The Spectrum Vol. 66 No. 8

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, SEPTEMBER 26, 2016

Independent candidate Riley Oates elected to Student Association Senate Oates and 11 Empowerment Party members elected 2016-17 SA Senate

VOLUME 66 NO. 8

UB hosts first ever TED X conference Conference consisted of six diverse speakers and two performances

ASHLEY INKUMSAH SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

The underdog candidate received the highest number of votes at the Student Association Senate election on Thursday.

Riley Oates, a junior economics and political science major, was elected SA senator along with 11 members of the Empowerment Party. Oates ran independently in the Integrity Party against the Empowerment Party. He received 553 total student votes in the election. SA also passed a referendum during the election to continue the mandatory student activity fee, which is currently $104.75 per student each semester.

Roughly four percent of students voted in the election. Only 1,182 students voted out of roughly 30,000 students at UB. There were narrow margins separating the votes between each candidate. Deepesh Jhamtani, a senior business major, who ran on the Empowerment Party was just four votes short of being elected an SA senator.

Empowerment Party members Dillon Smith, Monica Duque, Deidree Goldbourne, Katie Raymond, Vanessa Dwyer, Anna Jacquinot, Gabi Cohen, David Wu, Trevi Fulater, Anthony Taboni and Emily SharpO’Connor were also elected to SA Senate.

Duque, a senior interdisciplinary social sciences major and former Latin American Student Association treasurer received 545 student votes, which was the second-highest number of votes.

“It feels good [to be elected],” Oates said.

“I put a lot of hard work into it. I want to thank everyone that came out to vote, I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Smith, a senior political science major, said students empowered themselves to help make a change by voting in the election.

HANNAH STEIN SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

KAITLYN FILIPPI, THE SPECTRUM

(Left to right) Trek Fulater, David Wu, Anthony Taboni, Monica Duque, Gabi Cohen, Deidree Golbourne and Dillon Smith are seven of the 12 Student Association Senators elected on Thursday.

“Moving forward, we want to stand with Riley Oates to have both integrity and empowerment,” Smith said.

He looks forward to having SA Senate make positive changes on campus.

Taboni, a sophomore physics major, said it’s great seeing people get involved with SA and the university.

“It’s been a very long three days but we got to meet a ton of new students,” Taboni said. “I was just super happy and surprised by how many people took time out of their day to talk to us [in the Student Union].”

SA senators assume their positions immediately, according to Megan Glander, SA vice president.

Duque said although she initially doubted herself “it feels good to finally be part of something and make a difference in the university.”

“I was very nervous,” Duque said. “I feel like out of anyone on this ticket I was the least experienced. I felt that I didn’t know anything about politics.”

SA passed the referendum to continue the mandatory student activity fee with 790 students voting in favor and 191 students

voting against the referendum.

Smith’s position as SA Senate chair became vacant after the elections concluded, according to Daniel Christian, SA elections and credentials chair. SA Senate chair elections will occur after SA president Matt Rivera determines the first Senate meeting at the “State of the SA” address, according to Glander.

The date for the SA Senate chair election has yet to be determined.

“It was a very nice turnout that we got here,” Christian said. “Some people would be upset with a little over 1100 people [voting] but [there] are juniors at this school who don’t know we have Senate elections because there hasn’t been a contested Senate election so this was an excellent opportunity for a lot of people.”

Christian said the election was a great way to get ideas about how a student government should run.

“We saw a single candidate who was able to put out a great effort and it ended up paying off for him,” he said. email: news@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @AshleyInkumsah

Devashish Agarwal was lying in his bed while watching a TED talk video last spring when he asked himself, why not have a TED conference at UB? He reached out to the Honors College and within 10 days, he had all of the speakers for the conference.

The TED X conference, held Saturday afternoon in the Student Union, was themed “Reborn” and featured six speakers with 18-minute talks and two performances. Preet Desai, a graduate student, performed on the piano and the Enchords, UB’s only co-ed a cappella group, closed the conference. The event budget was under $700 from university funding, according to Agarwal.

Roughly 100 tickets were sold but an additional 50 students were let into the conference because they lost count of the students coming in, Agarwal, a junior computer science major, said.

Agarwal reached out to Dr. Tara Jabbaar-Gyambrah in the Honors College and she referred him to people in Buffalo who have done something innovative in their field.

“Me being an international students and rediscovering myself, all the rebirth happening in Buffalo and the latest rebranding at UB, all these together gave me the idea of having ‘reborn’ as the theme,” Agarwal said.

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First mission together at UB Twins and former astronauts Mark and Scott Kelly kick off Distinguished Speaker Series SARAH CROWLEY ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Mark Kelly and his brother Scott Kelly went into one of the greatest personal and professional challenges of their lives. Mark had flown 39 combat missions in the U.S. navy when his wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was shot. Scott had experienced a Russian satellite traveling 17,500 miles an hour dangerously fly by his space station.

But it was nothing they couldn’t handle.

If there’s one thing the Kelly brothers are capable of, it’s endurance.

The Kelly brothers began the Distinguished Speakers Series in Alumni Arena Thursday evening with stories. They were two unmotivated Irish kids from New Jersey who applied to the wrong college by mistake. They would eventually become captains in the U.S. Navy and go into space a combined total of eight times.

The Kelly brothers urged students to take risks, work “really hard” and never settle for the status quo. Most importantly, the Kelly

brothers shared a message about control – knowing when you have it and accepting when you don’t.

For Scott, who just returned in March 2016 from a year-long orbit in space, the physical and mental challenge of becoming an astronaut is what made the risk and the pain worth it.

Mark also spoke about the role astronauts play in physiological experiments, such as the “Twin Study” he and Scott participated in. Given their identical DNA, NASA scientists studied the physiological effects of space by comparing Mark and Scott.

They joked around a lot, with each other and at the Buffalo Bills’ expense.

“What many people don’t know is that the twins they originally wanted were Rex and Rob Ryan – but from what we heard, they were too busy ruining your football team,” Mark joked to a thunderous applause.

Mark said his brother could age dramatically in the next ten years. Scott might someday experience partial or even full blindness.

The long-term effects of the radiation he re-

ubspectrum.com

ANGELA BARCA, THE SPECTRUM

Scott Kelly (left) and Mark Kelly (right) kicked off the Distinguished Speaker Series in Alumni Arena Thursday evening.

ceived in space aren’t known fully, Mark said.

Scott shrugged this possibility off, saying, if he looks older than Mark in ten years, it’s because his brother got botox. Still, Scott acknowledged that going into space is a high-risk venture.

But their message was clear and earnest.

Scott spoke about the day he was most afraid in space when a Russian satellite traveling 17,500 miles an hour came dangerously close to their space station. After being told control was unable to move the space station in time, Scott was completely powerless.

Only when he saw his Russian co-astro-

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nauts casually eating lunch while he panicked, Scott said he remembered the importance of focusing only on what you can control.

Mark Kelly told a similar story about his first combat mission, the opening night of Operation Desert Storm. He said it was the “worst feeling he ever had” when he saw not one, but two missiles tracking his plane.

Mark said he learned to worry only about what was in his power by watching his partner. He completely “compartmentalized” his focus on what was in his control, despite the intense pressure and fear of attack.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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2 First mission together at UB

NEWS

Monday, September 26, 2016

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Scott reiterated the importance of relinquishing control when he learned his sisterin-law had been shot. He would not reach Earth for two more months.

“I tried to support my brother Mark here as well as I could, I took some time off, but eventually I realized that there was really nothing that I could do to help the situation on Earth. I really needed to focus on what I could control on the space station,” said Scott.

In an interview with The Spectrum, Mark and Scott Kelly described what they called,

“an orbital perspective,” and how it motivated them to want to “do better” on Earth.

“When I was in space last summer, summer 2015 now, every time I would fly over the Mediterranean, I would think about those refugees down there, those boats down there, the little kids dying. You look down and it looks very peaceful but it really isn’t. Also you don’t see any political borders between countries so it makes it look like we’re all kind of in this together,” Scott said.

After their discussion, the Kelly brothers took questions from several students, including a Russian student from St. Francis

High School, who exchanged a few words with Scott in his native language.

Heeba Kariapper, a sophomore computer science major, said she was inspired by the Kelly’s talk to explore her own “version of space.”

“It made me want to go to more of these speaker events,” Kariapper said. “My favorite part was when they were talking about the beauty in space, that’s definitely something I’ve always thought about, like what it would be like to see from that perspective.

Most people don’t get to see that so to hear it from them was cool.”

Sam Trzaska, a junior history and political

UB hosts first ever TED X conference CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

James Bowman, coordinator of the LGBTQ program and UB international student advisor, was the first speaker who jumped around speaking about sexual orientation, breastfeeding, culture and the binary system.

Bowman is not sure what the term “reborn” means for LGBTQ communities.

“Reborn for me means that maybe we were at a really good place and something happened and now we’re revitalizing that space to bring it back to its former glory,” Bowman said.

Bowman said in terms of rights, the LGBTQ community is still working on “full inclusion within our society.”

“As we’re coming to a point of better understanding of our own gender identities, sexual orientations and gender expressions, we’re reconstructing the ways in which we come to know what this means for each one of us,” Bowman said.

Brittni Smallwood’s powerful speech about the human elements in news was a favorite among students. Smallwood, an anchor and reporter for News 4 Buffalo WIVB, spoke about the “ebb and flow” of emotions in reporting.

Harshita Girase, a sophomore computer science major, said she got goosebumps from Smallwood’s talk and was honored to introduce Smallwood to the audience.

“One day you have to bottle [emotions] up, the next you have to open your heart in order to empathize with the person in front of you,” Smallwood said.

While most speakers stood at the podium during their talk and kept a monotonous tone, Smallwood walked across the stage and began her speech with a dynamic tone and used hand motions to emphasize her speech.

“In news, every day is different,” Smallwood said. “One day you’re reporting about a crime, the next a feature story about someone going above and beyond, doing great things in the community. Both deserve to be treated with dignity.”

Smallwood said when covering a murder or crime, she has to gather the facts and report on air and anchor her emotions.

One of the hardest stories Smallwood ever had to report on was the death of a 10-year-old boy who was beaten 70 times with a rolling pin by his stepfather.

She said she still envisions the images of “his lifeless” body.

“It hurt my heart to know that people can be so cruel, but I had to push in my emotions because people wanted to know what happened in court and if there would be justice,” Smallwood said. “In that moment, my emotions didn’t matter.”

In an interview with The Spectrum, Small-

wood said the people in her work motivate her and she wakes up each morning for them.

“When it comes to journalism, we have to ask the tough questions- we have to get the facts, but in the midst of it all, it’s more important that the people don’t get lost in the copy,” Smallwood said.

Dr. Samina Raja, associate professor in the department of urban and regional planning, later took the stage and spoke about sustainable food system and argued something is “wrong” with the American food system.

Sam Magavern, an adjunct law professor and director of the Partnership for the Public Good spoke about poverty in the U.S. “Education is the single-best way for an individual to avoid being poor,” Magavern said.

Colleen Heidinger spoke about her career path. She worked for the special events team at DreamWorks Animation and resigned her job after fulfilling her “life’s dream” by visiting Africa. Heidinger returned to Buffalo after 12 years to work for 43 North as director of events and programming and is on the founding board of advisers for Teach for America of Buffalo.

She spent the first 10 minutes of her speech talking about the Los Angeles weather to the frozen yogurt flavors her last job had and she showed a picture of the dream car she owned.

THE SPECTRUM

science major, said he liked the back-andforth between the bothers.

“You could tell they were twins,” Trzaska said.

Trzaska said although he couldn’t share their experience, he could imagine how they felt about the planet after seeing it from space.

“I thought that their point about children in polluted areas never seeing a blue sky was really insightful,” said Trzaska The next guest in the Distinguished Speakers Series will be Randi Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media.

Zuckerberg will speak on Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. in Alumni Arena. email: sarah.crowley@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @sarah_ging

“Force yourself to spend time with yourself and I bet you’ll find something you never knew was there,” Heidinger said. “Let something or someone throw you in the deep end and not know where you are going to get your lifesaving device – something that will keep you up at night.”

Drew Kahn is a theater professor at Buffalo State, a mentor to teachers across the globe and the founding director of Anne Frank Project. Saturday’s conference was his third Ted Talk.

Kahn warmed the audience up by doing a clapping exercise to be in the present moment and greeting them with a Rwandan phrase to “celebrate their presence,” which he made the audience recite it to each other.

“Tell your story, you matter. Silence is a crime,” Kahn said in an interview with The Spectrum.

There were 18 student volunteers for the conference and roughly one third of the audience left early during a 10-minute intermission.

Agarwal said even though the event planning was “hectic,” he was dazzled by the conference. Agarwal said it was “gratifying” for him to have Dr. Chunming Qiao, an adjunct computer science and engineering professor, as the Chief Guest of the conference who helped Agarwal plan the conference.

TED X talks will be available on Youtube over the next week. email: hannah.stein@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @HannahJStein

Wegmans will be on-campus providing flu shots for students, faculty, and staff in October.

Where:

When:

252 Kapoor Hall, South Campus Goodyear X, South Campus Harriman 105, Campus Wegmans South Pharmacists will be Greiner C134, flu shots for students, faculty, North Campus Where: Student Union 210, When:

North Campus Goodyear X, October 10, 2016 Student Union Social Hall, South Campus 2pm-9pm North Campus Harriman 105, October 13-14, 2016 Crossroads Culinary South Campus 9am-3pmCenter, North Campus Greiner C134, October 15, 2016 North Campus

12pm-5pm

We make easy: Student Union it 210, October 19, 2016 • We bill your insurance, so please bring North Campus 9am-3pm your insurance card. October 20, 2016 Student Union Social Hall, • Appointments recommended, North Campus 9am-3pm

October 6, 2016 10:30am-12:30pm October 10, 2016 2pm-9pm October 13-14, 2016 9am-3pm on-campus providing October 15, 2016 and staff in October.

12pm-5pm October 19, 2016

We make it easy: 9am-3pm • We bill your insurance, so please bring October 20, 2016 your insurance card.

9am-3pm • Appointments recommended, but not October 25-26, 2016 required.

5pm-8:30pm • Sign up today!

Visit wegmansfoodmarkets.fullslate.com

Visit health.buffalo.edu/flu Visit for more information health.buffalo.edu/flu

but notCulinary required.

Crossroads Center, October 24-25, 2016 North Campus 5pm-8:30pm • Sign up today! Visit wegmansfoodmarkets.fullslate.com

for more information

3

OPINION

Monday, September 26, 2016

THE SPECTRUM

Editorial Board EDITOR IN CHIEF

Gabriela Julia

MANAGING EDITOR

Tori Roseman COPY EDITORS

Saqib Hossain Emma Medina Margaret Wilhelm Dan McKeon Grace Trimper NEWS EDITORS

Hannah Stein, Senior Ashley Inkumsah, Senior Sarah Crowley, Asst.

FEATURES EDITORS

Kenneth Kashif Thomas, Senior Evan Grisley ARTS EDITORS

Max Kaltnitz, Senior David Tunis-Garcia, Asst.

SPORTS EDITORS

Michael Akelson, Senior PHOTO EDITORS

Kainan Guo, Senior Angela Barca Troy Wachala, Asst. .

CREATIVE DIRECTORS

Pierce Strudler Anthony Khoury, Asst.

Silent protest at UB football game starts conversation about free speech, Black Lives Matter At the Buffalo versus Army football game on Saturday, members of the Black Student Union (BSU) protested silently by wearing all black, holding up their fists and sitting during the national anthem.

This act has become a national phenomenon started by 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who refused to stand for the national anthem as a way to voice the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement.

We at The Spectrum commend BSU’s actions. Their silent protest was a way to start a conversation on campus about the Black Lives Matter movement. The group exercised their right to free speech calmly.

BSU speaks for those who are too afraid to speak or act themselves. In a school of 30,000, there are bound to be others who agree with BSU’s message and can empathize with their emotions.

A look into the contracts that LPCiminelli won over the years

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Helene Polley

ADVERTISING MANAGERS

Lee Stoeckel ADVERTISING DESIGNER

Derek Hosken

KENNETH KAHIF THOMAS SENIOR FEATURES EDITOR

Monday, September 26, 2016 Volume 66 Number 8 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.

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

tive if BSU took a stance during the tailgate or on the field. Because of the dwindling attendance at the game since the team lost the first two games, there may not have been enough people to notice BSU’s actions.

But sometimes, being silent is the most effective way to get a message across.

Other editors felt BSU’s message was clear. There was no need to be vocal or draw attention from everyone in the stadium. Any rowdy or violent behavior would cause their message to be muddled by their actions.

The time seems appropriate, since other similar protests have taken place during a football game’s national anthem. The group could have seen a larger audience, perhaps at a different game. But they did what they had to do. They were noticed and started a very important

conversation on campus, which is everyone’s right to free speech.

Looking forward to upcoming football games, it would be interesting to see if members of the football team will participate in future protests. Perhaps players don’t feel the need to kneel during the anthem, or maybe they were specifically instructed to stand.

But there’s also a possibility that BSU’s decision to sit during the anthem is the start of students feeling comfortable speaking up and exercising their rights.

We at The Spectrum hope BSU continues to speak out for those who are hesitant and to incite meaningful rhetoric about the Black Lives Matter movement. email: eic@ubspectrum.com

Money Talk: Ciminelli projects at UB

Professional Staff

THE SPECTRUM

Though it was only a small group of 15 to 20 students who were involved, they speak for hundreds of others who are too afraid to act. Their few moments of protest spoke volumes for those who don’t feel confident sitting during the anthem or speaking out.

This isn’t the first time BSU arranged a peaceful protest. In the wake of the White Only, Black Only signs controversy last year, the group staged a walkout from classes and a protest at President Satish Tripathi’s annual State of the University Address. Their voices were loud and clear that they were disappointed in the school’s actions.

On Saturday, it was a smaller group of BSU and other affiliate members who took the time to organize themselves and get their message across at the game.

Part of our editorial board felt it would have been more effec-

This past Thursday, federal prosecutors outlined a pay-to-play scheme that involves Manhattanbased U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s case alleging bribery, extortion and tax evasion.

While this scheme is centered around Gov. Andrew Cuomo, there is a spotlight being shined on who could be his major beneficiary: Louis P. Ciminelli.

Ciminelli is the CEO of LPCiminelli, which is the largest general construction firm in Western New York. Ciminelli is facing charges of

conspiracy and bribery for winning public contracts, which raises questions about his trend of winning bids for UB construction projects.

The most recent UB project bids that LPCiminelli has won include the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences project and the Clinical and Translational Research Center.

The projects together represent a hefty price tag, costing $52.5 million and $118 million, respectively.

Ciminelli was also involved in a number of other UB projects, according to Artvoice article “The Great UB Heist” by Buck Quigley.

GPS Construction Services is a subsidiary of LPCiminelli, which was ran by Ciminelli’s cousin, Robert Savarino. GPS also had won contracts from UB. GPS was the general contractor for the construction of the Alfiero

Center at UB’s School of Management in 2004.

The company was reabsorbed back into LPCiminelli, but not before being picked as a contractor for two off-campus housing projects at UB in 2008.

In 2010, Ciminelli was involved in the construction of Greiner Hall, which was named after William R. Greiner. Greiner’s son managed approximately $45 million in new development projects while working for Ciminelli development.

All while these projects are being won and completed, Louis’ brother, Frank L. Ciminelli, owner of Ciminelli Development and Senior Vice President of LP Ciminelli Inc., played a role as emeritus trustee of the UB Foundation.

Most of the contracts that Ciminelli has worked through have had either a Ciminelli or someone

from Ciminelli’s camp on both sides of the deal.

Quigley did an amazing job of looking into Ciminelli and the projects he’s won for UB, which raises the question: What contracts haven’t a Ciminelli firm won?

His current charges, which also involve Solar City and the Buffalo Billion project investigations, paint a picture of corruption that has seeped into state coffers, of which Ciminelli had received the most money from.

If Ciminelli is found guilty on these charges of rigging and bribery, what does this mean for the future of UB construction projects and who awards these contracts?

While it has been said a conviction won’t impede Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences progress, we’ll definitely be hearing about UB’s part in the Ciminelli story. email: kenneth.thomas@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @KenUBSpec

My week with the iPhone 7 New phone is amazing, despite consumer complaints

MAX KALNITZ SENIOR ARTS EDITOR

The iPhone 7 has officially been out for one week and, being the hard-core Apple fan that I am, I pre-ordered one and got it the day it came out.

After using the phone for the past week, I can honestly say the company took a huge step forward from its 6S models to the 7.

The first thing I investigated was the removal of the headphone jack. Yes, there may be some rare situation where you need to charge your phone and want to listen to music at the same time and might not be able to, but that doesn’t happen very often.

So far, I’ve had no problems with using headphones on the new phone. The phone came with a small adapter cord to plug regu-

lar headphones into the lightning port, so there’s no need to go out and buy new headphones.

I’ve used the adapter almost every day with my Beats Studio headphones since they aren’t wireless.

Since Apple owns Beats, they will likely release a new cable to non-wireless headphones to go straight to the lightning port.

I use my phone all day, whether it’s listening to music, texting, YouTube videos or other apps, etc. The increased battery life means I can make it through a whole school day and go home at 5 or 6 p.m. with my battery at close to 50 percent.

Hands down, the best new feature is the upgraded camera. The phone has the same 12-mega-pixel camera but it now has optical zoom. This is a huge jump from the digital zoom feature on the 6S. You can zoom in all the way while taking a picture and have little to no pixilation.

I recently took pictures while Mark and Scott Kelly spoke at the Distinguished Speaker Series in Alumni Arena. I sat on the floor about 100 feet away from the stage and my photos looked as if I was sitting right in front of them.

With the optical zoom and the low-light auto focusing, I was able to take perfect pictures with great lighting even though I was zoomed in almost all the way.

The device also upgraded in the durability department. It is now splash, water and dust resistant, rated IP67 under IEC standards.

This means you can submerge the phone in one meter of water for up to a half an hour, which means it is more then capable of surviving a 15 minute shower.

Another new feature that was a pleasant surprise are the stereo speakers. With the removal of the headphone jack there are now two stereo speakers on either side of the charging port as well as another next to the front-facing camera.

If you played music through the phone’s speakers on a previous iPhone, you couldn’t distinguish the treble and bass and it sounded pretty flat across all media platforms.

Now, whether it’s a YouTube video, podcast or music, everything sounds clean and crisp. It’s also nice having a speaker on the front of the phone, so the music plays at you and not away from you like on previous models.

The new home button definitely takes some getting used to.

There is no longer a physical button on the phone, but instead the fingerprint sensor is built into the screen, emphasizing the company’s force-touch capabilities.

You can still press the button down, but it registers how hard you’re pressing instead of pushing the actual button to close applications or go to the home screen.

The iPhone 7 runs iOS 10 smoothly. The new widgets system is extremely productive, showcasing all of your alarms, notifications, events and daily news in a more user-friendly way. Everything, as usual, got a facelift for the new operating system update.

Overall, I strongly believe that the new iPhone is worth the money. Yes, they’re the same size as the 6 and 6S models, but the technology and specs on the new phone are incomparable to its predecessors.

It’s only been one week but I can see myself using this phone happily with no issues whatsoever. email: max.kalnitz@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @mkalnitz

4

NEWS

Monday, September 26, 2016

THE SPECTRUM

Joel Lunenfeld, Twitter VP and UB alumni ’99, visits UB

Lunenfeld discusses his personal journey from UB student to Twitter VP HANNAH STEIN SENIOR NEWS EDITOR

When Joel Lunenfeld got to college, he had never been on the Internet or sent an email in his life. His professors and textbooks were his only access to the “real world.” Once he got to UB, everything changed.

Lunenfeld, vice president of Global Brand and Creative Strategy at Twitter and UB alumni ’99 visited UB on Thursday to discuss how college led to his career at Twitter. He held two classroom talks on North Campus and spoke with UB alumni in Harriman Hall.

“The career I chose didn’t exist before I set out to do it,” Lunenfeld said.

Lunenfeld hadn’t been back at UB for 17 years and it was “emotional” and “surreal” to step foot in the classrooms again. Lunenfeld, a Brooklyn native, came to UB as a student because it was the furthest away from home he could get.

Lunenfeld said in an interview with The Spectrum, he felt like he grew up in a “time capsule.” Growing up in Brooklyn, he didn’t realize how diverse the area was until he moved away.

Lunenfeld began as an engineer at UB but switched to anthropology because he said he didn’t know anything about computers.

His parents used to tease him that, as an anthropology major, his job would be to dust bones, but he didn’t realize his job would be to study people.

Along with studying anthropology, Lunenfeld worked as a bouncer at The Steer, played music at Molly’s Pub twice a week, was a member of fraternity Sigma Alpha Epilson and he worked for admissions as a tour guide. UB was where his fondest memories were made.

“I really learned more than anything it’s the story you tell. It’s not the product you’re selling,” Lunenfeld said.

When Lunenfeld graduated from UB in 1999, he moved to Atlanta for “a budding music career that fell apart within a year.”

“I thought that was the worst thing that happened to me – moving to Atlanta for a career that fell apart within a year and it turned out to be a catalyst that brought me deeper into this field,” Lunenfeld said.

Lunenfeld met his wife and became involved with Twitter as a result of his music.

“Everything fell into place because I failed in music,” Lunenfeld said. “That would be the biggest failure in my career but the one that definitely set me on the most direct path.”

Lunenfeld said Twitter has been the most amazing career experience of his life and allows “voyeuristic conversations.”

“You get to see exchanges between people you that you would never have seen before. It’s like being at the world’s most bizarre cocktail party,” Lunenfeld said.

He said he’s seen exchanges between Drake and T. Boone Pickens, an oil tycoon

KAITLYN FILIPPI, THE SPECTRUM

Joel Lunenfeld, vice president of Global Brand and Creative Strategy at Twitter, presents to business undergrads on how his time at UB prepared him to work at one of the most well -known companies in the world.

billionaire and he’s seen exchanges between Taylor Swift and embassies. Twitter has become ingrained in culture, he said.

“Now you’ve got presidential candidates literally fighting like teenagers on Twitter together,” Lunenfeld said.

Aside from political debates, Lunenfeld discussed the other human elements of Twitter.

“Something that Twitter does for people is that it allows you to laugh and cry with strangers and that’s something we need as humans,” Lunenfeld said. “That’s why we go to movies, that’s why we go to stadiums, that’s why we’re together. We all feel the same thing and we’re all connected.”

Lunenfeld said he’d be lying if he said he knew where the future is going.

“I think it’s probably the same thing that gives me hope also gives me a bit of concern, which is the freedom to express yourself and the freedom that platforms like Twitter provide have really led to amazing social change, but at the same time it’s a microscope into the reality of people’s opinions and some of the vitriol and hate in the world,” Lunenfeld said.

Some students in attendance found Lunenfeld’s talk inspiring.

Patricia Mendoza, a senior business major, said his speech gave her more courage.

Mendoza’s entire family is in engineering and she’s the only one in finance. She said she is more optimistic to do what inspires and motivates her.

Lunenfeld said the best advice he has ever received was from his father who would sing to Lunenfeld while he was growing up.

He taught Lunenfeld to never be afraid to get up and sing, to be fearless and to know the importance of being himself.

“That is actually the hardest thing in the world – to be yourself. That takes the most bravery,” Lunenfeld said.

Lunenfeld said to not be scared to “write your own future.”

“The career you’re going to end up in probably doesn’t exist yet – That could either be super scary or that could be something that allows you to write your own future,” Lunenfeld said. “Know that what you’re studying today, what you’re doing today will apply in ways that are completely unexpected and that’s what I found with anthropology. I had no idea I would be using that every day in my job.” email: hannah.stein@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @HannahJStein

The People's Forum On The American Presidency: A public discussion with five renowned scholars on presidential legacy and historical memory.

Scholarly commentary by the following authors: James E. Campbell – on the American presidency Peter J. Onuf – on Thomas Jefferson Charles Lachman – on Grover Cleveland John Milton Cooper – on Woodrow Wilson Phillip G. Payne – on Warren G. Harding

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Daemen College – Wick Social Room  Main Street, Amherst More information: Daemen.edu/ThePeoplesForum Supported by an Action Grant from the New York State Council for the Humanities

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT THE SPECTRUM

5

Monday, September 26, 2016

UB ALUMNUS MANAGES ‘FINDING NEVERLAND’ PRODUCTION Broadway musical to kickoff nationwide tour in Buffalo BENJAMIN BLANCHET STAFF WRITER

Buffalo will be the first stop for the musical “Finding Neverland” as it embarks on a national tour fresh off a run on Broadway.

On Wednesday, the load-in process was in high gear as backgrounds, lights and props for “Finding Neverland” were rolled onto the 90-year-old theater’s stage.

Based on the 2004 film of the same name, “Finding Neverland” follows the backstory of Peter Pan. London playwright J.M. Barrie encounters a grieving Sylvia Davies and her four children, finding the inspiration to create Peter Pan from the stories Davies’ children make up.

“Finding Neverland” is directed under the eye of Tony Award-winner Diane Paulus and will feature talent such as Kevin Kern, Christine Dwyer and Tom Hewitt (who play J.M. Barrie, Sylvia Davies and Captain Hook, respectively).

The show is set to open Oct. 7 and there will be 10 performances at Shea’s until Oct. 15. After the show’s run in Buffalo ends, “Finding Neverland” will head off to Pittsburgh and Rochester.

Jason Juenker, a production manager for

the Maryland-based theater company NETworks, was elated when he found out the play would launch in his hometown of Buffalo.

Juenker went to school at Williamsville East before moving up to SUNY Potsdam and later to UB. He’s managed production for many plays in the past, but getting the Peter Pan-based “Finding Neverland” up and running at Shea’s Performing Arts Center will be a special experience for the Buffalo native.

“We do twelve shows this [theater] season and this is the only one I wanted to work on,” Juenker said. “I wanted to be in Buffalo and bring the show to the area. After all these years, it’s just an amazing experience to finally start a show up here in my hometown.”

Juenker wasn’t fully aware as a child where Barrie drew his inspiration when writing “Peter Pan” but his perception has changed.

“Growing up and seeing all these movies [about Peter Pan], that was the end of it. I only saw the product,” Juenker said. “I never got to experience or understand how [the story] was created.”

Just as Barrie was inspired to write the story of Peter Pan thanks to the children he comes across in the play, Juenker finds himself motivated by the forces he interacts with on the job.

“It’s such an interesting story about how a playwright is down on his luck and was able to find this inspiration in the people that he met,” Juenker said. “I try to do that in my job, finding inspiration with the people who are around me.”

One of Juenker’s co-workers, assistant production manager Emma Downey, also works with NETworks. The company is currently in charge of productions such as “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Elf the Musical” at theaters around the country.

Preparations must begin early on for the top-tier productions that NETworks puts on. The first day of “Finding Neverland’s” load-in process at Shea’s began Tuesday.

On Wednesday, workers hoisted equipment onto hard-to-reach platforms and there were a variety of differently colored lights on stage.

“It’s so inspiring to see everything pieced together among the set,” Downey said.

“The whole set is gorgeous and beautiful.

When it all comes together, that’s when the magic is really created.”

The production team for “Finding Neverland” involves 14 members on crew and another 59 members who are picked up in each city to work on the show’s production.

At the end of all the intense planning and work that go into each performance by the production team, it all pays off.

“There are a lot of very special moments.

The end of Act I, where we create a pirate ship on stage, is something you wouldn’t necessarily see in a touring show. I think that’s of huge [interest],” Juenker said.

Another key moment in the musical happens toward the end, when a vortex of glitter appears on stage.

“The glitter vortex was one of those aweinspiring moments on stage when I saw it on Broadway and I can’t wait to recreate it

here – it’s going to be great,” Juenker said.

Many theater enthusiasts are looking forward to “Finding Neverland” and what it is bringing to the Queen City.

Kathy Gregoire, a theatergoer who lives in the Buffalo region, has been to shows in the past at Shea’s and is proud this show has arrived in the city.

“It is exciting to be recognized by the theater community by having ‘Finding Neverland’ launch their tour here,” Gregoire said.

Gregoire, who is well aware of Buffalo’s rich history, said the show will definitely fit in with the theater’s reoccurring theme of hosting timeless plays and musicals.

“Shea’s is definitely the jewel of Buffalo,” Gregoire said. “It’s great that ‘Finding Neverland’ has come here to kick off the theater season. It just goes to prove that in Buffalo we have first class shows come to the area.” email: arts@ubspectrum.com

HAVE YOU BEEN TO CHURCH YET? Student Mass:

(We’ll call your mother!)

BENJAMIN BLANCHET, THE SPECTRUM

“Finding Neverland” production crew works on the set. The musical will open its national tour at Shea’s Theater on Oct. 7.

6

FEATURES

Monday, September 26, 2016

THE SPECTRUM

Week three of Outdoor Nations Make a trip to the Niagara River Gorge EVAN GRISLEY FEATURES EDITOR

This week, Outdoor Nations is challenging students to sleep under the stars.

Week three of Outdoor Nations’ “Campus Challenge” has begun, with UB sitting at rank 15 out of the 90 schools participating. The Campus Challenge is a six-week event in which students join together on their college campuses to go outside to explore nature. UB is one of 90 schools entered in the nationwide outdoor challenge to be considered the “most outdoorsy school.”

Students can still earn points by doing anything kind of outdoor activity even though this week’s challenge is to sleep outdoors. For those looking to investigate the area more and really rack up the points, Devil’s Hole State Park and Whirlpool State Park are this week’s featured location.

Grand Trunks Hammocks, a well-known brand in outdoor equipment, is the sponsor this week. The company is offering a promo code for discounted hammocks to try and get students to find creative places to sleep under the stars.

All students have to do is find a few trees on campus, sling a hammock and be entered to win the $1000 grand prize. Although, that may result in a wake-up call by campus police or a few geese.

Russ Crispell, director of Outdoor Pursuits, finds the Niagara River Gorge, north of Niagara Falls, to be one of his favorite spots, especially because it’s within 30 minutes of campus.

“It is some of the most spectacular views you will see,” Crispell said. “There are eagles that will fly over and white cedar trees that are estimated 2000 years old.”

The gorge area offers an up-close view of

the rushing water from the falls.

Devil’s Hole State Park offers 300 feet of rock steps down the gorge, which connects to a mile-long trail along the river. There is a 2.5-mile route from Devil’s Hole to Whirlpool State Park, which allows hikers to see a great deal of the area.

On the descent down from Devil’s Hole, hikers can go off path to find a deep cave with graffiti written on the walls.

It offers a nice place to take a break, but a little bit of trail blazing is necessary.

There are legends about Devil’s Hole dating back to the 1700’s. There is said to be a group of 350 British Soldiers in 1763 that were stopping for lunch along the river, where Devils Hole sits today. While resting, members of the Seneca Indian Tribe invaded them and some were thrown off of the gorge edge, according to Crispell.

“The Seneca would actually force [European settlers] to go over the edge of the gorge,” Crispell said.

It was also said that Devils Hole got its name from a tribe that used the gorge as a hiding place during times of war. They wouldn’t want people finding out about their hiding place so they would kill anyone who entered the gorge at that point.

“Rumor has it that this area is haunted,” Crispell said.

The 400-step descent is worth it to see the rushing blue water and depending on when you go, you may be able to see a Jet Boat Tour, which flies upstream.

Whirlpool State Park is located south of Devils Hole and offers a similar hike to the waters edge, but the waterfront is where the two places differ.

Niagara Falls water empties out and forms this circular pool within the river. As the water enters the pool it causes what looks like

COURTESY OF RUSSEL CRISPELL

Horses roam around students’ tents in Alaska. Week three of Outdoor Nations’ “Campus Challenge” has begun, with UB sitting at rank 15 out of the 90 schools participating.

a whirlpool.

“It’s a really beautiful view going down and once you get down you can go left or right. I would not suggest going straight because there are class six rapids,” Crispell said. “Stay away from the edge because there are water surges that can surge up to 10 feet. You could get washed away so stay away from waters edge, that is a warning.”

According to an article by The Buffalo News, the stairs down to the whirlpool have been recently renovated making the steps

down a bit safer for less experienced hikers.

Hiking the gorge would give UB much needed points to push the university to the top 10 most outdoorsy schools in the competition. email: evan.grisley@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @evangrisley

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Monday, September 26, 2016

THE SPECTRUM

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8

SPORTS

Monday, September 26, 2016

THE SPECTRUM

KAINAN GUO, THE SPECTRUM

Senior defender Angel Hart hits a cross.

Hart has proven to be key in the women’s soccer defensive line.

Built from the back Women’s soccer leans on their defensive line for success

THOMAS ZAFONTE STAFF WRITER

A good defense can keep any team in the game – there are more opportunities to win if they can keep the score low.

This is how UB’s women soccer team (44-2, 0-2 MAC) has managed to make all their games competitive. The team has played national powerhouses like Syracuse and West Virginia and has yet to be blown out. They haven’t let up more than two goals in a game this season.

This standard of play can be credited to

the team’s defensive line. The line contains experience with its two seniors Ashley Evans and Angel Hart but keeps a balance with fresh faces in freshmen Gurjenna Jandu and Adrianna VanCuyck. The defensive effectiveness is credited to trust – not just trust amongst the defensemen, but trust between the line and coach.

“I think our defense can help us play with anyone in the country,” said head coach Shawn Burke. “That is how much I rank what we do defensively. I think they’ll give us a chance any given day.”

Burke, who is in his third year with the Bulls, is vocal about the importance of his

defensive lines trust in each other, something he feels only gets better as time goes on. Hart is a key in the defensive line’s trust.

Burke thinks that she has been an underrated player for years and has now stepped up into a leadership role.

“She understands the system, understands the role each player she is working with has, she is constantly talking to those three,” Burke said.

Evans was also in support of Hart’s leadership. She thinks Hart’s experience helped the line and Hart’s actions on the field help with lines to trust each other.

“It’s a new role for me. I am trying to make an impression with the backline because I do have that experience,” Hart said.

Hart is the only player on the defensive line who was a starter last season. To help make that impression, she talks extensively to each player about improvements in both practice and game.

She believes that compared to the start of the season, they have become a stronger unit.

“Each game we have gotten more trust in each other – when a ball gets behind me, I know someone is there to back me up,” Hart said. “It is what makes us play at a really high level. The more trust we have in each other, the better we will play.”

Trust is never something that comes overnight, it must be built. The sooner a team has a reliable starting line, the sooner they can start building trust. Burke looks to build the team’s defense before any other unit.

Even though changes can be made, he considers it a top priority.

He feels that the best way to build trust is through games. He finds that it needs to be created “organically,” by the team playing more often and doing reps in practice with their unit.

“That is why we want to play teams like Syracuse, West Virginia and Hofstra,” Burke said.

The coach thinks these top programs will challenge his team as they head into conference play. The Bulls played their first conference game on Friday in a 1-0 loss to Ball State and had another 1-0 loss against Miami, OH on Sunday.

“We want to be playing in November,” Burke said. email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Gridiron report card UB vs. Army position breakdown DANIEL PETRUCCELLI STAFF WRITER

The Buffalo Bulls (1-2) pulled off the huge upset this week when they took down the previously unbeaten Army Black Knights (3-1) 23-20 in overtime. Coming off two straight losses to start the season, the Bulls were able to get their first win of the year against a team that came into UB Stadium Saturday night as the favorites.

Quarterback: A Freshman quarterback Tyree Jackson showed his potential for greatness Saturday night.

The Bulls offense started slow and Jackson threw a pick on the second drive of the night. But by half, the passing game had begun to turn it around. Buffalo started to throw underneath and Jackson finished the first half 9 of 12 for 45 yards.

Jackson’s 107 passing yards in the fourth quarter, along with two scores, were a major key to the victory. Jackson’s rush in overtime helped set up the game winner. His poise and ability to make big plays when the game was on the line shows that he could be a major factor for the Bulls for the next four years.

Running Backs: C+ Things couldn’t get on track as the Bulls running backs only finished with 54 rushing yards.

Senior running back Jordan Johnson came into the game averaging 100.5 rushing yards per game but was held to only 17 yards. Sophomore running back Johnathan Hawkins broke off a 21-yard rush but only finished with 37 yards.

The running backs were not given a lot of holes to run through, but also weren’t able to create much for themselves either. They

each had two receptions in the game and did well in protecting the passer.

Wide receiver and tight ends: A Junior receiver Kamathi Holsey made a huge play in the fourth quarter, diving in the back of the end zone to make a catch and begin the Buffalo comeback.

The entire receiving core had a good showing as they caught a lot of short passes on an Army defense that was giving up space underneath. Senior receiver Marcus McGill had 63 yards in the game, giving him 1,000 receiving yards in his career.

Senior tight end Mason Schrek had a couple of big catches in the game, including a fourth-and-nine catch for a first down.

Offensive Line: BThe line struggled to control the line of the scrimmage and a Bulls offense that was averaging 228.5 rushing yards per game coming into the game, only had 87 rushing yards. The Bulls couldn’t open up space for the run game and the running backs were getting tackled in the backfield early.

For the second straight game, the Bulls’ offensive line didn’t allow a sack. The lines’ pass protection was solid, giving Jackson time to throw. They played big in the fourth quarter and were a big reason Buffalo made the comeback.

Defensive Line: BIt’s hard to say a defensive line ever looks good when they allow 396 rushing yards in a game. But the Bulls defensive line didn’t look too bad.

In perspective, the Black Knights rush over 85 percent of their plays. After 67 rushes, the Bulls only allowed a six-yard per rush average. When the game mattered

ANGELA BARCA, THE SPECTRUM

Freshman quarterback Tyree Jackson throws a pass. Jackson’s 107 passing yards in the fourth quarter were a major key to get the win.

most they came through and in the final three drives they held the Black Knights offense to 41 yards, including a big three-andout, in which Army rushed every play.

Sophomore cornerback Cameron Lewis made seven tackles in the game, as the secondary came up big in the run game.

Linebackers: A-

Of course hitting a game-winning field goal seems like qualifications for an automatic A. Missing an extra point might be a qualification for an F. After missing his first kick of the night, an extra point, sophomore kicker Adam Mitcheson became a hero when he split the uprights to win the game. Both teams had fairly average return games.

The Bulls’ line backing core combined for 47 tackles against Army.

While the fact that the Black Knights rushed for 396 yards looks bad, the Bulls linebackers really kept Army in check. They were tasked with playing against the read option on almost every down. The Buffalo linebackers managed to keep the play from getting outside of them most of the night. Junior linebacker Jarrett Franklin led the way with 17 tackles and sophomore linebacker Khalil Hodge had 16 tackles and a sack.

Secondary: A Buffalo’s secondary wasn’t tested much in coverage in the game.

Army only had 10 pass attempts in the game and only completed four. Senior cornerback Boise Ross was suspended for the first half because of a targeting penalty in last week’s game against Nevada. Sophomore cornerback Brandon Williams did more than fill in. Williams had an interception before half and also disrupted a pitch in the beginning of the third quarter that was recovered by junior linebacker Ishmael Hargrove, setting up Buffalo’s first touchdown of the night.

Special Teams: B+

Coaching: B While the playing calling was fairly conventional, in the end it proved to be effective.

Coaches were forced to find an answer for the run game not moving the ball. The passing game worked a lot of underneath routes in the first half to get the team in a rhythm.

They tried to take a couple big shots but they didn’t quite work out.

The Bulls coaching staff finally found a way to counter the read option even though it took until the fourth quarter. Icing the kicker proved to be effective as the Bulls coaching staff used two timeouts in a row before Army junior kicker Blake Wilson missed a 34-yard potential game winner. email: sports@ubspectrum.com