FOR THE WEEK OF TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
Highlander University
Volume 61
@UCRHighlander
UCR community weighs in on search for chancellor
S a n dy V a n SENIOR STAFF WRITER
A town hall was hosted by five members of the chancellor search advisory committee on Feb. 22 in order to collect public input about the characteristics and experiences desired in UCR’s 14th chancellor. The overall selection process will fall within an estimated six months, where hundreds of highranking officials will be considered for the position. The panelists consisted of Jose Wudka, chair of the Riverside division of the academic senate; Yolanda Moses, associate vice chancellor for diversity, excellence and equity; Neal Schiller, senior associate dean for the School of Medicine; Robert Wolfer, vice president of the UCR staff assembly; Liam Dow, president of the Associated Students of UCR; and Aaron Jones, UCR’s graduate student representative. Committee members Wudka, Moses and Schniller will form a separate subcommittee, which will make candidate recommendations to the rest of the advisory board by March 4. They will be
C a l i f o r n i a , R ive r s i d e
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Students, faculty and staff voice their thoughts on the selection of UCR’s next chancellor during town hall meeting.
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DANCE MARATHON
Second-annual fundraiser rocks the SRC
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joined by UC Davis Academic Senate Chair Robert Powell and UCSB Professor of Anthropology Mayfair Yang. By May 6, the advisory committee will further condense the list of possible applicants. “It is the job of the subcommittee to select a candidate...so that the president is compelled to follow through with the recommendation,” Wudka said about the subcommittee’s role to filter out hundreds of qualified candidates. Organized by UC President Mark Yudof, the 17-member advisory committee consists of UC regents, students, staff, faculty and ex-officios. Yudof had expressed a desire for a UCR chancellor to be selected by July—just one month before he is expected to step down as UC president. Wudka said that the deadline is informal and will not modify the chancellor search, even if recommendations are made after August. “We’re not going to shortchange the campus just because we’ve made the assumption about a deadline,” said Wudka. With the attendance of many first-year students, faculty and ASUCR senators, the event was an informal exchange among a room of 30 to 40. Members of the TOWN HALL CONT’D ON PAGE 6
W e s l e y N g /HIGHLANDER Eric Chan, a.k.a. DJ eTunes, kept the crowd pumped throughout the night, which was packed with performers, activities and contests.
UCR student joins with PETA for all-vegan dining hall petition S a n dy V a n SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Carrie Meng
Write-Off: Two sides take on Gov. Brown’s proposed changes to community college funding.
OPINIONS
STAFF WRITER
An undergraduate student has started a petition with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to bring an all-vegan dining hall to UC Riverside. Led by fourth-year philosophy major Donnie McMann, the petition has garnered a whopping 625 signatures since the idea was first conceived on Feb. 13. “Factory farming is the number one cause of climate change in the world, and not only does eating meat support cruelty to animals, it also contributes to human health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and obesity. It’s time to meet the growing student demand for delicious, nutritious vegan meals,” the petition read. PETA is the largest animal rights organization in the United States and one of their campaigns is entitled “Go Vegan!” The campaign encourages individuals to play a role in the reduction of animal slaughter, world hunger and climate change by switchingp to a vegan lifestyle. Veganism is a type of vegetarian diet that does not include eggs, meat, dairy or animal-based products. “Many are eager for getting a change. There isn’t much in place for those who want
INSIDE:
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UCR students shed their clothes and start a new tradition with the Undie Run. PAGE 11
FEATURES
BJ the Chicago Kid, Jhene Aiko and Bobby Valentino heat up the HUB during Winter SOULstice. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT V i n c e n t T a /HIGHLANDER S t u d e n t s p e t i t i o n i n g w i t h P E TA w a n t U C R t o s t a r t a n a l l - v e g a n d i n i n g h a l l d e s p i t e re l a t i v el y l o w d e m a n d f o r v e g a n d i n i n g o p t i o n s . P i c t u re d a b o v e i s T h e G r i l l a t t h e A & I d i n i n g h a l l .
a different option,” expressed McMann. He is a former youth outreach and campaign activist for PETA who wanted to promote his cause through the petition. “Vegans and vegetarians have limited options on campus and within the dining halls they are confined to a salad bar, which is unfortunate.” McMann hopes that UC Riverside will become the second campus in the UC system to start an all-vegan culinary dining hall. Constructed in January 2012, UC San Diego
opened an exclusively vegetarian and vegan dining hall called Roots—the only one of its kind in the system. “I think [veganism] is great. I hear about how hard [going vegan] is but my real goal is to show how normal and easy it is. It’s a greener diet and you can get healthier this way as opposed to an omnivorous diet,” stated McVEGAN CONT’D ON PAGE 4
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Baseball pulls out a win versus Sacramento State despite a brawl between teams.
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SPORTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
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STAFF
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
NEWS
HIGHLANDER
Sequestration cuts could affect UC research funds Michael R ios
SE N IOR STA F F W R I T E R
Automatic sequestration cuts are set to take effect March 1 and will last until September. The budget cuts will slash $177 million in funding for scientific research in the state of California. The potential budget ax is creating a stir in the UC system whose scientific research heavily depends on federal funding. In 2011, President Obama and Congress agreed to the cuts in hopes that the threat of a budget ax would result in a compromise to lower the deficit. The plan has been ineffective as no compromise has yet been made on Capitol Hill. As a result, the cuts are set to fall this March. The University of California has suffered from severe budget cuts as of late. In the past five years, the UC system has had to deal with $900 million worth of cuts on the state level. According to the latest data from UC Office of the President (UCOP), there was a 22 percent drop in federal funds awarded to UC as compared to the same period in the previous year, totaling $320 million worth of cuts. As indicated by UCOP,
UC researchers are among the country’s leading recipients of federal funding from research agencies. The National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, NASA, USDA and the National Institutes of Health are just a few of the research agencies that will be subject to the cuts. According to the UCOP, if the cuts take effect, it will “disrupt UC researchers’ ability to contribute scientific discoveries and innovations, reduce support for graduate and postdoctoral students, and damage job creation and economic recovery in our state and nation.” Chris Harrington, associate director of the UC Office of Federal Governmental Relations, spoke with the Highlander and voiced his opinion of the possible sequestration. “UC opposes sequestration and is urging Congress and the Administration to reach an agreement to avoid the devastating impact that sequestration would have on UC students, our scientific research, health care and the economy,” he said. Prior to those cuts, funding for research was on the rise. In 2010, UC Riverside brought in a record $115 million in research funding. That figure was a 27 percent increase from the
J i n y o u n g K o /HIGHLANDER
UC research is affected by a $177 million cut to California research funding. Pictured above is a lab in Bourns Hall.
previous year. To negate the sequestration cuts, however, plans have been made to restore funds to the UC system. On Jan. 10, Gov. Jerry Brown proposed a plan to restore $256.5 million to the university’s state funding. In order for the plan to take effect, state legislature will first have to agree upon it. On Nov. 2012, the University of California Board of Re-
Photo of the Week
Singer Jhené Aiko dances to the beat of her band at Winter SOULstice, held last Thursday at the HUB Plaza.
Quotebook “I think you can basically find someone who [connects us] locally and brings home the bacon.” - DR. RAYMOND L. WILLIAMS,
Upcoming Events
Cameron Yong STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
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gents endorsed Proposition 30 in hopes of temporarily halting budget cuts to the UC system. Had the proposition failed, UC was scheduled to receive a budget cut of $250 million in 2013 and lose an additional $125 million next year. The automatic cuts will also affect various programs around the nation. Those programs include preschools, national parks, housing assistance and the nation’s defense depart-
ment, which will take half of the total amount in reductions. The total amount is an estimated $1.2 trillion over the next decade. In hopes of postponing the budget ax, Senate Democrats proposed a $100 billion tax increase and spending cuts on Feb. 14. Their plan would only postpone the sequester until Jan. 2014 when a more comprehensive deficit reduction ■H deal is agreed upon.
February
Tuesday
Choreographies of War and Conflict series Dance Studeo Theatre, ATHD 102 4:10 p.m. - 5:40 p.m.
Tuesday Talks - Grrrl Talk Costo Hall 245 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
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Choosing a Major HUB 268 11:00 a.m. - Noon
Colloquia Speaker CHASS INTS 1113 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Allies Safe Zone Seminar - How To Be an Ally to LGBT People HUB 260 2:00 p.m. -5:00 p.m.
Women’s Basketball: Cal Poly SRC Arena 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Bonfire 2013 Softball Field 7:00 p.m.
The Tempest, a play by William Shakespeare Studio Theatre, ARTS 113 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Women’s Basketball vs. UC Santa Barbara (Homecoming) SRC Arena 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Men’s Basketball vs. Pacific (Homecoming) SRC Arena 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
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Baseball vs. Saint Mary’s Riverside Sports Complex 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Amazing College Race Downtown Riverside 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
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Califest 2013 Culver Center for the Arts 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Lidya Tarhan & Robyn Dahl Physics Building room 2104 Noon - 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday
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Thursday
1
Friday
2
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF SPANISH
ON THE SEARCH FOR UCR’S NEXT CHANCELLOR
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NEWS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
HIGHLANDER
ASUCR SENATE UPDATE
Senators support hugs for Scotty and resolution against racist ragers HIGHLIGHTS: UCR Student Health Center Policy Analyst Tony Yang delivered a report on the UC Student Health Insurance Program (UC SHIP), which suffers from a $57.4 million deficit due to actuarial errors at the administrative level. This may lead to an increase in student premiums if the campus decides to remain in the plan. Assistant Dean of Students Tonantzin Oseguera handed out Scotty posters to promote Homecoming week from Feb. 25 to March 1.
D a m i n g Y e /HIGHLANDER Senator Sean Fahmian announces the upcoming events of BCOE.
S a n dy V a n SENIOR STAFF WRITER
In preparations for the spring elections and Homecoming Week, senators are thrusting their support behind a series of referenda and record-breaking events. The UCR community will once again attempt to break the Guinness world record for the most hugs by a mascot within an hour during the “Hugs & Scotty” event from noon to 1 p.m. at the Bell Tower on Feb. 27. The records for the most hugs stands at a little over 2000. A previous attempt was made in 2011, but was unsuccessful due to poor weather conditions. Scotty received just 800 hugs that day. “Scotty the Bear represents and symbolizes our university. If we succeed collectively as a campus and set a Guinness world record, we’re letting the world know UCR has been on the rise and will continue to rise,” said Senator Chris Salvador, who is spearheading the initiative. Jackie Jacoby, ASUCR commissioner of diversity council and second-year UCR theatre student, VEGAN FROM PAGE 1
Mann. UCR Preventative Care Specialist Ken Stewart agreed that adopting a vegan lifestyle lowered a person’s health risks, but explained the challenges of making such an immediate transition. “The issue isn’t switching, but how a person switches. Making the switch to a vegan diet is analogous to quitting smoking: you need to plan. The more difficult part is making that lifestyle change,” he said. At the same time, the concept of bringing an allvegan dining hall to campus may not garner enough student interest and financial support from the overall community. “I would suggest creating an all-vegan eatery on campus first and see how it does. From a business side their focus are trends and desire. If that desire is great enough then there is a possibility,” said Stewart. UCR Director of Dining Services Cheryl Garner spoke of the low demand for vegan food and what appeared to be the most viable dining options for the campus. “To date, we feel that when we look at the numbers [for] the overall production and areas where people are really consuming, I would still say that there’s a fairly small market. I think there’s more vegetarian then vegan. Vegan is really limited,” she said. Garner referenced her visit to the all-vegan dining
has formed a diversity council referendum for the spring elections. If passed, the student referendum will increase student fees by $3 per quarter. All funds will go into a shared account between student organizations in Costo Hall and ASUCR, for promoting speaker series, diversity events and the creation of the Middle Eastern Center. Senators have passed the Racist Ragers Resolution in condemnation of a party held by the fraternity Kappa Sigma at Duke University in early February. Tagged the “racist rager,” the party consisted of students who wore stereotypical asian attire and mimicked accents. “[We want to] let students know that we don’t condone those kinds of behavior and that it displays a negative image on our campus,” stated Senator Ian Cavasos, who is spearheading the campaign. The purpose of the resolution is to promote inclusiveness and diversity. “ASUCR is against any form of discrimination or marginalization of any group on our campus,” said Cavasos. ■H hall at UCSD, which gave her the impression that the student demand was not as high there as well. “[A vegan dining hall is] not a sole concept. I think that right now on our campus, it’s an item that needs to be integrated into the menu, but I don’t believe it’s a standalone concept.” In turn, she elaborated on the customizable features of vegan meals throughout the campus, such as the vegan chicken burritos and California rolls at the HUB. “About 27 percent of the [food] products we sell on campus are either vegan or vegetarian,” said Garner. She elaborated on preliminary plans for a global cuisine truck, which is anticipated to open in the fall of 2013. Students such as third-year Greg Thompson expressed that it was not the right time to develop an allvegan dining hall. “A vegan dining hall wouldn’t appeal to a mass majority of students at UCR. But they should compromise and build bigger all-vegetarian sections at the HUB or dining halls.” expressed Thompson. Lothian Floor Supervisor and fourth-year student Derrick Truong supported the addition, but felt the idea would be a financial setback for the campus and needed to be further introduced. “I think that people are not yet open to the idea of veganism and vegetarianism and perhaps overtime it might be more accepted,” said Truong. ■H
ASPB is celebrating Scotty’s Birthday on Feb. 26 at the Bell Tower and will feature henna artists, radio screenings and dance performances by student organizations. The Bonfire event will take place on March 1 at the UCR Amy S. Harrison Field. The first 200 students will receive a free In-n-Out burger. In collaborations with Senator Kristina Morelos, Senator Ian Cavasos is working on a project to reach out to more undocumented students who are eligible for financial assistance through Assembly Bill 540. Senator Cavasos has also started a food policy committee which will show student organizations the proper procedures for selling food for an event. Senator Chris Salvador is establishing a KUCR referendum to increase funding to the campus radio station. Salvador also reported on his spring project called Scotty in Space, where senators planned on launching a weather balloon with a video camera into space with the assistance of UCR student engineers. The project may be postponed during to poor weather conditions and lack of funding. Senator Sai Patadia has written a “letter of purpose” to represent the voices of CNAS students in the quest for a video podcast during supplementary instruction sessions. With the theme of “Celebrating Awesome,” National Engineering Week will include interactive programs where BCOE students will showcase various projects at the Bell Tower. Senator Megan Crail became a member of the UCR Task Force for Campus Safety. The organization was established by Chancellor Jane Conoley in response to ongoing criminal activity on campus. Senators will pass out snack packs during finals week in continuation of the snack wagon project, which is an initiative that started last quarter. Senators are developing a $3000 undergraduate travel grant for 2013 to 2014, which will be jointly funded by ASUCR and the Office of Undergraduate Education. The finance and budget committee plans to close all budget allocations for new organizations in the spring quarter due to the limited time window for clubs to obtain funds. Student organizations who already have a budget with ASUCR will continue to receive funding and obtain grants. Senators voted to extend the student referendum deadline to March 1 in order to allocate additional time for senator-led initiatives, such as the trolley system. All referenda must be turned in by 5 p.m. to the ASUCR office.
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
NEWS
HIGHLANDER
TOWN HALL FROM PAGE 1
audience referred to a desired chancellor as a person who needed to display an independent voice apart from the shared governance with UCOP, while being tuned in to the needs of the student body. ASUCR Senator Ahlam Jadallah described the features that she wanted from a chancellor as someone who could relate to the struggles of underrepresented students and nurture personal ambitions on campus. “It would be cool if the chancellor could come and kind of challenge our way of thinking [about] different issues that we don’t usually go to class to learn about,” she said. UCR Chemistry Professor Tom Morton stated that there were “fundamental limitations” to a chancellor who came from a professional school and were not accustomed to a teaching background. Other characteristics that audience members, such as ASUCR Senator Emmanuel Alloh, sought for included a person with “approachability and experience working with a large group of students.” He explained how expanding greater lines of accessibility to the chancellor will empower the student body in the footsteps of former Chancellor Timothy White. Schiller promptly responded by stating that the new chancellor would need to cultivate that kind of campus culture during their term. “I think it’s very important for a chancellor to not just outreach to a student, but to understand and respect them. I think outreaching to all of the different colleges and try to unify us as a school more is very important,” stated ASUCR Senator Megan Crail about the need to increase student trust and pride on campus. Soon after, an audience member asked the panel what their highest priority was when searching for a chancellor. In response, Schiller said the advisory committee is meeting with large
J u l i a T r u o n g /HIGHLANDER The Chancellor Search Advisory Committee takes questions and comments regarding the search for the new permanent chancellor. All six members shared the floor with faculty, staff and current students to hear their insights.
stakeholders to hear more recommendations. Schiller described the multidimensional campus with professional and graduate programs and continuing aspirations for the campus to become a member of Association of American Universities (AAU)—an association of nearly 60 leading universities in North America. “We need a chancellor who really manages respect of the faculty on the campus, so they need to have a portfolio that establishes them as a clear leader,” said Morton about the need for statute in a leader. “We need someone who represents us to the highest degree, that we are a campus on the move...and we need a chancellor that supports that mission.” Along a similar note, UCR Assistant Vice Chancellor of Strategic Communications James
Grant said, “It’s possible to be world class no matter where you are. I think it would be great to have a leader who embraces that. So to me, it’s someone who can develop a sense of place and embrace the differences within the Inland Empire.” In align with the distinguishing features of the region, the Inland Empire has approximately 40 primary care physicians and 70 specialists per 100,000 residents—the lowest of any region in the state of California. Members of the audience voiced their opinions about the role the next chancellor should play in the community. Some members felt that the next chancellor should help improve health disparities in the region and state by expanding more interdisciplinary research. When Wudka asked what would be the best measure of
success when selecting a chancellor, students proposed that they wanted UCR to be a campus of choice. Jones reiterated that the marketing initiatives to rebrand UCR will highlight featured accomplishments on campus. Another student, first-year political science major Fernando Echevarria, was skeptical about the ability for campus administrators to brand the campus, which remained highly contingent on the relationship between the future chancellor and the community. Schniller explained the impact of graduate and professional schools to the surrounding region. He commented on the unique mission statement of the campus, which could be to improve the quality of life for the Inland Empire. Notably, Hispanic Studies
Professor Raymond Williams spoke of his clear desires for a chancellor with “visionary thinking for a comprehensive campus that’s a nice place to be.” He noted that the surrounding climate can be a “difficult place to survive in” and out-of-box thinking was required to make the overall campus more appealing. He argued that the retention of faculty members is correlated with the quality of life. Abraham Galvan Sanchez, a first-year political science major with a concentration in law and society briefly explained his expectations for UCR’s next chancellor. “I would really like to see someone...who has made significant progress in his or her own community. [If] we keep emphasizing the fact that our students are involved in the community, then our chancellor should also be H involved in that community.” ■
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
. OPINIONS .
HIGHLANDER
HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL
TO PROTECT STUDENTS, UCR HOOKUPS MUST PULL OUT OF FACEBOOK
HIGHLANDER STAFF Editor-in-Chief
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Chris LoCascio
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T
The appeal of UCR Hookups is undeniable, but it must move off of Facebook to somewhere more private.
he secret is out. Or at least, everybody’s sex secrets are. Thanks to UCR Hookups, a Facebook page that allows people to anonymously submit their private sexual escapades and voyeuristic yearnings, everybody is getting a firsthand look into the details of the UCR community’s sex lives. The stated purpose of the group is to be “a place to post your sexcapades, or any potential interests you may have regarding a certain someone!”—and boy does it succeed. The group started on Feb. 8, and in a mere two weeks’ time, a lucrative 600 posts have piled up on the page (as of the time of writing), with an undoubtedly greater number being submitted. “There’s this skater that skates the bell tower[...] He is the hotest [sic] thing that’s ever walked this earth,” one poster begins. Another writes, “So last night I was with a girl that was just super horny and showed up at a party so I took her up to the deck where we had sex.” We understand the desire to share sexual adventures with others; it’s something that humans have done for a long time now. And it is incredibly entertaining to peruse some of the funny encounters students have had at UCR. But as people read through the towers of sex stories and hookup requests, there is one thing that must always be kept in mind: these are real people, who are affected in real life by the stories posted here. There are huge privacy problems present in being identified in one of these stories, and UCR Hookups doesn’t ensure that people’s rights to their own privacy are protected. It’s true that the posting process is done through an anonymous survey via Google. And submissions that include people’s full names are screened out by the operator of the Facebook page. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that privacy is ensured. Most obviously, people can still identify a person using only a first or a last name. This is especially true if it is partnered with secondary descriptions, like “that girl who sits in the front row in anthro 1” or “Javier who lives in A&I.” Soon enough it becomes clear to everybody who exactly is being talked about. And if that process takes too long, there are always the helpful people on Facebook who tag the posts with people’s
full names. This provides a direct link to a Facebook account and ensures the 1 billion people on Facebook know exactly whose sexual adventures are being talked about. Is this really private? This can also lead to situations where the person talked about in the post and the person tagged are actually two different people. Based on the identifying characteristics, people on Facebook make their best guess, but they’re bound to slip up sometimes. Then the person tagged has to deal with the reputation of engaging in an activity that he or she was never privy to. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that a person with malicious goals in mind tags someone with the intent to draw derision and mockery to the hapless Facebook user. And the problem runs deeper than just social stigma. Employers regularly check people’s Facebook pages now to see what kind of employee they’ll be hiring. What image will they come away with if they check someone’s Facebook profile and stumble upon posts providing gratuitous details of the prospective employee’s sex life? And what if those posts actually cite the wrong person? If a Facebook user decides the description in a single story sounds a little like that one person he or she might have seen in class, with a quick tag that unfortunate person’s entire life can now be blown apart. A person in a happily committed relationship could find it come to a screeching halt when they’re tagged as having sex outside that relationship. An employer will look at his or her employee in a new, and less favorable light. And what a way it would be for your lesstolerant relatives to find out you’re gay. These people have reputations and lives. The way UCR Hookups is run right now, it is all too easy for anyone to waltz in and bring someone’s life crashing down through nothing more than a quick tag. Based on the prolific posts that are continuously uploaded to the site, it doesn’t look like it will be going anywhere anytime soon. But ultimately it is the operator of UCR Hookups who is responsible for whatever fallout occurs, and that person can and should do more to protect people’s privacy. Facebook, however, doesn’t lend itself to this. UCR Hookups operates because of the consistent likes, comments and shares that are spread throughout the Facebook
C o u rt e s y
o f fa c e b o o k
world. Disabling comments would help protect innocent students, but it is also a draconian measure that would sap the life of the page, and the very reason so many people come to the page in the first place. The best solution is to move the page entirely off of Facebook. There are many other forum sites around the Internet where people’s sexual adventures can be posted safely for all to see. But here, people could be able to register under pseudonyms, if they so chose. Moreover, there would be no tag function that could embarrass or malign students whose ordinary lives are showcased on their Facebook page. UCR Hookups should simply move to one of these forums, and be just as successful as it is now. It could even provide a link on its Facebook page. Unlike the dime-a-dozen smutty romance novels eternally present in the checkout line at the pharmacy, these characters aren’t fictional creations spawned to life from the writer’s pen. The people lusted after in these stories are actual people who have family and friends, attend classes, work a job and party too. This is arguably part of what makes UCR Hookups so successful: playing the guessing game of who the hot, curvaceous girl living in the residence halls is, or knowing the identity of the sexy muscled dude who always works out at the Student Recreation Center. But this can still be done on another site that does not have the influence or power that Facebook has. A posting on Facebook is like a flashing electronic billboard, announcing to every conceivable person what has happened. A posting on another forum would still give voyeurs and gossips plenty to talk about, but it would be off the radar of employers and uninterested relatives. No matter what steps are taken to improve the sorely lacking state of privacy on the UCR Hookups page, everyone—the submitters, the readers, and the operator him or herself—must remember that they are holding the lives of UCR students in their hands. This is a great deal of power. And they must use it responsibly. ■H Highlander editorials reflect the majority view of the Highlander Editorial Board. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Associated Students of UCR or the University of California system.
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OPINIONS
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
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Cities must ensure graffiti does not take beauty away from Mother Nature’s own art J o s h ua W a g o n b l a s t STAFF WRITER
Graffiti is an art form like any other. The art of spraying a wall with paint is just another outlet for one to express themselves, like drawing a picture or writing a poem. Graffiti or street art can be awe-inspiring or a creative source that can lead to something beautiful. Like many things, however, there is a time and a place for graffiti. As an outdoors enthusiast, it is more than upsetting to find myself in the midst of hiking a lovely little mountain with the sun setting at my back, only to stumble upon a plethora of ugly paint marks that have desecrated Mother Earth. The vandalism is not appealing—the surroundings are. So why does someone feel that this is appropriate, or even necessary? No one goes to the Grand Canyon and while admiring the unbelievable landmark thinks, “this would look better if someone sprayed large green and purple letters all over it.” Well, at least that is what one would hope. Venice Beach is known almost entirely around the world as a tourism pit stop where one can see freaks and unique characters wandering up and down the strand. It is also a place where one can unexpectedly encounter intriguing artists or pieces of art while sauntering by the vendors and street shows. Due to Venice Beach’s artistic culture and the fact that so many in the area are attracted to a free and open expressionist ideal, it has also become a place where street artists can legally tag a vast amount of walls designated solely for the artists. Unlike the beach of Venice where graffiti can be carried out legally and with an artistic purpose, other settings are becoming a greater target for this commonly known act of vandalism. Let me make myself clear here: there is a distinct difference between art and vandalism. Art is an expression or a manifestation of something aesthetic and appealing, or of something that has a connotative significance. Vandalism, on the other hand, is the “willful or malicious destruction or defacement of public or private property,” as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. In Venice Beach, artists come from far and wide to showcase their art, but here in Riverside, up and down the trails of the frequently trekked C, delinquents have decided to vandalize the local landscapes. The Grand Canyon is one of many places that have suffered from vandalism. This is why the National Parks Service assembles teams of volunteers specifically for cleaning up the various parks. It would be nice to have teams of volunteers cleaning up the paint on the rocks and trees on the trails of the C, or even on the C itself, but this does not seem realistic since no UC student I know would want to spend a day washing stone. More
J i n y o u n g K o /HIGHLANDER
Setting aside locations for graffiti can protect property owners and provide graffiti artists with a venue for their work.
people could instead be hired to maintain the few natural areas we have in Riverside. Though some programs are in place, many cities are in financial trouble. A greater percentage of county funds should go toward the maintenance of spots similar to the C. Students should be able to volunteer and earn community service hours for either course credit or internships that revolve around environmental protection. Residents who also need community service hours as a result of court mandates could be assigned to clean the C. There are already volunteers of both sorts working at the Habitat for Humanity Restore and other community service organizations in Riverside, so why aren’t there any contributing to the preservation of the county’s outdoor hangouts?
Like many things, however, there is a time and a place for graffiti. Graffiti is already illegal, but is still prevalent throughout many urban and natural environments. The entire solution does not lie with having volunteers who need a few community service hours for school or the court to go around scrubbing away the paint. Although that should be implemented, the main solution is wrapped up in the answer to the following question: where are people supposed to spraypaint? Graffiti should be specifically restricted in natural areas, including places both like the C and Yosemite, for instance. Naturalist and national park advocate
J i n y o u n g K o /HIGHLANDER
Graffiti is acceptable, but it must not be allowed to deface the natural environment.
John Muir once said “the whole wilderness seems to be alive and familiar, full of humanity. The very stones seem talkative, sympathetic, brotherly.” John Muir relates to Earth’s breathtaking natural environments like he would a brother. Would you want to graffiti your brother? Maybe if you had no other way of expressing your passion, which is exactly the problem for supporters of Graffiti LA. The Graffiti LA website displays California Penal Code 594 on their “Legal Codes and Regulations” page where they discuss the difficulties with having the opportunity to tag anywhere. As the code states, only $400 worth of damage needs to be done to be arrested for vandalism. This means that partaking in street art is very risky due to the strict laws, but it still does occur. As a result, officers of the law are wasting time picking up artists who have no other outlet to showcase their art rather than focusing on bigger problems, like drunk driving and robberies. Laws need to be reformed by redefining vandalism and adopting the system that Venice has found to be successful: making graffiti and street art legal in reserved areas.
Graffiti is not a complete evil, as long as it is in the right hands or given a place to flourish. The art should not be present in the natural environment, but urban areas where walls or empty buildings can be livened up by a bit of zestful graffiti paint. Venice Beach has the right idea to reserve spots for artists to carry out their business and this is an idea that should be utilized in more places.
Graffiti is not a complete evil, as long as it is in the right hands or given a place to flourish. There are some locations I believe could benefit from graffiti. For instance, California’s freeways, especially driving from LA to Riverside, would look much nicer if street artists were
allowed to spraypaint the gray, bland concrete side barriers and overhanging bridges. Rather than falling asleep at the wheel because of the lack of stimulating surroundings, drivers would be able to browse over the passing scenery and be more inclined to stay awake due to the invigorating artwork. Graffiti can be pleasant as long as it does not disturb the already natural beauty of the outdoors. In Venice Beach, where concrete walls need some color, artists can spray away. There should be designated graffiti walls in many cities, so the painting can be regulated instead of having to hunt down artists tagging throughout the city. Businesses that want to save money on improving the look of their property could give out permits to artists who would graffiti the outside walls, giving it a unique and compelling look to passerby and potential customers. Vandalism will always exist, but there is an opportunity to take it out of Earth’s natural beauty. If artists are given places to do their work, it will be easier to catch the real criminals while improving the look of an area in need of a new paint job. ■H
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
OPINIONS
HIGHLANDER
On June 6th, the Supreme Court refused to strike down a California law that offers state residents reduced tuition rates at California colleges.
HIGHLANDER SHOWDOWN: WRITE TO THE DEATH
Will tying funding to course completion rates help or hurt community college students? Gov. Brown’s proposal changes community college funding for the better Sean Frede SENIOR STAFF WRITER
When have you gone to a restaurant and had to pay before you even got to taste your meal? You don’t show up to work and leave after an hour but still get paid for eight. If such a job does exist then I’ll give up writing. Currently, California Community Colleges (CCC) are provided state funding based on the amount of students enrolled. That sounds great and all, but this census is being taken at the 20 percent mark of the semester—well before the dropout deadline to avoid a mark on a student’s transcripts. Students are being counted as enrolled for funding and then dropping out later. Governor Jerry Brown’s new budget proposal will require the census to be taken after the completion of a term rather than the beginning of one. So tell me, if you refuse to pay for food before tasting it why should the government be funding students who aren’t even in their seats? Opponents are worried that this would lead to looser standards of grading and teaching in order to keep students from dropping out. Rather than being worried about a lack of teaching quality, maybe our teachers should focus on teaching styles that keep students in the classroom and challenge them to do better at the same time. Other detractors dismiss Gov. Brown’s new proposal as coming aloft from an ivory tower. Really? All Gov. Brown wants to do is to get what the budget is paying for. What’s the point in using taxpayer money to fund schools when the students just drop out? Community colleges need to focus on the students enrolled and keep them determined to get an education for themselves. Those who dispute the proposal need to quit focusing on what they think this policy will cause and look at how policy is working in the present. Sacramento’s Institute for Higher Education Leadership and Policy (SIHELP) released a report stating that the current system is only focusing on enrollment, not graduation, asserting, “Current finance policy places disproportionate emphasis on the front end of a student’s college pathway: we are buying college enrollments but not college completion.” For too long the CCC has just focused on students as cattle, urging them into their seats in order to receive funding and then not caring if they wander out to pasture. Organizations like SIHELP have devised plans to keep students from dropping out so that everyone will benefit from the census occurring at the the end of the year. CCCs are
worried that disadvantaged and underprepared students will drop out so they will not get appropriate funding at the end of the year. But the government could start giving bonus funding for said students who do complete, something SIHELP has proposed. These same students would also be given more chances for financial aid provided they complete their courses. For too long community colleges have been fine with just “getting by.” A statewide Student Success Task Force took action in 2011 and reported that only 41 percent of community college students had success in transferring to a four-year university. If Gov. Brown’s proposal goes
Gov. Brown’s proposal and its hidden consequences Colette King CONTRIBUTING WRTIER
It is a sad but true statement that money is what makes things happen when it comes to the education of students and the quality of instruction. With 112 community colleges reporting that revenues from student fees for the current fiscal year are $107 million below expectations, the struggle continues as community colleges try to provide a quality education on very limited resources. Governor Jerry Brown’s budget proposal to change funding to a ratio
A r c h i v e /HIGHLANDER Community colleges like RCC will be affected by Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed budget change.
through, community colleges will be forced to keep students in the classroom through a better quality of teaching, which will only raise this number to a higher level. This isn’t baseball where hitting .400 is something to be proud of. This is higher education. It’s time for community colleges to get on par with their four-year university brethren. Gov. Brown’s new proposal is giving CCCs an opportunity to create a new era of teaching. Opponents need to see this proposal as a challenge to create a better community college system. We must stop looking at students as dollar signs and focus on creating a better education for them. If colleges are held more accountable for keeping students in the classroom, only good will come from it. ■H
of how many students actually complete the course successfully will only be another burden along with all the other financial turmoil. His policy aims to reallocate the money that is being used for core curriculum and channel it instead towards funding counselors and academic advisors in hopes of raising the passing rates. President of Mount San Antonio Community College in Walnut, California, Dr. Bill Scroggins, stated in an interview, “The principle of [Gov.] Brown’s proposal is good but it has unintended consequences.” He said that this could critically hamper the amount of money going towards a class if it does not have a high passing rate. This means that instructors would be paid less, or the school would have to absorb the costs elsewhere. Scroggins said that he must keep
up the enrollment if not improve it in order to keep money flowing into the college. He added that with 15 percent less funding, he would still have to finance the same amount of students and would have to completely overhaul the budget. If Gov. Brown’s budget is passed, Dr. Scroggins will have to make adjustments that will affect the salaries of the faculty at Mt. SAC. In tandem with the problem that Dr. Scroggins faces comes a much deeper issue. By cutting the salaries of instructors, would they still be motivated to provide the same quality of education as before? Down the road this could be a very important issue to be concerned about. The top universities in the country spend millions of dollars recruiting the best instructors from around the world to teach at their campuses. What is expected out of the instructors is to perform the same instruction for the same amount of hours with a cut salary. However this threatens the motivation of instructors. Although the purpose of Jerry Brown’s proposal is to promote the success of students, it ultimately has the reverse effect. When applied to community college, tutors and academic advisors are important. But if it’s the professors that are going to be hurt—which would harm students in turn—then the purpose of providing extra resources will be in vain. For instance, if there is full enrollment in a class one term and due to various reasons all the students drop out, what would this do to the system? The entire student population is dependent on individual students staying motivated to pass each and every one of his or her courses. Community college students are already pressured to complete in two years, but Gov. Brown’s proposal creates another source of anxiety for students since the funding for the quality of their education is determined by the motivation levels of other students, something which is both unfair and out of their control. When students graduate from community college because they didn’t receive proper education from their professors it could eventually create a domino effect, causing universities to spend more money to get them caught up with the student populace. It may cause the average transfer student to spend a term or two catching up to where they need to be. It’s not that they will not know the subject, but the depth of their education will be lacking. Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposal to change school funding to be based on a ratio of how many students actually complete the course successfully should not be passed. Ultimately, it is the students of California that will suffer the consequences that come with it. In a country where education is ranking low internationally, there is no need to create further hindrances that would counter-productively punish those students who are working the H hardest to complete their courses. ■
The opinions expressed in the Opinions section belong solely to their authors and do not represent the Highlander Editorial Board or the University of California, Riverside.
undie Run HIGHLANDER
. FEATURES .
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
a brief tradition in the making
By Sean Frede, Senior Staff Writer Photos By Vincent Ta
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great university tradition is one of the strongest qualities a school can have. For example, Virginia Tech has the annual Civilians vs. Cadets Snowball Fight. A fire alarm is pulled, sending civilian students and military officers-in-training out into the quad during the first snowfall of the academic year so that they can duke it out. Universities with high-ranking football teams have their fair share of chants to sing along to the school band such as the Tomahawk Chop or Texas A&M’s “Aggie War Hymn.” These are some of the moments that make the college experience truly unique. While the purpose of college is to become groomed for the future, it doesn’t mean that we can’t have a hell of a lot of fun doing it. So how can UCR establish its own great tradition? Two words: Undie Run.
Completely forgotten was the 40 degree weather against their bare skin. The students wanted to stay and bask in what they had just accomplished together.
Top: After the run, the runners have a celebratory moment at the flag pole. The run was so successful that they are thinking of organizing another one for next quarter. Bottom: Runners run through all three residence halls. Although the route was slightly altered, they made sure to not miss the residence halls.
On Feb. 21, students gathered around the UCR flagpole by the Arts building at 10 p.m. to participate in and bring back the fabled undie run. Hundreds of students turned out to the event, which displayed levels of school spirit not often seen at just any UCR event. The students, half naked and breathing mist, huddled together chanting, “It’s not that cold,” over and over again as Andy Tang stood on a truck bed. The crowd began to quiet down as he yelled, “Whose side?” students quickly responded with, “R’Side!” The school chant was repeated over and over until the run finally began. I met with Andy Tang, a first-year business major who coordinated this year ’s run. He told me how one of his friends was planning a panty run through Pentland dorms but it ended up falling through so he took over and decided to create his own undie run. Tang wants to turn this into more than just a jog. “We figured we’re first-years
so we can keep this going throughout the years and then eventually get someone to take over when we’re gone,” said Tang. He is motivated to keep this a tradition that can only become bigger as the years progress. As the crowd took off past the Winter SOULstice concert and towards Aberdeen-Inverness I couldn’t help but think that this means something more for the students. It’s not just a prank. One girl decked out in a pinkpolka dot bra said that she is doing this for the experience—“something to tell my kids!” We ran through the A-I lounge and made our way to the Pentland Hills courtyard where students stood on the sidewalk with bottles and plastic cups of water for the runners. This was the togetherness that UCR aims to provide its students with. People stood from the stairways and balconies with cell phones in hand to record and take pictures of the men in tighty-whities and girls in vibrant panties running by and shouting. This was the chance for students to feel like they belonged to something. Justin Dehart, a UCR student in grey and black striped boxer briefs told me through chattering teeth before the run started that, “[The undie run] reminds you that you’re a school. It reminds you where you go, UCR.” This idea stuck in my mind during the entire run, even when we were on the final stretch with the Bell Tower in sight and my hamstrings were cramping from the cold. Students are always saying that there isn’t anything to do at UCR since it’s a commuter school. I was reminded during the run that even if we are a commuter school we can still create traditions that make the college life a truly unique experience. The run ended back at the flagpole but students refused to leave right away. Completely forgotten was the 40 degree weather against their bare skin. The students wanted to stay and bask in what they had just accomplished together. Stephanie Cummings, a secondyear stated, “the undie run brings together groups of individuals, it brings together school spirit and reunites everybody on campus.” UCR was no longer a commuter school. It was no longer a school where sports are a joke. We were no longer split up by CHASS, CNAS, BCOE or SOBA. Cars drove by honking their horns as the crowd would shout to them. We were UCR students, proud to be half naked in the middle of February at 10 o’clock at night. ■H
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
FEATURES
HIGHLANDER
Perfect Imperfections:
A Discussion of Body Image & Self-Acceptance By Alexander Suffolk, Senior Staff Writer // Photos by Wesley Ng
Left to right: Zarifa Roberson, founder and CEO of i.d.e.a.l. Magazine, talks about what it’s like to be a disabled person of color; Students write down what qualities and personality traits give them inner beauty.
When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Do you think that there is something wrong with the way you look? Do you think other people will judge you because of the color of your skin or the clothes that you wear? Do you feel comfortable with your own image, or do you struggle with it? If you struggle with it, how can you one day come to accept yourself? These were the types of questions that Perfect Imperfections meant to tackle on the evening of Feb. 21. The program was sponsored by a slew of student organizations including The Well, Student Disability Union (SDU), LGBT Resource Center, Chicano Student Programs and African Student Programs, and it focused on addressing issues with body image and identity to go in hand with Body Image Awareness Month. The event took place in HUB 302, where a good amount of students turned up to hear the words of guest speaker Zarifa Roberson, founder and CEO of i.d.e.a.l. (Individuals with Disabilities Express About Life) Magazine. However, Roberson, was running late thanks her to flight from Philadelphia being delayed from harsh weather, so Erica Peterson of the Student Disability Union took the helm. She encouraged everyone who attended to write down something about their body that is different from the standard on a post-it note and stick it to the wall. Then she asked us how that process felt. Only a few students answered that it was somewhat easy to do because it was something that they accepted about themselves. However, almost everyone raised their hands when asked if they could see themselves coming to accept the aspect about themselves that they posted to the wall. Peterson then gave the stage to fellow associates of SDU, Terrance Stewart and Brian Molina. “The way I feel usually depends on how people react to me,” said Stewart, who went on to talk about the pain he often feels whenever he is seen more as a criminal than a UCR student just because of his skin color and choice of clothing. Stewart also talked about how he makes an effort to hide his disabilities as best as he can and refuses almost
every kind of special needs because he doesn’t want to take the easy way out. “Now I start to see my disability as a strength,” he said, “because it pushes me to work harder.” Molina then discussed how growing up as a young Hispanic man in a low-income community he felt that his life had little value and that there were no superheroes that were like him to look up to. If he hadn’t reinvented himself and boosted his self-confidence with his bodybuilding, he might have ended up as a gang member, because those were the only people like him in his community that had any sense of pride. Before stepping down, he told us his personal philosophy when it comes to body image: “Don’t be cocky, be confident. Don’t be selfconscious, be conscious of yourself.” As the audience awaited Roberson’s arrival, Peterson asked us to form a circle of chairs and invited us all to share about any personal experiences we’ve had with body image here at UCR. Several students talked about the painful experience of being in a group of other people and getting passed over as if they didn’t exist, probably due to their appearance. Some students talked about how they try to be as friendly as possible to let their personality make them more than another face in the crowd, while others felt the need to seclude themselves from people, lest they be judged. Roberson finally arrived with many apologies some time after 7 p.m., over two hours after she was scheduled to arrive. Even though the number of students that had stuck around that late had dwindled, Roberson still showed charm and an enthusiasm to speak. One of the first things she wanted to talk about was her goal of dispelling the idea that disabled people are asexual beings. She gave a few of her own personal anecdotes, one involving the conversation she had requesting an intimacy facilitator (someone who helps people with severe physical disabilities perform sexual acts) and another about a man not wanting to have sex with her because he didn’t want to hurt her. “Your loss,” she told him, “bePERFECT IMPERFECTIONS CONT’D ON PAGE 13
HIGHLANDER
FEATURES
PERFECT IMPERFECTIONS FROM PAGE 12
Left to right: A poster that asks viewers to write down what impression they have of themselves; Students post things they like about their body image.
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cause it would have been me hurting you.” Roberson’s own path to self-acceptance wasn’t easy. As a disabled African-American female, she would watch commercials and look at magazines and always wonder, “Where do I fit in?” Roberson, who deals with a form of arthritis affecting the whole body, limiting mobility and self-care, continued on. On top of that, she has a twin sister who is without disability, which
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
added an extra layer of strife in life as she constantly believed she could be exactly the same as her sister and was faced with bitter disappointment whenever she couldn’t. She was bullied and had low self-esteem throughout high school. As she got older, she said that she “became accepting of things I just couldn’t change.” Then, when she went to college, she began to meet other people with disabilities, and was able to find strength in being with other people that shared the same kinds of struggles that she did. And one day she was
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looking through the magazine rack at a Barnes & Noble and saw that there were no magazines that reflected who she was, so she set out to make one, and is now managing i.d.e.a.l. However, even now she will come across the occasional bit of discrimination because of her image. She once checked in for an interview for a case coordinator position and the secretary firmly believed that she was mistaken and in fact there for a janitor position, because every other disabled person that interviewed there was for the custodial staff. But Roberson has learned to roll with punches. “People are not always going to be nice,” she said. While Perfect Imperfections did not turn out to be a grand seminar in terms of attendance, it ended up being an intimate and engaging discussion of body image and selfacceptance. The main themes of the event were being able to accept the things about your body that are different, realizing that you are also more than your body and not letting yourself get down because of your differences. Or as Terrance Stewart put it, “Just keep your head up. Because you’re beautiful.” ■H
DAN CE
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
HIGHLANDER
MARATHON
Clockwise from top: Students pose for pictures in a photo booth; Norm the Navel and students dance and throw balloons for a video set to the song “Harlem Shake;” 909 Dance Troupe performs their final dance routine.
By Toni Louie, Senior Staff Writer // Photos by Wesley Ng
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s a loud, vibrating bass pumped from the gym on the evening of Feb. 23, students united to dance for UCR’s second annual Dance Marathon fundraiser. The theme of the night was Gandhi’s quote, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Upon entering the Student Recreation Center’s huge basketball court, students were welcomed by balloons scattered on the floor, infinite darkness and a fluorescently lit DJ booth, setting a club-dance scene. The event benefited Guardian Scholars, a program for ambitious, college-bound students exiting foster care. Many students were dressed to match in groups—for example, a group of hip hop dancers wore black sweatshirts and jeans. Many just dressed in funky attire (think wigs, glasses, suspenders, glittering hats and miscellaneous costumes). Signs posted on wall read, “Keep on Dancing!” or “Dance 4 a Cause!” The very first thing all participants were asked to do as a unit was the Harlem Shake. Starting the marathon off with a hilarious bang, mascot Norm the Navel was the first to begin moving. Once the beat dropped, all other participants flailed their bodies, threw balloons, got on each other’s shoulders and launched into random sporadic movements. After the Harlem Shake, the freestyle dance music started playing and lasted all night long. The first DJ started with “Scream and Shout “ by will.i.am and Britney Spears followed by “Beauty and a Beat” by Justin Bieber and Nicki Minaj. The DJ was skilled at picking catchy pop songs and transitioning them smoothly into EDM. People dispersed after the Harlem
Shake. The basketball court was split into two sections: a dance floor with the DJ and a general area set up similar to an arcade designated by a sign that said, “More fun this way!” This section consisted of multiple booths handing out tacos and refreshments, tables where students could play games to win prizes and games like “Dance Dance Revolution,” basketball hoops and even actual arcade game machines. At first, the large space was reminiscent of all the pros and cons of a high school dance: wonderfully social but painfully awkward, judging by a few individuals with their backs to wall or standing shyly in the corner.
“Who wouldn’t want to dance?” -Emily Nudge The crowd tripled in size around the middle of the 5 hour event. Scheduled for the duration of the marathon were a variety of smaller dance-related events such as performances, lectures and competitions. Additional festivities included line dancing and a performance by a Dhamaka dance group and April MacLean, owner of and instructor the Room to Dance studio in downtown Riverside. Competitions included a donut-eating contest as well as a “junk in the trunk” battle. The energy and the growing crowd’s excitement expanded as the night wore on. True to its name, the Dance Mara-
thon was also a waiting game testing student stamina. Dancers who grooved in front of the DJ ranged from shuffling show-offs to people step-touching in circular groups facing in towards each other. Meanwhile I honestly couldn’t help but feel like dancing. The fact that there were no chairs in the basketball court forced movement, interaction, wandering and most importantly, dancing. The event cost $25 to register and participate unless participants were freshmen living in the dorms, which explained the majority of the population there being first-year students. The reason for this according to Emily Nudge, Student Development Coordinator for University Honors and the advisor for Golden Key, is to hopefully have freshmen continue the UCR Dance Marathon as a tradition while they continue their education. Joey Dhillon, a fourth-year history major and a resident advisor at Pentland Hills, said that about 6 of his residents attended. Dhillon saw a “good number of people there, more than I thought there would be,” although he also noticed that about more than half of the participants were freshmen. RAs made announcements prior to the event in hopes that freshmen would have the opportunity to explore campus events and find out what charitable causes speak to them. Nudge, who was heavily involved in the logistics of the Dance Marathon, said that this year was an even bigger success having raised $17,400, $2,700 more than the $14,700 brought in last year. The event, which hosted around 300 participants, also had more people register, earlier. Nudge hopes that “year after year, the commitment will keep building.”
“We couldn’t do it without the help of all these other student orgs,” said Nudge in reference to all the group performances; the DJs spun for free and even the arcade machines were donated to save money. “Dance (Ass)” by Big Sean blasted through the speakers, drawing students back in from the game area to the dance floor. The momentum and energy picked back up as the crowd grew as well. The next song played was Cali Swag District’s “Teach me how to Dougie” and so the students did dougie, enthusiastically. At 7 p.m., Sandoval and and Interim Chancellor Jane Conoley spoke on stage. Sandoval took a moment to introduce and thank everyone involved while Conoley further explained the Guardian Scholars program and its mission. Then a small group from 909’s much larger troupe performed. The handful of performers oozed with confidence and pumped out high-energy movements as the audience watched with wide-eyed silence and admiration. Afterward, volunteers on stage handed out raffle prizes to keep student attention with gifts ranging from a 30-day membership to LA Fitness to a Starbucks gift card. The night took on a consistent cycle of students assembling in front of the DJ, watching performances or listening to speakers, then dispersing and dancing. When I asked how long it usually took to plan a fundraiser like this, Emily Nudge answered with a laugh. “We’re starting [to plan] Dance Marathon 2014 on Monday.” Touching upon students being able to enjoy a philanthropic way to give to others, Nudge added, “And who wouldn’t want to dance?” ■H
FEATURES
HIGHLANDER
Best
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
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Top left: Sexologist Dr. Justine Shuey explains how little difference there is between Trojan Magnum condoms and regular-sized condoms. Bottom left: Contraceptives and birth control methods Shuey presented. Center: Shuey explains how sensuality combines physiological and psychological pleasure. Top right: Shuey shows how to insert a female condom. Bottom right: STI plushies on display.
Ever
by Colette King, Contributing Writer // photos by Wesley Ng Students huddled into HUB 302 on Feb. 19 for what was not your average academic event. There was a particular question on everyone’s minds that they hoped the program would answer: how can I have the best sex ever? Before anyone could even behold the secrets of premier sexual abilities, a long row of tables holding a plethora of safer sex handouts that gleamed like that of a candy store greeted participants. People took as many condoms, lubricants, dental dams and safe sex kits as they could get their hands on, preparing themselves for the hopeful future of better sex. Dr. Justine Shuey introduced the event with the phrase: “Individuals are sexual beings from birth to death.” I mean why else would there have been such a huge turnout to an event named “The Best Sex Ever”? Unless people were attending for a class assignment, everyone was looking forward to a little self-improvement. Shuey, a certified sexologist, took a different approach and actually talked about the relationship between two people as an important concept before she even began to broach the subject of sex. So if any of the participants wanted that hot steamy 10 minute sex scene with a complete stranger, Shuey said not to get your hopes up. Shuey suggested in the meantime to work on personal being and sexual awareness. Shuey gave advice on how there were components that made up an individual’s personal being: intimacy, sensuality, sexual identity, sexualization and reproduction. Dr. Shuey broke sex down to what constitutes a better time in the bedroom by stating that there are three people in a relationship: you, your partner and the couple as a unit. Each one needs work and Shuey aimed to help people
understand her concept of basic human interaction. Instead of taking the Cosmopolitan magazine approach, which worships bodycontorting sex positions, Shuey favored a focus on understanding different aspects of a relationship. For example, Shuey suggested to the audience that if participants want to spice things up in the bedroom, create a chart separated by three topics on what you would, might and would not do. Then try everything that overlaps. She said that you can’t stop trying after one bad experience. Give it three times. If it doesn’t get better by then, drop it. Typically, when someone brings up sex in a co-ed setting, a common response is “Too much information.” However, at Best Sex Ever, this was not the case; Dr. Shuey opened up a forum where everyone asked their dirty sex questions through texting . Shuey took on a different approach while talking about STD’s, one of the most uncomfortable topics in sex education, and completely turned it around. She brought stuffed toys representing STD’s which were very cute, appealing and fluffy. She then proceeded to throw out the
Chlamydia stuffed toy to someone in the audience. When a participant caught the stuffed toy, she said, “See how easy it is to catch chlamydia?” A major highlight of the night was this advice: “Don’t fake an orgasm girls, because you ruin it for the rest of us!” According to Shuey, anytime an individual lies about something feeling good, it just ruins the experience as well as his or her future lovers’ experience. For Shuey, sex needs to have a solid foundation of trust and communication, in addition to all the intimate parts of being in a relationship. She drew up a chart on the screen that had various categories such as anal sex, threesome, sex toys and bondage. She said that an individual and his or her partner should go through the chart and express which ones you like and dislike. This may seem completely obvious, but according to Shuey, many couples don’t apply these considerations to their own relationships. While some are completely silent as to what they really want under the covers, a little communication and honesty could drastically change an individual’s sex life for the better. ■H
Attendees take free samples of condoms and lubricants from tables set up by various campus organizations such as the The Well and Condom Co-op.
HIGHLANDER
R adar
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT @ h i ghl a n d e rr a d a r
Events this week Tuesday | 2/26 Performing the Cold War: Dance and Diplomacy, 4:10 p.m. @ Dance Studio Theatre Thursday | 2/28 Mosaic Open Mic Night, 8 p.m. @ Getaway Cafe Friday | 3/1 The Tempest, 8 p.m. @ Arts Studio Theatre Saturday | 3/2 HEAT music festival, 7 p.m. @ HUB laza
JhenĂŠ Aiko
p e r f o r m s at
W i n t e r SOUL s t i c e .
S a n d y V a n /HIGHLANDER
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
HIGHLANDER
BOOK REVIEWS VAMPIRES IN THE LEMON GROVE // KAREN RUSSELL RATING: ★★★☆☆
I
BY: REBECCA PAREDES, SENIOR STAFF WRITER
felt an uncomfortable sense of guilt as I finished the final page of Karen Russell’s new collection of short stories, “Vampires in the Lemon Grove.” Russell’s accolades are so impressive that they’re frankly intimidating; she’s been on seemingly every “Best Writers” list, she nearly won the Pulitzer Prize and she was a Guggenheim Fellow in 2011, so I had high expectations when I began reading. But amidst the critical praise being heaped onto her latest book release, I have to say: it was good. But it could have been better. “Vampires in the Lemon Grove” covers 256 pages of magical realism. It begins with the title story, which follows an immortal married couple that sucks the juice from lemons in order to satiate their thirst for blood. Our main character Clyde was once a fiery vampire until he settled into domesticity with his wife Magreb. Clyde’s musings about mortal love, commitment and addiction introduce us to Russell’s exceptional prose, which definitely deserves its praise. Quite a few lines stood out to me, like, “They flow from cliffs that glow like pale chalk, expelled from caves in the seeming billions.” Russell is uniquely able to plant the perfect emotive image in the minds of her audience, and the story’s slightly detached narrative adds volumes to Clyde’s meditations on marriage. Then we reach the story’s end, which feels unfinished and wrong because it doesn’t feel like an ending at all. This is one of the biggest flaws in “Vampires in the Lemon Grove,” both as a standalone story and as a larger collection. Russell is clearly in control of her writing, and her descriptions (“where the sea rippled like melted aluminum” is still at the top of my mind) are fantastic, but I felt as though her poeticism overshadowed two of the most important parts of storytelling: plot and character. With a few exceptions, Russell’s characters don’t feel like people––they feel like guides holding our hands, taking us along an ornate path toward an unclear destination. Her longer pieces suffer from the excessive use of figurative language and not enough attention to describing what the story is really about. For this reason, her shorter stories felt like some of the collection’s strongest pieces, particularly “The Barn at the End of Our Term,” which is as hilarious as it is unexpected. On a fenced-in farm, eleven United States presidents have been reincarnated as horses. We follow Rutherford B. Hayes, a “skewbald pinto with a golden cowlick and a cross-eyed
stare,” as he attempts to make sense of his rebirth alongside Eisenhower and James Garfield. Notably, this story also ends on an unfinished note, but since it’s approached as a triumph, that open-endedness works. One of the overarching elements of the collection is its starkly varied subject matter. The stories range from a sci-fi depiction of girls slowly transforming into silkworms to a massage therapist who discovers she can help cure a war veteran’s PTSD by working on his back tattoo. Even though the stories don’t exactly bleed into each other, each one functions with enough realism that its surprising subject matter is believable at face value. With that said, there were lot of unexpected elements of Russell’s stories, like “Dougbert Shackleton’s Rules for Antarctic Tailgating,” which is set sometime in the near future and details the rules for tailgating the Food Chain Games. This is exactly what it sounds like; spectators pick their food chain teams, and our narrator is a staunch supporter of Team Krill, even though it has lost against Team Whale for eons. Honestly, that kind of humor was what kept me entertained enough to stick through reading stories like “Proving Up,” which was so heavily ornate and lacking in character development that I felt like I was reading an extended allegory for a concept beyond my understanding. It wasn’t a fun feeling, but I kept turning pages because I got the sense that Russell is an incredible writer capable of capturing my attention and holding it tightly–– but she missed the mark by weighing down her stories with lines like, “My own eyes feel like ice cubes.” What does that even mean? I want to know. “The Graceless Doll of Eric Mutis” finishes the collection, and rightly so. The story is an impressive interpretation of high school bullying that plays with mystery and role reversal. It follows a group of boys who find a scarecrow that resembles the boy they used to torment, and the events that follow–– rabbit kidnappings, scarecrow dismemberment and dwindling reality––impart a fantastic sense of surrealism by the story’s end. Plus, it showcases the blessed plot and character development that was sorely lacking from the rest of the collection’s longer pieces. Overall, “Vampires in the Lemon Grove” is a mixed bag. Its stronger pieces are worth reading, but the collection suffers in its reliance on lyrical language to tell the story. It’s good, for sure. But it’s not ■H Pulitzer material.
Courtesy of Knopf
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
19
MOVIE REVIEWS COMING OUT THIS WEEK:
JACK THE GIANT SLAYER
THE LAST EXORCISM PART II
DAY OF THE FALCON
STOKER
SNITCH
RATING: ★★★☆☆
BY: MATTHEW GUERRERO, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Courtesy of Summit Entertainment
S
itting through “Snitch” is much like walking through a museum or a time machine. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson reprises his role as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson from seemingly every film he’s ever starred in. This time, however, instead of a fresh round of butt-kicking and name-taking, director Ric Roman Waugh (“Felon”) decides to add some interesting design concepts and character development to create what is actually a pretty entertaining movie. The story begins with one Jason Collins (Rafi Gavron) being arrested and imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. The writers go to great lengths to show that Jason is a trustworthy and kind boy. Although I’ll admit that it’s a bit played-out, the high class ideals Jason holds as a minor character are refreshing to witness throughout the movie. “Snitch” then reveals its very own adonis action hero, John Matthews (Johnson), who, after divorcing his first wife, is remarried with a second child. John works in construction and lives a quiet suburban life, but Jason’s arrest awakens a driving need to clear his first child’s name at all costs. Thus begins the typical fatherhood dilemma frequently found in contemporary scripts. The protagonist is set up to make a tough ethical decision and ultimately seek a gray area that will please both sides of the conflict and accomplish his goals. The concept seems contrived and, at times, a little annoying, but it would be wrong to say this break
from the more drawn-out plights seen in recent movies isn’t stimulating. John finds a way to get his son out of jail, or at the very least reduce the sentence, by becoming an informant for Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon), a tough-nosed prosecutor with political aspirations. Keeghan needs his aid in an operation to bust a prominent drug ring in
dreary Southern Texas. At times this seems like a poor, though obvious, choice for the story; it is highly reminiscent of Johnson’s previous films, while failing to set the stage for a highflying amount of action. As Matthews chooses to walk the line between saving his son and endangering his new family, he reaches out to another major player. Daniel James (John
Bernthal) is a married man who strives to find a happy medium by staying clean for his wife and young son, while making enough money to steer clear of his former drug connections; he serves as a dynamic man full of both shortcomings and strengths. Matthews is initially denied after asking for James’ assistance, given the fact that the other man has no desire to risk being ar-
rested and taken away from his family again. But the writers cannot resist adding a very human element to the story, and as James realizes the extent of his family’s struggles he eventually agrees to introduce Matthews to the lower levels of gang society. What moviegoers may find surprising is that Matthews does not immediately kick and punch his way through the men he plans to turn over to Keeghan. Instead he brilliantly portrays a family man who has never really touched a gun before and exhibits a fear of them throughout the film. He deals with the thugs delicately, as the younger frontmen of the operation force both him and James to prove their worth to the crime lords. The ensuing scenes are filled with violence and gripping controversy, which serves to stir the audience after a dreary backdrop of introductions. After our hero has gained the trust of the crime lords, however, the movie takes a bit of a paradoxical turn. The scenes become tiring and fail to separate themselves from other action blockbusters, or frankly any films that deal with drugs and violence. Still, the intimate moments that reveal the humanity and trust between central characters act as a saving grace. This especially goes for Matthews and James’ awkward friendship in the film’s waning act. “Snitch” is not at all intellectual or riveting, but it is a gratifying break from grimly ambitious films like “Lincoln” and “Zero Dark Thirty” that have ■H lately been filling theaters.
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
HIGHLANDER
Winter
SOULstice heats up the HUB
T
by Toni Louie, Senior Staff Writer // photos by Sandy Van & Cameron Yong
he HUB’s outdoor dining area was transformed into a romantic and soulful platform for artists BJ the Chicago Kid, Jhene Aiko and Bobby Valentino on the night of Feb. 21. Jittery audience members were all bundled up in the frigid evening air, chatting and exuberating a sense of pride and excitement. The scene was reminiscent of a high school football game’s tailgate. The ladies were dressed to impress and the gentlemen were decked out in their fancy jackets and beanies. There was something very organic about the whole picture: the HUB was filled with hundreds of people standing in the darkness, yet it still retained the same familiar qualities of a space where UCR students eat, relax and congregate in the daytime. The beautiful setup consisted of a simple stage adorned with Christmas lights and colorful fabric as a roof for the artists and their bands. The dining tables were left in their usual places and a small stage was set up in the open space. Ensuring that the artists would be at a very friendly, up close and personal level, the platform stood just a few feet up from the ground. ASPB’s annual Winter SOULstice opened with BJ the Chicago Kid, who sang a diverse medley of feel-good covers that fell together fluently. With songs like “All Falls Down” by Kanye West, “Electric Feel” by MGMT and “Let’s Get it On” by Al Green intertwined with his own original track. He eased the crowd into a night of smooth music, chill vibes and the soul of R&B music at its finest. As the night progressed, the outside of the HUB became more crowded. People began standing on the dining tables to get a better view. Some were clambering on the second and third levels of the HUB, clinging to the railings and looking down. There were even people squeezing together, balancing on the stairs leading from the HUB outdoor dining area up to the Coffee Bean. A few sat on the lawn behind the stage, watching performers even if from the back. During intermission, the mellow mood was continued with songs like “Pretty Wings” by Maxwell and “Closer to my Dreams” by Goapele oozing from the speakers. ASPB got interactive with the crowd by asking some trivia questions about UCR and throwing out T-shirts. All three artists sang their introductions as well as their goodbyes. For example, BJ the Chicago Kid departed with a “Thank you for your tiiiiime” in funny freestyle falsetto. As his band kept playing, he sang whatever came to mind, exhibiting a confidence and flexibility that was consistent with the upcoming artists. Next up was Jhene Aiko who jumped on stage in a tight blue crop top, showing off a tattooed ribcage and toned stomach. Commenting on the coldness, she said, “That’s just how thugs do... so I guess you’re all thugs”. With her mesmerizing and feminine voice, soothing and clear like water and effortlessly sexy, Aiko’s songs sound exactly the same live as they do recorded. The audience ate up her talent for starting off strong and letting her voice trickle into a soft decrescendo, hitting a diverse range of notes on the way down. As an introduction to her first song, she asked the crowd, “You guys... aren’t allowed to smoke weed on campus...
right?” After the audience’s laughter and cheering subsided, she continued, “Well, if you do like to get high, off of love, off of weed... we’re gonna get a little bit higher,” and transitioned into her hit track, “Higher.” When the instrumental of her second song “Space Jam” trickled in through the speakers, the crowd was already screaming. The lyrics, tone and sound of her music convey an artist who is slightly cynical, rough around the edges, honest and raw. “I’m ready to rock right now. I’m a little angry,” she admitted to the audience. Aiko also covered 2pac’s “Keep ya Head Up” which really spoke to the audience, especially during lyrics like “Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman, I wonder why we take from our women, why we rape our women, do we hate our women?” The audience was asked to “put one finger in the air, one love” to which everyone willingly complied. Eyes closed, hips began swaying and hands were joined as she fluidly combined 2pac’s with her own singing style. Last but not least was Bobby Valentino. Before he arrived on stage, a montage of the instrumentals from his most famous songs blasted from the speakers, making the audience loud and rowdy with anticipation. By now the HUB outdoor dining area was completely packed with people, all the way from the tip of the stage backed up to the glass doors of the HUB. At 9 p.m., Valentino sported a studded blue denim jacket and dark sunglasses and made a shoutout to the ladies: “Nothing like a woman out here getting her degree.” He even comments on UCR by saying, “Great school... beautiful campus.” Valentino played the piano, exhibiting phenomenal musicianship and paying tender attention to his craft. Singing with sincere focus, emotional expressions and eyes closed, he referred to his specialty as “old school R&B music.” Couples huddled closer and hips swayed to the beat of his music. After asking the security to allow his fans to come closer, the crowd lunged forward, standing literally inches away from him, and he loved it. Then Bobby Valentino bent down and kissed a girl in the audience. Needless to say, Valentino’s final performance of the 2008 smash hit “Mrs. Officer” collaboration with Lil Wayne and Kidd Kidd transformed the HUB into a gyrating, singing, grinding sea of ecstatic students, ending the night in soaring spirits. Jimmy Patel, a fourth year neuroscience major said that, ultimately, the night was “very seductive.” Deep Patel, a fourth-year music major added, “he had a couple of those little tongue moves in there” referring to Valentino’s laidback attitude, sense of humor and sex appeal in his performance. For both Jimmy Patel and Deep Patel, the highlight of the night was definitely when Valentino sang his 2005 hit “Slow Down.” Overall, the evening was “fun but calming,” said Deep Patel. “UCR is one of the best schools ever,” said Jimmy. “We got high standards,” added Deep. In reference to free concerts and other unifying events, Jimmy continued, “We’ve gotta have more of these…We’re coming out of our way to come here for this and that really says something.” ■H
Clockwise from top: Bobby Valentino gazes into the cheering crowd before continuing on to his next song; Embracing the freezing temperatures of the night, Jhené Aiko drifts into a gentle melody for her song, “Space Jam;” BJ the Chicago Kid sings a soulful lick.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
21
Poesía Peligrosa at the Barn By Marcelo Guardado, Contributing Writer // Photos by Daming Ye and Vincent Ta “We be the silenced ones!” Poesía Peligrosa commemorated Latino heritage through song, spoken word, art and dance at the Barn on Feb. 21. Marisol L. Torres and Felicia ‘Fe’ Montes, members of In Lak Ech (a collective of Xicana multimedia artists, writers, mothers, teachers and organizers who come together to share stories of strong women of Latina culture and heritage), were the night’s special guests. The group’s name was adopted from a Mesoamerican concept: “Tu eres mi otro yo (Spanish for: You are my other me).” After introductions, the event commenced with a song dedicated to the four directions. The entire audience sat in spellbound silence as the special guests stood and raised their leather drums. Mallet in one hand and drum in the other, the women started up a synchronized beat on the instruments. The slow yet powerful percussion was reminiscent of a heartbeat—two loud blows, then a pause, followed by two louder blows and so on. Torres and Montes began to sing in a distinct native Mexican and Central American harmony, as the
energy of Mayan culture pervaded the venue. After that melody, Marisol Torres stepped forward to recite a poem that she had written in memory of her late grandmother. The audience chuckled as she impersonated her grandmother, it may have been her old lady voice, but it was almost as if many of those present could relate to the loving, compassionate and, at times, humorous affection of a Latina grandmother. Torres’ poem detailed her grandmother’s crushes on Hispanic celebrities. As the spoken word continued, she allowed the audience access to not only her life but to those of her ancestors as well. She disclosed that the indigenous cultural customs of her grandmother were “forgotten memories,” buried into the ground along with her. Fe Montes’ recital carried a higher, more powerful tone. The anger was visible in her face, as was the pain and suffering in her voice as she repeatedly chanted, “We be the silenced ones! Yes, we be the silenced ones!” Her poem delved into the issues and struggles Hispanic individuals face in American society. “We
be the silenced ones! The dreamers estudiando for a better day, the fly girl, feminista, the ghetto, the grad student.” The two members of In Lak Ech concluded their performance with another native song dedicated to the audience and Teatro Quinto Sol, a UCR student organization that seeks to spread cultural awareness through performance arts. Once the group took the stage, the words that were uttered from their lips criticized the university’s educational system by pointing out an overabundance of seemingly superfluous requirements that are unrelated to studies, as well as tuition costs and the university’s lack of real consideration for its students. They also dove into more personal problems, including anxiety and fears. One by one, each woman stood on the stage to deliver their poems in English, Spanish and often a medley of both languages. The poetry that illustrated themes of love, heritage, relationships and even abuse led me to realize that this event was more than a simple tribute to the Xicana culture. It stood for equality. That evening, Poesía Peligrosa brought people from all walks of life to come together and share beautiful words with beautiful people through voH cal expression. ■
Clockwise from left: Olivia Gonzalez, a Liberal Studies major, speaks of her families’ struggle with money; Marisol Torres and Felicia Montes from In Lak Ech perform their traditional instrument; Freddie Lopez and Daniel Dominguez end the night with a short performance.
MUSIC REVIEWS CLASH THE TRUTH // BEACH FOSSILS RATING:
D
★★★★☆ BY: NEILL CHUA, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
uring the rise of chillwave, circa 2009 and 2010, many bands that were high on the wistful atmosphere of the genre started up a burgeoning dream-pop scene that has survived to present day. Of these rooftop-bumping bedroom bands, Beach Fossils has garnered widespread blog appeal with their hazy guitars and low fidelity vocals. After three years, the relatively adolescent band returns with their second LP “Clash the Truth.” Beach Fossils frontman Dustin Payseur aims to distinguish his band from among the collective of shoegazing Brooklyn-based bands (such as Real Estate, Wild Nothing and Beach House) by taking elements from past punk-rock projects and infusing them with the iconic fuzzed-out vocals. The result is a novel approach to the dream-pop genre that sits in the seam of 1980s post-punk and the New Wave movement. In the first track, “Clash the Truth,” Payseur proclaims, “Life can be so vicious that we can’t even appreciate its purities.” The lyrics set the stage for the record with a
strange dichotomy that teeters between melancholy and hope. The song slowly builds up to the chant, “Dream, rebel, trust, youth, free, life, clash, truth,” opening up the doors to the themes that could be expanded upon in the album. However, the remainder of the album alternates through intervals of great pieces and then episodes that seem lost and misguided. For example, “Modern Holiday” is an all-instrumental number that lulls the audience to sleep with its lack of fuzzy synths and driving beat. It is sandwiched between the first few catchy songs on the album and two tracks before one of the standout singles of the LP, “Shallow,” which recoups the depressing low in a predominantly upbeat record. “Shallow” kicks off with a catchy, pronounced guitar chord, which preludes Payseur’s softspoken vocals as he sings, “And when I say I go away and I can’t stay / I know I’m done I’m done,” and quickly follows up with, “And when you say stay awake and roll away / I know it’s done so done.” He expressively conveys the angst
that is felt after a rough breakup, wherein the other person has moved on more easily. Another standout track, “In Vertigo,” features Kazu Makino from Blonde Redhead; the guitar lines in this piece are bright and carry both the melody and easily recognizable vocals of each singer along. The downside was that Payseur’s vocals masked the better part of Makino’s trademark breathy vocals, which dampened the full effect of their collaboration. When I first heard of Beach Fossils’ new album release, I was afraid they would fall into the same trap of similar, washed-out vocals and hazy guitar melodies that a good number of dream-pop bands that sprouted during the chillwave era have fallen prey to. Instead, Payseur’s post-punk/New Wave influences bring enough flair to the album for it to find distinction among the band’s peers in the genre. Overall, the album is littered with enough shoegazing gems (especially “Shallow” and “In Vertigo”) to keep fans rocking on. ■H
Captured Tracka
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ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
TUESDAY, FEBRARY 26, 2013
HIGHLANDER
A Column
Fashion Instinct Trend Alert:
BLACK AND WHITE
by Thelma Annan, Staff Writer
Simplicity has made a comeback in a big way this runway season. Fashion is bringing it back to basics in 2013, with the monochrome pair that started it all. From Oscar de la Renta to Marc Jacobs and Andrea Pompilio, black and white pairings were found all over the runway for the Spring and Summer fashion seasons. Since both black and white are so universally flattering on any body shape or skin tone, this recent trend can be achieved by anyone. The intense contrast between the two make for a perfect head turner in whatever way you
choose to wear it. There is no need to worry about mismatching colors; with black and white, anything goes. Seems like Cruella de Vil knew a thing or two we didn’t. There are multiple ways to achieve this fashionable trend simply by using the pieces already available in your closet. You can go the simple route with a head-to-toe black or white ensemble, or try a more daring approach with a hint of color. Emerald greens and navy blues are big must-haves this year. Guys: Black pants with a plain white top and white blazer will keep you looking sharp. You can
also try a white outerwear piece with an all black ensemble (or vice versa). For a more colorful approach, wear a black sweater and a colorful button up underneath with the collar peeping through to draw attention your way. Ladies: There is nothing stronger than a woman in an all white or black menswear-inspired suit. Add some yellow or green strappy stilettos to your cropped pant bottoms for the perfect surprise. Feel free to ditch the suit ensemble and rock an above-the-knee flared skirt to achieve the same colorful effect. ■H
P hoto C ourtesy
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P hoto C ourtesy
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Away from the Sprawl by Jake Rich, Senior Staff Writer
MAX AND THE MOON, THE STONE FOXES IMPRESS WITH DIFFERENT STYLES
P hoto C ourtesy
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Well, I was planning on talking about the New Wave-y sounding Max and the Moon, who played a nooner show here at UCR in 2012. I still am, but here’s the thing: they’ve only released a four song EP, which doesn’t exactly leave a lot of material to discuss. And so, you all get a bonus topic this week: The Stone Foxes. We’ll start with the local guys, Max and the Moon (whose members hail from Corona, Chino Hills and Fullerton). Though the band is scarce in works, what they have to offer (the aforementioned EP “The Way I See It”) shows great promise. The band features two lead vocalists with a sizable combined range, which complements a sound that can be described as a blend of Coldplay and modern New Wave. The highlight from the EP release is “Lighthouse,” which starts out with about 30 seconds of a capella, hymnalsounding harmonics, before a walloping, driving bass drum kicks into the track, followed by upbeat synths and vibrant guitar and piano riffs. “The Walk” (which is almost six minutes long) shows a slightly more experimental side of the band, with more varied instrumentation, electronic workings and in-song shifts. And now, for “something
of
Max
and the
Moon
completely different” (to quote “Monty Python). While The Stone Foxes may completely differ in style from Max and the Moon, they are just as worthy of a listen. This San Francisco-based band has a bit more to work with—they’ve released three albums: “The Stone Foxes” (2008), “Bears and Bulls” (2010) and their most recent record, “Small Fires,” released Feb. 12 of this year. They’ve worked with multiple lead singers, each with unique vibes, but if one had to classify them in general terms, they would be best described as blues-rock with the occasional country or alt-rock tones. “Passenger Train,” a highlight from their second album, maintains a Southern bluesrock feel, but infuses the sound with a breezier quality and group sing-along junctures. “Jump in the Water” is one of the best songs from their new record; it starts out with a lowkey, fuzzy guitar, before jumping into a ferociously loud, distorted guitar solo accompanied by old-school blues hollers from the lead vocalist. So there you go, two for one this week, and I hope you enjoy them both. If you have any suggestions for bands that I should feature, I’d love to hear from you! You can reach me at awayH fromthesprawl@gmail.com. ■
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
SPORTS
HIGHLANDER
Men’s tennis wins a point but loses against Saint Mary’s College Jayvee Valencia
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Feb. 14, 2013 Anteaters 58 - Highlanders 56
The UC Riverside men’s tennis team was only able to win one point in their 6-1 loss to Saint Mary’s College. Highlander Luis Gastao earned the single point for the Highlanders when he defeated Saint Mary’s player Joakim Norstrom 6-3, 6-3. The defeat came in singles play. Marcus Vizcarra was another bright spot for the Highlanders. Vizcarra fought valiantly in three sets against Thomas Hunt. Vizcarra would go on to lose the match at the end, 6-4 3-6 6-1. In doubles action, Jimmy Roberts and Simon Peters were defeated by Jesse Kiuru and Norstrom 8-1. The tandem of Kevin Griffin and Vizcarra fell in a tough match to Saint Mary’s Tuomas Manner and Samuel Bloore 8-3. Highlander duo
Julian Ruffin and Calvin Ngo lost 8-3 to Hunt and Seif El Sherbini. The Highlanders were unable to pull through in their doubles matches to score the team points. In other singles matches, UCR’s Roberts was defeated by Kiuru 6-4, 6-2. Ruffin lost 6-2, 6-0 to Manner. Griffin played through a tough first set but lost to El Sherbini 7-6, 6-1. Ngo lost his match 6-2, 6-2 against Bloore. The Highlanders are now 2-8 overall and have lost two straight after their victory against Northern Arizona Feb. 16. They are 1-1 at home, 0-4 away and 1-3 in neutral sites. The Highlanders look to take advantage of its schedule as they will spend the first two weeks of March with five matches at home. Three matches are at Andulka Park and two at the Canyon Crest Country Club. The tennis team will start their home stretch against Vanguard on Monday, March 4, at Andulka Park at 12 p.m. ■H
C a m e r o n Y o n g /HIGHLANDER Freshman Marcus Vizcarra returns a serve in a match with UC San Diego to win Riverside a point.
C a m e r o n Y o n g /HIGHLANDER Freshman Julian Ruffin serves the ball to Riverside Community College’s team. The serve was an ace, giving Ruffin a point with minimal effort.
MEN’S TENNIS STANDINGS BIG WEST GAMES
ALL GAMES
Team
W
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PCT.
W
L
PCT.
Pacific Hawai’i Cal Poly UC Santa Barbara UC Riverside UC Davis UC Irvine
2 1 0 0 0 0 0
0 1 0 0 0 1 1
1.000 .500 .000 .000 .000 .000 .000
5 2 6 2 2 4 2
4 4 3 3 8 6 7
.556 .333 .667 .400 .200 .400 .222
SPORTS
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
25
UCR softball team goes 3-2 in Amy S. Harrison Classic C o dy N g u y e n STAFF WRITER
Feb. 22, 2013 Toreros 5 - Highlanders 0
UC Riverside hosted the Amy S. Harrison Classic and started the tournament off with a loss to the University of San Diego Toreros 0-5. All five runs by the Toreros were scored in the first inning. Alyssa Razo started for the Highlanders and ended up having a tough day. Razo allowed a total of five runs and three hits in the first inning before being pulled. Razo was not the only UCR player to struggle in the first inning as sloppy defense by the Highlanders resulted in two errors. Relief pitcher Ashley Ercolano entered the game for Razo in the midst of the first inning and only allowed three hits for the rest of the game. But the Highlanders couldn’t buy a run throughout the rest of the game as San Diego got the shutout against UCR. Feb. 23, 2013 Broncos 4 - Highlanders 2
In their second match of the Amy S. Harrison Classic, the women’s softball team dropped a heartbreaker to Boise State, in which they held a 2-0 lead through six innings before giving up four consecutive runs in the seventh.
Highlanders Dionne Anderson and Marissa Escalante had an RBI to give the Highlanders an early 2-0 lead that held until the seventh inning. UCR pitcher Alyssa Razo started at the mound and prevented a single Bronco run through six innings. Relief pitcher Ashley Ercolano entered the game in the seventh inning. Subsequently, Boise State was able to load up the bases and score four runs off two hits and a walk. The Highlanders could not rally and suffered the second straight loss in their tournament. Feb. 23, 2013 Highlanders 4 - Wildcats 3
In the second match of their doubleheader, the UC Riverside softball team chalked up their first win of the weekend against the Weber State Wildcats, winning the game 4-3. Weber State took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a double steal that put runners at second and third. This allowed Wildcat Janel Cunningham to hit a two RBI single to centerfield. A single by Highlander Alexis Pickett in the third inning put UCR on the board 1-2. The Highlanders took the lead for good in the fifth inning when hits by Ariel Shore, Brittanie Akey and Nicolette Lujan put UCR up 4-2. Weber State would score once in the sixth to narrow the
gap 4-3, but the Highlanders would hold on for its first win. in Seventh Inning vs. Weber State Feb. 24, 2013 Highlanders 7 - Wildcats 5
The wins continue to pile up in the Amy S. Harrison classic as Highlander Ashley Ercolano hit a walk-off home run to snatch a 7-5 victory. Weber State scored three unanswered runs in the first and second innings to give them an early 3-0 lead. The Wildcats then scored two more in the fourth and fifth to give them a commanding 5-0 lead. A big fat zero showed on the UCR side of the scoreboard until the sixth inning when Kayla White fired a home run to centerfield to cut the deficit to 5-1. At the bottom of the seventh inning, the Highlanders found themselves down four to Weber State. Dionne Anderson started the UCR rally, hitting a two run double to right center. Not long after, pitcher Ashley Ercolano stepped up to the plate and finished the job with a three-run walk off homer to give the Highlanders their second straight victory. Feb. 24, 2013 Highlanders 4 - Toreros 1
A three-run third inning by the
Senior Ariel Shore prepares to hit a fast ball.
Highlanders ended a 0-0 deadlock between the two teams. Marissa Escalante’s single to centerfield with two runners on base put the first points on the board for the Highlanders. UCR followed that by another run in the third inning for a 4-1 victory. Escalante struck again for the Highlanders in the fifth when she scored a run on a bad pitch by Torero pitcher Cassidy Coleman.
T s u n g S u /HIGHLANDER
The Toreros finally scored in the top of the seventh inning, denying pitcher Alyssa Razo a shutout opportunity. Razo made quick work of the next batters however, clinching the Highlanders’ third straight win of the Amy S. Harrison Classic. Next up for the softball team is the Wildcat Invitational in Tuscon, Ariz. slated to begin this Friday March 1. ■H
Men’s basketball defeats UCSB Gauchos, falls to Portland State Vikings go on a 9-0 run to take back the lead at 38-32. The Gauchos would go on to struggle offensively, turning the ball over and missing shots. Highlander guard Robert Smith scored the last four points of the game on free throws to seal the victory for UCR. The Highlanders shot 42 percent from the field while the Gauchos shot 26 percent. The Highlanders had 12 assists on the night, while the Gauchos had just eight.
Matthew Guerrero CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Feb. 20, 2013 Highlanders 54 - Gauchos 45
The UCR men’s basketball team, hot with a fiery defense, defeated the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos 54-45 Feb. 20. Highlanders Chris Harriel and Taylor Johns both provided an offensive punch for UCR, scoring a combined 25 points. Johns scored his points coming off the bench in just 24 minutes. Chris Patton scored 10 points on only six shots, going 4-6 from the free throw line. Gaucho Alan Williams scored 15 points for UCSB, and teammate Taran Brown added 12. Gauchos Brown and Williams shot a combined 8-30 from the field. Josh Fox set the tone defensively when he blocked Williams’ shot in the first few seconds of the first half. The two teams started off slow and were tied at 6-6 with 14 minutes left in the half. The Gauchos struggled to make shots off multiple attempts and UCR turnovers. Johns amped his defensive pressure and recorded three big
Feb. 23, 2013 Vikings 66 - Highlanders 58
V i n c e n t T a /HIGHLANDER Taylor Johns goes in for an easy dunk. Swiftly moving through the other team, UCR men’s was able to secure the win.
blocks in the first half. However, the Gauchos and the Highlanders traded baskets and turned the ball over. The half was deprived of good offense as UCSB and UCR headed into halftime tied at 20-20. The Gauchos started off the
second half by shutting down UCR. UCSB took a 24-21 lead in the first three minutes of the half. However, Highlander Harriel tied the game at 24 apiece on a 3-point shot with 17 minutes left in the game. The Highlanders would later
UC Riverside’s offense took a tumble with 11 minutes left to go at Portland State, losing the game 66-58. After taking an 8-point lead, Riverside’s offense failed to score for seven minutes and then only scored 6-points total for the rest of the game. Chris Patton led the Highlanders with 22 points on 9-17 shooting, while Josh Fox chipped in 10 points on 5-8 shooting. Michael Harthun led the Portland State Vikings with 15 points. Portland also featured three scorers in double figures. The
Highlanders’ frustration continued as they dropped to 6-21 on the season. UCR struggled offensively in the first half, as the Vikings opened the game with a 14-8 run that was stopped by a Chris Harriel 3-pointer. Another 8-4 run continued to irritate the Highlanders defensively as the Vikings had their way with the UCR. A Josh Fox dunk in the waning moments cut the Vikings’ nine-point lead to seven going into halftime, 33-36. The Highlanders started off the second half hot offensively, as UCR big man Chris Patton scored 6 of his 22 points in a 7-0 run to take the lead. The Highlanders and Vikings would battle with buckets through the next few minutes until the Highlanders took an 8-point lead with a little over 11 minutes left to go. Harthun and Michael Harvey would dominate the rest of the game for the Vikings, as Riverside struggled, losing the game 66-58. With only two games left in the season, the Highlanders, hope to finish the season strong when they take on UC Davis on Thursday Feb. 28 and Pacific on Saturday March 2. ■H
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
SPORTS
HIGHLANDER
Women’s golf bounces back after first round for a third place finish K e n da l l P e t e r s o n SENIOR STAFF WRITER
KENDALL PETERSON
KENDALL’S FASTBALL The beginning of a new era in sports Saturday, Feb. 23 was a monumental moment for women’s athletics—the first female fight in UFC history. Though men have always dominated the headlines in all areas of sports, this fight is a prime example of how female competition is gaining popularity, and for good reason. This was a damn good fight. The match between Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche was a terrific idea by Dana White. I just do not know what took him so long to set this up. Two women headlining the event—UFC has come pretty far, and I’m proud. I believe this is just the beginning of a new era for sports. One where women are not seen as inferior athletes compared to men, but equal. The fight could be compared to the anticipation of the Brock Lesnar fight against Frank Mir in UFC 81. People were talking it up months before it, saying that it’d be a fight to remember. This was no different. I’d even say it was a better fight this time around. Both Rousey and Carmouche gave their all in one intense bout. These women have shown that they can perform just as well as men. If all women’s sports are given the same hype as this fight had, I believe a lot more people would respect how engaging and powerful women athletes can be. Although this is not what sports fans are used to seeing, women stealing headlines, I think that this fight will never be forgotten. Not because it was the first female UFC fight in history, but because it is a great example of how unimportant gender is when it comes to the level of play in sports. Competition is competition. Leave the gender stereotypes at home and enjoy the game. ■H
The UC Riverside women’s golf team recovered from a sluggish early round start to earn a top three triumph on day two of the Folino Invitational. The Highlanders started the tournament off in eighth place after one round of play. Gonzaga opened in first place and held their lead through the tournament for a final score 902. Boise State placed second, while Portland State and Wyoming tied for third place. UCR had three players within the top 20 of the individual standings. Riverside bounced back in the second round as they were the only team to hit below 300 with a score of 299 for second place. However, they would slide back one spot to third after hitting 302 in the third round. The Highlanders wrapped up the round 65 shots above par. Highlanders Savannah Vilaubi and Brittani Ferraro
were tied for seventh place hitting 79-70-78 and 75-79-73 respectively. When the tournament was all said and done, Vilaubi and Ferraro both hit seven birdies. Both players were 14 above par with a total score of 227. Gonzaga Raychelle Santos lead the tournament in first place with a score of 218 (74-74-70). Highlander Amelia Ek tied for 14 with a score of 231 (8571-75). The duo of Christy Fogerty and Hannah Lee ended in 28th and 48th place, respectively. Tiffany Koyano, playing as an individual, placed in 69. Head Coach Eric Riehle was ecstatic about the way his team bounced back after round one. “Having been the first competitive college [tournament] round the past three and half months for this team, I wasn’t surprised about the very ‘average’ first round in last week’s Folino Invitational; [the team was] filled with a few nerves and trying to
find our footing out there,” said Coach Riehle. “However, in both the second and third rounds the team really responded and got back onto the track that we left in the fall. With positive thoughts and ball striking we were really able to have
along with great supporting tournaments from two seniors, Amelia Ek and Christy Fogerty.” When asked about the upcoming tournament, Riehle said, “The entire team is in a great frame of mind and ready to take on some tougher
“With positive thoughts and ball striking we were really able to have a strong finish and result in the event.” -Head Coach Eric Riehle a strong finish and result in the event,” continued Riehle. “The girls played very nicely, highlighted by T-7 finishes from our two sophomores Savannah Vilaubi and Brittani Ferraro. They lead the way
competition as we make our progression in tournaments towards the Big West Conference Championships.” The golf team returns to action Feb. 25-26 at the UC ■H Irvine Invitational.
SPORTS
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
27
Women’s tennis picks up first win of season vs. Point Loma Nazarene C o dy N g u y e n STAFF WRITER
Feb. 23, 2013 Highlanders 7 - Sea Lions 2
After losing the first six matches of their 2013 campaign, the UC Riverside women’s tennis team got the monkey off their backs and earned their first victory of the season when they defeated the Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions, 7-2. In doubles, Highlanders Jamie and Taylor Raney defeated Sea Lions Preethika Venugopal and Hope Penner 8-4. Natalie McKay and Courtney Pattugalan defeated Maika Adair and Kirsty Mountain by the same end result, 8-4. Finally, Kate Bergeson and Thanh Doan clinched the sweep for the Highlanders after they defeated Sharon Steinhaur and Wileen Chiu, 9-7. At the number one spot in singles, Jamie Raney laid down the law on Maika Adair, defeating her 6-0, 6-3. Taylor Raney was pitted against Hope Penner at the number two and had her hands full. She lost the first set
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Taylor Raney was pitted against Hope Penner at the number two and had her hands full.
DARREN BUENO
BUENO’S BUZZ Blade Gunner?
A r c h i v e /HIGHLANDER Sophomore Courtey Pattugalan returns the ball after University of Hawai’i serves the ball in a previous match.
3-6, won the second set 6-3 and easily pulled off the tiebreaker win by a score of 6-1. UCR McKay earned a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Sea Lion Venugopal at the three spot and her teammate Pattugalan defeated Wileen Chiu 6-2, 6-1 at the four. UCR’s two losses in singles came at the fixtures five and six. Sea Lion Kirsty Mountain defeated Highlander Kate Bergeson in a hard-fought 7-5, 1-6 and 10-7 decision. Sharob Reibstein defeated UCR player Thanh Doan 6-1 and 6-0. Next up for the women’s tennis team is a home match at Andulka Park against Nevada on March 1 at 1 p.m.. ■H
WOMEN’S TENNIS All Games Team Long Beach State UC Irvine Cal State Fullerton UC Santa Barbara Hawai’i Pacific UC Davis Cal State Northridge Cal Poly UC Riverside
W
L
PCT.
8 8 6 6 2 5 3 3 2 1
2 3 4 3 8 4 7 2 7 6
.800 .727 .600 .667 .200 .556 .300 .600 .222 .143
Sometimes the entertaining spectacle of sports clashes with the harshness of reality. The trial of Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius fits that bill. Winning the hearts of millions, the South African dubbed “Blade Runner” gained global fame at the London 2012 Olympics as he became the first double amputee to compete against able-bodied athletes. Sixth months ago we saw him brimming with promise while waving his nation’s flag at the closing ceremony. Now he is charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend, who was fatally shot at his home in South Africa on Feb. 14. The peculiar story of Pistorius brings up the question: what are we to make of globally recognized athletes that commit crimes? Michael Vick, OJ Simpson, Lance Armstrong, now Oscar Pistorius. All of whom excelled in their sport, but failed in their personal lives. We need to compartmentalize these athletes and distance ourselves from the person we see on the field and the man behind the lights. No one can minimize the achievements and hardships overcome by Pistorius. He became the first disabled athlete to compete in the Olympic games, which can’t be overstated enough. His prosthetic legs catapulted an entire community into believing that anything is possible and up until two weeks ago, he was the most inspirational athlete ever. In his personal life, however, he struggled meeting the expectations of his perfectly woven image. Reports of reckless boat driving and anger issues surfaced, all culminating before the eventual murder of his girlfriend. So we, as a sports community, must separate Pistorius into an individual that succeeded against all odds but also a man that possibly intentionally killed his companion. This is not to say that we cannot be disappointed. This is a tragic story that shakes the foundation of everything we think to be right. The millions of people, disabled or not, that believed in him now question that inspiration. But the problem lies in the fact that the public naturally puts these athletes on an insurmountable pedestal but now more than ever, we need to realize that they are people as well. Not by any stretch of the imagination am I defending their actions; however, an internal divorce of the two entities is mandatory. So while we continue to watch this intricate case, remember the difference between the blade runner and the blade gunner. ■H
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. SPORTS .
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2013
HIGHLANDER
UCR baseball players suspended after Sacramento State brawl Michael Rios SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Feb. 22, 2013 Highlanders 2 - Hornets 1
Highlander baseball made national headlines this weekend, but not for the right reasons. UC Riverside beat Sacramento State 2-1 on Friday, Feb. 22. But the story of the game was a scuffle in the middle of the third inning that led to four suspensions. After being tagged out in between second and third base, Highlander Eddie Young was shoved by Sacramento State player Andrew Ayers. Young responded with a right hook to Ayers and was immediately tackled to the ground by another Sacramento State player. The benches cleared right after as several other players jumped into the scuffle, while others tried to stop the fighting. The end result: two Highlander players and one Hornet player were ejected after the fighting ceased. In the midst of all the commotion, there was a game to be played. UCR had built a 1-0 lead in the first inning after a Clayton Prestridge RBI. Riverside followed that with a double and an RBI by Young in the third, just moments before the brawl. UCR would hold onto that lead until the end. Sacramento State scored one run in the seventh, but that would be all. Highlander Dylan Stuart pitched all nine in-
nings and managed to close it out in the ninth. UCR won the game with a final score of 2-1. After the game, UCR received word that Highlanders Eddie Young, Zach Varela and Drake Zarate would serve four-game suspensions for the altercation. Sacramento State’s Ayers will also be serving suspension. Feb. 23, 2013 Hornets 4 - Highlanders 3
Following Friday’s brawl, UCR would have to carry on and play a doubleheader on Saturday without three of their suspended players. The Highlanders were steady all throughout the game, but a ninthinning squeeze bunt by the Hornets gave Sacramento State its first win of the four-game series. The Hornets struck first in the second inning with two runs. UCR retaliated with a lone run in the third, but the Hornets negated that with a run of their own in the fourth to go up, 3-1. Riverside managed to tie things up with runs in the sixth and seventh, but that would be as far as the Highlanders got. The Hornets’ Scotty Burchman laid a bunt in the bottom of the ninth to bring in the walk-off run. Sacramento State won by a score of 4-3. Feb. 23, 2013
Highlanders 7 - Hornets 6
C o u rt e s y o f J o e D av i d s o n a n d NBC The brawl began after Sacramento State’s Andrew Ayers shoved UCR’s Eddie Young. Young retaliated by punching Ayers.
Following the loss, the Highlanders responded with a win of their own in the second of Saturday’s doubleheader. David Andriese’s two RBIs led UCR to a 7-6 victory over the Hornets. The Highlanders struck first after a wild pitch allowed Phil Holinsworth to score in the top of the second. A three-run third inning gave UCR a comfortable 4-0 lead. Riverside kept on scoring and led by as much as 7-2 at one point. The Hornets gave the Highlanders a late-game scare after scoring two runs in the ninth. But UCR’s Trevor Frank pulled it out in the end and got Will Soto to fly out for the final out of the inning.
UCR would prevail in the end for a 7-6 victory. Feb. 24, 2013 Hornets 7 - Highlanders 4
Both teams wrapped up the series on Sunday afternoon. It was a tough day for the Highlanders as they recorded six errors and five unearned runs to leave Sacramento with a 7-4 loss. Mitch Patito performed well for UCR, but the Highlanders’ defense was unable to back him up. He did not allow a single run through five innings. The Hornets scored first in the
sixth however. They would put up two more, before a Highlander comeback tied the score at three runs apiece. In the bottom of the seventh, the Hornets would score three more thanks to a series of errors by UCR. The Hornets never looked back. Riverside failed to move up to the .500 mark with the loss. UCR’s Clayton Prestidge extended his hitting streak to eight games and ended with a hit and an RBI. UCR’s overall record now stands at 3-5. The Highlanders will return to the Riverside Sports Complex this Friday, March 1 for a three-game series against Saint Mary’s College. ■H
UC Riverside women’s basketball team loses to UC Davis, Pacific Tigers Darren Bueno SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Feb. 21, 2013 Aggies 70 - Highlanders 56
The UC Riverside women’s basketball team continued their late season slide as the Highlanders lost 70-56 to UC Davis. In a vital game for playoff positioning, Sydnee Fipps’ 27 point explosion put the Aggies (6-8) one full game in front of Riverside (4-9) in the Big West standings. Fipps, a 5-10 forward from Mariposa, posted her highest point total of the season as she sliced and diced the Highlanders defense at will. Her 10 points midway through the second half sparked a 13-2 run that led Davis to the victory. Highlander Brittany Crain notched her second double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 boards. Tre’Shonti Nottingham chipped in 13 points while Natasha Hadley accounted for 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds. The Highlanders utilized a balanced offense early as six different players scored in the first half. Down 17-12, the UCR guards put the ball on the floor and penetrated the lane to ignite a 7-0 run that was capped off by a Crain free throw. The run tied the game at 21-21. Despite only scoring two points for the
remainder of the period, Riverside only trailed by four, 23-27, at intermission while shooting a healthy 42 percent from the field. The opening of the second half saw the Highlanders temporarily capture the lead as Nottingham drained a two pointer to give UCR a one point advantage, 40-39. Fipps responded by scoring 10 points, including two layups and a three, in the midst of a 13-2 Aggie run as the home team built a 54-42 lead with under 10 minutes remaining. Two free throws from Crain brought UCR within seven at 52-45 but UC Davis was able to extend the lead by as many as 16 points and secure the win, 70-56. Feb. 23, 2013 Tigers 74 - Highlanders 66
Squaring off against the top team in the conference, freshman Brittany Crain played the best game of her young collegiate career. But she couldn’t will the Highlanders pass Pacific as Riverside fell, 74-66. The guards of UCR had a stellar performance as Crain scored a career high 25 points and 12 rebounds, recording her second straight double-double. Tre’Shonti Nottingham poured in 24 points and racked up seven steals. Erica McKenzie led the Pacific with 15 points. The Tigers (11-4), who were
celebrating their senior night, got things going first as they jumped out to a 10-point lead, 21-11, at the 11 minute mark. Crain then channeled her idol Maya Moore, who also wears #23, reeling off 11 straight points to get the Highlanders to within five, 27-22. The two teams played evenly the rest of the way as UCR went into intermission down six points, 37-31. Pacific maintained its lead over the Highlanders for the first seven minutes of the second half before UCR went on a 12-2 run. They were able to take a 52-51 lead with 10:07 left. After trading buckets, the Tigers rediscovered their rhythm as a McKenzie 3-pointer gave the home team a six-point cushion, 63-57. UCR came within four points on two occasions late in the period but Pacific closed out the game scoring seven of the final 10 points en route to a 74-66 triumph. Pacific made program history as it improved to 21-6 overall and 11-4 in conference, which is their most wins in a season ever. The Highlanders, who dropped to 11-14 and 4-10 in league, were missing their center Natasha Hadley. The forecast doesn’t look too bright for UCR as they return to the SRC Arena to face Cal Poly on Feb. 28. The Highlanders have not won a game at home H since December of last year. ■
J i n y o u n g K o /HIGHLANDER Forward Janelle Kearney is trying to find an open teammate to pass the ball to. Meanwhile UC Davis guard Molly Greubel is trying to block her.