The Highlander
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
For the week of Tuesday, November 14, 2023
VOL. 72, ISSUE 07
RADAR
est. 1954
FROM HIS SARCASTIC HUMOR TO HIS INSPIRING EFFORTS TO HELP OTHERS, THE ACTOR HAS LEFT AN IMPACT THAT FANS AND THE INDUSTRY WILL REMEMBER.
Remembering the life and legacy of actor Matthew Perry KIMBERLY BEJEC Assistant Radar Editor
On Oct. 28, 2023, it was announced to the public that the 54-year-old actor, Matthew Perry, passed away in his home. The news came as a huge shock and devastation to everyone. Perry brought plenty of smiles and laughs to audiences’ faces with his unique humor on and off the screen. He was an inspiration to many for his journey with substance abuse and advocacy for rehabilitation. Later, Perry would make it his life’s mission to help others battle addiction. Matthew Perry’s life and legacy will continue to live on through his family, friends and fans. Matthew Perry was born in Massachusetts on Aug. 19, 1969, to parents Suzanne Morrison and actor John Bennett Perry, and was later raised in Canada for most of his life. His parents separated, and his mother went on to marry Canadian broadcast journalist Keith Morrison. Growing up, Perry got into some trouble in school and started drinking at the age of 14. He later moved to Los Angeles to be with his father and started
studying acting and comedy while in high school. After a few small cameos and guest appearances on TV shows, Perry made his big breakthrough with NBC’s famous sitcom, “Friends.” The beloved show about the daily lives of six adults finding their way through their mid-to-late 20s in New York was a massive success. The show ran for a decade, pulling in millions of viewers. As “Friends” grew into an international hit, Perry became a huge celebrity along with his co-stars. Since the show came out in the ‘90s to early ‘00s, many people grew up watching it. Perry played Chandler Bing, one of the main characters, known for his sense of humor and sarcasm. Chandler was loved by many for his quick wit and banter with his other friends. From his entertaining bromance with Joey Tribbiani, played by Matt LeBlanc, to his heartfelt romance with Monica Geller, played by Courtney Cox, Perry was at the forefront of many iconic moments of the show. than the typical minimum of three meals a ► SEE PERRY PAGE 15
NEWS
CONCERNS BROUGHT UP OVER FINANCE MEETING MINUTES.
ASUCR’s fifth senate meeting
OPINIONS
MORE EMPOWERED THAN EVER, BREAK FREE OF CONSTRICTING EXPECTATIONS THAT REVOLVE AROUND DATING.
A new rulebook for love: Dating your friend’s ex is not off-limits MARIBEL GAMEZ-REYES Assistant Features Editor
MATA ELANGOVAN News Editor
The fifth Associated Students of UCR (ASUCR) Senate meeting took place on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023. All senators were present, excluding Senators Alex Lu, Kevin Nguyen, Leila Haider and Naia Pizzaro. The meeting began with a land acknowledgment to the local indigenous tribes who had lived on the land before and was called to order at 7:03 p.m. The first thing covered on the agenda was approving the previous meeting minutes for Senate Meeting Minutes #1, Senate Meeting Minutes #2, Senate Meeting Minutes #3, and Senate Meeting Minutes #4. All four meeting minutes were approved by the Senate 14-0-0. First on the Public Forum was Vice President of External Affairs Angel Renteria. He commended student life for their advocacy efforts. Afterward, he presented a missing flier that his office had made when Chancellor Wilcox had not shown up for the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) sit-in and encouraged everyone in the room to
COURTESY OF POLICY EXCHANGE VIA FLICKR
hold the administration accountable. He ends by telling everyone that if they are passionate about something, to get involved and organized. Next on the podium was Rumzi Asad Halim, treasurer for UCR’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). He came to the podium hoping to get a statement update from ASUCR regarding Palestine. Executive Vice President Victoria Nguyen responded that the members working on the statement were not present at the meeting but will ensure that someone from ASUCR will reach out to him or his organization to provide updates. During Ex-Officio Reports, the Senate reviewed ECAB Meeting Minutes #2. A motion to approve the minutes was made by Senator Grace Su and seconded by President Pro Tempore Abby Choy and was approved 13-0-0. For New Business, ASUCR delivered their Charles Young Statement. Charles Young was the first ASUCR student body president. He helped establish many traditions during ► SEE ASUCR PAGE 4
The answer to an age-old question — is it ever okay to date your friend’s ex? — would generally be no. If the threat of possible friendship damage isn’t enough to deter people, there are various demonstrations of what this “trope” decision might look like down the road in popular contemporary entertainment. Across the timeline of traditional and modern dating, the question of whether or not it’s acceptable to date a friend’s former flame has spawned the mass appeal of love triangle tropes and toxic unspoken rules of friendship, all restraining one’s individual freedom. Reading like a Shakespearean tragedy, resonating like Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance,” and being depicted in HBO’s “Euphoria” — all of these instances have negative connotations to dating a friend’s ex. However, these references are purely fictional and cannot be translated into real life. These examples need to be placed in the rearview mirror, and people must refrain from blurring the line between media
and reality. These stagnant tropes that have been repeated for entertainment are ingrained in a traditional viewpoint — controlling conduct and reinforcing the notion of ownership over others. An iconic cult classic movie, “Mean Girls,” depicts toxic ideologies humorously when Gretchen, one of the main characters, declares, “Exboyfriends are just off-limits to friends. That’s just like the rules of feminism.” The behavioral aspect of narrow ideologies that encompass unspoken friendship rules, modernly known as “girl code,” is highly disingenuous and incapable of elaborating on the actual complexities of human relationships. There is no issue utilizing these rules for entertainment purposes. However, when integrated into real relationships, they become a bargaining chip — a form of holding power over friends of the same sex. A 2019 survey of 1,500 singles conducted by the dating app Plenty of
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OPINIONS 7
FEATURES 11
RADAR 14
SPORTS 18
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► SEE DATING PAGE 9