three career).

Strengths

Instincts: Patterson has a keen ability to diagnose plays from the second level of the defense. He’s quick off the ball and has solid closing speed when it comes time to make a tackle.

This was evident in UB’s Oct. 8 game at Bowling Green this past season, when in the third quarter of UB’s Oct. 8 game at Bowling Green, Patterson wrapped up BG running back Jamal Johnson at the goal line, stripping the ball from him and returning it 97 yards for a UB touchdown.

Tackling: One of Patterson’s greatest strengths as a linebacker is his ability to wrap up and finish tackles. Having doubledigit tackles in six games during the 2022 campaign, Patterson finished the season with his second 100-plus tackle season in a row.

His ability to bring ball carriers to the ground, coupled with his high instincts, make Patterson an effective 4-3 Mike linebacker.

In the run game, Patterson is able to close quickly and bring down the runner when he can keep running backs between the tackles.

Pass Rush Ability: Because of his straightline speed and instincts, Patterson can provide a strong pass rush when called upon.

He lined up as an outside linebacker during the 2018 and 2019 seasons before coming inside in 2020. Because of his position experience and versatility, Patterson has the capability of blitzing the quarterback through the A gap as a middle linebacker.

Patterson finished his college career with 8.5 sacks, 4.5 coming in 2021 during the second of his two First-Team AllMAC seasons.

Weaknesses

Size: The obvious weakness in Patterson’s game is his height. Patterson is shorter than the average NFL linebacker height of 6’2”.

Point-of-attack physicality: Because he’s slightly undersized for the position, Patterson can sometimes be swallowed up by

blocks and taken out of the play. When the line of scrimmage is clear and opposing offensive linemen are already engaged with other blocks, Patterson has no trouble with pursuit, but he needs to develop more physicality when this is not that case.

NFL comparison

With their similar frame and tackling ability, Patterson resembles Bobby Wagner of the Los Angeles Rams.

Both linebackers flourish at the second level of the defense and are sure tacklers. Listed at 6’0” and 242 lbs.,Wagner is almost identical size-wise to Patterson’s 6’0” 232-lb. frame.

But Wagner was a second round draft pick in the 2012 NFL Draft because of his polished athleticism and play at Utah State. Patterson has some things to clean up in his game before he can make waves on an NFL roster like Wagner did.

As of now, Patterson is projected to be a late Day 3 (rounds 4-7) pick or sign with a team as an undrafted free agent come April’s draft.

Email: brandon.cochi@ubspectrum.com

UB football announces 2023 opponents

The Bulls’ slate of games in 2023 is highlighted by a trip to Wisconsin

The Bulls will be put to the test once again in 2023.

UB football recently announced its full schedule for the upcoming season, and it

Sept. 2 at Wisconsin

Just like last season, the Bulls will once again open the season at a Big Ten powerhouse, only this time at Wisconsin.

The Badgers had a disappointing 2022 (at least by their standards), finishing 7-6 and ending their season with a victory over Oklahoma State in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl.

For a team that annually looks to compete for Big Ten championships and potential College Football Playoff appearances, Wisconsin will look to rebound in 2023.

UB and Wisconsin have only played once in history, dating all the way back to a 35-3 drubbing by the Badgers in 2006.

features some formidable non-conference opponents. Eight of UB’s 12 opponents this year appeared in a bowl game in 2022.

Here’s a look at the schedule:

Sept. 9 vs Fordham

UB will have its home opener against the Fordham Rams, an FCS program.

Fordham is coming off an impressive 2022 campaign in which they finished 9-3, losing to the University of New Hampshire in the FCS Championship.

Despite Fordham’s lower-level program, the Bulls will have their hands full after losing to a different FCS school, Holy Cross, in 2022.

Sept. 16 vs Liberty

The Liberty Flames will visit UB Stadium in 2023. After getting off to a scorching 8-1 start in 2022, the Flames dropped their last four games, finishing with a record of 8-5 after losing to Toledo in the Boca Raton Bowl.

The Bulls will have a familiarity with the Flames’ system, as former Coastal Carolina head coach Jamey Chadwell steps into the same role for Liberty next season. UB lost to Coastal Carolina in back-to-back seasons during 2021 and 2022, but a third time could be the charm against Chadwell.

UB and Liberty most recently matched up in 2019, when Liberty took down the Bulls by a score of 35-17. The Flames hold an all-time record of 2-0 against UB.

season

Sept. 23 at Lousisiana

The Bulls will close out their non-conference schedule at Cajun Field, home of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. This will be the first meeting between the two squads, with a subsequent visit by Louisiana to Buffalo in 2030. The Ragin’ Cajuns finished 6-7 in 2022. The Cajuns also appeared at the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl, where they lost to Houston 23-16.

MAC Opponents

The Bulls also know who they’ll be hosting and where they’ll be going once the MAC schedule begins on Sept. 30.

The four MAC teams UB hosts this season include Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Ohio. UB will go on the road to play Akron, Kent State, Miami (OH) and Toledo.

MOAZ ELAZZAZI / THE SPECTRUM JAMES PATTERSON WHO S BEEN A STARTER AT UB SINCE 2018, THRIVES AS A RUN DEFENDER BETWEEN THE TACKLES

Swimming and diving places second at MAC Championships

UB remained at second place for all four days of the championship

MASLIN SPORTS EDITOR

UB swimming and diving took second place in the Mid-American Conference Championships this weekend in Oxford, Ohio. The Bulls stood at second throughout the whole weekend behind Akron. They ended with 641 points while Akron scored 778.5 and took the victory for the second straight year.

UB had a strong day one — claiming two silver medals and setting a school record.

Junior swimmer Mia Naccarella, fifthyear Katie Pollock, senior Clarice Fisher and graduate Toni Naccarella won the silver medal in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:37.97.

The Bulls also competed in the 800 freestyle relay with sophomore Sawyer Bosley, Mia Naccarella, junior Marij van der Mast and Toni Naccarella. They finished at 7:11.06, breaking the school record and winning silver. The previous record was set in 2017 at 7:11.26. The Bulls ended with 68 points after day one.

On day two, van der Mast competed in the 500 freestyle, winning the B finals at

a time of 4:51.39. Toni Naccarella earned her third career gold in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.51 seconds.

Bosley, Toni Naccarella, Mia Naccarella and senior Ellie Duley also competed in the 200 freestyle relay, finishing in second at 1:30.06. Senior diver Victoria Franz won gold in the 1-meter Dive, scoring 315.06 points. Sophomore diver Marialia Kwak won silver with 299.79 points. They ended day two behind Akron with 224 points.

To start off day three, Fisher finished in fourth place of the 100 butterfly at 53.30 seconds as freshman Nicole Aguilar touched the wall just after her in fifth place at 53.63 seconds.

Senior Lena Li won first place in the 400 IM B final at 4:21.41. Bosley went 1:46.12 in the 200 freestyle to claim silver.

Pollock competed in the 100 breaststroke championship final with a time of 1:00.66 to claim silver. Mia Naccarella, Pollock, Fisher and Bosley swam a time of 3:37.06 winning silver in the 400 medley relay to end day three. UB sat at 411 points at the end of the day.

On the last day of the MAC Championships, sophomore Abbey Malmstrom

Women’s basketball upsets MAC No. 2-ranked Bowling Green, 84-66

Bulls keep MAC Tournament chances alive, will need help from other teams

HAYDEN AZZINARO STAFF WRITER

Women’s basketball (10-15, 5-11 MAC) pulled off a massive upset, 84-66, on the road against top-seeded Bowling Green (24-4, 13-3 MAC) Saturday.

Bowling Green had won 13 of their last 14 games prior to Saturday’s matchup while UB had won just one of their last 11. The last time these teams met, Bowling Green won a close game, 64-61, but UB was dominant from the start this time around. The Bulls jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and outscored the Falcons 23-10 in the first quarter.

UB did most of its damage on offense in the first and third quarter. After going into the half up 44-29, the Bulls pulled even further ahead in the third quarter, leading by over 20 points throughout the majority of the frame.

UB was led by graduate guard Re’Shawna Stone, who finished her night with 23 points, as well as six rebounds. Another notable player, sophomore forward Emerita Mashaire, contributed 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Senior forward Allison Day was the only player who reached double digits for Bowling Green with 20 points.

The Bulls outshined Bowling Green in multiple categories on both the offense and defense. The Bulls shot 62.5% from 3-point range, going 10-16 from downtown, while Bowling Green shot 22.6%, only converting 7-31 3-pointers. UB also outrebounded Bowling Green 37-21, including 33 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive rebounds.

The Bulls need to take this confidence and run with it. At 10th in the Mid-American Conference, UB currently does not qualify to play in the MAC Tournament, as only the top eight teams get to participate.

Having said that, it’s not impossible for the Bulls to play in late March. Here’s how: UB currently stands at 5-11 in conference play, and there is a three-way tie for seventh and eighth among Eastern Michigan (14-13, 6-10 MAC), Western Michigan

(11-16, 6-10 MAC) and Miami (OH) (1118, 6-10 MAC). If the Bulls can win the last two games of the season (both home against Akron and Western Michigan), and two of the three teams above mentioned lose, UB is in.

Saturday’s victory over Bowling Green was huge toward keeping UB’s postseason hopes alive. Now the Bulls will be put to the test in the next two games to determine (with some help from other teams) if they will get to travel to Cleveland to compete in the MAC Tournament. UB will host Akron on Wednesday, March 1 at 6 p.m. The game can be streamed on ESPN+. The Bulls conclude the season with senior night against Western Michigan at Alumni Arena on March 4 at 2 p.m. That game will be broadcast on ESPN3.

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

swam a 1:55.57 in the 200 backstroke to win bronze, while Mia Naccarella touched the wall at 1:57.83 to take fifth place.

Toni Naccarella claimed gold in the 100 freestyle with a time of 48.28, while Bosley touched the wall right after her to claim silver at a time of 49.77. UB took No. 1 and No. 2 on the podium for the 3-meter dive, as Kwak earned a score of 342.10 to claim gold and Franz earned 331.85 to claim silver. Bosley, Duley, Aguilar and Toni Naccarella ended the MAC Championships in second, winning silver for the 400 freestyle

relay with a time of 3:17.57.

The Bulls ended their season with numerous honors, as five members earned first team All-MAC honors and two earned second team. Outstanding Senior of the Year was given to Toni Naccarella. Co-MAC Diver of the Year was given to Franz and Kwak while head diving coach Russ Dekker received MAC Diving Coach of the Year for the third year in a row.

Email: amy.maslin@ubspectrum.com

Men’s basketball defeats Northern Illinois, 85-75

Bulls pass Huskies for 6th place in MAC standings

The Bulls (14-16, 8-9 MAC) traveled to Northern Illinois (12-18, 8-9 MAC) and earned their second victory of the season over the Huskies, 85-75.

Sophomore guard Curtis Jones led the team with 21 points — a 17-point improvement over last game: a 101-71 loss to Toledo.

UB was able to capitalize on the boards, out rebounding the Huskies by eight. Junior forward Isaiah Adams was only one point behind Jones, with 20 points while senior forward LaQuill Hardnett led the team in minutes played and finished third in points scored with 15.

Junior forward Jonnivius Smith (10 points) has established himself as the

Bulls’ best bench scorer with another strong performance. The Huskies quickly fell behind, as the Bulls led by 10 points just five minutes into the game at 14-4. That lead grew to as much as 19 points at 56-37 after Jones made a three-point jumper with 15:50 to go in the second half. The Bulls will now prepare to play the Miami (OH) Redhawks (12-18, 6-11 MAC) at home to wrap up the regular season on Friday. UB can solidify its spot as the No. 6 seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament with a win. If the Bulls lose on Friday, Northern Illinois can jump UB for the No. 6 seed with a win against Eastern Michigan (8-22, 5-12 MAC). Friday’s matchup can be streamed on ESPN+. Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Softball goes 2-3 in Spartan/ Pirate Classic

Bulls fall to 3-10 after five-game set in Virginia this weekend

MICHAEL VACCARO STAFF WRITER

Softball (3-10) traveled to Norfolk, Virginia this weekend for the team’s third invitational of the 2023 season. The Bulls won two out of five games and sit at 3-10 on the season.

UB faced off against Stony Brook (44) on Friday for their first game of the weekend. UB’s offense couldn’t seem to get their footing, finding themselves on the wrong side of the run-rule. The Bulls were fanned six times by Stony Brook junior starting pitcher Mia Haynes.

UB was able to keep the game close until a two-run home run by junior infielder Ashley Jacobson sealed a victory for the Seawolves.

UB faced off against Norfolk State (6-3) Friday afternoon, their second game of a two-game slate. The Bulls took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning via a double in the gap by junior left fielder Sara Kelly, knocking in junior middle infielder Tianna Williams. An error and past-ball in the top of the fifth inning by the Spartans helped UB tack on two more runs.

Senior starting pitcher Alexis Lucyshyn shined in the Bulls’ 3-0 bounce-back victory, recording a complete game shutout in seven innings of play. Lucyshyn struck out a career-high 14 in the victory.

The Bulls faced Hampton University (6-4) Saturday morning. The Pirates got out in front in the bottom of the second inning. Fifth-year catcher Emily Kappe reached on an error, eventually stealing

third and scoring via a Bulls wild pitch.

The score stayed stagnant until the fifth inning, when a timely RBI double by Williams put the Bulls on the board, knotting the game up at one a piece. Despite outhitting the Pirates seven to three, the Bulls couldn’t come away with the victory as Hampton freshman infielder Taylor Ivey hit a walk-off RBI double to win the game.

UB took on Colgate University (5-7) Saturday afternoon. Both offenses were quiet through three innings, with the first two runs of the game coming in the fourth inning. Back-to-back errors by the Bulls proved to be costly, allowing the Raiders to take a 2-0 lead.

The Raiders’ key to victory was a stellar outing by senior starting pitcher Bailey Misken, who carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning, with junior infielder Madison Fernimen recording the Bulls only hit of the day. With the game called in the seventh inning due to rain, the Bulls moved to 0-5 all-time against Colgate.

The Bulls wrapped up their weekend with a game against Saint Peter’s University (3-1) Sunday morning. UB finished the weekend strong with an 8-6 victory over the Peacocks.

The Bulls will travel to Clinton, South Carolina next weekend to compete in the PC Invitational. They are set to face Presbyterian College (13-2) in a double header Friday, along with a double header against Queens University of Charlotte (5-5) Saturday.

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

JOE OMILIAN STAFF WRITER

AMY