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MONDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2017 PAGE 2 The daily grind Starbucks location in The Commons has the highest amount of mobile orders in the U.S.
PAGE 3 GOP tax plans will hurt graduate students, middle class Newly passed tax bills will primarily benefit the wealthy
International students hold panel to discuss isolation, problems with integration at UB Panelists to discuss ways UB can better integrate students SARAH CROWLEY SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
The Institute of International Education recognized UB for the 15th consecutive year as a top host university for international students, but some feel it hasn’t done enough to integrate these students into American university life. A class of international students is
VOLUME 67 NO. 26 PAGE 4 ‘Sex and the Classroom’ Sex Communication class still a student favorite
Archie Shepp looks back on rich past at UB Jazz legend and former Black Studies professor discusses music and educational career
searching for solutions. Students in the English Language Institute (ELI) will culminate semester-long research on integration and isolation at UB through a series of panels this week. Groups of students will present on a series of topics related to international student isolation and provide possible solutions, including the use of sports, clubs and food to bridge the divide between domestic and international students. Presentations will take place Tuesday, Dec. 5 in 102 Clemens Hall from 2-3:20 p.m. and on Dec. 7 in 332 Clemens Hall from 2-3:20 p.m. and are open to the public. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 COURTESY / ARCHIE SHEPP
Jazz legend Archie Shepp formerly taught in the Black Studies (now African and African-American Studies) program in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Shepp, now retired but still on the performance circuit, talked with The Spectrum about his ethnomusicology course along with his album “Attica Blues.”
Shortage of tickets for Winter Gala Student Association’s Winter Gala ticketing sparks student frustration WANLY CHEN STAFF WRITER
Student Association’s Winter Gala has been an eagerly anticipated event for UB students since the tradition began in 2001, but many students will be unable to attend this year after the 800 tickets to the event sold out within two days. Students shared their frustration about the sold-out event and cited conflicting work and class schedules as reasons for their inability to purchase tickets in time. SA representatives –– who are able to reserve and purchase tickets at $5–– believe nothing can
be done to improve the system. The gala, reminiscent of a high school prom and hosted at Samuel’s Grande Manor on the Saturday after the last day of classes, invites hundreds of students to dress up in their best formal wear for a classy night of entertainment. Tickets are sold for $30 at the SBI office on North Campus and at Harriman Hall on South Campus. Meals, transportation and an open bar are all included in the ticket price. Last year’s Winter Gala hosted roughly 650 students, with a total cost of $46,000. This year’s projected costs are estimated at $60,000, providing additional seats to accommodate for growing student demand. SA events like gala are funded by the Mandatory Student Activity Fee, a $104.75 semesterly fee for each student. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
UB officials discuss idea of a new recreation center on North Campus THOMAS ZAFONTE SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR
Scott Weber, vice president of Student Life, announced Student Life is looking to include a new athletic recreation center in the future. No specific plan or date has been approved or announced. “As we begin to re-engage in how the university might move forward with a new recreation center, we have been thinking more holistically to include wellness education, a health center and a counseling center,” Weber said. “This concept expands on the work that was done in 2013 that envisioned building a recreation center, combined with Wellness Education, on the North Campus.” Allen Greene, director of athletics, feels both students and athletes face crowded gym spaces and a new recreation center would address these issues. “For the past five years, we have been trying to articulate why this is important and why the campus will benefit from a standalone [recreation] center,” Greene said. The plans have support from officials from both Student Life and UB Athletics. University spokesperson John Della Contrada said the university supports moving forward with the plans. “The university commissioned a study on such a project a few years ago and still feels that new recreation facilities would be
ALLISON STAEBELL / THE SPECTRUM
Allen Greene prepares for work as he sits at his desk. Greene is a supporter of UB moving forward with plans for a new recreation center.
a worthwhile investment to improve the student experience at UB,” Della Contrada said. According to Greene, athletics has considered this project a priority since he was hired for the position two years ago. Greene and Della Contrada both named Weber as being the main proponent in this process. “The [recreation] center is more than an athletics priority,” Greene said. “It is a university priority as well. We as a campus see the need for it, but we [athletics] are just a cog in the whole thing in trying to help get this done.”
BENJAMIN BLANCHET SENIOR ARTS EDITOR
Jazz great Archie Shepp arrived at UB in 1969, with very few references for his ethnomusicology course. The class, “Revolutionary Concepts in African-American Music,” marked the beginning of Shepp’s career in college education. Shepp, known for albums like “Four For Trane” and “Mama Too Tight,” taught a performance course and an ethnomusi-
Senate narrowly passes controversial tax reform bill Bill will offer tax cuts to major corporations and wealthiest earners MADDY FOWLER EDITORIAL EDITOR
The Senate passed a massive tax overhaul in the early hours of Saturday morning after several last-minute, handwritten revisions were scribbled in the margins of the 479-page bill. The measure passed 51 to 49 and would offer large permanent tax cuts to major corporations, such as Apple, General Electric and Goldman Sachs, according to The New York Times. The bill aims to reorganize and lower the taxes businesses and corporations pay in order to stimulate economic growth. The plan would increase the national deficit to more than $1 trillion over 10 years, according to the United States Congress Joint Committee on Taxation. But Republicans believe economic growth will partially offset the cost of the bill. The House of Representatives passed a similar sweeping tax reform bill on Nov. 16, with a few differences. Those differences have to be resolved and both chambers will vote on a new, cohesive piece of legislation at a later date. Under the House bill, graduate students who receive tuition waivers would now have to pay income tax on the waiver. UB students and faculty participated in a walkout last Wednesday in opposition to this provision of the tax plan. While graduate student tuition waivers were not addressed in the Senate bill, they could still be a provision in the final piece of legislation crafted by both chambers.
email: thomas.zafonte@ubspectrum.com
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cology class at UB from 1969-1971. “Even to give assignments to the students, there just wasn’t everything written like there is today,” Shepp said. “All I had when I started teaching was my own experience in the music. When I began to build an archive, I could give my students assignments which would build their knowledge not only of contemporary African-American music but how that music evolved.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
BREAKDOWN OF GOP TAX REFORM College tax benefits • Currently, low and middle income Americans can deduct up to $2,500 a year in student loan interest. The House bill will take away that benefit starting in 2018. • Grad students who get tuition waivers because they teach or do research would now have to pay income tax on the waiver. • American Opportunity Tax Credit will remain, which allows a $2,000 credit for higher education expenses.
Corporate taxes • Both bills reduce the income tax for major corporations such as Apple, Goldman Sachs and General Electric from 35 percent to 20 percent. • The Senate plan has one-year delay in dropping the tax rate.
Standard deduction • Standard deduction is a dollar amount that reduces the amount of income you’re taxed on. It varies according to your filing status. • The current standard deduction is $6,350 for individuals and $12,700 for married couples and used by about 70 percent of taxpayers. • Both will double those levels to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples.
Personal exemption • Both bills eliminate the current $4,050 personal exemption.
State and local taxes • Both bills end federal deductions for state and local income and sales taxes, but they allow the deduction for up to $10,000 in property taxes.
Individual insurance mandate • Senate bill repeals the requirement in the Affordable Care Act that people pay a tax penalty if they don't purchase health insurance; House bill does not.
Alternative minimum tax • The alternative minimum tax ensures those in highest tax brackets people pay at least some tax. • The Senate bill doesn’t repeal it but reduces the number of people who have to pay it whereas the House bill repeals the tax altogether.
Inheritance tax • Currently, when someone dies the estate owes taxes on the value of assets transferred to heirs above $5.5 million for individuals, $11 million for couples. • The Senate bill doubles those limits but does not repeal the tax. • House initially doubles the limits and then repeals the entire tax after 2023.
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