Opinions - The Spectrum

OPINION

Western Michigan Broncos need to be taken seriously

By DANIEL PETRUCCELLI | Nov. 25, 2016

The Western Michigan Broncos (11-0, 7-0 Mid-American Conference) deserve to be playing in a “New Year’s Six” bowl game. In the latest rankings released by the College Football Playoff committee, the Broncos were ranked at No. 21. That’s disrespectful to one of only two undefeated Division-I teams in the nation. The AP poll has been a little bit nicer, ranking the Broncos at No. 14. That’s still too high of a number to me.

OPINION

NBA should change its one-and-done rule

By Editorial Board | Nov. 17, 2016

Ben Simmons, the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA Draft, never wanted to be a college student. A 6-foot-10, freakishly athletic high school prodigy, Simmons would have been one of the first players off the board had he been able to enter the draft out of high school.

OPINION

UB women’s basketball looks to be a dominant force

By THOMAS ZAFONTE | Nov. 17, 2016

Last season, UB women’s basketball surprised almost everyone with their MAC championship victory. Many had casted them off and didn’t even expect them to be in the tournament. This season, the Bulls’ success won’t be a surprise; it will be the norm.

OPINION

UB men’s basketball a legitimate threat for third straight MAC Championship

By MICHAEL AKELSON | Nov. 17, 2016

Few college basketball coaches in the entire country could stand up to what Nate Oats did for Buffalo last season. After years as a high school basketball coach and college assistant, Oats finally got his chance to be the head man last year and against all expectation, he delivered.

OPINION

Make politics great again

By SARAH CROWLEY | Nov. 14, 2016

We ask this all the time. How did politics become so polarized? Is social media to blame? Cable TV?

OPINION

Not just a woman’s issue: breaking sexual assault stereotypes

By MALLORY MAILEN | Nov. 14, 2016

Sexual assault and rape on college campuses in the U.S. has become a common and important discussion in the media recently. Young girls are afraid to walk home from classes alone, some are even worried they could be harmed in their own dorms. UB recently added a mandatory seminar to their freshmen orientation requirements that involves attending an hour-long discussion about sexual assault and the importance of consent.

OPINION

My experience and journey as a first time voter

By VICTORIA HARTWELL | Nov. 10, 2016

As Election Day got closer and people’s strong views came out more, I realized how amazing politics truly are. I never realized how many people shared the same views as me and cared about the same problems. I felt like I was in a community of people who cared and wanted to make the country even better than it is now. And trusting a woman to do it all, made it even better.

OPINION

With the presidential election decided, it’s time to work together to better the country

By Jimmy Corra | Nov. 10, 2016

Your excitements are not unfounded, nor are your fears. The presidential campaign trail was extremely polarizing this year. For better or worse, abstract rhetoric was used by both candidates to draw in voter support, some of it wildly inspiring and some of it fear-provoking.

OPINION

Donald Trump’s presidency inaugurates four years of change, confusion and fear

By Editorial Board | Nov. 9, 2016

Our elementary teachers taught us to stand up to bullies who make fun of others’ appearance, culture or abilities. Now we have a bully as our president.

OPINION

Why I’m voting for Hillary Clinton as a former Bernie Sanders supporter

By MADDY FOWLER | Nov. 7, 2016

I have admired Bernie Sanders’ work as a senator since I was sixteen years old. Sanders stated on countless occasions that the political revolution is not about one person or one candidate; it is about advocating for progressive issues.

OPINION

If it’s got to be the lesser of two evils, make it your kind of evil

By SARAH CROWLEY | Nov. 7, 2016

The arguments against third-party candidates usually miss a bigger point, one that is particularly clear this year: don’t we need to start doing something differently if people would rather vote for a candidate who has no statistical hope of winning over either of the two major candidates? The answer is yes.

OPINION

Where are we getting our information, news sources or comedy on TV?

By Jimmy Corra | Nov. 3, 2016

Kate McKinnon and Alec Baldwin have argued over these past few weeks as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on the Saturday Night Live presidential debate parodies. At first, the clips made me laugh, until I realized I should be concerned. Why did I have such a sudden change of reaction? It dawned on me that this particular content was less a parody of the debates than a slightly exaggerated, self-deprecating version of exactly what is occurring in the political world right now.

OPINION

Ballot blues: Living as a foreign national with a love of politics

By CARLOS LEYTE | Nov. 3, 2016

Like many others in the U.S., politics have become a daily part of my thought process this year. But there remains one critical problem: I can’t vote. I’m not an American. I was born in Mexico, immigrated with my family to New York when I was six months old and have resided here ever since.

OPINION

Money Talk: the cost of the campaign trail

By KENNETH KASHIF THOMAS | Nov. 2, 2016

If there is one fact that holds true in each election, it’s that campaigns are expensive. A campaign requires constant fundraising to maintain its pace and candidates cannot continue without this funding. Both candidates have raised more than $2 billion all together, leading up to Oct.

OPINION

My Battle with PMDD

By LINDSAY GILDER | Oct. 30, 2016

Around this time last year, I was feeling quite different regarding my academic career and my life in general than I am now. Midterms were in full swing and the stress to succeed was hanging over my head.

OPINION

Letter to the editor

Oct. 26, 2016

[Monday’s] UB Spectrum contains an article by Ashley Inkumsah titled “Philip Glick and Domenic Licata speak out on UB Foundation transparency” (Oct. 24, 2016). It includes the following passage regarding a plan by Staff Senate Chair Licata and Faculty Senate Chair Glick to share UB Foundation secrets with a slightly larger group, including staff, student, and faculty representatives: “’I think I’ve read in other news organizations that there’s still some faculty members that are very unhappy about this,’ Glick said. ‘When you represent 1800 faculty members you just can’t make everyone happy, but this was an effort to try to make the majority of the people happy and to represent them.’”

OPINION

Dear President Satish Tripathi and UB administrators, we want answers.

By Editorial Board | Oct. 24, 2016

We’ve been asking for weeks about Black's oddly silent disappearance after 38 years as the face of UB. On Sunday, The Buffalo News had a front-page story saying, “Black is at the center of an investigation of hundreds of thousands of dollars of questionable expenditures.”

OPINION

Purpose in trauma: My victory over my traumatic brain injury

By ELIZABETH SILBURN | Oct. 23, 2016

On July 23, 2010 I was in a terrible car accident. I was found wrapped around a tree, completely unconscious and turning blue. Firemen extracted my lifeless body from the car and resuscitated me as I was transported to the nearest hospital. From that point on, I was transferred to two other hospitals. According to the many doctors my family encountered, the details of my possible future recovery were a mystery.

OPINION

Costume conundrum: culturally appropriated costumes are offensive

Oct. 20, 2016

Halloween is the perfect time to show your creative side when it comes to costumes, but culturally offensive costumes aren’t creative – they’re downright inappropriate. What you and your friends might think is cute and clever can be extremely uncomfortable to an entire group of people.

OPINION

Money Talk: How tax brackets affect small businesses

By KENNETH KASHIF THOMAS | Oct. 20, 2016

Taxes and small businesses are mentioned constantly during election processes, but competition between small businesses and large companies are complicated. So complicated that even a tax bracket can put small businesses at a disadvantage, not only against larger companies, but even to make a profit.