ERIC O - The Spectrum

NEWS

Barrels of Addiction

By ERIC O and ERIC O | Apr. 21, 2004

"Water of Life."The Gaelic translation of this phrase is Uisce Beatha, or in English, whiskey. Whiskey may be Scotland's water of life, but the rest of the planet has come to know a much more troublesome, equally taxed and much more severely addicting source of vitality: oil.And oil is ruining modern civilization.Last Friday was Earth Day, an appropriate time to reflect on how the Western world's devastation of the environment is, according to Britain's chief scientific officer Sir David King, many times more dangerous than terrorism.America's dependency on oil is absolutely more dangerous than a battalion of RPG wielding, Al-Qaeda trained terrorists.It seems so obvious that the solution to the Middle Eastern problem and the world's ecological impending disaster is to eliminate our rabid addiction to oil.The list goes far beyond gas prices.

NEWS

Another Year Together For GSA E-Board

By ERIC O and ERIC O | Apr. 21, 2004

After their sweep in this spring's Graduate Student Association elections, Xun Liu and the GSA executive board will have another year in office together.Liu won another term as president last Thursday, defeating Jennifer Halfhill in the only contested election.

NEWS

Simpson Makes First Moves

By ERIC O and ERIC O | Apr. 14, 2004

President John B. Simpson is beginning to flex a little presidential muscle.Since becoming UB's 14th president in January 2004, Simpson has remained largely out of sight, choosing to study the playing field before making his moves.Such is the case with his reluctance to move forward in the stalled Lee Road construction plan.

NEWS

Elevation Party Sweeps Elections

By ERIC O and ERIC O | Apr. 2, 2004

Led by its presidential nominee Anthony Burgio, the Elevation Party swept the Student Association elections Wednesday night with landslide numbers.Burgio, Vice presidential candidate Dela Yador and Treasurer candidate Jessica Dangler will occupy the executive board offices in 350 Student Union next year."It wasn't a win - it was a mandate by the students," said Burgio, who received 1,311 of 2,246 total votes, more than twice his closest competition, the Ascension Party ticket of Timothy Kelly and Chad Williams, who received 586."I won't let you down," said Burgio in a short victory speech to his cheering party members and supporters.

NEWS

Bake Sale Incites Protest

By ERIC O and ERIC O | Mar. 24, 2004

UB's College Republicans staged a bake sale Monday in the Student Union to call attention to what they say are the inequities of affirmative action.The bake sale drew vehement protests from a number of student groups that said the event smacked of racism.Organizers based prices for the baked goods on a customer's race and gender.

NEWS

Trading Pens for Guns

By ERIC O and ERIC O | Mar. 8, 2004

Richard Brautman knew it was coming for weeks.When the time came, however, he was given 48 hours to pack up his life at UB and prepare to head to the other side of the world.Brautman, a member of the National Guard, was called away from his classes in March 2003 and deployed along with the rest of his unit to bases in Europe and the Middle East.When the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003, it altered the course of many lives, including Brautman's, who was in his first semester of industrial engineering courses at UB after spending two years at Niagara County Community College."It was too much to do in too little time," said Brautman, who fixes aircraft for the 107th Air Refueling Wing of the National Guard at the Niagara Falls Air Force Base.While Brautman cannot disclose exactly where he has been stationed previously, he did say UB was very helpful in making the leaving process as easy as possible so could concentrate on more important things.With the help of a strong support structure that included the Student Response Center, his engineering advisor Jane Sinclair and the Office of Veterans Affairs, Brautman, 23, was able to withdraw from his classes and receive full tuition and fees reimbursement."A lot of students were being called up and the university wanted to make that as seamless as possible," said Sinclair, senior academic advisor in the engineering department.

NEWS

"Zionist Group Peaceably Crashes Film Showing, Debate"

By ERIC O and ERIC O | Feb. 20, 2004

The conflict in the Middle East provokes strong emotions from all involved, whether it is millions of Palestinians and Israelis or 25 UB students on the 10th floor of Clemens Hall.In a passionate and personal debate, two UB organizations went toe-to-toe Thursday night in defense of their respective viewpoints on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

NEWS

UB Professors Teach From Experience

By ERIC O and ERIC O | Feb. 16, 2004

UB employs an army of well-qualified professionals who are experts in their fields, many of whom have made essential contributions to their profession in non-academic settings.All are willing to provide their students with inside information to make UB students more real-world savvy and knowledgeable than their competitors.For anyone who has spent a summer in Buffalo, the free theater festival Shakespeare in Delaware Park is probably familiar.

NEWS

Overcoming Large Classes

By ERIC O and ERIC O | Feb. 4, 2004

This is part 2 of a two-part series exploring the expanding size of the UB classroom. The first part can be found here."Thou shalt not be boring" never made it onto Moses' tablet, but it is an integral part of "The 10 Commandments for Effective Teaching," one of the many presentations UB's Center for Learning and Teaching Resources gives its teachers every year."Teach unto others as you have others teach unto you," said Clyde Herreid, a professor in the biology department, during the presentation of his "Commandments" lecture in November.

NEWS

The Inevitability of Large Classes

By ERIC O and ERIC O | Feb. 2, 2004

This is part 1 of a two-part series exploring the expanding size of the UB classroom. The second part can be found here.Sharing a university with almost 18,000 other undergraduate students can make some students feel insignificant, and even lost, while at the same time it can make others feel comfortably camouflaged.