News - The Spectrum

Scott Weber sits in his office in 520 Capen Hall. Weber, vice president of Student Life, sat down with The Spectrum Tuesday morning to discuss student concerns and his vision for the university.

NEWS

UB in the Weber era

By SARAH CROWLEY | Oct. 26, 2017

Scott Weber wants to be known as more than “the man who sends the emails.” He knows his signature, “A. Scott Weber,” sign-off is how most UB students know their Vice President; but Weber has bigger dreams for students than cluttering their inboxes. Weber sat down with The Spectrum Tuesday to discuss his experience as Vice President for Student Life after he was appointed in January by Tripathi once Dennis Black resigned from the position.

Students, faculty and staff discussed cultural appropriation in the Student Union on Tuesday night.

NEWS

UB DifCon Series discusses cultural appropriation

By ANNA SAVCHENKO | Oct. 26, 2017

UB faculty, staff and students came together to discuss and share different perspectives on cultural appropriation in the Student Union Tuesday night. DifCon, or Difficult Conversations, is a discussion series sponsored by the Office of Inclusive Excellence, which aims to bring members of the UB community together to engage in constructive conversations about controversial societal issues.

NEWS

Communication professor appointed as new DMS chair

By DAVID TUNIS-GARCIA | Oct. 26, 2017

Robin Schulze, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, approached Feeley in “late September or early October,” to inform him that Böhlen would no longer be DMS chair and asked him to fill the position, Feeley said. Feeley is a communication professor since 2011 who chaired the communication department for six years until 2015.

NEWS

UB police blotter 10/17-10/23

By News Desk | Oct. 26, 2017

10/17 2:10 p.m. A student reported his black, North Face backpack was stolen from the fourth floor of Lockwood Library after he left it unattended for a few minutes. The bag contained a laptop and several notebooks.

NEWS

News briefs

By News Desk | Oct. 26, 2017

In campus news, UB is hosting a Halloween party in the Downtown Gateway building. Locally, Officer Craig E. Lehner's funeral was on Wednesday with more than 8,000 in attendance. Nationally, the Houston Astros won their first World Series game while in Europe, the EU Parliament tackles sexual harassment.

Several classrooms in Clemens Hall remained closed for cleaning and de-humidifying last week. Clemens Hall will re-open fully Monday, Oct. 23.

NEWS

Clemens Hall fully reopens Monday

By News Desk | Oct. 23, 2017

All classes in Clemens Hall will return to their regularly scheduled classrooms beginning Monday, Oct. 23. A ruptured water valve caused significant flooding on Oct. 17 and led to more than 90 scheduled classes being displaced or canceled over the following week. UB Communications reported on Friday that conditions have improved: UB Facilities and maintenance crews removed all standing water from the building.

O’Brian Hall is home to UB’s School of Law on the North Campus. An alumnus of the School of Law is suing for the UB Faculty Student Housing Corporation to release its records.

NEWS

UB law school alum sues for UB Foundation’s Housing Corp. to release records

By SARAH CROWLEY | Oct. 23, 2017

A UB alumnus is asking a State Supreme Court justice to decide if a student-housing nonprofit linked to the UB Foundation should make its records and meetings public. John N. Lipsitz, an alumnus of the law school, requested records from the Faculty-Student Housing Corp.

NEWS

The hallowed history of Halloween

By MADDY FOWLER | Oct. 23, 2017

When most people think about Halloween, candy, spooky costumes, haunted houses and trick-or-treating come to mind. But few think about the connections between Halloween and religious traditions. Modern-day Halloween originates from various harvest festivals, including Samhain, the beginning of the spiritual new year and the Feast of the Dead for Pagans. Contemporary Halloween festivities vary greatly from the holiday’s Pagan origins, however.

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.

NEWS

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.

NEWS

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.