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Bulls excited to finish season under coach Wood OWEN O’BRIEN
MANAGING EDITOR
As Athletic Director Danny White continues his national search for the next Buffalo head football coach, the players continue to work toward their goal of a bowl game in 2014. Former head coach Jeff Quinn and the Buffalo players held practice Monday after Saturday’s 37-27 loss to Eastern Michigan. After practice, Deputy Director of Athletics Allen Greene spoke to the players and informed them Quinn would no longer be their head coach. The football team began the season 3-4 and 1-2 in Mid-American Conference play. White pulled Quinn to the side after practice to inform Quinn that his contract would be terminated. “Initial reaction was definitely shock,” said junior quarterback Joe Licata. “We were confused at first but Danny White explained his decision to us yesterday and we are going to rally around coach Wood and we are excited for these last five games.” Alex Wood will be the team’s head coach for the remainder of the season. He was Buffalo’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Quinn. Wood also called the offensive plays this season. The team held a players-only meeting after Greene informed them there would be a “change in leadership,” according to Licata. Licata said the players are responding well to the change. He’s also excited to have the interim head coach sitting in his meetings, as Wood has been in all offensive and quarterback meetings throughout the season. “We’ve had two great team meetings with coach Wood leading the way,” Licata said. “He’s going to tell us how he feels. Whether it’s right or wrong he’s always going to express his own opinion and it’s great.” Wood served as UB’s offensive coordinator for four seasons. Before Buffalo, he was running backs coach at University of Miami for five seasons – including two national championship years. Wood coached in the NFL with the Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals. The team still believes it can make a bowl game. The Bulls will need to win at least four of their last five games of the season to be eligible to play in a bowl game. “The guys are fired up, as always,” Licata said. “Putting it into perspective, this could possibly be these seniors last five games of football ever. We are rallying around those seniors, rallying around coach Wood and we are excited.” The Bulls have been practicing through their bye week and won’t play again until Saturday, Oct. 25. Buffalo hosts Central Michigan (4-3, 2-1 MAC) at UB Stadium at 3:30 p.m. email: sports@ubspectrum.com
Friday, October 17, 2014
Famous author speaks as this year’s second Distinguished Speaker AMANDA LOW
Breaking down Ebola: infographic
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Check out The Spectrum’s latest police blotter
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A spooky rundown of what do ‘Around Town’ this weekend
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Volume 64 No. 23
Wes Moore encourages students to be more than a major
SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
Wes Moore was in The Baltimore Sun for being involved with a robbery-homicide that resulted in the death of a father of five. Wes Moore was in The Baltimore Sun for being a prestigious international scholar. Two men, one name and paths that seemed to start in the same way – yet, one was rewarded with opportunities and the other was not. “I’m a very firm believer that potential in this country is universal, opportunity is not,” said Wes Moore, a best-selling author who spoke before a crowd at Alumni Arena Wednesday. Wednesday evening, author, Army combat veteran and youth advocate Wes Moore spoke to UB students as the Moore, the second speaker of second guest in UB’s Distinguished Speaker Series about taking advantage of higher education and using it to help those in need. this year’s Distinguished SpeakCLETUS EMOKPAE, THE SPECTRUM er Series, targeted his speech toward students, encouraging them the most important question is going to be: South Africa after receiving the Rhodes to help others who aren’t as privileged. The ‘Who did you choose to fight for?’” Scholarship – which is considered the Army combat veteran and youth advocate Moore said buying a new car is like the op- “world’s most prestigious scholarship” by talked about the importance of using op- portunity to go to college. Some choose the Time magazine and the Associated Press – he portunities in higher education to combine “fastest car” yet only drive it at 20 mph. The received a phone call from his mother that passions with the needs of those less fortu- car has more potential. Students do, too. would spur his eventual book. His mother nate. said there were wanted posters in his Balti“Step on the gas,” he said to students. He discussed how his own journey led He pointed to the audience and said there more community seeking “Wes Moore.” him to write his book, “The Other Wes is enough “intellectual capital” in the room The Wes Moore in the posters was a man Moore,” – which embodies a similar theme alone to solve any problem in Buffalo. who was part of a four-person team that to the speech he gave – and helped him real“If the university felt the pinnacle of your robbed a jewelry store and killed a police ofize society’s collective goal is to fight for the life was to be a Bull – that’s the highest thing ficer. “others” who all deserve a chance to suc- you can accomplish – then I can guarantee Moore talked about the group that entered ceed. you that you would have never been accept- the store with guns and mallets, smashing at Moore said there are some people who ed in the first place,” he said. the glass encasements of jewels while pointare standing at a “ledge of greatness” every Moore said the question now is how stu- ing the guns at people to keep them on the day. The problem is, they don’t even know dents are going to use the opportunities be- ground. The four men left the store with a it. These are the “others.” fore them, unlike those who are never even little more than $400,000 worth of jewelry They are the ones who are not able to given the chance to have them to begin with. and headed to the parking lot. have the same higher education opportuniAn off-duty police officer was in the store “The thing you have to figure out and facties, and Moore said it is up to those more tor in is not about what is your GPA, but and working security because he needed to fortunate to walk through these communi- what is your personal GPS,” he said. support his five-child family that just welties to make an impact. Moore wants to make the reason he wrote comed triplets. Moore said the officer went “The most important question you’re go- his book explicit: It was not to create “sym- into the parking lot, kneeling next to cars to ing to be asked will not be what is your ma- pathizers” or to “reexamine fate.” He said see if he could stop the robbers. But the ofjor, because that is ephemeral and that ques- he wanted to understand why the other Wes ficer didn’t realize he was next to the robtion will fade,” he said to the crowd. “The Moore’s fate was “sealed so long before Feb. bers’ car. The men shot him three times and question that you will be asked not just now, 7, 2000” – the day of the crime. the officer died instantly. He was a threethe question you will be asked for the reWhen Moore was studying abroad in time recipient of police officer of the year. mainder of your days on this planet and SEE MOORE, PAGE 6
Molded under pressure John Polanco plots his course to success as a rapper with debut mixtape, The Pressure Book
thing important to the sophomore – a microphone. The lone mic stand with a pair of headphones nestled snugly between the microphone and a concave sheet of foam casts an immaculate presence in the dimly lit dormitory. Polanco stands beside it, bobbing his head to the rhythm of the beat. He lifts his headphones from the stand and places them over his ears. At that moment, Polanco isn’t a college student anymore; he’s in tune with the music. It’s days like this that created The Pressure Book, Polanco’s first mixtape. Polanco, a sophomore communication major, has dreams of selling out shows and being featured on tracks with his rap idols. Every day, the Bronx native devotes time trying to make his dreams come true. “I have to write at least one thing a CLETUS EMOKPAE, THE SPECTRUM day, even if it’s a couple lines,” Polanco Young rapper John Polanco began writing in high school as said. “Sometimes I’ll have writer’s block, a way to escape his daily problems and routines. He continbut I’ll sit down and work through it. I’ll ued to become more serious about rapping and writing and usually do around one verse a week.” released The Pressure Book over the summer. He doesn’t like talking about his problems too much, so he writes about JAMES BATTLE them instead. This practice helped him STAFF WRITER get through his day-to-day struggles in the Bronx. When you first walk into John Polanco’s As a child he would get into trouble, inPorter dorm room, it looks like any oth- cluding being kicked out of school, Polanco er sophomore boy’s living space. There is a said. When he got to high school, he would steady hum from a laptop in the corner and freestyle with his close friend, Scott Midgett. his friends are sitting around playing video It was around their sophomore year of games. His walls are covered with football high school that Polanco and his friends dejerseys and a poster of the New York City cided to organize TNF – The New Frontier. skyline to remind him of his hometown. They started out as a fashion line “making But in the center of the room lies some-
‘merch,” including clothes and accessories, like the wood chains and bracelets Polanco still wears. The chains have a special place in the Bronx rapper’s heart; they represent his roots and how TNF came to be. With members transferring schools and pursuing other hobbies, what started as a clothing brand eventually evolved into a music group. That’s when Polanco “really picked up rapping.” The duo – Midgett and Polanco – would work on their freestyle rap while they were “chilling out,” Midgett said. It wasn’t until junior or senior year of high school that Polanco started writing his lyrics down. Polanco and other TNF members began to focus solely on music, but didn’t record or release any songs until this summer when Polanco launched his mixtape, The Pressure Book. It took more than three years to put the mixtape together. The rapper began honing his craft because he wanted to master his style before it was released. Polanco’s dedication to music became well known to his family and friends after the mixtape’s release. “I [found out about his rap career] not that long ago,” said Barbara Polanco, John’s older sister. “He told me about it last summer. That’s when I first heard him. We’re extremely close with one another. We’re two years apart, but people constantly mistake us for twins.” Although Barbara recently learned about her brother’s passion, she was supportive of his decision to take his music seriously. She became heavily involved with the mixtape and went to the studio with her brother every day. SEE PRESSURE, PAGE 5