The Scribe

by Brandon Zicari

Rapper J.Cole’s KOD tour made its way to Buffalo late last month, taking over First Niagara Center, the downtown arena where the Buffalo Sabers play. The stadium started to fill up as it was getting closer to the time J. Cole took the stage. Since he is more mainstream than Earthgang, a lot of people in the crowd were familiar with his music. Fans were jumping around to songs like “Pick up the phone” and “Digits”. Young Thug demonstrated his range however when his hit song “Relationship” came on, with the crowd raising their phones in the air as if they were lighters.

Before J. Cole came on stage – Earthgang and Young Thug were the opening acts – a large black banner was placed in front of the stage saying “Kids On Drugs King Overdose Kill Our Demons.” All of these sayings are from the name of J.Cole’s most recent album KOD. As the concert would progress, he would explain each term and what it meant to him. When the stage was set and the stadium was filled, the lights went out and the chorus to the song “Window Pain” started to play. As soon as the instrumentals started to pick up, J. Cole came out and everyone in the crowd got to their feet. One aspect that stood out was his appearance. Unlike the performers before him, J. Cole was not in any fancy or brand name clothes. He kept it simple wearing a baggy shirt with shorts. Although he did not look the part of a big name rapper, he performed like one. “Window Pain” is a very emotional song describing from a young girl who witnessed her cousin get shot. This is the opening track on KOD and it introduces the listener to the theme of the album. J. Cole would follow this song up with “A Tale of 2 Citiez” and “G.O.M.D.” from his most famous album 2014 Forrest Hills Drive. These tracks are lot more upbeat which got the audience screaming the lyrics and jumping around with J. Cole. Over his career he has created six albums which gave him a lot content to choose from. J. Cole would continue to perform a variety of songs from each of his albums, switching up the pace and keeping the stadium on its toes. Another aspect of the J. Cole concert that was different from others was that he did not bring out a hype man. Since rap songs are very fast paced an artist usually brings out another person to bridge each line so that the main artist can regain his or her breath. J. Cole however did not do this; he came out alone and kept his band hidden. All eyes and attention were on him which overall is his main goal. As time was becoming limited J. Cole ended the night with his two biggest songs “No Role Modelz” and “1985 – Intro to “The Fall Off.” With the crowd realizing the concert was coming to an end they gave all their energy to J. Cole as he did to them.

The concert started with Earthgang preforming first. They brought out good energy, preforming their hit songs such as “Meditate” and “Mama told me”. The Atlanta based rappers had the crowd on their feet and drew a very positive reaction, finishing their performance with “Missed Calls” and “Can’t call it”. The next person that was set to preform was Jaden Smith. Son of the famous Will Smith, Jaden has a few hit singles but for some unknown reason was not present at the concert. Since there was no second act, the stage crew got the place ready for the third act which was the one before J.Cole. While they were getting everything ready the DJ played music from J.Cole’s Dreamville label.

Over the years J. Cole has proven himself to be one of the most influential artist of our generation. He came on the scene in 2009 when he was signed to Jay Z’s label, when started to produce his albums. Now in 2018 he has shown that he has what it takes to be an A-list celebrity. The KOD tour has thirty six shows planned all through the United States. After the concert in Buffalo the crowd left with a message. Unlike other rappers, J. Cole uses his platform to speak about real issues like poverty and depression. His lyrics reflect his troubles and problems that other people have. This is why he gathers such a large fan base; he relates to so many and uses his lyrical prowess to really convey a theme of a song. People that attended the concert left just as happy as they came in.  

by Danielle Tomaka

Photos by Jalen Arvin

As a student that commutes to Hilbert every day, I live a busy lifestyle. I work full time and I am a full time student. I only come on campus when I need to for my classes. It is difficult for someone like me, with a busy schedule, to attend campus events. I don’t often hear about them and I certainly don’t know where to look for them. This is my junior year here at Hilbert College and I would like to be more involved with our school, as I think it’s important to get people more engaged in the school events.

I have heard other students on campus complain about the lack of promotion for these campus events. So are they really being promoted well enough? I asked Student Government Association President, Angelica Reyna. She runs the show from behind the scenes for the campus events. Reyna said that there are a variety of places that students, especially commuters, can look to see what’s happening on campus. “Events are posted on Blackboard, the school website, the school calendar, and around campus,” Reyna said.

While Hilbert College has a student body of about 900 students, Reyna said that roughly 50 students attend  events on average. Does she thinks that these events are being promoted well enough?  “Yes, we try to promote them, but it takes initiation on them as well,” Reyna said.

Still, the SGA is constantly working on improving their outreach efforts, Reyna said. “If people don’t see events posted enough, they could tell us,” she added. Reyna also said that she has not heard from commuters complaining about the lack of promotion for campus events. “Nothing has been reported yet,” Reyna said. “I would like to hear from (commuters) if they have not seen promotion around campus. That would be lovely.”

Reyna said she has been trying her best to promote these campus events. Based on her responses it seems like she is trying to promote the events he best she can, and she is right- it does take initiation on the students to come to the events. So if you are like me and you would like to participate in the events, now you now know where to find them.

by Mary Kate Wirfel

In early October Hawk Radio participated in College Radio day. Each year all college radio stations represent there school by broadcasting for 24 hours, raising money and receiving donations for charities. Hawk Radio once again teamed up with Compass House, an organization that helps run away and troubled teens here in the grater Buffalo area. Hawk Radios goal was to receive over 200 donations to help the organization. The 24-hour broadcast included a visit by a representative from Compass house and a surprise visit from singer songwriter Steve Noonan. Students had the opportunity to play board games and other games, including a pop up arcade centipede game, giant Jenga and a live on air bingo game. There were also free drinks and snacks provided. (Photos by Mary Kate Wirfel)

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Story and Photos by Tony Nally

Fall is the time of year that creates a special bond between family and friends. Whether people enjoy apple picking, corn mazes, haunted hayrides, or being out in nature, fall has many different ways of providing us with fun activities. For me, my favorite part of fall is travelling across the state and seeing the leaves change in some of my favorite hiking areas. This fall I had the opportunity to go hiking in the Finger Lakes region where I explored many different waterfalls and mountains. Fall in New York is special because not many other places in the world get the color that we do in the northeast. Some of the other pictures I captured represent some of my favorite fall activities such as pumpkin picking and eating donuts. I hope everyone takes advantage of the fall season and decides to get outside with friends and family!

Story and Photo by Brandon Zicari

Editor’s Note: Henry Bowers and Ryan Samuels are roommates with Brandon Zicari, who wrote this story.

Signs emblazoned with the phrase “Welcome Back Hilbert Hawks” waved in the breeze in late August, as the Hilbert staff and student leaders helped new students get checked in, helped to unload their cars and tried to ease the nerves of parents dropping off their child for the first time. Returning students had it a little easier, knowing what to expect, reacquainting with friends and with parents who are more used to the process.

But there was one difference returning students noticed quickly. Residents were told their room keys will only work in their designated residence hall, a change from previous years when their key would grant them access to any other residence hall on campus.

Every year once move-ins are completed, the resident assistants hold their housing meetings for the designated hall that they are in charge of for the year. It is basically Expectations-101 on what is expected of students living on campus. At the meetings resident assistants had to alert their residents of the change concerning their access into the dorms as part of the presentation on safety procedures and the rules on campus.

“A lot of students were professing or speaking out about what they wanted to see differently from the institution,” Jill Splawski, director of residence life, said in a recent interview. “A few of those things that came back to Residence Life were effective communication and looking at ways we are keeping students safe.”

Prior to this year students’ keys opened all five dormitories on the Hilbert Campus. The change in limiting access has come as a surprise to many of the residents. What seems to be the most glaring concern amongst the residents is the fact that only Trinity Hall and St. Joe’s Hall have computer labs, meaning that students who do not live in those buildings don’t have access to the printers located in those buildings.

Labs in these buildings are open from 7 a.m to 7 p.m., but now require a resident of St. Joes or Trinity to sign other students in.

The labs are an integral part of many students’ daily scholastic activities, Henry Bowers, a Hilbert student who lives in Leo Hall, said.

“Making students sign in just to print something or use the computers seems like a waste of time,”  Bowers said. “Many people that live on campus don’t own a printer so having the option of using the computer lab is vital.”

Another problem with the new key system students have complained about is that it limits the ability to visit friends in other halls. If a student in an apartment wants to visit a friend who is in another hall they have to go through a sign in process. An identification card needs to be on file and the time someone leaves the building must be recorded. Although students are not forbidden from these halls, some don’t want to go through a whole process just to see their peers. “Now that I can’t get into these buildings, I feel isolated from others on the campus” Ryan Samuels, another resident of the Leo apartment said.

While some residents may not agree with the new campus rules, having a sign in procedure is very common on other campuses, Splawski said. She was surprised to see the policy was not in place when she took the job in 2016.

If every student has access to all the buildings it could possibly become a threat to others, Splawski said. “If we are looking at campus from a security perspective, having access to every residential community is not necessarily the safest thing for that community. We can’t control who is coming in to that facility or put restrictions on that.”

The policy was already under review last April when an incident of an alleged threat at Hilbert occurred, leading to an internal review of campus safety procedures. But information gathered during the resulting review of safety policies was included in the decision to make the policy change, Splawski said.

Hilbert ranks high in terms of safety and satisfaction with the residence halls, according to Niche.com, something Splawski attributed to the hard work the administration puts in to make it that way.

For now, the policy will remain in place. “This will be permanent until it is proven that there is a better way” Splawski said.

by Kaitlyn Halper

Graphic by Rachel Jennetti

If you like reading, listening to people talk in an air-conditioned room and free food, then I have the event for you.

Hilbert College will hold its 6th annual Hilbert Reads event on October 16 at 7 p.m. For the uninitiated, Hilbert Reads is a yearly event put on by the college. Each year, the event committee picks a book that is a true story and invites the author to speak.

This year’s book is The Lightless Sky by Gulwali Passarlay. The book follows a year of Passarlay’s life, where he is forced from his home in Afghanistan at the age of 12 and forced to make a 12,000 mile journey to England to avoid being killed. Along the way he spent time in prisons, suffered from immense hunger, cruelty and brutality from almost everyone he met and nearly drowned in a tiny boat on the Mediterranean Sea. He tells his story to open the horrors of a world we do not know.

After the lecture there is a question and answer period, followed by a book signing and photo opportunities. There is also food available in West Herr Atrium. What college student in their right mind would turn down a free meal? I highly recommend reading The Lightless Sky and attending the event, as Passarlay’s experiences offer us an opportunity to learn about overcoming challenges we could never imagine.

by Garrett Derkovitz

Photos by Brandon McCoy

There is one cop car in America that all have come to fear. The Ford Crown Victoria is probably at the top when it comes to being the most recognizable American car in the world. From cruising the streets to high-speed chases, this infamous car has struck fear in our collective hearts in some way shape or form, whether it’s passing one while pushing the speed limit or when you notice those distinctive headlights behind you after forgetting to signal.

The car was introduced in 1955 when the Ford Motor Company created their new Fairlane model, naming it the Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria. It was one of the fanciest cars you could get in 1955-56. However it only lasted two years, and was discontinued until 1978. Ford then realized the boys at GM were naming cars after carriages and it was working. So they dusted off the name plate and created the Ford LTD Crown Victoria, also named after a carriage style. It was big, it wasn’t powerful, but it was a smooth, comfortable ride that got 15 to 20 miles to the gallon. The Crown Vic was a one of triplet of cars. It’s family from Lincoln and Mercury had fancier versions of this car which of course cost more. The family also consisted of the Mercury Grand Marquis and the Lincoln Town Car, but they had a special fleet use variant of the Crown Vic which was sold only to law enforcement agencies.

The police loved these cars; they patrolled the streets for years catching speeders and other violators. But the model years that everyone knew the best were the 1998 to 2012 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. If you saw this car behind you, chances are you were sweating all over trying to get a read on the situation, even though it was probably just another civilian version and you just slowed down traffic for no reason.

The Crown Vic was taken off the assembly line for good in 2012. The question you’re probably asking is why do I still see so many on the road? FLEET SALES! After the police retire a police car, they sell and auction them off to enthusiasts and people looking for a cheap, reliable car. They’ve been cared for, refurbished and probably have another 50,000 miles left in them before they start to break down. With the 5.7 liter V8 engine, you can have lots of fun with these cars.

Here at Hilbert College, we have one of these beautiful cars. Bought from the Town of Evans, the Crown Victoria lives with us every day on campus. Vito Czyz, the director of campus safety, says it’s “dependable.” It serves its purpose but doesn’t get much use until the winter hits. The light set is original, it has a scanner still, and is painted over with decals indentifying it as a campus safety vehicle. On average they put on about five to 10 miles a day added on to its 140,000 miles. “It’s a good car, and it’s holding up well,” Czyz said. The only time this car leaves the campus is for events and to fill up with gas.

So the Crown Victoria lives on with us at Hilbert.. But you probably want to avoid it if you can. College is already expensive enough. Until next time everybody!