News - The Spectrum

President Satish Tripathi and Vice President of Student Life Scott Weber sit in on COAL meeting with student government leaders, UB Student Council Representative Michael Brown SA President Leslie Veloz, GA president Jennifer Schechter, former GA president Tanja Niina Aho, Student Wide Judiciary Chief Justice Joe Wolf and Graduate Management Association’s secretary Mark Wilson.

NEWS

UB Council of Advocacy and Leadership addresses student concerns with administration

By MAX KALNITZ | Sep. 22, 2017

UB Council Student Representative Mike Brown wants more transparency and shared governance between the UB student population and administration. President Satish Tripathi, Vice President for Student Life Scott Weber and Chief of Staff Beth Del Genio met with members within the Council of Advocacy and Leadership (COAL) on Thursday to discuss student concerns and suggestions for a more transparent community.

NEWS

Mythbusters: Going abroad edition

By HARUKA KOSUGI | Sep. 21, 2017

Alize Scott could be the first member of her family to travel outside the U.S. Her lack of travel experience has held her back from studying abroad – until now. Scott, a junior communication major, hopes to study abroad somewhere in Africa, despite her anxiety of the unknown.

Nicole Lowman, an English graduate student, discusses the TA stipends and cost of living expenses. Lowman and other graduate students will be joined by faculty and others on Monday to present President Tripathi with a petition for an increase in minimum TA stipends.

NEWS

UB graduate students and faculty to march for TA stipend increase

By DAN MCKEON | Sep. 21, 2017

A mix of graduate and undergraduate students, faculty and other community members are planning to march on Monday to present a petition to guarantee a livable minimum stipend for teaching assistants (TA).

David Castillo, director of the Humanities Institute, sits in his office. Castillo discussed the agenda for this year’s Buffalo Humanities Festival.

NEWS

UB looks forward to upcoming Buffalo Humanities Festival

By ANNA SAVCHENKO | Sep. 21, 2017

Most people consider Bill McKibben the country’s current leading environmental activist. What most don’t know is how he earned that title. McKibben was arrested in 2011 after leading one of the decade’s largest protests against the Keystone XL pipeline construction.

Monday evening former NASA chief Charles Bolden talked to a group of students, educating them about Buffalo Niagara’s rich aerospace and aviation history.

NEWS

Former NASA Administrator Charles Bolden kicks off UB’s Space Week

By MADDY FOWLER | Sep. 20, 2017

Over 100 people gathered in 101 Davis Hall on Monday evening to hear the former NASA Administrator speak. Students packed the room, filling every seat, spilling into aisles and crouching in back corners. Bolden served as the keynote speaker for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences’ Space Week. Bolden discussed the components of NASA, Mars exploration, plans for future expeditions and the possibility of life in outer space.

Malala Yousafzai, the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate and leading humans rights activist speaks at Thursday's Distinguished Speaker Series. Yousafzai spoke about girl's education and her mission.

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Malala Yousafzai speaks at UB Distinguished Speaker Series

By SARAH CROWLEY | Sep. 20, 2017

Malala Yousafzai called out the Taliban, climate change deniers and world leaders who need to do more for girl’s education. Yousafzai, the world’s youngest Nobel Prize laureate and leading human rights activist, brought the audience to its feet with roaring applause before she even took the stage at Tuesday night’s sold-out lecture in a sweltering hot Alumni Arena.

NEWS

Back to school blotter: 9/1-9/11

By News Desk | Sep. 18, 2017

9/1 11:19 p.m. A resident advisor (RA) in Wilkeson Quad reported she was in a room where students had been drinking. The RA confiscated the students’ IDs, got rid of the alcohol they were drinking and requested police.

NEWS

University Police identify suspect in dorm burglaries

By SARAH CROWLEY | Sep. 18, 2017

University Police named their suspect in a string of residence hall burglaries. Darnell Cleveland is 20-years-old and is not affiliated with UB. Cleveland has been named as the suspect in seven on-campus burglaries since July. Police are sharing his identity with UB students to prevent any more students from becoming burglary victims.

NEWS

Faculty and administration conduct joint gender equity study

By SARAH CROWLEY | Sep. 18, 2017

Faculty and administration are looking to find out once-and-for-all whether UB’s female faculty members are paid less for equal work. Provost Charles Zukoski and Faculty Senate Chair Philip Glick charged a gender equity salary committee in March 2017 to determine if gender bias exists for tenured and tenure-track professors.

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News briefs: What to know locally, nationally and globally

By News Desk | Sep. 18, 2017

UB launches website showcasing new medical campus UB launched a website to promote the new downtown home of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The site is intended to bring regional and national awareness to the school’s new building, according to a UB press release. The site includes pages detailing the school’s community impact, research and patient care and more.

District Attorney John Flynn sat down with The Spectrum and discussed the aftermath of former Vice President of Student Affairs, Dennis Black and former Director of Campus Living Andrea Costantino's felonies.

NEWS

Erie County District Attorney expresses concern about Dennis Black's and Andrea Costantino's conviction

By MAX KALNITZ | Sep. 14, 2017

Erie County District Attorney John Flynn sits in disbelief at the lack of trust between UB students and administrators one week after prosecuting former Vice President Dennis Black and former Director of Campus Living Andrea Costantino.

Students and community members from the University Heights discuss plans for the future of the neighborhood.

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University Heights Collaborative members and student representatives discuss late-night busing

By MADDY FOWLER | Sep. 14, 2017

Molly Poremski can finally sleep through the night without fear of having her fence torn down or a rock thrown in her window. Poremski, a digital collections librarian at UB and the secretary of the University Heights Collaborative neighborhood group, was one of 30 neighborhood residents who gathered at the Gloria Parks Community Center on Thursday evening to discuss recent changes to UB’s late-night busing schedule with student representatives.

NEWS

UB attempts to tighten financial controls

By SARAH CROWLEY | Sep. 14, 2017

On Thursday, two former administrators admitted to stealing hundreds of thousands in state funds during their tenure at UB. This came roughly six months after a former UB supervisor pleaded guilty to felony charges of bid-rigging. In his press conference following the guilty pleas, District Attorney John Flynn posed a question for UB to consider.

NEWS

Counseling Services to host suicide prevention training on Friday

By SARAH CROWLEY | Sep. 14, 2017

Counseling Services invites students to attend a Suicide Prevention training session on Friday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Student Union. The Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) training session will cap off a week of programming in honor of National Suicide Prevention Week. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students, according to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center.

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News Briefs: What to know locally, nationally and globally

By News Desk | Sep. 11, 2017

Two former UB officials plead guilty to felony charges Former UB vice president Dennis Black pleaded guilty to two felony counts on Thursday morning in the Erie County Court. Black admitted to stealing over $300,000 in state funds for personal use, as well as using state money for charitable donations he improperly claimed on his taxes. Black will pay $320,000 to UB and $22,000 in back-taxes to NYS.

L to R, Michael Turner, a freshman business administration major, Mirtolib Sunnatov, a sophomore business, Allison Gomez, a freshman undecided major were surprised by Black and Costantino's guilty pleas. However, they feel it's difficult to fully lose trust in the university.

NEWS

UB students and faculty react to Dennis Black and Andrea Costantino's guilty pleas

By SARAH CROWLEY | Sep. 11, 2017

Alex Poland has lost confidence in UB and where his tuition dollars are being spent. Black and Costantino’s criminal actions have left him feeling worried and skeptical about how UB administration handles money. UB students, faculty and alumni are feeling shocked and concerned after former Vice President Dennis Black and former director of Campus Living Andrea Costantino pleaded guilty to over $300,000 of grand larceny.

Former UB Vice President Dennis Black swears in at Erie County Courthouse. Black and former Campus Living Director Andrea Costantino plead guilty to grand larceny in front of Judge John L. Michalski Thursday morning.

NEWS

Dennis Black and Andrea Costantino plead guilty to grand larceny

By HANNAH STEIN , SARAH CROWLEY and MADDY FOWLER | Sep. 7, 2017

Former UB Vice President Dennis Black plead guilty to two felony charges and former Campus Living Director Andrea Costantino plead guilty to grand larceny in the fourth degree in front of Judge John L. Michalski Thursday morning at the Erie County Courthouse. Black will pay UB $320,000 from stealing hundreds of thousands from a UB bank account. Black also plead guilty to falsifying tax information and will pay and will pay $22,238 back to New York State Taxation and Finance Department.

NEWS

News Briefs: What to know locally, nationally and globally

By News Desk | Sep. 7, 2017

Here's what's been going on around the world and in your backyard.

A woman at the "March to Defend DACA and Divest from Deportation" rally holds a sign that reads, "no human being is illegal."

NEWS

Hundreds gather downtown for immigration march

By MADDY FOWLER | Sep. 6, 2017

Anne Marie Butler attended Wednesday night’s “March to Defend DACA and Divest from Deportation” because she believes President Trump’s move to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is “inhumanely cruel.”

NEWS

Seventeen UB students arrested in past two weeks

By SARAH CROWLEY | Sep. 6, 2017

The late-night “drunk bus” is gone, and Buffalo police are fining UB students $1,500 for throwing parties in the University Heights. Seventeen students were arrested in the first two weeks of school and Buffalo police broke up several parties around South Campus neighborhoods on Friday evening and early Saturday.