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
Protests planned for Donald Trump’s Buffalo visit EVAN SCHNEIDER
MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2016
VOLUME 65 NO. 62
MEET THE CANDIDATES Mikael Holcombe-Scali
James Corra
Bree Tom
Rachel Stern
A breakdown of UB Council student representative candidates on page 2
NEWS EDITOR
Alex Sityar said a person’s voice is a lot louder when it’s not behind a computer screen. That’s why Sityar, a senior clinical psychology major, and other community members are planning to protest Donald Trump’s visit to Buffalo. “I think someone’s voice is a lot louder when they stand up from behind their computer screen and go to an event like this,” Sityar said. Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican Party nomination for president, is holding a rally at the First Niagara Center in downtown Buffalo Monday. Trump has caused controversy with his comments on topics like immigrants, Islam and abortion throughout his campaign, which has lead some Buffalo residents, including some UB students, to plan protests. Sityar attended a peaceful march started at Bidwell Park in Buffalo Sunday that was organized by a small group of people not tied to any anti-Trump organization. One of the group’s organizers, Ben Caldwell, said that the protest is a proactive one and isn’t a response to anything other than Trump’s arrival in Buffalo. Due to the aggressive nature of previous Trump rallies and protests, the Buffalo Police and the Secret Service will be allotting a safe protest area away from the lines at the First Niagara Center to try to keep any disorderly protesters or supporters away from each other, according to Caldwell. “I don’t believe that today we are going to encounter any counter protests, I’m confident today it will be friendly,” Caldwell said Sunday. “We also have peacekeepers that have been trained in de-escalation tactics.” Caldwell also said that while the group is not attached to any larger organizations, the Western New York Peace Center helped oversee the events. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Ted Cruz takes questions at intimate UB town hall Republican presidential candidate talks conservative values at Katharine Cornell Theatre KENNETH KASHIF THOMAS SENIOR ARTS EDITOR
Just three days after Bernie Sanders held a rally that packed thousands of people into Alumni Arena, Ted Cruz held a smaller, more intimate town hall discussion with MSNBC in the Katharine Cornell Theatre in the Ellicott Complex Thursday. The theater, which held approximately 300 students and residents from around the area, was covered in American-themed decor and the MSNBC name as Cruz spoke on a range of topics from abortion and contraceptives, to border issues and immigration. Cruz, a Republican presidential candidate and Texas senator, also took questions from the audience addressing his policies, past comments and his place in the current presidential election. “Ted Cruz is a very polished speaker,” said Peter Yacobusci, a Buffalo resident. “I don’t think that anything he said will reach any voters, not in his base. With his mostly evangelical voter base, his pro-life stance works well, but most of Americans and the country is pro-choice or moderately so.” MSNBC reporter Chuck Todd asked Cruz about his stance against abortion and contraceptives. Cruz put a religious context on the question by questioning the stance the Democratic Party has taken on the subject. “One of the saddest things we’ve seen is the retreat of the Democratic Party from religious liberty,” Cruz said. “Hillary Clinton’s views on abortion are radical and extreme.” Audience members asked Cruz questions in between Cruz’s segments with Todd.
KAINAN GUO, THE SPECTRUM
Ted Cruz speaks during a town hall discussion with MSNBC in the Katharine Cornell Theatre in the Ellicott Complex Thursday.
When the audience asked Cruz about the representation of moderate Republicans, who are fiscally conservative but socially liberal, he responded with analysis of political corruption and career politicians. “Most people that run for office believe in something, they want to make a change,” Cruz said. “The thing is Washington is so corrupt and it corrupts incrementally.” Cruz would use this opportunity to equate politicians looking for re-election to the “Godfather” movie series. “After every movie Corleone becomes more corrupt and everyone dies at the end of the end of these movies, it’s like politicians looking to get re-elected,” Cruz said.
Todd then played a clip of Cruz calling Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a liar on the Senate floor. Cruz said people’s reactions to his statement were unexpected. “They weren’t upset somebody lied. They were upset somebody said it out loud,” Cruz said. Cruz also addressed his “New York values” comment, which caused a bit of controversy, particularly among New York City residents, back in January. Cruz said the values of upstate New York are tremendous and that he was referring to liberal politicians. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Tom Toles, Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist and UB alum, comes to UB HANNAH STEIN ASST. NEWS EDITOR
RASHAAD HOLLEY, THE SPECTRUM
Pulitzer Prize-winner Tom Toles speaks to the audience in Slee Hall. Toles, a UB and Spectrum alumnus, visited UB Thursday as part of UB’s fourth annual Signature Series.
ubspectrum.com
Tom Toles described his creative process as “working inside of a razor machine.” He said it’s like labor and it’s “a tricky recipe to pull off.” Even with this difficult process, Toles finds it to be rewarding and that it is a “good match” for him. Toles, a Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist and Spectrum alumnus, came to UB Thursday as the honored guest in UB’s fourth annual Signature Series. He held a gallery presentation of his work in Capen Hall Thursday afternoon and held what he called an “informal discussion,” called “Talking Toles,” in Slee Hall Thursday night, in which he touched on his cartoons, career and political commentary. The cartoons showcased in the Kaveeshwar Gallery in Capen Hall showcased his work from his time as a student at The Spec-
fb.com/ubspectrum
trum to his currentcartoons at The Washington Post. The prints of Toles’ cartoons were produced on campus primarily by printmaking students in the Department of Art. When Toles experienced “a painful ending” with the conclusion of his career at the Buffalo Courier-Express, he thought his career was over. Toles said he’s always been an “odd duck” and a “bit of an eccentric” when it comes to his political cartoons, but little did he realize he would move on to become the editorial cartoonist of The Buffalo News and later The Washington Post. Toles shared his “five secrets” of editorial cartooning. He said first secret is about learning how to draw, to which he showed a stick figure of his on the screen. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
@ubspectrum