Volume 60 Issue 13

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012

EDITORIAL

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UC official acknowledges likelihood of tuition increases E r i c G a m b oa

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

During a special budget teleconference held Jan. 11, top UC official Patrick Lenz revealed that the university does not envision any end to tuition increases in the near future. Lenz, who serves as the UC vice president of budget and capital resources, noted that the “administration does have a desire for affordability with modest, predictable and affordable tuition increases.” Lenz also discussed the impact of trigger cuts, trade-off options faced by the UC and elaborated upon Governor Brown’s proposed budget. When asked by a teleconference caller about the nature of the aforementioned tuition increases, Lenz explained that the rates would likely range between 3 to 5 percent increases.

A majority of the conversation was focused on the future of state funding and the sort of decisions that the university would have to make under different funding scenarios.

Governor Brown’s revenue initiative, which seeks to establish a 4 percent base budget growth for the university,

includes such changes as a .5 percent sales tax increase and an increase in tax rates on the highest income Californians.

The numerous initiatives are aimed to generate $6.9 billion in new revenue for the state’s general fund. However, Lenz noted that if November’s ballot initiative does not pass, then the budget would entail a $5.4 billion mid-year budget “trigger” reduction. Under this scenario the UC would lose $200 million in funding from the state.

Meanwhile, Lenz also discussed the long-term plans and goals of the university in the midst of the ongoing financial crisis. Lenz stated that the administration was seeking to improve graduation rates and the time to completion, increase transfer students, streamline teaching workloads and provide additional emphasis on community college transfer students.

Changes to the Cal Grant program were also outlined.

The GPA requirements of the program will be increased as follows: Cal Grant GPA requirements from the A, B and C programs (community college transfers) would increase

ASUCR update

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from 3.0 to 3.25, 2.0 to 2.75 and 2.4 to 2.75, respectively. Furthermore, the award amount for students attending private, for-profit schools would be lowered to $4,000.

One caller asked Lenz

E r i c G a m b oa

Andie Lam CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ASUCR CONTINUED ON PAGE 5

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tuition, and unfortunately we have had to do that over the past few years…and then we could take 200 million dollars and cut the university by that amount,” stated Lenz. “We TUITION CONT’D ON PAGE 2

UCR entomologist tackles Rwanda’s agricultural pest

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

A discussion of ASUCR’s “Taking a Stand” agenda and an apology regarding December’s protest guidelines dominated the content of ASUCR’s first senate meeting of the quarter.

Jim Sandoval, vice chancellor for student affairs, began the meeting by issuing a formal apology and taking full responsibility for the protest guidelines that were published and subsequently removed after gaining widespread criticism.

The major source of controversy stemmed from a requirement that students consult with the university prior to implementing a protest—thereby imposing a prior restraint on speech while virtually banning spontaneous protests.

“I deeply regret that the draft guidelines were published and I would like to issue a formal apol-

to elaborate on which areas would be impacted if the $200 million mid-year trigger cut were to occur. “We do have three options: one, we can go out and increase our philanthropy…look at

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S a n dy V a n CONTRIBUTING WRITER

UC Riverside Entomology Professor and Jefferson Science Fellow Thomas Miller has ventured to Rwanda in order to investigate the defects resulting in a “potato-tasting” coffee plant.

This peculiar deficiency is thus far sourced to the Antestia bug, whose activity is hindering Rwanda’s exports on the international frontier. Scientists from both the US and Europe have been sent to Rwanda through an international non-profit organization, Global Initiative Knowledge (GKI), which sponsors the Learning and Innovation for Network for Knowledge and Solutions (LINK) Program–currently funding

Miller’s research in Rwanda.

Antestia bugs, a genus of the shield bug, commonly attack coffee cherries as they feed. The consequence of their feeding is an unwanted “potato taste” left behind on the coffee beans, although the link has yet to be scientifically proven.

“The main problem with potato taste is that it shows up after roasting and during tasting. By then it is way too late to weed out the few beans that seem to be the source of the taste and odor among hundreds of beans,” explained Miller in an interview with the Highlander. Miller further elaborated that the occurrence of potato taste can ruin an entire shipment of coffee beans, resulting in the disposal of the entire load and inflicting hundreds of thousands worth of RWANDA CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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Volume 60

Issue 13

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NEWS

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012

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UCSF study focuses on marijuana E r i c G a m b oa

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

A 20-year study conducted by scientists from UC San Francisco and the University of Alabama at Birmingham has concluded that the occasional usage of marijuana is not associated with lung damage.

The study, which compared the pulmonary functions of cigarette and marijuana smokers, found the former to be significantly more harmful to an individual’s respiratory system.

However, the study results also revealed that high exposure to marijuana smoke eventually leads to the declined functioning of the lungs.

The lead author of the study, UCSF Professor Mark Pletcher, commented on the results in a press release, stating, “We found exactly what we thought we would find in relation to tobacco exposure: a consistent loss of lung function with increasing exposure. We were, however, surprised that we found such a different pattern of association with marijuana exposure.”

TUITION FROM PAGE 1

challenged by adopting any single factor. I think that the university will have to carefully scrutinize a number of different areas to address another 200 million dollar reduction.”

Another caller scrutinized the ongoing increase in salaries of some university administrators while students have had to should the increased costs. The University of California has drawn controversy in the past several years for this reason, namely stemming from pay increases for medical center personnel. Lenz acknowledged that such an option had been done before and was something that the regents would H consider. ■

The study involved the long-term examination of 5,115 individuals, aged 18 to 30, in the United States whose pulmonary functions were routinely tested by means of blowing into a spirometer device. The two variables, the forced expiratory volume (FEV) in the first second of expiration and forced vital capacity (FVC) decreased more prominently among tobacco smokers.

“Essentially with tobacco, the more you use, the more loss you have with both of the indicators, air flow rate and lung volume. There’s a straight-line relationship: The more you use, the more you lose,” explained co-author Stefan Kertesz in an article by the UC Newsroom.

The study authors have noted that a source of the difference stems from the higher rates of usage among tobacco smokers than marijuana smokers. “Tobacco users typically smoke 10 to 20 cigarettes/day, and some smoke much more than that. Marijuana users, on average, smoke only two to three times a month, so the typical MARIJUANA CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 RWANDA FROM PAGE 1

damage across the country.

However, the lack of concrete evidence behind the exact cause of potato taste poses an issue on its own—one which Miller has fully embraced. “I find this part of the project absolutely fascinating. It is like a mystery novel with a great deal at stake. You don’t know who done it,” remarked Miller.

While the task to unravel the potato taste problem may seem challenging, the UC Riverside entomologist expressed delight in his travels.

“There is really great expectation and appreciation from

our hosts that we are willing to help them. The hospitality is amazing. Rwanda is the land of 1000 hills, yet the roads are excellent and transportation [is] all organized,” stated Miller.

Thomas Miller joins French scientist Christian Cilas in solving the mystery of the potato taste and its unproven cause. Their two-week stay in Rwanda, which began Jan. 7, will be used to gather information that could reveal ways to resolve the coffee defects. “We will devise a multipronged strategy for ridding Rwanda’s specialty coffee of

A n T r an /HIGHLANDER

potato taste defect,” stated Miller.

“And we will also assist Rwanda in reaching out and making contacts with people grappling with similar problems globally.”

Last week, Miller and Cilas attended many meetings including workshops, joining with researchers from the National University of Rwanda on Jan. 9 and meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture on Jan. 12. “We are exactly in the middle of our project here, defining a response to the problem in coffee,” stated Miller.

“Coffee from Rwanda has gained world fame and that reputation is threatened by the potato taste problem, something peculiar to east Africa.” This week, the researchers are doing field visits, including a trip to the Volcano National Park.

With the antestia bug jeopardizing the quality and quantity of Rwandan coffee, the country’s export market faces stiff threats from international buyers, who would decline to buy products that are not of the highest quality. Coffee from these sectors accounts for 26 percent of Rwanda’s agricultural exports. The Ministry of Agriculture Resources lists cropping as the country’s key pillar in growth and poverty reduction, as more than 90 percent of the population are engaged in agriculture production. With few natural resources and having coffee as one of the main exports, Rwanda is a country whose growth heavily relies on the maintenance of world prices on such products.

The sudden attention placed on the bug, however, has prompted questions regarding the history of the bug and the timing of efforts to eliminate the pest. According to Miller, the interest in ridding Rwanda of the bug arose following the country’s decision to revamp its coffee production and improve its standing in the international community of producers. Naturally, the bug now possesses a great threat to the Rwandan economy since coffee holds a much more important role in the export market.

“For the past 10 odd years Rwanda decided to focus on the specialty coffee market. They are also trying hard to qualify for organic certification, which is very difficult to do, but once achieved, will provide a plus income above premium...Any small amount of potato taste or odd flavors showing up in coffee bean batches makes the specialty reputation difficult to maintain. That is the problem being addressed here,” stated Miller, addressing the relationship between the timing of extermination efforts and the rise in prominence of coffee production in Rwanda.

The economic impact of the bug was also discussed by a report by the GKI, stating, “Smallholder farmers saw their coffee profits leap from 20 cents a kilo to $2.00 per kilo, mainly through quality improvements, investments in technological upgrading and capacity building. Now, H these gains are at risk.” ■

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A $20,000 grant from the Korean Foundation was awarded to UC Riverside’s Young Oak Kim (YOK) Center for Korean American Studies in support of the conference, “Confronting Sa-I-Gu: 20 Years After Koreatown Burned.” The symposium, which will take place on April 28, marks the 20th anniversary of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, which had an immense impact on Koreatown.

During the conference, the social, political and cultural implications of the 1992 riots will be further examined, and an overall evaluation of the future of Koreatown will take place, as stated in an article by the UC Riverside Newsroom.

Edward Chang, director of the Young Oak Kim Center at UC Riverside, believes, “the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest was a turning point for Korean Americans. It’s important for

us to remember and learn from events like these so that we can move forward and not continue to make the same mistakes that ignited the riots in 1992.”

Chang will be among the many leaders to speak during the event.

According to the UC Riverside Newsroom article, the conference will display three panels with speakers who will discuss the following topics: Perspectives, Tales from the Frontline; Transformations, Where is our Community Today; and Looking Ahead, a round-table discussion.

The riots occurred over a span of six days beginning on April 29, 1992, in response to the acquittal of four police officers for the beating of a black motorist. During the riots, a total of 53 people died, over 2,000 more were injured, and damages to businesses and other property amounted to a stagH gering $1 billion. ■

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MARIJUANA FROM PAGE 2

exposure to marijuana is much lower than for tobacco,” noted Pletcher.

Still, the rationale of marijuana legalization opponents may not be undermined by the study. As displayed on the website of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana can still produce adverse effects related to substance abuse, impaired brain development among adolescents and higher susceptibility to mental illnesses including psychosis. Meanwhile, the study findings have reinforced conceptions and prompted a positive response from marijuana advocates even in the midst of the findings regarding decreased pulmonary function associated with high exposure to marijuana—which Pletcher said required a “need for caution and moderation when marijuana use is considered.”

Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, stated that the findings did not surprise him. He also argued that the negative long-term effects were null since the ingestion and vaporization of marijuana— as opposed to smoking—could overcome the harm from the smoke.

“This study is challenging the preconceived notions we’ve had for some time about the dangers of smoking cannabis and the similarities to smoking tobacco,” stated one UC Berkeley professor in an article by the San Francisco Chronicle. The study was released on Jan. 11 in the Journal of the American H Medical Association. ■

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012

NEWS

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UCR psychologist receives award Vy Nguyen STAFF WRITER

The Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award Trust has awarded UC Riverside Professor of Psychology Howard Friedman $25,000 for serving as a mentor and guide for students whose work has prompted beneficial change in the community.

“The Beckman Award is to benefit professors ‘who have inspired their students to make a difference in their communities.’ That is, their teaching has inspired their students to benefit the community at large, and they have established lasting concepts and movements to the benefit of the community,” said Friedman in an interview with the Highlander. “In my case, it was for developing and bringing important, influential ideas from health psychology to students and to the public...What could be better than an award for inspiring students in making a difference in the community?”

Friedman’s work has inspired many students to work toward their goals to become medical doctors, psychologists and public health workers. Despite the fact that he is a psychology professor, Friedman has worked with numerous students in UC Riverside’s biomedical and pre-medical programs. The findings and research that these students receive from working with Friedman are used to enrich their knowledge in the medical field.

“The greatest thing about being a professor is having wonderful, motivated students, and being able to show them the research process and turn them on to new ideas that will improve the physical and psychological wellbeing of themselves and their communities,” stated Friedman.

Friedman is one of 15 professors from American universities that have been honored by the Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award

Trust. He is the very first University of California researcher that has been given the award since the program was conceived two years ago. The 15 award winners this year were chosen by representatives from Wells Fargo, the American Psychological Association, Bryn Mawr College and Columbia University.

One of Friedman’s most notable research involvements was conducted with co-researcher Leslie Martin in a study that sought to examine how one’s characteristics and social affairs can help predict the length of their life.

In their research, written in the book, “The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study,” the team concluded that individuals that live the longest are those who are the most determined and cautious during their lives.

“For years, people have been told to stay healthy by making lists and obsessively monitoring when we’re stressed, what we eat, how much we worry, and how often we go to the gym. So why isn’t everyone healthy? Based on the most extensive study of long life ever conducted, our research on the Longevity Project revealed what really matters across the long-term—the personality traits, relationships, experiences and career paths that naturally keep you vital. We have been gathering key new information and using modern research methods to study 1,500 Californians across nine decades, and busting many old dead-end myths,” stated Friedman about the Longevity Project, which debuted in 2011.

Friedman and other recipients of the award were honored on Jan. 7 during an award ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia. Friedman encourages interested students to contact him by visiting his personal website and the Longevity H Project’s Facebook page. ■

B ryan T u t t l e /HIGHLANDER

NEWS

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Soda tax could potentially save lives and money K ev i n K e c ke i se n SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Scientists at UC San Francisco’s General Hospital and Trauma Center (SFGH) and Columbia University have examined the effects of a federal tax on sugary beverages, concluding that such a tax could potentially save lives and money.

According to a press release, researchers estimated that a penny-per-ounce tax on sweetened drinks would prevent nearly 100,000 cases of heart disease, 8,000 strokes and 26,000 deaths over the next decade. Kirsten BibbinsDomingo, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine, epidemiology and biostatistics and acting director of the Center for Vulnerable Populations at SFGH stated in the release that the tax would “prevent 240,000 cases of diabetes per year.”

This type of tax would also bring $13 billion per year in direct tax revenue. BibbinsDomingo and her colleagues estimated that because obesity–related diseases would decline if such a tax were to be implemented, the public would save $17 billion over the next decade in health care-related expenses.

“Our hope is that these types of numbers are useful for policy makers to weigh decisions,” stated BibbinsDomingo in the UC San Francisco article.

With over 13.8 billion gallons of sweet beverages consumed in 2009 and 45 gallons consumed annually per person, this mass consumption of sugary beverages is fueling the obesity and diabetes epidemics in America. Not only are sugar-sweetened drinks linked to type 2 diabetes and weight gain, but in 2009 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) listed reducing the consumption of these beverages as one of its central obesity prevention strategies. California and New York are among several states and cities already considering such taxes.

Bibbins-Domingo and her colleagues’ analysis is the one of the first studies to provide detailed, concrete estimates of the health benefits and cost savings of such a tax. Their analysis takes into account how many sugary beverages Americans drink per year, and estimates how much less Americans would consume if a penny-per-ounce tax were H imposed on such beverages. ■

ASUCR FROM PAGE 1

ogy to our students, faculty and staffespecially to our students. I am sorry,” stated Sandoval during the meeting. The apology reflected the sentiment of an announcement made by Chancellor White, who ceded that the administration was in error for publishing the guidelines.

ASUCR President Stephen Lee praised Sandoval’s decision to issue the formal apology, noting that “[the apology] was something that the students really deserve.” Sandoval’s identification of the group behind the document’s creation— the Division of Student Affairs—also represented a new development in the guideline controversy; Chancellor White’s previous announcements had failed to identify the creators, thereby prompting claims of transparency deficiencies within the administration.

“Please trust that the Division of Student Affairs continues to work in earnest to advocate for the rights and interests of our students,” concluded Sandoval.

Meeting reports occupied the remaining portion of the ASUCR meeting. Senator Derek Roberts provided an update on UC Riverside’s first annual dance marathon and called upon his peers to register for the dance on the event’s official website. Roberts elaborated on the project,

explaining that all funds would be used to support UC Riverside’s Guardian Scholars Program to aid college-aspiring individuals who will soon be emancipated from foster care.

ASUCR President Stephen Lee’s report regarding plans for the UC regents meeting took on a heated tone as Lee urged the senators to step up their involvement in preparation for the “Taking a Stand” movement. The week-long movement is aimed at increasing awareness about the university’s budget crisis while promoting the active involvement of students in their education. Activities will include a presentation by the UC Student Regent and Student Regent-designate, an advocacy write-in, open mic sessions, organization presentations and a public demonstration.

“There is no better opportunity than the regents meeting for us to make a move.

The actions that we make today are going to influence UC students in the future…

The student body here at UC Riverside is calling on [ASCUR] to take a stand,” stated Lee during his officer report. Lee insisted that his senator peers demonstrate their commitment to the week’s events. At one point, Lee called upon the senators to re-evaluate whether they are doing enough to warrant their positions.

“We need to focus on what’s important.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012

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J o nat han G o d o y /HIGHLANDER

The students are expecting us…[to] let the regents, and not only the regents but everyone—the UC community—to know where we stand as students,” concluded H Lee. ■

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. OPINIONS .

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012

HIGHLANDER

On June 6th, the Supreme Court refused to strike down a California law that offers state residents reduced tuition rates at California colleges. The law’s opponents argue that the bill, which does not distinguish between lawful residents and illegal immigrants, violates a federal law that prohibits states from giving college benefits to illegal aliens on the basis of residence within a state. Unfortunately for the law’s detractors, the Supreme Court wouldn’t even hear their challenge.

Lawyers for a conservative immigration-law group that backed the appeal claim that the law is patently unfair to the thousands of full-bred American high school graduates who apply to California colleges from other states each year. These students will have to pay as much as $20,00 more for college tuition than the illegal immigrants (and many other California residents) that the bill aids. Others have argued that the bill gives preferential treatment to illegal immigrants - it is just one more derivative of affirmative action, bent on taking positions away from the hard working, middle-class Caucasians who really deserve

HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL

Artist’s rendering of the kind of censorship users might encounter online if SOPA passes.

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BIG-NAME WEBSITES THREATEN BLACKOUT TO PROTEST SOPA There is growing concern among many in the online community that the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a US bill that would give the government power to block websites that violate copyright laws, is inspiring more than just contempt among the sites that stand to lose the most from it.

The social news site Reddit is spearheading a protest of the bill set to take place on January 18th, during which it and the other sites that have joined it will be functionally inaccessible to users.

Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales announced last week that if his site’s users are in favor of the blackout, it too will go dark on Wednesday. It has also been rumored that Internet giants like Facebook, Amazon and Google may follow suit with their own concerted blackout in the months to come.

The idea behind the proposed political action is to give users a taste of the risks posed by the passage of SOPA. Under the bill, sites whereon members post and share links to copyrighted material could be blocked from the visible Internet entirely. Communityoriented websites like Wikipedia and Reddit are, understandably, upset, many arguing that the bill would open the door to heretofore unseen levels of online censorship.

This week, the web is abuzz with user reaction to the planned protest, and while it is not yet clear whether or not most are in favor of the blackout, one thing is sure—people are listening.

There are few among us who can go a day without visiting at least one of the

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sites participating in or considering the blackout, and just the prospect of them all shutting down at once is enough to send shivers down the spine of the average user. However, the protest also has the potential to inspire a lot of anger amongst the online community, and there is no guarantee that all of it will be directed toward SOPA. One must wonder if the sites shouldn’t be at least a little concerned about the possibility of the blackout backfiring and turning users against them. There is a good chance that many Wikipedia users, for example, have never heard of SOPA. When they log on and find the page inactive, they aren’t going to care why the site is down. They are just going to want it fixed, and when they learn Wikipedia is deliberately denying them access to the site, they are probably going to be very upset.

Sites are hoping to combat this possibility by replacing their home pages with explanations of why they are down, the dangers of SOPA and how users can help. But a little outrage on the part of users is not only expected, it is necessary. Let’s not forget, the purpose of any mass protest is to raise awareness among the general public, and inconveniencing them is one of the best ways to accomplish that.

The fact of the matter is that most Americans take for granted the privileges assured them by an unregulated Internet. The purpose of the blackout is to expose users to the very real possibility that the era of unhindered online interaction may

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In response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Congress and then President George W. Bush crafted a bill that any sensible critic would’ve called an abomination. A blatant power grab by the government, the PATRIOT Act dramatically redefined what was considered private in the US. The bill, riddled with bureaucratic double-speak, sought to expand the ways in which intelligence and law-enforcement agencies went about collecting, gathering and sorting information that may or may not be pertinent to ongoing investigations or terrorist threats. It expanded the definition of “domestic terrorism” and stepped up surveillance on both foreign figures and citizens linked, however vaguely, to any sort of terrorist plot.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) voiced their condemnation of the bill, even going so far as to call it unconstitutional.

Whether or not they were right has never been successfully established in a court of law. At the time of the bill’s introduction, and in the years that followed, quite a number of Democratic legislators accused Bush of attempting to police privacy. They painted a stark, 1984-esque picture of how the future would be if the bill became law. President Obama, then candidate Obama, stated on the campaign trail that he would repeal most of the provisions of the law that were controversial (along with closing Guantanamo Bay), but he not only reneged on that promise, he also extended the Act another four years in May 2011.

And now President Obama has impressively managed to surpass President Bush in his efforts to stomp all over our constitutional rights. On the last day of 2011, a day clearly picked because it would garner the least amount of coverage in the 24-hour news cycle, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law. This year, the act, which has been passed every year for the past five decades, greatly expands the scope of government in ways that the previous Republican regime never imagined.

Two sections of the bill in particular, 1021 and 1022, have had many people up in arms over the legality of the legislation. Section 1021 gives the president the power to detain anyone who is linked to any terrorist group indefinitely. The section also grants the president the power to use the military as a conduit for detaining these persons. Section 1022 grants the President the power to use the military to detain persons suspected of terrorism, even if the people in question are American citizens.

This goes against everything that the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees Americans due process of law, stands for. Now, without any concrete forethought or evidence, the government can indefinitely detain anyone considered a terrorist or a terrorist sympathizer, regardless of whether or not they’re American.

This is an outrage, a breach in trust between

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be coming to an end. Bills like SOPA make it possible for the government to impede and even halt the progress of the online file sharing community that has come to define our generation.

It’s important to note that there is much more at stake here than just the fate of malicious or illegal file sharing.

Any site that hosts user-posted content is at risk, from those that expedite our financial transactions, like Amazon, to those that facilitate social interaction, like Facebook and Twitter, and those that equip us with the tools necessary to organize and research material for work and school, like Google and Wikipedia.

Even more unsettling is the possibility that SOPA could in any way threaten a system that has made so much information available to so many.

Free information, something that we as students make use of countless times on a day-to-day basis, could become a thing of the past if SOPA and bills like it are allowed to pass.

Just the prospect of the proposed blackout serves as a solemn reminder of how reliant we have become on the resources provided us by an unregulated Internet, as well as the doubt into which SOPA throws the availability of those resources. The blackout, if all goes according to plan, will illustrate not only how far we have come, but also how much we have to lose.

The NDAA puts US citizens’ freedom at risk

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Casualties of the War in Iraq continue to mount J a m es N j u g u n a STAFF WRITER

Recently, President Obama declared an end to the Iraq War—a war that claimed the lives of approximately 4,500 Americans and more than 100,000 Iraqis (mostly citizens), costing taxpayers an estimated $800 billion. But the cost and casualties of the war continue to mount both at home and abroad. We continue to pay for President Bush’s search for weapons of mass destruction with the lives of men, women and children. The effects of uranium-enriched munitions used in Iraq, in particular, are still killing children in Fallujah and our troops at home.

According to a January 2012 Al Jazeera news report, doctors, scientists and residents are blaming US weapons used in the 2004 bombing of Fallujah for what is described as “catastrophic” levels of birth defects and abnormalities.

British scientist Christopher Busby released a study that showed a 12-fold increase in childhood cancer in Fallujah since the 2004 attacks. The report showed the spread of diseases indicative of genetic damage similar to, but far greater than, that of Hiroshima, Japan. Busby’s study found that the only element in excess in the sample population that is known to cause congenital diseases and cancer was uranium. “It’s been found by a coroner’s court that cancer was caused by an exposure to depleted uranium (DU),” Busby

added. “In the last 10 years, research has emerged that has made it quite clear that uranium is one of the most dangerous substances known to man, certainly in the form that it takes when used in wars.”

Dr. Samira Alani, a pediatric specialist at Fallujah General Hospital is quoted as saying, “We have all kinds of defects now, ranging from congenital heart disease to severe physical abnormalities, both in numbers you cannot imagine.”

Since Oct. 2009, and at the time of the report, Alani had logged 699 cases of birth defects but noted that the numbers only represents 40-50 percent of the cases in Fallujah, because many families have their babies at home. Alani photographed hundreds of babies born with cleft palates, elongated heads, overgrown limbs, short limbs, malformed ears, noses and spines; unfortunately most of these babies died within 20 to 30 minutes of being born.

The US and NATO forces used DU penetrator rounds in the Gulf War, the Bosnia War, the bombing of Serbia and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and in each case reports of increased birth defects and cancer emerged thereafter. And despite growing evidence, including complaints from our own military personnel, there is no international treaty banning the use of DU projectiles. We concern ourselves, rather, with the prospect of uranium falling into the wrong hands, failing to scru-

tinize our own use of uranium-enriched munitions; and innocent people continue to die from exposure all the while.

An international coalition of more than 155 non-governmental organizations requested a United Nations resolution banning the production and use of depleted uranium weapons, but when the resolution came to a vote in December 2010, the UK, US, Israel and France voted against it. The resolution passed by a vote of 148 to four, with 30 abstentions, but the UK, US, Israel and France were not bound by the resolution.

Depleted uranium munitions were used extensively in the Gulf War, and a study of 15,000 Gulf War Veterans found that fathers were 1.8 and mothers 2.8 times more likely to have children with birth defects. Examination of their children’s medical records two years later showed an increase in birth defects at a rate of more than 20 percent. Additionally, studies by the US Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute concluded that moderate exposure to either depleted uranium or uranium presents a significant toxicological threat. If our government is truly supportive of our troops, avoiding civilian casualties and preventing the proliferation and use of uraniumenriched weapons, then it must set the example—we must demand nothing less.

On February 20, 2007, Iraqi Veteran SPC Travis Bromfield of the 11th Ar-

Crisis in the Strait of Hormuz escalates Anthony

de

Alwis

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Iran has been the proverbial thorn in the side of the US ever since the fall of the shah, but the current cold war between the US and Iran could send a world teetering on the edge of a second global recession right over the cliff.

The current crisis revolves around the Strait of Hormuz, a pivotal sea passage through which millions of barrels of crude oil are carried daily, which Iran has threatened to blockade if the US levies new sanctions that prevent Iran from exporting oil. As a reaction to the threat, the US, UK, and Russia deployed battleships to the region as deterrents to prevent a closure, and if necessary, force Iran to reopen the Strait.

History has a tendency to repeat itself, and it’s hard not to draw comparisons between the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz and the 1960’s Cuban missile crisis, but who will blink first this time? Chances are it will be Iran, but that’s a gamble Americans can’t afford to take. The US needs to finally stand up to Iran and force the collapse of its government, for not only its own security, but also the world’s.

The sanctions Iran faces prevent any international governments or private enterprises from doing business with the Iranian Central Bank from accessing US financial markets. It forces Iran’s economic allies to ask themselves which they prefer: trade with Iran or trade with us? When you compare the two economies the answer is simple. The sanction puts a death grip around the fragile Iranian economy, preventing it from exporting its most valuable commodity: oil.

The sanctions could cause an economic collapse in Iran, making American dollars even scarcer than they are now and halting the inflow of goods from the rest of the world (except for food and medicine). Iranian leaders know that this type of sanction could be devastating to their people, potentially inciting riot and rebellion against the government. They could spell the end of the theocratic Ayatollah government. This is what caused Iran to threaten to close of the Strait of Hormuz, a bold move that attracted the entire world’s attention.

Iran is playing a very dangerous game by threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz. The act would not only cause a swift retaliation from the US and its allies, but also endanger Iran’s relationships with Russia and China, who have continually voted down tougher UN sanctions against Iran to protect their vital economic interests in the country, specifically access to the vast oil fields therein.

A closure of the Strait would help the US make the case to China and Russia that the current regime is unstable and a change of leadership is necessary.

The Iran sanctions are in response to the country’s nuclear ambitions, which the Iranian government has repeatedly stated are for peaceful energy purposes. To many in the US this might seem like legitimate argument, but Iran sits atop vast reservoirs of natural gas that could be cheaply used as energy. The true purpose of the program is to build a nuclear bomb and carry out the lunatic fantasy of the Ayatollah: to bring about the destruction of the US and Israel and the arrival of the 12th Imam to the world.

Iran’s goal has always been

to create a worldwide Islamic regime, and for years they have used negotiations as a tactic to stall for more time to complete the nuclear program they so desperately need to accomplish this. It is imperative the US not back down and that they force Iran to give up their nuclear program once and for all.

It should be noted that Iran would more than likely not dare to close the Strait of Hormuz; it would mean the end of the Ayatollah regime. But if it does happen it will inevitably draw us into another conflict in the Middle East we cannot walk away from in a hurry.

If anything can be taken from this conflict, it is that the United States has to become energy independent. We cannot keep importing oil from this unstable region and expect to never get involved in their affairs. The Keystone pipeline provides the US a chance to become a net oil exporter. It could have curbed our need for oil imported from the Middle East, but the Obama Administration put the concerns of hippies and tree huggers before American national security.

The Arab Spring was a perfect opportunity to further the objectives of the American opposition in Iran, but the US fumbled the ball here too—an error that led us to the situation we are in now.

If the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz really is the 21st century’s Cuban Missile Crisis, then the US needs to stand firm and confront the new evil empire of our time. We need to use the tools of economic, and if necessary, conventional warfare to facilitate the demise of the Ayatollah and their puppet dictator, Ahmadinejad.

America and the world’s security depend on it.

mored Calvary was laid to rest at the National Cemetery of Riverside, California so that he could be close to his parents and four siblings. His father Terry Bromfield said, “…we’re convinced Travis was exposed to depleted uranium. It really hurts that our son went to war for this country, willfully gave his life, and our government won’t even acknowledge Travis as a casualty of war.”

I am disgusted with all the political rhetoric that espouses an undying love for this country and the principals for which it stands only to ignore scientific evidence and the pleas for help from the men and women who serve our country—hypocrisy that claims to care about human life. Casualties continue to mount because the power brokers refuse to acknowledge the use and effects of toxic munitions. How many more men, women and children must die before we put an end to the use of uranium-enriched weapons? We profess our love for our country, but what of our love for human life?

Maybe liberty, truth and the pursuit of happiness aren’t intended for those caught in the crossfire. Maybe someone should ask our presidential candidates how they feel about the use of UD munitions. What am I thinking? This is an election year—we won’t hear anything about uranium unless it is how to keep it out of the hands of others!

NDAA FROM PAGE 6

the public and its government and a complete disregard of the Constitution.

When these two sections were first proposed in November and subsequently added to the overall bill, the White House came out with tough language condemning them, even threatening that the president would veto the bill if it landed on his desk with the provisions intact.

However, the president did nothing to ensure the sections were left out. He not only failed to put pressure on members of his own party, he also flip-flopped on yet another issue. Only this time it wasn’t some inconsequential social issue; it was a true threat to the very liberties that this country has trumpeted since independence.

Once again, a politician sought cover on a bill that he knew was wrong for the country, but the lust for more power, the possibility of further-expanding the government, was simply too sweet to resist. The ACLU has been attempting to mobilize their supporters and raise public awareness so that we might pressure our legislative representatives to pass amendments to this law to repeal sections 1021 and 1022. So far, there has been little luck with this endeavor.

The biggest difference between the NDAA and the PATRIOT Act isn’t necessarily that the latter was less egregious than the former. It is the fact that when the Bush Administration proposed the PATRIOT Act, there was a national debate on it. The

bill was passed on its own, the good and the bad were laid out for all to see, chastise and criticize.

The current administration, on the other hand, took the path of the coward and quietly allowed these heinous provisions to be passed behind closed doors. They knew that if they made a separate bill for these provisions, it would never get any votes in Congress, and the decision would have fractured President Obama’s base, effectively handing the presidency to the Republicans.

Liberty is under siege in this country. Gone are the days when the United States was a beacon of freedom and liberty for the world. Now, the government is unilaterally tapping people’s phones without any consent while secret courts hand out secret warrants that authorize law enforcement agencies to break into people’s homes.

At this rate, we will soon be fondly remembering the good old days wherein the PATRIOT Act was the law of the land and government only scrutinized our private lives when surveillance and warrant issues were at play.

This is what America has become. Unless this law is repealed, there is little hope that things will get better.

Four years ago, the ultracharismatic politician sitting in the White House painted Americans a Norman Rockwell-esque picture of their country, one that was full of hope, full of positive change.

Instead, he has delivered the exact opposite—a land of the free no longer.

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HIGHLANDER

RESTAURANT REVIEW:

Cardelli’s Italian Deli RATING: ★★★☆☆

Josh Katz, Contributing Writer // An Tran, Photographer My feelings toward Cardelli’s Italian Deli are bittersweet. I suppose it is all relative in relation to our campus, but Cardelli’s Italian Deli is a delight that is a trek away. It’s a hidden restaurant in a random shopping center where a K-Mart stands tallest. The restaurant itself was clean and quaint. It wasn’t busy and they were in desperate need of customers, it seemed.

The sandwiches were large and filling.

The first item, the pastrami, was fresh and was complimented nicely by the pickle, spicy mustard and marble rye bread. The next sandwich was a traditional Italian sub, exploding with flavor making my taste buds dance on the top of my tongue. Piled into a garlic roll like clowns in a car, the meats, cheeses, vegetables and condiments sat so well together. The freshness of a red pepper sitting in a bed of vinegar in between a slice of provolone cheese and pepperoni. Each bite was full of flavor and kick. The pepperoncini that added a little spice would likely cause you to conserve your can of soda, but by the end you may be swallowing saliva to fight the spice.

In essence, they were solid sandwiches.

They were reasonably priced, and the lady who worked there graciously gave us a scoop of ice cream on the house. Their subtle kindness and quality food earned my business. It is, by no stretch of the imagination, a classic New York style deli. It doesn’t have the fast-paced city feel to it. It isn’t loud with meat hanging from the ceilings and butchers yelling at one another. In that respect, the comparison isn’t fair. It’s difficult to open a deli that competes with some of the greats. Deli’s like Carnegie Deli and Katz’s Deli in New York City have such a rich history to them that adds to their food.

Cardelli’s sits on top of Mt. Rubidoux, and you watch your gas meter slowly fall as you climb the mountain. It isn’t in a big city, it may not have a deli style feel to it, but at the end of the day it is about the food and the quality of taste. Cardelli’s was a great lunch and a pleasant change from the usual choices University H Avenue has to offer. ■

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012

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Living with Lions and Tigers: UCR Student Volunteers with Wild Animals

BY SOH-YEON LEE & FATIMA MIRZA // PHOTOS COURTESY OF

When you work with animals “twice your weight, you realize that you can die. They can just kill you, but they don’t. Working with such risk and bonding with such big animals taught me to be fearless.

“

While most students reunited with friends and family over winter break, Dyanna Cooper, a third year UCR student, flew to South Africa. Cooper, who is double majoring in psychology and biology, was drawn to Port Elizabeth to live and work among lions and tigers at the Sea View Lion Park.

This past winter break was Cooper’s second time at the wild animal sanctuary. Cooper first traveled there during summer of 2011. She said, “During the summer I was there for three weeks, and I loved it so much that I decided to go back. I even took my finals early so I could go during my finals week,” said Cooper.

While her peers were finishing up final projects and taking exams, Cooper was halfway across the globe, surrounded by nature and wild animals. If Cooper was afraid, she did not show it. She was excited at the opportunity and shared what pulled her toward an experience others would find frightening.

“I always loved animals, especially tigers. They are my favorite animals,” said Cooper.

“I first heard of the park when I was researching for parks with tigers and lions. It’s a volunteer program that I found online.” said Cooper.

It became clear when speaking with Cooper that she is unbelievably independent and unstoppable when it comes pursuing her goals. After a few hours of researching volunteer opportunities, she decided that a wild animal park in South Africa was the perfect place for her. At first, her friends and family were concerned for her safety and were opposed to her traveling so far for such a risky task.

“People tried to discourage me from going to Africa, but I was going to go. I thought, ‘if something happens, oh well, it doesn’t matter.’ ” “When I called the sanctuary, they said that I’d get to be hands on with the animals. When I heard that, I said, ‘Okay, I’m going to go,’” said Cooper. Soon after, Cooper began planning for her trip.

“I bought a ticket the same day I talked to [the people at the sanctuary]. I didn’t know what to expect.

I didn’t go with any particular program, so I was just hoping that they would be there to pick me up at the airport,” said Cooper.

Tigers and lions are arguably some of the worlds most feared and fierce creatures. But instead of outwardly displaying any fear she may have felt, Cooper said that she maintained tough presence when she was with the big cats. She noted the importance of a firm gaze, one that also emitted a calming effect.

Cooper had a strict schedule to abide by. On the first day, she went through intensive training. Every day that followed, she had to wake up early in the morning to prepare meals for the animals.

“I had to wake up every morning around 5 a.m. because I had to start work at 6 a.m. I had to feed the lions with a bottle because they were still young. When I first got there, they were seven weeks old,” said Cooper, who was able to watch the young cubs grow during her time there.

Aside from feeding the cubs, Cooper also had many other obligations. During the day, she had to take the big cats on a walk, clean the park and play with the animals. She recalled, “Lions follow the leader because they are pride animals. But tigers are more independent, so we had to harness them, put them on a leash, and take them on a walk before and after the park closes so no public is around.”

Despite the long hours she had to put in, Cooper was hardly aware of the amount of work because she considered it a part of living her dream.

Cooper’s love for animals has been a reoccurring theme throughout her life, and she has been exposed to animals from a very young age. Currently, she owns a pet snake at her apartment because she cannot keep dogs or cats. “I have always had a pet since I was younger. I used to go to Kansas every summer since we have a house there. We had a horse and all sorts of animals. I always wanted a horse, even though I had to cut up one at the sanctuary,” said Cooper. She has also worked with other exotic animals before; she was a dolphin trainer

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LIONS AND TIGERS CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

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LIONS AND TIGERS FROM PAGE 9

for a day at SeaWorld when she had just graduated from high school.

An interesting experience she remembers was “meat prep.” At the sanctuary she had to prepare meat to feed to the lions and tigers. “When I was on meat prep, I had to prepare the food with others so we had to go fetch an animal—an animal that needed to be put down or we would have to go hunt one. Then we had to cut up the meat ourselves. When I first got there the babies were only on bottles, but later they were on both bottles and meat. While there, I witnessed a horse getting shot and I even cut open a horse with my own two hands.”

When explaining how she came to terms with having to cut up or hunt animals for food, she explained, “I understand that it’s a circle of life. In the wild, the horse would’ve experienced a torturous death, but the horse dies instantly when shot down. So there’s less pain.”

Cooper’s cabin at the sanctuary was located inside the 300 acre gated park, and each morning she she woke to a view of zebras and other wild animals roaming right beneath her window.

“When you work with animals twice your weight, you realize that you can die. They can just kill you, but they don’t. Working with such risk and bonding with such big animals taught me to be fearless,” said Cooper. She admits that it was a struggle to get close to the bigger lions in the park, one that she overcame.

Overall, the experience has affected Cooper in many different ways. For one, it inspired her to become a biology major. Her fearless encounter with wild animals also taught her a lot about her-

C o u rt e s y

self. She said, “Traveling by myself taught me a lot about myself and life. It gave me a new perspective on it all.”

She added, “I learned to be thankful for what you have. To do what you want to do, and to just go for it. I learned how strong I am as an individual, and I learned that I can do anything when put my mind

of

D yanna C o o p e r

to it.”

Cooper confessed, “There are no bonds like bonds with animals. It’s hard to explain. No one can understand the bond I had with the animals.”

Dyanna Cooper is enthusiastic to welcome anyone who is interested in joining her on the volunH teer program, www.Freewalker.co.za. ■

UC Riverside Professors Probe Violence in “A Thousand Cuts”

BY Chelsea Santos, Staff Writer

C o u rt e s y

of

UCR N e w s r o o m

“A Thousand Cuts,” a psychological thriller written by UC Riverside Theatre Professors Charles Evered and Eric Barr, premiered at the 23rd Palm Springs International Film Festival, one of the largest film festivals in the United States, on Jan. 12.

The independent film is centered around Frank Bennet, played by Academy Award nominee Michael O’Keefe.

Bennet is a man with a dark past that unravels following his encounter with a big-shot horror director in Hollywood, played by Michael A. Newcomer. While it focuses on the character development of the two protagonists, the cast includes Olesya Rulin (High School Musical), David Naughton (American Werewolf in London) and James Van Patten (Saw). Shot in Palm Desert, Mountain Center, as well as other small locations, the independent film took 10 days to produce.

Although categorized as a psychological thriller, it delves into the horror genre and includes dark dramatic elements. Rather than fitting into one category, “A Thousand Cuts” is as versatile as it is unique in this way. Such a shift from any one genre serves a purpose as prominent Playwright and Associate Professor Charles Evered, both director and co-writer, uses the grisly murder of an innocent young woman as the anchor of the picture. He begins the film with the woman’s murder, which forms the basis of the tense encounter between the dark stranger and horror director. What would later unfold is a “fight for survival…literally and figuratively,” Evered notes, as the stranger confronts the director with the murder of his daughter, emulated after his film, “A Thousand Cuts.”

Meanwhile, as the stranger holds the director hostage in his own home, he reveals that he has kidnapped the director’s sister, Melanie, which only intensifies the terror of the film.

“The story for ‘A Thousand Cuts’ was inspired by Evered’s questions about

how creators of slasher films, movies that use young women as props and victims, would deal with the awful consequences of what their movies might inspire,” describes Professor and Theatre Chair Eric Barr, one of the cowriters.

He continues, “The movie calls into question how responsible artists are for the work they put into the marketplace.”

With increasingly graphic films over the past few decades including “Friday the 13th” and the more recent “Hostel,” this film allows for viewers to consider the effects of such imagery, and how we view ourselves in a society that permits such violent depictions. Indeed, there appears to be a running theme in the horror genre through the years in typecasting young, beautiful women as the victims of suffering and torture. But when the film stops rolling and viewers file out of the movie theatre, how extensive is the effect of disturbing images on the human psyche? What does this convey about our culture’s viewpoint on the role of women in today’s society? By provoking these questions, Evered says his hope is,“to end up with a film that focuses on the humanity implicit in the story.”

It is indeed agreeable that audiences seek the “wow factor” in heart-pumping films. In the horror genre, viewers focus on the effect of imagery on their psyche as a way to challenge how long they can withstand it without running out of the theatre in fear. Thus, artists latch onto that focus and are willing to utilize any means—in many cases, innocent female victims—to leave a lasting impression. The helps explain the greater concentration of gory films in recent years than those of psychological horror. But this only grazes the surface of what “A Thousand Cuts” calls into question.

For more information on the film, check out their official website at H athousandcutsmovie.com. ■

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THE DIGITAL WORLD WITH RYAN SIMON A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE OF TECH AT CES 2012 WRITTEN BY RYAN SIMON, SENIOR STAFF WRITER Every New Year brings us new technology. Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada, the public got a small glimpse into the near future of the tech industry. CES is home to all sorts of interesting product announcements, prototypes and demonstrations.

This year, CES introduced a plethora of new and improved tech from all over the industry. From high-powered smartphones, tablets and laptops, to super high-resolution televisions and beefier computer chips, companies from around the world provided consumers with plenty of new technology to get excited about.

MY TV IS MORE HD THAN YOURS! People may already be arguing over whose TV is the most HD now, but there simply won’t be any comparison once people get their eyes on the display technology Sharp has in the works. While companies like Sony, LG and Samsung showed off incredibly detailed 4K resolution televisions, Sharp upped the ante by giving CES attendees a first look at an 85-inch television displaying in 8K resolution. Just to put it into perspective, 8K resolution (a.k.a. Ultra High Definition) offers 16 times the amount of pixels found in a traditional 1080p display.

This translates into a vast difference in picture clarity and crispness. 8K is still a ways off from hitting stores, but we can expect 4K resolution displays to be available later this year. Other spectacular 1080p displays like LG’s 4mm 55inch 3D OLED television still impressed with fantastic image quality and a paper-thin form factor.

INTEL ENTERS THE MOBILE ARENA There have been rumblings about Intel’s entry into the smartphone and tablet market for some time now, and Intel has finally come clean about their mobile plans. Intel’s Atom-based Medfield processor marks the company’s first big step into the mobile market. The Medfield processor promises increased raw performance, lower production costs and low power consumption when compared to the chips provided by their major competitor, ARM. Intel also announced partnerships with Motorola and Lenovo to bring Medfield-based Android phones to the consumer market by the end of this year.

With Intel now competing with ARM for market share, consumers should expect better quality hardware at lower prices in the very near future.

Photos Courtesy of pcworld.com, obywatelHD, thebitbag.com, droid-life.com

MORE TABLETS, MORE PHONES, MORE LAPTOPS Anyone who has paid attention to the tech industry for the past year will know that mobile devices like tablets and smartphones are becoming more popular each day. It comes as no surprise then that several companies at CES were showing off all sorts of new mobile hardware. One of the more interesting prototype devices shown was Project Fiona, a gaming tablet from computer accessory manufacturer Razer. The difference between Fiona and other 10.1” slates is that it is the first to rock Intel’s Core i7 Ivy Bridge processor, dual analog controllers, a custom Windows 7 interface and THX sound certification.

If Razer gets enough positive feedback from the showcase of their device, we may be seeing a retail version of Fiona hit store shelves by the end of this year.

Smartphone announcements were a lot less impressive this year. Besides Intel’s promising Medfield prototypes, there were very few new phones to gawk at. Sprint announced their line of LTE phones, of which includes Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus Google Experience phone. Fujitsu’s prototype Android 4.0 phone is one of the first to include Nvidia’s new quad-core Tegra 3 processor, which promises better battery life and amazingly smooth performance for gaming and everyday applications.

Motorola announced two new Droid phones for Verizon: the Droid RAZR Maxx and the Droid 4. The Maxx is an upgraded version of the recently released RAZR, and has an astounding twenty-one hours of talk time. The Droid 4 adopts the sleek design of the RAZR while providing a rather useful five-row keyboard. Nokia finally showed off their first high-end LTE-enabled Windows Phone 7 device. Nokia seems to be one of the only manufacturers pushing Windows Phone 7 in a significant way with luxurious design and functionality.

Despite an industry-wide push for tablets and smartphones, laptops still had a noteworthy presence at CES. Samsung impressed with their first entry into the gaming laptop market. The Gamer Notebook Series 7 impressed with its desktop-like performance, customized functions for different scenarios and sleek design. For their first try and starting price of $1,800, Samsung has gotten a lot right with this gaming laptop.

AMD displayed their new Trinity processors with a spectacular multithreaded load. On a laptop, AMD ran a full DirectX 11 game on one display, a video transcoding app on another display and a full HD video all without lag or stutter of any sort. Trinity is AMD’s push for more efficient

and effective mobile processing, and it shows.

Let’s not forget about Intel’s initiative for their ultrabooks— more than twenty models were announced at CES this year. For those unaware, an ultrabook is a subcategory of laptops created

by Intel with a focus on compact design and improved battery life. Samsung, Dell, Lenovo and HP have all jumped on the ultrabook bandwagon, so expect to see tons of these slim and sexy laptops hitting retail shelves throughout the year.

SOME INTERESTING INNOVATIONS The most intriguing part of CES is seeing all the quirky products that tech companies

come up with. One in particular from Samsung is called the Smart Window. Using ambient light projected onto a transparent slate of glass, Samsung has essentially created one of the first touch-sensitive windows.

Just think how much more exciting windows will become. This may not be the most random thing, but OnLive announced a partnership with Google to bring their full cloud-based gaming service to GoogleTV. All future GoogleTV devices will now be capable of playing high-res PC games, further adding to the usefulness of Google’s TV companion software.

WRAP-UP CES 2012 may not have in-

troduced a lot of new groundbreaking technology, but there were certainly some stand-out products on the crowded convention show floor. My pick for the most interesting product would have to go to Sharp’s 85inch 8K resolution television.

It may not be a very plausible consumer product for the near future, but the simple promise that we will eventually be able to watch IMAX quality films in our households is pretty awesome. Other than that, the notion that Intel has entered the mobile phone and tablet chip-making business is exciting. With any luck, Intel will apply enough pressure against ARM to push mobile technology to a whole new level of affordability and H functionality. ■

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TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012

Radar ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

photo courtesy of screenhead.com

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A NEW FASHION COLUMN

[

NO KILTS ALLOWED

]

Emily Wells, Senior Staf f Writer // Graphic by Irin Son

In the midst of budget crises, increasing class sizes and the daily struggle to wake up for 8 a.m. class, there is yet another problem plaguing the modern university that desperately needs to addressed: the fact that a surprising number of students have little to no concern for their daily sartorial decisions. It is a problem of the marring of beauty on our lovely campus. It is a problem that involves pajamas and sweatpants. It is a problem that involves Ugg boots. It is a problem that is exacerbated every time a student decides to have a “lazy day.” We must take action, and we must do it now.

While many insist that assessing an individual based on their clothing choices is superficial, I contend that clothing is more than pure aesthetics. Clothing is one of our most accessible means of representing ourselves to the world around us. What we choose to wear each morning makes a statement to everyone we will encounter that day—peers, professors, future employers, parents and friends.

When someone looks at you and interprets how you dress, they are not being materialistic or shallow, they are reading the message that you chose to convey. Your message can range from “I give up” to “I will be respected.” This is not to say that respect should not be earned in other ways—of course it should. But if we take our education, and for that matter our lives seriously, we do what we can to emulate that in all pursuits. Clothing is a powerful language. Why not choose to utilize every possible means of communication available to us?

For the person whose love of clothes ventures into artistic territory, fashion becomes a medium for self expression far beyond communication. If you are at all like me, and love to experiment with all forms of expression and creativity, the opportunity to experiment with clothing and accessories is too exciting to pass up. One needn’t be Anna Wintour to successfully divulge into the art of fashion. One of the great things about fashion when compared to other art forms is the incredibly even play-

ing field. I am certainly no great painter (despite my best efforts to prove otherwise) and will most likely never become one no matter how much I work at it. With fashion, we all get dressed everyday, and thus create a canvas for ourselves. The canvas can be left blank and minimal, or embellished with colors, textures and representations of your personality.

One need only look at the daily task of getting dressed as an opportunity instead of a chore.

This is not to say that everyone must fit into a narrow idea of what is acceptable dress. Establishing your own signature style, whatever niche it may fall into, is an invaluable experience and a lifetime process. I have a deep appreciation for people who can truly carry a style with confidence, even when it is something I could never see myself wearing. We are lucky enough to attend a campus where uniqueness and diversity are celebrated everywhere—should the same not hold true with personal style?

There are an infinite amount of reasons for college students to put some effort into their daily appearance. First and foremost, confidence in appearance has been proven to improve performance academically and professionally. It explains why employers often noticed a decline in work ethic with the implementation of “casual Friday.” When you go to take a final, don’t you feel better about the test if you pulled yourself together beforehand?

For the collegiate men, short of intelligence and a stellar personality, few things will impress a lady as much as a man who knows how to pull his look together.

College students live busy, chaotic, financially-limited lives. Building a wardrobe and your own individual style can seem like an unmanageable task in the midst of it all. However, I am a firm believer that fashion can be appreciated at any walk of life, income level or level of devotion. I hope this column will be a helpful dialogue on all things fashion-related H for college students. ■

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16

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

HIGHLANDER

MOVIE REVIEWS ALSO THIS WEEK:

EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE

RED TAILS

HAYWIRE

UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING

WAR HORSE RATING: ★★★☆☆

BY: JACQUELINE BALDERRAMA, STAFF WRITER “War Horse,” directed by Steven Spielberg, premiered Dec. 25, 2011 as a war drama featuring the story of a horse passed from person to person in the midst of World War I. Originally based on a children’s book by Michael Morpurgo, this film satisfies basic themes of hope, friendship and bravery in a seemingly hopeless time.

Though entertaining and inspiring, the film falls more than a nose short of Spielberg’s earlier masterpieces.

The film begins with a fool’s purchase of a thoroughbred colt at a town auction by a farmer, Ted Narracott (Peter Mullan).

Against his need for a large plow horse to work and therefore pay overdue rent to his disheartening landlord, the often drunk farmer with a bad leg, brings the horse home. Despite the criticism of his wife, the family keeps it with the promise that their son, Albert (Jeremy Irvine) will train the animal which he soon names, Joey. The pair build a friendship and together, the often teased “fancy horse,” exceeds every one’s expectations. However, even with the hope and miraculous determination of both Albert and Joey, circumstances build in which the only way to repay the landlord is to sell Joey into the English cavalry at the start of World War I. Over the course of the film, the horse enters the lives of individuals

divided by the war including an English officer, two German soldier brothers, and a wishful french girl and her grandfather.

The quickly becoming “war horse” finds itself the escape and hope of each of the characters until the animal reaches the front lines of the war itself. The horse at last collides with the terror of human conflict. Meanwhile, Albert has entered the army and is in hopes that he and his friend will be reunited. As a whole, this film builds upon the themes of different kinds of bravery and hope despite total carnage and the pursuit of friendship.

With timeless Spielberg classics to compare such as “Schindler’s List,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Jurassic Park,” and even “Jaws,” “War Horse” seems to pale in comparison.

Though well executed on the roster with other horse movies like “Black Beauty,” it does not deliver the spectacle Spielberg is known for. The acting is well performed especially due to the fact that Jeremy Irvine has only prior to this film been on a UK television show. In addition, the composition of the farmer’s character has enlightening qualities, such as his service in the Second Boer War for which he was emotionally and physically maimed. His regimental pennant becomes another token at first accompanying the war horse, and it too falls into

Photos Courtesy of DreamWorks II Distribution Co.

the hands of unlikely people.

Of these vignette-like stories, some were better than others.

For example, the older German brother has promised his mother to protect his under-aged sibling and he risks desertion to fulfill this. Also, the scenes with the young french girl, Emilie (Celine Buckens), built up the plot as she is orphaned to her grandfather as her parents died fighting. However, in addition to these touching moments, there came several predictable instances and occasions of redundancy upon all individuals agreeing that the animal is a “miraculous horse” and is always falling into attentive and caring hands.

Much of the movie was filmed in very picturesque locations around the English countryside. This served as a sturdy base against the horror of battle scenes. However, brief backgrounds of the sky and hills sometimes appeared to be backdrops rather than the setting itself. Furthermore, the often overly dramatic shots with sunsets made the film feel slightly inauthentic and cliché. As a combination of beautiful scenery, livening plot, and propelling orchestral accompaniment

by John Williams, “War Horse” is entertaining and certainly not deserving of failing reviews, but its reoccurring weaker moments prevent it from being one H of Spielberg’s best.■

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012

17

THE DEVIL INSIDE RATING: ★☆☆☆☆

BY: JAKE SHUM, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

“The Devil Inside,” directed by William Brent Bill, was simply shocking. What was shocking is how the played out fake documentary-style filming and atrocious acting never ceases to captivate audiences.

It is clear that this low-budget movie had one purpose: to con high school adolescents out of their movie money. Unfortunately this objective had been met with 34.5 million dollars made within the first three days of the film’s release.

With millions of dollars on the market, who wouldn’t want to make a mediocre low-budget blockbuster horror film?

The movie opens with a sort of disclaimer, explaining, “the Vatican did not endorse this film nor aid in its completion.” This was unfortunately the most intriguing portion of the film. Isabelle Rossi, (Fernanda Andrade), is the daughter of a possessed woman hospitalized by the church claiming that her mother, Maria Rossi, (Suzan Crowley), is in fact mentally ill. Isabelle, curious about her mother’s condition, ventures to Vatican City in Rome to attend classes at the prestigious Exorcism Academy. There she meets two priests, Ben and

David, (Simon Quarterman and Evan Helmuth), whose passion for exorcism leads them to “save” those who the Vatican believes are mentally ill rather than possessed. After assisting the two priests in one exorcism, Isabelle then suggests Ben and David take the case of her mother. Unfortunately, Isabelle’s mother was clearly worse off than they anticipated.

There was one impressive star in this film: Pixie Le Knot.

Ever wonder how these exorcism movies make their “possessed” actors move into such back breaking positions? Contortionists like Pixie Le Knot are responsible for the spasmlike body poses. Although her name is towards the bottom of the credits, she was certainly the star of the show.

Going into the film, my expectations may have been too high. Having a soft spot for exorcism horror films, I imagined that this one should be at least entertaining. Unfortunately, it was a large disappointment and incredibly formulaic. Hopefully going forward, Hollywood can be a little more innovative with their next batch of exorcism H horror films. ■

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18

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012

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. SPORTS .

HIGHLANDER

Women’s basketball struggles in away trips A d o l f o B ej a r STAFF WRITER

Gauchos 63 – Highlanders 43

The women’s basketball team hit the road again for the second consecutive game. This time they travelled to Santa Barbara, where the Gauchos hosted the Highlanders at the Thunderdome. The Highlanders were still aching after the hard defeat against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and were looking to get back on the winning track against the Gauchos.

The game started really balanced as both teams scored and defended relatively well.

UCR’s Dynese Adams scored the first five points for the Highlanders, while UCSB’s Sweets Underwood took the first eight points for the Gauchos, putting the score sheet at 8-5 after five minutes of play.

UCSB controlled the pace of the game by defending well and counterattacking brilliantly, the Gauchos scored six of the next eight points. The Highlanders reacted immediately and scored eight unanswered points, six of those by Natasha Hadley, to shorten the Gauchos’ lead to two points.

UCSB put on an astonishing offensive display on the last minutes of the first half and took a lead of eight points at

A r chi v e /HIGHLANDER

the end of the first half, putting the score sheet at 31-23.

The Highlanders and Gauchos came back to the court sharper for the second half as both teams hit four of four field goals each, yet the difference was two three-point shots by the Gauchos who widened their lead to 12 points. UCR

reacted quickly as Dynese Adams scored the next five points, cutting the lead to just seven points. The dynamism of the game was reflected in the next offensive series where both of the teams traded points back and forth. However, the Highlanders were never able BASKETBALL CONT’D ON PAGE 19

SPORTS

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012

19

BASKETBALL FROM PAGE 18

to cut the Gauchos’ lead to less than 10 points. UCSB then went into a 9-0 run that killed off the game completely for the Highlanders with two minutes left on the clock.

UCR lost by 20 points with a final score of 63-43. UCR remains the only winless team in the Big West conference with a conference record of 0-6 and an overall record of 2-15.

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Mustangs 71 – Highlanders 43

The women’s basketball team travelled to San Luis Obispo to face the Mustangs in what was the sixteenth fixture of the season. UCR was thrashed by the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs in what was a record-breaking game by the Mustangs. The Highlanders came into the game with a record of 2-13 overall and 0-4 in league play. UCR presented a short squad made up of only eight players due to the increasing accumulation of injuries.

The game started really slowly for both teams. The offenses were not as sharp at the beginning and after four and a half minutes of play, the score was 4-2 in favor of the Mustangs. The Highlanders’ defense lacked solidity and allowed six straight points in two minutes. UCR’s offense was unable to respond immediately but as the ball

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kept moving, they were able to close the gap to five points with a couple of jumpers by Natasha Hadley.

Cal Poly again took an extended lead, scoring the next eight points and opening up a gap of 10 points between the two teams. The scoring pace of the Mustangs and the solid defensive display was too

much for the Highlanders. Cal Poly got a twenty-point lead over the Highlanders thanks to an astonishing display by Kristina Santiago who scored a game-high 24 points. The Highlanders just couldn’t stop the Mustangs and by the end of the game, they reached a 36-point lead. The Highlanders tried to fight back with a

A r chi v e /HIGHLANDER

couple of jumpers and layups

by Dynese Adams, but it was too late and too big of an advantage for the Mustangs.

UCR got the last points of the game, but they were not enough as they just narrowed down the loss to a 28-point difference. The final score was 71-43 in favor of the MusH tangs. ■

20

SPORTS

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2012

HIGHLANDER

UCR wins fourth straight conference game

PRANAV BHAKTA

P-BHAK’S CORNER

RIO-SIDE

The Tebow Factor Endless sports articles have been written about the astounding success of Tim Tebow. Tebow has led his team, the Denver Broncos, to a playoff spot and a victory in the first round against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tebow and his team may have lost against the New England Patriots, but Tebow is here to stay.

He has been considered an overachiever by many football pundits as his craft as a professional quarterback is not up to the level of many other NFL quarterbacks. But what makes Tebow a success in the game of football and what has left many people amazed is his ability to inspire and lead his teammates.

The media has credited Tebow’s Christian faith as the main reason behind his success. While Tebow’s faith may indeed be behind the Broncos’ success this season, I believe that Tebow’s leadership skills have been ignored by the pundits.

No, he does not have great numbers as an individual player, but the intangibles, especially leadership, have allowed this mile high roster to excel as a group.

What Tebow has given his team is a purpose, a belief that together they can win any game.

The Broncos’ defense has come up with amazing defensive coverage in some of the games played with Tebow as quarterback.

While Tebow may not be able to throw the most accurate pass in the league, his receiver will make an extra push to catch the ball. The running game with Tebow has been invigorated again with the new option plays.

So the success should not be a surprise to anyone because he is not on the team to play as an individual, he is there to lead a team to success. And yes, he does get lucky on some plays, but sometimes you have to H be good to be lucky. ■

Following the recent trend of super conference shuffling, the Big West conference will soon have a few big changes of its own in the upcoming years. But these changes aren’t necessarily bad things. For the first time in a long time, the MICHAEL RIOS have Big West will actually the opportunity to become a household name.

K e v in D inh /HIGHLANDER

K e n da ll P ete r s o n STAFF WRITER

Highlanders 60 - Mustangs 53 On Saturday, the UCR men’s basketball squad faced off against its Big West conference opponent Cal Poly. Cal Poly had its hands full with the UCR team who is now 4-1 after the victory. This is the Highlanders’ best conference start as they now have a fourgame winning streak.

UCR was able to withhold its 27-22 lead at halftime.

Their defense controlled the game as shots were not going their way at times. UCR only shot one free-throw in the first half and missed the attempt to complete a three-point play.

The Highlanders shot a superb 50 percent at half compared to Cal Poly’s poor 35 percent. The points in the paint at half were dominated by UCR as they scored 18 to the Mustangs’ eight. The points were distributed all across the board as Phil Martin at the end of the game had 13 points and Kevin Bradshaw contributed 11 as well. UCR showed its furious defense as it forced the Mustangs to commit 13 turnovers.

In the second half, UCR pulled ahead quickly and it seemed as if the game was going to be a blowout by UCR, but as Coach Jim Wooldridge mentioned, “It was a groundout kind of game.” Throughout the game, it was a dog fight as the Mustangs eventually pulled within three points. However, they struggled against UCR’s tremendous defense and the clutch free-throw shooting by the Highlanders secured a victory.

Coach Wooldridge dis-

cussed the team’s performance, saying, “[the team] played solid defense, went to the free-throw line and made key free-throws. We had players step up; you know key moments and a team effort.”

Phil Martin had his best passing game at home with four assists, showing that he is not only a scoring threat, but he can drive and dish out the ball to his teammates and let them score. Martin was asked about his passing ability. “Yeah it’s really important,” he said. “It’s not all about me, it’s to show people that we don’t have to worry about me scoring the ball.”

BJ Shearry was key for the Highlanders as he had seven points and seven rebounds to go along with his five enormous blocks.

Free-throw shooting was also key at home as UCR finished 16 of 23 from the free-throw line. They will look to carry that on the road against Cal State Fullerton this Wednesday.

Highlanders 79 - Gauchos 70 Thursday night the UC Riverside men’s basketball team battled against UC Santa Barbara in a Big West show down.

It took extra play for the Highlanders to finish the match against the Gauchos for their 79-70 win.

The Gauchos scored the first three points and UCR responded with its own threepointer by Phil Martin. Buckets were exchanged by both teams over the next few minutes until Highlander Martin stroked a three to put Riverside up, 12-9. UCR eventually went on a run to go up, 19-13.

UCSB countered back, tying

the game at 19-19 with 8:38 left in the first half.

Martin went off in the first half, going 7-12 from the field and 3-5 from beyond the arc.

Martin shot 4-4 from the freethrow line with six rebounds and 21 of his 33 points in 17 minutes of play. Free-throw shooting throughout the game was very crucial for the Highlanders as they made 29 out of 35 attempts. In overtime, they shot 10 of 12 as they sealed the win with a score of 79-70 over the visiting UC Santa Barbara.

UC Riverside improved to 3-1 in Big West play for the first time in its history and 9-8 overall.

Smith added 16 points for the Highlanders and Nitoto scored 11. Through the last five minutes of regulation, the two teams never led by more than three points. Orlando Johnson for the Gauchos was sent to the line and made both free throws to put them up by two. Robert Smith got the inbound pass and was fouled and sent to the line. The teams traded baskets to start the extra period, but the Highlanders scored the next nine points, five of which came from the free-throw line. The Highlanders were able hold off the Gauchos with impressive defense to seal the victory.

The defense of Riverside was key throughout the game as they held the struggling Gauchos to 36.4 percent shooting (24 of 66) from the field and an awful 25 percent shooting (6 for 24) from downtown. UCR outplayed UCSB throughout overtime, holding them to only seven points. The game had an astounding 12 tied scores and 13 lead changH es by its end. ■

With the M-V-P addition of highprofile teams like Hawai’i During the closing minutes and San Diego Stateovertime in the of Thursday night’s upcoming years, the win against the UCSBBig Gauchos,will Philhave Martin West 11approached strong the free-throw line against to help his teams competing team seal the victory. As he one another. Cal State performed his routine freeSacramento be throw ritual, will the also enthusiastic joining the conference but crowd at the Student RecreationinCenter only soccer.began The chanting, three “M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!” additions have combined to the casual fan, an MVP win To a total of four Division chant for the star player may I titles over yeas. not seem likethe a big deal,With but all the addition of these things considered, thatteams, chant was one of the mostBig signifievery school in the cant will moments hasfight had West now UCR have to all year. I’ve been covering even harder and more comthe team for nearly three years petitively conference now, and to thatwin emphatic MVP titles in each respective chant was one of the rarest and most pleasant sport.

It also meansmoments that our I’ve ever witnessed in a UCR conference will now have game. even more national expoWhen Martin was asked sure. to give his thoughts on the support the fans gave him, he

simplystarting smiled and replied, We’re to see that“It felt good.

It was very big get trend already. Granted,tothe that support from the fans.”

Big West has been relying It really was. It’s amazing onseeing powerhouse teams like so much spirit coming Long Beach in basketball from a fan base with a generallyUC lowIrvine attendance record. I and in baseball give all that credit to Phil Marto gain national exposure, tin. I think the fans are finally but it’s a step in the right starting to see that there really direction.

I’veworth already is something watching started seeing our conferin this team.

Martin is quickly becoming ence’s name on ESPN, the an attraction at UC Riverside.

LA Times and USA Today a total of 317 points onScoring a regular basis. It’s a sign this season, Martin is now that thethe BigtopWest is growamong 40 scoring leading!

For the first time in the a ers in the nation. He’s been most outstanding player the while, the Big West hasin the Big West, and this is a conferopportunity to become as ence that includes NBA-bound well-known as names like athletes like Casper Ware and the Big East, the Pac 12,Phil and Orlando Johnson.

I think the Big 12. can potentially steal the Big West Player of the Year award from Ware and But where doesJohnson.

UCR fit in Think about it. He has the picture? It seems almost scored more points than both asplayers, if the Highlanders he has averagedare a far going along for thepercentage ride but better shooting than taking both players in conferaren’t the initiative ence games and he has also like Long Beach, Hawaii led UCR to its best start in and Irvine. It almost seems Big West history. The award is asthere if we’re losttoin the middle for him take. of allI’m this frenzy. really looking forward to the remaining games of the year. we’re With Martin leading True, currently in the way, UCR has the opportunity the middle of creating a to turn heads and even shock new brand identity with a few people.

The conferencethe update of our athletics leading Long Beach 49ers will play but against thedon’t Highlanders logo, I still think on Jan. 26.

Look for Martin to it’s enough. Our teams need dominate that game and show breakout seasons more than why he deserves to be recogever. afford to get nizedWe as can’t the conference’s best lost in the middle of all the H player.■

changes. For UCR to be