The Spectrum Vol 59 Iss 20

By AMANDA WOODSAsst. News Editor

UB is attempting to show the community that, in fact, it is easy being green. The university served as a model for Western New York to show ways to live more eco-friendly lifestyles at the inaugural Greener Shade of Blue and You Day on Tuesday. The event, which was sponsored by Campus Din-ing & Shops, featured over 30 vendors who discussed ways for people to “green” their homes and reduce their envi-ronmental footprints. Jim Simon, associate envi-ronmental director of UB Green, believes the event enables the campus and the region to learn simple ways to conserve resources. “Increasing sustainability and environmental issues are becoming more and more mainstream and people don’t know about the opportunities at their fingertips,” Simon said. “This is an opportunity for the university community to learn about simple ways for greening their lifestyle.” According to Janiece Kied-rowski, chair of the Profes-sional Staff Senate, the idea for A Greener Shade of Blue and You Day came about as a response to UB President John Simpson’s signing of the Environmental Impact Commitment, a pledge to reduce the university’s carbon footprint. In order to carry out that pledge, Kiedrowski believes that the UB Green office needs to educate the univer-sity community and model the simple steps they can take toward becoming more “green.” “If we were to do better each year and make our envi-ronmental impact less each year, that’s how we can serve as a model,” Kiedrowski said.

“We need to make the com-munity aware of what we’re doing.” Because this is the first Greener Shade of Blue and You Day, Kiedrowski is hope-ful that students will learn a lot from it. “It’s our first year and we’re hoping to get some support and input,” Kiedrowski said. Simon said that the UB Green office is always dedi-cated to fostering community awareness of environmental issues. He added that the UB Green library is open to the community to read up on these matters. “Our work at the university doesn’t stop at the borders

of the campus,” Simon said. “Our office is doing green, environmental acts in the community all the time.” Kiedrowski believes many college students have indif-ferent attitudes toward pre-serving the environment. “They need to be aware and take [environmental issues] more seriously,” Kiedrowski said. “I see many students being too nonchalant about what they throw out.” Students who attended the Greener Shade of Blue and You Day were environmen-tally conscious, and discussed ways they conserve resources in their everyday lives. Cait-lin Caldwell, a freshman art

major, is one such student. “I save up my bottles and take them to the recycling bin,” Caldwell said. Gero Eaton, a freshman art major, conserves resources in other ways. “I don’t waste a lot of water,” he said. “When I brush my teeth, I shut off the water.” Eaton’s transportation methods are also more energy-conscious. “I don’t own a car,” Eaton said. “I ride my bike instead.” Green Options Buffalo, an organization present at the event, emphasized the importance of riding bikes as a greener way to get around. One of their programs, Recy-cle-A-Bike, educates children in the community about how to repair and maintain bikes. According to Simon, UB’s expansion into the city of Buffalo calls for more ener-gy-efficient transportation. He hopes that a light rail will connect the three campuses one day to reduce the number of vehicles commuting back and forth. Buffalo Car Share, an orga-nization located near South Campus, is dedicated to this purpose. This organization allows students to borrow a car to use for a couple hours to travel to class, the grocery store or the mall. Both Simon and Kiedrows-ki believe that there are some basic ways for UB students to be more green-minded in their daily lives. They empha-sized recycling, donating and buying from local vendors. They also said that stu-dents should turn down the heat in dorm rooms when it’s not needed. Jim Walters, the market-ing manager for Solar Liber-ty, an organization dedicated to providing solar power to

Inside:Arts and Life ........... 5Classifieds ............ 11Opinion .................... 3Sports ................... 12Police blotter ....... 9

h t t p : / / w w w . u b s p e c t r u m . c o m

The SpectrumWednesday, October 21, 2009 Volume 59 Issue 20An independent student publication of the University at Buffalo

see COMICON page 6

F A L C O N S F L Y B Y B U L L S P a g e 1 2 | M O N E Y S A V I N G T I P S P a g e 5

Weather:

Wed: 59o high / 50o low

Thu: 58o high / 38o low

Fri: 45o high / 43o low See Page 5See Page 12

WINTER WONDERBOYDavid Archuleta makes Christmas even cuter.

By STEPHEN MARTHEditor in Chief

Late Tuesday evening, officials confirmed that an investigation is brewing after allega-tions surfaced that former Student Associa-tion President Hassan Farah attempted to bribe two students for this week’s election. “I can confirm that there are rumors of two instances of alleged bribery,” said Joshua Boston, head of the SA Elections and Credentials Committee and former manag-ing editor of The Spectrum. “It’s concerning the offering of positions by Hassan Farah to people who are involved in SA and the elec-tion.” Farah immediately denied the claims. “We run a clean campaign,” Farah said.

“People are trying to ruin my reputation.” The Spectrum received a tip from an anonymous party that one of the parties approached by Farah was presidential-hopeful Joseph Assaf. According to Boston, Farah allegedly offered Assaf a position with the Faculty-Student Association. “Nobody talked to me. It’s someone’s rumors and lies,” Assaf said. “If I wanted to drop out of the race, I would drop out in front of everybody. Everything is lies.” According to SA’s Election Rules and Regulations, a bribe is “money or any other valuable consideration given or promised with a view to corrupting the behavior of a person in effort to influence an election.” Per Article 10, Section XIII, “Attempt-ing to bribe any undergraduate student of

his/her vote or to induce such student to commit an illegal act or act in violation of these Election Rules and Regulations [results in] 75 hours of community service for the first act, or expulsion from the elec-tion for additional acts.” As of 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Boston did not speak to Farah but is taking the allega-tions seriously. “The committee will look thoroughly into these allegations,” Boston said. “Of course,

see FARAH page 4

Tim Ho / The Spectrum

Right: Former SA President Hassan Farah has been accused of bribing students, according to numerous reports.

Farah accused of bribing students

Modeling a greener lifestyle

HALFWAY THROUGHThe volleyball team is playing

well so far this season.

As of press time...

LATE BREAKING AND ON THE WEB SITE

w w w . u b s p e c t r um . c o m

By JESSICA BENNETTStaff Writer

The Buffalo Niagara Marriott is about to be taken over by cos-tumed comic book enthusiasts. Comic book fans from across Western New York will convene to swap stories and potentially pick up that one comic book they’ve been dying to find for years, all while dressed as their favor-ite super heroes, villains and sidekicks. Fans can also come to Comicon for a chance to meet Underground Comix legend Spain Rodriguez. Rodriguez, a Buffalo native, is an artist and writer known for his explicit and politically explosive work. UB will also be holding an exhibit in his honor. Rodriguez is best known for his rebellious comic book character “Trashman,” a

working class superhero. The stories are set in a near-future America, which has become a fascist police state. Rodriguez has worked with other Comix pioneers such as Robert Crumb and Vaughn Bode. Pulitzer Prize-winning comics artist Art Spiegelman describes Rodriguez’s latest work in Che: A Graphic Biog-raphy, as “brilliant and radi-cal.” The biography explores the life of Marxist revolution-ary Che Guevara and has been published in several different languages. Many UB students have been fans of Rodriguez for years. He was invited to contribute a weekly cartoon to The Spectrum about his time with the Road Vultures motorcycle gang in the early 1960s. R. Lavin, coordinator of

Road Vultures back in town for Comicon

see GREEN page 4

Norber Ogibo / The Spectrum

Greener Shade of Blue and You Day helped students and faculty learn ways to “green” their homes and reduce environmental footprints.

• Bryan Ortiz drops out of race

• SA Club endorsements

• Around-the-clock election coverage

Yuki Tanimoto/The Spectrum

Underground Comix legend Spain Rodriguez will be one of many speak-ers at Comicon next week.

2 The Spectrum October 21, 2009

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

3 The SpectrumOctober 21, 2009

So tell me girlie, how’s your edge? It’s my birthday! Let’s get wasted! The fact that I just typed those words makes me laugh. Although I turned 20 yesterday, that state-ment is far from anything I would ever say. That’s right. I don’t drink. Actually,

I’m straight edge. Straight edge, for those of you

who don’t know, is a lifestyle movement that started in the 1980s. Its followers make a commitment to abstain from using drugs, alcohol

and tobacco products. My high school was

known locally as a drink-ing school, but I removed

myself from that crowd. I grew up in a small town’s hardcore music scene where being straight edge was common and accepted, and I avoided the top-ics of alcohol and my non-consumption easily. After arriving at UB in August 2007, I quickly realized that wasn’t going to be the case any lon-ger. Since the beginning of my freshman year, any-time that drinking is mentioned I’ve gotten a little uncomfortable. This is for the sole fact that I know as soon as I utter the words “I don’t drink,” I’ll be met with disapproving looks and bombarded with questions. I can’t count the number of times people looked at me with puzzled faces and asked, “Why not? What do you do for fun?” Even my younger broth-er pesters me about it. Personally, there is not a more natural thing for me to do. The majority of college students can’t imagine a weekend without alcohol. What else is there to do, right? Wrong. It amazes me how virtually every activity is centered around alcohol. The majority of the time, drinking is the activity and the rest of life centered

OPINION

OCTOBER 21, 2009VOLUME 59 NUMBER 20CIRCULATION: 10,000

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An extremely important event is underway in a little-known region of Pakistan. The country’s security forces have launched an offensive to recapture the mountainous tribal region on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Remote and rugged South Waziristan – with its rocky mountains and patchy forests cut through by dry creeks and ravines – is an inter-national hub for militants.

This frontier province has traditionally been a semi-autonomous region that has provided a safe haven for the forces of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. It has provided a stronghold for plan-ning and execution of the recent wave of suicide attacks against Pakistan in recent weeks.

The most recent attack killed 52 civilians in Peshawar. Dozens of soldiers and police officers have been killed in suicide attacks. They could be aimed at toppling the government, imposing an Islamic state and, if possible, obtaining Paki-stan’s nuclear weapons.

The president of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, recognized the direness of the situation and began to mobilize military forces to combat the Taliban.

This represents a tremendous shift in Paki-stan’s policy in the fight against terrorism. After 9/11, Pakistan was extremely supportive of the United States’ effort to combat global terrorism. Although the support was there from Pakistan, actual results were missing.

Pakistan is awakening to the growing security threat within its own borders. In the wake of Pakistan’s military launching a new offensive, the Taliban have unleashed new attacks, like bombings at the university in Islamabad.

Although the fighting has been fierce and hundreds of refugees are flowing out of the region, Pakistan’s resolve must not diminish. It is the first time an Islamic government in the Middle East has stood strong and taken action

against religious fundamentalists.

The upper echelons of society must be alter-ing their perceptions of the problem. The fight-ing has begun to close in on the interests of the wealthy, reminding them that everyone is in danger.

The new vigor Pakistan has displayed is welcome. Former President Pervez Musharraf used appeasement against militants with non-aggression pacts that provided little change. Musharraf once asked for blind trust from the United States, which he received. Instead of fighting militants, the resources were used for saber rattling with India.

The United States has been providing logis-tical support for the offensive in the form of military intelligence. Aid has been used to start programs for social and democracy building that stymies militant support. Pakistan is finally using American tax dollars as intended.

The reality is that Pakistan will never fully be on the United States’ side. The U.S. has had lapses in support for Pakistan throughout the 1990s. The country has immense regions that have never been under government control.

However, each small step improves the entire situation. As Pakistan’s forces fight harder and ask the United States to take an expanded role, hatred toward America will decrease. If the gen-eral population sees the benefits of the aid, then the direct result would be a reduction in anti-Americanism in the region.

The end game is simple. Every step taken by Pakistan against militants is a victory against terrorism. A secure Pakistan might lead to find-ing Osama bin Laden.

That would certainly put an end to the eight-year run of militants ruling that part of the world.

Stepping upPakistan finally fighting terrorism

Katie CarlettSenior Photo Editor

Death to smoochy faces It seems to be a common theme nowadays: you just can’t be happy without having “In a Relation-ship” inscribed under your relationship status on Facebook. We have a holiday in February that rewards two

individuals for holding hands through the halls of UB, but

also makes desperate, rela-tionship-less individuals

want to jump off the top of Clemens Hall.

Even Hollywood has illustrated this point as if to brainwash us.

When was the last time you saw a movie in which the lonesome protago-nist didn’t get the boy or girl? If the main character did fail, he or she probably ran a razor across his or her arm. All these factors have combined to create a need for intimacy in many of us. When it all falls down, these individuals crave a counterpart to blow money on, to go to The Cheesecake Factory with and to get all “you’re schmoopy” with, strings attached and all. I used to be like this. For me, intimacy was need-ed like insulin for a diabetic. Now, I view attention cravers as weak. This need for “love” causes what I like to call futile relationships, and they are absolutely every-where I look. I don’t claim to be a love guru, I don’t have the skills to reel in unsuspecting shorties like Tucker Max, and I haven’t been in a “relationship” since senior year of high school. And yet, I seem to be the only single male that has never thought about putting a gun to my head. I’m fine with a quality female to have a drink with, enjoy a couple laughs with and, if we have

David SanchiricoSenior Sports Editor

see CARLETT page 4

Citizens who use medical marijuana no longer have to fear prosecution from federal authori-ties. The Justice Department issued an internal memo to authorities in 14 states where medical marijuana is legal to no longer pursue cases on that issue.

Marijuana has medical benefits in relieving pain in patients who are suffering from cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis C and multiple sclerosis.

The Justice Department memo said it was interested in “efficient and rational use” of its resources and that prosecuting patients with prescriptions and distributors of medical marijuana that are in “clear and unambiguous compliance” with state laws did not meet that requirement.

This shift in the policy isn’t an endorsement of medical marijuana or the laws that allow it in certain states, but the current administration believes there are more pressing matters for prosecutors.

Law enforcement officials have more vital matters to attend to than medical marijuana. Resources should be used to pursue terrorist cells in the country or illegal arms trading.

The numbers don’t lie. In 2003, the United States government spent close to $19 billon on the War on Drugs. That equals roughly about $600 per second. Since then, the budget has increased by over a billion dollars.

In 2007, law enforcement officials made an estimated 872,720 arrests for marijuana viola-tions alone. That is the highest ever annual total ever in the United States. It breaks down to an American getting arrested for marijuana every 38 seconds.

The breakdown of which of those offenders are medical marijuana users is almost undistin-guishable. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement attached with the internal memo, “We will not use resources on those complying with state laws. But we will not tolerate drug traffickers who hide behind claims of compli-ance with state law to mask activities that are clearly illegal.”

Polls have shown for years that there is wide-spread support for making medical marijuana available to relieve the suffering of the very ill.

The policy shift on medical marijuana can be problematic. Ideological lines are crossed by the current administration. The choice to defer to state laws can be viewed as a states’ rights issue that has traditionally been a tenant of the con-servative party.

There is no denying the prevalence of mari-juana in American culture, from the widespread observance of April 20 to highly advertised ston-er movie campaigns and even promotion during concerts.

Films such as Harold and Kumar, Pineapple Express and even older films like Dazed and Confused are cult classics. The common threads of all three are the reliance on marijuana to cre-ate colorful situations for entertainment.

Marijuana is still somewhat of a taboo drug, but in recent years it has moved from an underground phenomenon into the social con-science.

Its presence would be tough to remove.

Authorities pass on grass U.S. won’t prosecute medical marijuana

see SANCHRICO page 4

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Not in a rush to settle downSANCHIRICO from page 3

They’ve got better things to do CARLETT from page 3

Time is of the essence

FARAH from page 1

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I want to emphasize that Hassan Farah is innocent until proven guilty based off of any hearings by the committee and after we speak to the parties involved.” With the election beginning at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Boston believes that time is of the essence when investigating these claims. “There is not too much that we can do until the election begins,” Boston said. “Everyone will be in one place and we can pull everyone together. We are independent and we have the power to investigate this and that is what we will do.” Farah blamed those who are

against his campaign for spreading the information – which he calls false – to the masses. “It’s a surprise to me,” Farah said. “Here’s the dirty politics. It’s the same people spreading rumors to make way for themselves. These are the same politics they’ve played since the incident happened. They made rumors and allegations that had no basis. This is clearly the campaign that they are running.” Stay with The Spectrum as the investigation into these allegations continue.

Managing Editor David Jarka contributed to this report.

E-mail: [email protected]

homes and businesses, believes that although his organization doesn’t directly interact with students, there are plenty of ways that stu-dents can promote the work Solar Liberty does.

“More than yourself, encourage the places you’re going to work at after college,” Walters said. “Ask them how they can operate using cleaner energy.”


Turn down heat in dorms

GREEN from page 1

around it. When did swallowing a liquid become a pastime? Yes, drinking in college allows people to fit in and makes finding friends easier, but if you sit back and look at it, are those people really your friends? I’m done with fake friendships and when I see people that I know are only friends because they get wasted together on the weekends, I

honestly feel bad for them. I want real friendships – mean-ingful friendships – and to spend a Saturday night in Buffalo with-out someone mentioning getting plastered. I’m sick of walking around this campus and hearing kids talk about how their Adderall supplier moved away, how their friend passed out by the toilet this weekend or that last weekend was the first time their roommate tried cocaine. I feel like that is not an unreasonable attitude. More than one of my previous friends have mentioned how much

they respect me for being straight edge and how they wish they could be like me. Then a week later, every Facebook status they post is about “getting drunk like Bible times” and smoking out of boredom. Is fitting in really worth it? I’d rather keep my self-respect intact. The hardest part about being straight edge is being in the minor-ity. I not only get crap from people who are too ignorant to understand my choices, but I also hear every day that “girls can’t be straight edge” from straight edge guys. Feeling like you have no support

from even the people that are in the same situation as you is terrible. Yes, there is a shortage of edge girls in this world, but that doesn’t mean we don’t exist and don’t deserve your respect. So the next time you talk to some-one who says they don’t drink, have respect for the choices they’ve made, and remember, in the words of Minor Threat, they’re a person just like you, but they’ve got better things to do.


the same idea, listen to R. Kelly’s “Ignition” with. If you enjoyed the time, call me to meet up some time. I probably won’t buy you a turkey sandwich from Subway, but wouldn’t that make you feel weird anyway? Don’t look at me as a player. I’m just a nice guy that is trying to end up least like Mr. Irrelevant. I’m most certainly fine with these unlabeled relationships for now. I know how it goes: “the one” will come upon me eventually. I’ll know when it happens, and sure, saliva will run out of my mouth like a hun-gry Rottweiler. I’m not in a rush to settle down. Searching for that one single entity

is like playing the lottery on a daily basis: you try too hard and you even-tually find yourself broke with no one to support you. And yet I find odd and incompat-ible relationships everywhere I go. They’re easy to spot. If you view an interaction between a couple for a matter of minutes, you can tell if that couple is meant to be, or if it’ll be gone in 60 days. If there are almost 100 pictures of a couple that has been together for less than two weeks, there’s a prob-lem. That’s not love at first sight, that’s an excessive way of showing that you finally have someone to cuddle with. Of course most of these described storybook relationships extinguish quickly, thus continuing the cycle

of the intimacy cravers. They’ll find another temporary “soul mate” to watch The Notebook with before one has enough and either cheats or lets his or her discontent out. And at this point, the intimacy fiend goes through withdrawal. Friendships are ruined, gallons of ice cream are inhaled, and millions of tissues are used – and not just for the eruption of tears. Getting to know a person and wanting to see where a relation-ship goes is one thing. But jumping into one without even knowing the counterpart’s history is going to leave you hurt.


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ARTS & LIFE

SPECTRUM PLAYLIST

It’s mid-fall and as the season gives way to winter, all of us here at the Arts Desk can guarantee a lot of you out there are sick, because we sure are. Whether you are just sick of classes or trying to get over that H1N1/mono hybrid, you are not well. Here is a playlist that shares those ill feelings.

1) Disturbed – “The Sickness”

2) Queens of the Stone Age – “Sick, Sick, Sick”

3) Eminem – “Drips”

4) The Matches – “Sick Little Suicide”

5) Mika - “Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)”

6) Bloodhound Gang – “That Cough Came With A Prize”

7) My Chemical Romance – “Cancer”

8) Matchbox Twenty– “Unwell”

9) Phish – “Down With Disease”

10) Pink Floyd – “Comfortably Numb”

see ARCHULETA page 6

By GREG SILBERMANStaff Writer

A star was born during the 17th season of American Idol, when one of the youngest finalists in the show’s history took the stage. At 18 years old, former ‘Idol’ runner-up David Archuleta has already released his sophomore album, Christmas from the Heart. To no one’s surprise, Archuleta’s holiday album, filled with heart-warming traditional tunes, has been soaring up the charts at an incred-ible pace. On the first day of release, Christmas from the Heart quickly reached the Top 10 on iTunes Top 200 albums, a particularly rare accomplishment for a Christmas album. Archuleta seems to have the per-fect singing voice for most of the CD’s well-known songs, including “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which he performs beautifully with Filipina star

Charice Penpemgco. “Melodies of Christmas,” the only original song of the album, referenc-es several Christmas songs and how powerful they are to their listeners. Archuleta even incorporates his

multilingual talents into the album as he sings in Latin, French and Spanish. “Pat-A-Pan” is a French, upbeat version of the Little Drum-

Courtesy of Fanpop

David Archuleta sounds like an angel in his new holiday album.

Archuleta’s CD is from the heart

A-

DavidArchuleta

Christmas from the Heart

JiveOct. 13

By GREGORY COHENStaff Writer

Roughly 56 percent of college stu-dents carry four or more credit cards in their wallets to pay for every-thing from education to groceries. With an accumulating average debt of almost $3,000 a year for the typical college student, the financial future doesn’t look positive.

Students ages 18 to 24 spend almost 30 percent of their monthly income on debt repayment alone – double the percentage spent in 1992, according to Kellie Kostek, financial literacy coordinator at UB. After college, workers between the ages of 25 and 34 spend about 25 cents on every dollar earned on debt repayments, according to Tamara Draut, author of Strapped: Why

America’s 20 and 30 Somethings Can’t Get Ahead. Financial illiteracy is an epi-demic among college students, so the Student Academic Records and Financial Services decided to run seven workshops over the semester to teach students about financial responsibility. They have

Cutting away at credit

1234Scrooge McGreedy

4567 7890 1592

Bank of Debt

Graphic by Rafael Kobayashisee CREDIT page 9

By NICOLAS PINOStaff Writer

Remember Crash Bandicoot, the lovable mascot for the then relatively unknown Naughty Dog video game company? Well, they’ve changed things a bit. Instead of controlling an over-sized marsupial to stop an evil scien-tist, their newest game, Uncharted: Among Thieves, places the player in the shoes of Nathan Drake, a mod-ern day treasure hunter. The prequel, Drake’s Fortune, went down in video game history, selling more than one million copies within its first 10 weeks of release – which made it a part of Sony’s ‘Greatest

Hits’ Collection. In true cinematic fashion, the game picks up in the midst of a train falling off the side of a mountain in Nepal. Drake utilizes his acrobatic prowess to narrowly avoid certain death, only to collapse on the moun-tain from the freezing cold and a bullet wound to his abdomen. Naughty Dog uses a series of flashbacks to clue the player in to what led Drake to this moment in the plotline. The game will certainly please the majority of PS3 players. Simply put, it’s a blast. From the interactive storytelling to a constant feeling of momentum in the game’s plot, there’s never a

dull, uncharted moment. Players will find themselves up all night constantly saying, “Just one more chapter, then I’ll quit,” and appropriately not quitting until

their mother or roommate with a life inevitably snaps. With 26 chapters, the game it is

By RACHEL LAMBAsst. Life Editor

For over 40 years, Town Boys and Girls Club has provided shelter, leadership and guidance to the chil-dren of the Riverside and Old Town neighborhoods in Tonawanda. It is now the community’s chance to give back. TBGC is sponsoring a fundraiser 5K race on Sunday to raise money for the club and to commemorate

longtime TBGC member Bob “Kat” Nowak, who has been with the organization for decades. “[Nowak] has been with TBGC for over 40 years,” said Scott Hen-derson, race director and TBGC alumnus. “He has been instrumen-tal in the lives of literally hundreds of kids, so we are commemorating his service.” Boys and Girls Clubs of America have been a vital part of commu-nities across the nation for over a

century. There are currently Boys and Girls Clubs in every U.S. state, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The Boys and Girls Clubs of America collectively help over 4 million youths every year. According to its Web site, TGBC helps over 200 children daily from 6 to 18 years old. Additionally, there are six other locations in Northern Erie and Niagara County. “[TBGC] provides recreation, programs, activities and sports leagues. And in the summer and on weekends, we provide field trips and camps for the kids,” Henderson said. “There are countless recre-ational activities that are available.” All of the money that is collected

from the race will be given to TBGC for equipment, bills and recreation-al activities. According to the Web site, roughly 82 percent of the club’s money goes to youth services and programs. Henderson believes the programs that were provided to him as a child are still crucial to the development of children today. “I learned a lot from TBGC and from [Nowak]. A lot of the workers are alumni, so we know how impor-tant the club is to these kids,” Hen-derson said. According to Henderson, TBGC is a vital part of the community

5K fun-draising

Honor among thieves is an understatement

Courtesy of Naughty Dog Entertainment

Uncharted: Among Thieves is sure to deliver to Playstation fanboys everywhere.

see THIEVES page 8

see CLUB page 9

Thanks for the show

I would like to thank all of you students who go out on the week-ends – the ones who stumble out of bars, trip over curbs, lean on a pair of friends just to make it to McDonald’s and mostly the ones who yell to the Domino’s delivery cars. Yes, I deliver pizza for Domino’s until 2 a.m. on the weekends. Yes, it sucks and kills what little social life I have outside of school and this windowless, boisterous news-room, but it’s you – the drunken fools – that make my job surviv-able. My shift usually starts around 5 p.m. and really drags on for the first few hours, but when 10 p.m. hits, the phones start ringing and I make countless trips to both campuses and the Heights. It just so happens that the time when we get a little busier is the time people start heading to the bars. I used to try to avoid Main Street because of the ridiculous traffic lights and pedestrians, but now I take it as often as I can, just for the chance of seeing something funny happen. I never realized how easy it is to

It’s tool time This is a story all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down. And if you don’t at least have the beat to that song stuck in your head now, you’re a communist. Lets face it, TV shows nowadays do not compare to the shows from yesteryear. Is there any show that will ever top the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers or the film noir cartoon version of Batman? I submit that there will never be. Even the sitcoms were better back in the day. Home Improve-ment is still the greatest show to ever grace the ABC lineup to this day. Today, kids get to watch drugged-up heiresses through night vision and belligerent “art-ists” stumble onto stage and take the spotlight from someone who actually earned it. Now, there really is not a whole lot that can disturb me, but the fact that the youth is getting brain-washed into thinking that being tall, skinny and spoiled is the best way to live actually did it. Take The Hills, for example. Let’s take a bunch of people that

Matt MosherLife Editor

Jameson ButlerAsst. Arts Editor

see BUTLER page 6

see MOSHER page 7


see TAN page 8

Rodriguez never lost edge

COMICON from page 1

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Electronic Collections and a comic fan himself, talked about Rodri-guez’s past with the Road Vultures, and also his recent work. “We found an issue of The Spec-trum that talks about the Road Vul-tures and how they’re pretty cool,” Lavin said. The comic was called “SUNY Daze,” a sample of which can be found at UB’s exhibit, along with snippets of all of his other work for Underground Comix. Lavin feels that the most impor-tant part of Rodriguez’s contribu-tion to the comic world is the fact he’s never lost his edge. “He has a very distinctive, recog-nizable style,” Lavin said. “[Rodri-guez] is very accomplished as an artist. Even though he was born in 1940, to this day he maintains that strong radical political sensibility that he had back then.” A comic book museum in San Francisco, where Rodriquez lives, is also currently displaying his work. “Buffalo is his original home. San Francisco is his new home, and at the same time on each side of the country we’ve got these two cities

that are honoring his achievements and his lifetime of work,” Lavin said. “I thought it would be important to give him that hometown recogni-tion.” The Comicon event will begin at UB on Oct. 23 at 4 p.m. The event will include a number of speakers and Rodriguez will be on-hand to answer questions. Rodriguez will be at the Central Library in Lafay-ette Square in downtown Buffalo on Saturday. “There will be workshops for little kids, programs for teens and speakers for adults,” Lavin said. “Rodriguez will specifically talk about his Buffalo days and his roots in Buffalo and how he started as an artist.” Comicon will be held at the Buf-falo-Niagara Marriot, 1340 Miller-sport Hwy., Amherst, on Sunday. Rodriguez will be there to sign books and talk to fans. UB will display Rodriguez’s work from now through Dec. 31 in the Special Collections room in Capen Hall.


live off mommy and daddy’s money and put them on camera. That always makes for great entertain-ment. The worst part is that it is sup-posed to be a “reality” show, but it is clearly scripted. I wonder what the W.A.S.P.s

from The Hills are going to be b******g about this week… Actually, I just lied to all of you. No, I don’t. Personally, I 100 percent do not care about them. They could all drive off the side of a cliff and my life would not be affected at all. But the worst of the worst is CW’s Gossip Girl. Seriously, why is this show still on the air? It’s a show about a bunch of spoiled brats doing drugs and sleeping around on each other. It just astounds me when I log onto Facebook every Monday just to see every girl – and some guys – all updating their statuses to praise this corrupting piece of bull manure. Gossip Girl’s poison is even seep-ing into the music world. That bimbo Leighton Meester is, for some reason, on Cobra Starship’s new song and it just baffles me. I mean, it is surprising enough that she can get one acting job

because she is so incredibly bad at acting, but how can she get a radio spot? But I guess listening to her “singing” on the radio is better than watching her display the effects of eating lead paint on television. That’s great television program-ming for the youth of America to be watching. When I have kids, they are getting locked in their rooms till they’re 20 in fear that entertain-ment like this will still be loved by American teens. They should have a channel that always plays Looney Tunes and Pinky and the Brain so kids can watch classic cartoons that skip on the whole glamorizing speed and sex thing. I suggest we bring back the good times, when The Simpsons still had some edge and Al Borlin was a name known by all. God, I miss the ’90s.


Bring back classic TVBUTLER from page 5

mer Boy. The singer shows off his vocal range in “Riu Riu Chiu,” which has received a lot of immediate atten-tion and praise, and is sung in Span-ish. Archuleta’s voice drips with passion as he beautifully sings “Ave Maria” in Latin. The remaining songs from the album include “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “O Come All Ye

Faithful,” “The First Noel,” “O Holy Night,” “I’ll Be Home for Christ-mas” and “What Child is This.” Overall, the album serves as a great counterpart to Archuleta’s pop CD, Crush, which came out last year. It is only October, but there is no doubt that these well known tunes will get anyone into the holi-day spirit.


Archuleta shows rangeARCHULETA from page 5

By ALIA SYEDStaff Writer

As the cold and dreary winter months approach, students flock to indoor tanning salons to brighten their complexions and fight off the chill. The tanning trend has persisted even though indoor and outdoor tanning has been known to be dan-gerous for quite some time. Tanning beds are of special concern, as the ultraviolet rays they emit are much stronger than those emitted by the sun. In July, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, released a report that classified UV-emitting tanning devices as “carci-nogenic to humans.” The IARC added tanning beds to Group One as one of the most dan-gerous hazards to humans. Other hazards comparable in Group One were arsenic, mustard gas and the hepatitis B virus. Scientists analyzed over 20 epi-

demiological studies and found that the risk of cutaneous melanoma increases by 75 percent in people that start using tan-ning beds before the age of 30. According to WHO, over 2 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed worldwide each year, and one in three cancers diagnosed is a form of skin cancer. Most skin cancer is caused by overexposure to natural UV rays (UVB and UVA). Additional expo-sure to UV rays from tanning beds, especially in such a concentrated form, is believed to enhance the risks associated with solar expo-sure. UVB rays have long been known to be carcinogenic in animals, and a great deal of new evidence shows that UVA rays also contribute to causing cancer. However, those who support tan-ning beds disagree with these find-ings, believing that indoor tanning

offers more controlled sun expo-sure and can be safe in moderation. The Indoor Tanning Association ran a full-page ad in the New York Post immediately after the IARC report was released, rebuking the categorization of tanning beds as a Group One carcinogen. “Media reports comparing indoor tanning to toxins like mus-tard gas, cigarettes and arsenic are outrageously overhyped. The same ‘Group One’ category includes red wine, salted fish and regular sun-light,” the ad stated. The ad also explains that over-exposure, either from a tanning

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spot someone under the influence of something, whether it’s booze or who knows what grade-A stuff they were smoking. When I knock on a door, I never know what’s going to happen. I might walk into a beer pong tour-nament, a scene from Pineapple Express, a room full of nerds playing Halo, or just a normal person. I will tell you, I’ve experienced them all – more than once. I saw a guy so excited to get his pizza, that after his roommate had yelled to him that the Domino’s guy was here, he came running down the stairs screaming “Pizza! Pizza!” and in his excitement, forgot to set his bong down and answered the door with it in hand. On a separate delivery, I took several large pizzas to what turned out to be a typical Friday night beer pong party. While I was waiting for the person who ordered the food to go get the money, his friends took it upon themselves to attempt to teach me the Crip Walk. I told them I couldn’t dance, but one person said, “C’mon, Domino’s dude, I’m wasted and I can do it, you have to able to.” So to really throw this kid a sur-prise, I told him I was drunk too and wasn’t able to dance because I

would fall over and drop the pizza. Before I had to explain that I was joking, was completely sober and just didn’t feel like looking like a fool by doing a gangster dance, the money came down the stairs and I was saved, then tipped four bucks. I have also seen a woman so eager to get her pizza that she tripped over her coffee table and landed on her face while running to the door, but she quickly bounced back up and came to get her food. After watching her face meet the floor, I had to move to the side of the door and focus as hard as I could to not laugh in this woman’s face and pretend that I had no idea that she just took a nosedive in her own liv-ing room. I couldn’t believe what I had just seen. If I had been able to film it, I would have won an award on America’s Funniest Home Videos. Perhaps she had a few too many drinks, or maybe she was genuinely delighted to get her pizza and wings. I will never know. It seems now that I’m in my senior year and focused solely on graduat-ing and finding a real job, I’ve passed the partying stage of my college career. Now, I spend my weekends shuttling pizzas around town so I can pay my rent and credit cards and get an occasional meal that isn’t the cardboard-tasting, poor excuse for

pizza that Domino’s serves. But delivering pizzas late at night often leads me to places that remind me of all the fun I used to have and have grown out of enjoying. It’s always worth a good laugh and my co-workers and I spend plenty of time talking about the variety of wild things we see. So keep having your pizza deliv-ered, keep up the partying and thanks for the show.


Past the partying stageMOSHER from page 5

By JESSICA DIGENNAROStaff Writer

Five years ago, Juan Mann returned to his hometown of Syd-ney, Australia. No one was stand-ing at the terminal with arms outstretched to welcome him home. No one was happy that he was back. Lonely and depressed, Mann found a piece of cardboard and wrote “Free Hugs” on both sides, holding it up in the air. A woman tapped him on the shoulder, told him her dog had just died that morning and hugged him. The Free Hugs Campaign began. Last Wednesday, the UB Men’s Group held its own version of the Free Hugs Campaign for the third year, as members swept throughout campus holding “Free Hugs” signs and embracing those in their path. Anna Sotelo-Peryea, resource and planning coordinator for Well-ness Education Services and Men’s Group advisor, described how the hugs campaign first began at UB. “The three founding leaders of the Men’s Group and I were attending a training, and randomly bumped into a guy who was giving out free hugs as part of the global social movement toward peace by countering our current social dis-connect with random acts of kind-ness and making people feel bet-ter,” Sotelo-Peryea said. “We loved it. We took a picture with the guy,

and came back to Buffalo inspired to incorporate this awesome global effort into our own social change movement at UB.” The group tweaked the Free Hugs Campaign by incorporating the issue of consent into the cam-paign’s message, according to Aaron Maracle, co-founder of the Men’s Group. “Consent is not the absence of a ‘no’ but the presence of a ‘yes,’” Maracle said. “[Nonconsensual] sexual activity is one [of] the major forms of violence against women. This event encourages people to ask for consent for any sort of activity, big or small.” The Men’s Group huggers, both men and women, had consent in mind when they asked permission to give hugs to students on Wednes-day. They were met with mostly positive responses, giving out over 300 hugs in one hour and 15 minutes. “We typically get a lot of people saying, ‘I really needed a hug today’ [or] ‘I’m so happy to see this at UB,’” Sotelo-Peryea said. “This year, I even had one woman tell me that I had renewed her faith in human-ity. The reactions are so nice … we sometimes even have people decide to join us.” Sotelo-Peryea recognized that there were some stu-dents who preferred not to be hugged, but their rejections merely highlighted the event’s

purpose of enforcing consent. “We want to affirm people’s right to choose what another person can and cannot do to their body,” Sotelo-Peryea said. “When people decline a hug, we tell them we respect their choice … we offer them a flower either way with a note about con-sent on it and tell them we hope they

Free hugs

Boaz Tang / The Spectrum

Students accepted free hugs from the UB Men’s Group last week to raise awareness for mutual consent.


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Instant classicTHIEVES from page 5

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the credits rolling within eight to 10 hours of game time. An online competitive mode adds shelf life to Drake’s escape, surely making it a shoo-in to join its predecessor as a greatest hit. Even with its average game time, there’s more than enough girth to make up for what it lacks in length. Players will find themselves emo-tionally invested in the plot near its conclusion, as Drake hones in on the lost city of Shangri-La. In true Indiana Jones fashion, Naughty Dog has surely made an instant classic. Beautiful graphics, spectacular voice acting and a phenomenal plot make Uncharted 2 one of the best games on the PS3. With the holiday season right around the corner, this game makes for the perfect present for the Play-station fanboy on your list - and if you’re feeling a little adventurous, even you, too.


have a wonderful day.” Each carnation had a yellow slip attached to it that enforced the mes-sage of consent and freewill. Dahlya Skarbowski, a freshman business major, was standing in the Student Union when she was approached by one of the huggers. She accepted his hug, despite hav-ing no idea what it was for. “He just gave me a flower and then told me to read the card,” she said. Sarah Goldberg, a junior business major, was confused as she watched those around her receiving hugs. But when she read the note on the carnation, she discovered the event promoted a cause she supports. “They have the same philan-

thropy as my sorority, to promote the prevention of violence against women and to know the difference between being touched in right [and] wrong ways,” Goldberg said.


Message of consentHUGS from page 7

bed or natural sunshine, has been associated with an increased risk of certain forms of cancer, and the ITA has always emphasized tanning in moderation. Whether or not the ITA has valid points, it is widely understood that tanning is a dangerous activity. The golden-brown appearance of a suntan that so many crave is actually caused by damaged skin cells due to exposure to UVA and UVB rays. Moreover, both a suntan

and sunburn indicate damage to the skin, the difference being that a burn results from more serious damage. For those who decide to continue striving for summer skin, a few extra precautions should at least be taken when tanning indoors. Proper eyewear is a necessity, and it should fit snugly. It is also impor-tant to avoid consecutive tanning sessions. They should be at least 48 hours apart, but intervals should ideally be as long as possible. Certain medications might increase the likelihood of sunburn.

Some antibiotics and face creams can cause an increase in sensitivity to UV rays. Nevertheless, tanned skin is an indication of irreversible skin dam-age that accumulates over time. So instead of ending up like a raisin, students might want to consider bronzing and self-tanning creams, or simply appreciate the beauty in pale, healthy skin.


By MICHAEL HOFFERT JR.Staff Writer

Marriage can be difficult – and adding drugs to the equation can make it even more so. In emotional-

ly stressful situations, people some-times turn to illicit substances, mak-ing marriage even harder and creat-ing a vicious cycle of resentment. The School of Public Health and Health Professions and the

Research Institute on Addictions conducted a study that looked at the effects of excessive drinking and smoking on the health of marital relationships. “[There is] definite evidence that substance abuse causes problems [and can lead to] decreased marital functions when [abuse] is one-sided and very dramatic,” said Gregory G. Homish, Ph.D., assistant professor of health behavior. “It’s really important for people to realize that the individu-al does not exist in a vacuum.” The study followed 634 local couples that applied for marriage licenses between 1996 and 1999. The couples were observed through mail-out questionnaires on their first, second, fourth and seventh wedding anniversaries. Initial satisfaction from the mar-riage decreased early on before leveling off as time went on, and heavy drinking was the cause of more problems than heavy smoking, according to the study. “There are important clinical implications related to these find-ings … for example, if one partner of a heavy drinking couple enters treatment for [his or her] alcohol

use, the break-up of the ‘drinking partnership’ could have unintended negative outcomes for the couple,” Homish said in a press release on healthnewsdigest.com. The questionnaires assessed alco-hol intake on a zero to nine-point scale. Zero represented no drinking within the last 12 months and nine represented drinking every day. The level of alcohol consumed within the course of a day was measured using the same nine-point scale based on six or more drinks a day. The amount of smoking was mea-sured using an eight-point scale

with the range of a single pack or less a day to two or more packs. Researchers are uncertain as to whether substance abuse causes problems within a marriage or if pre-existing difficulties within the relationship cause substance abuse. “The current findings suggest that an assessment of substance use should extend beyond quantity and frequency of substance use and also incorporate information about the partner’s behavior,” Homish said


Substance abuse negatively affects marriage

Jeff Liu / The Spectrum

Alcohol, and to a sligtly lesser extent, smoking, can make a marriage more difficult.


Alternative to bad influencesCLUB from page 5

FREE home-cooked meal! Join us everyWednesday night at 6pm for a delicious meal and

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because over 75 percent of kids in the program come from single par-ent or low-income families. “We are an important part of [Tonawanda] because most of the time, these kids have nowhere else to go because their parents are working or otherwise unable to take care of them,” Henderson said. “So we provide daycare and afterschool activities for these kids.” According to the TBGC Web site, by reaching children at an early age and providing positive activities and encouragement, the clubs provide an alternative to youth crime, gang membership, drugs and other nega-tive influences. TBGC helps children dissolve prejudices, nurture talents and interests, improve self-esteem and build lifelong friendships, Hender-son said. Over the past few years, fund-ing from government agencies and private agencies has been cut to 10

percent, so TBGC was forced to cut back on care for its children. In need of money, the club decided to sponsor this race so that boys and girls from Tonawanda could still be provided with care. Both registrants and donations are needed for TBGC. According to a press release, those who donate over $100 will be recognized on the race T-shirt and companies may also have literature published for the event. The race will start and end at Aqua Lane Park at the foot of Sheri-dan Drive in the Town of Tonawa-nda. There is also a 1-mile family fun run for those who do not want to do an entire 5K race, which runs along a path. Both begin at 10 a.m. Registrants may enter the race by going to www.active.com and fol-lowing the links to the TBGC 5K. “TBGC is a vital part of the com-munity,” Henderson said. “It helps hundreds of kids who need a place to go to be looked after.”


also partnered with the Web site CashCourse (www.cashcourse.org/buffalo) to help with students’ struggles. CashCourse offers various tools for the college student in financial trouble, including help with creat-ing a budget, finding scholarships and applying for loans. “I believe that some sort of a personal finance class should be a requirement for all undergraduate students so we don’t have people going into the workforce with no financial sense,” said Tony Russo, a junior business major. One of the workshops Kostek taught was “40 Financial Tips Every College Student Should Know.” The seminar gave basic but useful infor-mation on topics that are not usu-ally covered in conventional finance classes. Kostek advised students to sepa-rate their needs from their wants. Instead of buying their traveling large caramel frappachino every day before class, they could instead brew their own coffee at home Monday through Thursday, and

on Friday, treat themselves with a well-earned trip to Starbucks. “Also, resist peer pressure,” Kostek said. “Just because your friends think they can afford to go out to the bar every other night and drink eight Red Bull and vodkas doesn’t mean you can. Make sure your extracurricular activities fit into your budget.” Kostek also noted that students should submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Many students believe that they will not qualify, but it’s worth the time spent because it is free to apply and the majority of students are surprised by how much money they receive, according to Kostek. “Take advantage of everything now,” Kostek said. “Finance is more overwhelming in your working years after college.” She thinks that students should take advantage of the help and guid-ance UB has to offer in the realm of personal finance. “After graduation, students are mostly on their own in the working world,” Kostek said. Kostek believes the problem starts early. There are only three

states that require high school stu-dents to take some sort of personal finance class before they graduate, and New York is not one of them. “In high school, personal finance was never a topic of discussion in any class,” said Shane Edel, a senior economics major. “I think it is important that UB provides programs to teach students how to handle their money responsibly.” Remaining concerned and focused on personal finances will save students from enormous prob-lems in their future. Kostek encour-ages students to anticipate any potential problems that could affect their finances before they become a true burden. If financial problems prove unavoidable, she urges stu-dents to find the appropriate help soon after to keep debt free. “Students are young and on their own for their first time,” Kostek said. “They just aren’t thinking down the road.”


Separate wants from needsCREDIT from page 5

10/13 – Two people were injured at a volleyball game in Alumni Arena and refused treatment.10/13 – An unidentified person damaged a lock at the Rotary Field House.10/13 – Someone in the Red Jacket Quadrangle cut their mouth and was taken to DeGraff Hospital.10/14 –An unattended laptop was taken from the sixth floor Clement Hall lounge.10/14 – An unidentified person took an unat-tended wallet with credit cards from Abbott Library.10/14 – People entered a Richmond Quadrangle room and left after questioning.10/14 – Someone was taken from Goodyear Hall to the Erie County Medical Center for a

mental health evaluation.10/14 – A portable fire pit was taken from the grounds of Diefendorf Hall.10/15 – A person was taken from Squire Hall to the Erie County Medical Center for a blood pressure problem.10/15 – A student was referred to the Student-Wide Judiciary for marijuana possession at the Hadley Village apartments.10/15 – A vehicle’s window was broken at the Hochstetter B parking lot.10/15 – Two students were referred to the Stu-dent-Wide Judiciary for marijuana possession at Parker parking lot.

10/15 – A vehicle was dented by an unknown object in the Cooke A parking lot.10/15 – A person was taken from Flickinger Court to Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital after feeling ill.10/15 – A SUNY card was taken from a wallet in a Red Jacket Quadrangle room.10/15 – Unattended textbooks were taken from the Capen Undergraduate Library.10/15 – Unattended cash was taken from a sixth floor Baldy Hall office.10/16 – Unknown people damaged a vehicle at the Richmond B parking lot.10/16 – An unidentified person took an unat-tended purse with credit cards from Squire Hall.

10/16 – A person was taken from Clemens Hall to the Erie County Medical Center for a mental health evaluation.10/16 – A person was interviewed for problem behavior, and no offense was found.10/16 – An unattended study guide was taken from the Capen Undergraduate Library.10/16 – A person was taken from Schoellkopf Hall to the Erie County Medical Center for a breathing problem.10/16 – Two subjects were taken from Core Road to the Erie County Medical Center for an alcohol overdose.10/16 – A Kubola machine was taken by unknown person and later recovered near White Road.10/17 – Tyrone R. Mays and Jeffrey E. Jones were arrested and charged with theft of items from the UB Stadium.

10/17 – A bicycle was taken from a Dewey rack by an unidentified person.10/18 – Someone tampered with a fire extin-guisher in Porter Quadrangle.10/18 – Joshua M. Long was arrested and charged with criminal mischief and resist-ing arrest at Flint Village. He was referred to Amherst Town Court.10/18 – An unidentified person damaged a vehicle in the Hadley Village parking lot.10/19 – A person was taken to the Erie County Medical Center from Richmond Quadrangle for a mental health evaluation.10/19 – Someone was checked for an ankle injury in Knox Hall room 110, but refused aid.10/19 – A person received first aid because of an injured shoulder at the Triple Gym, but refused transport to the hospital.

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beat up and had some injuries. We say our prayer every day that we get through another day that we’re healthy.” One of those players was junior middle blocker Kelsey Lueders, who was forced out 10 games into the 2008 season due to a broken foot. This season she has been named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week and is second on the team in blocks. Lueders is not the only Bull to come through this year. Freshman defensive specialist Tori Beckman, who leads the team with 360 digs, has impressed Kress. “Tori’s been a big part of our success this year,” Kress said. “There’s no doubt about it. She’s put up big numbers defensively. [Tori’s] out there in every rota-tion passing and defending … she has helped us a ton as a freshman.” Junior outside hitter Marisa Hornbaker has seen a change in atti-

tude. The team has more confidence and Kress has the team motivated in games. “Everything’s about winning,” Hornbaker said. “We work harder and we work to win.” That philosophy guided them in a virtuous comeback attempt against Syracuse at home. Buffalo lost 3-2, but due to the team’s sheer voracity, the game is still considered a high-light of the season. “It was the first time we realized that we could fight together as a team and [noticed] that we do have the opportunity to do good things this year,” Hornbaker said. Despite the numerous strides, there are still some noted flaws. The team has dropped some winnable contests, including a loss against underdog Seton Hall in three sets earlier this season. “It was a match we should’ve had and we let it slip through,” Horn-baker said. “We underestimated our opponents and we didn’t fight together.”

Kress believes that sporadic play has left the team at .500 in the MAC. He believes the team can be higher in the standings. “We need to be more consistent,” Kress said. “Traditionally we come out, we’re solid the first couple of [sets] and when we get pushed, we haven’t pushed back … sometimes we buckle and we cave in when we get pushed.” With the encouragement, the team continues to work hard week-by-week to become even more of a threat in the MAC. “My coaching philosophy is that we come out and do our best no mat-ter what we’re doing,” Kress said. “Whether it’s on the court, in the classroom, for the community ser-vice project or whatever. We always give it our best.”


weren’t able to do that.” Buffalo took its first shot eight minutes into the game. Freshman defender Katie Kerr’s shot was blocked, denying her the chance to tie the score. Fellow freshman for-ward Stephanie Velez fired off two shots of her own in the first half. The Bulls continued to battle in the second half. Juniors Mar-tina Pettenuzzo, Lindsey Bailey, and freshman Taylor Thomp-son each took shots on the Bowling Green goal, but their efforts resulted in no points. Bowling Green outshot the Bulls, 24-8, shutting down the Bulls’ offense at every turn. This shooting deficit had the defense putting extra work in its own end and increased pressure on senior goalkeeper Amy Coron. Coron made 13 saves on the day. She now has 105 saves this season and 432 saves in her career. Despite the team’s second-straight loss, Thomas thought the

team performed well overall. “[The team] did a good job of get-ting in behind their defense,” Thom-as said. “We had some great domi-nations in the middle of the field.” Still, there is room for improve-ment. “We need to get better in the final third,” Thomas said. “We have to find ways to be a little quicker and a little better … to generate goals. Goals would be good.” The Bulls will now fin-ish their schedule with three home games on tap. Thomas expects the return to UB Sta-dium to bode well for the team. “We’ve been good at home this season,” Thomas said. “We always appreciate the support of the home crowd and we hope to come out and finish strong for them.” Buffalo will attempt to reverse its fortunes against Akron this Friday at UB Stadium. The start is slated for 5 p.m.


Room for improvementWSOCCER from page 12

potential, but for now, it’s nothing special. I want to see this team win. I’m happy that I was in Detroit to wit-ness Buffalo history on Dec. 5 and I would love to see it happen all over again. But right now, this team doesn’t understand the art of fight-ing until the last whistle, nor do they know how to make overtime their… female dog. Someone – most certainly Gill – needs to grab these Bulls by the horns and get them into shape. They could propel to third place with a win Saturday. This season isn’t over yet, but they have a very tough road ahead. But anything can happen. The Bulls proved that last year. I should have brought some pixie dust from Orlando. Maybe if I sprin-kled it on this team, they could be as magical as they were only a year ago. But if they dig deep enough, maybe they can find it on their own and shut me the hell up.


local rival St. Bonaventure (6-5-0), posting a 4-5 (0-1 MAC) record for the month. During September, Buf-falo played nine games, including seven away from home. “We crowd September so when we come to MAC play in October, we can only concentrate on one game a week,” Astudillo said. “Crowd-ing September has not been great. Some people haven’t reacted well. In the past it was a strength, but this year’s team doesn’t seem to have that. I guess each team is different.” The Bulls began October by making a change at goalkeeper. Freshman Ryan Lewis replaced sophomore Nick Fetterman for Buf-falo’s Oct. 2 match against Niagara (4-8-1). In his first career start, Lewis recorded a three-save shutout as the Bulls defeated the Purple Eagles, 3-0.

Astudillo went with Lewis because a change was needed after disappointing results on the defensive end. “We lost a few games in a row,” Astudillo said. “It may not be Nick Fetterman’s problem, but we weren’t getting results, and results are what we’re after here. So you have to make some changes. Ryan deserves a chance to see what he can do for the team. He brings on some good leadership back there.” But the change hasn’t yielded successful results. The Bulls are currently on a three-game losing streak, having dropped matches to Detroit Mercy (3-9-1) and MAC opponents Northern Illinois (6-6-1, 1-2-0 MAC) and Bowling Green (2-8-2, 1-2-0 MAC). Despite the disappointing team play, the Bulls have a gotten a superb individual effort from junior Mike Unwin, who leads the team in

scoring with seven goals . “[Unwin] brings the mentality that every play counts,” Astudillo said. “At this level, you cannot have second rate play. He keeps every-body at a high level. If you don’t defend him in a very intense way, he’s going to score on you.” Unwin and the Bulls are looking to turn things around and gain some momentum before the playoffs begin, but it will not be easy. Buffalo takes on undefeated Akron, ranked No. 1 in soccertimes.com’s Top 25 College Coaches Poll, at UB Sta-dium at 7:30 p.m. “Having Akron at home is a big thing for us,” Astudillo said. “They’ve only let in two goals the entire season … This may very well be their best team ever.” Unwin welcomes the challenge. “Anything’s possible in soccer,” Unwin said. “It just comes down to who wants it more that day. Upsets do happen.” After the Akron match, the Bulls host Canisius the following Mon-day on Senior Night before closing out the regular season with road matches against Florida Atlantic and Western Michigan.





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SPORTS

Road woes continue

Stephen MarthEditor in Cheif

see MSOCCER page 10see MARTH page 10

S I D E L I N E SRack named to

award watch list

On Tuesday, senior tight end Jesse Rack was added to the 2009 John Mackey Award Midseason Watch List, which consists of 22 student-athletes. The Mackey Award is given to the athlete deemed the best tight end of that season. Rack has bounced back after a disappointing season a year ago in which he failed to score a single touchdown. He has caught five touchdown passes and has accumulated 194 yards receiving. The award has been given out every season since 2000. Some former winners are the India-napolis Colt’s Dallas Clark, Kellen Winslow II of the Tampa Bay Buc-caneers, and Pittsburgh Steeler tight end Health Miller.

Newton honored for outstanding performance

against Akron

After a 21-17 victory over the Akron Zips, senior safety Mike Newton was awarded the Mid-American Conference East Player of the Week for his impressive performance in the game. Newton led the defensive effort for the Bulls, turning in eight tackles, one fumble recov-ery, a pass break-up, and an inter-ception. He also made big plays at crucial moments of the game. With the Zips threatening deep in the Bulls end, Newton recovered a fumble on a play run from the Buffalo 6-yard line. He later intercepted true freshman quarterback Patrick Nicely in the end zone to end another scoring threat. Newton also entered the Buf-falo record books in the game after recording the 300th tackle of his career and now ranks fifth all-time. He has 49 tackles on the season.

Scoreboard

SundayWomen’s SoccerBuffalo 0Bowling Green 1

Women’s Volleyball Standings

East MAC Overall

Ohio 8-0 16-4

Miami 6-2 11-9

Buffalo 4-4 13-8

Kent St. 4-4 11-11

Akron 2-6 10-12

B.Green 1-7 8-14

West MAC Overall

W. Mich. 6-2 14-9

N.Ill. 5-3 12-9

C. Mich. 4-4 11-7

Toledo 3-5 12-8

Ball St. 3-5 10-11

E. Mich. 2-6 3-20

By the horns

Get ready to hate me. The football team won’t be repeating as Mid-American Conference champions. It’s been too tough of a year for the squad. I remem-ber walking through the Magic Kingdom in Walt Dis-ney World on Aug. 25 and I received the worst e-mail possible on my phone. Paul Vecchio, associate athletic director/communications, broke to me the news that senior running back James Starks was out for the year. The magic on my trip was gone. Weeks later, against the Temple Owls – who will probably visit Detroit in December – senior offen-sive lineman Matt Bacoulis injured his leg and ended his career as a Bull. Fast forward to today, and junior running backs Ike Nduka and Brandon Ther-milus are both probable for Saturday’s game against the Western Michigan Broncos. If they are both out, the run-ning game relies on senior running back Mario Henry? Yikes. What’s really killing this team is the turnovers. Last year, the Bulls ended the year with a plus-19 turnover differential. That’s right. A plus-19 turnover differential. Buffalo’s defense didn’t mess around. This year? They are strug-gling with a minus-7 turn-over differential. You can see where the issue lies. Head coach Turner Gill said it many, many times last season. Turnovers can win you or lose you football games. In each game where the Bulls have had a negative turnover differential, they had no shot of winning. At all. In those where it was a zero or better? The Bulls won, with the exception of the Oct. 3 matchup against Central Michigan, where they were only a touch-down away from a tied game against clearly the best team in the MAC. The main issue, though, is that this team doesn’t have the spark last year’s group of young men had. I don’t see the intensity or the hunger that sent that squad blasting through an undefeated and ranked Ball State team, pro-pelling them into the Inter-national Bowl. Hopefully this will silence the fans that think Buffalo is nearing a jump to a confer-ence like the Big East. I told you so. People were too quick to jump on the Buffalo band-wagon. It’s one thing to sup-port a team, but it is another to think that this program is a hidden god among mere mortals. It isn’t. It has great

By CHRISTY SUHRStaff Writer

After enduring a tough loss against Toledo this past Fri-day, the women’s soccer team looked to split its road trip with a win at Bowling Green on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately, it was not in the cards for the Bulls. Despite a hard-fought bat-tle, the Bulls could not bring down the Falcons, who over-took them in a 1-0 shutout at Cochrane Field. Buffalo (3-12-1, 2-5-1 Mid-American Conference) looked to extend its winning streak after notching two wins at home, but it could not find the same success at Toledo on Friday and trav-eled to Bowling Green look-ing to prevent a losing streak. The two teams started off on equal footing, but after five minutes of play, the Falcons gained control. They took an early lead as Keely Chandler scored a header off of a cor-

ner kick. This was the first of Bowling Green’s 15 corner kick opportunities, com-pared to zero for the Bulls. Head coach Michael Thomas admitted that the

Bulls had a hard time taking advantage of the opportuni-ties that they were presented. “It’s tough to play on the road in this conference,” Thomas said. “We gener-

ated a lot of chances in the first half, but ultimately the game comes down to finish-ing those chances and we

see WSOCCER page 10

Spectrum File Photo

Bulls fall short in spite of excellent play from their goalkeeper.

By BRIAN JOSEPHSStaff Writer

Sometimes, wholesale changes are needed. The volleyball team has not accomplished a winning sea-son since joining to the Mid-American Conference in 1999. In an effort to chance that, the previous year’s coaching staff was released, opening spots for new, enthusiastic coaches to step in. First year assistant coaches Jenni Horvath and Andreza Santos came in to help lead the team after their own very successful volleyball careers. Joining the new assistants was head coach Todd Kress, who previously coached two

other schools into the NCAA Tournament. These changes have paid off. Buffalo is now 13-8 overall and 4-4 against Mid-Amer-ican Conference teams in a season filled with upsets, tight battles and hope. The team looks to continue the suc-cess with their team training supervised by Kress. “Our success thus far is predicated upon a couple of things,” Kress said. “Their sacrifice and hard work over the summer, spring, and this fall … it doesn’t just happen overnight, they prepared for this. No. 2, we’re healthy. Last year as a program they were

Everything is about winning

see VBALL page 10

By LUKE HAMMILLStaff Writer

Men’s soccer head coach John Astudillo, currently in his 21st season in the posi-tion, has been at the helm of both very good and very bad teams. This year’s squad doesn’t seem to fit into either category. During a disappointing 5-8 (0-3 Mid-American Confer-ence) start, the Bulls have looked good at times but have failed to convert the poten-tial they’ve shown into more wins. According to Astudillo, this year’s Bulls aren’t as far off from the great Bulls teams of the past as one might think. “I think consistency is about the biggest thing,” Astudillo said. “These [play-ers] are talented enough. Having so many new faces and new personalities, you

need time to work all of the personalities in.” Things looked promising at the beginning of the sea-son as Buffalo came away from the Nike Classic, held at West Virginia University,

with a 1-0 victory against Pittsburgh (1-11-1) and a 1-0, double-overtime loss to West Virginia (6-2-5). But splitting weekends has haunted the Bulls all season long. At the Marquette Invi-

tational, the Bulls shut out Marquette (3-7-3) 4-0, only to lose 5-1 to DePaul (7-6-1) two days later. Buffalo followed its string of four Big East games with a 1-0 home-opening victory over Cleveland State (5-6-3) at UB Stadium. The follow-ing Tuesday, Buffalo opened conference play with a 3-1 home loss to Hartwick (8-2-2, 3-0-0 MAC). The pattern continued the next week. A 2-0 win at Robert Morris (2-11-2) on Sept. 25 was followed by a 5-0 blowout loss at Duquesne (6-5-2) two days later. “We have shown that we don’t play very well in the second game of the week-end,” Astudillo said. “That’s a trend we’re trying to break.” The Bulls closed out a busy September with a 2-1 loss to

Good times, bad times

Spectrum File Photo

The Mid-American Conference has been unkind to the Bulls this season.

Clinton Hodnett / The Spectrum

The most successful team at UB this semester hopes to continue its solid play the rest of the way.

Documents

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