Opinions - The Spectrum

OPINION

Hispanic Heritage Month was never to blame

By KAYLA ESTRADA | Oct. 5, 2021

In the fall of eighth grade, Friday nights meant eating too much popcorn, attempting new makeup looks and secretly watching Mean Girls in my best friend’s basement. My friends and I talked for hours about boys who didn’t know we existed, discussed Halloween costume ideas and stalked celebrities on social media accounts our parents didn’t know we had. It was my turn to receive a makeover, and all was well — until one girl scrolled onto a post about National Hispanic Heritage Month.

OPINION

UB should pounce at the opportunity to join the AAC

By ANTHONY DECICCO | Sep. 28, 2021

Conference realignment is a cycle that always seems to repeat itself. It doesn’t always have a predictable timetable, nor does it always make sense. But when conferences shift, everything changes.

OPINION

Everyone should work at least one restaurant job

By ALEX FALTER | Sep. 28, 2021

Screams fill the trenches on a recent Friday night in August.

OPINION

How to say goodbye to your hero

By TOM ANDREWS | Sep. 21, 2021

I was eating lunch with a colleague last Tuesday when I received one of the worst texts of my life: “Norm is dead,” my friend texted me.

OPINION

Living off campus: your last first step into the ‘real world’

By KARA ANDERSON | Sep. 21, 2021

For years, whenever I would talk about adulthood, my family and older peers would instantly shut me down.

OPINION

Mental health is public health

By JUSTIN WEISS | Sep. 14, 2021

We’ve all been affected by the mental health crisis in personal and profound ways. Maybe it’s a roommate, or a friend, or a family member, or a colleague, or one’s self, but everyone on campus knows somebody who is just trying to make it through the day.

OPINION

A letter to Vice President for Student Life Brian Hamluk

By THE SPECTRUM EDITORIAL STAFF | Sep. 14, 2021

On behalf of the entire staff of The Spectrum, we are delighted to welcome you to campus as the new vice president for student life. It’s an exciting time for our university, as we emerge from this pandemic stronger and more resilient than before.

OPINION

Texas’ abortion law is dangerous not only for women, but for society

By JACK PORCARI | Sep. 7, 2021

Wednesday marked the start of a new, dark era for women’s rights in The Lone Star State.

OPINION

Please don’t call me ‘Oreo’

By REILLY MULLEN | Sep. 7, 2021

The notion that I “act white” has haunted me my entire life, as if to say wearing sundresses, reading as a hobby and playing tennis are racially determined characteristics. Growing up in a predominantly white town with two well-educated parents taught me the importance of being respectful, kind and carrying myself intelligently, traits that are often incorrectly associated with whiteness.

OPINION

Letter from the editor

By REILLY MULLEN | Aug. 24, 2021

I am so excited to get back to doing what we all love, which is working tirelessly to bring you the news. And we have a ton of news to bring you.

OPINION

A Gen-Zer’s take on skinny jeans

By REILLY MULLEN | May 24, 2021

For weeks, I’ve chuckled as the Washington Post and overzealous TikTokers have warned me to prepare for battle.

OPINION

UB’s COVID-19 response could have made me a superspreader

By GRANT ASHLEY | May 12, 2021

UB reported 1,060 on-campus cases of COVID-19 this academic year. That number could have been lower. I would know. I was one of the positive cases.

OPINION

The Student Association is a disaster, but the student activity fee isn’t

By REILLY MULLEN | Apr. 20, 2021

I will be voting “mandatory” in Wednesday’s referendum. Not because SA told me to, but for the future Bulls who will find their friends at trips to NorthTown with the Ice Skating Club or go apple picking with the UB Advocates for Girl’s Education.

OPINION

The art of potty training a kitten

By Delme Fernandes | Apr. 19, 2021

Raising a kitten is definitely not as easy as it seems — not even close.

OPINION

‘Shut up, you’re a woman’

By KAYLA STERNER | Apr. 13, 2021

Feminism is wanting equality amongst genders, so it is time we take a serious approach toward equalizing the sports industry, whether that be through more female representation in sports media or empowering female athletes.

UB deserves an opportunity to continue its season, and nobody — certainly not a bunch of people in an air-conditioned room in Cleveland — should be able to take that opportunity away from them.

OPINION

#letthemplay

By JUSTIN WEISS and HUNTER SKOCZYLAS | Apr. 13, 2021

UB will watch Bowling Green, a team they beat during the regular season, play in the conference title game Saturday, all because MAC leadership is too stubborn, or cowardly, to right its wrongs.

OPINION

Charles Barkley is saying the things America needs to hear, whether you like it or not

By ANTHONY DECICCO | Apr. 9, 2021

Since becoming a TV personality in 2000, Basketball Hall of Famer and current NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley has never been afraid to speak his mind.

OPINION

‘Keep the faith’

By RICHARD LOUIS | Apr. 9, 2021

I truly don’t know if I could have made it to this point — final semester of college, graduation hanging in the distance, a job in the near-future — without my father still being here with me.

OPINION

A Buffalonian Commute

By Lily Smith | Apr. 8, 2021

There’s no experience like riding a Buffalo city bus at 7 a.m.

OPINION

My weaving road to self-love and acceptance

By ANUSHKA SHARMA | Apr. 6, 2021

Self-love and acceptance doesn’t happen overnight. It can take days, months or even years to find the courage to be kind to yourself.