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Columns

lisad

Looking forward to looking back

When I was a freshman, a very important friend of mine who was graduating wrote me a letter before she left.

It detailed the ins and outs of college and gave insight on how to navigate through the highs and lows I’d inevitably face. She stressed the notions of spending time with friends and of truly making the most of every second as it passed.

To be completely honest, I didn’t appreciate it when I read it then. 

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aaro

What is a goodbye?

There is one sentence I have seen begin articles more than any other in my two years as an editor: “It’s that time of year again.”

Aside from the repetition, there is a greater reason I dislike that sentence: While it carries connotations of hope (the start of the school year, the first snowfall of cheery Christmastime), it holds just as many negative implications – such as the end of the school year, the time we say goodbye to a class of seniors who have changed us tremendously and left their mark irrevocably.

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brock

Back to Brooklyn

I was going to start by saying, “Writing gave me a voice,”but that’s a cliché. If these past four years have taught me anything, it’s that I hate those damn clichés.

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becky

And then I found $5

It was early March, the first day of spring break, and we sat in my car in a nice New Jersey suburb, waiting for the last bus to New York City. It was close to midnight, and we had driven over eight hours to get there, barely having enough time to stop at Sara’s aunt’s house to use the bathroom and stretch our legs.

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meg

Hockey brought me home

Looking back on my time at UB, I can only think of who I was when I walked in and who I am today. Reflecting on the biggest transition of my life, I realize that my toes grace the precipice of what might be an even more risky and encompassing decision. 

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elva

Siguen luchando

Keep grindin’

Finally.

After years of what college students deem “the struggle,” it is finally all over.

My undergraduate years haven’t been easy, but in retrospect, the ability to become as self-sufficient as I am today is a blessing.

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lyzi

Sex, Drugs and Star Wars

Most people tell you to make mistakes. Few tell you why.

You’re going to embarrass yourself. You’re going to want to bury your head in the sand. Your cheeks will burn when you see certain people. You’ll avoid certain places and it will feel like the world is out to get you. Then time will pass – minutes, hours, maybe months – and then you’ll laugh.

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alexa

Fare-thee-well

In my three years working for The Spectrum, I have seen it all.

I’ve seen crowds of people fight for a cause, spectacular feats of athleticism, beautiful performances and people drenched in mud. I have seen everyone from authors to first ladies and everything from scandals to celebrations.

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markus

What up, Carlos?

You’re praying to the porcelain gods and getting cozy on the bathroom floor all morning. Your headache is pounding through the front of your skull and your stomach is twisting and turning as you go for a roller coaster ride on your couch. And you aren’t even going to go outside today because it’s way too bright.

I’ve been there. We all have. 

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Editorials

“A heightened sensitivity for the promises of life”

Lessons Gatsby can teach us for the upcoming summer

As the upcoming movie release of The Great Gatsby reinserts the story back into the forefront of our minds, it is useful to think about what it says about the meaning of summertime – what it can and should do for our lives as college students.

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Can a presidential library earn a ‘W?’

Bush’s new library attempt to reshape history

Presidential libraries present an interesting opportunity for former presidents. They are able to construct their own shrines and facilitate a way for their presidencies and legacies to be reconsidered.

On Thursday, George W. Bush opened his new library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. In his address during its dedication, Bill Clinton shared with the crowd what he told President Barack Obama prior to the ceremony – that the library was “the latest, grandest example of the eternal struggle of former presidents to rewrite history.”

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Moving forward across the border

New immigrant stipulations are step in right direction

Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee began conducting hearings over the near-850-page bill drafted by a bipartisan group of eight senators designed to overhaul the immigration system.

The most important element of the bill that we want to see the Senate embrace is a systematic approach of providing immigrants a pathway to citizenship. The new bill includes implementing new border security measures and a national government program that verifies the legal status of new workers. 

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Mo money, mo problems

If stipend cuts are being made, SA E-board should take a hit, too

The SA budget for next year was announced Wednesday night at the Senate meeting. It includes the total student stipend portion of the budget being reduced from $255,450 to $181,000. Meanwhile, the individual stipends for president, vice president and treasurer will remain at $12,000 per academic year. 

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Can Weiner be a winner?

NYC residents should give disgraced former congressman a chance

In a lengthy profile in The New York Times Magazine, published online on April 10, Weiner expressed that “it’s now or maybe never for me.” He indicated that he would like to ask for a second chance as he has begun mounting the opportunity for a Clintonian comeback.

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All the small things

Surprises let us know he cares

In a recent poll conducted by The Spectrum, 82 percent of 700 students expressed they didn’t feel President Satish Tripathi’s presence on campus. The problem that polls often have is they don’t include definitional variations that can affect one’s understanding of the issues presented. The meaning of ‘presence’ in the poll we refer to above demonstrates that very problem.  

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Letters to the Editor

ali

Letter to the Editor

A heartfelt thank you and goodbye to some much-deserving people

It’s that time of the year again. Everyone is scrambling to finish their work, write their papers or to do their exams. We are lost in our own thoughts of not only our own classes, but the summer up ahead. What do I do? Where do I go? The summer haze and the mad dash at the last week of classes begin. But there is one thing we often overlook while we are wrapped in our own thoughts, and that’s how much some people have done for us, whom we may never have known or met.

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Letter to the Editor

The abortion debate in the United States is unique for its vitriol and polarity.

One side is a bunch of misogynist, anti-women bigots, the other a bunch of child murdering libertines.

While there is no agreement on which side is right, perhaps we can all agree that the most vocal and politically active proponents of each side--which also coincides neatly with their political affiliation--are, generally speaking, wildly hypocritical.

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Letter to the Editor

What should have been a beautiful Monday was marred by many things – tracking down friends in Boston, watching news coverage and having my morning framed by an offensive form of free speech. Anti-abortion protestors set up large billboards outside the Student Union on Monday and Tuesday featuring graphic medical images, suggestions that abortion is genocide and numbers where one can call to have a disingenuous conversation with an anti-abortion advocate about your abortion or unplanned pregnancy. That they were there on Tuesday is particularly galling given the situation in Boston, as they attempt to juxtapose their message against real terror, destruction and heartache.

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Letter to the Editor

Dear Spectrum: We are writing to condemn the message of the anti-abortion protest that took place outside the Commons this week. In particular, we are disturbed by the equation of those who support women’s reproductive rights with those who lynched thousands of African American men and women in the 19th and 20th centuries. We do not condemn the protest itself; in fact, we believe that the right to peaceably assemble is one of the foundational rights of American citizenship. However, as historians, we feel it is imperative to speak out against this crass, uninformed and dangerous misuse of history.

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Letter to the Editor

Abortion. Let’s be clear: whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, abortion is not regarded as a positive experience, it is not enjoyable or looked forward to, and it is not, not, not an easy decision to make.

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Letter to the Editor

What happened to you?

College application essays – we all had to do them. Some of us did them a few years back, while freshmen did so just a year ago, and students applying to grad school are currently in a similar process all over again. Go search your hard drive to see if you still have some of these essays and read them over. Have you forgotten how you did Model U.N. your freshman year or that you used to tutor elementary kids? What else did you say on these applications? “I want to make the world a better place,” “I am looking forward to studying abroad,” “I want to volunteer.” Sound familiar? Everyone wrote things like this; we all wanted to sound like the perfect candidate for whatever college we were applying to, whether it was UB or not. 

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Letter to the Editor

The wars at home: Sorting through the University Heights nightmare

Regardless of what any of the higher-ups at UB may pathetically claim, it is proverbial knowledge that the University Heights is no picnic. Let’s just make that clear from the get-go. Satish Tripathi, Dennis Black, Steven Dunnett, even Christ himself could say otherwise, and it would not make it so.

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Letter to the Editor

Congratulations to Lisa Khoury for her well-researched, well-written Feb. 25, 2013 article on the University Heights. She is to be commended for her passion, conviction and activism regarding this issue. There are some inaccuracies in her reporting, however, so I am writing to clarify a few points, particularly with respect to international students, whom my office serves. In addition, coverage of the University’s significant efforts to address problems in University Heights has been incomplete so I am writing in that regard as well. 

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Recent Comments

  • Northside, Mojo’s, The Steer? Oh my!
    well mojos and northside both got shut down...its gonna be interesting to see what the nightlife scene is going to be next semester
    posted by: Anonymous
  • Case dropped against professor arrested for protesting anti-abortion display
    Paragraph 4, line 1: "Curry used the •work• "f***" repeatedly and told University Police,"

    Besides the point college newspapers do not indulge in sophisticated nor proper logomachy, development of at least certain circulated publication ensures a rather intellectual public display of niche writers.

    posted by: Anonymous
  • You Can Go to War, But Can’t Drink Alcohol
    the age should be 19 that way you r at least out of high school.
    posted by: me myself and i
  • Landlord responds to negative publicity
    He also doesn't welcome his tenants to his place of business; his house. My roommates tried to pay him a visit because he refuses to answer phone calls..he yelled at them and said their banging on his door was a disturbance to his television viewing. He is awful.
    posted by: Anonymous
  • The Secret Genius of Ke$ha
    I enjoy her music, it makes me feel like a dumb kid, it gets rid of my stress. Her music is not necessarily bad.
    posted by: Anonymous
  • Letter to the Editor
    One need only contact Ayesha Kreutz of the Frederick Douglass Foundation Of New York (www.FDFNY.org) to get the real story of US politicians and religious leaders sharing information on how to deal with freed negroes.
    UB needs more oversight of their faculty adhering to "Core Learning Outcomes for the UB Student", rather than bringing peaceful student protesters up on charges.
    posted by: UB GRAD
  • Why Put a Bumper Sticker on a Ferrari?
    I think this is stupid. Why don't you write an article about how you should embrace who you are and love yourself? This just sounds like an an angry, judge mental article that fuels the hate that is already too common anyway. If you don't like tattoos than don't get tattoos.You ask why put a bumper sticker on a Ferrari? BECAUSE I LIKE BUMPER STICKERS! Why don't you tell people to accept their bodies and embrace themselves instead of trying to put everyone in one category? Women are beautiful, so are men. Humans are beautiful. All of us, and if we all loved ourselves and loved others for being themselves maybe we would live in a better world. Tell people that weight isn't everything and help someone who is anorexic. Tell someone that we all matter and give them a reason to not self harm. Tell someone that being healthy is worth the struggle so they can help fight their addiction. Don't tell people that how they express themselves is wrong. Shame on you.
    posted by: Anonymous
  • Smoking incident causes fire in Spaulding 1
    It WAS NOT a smoking incident. That's a nice safe story for parents though so we'll stick with that.
    posted by: Anonymous
  • King Wizard’s return to rap
    Gambino isn't taking a shot at Cudi, listen to the music.
    posted by: Anonymous
  • Procrastination medication
    I guess this means the Spectrum is in the business of exploiting dumbass college kids who don't understand that employers will search google for their names and see this? All in the name of a dope story.
    posted by: Anonymous

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