Volume 60 Issue 17

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

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Chancellor calls for removal of Occupy tents

K e v i n K e c ke i s e n

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Last week Assembly Speaker John Pérez introduced legislation to the capitol which would drastically cut tuition and fees for California students from middle-income families at state colleges and universities.

Under Pérez’s proposed Middle Class Scholarship Plan, undergraduate students from families with a household income of less than $150,000 would have their tuition and fees cut by two-thirds.

The plan is aimed to help families with a household income that is too high qualify for financial aid but too low to cover rising tuition and fees.

The plan would amount to annual savings of up to $8,100 for University of California students and $4,000 for California State University students, and about 42,000 UC and 150,000 CSU students would be eligible for the scholarship. The statistics are based on estimates the speaker received from both university systems. Both new and current students would be eligible and the proposed plan could take effect as soon as this fall.

Community colleges would also receive $150 million for affordability efforts, and the leaders of that system would get to decide how to best use the funds to reduce costs for students.

“Over the past couple of years we’ve been able to protect the poorest students by maintaining the Cal Grant system, but as fees have increased we’ve gotten to a point where middle-class families are being squeezed, where they make too much money to qualify for the current system of aid, but too little to afford to put their students through the UC or CSU,” said Pérez (D-Los Angeles) in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. Governor Brown’s proposed changes to the Cal Grant TUITION CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

J o n at h a n G o d o y /HIGHLANDER

E r i c G a m b oa SENIOR STAFF WRITER

UC Riverside Chancellor Timothy White has called for the removal of the Occupy Movement’s on-campus tent encampment. “The encampment on our campus is not sustainable, for reasons of public safety, health, practicality, and law,” stated White in a campus-wide email sent out on Wednesday, Jan. 8. The campsite,

which was set up prior to last month’s UC regents meeting, was permitted

by UC Riverside campus administrators despite the UC regents’ ban on overnight camping.

“I want to be clear – we support the right to peaceful and lawful assembly on our campus, and we support the voicing of a cacophony of viewpoints. But it is inappropriate to allow a small group to receive a

privilege that we would not offer to other groups,” stated White, who noted that the encampment members bypassed the fee and reservation agreements that other campus groups must obtain to use campus space.

Other reasons for the removal of the tent encampment included concerns regarding the lack of electricity and running water, a ban on cooking OCCUPY CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

ASUCR bans laptop campaigning E r i c G a m b oa

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Elections Chair Jonathan Mansoori.

J o n at h a n G o d o y /HIGHLANDER

The ASUCR Senate meeting on Feb. 9 witnessed the passage of a resolution that bans the use of laptops during ASUCR senator elections and the selection of a new elections chair.

The use of laptop campaigning had been widely used during past elections in which laptop-bearing candidates would approach students and ask for a vote—a practice that had been allowed by the ASUCR constitution. Chapter six, item five of the constitution had previously read, “Campaigning with laptops is allowed as long as

students are not being forced or intimidated to vote one way or another.”

At the base of the laptop ban resided concerns that laptop campaigning could potentially undermine the free will of voters and unfairly pressure voters into electoral decisions.

Every senator except one (who abstained to vote) voted in favor of the ban. “I totally understand where the students are coming from…[we now] have a more democratic way,” stated Internal Affairs Vice President Nicholas Park.

Park, however, ceded that the new ban would take a toll

on the number of students who participated in ASUCR senatorial elections. “One good thing about [laptop campaigning] is that I would speak with students who didn’t know about elections, who didn’t know who to vote for…I would talk to them and say ‘This is what I’m doing, this is what I’m running for,’ and a lot of students appreciated that I actually went up to them other than just putting up posters,” stated Park.

“The turnout for the people that are going to vote is going to be decreased significantly because the last two years we ASUCR CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

THIS WEEK’S EVENTS WED 02/15

Zion I feat. Simple Citizens 7:30pm - 10:30pm The Barn

THUR 02/16

Tunnel of Oppression 7:00pm - 10:00pm Pentland Bear Cave

SAT 02/18

Baseball vs.

Brigham Young 12:00pm - 3:00pm Riverside Sports Complex

Women’s Basketball vs.

Cal Poly 3:00pm - 5:00pm Student Rec Center

Men’s Basketball vs.

Southern Utah 7:00pm - 9:00pm Student Rec Center

FACEBOOK: UCR HIGHLANDER NEWSPAPER -- TWITTER: @ UCRHIGHLANDER -- highlandernews.org

Volume 60

Issue 17

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NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

HIGHLANDER

UCSF researchers call for government regulation of sugar

Andie Lam STAFF WRITER

As worldwide rates of obesity and diabetes diagnoses increase, researchers at the UC San Francisco (UCSF) say that sugar intake should now be regulated, much like alcohol and tobacco. The researchers suggest that sugar may be responsible for nearly 35 million deaths related to diabetes, heart disease and cancer—all of which are exacerbated by obesity.

UCSF colleagues Robert Lustig, Laura Schmidt and Claire Brindis declared their call for sugar control initiatives in the Feb. 2 issue of Nature magazine. By increasing modest sales taxes on sweeteners and tightening certification on vending machines at schools and workplaces, the researchers believe that sugar consumption would be less convenient for consum-

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ers. “We’re not talking prohibition...What we want is to actually increase people’s choices by making foods that aren’t loaded with sugar comparatively easier and cheaper to get,” stated Schmidt.

The announcement comes during a time when sugar consumption has reached record highs; according to the UCSF Newsroom, the past 50 years have witnessed a tripling of the worldwide level of sugar consumption.

“There are good calories and bad calories, just as there are good fats and bad fats, good amino acids and bad amino acids, good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates,” stated UCSF Professor of Pediatrics Dr. Robert Lustig in a news release. “But sugar is toxic beyond its calories.”

The diseases that stem from obesity are a major

concern among the scientific community. According to the United Nations, diseases such as diabetes and heart disease now account for more health costs than infectious diseases (for the first time in human history); 75 percent of healthcare dollars in the United States are spent combating these diseases.

Along with obesity effects, the researchers maintain that large amounts of sugar intake also account for metabolism change, increase in blood pressure and the impairment of hormone signaling.

Ken H. Stewart, the preventive care specialist at UC Riverside, works with the Campus Health Center and Preventive Care Clinic to foster health education and wellness guidance. In an interview with the Highlander, Stewart stated, “An option that I am fully behind is a push that will

focus on chronic disease prevention. This would consist of encouraging people to live a healthy lifestyle by promoting health education, menu labeling and possibly taxing of drinks that have added sugars.

For those who are at an increased risk, establish a program that helps them decrease their risk.”

The article authors Claire Brindis and Laura Schmidt believe that intervention methods must incorporate community-wide solutions which promote awareness.

Both researchers maintain that in order to move the public away from excessive sugar consumption, sugar must first be acknowledged as a top medical concern. In addition, the authors argue that the new scientific findings on sugar should be widely publicized in order to boost awareness levels about sugar’s effect on

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health.

The expertise and knowledge of scientists at UC Riverside may help identify alternative methods to reduce sugar toxicity intake. UC Riverside Assistant Professor of Bioengineering Jiayu Liao revealed in a Highlander interview that genomic and molecular engineering technology has enabled new methods for the creation of healthier and more authentic sugar substitutes.

Even a molecular blocker of sugar absorption in the human intestines is a viable option.

“We certainly need to reshape life and food styles dramatically. The over-productivity of food and the lifestyle of sitting in front of computers certainly add burdens to diabetes and obesity. We need to consider how to balance the trends in both sugar consumption and metabolic diseases,” H concluded Liao. ■

Revenue from cigarette tax could yield billions S a n dy V a n

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

According to a UC San Francisco (UCSF) study, a new statewide ballot initiative which aims to increase the cigarette tax may lead to a creation of 12,000 jobs and $1.9 billion in new economic growth for California. The research on the bill, called the California Cancer Research Act (CCRA), was conducted by UC San Francisco (UCSF) Professor Stanton Glantz.

If the initiative is approved in the June ballot, then state cigarette taxes would increase by $1 per pack. “The primary impact to the California economy, besides the effect on health care, is that people will smoke less and send less money out of state,’’ stated Glant in a UCSF press release.

The initiative would also subsidize anti-smoking education programs, medical research and tobacco law enforcement.

Under the legislation, 60 percent of funds generated by the

new tax would go to cancer research and to address other tobacco-related diseases, 20 percent toward tobacco cessation and prevention programs and 15 percent toward facilities and equipment for health services and research. The remainder would go to assist law enforcement in targeting cigarette smuggling and tobacco tax evasion, according to the UCSF press release. “I am usually wary of taxes by the state as figures tend to be overblown. However, I would like to see a reduction in smoking rates especially among the younger generation,” said fourth year UC Riverside student Eugene Kim. The state’s independent Legislative Analysts’ Office calculated that the new tax could save more than 100,000 people from smoking-related deaths if the CCRA is approved. The UC Board of Regents had given support to the initiative back in September 2011 and in doing so, UC

campuses will be able to analyze the impact of the measure and utilize educational resources in order to promote the initiative.

“Most substances that in fact harm us are not well regulated by the laws; they come into Congress, nobody does any toxicity testing, and then they stay there until problems show up so we could have many years of children who suffer greater or lesser adverse effects because of the way our legal system works,” said Carl Cranor, distinguished UC Riverside professor of philosophy and faculty member of the Environmental Toxicology Graduate Program. “Smoking is just a wide-spread toxin, there’s no other way to put it and it’s just really hard on the human body...thus, it’s going to start and trigger those same adverse effects in children. So the earlier you start getting those doses of cigarette smoke, if your parents smoke, the worse off you’re goH ing to be.” ■

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NEWS

HIGHLANDER

UCB professor, Ralph Nader seek to curb tuition Carrie Meng STAFF WRITER

In an effort to prevent future tuition increases in the UC system, UC Berkeley Professor Brian Barsky and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader have worked towards creating a tuition-limiting initiative to put on the November state ballot.

“The key idea is to use the tool of direct democracy — the initiatives that we can put on the California ballot. One potential driving force is the thousands and thousands of students in California, because mobilizing them could have significant impact,” stated Barsky in an article by the Daily Californian.

UC Riverside American Politics Professor Kevin Esterling believes the budget cuts and tuition increases have greatly impacted both the students and faculty. In the last academic year, the UC tuition has increased twice, with an 8 percent increase in November 2010 and a 9.6 percent increase in July 2011. “Students are having a harder time finding the classes they need to graduate at a time when their tuition and fees have dramatically increased, and budget cutbacks have led to staff reorganization, where fewer staff are expected to cover more responsibilities,” stated Esterling in an interview with the Highlander. Esterling further expressed his frustration with the inability of campus departments to build their programs, improve national reputations and replace colleagues who depart to other universities.

The initiative is currently a work in progress and Nader stated that a group of students and faculty were going to collaborate on and then decide the specific goals of the initiative—including the exact per-

centage limit that tuition can increase annually, or whether to place a total freeze on tuition increases.

However, UC spokesperson Dianne Klein believes that a freeze on tuition could lead to a decrease in quality for the University of California in light of current budget cuts. “If, for example, the state continues to fund UC — or more accurately, de-fund UC at its current level — the system must come up with funds from someplace,” state Klein in an article by the Daily Californian.

“We will not allow our public university system to slide into mediocrity, and this at a time when the need for a highly skilled, college-educated population is greater than ever.”

“With the students having such an interest in not having their tuition going through the roof and with their parents having an even greater interest...you can qualify an initiative in a month with tables all over the campus,” stated Nader.

Once the specific measures of the bill have been agreed upon, University of San Diego Law Professor Richard Fellmeth plans to draft the bill and submit it to the secretary of state’s office. The deadline for the submission is March 2.

In response to the proposed initiative, Esterling stated, “The Nader-Barsky initiative only distracts from the failure of the legislature to fully fund education in this state.” Nader, however, insists in the rationale behind his place. “An initiative win would put students in a significant position of power in the state and in the state legislature. It would force a more rational focus on the allocation of the higher education budget. A freeze would basically say H enough is enough,” stated Nader. ■

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012 ASUCR FROM PAGE 1

broke numbers,” concluded Park, who emphasized the importance of the newly elected Elections Chair in maintaining high rates of voter turnout.

The approved resolution states, “Campaigning with laptops is strictly prohibited on all university property, and doing so will result in a violation. To avoid unclear and/or false violations, complaints about laptop campaigning must be registered only by students who are approached and asked to vote.”

The selection of a new Elections Chair began with an open interview process in which six candidates answered questions regarding how they would increase voter turnout and awareness—a task that senators acknowledged would become more difficult due to the new ban on laptop use.

Jonathan Mansoori, who would later be selected for the position, spent his presentation elaborating on how his experience as director of philanthropy at the Student Alumni Association and as the executive chairperson for UC Riverside’s Dance Marathon had prepared him for the role of elections chair.

A significant portion of the meeting was also spent on improving transparency and student awareness. During the previous ASUCR meeting, members of the public forum called upon senators to increase their efforts to reach out to their constituents. One proposed initiative to address this concern was discussed by Senate Chair Rachel Chieng; the activity, called “swarming,” involves pairs of senators approaching individuals and organizations in order to speak about ASUCR.

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Meanwhile, CHASS Senator Omar Shahin noted that he had been working on posters and fliers that would contain ASUCR meeting information.

“The only way to help the students is to know exactly what they want and I think the best way to do this is to hear from them directly,” stated Shahin.

Another issue brought up during the previous meeting centered on the lack of campus awareness regarding ASUCR meetings. ASUCR took heed of this by sending out an email announcing the upcoming meeting time and location. “Want to know what’s going on in ASUCR? Come out to our bi-monthly Senate meetings! All meetings take place in the Senate Chambers (HUB 221),” stated the email.

The senate meeting concluded with officer reports and updates on senate projects. Senator Ammer Haffar noted that he is continuing to work on a resolution to call for the creation of a new Middle Eastern Student Center— a proposal which has been pushed by senators and the student body for numerous years. Kareem Shahin noted that his efforts to increase library operating times by one hour will need to be revamped due to the arrival of a new librarian. Derek Roberts indicated that he will be working on a resolution to condemn the alleged sexual harassment that occurred during the protests held on Jan. 19. According to Roberts, a student said that her shirt had been ripped off by police officers and that an officer had made inappropriate gestures to her.

The next ASUCR senate meeting will take place on Feb. 23 at 5:10 P.M. H in the Senate Chambers (HUB 221). ■

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NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012 TUITION FROM PAGE 1

system, which will improve the GPA requirement for fund recipients, is anticipated to harm middle and low-income families.

According to Pérez, the scholarship would be administered through the state’s current student aid system at a minimal cost. The speaker’s office estimates the program would cost the state around $1 billion a year, which would be paid for entirely by eliminating a corporate tax loophole that allows corporations to choose the cheaper of two formulas to calculate their taxes owed to the state. The tax break was approved in 2009 amidst budget negotiations between Democrats and Republicans.

Under Pérez’s proposal, corporations would be required to calculate how much they owe based solely on the portion of their national sales that take place in California, or the “single sale factor.” Many big states, including New York, Texas and Illinois, use this formula to calculate corporate taxes.

The alternative method involves a formula that includes sales, property and payroll in the state.

Two-thirds vote of the Legislature is required to approve any tax change, and that means at least two Republicans in each house must agree. In the San Francisco Chronicle article, Pérez stated that he believes GOP members of the legislature could be persuaded to support his plan despite past Republican opposition to changing the tax.

However, Senate Republicans stated that they could not foresee approving any change as the tax was a concession to them in 2009, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.

“Why would we Republicans want to unwind deals that we helped negotiate when we were the minority party?

The majority party is always unwinding deals with us, so we’re not anxious to go down that road, just on principle, forget the policy, whether it has merit or not,” said Senate Republican leader Bob Huff of Diamond Bar (Los Angeles County) in the San Francisco Chronicle article.

Pérez’s proposal has received support from both UC President Mark Yudof and the University of California Student Association (UCSA) President and fourth year UC Santa Cruz student Claudia Magaña.

University of California President Mark Yudof made the following statement Feb. 8 after Assembly Speaker Pérez announced his Middle Class Scholarship Program: “Like Assembly Speaker Pérez, we are deeply concerned about ensuring affordability for middle-class students who don’t qualify for financial aid. That said, the University of California has made it a priority to make a high-quality education accessible to a wide range of students from families with low or moderate income.

Roughly half of UC students pay no tuition because of robust financial aid reinforced by an ongoing institutional commitment. As we work with the governor and legislators on fiscal and policy issues that would affect the affordability of a UC education, we welcome constructive efforts such as the speaker’s proposal to provide middleclass tuition relief.”

UCSA President Claudia Magaña issued a statement urging students to support Pérez’s proposal, stating, “We must [educate] and activate our fellow students and Californians in order to ensure that this plan passes through the California Legislature and is signed into law. This is a huge opportunity for students, and we are up to the chalH lenge.” ■

OCCUPY FROM PAGE 1

equipment, damages to the grass lawn and safety concerns arising from escalated “friction over differences of view about the encampment.”

The members of the encampment, however, have opposed White’s orders and have yet to remove the tents. “We at Occupy UCR understand your concerns about the encampment, though we feel it is our right to continue to camp at the University...” stated the Occupy members in a letter addressed to Chancellor White. The letter countered every point made by White and emphasized a desire by the Occupy members to alleviate any problems perceived by the administration. “We are willing to move the grill to the distance that other student organizations are required to keep their barbeques away from canopies…

We would also agree to clean the restroom we use in order to insure no extra costs need to be paid in order to maintain a clean and sanitary restroom,” stated the letter, which also expressed members’ willingness to move the camp in order to allow the lawn to be watered.

“We hope to come to some kind of agreement so we all may continue to express ourselves freely and peacefully,” concluded the letter.

This message was somewhat supported

by White, who stated that the university’s administration would seek to work with the Occupy members in the interest of “placing

a tent under certain time, place and manner considerations on campus.” Time, place and manner regulations have been recognized by the Supreme Court as a valid method of restricting freedom of speech, as noted in the 1941 case Cox v. New Hampshire.

White specifically pointed out that a priority of the regulations would be a ban on overnight camping—which continues to be violated by the Occupy members. “The tents are just symbolism, it’s not about camping…[it’s about] freedom of speech,” stated one of the encampment members in an interview with the Highlander. The individuals noted that they would find a way to maintain their presence on campus even if their overnight stays were to be discontinued. “We’re going to be here anyway,” concluded one of the encampment members.

The refusal of the individuals to disband their encampment was likely anticipated by White, who explained that those refusing to leave would be informed that they are in violation of applicable laws. “I seek for all who choose to demonstrate to do so in a peaceful and lawful fashion. And when that is not the case, there are consequences for individuals, which can involve student conduct procedures and/or law enforcement,” said White, who then stated that “security measures” would be increased until the tents were removed.

A point of particular contention (although

HIGHLANDER not addressed in Occupy’s letter) dealt with the identity of the individuals in the encampment; although White’s letter points out that “most of the individuals who live overnight…have no relation to UCR as a student, faculty or staff member, or alumnus,” individuals in the encampment stated that at least 8 UC Riverside students stay overnight.

In an interview with the Highlander, several Occupy members—who preferred to remain anonymous—denounced the move as an effort to undermine the Occupy Movement by labeling them as “outsiders.”

White’s weekly Friday email offered words of praise for those who have exercised their free speech by means of non-violent and legal protest—a point which protesters (including those affiliated with the Occupy movement) fiercely claimed to have upheld during the UC regents meeting. “But I am concerned that so much of the energy and discussion on campus is on differences of opinion over events and violence, rather than being organized and strategically focused on California’s elected officials. We simply must bring the power of many voices together on the issue of sustaining the greatness of the UC…” concluded White’s weekly Friday H letter. ■ For the full transcripts of Chancellor White’s statement and Occupy UCR’s demands, please see pages seven and eight.

HIGHLANDER

NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

UCR promotes minority student access to STEM fields Vy Nguyen STAFF WRITER

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MEETINGS ON MONDAYS 5:15PM @ HUB 101

With funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), UC Riverside has bestowed a $30,000 stipend and a full-ride scholarship to nine UC Riverside graduate students enrolled in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs. The goal of the funds is to promote involvement and attract more underrepresented minority students to STEM fields.

The funds are part of a two-year, $988,000 training grant that is distributed by the California Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Bridge to the Doctorate (CAMP-BD).

“We also have a strong need for next generation scientists, engineers and educators with Ph.D.s who are underrepresented minorities. The CAMP-BD awards aim at closing the gap. We awarded six fellowships last quarter. We are pleased to be able to add three more students to the mix this quarter, “ stated Rich Cardullo, the grant’s lead investigator at UC Riverside, in an article by the UC Riverside Newsroom.

Mackenzie Alvarez (chemistry), Jesse Benavides (mathematics), Carla De Los Santos (bioengineering), Eddie Laguna

(chemistry), Abdullah Madany (biomedical sciences), Maricela Maldonado (bioengineering), Irma Ortiz (botany and plant sciences) and Jessamine Quijano (microbiology) were chosen for the awards. Many of these graduate students are first-generation college students who have indicated a desire to become university professors and researchers.

“Last year, UCR applied for this grant through NSF and was awarded the grant to fund up to 12 students who met the requirements,” stated Cardullo in an interview with the Highlander. “CAMP-BD gives not only two years of financial support for each fellow that is selected but also provides them with professional development support, access to research activities, and networking possibilities with other STEM professionals.” According to Cardullo, UC Riverside had previously received CAMP awards (the California-specific version of the award) but this year was the first year that iat received CAMP-BD awards.

As a part of the grant, recipients will be involved in outreach efforts made to enlighten local youth on the value of a college education and the importance of STEM fields. “At UCR, our CAMP-BD fellows

P h o t o C o u rt es y

will also be involved in outreach activities that will support not only undergraduates at UCR but also K-12 students in the surrounding communities who may not be familiar with the benefits of higher education and, more importantly, understand that such opportunities are available and accessible to them,” stated Cardullo. Award-recipient Philip Soto was especially fond of this aspect of the program, stating, “It also provides me with opportunities to mentor other students. This will help me reach out to the

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UCR N e w sr o o m

community and grow as an individual.”

Cardullo pointed out that the grant would ease the financial burden faced by graduate students and improve the likelihood of a student’s desire to pursue a Ph.D. “The CAMP-BD program allowed me to get into a Ph.D. program right out of undergraduate school rather than having to do twice the work and spend twice the money, obtaining a master’s first and then a Ph.D.,” noted Mackenzie Alvarez in an article by the UC H Riverside Newsroom. ■

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. OPINIONS .

TUESDAY, FEBURARY 14, 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

HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL

C o u rt es y

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CBS n e w s . c o m

COLLEGES OVERESTIMATE THE IMPORTANCE OF RANKINGS The real-world value of college rankings has long been disputed amongst the individuals and institutions they affect. Some claim that rankings oversimplify the very complicated process of evaluating a school’s net worth, while others argue that they help prospective students make very difficult decisions between schools. Last week, however, it was revealed that one of the primary problems with rankings has very little to do with the organizations responsible for producing them or the students their efforts are meant to assist.

Colleges, it would appear, will go to great lengths to win higher spots in the most widely read rankings. For example, many universities regularly spend billions of dollars on financial aid for academically gifted students that don’t actually need the money but whose presence at the university will help raise ranking statistics. One college, Baylor University, went so far as to pay incoming freshmen to retake the SAT in order to inflate their average test scores. And most recently, administrators at Claremont-McKenna admitted to falsifying college entrance exam scores to boost their rankings in US News’ yearly publication.

Now, a little competition between colleges is to be expected. There are a lot of universities out there, and one of the best ways to keep admissions up is to stand out.

But competition should never be waged at the expense of quality. And as it stands, some colleges are foregoing the work that needs to be done to improve conditions for their students in order to achieve higher rankings and prestige.

That’s not to mention the fact that many of the ranking systems themselves are of questionable validity. First of all, there is no reliable methodology to the ways in which different ranking organizations weigh their variables. For some, the most important

factors are SAT scores and average GPA; for others, financial aid and student-to-faculty ratio play more substantial roles.

In any case, the disparity between ranking criteria makes navigating different ranking publications a daunting task for any student interested in knowing why certain colleges place higher than others or whether or not the variables that are the most important to him or her are adequately represented therein.

Also, some of the most common variables by which rankings are determined have very little to do with the quality of the education offered at an institution. Alumni donations, for example, account for 5 percent of US News’ overall ranking of a given university. Another 25 percent of the ranking is determined by peer assessments conducted with officials at other schools.

There is, however, no clear reason as to why the amount of money alumni give to an institution or the opinions of staff and administrators from other colleges should have anything to say about the overall quality of the education provided by a university.

These factors may well play into the value of a given college’s name brand, but they do little for the students attending said college.

It’s true that a college’s prestige can reflect on the perceived value of the degrees it awards its graduates, but that perceived value is itself an effect of the college ranking system. The longer a school remains at the top of the rankings, the more “valuable” the degrees it offers become. And it just so happens that institutions with more valuable degrees are generally thought of as more prestigious than others. College rankings, then, often perpetuate the reputations that they claim to evaluate, thereby creating an endless cycle in which prestigious schools remain prestigious precisely because college rankings find them

to be so.

Ranking organizations clearly need to take a serious look at the ways in which they evaluate collegiate quality. One potential way they could improve the dependability of their appraisals would be to focus on more reliable determinants of undergraduate and postgraduate success. Students could put much more faith in rankings if, for example, they took into account the percentage of graduates who are pleased with their educational experience or have success finding jobs.

It should be noted that, as it stands, the ranking system is not without value. Rankings can help students analyze the benefits that different colleges may or may not afford them in general. But the most dangerous thing about college rankings is that they present students with what appears to be a total assessment of an institution’s worth. The truth is, of course, that different colleges are better for certain types of students and majors than others for any number of different reasons.

Currently, most rankings are not specific, transparent or quantifiable enough to account for all the variables involved in the very complicated task of picking a college to attend.

At best, they should serve as guidelines for the sorts of institutions that students might be interested in. As ever, the burden of deciding what school in particular is best for a student lies squarely on his or her shoulders. We can only hope that students do not take rankings quite as seriously as the institutions at which H they study do. ■ 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.

Liar, liar: jobs, education and the economy T i m R. A g u i l a r STAFF WRITER

As the political issues come into focus leading up to the presidential election, public education and jobs are becoming increasingly important to students across the nation. Students can no longer afford to accept claims by those who seek to lead this nation, regardless of party affiliation. This is about surviving a trillion dollar student loan debt and escaping the highest ever unemployment rate among young adults in America.

46 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 are unemployed, but who are we to believe when political rhetoric falls carelessly from the pulpit with our futures at stake?

Last month, in his State of the Union address, President Obama said, “In the last 22 months businesses have created more than three million jobs. Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005.” Immediately Politifact, a factchecking organization operated by the Tampa Bay Times, came out and said, “His statement is only half true,” in essence characterizing him as a liar, because they believed Obama was taking credit for job growth. Politifact later upgraded his comment to “mostly true” not because his statement wasn’t true, but because Politifact still perceived Obama to be claiming credit.

Yet nowhere did “I” appear in President Obama’s statement.

Politifact’s purpose is to check facts, not interject their opinion based on their perceptions. I found Politifact’s statement to be “mostly not true” because, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, job creation and Obama’s stimulus package have traveled along the same path in time, but Obama chose to give the credit to business, as he should have.

When campaigning in New Hampshire, Romney characterized Obama as a “job destroyer,” responsible for losing “two million jobs” since taking office.

Yet, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, the decline in jobs Romney refers to began with the recession in 2008 durJOBS CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

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OPINIONS

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

7

Syrian violence escalates as Russia and China veto UN resolution Hadil Bashir CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The United Nations has once again proven itself to be an ineffective and useless body—last week, Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution aimed at addressing and ending the brutal assault on the Syrian people by their own suppressive regime. More than 5,000 people have been killed by Syria’s government since anti-government protests began in March of last year, according to UN figures. Russia and China, two Security Council members, have made it clear that their political agendas come before humanitarian issues.

The resolution, proposed on Feb. 4, endorses a recent plan proposed by the Arab League urging president Bashar Al Assad to step down and transfer power. All 13 members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution except Russia and

JOBS FROM PAGE 6

ing the Bush Administration.

Jobs plummeted from approximately 138 million to 129 million, but Romney did not declare his party responsible for losing 9 million jobs. This free fall continued into Obama’s first year in office (2009), but when Obama’s stimulus package was implemented monthly job-loss began to decline and job-creation steadily increased.

This continued for a period of 20 consecutive months, resulting in over 2.2 million jobs by Dec. 31, 2011, according to

China.

Russia and China are known to have previously denounced any form of foreign military intervention into countries for the sole purpose of regime change, but in this case the resolution’s essential purpose is simply to adhere to a condemnation of the regime’s excessive use of force. The draft of this resolution is not a plan to authorize physical military intervention in the region, but rather to denounce the overuse of violence on civilians. Yet Russia and China seem steadfast in preserving their diplomatic relationship with the unwavering regime.

Both countries blocked the resolution after claiming that it is too one-sided and that it fails to address the conflict in a neutral manner. In defense of Russia’s veto, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that, “Measures must be taken to

the U.S. Department of Labor.

Where’s Politifact now?

Let’s now turn to Romney’s claim of having created 100,000 jobs while at Bain Capital. According to Glenn Kessler, the fact checker for the Washington Post, Romney’s spokesperson, Eric Fehrnstrom, said the 100,000 jobs to which Romney refers were the results of growth in three companies that Romney helped start or grow while at Bain Capital, which included Staples, Sports Authority and Domino’s Pizza. Kessler writes for the Washington Post,

influence not only the government, but also the armed groups, because unless you do it both ways you are taking sides in a civil war.”

The resolution’s intention, however, is not to take sides in this so called “civil war,” but to end the Syrian regime’s deliberate and bloody crackdown on its own civilians in the quickest manner. Foreign intervention, especially into Syria, is likely to cause blatant opposition and controversial consequences, but the top priority of any form of intervention is to end the bloodshed of innocent civilians.

The Security Council resolution was presented after an intense tank and artillery assault on the city of Homs that killed more than 200 Syrians in what Syrian activist groups are calling the single bloodiest day since the uprising began 11 months ago. BBC News estimates that the most

“This tally obviously does not include job losses from other companies with which Bain Capital was involved—and are based on current employment figures, not the period Romney worked at Bain.” Is this a liar, liar pants on fire moment? If misrepresentations begin at this level will they continue into the deserts of Iraq in search of more weapons of mass destruction?

Examining our recent past may help us understand the connection between education and future jobs. According to

current death toll has surpassed 2,000 in the city of Homs alone, which has been the regime’s target in recent weeks. The crackdown in Syria has left more than 5,000 Syrians dead total, including 400 children, according to UNICEF. Their interference with the resolution has opened Russia and China to harsh criticism from the global community and appointed them partial accountability for the violence and the deaths that continue to escalate in the region by the day.

Unless Russia and China do in fact support a dictator incapable of implementing democratic reforms as promised, all political agendas, strategic interests, double standards, assumptions, hypocrisy, criticism and skepticism of Syria’s unequalled revolution must be set aside, and humanitarianism must be allowed to H take its place. ■

The National Science Board (NSB), the United States lost 687,000 high-tech research and development (R&D) jobs between 2000 and 2009 under President Bush (2001-2009).

The NSB attributes the loss to a 20 percent reduction in funding for research at our public research universities from 2002 to 2010. As a result of this reduction, 85 percent growth in R&D jobs created by American companies occurred abroad, thereby reducing jobs in the United States. This is referred to as a causal relationship with

a negative directional association. When one goes down so does the other, but maybe Bush skipped that class in college?

How are students to compete when public education is underfunded and the cost of education has outpaced inflation, when the relationship between education and jobs is something of the past? So when Romney touts his economic policy as a return to Bushism, you may want to ask yourself, “Who do I believe and will they represent my interest or line the pockets H of the wealthy?” ■

NEXT STEPS REGARDING TENT ENCAMPMENT ON OUR CAMPUS A STATEMENT FROM CHANCELLOR WHITE . FEB. 8, 2012 The core values and academic mission of UCR are to provide a safe, nurturing and enabling environment for faculty, students, and staff to freely pursue their interests in teaching and learning, research and creative activity, and engagement with the broader community through outreach and service. Of similar importance are the core business and operational activities that enable the academic mission to be executed.

UCR embraces a diversity of people, programs, and ideas, and we have established Principles of Community ( h t t p : / / d i v e r s i t y. u c r. e d u / t o o l k i t / community.pdf) and I annually issue the Chancellor’s Statement on UCR as a Campus of Respect (http://chancellor. ucr.edu/messages/scottmail_11102009. html). These documents affirm our commitment to the open exchange of ideas.

In addition to activities in our classrooms, laboratories, studios, and fields, many such activities take the form of events. UCR has procedures regarding speech and assembly for events that require advance planning and for which

coordination can optimize the success of the event.

When assemblies and protests arise that do not lend themselves to advance planning, these activities are guided by the applicable laws and policies, including those governing time, place and manner of assembly. I seek for all who choose to demonstrate to do so in a peaceful and lawful fashion. And when that is not the case, there are consequences for individuals, which can involve student conduct procedures and/ or law enforcement.

I applaud the fact that free speech is part of the rich fabric of the University of California. We have been at the forefront of change on many issues over our history because of our commitment to nonviolent protest, and I am personally - and we are as a campus - fully committed to protecting and nourishing these values.

As a matter of practice and common sense, when such spontaneous events occur every effort is made to establish communication with the assembly to determine how best to enable a successful event for the participants,

while being mindful of UCR’s core values and mission, and the overall guiding documents, laws and policies summarized above.

As Chancellor, I have the responsibility to assess whether any given assembly poses any risk to the university or its core values, including the rights and activities of other members of the campus community. If there is substantial risk to personal safety, and/ or defacing or damaging university or personal property, unauthorized use of facilities, we will engage, as needed, student affairs, senior administration, law enforcement, and faculty, staff, and student leadership, as well as the protestors themselves.

It is in this context that I write today to update you on how our campus is moving forward in approaching the tent encampment created by students and others affiliated with the “Occupy Movement.” It is noteworthy that most of the individuals who live overnight in the encampment have no relation to UCR as a student, faculty or staff member, or alumnus.

As you may recall, in late November, the Occupy organization gathered at UCR to denounce violence associated with protests on other UC campuses. I spoke to the group, voiced my own sadness and shock at the violence, listened to the concerns of students, faculty, staff and others -- and asked that we create an ongoing dialogue to ensure that such scenes would be avoided at UCR. Subsequent to that November 22nd gathering, leaders from our Student Affairs, Police Department and other essential student support organizations met with the Occupy group, and continued that dialogue. There were many casual interactions and a few formal meetings among members of the campus community and the Occupy group throughout December and into January, and from time to time I have personally had the opportunity to engage in direct conversations with small groups of interested individuals.

In the course of these discussions Occupy members expressed the view that placing a tent encampment on our CHANCELLOR CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

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OPINIONS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

HIGHLANDER

OCCUPY UCR’S LIST OF DEMANDS After spending the last three weeks listening to the concerns of the UCR community, we at Occupy UCR compiled the following list of campusspecific demands. The purpose of these demands is to make UCR a place of greater integrity and equity—intellectually, morally, and socially. We have sought to make these demands as practical, specific, and potent as possible. These are steps that the UCR community can take by and for itself without

the involvement of any other institutions or authorities. As soon as these demands are consensed upon by a cross-section of campus stakeholders, we at Occupy UCR will view such an occasion as concluding the first phase of our mission and at that time our encampment will disperse. We will continue working with the UCR community in order to address any and all issues relevant to economic, social, and educational justice.

ECONOMIC JUSTICE

TRANSPORTATION

Cap all UC Riverside compensation packages (salaries, benefits, bonuses, and other perks) at $150,000. This will create a sense of solidarity among all sectors of the University. Also, it will provide the funding necessary to pay for all of the subsequent demands discussed below.

Return of the Campus Loop and Trolley Express shuttle lines. These lines and the Crest Cruiser will return to 20 minute frequencies during 8AM7PM five days a week, plus Saturday during finals week.

ECOLOGICAL SANITY Eliminate ALL chemicals and pesticides used in agricultural research within five years.

Green Retrofitting Apprenticeship Plan. In 10 years, the campus will produce 100% of its total power usage by generation from renewable sources and usage reductions achieved through retrofitting existing buildings and replacing inefficient heating and cooling units. All work on these projects will be completed by workers participating in a University implemented green building apprenticeship program. Apprentices will attend a series of classes and seminars in the

theory and practice of green building, design, engineering, and recycling taught by recognized experts drawn from the surrounding community.

Apprentices in this program will be paid a starting wage of $15 an hour for the time that they spend on the job (no less than 20 and no more than 30 hours during any given week) with 5% annual raises as they progress through the program.

Compost bins will be maintained near all campus buildings. All compost will be donated to the UC Riverside community garden or, in the case of a surplus, to other community gardens (e.g., Eastside People’s Garden)

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS Reinstatement of the Journalism minor program, with sufficient course offerings and new faculty hires as determined by associated faculty.

Creation of an Activist Studies minor program, with sufficient course offerings and new faculty hires as determined by associated faculty.

WIFI Free, 100% publicly accessible, fast, wi-fi internet service.

Entirely open and unrestricted, no login required. The network will have a range extending at least 1 mile outside the perimeter of campus in all directions and will be capable of supporting 15,000 users at bandwidth rates ≥15 MbPS download and ≥4 MbPS upload.

LIBRARIES Funding for the Libraries, in terms of both collections and staffing, will be kept at 2005 levels proportional to student enrollment. If necessary, additional funding will be provided immediately for the following initiatives: Both Rivera and Orbach will be open 7 days a week from 7 AM – Midnight during academic quarters. The Media Library will be open from 8AM-6PM 7 days a week.

Hire 10 new Librarian Subject Specialists in the following fields: medicine; engineering; anthropology; sociology; interdisciplinary social sciences; philosophy and religious studies; interdisciplinary humanities; ethnic studies and activist studies; media & cultural studies and; history.

STATEMENT FROM CHANCELLOR WHITE campus was important in order to express solidarity with other UC campuses, and to focus attention on the meeting of the UC Regents on our campus that was held in mid-January.

In support of free speech, we offered in November to let the Occupy movement erect an encampment for a short period of time near our Bell Tower for that limited purpose. However

we made it clear at that time that such an encampment was not sustainable in the long run and would be only temporary.

However, tents were not erected until a few days before the January Regents’ meeting.

The tents have remained on the lawn near the Bell Tower since.

This past weekend, in response to information that other student groups had previously

reserved the encampment site for activities, the Occupy group moved the encampment to a lawn further west of the Bell Tower.

Now, as we approach midFebruary, it has been almost a month since the Regents meeting. The encampment on our campus is not sustainable, for reasons of public safety, health, practicality, and

Here are some of the facts and related issues: • There are thousands of events on our campus every year – most of them run by and with UCR students. Our students have agreed on baseline rules and fees for reserving locations on campus by students and by non-affiliated persons/ groups.

• The Regents of the University of California have prohibited overnight camping on our campuses. It is not legal to camp at UCR overnight.

• For obvious reasons of personal and collective safety, laws and statutes prohibit campfires, use of stoves, and use of gas heaters in the encampment. These same laws are meant to ensure the safety of everyone – not just the campers.

CLASSES

• The encampment does not have in situ running water, toilets, and sinks.

The encampment does not, and cannot have, electricity.

The encampment is underneath large trees that have regularly dropped branches during past windstorms. The encampment rests on a lawn that, if not watered, will die and need to be repaired. ( n.b., we have, as a courtesy, suspended the watering temporarily).

• Moreover, as UCR students and others have entered into debates on social network sites, it has become clear that friction over differences of view about the encampment is beginning to escalate.

These developments have increased our safety concern for campers, as well as students, faculty, staff and visitors.

Total campus wide course offerings will return to 2005 levels, assessed in terms of the ratio between students and courses offered. Sufficient tenure-track faculty positions will be opened in order to maintain 2005 course-to-student ratios.

Ten of these tenure-track faculty positions will be opened as part of a new Community Scholars program.

These hires will be effective Fall 2012. Community Scholars will teach loads of 3/3/3 with class sizes capped at 30 for all classes. As part of their duties, Community Scholars must spend a minimum of 3 nights occupying the UCR campus per week (during quarters in which they are teaching). Community Scholars will teach core classes in the newly created Activist Studies minor and classes of their own design in any of the following departments, subject to departmental approval:

sociology, creative writing, comparative literature, anthropology, history, ethnic studies, political science, and/ or philosophy. The search for Community Scholars will be open to candidates from any and ALL academic disciplines, as long as they demonstrate an active research agenda relevant to issues of economic, social, and/or educational justice. Preference will be given to candidates with experience working with local community service organizations.

All discussion sections, university-wide, will be capped at 15 students. The additional discussion sections necessary for maintaining the 15-to-1 ratio will be staffed by increasing the number of halftime TAships available to currently enrolled graduate students. TAs will teach no more than 3 discussion sections and no more than 45 students during any given quarter.

J19 REPARATIONS

FREE SPEECH

The immediate firing of UCPD officers Own and Ruiz for their sexual harassment of female protestors on J19.

Chancellor White must issue a statement of support for J19 arrestees Ken Ehrlich and Humberto Rivera, urging the Riverside County District Attorney to drop all charges against them immediately.

No limits of any sort to free speech on campus. Encampment is a form of speech.

This list was provided via email to the Highlander by representatives of the Occupy UCR encampment on Feb. 10.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 law.

Therefore, today we informed those in the Occupy encampment that the tents are to be removed.

I want to be clear – we support the right to peaceful and lawful assembly on our campus, and we support the voicing of a cacophony of viewpoints. But it is inappropriate to allow a small group to receive a privilege that we would not offer to other

groups. It is a growing tension that the encampment is causing some students and other campus members to change their patterns of travel to avoid the encampment, as well as adding cost to a campus that would prefer to invest its resources in the core educational and research mission rather than unnecessary costs.

Now, as to the specific actions we are undertaking: 1) Until the encampment is removed from campus, we will increase security measures for the protection of all concerned.

2) Today we asked the Occupy members to end the encampment.

3) If necessary, we will inform those who chose to remain that they are in violation of applicable laws.

4) Because we understand the importance of symbolism and the underlying concern and anger about the state’s disinvestment in public higher education, we will seek to engage with our protestors their interest in placing a tent under certain time, place and manner considerations on campus (albeit no overnight camping).

As Chancellor, I seek to equitably and fairly balance the multitude of variables and inputs into matters such as these. But at the end of the day, I am often responsible to make a binomial decision. In full consideration of all the variables I am aware, I am confident that this decision is in the best interest of the

University of California, Riverside, and our core values and mission.

There will be some who disagree with me, and that is certainly their right and privilege.

I just want to be clear to all of the rationale and process I have engaged in to reach this decision.

. FEATURES .

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

RICHARD SIMMONS VISITS UCR

BY TONI LOUIE, STAFF WRITER // PHOTOS BY WESLEY NG

UCR students gathered in a massive line outside of the Student Recreation Center at around 5pm on Thursday, Feb. 9. Bright colors, spandex shorts, headbands and off-shoulder tops were seen at every corner, along with gaping smiles and jittery excitement. Posters all over campus had advertised Richard Simmon’s fitness class event and had given the instructions to wear 80’s themed clothing. A bridge of colorful balloons welcomed everyone in to a cluttered lobby, while fitting music (such as Michael Jackson and Madonna) pumped from inside the basketball court.

In the lobby, booths from The Wellness Program gave out free pins, key-chains and flyers.

There was another booth for people to sign up for the Look-a-like contest and a best outfit contest. An arcade booth featured a spin-the-wheel game of different 80’s trivia questions; prizes included an Etch-a-Sketch and a light-up board game. It soon became so packed that people were bumping shoulders and scraping past each other to get into the ASPB co-sponsored event. Free glow sticks were quickly snatched by many and placed upon the head, creating an amazing visual of unity seen through neon halos. The abundant amount of camera and video coverage also signaled that this was definitely one of UCR’s biggest highlights of the year.

A live DJ, shining spotlights and a growing crowd inside the dark basketball court felt reminiscent of a high school dance or even UCR’S annual Heat music festival. Once Richard Simmons was called to the stage, people were jumping up and down and screaming as he stood beaming in a bedazzled red tank top, tiny shorts and a pair of white sneakers.

As he introduced himself, the audience was absolutely ecstatic about his generous amount of energy, his impeccable sense of humor and his sincere humility. His workout routine, which started promptly, was full of flamboyant dance moves and heart-racing cardio; both which the audience eagerly ate up.

Simmons would pause suddenly in the middle of his routine and squint out to the audience while hundreds stood and stared back, confused and aloof. “Oh my God,” he said. “You two are so pretty! Are you sisters?” or “You, the one who looks like a tramp, get up here,” and the audience would laugh in correspondence.

The most memorable part of the event, however, was not the high-energy workout. It was the moment that the music ended, the audience clapped and cheered, and he told everyone to sit down right where they were. Someone would occasionally hoot and holler but he would motion for them to quiet down, indicating the seriousness of what he was about to say.

He began by telling us his real name, which is Milton Simmons, and that he grew up in New Orleans with two very poor parents and a brother. Both parents were aspiring stars that “didn’t make it,” and Simmons took the opportunity to remind everyone that out of every star, there are a million who don’t make it.

Even as a young boy, he could not bear to see his parents suffer. At the tender age of eight he began selling pralines and being funny on the street, collecting the cash he had made from the entire day and putting it on his parents’ bed at night. In school Simmons was bullied and rejected, particularly from one boy who would hit him over the head with a bat every day for six years. He developed compulsive eating habits and graduated high school at a staggering two hundred and sixty eight pounds. Eventually Simmons began abusing his body, trying everything from overdosing on laxatives to developing bulimia.

His tragic story reached a climax when he decided to starve himself for two months; the result was a loss of over one hundred pounds that ultimately landed him in the hospital. In tears, Simmons recalled what his nurse had asked him: “Do you want to live, or do you want to die?” He RICHARD SIMMONS CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

FEATURES

HIGHLANDER

Restaurant Review:

The Culinary Chameleon RATING:

By Kevin Keckeisen // Photos by Kevin Dinh Considering the name Culinary Chameleon and the giant, green food truck painted with bright purple and pink grinning chameleons, I was hoping for some interesting food. Most food trucks, like the infamous Grilled Cheese Truck and Buttermilk Truck in Los Angeles, offer unique and affordable food that people can’t find anywhere else. Instead, I got a sloppy burrito and a bland bowl of rice with that irresistible, just-

out-of-the-microwave taste to it.

There were a few people standing in line when I showed up for lunch. The truck was big and dominated the area just outside of the physics 2000 building, its spot for breakfast and lunch. For dinner, the truck is parked behind the A & I residence hall. The menu consists of your typical Mexican fare: burritos, tacos, quesadillas and salad bowls for lunch, with breakfast burritos served until

★★☆☆☆

10:30 a.m. The meal comes with a choice of grilled chicken, pork carnitas, shredded beef, kogi pork, and potato rojas for vegetarians. There are several sides to choose from, including chips and salsa, Spanish rice, refried beans, tortillas, churros and ice cream.

I bought a chicken burrito for $5.29 and a side of Spanish rice for $1.29, but I skipped a drink.

I’m on a student budget, and $1.49 for a bottle of water is a bit steep. After a few minutes of standing next to the condiments table, my number was called and I got my food and sat down.

The burrito was small and disproportionate. The three pieces of thinly cut chicken were hidden under globs of refried beans that bulged out the ends and left the center filled nearly empty with lettuce, and there was just a pinch of cheddar jack cheese sprinkled throughout. Although there wasn’t much, the salsa roja at least spiced things up a bit.

Based on the few pieces I did have, the chicken was okay at best. If the cook tried to make up for the lack of bird in my burrito by going heavy on the beans, he could have at least spread them out evenly. If I wanted an overpriced mess of a burrito I would have gone to Habanero’s. This burrito was not worth the money.

Next up was the Spanish rice.

It was served in a small plastic container and gone in about five scoops. The rice was starchy and dried my mouth. I’m surprised I didn’t hear the microwave beep right before my order was called.

I should have known that $1.29 was too good of a price to be true, especially for UC Riverside Dining. I left hungry.

Hoping to redeem the Culinary Chameleon, I gave it another shot.

A few days later I returned to the big truck and ordered a kogi pork burrito that came with pickled cucumber, kim chee and Korean BBQ sauce. No rice this time.

The burrito was smaller than the one before but just as sloppy.

The cucumbers, kogi pork and kim chee were smothered in the “Korean BBQ sauce,” which tasted no different than left over pork grease from the pan. It was messy and wet, and I could barely taste anything other than the supposed BBQ sauce.

The Culinary Chameleon should ditch the boring and bland and instead offer students unique dishes that food trucks are known for, or else it will fade into obscurity like El Sol. Well, it’s still not as bad as El Sol, but that’s not H saying much. ■

FEATURES

HIGHLANDER

ASP PRESENTS:

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

11

A Huey P. Newton Story

BY ERIC GAMBOA // PHOTO BY LIN CHAI Award-winning actor and writer Roger Guenveur Smith was at UC Riverside last week for a screening of “A Huey P. Newton Story,” a one-man film that depicts the personal side of the deceased Black Panther Party co-founder. The screening, hosted by the African Student Programs (ASP) office in celebration of Black History Month, concluded with a question and answer session. “A Huey P. Newton Story” is Director Spike Lee’s film adaptation of the 1996 play that Smith both wrote and starred in. Smith plays Newton in both the play and film.

The entire film takes place on a dark stage in which Smith’s character sits alone and discusses topics ranging from the government’s unfair targeting of the Black Panther Party (BBP) to Newton’s family life. The film delved into the political ideologies of Newton’s life, as represented by the BBP’s 10-point program; the demands of the program included the release of all incarcerated African Americans and a subsequent re-trial by jury, an end to police brutality toward African Americans, exemption of African Americans from military service and general demands for justice. The history of the BBP was supplemented with an insight into the organization’s less-known aspects— namely, the BBP’s charitable and philanthropic endeavors such as free ambulance services, clothes donations, transportation for jail visits and free breakfast meals.

During the question and answer session, Smith revealed that his motivation for creating the play stemmed from his ignorance of Huey P. Newton, who was murdered in 1989 at the age of 47. “We look at these figures who are pumped up to be larger than life. Then we deflate them and in doing so the real people [behind the leaders] can emerge,” stated Smith. The film sheds light on Newton’s eccentric mannerisms and shy personality while featuring depictions of how Newton would have responded to modern events involving African Americans including the murders of rappers 2Pac and the Notorious B.I.G.; the end of the film shows Newton weeping while singing the Notorious B.I.G. lyrics, “Birthdays was the worst days, now we sip champagne when we thirsty.”

Throughout the film, Newton can be seen chain-smoking as his soft voice and stuttering become readily apparent to the viewer— a point which surprised Smith when he was first researching Newton since he did not expect the fierce leader to be softspoken. The smoking posed a special challenge to Smith, who revealed that he had to smoke a pack of cigarette’s during all 600 of his plays during his worldwide tour. The play and film both reach a climax when Newton breaks out into an elaborate dance and begins doing push-ups

to the tune of Bob Dylan’s “Ballad of a Thin Man”—all while smoking cigarettes one after another. According to Smith, the scene is symbolic of Newton’s self-destructive character in the midst of his attempts to help those in the black community. “[The scene] is about the idea of a person building himself up, doing push-ups, and tearing himself down while smoking cigarettes, and that was Huey’s contradiction,” said Smith.

Smith also attempted to tie in Newton’s life with modern political struggles. Smith noted that revolutions and their leaders, much like Newton, are needed in every generation. “There are good changes happening every day. The federal court of appeals turned back proposition eight today. You think that would have been done if people hadn’t have gone to the streets to protest?” said Smith.

In the beginning of the question and answer session, Smith took several moments to praise UC Riverside students for their involvement in last month’s oncampus protests. “I congratulate you for your activism and I en-

courage you to keep it up. I think that education is something that should not be taken for granted…

I salute you, the students of UC Riverside [for making] it clear that education is a priority.” Perhaps most reflective of Smith’s

message and the ideas presented during the screening were embodied by Smith’s quoting of the civil and human rights advocate Frederick Douglass, who stated, “If there is no struggle, there is H no progress.” ■

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FEATURES

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

HIGHLANDER

13

35th ANNUAL

Writers Week

Last week, numerous writers gathered at UCR for the 35th annual Writers Week Conference. Faculty, staff and students all congregated in INTS 1128 to hear talented writers share their work and engage in dialogue with the audience. The event was organized by Christopher Buckley, Writers Week director and professor at UCR. Poets, fiction writers and non-fiction writers were invited, allowing for a diverse and successful week.

0 2 / 07 DAY 01 1:00PM Charmaine Craig 2:30PM Ben Ehrenreich 4:00PM Michael Jaime-Beccera 5:00PM Susan Straight (Stephen Minot Memorial Reading)

Tuesday, Feb. 7 opened Writer’s Week with a phenomenal lineup of authors. Each read a piece from a recent project followed by a question and answer period.

The first reading was by Charmaine Craig, a novelist and visiting assistant professor at UC Riverside. Craig read a portion of her upcoming novel based on the life of her mother, Louisa Benson Craig, an inspirational Karen community leader in Burma, beloved actress, army leader and former Miss Burma. She was introduced by fellow Novelist and Professor Goldberry Long, who said that Professor Craig certainly inherited her mother’s bravery because “having the bravery to write about her mother is a warrior-like thing to do.”

This was certainly the case. During the question and answer period, Professor Craig described her struggles and triumphs in writing the novel. She said, “It was such a struggle... On the positive side, I was privileged to spend two years interviewing my mother about her life and the situation in Burma. I got the bigger picture from her.”

The second reading was by Ben Ehrenreich, a freelance journalist based in Los Angeles. He was introduced by Assistant Professor and Creative Writing Department Chair Andrew Winer, who said that Ehrenreich’s “lucid and luminous prose asks us, dares us, implores us to open our eyes.”

Ehrenreich, who will be teaching at UCR spring quarter, read from his essay on the conflict in Israel and Palestine. The piece captured the role of

water in the conflict, which was an unexpected and lovely focus. Ehrenreich’s journalism makes no claim of objectivity. He has a profoundly strong first person voice, which he says allows the reader to be guided around the world, depicting it to be as complicated as he perceives it to be.

Third was Michael Jaime-Becerra, another faculty member at UCR. Jaime’s work centers around El Monte, CA. He typically chooses to write in the 80s, because he says that with the coming of the Internet era, “Things are easier now.” JaimeBecerra also gave significant insight on his writing process. He chooses to outline events, writes 500 “powerwrite” words, which he then edits into coherent paragraphs. Jaime-Becerra began his undergraduate studies at UCR as a poetry student, but after taking a course with Professor Susan Straight, chose to pursue fiction instead.

The day ended with the outstanding Stephen Minot Memorial reading from Susan Straight. Minot was a founder of the Creative Department at UC Riverside. Straight was introduced by her past student Michael Jaime-Becerra, who explained why she is so beloved to the department and the community, saying “There is no one who writes so carefully and meaningfully about Riverside and the Inland Empire... It is impossible to imagine creative writing at UCR without Professor Straight.” Professor Straight professed how seriously she takes her role in the development of new writers.

Emily Wells, Senior Staff Writer An Tran, Photographer

2:30PM B.H. Fairchild 4:00PM Bonnie Bolling (Distinguished Alumni reading) 5:00PM Frank Gaspar

Writer’s Week on Wednesday kicked off with a talk by Jacqueline Winspeare, an author most known for her mystery novels surrounding her character, Maisie Dobbs.

Winspeare spoke of her philosophy surrounding writing before she read from her work. She said that she strives to create fiction that touches upon the human condition, and therefore hopes her writing resonates with her readers. Her fiction often starts with a question she poses for herself, asking how she would feel if various situations were to arise. Winspeare read from her novel as well as an essay she wrote years ago, inspired by her grandfather’s experiences in World War I. Winspeare touched upon the research aspect of her work, saying that research is to be used “like seasoning in a soup.”

B.H Fairchild shared his poetry and spoke of his creative process.

He shared the history and inspiration behind each poem, so as to give a background for the audience. His poems resonated with audience members and were filled with poignant lines. At one point

he shared, “Sometimes you write a poem just for the hell of it. You just want to have some fun.”

At 4 p.m., Bonnie Bolling, a graduate of UCR’s MFA program in Creative Writing shared her poetry. Her voice was soft and quavered while she spoke, causing her poems to take on a dreamlike quality. Bolling first shared from “In the Kingdom of the Sons,”her first collection of poetry. Her poems were bold with honesty and laced with humor, and audience members were both moved and entertained by her work. A lot of the work she shared from the first half of the reading were pieces she had written and edited while doing her MFA at UCR. Currently, Bolling lives in Bahrain where she leads creative writing workshops. She then captivated the audience by sharing poems from her experience in Bahrain, which were filled with cultural references. The poems were rich with vivid imagery and meaning.

Concluding Wednesday’s series, Award winning Novelist and Poet Frank Gaspar shared from his new book, “Stealing Fatima.” As a Portuguese-American growing up

Fatima Mirza, Senior Staff Writer Jacqueline Balderrama, Staff Writer Wendy Montero, Photographer

Among the writers who spoke on Thursday, one was an acclaimed poet and winner of the Joseph Henry Jackson Award, Mark Jarman, who read on Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. from his new book of selected poems, “Bone Fires.”

Born in Kentucky and raised in Scotland as a pastor’s son, the poems displayed themes of family, spirituality and nature. One poem, “Descriptions of Heaven and Hell,” followed the story of Jarman as

a child and his father taking him into the waves of the ocean and how frightening they were. “The image of the wave,” Jarman said, “when I was older has become an emblem no longer of terror...but of matter and spirit going together.”

This also seems to be the heart of his poetry, for the pieces all exhibited an attachment to spirituality.

Also eminent to Jarman’s work is his ability to travel in time through a poem, creating both past and

present worlds seamlessly. Such was the case with “Encounter,” which explored the relationship of Aneas and his mother Venus in ancient time and also reflected those images in the present. Jarman expressed that when he discovered poetry as a teenager, “I would want to read it all the time.” Full of image and sensation, Jarman’s poetry was especially intriguing and wondrous while still anchored to sentiments of connecting and searching.

1:00PM Christine Kitano (Distinguished Alumni reading) 2:30PM Derek McKown 4:00PM Mark Jarman 5:00PM Garrett Hongo

Jacqueline Balderrama, Staff Writer Lin Chai, Photographer

DAY 0 4 0 2 / 10

0 2 / 0 8 DAY 0 2 1:00PM Jacqueline Winspeare

DAY 0 3 0 2 / 0 9

in Provincetown, Massachusetts, Gaspar said, “I wanted to write another novel about the town I grew up in.” The book is set in Cape Town and follows the story of a junky priest named Father Manuel who, despite his hidden loss of faith, is sent to guide and rebuild the parish. The title refers to Our Lady of Fatima which denotes the Virgin Mary’s appearance to several shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. Gaspar read several passages including one deeply moving scene in which Manuel has a supernatural encounter with the virgin.

Beautiful images of apple orchards, snow and coyote tracks provided the deep solitude of Manuel’s inner struggles and his refusal to admit that there is a God. In questions following, Gaspar said, “I’m ruthless, savage, barbaric in my rewriting,” and that he writes out of “deep necessity,” which was his reason for exploring both prose and poetry. “If I could do just one, I would. What I find is I can’t,” said Gaspar. The evening ended on a compelling note to aspiring writers to write what no one else can.

Friday was the final day of Writers Week and began with private workshops with poets Christine Kitano and Gary Young. Students who participated had to sign up to have their poetry workshopped weeks in advance. The workshops gave undergrads and graduate students an opportunity to work with accomplished poets in an intimate setting. Students who participated described the experience as amazing, saying that it helped them focus the point and perspective of their poem. The poets also shared with the students their own tactics and insights of writing.

Alexander Long was the first to share his work on Friday. His work was edgier than the other writers and thus was refreshing to hear. His voice was distinct, and his methods were experimental.

At 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Writers Week concluded with a reading by Keynote Speaker Diane Wakoski.

Wakoski began her poetry career in 1960, and since then she has been the Poet In Residence at Michigan State University, where she teaches. Her reading was powerful and moving. She read three pieces from “Diamond Dog,” as well as some of her earlier work.

Fatima Mirza, Senior Staff Writer Wesley Ng, Photographer

9:30AM-12:00PM Poetry workshop by Christine Kitano (undergraduate students) 9:30AM-12:00PM Poetry workshop by Gary Young (graduate students) 1:00PM Alexander Long 2:30PM Polly Bee 4:00PM Gary Young 7:30PM Diane Wakoski (Keynote reader)

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RICHARD SIMMONS FROM PAGE 9

answered, “I want to live.”

He realized that he needed to make a change, starting with exercise and a proper diet. He moved to Hollywood to pursue his dream, which consisted of two things: making people laugh, and helping people. He began working as a waiter on roller skates donning a pair of wings. His personal diet consisted solely of flour tortillas, cheese, and black pepper. From this, Simmons saved $25,000 and decided to open up his own fitness studio.

Success fell into place shortly after he scored the Richard Simmons show, and his personality and character proceeded to touch lives everywhere. At the age of 64, he still teaches at that same studio he opened years ago. Simmons ended his speech with a unified prayer before all participants stood up, clapped endlessly and wiped away tears.

Greg Wontorek, a 45 year old staff member at the UCR Transfers & Admissions office who was fully donned in full 80’s gear said, “He is a huge inspiration for everyone.

Before Biggest Loser and all those other TV shows, he was the one who would sit next to obese people and cry with them. He was the one who reached out, identified with people, and started a huge movement. Him being here tonight really is a once-in-aH lifetime opportunity.”■

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Radar ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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BLOOD IN THE

~

Emily Wells, Senior Staff Writer / Jonathan Godoy, Photographer

The UC Riverside Department of Theatre has put on yet another quality production for their 2011-2012 season, “In the Blood,” a play by SuzanLori Park, directed by Julian White. The play featured scenery by Marc Lanlois, costumes by Noelle Raffy, lighting by Glen Dunzweiler and sound

by Kevin Parks.

“In the Blood,” a modern day spin on the thematic elements of “The Scarlet Letter,” focuses on a homeless mother, Hester (Dorothy Owaka), and her five fatherless children. Hester’s struggles to provide for her children in a life of poverty is truly profound. The society around her takes advantage of her, while she is continuously denied help as she has been branded with the reputation of being a “slut.”

Most of the characters have been sexually involved with Hester in the past. They each reveal their entanglements with Hester through confessional monologues, the irony being that they are condemning her for her position in society while they are perpetuating it.

Hester’s fatal flaw seems to be that she is constantly giving to those around her, while receiving little in return. As she seeks help and financial support from the various fathers of her children, she is continuously turned away, taken advantage of and abused. However, Hester remains hopeful and does take care of her children, or as she calls them, her “treasures,” by whatever means necessary. Eventually, she is worn down to the point of losing sanity and committing a terrible act against one of her beloved children.

The cast was impressive, as they were each required to play double roles (except for Hester).

Keith Cox, portraying her oldest and favorite son,

Jabber, also played Jabber’s father. His performance was perhaps the most outstanding in the show, as he captured his character’s tender side and detestable side masterfully. Andrew Mena played Baby, her youngest son as well as a Reverend who was a father of one of her children. Kara Grimes portrayed a welfare agent who abuses her power as well as Hester’s oldest daughter, Bully.

Yan Tkach plays a doctor who runs a street clinic and her middle son, Meganne Batt.

Following the performance, a compelling discussion took place in which UC Riverside professors Stuart Krieger and Vorris Nunley deconstructed the various elements and themes of the performance, interacting with both the audience and the cast. Nunley pointed out how interesting it is that the themes of “The Scarlet Letter” still resonate clearly within today’s society. Also discussed was the difference in how poverty is perceived in the United States versus many other nations of the world—how a capitalistic society tends to look at poverty as a fault, a situation the individual has gotten themself into, whereas elsewhere it is seen as a condition of living, not a fault of the individual.

Dorothy Owaka, who portrayed Hester, summed up what she learned through the performance quite well, saying “You can’t judge people.

We’ve all done it... You don’t know what’s going on with any other person in this room or in the world.” Kara Grimes, who played the youngest daughter and the welfare agent agreed, explaining that even those who were exploiting Hester have are in an intricate situation. “There are two sides to every story...when we’re using her, it’s beH cause we’ve all been used.” ■

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VIDEO GAME REVIEWS THE DARKNESS II RATING: ★★★★☆

BY: ALEXANDER SUFFOLK, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Photos Courtesy of gamingbolt.com ADVERTISEMENT

“The Darkness II” is a firstperson shooter available on Xbox 360, PS3 and Microsoft Windows.

While both being published by 2K Games, “The Darkness II” varies from it’s 2007 predecessor, “The Darkness,” in that it was developed

by Digital Extremes and features the writing of Paul Jenkins, a lead writer of the comic book series of the same name that the games are based on. But let’s face it, there were way too many shooter sequels in 2011. For an entire year the video game market seemed content to bombard us with bullets, machismo, and numbers at the ends of titles. So when I heard about “The Darkness II” coming out, I couldn’t help but groan under the pretense that it just arrived fashionably late to the party. Nonetheless, I gave it the old college try.

The player takes the role of Jackie Estacado, the hero of the last installment who spends his time leading the Italian mafia in New York, playing with evil moray eels that shoot forth from his shoulder, keeping his long black locks luxurious and brooding. The opening scene is an ambush at a five-star restaurant. You walk to your seat, brooding all the way, and have a brief conversation with two lovely ladies until one of them is shot in the face. Before you can

even complain about the stains her brains left, an explosion goes off, severely crippling your leg and you are instructed to hold off the invading forces while your buddy drags you to safety. In order to revive yourself and get some sweet revenge, you once again tap into your sinister skills bestowed upon you by your demon friend (creatively named The Darkness) and set off to seek revenge on those who have wronged you.

You spend most of the game hunting down these wrong-doers, an organization that is quite envious of your shoulder eels. The plot is decent enough; it tackles Jackie’s need to use his dark powers and his regret at the pain it has caused those around him, especially his dead girlfriend, Jenny. The ending is definitely a weakness to the overall presentation. The game is short, and during the last act you are given the option of taking an unsatisfying ending, or playing for another half hour for an alternative unsatisfying ending. Still, the writing and voice acting are competent and get the job done, something many shooters aren’t particularly acclaimed for.

While the sight of your toes hanging off your feet and split in half is disgusting, I must say that it looked great. The graph-

ics have had a bit of an overhaul since the original. The first game tried to look as realistic as possible, but with 2007 technology, it just seemed right out of the uncanny valley. But for “The Darkness II,” there seems to be more of a vibrant, cell-shaded look that definitely feels more reminiscent of the comic books the games derive from. The blood and dark powers all have this eery glow to them and there is actually color in the world as opposed to just brown and grey in most recent shooters.

The color is so nice to look at, it almost makes you hesitate before shooting the lights, a necessary move in order to keep using your evil eels that thrive off of the dark.

These eels are really what make the gameplay shine. You have your standard weapons, one twohanded gun and two one-handed guns that you can use individually or one in each hand to feel like an action star. But then you have the powers of The Darkness, mainly being an eel on your left shoulder that can pick up and throw objects, an eel on your right shoulder that can slice and bullwhip anything you choose, and an evil imp companion who assists you in a variety of ways while spewing vulgarities in a British accent. This offers a wide variety of gruesome options you can take in combat.

In the first ten minutes of the game alone there was a situation in which I picked up a car door for cover while spraying a submachine gun in each hand. Then, when I ran out of ammo, I chucked the door at some helpless thug, eel slapped a man’s head off, and picked up the last enemy and ripped him in half: an execution the game lovingly calls a “wishbone.”

This is the kind of chaotic catharsis that many of the 2011 shooters lacked and the kind that shooters of the future should adopt again. “The Darkness II” actually rewards this horror show bit of ultraviolence, too. The more creative and merciless you are with your killing, you are rewarded points you can spend on new abilities, like eating hearts to regain health, summoning swarms of locust to stun enemies and channeling evil magic into your bullets. And trust me, you will be eating a lot of hearts.

You will rip out so many hearts by the end of it that you could declare yourself high priest of the temple of doom. The game definitely earns its “Mature” rating.

“The Darkness II” is not a perfect game, but it is one you can certainly have a lot of fun with. A tasty little treat of human hearts to H kick off the new year. ■

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MOVIE REVIEWS ALSO THIS WEEK:

GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE

THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETY

THIS MEANS WAR

THE VOW RATING:

★★★★☆

BY: TONIE LOUIE, STAFF WRITER

At the midnight premiere of “The Vow” on Thursday night, February 9, the entire theater was packed and filled with the chatter of women on their girls’ night out, couples and cliques of sarcastic teenage boys alike. When the lights dimmed, a female voice shouted out, “Woo! I’m ready to cry!” depicting a crowd of eager and humorous romance enthusiasts.

“The Vow” is about a man who must fight to win his wife’s love back when a serious brain injury causes her to completely forget about their relationship. Paige is played by Rachel McAdams (In 2004 she was the sweetheart of America’s favorite romantic movie, “The Notebook”) and Leo is played by Channing Tatum (In 2006 he was an angsty hip-hop dancer in “Step Up” and leading man of “Dear John” earlier in 2010). As expected, both actors brought amazing chemistry to their scenes and never failed to make audience members gush with delight.

The movie begins with the car crash in slow motion and Paige violently flies through the windshield. She wakes up and the doctor discovers that her memory ends right before she met Leo. Although there is no montage of their life together, small flashbacks are provided throughout the movie to give audiences a

Photo Courtesy of Screen Gems

taste of the authenticity and beauty of their love.

Before the accident, Paige and Leo lived together in a shabby apartment on the lower side of the city, working humble occupations as a sculptor and a recording studio manager, respectively. Their identities fused through an un-

conditional and patient love, but that world is turned upside down when Paige has no recollection of everything they built together.

When Paige’s parents arrive at the hospital to claim her and they meet Leo for the first time, audiences realize that there is a dark, lurking secret to why Paige’s dis-

connects from her family. She is overwhelmed and confused living in their apartment with a man she thinks is a stranger, so Leo selflessly follows Paige home to her upper-class family, her preppy lifestyle, and her expired dreams of being a law student and another man’s girlfriend.

Not only did the accident cause Paige to forget who Leo was, but she forgot who she was and the goals she had developed during her life with him. From having messy brunette hair, a hippiestyle and a naked face, Paige dyes her hair blonde and goes back to wearing polo shirts and heavy makeup. She forgets her decision to go vegan and begins eating filet mignon with her family. When Leo shows her back to her own studio in hopes that she will regain her memory, she feels no attachment and purpose in her own artwork. She goes from loving to easily irritable, non-conformist to shallow. Therefore, audiences mourn the loss of something beyond love—the loss of Paige’s identity, her loss of ambition, and her loss of character and commitment to changing her life.

“The Vow” ultimately presents the question of what a desirable life is. Once Paige rediscovers the reason she left home in the first place, it catapults her back into the pursuit of art and living in the city. Although she never regains her memory, she agrees to go on a date with Leo once again, opening the hopeful possibility of them falling in love all over again.

For a romantic drama, the movie holds just the right amount of sappiness. “The Vow” is a genuine and realistic portrayal of lost love H and the journey to get it back. ■

SAFE HOUSE RATING:

★★★☆☆

BY: RICHARD LOERA, CONTRIBUTING

“Safe House” tells the predictable story of an aspiring CIA agent (Ryan Reynolds) that is forced to act as a bodyguard for a rogue CIA agent (Denzel Washington), who is considered to be one of the agency’s most brilliant assets.

The film’s first problem lies in the lack of chemistry between the two leads.

On one hand, Washington has brilliantly portrayed a wide array of roles whether it be a corrupt Los Angeles policeman or a loving father. On the other hand, Ryan Reynolds is a respectable action star on the rise, but in light of his recent travesty, “Green Lantern,” he is simply not in the same ranking as Washington.

As always, every line uttered by Denzel is verbal gold and entrances the audience, while Reynolds fails to hold his own alongside him.

The film’s second issue is one of plot.

The events that take place are highly predictable and any audience member has a 99 percent chance of guessing the outcome of a scene correctly. In addition, the action scenes are mostly just fillers to add screen time and fail to serve any real significance to the plotline. The camcorder effect of the film attempts to make the action sequences more captivating, but it manages to lose

its appeal fairly quickly. The exposition and backstory of Reynolds’ character also was not explored well enough. It felt difficult to view him as the aspiring government official that he portrayed.

Reynolds himself gave a satisfactory performance that was realistic, but the film’s overall exposition of his character fell short. For Reynolds’ first major action debut, he surely shows promise for the future. Ironically, “Safe House” is one of Washington’s worst films and one of Reynolds’ best.

Overall, the film is mediocre at best.

No doubt it will have a great run at the box office, with its top-billing cast and alluring trailer. To be perfectly honest, however, the main reason the trailer looked interesting is because of the JayZ and Kanye West song “No Church in the Wild” playing while Ryan Reynolds jumps rooftop to rooftop.

There is a recurring joke about the films that Denzel Washington stars in, and that is they will all be nominated for an Oscar. This is the first film in a while that will not boast that. “Safe House,” clocking in just below two hours, is not quite the action thriller that the “No Church in the Wild”-infused trailer suggested. The “handycam” appeal of the film does get a little stale into the

second act, right when the story becomes repetitive and dry. The concept was interesting and held great promise, but when it came down to it, the story was just one step behind where it could have been. Due to the hype that leads to no real payoff, “Safe House” H earns itself three stars. ■

Photos Courtesy of Intrepid Pictures

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

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MUSIC REVIEWS SCARS & STORIES // THE FRAY RATING: ★★★★☆

BY: JACQUELINE BALDERRAMA, STAFF WRITER Courtesy of Epic

It’s been three years since The Fray debuted their self-titled album, which was nominated for two Grammy Awards. The alternative, piano/pop rock band widely known for the hits “How to Save A Life” and “Never Say Never” released their third and latest album, “Scars & Stories” Feb. 7. This new collection of tracks focuses mainly on the themes of imperfect love, loneliness and healing.

The first two albums convey a signature style of guitar, piano and the rhythmic words of lead vocalist, Isaac Slade. This new album is no different. All the tracks seem to harmonize music and words seamlessly. Furthermore, the subject matter does not fall far from their previous successes. The Fray tackles complicated emotions through a series of songs involving the stories of brothers, sisters, lovers and lost individuals. As a whole, the album is easily recognizable as a Fray creation.

The majority of the tracks are quick and rhythmic and introduced by a steady guitar and drums. Phrases like “If you gotta love somebody, love them all the same,” from the first track “Heartbeat,” quickly make this a catchy album. In addition, the songs are unified in their theme of scars and stories; several tracks begin with the establishment of a particular location and person. “Run for Your Life,” “1961,” and “Here We Are,” all begin in this fashion and unravel into a wider, more inclusive

expression of emotion and struggle. Several tracks however, are less conventional in their slower rhythms and focus on instruments other than guitar and drums.

“Munich” is introduced with violins and the ending track, “Be Still,” returns to the roots of the band with a focus on the piano. These subtle differences in tempo and sound thus make songs appeal to a larger audience.

For the album, mostly all the tracks seemed to be on the same level. There were a few verses that felt cliché, but the addition of powerful images like “I’ve got a kerosene of desire,” and “I’m frozen in the darkness and you’re a burning cabaret,” made up for these slight slips. Another accomplishment of this album is the continued practice of tackling more than just the themes of love. There are poignant references to the self searching in “The Wind” that colors the album not only with the reoccurring images of nature but also with a redemptive and faith-seeking voice.

Furthermore, “Run For Your Life” seems to echo the empathetic hit single “How to Save a Life.” This new song explores death, but this time focuses instead on those left behind in the story of two sisters. It relates, “If one of us falls, the other will soon be following...the hunger inside you is strong, you don’t have to go it alone.” Similarly to “How to Save a Life” and being proactive in suicide awareness, “Run For Your Life”

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ends on a positive note—to start anew.

Overall, the album encapsulates the very essence of the Fray in its somber, searching and healing tone. The final track, “Be Still” serves somewhat as a comforting answer to all the questions and struggles expressed in earlier songs. It repeats, “If you forget the

way to go..be still, be still.” With this, the Fray is again able to capture the detail and longing of a particular story while making it relateable to most everyone. “Scars & Stories” thus concludes on an encouraging note expressing that no one is ever really H alone. ■

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The Melodians at The Barn

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Former NFL player visits UCR, his alma mater

PRANAV BHAKTA

P-BHAK’S CORNER Linsanity

Cristina Granados STAFF WRITER

Butch Johnson, former UC Riverside football player and Superbowl-winning wide receiver from the Dallas Cowboys, came to his alma mater last Wednesday to motivate students. African Student Programs (ASP) hosted the event to celebrate ASP’s 40th anniversary and Black History Month.

“Who is this old guy? And what does he have to say?” mocked Johnson when he first came on-stage. He was accompanied by two of his brothers, his sister and his aunt. Johnson explained that in the last 140 years,

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there have been 600 million high school players, 20 million college players--but only 250,000 professional American Football players since 1902. In the NFL there have been 18,000 men who have played in a game, 250 of whom have played ten years or more. Butch Johnson holds the honor of being among the later group of athletes.

Johnson’s point was that more people don’t reach the next level because they aren’t willing to do the work.

“He came back and delivered a message about focus, engaging in the moment, and hard work.

I think those are such powerful

messages. To know his background, where he came from, where he has been and where he’s going. I think we all can take something from that kind of inspiration,” said Chancellor White.

Who knew unicycles and work ethic were one and the same? Johnson told audience members that he taught himself how to ride a unicycle during his youth. Johnson’s story illustrates his firm belief in the power of self-determination and commitment to one’s goals. Chancellor White was certainly appreciative of this message, given that he knew how to ride a unicycle during his youth as well.

Mr. Johnson played for three NFL teams, appeared in five NFC Championships and was the first player to ever score touchdowns in two consecutive Super Bowls. He is currently the global senior director of community affairs and sports marketing for Mannatech, Inc. “Where they’re at right now is very brief period of time. In

that period, if you don’t take advantage of every single day, in a couple years, you’re going to wish you did. Everyday there is no excuse why you can’t work, or why you can’t be there, or why you can’t go to class, or why you can’t study this book. Do your work. Take advantage of your time,” stated Johnson in an interview with the Highlander. His message was, “Once you know where you’re at, you’re out!” He had the audience repeat this back to him to make sure it stuck.

All who have been to the bookstore have seen the shirts that say, “UCR Football undefeated since 1976.” The football program disappeared because of lack of interest, although exactly who’s interest was not specified according to UC Riverside’s website. Yet, in 1960 UC Riverside was led through an undefeated season by quarterback Pete Kettela, and Nick Goldware, the university quarterback of 1968, was ranked seventh in the nation among small college H quarterbacks. ■

Jeremy Lin, the Harvard product, has taken the sports world by storm. The ultimate story of perseverance, Lin has answered his doubters game after game. Against the Lakers, Lin silenced his critics with a career game. So why was this gem of a player not given a chance by any NBA organization before the New York Knicks decided to play him in desperation?

The question is being asked by every single organization in the NBA right now.

A quote from the film “Moneyball” answers this question well. Johan Hill’s character, Peter Brand, said, “It’s about getting things down to one number. Using stats to reread them, we’ll find the value of players that nobody else can see. People are over looked for a variety of biased reasons and perceived flaws.

Age, appearance, personality.”

In a 2010 NBA draft preview article, Ed Weiland of HoopsAnalyst called Lin the best available point guard after the top draft picks. Weiland pointed out that Lin had the best two-point field goal percentage and scored extremely high in Weiland’s equation called RSB40. Surprisingly, Lin was not drafted by any team in the league.

After being cut by Golden State and Houston to make room for other players, Lin found himself with the Knicks as a fourth string point guard. Faith opened up the window of opportunity for Lin, who has excelled since. Ironically, the Knicks now have placed their faith in Lin’s hands. The Knicks were struggling while they couldn’t muster a flowing efficient offensive output.

Now they have Jeremy Lin, the missing piece they were looking for, who can run offense the offense they need.

Whatever the biased reasons and perceived flaws that may have kept Lin from getting a chance, Lin now has a team and millions of fans around the world. In the city of New York, basketball is a beloved sport. New York hasn’t had a dynamic and charismatic player to cheer on at the Garden in a long, long time. Did I mention the Knicks are on a five-game H “Linning” streak? ■

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HIGHLANDER

Men’s tennis gets first winning streak of the season Adolfo Bejar STAFF WRITER

UCR men’s tennis had a triple match-up over the weekend against three different rivals: Vanguard, College of the Desert (COD), and Riverside City College (RCC). The Highlanders were looking for their first win of the season after failing to get a winner in their last three matches.

Feb. 10, 2012 Highlanders 4 – Lions 3 The Highlanders finally got their first victory of the season in a tight encounter against the Vanguard Lions. The key to the match turned out to be the doubles point; the Highlanders won two of the three doubles matches and claimed the point. UCR’s Felix Macherez and Austin Andres defeated Vanguard’s Lucas Pereira and Alexandre Piccin

by 8-4. While Highlanders Luis Gastao and Simon Peters defeated Lions Yahor Kryvaruchka and Robin Wagner by 9-7 to claim the point for UCR. In singles action, Highlanders and Lions fought back and forth, and by the end of the six matches, each team had claimed three victories. The doubles point won at the start of the game made the difference and gave the victory to the Highlanders. UCR got its first victory of the season.

Sergio Chip by 8-4, while Kevin Griffin and Jimmy Roberts defeated Justin Sellert and Braur Banks by 8-5 to win the point.

In singles action, UCR and COD split points, each team taking three points. All six matches were very close; three of them had to be decided in a third set.

At the end, what made the difference one more time for the Highlanders was the doubles point won early in the match. UCR claimed its second consecutive victory of the season.

Feb. 11, 2012

Feb. 11, 2012

Highlanders 4 – Roadrunners 3

Highlanders 7 – Tigers 0

UCR got its first winning streak after defeating COD in a close match. The Highlanders, once again, landed the victory thanks to the early point scored in doubles action. UCR’s Austin Andres and Felix Macherez defeated COD’s Parker Kelly and

UCR continued to extend its winning streak when it swept RCC. The Highlanders were superior to the Tigers in all aspects. RCC never proved to be a threat and UCR got a comfortable win claiming all seven H points in play. ■

B rya n T u t t le /HIGHLANDER

UC Riverside women’s tennis loses double match-up at home Adolfo Bejar STAFF WRITER

UCR women’s tennis hosted Gonzaga and Pacific in what were the third and fourth fixtures of the season for the Highlanders. UCR couldn’t extend its winning streak as it fell 6-1 to Gonzaga on Friday.

While on Sunday, the Highlanders lost the first Big West conference match of the season as they fell 6-1 to Pacific.

Feb. 10, 2012 Bulldogs 6 – Highlanders 1

J o n at h a n G o d o y /HIGHLANDER

UCR lost the first point of the afternoon when it was unable to win two of the three doubles matches. The Highlanders started off well by winning the first match.

Kat Saltarelli and Natalie McKay defeated Gonzaga’s Kylie Peek and Madeline Parker by 8-5, but Gonzaga proved resilient when it claimed the next two doubles

matches over the Highlanders by 8-4 and 8-5 and won the first point of the afternoon.

In singles action, Gonzaga dominated the Highlanders by winning five of the six points in play. However, UCR put on a contest as three of the six points had to be decided in three-set matches. Gonzaga, at the end, played the best tennis and won all of the three-set matches. The Highlanders got the lone point thanks to a victory by Jamie Raney over Katie Edwards. The game proved to be a hard contest for Raney; she won in consecutive sets but the game was close.

Feb. 12, 2012 Tigers 6 – Highlanders 1 UCR opened its Big West conference participation with a loss against Pacific. The Highlanders and Tigers fought closely for the

seven points in play, but it was Pacific who took the upper-hand by winning six of the seven points in play. In doubles action, UCR fell short in two of the three games as the Highlanders were only able to win their game at court No. 2 when Courtney Pattugalan and Kate Bergeson put on a decent display to beat Pacific’s Susan Te and Gergana Boncheva by 8-6. Yet, Pacific took the doubles point by winning the other two matches.

In singles matches, UCR couldn’t take but one point and was swept by the Tigers. Taylor Raney was the only Highlander able to defeat her rival. Raney, one more time, proved her great form as she beat Pacific’s Gergana Boncheva by 6-2, 6-2. Additionally, UCR’s Jamie Raney and Kat Saltarelli were defeated by Pacific’s Iveta Masarova and Julia Hansen by 6-2, 6-3 and 6-1, 6-1, H respectively. ■

UCR softball wins one of five in Fresno State Tournament M i c h a el R i o s

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Feb. 10, 2012 Hornets 2 – Highlanders 0 UCR softball opened up the 2012 season at the Fresno State Tournament this past Friday as it took on the Sacramento State Hornets in a first of a double-header.

The game was scoreless until the fourth inning when the Hornets scored a run after a double from Devin Caldwell. The Hornets would score once more in the sixth after a single from Caldwell drove in another run to put Sacramento State up, 2-0.

The score would stand and the Highlanders fell to the Hornets to lose their first game of the season.

Feb. 10, 2012 Trojans 2 – Highlanders 0 The Highlanders faced the North Dakota State Trojans that same day as they hoped to win their first game of the year. It turned out to be a competitive one for both teams, but in the end, the Trojans prevailed with a final score of 5-4.

UCR scored first with three runs in the second to go up 3-0. The Trojans countered with a three-run inning of their own in the third to tie the score.

UCR regained the lead in the following inning, but the Trojans scored two more in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-4 lead.

That turned out to be the final score as the Highlanders lost their first two games of the season.

Feb. 11, 2012 Highlanders 6 – Rockets 3 The UCR softball team earned it first victory of the season this past Saturday in the first game of a double-header against the Toledo Rockets. UC Riverside’s Amy Lwin pitched a complete game and stuck out five opposing players to give UCR a 6-3 victory over the Rockets.

Toledo struck first as Lindsey Tobias flied out on a sacrifice play to bring in Kristen Roznoski for a 1-0 Toledo lead.

The Highlanders remained scoreless until the fifth inning when UCR exploded for six hits to give the Highlanders a 5-1 advantage

over Toledo. Jessica Vasser hit a two-run single to score Ariel Shore and Alexis Picket for the Highlanders. Alexis Pickett, Kayla White and Ariel Shore all earned RBIs in that inning as well.

In the sixth, Thomas tripled down the left field line to put herself in scoring position.

Mendoza singled to the middle to bring in Thomas for a 6-1 lead.

The Rockets scored two more in the seventh and final inning, but it was too little too late for the team. UCR won by a score of 6-3 to earn its first victory of the season.

Feb. 11, 2012 Bulldogs 7 – Highlanders 3 UCR tried to make it two in a row for the first time this season as the team took on Fresno State in the second game of a doubleheader. A come-from-behind game from the Bulldogs prevented UCR from accomplishing its goal, with Fresno State winning by a score of 7-3.

UCR scored first after Kayla White’s single drove in two for a 2-0 lead in the second.

The Bulldogs scored two to tie the game after the team scored a two-run homer in the

third. UCR retook the lead after Taylor Alvarez was hit by a pitch to score Jessica Vasser.

The Bulldogs saved the best for last as they went on to score five runs in the bottom of the sixth to seal the win. Fresno State won by a score of 7-3.

Feb. 12, 2012 Hornets 9 – Highlanders 4 In the final day of the Fresno State Tournament, UCR took on Sacramento State once again in hopes of earning its second win of the season. The Hornets had other plans in mind as they crushed the Highlanders with a score of 9-4.

Sacramento State scored in the first inning to go up 1-0. The Hornets went on to score five huge runs in the third to go up by six points.

The Highlanders scored two in the bottom of the third and in the the bottom of the fourth, but it was too late for UCR. The Hornets drove in three in the fourth and they ran away with a 9-4 victory over UCR. With the loss, the Highlanders open the season with a 1-4 record. UCR will face Hawai’i on Feb. 17 in the UNLV Louisville H Slugger Desert Classic. ■

SPORTS

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

23

UCR struggles in road games against conference opponents P r a n av B h a kta SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Feb. 9, 2012 Tigers 63 – Highlanders 46 The UC Riverside women’s team played their first of two games on the road against the Pacific Tigers, where they fell by a large margin of 17 points. With the final score of 63-46, the Pacific victory came mostly thanks to a large 13-0 run Pacific had in the first half, and the Highlanders’ season-high 26 turnovers. The Highlanders could not make up the deficit as the game got away early from them. The Highlanders fell to 5-18 overall and 3-8 in Big West play. Pacific improved to 13-9 and 6-4 in league. Pacific has been extremely difficult to beat at home and it has an 8-2 record when they play at the Alex G. Spanos Center.

In the first half of the game, the Highlanders had a slim advantage of 6-4 very early on. Pacific took off the tarmac and never looked back as they went on a 13-0 run to open a large 11-point lead of 17-6 against the Highlanders. During the Pacific run, the Highlanders missed five shots and turned the ball over eight times. A Highlander jump shot from Natasha Hadley ended the Pacific run at the 10:08 mark of the first half. However, Pacific maintained its large lead and finished the first half with a

Gordon Huang/HIGHLANDER

13-point lead, 28-15.

Two minutes into the second half, the Highlanders managed to go on a 6-2 run early to cut the deficit to just nine points, 30-21. Pacific pushed its lead back to 13 until Highlander Hadley scored to bring back the deficit to nine points again, 38-29, at the 14:46 left in the game.

From this point on, Pacific ran away with the game, as it built a 19-point lead, 50-31, thanks to a 12-2 run which saw the Highlanders not putting a point up the board for five minutes. The closest the Highlanders got to narrowing the Pacific lead was within 15 points. Pacific went on to

cruise to a 63-46 victory.

Feb. 11, 2012 Aggies 67 – Highlanders 46 The UC Riverside women’s basketball team matched its season-high 26 turnovers from the previous game and fell to the UC Davis Aggies by a margin of 21 points, 67-46. The Highlanders struggled throughout the game not just with turnovers, but also with their shooting percentage.

The second loss on this road trip caused the Highlanders to fall to 5-19 overall and 3-9 in Big West play. UC Davis improved to 15-8 overall and 7-4 in Big West play.

In the first half, both teams struggled to put up points on the

board. The Highlanders were down by two points, 4-2, early in the half. However, UC Davis found its offensive rhythm and went on a 8-2 run to open up the game with a commanding lead of 13-4 over the Highlanders with 11:05 left to play in the half. With Highlander guard Tre’Shonti Nottingham getting into foul trouble, UC Davis was able to take advantage and add to its lead as the half closed with the Highlanders trailing by 16, 33-17. The Highlanders only converted on six of the 19 shots they took in the first half.

In the second half, the Highlanders came out hitting their shots as they went four for six from the field to cut into UC Da-

vis’ lead as they trailed by just 13.

The Highlanders, however, could not maintain their run as they still trailed by 13, 41-28, with 15:21 remaining on the clock. Hitting another scoring funk where the Highlanders only hit one of four shots, UC Davis took advantage and extended its already commanding lead to 23 points. The game score stood at 53-30 in favor of UC Davis with 10:40 left to play in the game. The Highlanders could not make even a dent in the lead as UC Davis maintained its lead around the 20-point mark to seal the 67-46 victory.

The Highlanders will return home to play against UCSB Gauchos this Thursday and Cal Poly H on Saturday. ■

Track and field breaks records again in second meet of season

Archive/HIGHLANDER

P r a n av B h a kta SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The UC Riverside men’s and women’s teams took part in the indoor Husky Classic in Seattle to compete in their second meet of the season. After having four athletes break old school records in the first meet of season, the Highlanders set multiple new records again.

On the men’s side, Ken-

neth Grimble won his heat in the 400m with a time of 50.82 and placed 31st in the final tally. Jerome Rideaux had a solid outing in the 400m as well as he placed 18th with a time of 49.79. Michael Koger almost matched his previous school record with a time 48.93, finishing in eighth. It was Peter Guenther’s 400m run that erased Koger’s two-

week-old record of 48.87 as Guenther finished with a time of 48.44 which was good for third place.

In the 60m event, Hernell Dyer finished in fifth place in the finals with a time of 6.84 as he eclipsed Justin Harris’s record in the 60m. Michael Hern finished in 12th in the 60m final with a time of 7.01.

In the 3,000m distance

event, the Highlanders had Talal Khan finishing in 32nd place with a time of 8:28.27 while teammate Omar Gonzalez placed 43rd place with a time of 8:39.43.

The group of Peter Guenther, Bryan Adams, Sean Ferrera and Michael Koger continued to work well together in the 4x400m relay event, as they broke their own record from the last meet, placing in a tie for third with a blistering time of 3:13.01.

In the field events, Travis Smith and Ryan Swafford shattered school records as well. Travis Smith broke his own school record with a toss of 17.03m in the shot put.

Smith’s performance was good for third place overall. In the triple jump, Ryan Swafford had such a great performance that he broke the school record twice after barely missing out on the school record at the last meet by half an inch. In Swafford’s first jump of the day, he topped the school record with a 15.06m leap. Swafford then topped his previous jump with a 15.22m leap. Swafford finished in fourth in the triple jump.

On the women’s side Danielle Littleton ran a 8.85 and Briana Kennedy-Feldhaus ran

a 9.01 in the 60H. Littleton finished in 19th place while Kennedy-Feldhaus placed in 27th place. In the 400m dash, Yozmine Modeste placed 11th with a time of 57.12, and Michelle Macias ran a 58.87, good for 30th place. In the 4x400m relay, the group of Michelle Macias, Adriana Paz, Alisha Brown, Raquel Hefflin finished in 16th place with a time of 3:58.29. In the distance 3,000m event, Tanya Valenzuela ran a time of 10:16.73, which was good for 10th place. In the mile run, Alisha Brown placed 37th with a time of 4:57.61. Meanwhile, Raquel Hefflin competed in the Mile Invite, where she placed 26th with a time of 4:52.80.

In the field events, Danielle Littleton placed 23rd in the long jump with a leap of 5.30m. Also competing in the long jump was Jacquelyn DuBuis who finished in 41st with a jump of 4.71m. In the shot put, Ashley Gatewood placed 23rd with a throw of 12.93m.

In the weight throw, Deja Watkins placed 37th with a throw of 14.83m.

The Highlanders will next compete on March 3 at the All Cal Challenge Cup in Irvine, H CA. ■

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

HIGHLANDER

Highlanders lose two straight games this week K e n da ll P ete r s o n STAFF WRITER

Feb. 9, 2012 Mustangs 54 - Highlanders 52 The UCR men’s basketball team faced off against Cal Poly last Thursday night, looking to improve in the Big West standings. Riverside was unable to beat its conference opponent as the team lost 52-54 and now stands at 5-6 in Big West play for an 11-13 overall record.

Riverside got help from two teammates, Kevin Bradshaw and Phil Martin, who lead their team in a grind-out game. Both scored six points in the first half while Bradshaw had two steals and grabbed three boards. Riverside broke out to a 6-2 lead then eventually led 10-5 after eight minutes of play. Cal Poly went on a 6-2 run, cutting the Highlanders’ lead to 12-11 with 10:17 of play left. UCR gave up the lead four minutes later and Cal had a run, pulling ahead 1916. Riverside retook the lead, 20-19, with 1:27 left but would not finish strong as UCR had a 20-21 deficit at the half.

Martin took over the second half for Riverside, scoring 16 on 5-11 shooting, shooting 5-5 from the free-throw line and only making one of four from behind the arc. Cal Poly started off the gates with a strong 15-6 run, putting UCR down 35-26 with 13:51 left of play. Coach Jim Wooldridge would call two quick timeouts with the deficit

at 28-37. Riverside let Cal Poly increase the lead 42-28 but the Highlanders went on a 7-0 run and came within seven points.

UCR drove the deficit closer and closer but Cal Poly scored after UCR scored. Cal Poly’s Jamal Johnson was at the stripe for a 1-1 free throw opportunity and missed the first shot. Bradshaw grabbed the defensive rebound and dished it to Martin for the last shot. Martin drove down the court and with time winding down, shot a three but missed and the time expired.

MICHAEL RIOS

RIO-SIDE Top five predictions for UCR baseball

Feb. 11, 2012 Gauchos 60 - Highlanders 52 The Riverside men’s basketball team looked to beat UC Santa Barbara for the second time this year. However, UCSB battled back from an 11-point deficit to beat the Highlanders. The Highlanders now have dropped two straight Big West conference games. The Highlanders were without Kevin Bradshaw, David Chavarria and eventually lost BJ Shearry to fall 52-60, now 5-7 in Big West play and 11-14 overall.

The Highlanders’ defense, which is usually their trademark, forced the Gauchos to miss 22 of their 29 shots in the first half including all nine from behind the arc. UCR scored the first 10 points and went on a drought as the Gauchos were able to tie at the 7:47 mark.

They traded baskets the next

Lin Chai/HIGHLANDER

few minutes and the Highlanders went on an 11-1 run to go up 26-16 with three minutes left.

UCSB had its own run but the Highlanders countered back to score the final four points for a 30-23 lead at the half.

The second half was an issue for the Highlanders as the Gauchos stayed in the game by getting to the free-throw line, making nine of 15 from the charity stripe compared to five of eight for UCR in the first 20 minutes of action. The Gauchos finished the game 17 for 28 from the charity stripe while the Highlanders were just nine of 14.

UCR was up 34-23 at one point but UCSB scored seven consecutive points to cut the UCR lead to four.

James Nunnally for UCSB drained a three to put the Gauchos up by two, 42-40. Berry for the Highlanders tied a game with a jumper but Orlando Johnson scored four consecutive points to give his team the lead. Phil Martin ended the drought with a driving lay-up to cut the lead to four, 44-48, with 3:45 to go. Martin went on tear to cut their deficit to three with 1:37 left on the clock. However, the Gauchos ended up scoring eight of the final 11 points to seal the victory.

UCR plays at the Student Recreation Center this upcoming Wednesday against Cal State Fullerton. They look to improve their record as they are fading H away in the conference. ■

Alumni defeat cuurent Highlander squad, 7-4 K e n da ll P ete r s i n STAFF WRITER

This past Saturday afternoon, the Riverside baseball team started off the season with a match up against UCR’s alumni team for their annual event. The young and talented team for UCR was unable to defeat the alumni squad, who were able to win 7-4. Despite the loss, there is still an upside for the young Riverside team.

Coach Doug Smith’s current Highlander team started off with two strikeouts but Clayton Prestridge was able to get on base. Riverside struck first blood as David Andriese doubled to right field for an RBI, scoring Prestridge for a 1-0 lead.

Top of the 3rd inning was all alumni as a double by one of their players drove in a teammate to tie the game at 1-1. After three innings of play, the alumni team already had five hits with a 2-1 lead. Number four Phil Holinsworth for Riverside drilled a hit down the third baseline in what looked like a base hit but number 36 of the alumni dove to snatch the ball. He hopped up and gunned the ball to throw out Holinsworth at first.

Prestridge doubled to left field and he was able to score on a double by Andriese to put UCR down 2-3. UCR had a chance to score with a play on third but was unable to execute and left the man stranded. Tony Nix for the alumni team homered to deep left, giving the alumni a 4-2 lead. UCR had a collapse as it allowed three more runs from the alumni, 7-2, then Chase Puente came to the Highlanders’ rescue. Puente came up the bat and was able to drill a twoshot homer to put his team down 7-4, but the offense for Riverside was not enough for a comeback victory.

Gordon Huang/HIGHLANDER

Although Riverside was unable to beat the alumni team, there are great hopes for the squad. One player of the alumni, Tony Nix, was asked about how he felt about the community and the type of family that Riverside has brought to the players. “It is fun to get out here and play, it is like our own fraternity, our own family out here,” he said. “It’s fun to get out here to be back with the guys” Marc Rzepczynski, who now plays on for St. Louis Cardinals, has won a World Series and played for the alumni team on Saturday. He was asked about the alumni team and about how most Riverside teams don’t have something like this. “It is just one those things we do every year. It is fun to see all the guys you don’t get to see throughout the year.”

When asked about the transition from college to the MLB, he said, “You don’t have to worry about class but the grind of the season, seven months and eight months

if you make the playoffs.”

Marc later was asked about the team’s expectations this year. “They look young,” he said. “Coach put together a good talented team and they will come together.”

Rzepczynski was then asked about being a World Series champion, “It was a long life dream to pitch in the World Series. It hasn’t all set in but I fulfilled a long life dream.”

David Andriese was also asked about the expectations of the UC Riverside team.

“We have things to work on,” he said. “We are young and we are getting our feet wet.

This game was a good experience” He talked about the returning players and the new players on the squad and they are expected to finish 5th place in the conference. “Even though we are young and expected to finish fifth we expect to play well.”

UCR will play on Feb. 17 in a twogame series against Brigham Young at the H Riverside Sports Complex. ■

5. David Andriese will receive First Team All-Conference honors.

It’s not that impossible to imagine.

Last year, Andriese received an honorable mention from the Big West after he averaged .307 and tied the team for most homers with four. He also had the best slugging percentage and the most triples in the team. Keep in mind that he accomplished all that in his first full season. Look for him to lead the Highlanders to another great year in baseball.

4. Coach Doug Smith will win his second Big West Coach of the Year award. He is one of the best coaches any UC Riverside sport has ever had. In his five years, not once did a UCR team finish with a losing record. In fact, he did the opposite for the Highlanders. He led UCR to a record of 149-126 and an outstanding conference record of 62-49. He took his team to the NCAA Regionals in 2007 and won his first Coach of the Year award that same season. This team has been in a bit of a dry-spell as of late. I’m willing to bet Coach Smith will be the one who leads them to the promise land again.

3. Eddie Orozco will throw a no-hitter this season. Why not?

Last year, Matt Andriese threw a one-hitter and his ERA was higher than Orozco’s. Eddie Orozco also led the team in wins and was second in strikeouts. This guy is the real deal. If anyone on the team has an opportunity to finally give UCR its first no-no, it’s Orozco.

2. UCR will have a winning record against Top 25 teams this year. You doubt it? It’s possible. Last year, the Highlanders came close as they shocked two of the Top 25 teams in the nation. They’ve got the potential, the schedule and the experience to do it. They’ll play Fullerton thrice this year and UCLA once. I look for them to beat the Bruins in their only game and to take two of three from the Titans.

1. UCR will win the conference championship. The Big West conference recently insulted the Highlanders as the coaches picked UCR to finish fifth in the standings. That’s not going to happen.

True, they lost a lot of great players last spring, but this is a veteran team that’s led by a great coach.

Fullerton and Irvine will be the top contenders once again and they’ll be hard to knock off, but the Highlanders have all the potential and star power to do it. This team is hungry. They haven’t been to the postseason since 2007. From what the players tell me, the postseason is the team’s first priority this year.

No one in this conference wants it H more than UCR. ■