Opinions - The Spectrum

OPINION

Brett Kavanaugh’s hearing should create larger discussion on faults of two-party system

By Editorial Board | Oct. 4, 2018

Brett Kavanaugh’s hearing is supposed to be about his sexual assault allegations, but instead it feels entirely politically driven. We at The Spectrum are upset with how Kavanaugh’s hearing has panned out. Many of us stand behind the women who have come forward, and many also feel as if the nomination and the hearing are politically charged moves by both parties. We believe students should care about issues like this, regardless of political leaning.

OPINION

Letter to the editor

Oct. 4, 2018

Letter to the editor

OPINION

What are you going to do with that degree?

By JULIANNA TRACEY | Sep. 30, 2018

When you’re meeting new people on campus, they typically ask you what your major is. It’s not an uncommon question, and it’s certainly not one that should stress you out.

OPINION

You’re from Buffalo, aren’t you?

By MAX KALNITZ | Sep. 30, 2018

At a recent work meeting, we somehow got on the topic of accents and a co-worker said: “God I hate how people speak in Buffalo, it’s like a drill straight to the ear.” Now wait just a second. Did you just infer that Buffalonians have an accent? This was bizarre to me. Growing up in Buffalo, everyone on my street and in my school basically talked the same way. I knew the Long Island accent; the New England accent; Southern accents; all the stereotypical ones you see on TV. But a Buffalo accent? Never heard of it.

OPINION

In Josh Allen we trust

By MAX KALNITZ | Sep. 27, 2018

It’s a tough job being a Bills fan. We went to the Super Bowl four years in a row –– 1990 to 1993 –– and lost four Super Bowls in a row. We’ve had seven coaches in the last nine years, failed to make the playoffs for 17 and invested in numerous failed “franchise” quarterbacks.

OPINION

FSA should be clear, students should care where their money is going

By Editorial Board | Sep. 27, 2018

Students should care about where student money goes, regardless of the purchase date. In today’s issue of The Spectrum, we reported on the Faculty Student Association’s 1964 land investment. FSA, now heading Campus Dining & Shops, purchased the land with student money, and sold the land in 1987, making a profit of $589,000.

OPINION

TA stipends are down but UB is finally good at football

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Sep. 27, 2018

Lebron James going to L.A., who cares? The new Labatt House, you call that news? Ryan Fitzpatrick’s fashion sense, does it matter? All of that is second fiddle now that UB is finally good at Division I football. The Bills aren’t the only team putting programs in the obituary. Now Tyree Jackson and company are hitting the field and ripping hearts out from other teams.

OPINION

Letter to the Editor

Sep. 23, 2018

Dear Editor: During the last year, the whole UB community has become aware that we have a graduate stipend problem. After deducting UB’s sky-high mandatory fees, some graduate assistants (TAs, RAs, GAs) make under $8,000 a year. They average under $13,000. This is unconscionable.

OPINION

‘Ed, Edd n’ Anarchy’

By BENJAMIN BLANCHET | Sep. 23, 2018

For all intensive purposes, cartoons are strictly jokes. A cat chases a mouse and accidentally steps on a rake. A roadrunner drops an anvil on a coyote’s head. A giddy mongoose suspects an incoming real estate bubble so he’s forced to move back into his parents’ burrow in Cincinnati. Although the last scenario isn’t a show yet, cartoons can take on the traits of real life social problems. And what better example of this then “Ed, Edd n’ Eddy.”

OPINION

Brenton for ‘Big Brother’

By BRENTON J. BLANCHET | Sep. 23, 2018

Most kids dream of the day they turn 21. In that sense, I am “most kids.” But my 21st birthday won’t be spent out at bars with buddies or forcing myself to drink 35 Bud Lights. Instead, I’ll be counting down the days until I’m locked in a studio with complete strangers for the entire summer. Since I was 11 years old, one of my dreams has been to make it on CBS’ reality show “Big Brother,” and next summer I’m finally old enough to compete.

OPINION

'Let’s get physical, physical'

By BRENTON J. BLANCHET | Sep. 17, 2018

Before my last two summers, the only manual labor I ever did was watching my dad build things as I smugly stood by him holding his tools. Those were easier times when I could grab myself a kiwi Capri Sun and hold up boards or something, as my dad would make a deck or whatever task his teacher-on-a-summer-break self desired.

OPINION

Pay the Mack

By NATHANIEL MENDELSON | Sep. 17, 2018

This past week Khalil Mack became the highest paid defensive player in NFL history with a six-year deal worth $141 million. If you’re not already aware, Khalil Mack was a student athlete at UB. He became the highest-ever drafted pick for a player from Buffalo and earned the 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.

OPINION

Letter to the editor

By Mike Brown | Sep. 13, 2018

The theme of this year's National Suicide Prevention Week is the Power of Connection. Although there is no single cause of suicide, one of the risks for suicide is social isolation, and there’s scientific evidence for reducing that risk by making sure we have strong connections with one another. It’s also about the power of having real conversations about mental health with people in our everyday lives.

OPINION

Surveying your options

By BENJAMIN BLANCHET | Sep. 12, 2018

Over the summer, I completed over 100 tasks a day at my job. My hands were always busy, and every day required more and more of a laser sharp focus on my part. But I didn’t work an internship, no sir, I sat on my bed and did surveys in my free time — and earned about $1000 in the meantime. After I completed my Bachelor’s in May, and after two companies declined me internships (to their loss), I jumped onto Amazon’s Mechanical Turk platform for the second straight year.

OPINION

SA Fall Fest’s new format raises questions

By Editorial Board | Sep. 10, 2018

SA’s changes to this year’s Fall Fest have left many students feeling frustrated. While students voice their opinions of the Student Association’s Fall Fest lineup every year, SA’s format changes and lineup this year have raised many questions. The new SA e-board said it made changes it has considered for a while, but many students felt left out in the process.

OPINION

Anonymous letter unleashes paranoid president

By BRIAN EVANS | Sep. 10, 2018

Rather, banter and daily doses of insanity have run rampant throughout the White House. This has become the new normal, with President Trump taking to Twitter on a daily basis to voice objections to anyone, and anything, he sees fit. The problem is that President Trump’s opinions, mindsets and fits of rage change both topic and targets from moment to moment, let alone day to day.

OPINION

A college engagement

By KIRSTEN DEAN | Sep. 9, 2018

We were outlet shopping in the morning when my boyfriend, Nate, started rushing me to finish so we could continue on our road trip to Michigan to visit my family. If you know me, one of my least favorite things is having to shop on a time limit and I was not having it.

OPINION

‘Kamikaze:’ the album to help forget ‘Revival’

By BRIAN EVANS | Sep. 6, 2018

Eminem is far from the pinnacle rapper of the modern era. For the last ten years, Eminem has acted as though he’s chasing something greater and more tangible than continued success.

OPINION

Marshall, this ain’t it

By BENJAMIN BLANCHET | Sep. 6, 2018

Eminem, the character, is a rap golden boy. Slim Shady, B-Rabbit, I could go on and on. The Detroit rapper is impressive when he gets into one element, when he plays with wit and wholeheartedly embraces himself in everything from violent to vulgar archetypes.

OPINION

Finish in three

By KIRSTEN DEAN | Aug. 30, 2018

I came to UB my freshman year at a sophomore standing, with 24 credits already under my belt from high school AP exams.