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UB community responds to the Heights in the media
Wednsday, September 10, 2014
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Volume 64 No. 7
CAMPOUT PROHIBITED
PHOTO BY CHAD COOPER, THE SPECTRUM
School policy prohibits student-run festivities for upcoming football game TOM DINKI
SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR
THE
When the football team released its 2014 schedule last semester, one game stood out to junior accounting major Matt Haring and senior operations major Alex Shupe: a Friday night game against nationally ranked Baylor broadcast on ESPN. “Alex was like, ‘I’m so fired up for this game, we’re going to camp out in front of the stadium,’” Haring said. “Next thing you know, we started telling people that, and they were like, ‘That’s a good idea.’” Haring and Shupe planned an overnight campout for students outside UB Stadium for Sept. 11, the night before the Baylor game. But their wishful plans were shot down when they learned a campout is against UB’s rules. “It’s a pretty big bummer, but nothing we can do I guess,” Haring said. Originally, they planned the campout in conjunction with a True Blue and UB Athletics’ outdoor event at Baird Point the night before the game. The event is still going to take place, but the campout is canceled. The night kicks off at 6 p.m. with pizza and wings, a pep talk by Quinn and a
U
10 p.m. screening of Remember the Titans on an inflatable screen. On Tuesday afternoon, when Student Life, True Blue and UB Athletics officials met with Haring and Shupe to discuss Thursday night’s festivities, Student Life representatives told the students that the campout can’t take place because it’s against school rules. The University’s Student Code of Conduct states under Article 4B that “No overnight demonstrations/assemblies are allowed” and “Indoor and outdoor encampment are prohibited.” The policy against overnight encampments was created two years ago, according to Student Life Director Thomas Tiberi. Tiberi said the policy is for general “public assembly rules.” In August, the Bulls fans created a Twitter account, @CampOut4Baylor, which, as of Tuesday night, had 222 followers. Haring and Shupe even handed out event flyers in classrooms on Tuesday morning. They expected a 40 to 50 people to campout. Haring and Shupe had planned to set up tents along the walkway to UB Stadium. They were going to organize recreational activities like football, corn hole and grill-
ing. Haring thought the campout would spark student interest in the game. If enough people showed up, he thought, maybe head coach Jeff Quinn “will come by and say, ‘Hey, thanks for coming out,’ and shake some hands, kiss some babies.” Tiberi said Student Life first heard about the plan for the campout on Sept. 4. Student Life could not approve or prohibit the campout until it knew all the details and Tuesday was the first day all parties could meet, according to Tiberi. Haring was surprised by the decision to disallow the campout. Haring said True Blue President Kyle Conte, a student, emailed him on Sept. 5 and said, “I’ve gotten pretty good answers. Basically, it’s a yes.” Conte could not be reached for comment on this story. Haring and Shupe were also confident the campout would be allowed because of the support they received on Twitter from UB Athletics. “We didn’t know who to get a ‘yes’ from,” Shupe said. “We didn’t know who to get any answers from. But then we had retweets from Danny White.”
Several UB Athletic Twitter accounts follow @CampOut4Baylor. White once re-tweeted them. But Haring and Shupe didn’t realize that UB Athletics didn’t have the final say on approving the campout. Haring and Shupe only spoke to True Blue about adding a campout to Thursday night’s festivities and never spoke directly to UB Athletics, they said. The students hoped the campout would display Bulls fans’ passion on ESPN’s cameras. “Danny White, he always says we want big-time college atmosphere here, which is tough to do,” Harring said. “Sometimes it’s tough getting students to go the game so that’s why we figured we’d something to spark some interest, make it a big-time college field, have some fun with it.” Penn State and Syracuse University, on the other hand, allow campouts on their campuses. Syracuse students can set up tents outside the Carrier Dome the night before basketball games to get tickets and better seats. Syracuse’s official student section, Otto’s Army, regulates the campouts along with Syracuse Athletics and the Carrier
will find you
SHARON KAHN
FEATURES EDITOR
When Jordan Mittenthal wanted to go from a house near South Campus to the up-and-coming bar scene near North Campus, he didn’t call a taxi. He called The U. The U, which is just over 2 years old, has a new bus to shuttle students to and from its location for free. The U’s minibus was launched at the beginning of the school year. UB’s Stampede buses, which take students between North and South Campus regularly, started making trips to The U on the weekends last year. But The U’s bus will actually pick students up from their homes. “The bus picked us up from my friend’s [University Height’s] home,” said Mittenthal, a senior economics major. “There were about 12 of us on the bus, just blasting music and getting excited to go out.”
CHAD COOPER, THE SPECTRUM
The U, a bar near North Campus, now has a private bus that will pick up students in the South Campus area and transport them to and from The U. Students can call ahead of time to reserve the free service.
This year, James Spano, the bar’s owner, organized the private bus to specifically service South Campus residents. The new bus service comes with a designated cellphone number, which students can call and make reservations for specific pickup locations. “The U decided to invest in their own transportation in order
to allow not only students from the UB campuses and the Villas access to the bar, but to provide students from all different schools [within the area] with a safe mode of transportation to The U free of charge,” Spano said. UB Parking and Transportation and The U worked together so the Stampede would take students to
Dome staff. “We have a list system, a set of rules and regulations in place so everyone who is camping out is doing it the right way,” said Otto’s Army President Sean Fernandez. “Nobody has anything in their tent that they shouldn’t have.” Public safety officers go around to tents to make sure everyone is safe, and move students inside the dome if the temperature outside becomes too cold, Fernandez said. Up to four people are allowed in each tent, and at least one person must be present in the tent at all times. Otto’s Army e-board conducts a role call, and if someone is missing, he or she has 15 to 20 minutes to return. If the student doesn’t return, he or she has to move to the back of the line. Despite other school’s allowing stadium campouts, Tiberi doesn’t see UB’s policies changing for future events. Haring still plans on attending Thursday night’s event. “I’ll probably come for a little bit just because it’s still an event, just altered,” Haring said. “I don’t know if I’ll stay late though.” email: sports@ubspectrum.com
Amherst sports bar starts privately busing students to its location
the plaza the bar is in from 8:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The plaza also has a movie theater, a bar and music venue as well as restaurants. Maria Wallace, director of Parking and Transportation Services, said the Student Association has been working on discount rate for students at the AMC movie theater, located next to The U. “I believe the more late night options, the better off our students are,” Wallace said in an email. Before the busing was in place, students living on South Campus had to either organize sober drivers or take cabs to and from the bar. Mittenthal said the new bus service allows for an easy and safe way to get to and from where he wants to go. Spano hopes the new service will ultimately bring business to The U from more areas around
Buffalo. The Stampede will still run its normal weekend schedule while The U’s private bus picks students up from whatever location they request. “While we encourage reservations in advance, especially for larger parties, there is no restrictions on pick up locations,” Spano said. “We will find you.” Spano said The U does not outsource transportation and that only experienced drivers operate the bus. Alexa Bernstein, a senior speech pathology major, was pleasantly surprised about the new bus service. “I have only been to The U one time,” said Bernstein, who lives near South Campus. “My friends and I had such trouble deciding who would be the designated driver and ultimately ended up taking a few cabs. It really just became expensive for such a short trip.” SEE THE U, PAGE 5