Features - The Spectrum

Liesl Folks, dean of the college of science, engineering and applied sciences (SEAS) leads a discussion on gender bias in the classroom.

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UB's women in STEM summit helps women navigate workplace

By SARAH CROWLEY | Apr. 7, 2017

Katie Sember thinks twice before saying something too “assertive” or using a tone that might be seen as “intimidating.” After two years of working as an engineer for local company Liazon, Sember is used to navigating the engineering workforce. She said she always keeps in mind that the rules for her are slightly different. Sember said she takes any chance she gets to attend a conference aimed toward women in the workplace.

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UB students discuss ride-hailing services in Buffalo

By LINDSAY GILDER | Apr. 2, 2017

Jessie Miller enjoys watching plays at Shea’s Performing Arts Center downtown, but the cost of a taxi can be more expensive than tickets for a show.

UB students walk outside Greiner Hall, a residence hall for sophomores.

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Housing gripes: a Q&A with UB Campus Living

By ANDREW FITZGERALD | Mar. 30, 2017

Hadley Houck received her housing appointment and noticed that the one-hour window she was assigned to fell in the middle of her class. Frustrated, Houck realized that as soon as she would be able to choose her housing for next year, a new wave of students would begin their selection process, cutting her off from some options she was interested in.

Tanja Aho, president of the Graduate Student Association, sits in her office. Aho is putting forward a resolution to make university officials aware of graduate students' concerns with on-campus housing.

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More graduate students opt for off-campus housing as rates rise and stipends stagnate

By SARAH CROWLEY | Mar. 30, 2017

Anne Marie Butler biked 50 minutes, two to three times a week, from her Buffalo apartment to North Campus.

Angela Kunz (pictured) opened Grateful Grind Coffee with her husband in early March. The coffee shop is located in the University Heights on Main Street.

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University Heights welcomes new coffee shop, Grateful Grind Coffee

By DANA CASULLO | Mar. 21, 2017

Beetroot lattes. Nitro-infused coffee. Tacos. After working for 20 years as a coach and mentor, Angela Kunz is looking to shake things up with her new coffee shop, Grateful Grind Coffee. Kunz constantly told people to live their lives to the fullest when she worked for the non-profit organization, People Inc. She couldn’t help but wonder if she was doing the same for herself. Kunz took her own advice and fulfilled a dream she’d long wondered if she would ever get around to.

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BrainGo! offers students a natural energy boost

By LINDSAY GILDER | Mar. 13, 2017

Mikael Holcombe-Scali brought BrainGo! to UB last fall when he distributed over 500 samples in the Student Union. Scali, a senior business management major, is the brand manager for BrainGo!, his godfather’s company. Apart from the product’s bitter taste, students who have used it so far report feeling energized and more focused.

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Miko Peled, son of Israeli general, speaks out for Palestine

By KATIE KOSTELNY | Mar. 13, 2017

Peled, an Israeli-American human rights activist and author, spoke to students in the Student Union (SU) Theater about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, advocating for the Palestinian cause, which he said the U.S. media tends to overlook.

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Park by Karma: UB students create app to solve parking problems

By SARAH CROWLEY | Mar. 10, 2017

Patrick Kearney’s lunch break was never long enough. He had one hour to drive from his full-time sales representative job to his software engineering class and no time to play the “parking game.” That’s when he decided he needed to solve the parking problem. Kearney, a nontraditional student in computer science, teamed up with senior computer science majors Jaskirat Singh and Andrew Mingola last fall to create an app that would allow students to park without having to “stalk” students to their car or circle parking lots.

Brian Johnson and Anna Heintzman are members of UB’s Outdoor Adventure Club. Johnson and Heintzman take pride in personalizing their reusable water bottles.

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Bottoms up: a guide to buying the perfect water bottle

By SARAH CROWLEY | Mar. 8, 2017

If Anna Heintzman forgets to bring a water bottle to school, it’s going to be a bad day. Heintzman, a senior business major, carries a reusable water bottle throughout the day and is hard-pressed to buy plastic if she can avoid it.

Samuel Kuruvilla, a junior financial analysis and marketing major, and Kittikawin Cheecharern, a senior communication major, teamed up to create a website that helps students find better storage solutions.

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UB students create storage company to solve summer storage dilemmas

By LINDSAY GILDER | Mar. 5, 2017

In the fall of 2016, Kuruvilla, a junior financial analysis and marketing major, teamed up with Kittikawin Cheecharern, a senior communications major, to create a new company called Storbnb. The website is a platform for students to rent or lease empty space for storage. Students can earn money by renting out their space and renters can store their belongings cheaply. The team also hopes its website will foster a sense of community by allowing people to rent from their neighbors instead of traditional storage facilities.

Jarvis B lot (pictured) is a faculty, staff and student parking lot. Students say they park in faculty only lots to avoid being late for class.

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UB parking problems persist

By SARAH CROWLEY | Feb. 16, 2017

The university has acknowledged students’ frustration with parking, but students feel the university should create more parking space.

Sex toys can help spice up one's sex life. Forty-six percent of UB students said they have used a sex toy before.

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Toy joy: UB students share experience using sex toys

By ASHLEY INKUMSAH | Feb. 9, 2017

When Aliyah Hadid went to a sex toy store in Canada, she thought lonely, old women would be there. She was surprised to find a crowd of couples, including a woman buying a rabbit-shaped vibrator with her boyfriend right beside her.

Samiha Islam, Musa Alsaedi, Soojung Baek and Biplab Bhattacharya are four UB students. Muslim and non-Muslim students share their reactions to President Trump's travel ban.

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Muslim UB students react to Trump’s travel ban

By SARAH CROWLEY | Feb. 2, 2017

Since President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning travel from seven Muslim nations, protests have broken out in airports around the world. Green-card holders who live, teach, work, or attend school in the U.S. have been detained at airports and border crossings.

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Shedding light: how to tackle Buffalo winter blues

By SARAH CROWLEY | Jan. 24, 2017

If Buffalo winters leave you feeling unusually tired, hungry, sad or unmotivated, the good news is that you’re not alone. Mood disorders are fairly common and almost 10 percent of adults in the U.S. experience them, according to the National Institute for Mental Health.

Garfield Walker started a GoFundMe page on Nov. 29 to raise money to support his cousin who lost his parents. In just four days, he raised $1,035.

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UB student creates GoFundMe page for his orphaned cousin

By ASHLEY INKUMSAH | Dec. 5, 2016

Santeno Nembhard’s mother died a day after Thanksgiving. His father was shot and murdered in his home in Jamaica in 2013. Nembhard, who is 14 years old, is now an orphan, living with his 9-year-old sister and grandmother in an impoverished section of Jamaica.

Joey Santa Lucia, a sophomore business major, trains five days a week to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

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UB student overcomes skull tumor, wins body building competition

By HANNAH STEIN | Dec. 5, 2016

Joey Santa Lucia received an urgent phone call during school saying he needed immediate brain surgery. He had a panic attack and thought he was going to die. He didn’t think he would be able to smile, speak or work out again.

On Monday, UB's Black Student Union held their 49th annual Solidarity Day, an event meant to support local black-owned businesses and galvanize black voters beyond the general election into local and state elections.

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UB's BSU celebrates 49th solidarity day

By KENNETH KASHIF THOMAS | Nov. 8, 2016

On Monday, UB's Black Student Union held their 49th annual Solidarity Day, an event meant to support local black-owned businesses and galvanize black voters beyond the general election into local and state elections. The event was also a celebration of BSU's past as they approach their 50-year anniversary.

Danielle Dispenza (right) and Sarah Fullington (left) sit outside of the Student Union. Dispenza said she will vote for Hillary Clinton due to her disdain for Donald Trump and Fullington said she will not vote at all.

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What women voters at UB see in Hillary Clinton

By ELIZABETH SILBURN | Nov. 7, 2016

Alliyah McIntosh believes Hillary Clinton is the best candidate for president and can represent women like no president before. “She has children of her own,” McIntosh, a junior studying exercise science major, said. “She has a family of her own, she really gets what it’s like to be a woman.”

Jennie Gibson, a sophomore communication major, said she will be voting for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Nov. 8. She said she will not dwell on Trump’s comments toward women but will focus on his platform.

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The voices of female Trump supporters at UB

By MALLORY MAILEN | Nov. 7, 2016

Jennie Gibson said she does not judge Donald Trump’s presidential abilities based on him calling a model “fat” 20 years ago. Gibson, a sophomore communication major and political science minor, is one woman who will be voting for the Republican presidential candidate on Nov.

Hosoo Kim, a junior international student from South Korea, has lived in the U.S. for three years now, but feels his voice in the presidential election does not matter.

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No voice, no vote: How international students handle an election they have no say in

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Nov. 3, 2016

Hosoo Kim feels his voice in the upcoming presidential election doesn’t matter – not only because he isn’t a U.S. citizen, but because he feels his opinion is rude to his American friends. “There is some kind of transparent wall between me and my American friends... Maybe it is a wall made by me, but still I respect Americans because I am a visitor here. I will respect the decision because it is not mine to make,” Kim, a junior international student from South Korea, said.