News

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Faculty Pledge to Support New Research Office

When President John B. Simpson took office at UB, he pledged a greater commitment to research, and The Faculty Senate Executive Committee appears to be pursuing that goal by supporting the creation of a Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowship during a meeting Wednesday.According to officials, the office will provide a centralized location, on the ground floor of Capen Hall, for information about undergraduate research opportunities all across campus."The majority of research universities offer some form of an undergraduate research experience to their students," said Timothy Tryjankowski, the program's coordinator.

Fan Site Grows With Bulls' Wins

Bulls fans who can't get enough of the Sea of Blue at Alumni Arena have taken their spirit online, to a popular site called UBFan.com.At this site, visitors are treated to daily polls, fan forums, top ten lists, and exclusive articles on UB's athletics program.The website began as a simple dream for Kyu Hwang, a 1995 UB graduate who characterizes himself as one of the biggest Bulls fans of all time."As a Bulls supporter who lives in NYC, I was always starving for information on how the team was doing," Hwang said.

Corrections

In the Dec. 1 article

A Thousand Miles of Improvement

Vanessa Carlton's debut album, "Be Not Nobody," aside from being a grammatical atrocity, was mediocre despite its immense commercial success.

Champs Come to Town for MAC Opener

Tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the Mid-American Conference East division, the UB men's basketball team will open the 2004-2005 MAC portion of its schedule this Saturday night when the Bulls host the defending conference champion Western Michigan.Last season, Western Michigan was a powerhouse, breezing through the conference on the way to recording an impressive 15-3 MAC record and a 26-5 overall record.After the Broncos (3-2 overall, 0-0 MAC) defeated Kent State 77-67 in the MAC title game, they earned an automatic NCAA tournament bid, where the team eventually fell to Vanderbilt in the first round, 71-58.This season, the Broncos return three starters, and will strongly compete with the other teams in the MAC West for a chance at a title repeat.Western Michigan is armed with a handful of very potent weapons, including 2004 All-MAC first team honoree Ben Reed.

Upcoming Games

Men

Speaker to Ponder State of Science

Fifty years since the discovery of DNA, science has come a long way, but it finds itself pulled in opposite directions.Where the middle ground lies between high schools dropping evolutionism and state governments funding stem cell research is a question one professor says is essential to both the future direction of science, and a step towards the truth about what science really is.Susan Haack, a professor of philosophy and law at the University of Miami, will speak Saturday night at the Center for Inquiry on Sweet Home Road about her latest book, "Defending Science -- Within Reason."Haack said although when many people think of science being under attack they think of science versus religion, the problem isn't that narrow."It's the first thing on a lot of people's minds, but it's not the first thing on mine.

Late Show for Snow

It's December in Buffalo, but until today, the ground was still hard, it was still light jacket weather, and the lake was still in liquid form.Love it or hate it, snow is a trademark characteristic of Buffalo, and students around UB have been marveling at the lack of it, until they woke up today to see the ground covered in white.Jeff Brunskill, a graduate student in the geography department, said although Buffalo has a reputation for blizzards by Halloween, a warm early December is nothing out of the ordinary."It's not uncommon to have a warm period in early December," he said.

Scoreboard

Men

Cementing An Image in E. Town

In the film "American Beauty," Wes Bentley's character, Ricky Fitts, films life from the viewpoint that some things are inexplicably charming.E.

"Despite Gaffes, Bulls Hold Off Colgate"

Few teams are able to register a victory in a game in which they record 22 turnovers, shoot under 45 percent in the first half, and have a lower free throw percentage than the opposing team.The Bulls, however, beat the odds on Wednesday night in Alumni Arena as they defeated the Colgate Red Raiders, 74-62.Fresh off of a blowout victory over Indiana State on Saturday, the Bulls (3-1 overall, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) were not able to carry over Saturday night's near-perfect play into Wednesday night's game against Colgate (2-3 overall, 0-0 Patriot League).Although the Bulls notched a win, there was a somber mood after the game as UB head coach Reggie Witherspoon reprimanded his team for not playing up to its full potential."We didn't play well," said Witherspoon.

Depravity Is So Much 'Closer' to Reality

Not since Tom Green's "Freddy Got Fingered" has a film captured the repugnance of human behavior as well as "Closer." No, Julia Roberts wasn't filmed sucking a cow's udder.

"Amid Hype, Bulls' Fan Base Grows"

Four games into the men's basketball season, Bulls fans don't consider it too early to start hungrily eyeing a conference title, especially for a Bulls team that seems to have a little sports magic in its step and a rapidly growing bandwagon."Based on the men's basketball brilliant performance on the court the last couple of games, and not to mention last season's winning streak, I have a gut feeling that they just might win the (Mid-American Conference) title," said Andy Kosut of Lewiston.Thanks to an exciting run into the playoffs last season, an increasing number of Western New York residents like Kosut are lining up at Alumni Arena and paying to see the Bulls, who defeated Colgate Wednesday night 74-62.But having been such a big part of last year's success, the students continue to be the first ones in line at Alumni."It looks like a promising year," said Andrew McDermott, a freshman undecided major.

Woes Worsen for Women's Team

Hindered by inconsistency and youth, the University at Buffalo women's basketball team fell victim to the Northeastern Huskies on the road Wednesday night, 71-44."We're a young team trying to find ourselves and it showed tonight," said Buffalo head coach Cheryl Dozier in a press release.The Bulls shot 55 percent (11-20) from the floor in the first half but experienced difficulty finding an offensive rhythm in the second half, shooting a lackluster 29.2 percent (7-24).Turnovers also proved to be costly for the Bulls (1-3 overall, 0-0 Mid-American Conference), as the Huskies (2-3 overall, 0-0 America East) converted 25 UB turnovers into 26 points."We just came out flat in the second half and we let the game get away from us.

Christmas for the Heathen

Why does it always seem like the people who push their religion the most are the ones least likely to follow it?I'm not talking about priests and rabbis and monks who work to share a message and make the world a better place.

Jigga Rolling With Rockers

He's sold over 17 million albums, built the multi-million dollar empire Roc-A-Fella Records, and is now collaborating with one of the biggest rock acts around.

Turmoil in Ukraine Concerns Students

With last week's election results still threatening to plunge the Ukraine into political chaos, UB students with ties to the eastern European country sounded off on the accusations of voter fraud and tensions reminiscent of the Cold War.Recently, the Ukrainian parliament voided the election results but left it unclear whether a new election would be held.

Ben Sargent Cartoon 12.3.04

Troop Hike Shows Iraq Not Ready For Elections

This week the news came down from Washington that U.S. troop levels in Iraq will be increased by 1,500 and that tours for 10,000 troops will be extended, bringing the total troop level up to 150,000.

Fake ID Wars

For years, legions of eager-to-drink undergraduates have been at odds with the country's legal drinking age of 21.Despite UB's proximity to Canada, where the drinking age is just 19, many students instead try their luck at local watering holes.