VOLUME 48, ISSUE 52
THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015
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CAMPUS
CALIFORNIA
OK GO ROCKS OUT DOWNTOWN PHOTO BY TAYLOR SANDERSON /GUARDIAN
Governor Institutes Fines for Water Waste Local governments can now penalize groups and residents up to $10,000 as part of new water conservation efforts. BY Andrew chao
IN ADDITION TO THEIR SUN GOD PERFORMANCE, OK GO PUT ON AN EVEN MORE ELABORATE SHOW AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES, AND BASSIST TIM NORDWIND TALKS ABOUT THE BAND. WEEKEND, PAGE 9
DRIED UP CALIFORNIA
valuing water conservation opinion, Page 4
PLAYOFF BOUND Tritons grab second seed SPORTS , Page 12
FORECAST
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Contributing Writer
The Mariachi Divinas performed during the Dia de Danza event held in PC Plaza on May 5 as part of Raza Awareness Week. Photo by Brian Monroe/Guardian .
MEChA Students Celebrate Latin American Culture
U
CSD’s 26th annual Raza Awareness Week began on May 4 with events aimed at understanding and celebrating the social, cultural and political aspects of the Raza community. Raza Awareness Week coordinator Veronica Rubalcava explained that many are unaware of how vast and rich the cultures they are celebrating are. “From Guatemala to El Salvador to Mexico, you have really rich traditions and cultures that not a lot of people are aware of,” Rubalcava said. “This week is dedicated to allowing not just the Raza community but the UCSD community as a whole to get together and really get to understand these issues on a deeper level, as well as celebrate the cultures that Latin America has to offer.” Raza Awareness Week, sponsored by Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanola de Aztlan and La Sociedad Latin@, kicked off Monday with a taquero when more than 150 students received free tacos for providing three facts
-AYAT AMIN & MARCUS THUILLIER
ACROSS THE GLOBE
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STAFF WRITER
about Latin America. Later that day, several musical groups representing different Latin American nations performed at Price Center Plaza. A mariachi band picked up the musical festivities with a performance on Tuesday, which was also Cinco de Mayo. MEChA then hosted an open forum at the Raza Resource Center on Wednesday called “Queer Latinidad & Higher Education”. The Raza Awareness Week Facebook event page described the forum as “a writing workshop and open discussion on life, death, love and resistance through a Queer Latin@ lens.” Later that night, UCSD community members gathered together for Mujer Appreciation Dinner to celebrate the women in their lives. MEChA Board intern Jonathan Gonzalez sees Raza Awareness Week as an opportunity for the Raza community to unite and express themselves freely. “Raza Awareness Week is the time of the year that people of color from Central, Latin and parts of North America can push forward the
See RAZA, page 3
VERBATIM
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS NOW, BALTIMORE IS NO SURPRISE. IN FACT, HOW COULD WE NOT SEE IT COMING?”
By JACKY TO SENIOR
CULTURE
UCSD Students Promote Inclusion in Greek Life GUIDE is the first national Greek organization to educate about cultural sensitivity. BY Kyle somers
associate a&e editor Greeks United for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, seeking to make the UCSD Greek system more inclusive, is educating campus fraternities and sororities for a more equitable atmosphere within that community, as has been the group’s focus since it was founded in Fall Quarter 2014. GUIDE has so far held a retreat and four workshops that focused on teaching members of the UCSD Greek community about a range of issues including allyship, LGBTQQIAA campus issues, historic exclusivity of Greek life and pre- and post-Compton Cookout UCSD.
Lauren Roberts, an Eleanor Roosevelt College sophomore and active member of GUIDE, as well as Alpha Chi Omega, spoke about using GUIDE to fix issues that have been institutionalized in the Greek system. “This org [sic] isn’t about dismantling the system in place and creating a new one,” Roberts told the UCSD Guardian. “This org is about realizing the institutional problems that exist in Greek life so we can step up and move into a new era for Greek Life. We hope to make institutional changes in the Greek system that can move Greek life away from its historical exclusivity and towards a more equitable future.” GUIDE intends to make changes in education for the Greek system specifically by implementing a
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion requirement for all members of UCSD Greek life. Roberts indicated that this may be their most difficult goal to implement. They have also been drafting their constitution, and the election for principal members will be going on this week. Roberts also told the Guardian that though GUIDE realizes that many communities at UCSD do not trust Greek life, the members intend to work to change that image. “A lot of communities are distrusting of Greek life, which is completely understandable. We have a lot to prove as a new organization, and the first of its kind in the country,” Roberts said. “That See GUIDE, page 3
On April 28, Gov. Brown announced new penalties for residents and businesses that waste the most water. The new water-conservation measures will empower local municipalities to impose fines up to $10,000 on groups and individuals using excessive amounts of water. The new penalties are part of a mandatory statewide effort to curb water waste by 25 percent. More recently, Brown even called for some districts to reduce water waste by as much as 36 percent in order to reach the state’s conservation targets. The governor stated that these fines should be considered as a last resort and that only those who use the most water by violating water conservation laws will be penalized. However, he did not specify exactly what kind of violations would incur the penalties. “Only the worst offenders will be getting that,” Brown said in a statement to U-T San Diego. “I don’t like to increase penalties too much.” UCSD has a Water Action Plan in place to reduce potable water use by 20 percent and reach statewide conservation targets by the year 2020. The plan includes such measures as implementing more efficient plumbing fixtures and replacing and reducing ornamental turf. The conservation measures implemented by the university will not affect student housing and attendance costs, according to UCSD’s Communications and Public Affairs Manager Christine Clark. “The conservation efforts will have no impact on housing rates, as they are already set for 2015–16 and this includes utilities,” Clark explained to the UCSD Guardian. According to Kimberly O’Connell, a representative of AQUAholics Anonymous — an organization whose mission is to reduce water waste on campus — UCSD has replaced outdated irrigation systems with more waterefficient versions. “The campus has replaced approximately 6,650 irrigation heads to water-efficient, low-volume irrigation heads to save 7.2 million gallons of potable water a year (an 8-percent reduction in irrigation water use),” O’Connell stated. Additionally, the campus has stopped watering 54,000 square feet of turf and replaced Muir Field with artificial turf, which is expected to save over 1.53 million and two million gallons of water per year respectively. The replacement process at Muir Field began earlier See WATER, page 3
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THE UCSD GUARDIAN |
NEWS
T H U R S D A Y, M A Y 7 , 2 0 1 5 | W W W . U C S D G U A R D I A N . O R G
AVERAGE CAT By Christina Carlson Aleksandra Konstantinovic Editor in Chief Andrew E. Huang Managing Editors Taylor Sanderson Tina Butoiu News Editor Kriti Sarin Associate News Editor Cassia Pollock Opinion Editor Marcus Thuillier Sports Editor Teiko Yakobson Features Editor Jacqueline Kim A&E Editor Kyle Somers Associate A&E Editor Nilu Karimi Lifestyle Editor
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Siddharth Atre Photo Editor
Study Finds New Drug Could Potentially Protect Against UTIs
Jonathan Gao Associate Photo Editor Joselynn Ordaz Design Editor
Researchers found that HIF-boosting drugs reduce bacteria presence without causing significant harm to mice bladders. BY Brynna bolt
Senior staff Writer Researchers at UCSD School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences published a report studying the role of a new experimental drug in helping to protect against urinary tract infections on April 30. The purpose of the study was to determine whether drugs that work to stabilize the protein transcriptional regulator hypoxia-inducible factor-1, or HIF-1alpha, can increase the innate immune response that blocks the entrance of uropathogenic E.coli, or UPEC, bacteria into the body. According to corresponding author and professor of pediatrics and pharmacy at Skaggs Dr. Victor Nizet, researchers first realized the significance of HIF-1alpha and its role in innate immunity through the examination of previous studies of mice that had genetic deletion of HIF1alpha in their white blood cells or in
their skin cells. Other studies further demonstrated that these mice were also more susceptible to bacterial infection, and their cells had difficulty killing pathogens like UPEC. While HIF-1alpha typically is a short-lived regulator protein, there have been experimental drugs designed to slow the breakdown process and prolong the protein’s stabilizing effect. It was these drugs that Nizet and his colleagues hoped to demonstrate could be utilized in boosting HIF-1alpha levels to combat pathogens that lead to UTIs. Nizet also told the UCSD Guardian that past research further aided this new avenue of study. “In earlier work, we published that these drugs, when administered topically, could treat skin infections with drug-resistant staph bacteria,” Nizet said. “In the current paper, we are extending our work to a super problematic type of infection — UTIs, which have a high rate of recurrence and since antibiotic
resistance is increasing in the most common pathogens causing UTI[s], especially E. coli.” Following the confirmation of the significance of HIF-1alpha levels, Nizet and his colleagues began conducting their research using human epithelial cells, or bladder cells, and a mouse model of a UTI. First, in order to confirm the importance of HIF-1alpha in preventing UPEC infections, researchers examined mice with reduced levels of the protein. In doing so, they discovered that, when exposed to UPEC, these mice were more likely to experience a UTI infection, showing that HIF-1alpha controlled the expression of genes in the bladder important for natural immunity. Researchers then analyzed whether or not the experimental drugs would be beneficial in treating established UTIs by infecting the mice with UPEC and administering the drugs six hours later. Results from these experiments demonstrated a significant decrease in
bacteria presence within the bladder cells following treatment that limited the amount of damage done to the bladder and kidneys of the host. The results of the study and previous use of the drugs in other therapies, such as in treating anemia, could prove valuable in helping to develop necessary new methods for treating infections. “If HIF-boosting drugs are as safe as they seem in anemia therapy and gain Food and Drug Administration approval, it might create an easier pathway to explore their use in infectious-disease scenarios alongside standard antibiotics,” Nizet said. Nizet and his team are further studying oral formulation of these types of drugs and exploring their benefits in a wide variety of different types of infections through laboratory models.
readers can contact Brynna bolt bbolt@ucsd.edu
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MeCha Worked with A.S. Council to Secure Funding for Events ▶ RAZA, from page 1
best of their cultures,” Gonzalez said. “It shows how we are not that different and how we share similar struggles, heritages and cultures.” Thurgood Marshall College junior Esperanza Gutierrez, who is also a member of MEChA, thinks that, even for members of the Raza community, Raza Awareness Week is the best place to learn more about and experience their culture. “My parents have told me stories about their culture and taught me certain practices, but I was born and raised in America, so they could only teach me so much,” Gutierrez said. “It’s great to see my roots in
person and the traditions of where my grandparents are from.” Though this is UCSD’s 26th Raza Awareness Week, Rubalcava informed the UCSD Guardian that MEChA lost traditional status and funding this year from A.S. Council for unclear reasons. However, the organization eventually convinced A.S. Council and Student Promoted Access Center for Education and Service to fund their week-long celebration. “We had been talking with A.S. finance representatives since Fall Quarter [2014], and they were aware of our situation,” Rubalcava said. “Even though there were a lot of hiccups throughout our funding journey, A.S. [Council] still worked
with us and gave us the funding that we needed.” The celebration continues on Thursday with an art project on Library Walk in which community members can paint their thoughts on the “MEChA Wall” until 2 p.m. Playwright Josefina Lopez will then screen the film “Real Women Have Curves,” which she co-wrote and is based on her play, at the Cross Cultural Center and answer questions from audience members. Raza Awareness Week concludes on Friday with a screening of the film “Sin Nombre.”
readers can contact Jacky To
j6to@ucsd.edu
O’Connell: Little Changes Can Reduce Water Usage Significantly ▶ WATER, from page 1
this quarter and is not expected to be completed until the end of the quarter. O’Connell also stated that student efforts are a significant part of the conservation efforts at UCSD. “It has been my experience that students bring a level of enthusiasm and innovation to water conservation that is motivating to the entire campus,” O’Connell
told the Guardian. “For example, I worked with a group of engineering students last spring who collaborated with HDH staff to design and build a rain collection system that is now in front of Foodworx.” O’Connell also mentioned ways in which students can make a direct impact in helping to conserve water. “Little changes can make a big difference,” O’Connell said. “If every student that lives on campus reduces their shower by two minutes for 12
days, the campus will save enough water to fill an Olympic-sized pool.” Some of the long-term goals of AQUAholics Anonymous include being a resource center for collaboration among students and faculty to reduce water usage and to encourage water conservation through education and outreach.
readers can contact Andrew Chao
avchao@ucsd.edu
King: GUIDE is a Tangible Step Towards Tackling Wider Issues ▶ GUIDE, from page 1
ucsdguardian.org
being said we just need to follow the avenues for change and hope people respond well.” The organization was formed through the efforts and inputs of Greek Life Advisor Colin Gerker, the Campus Community Centers, the Interfraternity Council at UCSD, the Multicultural Greek Council and the
Panhellenic Association at UCSD. Colin King, the former Beta Theta Pi director of equality, talked about his disappointment with Greek life’s attitudes toward cultural inclusion and how he sees GUIDE as changing that. “When I first came to UC San Diego in 2010, I was disappointed to see the lack of action towards the Greek communities and the lack of
resources for those individuals or groups that were hurt by cultural insensitivity,” King told the UCSD News Center. “GUIDE is a tangible step towards tackling the wider issues in the community.”
readers can contact Kyle Somers Ksomers@ucsd.edu
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OPINION
T H E U C S D G U A R D I A N | T H U R S D A Y, M A Y 7 , 2 0 1 5 | W W W . U C S D G U A R D I A N . O R G
OPINION
CONTACT THE EDITOR
CASSIA POLLOCK opinion@ucsdguardian.org
EDITORIALS
Shriveled Up Corporations such as Starbucks get away with exporting precious water bottles from California’s limited supply.
D
elivered fresh from the barren springs of California, nothing will quench your thirst like the taste of Starbucks’ bottled water. Starbucks has sold almost 250 million bottles of its Ethos brand water, according to Business Insider. While the company extensively publicizes the fact that 5 cents of every $1.95 of profits per water bottle is donated to purify drinking water in impoverished areas of the world, many consumers on the West Coast (including celebrities like Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio) are unaware of the origins of the water they are drinking. Ethos sources its water from severely drought-stricken areas in California, namely Merced, a county that the U.S. Drought Monitor classifies as being in a state of “exceptional drought.” The company receives its water from a private processing plant owned by the grocery-chain store Safeway, another prominent company that should not be bottling its water from springs that are at risk of drying out. Mother Jones magazine reported that residents of areas near the water plant are expected to decrease their personal water usage by as much as 35 percent, while Ethos and Safeway do not even pay for the spring water they are constantly depleting from the area. Although its efforts to provide underprivileged children with clean drinking water are commendable, Starbucks should bottle its water from cities outside of California that are not facing a historic drought and use its status as a multibillion-dollar, international corporation to urge other businesses to do so as
While urban water use is not solely responsible for the drought, recycled greywater may prove useful.
Disputes deepen between the economic influences of farmers and fisherman as they battle over finite water resources.
W
hile the severity of the state’s drought is news to Southern Californians, the Bay Area fishermen and the Central Valley farmers have been duking it out for years over who’s the bigger water waster. The fishermen and their environmentalist backers blame the farmers for polluting the air, draining the water table and, now, feeling entitled to the Bay Area’s water. The farmers, on the other hand, say the fishermen have let 1.3 trillion gallons of fresh water drain into the ocean to benefit the tiny Delta smelt. It’s easy for these sides to vilify one another, and certainly both industries could do better to conserve water. But each of these industries is an economic giant, with salmon fishermen alone supporting a $1.5 billion industry. The farmers, on the other hand, produce about one-fourth of the nation’s food, and each time their water expenses go up, the price of food continues to go up as well. While it might seem that these two industries are fundamentally at odds, it’s in our best interests now to find solutions that help both of them and Californians’ water woes. Whether it’s re-stocking the smelt population in other rivers away from the pumps, encouraging the use of drip irrigation or simply saving the fresh water that’s being dumped into the ocean, literally anything is better than throwing away the water our state so desperately needs.
Although desalination is a costly investment, this method may offer a nearly infinite source of water.
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n times of extreme drought, like the one California is in right now, a common misunderstanding is how much urban water usage affects the drought. Shortening shower time by a few minutes or flushing the toilet less really won’t make a difference — not saying that these aren’t good things to practice, but in the grand scheme of things, these reductions are miniscule. The Public Policy Institute of California states that urban water usage only accounts for 10 percent of water used in California, and about half of that 10 percent goes toward landscaping (watering the lawn, for example). Despite this, water usage per capita in urban areas has declined significantly. A better and more viable option for urban populations to consider is greywater: essentially recycling all the water someone uses to shower and wash clothes and dishes — though not water from toilets. If Californians remain keen on watering their lawn every day, then greywater is the answer. But greywater can go beyond this. It can also be used to irrigate plants (did you hear that, farmers?) and be recycled to wash clothes and dishes. If people wanted to use greywater to conserve water, they would simply have to install a system to recycle the greywater back into their homes, saving money in the long run because this requires very little energy to use. This extreme drought demands that Californians conserve water, and the greywater option is both viable and efficient.
ith our water crisis situation in California, desalination starts to sound like a decent option to provide us with drinkable water. A new desalination center is about to open in San Diego County and will look to provide water for 7 to 8 percent of San Diego’s population by November. The New York Times reports that recent technological advances have helped cut energy use of these kinds of plants in half in the past 20 years.With the immensity of the Pacific Ocean, this new method promises a countless amount of drinkable water for California’s residents in the near future. However, desalination should only come as a last option, as it is only a short-term solution. As Reuters points out, “The city of Santa Barbara is taking steps to modernize and reactivate a much smaller $34 million desalination plant built during an earlier drought but mothballed after a trial run in 1992, when that water crisis abated.” We do not know if the crisis will last, even though it seems like it will. This solution would also hurt the environment, with Reuters noting that consequences, “such as harm to marine life from intake pipes that suck water into the treatment plants and the concentrated brine that gets discharged back into the ocean,” would occur. In order to implement the desalination plant in San Diego County, this will require the investment of at least 1 billion dollars, as reported by Reuters. The issue here is for us to decide if we want to invest into this costly and environmentally unfriendly method that might just be a short-term solution.
California’s Drought Is a Serious Nightmare Anyone who lives in California needs to know that the ongoing drought isn’t just bad. It’s literally one of the worst water shortages in recorded history. In fact, climatologists have found evidence suggesting that it’s the most severe drought in over 1,000 years. Even if this isn’t the start of a megadrought spanning decades, as some scientists speculate that it is, the effects still aren’t going to be disregarded by anyone soon. By now, just about everyone in California knows that farming takes up the vast majority of our water supplies, but most people don’t realize that half of our water does not come directly from rainwater. It’s an underground supply, and there’s a limited amount. Even more concerning, this set amount of water is being frittered away at an alarming rate. In contrast to other western states, there’s been a lack of reasonable regulations on this source before this year. And these new regulations won’t provide fully sustainable water usage practices any time in the next 10 years. Hopefully, they will be 25 years from now. But odds are that you aren’t a farmer and really don’t care about catastrophically falling water tables or how farming lobbying might ruin California’s farming industry before your 40th birthday. So how will the
current drought affect you? Well, skiers in Lake Tahoe already noticed that the snowpack, which usually lasts through May, saw major ski resorts closing for the winter in early February for the second year in a row. That’s an inconvenience for NorCal vacationers for now, but it’ll be interesting to see if the California snowsports industry fails or changes dramatically in the near future. Here in Southern California, fires often seen in spring and summer will get more severe and more frequent. Also, due to the science behind groundwater flow, coastal cities will be dealing with the expensive problem of keeping seawater from ruining our groundwater supply. Otherwise, we’ll start having to look to pump even more water from other places, not as if that will be much of an option. And we can’t say we didn’t see this coming. A book more relevant than ever, “Cadillac Desert,” a name referring to the California Central Valley, predicted the water crisis in the area all the way back in 1986. Evidently, Californians have been covering their ears about this for at least 30 years. Now that we’re facing the results of poor water conservation, our generation will be forced to deal with the consequences.
EDITORIAL BOARD Aleksandra Konstantinovic EDITOR IN CHIEF
Andrew E. Huang MANAGING EDITOR
Cassia Pollock
OPINION EDITOR
Kriti Sarin
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
Marcus Thuillier SPORTS EDITOR
Kyle Somers
ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR
Rosina Garcia COPY EDITOR
The UCSD Guardian is published twice weekly at the University of California at San Diego. Contents © 2015. Views expressed herein represent the majority vote of the editorial board and are not necessarily those of the UC Board of Regents, the ASUCSD or the members of the Guardian staff.
Protests in Baltimore? We’re Not Surprised Across the globe Marcus thuillier // Ayat amin
opinion@ucsdguardian.org
F
ollowing the death of Freddie Gray, Baltimore was put into the limelight as its citizens staged protests and sometimes riots against police brutality. For the record, Freddie Gray was a black man who was arrested in Baltimore for being in possession of a switchblade. While under arrest, he suffered a fatal spine injury from being placed unbuckled and handcuffed into the back of a police car. Baltimore is not the first city in the recent past to launch a protest sparked by the death of a black man. To anyone who has seen the statistics surrounding black lives in Baltimore or any of the other cities, the protests were just a matter of time. Take infant mortality rates. These rates reflect a lot of things about that community — primarily wealth, access to good healthcare and regional stability. Countries like Finland have infant mortality rates as low as 2 percent, but in war-torn regions like the Gaza Strip and West Bank, the rate is about 20 percent, according to Vox Media. Looking at the history of these countries, the discrepancy makes sense. However, in the United States, both rates exist within the same city of Baltimore; it only depends on which neighborhood you live in. Within the neighborhood of Canton, where less than 2 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, you will find the infant mortality rate to be more like Finland’s rate. However, go a few miles to the neighborhood of Little Italy, and suddenly the mortality rate increases to be higher than the West Bank rate as reported by Vox Media Unlike before, this difference is illogical. It’s the same city! These neighborhoods share the same national, state and city governments. However, income levels represent clear disparities. In Little Italy, 41 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. Unfortunately, financial inequality and race are not mutually exclusive. According to the National Poverty Center, in 2010, 27 percent of blacks and 27 percent of Latinos lived below the poverty line compared to 10 percent of whites. Thus, the jump in infant mortality rates appears to be directly correlated with socioeconomic status. This means that not only are minorities disproportionately living in the poorest conditions (below the poverty line), but they also don’t have access to the same health benefits as their counterparts. This is just one example of how one factor such as income can affect many others, such as health. Overall, life expectancy is lower in parts of Baltimore as well. For example, there are 15 neighborhoods where the life expectancy rate is lower than North Korea’s, according to Vox Media. Think about that. A dictatorship with one of the worst human rights records currently in existence. It’s almost as if Baltimore’s residents are living in different countries rather than different neighborhoods. Looking at the numbers now, Baltimore is no surprise. In fact, how could we not see it coming? As we observe the other cities in the United States, we discover these issues are present in New York, Cleveland and many others. If we don’t want to add another city the list, then we will have to address these issues soon.
OPINION
T H E U C S D G U A R D I A N | T H U R S D A Y, M A Y 7 , 2 0 1 5 | W W W . U C S D G U A R D I A N . O R G
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erson/Guardian
With glowing costumes and even more confetti, OK Go’s May 1 performance at the House of Blues dwarfed its Sun God Festival set. We interviewed bassist Tim Nordwind about the band’s ideas on giving a spectacular show.
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ny student who saw OK Go at Sun God Festival 2015 can attest to the band’s ability to put on a true show rather than just to go up on stage and play music. In fact, in the past few Sun God Festivals, it may have been the only group to know UCSD well enough to shout out on May 3 at RIMAC Field, “Hey, is this a nerd school?!” to which thousands of Tritons loudly cheered. But many students fairly unfamiliar with OK Go might not realize that its performance at the festival was merely a shadow of what the band is capable of putting on, like the headlining act at the House of Blues in downtown San Diego last Friday, May 1. To give an idea of the kind of show OK Go gave at the House of Blues, just understand that the confetti-andgraphics extravaganza at the Sun God Festival paled in comparison to what it did downtown. Band members danced around in suits with invisible ink that glowed phosphorescent under black lights. For one of the songs, they recorded the audience making noises and used it as the track. Bassist Tim Nordwind gave the band’s philosophy when planning out one of its spectacular shows. “When we put on a live show, a lot of bands just go and play music,” Nordwind told the UCSD Guardian. “But we take a look at what we can do from a lighting perspective or a movement perspective or a technology perspective, and we try to make our concerts into multimedia events with some kind of an emotional arc.” For one song, lead singer Damian Kulash got down from the stage and walked out into the audience with an acoustic guitar, got the whole audience to quiet down and played “Last Leaf ” without a microphone. At that moment, even a lot of the grown men in the audience
had a massive high school-esque crush on the guy. When performing in a more intimate venue — at least one relative to the Sun God Festival — the band has a tendency to make everything more personal, much like how it did with “Last Leaf.” Apart from venturing into the crowd, time between songs was spent as a fairly frank Q&A between the audience and the band. In fact, contrary to the way some groups shy away from being near their fans, OK Go invited anyone who wanted to go up and dance on stage with the band while it performed the finale, “Here It Goes Again.” Though Nordwind expressed an interest in performing music from throughout OK Go’s career, he discussed the cause of the band’s stylistic shift between its second album (“Oh No”) and its third (“Of the Blue Colour of the Sky”). “With the third record, we went to a different producer who was more supportive of experimenting,” he said. “We used to be more goal-oriented, trying to write a stadium anthem for the sake of writing a stadium anthem, but these days we just sit down and play with sound, and we’ve come up with something more unique and experimental than our first two albums.” Despite this, Nordwind said that the band still does like to play songs off of the first two albums, back from the days where it sounds as if the band didn’t take or have quite as much creative freedom. In fact, “Get Over It,” which is exactly the kind of stadium anthem from its debut album that he was talking about, appeared in both the Sun God Festival and House of Blues sets, and the crowds went nuts for it — especially those at Sun God Festival 2015, since the band wisely decided not to show up in SDSU jackets.
WEEKEND
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FILM REVIEW
Little Boy Weighed down by aggressive sentimentalism, this period drama is phony and nearly emotionless. Directed by Alejandro Gomez Monteverde Starring Jakob Salvati, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Emily Watson, Michael Rapaport Rated PG-13 Release Date April 24
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here is no doubt that the World War II period drama “Little Boy,” even by the standards of the genre, is overly cheesy. But as the film goes on, it becomes increasingly shameless, as racism, history and faith are all conveyed with a tasteless sentimental gloss. “Little Boy” tells the story of Pepper Busbee (Jakob Salvati) and his uneventful quest to bring his father back from the Pacific Front of World War II through the power of faith. After Pepper’s flat-footed, military-aged brother,
London (David Henrie), is rejected from the military, their father (Michael Rapaport) must take his place in the war. Desperate to bring his father home, Pepper begins to complete a list of tasks given to him by the town preacher in order to win favor from God, among which is the task of befriending the only Japanese man in town, Hashimoto (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa). There isn’t much to this story apart from being a vehicle for delivering a message about the transformative power of faith
PHOTO USED WITH PERMISSION FROM OPEN ROAD FILMS
and the injustice of racism. Unfortunately, the story itself is completely unremarkable and unsubtle, following a predictable pattern. No new angle is introduced to the plot after the first act, making the film feel dragged out even though it is only 100 minutes long. The character of Hashimoto, a first-generation JapaneseAmerican, is perhaps the film’s only redeeming quality. After being released from an internment camp, Hashimoto has been the target of racial prejudice and scorn. Tagawa brings dignity to this role, conveying a reclusive and misunderstood man who becomes a mentor and father figure to Pepper. But while the character of Hashimoto stands out, everything around him falls flat. Sure, the movie tries to be positive, but the story does not work well to convey its message.
In a film such as “Gran Torino,” the relationship between a racist American and an Asian teenager develops over time, and the emotional process of overcoming racial prejudice feels real. On the other end of the spectrum, Pepper and Hashimoto’s relationship in “Little Boy” does not develop naturally, nor does it ever feel like Pepper has to overcome any personal prejudice against Japanese people. Where this film almost manages to find success is in exploring its theme of racism. The film doesn’t shy away from using World War II-era racial slurs and isn’t afraid to show that real racism against Japanese-Americans existed at the time. However, many of the ways that racism is shown are over-thetop, with numerous cliches filled with unnecessary dramatic pauses such as, “I wasn’t talking to you …
Jap.” Ultimately, the theme loses its impact. And this is a small part of the overall problem with the film, which is its annoyingly heavyhanded sentimentalism. Characters pause in the middle of their sentences in order to sound dramatic. Every character, with the exception of Hashimoto, acts over-the-top and lacks depth or nuance. It is a combination of the overly sappy dialogue and the actors’ poor delivery that makes nothing in the film feel real or carry emotional weight. The story of “Little Boy” is simply a vehicle for as much sentimental dialogue and tear-jerking moments as possible.
— Naftali Burakovsky
Staff Writer
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RECIPE
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WEEKEND
Microwavable Meals
Quiche in a Mug by Brittney Lu, Staff Writer
For those sick of breakfast burritos and cereal, this quick and healthy recipe is perfect to fuel your busy morning. • 1 egg • 1 pinch each salt and pepper (which you can steal from dining halls) • 4 or 5 cherry tomatoes • 1 tablespoon Cheddar cheese, grated • 1 1/2 tablespoons whole milk • 1/2 slice bread • Fresh herbs (optional) Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and tear the bread into bite-sized pieces. In a large microwaveable mug, beat together the egg, milk and salt and pepper. Top with cheese, tomatoes, bread cubes and herbs of your choice. Microwave on high for one minute. The result should be a fluffy, cheesy concoction perfect for a (relatively) fresh breakfast in the dorm. Recipe adapted from fullthymestudent.com
Peanut Butter Cake by Brittney Lu, Staff Writer
With only three ingredients, even the laziest don’t have an excuse to opt out of making this cake. • 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter • 1 egg • 1 1/3 tablespoons sugar Mix all the ingredients together in a microwave-safe mug. Microwave for one minute. You should end up with a light, semi-sweet cake perfect for a late-night bite. Recipe adapted from kirbiecravings.com
Mac and Cheese in a Mug by Monica McGill, Senior Staff Writer
The quickest way to comfort food. • 1/3 cup elbow noodles • 1/2 cup water • 1/4 cup milk • 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded In a microwave-safe mug, combine water and noodles. Microwave mug on high for two minutes. Repeat for two to four more minutes, stirring every two minutes. The water should absorb completely and the noodles should be completely cooked. Remove mug from microwave and stir in milk and cheese. Microwave for one more minute and then enjoy! Recipe adapted from babble.com
Honey Soy Chicken
by Yulin Liu, Staff Writer
You only need three ingredients to make these deliciously sweet chicken wings! • 8 chicken wings • 2 tablespoons soy sauce • Honey to taste • Pepper and garlic powder to taste Rinse the wings. Dry and place the wings into a bowl. If any of the wings are relatively large, cut a long line right down the middle so that the thick part cooks more easily. Add soy sauce, honey, pepper and garlic powder to the bowl. Mix thoroughly and let sit for half an hour. If you are in a rush, you can skip this step. On a plate, arrange the wings. Cover the plate with a light lid and microwave on high for 2 1/2 minutes. Take them out, turn them over and microwave for another 2 1/2 minutes. After taking the heated wings out, check the cut in the chicken to make sure it’s fully cooked.
WEEKEND
ALBUM REVIEW
ALBUM REVIEW
Kindred by passion pit Release Date April 21
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heirs by and so i watch you from afar Release Date May 4
Indie-pop band returns with stimulating dance anthems amid some misguided tunes.
atchy enough for dance parties and indie enough for hipsters, Passion Pit has learned to tiptoe down the narrow line between underground and mainstream. Despite being overplayed on the radio, the band’s 2012 electro-pop hit “Take a Walk” still leads to jumping party mobs and sold-out shows. Shockingly, the up-and-coming group was forced to cut short its 2012 tour due to health concerns for the frontman, Michael Angelakos, who struggles with bipolar disorder. Rebounding from these personal issues, the band seeks the same addictive style of earlier music, focusing on heavy electronic synthesizer and captivating vocals in its newest album called “Kindred.” The new 10-track release begins with the upbeat and stimulating sound of “Lifted Up (1985),” which showcases the same dynamic sound that propelled the band to stardom. Similar energy appears in “Five Foot Ten (I)” and “Until We Can’t (Let’s Go),” which both bring powerful beat drops and an invigorating dance feel. At various points however, the album leaves listeners searching for the vitality and power that elevated Passion Pit’s music to the next level in the past. “Kindred” peaks in terms of both energy and quality with the first track, but the vibrancy fades to slower tempo
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T H E U C S D G U A R D I A N | T H U R S D A Y, M A Y 7 , 2 0 1 5 | W W W . U C S D G U A R D I A N . O R G
songs like “Where the Sky Hangs” and “Looks Like Rain.” While some songs may lose some of their lively essence, Passion Pit provides tracks throughout the album that refresh the intensity and restore the fistbumping spirit. The album strives to achieve the same exhilarating feel that propelled the band to fame, but “Kindred” wrestles with thematic depth, focusing on love and life’s problems. Angelakos reflects in “Until We Can’t (Let’s Go),” “But the walls are colliding/ Let’s go out and find ourselves a home.” Passion Pit’s writing also exhibits a philosophy of us-versusthem, presenting a strong concept of a united “we” in a war against “this Godforsaken place.” This sense of conflict with the world and the obstacles to love appear as a crucial theme throughout “Kindred” and could reflect Angelakos’ battle with bipolar disorder and balancing relationships. While the themes of love and loss can be cliched and overused, Angelakos combines his style and lyrical content to successfully reach a level of profundity missing in most popular music with themes that connect with modern lifestyles.
— Peter Mcinnis
Contributing Writer
Irish post-rockers successfully find balance between their roots and math-rock guitar indulgence but fall short of their debut’s intensity.
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ost-rock as a genre can often simply suffocate itself under its own self-importance. Giants like Godspeed You!, Black Emperor’s 30-minute-long instrumental and spoken-word songs about geopolitical conflicts can induce eye-rolling as often as actual admiration. Consequently, Irish post-rockers And So I Watch You From Afar were a breath of fresh air when they arrived on the scene in 2009 with their self-titled debut. With all the brainy panache required of the genre, their balance between soft melody and heavy dissonance in a tightly contained package is as welcome in a punk club as on a critic’s best-of list. Their second album, “Gangs,” saw the band descending into math-rock quirkiness, with solid, strong structure often taking a backseat to weird guitar noises. Luckily, though, “Heirs” is a return to form. It’s not a complete reversion to their post-rock roots, but rather, the band has found a way to incorporate their frenetic math-rock guitars within a post-rock framework. The result is an amalgamation of crunchy 80s hardcore riffs beset with frantic guitar solos and reverb-heavy refrains. The opening track, “Run Home,” sets the standard for the album, with Chris Wee’s always-excellent drumming contentedly pounding out heavy beats without pushing the margin too much. Rory Friers and Niall Kennedy
PHOTO USED WITH PERMISSION FROM US/THEM GROUP
rush into this rhythmic assault, delivering some incredibly unique guitar solos without restraint. Using aggressive yet ethereal guitar effects that convey the cosmic theme the album cover hints at, “Heirs” surpasses even the band’s stellar track record in terms of crafting a wall of sound that feels almost physical. Even the ambient synth lines on the titular track convey the almost extraterrestrial aesthetic of this release. Like many albums putting an experimental spin on rock music, “Heirs” shuns relying on vocals as a storytelling device. Instead, in a style similar to math-rocker Marnie Stern, “Heirs” has adopted repeated refrains through-
out songs. For example, “Redesigned a Million Times” repeats the title of the track in various ways throughout the song until it almost turns into a Buddhist mantra instead of belaboring the same point 10 different ways, as many bands are wont to do. Fans of their debut may still be a little unsatisfied with a lack of — since there’s no better word for it — “epicness,” a trait which is often a hallmark of post-rock. But for a truly unique blend of fast-paced rock in a spacey aesthetic, “Heirs” delivers.
— Dieter Joubert
Senior staff Writer
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▶ MIND OF AN ATHLETE, from page 12
tained a near-perfect 3.90 GPA. “I think what sets all studentathletes apart is the work ethic required to succeed and make it through each day,” Baker told the UCSD Guardian. “Between classes, practices, weights, meetings, studying and tests, it truly is a test of time management and dedication to get everything done and still remember why we love what we do. At UCSD, the rigorous academic standards and competition make that even more of an accomplishment.” Senior Annahita Haghighi is no different — the communications major has been taking upwards of 20 units per quarter and has committed to the requisite 20 hours of practice time for rowing. Her GPA sits at a perfect 4.0. On occasion, I’ve heard a flat statement of “our sports teams suck,” but this simply isn’t true either. For the past eight years, UCSD has been number one on the National Collegiate Scouting Association’s Power Rankings for DivisionII Programs. The Power Rankings take a few different factors into account: graduation rate, U.S. News and World Report rankings and Learfield Director’s Cup ranking. UCSD placed at 14th, 37th and 13th, respectively, in 2014. Average the three out, and we get a solid 21 as our “power score,” leading the rankings by a huge margin. 2014 second-place Hillsdale College had a power score of 54 — 33 points shy of the Tritons’ comfortable position at the top. In 2014, we finished 13th in the Learfield Sports Director’s Cup out of 246 Division-II programs, and we’ve won five of the past nine California Collegiate Athletic Association Commissioner’s Cup titles. Both titles are symbolic of the best athletic department that Division-II has to offer. Our NCAA and CCAA titles
also speak for themselves. Since the birth of Triton athletics, our teams here have captured over 220 national, regional and conference titles. We’ve won 30 championships, 43 runners-up titles and 47 third-place honors at the national level. We’ve also had 138 individual national champions, and 1,210 of our athletes have been named to All-American teams. “A lot of people are doing really amazing things in a variety of disciplines. However, it just happens that our national community tends to find a camaraderie in athletics,” senior track and fielder Anneke Kakebeen said. “It provides something rather uncontroversial that a group of similar people can get behind and form a community around even if they aren’t directly participating.” If we look at schools like the University of Southern California and UCLA, we find that this is definitely the case. UCLA just had a record-breaking year for student attendance at athletic events — basketball games alone saw over 6,000 fans per game. With over 30,000 graduate and undergraduate students at UCSD, we should have the same capability to fill seats at games. Now, it’s just a matter of building team spirit by rallying our fellow students together outside of academics for a change. “If, over time, the student body can rally around athletics as a binding agent, it will not only connect students to each other but also to alumni, as well as other universities, through friendly competition,” Kakebeen said. “I’ve seen University of Kansas fans in bars on Mission Beach cheering for Jayhawks basketball games on a screen together. Increasing that athletic coverage and building that network is valuable because of how it brings people together.”
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Statistics by Sport WWP: MWP: WVB: WTrack:
MTrack: WTennis:
WSwim: MSwim: WSoc:
WCrew: SoftB: BaseB: WX-C: WBB: MBB:
WWPA Champions 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 WWPA Champions 1991, 1992, -1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2013, 2014 NCAA D-I Runner-Up 2000 CCAA Champions 2004 NCAA D-II Regional Champions 2007 CCAA Champions 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Four Individual NCAA D-II Champions: Christine Merrill: 2009 (400-meter Hurdles) Linda Rainwater: 2009 (High Jump), 2008 (Heptathlon) Whitney Johnson: 2008 (Triple Jump) CCAA Champions 2015 Two Individual NCAA D-II Champions: Nick Howe: 2010, 2011 (Javelin) CCAA Champions 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 NCAA Third Place 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 25 NCAA D-II Individual/Relay Champions Winners of seven straight PCSC titles (2015) NCAA Runner-Up 2011, 2012 14 NCAA D-II Individual Champions Winners of seven straight PCSC titles (2015) CCAA Champions 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012 NCAA D-II Champions 2000, 2001 NCAA D-II Runner-Up 2010 NCAA D-II Regional Champions 2006, 2010 NCAA D-II Runner-Up 2007, 2008 CCAA Champions 2012 NCAA D-II Champions 2011 NCAA D-II Regional Champions 2011, 2012 CCAA Champions 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 NCAA D-II Regional Champions 2009, 2010 CCAA Champions 1997, 2005 One NCAA D-II Regional Champion: Mimi Hodgins: 2005 CCAA Champions 2007, 2008, 2013 NCAA DII Regional Champions 2007 CCAA Champions 2008 *Data compiled from ncaa.com, goccaa.org and ucsdtritons.com
SomeKindaWonderful
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T H E U C S D G U A R D I A N | T H U R S D A Y, M A Y 7 , 2 0 1 5 | W W W . U C S D G U A R D I A N . O R G
SPORTS
UPCOMING
UCSD
CONTACT THE EDITOR
MARCUS THUILLIER sports@ucsdguardian.org
GAMES
follow us @UCSD_sports
Baseball W. Crew W. Water Polo W. Crew Track and Field
5/7 5/8 5/8 5/9 5/9
AT CCAA Championships AT Dad Vail Regatta AT NCAA Championships AT Dad Vail Regatta AT CSULA Last Chance Qualifier
Tritons Conclude Regular Season Play UCSD moves into CCAA Championships as second seed.
W ritten by John Story // Photo by Emily Tipton
T
he No. 26 Tritons concluded their regular baseball season with a splitvenue California Collegiate Athletic Association four-game series against Cal State Los Angeles last weekend with mixed results. Saturday night’s loss at Triton Ballpark closed out the Tritons’ bid for the CCAA regular-season title, but with the second postseason seed, UCSD remains competitive for the league championship in Stockton, California. UCSD finishes the season 32–17 overall and 27–13 in the CCAA. UCSD lost the series opener in Los Angeles, 3–2, after standout junior righthanded pitcher Justin Donatella (8–2) started the first frame by giving up four singles in a row. Donatella worked out of the funk in subsequent frames and ultimately kept his banner year intact with a CCAA-best 0.86 ERA. “Early in that first inning, he was making mistakes with two-strike counts,” UCSD Head Coach Eric Newman told the UCSD Athletics Department. “He left balls up out over the plate. He wasn’t as sharp yet. [Cal State Los Angeles] did what you’re supposed to do, and they got some hits. That’s baseball. You never know when the inning’s going to come. You like the fact that, if it happens early, at least you have some game to try to get back in it.” The Tritons capitalized on some fielding errors by the Golden Eagles but failed to overcome the three runs given up early in the game. Friday’s follow-up at Reeder Field in LA saw the Triton offense surge behind a strong performance from senior left-handed pitcher Trevor Scott (7–5). Scott allowed seven hits on seven frames, but only one of those turned into a run in the 6–1 victory. The southpaw also struck out eight, including four in a row.
“It was a really good night,” Scott told the UCSD Athletics Department. “The first time through the order, they hadn’t figured out my change-up, so I was going to that quite a bit. My slider was on today, and my fastball had a lot of movement and had a lot of late life on it. I felt like I was able to neutralize their offense a little bit, especially early in the game. As it got later, I had to start pitching a little bit more. … I got some double plays. I had a lot of strikeouts tonight, so it was definitely fun for me.” Saturday’s Senior Day doubleheader saw UCSD win 7–4 in the day’s first game but fall 3–2 in a seven-inning nightcap. The last game loss to the Golden Eagles helped No. 18 Cal Poly Pomona secure the regular season CCAA title, but the Tritons will still move into the postseason in possession of the second seed. A whopping eight seniors were honored on Senior Day: Scott, right-handed pitcher Javier Carrillo Jr., catcher Brian Choi, right-handed pitcher Dan Kolodin, catcher Brett Levy, infielder Erik Lewis, outfielder Michael Mann and lefthanded pitcher Chad Rieser. UCSD baseball will look to defend the title acquired last year when the team faces Cal State Monterey Bay on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Stockton before eventually advancing to face the winner of first-seed Cal Poly Pomona’s contest against fourth-seed Cal State Dominguez Hills on Friday.
readers can contact John Story
jstory@ucsd.edu
Game 1 Loser
GAME 3 @ 3P.M. Game 2 Loser
GAME 5 @ 3P.M. Game 4 Loser
#4 CSU Dominguez Hills
GAME 6 @ 7P.M.
GAME 1 @ 3 P.M. #1 Cal Poly Pomona
GAME 4 @ 7P.M.
GAME 7 @ 12P.M.
#2 UCSD
GAME 2 @ 7P.M.
Game 6 Loser, if First Loss
#3 CSU Monterey Bay
UCSD Students Still Searching for a Little Team Spirit UCSD has academic talent galore. It’s consistently ranked in the top-20 best universities around the globe because of its excellence in research and collaboration on the international level. The CEO of GoPro is a UCSD alumnus and so is famed director and Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro. We have students at the top of their fields in the classroom, but the classroom isn’t the only place to excel here at UCSD. What many students tend to overlook here on campus is the student-athletes, who not only excel in their academic field but on the
playing field as well. There are banners on campus that proclaim “#1 in Division-II Sports,” but few students seem to acknowledge our strengths outside of academics. RIMAC Arena has enough seating for 5,000 spectators, yet for the past several years, average attendance at basketball and volleyball games has been less than 20 percent of that number. Triton Ballpark is equipped to seat 1,000 fans; Triton Soccer Stadium can hold 1,250. The average number of seats filled at baseball and soccer games isn’t much higher either — both stadi-
ums see only about 25 to 30 percent of those spaces filled at any given game. If we consider who’s spectating at athletic events, we see an even grimmer picture of how underrated and under-supported sports at UCSD can be. How many of the people in the crowd are parents? How many of them are fans of the opposing team? Factor in those numbers, and we realize how few students actually show up to games. So what are the reasons behind this? The excuse of not having the time comes up often enough —
UCSD is a prestigious university, and it has the rigorous and challenging curriculum to prove it. Once midterms roll around, students tend to hole up in the library or at home in their rooms, nose in book, trying to adequately prepare. Is this really a sufficient excuse, though? Freshman softball outfielder Kendall Baker is one who can turn that kind of reasoning on its head. In her first year alone, the player has tackled 20 hours of practice per week and has still mainSee MIND OF AN ATHLETE, page 11
MIND OF AN ATHLETE
Katie Potts // Editorial assistant
kpotts@ucsd.edu