News

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UB Students Simulate Life on Mars

While other students spent Spring Break on a beach in Daytona or Cancun, two UB graduate students spent their vacation in a two-story metal cylinder that simulated conditions of Mars.For two weeks in late March and early April, Brent Gerry and Abbey Semple, doctoral students in the department of geology, replicated the living and working conditions of astronauts who landed on the red planet, all while in Utah.The UB duo was part of the 16th crew of scientists and engineers to man the Mars Desert Research Station, located a few miles outside Hanksville, Utah.

Faculty Committee Calls for Increase and Improvement of UB's Classrooms

Students and faculty concerned with the recent reduction in classrooms and the upkeep of the remaining ones may be able to look forward to changes.The Faculty Senate Facilities Committee recently submitted a number of recommendations regarding maintenance and scheduling problems in classrooms to the administration.According to the report by the Faculty Senate Facilities Committee, centrally scheduled classrooms on campus have gone from a usage of 285 in 1978 to the current number of 138, without a decrease in enrollment numbers.Joseph Zambon, professor of periodontics and endodontics and a member of the FSEC, said the term "centrally scheduled classrooms" refers to classrooms, such as Knox 20, that are maintained and scheduled by the university as opposed to being controlled by the medical or law school.According to Zambon, each year, between the hours of 10 a.m.

NBA Playoff Preview

The NBA Playoffs are upon us once again, but this time David Stern and the NBA have changed it up a little.

Pitching to Rebound In Series with Redhawks

UB baseball comes home this weekend to get the ball rolling on all fronts, looking for improvement in every statistical category, most importantly their record.They will attempt to best the RedHawks of Miami (Ohio), who are a tough team to beat on one's best day, and UB will more than likely have their hands full.Friday afternoon UB (8-21, 3-7 MAC) welcomes Miami (17-16-1, 5-3 MAC) to UB Stadium for a four-game series.During the last two seasons of MAC play Buffalo has had a difficult time winning a single game in a series against a RedHawks team known for its terrific pitching and strong fundamentals."Miami is a team that does not make a lot of mistakes.

"UB Summer Sessions Packed with New Programs, Events"

While many UB students will depart home this summer for time away from school, others will stay behind to earn credits and participate in various programs scheduled for the warmer months ahead.In addition to the usual summer courses - which Associate Vice Provost Katherine Ferguson said is "one of the largest academic course schedules in the Northeast offered this summer" - UB will offer a variety of programs and activities as part of the new "UB This Summer" program.Incoming freshmen can participate in the Academic Challenge and Enrichment Program, specifically designed to help them adjust to college life before classes officially start.

Research Assistants Granted Right to Unionize

The National Labor Relations Board ruled Friday that research assistants at UB have the right to unionize.A vote will be held within the next month in which research assistants decide whether to join the Graduate Student Employees Union.

A Muddy Good Time: Oozfest 2003

If anyone thinks college students are too old to play in the mud, they should pay a visit to the mud pit on St.

SA May Pull Out of Sub-Board I

The future of Sub-Board I, Inc., is in question after its board of directors meeting Wednesday, in which doubts were raised on whether the Student Association would continue its participation in the organization.According to Lars Hansen, current president of SBI, after the officers for the 2003-04 school year were chosen, members of the 2003-04 SA e-board discussed pulling SA funding from Sub-Board, the corporation that controls student services such as the Michael Hall pharmacy, student medical insurance, Health Education and Human Services, and group legal services.Currently, undergraduate students contribute roughly $600,000 to SBI through an SA allocation and retain six seats of its 14-member board of directors.

Better Than Stick Figures: 4.18.03

Movie Review: Malibu's Most Wanted (** out of 5)

Can Jamie Kennedy carry a movie by himself? While he has proven he can handle being the stupid guy standing next to the main character in films like "Scream," "Malibu's Most Wanted" is his first headlining film, and the answer movie-goers will find is that no, Kennedy is not leading man material.Kennedy plays wannabe-rapper Brad Gluckman, or (as he calls himself) "B-Rad." B-Rad lives in Malibu in a mansion with a five-car garage that's always full.

Senioritis Is More Than Being Lazy

After 16 (or more) years of being engaged with the American schooling system, is it any wonder so many students seem to suffer from "senioritis" as the end of their final year draws near?This so-called affliction gets a lot of attention this time of year, and with good reason.

Sidelines

Mike RadonRadon, a sophomore quarterback for the UB football team, has announced Tuesday his intentions to transfer from the University at Buffalo to attend a Division I-AA school as yet to be determined.

How Sweep It Is!

Despite the winter-like conditions, the Bulls were able to take both ends of a doubleheader from their cross-town rival Canisius Golden Griffins (11-23, 3-3 MAAC) Wednesday afternoon at the UB Softball Field.With the temperature in the low to mid 40s and with winds gusting up to 30 miles an hour, you would think the game was being played in November instead of April.

"Save Us, Atreyu! The Showplace Needs You!"

"Bear with me dude, this phone isn't doing too well on these potholes," Alex Varkatzas, lead singer of rock group Atreyu said on the other line as they cross from Jersey City into Brooklyn.

Forum Panelist Stereotyped Jews

I did not attend the recent Student Association forum on the Iraq war that was reported in the Wednesday, April 16, issue of The Spectrum, so I cannot write that I know with confidence what was said by the contending parties.

It's Play Time in the Student Union

UB students proved Thursday that beer pong is not the only game they know how to play.Students filled the Student Union Lobby on Thursday to participate in the third annual "Play-Day," an event which gave students a chance to play with board games such as Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders, and to revisit other childhood relics, like Play-Doh and sno-cones.According to Jennifer Wantz, a Student Life student activities associate, Play-Day - an event sponsored by Student Life and the Student Programming Board - is designed to allow students to relieve a little stress before final exams begin."This is what your money is paying for, so you may as well have some fun," Doug McNabb, a senior communication major, said.

Clarification

In the article

Research Assistants to Vote on Unionizing

This past week, when the National Labor Relations Board ruled that University at Buffalo research assistants could be eligible to join under their labor laws, it marked a solid victory for every party involved.

Students March on Capen to Protest Sweatshop Labor

Fifty students, carrying signs and chanting into megaphones, marched through the Academic Spine to Capen Hall on Wednesday afternoon to protest UB's policy on sweatshop labor.The students, many from the group UB Students Against Sweatshops, called for the university to affiliate with the Worker Rights Consortium, a watchdog group that currently monitors labor conditions for companies providing apparel for over 100 colleges and universities nationwide.Outside of Capen, the protesters gathered around a blue bench, which served as a podium for several speakers who rebuked administration officials - particularly President William R.

Forgiveness Does Not Mean Sharing

I'm sure everyone can remember the selfish days of being a child. Back in grammar school the class was divided into two teams to play a learning game, like Jeopardy, using the vocabulary words as review for that class.