"Holy no-future, Batman"
Remember when we were eight years old and couldn't wait to hit double digits? Then when you finally did, getting your driver's license seemed light years away, but you literally ached for the day to come?
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Remember when we were eight years old and couldn't wait to hit double digits? Then when you finally did, getting your driver's license seemed light years away, but you literally ached for the day to come?
With less than a month left until the UB class of 2010's commencement ceremony, many students are still hunting for jobs they anticipated to have by now.
The University at Buffalo Police Department continued to encourage proper safety measures and education to the public as it completed its second Citizen Police Academy session on March 31. This seven-week long program, which includes one patrol car ride-along, offers Buffalo area citizens the opportunity to learn from professionals with specialized training and years of experience at no charge. "For the people that attend [the Citizen Police Academy], we expose what we do, how we train, what we can do, what we can't do, what is legal and what is not legal," said UPD Lt. Dave Urbanek. Urbanek serves as the coordinator of the program and also leads most of the course, acting as a guide to its participants. University at Buffalo police chief Gerald W. Schoenle, Jr. presented diplomas at the academy's graduation ceremony. "It is important for us to teach members of the community what we do on a daily basis," Schoenle said. "It gives the participants the opportunity to understand policing at a university level." Within this course, education was given to participants on fire and first aid situations, the emergency dispatch system, New York State penal law, patrol procedures, traffic and accident investigations, recruiting and training procedures, the Criminal Investigation Bureau, crime scene investigations, family offenses and domestic violence, sexual offenses, alcohol issues, narcotics and hazmat incidents. One of the 16 participants that participated in the last session, Anna Sotelo-Peryea, resource and planning coordinator and violence prevention specialist at UB, was pleasantly surprised by what she got out of the Citizen Police Academy and felt it enlightened her on what, exactly, the UPD does and consists of. "I had no idea how many specialized units they have within the police department," Sotelo-Peryea said. "I also thought it was kind of interesting how diverse [all of the officers'] backgrounds were." Sotelo-Peryea, who decided to enroll in the academy because of curiosity and her close work connections with UPD officers, felt the academy couldn't have run much smoother and covered so much material that it didn't have much room for improvement. "We learned defensive tactics, got experience on different maneuvers, learned what weapons were legal and which were illegal, when to shoot and when not to shoot," she said. "I enjoyed [the program] the way it was," she said. The remaining 15 participants from the Buffalo area that recently graduated from the program include David Stall, Jenna Ward, Amie Schirching, Bradley Curthoys, Ryan Standish, Carol Adler, Joe Paulter, Mike Rockey, Jeanette Detraglia, Benjamin Abel, Patrick Hoar, Rachel Brown, Bethany Torres, Marjory Jaeger and Jaclyn Russello. "It's a good experience," Urbanek said. "If people want to know what we do and why we do it, they should sign up for the next [course], which will probably happen next February." Those interested in attending future sessions should contact Lt. Dave Urbanek at 716-645-2227. E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
As renovations continue in preparation for UB 2020, people traveling through North Campus will have to deal with additional road closings as part of the overall facelift. From April 15 through August 15, construction is scheduled for the building of the new Audubon roundabout. Between these dates, the current Audubon Parkway between Hamilton Road and Frontier Road, as well as Lee Road between the Jarvis B Lot entrance and Audubon Parkway, will be closed to through traffic. According to Bruce Buerger, the manager of Capital Project Support, the leader of this construction project, the new roundabout should ultimately improve pedestrian crossing safety. "Right now, there is no slowing down of traffic [in the area where the roundabout will be built] and you have to stop whenever there is a pedestrian," Buerger said. "[The roundabout] will make improvements for traffic and pedestrians." A walkway will be opened throughout the duration of the construction for pedestrian use. This walkway will go along Lee Road, between Ellicott Complex and the Academic Spine. Buerger predicts that there may be some impact on the flow of traffic during times such as graduation and when students are moving out of the residence halls. Periodic changes and additional detours may also occur in these zones during the set dates. E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
In light of the monetary devastations caused by the recent SUNY budget cuts, the Senate hopes to bridge the financial gap for many college students in passing the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act on Tuesday. With the passage of this act, $68 billion will be redirected from private loan companies back to those students who are in need of financial aid, making this the largest federal contribution to college affordability in U.S. history. Rep Louise Slaughter, D-NY, held a key role in this legislation as chairwoman of the House Rules Committee, being that it is the last stop for key legislation before the act goes to the floor of the house, according to a press release. The Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, thanks to a legislative device called reconciliation, is being combined as part of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 that was passed last week. "The student aid reforms in this bill have been overshadowed by health care reform, but are important in their own right," Slaughter said. "This marks a new era for students across Western New York and reaffirms our commitment to higher education. It also guarantees that our future workforce is well educated." This student loan act included in the new health care bill intends to make considerable improvements to the federal student loan program. "We're going to cut out the middleman, giving an extra $68 billion directly to the students who need it most. We're using that money to expand Pell Grants and loan forgiveness for public service, and to make sure that payments are affordable for borrowers," Slaughter said. According to a press release and the Congressional Budget Office, by completely cutting out private banks that are currently making a profit from the federal loan system, the SAFRA will save $68 billion, allowing that money to be reinvested to the federal aid system. Additionally, Pell Grants will gain an investment of $40 billion, helping to cover the increased demand for these grants that occurred during the recession. These grant amounts will be indexed to inflation. In accordance with the SAFRA, making payments on student loans will also become significantly more affordable for new borrowers and public servants, including nurses, those in military services, and teachers. New borrowers who remain in good financial standing throughout their entire loan process will have their remaining balance forgiven after 20 years. These new borrowers will also be able to max the payments they make at 10 percent of their discretionary income. The loan forgiveness entitled to public servants includes eligibility for debt forgiveness after 10 years. This legislation will invest billions of dollars into community colleges, Historical Black Colleges and Universities, and Minority Serving Institutions. Furthermore, as promised by Obama's campaign and presidential agenda, the SAFRA will make the completion of FAFSA forms much simpler, hopefully encouraging an increase in the number of aid applications filed. In general, thousands of college students in Western New York will see substantial perks in the passing of the SAFRA, according to Slaughter. E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
I can smile at the old days. Really, I can. They weren't always so perfect, nor are they all clear in my head anymore, but looking at where I am in life today, I think I came out okay. I was restricted from a lot of simple things growing up, causing my mother and I to butt heads often. She liked to control, and control she did. I had a better chance at winning the lottery than getting the O.K. for a sleepover, and trying to sneak sugar into my diet was harder than getting a bomb past White House security. Think I'm exaggerating? Have you ever had your mother show up at lunchtime in sixth grade to catch and yell at you in front of your entire class for buying ice cream instead of milk? I have. Still, though, for the most part I was happy. I danced, played soccer, climbed trees … I was pretty average, I guess. Every Tuesday my mom would go to golf league and my big sister and I would have adventures with good old dad. On Thursdays, it was dad's golf night and the girls would go out to dinner together. Every other weeknight, my sister and I had our extracurricular activities. Cute little suburban family, right? Well, let's just say sometimes there's more than meets the eye. I was blessed and while I wasn't spoiled, for the most part I always had what I needed materialistically and there was always (healthy) food in my refrigerator. Bud Light was also always in my refrigerator. As I got older, my dad started to go out most weeknights and my mother, who had her own in-home graphic designing business, began spending more and more time locked in her office and shutting out her former best friends. It never really fazed me, though. I didn't know any differently and deemed it totally normal. By high school, this pattern had become set in stone and my parents never spoke, only yelled. My mom's controlling only got worse, as did our fighting. I never understood it and my sister avoided it altogether, leaving me feeling much less than unconditionally loved. It caused some traumatizing situations that I still, to this day, cannot forgive my mother for. It wasn't until my freshman year of college, during a phone call with my sister, that my eyes were opened. My mom and I weren't speaking due to another unreasonable explosion that I didn't understand the reason for, and while venting, my sister stopped me and blurted out words I'll never forget. "You know mom's an alcoholic, right?" she said. It caught me off guard, but it was like a light bulb. How could I have not realized this? Of course she was. And suddenly a weight was lifted from me. I no longer thought so many things were my fault. Since then, I can't say things have really gotten better with my mother's disease. This past summer she was diagnosed with cancer, which also caused her some sort of mental disorder that she refuses to acknowledge. She's meaner and crazier than ever, randomly calling the police on her own family with made-up scenarios, causing scenes in public and self-destroying to disturbing levels. An addict cannot recover until he or she is ready. My mother is not ready and I'm afraid she won't be around long enough to get to that point. It's horrifying to have to stop loving your mother, but it is simply unhealthy to have anyone like her in my life. I'm trying to start my life and she's only holding me back. She has blatantly chosen alcohol over being in my family's life. She will not see me graduate, she will not be at my wedding and she will not meet her grandchildren. That is her choice. It stings me to hear my friends talk about all the adoring things their mothers do for and with them. I tear up watching the loving bonds they have, knowing that I have never and will never have that with my own mother. I guess you could call it jealousy, but I do try and see the good in my situation. I'm learning so many things from it that I think most people will, sadly, never understand. I have grown an emotional strength that I feel not many people can possess without going through situations similar to mine. Sympathy is the last thing I want. I want people to relate and realize these things are not the end of the world. As I always say, every single one of us has his or her issue. It's so very important to consider that every day whenever you start to judge someone else. E-mail: jennifer.good@ubspectrum.com
Ivanlli Scolari, a junior history and sociology major and native of Puerto Rico, was blindsided and confused when he unintentionally stumbled upon the news that his identity would soon be invalid. This past December, the Puerto Rican government passed a law stating that all birth certificates would be void and must be renewed as of July 1. With 40 percent of all identity frauds in the U.S. stemming from stolen birth certificates in Puerto Rico, the USA approached the commonwealth requesting that something be done. This law will create more secure documents and prohibit third parties from keeping and hiding away birth certificates, so there will no longer be mass piles of birth certificates stolen for identity theft, according to Kenneth McClintock-Hernandez, Puerto Rico's secretary of state. McClintock-Hernandez explained the main reasons why this law was so vital, especially for Puerto Rico. "Number one, most of the undocumented people who are trying to seek documents of something that they are not happen to be Spanish people … almost all birth certificates in Puerto Rico have Spanish names," McClintock-Hernandez said. "Secondly, [all people] in Puerto Rico are automatically U.S. citizens, making these documents more valuable to those trying to cross borders." In addition, McClintock-Hernandez states that the role of the birth certificate is very important in the day-to-day life of Puerto Ricans. "There has been a tradition in Puerto Rico for at least half a century where people must produce a birth certificate to every school, summer camp, ballet class or little league team they enroll in throughout their lives. This puts at least 10 to 20 copies of every person's [birth certificate] out there, so you have tens of thousands of birth certificates that are misfiled and then you have many schools that are being broken into where the records are then taken away and sold on the black market for $5,000 to $10,000 each." The problem that has become apparent throughout the beginning phases of this new law seem to be in the communication of it to the estimated 1.5 million people born in Puerto Rico and living on the mainland. When the initial law was created in December, the first thing the Puerto Rican government did was give a press conference with many reporters. Unfortunately, the press that was expected to get the word out did not publicize the issue as thoroughly as the government had hoped, according to McClintock-Hernandez. "I just randomly came across something on AOL saying something about birth certificates," Scolari said. "You know how many people are going to be affected? And people don't even know about it … especially here at UB. There are a lot of people from the Bronx that are from Puerto Rico that don't even know about it. [The Puerto Rican government] made a decision like that and nobody is aware of it? It's just stupid." Even clubs at UB directed toward Latin Americans that have a number of Puerto Rican members in them, such as the Latin American Student Association, are unaware of the new regulations. "I'm actually disappointed in not knowing," said Cesar Guerra, the publications director for LASA. "I think that this is a major move that is happening and to make this an easier process, I think we needed to have more time to better prepare. [Being uninformed until the last minute] puts people in a panic state where people start worrying about their identity being misfiled or stolen due to crimes that are happening in the black market." McClintock-Hernandez claimed that starting April 1, an outreach program will begin to promote these changes more to the media to better inform and prevent chaos in July. He also confirmed that the law does not change the price or exempt people from paying the $5 charge of getting a new birth certificate, and that it will still take approximately one week to receive the certificate after submitting the request for one. "I think that if [the Puerto Rican government is] doing this now, even without giving it enough time to tell us, if they're taking action over there to fix this problem or avoid any other problems from happening, then it should be done even if it causes inconvenience," Guerra said. E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
As spring breakers venture back from Panama City, Cancun or even the comfort of their own living rooms, the thought of having to go through the hassle of taking flights back to classes and jobs may seem uninviting. Yet, in the aftermath of Saturday's disabling rainstorm in the Northeast, handfuls of students were left with more stress than initially anticipated as flights were consistently delayed and cancelled.
Last May, in the celebratory hours after the University at Buffalo commencement ceremonies, new graduate Javon Jackson was shot and killed as he crossed Main Street near South Campus.
The days of being pressured to open a credit card through incentives of free T-shirts or foot-long subs are now over. Last spring, President Obama signed into law the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD Act), which went into effect on Monday. This new legislation has established a renovated set of rules for credit card companies to follow, restricting those under the age of 21 from certain terms of credit card usage. 'This CARD Act … is a key part of a number of administration initiatives to increase the protection of consumers, particularly in financial markets and particularly in areas where credit is involved,' said Jared Bernstein, senior economic adviser to the vice president, during a conference call. 'For too long, credit card companies have had free rein to employ misleading and unfair practices that hit consumers with unreasonable costs, often in ways that were shady and very difficult for people to sort out, and they've had a specific, tough impact, in most cases, on younger Americans.' According to Bernstein, under the CARD Act, those under 21 years of age will now need to demonstrate their ability to make timely and full payments or will need a co-signer in order to open an account. Those younger than 21 who want to increase their credit limit will need an agreement in writing from their co-signer. The legislation additionally creates extra responsibility on establishments that use their facilities to promote credit cards to a younger demographic. The CARD Act now requires that issuers and institutions disclose all of their agreements regarding marketing or credit card contracts with students. When universities allow credit card companies to solicit students on campus, they receive a portion of the company's proceeds. In the past, schools were not required to release the dollar amount they were given as a result of this practice, but under this new law, both parties are to give full disclosure of their earnings as well as the details of their promotional agreements. Additionally, credit card companies are no longer allowed to provide free gifts in exchange for signing up for a card on or near campuses. 'There are two reasons why it's part particularly unfortunate when young people get in over their heads with credit cards. First of all, it's tougher to get your career started on a good foot if you're carrying a large pressing debt burden, but secondly, you can do considerable damage to your credit score and that hurts you moving forward as you begin your career and your life and want to make the kinds of investments that families make as they get older. So we think it is particularly important to make sure these consumer protections reach younger people,' Bernstein said. 'Again, the idea here is to help make sure that responsible practices dominate, especially with younger people, because the costs of getting this wrong are really high.' The detailed list of new regulations included in the CARD Act is in place to create consumer protection for the younger generation and provide a sort of orientation into the world of credit card usage. E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
In the past two weeks, I received a ticket for using my cell phone while driving, which caused me to miss a quiz. I fried my cell phone to death in a cup of water, so it lost every bit of information it held; my dog ate at least three pairs of my favorite shoes; I spilled a drink on my notes and then broke my boyfriend's laptop on his birthday; I have undoubtedly humiliated myself in public at least five times due to my worst enemy – black ice. Now, what do all of these unfortunate situations have in common? Yes, I grumbled and complained about them all as if I were the only person on earth these things ever happen to, but that's not the only similarity I'm looking for. The correct answer would be that all of these things were my fault, plain and simple. As I go through my day-to-day routine, it is becoming increasingly apparent to me that I complain… a lot. Granted, the things I've just mentioned are all incredibly miserable and would understandably call for some moans, groans and grumpy moods, but the point is they all could have been avoided had I just been a little more careful. Sure, a lot of people tend to whine or bask in self-pity when inconvenient things shimmy themselves smack dab in the middle of our way, but I think it's time a lot of people – myself included – learn to pick our battles and admit when we screw up. Complaining about legitimate misfortunes is one thing; in fact, it's expected, if you ask me. But when I blatantly hop in my car attempting to get from South Campus to North Campus in 15 minutes, then slap my iPhone to my ear when my hands-free headpiece is right next to me, I'm asking for it. Of course, I gave the officer attitude as if it were his fault I did all of these things, and was appalled that he was doing his job correctly to my disadvantage. Of course I raced home cursing all the way, only to vent to my roommates. Of course I completely deserved that ticket. It's so easy sometimes to only see situations from the ‘woe is me' perspective. When people screw up big time, they don't want to immediately blame themselves; they want a shoulder to whine on. To hell with diamonds, venting is a girl's best friend. While true, this doesn't make it reasonable all of the time. I don't care if you're Dr. Drew; no one wants to listen to pointless complaining about something that could have been prevented. It seems to me that if we all just slowed down and smelled the roses a little more, we'd probably have less to complain about. There are much more serious issues in the world that others don't even say a word about, and yet here I am with steam coming out of my ears because my roommates left the Brita empty again. I have my issues that deserve a friend to lend an ear, as I'm sure all of my readers do, too, but no more of the nonsense. Reality is here and it's hitting me hard. Maybe this means I've finally matured, or maybe I'm well on my way to finding my Zen place. Either way, it's about time I try and work on zipping my lips during certain circumstances – or better yet, not being so darn careless all of the time. Sometimes it may feel like when it rains, it pours, but if you live in Buffalo, it's always pouring rain anyway, so you might as well smile and make the best of life – as carefully as possible. Make it all good. E-mail: jennifer.good@ubspectrum.com
In the aftermath of the incident at Lockwood Library on Tuesday, the University Police Department, officials, faculty and students are left re-examining the situation. Much uncertainty plagues the minds of many when analyzing the situation. Uncovering the facts Tuesday's events began to unfold at about 4:05 p.m., when the University Police Department received a call from a student at Lockwood Library. The student claimed there was a possible sighting of a man with either a rifle or a shotgun under a navy pea coat. According to Chief of Police Gerald W. Schoenle Jr., an officer was on the scene within one minute of the phone call and others were on their way. The first officer who reached the scene was already in Baldy Hall when the call came in. 'We went to a [security] video and we immediately saw someone walking into the library that was right at the location where the [student] said there was a person that they thought had a weapon,' Schoenle said. 'We were able to zoom in on those cameras and see a person in a very grainy video, that you certainly could not identify, who was carrying something that sort of fit the description, so that elevated our concerns a little bit.' These images have not yet been released to the media or the public. As The Spectrum reported on Tuesday, the library was evacuated at 4:40 p.m. and the campus was alerted via text messages and e-mails that students, faculty and staff received at various times throughout the afternoon and evening. By 6:30 p.m. Amherst Police, who had arrived as backup, left the scene. Nearly two hours later, the announcement was made that the search had been completed. 'Police have determined that there is no threat to campus and that it will be safe to resume activities, so classes will resume,' said Joe Brennan, vice president for University Communications. Now, three days later, the situation remains unclear. What actually happened? When did events unfold? And how was it discovered? Safe technology? Police allude to a security video from a camera that rests inside of Lockwood Library, but not much other information currently exists about the footage. Between the leaked footage from the Cybrary and UPD comments, it's still unclear as to exactly what was captured on camera and how well it was documented. Schoenle himself said the footage was 'grainy.' Spol Pollaor, a junior exercise science major who works at the CIT Help Desk, isn't even sure if the cameras are regularly monitored or in working order. University response No one seems to know exactly what went on Tuesday evening. Police evacuated Lockwood Library, but there is no certain figure on how long that took. Michelle Lafica, a sophomore environmental engineering major who was working in Lockwood at the time of the evacuation, said that the police really didn't make a scene of the evacuation. 'A cop came in and said, ‘You guys need to leave,' Lafica said. 'That was around [4 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.]' Lafica said that after she was asked to leave the library, she and others were left standing in the hallway between the Cybrary and Lockwood. Only after waiting for approximately 20 minutes were they asked to leave the building entirely. '[The police] were definitely unprepared,' Lafica said. Despite uneasy feelings from some members of the UB community, others felt the situation was handled as well as possible. 'The University Police have received countless positive e-mails from students, faculty and staff regarding the handing of [Tuesday's] incident,' Schoenle said in an e-mail to The Spectrum. Schoenle shared some of the comments pleased members of the community in the e-mail. 'The rapid physical response … leaves me very impressed with the overall safety services that the force is able to provide. After the events of Tuesday, I feel much safer on campus,' said one student. Another comment in the e-mail said, 'Given the fact that UPD was responding to a very nebulous threat, I think the actions taken, and the manner of which they were, were appropriate. It seems to me that the way that the university communicated with the public was fair. I did not feel unsafe and I was not worried. Has there been a substantiated gunman in the building, it would have been considered the absolute right approach to take.' From speaking with university officials, it's clear that many in power during the incident on Tuesday did not see a direct or legitimate threat to anyone on North Campus. Barbara J. Ricotta, associate vice president for Campus Life, was coordinating the efforts in the university's response. It was she and the provost who ultimately made the decision to cancel classes but not to evacuate the whole North Campus. 'At the time, we felt it was wrong to encourage people to come to campus during the situation, so we decided to cancel classes,' Ricotta said. 'We never felt that there was a security threat. We felt that the best way to diffuse the situation was to have less people on campus.' Ricotta also felt that university response was satisfactory. 'I'm very satisfied with the response from everyone. We took time to evaluate the situation and act accordingly. We received new information every 10 minutes or so, but our main focus was to evacuate and secure Lockwood before anything else,' Ricotta said. However, while officials from the university are proud of their efforts, some students are still looking for answers and remain confused about the situation. Perspectives from students, faculty and staff Student Association President Ernesto Alvarado has the unique ability to see the situation from both a student and administrative perspective. 'I think the police are getting a lot of criticism from across campus, but UB did a good job overall,' Alvarado said. 'I think [police] did the best they could in the situation they were in. I don't think there has ever been a situation where protocol didn't go without some sort of a glitch. There are obviously kinks in the system of texts and e-mails.' Alvarado feels that the abundance of rumors that circulated campus on Tuesday could have been prevented had university e-mails been more descriptive. 'I think it would have been better to get a little more information and description from texts and e-mails, but on the other side, I understand why they didn't give information about a gunman to prevent chaos. I do think [the police] sending out a descriptive message would have helped, but to be quite honest, I bet they didn't even know what was going on themselves,' Alvarado said. 'People don't read ‘unconfirmed gunman' — they read ‘gunman.' People have a tendency to skip over details and see only what they want to see.' While Alvarado feels that the UPD took appropriate action, he's a bit disappointed they didn't additionally evacuate all connecting buildings. Alvarado is also disappointed in the way some students reacted to the incident. Some students flooded social networking sites to spread their speculations and seemingly make light of the situation. Groups like 'I Survived the UB Gunman of 2010' popped up almost as soon as the university's e-mails appeared in inboxes. 'I think that students kind of forget that we have a responsibility when we're using social media networks because people honestly do read this stuff,' Alvarado said. 'It's a double-edged sword. In one way it was a good way to contact family and friends to reassure them that everything is fine … on the other hand, you have a group of people who just want to make light of any situation and make radical things up, which makes a situation into a bigger thing than it should be.' Despite praise from many students, faculty and staff, there are some on campus who are dissatisfied with not only the UPD response, but some faculty responses, too. A student who was in her sociology of gender class when the news broke learned of the situation from a classmate who checked her e-mail during class. She wished to remain anonymous so she wouldn't face academic repercussions from her professor. The student said that her professor, Dr. Mary Nell Trautner, was more concerned and annoyed about a student checking e-mail during class than with the students' safety. Trautner declined comment. 'Naturally, students are going to look for answers as to what happened, especially when you start to hear other students saying things about someone carrying a gun. Everybody was uneasy and curious to say the least,' the student said. She was fearful when her professor did not seem to take the notifications as seriously as the students were. 'When there's a situation like that, of course students are going to be checking their cell phones and e-mail so that they might find out what's going on. When our safety is concerned, that should be out first priority,' she said. 'Not every teacher or student even knew what was going on, but hearing all the buzz about it should have been enough to at least make teachers feel less offended if their students were checking their e-mail every few minutes to find out what was going on.' Another student in the same class felt similarly and also wished to remain anonymous. She felt the police did not disclose enough information and that their teacher was not sensitive to the potential severity of the situation. 'Knox had no cell phone reception, which is horrible, considering the only way for UB to get a hold of anyone is through text or e-mail. What if we didn't bring our computer? How were we to know? As an instructor, her responsibility was to stop class and make sure we all exited safely,' she said. 'Instead, she reprimanded the girl for checking her e-mail in class when there was a possible shooter on campus.' The student believes that worry of what could be happening outside the doors of their classroom caused more panic. 'Of course we wanted to know more information on what was taking place, so it was natural to check the warnings, especially since [the Virginia Tech shooting] happened. It wouldn't surprise me if the supposed gunman was simply casing out the place and seeing how UB reacted,' the student said. 'I don't think this will be the last of it.' Other faculty and staff reacted differently but still saw the situation as confusing and potentially dangerous. Michael Bozarth, an associate professor in the Psychology Department whose academic interest is terrorism, was teaching when he heard the news. He felt that there 'could be a real incident meriting serious attention and prompt, judicious action.' 'I found the University's Emergency Warning System to be woefully inadequate. Bluntly, the person in charge should be fired and someone hired to replace them that can handle the job,' Bozarth said. 'If I have the temporal order of events correct … we received the first warning around half an hour after the incident began.' Bozarth said he sent two students from his class to assess the situation. These students were told by UPD to stay away from Lockwood. 'They were told to ‘get the f*** out of here' [by police],' Bozarth said. 'From this, I surmised that the threat was not well contained and immediately dismissed my class, considering the possibility that there might be a shooter roaming the campus. I wanted my students dispersed and out of the potential target area.' Bozarth then went to survey the area himself and concluded that, 'the university needs to disseminate information more rapidly and to provide at least minimal details of the potential threat so that individuals can assess the situation and take appropriate action.' 'No excuses, UB administration, just fix it,' Bozarth said. 'My students' safety is at risk.' Investigating further Whether or not a suspicious person or a weapon was present on campus on Tuesday, students, faculty and staff have strong and differing opinions about how the situation was handled. Details are limited, but police say the investigation is still ongoing. Additional reporting by Lauren Nostro, Asst. City Editor E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
New but limited information has been released in the ongoing investigation regarding two UB students who stole credit card information with the help of local businesses. Police have released the names of the two male suspects accused of using a skimming device to obtain credit card information and then buy various items. Donlet O. McCalla, a senior psychology major, and Theron J. Harris, an undergraduate student in the School of Management, are the two UB students facing charges. According to Tracy Gast, special agent in charge of Buffalo's Secret Service office, there really hasn't been much new information since the charges were filed, aside from the release of their names. 'Because it is still an ongoing investigation, we have to be careful what we release,' Gast said. McCalla is the former health chair of UB's chapter of NAACP, which was derecognized on Jan. 31 for breaking SA club regulations regarding proper money handling. No correlations of the two incidents have currently been made. McCalla and Harris could not be reached for statements. SA President Ernesto Alvarado was aware of the allegations against the two UB students, but was shocked to learn of McCalla's involvement due to his previous position in the NAACP. 'We're obviously deeply disappointed in his actions. We don't stand for anything like that,' Alvarado said. 'They should be prosecuted to the fullest extent.' E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
Not only have Gov. David Paterson's recent budget proposals cut school aid drastically, but they are now threatening to eliminate the school resource officer program that began at the start of the 2003-04 public academic school year.
Let's be honest – MTV has always been better than VH1. I think it's safe to say that MTV has consistently managed to cause more hype, therefore earning more popularity points. With shows like For the Love of Ray Jay and Real Chance of Love, VH1 has epically failed at being a good channel. Yet, over the last 10 years or so, MTV has been chasing at the heels of VH1 and done a straight nose-dive into Patheticville, USA. One of their newest addition to its plethora of bogus ‘reality' TV shows has taken the cake. Yes, I mean Jersey Shore. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy laughing at Snooki doing naked back flips in a bar just as much as the next guy. Heck, I confess. I seriously considered hitting up PURE nightclub on Friday to try and catch a peek of her ‘poof' while she was there. My concern is simply that this is the best MTV can do nowadays. With the exception of Teen Mom and ABDC, which I have grown unhealthy obsessions for, I find myself now shaking my head at nearly every single show I come across on my once beloved channel. Silent Library, Is She Really going Out with Him, My Life As Liz…really what in the world are the producers of these shows thinking? I guess it's not so fair to blame it all on the makers of these mindless shows, though people in our society are the ones guilty of actually watching it. I simply can't wrap my head around the idea that watching this nonsense – fist pumping, quirky fake high school tales, d-bag boyfriend turmoil and awkward dares among a room of giggling men – is now considered good television entertainment. Sure, virtually all entertainment channels have gone downhill in recent years. Pushing the envelope seems to be the new thing, but at what cost? At the rate stations like MTV are going in completely brainwashing society into thinking blowouts, cursing and utter stupidity are cool, I'm going to have to build an underground world in order to raise and shelter my future children from media's corruption. I know MTV has every right to melt my brain with these lame shows. If we are all going to give them the ratings, why would they cancel the current shows? I also know that I'm capable of getting my lazy butt up to get the remote and change the channel, but it's the principle. If I overhear one more dead serious conversation among a group of friends about the personal lives of Pauly D and J-Wow, I might jump off the nearest bridge. At first, I fed into the excitement over Jersey Shore because the ridiculous personalities its characters possessed made me feel as though I had an IQ equivalent to Einstein's. I got a kick out of making fun of the bronzed bimbos. But recently, I swear that the people around me are no longer laughing at the antics of the show, but instead are admiring them. Jersey Shore is taking over the world and frankly, it's scaring me a bit. I mean, look at me. I've devoted an entire column to depict the show. I'm not praising it, but the fact that I'm putting energy into thinking about it just confirms the haunting hypnotizing power these shows have on us all. It saddens me a bit to realize that a good chunk of my peers don't share the same sentiment and will excitedly continue to pay $25 cover to see attention-whore Tila Tequila and 30-year-old Robin from The Real World do Jagerbombs then dance on top of the bar. Call me crazy but I'll save my $25 for a rainy day. Give me Animal Planet, give me TLC, shoot even give me a little Lifetime, but I refuse to be a MTV zombie any longer. E-mail: jennifer.good@ubspectrum.com
UB students who use the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority system as means for transportation may be provided with smoother rides in the future.
The people of Port-au-Prince, Haiti were left shocked and grief stricken, injured and sleeping on dust-swept streets after a disastrous 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Caribbean capital on Tuesday.