The Spectrum Vol. 68 No. 5

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THE SPECTRUM VOL. 68 NO. 05 | SEPTEMBER 13, 2018

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

SEPT. 13, 1978 - Administrators within UB’s Food Services locked the doors to the Spaulding Cafeteria exclusively for storage and official university banquets and dinners. Then-contributing editor Harvey Shapiro reported that the cafeteria was the quickest way to travel to each of the Ellicott complexes’ quads. Students responded by trying to pry the doors open to avoid the cold weather.

UBSPECTRUM

Popular app pays users to walk it out

Defense of a legacy: How UB football is honoring a teammate

> SEE PAGE 6

> SEE PAGE 10

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Student Association and discusses budget issues UBIT partner with Top Hat University expenditures will exceed its revenue for the next three years

Contract to save students money on subscriptions

MAX KALNITZ

MAX KALNITZ

SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

The university’s expenditures will exceed its revenue for the next three years, Provost Charles Zukoski and Laura Hubbard, vice president for finance and administration, said at Wednesday’s Faculty Senate Executive Committee meeting. UB’s operating budget for 2018-19 is $760 million, according to Hubbard. While it may seem like a large budget, after distributing it between various outlets such as research, capital projects and renovations, the university will be operating on a deficit. UB’s carry forward balance is roughly $171.1 million for 2017-21, which will be distributed between six outlets, including academic program support, renovation projects and research.

Students can expect increased savings on clicker technology required in many general education classes and large lecture halls. The Student Association and UBIT signed a contract with Top Hat for the fall semester, to save students additional costs. The webbased software tool connects to students’ mobile devices or laptops, allowing professors to take attendance, administer polls, games and quizzes and share notes. Students are typically offered two options in classes that require clicker technology: buy a physical clicker and register it with the class, or buy a subscription to Top Hat, which offers the same services on your phone or laptop. The market price for Top Hat is $26 for

> SEE BUDGET

ISSUE | PAGE 2

SHUBH JAIN | THE SPECTRUM Senate Chair Philip Glick speaks at the beginning of Wednesday’s meeting. Senators and administrators discussed the university’s budget, and about including statements on students’ syllabi about mental health and sexual violence awareness.

Former UB student, high school teammate found dead near Brockport Bodies were found in a burned car NEWS DESK

Former UB student Alexander Burrow, 20, was found dead along with Bruce Kane, 18, Monday morning in Hamlin, New York. Burrow and Kane were teammates at Brockport High School. Burrow was last enrolled at UB in Fall 2017.

The Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office reported the bodies were found with apparent bullet wounds. Investigators are treating it as a double homicide, but the cause of death has not been released. Investigators have yet to announce any possible suspects, but said anyone with information should call the Monroe County tip hotline at (585) 753-4175. email: news@ubspectrum.com

SA signs proclamation for Suicide Prevention Week The Student Association executive board and members of Student Affairs met Monday afternoon to sign an official SA proclamation recognizing Sept. 10-15 as Suicide Prevention Week. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students. The proclamation calls upon UB students, faculty and administrators to recognize what resources are available on campus, and to fight the stigma associated with reaching out for help and using counseling services. “One of the major things that we’re calling upon the university to do, is including the Counseling Services phone number on the backs of student IDs. We’re hoping to get the attention of UB administration this week,” SA President Gunnar Haberl said.

JACK LI | THE SPECTRUM

one semester, $38 annually or $75 for a fouryear subscription. As a result of UB’s contract with the company, the current pricing for students is $23, $34 and $68 respectively. At the UB Bookstore, a Turning Technologies clicker with a four-year subscription is $83. Last year, Vice President and Chief Information Officer J. Brice Bible held open forums on IT matters on both North and South Campus. During one forum, a faculty member asked him when UBIT was going to support Top Hat. “I didn’t know anything about it and so we started looking into it and found that there was a significant number of faculty and students actively using Top Hat,” Bible said. “That planted the seed about working with the company. It really wasn’t until Gunnar [Haberl] reached out that we started going ahead with negotiating a discount.” Student Association President Gunnar Haberl said last spring semester he had to > SEE TOP

HAT | PAGE 2

UBIT reports increase UB debuts newly designed bicycles in scam emails Faculty warns students about fake job offers

New bike design introduced to UB Bikeshare program

MAX KALNITZ

SAMANTHA VARGAS

SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

ASST. ARTS EDITOR

Students are receiving an increased number of fake job offers to their UB email accounts, which are potentially jeopardizing their financial and personal information, according to UBIT. The emails are typically generic, unsolicited, include spelling and grammar errors and offer an unrealistic amount of money for a few hours of work a week. The people who send the emails often don’t provide what company they work for and don’t include job descriptions or specifics, according to Blake Cooper, IT communications specialist. UBIT could not provide how many students are being affected by the scams, but said students have reported an unusually high amount of emails offering fake jobs. Scammers often target freshman and international students, who are less familiar with the ways of the workplace and more likely to fall for a fake job offer, Cooper said. To combat the rise in job scams, UBIT said it will send out emails in the coming weeks educating students about the danger of scam emails. UB has warned students about the dangers of phishing –– an attempt to collect an individual’s online banking, credit card or login information –– in the past, but Cooper said job scams are different. “Phishing is an attempt to get your info but

UB Parking and Transportation Services has partnered with Reddy BikeShare to release 50 newly designed bicycles to be integrated into the UB Bikeshare program. The unveiling was followed by an inaugural ride around North Campus led by Victor E. Bull. The new bikes offer new GPS-enabled technology that can be accessed through its smartphone app. The program at UB charges a $10 yearly fee, along with a $2 per hour charge. UB’s BikeShare program currently

> SEE SCAM

EMAILS | PAGE 4

> SEE UB

BIKE | PAGE 4

SAMANTHA VARGAS | THE SPECTRUM UB’s parking and transportation has partnered with REDDY BikeShare to distribute an additional 50 rentable bicycles on north and south campus. Students and faculty can access the new GPS-enabled bicycles and their locations through the REDDY BikeShare app.


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