The Spectrum Vol. 67 No. 47

THE SPECTRUM VOL. 67 NO. 47 | APRIL 23, 2018

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

UB pulled romaine lettuce from campus locations amid nationwide E. coli outbreak

UBCon XXIX A Bard’s Rhyme: A tribute to the tabletop

UB women’s tennis makes regular season history

> SEE PAGE 2

> SEE PAGE 7

> SEE PAGE 10

Members of Fossil Free UB discuss past year’s accomplishments, plans Students say they are for next year FUTURE PLANS for UB Fossil Free On Monday, two members of Fossil Free UB will participate in the Cuomo: Walk The Talk on Climate in Albany.

On Wednesday, the group will be tabling for the solar celebration as part of UB’s Earth Week. The organization will have a financial expert explain the logistics of divestment.

The group will be coordinating with UB’s Amnesty International chapter and the Public Accountability Initiative on a workshop about researching corporate power networks.

Working more closely with environmental justice organizations in Buffalo like People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH).

Expanding their “message of accountability” to include all unethical investments.

Demanding more transparency from the UB Foundation.

Warped fences

UBSPECTRUM

proud of rally and shared governance award

Governor Andrew Cuomo signs Middle Class Recovery Act at UB State provides $32 million toward UB research, Innovation Hub

MADDY FOWLER NEWS EDITOR

Anthony DeFeo said he believes Fossil Free UB’s “grassroots” approach and lack of association with SA have been key to getting the UB Foundation to listen to the organization’s concerns.

Fossil Free UB, formed in 2015, is a student organization calling for UB to divest from the fossil fuel industry. The Faculty Senate, the Graduate Student Association and SA passed a resolution in May 2017 that called for the UB Foundation, a tax-exempt non-profit that manages donations and the university’s $1 billion endowment, to divest from fossil fuels.

In November, leaked documents revealed that UBF invests in offshore hydraulic fracturing, and on March 5, a local watchdog group reported that UBF has invested in at least five other fracking-connected private funds. > SEE

BENJAMIN BLANCHET SENIOR FEATURES EDITOR

Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Middle Class Recovery Act in front of over 300 people at UB’s Jacob’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences on Thursday.

In a 20-minute speech, Cuomo addressed the act, which funds $32 million toward a UB “Innovation Hub.” Cuomo talked about bringing back jobs for upstate New York, cutting taxes for the middle class and his continuation of the Excelsior Scholarship program.

Cuomo is currently seeking re-election in New York’s gubernatorial race.

The $32 million grant, approved Thursday afternoon by the Empire State Development Board of Directors, allows access of incubator space to house tech-

FOSSIL | PAGE 5

JACK LI | THE SPECTRUM

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Middle Class Recovery Act during a visit to UB on Thursday, granting $32 million toward an “Innovation Hub” downtown.

nology startup companies on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. The investment is part of the second phase of Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion initiative. > SEE CUOMO | PAGE 5

University Tennis Center deemed unusable for Division I teams due to poor condition MAC Championships moved due to the state of disorder

Mixed surfacing

Rusted signs

Cracked courts

THOMAS ZAFONTE SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR

Holes in fences

Unaligned courts

Fences are breaking at the foundation. Paint is peeling off the ground and every court has cracks. The fences have holes, the gates don’t lock and the surfacing is a trip hazard. All of this is occurring at UB’s “world-class tennis facility.”

The result: the men’s and women’s tennis teams will not be able to host the Mid-American Conference Championships at UB, despite earning the right to do so by winning their respective MAC titles last year.

The University Tennis Center, next to the Ellicott Complex, is unusable, although UB resurfaced the courts this past summer. The Spectrum asked Athletics how much the resurfacing cost, who oversaw it and when, but Associate Athletic Director for Broadcasting and Communications Dan Enser said the department had “no comment.” The Spectrum sent a Freedom of Information request on Sunday to get specifics concerning dates, cost and fees pertaining to the situation. > SEE TENNIS | PAGE 6

Weakened foundation

Unlocked fences PHOTOS | THOMAS ZAFONTE & JACK LI DESIGN | PIERCE STRUDLER

NEWS

2 | Monday, April 23, 2018

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WRITER: DAVID TUNIS-GARCIA & ARTIST: TAJ TAYLOR

Lettuce recall UB pulled romaine lettuce from campus locations amid nationwide E. coli outbreak KIRSTEN DEAN ASST. FEATURES EDITOR

Students looking for romaine lettuce on campus last week were left disappointed.

On April 16, UB Campus Dining & Shops’ Dining Services released a statement saying it “was notified by [its] produce supplier of a recall on chopped romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region.”

CDS said “out of an abundance of caution,” it pulled all products containing romaine lettuce from its locations. The statement was posted at CDS locations on April 14.

The flyers, however, didn’t inform students about the reason behind the pull –– a nationwide E. coli outbreak.

CDS updated the statement on April 20, almost one week after the romaine pull.

“Chopped romaine products available today are safe to eat and were not sourced from Yuma, AZ,” CDS said in a statement.

“In response to [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s and U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s] recent advisory not to eat chopped romaine lettuce sourced from Yuma, AZ, Campus Dining & Shops immediately removed all chopped romaine lettuce, sourced from

Yuma, from our dining locations,” the statement read. “We have now received new shipments of chopped romaine that was not sourced from the Yuma region.

The products you see today are safe to consume. Thank you for your patience.”

The CDC, however, has now expanded its warning to consumers “to cover all types of romaine lettuce from the Yuma, Arizona growing region,” including whole heads and hearts of romaine and romainecontaining salad mixes, in addition to the original chopped romaine warning. CDS locations served 23.5 tons of romaine lettuce between August 2016 and May 2017 at CDS locations, according to UB Now. CDS did not respond to The Spectrum’s questions regarding the romaine lettuce pull.

Both the CDC and the FDA released statements about the romaine lettuce recall on April 13, three days prior to UB’s online announcement.

“The CDC, several states, the U.S Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service are investigating a multistate outbreak” of E. coli, the CDC reported on April 13.

As of April 20, the CDC reported that

the outbreak strain of E. coli infected 53 people from 16 states.

Though no deaths have been reported yet, 31 have been hospitalized and five have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome – a type of kidney failure.

The specific strain of E. coli was E. coli O157:H7, a “major foodborne pathogen” that produces Shiga-toxin and is commonly found in healthy cattle, according to the National Institute of Health,.

“Bovine food products and fresh produce contaminated with bovine waste are the most common sources for disease outbreaks in the United States,” according to the institute’s website.

The FDA reported the E. coli outbreak on its Outbreak Investigations page, but did not report it on their Safety Recalls list.

“No specific grower, supplier, distributor or brand has been identified at this time, so the FDA cannot officially recall what isn’t yet identified,” said Lauren Sucher, a press officer in the FDA’s Office of Media Affairs, in an email to The Spectrum.

Paulina Masailo, a full-time employee at UB’s Edgy Veggies, said the dining location did not serve any romaine lettuce

last week. Romaine lettuce can be put in salads as the main lettuce option and is also found in the restaurant’s “Edgy Mix” of lettuce. Masailo said she didn’t see a change in students’ salad orders or the number of Edgy Veggies patrons.

Edgy Veggies replaced romaine lettuce with iceberg lettuce, Masailo said, and students told her their “orders tasted the same anyway when tossed in altogether in the salad.”

SHUBH JAIN | THE SPECTRUM

Flyers posted outside of CDS locations this past week informed students that romaine lettuce was pulled. The flyers did not state that E. coli concerns were the cause of the pull.

Masailo said Edgy Veggies received a new shipment of romaine lettuce Thursday morning. After using up the last of the iceberg lettuce, safe romaine was available to customers on Friday, the date of CDS’ updated statement.

Caroline Pippin, a sophomore biological sciences major, said it’s strange that UB gets food all the way from Arizona.

“I think [UB] made the right decision of pulling [the romaine lettuce] off the shelves when they did, but hopefully, they’re more aware of what’s being spread and where everything is coming from,” Pippin said. email: features@ubspectrum.com

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OPINION

ubspectrum.com

THE THESSPECTRUM PECTRUM Monday, April 23, 2018 Volume 67 Number 47 Circulation: 4,000

EDITORIAL BOARD Editor in Chief Hannah Stein

Managing Editor Brenton J. Blanchet

Creative Directors Pierce Strudler Phuong Vu, Asst.

Copy Editors Dan McKeon, Chief Cassi Enderle, Asst.

Lauryn King, Asst.

Savanna Caldwell, Asst.

News Editors Max Kalnitz, Senior Maddy Fowler

Features Editors Benjamin Blanchet, Senior Erik Tingue Kirsten Dean, Asst.

Arts Editors Brian Evans Samantha Vargas, Asst.

Sports Editors Thomas Zafonte, Senior Nathaniel Mendelson, Asst.

Multimedia Editors Jack Li, Senior Shubh Jain, Senior Madison Meyer, Asst.

Cartoonist Ardi Digap

PROFESSIONAL STAFF Office Administrator Helene Polley

Advertising Manager

Monday, April 23, 2018 | 3

UB is sustainable in some ways, needs improvement in others University needs to take steps to make sure it is as sustainable as marketing campaign claims EDITORIAL BOARD

UB prides itself on having Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified buildings, and several sustainability-related awards, including the 2016 Green Power Award from the EPA. But the university could still improve its sustainability efforts on several fronts.

Most egregiously, the UB Foundation invests in offshore hydraulic fracturing. After a seven-year study conducted by the Department of Environmental Conservation, New York state banned fracking in 2015, citing “significant adverse” effects on land, air, water, and natural resources, as well as potential public health risks.

Despite investments in fracking, UB does make some efforts toward sustainability. The university has two on-campus solar installations. Education and Leadership Fellows in Sustainability are a group of students working to improve sustainability at UB. Campus Dining & Shops and Three Pillars Catering compost all kitchen scraps, pre-consumer and catering food waste. UB has a chief sustainability officer “to

provide leadership and direction for sustainability initiatives as the university works to implement ambitious environmental objectives,” according to the university’s website. And UB’s annual Repair Fair encourages students to repair and reuse old items rather than throwing them away.

The trash cans labelled “landfill” also serve as a small yet powerful reminder of where our waste goes, and several Spectrum editors said these signs make them more likely to remember to recycle. But these signs are only on a few campus trash cans. And recycling receptacles are not always clear about what can and cannot be recycled.

UB has seven LEED-designed buildings: Barbara and Jack Davis Hall, Center for Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, Clinical and Translational Research Center, Creekside Village Community Center, Educational Opportunity Center, John and Editha Kapoor Hall and William R. Greiner Hall. None, however, can boast a platinum certification, LEED’s highest honor.

The U.S. Green Building Council, a nonprofit that encourages architects to design environmentally friendly buildings, determines LEED certifications.

Buildings are rated primarily based on the sustainability of their materials, heating and cooling efficiency and control of storm-water runoff.

But LEED is often more of a

public relations boon than a meaningful metric of sustainability. For example, a gas station in Texas has a LEED certification. If a location that sells one of the single greatest contributors to global climate change can earn the certification, it raises some serious questions about LEED’s legitimacy.

Building designers can earn significant points toward their ratings for small things like installing a bike rack. Application fees can be as high as $22,500, and hiring consultants, which can cost over $100,000, can greatly increase a building’s chance of earning certification, making it an award that can essentially be bought. And when the certification grants points for so many small things like bike racks, sometimes the big picture is missed, which explains how a gas station could earn the rating.

And while Davis Hall touts a Gold LEED certification, the basement is under the water table, so they need to pump out water 24/7. LEED is certainly not the best measure of sustainability.

Campus-wide, UB still has a lot of wasteful practices that should be rectified.

Heating and lighting are not controlled effectively. A lot of the lights and heat are left on despite if anyone is in the room or not. Lights that automatically shut off could help with this problem, although individuals should also be more cognizant of turning lights off when they

leave a room.

The school should also make more efforts to encourage students to use public transportation. Students at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences receive a free NFTA bus and rail pass, as do students at Canisius and Buffalo State.

UB offers carpool parking spots, but they are rarely used, and by offering free parking, the university essentially encourages students to drive. The No. 35 Sheridan bus departs from UB’s Coventry Loop and makes stops throughout Amherst, which local commuter students would likely take advantage of more if UB offered transit passes to all students.

The Spectrum editors acknowledge that printing thousands of newspapers twice a week poses its own adverse environmental impacts. Discussing environmental sustainability on campus has reminded us that we need to think critically about our own carbon footprints, both as an organization and as individuals.

Sustainability can be complicated and no person or organization can be perfectly sustainable, but everyone is responsible for thinking critically about how they can change their behavior to lessen harm to the environment.

UB has made strides in terms of becoming environmentally sustainable, but the university needs to address sustainability issues on campus and in its foundation’s investments to match its environmentally friendly marketing image. email: opinion@ubspectrum.com

Ayesha Kazi

Graphic Design Managers Stephen Jean-Pierre JuYung Hong, Asst.

ABOUT THE SPECTRUM 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.

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The coup against cars Buffalo and Delaware Park can learn from Central Park’s move to get rid of cars DAN MCKEON COPY CHIEF

On Friday, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in a press conference and on Twitter that Central Park would permanently be car-free starting in June, with the exception of the lowered roads that go through the park at 97th, 86th, 79th and 65th streets.

As an anti-car citizen of Buffalo, I can’t help but dream of a car-free Delaware Park, which is currently cut in half by the hideous and hazardous Scajaquada Expressway. The famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted designed both parks, and he never wanted a stream of loud automobiles to cut through the sense of calm and solitude urban park-goers need.

Now, the decision in New York doesn’t ban automobiles entirely. The four lowered transverses, all originally designed by Olmsted to be as non-invasive as possible, will remain open for cross traffic between the east and west sides of Manhattan when the rest of Central Park’s roadways are closed to cars.

You could argue the Scajaquada would be the same situation: a transverse road serving as a vital east-west artery. It’s practical and necessary for quickly mov-

ing through the city, and is a direct link between the Kensington Expressway –– the biggest urban planning mistake in Buffalo’s history –– and the I-190, a major international trade route.

But the Scajaquada’s history has an especially tragic chapter.

In 2015, a car veered off the expressway and hit a mother and her two children. Maksym Sugorovskiy, 3, died. In the immediate aftermath, Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Department of Transportation lowered the speed limit from 50 to 30 mph and installed guardrails, effectively putting band-aids on the gaping wound that is the Scajaquada.

It shouldn’t have taken that long to do anything about the Scajaquada. The DOT proposed several plans, one that called for a downgrade of the expressway to a street, but the city and the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy felt that didn’t go far enough.

The BOPC’s current position, listed on its website, calls for “any roadway through the Park” be “in a manner faithful to Olmsted design,” much like the four transverses through Central Park. It calls for “park access for multi-modal use from surrounding neighborhoods.” It calls for “lowering elevations of the roadway corridor … to the greatest extent possible.”

In short, the BOPC wants what any Buffalonian should want: a world-class park. The Scajaquada,

if it must exist, should be lowered into the ground, much like the Central Park transverse roads are.

The park should be open, safe and accessible to the community, just as Olmsted intended. Delaware Park should be car-free.

It can be difficult to imagine the disappearance of an imposing roadway, but it’s not unprecedented. Portland, Oregon’s U.S. Route 99W became the first victory in the pushback against freeways back in 1974. The city closed most of the roadway and built a waterfront park over it, giving pedestrians the space and greenery they deserve. Since then, cities across the country have reclaimed space once covered in concrete.

So, we need to either completely demolish the Scajaquada or mirror Central Park’s lowered transverses. But why stop there? The Central Park development stems from an urban planning mentality New Yorkers have that Buffalonians are not eager to embrace: less cars, and more pedestrians, bicycles and transit.

Buffalo’s urban planning historically valued the automobile over everything else. The Kensington Expressway, a highway no one wants that effectively segregates the city, was built to appease car-loving suburbanites.

Recently, the city has taken a few steps in the right direction. In 2016, the zoning code was radically changed, with the intention of “promoting walkable neighborhoods, mixed developments, historic character, environmental sustainability and mass transit,” according to The Buffalo News.

Last week, the DOT showed the public plans for the new

downtown Amtrak station, which included a covered walkway to the NFTA metro line. It’s still a head-scratching decision to not build the new station at the beautiful Grand Central Terminal, but any transit-oriented development is a good one for me.

Cities should value transit, walkability and preservation of neighborhood character. New York’s transit-based development has given it countless pockets of communities built around metro stations. Buffalo’s Main Street metro stations sit in largely decrepit and abandoned parts of town instead of denser, walkable communities.

New Yorkers are almost infamous for complaining about the MTA. With 74 percent of riders being late because of subway delays, according to The Daily News, who can blame them. But it says something about their mentality. New York and mass transit –– subways, buses, trains, etc.

–– are inextricably linked. Even when the system is falling apart it seems, New Yorkers still want to talk about their intense love-hate relationship with the MTA. Of course, New York and Buffalo are very different places.

New York is an aging marvel of interconnected transit where pedestrians are the norm and cars are the nuisance. Buffalo might not have the population density or the finances to beef up its transit enough to take down cars, but in the case of Central Park and Delaware Park, two famous Olmsted projects, Buffalo could do worse than following its downstate companion’s decision. email: dan.mckeon@ubspectrum.com twitter: @Dan_McKeon_

4 | Monday, April 23, 2018

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NEWS

ubspectrum.com CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

CUOMO

SA announces 2018 Milton Plesur Award winners

Thirteen-and-a-half million dollars of the “Innovation Hub” funding will go toward pre-seed/seed investments and proof of concepts for the startups. $11.5 million will go toward outreach, support and program administration, and $7 million of the investment will go toward converting the New York State Center of Excellence for Bioinformatics and Life Sciences into an incubation space. A third-party committee will decide how investment money is spent at the hub. Grant money will be allocated over a five-year span.

“Whether [community members are discovering] new medical devices, software applications, hardware, engineering, new materials — the Innovation Hub enables us to take those incredible innovations and help them commercialize them, performing new startups in our community that will also have an economic impact,” said Christina P. Orsi, associate vice president for economic development at UB. Orsi said the hub is “very complementary” to other Buffalo business development ventures like 43North. She said the hub is about taking the innovation that is already happening at UB’s institutions and spinning it out into new startups.

Cuomo arrived at the downtown campus at roughly 2:10 p.m., after a welcome from Mayor Byron Brown. Cuomo began his speech with a series of political quips and stories, expressing his gratitude for being amongst doctors and doctors to-be at UB. Cuomo talked about his focus on jobs for the middle class, contrasting his stance to President Donald Trump’s approach of bringing “back the jobs of yesterday.”

“I don’t think that’s realistic. I don’t think we’re going to bring back the steel mills, the manufacturing jobs,” Cuomo said. “They’ve moved overseas, they’ve moved to lower costs of labour and they’re not coming back. The trick is to be a part of the economy that will be and that’s what people are doing here in Buffa-

MAX KALNITZ SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

Five faculty members have won this year’s Milton Plesur Excellence in Teaching Award from the Undergraduate Student Association. The award recognizes faculty members’ commitment to students and their teaching quality.

The recipients of the award are: Dianna Cichocki, adjunct assistant professor from the School of Management; Gregory Delaney, clinical assistant professor from the School of Architecture and Planning; Stephanie Anzman-Frasca, assistant professor of pediatrics; Jody Kleinberg Biehl, clinical associate professor of English and Rachael Hinkle, an assistant professor of political science.

The award is named after Milton Plesur, a professor in the history department who died in 1987. Plesur was an author, scholar and a professor beloved by many students.

Student Affairs Director Samirra Felix said the winners were chosen out of 10 applications for the award.

Students who nominated their professors will also be in attendance at the Milton Plesur Ceremony on May 1 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Student Union Theater. email: max.kalnitz@ubspectrum.com twitter: @Max_Kalnitz

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lo that’s a great success.”

Cuomo said it’s a bidding war for some business to stay in the state. He said it takes money to make money and states like New York have to be willing to invest in businesses.

“You have to make that initial investment to bring [businesses] here, for upstate New York that was almost an impossibility because they were not getting the attention they needed from Albany, for many, many years,” Cuomo said.

Cuomo spoke after his speech about providing incentives for businesses to come to New York, referencing Amazon’s bid to have a headquarters based in Buffalo and Rochester.

“What Amazon did was what every business has been doing for a decade, it just doesn’t have the publicity because it wasn’t Amazon,” Cuomo said. “That competition that you saw with Amazon, that happens every day. That’s one of the reasons why upstate New York suffered for so many years. You couldn’t get any funding from Albany.”

Cuomo said initiatives like Buffalo Billion are economic investments getting businesses to come to Upstate.

Howard Zemsky, president and CEO of Empire State Development, said the governor has been a huge supporter for the new medical campus. Zemsky said UB offers opportunities to take “promising research” and, for the first time, commercialize it.

“Economic development is a team sport, so it takes the IDAs, the county, the state, economic investment organizations like Invest Buffalo Niagara and their similar organizations like that all throughout the state. ... Everybody has to be on the same page, or we come up short,” Zemsky said.

The new hub is expected to serve UB, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Cen-

ter, Jacobs Institute and Kaleida Health.

The incubator and hub programs are expected to start sometime next year, according to a press release.

UB President Satish Tripathi said in a press release a research university like UB is at the center of the entrepreneurship hub.

“Through our extensive faculty expertise, our longstanding engagement in the community, and our established record of student and faculty entrepreneurial collaborations — in areas ranging from the life sciences and material science to IT and sustainability — UB has created a dynamic environment where entrepreneurship can grow and flourish,” Tripathi said.

The act also supports a middle-class tax cut phase-in, dropping rates by roughly 1 percent for some families. Additionally, the act covers a continuation of the Excelsior Scholarship program, making scholarships eligible for households making up to $110,000 annual income.

“If you ask a middle-class family what is one of the real pressures they have, it’s how [they] pay for college,” Cuomo said.

“So, we’re leading the way with that. It’s also smart for the state overall because, to the extent you have an educated workforce, you will get the jobs.”

Cuomo mentioned the Middle Class Recovery Act during 2017’s State of the State address in the Center for the Arts. The signing comes less than a week after Cuomo announced a $5 million investment for the restoration of Buffalo Central Terminal.

New York State Senator Tim Kennedy, New York State Assembly Member Crystal Peoples-Stokes, President Tripathi and Erie County District Attorney John Flynn were among those in attendance for the signing on Thursday.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

dinating with UB’s Amnesty International chapter and the Public Accountability Initiative on a workshop about researching corporate power networks, according to Goldberg. The workshop will take place at 6:30 p.m. in NSC 228.

The group will also be tabling on Wednesday for the Solar Celebration as a part of UB’s annual Earth Week. There will be a financial expert at the table to explain the logistics of divestment for those who are still unclear about the process, according to Powell.

For the upcoming academic year, Goldberg said the group wants to expand its “mission of accountability” to include all unethical investments.

“There’s a chance the foundation has co-mingled funds in weapons manufacturing or prisons. Transparency in the foundation isn’t just an environmentalist concern, it should concern all of us,” Goldberg said. “We want to bring other groups into the fold and start translating the power we’ve built around environmental concerns into organized student power to confront racism and other institutionalized oppression as well.”

One of the other groups UB Fossil Free is looking to collaborate with is People United for Sustainable Housing. PUSH is a “membership-based community organization dedicated to affordable housing, equitable jobs and ecological sustainability for the West Side of Buffalo,” according to the organization’s website.

“I’d really like to see us increase our presence on campus and throw our political power behind some other social issues, both on campus and in the greater community,” Powell said. “We already support the graduate student living stipend movement, and I’d love to see us take a more active roll in issues relating to environmental justice.”

Powell said he is optimistic about the future of UB Fossil Free.

“Divestment is more likely to occur than ever before and despite the obstacles, I feel our movement can be successful within the next year,” he said. “All revolutions seem impossible until they happen, and then they’ll just seem inevitable.

We are so close to creating a positive impactful change, not only on our campus, but on our world.”

FOSSIL UBF Executive Director Ed Schneider previously told The Spectrum divestment is “not that simple and even [Fossil Free students] know it’s not that simple.”

DeFeo, a junior film studies major, said he thinks Fossil Free UB’s biggest accomplishment has been getting Schneider to talk to members of the organization. Schneider has since brought divestment to the attention of the foundation members, who had not considered or necessarily heard of divestment before, according to DeFeo. “We’ve gotten rather far in getting the UB Foundation to listen to us and seriously consider divestment,” DeFeo said.

“We’ve had several productive talks with Ed Schneider and he appears very open to it, as tough as the process may be.”

On March 5, students in Fossil Free UB were granted a shared governance award for their commitment to working with faculty and administrators across the university throughout their divestment campaign.

“Our Shared Governance Award from the Faculty Senate and Professional Staff Senate is an accomplishment I’m very proud of,” said Aidan Powell, a junior environmental studies and political science major.

On March 29, Fossil Free UB organized a rally calling for divestment. Students marched from the Student Union to Capen Hall. David Goldberg, a junior political science and environmental studies major, said he believes the rally was one of Fossil Free UB’s biggest accomplishments this year.

“We had a lot of allies come out and support us [at the rally] and we showed the university that we’re only getting more and more organized,” Goldberg said. “We also got public support for our campaign from James Balog, the director of ‘Chasing Ice,’ and that was a really cool moment for us.”

Powell said the organization’s media presence has been a key factor in the past year’s success and helped the group grow from five members last semester to around 10 to 15 members. Currently, the group is using social media to promote its campaign asking alumni as well as students’ friends and family to pledge against donating to UB until the university agrees to divest. A link to the pledge can be found on the Fossil Free UB Facebook page.

On Wednesday, Fossil Free UB is coor-

email: benjamin.blanchet@ubspectrum.com twitter: @BenjaminUBSpec

email: maddy.fowler@ubspectrum.com twitter: @mmfowler13

6 | Monday, April 23, 2018

SPORTS

ubspectrum.com

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

TENNIS Associate AD of Event/Facility Operations Sue Kurowski and Assistant Director for Student Employee Development Karen Mayfield refused to comment and referred any questioning to Senior Associate AD for Sports Administration Kathy Twist. Twist did not respond in time for print.

Each of the 13 courts has cracks or a hazard large enough to make playing on them so dangerous that Athletics hasn’t let Division I teams practice or play on the courts since last October. Club teams, however, continue to use the courts, with 30 UB students playing there each week.

“Those courts need to be condemned,” said Director of Outdoor Pursuits Russell Crispell, the former UB men’s and women’s head tennis coach, who worked for the teams from 1982 to 2006. “I can surmise that they don’t want the [Division I] athletes to get hurt, so is this not a potential risk for the general public?”

The summer resurfacing was meant to fix the cracks, but it didn’t work.

Now, neither the winning men’s nor winning women’s team can use the courts.

And instead of playing at home and hosting the MAC, the women’s team will travel to Ball State University from April 27 to 28 for the tournament. The team is coming off winning its first MAC Season Title in program history this past Friday.

UB Athletics refused to talk to The Spectrum about the courts, but the university’s website says the complex is “host to some of the best Division I tennis action in the Northeast.”

“I have personally resurfaced courts before, and it is going to take a complete remilling and relaying of asphalt to make them usable,” Crispell said. “Even still, those courts are absolutely outstanding in terms of the infrastructure, so getting rid of them like the Alumni courts would be terrible.”

The courts near Alumni Arena were torn down in October to make space for the $18 million Murchie Family Fieldhouse.

Crispell said the overall price to return the courts to NCAA conditions would cost “upwards [of] tens of thousands of dollars.”

“They seemed to have gone with a quick fix,” Crispell said. “That quick fix did not work and I know that facilities had the company come back to attempt to mediate those fixes, which did not work as well.

It left depressions in the asphalt and sections of the patched material peeling up.”

Homeless champions This season, both Division I teams have played at the Miller Tennis Center in Williamsville, located 15 minutes from UB’s North Campus. The center was named the Private Tennis Facility of the Year in 2018 by the Professional Tennis Registry. The facility has eight courts inside; with the Bulls using four during meets.

The teams have been playing at the facility since the 2016-2017 season.

Athletics rents the facility for both teams’ practices, meets and promotional events –– a year-round expenditure that used to only be paid for in the winter. Athletics declined to comment about how much it cost them to rent the facility this season. The men’s team will play at the center this year for the MAC Championships, which begins Friday.

If the weather conditions are not poor, the event must be held outside, according to the MAC Championship regulation. Athletics has not announced where the games will be played if they are unable to use the Miller Tennis Center.

The Spectrum attempted to speak to players on both teams for comment, but none came forward out of fear of upsetting Athletics or losing their scholarships.

Men’s and women’s tennis teams had a combined budget of $967,441 in 2017.

In contrast, football –– a male-only sport –– had a budget of $7.8 million, while the men’s and women’s basketball teams had a combined budget of $3.7 million. The men’s tennis team had the lowest individual team budget of $400,723 in 2017. Athletics had an overall budget of roughly $35.9 million.

A patched area of the UB Tennis Complex peeling off the ground. The president of the Aces Tennis Team said it is possible to lift the surface up.

THOMAS ZAFONTE | THE SPECTRUM

“It is sad when the courts that are supposed to be used by the Division I teams aren’t even up to the Division I standard,” said Aces Tennis Club President Anthony Podgorsak.

Podgorsak said the courts’ conditions hurt the club, as it makes it “impossible” to give members an excellent tennis experience.

The Aces, a Student Association club, is the only team at UB currently using the courts.

Both the men’s and women’s Division I teams are currently over .500, with the women’s team on an 12-game win streak.

“We are growing Division I tennis programs in spite of the fact that these coaches are not given the tools to maintain long-term success,” Crispell said. “Division I tennis is not just fall and spring, it is a year-round sport. Unfortunately, we only have a few indoor facilities in the area, and the cost for [Athletics] to rent them is high.”

Newly hired Athletic Director Mark Alnutt said he learned about the courts when he arrived at his first UB press conference on March 21 and is looking into ways to fix it.

“I want to work with university leadership to make sure those are properly functioning again,” Alnutt said. “I want to explore opportunities beyond just the courts for our tennis program. We have strong tennis here and that is something I want to keep.”

Alnutt said he would look into possible new facilities, but did not specify any plans or type of facility. Alnutt also stressed expanding fan participation.

Student participation at tennis events was low to begin with, according to Senior Director of Marketing for Athletics Elaine Russell. Russell said with the added distance to the Miller Center, it will be even less likely for students to attend matches –– even the upcoming MAC Championship. At the women’s tennis game last Friday, there were roughly 100 fans. No ticket is required to attend.

“We could try to set up buses,” Russell said. “But what happens when no students want to take a bus to just see a tennis match? Even if students know we have … shuttles set up, is it worth the cost when we only expect a few or no students to show?”

More than cracks The courts were built in 1993 to be used in the World University Games held at UB that year. Both the complex and UB Stadium were built to accommodate the games.

Crispell said the complex is supposed to be world-class, as the games were meant to be a major undertaking.

“A part of our deal was that the World Games would pay to renovate the courts,” Crispell said. “They were gorgeous when we were done with them. We hosted a world-class tournament there. Right after that, I was named head coach and those courts remained in great shape until I retired in 2006.”

Now, there are cracks on every court in the complex. Crispell said the cracks formed from a lack of routine maintenance. Had the university resurfaced the courts every five years, the cracks would have never gotten to this point, Crispell said.

Podgorsak described the courts as “sketchy.” The Aces recently began using the courts again, something Crispell feels is an issue.

“If those [Division I] students can’t,

then why would you have nets up?” Crispell said.

The university put nets back up last week at the request of the Aces. Before that, no nets had been put on the courts due to weather.

The fences surrounding the courts have structural damage and are on the verge of collapsing, according to Crispell. He said the wind protectors for the fences were not installed correctly. Instead of putting them on the outside perimeter, they were installed on the inside. The extra pressure put on the fences led to structural issues over time. Athletics would not comment on who put up the protectors or when.

“It is pretty bad to look at the fence,” Podgorsak said. “We are not provided a

I want to work with university leadership to make sure [the courts] are properly functioning again,” Alnutt said. “I want to explore opportunities beyond just the courts for our tennis program.

We have strong tennis here and that is something I want to keep.” key to get in. Though I tell everyone not to do it, there are still people who climb over the fences. It puts unnecessary pressure on the courts themselves and is a big risk for injury.”

Podgorsak said last semester the fences were not in such bad shape, but are now a hazard due to the weathered foundation.

Crispell said it would cost thousands of dollar to fix the fences. The fences also have large holes along the perimeter.

Podgorsak said it is possible to physically “peel off ” the paint on the court. In patched sections, the paint is a different shade of blue as the rest of the courts. The patched material has a different consistency than the rest of the courts, which makes it easy to slip when playing at high speed.

“If someone is sliding and they catch one of those peels, that could be a broken ankle,” Podgorsak said.

The club has yet to have an injury this season, but started spring play last week.

The Aces have over 100 members and 30 weekly participants, according to Podgorsak. He said the courts aren’t an issue for beginner players, but it becomes a risk when the level of play picks up. The complex holds the only tennis courts on cam-

pus, making it the Aces’ only choice.

When Podgorsak returned to the courts in late August for the start of the season, he described them as “perfect.” Less than two months later, he would take that statement back.

“Once the weather picked [up] with the rain and snow, that was when it started to go,” Podgorsak said. “In Buffalo, outdoor courts are a gamble. If they are not done perfectly right, you are going to start having these problems quickly.”

Podgorsak said he doesn’t believe the company that did the patches ever came back to fix the issues, as the courts “have only gotten worse over time.” To Podgorsak, the courts were better before the patch job happened when compared to its current condition. Before, the fences were not in such bad shape, the court was a consistent surface and not peeling.

Podgorsak said that not having to plan around a Division I schedule was the only advantage.

Hope for improved facilities Crispell said the university should take “a serious look at bringing in an indoor tennis center” in order to “maintain longterm success” for the tennis programs.

“The center would not just benefit the needs of the athletes but the needs of faculty and staff,” Crispell said. “A multi-purpose facility would serve the entire UB population.”

Crispell pointed to other schools in the MAC as already having such facilities. Both Ball State University and Western Michigan University have indoor facilities on or next to their campuses. The men’s tennis team played four Ivy League schools this season.

Ivy League schools have multi-million dollar tennis facilities, as they are the NCAA’s premier tennis conference.

Crispell said regularly planned maintenance is the only way to make sure the current situation at UB doesn’t happen again.

During Crispell’s time as coach, he made it a priority to make sure maintenance happened for the courts every five years.

Crispell doesn’t think the coaches are to blame, though. He insists both have had remarkable success, while dealing with such adverse circumstances. Athletics, he said, put off maintenance long enough for the courts to end up in a “disastrous state.”

Men’s tennis head coach Lee Nickell and women’s tennis head coach Kristen Maines both declined to comment.

“I am not surprised that the courts ended up like this,” Podgorsak said. “It happens nationwide, but definitely here at Buffalo. Tennis just isn’t funded. I really don’t see the school trying anything beyond a patch job to really fix it.”

Crispell and Podgorsak said a moisture guard would be a more proactive solution.

The guard would help the courts deal with the Buffalo weather and help reduce the severity of damages.

Both agreed that another patch job would not be the answer to fixing the problems. Athletics has not announced any plans to restore the courts this season. email: thomas.zafonte@ubspectrum.com twitter: @Thomas_Spectrum

FEATURES

ubspectrum.com

UBCon XXIX A Bard’s Rhyme: A tribute to the tabletop Games, cosplay and more come together at UB’s anime and gaming convention SAM VARGAS, EMA MAKAS ASST. ARTS EDITOR, ARTS STAFF WRITER

The Student Union is usually a quiet place on the weekend, but the three-day UBCon made sure that wasn’t the case.

Cosplayers, gamers, anime fans, furries and other fandom members took to the SU to share their diverse interests.

The 29th annual UBCon celebrated fandom and art. Strategists and Role Players Association and Anime Club organized the various events –– including Nerf Wars, League of Legends and Super Smash Bros. tournaments, anime showings and cosplay improv shows –– running from Friday to Sunday. The convention was centered in the SU and extended through Baldy, Clemens, Knox and Norton halls. Attendees could also explore Artist Alley, two spots where they could buy fan merch, antiques and homemade goods from local artists.

Brendan Loos, Con director and a senior business administration major, said UBCon is “an insane event.”

MADISON MEYER | THE SPECTRUM Gaming and anime fans travelled from all around Western New York for the 29th season of UBcon.

Guests attended various events that ran throughout the weekend.

“Not many events exist like [UBCon],” Loos said. “We’re one of the first conventions on the East Coast to host the Nerf Wars, so we’re very proud of that.”

Analyzing feedback from fans and attendees is one of the most crucial parts of planning, according to Loos.

“We try to pick events based on what fans want to hear, who they want to see, who they want to meet. It’s always a good time when people get to meet their favorite guests,” Loos said.

The convention offered an eclectic mix of activities, from tabletop gaming to karaoke. The Nerf Wars were one of the largest events of the weekend. The foamdart battle between around 300 people spanned the entire Student Union.

UBCon hosted a variety of special guests, including voice actors Sarah Anne Williams of “Kill La Kill” and “Sword Art Online,” and Spike Spencer of “League of Legends.” They also brought in Kayley Marie and Sarah Jean Maefs, two professional cosplayers. “[The special guests] are some of the most down-to-earth people. They fly out

Junot Díaz addresses trauma, immigration and gratitude in Buffalo

TOUSSAINT CHEN | THE SPECTRUM

Junot Díaz spoke to a sold out crowd on Friday night about the feelings of immigrants and what it’s like to be an immigrant writer.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author speaks at Kleinhans Music Hall BENJAMIN BLANCHET SENIOR FEATURES EDITOR

Junot Díaz said immigrants are the mirror in which a nation sees its true self.

“We so desperately need immigrant voices. We need those voices because without the news that immigrants bring, our world will continue to die and sometime soon in the future, that will be our reality,” Díaz said. “The news which immigrants bring all of us could, if we listen, save us all, ... if only we would listen.”

Díaz, the final speaker in Just Buffalo Literary Center’s 2017-18 BABEL series, spoke to a sold-out crowd at Kleinhans Music Hall on Friday night. The Dominican-born author won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction with his book, “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” and pub-

lished his first children’s book “Islandborn” this year.

Díaz started the evening by asking audience members to raise their hand if they were immigrants, children of immigrants, people of African descent, Latino, Dominican or Carribean.

He introduced himself as an immigrant writer of African descent. Diaz said he often thinks about what it takes for someone like himself to become a writer.

“I [think about] what we, in some ways, have to disobey. The silences that we have to defy,” Díaz said. “I found myself having to deal with a number of challenges to become a writer. First and foremost, of course, there is a silence our society [puts] on people of color and on immigrants.”

Díaz said our society expects immigrants to not tell the truth about their experiences. This especially becomes a problem for writers, he said, as writers are all about pursuing some relationship with the truth.

“That mandate that society has toward immigrants, toward women, toward people of color, is stay silent about the reality of our experiences,” Díaz said. “That’s one of the es-

to Buffalo just to be a part of the convention. It’s really an honor for us,” Loos said.

The convention brought many cosplayers from the enthusiastic community. UB Cosplay Club hosted the Cosplay Contest in the SU Theater as part of UBCon. Cosplayers competed against each other in different categories. The different skits and artisanship draw in fans, filling the theater.

Elisa Forysinski took home the “Best in Show” award with her Lady Four costume.

Jennifer Dudzinski, a junior media study major and secretary of UB Cosplay Club, chose to cosplay as Grif from “Red vs.

Blue” on Saturday.

“I spent around $70 on all the different pieces,” Dudzinski said. “I like to stay under $100, but it’s something I enjoy. Sometimes you have to go an extra step.”

Paul Mercer, a regular attendee at UBCon, said he spent $1,500 on his fullbody fursuit, equipped with a fan installed in the head. He has been fur-suiting for the last three years. This year, Mercer dressed as his most pursued “fursona,” a jackalope named Cacao.

“I’ve commissioned four people to

sential mandates that you must disobey.”

One of the things immigrants have to overcome, Díaz explained, is the trauma of immigration.

“Trauma, as we all know, is the end of language, the great disruptor of language,” Díaz said. “Then, there is always the reality of overcoming the silences within you. You cannot become a writer unless you can be honest with yourself, no matter what the hell you’re writing about, even if you’re writing about werewolves.”

Díaz shifted the audience’s attention to his prepared speech on the dangers of gratitude, joking that he hates writing speeches. Díaz said immigration is a loss of culture, but when families come to the U.S., they are the recipients of a great gift.

“This is the positive myth of immigration, and this positive myth may for some be true, but whether this myth is pure fiction or partial fiction, it does not address the originary trauma,” Díaz said.

The author said “ungrateful” immigrants are told repeatedly to leave the U.S. if they don’t like it.

“This is not so much a suggestion as a not-so-veiled threat, a threat that immigrants themselves have already lost a country understand all too well,” Díaz said.

Gratitude, he said, is the absolute non-negotiable clause in an immigrant’s social contract in America. This clause encompasses all people of color, Díaz said, especially people of African descent and indigenous people.

But there is a contradiction, the author pointed out: if one offers gratitude and doesn’t extend any, it’s an example of unethical and exploitive behavior.

“For the United States to be grateful of its immigrants would require a reckoning with itself that it is clearly not prepared for,” Díaz said.

After his speech, Just Buffalo artistic director Barbara Cole conducted a Q&A session with Díaz.

Cole asked Díaz whether “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” should be considered magical realism. Díaz said it’s the “dumbest reading” of the book and joked that writers like him, who have a ‘z’

Monday, April 23, 2018 | 7

create my costume. I met one of my artists here,” Mercer said. “Three years ago I got into the community through different friends, and have been upgrading everything over time.”

Unlike last year, the convention split its Artist Alley into two separate rooms. Local artists and crafters rented out booths for their products. One room featured 2-D art, such as prints and stickers, while the other featured artisan crafts.

Some attendees were able to commission different artists on drawings or cosplay equipment. A third room, separate from Artist Alley, sold merchandise like board games and written material.

Farah Raghunandan, a sophomore psychology major, was travelling through the SU with friends to finish homework when he came across UBCon events.

“It’s hard to get work done with so much commotion, but they’re having fun,” Raghunandan said. “If this was happening during a weekday, I would understand some complaints, but it’s on a weekend once a year. I watched a lot of anime in high school, I might even check it out later.”

Next year, UBCon will celebrate its 30th year as a convention. It plans to continue to grow and bring more UB students into the community. email arts@ubspectrum.com

in their name, are immediately associated with “magical realism.”

Cole also asked Díaz how blackness is embraced in the Latino community and whether he was hesitant to address antiblackness in his works.

“I fear bigger problems in the world than being embarrassed. Anti-blackness is one of them,” Díaz said. “It’s absolutely ubiquitous; it’s not monopolized by any particular group.”

Díaz said he grew up in the Dominican Republic, a country that came to modernity in an “anti-black, racial dictatorship.”

“For me, anti-blackness that I found present in the Dominican community did not do anything than link me to the rest of the African diaspora,” Díaz said.

“Certainly, it’s not monolithic in its intensity and formation, but it’s a challenge we all face. Exploiting the anti-blackness in the Dominican community is the only way we can begin to achieve some kind of healing and authenticity. I never saw it as something to be embarrassed about but [rather] a path to an integrated, whole self.”

Fans of Díaz’ writings praised his speech and Q&A on Friday night.

“Junot Díaz is the s--t. He speaks truth to power in the most authentic way that P.O.C. folks can substantiate and be proud of,” Rahwa Ghirmatzion said.

Elena Johnson, a senior English and African American Studies major, said Díaz was easygoing and related to everyone in attendance.

“In his books, when he was saying he has some words in Spanish that people don’t understand, he doesn’t translate it and you can look beyond that,” Johnson said.

“People don’t fully understand what others are talking about, but it’s more how you connect with people. So, I think he did a good job displaying that in his talk.”

Before the night ended, Cole revealed next year’s BABEL series, which includes Mohsin Hamid, Jesmyn Ward, Min Jin Lee and George Saunders. Early bird and VIP tickets are now available for the 2018-19 series. email benjamin.blanchet@ubspectrum.com twitter @BenjaminUBSpec

8 | Monday, April 23, 2018

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SPORTS

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UB women’s tennis makes regular season history HARUKA LUCAS KOSUGI | THE SPECTRUM

The Bulls celebrate after beating the Ball State Cardinals 7-0 Friday. The program earned its first MAC Season Championship with the win.

Bulls beat Ball State to win first MAC season title HARUKA KOSUGI CONTRIBUTING WRITER

UB women’s tennis clinched its first ever Mid-American Conference season title on Friday at Miller Tennis Center, after defeating the Ball State Cardinals 7-0. The Bulls won each of their five singles matches without dropping a set and lost only one of three doubles matches in the afternoon.

Head Coach Kristen Maines said she wasn’t surprised with the victory, but was impressed with the consistency the Bulls

(15-3, 8-0 MAC) showed throughout the season.

“All of these MAC conference matches are tough; there isn’t an easy conference match. But I’m not surprised because of the way they’ve done every single match and the way they’ve competed this whole conference season,” Maines said. “This team is something special.”

The one close match of the afternoon came from the third doubles team, featuring freshman Emel Abibula and junior Arianna Paules Aldrey. It came down to a tiebreaker where Buffalo beat Ball State (10-10, 2-5 MAC) with a score of 7-6.

The match was the last home game for senior Tanja Stojanovska and graduate student Lolade Ogungbesan.

After coming to the United States from Macedonia, Stojanovska had played for the UB women’s team since her freshman year and was named an All-MAC First Team for two consecutive seasons.

Stojanovska picked up victories in both her second doubles with partner Anna Savchenko and second singles match winning 6-4 and 6-3, 6-0, respectively.

“The team has grown so much, and we have had so much progress since my freshman year,” Stojanovska said. “It means a lot to win regular season championship on Senior Day.” Lolade Ogungbesan is playing her first season at UB after transferring from an accomplished career at the University of Pittsburgh. Ogungbesan dropped her first

doubles match with doubles partner Chantal Martinez Blanco 6-3, but beat her singles opponent 6-4, 6-1.

Ogungbesan said she came into the match determined to win and felt several emotions after the victory.

“I feel so proud of everyone and all the work we’ve put in towards and I feel like everyone really deserved it,” Ogungbesan said.

Maines said she couldn’t be happier that the seniors finished their regular season with a win.

“Lolade came from the University at Pittsburgh for one year and is outstanding. I’m so happy she got to experience great success here,” Maines said. “And Tanja, it’s fitting because she helped make this team what it is. She’s been a [top] player her whole career and I couldn’t be more happy that she got to finish the season this way.”

The season also marked the 10-year anniversary of the program’s first MAC Championship in 2008 and to celebrate, the team hosted a “UB Women’s Tennis Reunion” during the match.

Denise Starakiewicz, a member of the 2008 MAC champion team who attended the reunion, said the current roster is better than the roster she was on because of its depth.

“They grew stronger with this year’s recruit and there’s more diversity,” Starkiewicz said. “From the top to the bottom of the lineup, there isn’t much difference [in skill], and I think that’s what makes the team stronger.”

Maines said the team has to remain focused and become better with each match to win the upcoming MAC Championships.

The 2018 MAC Women’s Tennis Championship is set to take place from April 28 to 29 at Ball State University. The Bulls will be entering as the number one seed and will play their first match in the semifinals against the winner of the number four and number five matchup. email: haruka.kosugi@ubspectrum.com

Enes Kanter speaks at Muslim Student Association Banquet NBA player discusses religion, social activism and basketball NATHANIEL MENDELSON ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

Knicks center Enes Kanter uses his NBA platform to do more than play basketball.

He speaks against political leaders, such as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his actions as leader of Kanter’s native country.

At the Muslim Student Association’s annual banquet on Saturday at Banchetti by Rizzo’s, Kanter discussed his NBA experiences in relation to being Muslim and why his faith is important to him.

Kanter advocates for human rights and free speech, despite being labeled as a dangerous figure in Turkey. Kanter is vocal in his support of Muslim communities in America and how basketball can be used as a tool for change. Kanter is one of just 12 Muslim NBA players.

Kanter is wanted for arrest in his home country of Turkey.

“Respect, together, live, love: those are the key words in my life,” Kanter said.

“It’s been a really rough year for my country and what they’re going through. I was doing my charity work around Europe, and in Romania the Turkish embassy cancelled my passport. When you say the right things, not everyone is going to like you. In my country I talked about equality, freedom of speech and staying humble,

but sadly my country did not like that. The president didn’t like that. The one thing I believe in is always standing for what you believe in.”

Kanter opened up his speech discussing his path to America and the difficulties he initially had. Kanter had to leave his parents in Turkey to come play basketball in the U.S. “The first day I stepped into America, it was so weird because I grew up with my parents. The only English I knew was my name and how to say I’m hungry,” Kanter said.

He cited difficulties in the difference in cultures, the speed people talked and finding halal food. After seven months in the U.S. he was slowly learning the culture but still asked questions like “When do people hide eggs?”

Kanter discussed his challenges with NCAA regulations. He was ruled ineligible to play or practice at Kentucky. He was subsequently named the youngest student coach in history as a loophole so he could practice with the team. Kanter cited his own difficulties as a student in college, mostly an art course that was three hours of reading when he thought they would be drawing ducks.

Kanter recently finished his seventh NBA season. He reflected on getting blown out by the Lakers in his first game, being traded to play in Oklahoma City with stars Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant and being traded again to the Knicks while hosting a basketball clinic for orphans in the Oklahoma City area.

Kanter ended his talk and opened the floor to questions ranging from basketball

NATHANIEL MENDELSON | THE SPECTRUM

Enes Kanter answers questions from Muslim Student Association members and Muslim community members during the Muslim Students Association Annual Banquet.

to religion.

“The one thing they’re looking for is how you represent your faith,” Kanter said. “Everyday they were watching me.

Everyday they were going ‘Enes is eating this, why is Enes not doing this, why is he drinking this but not drinking this.’ The most important thing is respect. I was always respecting my teammates’ faith and they were always respecting mine.”

Kanter follows the practices of the Quran and manages to eat halal and pray five times a day while playing in the NBA. Kanter joined in prayer with the MSA as they prayed before sundown.

Students asked for funny stories from his time in Oklahoma City, his favorite restaurant in New York City and his feud with Lebron James this season. Kanter had fun with the audience and asked the

student to rephrase the question after the student said “the great Lebron James.”

Kanter does not hold a grudge against James today and said he respects the work James does for his community, but can’t wait to beat him in the playoffs.

Usman Najam, a senior biomedical sciences major and president of the Pakistani Student Association, enjoyed the talk and appreciated how Kanter spoke about his initial struggles assimilating to American culture.

“If he’s able to stick to his values and represent not only our religion and culture but as an individual, then one of us can do the exact same,” Najam said. “We don’t have any excuses to stray away from what is right or what we believe is correct.” email: nathaniel.mendelson@ubspectrum.com