News - The Spectrum

Community members watched on as loved ones of the student, who died on Wednesday, spoke at UB Stadium.

NEWS

Students remember, reflect on friend through march to UB Stadium

By BENJAMIN BLANCHET | Dec. 12, 2019

Students, faculty and staff gathered for a march to remember their friend, fellow band member and peer, who died on campus Wednesday. The gathering came a day after the 20-year-old male undergraduate student died in what university officials believe to be a suicide. The march and reflection on the student*, a member of the Thunder of the East Marching Band, allowed community members to come together, grieve and show their support for one another.

SPORTS

Football running back Dylan McDuffie arrested on domestic violence charges

By JUSTIN WEISS | Dec. 8, 2019

University Police arrested football running back Dylan McDuffie on domestic violence charges Saturday.

Firefighters respond to Wednesday's Furnas Hall fire.

NEWS

Fraternity member accidentally started Furnas Hall fire Wednesday, according to fraternity

By BRENTON J. BLANCHET | Dec. 6, 2019

Wednesday night’s Furnas Hall fire started when a “new member” of Theta Tau Mu Gamma left an engineering project unattended in the engineering fraternity’s Funas 706 lounge, according to fraternity President Eugene Liang.

Dennis Black at the SEFA celebration event in Davis Hall.

NEWS

Dennis Black writing grants for Habitat for Humanity after stealing over $300,000 from UB

By BRITTANY GORNY | Dec. 4, 2019

Dennis Black, UB’s former vice president for Student Affairs is now volunteering as a grant writer at East Cooper, SC Habitat for Humanity, after he pleaded guilty to stealing roughly $320,000 from university bank accounts and tax fraud in 2018. Bob Hervey, executive director of East Cooper Habitat for Humanity, said Black “absolutely does not” have access to any of their funds.

Passengers take their seats and eagerly await the train's departure to the North Pole.

NEWS

All aboard the Polar Express

By DONOVAN NEWKIRK | Dec. 4, 2019

James Mitchell has over 22 years of experience as Santa Claus. To him, the experience of cheering children up with his $3,000 costume is “uplifting” and “refreshing.”

The College of Arts and Sciences Dean’s office on the eighth floor of Clemens Hall.

NEWS

College of Arts and Sciences maintaining number of funded Ph.D. recruits for fall 2020

By BRITTANY GORNY | Dec. 4, 2019

The College of Arts and Sciences will recruit the same number of funded Ph.D. students for fall 2020 as it did for fall 2019, Dean Robin Schulze announced on Wednesday in an email to CAS. Schulze decided to pause recruitment of CAS-funded Ph.D. students on Sept. 19 due to a lack of funding for the Ph.D. stipend raise to $20,000. Students and faculty were upset with the decision, so Schulze granted the Ph.D. Excellence Bridge Committee additional time to decide the best solution.

Interim provost A. Scott Weber speaks to an audience during a public forum at the Buffalo Room on Wednesday. Weber is one of five finalists in the search for UB's next provost.

NEWS

A. Scott Weber emphasizes student retention, minority faculty growth in pitch to be next provost

By BENJAMIN BLANCHET | Dec. 4, 2019

UB has narrowed down its search for a new provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. On Wednesday, UB’s provost search committee began a string of public forums, which end Dec. 11, for the five finalists for UB’s provost position. The forums will feature remarks from finalists and Q&A sessions for UB community members to speak with the potential second-ranking administrator at UB. Provost finalist A. Scott Weber, current interim provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs, talked about the student government fiscal agent transition, budget models and hiring more minority faculty in the Buffalo Room on Wednesday.

Kafuli Agbemenu (left) and Shaanta Murshid (right) present two different yet connected perspectives on women's health during a Global Health Equity Brown Bag Seminar.

NEWS

UB professors discuss ‘New Perspectives on Women’s Health’

By DONOVAN NEWKIRK | Nov. 23, 2019

Professors Kafuli Agbemenu and Shaanta Murshid discussed reproductive healthcare for African refugees and the health effects women face in regions experiencing conflict on Tuesday afternoon. Twenty UB community members attended the presentation, New Perspectives on Women’s Health, where Murshid and Agbemenu presented on the importance of minority women’s health at Hayes Hall. Murshid, a professor in the School of Social Work, discussed her recent research on the implications of microfinance, neoliberalism and violence on women. Agbemenu, an assistant professor at the School of Nursing, discussed her research on reproductive health practices among African refugee women and how language barriers and differences in education increase their vulnerability to poor healthcare, according to Agbemenu.

Freshman Nichole Mahler decided to withdraw from UB due to the fire at Dewey Hall where she says she lost nearly all her belongings.

NEWS

Freshman withdrawing from school following dorm-room fire

By BRITTANY GORNY | Nov. 23, 2019

Freshman Nichole Mahler plans to withdraw from UB following the Nov. 10 Dewey Hall fire, where she lost nearly all of her belongings including her ID, laptop and credit cards. The fire, which damaged only Mahler’s belongings, evacuated roughly 800 students in the Governors Complex around 11 a.m. UPD reported the fire appeared to be caused by a heater, but the cause is still under investigation, although Mahler says a UB dorm heater, behind her dresser, caused the fire in her suite. Still, UB’s Campus Living Housing agreement states UB is not responsible for any damages to students’ personal belongings in the event of a fire unless the student has renters insurance, which UB “strongly recommends.”

Iranian students and their supporters stand in solidarity outside Student Union on Thursday. The students brought light to the situation in Iran.

NEWS

Students hold candlelight vigil for Iran

By ALEXANDRA MOYEN | Nov. 23, 2019

Students gathered outside the Student Union Thursday for a candlelight vigil, illuminating the restrictions of the Iranian government. Twenty-three students attended the vigil, which Hesam Ghodrat* said he coordinated not as a form of protest, but as a call for “basic human rights.” The Iranian government has placed “very big limitations” on its people, according to Ghodrat, such as restricting internet access and news censorship.

A tour walks outside of Knox Hall Friday.

NEWS

Racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic slurs, symbols found on Knox Hall bathroom stall

By BRENTON J. BLANCHET | Nov. 22, 2019

Students are concerned following The Spectrum’s report of racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic slurs and symbols found on a Knox Hall bathroom stall Friday. On Friday at 7 p.m., Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed the New York State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to assist University Police in investigating the graffiti, which included the N-word, two swastikas and a homophobic slur written in red marker. Cuomo’s announcement came six hours after The Spectrum notified UPD of the writing.

Maggie Haberman, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, White House correspondent for the New York Times and CNN political analyst speaks with Spectrum editors.

NEWS

The Spectrum’s exclusive interview with the New York Times’ Maggie Haberman

By ALEXANDRA MOYEN and JACKLYN WALTERS | Nov. 17, 2019

Maggie Haberman knows her critical coverage of President Donald Trump “probably works at [her] disadvantage.” But she says she isn’t writing for the president’s approval. Haberman believes if she wrote any other way, it wouldn’t be the truth.

UB Distinguished speaker Maggie Haberman speaks on her experiences as New York Times White House Correspondent and CNN political analyst.

NEWS

Pulitzer Prize winner Maggie Haberman discusses writing the ‘drafts of history’

By ALEXANDRA MOYEN and JACKLYN WALTERS | Nov. 17, 2019

Maggie Haberman said she had a “fairly traditional career” before Donald Trump’s presidency. And while she’s since been “attacked” by Trump and often faces the “corrosive effects” of fake news rhetoric, she still says her job is “amazing.”

Computer Science and Engineering Department Chair Chunming Qiao provides his opinion on the search for the next engineering dean.

NEWS

Search begins for School of Engineering and Applied Sciences dean

By ALEXANDRA MOYEN and BRITTANY GORNY | Nov. 13, 2019

UB community members said they want a School of Engineering and Applied Sciences dean who is “collaborative” and has previous academic experience. SEAS is searching for a new dean and the search committee, comprised of 14 professors and faculty members and one graduate student, held its first public meeting Monday to listen to community’s suggestions and questions.

Students occupy the space around storage closet B1, which was intended to be turned into a tunnel leading to the Academic Spine.

NEWS

Students want Center for the Arts tunnel despite abandoned plans

By AMAL ELHELW | Nov. 13, 2019

Sitara Babury calls her walk from the Center for the Arts the “most dreadful” part of her day. And the senior psychology major says the walk only gets worse during the frigid months in Buffalo, as UB doesn’t have an indoor walkway connecting the CFA to the rest of the campus.

NEWS

Fire in Dewey Hall evacuates 800 students Sunday

By BRITTANY GORNY | Nov. 10, 2019

Roughly 800 students evacuated the Governors Complex around 11 a.m. Sunday as four fire departments responded to a fire in Dewey Hall. The departments “quickly” knocked the fire out and it caused no injuries, according to Chris Kaplewicz, fire chief of Getzville Fire Company.

Jack Procari talks about WNY norml weed and their success in Albany and other parts of western NY.

NEWS

UB student heads marijuana legalization advocacy group

By ALEXANDRA MOYEN | Nov. 10, 2019

Jack Porcari pays over $200 monthly to treat his epilepsy, a chronic disorder of recurrent seizures. But the sophomore political science major said he would rather pay for an alternative treatment that works “just as well” and costs less.

The Confederate Flag was displayed on the back of a Dodge truck on Monday. The truck is owned by a worker on the $12 million CFA construction project.

NEWS

Contractor’s Confederate Flag display causes student concern

By BENJAMIN BLANCHET | Nov. 7, 2019

Matthew Thornton typically walks by the Center for the Arts on his way to class. He’s well aware of the ongoing CFA construction project, which has fenced off part of the sidewalk between Alumni Arena and the Student Union.

NEWS

Spectrum editors win Best Breaking News Story at 2018-19 Pinnacle Awards

By News Desk | Nov. 6, 2019

The Spectrum’s coverage of the fiscal transition from Sub-Board I to the Faculty Student Association won a national award for Best Breaking News Story last week. The College Media Association announced that former senior news editor Tanveen Vohra and current managing editor Jacklyn Walters won the Pinnacle Award for the spring 2019 story in Washington, D.C. on Friday.

Students at the unity rally on the academic spine as part of Monday's Black Solidarity Day.

NEWS

‘A force to be reckoned with’

By JACKLYN WALTERS | Nov. 6, 2019

Students are embracing their culture, their history and highlighting black excellence across campus this week. The Black Student Union organized events for Black Solidarity Week and celebrated the 52nd Black Solidarity Day with its annual Black Business Expo and unity rally Monday. Roughly 40 students marched from the Student Union down the academic spine carrying signs and chanting, “Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud,” “No justice, no peace, no racist police” and “BSU.” Carlos Russell started Black Solidarity Day in 1969, bringing African-American communities together on the Monday before Election Day to discuss voting and combating racial inequality.