News - The Spectrum

NEWS

More than 1,500 UB students receive Excelsior Scholarships this semester

By SARAH CROWLEY | Oct. 23, 2017

More than 1,500 UB students took advantage of the New York State Excelsior Scholarship this year, according to The Buffalo News. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the Excelsior Scholarship in April of 2017, as a “last-dollar” initiative to help lower-income students attend college and universities tuition-free. The Excelsior Scholarship covered up to $5,500 for students in 2017-2018, acc

NEWS

#MeToo social media movement raises awareness about sexual harassment and assault

By MADDY FOWLER | Oct. 19, 2017

Thousands of survivors of sexual assault and harassment are speaking up and sharing their stories to spread awareness through a five-letter phrase: “me too.” The #MeToo movement originally started 10 years ago when black activist Tarana Burke created the phrase as a way to connect with other survivors, especially other women of color who had experienced sexual violence

Vice president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Devon Patterson spoke at Wednesday's DIFCON event. He spoke about the importance of student-athletes' voices in social issues.

NEWS

Take a stand: DifCon forum addresses social issues in sports and culture

By JEREMY TORRES | Oct. 19, 2017

Students, athletes, faculty and community leaders came together in UB’s first entry of the Difficult Conversation (DifCon) series this semester. “Taking a Knee and Other Issues of Speech and Expression in Sports” addressed social issues revolving around sports and culture.

An elevator in Clemens hall is filled with water. The flooding was a result of a burst water valve on the fourth floor cooling system.

NEWS

Clemens Hall flooding causes week-long disruption; total damages still unknown

By News Desk | Oct. 19, 2017

More than 90 classes this week in Clemens Hall have been moved or canceled because of flooding. On Monday night at approximately 7:30 p.m., UB Facilities received a report that water was flooding the floors of Clemens Hall. Facilities identified a ruptured valve connected to a pipe used to cool the building within an hour.

BSU members discussed the lack of black faculty in the African American Studies program during their general body meeting on Wednesday night.

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BSU discusses lack of African-American faculty in African-American Studies

By MADDY FOWLER | Oct. 19, 2017

Students discussed the importance of having black professors, especially for African-American studies courses in UB’s Black Student Union general body meeting Wednesday in SU 210. Roughly 50 students filled the seats and some students sat on the floor.

Over 40 women have accused film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment or sexual assault. Weinstein, a UB alum and former Spectrum staff writer, wrote a column in 1971 where a fictitious character threatened to assault a woman at a bar.

NEWS

Harvey Weinstein wrote about attacking women in The Spectrum in 1971

By BENJAMIN BLANCHET and BRENTON BLANCHET | Oct. 19, 2017

Harvey Weinstein wrote about attacking women who refused his advances while he was a UB student and occasional Spectrum columnist in the 1970s. In 1971, he penned a fictitious column in which a hustler named Denny tries to aggressively coerce women to spend time with him. “‘Denny the Hustler’ did not take no for an answer,” he wrote in one February piece.

Theresa Payton spoke in Alumni Arena Wednesday evening as part of the Distinguished Speakers Series. Payton is a former Chief Information Officer for President George W. Bush and is a leading cybersecurity expert.

NEWS

Theresa Payton visits UB as part of Distinguished Speaker Series

By SARAH CROWLEY | Oct. 19, 2017

Theresa Payton believes America’s approach toward cybersecurity is “fundamentally broken.”

Robert Shibley is the dean of the school of Architecture and Planning. Shibley is facing a censure vote from the Faculty Senate over an alleged mishandling of a faculty member’s tenure case.

NEWS

Dean Robert Shibley faces possible censure

By SARAH CROWLEY | Oct. 19, 2017

UB’s Faculty Senate will decide next month whether or not to publicly censure Dean Robert Shibley after a faculty subcommittee found he mishandled an associate professor’s dismissal in 2016. Several administrators gave emotional appeals on the dean’s behalf to remove the public censure resolution at the Oct. 17 Faculty Senate meeting. Those who support the dean said he never violated official policy and did not act alone or unethically in his decision.

Vice President Mike Pence visited Buffalo Tuesday to meet with Rep. Chris Collins and discuss President Trump’s proposed tax reform plan.

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Vice President Mike Pence visits Buffalo

By News Desk | Oct. 19, 2017

Vice President Mike Pence visited Buffalo on Tuesday to meet with Rep. Chris Collins and discuss Trump’s tax reform plan with local businesses. More than 200 supporters greeted Pence at the airport upon his arrival around noon, according to The Buffalo News. Pence greeted the crowd and shook hands with Collins, an early supporter of the Trump campaign and then left for a Republican fundraiser at Salvatore’s Italian Gardens.

NEWS

Classes in Clemens Hall cancelled Tuesday due to flooding; extent of damage unknown

By SARAH CROWLEY | Oct. 16, 2017

A ruptured water valve on the fourth floor of Clemens Hall caused extensive flooding from the basement to the fourth floor, according to University Police. Facilities were notified about the flooding at approximately 8:00 p.m. Monday. Facilities staff members turned the water off and university police activated the fire alarm to alert people to evacuate the building.

NEWS

UB eliminates Student Readership Program

By MADDY FOWLER | Oct. 16, 2017

UB has eliminated its Newspaper Readership Program, which provided students, faculty and staff with complimentary copies of The New York Times and USA Today. The program was eliminated because it was costly and had a “poor distribution process,” according to UB Spokesperson John Della Contrada.

NEWS

DifCon series tackles ‘Taking a Knee’

By SARAH CROWLEY | Oct. 16, 2017

UB will begin the year’s Difficult Conversations series with “Taking a Knee,” a talk centered around kneeling for the national anthem, culturally offensive mascots and language in sports. “Taking a Knee and Other Issues of Speech and Expression in Sports” goes from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. on Oct. 18 in 10 Capen Hall, presented by the Office of Inclusive Excellence, the School of Law and the Division of Athletics.

Joe Wolf, president of UB’s Civil Liberties Union, and Katie Raymond, vice-president of the CLU, attended a conference focused on student rights. Raymond and Wolf are trying to change a policy within the Student-Wide Judiciary which prohibits defenders from speaking on behalf of students in administrative panels.

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UB’s Civil Liberties Union fights for students' rights to a defender

By SARAH CROWLEY | Oct. 16, 2017

UB students who get in trouble at the school aren’t allowed to have lawyers or law students defend them during administrative hearings. Members of UB’s Civil Liberties Union want to change that. They say UB’s practice of making students face administrators alone could be a violation of laws that protect due process.

NEWS

News Briefs

By News Desk | Oct. 16, 2017

Campus UB working with NFTA to make public transportation more accessible A research partnership between the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority and UB’s Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access is working to make buses in Buffalo more accessible for disabled riders, according to UBNow.

Students participating in the Muslim Student Association's Walk with Us event hold a poster supporting Rohingya refugees.

NEWS

Students march to raise awareness for Rohingya refugee crisis

By ANNA SAVCHENKO , HARUKA KOSUGI and KEVIN LAM | Oct. 15, 2017

UB students and the local Muslim community gathered at Flint Loop on Friday to raise awareness of the ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis. UB’s Muslim Student Association organized a march from North to South Campus to spread awareness of the region’s ongoing ethnic persecution.

NEWS

Man commits lewd act in Alumni Arena

By News Desk | Oct. 13, 2017

A man reportedly committed a lewd act in front of a 14-year-old in the Alumni Arena men's sauna at approximately6 p.m.Thursdaynight. The incident was reportedon Friday. The victim described the subject as a balding white male in his 40's with colorful tattoos on each arm and significant body hair, according to a UB Alert.

NEWS

News Briefs

By News Desk | Oct. 12, 2017

Campus Terra cotta mailboxes, winning design in-house competition, installed in Hayes Hall UB set up a series of architectural competitions for students in an effort to “further beautify” the space with student designs following the reopening of the newly renovated Hayes Hall last semester, according to UB Now. The most recent effort was a faculty mailbox redesign.

Students had the opportunity to offer feedback for the future Global Market Cafe. More than 1,200 students, faculty and staff participated in four different focus groups in SU 228 Wednesday and sampled dishes that reflect potential menu options for the cafe.

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Global Market Café planning committee holds community feedback event

By MADDY FOWLER | Oct. 12, 2017

Rainy Liu is excited about the Global Market Café because she thinks it will give international students a taste of home. More than 1,200 students, faculty and staff participated in four different focus groups in SU 228 Wednesday. Participants sampled global-inspired dishes that reflect potential menu options for the Global Market Café.

The unearthed remains of 372 people found on South Campus were re-buried Wednesday morning after a memorial service at the Newman Center.

NEWS

The bones of Buffalo: human remains offer insight into the Queen City’s forgotten past

By SARAH CROWLEY | Oct. 12, 2017

Their names were Michael and Frederica. Michael was an Irish immigrant who worked on the docks unloading lumber, before an injury rendered his leg useless and his family impoverished. Frederica was the wife of an alcoholic, who beat her and cursed her every time he drank. UB researchers called these people Michael and Frederica, but even tireless community research efforts were not able to name the 372 people whose remains were discovered in unmarked graves on UB’s South Campus.

NEWS

UB to revoke Harvey Weinstein’s honorary degree

By SARAH CROWLEY | Oct. 11, 2017

UB will revoke the honorary doctorate it awarded Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in 2000 , after an investigation by The New York Times revealed Weinstein had settled multiple sexual harassment charges over the course of his career. Female actresses, reporters and employees of Weinstein told the Times he had a practice of cornering women under the guise of “business meetings,” then making unwanted sexual advances. “The university is well aware of the allegations involving Mr. Weinstein,” said spokesperson John Della Contrada in an official statement. “The university has initiated the process, pursuant to the SUNY Board of Trustees policy, for the revocation of a SUNY honorary degree.”