Opinions - The Spectrum

OPINION

Unnerving urban poverty

By MADELAINE BRITT | Apr. 6, 2014

Jillian informed her mother that cars were expensive. A whole $110, she said. She told a passenger by her side that her sneakers were three weeks new. Jillian was a little girl, seated beside me on the bus. As I rode a city bus in downtown Buffalo Saturday morning and sat beside her and her quiet brother who said nothing, her mother re-sewed buttons on her peacoat and told her friend that she was done with men. The boarded-up buildings blew past us, so skeletal they seemed as though they would fall over in the wind.

OPINION

Spreading the Buffalo Billion around

Apr. 6, 2014

Buffalo is finally receiving the $1 billion committed to redevelopment projects promised by Gov. Andrew M.

OPINION

"As Rwanda pursues reconciliation, let's not forget to remember "

By TRESS KLASSEN | Apr. 6, 2014

Twenty years ago Monday, Hutu extremists, armed with machetes and machine guns, began killing their neighbors.

OPINION

From a door ajar to an open floodgate

Apr. 3, 2014

Any illusion of a government by, for and of the people was put to death Wednesday by five Supreme Court justices.

OPINION

"Thank you, Kurt Cobain "

By JOE KONZE JR | Apr. 3, 2014

There was a silver external hard drive that my mom found when she helped me clean out my room the summer before I left for college in 2010. Neither of us knew what was on it.

OPINION

"Know when to let go: Love announces a Cobain musical is ""very likely"""

By MEGAN WEAL | Apr. 3, 2014

Let's think about Kurt Cobain. This year marks the 20th anniversary of his still questioned death - his joining the 27 Club. He was universally considered the ultimate personification of the bad-boy rebel. His problem-riddled, drug-fueled life was heavily publicized as he and his band, Nirvana, catapulted to fame. His face now appears on commercialized t-shirts worn idly by teenage girls, unaware of the struggle and pain etched into every photograph and corresponding remake. Now, the story of his fragile and unstable life is being pitched to become a musical. In 2012, Cobain's former wife, Courtney Love, shunned all rumored ideas of a musical to one side by stating that some things are best left alone.

OPINION

Losing the lead among top minority and disadvantaged students

Apr. 3, 2014

Imagine entering high school among the top quarter of your class in reading and math, only to have a lower GPA, SAT and ACT at the end of your tenure there. The counter-intuitive result is the reality for tens of thousands of minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged students across the country, according to a new study released by The Education Trust this month. Following a reading and math exam administered by The Education Trust, students scoring in the top quartile were labeled "high achieving." These students were then tracked throughout high school.

OPINION

Road to a poorly selected Fest paved with good intentions

Apr. 1, 2014

The Spring Fest 2014 lineup, chosen and organized by the Student Association, draws some immediate questions, including but not limited to: Who are these bands?

OPINION

The billion-dollar blues

By BRIAN WINDSCHITL | Apr. 1, 2014

Let me first say that I am in no way a "bracketologist." My expertise of March Madness includes skimming the match-up overviews that pop up on my computer with the click of a button as I sit and pick my tourney winners. I, as they say, dabble in college basketball. But this year, my interest in March Madness increased exponentially when Quicken Loans teamed up with Warren Buffett to offer $1 billion to whoever can somehow craft the mythological perfect bracket. Now, I may not be the most enthusiastic, well-versed fan of college basketball, but I would definitely not be complaining about an extra billion dollars in my ever-dwindling bank account.

OPINION

(Local) food is (local) culture

Apr. 1, 2014

Drop the dining hall dishes and Student Union tedium. Western New York's Local Restaurant Week offers the perfect opportunity to venture off campus and away from mundane mediocrity. WNY's Local Restaurant Week is a biannual event that runs in the early spring, when restaurant attendance tends to sag.

OPINION

Every season is beer season

By ANTHONY HILBERT | Apr. 1, 2014

As the Buffalo winter melts into spring, it's time to celebrate the season as you'd welcome any other long-awaited arrival - with good times accompanied by good brews. Spring beers bring the sweet, complex and floral tastes that are strongly evocative of the flower buds pushing through the earth again and warmer days to come.

OPINION

"TM' - The Match: How I Met Your Mother finale disappoints many fans, but is only sensible ending"

By OWEN O'BRIEN | Apr. 1, 2014

Warning: This article contains spoilers. It may not have been the ending we wanted, but it was the one Ted Mosby needed. I wish I could say I was shocked while reading mostly outrage when searching

OPINION

"Banks, not Buffalonians, need to shoulder burden of abandoned homes"

Mar. 30, 2014

The City of Buffalo is being overrun by 'zombie' foreclosures, with the problem spreading from depressed urban areas into suburbs in the region.

OPINION

All politics - and political contributions - are local

Mar. 30, 2014

Distorted campaign contributions by a wealthy, politically active duo may be coming to a local election near you, courtesy of the Americans for Prosperity (AFP) super PAC funded by David and Charles Koch. The billionaire barons are infamous for their political proclivities, often articulated through huge campaign contributions to right-wing and industry-friendly candidates.

OPINION

Report lists Buffalo-Niagara as deeply income-segregated Metro

Mar. 27, 2014

Buffalo-Niagara Falls has been rated the seventh most income-segregated metropolitan area in the United States. As part of an ongoing series in The Atlantic, noted urban studies theorist Richard Florida spoke to a rapidly growing trend in large American metros - segregation by income group.

OPINION

"But first, let me take a selfie"

By MEGAN WEAL | Mar. 27, 2014

Tilt your head a fraction of an inch to the side, find the right balance between a pout and a smile, lift your cheekbones and widen your eyes before pressing the button, adding a filter and clicking upload. I just searched #selfie on Instagram and 91,357,684 posts popped up in return. If we stop and think about it, that's pretty weird. If social media didn't exist, people wouldn't walk around handing out photos of themselves to others.

OPINION

Transparency and cooperation 'outside president's purview'

Mar. 27, 2014

With a proverbial shrug of the shoulders and turn of the cheek,

OPINION

Embracing what scares you

By SAM FERNANDO | Mar. 27, 2014

On Wednesday, Dr. Sanjay Gupta spent the evening telling the crowd at Alumni Arena stories about his experiences as a journalist and doctor. One story in particular stuck with me. When Diana Nyad was 29 years old, the long-distance swimmer failed in her attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida - 110 miles.

OPINION

"Bulls, fans pay the price for athletic director's failure"

Mar. 25, 2014

A cohesive team, strong senior players and momentum from improving performance in past years were all squandered in Cleveland because of poor leadership.

OPINION

The 'experience'

By EMMA JANICKI | Mar. 25, 2014

Location, location, location: the mantra of real estate agents. What does 'location' mean for a college student? Where you choose to live is an integral part of your 'college experience.' It can determine how involved you are on campus, who your friends are, where you hang out and what you do in your spare time.