News - The Spectrum

Residents of Chand Bagh in northeast Delhi leaving their homes amid the riots.

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‘We’re a secular country and we’re all equally a part of it’

By VINDHYA BURUGUPALLI | Mar. 8, 2020

Salaah Khan says she feels sick and helpless watching the news about her home country, India. She says she is horrified by the lynch mobs, the burning neighborhoods and the religious intolerance that has spread across the country in recent weeks. In the country’s capital of Delhi, at least 53 people, mostly Muslim, were killed and 200 were injured during street riots initiated by Hindu nationalist mobs.

SA President Yousouf Amolegbe sits in at the meeting discussing his suspension on Thursday evening.

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SA president remains suspended after three failed motions to reinstate

By ALEXANDRA MOYEN and ISABELLA FORTUNATO | Mar. 8, 2020

Student Association President Yousouf Amolegbe has waited for a follow-up decision on his now five-plus-week suspension, as the SA Board of Directors continues to vote to keep it in place. The BOD met Thursday as SA Treasurer Kendra Harris motioned to reopen the discussion of Amolgebe’s suspension.

Shira Gabriel, associate professor at University at Buffalo’s Department of Psychology, accepts the trophy for winning the Life Raft debate.

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Psychology professor wins last seat on “end-of-the-world” life raft

By LEIYA DAVIS-D'AIUTO | Mar. 6, 2020

Students felt Shira Gabriel was best equipped to help in a hypothetical apocalypse during UB’s annual Life Raft Debate on Wednesday.

Yuqi Pang, a senior marketing major, raised $20,000 for the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan.

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Chinese students, community members donate nearly $20,000 to hospitals in Hubei province

By SHUYI LI | Mar. 5, 2020

Members of the UB Chinese community have raised $19,142 to send medical supplies to hospitals in Hubei province, China after a UB student began a donation program on Jan. 20. Yuqi Pang, a senior marketing major and vice chairwoman of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, started the program on Jan. 20 and joined Chinese students around the world by raising money to stock hospitals in Hubei province with supplies. Pang’s efforts allowed UB Chinese students and local Chinese residents to raise $19,142 for hospitals in Hubei province.

Drawing of Harvey Weinstein leaving court with his lawyer, Donna Rotunno.

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‘A huge step in the right direction:’ Students react to Weinstein’s guilty conviction

By CHLOE FERNEY | Mar. 5, 2020

Emma Valvo opened her phone Monday morning to an overwhelming feeling of relief. The social work master’s student had just found out Harvey Weinstein was convicted of third-degree rape and first-degree criminal sexual act.

Provost A. Scott Weber discussing UB’s coronavirus plans at a press conference Wednesday.

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UB student returns to campus from Italy without COVID-19 screening or quarantine, UB taking precautions against coronavirus

By ELIZABETH NAPOLITANO | Mar. 5, 2020

When Gabriella Galizia* returned from her UB study abroad trip to Italy on Friday, no one at JFK screened her for the coronavirus or put her in quarantine. “I flew into JFK and there was no temperature screening,” Galizia said. “There was nothing and that surprised me. It was actually scary. Like I actually would’ve wanted to be screened.”

2020 presidential candidate Joe Biden at the distinguished speakers series in 2018.

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Biden takes lead after ‘Super Tuesday,’ Sanders supporters say they need to ‘fight harder’

By JULIAN ROBERTS-GRMELA | Mar. 5, 2020

Students followed along Tuesday as democrats rallied around former Vice President Joe Biden on “Super Tuesday,” when he regained the front-runner position in the 2020 democratic primary.

UUP members rally for more funding for SUNY at Buffalo State College.

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SUNY faculty union rallies for funding increase

By REILLY MULLEN | Mar. 4, 2020

United University Professions, the SUNY faculty union, rallied for more state funding for SUNY on Feb. 25 at Buffalo State College and at other campuses statewide. Roughly 70 UB and Buffalo State UUP leaders and students, many wearing red in support of UUP, met in Buffalo State’s Campbell Student Union at 12:30 p.m. to hear speeches from state, state and UUP leaders and officials.

The Study Abroad Office is located on the second floor of Talbert Hall.

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UB’s Italian study abroad programs continue during coronavirus outbreak

By REILLY MULLEN | Mar. 2, 2020

UB is recommending students studying abroad in Italy stay there amid the country’s coronavirus outbreak. There are currently 11 UB students studying abroad in Italy with UB’s Rome, Florence, Tuscania and “Three Cities” programs, as well as a foreign exchange program with University of Rome La Sapienza.

In spring 2019, the Living Stipend Movement commissioned for Howard Bunsis’ independent financial analysis of UB.

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Analysis finds UB administrators make combined $23 million more than their peers’ average

By JULIAN ROBERTS-GRMELA | Mar. 1, 2020

UB spends over $23 million more on administrative salaries than the average of their “peer institutions,” according to an accounting professor’s independent financial analysis report. The analysis, conducted by Eastern Michigan University’s Howard Bunsis, found roughly 13% of the money UB spends on salaries is on upper administration.

Image of plans for the Student Wellness and Recreation Center.

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Wellness and Recreation Center planned for 2026

By ELIZABETH NAPOLITANO | Feb. 27, 2020

By 2026, a four-story wellness and recreation facility featuring pools, basketball courts and artificial turf fields will likely stand where The Commons and the University Bookstore are now located. Representatives from CannonDesign, an integrated design firm working on the project, unveiled project boards and 3D models of the proposed Wellness and Recreation Center at the Student Union Wednesday.

Plastic bags at Putnam's before the plastic bag ban is put in effect on March 1.

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UB introducing paper bags to comply with plastic bag ban

By JULIAN ROBERTS-GRMELA and ALEXANDRA MOYEN | Feb. 27, 2020

Campus Dining and Shops and other businesses around campus will stop offering single-use plastic bags as part of the state-wide plastic bag ban beginning March 1. New York State created the law to reduce waste and other negative environmental impacts. All businesses required to collect NYS sales tax will be banned from distributing plastic bags, even during tax-exempt sales. Businesses are not required to provide alternative bags, like paper bags, so NYS encourages consumers to carry reusable bags with them.

Rodney Pierce played for the Bulls men’s basketball team from 2007-2010, averaging 18.4 points during his senior year.

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Former UB basketball player arrested in drug bust

By JUSTIN WEISS | Feb. 26, 2020

Former UB basketball player Rodney Pierce was one of four people arrested Tuesday in a Buffalo drug-trafficking bust. Pierce, 32, was arrested and charged with conspiring to distribute 500 grams “or more” of cocaine. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and maximum of 40 years in prison.

UB Distinguished speaker, Yusef Salaam shares his experiences as a criminal justice advocate and member of Central Park Five.

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‘Once in a lifetime opportunity:’ Yusef Salaam speaks at UB

By ALEXANDRA MOYEN | Feb. 25, 2020

Yusef Salaam said the Central Park jogger case is a “love story” between “God and his people.” He said it was a story of a “criminal system of injustice placed on trial” by the people who then fixed it, to create a “miracle.”

The UB Pharmacy building on South Campus.

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UB PharmD on probation

By ALEXANDRA MOYEN and REILLY MULLEN | Feb. 23, 2020

UB’s PharmD program was put on probation on Feb. 6 for not offering students sufficient experiential learning opportunities to meet national standards.

Industrial and systems engineering major Josh Hulburt (left)and mechanical engineering major Troy Kilian make repairs to their robot after winning in the arena during the previous round.

NEWS

Mechanical smackdown

By REILLY MULLEN | Feb. 23, 2020

UB hosts an annual fight club. But it isn’t an underground ring pitting students against each other for Dining Dollar prizes.

Sophomore Brendan Kelly and UB College Democrats President Brandon Hoolihan at the phone banking drive (left to right).

NEWS

Students urge UB Foundation to ‘divest’ from fossil fuels

By JULIAN ROBERTS-GRMELA | Feb. 20, 2020

UB Divest conducted a phone-banking drive on Wednesday, urging the UB Foundation (UBF) to “completely divest” from all investments related to the fossil fuel industry.

NEWS

Suspect connected to South Campus thefts to face charges

By KATHERINE THOMAS | Feb. 19, 2020

A woman banned from UB property on Jan. 14 is facing charges after University Police found her to be connected to five thefts reported on several of UB’s South Campus buildings. UPD is currently working with the Erie County District Attorney’s office to indict Wright, covering all the thefts into one plea agreement in the coming months.

The International Student Services office is located on the second floor of Talbert Hall. Students impacted by the coronavirus travel restrictions are advised to contact ISS where they will be advised about their “best course of action” on a “one-to-one basis.”

NEWS

Quarantined students worry they may lose visa statuses, won’t graduate on time

By JULIAN ROBERTS-GRMELA and SHUYI LI | Feb. 16, 2020

Emily Mingxia’s* sophomore year at UB came to a halt when she was quarantined in Wuhan, China before she could return to Buffalo. Mingxia said UB was unable to offer solutions to her predicament, as she said she may graduate later than expected and might lose her student visa as a result.

Vaughn Law, sophomore communication major

NEWS

Intersecting identities

By ALEXANDRA MOYEN | Feb. 16, 2020

Vaughn Law says they struggled to be open with their bisexuality while embracing their Hong Kong-Vietnamese culture. Since their intersecting cultures have “similar values,” including a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach to sexuality, they feared coming out. And today, only some family members know of their sexuality.