The Spectrum Vol. 71 No. 3

‘Freak accident’: Stampede collision hospitalizes campus worker

It did not.

The bus had begun “rolling to a stop” as it neared the crosswalk, according to soph omore aerospace engineering major Alec McVearry, who spoke with other witnesses at the scene. The woman stepped out into the street to wave the bus down before re alizing that it would not stop in time.

She dove sideways at the last moment to avoid the collision straight-on.

A UB Stampede bus struck a pedestri an at the roundabout intersection of Lee Road and John James Audubon Parkway near Greiner Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 14.

In the 20 minutes following the colli sion, students and university police crowd ed around the victim who has yet to be publicly identified. The victim was later transported to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital with a non-life-threatening injury to their foot that will require surgery, Uni versity Police Deputy Chief Josh Sticht told The Spectrum in an email.

The driver, unsettled and alarmed, apol ogized profusely to bystanders as univer sity police gradually ushered them away, according to witnesses. He has since been suspended without pay and cited with “failure to yield to a pedestrian in a cross walk” as university police continue to in vestigate the accident.

A week has passed, and the investigation is ongoing. But students who witnessed the accident remain anxious and distressed, and they say their friends have also been hesitant to use UB transportation.

Witnesses aired their misgivings and wariness about pedestrian safety during interviews with The Spectrum

“It was traumatizing,” Alexa Fontalvo, a

freshman political science major who was on the bus during the incident, said. “Now people around me don’t want to go on the bus.”Fontalvo says she and a friend saw the woman in the crosswalk moments before the bus struck her.

“In our minds, we’re like, ‘OK, the bus is gonna brake, right?’” she said.

“It was like we hit a huge speed bump,” Fontalvo said. “You heard her legs get run over,” and then he [the driver] kept driv ing.”Fontalvo says that the driver didn’t fully stop until students pleaded for him to stop theJohnbus.Lamaita, a graduate student study ing higher education, was standing in the shuttle during the incident. He recalled the driver struggling to come to terms with what had just happened.

“Everyone on the bus was really stunned,” Lamaita said. “I think the bus driver was really stunned himself. You know, he was trying to pull over to the side.”Lamaita doesn’t believe the bus driver was initially aware that he had hit the pe destrian.After the shuttle came to a complete stop, the driver and passengers all went to

Four candidates will be running for the 2022-23 Student Association Senate, ac cording to the SA ballot, which opened Monday. The slate of candidates was not released ahead of time, and was empty as of Friday. Students can vote until Friday at 4 p.m.

The four candidates are running for 12 open positions, ensuring that each candi date will hold a seat on the Senate dur ing the 2022-23 academic year. The SA found itself in the same position during the 2021-22 SA Senate elections, with four candidates running for 12 seats.

Here’s everything to know about the election:

Who’s running: There are four uncon tested candidates: Amelia Kelly, Cameron Kiner, Tangeniqua Washington and Bara kat Sahi. All four will become members of the Student Association Senate, regardless of the election’s results.

What the SA Senate does: SA Senators are elected by the undergraduate student body as representatives and are respon sible for overseeing and controlling the organization’s annual budget. SA Senators also have the power to recognize or derec ognize clubs and work with the executive committee — made up of the e-board and club council coordinators — to advocate on behalf of undergraduate students.

From the candidates: The Spectrum con tacted all of the candidates and asked for information about their platforms and mission statements. Only Sahi and Kiner responded in time for publication.

Barakat Sahi: Sahi believes that his cul tural background as an Iraqi will give him a unique perspective on how to best help members of the student body who feel un derrepresented. The freshman undecided major says that he enjoyed his time spent collecting signatures for his campaign and

listening to students’ grievances. Sahi says he is grateful to run in this election. He ex plained that where he’s from in Iraq, people didn’t have these op portunities.“NowI want to make sure that all stu dents can find some thing they enjoy or would like to get in volved with,” Sahi said. “I want them to take advantage of all the opportunities that UB has to offer and there are a lot of them.”

Cameron Kiner: Kiner is a freshman biochemistry major whose main focus is prioritizing the mental health of the catingonsenate,aandistizingsaysstudentundergraduatebody.Hethatdestigmamentalillnessimportanttohimthatonceheismemberoftheheintendsfurtheradvoformental

health awareness. Kiner believes that his experiences from high school, ranging

from senior class president to choir club treasurer, will help him encourage stu dents to be involved in their community.

“It’s easy to feel like our voices don’t matter or like we’re just one among many who are exactly like us,” Kiner said. “But that couldn’t be any further from the truth. Each and every student here is unique, with their own distinctive experiences, be liefs and values.”

Email: kayla.estrada@ubspectrum.com

StudentS and faculty weigh the effective neSS of Biden’S neweSt Step to reduce Student loan

StudentS

‘It was traumatizing’

check on the woman.

“She didn’t look okay,” Lamaita said. “It looked as if her feet were ran over. It was a pretty bad scene.”

Witnesses who were walking by at the time began crowding around the scene.

McVearry, who was late to class, was rushing out of Greiner Hall when he en countered the aftermath of the collision.

“My alarm bells instantly go off,” McVe arry said. “This is not something that usu allyMcVearryhappens.”got a better view of the wom an as he got closer. He recalls her being middle-aged, around “50 or 60 years old,” with blonde hair. The victim was sitting “up on the road” with her shoes off.

From the vantage point of the bus, Fon talvo remembered seeing “blood all over the ground” and described how the wom an’s legs were “swollen and twisted.”

“She was obviously in a lot of pain,” Mcvearry said. “She was going through shock because she was hyper fixating on things. She was asking people, ‘Where’s my bag? I need my bag,’ completely focused on [that] one thing instead of her entire legs being run over by a bus.”

Though shaken, McVearry took it upon

himself to call university police and stayed at the scene until an ambulance arrived, trying to piece together what had hap pened from the accounts of other stu dents and the woman herself. He says he “almost shut down,” but didn’t.

It took roughly 15 minutes for both campus police and medical personnel to arrive at the accident site, McVearry says. In the meantime, he worked with several other students to move the victim closer to the McVearrysidewalk.tried his best to comfort her as they waited for first responders to ar rive.“She was sitting basically with her legs stretched out, kind of gazing off into the distance,” he said. “I did my best to talk to her, but honestly, I didn’t know quite what to say.”

chances crossing the street and is more conscious of nearby Stampede buses.

“Now when I see a bus on campus — or really anything — but mostly the Stam pede, I don’t cross, I wait,” Lamaita said. “It’s just like [one of] those little experi ences you have, it really makes you open your eyes Studentsmore.”who heard of the incident second-hand via social media shared their own concerns. A video posted by @buffs barstool captured the aftermath of the collision and inspired at least two posts — one inquiry and one meme — on UB’s RedditLiampage.Riter, a freshman history and ado lescent education major, says that what happened is “kind of scary,” but admitted that he would continue to use the Stam pede for transportation. Other uninvolved students interviewed by The Spectrum shared that sentiment.

portation partner, First Transit — had a clean driving record prior to Wednesday’s accident.Lamaita stresses students to tread care fully when walking on campus.

“The reality is that you’re not going to always have people always overseeing ev erything that’s happening on campus,” she said. “So you need to be the one that’s re ally paying attention.”

But McVearry believes that the accident went viral because of how rare similar in cidents are on campus.

“So much worse could’ve happened,” McVearry said. “It was kind of a freak ac cident.”

Email: kayla.estrada@ubspectrum.com

Email: kyle.nguyen@ubspectrum.com

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

Fontalvo says she and her friends now try to avoid the Stampede because they “don’t feel safe” in the wake of the acci dent.Citing a past “habit of jaywalking,” La maita says that he will no longer take his

But Fontalvo, who experienced the ac cident in its entirety, called for stringent repercussions.“Ithinkthat the university should not let him drive again,” she said. “At least he could have another job on campus, but I don’t know about driving.”

University police say the driver — a 14year employee of the university’s trans

Sitting UB Council member on trial for reckless endangerment, criminal mischief

GRANT ASHLEY MANAGING EDITOR

UB Council member and New Era CEO Chris Koch was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and fourth-degree criminal mischief in Buffalo City Court after allegedly driving his car at his girlfriend’s ex-partner in May.

Koch has pleaded not guilty and was released on bail. The two charges carry a maximum sentence of one year in jail, ac cording to a press release from the Erie County District Attorney.

Koch is still a member of the council, according to UB spokesperson John Del laContrada. The council serves as “the primary oversight and advisory body” to UB’s “president and senior officers,” ac cording to its website. Nine of its mem bers, including Koch, are appointed by the governor to seven-year terms and one is elected by UB students to a one-year term.

The charges against Koch stem from an argument he had with his girlfriend’s expartner, identified in court documents as Daniel Parisi, outside of Oliver’s Restau rant on Delaware Avenue, according to a police report obtained by WIVB.

Parisi said in a statement to Buffalo Po lice that he ran into Koch as he and his expartner were leaving the restaurant togeth er while driving back. DA John Flynn later said that Parisi was not there randomly, according to WIVB, but no one disputes that Parisi pulled up next to Koch and got into an argument with him. Parisi alleges in his statement that Koch called him a “f-king p---y,” at which point Parisi got out of his car and told Koch “Let’s settle this likeKochmen.”then drove his 2022 Cadillac Es calade directly at Parisi. Parisi jumped out of the way but sustained a minor injury to his right hand. Koch then hit Parisi’s 2018 Chevrolet Silverado, causing $7,232.35 of damage to Parisi’s vehicle.

Prosecutors originally charged Koch with first-degree reckless endangerment, a felony, implying that Koch had a “depraved indifference to human life” and “created a grave risk of death to another person,” ac cording to a criminal complaint. In June, the DA’s office dropped that charge to second-degree reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor, arguing that they couldn’t prove the felony charge “beyond a reason able doubt,” according to the press release. The new charge implies that Koch “cre ated a substantial risk of serious physical injury to another person.”

“As we indicated from the beginning,

this was a traffic accident caused by the conduct of the alleged complainant,” Aar on Glazer, one of Koch’s attorneys, said in an email to The Spectrum. “We expect that when the true facts are revealed, Mr. Koch will be fully exonerated.”

Peter Kooshoian, an attorney for Parisi, did not respond to a request for comment from The Spectrum Koch did not attend the UB Council’s most recent meeting on June 18, according to UB spokesperson John DellaContrada. That meeting occurred about six weeks af ter Koch was first arraigned.

But council meeting minutes show that Koch’s absences long pre-date his arrest. The last meeting he attended took place on Dec. 10, 2018. The UB Council gener ally meets four times per year.

A.J. Franklin, the 2022-23 UB Council student representative, said he has not seen Koch at any university function, nor was Koch’s situation discussed in any council meeting. Franklin is also an assistant fea tures editor for The Spectrum and is the sole student representative on the council.

“This incident has not affected [Koch’s] role [on the council] (and rightly so given

that the other party was the aggressor),” Glazer said.

Only New York State Gov. Kathy Ho chul can remove Koch from his position under New York State law. The governor’s office did not respond to The Spectrum’s questions about whether Gov. Hochul is considering removing Koch from the council. No UB official can appoint or re move council members.

Council members are not paid but are reimbursed for any expenses “actually and necessarily incurred” while carrying out their duties as council members.

Koch was appointed to the council in March 2013 by then-Gov. Andrew Cuo mo, according to the council’s website. He is currently two years into his second term on the council, which is set to expire in 2027.Koch also donated $25,000 to Cuomo’s campaign for governor in August 2014, according to the New York State Board of Elections. Cuomo was up for re-election that year. The Spectrum did not find any do nations Koch made to Gov. Hochul.

Koch is expected to next appear in court on Oct. 7 at 9:30 a.m.

‘The university should not let him drive again’

Chris hasn’t attended meeting 2018

Courtesy of the erie County DistriCt Chris KoCh was arrested Charged endangerment

Email: grant.ashley@ubspectrum.com

MoAZ eLAZZAZi / the speCtruM the UB CoUnCil meets foUr times a year typiCally in the BUffalo room in Capen hall

An exam should be a reward, not a jigsaw puzzle

After studying tirelessly, and sometimes sleeping in campus an a hardworking student

All of the events of my nightmare re peated themselves: the negligence of time, the surge of nerves, the horror, the tears and the pitch black.

What I’d experienced was a dream with in a dream. It repeated itself six times. Six times in the same nightmare.

by the skin of my teeth. I’ve tried index cards, Quizlet, excessive note taking and textbook memorization, all to no avail. No matter what I do, these so-called “applied knowledge” questions always find a way to trick

DYLAN GRECO ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

I woke up, checked my phone and pan icked.I’dmissed the 10-minute interval I had to start my test. A bolt of nerves surged through my body as I jumped from my bed and sprinted to my computer. I opened my laptop only to see the words “test in progress” with the “start exam” button, void of color. I stared at my computer in horror, tears welling up in my eyes. Every thing went pitch black. I woke up once more.

“Holy s—t, thank God it was just a bad dream,” I said to myself. I rolled over to check the time on my phone: 9:17 a.m.

When I finally woke up for real, my anx iety was through the roof. Was this still my nightmare? Am I real? Am I late for my test? I had my roommate slap me across the face just to be sure.

The night before, all I could think about was my upcoming exam. I had studied the past few nights and I thought I was fully prepared, but I was still anxious. My pro fessor’s voice echoed through my head: “The upcoming exam will be open-note. However, these questions will not be straightforward. These questions will re quire you to apply your knowledge.”

This isn’t my first rodeo with “applied knowledge” exams. I’ve experienced them many times before with many different professors and teachers. The same thing happens every time. I study my ass off, I feel prepared, I take the exam, I pass

Manyme.professors like to introduce a new concept during an exam that a student must understand using the notes they’ve taken in lecture and from their textbook. On paper, this is a wonderful way to ex pand a student’s understanding of the source material. But students need to be tested on their basic knowledge of class concepts before they can be asked to use said concepts in a larger problem.

Giving students a trial by fire when they barely understand the basic concepts of the class is unfair to students. When a student sees a question that tests them on new content, their first thought is some thing along the lines of “Oh God, we didn’t learn this in class. What am I going to do? I know, I’ll look up the answer on Google.”Confusing questions, potentially useless lecture knowledge and panicked Googling

are not a recipe for success; they’re a rec ipe for, at best, barely passing an exam. It feelsWhendefeating.students fail a class because of blatant neglect, they learn something. That’s not the case when they fail because of trickery. Students work day and night, sometimes sleeping in campus libraries, to absorb knowledge and press forward in their academic careers. If you’ve put in the hard work, an exam should be a reward.

To absorb all that information only to be met with an exam that has little to do with the course material is exhausting. Af ter a student fails to “perform” under an “applied knowledge” based exam, a sense of defeat settles in. A once successful and ambitious student now feels stupid and hopeless. That’s the opposite of what an education should do.

Email: dylan.greco@ubspectrum.com

‘We walk in memory of those we lost to suicide’

UB Counseling Services concludes Suicide Prevention Week with Out of the Darkness Walk

JASMIN YEUNG

ASST. NEWS/FEATURES EDITOR

Over 1,500 people participated in the Out of the Darkness Walk at Canalside last Saturday. Organized by the Ameri can Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), the event aims to raise awareness about suicide prevention, honor those who have passed and fundraise for com munity programs.educationalThewalkisthe

final event in UB’s Suicide Prevention Week programming.

UB Counseling’s Student Wellness team has participat ed in the Out of the Darkness Walk since it began in 2006, according to Carissa Uschold-Klepfer, an assistant director and eating disorder treatment team coordina tor at UB Counseling Services. Team UB Walkin’ raised over $5,000 this year, con tributing to AFSP’s total of $240,008.19. A total of 1,897 registered participants and 233 teams walked.

Tents and a stage lined Canalside for the event, including an area for community resources such as Planned Parenthood, Bikers Against Child Abuse and Hous ing Opportunities Made Equal. The walk was kicked off by an opening ceremony, where community members spoke about their experiences with mental health and suicide.“We want this to be a time where the community feels connected,” West ern New York board member and Buf falo Walk Chair Lauren Calabrese said. “There’s a lot going on here, but we walk in memory of the people we lost to sui cide.”

The 1.89 mile walk from Canalside to Erie Basin Marina Observation Deck was packed with teams of both students and families. Many wore honor beads from the “Hope & Healing” tent; walkers could pick up different colored strings of beads

to represent their connection to the cause, such as green for a personal struggle or at tempt, orange for a loss of a sibling, or rainbow to honor the LGBTQ commu nity.Jamie Englerth, a third-year law student and President of the Student Wellness So ciety (SWS), a mental health group for law students, also joined the walk with mem bers of her organi zation.“We have a lot of vicarious trauma,” she said. “There’s so much trauma and hard things that we can’t talk about be cause of confidenti ality.”

She went on to describe SWS as a safe space and an “open communication to students that we’re all going through this together.”Outside of SWS, Englerth has been go ing to the Out of the Darkness Walk since 2016.“I would say the most overwhelming feeling you get is the opening ceremonies,” she said. “It’s completely emotionally over whelming. It makes you really value the people that you have here because maybe they have thought about suicide. Maybe they have tried to and realize how blessed you are to have them still here… it’s some thing that has to be talked about more so we can stop. We can live in a world without suicide.”

Other UB Suicide Prevention Week events included Wellness Activity Day — where students received resources and support while planting, decorating rocks and coloring mandalas — and QPR Sui cide Prevention Training, which teaches people to “Question, Persuade and Refer” those who show warning signs of suicide. More sessions will be available virtually on Oct. 10, Nov. 15 and Dec. 7 through UB Counseling Services.

Email: jasmin.yeung@ubspectrum.com

JASMIN

JASMIN

“WE WANT THIS TO BE A TIME WHERE THE FEELSCOMMUNITYCONNECTED”

Students celebrate, weigh consequences of President Biden’s loan forgiveness plan

Students and faculty weigh the effectiveness of Biden’s newest step to reduce student loan

UB students and staff were relieved to have their debt burdens reduced follow ing the Biden administration’s August an nouncement that they would wipe out up to $20,000 of federal loans for “low- to middle-income” earners.” But some were concerned about rising tax burdens and national debt figures.

For UB’s interim Assistant Director of Financial Aid Andrea Reitz, the benefits of loan forgiveness depend on the student at “Studenthand. loans are a good option for stu dents to invest in their higher education,” Reitz said. “I have student loans and the forgiveness will reduce my overall balance. For students, I believe the difference made depends on each individual loan borrower and varies depending on the amount of loan debt a previous borrower had.”

For freshman biological science major Ian Pachura, Biden’s plan provides relief for him and his family. Seeing his parents pay off their loans over the course of about 20 years, Pachura hopes to not have to do the “Owingsame.money to anyone is stressful, so from a student’s perspective, it seems like a good plan. We should try and make [paying off loans] easier for people, but hopefully not have so much of an impact on the government and push it into more debt long-term,” he said.

An applicant’s adjusted gross income from 2020 or 2021 must be less than $125,000 a year for individuals or less than $250,000 a year for couples to qualify for loan forgiveness. Applications will open in early October, with approved borrow ers expecting relief four to six weeks after applying.Only borrowers with federal student loans — about 37 million people — are eligible for forgiveness. For Pell Grant recipients, up to $20,000 will be excused. $10,000 will be forgiven for all other quali fying students.

Entrepreneurburdens

RIA GUPTA ASST. NEWS/FEATURES EDITOR A.J. FRANKLIN ASST. FEATURES EDITOR

The Biden administration announced that the pause on loan repayment will be extended one “final” time to Dec. 31.

But some students are skeptical of the loan forgiveness plan. Freshman computer science major Michael Beards has mixed feelings on the impact of paying off stu dents’ college debt.

“It’s a good first step. It’s a roundabout way of making college affordable. Maybe they should give funding to schools in stead, and then the schools would be able to lower their tuition,” Beards said. “It’s interesting because maybe it’ll add to the national debt and then we’ll be paying it off in taxes for years.”

For MBA student Alvin George, the de

bate over loan forgiveness comes down to one’s educational background.

“I think for the people who disagree with loan forgiveness, it’s a jealousy is sue,” George said. “A lot of people at my company either had associates degrees or didn’t come [in] with college degrees, so they never viewed college as a necessity, they viewed it as a luxury. Student loans were a matter of you paying for your lux ury and now you’re getting a free loan, es sentially, so that’s why they don’t find that value.”

Some students were excited for benefits beyond economic relief. Freshman psy chology student Olivia Kowalski sees the plan as another step toward making higher

education less expensive, or even free.

“Long-term, people would be better ed ucated, and that helps the population as a whole. The better educated people are, the more they’re able to vote on issues — they understand the reasoning behind certain bills and they can think critically,” Kowal ski

Withsaid. the Nov. 8 midterm election date coinciding with the first forgiveness ap plication deadline of Nov. 15, student loan forgiveness will be on the forefront of many voters’ minds — both at UB and nationwide.

Email: ria.gupta@ubspectrum.com

Newly opened Plantae is first and only vegan grocery store in Buffalo city limits

They say their work dynamic is filled with teasing, laughter and support. Hardy de scribes it as “fire and ice,” but not to the point that they aren’t able to get along.

Until summer 2022, the city of Buffalo had no vegan grocery store. Donisha Gant wanted to change that.

On July 30, Gant, 25, opened Plantae, a vegan grocery store, located at 212 Grant St. After saving up for a year, Gant made her vision a reality.

Some of Plantae’s best-selling products include vegan iterations of bacon, shrimp and lemon chicken. Gant says the prima ry goal of her store is to provide health ier food options to those in Buffalo and Western New York.

“My main goal is trying to get people to switch out certain [foods],” Gant said. “So that way they’re not consuming food with so many preservatives, artificial food col oring and additives.”

Just before entering the 1,500-squarefoot store, visitors will find the face of the building painted dark green with “100% vegan” written in white on the windows. The all-green color palette continues into the store, with grass-like walls in front of and behind the register. Gant’s employee and best friend, one Ashley Hardy, typi cally mans the counter, playing jazz music from the TV behind her while awaiting customers.Thetwo are so close that they call them selves sisters when calling out to each oth er throughout the work day. They became friends while attending Villa Maria Col lege, and now manage the store together.

“It’s very laid back only because it’s not like a crazy rush,” Hardy said about work ing at Plantae. “It’s not a crazy influx of people. I could put on some relaxing mu sic, [but] sometimes I have to turn it off because I will get sleepy.”

Gant was filled with energy on the open ing day of her store. But there were under tones of anxiety beneath the excitement.

“What if nobody shows up?” she thought to herself at the time. “What if a lot of people show up?”

For the big day, the first-time business owner wore a green dress to pay homage to veganism. Gant says people were rush ing in before the ribbon was even cut.

“I was razzled,” says Gant. “I was franti cally setting up the sample trays and sam ple table. The doors were unlocked and customers just started flooding into the store trying to purchase things. I was just overwhelmed and happy.”

Gant says her store received an over whelmingly positive response from the Buffalo community, with customers telling her things like: “Thank you for putting this here, we needed this in Buffalo,” and “I have never seen [a store like] this before.”

First-time customer and Buffalo resi dent Corrie Allen isn’t vegan but chose to come to the store because of her gluten and dairy allergies and the store’s proxim ity.“I live way closer to here than going out

to Tonawanda, so it’s nice,” Allen said.

Gant says she has enjoyed being her own boss, adding that it “feels less restrict ing” without someone “breathing down [her]

Butneck.”being in the early stages of owning a business comes with its difficulties. Her greatest obstacle so far has been her in ability to keep up with demand.

“I would love for my store to be a onestop shop, but she needs time to grow,” Gant

Shesaid.feels she is constantly playing a “game of catch up” to keep her shelves stocked for customers. Some products that used to take 2-3 days to get shipped in now take 2-3 weeks.

“Now things are taking longer, prices are getting higher,” she said.

Inflation and longer shipping times have turned decisions of what she should put on the shelves into a “jigsaw puzzle” of what she should restock.

“Because my customer demand is high er than what I anticipated, I can post a picture of something, and it would usu ally sell out quickly,” Gant said. “And then the turnaround time for it to be restocked would be a week or so, and then it happens again. So this is just a learning process for me, and now I’ve learned that when I or der things, I order them in packs of two now.”Gant someday hopes Plantae will go be yond just selling food. She says wants to host educational programs for children about healthy eating, toy drives and other community events.

But what matters even more for Gant is being able to pass her dream down to her daughter and any others she might have if they want it.

“In my family, as far as I am aware, for the last couple of generations no one has had anything passed down to them like land or a storefront,” Gant said. “So I just wanted to start something new in my fam ily, and I want to continue it.”

Email: aj.franklin@ubsectrum.com

Donisha Gant made her dream of expanding healthy food options a reality

Students and alumni fight to bring radio broadcasting back to UB

The university has been without an official campus radio station for over three years

love of music with the student population — and to create a sense of community.

The campus radio station is a hallmark of the American college experience. Since FM broadcasting began to take off in the 1970s, college DJs have offered an alter native to mainstream culture, influencing the music students listen to and they talk about — all from dimly lit rooms and tucked-away basements on America’s col lege campuses.Withthe advent of the internet, social media and music streaming services, it’s easy to dismiss radio broadcasting as past its heyday. But there are plenty of stu dent-run radio stations still going strong, even within the SUNY system. Stations at Binghamton, Purchase, Geneseo and more are still broadcasting daily.

For the past three years, UB — the largest public university in the state of New York — has been without one.

It’s certainly not a lack of student interest — ask Ana Litvinenko, the sopho more who’s been trying to bring broad casting back to LitvinenkoUB. started the UB broad casting club with intentions to revive WRUB, UB’s now-defunct radio station. WRUB folded in 2019 when Sub-board 1 (or SBI), the non-profit student orga nization that funded the station, was shut down. In the three years since the dissolu tion of SBI, WRUB has yet to be success fully replaced.“Coming to a school like Buffa lo and seeing how big it is, then realizing there’s no station… it’s like, what are you doing?” Litvinenko said.

Then a freshman, the criminology major was seeking an avenue to share her

“It’s such a great way to bring people together,” Litvinenko said. “And who wouldn’t want to tune in and hear about student news, or listen to good mu sic?”So last spring, she took matters into her own hands. The broadcasting club’s first meeting had around 30 attendees, and the number of interested students con tinues to rise thanks to social media and flyers posted around campus. But it hasn’t been easy to get off the ground. The club still hasn’t secured funding or recognition from the Student Association. According to Litvinenko, it’s been a struggle to gain approval for the station; she’s applied and been denied twice.

“They’re extremely skeptical about it. And no one’s willing to give us a space, no one’s willing to clear up some room for it,” she said.Litvinenko isn’t the only one try ing to fill the void left by WRUB. Her ef forts caught the attention of the team at Subject Media, an online collective that calls itself “Buffalo’s student-run media empire.”The website, founded by a collec tive of UB alumni, was formed from the ashes of WRUB and Generation Maga zine, a campus publication that also lost its funding with the downfall of SBI. It features podcasts, blogs and online radio broadcasts from current and former UB students.“It didn’t seem like the university or SA were all that interested in keeping the station going, so we just decided to do it ourselves,” Mike Vago, one of the alum ni that started Subject Media, said.

In 1993, Vago co-founded the most recent iteration of WRUB. Being a part of the station had such an impact on him that — even 25 years after graduating — he’s still dedicated to bringing the col lege radio experience to UB.

“Running WRUB in the ‘90s taught me how to manage an organiza tion, how to motivate people, how to solve problems when you don’t have any money,” Vago said. “WRUB was really the beginning of my life as a creative person.”

The power of radio broadcasting has changed a lot since Vago was in col lege; people turn to streaming services and social media to tell them what to listen to, not FM radio. But he hopes Subject Media can recreate the dynamic of WRUB, where students had influence and power to share anything they want with their audience.

Vago and Subject Media have en couraged Litvinenko to join the Subject team. But for now, Litvinenko’s still hop ing to get a traditional, on-campus radio station off the ground, complete with a professional studio and an FM broadcast.

“I just feel like it has so many opportu nities and the school just seems to be re fusing to actually put it into motion,” said Litvinenko.Withor without university approval, equipment, or a dedicated space, Lit vinenko and the UB broadcasting club are determined to bring radio back to cam pus. They’re set to hold more meetings throughout the semester, where any aspir ing DJs are welcome to bring their passion to the fledgling station.

Inside Lukas Foss’ ‘midnight atmosphere’

UB Slee Sinfonietta performs an entrancing tribute to the American-German composer

Email: meret.kelsey@ubspectrum.com ANDERSON SENIOR ARTS EDITOR

A whirlpool of sound descends on the audience in Lippes Concert Hall. The entrancing call of the clarinet and the enchanting ring of the piano lures the audience into a hypnotizing and liminal musical space.Anaudio mixture of urgency, mystery and livelihood fades into an allencompassing tranquility as members of UB’s Slee Sinfonietta finish the first pro gram of the Lukas Foss Centennial Cel ebration.Foss, an American-German com poser, was the founder and director of UB’s Center for Creative and Perform ing Arts and the music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, among other notable positions. To commemo rate what would be Foss’ 100th birthday, members of the Slee Sinfonietta, a profes sional chamber orchestra in residence, per formed five pieces by Foss on Sunday.

The first program, “Elegy for clarinet and piano,” came to an end and left the audience in the wake of a simul taneously lulling and lively performance. Jonthana Golove and Eric Huebner, as sociate music professors, then made their way to the stage to play “Capriccio for cello andWithpiano.”the tendrils of the previous performance still lingering in the minds of the audience, Golove successfully cap tured the spirit of the “midnight atmo sphere” of Foss’ music. He further pushed the mystical atmosphere by recounting the story of spotting a red fox on a trip to Berlin and drawing the audience into the delightful world of Foss.

As he and Huebner launched into their rendition of “Capriccio,” the perfor mance hall came alight in the passionate and joyful piece, one reminiscent of the music set against the backdrop of a sunny

countryside.Yet, despite the concert’s focus on Foss and his legacy, each musician’s individuality in performance is what truly shined through to heighten the viewer’s experience.As

“Capriccio” continued, Go love became inflamed in passion, raising his eyebrows and puckering his lips while Huebner swayed in his seat, channeling the levity of the piece.

Still, the program’s fourth piece, “Solo Observed,” might be the brightest display of individuality.

A staggering piece that began with a lengthy (and worthwhile) piano solo, “Solo Observed” features musicians playing the vibraphone, cello and electric organ.

As all finally joined in to play, “Solo Observed” quickly transformed into a symphony and battle of sounds. There

was the mysterious and near-extraterrestri al pull of the vibraphone, the intense and almost frightening nature of the piano and the festive-laced notes of the cello. The di versity of sound and performance person alities created a spectacle that resounded in a standing ovation.

The concert continued to suc cessfully wield this wonderful environ ment into its last piece, “Time Observed.”

“Time Observed” entrenched the audience into a world of philosophy and literature, as the works of Kafka, Nietzche and more were sung in a haunting siren’s song by soprano Tiffany Du Mouchelle.

The accompanying instruments created a twinkling rush of frantic noise, eventually descending into a soft and haunting lull, like an eerie breeze in the dead of the night.

As Du Mouchelle whispered the final words of “Time Observed,” the Lu kas Foss Centennial Celebration success fully concluded as the Slee Sinfonietta’s entrance into the 2022-23 performance season.

The group now looks ahead to their next performance, Sphinx Virtuosi, on Oct. 15.

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UB falls to Coastal Carolina 38-26 due to a sloppy fourth quarter

The Chanticleers proved to be too much for the Bulls and caused their defense to cave in

CAILLOU BORDEN STAFF WRITER

Following a heartbreaking 37-31 loss to FCS opponent Holy Cross, UB (0-3) found itself in a must-win scenario head ing into Week 3’s matchup against Coastal Carolina (3-0). But the Chants proved to be a difficult feat this past Saturday as the Bulls fell, 38-26, at Brooks Stadium in Conway, SC.

UB has lost three consecutive games to start the season, but seven in a row dating back to last season (second-worst in FBS).

The biggest challenge for the Bulls this past Saturday was the explosive Chanti cleers offense. Coastal Carolina redshirt junior quarterback Grayson McCall led the Chants’ offensive attack, going 16-for-24 with 251 passing yards and three touch downs.Redshirt sophomore running back CJ Beasley (89 yards and one touchdown) and redshirt senior receiver Sam Pinckney (five catches for 103 yards) were formidable compliments to McCall’s passing attack.

The Bulls’ defense allowed 17 points through three quarters but collapsed in the fourth, as the Chants scored three touch downs in the final period. Two Coastal touchdowns — including a fumble return

score by redshirt junior Jahmar Brown — were scored within two minutes and 10 seconds of each other at the beginning of the fourth quarter.

For the Bulls, junior quarterback Cole Snyder completed 29-of-48 attempts with 264 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Graduate wide receiver Justin Marshall secured eight receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown.

UB’s defense struggled to stop the Chan ticleers’ offense, as the Bulls allowed 504 total yards and four touchdowns. Through three games, UB has given up 35.3 pts per game.The Bulls will look to rebound next week as they travel to Ypsilanti, MI to take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles (2-1) Sat urday at 12 p.m. The game will be broad cast on CBS Sports Network.

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Five Division I football head coaches have UB ties

College football commonly evokes feel ings of glory and shame, but for members of the UB community, the 2022-23 season evokes something else: pride.

Five Division I FBS head coaches and one NFL head coach can trace their roots back to the Queen City, where they either played, studied or coached — or in some cases, did all three.

Between them, these six leaders have won eight conference coach of the year awards and nearly a dozen conference championships.Here’salook at some of UB football’s most accomplished alumni:

Dave Clawson, Wake Forest

Clawson, the 2021 ACC Coach of the Year, was born in Youngstown, NY, a small village in the Buffalo-Niagara Met ropolitan Area. No stranger to New York college football, Clawson has coached at UAlbany, Buffalo and Fordham, while also making out-of-state stops at Lehigh, Villa nova, Richmond, Tennessee and Bowling Green.“Ihave a lot of fond memories of Buf falo and I still have a lot of friends there,” Clawson told The Buffalo News back in 1997. “I’m glad I had the opportunity to coach [quarterbacks and running backs] at UB. That experience has served me well.”

Last season, the 55-year-old led the De mon Deacons to an 11-3 record and their first ACC Atlantic Division title since 2006. This year, Wake Forest is 3-0 and the No. 21 team in the country.

Lance Leipold, Kansas

In 2015, Leipold inherited a program that went 5-6 the year before. It took him just four years to lead the Bulls to a con ference championship game appearance and six years to lead them to their firstever AP Top 25 appearance.

The Bulls’ turnaround may have come as a surprise to outsiders, but it shouldn’t have been. In eight years at the Divi sion III level, Leipold helped WisconsinWhitewater win six national champion ships. He achieved 100 victories in his first 106 games — still the fastest mark in NCAA history.

Today, Leipold is regarded as one of the 25 best coaches in the nation. His Jay hawks are 3-0 and receiving votes in the AP Poll. And he is a rumored candidate for the vaunted Nebraska head coaching job.

Brent Pry, Virginia Tech

Once considered a potential candidate to succeed Leipold at UB, Pry began his collegiate football career in the Queen City. The 52-year-old Altoona, PA native played safety for the Bulls — a Division III program at the time — from 1989-91, before a career-ending injury forced him off the field and onto the sidelines.

Pry was a student coach for the Bulls in 1992 — the start of a 30-year coaching odyssey that took him from the MAC to the Big 10 to finally, the ACC. A strong defensive mind, Pry has earned a reputa tion for his aggressive 4-3 scheme.

The Hokies were upset by Old Domin ion (a familiar UB foe), 20-17, in Week 1, but Pry’s team responded with back-toback wins over Boston College and Wof ford.

Jeff Monken, Army

Today, Monken is the second-longesttenured head coach in Army football his tory. But 30 years ago, the Peoria, IL native

accepted a job as the wide receivers and tight ends coach, as well as the recruiting coordinator, at UB. He stayed there for three seasons.

Monken coached with Pry his first year in the Queen City. He was with the Bulls for their final year in Division III, and their first two years in Division I-AA. Monken has become a familiar face at UB games, as the Bulls have played the Black Knights four times since he took over at WestMonkenPoint.was awarded the ECAC Divi sion I FBS Football Coach of the Year Award in 2021. The Black Knights are 1-2 this season.

Maurice Linguist, Buffalo

In the seven years leading up to his hir ing as UB’s head football coach, “Coach Mo” bounced around between Iowa State, Mississippi State, Minnesota, Texas A&M and the Dallas Cowboys. He even was Michigan’s co-defensive coordinator for a fewButmonths.before all that, Linguist spent two seasons at UB, first as a defensive backs coach, then as the team’s co-defensive co ordinator and recruiting coordinator. In his second season, with Khalil Mack lead ing the defense, the Bulls notably defeated No. 17 Stony Brook (FCS) 26-23 in a five

overtime game, before finishing the year 8-5.Now in his second season at UB, Lin guist is still looking for his first win of 2022.

Honorable mention: Matt Rhule, Carolina Panthers

Long before he coached P.J. Walker at Temple or Sam Darnold in Carolina, Matt Rhule roamed the sidelines at UB, where he was the defensive line coach from 1999-2000.Rhule,47, was born in New York, and later moved to State College, PA — the site of Penn State’s main campus — as a teenager. After playing four years under legendary head coach Joe Pantorno, Rhule accepted a job as a volunteer assistant for the Nittany Lions in 1998.

Just one year later, he found himself in Buffalo, where he coached the defen sive line and earned his master’s degree in educational psychology. In 1999, the Bulls went 0-11, which included a 59-3 home loss to No. 15 Marshall and a 43-0 loss to Virginia in the season finale.

Today, Rhule is the head coach of the NFL’s Panthers, although his long-term status in Carolina is unclear. The former Baylor coach “easily has the warmest seat” among NFL coaches, thanks to a string of underwhelming seasons.

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Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule also spent time with the Bulls WEISS FORMER MANAGING EDITOR