In an effort to keep you well informed, and to help you avoid embarrassing conversations with upper classmen, The Spectrum has provided a compilation of the biggest news stories from the 2009-2010 academic year.
UB 2020
If there is one issue you will be hearing about for your entire stay at UB, UB 2020 is it. The first stage of construction on the project started in the fall of 2009. This $362 million project is aiming to revamp the three campuses at UB, making them more up-to-date and safer for students. Specifically this school year, construction on the new William Greiner building in South Ellicott will be most noticeable to those students residing in the Ellicott complex.
Recalled President
At this time last year the big news on campus had to do with politics. Like many current day political scandals, drama was the forerunner. UB Student Association (SA) President Hassan Farah was arrested for assaulting Akash Chakravarty, an orientation aide who was a senior.
Chakravarty's nose was broken in the alleged assault, which was witnessed by several onlookers, according to the police report. In the weeks following the assault, Farah was removed from his position as president. In the election that followed his removal, former Vice President to Farah, Ernesto Alvarado, beat out the competition, which included Farah, to win the seat as new SA President.
New Generation
If there is one thing that the magazine Generation was famous for, it was its racy Personals section in which students could submit uncensored blurbs about anything and anyone they wanted for publication. It was tabloid-esqué and many students found them extremely entertaining.
However, in the fall, the publication had its charter pulled by Sub Board who felt that the magazine was not going in the direction they wanted. After a semester with no new leader, Ren LaForme, a former Managing Editor for The Spectrum, was elected Editor-in-Chief of the magazine and brought the publication back to print, leaving out the ever popular classifieds.
Extended Bus Hours
If you were here last semester, racing from a party on south campus at 1:30 am to reach the bus back to North on time was a reality every weekend. In the cold months, the trek got worse as snow created freezing obstacles. Yet in the fall of 2009, due to student support and SA funding, 24 hour busing went into affect. This system, promised by the SA in their campaign, was a response to student safety concerns about getting from North campus to South campus late at night. The program was successful and is continuing this fall.
Lockwood Lockout
The biggest news story to hit UB last year was the Lockwood Library incident. On Tuesday Feb. 16, 2010, University Police received a call from a student at Lockwood Library, claiming there was a sighting of a man with either a rifle or a shotgun under a navy pea coat. After a four-hour search that turned up no answers, UB police concluded there was no threat to safety and that campus activity could return to normal. Still, the false alarm showed both the faults and strong points of our university's ability to respond to crisis.
To read full coverage about these, and other stories from the previous year, log onto ubspectrum.com.
Questions? Comments? Have a better idea?
E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
