FOR THE WEEK OF TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
Highlander University
Volume 62
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C a l i f o r n i a , R ive r s i d e
Issue 27
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Record turnout powers [YOUR]SIDE wave in 2014 elections
JASPERY GOH / HIGHLANDER Students hug one another, celebrating the end of the announcements for the ASUCR elections after Sai Patadia, the current ASUCR president pulls pieces of paper containing the names of next year’s elected representatives.
COLIN MARKOVICH Senior Staff Writer
A
fter a week of voting, a record-breaking 38 percent undergraduate turnout ushered the [YOUR]SIDE party into office during the 2014 ASUCR elections, with [YOUR] SIDE presidential candidate and current CHASS senator Nafi Karim besting two other presidential contenders to succeed outgoing ASUCR President Sai Patadia. Students also voted down two referendums in close votes, while endorsing the GCAP
referendum by a healthy margin. Karim will take office at the end of the academic year after receiving a plurality of 2,550 votes, or 42 percent of votes cast. His closest competitor, BCOE senator Sean Fahmian of ABC: A Better Choice, earned 2,353 votes and tallied 39 percent of the vote. Executive Vice President and Vox Populi standard-bearer Armando Saldana finished a distant third with only 19 percent of the vote, or 1,199 votes. The race was the closest of any individual contest, with a slim 197 votes separating the top two candidates. “I am humbled by the opportunity
to move UCR forward and grateful to everyone who have (sic) supported and guided us along the way,” Karim said. “While I cannot promise that all of us will agree on every decision, I do promise that every decision I make will be founded upon the genuine and sincere effort to do what is best for UC Riverside. [YOUR]SIDE also ran the table in the executive cabinet and director positions, taking all seven seats by substantial margins. No [YOUR]SIDE candidate for executive office earned less than 42 percent of the vote. The largest margin came in the battle for vice president of external affairs,
where CHASS senator Abraham Galvan dispatched opponent Breana Ross of ABC: A Better Choice 57 percent to 43 percent. Vox Populi did not field a candidate. “It’s just like hundreds of pounds have been lifted off my shoulders,” Galvan said of the campaign’s end. Galvan specifically identified increasing involvement in the UC Student Association, creating a comprehensive UC agenda and supporting voter registration efforts in advance of the 2014 midterm elections as goals he will pursue upon taking office. ► SEE ELECTIONS, PAGE 6
INSIDE: Editorial: UCR’s involvement in divestment shows students are as engaged as ever.
OPINIONS
PAGE 11
Casey Crescenzo of the Dear Hunter speaks with the Highlander about his passions, his music and Naive Thieves. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
PAGE 18
Reality gets a makeover and favorite characters come to life with UCR’s Cosplay Brigade. PAGE 26
FEATURES
SPRING SPLASH ‘14
Rap and EDM came to campus in near-perfect, sweaty harmony at this year’s Spring Splash.
A&E, PAGE 16-17
Baseball player Nick Vilter is keeping UCR on track for another Big West postseason run. PAGE 30
SPORTS
UPCOMING EVENTS STAFF
PAGE 4 PAGE 11
PLEASE RECYCLE AFTER READING
4
NEWS
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
HIGHLANDER
Medical school program aims to train and retain psychiatrists AARON GRECH Contributing Writer
A psychiatry residency program, sponsored by the UCR School of Medicine and the Riverside County Department of Mental Health, has received accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the national regulatory body in charge of overseeing graduate medical training programs across the United States. “The goal of this new residency training program is not only to train new psychiatrists, but also to recruit and retain quality graduates of the program to become a part of our psychiatric, medical sub-specialist provider workforce for the Inland Empire,” Medical Director of the Riverside County Department of Mental Health Jerry Dennis told UCR Today. The four-year program seeks to address a severe shortage of physicians facing the Inland Empire. A 2009 study from the California HealthCare Foundation reported that Riverside County, at that time, had just 40 primary care physicians per 100,000 residents — far fewer than the recommended 60 to 80 per 100,000. The same study reported that Riverside County had one psychiatrist for about every 24,438 patients. “This is below a conservative recommended level of one psychiatrist for every 10,000 (people),” furthered Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives at the UC Riverside School of Medicine Kathy Barton. The program’s fruition was the result of
ARCHIVE/ HIGHLANDER
UCR’s School of Medicine has been granted accreditation for their psychiatry residency program.
three years of planning between Riverside County and UC Riverside’s medical school. Key features of the program involve patient recovery and integrated neuroscience research in the areas of advanced technologies, such as stem cell transplants, with UCR faculty members. The program will accept its first class of four residents in July with an expected class of 16 after the four-year program goes through one full cycle. Residents will train primarily in the inpatient and outpatient facilities of Riverside County, including the psychiatry department of the Riverside County Regional Medical Center and the outpatient clinics of the Riverside County Department of Mental Health, according to UCR Today.
Photo hoto of of the the Week eek
The program was originally planned to start in July 2015. However, the UCR School of Medicine allowed candidate enrollment for 2014 as long as strict eligibility criteria were met, according to Dr. Andrius Baskys, director of the psychiatry residency program. A few criteria of the residency program include: “a candidate’s commitment to studies and practice of psychiatry, ties to the region and ability to speak Spanish,” the second mostcommonly spoken language in Riverside County. “In terms of personal qualities, we are looking for candidates who demonstrated their ability to work independently, published research papers and may even have another advanced degree,” explained Baskys.
Quotebook “A tree can’t go where a building is built.”
Upcoming Events
PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
An attendee at UCR’s annual concert, Spring Splash, was taken into custody after being subdued by a police officer.
MAY
6
Social Networking in iLearn 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. Surge 170
Tuesday Talk - Fludity 5 p.m. - 6 p.m. Costo Hall
7
Careers for BCOE Majors 12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. Bourns A265
Careers in Law Enforcement 2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. HUB 355
8
Careers for SOBA Majors 12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. HUB 269
Celtic Calligraphy 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. UCR Extension Center
9
UCR Market Day 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Bell Tower Lawn
Anh Duy Vo Nguyen, Senior Piano Recital 8 p.m. - 9 p.m. ARTS 166
Fast Sketching 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. UC Riverside Extension Center
33rd Annual Medicine Ways Conference 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. HUB
Tuesday
Vincent Ta
Funding for the program came from the California Office of Statewide Planning, which granted the UCR School of Medicine a $1.3 million contract to create new residence training spots in psychiatry with a concentration on training in the public mental health system. The grant money, awarded over a period of three years, corresponds with the planning of the program. In addition to the overall planning process, Baskys has stated that the help from the community is going to be a factor in the success of the program. “Being a neuroscientist myself, I am particularly excited about this,” said Baskys.” I believe that this community-university partnership is what distinguishes our program from other psychiatry programs.” ■H
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
10
Saturday
11
Montserrat and El Camino Donde Nosotros Lloramos 7 p.m. - 10 p.m. Fox Entertainment Plaza
Mother’s Day
12
TIPS Alcohol Education Training 1 p.m. - 3 p.m. HUB 269
Honors Convocation 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. University Theatre
Sunday
Monday
-Director of Physical Plant Ken Mueller on how construction affects tree planting on campus.
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6
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
NEWS
HIGHLANDER
► ELECTIONS FROM PAGE 1
In addition to Galvan, CHASS senator Fernando Echeverria topped his contenders to earn the position of vice president of internal affairs and CHASS senator Michael Ervin defeated two other candidates for the executive vice president position. Jessica Urquidez was elected as outreach director, Ashley Harano was elected as personnel director and Ravin Rathod was reelected to another term as marketing and promotions director. In the senate, [YOUR]SIDE coasted to a majority, claiming 11 of the 16 available senate seats. No [YOUR]SIDE candidate failed to be elected to the senate. The remaining five seats went to candidates from ABC: A Better Choice. Vox Populi was shut out of ASUCR entirely, with no candidate winning any of the seats up for election. Colette King, a [YOUR]SIDE senate candidate who earned 1,657 votes — the single highest vote total of any candidate for senate — expressed her desire to make ASUCR more accessible to students. “It is imperative to first establish an easier way for students to access to their student government,” King said. “We need to keep in mind that this is a major commuter school so we should start implementing ways in which students can address their concerns in a more convenient manner.” “A huge issue that I face — and that many other students face — is the fact that many of our required classes are offered at the exact same time,” said Jackie Jacoby, one of the five ABC: A Better Choice members elected to the senate. “I’m determined to work with administration to change these scheduling conflicts and allow CHASS students the opportunity to thrive.” Elections week also saw the results of three referendums that would utilize student fees for various campus goals. The GCAP referendum, which would continue a $2.50 fee on students
HIGHLANDER NEWSROOM
KUCR RADIO 88.3
A group of students crowd around the Bell Tower, anticipating the announcements for the winners of the ASUCR 2014 elections.
to fund sustainability internships and green projects, passed resoundingly with 66 percent of the vote. “This speaks in volumes of how important sustainability is not only to the current student body but to the future of UC Riverside,” expressed current Vice President of Internal Affairs Johnny Ta, who oversees the GCAP committee. “This referendum is a permanent referendum which will survive long after our legacy here at UC Riverside … We made history.” “GCAP was the only one I voted for,” second-year business major Tiffany Ha seconded. “I really liked the environmental aspect.” However, the two other referendums on the ballot both went down to defeat by a handful of votes. The Associated Students Fee referendum, which would have added $4.50 to student fees to help finance ASUCR projects like the Food Truck Festival and
support UCR’s participation in the United States Student Association, failed by only 65 votes. Students voted 49.5 percent in favor and 50.5 percent against the measure. The Highlander Empowerment Student Services referendum was also defeated at the ballot box, earning 48.5 percent of the vote. The measure would have distributed $14.00 in student fees evenly among UCR’s seven diversity programs, such as Chicano Student Programs and the Middle Eastern Student Center (MESC), to increase diversity programming and provide additional resources for students. CHASS senator Shadi Matar, a co-founder of the MESC, expressed disappointment that the Highlander Empowerment Student Services referendum failed, but added, “Business will continue as normal for them as well as the (MESC) … The centers are not in any danger of
closing or stopping their activities and will continue to put on great programs next year.” Student reaction was mixed to the failure of the referendum. Alicia Nyein, a fourth-year political science and public service major, said she was disappointed at the results. “I feel like (students) saw the $14.00 and freaked out,” Nyein remarked. “It would have really benefited them.” Meanwhile, biochemistry majors Briana Eason and Vanessa Varela expressed opposition to the ASUCR and Highlander Empowerment referendums, saying, “It didn’t really seem like they were using the money. (They) were kind of pointless.” The results came amid recordshattering voter turnout, with 6,557 students voting this year, which is more than 1,000 more than the previous 2010 record of 5,486. The turnout rate, 38 percent, was also greater than any
JASPERY GOH / HIGHLANDER
previous ASUCR election — the next-closest record was set at 32 percent in 2011. However, the competitiveness may have come at the cost of campaign civility, which included the alleged tearing down of campaign posters. “This campaign was brutal from start to finish,” Jacoby said. “The negative campaigning that swept through the campus was unreal.” Fahmian said the elections results were more about voter turnout than ideas. “I feel like it was a little upsetting at times because it came down to how many people you can give a flyer to and kind of force to vote rather than having a conversation with them and educating them on who you are and what you represent,” Fahmian said. “It felt like elections was more about the voter turnout rather than… getting to know what each party was really about.” ■H
Corrections and Clarifications The Highlander is issuing an apology and correction for the news article entitled, “Seven candidates disqualified days before elections” in issue 26. The Highlander would like to issue a public apology to ASUCR Executive Director Laurie Sinclair for publishing private and personal information about her medical leave. This disclosure was not a matter of legitimate public concern. The Highlander also incorrectly named Jessica Moncayo as one of the senators who stormed out of the senate chambers during a special ASUCR meeting on April 21.
WEDNESDAYS @ 9AM
NEWS
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
7
Senators address grievances from disqualified elections candidates SANDY VAN Senior Staff Writer
Members of ASUCR issued apologies during last week’s senate meeting, with some expressing regret for giving late notifications to seven candidates who were found to be ineligible to run in the 201415 elections. “On behalf of the elections committee, I apologize to all the candidates who were disqualified on such short notice,” said Senator Niela Darmani. “Regardless, we did put (the disqualification decision) to vote (and) the senate did vote to not allow it to pass.” A special senate meeting was held on April 21, where a few disqualified candidates attempted to appeal a previous judicial branch decision, ruling that candidates were ineligible to run. Some candidates cited poor grades as the reason behind their disqualification. Senators voted to support the judicial branch ruling, but Outreach Director Mina Kato attempted to reconsider the vote, which President Sai Patadia believed to be “illegitimate.” The meeting was effectively halted after Patadia encouraged members of the senate to leave the senate chambers to prevent Kato’s motion from going through. Disqualified candidate Arturo Gomez described the April 21 senate meeting to reconsider the disqualifications a “farce,” stating that members of senate behaved in an “unprofessional” manner by leaving during the middle of the meeting. “When there’s a civil discussion, you don’t shout at people and tell them to get up and leave. You were elected to be professionals (and) you were elected to do your jobs,” Gomez said. Kato explained that the motion was made after hearing different interpretations of the constitution and the motion was not out of malintent toward the senate. “I felt like I could make a motion with additional information and multiple views on the constitution,” said Kato. Abstaining from the special vote to reconsider, Senator Jessica Moncayo referred to Robert’s Rules of Order — a constitutional framework for holding student government meetings — which stated that members of the senate are allowed to reconsider a vote as long as it is a “hasty action” to correct any votes believed to be erroneous. Despite the roundtable apologies initially given, President Sai Patadia said he could not apologize for the overall disqualification process. “I do not apologize for standing up for what I thought was going to be an illegitimate vote, but I do apologize for the procedure and how you were notified late,” he said. “I think it’s
important that every association acknowledges where it should improve.” On the other hand, Senator Abraham Galvan held fast to the belief that members of the senate who walked out of the special meeting could have made other choices instead. “You might’ve disagreed with (the decision to reconsider), you might’ve thought it was wrong, but you could’ve voted against it, you could’ve abstained from it, you could’ve submitted a case to the judicial branch if you thought it was inappropriate,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that you could’ve done besides encouraging people to get up and leave the meeting when there were still people in the galley ready to talk to us.” After a long discussion, Moncayo later encouraged Gomez to be proactive about any cases of perceived misconduct or alleged unfairness in the future senate.
An omnipresent silence fell upon the senate chambers toward the end of the meeting as senators took a moment to recognize the following historical events: the Fall of Saigon (1975), the Armenian Genocide (1915-1923), and the Holocaust (1933-45). The Fall of Saigon marked the end of the Vietnam War and the start of a transition period leading to the formal reunification of Vietnam into a Socialist Republic governed by the Communist Party. Another historical event that was brought up was the Armenian Genocide, which the senate previously declared a day of remembrance for on April 24. The occurrence is seen by many as the Ottoman Empire’s systematic extermination of the Armenian people during and after World War I. The Holocaust was the genocide of approximately six million Jews by Nazi Germany ■H during World War II.
VINCENT TA / HIGHLANDER Mohammed Hussein was among the seven candidates who found out about their disqualifications days before the ASUCR elections began.
8
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
NEWS
UCR plans to plant about 400 trees to help reduce the carbon footprint that Riverside is commonly known for.
HIGHLANDER
VINCENT TA / HIGHLANDER
Tree plantings to help reduce UC Riverside’s carbon footprint SANDY VAN Senior Staff Writer SOM CHATURVEDI Contributing Writer
About 400 trees are being planted throughout UC Riverside with the help of a grant provided by the Green Trees for the Golden State Grant Program, a statewide initiative to support sustainable urban and community forests in California. The two-year-long project seeks to reduce the university’s carbon footprint in the midst of ongoing campus construction and expansion. “We want to get as many trees as possible planted in the next year,” said Assistant Director of Landscape and Refuse Service at UCR‘s Physical Plant department Toshio Ishida. “It is impossible to have a 100 (percent) survival rate, but we want to stay as close as we can. We want to try to enhance the urban forest of the campus and provide a pleasant, safe environment.” The grant will allow the university to receive up to $60,000 per tree planting and the total funds will be spent on new tree plantings, irrigation maintenance and associated labor costs.
Ishida furthered that the grant money has ushered through additional campus improvements, as seen at UCR’s Picnic Hill, a grassy destination located east of the School of Medicine Research Building initially damaged due to outdated irrigation and insect infestation. The grant has already allowed the planting of its first 33 trees at Picnic Hill. In addition, several dozen new trees were also planted along Linden Street, adjacent to the track field; and at the corner of Blaine Street and Watkins Drive, adjacent to the Child Development Center. The location of the tree plantings, according to Ishida, will be based on the loss of similar types of trees or where trees can aesthetically add to the existing campus landscape. “We’ve documented a loss of several hundred trees over (many) years … and most of that was from (campus) expansion,” said UCR Director of Physical Plant Ken Mueller. “Construction’s going to happen because the campus is growing (and) there’s still a need for academic facilities.” Partly as a result of the tree loss, the university is taking steps to incorporate the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification into the construction of all new buildings to make the university’s impact on the environment “as minimal as possible,” according to Mueller. LEED, managed by the private nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council, is a nationally accepted rating system for the overall design, construction and maintenance of green buildings with the goals of enhancing environmental awareness. In 2012, the School of Medicine Research Building was recognized as the university’s first LEEDcertified building. Mueller adds that the grant will also assist the university in reaching a
systemwide goal of carbon neutrality by 2025. Planting trees on campus is one way to offset the carbon footprint of a building, according to the physical plant director. In addition, Ishida pointed out that, “Unlike a lot of other campuses, we have a fair amount of open land yet to be developed.” He explained that it would be beneficial to add trees to the developing areas so that the trees would mature by the time these areas are ready for campus integration. Willow, pine, jacaranda, magnolia and live oak are among more than 20 different species of trees that are going to be planted, which Ishida notes are “approved as ones that will thrive in our area and grow to 30plus feet in maturity.” Especially with different types of tree species, Ishida says that new plantings are more delicate and require more attention than mature plantings. “Trees are living things,” Ishida said. “They die due to disease, pest infestation, windstorms and other factors. We want to help revitalize the area where that has happened.” Mueller identifies coordination as one of the greatest challenges for initiating the project. “Over the next several months, we’ll be p u t t i n g together projects, seeking student help and getting these trees planted,” he said. “It’s very labor intensive to plant a tree.” The Physical Plant department will be seeking collaboration with Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS), Capital Programs and volunteers from the UCR community.
Some students, such as Jesus Pompa, are supportive of this increase in “green” across campus. The first-year mathematics major explained that the trees “make the air quality a lot cleaner” and adding extra shade in Riverside’s desert climate will be beneficial. However, Tedrick Mangasarian, a first-year neuroscience major, disagreed with the idea of adding more trees to campus, saying, “I really don’t like it. I mean, as you can see, we already have enough trees around the campus.” Mangasarian was also concerned that the tree planting might decrease space for additional campus activities in an already compact university. The Green Trees for the Golden State Grant Program is part of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), a California agency dedicated to protecting the 31 million acres of privately owned wildlands all ■H around the state.
. OPINIONS . OPINIONS
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
11
HIGHLANDER HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL EDITORIAL
DIVESTMENT PUTS STUDENT PARTICIPATION ON FULL DISPLAY
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B
y now, every student has heard the critiques before. We’re lazy. We’re entitled. We don’t want to take our eyes off our Facebooks or our butts off our couches. Yeah, we know. UCR students have shattered that misconception. The last few weeks have been a frenzy of activity. Most notably, ASUCR held its annual elections, during which students posted record turnout numbers. More than 50 candidates for elected office in our student government shed blood, sweat and tears for more than two months to make the cut. Students matched that enthusiasm, turning out in record numbers to engage in the democratic process. This year, 38 percent of students voted in the ASUCR elections, nearly matching the 41 percent turnout rate of voters during the 2010 midterm elections. We were just as involved in electing our student leaders as the entire United States was in electing its governors and senators. This comes at the tail end of a year’s worth of protests. First we protested Janet Napolitano’s ascension to the presidency of the UC. Then we joined AFSCME strikers demanding better wages and working conditions in a strike that virtually shut down the UCR campus. After enacting a housing resolution that many considered discriminatory to students, we hit the streets and took the battle to the city of Riverside’s front door. We have been engaged in the world around us, making our voices heard by engaging in electoral politics and protesting when the political system didn’t listen. Nowhere was this more evident than during ASUCR’s recent meeting that discussed divestment. The senate chambers could not accommodate the turnout, so the meeting was moved to UNLH, UCR’s largest lecture hall. Over 150 students spent five hours during a week filled
JASON LIN / HIGHLANDER
with studying and midterms to debate the merits of divestment. Students held posters high. Students made their case to their elected representatives. In short, students did exactly what participatory democracy expects of its citizens: We participated. Setting aside the merits of divestment as a whole, it’s important that so many people were involved in the conversation about divestment in the first place. People both for and against the resolution strode down the aisles to speak their minds and engage in the debate democracy is designed to foster. People exchanged and debated ideas, and though the vote was held by secret ballot, senators could not avoid hearing from their constituents. They listened. This is how democracy is supposed to work, and UCR students made use of the democratic process to achieve their goals. Participation, after all, is the difference between a society where elites listen only to other elites and a society where elites listen to the people; the difference between democracy and an oligarchy. During the divestment debates, UCR students showed that participation works, using democracy the way it was meant to be used. It’s great that students are enthusiastic and engaged in politics. However, we may want to consider what the results are of the actions we place so much effort in. UCR has no obligation to respond to the resolution. The vote certainly is symbolic, and it does place some pressure on the administration to take action, but for the time being it seems like it will have little if any practical impact. This isn’t to say that it hasn’t been useless. Authorities can no longer complain that students have been too busy waving signs and haven’t used the political process to make their voices heard — we have done so. We are contributing to the discussion in
our own way. And yet, other issues affecting students have sometimes gone unnoticed. Imagine the same amount of students turning out to support lowering tuition. The people who showed up to the meeting are close to the issue of divestment, but the mountain of student debt anchored to our feet is just as close, if not closer. Just as an active, energetic core of students took action on an issue important to them, other students can show up en masse to support a decrease in tuition. Or to advocate for more state funding for the UC. Or to support affirmative action. Or to oppose affirmative action — whatever causes students feel are important. Let’s not let the energy surrounding divestment be a once-in-a-bluemoon occurrence. The momentum of dialogue and conversation cannot cease with divestment. It must continue forward, with students carrying the banner to advocate for the issues they find important. Students can effect real change. We just have to be tenacious and energetic enough to seek it in the first place. It’s all too easy to fall back and be complacent. But students must not rest on their laurels, however hardearned they may be. There is always another battle to fight, and we must be prepared for those battles. Choosing to kick back and relax is an abdication of responsibility to ourselves and society. Now, it’s up to the rest of us to take that hypothesis and turn it into a law of nature. Let’s champion our causes and oppose injustices. Change is possible. But not if we don’t get up H off the couch every once in a while. ■ Highlander editorials reflect the majority view of the Highlander Editorial Board. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Associated Students of UCR or the University of California system.
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12
OPINIONS
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
HIGHLANDER
Opinion Poll What are you most looking forward to at Spring Splash?
C ompiled
by
J ames F ierro
Tra Westbrooks Philosophy Second-year
Martina Rios Anthropology Second-year
Ariel Salazar Sociology First-year
Raz Kaur Psychology First-year
Amanda Huitrado Pre-Business First-year
Aldrich Dalmacio Biology First-year
“Music-wise, T-Pain because I like his music a little more than Ludacris’. Ludacris definitely has it all together for me, which is what I like to see.”
“I’m excited to see Ludacris because I grew up listening to his music. It will be nice to see him.
“Having Heat getting cancelled, I’m most excited to see Juicy J.”
“I’m excited to hang out with friends, listen to music and just chill.”
“I’m excited to listen to Juicy J, Ludacris and maybe some old-school T-Pain.”
“I’m excited for the food. I’m basically going to be eating and drinking (water).”
The plight of nontraditional students in the Inland Empire SARAH DOYLE Contributing Writer
I am a third-year transfer student who began my path to a university education at a community college. I know the importance of having access to higher education, and how reflective that accessibility can be to the community’s local economy. I began to construct the face of a hidden, but immensely prevalent demographic of college students who are rarely acknowledged: nontraditional students. A nontraditional student is someone who is generally 24 years or older, identifies as a student parent, or works partto full-time. Generally speaking, they are students who have faced barriers in accessing higher education due to their race, ethnicity, religion, class, physical or mental disability. Due to systemic obstacles, these intersections of identity end up inhibiting individuals and systemically shutting out communities by making it harder to enter and be successful in the academic arches of higher education. Only one in five community college students transfer to four-year institutions. In spite of this, 65 percent of transfer students who enter a public four-year institution gain a bachelor’s degree. In a recent report, an Oakland nonprofit concluded that out of the nine regions that make up California, the Inland Empire was the region that was the most in need of expanding its accessibility in offering more seats in
community colleges. The report concluded that Riverside and San Bernardino counties should receive enough funding to get about 15,000 more students at local community colleges. Coinciding with the release of the report, Gov. Jerry Brown has put forward a plan to invest $155 million more in community colleges in California. This would be equivalent to 40,000 more full-time students at community colleges in the golden state. Having community colleges accessible to nontraditional students, a demographic underrepresented and underserved is not only important, but imperative for California’s economy, commerce, politics and overall sustainability. The presence of community colleges not only provides opportunity for potential students, but these infrastructures become a location of convergence for the public, citizens, business and community partners. In turn, an investment to ensure residents have access to community college is an investment to the larger community. It’s an investment toward the ever-elusive future. The fact the California government is trying to address the barriers of higher education to nontraditional students by providing more funding for students to attend is news worth celebrating. Our government actively trying to address barriers to higher education by creating more opportunity to do so is an important initiative, but I am afraid it’s not enough.
Courtesy of Riverside Community College Having colleges available for many California citizens is the first step toward the state’s economic rebound.
This can be meaningless investment if our government doesn’t find ways to address the larger systemic issues of disenfranchised communities that lead to the lack of accessibility of education. Local and state governments first need to address endemic poverty. In a 2013 U.S. Census Bureau report, the golden state was found to have the highest rate of poverty in the nation with 23.8 percent. This grave image is one not so far from where UCR is situated. What becomes more startling as you look at the data from the report is that Riverside Country specifically has 76 percent of adults with no degree, a 14 percent poverty rate and a 12.7 percent unemployment rate. Riverside County represents a similar landscape to the rest of the Inland Empire. As a whole, the Inland Empire has about 2.2 million residents without a degree, which is about 75 percent of the population. The poverty
rate is likewise about 15 percent, which aligns with the national average. In the bubble of UCR it feels surreal to read these statistics of the communities that surround this academic institution. The Inland Empire is a financially desolate area that needs to invest in the future of all its citizens, and needs the proper resources to do so. The plan Gov. Brown has set forward to provide 15,000 more full-time seats at local community colleges is an important step. Our actions should not just be limited to ourselves — we need to look to the broader community and work toward addressing the poverty Riverside and the larger Inland Empire face. Resources like connect community can link people to various local community outreach programs to volunteer. The need to invest in nontraditional students, and more importantly, invest in larger public entities like public
K-12 schools, access to health services, job placement and other public services is investing in the future students of UCR, is what will help communities the most. We are part of the problem, but more optimistically we are also part of the solution. I know as college students, we ourselves are struggling with purchasing basic necessities, and many students work multiple jobs to support themselves. This is compounded by the fact there are few resources for transfer students on campus to be successfully integrated students. This gap for both traditional and nontraditional students is widely apparent. The time is now to address them. Let’s work toward being more active with the students who do end up representing us in voicing our concerns for transfer student services, supporting initiatives that support the students and the wider ■H campus.
OPINIONS
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
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And then they came for the Baha’is ... NADEIM FAREID Contributing Writer
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Domaine Javier’s expulsion proves to show that CBU’s social norms are quickly evolving.
CBU discrimination against transgender student JENY ORTEZ Contributing Writer
Being expelled from a university is serious business. Students can get expelled for academic dishonesty or failure to uphold a GPA above a 1.5. Under such circumstances, expulsion is a rational consequence to a student’s behavior. But what about being expelled for expressing your self-identity? This is the same question former California Baptist University student Domaine Javier found herself facing in 2011. Javier has filed a lawsuit claiming that CBU expelled her due to her gender identity. Javier was expelled from Cal Baptist University in August 2011 when she revealed her biological sex in an episode of MTV’s “True Life.” For its part, CBU and its attorney James McDonald justify this act of discrimination by arguing that her expulsion was due to her dishonestly identifying her sex as female in the admission application. Javier’s failure to identify her gender according to social norms has resulted in her unfair expulsion from Cal Baptist. A student’s selfidentity should not be a reason for being expelled from or denied admission to any university, even if it is a religious institution. Cal Baptist demonstrates its poor judgment if the school made this decision on the basis of a religious belief. A transgender person does not necessarily have to stop being religious, and a person can practice the religion of their choice regardless of how they identify themselves. In fact, people who struggle with the confu-
sion of gender identity seek hope and acceptance. John W. Kennedy of Christianity Today writes that many “religious groups are rallying around the transgender movement in the name of social justice.” Some religious groups have started to accept diverse gender identities. They acknowledge that faith comes from within a person and has nothing to do with their appearance. Generations are changing; social norms are not the same as they were a few decades ago. Some traditional practices like slavery and denying certain people the right to vote are no longer applicable in today’s modern society. More people have become open-minded and have learned to accept this different reality. Some religious institutions may have a harder time, but denying a student the right to gain a higher education because they do not identify themselves according to social norms is not the right step toward learning to accept transgender students. McDonald’s defending argument for Cal Baptist claims that Javier was expelled due to fraud by identifying herself as female rather than male. But Javier explains that she has viewed herself as a female ever “since I was a little girl.” A person’s gender does not change their talents, experience or other qualifications that grant them admission to a university. Javier was accepted because CBU believed she would be able to perform and produce quality work at the university — and this is true no matter which box she checked the on the application.
Not only does Cal Baptist’s decision to expel Javier demonstrate poor judgment, but it is also illegal. Section 51 of California’s civil code, also known as the Unruh Civil Rights Act, grants everyone in the state of California freedom and equality — everyone, “no matter what their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, or sexual orientation.” Among the guarantees are that all people “are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever.” Because a university provides education and other services for students who pay large sums of money, it can be considered a business. Therefore, under this law, Cal Baptist should not have been able to expel Javier when she openly discussed her status as a transgender student. The courage it takes to be able to openly and confidently be oneself should be applauded since it is challenging for people to defy social norms. Javier’s lawsuit shows her determinedness in changing the way social norms discriminate against those who do not fall within the lines of those norms. This lawsuit serves as awareness to the diverse state that we live in. No two people are exactly the same even if they believe in the same religious values. If this lawsuit turns in favor of Javier, it would result in a big step toward the acceptance of the LGBT community. This acceptance can lead to future laws grant■H ing them equality.
Martin Niemoller, esteemed Lutheran pastor and valiant critic of Nazi German oppression, was made popular through his post-World War II statement, “First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.” Niemoller’s statement came after the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis’ rise to power and the subsequent purging of their chosen targets, group after group. Although the modern persecution of Jews and Christians has seen a considerable decline, a new target has appeared — the Baha’is. The Islamic Republic of Iran’s 35year reign has hurt many religious and political groups in Iran. However, one community has tolerated an especially heavier burden than any other: the Baha’is, Iran’s largest religious minority, who have been persecuted for nearly two centuries, and are viewed as heretics by most Iranian leaders. More recently, in June 2010, after having already been imprisoned for nearly two years in Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, seven Baha’i leaders known as the “Yaran-i-Iran” or “Friends in Iran” were condemned to 20 years’ incarceration on grossly unsubstantiated charges, including “espionage for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic.” This persecution is patently ridiculous. And, in part, it is an insidious pattern of maltreatment attributed to hundreds of other Baha’i prisoners, who have simply followed their faith — one which claims that humanity is one single race and that the day has come for its unification in a single global society. Beyond the absence of the right to congregate as a collective community, Baha’is are also denied such basic liberties as the right to education and employment, a privilege retracted to any who claim association with the faith. The Iranian regime’s authorities have sought to cease Baha’i efforts to establish their own educational initiatives, including the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education, and as recently as last week, further sought to destroy a Baha’i cemetery in the city of Shiraz. Such actions on the part of the Iranian government are, without doubt, part of a scheme of coordinated efforts to eradicate the Baha’i community as a viable and productive group within Iranian society. During his campaign and throughout his presidency, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has vowed to produce a “civil rights charter,” which prominent Iranian-American author
and UCR professor Reza Aslan asserts is a unique opportunity to improve the rights of Iranian Baha’is and other minority groups. Aslan writes that the condition of the Baha’is in Iran “will be the most powerful test of how genuinely committed (President Rouhani) is to expanding human rights and social openness in Iran.” Herein lies the opportunity for our Congress and nation to take the much-needed stance against the issue, and apply whatever pressures necessary to guarantee the rights of Iran’s Baha’is. Presently, Congress must rise against this injustice, and to ensure that these crimes against humanity are no longer repeated. Currently, efforts are underway to increase the number of cosponsors of U.S. House Resolution 109, which condemns the “state-sponsored persecution” of Iran’s Baha’is, and also calls for the release of all prisoners of conscience in the nation who are held purely because of their religious beliefs. Yet despite this, at the time of writing, our district’s representative, Mark Takano, has chosen not to cosponsor the resolution. Meanwhile, the Iranian Baha’is are denied their constitutional rights under nearly a dozen articles of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, not to mention basic human liberties promised in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights enacted by the United Nations — to which Iran is a signatory. This injustice must be protested, for if not, nothing separates our lack of voice from those who likewise remained idle in the past. If you wish to support the initiative, the most effective path is to telephone Takano’s Washington office on May 14, the anniversary of the imprisonment of the Yaran-i-Iran, and request his support in cosponsoring the resolution. If after so many years without any actual dignified action, mere words suffice as action, then all of us, starting with myself, must close any claim to our humanity. If we cannot and do not go beyond only expressions of well wishes; and if in the 21st century we ultimately cannot effect real action, then no man, anywhere, can ever truly be guaranteed any right. If these people are left to accept their fates in this manner, we here must claim defeat. If these individuals who merely hope to claim the highest expressions of fellowship are abandoned due to our complacency, then we regrettably validate the notion that suggests that equal are the acts of commission and the acts of omission — and equal are we to the perpetrators of these heinous acts. Perchance we may seek action and results, rather than suffice only with these words, to once and for all end this ages-long tragic suffering of the persecuted Baha’i friends in Iran, and prisoners of conscience everywhere. Let’s act now. ■H
Congress must rise against this injustice, and to ensure that these crimes against humanity are no longer repeated.
The opinions expressed in the Opinions section belong solely to their authors and do not represent the Highlander Editorial Board or the University of California, Riverside.
@highlanderradar
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
R adar ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Events this week Wednesday | 5/7
Artquake! @ The Bell Tower, 5 p.m.
Wednesday | 5/7
Laverne Cox - “Ain’t I a Woman: My Journey Into Womanhood” @ The University Theatre, 7 p.m.
Wednesday | 5/7
Step Brothers feat. Evidence & Alchemist @ The Barn, 8 p.m.
Thursday | 5/8
CHASS Annual Theme Film Series: Turning Poison Into Medicine @ INTS 1128, 6 p.m.
T-Pain fires up the crowd as the second performer at UCR’s Spring Splash 2014.
VINCENT TA / HIGHLANDER
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HIGHLANDER
REVELING IN T HE SPLASH By Rebecca Paredes, Jake Rich, Senior Staff Writers & Nathan Swift, Jameson Adame, Staff Writers Photos by Vincent Ta & Cameron Yong
From electric harmonies to false promises, ASPB’s Spring Splash brought a strong lineup of electronica and rap to a crowd that spanned the entirety of the HUB lawn. The timing of Spring Splash is impeccable. It hits campus right in the middle of midterm season, at a time of ends and new beginnings — when the end of the academic year is on the horizon, and the beginning of our last half of spring quarter sits within reach. It’s only fitting, then, that this year’s Spring Splash brought a lineup of artists that appealed to our campus’ deepest need to sway our hips, wear flower crowns, chug free Rockstar energy drinks and beat our feet against the grass within heavy clouds of ganja. We needed Spring Splash, and on most accounts, it delivered. Here’s what we saw.
A cool beginning to springtime heat with Tokimonsta Last year, the entrance to Spring Splash featured tall, wavy art displays that immediately greeted festival-goers. This year, in part due to the relocation of the main stage to the lawn facing Watkins Hall, the first (and one of the few) art installations guests saw was a series of metallic, capital letters that read “LOVE.” And in many ways, the starkness of this display — the grunge of the metal, the simplicity of its message, its location in the middle of the grass — resonated with the way LA-based DJ Tokimonsta approached her set. As the first performer of the day, her crowd was initially sparse and unmoved, watching under the heat of the afternoon sun as she dealt with technical difficulties. But we wouldn’t have noticed those difficulties without Tokimonsta’s humble apology — instead, her opening song, “The Center,” thumped through the stage’s speakers and the DJ bobbed her head unfazed. She brought an intense and genuine focus to her performance, throwing her hands in the air as beats swelled and dropped and the crowd steadily grew, pulled from the shade along the trees and into Tokimonsta’s realm. At one point, right as the screens behind her burst into a psychedelic rainbow, she said, “Riverside, make
some fucking noise” — and we responded. One guest — a brave soul wearing nothing but a Speedo — lifted his arms and whooped, drawstring backpack bouncing against his bare back, and the energy in the crowd was as palpable as it was subdued. Tokimonsta’s beats are mellow, building to a crescendo and releasing, something totally unlike the artists that followed her — and yet, the vibe felt totally her own, wherein a nearly naked Speedo-wearing somebody could feel as comfortable next to a group of swaying students. Despite its initial lag, Tokimonsta’s set stood in total opposition to the grinding and twerking of later sets — but her presence, and her genuineness, felt just as memorable as the art display next to the stage. One only wishes her set could have been at night — the colors and beats felt more appropriate for a chill nighttime spectacle than a sweaty, fist-pumping 2:45 p.m. set in the blazing Riverside heat. In a way, however, the juxtaposition made the set all that more unique, and the positive vibes that radiated from her obvious enjoyment of her craft set Spring Splash off on the right track.
All T-Pain does is win
We felt chill after Tokimonsta left the stage — so chill, in fact, that we wandered over to the food trucks and purchased po’ boys and lobster rolls. We ate as we walked, meandering back to the stage — only to see people, hordes of people, filling Watkins lawn and spilling out into the Bell Tower plaza. It was a compendium of free-willed chaos. The air smelled like the weed stash in a freshman dorm’s sock drawer. We looked toward the stage as T-Pain, joined by Vantrease, thrusted toward the crowd in a way that could be called passionate. It was hot, and the sun was unforgiving as our shirts clung to our backs, but we realized: Everything was T-Pain, and nothing hurt. T-Pain, decked in tropical board shorts and a gray T-shirt that betrayed his sweat, asked the crowd to excuse his outfit because “It’s a little form fitting.” He turned. He struck a pose. His gut protruded unashamedly. He asked if we wanted Juicy J, and after we agreed, he said, “Too bad, you gotta sit through my fat ass for another few minutes.” He laughed, and we laughed, because T-Pain’s set did
not focus on anything overly serious; while the rapper showcased his vocals during a slow ballad, the emphasis of his performance was on genuine enjoyment — and it showed. He cycled through a series of top-40 covers, including an autotuned, altered-lyrics version of Lorde’s “Royals,” and the crowd sang along just as loud as the speakers facing us. He shuffled, and turned down and walked it out, and we moved with him. Even though T-Pain spent more time with the songs he had been featured in, we didn’t care — we were sweaty and jumping, hands in the air, screaming in agreement as T-Pain announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, my motherfucking name is T-Pain!” halfway through his set. By the time he closed his set with — what else? — “I’m On A Boat,” spitting into his mic about mermaids and Poseidon, everything felt right in the world. That might have been a side effect of the contact high, but regardless, T-Pain and his crew’s fun was obvious, and the energy lingered among the crowd long after he left the stage.
Spring Splash 2014 was just what UCR students needed to relieve their midterm stress. Tokimonsta, T-Pain, Juicy J and Ludacris pumped up the crowd and made us all forget about the sweltering heat.
Juicy J fails to bring it back to 2006 “Who wants to get on stage and smoke weed with Juicy J?” Though he never allowed anybody in the audience to complete this offer, Juicy J had an oddly commanding stage presence, especially considering his lackluster performance. Members of the crowd went virtually insane with every one of his prompts, and even though he only asked for it in jest, everybody earnestly wanted to get high with him. When he asked for girls to come on stage and twerk, men and women alike from the crowd lost their minds trying to get Juicy J’s attention. This popular support is what made the musical set so entirely baffling. Rather than perform songs for the audience, he seemed more concerned with giving us soundbites and playing 30-second to minute-long segments of his music. What really killed it were the consistent mentions of Wiz Khalifa. It was tragic that in a performance where the artist seemed as though he couldn’t care less, he could have the gall to mention another rapper to drive that disappointment home. Juicy J proved himself to be a king who sits upon a throne of lies. Repeatedly he told the audience, “I love to give back to my fans,” offering up his gold chains, his shoes and promising a twerking contest, only to renege on the offers, trying to make us forget with more sound bites and throwbacks to that one time he won an Academy Award in ‘06. Jok-
ing aside, this performance was egregiously lacking in content. Little to nothing of what we were given was a live performance, delivering what was closer to an occasional onstage sing-along with the songs’ original recording artist. Even the songs from his former group Three 6 Mafia failed, as instead of rapping through them, Juicy J just let them play through, bobbing, dancing and periodically grabbing a drink of water. From an artist with such a successful career and who claims to love his fans so much, Juicy J phoned in his performance, commanding the audience with an ease and charm widely disproportionate to the amount of effort he appeared to be putting forth. The crowd, for its part, took his nonchalance with a level of enthusiasm that was far from deserving. Despite a last-minute selfie-taking session with audience members (except those with Android phones), by the time Juicy J got to one of his last songs, “Bouncy House,” the crowd — which thumped up and down for him not so long ago — only had a couple of mediocre hops left. Repeating the same lines about how much he loved weed and wanted to smoke it with us, and how well-endowed certain UCR students were, was funny and over-the-top until he couldn’t think of anything else to say. Juicy J, by the end of his time, certainly left us looking for a more fulfilling performance.
Ludacris shows UCR some Southern hospitality Ludacris was clearly the show-stealer. It’s a good thing that ASPB saved the best for last. After shouting and dancing to the previous three performers in the tyrannical heat, one would assume that the crowd was finished, devoid of energy. But no — Ludacris’ appearance had this strange effect of re-energizing everybody. His stage presence stole the show, as he gave out several hilarious lines that are unfortunately unprintable. His command of the crowd was also unmatched — he got entire sections of the crowd to flip each other off. One of the coolest things about his set was the live band that backed him up. The other performers had a couple of guys helping with the backup vocals here and there, or setting up the beats for different songs or getting all the music together on the track list. But as the show-stealer, Ludacris was the only guy with a live backup crew. He had a guy on the guitar, a bassist, a tenor saxophone player and a drummer. Each person in the supporting band did a great job contributing to the live aspect of Ludacris’ performance. At least one of the other hip-hop stars at Spring Splash
used a little bit of autotune, but not Ludacris — he’s too good for that, and of course demolished the need for autotune with a live band. Ludacris even allowed his drummer to solo for a few minutes, and since when does a festival starring three hip-hop stars and an EDM musician feature a drum solo? The one unfortunate thing about Ludacris’ performance was that he fell into the same trap as T-Pain and Juicy J by only choosing to play around 30 seconds to a minute or so of popular top-40 hits. What made this so disheartening was that the hits Ludacris chose were some of the best and most popular songs recorded in hip-hop history, such as Dr. Dre’s “Nuthin’ but a G Thang” and Flo Rida’s “Low.” Ludacris took his catalog way back, which was one of the central aspects of his performance — and the crowd just loved it. Aside from the 30-60-second songs, as well as repeatedly telling the crowd how high he was and wanted to get, Ludacris was the icing on the cake for Spring Splash. For a 36-year-old rapper with a plateaued career, he managed to kick ass.
Whether it was the unashamed revelry T-Pain showed on stage, the momentarily thrilling glee of whizzing through the cool afternoon air as the sun set on the scat ride, Ludacris’ constant mention of how many hits he had, or any one of the delicious indulgences that were made available to Highlanders, Spring Splash 2014 left us oddly satisfied. The grandiosity of years past was traded for a more intimate feeling — even the new location of the stage near the Bell Tower brought the crowd to a more condensed and together state. The festival made its mark as a way to signal the beginning of the end of the year, as plans for a wonderful summer plant their seeds in the spring, graduation looms and time is short. But for five hours on a Saturday in May, the moment felt like it could last forever. ■H
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Thieves and Hunters at the Barn By Kelly Duarte, Contributing Writer Photos by Janine Ybanez With the lights dimmed and the crowd murmuring to each other as a pre-show DJ played the Cure, I had no idea what music was in store for me. But the crowd was a different story, with many talking amongst themselves about both the opener Naive Thieves and headliner Casey Crescenzo. In an earlier interview, Crescenzo discussed how he was working closely with Naive Thieves. “We just put out a record on my imprint label for them that I produced and engineered and mixed,” he said, “and so I’m going to be doing a lot of work with them, to try and build the band.” True to his word, the crowd was absolutely electric with the buzz of anticipation as Naive Thieves made their way to the stage. The four-piece band appeared amid shouts and screams and quickly began their set. With their clash of drums and the fast strum of their guitar, the band exploded onto the stage with enthusiasm and energy. It’s easy to get an Arctic Monkeys and Devendra Banhart feel from the band, and the lead singer, Cameron Thorne, is a dead-ringer for Julian Casablancas on vocals. A perfect mix of slow songs and fast, upbeat rock, the band played songs from their new album “Vamonos,” which had just been released the very same day. “We’re playing a new set, so the transitions are going to be awkward,” Thorne said amid laughter. In between changing the tuning on their guitars, the band was able to keep us all chuckling with their joking attitude toward each other. As a couple of girls said, “We love you Cameron!” without missing a beat he replied, “What about the rest of the band?” The crowd was all smiles as they swayed and bobbed to the music, and with a final crash, Naive Thieves finished their set and left the audience craving more — and anxiously awaiting the next act. The crowd screamed as the main act, Crescenzo, stepped out armed with his guitar and smile. The contrast between Crescenzo and Naive Thieves was clear as soon as he began to pluck the opening notes to his first song. The atmosphere was quiet, with a much more intimate feel, as though only you and the music filled an empty room. That is exactly the feeling that Crescenzo hoped to instill in his audience. “It’s a different sort of experience for me to play a solo show because it’s much
Left to right: Casey Crescenzo performs a moving acoustic piece; lead guitarist of the Naive Thieves energizes the crowd during the opening song of their act; lead singer of the Naive Thieves performs a song off of the band’s new record.
more intimate,” he said during the interview, “and I can talk to the audience without bothering my band, so I like the intimacy of that.” And in this, he succeeded. Crescenzo made small talk with the audience between songs, tuning his guitar and responding positively to the crowd. In turn, the crowd reciprocated the same attitude, singing along to the songs and — much to his surprise — even vocalizing the guitar solo to his song “What It Means To Be Alone,” which made him chuckle in the middle of the set. One aspect that made this show unique to me was how well Naive Thieves and Crescenzo mixed together, and not just in a musical sense. During the show, the two would talk about and to each other like old friends. It’s rare to see that happen; usually opening and headlining acts are separate, and don’t even acknowledge the other’s existence. But on this night, the groups shared a playful back-and-forth in between their sets. At one point, Crescenzo even stopped in the middle of a song to bag on Naive Thieves’ drummer, Ian Maloney, for leaving his snare drum on. However, you could definitely see that both artists had warm feelings for each other, in part because of the fact that Crescenzo produced Naive Thieves’ album under his label. Although Crescenzo’s strumming was soft, his voice was the opposite, able to belt out his lyrics with raw emotion. Crescenzo pens most of the songs for his band, the Dear Hunter, and many of his lyrics feel intimately personal. He slowed down his set for one song, “Things That Hide Away,” in which he starts off with, “Waking up I felt that hesitation / Like I wasn’t meant to wake up at all.” His passion for music shone through the whole set; it was heard in his voice and his energy toward the crowd as he smiled every time he spoke with a member of the audience. On the note of passion, Crescenzo shared, “I’ve never thought about doing anything else. I’ve never thought of a backup plan. When I’m home, everything I do is still creative, whether it’s music — it usually revolves around music in some way.” As he played his last song, he left the Barn breathless and simply amazed. With both Naive Thieves and Casey Crescenzo echoing in my ears, this was definitely a night to be at ■H the Barn.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
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MUSIC REVIEWS EVERYDAY ROBOTS // DAMON ALBARN
RATING: ★★★★☆ BY: CHRISTAL MIMS, STAFF WRITER
D
amon Albarn may just be the hardestworking man in show biz. He was the frontman of popular ‘90s alternative rock band Blur, the vocalist and main songwriter of experimental-electro band Gorillaz and collaborated with other artists on various musical projects. The man has even composed an opera. I mean, is there anything he can’t do? There seemed to be only one thing the multitalented artist was missing: an official, fulllength solo album. But as of now, he can cross that off his list. In many ways, Albarn’s first solo album “Everyday Robots” is reminiscent of his earlier projects. It contains the soulful instrumentation and breezy vocals found in his work with Gorillaz, and the droopy harmonies that many have come to associate with Albarn. His signature moody charm works well with “Everyday Robots,” which is a commentary on the lifeless advancement of the technological age that has tampered with the magic of genuine, human connection. The album’s opener and title track begins with the line, “We are everyday robots on our phones / In the process of getting home / Looking like standing stones / Out there on our own,” which establishes the album’s theme of technological isolation. Albarn is wary of the path our generation is taking, and expresses this in several
songs like the smooth jazz, pop-piano sustained “Lonely Press Play” and the mournful “Photographs (You Are Taking Now).” Almost every song is a dreamy whisper, encouraging listeners to come closer to hear just what Albarn has to say. One of the album’s highlights is the hauntingly beautiful “Hostiles.” Featuring a lovely array of minor chords conveyed through the acoustic guitar, “Hostiles” speaks about the loneliness of alienation due to technology. The possibilities are endless and I doubt that any two people would interpret Albarn’s songs exactly the same. Deemed as one of Albarn’s most personal works yet, “Everyday Robots” doesn’t peer as deeply into his soul as one would think. In the 7-minute track “You and Me,” A l b a r n incorporates a languid, t r a p - h o p beat to softly graze upon his heroin use. In the song “The Selfish Giant,” he mentions his drug use once more with lyrics like, “Celebrate the passing drugs / Put them on the back seat while / They’re coursing in your blood.” Albarn also shares some events from his childhood, such as a scorching heat wave in 1976 and the scenery around his environment growing up in “Hollow Ponds.” Albarn does little else to shed light on his personal life or struggles with drug abuse. He does this almost as if to reiterate
In many ways, Albarn’s first solo album “Everyday Robots” is reminiscent of his earlier projects.
Courtesy of Parlophone Records
the album’s message: In the technological age, no one is truly open emotionally, and Albarn’s decision to shy away from spilling all of his secrets strengthens this theme. His lack of personal truth might upset a diehard fan hoping to cling to every little piece of him, but detracts nothing from someone hoping to just hear good music. Blur fans will definitely enjoy “History of a Cheating Heart,” a story about a lover scared to completely fall in love, featuring Albarn crooning, “If you fall then I will put you back / I do love you but it’s just a fact / The history of the cheating heart is / Always more than you know,”
alongside the simple picking of an acoustic guitar. He picks up the pace with the upbeat, cheerful track “Mr. Tembo,” a song about a baby elephant he saw while visiting Tanzania, and the closing track “Heavy Seas of Love.” It’s uplifting to hear Albarn closing the album with a song that gently pulls the listener out of his hypnotizing melancholia with optimistic lyrics and a beat begging the listener to clap along. He sounds hopeful as he sings about everyone coming together, and speaks on the fact that we have a chance to find the beauty of real, human connection again through the power of love. Albarn changes his forlorn tune and tells us
that we’re really not doomed to be “everyday robots” because humans will always crave real emotion. We just have to allow ourselves to create personal connections without the help of technology. This album will certainly be heavily placed under a microscope simply because the expectations for a musical polymath like Albarn are insanely high. Instead of breaking under the pressure, Albarn does what he does best: make good music. He doesn’t try too hard, and he doesn’t take the listener on a journey of unfamiliar sounds. It’s Albarn through and through — well, the parts he’s allowed us to see, anyway. ■H
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TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
HIGHLANDER
TRANSITIONS // JOHNOSSI
RATING: ★★★☆☆
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BY: JOSH CONDE, STAFF WRITER
nitially, I expected that a two-man band originating from Stockholm would not fail to provide a unique and interesting sound that differed from normal alternative and indie rock bands. Unfortunately, with the release of Johnossi’s latest album, “Transitions,” my expectations were not met. Instead, the rock duo from Sweden provides a somewhat bland release that fails to hit any mark of innovation. Johnossi consists of only two members: John Engelbert and Oskar Bonde. With a two-man group, other great rock duos immediately come to mind, such as the Black Keys and the White Stripes — both unique and talented bands that have developed their own styles of rock. Johnossi has experienced similar success in their prior singles, including “Man Must Dance” and “Execution Song,” and with their fourth album it was my hope that Johnossi would continue to build upon this success. Although the album doesn’t
do anything horribly wrong, it certainly doesn’t do anything different that would make it stand out from any other rock or indie album. “Transitions” is filled with repetitive guitar riffs that fail to provide solid hooks to make listeners want to continue listening. Repetition is not always a bad thing; however, with many of the tracks, the lead guitar chords and riffs fail to catch the listener’s ear in the first place, let alone multiple times throughout the song. This trait is perfectly displayed in the song “E.M.” which contains the same guitar chords, strummed at a quick and choppy pace throughout the entire song with little else in between, creating a sound that verges on irritating. This type of occurrence happens throughout multiple tracks and leaves an unpleasant impression upon the listener. Not only are a majority of the songs redundant, “Transitions” comes close to an hour long, with many of the tracks clocking in around
Courtesy of Universal Records four to five minutes. The length of the album is much longer than average, and while there is nothing inherently wrong with having an album that runs longer than normal, because “Transitions” fails to consistently provide fresh and interesting music, everything sounds like dragged-out variations of the same song. This is definitely a major burden on the album, which even had me tempted to stop listening a few times. While “Transitions” has serious drawbacks, there is no doubt that Engelbert and Bonde have a fair amount of talent to offer. Despite the repetition and lack of innovation throughout most of the album, there are a few tracks that do provide listeners with instrumentation that is easy to latch on to. The track “Gone Forever” is an upbeat song with a catchy chorus and a unique keyboard hook that is used sparingly throughout the song. Additionally, both tracks “What’s The Point” and “Everywhere (With You
Man)” manage to provide solid guitar riffs, along with vocal harmonization between the two members that manage to keep listeners engaged. Coupled with Engelbert’s strong vocals, these tracks give the album a bit of saving grace that prevents it from becoming
a total failure. It is clear to see that the album definitely had the potential to become something unique. The musical talent is there, but “Transitions” lacks any amount of creativity and innovation that is vital to H making an album a standout. ■
MOVIE REVIEW COMING OUT SOON:
BREASTMILK
CHEF
CHINESE PUZZLE
GODZILLA
THE IMMIGRANT
WALK OF SHAME
RATING: ★☆☆☆☆
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BY: STASEAN WASHINGTON, CONTRIBUTING WRITER
alk Of Shame” has probably flown under the radar of a lot of moviegoers. The film had the tragic fate of being released on the same date as “The Amazing Spider-Man 2,” as well as having a limited release. With no marketing campaign and such terrible circumstances, I thought that surely the film had to have something up its sleeve that would make it stand out … and I have never been so wrong in my life. Steven Brill’s latest film is your typical one-night adventure comedy that brings up important points about assumptions, but causes the audience to experience more frustration than laughter. The film starts off with reporter Meghan Miles (Elizabeth Banks) interviewing for a position as a news anchor for a national cable news network. Two weeks later, we find out that Meghan has suffered from a major breakup, and that she has lost the job to a new anchor from San Francisco. To help her forget about her troubles, her friends Rose (Gillian Jacobs) and Denise (Sarah Wright) take Meghan out for a night of drinks, dancing and most of all: sex. Meghan finds herself in the arms of bartender-writer Gordon (James Marsden). After a one-night stand, Meghan gets a call for a second chance to the biggest opportunity of her life.
Stranded in downtown LA, she has to navigate her way through weird and wacky circumstances. The main idea of the film revolves around assumptions. When Meghan steps out of Gordon’s apartment in the middle of downtown LA in a skimpy yellow dress, her world is turned upside down by people’s assumptions. The idea is presented well, as most of the comedy of the film is meant to be carried out through every character’s assumption of Meghan in the film; however, the film quickly becomes hard to watch because of the unrealistic nature of it all. For example, Meghan is mistaken as a prostitute soliciting herself on the streets. She is stopped by police officers, who do not take the time to even listen to her story. This, along with many other events in the film, was meant to serve as comedy, when in reality it was just plain frustrating. The film consistently had to reach to create exaggerated situations that ended up coming off as just plain silly, and not funny. Besides its unrealistic nature, Meghan’s journey is similarly subpar. The staple of onenight adventure comedies are the situations that characters get themselves into while on their journey. There are some incredibly unique situations, like Meghan’s work being critiqued by gang members Skrilla (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.),
Hulk (Da’Vone McDonald) and Pookie (Alphonso McAuley) in a crack house. But other events seem cliched and random, like when Meghan tries to steal a bike from a kid who requests to see her breasts in return, or when she randomly stumbles upon a Jewish rabbi and sings Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” to him. These events have either been done way too many times, or had no real impact on the film and seemed to be there for the sake of existing. With such terrible jokes and a subpar storyline, the film only
Courtesy of Focus Features
has its acting to go on. Most of the time we are with Banks, and she does not disappoint. Although the jokes were so bad they were beyond repair, Banks’ acting really kept the film going. The impound scene exemplifies this the most. Meghan finally manages to find her car, but an uptight clerk prevents her from entering it, because she looks like a prostitute, even though she has the keys. In a very brief confrontation, Banks truly encapsulates the feeling of being so close, yet very far. She goes as far as to lick the bulletproof
glass of an impound lot’s front desk. Banks really tried to carry the film, but its lack of original content made that an impossible feat. All in all, films such as “The Hangover” were a success because they focus on true misunderstandings, and the events were strangely unique and fun. “Walk Of Shame” rips off cliched events in an underwhelming fashion and has to stretch to make its comedy funny, which only makes the film unrealistic and completely frustrating to watch. ■H
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
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Staff Picks: Post-Grad Plans In light of the joyous occasion that is UCR’s annual grad fair, here’s a quick look at the post-graduate plans of the Highlander’s luminaries.
Rebecca Paredes, A&E Editor
Colin Markovich, Managing Editor Alexander Suffolk, Features Editor
Teacher for the Center for Kids Who Can’t Read Good
Undergraduate for life
Continue being awesome
Cameron Yong, Asst. Photo Editor
Sandy Van, News Editor
Yasmin Kleinbart, Asst. A&E Editor
Jake Rich, Production Manager
Michele Gartzke, Video Editor
Please help. I’m stuck in the office. They won’t let me leave.
Professional Subway sandwich connoisseur
Don’t know. Don’t care.
Reassurer of those having existential crises
Perpetual unpaid intern
WRITE FOR THE HIGHLANDER MEETINGS ON MONDAYS AT 5:15PM @ HUB 101
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TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
HIGHLANDER
MOVIE REVIEW THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2
RATING: ★★☆☆☆
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BY: YASMIN KLEINBART, SENIOR STAFF WRITER
’ve always been an “Iron Man” fan at heart. The suit, the gadgets and Robert Downey Jr. always have my attention when I’m glued to a Marvel film. Back in the Tobey Maguire days, I thought SpiderMan was okay at best. I don’t know if it was my 9-year-old attention span, but it just never grasped me. However, with the brand-new reboot and a brand-new SpiderMan, I thought this might be a refreshing take. I was half-right. The first “Amazing Spider-Man” was decent, and while the sequel had its good moments, it still felt a little cluttered to me. Regardless, unlike McGuire, Andrew Garfield had me invested in my friendly neighborhood Spider-Man — but not the plot lines surrounding him. Unlike the first, this film doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to action. We are immediately bombarded with a reveal of what happened to Peter Parker’s (Andrew Garfield) parents, and then immediately switch to a Russian thief (hilariously played by Paul Giamatti) stealing from OsCorp. But of course, as every teen superhero has to deal with, Peter also has to make his high school graduation in time before his girlfriend Gwen Stacy (Emma
Stone) makes her valedictorian speech. However, it’s kind of hard to pay attention when her dead father (Denis Leary) is constantly making scowling faces at Peter from the underworld for not keeping his dying promise to stay away from his daughter. I’m sort of glad Peter didn’t keep this promise, because his and Gwen’s chemistry really keeps this movie alive. Regardless of the many times they broke up and got back together, they just dominated the screen. Despite people calling the romance “too Twilight,” I feel that was still a nice touch. Sure, there were some campy moments, such as writing “I love you” in webs all over the Brooklyn Bridge, but what film doesn’t have “chick flick” elements nowadays? Stone brings a sort of charm to her role with their constant doe-eye exchanges and looking over her head to see if Peter is looking at her from a distant building (which he usually is). Usually, I would find this obnoxious, but I think that the fact that Stone and Garfield are a real-life couple contributes to the reason why I find them so adorable on screen. Villain-wise, the film couldn’t keep itself together. The narratives were cluttered and director Marc
Webb tried too hard to introduce too many storylines without giving them enough screen time. We get both Electro (Jamie Foxx) and the Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan), but only a slight introduction of the latter. Webb clearly had a lot on his hands already by having Peter solve the mystery of his parents and also battle Electro. I don’t know
I’m sort of glad Peter didn’t keep this promise, because his and Gwen’s chemistry really keeps this movie alive. why they didn’t just wait until the next movie to introduce the Green Goblin. In fact, they shouldn’t have made gestures to future villains in short snippets throughout the film. It was unnecessary and that extra screen time could have been added to developing the Green Goblin’s story further. Electro is the one who drives the film. Formerly an outcast named Max Dillon, he is an electrical engineer who becomes Spider-
Man’s number-one fan after being saved from an oncoming car. Like many people don’t believe that Garfield can pull off a nerdy teen superhero, I can’t believe that Foxx can play an invisible underling with thinning hair and a really bad tooth gap. When he accidentally falls into a tank of electric eels (don’t you hate it when that happens?), he turns into a neon-blue Dr. Manhattan lookalike with the power to harness electricity. His attempt at being a villain felt very awkward to me. Other than a lot of grunts and a couple of really silly one-liners, there isn’t much to expect from Foxx. He tried way too hard to be intimidating and keep his outcast storyline intact, but it didn’t mesh well at all. He would come in and out of the latter so many times that I felt like I didn’t even know who his character was supposed to be anymore. The one person who didn’t feel awkward as a villain was Dane DeHaan. He plays Harry Osborn, the heir to Oscorp and Peter’s longlost best friend that we’ve never heard about until now. Dehaan is quickly becoming the go-to choice for angsty teenager roles from hits such as “Chronicle” or “Kill Your Darlings,” and whether it will become his typecast or not, it suits
him extremely well. He was able to make a character look villainous despite having such little material to work with — basically, all we got was a sliver of his past, and all of a sudden it transitions to him trying to fight a fatal genetic disease and then to him wanting to kill SpiderMan. It all felt extremely fast, but his ability to keep me interested through his conniving and his legitimately intimidating tone and body language made me more invested in his plot than Electro’s. It was disappointing that his plot and his introduction to becoming the Green Goblin felt extremely rushed. With the brief introduction of the new villains for the next movie, I don’t know how Webb is going to incorporate all of them when he could barely handle two for this film. “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” wasn’t totally bad, but it wasn’t very good, either. Chemistry was superb on Stone and Garfield’s end, but that’s where it ends. Foxx’s delivery of a supervillain made me laugh more than shiver, but Dehaan is making a great breakthrough in the villain category, despite the short amount of time he actually had on screen. Perhaps I would consider seeing the third one — but ■H only for him.
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TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
. FEATURES .
HIGHLANDER
LA FRONTERA FINAL:
Latino Authors Discuss
SCIENCE FICTION
By Estefania Zavala, Contributing Writer // Photos by Vincent Ta
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y protagonists are Chicano because I’m Chicano,” said Mario Acevedo bluntly, author of “Jailbait Zombie,” “There’s also vampires and evil werewolves too but somehow no one ever questions that part.” The audience laughed, instantly endeared to the author’s open honesty and irreverence. On April 30, the UC Riverside Science Fiction and Technoculture Studies Program featured a panel of prominent authors in the Latino science fiction arena. The panelists consisted of Mario Acevedo, Rudy Garcia, Ernest Hogan, Beatrice Pita and Rosaura Sanchez, who are all authors in the unappreciated field of Latino science fiction. They are writers of novels like “Lunar Braceros,” “High Aztech,” and “The Closet of Discarded Dreams.” These authors all shared a simple goal: to create identifiable Latino characters for young people reading science fiction. At the event, all the authors seemed eager and surprised to find themselves in such an academic setting. The captivated audience of students belied this humbleness of the authors. The audience was as diverse as the panelists — ranging from young to old, and there was an even rep-
resentation from varied ethnic groups. The audience’s enthusiasm for science fiction was apparent even in their attire — some wore curved claw earrings and others sported sturdy working boots. They hung off every word the panelists said, catching every science fiction reference and relishing the opportunity to hear these distinctive authors speak. The panelists were questioned by Sherryl Vint, an English professor specializing in science fiction and technoculture. Despite these official questions, the panelists digressed at their leisure, dispensing writing advice and personal anecdotes. The audience was apprecia-Rudy tive of such digressions and seemed to relish the intimate setting of the event. “Latino science fiction doesn’t want to fit into the world that we live in. A lot of the scenes we see in (television and movies) are too white. Latino science fiction wants to celebrate the multinationalism that has become part of the
everyday life,” said Rudy Garcia, author of “The Closet of Discarded Dreams.” Thus, rather than seeming cloistered into this very specific genre, all of these authors seemed willing to embrace other kinds of writing. They mentioned Octavia Butler and the 1960s Batman series with equal giddiness and admiration. Both the panelists and the audience celebrated these works for their offbeat and niche appeal. Nevertheless, there was an air of melancholy as the authors spoke of how often their work went unappreciated or, even worse, unpublished. “You have to understand why Ernie talks so much. Ernie came back from the Garcia dead,” said Rudy Garcia, gently mocking his friend and fellow author, Ernest Hogan, who had just been ranting on the downfall of chain bookstores. As Garcia explained it, Hogan had a right to be bitter toward the way people buy books. After writing “Cortez on Jupiter,” Hogan apparently sank into such anonymity that his fellow writers
“Latino science fiction wants to celebrate the multinationalism that has become part of the everyday life.”
assumed he was dead and mentioned him in memoriam in their story anthologies. However, after spotting one such memorial to him, Hogan was bolstered by the support of his fellow writers and bounded back on the literary scene. The audience created even more of an enriching effect for these undervalued authors. Vickie Vertiz, master’s student of creative writing , assured the panel of authors, “I was at the … Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio (Active Women in Letters and Change) Social Convention and we were talking about the Latino Science Fiction community … just to let you know that your work is being discussed in all these literary places.” There was a tangible give-and-take between the audience and the panelists. The authors mentioned repeatedly that they were not used to having their work discussed in a university environment and emphasized that they wrote purely for entertainment. Yet the audience was insistent in reminding the authors that they were not dead — that far from it, their work was being discussed in academic conventions all throughout the nation and inspiring new authors to bring diversity into the science fiction genre. ■H
UCR invited Ernest Hogan (top), Beatrice Pita (bottom left), Rosaura Sanchez (bottom left), Mario Acevado (not pictured) and Rudy Garcia (bottom right) to speak on a Latino science fiction panel together.
FEATURES
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
25
The Science Behind Heartbreak Brenna Dilger, Staff Writer
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COURTESY OF FLICKR
veryone knows that when you get your heart broken it really sucks. Most collegeage individuals have experienced the excruciating feeling of losing a boyfriend or girlfriend, but those who haven’t yet often look at weeping, icecream-binging dumpees as cry babies or drama queens. The last breakup I went through, personally, was pretty dramatic; I spent most of my time lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling and lip-syncing Adele. And my friends at UCR happen to be heartbreak virgins, so they didn’t understand the severity of pain that comes from losing a two-year-long romance. Breaking up with someone you love is actually very devastating. It feels like you have lost something that you absolutely need. You can’t stop thinking about your lost love, you can’t stop rehashing what went wrong and you can’t help but long for their companionship again. Well, when we look at what happens in the human brain during a breakup, it’s very easy
to see why people react this way. The brain reacts to being dumped the same way it reacts to being cut off from an addiction. Being “in love” activates opiate receptors in the brain, which are also activated by drugs such as morphine and heroin. Yeah, that’s right: To the human brain, love is an ad-
Going from being in love to being in pain freaks out your brain. diction, and you are literally going through a withdrawal. No wonder you can’t stop thinking about your ex. When experiencing heartbreak, three regions of the brain associated with intense craving become activated. Not only that, but a brain region associated with romantic love and attachment becomes active, causing people to feel even
more intense love after they’ve had their heart smashed. This is why, even if your ex cheated on you or rejected you, you miss him or her like crazy (and possibly have tried calling several times to reunite). But don’t be ashamed. Going from being in love to being in pain freaks out your brain. When you’re blissfully happy in your Instagram-worthy relationship, it causes the brain’s Ventral Tegmental Area, or VTA, to export dopamine, the same addictive hormone that makes addicts crave cocaine (at least you’re addicted to taking selfies with your “bae” and not an illegal stimulant). But when you lose your love, those areas of the brain that were once filled with feel-good chemicals are suddenly deprived. The brain instead pumps out stress hormones, like cortisol and adrenaline. The absence of dopamine and overflow of stress hormones is a shock to your brain, body and (metaphorically) your heart. The reason your brain is ► SEE UNDER THE KILT, PAGE 27
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FEATURES
HIGHLANDER
Club Spotlight:
COSPLAY BRIGADE By Maxine Arellano, Senior Staff Writer // Photos courtesy of Cosplay Brigade
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trutting past the Bell Tower, the sun reflects off the red head-to-toe suit. The theme song “Go Go Power Rangers” intensifies with each step and true ‘90s kids rejoice as the original red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger look-a-like graces UCR with his presence. Even if he lacks the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord, this ranger catches students’ eyes. To many, he’s just a person who’s behind the Power Ranger watch or the Batman mask found walking across campus. But to most, however, he’s a member of the Cosplay Brigade. UCR’s Cosplay Brigade began four years ago in the spring of 2011. It started as a place where judgment disappears as soon as costumes take over. Here, anyone who is interested in costume role play — aka cosplay
— can gather to discuss and create a whole new world with people like them. The club notices the gleam in the eyes of students, whether it’s incoming freshman or wandering seniors. “The light in their eyes never changes,” said founder and current president, Sarah Mendoza. I had the pleasure of sitting with fourthyear psychology student as well as third-year incoming president, Karen Huynh, to discuss the club in its raw glory. I have to admit, my knowledge of costume role play was as limited as the seats in Rivera library during finals. My mind automatically went to larping (live-action role play) and anime. However, Sarah and Karen set me straight right off the bat. Cosplay Brigade stands out from the rest of the pack — for in-
stance Comic-Con. As Comic-Con has begun to swim up the mainstream with its growing popularity, many cosplayers have struggled with a location to enjoy their elaborate and “show-off-worthy” costumes. Due to the mass amount of guests (which can add up to 30,000 people or more) attending more for the celebrity appearances rather than the costumes, many cosplayers find their big-winged, multiattachment costumes creating a safety hazard. Cosplay Brigade has created a safe and joyous environment where it allows all cosplayers (in and outside of UCR) to have fun without the possible harassment and judgment from guests who may treat cosplayers as “objects rather than people,” said Sarah. The club has even found a way around the rules from certain convention centers. “Well, we have to follow UCR’s rules,” Sarah explained regarding weaponry props. “But we show them how to make it without breaking the rules.” Plans for future costumes and themes consist of TV shows such as “Game of Thrones.” An accessory of a Valyrian steel complementing a costume may raise eyebrows of administrators. But these pros got them covered with safe and approved props. Some of the members have tested their makeshift weapons and
Cosplay Brigade is a no-judgment zone for students to role play as any fictional character they want to.
geared up for not only campus activities but also conventions such as Pacific Media and Anime Los Angeles. The Arts and Expression clubs have seen the Cosplay Brigade appear in many campus events, most recently at Chinese Culture night. They opened the event with a skit, performed by Sarah and Karen, along with other members, embodying the true meaning behind the club and the members: procrastination. “We’re worse than (typical) college students,” Sarah added as she explained that the skit had an “Alice in Wonderland” feel as they took guests on a journey through the “rabbit hole” while running into familiar faces along the way. Members were decked out in costumes which matched their characters — which inevitably matched their everyday personalities students may see around school. It seems as though even altered personas of college students can’t kick the procrastination itch. Their biggest event of the year, however, is Geek Week. Geek Week is a geek-wide event during the second week of spring quarter amongst the “nerdier” clubs found around campus, as Sarah and Karen explained it. “Don’t be afraid to show your geeky side!” Sarah cheered when asked what the main goal of the event was. Cosplay Brigade wants to break all the stigmas that pertain to the word cosplay. “We’re not weird, we just like to have fun,” Karen said, a member who has been passionate about it since her freshman orientation. They also focus on breaking the stigma and norm that girls don’t play video games. Events throughout the week have included live-action chess tournaments, something very similar to the wizard’s chess game in “Harry Potter,” where members choreograph their fight scenes for each chess game. The most successful element of Geek Week is “Behind the Voice.” BTV is a panel of voice animators who open up and answer questions for any and all. Last year, HUB 302 reached maximum capacity of guests who attended the BTV of Dante Basco, voice of many cartoon and anime characters, including roles in “American Dragon: Jake Long” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender.”
Their third and most recent week had Patrick Seitz — anime and video game voice as well as MFA graduate from UCR. Despite timing and collaboration issues with other clubs involved in Geek Week, they are beyond excited for next year’s. Other events they have participated in include the Pokemon 3DS event, in which they battled other clubs around campus, such as the Gamers’ Guild, Origami Club, Starving Artists and Chinese Martial Arts Club. The clubs participating assumed the roles of the eight gym leaders and villains and fought in a Pokemon tournament. And in the end a member of Cosplay Brigade brought home the gold. They have had some of the best photobombs ever as members cosplay for certain ASPB events. One member geared up for the premiere of “Thor 2” with a full-on Loki look — being the only cosplayer in line. But hey, she left her mark on the Marvel madness UCR was a part of. But costumes do not end there. The club encompasses all themes of costumes, like DC and Marvel as well as video games, with anime being the most popular at the moment. They hope to break out into other fandoms such as “Game of Thrones” and Disney. Dedicated members use this to their advantage to display their costume skills. This not only shows off the club’s talent but also encourages others that it is okay to play and like cosplay with no shame. The ladies leading the club have many more plans for a bigger and better year to come. They want all members and interested people to stay motivated to continue with their hobby with sewing parties, barbecues and more hangouts in general, with not only those at UCR, but all cosplayers in the Inland Empire. “I don’t want to give too much away,” Karen started, “but let’s just say we are going to have a bigger presence on campus!” With talk of a Cosplay Brigade Beta, they plan “to dominate the world … Hail Hydra!” Cosplay Brigade welcomes all, where you can dress however you like, and the likes don’t matter. So if you’re interested in taking on another life for a little while, you can help with the theme of “Fro■H zen” and just “let it go.”
FEATURES
HIGHLANDER ► UNDER THE KILT FROM PAGE 25
suddenly pounding you with these chemicals is because it is literally punishing you. The need to feel loved and belonged is an important goal for most people and evolution decided to install a reward-andpunishment system to help us reach this goal. Cells in the VTA, which is super-activated when we’re in love, make and distribute dopamine, a neurotransmitter critical to motivation and reward. We are equipped with mechanisms that flood our brain with happiness when we successfully find a mate, but we also have some pesky brain circuits that produce searing psychological pain when we lose that mate. In short, when we lose that love that evolution wants us to have, our brains have little hissy fits and bombard us with stress chemicals. If you are someone who is going through a breakup and causing your body to go into stress-overload, never fear!
You can fight science with science. There are many ways to reduce stress hormones and get little doses of dopamine here and there. The first thing you can do is talk about it. People who report less pain during a breakup have more activity in the prefrontal area of the brain. This area is responsible for processing information, so it would make sense that rehashing things and stimulating your prefrontal area will ease the pain a little. It also doesn’t hurt to hear your friends assure you that you can do much better and that your ex had an annoying laugh anyway. Second, don’t lock yourself away from the world! I know being heartbroken makes you want to curl into a ball and die, but you should instead be hanging out with friends and trying to be social. Any physical contact will trigger the release of dopamine and oxytocin, which are depleted from your system after a breakup. You want those chemicals,
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
Excercise is a great way to increase your opiate levels after a heart-wrenching breakup.
so go meet new people, laugh lots, elicit hugs and flirt shamelessly. And, most importantly, go exercise. Exercise increases opiates in the brain and you are in dangerously low stock of opiates right now. Go for a long run or go to spin class to get that endorphin high. Go to a yoga class to initiate
the release of GABA, a calming neurotransmitter that will soothe anxiety and stress. Maybe take dance lessons to help distract yourself and create new goals for yourself. Do anything to be active and stockpile those happy chemicals that are in such short supply. And, for those of you who
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COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
look at crying over a broken heart as if it were crying over spilt milk, just realize that the heartbroken are literally addicted to that milk. Heartbreak is nothing to roll your eyes at. But, like all psychological trauma, heartbreak lessens in time and eventually, the brain will sort all its chemicals back out. ■H
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FEATURES
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
HIGHLANDER
Restaurant Review:
BACKSTREET RESTAURANT
Naman Patel, Contributing Writer
I
f you’re craving a simple and delicious sandwich for lunch, look no further than Backstreet Restaurant. Located near downtown Riverside off Nelson Street and between Magnolia Avenue and Brockton Avenue, this mom-andpop sandwich shop has been around for 47 years. (July will mark its 48th anniversary!) It is open Monday through Friday, but only from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It originally was a small market grocery store before Mac and Barbara McCluskey bought the place and turned it into the Backstreet Restaurant, and today, it’s still family owned and operated. The building has not been changed over the years, with most of the original furnishings still intact (the cashier still uses the original cash register, which is now easily over 80 years old). Entering the main building it becomes clear how long the place has been around, especially with a small wall mural dating the year the restaurant was opened: 1967. The kitchen and interior is fairly small with the majority of the space reserved for the sandwich ordering, with a side salad bar and a handful of
tables and chairs. The main area of the restaurant is the garden patio outside shaded by a canopy of trees (much needed and appreciated during the warm afternoon). It’s just a nice and relaxing place with ample seating to sit and eat lunch on a nice sunny day. The garden patio is lovely but the main reason to come here isn’t for the view — it’s for the sandwiches. The menu also has not changed much over the years with simple choices such as roast beef, corned beef, ham, turkey and pastrami on various types of bread. Recently they have added tuna to their list of meats; on top of that, they’ve also added two salads: a spinach salad and a Caesar salad. The sandwiches and salads also come with a simple side of baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw or potato chips. All of the meats and sides (except chips) are made fresh in house every morning, all with their own secret family recipes. Roast beef and pastrami are the more popular sandwich choices with the usual go-to dessert item being the banana cream pie. I ordered a roast beef sandwich (all sandwiches are $10.19) on sourdough bread with Swiss cheese (only option
RATING: for cheese) and I also got a side order of baked beans and potato salad. The sandwich was made with shredded roast beef, rather than sliced, with a secret recipe au jus sauce poured on top instead of on the side. It is a fairly large sandwich with a hearty helping of roast beef and a small amount of mayonnaise to help moisten the meat. The roast beef was juicy and the au jus added an extra kick to the sandwich (I wished there was more of it on the sandwich though). The mayo added a slight tang to the beef but overall complemented the sandwich very well. The sourdough bread was your conventional sourdough, with nothing special about it; it didn’t affect the taste of the meat but did leave that distinctive sourdough taste at the end. The baked beans were fairly straightforward, with a sweet smell and a heavy brown sugar taste. Pretty simple, but undeniably tasty. The potato salad had a very fresh and homemade taste to it. It had a slight green tinge from the bits of parsley and celery, which, along with red bell peppers, helped to add to the freshness. The potato salad was
★★★★☆
also light on mayo as it was mostly mustard-based, which helped to give it a lighter and slightly tangy taste. I finished off the meal with a delectable white chocolate raspberry cheesecake (all deserts are $4.75). The cheesecake had a chocolate crust and was topped with whipped cream (a bit too much for my taste) and white chocolate flakes. The cake was not very dense, which was a departure from most conventional cheesecakes. It gave the cheesecake a lighter, fluffier taste as well as hints of raspberry from the swirl through the cake. It was an excellent way to end the meal. Backstreet Restaurant is definitely off the beaten path, but it is something worth checking out. The food can get pricey, but for something out of the ordinary it is worth the time and money. I highly recommend trying Backstreet Restaurant at least once during your time at UCR. With the great food and excellent service, it’s no surprise that the Backstreet Restaurant stands as Riverside’s premiere garden restaurant and has been since Lyndon B. Johnson was in office. ■H
LAURA NGUYEN / HIGHLANDER
Backstreet Restaurant has a wide variety of sandwiches and sides to choose from. Pictured top right is a roast beef and pastrami sandwich with a side of potato salad and baked beans.
SPORTS
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
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Softball records back-to-back losses on Senior Day JASON AHN Contributing Writer
MAY 3, 2014
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Gauchos 4 - Highlanders 1
Playing on the same day as UCR’s Spring Splash, the UC Riverside softball team couldn’t withstand the flurry of hits from UC Santa Barbara en route to a 4-1 loss on the team’s Senior Day. Alyssa Razo allowed 13 hits in seven innings. The pitcher only gave up four runs and a single home run on the day while striking out three players. Dionne Anderson led the team with one run, while Karina Romero tallied two hits as well. UCR’s lone run was scored in the top of the first from a single from Anderson, who stole second and then scored on the next play from an up-the-middle single from Romero. The second inning had started off strong from Razo’s two outs, however, two hit-by-pitches and a walk led to an easy score by UCSB. The game would remain tied until the top of the fourth. The Gauchos’ bats had three consecutive hits. Razo, however, closed the inning with two runners left on base. UCSB tallied two more runs from the fifth to the sixth inning. Finally, at the bottom of the sixth inning, UCR had a chance to score after a single from Anderson followed by another from Romero. Natalie Sanchez sac-flied to right field and allowed Anderson to reach third. A batting substitution of Ashley Ercolano for Shylene Helms did not work as planned as she popped up to the pitcher. UCSB’s Shelby Wisdom closed the inning with the two lonely runners on base. Razo closed out the top of the seventh with two hits and two left on base; however, UCR
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failed to capitalize in the bottom of the seventh as they ended the game with one hit and one left on base. MAY 3, 2014
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Gauchos 3 - Highlanders 0
The second match of softball’s double-header versus UCSB ended with a 3-0 loss. Shelby Wisdom pitched a second game in a row for UCSB, while Sophie Slagle pitched seven innings for the Highlanders. UCR and UCSB’s hit total differed only by two, but UCSB scored three more runs than the Highlanders. Dionne Anderson started off hot for the Highlanders as she singled, then advanced to third on a throwing error. However, three consecutive outs would leave her there. At the top of the second, UCSB had two runners on base from a single and walk, but Slagle performed strongly and closed the inning out. At the top of the third, UCSB
scored after a single to left field which allowed one of their runners to get on base from a bunt. UCR would record two hits in the third, one from a wild hit from Anderson that bounced on both the third baseman’s and shortstop’s gloves and another from a single to left field. The inning ended with a double play. The final scoring inning occurred at the top of the fifth when UCSB’s Arianna Palomares was walked, then Wisdom singled to first base. Palomares then got caught in a pickle and was called out which left Wisdom at second. The bases were loaded after two walks, and then a hit from Stark forced Wisdom out at home. However, Lauren Boser then singled to center field, bringing in the last two runs for the Gauchos. The two losses drop softball’s conference record to 3-14, with a 22-28 overall record. Next up for the team is a road double-header against Cal Poly on Friday, May 9. ■H
CAMERON YONG / HIGHLANDER
Junior Alyssa Razo (No. 22) pitches the ball against UCSB.
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TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
SPORTS
HIGHLANDER
From hiking to piano, Nick Vilter is always on top of his game MELISA BIVIAN Staff Writer
Only four months into the season, UCR third baseman Nick Vilter has made Riverside proud with nine home runs. Running up and down the field, hitting home runs and leading the Highlanders to victory, Vilter has been able to move up the ranks and become one of the most consistent players on the team. Welcomed with a warm smile, I had the opportunity to sit down with one of UCR’s biggest baseball players as he ventured into his daily life, academic studies and play on the field. During the month of March alone, Vilter recorded 17 hits, 20 RBIs, and five home runs. The junior is also currently leading the Big West tournament, as he was second in home runs per game, first in slugging percentage and was tied for second in home runs overall. Although Vilter is doing great statistically, he believes that he has to keep improving. “You can always improve on stuff. Baseball is such a game of failure, you succeed three out of ten times and you’re considered successful,” he stated. “Just trying to increase your odds with anything you can improve, I think I can always improve on anything.” With a keen eye and hot bat during the opening months of the season, Vilter was named College Sports Madness National Field Player of the week in March and Budweiser Responsibility Matters Good Sport of the Month in April. “That’s pretty fun to receive. That’s not like one of your goals as you play the game or anything, but it’s nice to be recognized and to do well. It was a big honor for me and to help the team win that week,” explained Vilter. When Vilter is not on the field, he can be seen studying, reading,
enjoying the great outdoors, or even playing the piano. Vilter explained that he loves going to the beach, hiking and fishing — practically anything involving nature. “I really like going to the beach on my off time. We don’t get a lot of it, but that’s one thing I really like to do, just really anything outside, like going hiking, fishing,” Vilter said. After explaining his interest in nature, I was curious to see what Nick Vilter’s greatest fear was. Taking a moment to respond, he explained, “I really don’t like bears. I don’t know, that sounds weird, but if I go camping a lot, bears freak me out. Pretty much anything that can kill me.” Laughing here and there, I was able to see who Vilter really is: a hardworking, family-oriented, optimistic individual. As a student, Vilter is currently a third-year who is pursuing a business administration major with an emphasis in finance. If he was not pursuing a degree in business, Vilter expressed his interest in English. He enjoys writing and reading — not to mention that his mother is an English professor herself. His favorite book is the “Game of Thrones” series. Although baseball season keeps him busy, he takes time to read during the off-season. When he isn’t reading, Vilter enjoys listening to country music. He clarified, “I haven’t always liked country but I really like how it makes me calm. All the other music is kind of, I don’t know, to pump you up, make your blood flowing like rap or techno or something like that. It’s just a simple message and it makes me relaxed.” With an insatiable hunger to be on top of his game at everything he does, it’s quite safe to say that UCR has yet to see what Nick Vilter is made of. ■H
VINCENT TA & AARON LAI / HIGHLANDER
Junior Nick Vilter continues to improve every season, tripling his career home run total from two to 11 in 2014.
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SPORTS
HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2014
31
Baseball gallops over No. 3 team in the nation Cal Poly SLO ALEXANDER MANZO Contributing Writer
APRIL 29, 2014
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Highlanders 8 - Rebels 2
With the taste of defeat still on their tongues, the Highlanders came out of the blocks with a vengeance, downing the 29th ranked team in the nation, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. UCR recorded eleven hits throughout the game and eight runs to give them the victory, 8-2. Angel Landazuri would be the starting pitcher for UCR and came in relatively inexperienced, making only his second start of the season. At the top of the second, he was put in a tough situation with runners on first and second with only one out. Yet his teammates would not let him take it on alone as Nick Vilter picked up a grounder from Rebel Edgar Montes and tagged UNLV’s Patrick Armstrong preventing the Rebels from getting on the board. The second would be the key inning for the Highlanders, as they scored a total of six runs. After David Andriese struck out swinging, Thomas Walker got a double with his hit to right field and Drake Zarate would be sent to first after being hit by Rebel starter Kenny Oakley. Matthew Ellis hit a grounder straight to third but made it to first after an overthrow, allowing Walker to score and get the first run of the game. Third baseman Cody Hough would jump in with a single to right to let Zarate and Ellis home for a 3-0 lead with still only one out. Devyn Bolasky followed with another single to left while UNLV pitcher Oakley walked Highlander Francisco Tellez to load the bases. Oakley walked Vilter as well and gave UCR another run on the board. Andriese got another chance at bat and got to first off of another throwing error by third baseman T.J. White to allow Tellez and
Bolasky to score with a nowcommanding lead of 6-0 for the Highlanders. UCR’s Landazuri put himself in another jam in the third with no outs and runners on first and second. He managed to get out of the quandary unscathed but was then replaced with Cody Rogina. This was the first time he’d stepped on the mound in 18 days but he was ready to take out the Rebels. After four innings UNLV only recorded two hits and Rogina struck out a career-high of four batters. In the fifth inning UCR got two more runs on the board after the first four batters all singled from UNLV reliever Matt Thomas, extending their lead to 8-0. Highlander Jordan Kron would replace Rogina in the eighth to give the Rebels their only two runs of the game. UNLV’s White launched a double to left-center and was sent to third after Armstrong grounded out. Erik VanMeetren sent another double to the left-field line for White to score. Morgan Stotts hit to the same spot to score a double and send Van Meetren home. Montes would ground out and pinch hitter Dylan Ellis struck out to end the inning. MAY 2, 2014
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Highlanders 7 - Mustangs 3
The streak is now over: The Highlanders have finally beat the Mustangs, who are ranked third in the nation, after losing the last seven games dating back to 2011. With four runs in the third inning, UCR not only took the lead but also held on for its third straight win over a ranked opponent, 7-3. After an RBI by Peter Van Gansen in the second that allowed Zack Zehner to head home and give the Mustangs their only lead of the game, the Highlanders would respond when it was their turn to bat with the help of
Watching his teammate, Nick Vilter (No. 22) practices his swing before batting.
David Andriese. Singling to left field, he would take second after an error from the pitcher, Matt Imhof, and then reach third after a failed pickoff. Thomas Walker would follow with an identical hit to left field to send Andriese home and tie up the game. The Highlanders easily ended the top of the third with a strikeout and two fly balls to right field. Joe Chavez opened the inning with a single, advancing to second on a wild pitch by Imhof, and with the help of David Bolasky he’d make it to third. Francisco Tellez was walked and all waited patiently for Andriese. The Highlanders scored twice off of a hit by Andriese to right-center with the bases loaded. With runners still on second and third, Walker came up to bat with another single to right field to take two more runs, giving the Highlanders a 5-1 lead.
Thomas Walker (No. 21) stares down the pitcher at the Highlanders’ game against Cal Poly.
After Mustang starter Imhof was taken out in the fourth, right-handed pitcher Danny Zandona would come in for the Mustangs hoping to clean up the mess Imhof had made. He would strike out Tellez but by hitting shortstop Nick Vilter he would only bury Cal Poly deeper into the hole. Andriese would again single to left field on the first pitch to send Vilter to second, but with two wild pitches he’d sneak his way home to extend the lead to 6-1. Cal Poly would score once in the sixth and seventh but a home run by Chavez in the seventh would prove to be the last run of the night, allowing UCR to secure a 7-3 victory. MAY 3, 2014
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Mustangs 7 - Highlanders 5
In their second game of the series against third-ranked Cal Poly, the UCR baseball team
AARON LAI / HIGHLANDER
AARON LAI / HIGHLANDER
was unable to keep the momentum going, falling 7-5 to the visiting team. Things were looking up for the Highlanders in the early stages of the game. At the bottom of the first inning, a double steal by Francisco Tellez and Joe Chavez allowed the latter to score from third base. The next batter up hit an RBI single to send Tellez to home plate, putting the Highlanders up 2-0. After two scoreless innings, the Highlanders found themselves in position to score again at the bottom of the fourth. With runners on second and third, a Joe Chavez fly to center field allowed Drake Zarate to score. After Zarate’s run, the Highlanders found themselves leading 3-0 against one of the best teams in the country. At the top of the fifth inning, the Mustangs were finally able to get on the board after Brian Mundell’s triple to center field set up a subsequent scoring play that allowed the runner on third base to reach home, cutting the Highlander lead to 3-1. After being unable to score at the bottom of the fifth, the Mustangs cut the lead even farther at the top of the sixth when Cal Poly’s Matthew Ellis scored off an error by the UCR catcher. The downhill trend of events for the Highlanders continued at the top of the seventh inning, when two runs by Cal Poly officially gave them the lead, 4-3. At the top of the eighth, three more runs by Cal Poly widened the margin even further to 7-3, a seemingly insurmountable deficit for the Highlanders. At the bottom of the eighth, the Highlanders scored two runs, making things interesting. However, UCR was unable to put a single run on the board at the bottom of the ninth, which ended the comeback attempt right where it started. With the loss, the Highlanders find themselves at 20-22 overall, with an 8-6 record in ■H conference play.
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TUESDAY, MAY 11, 2014
. SPORTS .
HIGHLANDER