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.
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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
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