Volume 61 Issue 08

highlandernews.org

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

FEATURES

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

SONY PICTURES ANIMATION PRODUCER SPEAKS AT UCR

SAUL WILLIAMS PERFORMS SPOKEN WORD AT THE BARN

ON PAGE 12

ON PAGE 16

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Student regents talk Prop 30 and future funding of UC Dean Mayorga SENIOR STAFF WRITER

S a n dy V a n SENIOR STAFF WRITER

With post-election fervor running high, UC student regents Jonathan Stein and Cinthia Flores held a presentation at the UCR on Nov.8.

As part of a systemwide tour, the student regents met students and discussed Governor Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30, which passed with a 54 to 46 percent margin just two days prior.

“It was the beginning of meaningful reinvestment of our education or it was the beginning of the end for the UC,” stated Stein when identifying the overall impact of Prop 30’s passage.

Proposition 30, the November tax measure, will halt a $250 million cut in funding and provide an additional allocation of a $125 million tuition buyout for the 2012-2013 academic year.

To offset the costs, California sales tax will increase by one-quarter cent for four years and taxpayers making over $250,000 will experience higher income taxes for seven years.

As a one-year funding commitment, Prop 30 does

R i c h a r d L i n /HIGHLANDER The UC student regents Jonathan Stein and Cinthia Flores hold a presentation at UCR in HUB 379.

not prevent future tuition increases, but has led to greater wiggle room for other budgetary options and greater discussions of a multi-year funding model for the UC system.

“If Prop 30 had failed it would have sent a message to our state lawmakers that California is okay with their

defunding of the UC system and they can continue it,” said Stein in an interview with the Highlander. “Passing Prop 30 means that we not only not go down that road [of privatization] but we begin to reinvest state dollars in the UC and begin to rebuild what we lost over these three, four or five years.”

With general state funding at 11 percent, the UC student regents argue that tuition has tripled from $4,000 to $13,000 in the last decade alone, compared to the previous 40 years—a period where tuition faced only an incremental increase of $3,000 to $4,000.

On average, Stein states

Hurricane Sandy delays return of UCR Model UN team S a n dy V a n SENIOR STAFF WRITER

that the UC system provides Federal Pell Grants to nearly half of all undergraduates, compared to the assistance offered by private campuses.

“We are an engine of social and economic mobility in the University of California, in a way that all of these [private] schools are totally not,” he REGENTS CONT’D ON PAGE 5

Intellicenter-Riverside to host new UC Path Center S a n dy V a n

From Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, delegates from the UCR Model United Nations (UN) team were stranded in Washington, D.C. due to Hurricane Sandy–a treacherous extratropical storm which plowed through the East Coast in late October.

Nearly 500 student delegates from all over the world attended the Model United Nations conference, which took place from Oct. 26-29 in Washington, D.C.. There, the UCR Model UN team took home the “Outstanding Delegation Award,” with the highest honors. UCR delegates represented China as members HURRICANE CONT’D ON PAGE 5

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Carrie Meng STAFF WRITER

On Nov 5. it was announced that the UC Path Center, the University of California’s consolidated payroll and human resources operations, will be established at an unoccupied three-story office building in the city of Riverside.

Built with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) features, the building also known as the Intellicenter-Riverside is located in the Meridian Business Park. First completed in 2008, the building was left vacant as a result of the region’s thendried up economy. No company wanted to make a major investment during the Great Recession.

C o u rt e s y

of

MUN

at

UCR

The UCR Model United Nations team attends a conference in Washington D.C.

UC PATH CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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Volume 61

Issue 08

2

NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

HIGHLANDER

244 high-efficiency toilets to make a splash in Oban apartments Carrie Meng STAFF WRITER

As one of many ongoing projects this year, the Western Municipal Water District (WMWD) program will replace 244 toilets in the Oban Student Apartment Complex with new, high-efficiency models. The UCR Office of Housing, Dining & Residential Services collaborated with WMWD and other local agencies on the program as part of the continuing effort to improve sustainability.

“UCR has a great sustainability plan and this meets our ongoing efforts at reducing water and other utility uses,” said Hassan Ghamlouch, director of Housing, Dining & Residential Services Operations, in a phone interview with the Highlander.

As of mid-September, 1,500 toilets have been installed within Western’s service area. The WMWD Board extended the program that began earlier in 2012 and will allow for another 1,675 toilets to be installed. This is expected to save 1,400 acre-feet of water, the equivalent of what 3,000 average family households use annually. It is a water savings of almost 400,000 gallons over the lifetime of each toilet.

The older toilets require the

The UCR student apartment complex, Oban, will undergo restroom renovations over the course of winter break 2012.

use of more than 3.5 gallons as compared to the new toilets which use 1.28 gallons per flush.

Johnny Zhou, a fourth year UC Riverside student and resident of Oban, said, “I think this is a great opportunity to save water in the long run. We are talking about something that we use on a daily basis and it will definitely benefit the environment.” Zhou has noticed that existing toilets in Oban have a slight delay when flushing.

“I can’t help but notice that the toilets in Oban have a bit of a lag time when flushing. As a result, more water than needed is used to do the job,” he said.

In 2009, UC Riverside converted about 600 toilets in university-owned apartments, also through Western’s program. This has saved the university 5,468 cubic feet of water worth $7,382 annually. Oban did not undergo the retrofit then because it was

initially not part of UCR student housing.

“Since the program is re-funded, we’re taking advantage of the opportunity,” said Ghamlouch.

The retrofit work begins Dec. 17 and is expected to last for about a week. Ghamlouch said that each toilet should take approximately 15 to 20 minutes for installation.

The High-Efficiency Toilet program is the result of a partner-

W e s l e y N g /HIGHLANDER

ship between the cities of Corona and Riverside, the WMWD and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Jeff Sims, Western’s Deputy General Manager said in a WMWD press release that older toilets will be recycled to responsibly manage all resources during the process. The project will also help Western fulfill the statemandated 20 percent urban water demand reduction by 2020.

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November

UPCOMING EVENTS Sunday

11

Veteran’s Day

Mission Inn Fun Run 7 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.

5th & Market Street, Riverside

18

Transgender Remembrance Display 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Exhibition

25

Monday

12

Tuesday

13

Ari Shapiro: Inside the 2012 Election 7 p.m. - 8 p.m.

HUB 302

Keck Graduate Institute Information Table 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

HUB Mall

19

20

Smoking Cessation: Healthy Living 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Health Service Building

26

Freshman: Your Career Game Plan 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

HUB 268 Careers in Undergraduate History Majors 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Humanities 1500

Tuesday Talks Family Talk 5 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Costo Hall

27

Japanese Drumming by the UCR Taiko Ensemble 12 p.m – 12:30 p.m.

ARTS Building Amphitheatre Steps

Wednesday

Thursday

14

15

21

22

The Invisible War: Human Rights Talk Rape in the Military 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

CHASS INTS 1113 HUB 255 The Metal Children, a Men’s Basketball vs. play by Adam Rapp Fresno State 8 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Arts Building Studio SRC Arena Theatre, ARTS 113

Meditation and Relaxation Class 12:15 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Student Recreation Center

28

Wellness Wednesday: Stress Less 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.

HUB 260 Women’s Volleyball vs. Washington State.

7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

SRC Arena

Thanksgiving LGBTQ Grad Student Hours 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Costo Hall 245 LGBT Resource Center

Friday

16

Saturday

17

Men’s Volleyball vs.

Cal Poly 7 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.

SRC Arena

8th Annual Tuskegee Airmen Celebration 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Orbach Science Library

23

24

Women’s Basketball vs. Princeton 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

SRC Arena

29

30

Lunchtime CEPCEB Seminars Learning: Brand U BPSC 252 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

12 p.m. – 1 p.m.

HUB 260 Genomics Auditorium RM 1102A

Scan this QR code and visit us at www.highlandernews.org

4

NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

HIGHLANDER

ASUCR update: senators approve ASPB’s 82 percent stipend increase Michael Rios SENIOR STAFF WRITER

ASUCR held its weekly Senate meeting on Nov. 8 following Tuesday night’s decisive election results. At the forefront of discussion was the successful passage of Proposition 30 and collaborative efforts for voter registration.

During the Legislative Review Committee (LRC) report, ASPB sought passage of various constitutional alterations and a stipend increase, amounting to 82 percent dating back to the 2012 Spring quarter.

“The one thing that really stood out that all of us that have been concerned about the future of education in California is that it was the student vote that made the difference,” said Vice Chancellor Jim Sandoval during the public forum period.

Working closely with University of California Student Association (UCSA), the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) and the Student Organized Voter Access Committee (SOVAC), ASUCR worked ef-

fortlessly to register both students and citizens in the surrounding Riverside community.

According to President Liam Dow, UCSA managed to register a total of 51,846 student voters, while UCR registered a total of 5,567 voters—both of which shattered past records. “This is surely a coalition of students that made a difference in expanding the political voice of students across the state,” stated Dow, who expressed his gratitude for the voter outreach efforts of all organizations.

Later in the meeting, Vice President Pro Tempore Sai Patadia delivered a LRC report, which included alterations to ASPB’s constitution and stipend levels.

Submitted in the summer, ASPB’s proposal included a request for an 82 percent stipend increase, which successfully went through due process within the LRC and finance committee.

“Any changes to the ASPB constitution must have been approved by ASUCR, so we pretty much just verified that and then we added...section seven from

chapter seven of the [ASUCR] bylaws,” stated Senator Patadia, who explained that stipend levels are included in ASUCR’s own bylaws. ASPB’s constitutional updates were unanimously approved by ASUCR. Due to the restrictions on stipend bylaws, a two-thirds senate vote was successfully obtained, which designated the ASPB stipend increase as a “special circumstance.” Through a closed ballot vote, senators passed the ASPB proposal by 11-2, which permits an 82 percent stipend increase for all ASPB director positions.

“There’s a section in the stipend that says you’re not allowed to have a stipend increase within three years,” Senator Said Patadia later explained, “They had a temporary stipend increase over summer. But this was a special circumstance because they didn’t have one for ten years before that. So they decided that in this circumstance, with all these increases and inflation, and factoring everything in, they wanted to ■H have an increase.”

C a r i n a G l a s s e r /HIGHLANDER CNAS Senator Sai Patadia gives a report on his recent ASUCR initiatives.

Senate Meeting Highlights: 1. Senators are reaching out to grocers such as Target to see whether or not they would be willing to contribute snack donations—this is part of an ongoing project to distribute snack packs to students during final weeks.

2. Along with Senator Ahlam Jadallah, Senator Spencer Castrellon has officially declared efforts to establish on-campus storage units for organizations at UCR. 3. During the Ex-Officio Reports, ASPB, the LGBT and the Raza Assembly talked about upcoming service projects such as: fundraisers, canned food drives and perfor-

UC PATH FROM PAGE 1

Constructed by the Dallas-based KDC Real Estate Developments, the building was purchased from March Joint Powers Authority, who are proprietors of the surrounding land. The company is known for developing a monopoly of environmentally-certified buildings, specifically purposed for business practices. The third floor consists of 150,000 square foot and will house all UC Path operations.

“We are borrowing capital market of $17.5 million to purchase [the building] and we anticipate being able to pay that off over an 11-year period,” said UC Chief Financial Officer Patrick Taylor in a phone interview.

The UC plans to utilize only the third floor of the building, leaving the remaining first two floors available for lease. Public and private sectors businesses may choose to buy out the floors as space for other operations. Rent from the tenants, paired with the building’s energy savings, will allow for the university to recoup the purchase price, according to a UC statement.

“We’re consolidating a number of people by moving them to Riverside [and] that frees up space in other locations that we no longer have to lease,” stated Taylor when referring to other cost-saving aspects of the project. The hired staff will be work under the cen-

mance events.

4. The “Scotty into Space” project was presented by Senator Chris Salvador. Along with student engineers at UCR, ASUCR will be working on launching a weather balloon with a video camera into space.

5. Senators Chris Salvador and Brian Leung have been working on the Food Trucks on Campus initiative. Surveys will be sent out to students asking them for their thoughts on the foods trucks on campus and to acquire quantitative data from the overall campus.

tral administrative structure of the UC financial officers.

Opening for the first time in July 2013, the shared service center will process all routine transactions across the UC’s ten campuses and five medical centers. The center is anticipated to bring an initial 140-160 jobs, first serving UCLA, UCLA Medical Center, UC Santa Cruz, UC Merced and UC Office of the President. All other campuses and medical centers will make the transition by Oct. 2014, creating a total of 500-600 professional jobs in the long run.

“The nice thing about being a big ten campus system is a lot of resources and talents that a lot of colleges don’t have...by virtue of our size. So using the campus system to support each other is a good thing. A, it will save money. B, it creates opportunities for career-path positions that currently don’t exist,” stated Taylor.

About a third of the staff will work in a call center fielding questions and assisting faculty and staff with payroll, benefits and other employment-related matters. Approximately 150 people will be initially hired by April or May, with additional hires expected to occur within 12 to 18 months. The remaining two-thirds of staff will work in the operations side. Recruitment for UC Path Center jobs is currently underway.

In May, UC Path executive sponsors

6. Senators Ian Cavasos and Chris Leung have been working on creating a diversity committee and meeting with members of Costo Hall to create a multicultural group of campus leaders to increase cultural diversity awareness at UCR. 7. ASUCR members are working on a proposal with TAPS to bring trolleys back to campus.

8. Vice President Pro Tempore Sai Patadia focused on an initiative to make supplemental instruction (SI) sessions more accessible to students. Patadia has met with SI coordinators and is searching for various

locations across campus to hold additional sessions.

9. Senator Ben Pengson is working on an initiative called Cubbies for Commuters.

The purpose is to set up lockers for commuting students on campus so that they can have a place to store their items during long school days.

10. Senator Spencer Castrellon discussed his work with the Tobacco-Free NonSmoking Implementation Committee. The senator and the committee discussed a budget proposal for the initiatives that will help students quit smoking on campus.

W e s l e y N g /HIGHLANDER The UC Path office building is LEED Gold Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

selected Riverside as the official site for the center based on several factors.

Evaluation criteria included the proximity of a strong pool of UC talent to staff the center, local housing and cost of living, the availability and condition of scalable office space, and the support of local leadership.

As part of UC’s Working Smart Initiative, UC Path is just one of 29 pro-

grams. “Over the last two and a half years, we’ve been able to identify about $230 million dollars of (positive) fiscal impact to the university. Now when you say positive fiscal impact, it either means lower costs so cutting cost or increased revenues or thoughtful use of our assets. So we feel very good about where we are in that front,” stated Taylor.

■H

NEWS

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

5

Red-haired individuals prone to melanoma without sunlight exposure, UCR chemists find A r o o b a C h a u d h ry CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Chemists at UCR have found that red-haired, fair-skinned individuals contain a skin pigment that may in itself cause the production of UV-independent melanoma. Through experimentation on strains of albino and red-haired mince, findings suggest that the use of sunscreen may not reduce the risk of skin cancer for red-hair individuals.

“We provide a very key piece of evidence to support the central hypothesis,” said UCR chemistry professor Yinsheng Wang, who is working closely with David Fisher of Massachusetts General Hospital on this project. In collaborations with former postdoctoral fellow Jin Wang and graduate Candace Guerrero, Professor Wang is supported by a grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

Both humans and mice contain the skin pigments, pheomelanin and the eumelanin. Through mice experimentation, researchers found that people with the red hair, fair skin phenotypes are more prone to developing the skin cancer, melanoma, due to an excess of pheomelanin. Pheomelanin has a weak-shielding capacity against UV light and induces endogenous formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The oxidative damage caused by the ROS is due to its capability to inflict DNA damage, which could result in melanoma.

UCR chemists developed a method to quantitatively assess the REGENTS FROM PAGE 1

said.

On Election Day, the younger demographic made up 28 percent of all California voters, revealed a CNN exit poll, and 65 percent of them voted yes on Prop 30. Recent trends reveal that young voter turnout has increased throughout the past few elections.

“Were it not for that high number of the electorate that was between 18-29, there is arguably no way that Proposition 30 would have passed... [this election] was a true indicator of not only students going out to vote but young people going out to vote,” noted Flores.“I think we’ve been able to demonstrate and we’ve actually flexed our political muscle during this election and in particular with this proposition. I think we’re at a very critical time in which student leaders in every capacity [on] their campuses really need to nurture this sense of political activism...” She also remarked on a perceptible paradigm shift towards student-faculty collaboration as a result of Prop 30.

For the Board of Regents, other budgetary measures up for consideration include raising the cap from 10 percent to 15-20 percent on out-of-state enrollment. Opponents argue that this may adversely affect socioeconomic and ethnic di-

C a r i n a G l a s s e r /HIGHLANDER Chemistry professor Yinsheng Wang worked with graduate student Candace Guerrero to test red-haired mice that develop melanoma without UV light.

oxidative damage done to DNA. Resulting studies reveal that mice with red-hair and fair skin have an increased amount of DNA damage compared to the albino mice even without sunlight exposure. The new findings do not disprove the studies that melanoma form due to UV light, but it is now known that DNA damage can happen with endogenous factors.

In order to quantify the oxidative damage, DNA must first be extracted from the skin tissue of each strand of mice. The DNA then undergoes enzymatic digesversity. An alternative option includes encouraging outside sources to fund return-to-aid instead of student tuition, in which a third goes directly to fund financial aid.

“It is gratifying to know that Californians value the impact of public higher education, its students, faculty and staff. This is a victory not just for UC, but for our entire state,” stated Chancellor Tim White in a special weekly letter. On Nov. 7, UC President Mark Yudof and the Board of Regents signed a letter, which commemorated the passage of Prop 30.

Based on the current state funding trends, an estimated $2.4 billion deficit to the UC budget is predicted to occur in 2015-16. The UC student regents vocally encouraged the need for greater and continued political activism amongst the student population, who largely contributed to the passage of Prop 30.

“I think it was invigorating for students to hear how much of an influence we can have on the decisions being made,” stated UCR CALPIRG organizer Morgan Colbertson, “[Students] need to be organizing equally as strong.

I think we need to push forward and make it a sustainable thing. But it was encouraging.

I’m really glad that Proposi■H tion 30 passed,” she said.

tion to reduce the DNA strand to single nucleosides. A fixed amount of a 15N isotope labeled nucleoside was used in order to quantify the levels of oxidative DNA damage in skin tissue of each type of mice.

Quantification of each sample is achieved by using a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with mass spectrometry technique, exploiting the ratios between the added standard and the naturally occurring DNA damaged. Ratios from each sample can then be used to quanHURRICANE FROM PAGE 1

of the human rights council, and faced the difficult task of defending stances such as the one-child policy.

Connected to the main Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) headquarters, the team resided in the Hotel Capital Inn, which was reserved for student delegates for the duration of the conference. With return tickets in hand, the UCR delegates scheduled flights for Oct. 28 and 29, through three different airports: the Dulles International, Ronald Reagan United and Baltimore-Washington International.

At the same time, Mayor Vincent Grey had made preparations for Hurricane Sandy by declaring a state of emergency and government shutdown for Washington D.C. on Oct. 29–the day in which many delegates were expecting to return home.

UCR Model UN Vice President of Research Mekbeb Hagos said that flight provisions for the conference dated back to early July. “So we booked it four or five months in advance only for it to be delayed,” joked Hagos. “We were flying out of Baltimore because it was like a hundred dollars cheaper, since it was election season [but] It’s like 45 minutes north and the further north you go, the worse the storm got.”

The team rescheduled their flight for the Tuesday, Oct.30 and made nearby hotel accommodations at the Skylight for a one-day

tify the level of oxidative damage DNA based on the initial amount of 15N isotope-labeled standard added. Once each sample is quantified, a comparison was made between different strains of mice.

This experiment reveals that oxidative DNA damage, induced by the pheomelanin pigment pathways, is a major factor that drives carcinogenesis in the skin of redhaired, fair-skinned mice.

First-year undergraduate Lucio Garcia Armenta claimed, “It scares me to think that cancer still affects us even though we take care of

ourselves by using sunscreen lotion and avoiding the sun [which] makes us extremely vulnerable...”

A paper has been published in Nature on the new findings for mice experimentation. The research project by Wang and his collaborators is aimed towards finding treatments that will prevent melanoma in red-haired, fairskinned individuals. Right now, the Massachusetts team is accumulating skin specimens to test whether antioxidants will decrease melanoma production in mice and humans.

■H

stay. Early Monday morning, delegates were informed through email notification that their flight would be once again delayed until Thursday.

“The condensation on the window inside the building filled up and we had to put towels [beneath the door] because [it] was dripping and by morning, the towels were soaked...because the pressure dropped so low from the hurricane,” stated fourth-year delegate Diego Hernandez.

Unable to afford hotel reservations for two additional days, the team desperately contacted the UCDC program, which generously provided free housing and food for the stranded students.

“We got lucky because [the] staff was staying there and they actually stayed there longer than anticipated [due to the hurricane]... luckily, the subway system opened up right when we got there because if it didn’t then we would’ve had to slept in the lobby,” said Hagos.

The delegates expressed immense gratitude to Dean of CHASS Stephen Cullenberg, Vice Chancellor of Academic Student Affairs Jim Sandoval and the UCDC program for providing two-day accommodations.

“It was a good experience for me to be in a hurricane..I mean you hear about it but never know about [the actual effects]...so it was cool having that connection because [if it] happens again, another hurricane hitting the east coast...we’ll have that connection,” stated Her-

nandez.

Perceived as an unnatural occurrence, Hurricane Sandy led to massive flight congestion and had echoing effects throughout the United States.

“In my 60 years of weatherwatching, I have never seen something as rare, in which Hurricane Sandy merged with the nor’easter [storm],” stated UCR fire geologist professor Richard Minnich in an interview with the Highlander.

Severely eroding the shores of eastern states such as New Jersey, the full force of Hurricane Sandy was anticipated by meteorologists who provided a five to six day warning. For many areas, storm surges caused flood damage to numerous homes, which resided atop of the surrounding sand barriers.

“Perceived as big sand bars with linear islands parallel to the coast, the barrier islands are created and destroyed by hurricanes,” stated Minnich, who strongly believed that those hazardous areas should be preserved as state-owned areas, to prevent human endangerment.

At the onset of the storm, FEMA immediately took action, assessing damages estimated to cost $60 billion, according to Time magazine. Because the FEMA headquarters were connected to the Capitol Holiday Inn hotel, UCR delegates watched the movements of the emergency recruitment team.

Taking place a week before the election, President Barack Obama appeared at the central FEMA H headquarters on the same day. ■

6 v

NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

NEWS IN BRIEF

COMPILED BY MELISA BIVIAN,

contributing writer

UCR PURSUES OUTREACH EFFORTS THROUGH COLLEGEWEEKLIVE

UC BERKELEY SELECTS NEW CHANCELLOR L a s t M a r c h , C h a n c e l l o r R o b e r t J . B i rg e n e a u announced that he would step down as chanc e l l o r o f U C B e r k e l e y. A f t e r h i s a n n o u n c e ment, an advisory committee consisting of U C f a c u l t y, s t u d e n t s , r e g e n t s , a l u m n i a n d foundation representatives began the search f o r p o t e n t i a l a p p l i c a n t s . C o l u m b i a U n i v e rs i t y ’s E x e c u t i v e Vi c e P r e s i d e n t N i c h o l a s B .

Dirks was selected to be the 10th chancellor o f U C B o n N o v. 8 . T h e U C B o a r d o f R e g e n t s have yet to vote on the terms of his selection.

In 1997, Dirks was a a professor who taught history and anthropology at the University of Michigan. There, Dirks directed the Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies, where he went on to become the executive president f o r A r t s a n d S c i e n c e s o f C o l u m b i a U n i v e rs i t y. F o r e i g h t y e a r s , h e l e d a m a j o r d i v e r s i t y initiative and wrote three books on India; “Castes of Mind: Colonialism and the Making of Modern India,” “The Scandal of Empire: India and the Creation of Imperial Britain” and “The Hollow Crown: Ethnohistory of an Indian Kingdom.”

“I’m confident he will be a great fit for UC B e r k e l e y. H i s g l o b a l p e r s p e c t i v e , l e a d e r s h i p o f d i v e r s i t y e ff o r t s a t C o l u m b i a a n d e x p e r i ence with both public and private universities will serve him and the campus well,” said UC P r e s i d e n t M a r k Yu d o f .

HIGHLANDER

All around the world, high school students have questions about the future college that they wish to attend. Attending college fairs can be helpful, but some students still want to know more about a campus.

In order to alleviate the college application process, UCR reached out to students through CollegeWeekLive (CWL).

CWL is a free service for prospective students to get more insight about a school through brochures, videos and interaction with admissions

counselors. Since 2007, students have been able to look at over 300 universities and colleges around the U.S. and abroad.

Particularly to UCR, Undergraduate Admissions Counselor Malcolm Manuel and Elizabeth Lopez answer student inquiries in regards to the overall admissions process. Students use CWL to interact with the counselors through chat rooms or video chats. Through virtual interaction, only the students are able to view the counselor

through chat rooms. Therefore Counselors are led to be more attentive and focused on the audio aspect of the conversation “Our goal as counselors is to provide students with the information and resources they need to be best prepared to gain admission to our campus,” said Lopez. CWL allows prospective students to familiarize themselves with university campuses such as UCR, while clarifying any questions that they may have before applying.

UCR HOSTS 8TH ANNUAL TUSKEGEE AIRMEN EVENT O n N o v. 1 7 , U C R w i l l h o s t t h e 8 t h A n n u a l Tu s k e g e e A i r m e n i n t h e O r b a c h S c i e n c e Library from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The celebrat i o n c o n s i s t s o f f i v e Tu s k e g e e A i r m e n f r o m Ramitelli, Italy and four members of the b o m b e r c r e w. A s p a r t o f p a n e l , t h e m e m b e r s w i l l s h a r e t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e s o f Wo r l d Wa r I I , w h i l e a n s w e r i n g q u e s t i o n s a s p a r t of a public forum.

The event honors the 17 African American bombers, who found success in 1944

d u r i n g Wo r l d Wa r I I , i n a t i m e w h e n the military was still segregated. Their achievements paved the way for desegregation of all U.S. Armed Forces, just four y e a r s l a t e r.

The UCR celebration was established in 2005 to honor the airmen and women who w e r e p a r t o f t h e Tu s k e g e e e x p e r i e n c e . A n annual event is now held in UCR to celebrate the history and accomplishments that t o o k p l a c e i n Tu s k e g e e , A l a b a m a .

Highlander G raphic D esigner

Know your way around Adobe Photoshop

Meetings at 5:15 PM in HUB 101

for graphic designers.

or Illustrator? The Highlander is looking

The new Highlander debuts winter 2013.

Join our cast and share the spotlight once we’re ready for showtime. Come to our weekly meetings on Mondays at 5:15 to learn how you can get involved with the big changes coming to your student newspaper next quarter.

8

. OPINIONS .

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

HIGHLANDER

On June 6th, the Supreme Court refused to strike down a California law that offers state residents reduced tuition rates at California colleges. The law’s opponents argue that the bill, which does not distinguish between lawful residents and illegal immigrants, violates a federal law that prohibits states from giving college benefits to illegal aliens on the basis of residence within a state. Unfortunately for the law’s detractors, the Supreme Court wouldn’t even hear their challenge.

Lawyers for a conservative immigration-law group that backed the appeal claim that the law is patently unfair to the thousands of full-bred American high school graduates who apply to California colleges from other states each year. These students will have to pay as much as $20,00 more for college tuition than the illegal immigrants (and many other California residents) that the bill aids. Others have argued that the bill gives preferential treatment to illegal immigrants - it is just one more derivative of affirmative action, bent on taking positions away from the hard working, middle-class Caucasians who really deserve http://ulife. com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/rick-santorum-660x320.jpg

HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL

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If you cannot grow a moustache, cut out the one provided and support the cause.

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MOVEMBER: A CALL TO ACTION The month of November has a variety of meanings for people. For some, it is the unofficial beginning of Riverside’s rainy season, when the Santa Ana winds pick up and rip papers away from the hands of unsuspecting passerby. For others, it is the frenetic period of studying, cooped up in the Rivera Library with a very strongly caffeinated beverage before finals week. But for an increasing number of men, November has come to embody a new meaning: that of the moustache.

If you see an increased amount of facial hair around campus, it’s because men around the world are participating in a month-long event known as Movember. But Movember is not solely about stylishly grooming the moustache, although that is a part of it. Even some who grow out their facial hair in solidarity with the movement are not aware that Movember is actually a campaign intended to raise awareness of men’s health issues, including testicular and prostate cancer.

8,590 cases of testicular cancer will be found in 2012, according to the National Cancer Institute. New cases of prostate cancer will number nearly a quarter million. And there will be an estimated 28,170 deaths from prostate cancer in this year alone. But though the numbers are staggering, they belie a larger problem. Prostate cancer is a slow-growing cancer. Even if men undergo an exam and are diagnosed with prostate cancer, doctors do not necessarily know whether the cancerous cells will grow quickly enough to wreck havoc. Often, men undertake surgeries to remove benign tumors that otherwise would have remained

unknown and undamaging, only to face complications from the surgery itself. This only adds to the hesitance and reticence that men have when it comes time for them to be tested for prostate cancer.

This is problematic because testing for prostate cancer does indeed save lives. The longer a man goes with a cancerous polyp undetected, the more of a chance it has to metastasize and spread to other areas of the body, where it can become untreatable. The American Cancer Society reports the revealing facts on early detection and early treatment: if prostate cancer is treated before it spreads, the five-year survival rate is nearly 100 percent.

But once it becomes a stage IV cancer, that number plummets to 29 percent.

With the number of human lives affected by this scourge, why isn’t there more awareness of the suffering and pain brought about by prostate cancer? Movember has made a start, but awareness is still startlingly low.

October has been coronated breast cancer awareness month; why can’t November take its own place in the pantheon of dates geared to increase attention on a specific issue? Indeed, so much work has been done by breast cancer awareness advocates, who have struggled against a decades-long stigma against breast cancer to make so many achievements for people undergoing the tribulation of breast cancer everywhere, that it would be the next logical step to advance the issues related to prostate cancer.

Now it is time for men’s health to pick up that mantle and be the second wave to the breast cancer awareness campaign, and UCR can be the hub.

Students who are interested can join the Movember movement and start raising money for the end of prostate and testicular cancer. But this is not enough. Just as the women’s volleyball match on Oct. 6 was dedicated to breast cancer awareness, sports games held in the month of November should be dedicated to prostate cancer awareness. ASUCR can use its role as the student voice on campus to endorse the Movember movement at UCR and use its bully pulpit to encourage students to grow out their moustaches in solidarity with the awareness campaign. The Student Wellness Center can organize awareness campaigns during November. For its part, the UCR administration should make the monthly growth of the moustache a hallmark of the campus and pledge a dollar for every person who agrees to register.

Make no mistake: fighting any kind of cancer is a long and arduous task.

But someone must start. As the advocates of breast cancer awareness have learned, taking action is the only way to accomplish the goal you have in mind. There is no better time than the present to increase awareness of prostate cancer and testicular cancer. And we, as UCR students, staff, faculty, and administrators, can do our part to leave our mark on the movement.

Gentlemen, start growing out your ■H moustaches.

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.

Blood in Oil and Bribery T i m R. A g u i l a r STAFF WRITER

Last month, big oil, mining and gas, hiding behind The United States Chamber of Commerce, the American Petroleum Institute and the Independent Petroleum Association of America, filed a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), demanding the right to bribe foreign countries and return to the days, 35 years ago, when more than 400 United States corporations bribed foreign officials to secure land and business contracts.

The lawsuit claims that a bipartisan provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that requires full disclosure of payments made to foreign governments violates corporate First Amendment rights. This action also seeks to dismantle the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), enacted in response to the flood of briberies. Lead attorney for the oil industry is Eugene Scalia, son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. If the suit reaches the Supreme Court, I would hope Papa Scalia would recuse himself for obvious conflicts of interest.

And so the infamous Citizens United decision, granting First Amendment protection to Corporate America, raises its ominous head again, as it just did in our recent election, and will now be used to cripple anti-corruption laws that undermine Corporate America’s ability to secretly line the corrupt pockets of power for profit. We must never forget that the conservative Citizens United organization, funded primarily by Karl Rove’s Crossroads America, aimed their cry for free speech at presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, because they were certain Republican presidential candidate John McCain could defeat a young Democratic senator from Illinois, Barack Obama, in the 2008 presidential election. Oops, I guess that didn’t work—twice!

Ian Gary of Oxfam, an organization dedicated to ending global poverty, advancing women’s rights and creating self-sustaining programs in developing worldwide communities, responded to the lawsuit by saying, “We are greatly disappointed that the oil industry is trying to use the courts to bully the SEC and push for secrecy in their payments to governments.” He went on to add, “We call on BP [British Petroleum], Exxon, Chevron and Shell, who are hiding behind industry associations to do their dirty work while espousing transparency rhetoric, to disassociate themselves from the lawsuit.” There was no response to the call for disassociation by Gary from these oil giants.

So what’s the big deal? How different is this form of bribery from the powerful lobbyists who promote their clients’ interests in Washington? One is open and the BRIBERY CONT’D ON PAGE 10

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

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Nostalgia versus modernization: the future of the printed word J o s h ua W a g o n b l a s t STAFF WRITER

There is an indescribable feeling involved when one flips through the beige-colored pages of the printed word. The first time someone reads the black, bolded letters as they let the sheet’s edges crisply glide over their fingertips from page to page is like warm sand running through one’s hands at the beach on a hot summer’s day. Personally, I will never forget the book that pulled me into realizing that an author’s thoughts and emotions could relate to and affect the surrounding world and that there was a profound significance contained within. Even though artistic prose provided me with a transcendental feeling, I knew that novels, newspapers, short stories, poems and the rest of the written word pertained to an importance in society. This significance has come to be a necessity, one that can be exemplified by the newspaper that works night and day to bring the world’s events to the student population at UCR, the Highlander.

There are many people who agree with these statements, and I can only assume that a large majority are recreational readers themselves. On that note, it is of the essence that writers and their opinions, thoughts, and desires continue to be incorporated within our culture. Nowadays this must be difficult with glaring outof-business signs popping up all over once-reliable bookstores, right? Not exactly.

The fact is simple: times have changed, and the availability of books has taken a turn into a new, digital environment.

What does this mean for the future? Most recently, Penguin and Random House, two of the largest publishing companies in the world, have announced plans for a merger. Nobody knows what is in store, but with eBooks, the Kindle and other electronics becoming more popular, as time goes on we may be at a loss of the always dependable and beloved printed word—a downside of the forced competition that has now arisen between the publishing companies and online retailers. With champion companies like Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google and especially Amazon dominating the sales industry, it is hard to ignore the technological transition that is taking place right before our eyes. The bankruptcy of Borders was practically inevitable, and I will never forget the one that was a few streets away from my parents’ house. The place was closed down only a few years ago and it has recently been turned into a container store, whatever the hell that exactly is. The insignificance of hardcovers, paperbacks, magazines and newspapers is overwhelming. The world is evolving, but

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The future of the printed word is in question due to the success of eBooks.

at what cost? Soon paper publications will be insignificant in the eyes of the companies, and the now merged “Penguin Random House” will have to abandon their traditional focus in order to live in an eBook world.

I have always loved entering a petite bookstore in the corner of town somewhere where I can browse through the shelves with my favorite authors beside me, talk with the clerk about our favorite literary moments and their meaning, and then sit down in a comfortable chair with the sounds of nothing but other onlookers around me. These experiences will be lost with the Penguin/Random House merger, and others to come. The executives should be able to hold their stance on paper books, but this is farfetched when Pearson’s Chief Executive Marjorie Scardino has already commented on the modernization of publication, saying, “The book publishing industry today is remarkable for being composed of a few large, and a lot of relatively small companies, and there probably isn’t room for them all—they’re going to have to get together.” Scardino nicely words a predestined monopolization of the publishing companies, a foreseeable strategy that seems to be the only way for contending with the online cash cows; a strategy that will lead to a dissipation of “real” books and a new era of electronic ones.

Online retailers gross a great profit for their eBooks, but how does this digital transformation affect the authors?

Well, the reason for the new transition to the eBook phenomenon is because of the larger revenue that can be obtained, with authors incurring most of the financial blow.

Although marketing, design, editing and typesetting all cost around the same for both versions (printed, meaning hardcover in this specific case, and electronic), the author’s royalties are decreased by $1.63, now being $2.27 for each electronic book sold, as analyzed by the New York Times.

Have you ever wondered why e-books and printed books cost the same? For one, there is no reason to decrease the price if demand stays consistent on both planes. Secondly, companies such as Amazon have to adjust retail prices after purchasing the books from the original publishers. Rick Broida wrote an article for “Wired” entitled, “Burning Questions: Why Do eBooks Cost so Much?” in which he explains that publishers price eBooks with paper book sales in mind, and that there are other factors involved as well.

Hardcover books are usually more expensive in comparison to all forms of literature, and when it comes to the eBook craze, it’s hard not to try to save some pennies. But that’s all they are: a few pennies here and there, and despite the common belief that eBooks are significantly less expensive, there are some things to keep in mind. There is no escaping the insurmountable amount of fees that publishers are still required to encounter for both “real” and electronic books, including royalties, cover and interior design, editorial development, copy editing, page composition, cataloging, sales, marketing, publicity, merchandising, credit, collections, accounting, legal, tax and acquisitions. In addition, with eBooks there are new costs involved that bestselling author Michael Hyatt summarizes fairly well: digital preparation,

quality assurance and digital distribution.

Take into consideration the different strategies each big company uses when uploading an eBook. They all have differing systems used to format the eBooks and this means ensuring that their product is transferable to all the varying kinds of eReaders. Although eBooks may be in the same price range as paper books now, once the digital version causes an extinction of the real books, the prices will most likely increase in order to make a substantial profit based off of all these new costs, being a reason that the publication companies, like Penguins and Random House, must merge if their paper book sales are going to be soon found plummeting.

Surely people can make arguments for both sides and there are pros and cons for both electronic and “real” books.

A benefit of the eBooks, for instance, is that they are arguably more easily readable since there is a zoom feature installed. I for one find this unnecessary but I do not doubt that this can be helpful. They are also beneficial for lighting and when one prefers to have multiple books on them at once. Though paper books are favorable because they are easily portable, available, cheap, and they don’t cause significant eye strain that result from staring at a computer screen for too long. Plus, unlike eBooks, they don’t have to charge and one does not have to continually look for a source to plug their device into. With the eReaders there is always the cost of batteries that come with it as well.

Ever spill something on your laptop? Or perhaps drop your phone in a pool? Once your eBook device has been soiled by

coffee, tea or any other liquid, you forever lose your content.

This problem is not a worry with paper books, and if one does happen to spill something on the pages they can always be left out to dry. A triumph here is the dependability of the product. Another is that if one does prefer eBooks they have to purchase an eReader; otherwise they will be forced to lug around a laptop if they choose to carry their books with them.

There are no strings attached with a paper book—it’s printed and sent, nothing more. With classic paper books there is no worry and no lugging, just the book in hand and a tranquil read in a solitary environment of one’s choice. For all the eBook fanatics out there who say that these issues are of no concern to them, just remember my points when I’m enjoying a leisurely read as your device freezes from a software bug.

Apple, Google, Microsoft and Amazon may have a stranglehold on the digital world but I refuse to let them take my paper pages away. Penguin and Random House may be merging in order to keep the fight going between the classic giants and the new online strategists, but, even though eBooks have become a popular and perceived better product, let us not forget the plethora of positive qualities tied to paper books and the reasons publication companies should continue to pursue the printing of such. Publishing companies may feel the need to compete with these corporate giants in order “to deal with the challenges arising from the growth of electronic books and the power of Internet retailers,” as said by The New York Times, but there will always be people like me who will forever live ■H with a novel in hand.

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OPINIONS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012 BRIBERY FROM PAGE 8

other covert. When presented through this lens, it doesn’t appear there is much difference. After all, we’re speaking of foreign countries, some of which lack legal and regulatory institutions and infrastructures required to protect the interests of their citizens and their country’s natural resources. So why should we, the United States of America and The Foreign Internal Defense (FID), a global organization against terrorism, assume the role of big brother and protect the interests of those who cannot fend for themselves? Are we to become global citizens in search of justice or should we bow to an open market, unobstructed enterprise, and capitalism? Why not exploit these opportunities and make the foreign landscape bend to the whims of U.S. businesses? Somehow I recall this sociopolitical economic dogma espoused in our recent Presidential Election.

Attorney Eugene Scalia will argue that the First Amendment prohibits government from re-

stricting independent political expenditures by corporations and that bribing foreign officials is simply a legitimate form of political speech, as are the powerful lobbyists that line the halls of Washington and the wealthy donor-financed Super PACs. I’m certain Scalia will be much more eloquent, but his argument is logically based on the Citizens United decision, which legally equated corporations with people. If Citizens United gives such latitude to political free speech maybe foreign interests can join the lawsuit, by submitting an amicus curiae brief, and we can have foreign officials take the witness stand and testify that they have no objection to being bribed. Who knows, they may even receive support from oil lobbyists and nonprofits, like the Koch Brothers’ Americans for Prosperity, a neo-conservative fundraising organization.

And before we know it, we can finance abusive governments that violate basic human rights and govern with fear and military force. Does Iraq’s Saddam Hussein or Libya’s Muammar

Gaddafi ring a bell? Each of these dictators used oil bribes to build their military forces and terrorized and murder the citizens of their nation. But they are foreigners and what happens to them is not a concern for Citizens United; that is, united for the sole purpose of exploiting and influencing sociopolitical opportunities for profit.

Ironically, what the Chamber of Commerce and their comrades hope to achieve is what Middle America detests most: financing special interests that seek to gain advantage over those who play by the rules, rules that require an open, competitive bid transparent on every level to society and the world. But who are we fooling? We need not look across the Pacific to encounter corruption. As a result of the Iraq War, Halliburton, a company once led by Vice President Dick Cheney, received over $7 billion in Iraqi oil and infrastructure contracts that never saw an open bid; a company that paid settlements of $791 million for 10 instances

HIGHLANDER of federal contractor misconduct. As recently as Dec. 2010, Halliburton paid $35 million to Nigeria to settle a bribery case involving liquefied natural gas, an effort that included the participation of Vice President Cheney. But let’s not pick on Halliburton or Cheney. After all, history will tell their story.

Instead, we can turn a critical eye to Goldman Sachs-backed Cobalt International Energy, who partnered with an Angolan company seeking the rights to drill in an offshore oilfield.

Global Witness, an investigative group based in the United Kingdom, reported that $550 million in “social payments” were provided to the stateowned oil company Sonangol

by Cobalt, BP and an AngolanHong Kong interest group.

In the months and years ahead, Republican political pundits and right-wing economic gurus will attack laws and rules created to protect citizens and bring equity to the competitive world of capitalism. They will scream for free markets and demand that rules and laws be repealed to stimulate our

economy, but there is more at stake than profit or jobs. There are economic consequences to our actions that may serve as a foundation for power and the violation of human rights and dignity. America’s middle class got a tiny taste of what power in the wrong hands can do, but Americans have a vote—something many citizens of oil-rich countries do not have.

So when the matter of corporate free speech in foreign countries is exploited by the Chamber of Commerce and their allies, big oil and gas, remember that we may be sending our sons and daughters into combat in an oil-rich country, like Iraq, so that companies like Halliburton can profit.

We must connect the dots and understand the global implications of these actions that come into our homes and sit at our kitchen table to reside forever in the memories of those who have lost loved ones to wars advanced by greed. We must never forget that there is blood in diamonds, blood in oil, and blood in greed. But it is not shed by the profiteers.

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Thanksgiving is now a pitstop between Halloween and Christmas Colette King CONTRIBUTING WRITER

It all begins in August, the month that generously bestows hundred-degree temperatures and humidity upon the country’s population. Apparently, to some stores like Hallmark, this warm month of August is the perfect prelude to the season of warm hot chocolate and cheerful frolicking in the snow. Yes, the month that scorches us with those pleasantly high temperatures seems like an appropriate time for Hallmark to send out a magazine with snowmen in sweaters and penguins dancing on ice. This poor choice of timing was brought to my attention when my mother, an avid collector of Christmas ornaments, started receiving her annual Hallmark Ornament Magazine every August. Then again, the “most important” season is quickly approaching so I am sure they are just helping everyone figure out what they want to clothe their pine tree with.

It is not just Hallmark that holds this enthusiastic desire to begin the Christmas season four months early, but this slow haunt of Christmas cheer is emerging from other places as well. It should be noted that Starbucks has already begun distributing Christmas-decorated cups and offering their “seasonal” beverages with season’s greetings to customers worldwide. Target, a popular multi-commodity store, has already been advertising the Christmas season in its advertisements. For you nifty crafty people, Michael’s has stocked and decorated its store with winter wonderland attire. The radio station KOST is also a culprit in this Christmas business with their slow Christmas song infestation that begins at least two weeks before the closing weeks of November. What’s so important about the end of November? It’s that holiday with the turkey and gravy that no one really cares about. Oh yes, that’s right, Thanksgiving.

Whatever happened to that holiday, Thanksgiving? Why can’t the enthusiasm we have for Christmas be shared with Thanksgiving? Why don’t we have people dressed up as turkeys everywhere

during November instead of a strong push to shove spoonfuls of carol music and fake pine trees down our throats so soon? Truthfully, I would enjoy some songs about the delicious taste of turkey while I’m grocery shopping for Thanksgiving. Don’t think I’m ridiculous; you’re the one that listens to songs about live snowmen and talking reindeer. What baffles me is the fact that we cannot have these lovely songs about turkeys because the only companies that would promote this type of advertising are food companies, and well, that isn’t enough. Honestly, there is only so much you can do for Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a modest holiday that promotes the notion of being thankful for family and for the food that has been provided on the table. But with the hype of Halloween being the first end-of-theyear holiday and Christmas apparently noted as being the most important holiday, Thanksgiving has become more of a pitstop between Halloween and Christmas. I assume it is because there isn’t much of a business for thankfulness. Halloween is the kickoff for the holiday season so the costume businesses, clothing companies, and party stores are flooded with excited customers who have long awaited the season. Thanksgiving, on the other hand, has been associated with turkeys, ham, au gratin potatoes, cranberry bread and well, any food your grandma loves to make. Understanding that food rules this day means the only company that would actually profit from this is, well, a food company.

Food companies can try to persuade their customers to buy even more food for their family, but honestly, the reason Thanksgiving probably isn’t making any money is for thankfulness. With people already consuming food anyway, there’s really no point in promoting it. In theory, if you don’t have enough food shouldn’t you be thankful for what you have anyway? Maybe food companies can convince people that the only way you can have a good Thanksgiving is with three deep-fried turkeys and the entire family dressed up in Pilgrim and Native American attire. I’m sure if people are fooled

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Celebrating Christmas seems to start earlier every year.

enough companies can make a decent amount of money. It hasn’t happened yet, and it probably won’t, but it’s possible.

Christmas. The time of giving and receiving. The word that screams “money” is the word giving. You absolutely cannot have Christmas without gifts, or at least that’s what companies have advertised. And if we want to get biblical, it technically is Jesus’ birthday, right?

So shouldn’t we reenact it by purchasing gifts for everyone else? Don’t forget Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and every other holiday that has a gift-giving season.

These are the holidays that are wrapped up in the Christmas Spirit or the more aptly named, “Buying Spirit.” New toys, new clothes, new products suddenly and “coincidentally” slide their ways into advertisements during this season. Disregard all that old merchandise; isn’t it only right that you give your family the best? This is where the trap begins and this is exactly what stores want you to think. The holiday Christmas isn’t so hyped up because we receive gifts on

this day, but manufacturers make us believe that we have to give gifts on this day. Manufacturers could care less about the true meaning of Christmas because to them it’s just a great money making season.

Well, Christmas is associated with the heartwarming exchange of gifts. This exchange opens the doors to all manufacturers across the world, allowing industries from clothing to hardware to convince you that their merchandise will create the Christmas spirit in the hearts of their consumers. So what better time to start this shopping than right now? The Christmas Season is promoted as much as it is because of the potential profits that companies can get their hands onto.

Thanksgiving just hasn’t revealed that potential to manufacturers so the promotion of Thanksgiving has been thrown under the rug. Thanksgiving might have a season that starts in August one day, but until they find a way to make more money out it, enjoy the Christmas Cheer and the old men dressed in red suits dur■H ing November.

The opinions expressed in the Opinions section belong solely to their authors and do not represent the Highlander Editorial Board or the University of California, Riverside.

HIGHLANDER

. FEATURES .

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Not So Sharp a capella. Freshman Mikaola Valentino recites a poem. Ronny Sanchez plays bass in the group Groove Session. Austin Andrade represents his fraternity, Alpha Gamma Omega.

3 RD ANNUAL

Raven Morris, Contributing Writer Cameron Yong, Photographer

A key component to a successful college experience is being open-minded and gaining knowledge about to the various beliefs, cultures and religions of others. Here at UCR, there is a tremendous pride in the diversity of our campus. What better way to celebrate that diversity than with music, poetry and free food from the Barn? On a cold, rainy Thursday night on the 8th of November, students hung out at The Well’s 3rd Annual Creative Coexist. The Coexist events are hosted to provide an environment of togetherness and creativity for people of different beliefs.

As opening band Groove Session began to play, the line at The Barn compiled with students ready to use the free dining coupons with $4 credit distributed at the door. Setting the tone for the evening, the trio from Ontario graced the stage with melodic tunes and skillful instrumentation with songs like “Change of Pace” and “California Hurricane.” The music ranged from soulful, dramatic tunes to light and smooth jam sessions that the audience clearly appreciated. Groove Session started the night off right by setting a laid-back and enjoyable atmosphere.

The band played four selections as food pumped out from the kitchen and the excitement of the upcoming performances filled the air.The band played four selections as food pumped out from the kitchen and the excitement of the upcoming performances filled the air.

After starting the night off right with an intense jam session, students piled in and the presentations began. Organizations on campus spoke about their club or religion and presented open invitations to join in their fellowship. Presentations included spokesmen from the new Christian Co-Opt organization and the Coptic Club, an Egyptian Christian group on campus. Students also heard from the Christian fraternity Alpha Gamma Omega, who are currently in the process of becoming affiliated with UCR. Club presentations were used to incorporate cultural understanding as a means of religious coexistence.

Learning about different belief systems and having

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access to more information added a great facet to the event’s lineup.

There was an steady, easy vibe of camaraderie that permeated throughout the night. A number of poets took the stage and the event doubled as an open mic night for whoever felt moved and compelled to showcase their talent. Performers were inclined to encourage each other from the audience, which gave the Barn a fun and light-hearted feel.

Many students who performed were associated with on campus organizations like the Catholic Student Fellowship and Active Minds. Poetry and spoken word became a popular choice of expression with topics ranging from relationships and womanhood to togetherness and faith. As the night went on, the audience grew.

UCR’s Gospel Revelation Choir performed three uplifting selections and the Not So Sharp a cappella group also made their mark singing a cappella versions of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” and “Animal” by Neon Trees. The modern mix of entertainment from our own students created a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere. Students were pleasantly surprised by the number of first-time performers who hopped on stage with confidence, despite the pressure of such a packed house.

Those in attendance were able to appreciate the religions and cultures that were represented by enjoying the creative avenues used to express those different beliefs. Freshly written poems, uplifting music and good company can only equal a successful night. Students were given the opportunity to better understand each other in unique ways. Hosting events like the Creative Coexist is a great way to hone in on the diversity of UC Riverside’s campus. As the night ended, students left The Barn with good vibes and a readiness for next year’s event. With the participation of so many clubs and organizations, the campus community can continue to prove that cultural understanding and togetherness is both valued and appreciated.

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FEATURES

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

HIGHLANDER

PRESIDENT OF PRODUCTION FROM

SONY PICTURES

A n i m at i o n SPEAKS AT UCR

TONI LOUIE, Senior Staff Writer As part of the Leadership Initiative provided by UCR’s Women’s Resource Center, Sony Animation Picture’s President of Production Michelle Raimo Kouyate dropped by campus on Wednesday, Nov. 7th for a talk in HUB 302. Kouyate, who was friendly and outgoing, started off by saying, “Let’s keep it casual,” and brought a few clips to show in addition to her lecture.

Instantly, the titles to some of her biggest projects were recognized by the avid audience. Her latest film, “Hotel Transylvania,” is currently in theaters. Her first animated movie, “Puss in Boots,” was a hit among all families and ages.

The first book she found and developed into a film, “Chocolat,” starring Johnny Depp, is an internationally recognized romance classic. Judging by the passion, control and the precision she has now, anyone might assume that Kouyate has been set on the entertainment path from the beginning. However, life before the movie business tells otherwise.

Kouyate was born in Brooklyn, New York, into an immigrant family. She was a very avid reader when she was younger but, nevertheless, pursued pharmaceutical research at St. John’s University. Although she had not been exposed to much TV or media, she somehow felt a strong instinct to completely switch directions and pursue that business instead.

“I didn’t really have a good handle on why I was drawn to it or what I was really doing,” says Kouyate. “But something was telling me, follow your gut;

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JILLIAN RAUSA, Photographer

follow your heart.”

After landing a producing program at USC, she developed a keen interest in film and storytelling. “I wasn’t so lucky at first,” explains Kouyate. Despite her education and a great internship at MGM, it took her many months to find her first job. Her first opportunity at Miramax was a temp job for head of production around the year 1994 when “Pulp Fiction” came out. She stayed at Miramax for 10 years, when the company was still early in its development and creating original material. When her boss said, “I’m moving to New York, do you want to come with me?”

Kouyate immediately thought, “My little Italian mother’s going to kill me if I don’t take this opportunity.” She promptly moved back home where she read the original script for “Good Will Hunting” and stayed up three nights in a row writing story notes. “One of the big ways to get yourself promoted in the movie business is to read scripts, give your opinion and write story notes,” Kouyate advises.

Her incredible work on the original “Good Will Hunting” script was the reason for her promotion to director of development. Her next milestone was finding the book “Chocolat” and being trusted to find a writer, script and director on her own. Once the project was given permission to be developed into a film, she was told, “Well, we’re going to shoot in France. Go to France and oversee your first movie.”

There are two separate, more broad realms of produc-

tion: the logistics and the creativity. Then, there is the more concentrated independent producer, which Kouyate still wasn’t sure she wanted to do.

She made her transition into animation when she moved back to Los Angeles and worked briefly at Paramount pictures. Kouyate also had a baby at the time, and her interest and passion was turned to Nickelodeon and other family movies. DreamWorks Animation’s “Puss in Boots,” which took four years, was the first animated movie she produced.

“I really fell in love with the people and the business,” she says. In contrast, she mentions, “In live-action there are a lot of high stakes involved. In animation people are more laid-back, family oriented, and focused on story, story, story.” Kouyate also expressed the inspiration of looking at every unique scene of a film in its development: hand-drawn and created from scratch by multiple illustrators.

“When I was at Paramount, I felt a little too removed from the story process,” she says.

Sony Animation allowed her to take the skills she already had and apply it to a hybrid.

Her latest film from Sony Animation Pictures, “Hotel Transylvania,” entertains while also committing to story, which is what matters most to Kouyate. She interrupted her lecture to show an animated short film called, “Goodnight Mr. Foot,” which was an endearing piece about a witch service maid tending to her guest, Bigfoot, in a hotel for monsters. The audience chuckled and enjoyed the warm atmosphere

Michelle Raimo-Kouyate shares past and future works from Sony Animations.

of “Goodnight Mr. Foot,” which was adorable, funny, simple, a little bit old school and very heartfelt. The short clip was reminiscent of old Bugs Bunny cartoons, with simple conflicts, simple plots and very big personalities. People could witness how the same themes and personalities of such a brief clip could translate into a bigger budget film, just because the story is there.

Kouyate also found the book, “Silver Linings Playbook” and worked on the script alone for two years. The trailer for the film is out now, starring Bradley Cooper from “The Hangover” and Jennifer Lawrence from “The Hunger Games,” and the movie will come out in two weeks. “Take a pitch, an idea, or a book and develop it,” she advises all audience members interested in film and entertainment.

When it came time for Q&A, one audience member asked Kouyate if she had ever had doubts or reservations about any of her projects.

“Yeah, you wonder every

step of the way,” she said. “But you have to keep following your gut on it.” She continues, “You wonder if people are going to see what you see,” and concludes, “I wish there was a magic formula for the movie business, but there’s not.”

There are few female executives and producers in the movie business, and even fewer directors. When asked what it was like being a woman in the movie business, Kouyate says that there are definitely a lot of hours and a lot of traveling. In conjunction with the demanding hours, she admits that having a child forced her to make many decisions she wouldn’t have normally made.

“I had close to a hundred projects when I had a baby,” says Kouyate. However, she stressed that no matter how passionate she was about what she was doing, she realized that family comes first. In an atmosphere like Sony Animation Pictures, Kouyate can continue to inspire others who are interested in the business as well as doing ■H what she loves.

FEATURES

HIGHLANDER

Spotlight On:

by Grant Boughter, Contributing Writer Burger Records, which is based in Fullerton, Orange County, is making waves across the West Coast as one of California’s most influential underground labels, and rightfully so.

Only five years running and the list of bands pressing vinyl, cassette tapes or CDs through Burger is highly impressive, numbering over 350. These releases include, most notably: Dave Grohl (of the Foo Fighters), Thurston Moore’s (of Sonic Youth) latest collaboration with Beck, Ty Segall (who recently debuted nationally on Conan and Letterman), the Black Lips, the Growlers, King Tuff, Audacity, Hunx and His Punx and The Pharcyde to name a few.

On election day, I visited Burger’s Fullerton storefront, as I have many times before. I opened the industrial, glass swinging door, passed through makeshift curtains, and immediately I’m overwhelmed in exuberance, like a child on Christmas morning. As a vinyl connoisseur, I’m touched, every time, by the wall-to-wall records and tapes for sale. Clearly, Burger’s in the business of selling analogue releases to the public.

I shuffled through some punk kids browsing local vinyl, dodging a few trendy women shopping for the newest cassette releases, as I made my way to Burger’s back office. Behind closed doors, I sat down on a worn, yet surprisingly comfortable leather couch with founder and co-owner Sean Bohrman to discuss the many facets of Burger Records.

First off, we discussed > RECORDS CONT’D ON PAGE 14

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Photos and Graphics courtesy of Burger Records

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

> RECORDS FROM PAGE 13

Burger’s revolutionary business success.

Bohrman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from Humboldt State in 2004. He is a man who, without any previous business experience, has carved out a successful niche for Burger Records in today’s ever competitive, evolving music industry. In the last 10-15 years, the Internet has decimated profits of the largest record companies. Long-

standing institutions like Sony and EMI, together, have posted multi-billion dollar losses since 2009 alone!

As students, our generation has witnessed a paradigm shift in the way music is consumed. We live in a world dominated by free access to seemingly unlimited amounts of music via legal means like YouTube, iTunes and SoundCloud, as well as quasi-illegal means, P2P sharing and other types of di-

FEATURES

rect music downloads (such as Bit-torrent) from the Internet.

This transition is strangling the established titans of industry to death, one dollar at a time. The once-powerful retail players like Tower Records and Virgin have left a legacy that amounts to little more than distant memories and vacant warehouses.

And yet, Burger Records is flourishing in this particu-

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larly difficult time of transition. It’s grown from a startup, initially managed by two people. I asked Bohrman why this is so. Candidly, he replied, “We make our money selling records. That’s how we do it.” Unsatisfied, I inquired as to what makes Burger’s retail model a success where so many others have, and continue to fail. Bohrman took a moment to consider this question, in depth.

A minute passed, and he looked me straight in the eye. In a kind of tone that can only be forged through years of being a self-made man, he replied in earnest, “We work fucking hard.” Bohrman continued, “We work hard to promote our bands too. And now, it’s paying off.” He went on to tell me how there’s an ever larger community revolving around Burger. Adding that, “A lot of people, now, want to buy music to support the local bands they like.”

He noted that there’s also a revival in the popularity of analogue mediums. “There’s value in being able to touch your music,” Bohrman stated. He added that groups of young people eager to see local shows, of which Burger hosts several a month, afterhours in their shop, is on the rise. And rising still, is the number of those who are willing to buy records. I’ve seen many bands play at Burger since its conception, and I’ve been to the shop in Fullerton more times than I can count.

That said, I’d have to concur with Bohrman’s statement.

The community fostered around Burger in the last few years, has grown considerably. As Bohrman himself light-heartedly puts it, “It’s kinda’ grown outta’ our hands.

People have taken to Burger Records and “Burgered” themselves.”

Feeling satisfied with my new-found knowledge of Burger’s business successes, I shifted focus, asking Bohrman about Burger’s relationships with the bands they release.

Not surprisingly, this aspect of Burger’s business is also unorthodox. In the words of > Bohrman, “Nobody’s signed to Burger, we’ve never really signed any band.” However, the bands pressed through Burger self-identify as Burger bands. This model of pressing releases while simultaneously not owning the artist’s creative content has proven mutually beneficial.

Using Ty Segall as an example, Bohrman explained to me how the relationship works, stating that, “we’ve known Ty since he started playing music, when he was really young.” Adding that, “just now he’s starting to get super huge. But he’s in control of his career. He hasn’t signed any crazy deals with any of the bigger labels. He owns all of his music and can do whatever he wants with it. That’s why we’re able to press 10 [different] Ty Segall albums and have it done in a week, even though we had to go through six other labels to get approval to use their logos and Ty’s artwork.” This creative freedom licensed to Burger bands has proven to work well with multiple artists.

Next, I asked Bohrman what’s new for Burger. He filled me on Burger’s latest Internet sensation, Burger TV, saying, “We’re starting weekly episodes chronicling what happens in our shop.”

He continued, telling me that on Burger TV, “you’ll be able to see videos of shop shows, and interviews with bands that come through Burger.”

The pilot and second episode are up now on Burger’s YouTube channel BRGRTV, the latest and greatest place to keep current with CA’s underground rock and roll scene.

Lastly, Bohrman added, “Riverside is only a hop-skipand-a-jump from Fullerton.

Come shop and hang out. I’ll turn you on to music, we’ll all turn you on to music... Yeah, H we’ll turn you on, period.” ■

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

R adar ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

S a u l W i ll i a m s

s h a r i ng a p o e m h e w r o t e i n h i s j o u r n a l .

J i n y o u ng K o /HIGHLANDER

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

SAUL WILLIAMS

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at the Barn

Dean Mayorga, Senior Staff Writer Jinyoung Ko, Photographer

Top left: Baba The Storyteller encouraging the audience to sing along with him.. Right: Saul Willams performing. Bottom left: Hustle Diva performing poetry.

On Nov. 7, the Barn played host to slam poet Saul Stacey Williams—an artist known for integrating substantial political and social messages within his pieces. The event dubbed “More Than Spoken Word” was sponsored by ASPB and KUCR radio. KUCR provided the preperformance music for the night which included songs such as Bob Marley’s “Soul Rebel” that definitely went along with the event’s motif.

The crowd that filled the venue was excited to see Williams, who they’ve become familiar with through his performances on Def Jam Poetry and the movie “Slam.” There were also others who came for the mere love of the art.

Taylor Wallace, a third-year creative writing major, said “I really like spoken word and poetry so I’m just excited to see it.” Simi Ovunleye, a second-year biological sciences major said of the headliner, “I recognized him from a TV show called ‘Girlfriends’ and I’ve never been to a spoken word [performance] before so I decided to make this my first time.” Before the performance, Operations Manager of the Barn Jonathan Cubos said, “We have

a pretty good draw for the entertainers coming tonight…it’s going to be a good show.” In a venue that can hold a 300 person capacity, the limit was set at 225 because unlike most Barn shows where people are standing, chairs were set in respect to the type of show it was.

The first opener of the night was Baba the Storyteller, who came out speaking the language of Bambara and playing a West African instrument called the Kora.

After his first song, he explained that he was an American who learned from his great-grandfather the importance of knowing one’s culture. Baba’s performance was centered in crowd participation. He asked the audience to sing back various phrases in Bambara which he explained were meant to be calming and reassuring. Between his singing, he lived up to his name by telling several stories that all had different morals: “our strength is in our women” and “everything has it’s time.” He proved to be a truly charismatic performer, who had control over his crowd by making them laugh, listen and interact.

The second opener, Hustle Diva, a

Northern Californian poet, made a quick impression by ripping open into her first poem, stating, “I am your voice.” She then described the meaning behind her name, saying that “Hustle Diva” was synonymous for “Hardworking Goddess.” Her pieces dealt with issues of heartbreak, self-expression, finding one’s passions and chasing dreams. She had uplifting work such as her poem, “Self-construction,” which used the house as a metaphor for the human being. Another poem, “Homage” was dedicated to people who have found the gift that they want to share with the world. Her performance overall was very personal and the crowd reacted to her emotionally candid display favorably.

The event moved right on schedule and at 10 p.m. Saul Williams was ready to arrive on stage. Williams began reciting his first poem without delay. His voice was clear, direct and his lyrics were just as metaphor-filled, politically charged and riddling as ever. Disregarding the use for a microphone, Williams stepped off the stage and addressed the audience by moving inward to the first row of chairs. “The greatest Americans have not

been born yet. They are waiting patiently for the past…to die. Please give blood,” Williams said. His voice fluctuated from highs to lows and back again, conveying moments of tension and build up. It was after his first poem which lasted about nine minutes that Williams moved back to the stage and was joined by a resident of Riverside, Keith Tutt, who played the cello and was asked to improvise melodies to the poetry. Keith accompanied Williams on several poems, including a rather famous one of Williams’ entitled “N...a What” from his book “The Dead Emcee Scrolls.”

Williams also performed another popular poem called “Coded Language,” which he used as his closing piece. Altogether, Williams gave the crowd the exact show they were looking for. It was like going to a seminar that synthesized history, culture, politics and hip-hop. Plus, seeing Williams burst out laughing at his own lyrics was truly an experience. He stated, “Beliefs are the police of the mind. Fuck the beliefs,” and smiled in self-amusement.

When it was over, the crowd gave him a thankful goodbye and left entertained as well as more refined.

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THE METAL CHILDREN

By Rebecca Paredes, Staff Writer Photos by Daming Ye “The Metal Children” by Adam Rapp is mildly autobiographical, darkly comical and borders on the surreal. Directed by Holly Derr, the play opened Nov. 8th to a sold-out show in UC Riverside’s Arts Studio Theatre.

However, despite strong performances from the cast and crew, inconsistent writing left the play on an unresolved note.

When small-town Midlothia bans “The Metal Children” from its high school reading curriculum, burnt-out writer Tobian Falmouth (Kyle Filipelli) arrives to defend his novel. Within the religious confines of Midlothia, “The Metal Children” has sparked controversy over hot-button topics like abortion, teen pregnancy and feminism.

Led by revolutionary Vera Dundee (Christie Newby), the novel inspires a group of local teens to rebel against society in unexpected ways, and Tobian must contend with the fallout.

“The Metal Children” is based on writer Adam Rapp’s experience with his own young adult novel, which was banned by a small

a play by Adam Rapp

Pennsylvania high school. The concept of book banning and teenage rebellion introduces some powerful themes in the play’s first act; hints of artistic freedom, individual purpose and modern feminism pepper the plot with promises of fulfillment.

However, the play’s second act falls short of resolution. Perhaps as a consequence of packing too many heavy themes into one story, elements of the play’s end feel unbelievable and rushed, as though Rapp wanted to package all of his story’s dense themes into a feel-good package for his audience to take home.

Despite the ending, the cast’s performance is phenomenal. Kyle Filipelli brings a constant sense of guilt to Tobian’s character (a selfdescribed “38-year-old loser”), which haunts him throughout the story and suits the play’s moody atmosphere. Christie Newby packs an impressive amount of power as Vera, particularly during a heart-wrenching scene between her and Tobian on a hospital bed.

The members of the Pork Club, played by Jazmine Branch, Sarah Green, and Jordan Mackey, made pig masks look even creepier via their lurching movements and acts of violence. During a scene involving a statue

and the perfectly unsettling Roberta (Brandi Douglas), Mackey’s jerking, psychotic entrance was positively entrancing.

The play’s technical effects noticeably benefitted the performance by immersing the audience in Rapp’s Midlothian world.

Sound designer Jeff Polunas’ mood music and metal baseball cleat clank kept the audience on edge, and the costumes, designed by Noëlle Raffy, encapsulated the essence of each character, particularly Roberta’s shapeless denim dress and Tobian’s neutral pallet of baggy clothing.

As a whole, the acting and technical elements of “The Metal Children” created a story primarily about individual accountability; Tobian cannot hate himself forever, and Vera must deal with the consequences of her revolution. Despite its sloppy writing at the end, the play’s witty dialogue, haunting atmosphere and powerful performances are engaging and definitely worth viewing. “The Metal Children” is free for UCR students and performances continue through Nov. 17. Going along with the story’s emphasis on teenage pregnancy, Condom Co-op @ UCR distributes free condoms after each performance.

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Clockwise from top left: Stacey (Jack Koester) appreciates Tobin (Kyle Filipelli) for allowing him to use his car. Stacey informs Tobin of the situation the novel has caused in Midlothia. Edith (Haley Bess) praises Tobin for his novel. Vera (Christie Newby) tells her childhood story.

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MUSICAL REVIEWS THE 25TH PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE

RATING: ★★★★☆

BY: LAUREN PENNA, SENIOR STAFF WRITER Courtesy of Barrington Stage Company

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” opened Nov. 9th at Performance Riverside to a surprisingly sparse audience.

The 95 minute one act musical had everyone rolling as six kids, played by adults, competed for the trophy in their county spelling bee.

The musical relied heavily on audience participation as it began with inviting four “late check-in spellers” from the audience to the stage. These audience members sat on stage during a majority of the performance and were asked to spell from time to time.

There wasn’t a weak link in all of the cast, but Leif Coneybear, played by Caleb Shaw, took the show for me. His believability as a squirly boy was astounding. Singing, “I’m Not That Smart,” he rolled around on the stage and pulled out his cape as though he could fly.

When he was eliminated, the entire audience sighed to see such a lovable character leave.

Other star performers were William Barfee, played by Matthew Ballestro, and Logainne Schwartzandgrubeniere, played by Kim Dalton. Many of the cast members doubled as parents of the competitors appearing behind a scrim at the top of the stage. This part of the show was a bit distracting as members of the

cast suddenly left the stage for no apparent reason.

Under the direction of David Lamoureux, the five piece orchestra filled the theater with impressive sound. Songs like “Pandomonium,” “The I Love You Song” and “Magic Foot” were stand-out showstoppers and the cast’s brilliant harmonies had audience members on their feet.

Though “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is a musical about children in a spelling bee, there were slight mature themes throughout. Chip Tolentino, played by Matthew Malecki, is eliminated from the spelling bee because of his “unfortunate erection” and many definitions for the words were geared, hilariously, towards an adult audience.

Boasting a phenomenal set by Jason Graham, and under the direction of Matt Neves, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is a delightful bit of entertainment that I highly recommend to anyone looking for a laugh. The show will continue to run through Nov. 18 at The Landis Auditorium with performances on Fridays at 8 p.m. and Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.. Student tickets are $15 with valid ID. ■H

MOVIE REVIEWS ALSO THIS WEEK: BREAKING DAWN CIRQUE DU SOLEIL LINCOLN

SKYFALL

RATING: ★★★★☆

BY: JACQUELINE BALDERRAMA, STAFF WRITER

“Skyfall, directed by Sam Mendes, is the latest addition to the James Bond franchise since it began 50 years ago with Sean Connery in “Dr. No” (1963). After earning critical acclaim for his performance in the 2006 series reboot “Casino Royale” (followed by “Quantum of Solace” in 2008), Daniel Craig assumes the role of James Bond for the third time.

“Skyfall,” which was released on Nov. 9, features England’s favorite MI6 agent after a more elusive target while highlighting the parts of Bond we love best—chases, gadgets and girls—and playfully hints at his dynamic history in film.

When the movie begins in Istanbul, the audience is immediately thrown into an incredible action sequence. Bond and Eve (Naomie Harris), another MI6 operative, are in pursuit of a hard drive containing the identities of their fellow agents. The head of the operation, M, is forced to make a decision that nearly kills Bond. Overall, the scenes are packed with energy and involve motorcycle chases on rooftops and fights on moving trains. Obstacles escalate when the MI6 database is hacked by cyber terrorists, and Bond’s loyalty to M is explicitly challenged when he meets Silva (Javier Bardem), an ex-agent on a personal vendetta against M. Meanwhile, the very purpose of the entire MI6 institution comes into question when people doubt its purpose in today’s society.

This doubt also folds into the homage that this picture is creating for its predecessors. Old inventions

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures like exploding pens, that were once the latest invention, are poked fun at while Bond’s timeless travels and efforts against the impossible engage us to take one more journey with him. Titles from previous films can be recognized in dialogue as the classic characters in Bond establish permanent roles by the end of the film. Without giving too much away, there are exotic, man-eating creatures, a disfigured villain and even original theme music.

Aside from the notable celebration of Bond, the film is also appealing to those not familiar with its history. “Skyfall” is particularly noteworthy in its artistic approach to film. Not only do we have heightened action sequences and explosions, but there is also a glamorous appeal.

A lot of the scenes were especially colorful and poetic. At one point Bond fights a hitman in a glass room before a shining video banner that allows only their silhouettes to appear against its dream-like vibrance. This technique serves to contrast the violence and makes this film its own.

As the 23rd Bond film, marking its 50th anniversary, “Skyfall” focuses almost exclusively on Bond and his loyalty as an agent.

Neither of the love interests even get a quarter of the time that Bond is on screen. This movie is all Bond at his best, utilizing intense special effects, colorful scenery and the classic characteristics that let Bond compete with other action films while still maintaining its timeless identity.

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THE COMEDY RATING: ★★☆☆☆

If the sight of a herd of corpulent men grinding against each other’s pasty, Pabst-slathered bodies and prancing about in the nude to Donnie & Joe Emerson’s “Baby” is likely to inflict lasting trauma on your mind, steer clear of “The Comedy.” Tim Heidecker of Adult Swim’s “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” settles into the lifestyle of Swanson (not to be confused with Ronald Ulysses of Pawnee, Indiana), a 35-year-old trust fund man-child who devotes his time and undeserved money to being a public nuisance. While it is clear that Rick Alverson (“New Jerusalem”) is prodding the viewer for a reaction of some sort, the end result is 94 minutes of character study with no plot-line and no payoff. Be warned: this film is by no means “audience friendly.”

Picture Dennis the Menace, age him three decades and slap on a beer gut. What you now have before you is white male privilege at its vilest, and our Alverson-Schwartzbard tag team exploits this specimen from every unflattering angle. Swanson, at times accompanied by his likewise reprehensible Brooklyn bros, intentionally staggers his way into scenes that generally involve stretches of execrable talkfests and acts of social aberrance.

At night he returns to his home, a boat anchored off-shore, now and then with a fresh, young “flavor of the night,” wooed by deadpan discourse on the virtues of Hitler and feudalism, on his arm. Standing in for exposition is the sporadic presence of Swanson’s death-bedridden, comatose father, but as pre-

BY: GRACE KANG, STAFF WRITER Courtesy of Glass Eye Pix viously stated, there is no premise for the loosely strung-together episodes that feature our odious hero’s purposeless capers. The reason it is so difficult to go into the plot of “The Comedy” is because there is an utter lack of one.

Every drawn out second of this movie drips social criticism, most conspicuously upon the emergence of nihilistic hipster subculture and the modern notion that irony is a pair of retro sunglasses that will shield you against the harsh glare of reality. But the average moviegoer will be forced to dig deep for such a connection between the unpleasant (and often sociopathic) characters and the implications of the “stagnation of the culture in which they live,” as Alverson describes it. This inaccessibility for the viewer may be attributed to the chosen format.

A feature-length film, even with Alverson’s vision filtered through a faux-mumblecore screen, has no hope of keeping its head above water without some semblance of a plot; the purpose (if there is indeed any, because that matter is arguably still up for debate) may have been better realized as a short film or a montage piece or anything that doesn’t require everything that is missing in this film.

Another thing to note is that a character doesn’t need to be likeable in order to be a good or valid character to portray on film. Despite the collective talent and efforts of Eric Wareheim (“Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!”), James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem), Kate Lyn Sheil (“V/H/S”) and Gregg Turkington (a.k.a. Neil

Hamburger), “The Comedy” misses the mark as a movie in its own right, because the writers somehow forgot that even character study, at 94 minutes, needs a story.

“The Comedy” offers a patchwork of characters choking on their own sense of entitlement, a decent tracklist (featuring Gayngs, William Basinski, Gardens & Villa, etc.), and an unrepentant stab at exposing the mildewed state of our society. For the brave and very patient film enthusiast, “The Comedy” is now available On Demand H and in limited theatrical release. ■

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MUSIC REVIEWS MUSIC FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION! // AEROSMITH

RATING: ★★★ ☆☆

BY: JILLIAN RAUSA, CONTRIBUTING WRITER Courtesy of Columbia Records

A long 11 years have passed since Aerosmith last released original music, 2001’s “Just Push Play.” After a near break-up of the Boston’s Bad Boys in 2009, the band reached its end of Sony/Columbia Records contract with their 15th and latest album, “Music from Another Dimension!”

Aerosmith returned to their roots of bluesy rock in “Music from Another Dimension!” that transports back to ‘70’s rock ‘n roll. “Beautiful” and “Out Go the Lights” represent the classic Aerosmith niche of hard rock lyrics delivered with the rasp and attitude of Steven Tyler entwined with blues chords.

Even the ballad of the al-

bum “What Could Have Been Love” pays homage to one of their biggest hits “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” in similar rhythm and theme.

The album’s hit track, “Can’t Stop Lovin’ You,” comes out on top of the pack; Carrie Underwood completely alters the sound of the track and country overpowers the rock ‘n roll.

Albeit Aerosmith continues to expand their horizon through “Oh Yeah” and “Freedom Fighter” which display the growth within the band since 1972 as lead guitarist, Joe Perry, steps up for lead vocals.

The lack of studio publicity from Aerosmith for over a decade—aside from “Guitar Hero” tours and “American

Idol”—lead me to believe that this album is bad news.

However, the middle-aged men are still growing as musicians and ended their contract in a big tribute to the style which dubbed them “America’s Greatest Rock ‘n Roll Band.” 11 years waiting and “Music from Another Dimension!” brings back the classic Aerosmith sound that they became known for: bluesy rock. The experience in the business allowed the band to deliver a more mature and knowledgeable taste of their signature rock ‘n roll that could reach to all audiences.

Aerosmith’s last hoorah of an album paid a tribute to their journey and development as a band over the 40 years.

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

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Highlanders earn first conference victory against Irvine Jayvee Valencia CONTRIBUTING WRITER

November 8, 2012 Highlander 3 -- Anteaters 1 The UC Riverside women’s volleyball team won 3-1 at UC Irvine Thursday night. Led by Ashley Cox’s career-high 28 kills, UCR earned its first conference victory of the season.

The first set went back and forth with kills being scored and both teams coming back from deficits. Megan Reza ended the first set with a kill assisted by Emily Borges. This put Riverside up, 1-0.

The second set was played in a similar fashion. After being up 15-10, the Highlanders gave up six straight points to UC Irvine, trailing 16-15.

Both teams provided offense and were tied at 21-21. Irvine led 24-23 with an opportunity to close out the second set with a kill, but passing and serving errors gave UCR the win on the second set, 26-23 and put the team up 2-0.

The Highlanders played into a couple of ties in the third set but UC Irvine controlled the third, winning 25-19.

The Highlanders won the fourth and decisive set. Ashley Cox’s kills led Riverside.

She had some help from Megan

Reza and Amanda Vialpando with game-clinching kills. The Highlanders went on to win final set, 25-21.

Vialpando totaled up 13 kills while Megan Reza contributed with eight kills. UC Riverside finished with 58 kills and 71 digs in total. In a game where there were 36 ties and 15 lead changes, the offensive output by the Highlanders came through in tight game situations. Their team attack in sideouts throughout the whole game was over 50 percent. UC Riverside executed on 58 percent of their sideouts in the first set, 54 percent in the second, 60 in the third and 71 in the fourth.

November 10, 2012 49ers 3 -- Highlanders 0 Coming off of their first conference win on Thursday, the UC Riverside women’s volleyball team got swept by the Long Beach State 49ers on Saturday night, 3-0.

The first set was close early with both teams exchanging points. They were tied five times and the lead switched three times. Long Beach State scored five straight points after taking the lead at 7-6 and creating another run that gave them a 19-9 lead. The Highlanders

Sophomore Megan Reza attempts to spike the ball.

were not able to stop the 49ers’ attack and lost the first set 2514.

The Highlanders kept the second set close, being down just 11-8, but Long Beach State scored an array of points to lead 18-12. Five more points were scored by the Highlanders but they were unable to overcome the deficit and lost the second set 25-17.

In the third set, UC Riverside came out with the men-

tality to win. The Highlanders were leading 23-20 after 11 ties. UCR could not close out the third set, however, as Long Beach State connected on five straight points to take the set and the victory 25-23 (3-0).

Ashley Cox led the team with 13 kills and 14 digs.

Amanda Vialpando produced 11 kills. In terms of sideouts, UCR went 12-25 connecting on 47 percent in the first set. The second set was not much of an

C a m e r o n Y o ng /HIGHLANDER

improvement as the Highlanders went 11-24 resulting in 45 percent. UC Riverside was able to score 23 points, going 14-25 and connecting on 56 percent of their attacks.

UCR is now 7-21 overall and 1-13 in conference play.

After a week on the road, the Highlanders will be back home as they will play the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on Friday, Nov. 16 and Cal Poly San Luis H Obispo on Saturday, Nov. 17. ■

22

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

SPORTS

HIGHLANDER

Highlanders compete in NCAA West Regional Championships Matthew Guerrero

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CONTRIBUTING WRITER

KENDALL PETERSON

KENDALL’S FASTBALL NBA Eastern Conference The NBA season is well under way and certainly has been a rodeo since the beginning of the year. I want to only zone in the Eastern Conference and on the teams I think will make the top five seeds.

The Miami Heat will not be edged out by the Chicago Bulls this year for the top seed. While the Bulls extracted their bench and went with cheaper options, the Heat kept their core and added the sharp shooters Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, adding to the depth of their team.

The Chicago Bulls will be second place only because of their hard-nose defense. Tom Thibodeau has proven that defense can get you victories but only if the offense can get rolling. Derrick Rose does not look to be back until the All-Star break at the earliest and it is anybody’s guess how long it will be before he regains his MVP form.

The Boston Celtics should finish in third place with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rando leading the way. The Celtics added Jason Terry, Courtney Lee and Leandro Barbosa to fill the void of Allen, but their age may play a factor and prevent them from finishing in the top two seeds.

It would be wise to have the New York Knicks at the fourth seed with their hot start this season. However, I do not think it will last and the Indiana Pacers will grab the fourth seed. The Pacers are just a solid, hard-nosed team that put a scare into a lot of people last year. Roy Hibbert and Paul George are going through another year of experience and the team will only get better.

The fifth spot I give to the New York Knicks. The team will go as Carmelo Anthony goes and he can possibly lead them higher than the fifth seed, but they have issues with their squad.

Once Amar’e Stoudemire returns the team must learn to play with Stoudemire and Anthony together.

Each team will battle to have the chance for the top five spots. The season is young and here’s looking forward to a great NBA ■H season.

Both of UC Riverside’s cross country teams headed up to Seattle, Washington to compete in the NCAA West Regional Championships this weekend. The Highlanders competed against great teams such as Stanford, UCLA, Cal Poly and many other strong cross country programs at their six and 10K races. Riverside’s women also looked to become a top 10 team, as they went into Friday ranked fourteenth in the West Region conference.

UC Riverside’s women went into Friday having been led by strong runner Damajeria Dubose in their previous runs, and this race proved no different. The 6K started at 1:15 p.m., and Dubose pounded the pavement, coming in 39th place with a time of 29:42. Dubose was again a standout amongst a heavy amount of competition and Jzsanette Lindstrom crossed the line as the next UC Riverside runner. She finished 81st with a blazing time of 21:24. The next Riverside Highlander to finish was Alisha Brown with a time of 21:43. Raquel Hefflin finished close behind with a time of 21:50. These girls are the usual suspects of UC Riverside’s women who lead the pack as consistent finishers. Riverside’s wom-

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W e s l e y N g /HIGHLANDER Cesar Solis and Benjamin Heck run at the Big West Cross Country Championship.

en failed to make the top ten, however, finishing in 17th place out of 28 teams.

The PAC 12 conference teams were superior in this race, however, as they took the top four finishes, with Oregon, Stanford, Arizona and Washington finishing in the top spots. Oregon finished on top with 64 points, 421 fewer points than UC Riverside. Oregon’s top runner also happened to finish as the top runner overall as Jordan Hasay finished with a time of 19:16.

UC Riverside’s men took home a 22nd-place finish as their usual top-place runner, Seth Totten, led their injured squad with a time of 30:23, and a 28th-place finish. The

men ran their 10K race after the women’s 6K. Totten’s time was good for third out of his fellow Big West Conference competitors, and Cesar Solis served as the next UC Riverside competitor to cross the line, with a time of 31:50 and then Michael Gauger trotted in with a time of 32:26. Solis and Gauger finished 112th and 127th, respectively.

Stanford won the race, coming in with a score of of 45 points. Then came Portland and UCLA. Despite finishing on top as the standout team, Stanford did not have the top finisher, however. It was Arizona’s Lawi Lalang who won the individH ual crown with a time of 29:02. ■

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24

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2012

. SPORTS .

HIGHLANDER

Men’s basketball begins season with two losses in the Windy City C o dy N g u y e n STAFF WRITER

November 9, 2012 Blue Demons 91 - Highlanders 59

Coming off an encouraging 8372 exhibition victory against the San Diego Christian Hawks, the UC Riverside men’s basketball team traveled 2,000 miles east to the windy city of Chicago for their regular season opener against the DePaul Blue Demons.

Blue Demon forward Donovan Kirk would get things rolling for DePaul as he buried a three-point jumper with just 15 seconds gone.

The Highlanders were able to keep pace and go up 9-7, which would be their first and last lead of the night.

Midway through the first half, the Blue Demons embarked on a 9-0 run that allowed them to take a 3928 lead into halftime.

Things would only continue to get worse for the Highlanders. With 15:58 left to play, the Blue Demons went on a furious 12-0 run that increased their lead to 24 points with 12:12 to go. A miracle was not in the books for the Highlanders as they were never able to recover. The DePaul Blue Devils were a juggernaut that could not be stopped and emerged victorious in a 32-point blowout, 91-59.

The Highlanders can attribute some of the loss to their poor perimeter defense and free-throw shooting,

MICHAEL RIOS

RIO-SIDE Postseason ban a blessing in disguise

T s u ng S u /HIGHLANDER Lucas Devenny, Chris Patton defending the passing lanes.

allowing the Blue Devils to convert on 52.4 percent of their shots behind the arc while putting up a lackluster 50 percent effort from the line. Josh Fox led the Highlanders in scoring with 17 points. Brandon Young led the Blue Devils with 20 points.

November 11, 2012 Flames 59 - Highlanders 52

After being routed on the road against DePaul, the UC Riverside men’s basketball team headed to the University of Illinois – Chicago in hopes of salvaging a win on their road trip to the Windy City.

Highlander forward Chris Patton scored the first points of the match when he converted a jumper on UCR’s first possession, giving the Highlanders their only lead of the afternoon. The Flames would then not just answer, but demoralize the Highlanders as an offensive explosion early in the first half allowed the Flames to soar to a 14-2 lead.

Much of the first half saw the Highlanders attempt to claw their way back into the game, cutting the Flames’ lead to as little as three points with 4:09 to go in the first half, but good shooting behind the arc (6-12) allowed UIC to take a 3025 lead going into the locker room.

Chris Harriel’s layup was the only score preventing the Flames from opening the second half with another double digit run, as UIC scored 10 of the first 12 points of the half to take a commanding 42-29 lead. The Highlanders kept fighting, cutting the margin to 4844 with 6:47 to go, but the Flames would hold on for the win, 59-52.

Josh Fox and Chris Patton led UCR in scoring with 10 points each.

The Highlanders will return to Riverside in search of better fortune as they prepare for their home opener on Wednesday night against ■H the Fresno State Bulldogs.

Controversial non-call leads to loss in season opener against Gonzaga Darren Bueno STAFF WRITER

Tre’Shonti Nottingham scored 20 points and Brittany Crain added 14 points in her UCR debut, but the Highlanders fell to Gonzaga University, 60-53. The home team squandered a ninepoint lead at halftime as Gonzaga shot 52 percent in the second period.

“It was a game of two halves,” Highlanders Coach John Margaritis said. “I thought we battled all the way to the end, but we need to improve.”

UC Riverside led 28-19 at intermission and 46-39 with eight minutes remaining, but Gonzaga, who owns a 5-1 head-to-head record against the Highlanders, rallied back to take the lead 5149 behind a 10-2 run. Trailing by three in the waning moments of the game, a questionable noncall on a last second Nottingham three-point attempt deflated the Highlanders as four Bulldog free-throws sealed the victory.

“There was a series of plays throughout the game, especially down the stretch, that if we can just do a little better job with each one of them, if we can do something where they turn out positive rather than negative, we’ll be a much better team,” Margaritis said about the game’s final plays.

The first half saw the Highlanders overcome stifling defense from the opposition to take early leads in the period before a 9-3 run, including seven consecutive points from Crain, which pushed the Highlanders to a solid nine point lead at the half. Crain, who

T s u ng S u /HIGHLANDER Tre’Shonti Nottingham drives to the basket against the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

finished the night with 14 points and eight rebounds, was playing for the first time draped in blue and gold. “I was nervous,” she said. “I was thinking a lot about, ‘I don’t want to mess up.’ But once I started to play more I got used to it.” The Highlanders shot 40 percent in the first half (1025) compared to 24 percent from Gonzaga (6-25).

UC Riverside couldn’t sustain the tide of the second half as the visiting team came out more poised and composed, making over 50 percent of their shots in the period. A Crain three-pointer stopped a 9-0 Bulldog run before sparking the Highlanders to a 46-39 advantage at the 7:50 mark. Gonzaga, who has made the NCAA tournament four con-

secutive years, then capitalized off of a stretch of inconsistent play winning nine of the next 10 points to take their first lead of the second half, 49-47. The two teams then traded leads before a Bulldog layup and free throw put Gonzaga up three points, 5249. Nottingham’s layup with two minutes left closed the deficit to one, 51-52, before two fouls by the Highlanders saw the the score grow to 56-54 at the 1:38 mark.

A made free-throw by Crain gave UCR an opportunity to tie the score. With 15 seconds remaining, Nottingham attempted a three-pointer but missed as an opposing player tapped her armed. No foul was called, however. The obscure non-call shattered the home team’s chance for

a comeback.

Despite letting the game slip away, the team is making improvements and looks to continue on a seemingly promising opening game. “You want to be realistic about what happened, and at the same time we say, ‘Okay, this is step one,’” Margaritis stated.

“If we can get better at this aspect and that aspect and that aspect, if we can play with intensity, with the mental and physical intensity that we had in the first half, if we think things through, follow the defensive plan and make some timely shots and a few free throws, we can win the game.”

When asked about what it will take to make help his team improve, Margaritis simply said, ■H “We have to learn to win.”

The Highlanders still face a postseason ban this year since low APR scores forbade them from participating in the Big West Tournament at the end of the season.

It’s a shame, really, especially considering all the potential this team has. It’s a squad that features new coaches, a different playing style and fresh, talented young players.

It’s a team with length, outside shooting and a strong leader in Robert Smith. To put it in simple terms, it’s a promising young squad.

But therein lies the problem.

This year’s basketball team is filled with so much promise, but with the postseason ban, we will never really get to see how far they can get—at least not this year.

It’s a tough dilemma and it brings up important questions: How can the Highlanders move forward without a clear destination? And what is this team playing for now that the incentive to win a championship has been stripped away?

I asked Head Coach Jim Wooldridge that same question a week ago and he gave an earnest response.

“We’re playing for a lot,” he assured me. “We’re playing to try to win the league... We play in the Alaska Shootout. We’re going to try to win that tournament. Essentially, if we cannot play in postseason, we’re essentially doing this: we’re going to play, instead of a 30game schedule, we’re going to play a 60-game schedule...

We’re playing 30 this year to prepare for the 30 next year.”

So that’s the team’s goal; they’re playing for the future.

It’s a wise plan. Past teams have played for the exact opposite. The goals of those teams were limited only to the end of the season. This time it’s different. The team’s goals surpass the end of this year and look ahead and prepare for the distant and unknown future.

It’s a plan that former UC Riverside basketball teams have avoided. Previously, those teams relied heavily on transfer students and walk-ons more than they did on incoming freshmen. The plan this year is to be prepared for the next. And honestly, it’s not a bad idea.

As crazy as it sounds, that postseason ban might have turned out to be a blessing in ■H disguise.