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MONDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2017 PAGE 3 “Stop Popping”: How I learned to stay creative How my fourth grade teacher inspired me to be me
VOLUME 67 NO. 10
PAGE 5 October Movie Guide Your monthly collection of cinematic selections…
Spectrum’s Q&A with UB President Satish Tripathi Tripathi discusses Dennis Black scandal, auxiliary enterprises, student leadership, graduate stipends
SPECTRUM EDITORS
SARAH CROWLEY ALLISON STAEBELL & TROY WACHALA, THE SPECTRUM
Q: How often do you meet with students? A: Different settings, different times, whether it’s a football game or it could be an award ceremony. I just gave a talk a couple weeks ago [at a student scholar ceremony]. I spent an hour or so talking about the university and so on. Last year for example I had six or seven dinners with the students on the North and South Campus. This year again I will have some of those. I also go to the Student Union to get my lunch some-
President Satish Tripathi sits with a few of The Spectrum’s editors. President Tripathi discussed the UB Foundation, TA stipends, his relationship with Dennis Black among other campus issues.
times when I have time to get out for lunch. I try to meet with student leadership as well. We had a meeting the other day here. So there are multiple places where I meet with students and it could be almost a daily basis. It could be I’m walking and I meet a couple students there. Q: Last semester we published a story “Isolated: International students not integrated” that talked about the divide between international and domestic students on campus and it had a pretty significant effect on students and UB had a lot of feedback from it. Do you think that the integration between international and domestic students is an important issue to address and do you plan on allocating more funds toward that as the international population continues to grow at UB? A: The divide shouldn’t exist between international or domestic students. And we
have allocated money to the international program to bring the students closer. It’s hard when you come from another country, initially there is some level of hesitation, how do you provide the scenarios so the students feel comforted? It’s not that there’s some kind of barrier there, it’s just how do you encourage [international] students to talk to domestic students and create friendships? I always talk about it at the orientation for international students, being an international student one time, I understand that... There’s quite a bit of funding already in the international office. If you look, the funding’s increased quite a bit in the last few years. Just funding doesn’t do things. You can put more money but if people aren’t actually coming together, that won’t solve the problem. So you need to have special problems where the funding might help but you may not need any funding. So example, this whole Thanksgiving program, it’s not funding, it’s the funding might not help. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
COLLECTING DUST
A fight over how to cover a $29,000 budget shortfall was the latest in a recent wave of turmoil for the Graduate Student Association that included the resignation of its vice president, executive board turnover and accusations of workplace harassment. Students reacted strongly at a Sept. 6 GSA Senate meeting to a tentative budget proposal from Treasurer Anastasia Stepanova that would either cut student services or reduce payments to professional staff by $70,000. Stepanova, a Ph.D. student in linguistics, acknowledged neither option was ideal and said the Senate could decide on any combination of the two. The issue was tabled and will be revisited at the next Senate meeting on Oct. 4. Some constituents feel the suggestion to cut vital staff members’ salaries was inappropriate and contributes further to what has become a hostile work environment for professional staff. Several students said during the meeting the GSA wouldn’t exist without professional staff. The Anthropology Graduate Student Association released a letter calling Stepanova’s proposal “unethical and illegal.”
UB Transportation reinstates some latenight weekend busing Transportation Services offer new Yellow Line shuttle
THOMAS ZAFONTE SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR
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SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
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UB rowing club continues to wait for decision from athletics on cut D-1 teams equipment
It was a surprisingly cold morning on Sept. 29, when sophomore speech and hearing science student Natalie Howk woke up for her 6 a.m. crew practice. Howk arrived to the boat house she once called home as a member of the former D-1 rowing team in the near 40 degree weather. She is welcomed by her new teammates on the club rowing team as she prepares to get on the water as soon as possible. But her teammates aren’t the only greeting she gets in the morning. She can see the unused equipment of the team she once belonged to on her left, outside the boathouse. The crew boats, launch boats and oars Howk used less than a year ago sit outside as the winter season approaches, greeting Howk at every morning practice. “That is really good equipment that we could be using and it is really horrible that the university isn’t doing anything with it,” Howk said. The equipment was left at the boathouse once the team was cut, to be stored until Athletics made a decision on what to do with it. Athletics still has not come to a decision nearly six months later. “It is outrageous, our coach has talked about how we have tried to talk to athletics
Budget proposal sparks concern over GSA workplace environment Professional staff salaries and benefits under consideration to balance budget
SARAH CROWLEY, MADDY FOWLER, MAX KALNITZ, HANNAH STEIN
Q: Can you describe your specific role at the university? What does a typical work day look like for you? A: There’s no typical day in the life that I can walk you through. The president has a team of people he works with for a lot of different issues on the campus, whether it’s what’s going on in the academic side of the house, the business side. But the main job for the president really is that everything’s going right and that there are enough resources to do it...And then of course, anything that goes wrong is my job.
PAGE 8 UB Bulls beat Kent State 27-13 in MAC opener
and Alan Greene about these [boats] and they brush him off every time,” Howk said. The rowing club decided to add women to the roster to continue to give female students an avenue to row following the cuts. The rowing team has nearly doubled in size and has 50 members in total thanks to the decision. The club doesn’t have enough equipment to accommodate the larger team. They are currently renting three crew boats for $2,000 a semester while the D-1 boats sit unused, according to Matt McGregor, rowing club president and junior biomedical engineering major. McGregor also said purchasing new boats can cost up to $30,000, so renting remains the only option for the club. “The boats we get aren’t even women’s boats,” Howk said. “We are using men’s heavyweight boats that were made before I was even born, so it is horrible equipment that makes practicing and racing that much harder… it’s hard to come here every day while the university won’t even let us have the equipment we had.” The club started talking about the equipment when the rowing team was cut in late March because they knew the school would have to do something with the equipment as they had no D-1 rowing anymore. The club knew that the equipment was state property,
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MADDY FOWLER NEWS EDITOR
THOMAS ZAFONTE, THE SPECTRUM
(bottom)The UB boat house with the former Division 1 equipment stored to the side. The club rowing team is working with athletics for permission to use it. COURTESY OF JACOB JORDAN
(top)The club rowing team practicing in the morning on Tonawanda Creek. The club practices six times a week.
so it would have to stay in state. They asked the Student Association about it and setup a meeting months later in mid-August. “They told us not to touch it,” said McGregor. “Athletics said they were working with higher ups at the state to determine what to do with it, I guess it’s a complicated situation.”
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UB reinstated a Yellow Line shuttle between Flint Loop and Main Circle every half hour between 2 a.m. to 6 a.m, effective Sept. 29. UB Transportation announced at the beginning of the semester that it was eliminating late night weekend busing primarily as a way to deter partying in University Heights. The decision was met with outrage and concern from students, parents and community members. UB Transportation Director Chris Austin said the decision to reinstate some weekend busing was due in part to this response. Austin stressed that the shuttle is meant for students using the library and working late. “It’s really designed based on some student feedback and designed to meet a need for students using the libraries, working late in study groups and that type of thing,” he said. The newly reinstated weekend night Yellow Line will operate as a smaller shuttle bus. Previously, the large Stampede buses were used for the Yellow Line. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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Monday, October 2, 2017
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Stepanova said she made it clear the $70,000 cut was a randomly selected value, and said she was not advocating firing the GSA’s two professional staff members, Gena Zimmerman and Stephanie George. The budget proposal came a day after former Vice President Amy Miu resigned, citing medical issues from an untenable work environment. Miu said she was concerned over practices within the current e-board and had received six harassment complaints from staff members during her tenure. “I ask that the graduate student body take care of the organization so that it can remain as a voice for future graduate students, and a recent and genuine concern, to take care of current GSA staff, especially the professional staff, i.e., potential discrimination, intimidation, or harassment,” Miu said in her resignation email. Miu could not be reached for comment. Meanwhile, GSA President Tanja Aho, an American studies student, is on an inca-
UB Transportation reinstates some late-night weekend busing CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
UB shuttle buses seat 25 to 28, whereas Stampedes seat 35 and can stand several more students, according to Austin. He feels a shuttle is more appropriate for this service based on the number of students who use the Yellow Line on other nights of the week during those hours. “We do see that there is a need to provide the service for – and I want to stress—more of a library and study type service to ensure that students still have the ability to use that transit overnight on those nights just like every other night of the week,” Austin said. UB Council Student Representative Mike Brown is pleased with the reinstatement of late night busing on weekends. The change comes after Brown presented his concern about the busing change to the UB Council
at its first meeting on Monday. He explained how he felt the most pressing concern for students is that after 1:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, there would be no official UB transportation between campuses. “It’s great to hear that they seem to approve and I’m glad that all the hard work since August finally made UB listen to student voices and live up to their commitment to safety by ensuring true 24/7 transportation,” Brown said. Brown added his next step is listening to students about this new change and seeing if they have any further concerns that would like to be addressed. SA President Leslie Veloz feels the reinstatement of some transportation for students on weekend nights is a “step in the right direction.” “There is still a lot more that needs to
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“It hasn’t been approached sensitively,” Schechter said. “It hasn’t been approached in a way that our employees feel safe in their jobs.” Increased scrutiny of personnel costs is driven partly by an increase in graduate students requesting research funds through the GSA budget. “When you look at a budget and see two people who take up a portion of the budget, you think, ‘I want more funding and I can’t get funding from anywhere else, of course cut these people,’” Schechter said. The problem then becomes how to explain to busy, underfunded graduate students the indispensable nature of professional staff, Schechter said. Biermann said she thinks many graduate students are simply too busy to grasp these budgetary issues. “There’s been a lot of discussion lately about how our personnel costs are one-fifth to one-third of our budget,” Schechter said. “We’re a nonprofit organization: of course this is a fifth of our budget, we need them in order to go on existing. Gena’s been here 45 years. She knows exactly how to continue operating the GSA. Coming in as a new officer, I don’t have that same knowledge, I have to go to them. They have to train me to do my job.” Ariel Noffke, a Ph.D. student in the anthropology department, co-signed AGSA’s
letter, which criticized cutting professional staff. “I don’t think we should preserve the fact that we get pizza at every Senate meeting over people’s jobs. Some things should go first, and I don’t think it should be this,” Noffke said. Schechter said she feels the budget shortfall was inaccurately presented as a crisis, when this is just the nature of non-profits, she said. “You’re always pulling a hundred here and a hundred there to cover things and reallocate things in non-profits,” Schechter said. Schechter said she has formulated several budgets which don’t require cuts to student services or staff. She said she will submit them to the GSA’s financial committee before Wednesday’s Senate meeting. “No one with Stephanie’s background and knowledge would take the job for what we pay,” Schechter said. “What do you think she’s worth to you? Not the number on this piece of paper. This isn’t how you run a business or how you manage staff.” Schechter will make the case to GSA’s Senate on Wednesday to keep professional staff salaries out of the budget discussion.
change but seeing UB hear student’s concerns and find a solution for it is a welcome change,” Veloz said. “I hope UB Administration will continue to meet with students to see what they can do to meet their needs.” Daniel Edwards, a sophomore exercise science major, does not believe a small shuttle bus is sufficient to meet commuting students’ needs. “I don’t see how one shuttle that fits only 25 people could successfully transport our late night commuters,” Edwards said. “Maybe a rotation of about five shuttles would do the job, but I feel like only having one could cause a little chaos for the students who travel back and forth from North to South on weekends.” Jaycee Miller, a sophomore political science and environmental design major, is sympathetic to the concerns of University Heights residents. However, she does not
necessarily think swapping a Stampede bus for a small shuttle is the best solution. “People deserve to sleep peacefully knowing their property is safe,” Miller said, “But I think there are different steps that the university could take to redirect student social life and better community relations in the Heights.” Miller is concerned that bus drivers might try to deny transportation to visibly drunk students in an attempt to deter partying. “I think that puts students in danger. Students don’t deserve to be left on the streets because they make poor choices,” Miller said. Brown would have preferred a Stampede bus, but believes having a shuttle is a good place to start. “It ensures both that residents aren’t disturbed by crowds of students in the streets and that students always have a safe way home,” Brown said.
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pacity leave due to immigration issues, she announced at the meeting. Jen Schechter, a Ph.D. linguistics student, was appointed interim president. Stepanova said she values the permanent staff and doesn’t have a personal agenda or issue with them. She said in the past, students were misled to think professional staff ’s salaries couldn’t be adjusted. “At no time was it ever suggested that we fire permanent staff,” Stepanova said.“However, I do not morally agree to only present cuts to the student programs and increase fees, which has been done on a regular basis, without being transparent as to which lines the Senate has control to adjust.” Rebecca Biermann, a Ph.D. student in physical anthropology, said she doesn’t think it makes sense to cut professional staff ’s salaries. “You can’t actually anticipate that reducing the amount [spent on professional staff] would save you money,” Biermann said. “Because they would quit, and rightfully so. They do everything for us. At the last meeting, we literally couldn’t get the projector to run without them. Nothing works, down to the littlest thing, nothing works without them.” Schechter said she is concerned how staff will interpret these proposals.
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OPINION THE SPECTRUM
Editorial Board EDITOR IN CHIEF
Hannah Stein
MANAGING EDITORS
David Tunis-Garcia Maggie Wilhelm COPY EDITORS
Saqib Hossain Dan McKeon Emma Medina NEWS EDITORS
Sarah Crowley, Senior Maddy Fowler FEATURES EDITORS
Max Kalnitz, Senior Lindsay Gilder, Asst. ARTS EDITORS
Benjamin Blanchet, Senior Brenton Blanchet, Asst. SPORTS EDITORS
Danny Petruccelli, Senior Thomas Zafonte, Senior Jeremy Torres, Asst. MULTIMEDIA EDITORS
Troy Wachala, Senior Allison Staebell, Senior CREATIVE DIRECTORS
Pierce Strudler Arielle Channin, Asst. Alyssa Brouillet, Asst.
Reinstating some weekend night busing great example of compromise, communication Busing decision shows power of student voices The Spectrum commends UB Transportation’s decision to bring back weekend night busing. At the beginning of the semester, UB Transportation Services announced that it was eliminating the weekend “drunk bus” in an effort to deter disruptive partying in University Heights. The decision was made without student input and students were angry and concerned. For the first four weeks of the fall semester, there was no official university transportation between North and South Campuses, leaving South Campus residents who worked or studied on North Cam-
pus potentially stranded. The reasoning behind the decision was understandable—University Heights residents were sick and tired of drunk and disorderly students destroying their property, throwing bricks in windows and disrupting residents’ quality of life. But completely eliminating all weekend night busing without student input was the wrong approach. Following this decision, concerned student leaders pleaded with administrators and opened up a dialogue with University Heights residents. The fact that the univer-
“Stop Popping”: how I learned to stay creative How my fourth grade teacher inspired me to be me
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THE SPECTRUM Monday, October 2, 2017 Volume 67 Number 10 Circulation 4,000 The views expressed – both written and graphic – in the Feedback, Opinion and Perspectives sections of The Spectrum do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board. Submit contributions for these pages to The Spectrum office at Suite 132 Student Union or news@ubspectrum.com. The Spectrum reserves the right to edit these pieces for style and length. If a letter is not meant for publication, please mark it as such. All submissions must include the author’s name, daytime phone number, and email address. For information on adverstising with The Spectrum, visit www.ubspectrum.com/advertising or call us directly at 716-645-2152 The Spectrum offices are located in 132 Student Union, UB North Campus, Buffalo, NY 142602100
It has been hard to stay in touch with family and friends as a senior. Nonetheless, like most college students, I always attempt to call home during my off-times. This past summer, in one of my many phone calls with my mother, she reminded me of a dreaded moment during fourth grade. The moment is probably nothing for most people but for myself – a self-conscious young man with an obtuse mind – it hurt. My fourth grade teacher called me out for what he liked to call “popping.” The only definition of “popping” I recognized growing up was if something looked fresh. Aside from that, this new definition by my teacher confused me. My classmates and I were all huddled in the back of the room for an
exercise of sorts, discussing something we had learned. What we were discussing doesn’t matter but what transpired next has replayed in the back of my mind since. My teacher asked a question and I followed his question up with an answer, in “typical Ben fashion,” as many of my friends would call it. My answer was abstract, I went off on another one of my typical tangents – but my point must’ve been brilliant, even though I forgot the details of it. My teacher decided, instead of a respectful response, to call me out. “Your answers are like popcorn, Ben, they’re going all over the place,” he said. “We should have a word for it, I think. I call it popping - stop popping, Ben.” The whole class stared, some snickered. I had been bullied like any skinny, not overly-performative masculine boy would be in elementary school. This moment, however, stood out. I got back home and told my mother about it immediately. She reassured me there’s nothing wrong with answering a question and grossly withdrawing from my original point. This still hurt, however, since this was the first teacher that introduced me to journalism. I was thrust into writing for my school’s first-ever newspaper alongside my brother Brenton who drew comics. It was sweet as
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Spectrum Editor: In a Sept. 26 story, “Students, faculty hold rally demanding fair graduate stipends,” The Spectrum reported that over a hundred members of the UB community marched to Capen Hall to demand that UB pay its RAs and TAs a living stipend. After he received their petition, Provost Charles Zukoski said, “It is difficult for me to reach in at the provost level and just say, pay them more.” When they hear this sort of argument, people sometimes remember UB’s billion-dollar endowment, the UB Foundation (UBF). They wonder why so many of UB’s graduate students have to go into debt and onto food stamps while they study, research and teach—the vital work of any university. Provost Zukoski responds by saying his hands are tied: “all the money that goes into the UB Foundation (UBF) is determined by the donors,” according to the article. It’s an old argument. It’s also untrue. In the fiscal year
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2015-2016, the UBF gained $111 million in new revenues, with $100 million available for immediate “unrestricted” spending. Only $6 million of this would have been enough to lift impoverished RAs and TAs to their requested bare-bones stipend level of $21,310. President Tripathi and Provost Zukoski like to pretend that such a thing is impossible, blaming others for TA and RA poverty. But they know they could end it tomorrow with the stroke of a pen. They themselves, and nobody else, draw up the budgets for UB and the UBF. It’s the obvious thing to do: someone with the responsibility for solving a problem and the power to do so should get to work. It’s the decent thing to do; and for impoverished adjuncts as well as TAs and RAs. And it’s the smart thing too, given that UB’s longterm academic reputation depends on graduate student teaching and research. A little empathy might be
sity responded to the diligent activism of students on this issue shows that student voices matter, and the university takes students concerns seriously. However, this conversation should have happened before the buses were eliminated in the first place. Students should always have a seat at the table in decisions that impact us. Had this conversation happened before the semester started, students would not have been potentially placed in harm’s way while the administration, students and University Heights residents debated the issue. The decision to introduce a small shuttle bus that seats a maximum of 28 students is an ideal compromise; it gives students who live on South Campus who are working and studying on North Campus a safe ride home, while deterring partiers. It takes into account the concerns of both stu-
dents and community members, and is a great step in improving university-community relations. It also shows that UB administration is willing to listen to student voices. This decision sets several positive precedents; it highlights the importance of students advocating for issues they believe in. It shows that our voices matter. It demonstrates that students can stand up and truly make a difference in our university community. It also shows that compromise can be achieved in the historically strained relations between UB students and University Heights residents. The Spectrum is pleased to see the UB administration finally showing in actions rather than just empty rhetoric that they care about students and take our concerns seriously. We hope to see this trend continue.
could be and I loved every second of it; my name in print, even if it was on an elementary school level. The newspaper was barely anything, though, even if my teacher’s efforts to bring it to the school were big-time. The newspaper never ran on time and my brother’s comics were shoddily scanned on a school printer. I remember one instance where I wrote a preview of NCAA March Madness that ran in the paper. The paper’s release, however, coincided with the NCAA men’s basketball final and still ran. If my teacher was going to allow any creativity in the classroom, it would be at his own pace. He often gave me money to go grab him a Mountain Dew soda in the nearby teacher’s lounge. I thought it was a special task to complete but looking back, I could see it was an excuse for me to get out of his hair. After the fourth grade, I tried to modify my “popping” abilities with no luck. It was stressful and at times anxiety provoking. How could I live up to my educator’s expectations? The answer to that question is non-existent. Elementary school went by and middle school brought some of my favorite childhood memories. I asked myself if I would finally find a teacher who would encourage my creativity and to my luck, I did. Mr. Leight, my seventh and eighth grade English teacher, acted as a renaissance man as far as teaching is concerned. It took me until college to find an educator as passionate as him; someone who brought fun and creativity into the classroom. Mr. Leight played music during
our study halls, walked us through his experience at the inauguration of then-President Obama in eighth grade and also started my school’s comic club. As a kid who loved to draw, his club created a space for me to express that creativity. Other students and I took our talents to an art space downtown, even having our comics displayed during an exhibit at the end of the school year. To say Mr. Leight made me come to terms with my “popping” abilities would be an understatement. Other teachers, like my former social studies teacher Mr. Smith, did the same. Mr. Smith and his book club filled my life with joy, engrossing myself in books like “Slam!” by Walter Dean Myers and eating pizza every Tuesday. He helped in expanding my love for history and politics, even gifting me with a pin of President Obama during the 2008 Presidential election. Mr. Smith, Mr. Leight and so many others are living reasons why education - education that cares about the individual rather than the group - matters. They’re reasons why “popping” matters, why the arts matter and why being outof-the-box is never a bad thing. “Popping” has got me further than I could ever imagine, further than not “popping” at all. I’ll “pop” forever and never look back, encourage the next generation to “pop” and look for signs of “popping” in every article or book I read. So, if you’re reading this, I’ll never stop “popping.”
helpful here. When the president and provost think back to their own graduate student days, they may be able to picture how hard it is to do good research when you are working two extra jobs while worrying about childcare, eviction and mounting loan debt. Where does UBF money go instead? That’s hard to say exactly, given that its board members, including the president and provost, claim the right to spend it without public oversight. What we do know is that, in 2015-2016, the UBF spent over $8 million dollars on secret contracts and almost $40 million on secret salaries and bonuses. SUNY’s Auditor and its Board of Trustees are currently seeking full disclosure on where the money goes. For some reason, the lawyers of UB and the UBF are resisting. It’s almost as if they have something to hide. But they will fail, thanks partly to former UB Vice President Dennis Black. As readers of The Spectrum know, Mr. Black was convicted last month of embezzling
$320,000 from the Faculty Student Association: an organization similar to the UBF, but much smaller. It was a serious crime and it deserves a serious punishment. But the exponentially larger secret expenditures at the UBF, even if they are technically legal, also deserve our attention. These days, “Trust us!” doesn’t carry the weight it used to. The audit will probably go public in November. In the meantime, President Tripathi and Provost Zukoski could start doing the right thing by paying UB TAs and RAs a living stipend. What’s the ethical alternative? In a pinch, a Walmart CEO who forces his low-wage workers onto food stamps can blame his bad behavior on greedy stockholders. But what’s the excuse for a president and provost who do the same thing at a great public university?
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Spectrum’s Q&A with UB President Satish Tripathi CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Q: The campus is still in shock from the Dennis Black situation. Many students feel he was the most friendly and accessible face. Arguably, he was the first person many students met when starting their journey at UB. What was your relationship like with Dennis Black? Did you have a personal relationship with him? A: It was shocking to me, it was sad. It’s sad not only for him but for the whole university community here. My relationship to him was, you know, not a friendship relationship but we were pretty close. Once every few weeks we met, I was at different functions with him and so it was, it was reasonably close relationship as I have with my vice presidents. Definitely as you know we have a new person now, Scott Weber, and he’s as active, if not more, with the students. And I think to the students, definitely it was a shock as well as many of you knew Dennis Black quite well. It is really sad and it’s something that I never expected. I still feel sort of betrayed, not just for me but for the entire campus. Q: Who was in charge of overseeing Black? Who oversees you in your position as president? A: Sure, it was my job, I’m the president, vice president is underneath me. I have multiple people who oversee my position. The Chancellor, the Board of Trustees, I have a council here. So I have people who oversee me. Q: How did something like this happen? A: This is more complicated than just “overseeing.” If you think about it, the FSA is kind of an outside organization, not directly reported to me. The activities that were kind of illegal happened outside of the campus, and it’s only because I said, ‘I’m not getting something,’ and that really led to the investigation. As soon as I became hired, the first person I hired was Laura Hubbard. She got the person to do the audits, the internal audits that weren’t in great shape before. So me, not getting the information I was supposed to get, that’s when we looked into it further, and it turns out it was outside. But you know you could have the best policies and the best system in place, and there will always be people trying to do something. You can’t monitor two people for every person that you hire. So the point is if you find something what do you do and make sure that doesn’t happen again. We’re hoping the actions that we’ve taken will really make it bullet-proof. Q: When did you discover that Black was not submitting travel vouchers? A: I discovered he was not submitting travel vouchers sometime around January or February of 2016. When we found out about the Dennis Black stuff, we followed full protocol from the SUNY auditors and then we talked to the [Inspector General]. It’s the [Inspector General] office that then took over and they actually found out what else was going on. Q: How will UB spend the over $300,000 in restitution money Black is paying back to the university? A: That was money owed to the university. It will be used for all kinds of purposes,
COLLECTING DUST CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Athletics never gave the team a reason why they couldn’t use the equipment before the meeting. The possibility that the equipment could go to another SUNY school had crossed McGregor’s mind, yet he feels the school would prefer to keep the equipment at UB. “Now they are working with SA to get the equipment to us or at least that is what they told us,” McGregor said. Athletics must talk with the state about
There’s tuition, you’ve got the health benefit and everything else combined, that’s $38,000. Q: Do you support public officials serving on private board such as the UB Foundation that aren’t subject to open government laws? A: Yes, of course, if it’s beneficial to the university. They are part of a community, the university is not totally isolated. We are OK with having [public officials] there as long as it is really supporting the university, enhancing the university in terms of its reputation. I serve on the [UBF] board because by position I serve on that board; the President serves on that board as an exofficio member.
ALLISON STAEBELL, THE SPECTRUM
The Spectrum Editor in Chief Hannah Stein (left) sits down with President Tripathi (right) to discuss campus issues.
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It’s very important to re-build that trust and one of the ways to build trust is to know that we have the checks and balances and show them that they are working and talking to them like I’m talking to you and talking to student leadership and making sure that the trust is built. It’s going to take some time because this happened, and I understand that. - Satish Tripathi
”
including whether we need to do some renovations to facilities or whether we need to hire some students, it will be used for university purposes as it was meant to be. Once the restitution money comes back to the university, there’s a process for allocation that’s run by the Provost and the Vice President for Finance and Administration, they actually have a whole budget allocation process. Every unit on the campus prepared their budget and it is based on the money available and the priorities that are defined. And they are looking at every area on the campus. Q: In light of Black’s crime, how do you plan to regain the UB community’s faith in you? A: It’s very important to re-build that trust and one of the ways to build trust is to know that we have the checks and balances and show them that they are working and talking to them like I’m talking to you and talking to student leadership and making sure that the trust is built. It’s going to take some time because this happened, and I understand that. Q: Roughly 150 students and faculty marched in demand of a living stipend Monday afternoon. Graduate assistants provide the instruction and research that the university needs to operate, yet are not paid enough to meet the rising cost of living in Buffalo. What do you plan to do to address this issue? A: We’ve been addressing this for a while, multiple departments have been working on it. If you look at it nationally compared to other public universities, we are in the middle for how much stipend we provide. We can always provide more, and we want to provide more, and that’s why multiple departments are trying to increase it. There’s not a sort of branch somewhere that you can put the money in and also you’ve got to
what to do with the equipment as it is state property, according to McGregor. Yet he still is unsure why it is taking so long. The boats will remain unused outside the boat house until Athletics comes to a decision. The Spectrum attempted to reach out to Athletics to comment on the situation but they have not responded by the time of publication. This waiting couldn’t be harder on the team. The recent growth is making the equipment all the more necessary. “Last year we could only take out two [boats] and now we are always taking out more than 16 people every day and that’s a huge deal,” said sophomore environmental geoscience/geographic information sciences student Sadie Kratt. Kratt enters her second year on the team
increase the stipends in order to get the best students, otherwise you won’t get them. It’s really in the best interest of the university to be competitive. And we are competitive, but not really extremely competitive. So you want to really make sure we get the best students so the undergraduate students who interact with them get the best from students. It’s not a full-time job for somebody to say that it’s a living stipend. It’s a stipend. And a stipend is not a job as such. But at the same time, as a graduate student-I have been a TA as a graduate student-but it’s the training that one goes through, training to teach as well. And as the vice provost had said, there is a plan to address the issue. So this is a priority to get the best students and to make sure we get the Ph.D. students who come and do well and then they graduate in time and they’re not here for ten years. And then they graduate and they get a job, so we train them to really get a job as well. If in certain fields there aren’t as many jobs available, why are we having so many Ph.D. students as well? We need to look at the whole demand and supply issue, but also the quality issue; we need to get the best students. Actually the reputation of the institution is based on the kind of PhD’s we produce, so it’s important for us. Q: So, just to clarify, you said being a TA is not technically a job, but graduate students are doing a significant amount of labor for the university. Do you feel they should be compensated accordingly for the amount of labor they contribute? A: It’s a $38,000 package once you combine everything. So if you just think about it, it’s not labor in the sense that not everybody can do it. As a Ph.D. student you are under the supervision of faculty, there’s a lot more to it. And if you look at the total package, it’s pretty decent, but it can always be better, they should get more money. But still, if you think about the labor, that’s really a fairly good size package.
as a coxswain and feels the new additions to the team have created more of a demand for boat space. Kratt feels these new boats could help with needed space and hopes they can find more appropriately sized boats. Paige Quinlan, a first year grad student who works as coaching assistant for the team, sees the equipment as more than just something better to row in. “It would be nice to have boats more suited for women so we could draw more people in,” Quinlan said. “Hopefully we could have a bigger crew and be able to support that with these boats.” Quinlan said it has been a goal of the club to grow and be gender inclusive after the women’s rowing team was cut. “It is nice to see us as one team coming together and growing together,” Quinlan said.
Q: Vice President of Finance Laura Hubbard said auxiliary enterprises such as FSA are in a separate corporation because “by virtue of the type of business they do, it doesn’t work well in the state agency business department” -- What does this mean? Why doesn’t the type of business they do work well in the state business department? Isn’t the UB Foundation part of UB? A: Auxiliary enterprises like FSA exist at many campuses, I don’t know why it was established that way, but it was established by the state. You are dealing with the food services and university shops and so on, you’re hiring a lot of temporary workers and you go through a state process that would be harder to manage actually, but they must have thought about it years ago what the problems were. Q: How is it possible for an organization such as FSA to manage state and student funds, but still not be required to follow open government laws? A: [FSA] is not managing state funds. The money is not coming from the state. If you think about it, the money for FSA is the money for food, the service that’s provided. State loan money is separate. You’re spending that money. If you’re getting a loan, that’s your private money—you have to pay for it. And the state doesn’t ask you to go and buy the books right there, you have options here. Other people who don’t get state money are also buying things. That money is your money. Once you get the money from the state as a loan because you’ve got to pay for it. So if you think about it, you could take that money and buy your food somewhere else. You don’t have to be on the meal plan…but if you’re living here, that’s part of the package for the dorms, if you live here, your food is here as well. Q: Do you think student journalism is important? Why or why not? A: I think it is important for you to learn things, and many of you will be journalists as you go on, so that’s good, but it’s actually good for the university because you definitely are a group of journalists who are looking after the interests of the students, the society and so on. And you keep reminding us why we’re here, and really these probing questions are important for all of us to be really thinking and doublethinking. You really bring a perspective which is very important, and whether you’re doing investigative journalism, activism or whatever it is. You really have a point of view that’s important. email: eic@ubspectrum.com
The new members are settling into the team already, even with some of them coming off the loss of the D-1 team. “It has been a lot to handle, but it has been good,” Howk said. “The guys on the team have made it really easy, they took us in and made us comfortable to be here again.” McGregor plans to focus on the team and hopes things turn out in their favor, now with the fall season firmly underway. “I think that things will work out well and we will get the equipment in the long run,” McGregor said. “Hopefully by next season or next year we have access to full equipment and focus on building the team and not on equipment issues.” email: thomas.zafonte@ubspectrum.com
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT THE SPECTRUM
Charles Gayle lustrously performs at Hallwalls Jazz musician serves intimate, avant-garde performance downtown BENJAMIN BLANCHET SENIOR ARTS EDITOR
TOUSSAINT CHEN, THE SPECTRUM
Charles Gayle, a free jazz multi-instrumentalist, performed at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center on Friday night. The artist, whose career spans as far back as the ‘60s, intimately played with expression in mind on the piano and saxophone.
Limitless expression filled the room as jazz artist Charles Gayle proved his local legend at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center on Friday. Over 40 people attended the musician’s solo performance, the second concert of Hallwalls’ fall season. Gayle, a free jazz multi-instrumentalist, delighted in his travels from saxophone to piano in a performance that encompassed nearly two hours. Gayle quickly jumped to a saxophone number after he was introduced. A range of low to high notes echoed throughout the secluded venue. Deep notes soon took over and after a stroll of applause, the artist jumped back to making his sonic intricacies clear on the sax. Gayle often reached to audible depths on his saxophone, emitting dark pitches through his shiny gold instrument. Gayle’s free roam on the saxophone pleased the crowd and as an expressionist, improvisations seeped through in his performances. “I try not to plan a program of what to [play]. I have different things in my head because I want it to be ‘spur of the moment,’” Gayle said. “I want to surprise myself and not get too much into one thing, I get up and
wonder what I’m going to do and it works.” The musician’s career has spanned over 50 years. He performed at Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory in the ‘80s and overseas in more recent years. Gayle, a 78-year-old player and Hallwalls’ veteran, considers himself a better musician in his older age. “I feel pretty good at this age about improvising, taking chances with the music, because that’s what I want,” Gayle said. “When I came in here, I didn’t know what I was going to do and I want that. It pushes you, you have to do it. “ Gayle, a former UB professor, showcased his improvisation skills on Friday but his approach looked calculated throughout his show. After a handful of saxophone pieces, Gayle raised a storm of sound on his piano. In skilled fashion, the artist carried himself and his instrument by utilizing everything from his voice to his forearm to play. Kathie Menduni Aspaas, a local artist from East Aurora, said experiences like Gayle’s performance supplements creativity and experimentation. “I never heard of him before this but I’ve attended avant-garde performances,” Menduni Aspaas said. “There’s something about this [style] that fosters creativity and Gayle’s saxophone playing reminded me a lot of the Taj Mahal [Travellers], they make the guttural kind-of sounds whenever they play which Gayle used too.” Gayle inverted his songs to more gloomy sounding regions between beautiful, romanticized sections. The performer hit strings with one hand while parading his fingers on
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the keys with the other. Gayle made his voice heard before intermission. He added to an already heavy cut with a spread of words. The artist pleaded “help” and chanted “one day you wake up, you old.” His vocalization showcased the artist’s joys and pains. Gayle continued with delightfully frightening, jazzy renditions after intermission. He stopped during a brief musical skit saying “that’s good enough.” In the performance’s key moment, Gayle moodily played his piano, asking why people are dying and preaching the Golden Rule. “It’s not a political statement, it is what it is, love one another as you want to be loved,” the artist said. Gayle hurried his hand up and down his piano’s scale, focusing in on a conclusion to his dazzling, uninhibited drive as the performance entered its final minutes. After finalizing his performance and soaking in cheers, Gayle gave a brief speech on the importance of health, adding that he hopes his performance touched everyone in attendance. Steve Baczkowski, the music director at Hallwalls, said the performance by Gayle on Friday is not something that a music recording can adequately capture. “Gayle is from Buffalo and that has its own significance and he’s always been someone who has stood out as far as his honesty and intensity of his music,” Baczkowski said. “We support this kind of music and Hallwalls has always been a place for jazz and improvised music programming. Gayle is a singular individual, his relationship with the global scene and his connection to Buffalo – it makes sense for him to [perform] here.” email: benjamin.blanchet@ubspectrum.com
October Movie Guide Your monthly collection of cinematic selections… DAVID TUNIS-GARCIA MANAGING EDITOR
The season has changed and so have the offerings at the box office. Unlike the summer weather, the season’s blockbusters don’t seem to be sticking around. Instead we’ll be treated to some more seasonable hard scifi, Oscar bait and the token horror releases. “Blade Runner 2049” Oct. 6
The sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 cyberpunk classic, “Blade Runner,” comes to us 35 years later from director Denis Villeneuve (“Sicario,” “Prisoners”). The film follows Officer K. K is an LAPD Blade Runner, a cop assigned to hunt and kill replicants or bioengineered androids made to look human and serve society. Played by Ryan “The Goose” Gosling, K stumbles upon a case that leads him to Niander Wallace, a genuine weirdo and replicant manufacturer portrayed by Jared Leto doing some capital “A” acting. Making his return to the franchise is professional mumbler, grumpy grandpa Harrison Ford, who starred in the original as Rick Deckard, a now-retired Blade Runner. Ford can’t seem to escape his past-roles in recent years, returning for “Star Wars: Episode VII” in 2015 and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” in 2008 where he passed on the franchise torch to Daisy Ridley and Shia LaBeouf, respectively. One of those worked out better than the other. Here’s hoping The Goose proves a worthy heir.
wakes up again on the morning of her birthday with full knowledge of what happened leading up to her awakening. She decides the only way to break the cycle is to stop her serial killer and uncover his identity. The script was written by Scott Lobdell, the man who spearheaded the X-Men comic books in the late ‘90s. This is not his first foray into the world of film. He wrote several episodes of the “X-Men” and “Godzilla” animated series along with receiving a story credit for the 2005 film “Man of the House” starring Tommy Lee Jones. “Marshall” Oct. 13
“Marshall” may seem like your standard biopic play for an Oscar, but there’s more. It is your standard biopic play for an Oscar, filmed right here in Buffalo, NY. Chadwick Boseman stars as a young Thurgood Marshall, the first black U.S. Supreme Court Justice along with Josh Gad as Sam Friedman, an insurance lawyer whom Marshall chooses to work with him in order to win over white jurors. The film follows Marshall on one of his earliest cases in which he defended a black man (Sterling K. Brown) after he was accused of raping and attempting to murder a white woman in the year 1940. After beginning principal photography in LA, production of “Marshall” moved to Buffalo in the spring of 2016 where it was filmed at Buffalo City Hall, Buffalo Central Terminal, Daemen College and Niagara Falls.
COURTESY OF WARNER BROS. PICTURES
This month’s theatrical releases offer a seasonal selection as varied as the fall weather.
“Happy Death Day” Oct. 13
Christopher B. Landon, the writer of the last four “Paranormal Activity” films, would like to wish audiences a “Happy Death Day” with his horrific twist on the classic Bill Murray film “Groundhog Day.” It’s Tree Gelbman’s (Jessica Rothe) birthday. Her birthday gift? Murder at the hands of some creep in a baby mask, again and again. At the moment of her death, Tree
“Suburbicon” Oct. 27
George Clooney is very hit or miss as a director. When he misses, we get lethargically nostalgic snooze-fests like “The Monuments Men.” But when he hits we get farcical crime films like “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,” which is up there with any of the entries the masters of the farcical crime film, the Coen Brothers, have made into the genre. Luckily, Joel and Ethan Coen co-wrote
“Suburbicon” along with Clooney and Grant Heslov, a frequent Clooney collaborator. The film stars Matt Damon as a resident of the titular town. Suburbicon is a peaceful community, like something out of a ‘50s sitcom. That is until Damon’s wife is killed by a loan shark. Damon soon finds himself and his son entangled with the mob. Complicating matters further is the arrival of Roger, an insurance investigator played by Oscar Isaac, who is look-
ing into the death of Damon’s wife. Obvious suburban satire aside, the film looks to be an exciting return to the overthe-top comic violent romps that the Coen’s and Clooney do so well. email: david.garcia@ubspectrum.com
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
THE SPECTRUM
Sweeping away the competition Buffalo Quidditch unites Harry Potter fans and athletes alike BRENTON J. BLANCHET ASST. ARTS EDITOR
Buffalo Quidditch has been turning heads on campus for over half a decade with their broomstick-involved play. The Harry Potter-inspired sport is an amalgam of several other sports with a fantastical twist. While its origins are fictitious, the game is very real to its practitioners who play with all of the intensity of the fiercest Death Eater. Buffalo Quidditch is a community team and is part of the Snowbelt Conference, which consists of colleges from the Western New York area. The team faces RIT, Syracuse, Nazareth and Cortland among other schools. Brian Scimeca, a senior business administration major, serves as the team’s captain. He isn’t a “Potter” fan, but still takes pride in the sport and its roots. “I read up to the second book and I got bored through the third and stopped,” Scimeca said. “Somehow, I’m captain of the Quidditch team without really liking ‘Harry Potter.’ We’re not a ‘Harry Potter’ fan club as much as a sport, but we know where we came from.” The intricacies of the game can seem overwhelming, initially, but some may find it easily comparable to other popular sports. Quidditch is played on a field similar to soccer and football, with seven players per team and three balls are in play at all times. Each team has three chasers. These players are responsible for passing, scoring and defending the quaffle, or volleyball. Three hoops are at each end of the field and teams are awarded 10 points per goal. The teams are stacked with two beaters. A beater is responsible for hitting players off their brooms with a dodgeball or bludger and mak-
KATIE KOSTELNY, THE SPECTRUM
Buffalo Quidditch meets every Tuesday and Thursday outside of Governors for practice. Players feel the sport is much more intricate than its “Harry Potter” roots make it seem.
ing them temporarily unable to continue play. Each team has a keeper and a seeker. The keeper’s goal is to keep the quaffle out of the hoop, much like the goalie in soccer, but they still have to participate offensively when needed. The seeker’s job is obtaining the snitch, which is a tennis ball in a sock. The snitch is released 17 minutes into the game, attached to a neutral player. Whoever grabs it from the player is awarded 30 points and the game ends. Dana Glantz, a grad student studying lin-
guistics, is one of the Quidditch team’s beaters and has been with Buffalo Quidditch since her freshman year. Glantz sees Quidditch as a combination of several sports but thinks its numerous rules set it apart. “I think it has qualities of a lot of sports. We have the subbing patterns from hockey and it seems similar to soccer, basketball, and rugby,” Glantz said. “But as far as the rules, I have yet to find a sport that’s similar. I was a certified referee and I still don’t understand them. They’re always changing. We’re
on rulebook 10 or 11 right now,” Glantz said. Glantz has been involved since her freshman year, but newcomer Chloe Matecki, a freshman pharmacy major, is enjoying her time with the team so far. “I heard about it on a tour of UB because they were playing during a tour,” Matecki said. “The tour guide was like ‘let me explain’ and I was like ‘oh no, I know exactly what that is.’ I’ve known since I decided on UB that I wanted to try and find it.” Matecki doesn’t consider herself a “sporty” person but rather a “Potter” fan looking to socialize. She still considers Quidditch a difficult sport. “I almost got a concussion two weeks ago. I was full-force tackled by someone that hit me right in the chest,” Matecki said. “On their way down, they elbowed me right in the left temple, so I couldn’t see straight for like 25 minutes. But it was ‘almost’ [a concussion]. It’s a generally safe sport.” Scimeca stresses that Quidditch is a full contact sport. The rare injuries that do happen are only a testament to the game’s intensity. “A player got hit at our last tournament and separated his shoulder,” Scimeca said. “Quidditch is normally a safe sport but accidents happen and rough tackles happen. It’s intense. Think of it with the intensity of rugby.” Buffalo Quidditch may not be national champions right now, but they hope to build a larger team and increase student involvement. They face Boston College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Emerson College and other schools during the northeast regionals yearly in order to secure a spot at the national championship. “I’m super happy I got involved,” Matecki said. “I’m a commuter so this is something that keeps me on campus and it gives me friends who aren’t just in my three classes during the week. I recommend it even if you aren’t sporty. I have some physical talent like most humans do but I’m getting better. There’s no experience required.” Buffalo Quidditch meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00-7:30 p.m. by Governors Parking Lot E. email: brenton.blanchet@ubspectrum.com
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SPORTS
Monday, October 2, 2017
THE SPECTRUM
UB Bulls beat Kent State 27-13 in MAC opener
JACK LI, THE SPECTRUM
Junior quarterback Drew Anderson hands off the ball to redshirt sophomore running back Emmanuel Reed. Reed ran for 144 yards and three touchdowns Saturday.
DANIEL PETRUCCELLI SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR
The UB Bulls are on a three-win roll and redshirt sophomore running back Emmanuel Reed is leading the charge. Saturday marked Reed’s third straight game with over 100 yards – a first for the Bulls since 2014. Buffalo opened up MAC play Saturday at Dix Stadium when they took on the Kent State Golden Flashes. The Bulls jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and defeated the Golden Flashes 27-13. Reed was the X factor in the game and finished with 144 yards and three touchdowns. Reed entered the season as the backup running back to redshirt junior running back Johnathan Hawkins. Hawkins has not played since the first half of the Colgate game on Sept. 16. Reed has been taking
advantage of the opportunity and has 371 yards in the last three games. “[Offensive coordinator] Andy Kotelnicki has done a great job with him, he’s understanding the game more,” said Bulls head coach Lance Leipold. “A year ago he was kind of buried a little bit on the depth chart, reps even in practice are sometimes tough to come by. Now he’s got a little breath of fresh air in there and he’s taking advantage of his opportunity and I’m very proud of the way he’s played.” Buffalo’s offense stumbled on their first two drives with a punt and interception in the course of four plays. They settled in when Reed carried four straight times for 80 yards on the third drive. The drive was highlighted by a 55-yard run and an 18-yard touchdown. Reed scored on two of the next three Bulls’ possessions.
Junior quarterback Drew Anderson secured the victory in the first Football Bowl Subdivision start of his career in place of injured redshirt sophomore quarterback Tyree Jackson. Anderson went 11-of-18 for 142 yards plus 76 yards on the ground. He had one touchdown and one interception. “We prepared well all week so it feels good to get a win,” Anderson said. “I kind of had to get into the game a little bit, can’t make those kinds of mistakes early but once I got into the game I was fine.” The Bulls controlled the trenches and allowed their run game to thrive. They finished with 235 team rushing yards. The offensive line were winning at the point of attack. After last week’s game, Anderson said he has the athleticism for the quarterback runs that has helped the offense all season. He proved it this week when he kept an option play from his
Gridiron
Defensive backs: C+
Grading the Bulls MAC opening win against Kent State DANIEL PETRUCCELLI SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR
Quarterbacks: B
Redshirt sophomore Tyree Jackson was out of the game after his injury last week against FAU. Anderson got off to a rough start with a three-and-out on the first drive and an interception on the first play of the second. But once the run game got moving, Anderson really settled in. The offense excelled in the first half and the team went into the half with 20 points. Individually, he had two standout plays in the second half. He kept the ball on an option play and ran 64 yards. He followed that up by throwing his first career touchdown pass on the very same drive. He finished the game with a 61 percent completion rating, 218 total yards and one touchdown. He had a quarterback rating of 92.0 in the game. It wasn’t the greatest performance of all time, but he did his job and won the game. Running back: A+
Redshirt sophomore Emmanuel Reed was the reason the Bulls won this game. He ran all over Kent State for 144 yards. He had a huge 55-yard run in the first quarter that brought the offense to life. He was picking up chunks of yards every time he carried the ball, and he carried the ball a lot. He had 33 carries and
email: daniel.petruccelli@ubspectrum.com
one of which was a sack. This continues to be one of the top units on the team.
Report Card
The Buffalo Bulls (3-2, 1-0 Mid-American Conference) have finally started to find their rhythm and are on a three game win streak. They won their conference opener Saturday by beating the Kent State Golden Flashes (1-4, 0-1 MAC) 27-13. Junior quarterback Drew Anderson made the first start of his career and led the Bulls to their first conference opener win in three years. Here is The Spectrum’s position grades for the game.
own two-yard line and ran 64 yards to set up Buffalo’s final touchdown of the game. The defense also had a great game Saturday. The front seven had their best game of the year and only allowed 124 yards on 40 carries. They combined for four sacks and seven tackles-for-loss. The pass defense struggled a bit and allowed over 300 passing yards for the first time in almost two years. The Golden Flashes’ biggest play of the game came on a 75-yard pass to sophomore receiver Kavious Price. The Bulls secondary bit too hard on a play action and Price slipped behind them for the touchdown. “They caught me slipping on one play,” said junior cornerback Brandon Williams. “They actually got a score on it, so I had to kind of respond back for my team.” He redeemed himself by picking off a game sealing interception with less than five minutes in the game. In what is becoming a regular occurrence, junior linebacker Khalil Hodge had double digit tackles for the second straight week. He has had 10 or more tackles in four of the five games this season. The Bulls have now won three straight games and have a lot of momentum with the start of MAC play. This was the first time the Bulls have won their conference opener since 2014. “It feels great right now but we just gotta keep on winning,” Williams said. “We can’t get sidetracked, we just wanna keep on winning, keep the streak going and defend the house.” The Bulls return to Buffalo for a twogame home stand, kicking off next Saturday when the Western Michigan Broncos come to town. The Broncos are fresh off a thrashing of the Ball State Cardinals. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m.
JACK LI, THE SPECTRUM
Junior quarterback Drew Anderson drops back into the pocket. Anderson and the Bulls are coming off a 2713 win against the Kent State Golden Flashes.
averaged 4.4 yards per carry. He also scored all three first half touchdowns for the Bulls. The team leaned on Reed heavily and he really helped take the load off Anderson in his first start. He has now ran for over 100 yards in three straight games. This was one of the best performances from a Bulls running back in a while. Wide receiver: C+
Redshirt junior receiver Anthony Johnson continues to be the star of the receiving corps. He was the only one that had a strong showing with four catches in the game for a total of 67 yards. Three other receivers caught one ball each for a combined 23 yards. They didn’t slack in run blocking, but most of the running was kept inside the hash marks. Johnson is still huge for this offense, but the rest of the group needs to be more involved. Tight end: A-
This was the best tight end game of the year for the Bulls. Redshirt freshman Zac Lefebvre caught his first career pass and his first career touchdown in the game. Sophomore Tyler Mabry had two catches of his own as well. The team used a lot of two tight end sets Saturday and both guys showed why it was a good idea. They were useful in the passing game and looked great run blocking. Offensive line: A+
This unit looks better and better every time they are on the field. The run game had
over 200 yards for the third straight week. They were opening up huge gaps for Reed on Saturday and were a huge part of his success. They have only allowed two sacks in the last three games, with both coming from FAU. They did a fantastic job of setting a pocket for Anderson and giving the inexperienced quarterback time to make decisions. Defensive line: A
Kent State’s run game looked like a shell of what it was last year against Buffalo. Senior quarterback Nick Holley was clearly missed for the Golden Flashes as they only had 124 combined rushing yards Saturday. The Bulls’ defensive line had just as much control of the trenches as their offensive line. The front four helped disrupt the passing game as well. Senior Demone Harris and junior Chuck Harris each had a sack in the game. The four starters combined for six quarterback hurries. They were a big part of this win. Linebackers: A-
Junior Khalil Hodge can’t be stopped. His tackles went into double digits for the fourth time this year and he finished with 11. He is ranked third in the nation in tackles. He also had a sack to add to the quarterback pressure in the game. Junior Jordan Collier had the best game of his career. He was extremely aggressive and had a career-high nine tackles in the game. He also had three tackles-for-loss,
This wasn’t a great showing for the Bulls’ secondary. They allowed their highest passing output in two years and surrendered 320 yards in the game. Eight different Kent State players caught a ball for a total of 19 catches. While the numbers don’t look great, the big thing to note is the Bulls only surrendered one touchdown. Kent State got the secondary to over commit on a play action and burned them for a 75 yard touchdown. Sophomore receiver Trey Harrell also had six catches for 122 yards, which could be problematic against a better team. Junior cornerback Brandon Williams had a big pick that helped solidify the win with less than five minutes in the game to redeem the unit. They don’t need to panic, but this was a down game for the quality secondary. Special teams: C+
Junior kicker Adam Mitcheson continues to be an Achilles heel for this team. He missed three kicks Saturday, including both his field goal attempts and an extra point. One field goal was over 50 yards and can be excused as possibly a bad decision to kick. The other field goal was 25 yards and should have been made. The extra point was his second missed XP of the year and ninth of his career. Freshman safety Kobe Green was the one redeeming part of this special teams when he blocked a Kent State punt and put the Bulls on Kent State’s eight yard line. It set up Buffalo’s third touchdown of the day. Coaching: A
Head coach Lance Leipold and crew have been handling their team well the past couple of weeks. They have done a great job with a next man up style philosophy. Injuries to Jackson and junior running back Johnathan Hawkins didn’t slow down the offense this week and that’s a testament to this coaching staff. They worked the short passing to help Anderson find a rhythm and get a feel for the game. The best thing they did was see how Reed was running, give him the ball and get out of his way. email: daniel.petruccelli@ubspectrum.com