The Spectrum Vol. 68 No.12

THE SPECTRUM VOL. 68 NO.13 | OCTOBER 15, 2018

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

New York Fashion Week founder Fern Mallis speaks at UB

> SEE PAGE 5

UBSPECTRUM

Duckwrth fInds the beauty in ‘Uugly’

Bulls win back-to-back on the road this weekend

> SEE PAGE 6

> SEE PAGE 8

Student participation in school government continues to decline

UB President Tripathi speaks about Boldly Buffalo, research in State of the University address Tripathi delivers annual speech as graduate students protest for a ‘living stipend’ in Slee Hall TANVEEN VOHRA, JACKLYN WALTERS STAFF WRITERS

Disconnect apparent between students and student government MAX KALNITZ, THOMAS ZAFONTE SENIOR NEWS EDITOR, SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR

Ninety-three out of every 100 students likely won’t walk into the Student Union Theater and vote on who controls their money, according to SA election statistics.

And the trend of low voter participation is getting worse. Over the last 11 years, the undergraduate student population has increased, but participation in student government and representative elections has decreased.

The Spectrum conducted a survey about participation in student government and found that many full-time students have no idea who controls the $104.75 mandatory student activity fee they pay every semester and don’t understand how it’s spent. Those same students, however, often said they care about the events held by the Student Association, the official student government of undergraduates on campus.

The Spectrum’s survey and SA statistics indicate a culture of apathy on campus and low accountability for the students in charge of their peers’ fees. Candidates often run unopposed for important budgetary positions and can essentially vote themselves into office. SA officials and professors who study politics and marketing acknowledge that the phenomenon is a problem, and at least one other large SUNY school appears to have a more engaged student body.

“There’s a pretty high apathy toward student government because UB is a commuter campus and a lot of people don’t really know much about the major issues that our student government works on and addresses,” said Mike Brown, the student representative on the UB Council, the primary oversight and advisory body to the university. “We’re generally a society, especially at an institution where students are typically here for four years, that thinks our vote doesn’t matter.

That’s definitely a pervasive trend throughout the student body in general.”

This semester, 19,080 full-time students paid the mandatory student activity fee, totaling roughly $2 million, but an average of only 1,305 students have voted in the fall

referendum vote and an average of 1,752 students have voted in SA’s spring election over the last 11 years.

Nine percent of 19,028 undergraduate students voted in the 2008 Senate election, but only 4 percent of 21,607 students voted in 2018.

This lack of interest has become the norm for the organization that is meant to represent the entire undergraduate student body.

A lack of interest The Spectrum’s survey found that out of 228 students, 54 percent said they knew about SA and its responsibilities and 63 percent said they care about SA. Only one student could name the current SA president, vice president and treasurer.

In The Spectrum’s survey, 27 percent of surveyed students said they knew what the referendum vote was and 6 percent said they voted in the referendum in 2018. The referendum asks students every two years if the activity fee should remain mandatory, and often asks students to approve an increase to the fee, as well. The referendum has never > SEE SA

UB President Satish Tripathi delivered the annual State of the University address on Friday amidst graduate student protests.

Tripathi spoke in front of roughly 200 people, consisting of UB faculty, staff, students and community members in Slee Hall.

Tripathi outlined the university’s advancements in health and environmental research, the UB 2020 plan, the Boldly Buffalo fundraising campaign, educational innovation and community service. Tripathi said UB has reached its “highest ranking ever,” placing 38th amongst universities nationwide.

Roughly 30 graduate students gathered before the address to protest low graduate assistant and teaching assistant stipends.

After Tripathi talked about an increase in stipends, students stood and held signs that read, “Living Stipend?” and “UB Works Because We Do!” Charles Zukoski, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, said he appreciated the concerns of the students, but did not agree with the demonstration itself.

“It wasn’t polite but they got the point across,” Zukoski said. “It’s good to hear

VOTE | PAGE 4

> SEE ADDRESS | PAGE 2

Faculty Student Association says $785,500 land From Bo and to Patterson purchase came from student fees, other money Starks and Marks FSA owns $1.5 million asset, won’t look to alter fund agreement with SubBoard I before 2023 BENJAMIN BLANCHET SENIOR FEATURES EDITOR

The Faculty Student Association says its 1964 land purchase for students came from a mixture of student activity fees and other organizational resources.

For three decades, FSA, a UB-controlled nonprofit known to most students as Campus Dining & Shops, has claimed it had no idea how much money went into the $785,500 it used to buy a piece of land in Amherst in 1964.

This month, FSA lawyer Terry Gilbride of the law firm Hodgson Russ wrote that a “portion” of FSA’s funds used to purchase the 1964 land “did originally come from student [activity] fees collected by FSA” and the “balance of the purchase price came from other FSA resources which did not derive from student activity fees.”

In September, Sub-Board I, a fiscal agent for student activity fees, told The Spectrum if the land purchase came from

JACK LI | THE SPECTRUM Freshman running back Jaret Patterson cuts inside through the hole. Patterson had a teamhigh 91 yards and a touchdown against the Akron Zips on Saturday.

Freshmen running backs tear up the turf in recent win PRANAV KADAM | THE SPECTRUM Nature View Park currently sits on land formerly owned by the Faculty Student Association. FSA claims the land, purchased in 1964 and sold in 1987, was purchased with a “portion” of student activity fees as well as other resources.

student fees, they want to control the purchase’s now $1.5 million asset.

The Spectrum made numerous calls and emailed FSA board members to get a response on the 1964 land purchase and 1987 land sale between Sept. 28 and Oct. 5. Gilbride responded via email on FSA’s behalf on Oct. 5, and, again on Oct. 10.

Gilbride did not comment on how much student money FSA used of the $785,500 spent toward the land purchase.

“During FSA’s ownership, moreover, a significant portion of the property carrying costs were paid by the FSA with resources that did not derive from student activities fees,” Gilbride wrote in an email.

“The ‘programming [grant] fund’ was created in 1988 in an effort to acknowledge the various constituencies with a connection to this real estate purchase and sale.”

The agreement between FSA and SBI > SEE FSA | PAGE 2

NATHANIEL MENDELSON SPORTS EDITOR

Branden “Bo” Oliver and James Starks are the top two running backs to come out of UB. Seven games into the season, freshmen running backs Jaret Patterson and Kevin Marks are already being compared to two of UB’s greats.

Patterson and Marks have combined for 920 yards and 12 touchdowns for the Bulls this season. They each average over 5 yards per carry and have taken over the position > SEE PATTERSON

& MARKS | PAGE 8

NEWS

2 | Monday, October 15, 2018 FROM PAGE 1

FSA

in 1988 and 2008, Gibride wrote, recognizes and addresses the two organizations’ “shared history with respect to the property” and “is designed to ensure that earnings on the proceeds from the sale of this property are expended for the benefit of the student community.”

“Given this history, the FSA Board will not be entertaining any efforts to terminate or renegotiate the 2008 agreement prior to its scheduled expiration in 2023,” Gilbride wrote.

The Spectrum currently has a copy of the 1988 and 2008 programming grant fund agreements between FSA and SBI. Both agreements state the fund, now valued at $1.5 million, is a restricted asset owned FROM PAGE 1

ADDRESS their concerns.”

The speech began at 11 a.m. Tripathi opened by addressing the university’s journey from its roots as a private medical school established in 1846. Tripathi mentioned UB has become a public research university of 30,000 students from across the U.S. and more than 100 countries around the world.

Tripathi talked about progressive research in 2018, including the UB Clinical and Research Institution on Addictions which combats against substance abuse and the opioid crisis.

Tripathi also mentioned advances in schizophrenia research at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The research suggests early stages of pregnancy could be critical in the starting points of schizophrenia development.

UB-led teams have also created new technology, Tripathi said, which can help to detect cancer early on and will be beneficial in areas without hospitals.

Tripathi then talked about artificial intelligence research, such as UB’s Olli bus.

The research, Tripathi said, is a step toward the next generation of autonomous transportation.

ubspectrum.com

and administered by FSA. Both agreements, however, do not mention the 1964 land purchase, the 1964 purchase price, student money used for the purchase or student money used after the purchase toward the land.

The agreements state FSA’s profit from the 1987 land sale: $589,341.

Gilbride wrote that the agreement between SBI and his client, FSA, establishes the fund’s ownership “resides with the FSA.” Per the agreement, SBI receives annual interest from FSA’s investments. The annual interest is used toward SBI’s programming grant fund.

“As such, under established accounting standards for not-for-profit corporations and the New York Not-For-Profit Corporation Law, the ‘programming [grant]

fund’ is recognized as an asset of the FSA in which the FSA holds full ownership rights,” Gilbride wrote.

“Earnings on the ‘programming [grant] fund’ are governed by the terms and conditions of the 2008 Agreement and are remitted annually to the SBI for expenditure to ‘enhance the quality of the university experience for all SUNY/Buffalo students in ways that do not duplicate the efforts of SBI’s other programs or the programs of the other organizations on campus.’”

The 2008 agreement between FSA and SBI is in effect until Nov. 29, 2023.

Gilbride wrote that since the agreement doesn’t expire for another five years, “any discussions of transferring ownership of the ‘programming funds’ from the FSA to SBI are at this point premature.”

“The terms and conditions of the 2008 Agreement, as well as the 1988 Agreement which preceded it, reflect the outcome of extensive discussions between the FSA and SBI and are designed to ensure that the ‘programming [grant] fund’ is properly administered, invested and expended for the benefit of the student body and campus community at-large,” Gilbride wrote.

“The Faculty Student Association remains committed to safeguarding the ‘programming [grant] fund’ for the long-term enrichment and enhancement of the university experience for all SUNY/Buffalo students.”

UB has also looked at findings by the Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water Institute which increases the efficacy of water cleaning technologies, according to Tripathi.

“This is how we are making our mark on the world,” Tripathi said. “And this is why the most competitive funding agencies acknowledge the path-breaking work we do.”

After the speech, Zukoski told The Spectrum he appreciated UB’s ongoing Boldly Buffalo campaign, which has raised $465 million as of Aug. 30.

“It brings in more scholarships for undergraduates, graduates and faculty members,” Zukoski said. “It also involves a capital campaign for moving departments from the North Campus to the South Campus and renovating spaces on the North Campus.”

The campaign, which is set to go toward experiential learning opportunities and scholarships, has raised 72 percent of its $650 million goal for the year, according to the campaign’s website.

Tripathi also spoke about community service at UB and the benefits it provides to the community at large. “[Service] means improving student performance at under-performing Buffalo

public schools and improving affordable housing for underserved Buffalo neighborhoods,” Tripathi said.

“It means providing legal aid to hurricane victims in Puerto Rico and providing health care services to rural villagers in Haiti. It means bringing sustainable food systems to Western New York and bringing the arts alive for Western New Yorkers.”

In spite of mentioning sustainable food systems, Tripathi did not allude to UB community members’ efforts to create a food pantry on campus.

The food pantry is the result of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s No Student Goes Hungry Program, which mandates that all New York state colleges have a food pantry on campus.

“Scott Weber — the vice president for student affairs — is currently running a study to find what is the best place and what are the needs [for the food pantry] and how might we build funding,” Zukoski said.

The food pantry drew the ire of students who were part of the graduate protests, who believe food insecurity is part of UB’s bigger problem with providing students with an appropriate stipend. UB currently provides graduate students with

an average stipend of $38,000 for a nine month academic year.

“TA’s over here have food insecurity because we don’t make enough money to make a living wage,” said Stephanie Gill, a graduate student in the biology department.

“I think it’s ridiculous that students have to go to a food bank to eat instead of just being supported at a base level,” said Jacky Chow, a graduate student in the biology department.

Graduate students made it clear that their protests will continue at all public meetings. Discussion has also surrounded the possibility of a rally on accepted students’ day, which could alter the perspectives of potential incoming students.

“They don’t care about feeding us but they care about how competitive we are,” Gill said.

Tripathi also mentioned plans for expanding UB’s campus with the addition of a new housing complex and moving the School of Social Work and Graduate School of Education to South Campus, “in the heart of our community.”

email: benjamin.blanchet@ubspectrum.com twitter: @BenjaminUBSpec

email: news@ubspectrum.com

it’s registration time!

Here is how you do it.

PLAN

• Make your advising appointment today.

• Preview the Class Schedule.

• Resolve registration holds now.

ahead!

CONNECT

• Discuss your plan with your advisor.

• Use your HUB tools g My Planner, Schedule Builder, Shopping Cart.

• Explore UB Curriculum courses with Path Finder.

with resources!

REGISTER

• Know your enrollment date.

• Get the classes you want and need.

• Confirm enrollment and review your schedule.

on time!

Mark Your Calendar Take a closer look at our Communication Sciences and Disorders master’s program. Attend our open house on Saturday, Oct. 20.

• • • • catalog.buffalo.edu

I

advising.buffalo.edu

I

studentsuccess.buffalo.edu

Meet dedicated faculty members Tour state-of-the-art facilities Ask questions about admissions Learn more about the graduate experience

Discover more at cortland.edu/graduate

OPINION

ubspectrum.com

THE SPECTRUM Monday, October 15, 2018 Volume 68 Number 13 Circulation: 4,000

EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Hannah Stein MANAGING EDITOR Brenton J. Blanchet CREATIVE DIRECTORS Phuong Vu Chase Wilcoxen, Asst.

Anh Phuong Tran, Asst.

COPY EDITORS Savanna Caldwell, Asst.

Cassi Enderle, Asst.

Lauryn King, Asst.

NEWS EDITOR Max Kalnitz, Senior FEATURES EDITORS Benjamin Blanchet, Senior Kirsten Dean, Asst.

ARTS EDITORS Brian Evans, Senior Samantha Vargas, Asst.

SPORTS EDITORS Thomas Zafonte, Senior Nathaniel Mendelson MULTIMEDIA EDITORS Shubh Jain, Senior Jack Li, Asst.

CARTOONISTS Ardi Digap Taj Taylor

PROFESSIONAL STAFF OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Helene Polley ADVERTISING MANAGER Ayesha Kazi GRAPHIC DESIGN MANAGERS JuYung Hong

Letter to the editor In Defense of Clarity On Friday, at President Tripathi’s State of the University Address, members of the Living Stipend Movement silently stood and held signs reading: “Living Stipend?” “Are Poverty Wages Excellent?” “Is 34th Competitive?” and, of course, “UB works because we do.” In the otherwise well-written article covering the event, UB reporters mistakenly wrote that teaching assistants receive an average stipend of $38,000 for the nine-month academic year.

The reporters’ confusion is more than understandable. UB administration has been less than clear in regards to TAs’ actual funding.

The “$38,000” figure refers to what UB administration likes to call the “total package,” which includes a tuition waiver, stipend, and subsidized health insurance. Layers of obfuscation make fact checking this number virtually impossible. My own “total pack-

For information on adverstising with The Spectrum: VISIT: www.ubspectrum.com/advertising CALL US: 716-645-2152 The Spectrum offices are located in 132 Student Union, UB North Campus, Buffalo, NY 14260-2100

JOIN OUR STAFF Do you have an interest in journalism, graphic design, photography, social media, advertising, cartoons or copy editing? The Spectrum is always looking for enthusiastic students who want to be part of our team.

Join our 45-time award winning independent student newspaper for hands-on, real-world experience in your field.

Anyone interested in joining The Spectrum’s editorial staff can email Hannah Stein at: eic@ubspectrum.com.

Anyone interested in joining The Spectrum’s professional staff or advertising team can email Helene Polley at: hapolley@buffalo.edu.

age” is over $10,000 less than the official number. The “total package” myth also starts from a false premise. The tuition waiver is not income. It doesn’t cost the university anything. The amount is remitted by the SUNY system and never exists outside of a spreadsheet.

It’s UB’s answer to Monopoly Money.

The “total package” also assumes an average stipend, which means many fall below that number. UB spokespeople have recently claimed the average stipend at UB for 2018 is $18,012. This applies only to incoming students and does not approximate the average of TAs across campus. The average last year was just $15,540, and yet no TA suddenly found themselves with $3000 more in their bank accounts in 2018.

Even more bewildering is that the “total package” for both years is listed as $38,000. How a supposed increase in funding has not led to a revision of the total package estimate is a riddle better posed to philosophers than accountants.

The “total package” figure also opaquely ignores the

over $2,000 in mandatory annual fees, the highest of all 34 AAU publics. UB administration previously reported that UB TA stipends rank 12 out of 23 AAU publics; a fallacious figure as there are 34 AAU publics. When Professor Jim Holstun compared AAU net stipends, he found that UB ranks 34 out of 34 universities. No doubt, these layers of ambiguity contribute greatly to the challenges of reporting.

In the same article, reporters quoted Provost Zukoski’s response to the silent protest: “It wasn’t polite but they got the point across.” Zukoski seems unaware that people in power always find protests improper (See MLK’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”). He also grants “politeness” an undue place in academic discourse. The stereotype of the curmudgeonly professor comes from somewhere, after all. If Zukoski’s critique is that we weren’t polite, but we were clear, then it seems our professionalization is complete.

The second half of Zukoski’s statement: “It’s good to hear their concerns” is similarly

How to play dominos with Domino’s Domino’s Pizza needs to update its customer service policy

ABOUT THE SPECTRUM The views expressed – both written and graphic – in the Opinion section 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.

Monday, October 15, 2018 | 3

ARSH ISSANY STAFF WRITER

As a college student, diet becomes our last concern.

The word “vegetable” becomes as dead as Vine (R.I.P.) and the options for food on campus aren’t the healthiest, nor the tastiest.

So naturally, as a Long Islander, I crave pizza.

Since I will never touch the disgraceful pizza in the Student

Union, I look to Domino’s to bring a piping hot pizza right to my door. For a medium, twotopping pizza, I only pay $5.99.

I paid $5.99 for a two-topping medium pizza, that is, until a saw a YouTube video on how to get a free Domino’s pizza.

To get on this deal, you first have to call your nearest Domino’s Pizza. You tell them you want a large one-topping pizza.

When they ask what topping you want, tell them you want another steaming hot Domino’s one-topping pizza.

They will then ask you what topping you want on that pizza, and you will proceed to say “another steaming hot Domino’s one-topping pizza.”

Repeat this cycle until you get 71-topped Domino’s pizzas.

There’s just one problem, though: Domino’s won’t have a box to fit all those pizzas.

To solve this ordeal, go to The Home Depot and purchase a Maytag refrigerator for $3,399.

When they ask you for your payment, you offer 70 piping hot, one-topping Domino’s piz-

zas. Once they accept this, you bring the refrigerator to Domino’s and put the pizza in the refrigerator box.

You then pay Domino’s with the fridge and go back to The Home Depot. When you give the cashier the 71 pizzas and the cashier turns around to get your receipt, you take the 71st pizza and put it in your pocket.

Now all good theories get proven by empirical methods, so we set out to see if this works.

Spoiler alert: I didn’t get too far.

My friends and I called our nearest Domino’s and asked if we could get a large, onetopping pizza. The guy on the phone then asked: “What would you like as your topping?” We then replied: “Another steaming hot Domino’s one-topping pizza.”

We could tell the disappointment from the employee from the long pause and loud sigh he made.

He proceeded to make up some garbage to block us from our happiness.

“You can’t do that, sir, be-

misleading. He seems to have forgotten that he’s “heard” us before. He’s heard us at Faculty Senate Executive Committee and general meetings, at our demonstrations last year, and in the resolutions passed by GSA, COAL, the Faculty Senate, and the Staff Senate. The administration refused to hear us when they illegally banned us from a UB Council meeting on October 1.

And TAs did not hold up signs during a university event because we are “concerned.”

Our signs, like most, were a clear warning. UB leadership cannot claim to be Boldly Buffalo if they starve the students and workers that fulfill UB’s mission. Tripathi acknowledged in his address that TA stipends are “not what they should be” but failed to outline a plan for rectifying the situation.

A truly “world class” university would have the class to compensate its workers fairly; or at least be clear about why it will not.

Macy McDonald, Graduate teaching assistant

cause then it would be a sandwich,” he said.

We sat by the phone, disappointed and shocked that we were bested by the logical comprehension of the Domino’s employee.

But this is a violation of our very rights as Americans to be able to consume any coronarydisease-causing foods at low costs. What happened to “the customer is always right?” What are they teaching at the Domino’s training camp?

If I were the CEO of Domino’s and I encountered such buffoonery, I would say “why not 72-pizza-topped pizzas” because the customer is always right. Domino’s should take customer service notes from Amazon.

I could buy a toilet from the Crossroads Culinary Center five years ago, call up Amazon today saying “I don’t know why it broke” – it was C3 – and get a full refund, no questions asked.

Domino’s customer service should be so good that I should be able to eat three-fourths of a pineapple-topped pizza and be able to return the rest for a full refund.

And yes, of course, I would use the refund to buy another pineapple-topped pizza. email: features@ubspectrum.com.

4 | Monday, October 15, 2018 FROM PAGE 1

SA VOTE been rejected over the past 11 years.

Jahlil Wyatt, a sophomore undecided major, didn’t vote in last spring’s e-board election or the Senate election and referendum vote last month. The e-board consists of the SA president, vice president and treasurer. SA senators oversee the organization’s budget.

Wyatt said a lot of students, including himself, don’t know about opportunities to have their voices heard on campus.

“I don’t think these elections are advertised in a way that lets all of the undergraduate students know about them,” Wyatt said. “If only a fraction of the student body is voting, I feel like that’s an inaccurate representation of what students want. Candidates should be out talking to students so we know who we’re voting for. If they don’t, I feel like the people that get elected spend money on things that they want, not what students actually want.”

A President Gunnar Haberl said he worries about the lack of student interest in getting involved in student government and caring about issues on campus. He recognizes the downhill trend in student involvement on campus and said despite SA’s efforts to advertise student government, students don’t care.

“We can’t even get students to follow us on social media,” Haberl said. “We put quarter sheets throughout all the lecture halls, but people just throw them on the ground. We tried using posters, but bulletin boards get flooded and it’s a waste of paper and ink.

I advertise elections in emails to SA clubs and my monthly student-wide email, but let’s be honest, students read the first couple paragraphs and delete it.”

Haberl said what’s even more concerning is that students don’t know who their e-board members are. He said he and his colleagues have been present throughout the year at orientation, football games and SA-sponsored events, so he expected more students to be familiar with them by now.

“I can understand why students might not know Anyssa’s or Tanahiry’s name because they’re not getting an email from them monthly,” Haberl said. “Unless they’re in a club, they wouldn’t deal with Anyssa, and Tanahiry isn’t the voice of SA … But for students who get an email from me once a month in which I sign it ‘President of SA,’ it’s disappointing that only 15 out of 228 students knew my name.”

Political science professor James Campbell said, one explanation of the disconnect between students and the student government is a lack of communication. He said, often times, students have no idea what candidates’ platforms are campaigning for. If students don’t know what benefits each party is promising, they likely don’t care, he said.

“I think a lot of students don’t have real opinions to express at the ballot box,” Campbell said. “In student government elections, there’s a lack of clarity as to what’s at stake, key issues and key differences are between candidates … [If a party has] no competition, why would anyone outside

FEATURES pay any attention to this? That’s the missing ingredient.

Why should anyone pay any attention?”

Campbell said there is a correlation between the exceptionally low voter turnout during years when parties ran unopposed because as long as each student received one vote –– which could be cast by themselves –– they were elected. Without the competition of an election and a battle of ideals to interest students, they have no reason to come out and vote.

In the SA election last spring Haberl’s R.E.A.L party ran unopposed and only 614 students –– 3 percent of the undergraduate population –– voted, according to SA election statistics. This was the third time in SA history that an e-board ran unopposed, with each single-party election happening in the past 10 years.

Comparison within SUNY The University at Albany, one of SUNY’s four university centers like UB, also has a Student Association that represents its undergraduate students. It holds e-board elections in the spring and had a total population of roughly 20,000 students and an undergraduate population of roughly 13,000 students in 2017. UB has roughly 30,000 undergraduate students with roughly 20,000 being undergraduates..

The major difference is that UAlbany’s voting numbers have gone up. Over the past five years, UAlbany has had an average voter turnout of 16 percent compared to UB’s 7 percent. UAlbany had its strongest voter turnout in 2018 with 20 percent of the undergrad population voting in the election.

UB had 3 percent of undergraduates vote in 2018, when the R.E.A.L party ran unopposed.

UB marketing professor Debabrata Talukdar said it’s concerning when any population can’t create an interest in getting candidates to run.

“You must sell policy based on the differences of the candidates,” Talukdar said. “I know young people feel they are too busy and have no time but it falls on the SA to interest students. They must show their importance to students while making them realize how it affects them. That allows them to see the vote as change or improvement in their lives.”

Last month, only 966 students voted in SA Senate elections and 931 voted in the bi-annual referendum, which asked students to support a $4.25 increase to the activity fee. Nine percent of 19,028 undergraduate students voted in the 2008 Senate election,

but only 4 percent of 21,607 students voted in 2018.

UAlbany –– also a commuter school –– had 14 percent of its student body vote in its referendum vote this past spring.

At UB, the 12-person Senate, in charge of SA’s $3.6 million budget, only had nine students run for election this year. They all ran unopposed. Haberl will appoint three students to fill the Senate. UAlbany has multiple candidates run for different positions in its Senate, with none running unopposed in the past five years.

Talukdar said that any voting percentage below 50 percent shows a “subjection to minority opinion.” It is a situation where a select few can dictate policy without having to consider the majority opinion. Talukdar said the solution is to get students to see their votes as a voice.

“I know it is difficult trying to convince a young population to vote,” Talukdar said.

“But the only way you can get people to vote is to show them that in a democratic society like ours, the best way to have your voice heard is to vote.”

Brown said UB is largely a commuter campus, creating a sense of indifference for students living off-campus who might not follow the student government.

Only 2 percent of all UB students voted to elect the student representative to the UB Council last spring. That’s an increase from the 0.1 percent of the student body that voted in the election in 2015.

UAlbany had 7 percent of its overall student population vote in its University Council Representative election in 2018.

Talukdar said the driving force to young people not voting is the idea that they “don’t have the time.” Talukdar said it is common, no matter the election, for young citizens to think they are too busy to bother or pay attention to governing bodies.

“Young people are never that busy,” Talukdar said. “What it comes down to is convience. If a student thinks it takes too much time to care about something then they will not do it. The more of a hassle it is to even know what the student government really does, the less people will know what it is.”

What can be done In the 2016 presidential election, only 46.1 percent of adults age 18 to 29 voted, according to the U.S. Census.

Campbell said in an era when less than half of college-aged adults are voting in national elections, it’s a grim reality that many probably don’t care about student elections, either.

Campbell said the main issue causing the disconnect between SA and the undergraduate student body is a lack of clarity and interest. If candidates are making themselves present on campus and interacting with students, they’re more likely to earn votes. But if they’re invisible besides for campaigning to SA clubs which may already be familiar

ubspectrum.com

with the candidates, students won’t feel motivated to vote.

Another reason students might not be interested in student elections is because voting for SA’s elections only takes place on North Campus. This creates a barrier for students living on or near South Campus or the downtown campus to access voting booths.

Brown said voting for his position is online, making it more accessible for students who wish to vote. Brown said he’s talked with SA professional staff about moving SA elections and votes online or adding additional booths on South Campus or in the dorms.

“The lack of other voting booths disenfranchises students who don’t live on North Campus. Why would they travel all the way to another campus if they don’t even know anything about the candidates who are running?” Brown said. “We tried to get booths on South Campus but encountered a lot of barriers. I think moving the vote to an online platform and sending out emails to the entire student body reminding them to vote would be extremely beneficial.”

There are situations with voting on campus that could be quickly fixed and help with voter turnout, Talukdar said.

“It is concerning that there is no place to vote on South Campus,” Talukdar said.

“These are low-bearing fruit that UB could easily take advantage of. Having a place to vote on South would go a long way while also having multiple voting outlets on campus.

North alone is a large space and it would benefit voting having polls in more than just one spot in the SU. Many students probably will never see the polls if they are just in one place, especially those on South.”

Talukdar said having the election solely in the SU Theater will not generate a high turnout. Instead, he suggested, Student Association representatives need to connect with students in multiple locations on campus.

“They could have forums during voting season where candidates are across campus having conversations with both students and other candidates,” Talukdar said. “There needs to be more than just one or two lecture hall discussions, more opportunities to let candidates listen to students and let them know their ideas are heard. They must let students know they are being heard, not just solely letting others know their opinions.”

Talukdar said that as long as voter participation stays low, the disconnect between what students want and what the SA does will always be there.

Haberl said he’s not sure how to interest more students with the resources he currently has. He thinks students need to follow SA more closely, including their social media presence and events occuring on campus.

“When does it become a lack of us trying to promote things like student government elections versus us as students taking ownership for getting the information and reading the information for ourselves?”

Haberl said.

If there’s one thing he could change, Haberl said it would be unlimited studentwide emails so he could send out emails specifically pertaining to the election. Haberl is currently limited by university policy to sending one student-wide email a month.

“I think it would be beneficial, if during the campaigning process, that candidates’ platforms were sent out to all students.

Maybe like a ‘get to know your candidates’ page on SA’s website,” Haberl said. “Then as SA president, I could include a link to that site in my student-wide emails to get the word out there.” email: max.kalnitz@ubspectrum.com and thomas.zafonte@ubspectrum.com twitter: @Max_Kalnitz

ubspectrum.com

FEATURES

Monday, October 15, 2018 | 5

Radical queer histories rediscovered, remembered throughout Buffalo PRANAV KADAM | THE SPECTRUM Panelists discuss UB’s and Buffalo’s “radical history” on Friday in Hayes Hall. Friday’s symposium featured a number of panelists who recounted the histories of feminist and queer cultures in the Queen City.

UB hosts symposium, tours to survey LGBTQ stories of the past and today ABHI WAGH STAFF WRITER

UB community members gathered this past weekend to discuss influential moments in local LGBTQ and feminist history.

On Friday and Saturday, UB’s Department of Global Gender and Sexuality Studies, the English department and history department, among others, hosted a symposium, street tour and archival tour of Buffalo’s queer, transgender and feminist milestones. The departments held the event on Friday and Saturday on South Campus, at Buffalo State College and throughout downtown Buffalo.

From current UB faculty members and students to local LGBTQ activists, attendees centered their focus on queer experiences, subcultures and history in Western New York.

Friday’s symposium featured discussions around Buffalo’s queer and transgender histories in Hayes Hall. The two-day event was organized by Christine Varnado, an assistant professor in the GGSS department.

“This event celebrates a part of UB’s history that doesn’t get nearly enough attention,” Varnado said. “This place was the epicenter of radical, cutting-edge thought in so many different disciplines of the humanities and arts.”

Participants in Friday’s event reviewed the 1960s and 1970s. This was a time of student-led protests and “radical ideologies” forming within UB and the city of Buffalo. In the late ‘60s, due to political and social activism, students redefined the meaning of then-university President Martin Meyerson’s goal for UB to become the “Berkeley of the East.”

By 1969, UB community members formed Tolstoy College, a group that promoted pacifism and was against the ongoing Vietnam War. On WBFO, then a UB-owned and operated radio station, students addressed LGBTQ concerns on a segment titled “Stonewall Nation.”

UB’s history with activism set the scene for some of Friday’s discussion amongst symposium panelists.

The first panel included Jeffry Iovannone, a women’s and gender studies professor at SUNY Fredonia. Iovannone explained the lack of transgender acceptance by the LGBTQ community in the ‘70s. He focused his talk on Peggy Aimes, a transgender public figure in Buffalo who was

ostracized for her identity. He also touched on the founding of the Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier, an organization that fought for gay liberation.

Other panelists included Carol Speser, a local political and social activist, and Jonathan Katz, director of the visual studies doctoral program at UB. Among other achievements, Speser helped set up Buffalo’s first outdoor pride parade along with her fights to pass local gay rights legislation. Katz explained how he, too, was involved with helping pass legislation in Chicago. He also spoke about how he came out publicly on the Phil Donahue Show as a teenager during a time when gay people were largely ignored by mainstream society.

As the first panel came to a conclusion, the second panel focused their discussion on UB’s Women’s Studies College, founded in 1971 and one of the first programs of its kind in the United States.

At the panel’s keynote roundtable, Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy, Bonita Hampton and Sherri Darrow discussed the roots of the department.

Kennedy, author of “Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold,” explained how UB was “anti-racist, anti-imperialist and feminist” in the ‘70s. This, she said, was a factor in the establishment of Women’s Studies

New York Fashion Week founder Fern Mallis speaks at UB UB hosts alum in university’s new speaker series KIRSTEN DEAN ASST. FEATURES EDITOR

Before she founded New York Fashion Week in the 1990s, Fern Mallis built her artistic foundations as a student in UB’s fine arts department.

Mallis, a ’69 UB alum and fashion icon, discussed her experiences in the world of fashion to a sold-out crowd in 403 Hayes Hall Thursday night. The event marked the beginning of the university’s new speaker series featuring alumni and the lessons they’ve learned in their respective fields.

Mallis’ fashion industry accomplishments include her work as an author, president of her own international fashion and design consultancy and her work as executive director of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

English professor Eric Pritchard, whose research focuses on intersectional identities and literature, lead the conversation with Mallis.

“This is really a trip down memory lane.

I am sorry to say that it’s only taken me about 48 years to come back,” Mallis said.

She added that her experience at UB was “quite remarkable.” As a student on a college campus during the Vietnam War, college for her was during a “heavy time in our country, not unlike the kind of rage and things that are going on now in this

ELAINE LIN | THE SPECTRUM Fern Mallis, creator of New York Fashion Week and UB alum, spoke in Hayes Hall as part of UB’s new “Lessons Learned” alumni speaker series. Mallis spoke on Thursday about her successes in the fashion industry and time as a UB student.

country.”

Mallis talked about her childhood, growing up in the Garment District of New York City, her experience as a communication design major in the fine arts department and the time she spent working on plays at UB. As a student, Mallis won a contest hosted by fashion magazine Mademoiselle to create graphic and marketing pieces, where she was brought on as a guest editor.

She went on to work full-time at the magazine.

Mallis then discussed how she created New York Fashion Week.

“Fashion week was something that came out of an accident. Some of the best things in the world happen from accidents

and things that go wrong,” Mallis said.

In 1992, during New York’s Democratic National Convention, Mallis served on the convention’s planning committee. The committee considered the idea of showing off New York to some of the convention’s delegates.

“Of course I said, ‘Let’s do a fashion show’,” Mallis said.

Mallis set up a tent in Central Park with famous designers who each brought a couple models.

“That was in the summer; that September I was sent to Paris and Milan to check out [other fashion shows], and I came back and began one-on-one meetings with all the heavyweights [designers] to figure out how we could do [an official Fashion

College.

The program focused on gaining university support for women’s rights and leadership. Hampton, a professor at SUNY Oswego, spoke on the program’s dedication for minority women and her own transformative experiences in academia.

Darrow, director of health promotion at UB, elaborated on institutional struggle and her department’s fight to remain active, as well.

“I think we have a lot to learn from our history. Understanding the importance of education for women about women’s status, and building the quality of a larger world, is still a project that needs to be ongoing,” Darrow said.

The symposium closed with a queer and transgender history panel, which featured speakers such as Ari Moore, a local activist and archivist, and Adrienne Hill of the Buffalo Niagara LGBTQ History Project.

Panelists discussed the transgender and queer community’s difficulty with violence and discrimination, intersectional liberation and transgender inclusivity.

The symposium included a number of Q&A segments, where students, faculty, activists and alumni could share their stories and ask questions. Issues addressed included the imminent shutting down of the queer studies program and wages for UB’s adjunct faculty and TAs. The event was significant to many attendees, such as Jared Auton, a graduate student in the visual studies program at UB who helped set up Friday’s symposium.

“Events like this, especially for a university community of young people and faculty where some of them are activists, it’s really essential to the continued growth and activism of the queer community at large. It tells people not to take their rights for granted,” Auton said.

Other attendees, such as Juhi Roy, a representative of the Graduate Student Employees Union, echoed Auton’s sentiment.

“I didn’t have the privilege of taking classes like this, so these are the events where I learn more and I have a lot of my close friends that are gays and lesbians and belong to the transgender [community],” Roy said.

“I make sure I come and attend these events, because it also allows me to talk about it in some other place where people are not much aware of it.” email: features@ubspectrum.com.

Week],” Mallis said.

The show was held in New York’s Bryant Park and the initiative was named 7th on Sixth, an ode to an AIDS benefit called 7th on Sale, which Mallis was a part of.

The mission of the week, Mallis said, was to “organize, centralize and modernize shows.”

Her proudest accomplishment, however, is her book, “Fashion Lives: Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis.” The book collects interviews with current fashion icons, including Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Donna Karan and more.

She said she is working on a second book of interviews, which could include conversations with models Iman and Cindy Crawford, and designers Valentino and Zac Posen.

Robin Schulze, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said this first talk would be “hard to beat.” “[Mallis] is the perfect example of what I really think is the underlying spirit of this institution,” Schulze said After the interview portion of the events, audience members asked Mallis their own questions.

Stephanie Stewart-Hill, a sophomore psychology major, asked Mallis about the importance of creativity. Stewart-Hill said she loved Mallis’ talk and appreciated her insights during the event.

“Her stories were very relatable. She was always on the edge of something and figuring out things for herself, which I think is a really important part of creativity. I really learned a lot from [Mallis],” StewartHill said. email: kirsten.dean@ubspectrum.com twitter: @KirstenUBSpec

6 | Monday, October 15, 2018

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

ubspectrum.com

Duckwrth FInds the beauty in ‘Uugly’

COURTESY OF THE BLIND YOUTH Los Angeles rapper Duckwrth said he “inevitably” gets his crowds moving. Duckwrth, who is currently on tour, talked with The Spectrum about his musical idols and the current state of hip-hop.

Los Angeles rapper talks Michael Jackson demos, Steve Lacy coming out and creative individuality BRENTON J. BLANCHET MANAGING EDITOR

Nothing is surface level for Duckwrth.

The LA rapper puts meaning behind everything on wax and everything he leaves on the stage. The rapper’s cadence, energy and drive have together captured international attention and expanded his reach. Projects “I’M UUGLY” and “an XTRA UUGLY Mixtape” have earned the lyricist and funk guru slots on international tours and an Anderson .Paak seal of approval. Many creative routes and Andre 3000 comparisons later, Duckwrth is shining on his solo The Falling Man Tour.

The Spectrum caught up with Duckwrth before Wednesday’s show at the Velvet Underground in Toronto to talk about his musical upbringing, passion for all things Michael Jackson, his studio thought process and push for musical individuality.

Q: You’ve attributed your musical upbringing as the basis for your sound.

From looking through your sister’s music collection to hiding under a table during homework hours just to hear your dad’s

band practice, you seemed to have the traits of a curious and passionate kid.

Would you say this curiosity was a good thing?

A: Definitely. Curiosity usually is. It’s like this failed truth that you know is there. It’s like you’re doing anything to unveil it. For me with music, it definitely was that. It’s understanding why music made me feel the way it made me feel. I used to write in my diary when my dad was playing in a band and stuff. I was stoked about it. My main thing was trying to figure out why the hell it made me feel that good.

Q: Your time has come though, and “Michuul” is doing some pretty big numbers. But this wasn’t your first MJinspired track. You have this track “Thrilla” on your Bandcamp from 2012. What’s changed the most for your sound since then?

A: Sharpening my sword. I have a bigger sound pallette. I have a better range. I listen to way more music. … Hip-hop is kind of a simpler performing range of music versus classical. I’m trying to find the most complicated and scale it back. Overall, I’m just trying to find different processes and keep challenging myself and it’s definitely starting to make myself better of an artist.

Q: You mentioned classical music. As

for your sound, genre influences are scattered throughout –– pop, hip-hop, classical, jazz, rock. Does your music taste ever clash with itself when you’re in the studio, or do you go in knowing what type of record you want to make?

A: I don’t. Sometimes it just depends on the vibe. I would say more times than not I definitely have an idea of what I want to do.

But there’s like a good 40 percent of the time where I just go in and be a producer and just talk s--t and just accidentally land on some s--t. I like that process. If you’re too formulaic, then you’re kind of stuck in something.

Something could happen that’s amazing but won’t because you’re trying to make a trap banger.

Q: Going back to Michael [Jackson], with his influences, you can see it through your whole vision. Some tracks reminisce some of his funky “Off The Wall” stuff, and parallels can even be made with your visual work. How long has Michael been an influence for you? Do you remember the first time you heard him?

A: Probably since youth. I just wanted to understand what was the makeup of Michael Jackson, I guess. It was just more so I’ve seen the surface level: this amazing pop singer, dancer and just this global icon. You’re kind of taught to love Michael Jackson in a certain way. I guess my whole thing was like ‘OK, he’s definitely talented and he definitely has this persona and everything like that,’ but I wanted to know why. What is it? Even down to his musical arrangement and s--t.

My homie, he has an original studio session of “Smooth Criminal.” He broke down every layer on every stem and s--t. He was just playing a Michael Jackson vocal. Michael Jackson was singing and when he wasn’t singing, he was beatboxing between the singing.

And then, the whole time while he was singing, he was dancing and stomping. So you would hear the stomping on the ground and he would leave all that in the song. It’s just like, you would never know unless you actually stripped it down. The reason why his songs make you want to get up or make you want

to move is because there’s so much different percussion. It’s coming from his mouth and the production itself and it’s like understanding the magic of something, why you feel it’s magical.

Q: You said you want your music to be the theme song for youth who are going through identity changes. Do you think this is lacking in hip-hop today?

A: Yes and no. I think the narrative remains to be the same in hip-hop in certain ways. But I think people who are making it are looking different. They have different stories. Coming from different ethnicities and backgrounds.

Even who they love. [Last Thursday was] coming out day. Steve Lacy already kind of came out. He came out – again – on his Instagram. Being a black singer or guitar player, even the fact of being a black guitar player, that’s just like all division. Being like him and still immersed within black music and for him to come out as bisexual, I don’t think that would’ve been like praised back in the day. ...

But I feel like that’s definitely changing a lot.

I still hear songs about drugs and guns and stripclubs and s--t like that –– all that surfacelevel s--t.

Q: You play at the Velvet Underground in Toronto on Wednesday. What do you want your audience to take out of a solo Duckwrth show?

A: That’s a great question. I guess my main goal with creating is pushing a certain sense of individuality. … I guess just have fun. Everything’s got to be too serious in life. We get boggled by bills and relationships. You’re kind of taught as you become an adult you can’t really be a kid. They closed Toys R Us, man, what the f--k. Being a kid is becoming harder and harder, you know?

You can have fun in the real world, it’s just about how you take it in really. I think the world itself, despite all the ills, is still quite beautiful. email: brenton.blanchet@ubspectrum.com twitter: @BrentBlanchSpec

CLASSIFIEDS

ubspectrum.com

HELP WANTED HELP WANTED

HOUSE FOR HOUSE FOR RENT

LEARN HOW to make an extra $500 per week doing surveys as a student. Go to CollegeOpportunity.net

4, 5, 6, & 8 BEDROOM REMODELED APARTMENT HOUSES. 37 apartments available located at University Buffalo Main Street Campus off Englewood. Beginning June 2019: UB South Campus for @ $300-$425/ bedroom plus utilities.

Washers & dryers included. Contact bradengel37@gmail.com or Shawn at 716-984-7813 check out our web-site: www.bufapt.com

NOW HIRING!! Experienced kitchen staff. Part-time flexible schedules.

Apply in person. Eagle House 5578 Main St. Williamsville.

Part-Time Positions Available.

Lasertron Family Entertainment Center is currently hiring for general customer service. Working at a fast, detail-oriented pace and having excellent customer service skills is a must. Starting at $12-$14/ hr, must be available nights and weekends. Stop in and complete an application at Lastertron, 5101 North Bailey Avenue, Amherst, NY. APARTMENT FOR RENT APARTMENT FOR

RENT

4, 5, 6, & 8 BEDROOM REMODELED APARTMENT HOUSES. 37 apartments available located at University Buffalo Main Street Campus off Englewood. Beginning June 2019: UB South Campus for @ $300-$425/ bedroom plus utilities.

Washers & dryers included. Contact bradengel37@gmail.com or Shawn at 716-984-7813 check out our web-site: www.bufapt.com 4, 5 & 8 BEDROOM APARTMENTS AVAILABLE NOW!!! $275$325/ bedroom plus utilities.

Apartments are all located at: UB South (Merrimac, Englewood, Main). Spacious Bedrooms, noncoin Washers and Dryers. Newer appliances and Modern Baths and Kitchens. Must See!! Available NOW!!! Website: ubhousing.com Call: 716-881-3040 Email: ardobr@aol.com

SERVICES

Monday, October 15, 2018 | 7

RENT

SERVICES

City A1 drivingschool.com Beginners & brush-up driving lessons. 5hr class $30.00 716-875-4662.

OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3

Baldy Hall | 10:30 am - 1:00 pm Meet with faculty, students and alumni from the academic disciplines of counseling | information | leadership | teaching Learn about our master’s degrees and advanced certificate programs, the admission and financial aid process, and the overall student experience.

REGISTER ONLINE: ed.buffalo.edu/openhouse Questions? 716-645-2110

DAILY DELIGHTS * YOUR SPONSORSHIP HERE * - Call us at 716-645-2152

A D VER TIS E

With The Spectrum

Call 716-645-2152 For Details.

SPORTS

8 | Monday, October 15, 2018

The edge:

Buffalo vs.

Toledo A position-to-position breakdown of the pivotal conference matchup

SPORTS DESK

Football keeps on rolling with its second-straight win Saturday against the Akron Zips.

The Bulls are 6-1 for the first time since 1959 and are bowl eligible only seven games into the season. Buffalo may be on fire, but the Toledo Rockets present one of Buffalo’s toughest challenges in the Mid-American Conference. Toledo (3-3, 1-1 MAC) has talent on both sides of the ball and is coming off a close loss to the Eastern Michigan Eagles (3-4, 1-3 MAC). The Bulls (6-1, 3-0 MAC) will have to be at full strength if they want to keep the game from becoming a shootout.

Quarterback- Pick Em’ Junior Tyree Jackson has been nothing but aces in the pocket this season, but the Bulls are up against arguably the best quarterback in the MAC in Toledo junior Mitchell Guadagni. Guadagni has thrown for 904 yards, 11 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions this season. He is also a dangerous rusher who is coming off a career high 134 yards rushing in the Eastern game. But never sleep on Jackson who is quickly climbing all-time Bulls quarterback records. He has a careerhigh of 18 touchdowns passing this season and 1,543 yards passing in just seven games.

Guadagni was coming off a concussion in the Eastern game. If he is not there at Toledo against the Bulls, it could be a long day for the Rockets. With both players expected to be healthy, it will be the two best at their position in the MAC against each other, so expect fireworks.

REceiver- bulls Even with Jackson having a strong rushing performance against the Zips, the receiving corp is still Buffalo’s best weapon. Junior K.J. Osborn is having a breakout season and had 116 yards against the Zips this past Saturday. Senior star-receiver Anthony Johnson made his return to UB Stadium against Akron and gives Jackson one of the NCAA’s best receiving options to pass to. Add graduate transfer George Rushing and redshirt freshman Charlie Jones, Jackson has even more options in case Toledo double teams Osborn or Johnson. Toledo has a strong option with senior Jon’Vea Johnson, but Buffalo’s pass defense has made strides in recent weeks and will present issues for the entire Toledo pass unit.

Running back - Bulls Buffalo is no longer a pass-only team with the breakout year for both redshirt freshman Kevin Marks and freshman Jaret Patterson.

The two have combined for 443 yards and 3 touchdowns in the last two games. With two reliable options, Buffalo’s run game is the strongest it has been in years. Toledo is a dangerous run team as well, with Guadagni being a good rushing quarterback. Guadagni has led the team in rushing yards in his last two performances and will look to take advantage of Buffalo’s rushing defense, which was exploited in the Army Black Knights (42) game earlier this season. But in terms of actual running backs, Buffalo has the deeper roster.

Coaches - Pick em’ When head coach Lance Leipold admits that he wants to turn Buffalo into a Toledo, you know this is a battle of football mega minds. Leipold is having a breakout season at UB, but Toledo head coach Jason Can-

ubspectrum.com

Bulls win back-to-back on the road Mitrovic leads team with 26-kill performance SPORTS DESK

Volleyball went 2-0 the this past weekend winning Mid-American Conference games against the Western Michigan Broncos and the Northern Illinois Huskies.

Sophomore outside hitter Andrea Mitrovic led the team in kills with 45 combined in the two matches and 26 in the Illinios match. This marked the Bulls’ (12-8, 4-4 MAC) first wins in October after dropping two earlier this month.

Buffalo now sits in third in the MAC East Division trailing behind the Bowling Green Falcons (13-8, 7-1 MAC) and the Miami (OH) Redhawks (15-5, 7-1 MAC).

The Bulls lost to both teams during the opening weekend of MAC play, but have gone 4-2 since the losses.

The Bulls started last weekend Friday night in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with a 3-1 win over the Broncos (13-9, 3-5 MAC).

After dropping a close 25-22 set to start, Buffalo would win the next three sets by three points or less. The hard-fought match was highlighted by three Buffalo FROM PAGE 1

PATTERSON & MARKS from Doak Walker Award candidate junior Emmanuel Reed. In Buffalo’s win against the Central Michigan Chippewas the two were the first freshman duo to each have over 100-yards rushing in the same game for UB since 2002.

“We’re playing for something,” Patterson said. “We’re playing for the Buffalo name on the jersey, that means something.

Relentless every play. We’re playing for the fans, the community. We want the whole community to be right behind us and carry them and make Buffalo known in this nation.”

When Patterson and Marks first arrived on campus they saw the rushing records plaque inside of the Murchie Family Football Center and took a picture with it. Marks told Patterson “we’re trying to break records.”

The two have received support from Starks and Oliver. Oliver is active on Twitter and Instagram calling the duo his “little bros” and telling them to keep working.

Oliver’s only offer out of high school was to Buffalo and he ended up breaking Starks’ rushing record.

Oliver was a redshirt his freshman season, giving him an extra season to develop before reaching the field.

Marks was redshirted last season and Patterson was a grayshirt enrolling in the

Bulls split weekend away Soccer remains .500 in conference play SPORTS DESK

Soccer had its final two away games this season against the Miami(OH) Redhawks and the Ball State Cardinals. Coming off two straight losses, the Bulls needed to rebound to remain close in the Mid-American Conference playoff race.

The Bulls (10-5, 4-4 MAC) opened up dle had his own breakout year last season.

Candle brought the team to a bowl game, won the MAC championship and touted an 11-3 record for the year. Toledo has looked like the same MAC powerhouse this season, excluding last weekend’s Eastern game.

Still, Leipold continues to improve the Bulls with the pass defense recently coming into its own. Both coaches have been in hardfought games before, so expect whoever

WAYNE PENALES | THE SPECTRUM Junior outside hitter Rachel Sanks spikes the ball over the net. The Bulls won both games over the weekend including a five set come from behind win over the Northern Illinois Huskies

players getting double-digit kills.

Buffalo would follow the performance up on Saturday night with a 3-2 win against the Huskies (7-16, 5-3 MAC). It was a back-and-forth game in DeKalb, Illinois that saw the Bulls bounce back from a 2-1 Northern Illinois lead. Buffalo had 10 errors in the first set and nine in the third, both of which they lost. The Bulls

were able to focus and only had six errors in the last two sets combined.

The Bulls will play their next game against the Eastern Michigan Eagles (13-9, 5-3 MAC) Friday at Alumni Arena, with a start time of 6 p.m.

spring. Both gained a season of spring football to train before starting their eligibility.

“Any year in a young man’s life to have another year to develop physically, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically and both have benefitted from that for sure,” said offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. “For them to be able to come in and get a spring before their first year of eligibility is huge.”

Patterson is compared to Oliver, while Marks is compared to Starks, due to their stature. Patterson and Oliver are both under six feet and rely more on agility and a low center of gravity to keep going. Marks uses his speed and strength to hit the holes the offensive line opens up for him.

Like Starks, both want to play for their hometown. Patterson and his brother James both play for the Bulls, with James as a linebacker., at their high school, Saint Vincent Pallotti in Maryland. Jaret Patterson said the brothers turned the football program around. Patterson said the same thing is happening at UB with the current freshman class about to “blow up.”

Marks wants to represent Norfolk, Virginia and former coach Dealton Cotton. “[I’m] just wanting to have my name put out there in the city and the city behind me too,” Marks said. “People look up to you so you want to do the right things. You want to be on the right path to show them

the route.”

Starting running back positions quickly changed during the spring, with multiple players showing promise. Head coach Lance Leipold and his coaching staff saw the potential in the two freshmen and they have yet to disappoint.

Marks rushed for 138 yards in his second game against Temple and 167 yards against Central Michigan. Patterson went for 104 yards against Rutgers and 121 at Central Michigan.

Against Akron’s top Mid-American Conference run defense, the two combined for 155 yards. The Zips give up an average of 145 rushing yards per game.

“I think great backs have the characteristics and ability to break tackles, you see them show great balance, finish runs, gain yards after contact and those guys are doing that,” Kotelnicki said.

Marks and Patterson have bright futures for the Bulls if they run the same way for the whole season. Both are heavily supported by their communities and strive for the same record-breaking goals. The records and attention are nice, according to Marks, but he just want to focus on winning each game.

“We’re just playing the game of football,” Patterson said.

with a 1-0 win against the Redhawks (3-11-1, 1-7 MAC) but lost 1-0 Sunday to the Cardinals (9-3-2, 5-2-1 MAC). Only eight teams will make the MAC women’s soccer playoffs with the Bulls are currently sitting in the eighth position. The Bulls will need to win or tie two of their last three games to secure their spot.

Buffalo’s defense shined in the game against the Redhawks Friday. Sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Walsh scored the sole goal in the first 13 minutes off an assist from freshman defender Tess Ford. Freshman goalkeeper Emily Kelly had five saves on the day while the defense held on to the early 1-0 lead. Despite the Bulls being outshot 10-9,

Buffalo was able to earn the win and snap a two-game losing streak.

The offense was poor on both sides Sunday. The only score of the game was an own goal by Buffalo in the 22nd minute. Kelly made 6 saves on 7 shots while the Bulls were able to get 10 shots with just 3 on net. It was a strong defensive performance by the Bulls again but they lacked offensive pressure without senior forward Carissima Cutrona.

Buffalo has its next game on Thursday against the Toledo Rockets (8-6-2, 4-3-1 MAC). The game will be at UB Stadium with a star time of 7 p.m.

finds a consistent weakness in the other’s’ team to come out on top.

in to its own on both ends of the ball. Despite Toledo’s strong offense, the defense is a different story. The Rockets have given up more than 30 points three times this season against offenses that were not as highly touted as Buffalo’s. It will be on the Toledo offense to keep the Rockets in the game as Buffalo seems primed for a big scoring day.

Defense - Bulls The Bulls are now the number one defense in the MAC after their defense started the season as the weaker link of the team. Thanks to an ever-improving pass defense and a rushing defense that has made big stops when it matters, Buffalo has come

email: sports@ubspectrum.com

email: nathaniel.mendelson@ubspectrum.com twitter: @NateMendelson

email: sports@ubspectrum.com

email: thomas.zafonte@ubspectrum.com

The Spectrum is looking for sports writers, sports videographers, photographers and more. help report during another historic year in UB sports.

Email sports@ubspectrum.com with any questions or ideas.