Opinions

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Boogie Time!

It's official: I am all in on Lin. The only story worth watching in the NBA this year has been the play of New York Knicks point guard, Jeremy Lin.

The Interview That Never Was

Today's top story is an interview between Spectrum Editor in Chief Matthew Parrino and UB President Satish K.

Take You Higher

For many students, coming to college for the first time is an adventure. It's the first time we're away from our parents for a long period of time, and the first time we're tasked with taking care of ourselves. Living on our own isn't exactly cheap, however.

The Art of Performing

The number of categories for the 54th Grammy Awards has seen a dramatic drop from years past. Where there were once 109, now there are only 78.

An Assault on Humanity

Living in America and other western nations has infinite privilege that many people of the world would never know.

"If a Team Wins Eight Straight, Does It Make an Impact?"

There are over 29,000 students on this campus, and judging by the student turnout at Saturday's basketball game, only 1,400 of them care that they go here. It was True Blue and the athletic department's attempt to break the student attendance record once again.

The 'ESPN-ization' of Today's News Media

It seems as though the current news landscape has shunned away traditional forms of broadcasting information, instead presenting news soaked in punditry and sensationalism in an attempt to entertain.

The Do's and Do Not's in Picking up Girls

So you're at a bar. You see a cutie across the way, and it hits you. You want her, you want to sweet talk her, you want to make her laugh, and maybe you want to make-out with her ? or something a little more X-rated. But whoa there!

Disaffection Direction

At the beginning of fall semester, we reported that UB had changed its financial aid policy in such a way that blatantly screwed us over.

"Adult Films, Childish Adults"

America's schools have been on a downward slide as of late. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation, our education system fell to an "Average" ranking, with our reading scores being the 14th best in the world. With news like that, everyone knows the importance of pitching in and ensuring our schools get the attention they need, and non-profit groups like Read Across America (RAA) take on an enhanced significance. So when someone comes along to help fight for the cause and get kids motivated about reading, why turn them down? Well, a couple of stories centered on adult film star Sasha Grey have cropped up in the past month where it seemed like RAA was turning away support because of Grey's background. Of course, as is common in the rumor-mill-style 24/7 Internet news death cycle, some of the finer details got lost in translation.

Hip-Hop's New Era

My English teacher back in high school was manic, to say the least. The man was notorious among students for his aggressive attitude and his numerous cynical rants about things like existentialism, nihilism, and what bad scholars we were. I don't remember any of the concepts he taught in that advanced placement class, but I did pick up two things from the class.

The Newest Hardcore Testament

A few weeks ago, I was ecstatic to see a band I had just discovered play live: Skillet. I wasn't even remotely prepared for the diverse experience I was about to have. I drove for over five hours southwest to Columbus, Ohio, for Winter Jam 2012.

Half Time Fumble

Low Marks

Sometimes being an American citizen feels more like being the parent of a bratty kid. You turn your back for one minute and they have their spit covered fingers in the cookie jar and are ready to set the house on fire in an attempt to make s'mores in the living room. In a way, we're all the not-so-proud parents of a bouncing baby Congress. Lets take the case of the congressional ban on earmarks.

The Art of Hickeys

Vampire got your neck? I know undead bloodsuckers are the up-and-coming trend amongst many teenage girls and even some boys ? but let's leave the vampires to the television screen and keep the red and purple bruises off our necks. While foreplay before sex is even better than miso soup before a spicy tuna roll, it's easy to get carried away and let your partner get a little too into kissing your body.

Boogie Time!

After an interesting week in the NBA, a special, slightly-biased committee (of one) is here to present the risers and fallers over the past seven days in the Association. One player that is rising fast is Jeremy Lin.

Hero or Villain?

Back in late 2009, the U.S. Military realized it had a problem on its hands. A video of a deadly helicopter attack from 2007 was released to the well-known online whistleblower haven WikiLeaks.

A Clouded Window

Some things in particular are quintessentially American. Foods like apple pie, an unnatural fascination with big stuff, and baseball all come to mind immediately, but one thing takes the cake as the most essential to the American experience, and that is a free press. Newspapers played an integral part in the formation of this nation, and as such the founding fathers made it extremely clear that journalism should be strongly protected.

A Matter of Time

When you are trying to figure out who is leading the world in technological and scientific innovation, you look to the Nobel Prize.

Cut the Man Some Slack

News out of Texas this week was that Rangers star outfielder Josh Hamilton relapsed in his fight with alcoholism. It's something that he battled with in the early part of his career, having been drafted first overall in 1999 but failing to reach the majors until 2007 because of his struggles with crack and alcohol. Last Monday night, that same beast reared its ugly head. This isn't the first relapse for Hamilton.