Buffalo State participates in Buffalo Humanities Festival

Several Buffalo State students, faculty, and alumni presented at the annual Buffalo Humanities Festival on September 25 and 26, 2026. The festival is presented by the University at Buffalo's Humanities Institute in cooperation with Buffalo State, Canisius University, Daemen University, and the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library. This year's festival, which was once again free and open to the public, was themed "Breaking News." Keynote speakers were Juan González of Democracy Now!, and Adam Zyglis of the Buffalo News.

Student participation included Grace Cole, a senior pursuing a dual major in journalism and business administration, and senior English major Marcus Ramos, who both spoke on the "The Future of Journalism" student roundtable conversation. Participating faculty members were Jennifer Ryan-Bryant, who spoke on "Lynching and generic transformation in recent American literature and culture," and Julie Setele, who participated on a panel on "Alternative Media." Alumni participation included David Butler, '84, who spoke on "The Value of Local Journalism" roundtable conversation alongside Juan González and other journalists, and I'Jaz Ja'ciel, '19, '20, who presented "When the Story Breaks: Exploring the Impact and Consequences of News Media."

"Being able to participate in an event like the Buffalo Humanities Festival is an immense honor," said Ramos, who serves as editor-in-chief of Buffalo State's student newspaper, The Record. "With today's onslaught of misinformation, proper journalism has never been more important. I value the opportunity to show that student journalists are carrying the torch in maintaining that pipeline of information to the people."

"Independent media is more important now than ever before," Setele added. "My presentation highlighted the collection of zines-DIY self-published magazines-that I curate at E. H. Butler Library, the three-credit course I teach on Social Justice Through Zines, and snapshots of zine history, present, and futures. It was an honor to share a platform with so many important voices, like Juan González and Adam Zyglis, and up-and-comers like our Buffalo State student journalists Marcus Ramos and Grace Cole."

Photo: Grace Cole (with microphone) and Marcus Ramos (to Cole's left from audience point of view) among other presenters at the Buffalo Humanities Festival; photo by Julie Setele.