UBSPECTRUM.COM
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2018 PAGE 3 English TA stipend increase is a step in the right direction, but the fight isn’t over yet
VOLUME 67 NO. 33
PAGE 5 Art of a revolution Women of color celebrated at Albright-Knox
PAGE 8 Bulls beat Zips at Alumni Arena 85-71 Women’s basketball team picks up fifth straight win
COMPREHENSIVE FEE BREAKDOWN 2016-17
University holds Q&A on broad-based fees
CAMPUS LIFE
$5,362,600
Students weigh in on proposed fee increases
ATHLETICS
$8,981,900
SARAH CROWLEY SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
COLLEGE
$3,190,800 HEALTH
$8,847,650 RECREATION
$785,300
TECHNOLOGY
$19,976,000
TRANSPORTATION
$10,657,000 TRANSCRIPT
$153,600
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND SUCCESS
An open forum on broad-based fee increases marked a visibly tense two and a half hours of back and forth between students and administrators on Thursday. This was the first chance for students to meet in person with fee stewards before the March 7 deadline to send proposals to SUNY. The Office of the Provost first announced its plan for a five-year 2.53 percent comprehensive fee increase in an email to the student body Feb. 9. Students were informed about the question and answer with fee stewards on Feb. 12, three days before the meeting. Eleven fee stewards from eight comprehensive fee departments presented on their department’s spending from last year. They also discussed their proposals for the future fee increases and fielded questions from roughly 45 students who attended the Feb. 15 meeting in 210 Student Union. Campus Life
Campus Life Director Tom Tiberi and Mara Huber, associate dean of undergradu-
$9,947,600
ate education and experiential learning, discussed Campus Life expenditures, which last year totaled $5,362,600. Tiberi and Huber proposed a $10 increase in 2018-19 to cover inflationary increases and increases in minimum wage. Graduate Student Association President Tanja Aho asked if the departments, including Campus Life, would explain how their fees benefit graduate students. Tiberi responded that it is difficult to tell who attends or benefits from specific programs because not all events can be tracked easily through systems like card swipes. Huber, the director of the Experiential Learning Network, formerly The Academies, said she is working to help graduate students utilize ELN’s services. Aho said the most important experiential learning for grad students are conferences, which she said they do not currently receive any money from the university to attend. “We don’t need another office to organize that for us,” Aho said. “We would actually need that money ourselves. The university is not giving us a single cent to do that. That’s the most important experiential learning that we need.” Aho added that this is the second year she’s advocated for research funding and expressed frustration that student input at fee consultations doesn’t appear to be implemented. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Graduate students dissatisfied with stipend increase English department increase still below “living wage” MAX KALNITZ NEWS EDITOR
Graduate students in the English department aren’t satisfied with newly announced increases to their pay, which they say will result in their program shrinking and primarily benefit future students. Over the next four years, the English department will reduce enrollment by 15 students, eventually bringing its total doctoral enrollment to 50. The College of Arts and Sciences will pay for two clinical faculty members to make up for some of the teaching work graduate students currently perform as TAs. The plan, announced Wednesday in a statement from the university, will start in the fall and increase graduate students’ base stipend from $15,000 to $18,000 in the first two years. In the third and fourth years, it will increase to $19,000, with “the very best doctoral students” receiving a stipend in the $20,000 range. The university statement came in the wake
of months of protests from graduate students for what they called a “living wage” in the face of the rising cost of living. Arguably the biggest blow to the department will affect the students already participating in the doctoral program, graduate students said. Current students who aren’t receiving supplemental funding in the form of scholarships will only receive an additional $2,000 per year –– less than the newly announced stipend increases, according to Rachel Ablow, chair of the English department. Nicole Lowman, a graduate student in the English department, said the increased stipend is still not enough to provide doctoral students with a living wage. Lowman currently works three jobs outside of her duties at UB, she said. She argues the cost of living in Buffalo should justify a larger paycheck from the university. “[Our] campaign is not about cherry picking departments and rearranging things to make it look nice, like a Band-Aid on the issue,” Lowman said in an email. “Even with the increase in the English department, we still all pay back over $2,000 in fees to the university, which effectively puts the stipend at $17,000, now $7,000 less than the cost of living. In three years’ time, when the increase plan will have finished, the cost of living will certainly be much higher. When we started the petition in late April 2017, MIT had the cost of living in Buffalo at about $22,600.” The MIT living wage calculator com-
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT STIPEND PACKAGE
BEFORE:
• $15,000 base stipend • 90% of healthcare paid for • 9 credits paid for ($4,077 value)
AFTER:
• $18,000 base stipend for first two years, $19,000 for third and fourth years • “Very best doctoral students” will receive stipend in the $20,000 range • 90% of healthcare paid for • 9 credits paid for ($4,077 value) • Students already in graduate program who don’t receive any scholarships will get an additional $2,000 a year
puted that the current living wage for Buffalo is $24,000. The move for a living wage started in September when 100 graduate students and faculty marched from the Student Union to administrative offices on the fifth floor of Capen. They presented administrators with a “Petition for TA Living Stipend,” calling for a minimum living stipend of $21,310. The initiative organized two more major protests during the fall semester. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
The Spectrum is having lunch with President Tripathi on Feb. 27.
What questions would you like for us to ask him? Email us at eic@ubspectrum.com. ubspectrum.com
@ubspectrum
ubspectrum
KINGS EAST OF THE
Buffalo wins MAC East title outright
MADISON MEYER, THE SPECTRUM
Freshman guard Jayvon Graves hangs on the rim after a dunk. The Bulls became the outright MAC East champions on Friday.
DANIEL PETRUCCELLI SPORTS EDITOR
The men’s basketball team collected its first championship of the season. Friday’s win gave Buffalo the outright MidAmerican Conference East division title for the second time in school history. The Bulls (20-7, 12-2 MAC) locked a top-four seed and a bye in the MAC tournament, got to 20 wins faster than any team in program history and broke the program record for most three-pointers made in a season during their recent win against the Bowling Green Falcons (16-11, 7-7 MAC). They are also on pace to break the school record for points per game, currently 3.2 points above the 84.1 record. “Our guys have been saying this team has got something special since back in the summer, so it’s nice that we can get some of those,” said head coach Nate Oats. “I think they deserve it for the work they put in to build the culture and the culture has been great.” The Bulls have been dominating in the MAC, starting off with eight straight wins in conference play. They are outscoring conference opponents by an average of 11.3 this season. Their win against Bowling Green made them the first team in program history to record a victory against every school in the MAC. Junior forward Nick Perkins said it’s good to know they’re capable of beating any team in the conference come tournament time, but they will still need to focus for any rematches. “I think it definitely gives us confidence, but it doesn’t change our focus,” Perkins said. “We’re still going to be focused, still going to have to lock in because playing a team two to three times a year, that second and third time are different.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
ubspectrum
fb.com/ubspectrum
NEWS
Page 2 | The Spectrum
For Randi and Billy My hair donation experience
BRENTON J. BLANCHET SENIOR ARTS EDITOR
When I first stepped foot on campus in August 2016, I made a promise to myself: I wouldn’t get a haircut. But I recently rediscovered a cause I believed in and broke that promise Saturday. No matter how much my friends advised me not to, I knew that getting a cut
Graduate students dissatisfied with stipend increase CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
The new changes will put English TA stipends above the average of $16,364 among public institutions in the Association of American Universities. TAs are expected to dedicate no more than 20 hours during the week toward teaching. The Graduate Student Employees Union and New York State also began negotiating a two percent annual stipend raise in May 2016. Students received their first increase during the fall semester. Lowman said nothing is changing by reducing the number of students allowed in the program. She believes they’ll be spreading the same amount of money around to a smaller group of recipients. “The English department currently has 65 TA lines, which it is gradually shrinking by admitting fewer and fewer students each year, and the current students will not see this increase,” Lowman said in an email. “It’s ... not as though the university is investing more money in its graduate programs. It seems to be capitalizing on an opportunity to make itself look good.” Ablow said the bolstered stipend competes with other large schools in the country. She also said the $19,000 stipend is for nine months rather than 12. “Of course we would like to be able to
and donating my hair to a wig-providing charity would mean more than any compliment I could ever get. Nearly two years of buying hair products, searching my bedroom for missing hair ties and getting compliments from every middle-aged woman in Target was about to finally be worth it. The charity I chose, Wigs 4 Kids, is based out of Michigan and accepts hair donations for children suffering from cancer and its hair-loss effects. Every bit of what they do is admirable, so I wanted to pitch in. But this isn’t the first time I’ve been involved with the cause. I donated to the charity just two years ago, a few months after losing my cross country and track teammate, Randi, to leukemia. Randi was the first friend of my age who’s left this world. He was a real leader and a true team player. He always had a smile on his face. I wanted to help those going through his battle in some way. So I had my hair buzzed off and made the donation. It was liberating. Not only because I liked how it looked, but also because I was making a difference in someone’s life in memory of my friend. I was more than ready to do it again this weekend. But this time I decided to do it in honor of another teammate of mine.
Last semester, another cross country teammate and friend of mine, Billy, left this world too soon. He was charming, charismatic and totally selfless. Everything Billy did, from cheering me on during my worst races to posting uplifting videos to Facebook, was out of his unconditional love for others. I figured putting this donation under his name would only make sense. But the donation wasn’t easy to go through with. When I woke up Saturday, I was nervous. I knew I wanted to get this haircut, but I almost felt like I was parting with a bit of myself. For the last year or so, I only saw how I looked with curly long hair so it felt a bit weird to part with this vision of myself. But I’ve never been one to let anything define me, or keep a haircut for too long, so I knew it was time. My roommate and I left our dorm Saturday morning and went on a wild goose chase across the UB Mall Market Bus route for a suitable hair salon. Google Maps led me into the wrong direction for Fantastic Sam’s, so we settled on Great Clips. When I showed the hairdresser a photo reference of what I was going for, she was super concerned that she wouldn’t be able to pull it off. But at that point, I was sitting in the barber’s chair with hair ties on every side of my head. I looked like Celia
provide our graduate students with more support: summer funding, for example, better travel funding, etc.,” Ablow said in an email. “[Dean Robin Schulze] gave us a set budget however and we worked within it. We did the best with what we had, and I’m extremely proud of our ability to have some very difficult conversations and make some difficult decisions about how best to serve our graduate students.” Ablow said graduate students played an important role in determining the changes to the stipend. Graduate students are voting members of every committee in the department, with the exception of those dealing with tenure and promotion, Ablow added. “The committees tasked with making these decisions were no different. ... Graduate students are voting members of the department: their voices — and their votes — were heard throughout the process,” Ablow said. “I also met separately with the [English Graduate Student Association] to make sure all concerns and questions were being addressed.” Many graduate students share Lowman’s frustration and feel the university is only using this opportunity to better its image after doctoral students protested numerous times in the fall semester. The stipend increase only affects students in the English department, but according to the university’s announcement, the college is working with the departments of comparative literature and philosophy to raise stipends, as well. It also says the college has worked with the chairs to raise stipend levels in the departments of communication, bio-
logical sciences and chemistry. James Ponzo, a TA and Ph.D. student in the American Studies department, is happy to see fellow students receiving a larger sum of money, but is skeptical the college will actually increase stipends for all graduate students. “I can’t say that any of this is surprising. UB is a business. I am, however, extremely disappointed that they would not sit down and negotiate with every department, or at least let us all know that they have plans to do so,” Ponzo said in an email. “The optics are terrible, and it definitely doesn’t send a good signal to those whose educational process involves educating students on behalf of the university. ” UB spokesperson John Della Contrada said graduate students’ overall package averages about $38,000 annually and includes a tuition scholarship, stipend and health insurance. He said the package should satisfy graduate students’ needs. “While many of UB’s academic departments do offer graduate student assistant stipends that are on par with national averages, the College of Arts and Sciences recognizes there are some academic departments whose stipend levels are below national benchmarks,” Della Contrada said in an email. “In these cases, the college is providing guidance to academic departments on how to increase stipends to nationally competitive levels.” Josh Flaccavento, a Ph.D student in the English department, questioned why UB administrators are paid extremely well and receive additional funds from private
Monday, February 19, 2018
Mae from “Monsters, Inc.” I really wanted this to be my last memory of long hair. I told her to go for it. So she chopped it off. I felt smooth, smelled like hair gel and finally saw my ears for the first time in a long time. Just like that, after nearly two years of having long hair, it was gone. And it doesn’t bother me at all because I did something that’s meaningful to me. I’m happy knowing I’m boosting someone else’s confidence and I feel even better knowing that I did it in my friends’ names. Sure, any child associated with the Wigs 4 Kids program probably would’ve had somebody else’s hair if I didn’t donate, but knowing that young kids out there are feeling more confident with themselves is incredible. That’s why I truly hope everyone donates their hair at least once. It was completely free, I got to see a different side of myself and I helped out a child in need of confidence. But what means more than any of that is the fact that I used this as an opportunity to continue the legacies of my two friends. Even if everyone on this planet thinks I look better with long hair or tells me I made a mistake cutting my hair, nothing will take that away from me. email: brenton.blanchet@ubspectrum.com
foundations, yet none of that money can be used to benefit graduate students. Flaccavento said he is disappointed in the university’s efforts to use the issue as an opportunity for publicity instead of working to completely fix the problem. “They’re congratulating themselves for something that still doesn’t fix the fundamental issue, which is ... underpaying TAs. This makes it harder for them to teach and to finish their degrees,” Flaccavento said. “This plan also doesn’t do much good for TAs in other departments, many of whom are currently paid less than what we get now. ... Or for adjuncts, most of whom make far less than that. So, it hardly seems like something for which the university ought to be patting itself on the back.” Ultimately, Flaccavento called for the university to exhibit more transparency when dealing with these types of issues. He said he’s tired of being treated like a customer, instead of a student who the university claims to value. “For me, the heart of the matter is that this university –– like many in this country and the world –– is run more like a private business rather than a public institution of higher learning,” Flaccavento said. “The administration likes to talk about being ‘competitive’ –– that’s language from the corporate world, wherein businesses compete with each other for customers. Well, students aren’t customers and education isn’t a product, at least as far as I’m concerned.” email: max.kalnitz@ubspectrum.com
OPINION
Monday, February 19, 2018
The Spectrum | Page 3
Editorial Board EDITOR IN CHIEF
Hannah Stein
MANAGING EDITOR
David Tunis-Garcia EDITORIAL EDITOR
Maddy Fowler COPY EDITORS
Dan McKeon, Chief Emma Medina Cassie Enderly, Asst. Lauryn King, Asst. Savanna Caldwell, Asst. NEWS EDITORS
Sarah Crowley, Senior Max Kalnitz Haruka Lucas Kosugi, Asst. Anna Savchenko, Asst. FEATURES EDITORS CARTOON BY ARDI DIGAP
Benjamin Blanchet, Senior Erik Tingue, Asst. Wanly Chen, Asst. ARTS EDITORS
Brenton Blanchet, Senior Brian Evans, Asst. SPORTS EDITORS
Thomas Zafonte, Senior Daniel Petruccelli
English TA stipend increase is a step in the right direction, but the fight isn’t over yet
MULTIMEDIA EDITORS
Allison Staebell, Senior Elijah Pike, Asst. Jack Li, Asst. CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Pierce Strudler EDITORIAL BOARD
CARTOONIST
Ardi Digap
Professional Staff OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
Helene Polley
ADVERTISING MANAGER
Ayesha Kazi GRAPHIC DESIGN MANAGERS
Stephen Jean-Pierre Shawn Zhang, Asst.
THE SPECTRUM Monday, February 19, 2018 Volume 67 Number 33 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.
After months of rallying for a living stipend, English TAs and GAs are finally seeing a rise in their pay. Starting in Fall 2018, average stipends for English Ph.D candidates will increase to $18,000 per year, which is $3,000 more than current levels. In three years, the average TA stipend amount will increase to $19,000. By including scholarships and fellowships in the funding package, the “very best” doctoral students will receive funding in the $20,000 range, a UB press release said. TAs and GAs from the Living Stipend Movement have been rallying for higher stipends for all graduate students since the start of last semester. They are asking for a minimum stipend of $21,000 per year. While this is definitely a step
Time for a change
For information on adverstising with The Spectrum, visit www.ubspectrum.com/advertising or call us directly at 716-645-2152
Americans and their obsession with guns
SPECTRUM
The Spectrum offices are located in 132 Student Union, UB North Campus, Buffalo, NY 142602100
Do you like
JOIN the longest running student publication on campus
CONTACT: hannah.stein@ ubspectrum.com
ERIK TINGUE ASST. FEATURES EDITOR
Nobody should feel unsafe going to school. Seventeen people were killed by a gunman on Wednesday in Parkland, Florida. As of Feb. 14 there have been 30 mass shootings in the U.S. alone, according to the Gun Violence Archive. This has to end. Wednesday’s shooting was the deadliest in a school since 26 students and faculty died at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012. The U.S. has allowed more mass shootings to happen than any other country in the world. In kindergarten, I remember my teachers and parents discussing the 1999 Columbine mass
HE
TO WRITE? TAKE PHOTOS? DESIGN?
in the right direction, we don’t know if it’s time to celebrate just yet. For one, only TAs in the English department will see an increase in their yearly stipends; many other departments still fall below the national average for public university graduate students, which is $16,364 per year. UB claims the average TA and GA stipends at UB are “nationally competitive” at an average rate of $17,343 per academic year. This figure derives from payroll data for 1,429 students who received stipends from UB departments during the 2016-17 academic year. UB’s Living Stipend movement says the actual average stipend for UB TAs is roughly $13,100 per year. Juhi Roy, an officer for the Graduate Student Union, said the university’s numbers differ from the Living Stipend Movement’s numbers because the university includes
shooting with me and going over the safety precautions I needed to take if something like that were ever to happen at my school. Now, a mass shooting that shocked the country is no longer in the top 10 deadliest mass shootings in the U.S. In fifth grade, I watched the news coverage of the Virginia Tech mass shooting that took away 32 innocent lives. I remember the palpable fear after that shooting, but nothing was done about it. I have always a proponent of stricter gun control and more thorough background checks. Buying a gun should not be an easy process. Civilians shouldn’t be able to purchase assault rifles because they are militarized weapons that serve no purpose other than killing human beings. Rates of gun deaths in the U.S. are far greater than in the rest of the world, as America has the 31st highest rate. That’s 3.85 deaths due to gun violence per 100,000 people in 2016 according to Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. Forty percent of Americans say
Research Assistants in their calculations. RAs receive higher stipends than TAs and GAs. In addition, the UB number is based off of 1,429 graduate students, while there are 9,772 graduate students enrolled at UB. UB is touting this increase as competitive with the national TA stipend average, but when the national average is still well below the cost of living, this isn’t worthy of a pat on the back. Another issue with the stipend increase is current TAs will only see an increase of $2,000 per year, as opposed to the $3,000 increase for new students. That means the TAs who have been fighting for higher stipends won’t see as much of a raise, which seems unfair to those who have been rallying for this for so long. Plus, the English department had to shrink its cohort sizes in order to accommodate the high-
they own a gun or live in a household with one, according to a 2017 survey by the Pew Research Center. There were more than 11,000 deaths as a result of murder or manslaughter involving a firearm in 2016, according to the FBI. On Feb. 15, President Donald Trump tweeted there are “so many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed” and that citizens “must always report such instances to authorities.” Despite apparent concerns about the mental health of the shooter, in February 2017, Trump repealed an Obama-era regulation that would have made it easier to block the sale of firearms to people with certain mental illnesses. The Parkland shooter, Nikolas Cruz, legally purchased an AR15-style rifle last year from Sunrise Tactical Supply. The contradiction here is Trump has not admitted he made a mistake by repealing this regulation and has made no progress towards re-instating it. Cruz cleared an instant background check because he had no criminal record according to the FBI criminal database. Federal law allows people 18 and older to legally purchase long guns, including AR-15 rifles. I am not anti-gun and I do not believe that all guns should be banned from the country, but 17
er stipends; incoming cohorts will be shrunk from 65 to 50 students. Students with higher GPAs will also receive more money than those with lower GPAs. TA stipends aren’t like undergraduate merit-based scholarships; TAs need to live off their stipend. It seems unfair to punish someone trying to feed his or her family for poor academic performance. Some editors think it is reasonable to correlate stipend amounts with grades because this is consistent with most jobs where pay correlates with performance. But TAs still make less than minimum wage; they’re not asking to have enough for a luxurious lifestyle, just enough to accommodate the basic cost of living in Buffalo. We are excited to see progress in this movement and glad to see the administration is listening to student concerns. But this fight isn’t over yet, and it won’t be until every TA and GA is paid a living stipend. email: opinion@ubspectrum.com
lives could have been saved if we had better background checks and safer gun laws. Yet nobody in Congress or the government has made an effort to make a change because Americans love their guns. They are strong advocates for the Second Amendment, which was enacted in 1791 and gives citizens their right to bear arms. On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen opened fire inside Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida killing 49 people and injuring more than 50. This was the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. One year later, on Oct. 1 2017, Stephen Paddock killed 58 people in Las Vegas and injured almost 500. This replaced the Orlando shooting as the deadliest in our country’s history. Four months later, here we are having the same discussion concerning gun regulations and how we are going to fix this problem in America. Although we are debating what can be done to solve this issue, it is just a matter of time before another mass shooting breaks out and we say “our thoughts and prayers” for those who will be missed. Words are no longer enough; action needs to be taken. email: erik.tingue@ubspectrum.com
NEWS
Page 4 | The Spectrum
Monday, February 19, 2018
Slee Hall hosts annual quartet cycle Beethoven String Quartet Cycle welcomes award-winning group SAMANTHA VARGAS STAFF WRITER
The Pacifica Quartet performed Thursday without a hitch, despite the uncertainty of finding a last minute replacement for a missing member. UB kicked off its annual string quartet cycle with the Grammy award-winning group at Lippes Concert Hall. The concerts took place Feb. 15-18, as the group performed four straight days of Beethoven’s pieces. The Pacifica Quartet, formed in 1994 and based in Indiana, features Simin Ganatra and Austin Hartman on violin, Guy Ben-Ziony on viola and Brandon Vamos on cello. Ben-Ziony was absent during their first performance due to illness, but the group managed to find a replacement in Jan Grüning. The musicians played an array of music from composer Ludwig van Beethoven, a change from the usual 18-piece orchestra associated with the music. Although the group was small, they filled the auditorium. Cody Manzanero, a junior biomedical science major, had never been to a classical music performance before seeing the Pacifica Quartet and was surprised by the
emotion on display. “It covered a lot of emotions,” Manzanero said. “Besides the music, you can see the emotions on their face. It’s like they’re one unit.” At certain points within a song, the quartet members would breathe in unison. The control and timing of the musicians were immaculate throughout the two-hour performance. The show drew in a large crowd. While many UB students in attendance had to fulfill a class requirement, others attended out of love for orchestral music. Ann Marie Jones, a freshman biomedical engineering major, was engaged by the performance because of her background in violin. “I think it’s very interesting how well they perform together, especially with the violist being just a day into rehearsal,” Jones said. “And I think that’s really cool, watching them move and seeing them get into the music.” The three movements featured a tension building back and forth between the violinists and violist. The musicians competed against each other, each playing a more intricate, complicated sequence of notes.
BRENTON BLANCHET, THE SPECTRUM
The Pacifica Quartet took to Slee Hall from Thursday to Sunday, performing selections from Beethoven.
Each member of the quartet carried themselves through the pieces, showing off their elaborate skills. The quartet performed different pieces from Beethoven’s collection of music each night. The group had to practice eight to ten hours a day to prepare for the performances, according to Vamos. Following the show, few spectators had
Office of the Provost holds Q&A on broad-based fees CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Other students expressed concern that the Campus Life expenditures online were confusing and lacking specific information on expenditures. Tiberi said he would look into getting more detailed expenditures on the website. Athletics Fee
Nate Wills, senior associate athletics director, discussed the Athletics fee spending last year, which totaled $8,982,000. The largest portion of the money went toward student employment, followed by grants-in-aid for women to help UB comply with Title IX requirements and the operational costs for men’s and women’s sports, Wills said. Wills proposed a two percent increase for the next five years to cover inflationary costs and increases in minimum wage. Anyssa Evelyn, a junior health and human services major, asked why the student fees went toward paying for tutors for the student-athletes. Wills responded that the money doesn’t actually go toward the students’ tutoring services, but to the wages for the student employed to tutor the student athlete. Still, Wills admitted it was effectively the same thing as paying for the athlete’s tutor. Several students expressed frustration that they pay almost $9 million toward a program that directly benefits roughly 400 students. Aho asked Wills to clarify if the money spent on grants for women was to meet Title IX compliance. “Well [it’s] to assist with it, it’s one way of helping us comply,” Wills said. Aho pointed out the website’s infographic said the fee goes toward over 70 percent of female athletes. “Yeah, I mean, we’re trying,” Wills responded. College and Academic Excellence and Success Fee
Laura Barnum, associate vice president for Resource Planning and Ashley Kravitz, resource analyst for Resource Planning presented on the College Fee and Academic Excellence and Success Fee, which will increase by $100 next year. Barnum explained the history behind the Academic Excellence and Success Fee, which has been largely unpopular among students since its announcement in 2011. In the midst of national decline in high-
criticism. But Frank Pinzel, a Buffalo resident and regular attendee of the university’s Beethoven cycles, was surprised by the performance schedule. “I like to see all [performances] if I can, but this is most unusual,” Pinzel said. “They have four in a row. Usually they spread them out over the whole season.” email: arts@ubspectrum.com
The technology fee increase is routine to meet contractual software obligations and minimum wage increases, Clune said. The fees would not go toward any new services. Some students pointed out that IT could do a better job of informing students what programs and software are available to them. Clune said he has received this feedback in previous years and is in the process of redesigning IT’s website to make this information more readily available to students. Transportation
MADISON MEYER, THE SPECTRUM
University fee stewards held a “town-hall” style meeting on Thursday to hear student input on the comprehensive fee increase. The meeting marked the first time fee stewards met with students in person.
er education funding, UB joined four other university centers in the SUNY system in implementing the Academic Excellence and Success Fee to compete with other prestigious research universities nationwide, Barnum said. The proposed increase will be used to recruit faculty and make classroom enhancements for students, according to Barnum. Provost Charles Zukoski oversees the fee allocation proposals, which are then sent to SUNY for approval. During Barnum’s presentation, The Spectrum’s Editor-in-Chief Hannah Stein formally requested The Spectrum be added to the Academic Excellence and Success Fee. Barnum responded that she did not know the answer, but said she would follow up on the question after the discussion. One student asked if it would be possible to make it more clear to students what this fee goes toward. Barnum responded that she wasn’t sure what that would look like, but would try to implement something to clarify on the bill or website. Health
Sharon Mitchell, senior director of counseling and Health & Wellness and Susan Snyder, director of Health Services, proposed a $10 increase for next year, an uncontroversial announcement to a student body that reacted positively. The majority of the increase would go toward fringe benefits and personnel, in addition to supporting two new health service initiatives focused on health care and building resilience in students, according to Mitchell. SA President Leslie Veloz advocated for increasing the health fee to hire more
personnel. She said she has never come across a student against this fee. Aho echoed Veloz’s statement, urging Health Services to continue to put resources towards personnel to support the mental health needs of students. Gunnar Haberl, a junior legal studies and political science major, said he was concerned to hear the health fee does not receive any university funding. “If that needs to be a push by administration to contact New York State elected officials to get more funding for Health and Wellness here on campus, then that’s something that needs to be brought up to our administration, to advocate for things like that,” Haberl said. “That really surprised me. We see the mental health issues taking place and knowing that it’s solely our fee contributed to that, that surprised me.” Recreation
Wilson Bautista, associate director for informal recreation, stepped in for his supervisor, Sharon Sanford, associate athletic director for recreation and sport management, who was out sick. Bautista said the department is asking for a 1 percent increase to keep up with minimum wage. Recreation spent $785,300 last year. Veloz also expressed support for an increased recreation fee to provide better facilities for students. Technology
IT Services Director Chris Clune and Associate University Librarian for Discovery and Delivery Charles Lyons, proposed an increase to cover inflationary costs. Last year, the department’s budget was $19,976,000.
Parking and Transportation Director Chris Austin presented for the Transportation fee, which spent $10,657,000 last year. Austin proposed a $10 increase for 2018-19 to cover inflation-related operational costs as well as two new proposals: a swipe card system for shuttle buses and a license plate recognition system to help students better locate parking spaces. There are hundreds of available parking spaces at any given time during the day, so the license plate recognition system is a better use of resources than looking into a parking structure at this time, Austin said. Austin said the shuttle swipe system was designed to better ensure students are using the shuttles and to get a better idea of where and when students are riding. He said student safety was the number one reason for implementing the shuttle swipe. When asked, Austin said safety on the shuttles has not been an issue. Transcript Fee
Kara Saunders presided over the evening’s least confrontational fee: the transcript fee. Last year, the department spent $153,600. Its chief purpose is to provide transcripts to students and alumni. Saunders said her office keeps its costs down in part because many of its student employees have work-study appointments. Students can send feedback to ubstudentaccounts@buffalo.edu and fill out the online Comprehensive Fee survey in the HUB until Feb. 23. email: sarah.crowley@ubspectrum.com
Monday, February 19, 2018
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
PUSHING
BOUNDARIES: An interview with Lights Multi-talented creative talks “Skin & Earth” album, comic series and Town Ballroom show
COURTESY OF MATT BARNES
Pop singer Lights will be hitting the Town Ballroom stage on March 6 for her “We Were Here Tour.” The singer talked with The Spectrum about the show, creating her own comic series and separating herself from her comic character.
BRENTON J. BLANCHET SENIOR ARTS EDITOR
In an industry where some regulars don’t write their own songs, Lights can write her own comic book series. The award-winning Canadian pop star is no stranger to venturing outside of the norm. Lights’ pure electronic pop sound has seen all four of her studio albums land on the Billboard 200. She’s won Juno Awards and pushed boundaries for what’s expected in the industry. Her fourth studio album, “Skin and Earth” shows a new side of the pop star. She’s improved vocally and explored her emotions even deeper, thanks to her inclusion of a comic book series of the same name. Lights just received two 2018 Juno nominations, including Artist of the Year and Pop Album of the Year for “Skin and Earth.” The artist takes her We Were Here Tour to the Town Ballroom on March 6. Lights talked with The Spectrum about connecting both of her mediums, exploring this secondary universe and what to expect from her live show next month. Q: Before we get into anything, I want to congratulate you on your Juno nominations. How does it feel that your “Skin and Earth” album was so well received? A: It’s amazing, especially with the amount of work and thought I put
into this project as a whole. I’ve been nominated a few times for Pop Album and received it once, which was really special. The one that really caught me off guard was Artist of the Year. It was shocking. I woke up with a smile on my face. It means that a bunch of people that I respect and my peers across the country get it. Q: Your recent album “Skin and Earth” is such a wonderfully crafted pop record. I know you’re a multi-instrumentalist, so I was wondering how much of the instrumentation you lent to the record? A: This was an interesting one because I was able to have a vision for this bigger idea. I was able to let go of the range a little bit with the production to make sure that the record was reaching out further than what I was capable of. In the past, I controlled the sound really closely and with this record I kind of let some of that go. The sounds are really diverse on this record. The songs are eclectic, but together they make this cinematic piece. But I did most of the guitar, most of the live bass and a lot of the keyboards. Q: You’ve certainly delivered some of your best vocals on this project, too. I know you mentioned coming out of your shell vocally for “Skin and Earth,” but was this really something you already had in you, or rather something you practiced specifically for this record? A: It was a very cognitive decision on
this record. When I first got into singing, I looked to Celine and Mariah Carey and I was able to do some stuff. When I started making music, I held back a lot vocally so that I would let the production shine … Maybe it was my way to prove, as a woman, that there’s more to me than just a voice. With this album, I really came into my own as a creative … I really wanted to bring the vocals out to the next level on this record. This is the first time I worked with a vocal producer. His name is Ben Rice and he’s amazing. He’s like ex-military so he made me get down on the ground and do push-ups. “Sing it again! Like you mean it.” He made me pay attention to every word. It brought a lot of attention to detail for my vocals on this record. Q: You released the “Skin and Earth” comic book series along with your record. Is this something you’ve wanted to do for a while? Would you like to see other creatives double up on art like this? A: I’ve always wanted to be a comic creator. I’m a fan of the medium and it’s just been a dream of mine forever. Just like music, I think a lot of fans of comics want to be treated equally. It’s just been a dream of mine to see these two worlds come together. And certainly with women. I don’t see a lot of women do that crossover. In fact, I don’t think that there’s really much of it. I really wanted to do it and I never really committed myself to the completion of a comic before. I really wanted to know how to do it and I couldn’t back out so I taught myself how to do it. Q: So I recently watched the Netflix documentary on fellow-Canadian Jim Carey titled “Jim and Andy” and I have to ask –– Since the main character of your comic is based on you and you’ve written these songs from the character’s perspective, did you ever lose yourself in the character while writing? A: That’s such a good question. I think it’s sort of a way to write from another perspective and get things out that I never really felt like I could say. But in the process, I learned a lot about myself and wrote a lot of things that I needed to say. Like a song like “Fight Club” or “Savage,” these songs are about being heartbroken or angry. I have experienced these emotions to some degree in my life. I never felt free to write about them. It’s because I feel like people would read into my personal life too much and wonder.
ART of a REVOLUTION Women of color celebrated at Albright-Knox BENJAMIN BLANCHET SENIOR FEATURES EDITOR
The Albright-Knox is rewriting art history by celebrating black women artists. The gallery opened its latest exhibit this weekend, “We Wanted A Revolution: Black Radical Women, 1965-85.” The exhibit, curated by the Brooklyn Museum, highlights over 200 pieces that encompass a time where black women artists were often underscored, devalued or overlooked. Throughout, artists touched on aspects of black feminism, race, family and gender politics. The gallery acts as a tour guide through various movements by black women, offering points of reference like magazines and written artifacts. These movements include, among others, the Spiral arts collective in the ‘60s as well as the Just Above Midtown (JAM) gallery that featured artists of color in New York. Andrea Alvarez, the curatorial fellow at the Albright-Knox, helped organize the exhibit and hopes the diversity of objects and stories inspire visitors. “Each woman whose work is in the exhibition has her story, and the show is or-
TOUSSAINT CHEN, THE SPECTRUM
“We Wanted A Revolution” is a survey of work by women of color through a period encompassing civil rights, women’s rights, gay rights and anti-war movements. Throughout, visitors to the gallery can view works by black female artists like Faith Ringgold, Ming Smith and Emma Amos.
ganized around the networks and collectives they formed over the years to support each other and help exhibit and promote each other’s work,” Alvarez said. Curational assistant Jasmine Magaña said the exhibit’s time period makes sense given movements in civil rights, gay liberation and women’s rights. “The stories that unfold throughout the exhibition –– aided in large part by the ephemera and documentation that support the exhibition –– address the impact these artists had on their time,” Magaña said. “Even if they weren’t creating art that responded directly to these movements, their activism ranged from organizing and participating in protests, to creating their
own spaces to make and display their artwork, and to writing articles and letters in order to get their voices heard.” Upon entry, museumgoers are introduced to late 20th century black female printmakers. In their work, Barbara JonesHogu and Carolyn Lawrence stress the need for black men in their communities, asking them to “leave white bitches alone” and “unify our families.” Elsewhere, Elizabeth Catlett’s “Target” stands out in its Public Enemy-esque setup, with a sniper target aimed at the sculptured head of a black man. The exhibit surveys the iconic photos of Ming Smith, who captured greats like Sun Ra and Grace Jones during her career. Lor-
The Spectrum | Page 5
But since I have the comic character, I can write these feelings and they’re hers. Inadvertently through writing about a fictional character, I discovered a lot of myself and started writing more honestly than I ever had. It’s funny you ask about losing myself, because I first started with writing the characters into the story. But when writing the characters, you have to become those characters. The main character is pretty much a reflection of myself. Writing the other characters and writing the dialogue and the way they act, you have to embody them as you write their words. Becoming all these different people, I felt like a schizophrenic and I remember saying to my friend who’s a comic writer, “You guys must be crazy all the time.” You have to be in the head of all these [characters]. You have to get into the heads of the evil ones. It’s pretty intense. I got insomnia. I just had all these ideas in my head all the time, but it was an exciting kind of insomnia. Q: You’re currently embarking on your “We Were Here” tour. Do you incorporate stuff from the comics into your live performances in any way? A: Yeah. This is the first tour that I’ve been able to really build a cinematic crescendo of a set. There’s a definitive theme to the first half of the story and a definitive theme to the back half of the set. There’s an interlude that separates them and gives you clips of the comic without actually spoiling it so that people who have read the comic will appreciate all of that and people who haven’t will be interested. So it’s been a challenge putting together this cinematic-related comic book set so it doesn’t give things away and entices people who haven’t read the comic. I think it’s my best show I’ve ever put on. Q: You’ll be at the Town Ballroom on March 6. I believe the last time you were here in Buffalo was 2012. What is it like coming back to perform? A: It’s been a long time and I’m really excited to come back. I think the last time we came through Buffalo was at Mohawk Place. I remember it being chaos and really fun. I was like “let’s come back and do it up good.” I’m really looking forward to bringing a full show back for the first time in a long time. email: brenton.blanchet@ubspectrum.com
raine O’Grady’s glove-based white dress “Mlle Bourgeoise Noire” is featured nearby. Alison Saar’s “Sapphire” opens a door into a black woman’s breasts, revealing a red light inside. Saar transforms the negative sapphire, or angry black woman, stereotype into a naturally carved creator. Betye Saar, in her mixed media pieces, also points toward liberating stereotypes by turning Aunt Jemima syrup bottles into Molotov cocktails. The theme of reinventing negative perceptions carries into Faith Ringgold’s “For the Woman’s House.” Ringgold plays with male-centric roles and depicts black women in their place, re-evaluating imagery of NBA players and presidents. Dindga McCannon asks for representation in “Revolutionary Sister,” acknowledging the lack of women warriors. The piece, done in tune with the Statue of Liberty, shows a woman in reds and blacks, armed with bullets as she heroically stands at a slant. Brigette Bragg, a Buffalo resident, came for the exhibit’s opening without knowing anything about the artists and left appreciating the gallery’s efforts. “I really liked [Dindga McCannon]’s piece. I didn’t notice the bullets on the woman in the painting and the patchwork, so it was all really nice,” Bragg said. “I feel like this exhibit gives black women a type of agency that they really didn’t have before this time period, that I know of. So I feel like it’s definitely important.” “We Wanted A Revolution” is viewable at the Albright-Knox’s 1905 Building until May 27. Student admission to the museum is $8 with a student ID. email: benjamin.blanchet@ubspectrum.com
Page 6 | The Spectrum
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
FEBRUARY
MOVIE GUIDE Your monthly collection of cinematic selections…
DAVID TUNIS-GARCIA MANAGING EDITOR
February is traditionally known in the film industry as a dump month, the time in which studios take a steamy, hot, collective crap on the proverbial chest of theatergoers around the world. With Oscar season in full swing and winter weather keeping people indoors, studios put out unmemorable dreck and the movies they secretly hope nobody will see with only a handful of exceptions. Lay down the Seran wrap and avert your eyes, because this month is already prairie dogging. “The Cloverfield Paradox” Feb. 4 Netflix released the third film in the loosely-connected “Cloverfield” franchise just after this year’s Super Bowl with an ad announcing its arrival. J.J. Abrams, the producer behind all three “Cloverfield” films, adapted a spec script by Oren Uziel entitled “God Particle” to serve as the third film in the franchise, coming after 2016’s “10 Cloverfield Lane,” a near perfect thriller. “The Cloverfield Paradox” follows a group of scientists aboard a space station who are working with a particle accelerator in order to solve Earth’s energy crisis. An accident with the accelerator transports the crew to an alternate dimension where they must find a way home.
COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES
February is know as a “dump month” for the film industry. The “Fifty Shades” trilogy reached its climax with the release of “Fifty Shades Freed” on Feb. 9.
“Fifty Shades Freed” Feb. 9 Buckle up, buttercups; you’re in for the ride of your lives. The climax of the “Fifty Shades” trilogy finds newlyweds Anastasia Steele and the titular Christian Grey trying to put their pasts behind them when Anastasia’s former boss begins stalking
her. The couple quickly find themselves in over their heads. Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan return as Steele and Grey respectively, as well as Marcia Gay Harden as Christian’s mother, Dr. Grace Trevelyan. This threequel comes a good three years after everyone stopped caring about this franchise and is sure to feature such BDSM staples as mild spanking and terse words exchanged between cinema’s least sexually-charged couple. I swear, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl had more chemistry. “Black Panther” Feb. 16 In June, we had the first major superhero film starring a female hero with “Wonder Woman.” The film was a welcome break from the typical DC cinematic sludge we had become accustomed to since 2013’s “Man of Steel.” Marvel has a better track record with their cinematic universe, but “Black Panther” still looks to be a welcome break from the formula. For one, it is the first major superhero film to feature a black hero. No, “Spawn” and “Steel” don’t count — sorry Shaq. “Blade” would be the closest we’ve seen in 1998, but the titular hero has always been a less than D-list character and the film was such a departure from the comic source material as to be unrecognizable. “Black Panther” looks to bring the fictional country of Wakanda to life, along with its king and sworn protector T’Challa the Black Panther, played by Chadwick Boseman, who finds his seat on the throne challenged by a rival played by the atomic cloud of charisma that is Michael B. Jordan. Director Ryan Coogler — who also worked on the script — is the first black man to helm a Marvel movie after proving
Monday, February 19, 2018
himself with his feature debut “Fruitvale Station” in 2013 and the “Rocky” spin-off “Creed” in 2015, both starring Jordan. “Annihilation” Feb. 23 When a soldier played by Oscar Isaac returns mortally wounded from an environmental disaster zone, his wife, a biologist played by Natalie Portman, volunteers for an expedition to the area in an effort to save his life. Portman is accompanied by Jennifer Jason Leigh, the leader of the mission; Gina Rodriguez, an anthropologist; Tuva Novotny, a linguist; and Tessa Thompson, a surveyor and the reason for this entry in the movie guide. Portman leading a sci-fi action film sounds pretty cool and Isaac elevates any material he comes across. But Tessa, this is for you. I know I didn’t appreciate you back in “Veronica Mars.” I’m sorry for that. But I took notice of you in “Westworld” and fell in love in “Thor: Ragnarok.” You can find my petition and official marriage proposal for Tessa on Change.org. Every signature counts. email: david.garcia@ubspectrum.com
Make sports your career. Break into the competitive business of sport with our MS in Sport Administration. In as little as 12 months, you can be ready for a range of
Menthol Smokers Needed for Research Study
3
#
marketing. With connections to more than 500
BEST ONLINE SPORT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IN THE U.S.
sport organizations in the U.S. and abroad, Canisius
Bestcolleges.com
careers in college or professional sports including facility management, scouting, sales, and sports
students gain top-level internship experience and
Researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute are searching for regular menthol smokers for an important research project. Participation involves up to five visits answering questionnaires and trying products in the laboratory.
build a network that includes leading professionals in the field. Program is available on campus and fully online.
Apply today - start this summer. Learn more at canisius.edu/MSA
*This is not a stop-smoking program*
Participants will receive up to $80 for their time If interested, please contact 716-845-4627 And ask for the MENTHOL Study
CLASSIFIEDS
Monday, February 19, 2018
HELP WANTED
4, 5, 6 & 8 BEDROOM REMODELED APARTMENT HOUSES. 37 apartments available located at University Buffalo Main Street Campus off Englewood. Beginning June 2018: UB South Campus for @ $300-$425/bedroom plus utilities. Washers & dryers included. Contact bradengel37@gmail.com or Shawn at 716-984-7813. Check out our website: www.bufapt.com
APARTMENT FOR RENT
Part-Time Positions Available. Lasertron Family Entertainment Center is currently hiring for general customer service. Working at a fast, detail-oriented pace and having excellent customer service skills is a must. Starting at $11/hr, must be available nights and weekends. Stop in and complete an application at Lasertron, 5101 North Bailey Avenue, Amherst, NY.
APARTMENT FOR RENT 3-8 Bedroom Houses And Apartments at UB South: on Winspear & Northrup. Most have large bedrooms, hardwood floors, off-street parking & laundry. Local, responsible landlord with maintenance staff. Call or text Jeremy Dunn, (585)261-6609 or email Jeremy Dunn, jgdunn2@msn.com. 4, 5, 6 & 8 BEDROOM REMODELED APARTMENT HOUSES. 37 apartments available located at University Buffalo Main Street Campus off Englewood. Beginning June 2018: UB South Campus for @ $300-$425/ bedroom plus utilities. Washers & dryers included. Contact bradengel37@gmail.com or Shawn at 716-984-7813. Check out our website: www.bufapt.com HOUSE FOR RENT HOUSE FOR
The Spectrum | Page 7
5 HUGE BEDROOMS. New ceramic tile, freshly painted, very close to main/So. Campus/per… GREAT HOUSE!! 716-432-7125 for appointment. 75 Tyler. Amazing 4-BDRM, 2-BATH Home. Completely furnished, from beds to silverware!! Newer appliances, new windows, security system, offstreet parking, snowplowing, free wifi & cable included. Must see!! Available June 1st. $375 per person person plus security deposit. 716-830-1413. AVAILABLE JUNE 1st. HEATH, LISBON, MINNESOTA @ MAIN. Totally renovated 4,5,6,7 master BDRM. 2 Baths HDWD floors and W/W carpet. Stove, fridge, washer/ dryer and off-street parking. A must see!! Text 716-570-6062. 135 Winspear: 6 BDRMS; 2 Bath. $2,700. Ron Young.com ron1812@aol.com 716-812-6009
RENT
WINSPEAR, NORTHRUP, ENGLEWOOD, MERRIMAC; $350 & UP, 3-10 BDRM. www.ubsouth.com 870-8100 181 Woodcrest 6-BDRM; 3.5 BATHS; Regulation Pool Table; Parking 8 Cars; Near Wegmans, Tops, Walmart; $2640+ ($440 Each); ron1812@aol.com
SERVICESSERVICES CITYA1DRIVINGSCHOOL.COM Beginners & brush-up driving lessons. 5hr class $30.00 716-570-7230.
3-8 Bedroom Houses And Apartments at UB South: on Winspear & Northrup. Most have large bedrooms, hardwood floors, off-street parking & laundry. Local, responsible landlord with maintenance staff. Call or text Jeremy Dunn, (585)261-6609 or email Jeremy Dunn, jgdunn2@msn.com.
DAILY DELIGHTS sponsored by Collegiate Village Apartments
ADVERTISE
With The Spectrum
Call 716-645-2152 For Details.
SPORTS
Page 8 | The Spectrum
Buffalo vs. bowling green
Bulls beat Zips at Alumni Arena 85-71 Women’s basketball team picks up fifth straight win
Previewing the women’s basketball game against the Falcons
THOMAS ZAFONTE SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR
The women’s basketball team will take on the Bowling Green Falcons in their game on Wednesday. The Bulls are having a stellar season, heading into the game at Bowling Green with a five game win streak. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The Bulls (21-4, 12-2 MAC) currently sit atop the East division in the MidAmerican Conference, while the Falcons (10-15, 2-12 MAC) are tied for last in the conference. The Falcons will be coming in off an eight-game losing streak. Here are the position breakdowns for the upcoming conference game.
Centers: Bulls Senior center Cassie Oursler has been a force, scoring and at the boards, having seven double-doubles already this season. She has averaged 16.4 points and 11.4 rebounds in her last five games. Expect Oursler to continue her strong play while possibly leading the game in rebounds. The Falcons have some strength at the five spot, but not at the same level as Oursler. Sophomore center Jane Uecker is the team’s most experienced center, but none of the Falcons’ centers have had the same numbers or experience Oursler. Expect the Falcons to try multiple centers in Wednesday’s game, but none going over 20 minutes. Forwards: Bulls Sophomore forward Summer Hemphill has been the Bulls’ most consistent scorer, averaging 60.8 percent shooting this season. Hemphill has shot below 50 percent once since January, while also being one of the team’s top scorers. She had 18 points and 9 rebounds in her last game against the Akron Zips (8-17, 2-12 MAC). Add in the solid bench selection of forwards the Bulls have and it would seem Buffalo has the advantage. The Falcons fair just as poorly at the forward position as they do the center spot. Expect the Falcons to call on junior guard Sydney Lambert to play the most minutes in the forward spot. She has scored 10 points or more in four of her last five games. Guards: Bulls The Bulls have the most team depth at the one and two spot. Between senior guard Stephanie Reid, junior guard Cierra Dillard and the crop of talented guards on the bench, the Bulls would outmatch any team in the MAC. Reid will look to lead the Bulls on the court, while looking to pass and attack the lane to create assist and scoring opportunities. Dillard will be a threat shooting and defensively in every minute she plays. Add that with a three guard scheme and a bench full of players capable of shooting from beyond the arc and the Bulls have the ability to tire out most teams they play. The Falcons’ best guard is junior Carly Santoro. Santoro had 16 points in the Falcons’ last game and a double-double in the game before that. Expect her and sophomore guard Caterrion Thompson
MADISON MEYER, THE SPECTRUM
Sophomore forward Summer Hemphill rejects the opposing player’s shot. Hemphill had 18 points in the game against the Akron Zips on Saturday.
THOMAS ZAFONTE SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR
The Bulls remain a perfect 11-0 at home this season with their win at this year’s annual Pink Game. With this win, the Bulls booked a first-round bye in the MidAmerican Conference championship. This win keeps the Bulls (21-4, 12-2 MAC) one game behind current topranked MAC team, the Central Michigan Chippewas (21-4, 13-1 MAC). The Bulls have guaranteed a tie for first place in the East division. “What an exciting time here at Buffalo,” said head coach Felisha LegetteJack. “I think we are 20-1 here [Alumni Arena] for men’s and women’s basketball. We came locked-in to move the needle for Buffalo’s athletic department and we are just trying to do our part.” Both teams wore pink in support of breast cancer awareness for the conference matchup. Sophomore forward Summer Hemphill led the game in scoring and boards with 18 points and 9 rebounds, shooting 9-15 in Saturday afternoon’s game. Senior guard Stephanie Reid led the team on the court and in assists with her 10 point and 10 assist double-double. “I know they like their assists so I put the ball up and try to get us our stats,” Hemphill said. “I feel I have gained more confidence out on the court, being able to put my trust in [Legette-Jack] and the team.” The first period saw moments where the Bulls started to streak offensively, only for the Zips (8-17, 2-12 MAC) to fire back and keep the game close. The Bulls were able to make their lead 1810 with three minutes remaining, but couldn’t continue the scoring. The period ended 21-16. The second period played out similar to the first, with the Bulls outscoring
to do about a third of the Falcons’ scoring on Wednesday.
Coaches: Bulls Head coach Felisha Legette-Jack has had a tremendous season already and don’t expect that to change in this game. LegetteJack has done a great job this year in keep-
the Zips 21-14 to make it 42-30 at the half. Hemphill led at the half in scoring with 12 points. Junior guard Cierra Dillard had an all-around performance in the first half with 5 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds. She would finish the game with 13 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds. The third saw the Bulls build upon the lead with a strong late-period scoring performance, but the Zips tried to keep it close on defense. The Bulls were able to make their lead 63-43 with 1:21 left in the period off strong threes from junior guard Autumn Jones. The Zips stayed in it to make it 63-48 at the end of the period. With 7:05 remaining in the game and the score at 69-54, Legette-Jack was livid with her team’s late-game performance, looking for them to close the game out. The Bulls would go on to have an even period going 16-17 in scoring with the Zips. “I thought that everybody brought it,” Reid said. “I wasn’t having the best runs, but when I saw Hanna [Hall, freshman guard] pushing, that gave me the drive to move even when I struggled.” The Zips struggled shooting all day, going 25-65. The Zips’ top scorer was freshman guard Destiny Perkins with 17 points who shot 6-17 from the court. Legette-Jack’s biggest concern with her team’s performance came from their defense. Legette-Jack said the team showed issues defending in transition. “I was surprised with how they would explode out when they would get the ball and we couldn’t keep up,” Legette-Jack said. “We got to get better on transition defense because they would have scored a lot more on us if they could have.” The Bulls’ next game will be on Wednesday on the road against the Bowling Green Falcons (10-14, 2-11 MAC) with tip off set for 7 p.m.
Monday, February 19, 2018
KINGS EAST OF THE
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Perkins has been leading the offense since the start of conference play with 18.3 points per game in MAC games. He is averaging 16.6 on the season. Three other Bulls are scoring in double-digits as well. Junior guard CJ Massinburg has a season-high 17.5 points for the year. Senior guard Wes Clark and junior guard Jeremy Harris –– both new additions to the team this year –– are averaging 14.9 and 14.8 points respectively. The biggest thing helping the Bulls’ scoring is their ability to convert from behind the arc. The Bulls’ 12 threepointers on Friday put them at 265 for the year, two ahead of the previous record set by the 2015-16 MAC championship team. Oats said the focus on threes has been intentional. The coaching staff wanted to move the team away from mid-range jumpers and focus on shooting from down low or behind the three-point line, according to Oats. All four double-digit scorers for the Bulls are shooting at least 32 percent from deep. Harris is leading the way at 41 percent with Massinburg just behind at 40 percent. Perkins and Massinburg are two of only three players on the roster for three years. Oats said the two took on leadership roles with the team this season because of their experience. Oats’s first year as head coach was the year Massinburg and Perkins came in as freshmen. Now Massinburg and Perkins are fifth and sixth in the MAC in scoring. Massinburg is also sixth in rebounding at 7.6. “I just feel like it’s part of the process, with me and Nick coming in freshman year and Oats being in his first time being a college [head] coach,” Massinburg said. “We’re very hard workers and eventually things like this will happen. Freshman year I had plans of this year and how good it would be and me and Perkins talked about it all the time.” The Bulls will now have four games to fine-tune their game and solidify their seeding for the MAC tournament that begins Thursday, March 8 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Clinching the top-four seed guarantees the Bulls a trip there and gives them a bye through the first round, played at home. This is the fifth straight season the Bulls have secured a top-four seed. Oats has been on the coaching staff for all five seasons. Perkins said the bye is good but knows from last year’s experience it doesn’t guarantee anything. “I think it means a little bit of something, but it doesn’t mean much,” Perkins said. “We had one last year and went in the first game and Kent popped us, so it’s something that’s good but we’re going to be ready to play [that first tournament game] and just take it game by game because we’ve been there before.” email: daniel.petruccelli@ubspectrum.com
email: thomas.zafonte@ubspectrum.com
ing the Bulls sharp. If they are underperforming on defense, she gets them to pick it up shooting. If the shots aren’t going in, she gets the Bulls to push harder on defense. She is never satisfied with her team’s performance, always looking for the Bulls to play better in all their games. Jennifer Roos has coached the Falcons
in over 500 games. Still, Roos has struggled with her team as of late, while the Bulls are coming in having one of the program’s best seasons. Roos will have to get the Falcons playing much better basketball than they have all season if they hope to win. email: thomas.zafonte@ubspectrum.com