Volume 61 Issue 20

FOR THE WEEK OF TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

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RIVERSIDE ON FIRE Local brushfire and Heat festival light up campus and community

Jurupa Valley fire spirals out of control Coverage online at highlandernews.org

Headliners Tyga, Porter Robinson and AWOLNATION heat up the HUB. Arts & Entertainment, Pages 12-14

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

T e r ry P i e r s o n /PRESS-ENTERPRISE The fire caused power outages and forced evacuations of nearby areas, including Riverside.

Tyga kneels down to get a closer view of his audience at this year ’s Heat Music Festival.

SJP walk out during Israeli soldiers’ speech Michael Rios

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Members of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) staged a silent walkout during a question and answer session that featured two reserve Israeli soldiers on Feb. 27. A fierce debate ensued between the soldiers and a few of the SJP members that remained behind to question them. The topics of debate included terrorist attacks, anti-semitism and territorial occupation.

The event was co-sponsored by the oncampus pro-Israeli student organizations Highlanders for Israel (HIFI) and Hillel at UCR. The talk was part of an ongoing project called Israeli Soldiers Speak Out, designed to bring Israeli soldiers to college campuses and speak about their experiences. It was organized

by StandWithUs, an international nonprofit dedicated to “informing the public about Israel and to combating the extremism and antiSemitism that often distorts the issues.”

Before the Event An event much like this one was held last year and erupted in heated shouts, during which both the student protesters and soldiers angrily argued with one another. Tensions continued to rise, and several days later, they culminated in

INSIDE: UC students demonstrate against medical benefit caps in systemwide insurance plan.

NEWS

PAGE 4

Editorial: Students and society as a whole can benefit from greater access to research.

PAGE 8

OPINIONS

Restaurant Review: Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour is a bit pricey for a college budget, but well worth it.

W e s l e y N g /HIGHLANDER Students hold up anti-Israeli signs in protest as part of the walk-out.

someone defacing an Israeli flag by scrawling the word “terrorists” on it. Hillel and SJP both condemned the act.

With the outcome of last year’s events, and with the recent trial of the UC Irvine 11, some feared that this session would produce similar results.

“It’s a huge hot-button issue,” stated Daniel Leserman, one of the organizers of Israeli Soldiers Speak Out, prior to the session. “We are expecting some sort of protest or resistance.

Hopefully it’ll just be something silent.”

Shadi Matar, President of SJP and ASUCR

Academic Affairs Director, explained why SJP decided to stage this protest. “They’ve done this many times before and we want them to know that Israeli soldiers are not welcome on this campus on the moral grounds that these guys are human rights violators,” he said. “We consider them war criminals.”

Soldiers Begin Speech The session started at 7 p.m. in the WALKOUT CONT’D ON PAGE 2

FEATURES

PAGE 18

Baseball sweeps Saint Mary’s over the weekend and scores 35 runs in the process.

PAGE 24

SPORTS

UPCOMING EVENTS

PAGE 2

STAFF

PAGE 8

PLEASE RECYCLE AFTER READING

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TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013 WALKOUT FROM PAGE 1

Interdisciplinary Building South and was occupied by roughly three dozen students.

About half were members of the SJP and the other half were from HIFI. The event began with the soldiers introducing themselves and discussing their work with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). The soldiers’ names were Adam and Kinneret; their last names were not disclosed due to security reasons. Adam told a story of a rescue mission in which the Israeli soldiers saved the life of a Palestinian child during a missile raid by the Hamas government in Gaza.

First Silent Walkout Before Adam was able to finish his story, an SJP member in the front row stood up and began the first of two walkouts.

About a dozen students left the room while Adam and Kinneret attempted to persuade the protesters to stay and ask questions.

“Please stay, guys. We would love to hear your questions,” pleaded Kinneret as the protesters steadily filed out the door.

“The thing you are doing right now, it’s really—I feel sorry for you,” said Adam as the students walked out.

Kinneret asked some of the students what their intentions were and what they were hoping to accomplish with the walkouts. The protesters provided no response, and she accused them of polarizing the campus. The SJP members held protest signs that read “This is a brain-wash free zone.”

“I don’t call it proPalestinian, I just call it antiIsrael,” Kinneret told the students. “We’re not here as the Israeli government. Not at all.

We also have criticism for the Israeli government. We’re not here to sell you guys any kind of propaganda.”

Second Walkout and Open Discussion The second wave of walkouts started just three minutes after the first. Shadi Matar and Amal Ali were two of the few SJP students who decided to stay.

The room was half empty by this point.

A back and forth discussion soon ensued between the soldiers and the two SJP members. One of the students asked the soldiers to explain why they felt that things were so polarized.

“I think there is a lot of racism, a lot of anti-semitism,” answered Kinneret.

The discussion then shifted to Operation Pillar of Defense,

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HIGHLANDER

an eight-day battle in Nov. 2012 between the IDF and Hamas. Ali asked the soldiers to explain why the majority of deaths during the operation were of Palestinian civilians.

Kinneret refuted that accusation and explained that most of the deaths were of Hamas terrorists, but admitted that there were civilian deaths during the operation.

Adam clarified that the purpose of the operation was to defend their territories from Hamas. From this, the conversation transitioned into a debate about territorial division between Israel and Palestine.

The soldiers dominated most of this conversation.

“Palestine, they could have had the exact same country that Israel did,” said Kinneret. “How come you guys didn’t start nation-building? How come you launched this crazy war against Israel, trying to wipe it off the map?”

“And when you say, ‘Palestine will be free from the river to the sea,’ where is Israel in the whole story?” Adam followed.

Matar answered that he advocated for a one-state solution in the territory.

After this point, the conversation jumped from topic to topic with both sides providing different statistics and anecdotes in an attempt to

Photo of the Week

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W e s l e y N g /HIGHLANDER Adam (left) and Kinneret (right) explain the need for a dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians after students walked out.

support each of their arguments.

Despite the clear contrast in opinion, at one point Matar clarified that he felt no hatred toward either of the soldiers.

“I don’t hate you,” he stated.

“I don’t know you so I can’t hate you. I don’t know what you’ve done. I don’t know your experiences.”

As the debate came to a close, Ali walked out of the room and voiced her final thoughts. “To face you is to face their personal demons,” Ali said, explaining the purpose of students’ walkouts.

After the Event When the debating finished, no clear consensus had been reached as opinions were divided all across the board.

When asked about whether or not he felt that the protest

impacted the soldiers, Matar stated, “They are paid not to listen.”

Jackie Zelener, President of Highlanders for Israel and Vice President of Hillel was asked about the event and said that it “really helped foster a dialogue...

Because we have such a diverse campus, it’s important to make sure that we’re all open here, that we can have these personal conversations.”

“It was great for me to hear that he doesn’t hate us,” said an emotional Kinneret afterward.

“I just liked the vent...I enjoyed talking to them. It’s not something that we get to do that much. I think this is where it begins. I see this as a starting point to the right path.”

There was one point that everyone could agree on: each and every person interviewed felt that neither side made a significant impact on the other.

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March Microsoft Build It Event 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Winston Chung Hall 205/206

Wesley Ng PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Tyga emerges from the fog as he starts a song. He performed as a headliner at the Heat Music Festival last Saturday at UCR.

Quotebook “If you’re wasted, all you want is a hard shell taco.”

Upcoming Events

Tuesday

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Peace Corps Information Session Noon – 1:30 p.m.

HUB 269

UCR Caffeine Free Day 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Bell Tower

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UCR is Dancing 2013 8:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

University Theatre Humanities 400

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“Critical Realism, Reality TV, Doxploitation & Beyond 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Humanities Building 2212

Softball: IUPUI 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

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Softball: Southern Utah 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

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Bell Tower

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Softball: Southern Utah 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Amy S. Harrison Field

Softball: Buffalo 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Amy S. Harrison Field

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TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

3

White House allows more research access to general public W i nn i e Z h e n g

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

WEDNESDAYS @ 9AM

KUCR RADIO 88.3

HIGHLANDER NEWSROOM

Announced on Feb. 22, the White House will enact an open access policy which requires all taxpayer-funded research to be made freely available for public access after one year of publication. The financial implication of this new policy will allow UC to negotiate for lower prices on academic journal subscriptions with publishers in the future.

UC Riverside spends up to $3 million annually on academic journal subscriptions. But as more articles and data are added into the libraries of online journals, subscription prices also increase.

Rivera Collection Development Librarian Rhonda Neugebauer expressed her optimism regarding the potential benefits that will be brought by open access policy. “It definitely is a financial relief, but its greater value lies in the enhancing of scholarly communication in all fields of studies in the governmental agencies,” she said.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) was among the first precursors of open access. Since 2008,

their open access policy has been successful in accelerating scientific breakthroughs and driving scientific progress. By making human genome sequences data available online through open access, NIH has spawned many recent biomedical innovations. Previously, biomedical science was the only field endorsing the policy and has now expanded to include governmental agencies.

The policy has the potential to open up a gateway for more crossdisciplinary research and increase the transparency of governmental research. Free access into different fields of study will enable research scholars the ability to establish a more closely knitted web of interdisciplinary research. By making the research results public, it ensures the government’s transparency in the process of conducting the research.

UCR Sociology Professor Raymond Russell felt that the open access policy allowed a wider circulation of his journal, with potentially boosting his reputation as a scholar.

Journal publications may gain further authenticity and credibility through public critique.

W e s l e y N g /HIGHLANDER The new open access policy will make more intellectual property available to the public instead of being restricted by publishers.

Oftentimes, academic scholars will sign a contract with a publisher, who is given exclusive rights to their journal publications for resale and circulation. Publishers offer a higher price to the public and earn a 30 percent net profit based on the article’s original value.

“Professors don’t really understand that it is not to their advantage

to sign all their copyrights away to the publishers and let the publishers have total control over their works,” Neugebauer said about the overall publication process. She also expressed minor disagreements regarding the current policy, yet felt that the policy was a good move towards providing the public with unlimited access to intellectual property.

“I am against the legal embargo of one year’s delay until a published article is made accessible to the public. Technologies and science discoveries are constantly upgrading and refining,” she said. Neugebauer anticipates that in the future, any published article can immediately be made accessible without the embargo period.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

NEWS

HIGHLANDER

UC stu de nt s prote st for g re ate r he a lt h c are refor m S a n dy V a n

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Organized by the Union Auto Workers’ Association 2865, the UC student workers’ union, systemwide demonstrations have called for the removal of lifetime caps from the UC Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP). At the same time, protesters voiced their opposition to possible increases in student premiums, which are aimed at closing the UC SHIP deficit.

In a letter to UC President Mark Yudof, U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and 10 other congressional leaders offered their support for the UC health care protests.“We urge the University to work with your student workers and their representatives in ensuring UC’s health benefits are fair and maintain parity with industry standards on issues like lifetime and annual limits and preventative benefits,” the letter read.

UC SHIP has accrued a $57.4 million deficit due to financial miscalculations by the actuary firm, Aon Hewitt. Based on the cost estimations provided by Aon Hewitt the rates for student premiums were set too low, which created the systemwide deficit.

UC Riverside offers the lowest health insurance premiums among the ten campuses and is expected to owe $3 million. “[UCOP wants] to raise premiums, on average, 25 percent per person, which is $400, $500.

That’s systemwide, so it varies

differently among campuses,” stated ASUCR Vice President of External Affairs Lazaro Cardenas. Based on estimated cost levels, the increases in student premiums would only halt the continuing accrual of debt and not the deficit itself.

“UCSA has requested that UCOP pay off that debt, without pushing it on the students.

Specifically, it’s been shown that UCOP did not do monthly reports and checks on the programs,” said ASUCR Vice President of External Affairs Lazaro Cardenas. The UC Student Association is a coalition of the systemwide student governments.

The maximum lifetime cap for UC Riverside students is $400,000. President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) prohibits most limits on health insurance coverage, with the exception of self-funded programs, such as UC SHIP. Critics argue that the loopholes in the ACA are dangerous for students who exceed the medical bill caps. According to Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Danny Kim, “Every year, only a handful of students exceed their annual limits. Less than a handful, I mean like five. There may be an anomalous year, where you’ll have more than five.” The federal health-care law will be fullyimplemented come 2014.

UCOP is considering whether to continue the self-insured plan or seek out a separate health in-

C o u rt e s y

o f ta l k i n g p o i n t s m e m o . c o m

U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi offered her support for the recent health care protests throughout the UC system.

surance company to provide its own SHIP plan. Kim is in charge of overseeing all operations for the UCR Student Health Center.

UC financial aid packages are not expected to cover possible student premium increases, effective fall 2013, if campuses decide to stay in the student health insurance program, according to UCOP Media Relations Brooke Converse.

“Student budgets, which are used to determine financial aid packages, take into account the cost of health insurance. If pre-

miums are raised, the additional cost will be taken into consideration in the student budget.

However, the total pool of funds available for financial aid is not increased,” said Converse.

Campuses such as UC Riverside have sought out local brokers and are awaiting insurance quotes and cost estimates to determine the most viable health insurance plan. The UC Council of Chancellors, consisting of chancellors from the ten campuses, will decide whether to opt out of the systemwide health in-

surance plan by July 2013. Each chancellor has the autonomy to decide the health care provider on behalf of their campus.

By staying in the systemwide health insurance plan, campuses run the financial risk of shouldering high student premiums due to the accrued deficit.

“The debt was created because UCOP set premiums too low in the first place and didn’t manage the money. Students did nothing wrong. Why should they be the ones to be charged higher ■H premiums?” said Cardenas.

HIGHLANDER

NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

THE LAB

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RESEARCH NEWS FROM UCR AND THE UC SYSTEM

by Arooba Chaudhry, Contributing Writer

Breakthrough in hummingbird research

C o u rt e s y o f S t e v e B e r a r d i UCR researchers studied hummingbird wing strokes using high speed cameras and particle image velocimetry (PIV) to learn how it maintains stable flight while hovering.

It was always thought that the hummingbird’s flight generated a single trail of vortices that helped it fly. A vortex, or mass of whirling air, is created during the hummingbird’s downstroke. The wing movement causes an air pressure difference to develop and this creates flow from the bottom to the top of the wing.

Researchers from UC Riverside have discovered that there are two trails of vortices: one located under each wing per stroke when a hummingbird flies.

Professor Marko Princevac, Dr. Sam Pournazeri, Professor Douglas Altschuler and Paolo Segre are all researchers involved in the experiment. They published a paper for their research online last month in the journal entitled Experiments and Fluids.

The study was initiated because it would allow researchers to observe the effects of different types of wings from different flight speeds. “The conclusions from this study can be a great help in aerospace industry, especially in engineering design of unmanned vehicles used for medical surveillance,” said Pournazeri.

To observe the wing move-

ments of the hummingbird, the team used high speed image sequences of 500 frames per second.

The hummingbird flew in a white plume while hoverfeeding, which allowed the team to look at the wing movements from multiple perspectives. They also quantitatively analyzed the flow around the hummingbird using particle image velocimetry (PIV). This allowed the researchers to record the particles surrounding the birds and extract velocity fields.

These films showed the two vortices of downwards airflow under each wing. They also showed that each vortex loop was shed during each upstroke and downstroke.

As such, “the hummingbird’s two wings form bilateral vortex loops during each wing stroke, which is advantageous for maneuverability,” according to Science Daily.

The loops help the hummingbird overcome its weight and hover.

“This is another step in understanding now to maintain stability of flight. From engineering perspective flying fast forward is relatively simple, but hovering and transition to hovering from forward flight can easily become unstable,” said Princevac.

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FDA approves first bionic eye The Department of Energy has announced the first ever retinal prosthesis or bionic eye to be approved by FDA. The project was a collaborative effort by UC Santa Cruz and four other universities. The artificial retina is called the Argus II Retinal Prosthesis and may prove to aid those inflicted with a chronic hereditary disease called retinitis pigmentosa. The ailment is characterized by gradual degeneration of the retina, which destroys the rods and cones in the eye.

The ultimate goal was to create a device that helped restore limited vision, specifically one that enabled reading, unaided

mobility and facial recognition.

“This implant enables patients to detect when lights are on or off, describe an object’s motion, count individual items, and locate objects in their environment,” reads the report on the artificial retina project. The bionic eye was a project built upon the work of Mark Humayun at USC and his breakthrough operation in 2002.

The Argus II project lasted 10 years and took up an investment of $75.2 million. It operates by using a miniature camera mounted in eyeglasses that captures images and wirelessly sends the information to a microprocessor, which is worn on a belt. This

microprocessor then converts the data to an electronic signal and transmits it to a receiver on the eye. The pulses travel to the optic nerve and, ultimately, to the brain. The brain then perceives patterns of light and dark spots corresponding to the electrodes stimulated.

Funding for this project was provided by Department of Energy’s Office of Science and researchers from five of the nation’s DOE’s laboratories. The DOE Office of Science worked with private sector company Second Sight under the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement.

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How to turn food waste into electricity A housing development in UC Davis is planning to introduce a new source of renewable energy: a biodigester. UC Davis received federal funding for the project as a part of the Department of Energy’s Community Renewable Energy Development Project.

The biodigester turns organic waste into electricity. The waste is burned and produces biogas that a turbine converts into electricity.

The proposal aims to use food waste from dining halls

and campus landscaping residue as raw material for the biodigester. They also want to use animal waste from the school’s animal facilities such as the veterinary college. UC Davis hopes biodigester will eliminate need to send waste to any landfills by 2020.

The campus’ housing development is called the UC Davis West Village and occupies 130 acres. Builders are hoping the student and faculty resident facilities will become “the largest net-zero energy use commu-

nity in the nation—producing as much energy as it uses,” according the U.S. Department of Energy. To accomplish this, builders are focusing on ultra energy-efficient features, renewable energy from solar panels and potentially the biodigester.”

“So far, we are heading in the right direction in meeting our energy goals,” said Nolan Zail, Senior Vice President of Development for Carmel Partners— the private company developing H the new campus residences. ■

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NEWS

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

HIGHLANDER

ASUCR SENATE UPDATE

Senate clashes over constitutional amendment resolution HIGHLIGHTS: Discounted movie and amusement park tickets will be sold online starting this week through the ASUCR website.

Scotty the Bear was unsuccessful in his attempt to break the world record for the most hugs by a single mascot within an hour. Scotty received 1,898 hugs on Feb. 26, which fell short of shattering the world record of 2,466 hugs. The event took place from noon to 1 p.m. at the Bell Tower.

The Campus Safety Task Force hope to finish investigative reports on safety by May 22, where they will look for ways to improve campus safety procedures.

Jo expressed concerns about the UCR 2020 strategic plan, which was highlighted during the Provost Town Hall Meeting on Feb. 25. The plan anticipates a total enrollment of 21,000 students by 2020, yet Jo states that there are limited plans to increase faculty and student resources.

“95 percent of trash in the trash cans are not recycled,” according to Jo. As an environmentally-friendly initiative, GCAP members placed new recycle bins next to all campus trash cans.

V i n c e n t T a /HIGHLANDER Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Jim Sandoval thanks members of ASUCR and esteemed members in the galley.

He acknowledged the combined student effort necessary for an exciting and activity-filled Homecoming Week.

S a n dy V a n SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The night of Feb. 27 was filled with confusion and angst within the Senate Chambers, as ASUCR senators voted to table a resolution that would support permanently proportioning the number of elected senators to each respective college. The executive cabinet (ECAB) plans to restructure the internal workings of each branch of government. During the meeting, the senate also approved funding to build an additional conference room in the ASUCR office.

At the onset of the meeting, Executive Vice President Armando Saldana expressed the need to regulate weekly senate meetings by limiting excessive debate between senators. He reasoned that meetings are overly extended, which oftentimes results from the lack of preparation by senators who are not familiar with discussed legislation.

Chair of the Legislative Review Committee (LRC) Sai Patadia also mentioned that all

legislation should be reviewed by the senate prior to the meeting.

In return, Vice President of External Affairs Lazaro Cardenas expressed concerns that limiting debate within the senate would keep the public in the dark about recent legislation. He suggested making the LRC meetings open to the public as one solution to the problem.

“I think we should place a more concerted effort in saying like ‘please come to LRC meetings’ which are for students.

For efficiency it’s great...but I think for transparency reasons, we should do more to publicize the meetings,” Cardenas said as he followed up with his own report.

Cardenas plans to institutionalize the external affairs office during the spring quarter by strengthening ties with organizations such as the UC Student Association. The organization is a coalition of UC students who advocate on behalf of the UC system.

The climax of the night’s discussion encompassed a

constitutional amendment co-authored by Senators Ian Cavasos and Kristina Morelos.

The amendment would officially incorporate the traditional process of proportional representation into the ASUCR constitution and bylaws.

“The idea of proportioning the number of students was the original way senators were elected into the senate and was based on the population of their respective college to get an accurate representation of our campus demographics,” stated Cavasos.

They hope to place the amendment on the spring ballot as a referendum, where the student body will decide to pass it or not. If passed, an additional four senatorial seats, for a total of 20, will be up for grabs during the spring elections.

ASUCR previously moved from a fully college-represented system to a hybrid senate, which consists of 16 senators and four Senators-at-Large. There are two elected senators from the colleges of CHASS, CNAS, BCOE and SOBA. “[In] the beginning there were 20 votes in the senate but because we changed into a three branch system, some of those senators became ECAB, so we want to change it back to having 20 votes plus the ECAB, in order to make it proportional,” said Senator Morelos.

Prior to placing a student referendum, Senators Morelos and Cavasos needed to gain a two-thirds majority vote from the senate, in order to pass a resolution in support of the constitutional amendment.

Senator Sai Patadia motioned

Cardenas spoke briefly about the Student Lobby Conference, which took place from March 1-3, where students learned about initiatives such as Fund the UC, Proposition 30 reform and tuition rollback.

Outreach Director Cortni Thomas is altering the mission statement of the outreach committee in order to strengthen K-12 outreach through on-campus student organizations. She plans to draft a web of outreach page, where all upcoming outreach events will be displayed. to pass the resolution, but many senators needed further clarification about different aspects of the proposed legislation. Due to a prolonged discussion, senators decided to table the resolution, effectively sending it back to the Legislative Review Committee.

The committee will not be able to review the legislation for two weeks.

The tabling of the resolution caused a scheduling conflict because the deadline for student referendums was March 1— an extended deadline that was already made during a previous ASUCR meeting—which meant that the senate could not pass the resolution in time.

At this realization, Senator Cavasos motioned to un-table the resolution, but he was unsuccessful. To clarify the legal proceedings, Christopher Sanchez referred to the Robert’s Rules of Order, which is a highly-used constitutional template in the United States.

“Once a two-thirds vote is reached, that cannot be changed until the next meeting...sadly, that point of clarification should have been brought up before the vote,” said Sanchez. “As you know, a constitutional amendment is a very important thing because you are changing the constitution.”

Senators including Sean Famian expressed frustration over the excessive amount of debate that pervaded the legislative procedures.

Many senators showed a lack of knowledge about

the resolution, which delayed the overall voting process.

After much confusion throughout the senate, ASUCR President Liam Dow pushed ahead with the meeting. He also reaffirmed a desire to revamp the ASUCR mission statement.

A special Legislative Review Committee meeting will be held this week to pass the resolution.

Based on the special circumstances surrounding the legislation, Elections Director Harmony Chai temporarily extended the student referendum deadline for the senate, which intends to place the constitutional amendment on the spring ballot.

This is the second deadline extension that has been approved by the senate.

Later in the meeting, Controller Crystal Kim delivered her ECAB report and mission statement to educate the student body. “It came to my attention that a lot of students on this campus do not know...what the student service fees are for,” she said about her plans to send out a mass email, educating students about each fee charged on GROWL. With a close margin of nine to five, senators approved funds to remodel the ASUCR office through the construction of an additional conference room.

Senators also allocated funds for the purchase of a new projector and laptop in order to display club budgets during finance hearings, along with two Macintosh computers.

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NEWS

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

7

Town hall meeting outlines UCR’s harsh financial struggles Michael Rios SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Dallas Rabenstein hosted a town hall meeting on Feb. 25 to discuss the current status of UC Riverside’s budget. Despite some disheartening information provided about the current financial status of UCR, there was still an optimistic outlook into the future of the university.

Some of the notable administrators in attendance included Chancellor Jane Conoley, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Jim Sandoval and Athletics Director Brian Wickstrom.

“We have aspirations to become a major research university and by some measures we are already,” began Rabenstein as he presented recent rankings by the University of Leiden— UCR placed 29th out of 500 major universities worldwide.

The rankings measured scientific impact by the work that is

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being done by the faculty.

From that introduction, Rabenstein moved on to the financial status of UCR and the UC system. He pointed out some of the disinvestments Sacramento has made to the UC system in the past several years.

Since 2009, UCR has suffered from close to $100 million in reductions, with $47.6 million coming from 2012 alone.

In that same year, Sacramento decreased funding for the University of California by $750 million.

Rabenstein also talked about the passage of Proposition 30 in November. He stated that although the UC system will not suffer from additional reductions, it will not receive any new state funding either.

Also, since no one knows what the state budget will be for the upcoming year, Rabenstein pointed out that it’s impossible to know what next year’s budget plan will look like for

UCR. With that, the conversation transitioned into a discussion about the future of the campus.

There was substantial information provided about UCR 2020, a plan to grow the campus by improving students’ academic performances and faculty impact to the community.

Rabenstein first noted important statistics that have come from students. Since 2008, the grade point average and placement tests scores have gradually improved for incoming freshmen.

UCR 2020 is a plan that lays out the aspirations for the campus. According to Rabenstein, the first aspiration is to become a major research university. To do that, UCR’s research funding would have to increase threefold. To make that happen, Rabenstein noted that UCR would have to search for more grants and expand faculty size.

J u l i a T r u o n g /HIGHLANDER Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Dallas Rabenstein hopes to raise UCR’s reputation and help the campus become one of the top 25 universities across the nation.

“We have to be very focused and strategic in the hiring that we will do,” he said.

With the current statistics of UCR’s academic performance

and the impact that the current faculty is having on the scientific community, the provost feels confident UCR’s goals will be reached.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

. . OPINIONS OPINIONS

HIGHLANDER

HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL

THE QUEST FOR FREE AND ACCESSIBLE RESEARCH

HIGHLANDER STAFF Editor-in-Chief

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N

ow that Heat has concluded, we UCR students are coming down from our Porter Robinson-induced highs and settling back down into the mundane realities of UCR life. For us, this means that it is almost the end of winter quarter, with only a couple of weeks standing in between us and long-awaited Spring Break.

It is this time of the quarter when research for final projects begins in earnest. The libraries swell with students seeking to read through the research journals housed within, and the computer stations become occupied as people virtually leaf through the pages of research documents.

Access to academic journals without paying exorbitant entry fees is one of the perks of being a student at UCR. The college, after all, spends more than $3 million every year to ensure that students and professors have access to the most cutting-edge research in the world.

We students are thankful for this vast wealth of knowledge. But shouldn’t it be free for everyone, not just students who happen to have the good fortune to attend UCR? Right now, JSTOR, Ebsco, Springer and numerous other online journal subscription sites charge unreasonably high fees to access important information.

It is true that some sites are pioneering availability for the masses—JSTOR has made 77 journals freely available for individuals online. And numerous journal articles that lie in the public domain are also free for whoever wants to access them.

But the vast majority of research still lies in the shadow of a financial iron curtain that towers over the Internet.

While the cost of an individual article varies, one 12-page paper on childhood autism costs $38—and at least another 200 articles on that subject are unavailable for individuals. Any concerned parents with an autistic child will understandably want to know more about such a condition.

But for even cursory research, the vast majority of information on the topic is

i l l u s t r at i o n b y

unavailable, or jarringly expensive at best.

The topics covered in the research may not even be up to date. The American Educational Research Association (AERA), in partnership with JSTOR, breathlessly announced it would provide access to its virtual libraries for only $40 a year for registered members.

The problem? As the AERA itself writes, “Journals in JSTOR have ‘moving walls’ that define the time lag between the most current issue published and the content available in JSTOR.” For the AERA, this lag between the publication of the article and its availability in JSTOR is three years long. People who do pony up the 40 greenbacks in 2013 will find themselves stuck in 2010.

This policy does not take into account that research is time-sensitive. Unlike a novel that can be published once and is enshrined for all eternity, research is constantly changing. Research from three years ago does not include scientific breakthroughs in the here and now. The journals from 1966 are useless when giving context to Neil Armstrong’s “giant leap for mankind” as he took his first small step on the moon.

By forcing users to pay for access to journals that aren’t even relevant anymore, JSTOR and other distributors of online research are essentially holding everyone in an intellectual vise grip.

Knowledge is the oxygen that keeps the community body moving. Without it, how does the homeowner know if his or her house contains asbestos? How does the commuter know why gasoline is expensive? How does the student know if the college they are attending is using their tuition effectively?

The information produced by research should be available to everyone because it is beneficial to everyone. Every year, JSTOR turns away 150 million requests for access to articles—from people who only want to be more informed. By limiting access to crucial information, JSTOR and others are asphyxiating the public, content simply to allow us to writhe on the ground like fish out of

B r a n d y C o at s /HIGHLANDER

water.

It is time to take advantage of the Internet and pump oxygen back into our limp body by instituting a new open-access model. The White House has pledged to make taxpayer-funded research publicly available within a year after publication, most likely online.

And if no less than the United States government can put its research online, why can’t we put all research online, available to everyone?

Imagine that instead of studies being submitted to a journal, they could be sent to an online database. The foremost experts in the field would be called upon to review the material and engage in the process of peer review to iron out any potential errors in the document. It could be cross-checked with other studies— also in the database—that discuss the same topic. And in the end, after all the back-and-forth is done, it would be posted online and available for the global community to access it free of charge.

As a new startup that challenges the status quo of commercialized information, it will inevitably incite attacks on its credibility. But if it is managed properly, and knowledgeable, well-known experts are continually able to contribute to such a project, those baseless attacks will eventually fade away into oblivion and it will gain the respect of people and researchers around the world.

Even more importantly, an Internetbased publishing repository would be feasible because it is able to eliminate many of the publishing costs that would otherwise keep costs for consumers high.

Text on the Internet does not have to go through a printing press to be spread to the masses. With the creation of an opensource database, the research can simply be uploaded there. The services that journal publications used to provide are no longer necessary.

■H 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.

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OPINIONS

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

9

The benefits of technology in medical school curriculum Colette King

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

If any show prepared our generation for the future, Nickelodeon’s show Jimmy Neutron surely did. Flash back to your childhood for a moment and recall the metal box Jimmy brought on his adventures: the hypercube.

The hypercube, a groundbreaking invention in the show, was able to transform anything Jimmy needed to the condensed size of a molecule.

The hypercube has now found its way from the CGI world of Jimmy Neutron into the palms of medical students at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. The iPad, UC Irvine’s real-life hypercube, allows for a virtually infinite amount of information to be stored in a single tablet device and has enabled an efficient and effective way for both learning and teaching in the classroom and at clinic hours.

This breakthrough will enable UC Irvine to take the lead in preparing its students with a modern education and give them the technological skills they will need for their careers. The use of technology to further education is something that all institutions, especially UCR, should take part in to allow students the full benefits of instruction. If the intention behind education is to prepare students for their future careers, shouldn’t students learn with the technology of the future?

The recently published study “Benefits of Technology Integration in Education” reveals that students’ ability and interest to learn increased following technology integration. Even more importantly, it better prepared students for the future workplace

that will require the ability to use technology such as the iPad. Including technology enhances the education provided and teaches skills that are required in the daily tasks of tomorrow’s jobs.

The UC Irvine School of Medicine conducts a two-day orientation for students to speedlearn the “how to’s” for all the technology accessible to medical students, and an example of what needs to be placed in every medical school curriculum as well as every university curriculum. This is imperative skill training that many institutions lack. It also provides beneficial platforms for students that will be using the same, if not similar, technology in the workforce. Students from the getgo will be immediately immersed in technology and be required to use it throughout their schooling.

However, medical students are not the only ones in need of the technological preparation.

Technology is found in every field.

Instead of remaining in the past, allowing students the ability to use technology to its fullest potential is vital for any job in society’s new technologically-based workforce Dr. Mary Frances Ypma-Wong, a member of the Instructional Technologies Group at UC Irvine, noted that while iPads are very beneficial for the instructional setting, students were finding the iPad Mini to be even more manageable in the clinical field.

“You have the world at your fingertips,” Ypma-Wong said. “It gives one the ability to show patients diagrams, such as a drawing of the heart, that give a clearer discussion on their symptoms.”

Such an ability to use technology in the workforce has allowed UC

S a n d y V a n /HIGHLANDER Schools should integrate technology into the curriculum, much like UC Irvine’s medical school has. Pictured above are second year history major Stephanie Wong (left) and first year English major Winnie Zheng (right) using an iPad.

Irvine medical students a giant step ahead of the rest of medical students anywhere. Working with tools you will eventually use in a future career only makes sense.

Being able to effectively use technology like the iPad early on provides a smoother adjustment to the newer technologies of the future.

Ypma-Wong further discussed the purpose of technology in UC Irvine’s curriculum: “Pedagogy is how you teach, technology is only there to support the pedagogy.”

Technology definitely supports the curriculum at UC Irvine providing not only a more efficient

way a learning that doesn’t require numerous books and a collection of miscellaneous notes but an adjustment into the future workforce.

The expenses of the new program, however, can be overwhelming and the UC Irvine School of Medicine was able to initiate it thanks to generous donations. But it should not deter the UC Riverside School of Medicine from following in the footsteps of UC Irvine and advancing its own curriculum with the addition of innovative and cutting-edge technology. In actuality the electronic version of

Being able to effectively use technology like the iPad early on provides a smoother adjustment to the newer technologies of the future.

textbooks are much cheaper than their real-life counterparts and while the initial investment cost of an iPad may be high, it saves both the university and students money in the long run.

Armando Gauna, formerly of The Instructional Technologies Group at UC Irvine School of Medicine, was a tremendous help in the iPad implementation process on that campus.

Interestingly, he is now the IT Project Manager at UC Riverside Medical School. This gives hope that the UC Riverside Medical School will begin its own futurebased curriculum and hopefully influence UC Riverside to follow suit. These new benefits at the UC Irvine School of Medicine will hopefully encourage UC Riverside’s own medical school, as well as other schools, to create even more innovative ways that technology can assist and prepare ■H students for the future.

Lowering capacity of overcrowded state prisons and fitting the punishment to the crime Courtney Parker CONTRIBUTING WRITER

California has the most overcrowded prisons in the entire country. These prisons are so beyond capacity the Supreme Court deemed the state in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution, or the “cruel and unusual punishment” clause.

An example of the horrific conditions of some state prisons involved the San Quentin State Prison in California, where thousands of death row inmates are forced to live in conditions meant for “birds, rodents, cockroaches and pools of standing water with worse substances.”

California is not the only state with overcrowded prisons: prisons in Alabama and Pennsylvania, among others, operate at above 100% capacity, and the United States has the most inmates in the world.

But though people can be incarcerated for crimes ranging from mass murder to identity theft, the prison system has taken some nonviolent criminal cases, such as identity theft, a bit more seriously than other dangerous acts, like child molestation. The problem is the type of sentence and how long that sentence lasts. Ensuring the punishment matches the severity of

the felony should help decrease the number of prisoners admitted to state prisons. Sometimes, the time does not entirely fit the crime.

If a convicted felon is not imprisoned for the appropriate amount of time, this will result in more prisoners taking up the limited available space. Ultimately, law officials must prioritize the crimes that are truly worthy of maximum security imprisonment, like sex offenses, versus crimes like vandalism that should only really require a fine or community service.

Paul Wenske of the Kansas City Star newspaper writes that 8,262 out of 189,087 federal criminal offenses were for white collar crimes like fraud and counterfeit. The average sentence for fraud is about two years in prison.

Punishments like these seem quite harsh, and reduced prison sentences and implementation of fines to return the money stolen seems like a better fit. Correcting this alone can help prisons with overcrowding. Though the percentage of white collar crimes is small, any reduction can still help prisons decrease their inmate populations.

Sexual assault and battery are larger problems. The Los Angeles Times reports that sex offenders are given GPS tracking devices

to monitor their whereabouts, while permitting these dangerous individuals to roam the streets. Even though their movements are being carefully detected by the court and their parole officers, these criminals are easily able to not only disarm the device, but are almost always set free from already overcrowded prisons after being caught by the police.

These are the types of crimes that need a different kind of attention first; attention that is not the same as embezzlement or insurance fraud. Individuals convicted of nonviolent crimes should be taken out of the prison system for a more fitting sentence, and replaced with molesters and child stalkers. The problem of overcrowding may not be completely solved, but at least the ones who need to stand behind bars longer than others will be securely placed in prison. Overcrowding is the reason these criminals are able to walk outside of prison with easily removed tracking devices instead of being locked up for an extended period of time.

Now it comes down to which crimes should be prioritized for imprisonment. Violent and dangerous crimes that harm the physical, mental and sexual well-being of innocent people should be locked up first for

C o u rt e s y o f T h e N e w Y o r k T i m e s Given the limited space, prisons should focus on incarcerating criminals who commit violent offenses.

safety. Less violent, but still very illegal acts like fraud and bribery should still be paid attention to, but should be given a sentence that emphasizes heftier fines.

Nowadays, the ones committing the worst crimes seem to be the ones who are let off the hook the most.

Sex offenders who flee from their GPS tracking devices often repeat their convicted crime or even commit a worse crime, such as battery and assault.

Raoul Levya, a convicted sex offender and woman beater from Stockton, Calif., allowed the battery on his tracking device to go dead after

being imprisoned for 16 days. Police later found his girlfriend beaten and unconscious on the ground. This is just one of many examples of why criminals such as Levya must be given harsher sentences.

In order to decrease the number of inmates in state prisons, those that are confined because of nonviolent crimes should be the ones given tracking devices. Holding violent criminals in state prisons and carefully tracking nonviolent people with devices will not only help the problem of overcrowded prisons, but it may also allow the punishment to finally fit the crime.

■H

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

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

R adar ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT @highlanderradar

Events this week Japanese Drumming Demo - UCR Taiko Ensemble @ Arts Building steps, 12 p.m.

Tuesday | 3/5

The Tempest @ Arts Studio, 8 p.m.

Wednesday | 3/6

David Wax Museum free concert @ Culver Center, 8 p.m.

Thursday | 3/7

UCR is Dancing @ University Theatre Humanities 400, 8 p.m.

AWOLNATION

p e r f o r m s th e i r p l at i n u m h i t

Friday | 3/8

“S a i l .”

K e v i n D i n h /HIGHLANDER

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

HIGHLANDER

13

UCR IGNITESPorter Robinson, Tyga and AWOLNATION Headline Heat 2013

Tyga Lights Up Highland Stage

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By Jonathan Cuevas, Contributing Writer hat happens when you mix chaos with exuberance?

Heat, of course. The most anticipated music festival at UCR falls nothing short of spectacular.

Heat Music Festival 2013 was full of bright lights, joyous spectators and a festive atmosphere that will be difficult to match for years to come. Among some of the notable musical artists to perform were AWOLNATION, Bring the Noise, The M Machine, DJ Banks, Surfer Blood, Porter Robinson and the young member of Y.M.C.M.B. known as Tyga.

The vastly illuminated Highland Stage was covered with a transparent roof that enclosed the students in an area that was surprisingly far less scalding than one would think. In addition, prior to the performance, KUCR staff threw T-shirts and other UCR and Heat Music Festival gear to the screaming fans.

The fans gathered at the Highland Stage as they eagerly waited for Tyga to make his high-

ly anticipated UCR debut that had been hyped up for weeks. At one point, the crowd began to chant Tyga’s name, and every sound that came from the speakers seemed to build higher and higher to an epic intro.

Finally, an intro video started playing as all the lights went out. Before we knew it, every person at the Highland Stage heard a familiar voice shouting, “UCR, make some noise!” Although the wait seemed endless, and at times prolonged, Tyga’s explosive entrance proved that being fashionably late can be acceptable when backed up with the kind of reputation that young T-Raw carries on his shoulders. Tyga’s expensive gold chains, gold watch, leather jacket and snapback were nothing short of his typical swag. The trembling bass in my ears along with the unique combination of colorful, flashing stage lights were sufficient enough to put any fan in a euphoric state of bliss.

Tyga had everyone’s hands up in the air for the majority of his performance as they

mouthed and rapped along to hits such as “Make It Nasty,” “Molly,” “Switch Lanes” and even one of his famous radio hits “Rack City.”

Collectively, the atmosphere of the Highland Stage was lively and upbeat, but unfortunately felt crammed most of the time; it was almost impossible to maneuver oneself towards the front of the stage once Tyga had begun performing. However, despite the fact that students were wandering back and forth between Tyga and Porter Robinson, the atmosphere remained consistently ecstatic and friendly.

As the performance progressed, Tyga began inviting a few students on to the stage to dance along with him and his posse of friends that were cheering from backstage next to the DJ stand. Tyga ended his performance with a few of his newer songs such as “Do My Dance” and “Celebration.” This concert was not only an unforgettable experience but it also massively increased my expectations for next year’s Heat Music Festival.

■H

Photos by Kevin Dinh, Wesley Ng, Cameron Yong

By Matthew Ward, Contributing Writer

By Toni Louie, Senior Staff Writer

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up and down the entire time, yet it was balanced with fading that was easy to fall into. Every time his mix fizzled out, the crowd wanted more. Porter Robinson took the audience through a rollercoaster of ups and downs, never letting the audience linger for too long before he drove up the music and took them through climax after climax.

Richard Nguyen, a third-year mechanical engineering major, was one spectator who stayed throughout the entire set. “The sounds he uses are very, very hard,” he said. “He can capture the euphoria in the songs while still having a hardhitting set. There’s chemistry to it.”

Nguyen’s favorite moment during the entire performance was when he heard, “My name is Porter Robinson, and I’m never going to release this track.” When he saw Porter Robinson at I.D. Fest in San Diego in August, Nguyen said that this was a tradition: to play an exclusive live track for his fans that he never intends on releasing to the general public, with a little precursor

Opposite page: Audien spins progressive house and trance as he opens at the Vantage stage.

Life Lessons with Best Coast

Porter Robinson Electrifies Vantage Stage ights flashed onstage in the HUB patio as the crowd looked up with wide-eyed amazement. On the screen, bright white letters sparkled and faded out, spelling out letters: “P,” “R” and “T”. Soon enough, the audience caught on, as was evident by groups of friends screaming in unison and couples growing jittery with excitement.

“Porter! Porter! Porter!” A mellow buzz flowed from the speakers as a silhouette stepped onto the stage and took the booth. UCR’s final performer on the EDM stage, Porter Robinson, looked out at all the people before him. Spectators squeezed tight next to each other right in front of the stage and stretched all the way back across the dining area, up the lawn and stacked themselves against Coffee Bean. What happened next was nothing short of an explosive, delicious and phenomenal set.

His electro-house music delivered heartpumping energy to ecstatic fans, who jumped

Clockwise from top left: Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast sings “No One Like You” at the Southland stage; Tyga makes the crowd go wild with his hit song “Rack City”; Kid Ink jumps around while rapping and gives the crowd an energetic performance.

that drives the audience wild with anticipation.

“In the whole EDM scene, Porter Robinson is a really big name. He’s as big as David Guetta or Steve Aoki or Afrojack.”

Shayan Amiri, a fourth-year biology major, found Porter Robinson’s flexibility during his set “pretty respectable.” Amiri believes what separates Robinson from other DJ’s is that he isn’t afraid to get flexible, switching back and forth from dubstep to trance. When asked if Robinson was his main reason for attending Heat this year, he replied, “Oh yeah, definitely.”

“I’ve been listening to his music for almost two years and I’ve seen him improve,” said Nguyen, who was grateful for his campus bringing such a well-known artist to Heat. “As a big fan of EDM, UCR impressed me a lot,” he said.

“With artists like Porter Robinson, UCR is moving in a certain direction,” said Amiri. “The school is up and coming, and our events are starting to get on a different level.”

■H

L

os Angeles-based surf pop band Best Coast rocked the Southland Stage at UCR’s Heat Music Festival last Saturday. As the duo of vocalist Bethany Cosentino, guitarist Bobb Bruno and their band took the stage, they were welcomed with an uproar of shouting and positive vibes. The band opened with “When the Sun Don’t Shine” from their 2010 album “Crazy for You” and followed with the album’s title track. Saturday night’s crowd was clearly crazy for Best Coast.

Before the show Bethany admitted that “playing colleges is cool because college kids definitely get into it and like to be rowdy.” Encouraged by the college atmosphere at the Southland Stage, Bethany took an inspiring pull from bandmate Bobb’s flask and keenly warned the crowd, “Don’t worry, it’s only fruit punch.” Her quick wit and sense of humor further excited the crowd who laughed at her inbetween-song-banter and sang in sync with her Californiainfused lyrics throughout the evening.

Much of the band’s lyrics pay homage to their love of California and their most recent album “The Only Place,” which reached #24 in the U.S. charts, features lyrics dem-

onstrating that fondness for the Golden State such as, “Why would you live anywhere else?” I asked Bethany that exact question and she said, “I just feel like California, more specifically L.A., has everything I need. The ocean, mountains, desert, amazing weather.” In response to the preceding question, Bethany followed up with a question of her own: “Why would I chose to live somewhere where it gets freezing and dark and depressing when I could live somewhere where it’s sunny almost all the time?”

After performing “Summer Mood,” Bethany jokingly introduced the band’s next song “Last Year” as a song about her last year at UCR before mock-realizing, “Ahh, I didn’t go to fucking UCR!” In fact, she sheepishly bragged to the crowd, “I dropped out of school and look where I am now?”

She dubbed her entertaining declaration as “Life lessons from Best Coast.”

Speaking of academics, upon asking Bethany what course she would teach if she was a professor, she came up with “History of Cats.” From the dawn of meow…

Bethany’s affection for felines is also seen in the band’s album cover for “Crazy For You,” which features an image

of her own cat Snacks. Their newest album presents a black bear that Bethany says they named “Vanderbuilt.”

Although Bethany appeared the confident rock star on stage last Saturday, she claims, “I still haven’t really grasped the concept that we are a real, successful band.

When people come up to me and say ‘I love your band’ I’m like, huh? You know who I am?” Whether she believed it or not the crowd knew Best Coast lyric for lyric.

For the second to last song of the night, Best Coast performed their hit “When I’m With You.” In a personal shout out to Riverside, the vocalist changed the song’s lyrics from “When I’m with you I have fun” to “When I’m with Riverside I have fun.” UCR and the rocking Southland Stage crowd most definitely had fun with Best Coast at Heat.

When inquired if he wanted to say anything to the students, the soft-spoken guitarist Bobb Bruno humbly said, “Thank you for having us.”

Starting on Mar. 28, Best Coast will begin a two month tour with the legendary punk rock band Green Day. For Bethany, “Green Day is the music [she] grew up on,” and so for her “it’s an honor to get to tour with them.”

■H

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TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

We’ve all heard “Sail,” the latest rock anthem by AWOLNATION that hit #5 on the Billboard Alternative Charts. Red Bull, in conjunction with Red Bull Records (the band’s current label), helped arrange for me to meet with and interview AWOLNATION’s frontman Aaron Bruno. Bruno is known for drawing inspiration from his experiences and struggles, and defying the traditional concept of dividing music into genres. I sat down with the man himself before the band’s performance for a laidback conversation about his music and personal life.

Grace Kang: Is it true that you have a fear of flying?

Aaron Bruno: I’m not very comfortable with flying necessarily, but I’ve gotten much better at it. I d o n ’t

know of a fear, like as if the plane is going to crash—I just have social anxiety and claustrophobia…and a bit of a germ freak as well, so those elements all add into flying not being good for me.

GK: So going back to the social anxiety, I heard during your freestyle rap battle days, your nickname was AWOL, because you liked to skip out early on parties and social gatherings without saying goodbye to anyone. So, would you say that you’re not really big on the party scene?

AB: I guess I’ve never been…at this point in my life the right parties are always a good party to go to. But in high school I was definitely into going to shows, which I suppose are their own form of parties, you know. But we were driving actually to Corona, which is not far from here, to a place called the Showcase Theater, and spent a lot of our time. Instead of going to the beer, the kegger party in the cool spot at home, we would go drive as far as possible, or as far it took, to go see concerts. So yeah, I wasn’t super into parties as when I was in high school. But this party is different, you know, today.

GK: One of your biggest regrets

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

at one point was not sticking with piano lessons in the first grade.

So, how do you think your music today might have been influenced differently if you had continued those lessons?

AB: That’s a good question. I don’t know if the songs would be better or worse, you never know.

I mean, they could be better in some ways, but also, I think that if I had a vast understanding of the way that instrument works, it maybe would have made me ques-

“Every instrument has a voice that wants to be heard.” tion things too much. So, I have no regrets of however it is that I end up writing these songs, and I write these songs as a result of the lack of piano lessons, I guess. But it would be nice to be able to sit down and just play a nice mood, you know—how many houses have you gone to where there’s a nice piano in the corner? No one’s playing it. Every instrument has a voice that wants to be heard. I wish I could go down there and just set a vibe. If you guys were having drinks, I would like to sit down and play a little mellow ditty on the piano, but that’s not my vibe. I can get by for the songs I write, but I can’t serenade you with the piano.

GK: So what song on “Megalithic Symphony” do you have the most fun performing live?

AB: It changes every show, it really does. I would say that right now, whatever we’re doing that’s the newest adjustment to a song or extension or addition to the song that’s normally my favorite. Well, the new song that’s not on [“Megalithic Symphony”] is my favorite to play right now, but aside of that it really all depends. When we play “Knights of Shame,” that’s really fun, ’cause it’s long and we switch up instruments a little bit, and it’s a very musical song, so it’s a lot of time for people to kind of digest what we’re all about in one song’s worth of time.

GK: How is performing on a college campus different from performing at other venues?

AB: I mean, it seems like most times it’s free for the students, right? When they do these kinds of shows. So, I mean that’s a great thing, so everybody gets to come to the show, and there’s a good chance that we could be playing for people who have never heard us before because it’s just the thing to do tonight. So that’s a great opportunity for us. And normally, kids just want to go crazy. I mean, school… School’s tough, right?

So, I think that people want to let loose. And I didn’t go to college, so it’s, for me, a really nice thing to be able to sort of host and entertain a party that I probably wouldn’t have gone to. I wouldn’t have been invited or I wouldn’t have been at school to be able to have that opportunity. It’s nice to get…a couple of the benefits of college now in my older age, I suppose.

GK: A lot of people are definitely excited to have you here.

AB: Oh, good!

GK: Well, in 2011, a fan video parody of “Sail” by YouTubers Shawna Howson and Tessa Violet went viral. What do you think of fan videos and parodies like that?

AB: It’s great. If someone wants to pay attention to a song I’ve written and do the spoof on it, that’s great and there’s a bunch of strange versions of “Sail” videos on the Internet. You know there’s the cat one that people seem to love. I love that one. […] The Jeb Corliss video has been great. So anytime someone wants to put anything out, it’s always a good thing…

GK: That’s really cool that you keep track of those.

AB: Someone always says, “Have you seen this, dude?” I’m like, “Of course, I saw the cat thing…a year ago.” Our bass player said that when he joined the band. He was like, [whispers] “Have you seen this cat thing?”

GK: What would be your dream tour with any band, dead or alive?

AB: My dream tour would be a tour that consists on the different coasts throughout the world where the waves are good around that time of the year, first and foremost. And it would also be cool to have that tour and a local up-andcoming artist play different sections of the tour so you never get sick of one band. And that way you get an opportunity to see new music as well. I will say that the band The Sounds…my last band Under the Influence of Giants did a tour with The Sounds where we shared a bus and we became really, really close, and had probably the best time of my life on that tour... so I’m assuming this fantasy tour would have The Sounds in it as well. […] It would be cool to open up for Michael Jackson, of course.

That would be the coolest thing possible, I think.

GK: So, it’s definitely no secret that you love surfing. What first drew your attention to surfing?

AB: My older brother and my dad.

They were going so I wanted to go, and I went and checked it out, and I loved it. So I just fell in love with the ocean, and when you’re a kid it’s good to do physical activity and figure out different things to do to stay healthy I suppose, and it was a nice alternative choice to the typical soccer, baseball, foot-

HIGHLANDER

ball, basketball, which I did those things, too, but surfing was sort of like going against the grain a little bit. It was a underground type of thing where I grew up [Thousand Oaks].

One Direction in one word?

GK: More recently you’ve picked up reading.

AB: No, I watched the first three of them and then I got a little bored.

AB: I would say, yeah, in the last three or four years, because of all the traveling, and I’ve finally had the right amount of time to read, so it’s more of a constant thing in my life than it was before.

GK: Okay, well there’s this thing called the Patronus, where it’s sort of your guardian animal that shoots out of your wand and protects you. So if you and the band had Patronus charms, what would they be?

GK: Have you read any really good books lately?

AB: I just finished the Neil Young book. I’d give it a solid C+. I love Neil Young so much that I expected a little more from it, but I did like it a lot. I read the Keith Richards book, “Life,” that was great. But before that I got into all the different beat writers and sort of went down the line of all the classics. I would say that Charles Bukowski’s book “Women” was definitely up there in my top three favorite books. Jack Kerouac’s great as well, William S. Burroughs, I love. I read anything I can get my hands on that’s interesting to me, be it just different online articles.

GK: Now, I have some silly, random questions that were contributed by a bunch of different people. Okay, favorite cartoon?

AB: I really love “Popeye” a lot, and I love the black-and-white, old “Popeye” cartoons. I loved “He-Man” a lot, but that’s kind of whack looking back now, so I’m going to go with “Popeye”…the original.

GK: Soft shell or hard shell tacos?

AB: I like both. I’m a huge fan of the double decker taco, which soft and hard, at Taco Bell. But when it comes to a restaurant, so real gen-

“If someone wants to pay attention to a song I’ve written and do the spoof on it, that’s great...” uine, authentic Mexican food, I’m going to go with hard shell tacos.

Unless it’s fish tacos…I don’t eat meat anymore, I’m episcaterian. I would say soft shell tacos for fish tacos, but hard shell tacos with beef. Do you know what I mean?

Or pollo. Depends on how drunk you are, too.

GK: I’m not sure if you’ve heard of them…they’re a British boy band, but if you could describe

AB: [After some silence] Void.

GK: Have you seen or read the “Harry Potter” series?

AB: For me it would be a dolphin.

I mean come on just swim all up in your face and get… the best waves. I’d also die when there’s no ocean, so that wouldn’t be cool. Our drummer,

he’d be a shark. Yeah, that’s a really good question. Kenny would be probably a monkey of some sort…

Drew would probably be a zebra…and Devin our bass player would be a porcupine, I think.

GK: If you could open a store, any kind of store in the future what would you sell?

AB: Well, am I just trying to make money or am I trying to do something that’s awesome?

GK: Something that’s awesome.

AB: I would try to sell some of the best experiences I’ve had through probably a pill form. So it would be a drug that you would get to have, and depending on what was on the menu that day it could be a different kind of journey. But I would provide some of the good times that I’ve gotten to have and experiences and stuff that everyone in this world should experience at one point. I would put that in a drug form, in a pill form, and have you take that. So it would be like the Aaron Drug, I guess. And it would be cool for everyone to have that. It would be cool if I could have your drug as well, and go through your awesome moments that you’ve had ■H in your life.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

15

Comedy Apocalypse A Review

Underwhelming in the Wake of 2012

Left to right: Bringing back his roots as a Chicano-American, Gene Pompa makes snide remarks about being racist to his own kind; Gene Pompa laughs at his own remarks on the USPS. He states, jokingly, that we should outsource the jobs to China; Jimmy Dore’s brand of comedy was similar to that of popular comedians Stephen Colbert and Jim Cramer. Dore pressured the audience to laugh and expressed disapproval at their response.

By Toni Louie and Alexander Suffolk, Senior Staff Writers // Photos by Jie Huang and Vincent Ta Wednesday night’s Comedy Apocalypse was nothing short of one of the worst date night options that the Barn has recently hosted.

It was a shame, because with such a promising lineup featuring comedians from major networks, including Comedy Central, NBC and Nickelodeon, as well as shows such as “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” the evening kicked off with a fairly strong start. This was, of course, before audience members began leaving early, fed up with offensive and irrelevant jokes.

The show quickly lost momentum and a vicious cycle began: the audience was unresponsive, the comedians became insecure and the negative energy prevented a revival of engagement and laughter.

Kicking off the night was Dwayne Perkins, a Brooklyn native and regular at New York, Boston and Los Angeles comedy clubs. Perkins started out his set with a few jokes that poked fun at the U.S. having the highest attendance at the World Cup, namely that they were showing up to win a sport that they don’t care about. He continued his set with jokes about the evolution of videogames and the absurdities of the Facebook era. “If you say something, like ‘I like almonds’ on Facebook, people will ‘like’ that.” The audience nodded in agreement, realizing the reality of today’s culture of relating and sharing online. “If you walk up to people in real life and say that,” continued Perkins, “you’ll get arrested.” The crowd was, for the most part, warmly receptive of his material and seemed excited for the show to continue as he exited his set.

After Perkins came Robert Ya-

sumura, who said outright that he is unlike most comedians because his sets are always subject to his emotions that day. Audience members shifted in their seats, unsure what to expect next. Nothing could have prepared them for what was about to come. Yasumura must have been in a strange mood, because his set was delivered in an overly deadpan voice that caused the audience to miss the punchlines one too many times. On top of that, the topics he chose to make fun of seemed to come from a very bitter and unhappy place; he commented on everything from his own depression to how naturally thin he is. Although some comedians can somehow make that darkness work by poking at their own insecurities, Yasumura only inspired from the audience the kind of worry that seemed to make them too tense to enjoy the humor he was attempting to convey.

While he did garner a few laughs, it might have been more out of shock value than anything.

Some of his bigger jokes included the unfortunate spreading of his own mother’s ashes, which he referred to as “clutter,” as well as his attraction to white women, which apparently progressed to an attraction to skin cancer patients, because “the whiter the better.”

Next up was Gene Pompa, whose familiar face has shown up on “Conan” and “The Late Late Show” with Craig Kilborn. Pompa picked the crowd back up with his more whimsical sense of humor and misdirection. “A woman propositioned me for sex in a club once and I told her no because I’m married. She said, ‘I know, I’m your wife.’ So I said that I don’t mess

with married women.” Pompa was endearing in the way that he would fumble during his own jokes, and then look at the audience in a sincere, slightly embarrassed and goofy way.

The last stand-up set was delivered by Jimmy Dore, writer/ performer for “The MarijuanaLogues” and “The Jimmy Dore Show.” Dore had a much more aggressive and critical style than the previous performers, often charged with his own political and religious views, with targets like the Republican Party and the Catholic faith. There were times when Dore seemed unsatisfied with the audience, at one point even criticizing the front row for chuckling silently or just smiling at his jokes as opposed to full-blown laughter.

However, Dore did manage to score a few laughs with his less hostile and more introspective jokes, the best being about the creation of a spray that makes dogs’ feces unappetizing. “What mad scientist,” asked Dore, “is wondering what tastes worse than shit?

And even if he were to find it, how would he know?”

The show significantly slowed down when Dore brought the three other comedians back up on stage to criticize and comment on a series of videos in a routine called “Left, Right and Ridiculous.”

Dore would should show a video clip and the audience would laugh a bit at its ridiculousness, and then he would say that it was ridiculous and subsequently get visibly upset whenever the audience did not laugh at his redundant commentary.

Dore mostly showed snippets of news shows and reporters who

were incompetent for obvious reasons. In one clip showing an Asian reporter covering the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy with an attitude that was too laidback, Robert Yasumura said, “I miss the days when Asian women were just exotic and sexy and not just...incompetent.” In a tone that didn’t convey sarcasm and was actually quite serious and condescending, this statement was bizarre, especially coming from Yasumura who is Asian himself. Laughter was getting sparser and sparser as the show dragged on.

“You know, these jokes are

funnier than you think, guys,” Dore told the unimpressed audience. Even his fellow comedians suffered from his negativity; Dore would often complain that they weren’t saying anything and express his displeasure if he deemed what they were saying as not funny. In defense, Gene Pompa at one point said to Dore, “You’re the meanest heckler I’ve ever had to deal with.” This negative dynamic resulted in a palpable tension throughout the crowd, with guests consistently leaving and uncomfortable silence from those too polite to leave.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

Underground photos and words by Wesley Ng

HIGHLANDER

Artists often find joy in showcasing their creative talents and sharing their passion with others. In an effort to help such artists at UCR find an audience of their own, Angelena Aguilera a.k.a. PoeticMoment started The Underground, a venue supported by African Student Programs and ASPB. She believes this showcase will fill a void on campus that has been caused by unheard artists who yearn for a stage. The Barn served as that stage as poets, rappers and musicians delighted the audience with their clever verses, humor and emotional delivery.

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Parris Finnie plays the ukelele while singing a Spanish song. He affectionately named his ukelele “Symphony.”

2013

Event organizer Angelena “PoeticMoment” Aguilera shares an emotionally charged poem about stereotypes of black men and women.

The band Ultrasound plays their instrumental rendition of “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire. They were the opening performer for the event and played soulful grooves that kept the audience wanting more.

MOVIE REVIEWS COMING OUT THIS WEEK:

DEAD MAN DOWN

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL ELECTRICK CHILDREN

EMPEROR

JACK THE GIANT SLAYER RATING: ★★★★☆

BY: MATTHEW GUERRERO, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Following in the path of “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,” director Bryan Singer continues the fad of revamping old time children’s stories into full-blown adventures with “Jack the Giant Slayer,” which takes the much beloved folktale of “Jack and the Beanstalk” and transforms Jack from curious boy to strapping young man. The manner in which Singer is able to capture the attention of children without boring older teens and film critics is, simply put, wonderful.

Although the movie features some ill-advised comic book rendering in the introduction, the animation schemes are otherwise top-notch throughout. Jack’s adversaries, the Giants, are beautifully envisioned. The landscapes in this retold classic are fully capable of captivating the imagination; older audiences may be reminded of childhood stories about knights and castles, while a new world is presented to younger audiences.

“Jack the Giant Slayer” begins and ends with its leading man Jack (Nicholas Hoult), a farm hand with delusions of adventure that often revolve around the Giants. It is quickly revealed that Jack has lost most of his family, and now lives with his frugal uncle (Christopher Fairbank). Normally at this point in a partially-animated children’s film, a number of huge plot holes would leave doubt in the protagonist’s past, but the story is accurately set after the plague, which lends a little more believability to

the situation. One things leads to another, and Jack is sent barreling into town to make some money for his uncle.

It is here that he meets the beautiful but predictably unattainable Princess Isabelle (Eleanor Tomlinson) and her loyal guard Elmont (Ewan McGregor). After some quick introductory plot devices, the two are separated, and it seems that our poor hero is destined to return to his life as a farmhand. However, he soon succeeds in— or rather, is conned into—selling his wares for a handful of beans from a somewhat amusing monk (Simon Lowe), and thusly the seeds are sown for the exploits that lie ahead.

After showing up—almost purely by coincidence, of course—at Jack’s home later that night, seeking shelter from the storm, Isabelle quickly becomes a typical damsel-in-distress when rainwater from a leaky roof finds its way to a bean that has fallen through the floorboards; a Giant stalk shoots up into the sky and the princess is sent all the way to the top. Jack, Elmont and his loyal guards must travel up the stalk to save Isabelle.

The film picks up the pace as Elmont becomes a great character full of witty comments, accompanied by laughable clichés that remind the audience of how “fairy tale” the story really is. The dwarflike characters and some bald grunts that are found among the troops are noble, and they accurately depict a group of knights

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

trying to rescue their princess.

When Jack and Elmont finally encounter the horrifying Giants, the animation is superbly executed in its depiction of the nasty, gruesome creatures, who are the stuff of childhood nightmares. The battles and twists that the audience can rarely see coming contribute to the movie as a fresh rendition of the old adventure. Jack, of course, matures from from farmhand to a

knightly hero over the course of his battles.

Although it becomes a bit predictable here, it’s a nice touch to a movie that isn’t exactly supposed to explore a new frontier.

“Jack the Giant Slayer” is exceptional in its appeal for both young and old audiences, without vulgarity or excessive violence. I hope that “Jack” is a precursor to the fantastic films due for release this summer.

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. FEATURES .

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

17

Peter Ajoku

writes a song

for UCR

Peter “Rocky” Ajoku talks about how the owner of Freshh Donuts saw musical talent in him and gave him his first guitar. He performed a self-written song about UCR at Saturday’s basketball.

By Sean Frede, Senior Staff Writer // Photo by Wesley Ng

I

t’s Homecoming week, a couple of hours before Heat is to begin. Finally, the majority of students are staying in Riverside for the weekend. The men’s basketball game is filled with fans shouting on their feet after the Highlanders just made a three-pointer from beyond half-court with a second left in the half. The team leaves and fourth-year biology student Peter Ajoku, who goes by “Rocky,” takes to the court with his guitar and band of singers, guitarists, drummers and violinists.

Ajoku shouts to the crowd already at their feet, “What’s up UCR! If you believe you’re a shooting star then make some noise!” His song begins and he bounces and runs around, getting the crowd to sing the chorus, “We are superstars / we are champions / representing UCR to let it all hang out / we are the chosen ones to make our home crowd proud / We are shooting stars.” The band keeps the song pumping.

What started as a song to be played for the NBA has turned into a song about us.

“One of the things I love about the NBA is the passion and intensity they put into competing. I wanted to write a song to show this. My message as an artist is to uplift people. When Dr. Matt Zebley [Grammy award winner and lecturer at UCR] first heard the song he fell in love with it and saw the potential it had and told me to make the song reflect UCR,” said Ajoku.

The main reason Ajoku wanted to create this song was to inspire other people. He lived a life that many of us can’t imagine.

He had to rely on himself from an incredibly young age and still relies only on himself to succeed in life.

“I just want to just touch other people with this song,” said Ajoku.

Ajoku was born in Oklahoma and lived in the states for only two years before his father left his brother, his mother and him.

They took what little they had and moved back to his mother’s home in Nigeria and lived outside of Kaduna in an impoverished village called Kabala Donkey. His mother suffers from severe Bipolar Disorder which meant that he had to rely only on himself to survive and keep his brother alive.

“I remember having to eat trash off the streets. We would have to drink water from stagnant pools wherever we could find them,” recalls Ajoku.

One of his earliest memories of Nigeria includes the well in his hometown. Ajoku

could have easily gone to the well to get much cleaner water than the puddles around him, but there was something that kept him from this. Many children were afraid to pull water from the well because it was just a hole in the ground and children fell in often, left to drown until adults could get ropes down to pull up the bloated and discolored body of another six-year-old.

“I’ve been independent all my life. I put myself through schooling...”

-Peter Ajoku While many people had parents to raise them their entire lives, Peter didn’t. Just a simple task like getting water at such a young age has taught him the necessities to not only survive but to have the drive to accomplish all that he sets out to do. “I’ve been independent all my life. I put myself through schooling. I had to work by keeping up all types of jobs.”

“I remember there was a farm in Nigeria.

I was tilling the soil each day for around 18 hours, sleep for five hours and go back the next day, my back hunched over with an Indian hoe. I did this to keep my brother and mother fed,” recalls Ajoku.

One thing that kept Peter moving every day, while bent over under a sun that even the most seasoned Riverside local would call too damn hot, was music. He remembers how he would spend the days singing as loud as possible while digging through clay-like dirt to hopefully create something to plant.

It was in these dirt fields that he wrote his first song, “Momma Don’t Cry.” He was 14 years old and constantly kept his troubling mother on his mind while working. He wrote the song for her.

Ajoku’s life in Africa shaped him into the caring and thoughtful individual he is today.

He doesn’t feel like he was dealt the wrong card. He embraces the numerous obstacles that he has faced and uses them to become a better person. But Africa wasn’t the end of his struggles.

One day after school in his junior year of high school in Nigeria, he received a phone call. It was his dad, who he hadn’t

seen or heard from since he was two years old. His father wanted him and his brother to come to Chicago so he could finally take care of them. Peter couldn’t believe it. He was astounded. After talking it over with his brother and hearing the mistrust their mother had for their father, they decided to go anyway. He wanted the opportunities that he saw in his father and America.

Ajoku and his brother first moved to their dad’s home in Chicago, but he then moved them out to Fontana to start a new life. He was ecstatic to finally get the opportunities that many students have with parents watching over them, but things quickly turned for Ajoku and his 16-year-old brother.

After only seven months of being in the U.S. his father left them in Fontana and moved back to Chicago for work. They were once again left to fend on their own.

Ajoku eventually graduated high school without any help from parents. He and his brother shared a room in his dad’s ex-wife’s house in Fontana when he started community college, riding his bike 15 miles just to get to school, then to work and finally home to get a few hours of sleep. Peter spent two and half years at community college before he found himself holding an acceptance letter from the University of California, Riverside.

He transferred to UCR and spent many nights studying at Freshh Donuts on Blaine Street until 3 a.m., singing and studying with Mr. Lee, the baker. Mr. Lee was so moved by Peter’s kindness and voice that he went out and bought Peter’s first musical instrument, an acoustic guitar.

“UCR is a family.

Everyone is happy and loves each other.

It’s not just a school.”

-Peter Ajoku It is likely that students have seen Ajoku wandering around campus belting out a Bob Marley song or one of his own, providing a soundtrack as students hustle from class to class. If you’re up late enough studying in the libraries you might even catch him singing by the bell tower; “I sometimes like to sing near the bell tower around two in the morning so I can just sing as loud as I can. It

has great acoustics,” stated Ajoku.

“Coming to UCR is a blessing, just the people are amazing. UCR is a family.

Everyone is happy and loves each other.

It’s not just a school. This is a place where people come together and, it’s just…it’s beautiful,” said Peter.

Ajoku worked hard at the guitar and found himself writing songs after only owning the instrument a month and he was soon performing with the UCR Jazz Ensemble. He began writing his own songs at the beginning of this school year and recruited the top student musicians to form a band. His outgoing demeanor quickly drew in musicians and before long they had a theme song for UCR. “We started working on the parts of the song and kept adding more musicians. Peter is the one that made all of this happen. He never gave up and worked very hard. He went to all the necessary measures to get this band together, to write the song and to perform it at Homecoming. That’s what this song is about,” stated guitarist Stephen Fong.

“Peter is not only a creative individual but a genuinely decent guy. His warm and friendly demeanor always makes it a pleasure to work with him. His composing, coordinating and ability to spot talent has inspired me to do the same. If a biology major can do all of this, then certainly I can as a music major,” stated bassist Nathan Guze.

As the song came to a close in the gymnasium during the Homecoming game, Peter walked towards his bandmates to shake hands and hug every one of them.

People from the stands who waved signs that stated, “Go Peter!” walked down the stairs to congratulate him. Students he didn’t even know were touched enough to want to walk up and thank him for the song he created. Ajoku was able to bring students together under the UCR banner.

This is not only Peter Ajoku’s story, it is a culmination of everything UCR. Whether it was from the student band, the basketball game or homecoming week as a whole, that moment inside the gymnasium showed how connected we all are here. Ajoku is just one story of the thousands on campus but his story is one that we all should take notice of.

He has proven how meaningful love, hard work and most-importantly, community is for all of us.

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FEATURES

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

HIGHLANDER

RESTAURANT REVIEW:

Farrell’s Ice Cream ParloUr

Clockwise from top: Farrell’s employee Donovan proudly presents one of their most famous sundaes, The Pig’s Trough; Farrell’s Riverside location is their biggest yet; Farrell’s employees sing “Happy Birthday” to the tune of Justin Bieber’s “Baby” to the birthday girl.

T

by Maxine Arellano, Contributing Writer // photos by Leena Butt

he front door to Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour next to Castle Park in Riverside is a time machine that can transport any customer back to 1905.

One step in and I was hit with a breeze of sugary sweetness. Resting upon the chestnut wall was an American flag ribbon encircling the entire restaurant, leading gazes all the way to the candy corner behind the entrance, making any sweet tooth tingle. I was then greeted by the hostess with a patriotic smile and a turn-of-the-century uniform to match. When she gave me the option of sitting at the ice cream bar or in the dining area, I chose the bar.

As I waited for the waitress, I looked over the newspaper-style menu and listened to trumpet tunes blaring over families’ conversations. I swiveled in the bar stool, trying to understand the menu as it held many options from classic hamburgers to pin-up entrees. Sparse as it is, Farrel’s does offer healthier choice such as salads and fruit substitutions.

However, nothing was more extensive than the array of desserts. Ice cream expectations are put to the test, as Farrell’s offers everything from single scoops of vanilla to ice cream nachos composed of waffle cone chips, mint chip, chocolate malt crunch and vanilla under a quilt of hot fudge, caramel, blueberries and whipped cream.

The fantasy of swimming in this ice cream sea was broken when I took notice of the prices. Farrell’s entrees range from $8.00-$15.00 and desserts $8.50-$13.00. But to start, I ordered the Reuben Sandwich ($11.50). The

prices are definitely higher than the average dessert at Baskin-Robbins.

My nose followed the scent of bliss as I saw streams of chocolate ice cream placed on a bed of bananas and peanut butter. One of the definite perks of sitting at the bar was watching the artists create sweet art, crushing every craving. Once polished, the ice cream master tugged on a rope overhead, causing a train’s “choo-choo” ring my ears.

Soon after, my sandwich arrived. It was a classic reuben with thin slices of corned beef folded between sauerkraut and dressing smeared across grilled rye bread. The sandwich was substantial; it hit all the taste buds with richness as the peppered meat melted in front of the acidic undertone of the sauerkraut. Even though the rye bread acted as a blank canvas for all overbearing ingredients, it did leave a greasy shine on my fingers from the overuse of butter.

With the last bite, I shifted in my seat to make more room for dessert. With so many choices, I asked the attentive waitress what she would suggest. Her response of the triple chocolate brownie sundae ($8.59) cut the question short as fellow employees nodded. She took my loss for words as my compliance.

I peered over the bar to see the ice cream master tilt a brandy glass under a river of hot fudge, letting it cascade down the glass. He placed two brownie bricks in the chocolate pond and four vanilla globes followed. He finished

with a barrier of fudge bars, a horn of whipped cream, a sprinkle of almonds and, with the finishing cherry at the peak, my mouth began to water. The golden grail floated towards me, along with four employees and a bass drum the size of the toddler next to me. The waitress and server then rapped “It’s Triple Chocolate Brownie Time” to the booming beat. I had no other choice but to fist pump and chest pop to the applauded ending. The waitress slid the dessert in front of me and explained they have a tune for each dessert ordered. I chuckled and thanked her for the warning.

As she left, I took a moment of silence, absorbing every detail of the dessert before plunging my spoon into its cavity. I got all components in one bite. The brownie sponge mushed on the roof of my mouth and fudge ripples made me look like my teeth were a victim of a flying hockey puck, but soon washed away with the melted vanilla bean.

I broke off a piece of fudge and took in what smelled like the first day of summer. After making out with the chocolate seductress, I couldn’t help but wipe away the fudge lipstick and smile.

Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour is a balance of casual dining and festive treats. The prices may exceed a college wallet but in the end, I regret nothing. It’s easy to get sucked into the atmosphere and creamy delights of Farrell’s, and when you hear the faint train whistle upon exiting, it’s hard not to feel bittersweet.

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★★★★☆

HIGHLANDER

FEATURES

TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013

19

Bonfire kicks off homecoming weekend

by Lauren Green, Contributing Writer // photos by Daming Ye

Top to bottom: Fireworks at the end light up the sky; An effigy of University of the Pacific’s mascot, the Tiger, burns throughout the night.

Life was a party on Friday night, March 1. In between Interdisciplinary Building South and the softball field, a huge piñata of a tiger was set to burn at the stack of wood underneath it. Hosted by ASPB, the Homecoming Bonfire succeeded in getting UCR and the community ready and pumped up for Homecoming, the weekend that ignites UCR’s basketball season and HEAT. The event boasted many activities including a DJ, dancing, performances, a photo booth and a mechanical bull.

Vendors sold mini doughnuts and frozen bananas while they waited for the main event to start. An In-n-Out truck gave out meals to the lucky first people who arrived.

The night started out with a pep rally that featured both the men and women’s basketball teams. Both teams were introduced, sporting matching UCR basketball sweatsuits. The MC announced prizes intermittently while the marching band played Highlander anthems. The spirit squad challenged onlookers to recall the school anthem. Students and staff alike sputtered through the lyrics, “Brave Scots, one and all we stand together / the tartan clan of UCR,” with confused dance moves to match. Scotty was there too, cheering everyone on (and ready to watch that tiger burn). After the rally, music played and as people danced, energy and enthusiasm filled the space all around. It was a warm night that got even hotter as the main event rolled around.

UCR tied the University of the Pacific’s mascot, the

“Powercat” tiger to a stake and it went down in flames in front of a huge crowd of UCR students and locals. As the ashes fell over the crowd, no one could miss the heat the bonfire gave off, or the enthusiasm of students that destroyed the paper mâché mascot.

In continuation of the fire theme came an impressive fireworks show. When viewed with the courtesy ASPB-branded 3D glasses, the kaleidoscope effect was dazzling—the lights and sounds continued to the crowd for the rest of the night. It also prepared spectators for a fire show. Dancers flirted with the flames; with long wires attached to coals they spun and twirled—the fire dangerously close to their skin. The audience stared mesmerized as the fire went from bright to dim.

The fun continued to just about midnight. Some tried different flavors of oxygen at the oxygen bar. Others tried their luck with the mechanical bull; there was also a photo booth to preserve the memories and a trampoline for the entertainment of the spectators. Second-year history major Ruby Peña said, “The best part was watching the fireman play with their hoses [as they put out the bonfire]... just kidding! The best part was the fire dancers and the basketball team.”

UCR students and supporters came out to cheer on the basketball team. After Bonfire, the stage was set for HEAT the next night. Everyone seemed pleased with the festivities. Well maybe not everyone, but I doubt that the H “Powercat” expected much fun from the night anyway. ■

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Men’s basketball falls to UC Davis and Pacific for final home games C o dy N g u y e n STAFF WRITER

Feb. 28, 2013 Aggies 59 - Highlanders 52

The UC Davis Aggies pulled out a 59-52 victory over the UCR men’s basketball team.

UCR’s only lead of the night came with 14:34 to go in the first half when a layup by Taylor Johns put the Highlanders up 9-8. However, the Aggies would proceed to dismantle UCR’s defense for the rest of the period. An 8-0 Aggie run that followed Johns’ layup, put UC Davis up 16-9 with 11:55 to go in the first.

Davin Guinn and Austin Quick stopped the bleeding to bring the Highlanders back within three, but the Aggies would not take their foot off the gas. UC Davis opened up a 19-4 run to end the first period, giving them a commanding 37-22 lead at the buzzer.

The SRC crowd was kept quiet coming out of the break as Paolo Mancasola hit a 3-pointer that extended the Davis lead to 40-22.

Resilience showed in the UCR team though, as they were able to shut down the Aggie scoring attack for most of the second half.

Slowly but surely, Riverside fought an uphill battle, chipping away at the UC Davis lead until it was down to as little as 47-53 with 1:42 remaining.

As expected, a comeback

was not in the books and the Aggies escaped with the win, as the Highlanders just can’t seem to finish the job.

Head Coach Jim Wooldridge spoke about the team’s performance, “We couldn’t sustain the effort for 40 minutes.”

Coach Wooldridge’s quote is a tell-all microcosm of how a 6-22 season has unfolded for the UCR men’s basketball team. With the loss against UC Davis, the Highlanders have now dropped nine of their last 10 games—many of which they either led at halftime or fell behind early but rallied late to only fall just short.

March 2, 2013 Tigers 70 - Highlanders 68

The men’s basketball team lost their last home game of the season as the Pacific Tigers outlasted the Highlanders 70-68 in what was a contentious Homecoming matchup.

The Tigers found themselves in control for much of the first half, using a 12-0 run en route to opening up a 33-18 lead with 8:10 to go in the period. UCR would rally and answer the run by scoring 18 of the last 24 points, cutting the Pacific lead to 40-43 when the buzzer sounded.

Senior guard Robert Smith, playing his final home game as a Highlander, sent the home crowd

V i n c e n t T a /HIGHLANDER During his final home game, Senior guard Robert Smith drives down the court in hopes that Riverside would catch up with Davis.

into a frenzy with his 55-foot buzzer-beating half-court heave to end the first half. He was honored before the game for his two years of stellar play for UCR. In a back and forth game throughout most of the second half, the Tigers held a 69-66 lead with 1:48 to go. After the Highlanders failed to score on their ensuing possession, they were forced to foul Sama Taku and hope for him to miss both of his free throws. Miraculously, Taku did just that and gave the Highlanders another chance to send the student section to the Heat festival in a good mood. Chris Patton hit a layup to cut the Pacific lead to 6968 with 12 seconds to go.

UCR committed another intentional foul, and the Tigers were only able to capitalize on one free

D a m i n g Y e /HIGHLANDER Senior guard Robert Smith drives to the basket and looks to pass.

throw, giving the Highlanders another golden opportunity that they could not capitalize on. Highlander Smith attempted another

buzzer-beating 3-pointer as time expired, but this one would would be short, continuing the Highlanders’ season of misfortune.

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Women’s basketba ll team loses bid for Big West playoff s Jayvee Valencia STAFF WRITER

Feb. 28, 2013 Mustangs 94 - Highlanders 59

The women’s basketball team got blown out of their gym

by Cal Poly 94-59. The lady Highlanders played a bad first half, which saw themselves in a 37-point deficit at halftime, trailing 50-13.

UCR in the first half shot 17 percent for only 13 points. The 13 points tied a record low for fewest points in a half since joining Division I. The last time they scored 13 points in a half was in 2004 against the University of San Diego.

The Mustangs had 10 players that scored in the first half, as the Highlanders were led

by Brittany Crain, scoring 8 points. Cal Poly shot 55 percent from the field and 70 percent from three point range, shooting 7-10. Mustang Kayla Griffin led all scorers with 12 points after one half.

In the second half, Jamila Williams scored 21 points for the Highlanders as UCR scored 46 points. However, the 37 point deficit was too much for the Highlanders to make a comeback, as their defense allowed 44 points in the second.

They allowed the Mustangs to shoot 51 percent from the two

and three point range.

Bad shooting, turnovers and the inability to stop Cal Poly’s offense killed any type of momentum for the Highlanders.

They tried to cut the lead many times with threes, but ended up going 2-10 from beyond the arc. The turnovers by Riverside gave the Mustangs easy opportunities to score on the fast break, with 22 points off turnovers, as UCR coughed the ball up 18 times.

March 2, 2013 Gauchos 62 - Highlanders 42

The women’s basketball team lost the Homecoming game against UC Santa Barbara 62-42. It would be the last home game for seniors Leah Washington and Tre’Shonti Nottingham.

Unfortunately, Nottingham was out with an injury.

The game started off with two free throws for the Highlanders after a technical foul was called against UCSB. The teams would then exchange baskets for a 8-8 tie. The Gauchos ran a lot of half-court sets and took advantage of fast break opportunities on turnovers or missed shots. Gaucho Nicole Nesbit scored on a layup with seven minutes left in the first half to take a 21-14 lead.

The Highlanders were getting beaten defensively as they allowed the Gauchos to pass the

Brittany Crain attempts to dribble around Gaucho defender Angelei Aguirre.

ball in the paint and score often.

UCR faced a 12-point deficit after Gaucho Sweets Underwood scored on a layup and later a free throw. The Highlanders trailed 32-17 at halftime, while shooting 25 percent from the field and turning the ball over nine times.

Akilah Martin led the Highlanders in the first half with 6 points and Natasha Hadley

scored 5 points. For the Gauchos, Nicole Nesbit scored 12 points and Underwood contributed 7 points.

UCR played with a sense of urgency in the last six minutes of the second half as they attacked the basket and switched its defensive schemes often. They pressed, trapped and went into zone coverage against the Gauchos.

J i e H u a n g /HIGHLANDER

With all the changes, the Highlanders were only able to cut the deficit to about 12 points. Highlander Hadley and Brittany Crain carried the offense for the Highlanders. Hadley finished with 15 points and Crain contributed with 10 points. UCR was unable to complete the comeback and they have now lost six in a row.

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Softball wins two games at Wildcat Invitational M a t t h e w G u e rr e r o CONTRIBUTING

March 1, 2013 Highlanders 1 - Vikings 0 DARREN BUENO

BUENO’S BUZZ

Do the Harlem Shake It’s the dance that has been sweeping the nation and even our own university campus. Now add the Miami Heat to the Harlem Shake craze. The NBA’s best team recently released a video of their own ode to the gyrating shimmy, but not without media criticism. Whispers of a lack of focus and intensity have surfaced this past week, and to that I respond, in the wise words of my favorite columnist Michael Wilbon, put up or shut up.

With Lebron James in a king’s costume, Shane Battier dressed as the rare “horse-stronaut,” Ray Allen as the phantom of the opera and Dwyane Wade running around in a bear head, the video is absolutely fabulous. The Miami Heat temporarily took a break from the long, grueling regular season and let their hair down. To the critics of the move, I present the numbers.

43. The games won by the Heat this season, second only to the San Antonio Spurs’ 47 win mark. 14. The number of straight games Miami has won including a come-from-behind victory against the New York Knicks. 7.

The number of games the Indiana Pacers trail the first place Heat.

And last but not least, #6. James’ 27 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists per game keep Miami as the perennial NBA title contender come playoff time.

So if the Heat organization decides to make a fun, foolish dance video, they have every right to do so because the numbers don’t lie. And this isn’t the first time a professional sports team has debuted a viral video. “The Super Bowl Shuffle” was the Chicago Bear ’s rap single released during their 1985 NFL season. The Bears backed up their musical rap session by dominating the postseason before crushing the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX with a score 46-10, one of the most lopsided victories in NFL history.

If the ‘85 Bears are any indication, the Heat are looking good. They have steamrolled their competition this season and look like sure bets to raise up the Larry O’Brien championship trophy in June. To see high caliber athletes making fools of themselves is refreshing. To hear members of the media chastise them for it is moronic. So I say to the Miami Heat and everyone else, do the Harlem Shake!

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The softball team continued their season Friday, March 1 in their first game of a double-header with a 1-0 win over the Portland State Vikings. Alyssa Razo pitched beautifully for the Highlanders, throwing a complete game.

Alexis Pickett had the only RBI for the Highlanders, though the team combined for five hits. The Vikings managed four hits against Razo.

Razo didn’t look like a pitcher in command of the game during the first inning, as she gave up a single and a walk to put her in a tough jam. However, she won a tough at-bat against Viking Alexa Morales, striking her out to end the inning.

Razo would hold the Vikings to just two more hits through the fifth inning, finding her dominance. Riverside would also prove to be anemic through the beginning innings, failing to score. The Highlanders would put up the game’s lone run during the fifth inning when Brittney Akey doubled to start the fifth.

She was moved to third on a Meagan Esteban bunt and Alexis Pickett singled Akey home two batters later.

Both the Vikings and Highlanders would remain scoreless the next inning and a half, but it was the Highlanders who emerged victorious with their fourth straight win.

March 1, 2013 Wildcats 13 - Highlanders 2

Riverside’s softball team lost the second game of its’ doubleheader to # 17 ranked opponent Arizona 12-2. The game only lasted five innings before the mercy rule was put into effect.

The Wildcats scored six runs in the first inning and scored six more in the third. Highlander Ashley Ercolono didn’t retire a single batter in the first ininngs and was pulled for Taylor Alvarez. Alvarez allowed six runs through four innings of work. Brigette Del Ponte and Nancy Bowling drove in three runs each for the Wildcats as Highlander Natalie Sanchez drove in the only two runs for the Highlanders.

UCR Ercolono gave up a single and a walk to begin the game and then surrendered a home run to Del Ponte for the first three runs for the Wildcats.

Bowling then doubled two batters later to drive in a run. Arizona would drive in two more runs to jump out to a 6-0 lead.

Ercolano came up to bat and led off the second inning with a double. After two fly outs later, UCR Sanchez hit a homerun to cut the lead within four runs. After a quiet second inning, the Wildcats scored the six runs in the third inning, with the help of Wildcat Alex Lavine’s double that plated two runs.

The Highlanders failed to score in the fifth inning to stop the mercy rule but could not pull it off.

March 2, 2013 Highlanders 2 - Terriers 0

The Highlander softball team continued their weekend play at the Wildcat invitational against Boston University, winning 2-0. The Highlanders recovered after a tough loss against Ari-

zona. Star pitcher Alyssa Razo after a day when she tossed a complete game against the Portland State Vikings, Razo shutout Boston University. Razo struck out three batters over seven innings.

Razo hasn’t allowed a run over her last 14 innings. UCR has only managed four hits in a weekend where they’ve struggled to score. But Riverside scored on an earned and unearned run during the fourth inning to take the a 2-0 lead for their starter. Dionne Anderson had an RBI and two hits for the Highlanders.

Razo dominated the entire game until she gave up a single to Lauren Hynes in the sixth inning, stopping her bid for a perfect game. She may have gave up a single but she stayed in to finish the game, leading UCR to another big win at the invitational.

March 2, 2013 Vikings 11 - Highlanders 3

The softball team lose a tough match against Portland State 11-3. The Highlanders again struggled offensively, and couldn’t stop the resurgent Viking offense.

Alyssa Razo continued her large workload after her excellent start against Boston. She allowed four runs before being removed in the first inning for Taylor Alvarez. Alvarez gave up two more runs in the first inning. After the first inning, Ashley Ercolano came in to finish the rest of the game. However, she struggled and gave up five runs.

Ercolano singled to right field in the top of the first inning to drive home Dionne Anderson who led off the inning with a walk. The Vikings scored five runs in the first inning when the Vikings had a leadoff homerun from Carly McEachran and a three run homer from Brittany Hendrickson.

The Highlanders would score two runs in the fifth inning but Portland State would score two more in the bottom of the fifth to end the game in mercy.

March 3, 2013 Terriers 7 - Highlanders 6

The Highlanders dropped their final game of the invitational losing to Boston University 7-6. Taylor Alvarez pitched well, while giving up three runs over five innings. Alvarez left the game with the lead for Riverside, however, the Highlanders would give up three runs in the seventh to lose the lead.

Kayla White had three hits and an RBI for the Highlanders, while Mandy Fernandez hit a three-run homer for Boston to lead the Terriers to the win.

UCR scored a run in the second inning when Natalie Sanchez singled home Alexa White. The Highlanders would again score in the third inning, after White doubled in a run.

After giving up the lead in the seventh, the Highlanders would score two runs in the bottom of the seventh on a Brittanie Akey ground out and a Meagan Esteban single, but fell just short of tying the game.

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HIGHLANDER

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Baseball racks up 35 total runs in three-game sweep of Saint Mary’s

KENDALL PETERSON

KENDALL’S FASTBALL A leap toward contenders

V i n c e n t T a /HIGHLANDER

Clayton Prestridge (#7) on base for UCR. Riverside was trailing Saint Mary’s College for the first half of the game.

K e n da l l P e t e r s o n SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Mar. 1, 2013 Highlanders 19 - Gaels 5

The Highlander baseball team started its weekend play on an excellent start as they pounded on the Saint Mary’s Gaels en route to 19-5 victory.

Dylan Stuart got the start for the Highlanders, going six innings and allowing seven hits while only giving up 2 runs.

Clayton Prestridge was all over the Gaels pitchers as he went 4-6 with 3 runs scored and drove in 4 runs. Alex Rubanowitz went 3-5 with 1 run scored and an RBI. The Highlanders as a team combined for 19 hits and had a tremendous 13 RBIs. Riverside did their damage in the second inning as they scored 9 runs. The inning started off when Cody Hough singled to center field. One batter later, Alex Rubanowitz singled to right field which advanced Hough to second. Joe Chavez would later hit the ball and reach on an error, scoring Hough. Kyle Boudreau singled to third and then Clayton Prestridge singled to left field for his first 2 RBIs. Holinsworth later smacked a triple to center field for 2 RBIs. The pain for the Gaels finally came to a halt when they were able to get Chavez to fly out on his second at bat in the inning. The Highlanders in the second inning scored 9 runs on seven hits.

Riverside would tack on 4 more runs in the following inning for a 14-0 lead. Riverside got two outs quickly when Boudreau grounded out and Prestridge popped out.

But then Riverside went on a

two-out rally after Andriese and Holinsworth both walked.

Vilter came up to the plate, singled to shortstop and was able to advance to second on an error.

The baseball team finished their weekend play with a sweep against the San Mary’s Gaels, winning 4-1.

After scoring only 1 run in the fourth inning. The Highlanders scored another 4 runs in the fifth inning. After Hough struck out, Steponovich walked and Rubanowitz pooped out.

Chavez walked with two outs, which started yet another rally. Robby Witt came in to pinch hit and singled to right field. Prestridge would double down the left line for 2 RBIs. The Gaels finally stopped the bleeding when Vilter popped out for the final out of the inning. Riverside was able to score 4 runs on three hits for a 19-0 lead and eventually winning the game.

went 2.1 innings and only allowed 1 run on two hits while striking out a batter. Zach Varela came into the ninth inning to close the game for the Highlanders.

Saint Mary’s was able to score a run in each of the first of four innings. After the top of the sixth inning, the Highlanders found themselves down 2-5. However, Riverside would score 8 runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 10-5 lead.

Riverside scored 2 more runs in the seventh inning to take a 12-5 lead as Saint Mary’s was unable to pull off the comeback.

Joe Chavez for Riverside went 3-4 with a walk and scored 2 runs. Eddie Young went 2-4 with one walk, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Riverside showed that their offense was honed to the Gaels pitchers as they had 14 hits, 11 RBIs and walked six times.

Mar. 3, 2013 Highlanders 4 - Gaels 1

The baseball team finished their weekend play with a

BASEBALL STANDINGS

Mar. 2, 2013 Highlanders 12 - Gaels 6

After a great win against the Saint Mary’s Gaels, the baseball team followed up the second match of three games with a 12-6 victory.

Jacob Smigelski started on the mound for the Highlanders and went 5.2 innings. He allowed 5 runs on nine hits and was able to get three batters to strike out. Mark Garcia came in to relieve for Smigelski and

sweep against the Saint Mary’s Gaels, winning 4-1.

Ben Doucette got the start and went 7.2 innings. Doucette allowed 1 run on seven hits but was able to achieve six strikeouts. Trevor Frank closed the game for the Highlanders and was able to get a strikeout.

Riverside scored in the fourth inning to tie the game at 1-1 and would later score 3 runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 4-1 lead. The inning started out when David Andriese walked. The next batter, Phil Holinsworth, doubled to center field for an RBI. Holinsworth advanced to third after a SAC bunt from Nick Vilter.

Alex Rubanowitz singled to center for an RBI. After 3 runs scored on three hits, Saint Mary’s got Eddie Young to ground out for the final out.

The Gaels tried for the comeback but was unable to score in the ninth inning.

Riverside will play another home game against Loyola Marymount Tuesday, March 5 before heading to New Mexico for a three-game series March 8-10.

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ALL GAMES Team

Cal State Fullerton Cal Poly UC Irvine UC Santa Barbara UC Riverside Long Beach State UC Davis Cal State Northridge Pacific Hawai’i

W

L

PCT.

10 9 10 7 6 6 6 5 4 1

1 1 2 4 5 6 6 6 6 11

.909 .900 .833 .636 .545 .500 .500 .455 .400 .083

The NFL season may be over, but in the past few months teams have been working hard to improve and lock down the main pieces to their rosters.

This offseason, four teams have really stood out and have shown that they are taking the next leap toward a championship: the Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Ravens secured their Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco with a six-year, $120.6 million contract, making Flacco the highest-paid player in NFL history. The contract may have been a lot for a quarterback, but he earned it. He has led the Ravens to the playoffs ever since he was drafted in 2008. It was a good move by the Ravens because it secures their star quarterback for many years to come.

The 49ers traded their exstarter Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs because they felt that Colin Kaepernick, who took over Smith after 10 games, was a better option. The trade was good for both teams. The Chiefs get an excellent starter in Smith and the 49ers get to keep Kaepernick who is younger and more athletic. For the Chiefs, they finally got a starter that can come in and be a leader.

The trade by the Chiefs and the 49ers really works out for both teams because Kaepernick and Smith had similar stats last season. Smith completed 153 passes for 1,737 yards and had 13 touchdowns. Kaepernick completed 136 passes for 1,814 yards and had 10 touchdowns.

The Chiefs can finally be a threat in the NFL with a quarterback that can throw to their talented receivers.

Tom Brady signed a threeyear, $27 million contract extension with the Patriots and will be with New England through the 2017 season. Brady may not have signed a huge contract like Flacco, but taking less money helped the Patriots free up $15 million worth of salary-cap space to sign players.

That was a smart veteran move

by Brady and now the team can add pieces to help him get back to the Super Bowl.

These four teams have made a splash in the offseason and are a step closer to Super Bowl contention. They have secured core pieces to their teams and the results have made them better.

Football is a “win now” kind of league and it looks like we will H see these teams in the playoffs.■