AARON MENDELSOHN - The Spectrum

NEWS

Philanthropy plays big role in UB's fundraising

By AARON MENDELSOHN | May 2, 2005

Aside from advanced research, distinguished professors and high academic standards, UB has become a prominent university with help from outside donations.Every year, UB receives millions of dollars through private and corporate donations that benefit numerous departments in the form of scholarships, facilities and research funding."Philanthropic support takes UB to a level of excellence that it couldn't possibly meet with state funding and tuition alone," said Ed Schneider, director of the UB Foundation, which is the department that handles donations."UB needs as many resources as possible," said Schneider.

NEWS

Cavalier credit card use leads students into debt

By AARON MENDELSOHN | Apr. 20, 2005

The longing is unbearable.Before your eyes is the new EA Sports Madden NFL Xbox game. Your willpower is shot, and you grab it before the little kid down the aisle can get his chubby fingers on it.But when you open your wallet, you remember it is empty - the entirety of last week's paycheck spent on groceries, rent and last night's adventures.This definitely counts as an emergency, right?

NEWS

Exhibit recognizes 'Zine culture'

By AARON MENDELSOHN | Apr. 8, 2005

The underground 'zine culture' of do-it-yourself publications is celebrated in a new exhibit in the Undergraduate Library in Capen Hall as a part of UB's poetry and rare books collection.The unusual publications usually arise from the voices of individuals in a community whose values differ from the traditional mainstream magazines such as Time or Newsweek.

NEWS

Student takes first in major essay competition

By AARON MENDELSOHN | Mar. 23, 2005

Research can be overwhelming and frustrating, and while many undergraduate students may sometimes feel that their contributions are insignificant in the larger field of their discipline, this is not necessarily true.Last semester senior English major Meghan Fadel worked on an independent study with English professor James Holstun, and she achieved national and international recognition for her research.

NEWS

Arrested at Hayes

By AARON MENDELSOHN | Mar. 4, 2005

The legacy of the spring 1970 unrest at UB lives on in many ways, in myth and fact.Every freshman who moves into the Ellicott Complex hears the rumor, in the first few weeks, that the maze-like North Campus complex was built to prevent mass student protests - an architectural response to the clashes with police that made national headlines in 1970.Myth or fact?

NEWS

Commitment to conservation

By AARON MENDELSOHN | Feb. 23, 2005

The University at Buffalo's commitment to environmental conservation continues to lead administrators toward progressive programs aimed at waste and energy management.According to Walter Simpson, energy officer of UB Green, these programs have served as a benchmark for universities and institutions in New York State, and as far away as Australia.Simpson is also co-founder and chair of the Western New York Energy Conservation Committee.

NEWS

Stranded at the border

By AARON MENDELSOHN | Feb. 9, 2005

Ideals of freedom, rule of law and minority rights are what inspired Sawsan Tabbaa, a clinical assistant and instructor of orthodontics at UB, to come to the United States.But an experience she had returning to America from Canada over winter break following a conference in Toronto made her seriously question if those ideals were more than just words.Officials stopped Tabbaa and her family for interrogation, and held them for three or four hours along with about 40 other Muslim-Americans without explanation, she said.Dr. Tabbaa's son, Hassan Shibly, a freshman political science major at UB, was one of the detainees, and sat with Tabbaa as she recounted her experience.As she approached the United States border via the Peace Bridge at 2 a.m.