Arbeit Macht Frei. ?Work Makes you Free.? I stared at the 76-year-old metal gate taking in those infamous words and tried to prepare myself for what I was about to walk into. The temperature seemed to drop as soon as I stepped into the daunting open field at Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum concentration camp, which was used by the Nazis from 1936 to 1945, and the Soviets until 1950.
As I stood at the foot of the 1,000-foot-tall Eiffel Tower, I felt energized. I watched the 336 gaslights sparkle, heard the clock strike 10 p.m.
This is exactly what my Mom said not to do. I could hear her voice in my head: Do not, under any circumstances, go anywhere by yourself.
Spectrum File Photo Before the men?s basketball season started, a co-worker and I sat down and predicted the Bulls were going to finish a game below .500 and just 9-9 in the Mid-American Conference. We weren?t being too hard on Buffalo, either. The Bulls had lost three of their starting five to graduation ? including MAC Player of the Year and UB All-time leading scorer Javon McCrea.
The bad news: the Buffalo Sabres are having a terrible season. The good news: the team?s management is determined to make next year better. Now, only time will tell if the decision to make a dramatic trade with the Winnipeg Jets falls into the former or latter category. The Sabres traded veteran players Tyler Myers and Drew Stafford, a first-round pick, and prospects Brendan Lemieux and Joel Armia in exchange for goalie prospect Jason Kasdorf, defender Zach Bogosian and the injured but clearly talented Evander Kane.
Illustration by Harumo Sato From UB?s Millard Fillmore College to Fillmore Avenue and Fillmore District to hospitals and to statues honoring the former president?s civic contributions to Buffalo, Millard Fillmore?s name isn?t hard to find in Buffalo. But the NAACP isn?t too pleased about his presence here. Fillmore signed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 ? a law that required escaped slaves be returned to their masters no matter how far north they fled ? and now the NAACP is requesting that no more sites bear the name Fillmore. Fillmore?s signature on the law, which was certainly damaging to the abolitionist effort and led to the recapture of freed slaves, isn?t the sum of his political career, or even representative of his opinion on slavery. As president, Fillmore was actually anti-slavery, but wanted to avoid a civil war and help preserve the union.
There?s nothing inappropriate about talking or writing about sex. It?s natural. It?s normal. And it?s what about 86 percent of us are doing at UB, according to The Spectrum?s latest poll. It only becomes improper, lewd, wrong and intimidating when it?s treated that way. And that?s precisely what Issuu, the company that hosts The Spectrum?s digital copies on its website, did this week. Spectrum editors worked over 20 hours Tuesday to produce a paper full of thoughtful, informative and well-researched and sourced articles and opinions about sex. Issuu decided our topic ? we don?t think anyone at Issuu bothered to read our content ? was inappropriate and flagged The Sex Issue by imposing a ?Content Warning? wall on it.
Spectrum File Photo I sit down at my computer with overwhelming excitement, as I?ve recently been confronted with one of the most fun and exhilarating opportunities of my college career. Everybody: say hello to UB?s newest female sex columnist. Anyone who has seen HBO?s Sex and the City can probably guess my immediate reaction to hearing the news ? I am [finally] Buffalo?s own Carrie Bradshaw.
Administrators at SUNY Fredonia have decided to cancel their end-of-the-semester festival in an attempt to stem the binge drinking and rowdiness that has dominated the college in years past. Controlling student drinking at the end of the semester?
There?s a good chance you picked up The Spectrum today because you saw ?SEX? bold across the cover. Maybe you?re a faithful reader, eager to pick us up every Monday, Wednesday and Friday ? or, perhaps, you just wanted to read about fetishes, threesomes and the new sex shop on South Campus. Look, I get it. There?s a reason this is our most-read issue of the year.
Spectrum File Photo When we go shopping, we usually are attracted to things that we feel will look good on us and we things we like. Now, imagine every time you went shopping, you were assigned a random stranger.
Spectrum File Photo ?I could never date a guy with a small dick.? That?s what some girls are saying around campus.
Spectrum File Photo Saturday will be my first Valentine?s Day being single in three years. I?ve done my fair share of the whole ?be a good boyfriend and make Valentine?s Day special for the girlfriend even though you could care less? routine: planning out the day and spending more money than you have on flowers, jewelry and dinner. All of the things a disorganized, poor, 20-year-old male college student doesn?t like to do. But not this year. Saturday is going be the first Valentine?s Day I spend alone since Feb.
Illustration by Harumo Sato Subverting the law for the sake of equality is ultimately a worthwhile endeavor. Lora and Julie, the first same-sex couple to marry in Etowah County, Alabama on Monday would certainly agree. So, too, would Olanda and Dianah, Cooper and Jessie and all the same-sex couples in Alabama who finally saw their relationships recognized and legalized after the Supreme Court declined to block a January federal court order that made states begin issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples. Voters in Alabama approved a statewide ban on gay marriage in 2006 by a 4-to-1 margin. But this January, U.S.
Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan made it known that he wants to ?build a bully? with his new team. With the signing of Richie Incognito, it?s clear that Ryan means business.
Buffalo has taken swift action against electronic cigarettes, becoming the first community in Erie County to impose laws that ban the smoking of e-cigarettes wherever traditional cigarettes are disallowed. The new measure, passed by the Buffalo Common Council last week, aims to protect the public from the potential secondhand effects of e-cigarettes. Vaping has fewer health risks than smoking a tobacco cigarette, but e-cigarettes do contain varying levels of nicotine and the vapors emitted contain other substances as well, including formaldehyde and heavy metals. Clearly regulation is still necessary, although e-cigarettes can help smokers kick their tobacco habit. It?s certainly important to ensure that non-smokers aren?t exposed to cigarette smoke, but e-cigarettes are still new and their potential health risks not fully explored. But e-cigarettes offer potential benefits as well. They?re frequently marketed as a tool that can be used to quit smoking traditional cigarettes.
The Buffalo Public School District can?t seem to catch a break. Perhaps that?s because they keep hiring ineffective ? and in this case corrupt ? individuals to lead the district and manage its money. Before Debbie Buckley?s firing seven months ago, the high-level administrator for the district was tasked with managing more than $100 million in federal grants the district received for its students living in poverty. Buffalo?s public schools are filled with impoverished children.
The Village of Kenmore has decided to ?just say no? ? to pawnshops. After local business owners became suspicious that a loan broker was quietly attempting to open a shop in the area, town officials acted rapidly and severely by placing a six-month ban on the businesses. This temporary ruling culminated in the recent decision to disallow pawnshops and loan brokers entirely. The ban stems from concern that pawnshops could attract criminal activity and allow for the trafficking of stolen goods, though no reports of crime stemming from such shops have surfaced. Instead, the move appears to be preemptive ? and perhaps presumptive. In a copy of the law proposing the original six-month moratorium, the Village Board cited ?several communities across the country? that noticed pawn shops causing ?certain negative effects.? The details justifying Kenmore?s decision are scarce to say the least. There was no uptick in crime in Kenmore due to pawnshops, and even the national examples the Board cites are lacking specificity. This is not to say that Kenmore is entirely wrong in their decision or that there is no detailed evidence supporting the village?s choice.
Even with the same endgame ? an improved education system for New York State ? it appears impossible for Gov.
It?s a problem The Spectrum has discussed time and time again ? an issue which students bemoan and commuters fear: UB?s refusal to accommodate its students during inclement weather, or even recognize the challenges being faced by the community. During November?s snowstorm, UB drew enough ire from the public and the media that the administration caved in, canceling classes after refusing to do so during the initial days of the storm. Monday?s snow event certainly wasn?t as dramatic as November?s blizzard.
Solutions by The State News
