FOR THE WEEK OF TUESDAY, APRIL 16, 2013
Highlander University
Volume 61
of
C a l i f o r n i a , R ive r s i d e
Issue 24
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ASUCR holds small debate ahead of elections Dean Mayorga
ASUCR ELECTIONS
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
HIGHLANDER ENDORSMENTS AND EXPANDED EDITORIAL Opinions, Pages 8-9
J o h n n y M a /HIGHLANDER A S U C R s e n a t o r s l i s t e n a t t e n t i v e l y a s a s t u d e n t a d d re s s e s t h e s e n a t e d u r i n g t h e p u b l i c f o r u m .
Courtney Parker STAFF WRITER
The ASUCR candidate debates were held at the HUB Lower Plaza on Thursday, April 11 at 1:30 p.m. Elections Director Harmony Chai played host, pressing questions to both the candidates for senate positions as well as those seeking the position of Outreach Director. Due to a limited time allotment not every director position could be addressed in the debates. Questions that were asked ranged from taxes to transparency within ASUCR. Addressing the modest-sized crowd outside the HUB, representing the party [YOU]CR were incumbent senator Aaron Johnson, Abraham Galvan Sanchez, Mina Kato and Fernando Echeverria. Representing the party OUR’Side were Michael Ervin and Ravin Rathoud. Those running as independent were Kanika Jain, Christine Shi, Benjamin Roden and Tanya Singh. The first group of students to discuss their platforms were those running for senate. The outreach director debate proceeded soon after and there are no candidates running for elections director. Each candidate had 30 seconds
The vaginas are monologuing R e b e cc a P a r e d e s SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Vagina, vagina, vagina. Last Wednesday night, I said, heard and appreciated the word vagina more than ever before. Presented by the Women’s Resource Center, UCR’s student production of Eve Ensler ’s play, “The Vagina Monologues,” explored the female experience and spoke out against violence against women. “Stories will make you laugh, cry, scream and shout, so feel them completely,” explained fourth-year public policy major Evangeline Elder at the start of the show, and it was difficult not to feel the complex power of “The Vagina Monologues,” even in a room as stuffy and as formal as HUB 302. “We need to feel comfortable saying the word vagina,” Elder said. “It’s a very awkward word and a lot of people think that it’s offensive, but it’s the real name for a vagina. A vagina is a vagina. So, can I have the audience say the word vagina real quick?” A cacophony of “Vagina!” resounded. Elder ’s welcome immediately set the tone for the evening by forcing the audience out of its comfort zone––a sentiment that was echoed in “We Were Worried,” presented by Genesis Castellanos, Caitlin Harrington and Martha Pineda. “We Were Worried” took the audience by the hand and discussed the interviews that led to the Ensler ’s writing
of the monologues, which spanned stories from business women to sex workers and from Bosnia to America. The speakers focused on the general sentiment that women are reluctant to talk about their vaginas or sexuality because of its taboo nature––but under the surface, women really love to talk about their sexualities, their womanhood and all of the different elements of the female experience. One of the highlights of their performance focused on the names women use to refer to their vaginas. “There’s powderbox, a poochie, a pepe, a pootanie, a peach ... cooter, va, mango, mookie, a mimi in Miami,” the speakers contributed, which inspired plenty of laughter from the audience because, really, what’s a “mookie?” “The Flood,” performed by fourth-year history major Kyrsten Watt, told the story of a 71-year-old woman who had never had an orgasm. “No, no. It’s a cellar down there. You don’t want to go down there. Trust me,” the monologue began, reinforcing the woman’s stance that no, she does not want to talk about her vagina, thank you very much. But as the monologue progressed, Watt brought a reluctantly nostalgic slant to her retelling of the woman’s first time becoming aroused by a boy in the passenger seat of his Chevy Bel Air––and staining his car seat with her “flood.” The crux of the monologue MONOLOGUES CONT’D ON PAGE 20
to responds to each question they were asked. Candidates could also opt not to respond. Some issues brought out more division within the candidates than others. For example, the issue of the UCOP tax—a 1.69 percent assessment free on all UC campus expenditures—inspired candidates to propose putting pressure upon UCOP, just in different ways. The UCOP tax was implemented back in 2011, in order to ensure greater financial transparency throughout the system, yet did not previously include revenue collected from student referenda items. “How does the UCOP assessment tax affect student services and what will you do to make sure that student services [is] not negatively affected from this assessment?” Chai asked. Independent Benjamin Roden responded, “The UCOP tax affects students because it takes away funds that should be available for student clubs and organizations. What senators should do is very publicly admonish the administration for levying this tax on us, work with the news media, pass resolutions and really embarrass the administration...just [so] they feel ASUCR DEBATES CONT’D ON PAGE 5
INSIDE: New technology that would grade papers won’t help students or professors.
OPINIONS
PAGE 7
Eaton Science Fiction Conference draws huge crowd in Dowtown Riverside. PAGE 11
FEATURES
Music legend Ian MacKaye rocks the Blood Orange Infoshop with his band The Evens. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
PAGE 24
UCR baseball extends home winning streak to 11 games. PAGE 25
SPORTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
PAGE 2
STAFF
PAGE 7
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