Opinions - The Spectrum

OPINION

Realizing UB 2020' draft still not enough

By Rebecca Bratek | Apr. 25, 2013

On April 12, Provost Charles Zukoski released the second draft of his 'Realizing UB 2020' plan. In theory, this draft, when finalized, will bring monumental changes to how this institution operates, grants degrees and prepares students for life outside the campus; it aims to bring "excellence" to all faculty, staff and students over the next five to 10 years. But, in its current form, the draft still reads as a plan for the plan, with little concrete or tangible evidence of how exactly the university plans to meet its ambitious goals of revitalizing UB and the surrounding Buffalo community. The newest draft includes four institutional goals, which basically stress that UB wants to be bigger and better and wants to be bigger and better than universities all over the world.

OPINION

All the small things

Apr. 23, 2013

In a recent poll conducted by The Spectrum, 82 percent of 700 students expressed they didn't feel President Satish Tripathi's presence on campus. The problem that polls often have is they don't include definitional variations that can affect one's understanding of the issues presented. The meaning of 'presence' in the poll we refer to above demonstrates that very problem.

OPINION

Can Weiner be a winner?

Apr. 23, 2013

Following a sexting scandal, Anthony Weiner was forced to resign from the House of Representatives in disgrace.

OPINION

Graduation procrastination

Apr. 23, 2013

I almost had a panic attack at the university bookstore on Monday. I bought my cap and gown, and when I realized how much meaning and pressure the biodegradable blue gown, cap and hood held, my breathing became erratic. The thought of graduation has been pushed back into the depths of my mind for the past eight months - not because I don't care nor because I'm in denial, but because of the constant pressure I've received from my family and friends as the day gets closer. I am the first in my family to graduate from college.

OPINION

Letter to the Editor

Apr. 21, 2013

The abortion debate in the United States is unique for its vitriol and polarity. One side is a bunch of misogynist, anti-women bigots, the other a bunch of child murdering libertines. While there is no agreement on which side is right, perhaps we can all agree that the most vocal and politically active proponents of each side--which also coincides neatly with their political affiliation--are, generally speaking, wildly hypocritical. Was the pro-life camp so deaf during the Iraq War that they did not hear any reports about the thousands of innocent and defenseless children that were killed with our money and guns? Is the pro-choice camp so blind that they have not seen any reports about the Pakistani women that are denied their right to live, let alone to choose, by our money and drones? Is it not remarkable that pro-lifers are more concerned about a non sentient, group of cells than they are about children who have actually made the journey through the birth canal? Is it not remarkable that pro-choicers are more concerned about waxing philosophical about the right to choose than they are about confronting a certain leader who regularly denies it to Pakistani and Afghan women? Perhaps we need less pissing contests and more introspection.

OPINION

Things to do before the end of your freshman year

By ALYSSA MCCLURE | Apr. 21, 2013

As my freshman year of college comes to a close, I've compiled some things I wish I hadn't waited until months into my second semester to do, in the hopes that you can learn from my mistakes.

OPINION

To carry the fire and light the spark

Apr. 21, 2013

Adjunct media study professor Laura Curry's arrest on April 15 has inspired a mobilization on campus to petition for a dismissal of the charge of disorderly conduct. Amidst a tumultuous period on campus, as an anti-abortion exhibit displayed graphic images of aborted fetuses that were offensive to a large portion of the community, much inquiry has been generated as to whether or the University Police Department was justified in issuing the arrest. Just as UB Students for Life was acting within its First Amendment rights to display those images and protest abortion procedures happening legally in the United States, Curry had the right to express her beliefs, too.

OPINION

A time for unity

Apr. 21, 2013

As people followed television coverage of the search for the perpetrators of the Boston Marathon bombing, the fear of homegrown terrorism plummeted back into the forefront of American public consciousness. The suspects have been identified as brothers Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev - Russian immigrants who arrived to the United States in 2002.

OPINION

"I can't change, even if I tried'"

Apr. 18, 2013

On Wednesday, a federal appeals court in San Francisco listened to arguments about whether the California law banning "gay conversion therapy" for minors is a violation of the First Amendment. The law was adopted a year ago and is an effort to regulate a form of talk therapy.

OPINION

Letter to the Editor

By AMANDA JANTZI | Apr. 18, 2013

What should have been a beautiful Monday was marred by many things - tracking down friends in Boston, watching news coverage and having my morning framed by an offensive form of free speech.

OPINION

Mental breakdown: what the hell is happening with Amanda Bynes?

By DUANE OWENS | Apr. 18, 2013

"I want @drake to murder my vagina." - Guess who? Amanda Bynes, the weird, quirky-yet-loveable child actress most known for being a cast member of Nickelodeon's legendary show All That, has recently been acting more "different" than usual.

OPINION

Can you take me higher?

Apr. 18, 2013

When the recession hit, many high school graduates became convinced that going to college was a better option than trying their luck at entering a lackluster job market. Recent college enrollment rates released by the Department of Labor, however, suggest this tendency has been shifting.

OPINION

Letter to the Editor

By AUDREY FOPPES | Apr. 16, 2013

Abortion. Let's be clear: whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, abortion is not regarded as a positive experience, it is not enjoyable or looked forward to, and it is not, not, not an easy decision to make. Which is why I am so appalled at the University at Buffalo, a college I was moments ago proud to be a part of, for allowing the AbortionNO organization to park and display their horrific photographs in front of the Student Union on Monday, April 15. For those of you who missed the Technicolor nightmare, AbortionNO began by parking a large truck across from Starbucks, plastered with a full-color picture of a third-trimester aborted fetus.

OPINION

My stance on abortion after Monday's display

By KEREN BARUCH | Apr. 16, 2013

On Monday, my views on abortion were genuinely challenged for the first time. I have always supported a woman's right to choose.

OPINION

Civility and responsibility

Apr. 16, 2013

When UB Students for Life collaborated with the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) to bring its photomural exhibit to North Campus, displaying difficult photos of abortion images, the club was acting well within its First Amendment Rights.

OPINION

Letter to the Editor

Apr. 16, 2013

Dear Spectrum: We are writing to condemn the message of the anti-abortion protest that took place outside the Commons this week.

OPINION

Healthy changes everything

Apr. 14, 2013

On Wednesday, the Investigative Post, a non-profit investigative reporting center in Buffalo, released data from a 2011 survey that revealed 90 percent of Buffalo high school students did not attend physical education classes daily - 36 percent higher than the national average. Students in kindergarten through third grade are only getting physical education once every six days, according to the survey, and there isn't a comprehensive health education program throughout the Buffalo Public School District. All children in grades K-3 must take part in a phys-ed class on a daily basis, and grades 4-12 must have gym class at least three times a week, according to the New York State Department of Education.

OPINION

The cost of being The Bawse

By ELVA AGUILAR | Apr. 14, 2013

Blame the "yes" men. Blame Rocko. Blame feminists. But God forbid you blame Rick Ross.

OPINION

Point blank

Apr. 11, 2013

On Wednesday, Senators Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., and Patrick J. Toomey, R-Pa., announced an agreement has been reached among Democrats and Republicans in the Senate on a bill that expands backgrounds checks for gun buyers.

OPINION

This aggression will not stand

Apr. 11, 2013

The Pentagon issued on Thursday, for its first time, intelligence that deemed North Korea's nuclear capability has reached a new and higher level. It believes North Korea has established how to develop a nuclear weapon that can be delivered by a ballistic missile.