Opinions - The Spectrum

OPINION

"Evaluations are improved, response rate? ' that's up to the students"

By Editorial Board | Nov. 18, 2014

The now-defunct course evaluation system cost UB over $50,000 ? money that did little to encourage students to fill out the surveys, and failed to provide a university-wide method for course feedback. Now, with a new assessment program in place, UB is still shelling out $49,754, but for a system that shows much more promise. In contrast to the earlier system, which included six separate evaluations for different schools and programs, the new and improved evaluations are uniform, and will be used university-wide. Even more importantly, the upgraded evaluations can now be tailored to each course, allowing professors to get more specific feedback. That this change was not implemented earlier is surprising. UB offers a vast array of courses, which range enormously in terms of subject matter and teaching style.

OPINION

The red cup countdown

By SHARON KAHN | Nov. 18, 2014

Spectrum File Photo There?s nothing that better signifies the beginning of the holiday season than a red cup. No, I?m not talking about red solo cups ? I?m talking about Starbucks? holiday cups.

OPINION

Hip-Hop isn't dead; it's just evolving

By JAMES BATTLE | Nov. 16, 2014

Spectrum File Photo There isn?t a genre of music I love more than hip-hop. It?s the reason I chose to write for the Arts Desk at The Spectrum and it makes up most of what my cohost, Cletus Emokpae, and I discuss on our WRUB radio show ?In the Booth.? It?s almost always blasting through my headphones and I can discuss it with my friends and peers for hours.

Migos’ lack of their signature style that has made them
so successful is among the many disappointments
in their newest mixtape.

OPINION

All that glitters isn't gold

By JAMES BATTLE | Nov. 16, 2014

Migos? lack of their signature style that has made them so successful is among the many disappointments in their newest mixtape. Album: Rich Ni**a Timeline Artist: Migos Label: Atlantic Records Release Date: Nov.

OPINION

Shmacked is wack

By TORI ROSEMAN | Nov. 16, 2014

Spectrum File Photo Thursday, I spent $40 to get into a frat party. I stepped into the poorly lit room donning an ?X? on both my hands, ready to dance the night away.

OPINION

An illegal fraternity and a life cut short

By Editorial Board | Nov. 16, 2014

Nolan Burch, a Canisius High School graduate who turned 18 earlier this month, was a ?sweet, wonderful kid,? who was well liked and popular among his classmates. Although that?s how Burch?s family and friends will remember him, it?s not how Burch will be memorialized in the media and the public eye. Because Burch, who died after drinking large quantities of liquor at a West Virginia University frat party, is the newest face of an extremely troubling trend that has cost too many young lives ? so many that Burch is not the first, but only the latest college student to represent the dangers of extreme drinking on college campuses. According to individuals present at the party where Burch fell unconscious and collapsed, the teenager was challenged to consume excessive amounts of alcohol, to the point that when police and EMTs arrived to the fraternity, he was unresponsive, had no pulse and died 36 hours later. Burch?s death serves as reminder of the dangers that can accompany extreme underage drinking ? especially for new college students, recently arrived to campus and unfamiliar to the party scene, but eager to change that. Drinking and partying is undeniably an aspect of many college students? lives.

OPINION

A first step ' but only that

Nov. 16, 2014

Art by Amber Silter As attitudes toward marijuana continue to ease toward acceptance nationwide, New York City is jumping on the bandwagon ? or least, looking in its direction. Though the substance remains illegal statewide, low-level possession of marijuana will no longer result in an arrest but rather a ticket. This change would prove crucial in preventing individuals from seeing their lives needlessly upended as a result of an excessive arrest ? individuals like Anthony Welfare, who as The New York Times reported, lost his job after a police officer saw a pipe with a residue of marijuana, in a car in which Welfare was a passenger. Welfare lost his job as a result ? even now, several months later with the charge dismissed and his record now clean, he hasn?t been hired back. Such stories are too common, and too frustrating to be ignored. And fortunately, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has directed his attention at the issue. With the announcement of the new, more lenient policy toward marijuana possession, it?s clear that de Blasio and his administration have accepted that not all drug-related crimes merit an arrest ? especially when in some states, like Washington and Colorado, where said ?crimes? are now legal. It?s an important development that helps shift the priorities of law enforcement toward more pressing matters, and is a critical change in helping to equalize the treatment of minorities in the city.

OPINION

Hurley era truly begins

By Tom Dinki | Nov. 13, 2014

Spectrum File Photo Let?s face it: Last season was the men?s basketball team?s best shot for the foreseeable future to win a Mid-American Conference Championship. The Bulls had all-time leading scorer Javon McCrea.

The Spectrum picks freshman guard Lamonte Bearden
as the breakout player for the men’s basketball
team.Chad Cooper, The Spectrum

OPINION

The Spectrum season predictions: men's and women's basketball.

By Sports Desk | Nov. 13, 2014

As the men?s and women?s basketball teams prepare for their 2014-15 campaign, The Spectrum?s sports staff gives its prediction for each team?s record, breakout player and Mid-American Conference Tournament finish. The Spectrum picks freshman guard Lamonte Bearden as the breakout player for the men?s basketball team.Chad Cooper, The Spectrum Men?s basketball predictions Record: 15-16, 9-9 MAC It?s going to be hard for this year?s squad to match the success of last season?s MAC East regular season title and 19 wins.

OPINION

Find the light

By OWEN O'BRIEN | Nov. 13, 2014

Spectrum File Photo Championship or bust. Did you ever think these three words would describe a Buffalo women?s basketball season? I sure didn?t.

OPINION

Capital budget reveals proper priorities in Buffalo

By Editorial Board | Nov. 11, 2014

Art by Amber Sliter When Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown announced 2015?s capital budget, totaling $26 million, he demonstrated the city?s commitment to its parks, arts and neighborhoods ? essentially, its people. The budget, which is $3.1 million more than last year?s, focuses on renovations and rehabilitation projects, with only $2.5 million going toward demolitions. Parks funding was cut almost in half, falling from $1.2 million this year to $674,000.

OPINION

President Obama speaks out in support of net neutrality

By Editorial Board | Nov. 11, 2014

Months after the Federal Communications Commission revealed its proposal that would limit Internet equality, and almost a year after appointing a former lobbyist for cable companies as FCC Chair, President Obama is finally taking a stand in support of net neutrality. A critical principle behind the Internet as we know it, net neutrality allows every form of information and application to be supported equally by an information network ? that equality is now endangered. The Internet, as it stands now, is ?neutral,? in the sense that any website, whether it?s run by a corporation or an individual, has access to the same content delivery speeds managed by broadband companies. Back in April, the FCC proposed that Internet providers could offer ?fast lanes,? which would allow content to be delivered at faster speeds, for the companies that could afford to pay. Essentially, the Internet would no longer be equal and free ? instead, it would become yet another domain in which money equals power. The reaction to this proposal was swift and severe, with Internet users directing their criticism at the FCC with such fury that their outpouring of comments crashed the FCC?s website. Democrats were equally protective of net neutrality, fighting the bill and contributing to its failure in the House of Representatives. And yet, Obama stayed quiet. It would not be surprising if the president?s reticence resulted from what must have been regret over his choice of FCC Chair Tom Wheeler, whom Obama appointed in November of last year.

OPINION

A new Buffalo strip club generates a new debate

By Editorial Board | Nov. 9, 2014

Despite the surge of new and exciting attractions and construction projects in Buffalo, the city faces a lot of challenges.

OPINION

Less is more: Women's soccer wins first MAC Title

By OWEN O'BRIEN | Nov. 9, 2014

Buffalo wasn?t supposed to win. The women?s soccer team had a new head coach. The Bulls didn?t qualify for the Mid-American Conference tournament last year.

OPINION

Wear your letters Wednesday

By SHARON KAHN | Nov. 9, 2014

Spectrum File Photo On Wednesdays we wear letters. No, not just random letters of the alphabet ? Greek letters. We don?t wear them because we ?earned them.? We don?t wear them because we paid for them or ?paid for our friends.? We don?t wear them because we?re too lazy to pick something out to wear. We wear letters because we are representing an organization.

OPINION

Wear your letters Wednesday

By SHARON KAHN | Nov. 9, 2014

Spectrum File Photo On Wednesday?s we wear letters. No, not just random letters of the alphabet ? Greek letters. We don?t wear them because we ?earned them.? We don?t wear them because we paid for them or ?paid for our friends.? We don?t wear them because we?re too lazy to pick something out to wear. We wear letters because we are representing an organization.

OPINION

Pentagon's secrecy regarding chemical agents endangers troops and insults veterans

By Editorial Board | Nov. 9, 2014

In an extensive investigation published in October, The New York Times revealed that American troops in Iraq were exposed to chemical agents.

OPINION

Don't Ask Anne: Pistachio's and final papers

By ANNE FORTMAN | Nov. 9, 2014

Spectrum File Photo Editor?s note: The following is satire and should be taken as such. Dear Anne: Over the next several weeks, I have to write four final papers and I somehow have to find time for this while also keeping up with the regular coursework, which is a full-time job to begin with.

OPINION

Get back to yourself

By EMMA JANICKI | Nov. 6, 2014

Spectrum File Photo When I think about it really hard, I think I?m pretty awesome. I hope you feel that way, too, sometimes. When I think about it really hard, I love all the quirky things that make me, me. I hope you present your individual interests, passions and experiences to the world in a style that shows off who you are. Personal style is crafted by recognizing and flaunting through appearance what exactly makes you an individual.

OPINION

Postal service should replace polling places

Nov. 6, 2014

Elections are always divisive but as the results of this year?s midterm pour in, there?s one issue no one?s debating. Low voter turnout is an unshakable and ? thus far ? irreconcilable issue. Only 36.6 percent of eligible voters made it to the polls this year, a number so low it rivals voter turnout from the 1940s, when many Americans failed to vote because they were overseas, fighting in World War II. There?s no simple, singular cause of voter apathy, and likewise, no easy solution. The midterm elections are especially emblematic of this problem.