UBSPECTRUM.COM
THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 2017
VOLUME 66 NO. 43
BLINDSIDED M E N ’ S S O CC E R / B AS E B A L L / M E N ’ S SW I M M I N G & D I V I N G / R OW I N G
Athletes, coaches and parents shocked, angered and confused by UB Athletics’ abrupt decision to cut four teams MICHAEL AKELSON SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR
Four UB Athletics teams walked into a meeting Monday morning silent and confused. They all walked out heartbroken and stunned. President Satish Tripathi stood in front of four teams at 8 a.m. Monday morning and told them their athletic careers at UB were coming to an end. Men’s soccer, baseball, rowing and men’s swimming and diving sat in the Center for the Arts Drama room blindsided by the news that their teams would be cut from UB Athletics, effective at the end of the spring 2017 season. A total of 120 student athletes will be affected by the cuts. “It was just kind of jaw dropping,” said Charlie Sobieraski, a junior baseball player. “We all kind of looked at each other like, ‘did that really just happen?...’ Everyone ran to their phones calling their parents. It’s not something you want to tell your parents, ‘hey ma, I gotta find a new school.’” Tripathi and Athletic Director Allen Greene did not tell any of the athletes why their teams were the ones being cut, according to multiple athletes who were at the meeting. They also did not inform them of how much money would be saved or where the money would be going. About a half hour after the meeting, the university sent out a press release answering a few questions, but many athletes are still searching for answers. “The university no longer has the resources to support 20 athletics teams,” the release said. UB Athletics, which has a $32 million budget, is saving approximately $2 million annually by cutting these sports. The decision will not reduce the amount students
pay in fees to support Division-I athletics. The university took into account program costs, athletics’ facilities, Title IX, geographic location and a comparison of sports sponsored by Mid-American Conference (MAC) schools. Athletics is still honoring all national letters of intent and scholarships of affected student athletes who stay at UB. The number of Division-I sports teams at UB has now dropped from 20 to 16, a number in line with many other schools in the MAC. Greene took questions from The Spectrum via email, but answered multiple questions with statements taken verbatim from the university’s press release. When asked if he anticipated more teams to be cut in the future, Greene answered with a quote from the press release that said, “The University at Buffalo is committed to Division I athletics and remaining competitive in the Mid-American Conference.” As of Wednesday, a school is required to have 16 sports programs to remain in the MAC. Most players understand that the decision was financial, but many are bothered by the way the school went about it. Around 8:30 p.m. Sunday night, UB’s Athletic Compliance department sent out a mass text message to all of the school’s athletes saying there was a mandatory meeting Monday morning. Twelve hours later, students left the meeting more confused than when they had entered. The other 16 UB Athletics teams sat in different rooms in Alumni Arena where administration told them about the four other teams that would be cut. Coaches and players were in awe, looking around the room on the verge of tears, knowing that it could have been them. There was no warning of what the meeting would be about beforehand. Coaches
KAINAN GUO, THE SPECTRUM
UB’s men’s soccer team warms up before a game this past Fall. The team had advanced to back-to-back MAC Championship games before being cut.
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of the four affected teams were only told within an hour before the meeting that they would no longer have a job next year. Head baseball coach Ron Torgalski, who has been the head coach since 2007 and has worked for the program since 2001, says he was told at 7:45 a.m. Monday morning that his team would be cut. “It was never mentioned, never brought up,” Torgalski said. “Any meeting I’ve ever had was ‘we’re not in the business to drop programs.’” UB men’s soccer head coach Davie Carmichael, who was hired on Jan. 31, sent out a Tweet Sunday night praising his team’s effort in their first spring game with the hashtag #progress. On March 8, the men’s soccer program announced Michael Tanke as a new assistant coach. Carmichael, Tanke and an upward of seven other coaches, will now have to find a new job. High school seniors and college freshmen, sophomores and juniors who committed to UB will now have to make a quick decision: stay at UB to finish their degree, or transfer to another school to continue their athletic career. “This isn’t a good point in the year to get recruited by anyone as a transfer,” said Kyle Brennan, a senior baseball player. “It’s late in the recruiting season and other schools gave out their money pretty much already, so you couldn’t help but just feel for [underclassmen.]” Torgalski also expressed concern that most baseball programs have used most of their money at this point in the season. “These kids may have opportunities, but from a financial standpoint, it’s probably gonna cost them a lot of money,” Torgalski said. “Especially the in-state kids that are here at a state institution and we can put a nice package together for them, it becomes very affordable and that’s how we got some of these kids… now, not only is the kid affected but the whole family is affected because financially, they gotta figure things out.”
nounce an eight-member recruiting class, according to Torgalski. Torgalski said it was “by far the best recruiting class” he had gotten since becoming the head coach. He also says administration “absolutely” knew that he was still recruiting players throughout the year. “We worked diligently to explore every option,” Greene said when The Spectrum asked why the department continued to let coaches recruit players to the program. “Regrettably, after exploring many scenarios, the reality is our current path is not sustainable and reductions reluctantly became the only option.” Many athletes expressed concern for incoming freshmen committed to the program. Some wonder how difficult it will be for them to re-start the college search process this late in the year. “It’s basically a month and a half before school’s over and you’re expecting however many athletes you just took away to find new schools,” Sobieraski said. “[Incoming freshmen] are at a really big disadvantage because those schools that they passed up on, are now gonna look back and be like ‘well you passed up on us the first time so why should we give you another chance.’” Since the news has dropped, former and current athletes, students and faculty have questioned UB Athletics’ spending. Some wonder if Athletics could have saved the $2 million if it had not undergone two re-branding efforts in the last three years. “My freshman year was two logos ago,” said Braden Scales, a fall 2016 graduate and former men’s soccer player. “My first thought is, how much did all that cost? I know it takes a lot of money to fund a soccer program, but you do look at a lot of the small things that add up over time, that makes you wonder. There’s been a lot of decisions from the Athletics department as a whole that have been quite shocking.” Torgalski said he wonders if there would still be a baseball program if not for the two re-branding efforts. “I think it cost the Athletic Department a lot of money,” Torgalski said. “When you look at the signs and the logos and everything that had to be changed a couple of times, that’s not cheap… Amongst other things, but I think that is a big contributor.” Torgalski said Athletics made promises to improve the program’s facilities since he took the job, but eventually he “didn’t expect anything.” “Since I’ve been the head coach, I never even asked those questions because I knew what the answer would be,” Torgalski said. “That was one thing that I never told a kid because I knew it probably wasn’t gonna happen, so I didn’t try to sell a kid on ‘hey, we’re gonna get a new stadium,’ or ‘we’re gonna get this.’”
“It was never mentioned, never brought up,” said UB head baseball coach Ron Torgalski. “Any meeting I’ve ever had was ‘we’re not in the business to drop programs.’”
Athletes and coaches question UB Athletics’ spending and conduct Many athletes wonder how long the school has planned these cuts. They are unsure why the university waited until now to tell them. When asked when the department made the decision, Greene told The Spectrum that the process “recently concluded.” All four teams continued to recruit athletes to their programs throughout the year and even into the spring semester. The men’s soccer team was ready to announce a new recruiting class of 11 players, according to multiple former players. The baseball team was also prepared to an-
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Thursday, April 6, 2017
THE SPECTRUM
Carl Paladino gives speech to UB College Republicans Local politician discusses relationship to President Trump, sanctuary campus and liberal bias
MADDY FOWLER ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Carl Paladino thinks if people do not like him, they should “turn off the TV and go for a walk.” The Buffalo School Board member and former chair of President Donald Trump’s New York campaign addressed 60 students in 106 Knox Hall on Monday night. Halfway through the speech, roughly 15 students interrupted the speech in protest. “We call for the removal of Carl Paladino from the University at Buffalo campus. He abuses his position to spread transphobia, homophobia and sexism. Carl Paladino is not welcome on the University at Buffalo campus,” protestors chanted. The speech attendees responded with laughter and applause. Two police officers asked the protestors to leave. The demonstrators dispersed quickly and peacefully. “Every little whine is them suffering pain because they lost,” Paladino said regarding the protestors. A student asked Paladino how Republican students can stand up for their beliefs on a more liberal campus such as UB. “Get ‘Make America Great Again’ shirts
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and put them on and if anyone bothers you, call a police officer and don’t ever marginalize your values,” Paladino said. Paladino discussed his role as chair of Trump’s New York campaign and his current relationship with the president. He is proud of his role in the Trump campaign because he feels he was a part of changing the country for the next 30 years. He believes Trump is good for the middle class and has the characteristics of a leader. “[Trump is] sincere, talented…he has been there, he knows problems. He feels an obligation to the American people because he has had such great success,” Paladino said. Paladino said that as president, Trump will “go back to basics” and “clean up the swamp” in Washington, D.C. He believes Trump was elected because middle class
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Carl Paladino addressed 60 students in 106 Knox Hall on Monday night. Paladino talked about his relationship to President Trump, sanctuary campuses and liberal bias.
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Americans are “sick and tired of being treated like second class citizens.” “The guy can deal with anything, he is totally dedicated to his mission. You couldn’t find a better guy to have his finger on the football,” Paladino said. Paladino also discussed his stance on immigration. In regards to President Satish Tripathi’s support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an immigration policy started by the Obama administration that allows certain immigrants who entered the country as minors to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and eligibility for a work permit, Paladino said, “I think Satish should look for another job.” “Sanctuary campus is about protecting criminals…people who violate our laws and are here illegally should be gone,” Paladino said. The audience applauded. Paladino went on to clarify Trump’s stance on immigration. “The press has maligned [Trump’s] platform [on immigration]. He is not going to deport kids, parents, or good, industrious people,” he said. Paladino said he supports Trump’s travel ban because he believes it is important for immigrants to be thoroughly vetted. “You can’t vet a person from Yemen because they don’t have established institutions that can confirm whether someone is a good person,” Paladino explained. “I don’t think it is unreasonable to ban countries that do not have systems for vetting.” He also addressed his recent controversial remarks in Art Voice. He said he was “a little bit angry” that day and said some “cruel things.” “I regret that. It wasn’t nice what I said. But I said it on a day when [President Obama] released 650 people from jail and the First Lady said there was no hope for
our country. I wasn’t calling out a race, but the bad guys, the snowflakes, want that to be there,” Paladino said. Reed Tighe, a senior political science major and president of College Republicans, said that the College Republicans invited Paladino because they wanted to bring in a speaker that “shows the conservative side.” “A lot of students were excited to hear about the relationship he has with the president, and he clarified a lot of things. People tend to have false perceptions and it was good for them to hear another side,” Tighe said. Kirsten Dean, a sophomore biology major, liked how Paladino “spoke freely.” “As a College Republican, especially at this school, you always feel like you have to censor yourself. So it was really refreshing to hear someone say the thoughts that a lot of us are thinking without a filter,” Dean said. Nicole Jones, a first year master’s student, felt Paladino “skirted around” certain topics such as the Republican treatment of minorities. “He made excuses for his sexist, racist, transphobic behavior,” Jones said. “He doesn’t understand the systemic and institutionalized oppression of minorities. As a Buffalo School Board member, he should be seasoned in this type of discourse.” Tighe feels that while the protest was “a little annoying,” students have a right to free speech. “People are going to express their rights and opinions and if that’s what they want to do on a Monday night, that’s what they want to do. It was peaceful. They said what they had to say and they left. I’m all for freedom of speech,” said Nathaniel Feldman, a junior business major. Dean, however, felt that the protest was disrespectful. “It is a little disrespectful to the speaker who took the time out of their night to come here and share their opinion, and just to be interrupted like that,” Dean said. “That was off-putting to me, but everyone has a right to their own opinion and a right to voice it and if that’s how they choose to voice it, that’s on them.” Jones said she admired the protestors’ demonstration. “I am really proud of them because it was a difficult thing to come to a room full of people who don’t believe in your full humanity and actually say something,” she said. “It’s necessary to be vocal in times like this. So they did what they could do to let people know that UB is representative of progressive ideals.” email: maddy.fowler@ubspectrum.com
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OPINION
Thursday, April 6, 2017
THE SPECTRUM
Editorial Board EDITOR IN CHIEF
Gabriela Julia
MANAGING EDITOR
Tori Roseman COPY EDITORS
Saqib Hossain Emma Medina Margaret Wilhelm Grace Trimper NEWS EDITORS
Hannah Stein, Senior Ashley Inkumsah, Senior Maddy Fowler, Asst. FEATURES EDITORS
Sarah Crowley, Senior Lindsay Gilder, Asst. ARTS EDITORS
Max Kaltnitz, Senior David Tunis-Garcia Benjamin Blanchet, Asst. SPORTS EDITORS
Michael Akelson, Senior Daniel Petruccelli, Asst. Thomas Zafonte, Asst. PHOTO EDITORS
Kainan Guo, Senior Angela Barca Troy Wachala, Asst. CREATIVE DIRECTORS
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Professional Staff OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR
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THE SPECTRUM Thursday, April 6, 2017 Volume 66 Number 43 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
UB Athletics’ announcement to cut four teams was insensitive, unprofessional We are grateful UB Athletics has decided to take a look at how it is spending our student fee money. But we are shocked at the callous way administrators chose to announce $2 million cuts and the disintegration of four UB teams. They lined 120 student athletes up in a room at 8 a.m. Monday and collectively slaughtered their college dreams. Is this UB’s definition of providing an education? The campus has buzzed with unrest all week. Vibrant student athletes have become zombies. And it’s not just students. Roughly nine coaches and their families also had a life-changing decision dropped on them without warning. Exuberant coaches have gone ghost. UB baseball coach Ron Torgalski has been at UB for 16 years. He won’t have a job after May. He said he’d been told UB is “not in the business of cutting programs,” yet on Monday, he learned UB will no longer have a baseball team. Davie Carmichael became the men’s head soccer coach two months ago. He hired Michael Tanke to be his assistant coach less than a month ago. If UB administrators knew these cuts were looming, why did they let these men go through this charade? It’s cruel and denies these coaches and the athletes who look up to them the dignity they deserve. Alumni have flooded our office with complaints. Former student athletes are irate and are embarrassed to say they played for UB. We have asked administrators and UB Athletics officials to explain their actions. They must have thought this through carefully before making these cuts. Men’s soccer has made back-to-back MAC Championship game appearances and had the highest team GPA of any sports team this past fall. Sophomore swimmer Mason Miller was named the MAC’s Most Outstanding Swimmer at Confer-
ence Championships. Last season, two former UB baseball players were in the MLB at once. We know women’s rowing was struggling with recruits and that if UB cuts a women’s sport, it has to cut the same number of men’s in order to remain compliant with Title IX rules. But, we want to understand what compelled officials to cut these teams so suddenly and with such cruelty. Unfortunately, we have not received much beyond vague answers. Our president, Satish Tripathi, who was at the Monday meeting, said there is “never a good time” to make such cuts. He’s right. But there are better, kinder ways of making them. Students could have been warned that the teams would be cut in 2019 or 2020. That would have given students time to transfer and coaches time to search for new jobs. Or it would have given alumni and parents time to donate and try to save the programs.
Did UB need that $2 million immediately? Athletes say Tripathi and Athletic Director Allen Greene left shortly after Monday’s announcement about the cuts and did not take questions from stunned athletes. Tripathi did not respond to The Spectrum’s questions about the cuts, beyond a standard press release. Greene allowed The Spectrum sports reporters four questions in an email Tuesday. He took two of his answers from the university’s press release, saying Athletics took into account program costs, athletics’ facilities, Title IX, geographic location and a comparison of sports sponsored by MAC schools when choosing the four teams. When asked if more teams will be cut, he said UB is “committed to Division I athletics and remaining competitive in the MAC.” He also did not help us understand why UB made these cuts now, this year, with such readiness. When we asked, he said, “The reduction followed a comprehen-
sive review of the athletics department’s budget as part of the university’s annual resource planning process. This process occurs each year at this time and recently concluded.” What are we to make of this? Athletics cancelled a Spectrum reporter’s interview with Greene Tuesday afternoon because Greene was headed out of town. Can he not be reached? Doesn’t he have a cell phone? We also don’t know what UB will do with the $2 million it is saving by cutting the four teams. Greene said the money is not going back into football or the athletic department and is “going back to the university.” Where? Again, we are trying to understand and help the students we represent understand. We appreciate that UB wants to save money and is concerned about the $24 million subsidy the athletics department gets. We also are glad UB is honoring the scholarships it has already awarded current and incoming student athletes. But why – if cuts were coming – did UB award these scholarships in the first place? The Spectrum spoke to dozens of student athletes from a myriad of UB’s 20 teams. All felt disillusioned and blindsided by the administration. As journalists, we rely on the trust of our readers. Similarly, athletic officials need the trust of their players and coaches. In one morning, UB lost that trust and administration won’t get it back until we get answers. Because without students, there is no UB. email: eic@ubspectrum.com
Pepsi ad trivializes civil rights protests Company co-opts activist movement to sell soda
MADDY FOWLER ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Pepsi’s newest advertisement could not be more off the mark. The new ad features model Kendall Jenner clad in a blonde wig at a photo shoot as a protest hits the streets in the background. It is unclear what this protest is even about; demonstrators carry cheesy signs with messages like “spread love” and “join the conversation,” that don’t indicate what the group is fighting for. Give me a break. In the commercial’s cringe-wor-
thy climax, Jenner ditches her blonde wig and rushes to join the so-called “protest.” The participants still seem to be preaching some vague, nonsensical message about peace, love and happiness. They’re smiling, clapping, dancing to music and jumping around. Believe it or not, Pepsi, protests aren’t just some hippie Kumbaya love fest. They are outcries of people fighting for their lives and basic human rights. In perhaps the most horrifying moment of this tone-deaf disaster of a commercial, Jenner grabs a can of Pepsi and offers it to one of the stone-faced police officers monitoring the protest. The officer takes the Pepsi and smiles at Jenner. The crowd cheers. Meanwhile, black people are murdered in cold blood for making the wrong move in the presence of a police officer. This moment is not a celebration of peace and unity – it is a glaring demonstration of white privilege. Even more offensively, the shot
of Jenner approaching the police officer is uncomfortably similar to the famous image of Ieshia Evans, a black woman who peacefully approached a line of riot police at a protest against police brutality in Baton Rouge last July. The soda company claims the ad was “trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding” a Pepsi representative said in a statement on Wednesday. Unity, peace and understanding are all fine and good, but unity, peace and understanding are not going to solve problems like systemic racism and police brutality in this country. And frankly, it sounds like an excuse for a poorly thought-out commercial. This advertisement is literally trying to profit off the pain and suffering of the black community to sell cans of soda. I do not buy the claims that this ad was “well-intentioned” and just “poorly executed.” Pepsi is a multibillion dollar company. They knew
exactly what they were doing. And they do not care. Because at the end of the day, Pepsi is just trying to make a profit. They know Black Lives Matter protests are dominating the headlines and they chose to take advantage of that – regardless of the implications. Here’s the thing, Pepsi: protesting is not some hip new trend that is cool with the kids these days, like Snapchat filters, long bob haircuts, pithy memes and Ed Sheeran’s latest album. Protesting is part of a long tradition of marginalized groups fighting for their basic humanity. Protesting is a serious and profound act born out of the deepseated suffering and pain of minorities that have been systemically oppressed and brutalized for centuries. It is not fodder for your capitalist enterprise to make a buck. email: maddy.fowler@ubspectrum.com
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Thursday, April 6, 2017
THE SPECTRUM
UB community reacts to Buffalo State’s April Fools’ article
Satire article fools many students and causes controversy HANNAH STEIN SENIOR NEWS EDITOR
Robert Bailey was concerned about transferring to UB next semester after he read Buffalo State’s April Fools’ article, “UB declares independence from SUNY, gets rid of in-state tuition rate.” He wasn’t sure if UB would be a smart financial choice for him. But he didn’t realize the article was a satire piece until his friend called him out. The Record, Buffalo State’s online student newspaper, published an April Fools’ article stating UB President Satish K. “Tripathia” announced that UB would be leaving the SUNY system to become a private institution starting in 2018. The article also said UB students who are New York State residents would have to pay the additional $17,240 that is charged to outof-state residents. The satirical piece was part of The Record’s April Fools’ edition. The Record article’s original posted date
was March 30. Dan Almasi, executive editor of The Record, said this was the draft date of the article and he didn’t realize a wrong date was posted. The Record later changed the date to April 1. “It was a great April Fools’ joke and we tricked a lot of people,” Almasi said. “I think the people who only read through the full story, which is what you should always do before taking anything away from a story, would see it was false.” The fake news article originally did not say it was an April Fools’ joke until April 2, after a UB employee called The Record to request this, according Almasi. Almasi said he only noted this article as a satire piece because the rest of the April Fools’ pieces were “so obviously” satire. But many people were not happy with The Record’s joke. Cynthia Tysick, head of UB educational services, believes the article was done in “absolutely poor taste” and thinks Almasi should write an apology letter to UB.
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“If they wanted to poke fun at tuition, I’m pretty sure they could have done their own in-state, out-of-state tuition joke,” Tysick said. “They didn’t need to direct it at us.” Almasi said he is not apologizing for “anything.” He said it was a “successful” April Fools’ joke and a “good lesson” in media literacy for everyone. Tysick said this article could affect current and incoming students at UB who misread the article. She said this is the time of year where students are accepting admissions offers to UB and are considering the cost of tuition. “The danger in this that I see is if a parent didn’t read the whole article, they may be making a snap judgment to pull their kid out of school,” Tysick said. “It’s financially impacting our institution. So the implications for not being news literate can be economic for you and for other people.” Tysick highlighted the C.R.A.P test that is used to detect if something is fake news. Tysick asked, “Is it current, relevant, authoritative and what’s the point?” Fake news telltale signs in the article included Tripathi’s name being spelled wrong, grammatically incorrect quotes and the fact that a sports writer reported on policy and school governance. Almasi said every editor at The Record had the freedom to pick an idea for a satire piece. Francis Boeck, associate sports editor, chose to write the article, which received over 47,000 website views, according to Almasi. He said this is a surprisingly high number of views compared to other articles and was happy to say the article went “semi-viral.” “My aim was really more at satirical stories that would make people laugh,” Almasi said. “Francis had his own idea to make this fake story and I don’t like to employ too heavy a hand, so I let him run with it.” Tysick said a “sad fact” is many people do not read the bottom of the article and would have realized the article wasn’t true if they read its entirety. Almasi was shocked by the reactions to the article. Almasi said he received feedback
from people who appreciated the joke and angry feedback from students and faculty. “You know it was actually very surprising to me that people were so readily willing to accept this as fact,” Almasi said. “There’s no other outlet that was running this story, which of course would have been the case. I think anyone with any media literacy who looked into it would have immediately dismissed it as false.” Boston Kistka, a sophomore psychology major, thought the article was a joke almost immediately. She searched the story online to make sure no other results came up from other news outlets. Kistka works for UB’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions and said she received emails from the Admissions department saying people have been calling the school concerned that this announcement would affect their decision to attend UB. Kistka said she hasn’t received any of those calls yet. The Spectrum reached out to Jose Aviles, director of Undergraduate Admissions who did not respond in time for print. Cameron Priest, a sophomore chemical engineering major, thought the article was “very believable” until his acquaintance told him it wasn’t real. “I guess good job to Buff State on their April Fools’ joke,” Priest said. “I mean it seemed a little extreme, but I heard our president also had been kind of forceful about making UB a research one university, so it was definitely believable, I’ll say that.” Tysick will use Buffalo State’s April Fools’ story to show students why a healthy news diet is essential. “I think news literacy is important because you are bombarded with so much news all the time,” Tysick said. “You’re going to have to know and think critically what the truth is so that you can be an educated citizen. At the end of the day, you have to go out there and make sure you have these critical skills so that you’re not taken in by some of the garbage that’s out there.” email: hannah.stein@ubspectrum.com
FEATURES WOMEN IN STEM SUMMIT HELPS WOMEN NAVIGATE WORKPLACE DiGeronimo discusses practical ways for women to make a greater impact in STEM SARAH CROWLEY
SENIOR FEATURES EDITOR
Katie Sember thinks twice before saying something too “assertive” or using a tone that might be seen as “intimidating.” After two years of working as an engineer for local company Liazon, Sember is used to navigating the engineering workforce. She said she always keeps in mind that the rules for her are slightly different. Sember said she takes any chance she gets to attend a conference aimed toward women in the workplace. Nearly 200 other women – and a few men – joined Sember in attending UB’s third annual Women in STEM Summit on Wednesday. It was a day of reflection, camaraderie and a chance for women in top positions in these fields to share advice for younger generations in science, technology, math and engineering (STEM). Keynote speaker JJ DiGeronimo drew from her 20 years of experience in computer science and business to give practical tips for women in STEM. The afternoon continued with smaller breakout sessions focused on issues like “being a male ally” or “confronting gender bias in the classroom.” Attendees followed these discussions during a networking hour in the Student Union (SU) over light refreshments.
DiGeronimo said one of the biggest challenges women face in the STEM workplace is a lack of “self-efficacy,” which she defined as “the belief that you can actually achieve something challenging.” She pointed to a Hewlett-Packard (HP) study that found women only apply for jobs and opportunities for which they meet 100 percent of the qualifications listed. Men by comparison, apply after meeting 60 percent of these qualifications. The study explained that women are less likely to take career risks until they feel totally qualified, which stems from childhood experiences where girls are more likely told to “take it easy” or to “watch they don’t hurt themselves.” This cautiousness, while useful in some aspects, translates to less jobs hiring women simply because less women apply for the jobs. “You belong in this meeting, you belong in this conversation and you have something valuable to add,” DiGeronimo said. “But you can often have these aspirations and yet talk yourself out of achieving before you even get started.” For this to change, women need to silence the voice in their head that says they aren’t good enough for a position or to run a committee, DiGeronimo said. Women cannot let the word “no” scare them from applying
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Thursday, April 6, 2017
THE SPECTRUM
for opportunities, she added. “Let them tell you no,” DiGeronimo said. “Trust me, they will.” She also urged women to brag about their accomplishments and find mentors or “career catalysts” to do so for them. Most women expect the quality of their work to “speak for itself,” while men are more likely to boldly network with superiors or ask directly for promotions, DiGeronimo said. At one point, DiGeronimo recalled a story where a company created a healthcare app, but forgot to include a mechanism for tracking menstruation. “Unsurprisingly, there were no women on that board,” DiGeronimo said. “We need you in STEM, we need the way women think in STEM.” After the keynote address, attendees broke off into mini concurrent sessions that covered topics like salary negotiation strategies for women and implicit bias. Liesl Folks, dean of the college of Science, Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), gave advice on how to change stereotypical narratives and the impact they can have in teaching. Folks talked about the dangers of stereotype threat – the preconceived idea that someone is judging based on race, gender,
KAINAN GUO, THE SPECTRUM
Liesl Folks, dean of the college of science, engineering and applied sciences (SEAS) leads a discussion on gender bias in the classroom. Folks said she works every day to quiet her own anxieties over gender stereotypes as a leader in STEM.
sexuality, age or ability. She said the best way to help female and underrepresented minority students who suffer from the risk of stereotype threat is to actively work against these narratives like “white males are better at quantitative analysis” or “Asian students are good at math.” “It’s not enough to not say anything to your students, you have to be proactive,” Folks said. “They know they’re women, they know they’re black, you have to make statements that actively disrupt their own narratives.” Women shared experiences of their own, where they were both guilty of bias and were on the receiving end of gender or socioeconomic bias. Students and alumni attended the summit to network, learn and be inspired. Judy Moskal entered the engineering field in 1965 and attended the summit to “support student efforts.” She took a moment to reflect on how STEM fields have improved for women since her career began. Moskal said she remembers leaving a civil-service exam, when a man told her, “even if you get this job, you should turn it down because you need to support your husband.” “It’s a good thing I didn’t listen,” she laughed. “I divorced my husband soon after and supported myself for the next 30 years.” Moskal was hired at AT&T as Buffalo’s first female engineer more than 50 years ago. Although she thinks women have a “long way to go,” Moskal said she would give a lot up to be able to start her career now. The Women in Stem Cooperative will host its next event – a brown-bag lunch discussion in SU – on April 25 at 12 p.m. The event will feature undergraduate and graduate students presenting research on inclusivity and underrepresentation in various fields. email: sarah.crowley@ubspectrum.com
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Thursday, April 6, 2017
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
THE SPECTRUM
Spring Fest struggles
Late Spring Fest announcement has students worried MAX KALNITZ SENIOR ARTS EDITOR
Last year, students knew the Spring Fest lineup a week after spring break. But with three and a half weeks until this year’s show, students are still waiting for Student Association to announce the lineup. SA has yet to release any information on the artists or the genre of the show. SA confirmed last year’s Spring Fest on March 22, 2016 after The Spectrum found that Ticket-
master’s website leaked the lineup of The Chainsmokers, Mac Miller, Coleman Hell and Icona Pop. Marc Rosenblitt, SA’s entertainment coordinator, did say Spring Fest will be held indoors this year. “We would really like it to be outside,” Rosenblitt said. “But the university gave us some logistical restrictions that we couldn’t overcome.” He also reassures students that this year’s festival is going just as planned and that there is nothing to worry about. “No one should be concerned. The fest is shaping up the same way that it always does,” Rosenblitt said. “This is really no later of an announcement date than usual. It might be a few days or weeks later than it was last year, but honestly, it’s all just due to paperwork, logistics and dealing with contracts, negotiating, lawyers and that sort of thing.”
ANGELA BARCA, THE SPECTRUM
UB students packed into Alumni Arena for last year's Spring Fest. SA has not released the lineup for this year’s Spring Fest.
Rosenblitt hopes to publish an announcement about the festival by the end of this week or early next week. Autum Carter, a sophomore exercise science major, said she is concerned that the show might not be as good as previous year’s. “I’m really excited for Spring Fest as always, but I’m starting to think they couldn’t get a good headliner or maybe an act canceled because they’re announcing the lineup really late this year,” Carter said. Bobby Lundy, a sophomore civil engineering major, said he was satisfied with Travis Scott’s electrifying performance during Fall Fest, but hopes Spring Fest will follow its counterpart’s footsteps. “I’m very concerned they don’t know what they’re doing, especially since the original artist may not have committed,” Lundy said. “It seems like this year, everything is
just getting scraped together last minute and that’s worrying me.” Some students feel SA’s ticketing policy for Fall Fest was too chaotic and that the school should revert back to swiping a student ID in exchange for a physical ticket. Tickets can be reserved through the same method as Fall Fest starting on April 17 on the SA website. Students must sit according to the location printed on their reserved ticket. Other students are steering clear of the festival because they said it was too difficult to reserve a ticket that is in the same zone as their friends. “I kind of hate it. It’s such a [bad] system,” Carter said. “I pay tuition. Let me sit with my friends where I want to sit. Plus, the site always crashes and they know it’s going to. It was better when you had to swipe and pick up a ticket. If I don’t get one this year I’m going to throw a fit.” Fall Fest and Spring Fest are funded by the mandatory student activity fee of $104.75 per semester. Most students think it’s unfair that everyone has to pay the fee, yet not everyone attends the show. “I really have no idea who’s going to be performing, but I’m excited,” said Jeff Mohamed, a freshman business major. “Maybe I’ll come if it’s organized better, but I think a lot of people won’t end up being able to go because of these ticketing regulations.” Rosenblitt said students should be excited for this year’s fest and that they have a great group of bands set to perform. “It’ll be a good show. We’ve got good bands lined up and everyone should enjoy it,” Rosenblitt said. *Benjamin Blanchet contributed reporting to this story. email: max.kalnitz@ubspectrum.com
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SPORTS
Thursday, April 6, 2017
THE SPECTRUM
UFC 210 preview The Spectrum sits down with Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Daniel Cormier
THOMAS ZAFONTE ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
It has been 21 years since the UFC has held an event in Buffalo. After the long layoff and battle to legalize the sport in New York State, the UFC is set to make its return this Saturday, April 8 at the Keybank Center with two huge fights headlining the card. In the main event, Daniel “DC” Cormier (18-1), the UFC light heavyweight champion and former Olympic wrestler, will look to get his second title defense against one of the most feared knockout artists in the sport: Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (22-5). The Spectrum sat down for exclusive interviews with Cormier and Johnson at Media Day Wednesday at the KeyBank Center. “I know [Johnson] can’t beat me. He ain’t going to submit me, he isn’t going to beat me by decision. He has to get a knockout to win this fight,” Cormier said. Cormier owns a submission victory over Johnson from May 2015, when they fought for the vacant light heavyweight title. Though Johnson stunned Cormier in the first fight, Cormier was able to weather the onslaught and submit Johnson in the third round. Cormier used his knowledge from the first fight as the “base” for training before this fight. “I have prepared myself for a much better version of Anthony Johnson,” Cormier said. “I don’t care if he respects anything I do, I am still going to beat him up. He can either respect me or not respect me, it doesn’t matter. On Saturday, I get to go in there and beat on him.”
THOMAS ZAFONTE, THE SPECTRUM
UFC light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier (left) poses next to UFC fighter Anthony Johnson (right). The two are set to fight in the main event of UFC 210 this Saturday.
Though Cormier is confident in a win, he still remains cautious toward Johnson’s skill set. He even calls him the fastest striker he has ever fought. Johnson comes into the fight on a threefight win streak, each by way of KO. Johnson’s last lost was to DC at UFC 187. And even though he has experience against Cormier, Johnson only has one expectation: “I don’t know what to expect out there but I do expect his best no matter what. He is an elite athlete, he’s the champion,” Johnson said. For Johnson, UFC 210 is about not letting the title slip away again. He’s put in the work and now wants the belt to show for it. And with his recent successes training, Johnson heads into fight weekend cool and collected. “I have no worries, because I know I have prepared myself. I feel like I am a better striker now, I feel like I am a better fighter overall,” Johnson said. That improvement will be Johnson’s big-
gest asset heading into the fight, which he credits to his coaches. “We worked our asses off in the gym to get back here right now. I am here representing my guys to the fullest extent. I am not just fighting, they are fighting too,” Johnson said. But before the title fight, two middleweight elites will square off in the co-main event: “The All-American” Chris Weidman (13-2) will take on long-time contender Gegard Mousasi (41-6-2). Many analysts look at Mousasi versus Weidman as the most exciting fight on the card. Most of the excitement comes from Mousasi’s current four-fight win streak. All four of those wins were in 2016 and Mousasi looked spectacular in each fight. Mousasi is currently one of the most active fighters in the division, which he sees as an advantage. “[Weidman] had injuries, he hasn’t fought a lot lately. When you do it regularly it be-
comes a routine, it becomes easier,” Mousasi said. Mousasi’s fight against former champ Wiedman is Mousasi’s chance to get his name in the middleweight title picture. Mousasi is generally considered one of the most dangerous finishers in the whole sport. He has collected a total of 22 KO/ TKOs and 12 submissions in his career. Mousasi remains confident that he can get the win and feels he is stylistically too tough for Weidman. “He is going to box for a couple of minutes, but even an amateur can box for a couple of rounds with a pro,” Mousasi said. “At the end of the day, he relies on his wrestling and as a guy who can stop his takedowns, he is going to have a difficult time. Especially with my stand-up.” But if anyone disagrees with Mousasi’s sentiment, it is Weidman himself. Weidman remains headstrong, even coming off his first two professional MMA losses and losing the title. The former middleweight champ believes he can compete with Mousasi on the ground and standing up. “I feel like I am more confident than ever right now,” Weidman said. “I think it takes a mentally tough fighter to endure through tough times and come out the other side still confident.” Weidman never showed doubt in his ability to get the win. Weidman, a Baldwin, New York native, took trips to Buffalo back when the UFC was not yet legalized in New York State. He is now back in Buffalo and wants to put on a great fight for the fans and maybe get some home state support. “That is not something I’ll weigh my hat on, but I hope,” Weidman said. “I am a New York born and raised guy so it would be nice if they do. But if they don’t, my goal will be the same – I have to go out there and beat Mousasi.” UFC 210 will be held at the KeyBank Center on Saturday. The prelims start at 6:15 p.m. and the main card starts at 10 p.m. email: thomas.zafonte@ubspectrum.com
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SPORTS
Thursday, April 6, 2017
THE SPECTRUM
BLINDSIDED CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
The team played home games at Amherst Audubon Field, a field across the street from UB. “When we had kids on visits, we tried to avoid our field,” Torgalski said. “If we had to show a kid our field we just said ‘hey, it is what it is.’ This is the hand we’ve been dealt and this is what we’re gonna deal with.” Senior baseball player Tyler Utz said the baseball team did not have a groundskeeping staff and had to work on the field themselves before and after games to keep it playable. “On game days, there are always one or two people that come out and do the lines and batter’s box, but other than that, our assistant coaches drag and water the field pre and post game,” Utz said. “The players have assignments for fixing up the field after games and practices. Pitchers will fix the pitcher’s mound and catchers will fix home plate, etc.” Budget numbers The most controversial cut was the men’s soccer team. The team had the highest GPA of all teams last fall and had made back-to-back MAC Championship game appearances. According to the 2015-16 UB Athletics budget, the men’s soccer team got $464,761 in institutional support and brought in just $1,051 in contributions. Mary Cicerone, mother of former UB men’s soccer player Russell Cicerone, said parents of men’s soccer players often donated to the program in the last four years. Mary says she wonders why administration wouldn’t let her or the other parents know that the program was in such financial need. “I just wanted it to be known that we parents did contribute and we contributed a lot,” she said. “We did not want it to look like we did not help support the program.” The baseball team received $395,857 in institutional support and brought in $14,657 in contributions. The men’s swimming and diving team received $387,959 in institutional support and made just $1,811 in contributions. The rowing team received $271,117 in institutional support and brought in $5,378 in contributions. However, in the 2015-16 year, none of UB’s other 16 teams turned a profit either. Almost $9 million of student fees were allocated to all 20 teams. Men’s soccer received $152,342, baseball received $197,570, rowing received $722,210 and men’s swimming and diving received $101,535.
Football received almost $1.5 million in student fees and men’s and women’s basketball received $538,646 and $986,297, respectively. “All resources are university resources and the two million dollars we’ve been asked to cut are not going back into football or the athletic department, they are going back to the university,” Greene told The Spectrum. The four teams cut were among seven teams that did not charge admission for ticket sales in 2015-16. The baseball team received the fourth most money in contributions of any team, which was even more than the men’s basketball program. Alumni speak out Scales, Russell Cicerone, Vinny DiVirglio and Austin Place – all former men’s soccer players – expressed frustration with the Athletics department. All four athletes say UB Athletics made promises that were not fulfilled during the recruiting process or during their time on the team. They said Athletics promised them their own locker room and soccer-specific stadium. Instead, the team played their home games on the football field at UB Stadium and shared a locker room with other teams for all three players’ tenures. Place said before he signed his letter of intent, he was told there was funding in place for a field house and that it would be done by the summer of his junior year. UB does not currently have a field house but there is a push to build one, which would cost around $18 million, according to The Buffalo News. Cicerone, who was drafted by the Portland Timbers of the MLS this January, said he is “definitely” less likely to donate to the school in the future. “I was always so proud going to UB, making it professional from UB. I was always hyping them up and repping them,” Cicerone said. “People ask me all the time where I went to college and I almost don’t even want to tell them anymore. I almost don’t even want UB to be under my bio on the website, I would [rather] just have them put my high school.” Scales expressed condolences for the team’s international athletes – many of whom only came to the U.S. for soccer. “A lot of these guys are international, they came to the U.S. to have the university experience and play soccer, that was the reason they’re here,” Scales said. “They’re not at UB because they knew it was a great academic institution and leave their home
“People ask me all the time where I went to college and I almost don’t even want to tell them anymore. I almost don’t even want UB to be under my bio on the website, I would [rather] just have them put my high school.” - Russell Cicerone
country just to come here for school. They came here to play soccer.” Nine of UB’s 15 anticipated returning men’s soccer players for this upcoming fall were not from the U.S. One international athlete, who asked to remain anonymous, said the cuts are a “cruel injustice.” But men’s soccer players aren’t the only ones with concerns. Former pitcher Blair Lakso, who is now signed to the Minnesota Twins organization, said he was “sick to [his] stomach” when he heard the news. “We’re already working with half the amount of scholarships as every other MAC school,” Lakso said. “We didn’t have to pay for our field, it was a town field…[football is] in the same boat as us, they haven’t really played up to expectations.” The baseball program has had only one winning season since joining the MAC in 2001, but has had a player selected in the MLB draft every year for the past five years They were working with 6.75 scholarships as compared to 11.7 for most other teams in the MAC, according to Torgalski. Mike Burke, a former UB pitcher who is now in the Baltimore Orioles organization, said he was “depressed all day” when he heard the news. “I’m in the minor leagues right now and if I had went somewhere else, I probably wouldn’t have got the exposure that I got playing for UB,” Burke said. Moving forward Men’s soccer head coach Davie Carmichael, who was recently hired in January, declined an interview. “I am still trying to comprehend the decision and putting all of my work and energy into finding the student athletes new homes to continue their education and soccer future,” Carmichael said in a Twitter message to The Spectrum. Junior diver Dan Roche said he and other players were “heated” when Tripathi told them their teams would be cut. Roche says many of the athletes were crying, including some of his teammates. Roche says he will “probably not” transfer out because even though he still loves to dive, as a rising senior, he does not want to “deal with transferring.” Sophomore swimmer Mason Miller, who was named the MAC’s Most Outstanding Swimmer at Conference Championships, said in a text message to The Spectrum that he is not sure yet whether or not he will transfer. “I guess I would say that while I’m really upset and disappointed that this has happened to our team and the other teams, there’s nothing we can really do about it,” Miller said. Miller will finish as the program’s all-time record holder in the 100 fly, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay, despite only competing for two years. “I hope that they’re being honest with us and that they actually tell us why [they cut our teams],” Roche said. “I know they didn’t tell me anything, but I don’t really like to
(LEFT) KAINAN GUO, THE SPECTRUM
Graduated soccer player Braden Scales takes a shot in a game this past Fall. Scales is one of many current and former athletes questioning UB Athletics’ spending following the decision. (RIGHT) COURTESY OF TYLER UTZ
Players and coaches on UB’s baseball team work on home plate the day before a game to avoid having the game postponed. According to Utz, players and coaches were often responsible for making sure their own field was playable.
think about that stuff.” Some students are trying to fight back with an online petition to “stop the eliminaion” of the four teams. The petition has almost 6,000 signatures. Other players are just as confused, but are trying to make sense of Athletics’ abrupt notice. Brennan and senior Chris Kwitzer say that most of the baseball team was “for” the money spent to improve the school’s brand over the past couple of years. “The goal as an athletics community was to build the brand of the school and kind of elevate ourselves,” Brennan said. “We were all buying in. I don’t know how much money it cost to change all of that, we [also] don’t know how much extra revenue that brings in from them changing it, so I can’t say.” Many of the athletes interviewed said they hope the money that is being gained by cutting their programs will be spread across all of UB’s 16 D-1 teams, rather than just the football and men’s basketball programs. Almost every current and former athlete interviewed said they know the sports they play do not make the school much money and understand why Athletics made the decision. Most of them just wish the school had handled the situation differently. “I personally don’t know how they deal with their money here, what they do with the ins and outs,” Sobieraski said. “But there’s just more questions that should be answered.” email: michael.akelson@ubspectrum.com