Use the fields below to perform an advanced search of The Spectrum's archives. This will return articles, images, and multimedia relevant to your query.
32 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
The Student Association controls $4.1 million of student funds. In the past five years, its leaders have been the source of five major scandals.
Two former Spectrum editors are being nationally recognized for articles written in UB's student-run newspaper last school year.
ORLANDO, Fla. – Two articles written last semester by then-Spectrum Editor in Chief Andrew Wiktor and Investigative Reporter Amanda Jonas won national awards last week at the 90th annual National College Media Convention.
Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) is the National Scholastic Press Association. It provides journalism education training programs and publishes journalism education materials.
As I am leaving UB and entering the next phase of my life, I feel like this is the perfect opportunity to admit to a few things and apologize to the appropriate people, because frankly, it's too late now for the university to stop me from graduating, and I could use a little good karma.
Dear Editor:
In Governor Cuomo's proposed budget, $20 to $22 million is projected to be cut from the University at Buffalo this upcoming academic year. This is in addition to the $60 million that has already been cut from UB since 2008, which amounted to 30 percent of the total funding to the university.
The construction of the new University Honors College within Capen Library is expected to be finished by June 1, and the modern addition will bring an update to Capen Library.
Jeremy Jacobs issued a letter to update members of the UB community on the search for UB's 15th president on Jan. 20.
Americans are eating themselves to death, and cable television is inviting us to watch.
I was homeschooled until high school. Insert a joke about being Amish and/or inbred here.
According to the results of a recent UB experiment, the future of the ocean's coral reefs is uncertain, and the beauty of the ocean floor is not the only thing in danger.
Thursday night, Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, and Mary Matalin, Republican political strategist and CNN contributor, graced Alumni Arena's stage for UB's first Distinguished Speaker Series event of the 2010-11 school year.
My name is Jennifer Lewis, and I am a graduating senior at UB. This school year, I have served as one of your elected student delegates to the SUNY Student Assembly. In this final issue of The Spectrum, I wanted to tell you about what my experience has been like as a UB student.
Remember before Facebook, Twitter, Formspring and blogging, when people had these things made of paper where they wrote about their feelings? And then after they wrote in them, they hid these paper things that they used to call journals or diaries, and then no one else ever had to hear about or see them? Well, I miss those days. I never had a journal per se, although every now and then I would pull out a diary someone had bought me and scribble down something pathetic, emotional or sappy, and then hurriedly put the diary back in its hiding place, relieved that I had gotten whatever it was off my chest. I feel that this was a rather harmless habit, since I was able to express what I was feeling, no matter how trivial or embarrassing, without forcing anyone else to know about it. Gone are those days. Gone are the days where if you were having a bad day, you kept it to yourself or your immediate circle of friends. The new outlet appears to be a sort of cyber therapy – like group therapy, except none of us are actually willing to participate. I don't exactly remember what the first Facebook looked like, since it has undergone more facelifts than Heidi Montag. But I do remember when statuses were all formatted something like: "Amanda Jonas is…" and then you would usually add something trivial like "going for ice cream" or "doing homework." I also remember the days when you wrote on someone's wall to invite him or her to hangout, or wish a happy birthday. That was when Facebook was friendlier, less obnoxious and less of a confessional. I am so sick of people using Facebook as an outlet for every emotion that they have ever felt in their entire lives. Yeah, I am guilty of n "FML" status and maybe I will occasionally post something sentimental. But I am talking about the big time offenders, the people we all know who use Facebook as a means of pouring out their souls to hundreds of people who really don't care. I am friends with this one girl who graduated a year after I did from my high school. Every day, my newsfeed is ravaged by countless statuses about how she has no friends, is always screwed over by boys and how she is never going to meet a boy who truly sees how great she is. I wish I could tell her to take that Leona Lewis "Bleeding Love" crap and stick it where the sun don't shine. My friend and I will sometimes look at her wall-to-walls with various people where she, in a public forum open to all her Facebook friends, complains about every facet of her life in grave detail – names, dates and painful paragraphs. This girl is not alone. I also judge people who throw significant others under the bus with pointed statuses, people who participate in those idiotic surveys like, "Who was the last person you cuddled?" (no one cares), and people who write sappy crap on each other's walls: "My dear sweet noble knight, how I love thee! Sincerely, lowly maiden," (actual wall post that made me want to vomit). If you have a lot of feelings, that's great – just keep them to yourself. Tell your mom or instant message your best friend, because the rest of us, honestly, couldn't care less. Plain and simple. E-mail: asjonas@buffalo.edu
To the editor, I would like to start off by congratulating the Student Alliance on their near sweep of the recent SA election. I know that each and every one of the candidates and supporters worked with the utmost diligence and dedication to secure the victory that they are celebrating today. I would also like to take this chance to thank all the members of the ONE Party, all our supporters and all family and friends that helped us give this election our best shot. Without all your undying support, reassurance and assistance what we accomplished would not have been possible. It was reported in The Spectrum that I was unsure about how to handle my election. It is no surprise to anyone that this election was clouded in controversy, tainted with personal attacks and frustrated with many incidents of immaturity. As someone who has run in two previous SA elections, for both SA Senate and SA Delegate, I can say without the slightest hesitation that this was the most difficult election I have ever participated in. No one runs in an election expecting to have ones reputation called into question, have friends turn into adversaries or to have to deal with a system where personal attacks trump political debate. Given the nature of this election, and the fact that I feel the new election rules were not without flaw, I feel that no one can blame my initial lack of enthusiasm over my election in light of my parties loss. While I refuse to ascribe blame to any particular body, party or governing entity, I feel that the SA election process needs to be reassessed to guarantee ultimate equality and fairness in elections. Yet regardless of the results, I still stand behind my friends and running mates and maintain their strong qualifications for the positions they ran for. However, despite all of this, I was elected by the student body as a SUNY Delegate to represent the students at UB to whom I feel I owe a responsibility that supersedes party lines. I care too deeply about the student's interests and rights to be dissuaded from serving them to my fullest potential. I called my father after the election results were announced, and he told me that his daughter is not a quitter. And indeed I am not. That is why, I wish to thank all those that voted in this election and extend my earnest desire to the new SA executive board that we can work together in the upcoming school year to improve the lives of students and hopefully mend the divisions that this election caused. I told The Spectrum during endorsements that in the end it's simply about the students and I stand by that today. I intend to hold this position with as must enthusiasm and passion as I held it this year and I promise to, no matter what other office or capacity I serve in, to always consider the students at UB at the top of my priorities Sincerely, Amanda Jonas SUNY Delegate asjonas@buffalo.edu
After a week of cutthroat campaigning, the results are finally in, favoring, for the most part, the Student Alliance. Nischal Vasant, with vice president Shervin Stoney, led the polls with 1,153 votes, beating the ONE Party by 200 votes. The Slice Party received 187 votes. Vasant is the first international student to ever be elected Student Association president. "[This is] insane; I feel like I'm representing a whole different world," Vasant said. "I feel like I will be the change I want to see in SA." Taking the treasurer position for the Student Alliance was Antonio Roman with 1,210 votes, beating ONE Party candidate Ryan Linden by 354 votes. Also winning for the party was Amanda Horn with 1,062 votes, Franklin Ramirez with 982 and Marcus Catlin with 942. "I feel the [win] was deserved; I feel the party that worked the hardest won," said Ernesto Alvarado, current SA president. "Both [parties] came from my administration, so I was happy with either win. I can't wait to see what kind of stuff they do for next year." For Vasant, the next step is to relax and get life back to normal after weeks of campaigning, then start worrying about next year. "First, I have to surround myself with people who [I] can trust, that do the job they want to," Vasant said. "I want to make sure that we deliver in every promise that we've made. We're going to print out the platform, paste it up somewhere and check mark everything that we accomplish on there." After three days of intense campaigning, political drama and adjusting to new rules, Vasant was thankful for his supporters and all who turned out to vote. "It's been an insane amount of stress," Vasant said. "I've seen four elections now [and] I've never seen an election like this. It's just been crazy. I cannot say how much I thank everyone who supported me, to give me the opportunity to make this the organization that it can be and to reach its potential because that's all I want to do from the very beginning." Roman was surprised at the win since, according to him, people said the party wouldn't be able to get to this point in the race, and they would never win on honesty and loyalty. "We were worried 'til the very end," Roman said. "We said we would fight every day like we were losing and wouldn't take anything for granted, and we didn't and this is the result of it. Everyone sees the hard work that we've done throughout the years and with that, they had the confidence to elect us to be their officials next year." Amanda Jonas of the ONE Party was the only non-Student Alliance member to win a delegate seat, receiving 960 votes. The position was not met with enthusiasm. Immediately after the announcement, Jonas verbally announced she wanted to decline the position to chair of the Elections and Credentials Committee, Joshua Boston. However, as of press time, Jonas is rethinking her decision. She must provide her decision in writing for it to become official. Among the reasons Jonas has debated to drop out was the change to rules in the election procedure. "I think the new rules showed us a lot of things," Boston said. "There are things that worked and things that didn't work. The involvement of the SWJ is very … it's important, you have to have some sort of court oversight." The turnout for the election was not record-breaking, but over 2,200 students showed up to the polls. "I think it was an excellent turnout," Boston said. "We had it in the theater. This was the first regular election, to my understanding, that was held in the theater. Students have free range around the [Student Union], around campus, so students are getting the information that they need to go to the polls and vote." E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
In a fast and furious three-day election cycle, the 2,293 votes have been counted and tallied. The results are in: The Student Alliance party won every position in this year's Student Association election except one. Congratulations. Sadly, this campaign has left a terrible taste in the student body's mouths. There have been enough rumors and allegations to make a new reality television show for MTV. To the winners: remember that your job as elected officials is to serve the student body. Advocate for them. Really care about every student's issues. Accomplishing only one issue on your party's platform is simply not enough. The students of this school deserve a better, more transparent and responsible student government. Incoming president Nischal Vasant and vice president Shervin Stoney – follow through on your campaign promises. All of them. Expanding the involvement of SA's clubs is also a must. Holding mandatory club fairs is the best way to have clubs interact with the student population. Never forget that SA represents all students. Increase transparency within SA. Continue to push for better connections with students living the dorms and commuter students. Foster a better relationship between the student body and athletes on campus. There are so many issues that need attention and not enough space to list them here. Leave the actions of the campaign in the past. Focusing on them will only further alienate the masses from the SA. To all involved with the organization – first and foremost, review the election rules. Close the holes in them and eliminate any potential gray areas. A more streamlined process is a must. The penalties for campaign violations must be laid out in a clear, conscience manner. Work with the Election and Credentials committee to better restructure the rules that govern elections. Clearly, the events of the previous three days have shown the limitations of the system in place. It is a brand new system that needs to be addressed. Work with the Student-Wide Judiciary to minimize miscommunication of the rulings by the E&C committee and candidates during the process. In the future, any and all cases filed must be heard and ruled on in the same day, given the time constraints of the election period. Never should a chief justice go home with a full plate on the table. The SWJ needs to have more transparency as well. A clear line of logic must be established for the penalties handed out. The SWJ was easily in over its head in handling the sheer amount of cases. The process needs adjustment. Antonio Roman, as treasurer, it is imperative to follow through on your promises as well. Increase description in the SA operating budget, as well as transparency for the organization as a whole. Make it easily accessible through the SA Web site in a user-friendly model. Currently, it is far too confusing to access. As for the delegates, Amanda Horn, Franklin Ramirez, Amanda Jonas and Marcus Catlin – work tirelessly in advocating for the improvement of the SUNY system as a whole. With that being said, Jonas has verbalized the decision to not take the office. However, nothing is official in that a vacancy for the position must be submitted in writing. There is no doubt that the events of this campaign will have effects that will ripple through this community for a long time. But one question remains. Will the student population further be disillusioned by this week's events? Only time will tell. All those elected must be ready to work hard and endlessly for the overall student population. So many on this campus are fed up with SA and its actions. SA is in need of some major changes and needs a facelift after recent events have clouded the student organization. Hopefully, this coalition government can bring the necessary changes.
While the Student Association office was packed Thursday night with the Student Alliance, S.L.I.C.E. Party, independent candidates and supportive students, Jordan Fried waited patiently in his home for a call with the election results. On his 21st birthday, the ONE Party presidential candidate and current SA treasurer was surrounded by family, friends and fellow candidates Amanda Jonas and Jennifer Harb. "The reason we [were] at my house is because Passover is next week, my family is in town and [Thursday was] my birthday," Fried said. Refusing to watch the results on The Spectrum's live feed, Fried received news that the Student Alliance had won the majority of positions for the upcoming year, with the exception of Jonas's victory as a SUNY delegate. Fried addressed the outcome of the election as a victory. "I'm still calling this a victory party," Fried said. "I don't feel that we lost. We tried our best; we got our message out there. It was a tough election … but we have the results and there's not too much to be upset about if this is what the students wanted." While Fried seemed at ease with the results, Jonas, who gained the only victory for the ONE Party, was indecisive as to how to handle her victory in the wake of her friends' losses. "It's an honor that I was elected, but it's my firm belief that I ran with this party and I ran because of these [ONE Party] candidates," Jonas said. Jonas felt that the decisions made by the Student-Wide Judiciary during the election process were unfair and could have been more impartial. "The nature of the election disinterested me from the position," Jonas said as she considered whether or not she would accept the SUNY delegate position. Election week was overwhelmingly filled with allegations against the ONE Party. The party was reprimanded for allegedly leaving out necessary information from its preliminary expenditure report and utilizing SA resources by using images of SA materials in campaign material. Jonas, who was seeking re-election, was also accused of bribery. The penalties decided upon by the SWJ resulted in suspension of the ONE Party's campaigning in the Student Union for a total of eight hours over Wednesday and Thursday. "I don't want to get too much into allegations about us or the other party, but there were some issues that didn't go the right way during the election," Fried said. "While I commend Josh Boston [chairman of the Elections and Credentials Committee] for his ambitious effort for election reform, it was definitely a step in the right direction, but it wasn't the right time for it. They jumped first without building their parachute." In previous years, punishment policies were limited to candidates being sentenced to community service hours after the election had ended. Fried also addressed the punishment that the Student Alliance received after admitting to overspending on the allotted campaign funds. Student Alliance was not allowed to campaign in the Student Union from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday. "There are a lot of biases that need to be addressed [that occurred during the election], including time biases for what was allotted for floor time [for campaigning in the Student Union]," Fried said. Despite disappointment over the election results, Fried seemed ready to put the election behind him and celebrate his birthday with family and friends. "I'm sure [the loss] will hit me when I'm cleaning out my office at the end of the year and not coming back next year," Fried said. "However, I'm still a student at UB and I still love UB." E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
Solutions by The State News
