Opinions - The Spectrum

OPINION

Student journalism matters and must be protected

By Editorial Board | Mar. 7, 2018

Within the past year, The Spectrum broke the news of former UB Vice President Dennis Black’s embezzlement. We reported on the UB Foundation’s investment in fracking, UB cutting four sports teams and revealed that our SA president is not logging sufficient office hours. Our coverage of international students being poorly integrated prompted the university to conduct a study on how to improve campus life for international students.

OPINION

Come as you are

By BRETT ASHLEY | Mar. 7, 2018

Editorial note: The following note contains sensitive information. The author’s name has been changed to protect her anonymity. About a year ago, sex started to hurt.

OPINION

Finding my voice again

By MADDY FOWLER | Mar. 5, 2018

My mom says when I was a baby, I used to sing with the birds when I woke up instead of crying. I’ve sung in choirs since the first grade, and by eighth grade, I had performed with my local symphony orchestra –– something I was doing a few times a year by the time I reached high school.

OPINION

Girl from Sarajevo

By EMA MAKAS | Mar. 1, 2018

I was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996. I was a little miracle war baby who made it. I defeated the odds of health complications, my mother's high-risk pregnancy and malnourishment. My family went without food, water and electricity for over four years. This was especially detrimental to my pregnant mother, who prior to having me miscarried twins.

OPINION

A Korean-American's first trip to Korea

By SENOCHI KANG | Mar. 1, 2018

Paying a visit to my roots is something I’ve wished for my whole life. I always daydreamed about experiencing the culture my ancestors were brought up in. As a first generation Korean-American, the trip gave me a sense of pride that couldn’t be broken.

OPINION

Letter to the editor: SA President Leslie Veloz responds to Spectrum coverage

Mar. 1, 2018

This letter appears in the same condition as Veloz sent it to The Spectrum.

OPINION

SA President's shortcomings emphasize the importance of informed voting

By Editorial Board | Feb. 26, 2018

SA President Leslie Veloz has not been logging enough office hours and recently nominated an unqualified candidate for vice president.

OPINION

Is it worth caring about the Olympics?

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Feb. 26, 2018

I remember being home when the Olympics were on and everybody in my family watched it. Getting everyone to agree on something to watch was a rare occurrence growing up.

OPINION

Wrap your junk before you bump

By MADDY FOWLER | Feb. 22, 2018

We all know STI protection is important in theory. Unless you went to a high school that preached abstinence only, you’ve likely sat through your fair share of awkward condom demonstrations involving a banana or a cucumber. But according to a 2016 study by the CDC, only half of sexually active college students use condoms.

OPINION

A woman in science

By KIRSTEN DEAN | Feb. 22, 2018

There is one aspect of the game, however, that someone can’t learn how to play: the diversity component. More than half of the applications have had whole sections asking how I would add to the diversity of the program, if accepted.

OPINION

Desire to donate

By DANIEL PETRUCCELLI | Feb. 22, 2018

I came out as a bisexual man in this newspaper just over a year ago. In that time, I have never once been made to feel bad about it by family, friends or any organization.

OPINION

Time for a change

By ERIK TINGUE | Feb. 19, 2018

Nobody should feel unsafe going to school. Seventeen people were killed by a gunman on Wednesday in Parkland, Florida.

OPINION

English TA stipend increase is a step in the right direction, but the fight isn't over yet

By Editorial Board | Feb. 19, 2018

After months of rallying for a living stipend, English TAs and GAs are finally seeing a rise in their pay.

OPINION

How a car accident changed my perspective on driving near South Campus

By BRIAN EVANS | Feb. 19, 2018

My first week of the spring semester consisted of 9 a.m. classes, rushed lunches and a totaled car. The first Tuesday of classes had many snow flurries. Road conditions were awful and I skidded out several times on my way to class, so I was driving slowly and cautiously the entire day. Despite my efforts to be cautious, the events of the day were out of my control.

OPINION

For Randi and Billy

By BRENTON J. BLANCHET | Feb. 19, 2018

When I first stepped foot on campus in August 2016, I made a promise to myself: I wouldn’t get a haircut. But I recently rediscovered a cause I believed in and broke that promise Saturday. No matter how much my friends advised me not to, I knew that getting a cut and donating my hair to a wig-providing charity would mean more than any compliment I could ever get.

OPINION

Coming out (again) and coming to terms with who I really am

By MADDY FOWLER | Feb. 12, 2018

When I first came out at 18, I told a few close friends I was a lesbian. Some were supportive, others were confused because I’d talked to them about liking boys before — so surely I must be bisexual, they insisted. Shortly after coming out, I met a boy. He came into my life right after I had been rejected romantically by a girl who had been my best friend. I was vulnerable and lonely. No one, boy or girl, had ever given me a second glance.

OPINION

Come as you are

By BRETT ASHLEY | Feb. 12, 2018

Editorial note: The author’s name has been changed to maintain her anonymity. In a country where only 24 states mandate sex education in public schools, it's no wonder so many kids get their info from their friends.

OPINION

Being asexual in a sexual world

By DAN MCKEON | Feb. 12, 2018

I fully realized I was asexual –– having little or no sexual appetite –– the first time I went to a strip club. My friends decided we should all go to this strip club in North Buffalo one night –– an idea I sighed and went along with. We went in and I nursed a beer for a couple hours while they got lap dances and dropped bills in places you could probably guess. But as I sat there, sipping a room temperature Labatt and taking in the shrine to American sexual desire, it hit me: eh, this whole thing probably isn’t for me.

OPINION

What UB should consider in its search for a new athletic director

By Editorial Board | Feb. 8, 2018

UB’s past two athletic directors left for more lucrative positions after brief, less than three-year tenures. As UB begins the search for a replacement, both in-house and outside hires present advantages and drawbacks.

OPINION

Students should support referendum for North Campus health facility

Feb. 5, 2018

UB is finally starting to take more concrete steps toward making a new health center a reality.