T H E I N D E P E N D E N T TSHTEU D NETP E PN UD BE LN I CTA S TT IO NA I VTEI R Y FA T T HBEU U FF E T1 B 9U 50 I NED UN D EO NFT TPH UEB LUI C OSNI T O NA I VLEOR,S S I TI N Y CA FFALO, SINCE 1950
ubspectrum.com
Monday, NOVember 16, 2015
Volume 65 No. 33
UB STANDS WITH PARIS
G raffiti using intolerant language found on campus
Paris tragedy affects UB students and faculty
TOM DINKI EDITOR IN CHIEF
GABRIELA JULIA SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
Alicia Stepniewska was at the Louis Vuitton Foundation Friday night in Paris, France when she learned the city was under attack. Every minute brought more panic and fear as she was informed that shootings and explosions had left people dead in the streets. “Never in my life do I want to experience this type of situation again where I have to confirm to my family and friends that I am alive,” Stepniewska, a sophomore accounting major studying abroad, said in an email. “And it is absolutely horrific to know that some family members and friends of the people in Paris did not receive that confirmation from their loved ones.” At least 132 people were killed in several terror attacks which occurred around 9:30 p.m. in Paris on Friday. The Islamic State, or ISIS, has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Stepniewska is one of four UB students studying abroad in Paris – two of them were in Ireland for the weekend during the time of the attacks. Another two students were studying in south of France. All six of them are safe and unharmed. UB released a statement Saturday morning regarding the attack. “With the rest of the world, the Universi-
COURTESY OF FLICKR USER JACK GORDON
The National Gallery in London, England lit up to show support for France after the recent terror attacks in Paris.
ty at Buffalo community is shocked and saddened by the senseless violence that occurred last night in Paris,” the statement said. “Our thoughts are with all of those who have been affected by these terrible events.” Fifteen minutes after the first attack, Stepniewska’s program director, Celine Garelli from SUNY Oswego, told the students to go home immediately and call their friends and families to tell them they were OK. Stepniewska’s friend who lives near the site of the tragedy said the streets looked
like a war zone with bullets and bloody footprints on the ground. At 1:27 a.m. in Paris, SUNY Oswego – where the Paris study abroad program is based out of – emailed the students asking them to confirm they were safe. Stepniewska said she emailed her UB adviser at 3 a.m. to say she was safe and received a response after 4 a.m. She then received an email from the assistant director of UB Study Abroad at 5:30 a.m. saying she is glad the students were safe.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
Julia Slyer, a sophomore biology and psychology major, has participated in three Ironman competitions since she turned 18, including the World Championships which took place in Conah, Hawaii in October.
UB student finishes fourth in age group at Ironman World Championships TOMAS OLIVIER
Since she was 3 years old, Julia Slyer knew she wanted to be an Ironman. In October, she realized her dream for the third time, coming in fourth in her age group at the Ironman World Championships in Conah, Hawaii. “I’ve always been drawn to endurance events and crazy experiences that most people just read about and never get into,” Slyer said. “My family has always encouraged me to follow my dreams and taught me that if I work hard, I can achieve anything. I love to push myself in all areas of my life to see just how much I can achieve and how well I can do, and
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I think that translates really well to Ironman.” The Ironman Triathlon challenges an athlete’s endurance during a consecutive 2.4mile swim, 112-mile bike and a full marathon, which consists of a 26.2-mile run. This grueling affair allots participants a total of 17 hours to finish – from around 7 a.m. until midnight the day of the event – before they are cut off. Slyer does it all while balancing her workload as a sophomore biology psychology major. As soon as the race ended in Conah, Slyer had to get back on a plane back to Buffalo. “I had to head home Sunday morning right after the race to make it back to class on Monday,” Slyer said. From Conah, Hawaii to the library on
UB alumna says CrossFit changed her life for the better
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email: tom.dinki@ubspectrum.com
KAINAN GUO, THE SPECTRUM
THE IRON WOMAN ASST. ARTS EDITOR
University Police are investigating graffiti containing “intolerant language” that was found on North Campus last week. A university staff person found the graffiti in three different locations in Slee Hall Wednesday and UPD arrived to the scene at around 8 p.m. A university facilities crew removed all of the graffiti by 11 p.m. The three pieces of graffiti said “Gay Only,” “White” and “Black is Cool.” President Satish Tripathi wrote an open letter published in UB Reporter Thursday expressing his disappointment with the “intolerant language” and stating UB is committed to an inclusive campus. “This is very disappointing and disrespectful of our values as a university community,” Tripathi said in the letter. In September, signs reading “White Only” and “Black Only” were found on campus bathrooms, water fountains and benches. The signs turned out to be part of graduate fine arts student Ashley’s Powell’s class project. UB is still working toward an official policy regarding art projects such as Powell’s. Anyone with information about last week’s crime is encouraged to contact UPD.
North Campus, Slyer got back to UB with the goal of finishing off her first semester as strongly as possible. And at the age of 19, Slyer is young to be participating in Ironman competitions. The average age of an Ironman triathlete is around 45. Slyer ran her first marathon during her first Ironman competition. She had run cross country since elementary school and centered her training mostly on running – including running several half marathons – but had never run a marathon by itself. Once she started, she was hooked. Slyer the triathlete Slyer will never forget her first Ironman. “I was really excited because it was a child-
President Tripathi’s open letter on inclusion
hood dream of mine,” Slyer said. “I always said I would run one when I was 18, which is the minimum age for it. So for my first one I was 18 and it was actually hard for me to believe that it was actually happening.” When she crossed the finish line for that race she said she had a giant smile on her face. “It was definitely a little nerve racking,” Slyer said. “I had done the full bike distance and the swim and I had ran 20 miles, so by the time I got to mile 20 on the run for my first one I had realized that this was the furthest I had ever ran in my life.” Slyer placed eighth out of 24 at the end of her first Ironman. She was happy – her goal had just been to finish. At her second Ironman in July, she unexpectedly won her age group. She wasn’t racing against any other athletes, but against herself in hopes that she would beat her previous time. Less than a mile from the finish line, she heard a family friend yelling to her that she was in second place. That was just the motivation Slyer needed to sprint the last mile of her 26.2 in six minutes and 30 seconds. Slyer’s finish qualified her for World Championships this October in Conah, Hawaii. But the event took place during the academic year, so Slyer had to miss school. It was worth it, considering that Slyer placed fourth out of 31 in her age group. “I passed a lot more people than people that passed me,” Slyer said. Slyer had to battle 90-degree weather, scorching sun, the unpredictable ocean and muscle cramps. Having never swam in the ocean before as a triathlete made it more difficult for Slyer. CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
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UB alum hosts lecture about issues in the transgender community
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NEWS
Monday, November 16, 2015
THE SPECTRUM
Climbing the ropes How a UB alumna found her drive through CrossFit MARLEE TUSKES NEWS EDITOR
Morgan Dressler used to just go to a “normal gym.” She said she’d spend maybe 40 minutes on an elliptical or treadmill. She didn’t know how to lift and she wasn’t interested in a personal trainer. Now she does exercises like rope climbing, handstand pushups and Olympic lifts in a strength and conditioning program often used by professional athletes, military special operations units and police academies. She uses CrossFit. Dressler, who graduated last May from UB with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical sciences, said that although she always considered herself to be “somewhat active,” it wasn’t until she started CrossFit that she truly started her now active lifestyle. She first discovered CrossFit after a friend of hers recommended it to her as a new workout regimen. After she went to check out what the gym was like, she thought it was perfect way for her to exercise. While the first gym specific to CrossFit
opened in Santa Cruz, California in the early 2000s, there are now more than 10,000 CrossFit gyms worldwide and more than 10 in the Western New York area. Since 2007, the CrossFit Games have been a televised competition in which athletes compete in different workouts in order to determine who is the “fittest on Earth.” The CrossFit Games are split according to gender and the male and female winners are awarded prize money. CrossFit has also received criticism for causing injuries and not being adequate for sports performance, including from some research journals and accreditation groups. But the regime is ideal for Dressler. “CrossFit is designed to target every type of athlete, whether starting as a housewife or a Navy SEAL. From day-to-day, no workout is identical,” Dressler said. One of the things Dressler said she likes about CrossFit is how unique the workouts are. A typical day for her involves strength training as well as gymnastic exercises. Each day there is a selected “workout of the day” (WOD) that is incorporated into the workout routine. Dressler said the WOD could range from five minutes to sometimes
30 minutes or more depending on the exercise. High intensity interval training – short, intense anCOURTESY OF MORGAN DRESSLER aerobic exercises – are typically involved Morgan Dressler(pictured) first started doing CrossFit over a year during the WOD. ago and since then feels as if her life has changed for the better. Liz Wolf and Dressler have been Dressler said she has noticed a huge diffriends since attending high school together. ference in her strength since she started The two used to go to the gym together fre- CrossFit. She said she went from not knowquently after school. Wolf, a senior psychol- ing how to lift weights to being able to now ogy major, said Dressler has always been fit “lift more than [she] ever imagined.” and used to participate in athletic activities Dressler’s sister Courtney said Dressler in high school and at UB. has always been very dedicated in everything “Since [Dressler] started CrossFit I’ve no- she does and CrossFit is not an exception. ticed she’s more conscientious and disci- Courtney said while Dressler has always plined in many aspects of her life, including worked out in some way, once she started school, diet and nutrition and all over health doing CrossFit it was noticeable she found and wellness,” Wolf said. something that she liked doing. When the CrossFit gym Dressler attends “She doesn’t miss a day,” Courtney said. held a class dedicated to bringing a friend “I can tell that it’s something she really loves along, Dressler brought Wolf with her. Wolf and I’m happy she found it.” said although the class was an easier version than the typical workouts, it was still difficult. email: news@ubspectrum.com
THE DONALD L. DAVIS LECTURESHIP FUND & UNIVERSITY LIFE AND SERVICES PRESENTS
JOHN LEGEND An Evening of Speaking, Q&A, and Songs with Piano
Academy Award Winning Songwriter, Singer, Musician, Producer, Philanthropist & Entrepreneur
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*Each distribution period will last 3 hours as listed or until tickets allocated for that day’s distribution period are all gone; whichever comes first.
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OPINION
Monday, November 16, 2015
THE SPECTRUM
Editorial Board EDITOR IN CHIEF
Tom Dinki
MANAGING EDITOR
Alyssa McClure COPY EDITORS
Kayla Menes Renée Staples NEWS EDITORS
Gabriela Julia, Senior Ashley Inkumsah Marlee Tuskes FEATURES EDITORS
Tori Roseman, Senior Dani Guglielmo ARTS EDITORS
Brian Windschitl, Senior Kenneth Kashif Thomas Tomas Olivier, Asst. SPORTS EDITORS
Jordan Grossman, Co-senior Quentin Haynes, Co-senior PHOTO EDITORS
Yusong Shi, Co-senior Kainan Guo, Co-senior Angela Barca . CARTOONISTS
Joshua Bodah Michael Perlman CREATIVE DIRECTORS
Kenneth Cruz Pierce Strudler, Asst.
Professional Staff OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
Helene Polley ADVERTISING MANAGER
Nicole Dominguez Lee Stoeckel, Asst. Zach Hilderbrandt, Asst. ADVERTISING DESIGNER
Derek Hosken
A not-so-safe act
Safe Campus Act protects alleged perpetrators, but at the expense of alleged victims The Safe Campus Act, a new bill up for debate in Congress, has come under fire for making it more difficult to investigate rape on college campuses. The Safe Campus Act would not allow universities to investigate sexual assault cases or punish alleged perpetrators until the victim reports the crime to police. The bill also would put a time limit on how quickly a victim must come forward about an incident of rape. The bill protects those being accused, while further discouraging victims to come forward, which is already hard enough. Rape can be difficult to not only prove, but to discuss. The time limit will make it more difficult for victims to find justice. Sororities, including ones with chapters at UB, are taking a stand against this legislation by publicly denouncing the bill. The North American Interfraternity Conference and National Panhellenic Conference, who had originally supported the bill, withdrew support Friday. These national fraternity and sorority groups and the students on college campuses, are using their
platforms to speak up for what they believe is right. It’s encouraging to see Greek Life organizations, which often have a reputation of partying and cliché sisterhood and brotherhood, making its voices heard and helping prevent a bill that may lead to less rape victims coming forward becoming law. The organizations aren’t the only ones vehemently opposing the legislation either – victim groups, victims themselves and even some school administrators
email: opinion@ubspectrum.com
UB committed to inclusive campus
THE SPECTRUM Monday, November 16, 2015 Volume 65 Number 33 Circulation 7,000 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. For information on adverstising with The Spectrum, visit www.ubspectrum.com/advertising or call us directly at 716-645-8555 The Spectrum offices are located in 132 Student Union, UB North Campus, Buffalo, NY 142602100
ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAL PERLMAN
have stood up to say that this law wouldn’t help stop sexual assault on college campuses. The bill is founded by questionable motives. It’s not looking to protect victims or encourage victims to speak out. It’s looking to protect those accused of rape. While everyone is innocent until proven guilty, the accused deserve an opportunity to defend themselves and accusations are sometimes false, that’s no reason to assume the majority of accusations
are false. All accusations should be taken seriously, unless proven otherwise. The bill wouldn’t do much to prevent the accused from being falsely punished either. Universities already investigate claims of sexual assault before punishing a student. It only discourages a victim from coming forward at all, knowing he or she will have to go to the police in addition to the university. Sometimes victims don’t want to get the police involved or press charges – they just want the person who assaulted them off their dorm floor or to not be near them on campus. The Safe Campus Act ends any chance of that. Because these organizations have raised their voices against such a bill, it is losing mass support. We encourage any students to continue their activism. The Safe Campus Act will only go against what so many have tried to end during the recent decades: sexual assaults on college campuses.
KAINAN GUO, THE SPECTRUM
President Satish Tripathi speaks at his annual State of the University Address in Slee Hall last month.
Editor’s note: President Satish Tripathi published this letter in the UB Reporter on Thursday, Nov. 12. It has not been changed in anyway.
Dear University Community: I want to take this opportunity to say once again how vitally important I feel it is to foster a welcoming, safe and inclusive campus climate where all feel respected and valued. This is a core principle for our UB community. But together, we must understand that creating this environment requires constant commitment, dialogue and intellectual engagement on the part of all of us. I believe as a university community, we have committed ourselves to this effort, and with that, we should acknowledge the strides we have made. At the same time, we can’t turn a blind eye to where we fall short in this effort. Last night, I was informed of the presence of graffiti that used intolerant language in one of our academic buildings. This is very disappointing and disrespectful of our values as a university community. As we are all aware, over the past few months, university and
college campuses across the nation have been the site of ongoing and intensifying debate about what it means to create a genuinely inclusive environment and whether our nation’s campuses are living up to this ideal. These questions have been in the national spotlight at multiple campuses across the country, where students, faculty and staff are confronting painful issues of intolerance, bigotry and discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender and sexual identity. These are difficult but necessary conversations and I believe the University at Buffalo can help lead the conversation about critical social issues like these as they play out both on our own campuses and on a national and global level. We don’t just grapple with these issues in the abstract; we live these principles every day and examine their implications in all that we do — from the way in which social justice is embedded in the academic mission of our Law School, School of Social Work and other units, to how we plan the physical environment and shape the educational curriculum. For all of us, these issues have
been especially in our consciousness this semester in the wake of the controversial student art project that sparked considerable debate and discussion across UB. It is a tribute to our students, faculty and staff that as a university community we have been able to take this difficult conversation and evolve it into an opportunity for constructive and sustained dialogue. In my Sept. 24 open letter to the Spectrum and later at my State of the University address on Oct. 9, I shared a few of the actions our university community is undertaking and I wanted to take this opportunity to provide an update on some of the many ways our students, faculty and staff are moving the conversation forward. • Our Vice Provost for Equity and Inclusion has organized a series of meetings in our residence halls as an opportunity for students to discuss issues and concerns related to race, diversity and the campus culture. • We have convened a students of color advisory committee to the University Police Department, and our students, faculty and staff are engaging in valuable conversations with UB law enforcement about how to foster a safe and welcoming campus climate for all. Since the end of September, members of our University Police Department have met twice with concerned students about these issues. • The College of Arts and Sciences Policy Committee and Office of the Dean have been meeting to contemplate SUNY’s policy on academic freedom in the context of campus concerns resulting from the student art project, as well as instructional policy regarding displays in public spaces. • This past week, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences held a cultural competency training for its entire faculty, staff and
administration. • The Intercultural Diversity Center has organized workshops around diversity and inclusion, and the UB 101 program is exploring new approaches to how these topics are presented to undergraduates as they enter our university. • Across the university, we are having in-depth conversations about new ways to explore race, ethnicity and cultural difference in the academic curriculum, from graduate seminars across the university to planning for our new general education program. • And as President, together with other members of the university’s senior leadership, I continue to meet with concerned students about how to build on our efforts to foster a welcoming and inclusive campus environment for all. In the past few weeks, for example, I have had two meetings with members of the Black Student Union and other student leaders to discuss their concerns about the student art project and will be meeting a third time with this group next week. Together, we are making progress. But we have much more yet to do to ensure we provide the most inclusive, welcoming and intellectually open environment possible. Like everything that is truly meaningful, this requires much effort and I thank our students, faculty and staff for all your work. As always, I encourage us all, as members of the UB community, to reaffirm our shared commitment to diversity, inclusion and mutual respect as essential core values at the foundation of our academic community — and to live those values each day. Sincerely, Satish K. Tripathi President
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FEATURES
Monday, November 16, 2015
Increasing intersectionality
THE SPECTRUM
UB alum hosts lecture about issues in the transgender community JESSICA BAIN STAFF WRITER
When Tiq Milan’s mother presented him with a Strawberry Shortcake bicycle with pink and yellow tassels as a child, he knew something wasn’t right. Milan said although he didn’t have the language to describe his disconnect with his former female body as a little girl, he knew the black Huffy truck with gold letters and scuffing up his shoes to appear rough like the boys made him happy. Milan, a UB alumnus and Buffalo native, was the keynote speaker for the third annual Sex, Gender, Health Symposium on Nov. 4 and 5, sponsored by the Gender Institute and co-sponsored by the offices of UB Campus Living, Intercultural Diversity Center, Student Engagement, Wellness Education Services, Gay & Lesbian Youth Services (GLYS) and Buffalo Women’s Services. Milan is a writer and a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activist. He is currently the national spokesperson for GLAAD, a media monitoring organization founded by LGBT people in the media. Milan has been featured in Vanity Fair, and his work has been in Ebony Magazine, The New York Times and HuffPost Live. This year’s symposium focused on transgender health and wellness. During the twoday series, Milan shared his experiences to UB students and faculty as a transgender African American male through an informative lecture and intimate conversation over lunch. Mariana Rojas, a graduate student in the transnational studies department who identifies as queer, said this is her third semester here but the conversation with Milan, hosted at the Intercultural Diversity Center, was the first event that made her feel comfortable on campus. “I have been trying to find a queer community on campus and I had to make an effort to step out of the isolation I was in to find places like this,” Rojas said. Students at the lunch were able to voice their thoughts and grievances about the lack of inclusion and understanding from their peers and faculty regarding those who are
JESSICA BAIN, THE SPECTRUM
Tiq Milan (center) meets with UB students in the Intercultural and Diversity Center on North Campus. Milan discussed what it means to be transgendered and how improper health care for those who identify this way can be dangerous and engaged directly with students, taking suggestions about how UB can become more transgender-friendly.
gender non-conforming. One student said students should have the opportunity to change their name on their UB identification cards and there should be more genderneutral bathrooms. Afiya Grant, a senior psychology and English major, is a LGBTQ Students of Color outreach assistant at the Wellness Center. She said events with LGBTQ activists coming to campus are necessary. “Even though Laverne Cox was great, this type of smaller conversation here makes more space for questions that maybe aren’t relevant to the larger community,” Grant said. Milan discussed the traumatizing effect of misgendering trans people, or referring to them with a pronoun or form of address inconsistent from the gender with which they identify. “Obviously it has a different effect on everyone but I haven’t met one trans person who when they are misgendered doesn’t cringe down to the pit of their soul,” said Milan. Milan touched on the Black Lives Matter movement and the need for intersectionality, or the concept that social identities are connected through systems of oppression
and should therefore overlap. Through this lens, Milan was referring to the trans men and women of color who are often left out of the conversation. “We have to be intersectional – Black Trans Lives Matter. Already this year there have been 22 murders of trans women and all of them have been of color except maybe one,” Milan said. Milan’s lecture was held at the Butler Auditorium in Farber Hall on South Campus. Throughout the hour-long lecture, Milan shared his knowledge and experience about being transgender in the healthcare system. There has been a legacy of distrust within the health care system with marginalized people, including black and female patients, Milan noted, especially with the transgender community. Milan recalled a time before his chest reconstruction surgery when he was extremely sick and went to the emergency room and was humiliated. When he took off his shirt at the medical personnel’s request and they saw he had breasts, the doctor ran out of the room and refused to see him. Milan said his mother,
who is a nurse and has always been supportive, was able to speak to the right people and make sure he got the right treatment. The medical treatment transgender men and women need is important to their lives and their health. But many transgender people lack the type of support Milan received. “This isn’t about being cute,” Milan said. “It’s about your spirit being able to manifest within your body. It’s important that I’m in the body that I want so that I can feel whole.” The discrimination and lack of understanding from the healthcare system forces transgender women – those who transition from male to female – to go to unsafe lengths to feminize their bodies, according to Milan. He has watched friends pass away from making these dangerous decisions. “One was from violence but the other two women died from just being sick,” Milan said. “They were visibly trans and sex workers. They weren’t getting the medical attention that they needed so they were getting dirty hormones off the black market.” One common misconception about being transgender is equating the term to taking hormones – but not all choose that route. For those that do, Milan offered care networks and support groups including the Community Kinship (CK) Life, located in the Bronx, which he said was instrumental in helping him find the proper resources during his transition. CK Life assists other transgender men and women in living fulfilled lives during after their transition. It serves as a network of opportunities by providing doctor recommendations, support groups, family planning and hormone replacement therapy. CK Life also has a scholarship fund that raises thousands of dollars to help transgender people start their hormone therapy or get an elected surgery, according to Milan. “If it wasn’t for this community based organization, I would have had no starting place,” Milan said. All pronouns in this article are deliberate and at the request of the speakers involved. email: features@ubspectrum.com
Creating a more trans-understanding environment
What you should know about the trans experience
TY ADAMS STAFF WRITER
Transgenderism: When a person’s self-identification doesn’t reflect the biological sex in which they were born and the gender norms that are commonly associated with that sex. We’ve seen the big faces on our TV screens, like Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner, and we’ve heard their stories. But how much do we know about the trans-experience of the greater majority who don’t have the luxury of being a celebrity? You can only learn so much from what the media exudes, and even then what the media perpetuates is not always common, factual or ethical. The trans experience is one that only a transgendered individual can fully grasp, but through thoroughly educating yourself and being more open-minded, your whole perspective could change for the better. The safest and most essential topic to begin with is pronouns. I have a rather liberal and open mindset;
I’d like to think that this part should be the most understandable. On the contrary, I’ve witnessed people continually mess this up. Regardless of what gender someone is transitioning into, if they have their legal paperwork or not, or of how “passible” for whatever gender a person may be, you need to have respect for someone and call them the pronoun that they wish to be addressed as. I have witnessed some seriously insensitive people who will completely disrespect a person’s gender. When I worked at Dunkin Donuts, one of my coworkers was a transgendered male – a female who transitioned to a male – and our boss still referred to him as “she”. I see it this way – if you can hold back profanity in front of your parents or in a professional setting, then you should be able to simply switch a pronoun to address someone the right way. Let us also learn to separate gender from sexual preference. There are cisgendered women – someone born anatomically female who identifies as a female – who are lesbian, just like there are cisgendered men – someone born anatomically male who identifies as male – who are gay. There can also be transgendered men or women who can be gay or lesbian. It may sound confusing, but just think of the example I just gave when you are lost. Further, there is the very frequent mistake of heterosexual transgendered individuals being called gay. For example, if someone identifies as a man and likes women, they are heterosexual. Being biologically female doesn’t make them lesbian. Their gender identification is male, thus making them heterosexual. Along these lines come some of the techni-
calities and terminologies of trans-experience. Being “clocked” is the act of a transgendered person being noticed in public for the gender in which they were assigned at birth and somehow being victimized for it. “FTM” means female to male transgender and “MTF” means male to female. Hormones are the medications transgendered individuals can be prescribed in order to physically look more like the gender that they identify with. Transgendered women will usually take estrogen and men will take testosterone. The slang term for a person who is currently taking hormones is “moaning.” Someone transitioning on estrogen might tell their friends they are “moaning.” Now, I can explain many common misconceptions with hormones. Hormones are not easy to obtain for everyone because not everyone has insurance to get them. Many transgendered individuals of lower socioeconomic statuses resort to black market hormone therapy, which can be detrimental to their overall health. So before you wonder why someone doesn’t look as “manly” or as “feminine” with the gender in which they are identifying with, keep in mind transitioning can be a long and difficult process. The complications of surgery are just another issue with the physicality of transgenderism. Many transgendered individuals, especially MTFs, have trouble being approved for surgeries because of discrimination from private practices. Many also simply just cannot afford the cosmetic surgeries. This leads many MTF transgendered wom-
en in the direction of receiving inexpensive, black market surgery known as “silicone” or “pumping.” Essentially, as gruesome as it sounds, it is the lethal injection of non-bagged industrial or medical silicone into the skin. Typically MTF women will have the silicone “pumped” into their cheeks, buttocks, hips, and chest. Many are quick to judge these acts and label them as heinous, but truthfully, we don’t know what it feels like to be living in an outer-body experience without the means or civil rights to get us what we deserve. Along the lines of discrimination comes the issue of maintaining a job in a heteronormative society. I have had many trans-identifying friends who have even been denied fast food jobs. This leads many transgendered individuals to start selling their bodies for money, or escorting. This is yet another profession that is frowned upon by society, but one that people will never understand as being a transgendered minority in this country. You frequently see transgendered people also resorting to escorting not only because of discrimination, but because their families disowned them. Before you judge the next transgendered person that you see, imagine being in their shoes. Imagine being stared at, or mistreated for something that they have no control over. Be friendly to them just like you would to any other cisgendered individual, because we are all human. email: features@ubspectrum.com
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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Monday, November 16, 2015
THE SPECTRUM
COURTESY OF JULIA SLYER
Slyer stands with her father John after an Ironman competition. Her father, who has run 11 Ironmans, is one of her core supporters and doubles as her coach, pushing her to become better.
THE IRON WOMAN She said it was different to swim in the ocean because of the salt water salty and waves. There was also a big swell coming in the day of the event, which made it difficult to see the buoys. Slyer did short training swims leading up to the event to get used to the ocean before her actual race. She was also worried about getting seasick. She had gotten seasick before when she swam in a lake during an event near her hometown, but it didn’t affect her at Conah. But the 90-degree weather was one of the greater feats Slyer overcame. “I got out of the swim a couple minutes behind the pace I wanted to be at so I got into the transition tent and I was a little stressed,” Slyer said. “I felt that I just need to go right away and I forgot to put on sunscreen.” About 40 miles into the biking portion of the race, Slyer started feeling the burn – literally. The sun roasted the upper part of her back from shoulder to shoulder, but at that point, Slyer said, there was nothing she could do about it. She also pushed through a string of cramps in her hamstring during the middle third of her bike event. She said that Conah was the run of her life and that her legs didn’t hurt at all even though they should have. Slyer stayed hydrated during the bike event with a lot of Gatorade and some water. But the exceptional heat required her to have to douse herself in water at every aid station to cool down. She also snacked on bananas and goo energy gels, which come in little packets that make them easy to carry, to supply her body with the glucose and electrolytes she needed to make it to the finish.
“Most of the time I would grab some kind of food because the whole race you’re burning a lot more calories then your putting into yourself,” she said. “But you also need to be careful not to over eat because you could really screw up your whole stomach. It’s a balancing game.” During the running portion of the race, when someone who looked to be in Slyer’s age group passed her, Slyer would point the sheet of paper with her participant number on it – called a bib – away from the person so he or she wouldn’t speed up to stay ahead
“
said. The father and daughter also train together. They do most of their runs together and swim at the same Tri-club two times a week. Slyer and her dad have been training together since she was 9 years old. “At times it can get a little annoying. Like when I say, ‘Dad, I’m tired. I don’t wanna get up and run.’ But he quickly responds, ‘Nope, were going,’ which is actually a good thing,” Slyer said. She said that it’s really nice having a built-in
“
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
IT'S A BALANCING GAME. of her. Slyer said this “is kind of a mean thing to do,” but when the competition is so high, people are willing to do anything they can to win. The family dynamic Slyer’s mother Kathy remembers when her daughter first fell in love with Ironman. “At the age of 3 she said, ‘I wanna run an Ironman at 18,’ and the dedication she has to the sport is evident to this day,” Kathy said. Kathy does half marathons and once did a half Ironman. Slyer also gets inspiration from her father, John, who is also her coach. “My dad has done 11 Ironmans. That’s why I got into it in the first place,” Slyer
KAINAN GUO, THE SPECTRUM
Slyer stands outside on North Campus. As a full-time student, Slyer must fit her training schedule around her classes and study sessions in the library.
Slyer’s responsibility as assistant director of her family’s summer camp isn’t a part time gig. She works almost 80 hours a week during the summer week so she does a lot of her training early in the morning. She biked to her job as a lifeguard just to fit in biking and swimming. Slyer danced, played soccer, ran track and cross-country while she was growing up at home and has had a lot of practice putting together a schedule that balanced her schoolwork, her homework and her free time. Kathy feels pride in seeing how her daughter is not consumed by the idea of winning but instead is motivated to excel because of the sheer love she has for running. “I’m in awe of her,” Kathy said of Slyer. Kathy believed that it was important for her children to stay active every season, so she had a rule that required her daughters to do something that would keep them fit and happy. But now she has to coach Slyer to do less. Whenever Slyer feels the aches and pains of nagging injuries, Kathy is always the first to recommend that she take a few days off so that she doesn’t overwork herself. These off-days don’t always go over well with Slyer because she constantly tries to improve and push past the pain. For Slyer, running is an addiction. Balancing student and athlete Slyer’s training doesn’t exactly match up with the average triathlete. When Slyer was honored for being one of the youngest participants at a welcome banquet before the World Championships in Conah, she was asked how her training was different as a college student. She’s had to fit her workouts into her daily activities. “I think its just kind of different from what most triathletes do because most of them have a 9-5 job and then they also have a family, so they’ll wake up really early in the morning and train, whereas I have classes so I usually fit in my training randomly in the middle of the day between classes, then shower and go back to class,” Slyer said. The kind of athletic experience that Slyer has is far from typical for a college student, so when she talks about her experience she gets a wide range of reactions from her friends. She said her roommates think that she’s completely insane. “But they also think its really cool,” Slyer said. “They always wanna know all about it and how I do my training, and why on earth I would do an Ironman in the first place.” Registering for an Ironman competition costs between $600-700, according to Slyer. Registration for the World Championships cost roughly $950 – not including personal travel expenses and the cost of moving equipment. Triathletes typically pay their own ways to competitions but Slyer set up a GoFundMe to raise money to attend Worlds. Her campaign was shared on Facebook by family and friends and also got posted onto a couple of triathlon club pages. Her entire trip was paid for through the campaign. “And someone actually let my dad and I stay in their condo, which was only a mile from the start, for free,” Slyer said. Slyer is a young woman with many goals. She wants to eventually go to medical school, but since she’s been having so much success in triathlons, she’s going to pursue it a bit longer. Slyer isn’t naïve about the overall rigor of becoming a career triathlete. The likelihood of getting paid to be a triathlete is low. Generally only the top-10 tend to get any sort of prize purse. The fact that triathlon isn’t as big of a spot in the United States as it is in places like Australia and Europe also adds to the challenge of going pro. “I need to keep improving because I am still very young to be in Ironman, so I have quite a bit of time until its normal for someone to try to go pro or elite.
–Julia Slyer
training partner, especially since she doesn’t really have anyone her age to train with. “I never taught her to focus on winning – I just wanted her to enjoy whatever she was doing,” John said. “Success would come naturally if she was passionate.” Because he didn’t want running to be overly structured for Slyer, John focused on teaching good sportsmanship and enrolled her in short events like the Splash and Dash, which consisted of two short runs separated by a swim. As Slyer got older, he would teach her little tricks to make improvements on her run. After watching “Daddy Daycare,” in which a father played by Eddie Murphy starts a daycare, Slyer and her younger sister Caroline inspired their dad to open a camp where they could swim, bike and run all day long. SKYHIGH Adventures: Multi Sport Life was born. Twenty to 25 kids showed up on the first day of camp and filed into the garage – essentially a storage room turned training area and locker room. In 2009, Slyer and other kids in her age group biked from Buffalo to Albany with a fully functional support system. “They traveled the country doing activities with the camp. They road the continental divide,” John said. John said that training was really a game of time management, motivation and energy. Pushing through 20 hours of training a week is tough, especially when doing it alone. “Having another person who keeps you moving is great,” John said. “Some have coaches, but not a lot have coaches who do the workouts with you.” As Syler got older, John began to notice that coaching wasn’t a one sided affair. In fact, they began to coach each other. “This kid dialed in. She knows what she’s doing. She’s strong, fast, confident and kind,” John said. He said that Slyer is almost always smiling during her races and says “good job” as she passes people. John is proud to know that he taught his daughter the power of the mind and positivity – it’s her mantra, he said. John said that his daughter’s tolerance and acceptance of others makes her a great role model and coach, not to mention assistant director the camp that the family runs. “I don’t know many kids that balance work, studying and spending time with friends and family,” John said. “She’s a good person on top of being an athlete and I wish I had the same motivation as her when I was her age.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
6
FEATURES
Monday, November 16, 2015
THE SPECTRUM
The grapevine The weekly collection of Buffalo’s sonic selections BRIAN WINDSCHITL SENIOR ARTS EDITOR
This week in concerts features a slew of interesting and iconic artists – there’s something for everyone. If huge stadium concerts aren’t appealing, then check out rapper K Camp or indie rockers Surfer Blood, playing at smaller, more intimate venues. And if music in general isn’t really your “thing,” then you can check out two comedians, Bianca Del Rio and Gabriel Iglesias, making their Buffalo debuts this week. Grab a friend, make some plans, buy tickets and get out to a show. Stevie Wonder is in town, there shouldn’t be any explanation necessary.
Monday, Nov. 16 Bianca Del Rio – 710 Main Street The first concert on this list isn’t a musician, rather, a stage actor and comedian. Bianca Del Rio, a well-known drag queen, will be performing his comedy routine at 710 Main St on Monday. The comedian, primarily dealing with insult comedy, was crowned the winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in 2014, the first Hispanic winner of the series.
Tuesday, Nov. 17 K Camp – Town Ballroom This up-and-coming Atlanta, Georgia rapper premiered on 2015’s XXL Freshman Class. Interscope Records released his music debut Only Way Is Up on Sept. 4. The rapper
is not new to the industry, however. He has released 10 popular mixtapes, a primary reason he made XXL’s yearly up-and-coming list. K Camp, sure to explode in popularity over the next few years, will be a great show to see in Buffalo before he gains any more fame. Town Ballroom is always a treat, allowing the audience to get face-to-face with the artists performing.
Wednesday, Nov. 18 Dopapod and the Nth Power – Tralf Music Hall Dopapod, a jam band from Boston, and The Nth Power, a crooning soul band, will both be performing at the Tralf on Wednesday. Dopapod’s music is a combination of progressive rock and dance music, modernizing every one of their rock songs with hard bass and easily danceable grooves. The Nth Power is a groovy, jazzy band with raspy vocal choruses, lush guitar riffs and rhythmic percussions. A definite dance-thenight-away kind of concert, come out to see both bands perform mid-week.
Thursday, Nov. 19 Stevie Wonder – First Niagara Center Stevland Hardaway Morris, known as Stevie Wonder, is one of the most famous musicians still alive today. He has received over 25 Grammy Awards for his pop music hits such as “Superstition,” “Isn’t She Lovely” and “Higher Ground.” Tickets, already sold-out for the Thursday show, were highly coveted, a rare, one-and-a-lifetime opportunity to see
one of the greatest musicians of all time.
Friday, Nov. 20 Papadosio – Town Ballroom
The Jacksons Athens, Ohio band Papadosio is a fu- – Center for the Arts
sion of orchestra, electronic, psychedelic and acoustic – an odd mix of sonic ambience overlaid on top of the regular guitardrum-bass combination. Its most recent album Extras In A Movie was funded through the crowd-sourcing site Kickstarter and released on Oct. 2. The band has stated on its website that it wishes for the album to be “enchanting” to listeners, able to give people music they can connect to. The group will be performing at the Town Ballroom on Friday.
Saturday, Nov. 21 Nate Ruess and Surfer Blood – Town Ballroom The lead singer of fun. Nate Ruess will be coming to Town Ballroom alongside Surfer Blood on his tour as a solo artist. Ruess, who split from fun. in February 2015, said that he wanted to explore his own sound. His solo album Grand Romantic was released June 16, peaking at seventh on the Billboard charts. Surfer Blood, an alt-rock band from West Palm Beach, is accompanying the fun. lead singer on tour and bringing its own band of easy-going, reverbed-out surf rock to Buffalo. Both Ruess and Surfer Blood, pop and alt rock musicians on the verge of breaking into their respective mainstream music scenes, will be showing off their stuff
UB STANDS WITH PARIS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Stepniewska said UB’s delay to contact her and other students, compared to SUNY Oswego, is understandable since the attack happened at the time when people in New York were on their way home from work and hadn’t heard of the attack yet. “But an emergency can happen at any time, as this situation has shown us, so I hope that if study abroad staff didn’t have access to emergency contact numbers outside of the office before that now they will,” Stepniewska said. “At least a statement should have been sent or said to all the parents telling them what the school has planned for a worst case scenario.” UB released a statement that all UB students studying in France had been contacted and were safe at 10:52 a.m. Eastern time Saturday morning. UB Study Abroad was not immediately available. Program directors advised the students to stay in their dorms for the rest of the week unless they are going to class. Stepniewska said she has had trouble sleeping since the attacks. Kendall Spaulding, a senior English major, is studying abroad in Grenoble, France, about three and a half hours from Paris. Spaulding was at a party with his friends when he hard about the attack. “It felt odd to be at a party with everyone drinking and having a good time,” Spaulding said. “People were being killed and held hostage not too far from us.” “Nobody wakes up in the morning and thinks something like this would happen,” Spaulding said. Spaulding said that although he is not French, living in the country has given him a sense of solidarity. “I feel for those who’ve lost loved ones,” Spaulding said. For those who were in Buffalo during the attacks, the biggest concern was not hearing from friends and family abroad right away. O’Brien Welsh, a senior political science major, knows at least 10 people in Paris during the time of the attacks but couldn’t get
in contact with any of them until Saturday morning. Welsh was on his way to dinner when he received a BBC News update of the attacks on his phone. “I saw that 18 had died in Paris but I put my phone away and said I’ll look at it later,” Welsh said. “Then I received another update minutes later and over 100 people were dead so I knew it wasn’t some small attack.” One of Welsh’s friends planned to go to the restaurant where one of the shootings took place an hour before the attack, but didn’t because it was too early to go out. He later realized he could have been a part of that fateful incident. “It was 3 a.m. and I hadn’t heard from them or seen that they were active on Facebook,” Welsh said. “I wondered if they were sleeping or maybe there was too much chaos for them to check in. As a result I couldn’t sleep that night.” Others weren’t as fortunate to hear that everyone was safe. Two of John-Jacques Thomas’ son’s friends were killed during the attack. Thomas is a UB distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. He received his Ph.D. at the Sorbonne University of Paris and visits the city twice a year. Although he was in Buffalo, he was worried about his family overseas. His cousin and his family live in Rue de Charonne where the attacks occurred. Through email and phone calls, he heard that all of his family and friends were safe. Thomas has given thought to the attack itself. “What is surprising is that the terrorist events have not taken place in the ‘international’ and tourist part of Paris … but in a peaceful neighborhood, in a middle- to lowclass area,” Thomas said. “In fact then an area familiar to the possible terrorists and their drivers.” Thomas suggests the terrorists had completed “dry runs” beforehand. He said French people believe the main
on Saturday, Nov. 21 at Town Ballroom. The concert is for sure to satisfy any pop, indie or rock fans alike.
attack was planned to take place at the stadium where the French-Germany soccer game was held. But since President of France Francois Hollande was in attendance, there was tighter security. Three bombs went off outside the stadium. While dealing with the aftermath of the terror attacks, Stepniewska wants people to know that she and other students have support from someone in Paris at all times. “[Garelli] is very important to our wellbeing here. She is the one that reacted immediately and made sure everyone was OK, which is what is most important,” Stepniewska said. Stepniewska said Garelli’s presence was calming. She invited the students to her house the day after the attack to eat cookies and drink tea while talking about what happened. Sunday evening, Stepniewska and other students visited the Place de la Republique and the Bataclan concert hall where the attacks took place. She said it was quiet and solemn. Candles, flowers and artwork filled the streets as people sang a French song with the lyrics, “We only have love.” “Everyone was very emotional and yet because there were so many people there, they were showing that they are not afraid to leave their house and showed they are one with the victims and their families and with all the Parisians,” Stepniewska said. Stepniewska said through this tragedy, she has also experienced “all the good in people.” She said Uber drivers drove through the scene to make sure people got home safe. Taxi drivers gave people free rides and Parisians opened their homes to people from the streets.
The Jackson 5 is one of music’s most beloved pop super groups. The Jacksons will be performing at UB’s Center for the Arts as part of a Ronald McDonald charity concert on Saturday. Four of the original members – Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Tito – will be featured in the concert, which also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the family’s super group, as well as some Michael Jackson tribute songs. Don’t miss this chance to see another legendary musical group as they come through Buffalo this week.
Sunday, Nov. 22 Gabriel Iglesias – Shea’s Performing Arts Center Comedy genius Gabriel Iglesias, also known by his stage name “Fluffy,” will be bringing his stand-up routine to Shea’s Performing Arts Center on Sunday. The comedian, born in San Diego, California, has led an industrious career in the TV world with his features on Nickelodeon and “Family Guy,” as well as his Comedy Central show “Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand Up Revolution,” a showcase of up-and-coming comedians with Iglesias as host. Come out for a night of laughs at Shea’s on Sunday. email: arts@ubspectrum.com
THE IRON WOMAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
Editor’s note: Kendall Spaulding was a Spectrum staff writer in the fall of 2014.
I think I have a lot of potential to go elite I just need to keep building on top of my experience and not stop,” Slyer said. At Slyer’s second Lake Placid Ironman she dropped her overall time by an hour and at championships she whittled off another half an hour. Caroline said Slyer’s determination and time management skills keep her from getting overwhelmed. The two also support each other in all of their endeavors, something that is invaluable to Caroline. After returning from Hawaii, Kathy told her daughter, “Now I want you to be a college kid.” Kathy said she would hate to be the kind of parent that tells her children not to follow their dreams. She knew it would be important for her daughter to understand that it’s important for her to do what she loves. “If you love it, continue on and show people what you can really do,” Kathy said. Slyer said that people can learn so much about themselves and their limits when they wake up every morning to run. “Even during an actual race you realize how much you can push yourself through,” Slyer said. When she finished the World Championships at Conah, Mike Riley, the voice of Ironman, boomed, “Julia Slyer, you are an Ironman.” It was the perfect ending to Slyer’s experience at the Ironman championships in Hawaii and from the looks of it, will not be her last.
email: news@ubspectrum.com
email: sports@ubspectrum.com
Brian Windschitl contributed reporting to this story.
7
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Monday, November 16, 2015
THE SPECTRUM
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8Men's soccer loses to Akron in MAC Championship Game
SPORTS
Monday, November 16, 2015
THE SPECTRUM
Bulls’ breakthrough season ends in finals QUENTIN HAYNES SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR
After winning just five games last season, the Buffalo men’s soccer team found itself 90 minutes away from winning the program’s first-ever Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship and getting its first-ever NCAA Tournament bid Sunday afternoon. But a first-half goal by Akron just minutes before halftime ended any chance of that. The Bulls (8-7-4, 2-2-1 MAC) lost to Akron (15-3-2, 4-0-1 MAC), the No. 3 team in the entire country, 1-0 at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field in Akron, Ohio Sunday. It was their third MAC Tournament Championship Game appearance and first since 2007, where the Bulls also lost to Akron. “I thought our team played excellent. Excellent,” said head coach Stu Riddle. “We played one of the five best teams in the country and took them down to the wire. There was a slip up and we allowed that goal, it was the one blip the entire game, but I thought we played well out there otherwise.” The Zips challenged Buffalo’s defense in the first half, as the Bulls played a more defensive game. The Zips finished with 16 shots, while Buffalo had just three. Buffa-
lo’s defensive style also resulted in 19 fouls called in the first half. However, Akron found a spot late in the first half. In the 44th minute, Akron’s Victor Souto found a spot in the middle of Buffalo’s defense, taking a shot from the middle of the Buffalo box and finding the back of the net. “We gave away a silly free kick,” Riddle said, “a couple guys turned their head away from the ball and Akron was able to convert a wonderful goal from the edge of the box. It was really the only mistake and error we made in that first half.” The Bulls were much more aggressive in the second half, finishing with eight shots to Akron’s 10 shots, but five cards – one red card and four yellow – to Akron’s zero. Their best chance came at the 86th minute, when junior midfielder Russell Cicerone drew a free kick off of a foul call. When Akron blocked the shot, the Bulls couldn’t recover. In the losing performance, sophomore goalkeeper Joseph Kuta shined, finishing with 10 saves on 11 shots on goal. Kuta’s performance in net allowed the Bulls to remain in position to tie the game and may have solidified his position as the starting goalkeeper next season. With Kuta and junior defender Daniel Cramarossa, the Bulls will return sev-
COURTESY OF UB ATHLETICS
Senior midfielder Marcus Hanson in Buffalo’s 1-0 MAC Tournament Championship loss to Akron Sunday. Hanson is the only impact player that the Bulls will lose to gradation.
eral key starters next season. Cicerone, recently named MAC Player of the Year and the team’s leading scorer, has another year of eligibility but has also been rumored to be drafted in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft this January, according to NBC Sports. The only impact player the Bulls are guaranteed to lose is senior midfielder Marcus Hanson who will graduate and had two goals and five assists this season.
“The bulk of team is coming back and they’ve been playing together since freshman year,” Riddle said. “When you look at the big picture, it was a good year. But we want more. We don’t want to get here and lose again. We know we have the talent to get it done, so entering next year, our goal is to get back here and win it all.” email: sports@ubspectrum.com
Bulls get first win of Nate Oats era in rout Bulls defeat D-III Panthers by 60 points JORDAN GROSSMAN SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR
Even first-year head coach Nate Oats said he knew the men’s basketball team would win its season opener. But he may not have known how dominating the victory would be. The Bulls (1-0) routed Division-III Pittsburgh-Bradford (0-1) 109-49 in Alumni Arena to open the 2015-16 season Friday night. Buffalo shot more than 50 percent and had six players score double-digits in what was Oats’ first game and win as head coach. Even with the personnel losses this offseason, Oats said he felt the team was good enough to beat a lower opponent – and he was right. But he was not fully content. “I told the guys before we could play poorly and beat the team. But I didn’t want to see that,” Oats said. “I wanted to see that we had some stuff to clean up from the Daemen game. Our turnovers were significantly lower. I thought we gave up too many offensive rebounds.” Four of Buffalo’s six double-digit scorers were new to the team. Freshmen CJ Massinburg and Nick Perkins, as well as junior college transfers Willie Conner and Blake Hamilton, combined to score 62 points and only turned the ball over four times. But it was a veteran who stole the show. Senior forward/gaurd Rodell Wigginton scored a career-high 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting and added 10 rebounds. Oats said he was skeptical playing Wigginton heavy minutes because of the forward’s lingering ankle injury. He had not even played in a full practice this season. But he played in 20 minutes on Friday in his first test run of the season “I felt like I let my game come to me tonight,” Wigginton said. “Sometimes, I rush my game. But tonight, I just let it come to me really.” On two separate occasions, the Bulls scored at least 22 unanswered points.
Buffalo began the game on a 26-0 run before the Panthers put in their first basket with 11:26 left in the first half. During the stretch, Massinburg, a guard, continued his impressive play and scored 10 straight points. Last Friday, he scored 11 points in a row. “I just try to come out with as much intensity and high energy,” Massinburg said. “Usually, when I’m playing really hard, good things happen. I just have to stay aggressive.” The Bulls’ second stretch came later in the half with Buffalo already up by 23 points. With 6:55 remaining, the Bulls scored 22 unanswered points until there was 1:18 left in the half. During that stretch, Buffalo managed to score as many points through that point of the game as the Panthers did for the entirety. Hamilton, a junior wing, contributed 21 points and seven rebounds – exactly what Oats wants out of him. Hamilton said Oats looks at him as a versatile guard for his height and excelled ball handling. He was also content with his performance after a preseason game where he only scored one point while battling foul trouble. Oats used Friday’s game to sample his new system. He wanted to see what worked and what didn’t work. And one of his main concerns is rebounding. Buffalo outrebounded Pitt-Bradford 4934 on the night. It may seem like a big number, but there were only three players on
KAINAN GUO, THE SPECTRUM
Junior wing Blake Hamilton goes in for a layup. The Bulls defeated Pittsburgh at Bradford and Hamilton finished with 21 points and seven rebounds.
the Panthers that exceeded 6-foot-1. Buffalo’s big men like Perkins and freshmen forward Ikenna Smart only accounted for 10 rebounds combined. Buffalo also only outrebounded PittBradford by four on the offensive glass. “We should’ve done better on the defensive end as a team,” Wigginton said. “But I feel as we progress throughout the season, we’re going to get better.” The team may progress, but it may have to do so without one its defensive stalwarts. Senior forward Raheem Johnson may be out for longer than his one-game suspension. He injured his foot last week, could be seen in a walking boot on the sidelines Friday and may be out for an extended period of time. Oats rotated 11 players in and out of the lineup all night, up from what he wants his standard to be. “We’re going to wait and see how it goes,” Oats said about the amount of rotation players he’ll have. “We have 12 scholarship guys. I’ve never coached a team with a 12man rotation, so I highly doubt we’ll have a 12-man rotation. So somebody is going to have to beat someone out here.” Oats kept junior forward David Kadiri out of the game as precautionary. Kadiri is battling a knee injury and Oats said he
hasn’t made the progress he had hoped to see. Oats said he “wasn’t quite right” and the coaching staff decided to shut him down for a couple of days. Oats called senior guard Jarryn Skeete’s performance “so-so,” but he is not concerned. Oats is aware of what Skeete can do for the team in high-pressure situations, citing his four 3-pointers when Buffalo played Kentucky last season. Skeete finished with five points on 2-of9 shooting. Buffalo’s performance was surprising, even against a Division-III opponent. The 60-point scoring differential was the biggest margin of victory for Buffalo in more than 46 years. Buffalo led by as much as 66 points at one point in the game. “These types of games are games you can’t take for granted,” Hamilton said. “Us being the team we are, we have to enforce our will. This was just a game where we come out and prepare ourselves. We have to prepare ourselves for the long season.” Buffalo continues its season in Uncasville, Connecticut for two games in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic beginning next week. The Bulls’ first matchup is against Old Dominion (1-0) on Monday at 7 p.m. email: sports@ubspectrum.com