Volume 67 Issue 10

THE HIGHLANDER

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE

est. 1954

FOR THE WEEK OF TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

VOL. 67, ISSUE 10

NO PARKING LOT

FULL

The Highlander speaks with TAPS about UCR’s parking issues PAGE 4 f

UCR Highlander Newspaper @ucrhighlander HighlanderTV

NEWS 5

OPINIONS 10

FEATURES 12

RADAR 18

SPORTS 20

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

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HUMANS OF UCR

UPCOMING EVENTS: WEEK 9

RENATA HARO-MACIAS, BIOCHEMISTRY, THIRD-YEAR

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Japanese Taiko Drumming Demonstration 12:00pm to 1:00pm Arts Building, ARTS Building Amphitheatre Steps

Top Rope Belay Lesson 5:00pm to 6:00pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), The Rock

Footsteps of Korean Americans Film Premiere 10:00am to 11:30am CHASS Interdisciplinary North, INTS 1113

Mastering LinkedIn 1:00pm to 2:30pm HUB (Highlander Union Building), 268

DIY Stress Balls 12:00pm to 2:00pm Transfer & Commuter Lounge, HUB 191

Free Chair Massage 4:45pm to 8:00pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), 2nd Floor

Peanut Butter & Jogging 10:00am to 11:00am HUB (Highlander Union Building), HUB 248

+1UP 1:30pm to 3:30pm CHASS Interdisciplinary South, INTS 1109

Everest Club 6:00am to 11:59pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), Treadwall

Free Group Fitness Classes 6:30am to 9:00pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), MPR A, B, C, D, and E

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Swim to the “C” Challenge 6:00am to 11:59pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), Pool

Intro to The Rock 11:00am to 10:00pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), The Rock

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Adult Lap Swim & Stay Fit Class 12:00pm to 2:00pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), Pool

Physics & Astronomy High Energy Seminar 2:10pm to 3:10pm Physics Building, 3035

Tuesday

COMPILED BY MARTIN LOPEZ

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Wednesday

29

Thursday

30 “The summer before college I slid into this random guy’s DMs and it

Friday

turned out to be the best thing I’ve ever done. Shout out to him for actually replying because if it weren’t for that I probably would have never met the friends that are in my life right now.”

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TAPS Chair unveils new parking structure, addresses student permit and parking concerns

JIMMY LAI / HIGHLANDER

JAKEB TIVEY Contributing Writer

On November 12, 2018 UCR Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) began the sale of commuter parking permits, and after just a few days the most popular permits such as Gold+13 and Gold+21 already sold out. In a Highlander interview via email with Assistant Vice Chancellor of Auxiliary Affairs and TAPS’ committee chair Andy Plumley, it was revealed that new transportation solutions are currently underway and that permit prices are in review due to increasing undergraduate admission numbers.

This fall quarter, UCR admitted 33,218 students, a seven percent increase from last year with roughly 25 percent being transfer students.

With more prospective students than

ever, many have taken to social media networks such as Twitter to convey their frustration with parking. One of the most recent mentions to TAPS’ account states, “I pay y’all more than $100 a quarter @UCRTAPS and it takes me more than 30 mins to find parking in a lot that’s almost a 30 min walk from my class.” Plumley asserts that TAPS addresses student concerns by “tracking the patterns.” By studying “all of those working parts in terms of history and where those trends have been,” Plumley says, TAPS is able to provide as much parking as they can despite limited space.

Addressing why students feel as if parking is scarce, Plumley acknowledged that students usually do not stay all day: “students aren’t here 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.; they come in they come out. We actually sell two or three permits per parking space.” This

“rotation-style” cycle, which accounts for students leaving after one or two classes, has become problematic due to the volatile nature of scheduling: “If students decide to park and stay the entire day we’re in trouble because we don’t have the kind of space for that.”

Regarding congestion this season, Plumley stated that “fall is always the worst … each quarter the traffic pattern can change.”

The committee chair also discussed other changes coming to UCR already in development: “The big parking project we currently have is a parking structure. Even though parking didn’t report to me prior to 2016, I built the first parking structure at Glen Mor … across the street in Lot 13, the back half of that parking lot, we’re planning a minimum 1200-space parking garage.”

The massive addition to parking comes as the primary focus for Plumley as

new projects and housing will bring even more students and their vehicles to the campus. One request made by TAPS to the construction teams at UCR is that when the new Dundee-Glasgow halls are being built, the parking lots are the first things that will be opened.

Permit prices are another complaint for commuters and residents, as the majority cost over $100 per quarter.

Given TAPS’ efforts to reduce congestion on campus, Plumley illustrated that permit prices will likely be going up, but less than previous years: “We’ve actually raised permit prices the past two years a big six-plus percent … now we’re looking at probably a two-ish percent depending on what the cost of the parking structure will be.”

Plumley advises students to think twice before assuming TAPS’ allocation of resources: “We’re an auxiliary, we’re getting no money from anywhere except from parking fees. Parking fees pay for more than just parking. We just spent close to a million dollars on new roads … parking pays for that … the RTA bus program is actually funded by parking fees.”

Students experiencing issues bringing a car on campus may want to look into the many other solutions made available to them, Plumley asserts; “If you’re no further than a mile, walk, bike, do something, don’t bring your car … we have a parking app so before you even come to campus you can see if, say, lot six was full.” He also notes the aforementioned RTA system will only become more accessible with time, given the construction of the Mobility Hub. Plumley went on to state, “Are parking issues real?

Yes. I’m not saying they aren’t,” and he assured students that he and the TAPS team are “doing what we can to mitigate those.” As the year progresses the positive effects of the numerous projects initiated by TAPS and other departments should become more visible.

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JIMMY LAI / HIGHLANDER

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/news

NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

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Planned Parenthood hopes to install a safe sex vending machine on campus

AMANI MAHMOUD Senior Staff Writer

Starting in mid-October, f l i e r s a r o u n d U C R ’s c a m p u s were put up by Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGA), asking students to scan a QR code that prompts t h e m t o t a k e a s u r v e y. T h e survey asks students for their t h o u g h t s o n P P G A’ s c u r r e n t campaign to make a safe sex vending machine available on campus which would provide several safe sex items: plan B pills, condoms, tampons, pads, urinary tract infection pain relief medication, yeast infection pain relief medication, midol and more.

PPGA has teamed with The WELL and Student Health Services at UCR to launch this project.

PPGA is a national organization of students who organize events on their school campuses and in their communities to mobilize efforts for reproductive rights, raise awareness about reproductive health rights and educate students about sexual health.

According to the s u r v e y, P P G A b e l i e v e s t h a t a safe sex vending machine is necessary on college campuses

because it will give students access to reproductive health and wellness items that they otherwise might not have access to.

By making this machine available, PPGA hopes that it can eliminate the challenges in purchasing such products.

They believe that by having these machines on campus, students can purchase a wide range of items throughout the day and night without having to worry about store hours and transportation.

PPGA also hopes that safe sex vending machines being available on campus will reduce the stigma, embarrassment or fear that students face while they are purchasing these items at a convenience store or clinic.

PPGA intends to fill these vending machines with a variety of products as well as placing the machine in a discrete and private area in order to avoid the possible stigma of using the machine.

They also believe that this vending machine will help reduce unwanted pregnancies on campus and in turn promote safe sex. According t o t h e s u r v e y, P P G A h o p e s to provide these items at a

COURTESY OF PLANNED PARENTHOOD GENERATION ACTION

COURTESY OF THE DAILY BRUIN

discounted price.

According to Elizabeth Kavianian, a third-year public policy major who is spearheading the campaign at UCR, most of the products would be at retail value.

Their most significant focus, however, is getting Plan B for $20, which is what UCLA and UC Berkeley have implemented in their machine.

Kavianian stated that compared to $40 to $50 off campus, having Plan B for $20 would significantly increase usage among students and in turn promote safe sex.

PPGA wishes to place a safe sex vending machine on campus because, according to Kavianian, the “abstinenceonly” approach, which she believes has been making a prominent comeback, is proving ineffective; she believes that a safe sex vending machine is vital to encouraging safe-sex.

She stated that “switching back the ideology of “sexual risk avoidance” would seriously hinder students’ knowledge of reproductive

healthcare, especially the younger population. Without comprehensive education and safe access to preventative items, pregnancies and STI rates would surge,” Kavianian e x p l a i n e d . “ M o r e s p e c i f i c a l l y, college students are at high risk because they face multiple barriers to receive care, like transportation, a f f o r d a b i l i t y, a n d f e a r o f protest or conflict.” This project, according to Kavianian, “would enable students to have easy access to materials at an affordable, stigma-free rate.”

After speaking with staff a n d c o n d u c t i n g t h e i r s u r v e y, the top results for the location of the vending machine are R i v e r a L i b r a r y, t h e H U B , the SRC and the dormitories.

K a v i a n i a n b e l i e v e s t h a t “ i t ’s essential to have this machine i n a s p o t t h a t ’s a c c e s s i b l e to all students, so we are working on finding the best place out of those.”

To c o m p l e t e t h e s u r v e y, s c a n t h e Q R c o d e o n a p h o n e ’s camera roll in order to get r e d i r e c t e d t o t h e s u r v e y.

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ASUCR

ASUCR planning to install OZZI tupperware machines for reusable food containers

OBAID KHAN Contributing Writer

As of Oct. 31, ASUCR has been working on a project in tandem with UCR’s Green Campus Action Plan (GCAP) and UC Merced’s dining services to install tupperware vending machines at UCR dining commons for all students to have access to reusable food containers. Known as “OZZI” machines, these stations will be installed by ASUCR in dining commons across campus for faculty and student use. ASUCR hopes to install them in dining commons across campus for faculty and student use.

COURTESY OF MCGILL

First introduced to UC Merced in 2011, OZZI machines have been sold to various universities and companies nationwide. At UC Merced, students at the dining hall swipe their student ID card for verification and payment for their meal, which the cashier packs in reusable food containers.

The containers have a time restriction — once students have finished their meal, they can return the container by dropping it off in the OZZI machine.

CHASS Senator Julian Gonzalez, a third-year political science major, is currently researching the benefits of bringing OZZI machines to campus

and believes that the long-term advantages of this project can have an impact on sustainability practices both on and off the campus.

In an interview with the Highlander, Gonzalez stated that he hopes that the efforts to promote a sustainable, ecofriendly environment on campus will pour into other programs at UCR. “A senator from last year did a project in which she took leftover food from the dining hall and distributed it to the food-insecure. In the process of making money through OZZI, we can support other programs that support issues like food insecurity.”

Fourth-year biochemistry major Amer Aldaas shared his opinion on implementing OZZI machines at UCR, stating that “the idea of having a tupperware vending machine would be very practical. My biggest concern would be how clean they would be after someone else used them.”

Gonzalez acknowledged the difficulties that accompany this large endeavor, but he hopes that ASUCR can work in tandem with UCR Dining Services and OZZI to make this a worthwhile investment. “The biggest issue is price,” Gonzalez said. “It is costly and expensive but we are so passionate about the benefits that would come out from it. Especially since our campus is home to a lot of lower income students; we can gain a partnership where using food containers from the OZZI are costfree.”

With the recently established solar umbrellas near the Career Center and increasing number of Hydro Flasks on campus, the addition of OZZI machines may just be a step in the right direction, according to Gonzalez.

He hopes to see more sustainability projects be started on campus. Gonzalez stated, “[Such] projects are all equally impactful and they are all helping us to be more conscious environmentally.

We need to stop being afraid of the price tag and start thinking of the benefits this can have in the long run.”

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CALPIRG carries out “Save the Bees” campaign, lobbying to ban bee-killing chemicals in pesticides MARK BERTUMEN Senior Staff Writer

The California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) at UCR tabled last Wednesday, Nov. 21, as part of the organization’s statewide “Save the Bees” campaign, which they started carrying out last May. The campaign is meant to raise student awareness of pesticides, namely of the nicotine derivatives they contain known as neonicotinoids, colloquially called “neonics” by CALPIRG. These neonics are lethal to bees, and on Wednesday CALPIRG asked students if they would take part in a photo petition to ban them.

Laura Caldera, a second-year psychology major and campaign coordinator for “Save the Bees,” told the Highlander that “bees are dying at an unprecedented rate. We need to bring that rate down because they’re making our food, 70 percent of it, but the ecosystem is at risk with the chemicals in our pesticides.” With the campaign Caldera hopes to make UCR “beefriendly certified.”

CALPIRG’s pitch on Wednesday to passersby was that “If there are no bees, then there would be no Thanksgiving.”

Andrea Sanjines, the event coordinator

for the tabling, said that CALPIRG “wants to encourage the assembly of California to pass legislation banning bee-killing pesticides, and we plan on doing that by gathering photo petitions on Wednesday.” The photo petitions were taken in front of a banner with the “Save the Bees” pitch written across, and in total 180 photo petitions were collected from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. according to Mya Ho, UCR alumni and CALPIRG member.

During tabling, Ho further explained to the Highlander exactly how the neonics end up killing bees. “The neonics in pesticides end up both disorienting the bees and weakening the bees’ immune system,” Ho said, “and in pesticides today the neonic concentration can be up to 500 times the concentration pesticides had of DDT in the past.” DDT, or dichloro-diphenyltrichloroethane, is an environmentpersisting insecticide that was banned in the U.S. in 1972 due to health and environment hazards.

According to Ho, CALPIRG at UCR plans to compile the photo petitions into a collage that will be forwarded to Jose Medina, the Assemblyman for northwestern Riverside, in order to

COURTESY OF CALPIRG

encourage legislative action to ban neonics. Miguel Ramirez, a third-year anthropology major and CALPIRG chapter chair, mentioned that CALPIRG wants all other states to lobby for the same neonics ban. Ramirez said this has been done in part by CALPIRG’s partnership with Environment America,

an environmentally-friendly interest group that, according to its website, aims to “research the challenges confronting our environment and educate the public about what’s at stake.”

CALPIRG meets every Tuesday at 7 H p.m. in the Pentland Hills Fox Hole. ■

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/news

NEWS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

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UCR Early Childhood Services receives $1.4 million grant

LUKAS MASSEY Contributing Writer

The Early Childhood Services center at UCR recently received a four year $1.4 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education, with the goal of meeting the special needs of low-income students who require adequate child care, according to Davina B a i l e y, t h e D i r e c t o r o f Early Child Services at UCR. In an interview with t h e H i g h l a n d e r, B a i l e y stated that the Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS) Project will meet a serious institutional need. The students and parents participating in this program will be given support to acquire the services they will need to effectively pursue, to persist and graduate from UCR. Bailey stated, “The CCAMPIS Project design prescribes a unique model of coordinated services; one that integrates academic support, child care services, parenting workshops and parental involvement in the UCR Early Childhood Services Center to create an educational experience that will enhance retention and graduation.”

Bailey stated that “The changing demographics in Southern California, and thus UCR feeder communities are creating a large and exponentially expanding population of students with special needs such as child care to attend the u n i v e r s i t y. ” She said that this grant is important because these students with children to care for are at risk for poor retention if their needs remained unaddressed, as pursuing

ARCHIVE / HIGHLANDER

an education can leave little time and money with which to care for their children as needed.

Bailey added, “The numerous barriers facing low-income students as they strive to obtain a post-secondary education are well documented including student/parents dealing with high cost and/ or unavailable quality child care.” She claimed that there is a relatively large community of students with this problem, as there are currently one hundred and ten students on a waiting list for campusprovided child care.

S p e c i f i c a l l y, Early Childhood Services provides a learning environment for children of UCR staff and students. Children are provided education

as well as healthy breakfasts, lunches and afternoon snacks.

As Bailey puts it, “Our programs provide a much needed support to student/parents that provides quality care for their children so they can focus on their studies.” The program seeks to address the inherent inflexibility of the schedule of a full time student and parent by working with students’ schedules, as it takes the needs of students into account.

Although these services are offered to UCR staff and faculty parents, only students can qualify for the grant to have their costs covered.

A c c o r d i n g t o B a i l e y, qualifying students are generally Pell Grant recipients with children under the age of 6 years

old. The grant seeks to aid these low-income students by having their daycare tuition and meals funded. Bailey pointed to a study done by The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) at UC Berkeley that estimated that child care costs around $1,570 a month for infants (18 months old and younger), $1,470 a month for toddlers (18-36 months old) and $1,000 a month for preschoolers (three to five years old). Early Childhood Services hopes to increase retention and raise graduation rates for lowincome students with children by relieving them of these costs.

To e n s u r e t h a t p a r e n t s are set up for success, Bailey stated that the program is flexible in that it takes into

account student and parent academic and work schedules.

This flexibility of hours allows parents to travel with their children based on their class schedule.

The UCR ECS CCAMPIS model allows for quality family education services, including services for parents and children from two months to five years old, and results in helping families achieve their educational objectives.

B a i l e y s t a t e d , “ To g e t h e r with our campus collaborators, we will support these families to self-sufficiency while at the same time strengthening the f a m i l y. ” UCR Early Childhood Services is located at 3333 Wa t k i n s Drive, and can be contacted at (951) 827-3854.

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More than 500 BIRD scooters in storage as UCR addresses scooter surge MARK BERTUMEN Senior Staff Writer

Back in October, the UC Police Department (UCPD) emailed the UCR campus about the then-new Bird electric scooters. That email requested that students not use the vehicles on campus because they went against current policies and were deemed unsafe; it was later discovered by the Highlander that UCR has since been working to update those policies, as well as make it safer for electric scooters to be used on and around campus.

In an interview with the Highlander Nov. 13, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Auxiliary Services Andy Plumley discussed the progress that he, Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) and other cooperating groups have made with both the legal issues of the electric

COURTESY OF UCR TODAY

scooters and the safety concerns that they bring to the campus.

One action that TAPS has taken to handle the scooters is storing any that they find on campus in a closed lot

behind the TAPS building.

According to Plumley over 500 of them are sitting in that lot, and the number is growing. “It’s against current policies to ride the scooters on campus, and

it’s rude to just dump them around without consulting us first,” he said, “We do not appreciate these guerilla tactics of Bird, and we’re keeping those scooters until they start cooperating with us more.”

Plumley also pointed out that Bird was slow to respond to UCR’s emails, and that they have not responded to their more recent email requests; but Lime, another electric scooter company active on campus, have been relatively more “cooperative” with UCR, according to Plumley.

“They contacted us for the rules on electric scooters before setting up, and right now we’re on pretty good terms with them,” Plumley said.

Plumley also emphasized the importance of establishing and maintaining campus safety with the electric scooters, which he wants done in

part by creating designated driveways on campus.

However Plumley pointed out that doing so would take a “very long time” and does not expect much to be seen in the way of progress for a while. During the interview it was brought up that Bird offers free helmets to those that use their app, to which Plumley responded that “maybe we can work with them and Lime to keep our students safe in that regard.”

It was emphasized by Plumley that the electric scooters are not allowed anywhere on campus grounds.

“Once you’re outside of campus, like the roads around the sports fields, it’s free game,” Plumley said, “but even then students are still walking on those sidewalks. It’s important that we make sure our students stay safe while UCR handles the problems we’re having with these scooters.”

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Be aware.

The Highlander Newspaper is a great way to keep up with current events and news around campus. If you are interested in the newspaper’s articles or pictures, we offer opportunities in writing, photography and design. Join us every Monday at 5:15 p.m. in HUB 101 to learn more.

HIGHLANDER

JIMMY LAI / HIGHLANDER

Opinions HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/opinions

OPINIONS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

9

HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL

New restrictions on e-cigarettes are an imperfect solution to a perfect dilemma

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he Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced new regulations aimed at e-cigarettes and vaping products on Nov. 15, under suspicions that vendors of such products were not taking sufficient steps to discourage underage use of their products.

The regulations have not yet materialized or been legally implemented, but if successful, would ban menthol cigarettes and require flavored e-cigarettes to be sold under more restrictive conditions in stores, like in closed-off booths to prevent access by teenagers.

The FDA’s bans are ultimately aimed at reducing underage usage of tobacco products, which have spiked in popularity in recent years.

The new restrictions are being applied with a light touch, however, because the FDA finds itself between a rock and a hard place with regards to the e-cigarette question. If the pendulum is swung too far in pursuit of cracking down on underage use, not only does the administration compromise personal liberties, but it also could reduce access to a product that ostensibly helps thousands of individuals avoid smoking much more dangerous cigarettes. If swung the other direction, individuals trying to quit smoking could have free access to the products that are alleged to help them, but underage use will continue to remain at above 20 percent of all high school students.

The FDA faces a perfect dilemma, both directions of action seem unacceptable, but lack of, or even tepid, action may prove even less desirable if it cannot convincingly address either of the challenges.

Ultimately, the FDA’s proposed restrictions seem to have found an acceptable, if imperfect solution. Requiring extra steps to purchase e-cigarettes seems likely to have a marginal effect towards its desired goal, but is an important step in the FDA’s mission nonetheless.

The FDA faces this public health challenge simply because tobacco product use has spiked sharply amongst underage users in the last year,

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largely mirroring the growing popularity of e-cigarettes. To address the problem, the FDA has to pinpoint the source of this growing popularity.

What’s become more prevalent in society today is the marketing techniques by e-cigarette companies like JUUL that capitalize off of the curiosity of younger audiences.

Only recently did JUUL take down a large chunk of their social media posts, most of which contained depictions of young people vaping and enjoying Juuls. In addition, prior to the renovation of their website, which now contains more messages of discouraging minor usage, there were designs showing off the different flavors that JUUL sold their pods in, such as mango and creme brulee. Such images and advertisements implied the trendiness behind e-cigarettes, which calls business ethics into question.

JUUL did take the right steps in trying to clarify the audience they wished to cater to: active smokers who are looking for a transitional tool to help them eventually quit.

To purchase a Juul would be giving the smokers a means to satisfy their urges to smoke without taking in as many harmful toxicants as a traditional cigarette. The chief executive of JUUL Labs also issued a statement declaring that their “intent was never to have youth use Juul.” JUUL is only one of many e-cigarette manufacturing companies, albeit the most successful one lately. Although it’s wellintended for one of the biggest e-cigarette companies to try and reiterate to who their target demographic is, the damage might already be done since they’re already sitting atop a mountain of popularity that they gained from having marketed towards younger people in the past.

Whether or not the regulations imposed by the FDA will prove useful remains highly uncertain.

There’s only so much the government can do in trying to reduce the amount of youth jumping onto a possible premature nicotine addiction. Bans or restrictions are often hard to label as

successful due to the fact that people can typically find a way to get their hands on these substances if they want to. For instance, the age restrictions that are already in place aren’t exactly working due to the sheer magnitude of middle and high schoolers being caught with such devices.

Another example of preventative measures being taken but not resulting in optimal outcomes is the integration of programs, such as AlcoholEdu, to discourage excessive alcohol consumption at universities across the nation. It hasn’t exactly been proven effective in achieving their goal – according to a 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 58 percent of full-time college students ages 18-22 drank alcohol in the prior month. The limited effectiveness of alcohol education programs speak to the fact that even when young people may be well aware of the risks surrounding a certain type of behavior, their curiosity will eventually get the best of them if it’s appealing to society as the next trendy thing.

This also calls into question whether or not the government has a right to regulate other people’s behavior; some might view these newly introduced regulations as too intrusive, but they still might be in the best interest of society as a whole.

In fact, e-cigarettes even offer up the lessened risk of secondhand smoke compared to regular cigarettes, which cause nearly 34,000 premature deaths from heart disease each year. Cigarettes are rightfully more stigmatized since they actually carry the potential to harm not just the smoker, but the people surrounding them.

The risks to one’s health that accompany secondhand smoke are also higher in kids, whose bodies are still developing and therefore more vulnerable to the chemicals emitted through cigarette smoke.

If the FDA is firm on its goal of cutting back e-cigarette use, tactics in the past have proven successful in trying to change a consumer’s behavior.

Anti-tobacco campaigns, after several tax hikes and jarring commercials, have shown

successful rates of decline in the tobacco market, but this might be because of all these stigmas surrounding cigarettes – e-cigarette usage might be increasing, which may be attributed to the fact that e-cigarette usage isn’t necessarily harming anyone else.

However, it seems as though companies like JUUL are trying to introduce the same cautionary message that cigarette companies have utilized in order to emphasize the risks it can still bring to one’s health despite being a decent substitute for traditional cigarettes. Additionally, there are many organizations that plaster the internet with ads trying to discourage vaping.

With all of these prevalent actions being taken to end the epidemic of youth addiction to nicotine, this could make a case for the libertarian who advocates doing whatever one wants without infringing on the liberties and rights of someone else. It’s feasible to say that because these antinicotine ads are becoming more mainstream, a person who still chooses to smoke is well aware of the fact that their health is being compromised, and one can argue that it’s their right to do what they want.

What’s also worth noting is that although it’s a fair point to let people simply do as they please as long as they don’t harm others, there’s no denying that nicotine products, in any shape or form, can eventually lead to long-term addiction and other problems such as permanent impulsecontrol issues. Despite JUUL’s continuous claims that their intended target audience is current smokers who are trying to slowly quit, the evidence is shaky surrounding the claim that e-cigarettes are effective at helping smokers quit at a faster rate than smokers who didn’t use e-cigarettes.

JUUL also claimed that it had converted one million smokers to their product, but the company data came from selfreported surveys and couldn’t be verified for validity. In addition, JUUL’s claims also failed to account for the amount of nicotine addictions

they may have fostered in minors. Teens are also more at risk for addiction due to the effects nicotine can have on the development of the brain’s reward system.

While we continue to ask ourselves at what point we should start paying more attention to the growing popularity of these products in the eyes of minors, consider that there’s another harmful side effect besides secondhand smoke that can affect unintended parties: nonsmokers whose healthcare expenses go up due to smokers.

It’s already been established that smokers are less likely to be covered by a health plan.

As a result, when smokers start to experience health complications over their longterm addiction, workers at hospitals don’t get reimbursed and this passes on the cost to those with health insurance plans. This might mean that ways of discouraging nicotine use might be justified, whether it’s being smoked through the form of a cigarette or e-cigarette device. So although e-cigarette users don’t affect others through secondhand smoke, they still have the ability to affect third parties in a negative way.

It’s clear that society as a whole has an interest in reducing tobacco use, particularly among underage users. Thus, the restrictions on menthol and flavored cigarettes are measures that should be welcomed, even if they are overdue. These restrictions may be too little, too late, but in doing so they avoid the possible dangers that could be brought on by a broader stroke. Ultimately, the FDA was able to come up with a clearly imperfect solution to a problem that offers no clarity to begin with. It is unlikely that much will change, but the new move at least shows that the federal government is now paying attention.

■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

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/opinions

OPINION POLL Compiled by Lydia Tsou Staff Photographer

If you could give advice to yourself right before starting UCR, what would you say?

Alicia Jimenez Undeclared First-year

Jonathan Zong Psychology Third-year

“To not be so nervous about it, it’s not that bad.”

“Focus more on what I want personally instead of changing myself to fit others.”

Khatu Nguyen Biochemistry Third-year “Open up yourself to the right people more. Try to find the right group for you.”

Jairo Morales Undeclared First-year

Genesis Garza Morales Psychology Second-year

Daniel White Chemical Engineering Second-year Graduate

“It’s just like high school with a shorter time frame, so don’t be scared.”

“Everything comes at its own pace.”

“Take time for yourself regularly and try not to get over-focused on work. Go out and try new things.”

Don’t worry about making the Forbes 30 under 30 list at 18, you’re doing fine ADRIANNE OFFRIL Contributing Writer

Coming home from college is always something to look forward to. You get to go back to your hometown, reunite with old friends, reunite with family and fall victim to questions like “What are your plans after college?” Questions like this often add to the stress that many teens and college students face when it comes to thinking about success or career plans. The American Psychology Association ran a study in 2015 and found that 36 percent of millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) reported an increase in overall stress levels. The increase of stress can be attributed to a number of things, one of them being the pressure to find success at a young age.

It is fueled by family, peers, the media and the pressure to succeed is often nurtured at a young age.

Ultimately, however, the reasons for this stress are misplaced. The expectations upheld by society are an unreasonable standard, and failure to reach them is nothing but normal.

Children in our society are raised with an ambitious “reach for the sky” mentality, with a promise of great rewards if one just applies the right effort and motivation. However, as we get older and reality hits just a little harder every year, these promises made years ago seem unrealistic and induce anxiety.

Throughout our educational careers, we are trained to achieve what seems like perfection; be a straight A student, join clubs, play sports or participate in some form of extracurricular activity, all while juggling our personal lives and social relationships. All of this is meant to help one get into a good college, earn a degree and ultimately secure a “dream job” that provides both emotional satisfaction and financial stability. I, myself, was raised in an environment that had very similar expectations for all its students, and while each student is working to reach their end goal, there is a looming feeling of pressure to “outdo” the next person, or somehow catch up to the peers one inevitably compares themself with.

This is not an uncommon phenomenon.

Two psychology researchers, Thomas Curran of the University of Bath and Andrew Hill of York St. John University, describe perfectionism as "an irrational desire to achieve along with being overly critical of oneself and others.”

In their analysis of 42,000 college students from North America and Britain, Curran and Hill found that the amount of students who display traits of “socially prescribed perfectionism — or perceiving the excessive expectations of others” increased by 33 percent over a 27-year period from 1989 to 2016.

Students are trying to outcompete each other, to achieve what society sees as perfect or ideal, in order to feel secure and successful.

The media doesn’t do much to soothe these feelings of inadequacy.

Social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook often show a constructed idea of a perfect reality, where users

only post what they want us to see and which we unconsciously use as grounds for comparison. As I scroll through Instagram during the day, I see people my age traveling the world, creating art or starting their own businesses and every single time I ask myself, “Why haven’t I done that yet?” Social media seems to show us all the things our peers have accomplished, making us feel like we’ve done the opposite. We are surrounded by people who seem to be living their best lives, and while it tugs at our self esteem a bit, it also plays a part in motivating us as well.

Seeing what other people are doing can help you find what you want to do, but it shouldn’t be your only path to self discovery and success.

Getting caught up in competing with our peers to achieve success quickly is unhealthy and ultimately won’t help us get to where we want to be. If we are constantly worrying about what others

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are doing and what we aren’t, we are going to lose ourselves and that will be what drags us down. Realizing that success doesn’t happen in a month or overnight is one step to take towards personal satisfaction, but realizing that and actually taking the time to find your own path and do things at your own pace is what will be more beneficial in the long run.

Success doesn’t necessarily mean having your own tech start-up at 20, or being a musician at the top of the charts at 16. Vera Wang didn’t start her design career until she was 40, and Stan Lee didn’t write his first hit comic title until he was 39. We don’t need to get everything done at once. Take the time to figure out what you’re good at and what will personally benefit you the most. So when the Forbes 30 Under 30 List rolls out, don’t get disappointed when you don't see your name because you’re doing just fine.

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HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/opinions

OPINIONS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

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ANTIFA’s incivility at Tucker Carlson’s home epitomizes the problems with political discourse today HUGO ARCOS Contributing Writer

On Wednesday, Nov. 7, a group of “anti-fascist” protesters gathered outside of Tucker Carlson’s home in Northwest Washington D.C. The local anti-fascist organization (ANTIFA) stayed for roughly 15 minutes until local police officers arrived. In that short time, the organization showed their true colors by threatening Carlson’s family, damaging property and overall straying from the true purpose of a protest.

Tucker Carlson was not home at the time of the incident, but his wife was frightened since she was home alone and heard sudden screaming and pounding at the home’s front door. Also, Carlson has claimed

proved to be another un-American and uncivil menace to society due to its attack on the fundamental American values of free speech and civil protest.

There is an important distinction between peaceful protests and the events at Carlson’s house. The right to protest is a constitutional right that everyone is more than welcome to practice — regardless of one’s belief, creed, ideology or political agenda. Problems arise, however, once tactics that tear at our social fabric or put people’s safety at risk are wrongly justified in the name of this right.

It is quite true that disruptive tactics are sometimes necessary to shed light on certain subjects, and in more extreme cases, society needs some sort of martyr to be

“Anyone that disagrees with Carlson or his political views can quite easily voice their discontent publicly or even protest him in a much less threatening setting.” that protesters put Carlson’s home address online and placed posters at the front steps of the house with the addresses of Carlson’s brother and best friend from college. Thus, what began as a protest against Carlson immediately extended to family members and close relatives.

The protest eventually became a threat, and the people that were fighting against fascism ended up utilizing disruptive and disrespectful tactics themselves.

Furthermore, this organization

called into action. For example, consider the heavy influence of Rosa Park’s arrest and the Freedom Riders towards the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, or the global social upheaval against South Vietnam’s dictatorship which stemmed from Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation in the busy streets of Saigon.

These protests, while technically illegal at their time, breached decorum in a constructive and meaningful way. In Carlson’s case

by comparison, the term “protest” starts coming into question once we begin to consider the specifics of this instance.

First of all, ANTIFA’s incivility became clear once personal information was leaked and Carlson’s family was put at risk.

It is quite true that society often drills into the personal lives of politicians and political pundits, but it becomes rather disturbing when one’s address, personal details or family and relatives are put at risk.

The organization also defaced Tucker’s property by spray painting an anarchy symbol on his driveway and allegedly creating a crack on Tucker’s front door. Hence, on top of unsettling a family, the protesters decided to further disturb Carlson and his family by leaving marks of their physical presence.

As if these two elements weren’t enough, people were heard chanting, “We know where you sleep at night.” Also, in nowdeleted video footage, Carlson claimed that a woman can be heard stating that she wanted to “bring a pipe bomb.” Regardless of whether or not the above statement is true, any constructive element of this protest is invalidated in the presence of such tactics.

Anyone that disagrees with Carlson or his political views can quite easily voice their discontent publicly or even protest him in a much less threatening setting.

For example, a member of the organization could have asked Carlson to a debate on Fox, or protesters could’ve held a peaceful rally protesting something Carlson said or believed.

The protest gone wrong at Carlson’s house is unfortunately not an isolated case. Local chapters

of ANTIFA were also the main culprits behind most of the riots and acts of incivility on various campuses in recent years, most notably at UC Berkeley during the riots in 2017. Milo Yiannopoulos was scheduled to speak at the campus, but the organization ignited fires, threw rocks, fireworks and bricks – which cost Berkeley $100,000 in damage repairs.

Apart from the destruction of property and bystander injuries, the organization attacked the right to free speech by banning Milo and other conservative speakers, indirectly canceling “Free Speech Week” and, at UC Davis, a Republican college group had to cancel an event due to protests and possibilities of violence.

Overall, it is quite worrisome to consider that organizations such as these are discouraging intellectual conversation and forcibly preventing pundits from sharing their opinions. As if attacking free speech wasn’t enough, these organizations further employ incivility to get their points across.

Thus, the incident at Carlson’s house shouldn’t be seen as a new phenomenon or outlier event. It is only a drop in an ever-growing sea.

One at UC Riverside might not worry too much considering that the organization’s presence has been heavier on other campuses, but it is important to note that if incivility and violence are not criticized or decried, they may soon become even more commonplace in political protest.

UC Riverside claims to be a decent representative for free speech, and has generally lived up to its promise. As UC Riverside’s “Principles Guiding Speech and Assembly” state, “UC Riverside

is committed to the belief that free speech, expression, and peaceful and lawful assembly are rights that must be protected, valued, and encouraged.”

Although UC Riverside usually protects individuals’ right to free speech, this is the exception rather than the norm, as other campuses are struggling due to organizations that blatantly disregard these fundamental liberties. I say usually because just as students have been allowed to protests Trump’s immigration ban or rally at the Republican club, student protests have been disrupted by police forces and campus security (most notably at the UC Regents’ 2012 meeting).

Regardless of what campus, however, organizations should only be allowed and supported once they protest peacefully and allow other voices to be heard.

Humanity has gone through dark and troubling times, but it somehow manages to fight through and emerge better than before. We can only hope to share this world by peacefully settling our differences and preserving civility and respect in our dialogue.

Organizations such as ANTIFA are only degrading the political discourse. Although there is still time and hope for everyone to address such a problem as the one we are facing right now, the rise of incivility, on both sides, is an ominous sign. Echoing Helen Keller, “...like the little deaf, dumb, and blind child I once was, mankind is growing out of the darkness of ignorance and hate into the light of a brighter day.” The only way to reach that light is to prevent our political discourse from becoming dangerous, violent and intolerant of those we disagree with.

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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

Features

FEATURES

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/features

“Uncaged: Hero for Higher” discusses Luke Cage and the black experience MARTHA DELGADO Senior Staff Writer

The second day of the “Uncaged: Hero for Higher” exhibition featured a panel discussion with artist duo Black Kirby, made up of John Jennings, professor of media and cultural studies at UC Riverside, and Stacey Robinson, assistant professor of graphic design and illustration at University of Illinois at Urbana– Champaign, and Dr. Nalo Hopkinson, writer for DC Vertigo’s “House of Whispers,” at the Culver Center of the Arts. The panel titled “Experiencing Comics: A Conversation on Uncaged and House of Whispers” was moderated by UCR Lecturer Rachelle Cruz Sunday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m.

“Uncaged: Hero for Higher” is described as a “critical race design installation” meant to analyze Marvel’s Luke Cage and his history within American comics culture as a representation of black masculinity.

The exhibition explores the various representations of Cage’s character from “expressions of black respectability politics, the great migration, black patriarchy, black sexuality and subjectivity, the prison industrial complex, gentrification and cultural appropriation, medical apartheid, and black fatherhood.”

The “Uncaged: Hero for Higher “exhibition was organized by Black Kirby and UCR ARTS and was guest curated by Dave “D.W.” Griffith of Pop’s Barber Shop. The exhibition was co-sponsored by the Piranha Jones Memorial Foundation.

Jennings and Robinson began the talkback by sharing their first encounters with the character of Luke Cage. For Jennings, it happened in the early 80s after finding the art and storyline of one issue of Power Man and Iron Fist compelling. Robinson believes he got his first comic book from the handful of books his uncle, a comics fan, gave him. He connected with the Power Man and Iron Fist issue and admired their art. Hopkinson first came across Luke Cage after getting comics from her cousin.

During the talkback, Robinson and Jennings discussed one of their controversial images which depicts Malcolm X as the X-Men villain Magneto. Robinson claimed the piece is a reference to a quote by Stan Lee in which he compared Professor Charles Xavier to Martin Luther King Jr. and Magneto to Malcolm X. “We connect those ideas simply without thinking about what those connections actually mean for black people,” began Robinson, “versus what this means for white people with a nation. I’m not saying that those two characters are similar because there’s no historical record of Malcolm ever murdering anybody while Magneto was a murderer of people.”

One of the themes explored by Black Kirby in the exhibition is that of the black male body. While Cage’s

skin is bulletproof, Black Kirby argue that there are still negative connotations surrounding the black male body as hyper sexual, hyper masculine and hyper violent. “(It is) nothing connected to beauty or to anything positive because blackness is created to be the shadow of whiteness,” stated Jennings. “What happens when you shadow those stories? What happens when your shadow stories start to become songs and entities and become an agency?

You start to look at the object without the shadow in a different way.”

Hopkinson also mentioned the effect the last episode of the first season of Luke Cage had on her loved ones. In that episode, the last scene was of a black man getting shot. “My primary partner, who is a black man, had a moment. Having to watch this even as fiction was just a little too real,” added Hopkinson.

The exhibition contains a case of books which serve as the bibliography for the show. One aspect of the exhibition is its use of Mos Def songs to play while attendants are looking at the exhibition. Many of Mos Def ’s songs are also titles for the art pieces in the show, such as “Life in Marvelous Times” which portrays Luke Cage as an embodiment of the black experience.

One of the pieces from the exhibition, titled “Black Harlem Matters” has the phrase “black joy matters.” Above the word ‘joy,’ reads ‘Harlem,’ signifying the importance of Harlem in black cultural consciousness. Black joy is important for Robinson especially when considering Michael Coulter ’s casting as Luke Cage in the Netflix show. “What I do like about the casting of Michael Coulter is he smiles, and he’s more complex,” began Robinson.

“We do smile. We do laugh. I am angry all the freaking time, just to be relatively conscious in America, but in this we find these moments of joy.

I actually think of those moments of joy as temporary utopias.”

When creating the exhibition, Jennings and Robinson envisioned redesigning the gallery space to be a place for black people and people of color. “Gallery spaces and library spaces weren’t made for us to be in,” began Robinson. “I wanted to create a space that brought together the marginalized community that is never invited to the art shows, to the gallery space, to the museums. etcetera.

Some of the comments that got from the people who are never invited to the space and who don’t go to the spaces were ‘thank you for putting us on the walls,’ ‘thank you for showing us, for showing our stories.’”

The design also was important in creating a space where taboo topics could be discussed, such as sex and religion. “Until we’re free, every art movement is a continuation of the previous art movement,” stated Robinson. “From the Harlem

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Renaissance to the Black Arts Movement to Afrofuturism, we are having the same conversation because we are not free. When you are trapped in a cage, and everybody else is outside of the cage, the only conversation is about getting out of the cage.”

“Or getting uncaged,” added Jennings with a laugh.

The conversation transitioned to Hopkinson who talked about “House of Whispers” and her transition from prose to comics.

Written by Hopkinson and illustrated by Domonike “Domo” Stanton, “House of Whispers” is a new title released by DC Vertigo as part of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman universe, and explores blackness by focusing on the traditional African Yoruba religion.

Hopkinson mentioned how the experience would be for her readers who have no experience with comics. Many of Hopkinson’s

readers are not into comic books because of the lack of representation. “If you walk into a comic book store not knowing what you’re doing there, it’s very intimidating,” Hopkinson added.

Yet Hopkinson also received comments from comic book readers who appreciate the representation in “House of Whispers.” Hopkinson stated, “The delight this (project) has been was to be able to say to Domo and the other artist working on it, ‘assume the characters are characters of color unless I specify that they’re white.’ That in itself is so radical.”

To end the talkback, there was a Q&A portion. Afterwards, attendants were able to purchase books from Hopkinson, Jennings and Robinson and view the exhibit.

“Uncaged: Hero for Higher” is on display at the Culver Center of the Arts until March 31, 2019.

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R adar ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

JIMMY LAI / HIGHLANDER

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HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/arts

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

“Overlord” makes for a mindlessly fun and over-the-top wartime adventure COLIN CARNEY Contributing Writer

“Overlord,” directed by Julius Avery, pits a small band of U.S. soldiers ahead of the Normandy landings against the horrific machinations of the Nazis. On the surface, “Overlord” looks and feels like a big budget B-movie, but does so beautifully. The film begins with the 101st Airborne Division being flown ahead of the ground forces to pave the way for the bulk of the invasion. Once they’ve reached France, chaos breaks loose as German air defenses rip into the allied attack and force the airborne to parachute into enemy territory. On the ground, a straightforward mission to disable an enemy radio tower turns into a nightmare filled with evil scientists, deranged officers and, of course, zombies.

As mentioned earlier, “Overlord” feels like a B-movie but looks like a big-budget movie that you’d expect from a producer like JJ Abrams (“Star Trek” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”).

After having seen the trailers for this film over a month prior to my screening, I expected a cheesy, low-effort zombie movie with Nazis thrown in for good measure. Though this is the case, “Overlord” embraces this concept and owns it. The characters themselves feel like they’re straight out of a classic World War II film. For example, the core group is comprised of the grizzled veteran who

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has experienced the horrors of war, the New Yorker who talks a little too much, the oblivious photographer and the everyman protagonist who is thrust into the horrors of war despite their innocence.

Their banter and humor before deployment offer glimpses into each character and gives us reason to like and root for them. Though brief and only surface-level, this exposition works for the film’s odd humor and foreboding nature. This is followed by a

breathtaking and adrenaline pumping moment when the Germans open fire forcing the heroes to jump amid chaos and carnage in the air.

Additionally, the action scenes in this movie are reminiscent of a video game at times. Drawing on games like Wolfenstein and Call of Duty (two games that often fall heavily on both Nazi and Zombie antagonists) the small group of soldiers often feel like an army when they mow down scores of faceless Nazi

enemies. Furthermore, when the action picks up, the scenes are adrenaline fueled and explosive as the heroes open fire on Nazis and zombies alike.

The area where this movie falls flat however is how long it takes to give us what we expected from the trailers. “Overlord” takes its time to show us zombies even though it constantly hints at it throughout the opening of the film. Not until about an hour into the film

do we get a brief glimpse at the zombies as our lead explores the Nazi laboratory where the zombies are either lifeless or safely strapped down. It takes another 20 minutes before we get our first zombie in action and by the ending, our crew has only faced three of them, while the ending scene hints at countless more. This movie is an action movie with Nazis as the primary villain while zombies take second billing.

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Ve rd i c t :

“Overlord” is a fun, adrenaline fueled action/horror film that takes us behind enemy lines as we root against possibly the best onscreen villains: Nazis. Reminiscent of classic B-movies and popular first-person shooters, “Overlord” works best when not taken seriously and when enjoyed with popcorn in hand.

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/arts

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

Radar RIP: Rest in Peace, or Rise in Plays?

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COURTESY OF COLUMBIA RECORDS

IAN CHEW Contributing Writer

A posthumous album is a project released after the death of the artist.

However, questions remain afloat in trying to decipher the purpose of releasing an album after death. Is it distasteful, or is it dedicatory? Is it executing the artists’ creative expression, or is it monetary exploitation? A recent example of this conflict is cloud rap album, “Come Over When You’re Sober (COWYS), Pt. 2” by late SoundCloud sensation, Lil Peep.

Unfortunately, it seems that Peep’s second studio album is the result of an unfinished project forced out after the rising publicity that came with his death, and doesn’t do much to honor the legacy of the aforementioned artist after his passing.

Upon introduction, Peep erupted onto the hip-hop scene. This fame was throttled by the unique, emo-rap aesthetic Peep created with inspirations from Kurt Cobain and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ own Anthony Kiedis that transcended the world of hip-hop and 90s-00s rock and roll. With such a distinct image and sound,

Peep stood out immensely amongst his contemporaries, and gathered a devout cult following.

Sadly, “COWYS, Pt. 2” failed to capture the essence of the polarizing sound that most would expect from Lil Peep. Part Two feels like the doublelength version of Part One that we never wanted, and the lack of subject matter or variations in musicality just create this dragged on, juiced feeling for the album.

Because “COWYS, Pt. 2” has the exact opposite feeling of being the refreshing, new sound that Part One introduced, it ends up sounding so identical to Part One that it may just as well have been a compilation of outtakes from the cutting room floor. This is a direct consequence of there being no evident change in subject matter, with every song echoing the same depressed romantic vibe with filtered vocals, guitar melodies and rap-based percussion that make the two albums seemingly indistinguishable.

Although having only achieved commercial success as of recent, Lil Peep had been putting music on SoundCloud

since 2015, and didn’t release his first studio album, “Come Over When You’re Sober, Pt. 1” until August of 2017, where he released seven tracks. Then, just over a year later, Part Two is released, with double the amount of tracks and half the uniqueness that its polarizing predecessor had. As listeners we cannot even point the finger at Lil Peep for a posthumous album that feels like it should’ve never been released. There is a reason that in the year that Lil Peep was touring and working on music after “COWYS, Pt. 1” that he didn’t release these songs, because this is a poor reflection of what the artist was actually capable of. Added on to this album are two posthumous singles with Clams Casino and Marshmello that serve an equal amount of injustice.

Alas, Lil Peep wasn’t the only one who was subject to seemingly exploitative posthumous releases; the unfortunate passing of rapper XXXTentacion has prompted posthumous releases like “BAD!” or “Arms Around You!” that lack quality and legitimate reflection of X’s musical capability. With this, and a

constant resurgence in merchandising for both XXXTentacion and Lil Peep, one begins to wonder when their names will be put to rest, as it seems that economic gain is not only prolonging their existence, but forcing it.

Even on Peep’s best tracks of “COWYS, Pt. 2”, like “Sex with My Ex”, “Cry Alone” and “Falling Down,” it’s sad to say, but if you thoroughly listened to both parts of “Come Over When You’re Sober,” you’d struggle to remember if even the most recognizable tracks were on Part One or Part Two. Even for the lower quality tracks like “16 Lines” and “White Girl,” which aren’t audibly bad, feature the overly-repeated themes that make even a good-sounding song unbearable to listen to. There’s not a single advancement, or degradement in any musical, lyrical or thematic aspect from the transition of Part One and Part Two, and the mere release of Part Two just affirms it was an attempt at squeezing out the last bit of revenue left in Peep’s name.This album functions more as a financial asset than a testament to the deceased artist.

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Verdict:

“Come Over when You’re Sober, Pt. 2”, is a distastefully rushed product, and disregards much of Lil Peep’s creative process. It goes completely against the grain of Peep’s usual methodology of releasing music, and has consequently caused his posthumous album to look like a redundant copy and paste of his previous work.

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HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/arts

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

FANTASTIC BEASTS :

The Crimes of

J.K. ROWLING ERNESTO BETANCOURT II Contributing Writer

Here we are once again, another prequel series has hit the silver screen and in an effort to make fast money at the box office, J.K. Rowling has left us with a mediocre filler movie to buy time for the “Fantastic Beasts” franchise. Although “Fantastic Beasts: the Crimes of Grindelwald” is able to expand our wizarding world just a little more, it fails to meet the expectations that come with the wizarding world we had hoped to see.

“Fantastic Beasts: the Crimes of Grindelwald” is the second installment in the Fantastic Beasts series of films (which are prequels to the original Harry Potter franchise). It follows Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), our protagonist, and his friends as they attempt to overcome the new d a r k f o r c e s a t p l a y b e f o r e Vo l d e m o r t a n d his Death Eaters come to town. Those new dark forces are Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) and his followers. Set at the tail end o f t h e R o a r i n g 2 0 s , b o t h t h e p r e - Vo l d e m o r t a n d p r e - Wo r l d - Wa r- I I b a c k d r o p s g i v e t h i s film a nice time period to work with to gain a better understanding of what wizardry might look like in under significant historical circumstance.

I’d like to say “don your robes, raise your wands and accio your popcorn” about going t o t h i s m o v i e , b u t r e a l l y, t h e e x c i t e m e n t I initially felt walking into the theater left after enduring what seemed like a cruciatus curse for two hours. The magic this film was supposed to bring was severely lacking and b y t h e e n d , t h e r e ’s a n i t c h t h a t n e e d s t o b e

scratched that this film couldn’t quite get. As I watched this story progress, my imagination played tricks on me, leading me to expect some f o r m o f g r a n d i o s e s p e l l c a s t i n g . I n r e a l i t y, letting my imagination run wild provided a better movie experience than actually sitting there and watching the film.

We f i n d o u r s e l v e s b e t w e e n s t o r y l i n e s between Newt Scamander and Jacob Kowalski, C r e d e n c e a n d N a g i n i , Ti n a , Q u e e n i e , L e t a L e s t r a n g e a n d T h e s e u s S c a m a n d e r, a n d Grindelwald. If that number of different plotlines seems like too much, it shouldn’t be, but with how poorly this story was written, i t i s . A s w e j u m p f r o m e a c h s t o r y, b i t s a n d pieces of each are supposed to add up to make this overarching plot make sense when we come to the ending, but by the time the ending does come around, you’re too busy asking questions of your own to keep up with all the new information. If as much time was put into the story as was put into special effects, this would have been a very different movie.

Don’t get me wrong, the special effects are t o d i e f o r, t h e r e w a s n ’ t a s p e l l o u t o f p l a c e that didn’t come out in full effect when cast.

The new creatures featured throughout the film breathed new life into the setting, but without a reason for these flashy new beasts, we only have worldbuilding for the sake of worldbuilding. The visual effects become a crutch, distracting from the deteriorating story as time goes on.

From J.K. Rowling, we expect a better display of storytelling, being able to keep the strands of each story intertwined together consistently and without awkward entanglement. In this installment of the J.K.

Rowling cinematic universe, we’re poorly strung along a series of intricate plot lines that only come together in an effort to say a l l t h e s t r i n g s w e r e t i e d t o g e t h e r. R o w l i n g pulled the equivalent of what Hermione did in “Chamber of Secrets” when she produced a botched polyjuice potion trying to turn into one of her classmates; we expected better results out of the parties involved.

Wi t h h o w s t u p e f y i n g t h e v i s u a l e f f e c t s a r e , you’d expect that the battles would be the h i g h l i g h t s o f t h i s f i l m . S a d l y, t h a t i s n ’ t t h e case. The intensity of battle that came with the first film, “Fantastic Beasts and Where to F i n d T h e m , ” w a s l o s t i n t h i s e n t r y. T h e m o s t exciting display of magic occurred in the first 1 0 m i n u t e s w i t h G r i n d e l w a l d ’s e s c a p e ( w h i c h is known already from the trailer). After that, magic is used for menial tasks or unexciting conflicts that are sprinkled throughout the movie. Some hostilities arise and a clash or two is required of our heroes, but they lack any stakes and emotional attachment to the c h a r a c t e r s i n v o l v e d . T h e r e ’s n o t e n o u g h t i m e spent on one plot line to want to care for these characters, and when suddenly we have a n o n s c r e e n c a s u a l t y, w e m o v e p a s t i t a n d j u s t w o n d e r h o w i t a d d s t o t h e s t o r y.

The best thing this movie offers is a journey back to the wizarding world we know and love, but because of its lack of substance, “Fantastic Beasts: the Crimes of Grindelwald” just becomes a filler movie until the next Fantastic Beasts movie comes a l o n g y e a r s f r o m n o w. U n t i l t h e n , w e ’ r e l e f t with a disappointing prequel to the beloved series of “Harry Potter” we once knew and loved.

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Verdict: Diehard Potterheads will go see this movie regardless of its quality; however, hardcore fans and casual viewers alike will find themselves disappointed by an abundance of questions and a lack of adequate answers.

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/arts

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

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fantastic beasts

“The Crimes of Grindelwald”: AN IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION ERNESTO BETANCOURT II KATHERINE LUNA Contributing Writers

Katherine: What were your initial thoughts on the film?

Ernesto: I am severely disappointed by how this movie turned out. Where was anything interesting that was promised in the trailer? Where was anything that had to do with Grindelwald, the namesake for this movie?

K: I totally agree. Grindelwald’s screen time amounted for not even half of the movie. It felt like more of a love triangle between Newt, Lestrange and Tina. The main plot seemed to be a last minute idea rather than an actual conflict for the characters to face. The most screen time for Grindelwald was at the very beginning and the very end.

E: The most exciting part of this movie happened in the first 10 minutes of this movie too. Everything after that was downhill from there. I wanted to see Newt and Grindelwald or Dumbledore and Grindelwald or anyone and Grindelwald duking it out but the most conflict we got out of that film was the verbal confrontation at the end.

K: Yes, a big cinematic fight would have been very fulfilling, possibly even redeemable, but the most that was given was some blue fire that killed anyone who wasn’t fully committed to Grindelwald’s cause and a discount Order of the Phoenix fight that for some reason would destroy Paris. I disagree that a fight between Dumbledore and Grindelwald would be a good choice this early into the franchise because then what would be the overall climax for the last film? But with this latest revelation I can’t even be sure Albus Dumbledore will be fighting Grindelwald.

E: Well if J.K. Rowling and David Yates weren’t grasping at straws for a decent story I’m sure they’d think of something. I don’t want to have to wait another three films (for a grand total of five films for this franchise) to see Dumbledore and Grindelwald to tango.

K: True, this film did feel stitched together with fraying threads, but couldn’t the same argument be said for Harry and Voldemort? I mean, they did fight in almost every book but there was still an anticipated fight and one that did not disappoint.

E: I guess you’re right, I’m just impatient.

K: I completely understand, and overall the movie felt as though it was planned to be a filler but needed something to boost box office sales besides the name.

E: If more of the production budget was spent on a decent story than it was spent on visual effects, maybe they would get a better movie that would do well at the box office. That whole time, I was too busy distracted by all the fancy, flashing lights to understand the plot at all.

K: 100 percent. There was too much going on (visual effects wise) to follow the small semblance of a plot. For example, when Newt blows the gold dust around him, I completely forgot what he was looking for until the end of that entire scene. All I could think was “Wow, that’s so pretty!” and “Oh look it’s the niffler! So cute!” I think the worst part is that visual effects were even used in the only big, dramatic fight scene in the whole movie. I could barely follow what Grindelwald was doing and his shitty blue flames didn’t help.

E: Yeah, the discount Balrog didn’t have any real ramifications going on. Even the other characters’ deaths, like Leta Lestrange, or character switches, like Queenie, felt so insignificant because there wasn’t enough screen time to care. When Leta Lestrange did die, her last words “I love you” were in the direction of both Newt and Theseus. Because there wasn’t enough time for me to get emotionally attached to these characters, however, I just don’t care enough to read into who Leta was really saying that to. Her final words were a waste of a good line.

K: I believe it is important to develop the characters’ relationships to one another more before saying a line like that as well. It’s hard to care when something of that caliber is said if, not only does the audience not know who it is directed to, but also cannot truly feel the impact of the statement as well. Another issue is that the audience is following Newt’s story and his insight, making the audience want him to achieve his goals, and it was shown throughout the whole movie that Newt loves Tina. How can I root for the protagonist to be with someone they don’t love?

E: Oh yeah, this movie was barely about Newt. We went down eight different rabbit holes of stories, each less thought out than the last. And when they all finally came together in the end, it was the equivalent of mixing a bunch of different colored paints trying to get a rainbow, but ending up with brown. Everything about this movie was so forgettable. We literally forgot that Albus Dumbledore, arguably the most important character in this entire series outside of Harry Potter, was in this film. He had so little screen time and so little motivation to play an active role in this film that this movie would have done the same plot wise without his inclusion. He’s the biggest name drop you could possibly have in this movie and he’s tossed aside to make way for the incoherent mess that comes with all these other plot lines.

K: Speaking of Albus Dumbledore, the supposed protagonist of this huge fight, might not even be the person fighting in the end. I was excited to see a young Dumbledore and his “best friend” battle it out, but instead

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was told he has a long lost family member? And while this could be a red herring, the concept of the phoenix arriving to a Dumbledore in times of need greatly disproves this.

Why would Credence need a phoenix if he’s not to fight Grindelwald? And why would Grindelwald be so invested in Credence if he’s not Grindelwald’s downfall?

E: In that case I’m calling it now: The final fight (6-7 years down the line) will be between Grindelwald and Dumbledore, but Dumbledore still isn’t strong enough to beat him. Credence will switch sides at the last minute after seeing how bad Grindelwald really is, and he’ll be the one to take Grindelwald down. But because he’s an obscurus and can’t control his power, he’ll make the hero’s sacrifice defeating Grindelwald, and history will write Dumbledore the sole victor, staying in line with the current Harry Potter canon.

K: I hope that’s the ending we receive because it feels as though any other ending would result in a conflict as far as canon goes or an extremely far-fetched ex machina that doesn’t make any sense. If they figure out what to do about that blood pact by the time that movie comes around then maybe we’ll see something like it.

E: What the heck is a blood pact? We already have a unbreakable vow, now we have a blood pact? Why? Do we need more homoerotic undertones between Grindelwald and Dumbledore? Its 2018, just come out of the Room of Requirement already.

K: Unlike the Unbreakable Vow, the blood pact never showed what was at stake or why it was being made. The audience just gets a subtle nod towards J.K. Rowling’s Twitter canon and fan theories, but no actual understanding of the reason or risks of making a blood pact. I mean, it seems as though it’s stronger than an unbreakable vow, but there’s no indication of why or how. If Dumbledore and Grindelwald made an unbreakable vow, it would instantly defeat any idea of a climactic fight due to the canonical nature of the unbreakable vow, which, when broken, results in death.

E: With the idea of the blood pact, we get the equivalent of J.J. Abrams’ mystery box, making the blood pact have endless possibilities because this is the first time we ever see it. But because their stakes aren’t implied like with an Unbreakable Vow, I just don’t care about a blood pact for the time being. Maybe two movies from now I’ll care, but I’m not trying to play the long game, I’m just trying to see the magic equivalent of fisticuffs.

K: While I am anticipating some, hopefully better, fight scenes, I can’t help but wonder how the fights will impact Newt’s story. How is Newt going to be affected

by Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s blood pact other than Dumbledore was Newt’s professor? Why is Newt Scamander in a movie titled Crimes of Grindelwald if the main fight doesn’t even involve him?

E: As these films go on, they can only get so far telling the story from Newt’s perspective, a magizoologist who reluctantly happens upon the anti-muggle rebellion of the century which happens to be against the most powerful Dark Wizard of its time. If Newt is only famous for his book, aptly named “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” then how can he be any more important as time goes on? He’s been reluctant to fighting Grindelwald so far up until the end of the movie, but if these next films are going to be him at the forefront, where is his name in the history books for putting in end to Grindelwald’s reign? Because a much more interesting story would be continuing these movies from Dumbledore’s perspective instead of Newt’s. That would be way better than what is currently being done. Assuming J.K. Rowling and David Yates can pull it off, then I’d be all for it.

K: Totally. Shifting the perspective over to Dumbledore would yield better results, but there was so much emphasis on side characters and their subplots, can that even be done at this point? If they had put more energy into Dumbledore’s plot and his motives, then the shift could happen more organically, but with the amount of screen time invested in telling Newt not to say “salamander” I

think the chances of a good, organic shift are very slim.

E: You’re right, trying to make something better out of what we have will only leave us disappointed when the next movie comes around. It’s out of our hands anyways so hopefully they know what they’re doing.

K: Another topic that was widely considered a controversial choice was Nagini and her backstory.

While her story was explained better, it was still rife with controversy. Rowling’s choice to make Nagini human for a brief period of time was a poor one. I understand that the choice might have been to generate some form of sympathy for Nagini or her character, but the same could have been done effectively, with a whole new character. It came off as Rowling trying to be inclusive with no regard to her story’s canon. Why drag a not-so-innocent snake from a previous set of films into this one? Let Nagini stay Voldemort’s loyal, living Horcrux and make an already existing character with better motivations.

E: Exactly. Energy is being put into the wrong things with this movie, like what was surrounding the Leta Lestrange plot line involving Credence and Yusuf. The whole idea of this “poem” that keeps getting referenced by everyone is never even explicitly said. No one quotes the “poem” verbatim, but instead they just give us shitty summarizations about it, hinting at how this plot line between the three of them is supposed to play out. And then when their plot twist does play out, they treat it look this was some big revelation we were all supposed to come to but really it just came out of left field.

K: It definitely felt confusing and was very uneasy to follow. Leta’s whole plot was so difficult to understand.

I found myself questioning her motivations and the real reasons for her actions. It may just be because she’s a Slytherin, but Malfoy was an easier character to follow … even Snape had clearer intentions than Leta. The Newt and Leta romance felt forced and one-sided, especially because of Newt’s struggle to confess his feelings for Tina. I guess it’s kind of sad really that “You’re eyes are the color of salamanders,” carries more sentiment than an “I love you,” before death.

E: Okay, we’ve really torn this movie apart, so let’s try and get to the positives about this movie.

K: While they were few and far between, one of the things I most enjoyed was the amount of easter eggs in this movie. Not all of them were correct as far as timelines go, but it was still a few seconds of fun nostalgia for the viewers. One of my favorites had to be the iconic Philosopher’s stone in Nicolas Flamel’s house. Seeing the small, but impactful object that was the driving point of the first film really made me miss the initial series.

E: Yes, there were easter eggs a plenty. I don’t know if this counts as an easter egg but more so a historical allusion, but when Grindelwald is having his Wizards Rally and he takes a fat rip out of that skull juul pod, and he shows wartime tanks and planes, along with a rising mushroom cloud, all this is obviously alluding to World War II and the death and destruction that comes with it. The way everyone in the room reacts to this newfound information provides some new insight into how the world would react if they had this knowledge beforehand. It’s also interesting to think that the wizards can be fearful of muggles in this case. In the past, wizards stayed in hiding for their benefit, but because this future of muggles raining down hellfire on the world, suddenly a decision has to be made about whether or not they have to intervene.

K: One of the other cool aspects of the movie was the portrayal of each visited country’s Ministries and how the design was influenced by the culture and style of that particular country. The first Ministry that was visited was the British Ministry with its pre-Dumbledore vs.

Voldemort showdown style. Then there was the transition to the French Ministry, and, while only there for a short time, the clean and refined style was very reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower. Both of these Ministries manage to present a clear and unique style while still retaining the “magical government office” vibe.

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HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/arts

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

“Ralph Breaks the Internet” shatters the box office ADAM ALVERNAZ Contributing Writer

The sequel to Disney’s “Wreck it Ralph,” “Ralph Breaks the Internet” places Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) and Ralph (John C. Reilly) in a chaotic action-adventure based around internet culture. Opening to an impressive $18 million, the movie delivers on a chaotic and exciting experience filled with plentiful easter eggs that enrich the viewing experience even further.

Fans of gaming and internet culture will appreciate the attention to detail that the film is chock-full of. The movie knows its audience and understands the world it is portraying, making for a fun filled adventure that plays its strengths in a loveable and clever way. “Ralph Breaks the Internet” stands on the first film’s success and finds itself better than its predecessor.

The movie delivers on a well developed, interesting plot that engrosses the viewers in the simplebut-sweet story. While some scenes do feel a little rushed and not explored enough, it overall doesn’t slow down the experience. Our two protagonists are still the loveable characters we know. Ralph’s naivety makes him endearing and funny while Vanellope’s spunky attitude plays well into her intelligence. The characters play off of each other in a natural and consistent way. The new characters introduced such as Shank (Gal Gadot) and Yesss (Taraji P. Henson) help our protagonists come into their own and tie together the ensemble cast quite nicely. Their placement in the plot establishes their characters and helps our protagonists maneuver the wide open world of the internet. The jokes are well written and know their audience when it comes to internet weirdness. Only a few

jokes miss the audience but thankfully those moments are few and far between. The funny nature of the film shines through hilarious quips that are memorable even after the credits roll. As a whole, the story feels fulfilling and touching in a way that other Disney movies can’t quite compare to.

Visually, the film is absolutely stunning. The CGI is well animated and the characters emote in tandem with

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the voice acting. The emotions that the actors portray shine very brightly through their animated counterparts bringing the characters to life in a big way. A huge emphasis is put onto background scenery in this film as each individual scene has visual gags and eyecandy.

Big establishing shots engross the viewer into the world they are watching. I found myself looking more at the scenery than the focus of the scene to look at everything that it had to offer. Sound design and music of the movie are also areas of greatness. The sound design especially makes the film come alive with sounds that feel satisfying and play well into the scene giving weight to the actions behind the sounds. It’s enriching to hear the rumbling of a car engine to the sublime sounds of the bustling internet.

It is well worth the praise and deserves appreciation for the amount of work put into making each scene sound as good as it does. The music in the film felt not too much different from a Disney movie soundtrack with only a few tracks that immediately jump to mind. Otherwise the original soundtrack is not as memorable when compared to the visuals and story.

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Verdict: “Ralph Breaks the Internet” is a fun and endearing film with many different gags, scenes and characters that will entrance audiences with its beautiful world of the internet. The film lives up to and surpasses the great standards set by its predecessor.

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HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/arts

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

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“Outlaw King” offers a compelling account of a pivotal moment in Scottish history COLIN CARNEY Contirbuting Writer

Chris Pine reunites with “Hell or High Water” director David Mackenzie for “Outlaw King,” a historical epic that follows the rise of Scottish King Robert the Bruce, as he attempts to unify medieval Scotland against an oppressive English rule.

Beginning immediately after the defeat and capture of William Wallace (best known as the protagonist of 1995’s “Braveheart”), “Outlaw King” follows Robert’s transition from reluctant Scottish noble to criminal king bent on freeing Scotland from its English overlords. In many ways this film can be seen as a sequel to “Braveheart,” considering that the ending of that film and the beginning of “Outlaw King” occur concurrently.

And while such connections may offer insight to the historical period, they will only confuse audiences.

This is due to the fact that the two movies differ with their portrayals of historical figures and events, which leads to some jarring inconsistency.

To compare “Outlaw King” to “Braveheart” is unfair, for it would be a difficult task for any movie to live up with and compete with the success of the 1995 classic.

“Outlaw King” shines brightest when it stands alone, and acts more as a theatrical adaptation of actual historical events rather than a loose adaptation of events made with substantial creative freedom like “Braveheart.”

The film features some commendable performances, but ultimately many felt lacking in complexity and often came across as oversimplified. Chris Pine’s performance as the titular protagonist is to

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be commended, although his character ’s motivation feels a bit weak and underdeveloped.

When we first meet Robert, he is being forced to swear loyalty to King Edward I in order to avoid open war with England, which the Scots have failed at in the past.

20 minutes into the film, however, an event occurs that motivates Robert to disregard everything he worked for earlier in order to fight the British. Though this change of heart propels the plot forward, it comes out of nowhere and his sudden willingness to go to war is underdeveloped and not fully explained.

This change for Robert is necessary for him to reach his destiny at the end; however, the film spends more time showing us what he does rather than justify and explain his actions.

Pine’s performance as Robert shines during brief emotional scenes when Robert hears of the horrors and atrocities the English commit in search of him and his pain really comes across. Additionally, Pine’s relatively authentic Scottish accent is to be applauded.

He actually manages to fit in among a cast of Scottish actors while not appearing cartoonish in his attempts.

The main downside in Pine’s performance is that the aforementioned emotional scenes are scarce occurrences that make up an insignificant portion of the film. Undoubtedly however, Pine makes you root for Robert the Bruce as he faces down the might of the English kingdom.

The supporting cast also offers respectable performances that help further the plot, however most end up either being onenote or underdeveloped.

Take Aaron TaylorJohnson’s performance as James Douglas. Johnson’s take as Douglas comes across as a rabid animal hell-bent on killing the English in order to regain his family name that was taken from him. The basic premise of this character, a man on a mission to regain his family name, is a compelling one that is overshadowed by his apparent insanity and obvious brutality.

The savagery of his character during battle, though

brutal, becomes comedic as he demands his opponents to say his name as he mows them down. Billy Howle does manage to provide some more complexity to his character Prince Edward II, with his struggle to prove himself in the eyes of his father, but by the midpoint becomes more like Johnson’s character Douglas, brutal and at times deranged. Though his change is explained away as being caused by his abusive father, he still comes across as cartoonish as he becomes mad and bloodthirsty. The actor that I would say shines the most alongside Chris Pine is Florence Pugh who plays Robert’s wife and Queen of Scotland, Elizabeth Burgh. When we first meet her, Elizabeth is quiet and reserved but quickly, and somewhat suddenly, becomes a strong women by her king’s side as she struggles with the repercussions of her husband’s war in her own way. We witness through Pugh’s acting Elizabeth’s suffering at the hands of the British and her love of Robert and his daughter Marjorie.

We feel for

her as she deals with the repercussions of her husband’s campaign and is forced to protect his daughter, whom she loves, while he is away in battle.

The overall execution of the plot is done well, as we see Robert become an outlaw trying to unite Scotland.

The opening does a decent job of setting the stage and showing the aftermath of William Wallace’s exploits at a well kept pace however, following Wallace’s death the movie quickly and suddenly picks up the pace. Without much warning Scotland seems to turn into a war zone as riots ensue and cities are burned. The pace at first can be jarring but overall does not take away from the film in my own opinion.

Each scene carries it own weight and the battles are executed brilliantly.

Without a doubt, the final battle is where Outlaw King shines the best. The execution of the conflict is well choreographed as we witness the outnumbered Scots take on the impressive British forces using the Scottish countryside to their advantage.

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Verdict:

“Outlaw King” doesn’t outshine its classic predecessor; however, it manages to faithfully depict a pivotal moment in Scottish history and provide some truly remarkable battles in its two hour runtime.

Although characters can feel inconsistent at times, the film keeps viewers interested and presents a worthwhile story of a nation’s struggle for freedom.

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Sports 20

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2018

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/sports

Men’s basketball goes 1-2 in Tiger Thanksgiving Tournament HIGHLANDER

HOT TAKES

JONATHAN FERNANDEZ Senior Staff Writer

The Highlanders men’s basketball team (2-5) took part in the Tiger Thanksgiving Tournament in Stockton, CA from Thursday, Nov. 22 to Saturday, Nov. 24.

UCR fell 74-54 in the first game of the tournament to tournament host, University of the Pacific (4-3). Riverside and Pacific traded buckets early before the Highlanders went through an eight-minute scoring drought.

The results of the drought were evident in the box score as UCR struggled mightily from the field in the first half, shooting only 28 percent. Despite the poor shooting effort, they went into halftime trailing by only seven, 30-23.

Riverside played better in the second half, however their increased efforts weren’t enough to complete their comeback. In the second half, the Highlanders raised their field goal percentage to 38 percent, but the Pacific Tigers also improved from the field. The Tigers shot 46 percent in the first and got even better in the second, shooting 58 percent, on their way to outscoring UCR by 13 in the second half. Riverside also struggled rebounding the ball against the more physical Pacific team, and lost the battle of the boards by a large 40-25 margin.

Junior guard Dikymbe Martin led the way offensively for Riverside, finishing with 20 points on 53 percent shooting.

Senior center Menno Dijkstra finished the game with 13 points, six rebounds, three blocks and was the only other player who finished in double-figures for the Highlanders.

In their second game of the tournament, Riverside took on Elon University (2-3) and came out with a 77-64 win.

UCR vastly improved their shooting percentages from the previous night in nearly all facets. The team finished the game shooting 51 percent from the field, 43 percent from deep and 76 percent from the line. The Highlanders were able

Running quarterbacks give teams a better chance to win KEVIN SANCHEZ Contributing Writer

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to create separation in the second half by outscoring Elon by seven after going into halftime tied at 30. Riverside also had more rebounds and fewer turnovers than their opponent for the first time all season on their way to their second win of the year.

UCR had three players in double-figures this time in freshman guards Jordan Gilliam, 17, Dragan Elkaz, 11, and sophomore forward Ajani Kennedy, 11.

The Highlanders dropped the last game of the tournament against undefeated Abilene Christian University (6-0) by a final score of 60-48.

The game was closely contested in the first half as both teams traded runs before going into halftime with a 24-22 score. Three freshman led the way offensively for UCR going into halftime with Zac Watson, Elkaz and Callum McRae combining to score 13 of the teams’ 22

points. Riverside was also doing a good job forcing the Wildcats into tough shots before the break, which caused them to shoot only 30 percent from the field.

The Wildcats were able to find a groove in the second half and finished it shooting almost 52 percent from the field. Abilene Christian University’s hot shooting helped keep their undefeated season alive and earn the win over UCR in their final game of the tournament.

Martin once again led the way for the Highlanders offensively, finishing with 17 points and four rebounds. Freshman center Callum McRae tied his careerhigh in scoring with 10 points, and was the only other player in double-figures for UCR. Riverside’s next game will be at home Thursday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. against crosstown rival Cal Baptist University.

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UCR women’s basketball struggle In Moraga, finish winless in Thanksgiving Classic

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RICARDO GARCIA Contributing Writer

Just a day after Thanksgiving and fresh off a win over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, the UC Riverside Women’s Basketball (2-4) team travelled to Moraga, CA for the Saint Mary’s Thanksgiving Classic.

The Highlanders faced a big test to open up their weekend, facing the AP #3 ranked Oregon Ducks (5-0), who were on a roll after two consecutive wins of at least 20 points.

However, their first game did not go well at all. The Highlanders struggled from the onset, as they trailed by 9-0 early in the first quarter, and continued to fall behind by as many as 13. The Ducks consistently scored inside, and ended the game with 40 points in the paint while limiting the Highlanders to just 18. Defensively, the Highlanders entered the game fifth in the nation in blocked shots with 35, but had just one the

entire game.

UCR struggled to figure out Oregon’s pressure defense, committing nine turnovers while shooting 8-for-23 in the first half alone. The Highlanders also scored just seven points in the second quarter, while allowing 29 points in the period on a scorching 65 percent clip.

The second half featured more of the same, as the Ducks pushed the lead to 46 points after three quarters, before finishing with a 50 point blowout win, 94-44.

Freshman guard Lauryn Pointer led UCR with nine points on 3-for-5 shooting, while also grabbing five rebounds.

Oregon junior forward Ruthy Hebard finished with a game-high 19 points on an efficient 8-for-9 shooting. Sophomore forward Satou Sabally also chipped in 17 points, and junior guard Sabrina Ionescu fell short of breaking the NCAA Women’s career triple-double record, finishing with 16 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.

The Highlanders did not have long to mull

over the blowout loss, and their attention turned to the Milwaukee Panthers (2-4) the following afternoon, who were fresh off a close two point loss to tournament host St. Mary’s in their previous game.

UCR appeared to have righted the ship, keeping pace with Milwaukee in the first quarter and trailed only 15-12 after the first quarter.

In the second period, UCR got into rhythm, using a 16-6 scoring burst, to take a 36-28 lead into halftime. At this point, the Highlanders shot 47.1 percent from the field, and 50 percent from beyond the arc, while limiting the Panthers to 39 percent field goal shooting and 22 percent from three.

After the break, the Highlanders began to falter. Shooting just 19 percent from the field in the third period, UCR managed to score just six points, and did not score their first points until halfway through the quarter. Despite this, they managed to hold a slim 42-41 lead heading into the final frame.

In the fourth quarter, Milwaukee grinded their way back in front early, and held a late 54-53 lead with 26 seconds to go.

However, a late whistle sent sophomore guard Keilanei Cooper to the free throw line with 17 seconds left. She only managed to convert on 1-of-2 attempts, and the game was tied.

Right as it seemed the game was headed for overtime, the Panthers’ redshirt senior forward Ryaen Johnson tipped in a miss by redshirt sophomore Bre Cera at the buzzer to give Milwaukee a 56-54 win.

Senior forward Malou De Kregert finished with a game-high-tying 18 points for the Highlanders, and junior guard Jamie Reit also scored 18 points for the Panthers.

Up next, UCR have two weeks off before returning to Riverside for a crosstown matchup at CBU Events Center against the Cal Baptist Lancers Thursday, Dec. 6.

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When it comes to scouting college quarterback talent, running quarterbacks scare scouts away. They are seen as a liability to themselves and to their team.

Coaches would rather have a pocket passer who knows how to protect himself. Just look at Andrew Luck – a typical pocket passer who nonetheless had reckless tendencies to his play and wound up injuring his shoulder – an injury which kept him on the sidelines for nearly two seasons.

This particular instance, however, is a reminder that a play-extender does not always mean the QB will do so in the most efficient way.

We can start by mentioning quarterbacks like Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson, who have come into the league and have come to stay. Wilson’s scouting report in the NFL combine referred to him as a “classic play-extender”. Since his rookie season, Wilson has accumulated over 3500 rushing yards, in a career where he has led Seattle to two Super Bowl berths, one of which gave the city their first Lombardi trophy. Watson, the sophomore QB, turned heads after taking the reins from Tom Savage in 2017, and immediately established himself as a franchise QB for the Houston Texans.

Watson probably would have won the ROTY award had he not torn his ACL in the middle of the season.

With Lamar Jackson looking at his second career start this week, there is no doubt that his style of play makes Baltimore a more interesting team to watch in the wild card race. It’ll take a lightsout game for Jackson to even be considered to take over as the full time QB, but with John Harbaugh on the hot seat and Baltimore’s playoff hopes dimming, it would not be a shocker if Jackson gets the tap for the rest of the season.

Dual threat QBs are a high-risk, high-reward proposition, no doubt, but I think coaches across the league are starting to realize that a dynamic play-caller brings more relevance to a team.

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COURTESY OF PIXABAY