The Official ASUCI Magazine
the 'vine
Winter '11 Edition
Homecoming Week 2011 Behind the Scenes: Movie Nights! Why the New Shuttles?
ks
n a h
T l a o ! i t F c I e p G T S
the 'vine
: the fundamentals
word on
T
the 'vine
here is an epidemic here at UCI, a vicious outbreak of ennui, apathy, and cool indifference. Some see this as a handicap, but I see it as an opportunity. So what if we aren’t swept away in an ocean of unfounded school spirit? So what if our paths aren’t paved by history and tradition? Some say UCI has no history, I say we're still in the process of making it.
~ Shane West – the actor who starred in Get Over it and A Walk to Remember. ~ John Speraw – UCI’s Men’s Volleyball head coach (who coached UCI to the 2007 and 2009 National Title) was the assistant head coach for the GOLDmedalist USA Team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. ~ Chris Canfield – 2002 alumni, is the game designer behind Guitar Hero II and Rock Band. Rock on!
We grant opportunity to those who need it. Against uncertainty, we can take that chance and gain something new—or we can stay still, immovable, unchanging...forever.
~ Jon Lovitz – 1979 alumni, the famous actor from Saturday Night Live, Rat Race, and the voice of Jay Sherman on The Critic
ASUCI is not some mysterious blob that drapes itself over campus and absorbs funds from the students like a parasite. Take a gamble, go to the ASUCI offices and tell us what you’re really thinking.
Sincerely,
~ Mike Powell – holds the world record for Long jump with an astonishing leap of 29 feet and 4.5 inches!
Thanh T. Le Editor
I
t is a new year and a new look for The 'Vine! In this issue we have in-depth information on different aspects of ASUCI that affects you directly. Take a look at how those free movie screenings are done and learn what it takes to put on a show. Also, get the 411 on the new shuttles, why they are necessary and how to cope with limited seating. Homecoming Week is reviewed here and if you missed an event, don't worry! We've got day-to-day coverage of the week's activities including the winners. In addition to all of this, we hope you enjoy the list of amazing UCI alumni and find the contact list for various ASUCI programs useful. Lastly, keep an eye out for our upcoming and highly anticipated events and be sure to ask us questions or contribute to The 'Vine if you feel so inclined. Good luck with the rest of the quarter. Sincerely,
Page 2 - Winter 2011
ALUMNI ~ Thuy Trang – 1992 alumni, was Trini, the yellow ranger from The Power Rangers. Go Go Power Rangers!
We aren’t swept because we are the sweepers, the makers, and the leaders. To lead and not follow is quite challenging. Nobody can just flip a switch and become whomever they want overnight. That’s why we, ASUCI, are here.
Our ears are on the wall, but you’re the ones who have to break it down.
AMAZING
Annum Khan Editor
~ Sandy Goodwin Dusablon – is the CFO of Tony Hawk, Inc. ~ Phil Tippett – designed the special effects for Star Wars, Starship Troopers, RoboCop, Jurassic Park, and the Twilight trilogy. Sparkly. ~ Betsy McLaughlin – the CEO of Hot Topic, Inc. ~ Brady Anderson – former MLB player, three-time American League all-star ~ Scott Brooks – 1987 alumni, current head coach of the NBA team Oklahoma City Thunder and member of the 1994 NBA World Champion Houston Rockets ~ Joseph McGinty (aka McG) – 1990 alumni, director of Charlie’s Angels and Terminator Salvation. He’s also executive producer for a couple low-key shows like The O.C., Chuck, and Nikita. ~ Bob Gunton – alumni, Tony Award winner. He played the warden in the #1 rated movie on IMDB.com, The Shawshank Redemption.
: for the students
What Does
President's Address
ASUCI Do For You?
Happy New Year, Anteaters!
I
hope all of you had a fun and festive holiday break and a productive winter quarter so far. Fall quarter went out with a bang, and I hope to pack the first few weeks of 2011 with even more fun-filled ASUCI events! Last quarter, we broke the record for the world's biggest dodgeball tournament, our Welcome Week had an amazing turnout, we had over 1800 anteaters register to vote, and we established the first Speaker Pro Tempore position in Legislative Council. In addition, our fifth annual Shocktoberfest was a huge success, and we hosted a Midnight Magic that will certainly go down in the books. We also hosted a variety of events including the vendor fair, comedy and movie nights, a TGIF-organized tree-planting in Aldrich Park, and the first ever UCI Farmer’s market on Ring Road. And don’t worry, this quarter will be jam packed with fun events as well. I’d like to once again reiterate some of the goals that we have this year to better our campus and our UC Irvine community. Our major focuses this year are communication between the student government and the students body, student involvement in all of the great programs and activities that are available around campus, and advocacy for student rights and concerns. It is our job to work tirelessly for you, the student body, but we can’t do it without your input, so please get involved and give us your feedback! Good luck with the rest of the quarter and I look forward to seeing all of you around campus as the quarter progresses. Rip ‘em, Eaters! Warmly, Sitara Nayudu| President Associated Students | University of California, Irvine president@asuci.uci.edu | 949 824-2415
You might be surprised at how much ASUCI does around campus. You should definitely check out these services and get involved by contacting those in charge: Student Programming Funding Board (SPFB):
Cecilia Peña - cecilip@uci.edu
The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF):
Kevin Schlunegger - kschlune@uci.edu
Legal Clinic:
Genevieve Galman - ggalman@uci.edu
UTeach:
Sean Silverio - ssilveri@uci.edu
Farmer's Market:
Lena Hu - lenah@uci.edu
Visions Leadership:
Mathew Gayomali - mgayomal@uci.edu
Anteater Mentorship Program (AMP):
Jerome Gonzales - ejgonzal@uci.edu
Vendor Fair:
Marisa Klipp - vendorfair@asuci.uci.edu
Professor Luncheons:
Natasha Kader - nkader@uci.edu
Movie Nights:
Francisco Correa - fcorrea@uci.edu
Lobby Core:
Andres Gonzalez - executivevp@asuci.uci.edu
Anteater Express Shuttles:
Operations - operations@shuttle.uci.edu
Page 3 - Winter 2011
the 'vine
: student services
“Homecoming represents a week where the entire campus is united in spirit. We’re all students, working hard to achieve our goals, but we’re trying to have fun and work well together at the same time.” -Grace Poon Vice President of Student Services Story By Marisha Pareek
Congratulations to the Homecomin The court from left to right: Micha Chen, Elaine Kao, Silva Arjian, Br
Images By Wes Koseki and Francisco Correa At Homecoming Week this year, the festivities included a mixture of traditional and popular events along with some new influences to accompany the fresh faces of the homecoming court.
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Tuesday: A jam session was held on the Student Center stage, hosted by DJ Felli Fel with an intense Rap Battle, during which each homecoming court candidate spat spirited rhymes.
Wednesday: A scavenger hunt was hosted throughout campus and the night wrapped up with a karaoke marathon at the Anthill Pub. The pub provided a mellow and friendly atmosphere for the court to bond together.
HOMECOMING
ng Court and especially our King and Queen! ael Peyton, Janelle Sauz, Hannah Chang, Ernie runo Monteiro, Kyle Marscellas, Melyssa Griffin
Thursday: The Anteater Bloc Party was held on Ring Road, featuring games and food stalls. The homecoming court competed in “Cupcake Wars,” a baking contest, and “Zot of Love,"a love-dating show.
Friday: One of the most popular home- Saturday: At the Homecoming game, coming events was featured: the talent along with the crowning of the royal show. pair, halftime featured a one-minute “Judges really like to judge the talent step dance routine featuring the entire show the most,” said Poon, “because court. The main stage was headlined by the Michael Jackson tribute band. it’s one of the funniest events.”
Page 5 - Winter 2011
the 'vine
: spotlighting
What's Up With the New Shuttles? By Teresa Chang
According to Ryan Gripp, the General Manager of Shuttle Services, the old buses, Bluebirds, were school buses that were meant for short rounds. The new buses, previously owned by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), were meant to operate continuously. As the shuttle buses run from around 7 AM to 11 PM, with the exception of Friday, the new buses are better equipped to handle the daily strain of passenger flow. The fact that some of the Bluebird buses are older than some students at UCI is another reason for the installation of new buses. The choice to change buses also presented itself with the building of Camino Del Sol, which meant an additional route and thus, additional buses. Though you often see some old Bluebirds still around, they won’t be around for long since they'll be sold soon. The shuttle services are only keeping 5 Bluebirds with the introduction of the 25 new buses that are currently in service.
Image By Nika Carrillo
Now for the biggest issue: the seating capacity. Many passengers such as Diane Tran, a sophomore, have asked,
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Image By Nika Carrillo
We’ve all waited for it, been in it, and seen it pass by as people awkwardly try and run for it with their backpacks flailing behind. It is the elusive UCI Shuttle Bus. As a driver myself, I have seen this new school year come with many new changes including the building of the new Camino Del Sol housing complex, and the installation of the new shuttle buses. Granted the new buses look better than the old buses, but undoubtedly, the seating capacity has been a complaint among many students who have had to squish and push their way into the bus, hoping to make their 8 or 9 AM class. Why do we have to do it then?
Meet the new bus, different from the old bus. “Why doesn’t the shuttle system just put more buses on routes?” As a driver, I hate to tell riders to keep squishing and going back onto the raised platform, but it can't be helped. Even for heavily impacted routes such as VDC and VDC Norte, not all rounds have high constant ridership. To put more buses for a certain time just because it has high ridership is difficult as all buses must be fueled and checked for faulty brake and engine systems before being put into service, a routine that can take up to an hour. Another factor is that running a single bus can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, an amount that cannot be funded for by the school. Many passengers such as sophomore Brian Valdez often find that in order to escape missing a bus due to overcrowding, looking up the times when the bus is highly impacted and taking an earlier bus is a solution. I also see many Vista Del Campo Norte passengers walk to the Camino Del Sol bus or even the Arroyo Vista bus. However, as easy as it seems to find solutions to address the seating capacity dilemma, there are many problems and details with the shuttle bus services such as conflicting times, bus traffic, and time constraints. Gripp has stated that the supervisors are working to address the seating capacity problem, but for now, get to the bus early and try to move to the back please!
: see for free THURSDAY NIGHT MOVIES By Angela Hui
Fall quarter brought screenings of allstar comedy Grown Ups, summer’s most mind-blowing blockbuster Inception, and an advanced screening of the critically adored 127 Hours. To attain the rights to show these movies, film commissioner Francisco Correa contacts college film distributors and waits for their confirmation on each movie patiently.
Meet the Move Nights team. Image by Francisco Correa
There are at least three screenings scheduled per quarter this school year – and they are not long-forgotten, underwhelming ones either. Rather, movie selections come about after much deliberation. The Student Services’ Films Commission considers each student's suggestions carefully, but the biggest factor are the studios’ availability.
Image by Wes Koseki
Free movies in theater-like settings are hard to stumble upon, but ASUCI Movie Nights makes it pretty darn easy. Colorful posters plastered all over campus, copious amounts of flyers, and a handy Facebook group provides all the information a UCI student needs to know about an upcoming movie screening. The chance to watch free movies with fellow anteaters is fun and simple.
Who doesn't like free movies? Make sure to get in line early!
Companies may take a while to give movies the go, and may even decline the showing of a film due to re-releases and other reasons. The film commissioner also maintains a good relationship with Fox Searchlight Pictures, the studio that pumped out acclaimed independent films like 500 Days of Summer, 127 Hours, and Black Swan, making advance screenings possible for students. Fall quarter’s pre-screening of 127 Hours generated a flourished but frenzied turnout, as more than 400 students lined up eagerly (from HIB 100 to the Mesa Court Bridge!) for the much buzzed about film starring James Franco. The films commission had to turn down the unlucky ones who, unfortunately, did not make the cut to view the screening when the room reached maximum capacity. Arriving early is a good idea for these exclusive screenings. If you were looking forward to watching that thrilling upcoming film, or bummed because you missed that movie everyone was talking about, it may be smart to join the ASUCI Movie Nights 2010-2011 Facebook group for updates, or be on the lookout for posters around campus for free movie opportunities. Winter quarter’s tentative schedule includes Hereafter on 1/27, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I on 2/17, and Tangled on 3/3. Tickets are released a week before each movie at UCItems, with a maximum of two tickets per student with IDs. Come check out Movie Nights!
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the 'vine : great expectations There's still plenty of events to watch out for, keep an eye out for these in Spring Quarter!
CONTRIBUTING STAFF Writers:
Photographers:
Angela Hui
Francisco Correa
Marisha Pareek
Nika Carrillo
Sitara Nayudu
Wes Koseki
Teresa Chang Page 8 - Winter 2011
Feedback Please! Question or Comments? Send them to us: Thanh T. Le tle6@uci.edu Annum Khan khanaf@uci.edu thevine@asuci.uci.edu