To help you avoid potential embarrassment in conversation with upperclassmen, The Spectrum has compiled a list of the 2011-12 stories that had the UB campus talking. Take a few minutes to catch yourself up on everything from a $300,000 scandal to an infamous Fall Fest flop.
There's No App for That
$300,000 Scandal Results in SA Treasurer's Resignation
April 2012
The end of last year wrapped up in Student Association scandal.
Treasurer for the 2011-12 academic year Sikander Khan and Vice President Meghan McMonagle attempted to spend $300,000 of student money on a mobile web application before President JoAnna Datz halted the alleged project.
The application, spearheaded by Khan, was entangled with scandal from the start. The company Khan was working with, Virtual Academix, appeared to be fraudulent.
Datz launched an investigation of the app and how close the SA came to getting duped and gave the 100-page report to police in March. The SA's report stated that an application described like the one in the contract Khan and McMonagle had signed should cost between $50,000 and $150,000 - a far reach from the pending $300,000 contract.
The District Attorney's office determined that Khan and McMonagle did not act criminally.
The Spectrum investigated the company more closely, and reported it was comprised of three UB alumni, including former SA president Mohammod Vaqar Hussain, who sources said came from a long line of SA corruption. Vaqar was also a Muslim Student Association president, a position Khan held before becoming SA treasurer.
Ted Miale, the "vice president" of Virtual Academix, gave the presentation on the company's product to the SA executive board as a "favor for a friend" the morning he learned about the application.
But he more The Spectrum probed those involved, the more they vanished or declined for comment.
The Spectrum sent reporters to the "headquarters" of Abadan, Inc., which Virtual Academix was an assumed name for. It was a residential home. The home belongs to the father of Omar Mehr, another UB alum. Mehr appears to be the owner of Virtual Academics and graduated with Hussain. Mehr refused to comment and stated he hired a lawyer.
As the connections continued to pile up, Khan neglected to comment or answer The Spectrum'sgrowing list of questions.
The SA Senate started a petition that demanded Khan's recall. Khan resigned a few days shy of the end of the spring semester in a letter and without comment.
Financial Aid Changes Leave Students Upset
August & September 2011
This time last year, UB implemented a few changes and left some students upset, especially in the realms of financial aid.
HUB, UB's online system used for things like checking grades, registering for classes, and accepting financial aid awards, had just been unrolled at the end of the previous semester and the drop/add period for classes was reduced from two weeks to one. While the adjustments left some students frustrated, the biggest upset came from the change in financial aid disbursement.
Financial aid, including loans and scholarships, were given out about three weeks later than in previous years. The Student Response Center (SRC) received over 10,000 phone calls in one day - the most calls in one day within the center's history. Students were distraught and blamed SRC for being unable to afford books, groceries, and rent.
Students' animosity grew when Jennifer Pollard, the interim director of financial aid, stated students should take responsibility for their expenses and not depend solely on financial aid.
A protest of about 50 students erupted in Founder's Plaza in opposition to Pollard's comments and what students felt was a poor advertisement of the new university policy.
The Collins Controversy
Illegal Contributions Made by UBF
October 2011
Not too far into the fall semester, The Spectrum uncovered a questionable donation made by the University at Buffalo Foundation, Inc. (UBF) to Erie County Executive Chris Collins' re-election campaign.
The $2,560 in contributions that appeared on New York State's official website were from June 2010. UBF is a university-associated private corporation that manages gifts given to UB, and UB Foundations Activity, Inc. (UBFA) is an affiliate corporation that handles UBF's financial management and gift expenditures.
Section \0xA4501(c)(3) of the United States tax code states that not-for-profit organizations (like UBF and UBFA) are not to "participate in, or intervene in...any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."
Therefore, UBF broke federal law.
Collins' camp returned the money to UB one day after The Spectrum article was published.
Executive Director of The Center for Industrial Effectiveness (TCIE) Timothy Leyh purchased meal tickets that he said he did not realize would be regarded as a campaign contribution, stating it was "an honest mistake."
The TCIE uses UBFA for its accounting services.
When The Spectrum inquired for information regarding the breakfast and dinner tickets - like dates, locations, and attendees - those involved declined to comment beyond stating a mistake was made and corrected.
Lost in 'the Fray'
Campus responds negatively to the Fall Fest flop
October 2011
The students who choose to attend Fall Fest and Spring Fest take the concert series pretty seriously. When they found out The Fray was our big fest headliner, most were livid. The hate only continued when openers White Panda and 2AM Club were announced. Students shared their disdain the only way college students know how - nasty Facebook comments.
Seventy-five percent of the comments that popped up on SA's Facebook page were negative. Students were upset at first because fest was happening later into the semester than usual due to venue conflicts. But the main reason students were so enraged was because SA surveyed undergrads asking their Fall Fest preferences, and The Fray only received 18.3 percent of the votes. The majority of students that voted didn't want them headlining their fest, and the majority of votes went to Drake.
Granted, only 3,000 of UB's roughly 18,000 undergrads opted to take the survey - it was clear the campus favorite was Drake. The survey feedback didn't seem to be too useful, as some of the performers were out of price range and shouldn't have been on the list, like Nicki Minaj, or weren't available for touring during the fest's date, like Drake.
Students were disgruntled, and the fest was marred with low attendance. But students' spirits picked back up in the second semester with New Boyz, Fabolous, Tyga, and Rick Ross taking the stage at Spring Fest.
Gay Student's discrimination results in club derecognition
December 2011 - ongoing
First semester ended with what would just be the start of a slew of problems and controversy revolving around one SA club, the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF), which exists as the UB chapter of the national student-led evangelical ministry.
Steven Jackson, who was then a sophomore, was pressured to leave his position as treasurer of the organization because he was gay and didn't accept the bible verses that condemn his sexuality.
The controversy continued because of the "basis of faith" that the club's executive board had to sign, which appeared to violate the Supreme Court ruling that states students at a state university cannot be barred from participating in a club because of their status or beliefs.
The club was suspended, and the SA Senate put together a committee to investigate if IVCF went against the law and the university policy that states clubs cannot have restrictive membership clauses that discriminate based on race, religion, sex (except as exempted by federal regulations), sexual orientation, disability, age, creed, national origin, or veteran status.
The club's budget was frozen, and they were given until Feb. 25 to draft and ratify a new constitution that didn't include a basis of faith. The club's deadline to submit the new constitution was moved to April, but the group ultimately chose not to remove the basis of faith officers were forced to subscribe to. After months of back-and-forth, the club was derecognized on April 15, meaning they no longer would be allotted funding from SA.
IVCF began the process of appealing the derecognition at the end of the spring semester.
Email: news@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
