University of California, Santa Barbara || Volume XIII, Issue III || Oct. 17, 2018 || BottomLineUCSB.com
NEWS
FEATURES
OPINIONS
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
SCIENCE & TECH
PHOTO
Pardall Carnival PHOTOSTORY
Page 12
Photo by Charles Stock | Staff Photographer
AFSCME VOTING
A.S. SENATE TEA
After a 96 percent vote yes, AFSCME Local 3299, the UC’s largest worker union, plans to strike Oct. 23-25.
Between special elections and tabled judicial council appointments, partisan politics threaten A.S. Senate unity.
NEWS
OPINIONS
Page 2
Page 10
TBL | Oct. 17, 2018
2 | NEWS
VRVC Aims to Increase Midterm Election Turnout With A Week Until Registration Closes, VRVC Urges Students to Vote
For one campus organization at UCSB, Halloween isn’t the only date on their mind this October. The other one is Oct. 22, the deadline for California residents to register to vote for the upcoming midterm elections on Nov. 6. Since move-in weekend, the UCSB Voter Registration Volunteer Coalition (VRVC) has been working around the clock to encourage students to register before the day comes. Whether it has been knocking door-to-door in the dorms and I.V. or tabling in the Arbor, the Registration Coalition has employed a wide variety of methods to spread their message. To them, this is a critical time to reach a demographic that historically has shown a low turnout during national elections. “Students don’t vote,” said Spencer Brandt, a fourth year history of public policy major at UCSB and the student coordinator for the coalition. “A lot of the reason why I think students don’t vote is that it’s such a new process to them. People are coming out of high school and finding their voice in democracy for the first time.” The numbers are telling; according to the United States Census Bureau, 55.4 percent of the American population ages 1824 registered to vote in the 2016 presidential election, the lowest registration rate of any demographic by nearly 10 percentage points. However, if recent history
is any indication, it seems that UCSB may be an exception. Over 11,000 students at UCSB registered to vote in the 2012 election, which set a national record at the time. More recently, during the 2016 election over 19,000 students registered between the UCSB and I.V. precincts. The total enrollment at UCSB that year was 24,346. Brandt attributes the university’s high turnout rates largely to the work of student groups such as the Registration Coalition. “UCSB really is the model for the country when it comes to voter registration,” he said. “In just the past month, I’ve had folks from different states calling in wanting to know how we do it. It is starting to become well known that UCSB is doing something right.” Despite recent success, Brandt recognizes that the coalition’s work is still greatly needed at UCSB. One common misunderstanding about voter registration that he believes keeps many students from reaching the polls is the fact that registration information needs to be updated regularly, especially for people who change addresses. This is important since people are assigned to physical polling locations on election day based on their listed address. If a person tries to go to a different polling station without updating their registration, their name won’t appear on that station’s roster. “Those misconceptions go hand in hand — the idea that we
TBL 2018-2019 STAFF Correction: In Volume 13 Issue 2, the photo for the KCSB Presents article was incorrectly credited to Juan Gonzalez instead of Charles Stock. The photo on page 6 was incorrectly credited to Juan Gonzalez instead of Jeilo Guana.
don’t have to update our registration every time we move and the idea that we can go and vote at any polling place that exists on campus or I.V.,” said Brandt. For this reason, the Voter Registration Volunteer Coalition works to provide students easy access to polling stations come election day. “UCSB is lucky that we have polls in a lot of the res halls, so students just need to go downstairs and vote,” said Viviana Marsano, an advisor for campus organizations in the Office of Student Life and the Senior Coordinator for the Registration Coalition. “When it gets closer to elections we come to campus and post signs with a map [showing students] where their polling station is according to where they live.” With a week to go before the registration deadline, the coalition is showing no signs of slowing down yet. “We’re out there all the time. We’re in your face. We want you know the election is coming up because the stakes are high,” said Brandt. “The vote during midterms historically has just not been there in the same way it has been for other demographics, so we still have a lot of work to do.”
UCSB really is the model for the country when it comes to voter registration ... It is starting to become well known that UCSB is doing something right.
For more information about UCSB voter registration and the Voter Registration Volunteer Coalition, visit www.sa.ucsb.edu/ voter-registration. The California deadline to register for this year’s election is Oct. 22.
-Spencer Brandt, student coordinator of VRVC
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JACOB WONG National Beat Reporter
Opinions expressed in TBL do not necessarily represent those of the staff or UCSB. All submissions, questions or comments may be directed to editors@bottomlineucsb.com
Editor-in-Chief | Alex Yam
Features Editor | Victoria Penate
Digital Photo Editor | Dominick Ojeda
Web Editor | Docean Park
Managing Editor | Mable Truong
Arts & Entertainment Editor | Addison Morris
Print Photo Editor | Juan Gonzalez
Layout Editor | Natalie Dye
Executive Content Editor| Lauren Marnel
Science & Tech Editor | Hannah Maerowitz
Campus Beat Reporter | Minh Hua
PAGES: 4, 5, 6
Shores
Opinions Editor | Jessica Gang
Isla Vista Beat Reporter | Alondra Sierra
Layout Editor | Chrissy Cho
Senior Copy Editor | Spencer Wu
Video Editor | Fabiola Esqueda
National Beat Reporter | Jacob Wong
PAGES: 7,8,9
Co-News Editor | Arturo Samaniego
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Co-News Editor | Annette Ding
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Copy Editor | McKinsey FIdellow
PAGES: 10,11,12
TBL | Oct. 17, 2018
3 | NEWS
The Bottom Line File Photo
AFSCME 3299 to Strike Oct. 23 - Oct. 25 A
fter voting on Oct. 8 and 9, members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3299, the University of California’s largest employee union, have decided to strike after 96 percent of voters voted “yes.” The union, which represents 25,000 workers, is expecting to strike for three days between Oct. 23-25. They will also be joined in solidarity by the University Professional Technical Employee-Communications Workers of America (UPTE-CWA), another union that represents 15,000 UC workers. This strike follows the threeday walk-out last May, in which 53,000 workers across the UC system protested against the UC’s practice of outsourcing jobs. Since then, negotiations between the union and the UCs have stalled. Prior to the walk-out in May, AFSCME 3299 published their own research report of the UC system titled Pioneering Inequality, shows widening income inequality within the UC system. Instead of hiring directly, the report states that the UC increasingly “outsources work to over 7,000 contract workers — work-
ers doing the same jobs as its lowest-paid career employees but earning as much as $8.50 less per hour.” The report further stated that “many outsourced workers receive no benefits and report illegal labor abuses such as wage theft.” A union member who requested to remain anonymous told The Bottom Line, “We need contracts with the union so that we can make sure everybody gets equal opportunities because with the contracting out, they can hire anybody they want, and they can pay whatever they want. So, how can we make sure this is equality for all if we don’t have a contract?” Jarrod, a worker and a Member Action Team leader (MAT) at UCSB for five years, explained, “we’re trying to get a contract that’s as least as good as the one we had before, and right now, what we’re being offered is lower pay increases than we were getting on our previous contracts, so we’re fighting for that right now.” Furthermore, the report indicates that people of color are disappearing from the UC service and patient care workforce, with a 37 percent decline in 12 years. The service and patient care jobs, while low-paying, “have
historically offered a ladder to the middle class for the most diverse segments of UC’s workforce.” With the outsourcing of jobs to low paying contractors, AFSCME 3299 fears that outsourcing “has the effect of destroying career pathways for people of color and trapping them into low-wage positions.” In addition to lower pay, Jarrod stated that outsourcing weakens the union’s ability to fight for and represent its members. “As a union worker, I definitely want the work to be done by workers in my union because that’s how we keep the work conditions good, so if you’re contracting outside workers you’re just making it harder for the union to be effective,” said Jarrod. In an email response, the director of media relations for the UC Office of the President, Claire Doan, told The Bottom Line, “AFSCME leaders are putting their agenda above the needs of patients, students, employees, and the public by calling for yet another strike. Union leaders refuse to allow their own members to vote on UC’s competitive contract offer, instead of spending months threatening and now conducting a strike vote.”
In regards to Pioneering Inequality, Doan wrote that “we cannot confirm the accuracy of the report created and written by AFSCME, and it was not part of the independent fact-finding that was conducted as part of our negotiations. That said, we take all issues of fairness and equitable treatment seriously. The university has mechanisms in place to respond to these issues.” The United Student Labor Action Coalition (USLAC) also held a labor town hall on Friday in the El Centro War Room. The town hall was set up to talk about the voting results and to generally decide what actions students should take to help the strike. Juan Donato, lead groundskeeper at UCSB of eight years, was “not surprised” by the decisive voting result. “It just shows how unhappy we are here at UCSB,” Donato said. “This the second time in a row, and we’re ready to go. We are no longer going to be invisible, mute — we’re here to let them know, in reality it’s not what they say it is. The truth is this is not the way it’s supposed to be.” However, the main talk in the room was about how to get students involved in the strike.
Kimberly Fuentes, a fourth year environmental studies and geography major and member of USLAC, told The Bottom Line, “This year we’re mostly going to be focusing on getting the students to understand why the workers are striking and increasing student solidarity … we need them to understand these workers are people too.” AFSCME 3299 has placed much importance on student workers striking as a key component in making the strike effective. AFSCME 3299 stated that they will protect student workers from any trouble they may face from employers if they join the strike. According to Dylan Kupsh, a second year and USLAC member, “If you’re a student worker the union said that they will support you if you decide to sympathy strike” and “If the AFSCME workers get better, the student workers get better.”
Student workers sympathetic to the strike should contact the USLAC Facebook page to find out how to sympathy strike. The union is expecting to strike for three days on Oct. 23-25.
4 | FEATURES
TBL | Oct. 17, 2018
Locos Ciclos Pedal for Change It’s the small things added up over time; the same way that, on a bike, many small pedaling motions over time will take you further than a singular big push.
SAM FULTON Have you ever wanted to travel the world and make a difference while doing it? As of Tuesday, Oct. 16, UCSB alumni Daniel Connell, Quincy Lee, and Byron Roos-Collins will be biking across Africa to do just that. The trio will be flying out together from Los Angeles to Cairo, Egypt to start an adventure of a lifetime. The three will be biking from Cairo all the way down to Cape Town, South Africa in order to raise money for their nonprofit organization, Locos Ciclos. With the help of Lee and Roos-Collins, Connell created Los Ciclos: a group that travels in an environmentally friendly way around the world, meeting new people as they go. They aid the development of rural communities by donating the money they earn to the World Bike Relief, a nonprofit organization that donates bicycles to impoverished communities in need of more efficient transportation. So, why bicycles? Bicycles provide increased mobility, allowing users to retrieve and haul essentials such as food and water more easily. Locos Ciclos believes that this is not only
the best way to help impoverished people travel, but also a great way to increase a community’s economic growth through educational outreach and professional development. Los Ciclos’ previous bike tour took place in 2017 when Lee and Connell traveled 10,000 kilometers from Santa Barbara to Colombia in six months. On this trip, they were able to donate 45 bicycles through the World Bike Relief. For their upcoming trip, the group’s goal is to travel 14,000 kilometers in roughly seven months — and as a result, be able to donate 75 bikes to people in need. The exact route they plan to take involves the trio riding from the Mediterranean shores of Alexandria, following the Nile River through the mountains of Ethiopia, continuing across the equator
through Uganda and Kenya, riding through the Serengeti and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and eventually finishing the journey across the southern desert to Cape Town, South Africa. Locos Ciclos has found a great deal of success — but what effects did their UCSB roots have on these adventurers? A primary source of inspiration was their love for two things: adventure and bikes. Constantly cycling at UC Santa Barbara, as well as being in the Excursion Club together, influenced the trio to give back to people who would benefit from owning a bicycle. Visiting the places targeted by World Bike Relief and talking with people who were gifted bicycles from the nonprofit were also huge motivators to continue their charity work. Roos-Collins noted that UCSB fosters an incredible mindset of pursuing adventure
and that there are so many activities and ways to get involved at UCSB or in the community that all you need to do is “say yes.” Connell explained that going to UCSB impacted the way they thought about transportation because of how effective biking was around campus. Love for bike culture and being comfortable on bikes was a major reason he started Locos Ciclos in the first place. Lee added that he saw UCSB participate in a lot of efforts to be environmentally friendly, and remembers that biking was the easiest and most economical way to get around while he attended. When asked what they would want current Gauchos to know about the difference they can make, the trio were in agree-
ment: current Gauchos should know that making a difference doesn’t have to happen all at once. It’s the small things added up over time; the same way that, on a bike, many small pedaling motions over time will take you further than a singular big push. Most of all, the Locos Ciclos embody the message that, utilizing the supportive community found at UCSB, you and your buddies can use your passion to make a difference.
If you would like to track down Daniel, Quincy, and Byron and read blog posts, watch videos, and look at pictures of where they are throughout Africa, you can visit their website at LocosCiclos.com or follow their Instagram page @LocosCiclos.
Photo Courtesy of Quincy Lee
5 | FEATURES
Bharara Discusses What Makes America Great
Photo by Katie Osaki | The Bottom Line
TBL | Oct. 17, 2018
KATIE OSAKI As part of the Arts & Lectures performance series, district attorney Preet Bharara spoke on Oct. 9 about the state of our government, including his views on the president, the Brett Kavanaugh appointment, and more. Bharara is the former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He was named a “crusader prosecutor” after his work surrounding the 100 Wall Street executives found guilty of insider trading in 2014. His work as a prosecutor earned him high esteem in his own field, as well as in the world of politics, and drew many residents of Santa Barbara, including UCSB students, to his speech. Bharara began his speech with a family anecdote. His brother, after struggling with many careerbased hardships, decided to start a diaper company that Bharara thought was a bad idea. However, after a lot of hard work, Amazon bought his brother’s company, showing him that anyone who puts in the work can succeed in America. He began this speech as a set up for current events in America and how they compare with the past, the general state of our government, and finally the role of immigrants and how they “make America great.” To kick off his discussion on the current state of our government, Bharara began by dissecting the Brett Kavanaugh appointment. As a member of the law community, Bharara had many things to say about this particular appointment, but he focused on its cultural significance by reflecting on Clarence Thomas’ appointment in 1991. In comparing the two, he detailed the synonymous nature of each case, both having been accused of sexual misconduct and both being subsequently appointed. From here, he pivoted the discussion to who wins in politics. “The question always becomes who’s up and who’s down. Does the U.S. win in elections? Does the court win or lose with appointments?” Bharara said. With this, he moved on to talk about the balance of the court. He noted that 14 of the past 18 Su-
preme Court appointments have been made by Republican presidents. Bharara attached this to the idea that this was most likely not what the founders wanted when they thought up the idea for lifelong term appointments. However, not being able to substantiate his claims, he moved on to the current state of the American government. Having worked closely with many officials in President Trump’s cabinet, his insight was a draw for many guests of the auditorium. Bharara started off the conversation with the two most commonly asked questions by Americans: “What is going on in America? How should I feel about it?” Bharara answered the first question by explaining the different pillars that build up our government, including the press, law enforcement, Congress, immigration, and leadership. Law enforcement plays an important role in building up the government because when our police aren’t paid enough, criminals slip through the cracks, and crime is able to run freely. According to Bharara, this creates a hostile environment for the country where people don’t feel safe and constantly look to their leaders, like congressmen, for help, even when they evidently are not there. Bharara went on to observe that Congress is a mixed bag, which eventually led to talk of immigration. Through this, he began with more rhetorical questions including “Who is American?” and “Who makes America great?” This discussion led to Bharara’s final point about the basic fact that our country needs leaders in order to function properly, and he ended on one final note: “If you are American, you are bound to all your fellows.” He further explained by saying that no matter who you are or where you come from, if you are American, you have the responsibility to maintain a relationship with your fellows in order to maintain a functional society. He wrapped this point up by circling back to his family; if his brother had not been supported for his hard work, he would not have reaped the benefits of what America is: a dream.
6 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
TBL | Oct. 17, 2018
Naked Shakes’ “HAMLET” Brings New Energy and Passion to a Classic Play
ALEX PIGEON UCSB’s Naked Shakes, a student-run Shakespearean theater company, has recently completed their run of “Hamlet,” one of the most famous and iconic of all of William Shakespeare’s tragedies. Naked Shakes strives to bring Shakespeare’s work into the modern day by letting his timeless words speak for themselves. Their performances are “naked” in that they use minimal props and costuming. Actors are able to transform a bare stage and a few tables into a battlefield or royal palace with their emphatic words and movements. BFA acting student Tadja Enos brings a wonderful passion
and dynamism to the stage as the play’s titular character. Her expressions of the pits of grief and the determination for revenge are believable and exciting. She is joined by other remarkable performers with a wide range of talent and experience, all fellow UCSB students. The casting in this production was based more on the actors’ ability to display the heart and emotion of their characters, rather than superficial characteristics like gender or race. Iconic characters like Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Polonius, and of course Hamlet himself are portrayed by talented female actors who seamlessly disappear into their roles. While Naked Shakes is committed to being faithful to the text, director Irwin Appel takes creative liberties with regard to presentation. Many scenes are more evocative of the movies than the theater. For example, in Claudius’ first scene where he marries Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, melodramatic music plays while actors move in slow motion. Modern music is present throughout this entire produc-
tion, in between scenes and even during some pivotal moments. Many of these songs were personal choices by the actors appearing in the play, and seemed to be an effort to bridge the gap between Elizabethan England and the modern day. Sofia Quinones, a second year writing and literature major, enjoyed the blending of old and new in the production. She said, “I thought it was interesting to see some modern elements involved and the way it was performed made the speech very easy to follow … Seeing it live and seeing it performed with such passion was awesome.” One may assume that a production of Hamlet will be quite dry, but there are definitely moments of levity in this production. In addition to the comedic elements present in the original text, some slapstick humor is present in particular through the characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who act as a comedy duo tripping over each other’s lines and banging their heads on tables. Another interesting choice was the way the production
brought the ghost of Hamlet’s dead father to life. Rather than having him portrayed by one actor, a group of actors spoke and moved together as they used sheets of printer paper to create the feeling of an omnipresent and powerful spirit. These sheets of paper appear throughout the production to signify Hamlet’s ultimate goal. “Hamlet,” both the character and the play, have in many ways become synonymous with theater itself. It can be difficult to breathe life into lines that an audience has already heard dozens of times before, and committing oneself to an honest portrayal of these cultural touchstones can seem a daunting task. The Naked Shakes’ cast was certainly up to the task, however, and delivered a performance that has all the passion and pain that Shakespeare intended. Both an honest delivery of the original intent behind the play and an interpretation for modern audiences, this production of “Hamlet” was moving and passionate — a wonderful addition to UCSB’s list of accomplished plays.
7 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Deadpool 2
TBL | Oct. 17, 2018
Co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick answered questions during the Deadpool 2 screening and Q&A last Saturday.
Photo by Charles Stock | Staff Photographer Paul Wernick (left) and Rhett Reese (right) share a laugh while talking to UCSB students.
CHARLES STOCK “If you can’t put it in another superhero movie, then you put it in ‘Deadpool,’” exclaimed cowriters and co-producers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick at the “Deadpool 2” screening and Q&A last Saturday at the Pollock Theater. The duo has also written “Zombieland” and is currently producing “Cowboy Ninja Viking” (starring Chris Pratt), but their pride and joy, the Deadpool franchise, has made the most so far, grossing over $1.5 billion worldwide. Reese and Wernick took huge creative liberties when writing the two record-breaking films. With this luxury, they got cameos from the likes of Brad Pitt and Terry Crews. They were even able to convince the studio to include a 10-minute X-Force scene that does not move the plot forward, something that movies are often advised against, but suits the style of “Deadpool” perfectly.
According to Reese, the duo was still “writing the movie until it locked two weeks before it came out … A lot of ADR in the movie is Ryan on his cellphone.” According to Reese, the duo was still “writing the movie until it locked two weeks before it came out.” In fact, when Reese and Wernick were working with Ryan Reynolds — writer, producer, and star of “Deadpool” — after principal photography was finished, they would think of a joke for the masked protagonist and have Reynolds record it on his phone and email it to the editors. According to Wernick, “A lot of ADR in the movie is Ryan on his cellphone.” Another fan-favorite stylistic aspect of “Deadpool” is the soundtrack. Over the years, the co-writers, along with Reynolds, compiled a playlist that they felt fit the ironic and comedic tone
of the film. Generally, the music supervisor or the director would select the songs for a film. Due to the success of the original “Deadpool” soundtrack, however, the creators stuck to the same haphazard technique for “Deadpool 2.” Of course, the soundtrack was not the only unorthodox task the writers took on. An additional unique aspect of the “Deadpool” experience was the screening process. The creators screened different versions of the film with different jokes included. With the help of microphones staged around the theater, they determined which jokes should be included and which should be omitted based
on the audience’s laughter, or lack thereof. However, “Deadpool 2” is as much a comedy as it is a dramatic, dark film. The bulk of the film depicts Wade Wilson, a.k.a. Deadpool, and how he deals with the death of his one true love, Vanessa. It was a difficult decision for the writers to make but, ultimately, they chose this storyline because “Deadpool works when you take everything away from him,” according to Reese. The goal of having Vanessa murdered was to make sure the “audience [felt] grounded,” as Wernick described, and so that the film “feels like real life,” as Reese detailed.
Will there be a “Deadpool 3”? Fox, the studio which brought us “Deadpool” and its sequel, has since been bought by Disney, causing speculation about whether or not the “Deadpool” series will continue. Currently, the studio is working on an X-Force film without Reese and Wernick. However, both writers and producers are optimistic for a third “Deadpool.” Reese expressed, “We would love to do ‘Deadpool 3’ and I think we will.” Nothing is certain, but based off of extremely positive reactions to “Deadpool 2” and the general buzz in the air surrounding every word that Reese and Wernick spoke during the post-screening Q&A at the Pollock Theater, it is hopeful. The audience hung on every heart-wrenching moment and each hysterical joke of the revolutionary Marvel film. Hopefully, there is more to see of Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and the renegade anti-hero, Deadpool.
TBL | Oct. 17, 2018
8 | SCIENCE & TECH
Big Ideas Competition Lets Students Turn Ideas Into Reality ANAIS TOURNIER Staff Writer
Over the last 12 years, Big Ideas, an entrepreneurship competition, has given University of California students opportunities to turn creative thoughts into innovative projects. The goal of Big Ideas is to facilitate social change through college students, awarding thousands of dollars to the most creative and motivated project. Although the University of California has promoted this competition over the last decade, UC Santa Barbara has had a low participation rate, only increasing in recent years. In order to encourage student participation, Big Ideas, overseen by the Blum Center, has hired Innovation Ambassadors, such as Thomas Lenihan, for outreach and promotion. Lenihan is a past competitor in Big Ideas, as well a third year CCS biology major. Although he did not make it to the final round, Lenihan “really enjoyed the process” and is committed to executing his idea after graduation. In the meantime, he is dedicating his time to helping other students turn their ideas into competitive projects. “A lot of people think they don’t have any good ideas, but anything can turn into a Big Idea,” said Lenihan in an interview with The Bottom Line. His goal as an ambassador is to motivate students to share their
ideas and give them the resources possible to transform their ideas into proposals.
An example of an idea that turned into a Big Idea was the Responsive City Lights Project. A couple of Berkeley students noticed that many of their peers felt unsafe walking home in the dark. In response, these student designed city lights that follow individuals as they walk down the street. The idea was simple, but it excelled in the competition and created social change. Although many students who are occupied with work, school, and extracurriculars may struggle to find time to develop an idea, Lenihan argues that once you have an idea, the application is simple. All that is required for the first round is a three page pre-proposal that describes the issue at hand, the student’s innovative solution to the issue, and provides a team bio. The team submits their application into one of seven categories: Art & Social Change, Connected Communities, Energy & Resources, Food Systems, Global Health, Hardware for Good, or Workforce Education & Development. According to Lenihan, this application is then judged on creativity, potential impact, and the viability of the solution. If selected, Big Ideas will provide you with a mentor in the field related to your idea. The competition
has access to 350 professionals in a variety of fields to ensure that students have the necessary support to develop their proposals. According to Philip Denny, the director of Big Ideas, past contestants have noted that the mentorship element of the competition helped them develop research skills and broaden their professional networks. These mentors help students turn their ideas into 10-page proposals that consider a variety of factors. Once these expanded proposals are submitted, finalists participate in Grand Prize Pitch Day at UC Berkeley. At Pitch Day, students present their projects for the final time in front of a panel of judges and three finalists are selected and awarded a prize. Although the possibility of winning thousands of dollars may be the principal motivator for students’ interest in the competition, Denny states that the skills students learn in the competition are priceless. Learning how to build a team and apply classroom knowledge to real life problems are just a few of the skills that Big Ideas teaches students. However, without turning in a preproposal, students may miss out on an incredible opportunity. When asked if he had any recommendations for students, Denny said, “Just dive in.” You never know where an idea can take you.
8 | SCIENCE & TECH
TBL | Oct. 17, 2018
Former UCSB Professor Receives MacArthur Genius Grant
Lisa Parks wins the MacArthur Fellowship, a grant rewarding Innovative research “I had incredible support from the Film and Media department and colleagues across departments at UCSB … Without my experiences as a professor there, I never would have had the opportunity to be considered for an award like this.” - Lisa Parks
Courtesy of the MacArthur Foundation HANNAH MAEROWITZ Science & Tech Editor A poet, an analytical chemist, a violinist, and a media scholar have all won the same award. This may sound like the lead-in for a one-liner, but it is an accurate representation of the 2018 MacArthur Fellowship winners. Lisa Parks, the former department chair of the Film and Media Studies program at UCSB and current head of the Global Media Technologies and Cultures Lab at MIT, was one of the trailblazing professionals selected for this award. The award recognizes people that demonstrate “exceptional creativity, as demonstrated through a track record of significant achievement, and manifest promises for important future advances.” In addition to increasing the visibility of fellows’ work, the fellowship (commonly termed the “genius grant”) grants each fel-
low $625,000 quarterly over five years — with no strings attached. Unrestricted grant money allows fellows to explore more creative or less traditional ways of using grant money because they do not have to justify every expenditure to the foundation or organization giving them the grant. In an interview with The Bottom Line, Parks stated that in addition to using the grant money to further the work of the lab she currently runs, she plans to set aside time for a brainstorming retreat where she can think carefully about her life, career, and the changing field of media studies. The unrestricted grant money allows her (and other fellows) the freedom to take time to reflect on and discuss how they want their work to evolve, as well as what philosophies they want to embody in their work before they jump into new projects or expand on current projects. “I’m going to think about
how I might experiment more and how I might pursue some new directions while also building on what I’ve done before, especially since media studies is shifting right now. I think there is a need to start thinking about technologies in a different way,” said Parks. Ever since she was a graduate student, Parks focused on studying technologies and media in a creative way. “I tend to focus on objects and things that may seem to be on the margins of media studies, like satellites or infrastructure studies or data centers, but in my work, I try to show how these things are crucial to the study of media,” said Parks. Her interdisciplinary and thoughtful approach to research and problem-solving was enhanced by the 20 years Parks spent at UCSB. “I had incredible support from the Film and Media department
and colleagues across departments at UCSB,” said Parks. “There is an openness and experimental atmosphere there and the university really supports interdisciplinary research. Without my experiences as a professor there, I never would have had the opportunity to be considered for an award like this.” During her tenure at UCSB, Parks also served as the Director of the Center for Information Technology and Society, which she cites as a valuable experience. “The research I do at MIT grew out of things I was doing at UC Santa Barbara. As a director of a research center, I was able to collaborate with people in departments ranging from computer science and communication. Those experiences were formative in deciding what lab I wanted to put together,” said Parks. Parks plans to devote most of her “genius grant” to furthering projects she’s currently working on as the head of a media lab
at MIT, especially international projects that allow students to do research in different parts of the world like Tanzania and Mongolia. Some of her lab’s current projects include investigating the importance and value of satellites in global internet connectivity, understanding technological relations and impact from the perspective of historically marginalized low-income and rural communities, and analyzing the evolution and decisions of media conglomerates like Amazon. The MacArthur Fellowship is a validation of the creativity of Parks’ approach to media studies, and grants access to resources that allow that work to continue and contribute to an ever-evolving understanding of media and their impacts.
10 | OPINIONS
TBL | Oct. 17, 2018
A.S. SENATE TEA
Illustration by Shiloh Kluding | The Bottom Line
Tune in for your cup of Senate tea every Wednesday when TBL will be live tweeting (@tblucsb) and live streaming A.S. Senate meetings on Facebook.
11 | OPINIONS
TBL| Oct. 17, 2018
Swift Gets Political: The Power of Celebrity Opinions TOMAS PALPALLATOC On Oct. 8, Taylor Swift posted on her Instagram account urging her followers to vote in the upcoming midterm elections. Swift also endorsed the Democratic candidates running for election in Tennessee (the state where she will cast her vote). After Swift’s Instagram post, voter registration supposedly spiked, leading many to debate whether or not celebrities should use their notoriety to advocate for political issues. The pop star’s decision to speak out was met with both backlash and praise. A lot of the conversation that follows when someone as popular as Swift speaks out about their political views derives from the sheer number of people that their message reaches. Her Instagram post alone received over two million likes with even more hearing about her statement through news outlets. This is not the first time controversy has arisen from a celebrity spreading their political views. Kanye West in
particular has been criticized countless times for his controversial opinions, most commonly having to do with President Trump. West has gone as far as to meet with President Trump in the Oval Office, which shows that there are tangible, visible results that come from celebrities speaking out about their political beliefs — results that rarely occur when the average person voices their opinion. This garners the question: Should Image Courtesy of Eva Rinaldi | Flickr celebrities even have this level of political power? On the surface, there is way to urge her followers to “educate However, they were students catapult- People should be able to fight for what nothing separating Taylor Swift and her [themselves] on candidates running … ed into the limelight by a tragic incident they believe in. In a world where we are average fan in terms of political knowl- and vote based on who most closely involving gun violence. The magnitude all so connected through the Internet represents [their] values,” in her Ins- of the incident led people to be more and social media, activism is easier than edge. Yet when she makes a statement tagram post. Yet this doesn’t stop fans likely to listen to them than other politi- it has ever been. That comes with ups and downs, on politics, fans are more likely to take from blindly believing the information cal voices. When someone is so prominent in but when someone is in the position to her word for it because they admire her. they are told. A similar controversy occurred the public eye, they have a great poten- make a change, not doing so is simply a This is especially true in the case of Taylor Swift, whose fan base consists largely earlier this year when survivors of the tial to enact change. It is partly their re- waste of opportunity. They should do it of the younger generation. Because of Parkland shooting started to speak out sponsibility to be careful with what they with care, but if we don’t try to fight for this, stars such as Swift can often influ- against gun rights, with critics stating say. They need to recognize the influ- what we believe in, then nothing will ence the political landscape more than that high school students were not edu- ence they have and to use it responsibly ever change. cated enough to enter the political fray. to inform people, not to mislead them. they necessarily should. However, activism is never the To an extent they were right; ParkThis is, of course, not Taylor Swift’s fault. In fact, Swift even went out of her land students are not political experts. wrong decision when done properly.
International Students Elevate Universities and America TOMAS PALPALLATOC It was recently revealed that the Trump administration briefly considered banning visas for Chinese students under the pretense of suspecting them to be spies. This wouldn’t be the first time the Trump administration has espoused an anti-immigrant rhetoric, and is just another mark in his long line of suspicions against China. However, the assumption that the majority of Chinese international students are spies is that of a conspiracy theorist. As of 2017, there were more than 350,000 reported Chinese university students studying in the United States, with that number growing every year. The 2017-2018 UCSB campus report states that eight percent of undergraduate students and 35 percent of graduate students are foreign citizens,
totaling almost 3,000 students. According to the report, 71 percent of those international students come from China, making Chinese international students a significant part of UCSB’s student body. With hundreds of Chinese international students arriving at UCSB each year, banning these students would adversely affect the school. Part of UCSB’s mission is being “committed to global leadership for sustainability through education, research, and action.” These international students provide diversity and allow the university to grow, introducing new perspectives not only to its research, but also the growing minds of its students as well. International students have made an impact on not only UCSB, but also the United States as a whole. International students often choose to pursue
degrees in extremely competitive fields such as engineering, business, and computer science. International students also have a much higher rate of going on to graduate school after their first four years at college. Bringing higher achieving students into the American university system stimulates the universities they attend. Many of the UC’s, for example, are research institutions. These institutions thrive off of the ideas and hard work of their students assisting or participating in research. The higher level of skill and dedication that international students bring with them can greatly improve these schools and their research. Evenly purely in economic terms, international students serve the United States well. In 2016, the United States gained approximately $32.8 billion from international students alone.
This money goes into the universities they attended, allowing them to grow and become better learning centers for international and American students alike. A lot of this motivation seems to come from the struggle it takes to actually study in the U.S. If an international student is going to go through the troubleof applying for a visa, receiving one, and paying money to fly halfway across the world, it seems logical that they would be more inclined to work their hardest once they are settled in their new country. Besides the benefits of bringing their high academic performance to the United States, international students also provide meaningful insight about other ways of life to American students. For example, at my old school the student body had a large amount of international students,
mostly from China. Within the school, they helped establish multiple Asian cultural clubs and introduced many students to new outlooks and traditions. The opportunity to share the unique experiences that come from growing up in completely different places is one I continue to treasure. Frankly, to punish an entire group of people simply out of suspicion is cruel and unfair. Many international students come to America to pursue a dream they can’t achieve elsewhere. They come to experience a different culture and bring their own to share with the rest of us. International students have been coming to America for decades and many have found a permanent life here. To bar them now would not only be a disservice to them, but to America as well.
12 | PHOTO
TBL | Oct. 17, 2018
Pardall Carnival Friends try their luck at slacklining, a unique and laid-back university hobby.
Saturday, Oct.13, students and organizations took to the asphalt on Pardall to celebrate the annual carnival. It was an opportunity to win some free food and discover new clubs. The carnival was lined with games, prizes, and a huge swinging ferris wheel. Photos by JP Celestino
Crowds gather in the heart of I.V. for the Pardall Carnival.
A couple enjoys the view of the Pardall Carnival.
Organizations hand out free merchandise and information about their various missions.