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Sunday, September 08, 2024
The independent student publication of The University at Buffalo, since 1950

Opinions

OPINION

Congratulations Jerry Jones, you're a hypocrite

General Manager of the Dallas Cowboys Jerry Jones spent this past Monday making himself the biggest joke in the NFL. From atop his throne in “Jerry World,” he decreed all Dallas Cowboys players who refused to stand for the anthem will sit for the game. Really?


OPINION

Toothless: A look at health, both mental and dental

I’m scared that I’m losing my teeth. I don’t mean that in a dream logic, “losing teeth means you’re having money problems” or whatever else. Even though I take good care of my teeth – brushing two to three times a day, using mouthwash, flossing most nights – I go about my day concerned that a cavity has started to form in my formerly pristine pearly whites. I have a sneaking suspicion that my still-present wisdom teeth have begun to stray off their God-given course, slowly but surely rendering my grill jacked up.


OPINION

Coming out: one year later

I was afraid to come out publicly because I was afraid people would make negative assumptions about me based on stereotypes about bisexuality. But then I realized that the only way to combat those stereotypes is to speak out against them. I realized I had the power to own the narrative about my sexuality and define my identity for myself. And in doing so, I could help change the negative misconceptions about being bi. 


OPINION

What. A. Game.

Dear anyone who wasn’t at UB Stadium Saturday, it sucks to be you. You missed one hell of a football game. The kind of football game you tell your kids about. The kind of football game where every other play a record is being broken. The kind of football game that makes the entire country tune into a mid-major conference game. The most exciting football game I have ever seen.


OPINION

The Bulls big come up

Well, the football team (3-2, 1-0 MAC ) proved me wrong. I wrote a few weeks ago about how I felt there was nothing to be excited for this season and how I expected another losing record for the program.


OPINION

My stolen identity

In August 2014, I was hanging out at my friend’s house. It was an average overnight visit. My friends and I created some pretty memorable Vines; the type that would only be funny to overtired teens singing selections from Disney films. But the rest of the visit became memorable for all the wrong reasons and lasted way longer than six seconds. I checked my Twitter notifications and saw something alarming. A Twitter user with the handle @zacf*ckoff quickly followed and unfollowed me on the app. This user was using a photo of me as their avatar and essentially posing as me.


OPINION

"Stop Popping": How I learned to stay creative

It has been hard to stay in touch with family and friends as a senior. Nonetheless, like most college students, I always attempt to call home during my off-times. This past summer, in one of my many phone calls with my mother, she reminded me of a dreaded moment during fourth grade. The moment is probably nothing for most people but for myself – a self-conscious young man with an obtuse mind – it hurt. My fourth grade teacher called me out for what he liked to call “popping.” The only definition of “popping” I recognized growing up was if something looked fresh.


OPINION

How SpongeBob made us hate capitalism

“SpongeBob SquarePants,” a show that many college-age students could quote in everyday conversation, first introduced an entire generation to societal and economic critiques through a typically leftist perspective. High-level topics, especially by children’s show standards, exposed young viewers to gender theory, socialism, the prison-industrial complex, xenophobia and environmentalism, often through capitalism-critical lenses.


The Spectrum
OPINION

UB administration needs to pay TAs a living stipend

The average cost of living for a student living on-campus is over $18,000 and over $21,000 for students who live off-campus. But the average TA stipend is only $13,190, according to the Graduate Student Employees Union. The UB Living Stipend Movement is circulating a petition requesting a $21,310 minimum TA stipend. This is more than reasonable, especially when considering the financial strength and means of the university.


OPINION

You’re killin' me, snacks

Day drinking on your couch, neglecting all school responsibilities, grilling out and eating your weight in chicken wing dip – there's nothing better than NFL Sunday. Most people don’t think about their health when they’re five beers and two hot dogs deep, but being conscious of what you’re eating and drinking on football Sundays is important.


OPINION

Bed Buggin' Out

I’ve always had trouble sleeping through the night. One night in early August I woke with a start at 1 a.m. That’s when I saw it. Illuminated by my bedside lamp that I forgot to turn off, a little reddish-brown oval-shaped insect scurried across my pillow.


The Spectrum
OPINION

A letter from President Tripathi

As university president, I share in your sheer disappointment and deep anger over the crimes committed by two now-former UB employees. It is only natural that we, as a campus community, would feel a collective sense of betrayal upon learning that two of our own longtime employees abused their trusted role as public servants by stealing university funds for their own selfish purposes. Their actions demonstrated a brazen disregard for our university, our students, our faculty, our employees and the many communities we serve.


OPINION

Let's talk about suicide

World Suicide Prevention Day was September 10. In the United States as well as in most of the world, cultural squeamishness over discussing mental illness can lead to feelings of isolation. For someone going through a strong period of mental illness, isolation can significantly worsen the symptoms. 


OPINION

Letter from the editor

Where were you in 1950? What were you reading? Harry S. Truman was the thirty-third president. Gas was 30 cents per gallon. A loaf of bread cost 10 cents and on November 17, 1950, The Spectrum, UB’s only independent student newspaper was born. Our first editor in chief was Jack Keller. I’m Hannah Stein, the sixty-fifth editor in chief of The Spectrum. I am honored to fill this important and historic position during such a volatile time in our country and our campus’s history. Students at universities across the country are at the center of debates about campus free speech, historical naming rights on campus, how sexual assaults on campus are handled, how to handle immigration and transgender rights. Our country is angry, afraid, politically divided and worried about what comes next.






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