THE HIGHLANDER
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
FOR THE WEEK OF TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018
VOL. 66, ISSUE 28
est. 1954
R’WASTE? Two ASUCR senators are working to reduce the executive cabinet’s current stipends of $9,900 a year by 60 percent, one of them claiming “that they are getting paid too much for the minimal work they do.” Their bill was shot down by the Legislative Review Committee and will be discussed at the ASUCR meeting this Wednesday.
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News ASUCR
Bill Killed: ASUCR stipend reform shot down
A bill to reduce ASUCR Executive Cabinet members’ stipends was defeated in the Legislative Review Committee last Wednesday
EVAN ISMAIL Senior Staff Writer
At a Legislative Review Committee (LRC) meeting Wednesday, May 16, a subcommittee in ASUCR that reviews and edits bills before they are debated on the senate floor, killed a bill that would have reduced ASUCR Executive Cabinet (ECAB) stipends by about 60 percent. CHASS Senator Mariam Alkhalili’s bill would also set the standard stipend for all other officials to $1,485, the current stipend for senators. Alkhalili said that the chair of the LRC, Senate Pro Tempore Martin Cuenca, argued that the bill was “unnecessary” and it should be proposed next year. Alkhalili said that the members of LRC tried to end the meeting early and table her bill before it could be proposed. “It was clear that this was just an excuse … with bills that they don’t want to happen … they don’t always follow the rules 100 percent,” said Alkhalili. “They weren’t willing to cut the bill any slack nor were they willing to listen to the proposal or the numbers,” she added. The final vote in LRC was 5-0-1 to table. Currently, five ECAB members, the president and four vice presidents, make $9,900 a year, paid biweekly over a period of 12 months. Alkhalili, a second-year political science major, is seeking to lower ECAB salaries to $3,960 a year, a cut of 60 percent. “Currently, stipends account for more than 15 percent of the overall student fees,” said Alkhalili referencing the $12.50 quarterly fee every UCR undergraduate must pay. Currently, ASUCR spends over $106,000 paying out student stipends, according to a document provided to The Highlander by Alkhalili. In her proposal, Alkhalili calls for no more than 10 percent of ASUCR’s student fee to be allocated to representatives’ stipends. “This organization exists to represent, advocate for and support students on campus,” Alkhalili writes, “These positions do not exist to provide personal gain and financial stability for elected students but rather to serve the student body.” Alkhalili hopes to save $39,125 annually if her plan is successful. Alkhalili drew a comparison between three other UC schools’ Associated Students (AS) governments — UC Irvine, UC Berkeley and UC Los Angeles (UCLA) — which have a much larger student body, higher student government quarterly or semester fee than UCR, but a lower salary for their AS president. UC Irvine has 27,331 students enrolled and a student government fee of $18. Their president, Lydia Natoolo, makes $6,525, $3,375 less than ASUCR’s President Aram Ayra. At UCLA, with an enrollment of 31,000 and a quarterly fee of $79.04, their president is paid $6,600. The lowest salary of the three universities is at UC Berkeley. With an enrollment at 29,311
AIDA YEUNG / HIGHLANDER
and a semester fee of $27.50, their president, Zaynab Raynad Abdulqadir-Morris, makes $4,000 a year. “UC Riverside’s president makes more than any of those campuses and they (the campuses) have much more students and their fee is much higher than ours,” said Alkhalili in a phone call on Friday. “We should not be making this much in student government ... it should be free,” she said. There does remain one caveat in Alkhalili’s plan. The Associated Students Program Board (ASPB), which hosts events on campus such as Spring Splash and Winter Soulstice, have a board of directors who are also paid stipends which are not allowed to exceed that of ASUCR’s president, the maximum level a representative in ASUCR can be paid. Currently, the ASPB chairperson makes $8,736 a year while each director makes between $5,460 and $6,522 annually. Alkhalili does not seek to alter ASPB’s stipends since they comes out of the ASPB fee, currently $30 and separate from ASUCR. During the Friday conversation, Alkhalili mentioned that she plans to introduce a bill to remove the cap on ASPB stipends so that if ECAB salaries are lowered, ASPB would not be affected. There is some support among her fellow senators, chiefly CHASS Senators Marco Ornelas and Roy Tongilava. Ornelas shared in an email to The Highlander why he supported stipend reform. “Even before I
was elected into ASUCR, I knew that a large stipend and red parking pass was attracting the wrong people to these positions,” wrote Ornelas. “After joining ASUCR and being acquainted with the work output of these officer (sic), I can confirm that they are getting paid too much for the minimal work they do.” Ornelas clarified that he does
“These positions do not exist to provide personal gain and financial stability for elected students but rather to serve the student body.” - CHASS Senator Alkhalili not think that they “do not do work” or are “incompetent,” but are simply paid too much. Ornelas was “disappointed but not surprised” when he heard that the bill was killed in the LRC. “I don’t expect a stipend reform bill to ever reach the floor of the Senate, and if it did, it would not pass,” he wrote. Since the deadline for new bills has already passed, Ornelas has decided to concentrate his efforts in educating the 2018-19 senate on the bill’s importance. “I worked hard to support a lot of candidates that ended up winning seats in ASUCR.
I will advise them to elect a President Pro Tempore who pledges to bring a stipend reform bill to the floor,” wrote Ornelas. He also seeks to “explain to them why this issue is so problematic because many students do not understand that the high salary of these positions attracts money hungry individuals who do not care about the student population.” Cuenca did not respond to a request for comment. Cuenca is vice president of external affairs-elect for 2018-19 and would stand to be paid $9,900 a year if stipend reform fails to pass. Tongilava also did not respond to a request for comment before time of print. Wednesday’s LRC meeting was the last meeting for the year, and since Alkhalili’s bill was defeated, it would theoretically have to wait until next year. However, Alkhalili plans to override the LRC and finance committee by a two-thirds vote in the senate once her bill reaches the senate floor. However, Alkhalili is uncertain if it will pass stating “I wouldn’t know if they (the senate) would even be willing to have the conversation,” but she is nonetheless hopeful. On Wednesday, May 23’s meeting, Alkhalili will introduce her bill to remove the ASPB stipend cap and “start a conversation” on stipend reform. ASUCR meets in the senate chambers (HUB 221) on Wednesday, May 23 at 6:30 p.m. ■H
ASUCR: Moore and Ayra talk with Wilcox about sexual misconduct
MARK BERTUMEN Contributing Writer
ASUCR held its weekly meeting last Wednesday, May 16. Here are the highlights: • Budget for next year approved … Vice President of Finance Jose Cortez-Hernandez presented a spreadsheet of the budget plan proposed by the Finance Committee, which was passed unanimously with a vote of 9-0-0. The addition of a “campaign reimbursement” to next year’s ASUCR election was made to the budget, where candidates may be partially or completely repaid for expenditures made during their campaign. It was pointed out that candidates would not have
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to win to fall under this precept and that various other UCs already have this rule in place. Plans for next year … CHASS Senator Martin Cuenca discussed his plans as vice president of external affairs next year with Salih Muhammad, and how he intends to work with him on “bridging the gap” between on-campus organizations and ASUCR. Wilcox on sexual harassment … Executive Vice President Carisha Moore spoke about a meeting she and President Aram Ayra had with Chancellor Kim Wilcox on sexual harassment. “He really wanted to do something about the issue and contribute in a way that his office can fix,” Moore
said in regards to that meeting. The meeting, which was scheduled at Wilcox’s request, determined that a “senior management group” for current and future chancellors and their cohorts should be created to educate them on sexual harassment. Moore pointed out that other UCs don’t have this kind of regulatory system in place for their chancellors and their colleagues.
The next ASUCR meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 23 in the senate chambers located in HUB 221. ■H
MARTIN LOPEZ / HIGHLANDER
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NEWS
TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018
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Attorney General candidates debate criminal justice reform, immigration enforcement AMANI MAHMOUD Contributing Writer MARK BERTUMEN Contributing Writer
UCR hosted a debate between the four candidates for California’s Office of Attorney General (AG) on the evening of Tuesday, May 15 at the Barbara and Art Culver Center of the Arts. The event brought together Democrat incumbent Xavier Becerra and his three competing candidates: Steven Bailey, a Republican former superior court judge; Eric Early, a Republican attorney with the firm Early, Sullivan, Wright, Gizer & McRae LLP; and Dave Jones, California’s Democrat commissioner of insurance. The debate was comoderated by Grover Trask, codirector of UCR’s Presley Center of Crime and Justice Studies, and Paulette Brown-Hinds, founder of Voice Media Ventures and publisher of the Inland Empire’s Voice newspaper. The hour-long debate served as a question and answer session based on audience questions that were submitted online. The panel first asked the number one priority of the candidates in terms of public safety responsibilities. Jones responded first, saying that he hopes to improve the rehabilitation of jailed criminals. “I want to focus on substance treatment, job treatment,” Jones said. “If we do not do this, the science tells us that these people will reoffend and cause greater harm.” Early followed, saying that his lead priority was public safety, while Becerra argued that one way of improving public safety would be by removing guns from the hands of known felons in California. Bailey believes that the current consideration of domestic abuse as a “nonviolent crime” and the early release of sexual offenders from prison are partially to blame for the rise of crime by 24 percent in California, and that those precepts ought to be removed to lower crime rates. Candidates were then asked about their personal qualities, those that they have outside of their profession that assists voters in deciding who should be the new AG. Early spoke first. “I care deeply about the people of all races, creed, nationality and sexuality,” Early stated. “If you are a law-abiding
citizen of this state, you will have no better friend in government than me. If you’re not, I am not going to be your friend.” Jones responded next, saying that he wants to bring people from “all walks of life” together to confront challenges concerning rehabilitating those coming out of prison. Becerra said that he intends to “make people believe that they can trust what I say. I intend to try and earn respect.” The debate later focused on the more than 30 lawsuits that Becerra has filed against President Trump and the federal government, asking the candidates if this was straying away from the duties of the attorney general. Bailey believed that California did not have to make a lawsuit for every event that happens in Washington D.C. “We’ve got a number of lawsuits that are just, quite frankly, frivolous,” Bailey declared. As AG, Bailey said he would look over the lawsuits and drop those that he considers “frivolous.” Jones responded that there were more pressing matters in California that Becerra had overlooked as a result of the lawsuits, stating that there were 10,000 people with guns “who by law should not have them” and that Becerra had not paid much attention to the opioid epidemic in the state. Early said that the excessive lawsuits were draining California’s taxpayers of its money to be carried out. Becerra held fast that he had been doing the right thing, pointing out that there had been victory in 17 of those 32 lawsuits so far, specifically referencing the lawsuit over Trump’s attempts to take away birth control under the Affordable Care Act. The panel then asked the candidates about their thoughts on Assembly Bill (AB) 109, a piece of legislature that in 2011 declared that felony offenders would be put in county jails instead of state prisons, in the event that state prisons become overcrowded. The panel pointed out that AB 109’s “decarceration efforts were enhanced” by Proposition 47, which turned drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors, and Proposition 57, which allowed the consideration of parole for nonviolent criminals. Early responded that no provisions were made to accomodate the shift in the jailing paradigm. “There was
no money given to these local (county) communities and it has caused a mess in our state jail system,” Early said. Concerning Proposition 57, Early believed that “nobody in (the) audience wants the early release of these people. Those in charge of Sacramento for years are turning California into a criminals’ paradise.” He would amend the pieces of legislation if given the chance. Bailey stated that California has created a “failed policy” with these acts of legislature, resulting in crime on the streets that has to be taken care of. Jones spoke next, expressing his desire to reform the existing legislation by redefining “violent” crimes and routing money into rehab programs for prisoners. Becerra responded by referring to his time as an attorney representing mentally ill people with low income. These people initially lived inside long-stay psychiatric hospitals, but were eventually pushed to the streets as the hospitals were turned into mental health service buildings in a process known as “deinstitutionalization.” Going off of this experience, and similar to Early’s response from before, Becerra reflected that resources must be provided to make sure that those put on the streets are not taken off of them again due to their involvement, or reinvolvement, with crime. The next question involved how the candidates would resolve legal issues surrounding the Senate Bill (SB) 54 “Values Act,” which made California a sanctuary state but prompted the U.S. AG to sue California for attempting to do so. Bailey believed that California should not be deciding on this sort of policy and considered the action unconstitutional. “What we did here in California is create not a sanctuary state, but a sanctuary for criminals,” Bailey said, referring to the illegal immigrants that are coming into California as “collateral damage of the failed, foolish policy that came out of Sacramento.” Jones believes that SB 54 ought to stay, and argued that the policy “was carefully crafted to make sure that it did not intrude upon the federal government’s responsibilities on immigration,” and also stated that he would do what he could to protect California from deportations. Becerra declared that as a son of immigrants he
would “defend (people like) them with every fiber in (his) body,” and found offense in how his opponents described and viewed SB 54; referring back to Bailey’s comment on California being a “criminal’s paradise,” Becerra said that no law protects any criminal by sanctuary jurisdiction. Early, also a son of immigrants, who he pointed out were legal, stated that SB 54 indeed violated the U.S. Constitution. “Becerra does not believe in borders,” Early declared, saying that “we cannot (afford to) take any more illegal immigrants; we are essentially a financially bankrupt state.” Candidates were then asked about if they supported or opposed the death penalty in California. Becerra said that the death penalty should be upheld, specifically referring to Proposition 66, which states that all appeals to the conviction (which are always made automatically) must be handled in the courts of initial trial. Early also supported the death penalty since California citizens voted on it (albeit with a small margin between 6.6 million “yes” votes and 6.3 million “no” votes) but reasoned that it has only been in name in recent years for California and argued that it has to be upheld more actionably. Jones was against the death penalty, and desired to remove the possibility for mistaken execution of an innocent convict. Bailey supported the death penalty, referring to his time as superior court judge and his time talking to those on death row to say that “there are some people who can just never be trusted to be on our streets,” remarking that he himself has “seen it on the inside.” The panel’s final question asked for the candidates’ views
on the following statement: “Educators have voiced concern that more oppressive immigration enforcement will jeopardize students’ state safety and interfere with their school’s education mission.” Jones agreed with the statement, saying that he had seen it happen in his own community. “Families are being broken up, parents are being taken away from their children,” Jones responded, “teachers and school principals have told me there is fear in their schools.” He also argued that this fear of deportation prevents undocumented immigrants from reporting on other crimes unrelated to deportation and in turn increases crime overall and lowers public safety. Becerra also supported the statement, recalling his time in Congress when families would go to his office and ask if they could do anything to ensure that their kids don’t come home to an empty house. Early focused on the securing of borders to prevent further illegal immigration, citing that California already spends $20 million a year on current undocumented immigrants. He also pointed out that the Hispanic communities that he has interacted with do not like illegal immigration either, highlighting that those of similar ethnicities do not necessarily hold the same opinion. Bailey considered the issue to be one for the federal government to handle and stated that families ought to not be broken up by oppressive immigration enforcement but otherwise did not elaborate on a clear stance of concurrence with the statement at hand. The debate concluded at 8:23 p.m., after each candidate’s closing statement. ■H
MARTIN LOPEZ / HIGHLANDER
“Making the right impression”: New York Times columnist Bruni asserts the need for better journalism ANDREAS RAUCH Senior Staff Writer
The topic of fake news in modern America once again took the stage in academic discourse, as New York Times opinion columnist Frank Bruni discussed the issues surrounding journalism during the presidency of Donald Trump. Bruni argued that news media, encouraged by the unusual character of the Trump presidency, has lost sight of its responsibility to maintain professionalism and neutrality in “chronicling” political events. Bruni’s talk, presented as the Hays Press Enterprise Lecture and introduced by Chancellor Kim Wilcox and UCR Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing and Editor-in-Chief of the Los Angeles Review of Books Tom Lutz, is the latest in a series of annual lectures, sponsored by an endowment honoring Howard “Tim” Hays Jr. in conjunction with The Press Enterprise. The lecture series is funded in memory of Hays, once publisher and owner of the Riverside-area paper, and is in its 49th iteration since its inauguration in 1966.
Following an introduction by Wilcox, Bruni took the stage to present his observations and experiences as a nationallyrenowned journalist. Bruni expressed gratitude for the opportunity to speak and highlighted the importance of establishing platforms for the free exchange of ideas. Bruni then opened with an anecdote about Trump’s recent visit to Michigan, where he criticized news media for propagating “fake news.” This charge has become commonplace in Trump’s many interactions with journalists. Bruni highlighted that, the same night, journalists and other media personalities convened in Washington for the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where comedienne Michelle Wolf chastised Trump and joked at his expense. Among Wolf’s targets were other senior personalities in the White House including White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Wolf’s critique of Sanders drew much attention as her remarks were aimed at Sanders’ appearance and fashion sense.
The reaction to these comments, although mixed, was typical of modern day media, according to Bruni. The “trainwreck,” as Bruni characterized the media reaction, showed Americans that news media, decried by the current administration as elitist and biased, could not claim the moral high ground. Bruni questioned “whether we in the media are projecting the right image and making the right impression.” Such behavior, which failed to meet professional standards, has resulted in “many Americans (having) such a low opinion of (the media) … We are not fake but we are flawed, in ways that render us vulnerable to the president and warrant adjustment,” Bruni explained, adding, “We indulge too often in snark for snark’s sake.” The speaker explained his own forays into political satire, culminating in an article in which he compared Trump’s famed coiffure, a topic of debate among commentators unsure of its true hue, to a “mood ring.” Bruni explained that this sarcastic style, although entertaining, was irresponsible
and fed into Trump’s narrative of a confrontational and immature press. Such cavalier behavior, according to Bruni, needs to stop. Bruni also commented on the double standards in today’s journalism, which leave journalists open to counterallegations of intolerance and discrimination. The criticism of women in the White House, for example, such as First Lady Melania Trump or Sanders, has been characterized by comments that, if applied to other prominent women, would be considered sexist and taboo. Bruni explained that, barring serious and extreme right-wing individuals, critics throughout Michelle Obama’s time as First Lady largely respected her fashion choices and refrained from criticizing her appearance. According to Bruni, “we can’t gape and laugh.” The speech closed with an examination of journalists’ place in covering politics. Journalists, Bruni argued, often present facts in a skewed way intended to garner more attention rather than protect accuracy and context. Recalling the story of Mick Mulvaney, current director of
the Office of Management and Budget in the Trump cabinet and former US congressman from South Carolina, Bruni noted a lack of context as detrimental and politically motivated. Mulvaney was on record saying that, during his time as a representative, he refused to speak with lobbyists who did not financially contribute. What most news sources omitted in an attempt to portray Mulvaney negatively was that he went on to explain that only constituents had his full attention, whenever they would visit. Bruni closed with some thoughts on the integrity of modern journalism. Americans, he said, trust news less than ever, with the charge led by Trump himself. As a result, news media have to respond with character and honesty. “We should not, we cannot hand the president any reason to discredit us as partisans having an indiscriminate meltdown … he conflates the nation’s business with show business; we shouldn’t follow suit,” Bruni explained. “The news we report is real, but so is the need to be even better at reporting it.” ■H
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NEWS
TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018
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“Save the Bees” campaign seeks to end pesticide use in California AIDAN RUTTEN Contributing Writer
The California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) will begin pledging for their statewide “Save the Bees” campaign next fall at UCR with the goal of influencing legislators to ban the use and sale of pesticides called neonicotinoids. These pesticides, otherwise known as neonics, are detrimental to bee populations, and, given our reliance on bee pollination, bee populations declining could have severe consequences concerning our food supplies. CALPIRG’s campaign is focused on spreading awareness about the consequences of not protecting bees. “30 to 40 percent of our bee colonies are dying off each season and that just shouldn’t be happening,” said Laura Caldera, secretary of the UCR CALPIRG chapter and “Save the Bees” campaign coordinator. “We lose a lot of our food products.” People rely heavily on crops which are reliant on bees for
pollination. According to the CALPIRG website, “We rely on bees to pollinate 71 of the 100 crops that provide 90 (percent) of most of the world’s food.” Examples of these products include almonds, apples, strawberries and alfalfa, a crop which dairy cows depend on. These statistics are backed up by research from the National Resource Defense Council, or NRDC. According to their website, “In 2015, 42 percent of honeybee colonies in the United States died.” Some potential causes for this are global warming and pesticides. The NRDC are trying to push this issue to the top of legislative agenda in Washington and are lobbying the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to eliminate or scale down the development of dangerous agrichemicals by companies like Dow, Monsanto and Syngenta. This CALPIRG initiative aims to get enough signatures on their petitions to pass laws banning neonics statewide. “The ultimate goal is to get the whole country, but we obviously have to start small
and just get California to ban neonics,” said Caldero. “We want to save the bees. We would also like lobby days to go up to Sacramento and speak to officials personally to tell them our students care about this issue.” Many on campus are likely familiar with CALPIRG, as every quarter they send students to speak to classrooms to raise awareness about their campaigns in hopes of persuading students to pledge support. Choosing to pledge adds a $10 fee to quarterly tuition, which goes to staffing and training, as CALPIRG focuses on student engagement. This campaign in particular is coordinated with the help of Environment California, which works closely with the NRDC, and Bee Friendly USA. While several factors may be contributing to bee deaths, such as global warming and parasites, pesticide use has one of the most direct impacts on bee colonies. This is why the campaign is focused on banning neonics. Caldero says that, without bees, produce supplies will be negatively impacted.
COURTESY OF CALPIRG
“We won’t have pollinators,” lamented Caldera, “We’re not going to have our beautiful flowers. We would not have
coffee or apples or broccoli. We wouldn’t have honey. It’s our food” that is going to be most affected. ■H
UC Riverside research creates a new method to detect alien life ATENAS ODRIOZOLA Contributing Writer
UCR researchers are working to detect extraterrestrial life in the solar system. The paper “Atmospheric Seasonality as an Exoplanet Biosignature” presents a new method of detecting life on exoplanets, planets outside the solar system, through the identification of certain gases in that planet’s atmo-
sphere. Stephanie L. Olson, a UC Riverside fifth-year doctoral candidate, is moving a step forward toward finding life outside the Solar System. The study, published on May 9 and funded by the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI), attempts to identify methane, ozone, oxygen and carbon dioxide in an exoplanet’s atmosphere in order to find
biological signatures of life. By analyzing the exoplanet’s atmosphere seasonality, Olson hopes to locate a potential traces of organisms. During summer, for example, Earth experiences higher levels of oxygen due to plant photosynthesis. This new method of finding life branches away from past methods of finding life. “For a long time, the search for life beyond our
COURTESY OF PEXELS
planet was synonymous to the search for oxygen,” explained Olson. “It’s probably going to be more complicated than that because we discovered different ways to make oxygen in the absence of life (and) life is producing lots of oxygen in the planet surface that not necessarily going to result in high levels of oxygen in the atmosphere.” The team’s method of detecting life was inspired by methods of studying Earth’s early life forms, many of which were able to exist with high levels of methane as oxygen was poisonous to them. False positives pose a challenge to this method. These can occur when erroneous signs of life are given. Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, has methane lakes and precipitation. The high level of methane, which can be an indirect sign of life, can give a false positive sign of life. A consideration of other factors need to be inputted to be able to check if there is life. In addition, a new telescope would need to be invented to examine the exoplanets. Currently, exoplanets are observed indirectly through the decrease in light observed from a star as the planet passes during its orbit.
While the method has only been applied theoretically, they plan to use the method on exoplanets with less of a circular orbit than Earth and at varying distances from its star compared to Earth. Other gases could also be analyzed. Though the exoplanets are too far away for humans to visit in a person’s lifetime, Olson will continue to research whether humans are alone in the universe. “It’s useful not just to find life, but try to categorize its similarities and differences it has with us,” said Olson. NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellow in UCR’s Department of Earth Sciences Edward W. Schwieterman, Assistant Professor of Biogeochemistry at Georgia Institute of Technology Christopher T. Reinhard, UCR Professor of Biogeochemical Modeling Andy Ridgwell, UCR Associate Professor in Exoplanets and Habitability Stephen R. Kane, UCR Distinguished Professor of Biogeochemistry Timothy W. Lyons and University of Washington Professor of Astronomy Victoria S. Meadows contributed to this study as well. Meadows and Kane were unavailable for comment H before time of publication. ■
NEWS IN BRIEF
UCR alumnus returns after being detained in North Korea VASKEN NAJARIAN Contributing Writer
UCR alumnus Tony Kim, 59, was among three U.S. citizens who returned on Wednesday, May 9 after being being imprisoned in North Korea during April 2017. Kim was detained at Pyongyang airport on April 22 of last year after being accused of committing what reports claim were “criminal acts of hostility aimed to overturn” North Korea. However, the release did not
specify what crimes the three individuals actually committed. Kim’s family had started a social media campaign over the last year to push for their releases. Kim graduated from UCR in 1990 with his MBA, and according to his family, was teaching accounting at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, a university that is privately funded by Christian groups. He previously taught at Yanbian University near the North Korean border in Yanji,
China. However, the cause of his detainment was not related to any of his activity in Pyongyang, and while he has yet to speak to the press, his family has done so, thanking President Donald Trump for his engagement with North Korea in helping bring Kim back. Donald Trump has announced a summit with North Korean leaders to take place on June 12th in Singapore, where leaders of both North Korea and South Korea will discuss methods of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula. ■H
COURTESY OF AIRMAN MICHAEL MURPHY
TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018
HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/opinions
Opinions
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HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL
Los Angeles has a promising opportunity to tackle homelessness
S
outhern California’s homelessness crisis has once again been thrust into the spotlight when the Los Angeles City Council chose a parking structure in LA’s Koreatown as the city’s first new temporary homeless shelter. The announcement of the shelter’s placement sparked a May 6 protest in Koreatown and has led more than 9,000 people so far to sign an online petition showing opposition to the shelter’s development. Although the selection process for the shelter was less than perfect, LA Mayor Garcetti’s plan to address LA’s rampant homelessness is a long overdue remedy for the city that should be executed faithfully. The Koreatown shelter is the first of 15 proposed temporary homeless shelters that are to be built in each of the municipality’s city council districts. They are part of the city’s $20 million initiative to provide temporary housing and counseling for homeless residents while the city builds permanent housing. Some within the opposition groups say a temporary shelter should be built somewhere in Koreatown, but that the city did not do enough to include local residents in the decision and that the current location is unacceptable. Protesters are concerned about potential dangers to children at nearby schools, decreased economic activity for local businesses and declining property values. Although these concerns are understandable, they are built on the fact that homelessness in Southern California has been consistently pushed under the rug. The belief that building a homeless shelter will pose dangers to children, scare away shopping at small businesses and deflate property values however, is logical only if homeless shelters somehow make the homeless more visible, or will encourage the movement of more homeless individuals into the area. Since homeless shelters are being built in every city council district in Los
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Angeles however, it can’t be said that any particular district will experience increased immigration of nearby homeless populations when the shelters are all complete. A study by Stanford Economist Igor Popov, called “Shelter Funding for Homeless Individuals and Families Brings Tradeoffs,” studied homeless populations across the United States in February 2017 and found that “more generous funding (to homelessness programs) does not draw any new single adults into the local homeless population.” The fear that building a homeless shelter will introduce increased crime and economic woes that already exist as a result of homelessness itself indicates that residents who voice these concerns are not so much uncomfortable with homelessness itself as being forced to confront it in their own neighborhoods. The choice to avoid confronting homelessness in the streets and view the homeless as invisible is what has perpetuated the problem for so long, and unless residents begin to make sacrifices to confront the truth of the issue, Mayor Garcetti’s plan to reduce homelessness is at risk. While the selection process for the Koreatown temporary homeless shelter may have been a bit impudent, temporary shelters have to be the first step in getting the city’s 42,828 homeless people off the streets and into communities that both require and promote contribution to society. According to Garcetti’s plan, these shelters will stand for 3 years until permanent supportive housing units are built. In both the temporary shelters and permanent housing units, residents will be given access to on-site mental health, employment, addiction and wellness services designed to reintegrate them and guide them toward re-entering and benefiting the economy. These services are important aspects of rehabilitation programs that can help homeless individuals take control of their life and become contributing members of society.
Reducing homelessness in a city is firstly a moral and humanitarian concern, but it’s also smart policy. Not only does a lack of homelessness indicate strong community unity and values, but it leads to significantly reduced healthcare costs. Daniel G. Garrett, Chief Trailblazer of the Blue Ridge Mountain Group, published a study in the Journal “American Health and Drug Benefits,” which found that almost 33 percent of all visits to emergency centers involve homeless people, whose visits cost an average of $3,700, and as many as 80 percent of these visits are for illnesses that can be addressed through preventive care. By getting homeless people off the streets and into employment to purchase health insurance, his study estimates that healthcare costs in local communities can be reduced by as much as 59 percent. Riverside’s experiences can show LA how a serious commitment to reducing homelessness can work. In 2011, the city of Riverside had 1,430 homeless individuals out of the city’s 309,771 residents, meaning that approximately 0.46 percent of the population was homeless. The number, although not insignificant, is significantly less than the percentage of LA’s current population that is homeless, 1 percent. More importantly however, Riverside’s homeless population dropped to 389 in 2017, or just 0.12 percent of the population. Riverside is also the only city in California that has officially ended veteran homelessness, according to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. Riverside’s relative success in eliminating homelessness is due to the city’s bold actions. The city of Riverside has aggressively pursued the “Housing First” initiative which “emphasizes moving people into housing as quickly as possible and providing the appropriate level of services.” As part of this initiative, the city has used federal grants to build permanent housing, provided housing vouchers to
homeless veterans, established a rental assistance program that distributes short-term aid and housing subsidies on a case-by-case basis and offered a wide variety of emergency shelters and resource centers for the homeless population. By simply spending less than just $4,000 per homeless individual, Riverside housed all 89 of its homeless veterans by 2016, and in a particularly impressive effort in 2013, housed 140 veterans in just 100 days. Despite all of its accomplishments, Riverside still isn’t finished; the city recently created a new office called the Office of Homeless Solutions and is looking to hire a new homeless coordinator in the county’s executive office. Riverside’s aggressive efforts to curb homelessness are an excellent example of how serious commitments lead to social improvements. Riverside’s efforts act as an effective model, yet LA has more than twice as many homeless relative to its population and a much more punishing housing market. Ultimately, Los Angeles knows best how to handle its homelessness issue, and that is why the success of LA’s initiative is so important. The plan is a bold framework that somewhat resembles the steps Riverside took to address homelessness and has serious potential to bring many of the city’s 42,828 homeless people into temporary housing and eventually locate them into permanent residences. Riverside has shown that homelessness reduction truly is possible if a city is able to implement its plans effectively. LA has put forth an initiative that could be met with serious success, but the whole city needs to be on board if meaningful progress is to be made. ■H Highlander editorials reflect the majority view of the Highlander Editorial Board. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Associated Students of UCR or the University of California system.
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TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018
HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/opinions
OPINION POLL Compiled by Bri Chew, Staff Photographer
“What are your thoughts on last week’s workers’ strike?”
Casey Thielhart Fourth-Year Political Science “I support it.”
Matthew Girard Second-Year Psychology
Tyler Morrison Second-Year Finance
Trevor Walder Second-Year Film
“I have no idea what it was about.”
“It’s a strong representation of the economy in the U.S. and something needs to be done about the working population and the wages in America, especially the wage gap between the rich and the poor.”
“I think that it’s important for them to go on strike and there should be more because that’s the way that things get changed.”
Stephanie Saavedra Fourth-year Political Science
“I really didn’t know that it was going on. It was quite a surprise that things were closed. I think the impact of the strike left our school thinking we need these workers and to compensate them correctly.”
Cindy Saravia First-Year Psychology “I thought that they should be listened to more. People were just ignoring them when they passed by.”
COMICS TALL TAIL #25 BY: JUSTUS ROSS
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Features HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/features
TUESDAY,MAY 22, 2018
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Lena Waithe humbly and triumphantly challenges social norms at “In conversation with Lena Waithe” VIVIAN KIM Contributing Writer Students cheer as Lena Waithe takes the stage with effortless elegance paired with a fierce stride. It’s May 15, and ASPB is hosting “In conversation with Lena Waithe” in HUB 302. Waithe has acted in several projects such as “Master of None” and “Ready Player One” and her own creation, “The Chi,” had a successful run in its first season on Showtime this past winter. She starts off the night by speaking about her choice of wardrobe at the Met Gala earlier this month, where she donned a rainbow cape that also included a black and brown stripe. Waithe says she wanted to wear a rainbow pride flag cape because, of all things, she thought “it would be fly.” She adds that she wanted to include black and brown stripes to include people of color, believing her choice of clothing allowed her to make a statement. 2018 has been a career-defining year for the actor, and Waithe spoke on the impact she has made in roles like the iconic Thanksgiving episode of “Master of None” and the visceral series “The Chi.” In the Thanksgiving episode, Waithe plays Denise, best friends with the main character Dev (Aziz Ansari), and the audience is able to see Waithe’s struggles as a woman of the LGBTQ community as Denise’s mother refuses to accept she is a lesbian. She believes the industry should be a reflection of the
society we live in today. Waithe clarifies, “Everyone should be represented. It should be like a mirror. Not all groups are represented. It’s about how honest can I make this moment?” Waithe says her intent is not to be inspirational or send a particular message, but says she wants her work of art to depict what our society is like today, and even compares her artwork to a time capsule. She believes art is meant to be shared and she wants to share what it is like to be black and queer in 2018. Naturally, the conversation moved to how Waithe deals with the criticism and discrimination she faces as an AfricanAmerican lesbian woman in the industry. She immediately responds, “If I were not a gay black female, the Thanksgiving episode would not exist. I don’t look at it as a thing I have to battle. I’m just trying to do the best work that I could and I just happen to be a black woman. It’s a myth that it follows you around. Do you think about how you are lefthanded when walking into a meeting?” In addition, Waithe adds that she doesn’t let her opposition affect her in any way. She explains, “Not to say I’m above it. I don’t feel like that’s my experience, now it could be. Maybe I’m ignoring it, but you can’t spend too much time criticizing the world or thinking about how the world criticizes you.” After the interview was conducted, a Q&A session began where members of the audience were able to ask her questions. She was mostly asked
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questions about her work ethic and what she personally observes in our society today. She explains how first, she believes she is different from everybody else, and has made great sacrifices to get to where she is today. “I sacrificed time. No, I can’t just go kick it. I dont think I’m greater than everyone else. I’m just built differently,” she explains .“Background singers are the ones who did not make it. It’s not depressing because you don’t have the performance, you don’t have
a song if there isn’t someone in the background. Somebody’s gotta sing the hook. I think there’s an element of embracing that.” Though she wouldn’t admit it, Waithe no longer exists in the backdrop. If her 2018 is indicative of anything, it is that the tireless work ethic put in by those supremely talented in the background will help them rise to the forefront, breaking social and cultural barriers on their way to success. ■H
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FEATURES
TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018
UNDER THE
KILT
We’ve all heard stories about marriages that came from online dating websites. There’s also the negative side of online dating such as the Tinder horror stories Buzzfeed writes about every year or so. However, if you’re looking to get started using online dating apps or want to switch up your online dating game, then try some of these steps.
HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/features
A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO ONLINE DATING
MARTHA DELGADO, STAFF WRITER
Picking the App
There are many applications and websites that offer matchmaking services. Tinder is the most common, but while its original use was for hookups, one can use it for more (see Building the Bio below). Bumble is another dating app that actually has three settings depending what you are looking for: Dating, friends or networking. Okcupid allows you to take a survey on your preferences regarding different topics, and you can see what other people answered to compare your compatibility. Online dating is also heteronormative. For those who identify as LGBTQ, some dating apps allow you to select your gender expression, but the apps don’t offer the same when selecting the gender you are interested in.
To Message or Not To Message First The most common advice is to be confident. Don’t be afraid to message the other person first. If you want to stand out from other matches, consider saying something other than “hey.” You can ask them about one of their pictures or about themselves. Some people write a question on their bio to encourage the other person to message first. With that in mind, prepare for the worst. It is possible that you message the person first and either never get a reply or get unmatched. There are a bunch of possible matches out there. Don’t let a couple bad experiences put you down.
Building the Bio
COURTESY OF PEXELS
To Meet or Not To Meet
Just be yourself. With apps, there is the common idea that you need to keep things superficial. But the best conversations happen when both people put more than just height and name on their bios. It helps if the information in your bio are things you are looking for in the other person. This can range from your basic info, hobbies, interests, etc. One of my friends decided to use pictures of himself in drag for his Tinder account. The result was that he received an increase in matches and gave his matches something to message him about first. Be straightforward with what you want. This includes writing your sexuality in your bio so you don’t attract the wrong people. It never hurts to write what you are looking for (i.e. whether you’re looking for a relationship or not). You would be surprised at the number of people who are just looking for friendships.
Meeting in person depends on what you are comfortable with. Some prefer to meet in person early on when there’s still interest while others prefer to wait after a few conversations to do so. If you do meet the person, then always do so in a public space or at least for the first time. Some suggestions for possible public spaces include a restaurant, Starbucks or a farmer’s market. It is also possible that you can be ghosted (never hear back from the other person) after meeting for the first time. Again, don’t let that stop you from using dating apps. You also want to be honest upfront. You wouldn’t want to send mixed signals. So, make sure to clarify whether the meetup will be a date or not. Whether you are looking for a potential romantic relationship or a possible best friend, online dating can look intimidating. You might go in looking for love but end up with friendship. All in all, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. ■H
Campus Cope Mastering The Job Hunt By: Daniel Tsai, contributing writer
Finding a job is certainly not the easiest of tasks. First, you spend countless hours polishing your application, and then you spend more hours contemplating a n d w o r r y i n g a b o u t t h e i n t e r v i e w. A f t e r t h e i n t e r v i e w, y o u b e g i n stressing about your word choice and if your answers were “right.” S o h e r e ’s s o m e a d v i c e o n h o w t o tackle the job hunt and get that job you want. C o m m o n l y, f u l l - t i m e s t u d e n t s pursuing a part-time job will take any job that is offered to t h e m . H o w e v e r, p o u n c i n g a t a n y job available has its own consequences. As a former tutor in high school, I had to deal with illmannered kids and a mean boss s i m p l y b e c a u s e I w a n t e d m o n e y. After a few months of working, I quit because the stress was too much. Therefore, it is important to pursue an occupation that is not only worth your time, but also has a suitable working environment. Furthermore, it is important to look for a job that you’re passionate about. There are many resources such as the Career Center and the ARC that can help y o u f i n d j o b s . P e r s o n a l l y, I l o v e teaching others and helping them succeed in whatever field they are pursuing. As a result, I became a supplemental instructor because I could mentor students and help them succeed in their respective classes. It was one of the best de-
cisions in my life because I found a j o b t h a t I e n j o y e d . M o r e o v e r, I was never really “working” bec a u s e , i n a l l h o n e s t y, t e a c h i n g
COURTESY OF PEXELS
others was fun and exciting. One of the most important parts o f j o b - s e e k i n g i s t h e i n t e r v i e w. Don’t be like me, and half-ass
the questions by coming up with vague and unrelated answers. Instead, prepare for the interview beforehand by researching the job via their websites and make sure to wear formal clothing such as a dress shirt and slacks. Dressing up and having prepared questions gives the interviewer a good impression that you really want the job. Interviewers love to ask questions such as “Why do you w a n t t h i s j o b ? ” o r “ Te l l m e a b o u t yourself.” These questions are y o u r o p p o r t u n i t i e s t o s e l l y o u rself to the interviewer and tell them how you would make their l i v e s e a s i e r — b e c a u s e h o n e s t l y, t h a t ’s w h a t e m p l o y e r s l o v e . Overall, don’t be too stressed out about job-seeking. Find a job that you are passionate about in a positive working environment. Furthermore, dress your best and beware of tricky interpersonal interview questions. For example, questions that I got caught up on before were “What makes you different from others?” or “Describe an experience that demonstrates your leadership.” Therefore, I suggest doing practice interviews with your friends and seeing if your answers comes out “halfassed.” F i n a l l y, i f y o u d o n ’t g e t t h e j o b , m o v e o n . R e j e c t i o n i s a n u n f o rt u n a t e i n e v i t a b i l i t y, b u t y o u c a n take the process as a learning experience. And if you end up getting the job, congratulations! ■H
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FEATURES
TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018
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Wakanda Forever: MCS roundtable dives into meaning behind “Black Panther” By: Martha Delgado, staff writer
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“Why the hell is T’Challa or any one in Wakanda allowing and welcoming that white guy from the CIA?” Professor Dylan Rodriguez asked as part of his opening comment. Criticism, praise and analysis of the 2018 Marvel superhero film “Black Panther” made up the roundtable discussion of the film for the MCS Media Festival on Wednesday, May 16 at INTS 1128. The panelists included media and cultural studies professors John Jennings, Keith Harris and Rodriguez; creative writing Professor Nalo Hopkinson; dance Professor Imani Johnson; and USC cinema and media studies Professor Kara Keeling. The roundtable was moderated by media and cultural studies professor Setsu Shigematsu and sociology and African studies major and fifth-year transfer student Robert Gordon. Rodriguez discussed his main critique of bringing Agent Everett Ross into Wakanda by reading a paragraph from his critical essay “Eulogy for Wakanda/ The King is Dead” (originally titled “Fake Ass Panther”). Later on he elaborated on the character of Erik Killmonger and how his radicalism was negatively portrayed in the movie by combining it with U.S. global imperialism. “It really did stand out how there was a conflation between U.S. global imperialism as a millenium project and black American aspirations for armed revolution,” he stated. “They became the same thing and that’s the thing that was killing me.” Keeling brought up the misconception in Hollywood
“(‘BLACK PANTHER’) IS NOT ACTUALLY AFROFUTURIST IT’S ACTUALLY AFRO NOW BECAUSE THIS IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.” that black-cast films wouldn’t sell overseas. “I wanted to think about what the conditions were for Black Panther being able to do so well overseas,” Keeling stated. The presence and absence of children in the film disturbed and fascinated Harris. The only time children are shown in the film are in the beginning and end, yet there are no Wakandan children shown. “There were no children and that correlates to the tradition of not seeing black children in film,” Harris explained. Self-identified professional geek, Jennings, described his excitement for Wakanda. “As soon as the film started, I was like ‘Wait a minute we’re going to Wakanda for real.’ I really wasn’t ready for it,” said Jennings, explaining how black cultural production deals with trauma. “Vibranium to a certain degree is a reification of black auditory construction,” Jennings began. “It deals with sound and reflection on sound. Shuri creates a method by which (T’Challa’s suit) can accept trauma and redirect it. It was a celebration of black intellectual production.” As a criticism of the film, Hopkinson brought to attention how a lesbian romance was cut out of the film. “Reading between the lines what I get is ‘We didn’t make (the lesbian romance) a compelling enough story that it actually fit in with the rest of the plotline.’” Another of Hopkinson’s critiques was the whereabouts of the laborers in the “middle- and upperclass black paradise” of Wakanda. “How did Wakanda
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solve the question that science fiction asks: Who does the menial labor? Who takes up the night soil?” Hopkinson questioned. Hopkinson also shared her initial worries about the film. “When you have someone who’s king, how do you portray anyone as having empowerment and agency?” Hopkinson was satisfied with the film’s director, Ryan Coogler’s, portrayals of the radicalized African women in the film. The visuals of “Black Panther” have captivated and resonated with audiences and panelists alike. Johnson reflected on the Wakanda salute where one crosses their arms to make a W, yet the gesture looks like an X. “It echoes a lot of things for me,” she began. “I think hip-hop when I see it, but then I also think Malcolm X. I also think of the way this gesture gets adopted, and I’ve seen it in prom pictures and kids greeting each other.” Later on, Jennings praised Johnson’s reappropriation of the gesture and its connections to her experiences when talking about the impact of its visuals. In relation to the visuals and design of the film, Keeling commented on the portrayal of gender in the scene where Wakabi surrenders to Okoye during the fight in Wakanda. “There’s this moment in which that surrender is also a kind of possibility for a different gender relation. A different kind of gender relation between men and women but also just a different way of imagining what gender could be. That to me when I saw it was an amazing sequence.” Jennings mentioned his experiences with interviewers asking about Afrofuturism, an art movement in which science fiction themes incorporate elements of black history and culture. “Most of the interviews I had were about this Afrofuturism thing and where does it come from,” he began. “(‘Black Panther’) is not actually Afrofuturist it’s actually Afro now because this is happening right now. It’s not in the future. And I’m like ‘man, y’all are so late.’” ■H
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HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/arts
TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018
Radar
MOVIE REVIEW
“DEADPOOL 2” LEARNS FROM PAST MISTAKES, MAKING FOR AN ENJOYABLE, OVER-THE-TOP THRILLRIDE MARCELO GARCIA Senior Staff Writer
I’ll be honest: Going into “Deadpool 2,” I wasn’t expecting much. I was extremely excited going into the first one two years ago, and was thoroughly disappointed. My expectations of a smart, two-hour, tongue-in-cheek, fourth wall-breaking comedy were almost fulfilled, but it lacked the thoughtfulness I had hoped for. And no, I’m not sitting here as some highly intellectual movie connoisseur to complain about how “Deadpool” was too dumb for me; I simply hold the position that uncreative and obvious jokes that reference Marvel’s cinematic universe and pop culture are still uncreative and obvious. That being said, “Deadpool 2” rose far above my expectations to deliver an experience that left a much stronger impression than its predecessor. About 45 minutes into the film, I was convinced that it would be a repeat of “Deadpool.” Obligatory references to past Marvel movies, especially the “X-Men” films, received forced chuckles from the audience because light-hearted jokes and banter qualifies as knee-slapping humor, apparently. However, some spectacularly choreographed fight sequences offset the mile-a-minute quips that don’t always land. If there was anything to look forward to with this movie, it was these fights, and boy do they
deliver. Unlike most superhero films, where henchmen topple over with the flick of a protagonist’s finger, the fights here are gritty; extras don’t go down until they are executed, usually in the over-the-top fashion that has become a trademark of the series. While most of “Deadpool 2’”s action doesn’t even come close to the geniusly orchestrated symphony of knives and bullets of the “John Wick” series, there are a few moments — especially in an early montage — that give the series a run for its money. Adding to the list of preconceived expectations, there’s also the two new members of the cast, Cable (Josh Brolin) and Domino (Zazie Beetz), who shake things up. To address the big looming question for fans of the older comics: Yes, Cable is just as badass as he was when he rescued Scott and Jean from Stryfe in 90’s “X-Force.” As for Domino, whom I was never the biggest fan of, her character is executed well and she kicks her fair share of ass; her’s isn’t the most faithful adaptation, but it’s unique enough and establishes her as a strong and likeable character nonetheless. However, the first half of “Deadpool 2” follows in the footsteps of its predecessor in that the film’s appeal to my comic book fanboy side just wasn’t enough to create a truly enjoyable experience when I simply felt uninvested in anything that was happening on screen. Although I will
give “Deadpool 2” credit, it’s not for lack of trying. Not only does it open with a surprisingly emotional setup, but by the 30 minute mark, I cared about Wade Wilson’s character more than I ever did for the entirety of the first movie. We see the return of some old faces, namely Colossus (Stefan Kapicic) and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Hildebrand), but they don’t amount to much, since they’re primarily used as setup for the 3rd act. This is a shame because both of these character’s interactions with Wade are oozing with chemistry, but it feels like we don’t get enough of either of them. But despite this shaky start, the film slowly revs up and truly surpasses, “Deadpool” in its second half. At the one-hour point, it’s as if a switch is flipped when the film goes full throttle. Not only does the plot gain a clear sense of direction that the audience can get behind, but it wastes no time getting straight into the action. A new antagonist is added to the mix who injects some much needed life into the narrative and transforms the third act into something leagues above what other superhero flicks have had to offer in the past five years. While it still follows the same formula of what we’ve come to expect from a Marvel movie finale, it’s executed just uniquely enough that it feels fresh. This is mostly due in part to the primary object of our protagonists which, without
COURTESY OF 20TH CENTURY FOX
delving too deeply into spoilers, rather than stopping the bad guy, is to save the antagonist from themselves. This is not even to mention that one of the final exchanges in the film between Wade and Colossus was easily the best joke in the entire film. And finally, there’s the end credits scene. In tradition with every Marvel movie since “Iron Man,” “Deadpool 2” has a small scene that follows its main credits. As someone who absolutely despises the practice of making an audience sit through five to
ten minutes of credits for what always boils down to vague foreshadowing of a sequel (that arguably either belongs on the special features of some collector’s edition DVD or in the actual film before the credits roll), I can say with full confidence that “Deadpool 2’”s end credits scene is well worth the wait. Verdict: “Deadpool 2” has its share of issues, but the final product delivers a subversion of expectations that will be enjoyable to fans of the first H film and newcomers alike. ■
FROM THE PILOT TO PICKLE RICK: “RICK AND MORTY’”S FUTURE MOVING FORWARD MARCELO GARCIA Senior Staff Writer
Throughout the latter half of 2017, “Rick and Morty” was inescapable from conversations. With the third season in full swing and a fanbase that only grew with each episode, it became Adult Swim’s highest rated show while also claiming the title of television’s No. 1 comedy. All things considered, it’s no surprise that the show has been renewed for 70 episodes, once again drawing it into the public eye and conversation. Of course, it’s near impossible to talk about the series without someone bringing up the fanbase, which became a bit of a meme in itself after more than a few cringe-worthy videos were circulated online. Toward the middle of Season 3, many felt the show simply wasn’t the same, and claimed that an annoying fanbase had ruined what was otherwise a good show. However, this simply isn’t the case. Every popular franchise, from “Star Wars” to Marvel and DC, has bad fans, which stems from the massive popularity of these brands. This is not to say that all fan bases are toxic — each is filled with a loud and vocal minority. To say that this loud and vocal minority ruined the
experience for everyone is ridiculous. The fanbase didn’t make Season 3 — TV shows are written and animated months in advance — so to think that there is any correlation shows a lack of critical thinking. What truly made Season 3 feel inferior to its predecessors was not its fanbase but a shift in direction that wasn’t completely fleshed out: Character development. This is not to say that the first two seasons lacked any kind of interesting character dynamics, but the appeal of it all was that the devil was in the details. What initially came across as a ridiculous, cynical, gorefest of a stoner comedy, ended up having an added layer of depth for anyone willing to look for it. What kept me coming back to the show on a weekly basis was the shifting dynamic from week to week, as the characters changed, so would their reactions to different situations. It was fun to see Morty, who started off as the innocent, moral compass of the show, eventually lose his mind and go on a rampage in the purging episode. Once the third season began, this development became a much stronger focus, with every episode showing a much deeper insight into each character. In theory, this is a great
COURTESY OF CARTOON NETWORK
idea: Not only does it reward fans that have followed the growth of these characters, but it shows critics and newcomers alike that there is more to the show than just guts and toilet humor, similar to the hit Netflix animated comedy “Bojack Horseman.” However, unlike “Bojack Horseman,” rather than coming across as a smart and complex comedy, the third season took itself much too seriously. The character development no
longer felt natural and fairly paced, instead it felt forced and overly dramatic. Not to mention that the nihilistic sentiments of the show, which were initially in the background as an edgy running gag, came across as a perspective the series was actively encouraging. However, the series isn’t entirely hopeless. Episodes like “The Ricklantis Map” — which offered a ton of world building and plot development for the future
— as well as some cleverly thought out satire like the Simple Rick’s wafers or “The Rickshank Redemption,” show the potential of this series. Being a smart comedy that offers a different perspective on life is fine. In fact, offering an audience new mindsets is part of great TV. But in order to truly be great, “Rick and Morty” needs to return to a happy medium between its philosophy and eccentric comedy. ■H
HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/arts
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
TUESDAY,MAY 22, 2018
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“Birthmark: A Gospel/ Hip-Hop Experience” excites UCR during its 10-day run JULIAN MEDRANDA Senior Staff Writer
When The Sugar Hill Gang released “Rapper’s Delight” in the fall of 1979, not only did it introduce all but New York to the exciting, new, distinctly black genre of music known as hip-hop, but it frustrated those at the heart of the culture’s origins. MCs and DJs like Afrika Bambaataa and Grandmaster Flash and the community around them rejected the commercial misrepresentation of their unique forms of representation. Over time, the record would be more widely accepted despite its void of social commentary and the group’s unfamiliarity with the plights of urban life in South Bronx. Still, one can surely appreciate the irony in how it quickly became the distillation of the aesthetics of hip-hop despite not coming from the geographical space or culture that truly birthed it. It might be a minor mark on the song’s legacy, but that initial backlash resonates strongly with anyone who knows the feeling of having something of yours taken from you, and it then being thrown to the world for all to misinterpret. I learned this slice of music history in Hip-Hop Theater, a class taught by Rickerby Hinds in the fall of 2016. What was so intriguing about that class wasn’t simply the crash course in the roots of hip-hop culture, KRS-One’s five pillars and all, but the way Hinds saw it all as a rich playground for astute playwrights and performers. Following the success of his wildly popular “Dreamscape” play — which received six 2016 NAACP nominations and won three including Best Director, Actor and Lead Actress — Hinds returns to Sugar Hill Gang’s greatest cultural export in his play “Birthmark,” directed by Chari Arespacochaga. “Birthmark” is a coming-of-age hip-hop gospel loosely based on Hinds’ own
experience as a Honduran immigrant to South Central LA during the ‘80s. Like “Dreamscape,” the moment in time where the story exists in “Birthmark” is a very particular one, and the specificity of the events are catalysts for universal messages on cultural integration, immigration, the dichotomy of popular culture and religion and the personal resonance of hip-hop. From the first few minutes of “Birthmark,” it’s clear that Hinds is interested in the nostalgic qualities of early era hip-hop, particularly the iconic first lines of “Rapper’s Delight.” There’s other songs featured in the play, but this is the one Enrique keeps coming back to. “Birthmark” is an exciting and unique play that distills the essence of hip-hop theater while being in conversation with hiphop cultures of the past and present in ways that aren’t always immediately noticeable. Directing Hinds’ deeply personal story was a challenge for director Arespacochaga, but wasn’t necessarily challenging on account of how well communication between director, playwright and performers played out. During the talkback at the May 18 showing of “Birthmark,” Hinds, Arespacochaga and others discussed the origins of the play and the process of actualizing it for a UCR production. “(Hinds) was really generous about not imposing his personality on this,” Arespacochaga said in the post-performance Q&A. “If it’s not on the page, it’s not there,” Hinds followed up. The making of “Birthmark” was a process of collaboration between cast and crew to figure out how to fill in details of the story, and it shows in the play that everything — from the eraspecific slang and attire, set design and performance nuances — was lovingly calculated. Never obtuse or frustrating, “Birthmark” wastes no time spoon feeding information to its audience, in turn making for some
JIMMY LAI / HIGHLANDER
stylish transitions and interesting use of visual language. Lead actor and UCR graduate Andrew Hardin deftly portrayed the protagonist, Enrique, at each of the play’s defining points in time, but it was the dynamic between him and his mother, played excellently by Sade Ayodele, that elevated the emotional resonance of the play. Some things Ayodele noted and appreciated about the play were the inclusive cast and crew and empowering ability to affirm people like the character of Enrique, marginalized people attempting to assimilate into an alien cultural space. If there’s anything that Hinds and Arespacochaga want to communicate to the audience, it’s that the culture is rich with stories not unlike “Birthmark,” stories intrinsically linked to the songs and styles of hip-hop culture of the ‘80s. “I hope our actors, our crew and our UCR students can be inspired,” the director says, to consider “what it is we can create to … the telling of new and necessary stories” vis a vis hiphop theater. ■H
JIMMY LAI / HIGHLANDER
Long live 03 Greedo
Neither an impending 20-year prison sentence or incompetent DJ can eclipse the legacy the Watts rapper has built JULIAN MEDRANDA Senior Staff Writer
Walking through the parking lot of Santa Ana’s The Observatory, a familiar aroma wafted between car to car. A cocktail of blunts — the distinctive smell of a Backwood was hard to miss — and joints and liquor and cigarettes and, if you got close enough, the subtle fruity smell of lean, trailed out of the lot toward the venue where the rapper 03 Greedo would be performing. It was a party out there, or rather a cluster of micro parties, all in celebration of the second show on The Wolf Tour. For any other artist, a post-album release tour is nothing special or out of the ordinary. But very little about Greedo is ordinary. Sentenced to 20 years in prison for gun and drug charges dating back to 2016, Greedo underlined the bitter truth in a lamentative tweet, saying, “Never thought id (sic) have to retire the year I blew up. But shit was fun,” moments after apologizing
for letting his fans down. He’s right, too: 2018 really was his year, and there’s no shortage of articles proclaiming him to be the next big thing out of LA — Rolling Stone named him an artist you need to know and The Fader hailed him as one of the 10 artists to fall in love with this past spring. His debut album on a record label, “The Wolf of Grape Street,” remains one of the strongest releases of the year, with his nasally cadences bouncing off an eclectic range of beats from some of LA’s hottest producers like BeatBoy and RonRon The Producer. Currently, Greedo stands alongside other LA rappers and R. Baron associates Shoreline Mafia, Rucci and the now-jailed Stinc Team, as well as the Bay’s SOB x RBE, as the snarled faces spearheading a new path in the West Coast rap lineage. With less than two months left as a free man, his farewell tour had its horizons set on greatness. Greedo took the stage to be met not only by a full
house of adoring fans both in the crowd and on-stage, but also by an irritating set of technical difficulties. It was tolerable, if not understandable, the first time. But when it became evident that his DJ couldn’t let a song flow long enough for him to finish, interrupting the song by transitioning to another, the discontent was palpable. Audience boos and side chatter wondering what the problem was put the pressure not only on the apologetic DJ but on Greedo himself, who threatened to fire her on stage (soon after the show, Greedo took to Instagram to claim he fired her). Frustrating as it was, the chance to catch him at one of his final shows before he’s behind bars evaporated the frustrations among the crowd. You know an artist is the real deal when not even infuriatingly consistent technical difficulties can derail the party. Halfway into the set, Shoreline Mafia’s OhGeesy joined Greedo on stage, partially assembling the Avengers of the LA rap
COURTESY OF 03 GREEDO
scene. For an artist with so many songs released to his name, and a purported hundred-something more, the format of the set — sticking mostly to hooks save for a few full-length cuts like “Breaking News” and “Never Bend” — was ingenious. Or it could have been an incidental repercussion of a songskipping DJ. Whatever the case, the audience showed no shortage of love for Greedo. So the show was great. But Greedo deserves better.
Whether it’s an uneventful show blundered by lighting and mixing issues or Youtube commenters lacking any understanding of the rapper ’s unique expressiveness, Greedo’s status as a literal living legend is rebuked far too often — as though his tattoo was anything other than a proclamation of this status. God willing, the world will get to hear more music from the Wolf of Grape Street during his stint in prison. ■H
SPORTS
HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/sports
TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018
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Highlander World Cup Halftime
The 2018 World Cup in Russia is still months away, and some teams are still being put together. However, that’s not stopping the Highlander from breaking down every group to give you a comprehensive overview leading up to the first kickoff.
Mexico FIFA Ranking: 15
World Cup Appearances: 15 First Appearance: 1930 Last Appearance: 2014 Best result: Quarter-finals, 1970, 1986 Coach: Juan Carlos Osorio, Colombian (2015-present). Previously coached Sao Paulo FC (2015). Players to watch: Hirving Lozano In recent years, there has been no other Mexican player able to immigrate to the European continent and have as much success as Hirving “Chucky” Lozano. At just 22, Lozano finished third among the top scorers this season in the Dutch Eredivisie. True to his nickname, Lozano instills fear in his opponents with tenacity and courage. Mexican players aren’t known for adapting to European soccer immediately; Lozano, however, is undaunted as he has shown in his first season abroad and in big games for Mexico in the Confederations Cup and Copa America tournaments. Playing in his first World Cup, Lozano will seek to demonstrate that he is not only a key figure in the present but also a promising player that gives Mexico hope of going beyond the “quinto partido” (fifth game). Andres Guardado The national team midfielder and captain, Guardado has been in three FIFA World Cup tournaments since his first in 2006 at the tender age of 19. Now 31, Guardado is a leader and undisputed starter for the national team. Guardado’s career has been in European soccer for 11 years and has provided him with the experience of having played in some of the best leagues such as Germany’s Bundesliga, Spain’s La Liga and The Netherlands’ Eredivisie. Guardado’s position in the midfield is crucial for Mexico given his efficiency in ball distribution, control and dribbling in attack while also being able to provide support in ball recovery. Guardado is also versatile as he can play almost anywhere in the midfield and sometimes in the defense, where he was featured as a left-back during his time in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen and in Spain with Valencia. Having been with the national team since 2005, Guardado could be playing one of his last World Cup tournaments and will seek to lead Mexico to the position it deserves in international soccer. Potential lineup: Ochoa - Layún, Reyes, Moreno, Salcedo - Guardado, Herrera, Dos Santos - Vela, Lozano, Hernandez. Formation: 4-3-3 Prediction: Second in group, Round of 16 elimination Matches: Vs. Germany, 6/17 Vs. South Korea, 6/23 Vs. Sweden, 6/27
Group F Part II Jose Flores
Contributing Writer
Germany FIFA Ranking: 1
World Cup Appearances: 18 First Appearance: 1934 Last Appearance: 2014 Best result: Champions, 1954, 1974, 1990, 2014 Coach: Joachim Löw (German), Germany’s coach since 2006. Previously coached Germany as an assistant coach from 2004-2006. Players to watch: Timo Werner At just 22 years of age, the RB Leipzig striker has proven he is capable of wearing the Mannschaft jersey without cracking under pressure. After a great performance in the previous FIFA Confederations Cup, Werner finished as the tournament’s top scorer and demonstrated he is efficient for both his club and country teams. Werner’s youth reminds of one Thomas Muller from the 2010 FIFA World Cup where at just 20 years old, he was able to finish as the tournament’s best young player and top scorer. Just like Muller, Werner is a cold-blooded finisher when going one-on-one with the keeper and is able to position himself well to score goals. Werner, however, is more complete in terms of dribbling, speed and strength. With these attributes, Werner is capable of repeating what a young Thomas Muller once did in the South Africa 2010 World Cup. Toni Kroos A mastermind on the pitch, Toni Kroos (Real Madrid, Spain) is perhaps the best midfielder in the world today. Kroos is often not lauded for scoring goals or performing dribbling tricks on the field, because he possesses a different skill-set; he is an orchestrator in the midfield capable of passing with both feet without a problem. With a pass success rate of 93.3 percent, Toni Kroos distributes the ball efficiently to his teammates, who then create opportunities or score goals. Kroos is also capable of providing accurate crosses during corner kicks and free kicks, which can then turn into goals as well. Now playing in his third World Cup, Toni Kroos provides intelligence on the pitch for Germany which places them among the favorites to win the World Cup for the fifth time in their history. Potential lineup: Neuer - Hector, Rudiger, Boateng, Kimmich - Kroos, Gundogan - Goretzka, Ozil, Sane - Werner Formation: 4-2-3-1 Prediction: 1st in group, Champions Matches: Vs. Mexico, 6/17 Vs. Sweden, 6/23 Vs. South Korea, 6/27 ■H
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TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018
Sports
HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/sports
Baseball ends series in walk-off loss to Anteaters HIGHLANDER HOT TAKE JARYD BONGCARAS Contributing Writer
The UCR baseball team (19-30, 7-14) dropped the opener of a three-game conference series at UC Irvine (31-22, 12-9) on Friday, May 18, losing 12-2. The Anteaters grabbed a huge lead and scored nine runs in the first three innings of play, while the Highlanders struggled to get on the board, scoring their only two runs of the game in the sixth inning thanks to an RBI from junior Matt Hardy. Irvine responded by adding three more runs in the last three innings to put the game away. UCR collected nine hits on the day, but weren’t able to capitalize, as they left a total of 10 runners on base. The Highlanders put in a true team effort, as their nine hits came from six different players. Sophomore Connor Cannon went 3-for-4 with a double and scored a run. Freshman Dylan Orick also had a good offensive performance, going 2-for-4 at the plate. Riverside would respond by topping Irvine 7-1 in game two on Saturday, May 19. Sophomore Trenton Toplikar pitched in dominant fashion, tossing seven shutout innings, giving up just two hits and a walk, and striking out four batters to pick up the win. UC Riverside made sure to get to a quick start of their own and scored seven runs in the first three innings. Freshman Dylan Orick opened up the fourth with a single to right center on a full. Cannon followed that up with a double, his second of the weekend, putting two runners in scoring position. A sac-fly by Junior Yeager Taylor and an RBI single up the middle by Hardy gave the team a 2-0 lead. Freshman Robert Cruz added another run in the fifth on an RBI single to left center to extend the Highlander lead to 3-0. UCR did most of its damage in the top of the sixth, scoring four more runs thanks to another RBI single from Hardy, and a 2 RBI triple from Cruz. The duo led the team offensively, combining for a total of four hits and five RBI on the day.
LAFC are the soccer team to watch in Los Angeles
VASKEN NAJARIAN Contributing Writer
COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS
The Anteaters scored their only run in the eighth, but it was too late as the Highlanders held on to tie the series. UC Riverside dropped the last matchup of the series due to a UCI walk off, falling 4-3. UCR struck first off a Taylor single up the middle in the first inning. Taylor brought Cannon in for the run, who stole second base after a wild pitch. A sac-fly by Irvine in the third inning tied the game at 1-1, as the two teams struggled to reach home plate for the following four innings. UCI brought in two runs in the seventh inning after a wild pitch and an RBI, taking a 3-1 lead. Freshman Nate Webb then hit an RBI double to bring in freshman Cole Pofek and junior Anthony Lepre, tying the game at 3-3 in the top of the ninth. However, a last minute rally by the Highlanders fell short as the Anteaters walked off in the bottom of the ninth. The Highlanders’ will play their final home series of the year on Thursday, May 24 vs Cal Poly SLO. ■H
COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS
Softball wins NISC Regional Championship JONATHAN FERNANDEZ Senior Staff Writer
The UCR softball team (36-22, 23-10) ended their season by participating in the second annual National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) in Las Vegas, Nevada. This marks the first time UCR softball has made a Division I postseason appearance. The tournament featured eight teams that won 30 games or more throughout the regular season and six teams that finished in either first or second in their conference. Riverside faced off against the University of Nevada, Reno (27-27, 1212) in their first game of the regional tournament on Wednesday, May 16. The Highlanders were able to dominate in all facets of the game against Reno and earned a 10-0 win. Freshman pitcher Hailey Dolcini got the start for UCR and allowed only two hits in her five innings on the mound. Senior Tayler Misfeldt made a brief one-inning relief appearance to hold down the fort on the defensive end and close out the game. Junior infielder Brittney Garcia led the charge on offense for the Highlanders with two hits, one of which was a walkoff homerun, and four RBI. Sophomore infielder Emma Ramelot also contributed to the offensive explosion with two hits and three RBI. UCR’s defense continued to dominate in the team’s second game of the tournament against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) on Thursday, May 17. Misfeldt got the start in the matchup and had a brilliant performance. The all-time wins leader in program history pitched a complete game shutout while striking out seven hitters and only
allowing four hits. Misfeldt was also able to get just enough support from her offense to earn the 2-0 win. Garcia was once again right in the middle of their offensive attack, tied for the team lead in RBI’s with one. The win allowed the Highlanders to advance to the championship round of the tournament. Riverside played against UNLV (3320, 13-11) for the second straight game in the championship round on Friday, May 18. This game was not as closely contested as their first meeting of the tournament, as UCR jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead. UNLV would score a run in the fourth inning, but the Highlanders would tack on four more runs in the sixth to secure the 7-1 lead, and the regional tournament championship. Misfeldt took
the mound for the second consecutive game and once again came up big for the Highlanders. The senior pitcher threw six strikeouts and only allowed one run in seven innings on her way to her 19th win of the year. The offensive contributions were very spread out throughout the lineup in this game as four players ended the game with multiple hits. Seniors Chelsey Holley and Jenae Lockwood led the team in RBI with two apiece. Misfeldt was named the tournament MVP as Garcia, sophomore Emma Ramelot and Lockwood were named to the All-Tournament team. UCR will now advance to compete in the NISC Championship Round against Eastern Kentucky at Loyola Marymount on Wednesday, May 23. ■H
COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS
There is one soccer team to watch in Los Angeles and I’m not talking about the LA Galaxy. It is the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC). The LAFC are the newest team in the MLS, and for those of you scratching your heads over which team to call your Los Angeles team of choice, allow me to put your minds at ease. Sure, the Galaxy have won the MLS Cup five times, which is more times than any other MLS franchise. But since Anschutz Entertainment Group (Galaxy’s ownership group) President Tim Leiweke left his post for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, the ownership group of Toronto FC in 2013, the success slowly began to diminish. Aside from the season following Leiweke’s departure in 2014, the LA Galaxy have fallen lower and lower in the league standings, finishing last place last season and currently in ninth place in the Western Conference. LAFC boasts a star-studded 31-person ownership group with a net worth of $4.5 billion. Some notable names in the group include Magic Johnson, Will Ferrell and Mia Hamm-Garciaparra. On April 29, they achieved a feat the LA Galaxy, who play their home games in Carson, CA, were never able to achieve by opening the $350 million, 22,000-seat Banc of California Stadium in downtown Los Angeles. This makes LAFC the only top flight soccer team who actually play in the city of Los Angeles. Building upon this, they signed a 25,000-squarefoot lease in downtown LA which will house their business operations headquarters. The team has been able to translate their off-season accomplishments into on-field success. In their inaugural MLS season, LAFC has already assembled one of the most formidable rosters in the league. Rather than bringing in washed up European stars such as Steven Gerrard and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, LAFC have a squad that is built for the future, featuring a multitude of quality international players such as Mexico’s Carlos Vela, Belgium’s Laurent Ciman and Egypt’s Omar Gaber. LAFC hired Bob Bradley as the head coach and his presence has been nothing but a positive influence on the team. One third of the way through the season, their 6-2-2 record is the strongest start of any expansion side in league history. That record puts them in second place in the Western conference. They have done so without their third designated player signing, Portuguese U-21 prodigy Andre Horta, who is set to arrive in early July via transfer from Benfica. From building a state of the art stadium in the heart of Los Angeles and having an attractive on field product, LAFC has delivered on every promise it has made (maybe aside from Will Ferrell’s vow to field an unbeaten team). They are fresh, and make a fan of an MLS team a cool thing. So it is your call: Be one of the first, or wait a little longer and be considered a bandwagoner.
■H