Opinions - The Spectrum

"Animal Crossing: Wild World" introduced kids to their future: debt, fledgling friendships and endless menial jobs. But it also revealed having fun despite these adult hardships.

OPINION

Hear Me Out: 'Animal Crossing' prepared us for a cruel world

By DAN MCKEON | Nov. 30, 2017

“Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp” has accomplished an overnight bloodless coup d’état of phones worldwide. Suddenly, everyone is building campers, making friends with needy dogs and frogs and putting together a campsite in their own image. Friend codes are being thrown out on social media, allowing people to quickly connect and visit other campsites. “Pocket Camp” memes are already a thing and the game’s only been out in the U.S. for just over a week.

Apple’s new iPhone X comes with a beautiful design and operating system, but a hefty price tag. After a week of use, my initial thoughts on the device are mostly positive, but Apple still hasn’t perfected what they’re calling “the future.”

OPINION

10 years in the making

By MAX KALNITZ | Nov. 20, 2017

Two weeks ago, I eagerly woke up at 3:00 a.m. along with thousands of other people around the world to order what Apple is calling “the future.” When Apple released the first iPhone 10 years ago, it revolutionized the cellphone industry. The original handset played a large role in the development of the tech industry and has influenced how we communicate today.

OPINION

UB should have a health facility on North Campus

By Editorial Board | Nov. 20, 2017

UB’s only student health care facility, Michael Hall, is located on South Campus. But seven times as many students live on North Campus than South.

OPINION

F is for family

By DAVID TUNIS-GARCIA | Nov. 20, 2017

My father died from alcoholism in the summer of 2007. I was 12-years old, old enough to remember him kicking a basketball-sized dent into my mom’s Ford Escort when we tried to leave the house one night. Old enough to remember watching him pass out face first into his mashed potatoes.

OPINION

The censure vote was fair, but was the decision just?

By SARAH CROWLEY | Nov. 16, 2017

UB can dismiss a pre-tenure professor without offering a single reason why. A clause in the professors’ union-negotiated contract upholds this practice; it’s not just a rarely cited, last-resort clause, but rather a policy deans and administrators are specifically advised to follow.

OPINION

A bar near South Campus could be good for both students and community, but Main Place isn’t going about it in the right way

By Editorial Board | Nov. 13, 2017

A local businessman wants to open up a bar on Main Street near South Campus. The proposed bar, called Main Place, has sparked controversy. University Heights residents fear the night life destination will cause disruption in their neighborhood. The owner wants to put in black tinted windows, which would violate Buffalo’s Green Code Ordinance. The venue also masqueraded as a restaurant in its liquor license application, which raises ethical concerns. And because the bar will host 18 and up event nights, there are underage drinking concerns.

OPINION

Relax, this is supposed to be fun

By Allison Staebell | Nov. 13, 2017

I had no place to go, nowhere to call home. I grew up playing sports and my teammates became my lifelong friends. But I had no place at UB and more importantly, I had no team. A few weeks into my first semester, an old high school teammate sent me a message asking me to play goalie for the club lacrosse team. I went to practice the next day and just like that, I found my place.

OPINION

What happened to Dr. B?

By Editorial Board | Nov. 9, 2017

UB removed popular African-American studies adjunct professor Kushal K. Bhardwaj from his classroom of 90 students two-thirds of the way through the semester. Over two weeks, students heard rumors of why “Dr. B” had not shown up for class and then, on Oct. 17 his students met their new professor.

OPINION

First in talent, fifth in the MAC

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Nov. 6, 2017

The Bulls should not have had a 7-9-3, 5-4-2 MAC record this season, nor should the Bulls have lost in the first round of the MAC tournament. The Bulls arguably have the best three players at their respected positions in the MAC; junior forward Carissima Cutrona; senior midfielder Julia Benati; and sophomore defender Gurjeena Jandu.

OPINION

Constitutional convention offers chance to affect change

By Editorial Board | Nov. 6, 2017

If voters check “yes” on the back of their ballots, three delegates would be voted in from each of 63 State Senate districts and 15 at-large members would be chosen in November 2018. The convention would take place on April 2, 2019.

OPINION

Silencing the hate

By WANLY CHEN | Nov. 6, 2017

I used the forbidden word only once. The moment the word escaped my mouth, I felt a cold awakening of the pain I just inflicted. My sister bowed her head with disappointment. With just one word, I showed her that I had fallen to the peer pressures of society.

A sandwich and a hot dog are ready to hash out their views. Debate over what constitutes a sandwich can reach the same intensity of current political discourse.

OPINION

Hear Me Out: Sandwich theory and politics

By DAN MCKEON | Nov. 2, 2017

Hot dogs are sandwiches. You must accept this before we move any further. Maybe you think it isn’t one because it is on a single connected piece of bread, but you forget that many subs are served on one connected piece of bread.

OPINION

Come as you are

By BRETT ASHLEY | Oct. 30, 2017

I started masturbating at 14, my 11th year of Catholic education. The first time I tried it, I brought myself to orgasm in under two minutes, but stopped myself because I thought I was going to pee. The sex education I had was warped. I remember middle-aged Mr. H., standing in front of my seventh grade class in his sweater vest and telling me and 20 other hormonal 12-year-olds that all sex acts before marriage would land us in hell.

OPINION

President Tripathi's support of DREAM Act a step in the right direction

By Editorial Board | Oct. 30, 2017

UB President Satish Tripathi and SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson joined several other university presidents and chancellors, lawmakers and “dreamers” in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to urge Congress to pass the DREAM Act.

OPINION

Outdated: UB's Alumni Arena gym is anything but a gym worth going to

By JEREMY TORRES | Oct. 26, 2017

The first time I walked into the Alumni gym, I thought it was a joke. There was no chance that this was the main workout center for a school as large as UB.

OPINION

Letter to the editor

Oct. 26, 2017

Dear editor, I am an international student from China and working on my doctoral degree in education. I live between UB’s North and South Campuses on Eggert Road. On Oct. 12, I was on my way to my friend’s house, who is another Chinese student living near South Campus. On the way to her place, I saw two Indian girls chatting and walking across the street. Seemingly, they were on their way home from school.

OPINION

Students need a chance to defend themselves

By Editorial Board | Oct. 26, 2017

UB students charged with misconduct cannot have a lawyer or law student represent them when they go before UB’s Student-Wide Judiciary panel.

OPINION

Everyday horror

By DAN MCKEON | Oct. 23, 2017

Halloween, among other things, is a time for scaring yourself senseless; how is it any different than regular life? The appeal of haunted houses or paying to have people dressed as zombies chase you through a cornfield is lost on me. Everyday chores, preparing for the future, getting by in classes and trying to socialize are all horrifying enough.

OPINION

#MeToo starts an important conversation about sexual assault

By Editorial Board | Oct. 19, 2017

The #MeToo movement was first started in 2007 by black activist Tarana Burke. She came up with the phrase as a way to personally connect with other survivors, particularly other young women of color. The movement was reawakened this weekend when actress Alyssa Milano posted a tweet, although Milano later said she was unaware of the phrase’s origins.

OPINION

Me Too: My experiences with sexual harassment and assault

By MADDY FOWLER | Oct. 19, 2017

Editor’s Note: The following column has detailed descriptions of sexual assault. I was 17-years-old the first time I felt that my body was not my own.