Opinions - The Spectrum

OPINION

A lack of deliberation for significant action

Feb. 27, 2014

Ignoring any notions of due diligence or reasonable debate, the Student Association Senate radically changed the way the organization is elected this week. The group unanimously passed six amendments, including one that will eliminate the distinction between on- and off-campus representatives in the Senate - and all this in under an hour. Eliminating the distinction between on- and off-campus senators means all senators could theoretically be on-campus students, removing any representation for off-campus students. The situation isn't as unlikely as it may sound at first blush. Ending the distinction means there is no longer a requirement for an equal number of on- and off-campus senators.

OPINION

Understanding the past to change the future

By Chad Cooper | Feb. 27, 2014

Wednesday night, I had the opportunity to photograph Mary Frances Berry and Diane Nash, who came to UB as part of the Distinguished Speakers Series.

OPINION

The SAFE Act lives up to its name

Feb. 25, 2014

The trial for the first New Yorker charged under the state's SAFE Act, which introduced much-needed common sense gun control legislation to New York just over a year ago, starts next week. Benjamin Wassell, a resident of Western New York, was arrested and charged after "selling illegally modified semi-automatic rifles" to an undercover police officer, according to theAssociated Press. Wassell had made illegal value-increasing alterations to the guns and sold one to an undercover officer, even after being told he was a felon for domestic violence. The provisions under which Wassell was charged, which limit the size of gun clips and prohibit felons from owning guns, are reasonable and responsible laws for any modern state. With his trial approaching, support for the veteran and father has surged.

OPINION

Military spending in a time of austerity

Feb. 25, 2014

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's proposed military spending cuts should not be made on the backs of our service members. Hagel presented a military budget to Congress on Monday, which he said "recognizes the reality of the magnitude of our fiscal challenges." Proposed cuts include trimming the Army to 450,000 members - the smallest number since before World War II - while reallocating funds toward cyberwarfare and special operations and making significant compensation reductions. At half a trillion dollars annually, the budget for 2015 and subsequent years remains a mammoth of governmental expenditures.

OPINION

The G.M.O. you didn't know

Feb. 23, 2014

The cornerstone of our capitalist market, for better or worse, is consumer choice. And choice is meaningless if consumers are not able to make informed decisions. The debate over genetically modified organisms (G.M.O.'s) used in our foods has been long and controversial with those decrying "frankenfood" railing against those portraying the process as the savior from food shortages and high food prices. The battle over labeling these foods has been gaining significant traction in recent weeks, with states like Colorado putting labeling initiatives on their ballots for the upcoming elections. The process of genetically modifying food involves introducing new genes into foods for perceived benefits, such as drought-resistance, improved nutritional value and the ability to withstand herbicides. While these are doubtlessly beneficial for consumers' pocketbooks and farmers' finances, there has been long-standing opposition to G.M.O.'s and questions regarding its impact on health. The science has remained generally inconclusive, leading to claims that research doesn't demonstrate the safety of G.M.O.'s. But a recent effort by Italian researchers who cataloged 1,783 studies of G.M.O.

OPINION

"State's relocation of sex offenders to near local park is unjustifiable

Feb. 23, 2014

Sex offenders belong nowhere near a town park frequented by local children, and though the move might be legal, the state has no moral authority to place them there. Nearly 300 residents of West Seneca furiously protested on Saturday, reacting to the relocation of seven developmentally disabled sex offenders to two group homes in a neighborhood in the relatively small town just south of Buffalo. The protesters are justifiably unhappy.

OPINION

Freeway under fire

Feb. 20, 2014

An iconic Buffalo landmark has come under criticism from an outside group, though it's one that fails to appreciate the rich and complex history of this city. Last week, a Congress for New Urbanism (CNU) report titled "10 Freeways Without a Future" included the Buffalo skyway as a highway in need of demolition. The report referred to the freeway as an eyesore that "mars public views" of the waterfront, citing that "41,500 vehicles per day" cross the corridor, before going on to call it "blighted" and "obsolete." What is missing is a clear, vetted proposal for what would replace the skyway, though a Department of Transportation (DOT) review of the bridge's future is underway. The CNU report made no mention of many benefits the skyway has offered, particularly for the drivers of those 41,000-plus vehicles.

OPINION

Breaking barriers to nuclear power

Feb. 20, 2014

Tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions begins with dismissing outmoded ways of thinking, including fears about nuclear energy. Yesterday, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz announced a $6.5 billion loan deal between the Obama administration and the Alvin W.

OPINION

A good start to a continuing problem

By JORDAN OSCAR | Feb. 20, 2014

The U.S. penitentiary system creates a vicious cycle that never ends: people go to prison, serve their time, get released and can't find jobs as convicted felons - many wind up back in jail. This pattern isn't just destructive to communities throughout the country.

OPINION

Mergers and acquisitions of power

Feb. 18, 2014

A deal proposed last week threatens to kill any notion that Americans still believe in competitive capitalism. Just in time for Valentine's Day, Comcast wooed Time Warner Cable (TWC) and investors by offering $45.2 billion to purchase the company.

OPINION

Roadblock on path to commencement

Feb. 18, 2014

UB has proven itself unable to schedule final exams and a commencement ceremony. This year, Winter Session disrupted the regularly routine scheduling process that the Office of Special Events and Faculty Senate conduct.

OPINION

"In with the old, out with the new?"

Feb. 16, 2014

As the question of the Bills' future in Buffalo grows more urgent, opinions across the city are as passionate as they are divided. The Spectrum's editorial board is no different.

OPINION

"Young, black and shot to death"

Feb. 16, 2014

Trayvon Martin. Jonathan Ferrell. Renisha McBride. Jordan Davis. It's not a list anyone would want to join.

OPINION

"Young, black and shot to death"

Feb. 16, 2014

Trayvon Martin. Jonathan Ferrell. Renisha McBride. Jordan Davis. It's not a list anyone would want to join.

OPINION

"In with the old, out with the new?"

Feb. 16, 2014

As the question of the Bills' future in Buffalo grows more urgent, opinions across the city are as passionate as they are divided. The Spectrum's editorial board is no different.

OPINION

"In with the old, out with the new?"

Feb. 16, 2014

As the question of the Bills' future in Buffalo grows more urgent, opinions across the city are as passionate as they are divided. The Spectrum's editorial board is no different.

OPINION

Constructive criticism on proper planning

Feb. 13, 2014

University inattention echoed loudly through frigid offices left without heat and above classrooms disrupted by construction. A well-intentioned effort to replace the aging heating system in Millard Fillmore Academic Center, of Ellicott Complex, is revealing the importance of careful consideration. The construction has caused several professors' offices to be left without central heat; they have been kept warm by space heaters.

OPINION

"Report highlights positive outlook for some, opposite for others"

Feb. 13, 2014

New research reveals college graduates are far more robust against the effects of the recession, even with debt, injecting some much needed optimism into a topic often bogged by anxiety. What is made even clearer, however, is who gets left behind, and how far. A new report by Pew Research reveals the cost of not attending (or completing) college is far higher than the reverse.

OPINION

"No chivalry, plenty of shallowness involved in popular app"

By JOE KONZE JR | Feb. 11, 2014

Loneliness surged through me one warm night in July. I sat on my couch with questions stirring in my mind.

OPINION

"Where understanding lacks, spinning runs supreme"

Feb. 11, 2014

A complicated report from a hardly known congressional office, an almost humorously divided congress, and a public prone to being just as polarized all conflated last week to the expected result. A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on the impact of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, on that other political buzzword, jobs, was released last Tuesday.