FOR THE WEEK OF TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 2014
Highlander University
Volume 62
of
C a l i f o r n i a , R ive r s i d e
Issue 31
Serving the UCR community since 1954
highlandernews.org
@UCRHighlander
UCR Highlander Newspaper
UCRChannelH
UCR stands in solidarity with UCSB
ESTEFANIA ZAVALA Senior Staff Writer
Members of the UCR community attended a candlelight vigil last Wednesday to pay their respects to the lives lost near UCSB on Friday, May 23. Vigils at UCâs in LA, Davis, San Diego, Santa Cruz and Berkeley all took place in the same week as acts of solidarity within the UC system. For UCR, there was an extraordinarily high turnout with over 2,000 people pledging to attend on the eventâs Facebook page. â(The external affairs officers) were all on Facebook Instant Messenger after the news of the shooting when (ASUCR Vice President of External Affairs) Kareem Aref had this idea. We were asking (ourselves) what we could do. We decided to do a vigil,â said Francis Castaneda, an officer in the ASUCR external affairs office. Campus administrators provided over 1,000 candles to ASUCR, which were later handed out to the public during the vigil. In a march of unity, people wrapped around the Bell Tower, through the Rivera Library arches and all the way around Sproul Hall. The vigil was highly organized with ASUCR volunteers stationed at regular intervals to prevent students from going into the streets. Recounting his day spent with the campus of UCR, Chancellor Kim Wilcox lamented that the community had to endure this loss. âAnother aspect of tonight, however, reminds us that communities have different sizes and shapes,â said Wilcox. âWe are part of a bigger community in the University of California. (The departed) are no longer part of our community in body but will be part of it in spirit forever.â The sentiment of connectedness echoed throughout the evening with students huddling close together to keep their candles from blowing out. Despite the shooting occurring hundreds of miles away, the use of social
UCR lays groundwork for double bike lane, Lot 32 ANTHONY VICTORIA Staff Writer SANDY VAN Senior Staff Writer
Students will ride safer with the upcoming installation of a double bike lane near campus, which aims to reduce bicycling accidents and alleviate traffic caused by bicyclists riding in the wrong direction. Spearheaded by members of ASUCR, Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) and city officials, the construction project is pending design approval before its overall implementation. TAPS Alternative Transportation Manager Irma Henderson said the lane, starting from the side of the Amy S. Harrison softball field to the turnout on Canyon Crest Drive and University Avenue, seeks to ensure students are cycling with the flow of traffic and riding in their respective lanes. âAs bicyclists are coming down Canyon Crest (toward campus), the tendency is to ride on the wrong side of traffic,â she said. âWith the creation of the lanes, it will give cyclists a safer path of travel. They wonât be cutting that corner where (the streets) meet.â In most instances, Henderson explained, students cut across all four street lanes to enter campus, possibly veering into the way of traffic. âCrossing in that manner is not riding correctly,â Henderson said. âBicycles, according to the California Vehicle Code, should be following the same rules of the road as cars do. By crossing four lanes of traffic like that, not only is it precarious, but also against the vehicle code.â At the beginning of every fall quarter, TAPS, in conjunction
AARON LAI / HIGHLANDER Members of ASUCR organized a candlelight vigil to mourn for the victims of a mass shooting near UC Santa Barbara.
media brought UCR students â both those connected and disconnected from the tragedy â together to mourn the tragedy. Amanda Apelian, a UCR undergraduate, spoke of sweet memories of her childhood friend and one of the victims, Veronika Weiss, as she wiped a tear away from her face. âWeiss was one of my closest friends ⊠I just want to
tell everyone what she was like,â said Apelian. âVeronika
âWe were asking (ourselves) what we could do. We decided to do a vigil,â - Francis Castaneda was a diehard athlete ⊠with an infectious laugh ⊠Here at UCR, we all keep you and your
family in our prayers.â âWe are one UC ⊠We all feel this as a family,â concluded Aref. The vigil ended with a reminder to everyone affected to utilize the UCR Counseling Services. Students can call 951-827-5531 to make a counseling appointment or visit the Counseling Center in person in the North Wing of the â H Veitch Student Center.
2013-2014 year in review
âș SEE BIKE LANE, PAGE 7
âș
âș
8-page insert
8-page insert