Opinions - The Spectrum

OPINION

It's not about the bike

Oct. 23, 2012

It seems UB's Distinguished Speaker Series is cursed. In 2010, UB hosted author and humanitarian Greg Mortenson, who went through a yearlong investigation on allegations that major portions of his books were inaccurate and that he was mismanaging assets at his Central Asia Institute. Last year, the series brought forth Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor. Rather, former seven-time Tour de France winner. Armstrong was officially stripped of his titles yesterday, the result of overwhelming amounts of evidence of him leading a doping conspiracy since 1999.

OPINION

#DeepThoughtsByKeren

By KEREN BARUCH | Oct. 23, 2012

"Trick or treat, smell my feet; give me something good to eat. If you don't, I don't care; I'll pull down your underwear." I was raised in a religious Jewish home.

OPINION

How To: throw together a last-minute costume

By RACHEL KRAMER | Oct. 23, 2012

Seven days - exactly one week until Halloween. If you are one of those people who haven't thought about a costume since last November, it may seem impossible to decide which character to be.

OPINION

The NFL's five most haunted houses

By OWEN O'BRIEN | Oct. 23, 2012

With Halloween a week away, it got me thinking about what scares me. Paranormal Activity movies, spiders and that feeling of knowing there's no bacon left in the house.

OPINION

Embrace the fat

By FELICIA HUNT | Oct. 18, 2012

College students - especially females - know the pressure of having a perfect body. The perfect hourglass shape with perky breasts and a flat stomach is what mainstream media tell women is attractive.

OPINION

Beyond binders and blinders

Oct. 18, 2012

Everyone likes a good show, and everybody was waiting for one from President Obama on Tuesday night.

OPINION

Off the press

Oct. 18, 2012

Newsweek announced on Thursday that, after 79 years, it will cease print publication at the end of the year and make the move to become the first national news magazine to shift entirely to a digital format. It's the end of an era for the magazine as journalism sees a possible end to the print era, in general. Newsweek, which joined with The Daily Beast in 2010, is making a decision for its future.

OPINION

My near death brought new life

By MARKUS MCCAINE | Oct. 18, 2012

I came home from lacrosse practice and began to make dinner as always. It was a normal cold January night in Buffalo. I didn't know it would be the last time I would compete on a lacrosse field. As I cooked rice, a slow, steady pain began to grow in my elbow.

OPINION

Women in the workplace: a fantasy conundrum

By TROY FAZIO | Oct. 18, 2012

I'm scared.

OPINION

Strife in the Heights

Oct. 17, 2012

The University Heights district is the definition of deplorable. It has been an ongoing talking point over the course of several years - on Monday, we reported about a student who was left homeless after his Merrimac home became infested by bed bugs, but this is not the first instance or the last.

OPINION

Bullied by Biden

Oct. 16, 2012

Joe Biden is President Obama's pit bull, and someone needs to find him a muzzle. Last Thursday night pitted Big Joe Biden - the man who made the phrase "big f**king deal" famous and whose off-the-cuff comments have prompted hundreds of Top 10 Gaffes lists - and Republican Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan in the Vice Presidential Debate - a battle of wits, talking points and comebacks. What were those talking points again? The response to Thursday's debate was pretty well split when the issues were pulled apart, but in almost every argument, the topic of conversation was not how the issues were presented and debated on but on Biden's brilliant repertoire of reactions.

OPINION

Tough love

Oct. 14, 2012

For the record, Charlie Weis is a sore loser.

OPINION

Get real

By BEN TARHAN | Oct. 14, 2012

I like complaining.

OPINION

The best things in life are free

Oct. 14, 2012

UB recently ranked eighth on a list of the colleges and universities most actively using BitTorrent, the most heavily monitored file-sharing platform, to illegally download and swap files.

OPINION

Missing the mark with BullsEye

Oct. 11, 2012

UB students logging onto BullsEye to apply for on-campus jobs are bound to run into the same nagging qualification: "Must have work-study award letter." It's an immediate dead end for students who don't qualify, leaving them to fight for positions at Campus Dining and Shops.

OPINION

Thoroughly Moderate Mitt

Oct. 11, 2012

After a summer of ill-informed and ill-advised analyses of the female reproductive system, Republicans have had a lot of ground to cover on the campaign trail, and comments made by Mitt Romney on Tuesday may have helped patch up some of that damage. The Republican candidate publicly announced he has no plans to make abortion legislation part of his agenda if he is elected president, an admittedly more moderate approach to the issue than he had taken earlier on the campaign trail. But despite cries from pundits and the left, there is no valid point to prove that he has flip-flopped in his position.

OPINION

Real world problems: my fantasy team

By TROY FAZIO | Oct. 11, 2012

I've got real problems. Lately, people have been coming to me complaining about their tests, girlfriend problems or how I ate the last chicken patty in the freezer (sorry, Steve). But I have bigger problems this week.

OPINION

Walk the Line: Week 6

By JON GAGNON | Oct. 11, 2012

Forget Joe Flacco. Who is he? Right when he begins to let people think he is potentially the quarterback Baltimore thought he could be and bring the Ravens to the promise land, he has a horrific performance against the Kansas City Chiefs - a team that has been giving up 34 points per game entering the weekend. Maybe I'm making too big a deal of his teams' failure to get in the end zone last week, but their offensive inefficiency cost me what I thought was a sure undefeated week of picks.

OPINION

Up close and personal with Laura Bush

By AARON MANSFIELD | Oct. 11, 2012

It's easier to understand Laura Bush from one foot away. Her cheery grin, which appears feigned and political through a television screen, is gentle and genuine.

OPINION

Harm principle

Oct. 10, 2012

Jerry Sandusky is set to be behind bars for at least 30 years, but the verdict he received yesterday is a swift slap in the face for the victims and their families. The former Penn State coach faces 30 years without parole and a maximum of 60 years behind bars, leaving him with what is effectively a life sentence.