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.
291 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
The house looks different to each person that sets eyes on it. To some it's just a dirty place to party for free and meet other college kids; to others it's their property and source of income. But to a small number of students, it's home.
In November, The Spectrum reported that Greiner Hall – the newest state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly sophomore-only dorm at UB – was without hot water.
Batman and Robin No. 3
College students don't spend their days thinking about serious fires, chemical spills, or bomb threats on campus. Students don't think that their campus can be the next Virginia Tech.
Alison Palumbo
Kelli Leclair, a sophomore communication major, fell victim to jungle juice when she was rushed to the hospital, to find out that her drink had been spiked.
In February 2010, UB students anxiously waited as news unfolded that a gunman was pacing Lockwood Library. As it turned out, there was never a gunman at all.
If there was a fire in the University at Buffalo's disability testing center, freshman Mark Shaw would not be able to get out.
China Predicted to Dominate Global Trade by 2030
3/1—A suspicious person was reported at Diefendorf Loop.
Two male Amherst campus residents died early Tuesday morning after shattering an eighth floor Fargo Quadrangle window and falling to the Ellicott Complex second floor terrace.
The Honors College will soon relocate to its new permanent home on the third floor of the Capen Undergraduate Library, formerly a silent study area. The ground floor will be upgraded in order to allow for a more spacious and modern silent study area and to accommodate space for the Honors College relocation.
The third annual Mass Appeal Elmwood Village fashion event packed the Lafayette Presbyterian Church to capacity Friday night. Mass Appeal, which has become known as Buffalo's response to New York Fashion Week, is a massive fundraiser for the Elmwood Village Association (EVA).
Movie: The Social Network
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
America is pill obsessed. Its citizens take pills for everything. Pills help millions with everything from getting erections to relieving depression. Many citizens in the United States believe that the most dangerous drugs threatening the country are illicit narcotics like marijuana and cocaine. They are sadly mistaken. The most heavily abused drugs are the ones found in the medicine cabinet at home. Prescription drugs need to be the focus of America's war on drugs. But no one seems to care. After all, it is convenient to pop a pill that's in your own home in order to feel good for a while. The numbers are scary when it comes to prescription abuse. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), in 2000, the number of Americans on prescription drugs was 3.8 million. Six years later, that number jumped to 7 million and it is still climbing. That is an 80 percent increase in six years. According to the DEA, those numbers are higher than the number of Americans who use illicit drugs like cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, ecstasy, and inhalants — total. But it's not only the use of the drugs that's the problem. According to a Center for Disease Control study, 40 percent of teens and parents believe that abusing prescription narcotics is safer than abusing illicit drugs. America has a drug problem. It is a lazy nation and instead of getting real treatment, people find it easier to pop a pill. It is not just teenagers being teenagers. Everyone needs to understand that prescription drugs are just as harmful as other substances. The most common prescription abused on college campuses is Adderall. Because of its widespread use and acceptance in society, it is extremely difficult to calculate the number of Americans who use it. Many experts assume roughly 20 percent of college students are on the medication. Adderall makes students focused, allowing them to do a tremendous amount of work with limited interruptions. In other cases, it can be taken before drinking, which allows kids to drink copious amounts of alcohol in a night and hardly feel the effects. Because of these effects, there is an amazing market for the pills on campus. Many students sell the leftovers from their prescriptions to make quick money. The CDC also found that about one-fourth of all emergency room visits resulted from abuse of prescription drugs. Fifty-two million Americans age 12 or older have reported non-medical use of any prescription drug – that's almost 21 percent of that population group, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted in 2008. Is life so difficult that Americans need to be doped up all the time? These drugs do serve useful purposes in helping people with actual problems function in society. But when controlled substances are abused and easily obtained through purchase or fraud – such as walking into a doctor's office and saying it's difficult to concentrate – something has gone horrible wrong. The scariest part is that many in this country fail to realize the dangerous side effects of these drugs. For example, some pain relievers can slow or even stop breathing. Sedatives can cause seizures. And let's not forget the dangerous mix that occurs when alcohol is added to those pills. To reverse this trend, a few things need to occur. One is much stricter testing in order to prescribe prescription drugs. The other is the realization, by parents and doctors alike, that pills aren't always the answer. It doesn't seem like the vicious cycle is slowing down any time soon.
University at Buffalo students leaving for spring break often think about the sun, the beach and having fun with their friends. But they rarely think about the alcohol poisoning, violence and sexual assault that can happen on their vacation away from the Queen City. Luckily, Sub-Board I, Inc. held its annual spring break fair in the Flag Room on Tuesday to educate students about being safe while having fun on break. The fair focused on sex, sun and safety, with various booths set up to provide information about each subject. 'Being in the sun is usually equated to having fun, which is equated to alcohol,' said Jane Fischer, director of SBI Health Education. 'Sex is historically a part of spring break, and alcohol is the number one sexual assault drug. We want students to be safe while having fun.' Fischer realizes that fun means different things to different people, so there were a variety of activities as well as pamphlets and other literature available for students and passersby. Wellness Education Services also had a booth at the fair to further educate students, through games and pamphlets, about being safe with alcohol. '[WES] is here because we thought that they have greater experience with alcohol-based programming,' Fischer said. Sharlynn Daun-Barnett, the alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention specialist at WES, explained that men have more water mass while women have more body fat, which means that women reach higher blood alcohol levels with less alcohol than men. 'Even though [women] want to think of [themselves] as equals when playing drinking games, [they] have biology against [them],' Daun-Barnett said. Daun-Barnett offered tips for all drinkers, such as only consuming one drink per hour, eating before and during a drinking session, staying with friends, not mixing alcohol with dehydrating energy drinks and alternating between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Another purpose of the fair was to teach students about how to remain safe when having sex. Booths like 'Eroticizing Safer Sex' attracted many of the students who came to the fair because it had interesting displays and information about sex. 'I learned that oil-based lubricants can pop a condom, so I guess I'm not going to use them anymore,' said Chelsey Lonberger, a graduate student in the Library and Information Studies Department. Lonberger was on her way to get lunch when she stumbled upon the fair and decided to check it out. 'This fair is really useful for undergrads. When I went to Canisius as an undergraduate, they never had anything like this,' Lonberger said. 'They didn't even give out condoms.' What differentiated the fair from the others is that it offered a variety of safe-sex options like condoms, dental dams and lubrication. It also had emergency contraception (the Plan B pill) on sale for $25. Students like Lonberger appreciated the chance to think ahead. Courtney Bauer, a sophomore psychology major and assistant supervising counselor for SBI, ran a table called 'Shark-Infested Waters' that allowed students to prepare in advance for things that could possibly happen while on break, like getting separated from their friends or waking up after a night of heavy drinking next to someone they didn't know. 'This game is about preparation and getting ready for what could happen while on break,' Bauer said. 'People going on spring break are just thinking about having fun; they don't think about anything bad that could happen. This table makes people think in advance in case unfortunate circumstances happen to them.' Bauer believes that the fair was useful for students because many have a lot of bad misconceptions about sex. This was a chance for SBI to honestly answer questions and provide information. Additional information about the fair, alcohol and sex can be found on the SBI Web site, healthboard.buffalo.edu, or the WES Web site, http://www.student-affairs.buffalo.edu/shs/wes. E-mail: features@ubspectrum.com
Members of the UB community can breathe a sigh of relief today after reports of a possible gunman on North Campus could not be fully verified. At 4:05 p.m., officers from the University Police Department received a call from a student at Lockwood Library, where there was a possible sighting of a man with either a rifle or a shotgun under a navy pea coat. According to Gerald W. Schoenle Jr., chief of police, the call resulted in officers' arrival at the site and the use of security footage from the building, which showed the possible suspect with something under his jacket, although what it was remained unclear. 'We went to a video and we immediately saw someone walking into the library that was right at the location where the suspect said there was a person that 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.' The library was evacuated at 4:40 p.m. and a campus-wide alert was sent to students in the form of a text message at that time, asking them to stay away from the building. While the initial evacuation was in process, confused and interested students gathered around the library while police began to enter the building. Many were concerned that they were too close to a building where a possible gunman was on the loose. 'We would have acted totally differently [with an active shooter] than we acted in this case,' Schoenle said. Rumors about the incident were appearing on social networking Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter, mentioning hostages, missing police officers and a vague description of the suspect. Molly Wright, a senior business administration major, was sitting in her market research class in Alfiero Center when she received the text message. 'I showed the people sitting next to me and initially thought nothing of it,' Wright said. 'I just assumed it was a gas leak or something. I figured if something was seriously wrong, they would evacuate the campus.' The evacuation of the building did not cause a panic for students that were forced to leave, according to John Curaba, a senior business major. Curaba was on the third floor of the Student Union when he received notification of the evacuation. After looking out toward Lockwood Library, he was surprised by what he saw. 'It was kind of calm,' Curaba said. 'No one really knew what to think.' Alice Park, a senior nursing major who was in Lockwood Library at the time of the evacuation, said that the process was very quick. 'I was studying in the third-floor study room and the police came in and asked us to evacuate, saying there was some sort of an emergency,' Park said. 'I asked what was happening and they wouldn't disclose any information.' By 5 p.m., officers from the Amherst Police Department joined the UPD in its efforts to search the premises and fully evacuate the building. In addition, police created a perimeter around the area, which also resulted in the closure of Putnam Way between the library and the Alfiero Center. Police officers geared with assault rifles and bulletproof vests then entered the building through its main entrance to conduct a thorough sweep in search of the alleged gunman. A video of multiple police officers searching the Cybrary was leaked on Twitter and Facebook by an unknown source. 'I looked up in a window later when I was walking outside and I watched a cop kick open a door and go inside with his rifle,' Curaba said. 'I asked another cop and they said he couldn't find [a gunman] at all.' With a search still ongoing at 5:40 p.m., members of UB's senior administration felt that it was in the best interest of students to cancel all classes on North Campus for the remainder of the evening. '[We] decided … to cancel classes because there was a lot of concern on campus,' Schoenle said. A press conference was held at 6 p.m. by Joe Brennan, vice president for University Communications, which outlined what was known about the events during the late afternoon. 'The police have established a perimeter around Lockwood Library and are advising people to stay out of it so they can conduct their search,' Brennan said. But the main search didn't last long. By 6:30 p.m., officers from the Amherst Police Department left the scene because they felt that the threat was 'under control,' according to a UPD officer who spoke on condition of anonymity. As the final search by UPD officers began, there were still a sense of confusion throughout the UB community. Reports from students said that both Capen Library on North Campus and the Health Sciences Library on South Campus were closed during the early evening, but there was no immediate threat at either location. In order to coordinate a thorough search, Schoenle contacted off-duty officers to immediately come in, in addition to pulling officers from South Campus onto North Campus. 'Our emergency recall plan worked perfectly,' Schoenle said. 'Officers we hadn't even called yet got the text. We had 20 [off-duty] officers to assist us in searching the library.' To replace the lack of a university police presence there, Schoenle contacted the Buffalo Police Department, which supplied patrols to the area. At 8:15 p.m., Brennan addressed the media again, notifying them that the search for a gunman was completed and that no one was found in the building. 'Police have determined that there is no threat to campus and that it will be safe to resume activities, so classes will resume,' Brennan said. 'Safety and security of our students, faculty, staff and visitors is a top priority. We're glad that … it ended up being no harm to anybody.' Schoenle said that while no gunman was found, investigators will still be reviewing video from Lockwood Library and that police presence will be increased on North Campus until further notice. Stay with The Spectrum for complete coverage on the incident at Lockwood Library. E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
Fifty people. One airplane.
When I left for college freshman year, my grandfather gave me some great life advice: 'Don't let your classes get in the way of your studies.' Sure, it was mostly a joke, but to an extent, he meant it.
Solutions by The State News
