highlandernews.org
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
SPECIAL EDITION
FALL WELCOME ISSUE
Highlander University
Established 1954
of
C a l i f o r n i a , R ive r s i d e
One Free Copy
UC Board of Regents rally behind Governor Brown’s Proposition 30 S a n dy V a n SENIOR STAFF WRITER
On July 18, the UC Board of Regents voted to endorse Governor Jerry Brown’s tax initiative and enact a temporary tuition freeze for the 2012-2013 academic year. The meeting, located at UCSF Mission Bay, saw demonstrations from students dressed as “debt zombies” to protest the deadening effects of rising tuition, where it was soon declared an unlawful assembly. The regents also sought alternative revenue sources to offset the projected budget deficits. The tuition freeze is contingent upon passage of Governor Brown’s Proposition 30, in which voters will decide to approve sales and income tax increases on Nov. 6. If the tax initiative fails, it will result in a $250 million mid-year “trigger cut,” leading to an expected rise of nearly $2,400 in annual tuition—a 20.3 percent increase. The need for funds may also result in further layoffs, course reductions and hiring freezes, as stated by the UC Newsroom. The state budget would have insufficient funds to proceed with a tuition buyout and therefore, lead to an additional shortfall of $15.4 million for the 2013-2014 academic year. “Governor Brown’s 2012-13 budget package, in tandem with his revenue initiative, contains an implicit deal for UC. It is an imperfect deal, and it is not without risks,” President Mark Yudof said. “Still, it is a better deal than we anticipated. And it is our best shot at taking an important step toward the financial stability that this university so desperately needs.” Sporting zombie attire and assorted cosmetics, student protesters rallied to the regents meeting with demands against tuition hikes,
Student protesters dressed as “debt zombies” attend the UC Board of Regents meeting on July 18.
privatization of higher education and neglect of adequate state funding. At one point, the “debt zombies” stood atop furniture and performed Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” according to the Daily Californian. After the police declared an “unlawful assembly,” protesters were soon escorted out. The Schools and Local Public Safety Protection Act of 2012, also known as Prop 30, would temporarily raise the California sales tax by one-quarter of a cent for four years and
49 new recommendations made for future UC campus protests
apply higher income taxes on those who make $250,000 or higher for seven years. Passage of Prop 30 translates to an estimated $8.5 billion of additional revenue for the state, as indicated by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, and halts $6 billion trigger cuts to education. The UC system experienced a decrease in state funding totaling $900 million since the recession began in 2008. “Over that same period, UC’s costs have risen by $1.22 billion,” stated Nathan Brostrom, executive vice president for
Cristina Granados STAFF WRITER
In response to the 2011-2012 systemwide campus protests, University of California President Mark Yudof asked UC Vice President and General Counsel Charles Robinson and Berkeley Law Dean Christopher Edley Jr. for a finalized review of UC policies to demRECOMMENDATIONS CONT’D ON PAGE 7
o f l at i m e s . c o m
business operation. “[The university] has relied on tuition and fee increases to cover a third of the budget gap. The other two thirds have come from administrative efficiencies and cuts to academic programs.” “As costs continue to rise, UC’s budget shortfall in five years could grow to as much as $2.9 billion if revenues remain at current levels,” stated Brostrom, who elaborated that these projections have already take into account prePROP 30 CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
UCR alumnus Holmes charged with murder S a n dy V a n SENIOR STAFF WRITER
C o u rt e s y o f d a i ly c a l . o r g UC Vice President and General Counsel Charles Robinson (left) and Berkeley Law Dean Crhistopher Edley (right).
C o u rt e s y
UCR neuroscience alumnus James Eagan Holmes appeared in Arapahoe County Court last week, where his mental cognizance is being questioned in the case of what is being referred to as the “Colorado massacre.” Holmes, who originally identified himself as “The Joker,” is accused of murdering 12 people and injuring 59 others during the midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises,” at the Century 16 theater in Aurora, Colorado on July 20. Following one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history, Holmes has been charged with 152 felony counts and if convicted, may face the death penalty or a minimum sentence of life in prison without parole. Currently
detained at the Arapahoe County Jail, Holmes is charged with 24 counts of first degree murder and 118 counts of attempted murder. Prosecutors are pursuing 10 additional charges, as revealed by a court case of register actions, yet the details remain undisclosed due to a court-issued gag order. An exact motive has yet to be determined and a preliminary trial is scheduled for Nov. 6. Recent focus surrounding Holmes’ notebook may play a key role in determining the mental stability of the suspected murderer. The notebook was allegedly mailed to his Colorado psychiatrist, Lynne Fenton, the day before the shooting occurred. Despite having portrayals of a violent assault, prosecutors halted efforts to obtain his writings as legal evidence, due to persistent delays in proceedings.
Arapahoe County District Judge William B. Sylvester also ruled that the notebook was restricted under patient-doctor confidentiality. The last session between Holmes and Fenton took place on June 11—more than a month before the shooting. “There’s a high degree of likelihood that whatever privilege exists in the notebook will end up being waived by the defendant,” stated Arapahoe District Attorney Rich Orman, with the assumption that Holmes’ attorneys will claim a mental illness defense. Defense attorneys assert that Holmes originally sought psychological help due to a phone call that Holmes made to Fenton just seven minutes before the shooting. Fenton was unavailable at the time and said she was HOLMES CONT’D ON PAGE 7
FACEBOOK: UCR HIGHLANDER NEWSPAPER -- TWITTER: @ UCRHIGHLANDER -- highlandernews.org
Volume 61
Issue 01
2
CALENDAR
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
HIGHLANDER
September/October
UPCOMING EVENTS Sunday
23
Monday
24
Work Study Orientation 11 a.m. - noon INTN 120
30
1
7
8
Orientation to Campus Life for LGBT and Allies 2-5 p.m. Pentland Hills
Choosing a Major 12 - 1 p.m. HUB 268
Tuesday
25
Wednesday
26
Thursday
Friday
27
28
First Day of Fall Quarter
Saturday
29
Block Party 5:30 - 9:30 p.m. Belltower Men’s Soccer 8-10 p.m. UC Santa Barbara
2
3
4
5
6
12
13
Understanding “Hook-up Culture” 3-5 p.m. HUB 269
Angels Landing Nooners Series 12 p.m. Belltower
Long Night of Arts & Innovation 6 p.m. - 12 a.m. Downtown Riverside
9
10
11
Wellness Wednesday: Speed Friending 4 - 6 p.m. HUB 260
Finding an Internship 10 - 11 a.m. HUB 268
Scan this QR code and visit us at www.highlandernews.org
Be a sports writer.
Join the Highlander on Mondays at 5:15 p.m. in HUB 101. Learn more about the exciting opportunities UCR’s student media organization offers students to pursue their interests and career goals.
Highlander
4
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
WRITE, SHOOT OR DESIGN FOR THE HIGHLANDER
Meetings on Mon. @ 5:15 pm at HUB 101
NEWS
HIGHLANDER
Assembly Speaker Pérez’s Middle Class Scholarship Act fails to pass senate floor Carrie Meng STAFF WRITER
The Middle Class Scholarship Act, a measure that would have cut UC and CSU fees by two-thirds for middleclass students, failed to pass the Senate on Aug 31. Authored by John A. Perez, DLos Angeles, the legislative bill had passed the Assembly but failed to obtain the necessary two-thirds in bipartisan votes. During the final hours of the Senate meeting, state senators proposed including multiple revisions to the original bill which made reaching an agreement difficult. The bill was voted on in its original form, but lacked five necessary votes to pass, with a final tally of 15-22. “Unfortunately, even though most Senate Democrats supported the Middle Class Scholarship Act, we could not reach agreement with Senator Lou Correa (DSanta Ana) or Senate Republicans that would achieve the two-thirds vote necessary,” said Assembly Speaker Perez. The Middle Class Scholarship Act consisted of two bills, AB 1500 and AB 1501. The legislative bill AB 1501 established the Middle Class
Scholarship Program, which aimed to slash UC and CSU tuition by 60 percent for families making less than $150,000 a year. While the former, AB 1500, would have provided funding by proposing the closing of a tax loophole, predicted to generate $1 billion annually. Previously passed in May, AB 1501 will become obsolete if there is no funding to support it. When out-of-state businesses operate in California, there are two options provided in terms of tax calculation. One option would apply a sales formula, whereas the other takes into consideration sales, property, and payroll. Critics argue that the passing of AB 1501 will remove the latter option, effectively raising taxes to an estimated $1.2 billion in 2012-13, according to the California Legislative Analyst’s Office. In a recently released statement, Speaker Perez said, “It is disturbing that Senator Correa and so many Republicans would refuse to stand up for the middle class and instead continue to support a tax giveaway that favors out-of-state companies over our own.”
Amy Jenkins, Senator Correa’s chief of staff, said that representatives from some corporations had noted that their companies would potentially end their business in California if such a tax revision was implemented, as reported by the Daily Californian. Jenkins further pointed out that Correa’s record on higher education showed that he fought hard to protect that funding but also tried to advance a pro-growth and projobs initiative. “What he was trying to do here was strike a balance,” he said, about Correa’s “no” vote. Angelica Salceda, the University of California Student Association’s president, said, “Many students were really hopeful that it would pass.” Salceda noted that these students would have been able to use the middle class scholarship to fund their educational goals without worrying about their financial situations. “Legislators need to start prioritizing higher education... They should be funding [higher education] and one of those opportunities was the Middle Class ScholH arship Act,” stated Salceda. ■
NEWS
HIGHLANDER
NEWS IN BRIEF COMPILED BY SANDY VAN, recognition. Just outside the boundaries of daily campus life, the City of Riverside received the statewide 2012 Helen Putnam for Excellence: CCS Partnership Intergovernmental Collaboration Award this month. The award was given to cooperative cities who exemplified enormous outreach by obtaining municipal funding for less fortunate communities. UCR tied for eighth among the nation’s most diverse campuses, as ranked by U.S. News and World Report in September. The overall selection factored in
the proportion of minority students on college campuses. UCR scored a 0.70 on a scale from 0.0 to 1.0, the highest ratio in the UC system according to UCR Today. In regards to the nation’s greenest colleges, Sierra Magazine’s annual survey placed UCR sixth on their “Cool List” School. Additionally, the Washington Monthly, a bimonthly nonprofit magazine on US politics and government, ranked UCR ninth in its 2012 Monthly College Guide, based on the criterias of social mobility, research production and commitment to service.
CHANCELLOR WHITE APPOINTED TO GOVERNOR BROWN’S INDEPENDENT BOARD On Aug. 24, Governor Jerry Brown designated Chancellor Tim White to the California Student Aid Commission, an independent state board whose mission is to facilitate student access to financial assistance in the pursuit of higher education. The commission is in charge of Cal Grant distribution, scholarships and accompanies many student loan programs such as EdFund—the second largest student loan provider in the United States.
As a commission created by the governor, the 15 member board is in charge of administering financial aid programs for students attending public and private universities, colleges and vocational schools in California. Governor Brown is charged with selecting 11 members who represents the state’s higher education system, students and community. The speaker of the Assembly and the chair of the Senate Rules Committee each appoint two members as
general representatives on the commission. Chancellor White has been chancellor at UCR since 2008 and has served a number of high-ranking positions at many other universities. Having gone through California’s public education system, Chancellor White attended public K-12, community college, two Cal State Universities and the University of California, Berkeley where he earned his doctorate in the physiology of exercise.
GLEN MOR 2 APARTMENTS POSTPONED UNTIL 2014-2015 The construction of the Glen Mor 2 apartments will face a one-year delay to offset both stringent scheduling and environmental impacts on surrounding communities. “Theoretically, we could have gone to a 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven-days-a-week schedule, but that wouldn’t have been in the best interests of the community,” stated UC Riverside Campus Architect Don Caskey in UCR Today. Caskey said that the construction schedule will continue as planned and
the completion date is the only thing that has been altered. Located at the corner of Big Springs Road and Valencia Hill Drive, the construction project of Glen Mor 2 began December 2011 and has since been delayed due to reevaluations of overly ambitious scheduling. Once complete, the apartments will encompass 334,000 square feet with resources ranging from a market to a fitness center. The project consists of two construction phases: site
5
senior staff writer
UCR AND CITY RECOGNIZED IN RANKINGS Over the summer of 2012, the University of California, Riverside was honored with several awards. In recognition of culture, diversity and community awareness, UCR was named in the top 10 Trans-Friendly Colleges and Universities by Campus Pride, the leading national organization for LGBT, ally students and campus groups. In the fight for greater veteran accessibility to higher education, G.I. Joe Magazine named UCR a “Military Friendly School” for the second consecutive year; out of 12,000 schools, the top 15 percent selected were given this
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
preparation and physical building construction. The first phase was completed near the end of May. The UCR Grounds crews recently swapped out a faulty sprinkler controller that led to minor water deprivation for surrounding plants. More buffer time has been built into the schedule in order to ease the environmental effects of construction. Caskey said that the trees and vegetation are monitored daily, as part of the process for site development.
UCR TO HONOR SCIENCE FICTION LEGENDS UCR will be hosting their 22nd Annual Eaton Science Fiction conference April 11-14, 2013 where three legendary science fiction affiliates will be rewarded the Lloyd Eaton Lifetime Achievement Award in Science Fiction. The award winners consist of Ursula K. Le Guin, Raymond F. Harryhausen and Stan Lee. The conference will take place at the Riverside Marriott Hotel, with registration beginning Aug 1. Cosponsored by the Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA), the 2013 conference theme, “Science Fiction Media,” embodies the manifestation of science fiction through works of multiple forms of media Guin is honored with the Eaton Lifetime Achievement Award for 2012 with works in over 20 science fiction and fantasy novels. As a Hugo and Nebula award-winning author, Guin has authored six volumes of poetry, 13 books for children and other writings such as “The Left Hand of Darkness.” Harryhausen will receive the award for revolutionary contributions to science fiction film through Dynamation, a stop-motion model animation. His most notable production is “Mighty Joe Young” (1949), winning his team the Oscar for special effects. For having one of the most innovative hands in the realms of science fiction, the 2013 Eaton Award has also been awarded to Stan Lee, co-creator of the Spiderman, the Hulk, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and Thor comics. The former president of Marvel Comics., Lee also revolutionized the policies of the Comics Code Authority, which self-regulates the publication of comic book content worldwide. UCR houses the Eaton Collection, the world’s largest catalogue and publicly accessible collection of science fiction and fantasy, entailing genres of horror, dystopian and utopian literature. With over 300,000 archival materials, the collection can be found in the Special Archives and Collections section located on the fourth floor of the Tomás Rivera Library.
6
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
NEWS
HIGHLANDER
Senate rejects $15 million for UCR School of Medicine Colin Markovich
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The bill, AB 1309, that would have provided $15 million in funding to the School of Medicine at UCR is now effectively dead after failing to pass through a key state Senate committee. Officials at the School of Medicine believe it will not hinder the planned opening of the medical school in 2013. The School of Medicine had previously planned to admit students in 2012 but did not receive accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the organization in charge of approving medical schools in the United States and Canada. The school has reapplied for accreditation this year in hopes of opening in summer of 2013 and is awaiting a decision to be made next month. “We felt good about the way the application process went,” said Kathy Barton, executive director of Strategic Initiatives at the School of Medicine. The lack of consistent funding had initially stymied plans to open the school in 2012. When asked how UCR would be able to address insufficient funds that may now result from the loss of $15 million, Barton responded, “We had not counted on that [funding].” “We certainly would have liked to have had [the bill] be approved since it was a one-
time $15 million in support for the UCR SOM (School of Medicine),” stated Dean of the School of Medicine Dr. G. Richard Olds. “Having said that, we have raised $100 million in non-state support over the last year and reapplied for accreditation.” AB 1309 was originally introduced by Republican Assemblyman Jeff Miller of Corona as a transportation bill. After passing without a single nay vote in the Assembly, it was amended to its current form. The change resulted in it being placed before the Senate Appropriations Committee—the committee that deals with the allocation of state funds. By a party-line vote of four to two, the Democrats on the committee moved to place the bill on the Suspense File. But because the deadline to consider appropriations bills ended on Sept. 13, it is unlikely that AB 1309 will be taken off the Suspense File and reconsidered. The funding would have been a one-time allocation from a legal settlement with SCAN, a healthcare plan that allegedly double-billed the state of California, as stated in Senate bill AB 1309. Both Miller, who is running for a state Senate seat in the Riverside area, and his opponent, Democrat Richard Roth, have emphasized their support for the medical school. In a video state-
L e e n a B u t t /HIGHLANDER The UCR School of Medicine is expected to open in August 2013.
ment, Miller expressed dismay at the bill’s death, “This is so critical for our community, and with your help I will keep fighting to make sure that the UCR Medical School opens in 2013.” Roth has faulted Miller for waiting “until the last months of his term in the state Assembly to do something about the UC Riverside Medical School.” Meanwhile, much of Riverside County continues to be designated as a medically under-
served area. The ratio of primary care physicians statewide is one per 847 people; the level in Riverside County is nearly double that at one per 1,576 people, according to a Senate healthcare bill, SB 1416. Executive Administrative Specialist for the School of Medicine Jessica Kump pointed to the potential positive impact of having the medical school in the region, saying, “We are educating physicians that will be part of this
economy, serving the public good.” Dr. Olds is optimistic about the accreditation process and stressed the benefit that the school would bring to the Riverside area. “The SOM will have an immediate financial impact on our area, it will have an immediate and long term impact on the physician shortage in our area and it will have the long term impact on the health of our ■H community,” stated Olds.
NEWS
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
7
HOLMES FROM PAGE 1
oblivious to the timing of events. On the other hand, district attorneys argue that continual therapy was unlikely, due to clear indications that Holmes planned on death or imprisonment prior to the attack. In reference to his online dating profiles, Holmes posted pictures of himself with the statement, “Will you visit me in prison?” reported the Denver Post. The side that loses may seek to freeze the trial and file an immediate “interlocutory appeal” to the California Supreme Court, stated prosecuting attorney Orman. After a ruling has been confirmed, this appeal can be made before the case is closed, yet most jurisdictions will only allow such an action under special circumstances including claims of immunity. Confirmed by the UCR Registrar’s Office, Holmes attended UCR in the fall of 2006
C o u rt e s y o f cb s l o c a l . c o m Left: James Holmes in court on July 23. Right: The crime scene of the Aurora, CO shooting on the night of July 20.
and graduated with honors in the spring of 2010. Earning a B.S. degree in neuroscience, Holmes continued his studies at the University of Colorado’s Ph.D. program. Days after failing a critical oral
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM PAGE 1
onstrations and protests. The collaborative analysis sought to improve, as well as clarify UC police and campus regulation in preventing violent clashes like those at U C D a v i s a n d U C B e r k e l e y. T h e authors recommended opening greater channels of communication when facilitating means of protest between police, administrators and demonstrators. Published on Sept. 13, the formal re-
examination, Holmes dropped out of school and proceeded to go on a shooting rampage just six weeks later. According to USA Today, prosecutors pointed to his introverted personality and emotional dis-
p o r t l o o k s i n t o t h e m o s t e ff e c t i v e methods to adopting new practices and policies for future protests. “ We r e s p e c t a n d v a l u e t h e l o n g history of civil disobedience in o u r U n i v e r s i t y. A t t h e s a m e t i m e , in crafting these guidelines we believe that administrators must also be mindful of their obligations to the greater University commun i t y, ” s t a t e d R o b i n s o n a n d E d l e y in reference to protecting the academic mission of each UC campus.
tress about his failed oral examination as a possible breaking point and a probable cause behind the violent massacre. “He didn’t strike me as creepy or as someone who would do something like that.
A f t e r t h e N o v. 11 U C D a v i s p e p p e r- s p r a y i n c i d e n t , R o b i n s o n and Edley spent more than six months reviewing existing University policy on free speech, demonstrations and use of force by police. On May 4, they released a draft report with 50 proposed recommendations and received 84 d i ff e r e n t c o m m e n t s f r o m t h e U C community on how to improve upon their recommendations. The finalized form was revised based on the comments received. “The goal of this Report is to identify practices that will facilit a t e s u c h e x p r e s s i o n a n d e n c o u rage lawful protest activity—while also protecting the health and s a f e t y o f o u r s t u d e n t s , s t a ff , p o lice and the general public when protesters choose to violate laws and regulations,” according to the Response to Protests on UC Campuses report. At the request of community members, the authors specified recommendations for the use of pepper spray against protest in the form of arm-linking. Recommendations involve no use of force by p o l i c e o ff i c i a l s u n l e s s p r o t e s t e r s are interfering with the academic mission of the campus. If necess a r y, a h a n d s - o n p a i n c o m p l i a n c e t e c h n i q u e i s a r e c o m m e n d e d a l t e rnative rather than the use of batons o r p e p p e r s p r a y. D u e t o p o t e n t i a l health risk from pepper spraying, police are cautioned when resorting to that option. Creating a police video record was also recommended to further develop an accurate, fair and complete record of the events only to be used for evidentiary and training purposes. I n a l e t t e r t o P r e s i d e n t Yu d o f , Edley and Robinson specifically recommend that the Board of Regents create more opportunities for public discussion outside of the mere public forum. Utilizi n g p r o f e s s i o n a l l y - s t a ff e d s o c i a l media accounts was suggested as an outlet of communication for both police and administrators in reaching a broader audience about protest issues and creating greater awareness. Administrators and pol i c e o ff i c e r s h a v e a l s o e x p r e s s e d t h e d i ff i c u l t y i n c o m m u n i c a t i n g t o “leaderless” protesters, as was of-
C o u rt e s y
of msn.com
Everyone that knew him from UCR that I’ve spoken to is in total disbelief,” stated former UCR student Janine Gharghoury in a City News Service interview. “No one expected that from him.” ■H
ten the case in the recent Occupy movements. Along with other revisions, the addition of the “Preliminary Statement on Scope” page ultimately defined civil disobedience in protest as an activity that violates laws or campus regulations. The threshold of civil disobedience versus a peaceful demonstration borders freedom of expression and public endangerment or d e s t r u c t i o n o f p r o p e r t y. T h e w r i t ers identified this as one of the hardest things to define, but also emphasized that civil disobedie n c e i n t h e f u t u r e , b o t h l a rg e a n d small in scale will be dealt with in a m u c h m o r e o rg a n i z e d a n d b e t t e rs u i t e d m a n n e r. Final revisions elaborated on having written policies between police and administration in the event of civil disobedience. They recommended that a stand-in response team with pre-defined and well-outlined roles and responsib i l i t i e s b e o f t h e u t m o s t i m p o rtance. Other recommendations i n c l u d e i n c r e a s e d o ff i c e r t r a i n i n g in areas of crowd management and mediation, obtaining input from campus community when it comes t o t h e h i r i n g o f n e w c a m p u s o ff i cers and the conduction of simulations with campus administrators and police to rehearse a response to civil disobedience. Authors relay that implementation of these recommendations is also contingent upon greater econ o m i c s u p p o r t f o r l a w o ff i c i a l s . “The compensation of UC police o ff i c e r s d i r e c t l y a ff e c t s t h e a b i l i t y of our Departments to recruit and r e t a i n w e l l - q u a l i f i e d o ff i c e r s , ” stated the authors. After the creation and release o f t h i s r e p o r t , Ly n n Ti e r n e y, a s sociate vice president for comm u n i c a t i o n s i n t h e U C O ff i c e o f the President, was appointed for one year to coordinate the activity that will subsequently follow the publishing of this report. She will h e l p r e v i e w o f a f t e r- a c t i o n r e p o r t s w i t h t h e c a m p u s o ff i c i a l s a s w e l l as to establish a structure for discretionary review of campus responses to protests as per only a couple of the 49 recommendations of the report. ■H
8
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
NEWS
HIGHLANDER
UC Board of Regents writes brief in affirmative action case Carrie Meng STAFF WRITER
UC President Mark Yudof and the UC Board of Regents, along with dozens of other universities across the nation, have filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the University of Texas in a court decision on affirmative action. In the case of Fisher v. the University of Texas at Austin, challenges have been made to include the use of race as a determining factor in public university admissions. In 1996, the passage of Proposition 209 effectively banned affirmative action in public employment, government institutions and the California education system. Recent discussion in the case of Fisher v. the University of Texas at Austin has garnered support for greater accessibility to higher education. An amicus brief, also known as “friend of the court,” is filed when there is a strong, usually broad, interest in an aspect of a court decision. UC officials PROP 30 FROM PAGE 1
dicted efforts to cut costs by $1.5 billion. Back in May, dialogue began between the regents and the state legislature about a multi-year funding plan, which would construct a more predictable and consistent flow of state funding to the UC system. Continuing progress will ultimately depend on the results in November. The Board of Regents endorsed Governor Brown’s tax initiative on the grounds that it would stabilize state funding for the UC system in the 2012-2013 academic year. Fiscal uncertainty has led the regents to brainstorm possible changes to campus policy and alternative cost-saving methods in attempts to raise revenue. Last year, the UC system saved $157 million through the “Working Smart Initiative,” which consolidates business practices, restructures administrative tasks and supports academic efficiency. At their most recent meeting, held Sept. 17-19, the regents discussed possible courses for greater fiscal solvency, which included but are not limited
filed a brief which seeks to inform the court about its efforts to enroll a diverse student body under such circumstances, and noted that it has not been entirely successful. “The facts tell us the educational and societal benefits from a diverse student body cannot be realized fully at the nation’s largest highly selective university system without the judicious use of tools that take race into account during undergraduate admissions decisions. Telling that story is the appropriate thing to do in the context of this legal case,” stated Yudof, in a UC Newsroom article. In Texas, all students in the top 10 percent of their highschool classes are admitted to state universities. Students who are not part of the top 10 percent are admitted according to a different equation which includes race. This applied to Abigail Fisher, a high school senior at the time, who applied to the University of Texas-Austin
in 2008 and was rejected. Her lawsuit claims that any consideration of race by a university in admissions violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment. “A person’s race shows nothing about the person’s character, willpower to succeed or how they think. Also, using race to determine someone’s acceptance is in itself racist… it should be the overall person that is evaluated,” said fourthyear UCR student Stuart Kluft. Kluft went on to state that although he does not believe that race or ethnicity should be included as a deciding factor in college admissions, the regents should be given the freedom to enact their own policies in regards to admissions criterias. Other students, such as fourth-year UCR student Simone Blackwell, feel strongly that affirmative action should be considered to provide fair representation for minorities. “If you look at demographics within the workplace, it’s very
to: a 3 percent increase in parking, raising the cap on out-of-state enrollment from 10 to 20 percent, increasing night classes to expedite graduation and adjusting tuition to the autonomy of each campus. Another possibility includes accepting outside donations to fund a percentage of financial aid obligations. Through the current return-to-aid policy, one-third of all students’ tuition and fees are dedicated to financial aid, which equates to $700 million from tuition, according to the UC Committee on Finance. The next UC Board of Regents meeting is scheduled for Nov 13-15 at the UCSF Mission Bay.enact $250 million mid-year “trigger cuts,” starting in January of next year. The intended tuition buyout would become an additional shortfall of $125.4 million during the 2013-2014 academic years, for a total of $375.4 million budget cuts. To fill the budget deficit, the UC system would be required to increase annual tuition by $2,400 or alternately pursue further layoffs, course reductions and hiring freezes, stated the UC Newsroom.
The UC system experienced an escalating deficit of state funds reaching $900 million since the Great Recession began in 2008. “Over that same period, UC’s costs have risen by $1.22 billion,” stated Nathan Brostrom, executive vice president for business operations… [the university] has relied on tuition and fee increases to cover a third of the budget gap. The other two thirds have come from administrative efficiencies and cuts to academic programs,” “As costs continue to rise, UC’s budget shortfall in 5 years could grow to as much as $2.9 billion if revenues remain at current levels,” stated Brostrom. UC’s five-year budget projections already include aggressive assumptions that the university will cut $1.5 billion of its deficit through
DESIGN
WRITE SHOOT Meetings on Mondays at 5:15 pm at HUB 101
for the Highlander
C o u rt e s y
o f n o rt h w e s t e r n . e d u
disproportionate and it’s not because minorities aren’t applying or trying to get into the workplace or university... If you look at history and where the country is now in terms of demographics, that will prob-
ably give you all the answers that you need,” stated Blackwell. The case of Fisher v. the University of Texas at Austin will be heard before the U.S. H Supreme Court in October. ■
administrative efficiencies, alternative revenue sources, and cost reductions,” Back in May, dialogue began between the UC Regents and the state legislature about a multi-year funding plan, which would construct a more predictable and consistent flow of state funding to the UC system. Continuing progress will ultimately depend on the results in November. Endorsement of Governor Brown’s tax initiative is meant to stabilize state funding for the 2012-2013 UC Fiscal uncertainty has led the UC Regents to brainstorm possible changes to campus policy and alternative cost-saving methods in attempts to raise revenue. Last year, the UC system saved $157 million through the “Working Smart Initiative,” which consolidates business practices, re-
structures administrative tasks and supports academic efficiency. Possible courses that the UC Regents have discussed include but are not limited to: a 3 percent increase in parking, raising the cap on out-of-state enrollment from 10 to 20 percent, increasing night classes to expedite graduation or adjusting tuition to the autonomy of each campus. Another possibility includes accepting outside donations to fund a percentage of financial aid obligations. Through the current return-to-aid policy, one-third of all students’ tuition and fees are dedicated to financial aid, which equates to $700 million from tuition, according to the UC Committee on Finance. The next UC Regents meeting is scheduled for Nov 13-15 at the UCSF Mission Bay. ■H
Join the Highlander Staff The Highlander is currently looking for students interested in writing, photography, video, design and marketing to join its staff. As UCR’s student-run media organization, the Highlander offers a wide variety of opportunities to pursue interests, develop skills and gain leadership experience in one of the most exciting student job environments the campus has to offer. The following positions are available for the 2012-13 academic year: Opinions Editor Copy Editor Assistant News Editor Assistant Features Editor Assistant A&E Editor Assistant Sports Editor Assistant Photography Editor Video Editor Graphic Designer Web Editor Public Relations Director Production Assistant Learn more about the Highlander and how you can get involved on Monday, Oct. 1 at 5:15 p.m. in HUB 101, located at the north end of the HUB mall.
10
. OPINIONS .
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
HIGHLANDER
On June 6th, the Supreme Court refused to strike down a California law that offers state residents reduced tuition rates at California colleges. The law’s opponents argue that the bill, which does not distinguish between lawful residents and illegal immigrants, violates a federal law that prohibits states from giving college benefits to illegal aliens on the basis of residence within a state. Unfortunately for the law’s detractors, the Supreme Court wouldn’t even hear their challenge. Lawyers for a conservative immigration-law group that backed the appeal claim that the law is patently unfair to the thousands of full-bred American high school graduates who apply to California colleges from other states each year. These students will have to pay as much as $20,00 more for college tuition than the illegal immigrants (and many other California residents) that the bill aids. Others have argued that the bill gives preferential treatment to illegal immigrants - it is just one more derivative of affirmative action, bent on taking positions away from the hard working, middleclass Caucasians who really deserve http://ulife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/rick-santorum-660x320.jpg
HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL
DEAR FIRST-YEAR HIGHLANDER: THE WATER’S FINE A student’s f irst week on campus can be summed up as a sensory overload-induced daze. If it weren’t for some merciful professors’ generous first-day-of-class syllabus review to buffer the summer slog from the quarter system’s staccato assault of midterms and papers, you’d find a pile of overwhelmed, exhausted first-years on the HUB lawn stacked as high as the Box Springs Mountains. In the spirit of honesty, we’ll put it plainly: the first quarter is tough. Regardless of where you come from—high school, community college, another university, a career or some time taken off—life at the University of California, Riverside takes an adjustment. Being a Highlander takes effort. Give yourself some time to adapt. A 12 unit quarter will feel like a lot, at first. Between lectures, discussions, labs, office hours, studies and papers, a freshman’s plate, however small now, is pretty full. But if there is one message an upperclassman may give to the class of newcomers, it’s don’t delay. Whomever you may be, whichever path you end up taking, the university offers a stunning array of opportunities to pursue your goals, HIGHLANDER STAFF
achieve them and create new ones. However, the single greatest obstacle that will keep you from succeeding at UCR is yourself. It can be very easy to settle into a routine and develop a comfort zone based upon familiarity. It’s just as easy to coast through college without having soaked up everything it has to offer. Don’t find yourself putting on your cap and gown on commencement day, wondering what else you could have done or where else your education could have led you. The responsibility of realizing your potential at UCR lies solely in your hands. Join a club or organization, paint your face at an athletic event, go to an open-mic night, climb to the “C,” write a thesis, learn to play an instrument, start a band, volunteer, take the bus downtown, make an idea become a reality, do research, participate in the democratic process, go to parties, get to know your professors, make new friends, do an internship, read a book written by a UCR professor, study abroad, ask out that attractive classmate across the room, get a job, attend guest lectures, change your major,
Sports Editor
Distribution Manager
sports@highlandernews.org
Administrative Staff
Editor-in-Chief
Managing Editor
Kendall Peterson
editorinchief @highlandernews.org
managingeditor @highlandernews.org
Photography Editor
Chris LoCascio
News Editor
Sandy Van
news@highlandernews.org Opinions Editor Kevin Keckeisen opinions@highlandernews.org A&E Editor
Lauren Penna
Kevin Keckeisen
Bryan Tuttle
photo@highlandernews.org Staff Photographers
Leena Butt, Lin Chai, Kevin Dinh, Wendy Montero, Wesley Ng, An Tran, Kirsten Voss Production Manager
Sireena Sy
radar@highlandernews.org
productionmanager @highlandernews.org
Features Editor
Production Assistants
Fatima Mirza
features@highlandernews.org
Winny Woo, Jake Rich Business Manager
Erin Mahoney
highlanderads@ucr.edu
Kendall Peterson
add a major, join an intramural sports team, be a peer mentor, try new things. UCR is a wide, shimmering pool of possibility, risk, growth and progress. You can convince yourself it’s too cold, or too deep. You can wade in the shallow end as long as you like. But there will come a time when the lifeguard will blow the whistle, and you’ll have to get out and dry off. At some point during the next few years, take a step back, get a running start and make the leap. Tuck your knees under your arms and do the biggest cannonball you possibly can. Send those waves so far they dampen carpets from Hinderaker to Glen Mor. And once you have, leave yourself enough time to splash those still standing on the edge and tell them the water ’s fine. Once they’ve H taken the plunge, they’ll be glad you did. ■ 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.
Tech Director
Ryan Simon
Kelly Mahoney
LEGAL
Contact Us Highlander 101 Highlander Union Building Riverside, CA 92521 www.highlandernews.org editorinchief@highlandernews.org Editorial Office:
(951) 827-3617
Classifieds & Billing:
(951) 827-5039
The Highlander accepts letters from the campus community. They should be 600-800 words in length and include the author’s name and contact information. Contact editor Townsend Gallinger-Scholz at opinions@ highlandernews.org for more information.
Business Office:
(951) 827-3457 Fax:
(951) 827-7049
The Highlander is published and copyrighted by the Highlander for the students, faculty and staff of UCR. All rights are reserved. Reprinting of any material in this publication without the written permission of the Highlander is strictly prohibited. The Highlander fully supports the University of California’s policy on non-discrimination. The student media reserve the right to reject or modify advertising whose content discriminates on the basis of ancestry, color, national origin, race, religion, disability, age, sex or sexual orientation. The Highlander has a media grievance procedure for resolving complaints against it. All inserts that are printed in the Highlander are independently paid publications and do not reflect the views of the Editorial Board, the staff or The University of California or the Associated Students of UCR.
OPINIONS
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
11
The Question: Are you better off today than you were four years ago? TIM R. AGUILAR STAFF WRITER
“Are you better off today than you were four years ago?” This was the question President Reagan asked voters in his bid for reelection. It was also the question echoed by presidential candidate Mitt Romney at the Republican National Convention. Romney didn’t mention that Reagan, when addressing the Georgia crowd in 1985, also asked, “Do you think the millionaire ought to pay more in taxes than the bus driver, or less?” The crowd roared, “More!” Romney’s plan to stimulate the economy includes deregulation, cutting taxes to the wealthy and eliminating deductions for the poor and the middle class, such as dependent care, education and mortgage interest. Ironically, Romney’s question took aim at the middle class and asked if they are better off today than they were when President Obama took office. As a nation the answer is obvious. The economy is dismal and grew only 1.7 percent in the second quarter of this year, which is hardly enough to keep pace with an unemployment rate of 8.1 percent. But without examining economic policies of the recent past, the question is simply another slogan intended to assign blame and garner votes. Today’s extreme Republican tax policies conflict with respected and conservative Republicans of our past. For example, President Reagan raised taxes 11 times in eight years and said, “We’re going to close the unproductive tax loopholes that allow some of the truly wealthy to avoid paying their fair share,” a position today’s Republicans vehemently oppose. Reagan claimed that such tax loopholes, “…made it possible for millionaires to pay nothing…and that’s crazy.” According to Robert Greenstein, president of the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, “It was not a Democrat who led the effort in 1982 to undo about a third of the Reagan tax cuts. It was Bob Dole,” the then-ultra conservative Republican Senate Majority Leader. According to David Stockman, Reagan’s Budget Director, Reagan embraced tax hikes to the
Courtesy of georgiapoliticalreview.com
wealthy “because he believed that, at some point, you have to pay the bills,” a simple matter of mathematics. President George H. W. Bush addressed the soaring deficit, when he took office, by increasing taxes to the wealthy 31 percent and adding surtaxes on yachts, jets and luxury sedans. Republican Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill said, “he had courage to take action when we needed it.” Bush lost his reelection bid and according to Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform and deemed a fiscal terrorist by Republican Senator Alan Simpson, Bush’s defeat was a reminder that you don’t break the “no taxes” pledge. His million dollar non-profit organization is funded by wealthy donors and corporate interests. When President Clinton assumed office he paid the national debt, balanced the budget and left a surplus in his wake by increasing the top tax bracket by nearly 40 percent and boosting the corporate tax rate to 35 percent. Former Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee said of the Clinton tax hikes, “It cost him both houses of Congress in the 1994 midterm
elections, but taming the deficit led to the best economy America’s ever had.” Following the 1993 tax hikes stocks soared by 78 percent, 22.9 million new jobs were created, wages increased an average of 17 percent between 1993 and 2000, after adjusting for inflation, and unemployment dropped to 4 percent. However, Clinton’s predecessor, President George W. Bush, over the objection of his financial advisors, cut taxes to the wealthy and the gross national debt increased to $10.7 trillion by December 2008. He entered an eight year deficit war in search of weapons of mass destruction that never materialized. His tax measures allowed US corporations to hide profits of over $1.4 trillion in offshore accounts costing taxpayers approximately $70 billion in annual revenues. General Electric company boasted profits of more than $14 billion in 2009 and received a $3 billion tax rebate for oversea tax shelter expenses as the economy continued to spiral downward. President Obama assumed the $10.7 trillion national debt when taking office—a debt that increased to $15.5 trillion by
February 2012, due mainly to reduced revenue resulting from the Bush tax cuts. Obama’s attempt to address the tax disparity was blocked by Republicans who seized control of the House in the 2010 midterm election. And rather than raise the debt ceiling and avoid future deficits of $4 trillion, which required closing tax loopholes to the wealthy, Republicans vowed to make Obama a one term president and pushed through $1 trillion in cuts to education, health care and defense in order to safeguard tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. Today, according to President Reagan’s Budget Director David Stockman, “The Republican Party has totally abdicated its job in our democracy, which is to act as the guardian of fiscal discipline and responsibility…they are on an anti-tax jihad—one that benefits the prosperous classes.” The Republican leadership of the past would not survive their party’s extreme views of today if they refuse to bow to wealthy interest, as did Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Consequently, the answer to Romney’s question is, “Yes.” You are better off today than you
were four years ago if you are one of the 400 wealthiest Americans. According to Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, “Most Americans got none of the growth of the preceding dozen years. All the gains went to the top percentage points.” Stiglitz went on to say, “The rich are using their money to secure tax provisions to let them get richer still. [They] get a better return by investing in Washington.” He posits that trickle-down economics is empirically wrong and belied by the facts. It is synonymous with the Republicans’ new economic proposal, supply-side economics, which touts deregulation and lower taxes for the wealthy. Our government has become a plutocracy and Romney’s question is about much more than just money: it’s about dignity and a government for and by the people, not corporations or wealthy interest. Affordable public education, equal protection under the law, equity and opportunity will not be restored by failed policies and pseudo economics. I am better off today than I was four years ago because I have another opportunity to further improve the ■H future of this country.
WRITE FOR THE HIGHLANDER
MEETINGS ON MONDAYS AT 5:15PM @ HUB 101
12
. FEATURES .
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
INTERVIEW: UC PRESIDENT
MARK YUDOF
C o u rt e s y
of
LAT i m e s . c o m
On Wednesday, Sept. 19, eight University of California student newspapers conducted a joint interview with UC President Mark Yudof. The interview, which consisted of a few questions from each newspaper, is published here in its entirety. UC Merced - The Prodigy: Our question is, more of a general thing about the state budget and tuition. As you probably know, since 1980, the percent of state budget spent on corrections and prisons has significantly increased, while the portion allocated to higher education has dropped. Our question is, should we take a systemwide stance against these shifting priorities to prevent further budget cuts and tuition increases? Mark Yudof: Well, I’ve certainly taken that position. I’ve said many times to the governors, the legislators that it’s... a total embarrassment, an improper allocation of resources, that the expenditures on prisoners are a multiple now of what they are on higher education, that we now have whatever... half as much to spend per student than we did 10, 20 years ago, and the priorities are upside down. And I’ve told them, I’ve taken a position on that. I don’t control the votes in the legislature, but I think you’re exactly right. I see Prop 30 as perhaps, at least an opening salvo to try and change that, and try to get increasing appropriations for the university. As you know, we’re down virtually a billion dollars in the last four years, we’ll be down another $375 million if Proposition 30 doesn’t pass. We have a $22 billion-plus budget, and $2 billion, roughly, if it doesn’t pass, will come from the state of California. So this is a disgrace in my view, and a lack of commitment to the students, and I’m with you, I’ve said it publicly, I’ve said it over and over. UC Riverside - The Highlander: At last week’s regents meeting, there was a discussion on a variety of long-term proposals to increase revenues or cut costs across the UC system. These proposals included increasing enrollment of outof-state students and differential tuition among campuses or majors. With the UC’s future funding unclear, which proposals are most attractive to you at this time, and why? Yudof: I would say, the differential tuition by campus or by discipline is probably near the very end of the list. It’s very unpopular with students, it’s unpopular, I think, with the regents, it’s not something the faculty is for. In this world, I don’t want to rule out anything, forever, but I would say, if there were 20 proposals, that would be 20th on the list. I would say the things that would make the most sense is restruc-
turing our debt, which was blocked in the legislature last time, which would enable us to pay less money to Wall Street by refinancing things and paying lower interest rates. For whatever reason, it was blocked. We can save a block of money there, up to $80 million per year, which would be an $80 million offset of any tuition increase that might be needed. Some higher payouts from our endowments, that’s another $20 million or so. I think we need to be careful about non-residents—our first obligation is to Californians, but the truth is that we’re so under-funded, that when we enroll a non-resident and they pay full freight, that enables us to admit a Californian. And actually, our California enrollment has been going up, even as nonresident enrollment has gone up. I would guess those are probably the ones near the top. There’s some things we can do with common IT systems that would make sense. The other things are pretty draconian. We can freeze faculty hiring, we’re already 15 percent below market on faculty salaries, we could do some of that. We could trim health and welfare benefits, but that would take some time and some consultation with the labor unions and with our non-represented employees. That’s pretty much the picture as I see it. We’re going to be working diligently, because even if Prop 30 passes, we’re hundreds of millions of dollars short. The state gave us $90 million, and our biggest cost-drivers, our pensions—we reformed our pension two years ago, or the state did—but it’s expensive to fix it, and health benefits are very costly for us, and then energy costs and a few other things. UC Riverside - The Highlander: President Yudof, you’ve been a leading voice in the UC urging support for Proposition 30. The election in November is rapidly approaching, and the political whirlwind surrounding it grows each day. If you were to meet a UC student on the street today, what would you say to the student about the significance of the upcoming election? In your opinion, how might possible outcomes of the election affect the student? Yudof: I would say to the student that this is critical. This has more of a direct relationship to your pocketbook than virtually anything that I can imagine. It may be that if the speaker’s bill had passed and we had gotten more scholarship money,
that would have been a big help. But absent something like that, we need to have a steady stream of increasing appropriations. And we have worked out a plan, it’s not official, it’s not approved by everyone, but believe it or not, in about five years, we could be back at 2007-2008 levels of state appropriations. That would take a lot of pressure off of tuition. And you’ve had these gargantuan tuition increases over just many, many years. So I would say, look, it’s a little bit more on the sales tax, and the income tax, it’s not perfect. I used to do local and state taxes when I was a law professor, taught courses, but this really is an opportunity to reverse this 20-year trend and have increasing appropriations to the university for a decade. And we have a big, big swing on this. We froze tuition, but no one paid for it, and that’s $125 million. And in addition to that, if it doesn’t pass, another $250 million in cuts. We have a $400 million swing. And $400 million is one hell of a lot of student tuition money, just take my word for it, do the math. So I would say, if we get this done, we can maintain the quality, maintain the faculty. I don’t promise no tuition increases, but I’m hoping we could keep them in the single digits, rather than what you’ve seen over the last five to 10 years. That’s what I would tell them. And I hope you do tell your parents and your friends this election matters. And that’s every opportunity, when I’m out on the hustings, speaking, I do that. And as you know, we’re going to need each vote. And as you know, we got the Board of Regents to endorse it, with only one dissenting vote, so I’m very hopeful. But the polls are close, as you know. UCLA - The Daily Bruin: My first question is about the rebenching policy. I wanted to know what prompted you to approve the rebenching policy, which aims to equalize the amount of per-student state funding across campuses. And I also wanted to know what your response is to UCLA officials who say that our campus will receive disproportionate cuts under rebenching. Yudof: Look, let’s be candid about this. Campuses have always paid for the Office of the President, we’ve never been free. We have the general counsel’s office, we have the people who do the bonds, we have pension plan, we have the outreach programs, puente and mesa, and on and
HIGHLANDER on the list goes. We’ve never been free. Under the old system, which I didn’t like. There was no transparency, none. We just took whatever we needed, and out of a variety of central pots, very unevenly, with unveven policy consequences, and life went on. So the rebenching policy was designed to say, we’re going to try to do this on a uniform, someone calls it a tax, that’s fine if you want to call it that, but it’s not new money, we always had the money. We’re just trying to do it in a more transparent, more fair way. And we left it up to the campuses to decide where the money came from. So the campuses actually, in general, have the discretion, to decide against what base to levy this tax to support these central activities. And by the way, this is also admission and financial aid as well, a lot of stuff in there that’s related to students. It’s a better system... we’re always happy to share with you what we spend that money on, and you could look at it, and critique it, the digital library that the campuses share together, it goes to campus research grants, it’s a lot of different things. I actually held this up for fear it might have a negative impact on UCLA, so I want to be honest about this. And I didn’t like some of the projections I saw. And if I understand it, we are reconfiguring how the rebenching, it’s not so much rebenching, this is, well... the needs of... we’re looking at it to make sure it doesn’t have an untoward effect on UCLA. I’m very sensitive to that, and we want to be fair to everyone, but you can’t re-do the world in a day. UCLA’s a critically important campus, I didn’t want to do anything that would put it in jeopardy over a very short period of time.... It was held off expressly for that reason, and I was the guy who held it up. UCLA - The Daily Bruin: My second question was about UC governance. Last spring, there was a proposal from UC Berkeley leaders saying that UC campuses should be given more autonomy. And you’ve said in past interviews that the governance structure of the UC should be re-examined. So what problems do you see with the UC’s governance model, and what changes would you want to make to it? Yudof: Let me say, I’m not getting too specific about any of the proposals. Of all the problems we have, none of them would be solved by having 11 boards of regents. Firstly, I find one more than enough to keep me busy. You can argue until the cows come home that maybe if UCLA had its own board, and Berkeley, and so forth, that would be a better world. I’m not sure it would be. But the point is, it’s in our constitution, it’s worked well for over 100 years, so I’m not in favor of having a replication of functions and building board upon board. I think we have enough bureaucracy and enough wasted money on administration, and we don’t need more. What do I see as the problems? I think if I had my way, we’d have more campus autonomy, probably on admissions, and we have a lot, but I probably would do some more. One of the things I wish, that our regents meeting, with the comment period and so forth, were less theatrical, and we had more time for the regents to actually learn how the campuses operate, and what their problems are, and what their aspirations are. So we’re trying to figure out ways that strengthen the expertise that the members of the board have about actual conditions on the ground, on the campuses, I think that’s an issue. I think we can try to control costs and do other things, but probably do some more work to expedite construction projects on campus, maybe some additional work to get more returns on our tech transfer when we
license things. And... this might be controversial, I probably would have less central control of salaries than we do today. I don’t know anyone at so many of these compensation items, a deluge on the board of regents every couple of months, and I’ve been at Texas and Minnesota and Michigan and part of Harvard and so forth, it’s a lot of sand in the gears in terms of expeditiously doing our building, so I probably would have more autonomy. On the other hand, I’d probably have some more centralization in other areas. I think we ought to be buying our IT systems together, and trying to save as much money as we can. I think it’s good to have common procurement systems. so we all buy our pencils together, get a bigger discount, and we’re doing some of that. So have more centralization but mostly decentralization. UC Berkeley - The Daily Cal: My first question is similar to Andra’s question about UC governance, but I wanted to ask you specifically, since you mentioned increasing autonomy - what kind of dialogue has been established surrounding the proposal that was released by Chancellor Birgeneau? And to what extent do you think increasing autonomy or using some of the ideas presented in the proposal is a viable option for the UC? Yudof: We’ve had a lot of discussion among board members, among chancellors. I’ve actually talked to some Berkeley alums about it. And I just think you have to be very specific when you use the word “autonomy,” about what it is you’re trying to achieve. I don’t think we’re ready for local control of tuition, and I don’t think it changes anything in terms of the political dynamics, the dynamics of the students, the dynamics for the media and so forth. I would favor more control, local control, of compensation, maybe more local control of facilities projects, things like that. And I don’t really mind having sort of beefed-up advisory boards that could be very useful to the students, the faculty, the staff and the chancellor, but I don’t think a full-fledged board of regents at the local level... but steps toward a more autonomous local board of regents I don’t think is viable. There’s a lot of legal issues. We don’t draw on a clean slate, we do have a state constitution, we do have a governor appointing most of the members of the board, we do have a confirmation by the state Senate, I mean this is a deeply embedded governance structure. Those are the things that come to mind, maybe you have in mind some other things that I’d be happy to discuss, but there’s a widespread discussion, but this is a pretty difficult set of issues, and i think this is going to take some time. We’ve also had them with UC San Francisco, which has also adopted a system with an advisory board to the chancellor. UC Berkeley - The Daily Cal: My second question was about the online education program. The UC has been developing its program rapidly for the past two years, but what’s your vision for the future of online education? Will this end up being a university-wide effort, or will it vary by campus? Do you think this could be a significant source of revenue for campuses down the line? Yudof: Those are really good questions, and I wish I knew all the answers. I would actually say... that in my view, it’s been very slow. We’re hopeful to get 25 courses up. We’ve been at it a couple of years. I’m not saying... you know, we try to do it right in terms of quality and in terms of faculty participation and the like, and we’re trying to do something that a lot of these valued programs aren’t doing— and that is, we want these courses to be for credit, we want them to be high-quality,
FEATURES
HIGHLANDER we want them to be available to students on the campus. And a lot of these programs you see with... the Harvard, MIT stuff is great stuff, but it’s not for credit, and it’s online, and it’s different. I don’t know where it all is headed. We have a lot of evaluation. I guess, at a minimum what I’d like to see is by having some really great courses available to students on campus that we can reduce some of our cost and therefore not see tuition rise as much and adjust to the new financial world. So a student, I mean I’m just making up numbers, might take five courses or something like that online, it certainly wouldn’t be the dominant way of getting an education on one of our campuses. Could it make some money? Maybe down the line, but it’s totally untested. You know, could we market it abroad and so forth? We’ve thought about it. But right now, we’re trying to get it right for our own matriculants. The other thing is, it’s also designed into something we have executed on poorly historically here. And that is, if you’re a student at Davis, it’s not so easy to take a course at UCLA, or if you’re at San Diego to take a course at Merced and so on. So one of the things that hasn’t been written up much is it’s trying to create a common platform where these courses would be available systemwide, and you would get credit for it, even though it may be a Berkeley professor putting it together, there you are, sitting in Irvine, and you can get credit toward your degree at Irvine. So that turns out to be complicated, we need to clear away, a lot of brush, and a lot of administrative stuff that’s grown over many years, but I’d like to make it easier for our students to cross-enroll across campuses, and this should be a good start. The provost is, provost Dorr, is very aye of this, having tried 10 or 15 years ago to get it done, so I’m hopeful that maybe this time we’ll succeed. UC Davis - The California Aggie: You kind of already touched upon this a little, but my question is about a report that was published in the Huffington Post this year about private schools like Harvard andYale now being cheaper than many of California’s public schools, even though, granted, it’s a little bit more difficult to gain entry to some of those schools. Yudof: Not true... Categorically not true. We would be happy to provide the data. I don’t remember the article, but we’re charging $12,000 a year for residents, half of our students pay no tuition at all, we have 40 percent low-income kids. If you’re an out-of-state student, maybe that’s the comparison, it’s $30-some thousand in tuition, but it’s still less. If you have a friend who’s a student at NYU, it’s like $62,000 a year. I mean, now ... I’m not sure... what you may have meant is with certain individual students that may get more financial aid, it always seems to make the newspapers when Stanford or somebody, and that can happen. They have much deeper pockets than we have. But most of those schools have only 10 to 15 percent low-income kids, and we have 40 percent, but it is true, for some individual students, Stanford may offer a package, which Irvine or Davis or whatever simply cannot match, and maybe that’s what they meant, but there aren’t that many of those students. I hate to miss any of them, by the way—I’d like to keep them all. But realistically, they have a much larger endowment than we do. UC Davis - The CaliforniaAggie: In light of Prop 30, what strategies does UC have or has it been discussing to keep UC schools an economical option for both instate and out-of-state students? Yudof: Well, I mean, what we have done, look. You know, we have the most generous financial aid system in the
United States. ... 30 percent of our tuition gets turned back into financial aid. In addition to that, we have Pell Grants and we have Cal Grants and so forth. The result is, half of our students pay no tuition. That’s pretty affordable. I don’t say it’s free, I mean, you have to have a roof over your head, you have to eat, you have to buy books, you have to travel, you have issues, but in this world, that’s pretty good. Our average debt is $120,000 a year, we’ve controlled it pretty well. That’s significantly below the national average, and I’m talking about only public universities, for private, it can be much, much higher. So I think we’ve done a good job, We’re committed to doing that, and if you actually look at our actual workload amount, that is what students are expected to pay, they’ve been relatively flat over the last three years, even as tuition, and even gone down even as tuition has risen. So we’ve done a pretty good job. You always have to look at the net tuition, that is, on average, what are people paying, and this is heavily discounted with, as I say, half our students paying no tuition and another segment of them getting scholarships. ... So I’m not saying it’s easy. We live in a world of foreclosures and unemployment and I think giving prospects for college graduates, I hope it gets better, so I’m not saying it’s
easy, but we’ve worked awfully hard to keep it affordable. UC Davis - The California Aggie: And then, I know you probably won’t be able to share many details about it, but can you talk a bit about on what you think in terms of the pepper spray settlement? Yudof: Yeah, I’m not even sure the terms of the settlement are public at this point. Really all I can say is, on the whole, I thought it was fair. When the terms are released, call me back and I can comment in more detail. UC Irvine - New University: My question is regarding UC governance and regent reform. I know this was sort of mentioned before, but what is your stance on the student campaigns that call for reducing the regent term to 8 years and increasing the number of student regents to facilitate communication, or more communication, in relationship with students. Yudof: In general, jessica, I don’t critique my bosses. It’s a good lesson in life I’ve learned, so I feel it’s not my prerogative to tell the regents or California, I’ve only been here four years, you don’t have the right way of selecting regents, or you have too few or too many or so forth. The one thing I would say is I think, since I’ve
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 been here, the student regents have been pretty terrific. And my experiences when I was president of Minnesota were also good. I’m very sympathetic, I don’t think it’s my decision, but I am sympathetic to having more student representation. The other thing, and I will opine this, I don’t think the one-year terms are long enough. That’s my personal opinion, having discussed it with no one. It just takes a long time to understand all the gobbledygook and rigmarole and the numbers and so forth, and you know when the student regent is firing on all cylinders, it seems time for he or she to move on. So in my way of thinking, it might be a good idea to at least have a two-year term so that you get a little more continuity. I don’t know, 8 year terms, 12 years is long, but you know, again, it’s not up to me... In most states it’s 4 to 6 years... I don’t really feel it’s my prerogative. It’s worked well for us for a long time. Sorry for my voice, I have some sort of ... bronchitis... UC Irvine - New University: Regarding the upcoming UC campus wide campus climate survey, what can students expect in terms of being able to participate and just being aware of it, and also once the results are compiled, how accessible will the findings be, and in light of previ-
13
ous reports, what differences will we see in terms of dealing with campus climate issues? Yudof: That’s a tough set of questions. I mean we’re going to advertise it. We need to get at least 30 percent participation for it to be valid. And by the way, it’s students, faculty and staff. So, you know, to the best of our ability, we’re going to advertise and try to make people aware, because the higher the rate of return, the more accurate the survey is... You can help us in your newspapers, and student government can help, because this is not a random sample type thing. In the ideal world, everyone would respond, so we’d have a really good sample. If we don’t get 30 percent, my fear is it wouldn’t be accurate. The return, the information will be totally public. We will make it public, probably put it online, or share it with you. Obviously, we’re not going to share Mary Smith or Joe Jones’actual response, but all the aggregate data. I’m hoping it will lead to more intelligent policy. I get thousands of letters a month saying something about campus climate, but they’re all anecdotal, and it’s sort of hard to know what students really think. I mean, whether it’s Hispanic students or Asian students, Asian-American students, or Jewish students, do they INTERVIEW CONT’D ON PAGE 18
14
FEATURES
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
HIGHLANDER
Written By Kevin Keckeisen, Senior Staff Writer // Photos By Bryan Tuttle I’ve always been a big fan of horror movies. You know, the cheesy ones filled with the typical smorgasbord of grotesque violence, gore, supernatural entities and, of course, zombies. There’s just something so primal and exhilarating about scaring yourself that I was hooked. But movies can only take you so far. I needed more. Something to up the ante. So I jumped on the opportunity to meet my maker at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood on its opening night last Friday, and I got what I asked for. The annual Eyegore awards kickstarted the event, honoring the horror genre’s top stars and filmmakers such as Guillermo del Toro, Chad Michael Murray, “Grimm” stars Silas Weir Mitchell and Bitsie Tulloch, and the mother-daughter duo of Angélica María and Angélica Vale. McKenzie Westmore, host of Syfy’s “FaceOff,” hosted the awards ceremony. The legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Eyegore Award recipient Alice Cooper also joined in the celebration. After the ceremony, I wandered the streets. Thick fog rolled through and I could only make out the silhouettes of several figures ahead until a red spotlight shone on a man in a demented bunny costume revving his chainsaw at a group of screaming girls. I’d been to a similar Halloween event at Knott’s Berry Farm a few years back and I remembered the costumed freaks could only get within a few feet of you, but things were much different here. As Bryan Tuttle, our photography editor, snapped a shot of the bunny, a creature with a jagged, demonic face in a pink ballerina outfit snarled from right behind his neck and stalked Editor-in-Chief Chris LoCascio as he walked by. “Terror Tram: Invaded by The Walking Dead” was our first destination. Based on the hit AMC TV series, this attraction is not one to miss. The tram took us to Universal’s backlot, bringing guests face-to-face with flesheating zombies or “walkers” wandering the dark, empty streets. Once we got off the tram, we headed past an overturned ambulance where bloodied security guards with chainsaws carved into a walker and fake blood shot out at guests. The tour led past a ruined hotel, then deep into the brush behind the park where zombies can be seen munching on unfortunate campers, and through the plane wreckage of “War of the Worlds,” which was redesigned with dismembered body parts and bloody suburban homes. While I was hoping that zombies would chase after the tram, this was a dreadful attraction true to the series. We then travelled to the “The Walking
Dead: Dead Inside” maze. Featuring iconic backdrops from the series such as the hospital where Rick Grimes wakes, the tank found in Atlanta and the campgrounds outside the city, this maze is a treat for fans of the series. Various assortments of mannequins with their guts strewn about the floor and a particularly memorable fat zombie join the cast of walkers constantly shocking and even chasing guests. Although it may not be as expansive as the tram ride, the close quarters of this maze really bring walkers up close and personal. “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Saw is the Law” was next up. Based on filmmaker Tobe Hooper’s notoriously disturbing 1974 horror film classic, this maze lived up to the film and featured such visceral scenes as the meat storage room where bloodied corpses hung from the ceiling, forcing visitors to wade through and avoid the big fella with the chainsaw quietly waiting, hidden. A reenactment of the infamous dinner table scene was a highlight, as were the various rooms of leatherface sawing unfortunate teenagers, both real and fake. Hoping to keep the adrenaline going, we ventured to “Welcome to Silent Hill,” a twisted maze based on the popular horror video game, “Silent Hill,” the 2006 film of the same name and it’s anticipated sequel, “Silent Hill: Revelation 3D.” The now ashladen rural mining community is stalked by tall creatures with pyramid masks, along with biohazard control officers smashing hammers at guests. Nurses with scarred faces wielding knives shriek at ongoers as they pass through yet another room of bodies hanging from the ceiling. One room was truly terrifying. I won’t spoil anything, but beware of the big pink bunnies. I’ll admit that at first glance I wasn’t expecting much from the “La Llorona: Cazadora de Niños (Weeping Woman: The Child Hunter),” but I quickly changed my mind. This maze proved to be one of the scariest. La Llorona is the the fearful story of a mother who drowns her children in a desperate attempt to win a lost love. But when she fails, she instead takes her own life, doomed to wander the earth forever. It is a story that’s terrified Latino children for generations, and it translated horrifically well into a maze, which gets progressively more frightening the further you venture. Hysterical crying and screaming fill the damp air while skulls of children litter the walls and La Llorona herself stalks unfortunate guests. This one is not to be missed.
Alice Cooper’s haunted attraction, “Alice Cooper Goes to Hell 3D,” is based on the musician’s classic concept album and was the most memorable maze. Rather than the dark, ominous settings of the other mazes, Cooper’s relies upon vibrant colors and outlandish designs such as hands reaching from under the floor that really pop at you through the cheap 3D glasses. In a blend of beauty and obscenity, this maze features what seem like liquid walls, a bright orange and blue giant snake that jumps from the wall, uncanny Cooper mannequins, rooms corresponding to the seven deadly sins and even hell frozen over. Though it may not be as scary as the other mazes, “Alice Cooper Goes to Hell 3D” provides a unique and colorful take on horror. Looking for a break from the calamity? Check out “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure.” A live performance hell bent on exploiting pop culture, the show has everything from singing, dancing, pyrotechnics and a strip tease.This year’s theme is primarily based upon “The Hunger Games.” The representatives from the eight districts are Sacha Baron Cohen’s “The Dictator,” Snooki and JWoww from the Jersey Shore, Agent J from “The Men in Black,” Peeta and Katniss from “The Hunger Games,” U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, Catwoman, John Carter, and Kristen Stewart as Snow White. While I won’t spoil anything, be prepared for a good laugh, and look out for several recognizable character appearances. Like everything, Halloween Horror Nights is not without its faults. The hanging bodies got real old, real quick, as nearly every maze featured them. Each maze also carried a stench reminiscent of beef jerky and cow dung. It may be an attempt to recreate the smell of rotting flesh, or just sweaty rubber costumes. Either way, you’ll notice it. All in all, Halloween Horror Nights delivered. Unfortunately I didn’t make it to the Universal Monsters Remix maze, which reimagines classic horror icons such as Frankenstein and Dracula and immerses them in electronica-inspired music, so be sure to check it out. I suggest taking a similar route as mine, starting with the tram and working your way through most of the mazes and finishing with the show. Universal’s other attractions such as the new Transformers: The Ride 3D and Jurassic Park: The Ride and are also open throughout the night. Halloween Horror Nights continues for 19 select nights through Halloween, Wednesday, Oct. 31. For more information visit www.universalstudios.com/hhn. ■H
Clockwise: Bill and Ted (top), Kevin interviewing undead guest, Eygore Award recipients, “Silent Hill” creature
15
16
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
FEATURES
HIGHLANDER
WHAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN AS A FRESHMAN While some of us are beginning their first quarter of college, others, like myself, are embarking on ts heir final year. Despite the sleepless nights and stressful deadlines, what they say is true: these years will be some of the best of your life. Take advantage of them. Soon you will be approaching your final year too, and you will be wishing you knew what I know now. The following are just a few tips on how you can make the most of your UCR years.
1. Don’t waste your time
waiting in line for coffee The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is a great place to study and grab a nice hot latte, but it’s hard to go there without becoming victim to the long lines and wait. Too often students disregard other places on campus that can satisfy their coffee craving. Ivan’s and Bytes are both great locations that make similar drink options, and they provide significantly faster service if you’re in a rush between classes. I would suggest ordering the Iced Caramel Macchiatto at Bytes, by far the best drink of its kind I’ve ever had, anywhere, ever.
By Fatima Mirza, Senior Staff Writer 2. Keep some time to yourself
Especially in the early quarters, it’s easy to get so swept up with classes, studying and hanging out with friends, that you forget to make time for yourself. Remember the things you used to love doing, and make time for them. It’s okay to skip going out on a Friday night every once in awhile to stay home and catch up with your favorite TV shows online. If you’re an avid reader, make time to read a novel you want to read, one that has not been assigned in class. You may forget the importance of doing these little things
for yourself, or feel like you are going to miss out on something if you don’t go out that night, but you will thank yourself when you finally get around to dusting off your sketchbook, or put on your running shoes you haven’t worn in awhile. 3. Scotty’s Sandwiches I still sometimes forget how delicious these sandwiches are. Back in freshman year the biggest plus about living in Pentland Hills was how close I was to Scotty’s. For those who live in the dorms and others who don’t, take the trek to the small convenience
store in Glen Mor one afternoon and buy yourself a sandwich. The Monkey’s Uncle is to die for—nutella, peanut butter, bananas— need I say more? The Gourmet Grilled Cheese is also all kinds of wonderful. 4. Explore your campus Find spots where you want to eat lunch. Others you want to save for yourself, where you can go to study, read or just sit. The campus has many nooks and crannies that offer quiet refuge, or scenic areas with surprisingly good views. Take time to explore your own.
5. Sign off Skype
I had roommates my freshman year that would spend every waking moment on Skype, something common in too many people today. Video chat was on while they studied, ate, in the breaks between classes, even when they slept. I’m not advocating neglecting all your old relationships when you move to Riverside, but constantly Skyping your BF, GF or BFF back home will reduce the chances of you forming new, lasting relationships with your peers. Pay attention the the world and people around you. You’ll be surprised at how much you miss out on if you’re constantly glued to your screen or cell phone. 6. Get to know the city I regret that it took me until my second year to go to my first Arts Walk downtown. I regret that I’ve only gone twice since then. I regret the open mic nights I’ve missed. That I didn’t spend more time in downtown during the Festival of Lights, and that I still haven’t tried out the ice skating rink. I regret that there are still restaurants downtown I keep meaning to go to, and a library I haven’t once walked into. I regret the time I haven’t spent in the little shops, the Farmer’s Market I haven’t even given a chance. There is so much activity going on just a few miles from campus, if only I had taken the time out to become acquainted with all the things this city can offer.
7. Sometimes it’s okay to quit Everyone says that it’s not good to quit, but I think there is some merit in it. If you aren’t giving the time a club, friendship or activity deserves then it might be helpful to step back and reevaluate. In the first few months, you are going to commit to things you might find you don’t enjoy. You’re going to make tons of new friends and may outgrow some of them. Don’t be afraid to cut things in order to replenish others. Find who you love spending time with, and make time for them. Find what you really love and do that. As Dr. Howard Thurman said, “Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” ■H
FEATURES
HIGHLANDER
THE DIGITAL WORLD WITH RYAN SIMON
The iPhone 5 is Apple’s Least Interesting Phone
BY RYAN SIMON, SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Last week saw the release of Apple’s annual revision of their incredibly successful iPhone smartphone. If there is one word that captures the essence of the new iPhone 5, it’s “boring.” Now, before people throw up their arms and write me off as a biased Apple basher, let me clarify a few things. Apple and their iPhone have seen tremendous success thanks to the simple and intuitive nature of the iPhone’s operating system, better known as iOS, and I commend them for it. The iPhone 5 ships with the newest iOS 6 and it continues Apple’s trademark trend of simplicity. What I argue isn’t that the iPhone 5 is a terrible phone, but that it isn’t doing anything excitingly innovative or market-changing—something Apple claims their phones do on each release. iOS is getting stale and Apple’s hardware design is no longer ahead of the curve. The Biggest Thing to Happen to iPhone? Nope. If you go to Apple’s website, as of this writing, you’ll see an advertisement for the iPhone 5 that states it’s “the biggest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone.” I laughed when I saw it. In some ways they’re right. Literally speaking, the iPhone 5 does have a larger screen than all the previous iPhones. Analyzing the figurative undertones asserted by a statement like that, they couldn’t be more wrong. In some ways, the iPhone 5 is actually a step back from the iPhone 4S. Many reviewers of Apple’s newest flagship device have noted that the iPhone’s new Maps app has many major bugs and is missing features that were once a part of Google Maps—which was the iPhone’s previous mapping software. Why would Apple make such a detrimental change to their software this late in the game? It’s because Google, including its Android mobile platform, is a major competitor. Let’s revisit what actually makes the iPhone 5 bigger; its screen isn’t as great an addition to the iPhone ecosystem as Apple would like you to believe. Due to how Apple instructs developers to create apps for iOS, many apps will not initially be able to take advantage of the extra screen real estate afforded by the iPhone 5’s bigger 4-inch screen. In fact, of the over 600,000 apps available in Apple’s app store, only a few thousand have been updated to be fully compatible with iOS 6 and the iPhone 5’s larger display. Instead of filling the iPhone 5’s full screen, most apps will display in their original 3.5-inch format with black borders on the top and bottom of the app. Yes, eventually most apps will be updated for the new iPhone, but it’s a rather odd inconvenience that users of other smartphones (like Android and Windows Phone) don’t have to deal with. A New Phone with Old Tech Alright, so the screen isn’t as fan-
tastic as Apple would want you to believe. Next reason why the iPhone 5 is underwhelming has to do with what’s packaged inside the iPhone’s shell. It’s not exactly a new idea coming from Apple, but the iPhone 5’s technical specifications are outdated by the mobile industry’s standards. Of course, as Apple’s marketing is so good at doing, they recycle ideas from existing technology and present them as brand spanking new and “better” on iPhone. One “new” iPhone technology is LTE 4G—a high-speed wireless service that has been offered by Verizon Android phones for nearly two years now. How about that high-resolution screen on the iPhone 5? It’s been available on Android for over a year now. The cool panorama camera mode? That’s old news too.
In fact, some very interesting technology like NFC (Near-Field Communication) didn’t even make it into the new iPhone, despite it being available on other popular smartphones for over a year. Even the iPhone’s physical hardware design is starting to bore. Why not try something a little different, Apple? The iPhone may have a good-looking industrial design, but others have improved upon it. Nokia is doing it with their Lumia line of phones, and HTC has their One series. The Samsung Galaxy SIII isn’t a slouch in the looks department either. If there’s one thing that should change though, it’s Apple’s aging mobile platform: iOS. iOS Needs a Refresh Some will argue it’s not all about
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 the technical specifications, and I agree. It’s important that a smartphone also have useful and interesting software to take advantage of the hardware. After six years of supposed innovation, Apple’s iOS has barely changed. With all the neat and rather useful things Windows Phone and Android are doing, I am beginning to wonder why Apple is so reluctant to take risks on their platform. I keep thinking it’s so that they don’t confuse the current iPhone fanbase with extreme design changes, but I don’t think that’s why. I’m starting to believe Apple is afraid that mobile platforms like Android will jump even farther ahead if current iPhone developers are forced to relearn app development on a radically different iOS. They have a right to be concerned, but they should remember what got RIM’s once exceptionally popular BlackBerry smartphone brand into the hole it has dug itself into, and that’s complacency. Actually, if there’s one message I am trying to get across is that Apple should stop being so complacent with their iPhone. Apple makes some great phones, there’s no doubt about it, but they could be so much
17
courtesy of cnet.com
more captivating and useful if Apple would actually try something different with their iPhone formula. Steal some ideas from Android if you have to; it’s about time you made some more serious additions to your phone other than Siri and a fifth row ■H of app icons.
18
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 INTERVIEW FROM PAGE 13
feel comfortable, do they feel safe? There’s a lot of anecdotal stuff, and a lot of people outside the campuses that have opinions. We’d like to know what you think.And for you and... if you’re gay and on the staff, do you feel that you’re appreciated, or do you think there are impediments in your career?And frankly, it’s a lot of money, like a half million or $600,000 and time that is not great for us financially. But if we’re ever going to make progress on the campus climate issues, we need to know exactly what the problems are. The only way to know that is to ask people on the campuses, and that’s what we’re doing. So I hope we can have your help in the papers, talk it up so more people will participate. UC San Diego - The Guardian: Obviously in the last couple of months since July, there’s been a lot of buzz about the advisory council on campus climate reports both for the Jewish and ArabMuslim student reports. How are you approaching the findings of the report, and when can we expect a decision regarding the Jewish report’s recommendation to ban hate speech on campuses, and what about all the other recommendations in
both reports? Yudof: Well, first, there’s a lot of misinformation about that. These sets of recommendations are not coming to a vote in the campus climate committee. I mean, these are reports that I commissioned to advise me, and my staff and I will be wading through them and looking to see what makes sense. For example, the report on Muslim students had some recommendations about community places for prayer for Muslim students. I’ve already brought that to the attention of the chancellors, and we’re working to follow through. So we’re going to go through them, but there’s no up or down vote on it. Second, I wish I could create a hate free campus. I’m a constitutional lawyers. I’ve taught First Amendment for 25, 30 years. We can’t do it. If by hate free you mean people cannot speak out what they think about other people or events or whatever, and it’s simply pure speech. It is the case that we have protected Ku Klux Klan speech in Illinois, we have protected draft dodgers in the First World War, and their speech, advising people not to report for the draft. We protect speech in this country, and that’s what our First Amendment is all about, so I’d like our campuses to be hate-free. I think I and the chancellors
FEATURES ought to speak out, we have a moral obligation, when people are anti-Semitic or anti-Muslim or anti-gay or anti-African american or whatever, but we cannot and should not try to prevent speech. The cure for bad speech is good speech, and this climate on the campuses should be one of thriving diversity of opinion, and amidst all the flowers there will be some weeds, but we can’t chop them without jeopardizing the entire enterprise. And then, finally, to answer your question, I think we have just about gotten right, I have spent a lot of time with our legal counsel, and it occurred after the San Diego incident, what was protected speech. There are times when... a noose or a burning cross where you can act under our hate laws. There is some wiggle room in some of the speech codes, and I think where we are today at the University of California is pretty much the settled law of the land, and I’m not planning on trying to go further than our constitution permits. UC San Diego - The Guardian: My second question is, recently there have been a couple of challenges to Proposition 209, the affirmative action ban, and the ban has been reaffirmed by recent court rulings. Will UC take any new steps
HIGHLANDER to ensure that enrollment of minority students continues to increase?And does this remain a priority? Yudof: It’s a very high priority. And one of the things that I can ask Steve Montiel to send it to you, we filed a very strong brief in the United States Supreme Court, in the Fisher case, saying that in effect we’re not satisfied with our progress in achieving diversity. We believe Proposition 209 is a great impediment, and more relevant to the U.S. Supreme Court, we believe that the state should be free to practice affirmative action without violating the 14th Amendment, and we can shoot that brief off to you. That was signed by myself and all 10 chancellors, actually 11... So that’s our position. It’s very hard for us, I am deeply in favor of overturning Prop 209, and at this point, given what’s happened to the courts, at least today, I don’t think a legal challenge is likely to succeed, although it would be great if it did. What we have done is we have tried to redouble our efforts to recruit in the high schools, we’ve tried to give a lot of scholarship money to low-income kids, many of whom are Hispanic or African-American and so forth, and we have a holistic admissions system on the nine academic campuses, so your life is
not summed up into two numbers, your grade-point average and your SAT score. We’ve tried to do as best we can the things that would strengthen the possibilities for more underrepresented groups that need admission to the university. But frankly, 209 does tie our hands to a large extent. It’s just true. UC Santa Cruz - City on a Hill Press: So we all know that the UC faces $300 million in funding gaps for this fiscal year, and if Prop 30 doesn’t pass, an additional budget gap of $375 million in cuts will happen. You said in your opening remarks at last week’s regents meeting that tuition increases would not be discussed within the potential strategies for increasing revenue. If Prop 30 does pass, is there any chance you could see plans for decreasing tuition in the long term? Yudof: What I said is we’re not going to discuss tuition at that board meeting, because I wanted to focus on alternatives, things we could do to either not raise tuition or to reduce the amount that would be raised. So I was trying to keep the board focused on these 10 or 20 proposals, I didn’t say it would not be raised. I think the chances are very high tuition will be raised. Even if Prop 30 passes, we’re down $879 million in the last four years, and the amount of new money from the state is $90 million. And you know, as I said, the big ticket items are pension funds, compensation for faculty and health benefits, energy costs and a bunch of other things, and so my plan is to put together a total package for November, really it’s going to be two plans, one if Prop 30 passes, and one if it doesn’t. I wish I could tell you otherwise, I think the probability is quite high. Our budget is going down, if it does not pass, from $3.4 billion to it’ll probably be under $2 million within a four year period. Most prices will continue to go up, and we have these expenses, and a third of the tuition is being put back into scholarships. It’s highly re-distributed, the way we do it. We will probably be discussing it in November, along with a bunch of other proposals to save money, to tamp down as much as we can any possible tuition increase. UC Santa Cruz - City on a Hill Press: It’s unfortunate that tuition does have to rise and has been rising, and the state budget has been going down, but in your opinion, do you think students will continue seeking out the University of California if tuition continues to rise as it has? Yudof: Obviously it depends on how much it rises, but applications are up 9 percent this year. You’re talking about some of the world’s best universities at $12,000 a year.And you compare that to other public universities around the country, most of them don’t have anywhere near our quality. Now, I mean, your point’s excellent. If the tuition goes up too much, people are price-sensitive, they can only avoid to pay too much, so much, excuse me, too much and so much, but I don’t think we’re anywhere near that price point. In light of historic tuition increases, applications, and I’m talking about residents, non-residents are also up 10 percent, they’re up 9 percent. So you’re getting a very high quality education at a very good price, even if it hurts. Part of the problem is, it’s a dereliction of the master plan and the way it was supposed to be.And the state of California loves the Master Plan, it just doesn’t want to pay for it. And that’s sort of a problem. The quality’s there, access is there, we’re maintaining affordability as best we can, we still have more Nobel Laureates than most countries, research is there, but it’s a problem.And I hope we’ll be able to slow this rise down, it’s not healthy for us, it’s not healthy for you either. ■H
. ARTS
HIGHLANDER
& ENTERTAINMENT .
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
FEAR
G H N I T O A L AND
IN SAN DIEGO
by JEFF WHITMAN, CONTRIBUTING WRITER graphic courtesy of JEFF WHITMAN photos courtesy of HUFFINGTONPOST.COM
We were somewhere around San Diego at the edge of the convention center when the heat began to take hold. I remember saying something like, “I can’t see in this mask, maybe I should take off this costume,” and suddenly there was a terrible smell all around us and the streets were full of bloated caricatures of superheroes and misplaced latch-key children, foaming at the mouth, waiting for the Adderall to kick in. We were all shuffling in one direction towards our air-conditioned mecca, except for that one fool frantically pushing against this sinewy riptide because he forgot to grab some variety of mass-produced pulp, or figure to get signed by Seth McFarlane or the cast of the Big Bang Theory. I wanted to tell him the truth, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. He would find out soon enough. His golden idols would be locked up inside convention halls that had filled up before dawn’s break. Lowpaid security guards would apathetically tell him that he would have to “keep it moving.” They didn’t understand. This was Comic-Con. He paid a large sum of money and traveled hundreds of miles along this savage journey to the heart of the Nerd Dream. What possibly could have gone wrong? I have been attending comic book and anime conventions in the Southern California area since I was a young teenager in the early 2000s. I now humbly refer to these years as the “good ole’ days.” These were the days when you could walk into Comic-Con and buy your passes at the door instead of waiting nervously at your computer only to find out that all
the hundreds of thousands of passes had been sold out in 90 minutes. Now, the vast majority of conventions out there are not like this, but I am using ComicCon as a case study because movies, television and the blogosphere have made it out to be the pinnacle, a life-altering experience every nerd must make a pilgrimage to, at least one time. Where exclusive swag (promotional items) flows like water and you will get autographs from all the stars wandering through the exhibit halls. The problem is that there are 200,000 people in the same confined space that have the same idea. The reality is that you will only see a major celebrity or creative team on a stage during a panel or publicity stunt in the exhibit hall. If you want to meet them in person, you will likely have to scramble in hopes of getting into an hour-long line before they close it off. If you see a revered celebrity from years past, he or she will likely want to charge you to even take a picture with them. The popular Comic-Con exclusive merchandise will likely be sold out as well... or you will have to wait in a line to get a raffle ticket that might select you to wait in another line to get into the booth containing the exclusive item (considering it hasn’t already sold out. Which it has.) If it sounds like I’m overly cynical about what the convention has morphed into because of the points above, I’m not. For the most part, it has been like this for the past decade or more. The difference between now and the “good ole’ days” is that “nerd culture” has been absorbed by mainstream pop culture.
This has overpopulated the convention with attendees who are there because the media has told them they need to be there to be “true” nerds. The majority of swag you will be getting has changed from posters and occasional t-shirts into postcard-sized adverts, not unlike what you would find under your windshield wiper. In addition to this, the people surrounding you will be vainly trying to act quirky, constantly using phrases like “epic fail” and “win” just like the internet and TV told them to. For God’s sake man, ShowTime’s advertisements plastered all over the convention (and even our badge lanyards) were horrid memes. Is this not what true nerds have always wanted? For years we have been begging for major production companies to make high quality storytelling within the comic medium, and incorporate elements of cyber culture. Now that we have it, all we can do is complain about the amount of people influenced by the pop culture wave flooding, what we once perceived, as a “closed” world. Am I just being overly cynical? Despite everything, I have never been to Comic-Con and left without a smile. Well, if pop culture’s assimilation of nerd media and the subsequent influx of hipster faux-nerds were the only things going on, I could live with it. The real problem comes from the growth of commercialization pushing out the smaller publishers, artists and writers who have been dedicated to this trade for much, much longer and are largely not influenced by money. I experienced an example of this when I went to meet some of my idols, FEAR AND LOATHING CONT’D ON PAGE 20
19
20
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
HIGHLANDER
FEAR AND LOATHING FROM PAGE 19
the Hernandez brothers. In the pre-Comic-Con media and commemorative booklets, there was a high amount of coverage on the 30th anniversary of the Hernandez brother’s main comic work, Love and Rockets. Upon arriving at the convention and seeing that many of the popular panels had lines since 3-4 a.m., I decided to rush over to the Fantigraphics Booth to make sure my first edition copies of Love and Rockets Issues 1 and 2 got signed. Upon arriving, there was no line, just the usual staff. After enquiring if the signing had been moved or was at a different time, I was assured it would be starting in an hour. In fact, a line did not start forming for the signing until about five minutes beforehand. Now, these authors are not of DC or Marvel-level popularity, but they are highly respected in their field. How could there be no line for the 30th anniversary of their comic yet a huge and vicious line to get the ComicCon exclusive My Little Pony figurine? I could not believe it. I’m not saying that their comic would be amazingly popular if Comic-Con was not so commercialized, but the multimedia circus definitely detracts a lot of comic purists, thus diluting a more appreciative fan base that should be present. Instead, many of these true fans are relocating to smaller, more specialized conventions like Alternative Press Expo (APE) and Small Press Expo (SPX) where the dedicated artists are much more revered. The commercialization is causing this new wave of faux nerds to focus on the fruit of multi-million dollar movie and TV productions while choking out the lesser known artists and writers at their comic-world roots. It is only making rich movie and TV studios richer, while causing the independent and small publishers to go out of business, especially in these economic times. One could even go as far to argue that the recent mass popularity of this medium has increased the awareness and popularity of pirating. If someone pirates the last season of the Walking Dead, it will hurt AMC a little, but when they want to read what happened in the comic and download the entire series, it hurts the publisher (Image) a lot more. Now, if you are saying this is all subjec-
tive data, I would like for you to explain to me why I have seen two of my local comic book stores close down this year, let alone the number I have seen close over the last decade. I don’t see Comic-Con changing in the foreseeable future. The organization that puts it on does a great job of making sure that all professionals can get passes and has an Artist Alley for more independent artists, but it is the attendees that determine what will be successful. Therefore, if you find yourself going to a convention in coming years, take some time to talk to the booths that people seem to be passing by. Go to a panel that you may know nothing about, but still looks interesting. And if you don’t see yourself going to the convention in the foreseeable future, but still find yourself enjoying the new Batman movies, head down to your local comic book store and pick up a graphic novel. If you want to start getting into the serials, DC has even restarted all the series of their most famous heroes (called the New 52) so that people just getting into this world have a place to start without having to deal with endless back stories. I go to Comic-Con every year as a savage journey into the heart of the geek kingdom and come to find it a little more warped every year. When Hunter S. Thompson drove into Las Vegas in search of the American Dream, he said he couldn’t find it. As readers, we saw the sad truth that he did find it, but the American Dream had become too warped and corrupted for him to recognize that he was living it. I have hope for the future of nerd culture, but it is up to us as consumers to tell the production companies that we will not be slaves to what they tell us we should like. Make sure that if you identify yourself as nerd or geek you at least make an effort to immerse yourself in the true culture, not just post about it on Facebook. Buy a D&D Player’s handbook and get your friends together on the weekend. Start hanging out at your local comic book shop, spend some money and meet some new people. I have hope that one day I won’t be driving north on the 15 on a blistering Sunday at the end of July, wondering why I wasted my time in search of the Nerd Dream. ■H
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
21 21
MOVIE REVIEWS ALSO THIS WEEK:
FRANKENWEENIE
PITCH PERFECT
TAKEN 2
BUTTER
THE HOUSE I LIVE IN
THE ORANGES
SLEEPWALK WITH ME RATING: ★★★★☆
BY: LAUREN PENNA, SENIOR STAFF WRITER Photo Courtesy of IFC Films
through a tollbooth and he addresses us, the audience, telling us that he’s going to tell us a true story. Already, we know we’re going somewhere with Matt and I think this is effective because we immediately know he wants us on his side. Later, when he makes questionably immoral decisions, he tells us, “Before I tell you this, I have to remind you. You’re on my side.” Because the narration is laced with jokes from Mike’s actual stand-up routine, the narration works for me. The ending was the one moment that
The undeniably talented Ira Glass, known for his work on “This American Life,” a radio show about real people and their real lives, has taken his work to the big screen with his film, “Sleepwalk With Me.” The film follows comedian Mike Birbiglia, fictionalized as Matt Pandamiglio, as he attempts to make a career as a comedian. However, the film is about far more than just a comedian with no money working in a bar trying to scrape any pennies he can find off the floor. Rather, it is about intricate relationships and the struggle Matt has in deciding whether or not he is ready for marriage while discovering he has a potentially life-threatening disorder. Matt is, unfortunately, not funny, but his life provides him with the perfect material to be so. He soon discovers this when he begins to tell stories about his real life and people listen. More importantly, they laugh. Matt isn’t ready to be married, but his girlfriend of eight years is, and throughout the film Matt’s sister plans her own wedding. Most unfortunately, Matt has REM movement disorder which causes him to act out his dreams. We first discover Matt’s sleeping disorder as he spends the night at his parents’ house. Matt continually kicks the clothes hamper because, in his dream, there is a jackal chasing him through a large field. He screams, kicks harder and makes it known that there really is a jackal, and the entire time we are with him.
The view switches between a bright, dream-like vision to the darkness of the bedroom. One moment, we are with Matt running through the field, and the next we watch him frantically kick a hamper. It’s perfect. It’s hilarious. However, we soon learn that these dreams are potentially dangerous. During a hallucination, Dr. Dement, a doctor trained in sleep disorders, tells Matt that people with the disorder have gone so far as to kill their loved ones during a dream. Immediately, we understand. Though his dreams and hallucinations are painstakingly funny to us, we know that Matt is dangerous and we need him to seek help. But he doesn’t and at this point, we are just waiting for him to unravel. The tension binds us.
We need to know what will happen to him. I sincerely applaud Glass for this genius moment. The beginning of the film seemed so light-hearted and just plain funny, though we always knew the stakes were there. Suddenly, there’s a great chunk of conflict forced into our faces. What will Matt do? Will he seek help? Will he marry his girlfriend of 8 years because it seems like the right thing to do? The one aspect of this film that I would criticize was the narration, but even this was done relatively well. Typically, I say to avoid narration at all costs. It’s unnecessary, but in “Sleepwalk With Me,” even the narration was hilarious. I might even be able to overlook its use. Right from the start of the film, we see Matt driving
didn’t. It seemed that when Matt addressed the audience again to tell us the moral of the story, it was wrapped up too perfectly. I would have rather figured it out on my own than be told directly. My criticism is so little for this film and I highly recommend it for any age. Not only was it hilarious with fresh jokes, but it also represented a likely story of a couple attempting to understand their future. Glass created a perfect balance of funny and somber and I cannot wait to see what else he has in store. ■H
22
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
HIGHLANDER
TELEVISION REVIEWS BREAKING BAD RATING: ★★★★★
BY: JOSHUA WAGONBLAST, CONTRIBUTING WRITER Photo Courtesy of courtoforegonlive.com Many people have never seen anything like it. “The Sopranos,” “The Wire,” “Six Feet Under,” “Oz“ and more have barely come close to the enthralling spectacle created before viewers everywhere. The series even tops the charts in comparison to classic HBO television shows. The narrative began with a simple premise and decent time slot on Sundays on the AMC network, but no one could have predicted the epic progression that has taken place thus far. And, with only eight episodes to go, fans have been left tiptoeing around in angst. The first season slid by with good reviews. If you think that I’m crazy for making “good” sound like a failing grade on a test, I encourage you to do your research immediately. I was first attracted to the show by the concept: a local chemistry teacher, Walter White, tries to scrape by in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but is continually unsuccessful in his attempts. On top of this, Walter, whose loving wife and supportive son BREAKING BAD CONT’D ON PAGE 23
brother-in-law’s involvement with the DEA, a partner who is a former student and a nemesis that will forever remain in the television drama hall of fame. In the last five years the show has evolved from a simple drug dealing and enemy handling worrisome premise to a King Pin-style collaboration and rivalry. In fewer words, cancer was the least of Walter’s problems. For anyone who has watched the last season (season five), which has recently ended, they must know where I am coming from. There has never been anything like it in recent years, or any year past. Frankly, this must be the best show to ever hit television, and has given me a reason to actually watch a series during it’s intended time slot, with commercials and all, rather than turning it on later for convenience. At first, there was innocence to it. But, now with the climax, and cliffhangers galore, a bombardment of brutal themes has slowly, but
perfectly entered the picture. It provides the fans with a takena-back feeling filled with chills that shock the senses due to the show’s creative concepts, violence, masterminded dialogue and aptitude for suspense. Vince Gilligan is quoted saying that “season five of Breaking Bad is a very different kind of season.” So, for anyone who appreciates a show’s willingness to be flexible and unique, this series is a must watch. Along with the show’s 32 awards, including six Emmys and two golden globe nominations, comes a national consensus on the intelligence and inventiveness of the show’s writers and creators. My further suggestion is nothing less than to sign in to your Netflix account and observe the devious and mischievous exhibition about to be presented. For anyone who disagrees, I will be eagerly awaiting comments and evaluations. To loyal fans, “All hail the King.” ■H
WEDNESDAYS @ 9AM
spend their time helping and cheering him on day by day, ends up unfortunately contracting cancer. Needless to say, nothing goes his way. Walter, who spectators soon realize is a genius, not only falls ill, but is also fired from his job and owes major amounts of money. He ultimately lets people and fate get the best of him. Soon Walter’s actions reach insane proportions and even push him to enter the drug trade—cooking meth for a hopeful profit. At first, I assumed the series would take the same direction as Showtime’s “Weeds,” which also focuses on a drug business, but is half drama, half comedy. If this disinterests you, don’t stop reading now and learn for yourself why the ratings have spiked from an overall 74 to 99 in the last five years on Metacritic.com. There is more to the series than a desperate man tangled in a web of illegal activity. Along with more serious and entertaining spoilers comes his
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
KUCR RADIO 88.3
BREAKING BAD FROM PAGE 22
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
HIGHLANDER NEWSROOM
HIGHLANDER
23 21
24
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
HIGHLANDER
DREDD 3D RATING: ★★★★☆
BY: ALEXANDER SUFFOLK, STAFF WRITER Photo Courtesy of DNA Films
Just see this movie. Really, if you are a fan of action movies or just want to have some solid entertainment for an hour and a half, treat yourself to “Dredd 3D.” I know the 1995 Judge Dredd movie was terrible and that you probably aren’t familiar with the comic series, but trust me: this is how you do an action movie. “Dredd 3D” takes place in a not-too-distant future where radiation has left most of the world uninhabitable, leaving the remnants of humanity to congregate in large communities called Mega Cities. Mega City 1, the setting of the film, is one giant metropolis stretching from Boston to Washington D.C. and populated by 800 million people. To combat the rampant amount of crime, the law falls in the hands of Judges, specially trained operatives who hold the legal powers of police, judge (obviously), jury and executioner. The movie opens up with your standard car chase/police pursuit as Judge Dredd tails three criminals driving whilst under the influence of Slo-Mo, a new drug that has taken Mega City 1 by storm. But the movie breaks away from standard as
the criminals run over an innocent bystander, which causes Dredd to call in his judgment as death for the penalty of murder and opens fire. The opening scenes are just fantastic at showing us how the legal system doesn’t mess around in this world. It also establishes what kind of person Judge Dredd is: a cold, confident and unyielding dispenser of justice. There are no attempts to make him seem sweet or human or try to force some kind of love interest on him. He’s here to kick ass and take names, and that’s it. I also have to respect Karl Urban for agreeing to never take off his helmet during the entire movie. Never showing his face really helped hammer in the notion that this character is more machine than man, and it’s a really bold move for a major motion picture to have a faceless hero. Although I will say that he does that tough guy gravelly voice thing in all but three or four scenes. It doesn’t ruin the movie, but it’s a little off-putting whenever Dredd seemingly forgets to put on his Christian Bale as Batman impression. The plot kicks off when
Dredd is assigned to assess a young woman named Anderson, played by the lovely Olivia Thirlby, on her field test to become a Judge. Anderson has failed most of her exams in the academy, but has skated by because she has developed psy-
chic powers due to exposure to radiation. Now I know that sounds really dumb on paper, but for the sake of the movie, it works rather well. She has the abilities to read other’s thoughts as well as prod into their minds, which allows her
to interact with other people in different ways and thus gain a different perspective on justice than Dredd. See, the major complaint from critics giving negative reviews to this movie is that it DREDD 3D CONT’D ON PAGE 25
HIGHLANDER
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
DREDD 3D FROM PAGE 24
doesn’t have a clear moral message about the monstrosity of a police state. However, I think what the movie does is much more interesting. Rather than getting slapped with a blatant message like a “Captain Planet” episode, we are asked what we think about justice through the characters of Dredd and Anderson. On one hand, we have Dredd who admittedly gets stuff done and stops bad guys with great efficiency. But the guy sees good and bad as completely black and white and probably considers brutality and slaughter as just part of the job. And then we have Anderson, whose probing of minds leads her to think that maybe people aren’t so easy to dismiss as good and evil and that violence isn’t always the best answer. That depth isn’t usually seen in the writing of action movies. Dredd and Anderson then go off to Peach Trees, a crime-infested, giant, 200-story apartment complex called a Mega Block, to investigate a triple homicide. They come to realize that Peach Trees is the center of operations for Ma-Ma, a sadistic former prostitute who now controls the entire production and distribution of Slo-Mo. Ma-Ma is played by Lena Headey, who is just perfect at being an evil queen as many “Game of Thrones” fans may already know. It all hits the fan when Ma-Ma locks the building down and puts a hit on the Judges, which gets the action going as Dredd and Anderson must fight to survive, stop the drug production and bring judgment upon Ma-Ma. I almost feel that the smaller budget of this movie actually worked in its favor. Rather than Michael Bay levels of constant explosion and havoc, this movie has a wide variety of action pretty well spaced out. There is a good mix of your standard shootouts, specialty weapon kills and bareknuckle brawling. And since it’s not all big all the time, the bigger moments actually carry some weight. The movie usually opts for grittier and more creative methods of violence as opposed to over the top and larger than life, and that’s definitely better. Less really can be more. I should also mention that the 3D effects and soundtrack are pretty awesome. I’m almost always against 3D, but the drug-induced slow-motion scenes are some of the coolest looking stuff I’ve seen since “Avatar.” I don’t know if they are quite worth the price bump, but they are certainly nice. They don’t make enough movies like “Dredd 3D,” and it’s a real shame. While it might not be the most complex or life-changing of movies, it’s a hell of a lot of fun and has more thought put into it than most of the blockbusters I’ve seen in awhile. End your summer with a bang and check this ■H movie out.
See the news as it happens.
Write for the Highlander. Meetings on Mondays at 5:15 PM at HUB 101
25 21
. SPORTS .
HIGHLANDER
UCR volleyball team defeated in first two Big West games P r a n av B h a k ta CONTRIBUTING WRITER
September 21, 2012 Rainbow Wahine 3 Highlanders 0 The UC Riverside women’s volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision at the SRC Arena losing all three sets against the No. 7 ranked University of Hawai’i, the Highlanders’ new Big West division opponent. Hawai’i took 25-17, 25-16 and 25-19, putting up huge rallies in each set to pull away from the Highlanders. UCR put up a good fight in the early stages of each set, but they did not come close to pulling off an upset. In the first set, Hawai’i got off to a quick start with a 5-0 lead. The Highlanders came back strong taking the lead 8-7, thanks to three straight errors by Hawai’i. The Highlanders’ one point lead was short lived as Hawai’i responded with a five point rally to take a four point lead, 12-8. The Highlanders were not deterred and closed the gap to just one point from tying the set at 16-15 thanks to kills by Annishia McKoy and Amanda Vialpando. Hawai’i went on a 9-2 run, closing out the score 25-17. The second set was dominated by Hawai’i as they swiftly won 25-16. In the third set, the Highlanders got off to a very good start, taking an early 6-3 lead. The Highlanders maintained their lead and was ahead
9-5, when Hawai’i called a timeout. The timeout proved valuable to Hawai’i as they pulled off a dominating 14-1 run, giving them a 19-10 lead and ultimately the set. The Highlanders were led by the duo of Vialpando who had 11 kills and McKoy who had a hit percentage of .583. Jane Croson of Hawai’i had 13 kills in the game, helping her team dominate UCR in what turn out to be Hawaii’s second shortest game of the season. The Highlanders fell to 5-9 overall and 0-1 in Big West, while Hawai’i improved 9-2 overall and 2-0 in Big West.
September 22, 2012 Matadors 3 Highlanders 2 The UCR women’s volleyball team faced the CSU Northridge Matadors at the SRC Arena. The game was a tight one, as it went to five sets, with the Matadors claiming victory. The first set went to the Matadors 2624. The Highlanders responded winning sets two and three. The Matadors forced a fifth set and a comeback victory, by winning the fourth set 26-24. In the first set, the Matadors looked as though they would easily win the set as they led 18-12. However, UC Riverside outscored the Matadors 9-2 in the late frame to take a 21-20 lead. With the score 24-22 in the Highlander’s favor, the Matadors won the set scoring four straight
points 26-24. In the second set, the Highlanders responded well taking a 17-10 lead. The Matadors attempted another comeback as they cut the Highlander lead to three at one point. The Highlanders held on to take set two 25-20 and tied the game. The third set was contested very tightly by both teams as they were knotted up 15 times, including the most critical point of the set where the scoreboard read 27-27 set point. The Highlanders were able to score two straight points to break the tie. Amanda Vialpando got the kill to make it 28-27 and the Highlanders went on to win the third set 29-27. The Highlanders looked to close out the game in the fourth set, however Matadors refused to go easy. The Highlanders looked as if they had the set locked up leading 23-18. However, the Matadors scored six straight points to take the lead 24-23 and eventually winning the set 26-24. In the fifth set, the Highlander went up 3-1 early, but they were unable to get an advantage on the Matadors, who cruised to a 15-10 win, to complete their comeback. The Highlanders were led by Cox who had 21 kills and Emily Borges who had an impressive 25 digs. The Highlanders fell to 5-10 overall, and 0-2 in Big West. The Highlanders will hit the road next to take on UC Davis on Sept. 28 and Pacific on ■H Sept. 29.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
CLASSIFIEDS Advertising Information
Please submit Classifed ads by calling (951) 827-5039 or by emailing HighlanderClassified@ucr.edu
Payment
Time/Part Time openings to accommodate student and staff schedules. Discounted rates
Visa and Mastercard Make checks payable to The Highlander Newspaper No refunds
for UCR students and staff.
-Classified: $2 per line; 17 characters (spaces, dashes, etc.)
Call 951/682-1202
Rates
MISC Rummage Sale at Gethsemane Lutheran Church. Canyon Crest & Blaine. Saturday, 9-29-12, 8AM - 2PM ---------------CHINESE EGG DONOR NEEDED Earn $20,000.00 plus expenses. We are seeking a Chinese female between the ages of 18-29 to help a loving couple create their family. If interested, please apply at http: //donor.eggreproductive.com or call us at (818)832-1494 Reproductive Solutions abides by all Federal and State guidelines regarding egg donation as well as all ASRM guidelines. ---------------Thursday Lunch with Bill Noon - 1 p.m. Discussion St. Andrews Newman Center 105 Big Springs Road, 92507--------------AA Information: www.inlandempireaa.org 909-825-4700 ---------------Tuesday Big Book Study Noon-1 p.m. St. Andrews Newman Center 105 Big Springs Road, 92507 ---------------CHILD CARE Preschool and Day Care Center in a school setting. Very close to UCR, next door to Oban and Plaza student apartments. Licensed by State of California since 1994; care provided by two full time certified teachers. Full
Free parking available. or 307/721-3056
HOUSING Own room in house for $550 12 month lease - all utilities included - cable, internet, laundry, alarm system included. Call 562-274-5165 --------------2700 sqf, 5 Bd 3 Ba House for rent, $2200. It is In a gated community with 24 hours security, close to UCR, community college, & elementary school, also shopping areas, hospital. Downstairs bedroom, and large living, dining, family room, breakfast nook, refrigerator, washer/dryer. Call for Maryam 949-735 -9005, or Ali 949-293-7919.
EMPLOYMENT Positions available now! The Highlander Newspaper is looking for new writers, photographers, graphic artists and assorted other positions. Join us at our meetings every Monday at 5:15 p.m. in HUB 101! No experience necessary, but skilled writers can move up into editor positions quickly!
27
28
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2012
SPORTS
HIGHLANDER
Men’s soccer gets shut out 0-2, women’s soccer splits weekend with win against Lamar
KENDALL PETERSON
KENDALL’S FASTBALL
Cross Country’s Success
B rya n T u t t l e /HIGHLANDER
Hayden Leslie charges to clear the ball out of UCR’s goal area.
K e n da l l P e t e r s o n SPORTS EDITOR
The UC Riverside men’s soccer team squared off against Cal State University, Bakersfield on Sunday, Sept. 23 for their final non-conference match of the year. UC Riverside was 7-00 for the first time in its 12 year Division I history before being shutout at home 0-2. Bakersfield owns UC Riverside on the one-on-one matchup. Riverside is now 0-5-1 against the Roadrunners and have stretched their four game losing streak to five games. Their last meeting against the Roadrunners was at CSU Bakersfield in 2011. The Highlanders went on to lose, 1-5. The Highlanders looked to finally beat their tough opponent but started off the match on rocky shores when they allowed a goal at the
K e n da l l P e t e r s o n SPORTS EDITOR
Sept. 21, 2012 Lobos 1 - Highlanders 0 The UC Riverside’s women’s soccer team (4-42) hosted its second tournament of the 2012 season last weekend. The Highlanders first faced the New Mexico Lobos (5-4-1) in a 0-1 defeat. The five shots attempted at New Mexico’s goaltender Kelli Cornell were not enough to make a dent. UCR allowed 16 total shots in the game and 10 of them came in the first period which eventually resulted in the Lobos’ only goal. The Lobos’ Rachel Montoya sunk a corner kick at the 22:51 mark. Lauren Irwin received the kick and passed it to Dylann O’Conner six yards out for an assist. UCR Coach Nathaniel Gonzalez was asked about the tough loss on Friday,
1:11 mark. CSU Bakersfield had the upper hand in the match as they controlled the game and dribbled down to Riverside’s goal quite often. At the first period UCR only had five shots and one corner kick compared to the Roadrunners’ nine shots and two corner kicks. Roadrunner Gyasi Zardes found teammate Kory Kindle for the first score of the game. Zardes at the left side centered the ball to Kindle who then scored from nine yards out. The next goal was completed when Jesus Sanchez passed to teammate Zardes who then passed it back to Sanchez for a give and go right in front of the box. Sanchez finally passed it to Kindle 10 yards out on the left side for the final goal. Head coach Junior Gonzalez was asked about the
first period of the match, “Well anytime you let a goal early in the few minutes of the match, it puts you on your heels. But the next 15 minutes I thought we played very well after the goal.” Coach Gonzalez continued, “the two things you don’t want to do is give up an early goal and a late goal. It gives us no cushion but we were dealing with a team with a strong attack and it was a good test for us going into the Big West Conference and to prepare for Santa Barbara.” The entire match was physical and fast paced. UCR had five yellow cards drawn and CSUB had two yellow cards. At one point in the game, Highlander Otis Earle was running towards a ball that was passed to him with the intent to score, but the Roadrunner goalkeep-
er Eric Shannon grabbed the ball before Earle could reach it and they smacked into each other, knocking Earle to the floor. Coach Gonzalez was asked about the physical play toward the end of the match. “That was another technical error. He was right in front of the goal. If the ball was played better Earle would have tried to finish. We’re not panicking though, we just need to make sure to prepare. But I have learned a lot and the team has learned a lot but our main focus is to win the Big West Conference,” he said. Big West Conference play begins this weekend for the Highlanders as they host #3 UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. and Cal Poly on Sunday, Sept. ■H 30 at 1 p.m.
“We did not get enough attack out of our frontrunners. Defensively we were solid. They scored on a corner kick so our concentration level during free kicks needs to improve.” Goaltender Jessica White played well with five saves in the match. UCR came out in the second period with more aggression but was still out shot 2-6 and committed seven fouls in the second period. For the Lobos, O’Conner had the best of the Highlanders as she fired four shots including the team’s only goal. Coach Gonzalez was asked about the team’s motivation going forward against their next opponent, “My team’s motivation is that if we win Sunday then Friday’s loss is behind us. Playing two games so close to each other is good for motivation as you can erase Friday’s result very quickly.”
The UC Riverside wome n ’s s o c c e r t e a m f i n i s h e d their tournament Sunday against the Lamar Cardinals. Riverside earned two goals in the first period to cruise to a 2-1 v i c t o r y. T h e H i g h l a n d e r s successfully moved forw a r d f r o m F r i d a y ’s l o s s as they played an aggressive game and improved their record to 5-4-2. UC Riverside scored at the five minute mark to take an early 1-0 lead. After a foul by Lam a r, H i g h l a n d e r S h e l l e y Brumbaugh found Andrea Luttio for an assist. Brumbaugh drove to the right corner and crossed it to Luttio right in front o f g o a l f o r L u t t i o ’s f i r s t goal of the season. The Highlanders attempted three more shots before finally scoring at the 22:59 mark. Highl a n d e r C e l i n a Va l e n c i a passed it to Amber Marani, who then chipped
it over the defense to Crystal Lopez 12 yards out for her third goal of the season. Jessica White for the Highlanders has been playing well for the team. White has only allowed 15 goals this season, with an average of 1.29 goals per game and has 54 saves on the year for a saving average of .783. Va l e n c i a i s l e a d i n g t h e squad in points, shots and shots on goal with eight, 27 and eight respectivel y. H o w e v e r, Va l e n c i a i s tied with Lopez in goals with three and tied with Marani, Kaitlin Anzalone and Brumbaugh with two assists. The Highlanders must look to attack early and try to score. This year Riverside is 0-4-1 if they do not score more than one goal. The Highlanders continue play Friday Sept. 28 against Long ■H Beach State.
Sept. 23, 2012 Highlanders 2 - Cardinals 1
Hello fellow Highlanders, the 2012-13 academic school year has finally begun. I hope everyone had a wonderful break. Our athletic teams for the fall quarter are on a solid start to their 2012 season. I want to start out my first column as an acknowledgement that our UC Riverside cross country teams are capable of success. Since the 2003 season, both men’s and women’s cross country teams have consistently made it past the Big West Conference championship. Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams opened the 2012 season Aug. 31 with a second place finish at the threemile Nevada Chase Race at San Rafael Park. What happened last year is in the past, but should not be forgotten. These athletes ought to be left with hunger for a better outcome. I believe the women’s two consecutive 2nd place finishes to start the year will play a vital part in their success from the experience it gives the team. The women’s team is filled with a group of strong and eager students that will make it back into the NCAA West Regional Championship. Damajeria DuBose, Katy Daly and Jaasmin Pina will lead their squad as the only experienced seniors. The three of them have really matured and progressed since last year. I hope they help guide the four freshmen, three sophomores and one junior to success this year. The men’s cross country runners were bounced in the NCAA West Regional Championship last year but I have faith this year. Coach Irv Ray is set for success with his young core of athletes. The experienced junior Seth Totten will lead the team as four freshmen and four sophomores follow suit. I hope everyone is anxious and excited for the 2012-13 sports year be■H cause I know I am.