Opinions - The Spectrum

OPINION

Letter to the editor

Nov. 6, 2019

On Monday, November 4th, the UB Spectrum ran its annual Political Issue. In it, they featured a poll of issues important to UB students, a community made up of over 31,000 people. We were saddened to see that only 100 students participated in the poll; this sample is merely 0.3% of the total population whom the survey supposedly represents, meaning the margin of error is more than triple what most published pollsters allow for (+/-3%).

OPINION

Letter to the editor

Nov. 3, 2019

My name is Arianna Rothfuss and I am a chemistry grad student here at UB. UBIT has recently put out requirements for students to sign up for DUO two-step verification, a process that is by no means justified and is simply an added annoyance to college students.

OPINION

Commander-in-beef (cake)

By SAM VARGAS | Nov. 3, 2019

This is a satirical column. Discussion of past commanders-in-chief typically surrounds their background and policy stance. But the important question is: how hot are they?

OPINION

Free speech vs. revenue: The fight between what’s right and what’s profitable

By Alexander Poland | Nov. 3, 2019

Americans pride themselves on the First Amendment –– freedom of speech, freedom to protest –– protecting citizens from governmental consequences. But private American corporations are showing less support for these concepts than ever before. Even though these companies have no obligation to the First Amendment, people should be able to voice political opinions without losing their jobs.

OPINION

SEAS and defense contractors: An engineering student’s perspective

By Alexander Poland | Oct. 30, 2019

With any job or career, ethics matter, whether it be a minimum wage job or running a Fortune-500 company. The Young Democratic Socialists of America’s Friday protest of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences touched on these ethical issues, arguing that SEAS’ partnership with defense companies like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman is morally wrong.

OPINION

Toxic fandom

By ZACH MCADOO | Oct. 30, 2019

As a sports fan, I love going to the games and watching my favorite teams play. No matter the sport, be it football, baseball, NASCAR, they are all great to watch in person. But one of the worst parts of live games is being surrounded by obnoxious fans.

OPINION

Out of options

By JUSTIN WEISS | Oct. 27, 2019

On a sunny Wednesday in early September, UB football players entered an empty UB Stadium for morning practice. There, they were greeted with deafening heavy metal music and crowd noise. The Bulls were preparing for their Saturday night tilt at Beaver Stadium, the third-largest open-air venue in the world. In practice, they readied themselves for the sheer volume of the Penn State crowd.

OPINION

Guerilla Toss makes punk playful on ‘What Would the Odd Do?’

By ALEX WHETHAM | Oct. 27, 2019

Guerilla Toss has come a long way stylistically since its formation at the beginning of the decade. The band’s breakout record on NNA Tapes, “Gay Disco,” saw the group playing a furious combination of danceable rhythms, shrill screams and heavy but textured guitars in 2013.

OPINION

Hypocritical feminism

By AMAL ELHELW | Oct. 24, 2019

Today, we are at the peak of the women’s equality movement. More women are in political office than ever before and women’s rights are a constant conversation. It’s no secret women are on the rise and these successes are due to strong women defying the odds, both big and small.

OPINION

Letter to the editor

Oct. 24, 2019

The Young Democratic Socialists of America at UB have chosen to demonstrate on Friday because the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has made it clear that they feel no guilt about association with and promotion of war profiteers.

OPINION

The Washington Nationals deserve the title

By SARA HOLLAND | Oct. 24, 2019

I still remember the first Major League Baseball game I went to. I was eight years old and the Nats were playing the Phillies. I can’t remember if they won or not, but one thing I know for sure is since that day, I have loved watching baseball.

OPINION

Letter to the editor

Oct. 23, 2019

When I first read Mr. Newkirk’s piece, I thought it was a troll. It drips with the unwarranted smugness of conservative pundits like Ben Shapiro. It loudly proclaims its ignorance of the subject, while at the same time denouncing its critics as “historically illiterate,” and parades opinions as fact.

OPINION

Happy Columbus Day, not Indigenous Peoples’ Day

By DONOVAN NEWKIRK | Oct. 21, 2019

In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Many of us have read, or even recited portions of the Columbus Day Poem in elementary school. And many of us did so proudly and confidently. Unfortunately, a lot has changed since we’ve been in elementary school.

OPINION

Letter to the editor

Oct. 20, 2019

My name is Julia Delorimiere and I am an undergraduate at UB. I am a member of the St. Regis Mohawk tribe of the Six Nations and I am a proud Indigenous student. After reading the highly offensive piece in regards to Columbus Day, I couldn’t help but to feel a great deal of sadness and anger.

OPINION

We need to give indigenous people the respect they deserve

By JACKLYN WALTERS | Oct. 16, 2019

Christopher Columbus should not be celebrated, and that’s not a matter of debate. I am currently sitting on colonized Haudenosaunee land. And you might be too.

OPINION

Kicking and screaming

By ZACH MCADOO | Oct. 16, 2019

After another loss that comes from missed field goals, fans are not happy. The football team has been plagued with missed field goals, and something needs to change.

Students gather on the Spine on Thursday.

OPINION

Editorial: We can’t give hate speech a platform

By Editorial Board | Oct. 13, 2019

On Thursday afternoon, a man with no known UB affiliation stood in the spine for roughly three hours shouting xenophobic and homophobic opinions. This quickly garnered the attention of roughly 150 students, with large crowds filing around him in between classes.

OPINION

These men need to be held accountable

By BRITTANY GORNY | Oct. 13, 2019

I remember clear as day the way he looked at me. Precisely the way no girl wants to be looked at, especially by a 50-year-old married man. He didn’t see me. He saw a young, naive girl he thought he would be able to have his way with.

OPINION

Halloween isn’t the only reason there will be blood in October

By LIAM REDMOND | Oct. 10, 2019

October is here! With it comes creepy vibes, falling leaves and the beginning of another season of massacring animals. Although it was once a necessary part of progression and preservation of human life, hunting has evolved into the needlessly cruel annihilation of wildlife.

OPINION

A letter from the former fat girl

By AMAL ELHELW | Oct. 10, 2019

I was always the resident fat girl, and I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t trying to get rid of that title. So, coming into my second semester of my freshman year (spring 2018), I decided to start living a healthier lifestyle.