The Spectrum Vol. 67 No. 25

UBSPECTRUM.COM

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2017 PAGE 5 Winter is Coming Students receive a cold welcome to Buffalo winters

Buffalo State College Foundation donated to local political action committee Foundation violated terms of nonprofit tax status, which prohibits political activity

SARAH CROWLEY SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

PAGE 7 UB Choir and Chorus under new management New choir director Claudia Brown brings world of experience to Buffalo

UB Foundation invests in fracking, leaked documents reveal Students disappointed, say investment is at odds with university’s sustainability claims

MADDY FOWLER EDITORIAL EDITOR

The UB Foundation invested in an offshore firm that funds North American hydraulic fracturing –– more commonly known as fracking, a practice banned in New York State due to environmental concerns.

The investments were revealed on Nov. 17 through leaked documents called the Paradise Papers. The documents showed dozens of organizations nationwide have invested large sums of money in offshore entities. Students are frustrated and disappointed in the university’s investment and feel it is at odds with the university’s claims of sustainability.

Fossil Free UB, a student-led organization, has been calling for UB to divest from fossil fuel industries since the group formed in 2015. The Faculty Senate passed a resolution in May that called for UBF to divest from fossil fuels.

UBF is a tax-exempt nonprofit that handles donations to UB and manages the university’s endowment. The foundation has more than $1 billion in assets.

TROY WACHALA / THE SPECTRUM

Sophomore environmental design major Sophia Rogllio (left) and freshman environmental studies and art major Alexa Ringer (right) were disappointed and frustrated to learn that the UB Foundation invests in fracking, which leaked documents revealed on Nov. 17. Rogillio and Ringer are members of Fossil Free UB, an organization that advocates for the university to divest from fossil fuel industries.

The foundation’s website says the organization is committed to “operating in a manner consistent with the policies of the University at Buffalo and the SUNY Trustees.”

But unlike the university, the foundation is a private entity and is not subject to open government laws, so it does not have to reveal where it invests its assets.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

UB graduate students hold walkout in opposition to GOP tax plan Graduate students walked out of classes as part of national protest ANNA SAVCHENKO STAFF WRITER

Graduate students and faculty members gathered at Founders Plaza on North Campus Wednesday to show their opposition to a tax bill passed earlier this month by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

The event was part of a national protest organized by the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students in opposition to the tax plan. The bill is expected to cut $65 billion in savings for students over the next decade. The bill proposes eliminating existing tax waivers on tuition as well as student loan interest tax reductions.

UB issues tuition waivers to 1,472 students, according to UB spokesperson John Della Contrada. The addition of tuition waivers to their taxable income would mean students will be taxed at nearly double their current rate.

Graham Hammill, dean of the graduate school and vice provost for graduate education, told The Spectrum previously he is against the provisions in the tax plan that would hurt graduate education. UB has not released an official statement regarding the tax plan.

Daniel Lee, a graduate student in communication, helped organize the protest on behalf of the Communication Graduate Student Association. The crowd grew from roughly 50 to 100 people as fellow students and faculty members spoke to the crowd about how the bill will negatively impact their lives.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

ubspectrum.com

PAGE 10 The Edge: Buffalo vs. St. Bonaventure A matchup preview for the Bulls men’s basketball game on Saturday

@ubspectrum

UB INSTRUCTOR GEORGE CALDWELL’S STORYBOOK CAREER BENJAMIN BLANCHET SENIOR ARTS EDITOR

When George Caldwell heard he won a Grammy in 1997, he thought it was a joke.

He couldn’t fathom how he had won the most prestigious music award in the nation.

Caldwell had recorded “Live at Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild” with the Count Basie Orchestra in 1996. He had performed with the group in Pitts-

ubspectrum

burgh and didn’t follow what had happened with the live recording.

Then, months later, a colleague congratulated him as he was working on the set of a Broadway show.

“I found out, indeed, that record had been made and it won a Grammy. I was not even aware it was nominated,” said Caldwell, who has served as a UB adjunct music instructor since 2014.

Jazz pianist inspires students to play with passion

ubspectrum

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

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GRAPHIC / PIERCE STRUDLER

The Buffalo State College Foundation improperly donated $1,250 to a local political action committee in February, New York State campaign finance filings show.

The contribution, which has since been refunded, violated IRS requirements, which prohibit tax-exempt nonprofits from political campaign activity.

After Robert Galbraith, local writer for The Public, contacted the Foundation to ask about the Feb. 8 contribution to the Buffalo-based 43-x-79 PAC, Buffalo State College officials told Galbraith the payment was made in error.

Buffalo State College Foundation Vice President Susanne Bair said in an email the contribution was intended for the 43x79 group’s “non-political philanthropic efforts” and was accidentally processed for the political action committee.

The accounting staff immediately requested a refund from the committee, which the foundation received on Nov. 17, according to Bair.

The foundation’s contribution to 43-x79, a local business organization, was processed on the same day 12 other donations were made in the same amount, state records show. Other 43x79 donors included local business leaders and corporations, including local construction firm LP Ciminelli, global food service and hospitality company Delaware North, the Buffalo Bills and UB Commons Inc. The 43x79 committee later donated $12,500 to Mayor Byron Brown’s campaign fund, according to campaign finance reports.

Brown, a Buffalo State College alumnus, won a fourth mayoral term this past election, with 52 percent of the vote.

Across SUNY campuses, colleges and universities have relied increasingly on private foundations to manage fundraising amid declining state funding. The Buffalo State College Foundation’s stated purpose is to support advancements in educational, charitable and philanthropic work. In 2015, it reported net assets of more than $49,000,000.

Faculty, students and groups including the faculty union United University Professions have raised concerns in recent years regarding the oversight of SUNY foundations. The union pushed for legislation to make campus foundations subject to open government laws in 2016, echoing critics who feel the private foundations, which manage endowments and handle donations to universities, are not adequately transparent.

Local attorney John Lipsitz is currently suing a UB Foundation affiliate organization. seeking to make its meetings, records and financial reports public. Judge Diane Devlin heard oral arguments on the case last month.

The Buffalo State College Foundation’s improper political contribution isn’t the first such expenditure by a SUNY-affiliated nonprofit.

VOLUME 67 NO. 25

NEWS

Page 2 | The Spectrum

Thursday, November 30, 2017

UB Foundation invests in fracking, leaked documents reveal CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The Spectrum reached out to UBF Director Ed Schneider, who declined to comment.

In a meeting with UB Council Student Representative Mike Brown on Nov. 8, Schneider said the foundation doesn’t have any “direct investments” in fossil fuels, according to Brown. When asked why the foundation would not release a statement saying they don’t have any current or future direct investments in fossil fuels, Schneider said he felt it would be an “empty statement.”

“Apparently, the real reason they didn’t want to say that they don’t have any direct investments was because that’s not entirely true,” Brown said.

Fracking is a process that extracts gas and oil from shale rock. It requires a large amount of water, which raises environmental concerns among critics. Opponents are also concerned that potentially carcinogenic chemicals may leak into the groundwater around fracking sites.

This is not the first time UB has come under fire for connections to the fossil fuel in-

dustry. In 2012, the university was criticized for its Shale Resources and Society Institute, an initiative researching fracking that was funded by a natural gas industry group. Critics felt the research was heavily biased in favor of the oil industry. President Tripathi said in a 2014 letter to the university community that the institute was closing due to a lack of “sufficient” faculty presence and inconsistency in disclosing its financial interests.

Following a seven-year study by the Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State banned fracking in 2015.

“High-volume hydraulic fracturing poses significant adverse impacts to land, air, water, natural resources and potential significant public health impacts that cannot be adequately mitigated,” DEC Director Joe Martens said in a June 2015 statement. “This decision is consistent with DEC’s mission to conserve, improve and protect our state’s natural resources, and to enhance the health, safety and welfare of the people of the state.”

Sophia Rogillio, a Fossil Free UB member and sophomore environmental design major, feels the UB Foundation should be

aligned with the state’s position on “important issues” such as the environment because the state helps fund the university.

“New York State has made it clear fracking is not healthy for the land or the people, and most importantly, our future,” Rogillio said. “These investments clearly show the lack of concern the UB Foundation has when it comes to sustainability.”

Maddie Fives, a junior political science and environmental studies major and Fossil Free UB member, said she is disappointed with the foundation’s decision to invest in climate change and criticized the “sneaky tactics” of investing in an offshore account.

She understands that the foundation needs to make money, but in addition to being against her values, investing in fossil fuels is a poor business strategy, she believes, because the industry won’t exist long-term.

“There will come a time when there’s no more fossil fuels to extract,” Fives said. “[The foundation] should be investing in solar energy, wind energy — literally anything but fossil fuels. It amazes me that the school is investing in something so irresponsible.”

Junior political science major Erika Hollis thinks it’s “shady” that the foundation invests in fracking while the university promotes sustainability efforts.

“As a [research] university that seeks to lead the way in developing new energy technology, it is counterintuitive for them to basically be investing directly in fossil fuels,” Hollis said. “I believe the university should take steps to divest to make sure that it is not being influenced by large fossil fuel companies with a lot of pull.”

Alexa Ringer, a freshman environmental studies and art major and Fossil Free UB member, said the leaked documents “reaffirmed” her concerns about how the foundation handles its finances.

“It showed that they are working under the table to invest against our futures, in a dying and polluting industry,” Ringer said.

She feels if the university is going to claim to be sustainable, sustainability must be incorporated into “every aspect” of the university, including its foundation. email: maddy.fowler@ubspectrum.com

Buffalo State College Foundation donated to local political action committee CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

In 2011, The Spectrum reported $2,560 in political contributions from the UB Foundation to then-Erie County Executive Chris Collins’s re-election campaign. UB officials described the donation as an “honest mistake,” and a Collins official said at the time that the money was returned.

Nonprofits are not allowed to make political contributions and doing so could jeopardize their tax-exempt status, but federal oversight of campaign contributions is “spotty,” said Daniel Weiner, senior counsel for New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, who studies money in poli-

tics. Enforcement tends to rely on voluntary compliance, public disclosures and media scrutiny, he said.

Illegal campaign donations may go unnoticed because of these poor enforcement mechanisms, Weiner said.

“That is a problem,” Weiner said. “The reason you need enforcement beyond just disclosure and public scrutiny is that the public has a lot of other things to worry about. So it is not adequate.

“There is a sense also that if a church or other [nonprofit] organization begins to get enmeshed in politics, it begins to distract from their mission,” Weiner continued.

“The same is true of a university foundation; it’s not there to promote political candidates, it’s there to ensure a university has enough money to operate. How is it part of a university’s mission to be backing a congressman or a mayor?”

For many nonprofits, the risk of looking partisan outweighs whatever benefit could be gained by donating to a campaign, Weiner said.

State schools tend to be particularly concerned about maintaining nonpartisan reputations, and for that reason, they aren’t likely to intentionally donate to campaigns, he said. If a university foundation says it made

a contribution in error, Weiner said, it’s safe to take it at its word.

“I don’t think there are thousands and thousands of undisclosed contributions, but there’s obviously a potential to game the system, and the fact that we often have spotty enforcement is what creates that problem,” Weiner said. “People need to recognize the importance of these rules and I would hope that the universities’ donors and others with stake in it would would care about this, separate and apart from whether this contribution goes to a politician who they agree with.” email: sarah.crowley@ubspectrum.com

Start your week off right and go to Mass!

The Newman Center 495 Skinnersville Road Amherst, NY 14228

2018

WINTER

SESSION IS COMING!

Study here — or anywhere in the world — and earn UB credit. Enroll in UB’s three-week winter session and catch up, get ahead or pursue a special interest.

Online and on-campus courses begin Jan. 4.

registration

Saturdays: 5PM Sundays: 9AM, 10:30AM Student Mass: 6:30PM Daily Mass: Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays at 12PM

Free Dinners: Wednesday Night’s beginning at 6PM (Check the UB Newman Center Facebook for more information)

St. Joseph University Parish 3269 Main St. Buffalo, NY 14214 Saturdays: 4:30PM

IS OPEN NOW

Sundays: 8:30AM, 10AM, 11:30AM

Find a course that’s right for you at UBThisWinter.buffalo.edu

Daily Mass: 8:30AM (Parish Center Chapel)

Student Mass: 8PM

Proud Supporter of UB Basketball

OPINION

Thursday, November 30, 2017

Editorial Board EDITOR IN CHIEF

Hannah Stein

MANAGING EDITORS

David Tunis-Garcia Maggie Wilhelm EDITORIAL EDITOR

Maddy Fowler COPY EDITORS

Dan McKeon, Chief Saqib Hossain Emma Medina NEWS EDITOR

Sarah Crowley, Senior FEATURES EDITOR

Max Kalnitz, Senior ARTS EDITORS

Benjamin Blanchet, Senior Brenton Blanchet SPORTS EDITORS

Thomas Zafonte, Senior Danny Petruccelli Jeremy Torres, Asst.

MULTIMEDIA EDITORS

Troy Wachala, Senior Allison Staebell, Senior CREATIVE DIRECTORS

Pierce Strudler Arielle Channin, Asst.

Alyssa Brouillet, Asst.

CARTOONIST

Ardi Digap

Professional Staff

The Spectrum | Page 3

UB Foundation’s investment in fossil fuel is unethical and hypocritical Investment reflects lack of transparency, contradicts commitment to sustainability The UB Foundation used an offshore fund to invest in fracking and fossil fuels, despite publicly insisting it is committed to environmental sustainability.

The foundation is a shareholder in EnCap Flatrock Midstream, a firm based in the Cayman Islands that solely invests in North American natural gas and oil industries, leaked documents released on Nov. 17 revealed.

This revelation is incredibly disappointing.

The school claims UB is an environmental champion, a leading force in sustainability. And yet behind closed doors, its foundation supports industries known to damage our planet.

Students from Fossil Free UB, who in May passed a resolution through the Faculty Senate calling for the foundation to re-invest in

clean energy, are angry. The university deceived them. Before the revelations hit, UB Foundation Director Ed Schneider assured concerned students that UB had no “direct investments” in the industry.

But this was obviously a disingenuous statement. And no parsing of definitions or excuses about what “direct investments” means can change the fact that students feel deceived and played.

In June, UB President Satish Tripathi said the university is taking “clear, measurable action to respond to the increasing pace and intensity of global climate change.”

Now, we know that is only partially true. UB does have solar power and zero waste initiatives.

Greiner Hall received a “gold” rating from U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification sys-

tem. UB Campus Dining attempts to compost food waste at several dining halls. Professors and researchers are actively working to combat climate change.

But these programs are superficial at best if our foundation is actively undermining their purpose by funding an industry that is one of the greatest contributors to climate change.

Methane gas leakage from fracking creates more pollution than coal and is set to lead to a sharp increase in climate changing greenhouse gases, according to a 2016 Environmental Protection Agency study.

In 2014, New York State banned fracking because of concerns about health risks. The decision came after a seven-year study.

Even before we graduate, UB representatives start asking us to donate. Why should we – or anyone – give money to a foundation that doesn’t tell us the truth about its investments or how it spends our money?

UBF’s investment in fossil fu-

els shows our university cares more about profit than social responsibility and more about image than truth.

Because it is a private entity, the foundation isn’t legally required to be transparent about its investments. The university says it is committed to upholding “best practice” –– but the foundation’s opacity is far from best practice.

The foundation’s directors have a choice; they could choose to do the right thing and open the books.

They could choose to act ethically, apologize for misleading students and agree to answer questions clearly and honestly in the future.

UB is among the top research institutions in the country. Students, alumni, donors and the public deserve answers that befit the university’s ranking.

Anything less is an insult to the university community. email: opinion@ubspectrum.com

OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

Helene Polley

ADVERTISING MANAGER

Ayesha Kazi GRAPHIC DESIGN MANAGERS

Stephen Jean-Pierre Shawn Zhang, Asst.

THE SPECTRUM Thursday, November 30, 2017 Volume 67 Number 25 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.

Hear Me Out: ‘Animal Crossing’ prepared us for a cruel world Before ‘Pocket Camp,’ ‘Wild World’ showed us a bleak adult life

For information on adverstising with The Spectrum, visit www.ubspectrum.com/advertising or call us directly at 716-645-2152 The Spectrum offices are located in 132 Student Union, UB North Campus, Buffalo, NY 142602100

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Do you like TO WRITE? Enroll in Spectrum Writing Workshop ENG 394 3 credits Hear how you can get your name in print, distinguish yourself as a writer and have a portfolio for a future career.

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“Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp” has accomplished an overnight bloodless coup d’état of phones worldwide. Suddenly, everyone is building campers, making friends with needy dogs and frogs and putting together a campsite in their own image. Friend codes are being thrown out on social media, allowing people to quickly connect and visit other campsites. “Pocket Camp” memes are already a thing and the game’s only been out in the U.S. for just over a week.

With all these feel-good Animal Crossing vibes going around, it can be easy to forget the vision of independent living 2005’s “Animal Crossing: Wild World” presented to a young generation.

You begin your life in “Wild World” alone in a new town, in debt to a Japanese raccoon dog named Tom Nook. To pay it off, you take a menial labor job at Nook’s store in a pseudo-feudalistic arrangement. Even after you’ve finished your first job, you must

then spend a significant amount of time working the land; collecting fruits, bugs and fish to sell to –– you guessed it ––Nook.

Oh, you finished paying off the debt? Nook will more or less force you to take out a second loan to expand your house. Let’s be clear: for a very long time, you will be in debt to Nook.

But looking past your everdeepening financial hole, your new life is filled with animal-folk to become friends with. You play as a human, but every other character in the game is an animal. “Animal Crossing” puts you on the same playing field as these animals: you’re all just trying to get by in the world.

Each animal has a different personality, different things to say and favors to ask. You learn more and more about each of these animals, growing attached to these strange folk.

Then one day, your favorite frog moves away on a moment’s notice.

“Wild World” is a lonely place to be sometimes. For children, this was a sign of things to come.

Many of us will graduate and move to a new town, in debt and alone. We’ll work whatever job we can find, make friends with people who will only move away and feel lonely in a world filled with people.

But “Wild World” didn’t just drop you in a bleak life; it taught players to find joy in moments, solitude and others.

Sure, your favorite frog’s gone.

You miss your favorite frog for all the weird, jarring but oddly endearing conversations you’d have. Yeah, sometimes

COURTESY / NINTENDO

“Animal Crossing: Wild World” introduced kids to their future: debt, fledgling friendships and endless menial jobs. But it also revealed having fun despite these adult hardships.

they’d have you go off and deliver a mysterious package to another animal and it never came up again in conversation but, hey, friends are friends. And no one can take those moments away from you.

The towns of “Wild World” were beautiful and quaint. You could walk through a forest dotted with small houses, fruit trees and peaceful rivers. It was one of the few games I preferred to not have a fast travel option.

When you were done wandering around on your own, you could go to The Roost, the local cafe. K.K. Slider, a cool traveling dog musician, would play you a tune or two surrounded by strangers who could become friends. Your favorite frog may have moved away, but there’d always be a cafe to hang out at, a woods to walk through and a river to sit by.

Now that “Pocket Camp” has brought “Animal Crossing” back into focus, it’s hard to not miss the struggle and the moments “Wild World” brought a young Dan just

learning how to be an individual.

“Pocket Camp,” as endearing and fun as it is, feels empty.

Your friends now have friendship levels; conversations and favors are reduced to a point system instead of a weird sense of community. While you still get to be creative with your world, it’s all to keep you hooked on a freemium phone game.

Maybe that’s just how the world is now. Increasingly, we have less and less time for smaller things. Doing anything that doesn’t have a direct tangible reward feels useless. Nook is now an actual character in our lives and he’s a lot less fun as a human than a Japanese raccoon dog.

As you glam up your camps and convince penguins to come join you, remember to just sit by the beach or take a walk through the orchard. Remember to do aimless things because life is a little too on the nose sometimes. email: dan.mckeon@ubspectrum.com

NEWS

Page 4 | The Spectrum

Thursday, November 30, 2017

UB graduate students hold walkout in opposition to GOP tax plan

UB Living Stipend Movement to stage protest on Monday Participants to march from Student Union Lobby to Capen Hall NEWS DESK

EMILY LI / THE SPECTRUM

Graduate students, faculty, and members of the community gathered in Founders Plaza on Wednesday afternoon in protest of the tax bill recently passed by the House of Republicans. This event was one of many nationally organized in opposition of the bill.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Lee asked crowd members to raise their hands if the passage of this tax will prevent them from being able to come back next year.

Roughly half the crowd raised their hands in the air.

“Graduate students are simply not able, in most cases, to bear additional financial burdens issued by a tax on tuition resources,” Lee said. “These resources are not truly income, since the value cannot be spent on goods and services.”

Lee also defended the people in the crowd who raised their hands and cited the potential long-term effects of the bill.

“This tax increase would cause potentially thousands of our nation’s brightest and best students to ‘drop out’ of their programs due to financial issues,” Lee said. “This prema-

ture abandonment of educational goals will limit our nation’s progression in all areas of economics, since some of the best minds would not be able to conduct research and earn advanced degrees.”

Graduate students passed around pens to fill out pieces of paper which read, “My tuition waiver lets me [blank].” Students wrote “eat,” “work only three jobs instead of four,” “survive” and “enrich America.”

Barbara Bono, an English professor, was one of several faculty members who spoke against the bill to the crowd. She said it has the power to threaten the whole university community.

“From our freshmen whose loans are threatened, to our graduate students to whom insult will be added to injury, to their poor-based compensation and their lives in the future and to all of us who came and wanted to be here because of our public ed-

ucation mission; all of that is in danger of drying up,” Bono said.

Bono urged everyone in attendance to go online and reach out to their state representatives in order to prevent the bill from passing.

“Even New York State is going to be hurt by this bill in numerous ways, and unfortunately this one is minor in the scope of damages,” Bono said. “But this doesn’t mean that they can take the limited funds that you receive and tax them away.”

Willis McCumber, an English Ph.D. candidate, represented the UB Living Stipend Movement at Wednesday’s walkout. He feels the bill would jeopardize his ability to teach and become a leading scholar in his field.

“I barely scrape by,” McCumber said. “I have a very slim amount of savings. I don’t know what I would do if my car broke down. It’s a precarious lifestyle that I think

Members of the UB Living Stipend Movement plan to march from the Student Union Lobby to administrative offices in 501 Capen Hall at 3:30 p.m. on Monday. Participants will then occupy President Satish Tripathi’s office demanding the administrators implement a minimum $21,310 per year stipend for all departments.

The protest will draw attention to the “threat to their livelihoods” posed by the low stipends, according to a press release from the UB Living Stipend Movement.

Demonstrators will also call upon administrators to condemn the proposed GOP tax bill which would make tuition waivers for graduate students count as taxable income.

This will be the third protest staged by the Living Stipend Movement this semester. email: news@ubspectrum.com

most graduate students live, and nobody is arguing that we should change that. But I think it should be less precarious and not compromised by tax bills.”

McCumber thinks UB’s administration should condemn the tax bill, even though the university has yet to release a statement on its passage.

The UB Living Stipend Movement is planning to hold a peaceful assembly in the administrative offices of UB President Satish Tripathi on Monday, Dec. 4 at 3:30 p.m. to negotiate grad student worker’s stipends. email: news@ubspectrum.com

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FEATURES

Thursday, November 30, 2017

The Spectrum | Page 5 TROY WACHALA / THE SPECTRUM

In Ethiopia, Eyoel Hailegabriel never experienced snow or winter. After moving to Buffalo, the winter weather — a drastic change from the arid climate he’s used to — shocked Hailegabriel.

Winter is coming Students receive a cold welcome to Buffalo winters

SENOCHI KANG STAFF WRITER

Buffalo, a city known to have some of the most brutal winters in the U.S., leaves students who come from warmer climates in disbelief.

Students from hotter locations are used to mild winters, occasional flurries and sometimes no winter at all. Students who expect a slight decline in temperature around this time of year have to find ways to adjust to new weather conditions.

Eyoel Hailegabriel, a junior biomedical sciences major and international student from Ethiopia, explained he had never seen snow before he came to Buffalo. Rumors of Buffalo’s cold winters didn’t intimidate Hailegabriel until he experienced one for himself.

“I am from a city of a very high altitude, so I believed I was ready for the cold,” Hailegabriel said. “When I came here and temperatures began to drop, I was still unphased. I started to think everyone was over-exaggerating about the winters here.”

Hailegabriel learned about snow the hard

way once December came around.

“My face went numb every time I stepped outside,” Hailegabriel said. “I could not go outside after showering or else my hair would become frozen like icicles. It became frustrating because I couldn’t walk anywhere without slipping or getting snow in my shoes.”

Despite his poor first impression, Hailegabriel is still thankful and appreciates the new memories and experiences he’s gained from his first winter in Buffalo.

“One night, my friends brought me to a fully frozen lake and we played on it all night like children,” Hailegabriel said. “It was incredibly mesmerizing because you don’t find anything like that in Ethiopia.”

Some international students weren’t aware of Buffalo’s snowy reputation, but were delighted after experiencing their first snowfall. Others found the new weather conditions to be intimidating.

Sid Meel, a sophomore mathematics major and international student from India, had never experienced a true winter. When

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Meel arrived in Buffalo last January, he was alarmed when he saw snow for the first time.

“I was expecting weather conditions to be similar to that of New York City, and boy was I wrong,” Meel said. “I spent a generous amount of money on a new wardrobe, too. Indian winter clothing is nowhere thick enough for Buffalo’s cold winters. I was completely clueless.”

Meel realized how unprepared he was when he began to drive during the winter. He explained the dangers of driving on icy roads.

“Stores here commonly sell salt to melt the ice, which I’ve never put on anything else but food,” Meel said. “You never know what you’re going to get here. One day it’s hail and the next day there could be a blizzard. Staying prepared is the best thing you can do to stay safe.”

To commemorate his first winter, Meel went on a photo spree, documenting snow and Buffalonians everywhere he went. He planned to send his photos and footage to his friends and family at home, who have never seen snow.

“It was 15 degrees [Fahrenheit] out one day

and one man was jogging in shorts,” Meel said.

“When I took a photo, I thought how I would die from frostbite if I did the same thing.”

Domestic students from different parts of the country had similar experiences to international students who never experienced snow.

Sydney Weinberg, a senior business administration major, described her initial transition from California to Buffalo as challenging. During her freshman year in 2014, Weinberg experienced “Snowvember,” arguably one of Buffalo’s worst winters in recent memory.

“I had seen snow a few times, but never of this magnitude,” Weinberg said. “In Southern California, we have two seasons: summer and ‘chilly summer.’ When people told me Buffalo was going to have a major snow storm, I had no idea what was about to happen. I left my friend’s house one morning and the snow was nearly up to my hips.”

She expressed how unfamiliar it was to her, living in a place where it wasn’t summer all year round. Weinberg said her only experiences with snow prior to Buffalo were day trips to the mountains, but she would still return home to the beach by the end of the day.

“At first, I expected to see the sun more often,” Weinberg said. “I started feeling very depressed at one point and began to take vitamin D supplements because of it. It was a big learning year for me, physically and mentally.”

Even for those who are used to experiencing annual snowfall, Buffalo winters are a whole new concept to them. Weinberg explains how she eventually gained familiarity with the harsh climate and felt comforted that other students were dealing with it for the first time as well.

“I definitely thought coming to New York, everybody would be used to the freezing temperatures. My roommates from Long Island were clueless, too,” Weinberg said. “We froze and shivered together, which turned out to be an unintentional and funny bonding experience for us.” email: features@ubspectrum.com

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Page 6 | The Spectrum

Thursday, November 30, 2017

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The win is just a slice of the Mississippiborn pianist’s storied career. It’s also one of many tales that dot the musician’s life and belie the innate talent he possesses.

Caldwell’s held numerous musical director roles for nationally touring plays and played with some of jazz music’s finest groups, including the Count Basie and Duke Ellington orchestras. He’s learned from jazz composers like Wendell Logan and Frank Foster.

The pianist plays stride music with a smile on his face, achieving tonal excellency and exquisite form. He’s completely engrossed in his performances, conveying an original style and striking keys with an effective groove.

Yet, Caldwell remains modest both behind and away from the piano.

Twenty years post-Grammy, Caldwell lives his passion through his students and through the music produced by the UB Jazz Ensemble program consisting of the Big Band and Jazz Combo. On Sunday, Caldwell will lead his jazz ensemble in Slee Hall at 3 p.m.

“When people compare me with somebody else like Dizzy Gillespie or Tony Williams, I don’t know if I deserve that. But I do have a charge,” Caldwell said.“...When someone comes to me as I went to others, then I will go to great lengths to help.”

PIANIST TURNED EDUCATOR

Caldwell’s classes are a mix of piano technique, individual counseling, philosophy and storytelling. He likes to focus on each player’s strengths and pull elements of personality into his lessons.

One early November afternoon, he listened as his jazz coaching class tooled with “Red Clay,” a Freddie Hubbard number and reimagination of Bobby Hebb’s classic “Sunny.” Caldwell reminded students to assemble harmonic clusters and asked them to “know the language” of the track. He prodded them to pay attention to the “little things” that define a collective’s sound.

“I can read Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Coltrane and Freddie Hubbard, but I’m talking about learning to play their compositions,” Caldwell said to his students, contrasting learning from the sheet to learning by ear. “Music only exists in the time that you play it. You don’t have it until you have it in your mind and spirit.”

In 1979, Caldwell caught the attention of musician Bill Easley when the two worked at the University of Memphis on the Stevie Wonder-themed coming-of-age musical “Inner Wonder.”

Easley liked the arrangements Caldwell penned for the show and years later, helped get him a job as pianist and conductor of the Duke Ellington-inspired musical “Sophisticated Ladies.”

The play’s pianist and conductor left his

position. Easley worked with Duke’s son Mercer Ellington on the musical and alerted Mercer of Caldwell’s talent.

Caldwell took the job with the musical and then landed a spot with the Ellington Orchestra in New York.

During one performance with bassist Earl May at the Harlem’s Cotton Club in 1985, Count Basie Orchestra director and former UB professor Frank Foster sat in with May’s band.

Caldwell introduced himself to Foster and then Foster suggested Caldwell join his band.

“I thought he was just being encouraging,” Caldwell said. “But about four years later, he called me up and said, ‘Look, do you want to be in the Count Basie Orchestra,’ and I said ‘Uh, yeah!’”

He became a regular member of the Count Basie Orchestra in 1989.

The experience challenged Caldwell as a player. He learned a lot of Count Basie’s idiosyncrasies and avoided playing with a lot of notes. Caldwell still appears with the group occasionally and performed with them during the 2017 Brantford International Jazz Festival in Canada.

Caldwell boasts a style that makes it easy for fellow performers, who aren’t encumbered by chords which lock them in. He brings an original voice with knowledge of what makes jazz’s past important, inspired by the styles of pianists like McCoy Tyner.

Today, Caldwell is a staple in the Buffalo jazz scene — frequently playing with his trio alongside other groups of his like Star People, his Miles Davis repertoire band.

STARTING THE SCALES

Music is in Caldwell’s DNA. His grandfather played violin and his father played, as well. Music defined his childhood.

“He just always had music around the house and taught me the first movement of Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata’ by putting my little hands on the keys,” Caldwell said of his father.

Caldwell began playing piano at 8 years old. In sixth grade, the musician moved to Holly Springs, Mississippi. There, he toured a Catholic school with his family. A nun asked if he’d like to study the piano.

He was thrilled.

“I just always knew in the back of my mind and in my heart that I would have something to do with music,” Caldwell said.

As a high school student, he took music classes at the University of Memphis and then continued his studies with his best friend’s father, Robert Garner, who taught him the “art of jazz.”

“

IF THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE AROUND TO SHARE [MUSIC] WITH, IT WOULD LOSE A LOT OF ITS POWER AND IMPACT. YOU’VE GOT TO SHARE IT AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES THE WORLD GO AROUND. COURTESY / GEORGE CALDWELL

George Caldwell and the Count Basie Orchestra stand in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow. The group, founded by the Grammy-winning swing pianist Count Basie, is among the most well known in jazz history.

- GEORGE CALDWELL

At the time, jazz, Caldwell said, wasn’t for “serious musicians.”

But he loved it and spent two years learning chords and harmonies from Garner. The lessons taught him to feel music in a way he hadn’t in his years learning 20th-century composers like Aaron Copland and Alberto Ginastera.

The solos troubled him. He wanted to play them, but he didn’t know how to grasp the music.

He left the University of Memphis after his teacher Edwin LaBounty quit over the school’s refusal to hire a black female instructor. He stayed away from the piano for roughly a year before his roommate, a cellist, pushed him to an audition for Oberlin College.

Caldwell’s roommate didn’t get into Oberlin, but Caldwell did. At Oberlin, he met jazz instructor Wendell Logan, who heard Caldwell play classical pieces and then challenged him to try his jazz classes. He did and Logan, who promised Caldwell he would be playing jazz within six months, ultimately became a mentor as Caldwell entered the professional world.

A JAZZ JOURNEY

Following years of live performances and doing plays around the country, Caldwell came to Buffalo in 2001.

That year, he introduced WNY to “Cookin’ at the Cookery,” a production about the life of blues singer Alberta Hunter. For over a month, Caldwell rehearsed the play’s music numbers. There he met a female member of the play’s marketing team with Studio Arena –– Constance.

He married her, stayed in Buffalo and performed often in the city and Western New York.

In 2014, Caldwell met Jon Nelson, music professor at UB and then-owner of PAUSA Art House. Nelson, who directs the UB Concert Band, loved Caldwell’s style and eventually recommended him to the hiring committee at UB. “George brings an original voice with an awareness of the past to his performances,” Nelson said.

“He’s a classically-trained pianist and he’s got this sensitivity to all kinds of things, and he brings that to his music so it’s heavy. If someone were to go to one of his performances and observe him carefully – you will see the care that he takes in everything he does.”

Caldwell’s employment changed the music department; it began hiring local jazz musicians to teach. Bobby Militello, former member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, came as did Sabu Adeyola, former bassist for the Ahmad Jamal Trio. The pair, along with John Bacon, have built the department’s reputation for jazz and now actively recruit high school jazz players to come to UB. Caldwell takes his shift to music education seriously. He hopes UB will someday

ALLISON STAEBELL / THE SPECTRUM

(top) George Caldwell, in his Big Band and Jazz Ensembles classes, makes jazz practical for his players. Caldwell imparts moments of his past in his lessons, challenging the minds of young musicians’ beyond their technical abilities.

COURTESY / GEORGE CALDWELL

(bottom)UB jazz faculty John Bacon, George Caldwell, Sabu Adeyola and Bobby Militello (left to right) each boast big-time jazz careers. The instructors began touring area high schools this fall with hopes to recruit young students to the music department.

have a jazz major, like the ones at Harvard University and the Juilliard School. Schools like SUNY Fredonia, SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Purchase offer jazz studies programs. But UB does not.

“I think it would help the music department,” Caldwell said. “It would bring money to the department. Bill Clinton declared [jazz] a national treasure a while back. Before that, I got in trouble for studying it and playing it. I remember I got called into the dean’s office once for it. But now it’s in, and I believe it has saved the music departments of many, many schools.”

In the classroom, Caldwell is jubilant, cracking jokes at times and at others, he acts out eccentric personalities to teach his students how to introduce songs.

He touches his past as well, using works in the classroom written or performed by Memphis jazz greats like Donald Brown and Mulgrew Miller.

Caldwell’s classes are a highlight for Michael Joncas, a junior music major and percussionist in UB Jazz Ensembles.

“He conveys what the music demands of us, the meaning and the emotion, because it’s easy to zone out and read through the music,” Joncas said. “But George spends the extra time to make sure we’re doing the music justice and he provides a consistency every single time he comes in.”

Eric Vlesmas, a senior music and psychology major, is in Caldwell’s jazz coaching course and ensemble class.

“George knows the material on a whole other level. He tries to communicate that to us and he actually listens to you play,” Vlesmas said. “He’s very open; he wants you to make mistakes and he’d rather you be loud making a mistake then soft and in the corner. So he wants you to voice your opinions.”

Caldwell believes his drive to help comes from former jazz greats and from his students.

“To students, they don’t know things yet, so I can help them with what they don’t know by using what I know,” Caldwell said.

“I believe that ultimately — in the final analysis — the thing that really makes a difference on the planet earth is the people.

I’ve dedicated my life to these great forms of art. But after a while, I realized I love to play music. If there was no one else around to share it with, it would lose a lot of its power and impact. You’ve got to share it and that’s what makes the world go around.” email: benjamin.blanchet@ubspectrum.com

Thursday, November 30, 2017

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The Spectrum | Page 7

UB Choir and Chorus under new management New choir director Claudia Brown brings world of experience to Buffalo BENJAMIN BLANCHET SENIOR ARTS EDITOR

The UB choral program is under new direction for the first time in 20 years.

Claudia Brown, a clinical assistant professor of voice and choral music, began directing the program this semester after the previous director, Harold Rosenbaum, stepped down from the role. The program consists of UB Choir and UB Chorus and explores a myriad of choral works both new and old, sharing their musical conversations in rehearsal and on-stage.

Brown hopes to expand her students’ soul and spirit beyond the classroom.

“They’re meeting other students, making friends in the class and they’re becoming immersed into a musical world that works in a high standard of repertoire in their first semester here, which is really exciting,” Brown said.

As a full-time and residential choral instructor, Brown got into conducting through a volunteer program in India in 2011-12. There, Brown began travelling around South India doing choral retreats, mostly for church choirs.

“I think the experience fed into my interest in choral music; the many ways it has the ability to bring people together from different cultures,” Brown said. “When I was in a place where people weren’t speaking the same language as myself, I was still able to coach them musically.”

Brown informally directed the choir at Robinson College at the University of Cambridge before taking her position at UB. UB Choir, an auditioned group that meets four hours a week, is separate from the cho-

rus. The chorus is composed of roughly 80 members and open to anyone including professors and community members. In the spring, Brown will add a third collective to the program: a chamber choir focused on early music, something she’s passionate about.

John Podvezko, choir president and a second year graduate student in business administration and public health, is in his sixth year with the group. Podvezko is looking forward to the direction Brown is taking the program.

“The first time I met her was at her audition, where I was part of a quartet she conducted in front of the staff of the music program,” Podvezko said. “What first struck me about her and what continues to impress me is her energy and passion for music.

She’s here at all hours of the day, giving her all, both in and out of rehearsal. And it pays off. We’re held to a higher standard, and the choir sounds fantastic.”

Some members of UB Choir like William Zino, a second year Ph.D. candidate in musicology, sees the commonality in Rosenbaum and Brown’s approaches to making their choirs work hard.

Zino thinks some students may underestimate what the choir can accomplish during the semester and sees the rewards and out-of-class commitment as paramount to the group.

“I treat UB Choir as my detox throughout the course of the week,” Zino said. “I do a lot of academic reading and writing, so this just gives me about four hours every week –– twice during the week –– sitting in a room with my friends, making music, gradually working together as a group to get better.”

COURTESY / JORDAN CHEN OF THE UB ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT

(top) This fall, UB Choir, along with UB Chorus, fell under the direction of Prof. Claudia Brown. Brown hopes to expand her choral program’s reach in the community, looking for more university involvement and for the group to tour different cities. (bottom) UB Choir, now under the direction of Claudia Brown, practices in Baird Hall. The group, along with UB Chorus, will be performing their end-of-the-semester show this Sunday at Slee Hall.

On Friday night, UB Chorus and Choir will perform contemporary and early liturgical music from the eighth and ninth century in Slee Hall.

In addition to their performance this weekend, UB Choir and Chamber Ensem-

Q&A wit h

OLIVIER PASQUET Music producer, sound and visual artist discusses personal inspirations, June in Buffalo festival EMA MAKAS STAFF WRITER

Olivier Pasquet has visited Buffalo enough times to be considered a regular.

Pasquet is a world-renowned music producer, sound and visual artist. Pasquet recently arrived in Buffalo as a visiting artist part of UB’s Creative Arts Initiative. He’s making his return to the Queen City to work on a project for June in Buffalo, a festival that honors contemporary music and artists.

Pasquet talked to The Spectrum about his previous work, preparation for his current project and his personal inspirations in the arts.

Q: Can you describe your role and the preparation for the June in Buffalo festival?

A: I was invited here by David Felder [of the music department] to do video and audio pieces for the June in Buffalo festival. June in Buffalo is a famous festival in the world of contemporary music. This art form has always been a big part of my life.

My work focuses on purely electronic pieces – including light and sound installations, a fabricated structure – something like putting two mirrors in front of each other with a laser in between. During this trip, I am expected to be in Buffalo altogether almost two months. I have been in Buffalo many times for the UB music department.

Q: What ultimately inspires you and your creations?

A: The world around me; the social aspect of it and the scientific, as well. I am always willing to put forth a lot of research toward music and science. As far as science, I am mostly interested in physics – astrophysics specifically – stories about the big bang, particles, gravity. The explanations for why we are here interest me. The relation between science and art is very interesting. It is different than the relation between technology and art. Science is more about perception.

What sparks my interest in physics is that it explains the universe we are living in. I consider my art as my personal universe.

Reality is described by physics, whereas my

personal fate is an artificial reality for myself. The two combined give relation between my personal reality and actual reality from science.

Q: What is your favorite moment during your creative process?

A: The bow after the concert. I love placing pieces over and over again. The premiere is stressful. Pieces naturally get better over time – it’s like when you open a wine bottle, you shouldn’t drink it right away, because as it ages it gets better. The more experience you get, the better your performances get.

I don’t work. I am always on holiday.

Whenever I go somewhere, it is for personal reasons. If I work on a piece, it’s a personal thing. It sounds selfish, but not really, because I want to share my work. I am very lucky. I have the freedom, the time and space to do what I love and make a living from it. I want people to discover another universe; be inspired by my work to see an imaginative universe.

ble will perform on Dec. 8 at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and on Dec. 10 at St. Joseph University Parish. UB Choir will also open for Kenny Rogers on Dec. 16 at the Center for the Arts (CFA). email: benjamin.blanchet@ubspectrum.com

COURTESY / OLIVIER PASQUET

Olivier Pasquet, a visiting artist part of UB’s Creative Arts Initiative (CAI), is currently in-town to work on an upcoming project for “June In Buffalo,” an annual music festival celebrating some of the finest acts in the world on North Campus.

Q: Do you have a favorite instrument?

A: The computer, of course. I come from the world of electronic music, so the computer is very interesting. It’s a continuity of your mind. It’s an interactive instrument.

Time on the computer is only when you press it. When people write music, they like to be as precise as possible. Sometimes I like randomness and accidents. It gives a sense of naturality. When you leave out the randomness and never leave room for surprise, things can get boring.

Q: What do you hope to ultimately achieve? Are there any goals for the future?

A: I’m quite happy with my current situation. Although, I do have a wish: a need of physicality.

The problem with digital art is you spend a lot of time on the computer and you lose the social aspect. My next steps will include more involvement with society. Maybe even something political, actually. I have spent a decade doing digital art. I don’t know what I would want to do politically yet, but I know that I would want it to be subtle – not a leftwing manifesto about something. Something involving visual arts, abstract that you don’t understand right away. Something related with society.

People want a reason to listen and gravitate to something. I like the idea of including both a message and art. I’m not the only one. I see it in electronic music more and more. We are all together in this world, people gathering together, not always for the same cause but we may gather for the same performance. Art brings people together. email: arts@ubspectrum.com

FEATURES

Page 8 | The Spectrum

Breakfast Eats Morning food for any time of the day

3234 Main St, Buffalo Open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., every day A low-key diner located across the street from South Campus, Amy’s Place is a Buffalo breakfast staple. The seats and booths are always filled with a mix of students, professors

COURTESY / GOOGLE MAPS

and locals; Amy’s Place is a go-to for many.

While the food is fantastic, classic diner grub, the atmosphere of Amy’s makes it a place to come back to with everyone you know. The walls are lined with varying pieces of artwork and a sign behind the counter warns “beware of attack waitress.” The ceiling is lined with space invaders and a hidden David Bowie photo. There’s a rainbow shag rug on the wall with R2-D2 on it.

The Lebanese-American eatery offers a wide variety of Middle Eastern cuisine as well as a huge choice of vegan options. If Amy’s Place isn’t for you, then you’re not for me.

LOCALLY OWNED AND OPERATED

Coupon has no cash value

Ashker’s on Elmwood

Ashker’s on Elmwood

Total Car Care $5 off all oil changes

Lake Effect Diner

J.J’s Cafe

COPY CHIEF

Amy’s Place

most authentic, old-fashioned diner aesthetic around. The restaurant is a ’50s retro diner with rounded metal walls; a classic dining car set-up.

Another staple for UB students and locals alike, Lake Effect has your breakfast essentials: omelets, pancakes, waffles and an endless supply of coffee. The Blizzard Breakfast – a meal consisting of three eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries, toast and a pancake – is a proper challenge for any wouldbe breakfast champion.

The diner sources much of its food from local Western New York farms and was even featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, DriveIns and Dives.” Lake Effect Diner is Buffalo’s own little slice of Flavortown.

Amy’s Place

DAN MCKEON

Breakfast is not just for breakfast anymore. The brilliant roster of pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, omelets and coffee put breakfast at the top of the food chain.

More and more places serve breakfast all day and honestly, why wouldn’t you? There’s not a more wholesome way to spend time with loved ones than over French toast and hash browns. Here’s a quick rundown of the best places to pick up some morning munchies in Buffalo.

Thursday, November 30, 2017

11 7 1 N i a g a r a F a l l s B l v d Amherst, NY

837-4000

www.premiercarcarewny.com

Book your next ride with

J.J’s Cafe - House of Breakfast 265 Kenmore Ave, Buffalo Open 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday J.J’s Cafe rightfully earns the title “House of Breakfast.” This unassuming juggernaut of a diner has some of the lowest prices anywhere in the city and breakfast sausages that make you forget about your life’s problems.

J.J’s is a bit of a trip from University Heights, but as seasonal depression kicks in, sometimes you need a pick me up.

The service is among the best in Buffalo; my server – who I suspect to be J.J himself – had an endless supply of borderline cheesy but overwhelmingly endearing antics.

He brought out my friend’s breakfast sandwich with no actual ingredients on it besides the bread. After my friend opened up the sandwich and looked confused, he gleefully jumped back saying, “Ha! It’s a joke!”

J.J’s knows how to have fun.

Lake Effect Diner 3165 Main St, Buffalo Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., every day While not as cheap as the other breakfast options in Buffalo, Lake Effect boasts the

1002 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday If diners aren’t your thing – which is all right I guess – then Ashker’s offers a full breakfast menu in a cafe setting, probably the next best thing to diners. OK, but really, what do you have against diners? They’re cozy, cheap, fast, friendly and are found pretty much everywhere. They’re one of the few American traditions that are actually wholesome. But no, I guess that’s not good enough for you.

Ashker’s on Elmwood, as the name implies, is located in the heart of the Elmwood Village. While Ashker’s is known for its huge variety of juices and healthy vegan options, the menu features a hearty breakfast section, including some of the best breakfast sandwiches this world has ever seen and pancakes that are good enough to write home about.

Ashker’s also has a few picnic tables outside so you can enjoy your meal along Elmwood Avenue and maybe bump into a few dogs as you enjoy your waffles. I don’t know what love is, but it’s probably something like dogs and waffles. email: dan.mckeon@ubspectrum.com

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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.

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SPORTS

Page 10 | The Spectrum

Thursday, November 30, 2017

The edge: Buffalo vs. St. Bonaventure A matchup preview for the Bulls men’s basketball game on Saturday

JEREMY TORRES ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

The men’s basketball team is hoping to make the jump into the elite category of MAC teams. Predicted to win the MAC East, the team has already picked up some hard fought games.

The Bulls continue their season Saturday at home when they take on St. Bonaventure. Like the Bulls (4-2, 0-0), the Bonnies (4-2, 0-0) run a three-guard attack. They will match up well against the Bulls and challenge them throughout during a high scoring, fast pace affair.

The Bulls need to win handily on Saturday to elevate their status as an upper echelon team. The game against the Bonnies will feature a lot of points with little defensive pressure. Here is The Spectrum’s pre-game analysis.

Center: N/A Both the Bulls and Bonnies feature starting lineups with three guards and two forwards. Even more unorthodox, both teams have players that play both positions, but are better suited being featured as forwards.

The center position will be addressed when the reserves step-foot in the game.

Forwards: Buffalo Junior Nick Perkins has been an absolute force this season for the Bulls and averages 17.4 points per game with a season high 26 against Canisius College. He has continued to anchor the Bulls offense all season with a mix of inside-outside balls for the Bulls.

Junior Montell McRae hasn’t put up big numbers for the Bulls but they do not need McRae to put up buckets for him to be effective.

For the Bonnies, they are nothing to look

NO

past in the frontcourt. They feature two players who share a similar load on the offensive side of the ball. Junior LaDarien Griffin and sophomore Josh Ayeni have each taken turns putting up big numbers.

This is a difficult matchup, as both teams have forwards with the potential to score in double digits.

Guards: Buffalo Despite the Bulls having three high level guards, the Bonnies senior guard Matt Mobley is a strong offensive player.

The Bulls have been consistent in guard play. Two parts of their three guard attack consist of junior transfer Jeremy Harris and junior CJ Massinburg. Sophomore Davonta Jordan has been inconsistent, failing to score against University of Cincinnati (7-0, 0-0) but had 16 points in the game against the South Dakota State.

Massinburg has been a strong scorer for the Bulls, with a season high 29 points against Cincinnati. Harris has been the most consistent of the guards, scoring in double digits in all but one game for the Bulls.

Mobley, who had a season high 29 points against Niagara University (3-5, 0-0), has started all but one game for the Bonnies.

Even coming off the bench, he scored 16 points against the University of Maryland (6-2, 0-0). If the Bulls can’t find a way to slow Mobley down, he has the skill to carry the Bonnies to a win.

The other two starting guards for the Bonnies have been underwhelming, senior Idris Taqqee and junior Nelson Kaputo have not given Mobley much scoring support. This will hurt the Bonnies chances in keeping up with a high paced Bulls offensive attack.

Coaches: Buffalo Despite Mark Schmidt’s pedigree, Bulls’ head coach Nate Oats has MAC championship success in his first three seasons. Leading the Bulls to two NCAA tournament appearances in his first three seasons. Although the Bulls regressed slightly last season, Oats has the team to beat this year. With Oats’ early career successes, he has the Bulls primed to compete all season and post-season.

RESPECT

DANIEL PETRUCCELLI SPORTS EDITOR

The Bulls pulled off an incredible upset when they took down the Ohio Bobcats, 31-24 the day after Thanksgiving. The Bobcats were seven-point favorites and I didn’t

Multiple publications are predicting UB won’t be invited to a bowl think the Bulls had a chance against them.

But they pulled out the win, collecting their sixth of the season.

The Bulls are now in consideration for their first bowl appearance since 2013. But they’re one of 79 teams who are bowl eligible with only 78 available spots. And more teams may become eligible this week.

Last year, there weren’t enough teams that reached six wins to become bowl eligible.

This resulted in five-win-teams getting invites. Now at least one team will be left out and multiple publications are expecting it to be Buffalo.

USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and SBnation. com all have Buffalo sitting out of a bowl game in their most recently released bowl projections.

I think that’s absurd.

The Bulls have earned a bowl invite and it would be egregious to leave them out. This is a team that has been plagued by injuries this season and rolled with every punch.

MADISON MEYER / THE SPECTRUM

Junior forward Nick Perkins goes up for a shot in between two defenders. Perkins has been a force in the paint for the Bulls so far this season.

Mark Schmidt has been a head coach since 2001, starting out at Robert Morris University and then in 2007 transitioning to St. Bonaventure. As the Bonnies head coach, Schmidt has surpassed all but one of his predecessors in total wins. Schmidt continues to run a dangerous offense that will give teams trouble all season.

Bench: St. Bonaventure This season, the Bonnies have had three bench players amass over 15 points in a game. Junior guard Courtney Stockard, freshman forward Tshiefu Ngalakulondi and freshman guard Izaiah Brockington.

The Bonnies have a dangerous advantage in

After his performance last season, I expected Tyree Jackson to dominate the MAC this year. He showed all the raw skills last year. This year was just about putting together the intangibles. He did that for three and a half weeks before he was injured and had to replaced by Drew Anderson.

Anderson was one of the most composed backups I’ve watched at any level of football. He finished out the Florida Atlantic University game to seal a victory and dominated Kent State in his first start. He also led the Bulls to war in one of the longest college football games ever. Anderson would have sealed the win against Northern Illinois University if he finished the game without injury.

Kyle Vantrease played admirably, but a true freshman quarterback in a competitive year in the MAC was destined to come up short. But he played close in two games as a third string quarterback and that says a lot about the grit of this team. If Anderson or Jackson played those two games, they would have come up with at least one victory.

Jackson has dominated since his return.

He set career-highs for passing yards in his first two games back and pulled off three straight wins to end the year and secure bowl eligibility.

If any of the bowl committees have watched Jackson play since his return, they know he could do damage to any defense in

three players on the bench who can all potentially score quickly.

Red-shirt freshman Brock Bertram is the lone center on the roster for the Bulls and he is hard to miss. Standing at almost seven feet and weighing 250 pounds, Bertram is a strong rebounder and is a tough matchup because of his size. Off the bench he gives the Bulls a fresh look in the frontcourt. Another freshman, Jayvon Graves, has been electric at times off the bench for the Bulls acting like a microwave scorer. If Graves can get going off the bench, it will be hard for the Bonnies to maintain the scoring pace. email: sports@ubspectrum.com

the NCAA. The Bulls are plainly better than some other 6-6 teams.

An easy example for a team they need to make it over is the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. The two teams never met but shared two common opponents, Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Ball State University. They both beat Ball State but Buffalo had a four point higher margin of victory.

Buffalo also beat FAU with a backup quarterback, while the Hilltoppers lost by 14 and have lost four of their last five games. Buffalo would be coming into a bowl on a three game win streak.

Bowl invites are subjective and I’m going to lean towards the team I watched play every week.

Injuries happen to every team, so I understand they aren’t taken into consideration when deciding rankings, but losing two of your quarterbacks during the year and still winning six games should be commended. The Bulls were 5-3 in the eight games Jackson played. This should be considered because Jackson will be on the field if the Bulls make it to a bowl game.

This team is on a roll and if someone is smart enough to give them an invite, I think they’ll prove it was the right decision when they win their first bowl game in program history. email: daniel.petruccelli@ubspectrum.com