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News briefs: What to know locally, nationally and globally

President Tripathi and Johnson urge local congress members to oppose federal research cuts UB President Satish Tripathi, along with President and CEO of Roswell Park Cancer Institute Candace Johnson, pushed for those in the Western New York congressional delegation to fight a cap on federal spending on costs that are critical to conducting research, according to UB Now.


Senior linguistics and African American studies major Kara Dunovant has been selected as one of the College of Arts and Science’s 2017 “Outstanding Seniors.” Dunovant juggles two jobs and a program for inner-city girls all while maintaining a high GPA.
NEWS

UB College of Arts and Sciences honors 2017 outstanding seniors

Kara Dunovant started a mentorship program for inner-city girls all while maintaining working two jobs and her 3.8 GPA. Dunovant is one of 27 graduating UB seniors being recognized as an outstanding senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. Every spring, the dean of College of Arts and Sciences selects graduating students with the highest academic achievement and most involvement in their department to be awarded the “Dean’s Outstanding Senior.”


NEWS

Pass the Addy: Adderall black market thrives at UB and colleges nationwide

Kara Rodriguez* doesn’t feel smart enough to study for big exams without Adderall. Erika Hussein’s* tight-knit family is strict about grades. She’s afraid to disappoint them and calls Adderall a “necessary evil.” Alexa Smalls* mixes Adderall with caffeine pills she buys on Amazon for an extra boost while studying. Candy-colored pills, often dubbed “addy,” fill the pockets of UB students and offer them the most elusive 21st-century promise – the ability to do it all. Students who take Adderall say it allows them to focus on tests and still have energy to hit the gym and party over the weekend. The effect starts about 20 minutes after a pill is popped and the peak occurs about an hour and a half in.


NEWS

News briefs: What to know locally, nationally and globally

College of Arts and Sciences to hold two separate commencement ceremonies The College of Arts and Sciences will be holding two separate commencement ceremonies due to the high number of graduates, according to UB Now. In previous years, there was not enough room in Alumni Arena for students’ families and some had to watch the ceremony on a video feed in the Center for the Arts. To accommodate the growing number of graduates, this year’s May 21 commencement will hold one ceremony at 9:30 a.m. for students in the arts, natural sciences, mathematics and interdisciplinary programs and one ceremony at 3 p.m. for students in humanities and social sciences. Students can also request up to six tickets whereas in previous years they were only given four.


UB men's swimming and diving team practices. Donors and alumni of the team are attempting to save the team from being cut. 
NEWS

Donors demand answers: Men’s swimming and diving donors and alumni fight back against UB Athletics' cuts

A UB alumnus is threatening to sue UB over its April decision to cut four sports teams, particularly UB swimming, to which he has donated $15,000 since 2015. Richard Lydecker, a successful civil litigator with offices in Miami, New York and Tampa, is outraged that UB solicited his pledge to give up to $50,000 to the men’s swim team, but then cut the team without warning.


NEWS

News briefs: what to know locally, nationally, globally

The College of Arts and Sciences will be holding two separate commencement ceremonies due to the high number of graduates, according to UB Now. In previous years, there was not enough room in Alumni Arena for students’ families and some had to watch the ceremony on a video feed in the Center for the Arts


Qasim Rashid, a civil rights attorney, former Harvard University Fellow of Islamic Studies and Amazon bestselling author, spoke at UB Tuesday evening about the misconceptions of Islam. 
NEWS

Qasim Rashid holds 'True Islam: A Response to Islamophobes and Terrorists Everywhere' discussion at UB

Qasim Rashid believes there’s a philosophy in media that “if it bleeds, it leads.” He thinks because Richard Spencer’s speech on Monday was more sensationalized, it garnered more attention. Rashid’s event, by contrast, was smaller, quieter and more peaceful, but about half of the audience left midway through. “Unfortunately, that has dominated our media lives – what’s going to get more clicks, what’s going to get more views,” Rashid said. “I think that’s why people left. If I spoke up there about how Sharia law is coming and Muslims are taking over, I guarantee you we would have had more.”


NEWS

Discontent spreads as Robert Spencer’s visit to UB nears

Robert Spencer’s impending visit is causing major tension across UB’s campus. Spencer, a controversial self-proclaimed radical Islam expert, will speak about the dangers of radical Islam in Knox 109 on May 1. Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) is hosting Spencer’s visit. Chairwoman Lynn Sementilli defended this decision saying public universities are the place for free speech and discussion, even for the most difficult topics.


Current SA Assembly Speaker Mike Brown has been elected 2017-18 UB Council student representative. 
NEWS

Mike Brown elected 2017-18 UB Council student representative

As UB Council student representative, Mike Brown doesn’t just want to advocate for students, he wants to advocate with them. “[An] overarching goal is bringing more people into the fold of fighting for change because frankly I can’t do it alone, I need to work with others and ultimately what I’ll be trying to accomplish – to work with others and bring more student advocates to the table,” Brown said.


Spectrum editor Hannah Stein sits down with Brandon Stanton before he speaks at UB’s Distinguished Speaker Series.
NEWS

Spectrum’s Q&A with Brandon Stanton

Q: Did you initially expect for your project to have had the impact it has had? What was your reaction to its success? A: I moved to New York City to start Humans of New York (HONY) so obviously I thought it had the potential to be something. You know my whole goal was to grow it large enough to where I could support myself and be an artist full-time. That was the ultimate goal and so I say anything beyond that was unexpected.


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