The Spectrum Vol. 70 No. 8

VOL. 70 NO. 8 | OCTOBER 20, 2021

Q&A with Vice President for Student Life Brian Hamluk

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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT PUBLICATION OF THE UNIVERSITY AT BUFFALO, SINCE 1950

Zodiaque Dance Company returns for first in-person show since March 2020

UBSPECTRUM

Garba Night triumphs as a celebration of joy during a time of uncertainty

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‘I missed the deadline by a day’:

Over 30 international students have their F-1 visas revoked Students say email confusion, lack of communication contributed to the termination JACK PORCARI SENIOR NEWS/FEATURES EDITOR

ALEX FALTER SENIOR ARTS EDITOR

On Sept. 28, 37 international students had their F-1 visa statuses terminated for failing to submit an I-94 form within 30 days of their arrival on campus, thus revoking their legal immigration status. An I-94 form is a document detailing the arrival and departure of all-non U.S. citizens from the U.S. International Student Services reached out over email to spread awareness of the upcoming deadline with students, according to the university. In multiple interviews with The Spectrum, impacted students said these email reminders didn’t always make it to the intended receiver.

Dai Jing*, a junior accounting major, was among those directly affected. She cited UB’s lack of communication as a reason why she overlooked such an important deadline.

“The most important emails [were] sent to our other email, not our UB email, [our] other emails we’d use when we applied for

UB,” Jing said. “Some of us don’t regularly check our [personal] emails.”

In a statement, UB said it is aware of the situation and has dealt with issues like this in the past.

“It is not unusual to have anywhere from 15-30 students terminated from the program each year,” the university said. UB has more international students on campus this year than last because many international students took courses remotely in 2020-21, the university said in a statement about enrollment last week.

“UB is obligated to create an institutional standard for reporting this information to the Department of Homeland Security within 30 days from a student’s program start date. This includes proof of a valid F-1 entry into the U.S.” According to sources with knowledge on this matter, around 27 Chinese students were impacted by the terminations.

The Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) became aware of the incident on Sept. 30 and notified the Consulate General of China in New York soon after. Additionally, CSSA has since posted a summary of what happened to inform students of their potential status change.

After the summary began circulating, “We had students contacting us about their status as well as some lawyers who were willing to do counseling for the students,” CSSA said.

“UB’s ISS office works diligently to

avoid terminating students… Those students who were terminated did not attend pre-arrival webinars, read pre-arrival newsletters, e-forms and emails, or attend immigration sessions. All of these educational opportunities explain the process, and how to comply with these regulations,” the university said in its statement.

In addition, CSSA confirmed the lack of uniformity when ISS informed students of their status changes.

“Some had holds [on their student accounts], some did not, the email notice was not sent to the accurate email address — some [students] did not receive their fi-

Sabrina Akter-Nabi / The Spectrum International Student Services provides support

nal notice in either one of the email they have on file, but in an email that they never officially provide to UB at all,” CSSA said. “One of the department directors also brought up that it would be great for ISS to inform the department, so they can help supervise their students when it comes to completing the international students check-ins.”

Emails are typically a less utilized form of communication in China compared to other nations, according to the BBC. Pranav Misra*, a freshman economics SEE VISAS PAGE 4

for international students at

UB.

SA plans on holding Fall Fest, will use leftover funds for ‘big’ Spring Fest Plans for the Comedy Series are similar; Gala ‘going to happen’ GRANT ASHLEY SENIOR NEWS/FEATURES EDITOR

The Student Association is planning to hold Fall Fest this semester, but the event will likely be smaller due to COVID-19 restrictions, room reservation issues and vendor capacity problems, according to members of the SA e-board.

In a sit-down interview with The Spectrum, the e-board acknowledged the possibility that it won’t be able to hold Fall Fest this semester. In that event, the SA will likely host “different, smaller events” throughout the fall semester, according to SA Treasurer Austin Wolfgang.

Either way, leftover funds from this semester will “most likely” be used to host a larger-than-average Spring Fest and Comedy Series next semester, according to the e-board.

“We are still venturing into what we can and can’t do,” SA president Nick Singh said.

The SA hasn’t charged any expenses to its $250,000 fest production account or $55,000 comedy production account as of the time of publication, according to the SA General Ledger, but the e-board says it has spent months trying to plan the events despite numerous difficulties.

“There was the question of COVID-19 guidelines for quite a while — longer than what maybe students had known about — with big gatherings especially,” Wolfgang said. “And then there’s also the question of trying to get room reservations [from the university]. As our clubs will tell you, it’s very hard to get room reservations, and SA is having the same [problem] as all our clubs are. We go through the same process to get those reservations.”

Wolfgang specifically cited the SA’s

troubles in reserving large spaces, such as The announcement follows Singh’s SepAlumni Arena, due to the high demand. tember comments that the SA was in the Singh says his administration considered “planning stages” of putting on Fall Fest holding Fall Fest outside to avoid room and the Comedy Series. That statement scheduling problems, but ultimately decid- raised questions about whether Fall Fest ed against that due to the cold weather and or the Comedy Series would be held at all. because their outdoor tent vendor ceased The SA didn’t hold an in-person Fall operations.

Fest, Spring Fest or Comedy Series last That isn’t the only vendor-related issue year due to COVID-19, although the SA the e-board has faced; COVID-19-related held online events like a paint night with supply chain and employment issues have rapper Lil Yachty. also created headaches, according to the eFall Fests of years’ past have featured board. performances from Pop Smoke, Gun“With the [Family Weekend] carnival, we had to use a couple new vendors because vendors had gone out of business, or they didn’t have the staff to provide their normal level of service,” Wolfgang said. “Trying to get all of that together [for Fall Fest] has been quite difficult on shorter notice.”

The Comedy Series has been equally difficult to plan due to the same problems, Singh said.

“It’s a whole process,” Singh said. “We need the [comedian], we get the date, then we reach out to the managers, then we reach out to [SA Council] Coordinators, then we reach out to contract, then reach out to [SA] Production. So it’s a lot of things, ...compared to, [for] example, having one DJ or somebody come in.”

Singh also confirmed “for sure” that the SA is actively planning and will host a Winter Gala since “that was much further out” from the start of the semester.

Alexander Brown / The Spectrum Gunna performs at Fall Fest in 2019.

na and DaBaby, Childish Gambino and Queen Naija. Recent Comedy Series headliners include John Mulaney, Trevor Noah and Nick Offerman.

“We had students away [from campus] for a year,” Singh said. “We have a whole year group of students who don’t know what campus life is. We need to... make that experience [happen for them]. ...We are trying our best to make stuff happen.”

Email: grant.ashley@ubspectrum.com

2 | Wednesday, October 20 2021

NEWS

On-campus crime drops in 2020 Pandemic, population decrease leads to recordlow numbers JULIE FREY ASST. NEWS/FEATURES EDITOR

On-campus crime fell in 2020, but liquor and drug violations remained the leading causes of referral, according to the 2020 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report released by University Police at the end of September.

UPD reported 281 liquor violations and 128 drug violations in 2020, down from 409 and 299, respectively, in 2019. This coincided with a decrease in the number of students living on campus, courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic and UB’s shift to mostly online learning.

Rape cases fell from 19 to two in one year. Both rape incidents occurred on North Campus, with one taking place in the residence halls. Other sex-based crimes — like domestic violence and stalking — also fell in 2020.

Eighteen of the 25 primary crimes — defined as murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft, dating violence and stalking, among others — were committed on North Campus, with the other seven occuring on South Campus. These crimes included robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft. UPD didn’t report any crimes at the school’s Downtown Campus. There haven’t been any murders on campus in at least the last five years.

Deputy Chief of University Police Joshua Sticht says the disparity in crimes be-

tween campuses and the overall decrease in crime in 2020 can be partly attributed to population and partly attributed to the pandemic.

“Since the North Campus opened, there have almost always been more crimes on [North] Campus,” Sticht said. “The simple reason for this is that there are many more people on the North Campus than there are on the South Campus. More people and more buildings translates into more opportunities for crime to occur.

We should also remember that for most of 2020, the only students living on the South Campus were in the quarantine site at Goodyear and Clement, a much smaller population than we normally have on the South Campus.”

Sticht says he believes UB is a safe place to study, especially when compared to some of the surrounding areas.

Buffalo — population 255,284 — recorded 141 cases of assault in October 2020, in addition to a high murder rate.

Sex-based discrimation and violent crime falls under the university’s Title IX coordinator’s office. Dating violence — of which there were three cases in 2020 — also falls under the purview of Title IX. Title IX applies to any school that accepts federal funding.

Sharon Nolan-Weiss, UB’s Title IX coordinator in the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, said in a statement to The Spectrum that she is responsible for coordinating the university’s response to sexbased crimes and that her office is able to help victims, whether or not they choose to press charges. “[The response] may include coordinating among University Police, Student

Conduct and Advocacy, or the Office of Employee Relations when someone reports sexual misconduct and is seeking redress through the criminal justice system or university conduct processes,” NolanWeiss said. “It’s important to note that even if the person who experienced sexual violence does not wish to pursue charges, UB can provide accommodations and support, including housing accommodations, no contact orders, academic accommodations, counseling, medical care, and advocacy services. As the Title IX office, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion can meet with anyone seeking assistance to explain the available reporting and support options, and we can reach out to faculty or staff as necessary (and with the person’s permission) in order to coordinate accommodations and support.”

The 2020 data is reported by UPD annually and is available to all current UB students and employees and members of the public upon request.

Email: julie.frey@ubspectrum.com

Victoria Evans / The Spectrum UB Police is housed in Bissell Hall, next to Alumni Arena.

ubspectrum.com

First Distinguished Speaker Series lecture rescheduled to Nov. 4 UB alum Winston Duke will return to the Queen City following postponement REILLY MULLEN EDITOR IN CHIEF

The first Distinguished Speakers Series lecture has been rescheduled to Thursday, Nov. 4 after being postponed last week due to undisclosed circumstances.

Winston Duke, a UB alum and actor featured in blockbuster hits like Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame” and Jordan Peele’s “Us,” was set to kick off the 2021-22 series on Oct. 14, but requested the cancellation with “no explanation,” according to associate director for national/international media relations Doug Sitler.

This is not the first time a DSS lecture has been rescheduled. A November 2014 lecture by John Oliver was also postponed due to bad weather.

Duke will speak in the Center for the Arts Mainstage Theater on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available for purchase; tickets bought for the original date will be honored, while those who are unable to attend the rescheduled lecture can request a refund.

The following lecture is scheduled for Nov. 16 and will feature Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman.

Email: reilly.mullen@ubspectrum.com

Four takeaways from UB’s 27-26 win over Ohio The Bulls keep their postseason hopes alive thanks to a gamewinning field goal by Alex McNulty ANTHONY DECICCO SENIOR SPORTS EDITOR

Following back-to-back conference losses to Western Michigan and Kent State, UB found itself desperately needing a win heading into Saturday’s home matchup against Ohio.

The Bulls got it.

UB (3-4, 1-2 MAC) rallied to overcome a 21-point first-quarter deficit to defeat the Bobcats (1-6, 1-2 MAC), 27-26, and remain in bowl game contention.

“This team has had a ton of close games

this season and we’ve felt the pain of coming up on the short end of some of these games,” head coach Maurice Linguist said in the post-game press conference. “[I’m] just proud of the way the guys fought and found a way. Wanna talk about this game?

It’s about a group of guys finding a way to make it happen with the game on the line.”

The win gave UB its first Mid-American Conference victory and kept the Bulls alive in their quest for a fourth-straight bowl appearance.

Here are four takeaways from UB’s 2726 win over Ohio:

Second-half adjustments

by UB’s defense made the difference

The game was a tale of two halves, especially for UB’s defense, which struggled to contain an explosive Ohio rushing at-

tack that tallied 216 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Armani Rogers led the Bobcats on the ground with 183 rushing yards and made history with a 99-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The 99-yard scamper was the longest rushing touchdown by a quarterback in NCAA history, breaking former Arizona State quarterback Mark Malone’s record of 98 yards against Utah State in 1979. Rogers also led Ohio with two rushing touchdowns.

Ohio senior running back De’Montre Tuggle recorded 46 rushing yards and a score and redshirt freshman running back O’Shann Allison was held to just 20 yards on 10 carries.

After allowing 21 unanswered points in the first quarter, the defense allowed just three points in the second half and earned

multiple crucial stops to keep UB in the game.

In the fourth quarter, a forced fumble by junior defensive end Max Michel was recovered by fifth-year senior linebacker Kadofi Wright, setting up senior quarterback Kyle Vantrease’s touchdown pass to sophomore tight end Trevor Borland.

That score brought UB within two points.

Then, a forced three-and-out — highlighted by a sack from junior defensive tackle Daymond Williams — set up the game-winning field goal by junior kicker Alex McNulty.

Senior linebacker James Patterson recorded 15 tackles and a tackle for loss en route to winning MAC Defensive Player of the Week.

Linguist emphasized stopping Ohio’s speed-option offense, and it paid dividends. UB allowed only 55 rushing yards in the second half. Linguist says multiple halftime adjustments were crucial to shutting down the Bobcats’ ground game.

“We started squeezing the end down a little bit more, crashing the end and then letting the back end [the defensive backs] split and fold over the top,” Linguist said.

“Our second-level guys started setting edges better than they did in the first half.

And then all of a sudden those eight, nine, 10-yard runs turn into five-yard runs. And then you play a little bit harder and they turn into two-yard runs. And then you put a little bit more effort into it and now you get negative plays.”

New playmakers emerge for the Bulls

After multiple standout performances by fifth-year senior wide receiver Quian Williams, UB’s passing game needed new receiving threats to step up.

Sophomore tight ends Trevor Borland and Tyler Stephens did just that with a pair of receiving touchdowns, which sparked the Bulls’ 21-point comeback.

Stephens and Borland also recorded career-highs in receiving yards, with 52 and 27 respectively.

The two proved to be legitimate threats in the red zone, as Stephens caught a twoyard touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter to bring UB to within six Courtesy of Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics Junior running back Dylan McDuffie (8) rushes down the sidelines during UB’s 27-26 victory over Ohio Saturday.

SEE FOOTBALL PAGE 10

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OPINION

Wednesday, October 20 2021 | 3

Kyrie Irving’s vaccine views will kill the Nets from within Nets star says he won’t get vaccinated. It may cost him more than he realizes.

BRENDEN WOLD STAFF WRITER

Excitement quickly turned to panic among the thousands of fans gathered in Oklahoma City’s Paycom Arena to watch an NBA matchup between the local Thunder and Utah Jazz last March.

Just minutes before tip off, Utah center Rudy Gobert became the first professional athlete to test positive for COVID-19.

The NBA immediately suspended the game — and later, the season.

Eighteen months later, the world we live in has changed in ways we could have never imagined.

Masks, tests and quarantining have all become a part of our daily lives. As the world opens up again, the NBA is kicking off a full, 82-game schedule and is attempting to return to full arenas.

The key factor in a normal return?

A vaccine.

The Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines have all been credited with saving countless lives around the world and allowing the U.S. to reopen.

The NBA has gone from full stoppage to fans back in the stands — thanks to a vaccine.

The league hasn’t mandated that its players and fans get vaccinated. But a combination of the vaccine’s effectiveness and a number of clever incentives has resulted in 95% of players receiving both shots.

But not everyone has obliged.

At the forefront of the league’s antivaccine movement is Brooklyn Nets star point guard Kyrie Irving.

Irving, a seven-time All-Star and 2016 NBA Champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers, has never been one to shy away from expressing his beliefs. Irving took a stand last year after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, WI, when he supported the league’s decision to suspend play following the incident.

Irving is an advocate for social and racial justice, and is known around the league for his activism.

He is also a “conspiracy theorist,” having argued in the past that the Earth isn’t round.

But here’s the thing: while Irving’s flatEarth comments don’t impact anyone, his vaccine comments do. And not just the unvaccinated people around him, but also

his teammates.

On Sept. 13, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced professional athletes must show proof of at least one dose of vaccination to play in home games.

For Irving, this means not being able to attend any of the Nets’ 41 home games this season. He will also forfeit his salary for every game he misses, which is roughly $400,000 per game.

Irving previously missed the NBA’s in-person Media Day, instead answering questions over Zoom and interacting with fans over Instagram Live.

Irving’s absence from his team will have ripples all year.

Brooklyn is currently the title favorite, according to multiple Vegas sportsbooks.

The Nets have never won a championship, and with three All-Stars — Kevin Durant, James Harden and Irving — this is easily their best opportunity to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy at the end of the season.

Brooklyn cannot afford to lose Irving for this season, especially with their three superstars getting older every year.

If Irving is not willing to get vaccinated, Brooklyn should move him.

There is no sense in keeping a player who can’t play under league rules.

Getting rid of Irving will save the Nets the massive headache. It will also free up cap space, as Irving is currently on a maximum deal and will not need to be re-

signed in 2023.

For Irving himself, it’s time to decide how serious he is about the game.

It’s not just analysts calling Irving out; it’s also personalities like Stephen A. Smith and legends like Shaquille O’Neal.

Even Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabaar has weighed in: “The NBA should insist that all players and staff are vaccinated or remove them from the team.

“There is no room for players who are willing to risk the health and lives of their teammates, the staff and the fans simply because they are unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation or do the necessary research,” Abdul-Jabbar said in an interview with CNN. By all means, Irving does not have to get the vaccine.

That is his choice, as the NBA hasn’t mandated it.

But he better be prepared for the consequences.

Irving will not only lose millions of dollars and a valuable playing season, but his chances at a championship with Brooklyn will also greatly diminish.

Irving must decide how committed he is to the game. If the vaccine is truly such a problem for him, maybe he should take his $200 million-plus career earnings and retire from the sport.

Either way, this saga has lasted too long.

Email: opinion@ubspectrum.com

People with vaginas: schedule your pap smear now My results were unexpected. I’m still grateful to know.

NATALIE DOLLER ASST. NEWS/FEATURES EDITOR

I love being young. That may seem unusual, but I love having a fully functioning body, non-graying hair (although with my genetic luck, that will be short-lived) and the promise of endless possibilities.

But what I love most about my youth is that I feel invincible, like nothing can ever happen to me, and that if something does, I’ll bounce back immediately.

Well, I felt invincible until I got my pap smear results back.

The doctors found evidence of a “low

grade squamous intraepithelial lesion encompassing HPV and mild dysplasia / CIN 1” in my cervix, otherwise known as cervical dysplasia.

For those of you whose eyes glazed over those words (no shame if you did), that means I may have a collection of precancerous cells lining about one third of my cervix’s epithelial tissue.

When I read the results on the MyChart app, my heart fell into my stomach. Suddenly I could feel every aching joint and muscle in my body. I could instantly feel myself decomposing.

Nothing shakes that feeling of youthful invincibility like finding out your cervix could end up being a ticking time bomb 40 minutes before your Spanish class.

The questions started racing through my head about as quick as my objectionable speeds on the I-90: “Will I get cancer? If I get cancer, what does that mean for my career plans? What would my treatment options be? Chemo? Biopsy? A hysterectomy—?”

At this point in life, I have no desire to

carry my own kids; everyone close to me can attest to my reluctance to becoming pregnant. But even the thought of infertility made me shudder.

I wouldn’t know exactly what was in store for me until I had more tests done.

Pap smears only screen for cervical cancer cells, but they don’t yield any conclusive results. And it is true that many women live with cervical dysplasia without ever getting cancer. Even if the cells do become cancerous, that is often a process that takes place over a long period of time, which makes it easy to monitor — and makes it treatable.

But the point is, none of us are invincible. My oxygen saturation level may be 100% and my liver may digest an ungodly amount of hard liquor from time to time with no hangover, but that doesn’t mean I’m immortal.

Don’t fall into the trap of youthful ignorance; if you’re above the age of 21, take the time when you’re home to go to the doctor’s office and get a pap smear.

Even if your parent has to make the ap-

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 20, 2021 VOLUME 70 NUMBER 8 CIRCULATION: 3,000

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The views expressed – both written and graphic – in the Opinion section of The Spectrum do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board. Submit contributions for these pages to The Spectrum office at Suite 132 Student Union or news@ubspectrum.com. The Spectrum reserves the right to edit these pieces for style and length. If a letter is not meant for publication, please mark it as such. All submissions must include the author’s name, daytime phone number, and email address.

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Reilly Mullen

pointment because you have social anxiety, make these parts of your life a priority.

Because, like me, you’re not immune to everything.

And I know, the idea of having someone stare down the hole between your legs isn’t very glamorous, I get it.

But it takes two minutes.

You spend more time in the waiting room than you do with the physician assistant nose-deep in your birth canal.

Oftentimes you don’t even need to see a gynecologist; pap smears are tests that are offered at pretty much every general provider and are covered by most insurances.

Women’s health providers such as Planned Parenthood offer services which can be scheduled on their website.

So get over it and take care of yourself.

Because there is no need to go on living with very treatable conditions if you have access to treatment.

For more information on getting a pap smear, please visit: https://www.geneseo. edu/health/first_gyno_exam Email: natalie.doller@ubspectrum.com

SPORTS EDITORS Anthony DeCicco, Sr. Hunter Skoczylas, Asst.

MANAGING EDITORS Justin Weiss Dan Eastman, Asst.

MULTIMEDIA EDITORS Sabrina Akter-Nabi, Sr. Sai Krishna Seethala, Sr.

NEWS EDITORS ENGAGEMENT EDITOR Grant Ashley, Sr. Jack Porcari, Sr. Natalie Doller, Asst.

Julie Frey, Asst.

ARTS EDITORS Alex Falter, Sr. Kara Anderson, Asst.

Jenna Quinn, Sr. CREATIVE DIRECTOR Paolo Blanchi, Sr. Jiayi Zhang, Asst.

4 | Wednesday, October 20 2021

NEWS

ubspectrum.com

SA makes student mental health an advocacy priority Staff have met with administrators, advertised resources; no ‘definitive timeline’ on development of new programs GRANT ASHLEY SENIOR NEWS/FEATURES EDITOR

The Student Association will focus its advocacy efforts almost exclusively on student mental health, its e-board said during an interview with The Spectrum Monday.

“Bringing campus back to normal is a huge stress on a lot of students, so… mental health is something that we definitely want to put a lot of emphasis on,” SA president Nick Singh said.

The e-board says its advocacy plans include publicizing and assessing the effectiveness of existing resources, meeting with students, working with administrators and developing “new avenues” for addressing on-campus mental health.

“Firstly, we need to make sure that our students... know [mental health resources] are available, and how to get them,” Singh said. “But two, how do we create new avenues [for mental health]? Yes, we have some existing stuff, but how do we create new stuff ?”

The e-board says its members and other SA staff have met with administrators like Vice President for Student Life Brian Hamluk about “eight to 10 times” to discuss Counseling Services and Student Health and Wellness and has worked to expand its own programs such as Blue Table, the Student Union’s partnership with

VISAS FROM PAGE 1

student, says the email reporting her status termination, by contrast, particularly stood out in her inbox.

“When I received my service termination email on Sept. 28, it was marked ‘high priority’ and written in bold and caps, so it was quite eye-catching,” Misra said. “I was just so busy with my classes that I never realized there was a deadline,” she said, tears streaming down her face.

“I really enjoyed learning at UB, it’s just so sudden, I just cannot absorb it. It was really hard moving across countries in a pandemic.”

Misra carried four suitcases weighing roughly 44 lbs. each on her journey home from the U.S. In an effort to eventually return to UB, she must reapply for a visa and has since requested an I-20 form, which she hopes to get in the next few weeks. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requires valid I-20 paperwork showing that students are legitimately studying at the university. When it arrives, she must book two appointments with the U.S. Embassy in her home country, one concerning biometrics and one for a visa interview. This entire process can take 12-18 months, Misra said.

“If they had sent that status termination email a week earlier with bold caps and everything, many of us would have submitted it on time,” she said. “I only missed the deadline by a day. I wish the laws were

SA’s food pantry for students.

The SA has tried to form relationships with administrators because they view their cooperation as crucial to improving on-campus mental health, according to SA treasurer Austin Wolfgang.

“The school really needs to make sure that they are giving the students the opportunity to relieve stress and take a break from everything we do here,” Wolfgang said.

The SA’s conversations with administrators have been discussion-based so far, but Singh expects that to change once the SA finishes its “complicated” research into student mental health.

“When we have a comprehensive report as to where we are [as a student body], then I’ll take it up to the administration [and tell them,] ‘OK, this is what’s happening on the ground, this is what we provide and this is what we want to do with it,’” Singh said.

The SA is also “looking into” new mental health programs and resources, Singh said.

“We have a whole department tirelessly working towards that,” Singh said.

The proposals for those programs, however, may not be ready anytime soon. “[Mental health] is an extremely high priority for us, I can tell you that 100%,” SA chief of staff Will Eaton said. “However, given the changing circumstances with COVID-19, along with the difficulty of collaborating with different organizations on and off campus, we don’t have a definitive timeline [on developing new resources].”

The SA has been collecting student concerns through its social media accounts,

emails and the advocacy request form on its website.

“I have had students who reached out to me directly [with advocacy concerns], and I directed them accordingly or met with them accordingly,” Singh said.

Advocacy-related responsibilities are split among several SA bodies, including the e-board and Senate, but lie mainly with the Student Affairs Department, as outlined in Section V of the SA bylaws.

Josephina Nimarko and Cole Fredericks, the SA student affairs director and assistant director of health and wellness, have spent the past months meeting with university officials, starting partnerships and planning events like therapy dog walks, the e-board says.

“They’ve all been putting in hours since the beginning,” Eaton said. “They’ve been reaching out to people on campus, trying to get the pulse of what students need, and we’re trying to get on top of that as

a bit relaxed.”

Jing says her roommates were exposed to COVID-19 and she was in the process of changing her room when the termination emails were sent out.

“I heard other school’s students said they received too many emails about submitting this I-94… Other students and I think it’s very ridiculous. We lost our sense of home and belonging in UB,” Jing said.

Prior to joining the UB community, Misra had never left her home country.

“There was so much I had to take responsibility for,” Misra said. “It was my first time traveling away from home, so I had very little knowledge of life and immigration. Learning everything took time, there was a learning curve and it was hard.

To be honest, it wasn’t an easy transition.”

At the time of her status termination, Misra was enrolled in seven classes at UB. In order to help her stay up-to-date on course material, some of her professors have shared recorded lectures, while others have agreed to hold joint office hours.

“Professors are really nice and accommodating, it’s just that I don’t know how things will work because all the classes will be at night [due to differing time zones],” Misra said. “So maybe I’ll have to shift my sleep [schedule].”

In the meantime, she wants to focus on herself: “I set goals for myself to practice yoga and be more responsible.”

Coming to the U.S. was a culture shock for Misra, who had never experienced the American lifestyle before.

“The U.S. has a very fast-paced environment, and my home country is a really slow country where parents really spoonfeed their children,” Misra said. “I have never been so independent, [and] I’ve never been in an unsupervised and unmonitored environment like UB.” SA president Nick Singh says he “heard about the situation.” The newly-elected e-board member says he is looking into the visa terminations and trying to find answers: “I do have a meeting next week coming up, but it’s just like actually understanding: what’s the reason for it and what could we do to support students with that situation?”

SA treasurer Austin Wolfgang says the e-board plans to help the affected students involved, but he acknowledged the importance of respecting students’ privacy.

“We are going to look into it and try to help the students as best we can,” Wolfgang said. “We’re not going to be able to discuss the results of any of that. That’s private student information.”

UB released a revised statement Tuesday expressing remorse for the terminations.

“We are sorry that this has happened to our students, for we endeavor to support our international students and facilitate their success at UB,” Nojin Kwak, vice provost for international education, said.

“It is always very difficult to terminate a student’s immigration status, and we are working with the affected students to provide as much help as they need. They are receiving individualized advisement to ad-

Sabrina Akter-Nabi / The Spectrum A sign in International Student Services extolls students to have patience when dealing with advisors and student staff.

best we can.”

The SA’s stated goals follow long-standing concerns about Counseling Services and mental health on campus.

This is not the first time the SA has advocated for mental health concerns.

Wolfgang, then the SA Assembly Speaker, spearheaded a campaign to add mental health days to the spring 2021 academic calendar. The bid ultimately ended when the Faculty Senate Executive Committee declined to add days off due to logistical constraints, but agreed to encourage faculty to make “adjustments that may reduce stress.” The R.E.A.L. Party ran unopposed and won the 2018-19 e-board elections on a platform including mental health. The R.I.S.E. Party ran in the 2020-21 e-board elections on a platform including mental health but ultimately lost to the HERstory Party.

Email: grant.ashley@ubspectrum.com

Christopher Palmer / The Spectrum The SA e-board says it is prioritizing mental health in its advocacy efforts.

dress their specific situations and to help them make the best decision about their future studies. We will do whatever we can to assist them.”

While UB’s future handling of these situations is uncertain, Misra offered up plenty of suggestions.

“Next year maybe they could try to find more innovative ways to reach out to students,” Misra said. “My suggestion would be they could either call, or track them down in person or maybe have another committee handle the cases.”

Despite losing her visa, Misra holds no animosity toward ISS for their role.

“It’s a process, they have to do this…

I have no complaints against ISS, [but] things could have been better,” Misra said. *Student’s name was changed to protect their identity.

Editor’s note: The Spectrum strives to include the name of sources in its stories, pursuant to the SPJ Code of Ethics. However, sometimes a story needs to be told, and the affected parties are unwilling to go on the record with their identities. In this case, the affected students expressed concern that their chances of returning to the U.S. would be jeopardized if their names appeared in print. As such, The Spectrum has decided to grant anonymity.

Grant Ashley contributed to the reporting.

Email: jack.porcari@ubspectrum.com Email: alex.falter@ubspectrum.com

Sabrina Akter-Nabi / The Spectrum The Confucius Institute will be discontinued at the end of 2021.

NEWS

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Wednesday, October 20 2021 | 5

Allison Brashear named Jacobs School dean Brashear also becomes the new vice president for health sciences at UB JASON MONTERROSA STAFF WRITER

Allison Brashear has been appointed dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and vice president for health sciences at UB, the university announced Monday.

The appointment will take effect on Dec. 6.

Brashear, dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine, will succeed Michael Cain, who announced in April that he would be resigning from both positions, while remaining a professor in the Department of Medicine and the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

“I am delighted that a physician, researcher and academic leader of Dr. Brashear’s international renown is joining our university community in these critical leadership roles,” UB President Satish Tripathi said in a statement. “As the responsibilities of these positions

have profound implications for both our university’s mission of excellence and the health and vitality of our region, it was imperative that we found a visionary leader whose work reflects a demonstrated and enduring commitment to serving the greater good.”

During her time at UC Davis, Brashear helped one of the nation’s top medical schools secure a record $368 million award and double its clinical trial awards. She will now be tasked with leading research and clinical programs in all Health Sciences schools and programs, along with hospital and clinical affiliates, as VP for health sciences.

Brashear has been the recipient of continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health since 2008, in support of her work on ATP1A3-related diseases, a group of ailments that inhibit motor skills and make daily activities difficult to accomplish.

Brashear is highly-regarded for her work on diversity efforts, especially when it comes to the advancement of women in medicine.

“I am excited to join the University at

Courtesy of University Communications Allison Brashear, dean of the UC Davis School of Medicine, has been named vice president for health sciences at UB.

Buffalo as the new vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at such a pivotal time in medicine,” Brashear said.

“This is a unique opportunity to help ad-

vance President Tripathi’s vision for UB to be a top-25 public research university to improve lives.”

Email: news@ubspectrum.com

Albright-Knox exhibit highlights technology and identity through art The show features 17 artists, confronts visitors with interactive and thought-provoking works KARA ANDERSON ASST. ARTS EDITOR

There’s a room with hot pink walls. It’s secluded from the noise of the crowd, naked except for a black gaming chair, a pedestal fixed with primary colored buttons and a TV screen exploding in kaleidoscope-esque designs.

You sit in the chair, the TV looming above you, pink fluorescent lights humming. The screen says to press any button to start.

You do.

For the next 20 minutes, you are launched into a haunting adventure game regarding Black trans identity, ancestry and allyship.

Except, this isn’t only a visceral video game. It’s Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley’s art installation, “WE ARE HERE BECAUSE OF THOSE THAT ARE NOT,” now a part of Albright-Knox Northland’s newest exhibition, “Difference Machines: Technology and Identity in Contemporary Art.” The art exhibit, co-curated by UB art professor Paul Vanouse and assistant curator Tina Rivers Ryan, features 17 artists whose interactive works explore the manner in which technology shapes our lives, from the exploration of identity through digital tools to the examination of surveillance. The free exhibit opened Oct. 16 and

will run through Jan. 16, 2022.

Vanouse and Ryan intended to create a space where people can hone their grasp on the ways in which technology interacts with themselves and the world.

“You can think of this [show] as being somewhere between a regular exhibition, a film festival and a library,” Vanouse said.

Yet, despite this daunting description as a hybrid center of artistic creation, Ryan and Vanhouse placed a focus on making the space accessible to newcomers.

“We wanted to create an exhibition where people who don’t have that technical expertise or knowledge could come in and learn something about the technologies that are governing literally every aspect of our lives,” Ryan said.

Similarly, Vanouse also emphasized how identity shapes this space and learning process.

“Everything kind of kept coming back to this question of identity and how digital tools inform identities,” Vanouse said. “In some ways they construct them, in some ways limit them.”

Many visitors cited Hasan Elahi’s “Tracking Transience” as a particularly thought-provoking piece, in terms of mistaken identity and technology as a tool for surveillance.

This installation, which arose after the FBI erroneously investigated Elahi for terrorist activity following the 9/11 attacks, is one of the first to greet visitors’ eyes when entering the exhibition.

“There’s something about surveillance that complicates identity and reflects how we live,” UB theatre and dance professor Lindsay Brandon Hunter said.

With rainbow photographs stretching to the ceiling and across the floor, “Tracking Transience” reuses photos Elahi took of his everyday life, including that of the toilet and foods he ate. Elahi took these photos to allow his FBI agent to better monitor his activities.

“I liked that as a statement,” Anita Miosi, a former UB secretary, said. “It’s a kind of blending an art and political statement.”

Visitors have also reflected on the manner in which the actual building, a former car manufacturing plant, augmented the experience of viewing Elahi’s work.

“You don’t go into galleries and see exposed brick walls,” Edreys Wajed, an MFA candidate in fine art, said. “So being that the brick wall is exposed, it presents a different opportunity for artwork to be powerful at the actual structure.”

Beyond Elahi’s installation, visitors felt that multiple artworks spoke greatly to matters of race and other forms of marginalized identities.

For freshman accounting major Cameron Osborne, Mongrel’s “Heritage Gold” stood out in particular.

“I thought it was pretty cool,” Obsarne said. “I feel like people hold on to their identity too much, their racial identity. And I feel like as a society we can’t move forward without just being ourselves.”

“Heritage Gold” features a vintage CRT (cathode-ray tube) monitor and manipulates Photoshop to allow users to filter photographed people by making changes to class, race, social status and more.

Although unable to cite a particular installation, Howard Lisker, a visitor to the exhibit, saw the Difference Machines ex-

hibit as creating a conversation around contemporary social justice movements.

“In some way it interacts, for me, more strongly with Black Lives Matter,” Lisker said. “It’s this sort of continuous awakening in the non-Black world to the pervasiveness of discrimination and marginalization.”

As visitors made their way through the sprawling space, conversations echoed across the exhibit, particularly addressing its relationship to COVID-19.

“It’s refreshing to see work that has been made and generated prior to the pandemic,” Jared Mezzocchi, a visitor to the exhibit, said. “We don’t need to associate the pandemic with the explosion of technology. It’s been exploding since the early aughts.”

Harkening on the history of technological integration in our lives, the exhibit also creates an in-person space for art, which has largely been inaccessible in the past year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“We wanted to offer people a different kind of experience than what they’ve been having during COVID-19,” Ryan said. “You’ve been sort of looking at your screen, but it’s been very private.”

For Alexa Wajed, who attended the event, the show did just this, giving her a social and public environment to roam around in.

“Face to face things like networking, meeting people — it’s like the space is perfectly designed for that,” Alexa Wajed said.

Edreys Wajed, who attended the event, also celebrated the ability to view art offline, in opposition to Ryan’s concern that visitors would have “screen fatigue.”

“Technology has become such a part of our daily lives as of late,” Wajed said. “So when you see technology in a space like this, in an art gallery space, this allows you to remove yourself from the technology, because now you’re observing. You’re not necessarily scrolling [through] your phone and things of that nature.”

As for Vanouse, the ability to simply partake in the exhibit represents a silverlining during a time of restricted access to in-person events.

“This show has been a kind of lifeline for me, emotionally,” Vanouse said. “My artwork is very complicated to install and set up, so all of my solo shows, or all of my shows, are canceled this year.”

Overall, “Difference Machines” serves to garner a space of intense emotional response while pushing visitors to meditate on the ways technology informs their lives, from racial and queer identities to issues of privacy and surveillance.

“It’s not just to capture the world we live in,” Mezzocchi said. “It creates dialogue around how we use technology to be more conscious.”

Email: kara.anderson@ubspectrum.com

Kara Anderson / The Spectrum Joiri Minaya’s “#dominicanwomengooglesearch” features cutouts of body parts.

6 | Wednesday, October 20 2021

FEATURES

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Q&A with Vice President for Student Life Brian Hamluk New VP speaks about Counseling Services, upstream approach to mental health JULIE FREY ASST. NEWS/FEATURES EDITOR

JUSTIN WEISS MANAGING EDITOR

In May, UB named Brian Hamluk vice president for student life.

Hamluk, a veteran educator with experience in a variety of roles at the University of Pittsburgh, Syracuse University and George Washington University, is tasked with providing students with resources and support for academic success, career development and community engagement, among others.

But his biggest priority, as he tells it, is working to improve student health and wellness — specifically, student mental health.

In light of worrying mental health trends and the COVID-19 pandemic, The Spectrum sat down with Hamluk and Sharon Mitchell, the director of Counseling Services, to discuss mental health on campus.

The following has been lightly edited for length and clarity: The Spectrum: Can you talk about your exposure to student mental health while at Pittsburgh, Syracuse and George Washington? What did you observe about the mental health of students from working on those campuses?

Brian Hamluk: “So I think there’s a lot of commonalities [regardless of the institution] and mental health across college campuses. Fortunately for me coming here, I’ve been at very like-minded institutions. A lot of the challenges that students face are very similar. I think what each of the places that I have been at have had, which we have here at UB, is really a comprehensive approach to managing mental health and general wellness on campus.

There’s a lot of different pieces to the puzzle, so to speak. The Counseling Center certainly is one piece of it, but education and outreach is another piece of it, health promotions, advocacy, working with students at orientation to educate them about resources that are available — educating parents as well. All of those types of things are the common threads that I have seen in all of these different places that really put the institution and put the student in the best possible situation in terms of managing their own mental health, and having a self-care approach.”

TS: Where does mental health rank on your list of priorities?

BH: “I have said consistently since I have arrived [five months ago] that student health and wellness is my No. 1 priority. So I’ve made it known. On day one it is our No. 1 [priority]. Our No. 1 initiative.”

TS: Students have heard this talk before, from other administrators. Why should they believe you’re different and that this is really a priority for you?

BH: Well, I think my track record. I’ve worked with counseling centers at other institutions before, I’ve worked with student health services before, I’ve worked in Campus Recreation before, all of these different pieces that impact the total wellness experience on campus. It’s a personal passion of mine; my undergraduate degree is in physical and health education. I agree with you, I think it’s easy for somebody to say, ‘Oh this is going to be my priority, but [mental health] is a personal interest of mine. No. 2, I don’t think the need has been greater in our timeframe for the general health and wellness of our students, and not just students on campus, [but]

Courtesy of University Communications Brian Hamluk came to UB from the University of Pittsburgh in June.

generally in society. I think the pandemic has certainly highlighted the need, but I think we’ve been trending in this direction for quite some time, and our students face some unique pressures as well.

TS: What have you noticed about mental health trends on campus? Do you think mental health is getting better? Worse? How does it compare to when you started at UB in 2003?

Sharon Mitchell: “Well, it’s certainly gotten worse but I feel like we’re sort of leveled off at this point. When I first started here there were eight counselors on staff, there’s now 23. So, obviously, it is a student need and it’s also an area that the university has already invested in. I was just thinking about the question you asked Brian, about why we should believe that [mental health is a priority]. One of our goals is to build a comprehensive wellness center on campus, and that is moving forward.

I would say that, nationally, and UB is no different, anxiety and stress are probably the most common issues that students seek services for. We are living in stressful times, and so there’s a lot on students besides just studying. We’re in a pandemic, there’s been social and political unrest, so all of these things weigh on students and impact them personally. Last year was such a weird year, it’s hard for me to know if things are worse but I will say that students are anxious and stressed.”

BH: “The only other thing that I would add is, in addition to all of those things, obviously Sharon [Mitchell] talked about the significant resources that we’ve added in the Counseling Center. When we look at the overall, not just counseling, but the overall health of students, we’re moving Student Health Services to a brand-new facility for a better patient experience. I’ve been here five months and we’ve commissioned the executive team to begin the planning for the Health and Wellness Center, a facility that integrates the Counseling Center and Health Promotion and Pharmacy and Student Health Services and Campus Recreation. So all of the things that contribute to a student’s well being is going to be centralized in one facility and I think that truly will be a game-changer for the UB student experience so we don’t want to wait for that to be done which is why we started to make some moves with the Student Health Center to give them better patient experience.”

TS: Have you reached out to any students or student groups on campus to see how they feel about mental health?

BH: “I haven’t talked with formal groups, but I’ve had a lot of informal conversations with students, whether it’s been coffee chats or in the SU. They would all

Julie Frey / The Spectrum Vice President for Student Life Brian Hamluk (right) and Counseling Services director Sharon Mitchell (left) spoke to The Spectrum Tuesday about mental health.

say it in different ways, but all have articulated that committing to mental health and committing to overall student wellness in general, is really important to the UB experience. All of them, you know, agree that the commitment needs to be there.”

TS: Mental health doesn’t seem to be getting better, so what’s going wrong here? Obviously, this isn’t uniquely a UB problem, but why are all these investments, all these resources, not producing the results you’d expect considering the investment?

SM: “Well, not everybody who could benefit accesses that help, so that’s part of the problem. I feel like people who do use our services do get better, I do think we are helpful to the students who utilize our services and that’s the feedback we’ve gotten. We give satisfaction and learning outcome surveys to get a sense of whether they feel like they’re making progress and then we also do some assessments when they come in and at different points, to see if they’re making progress. I think a lot of students rely on their existing circle of friends to be the ones that they talk to about things. Friends are helpful but they can’t address everything that’s going on.”

TS: How do you build a campus where everybody feels like they’re in a strong, vibrant community, a community that has their back?

BH: “I think that’s always a challenge with a large institution when you’re dealing with 32,000 students — [all of whom have] diverse interests and needs, and, quite frankly, diverse desires of what they want out of their experience. I think that’s always a challenge. I think what we’re trying to do as I go through my first year and make an assessment of where we are in terms of student life is, we want to commit to some of those things that are broad and far-reaching and bring people together. For example, one of the things that I’ve identified is, ‘What are our initiatives around community service and civic engagement?’ I know that this is a passion point for [many] students who are coming in, community service has been a part of their life, they’re a little bit more community-minded in terms of their investment and their commitment. So that would be a place that I would look to invest in in the future — this has the opportunity to create a common experience for a number of people to bring different types of students together.”

The full Q&A can be found on The Spectrum’s website in the coming weeks.

We encourage students to prioritize their mental health. You are never alone. If you are in crisis, please consider calling the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255 or UB Counseling Services, at 716-645-2720.

Email: julie.frey@ubspectrum.com Email: justin.weiss@ubspectrum.com

FEATURES

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Wednesday, October 20 2021 | 7

@ubaffirmations highlights the authentic student experience The absurd and the wholesome find harmony on student-run Instagram page NATALIE DOLLER ASST. NEWS/FEATURES EDITOR

ending Duo push cleanses my energy.”

“I will romance someone at the pillars.”

“Poop of geese evades my shoes.”

UB students have almost certainly seen these quotes from Instagram sensation @ubaffirmations in the past few weeks.

The page, which launched in May, seeks to capture the student experience by making memes about the often-overlooked curiosities of college life, from campus fire scares to aggressive geese to spotty internet connections prospective students won’t find on any official UB website.

The account, which has already amassed more than 1,700 followers in five short months, has quickly become a mainstay on campus.

“If someone who doesn’t go to UB looks at this page, they would get such a clear idea of what it’s like to go here,” Jen Brady*, the student behind the Instagram page, said in an interview with The Spectrum. “And in that way it’s sort of an odd time-capsule of the student experience in a really pedestrian way.”

With 38 posts and 1,746 followers, the account follows the format of other affirmations pages, which promote a style of humor that marries the absurd and unsettling with the wholesome and comforting through jarring photos and captions alongside positive adages. Earlier in the semester, when a dumpster caught on fire in the Wilkeson tunnel, @ubaffirmations was quick to post a photo of an inferno with top and bottom text over the image stating, “Flames of Wilkeson ignite my spirit,” along with the caption “Wilkeson garbage fire today renews my sense of student purpose. I will boss forever forward with inspiration of Wilkeson ablaze.

[Horns up emoji]”

We give up so much to go here, we might as well relish in these really strange and specific common experiences.

Brady says they enjoy the secrecy around their identity because it maintains the integrity of the page, which was created for comedy — not internet clout. It also keeps them from seeing the page as a chore or assignment; instead, they get to see it for

what it is: an Internet meme page.

“That’s why I like remaining anonymous because then the page doesn’t feel like my project,” Brady said. “It’s just for the student experience. It’s just a way for all of us to b— about things in a space that transcends just talking to your friends, which I think can be really fun.”

The anonymity also gives Brady the feel-

Moaz Elazzazi / The Spectrum UB Affirmations has more than 1,700 followers on Instagram.

satire is what keeps the posts authentic, not hurtful.

“Satire is never meant to be insidious,” they said. “It’s just meant to bring light to the things people are thinking about; and then they have a place for it and to take it at the intersections of who they are.”

Justin Weiss / The Spectrum UB Affirmations has become one of the most popular UB-related social media accounts in just five months.

ing that they are an unconventional voice for the UB community, and the secrecy around their identity makes them feel akin to a folk hero.

“There is a certain Robin Hood-esque good feeling about running this page and not having everyone know,” Brady said.

The Instagram account @affirmations has been credited with popularizing the affirmation meme format, and the style has been adopted by college students across the nation to describe experiences unique to their campuses. The original @affirmations account inspired @ubaffirmations to try their hand at it as well.

“I was like, Buffalo has so many students and no one is going to do this the way that I would want them to. So I should just do it,” they said.

Brady draws inspiration from everyday happenings at the university, from the bees that invade students’ personal space to the sometimes questionable food offerings found at dining halls. But Brady explains that despite its zany nature, each meme is made thoughtfully. Referencing one of their previous posts, Brady recounts how they toe the line between satirical and whiny.

“Like the, ‘I did not cry during academic advising’ post. Like, that happened to me.

But the difference between me running the page and somebody else running the page is that I’m not going to be like ‘F— Academic Advising! They’re terrible and I’m going to make a post about it!’ Like, that’s not comedy,” they said.

Brady explains their understanding of

Brady didn’t expect the page to garner as much attention as it has. They thought the follower count would max out at around 200 followers.

“For a while, it was in the couple 100 followers range,” they said. “I was like, this is what it’s going to be… it’s going to be this little thing that I run and it’s kind of going to be a very secret society. And if you follow @ubaffirmations, then you get to feast upon this content.”

It’s almost like the page itself is a character. It clearly has its own speech pattern and way that it runs itself…

But Brady knew the account was more than just an underground meme page when the page’s follower count surpassed that of their personal Instagram account.

“It was a weird moment when the meme page reached more followers than my rins-

ta [real Instagram]. That’s when I knew I had made it,” they said.

And as the page’s following continued to grow, Brady’s belief in the account’s potential grew as well.

“Once I hit 1,000 [followers] I was like, ah, now the delusions of grandeur can set in. Now I can just genuinely believe that we’re going to have 5,000,” they said.

Today, Brady says they are confident students will enjoy the page’s satirical and unsettling content for semesters to come.

They imagine the page may even become a hallmark of UB’s subculture.

“I do believe that this will grow into a virtual campus staple,” they explained.

“Like, I want RAs to talk about it at their floor meetings or whatever. Like you know you’ve made it when it gets put into the annual presentation for the next couple years.”

But despite the page’s increasing popularity, Brady admits they enjoy when the followers trickle in a little slower.

“I like being in periods where it’s just the people who follow the page… and posts aren’t getting a lot of new followers because then it feels like a well-kept secret,” they said.

New York colleges and universities are home to a number of affirmation pages, at schools like RIT, SUNY New Paltz, Ithaca and Cornell. But Brady says that their page stands out from the rest because they stay true to the affirmations format.

“I do like that there’s a structural integrity to the posts,” they said. “Upon looking at other college affirmations posts, a lot of the captions just sound like they’re written by another member of the student body.

And I just really like that the voice used in the @ubaffirmations posts makes no goddamn sense.”

Brady says that after five months of running the account, the page has taken on a personality of its own. And it’s that creative success that inspires them to keep posting.

“It’s almost like the page itself is a character. It clearly has its own speech pattern and way that it runs itself…” they said. “I feel like sometimes the less it [the caption] makes sense, the better. No human person writes like that. Like is Victor writing them? Is a Buffalo AI writing them?”

The page is ultimately about unity, Brady explains, which is the driving factor behind their work.

“We give up so much to go here,” they said. “We might as well relish in these really strange and specific common experiences.”

The page’s admin requested anonymity to preserve their secret identity.

Email: natalie.doller@ubspectrum.com

8 | Wednesday, October 20 2021

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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Zodiaque Dance Company returns for first in-person show since March 2020 ALEX FALTER SENIOR ARTS EDITOR

“My career has been a quest, a search for roots,” the narrator says, his voice filling the auditorium with the words of the dance pioneer Pearl Primus to begin “Walking with Pearl,” the first dance of the show.

Against an orange backdrop, reminiscent of the opening shot of “The Lion King,” the room fills with the sleep-inducing sounds of nature, the narrator and eventually a harp.

The dancers — all adorning orange suits — perform different movements. Yet, somehow, the Zodiaque Dance Company successfully makes these varying moves feel synchronous.

Zodiaque made its return to in-person performances in UB’s Center for the Arts this weekend, performing three shows from Oct. 16-17. The show was split in two acts between the CFA Drama Theatre [Act 1] and the CFA Mainstage Theatre [Act 2] and consisted of nine separate performances.

This was the company’s first in-person show since March 2020, so the group was eager to return to the stage after conducting its practices over Zoom for the past year. Although attendees and performers alike were required to wear masks, Kerry Ring, Zodiaque’s artistic director, described a feeling of accomplishment for the group as a whole, as they were unbothered by the trivial difficulties of wearing a cloth face covering.

“This semester is in some ways a celebration, because we do not have barriers, we are able to touch dancers,” Ring said.

“Although we are still masked, we are in a much more familiar situation where we have audience members participating, and we are able to be in a space together without that distance.”

Sabrina Akter-Nabi / The Spectrum Zodiaque made its in-person return to the Center for the Arts from Oct. 16-17.

For students like Kyle Kerschner, a senior business administration and dance major, being able to perform in front of a live audience is a luxury that has been greatly missed.

“It’s been this big shift back and forth but we’re very excited because there’s really nothing like dancing live, and that’s the reason a lot of us are dancing,” Kerschner said. “The feeling of being on stage with each other in the community, the closely knit bond between us and that extra drive.

It’s almost indescribable.”

For others, like sophomore dance major Sophia Fino, the show marked their firstever live, in-person performance at UB. “It was really hard [last year] because we were completely virtual and remote, dancing in our bedrooms and dorm rooms,” Fino said. “So it’s just like a whole different world this year.”

Sabrina Akter-Nabi / The Spectrum Zodiaque was split in two acts between the CFA Drama Theatre and the CFA Mainstage Theatre.

Sabrina Akter-Nabi / The Spectrum The weekend’s shows marked Zodiaque’s first in-person performances since March 2020.

Auditions began just three days into the semester for the company’s 47th fall concert. Once the dust settled, 25 members were selected to partake and thus began the tireless ordeal of mastering the choreography in less than two months. The company met on average four times per week, with each dancer responsible for three performances.

The second performance, “If You Ever Need Me,” opens with another soft line from the narrator, as he beckons attendees to “imagine a night where you can’t sleep.”

Featuring a jazzy piano and a pair of pajama-covered friends, the duo find themselves on a journey spurred by sleephindering anxiety.

Anna Boyd, a second-year dance MFA student, choreographed the performance and was forced to adapt her first live show in order to not be hindered by the masks.

“Trying to communicate with the masks on is a little bit weird because I do a lot of jazz musical theater styles that require a lot of storytelling, which usually happens by [showing] the face,” Boyd stated. “So we’ve been focusing a lot on super large body gestures to get the message across. But it’s much easier now to teach in person instead of over Zoom.”

As the pair clutch their pillows for a variety of dances, their pinkish-red pajamas are amplified by the background dancers, all of whom wear black.

As they happily celebrate the night, they eventually begin to scurry away so their anxiety-ridden friend can finally rest, before a final pillow-holding bow.

“I would say the theme [of the story] is about sharing your time generously with friends,” Boyd said.

Alissa Dabrowski, a senior theatre performance major, said “If You Ever Need Me, I’m Probably Up” was one of her favorite performances of the day, and was happy with the show’s results.

“It was great to be back,” Dabrowski said. “I’ve been waiting for in-person shows for so long and just the feeling of being surrounded and witnessing their first show back, it’s just a great experience overall.”

Eventually, the first act came to a close with “ki/ net/ik,” a fast paced tech-

no-backed performance straight out of the ‘80s, complete with vibrantly colored lights.

Fino, who performed part of this dance, described the futuristic imagery, sounds and robotic movements as a representation of “the potential of what we could become as superhumans, and then diving back into our old selves.”

As dancers began to cover the dark floor, brightly-colored lights and sounds reminiscent of science fiction film soundtracks rev up the red-clad cast, effortlessly flowing along to a drum-heavy breakdance beat, evoking the sounds and feel of tracks like “Mr. Roboto.”

By the end, the music and lights slowed heavily, eliciting memories of “The Matrix” as the dancers slowed down to match the beat before culminating in a freeze finish. As the lights faded like a TV being turned off, a feeling of reality returned as the company gave their bows and head tilts, which was met with cheers from the audience.

After a brief intermission, attendees were directed to the Mainstage Theatre for the second act, with a larger stage paving the way for increasingly grandiose displays.

Act 2 kicked off with easily the show’s most unorthodox performance, “Fleeting and Unfolding.”

Instead of a live performance, this video-based segment featured a montage of shots where the dancers froliced in sand and used their hands and feet to make “Midsommar-esque” designs on the ground as dark music began to play.

From start to finish, it was abundantly clear to the audience that while the different dances had little in common when it came to technique, they all shared a high level of creativity, ensuring constant variety for all in attendance.

“It’s not a narrative that has one storyline being told, but many tiny, different experiences for an audience member, and that provides a great place for dancers to sort of flex their muscles and all the different styles that are provided through these different choreographers,” Ring said. “We want dancers to be versatile in what’s being presented and for the audience to also be ready for a versatile experience.”

“Fandango” was easily one of the most thoughtful dances of the night, and represented a trip into surreality, where dark red lights glowed ominously on dancers in the same manner as the cover of Phoebe Bridgers’ latest album, “Punisher.”

Opening with a red-lit solo dancer, the light’s colors varied throughout the symphonic performance, the background frequently changing, highlighting designs similar to playing cards, continuously evolving with the lights and the changing number of dancers, before ending with a singular dancer, just as it started.

But the audience was fooled.

It wasn’t over yet.

The dancers resurfaced, along with the SEE ZODIAQUE PAGE 9

ubspectrum.com ZODIAQUE FROM PAGE 8

dark red light. The romantic Spanish music perfectly complemented the dancers throughout “Fandango,” but the bright disco-ball led finale ensured a slew of applause and cheers from attendees.

Theo Qu, a senior dance major, performed in “Fandango” and two other segments, and said he appreciates the hard work and benefits that come with working with such a dedicated team.

“It’s pushing our limits, both mind and body,” Qu said. “It’s a rewarding process because we learn the mindset of the choreographers, and at the same time we get to experience how to take directions on stage, and how to learn materials quickly.

Capping off the second and final act was mainstay “Z’Bows,” an annually performed dance that acts as a show of appreciation to everyone involved in Zodiaque, including performers, choreographers and the audience.

Thomas Ralabate, the previous director and a Zodiaque Dance Company alum from the 1970s, has directed “Z’Bows” for nearly a decade, maintaining the same bows each time, while the performances

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT vary.

“It’s a different piece of music this year because we had copyright problems since we’re streaming too,” Ralabate said. “But it’s a standard bow, and it works year to year, the only thing that changes are the members in the company.”

This year’s edition was lit by a gleaming disco ball as the dancers made their final movements. As synths and bass-drops roared across the dubstep-heavy techno beat, the group felt more together than ever as they happily provided their final dance of the show before bowing to a nearly minute-long standing ovation.

When the show finished, the audience was let out into the CFA Atrium, where they met the dancers post-show to congratulate them, some as family and others as friends.

“It always is a relief that we went through it in a healthy, safe way with no injuries and to have great crowds,” Ring said after the final show. “It was such a wonderful energy throughout the whole weekend. People were excited to have live performances back, so we felt it both sitting in the audience, and backstage.”

Email: alex.falter@ubspectrum.com

Wednesday, October 20 2021 | 9

Sabrina Akter-Nabi / The Spectrum Zodiaque group members described a feeling of accomplishment in returning to in-person performances this year.

Garba Night triumphs as a celebration of joy during a time of uncertainty The traditional dance performed during Navratri incites feelings of community and connectivity KARA ANDERSON ASST. ARTS EDITOR

The Student Union’s Flag Room is alive with movement. Swaths of richly dyed fabric sweep through the air as the crowd moves in circles, spinning their bodies in time with the thrumming music. Bare feet patter against the floor. Hands are in constant motion, clapping and weaving rhythmically. Laughter and cries of glee flood the area.

This is Garba.

Garba, a traditional dance from the western Indian state of Gujarat, is performed during Navratri, the nine-day Hindu festival celebrating the divine feminine. In celebration of the festival, UB’s Bollywood Dance and Drama Club hosted Garba Night on Oct. 17, two days after the end of Navratri. With a crowd of around 200 participants, the club danced the night away in high spirits alongside UB students and members of the general public.

In an interview with The Spectrum, Bollywood Dance and Drama Club’s vice president, Jash Vachhani, a junior business administration and management major, explained that Navratri is an immensely sacred and holy nine days. During this time, those celebrating the “energetic week,” will make significant life decisions, such as buying a car or house.

“When we introduce this festival to those who don’t know it well, we call it the festival of joy and happiness,” Vachhani said.

This emphasis on producing a feeling of elation was one of the club’s central goals when organizing Garba Night.

“Our ultimate goal is for people to have fun,” Karneeka Golash, a senior biological sciences major and the club’s president, said.

Fostering a lively and delightful environment, the club’s e-board members highlighted the enormous role that connection with others plays during Navratri.

“Today, I’m going to meet so many of my friends, so many of my affiliates, just the people I know,” Vachhani said during Garba Night. “I’m going to meet every one of them on the same stage, and we use this Navratri, or Garba, as a bridge to socialize more to get to know everyone.”

This sense of connection not only served those already familiar with one another, but newcomers as well.

“Everyone’s very nice, very accepting,”

Domenic Mazziotti, a UB alumnus and first-time attendee to Garba Night, said.

“They want to teach you. I’ve picked up a couple of the dances.”

Even those who feel less confident in their dancing abilities say they found a sense of belonging and joy.

“She and I kept laughing because we don’t know how to dance,” Sabrina Araujo, a senior aerospace engineering major, said, regarding her friend Achsah Shaji, a graduate psychiatric mental health nursing student. “We were laughing out of embarrassment and we’re just so impressed [by the other dancers].”

While some forged connections in a new cultural space, others used Garba Night as an opportunity to reconnect with their own Indian heritage.

“Another goal for us when we are hosting this event is there are a lot of American born Indians who are born here but their roots go back to India,” Vachhani said. “They didn’t get a chance to explore the other side of their culture, which are the roots, so they really get a chance to dive into that culture, like what goes back in India.”

This creation of a space that harkens back to India, specifically to Gujarat, is especially important for UB’s international students.

“Because of COVID-19, [many of us] can’t go back to our country,” Carol Thomas, a sophomore international student and architecture major, said. “Because of what we’re doing here, it takes us back to our home.”

Kara Anderson / The Spectrum Students dance during the annual “Garba Night.”

Thomas is not alone in expressing a sense of homeliness during Garba Night.

Multiple attendees, including Vachhani, cited the celebration as a way to regain the community they enjoyed before coming to UB. “Whenever we are far from home, we try to find our culture somewhere or the other,” Vachhani said.

One hardship that remains, even in this formation of a home away from home, is the difficulty of celebrating all nine days of Navratri.

“In India they have nine Garba nights,” Golash said. “We can at least have one Garba night here.”

Bollywood Dance and Drama Club members cite a lack of diversity in the Buffalo area as necessitating the condensing of Navratri celebrations.

With limited opportunities to celebrate Navratri as a community, Garba Night has become a particularly popular event, with the presale of 130 tickets, priced at $8 for undergraduates, $10 for graduates and $13 for the general public. The event eventually sold out of non-student tickets by the time the dancing began.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also increased the demand for Garba Night, after celebrations for Navratri, along with other communal events, were restricted in the past year.

Planning for Garba Night, which usually takes four to five weeks, was postponed due to changes in the Bollywood Dance and Drama Club e-board’s in September. As a result, the fate of the night was

largely uncertain, but the lack of an event last year created a demand for Garba that couldn’t be ignored.

“I wasn’t sure if we would pull Garba Night in three weeks,” Golash said. “But everyone was like, ‘We’ve waited 1 ½ years!’”

Garba Night was not announced until the first week of October, when Navratri had already begun. Golash says that during this time, she received multiple Instagram DMs from people asking about the event.

Health and physical safety were still at the forefront of the e-board members’ minds, even as COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed nationwide.

“I want to make sure that everyone is safe and having a great time,” Golash said.

“We do not want any restrictions to not be followed. We understand that COVID-19 is still happening.”

In order to encourage the following of COVID-19 safety measures, multiple announcements were made throughout the night to keep masks on, with food served in a separate room from the dance.

In the stress and hard work of planning Garba Night in a pandemic, it remains important to remember that the event was established to celebrate happiness and joy as a community.

“When I’m having a bad day or I’m just feeling low, I listen to the Garba songs, and I feel uplifted,” Vachhani said. “I believe that’s the power of the goddess in there and that’s the power of the festival.”

Email: kara.anderson@ubspectrum.com

SPORTS

10 | Wednesday, October 20 2021

Women’s soccer wins, draws over the weekend Bulls win 4-3 nail-biter at UB Stadium and draw 1-1 in Dekalb, IL BRENDEN WOLD STAFF WRITER

Women’s soccer (10-3-2, 4-2-2 MAC) defeated Western Michigan (4-11-0, 2-6-0 MAC), 4-3, in a thriller Thursday night at UB Stadium. UB then traveled to Dekalb, IL Sunday afternoon, where they tied Northern Illinois (4-10-2, 1-5-2 MAC), 1-1, in a wild double-overtime match.

The win against the Broncos kept the Bulls in fourth place in the Mid-American Conference standings.

Senior midfielder Katherine Camper scored the Bulls’ first goal at the ten-minute mark Thursday, to give UB an early 1-0 lead. Broncos sophomore forward Jenna Blackburn answered back with a goal to tie the game at one at the 32-minute mark, which began a series of back-and-forth goals for the rest of the match.

The score remained tied at one a piece heading into the second half.

Western Michigan quickly broke the tie to start the second half, when sophomore forward Cas Flanagan capitalized on a UB turnover and found the back of the net at the 50-minute mark. UB responded at the 59-minute mark, when junior midfielder Leah Wengender crossed it over to freshman midfielder Alya Ruken, who netted her first goal of the season.

Another turnover helped the Broncos take the lead, with fifth-year forward Bailey Korhorn scoring a goal at the 65-minute mark to give WMU a 3-2 advantage.

Less than a minute later, graduate student forward Gianna Yurchak tied the game at three after converting on a penalty kick.

WMU fifth-year goalkeeper Maggie Rogers finished the game with five saves while UB senior goalkeeper Emily Kelly had three.

With less than 10 minutes left to play and the game tied at three, graduate mid-

fielder Marcy Barberic broke free from the Broncos’ defense and found Ruken across the middle of the field. Ruken then fired a shot in the top right corner of the net, securing the 4-3 victory.

The Bulls attempted to build on the win when they traveled to Dekalb, IL to take on the NIU Huskies Sunday afternoon.

The Barberic-Ruken connection picked up immediately and almost capitalized at the eight-minute mark but were fended away by the Huskies’ defense. However, a hand ball netted the Bulls a penalty kick and Barberic capitalized to give UB an early 1-0 lead.

The Bulls had opportunities to extend the lead but could not convert. UB freshman midfielder Kaya Schultz had a prime scoring opportunity off a corner kick at the 39-minute mark, but banged the shot off the crossbar.

The Bulls’ defense looked strong in the first half, allowing just one shot on goal.

After the break, the Huskies came out aggressive, which resulted in a goal from redshirt senior midfielder Grace Louis, who slipped behind the Bulls’ defense to tally the equalizer.

Even though it doesn’t show on the scoreboard, the Bulls dominated down the stretch, logging 23 shots to the Huskies’ eight.

In overtime, UB sophomore midfielder Olivia Bizzoni had two opportunities to secure the win but both shots were off the mark.

The second overtime was quiet, with both teams combining for just three shots.

The Bulls will travel to Bowling Green, OH to take on the three-time defending MAC Champion Falcons (7-5-3. 6-1-1 MAC) on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Bulls received the cold shoulder from the MAC last year due to a bylaw typo, which prevented them from qualifying for the championship game. BGSU qualified instead.

The highly-anticipated matchup will stream live on the Bowling Green YouTube channel.

ubspectrum.com

Women’s volleyball drops back-to-back games to Ohio The Bulls have lost seven straight after winning their first two conference games HUNTER SKOCZYLAS ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

Women’s volleyball (9-12, 2-7 MAC) fell to Ohio (4-15, 4-4 MAC), 1-3, Friday night and 0-3 Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena. The Bulls are on a seven-game losing streak after starting out 2-0 in conference play, with four of those losses coming as sweeps.

The Bulls struggled to gain any momentum Friday night as the Bobcats took the contest 25-15, 27-25, 20-25, 25-14.

Ohio took the first set in dominant fashion but the second set was a tight match and came down to the wire. Trailing 2422 late in the set, sophomore outside hitter Milla Malik and sophomore right side Emma Gielas scored the next three points before Ohio fought off the late push and took the set.

UB took the third set with Gielas scoring three of the final five points herself.

But the Bulls were unable to keep the momentum going, as they dropped the fourth set.

Gielas finished with 17 kills and two blocks while Malik recorded 11 kills, two

blocks and one ace. Freshman setter Mandy Leigh posted an impressive 40 assists and 11 digs.

The Bulls were outhit .269 to .189 and recorded 22 errors total.

The following afternoon was not one to remember for the Bulls, as they failed to win a single set and hit a season-low .081 compared to the Bobcats’ .268. Ohio took the contest 25-21, 25-16, 25-15.

The first set was UB’s best opportunity, as they trailed 22-21 late but were unable to contain Ohio’s strong offensive play.

The Bulls allowed three straight points to drop the set.

Malik led the Bulls in kills with 12, including 10 digs, to complete the doubledouble. Despite being unable to garner any offensive momentum, UB was strong on the defensive end. Senior setter Kyndal Bacon recorded 15 digs and freshman defensive specialist Hannah Jacoby added 14 to the Bulls’ defensive effort.

UB will look to break its seven-game losing streak when the Bulls hit the road for their next four matches, starting with back-to-back games against Kent State (9-11, 4-4 MAC) in Kent, OH, Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 23 at 4 p.m. The games will be aired on ESPN3.

Email: hunter.skoczylas@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @HunterSkoczylas

Email: sports@ubspectrum.com

Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics Freshman outside hitter Maria Futey (11) goes for a spike during a recent game against Ohio.

FOOTBALL FROM PAGE 2

and Borland caught an eight-yard strike to bring UB to within two points with 8:39 to go.

It’s unclear whether Stephens and Borland will have enhanced roles in the offense following their performances against Ohio, but the sophomores certainly made a sizable impact.

Dylan McDuffie shines in the absence of Kevin Marks Jr.

With starting running back Kevin Marks Jr. sidelined with an undisclosed injury, McDuffie had UB’s best individual rushing performance of the season against the Bobcats.

The local Sweet Home High School product reached season-highs in carries (23) and yards (143) and proved he is more than capable of being UB’s premier running back.

An explosive 58-yard run along with a four-yard rushing touchdown gave the Bulls’ dormant first-half offense the spark it needed to remain in the game.

McDuffie earned MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his effort, and Linguist says this is just the beginning for the junior running back.

“I think he’s scratching the surface of what he can ultimately become,” Linguist said. “I just continue to see him climb and rise.”

game-winning try. He hit the kick from 26 yards out to give UB the crucial 27-26 come-from-behind victory.

“It was nice to be there for my team when they needed me,” McNulty said. “I haven’t done the most consistent job of that this year, and I really wanted to be there for them [teammates]. We deserved to win and I wanted to be there to help them get that.”

As the Bulls drove down the field and entered field goal range, Linguist says he told McNulty, “This game is gonna come down to you.”

His kicker responded and gave the Bulls a crucial home win to keep their conference championship and postseason hopes alive.

Email: anthony.decicco@ubspectrum.com Twitter: @DeCicco42

Courtesy of UB Athletics Gianna Yurchak (9), Kaya Schultz (24) and members of the women’s soccer team celebrate after scoring a goal over the weekend.

Alex McNulty calls game

After multiple inconsistent kicking performances — McNulty was 5-of-11 on field goals heading into the game — McNulty was trusted with the game-winning field goal at the end of regulation.

He initially missed the first kick, but an offsides penalty against Ohio gave the Caledonia, NY native another crack at the

Paul Hokanson / UB Athletics Sophomore tight end Trevor Borland (34) celebrates with redshirt

fifth-year tight end

Jake Molinich (44) following a touchdown Saturday.