News

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I Need to Dance

I want to embody the international epitome of "cool."Elvis Presley. Johnny Cash. Janis Joplin. Robert Plant.

Better Than Stick Figures: 4.7.04

The Fashion Expert

I was watching some sitcom from the mid-1990s the other day and I came away with two general observations:1) Adding a monkey to a situation is guaranteed to make the scene hysterical.2) Any fashion styles ranging from 1991 to the present will be embarrassing in the future.Take, for example, the skort (the shorts/skirt hybrid), and overall shorts.

Morality Issue Frames Christian-Muslim Debate

Thursday evening marked the final Christian and Muslim dialogue sponsored by Muslim Student Association and Buffalo International Students, Inc.Imam Ibrahim, the Muslim speaker, and Rev.

The Other Sports

During the men's basketball playoffs last month, WGRZ-TV Buffalo's Channel 2 News interrupted its 11 o'clock news broadcast every ten minutes to give an update on the UB Bulls' progress.While big sports like basketball and football receive primetime coverage, many other college sports teams seem to have to make due with residual interest.

Dead Prez Bring Rap Back to Life

Thinking of hip-hop generally calls to mind moguls decked out in their own brand of street wear, flaunting diamonds, driving fast cars with spinning rims, living in big houses and flossing platinum-plated teeth.To further brand that image into your brain, hip-hoppers rap about their hot gear, fly rides and killer cribs.With the rap group Dead Prez, this hip-hop generation's freedom fighters, emcees Sticman and M-1, rap unconventionally about the harsh realities of life.The ghetto, drugs, police brutality, poverty, revolution and propaganda in the media are just some of the controversial and politically incorrect themes Dead Prez continues to rhyme about in their new CD, "RBG.""RBG" stands for "Revolutionary But Gangsta," "Red Black Green," "Real Big Guns" and "Reaching Bigger Goals." "Dead Prez" is slang for money.Dead Prez present themselves as gangster revolutionaries - socially conscious rappers from the projects who voice the thoughts of the poor and downtrodden of American society."RBG" is full of unpretentious beats and intricate lyrics.

Slumlords Have A Purpose

In response to the article in the April 5 issue of The Spectrum titled "Slumlords a Peril of Heights Living," I would just like to point out that the slumlords used to have a purpose.A year ago, when my friends and I were looking for a house, we wanted a place to accommodate our dreams of hosting massive parties and doing stupid stuff without repercussion.

Illmatic Turns 10

Ten years ago to the month, a young rapper from New York City established a connection with the right people, landed a deal with Columbia Records and created a record that for a decade has been hailed as one of the best rap albums ever recorded.The place was the Queensbridge Projects, the right people were producers Large Professor and DJ Premier and the album is Nas's "Illmatic."In order to commemorate the achievements of Nas and his landmark debut album, a remastered special edition has been released.The album is a two-disc set.

Correction

The calendar of events in the April 5 issue of The Spectrum incorrectly stated the "Reflections of Thailand" event at 6 p.m.

Charges Pursued Against Fraternity for Hazing

Criminal charges are pending against one member of the Lambda Upsilon Lambda fraternity and campus charges will be filed against the fraternity after a hazing incident on North Campus early Tuesday morning.Ramon Pena was arrested in the Letchworth Woods, located between the Ellicott Complex and Sweet Home Road, for hazing two pledges, neither of whom attend UB.University Police said they spotted Pena and two pledges, both of whom were wet and covered with mud, in the woods around 5:45 a.m.

'Breeding Season' Breeds Boredom

Six partially filled black buckets sat scattered on the stained wood floor.Unlike the rest of the dimly lit room, they were not there on display, but to serve the purpose of collecting the dripping rainwater coming from several holes in the badly insulated roof.This is the current scene in the Big Orbit Gallery, located at 30D Essex St.

Hazing Alleged in Letchworth Woods

A sorry ritual played out Tuesday morning in the woods near the Ellicott Complex, as two pledges to a UB fraternity were allegedly forced to lay in mud in the early hours of a bitingly cold morning.

UB Profs Design Swimsuit for Olympics

As the world looks towards Athens and the 2004 summer Olympics, some U.S. Olympic swimmers are looking towards UB for the latest in high-tech swimwear.Two UB professors from the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, along with the men's swim coach, have designed a new swimsuit called the "Turbulator" that increases swimming speed by decreasing drag.Professors David Pendergast and Joseph Mollendorf and men's swim coach Albert Termin teamed up with swimwear company TYR to design, create and distribute the new suit."TYR were partners in this with us providing the basic design and them making the actual suit," the two professors stated in a joint e-mail.

Business Scandals Prompt Development of New Ethics Course

Grumbling may be heard this fall around the Jacobs Management Center as UB's Masters of Business Administration students mutter curses about the likes of John Rigas, Martha Stewart and Dennis Kozlowski.Fall 2005 is the target date for the beginning of a new, mandatory course in business ethics currently being developed by the School of Management's MBA program, mainly as a response to the business scandals that have cropped up in the news recently."It comes out of this round of corporate problems, harking back to Enron as sort of the initial blow-out," said David Frasier, assistant dean of the business school and its director of MBA programs.There are no requirements for the business school to have an ethics course, but Frasier believes the current headlines have demonstrated the need for one."My personal opinion is that if we have adequate depth in personal ethics, then there is no need for corporate ethics.

Two Games Too Close to Call

The Bulls were looking to take a step in the right direction when they opened up conference play last weekend, but weather and the Akron Zips clouded those chances.UB (5-17 overall, 0-2 Mid-American Conference) will face cross-town rival Niagara (7-13, 3-1 Metro-Atlantic Athletic Conference) in a double header today at Amherst Audubon Field.Buffalo opened the conference schedule with two losses against Akron on Saturday.

"Pessimism, Not Political Parties, Causes Apathy"

I read with interest the letter to the editor from Andrew Tarnowski titled "Political Parties Cause Apathy" in the April 5 issue of The Spectrum, which explained why he does not vote in student elections.

Just in Time to Study

Allow me to rehash for you the past 11 weeks of this semester.When exactly did this semester begin?

Prominent Speaker to Speak on Integration

Fifty years after the Supreme Court struck down the doctrine of "separate but equal" school facilities for black and white children, a UB department is hosting a prominent civil rights speaker to mark the anniversary.The Department of African American Studies has invited Mary Frances Berry, the current chairperson of the U.S.

NHL Playoff Preview

The Stanley Cup Playoffs will not be heading into Buffalo, but it is still the best time of the year to watch.Fresh off a rather mediocre Final Four and with the possibly of a lockout looming, 2004 will be the most exciting yet because nobody can say when next will come.The playoffs are determined by an infinite number of variables.

UB Jerseys Hit Stands Next Season

Take a glance in any major sporting catalog like Eastbay or take a walk through Champs or Finish Line.