The Spectrum Volume 61 Issue 57

Vol. 61 NO. 57

ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Over $1 Million in Student Fees, Dating to 2005, Still Unused SARA DINATALE Asst. News Editor

solid plans or timeline in which to build a health center, said Susan Snyder, director of health services.

Over $1 million in student money is currently sitting, unused, in UB financial reserves. And every semester, students pay more.

For the 2005-2006 school year, SUNY approved a $3.50 increase in the health fee – a part of the comprehensive fee included in every student’s tuition – to fund the building of a student health center on the North Campus, according Barbara Ricotta, vice president of student affairs.

“We have done a start and stop to this project three or four times in my 10 years here,” Snyder said.

“This is not a new problem for us.”

The fee is still being collected because “it has always been a priority to establish a North Campus satellite at the next opportunity,” Nadbrzuch said in an email.

Richmond Quad was not a suitable location because of asbestos abatement, Snyder said.

There is no such health center.

The center, originally planned for the Richmond Quad, never got built. But students are still paying the extra $3.50, according to James Nadbrzuch, associate vice president for resource and support service.

The Spectrum first asked Ricotta about the existence

The university currently has $1,075,000 of student money in the “health center reserve,” Nadbrzuch said.

The Spectrum received a list of the committee mem-

And though the university has been collecting the money from students for six years, there are no

of the $3.50 fee on Jan. 31. On Feb. 7, Ricotta responded in an email, saying that “a committee’s just being formed” to review the Richmond cafeteria as a possible location for the health center.

bers on Feb. 21.

Snyder said that the committee has yet to meet.

Several locations for a health center have been discussed over the years, Snyder said, including what is now the Richmond dining hall, which will be vacated once the cafeteria in Red Jacket is completed in May. “It will take us a few months to determine if the [Richmond cafeteria] location will work,” Ricotta said in an email. “In the meantime, the money continues to sit in reserve waiting for a location to be identified.”

Snyder hopes the committee will be successful in finding a space. She said she feels “a little more confident this time around.”

The committee includes eight faculty members, including Snyder and Ricotta, and is currently seeking two student representatives, according to Ricotta.

“We have been talking about this for years,” Snyder said. “We filed some paperwork with Facilities, Planning and Design in the summer time, talking about our interest in brining a health center to the North Campus. We have been talking about this in seriousness [throughout the] the fall semester.”

continued on page 12

Teach Me How to Davey “University at Buffalo Basketball,” he didn’t know what to expect. As it turned out, the envelope didn’t contain much promise – just an invitation to a summer basketball camp.

When the men’s basketball team needs a big bucket, senior forward Dave Barnett often pipes up. “I’m going to make it if you give me the ball,” he says.

He received the letter because he was named All-Western New York honorable mention as a senior at East Aurora. It was a two-day camp that cost $l50. He shrugged the letter off; it was far too steep a price for someone who thought his playing days were over. But Barnett’s mother, Kim, was a bit more optimistic.

He’s made this proclamation four times over the past two seasons, and he’s been right every time.

Barnett is a lanky, 6-foot-5 forward.

He makes his sneakers look like trampolines and his knees resemble springs, but he models his game after Larry Bird. He’s a local kid and a major component of the 2011-12 Buffalo Bulls.

She said: “Dave, I think you should go to this,” and sent her son to the camp as his graduation present.

As it turned out it was not a gift, but an investment in his future.

Still, she readily admits, she never thought he would wind up being a Division-1 basketball player.

Above all, he’s an underdog with a propensity for proving people wrong. His high school coach told him: “you’re not Division-1 material.”

“I was lost,” he said.

One letter changed his life.

Summer camp

Adeela Khan didn’t think twice before forwarding an email about an upcoming Islamic conference in Toronto to fellow Muslims back in 2006.

But that simple act didn’t go unnoticed by a New York Police Department intelligence analyst more than 300 miles away. Khan’s email was combed through; her name was recorded and put into a secret “Weekly Muslim Student Association Report.”

On Saturday, the Associated Press reported on the NYPD’s monitoring of Muslim student groups in the northeast, including UB’s Muslim Student Association, and Muslims at UB have called the department’s actions “an infringement of civil rights.”

Khan, a UB graduate, was a board member for UB’s MSA while she was here.

“Your article implies that I knowingly advertised an event that featured allegedly controversial speakers, which was simply not the case. At the time I was an Executive Board member of the Muslim Student Association. As the AP article clearly stated, I forwarded an email I received to the MSA membership via our Yahoo! group.

“I was not affiliated with the event, nor did I know who was speaking at the event, as the original e-mail did not list the speakers,” Khan continued.

“Your article made it appear as though I had some intimate knowledge of the event, when I was merely passing information on to the membership.

I did not post any link to any news boards or other Internet sites.”

All of the NYPD’s investigations were conducted without UB’s knowledge or permission, according to a university statement.

The president of UB’s MSA responded to The Spectrum’s questions with an electronic memo. He requested that no names of MSA board members appear in this article.

The memo notes that the NYPD has no jurisdiction over the Western New York area.

continued on page 5

Craig Robinson to Headline Comedy Series

Barnett took the camp by storm, throwing down dunk after dunk and wowing the Buffalo coaching staff.

Meg Kinsley /// The Spectrum Senior forward Dave Barnett is a major component of the men’s basketball team this year, but he’s had to take a difficult road to the top – walking on to the team out of obscurity and overcoming numerous doubters.

Barnett had just graduated from East Aurora High School – located half an hour from North Campus – and he had no definable direction.

He planned on eventually enrolling at Erie Community College and

trying out for the basketball team.

It was July 2007 when he got the letter.

Addressed to “David Barnett” from

“He was extremely athletic, aggressive, strong, and long-limbed,” said head coach Reggie Witherspoon.

“He really surprised us. We were shocked.”

Witherspoon called Barnett over and said: “son, I want you to walk on here.”

So he did. continued on page 5

Over $1,500 in Textbooks Stolen From Bookstore Another example of crime from UB’s visitors

LISA KHOURY Asst. News Editor A man unaffiliated with UB stole $1,656.50 worth of textbooks from the UB Bookstore on Saturday. He returned on Monday to try to do it again.

Terrance McDuffie, a 24-year-old man from East Amherst, asked a bookstore associate behind the textbook counter to get him four economics textbooks, two of each of them, on Saturday.

When the associate placed the eight books on the counter, he turned around to look up another book for McDuffie. While the associate was turned around, McDuffie took the books and ran out of the store into a red Toyota, which an unidentified driver was waiting in.

On Monday, McDuffie returned to inquire again

Weather for the Week:

REBECCA BRATEK News Editor

“I didn’t even know I could do it. I didn’t know what I was capable of,” Barnett said.

Through a series of unforeseen events, Barnett enrolled at UB and walked-on to the basketball team.

Rewind five years and the man who sports number 24 is far from a confident, late-game sniper. The thin l8-year-old sits on his parents’ couch, not enrolled in college, not being recruited, just coasting through summer.

Adeela Khan and UB’s Muslim Student Association spoke to The Spectrum

Khan contacted The Spectrum to clarify Monday’s article, “NYPD Spied on UB’s Muslim Student Association,” by Senior News Editor Luke Hammill.

‘Big Shot Dave’ hurdles big-time odds

AARON MANSFIELD Senior Life Editor

NYPD’s Monitoring of Muslim Students Sparks Response

Wednesday: AM Showers/Wind- H: 40, L: 34 Thursday: Rain/Snow- H: 44, L: 38 Friday: Rain/Wind- H: 40, L: 30

about economics textbooks. The staff recognized him right away because of videotape surveillance, and James Hohl, the textbook supervisor, chased him out of the store. University Police Officer Sean Ford met them on Lee Road and arrested McDuffie.

Most people arrested by UPD are not affiliated with the university, according to UPD Lieutenant David Urbanek. Another example occurred last semester.

The only time a police officer guards the entrance of the bookstore is during rush period, according to Jason Heatley, the assistant manager.

On Sept. 1, a 55-year-old man who was not affiliated with UB followed an anonymous female student into the women’s bathroom in the Student Union. Bystanders called UPD when they witnessed it, according to Urbanek.

“Generally speaking, the thefts occur after rush…the last theft that occurred happened the weekend before [the McDuffie incident],” Heatley said.

The arrest of McDuffie, who is not part of the UB community, is not a unique incident for UPD.

In the past two years, the UPD has taken action against preventing nonaffiliated people from committing crimes on campus – including randomly checking IDs of people on UB buses and implementing a vehicle check test on student and faculty cars.

Courtesy of NBC

He’s put up with white-collar hijinks, traveled through time in a hot tub, and now he’s coming to UB. The Student Association has announced that Craig Robinson, best known for his role as Darryl Philbin in NBC’s The Office, will be headlining the 11th Annual Comedy Series. The show will take place on Saturday March 31 in Alumni Arena. Doors will open at 7 p.m. and the jokes will get underway at 8 p.m.

“We are very excited to bring Craig Robinson to UB for the students and we are hoping for a great show,” said SA Entertainment Director Monique Mattes.

Like in years passed, all UB undergraduates will receive free admission to the show. Other students, however, will have to pay $15 in order to see Robinson live, and the general public will have to shell out $25.

As for an opener, SA was unable to provide a name. According to Mattes, they are still in the process of finalizing some details to secure one.

I N S I D E continued on page 12

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

Opinion * 3 Life * 6,7 Arts * 9,10,11 Classifieds / Daily Delights * 13 Sports * 14

Page 2

ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

ANNOUNCING 11th Annual Comedy Series

: G N

I R U

N O

G S I A IN R C B RO

AT E F

Alumni Arena

Sat. March 31 Doors at 7pm Show at 8pm $15 for outside students $25 General Public

Free to UB Undergrads Tickets on sale now!

UPCOMING SA EVENTS

Opinion ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Orwellian Nightmare

EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR IN CHIEF Matthew Parrino SENIOR MANAGING EDITOR James Twigg

Actions by NYPD against MSAs are disgraceful

MANAGING EDITOR Edward Benoit EDITORIAL EDITOR James Bowe NEWS EDITORS Luke Hammill, senior Rebecca Bratek Sara DiNatale, asst.

Lisa Khoury, asst.

ARTS EDITORS Nick Pino, senior Vanessa Frith, senior Brian Josephs Elva Aguilar, asst.

Vilona Tranchtenberg, asst.

LIFE EDITORS Aaron Mansfield, senior Keren Baruch Lyzi White Rachel Kramer, asst.

SPORTS EDITORS Tyler Cady, senior Bryan Feiler Nathaniel Smith

Imagine: a few members of a radical Christian group commit acts of terrorism. Let’s say they’re firebombing buildings and murdering some doctors who provide a service they disagree with.

Now let us pretend that American police departments decide that the fact that these murderers and terrorists were Christian was significant.

So, in an attempt to stave off future murders, police start to investigate every Christian student association in the country and put their members under surveillance without any probable cause.

PHOTO EDITORS Meg Kinsley, senior Alexa Strudler Satsuki Aoi

The uproar would be insane. Christian conservatives in government would be calling for the head of every police chief involved, and blaming the current president for allowing the executive branch to meddle with religion.

WEB EDITOR Matthew Parrino James Twigg

Sadly, it has happened, only with minor twists.

GRAPHICS DESIGNER Haider Alidina

PROFESSIONAL STAFF OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Helene Polley ADVERTISING MANAGER Mark Kurtz

Muslim student associations across the northeast have been put under surveillance by the NYPD, after a few other Muslims were connected to terrorism. With the assistance of the CIA, it monitored where students ate, shopped, and worshipped.

the Undergraduate Mandatory Activity Fee. February 22, 2012 VOLUME 61 NUMBER 57 CIRCULATION: 7,000

The Spectrum is represented for national advertising by both Alloy Media and Marketing, and MediaMate.

For information on adverstising with

The Spectrum visit www.ubspectrum. com/ads or call us directly.

The Spectrum offices are located in 132 Student Union, UB North Campus, Buffalo, NY 14260-2100 Telephone: (716) 645-2468 Fax: (716) 645-2766 Copyright 2011 Buffalo, N.Y.

The Spectrum is printed by The Buffalo News 1 News Plaza Buffalo, N.Y. 14240

email any submissions to info@ubspectrum.com

After the backlash to Obama’s decision on birth control, one would assume that the conservatives crying for religious freedom might come to the defense of Muslim students.

Strangely, they’re silent. Somehow mandating that a business run by the Catholic Church be treated like any other business trumps the civil rights of American students being pulverized.

As high school students, many of us are made to read Nineteen Eighty-Four and ponder the possibility of Big Brother arriving and monitoring every aspect of our lives. For Muslims, this is no longer just an idea of what might happen; they’re seeing their

Everyone involved in this horrible ruse should be ashamed. Just one person in a position of authority could have remembered that our U.S. Constitution protects every citizen equally, but our government has convinced us that abandoning the values that founded this nation is defendable as long as it’s for a good cause.

Without a doubt this is one of the most disgusting examples of profiling seen since the beginning of the post 9/11 era of fear mongering and hate.

Under the guise of giving our police force the “tools” it needs to fight terrorism, we’ve allowed for a whole subsection of citizens to be thrown under the bus.

There is a strong contingent in this nation that thinks that the rights of others can be stomped on. The same people who tout their staunch adherence to the Constitution are the ones basically ostracizing citizens based solely on their religion.

Of course, that’s already the Republican ideal: the Orwellian notion that some people are more equal than others. As long as you’re a straight white Christian, you’re in the club.

Obama is not to blame for high gas prices

ADVERTISING DESIGNER Aline Kobayashi Liam Gangloff, asst.

The Spectrum is provided free in part by

Another report attained by the Associated Press shows that the NYPD also came to Buffalo to monitor the local Somali community. Included in the notes by the Erie County Sherriff ’s department, our community would have to be looked at because we had Somali professors and students.

Unless you’ve been stuck in a time warp for the last month, you probably noticed that the price for a gallon of gas has been steadily climbing.

Oil prices jumped to a nine-month high on Monday, peaking somewhere around $105 per barrel.

The reasons behind the spike are extremely varied, but generally center on the paragon of jackass nations, Iran. On Monday, Iran announced that it would halt oil exports to “hostile” nations Britain and France.

Generally, this doesn’t have much of an effect on crude supply. France only had 3 percent of its oil coming in from Iran, and Britain hadn’t imported black gold from the Ahmadinejad regime in six months already.

People had become somewhat accustomed to the somewhat high, but tolerable prices over the past couple years. Fluctuations have been common, but mostly spurred on by the massive unrest and revolutions in the Middle East.

Notice, in no way was the name Obama uttered in any of those reasons. That hasn’t stopped conservatives from throwing stones from their glass houses at the president and blaming him for the pain at the pump.

Do You Crush Him? KEREN BARUCH Life Editor It’s easy to hear the word “crush” and think back to our

elementary school days – the time before we truly grasped the emotion of love and when a serious relationship was just a far-fetched idea.

Although you may not notice it, crushes don’t always stay in the sixth grade, when a boy gave you a card at the Valentine’s dance and you blushed.

Crushes actually follow us to college sometimes.

According to www.kidshealth.org, a crush is when: “you both like basketball, listen to the same music, and eat strawberry ice cream with chocolate chips.”

While this definition is obviously targeted at children, it’s not so far off from our feelings now. A crush usually sparks before you truly get to know somebody. It originates when you get a little bit nervous when you’re around a friend/coworker/ classmate, though you can’t understand why.

You don’t necessarily want a relationship with the person, but at the same time you’re interested in something deeper than simply letting his banana soak in your chocolate like fondue. You find that,

Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum both implicated Obama in the most recent great gas upheaval, saying his economic and environmental policies have forced prices higher.

Obama’s refusal to give the Keystone XL pipeline an instant rubber stamp of approval seems to be their go-to garbage talking point.

Ignoring for a moment that the Keystone XL pipeline wouldn’t have any effect on gas prices for a decade or so, let’s go back in time to when gas prices last jumped over the moon.

It was 2008, and the President was a fun old man named George W. Bush.

Prior to his life as the most lampooned president in recent memory, he was actually a Texas oil executive.

Bush began a few oil exploration companies, and served on the Board of Directors of an energy company named HKN. A man with this much experience would most certainly have been able to keep gas prices low, considering he had very in-depth knowledge of the Oil industry. In July 2008, however, something strange happened.

As it turns out, other than starting more unrest in the Middle East, the president has little power over the price of crude oil, and consequently the price of gasoline. Obama didn’t tell Iran to insist on powering forward with its nuclear program, just like Bush didn’t have anything to do with Hurricane Katrina or 9/11.

Republicans will still, however, insist that they will be able to use their magic petroleum powers to keep gas below two bucks a gallon because it’s easy for them to sit back and Monday morning quarterback for Obama than it is to actually suggest reasonable policy.

Doubly ironic is the fact that every Republican candidate other than Ron Paul thinks that strong military action against Iran would be a viable option in the future. It’s doubtful that oil prices would fall if the U.S. bombs a major petroleum producer.

What we’re seeing is the floundering of campaigns that are on the ropes. Obama’s policies are helping the economy rebuild after a horrible stretch, and the Republican candidates are willing to latch on any bad thing and attach his name to it.

Oil prices hit a record high of $147 a barrel, even with Mr. Oil himself at the helm of the nation. What gives?

all of a sudden, you want to know everything about him, and you feel like you can be yourself around him, although he doesn’t really know you yet. You admire him, you smile when you think of him, but above all, you’re confused.

What do you do when you’re trapped in this situation? My advice: just listen to The Beatles and let it be.

It’s fun to have a crush, to catch your mind wandering in class and find that you’re thinking about him. It’s nice to imagine what his lips would feel like against yours, and to grin at the thought of him wrapping his arms around you and telling you that he crushes you back.

In most cases, though, the illusion is better than the real thing, and it’s not worth it to act on feelings that aren’t so deep. This situation has potential to end embarrassingly if you find out he doesn’t feel the same way. Usually, crushes develop when two people spend a lot of time together, whether it’s in class, at work, or at the gym. If you’re in this pickle, and he’s someone you see on a daily basis, it’s better to save yourself future awkward interactions and refrain from telling him that he’s been in your dream for the past three nights.

Save the Boobies?

rights slowly get whittled away.

Fuel for a Fictional Fire

CREATIVE DESIGNERS Nicole Manzo Aline Kobayashi

The views expressed – both written and graphic – in the Feedback, Opinion, and Perspectives sections of The Spectrum do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board. Submit contributions for these pages to The Spectrum office at Suite 132 Student Union or news@ ubspectrum.com. The Spectrum reserves the right to edit these pieces for style and length. If a letter is not meant for publication please mark it as such. All submissions must include the author’s name, daytime phone number, and email address.

Although the NYPD claimed that only people suspected of some connection to terrorism would end up on reports, UB alumna Adeela Khan ended up on one. Her offense: forwarding an email inviting students to lectures by Muslim scholars.

Page 3

“Crushes are always better before you actually get to know them,” said Brian Feigenbaum, a UB alumnus. “It’s the idea of them that you’re infatuated with. You imagine them being perfect, but once you learn they are human and have flaws, they just don’t seem as appealing.”

REBECCA BRATEK News Editor

Last Tuesday night, girls lifted their shirts and exposed their breasts in an effort to win new ones.

I wish I were kidding.

That’s right, this past Tuesday girls could have gone down to party on Chippewa and as a part of its 4th-annual Mardi Gras extravaganza, Club Bayou gave away a free boob job to the girl who collected the most pink beads. Thirteen bars and restaurants handed out 5,000 beads to patrons.

Don’t get me wrong; even though I’m a girl, I think boobs are awesome. Guys love them and girls (mostly) love having them.

What I don’t like is this notion that a girl’s boobs have to be a certain size or look a certain way for her to be considered attractive. Why should I lift my shirt to win something that will just objectify me more?

Usually, the bigger a woman’s breasts, the more male attention she will get.

Sad, but true. A lot of men would rather stare at a girl’s figure than talk about how much she loves Hemingway – it’s just basic sexual attraction.

And I’m not saying this is a bad thing, in all cases, because I’d be hypocritical.

I like looking at men with nice muscles and a six-pack. But, at the end of the day, the boy who can make me laugh will get more of my attention.

Girls shouldn’t be willing to have surgery – one that is invasive and costly – just to make themselves more attractive to males. And the entertainment district of Buffalo certainly shouldn’t be advocating for girls to get breast implants – what is this practice saying to the young girls who frequent the clubs and bars?

I’m not a Chippewa-kind-of girl, but even I know that the Chip Strip is kind of sleazy. Girls will go out in tight, revealing clothing, barely covered even in Buffalo’s chilliest temperatures. For what? To get noticed by men? To get their picture in some Facebook album so they can “tag” themselves and prove they have a social life?

Fake IDs are prevalent and the minimum age tops out at 18 at most clubs and bars. The younger crowd, usually much younger than 18, comes to party here because they know they can get in.

It’s becoming such problem that laws are in the works to raise the minimum age to 21 just to keep these establishments from serving minors.

Sure, this contest is 21 and up, but that still doesn’t make it any better. And sure, the $5 cover for the night will benefit WNY Hospice – but this isn’t advertised on the flyers and receives a small mention on the Facebook event page.

Are we sending out the right message to young women and men? Are we saying that bigger breasts are what matters and girls should further objectify themselves to land a man?

I’d rather see all the money made from this night benefit breast cancer research, or maybe give the surgery to a woman who lost her breasts to cancer.

Crushes come and go easily, mostly because the feelings you have toward a crush aren’t so intimate.

If you’re the type of person that has a “flavor of the week,” and you change your crushes like you change your underwear, then you understand how easy it is to fall out-of-crush.

God knows we don’t need to objectify women even more.

However, if you find that you can’t seem to get this one out of your mind, and maybe, just maybe, he’s found his way to your heart, then you may be feeling something a little bit more than a crush. These feelings will grow stronger over time, and in this case, I advise you to go for it so that you don’t regret never giving the relationship a shot.

Sign up for the newsletter at ubspectrum.com

Crushes are healthy, fun, and very underrated. So throw some chocolate chips inside of your strawberry ice cream, listen to your favorite music, and turn on the television to watch a basketball game – enjoy the thought of your crush doing the same thing miles away, and just smile.

Email: keren.baruch@ubspectrum.com

Email: rebecca.bratek@ubspectrum.com

Page 4

ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Page 5

Continued from page 1: Teach Me How to Davey Heart of a football player Barnett always expected he’d be a college athlete. He just didn’t think he’d play basketball.

Growing up he idolized his big brother, Aaron, who was the MVP of his high school football team – the l994-95 State Champion Jamestown Raiders – and played Division-3 football for the Mount Union Raiders.

Barnett wanted to do just that – play college football – and it looked like he would. He was a second-team All-State defensive end as a junior.

He just played basketball to pass the time until football season.

His senior season on the turf was the worst of his life. He couldn’t get off blocks, he couldn’t put up his usual numbers, and he garnered no interest from recruiters.

Perhaps it was the pressure of impressing schools or maybe the weight of being a team leader, but Kim Barnett sees it as something else.

“I’m a firm believer in karma, fate, God’s got your life,” Kim Barnett said.

Though he’s a key component on the court now, Barnett’s first love will always be the gridiron. After two years at UB with minimal playing time, Barnett considered switching sports.

Former head football coach Turner Gill offered Barnett a spot on his team, but the struggling sophomore

met with Witherspoon, who convinced him to stick with basketball.

And because he stuck it out, Aaron now gets to idolize his little brother.

He wears his number 24 jersey to every home game.

“It’s awesome. There’s nothing like it,” Aaron Barnett said. “Watching him from the time he was 3 years old, coaching him, and you see what he’s done with the opportunity he’s been given.”

The origin of ‘The Davey’ It’s a now-famous dance move: bounce side to side, arms rhythmically twisting one at a time. Most college students know it as “The Dougie,” but Dave has another name for it.

“I’m going to stop you right there. I call it ‘The Davey,’” he said.

Watch the student section after he hits a 3-pointer, watch any True Blue promotional video, go to a Bulls Madness pep rally – chances are you’ll see his signature move. Silly as it may sound, The Davey is what really bonded him with his teammates.

Barnett was a timid redshirt freshman who rarely saw the court in 2008. He was shy, nervous, and knew next-to-nothing about the men he practiced with every day.

So he made a decision: he’d go downtown with his teammates. There was just one problem:

year, when Barnett earned a scholarship after three years of paying for his own education.

“I think this might be the last ride for me,” Barnett said.

“The bottom line is he worked his ass off to get a scholarship,” Kim Barnett said.

With his degree, Dave plans on looking into the sales route. He might stay at UB for his CPA for accounting.

Just why do the UB faithful love him so much?

She thinks the battle benefitted Dave; he didn’t have any issues with arrogance or entitlement, and he learned character through his scrap from the bottom.

He may not go on in life as a basketball player, but those who know him insist he’ll continue to succeed because of his character.

“Not because he’s a star, but because he was a walk-on, and he’s the hardest worker,” said True Blue Vice President Cody Breite.

“Early on I had a huge chip on my shoulder,” Barnett said. “As a walk-on you don’t get any respect. You have to earn it.”

True Blue President Kelsey Burglund said the dance doesn’t hurt either – it always gets the crowd excited.

Witherspoon agreed, and he said Dave’s teammates respect him for the arduous journey he’s had to take to become a leader.

He couldn’t dance. At all.

He had no idea what to do on the dance floor. He started making a funny face, moving his arms, and jigging his legs. Right then, The Davey was born. The other Bulls loved it, and he’s been one of the team’s most popular players ever since.

Bear in mind that “Teach Me How to Dougie” was released in April of 2010.

Jokingly ask if he invented The Dougie and Barnett will joke right back.

“I did,” he laughs. “I invented The Dougie.”

Like Aaron and Dave’s teammates, Nathan has immense respect for his baby brother.

“Every time I sit in the stands, I just think: ‘he’s become a tremendous young man,’” Nathan said. “I’m proud to call him my brother.”

University connection Dr. Nathan Daun-Barnett, Barnett’s oldest sibling, is a professor at UB in the school of education. He admired Dave’s choice to take on a challenging major (business in human management) while tackling the schedule of a Division-l athlete, so Nathan bought his books every semester – until last

The memo also said “such an act of discrimination [by the NYPD] only drives enthusiastic and optimistic young Muslims away from mainstream American society.”

The NYPD, with help from the CIA, was monitoring not only UB’s MSA, but also Muslim groups at other schools across the northeast – including Yale, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers, Syracuse University, and SUNY campuses in Albany and Stony Brook, among others. This was because 12 people who were arrested or convicted on terrorism charges in the U.S. and abroad had once been members of Muslim student associations, said NYPD spokesman Paul Browne to the AP.

Many college basketball players plan on trying out overseas after they graduate. Dave, though, wants to play his final game in a Buffalo uniform.

NYPD reportedly monitored student websites, collected other publicly available information, and even sent an undercover officer on a whitewaterrafting trip with 18 Muslim students from City College of New York, according to AP reports.

The treasurer of UB’s Student Association, who is Muslim and was president of the MSA last year, told The Spectrum on Sunday that the NYPD’s actions constitute profiling. He didn’t want to have his name printed because if his name appears anywhere near the word “terrorism,” he risks being listed in NYPD and FBI reports.

The NYPD’s policy regarding profiling is as follows, according to New York City Administrative Code § 14-151: “‘Racial or ethnic profiling’ means an act of a member of the force of the police department or other law enforcement officer that relies on race, ethnicity, religion or national origin as the determinative factor in initiating law enforcement action against an individual, rather than an individual’s behavior or other information or circumstances that links a person or persons of a particular race, ethnicity, religion or national origin to suspected unlawful activity…Every member of the police department or other law enforcement officer shall be prohibited from racial or ethnic profiling.”

Faizan Haq, a professor of Muslim culture at UB, doesn’t believe the NYPD investigations are just an attack on Muslims; rather, he thinks they are an invasion of the privacy of all Americans, regardless of culture, race, or religion.

The article also quoted an Erie County Sheriff ’s Department official as saying, “There are some Somali Professors and students at SUNY-Buffalo, and it would be worthwhile to further analyze that population.”

The Erie County Sheriff ’s Department declined to comment about the matter when contacted by The

Spectrum.

“Sheriff Howard and former undersheriff Richard Donovan did meet with the NYPD official,” said Mary Jacobs, the public information officer for the Sheriff ’s office. “Sheriff Howard is the co-chair of the counterterrorism task force here in Erie and Niagara Counties. As far as what was discussed or what was carried out, if anything, there is no comment.”

Email: features@ubspectrum.com

SERVING LATE NIGHT

UNIVERSITY HOTS

WE ACCEPT CAMPUS CASH! WWW.UNIVERSITYHOTS.COM

VISIT US

NOW DELIVERING TO NORTH & SOUTH CAMPUSES

AT

FREE DELIVERY WITH THIS COUPON . 3/31/12

ubspectrum.com

SHARPEN YOUR PROFESSIONAL FOCUS Apply NOW for Fall 2012 MASTER OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

As far as the monitoring, many wonder if this is the end or if the government will continue to probe into the lives of citizens – no matter the ethnic, religious, or cultural group.

“It has happened, and it may happen again,” Haq said. “The only protection that we have is we live by our own values that we propagate for everybody else. At the end of the day, we have to draw a line from there – this is who we are and this is who we are not.”

Bulls fans will know in just l8 days.

U

He continued on to say that it’s very obvious that the NYPD’s investigations violated civil rights.

Haq added that if members of society keep opening the door to government “snooping,” it will lead to a “bottomless pit of tyranny.”

The AP report also said another NYPD intelligence report – from Jan. 2, 2009 – described a trip by three NYPD officers to Buffalo. They met with a “high-ranking member” of the Erie County Sherriff ’s Department to discuss the development of “assets to act as listening posts within the ethnic Somalian community,” according to the AP article.

He’s come close twice – is this the year? Will he leave heroically?

HOTS

“The way I would take it, as an American…are we a nation of law or are we not a nation of law?” Haq said. “And if we are, a law has to be applied equally and without hesitation to everyone. It is not an assault on Muslims, it’s not an assault on MSA; it is an assault on America.”

“Usually, students are the leaders,” Haq said. “All over the world, students and young people have taken it upon themselves, so I think they have to decide, do they want to [enact] leadership on this or [do they not] want the leadership on this?”

As much as Buffalo fans have enjoyed his entertaining career, they’d love nothing more than for Dave to go out as a Mid-American Conference champion.

Dancing out of the spotlight

Continued from page 1: NYPD’s Monitoring of Muslim Students Sparks Response “There are thousands and thousands of participating members of MSAs in the U.S. and Canada,” the memo reads. “The motives and goals of these MSAs are in no way correlated to the propagation of extremism and hatred…MSAs around the country try their best to spread peace and bring unity.”

“He’s a very considerate, caring, thoughtful guy who cares an awful lot about the people he comes in contact with,” Nathan said.

MASTER OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION • • • • • • •

18 month program Classes meet two days per week Program designed for working professionals Challenging small classes Individual attention and research mentor Easy admissions/registration process Neither the GMAT nor GRE required

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

HILBERTCOLLEGE

www.hilbert.edu/grad 5200 South Park Avenue, Hamburg NY, 14075 716-926-8949

Interested in studying abroad?

Come to a general info session!

Group Advising Session with

Olga Crombie, Study Abroad Advisor

Wednesday, February 22nd 108 Capen Hall • 3-4pm

(located inside Silverman Library) UB Study Abroad 210 Talbert Hall  645-3912  studyabroad@buffalo.edu www.buffalo.edu/studyabroad

COUPON

15% OFF On Parts Expires 5/30/12

LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED

Life ubspectrum.com

Page 6

Indian Culture: Making Moves at UB

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Healthy Living with The Spectrum A beginner’s guide to supplements for getting big AARON MANSFIEL Senior Life Editor It seems nowadays every hulking gym rat has some sort of “stack,” complete with an abundance of massive tubs of powder and bottles of pills. No, these aren’t illegal steroids – not everyone who works out is juicing. We’ve all got work to do; we don’t have time to live on bodybuilding websites or bury our noses in workout magazines.

For the everyday gym-goer who wants to have big, defined muscles, but doesn’t know anything about supplements, here’s a beginner’s guide:

Reimon Bhuyan /// The Spectrum The ISA and UB Zeal were two thrilling acts at last weekend’s International Fiesta. They’re both dedicated to spreading Indian culture at UB – one dance at a time.

DUANE OWENS

Staff Writer This weekend, the traditionally bland halls of Knox exploded with life. There were paper yellow brick roads, authentic costumes, scattered sneakers, laughter, and ethnic bodies frolicking around effortlessly. But through it all, there was one constant theme: Indian culture.

The Indian Student Association (ISA) and UB Zeal are two different groups that have formed a partnership. Their alliance was fully on display this past weekend at the International Fiesta. ISA is the on-campus embodiment of Indian culture, and UB Zeal is the dance team – working on becoming an official club – that works with numerous international Student Associations. Though not technically linked together, the affiliates have mutual love for two things: Indian culture and a good time.

UB Zeal co-founder Crista Mathew, a senior psychology major, chose the club’s title for a reason.

“We’re all very passionate about dancing,” Matthew said. “Zeal came about because zeal is another word for passion and we just thought that was fitting.”

Passion oscillated through the crowd as the seven female members expressed their versatile moves on the Fiesta stage. Though not competing, the team practiced ardently every night last week while balancing schoolwork and everyday life. The amount of time spent together formed a team of individuals into a close-knit family with a sisterly bond.

“Dancing is an outlet, but it is also like a family, so when we have a team event it’s like a family event,” said Vrinda Tarneja, a freshman biological sciences major.

This family ‘zeal’ is exactly what ISA shoots for. The current president, Mira Pandya, started with ISA after joining UB Zeal, and established connections with other ISA members.

“I went to the [UB Zeal] events and really liked it…and I always wanted to be a part of an Indian SA when I came to college,” Pandya said.

With the new duties of being president, one of the top priorities at hand is to add new members and grow as a club.

great, and there are dances. If you don’t like it, it’s OK, you gave it a shot. What we don’t want is for people to not come because they’re too shy, because that’s how our non-Indian members started and they’ve stuck around for the last year and a half, so give it a shot.”

Several non-Indian students, including members Alexa O’Brien and Lindsay Cunliffe, both sophomore psychology majors, have taken this shot. They exemplify the ISA mission statement: “to bridge the gap between Indian and non-Indian students on campus and in the Buffalo community.”

Though the two hesitated at first, the ISA members made the girls feel at ease.

“We came from a predominantly white high school and we knew nothing about the culture,” Cunliffe said. “At first I was kind of like: ‘I don’t know what I’m doing’…but I’m so glad I did it, I really warmed up to it.”

Taking duties a step further, Cunliffe decided to give back. She fills the role of community service chair on the ISA e-board. Pandya said some of the board’s most loyal members are not Indian.

“We want more members to come to our events,” Pandya said. “It’s something to come to, they’re

“We’ve gotten to the point where a lot of people know who we are on this campus, but we really want to expand that a little bit more,” Khanijou said. “We’re on Twitter, we’re on Facebook.”

ISA achieved third place this past Saturday with its Bollywood performance in the Fiesta, and the number of members continually grows. There are 42 now – a number that has doubled since last year.

What’s next?

The ISA is hosting a Hindi Movie Night at the end of March, and UB Zeal will be taking its passion for dance to the University of Rochester on March 31 for a live performance.

Creatine: This is probably the most popular name-brand legal

steroid product out there. Why? Because it’s effective. In one online study, users improved their muscle strength from 8 to 14 percent just by adding Creatine to their routine.

Author’s endorsement: AST Micronized Creatine Monohydrate Simple reason: Affordable ($18 on bodybuilding.com) but as effective as any creatine supplement out there. Monohydrates are always the way to go when it comes to creatine.

Pre-workout: Life wears you down and sometimes you don’t have enough in you to get through an intense workout. Scientific studies have proven that energy drinks are poor for your health in the long run, and they don’t always sit well on your stomach during a workout, so pre-workout mixes give you the (healthy) boost you need.

Author’s endorsement: Cellulor C4 Extreme Simple reason: Start to finish, C4 is the best. Jack3d gives you a huge buzz, but it wears off halfway through your workout. Craze – a new hot product on the market – gets you through your workout, but it wears off immediately afterwards and you’ll feel like a zombie. Hemo-Rage tastes great, but it doesn’t do much else. C4 has no glaring weaknesses, so stick with that.

Protein: It’s commonly said at the gym that: “you only get

half a workout if you don’t take protein right after.” But it’s commonly misconceived that Muscle Milk is the best sizegaining protein out there – trust me, it’s not.

Author’s endorsement: Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100

Percent Whey

As ISA and UB Zeal continue to grow, so does Indian culture at UB.

Simple reason: Optimum Nutrition is a trusted name in the protein world, it tastes great, and it gives you as a good a pump as anything out there. Stay away from Muscle Milk – slightly less effective, tastes much worse, and costs more.

Email: features@ubspectrum.com

Email: aaron.mansfield@ubspectrum.com

NEWSPAPER crop ad to 5.25 X 4.72

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 25 8PM

QR CODE

The Nation's Largest Student Discount Program!

Members are allowed to be a part of both ISA and UB Zeal. Henna Khanijou, a sophomore psychology major, was a choreographer of Bollywood (ISA’s own dance team), and is also the co-captain of UB Zeal. UB Zeal is the more competitive team, holding tryouts, while Bollywood does not.

Must-haves: Creatine, Pre-workout, Protein

$20 T STUDKEENT TIC BLE AVAILA

GET DISCOUNT TICKETS AT THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO PERFORMING ARTS CENTER BOX OFFICE ONLY WITH VALID STUDENT ID

ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

You Can go to War, But Can’t Drink Alcohol LYZI WHITE

Reimon Bhuyan /// The Spectrum Energtic freshman Yotom Rabinowitz has to balance taking on one of the most challenging programs at UB and performing with one of the most prestigious orchestras in the country.

RACHEL KRAMER

As a new college student, keeping the balance between science and the arts is trickier than ever for Rabinowitz.

Asst. Life Editor As he steps onto the stage, the anxiety builds in the stomach of Yotom Rabinowitz. He sits at the piano in front of hundreds of people, accompanied by six other musicians, ready to preform as an opening act for the Buffalo Philharmonic.

The nerves settle in his stomach as he put on a mask of pure concentration that glistens with the sweat of focus, while his fingers glide naturally across the piano keys as the effortless task of making music consumes him.

Once his performance ends, he doesn’t get to relax. He is bothered by thoughts of kinetics and equilibriums.

He has a chemistry exam coming up and to him, that test is more important than any musical performance.

Rabinowitz, a freshman biomedical science major, puts his current passion of music aside to preserve the purity of it. He’d rather not see his love of the arts ruined by attempting to pursue it as a career. Instead, he chases his childhood dream of becoming a dentist.

He is in the BD/DDS Combined Degree Program on a strict seven-year track to fulfilling that dream.

He thinks that if he goes into the music field, he will be forced to learn the practical side of the music business and perform at places that he wouldn’t want to just because he will be a “starving artist in need of money.”

He works hard to connect his passion for music alongside his desire to be a dentist. For him, the concept of working with his hands and the delicate movements of his fingers is what connect the two seemingly unalike subjects.

“Music is an emotional outlet as well as a form of intellectuality,” Rabinowitz said. “Not having that would mean that I would have a totally different way of approaching life, therefore, I would be a totally different person…Losing [music] would be like losing a friend. It is simply something that penetrates my mind always.”

At 12 years old, Rabinowitz was watching his older brother Edon play the guitar and knew that he wanted to join him. Instead of picking the same instrument, he chose the piano.

From playing his first arrangement of songs from the movie Love Story to his recent interest in the classical genre, the urge to make music has stuck with him throughout life.

He maintains that balance by filling up his free time with productive activities. When he isn’t in class, he is studying for an upcoming test, practicing for an upcoming performance, or at the gym working out. He leaves a small amount of time to socialize with his friends.

“It’s hard to balance preparing for a performance as well as studying for tests and kind of switching back and forth constantly. It drains you intellectually,” Rabinowitz said. “But when people say, ‘I don’t have time,’ I think that’s an exaggerated statement because you could fit anything into a schedule and you could make the time to do anything.”

Having moved to America nine years ago from Tel Aviv, Israel, the values of education and hard work have always been major aspects in the Rabinowitz family.

Growing up, Rabinowitz was surrounded by a family of health professionals. From his early years, he witnessed his parents’ work as an occupational therapist and a physical therapist. As he got older, he watched his two brothers enter the respected fields as well. With Edon only one month away from becoming a doctor and his other brother Daniel on his way to becoming a lawyer, Rabinowitz feels the pressure of his family.

“My hard work ethic stems from them,” Rabinowitz said. “My desire to help others, to treat patients, and to be a health worker is from the fact I am surrounded by it. I learned to prioritize what’s important from what’s not.”

While he kindled his musical urge, he continued to work hard throughout his middle and high school years, knowing that he would eventually go to a good college to pursue his career in dentistry.

This work ethic is one that Rabinowitz tries hard to apply to both his music and his biology. It has helped him survive the 41 total credits he is taking his freshman year.

“Yotom has an exemplary work ethic that is illustrated through his awards, performances, and grades,” said Vrinda Tarneja, a freshman biomedical science major and the only other freshman in the BS/DDS program at UB with Rabinowitz. “His music is extremely touching and very heartfelt. He should definitely keep piano in his life, if not as a career choice but as a continued passion and pastime.”

No matter where his life takes him, Rabinowitz aims to continue making smiles – as a dentist or a musician.

Email: features@ubspectrum.com

if they do not drink responsibly,” according to drinkingage.procon. org.

Drinking and driving is the most common defense for why the drinking age is 21. So it’s perfectly acceptable to send a young man to war where he can kill others, but if he has the privilege to drink, you’re scared that there’s a chance he could drive and kill others?

could drink a bottle of Mike’s Hard Lemonade. They would ask that “cool kid” who was old enough to drink legally, but chose to drink with high school kids.

Alcohol flows more freely on college campuses. It surrounds students, and at UB all you have to do is walk around the University Heights and you’ll more than likely find an open party. Just like the Prohibition forced people to Blood is dripping down their faces Don’t misconstrue the point of this drink in secret, so has the drinking age shift forced college students as they try to crawl through the opinion column; it’s never an option to drink at places like fraternity sand. Shards of shrapnel grind to drink and drive. Have a desighouses. against their skin as they try to nated driver, call a cab, or even claw over the dead bodies of their walk if you’re too drunk to drive. comrades, past blown-apart bodies Do you really believe that having and mutilated corpses. They’re surcollege students under 21 drinking But why are we given the opportu- in the smelly, dark basement of a rounded; they’re losing too much blood. They know it’s all over even nity to die for our country, yet we fraternity house is safer than at a don’t have the pleasure of heading bar? Drink jungle juice and then before the enemy solider steps in over to a local bar to grab a beer front of them. get back to me. with friends?

Life Editor

The Keys to Yotom’s Smile

Page 7

At 18 years old, there are American citizens overseas old enough to die for their country.

At 18 years old, Americans are considered legal adults who can buy pornography and act in pornography. At 18 years old, Americans have the power to vote for a presidential candidate that can alter the course of history. At 18 years old, Americans can serve on juries where they hold the power of life or death in their hands.

One thing American citizens cannot do when they’re 18 years old, however, is drink legally.

“Many activities have ages of initiation,” according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD. org). “The age limit for alcohol is based on research which shows that young people react differently to alcohol. Teens get drunk twice as fast as adults, but have more trouble knowing when to stop.

Teens naturally overdo it and binge more often than adults. Enforcing the legal drinking age of 21 reduces traffic crashes, protects young people’s maturing brains, and keeps young people safer overall.”

Another thing UB students have is the perk of being close to a different country with a lower drinking age, so if they want to follow the law all they have to do is hop the border.

What is it between those 20-something miles that changes a person so drastically that they go from too immature to handle their alcohol to being just mature enough?

It’s the hypocrisy of the law. There is only a 20-minute drive that separates a 19-year-old from being able to legally drink in a bar from a 19-year-old getting arrested for underage drinking.

So MADD, you believe that 18 year olds have brains that are Let’s be honest: there aren’t many mature enough to go war, to enter people nowadays that can say they marriage, to fulfill legal obligations had their first taste of alcohol at like voting and jury duty, but not Nothing mentally changes in the legal age of 21. All a person has mature enough to drink? people within less than an hour. to do is take a stroll on Main Street They don’t suddenly increase on a Friday night to see the hordes of teenagers that are not quite old Think back to your first conversa- maturity levels once they step on tion about alcohol. It probably went Canadian soil. enough, yet still drinking boxed wine out of water bottles or hiding something like this: 12 packs in their book bags.

“Legal Age 21 has not worked. To be sure, drunk driving fatalities “Don’t ever drink alcohol until are lower now than they were in you’re 21,” said the adults.

Congress passed the National 1982. But they are lower in all age Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 groups. And they have declined and the legal age for purchasing “Why?” you asked. just as much in Canada, where and publicly possessing alcoholic the age is 18 or 19, as they have beverages changed to 21. Before in the United States,” said Morris this, states possessed the power to “Because I said so,” they reE. Chafetz, MD, Founder of the sponded. choose their own drinking age.

National Institute for Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, on drinkingage.

This doesn’t stop people under the Maybe it’s the fact that you preach procon.org. abstinence rather than education age of 21 from drinking, despite about drinking. what your parents, guardians, or Of course this isn’t to say there are teachers tried to convince you in no dangers when it comes to drinkhigh school.

If you tell a teenager that binge ing. There’s drunk driving, there’s drinking is going to result in puk- having your stomach pumped So why does the government even ing all over your friend’s car or a because you don’t know your limit, hangover that feels like a boulder try? there’s getting stitches because is crushing your skull, maybe you’re so lifeless your friend drops they’ll listen more than if you just you. Alcohol is a drug and it should One of the major reasons for the tell them not to do something. be treated with caution and respondrinking age is the rate of drunk sibility. driving accidents that occur in the It’s the allure of doing the forbidU.S. den – drinking is something that The fact remains, though: if gets you in serious trouble with 18-year-olds can die for their “Moving the [minimum legal drink- your folks or the police if you are country or choose the future of ing age] to 21 has simply shifted caught. And most high school kids their country, they should be able the risk of fatal accidents from want to be dangerous and badass. to drink in their country. teens to young adults. No matter In high school, teenagers trekked what the MLDA is, anyone can one mile into the woods or braved suffer the adverse effects of alcohol walking on sand dunes just so they Email: lyzi.white@ubspectrum.com

UBsafe

Day

MARCH 2

11-2

StUDEnt UnIOn LOBBy & tHEAtEr

P R E S E N TAT I O N S

Housing Problems: What to Look For & When to Call the Erie County Department of Health Presented by the Erie County Department of Health 11:30 & 12:30 • Student Union Theater

How to Be Safe on the Street & In Your Home Presented by University Police 12:00 & 1:00 • Student Union Theater

EXHIBITORS Counseling Services; Environment, Health & Safety; Erie County Department of Health; International Student & Scholar Services; Off-Campus Student Services; SBI Health Education; SBI Legal Assistance; Student Health Services; University Police; Wellness Education Services

Sponsored by International Student & Scholar Services and Off-Campus Student Services

*We now accept campus cash!*

Page 8

ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

n e w s t u d e n t h o u s i n g c o m i n g fa l l 2 012

save $100 off your security deposit join us for Casino night February 23 • 4-7pm • prizes & free food

scan >watch

great location to campus + 4 bed & 4 bath townhomes + granite countertops leather-style sectional sofa + stainless steel appliances + hardwood-style floors

apply online @ villasonrensch.com C lu b hous e now ope n: 100 v i l l a s Dr i v e e . | 7 16.932 .7 900 while supplies last | limited time only | amenities subject to change | renderings subject to change | rates, fees, utilities subject to change

Arts ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Funtastic.

Diversity Through Dance VILONA TRACHTENBERG Asst. Arts Editor

Kate Kenyon, one of the company’s dancers and a junior BFA dance major, designed a costume for Crehan’s piece in the showcase – “Push.” Kenyon worked with Donna Massimo, the costume shop manager at the CFA, and collaborated with Crehan to reflect what costume would go well with the partnering, style, and movement of the dance.

Managing Director Tressa Gorman Crehan says it will provide an innovative array of influential dances.

Zodiaque Dance Company is a class, preceded by an audition in the fall semester to select students. It is a full year commitment with the students meeting multiple times per week with the end of semester show as a final result of their work.

The audition consists of ballet, modern, jazz, and improvisation, and is conducted and judged by the dance faculty. The company’s goal is to produce diverse dancers.

Crehan enlists choreographers to create the eight-piece showcase for the performance. The diversity of the pieces for the concert includes one repertory piece that was performed the previous semester, and the creations of faculty members. The company also strives to reflect the artistry of two or three guest artists per semester as well.

After the choreographers are selected, the company’s artistic director, Tom Ralabate, distinguishes how the dances mesh with the proposed pieces, and then casts and schedules the pieces for choreography.

The diversity is not only presented in

Album: Some Nights Artist: fun.

Label: Fueled by Ramen Release Date: Feb. 21 Grade: A

As well as dancing in the showcase, some dancers also participate in designing the costumes.

Zodiaque Dance Company, UB’s performing company for dance majors is presenting its spring semester showcase for its 38th season beginning this Thursday. This showcase will present an eclectic display of eight dances created from a variety of choreographers, stemming from the talents of 25 BFA and BA dance majors who auditioned for the company.

“A lot of the pieces have theatrical elements and a little more drama in their approaches to their message and the choreographic process,” Crehan said. “It’s not real commercial and the pieces that we have for this concert are a little more sophisticated in some of their thought processes and the way the choreographers approached it.”

JAMES TWIGG Senior Managing Editor

tions of our dance,” Coleman said. “We took it to class and performed it for our final project, and our professor, Mr. Tom Ralabate, loved it.”

Most classes revolve around a course syllabus and a textbook to teach its students. This one relies on passion.

Alexa Strudler /// The Spectrum The Zodiaque Dance Company will perform this weekend in its 38th season, and reveal the diverse talents of the choreographers and dancers alike.

the different dance styles, but in the choreographic styles as well. Guest choreographers bring in repertory performances, while some faculty members like to build process pieces ahead of time to teach to students. As a result, both the dancers’ and choreographers’ dance styles are enhanced.

Crehan choreographed a process piece for this semester’s showcase where she further developed the piece with the dancers. She encouraged students to contribute physical material and choreographic concepts, which shaped her original dance material, and incorporated it into her work.

In addition to the pieces provided by the choreographers, two students in the company will also debut their choreographic talents, like that of Lawanda Hopkins and Elijah Coleman, a senior BFA acting and dance major.

Originally presented in Ralabate’s Jazz 5, Hopkins and Coleman’s piece was two minutes long, but with the assistance of faculty mentors including Ralabate and Crehan, the piece developed into a seven-minute performance that still maintained their original concept.

“It grabbed our souls and pulled it out of our bodies, so we just started coming up with concepts, ideas, [and] inten-

Besides the entertainment aspect of the showcase, the students realize the educational facet of performing in the company.

“I enjoy the knowledge part of it, the learning aspect of Zodiaque, the skills you get from it…being in Zodiaque you learn a lot as well and you’re able to put those skills to use quicker,” Coleman said. “You learn it, you grasp it, you take it in, you feed off it, it nurtures you, and [then] you’re on stage.”

Angela Siler, a senior BFA dance major is in her last semester as a performer for the company, and was encouraged to improve as a dancer throughout her Zodiaque experience.

“We never do the same kind of piece twice in this company,” Siler said. “[The faculty] makes sure when they’re doing casting that they give [the dancers] a lot of different experiences to push [the dancers] to really be as diverse…as possible.”

The prominent pieces include Melanie Aceto’s “Cloud,” Crehan’s “Push,” in addition to Coleman and Hopkins’ duet.

Other works presented will feature choreography from Joe Celej, Leanne Rinelli, and Jon Lehrer who are UB alumni and were once part of the Zodiaque Dance Company.

Zodiaque Dance Company will present six shows starting this coming Thursday and will run until March 4.

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

Page 9

Courtesy of Fueled by Ramen

Unpredictable and passionate, diverse and inspired, fun.’s latest release is one that certainly lives up to the band’s namesake.

While the group can be found filed under indie pop, fun. are most certainly not tied to the genre label.

Led by Nate Ruess, former frontman for The Format, fun. is a band that is always redefining its musical identity.

The 2009 release of Aim and Ignite took listeners by surprise and kept them guessing from the vivacious opener “Be Calm” to the eight-minute-long upbeat downbeat closer “Take Your Time.”

Now, three years later, fun. have returned with their sophomore effort, Some Nights. In one word the album could be described simply as ‘unpredictable,’ but to do so would be an injustice. Some Nights is an emotionevoking, thought-provoking, and awestoking LP that continuously changes tempo and style while maintaining that indefinable aspect that makes the music distinctly fun.

Every song on Some Nights warrants multiple listens; especially since a couple might take a few plays to fully appreciate, à la the auto-tune laden “Stars.” The variety in the songs make the album so addicting that before you know it you’ll be on your 10th listen, pondering whether audio heroin was smuggled into the music.

The album’s icebreaker – aptly titled “Some Nights (Intro)” – makes a grandiose statement, much in the fashion of “Be Calm” on Aim and Ignite. Elegant piano strokes and profound cello meld with Ruess’ refined theatrical vocals to give the whole number an overall operatic feel, complete with a justified

closing round of applause.

In contrast to the intro’s melancholy mood and theatrical tune, the followup “Some Nights” feels more optimistic, almost challenging. Throughout the song, listeners will find influences seeping in from all sides, including Queen-esque vocal stylings, a booming drumbeat, an ’80s-reminiscent guitar riff, and even a pinch of auto-tune.

The musical medley that is this song is as close to being a quintessential fun. track as possible, in that you never know quite where it will go next.

Jarring transitions, like the one from the intro to “Some Nights,” define the album from start to finish. Whether it’s switching from the robotic rock style of “It Gets Better” to the simple and slow paced “Why Am I the One,” or from the unexpected hip hopinspired “All Alone” to the uplifting “All Alright,” Some Nights prides itself on keeping listeners’ ears unprepared and in a constant state of anxiety.

Staggering the tracks in this manner, intentional or not, works well in the album’s favor. While each song is a success in its own right, it’s when the album is presented as a whole that listeners are sure to have the most fun.

Lyrically and instrumentally gripping, Some Nights is an album that radiates with the band members’ passion.

From the moment the album starts until the final note dies out, fun.’s latest is sure to keep returning fans and newcomers alike rapt with attention for the entire duration.

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

AMHERST OVER 500 PRE-OWNED AVAILABLE! From $4,999!

WOW!

BARGAIN$ DEALS! UNDER 9.995!

2001 TOWN & COUNTRY Auto, Air, Power Windows & Locks, Lther, 119k. mi. #RA406Q $4,999 2001 FORD EXPEDITION 4x4 Auto, Air, Power Windows & Locks, Cruise, 143k. mi. #SA309Q $5,491 2003 FORD SPORT TRAC 4x4 Auto, Air, Power Windows & Locks, Cruise, 114k. mi. #RA376Q $6,991 2004 JEEP LIBERTY 4x4 Auto, Air, Power Windows & Locks, Cruise, 122k. mi. #RA232Q $6,991 2008 DODGE CALIBER SXT Hatchback, Auto, Air, PW/PL, CD, 81k. mi. #687797 $8,994 2005 CHRYSLER TOWN & COUNTRY Auto, Air, Power Windows & Locks, Cruise, 66k. mi. #RA245P $8,491 2002 FORD F-150 XL 4x4 Auto, Air, Running Boards Hitch, PW/PL, 97k. mi. #RA136R $8,995 2008 FORD ESCAPE Auto, Air, PW/PL, CD, Remote Entry, 85k. mi. #848309 $9,999

2007 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX Auto, Air, Spoiler,PW/PL PS, CD, Cruise, 50k. mi. #RA146P $10,994 2007 MERCURY MILAN PREMIER Auto, Air, PW/PL/PS, CD, Leather, Cruise, 66k. mi. #RA149P $10,994 2010 CHEVROLET COBALT LT Auto, Air, PW/PL, CD, iPod Port, 42k. mi. #RA215P $11,894 2006 SUBARU LEGACY 2.5i Auto, Air, PW/PL/PS, CD, Sunroof, 69k. mi. #RA344P $13491 2008 PONTIAC G6 Auto, Air, PW/PL/PS, CD, Cruise, Tilt, 37k. mi. #RA363P $13,991

2011 CHEVROLET HHRs

6 AVAILABLE! Auto, Air, Pwr Windows & Locks, CD Stereo, 33k. mi. #RA348P

$

from

13,491

2010 HYUNDAI ELANTRA GLS Auto, Air, PW/PL, Cruise, CD Stereo, 21k. mi. #RA366P $13,991

2010 KIA FORTE LX Auto, Air, PW/PL, CD, 4 Cylinder, 37k. mi. #SA341P $13,491

2011 CHEVROLET IMPALAs

15 AVAILABLE! Auto, Air, Pwr Windows & Locks, CD Stereo, 29k. mi. #204923

$

15,492

from 2011 KIA RIO LX Auto, Air, CD Stereo, Dual Air Bags, 5k. mi. #RA337P $13,991 2005 TOYOTA SOLARA CONVERTIBLE Auto, Air, PW/PL, Heated Leather Seats, 66k. mi. #RA346P $13,991 2010 CHEVROLET MALIBU Auto, Air, CD, PW/PL, Sunroof, Cruise, 45k. mi. #RA170P $13,994 2007 HYUNDAI SANTA FE AWD Auto, Air, PW/PL, Sunroof, Htd Lther Seats, 76k. mi. #RA177P $14,793 2011 FORD FOCUS SES Auto, Air, PW/PL, CD, Bluetooth, Cruise, 32k. mi. #RA261P $14,993

2006 TOYOTA HIGHLANDER AWD Auto, Air, PW/PL, CD, Roof Racks, 41k. mi. #RA286P $15,993 2008 NISSAN ROGUE AWD Auto, Air, PW/PL, Cruise, CD, iPod Port, 50k. mi. #SA271P $15,993 2008 FORD MUSTANG CONVERTIBLE Auto, Air, PW/PL, Leather, Spoiler, CD, 40k. mi. #RA234P $16,294

2010 DODGE GRAND CARAVANs

5 AVAILABLE! Auto, Air, Pwr Windows & Locks, CD Stereo, 35k. mi. #237867

$

16,995

from 2006 DODGE CHARGER RT Auto, Air, PW/PL/PS, CD, Cruise, V8, 24k. mi. #SA378Q $17,491 2008 BUICK LUCERNE CXL Auto, Air, PW/PL, Memory Htd Lther Seats, 39k. mi. #RA200P $17,994 2011 KIA SEDONA EX Auto, Air, Bluetooth, CD, PW/PL, V6, 13k. mi. #RA207P $18,994

SEE MORE VEHICLS ONLINE AT

2011 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN Auto, Air, Bluetooth, PW PL/Sliding Drs, 29k. mi. #RA242P $19,794 2007 VOLVO C70 T5 CONVERTIBLE Auto, Air, PW/PL/PS, CD Leather, Cruise, 69k. mi. #RA354P $19,891 2011 FORTE KOUP SX Auto, Air, Sunroof, PW/PL Leather Seats, 18k. mi. #RA339P $19,991 2011 TOYOTA RAV4 4x4 Auto, Air, PW/PL, Cruise, CD Stereo, ABS, 11k. mi. #RA246P $21,994 2008 TOYOTA FJ CRUISER 4x4 Auto, Air, PW/PL, Cruise, Keyless Entry, 59k. mi. #RA249P $22,993 2008 MERCEDES-BENZ C Class Auto, Air, PW/PL, Sunroof Htd Lther Seats, 58k. mi. #091791 $22,994

2008 CHEVROLET AVALANCHE

Crew Cab, Auto, Air, PW/PL, Hitch, CD Stere0, 52k. mi. #166954

$

TransitowneResaleCenterOfAmherst.com TRANSITOWNE OF AMHERST 2915 Niagara Falls Blvd. • 260-2265

Add tax, title & registration to prices. Example $4999 vehicle ‘01 Town & Country 110k. mi. Auto, Air, PW/PL.

26,291

ubspectrum.com

Page 10

INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING? The Spectrum is looking for a new Advertising Designer for the upcoming Fall Semester (2012) and Spring Semester (2013).

If interested, email: spectrum@buffalo.edu

EDWARD BENOIT Managing Editor High art, base humor, and a fair amount of perplexed head scratching were found in the Center of the Arts last Friday night.

The performance – one of many that the CFA will host this spring season – featured two distinct groups: Buffluxus, a local experimental music and multimedia Fluxus group; and the Toronto Research Group, a poetry-performance troupe now based out of UB.

The group’s material wasn’t confined by any one medium – poetry, music, visual, and performance art all freely comingled.

Chinese Restaurant 5467 Sheridan Drive

Williamsville, NY 14221

The centerpiece of the group’s performance was the free associative work “A Noted Vocabulary for Eve Rosenthal” by acclaimed multimedia artist Jackson Mac Low. The work consisted of scattered measures without key or clef and scattered words without context. To perform the piece, the expanded Buffluxus didn’t have to keep to any sort of tempo or time signature, but the group did have to listen.

“This music is all about listening,” Metz said. “If you can’t listen, you can’t play.”

in Williamsville Place

Without any sort of linear progression – this by design, ironically enough, as the piece’s sheet music has the song’s constituent measures scattered over the page, with some even being sideways or upside down – each performance of the piece is fundamentally different.

All You Can Eat Lunch Buffet Mon-Fri 11:30am - 2:30pm

$ 6.99

Pick Up Dine-In & Delivery

This aspect, when coupled with the vocal component of the song – single words like “loathe” or “hearse” or “at” said in an often overenunciated fashion, so as to become pure sound, outside any sort of context – serves to highlight the fundamentally pareidolic nature of constructed human meaning.

716-631-8880 www.theWokAndRoll.com

While the free-form piece may have posed a challenge to most musicians, the members of Buffluxus were unfazed.

10% off with Student ID

Pushed to Press

Poetic Perplexing Postmodern Pomposity

Buffluxus – which consists of local composer, guitarist, and UB alum Don Metz and local poet and curator of UB’s Poetry/Rare Books Collection Michael Basinski – had its ranks bolstered by flutist and Canisius assistant professor of music Michael Colquhoun and UB poetry student Molly Melgard.

Wok and Roll

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

“I understand this type of music, this type of poetry,” Colquhoun said. “It’s more than a job – it’s fun.”

Dadaist sensibilities characterized much of the remainder of Buffluxus’ performance: members of UB’s PressBoardPress lowered rolls of toilet paper from a balcony into the audience, Melgard performed Emmett Williams’ “Is La Monte Young in the Audience?” (which consisted of posing that very question – a comment on the nature of performance), and a rendition of Metz’s own “There is no good or bad, only placement” was “interrupted” by incessant coughing fits from Basinski and Melgard.

The Toronto Research Group’s half of the presentation started with hefty helpings of irony and disconcertion: Poet and troupe member Chris Sylvester beseeched those in attendance to leave their seats and proceed to the back of the room for security pat-downs, all the while mimicking the tone and disposition of airport security. The implicit political comment was not lost on the audience.

Sylvester’s charged and insistent irony was immediately counterpointed by McCaffery and the rest of the Research Group – made up of the two aforementioned men plus McCaffery’s wife and adjunct English professor Karen Mac Cormack – imitating the detached and sterile instructive pleasantries of flight attendants. The skit was complete with humorous instructions for various safety devices that could aid the audience throughout the rest of the performance.

Like the Buffluxus performance, that of the Toronto Research Group oscillated between the highly theoretical and the flat-out funny. One noteworthy performance involved Sylvester and McCaffery slowing spinning around while standing back to back and grabbing objects out of bags labeled “Premodern,” “Modern,” and “Postmodern.” McCaffery and Sylvester then took turns riffing on each object – ranging from “William Burroughs’ first novel” (an empty syringe) to “the menu from the Last Supper” – all the while satirizing the academic self-importance of Postmodernity.

Basinski and Metz will be performing once again as Buffluxus at the Western New York Book Arts Center on Feb. 25.

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

courtesy of pressboardpress PressBoardPress, a UB homegrown press company, have made strides within the UB community to expand creativity in literature and are determined to leave their mark well beyond the city of Buffalo.

DELANEY MARSCO

Staff Writer

Three friends shared a love of poetry and a desire to publish and inspire new material, but lacked the avenues to do so.

These were the ingredients that led to the formation of local small press, PressBoardPress.

The operation began when Patrick Riedy, a senior English major; Michael Koh, a UB alumnus; and Peter Letson Williams, a first year graduate student in mental health, formed a bond in Professor Karen Mac Cormack’s poetry workshop class. Finding a lack of innovation in the Buffalo literary scene and wanting to fix it, these three poets decided to create a small press to publish the types of books they wanted.

Local small presses left a void for PressBoardPress to fill: they failed to give new, upcoming writers a local outlet for their talent.

“One thing I believe sets PressBoardPress apart is the exploration of new writers, especially through the [submissions via] website,” Riedy said. “I think the press is, at the very least, attempting to provide an outlet for new voices to speak up in the Buffalo community.”

Anyone is able to submit anything from experimental fiction to works of criticism through their website. Then, the four editors – Riedy, Koh, Williams, and Annie Highley-Smith, a junior English major– choose which to publish.

This autonomy is something Riedy says is one of the major satisfactions of running their own small press.

“One of the benefits…is running with whatever idea you think may work,” Riedy said. “We [want] to make books and publish writers we admire.”

The PressBoardPress has helped the members evolve on a personal and creative level. Williams is adamant about stressing the level of poetic evolution that came from the combination of creating the small press and bonding with the other editors.

“We were all impressed by each other’s work, [and] decided to pool our ideas and resources to publish some,” Williams said. “The level of writing by both Koh and Riedy pushed me to write more and better.”

Other than simply being the brainchild of UB students, PressBoardPress also connects to UB through poetry readings by constantly organizing events in venues like the Center for the Arts, the UB Libraries’ Poetry Collection, and off-campus sites. This not only gets the word out about the press, but it also helps spread the work of these talented local poets.

One such reading graced the CFA Lightwell Gallery this past Thursday. The Language to Cover a Wall exhibit came to life when poets Claire and Lauren Gay joined Williams, Riedy, and Koh to read aloud their personal works. The performance was accompanied by an ethereal-sounding live electric guitar, which helped the themes of the poetry inject themselves into the audience.

The Lightwell Gallery reading, which was sponsored by the Mildred Lockwood Lacey Fund for Poetry and the Poetry Collection, showed just how powerful of a force PressBoardPress can be in the Buffalo literary scene. While the press is not UB-affiliated, the editors are constantly looking to engage aspiring UB poets. “[We] would absolutely love submissions from UB students,” Koh said. “We remember the wonderful history of the UB English department and would love to feature works by students who are under the tutelage of those talented professors who work hard to leave a literary impression on the students.”

The press is hoping to expand its presence beyond the boundaries of UB and Buffalo, and is engaging poets and authors outside the community in order to help PressBoardPress diversify the type of material it publishes.

The four books published last year and the constantly updated website painstakingly run by Koh are not all the small press has planned; the press’ future plans include an inter-university workshop event and a podcast called PressBoard Radio. Despite the diversity of these plans, they all serve one purpose, according to Williams.

“UB has such a rich history with poetry in particular that it should be celebrated along with all of the scientific/research landmarks that we hear about all the time,” Williams said. “We are creating new, vibrant writings for our classmates [and everyone else] to enjoy in hopes that it continues the University's legacy of producing great writers.”

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

eating disorder awareness Week 2012 event

SHOW YOUR UB COLORS

Show off your UB pride.

Be part of a new campus tradition. Wear officially licensed UB apparel every Friday throughout the year.

GET BLUE!

FRIDAY POWER HOURS

From Noon to 2 p.m. every Friday, RECEIVE 10% OFF any in-store UB apparel item!

Offer expires 5/31/12

d in blue!

k goo Besides, you loo

LEARN MORE AT GETUBGEAR.COM

Free event

•

Seating iS Limited

•

a r r i v e e a r Ly

monday February 27, 2012 Student Union Theater 6:30PM DoorS oPen • 7:00PM SCreenIng Q & a with the director darryl roberts following the film. americathebeautiful.com

More Info

• wellness.buffalo.edu/eatdisweek • Carissa Uschold cuschold@buffalo.edu

ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Page 11

A Week in Ink: Issue No. 45

Where Has the Flower Child Gone?

NICOLAS PINO Senior Arts Editor

Supergirl No. 6

Wolverine No. 301

The Darkness No. 99

Writing an exceptional series story arc is a difficult task. Even the most accomplished of writers still get some of industry’s most forgettable heroes, plus with company canon changing every other day, there’s a lot on writers’ plates.

So when writers Michael Green and Mike Johnson take the often-underdeveloped heroine Supergirl and manage to create something so enthralling that it puts The Man of Steel himself to shame, there’s reason to be impressed.

For many kids growing up, interacting with bullies in the schoolyard was one of the worst parts of their day. Amiko Kobayashi, Wolverine’s adopted daughter trained in the art of ninjutsu, never had that problem.

When Jackie Estacado chose to willingly enter into the belly of the beast, it was assumed he’d face his worst nightmares, but facing his father, the man who abandoned him as a child, was something he was never prepared for.

Now many years older, it isn’t prepubescent bullies that antagonize her life, but between the Yakuza and a bloody Japanese sect called the Hand Ninja, she might just reconsider taking those early oppressors back.

The team’s run on Supes’ coolest cousin has brought about a lot of attention and for good reason, as the story represents one of the best plots in the hero’s extensive 60-year history.

In one issue before the series’ 100th comic mark, Top Cow still manages to create enough tension, intrigue, and bloodshed to keep readers coming back to the world of gang-warfare and ancient demonic possession time and time again.

Amiko and her x-gene endowed father are caught up in some of the bloodiest gang warfare this side of an Al Capone flick, something neither of which are overly happy about. As Wolverine attempts to rescue his foreign born cub, longtime rivals Sabretooth and Mystique will do anything in their power to make sure the adamantium-clad hero feels the hurt of losing a loved one.

Scriptwriter Phil Hester has handled his responsibility well, taking the iconic Estacado and continuing to progress him as character both in terms of emotional depth and control of the power he wields. Introducing his father turned the ink-stained tables on readers, providing a dark twist to an already dreary nightmare.

Kara battles overwhelming odds both physically – against Reign – and emotionally – losing her home of Argo City as it floats into the dying Kryptonian sun. This double-edged sword clearly cuts into the character like a shard of kryptonite, casting a shadow of doubt in the fragile mind of the vagabond space traveler.

Green and Johnson work well with their creative team, working to infuse a solemn tone in both plot and panel. Battles throughout the issue are illustrated in perfect detail as guns blaze and cannon shells explode on Earth’s latest extraterrestrial invader.

As it stands, Kara is Earth’s underdog champion, fighting alone against the alien that has been heralded as the apocalypse bringer, and while the outlook is bleak for the wayward Kryptonian, all is not lost – a fact Green and his team won’t easily let readers forget in the coming issues.

Jason Aaron, Wolverine’s current author, has done a spectacular job with this issue, combining intense battle scenes and a loving relationship found almost nowhere else in Logan’s life. While the plot strays close to that of an X-Men Taken, Aaron knows how to keep the action moving by introducing an heir to the Silver Samurai thrown with Shingen Harada, the son of Kenuichio Harada and the first to bare the name.

Artistically, the issue lacks anything special.

A few exceptional panels stand out later in the comic, like a scene of Wolverine fighting an aged samurai in the roofs on the Japanese skyline, but the mostly undetailed work hurts the issue as a whole.

Wolverine has risked life and genetically enhanced limb for his daughter before, but this time with both Harada’s life and the life of his daughter’s on the line, there’s little room for error.

Dialogue in the issue manages to cover a full spectrum of emotions. Heart-felt conversations seen between father and long-lost son are appreciated, as are the all-too-common quips equating “like father, like son.” Adversely, forcing the elder Estacado into awkward dialogues that end in mid-’90s slang comes off as a bit unnecessary.

From blood spilled straight from Estacado’s flesh to the pulpy mound left behind after a vicious grenade caught a Cuban hit-squad, every panel has the bloodied traces so quintessential to The Darkness’ roots, which is something of feat in a series this close to breaking 100 issues.

With Garth Ennis and David Wohl both working on various side-projects from now into the unforeseeable future, it’s unlikely the comic’s original creators will come back one more time before the issue turns triple digits. Though with a plot as strong as the one Hester has built, it’s unlikely he’ll need any help delivering Estacado into a fitting 100th issue conclusion.

Email: arts@ubspectrum.com

Courtesy of DC Comics

Courtesy of marvel

ADRIEN D’ANGELO Staff Writer

Have you seen the hippies? You know, the colormelting, long-haired, dirty-jeaned, crazy-dancing, pot-smoking revelers who just got back from Phish?

I must admit, with my current collection of tiedyed Grateful Dead T-shirts, I’m quite suspect of the hippie title. You got me.

It seems as though in this age of social categorization, we’ve invented terms like “hipster,” or “Bohemian” in order to further segregate ourselves.

But now we may have lost what these titles even mean. So, let’s sit down, meditate, and talk about what the heck a hippie is. But first, for those of you who aren’t up on your hippie history, dig this.

In the 1960s and well into the ’70s, a new culture emerged from San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district. It was about being ‘in the know,’ or being ‘hip.’ So hippies became derivatives of beatniks who were aware of what was going on around them (a feat which can now be done in five minutes a day on Google). These groovy mindtravelers were on a search for purpose, and once they found it, they realized they were living in a place that needed change. Racism, war, pollution, propaganda, social hierarchy, and everything ‘The Man’ stood for were all stepping stones to overcome in their quest for what they saw as a better world. And as we know, they attempted to solve these issues through peaceful protest and other passive means.

So, have we solved any of those issues? No. Is that why hippies are still around? Maybe. But there are some changes to the culture itself besides shedding off the bell bottoms.

Courtesy of image-comics

Let’s take music for example. Sure, music festivals are still kickin’, but music has spliced up into countless new genres, and with it hippies have followed. They have made their way out to electronica shows and festivals not just here and there, but as a following. This may not surprise you, but when you think of the contrast between Pretty Lights and Neil Young for example, it seems as though hippies are breaking the traditional taste.

The question is, can you be a hippie without flowing hair, peace and love, or even an ear for music?

It sounds wacky, I know, but it’s becoming a more general term. Not only that, but it’s a term that’s starting to suffer from an identity crisis. Possibly due to the way it’s been repackaged, stripped of meaning, and sold by corporations to our generation. What in Tim Leary’s name am I talking about?

Take the peace sign for instance, the emblem used throughout the protest era to represent the idea of harmony and disarmament. These were stitched onto jackets; spray painted onto picket signs, and etched into buildings.

Now, the sign is sold to anyone who enjoys the aesthetic circular wonder. More often than not, it’s something to put on sweatpants so that every guy who walks behind this lady takes a hard gaze at her ass. I don’t know if they’re trying to promote peace with a butt billboard, but it seems doubtful that anyone who looks is really considering international policy.

So try this: go up to someone wearing a peace sign and ask them what they’ve done to protest the wars. Chances are, you’ll get a strange look from someone who couldn’t care less.

It’s kind of like that time when hip-hop became popular and every white boy in suburbia started wearing white T-shirts and Timberlands. The symbol of disarmament has now been defused of its meaning, and the counter-culture turned into a fashion symbol. Way to go, Juicy.

Now, when I talk about hippies, I often see this group of well-informed, spiritual people that take acid and talk about Nietzsche, or travel the country in perpetual meditation while drinking green tea, selling PB&J, and playing guitar. The truth is, everyone has a very different perception of what a hippie is.

That’s why I decided to put a poll on Facebook, asking Internet friends what the “defining characteristic” of a hippie is. About 57 percent of the 37 voters put “strong advocate of peace and love,” while music taste, respect for nature, opposing administration, clothing, and drug use were nearly left untouched. Peace and love indeed, friends. But what else can we say defines hippies today?

In the political sphere, ‘hippie’ is a derogatory term used to describe liberals or environmentalists. If you watch the glorious Fox News, (or as I like to call it, Faux News) you might have heard this once or twice.

Well, our generation finally made a name for ourselves with the Occupy movement. It’s as if there’s been a small revival of what one could refer to as a hippie-style protest. While key differences make Occupy a case of its own, they are too numerous to mention at this time. I would say the Vietnam protests and the Occupy movement are linked by the reaction: fear. In both cases we have an administration that is surprised, pushed back, and even kept in check.

Unfortunately, we have yet to end the war on greed, but at the very least, it’s a sign that people are still just as hip to social injustice today.

Email: aad25@buffalo.edu

ubspectrum.com

Page 12 Continued from page 14: A Great Time for Baseball The Bulls have two transfers in juniors Corey Paige and Zach Stephens that will add depth to the pitching staff in addition to the five seniors. The Bulls also added freshmen Mike McGee and Anthony Magovney to the pitching staff and hope they will be able to contribute something.

“Both [freshman] have tremendous upside,” Torgalski said. “They’re going to get an opportunity early and if they can get out there and gain some confidence early they got a chance to be very good MAC pitchers.”

The Bulls start their schedule with three games against Kentucky, a team that will have two starting pitchers drafted in the early rounds of the Major League Baseball draft. The team then plays 11 games on the road to prepare for MAC play.

The Bulls graduated 13 seniors going into last year, which left a lot of positions filled by first-year players, something that contributed to the Bulls’ high loss total.

“We had a lot of guys playing a MAC schedule for the first time,’ Torglaski said. “[There were] freshmen [and] transfers that were behind seniors the

year before. At times last year we had eight guys on the field defensively that had no MAC experience. So I think having that one year of MAC experience under their belt is going to make a big difference for a lot of these guys.”

The Bulls will also be more aggressive on the base path this year. Torgalski wants his team to steal more bases to open up holes for batters later in the order. He also plans to hit and run more to put pressure on the opposing teams’ defense.

“We would like to force teams to make mistakes, to have to do things that they are not used to,” Torgalski said. “Having a handful of guys that can run, that are good base runners, and understand what they are doing will help us.”

The Bulls start their 18-game road trip in Lexington as they take on Kentucky in a three-game series. The Bulls start the MAC portion of the schedule on March 23 at Central Michigan.

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Continued from page 14: Women’s Swimming Dives into MAC Championships The team’s only two dual meet losses of the season came at the hands of Toledo and Ohio.

Those two meets came very early in the season and the Bulls have improved a lot since then. Bashor is confident that his team will take care of business.

cause of how competitive the MAC is.

Every race is contested and it gives every team a shot to make a bid for the championship.

The Bulls will look to improve off their fifth place finish from last year through their underclassmen. Buffalo hung tough with Toledo earlier in the year, and that will be a big confidence boost for the team this weekend.

“We have worked very hard this year to get to where we are now,” Bashor said. “We are just going to go out there and control what we can control and swim the best we can.”

The MAC Championships will take place at Akron, Ohio this year, and will run Wednesday through Friday.

Bashor is excited for the meet be-

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Continued from page1: Over $1,500 in Textbooks Stolen From Continued from page 14: Recent Rival Comes to Town Bookstore In that contest, two of the top high they’re very difficult to play three scorers on the Bulls were against.”

“We feel that when we started doing random easily held in check. Sophomore ID checks on UB buses two years ago, the forward Javon McCrea was limnumber of larcenies was significantly reCooper compliments a pair of ited to just eight points, tied for duced,” said Gerald Schoenle, the UB Chief of Bobcats that can light it up on his season low, and senior guard Police, in an email. the interior. Junior guard Walter Zach Filzen was held to three Offutt and forward Ivo Baltic points on 0-of-4 shooting. are combining for over 20 points ID checks on buses occur approximately per game, and just under 10 every other day, Urbanek said.

Given the post-season implicarebounds per game. tions of this contest it should be a raucous environment. The Once a semester, the UPD checks thousands Offutt, a transfer from Ohio student section is hoping to help of random vehicles at a time to educate staff State, is playing in his first gain home court advantage, and students on the importance of keeping season with the Bobcats and has bringing back the pictures of car doors locked. Vehicle owners are told been a major part of the team’s Cooper in a bikini that surfaced whether they pass or fail based on whether or success this season. on the Internet last season. not their car doors were locked or unlocked.

The practice began last spring.

In the team’s prior meeting this Tipoff for the next installment of year, Buffalo had a hard time the rivalry will be Wednesday at offensively, only mustering 52 Statistics from UPD’s checking of vehicles on 7 p.m. at Alumni Arena. points.

The Bulls also shot an both the North and South Campuses for the ugly 2-of-12 from 3-point range last three semesters show there has been a to go along with a poor showing 14.36 percent drop of student and staff cars Email: sports@ubspectrum.com on the boards. who left their cars unlocked, effectively reducing the crime rate and preventing future theft.

In January 2011, the UPD checked a total of 3,573 vehicles on both campuses, and 738 did not have their valuables locked, resulting in a 20.66 percent failure rate. In September 2011, the same test was implemented – this time with 4,123 vehicles, and the failure rate was 9.2 percent. In January 2012, 3,690 vehicles were checked, and 232 failed, resulting in a 6.3 percent failure rate, the lowest failure rate to date, according to the UPD. “By us educating our clientele group, which are students and staff and regular visitors, basic stuff – like don’t leave your stuff unattended, if you see a problem call the authorities, things like that – actually deters people with nefarious motivations from being here,” Urbanek said.

Urbanek stressed that the amount of UB’s visitors who actually commit crimes is a very small percentage of the total number of visitors to JOB the university.

9-223K

10.625 X 7 SUNYEmail: BUFFALO (SPECTRUM) news@ubspectrum.com

Continued from page 1: Over $1 Million in Student Fees, Dating to 2005, Still Unused The comprehensive fee for undergraduates was $1,477 for the 2004-2005 school year and $1,559 for 2005-2006. It continued to increase; by 2008, it was $1,708, according to documents provided

by UB spokesman John Della Contrada.

Della Contrada’s documents covered 2004-2007; The Spectrum contacted the Student Response Center to see how much the comprehensive fee and health fee was from 2008 to 2011, but the center didn’t provide the requested information.

“We don’t speak to The Spectrum anymore; you’ve burned us too many times,” said Brenda Reed, administrative assistant of student academic records and financial service, when asked about obtaining the comprehensive and health fees from the past seven years.

This year, the comprehensive fee for undergraduates is $1,011, and $141.25 of that is allocated to “student health, counseling and disability services,” according to the SRC’s website.

All students are required to pay the comprehensive fee, unless their studies take place outside UB’s campus and the student doesn’t have a valid parking pass, according to the SRC’s website.

This year, $3.50 of the $141.25 health fee each student paid went into the million-dollar reserve.

“The reserve is kept in a university health services account,” Nadbrzuch said in an email. “The reserve will be applied toward renovation/construction costs of a student health facility.”

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

See how LIU Hudson can help you to discover your full potential.

We offer a broad array of graduate programs to choose from*: • Teacher Education • Business Administration (M.B.A.) • School Psychology • School Counseling • Mental Health Counseling • Marriage and Family Therapy • Health and Public Administration (M.P.A.) • Pharmaceutics • Educational Leadership • Library and Information Science (Offered by the ALA accredited Palmer School)

Rockland location Open House March 13, 2:00 - 8:00 PM • 70 Route 340 • Orangeburg, NY 845-450-5403 • rockland@liu.edu

Westchester location Open House March 15, 1:00 - 7:00 PM • 735 Anderson Hill Road • Purchase, NY 914-831-2700 • westchester@liu.edu

*Some programs are campus specific

Forest Village

Two and three bedroom apartments. Wall to wallcarpeting, appliance, central air, laundry facilities,and free parking.

Free heat and water. 1.5 miles from UB NorthCampus.

Fairway Apartments Two bedrooms one bath apartments. 5 miles from UB North campus. Wall to wall carpet, appliances, central air, laundry facilities,and free parking. Free heat, water &Cable TV. One year leases.

liu.edu/hudson

University court

One bedroom & jr. one bedrooms available.Secure building with Hardwood floors, carpeting,appliances, laundry facilities and free parking.Located directly across from UB South Campus. Free heat, water & electric. One year leases.

3 bedrooms 1 1/2 bath town houses. Located 3 miles from UB North

Campus. Hardwood floors, wall to wall carpeting, appliances, central

air, garages and free parking & free water.

Williamsville Commons

Triad Apartments

204-5555 *Professionally managed by Cindy Kadish-Rice @ Clover Management*

Large two bedroom two bath apartments available. Located directly outside UB North Flint entrance. Secure building with appliances, wall to wall carpet, air conditioning, laundry facilities, and free parking. Leases include heat, water, & cable TV.

Classifieds ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

HELP WANTED

Rent includes cable/ high speed internet, water & garbage. $1100.00 month 1 yr. lease begins 6/1/12 call Tony 716-510-3527.

MENTORS. Reliable, consistent, nonjudgmental adults needed to befriend youth near your home/work/school for 1-2hrs/wk for 1 yr. Background check & car required.

Stipend (up to $500) for those who qualify.

Men encouraged to apply: Compeer (716) 883-3331.

1,2&3 BEDROOM APARTMENTS. Walking distance UB South Campus. Tom – 716-5704776.

APARTMENT FOR RENT

1+2 BEDROOM MAIN ST. South Campus.

Appliances, carpet $370-$500. month + utilities & security deposit. Call 884-7900.

1,3,4,5,6,7&8 BEDROOM homes and apartments available June 1, 2012. To view go to www.daveburnette.net or call Dave at 716445-2514.

4-BDRM, 2-BATH HOUSE. W/D, D/W, offstreet parking. Fully insulated, new windows & updated furnace. 143 Heath St. $1060.00 716-877-0097.

HOUSE FOR RENT RONYOUNG.COM For pictures & Room Sizes: showings ron1812@aol.com.

4, 5, 6, & 8 BEDROOM Remodeled Apartments to choose from: located at University at Buffalo Main Street Campus-Off Englewood.

Beginning June 2012: 32 Apartments $275/ to $300/ bed plus utilities. Washers & Dryers included. Contact BRADENGEL37@gmail. com 301-785-3773 or Shawn 716-984-7813 check out our web-site www.BUFAPT.com.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED for the 2012 academic year. Great 1 to 8 bedroom houses & apartments. Near South Campus. Off-street parking, laundry, dishwashers, & much more!

Please call: Andy to schedule a showing 716308-4881.

ALL UNIT TYPES: Now leasing for the fall semester. www.CVBuffalo.com. 716-833-3700.

2 to 8 BEDROOM HOUSES AND APARTMENTS at UB South: dozens in prime locations on Winspear, Northrup, Englewood, Merrimac, Highgate, and more! Most have large bedrooms, hardwood floors, offstreet parking, laundry. Local, responsible landlord with maintenance staff. Call, text, or email Jeremy Dunn, (585) 261-6609.

SPACIOUS WEST WINSPEAR 3-BDRM. Each room $395 + Utilities & deposit. Appliances & furnished. Call Zeb @ 444-2331. zebsyed@ yahoo.com.

ENGLEWOOD 4-BDRM off-street parking.

New appliances, insulated windows & doors.

New furnace, new carpeting, security system & great front porch. June 1st. 716-799-9605.

1,3,4,5,6,7&8 BEDROOM HOMES and apartments available June 1, 2012. To view go to www.daveburnette.net or call Dave at 716-445-2514.

3,4,5,6,7,+8 BEDROOMS Englewood, Merrimac, Heath, + Winspear. Excellent Houses $275.00 p/p 716-870-8100.

139 HEATH, 3-BDRM HOUSE. $725 www. uboffcampus.com or 716-200-1700 ext. 701 Olya.

2 to 8 BEDROOM HOUSES AND APARTMENTS at UB South: dozens in prime locations on Winspear, Northrup, Englewood, Merrimac, Highgate, and more! Most have large bedrooms, hardwood floors, offstreet parking, laundry. Local, responsible landlord with maintenance staff. Call, text, or email Jeremy Dunn, (585) 261-6609.

ENGLEWOOD 5-BDRM off-street parking.

Updated kitchen/w dishwasher. 1 1/2 baths.

Washer/dryer. insulated windows & doors.

Great front porch. June 1st. 716-799-9605.

5,6,7,&8 BEDROOMS Englewood, Merrimac, All utilities included! $300.00 p/p & up. 716870-8100.

SPACIOUS 6-BDRM HOUSE. 2-Kitchens, 2-Baths, laundry& no pets. $285 per room+ utilities & security 585-409-4750.

UPDATED 4-BDRM hardwood floors, laundry, & parking. $235 + utilities & security.

585-409-4750.

UPDATED 5-BDRM HOUSE. Laundry, 2-Baths, no pets. $295 per room + utilities and security 585-409-4750.

CLEAN SPACIOUS 3/4 BEDROOM DUPLEX. 1 mile from N. Campus. Newer appliances including dishwasher, microwave & washer/dryer. Plenty of off-street parking.

CLEAN 3-BDRM HOUSE. Laundry, off-street parking & no pets. $325 per room + utilities & security. 585-409-4750.

Daily Delights

6 BDRM MANSION for rent just minutes from UB’s South Campus on Main Street near Depew. Property features spacious rooms, ample off-street parking, newly renovated kitchen & 2 full baths, & much more. A must see! Call Jennifer at 716-743-7398 for more info. $3,000/mo + utilities.

HOME FOR SALE UNIVERSITY DISTRICT: House for sale, 3/3, good condition, separate utilities, new plumbing and carpeting, basement, yard, and off-street parking. Dpryan91660@aol.com, 440-5133.

ROOMMATE WANTED

EVERYTHING YOU NEED for the 2012 academic year. Great 1 to 8 bedroom houses & apartments. Near South Campus. Off-street parking, laundry, dishwashers, & much more!

Please call: Andy to schedule a showing 716308-4881.

MERRIMAC 3&4 BEDROOM updated kitchen, bath, dishwasher, laundry, and off-street parking. $285 per person. Available June 1st.

716-308-5215.

AMHERST-SOUTH CAMPUS/ University Plaza side of campus. Quiet Architect students looking for serious male roommate. Excellent condition, private bedroom, big closet, laundry, dishwasher, and parking. Available.

5 Minute walk to Crosby Hall. $300 + share of utilities. 716-400-9663.

SERVICES CITYA1DRIVINGSCHOOL.COM Beginners & brush-up driving lessons. 5hr class $30.00 716-875-4662.

BUFFALO DRIVING SCHOOLS 716-8344300. Warranted driving instruction package. www.buffalodrivingschools.com

PRINCETON COURT APARTMENTS Efficiency, 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments

=

~ Immedate Occupancy! ~ for information

Call (716) 835-1914 jlewis@mjpeterson.com

SPONSORED BY Villas on Rensch

HOROSCOPES

Visit ubspectrum.com/games for our online game of the week Also see the crossword and Sudoku answers from last issue

Crossword of the Day

Wednesday, FEBRUARY 22 FROM UNIVERSAL UCLICK

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) -- Your particular point of view may not be shared by those around you today, but you can certainly be the cause of thought and lively talk.

ARIES (March 21-April 19) -- Despite scoring a victory, you are likely to have a sense of loss -- but what has been lost may be a mystery for quite some time.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) -- Experimentation allows you to uncover certain methods for progressing in ways that others haven't yet thought of or exploited.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) -- What you would expect to occur on a day such as this may not happen -- and you surely can claim some responsibility for this.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) -- Your own sense of adventure is likely to lead you into something that requires you to learn a great many things at a fast pace.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) -- You may have to work hard today to make your schedule work out at either end. The middle of things can pretty much take care of themselves.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) -- You may be required to do something that someone else has not been able to do.

You are feeling confident, but realistic also.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) -- Take things one step at a time and you'll be sure to cover all your bases -- though you may not be moving as quickly as you'd like.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) -- You're in no mood to do things that do not come naturally to you -- and yet someone in charge may be looking to you to do just that.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) -- You've been trying to follow in another's footsteps, GEMINI (May 21-June 20) -- You may have trouble understanding what drives and yet the time has come for you to another, but you know what drives you -- break away and chart your own course. and it's time to get moving once again.

39 It can keep you regular

41 "___ Ado About Nothing"

42 Weep, and then some 45 Shoe part for Astaire or Glover

47 Sustain once again

49 Actor's ambition 50 Shrub that may be poisonous 53 Coin in circulation since 2002 54 "Honest ___" (President Lincoln)

55 Dried and withered

56 Touch up against

58 Sun.-Tue. connector

59 Chicago ballplayer's interviewer?

63 Betting pool e.g.

64 "What goes up must come down,"

65 Soothing balm 66 Sound of air escaping 67 One who's done for 68 Slumber

Edited by Timothy E. Parker February 22, 2012 PUPPY LOVE By Potter Stern ACROSS 1 "Star Wars" creator George

6 Cause to lose face 11 "Paper or plastic?" item

14 A Muse

15 "Aladdin" spirit

16 Abbr. at LAX

17 Diagonally

19 A river runs to it

20 "Bye-bye," in Bologna

21 ___ one's loins

22 Yale student

23 Good name for a gemologist?

25 A choir may stand on it

27 Stratford-on-___ (Shakespeare's

birthplace)

28 Big name in antacids

30 Offer one's knowledge

32 "Air" or "canto" opener

33 53rd St. landmark 35 Paragons of slipperiness 36 Easy-maintenance hairstyles

Page 13

DOWN

1 Albanian monetary unit

2 William Tell's canton

3 Heckler's shout

4 Hun head honcho

5 High-protein bean (var.)

6 "A long time ___ in a galaxy ..."

7 Frozen floaters

8 "It's the Hard-Knock Life" musical

9 Jagged mountain chain

10 Cattle cluster

11 Bother to no end

12 Bad way to operate your business

13 Mischievous girl

18 Chicken ___ bleu

23 Symbol of royal power

24 "The Raven" poet

26 "As God ___ witness ..."

27 Relatives of blvds.

29 Words before "roll" or "budget"

31 Territory of India 34 Place to get your greens?

36 ___ de foie gras 37 Psychic radiance 38 Polar sight 39 Cuts and scrapes, to tots 40 Bends 42 Sink, as a derelict ship 43 "... ___ flag was still there" 44 Term of endearment, for a frat boy 45 Bindlestiffs 46 Not genuine 48 Affecting the brain and spinal cord 51 Opposite of rural 52 Combine, as traffic lanes 55 Heroin, informally 57 Word with "straw" or "trail" 60 Bard's "always" 61 Woman who raised Cain 62 One push-up

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) -- You can work more closely with a respected rival than you can with a trusted ally. You need to approach certain things in a new way.

Sudoku

student

townhomes opening fall 2012

l e a s i n g c e n t e r n o w o p e n • u b c o m m o n s s u i t e 11 6

apply online today @ villasonrensch.com

Sports ubspectrum.com

Page 14

Tired of Manny Being Manny TYLER CADY Senior Sports Editor

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Recent Rival Comes to Town TYLER CADY Senior Sports Editor Losses have come in pairs for the men’s basketball team this season. It has lost back-to-back road games on three different occasions, and each of the previous two times it responded at home with a sound win.

Current Record: 21-6 (8-4 Mid-American Conference) All-Time Record: 22-8 Ohio Last Meeting: 60-52 Ohio (Jan. 11, Athens, Ohio)

The last big one started an eightgame winning streak.

He’s back.

Manny Ramirez signed a contract with the Oakland A’s yesterday ending his one season retirement/ time ducking his second performance enhancing drug suspension.

One tearful “apology” on ESPN later and he’s back with a new team.

As someone who grew up a Red Sox fan, Manny was always one of my favorite players, but his act has grown old.

Sure, the man had one of the sweetest swings in baseball history, and was a rare talent at the plate. However, his antics have marred what would have been a stellar Hall of Fame career.

His most recent actions are nothing new. The man has burned bridges everywhere he’s been, and every team he’s played for said good riddance to him at one point or another.

Going into the green monster to use the bathroom in the middle of an inning was funny.

Getting caught with PED’s twice was not.

Over the past few years we’ve seen a shift in professional sports. Athletes who can’t keep themselves out of trouble have been thrown to the scrap heap. Terrell Owens is playing indoor football, while Randy Moss was couching it on Sundays last season.

It’d be nice if Major League Baseball took the NFL’s lead.

Don’t get me wrong – skill set-wise Manny can still play.

But in the aftermath of the Mitchell Report and numerous embarrassing scandals regarding performanceenhancing drugs, it’s about time that baseball rid itself of this problem.

Guys like Manny Ramirez are the problem.

The type of person who tests positive for steroids not once but twice and then retires, rather than serve a suspension, proves that he doesn’t belong in the game.

It looks as though Ramirez has no respect for the game, and the A’s just gave him another chance.

Ramirez is like a misbehaving child, and Bud Selig is the bad parent that lets him get away with it without consequences.

Yes, Manny will have to serve his suspension upon returning to the majors, but is it enough?

Is there no discipline for Ramirez basically screwing the Rays over by quitting on his team last season?

I don’t blame Manny for coming back – hell, he’s making boatloads of cash.

I blame the A’s for giving him another chance, for not having a backbone, and for allowing a man who has absolutely no respect for baseball to represent your team.

Email: tyler.cady@ubspectrum.com

The Bulls (16-8, 9-3 Mid-American Conference) hope that the trend continues Wednesday night when Ohio (21-6, 12-4 MAC) comes to Alumni Arena. Buffalo comes into the game needing a win to keep pace with the top tier of the MAC after a pair of losses at Kent State and South Dakota State last week.

“I think it’s important to weather some storms,” said head coach Reggie Witherspoon. “Sometimes they’re not storms, sometimes they’re clouds that you have to get through. But we have to prove to ourselves that we’re resilient enough to get through it and come back in with a better effort.”

The Bulls currently have a loose grip on the second spot in the MAC, and if the season ended today they would get a bye into the semi-finals of the MAC tournament. Kent State (19-8, 9-4 MAC) dropped a close game on Tuesday night against Miami (Ohio) (9-17, 5-8 MAC) to help the Bulls a bit. A win against the Bobcats would put the Bulls a full game ahead of

Two Bobcats to watch:

Alexa Strudler /// The Spectrum True Blue showcases its D.J. Cooper sign made last season to heckle the Bobcats senior.

the Golden Flashes with three games remaining.

The next thing coming toward Buffalo isn’t anything easy to weather. Ohio is one of four teams that has separated itself as a top tier team in the MAC, and they have three players that will give the Bulls all they can handle.

Buffalo has had its trouble with penetrating guards, and Ohio senior

D.J. Cooper will be the next player to try and gash the Bulls no. 1 ranked field goal percentage defense (.382).

The shot-jacking senior will pull the trigger on any opportunity he can, but more of his success comes in the lane since he only shoots 28 percent from three.

“D.J. Cooper is fueling the whole system,” Witherspoon said. “Getting in the lane, making decisions, hitting shots. When their energy level is continued on page 12

A Great Time for Baseball

One thing last year that we didn’t do [was] steal base hits. From a pitching standpoint we need to throw strikes.

We can’t give free passes. If we throw strikes and make plays then we’re always going to be in it because offensively I think we’ll be a pretty good team.”

BRYAN FEILER Sports Editor

The baseball team has played inconsistently over the past few seasons and has not made the Mid-American Conference tournament since 2007.

But, this year the team is focused on making the post-season.

The team begins play this weekend and, like many other seasons, it will start on the road. The team will play 14 road, non-conference games before the MAC portion of the schedule begins. Head coach Ron Torgalski is hoping the early-season gauntlet will help his team prepare for conference play.

“I tell the guys at the beginning of the year, let’s be realistic: We haven’t been to the MAC tournament, our goal needs to be to finish in the top eight and at that point anybody that gets hot has a chance to win the tournament,” Torgalsk said.

The team finished with a 14-38 (3-22 MAC) record last year, which left it

The offense is led by junior catcher Tom Murphy. He was recently named to the Golden Spikes Award watch list – given to the best amateur baseball player in the country. Murphy led the team in all three Triple Crown categories, and boasted a .384 batting average, 10 home runs, and drove in 44 runs. He also led the team with an OPS over 1.000.

Alexa Strudler /// The Spectrum The baseball team starts its 2012 campaign this weekend with a three-game series at the University of Kentucky.

in the conference cellar. Torgalski acknowledged that the main problem was inconsistencies on the field rather than lack of talent.

“Defensively we need to play clean,” Torgalski said. “We need to make the plays that we’re supposed to make.

Torgalski is confident with the offensive potential of his team but the pitching last season was questionable. The Bulls have five senior pitchers on the staff and all will have significant impacts on the team.

Three will make up the rotation, one will be a middle reliever and the last will be the team’s closer. continued on page 12

Women’s Swimming Dives into MAC Championships BEN TARHAN Staff Reporter After all the highs and lows in the conference season, the women’s swimming and diving team is about to prepare for its most important meet of the year – the Mid-American Conference Championships.

The team is finishing off a season that included an intense three-point win over Pittsburgh (8-6) and a third place finish at the Akron Invite. The Bulls (7-2, 2-2 MAC) head into the MAC Championship meet confident and expecting success.

Sophomore sprinter Brittney Kuras, senior breaststroker Alie Schirmers, and freshman butterflier Taylor Steffl will look to lead the Bulls with another strong showing. Each of these athletes have swam some of the fastest times in their events in the conference this season and are looking to taper well and finish the season strong.

Head coach Andy Bashor emphasized that every event was important for the team’s chances of success, but pointed out the five relay events as particularly important.

The relays will be tricky since each relay requires every swimmer to swim her fastest time in order to be successful.

Bashor does not foresee this being a problem.

Meg Kinsey /// The Spectrum Both men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are competing in the Mid-American Conference championships starting today.

“I think they’re all going to swim fast,” Bashor said. “In these types of meets senior leadership really helps. Because this is a three-day meet and a championship there is a little more pressure than normal, and so we have to be able to handle that.”

Buffalo looks to break into a pack of three teams that are traditionally the strongest in the MAC. Ohio, Miami (Ohio), and Toledo have combined to win all but three MAC championships except for three since 1981.

UB Basketball Double Header Alumni Arena

G-Walter Offutt: The redshirt junior is playing well in his first year with Ohio after playing two years at Ohio State. He is the only other Bobcat that averages in double figures, with 12 points per game. In his last outing against UNC-Ashville, he was unconscious from the field, missing only two of 10 shots, and scoring 19 points. He is a streaky, but potentially dangerous, scorer.

The Bulls will win if... They can shoot the three-ball consistently. The Bulls are up against the best 3-point shooting defensive team in the MAC, as the Bobcats are only allowing opponents to shoot 28 percent from three. The Bulls certainly have the ability to hit that shot, as senior guard Zach Filzen and junior guard Tony Watson are deadly from beyond the arc at home.

The Bobcats will win if... They can win the turnover battle. The Bobcats are first in the MAC in turnover ratio, averaging 4.74 less turnovers than their opponents. The Bulls cannot be lackadaisical with the basketball, as the Bobcats force 18 turnovers a game. Their ability to steal the ball is also tops in the league with nine a game.

Predictions: NATHANIEL SMITH Sports Editor The Bulls return to the friendly confines of Alumni Arena, which will certainly help them in this game against a tough MAC East foe. The loser will have a tough time getting a top-two seed, and that all-important bye into the semifinals of the MAC tournament, so with that sense of urgency and with the home crowd behind them, Buffalo should be able to just get by with a win.

Buffalo- 69 Ohio-65 BRYAN FEILER Sports Editor

Buffalo-64 Ohio-62

Saturday, February 25

Women’s Basketball vs. Ohio @ 12:00pm

G-D.J. Cooper: The dynamic junior guard is the leading distributer and scorer for the Bobcats, averaging 5.4 assists and 13.6 points per game. He doesn’t shoot particularly well from 3-point range, at just a 28 percent clip, but when Ohio needs a big shot, the reigning MAC East player of the week will be happy to oblige. Defensively, he’s one of the best thieves in the MAC, averaging 2.3 steals per game.

Ohio is just 1-4 on the road in the MAC this season while the Bulls are undefeated at home. Both teams are playing desperate basketball. The two teams played to an eight-point game in Athens. I believe the Bulls will use their home court to their advantage and win a close game.

continued on page 12

Club Appreciation Day

Scouting Ohio

Men’s Basketball vs. Miami, OH @ 3:00pm

Free for UB students

TYLER CADY Senior Sports Editor The last time Buffalo lost two straight contests, they came back and rebounded in a big way, handing Akron their only conference loss of the year. Not only do I expect the same theme to carry through on Wednesday, I expect it do be done in the same fashion. The resiliency of this team has been impressive, and the Bulls have the swagger and confidence to pull out a big win.

Buffalo-78 Ohio-66