The Spectrum Vol. 66 No. 18 by The Spectrum Student Periodical

UBSPECTRUM.COM

MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2016

MY BATTLE WITH PMDD P.3

VOLUME 66 NO. 18

STANDING AS A ROCK P.5

BULLS LOOK TO WIN NECHL P.8

Conservative journalist Katie Pavlich A new speaks about gun rights and sexual assault generation

of poets

SARAH CROWLEY ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Katie Pavlich thinks a common myth about concealed guns is that they create a “wild, wild, west” atmosphere. Pavlich, New York Times best-selling author and news editor for Town Magazine, spoke about students’ right to carry guns and sexual assault on college campuses in the Student Union Theater on Oct. 27. UB College Republicans and Young America’s Foundation (YAF) co-hosted the event “It’s funny how university officials tell all of you that you’re the best and the brightest and you should come to their university and pay them lots of money because you’re responsible adults who can handle the college experience,” Pavlich said. Pavlich said there is hypocrisy among politicians who advocate gun control, but surround themselves with heavily armed security, including Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg. She distinguished two distinct gun cultures in the U.S., one “deeply rooted” in American history, with a respect for firearms. Pavlich said the other gun culture, which is quite distinct from law-abiding gun use are the violent inner cities. “Ironically, the worst violence occurs in these cities with the strictest gun laws. It is the same violence culture promoted in Hollywood films by liberals and in music worshipped by those in violent gangs,” Pavlich said. “In cities like Chicago, the breakdown

Michael Basinski, curator of UB’s poetry collection, retires MAX KALNITZ SENIOR ARTS EDITOR

EUN-JI ESTHER SONG, THE SPECTRUM

Katie Pavlich, New York Times best-selling author and news editor for Town Magazine, spoke on Oct. 27 in the Student Union theater about students’ right to carry guns.

of the family, lack of ﬁrearms education and a missing respect for proper ﬁrearms use is to blame for violent gun culture in addition to criminals committing crimes.” Ashley Gates, a senior political science major who attended the discussion, said it is important to consider the larger picture and why these communities have experienced “breakdown of the family.” “This blame on Chicago being this crimeridden area with [bad] families and all that, there’s reasons for that, there’s legislation that put those men in jail, this has been created, so I don’t know it just needs to be

thought about why it started and what we can do to ﬁx it,” Gates said. Gates said she considers herself a Republican, but not necessarily conservative and doesn’t think the two labels need to be considered interchangeable. “I don’t necessarily like the fact that everyone on each side needs to ﬁght each other so I just want to see what everyone has to say, I’m kind of disappointed on how everyone is just bashing each other on both sides,” Gates said. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

UB Gender Week wraps up with violence against women symposium

Students and faculty hold conversation about solutions to domestic violence

MADDY FOWLER STAFF WRITER

Kari Winter, director of UB’s Gender Institute, said it’s more important than ever to have a conversation about misogyny. “When we began planning this symposium, we had no idea that we were on the cusp of an outbreak of some of the most vulgar, misogynistic discourse ever witnessed on the public stage of American presidential politics,” Winter said. This was just one of many topics discusses during last week’s Gender Week. The Gender Institute’s fall symposium was the ﬁnal event of the week and took place in Clemens Hall on Friday. The symposium featured seven different speakers, which included UB faculty and community leaders. The audience was made up of primarily women with only four men in attendance. UB provost Charles Zukoski opened the

symposium. He said UB has a responsibility to educate the next generation about gender related issues. “Symposiums like this bring together our scholars, students and community members to advance our agenda of improving quality of life for citizens of Western New York,” Zukoski said. Winter said one in three women and one in four men in the United States have been victims of domestic violence, emphasizing that nearly one in twenty people per minute are physically abused. In one year, this equates to nearly ten million women and men, Winter said. “[Domestic violence] is a human problem and we all need to work together to create peace,” said David Castillo, director of the UB Humanities Institute. Nadia Shahram, attorney and women’s rights activist, discussed how certain religious practices perpetuate misogyny and violence against women. In countries like

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EUN-JI SONG, THE SPECTRUM

Nadia Shahram (left), an adjunct faculty at UB Law, Elizabeth Gerhardt (middle), of Northeastern Seminary and Satpal Singh (right), a UB professor of pharmacology and toxicology, speak at Friday’s symposium.

Iran, which has an Islamic government, laws perpetuate discrimination against women, according to Shahram. Shahram does not think religions are inherently misogynistic. She emphasized certain practitioners of religion may be misogynistic, but said that is not reﬂective of the religion as a whole. The next speaker, Elizabeth Gerhardt, a professor of theology and social ethics at Northeastern Seminary in Rochester, N.Y., discussed how religion could become part of the solution to domestic violence and said religious leaders have a responsibility to speak out against domestic violence. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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After working for 32 years and personally bringing in more than two and a half million dollars in grant money, Michael Basinski, curator of UB’s poetry collection, is retiring. UB has one of the largest collections of poetry in the nation, including original manuscripts and unpublished works by some of the world’s most renowned poets. Basinksi is the man behind the collection and has meticulously sifted through all the works on the fourth floor of the Silverman Library. He has now decided to turn his prized possessions to a new generation of poets and collectors. Basinski is retiring the position of Curator of the Poetry Collection to Dr. James Maynard but will maintain his position as Director of the Special Collection and work on special projects for the library. Poetry has always interested Basinski. He first started reading it in the fifth grade and has been hooked ever since. “I guess I was attracted to images of what poets were and I remember reading Shelly as a young person and I was moved, it was a summoning and I just obey,” Basinski said. Basinski attended classes at UB as early as 1973 and was hired to work in the American Studies department in 1976. Over his 40 years of work experience at UB, Basinski says it’s the atmosphere that he loves best about his job. “Being part of the university community was a significant moment in my life. I liked it so much that clearly I didn’t leave,” he said. “I wanted to relish in it for more than two-thirds of a life time and that’s what I’ve done.” Basinski said he’ll miss engaging with the collection on a day-to-day basis the most. With new material always coming to his office, it will be a hard part of his daily schedule to replace. “It’s the daily activity, of engagement with the realm of the poem and the harvesting of all the books that we do. Eventually I won’t be here at all, it’ll be in the hands of someone else,” Basinski said. Basinski compared the collection to any person’s favorite hobby. “One of the great things about being here is that all poetry in English moves through here, you can literally watch it day after day so it’s very much like watching the ocean, can you ever get tired of it? It’s very soothing, just watching the collection on a daily basis will be a small regret.” Maynard said the collection wouldn’t be the same without the countless hours and labors of love Basinski has put into the library. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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NEWS

Monday, October 31, 2016

THE SPECTRUM

Conservative journalist Katie Pavlich speaks about gun rights and sexual assault CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Gene Doyle, a senior medicinal chemistry major that also attended the event, said he supports students’ right to carry on campus. When looking at examples like Virginia Tech and Columbine, Doyle said people on school campuses tend to be “swamped” in one area, totally defenseless. “I think if you receive the proper training and you have the proper documentation, you should be allowed to carry and use your permit on-campus,” Doyle said. “When I had to go through that training, I mean it was rigorous and it took time; it’s an arduous process and I think you learn a lot during it.” Pavlich advocated for automatic and semiautomatic weapons and referenced historical examples such as the L.A. riots when they were used to save lives. “When [bureaucrats] dictate to us about how many rounds we’re allowed to have in our guns, they don’t know what they’re talking about,” Pavlich said. “Not to mention, this isn’t about need at all, this is about the right to take your own safety into your hands.” Pavlich said women need to be able to protect themselves in dangerous situations when law enforcement or other aid is too late.

“There’s no data to support that argument and in fact in places where people have laws allowing concealed carry and you’re not sure if someone has a gun, people tend to act a little more politely, because they might get shot,” Pavlich said. “That’s just the way it is.” She said the danger of a ﬁrearm is like anything else dangerous – it requires education and respect. Pavlich said teaching children about ﬁrearms is no different from teaching them not to drink bleach under the sink or go near a pool without an adult. “It is empowering to be responsible for your own safety and to exercise your second amendment rights, it’s part of your history and nobody has a right to turn you into a victim,” Pavlich said. email: sarah.crowley@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @crowley_spectrum

UB Gender Week wraps up with violence against women symposium CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“The loudest voices in [the Christian community], should be saying ‘this is a crime,’” Gerhardt said. Religious leaders are graduating from seminaries without courses on violence against women and are therefore “not equipped” to face the problem, according to Gerhardt. She said implementing such courses is a crucial step to addressing domestic violence. Gerhardt also highlighted supporting community programs and holding perpetrators of domestic violence accountable. Satpal Singh, professor of pharmacology and toxicology at UB, discussed the role that men play in addressing violence against women. He said men have a responsibility to stand up for their mothers and daughters. He also discussed the need for a “cultural change.” Singh believes that although political dialogue “reinforces” misogynistic beliefs, people are speaking out against this rhetoric. “The [current] political discourse is terrible, but the response tells us we are making progress,” Singh said. Iman Ismael, a leader from Masjid Al-Eiman Mosque in Buffalo, also believes religion plays a large role in domestic violence. “People think in Islam it’s OK to [commit violence against women] and that’s where I come about and I speak about this from the Quran and Islam itself and say, well, culturally and religiously this is not accepted,” Ismael said. April Arman is a clinical social worker and president of Resources and Help Against Marital Abuse (RAHAMA), a nonproﬁt organization that aids victims of domestic violence. She said the organization helps all women regardless of faith, but

specializes in helping Muslim women. The Buffalo community demonstrated a need for domestic violence resources speciﬁcally geared towards Muslim women, according to Arman. She said Muslim women and children have unique needs, as well as language and cultural barriers and that they often don’t want to seek help outside of the Muslim community. “There are so many barriers to women getting help, we wanted to remove one of those,” Arman said. RAHAMA provides a variety of services for victims including safety planning, educational outreach, counseling, support groups and transitional housing, Arman said. The symposium speakers participated in a brief question and answer session where they were asked about speciﬁc ways to raise awareness about domestic violence. Shahram said attorneys have to go through domestic violence training and Arman said RAHAMA has done trainings for family courts and Child Protective Services. Singh thinks UB should establish formal sexual violence response training. “If this is something you’re passionate about…speak up. The more we bring it up, the more we talk, the more we effect and bring about change,” Gerhardt said. email: news@ubspectrum.com

SEVENTH ANNUAL

VETERANS DAY CELEBRATION Responsibilities Include: 4-5 teaching sessions per week Grading lab reports Set up and maintain lab equipment Lab inventory Coordinate lab activities with lecturer Schedule: Spring 2017 labs offered Tuesday 10 AM - 2:30 PM Wednesday 10 AM - 2:30 PM Contact Information: To be considered please submit a letter of interest including availability, resume, and contact information for three professional references Submit the single attachment to http://daemen.applicationpro.com

MS Degree in Physics and previous teaching experience at college level is preferred. PhD candidates in Physics will also be considered Daemen College is an AA/EOE and strongly encourages applications from women, veterans, people of color, individuals with disabilities and candidates who will contribute to and support the cultural fluency and diversity of our campus

SEVENTH ANNUAL

VETERANS DAY CELEBRATION Friday, November 11, 2016, 11:00 a.m. Coventry Circle - CFA Black Box Theater North Campus, University at Buffalo

FLAG CEREMONY Coventry Circle Flag Raising UB Police Color Guard ROTC Color Guard UB Thunder of the East Marching Band Invocation Fr. Mike Zuffoletto, Navy Chaplain, (Ret.)

PROGRAM WITH REFRESHMENTS Center for the Arts Black Box Theater Remarks Leandre Munyana UB Student Representative (UB Navy) James “Jay” Roorback UB Faculty/Staff Representative (US Army, Chemical Corps, E-7) Col. Robert Kilgore Commander, 107th Airlift Wing, New York Air National Guard Efner “Lucky” Davis WWII Veteran (US Army) This event is free and open to the university and WNY communities. For more information about the program and the rsvp, please visit: ubevents.org/event/veteransday2016

OPINION

Monday, October 31, 2016

THE SPECTRUM

Editorial Board

Be mindful of microaggressions

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Microaggressions should not pepper daily conversations, interactions

Gabriela Julia

MANAGING EDITOR

Tori Roseman COPY EDITORS

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

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

Kenneth Kashif Thomas, Senior Evan Grisley ARTS EDITORS

Max Kaltnitz, Senior David Tunis-Garcia, Asst. SPORTS EDITORS

Michael Akelson, Senior PHOTO EDITORS

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

Pierce Strudler Anthony Khoury, Asst.

Professional Staff

Microaggressions are prevalent in the university setting and particularly noticeable on campuses like UB where there is so much diversity. The term “microaggression” was used by Colombia professor Derald Sue and refers to “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color.” Sue takes the term from Dr. Chester Pierce who coined it in the 70s. Common microaggressions include comments about the way someone looks, acts, speaks, or someone’s background. It could be asking someone who is Asian what it’s like in China or assuming that someone speaks a certain language based upon his or her appearance. These comments are offhanded and often unintentionally hurtful. That’s the main issue with microaggressions – they are social

Discussing the elephant in the room

Helene Polley

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Derek Hosken

LINDSAY GILDER STAFF WRITER

Monday, October 31, 2016 Volume 66 Number 18 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

nicities at UB is new to some who grew up in a less diverse environment and don’t know how to act around those who are different. But saying “you speak English so well,” or asking, “where are you really from?” are not conversation starters, they’re digs at those who look different from the average white American. This change in language is important. The “spread the word to end the word” campaign is an important step. The campaign was intended to remove the word “retarded” from everyday slang, which people use in place of stupid or senseless. In reality, it is also an umbrella term for a variety of disabilities. Though the word is not gone from dictionaries forever, it’s used signiﬁcantly less than it used to be. Some argue that microaggressions are just a result of this generation’s sensitivity and that this commentary has been within our language for decades, even though

My Battle with PMDD

OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

THE SPECTRUM

norms, our everyday commentary that’s peppered with quiet insults. So how do we stop an entire generation from their common way of speaking? How do we hold people accountable for these microaggressions? One of the most recent microaggressions made public was at Suffolk University when a professor told a Latina student that the words in her senior seminar were not her language. “As I stood in the front of the class while a professor challenged my intelligence, I could just imagine [the professor] reading my paper in their home thinking, Could someone like her write something like this?” Tiffany Martinez said in a post later on. Once Martinez’ story surfaced, people all over the Internet started sharing their stories. Some Spectrum editors have also experienced microaggressions at UB as well. This range of cultures and eth-

Around this time last year, I was feeling quite different regarding my academic career and my life in general than I am now. Midterms were in full swing and the stress to succeed was hanging over my head. I needed to do very well this semester to get myself out of the rut I had created for myself freshman year. I noticed in the last months that the weeks surrounding my period were far more difﬁcult than usual. Not only did I have the usual cramps and bloating, but I was feeling anxious and depressed, like my world was essentially crashing down on me. At ﬁrst, I thought it was just my insecurities getting the best of me – as it does with nearly everyone on occasion – and maybe just the stress of classes, since this wasn’t something I had experienced in the past. I pushed through, de-

spite knowing that something was wrong on a mental and emotional level, and the coming months only got worse. Come the end of November, about a week before I was supposed to get my period, I was feeling really down. I tried finding support amongst my friends, but there was only so much they could do. It became a sort of elephant in the room since I had said all I could and no one really knew what to make of it. That weekend, I was attacked by my own mind, I couldn’t stop crying and panicking, I didn’t want anyone to see me like that, so I locked myself in my room all day. My roommates were the only people who saw that I was truly not OK and encouraged me to call my parents. I spoke to my mother in a state of panic, begging her to help me find out what was wrong. I told her everything that had been happening to me. She was devastated to see me in such a state. Unfortunately, she was a full 420 miles away and could only do so much. We came to a decision that it was time to see a doctor. I made an appointment the following Monday with UB Student Health Service’s on-site gynecologist, who confirmed what my hours of online research had pro-

posed to be my diagnosis. That day, I was diagnosed with Premenstrual Dysmorphic Disorder (PMDD) and it was a big moment of realization for me. Harvard’s medical program defines PMDD as “similar symptoms to those of PMS but are severe enough to interfere with work, social activities, and relationships.” Only about 5 percent of women have cases that severely affect their emotional and social health and another 18 to 35 percent have more minor cases. It is generally caused by an estrogen and/or progesterone imbalance, which affects the parts of the brain that influence mood and thinking. All of the misery I had gone through in the past couple of months was not just me, it was a real disorder and it was something I couldn’t have helped even if I tried my hardest. The battle wasn’t anywhere near over though, now that I knew what was wrong I needed to find the best way to treat myself. Often dietary changes or exercise can help treat the symptoms, so I tried my best to keep to a low sugar diet and go to the gym at least four times a week. These lifestyle changes didn’t do anything

we are just noticing it now. “Students See Many Slights as Racial ‘Microaggressions’” by Tanzina Vega for the New York Times, is about this and how hypersensitivity has led to questions about whether or not these microaggressions are as hurtful as we say. Students should be able to ask each other questions and be curious about other’s cultures. It should be okay to get to know someone in a meaningful and genuine way. Without this conversation, the ignorant will remain ignorant and culture will not spread. But generalization and assumptions can be harmful. You should never credit nor discredit someone’s success based off their race, religion, sex, etc. It’s important to ask questions about those who are different as long as it’s out of genuine curiosity with a consideration of language instead of a poor opener to a conversation. email: eic@ubspectrum.com

drastic, but they did help alleviate some of my symptoms. The doctor at health services recommended putting me on antidepressants for the period of time in which these symptoms occurred, but I didn’t think this was the best plan of attack for me. Antidepressants usually take about three to four weeks to actually start making a difference in someone’s mental state and often have an array of side effects to deal with. Both my mother and I agreed that I should wait until Thanksgiving break to start any treatment plans, so that we could get a second opinion from my mother’s gynecologist. Together, we all concluded that starting on a low-estrogen birth control pill was my best option. It wasn’t going to just cure me overnight, but the pill would regulate my hormone levels throughout the month and hopefully help with the imbalance that was causing me to feel the way I had. I started with the pill in the beginning of December and it made a world of a difference. My symptoms were much more manageable when they were present, which was all I could have asked for. Living with this disorder is something I am going to have to do essentially until I hit menopause, but I couldn’t be happier with the support system of my doctor, family and friends who helped me get through this. email: lmgilder@buffalo.edu

Money Talk: The American growth rate comparison Why you can’t have American growth rates as high as China or India

KENNETH KASHIF THOMAS SENIOR FEATURES EDITOR

When it comes to politicians, you’re expected to read between the lines of these “mostly-truths.” One presidential candidate has some unrealistic outlooks on the topic of America’s economic growth rates, when compared to less developed countries. At the last presidential debate, you might remember Republican

candidate Donald Trump saying America’s growth rate was somewhere around 1 percent and decreasing. After seeing how the growth rate jumped from 1.4 percent to 2.9 percent from the second to third quarter, that statement could be false. “So I just left some high representatives of India. They’re growing at 8 percent. China is growing at 7 percent. And that for them is a catastrophically low number,” Trump said at the last debate. But speaking on why countries like India and China have much higher growth rates is another topic. This year, India’s economy has consistently grown at 7.6 percent, according to Indian Express, with China consistently growing at 6.7 percent, according to Trading Economics.

While Donald Trump is right to say that this rate is low for China, which it is, it’s in fact the lowest growth rate in seven years, according to CNN Money. Even at it’s lowest, it’s still much higher than what we’re experiencing in America – but why is that? The simple answer is that large swaths of both China and India are still very much underdeveloped. In both countries, a majority of their populations still live an agrarian lifestyle, so any innovation in the country leads to high growth rates on paper. But the distribution of wealth in these countries is offset. Trump’s campaign went on to say that the recent release of data showing a growth rate of 2.9 percent was “modest.”

It’s important to note that high inﬂation rates are a result of strong economic growth, which leads to a depreciated currency, this in turn mean lower interest rates. So while you might have a bit of money to spend, there isn’t much else you can do with it unless you have large amounts of it. This is why it takes more rupees or Yuan to buy one USD. Higher interest rates do make for a stronger currency, but there is always equilibrium to strive for. Having high growth rates like these other countries does sound nice at face value, but for America’s position in the world, it would do more harm than good. email: kenneth.thomas@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @KenUBSpec

4 A new generation of poets

NEWS

Monday, October 31, 2016

THE SPECTRUM

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“I can’t stress enough how much he has done for the collection in his 32 years as the curator. He’s been responsible for bringing in countless collections, donation of books, global partnerships and collaborations as well as award winning exhibitions.” Maynard said. Maynard admires Basinski not only as a colleague but a close friend too. “I’ve said for years I can’t imagine a better colleague and friend to work with than Mike, he’s enormously generous spirit with a great sense of humor and what I think is his biggest attribute is that he has the ability to help people around him succeed,” he said. While Basinski and his colleagues may be passionate about poetry, most students don’t share the same love for the dying literature. The curator commented that students might not necessarily notice that they’re exposed to poetry in their everyday lives. “There’s an ad on TV right now, and its Walt Wittman and I just saw a movie that featured a poetic phrase,” Basinki said. “People’s access and what they consider poetry may be different than the stereotype of traditional poetry, it’s not all Shakespeare.” Basinski added his thoughts on making poetry a general requirement for students

Political news briefs

This week on the campaign trail SARAH CROWLEY ASST. NEWS EDITOR

Clinton email investigation reopened FBI Director James B. Comey informed the Congress on Oct. 28 about new emails found as part of the Anthony Weiner investigation, which could be signiﬁcant to the

Campus:

UB to celebrate Global Entrepreneur Week UB’s Blackstone LaunchPad and partners have planned over a dozen events to celebrate Global Entrepreneur Week. UB is celebrating a few days early, with events starting Nov. 7 until Nov. 18. Events include entrepreneurial workshops on topics like crowd-funding, intellectual property law and pitch making. The events are intended to help students and faculty network, learn more about other businesses and advance their own business ventures. Most events are open and free to the public, according to a UB news release. Distinguished lecture to address gun violence The 28th annual J. Warren Perry Distinguished lecture will take place on Nov. 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on South Campus in the Butler Auditorium, 150 Farber Hall. The lecture will discuss public health issues related to gun violence and will be presented by the School of Public Health and Health Professions (SPHHP), according to a UB news release. Sandro Galea, Robert A. Knox Professor and dean of the Boston University School of Public Health, will be giving the lecture. It is a free lecture and open to the public. UB Medical School prepares for fall 2017 move The Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences continues to be under con-

who need to fill an English requirement, saying it’d be a good idea but eventually students will naturally become interested in the topic again. “Sure, I think it’s a great idea, why not try to get more students involved. But you have to understand, it comes in waves. Most people’s readings are governed by pop-culture. At one particular time students’ interested will be peaked by one type of poetry and at other times it will be different,” Basinski said. Alison Fraser, a graduate student working in The Poetry Collection agreed with Basinski stating that while students may not be reading traditional poetry, they are exposed to it in their daily lives. “I think one of the more recent moves in our department is to redefine our expectation of what poetry is. Anything we look at we shouldn’t take for granted; the act of reading,” Fraser said. To honor the work that Basinski has published an accomplished for the university, his colleagues threw a retirement party for him with over 100 people in attendance and showcased his work in an exhibit within the Special Collections lobby. When asked what he wanted to do after his Hillary Clinton private server investigation, according to The Washington Post. In July, the FBI announced the investigation was completed. Comey criticized the Democratic presidential candidate and her aides for carelessness and poor judgment, but did not find them legally guilty of any wrongdoing. Comey’s recent letter has led some to believe the investigation is reopened, but the FBI still has to determine if the emails recently found are new or have already been reviewed. The Clinton campaign called Comey’s decision to announce this possibly irrelevant information “politically motivated.” This news could raise doubts for voters 11 days before the presidential election and voter trust a major issue for Clinton.

Trump throws supporter out of his rally, calls him a “thug” A crowd booed a black man out of a rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Kinston, N.C., according to The Washington Post. The man was actually a supporter and was trying to reach Trump to give him a hand-written note when Trump called attention to the man.

struction. The medical school, which is being built over an NFTA Metrorail station, “will align UB’s medical education, research and clinical care with the region’s hospitals and research partners,” according to a recent UB news release. Ceiling installations are expected to begin within one month, according to Jennifer A. Kuhn, medical school project manager. She expects the ceilings and inner atrium to be completed by the end 2016 or early 2017. The new medical school will be comprised of eight stories, according to the news release.

Locally:

SolarCity introduces new roofs that will largely operate in Buffalo Elon Musk, a billionaire entrepreneur, CEO of Tesla Motors and co-founder and chairman of SolarCity, a U.S. energy service provider, announced on Friday that SolarCity’s Buffalo solar power plant will play a big role in their next project, according to The Buffalo News. He wants to turn Tesla Motors into a solar-electric company. Tesla is designing four models of roofs that are expected to be made at SolarCity’s solar panel factory in South Buffalo when the plant opens next year. Lockport company to pay $140,000 for storage of deadly chemicals Twin Lakes Chemical Inc., a chemical manufacturer, had 32,000 pounds of deadly

COURTESY OF UB NEWS CENTER

(Left) Philip Kiernan, (right) Michael Basinski. Michael Basinski is retiring after 32 years as the curator of the poetry collection. In 2015 he was named the Director of the Special Collections and will maintain that title after his retirement.

retirement, Basinski commented that his life will remain mostly the same, focusing on expanding the collection, reading multiple books at a time and publishing his own poetry. “I don’t know what I’m going to do much differently from what I’m doing now,” he “We have a protester,” Trump said. “By the way, were you paid $1,500 to be a thug?” Trump has accused the Clinton campaign of planting protestors at his events. Security escorted the man out. The protester was identiﬁed as C.J. Carry, a North Carolina resident and a “life-long” Trump supporter. Carry said he was sad to be thrown out, but still plans to vote for Trump because of the candidate’s honesty.

Professor who has predicted 30 years of presidential elections doubles-down on Trump pick Allan J. Lichtman, a distinguished professor of history at American University, has correctly predicted the last 30 years of elections, according to The Washington Post. He uses a system of 13 true or false questions, which determine whether the party currently in power of the White House will lose or maintain their power. He has predicted the Democrats will lose the White House this year according to his system; but admits this year has the potential to radically change the basis of his system.

said. “Making what you want, reading what you want, I have two new grandchildren so that’s my administrative duty now.” email: max.kalnitz@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @mkalnitz

Clinton chairman criticizes FBI for publicizing new emails John Podesta, Hillary Clinton campaign chairman, spoke on CNN’s “State of the Union” to condemn the FBI’s recent announcement of their investigation into Clinton’s emails. Podesta said the FBI should have looked into the emails to see if there was anything substantial before announcing their discovery. He called on James Comey, FBI director, to explain his reasoning behind making this information public 11 days before the election, when it could have an effect on voters. “He might have taken the ﬁrst step of actually having looked at them before he did this in the middle of a presidential campaign, so close to the voting,” Podesta said. The Clinton campaign has said they believe Comey’s decision was political, according to CNN. President Barack Obama appointed the Republican director, so in theory he should not have a political bias. email: news@ubspectrum.com

phosgene gas at in Buffalo its Mill Street location when The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a recent inspection, according to The Buffalo News. Phosgene is used in manufacturing plastics and pesticides and is lethal as room temperature.

The video shows White calmly walking up to a line of passengers at a TSA checkpoint at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, according to CNN. He then sprayed wasp spray onto the passengers and police ofﬁcers. White was shot and killed by a lieutenant police ofﬁcer.

Transgender restroom case makes its way to Supreme Court The Supreme Court announced Friday that its justices will rule on a case involving transgender restrooms. A Virginia school board is preventing a transgender teenager from using the boys’ restroom at his high school. Gavin Grimm, 17, was born female but transitioned to male. Grimm was able to use the boys’ restroom at his high school for many weeks in 2014. When parents complained, the Gloucester County School Board made a new a policy, which required students to use the restrooms of their biological gender or single-stall restrooms. Grimm said the school’s policy violated Title IX, which is a federal law against sex discrimination in schools. If the Supreme Court rules in Grimm’s favor, it would effectively invalidate the North Carolina “bathroom law” and overturn the Texas judge’s decision, according to ABC News. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Gloucester County School Board, the North Carolina law and the Texas judge’s ruling will be upheld. Video footage of New Orleans machete rampage released The New Orleans Advocate released a video on Saturday which shows the ﬁrst moments of the March 2015 TSA airport machete attack. The machete-wielding man has been identiﬁed as Richard White, 63.

Globally:

Nationally:

Historic buildings destroyed in Italy’s third earthquake in four months A 6.6-magnitude earthquake shook Norcia, a small town in central Italy, on Oct. 30. Nobody was killed, but 20 people were injured, according to CNN. The same region was struck by a quake in August, which left 300 dead. Deaths were likely avoided in this case because prompt evacuation methods were recommended, according to CNN. The latest quake caused extensive damage to historical buildings and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said the repeated earthquakes are taking a toll, but promises all buildings will be rebuilt. ISIS uses human shields in fight for Mosul, Iraq In their ﬁght for the stronghold city of Mosul, Iraq, ISIS has captured thousands of families from around the city to use as human shields, according to CNN. The use of civilians as shields is considered a war crime under the Geneva Convention. It also requires the Iraqi and Kurdish soldiers to act more slowly and cautiously in attacking the city to protect the civilians. ISIS has created a deadly situation for civilians; they must either risk being killed by ISIS or in the ﬁght against ISIS. email: news@ubspectrum.com

FEATURES

Monday, October 31, 2016

THE SPECTRUM

STANDING AS A ROCK KENNETH KASHIF THOMAS SENIOR FEATURES EDITOR

Jodi Maracle spent four days protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline last month. In those few days, she saw police pepper spray protestors, babies go without food and water and helicopters flying high and low. Maracle, a Mohawk and a PhD student in American Studies, drove 26 hours each way from Buffalo to North Dakota for the protest with friends and family. First Nation groups and other activists have been protesting the construction of a crude-oil pipeline through the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. Maracle’s study focuses on Haudenosaunee, which means “People of the Longhouse” and is made up of the five Iroquois nations, who represent the largest part of the protests. Maracle had to restructure her classes and lesson plans for her brief trip, but came back with stories to share for a lifetime. “There’s always some kind of action going on against some energy company, either in the U.S., Canada or Mexico by indigenous people, this just so happens to be the most visible,” Maracle said. There are currently eight state police departments involved in the DAPL protests, along with FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs police and private security forces. “There’s tanks with snipers on top of them, there’s cell phone scramblers everywhere, there’s helicopters that fly low every night to rile up the horses and wake up the babies to create distress,” Maracle said. “They ripped people out of a sweat lodge at gunpoint and destroyed the sweat lodge, they threw elders to the ground.” In mid-September, UB had it’s own oncampus gathering where students and faculty protested the DAPL. Students like Samantha Ray, a freshman biomedical science major, say the protest is bigger than any one people involved in the protest. “We’re all indigenous and we are all one people, so we stand by each other in times of need,” Ray said. “If this contamination kills people or poisons people, then it’s basically my family that’s dying.” The DAPL is supposed to be finished by Thanksgiving and while construction has not delayed since the protests stop, protestors aren’t showing signs of letting up. If the protests are covered at all, some people think the storytelling isn’t objective. “You don’t hear much about [the protests] and the way the news covers it, they make it seem like its just people that are start-

UB professor’s firsthand experience at the DAPL protest

COURTESY OF FLICKR USER FIBONACCI BLUE

The DAPL protests have been going on since last April. With police and security forces becoming more militarized, Maracle said it’s become too dangerous for elders and children

ing trouble,” said Farah Yaasmeen Mohd Norhelmy, a senior communication major. “It’s frustrating and I’m frustrated for my teacher, but also the elders and children.” Maracle admits the dynamic between protesters and the state and federal government hasn’t always been this bad, but said recent militarization and the addition of security forces has caused relations to decay. The use of private security forces has raised many questions, both domestically and in war, such as in Iraq and Afghanistan. “The private security forces are the scariest of them all, they’re the ones that were responsible for the dog attacks and a child almost had her eye bit out by an attack dog,” Maracle said. “More recently, some private security guys opened ﬁre on 150 unarmed people in peaceful prayer with an AK-15.” Maracle says the BIA police arrested the private security forces involved, but they were released promptly. “When I was there, nobody was arrested, but people had went to pray at the site and

The Bestest choice PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TROY WACHALA

The Bestest app allows users to survey different groups of people on different topics and is available to anyone with a smartphone.

UB startup app makes for easier decision making EVAN GRISLEY FEATURES EDITOR

When Lalit Goel’s wife went shopping for glasses, she tried on dozens of pairs. All she wanted was to poll her friends to see which pair they thought looked best. That’s when Goel came up with the Bestest app.

The Bestest app allows users to survey different groups of people on different topics. Goel, serial entrepreneur and UB Alum, founded Bestest with the idea of creating a mobile app to get data and opinions from people to make both the simplest and hardest decisions, from which shoes to buy to which company logo is more publically appealing. The company started testing the app in September at UB and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Goel wants to make opinion research available to anyone with a smartphone. “We think this app is anywhere, anytime, with anyone. You can poll your friends, your family, voters or anyone.” Goel said. “It has a lot of different utility for everyone. We

the FBI closed in on everybody and for something like six or seven hours, nobody was arrested, but nobody could leave,” Maracle said. “So that’s intimidation of elders without food or water, babies without food or water.” Maracle also said cops grabbed protestors to pepper spray them if they didn’t stop singing or praying. There are also cases of excessive strip searches that have occurred at the jails. “These people are held in trucks and paddy wagons for like ten hours to go to a jail site that’s an hour and change away,” Maracle said. “Then they’re told they’re going to get strip searched, but they strip down and then they have to wait there naked. Usually it’s gender-binary ofﬁcers that do it, but I know the daughter of the woman that started the camp on the reserve, they made her squat and cough and rotated male ofﬁcers throughout the room.” While such occurrences aren’t illegal, Maracle explained they do show intended intimidation. She said protestors have also

been zip-tied and had hoods thrown over their heads. Protestors face adversity from not only law enforcement but also their environment. “When I was out there, there was a windstorm that knocked down all the tents and destroyed the kitchen, it also messed up medical stuff,” Maracle said. “The casino was nice and let anyone from the camp come in and eat at the buffet for free.” Maracle had to set up a system for how she would continue her class lessons and go to Standing Rock. Her students, like Norhelmy, didn’t mind the change in class function. “There was a lot of logistics since she was away, but it was important to hear what was happening,” Norhelmy said. “Her going there has been an eye-opener. I think it’s really sad that this much struggle has to be done for such a small change to happen.”

like to call it, for lack of better words, Instagram of polling.” Goel, along with Kelly Helmuth, chief operating officer for Ledgemoor Group LLC and Georgetown graduate, is currently working out of UB’s Technology Incubator located at Baird Research Park on Sweet Home Road. Goel and Helmuth are marketing to smaller demographics, like UB, to grow and edit the app as needed. When Goel researched other applications, he found nothing that offers an open interface to ask large or small groups opinionbased questions. Bestest offers functionality that is similar to Twitter or Facebook, but then goes steps further with specific demographic polling, and photo and text polling “Polling on Twitter and Facebook are so scarcely used and largely because of the groups, or lack thereof. I think the key is the groups,” Helmuth said. “If I’m looking for a software recommendation, I don’t want to poll everyone I know or in the universe. I care about the opinion of the people that are in that space or professionals. [Bestest] gives context to polling, rather than polling everyone at once.” Users can create small groups or poll all of their followers for answers. For example, if a student in a club on campus wants to go out to eat with the members of the club, but doesn’t know where, that student could poll that specific group on Bestest to see where they want to go to eat. In another case a student that is looking to change their profile picture could poll

a large demographic to see which photo should be their new proﬁle picture. The app limits the user to only four pictures per poll and four text options per poll. To cast a vote, users click and hold on the item they wish to vote on. Votes can also be changed once they are cast. Currently, Bestest allows users to see who voted on which items, but there will soon be an anonymous function for polling as well. Cynthia Shore, UB’s senior assistant dean of Alumni Engagement & External Relations, is meeting with Bestest next week. “Being able to query students and alumni using a cool new technology on anything from study abroad options to perceptions of the school, while simultaneous helping an alumni-owned startup is practically irresistible,” Shore said. The allure of being able to get public opinion offers both an entertainment front for any organization and also a great utility for businesses looking to do marketing research and collect data on products. “In the future, we will be advertising primary market research to everyone. Right now it’s the exclusive companies that have put together focus groups, so in the future you’ll be able to make speciﬁc psychographic and demographic polls,” Helmuth said. “[Bestest] is all about making better decisions for your life and in the case of the University making data driven decisions.” Bestest will be doing a special press release once they reach 10,000 downloads. The application is currently available in the App Store and on Google Play.

email: kenneth.thomas@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @KenUBSpec

email: evan.grisley@ubspectrum.com

SPORTS

Monday, October 31, 2016

THE SPECTRUM

The Rundown Football wins ﬁrst MAC game, men’s soccer goes 2-0 over the weekend THOMAS ZAFONTE STAFF WRITER

Football (2-6, 1-3 Mid Atlantic Conference) The Bulls pick up their first Mid-American Conference win on Thursday over Akron (5-4, 3-2 MAC). The Bulls beat the Zips 41-20 at UB Stadium to snap a four-game losing streak. Senior Running Back Jordan Johnson. Johnson had a program record 282 yards on the day on 24 attempts. He and freshman quarterback Tyree Jackson both had two rushing touchdowns in the game. Jackson was 7-21 with 140 yards, one touchdown and one interception throwing the ball. He also had 60 rushing yards. The Bulls next game will be an away game against the Ohio Bobcats(6-3, 4-1 MAC) on Thursday Nov. 3. The Bulls will be looking to keep up their winning ways while staying in bowl contention. Women’s soccer (7-8-5, 4-4-3 MAC) UB’s women’s soccer team’s season is over after a 1-0 loss to Central Michigan (15-2-3, 6-2-3 MAC) in the MAC quarterfinals at the CMU Soccer Complex. Buffalo was the six seed in the tournament. Seven graduating seniors played their final match. MAC-leading scorer Alexis Pelafas scored the game’s loan goal in just the third minute of the game. Buffalo did not have its first shot of the game until the 25th minute. Men’s soccer (11-3-2, 2-1-1 MAC) After a 1-0 win against Northern Illinois (1-10-4, 0-3-1 MAC) on Friday, the Bulls managed another 1-0 victory against Oral Roberts (6-9-2, 2-3 Summit) on Sunday. On Friday, the Bulls managed to take the

lead in the 17th minute when junior midfielder Tommy Fogarty-Cameron scored off a header. From there, the Bulls controlled most of the game, outshooting the Huskies 20-3. On Sunday, the Bulls took the lead early again in the 25th minute off a goal from senior forward Russell Cicerone. A much more contested game, the Bulls still out shot them 14-9. This win marked senior goalie Joseph Kuta’s 10th shutout of the season. The Bulls have now qualified for the MAC Tournament for the second consecutive season. They travel to play conference-leading Bowling Green (9-5-3, 2-0-2 MAC) on Friday with MAC Tournament seeding on the line. Men’s tennis (0-0) The Bulls played in the MAC Invite this weekend in Kalamazoo, MI. Sophomore Ethan Nittolo, junior Vidit Vaghela and freshman Vilhelm Fridell qualified for championship play. Vaghela claimed the Flight 3 Title with a win over Ludovico Cestarollo of Binghamton. The MAC Invitational concludes fall play for the team and their regular season begins in January. Volleyball (3-22, 2-10 MAC) The Bulls dropped back to back home games this weekend to Ohio (13-11, 9-3 MAC) and Kent State (13-2, 6-6 MAC). Even the Bulls recent victory was not enough to help with losing ways. On Friday against Ohio, the Bulls lost three sets to one in what was a contested game early with the Bulls winning the first set and coming up short in the second. The last two sets were not as competitive, as the Bulls went down 14-25 and 18-25. Ohio’s senior outside-hitter Mallory Salis recorded 16 kills off the Bulls with 41 total attempts. On Saturday, the Bulls lost 3-1 again to Kent State. Once again the Bulls started strong win-

EUN-JI ESTHER SONG, THE SPECTRUM | KAITLYIN FILIPPI, THE SPECTRUM

Julia Benati (left) dribbles up the field, Scout McLerran (middle) sets the ball, Daniel Cramarossa (right) takes a shot on goal.

ning the first set 25-16. But then they conceded the next three sets to Kent State (19-25, 1425, 19-25). Sophomore outside hitter Valisha Watkins had 18 total kills in the game. The Bulls will look to turn this rough season around in an upcoming home game against Akron (7-17, 2-10 MAC) on Thursday. Swimming and diving The Bulls traveled to Pittsburgh on Friday for a non-conference meet. This was the first official away meet for the Bulls this season and they had a strong showing. Sophomore Mason Miller had an impressive meet, he placed first in two individual events, while also getting first in the 200-meter Medley Relay. Junior Megan Burns also had a strong showing. She placed first in three different individual events. Their next meet is Friday where they will be hosting Akron at 5 p.m. Cross country The Bulls competed in the cross country MAC championships in Kent, OH this weekend. The men managed to have five top 30 spots with senior Barrett Kemp getting the seventh. The women only also had success at the event, getting three top 30 spots. The highest place came from freshman Stephanie Ward, who didn’t just get the best place on the team, but she also set the record

for highest place for a freshman at a MAC championship with 13th. The Bulls next event will be NCAA Northeast championship in Bronx, NY. Men’s & women’s basketball Despite their status as defending conference champions, neither Buffalo’s men’s or women’s basketball teams were chosen as the favorites to win the conference again this year, according to the preseason Coaches’ Poll. The men’s team, coming off back-toback conference championships, was chosen to ﬁnish third in the MAC East Division and received just two votes to win the MAC Tournament. Senior forward Blake Hamilton was voted as a member of the preseason All-MAC East Division team. The men’s poll was voted on by the 12 head coaches and a 24-member MAC News Media Panel. The women’s team was voted to ﬁnish second in the MAC East division and received just one vote to win the MAC Championship. Both senior guard Joanna Smith and junior guard Stephanie Reid were voted to the preseason All-MAC East Division team. The women’s poll was voted on by the MAC’s 12 head coaches. email: sports@ubspectrum.com

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THE SPECTRUM

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8Buffalo hockey Monday, October 31, 2016

SPORTS THE SPECTRUM

wins rivalry night, looks ahead Bulls look to win NECHL DANIEL PETRUCCELLI STAFF WRITER

After coming up short three times last season, the Buffalo Bulls (5-5, 2-0 NECHL) men’s hockey team toppled rival Niagara Purple Eagles (2-8, 2-1 NECHL), 4-2 on Friday night in their first attempt this season. Buffalo is now .500 in the midst of a threegame win streak. They are undefeated in two league games and look to capitalize off the momentum after beating their NECHL rival. Buffalo kept the momentum from Friday when they beat Indiana University of Pennsylvania 5-1 on Saturday. Although IUP is not an NECHL team, the confidence boost is still a big help to the team. “It’s definitely a pivot point,” said forward Eric Szczecinski. “It seems like the first couple games of the season we started out a little bit slow but especially after today’s win, we’re really on the upbeat for the rest of the season.” Buffalo’s starting line, that includes Szczecinski, forward Eric Paradowski and for-

ward Brad Tardif all played well against Niagara. Szczecinski had two goals of his own as well as an assist on one of Tardif ’s goals. The pairing of Szczecinski and Tardif is a new combo for the team, but may be an important part of the rotation moving forward. “Oh yeah, me and [Szczecinski], just something that was thrown together last week,” Tardif said. “My first week playing with him and yeah we were just working real well down in the corners, he’d cycle to me, I’d cycle to him. There was kind of pinching on us low so it was leaving the guy in the slot wide open and it was just working… the chemistry was just there tonight.” Tardif certainly did his part to ensure the Bulls would get the win and finished Friday night with four points, two goals and two assists. His highlight of the night was a shorthanded goal that came after he intercepted a pass between Niagara defensemen and took it the length of the ice before decking out the goalie and finishing. But the team has no shortage of confi-

SPECTRUM FILE PHOTO

UB’s hockey team poses for a picture after winning the NCHA Championship last year.

dence and has high expectations moving forward in the conference. “The rest of conference play, we wanna win every game,” Tardif said Friday. “Today was definitely a good benchmark for our play… so it was kind of tough to judge where we’d be in the league, but coming out beating Niagara here tonight at home was definitely good, we’re feeling real good about it.” Their next NECHL test comes when they visit the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers (3-3-1, 3-1-0 NECHL). They will continue to try and hit teams hard and fast. “We’ve been running three lines the first five minutes of the game, trying to set a tone and then going to our four line rotation,” said Buffalo head coach Jeremy Kersten. “It’s great to see that each line in contributing, it’s good that we’re not relying on one line to score goals.” While Buffalo has a positive outlook for

the rest of the season, they know things are only getting started. Niagara has competed in the last four conference championship games and with Syracuse being the defending champs, every game will count for the Bulls. Coach Kersten has already turned his focus to the next time around with Niagara. “It tends to come down to us, Niagara and Syracuse,” Kersten said. “And even though it was a two-goal game… three years ago we didn’t go to nationals because we scored one less goal then Syracuse. We beat them 3-2, they beat us 3-1… The next game’s the more important game… We gotta play Niagara again, if they win by three, this means nothing.” The Bulls host the Utah Utes (6-5) Friday night at the Northtown Center. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. email: sports@ubspectrum.com

The Akron win, the next four weeks and the future of UB football With four games left, questions remain about head coach Lance Leipold and his staff

MICHAEL AKELSON SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR

This Thursday at UB Stadium, we saw something out of UB’s football team that we hadn’t seen in weeks: fight. Coming into Thursday as a 17.5-point home underdog against a good Akron team (5-4, 3-2 Mid-American Conference), Buffalo played their best game of the season, not only scoring an upset win, but doing it in dominating fashion. There was nothing fluky about Buffalo’s 41-20 win, which culminated with a near-perfect 21-point fourthquarter from UB in which they stepped straight on Akron’s throat and put the game away, as well-coached teams often do. It was a stark reminder that this UB football team, despite it’s 2-6 record and string of blowout losses, still has a lot of talent, and when that talent is coached up properly, this team is more dangerous than its record would indicate. However, coaching has been a big question mark for UB this season. Head coach Lance Leipold and his staff, specifically offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki, have disappointed mightily in their second year, raising questions about the future of UB’s football program. Over the next two months, UB Athletic Director Allen Greene will face the most difficult decision of his short tenure: Was this disappointing season just a blip in the radar for Leipold as he transitions the program into a new era, or is Leipold and his staff of Division-III legends simply overmatched at the Division-I level? Before Thursday, UB had come out of the locker room seemingly lifeless week after week, falling behind early in games, something that reflects poorly on Leipold and his staff. They have played nearly the entirety of their season from behind, which has taken its toll on their defensive front seven and freshman quarterback. The slow starts are not all Leipold’s fault, but you can’t expect to win consistently when you’re constantly

trying to come from behind. Leipold and his staff have not put their players in position to succeed early in games, even if execution has also often been poor. Finally on Thursday, we got to see what it looks like when Buffalo gets to play with the lead for an extended period of time, and it looked good: a run-heavy offense led by senior running back Jordan Johnson with a few screen passes and downfield shots mixed in, and a bend-don’t-break defense that can keep points off the board. It makes you wonder whether this season could have gone very differently if not for a few unlucky breaks here or there. But that’s football, and Leipold should not get a pass for his team’s record. Johnson was sensational Thursday, setting a new program record with 282 rushing yards. It has been a somewhat disappointing senior year for Johnson, who has been a victim of circumstance in this disastrous UB season, but if nothing else, he finally got his trademark moment. Freshman quarterback Tyree Jackson was just 7-21 for 140 yards with a touchdown and interception throwing the ball, but was at his best when Buffalo needed him most. He made a huge play early in the fourth quarter, tucking the ball in and running for a 38-yard touchdown to make the score 2713 after an Akron field goal had cut Buffalo’s lead to just seven points. He also led a five-play, 50 yard field goal drive in just 26 seconds right before halftime, making it a two possession game and halting Akron’s momentum after senior receiver JoJo Natson returned a punt 67 yards to the house with just 32 seconds remaining in the half. These are the big-time moments Buffalo has been hoping for out of Jackson all season. His freshman year has not always been great, but he has been plagued by questionable play calling, poor offensive line play, not having a single reliable wide receiver and other issues outside of his control. As Leipold said after the game, he still continues to look unfazed by adversity or failure. He has looked comfortable in the pivotal moments of game. It will come together for Jackson soon enough, and he will be a special player. Defensively, Buffalo was finally able to slow down an opponent’s running game, allowing Akron just 3.0 yards per carry on 42 attempts. Running quarterbacks and readoption plays remain UB’s Achilles heel de-

fensively and I’m not sure Thursday’s win changes that. Leipold’s comments after the game certainly didn’t inspire confidence by saying he felt the run defense was more successful Thursday because “[Akron] didn’t run the quarterback.” With third-string sophomore cornerback Tatum Slack starting in place of injured senior Boise Ross and sophomore Brandon Williams, the secondary also aced arguably its biggest test of the season against Akron’s explosive passing game. Still, with the team sitting at 2-6 with several extremely ugly losses, Leipold and his staff are still coaching with their backs against the wall. There has been no official indication that Greene – who has yet to fire a single coach or have a coach resign in his 11 months as athletic director – is considering cutting ties with Leipold, but there’s no question he’s taking a long look at the struggling coaching staff of his most important and expensive program. No college football program ever wants to fire a head coach after just two seasons. After all, Leipold is still coaching a team filled with a lot of players he did not recruit. It can also be frustrating for older players to adjust to a new vision for a program, specifically when that vision may push the timetable for success back far enough that they won’t be around to see it. Many players, including former All-MAC linebacker Brandon Berry, have quit the team or decided to transfer out of the program over the past several months, a trend that also might speak volumes about how players feel about Leipold. There is a ton of young talent on the roster that Leipold has brought to Buffalo, and if Greene decides to cut ties with Leipold before we even have a chance to see what he could do with it, it would say a lot about his capabilities as a coach and leader at this level. Firing Leipold would be an admission of massive failure by the Athletics department, and mid-level football programs don’t have much room for error. Jackson has superstar potential at quarterback in the MAC. Sophomore running back Jonathan Hawkins is one of the most highly-touted recruits to ever choose UB, and appears poised to take the keys from Johnson after this season. Freshman receiver KJ Osborn has shown flashes of big-time potential in practice and seems to be developing rapport with Jackson, something that

could pay big dividends as soon as next season. Defensively, sophomore linebacker Khalil Hodge has already taken over play calling duties as the MIKE linebacker and looks like a future All-MAC linebacker. All these players committed to play for Buffalo knowing Leipold would be their coach, even if former head coach Jeff Quinn played a part in the recruiting some of them, most notably Jackson, who originally had committed to Quinn. There is no telling that any of them would definitely stay if the program were to cut ties with Leipold after only two seasons. It certainly doesn’t send a great message about the direction of your program when you invest so much in a coach, as Buffalo did by bringing in not just Leipold, but his entire Division-III coaching staff, and then give up on them only two years later. However, it’s fair to wonder whether Leipold will ever be a good D-I coach after what has happened this season. If Greene feels the same way, it would be worth any possible repercussions to get rid of him and start over again before further damage is done. Coming into the home stretch of the season, Buffalo is a 2-6 football team without much to play for. They are just one more loss away from being officially eliminated from Bowl Game eligibility. You can tell a lot about a team’s players by watching how they approach practices and games when there’s nothing more than pride on the line. And in these situations, that effort and fight, reflects tenfold on the coach. Thursday’s game against Akron may turn out to be a fluke. It also may turn out to be the start of a four-week stretch of a team rallying around their coach when they know they might be playing for his job. Greene will surely be watching closely over these next few weeks. If the resilience that was on display against Akron carries over into the next four weeks, Leipold may deserve another year to prove himself. If not, UB will be exactly where it was two years ago – looking for a savior for their program. With all of their recent success in other sports, Buffalo will not be able to create a consistently decent football program until they find the right coach. Is it Leipold? It doesn’t look like it, but he has four more weeks to prove us wrong. email: michael.akelson@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @mikeakelson