The Spectrum Vol. 67 No. 40

THE SPECTRUM THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950 ubspectrum.com

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VOL.67 NO.40

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MEET THE CANDIDATES: R.E.A.L. PARTY

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MARCH 15, 2018 fb.com/ubspectrum

UB community weighs in on proposed NFTA expansion MAX KALNITZ NEWS EDITOR

TANAHIRY ESCAMILLA

GUNNAR HABERL

ANYSSA EVELYN

Treasurer

President

Vice President

CANDIDATE

Transparency and student engagement amongst top promises MAX KALNITZ, HARUKA KOSUGI, MADDY FOWLER & BENJAMIN BLANCHET SPECTRUM EDITORS

Nearly 24 hours after interviewing with The Spectrum, United Peoples Party, one

CANDIDATE

of two parties initially running in this year’s election, dropped out of the race, Student Association Elections and Credentials Chair Jacob Brown confirmed.

U.P.P. dropped out of the race after failing to secure any SA club council endorsements on Monday night.

Members of the R.E.A.L. party are now running unopposed. The last time a party ran unopposed in an SA election was in April 2015, when Unity Party candidates Minahil Khan, Sean Kaczmarek

Students upset Comedy Series aligns with Passover Student Association holds event on Jewish holiday BENJAMIN BLANCHET, WANLY CHEN & ERIK TINGUE FEATURES EDITORS

Andrew Meyer has attended every Student Association Comedy Series since 2015. The event is on March 30 this year, the first night of the Jewish holiday Passover. Meyer will not be able to attend this year’s Comedy Series because he will be home on Long Island for the holiday.

Meyer and other students are upset over the date of the SA Comedy Series.

CANDIDATE

and Joe Pace were elected. Roughly 1 percent of the undergraduate student body voted in the 2015 election.

The Spectrum reached out to Anisha Karim, Makayla Roma and Maia Johnson, candidates of the United Peoples Party. All three declined to comment.

Johnson dropped out of the race due to “unforeseen circumstances,” she told The Spectrum in an email. > SEE

R.E.A.L. | PAGE 2

Anjelika Catral has never taken the subway from South Campus to downtown Buffalo. She didn’t even know UB had access to a subway. She wants to see more of Buffalo besides the area surrounding North Campus, but wishes there was an easier way to do so.

It won’t happen during Catral’s time at UB, but there might eventually be a solution to make traveling downtown easier.

The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority board approved a $4.8 million study to extend Metro Rail service to UB’s North Campus last month. The study is projected to take between two and three years to complete and will analyze the environmental impacts of the proposed six-and-a-half-mile expansion to North Campus. While the university supports an expansion north to connect the three campuses, some in the UB and Buffalo community feel there are better uses for taxpayer dollars. > SEE NFTA | PAGE 8

Students show solidarity against gun violence

SA will host two events — a 6 p.m. show and a 9 p.m. show — in the Center for the Arts. The series features comedians like Ron Funches, Alex Moffat and Anna Drezen. The event is funded by the undergraduate mandatory student activity fee, which is $104.75 per semester.

“Passover is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays. It is not fair when we are paying the mandatory student activity fee and an event is on that date,” said Meyer, a senior business administration major. “This [SA] administration ran on the promise that they are the voices of the students. They are ignoring a huge demographic.” > SEE PASSOVER | PAGE 4 HARUKA KOSUGI, THE SPECTRUM

Bulls receive program’s first at-large bid Women’s basketball will go to NCAA Tournament for second time in program history SPORTS DESK

The No. 11 Bulls will play the No. 6 Southern Florida Bulls on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament after receiving the program’s first at-large bid. This is the Bulls’ second trip to the tournament after winning the Mid-American Conference Championship in 2016.

The Bulls come in having set the program’s wins in a season record, and finishing second in the MAC season and at the MAC

Championship this past weekend. The Bulls will be coming in off a 96-91 loss to the Central Michigan Chippewas in the MAC Tournament finals. In 2016, the Bulls lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes 88-69 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Southern Florida comes in after a strong run in the American Athletic Conference tournament that saw them lose in the finals to the No. 1 UConn Huskies. This will be Southern Florida’s fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, having not made it past the second round since 2000.

The game will air on ESPN with tipoff set for 1:30 p.m. email: sports@ubspectrum.com

UB students participating in the National School Walkout to protest gun violence on Wednesday. The protest lasted for 17 minutes to honor the 17 people killed in the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

UB participates in national school walkout

HARUKA KOSUGI, NOAH MOYER NEWS DESK

Roughly 60 students stood in the snowy academic spine to join protesters nationwide for the National School Walkout on Wednesday, one month after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

The protest lasted for 17 minutes to honor the 17 people killed in the shooting. Students shared a minute of silence for those who lost their lives.

The President of the UB American

Constitution Society Alana Bernhardt stood before the protesters and asked them to take action to support stricter gun legislation. Bernhardt said the protest is to start a conversation about gun control on campus.

“Today we’re trying to get the word out. Enough is enough,” Bernhardt said.

“I want to make some change at UB and make sure our students voices are heard.”

The students protesting were relatively quiet in the freezing temperatures, but a few held signs.

Allie Porcello, a freshman English major, said she came to the walkout to support the Parkland students and expected to see more people participating. > SEE SOLIDARITY | PAGE 5

DeVos’ stance on student loan regulation will hurt grads

Buy it, use it, break it, fix it

Berlin street artists turn swastikas into art

> PAGE 3 OPINION

> PAGE 5 FEATURES

> PAGE 7 NEWS

NEWS

2 | The Spectrum

Thursday, March 15, 2018 and utilize empty spaces in the SU so clubs can hold larger meetings on a regular basis.

FROM PAGE 1

R.E.A.L.

Treasurer The SA e-board controls nearly $4 million of undergraduate students’ money funded by the mandatory student activity fee of $104.75 per semester. With these funds, the e-board is responsible for planning many events on campus including Fall and Spring Fest, Distinguished Speakers Series and the Homecoming Carnival.

Elections for the 2018-19 e-board will take place on March 27-29 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Student Union theater. Here is a breakdown of the R.E.AL. party, advocating to “restore effective, accountable leadership.”

President

Name: Gunnar Haberl Year: Junior Major: Education policies, political science and legal studies Current SA positions: Chief of Staff

Gunnar Haberl was a member of the SA Assembly his freshman and sophomore year, leading to his selection as SA Chief of Staff last semester. Haberl also completed an internship with the New York State Assembly. Following his internship, the Assembly hired him, which made him the youngest legislative aide in New York state history. He also won a seat on the Elma School District Board of Education.

Haberl said after Vice President Jamersin Redfern left SA this semester, he filled in when President Leslie Veloz and Treasurer Janet Austin could not hold office hours. He oversees 90 staff members and said he wants to use his management skills to “restore some of the broken relationships within SA [and] form a more transparent, better functioning government.”

He said his first priority is to change the hiring process for SA by taking the application off UBLinked.

“I think in previous years, you’ve seen friends get hired. I think the way the application is on UBLinked gears it towards people that currently work in SA because

Name: Tanahiry Escamilla Year: Junior Major: Chemical and biological engineering Current SA position: Engineering Council Coordinator

ALLISON STAEBELL, THE SPECTRUM

Treasurer candidate Tanahiry Escamilla, presidential candidate Gunnar Haberl and vice presidential candidate Anyssa Evelyn are running unopposed for SA e-board on the R.E.A.L. party ticket. The candidates said their main goal is to “restore effective, accountable leadership.”

those that work in SA know how to use UBLinked,” Haberl said. “UBLinked is not easy to use, especially for the general student population.”

One of Haberl’s biggest promises is to advocate for more mental-health care on campus. He also plans on working with Russ Crispell of Campus Life’s Outdoor Pursuits to incorporate an outdoor recreation element on campus. He said he believes a campsite will be beneficial to students’ mental health.

“The university recognizes this is an issue, yet we’re not allocating more funds toward that,” Haberl said. “We’re planning [a] campsite so students can have a fun way to exercise and relieve stress on campus.”

Other SUNY campuses have campsites, and Haberl said he thinks UB should have one as well to remain on par with other institutions. SUNY Cortland has three campsites, and both SUNY Fredonia and Buffalo State College have campgrounds, according to Haberl.

The e-board also said they will invite President Satish Tripathi and Vice President for Student Life A. Scott Weber to have meetings in the SA office, rather than on the fifth floor of Capen. He said it would show UB officials what the SA and its students are accomplishing.

Haberl said his experience as a commuter has encouraged him to reach out to that demographic. He wants to make the com-

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muter lounge more welcoming for commuters, which he said could help entice other commuters to stay on campus and participate in more SA events.

Vice President

Name: Anyssa Evelyn Year: Junior Major: Health and Human Services Current SA position: N/A

Anyssa Evelyn has worked as a resident adviser in Wilkeson Hall and an orientation leader for two years. She’s the Black Student Union events coordinator and she helped found the Fashion Student Association during her freshman year.

Evelyn said her experience with clubs allows her to tackle common club concerns and understand what the general student body wants.

One of her priorities is to help clubs retain the information they learn during orientation by creating “cheatsheets” that clubs can take home with them, Evelyn said.

“The orientation clubs receive is so much information,” Evelyn said. “We need to think of more creative ways of presenting that information to them so they actually retain that information.”

Evelyn also addressed the lack of SU space for club use. Many clubs share offices and struggle to reserve spaces for club meetings.

She said she plans to work with Campus Life to expand the available resources for clubs

Tanahiry Escamilla has worked as the engineering council coordinator for the past fall semester, working closely with clubs on campus.

Escamilla said the e-board will make club budgets more transparent by informing club leaders about the process of creating club budgets during orientation.

She also said she will create an incentive for clubs to understand the SA Finance book. Currently, a club has to raise 50 percent of its budget through fundraising to qualify for a rollover for the following year. The plan is to lower the fundraising requirement from 50 percent to 45 percent for clubs that prove knowledgeable about the finance book, Escamilla said.

She said her main priority is to be available to answer questions clubs have about the event-planning process.

“By the treasurer not being there to answer their questions, it basically delays their process in planning their events. So that’s my main priority,” Escamilla said.

In regards to the hiring process for SA, Escamilla said she will make it a point to have all three SA e-board members present during interviews.

“If [the employee] knows all three of us in the future, throughout the year when they have issues they should feel comfortable coming to any one of us,” Escamilla said.

Another priority is reviewing how SA spends their budget, especially the entertainment budget. She said the larger events are meant for the whole student body and she would like to see more students get involved. email: news@ubspectrum.com. twitters: @max_kalnitz @KosugiSpec @BenjaminUBSpec @mmfowler13

HOLY WEEK SCHEDULE

NORTH CAMPUS SOUTH CAMPUS PALM SUNDAY Saturday: 5pm Mass Sunday: 9am, 10:30am, 6:30pm Mass

PALM SUNDAY Saturday: 4:30pm Mass Sunday: 8:30am, 10:00am, 11:30am, 8:00pm Mass

HOLY THURSDAY 7pm Mass

HOLY THURSDAY 9am Morning Prayer 7pm Mass of the Lord’s Supper

GOOD FRIDAY 12:10pm Solemn Liturgy

GOOD FRIDAY 9am Morning Prayer 12pm Stations of the Cross 1:15pm Music for the Passion 2pm Solemn Liturgy 7pm Prayer around the Cross

HOLY SATURDAY 8pm Easter Vigil (No 5pm Mass)

HOLY SATURDAY 9am Morning Prayer 1pm Blessing of the Easter Baskets 8pm Easter Vigil Mass (No 4:30pm Mass)

EASTER SUNDAY 6:57am Sunrise Mass (outside, followed by breakfast) 9:00am Mass 10:30am Mass (No 6:30pm Mass)

EASTER SUNDAY 8:30am Mass with Organ & Brass 10am Mass with Choir, Organ, & Brass 11:30am Family Mass with Contemporary Ensemble (No 8pm Mass)

www.ubcatholic.org/lent Find us on UB Catholic

OPINION

Thursday, March 15, 2018

THE THESSPECTRUM PECTRUM Thursday, March 15, 2018 Volume 67 Number 40 Circulation: 4,000

EDITORIAL BOARD

The Spectrum | 3

DeVos’ stance on student loan regulation will hurt grads Education Secretary revokes state debt collection regulations

EDITORIAL BOARD

Editor in Chief Hannah Stein

Managing Editor David Tunis-Garcia

Creative Director Pierce Strudler

Copy Editors Dan McKeon, Chief Emma Medina Cassi Enderle, Asst.

Lauryn King, Asst.

Savanna Caldwell, Asst.

News Editors Sarah Crowley, Senior Max Kalnitz Haruka Lucas Kosugi, Asst.

Anna Savchenko, Asst.

Features Editors Benjamin Blanchet, Senior Erik Tingue, Asst.

Wanly Chen, Asst.

Arts Editors Brenton Blanchet, Senior Brian Evans, Asst.

Sports Editors Thomas Zafonte, Senior Daniel Petruccelli

Editorial Editor Maddy Fowler

Multimedia Editors Allison Staebell, Senior Elijah Pike, Asst.

Jack Li, Asst.

Cartoonist Ardi Digap

PROFESSIONAL STAFF Office Administrator Helene Polley

Advertising Manager Ayesha Kazi

Graphic Design Managers Stephen Jean-Pierre JuYung Hong, Asst.

ABOUT THE SPECTRUM 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 CALL US: 716-645-2152 The Spectrum offices are located in 132 Student Union, UB North Campus, Buffalo, NY 14260-2100

JOIN OUR STAFF Do you have an interest in journalism, graphic design, photography, social media, advertising, cartoons or copy editing? The Spectrum is always looking for enthusiastic students who want to be part of our team. Join our 45-time award winning independent student newspaper for hands-on, real-world experience in your field.

Anyone interested in joining The Spectrum’s editorial staff can email Hannah Stein at: eic@ubspectrum.com.

Anyone interested in joining The Spectrum’s our professional staff or advertising team can email Helene Polley at: hapolley@buffalo.edu.

Betsy DeVos thinks states should not impose regulations on student debt collection agencies, many of which have been accused of unfair consumer practices.

In a memo released by the Department of Education on Friday, DeVos said she believes state regulations on debt collection companies are inappropriate and “undermine” federal authority. The memo favors a single, streamlined federal loan program.

There are no clear guidelines from Congress on memos of this kind. Courts have often ruled that bureaucratic institutions like the Department of Education are able to “fill in gaps” by crafting policy in areas over which they have authority, according to political science professor Jacob Neiheisel.

Each state has established a borrower’s bill of rights with minimum standards for timely payment processing, correction of errors and communication. DeVos wants to eliminate those rights.

Loan service companies such as Nelnet, Navient and PHEAA serve as intermediaries between you and your lender –– in this case, the federal government.

These companies are notorious for preying on college graduates.

Borrowers have reported several problems including lost paperwork, conflicting advice on repayment plans and payments applied to the wrong loan.

These poor customer service practices have led to higher interest charges and late fees, longer repayment and confusion among borrowers, according to a 2015 report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Bureau received 12,900 student loan complaints between September 2016 and August 2017. Seventy

CARTOON | ARDI DIGAP

percent of the complaints were related to customer service issues.

As students, if this move to deregulate loan companies on the state level goes forward, it will greatly affect our post-graduation life. The student loan repayment process is confusing enough as it is, even with state consumer protections. The process for setting up monthly payment plans can be especially unclear, and grads often get penalized as a result. And while the government has rolled out several loan forgiveness programs aimed at alleviating some student loan debt, the process is just as confusing.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has sponsored an amendment to a recently proposed bank deregulation bill.

The amendment would stop Betsy DeVos from trying to deregulate student loan companies.

Warren is calling on the Senate to bring it to a vote.

In a Senate meeting last Thursday, Warren said we should be standing with students, not big banks. Unfortunately, Warren seems to be the only one of our representatives standing up for us on this issue. As long as the House and Senate maintain a Republican majority this will unfortunately remain the case.

But that does not mean students should feel hopeless.

There are still, as always, routes for change. Students should educate themselves about student loans and the repayment process.

Too often we just scroll through the information and click “OK” without taking the time to really understand the huge financial undertaking we have accepted. It is our responsibility to understand where our money goes. Predatory loan companies rely on us be-

ing naive and uninformed.

It is equally important to make informed choices about our representatives, who can vote on whether or not regulations will be put into place to protect us from these loan companies. If student loan repayment protections are important to you –– and they should be if you’ve taken out any loans –– then you should consider that when casting your vote in the midterm elections. Look at how the candidates have voted in the past and what their stance on the issue is.

Doing so is the only way to ensure these powerful companies stop taking advantage of students.

The streaming disservice

on the screen. But back in our day, thumbs got exercised and we learned how to settle. We will come back to this later.

I haven’t mentioned music streaming yet. Videos now have an accomplice in the murder of radio, and its name is Spotify.

When car rides used to be a special place where everyone had to listen to Coldplay and Sean Kingston, everyone was content and sedated. Nowadays, the pressure to perform is overwhelming for the shotgun DJ and everybody in the car becomes a critic. And to be perfectly honest, music is overrated anyway. What happened to just enjoying the silence after your dad yells at everyone to shut up after he took the wrong exit off the freeway?

The reason why I’m writing this is because we’ve seen a similar degradation of culture before.

What happened when the now quaint TiVo infiltrated American living rooms everywhere? People started saving their shows for later and skipping commercials.

What happened to the commitment? The next-day discussion with your friends? It’s all gone because everybody is on their own

schedule. There’s no show that’s truly a cultural event anymore, and this really hurts when you need to make small-talk with someone, but have nothing in common.

Television used to be our religion, but now we are all reformists. Picking and choosing the parts we like, but ignoring the congregation.

Our generation defeated commercials with the use of DVR and we all rejoiced. But what we actually defeated was the soul of America. We learned the hard way that even though we can fast-forward through commercials, we unfortunately can’t fastforward through life. I just don’t want this generation of children to be blindsided with the harsh realities of life that streaming services like Netflix and Hulu are keeping from them.

Life is not like your queue. You can’t just pick whatever you want to see. So we must teach our youth that sometimes in life you have to settle for whatever is on Spike TV, especially in this economy.

How Netflix has set us up for disappointment

HARUKA KOSUGI ASST. NEWS EDITOR

I remember taking a sick day from school as a kid and learning about Spanish culture, the American justice system and Punnett squares. That’s right fellow ‘90s kids, I’m talking daytime television; an art lost on today’s youth because of the proliferation of streaming services.

In a world that’s becoming increasingly divided, streaming services tighten the insular bubble we live in and prevent us from expanding our horizons and exploring new ideas. The ability to pick and choose whatever show you want may seem like a blessing, but it doesn’t challenge us to learn something new or bring us closer to our fellow man.

Close your eyes for a second and imagine you’re in front of a television holding a remote.

Click. Click. Click. Click. Click.

Click. Slight Hesitation. Click.

Click. Click. Pause.

The flashing lights of a game show have you transfixed on the screen.

And before this very moment did you ever think about what the exact price of a Kenmore eco-friendly washing machine is?

I didn’t think so.

These are the types of experiences that are missing from the lives of today’s children ––the chance to learn a piece of information that’s seemingly useless, but somehow still lodged into your brain 15 years later. That’s called retention, folks, and this upcoming Twitch-gameplay-watching generation doesn’t have it.

When children now have the option to watch “Stranger Things,” “Orange is the New Black,” and “Ultimate Beastmaster” –– surprisingly not a sex thing –– anytime they want, of course they are going to have their eyes glued

email: opinion@ubspectrum.com

email: Haruka.kosugi@ubspectrum.com twitter: @KosugiSpec

NEWS

4 | The Spectrum

FROM PAGE 1

PASSOVER Passover recognizes the Exodus of Israelites from slavery in Egypt. On the first night of Passover, members of the Jewish faith have a Seder, a dinner of religious significance.

This year, Passover begins at nightfall on March 30 and ends the night of April 7.

Marc Rosenblitt, SA entertainment coordinator, said there are not many dates to choose from when planning events and he understands disappointment with the Comedy Series date.

“The reason is entirely logistical because there are 13-14 weeks in a semester and of that, maybe 10 are realistic for planning events,” Rosenblitt said. “Since I began here as a freshman in 1998, we have had events on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover, Good Friday, Easter, Ramadan, Diwali and the list goes on.”

Rosenblitt said he is of the Jewish faith and plans to attend Saturday morning services instead of Friday night service and a Seder.

In 2017, Spring Fest and the Comedy Series did not align with Passover, Good Friday, Easter or Ramadan. This year, the Christian holiday Good Friday aligns with the date of the Comedy Series, as well.

Jewish Student Union president Jordan Einhorn said similar concerns arose in 2016, when SA held Spring Fest on April 23, the second night of Passover.

“It was very disappointing having to miss out on the premier student event of the semester,” said Einhorn, a senior political science major said. “Forcing students to choose between a marquee event and religious or spiritual observance is frustrating. I understand it’s hard with logistics, but I’d like for SA to reach out to clubs like ours before com-

mitting to a date.”

Some Muslim students had to miss out on last year’s Fall Fest due to Eid al-Adha, a holy day in Islam, being the same day.

Mohammed Siddiqi, the Muslim Student Association president, said SA should take all religions and their observances into account.

“There’s no way to please everyone, but showing an effort to be able to do so is fundamental.” said Siddiqi, a junior psychology major.

Sasha Shapiro, a sophomore computer science major, said last year’s Comedy Series event with Trevor Noah was one of his favorite experiences so far at UB. This year, however, he can’t attend because he observes Passover and will be leading a Seder for Hillel of Buffalo.

“It seems to me that either this holiday was not considered in the scheduling of this event, or they knew about this holiday celebrated by [Jewish UB] students and decided that those students’ ability to participate in this event was not important. Both are problematic,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro said he understands SA’s limited choice of dates to host events and limited artist availability, but he still thinks there is an issue with scheduling.

SA often has no other choice to schedule events on holidays, but they try to be sensitive to people’s availability, according to Rosenblitt.

“Once you subtract all of the other departments and renter holds on dates, we’re lucky to get a few weekends at all each semester,” Rosenblitt said. “This has been the case for many years and in a busy university like UB, crowded facilities are just a reality. We are hoping that some people that may go to services early on Friday could possibly make the 9 p.m. show.” email: features@ubspectrum.com twitters: @TingueErik, @Wanly_Chen & @BenjaminUBSpec.

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Stephen Hawking dead at 76

COURTESY OF FLICKR USER LWP KOMMUNIKCÁIÓ

Stephen Hawking, a famous physicist and cosmologist at the University of Cambridge, died on Tuesday at the age of 76. Professor William Kinney, who teaches in the physics department, remembers Hawking as a humorous person and a “giant” in his field.

Physics professor discusses Hawking’s profound impact MADDY FOWLER EDITORIAL EDITOR

World-renowned Cambridge physicist and beloved public figure Stephen Hawking died in his home early Wednesday morning. He was 76.

UB professor William Kinney met Hawking several times at physics conferences throughout his career.

Kinney said Hawking was not someone people tried to engage in conversation unless they had something important to say because it was time-consuming for him to compose speech through his speech synthesizer. But what he remembers most about Hawking was his sense of humor.

“Hawking absolutely loved a lowbrow joke, even better if it was risqué. He had the sense of humor of a third-grader,” Kinney said. “When he delivered a one-liner, his eyes would twinkle and he would break out in a big, delighted grin.”

His talks were full of these jokes, and the jokes made the talks come alive, Kinney said.

Kinney, like many in the field, said he believes Hawking was a “giant” in the

physics world.

Hawking’s most important contribution to physics was the development of “singularity theorems” in Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, according to Kinney. These theorems proved that singularities in space-time, or points where the known laws of physics break down entirely, are not rare but are instead inevitable consequences of relativity. This was a “profound” result, one that is still not well understood, Kinney said.

Hawking was best known for his work with black holes and relativity, and authored the bestselling book “A Brief History of Time.” His most famous research showed that black holes are not truly black, but emit faint radiation. This became known as Hawking radiation.

After being diagnosed with a rare motor neuron disease at 22, doctors told Hawking he only had a few years to live.

The disease gradually paralyzed him over time, confining him to a wheelchair.

Eventually he lost his speech, but he was able to communicate through a speechgenerating device.

“We won’t see his like again, I think,” Kinney said. “He was unique.” email: maddy.fowler@ubspectrum.com twitter: @mmfowler13

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FEATURES

Thursday, March 15, 2018

The Spectrum | 5

Buy it, use it, break it, fix it UB hosts repair and reuse fair in Student Union BENJAMIN BLANCHET SENIOR FEATURES EDITOR

SHUBH JAIN, THE SPECTRUM

If it was broke, it could be fixed in the Student Union on Monday.

Close to 30 volunteers repaired small appliances and educated students on managing waste at the Points of Intervention tour in the SU. Repair stations were scattered throughout the SU lobby, along with educational tables for DIY-home goods, DIY-sewing kits and proper wire rolling instructions. The UB-hosted tour runs with the Post Landfill Action Network.

In the lobby, UB Knit and Crochet as well as UBReUse helped students with everything from textile repairs to an apparel swap shop. GObike Buffalo offered bicycle repairs while Brian Gavigan, also known as the Sole Man, repaired kicks at his table.

Erin Moscati, a sustainability education FROM PAGE 1

SOLIDARITY “This went under my estimate. I thought more people were going to [come out],” Porcello said. “I thought it was going to be filled.”

The Graduate Student Association and Faculty Senate both recently passed a resolution to support current and prospective students who wish to participate in anti-gun violence protests. UB released a statement saying it will not rescind admissions to prospective students for partici-

Trash man holds signs outside the Points of Intervention event in SU on Monday. The fair, hosted in part by SA and UB Sustainability, educated students on the faults of linear consumption methods and the importance of reuse.

manager with UB Sustainability, said Monday was the first time her office participated in a repair fair.

“We wanted to give students an option that would be an alternative to a landfill,” Moscati said. “We want students to think about the way they consume things. So what we’d like students to do is re-think the way they can consume and use things, which begins with repairing things.”

Martin Seeger, a senior political science major, assisted attendees with fixing their clocks and watches. Seeger is a volunteer with the University Heights Tool Library, a tool-loaning service that offers memberships starting at $20 per year.

Seeger said his non-profit wants to engage more in events like the POI tour.

“Usually, we measure our success by tonnage –– what we’ve kept out of landfills,” Seeger said. “But also success is measured intangibly. If we get people’s things repaired, they could be more inclined to future community development endeavors.”

Alongside the POI tour, SA hosted a series of TED Talk-inspired speeches in the SU theater.

Melissa Miles, one of the speakers, found air pollution in Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood after doctors diagnosed her son with asthma. Another

pating in non-violent gun protests.

GSA President Tanja Aho emailed The Spectrum to voice GSA’s support of the protest. She called for an increase of mental health counseling and an expansion of programs that help students understand “violence enacted by white [cisgender] men” who have access to weapons.

“We do not support an increased militarization of our campus, nor do we believe that the presence of more guns on campus will increase anybody’s safety,” Aho said.

Director of Outdoor Pursuits Russell Crispell said he is concerned about school shootings because he has been an educa-

tor all his life.

“I still teach here at UB, and the last thing that I would want to see is any more violence,” Crispell said. “Our students, they can lead this uprising and do it in a sensible, responsible way to maybe teach our government officials the way that they should be leading.”

Crispell said he worries about gun violence at UB because it is a public institution that anyone can walk into.

“It ultimately becomes the responsibility of each individual being aware of their surroundings, paying attention to what’s going on, listening and in the case of any possible

speaker, Amira Odeh-Quiñones, helped end the sale of bottled water at the University of Puerto Rico with the community’s “No Más Botellas” campaign.

Stephanie Acquari, Student Association’s assistant director of environmental affairs, said the speakers are powerful people who can talk about how linear consumption has impacted their communities.

“The speakers today are from those communities that have been impacted from extraction, from disposal,” said Acquari, a senior environmental studies and communications major. “This repair fair is helping them divert that waste and see their communities improve by educating people about what they’re buying at stores and what they’re throwing away is impacting not just the environment but human communities, as well.”

Acquari said she hopes students who left the fair understand the source of the products they buy.

“What they throw away doesn’t just disappear from their lives when they throw it out. It goes somewhere. It impacts someone or a community,” Acquari said. “If students know that, they’ll be more conscious about what they throw away and they won’t cause this impact unknowingly. I hope people take that away and push themselves to understand where everything comes from and where everything goes.” email: benjamin.blanchet@ubpsectrum.com twitter: @BenjaminUBSpec

problem, reporting it,” Crispell said.

The National School Walkout served as a prelude to the larger March For Our Lives protest in Washington, D.C. on March 24. More than 730 similar protests are scheduled to happen on the same day, according to the group’s website.

Buffalo’s March for Our Lives demonstration is scheduled for Saturday, March 24 at 65 Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo.

Maddy Fowler contributed reporting to this story. email: news@ubspectrum.com twitter: @kosugispec

[ UB STUDENTS SHARE YOUR TALENTS! ] Sign up to perform by emailing info@ubcfa.org

MUSIC DANCE POETRY COMEDY

Open MIC event for UB Students Thursday, March 29, 2018 6pm

UB Center for the Arts

Free Event with Free Food!

Sponsored in part by:

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

6 | The Spectrum

Now introducing Just-a-Spec, our new video-interview series. Our first episode features singersongwriter Sasha Sloan and is available at UBSPECTRUM.COM.

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Rising singer discusses creative process, authenticity in the industry and debut album

Thursday, March 15, 2018

at least. I just think so many things and people and albums and songs and everything that has to do with music in the inP IONSHI S P dustry is so artificial. It’s so artifi cially M A H R AC C UR YEA made and there’s where it’s D Msongs O F T THIRsome S A P look it up HEyou like “who wrote this?”

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There’s guys out there like their role model is from what I am already. tree. But producing and recording in the Like what? I don’t even know.

Brockhampton who are doing If you’re labeled as a role model or some house I’ve lived in my whole life and my the same. Do you think you’re sort of icon or whatever or whoever you brother’s room with my brother who’s my challenging the music industry are, that’s because you’re you. If you’re al- best friend –– that’s all I need really. My in any way? ready labeled as that, there’s no need to family’s there. My mom and dad are both A: I just think it’s the realest –– for me change a single thing if people love you there. It’s normal. Some people pay so for that reason. It’s just so insane to me much money for a studio and they pay for because so many people don’t love that. an engineer. They pay for this and that.

And so many people don’t like people You can just make art if you want to make who are themselves and do whatever the art. You don’t have to have tons of differf--k they want and say whatever the f--k ent people making it for you.

Beginning Wednesday March 28th, 2018; 7-8:30pm they want. That’s me and that’s who I’ve Beginning Wednesday March 28th, 2018; 7-8:30pm every other Wednesday ~ always been and people will respect that.

The full interview is available online at ubspecLed ~bythen, experienced Vocational Counselor I don’t know.

That’s just who I want to be trum.com.

Led by experienced Vocational Counselor Call for details and to register: 716-783-8292 ext. 306 around in my life.

Call for details and to register: 716-783-8292 ext. 306 email: Brenton.Blanchet@ubspectrum.com Maple View Center, LLC, 100 Corporate Pkwy twitter: @brentblanchspec Maple View Center, LLC, 100 Corporate Pkwy Suite 318, Amherst, NY 14226 Suite 318, Amherst, NY 14226 RUDLER

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SPECIAL

Thursday, March 15, 2018

BERLIN S

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The Spectrum | Page 7

UB students took part in a foreign reporting in Berlin class in January as one of UB’s 13 winter study abroad options. During the three-and-a-halfweek class, students wrote and reported original stories from Berlin.

The Spectrum will showcase some of the work as part of a Berlin series.

S

Berlin street artists turn swastikas into art Ibo Omari fights racism with graffiti MAX KALNITZ NEWS EDITOR

BERLIN –– Ibo Omari is a swastika hunter.

He travels Germany, searching for swastikas sprayed on walls and obliterates them.

He’s removed the symbol –– once an ancient sign of luck and prosperity, now synonymous with Nazis –– from playgrounds, backyards, public transportation buildings and elevators. He’s even removed swastikas from government offices.

“These people are misusing graffiti,” said Omari, a 36-year-old street artist.

“We don’t want our art form to be associated with neo-Nazism and symbols of hate. Instead, we want graffiti to represent peace and inclusivity.”

Since 2015, Omari has removed more than 50 swastikas. His work has cost him more than $6,000 and made him mildly famous, as word of his mission spread.

Now, he fields around five calls a month for swastika removals in Berlin –– and lately, from across Germany, particularly in Cologne and Hamburg. He’s even received messages from people in Canada and Russia who, inspired by him, removed swastikas in their neighborhoods.

People have started referring to Omari and his team as “swastika busters,” a reference to the 1984 film “Ghostbusters.”

The rise in swastikas mirrors the growth of far-right parties in Germany. As in Italy, Hungary, Poland and France, far-right parties with nationalist, anti-immigration stances are gaining traction in Germany.

In September, a far-right party known as the Alternative for Germany won 13 percent of the seats in German Parliament. It is the first far-right party to hold any seats since the Nazis.

Omari sees this as a worrying trend and fears the lessons of tolerance, humility and acceptance of others that characterized the Berlin of his youth are being overshadowed by frustration and hate. As the son of Lebanese immigrants, he is particularly sensitive to anti-foreigner rhetoric. The trick is, Omari doesn’t actually remove the swastikas. He alters them. He uses spray paint and brushes to transform the swastikas into light-hearted drawings.

One drawing shows two men kissing. Another is a bunny with its tongue out. 1 “Graffiti lets us express ourselves, but often people abuse this freedom of expression,” Omari said. “That’s why we encourage ‘beautifying’ these ugly images.”

Once finished, Omari’s drawings meld into the graffiti-covered walls of Berlin.

Although it’s illegal, graffiti is ubiquitous

in the German capital and contributes to the city’s edgy image. The Berlin Wall, which zigzagged through the city for 28 years until it fell in November 1989, provided artists with a 27-mile-long canvas.

Graffiti artists flocked to the divided city, which came to epitomize the Cold War. When the Wall fell, property rights in the former East Berlin were murky. Most buildings belonged to the communist government and with the government gone, squatters and graffiti artists moved in.

Omari feels connected to that tradition and makes his living as the owner of a paint shop in a trendy Berlin neighborhood. He is part of a growing group of street artists who work within the law by getting paid commissions to spray-paint buildings with art. 2 Omari himself began his street art career in elementary school, upsetting janitors by tagging his school’s bathrooms. As he grew up, he honed his style on walls in Berlin which are legal to spray. He bought the paint store in 1993 and erased his first swastika in 2015, when a customer came in asking for paint to cover a swastika he found on a wall near a playground. Omari offered to help and, along with another street artist, he converted the swastika into a mosquito. 3 He’s begun training the next generation of street artists and runs graffiti workshops for kids. These school-age children, he said, have proven helpful with his swastika makeovers. That’s because children think more simply than adults, he said.

Children, Omari said, don’t carry the historical baggage or get jittery around swastikas as many German adults still do, so their drawings are more carefree.

Omari uses the best drawings as templates. That makes them easy to replicate and allows even the most novice street artists to transform a swastika in minutes.

“Our project is about raising awareness and fighting ignorance towards hateful messages,” Omari said. “The idea is to inspire others and show them our approach to answering such messages of hate with love and creativity.”

He also leads workshops about street art and hip-hop at The Cultural Heirs, an organization he founded in 2013. Last year, more than 700 teens participated in his programs and he has 16 employees.

Altering swastikas is better than removing them, he said, because it changes the message. Plus, the financially-strapped capital doesn’t have the funds or the workforce to remove the swastikas and transforming them is cheap.

“We don’t want to remove the graffiti. We want to beautify it into something enjoyable,” Omari said. “We don’t fight back. We paint back. Not with images of war or calling people names, but with peaceful art.”

2

2 COURTESY OF IBO OMARI

Omari tags his street art with his project’s hashtag: #Paintback. Social media users across the world have started covering swastikas in their neighborhoods, sharing their art online with Omari’s hashtag.

4 Omari spreads his message to his growing social media following under #paintback. 4 Omari’s results may be lighthearted, but his message is not.

Although World War II ended more than 70 years ago, neo-Nazism still flourishes in Germany. Swastikas, the Sieg Heil, Holocaust denial and even the Nazi Party have been illegal in Germany since the end of World War II, but neo-Nazis find ways to skirt the laws and remain visible.

In August 2017, more than 500 neo-Nazis held a parade in Berlin to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the death of Nazi leader Rudolf Hess. They were met with triple the number of protesters, but their message continues to reach disenfranchised youth and adults who fear Germany has taken in too many immigrants and is losing its identity.

The ideology has proven particularly attractive to disenfranchised youth from the former East, said Dr. Harald Weilnboeck, a project leader at the Radicalization Awareness Network, which mentors and

plans school curriculum for at-risk youth to prevent involvement with neo-Nazism and Islamist radicalization. The organization has doubled in size in the past three years and now has 22 full-time employees.

“There is active extremist recruitment off and online –– all over the place –– where vulnerable young people are,” Weilnboeck said. “The far-right goes into popular areas for kids –– soccer fields, schools and community hotspots and meet-up places –– and tries to recruit them young.

It’s really turning into a serious problem.”

Recruiters are using social media, podcasts and popular pastimes like cooking and soccer to spark initial interest in lonely, needy youths, he said.

He said many of the swastikas Omari removes are done by middle-class youths and adults who are frustrated with German politics and are finding power in subversion.

“The whole society leans toward rightwing a bit, [it’s become] more polarized, just like in the U.S.,” Weilnboeck said.

Clemens Reichelt is one of Omari’s students and worries outsiders still associate Berlin with Hitler and the Holocaust.

“I think that many people believe that Germany is full of Nazis or stuff like that and when these people see swastikas in Berlin or all around Germany, this image gets confirmed,” he said. “Swastikas may have [represented] Germany in year 1945, but not in the 2000s.” email: max.kalnitz@ubspectrum.com twitter: @Max_Kalnitz

3

1 COURTESY OF IBO OMARI

COURTESY OF IBO OMARI

Drawings like this bunny were created by children, who have no association with the swastika.

Before and after Omari “beautified” a swastika. He covers them with street art and changes them into childish drawings, like this mosquito.

NEWS

8 | The Spectrum

Thursday, March 15, 2018

FROM PAGE 1

NFTA The planned route would include three stops on North Campus. An above-ground rail car would enter North Campus at Rensch Road and stop at Capen Hall, Lockwood Library and the Ellicott Complex.

Laura Hubbard, vice president for finance and administration, released a statement in support of the proposal. She said the proposal aligns with UB’s “master physical plan,” a part of UB’s 2020 vision to expand environmentally friendly transportation between UB’s three campuses.

“When you consider that the new building for the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedicine in downtown Buffalo incorporates a Metro Rail stop within the building’s footprint, the proposal is even more attractive to the university because many of our students, faculty and staff will choose Metro Rail as a convenient and economical way to travel between campuses,” Hubbard said.

Hubbard also said connecting all three campuses would allow students to experience all Buffalo has to offer. As part of the student experience, Hubbard said it’s important to see more than the surrounding areas near North and South campuses.

Catral, a freshman speech and hearing major, said students who come from big cities where metro lines are an integral part of daily commutes would feel at home on the proposed line.

“The proposal is a good idea because it’s going to be inclusive. Everyone on North can do the same things as people living near South or downtown,” Catral said.

“Since we’re in a new place, it’s important to explore our surroundings. There’s a lot going on downtown that I feel like a lot of students don’t have access to.”

Students think the proposal has its pros and cons. Catral said she thinks students will abuse the subway and use it as another way to access parties on South Campus,

ELIJAH PIKE | THE SPECTRUM

Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority approved a study examining the feasibility of extending the metro rail to UB’s North Campus. Many students are excited about this, but skeptical it might come with drawbacks.

and now downtown.

Thomas Panzica, a junior mechanical engineering major, said the busing between North and South can be inconsistent. He said a metro station on North Campus would provide students a quick and cheap alternative to go between UB’s campuses without waiting for the bus or paying a ride-sharing service.

But Panzica thinks there could be drawbacks. He also said he is worried students might abuse the extended transportation as a way to party on South and downtown.

Kelly Hayes McAlonie, director of campus planning, said she supports the proposed expansion because it will streamline transportation between UB’s campuses.

McAlonie played a major role in garnering support for the study. She sat on NFTA’s project advisory committee to provide ideas and feedback for the study.

“The committee was comprised of staff and community members from neighboring communities that the expansion would affect,” McAlonie said. “As UB’s representative, I met periodically with NFTA on each stage of development and gave them our response. I reviewed their suggestions against our master plan and ensured that UB’s plan was included in NFTA’s expansion list that they revealed.”

Right now, she’s uncertain if the university will provide a metro pass for students who want to use the subway. She said the proposal would be beneficial for the university, regardless of how students choose to use it.

“We just see that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks,” McAlonie said. “[It is] important that students have access to all campuses and all the wonderful benefits that the city has to offer. The proposed extension is not just to benefit UB. It’s the entire region. There’s going to be lots of people who live in the area that will benefit from these additional stops.”

Some officials are skeptical over the proposed benefits. Congressman Brian Higgins said funding challenges from the Trump administration are making him reconsider supporting the expansion, an estimated $1.2 billion endeavor.

He said improving the existing rail downtown, which is “in dire need of improvement,” is a better use of money.

“I don’t know if there’s $1 billion available to spend to expand the system to Amherst, which [by 2024] would cost double that amount,” Higgins said. “[UB] should prepare for both possibilities. Let’s study these extensions, but at the same time look to study the improvements that are needed to make the existing system

downtown as state of the art as possible.”

Talks of expanding the metro to reach North Campus have gotten nowhere for over 40 years. Higgins said the smarter decision would be to concentrate on the proposed extension into the DL&W terminal and upgrading current lines to accommodate more downtown development, particularly near the new Jacobs School.

“UB is making moves into the city. Nobody anticipated 10 years ago that UB’s medical school would be downtown.

That’s a $375 million investment,” Higgins said. “There’s also serious conversations to move the law and architecture schools downtown, so why focus on expanding to North when currently UB is clearly focused on the downtown area.”

Bruce Fisher, an economics professor at Buffalo State College, agreed with Higgins’ point of view. He said Buffalo has an unaccountable public authority spending money that it shouldn’t.

“The last time I checked, there are many highways that link to North Campus. It’s absolutely crazy to think that we need a light-rail rapid-transit system connecting it to South,” Fisher said. “It begs the question of where do we think people are coming from, all over the place or one place, all downtown? With UB’s recent development downtown, I think it’s absolutely looney to want to expand into Amherst.”

Fisher said if it was 1960 when the Boulevard Mall was thriving and many people shopped in person, there may be a reason for people to travel to Amherst. But as online shopping continues to thrive, he sees no excuse to expand north.

“Have any of these developers heard of Amazon? It’s 2018; by 2024 that mall will be non-existent,” Fisher said. “Don’t use that as an excuse to build additional rail stops. People already have an easy access to [North Campus], the downtown system desperately needs renovations and that’s where the NFTA should be spending this money.” email: max.kalnitz@gmail.com twitter: @Max_Kalnitz

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Thursday, March 15, 2018

The Spectrum | 9

MARCH MOVIE GUIDE Your monthly collection of cinematic selections…

“A Wrinkle in Time” March 9

DAVID TUNIS-GARCIA MANAGING EDITOR

It looks like we’re springing ahead a season as the blockbuster fare typically reserved for the summer hits theaters this month. Each week is jam-packed with releases, many with at least three big movies to choose from. For those without MoviePass, it’ll prove to be quite the trilemma.

Is one year into the Trump presidency and in the aftermath of one of the deadliest school shootings in history the best time to release this remake of the 1974 Charles Bronson classic? Seeing as the film tells the story of a middle-aged man who decides to take the law and an armory of guns into his own hands after witnessing the murder of his wife and rape of his daughter, the answer is decidedly no. But this Bruce Willis vehicle had already been pushed back from its original release date last November due to October’s Las Vegas shooting.

With the ever-increasing frequency of these types of events, it seems as if there would never be a good time.

The original was controversial in 1974, but was a hit with audiences looking for an escapist solution to the rising crime rates. When we are talking about arming teachers as a solution to school shootings, this plays far too much like an honest proposal rather than “A Modest Proposal.”

Still, Willis is suited to the role of everyman liberal turned action star, and Eli Roth is a stylish, if not excessive, director.

Just be sure to leave your politics at the concession stand if you want to wring any enjoyment out of this one.

“Tomb Raider” March 16

Because it worked so well the first time, Lara Croft is returning to the big screen, this time starring Alicia Vikander of “Ex Machina” as the titular grave plunderer instead of Angelina Jolie. The new iteration follows the 2013 reboot of the video game franchise.

Lara finds herself stranded on a tropical island, the last known location of her missing father, played by Dominic West of “The Wire.”

Vikander may not look like the classically buxom Croft who dominated magazine covers and polygonal adolescent fantasies in the late ‘90s, but she is the spitting image of the modern rendering of the character and a fine actress. The trailer has an air of cheapness about it, but let’s hope some good post-production does the stacked cast and the on-location shooting in Cape Town justice.

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“Death Wish” March 2

Disney had a hit last month with “Black Panther,” the first Marvel film directed by a black man and acted by a predominantly black cast. This month, “A Wrinkle in Time” becomes the first film directed by a woman of color made on a nine-digit budget. Ava DuVernay adapts this children’s book by Madeleine L’Engle into a blockbuster starring Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling and Chris Pine, as well as Storm Reid in her biggest role to date.

Meg Murray must save her astrophysicist father who has been trapped on a distant planet in the clutches of a universe-wide evil. As you can see, the stakes are high, so she’ll need the help of her younger brother and three astral travelers to find her dad.

This is the second time Disney has adapted L’Engle’s novel. They released a much cheaper — and whiter — adaptation in 2003 that aired on ABC.

“Ready Player One” March 29

you can imagine may sound like an obnoxiously meta affair. And it is! But worry not, director Steven Spielberg is here to play the whole thing entirely straight.

Based on Ernest Cline’s novel of the same name, “Ready Player One” tells the story of teenager Wade Watts from Columbus, Ohio.

In the year 2045, most of Earth is made up of slummy cities and the only escape is through OASIS, a virtual-reality world inhabited by video game, comic book and film characters. Denizens of the dystopia compete to complete Anorak’s Quest, an Easter egg hunt implemented by the recently-deceased creator of OASIS that will grant the winner full ownership of the virtual world and his $240 billion fortune.

From Gundams to Gameboys, this film will be filled with references only true ‘90s kids will catch.

A movie based on book-cribbing popculture references from every medium

email: david.garcia@ubspectrum.com twitter: @davidUBspectrum

“Isle of Dogs” March 23

Wes Anderson puts down his camera and picks up the Play-Doh once again for this stop-motion animation feature. He experimented with the technique in “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou” and made a whole film with it in “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” so Anderson is no stranger to the format.

The film takes place in a future Japan where dogs have been quarantined to an island due to a canine flu. A boy sets off to find his dog, Spots, with the help of five dogs played by Anderson-regulars Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban and Bill Murray, as well as Bryan Cranston, leader of dogs — in the movie, not real life. As far as we know.

10 | The Spectrum

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SPORTS

Thursday, March 15, 2018

MADISON MEYER, THE SPECTRUM

Bulls head coach Nate Oats (right) and junior guard CJ Massinburg (left) talk to the media outside Prior Aviation before the Bulls left for Boise, Idaho. The Bull will take on projected top-five pick Deandre Ayton and the Arizona Wildcats.

David vs.

Buffalo takes on much larger Arizona and Deandre Ayton DANIEL PETRUCCELLI SPORTS EDITOR

The Bulls have a date with the No. 4 seed Arizona Wildcats and ESPN’s No. 3 ranked prospect in the upcoming NBA draft, Deandre Ayton.

The Bulls will have their hands full with the Wildcats, who are loaded with future NBA players. Ayton is joined by three other Wildcats on ESPN’s top-50 prospect list and has a second seven-footer in the starting lineup.

The two teams will meet Thursday in Boise, Idaho for the first round of the NCAA Tournament with tipoff scheduled for 9:40 p.m. The Bulls (26-8, 15-3 MidAmerican Conference) are heading into

their third NCAA Tournament in four years and will be trying to exploit the mismatch to get their first tournament win in program history. Arizona (27-7, 14-4 Pac12) is a team that centers around the size of Ayton, a freshman forward, and senior center Dusan Ristic, who both are over seven feet tall. The Bulls play four guards and will try to use their speed and shooting to counter the Wildcats’ size.

“They’re big. They’ve got two sevenfooters,” said Bulls head coach Nate Oats.

“We’re going to have a problem guarding their size on the one end, and they’re going to have a problem guarding our athleticism and the floor being spread on the other end.”

Junior guard CJ Massinburg described the size difference as a “mismatch all day.”

The biggest mismatch will come at the power-forward spot. One of the Wildcats’ seven-footers will have to come outside against junior guard Jeremy Harris who has been starting at the four for the Bulls all year.

Harris will have to figure out how to defend a seven-footer. Harris is 6-foot-7 and will be playing undersized at the four. But he shoots 43 percent from deep and will help stretch an Arizona defense that likes to clog the paint.

Buffalo will also look to use its depth to its advantage against the Wildcats. The Wildcats have four of five starters playing over 30 minutes per game. The Bulls only

have two players with over 30 minutes per game: Harris and Massinburg.

“We don’t feel like they have as much depth as we do,” Massinburg said. “They play five guys heavy, so we’re going to come out and try to use our depth against them.”

Massinburg said Buffalo isn’t worried about the media attention Ayton and the rest of the team get. He said the extra media is a disadvantage for the Wildcats. No one is expecting the Bulls to win so they can just go into the game and play basketball.

“We’re going to go in there feeling like we have nothing to lose,” Massinburg said. “They’re the ones who have all the pressure on them because they’re expected to win. … We don’t have any pressure on us, so we’re gonna go in there and try and play our best basketball and hopefully pull out a win.”

The community support has been building all season as Buffalo had a great turnout at the MAC Tournament in Cleveland.

Oats said he even received a phone call from Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott on Monday morning.

“Sean McDermott called. He’s a great guy from everybody I know that knew him,” Oats said. “He told me to tell the team the Bills are pulling for them.”

Oats said getting to the tournament can have a snowball effect on the program.

He said a win Thursday would go a long way in growing more community support.

Their two previous tournament appearances have already begun to help the program, according to Oats. He said it makes it a lot easier to recruit players when you are consistently playing in big games like the NCAA Tournament.

“We played highly ranked teams in the past and did well with them,” Oats said. “I think it gives us a national name and helps with recruiting, and you get better players.

You keep inching your way up to where you’re able to ‘crack the stone’ so to speak and get one of these wins.”

Oats said the experience of his veterans in these big games will be valuable for the Bulls if they want to “crack the stone.”

Massinburg and junior forward Nick Perkins were both on the team during the Bulls’ last tournament appearance. Both scored in double-digits against the top-15 ranked Miami Hurricanes. Perkins had a team-high 20 points in the contest.

Massinburg said this is a chance to prove to the nation that this team is the real deal.

“They’re going to learn how tough we are, how we’re fierce competitors, how we’re not going to back down from anyone,” Massinburg said. “We don’t care what’s on the front of your jersey. You put your shoes on just the same way we do.

We’re gonna come out and compete.” email: daniel.petruccelli@ubspectrum.com twitter: @DanP_Spectrum

The Bulls head to Florida for spring break Women’s softball to compete in Clearwater Spring Break Classic this weekend

stolen-base leader senior outfielder Leandra Jew and last year’s stolen-base leader sophomore catcher Jessica Goldyn.

Vs. North Florida Ospreys (13-13)

NATHANIEL MENDELSON STAFF WRITER

The softball team is traveling to Clearwater, Florida this weekend along with 33 other teams from around the country for the University of Southern Florida Tournament.

The Bulls (7-10, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) head into the tournament after finishing 2-3 in the Madeira Beach Classic two weeks ago. The Bulls play five more games this weekend and can tie last year’s win-total of nine with two wins. Here is a breakdown of the upcoming games.

Vs. Florida A&M Rattlers (6-16)

The Bulls open up play against the Rattlers at 4:15 p.m. on Friday. The Rattlers have struggled on offense this season.

They have been outscored 56-129 so far.

The Rattlers have been playing poor defense with 50 errors on the season already and an inability to catch runners stealing. The Bulls do not steal often, but have been successful in their attempts, swiping bags at a near-70 percent rate. Look for aggression on the base paths from current

The Bulls play two games against the Ospreys this weekend. This will be their toughest matchup of the tournament. The first will be on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and again on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. to conclude the tournament. Junior pitcher Sydney Matzko led the team with 1.56 ERA in 108 innings pitched. As a team, the Ospreys rely on pitching to win games with eight wins when scoring three runs or less. The Bulls’ offense will have to get on the board early and force Matzko out of the game to have a chance. Freshman utility player Anna Aguon and sophomore infielder Jenelle Martinez need to continue their hot starts from the plate, each batting .370 and higher. If junior pitcher and outfielder Ally Power can continue striking out batters at her current rate, the Bulls may be able to win both games against the Ospreys who have recorded less than five strikeouts in their last four games.

COURTESY OF PAUL HOKANSON/UB ATHLETICS

Senior utility player Danielle Lallos swings at home plate. The Bulls are headed to Florida to play in five games this weekend in the USF Tournament.

game. The Black Knights have only grounded into two double plays this season because of their inability to get consistent runners on base. From the mound, they have a team ERA of 4.70, but freshman pitcher Courtney Springman has kept it at 2.92 for the year, while pitching over half of the team’s innings. The Bulls’ offense should win this game. They play Saturday at 9:45 a.m.

Vs. Quinnipiac Bobcats (5-10)

Vs. Army Black Knights (4-12)

The Black Knights have already endured a seven-game losing streak this season and are just 2-5 in their last seven games. The team hits for a poor .229 batting average and strike out over five and a half times per

The Bobcats struggled to find their groove early in their season and won only one of the team’s first nine games. The team has since won three out of the last five, including a close 2-1 victory over the Saint Joseph’s Hawks (8-7). The Bobcats’

pitching has stepped up recently, only allowing two earned runs or less in four out of their last five games. Their main problem has been fielding errors. The Bobcats lost their past two games due to mistakes in the field, including South Dakota State (147) scoring 10 runs in an inning with nine being unearned. Look for the Bulls to take advantage of this as the team has six wins when their opponents have made an error.

The two play Saturday at 12:00 p.m. email: sports@ubspectrum.com