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The Spectrum h t t p : / / w w w . u b s p e c t r u m . c o m
Friday, March 26, 2010
An independent student publication of the University at Buffalo
Volume 59 Issue 66
STUDENT ALLIANCE NEARLY SWEEPS ELECTION Vasant named president
Victory in defeat By LAUREN NOSTRO Asst. City Editor
By MATT MOSHER and JESSICA BENNETT Managing Editor and Staff Reporter After a week of cutthroat campaigning, the results are finally in, favoring, for the most part, the Student Alliance. Nischal Vasant, with vice president Shervin Stoney, led the polls with 1,153 votes, beating the ONE Party by 200 votes. The Slice Party received 187 votes. Vasant is the first international student to ever be elected Student Association president. “[This is] insane; I feel like I’m representing a whole different world,” Vasant said. “I feel like I will be the change I want to see in SA.” Taking the treasurer position for the Student Alliance was Antonio Roman with 1,210 votes, beating ONE Party candidate Ryan Linden by 354 votes. Also winning for the party was Amanda Horn with 1,062 votes, Franklin Ramirez with 982 and Marcus Catlin with 942. “I feel the [win] was deserved; I feel the party that worked the hardest won,” said Ernesto Alvarado, current SA president. “Both [parties] came from my administration, so I was happy with either win. I can’t wait to see what kind of stuff they do next year.” For Vasant, the next step is to relax and get life back to normal after weeks of campaigning, then start worrying about next year.
Clinton Hodnett / The Spectrum
Nischal Vasant is embraced after being elected president in the Student Association election Thursday night. “First, I have to surround myself with people who [I] can trust, that do the job they want to,” Vasant said. “I want to make sure that we deliver in every promise that we’ve made. We’re going to print out the platform, paste it up somewhere and check mark everything that we accomplish on there.” After three days of intense campaigning, political drama and adjusting to new rules, Vasant was thankful for his supporters and all who turned out to vote. “It’s been an insane amount of stress,” Vasant said. “I’ve seen four elections now [and] I’ve never seen an election like this. It’s just been crazy. I cannot say how much I thank everyone who supported me, to give me
the opportunity to make this the organization that it can be and to reach its potential because that’s all I want to do from the very beginning.” Roman was surprised by the win since, according to him, people said the party wouldn’t be able to get to this point in the race, and they would never win on honesty and loyalty. “We were worried ’til the very end,” Roman said. “We said we would fight every day like we were losing and wouldn’t take anything for granted, and we didn’t and this is the result of it. Everyone sees the hard work that we’ve done throughout the years and with that, they had the confidence to elect us to be their officials next year.” Amanda Jonas of the
ONE Party was the only non-Student Alliance member to win a delegate seat, receiving 960 votes. The position was not met with enthusiasm. Immediately after the announcement, Jonas verbally announced she wanted to decline the position to chair of the Elections and Credentials Committee, Joshua Boston. However, as of press time, Jonas is rethinking her decision. She must provide her decision in writing for it to become official. Among the reasons Jonas has debated to drop out was the change to rules in the election procedure. “I think the new rules showed us a lot of things,” Boston said. “There are things that worked and
things that didn’t work. The involvement of the SWJ is very important. You have to have some sort of court oversight.” The turnout for the election was not record-breaking, but over 2,200 students showed up to the polls. “I think it was an excellent turnout,” Boston said. “We had it in the theater. This was the first regular election, to my understanding, that was held in the theater. Students have free range around the [Student Union], around campus, so students are getting the information that they need to go to the polls and vote.”
E-mail: news@ubspectrum.com
While the Student Association office was packed Thursday night with the Student Alliance, S.L.I.C.E. Party, independent candidates and supportive students, Jordan Fried waited patiently in his home for a call with the election results. On his 21st birthday, the ONE Party presidential candidate and current SA treasurer was surrounded by family, friends and fellow candidates Amanda Jonas and Jennifer Harb. “The reason we [were] at my house is because Passover is next week, my family is in town and [Thursday was] my birthday,” Fried said. Refusing to watch the results on The Spectrum’s live feed, Fried received news that the Student Alliance had won the majority of positions for the upcoming year, with the exception of Jonas’s victory as a SUNY delegate. Fried addressed the outcome of the election as a victory. “I’m still calling this a victory party,” Fried said. “I don’t feel that we lost. We tried our best; we got our message out there. It was a tough election … but we have the results and there’s not too much to be upset about if this is what the students wanted.” While Fried seemed at ease with the results, Jonas, who gained the only victory for the ONE Party, was indecisive as to how to handle her victory in the wake of her friends’ losses. “It’s an honor that I was see DEFEAT page 2
Three Days Grace headlines Spring Fest 2010 Simpson shares concerns about UB2020 By AMANDA WOODS Asst. Campus Editor Although the UB 2020 plan is still in the works, its future looks bleak due to the New York State budget cuts, President Simpson told UB Council members on Monday. UB 2020 offers hope to the Buffalo region and will bring about an increase in jobs in all sectors, Simpson explained, but it is not guaranteed. “UB 2020 is further away today than it has been before,” Simpson said. “If we maintain the status quo, [that’s] a recipe for disaster.” Simpson said that UB 2020
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will require funding from the state and from money to be earned by the university – both of which are currently limited. He added that the state has cut UB’s funding and constantly pursues outdated policies that prevent the university from improving its revenues. Simpson explained that much of the debate in Albany centers on the issue of tuition and who gets to govern it. He added that public education should be affordable. “We have to ensure that we are able to apply as a see JUMP page 4
By ERIC HILLIKER Arts Editor
The Student Association has announced the lineup for this year’s annual Spring Fest concert. The show will include a large range of different styles of music, with a unique mixture of rock, hiphop and folk. The headliner will be Canadian rock band Three Days Grace. Joining the group will be the Pharrell Williamshelmed hip-hop band N.E.R.D and acoustic folk rockers, Lady Danville. Two more acts will join the lineup. The two remaining acts have yet to be made public and will be announced
TUB TR AVELING Return to the era of big hair, black Michael Jackson and leg warmers. See Page 5
Courtesy of Jive Records
Three Days Grace is one of five acts at Spring Fest this year. next week. Rumors that 30 Seconds to Mars and the Goo Goo Dolls were on the bill but pulled out of the event are untrue. Both bands were approached by SA but had
to decline due to scheduling issues, according to Lauren Skompinski, public relations manager for the Student Association. Spring Fest is scheduled for April 17 in Alumni
RU N N I N G FO R A C AUSE A fraternity on campus is taking it to the streets in honor of their lost friend. See Page 5
Area. Admission will be free for undergraduates while tickets for the general public will be $35. E-mail: arts@ubspectrum.com
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