Volume 63 Issue 02

Volume 63

Issue 02

FOR THE WEEK OF TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

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block party 2014 With good food and exhilarating musical performances, Block Party 2014 was an incredible success. p. 12-13 VINCENT TA AND CAMERON YONG / HIGHLANDER

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NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

HIGHLANDER

Flash floods impact multiple university buildings SOM CHATURVEDI Contributing Writer

Following record high temperatures during the first week of September, the remnants of Tropical Storm Norbert brought rain to many parts of the drought-stricken areas of Southern California.

UC Riverside, a campus known for its hot climate, exhibited as much as one-and-a-half inch of rain within two hours on Monday, Sept. 7, which led to the flooding of four buildings on campus.

Colleen Stevenson, the head of collection maintenance for both Rivera and Orbach Library was first notified of the flooding when she came to work. “(The campus) literally looked like a hurricane had struck here,” she said. When she arrived at the Rivera Library, water had collected underneath several of the bookshelves in the basement.

Stevenson recounted that the accumulated water in the basement had “affected about 20 of our ranges.” The ranges, as Stevenson explained, are the aisles that are filled with books.

The affected area was around 1000 to 1500 square feet.

Concerned about potential water damage to the books, the

Rivera Library staff, including several student employees, were able to quickly load all of the books onto trucks. The staff continued to clean up by removing all of the shelving in the affected area and drying everything. Stevenson remarked that it was “very labor intensive, but (the employees) were able to complete all of (the cleaning) by the end of the day.” Stevenson emphasized that in the end, no books were damaged by the water.

Two fourth-year library student employees, Liliana Alaniz and Yesenia Salazar, were among the first to respond to the water in the basement.

Alaniz remarked that, “Since I’ve had to deal with the floods previous times, I was like ‘Great.’” Alaniz continued, saying, “The way the shelves are, the water was underneath them.” When asked about her first impression of the flooding, Salazar said the flooding was, “More work — but something different!”

UCR Physical Plant, the department in charge of the maintenance of all facilities on campus, was also quick to respond to the unexpected deluge.

Bob Slater, the superintendent of building services for UCR Physical

Plant, said, “We had no prior warning other than the emergency calls to our homes requesting immediate assistance on campus.” The department had most of the water removed by the evening.

In addition to the Rivera Library, UCR Physical Plant responded to water flooding on the floors of the biological sciences and life sciences buildings, which needed wet carpet and drywall renovation.

There was no electrical or structural damage to any of the buildings, and there were no specific structural compromises that allowed the water to enter. “The storm sewers servicing that part of campus were overwhelmed,” said Slater.

Historically speaking, flash floods have been an issue across Riverside during this season. “Cloudbursts of this magnitude are rare but do happen from time to time … however the affected areas were quickly cleaned and dried,” said Slater. He prefaced that the major cost of these floods is the labor that is needed to clean up the excess water. For example, the elevator shaft in the life sciences building had flood water which needed to be pumped, captured and

Photo of the Week

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A UCR student rides his bike in one of the newly constructed bike lanes found on University Avenue and Canyon Crest Drive.

Quotebook “The state is putting a little bit in but it’s by an eyedropper...”

Upcoming Events

Janine Ybanez

treated as a hazardous material because it could have been contaminated by the elevator’s hydraulic oil.

Given concerns over future flood-related damage, UCR Director of Physical Plant Ken Mueller says collaborations with the office of the vice chancellor for finance and business operations will aim “to divert more water into the (water) retention basin in an effort to hold more water (and)

relieve some of the load on the storm drain system. Mueller adds that this plan will work in correlation with the Chancellor Kim Wilcox’s plans to develop new facilities across campus.

UCPD, along with the environmental health and safety department, have emergency procedures, notification systems and other safety information that are utilized during emergency situations such as a flash flood.

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OCTOBER ASPB Open House 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

ASPB Office HUB 111

Native American Student Programs Welcome 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

229 Costo Hall

Scotty’s Spirit Fest Nooner 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Bell Tower

Pedals Bike Shop and DIY Repair Station Re-Opens 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Parking Lot 19

Segundo Jueves Latino/a Play Reading Series 7 p.m. – 9 p.m UCR ARTSblock

Unity Poem Fiesta 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Arts Building

10 Friday

Breaking the Silence: Clothesline Project 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Highlander Plaza

African Student Programs Open House 12 p.m. – 2 p.m 133 Costo Hall

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Men’s Soccer: UC Santa Barbara 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.

UCR Soccer Stadium

National Coming Out Day Coming Out Dance 4:30 p.m. – 9:30 pm The Barn

Tuesday

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

GRAPHIC BY VINCENT TA Recent flash floods at UCR jeopardized Rivera Library’s basement collection of books.

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Wednesday

9

Thursday

Saturday

12

No Events

Sunday

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Monday

How to Make a Great First Impression at a Career Fair 3 p.m. - 4 p.m.

HUB 268

Chicano Student Programs Open House 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

145 Costo Hall

- UC President Janet Napolitano on the state’s funding of the UC.

Scan this QR code and visit us

at highlandernews.org

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NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

HIGHLANDER

Graduate student union protests $208 quarterly gym fees SANDY VAN Senior Staff Writer

A small protest occurred at the grand opening of the newly built UCR Student Recreation Center (SRC) South last Friday over hikes in gym membership fees, which will increase from $59 per quarter to $208 per quarter for all UCR students, effective fall 2014. Led

by United Auto Workers (UAW) 2865, a union chapter consisting of UCR readers, tutors and teaching assistants, protesters argued that the additional fees were too high and that they should be given an option to opt out of paying for the new gym.

David Chavez, a third-year doctoral student in the history department and UAW member, argued that the additional fees were “exorbitant” to him. “Being a parent, I have zero access to this place (because) there is no child care provided. However, if I were to buy gym membership at LA Fitness or 24-Hour Fitness, they do have child care and so do other gyms and recreational centers,” he said.

With funding approved through a 2010 student referendum, SRC South is the university’s second gym and seeks to ease the burden of an increasing student population, which has doubled in size since the first gym (now known as SRC North) was built back in 1994.

The total cost of the new gym is $52.2 million, which will be paid for through student fees over a 30-year period. Under UC policy, 25 percent of the quarterly fees collected from the referendum ($37.25) will be dedicated to financial aid for undergraduate and graduate students.

Historically, UCR students have paid $59 per quarter for the original SRC facility. With the finished construction of SRC South, students are now expected to pay an additional and separate recreational fee of $159 for the new gym as a result of the passed referendum.

A Facebook community page entitled, “UCR Students vs.

Rec Fee,” was created back in

JASPERY GOH / HIGHLANDER

Graduate students protest outside the SRC and demand an opt-out choice for the new student recreation center.

Oct. 2013 to contest fee hikes associated with SRC South.

Despite failed attempts to place a referendum on the ballot last year, the page administrators have created a petition encouraging the UCR administration to provide students with an opt-out option for the additional mandatory fees.

“Give us options,” reads the community page. “If we don’t want to use (the new gym) then we shouldn’t have to pay $149 extra, but since we already pay $59 per quarter, we should still be able to use the original facility.

Due to student pressure back in August, the university permitted a temporary, two-month extension for graduate students to pay the additional gym fees for fall quarter.

The extension, UCR Registrar Bracken Dailey explained, is due to “a lag between when (graduate students) receive a portion of their fall graduate financial support and the deadline to pay fall fees.”

Some graduate students do not receive their initial stipends until

November, Dailey furthered.

Opponents of SRC South also contended that the gym fees may potentially increase to cover the accumulating cost of rising interest rates in the future; the Recreation Facilities Governing Board (RFG), an advisory board in charge of overseeing SRC functions, would first need to make a recommendation to the UCR chancellor prior to implementing any potential fee increases.

ASUCR Vice President of Internal Affairs Fernando Echeverria reported that after collaborating with the RFG Board this summer, it is now mandatory to have an ASUCR member attend their board meetings. “It is too easy for students that are leaving the university to push fees onto students who are just coming in,” he explained. On the other hand, he also expressed that he favored the SRC South as a facility that offered more space and equipment for UCR students.

Despite some contentions over

the SRC South, UCR student Paula Venegas Albarez acknowledged the high fee increases, but felt the new gym was a good opportunity for students to stay fit. “I think that it’s worth it because it encourages us to keep exercising (and) to keep your mind and body healthy. We’re already paying for it, so might as well take advantage of it,” she said.

Working during the grand opening of the new gym, SRC South employee Sabrina Perez described the new facility as “topof-the-line” and said, “I do think (the gym costs) a lot of money, but I think the second that people come in and see everything that we’re doing, you realize that …

‘Wow, this is a really amazing rec center.’”

Some major features of the SRC South include: a 237,000-gallon pool, which contains both lap and recreational swim, in addition to a vortex and current channel; a sand volleyball court outside; a scenic indoor track; upstairs cardio equipment with built-in screens to

watch movies, shows or to connect via phone; as well as a boulder and rock climbing wall.

Video footage of the grand opening of SRC South is available at youtube.com/UCRChannelH. Other impacts of SRC South - SRC employees reported that ongoing construction is geared toward building a bridge between the north and south recreational buildings. Construction is likely to be finished around January or February 2015.

- The bridge construction has also closed down parking access to Lot 25 and created a split entry for both SRC buildings; students interested in going to SRC North must enter from Linden Street and Abderness Drive, while SRC South has an open entry on Linden Street through Lot 25.

- UCR officials also reported that the pool next to the athletics and dance building will be closed as the SRC South has opened to take its place.

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UC President Napolitano holds UC-exclusive interview ESTEFANIA ZAVALA Senior Staff Writer

On Sept. 30, UC President Janet Napolitano met with student newspaper representatives from each of the UCs to commemorate her first year in office and to discuss goals for the upcoming year.

She discussed a broad variety of topics ranging from possible tuition increases, the UC’s continuing investment in fossil fuels and efforts to support undocumented students.

On the topic of state funding, Napolitano was disappointed when Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a budget proposition that included $50 million in funding for the University of California. “I thought it was like Lucy yanking away the football,” she said, referring to a character from the comic strip Peanuts. Napolitano reaffirmed that the UC has freezed tuition three years in a row, but the lack of state funding may cause tuition to be in flux. “The state

allocation for the university is not what we would hope and that does put heavy pressure on the tuition dollar … we may have to look at a tuition increase again.”

Napolitano also promised that she was looking at different methods of revenue than just tuition and state appropriation.

She recently announced UC Ventures, a fund to pursue investments in UC research, connected to private enterprises.

She remains convinced that the fund will become a viable source of income for the UC system: “UC Ventures augments, supplements and complements basic research and everything we do on the research side,” she stated, in response to controversy that these new ventures may compromise the integrity of UC research.

Nevertheless, she was questioned about the practicality of the recent pay raises for four of the UC chancellors (including UCR Chancellor Kim Wilcox), despite the tough economic environment.

“There’s never a good time to do it,” she

said, referring to the pay raises. “We want to get the very best chancellors we can get. So we have to pay more. Most of our chancellors have actually taken a pay cut to be here … So the notion is: You know what, we’re the University of California.

We compete with the best.”

Napolitano also discussed other controversial topics such as fossil fuel divestment, which encourages the University of California to sever its $10 billion in financial holdings from the fossil fuel industry. “We reject the notion that divestment is really the only and best thing to do,” Napolitano reasoned. “It becomes a bumper sticker … I think we can be much more substantive than only divestment.” She said that the University of California was vetting future investments so that they met Environmental, Social and Governance standards.

On the topic of undocumented student financial aid, Napolitano was ambitious in producing a more welcoming community

for these student populations. “What I’m trying to do is … to make sure that students have an equal experience,” she said about desires to create a pathway for undocumented students to attain financial aid equivalent to federal aid.

In Sept. 2013, Napolitano dedicated $5 million to support undocumented students throughout the UC system. At UC Riverside, the funds will go to hire a full-time program coordinator this year to provide counseling and support for undocumented students, who only receive state, but not federal, financial aid.

“What I’m going to focus on in year two is filling in,” Napolitano concluded the interview. “You know, this next year I don’t see announcing so many new initiatives as I see implementing the ones that we’ve begun.”

Read a full transcript of Janet Napolitano’s interview with the UC student press online at highlandernews. org.

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NEWS

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

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Governor Brown rejects $100 million for UCs, CSUs ESTEFANIA ZAVALA Senior Staff Writer

On Sept. 27, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a part of a proposed budget that would have granted $50 million each to the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems. The budget part was proposed

by Democratic Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner as funding to be used for deferred maintenance, which has delayed upkeep on building infrastructure. According to Brown, there was insufficient property tax revenue this year to allow this financial support. Brown defended his decision by saying that the monies were needed to combat “unanticipated costs such as fighting the state’s extreme wildfires.”

“Making investments to maintain the state’s aging infrastructure continues to be a major priority for my administration, as is paying down the state’s debts and reducing other longterm liabilities,” reasoned Brown in his veto message.

Since January, the UC and CSU systems have been trying to increase their funding beyond that of the initial 2014-2015 budget with no results.

“This is a significant setback,” said Kris Lovekin, UCR director of media relations. “During the recession-era budget cuts … only the most urgent facilities needs were addressed.

Large deferred maintenance projects, new facility construction and major infrastructure upgrades were pushed to the wayside.” She added that the

last bond passed to support building maintenance was back in 2006 and that the funding has long since been used.

UC President Janet Napolitano, however, was optimistic when questioned about Brown’s decision in a Sept. 30 meeting with UC student newspaper representatives. “I was disappointed,” she admitted, referring to the veto, “but in the scheme of things, (the funding) was kind of small.

I thought that rather than call (Brown) the day after the veto, I would keep my powder dry. I suspect that he’ll be reelected in a couple of weeks and there’ll be plenty of time for a conversation then.”

Napolitano cautioned that the UC system gets the majority of its funding either through state support (50 percent of the budget) or tuition (38 percent of the budget). If the state did not increase UC funding, Napolitano warned, tuition would have to go up. She is looking into venture funding for the UC budget and has high hopes for a future of private research financial enterprises.

Venture funding would derive from commercial investments made on UC research and would require no tuition or state funding.

Lovekin echoed a similar sentiment about alternative financial resources, by saying, “UC definitely needs more state funding. In the meantime, campuses are doing as much as possible to be efficient, to raise private and foundation funding and to find ways to partner in new ways with the (CSU) and the Community College system.”

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PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Gov. Jerry Brown stated that paying off the state’s debt was a high priority when vetoing $50 million for the UC system.

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NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

HIGHLANDER

New coordinator to aid undocumented students COLIN MARKOVICH Senior Staff Writer

In an effort to reach out to undocumented students at UCR, the campus is establishing a position for a full-time coordinator to help provide counseling, financial aid advising and overall support to undocumented students.

“This position will help us ensure that our undocumented students have the same opportunities and demonstrate that UCR is align(ed) with its mission of serving the needs and enhancing the quality of life of the diverse people of California,” said Estella Acuna, the director of Chicano Student Programs (CSP).

The coordinator position was established by an 11-person committee headed by Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs James Sandoval. Other committee members included Acuna, Interim Director of Asian Pacific Student Programs William Caganap, three undergraduate students and one graduate student. A 5-person subcommittee is charged with handling the interview process.

The original goal was to hire someone for the position by Oct. 1, but the date was pushed back to acquire more student input, which will take the form of an open forum where students can meet potential candidates. The interview committee hopes to fill the position by the end of October.

According to Ross French

of the department of strategic communications, the position will be overseen by Acuna, but will not “be solely based in (CSP).”

Acuna estimates that there are about 300 undocumented students at UCR, most of whom qualify for in-state tuition under Assembly Bill 540 (AB 540), which allows non-California residents, including undocumented students, to pay in-state tuition under certain circumstances. An additional 174 students qualify under AB 540, but are not undocumented. UCR had 21,297 enrolled students in fall 2013.

The funding for the position stems from a one-time allocation of $512,000 to the campus from the University Office of the President, itself split into two categories: the first dedicated to financial aid and the second dedicated for student services. Grants to purchase textbooks, a workstudy program and scholarships will be made available via the funds from the former category, while the coordinator position is funded from the latter. The final compensation of the coordinator has yet to be determined.

The $512,000 is part of a promise by UC President Janet Napolitano to provide $5 million in funding for financial aid and other services for undocumented students across the UC. It has been reported that the allocation will fund the undocumented student coordinator position until June 2017.

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ARCHIVE / HIGHLANDER Director of Chicano Student Programs Estella Acuna will help oversee a new undocumented student coordinator position.

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NEWS

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

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Four UC chancellors granted higher salaries AMY ZAHN Contributing Writer

On Thursday, Sept. 18, the UC Board of Regents approved salary hikes for several UC chancellors in an effort to make their salaries more competitive with chancellors at other institutions. Aimed primarily at the UC’s three lowest-paid chancellors, these raises are part of the regents’ plan to raise the salaries of all UC chancellors, staff and faculty over the next three years. The vote was controversial, with negative votes coming from Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and several other regents.

Chancellor Henry Yang of UC Santa Barbara, in addition to Dorothy Leland of UC Merced and George Blumenthal of UC Santa Cruz, each received 20 percent raises, their base salaries going from $324,450 to $389,340; and from $319,300 to $383,160, respectively.

UC Riverside’s Chancellor Kim Wilcox was given a 5.1 percent base salary increase, bringing his pay from $364,620 to $383,160.

Regent Russell Gould, who also serves on a committee charged with overseeing university employee compensation, was heavily in favor of the raises. He pointed out that the UC chancellors’ salaries are on average much lower than their counterparts from other leading institutions, and said that the raises are “correcting injustices” done to them.

The 10 UC chancellors’ base pay is about 7 percent lower than the 28 other public institutions in the Association of American Universities, an organization of top research universities around the nation. When compared to the 26 private universities on the list, this disparity becomes 45 percent. Steve Montiel, spokesman for the UC Office of the President, said in a Press Enterprise interview that the regents view the salary adjustments for these chancellors as “a first step toward longer-term changes that will make UC pay more competitive with other peer public and private universities.”

However, the salary increases were not so well received by everyone. Todd Stenhouse, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, said that the raises “send the wrong message about the UC’s priorities to the

public we are here to serve.”

Regent Bonnie Reiss initially reported concern about this message as well, but changed her mind when she recalled that UC Irvine’s chancellor, Michael Drake, left the UC for Ohio State University last year, where his base pay more than doubled to $851,303.

Third-year UCR student Melina Reyes believes that the issue “highlights just how out of touch (the regents) are with the student population, and California as a whole.” She stated that the raises do not resolve the issues of tuition and class availability, but are instead “increasing the monetary stress of the institution.”

Second-year classical studies major Angela Hurley voiced similar concerns, stating that “focusing on our schools’ academics should, of course, be top priority.”

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UCR Chancellor Kim Wilcox was one of four UC chancellors who received a raise.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

. OPINIONS .

HIGHLANDER

HIGHLANDER HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL EDITORIAL

PLAYING THE GAME TO BEAT IT: UCR’S BATTLE TO CHANGE PUBLIC PRESTIGE

HIGHLANDER STAFF Editor-in-Chief

Managing Editor

Colin Markovich

Jake Rich

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W

hat is it, exactly, that makes a college, in the eyes of the public and students, prestigious? Most of us know the name of a prestigious university when we hear it. Its name often rings in the public sphere, whether for its athletics or for professors’ or students’ achievements, with big, grand-sounding names for awards.

Sometimes it’s just the fact that they’ve been around so long.

And why beat around the bush? While UCR in some aspects may certainly deserve the recognition of being prestigious, the institution many of us have come to call home is still sometimes undeservedly called “UC Rejects,” or referred to in a demeaning manner. Despite numerous awards, rankings and other recognitions, too much of the general public perception of the school is underwhelming or at best neutral.

It really puts the school in a tricky position. What can we do to change general public perception of us to show that we have the same capabilities as these socalled prestigious universities, while at the same time not compromising our values of diversity and commitment to students? It is a difficult question, with no real easy answer.

As UCR continues to debate the best way of moving forward, the UC just announced that UCR Chancellor Kim Wilcox was awarded a 5.1 percent raise in his salary, from $364,620 to $383,160. The chancellors of UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz also had their salaries raised to equal Wilcox’s (the three are now tied for the lowest in the UC system). A spokesman for the UC Office of the President said in an email to the Press Enterprise, “President (Janet) Napolitano and the regents felt strongly that it was important to adjust the salaries of our lowest-paid chancellors as a first step toward longer-term changes that will make UC pay more competitive with other peer public and private universities.”

So what does this do for us? It’s a case of having to play the system to beat and break the system. Or at least, that’s what we want the answer to be.

While some may see Wilcox’s pay increase as a waste of money when he is already paid a six-figure salary, in the scheme of a university’s budget, it’s not that much.

The roughly $20,000 being added to the chancellor’s salary, while serving as a nice boost, is enough to pay only about 1.5 instate tuitions. What this increase does do, however, is take a step toward achieving the thing that that UCR lacks: widespread public prestige.

Let us be clear: This is not the ideal system. This is not how we think that gaining prestige and reputation should work. UCR is known for doing many good things in the immediate community, but our lack of reach primarily outside of our region will not get us further. The campus is home to the California Poet Laureate, maintains the largest solar array in the UC system and has made huge advancements in the agricultural sciences, in addition to countless other practical and academic contributions. Universities that are known for long histories of greatness and accomplishments, however, help keep those great people there with a fatter paycheck than just an “average” school. By upping the chancellor’s pay, UCR, and the UC in general, is showing to the public that we are an institution of prestige, and we pay like one too.

Like it or not, executive compensation at prestigious universities is higher than elsewhere. We can find an example at Columbia University, with president Lee C. Bollinger being paid $2.3 million per year or even within our own UC, with UC San Francisco’s Sam Hawgood being the highestpaid UC chancellor at $750,000 per year. If we want to draw prestigious talent, we have to pay like a prestigious university. Financial incentive shouldn’t necessarily be the key motivator — but it often is.

While we are doing things such as increasing the chancellor’s pay to help build our reputation, we are also doing things like joining the University Innovation Alliance (UIA), a consortium of 11 universities dedicated to helping a greater number of low-income and minority students graduate by using effective practices already administered at each respective campus.

Joining organizations such as this continues UCR’s tradition of promoting diversity and assistance for low-income students. UCR hasn’t sold out with this pay increase — it’s still reaching out to underserved communities

ARCHIVE / HIGHLANDER

and helping first-generation college students make it through college. Wilcox has shown he is not going to grind UCR’s focus on inclusiveness into the ground. When we couple this with the pay increase, it shows that acquiring prestige and maintaining diversity in economic background and heritage are not mutually exclusive.

This is what we would hope is happening.

It’s entirely possible that it’s not the case, and the money is just going to line the chancellor’s pockets. But Chancellor Wilcox hasn’t yet given us reason to believe that he’s only in it for the money. All things considered, he’s held true to the university’s attempts to increase access to the UC. We are obviously not university officials, and do not know the exact motivations behind every decision and action. As unfortunate as having to rely on superficial prestige rather than the accolades we already have is, it is a reality we face as a rapidly growing university.

And shouldn’t ranking number two overall in a college rankings list be more of a crowning achievement rather than only something for the university’s social media pages to brag about? Shouldn’t beating out Harvard in the Washington Monthly rankings more than one time gain us some kind of reputation? Whether we like it or not, when it comes to reputation the game isn’t always fair, and even playing hard isn’t enough sometimes.

Over the long run, definitions of success and the need for prestige can certainly be changed, and it’s up to us to make it a more egalitarian way of thinking. But for now, playing the system the best you can is a significant factor in your own success.

The change could end up helping UCR and similar institutions gain more of the public prestige they deserve — and that will also bring the ability to change what prestige means.

We’ll just keep our poker face and sunglasses on, and lay our cards down one by one till we get there.

■H Highlander editorials reflect the majority view of the Highlander Editorial Board. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Associated Students of UCR or the University of California system.

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OPINIONS

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

9

Opinion Poll What are you most excited for this upcoming school year/quarter?

C ompiled

by

V incent T a

Patrick Lowe Business Economics Third-year

Sarah Interiano Undeclared First-year

Randy Pimental Pre-Business First-year

Justine Rejas Biology Third-year

Lucia Preciado Anthropology Fourth-year

Evelyn Amez Anthropology Fourth-year

I’m most looking forward to Block Party 2014 this year.

I’m most excited for the interactions I’ll have with other students at UCR.

Making new friends and experiencing something new. Also, starting a new chapter of my life and hopefully graduating in four years.

The transition from the 16-week semester system at the Community College level to the 10-week quarter system at UCR.

I’m looking forward to finishing my classes to graduate this following summer; I have a few more classes to go.

I’m looking forward to Block Party and possibly graduating this year.

► See more at Youtube.com/UCRChannelH

Can book censorship save our children and their innocence?

JAMESON ADAME Staff Writer

Book banning is one of the most sensitive and controversial subjects in the realm of education. From the protection of youth to disagreements on a moral level with the author or the work itself, every reason under the sun has been given to keep some books out of the hands of students. Most recently, the John Green novel “The Fault in Our Stars” has been removed from middle schools within the Riverside Unified School District.

This most recent ban came about when a concerned parent found that her daughter had taken the book home from school. A coming-of-age tale about two teenagers who suffer from cancer and fall in love, the book inevitably focuses on the pair’s sexual awakening, as well as showing the human side of high school students: less than perfect and unafraid of crude language. Not comfortable with the idea of a book containing such subject matter being readily available to middle schoolers, it was suggested to the book reconsideration committee that it be removed or only available with parental consent. On Sept. 22, the vote was cast by the committee to have the book removed.

Though understandable in their motives, the actions of the book reconsideration committee are further than what should be considered acceptable. More often than not, the act of banning a book is an exaggerated reaction to an avoidable problem.

Though discussions of teenage sexuality are generally considered taboo, it is something that most kids begin to think about as soon as they hit puberty. Evidence of this comes through in sources as famous as the “Diary of a Young Girl,” written by

JAKE RICH / HIGHLANDER “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green was deemed to have too many adult themes and banned in Riverside Unified School District middle schools.

the 13-year-old Anne Frank. Since its publication, there have been various efforts to censor the book or have it removed from schools altogether. This drive for censorship came about due to an entry in Frank’s diary where she discusses her own bodily exploration, and the ponderance of how somebody could have sex or give birth.

Not unlike Frank’s diary, the sexuality expressed in Green’s novel falls far from the mark of exploitation.

Instead, the relationship between the characters Hazel and Augustus is an attempt to show that the deeply emotional bond that the two share also contains a physical element. The two love each other on every level, choosing

to deepen the bond they already have by becoming physically intimate as well. Additionally, Green seems aware of the parallel, tying the scene of his characters’ physicality with a visit to the attic Anne Frank once lived in.

Rather than banning the book for its sexual content, a better solution would be for parents to put such subjects into perspective for the children who may want to read the book. However, even if parents feel that their children are simply too young for such information, then the establishment of a system where students must obtain a guardian’s permission would be a far better solution than the outright ban of a book. Parents and educators must keep

in mind that books are quite often the first to the fray in social advancement, and that even broadly accepted novels such as “The Scarlet Letter” and Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” pushed the moral boundaries of the time in which they were written, making mentions of adultery and bestiality respectively.

The line between sexuality and pornography must be understood as the difference between the exploitation of sex, and sex as a natural aspect of life.

Additionally, schools must understand that they are public institutions, and that an author’s right to express themselves — should a student take an interest in reading their work — may ■H lead to somebody else’s offense.

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

Be seen.

Watch the headliners and write the headlines. Join our Monday meetings at 5:15 p.m. in HUB 101 to learn more about how you can see your name in lights and in the byline.

Highlander

@highlanderradar

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

R adar ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Events this week Wednesday | 10/8

Thursday | 10/9

Friday | 10/10

Saturday | 10/11

Zen Zeng, pianist @ UCR Arts Building, 12:10 p.m.

Welcome Week Concert @ The Barn, 7:30 p.m.

Gino and Jade Matteo @ Back to the Grind, 9:00 a.m.

Jerry Lewis @ Fox Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m.

Vic Mensa led the Block Party stage as its first performer for the evening.

VINCENT TA / HIGHLANDER

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ARTS & ENTE

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

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ew and returning Highlanders were welcomed back to campus with UCR’s annual fall concert, Block Party. Performers included rapper Vic Mensa, reggae-pop band MAGIC! and DJ Dillon Francis. Attendees were greeted with various student organizations, food trucks and tents selling everything from boba to quesadillas. The energy was high as concert-goers flooded onto campus in hopes of experiencing a fun, music-filled night — and UCR certainly did not disappoint.

vic mensa F

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Christal Mims, Senior Staff Writer

irst to take the stage was Chicago native Vic Mensa. “When I say Vic, you say Mensa!” screamed his DJ, in an attempt to excite the small crowd. Onlookers cooperated but, judging from their stiff body language, were unsure of what to expect from the Save Money rapper. Luckily, they were in for quite the treat. Mensa was a ball of energy, hurling onto the stage determined to hype up the growing crowd. He began with a few of his newest songs, including “Wimme Nah” and “Feel That,” carefree anthems with catchy lyrics that helped the crowd participate effortlessly and consequently bring life to the concert. However, some die-hard Mensa fans were still not feeling the lackluster attitude of the crowd. “What the fuck you doin’ just standing there?” an audience member yelled in frustration.

Mensa continued by covering fellow Save Money member Chance the Rapper’s hit “Cocoa Butter Kisses.” Everyone chanted the lyrics along with Mensa, who seemed relieved to know that the crowd could, in fact, be interactive. He surprised the audience by performing two new songs off of his upcoming album and songs from his 2013 breakout mixtape “Innanetape.” Mensa appeared to be having the time of his life, bouncing around and making it hard for anyone to look on without dancing along. He really got the

crowd moving when he performed his hit “Down on My Luck,” an electronic-infused dance song that proved to be a nice contrast to his hip-hop filled set.

Mensa continued to display his versatility as an artist through lyrical content as well. He went from rapping about drugs and women in songs like “Tweakin” and “Major Payne” to a song about personal doubts and growing up in the harsh streets of Chicago entitled “Holy Holy.” Mensa encouraged everyone to wave their lighters in the air during the song as he preached on the value of togetherness. He encouraged students to embrace help from one another and never be discouraged by authority figures who may not see success in their future. He further proved that he was an advocate for unity and love by asking everyone to put their arm around the person next to them while they continued to bounce and sway to the music.

If you follow Mensa and his performances, you’d know that he is quite fond of crowdsurfing. Mensa was met with screams and hollers as he jumped into the crowd, undoubtedly creating an unforgettable moment for every Highlander in attendance. Mensa ended his set with a bang, and although the entire world may not know who he is just yet, based on this performance, they soon will.

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magic!

Jameson Adame, Staff Writer

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fter being so pumped up by Mensa’s energy and with nearly no wait between performances, MAGIC! took the stage, basking in the screams of the newly filled-out crowd. Right off the bat, lead singer Nasri showed himself interested in keeping the energy going, coming onstage without so much as a word and breaking immediately into song.

Only two years old, the band opened by playing music from what is currently its only studio album, “Don’t Kill the Magic,” giving the audience a chance to dance and sing along to music that was still fresh in their minds. After a few songs, the band introduced themselves and explained their passion for reggae, feeding off the audience’s applause.

MAGIC! definitely knew how to work the crowd, using the leftover energy from Mensa’s verve, and encouraging the audience to clap to the beat and sing along in songs like “Mama Didn’t Raise No Fool” and “Let Your Hair Down.”

As the crowd — who was still pumped up from the last performance — participated, a new fervor that belonged entirely to MAGIC! was born, leading to a widespread swaying and jamming along with the slightly upbeat reggae style.

Once he had the crowd in his hands, Nasri worked the excitement for all it was worth, crouching near the edge of the stage in an effort to serenade the girls in the front and dancing with so much hip movement that it would leave even Elvis green with envy.

As well as playing previously unreleased songs for audience, MAGIC! took advantage of their somewhat lim discography to entertain the crowd with old familiars Stevie Wonder’s “Master Blaster” and Cyndi Lauper’s “G Just Wanna Have Fun.” The former song worked perfectly the band’s reggae style, and though not quite able to cap the passion of the original performance, Nasri proved him able to hold his own against a vocalist as strong as S Wonder. The latter, on the other hand, came as a plea surprise to everybody in the audience, as they all grooved sang along to the reggae-styled cover of the 80’s pop hit.

After having worked the crowd so well and having run the stage divider to let the audience pull and grope, MAGI performance drew to a close. It’s unfortunate however their ending came off as somewhat weak compared to the of their performance. Their final two songs were “Don’t the Magic,” for which the album was named, and “Ru the song that rocketed the band to the top 10 in the Billb charts. What handicapped the coda to MAGIC!’s perform was the tone of each song, with “Don’t Kill the Magic” b a high energy reggae-rock tune, while “Rude,” — tho their most popular song and a logical end-cap to their con performance — was far too mellow for a crowd expe to keep the energy going for another performance. Ov though, MAGIC!’s cod reggae had a charm to it that ble well with the audience, and it’s easy to see how they cont to climb in popularity.

RTAINMENT

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Cody Nguyen, Senior Staff Writer

AGIC!’s last song was far from being the best way to keep the energy going as Vic Mensa had done before them, but the waiting time between performances left a good portion of the audience bored with expectation and ready to get on with the concert. All of this said, Dillon Francis may have been the best choice to wake the crowd up and get them hopping once more.

Climbing the light-strewn tower that had been erected on an elevated center stage, Francis wasted little time getting things started, shouting only a quick hello to the crowd and breaking immediately into his signature moombahton sound with a new remix of “Some Chords” by deadmau5.

The light show emanating from Francis’ podium was as good as a shot in the arm for the audience, waking up anybody left in a stupor from the gap between performances and mesmerizing anybody who wasn’t seizing from the sporadic strobing and lasers. Throughout his set, Francis took to spending more time actually letting the crowd enjoy the music rather than spending his entire set shouting over the mic. Generally, his music would be mixed in with intermittent shouts of encouragement that served fairly well to pump up the audience, but that was pretty much what his interaction with the audience was limited to. The two exceptions to

this, however, came when he told the audience, “Now I’m gonna teach you something,” before breaking into a spelling lesson with his song “What’s That Spell,” and again when he told the crowd to “piss off security by having every girl get on somebody’s shoulders.” By limiting his time on the microphone, Francis was effectively able to shift the audience’s focus to the music instead of the DJ. While Francis’ set mostly gave way to the heavy moombahton and bassy bangers that listeners have come to expect from him, the middle of his set brought a brief change of pace when Francis dropped “When We Were Young,” a pop-inspired pick-me-up tune, which got the crowd singing along as if they were drunk patrons at a karaoke bar.

During the conclusion of his set and after over an hour of anticipation from the crowd, Dillon Francis appeased the fans in attendance and played his signature track “Get Low.” Preparing the crowd for the massive drop, he instructed everyone in the audience to “get low” by way of the signature festival “sit-down.” With thousands of fans low to the ground anxiously awaiting the drop, Francis exclaimed, “Everybody get low!

Low! Low! Low!” When the drop finally hit, on came a glorious display of a sea of human beings popping up from the ground in sync, nothing short of the perfect culmination to an H electrifying performance by Francis. ■

hear our exclusive interview with Dillon Francis: youtube.com/ ucrchannelh UCR’s 2014 Block Party started off with a bang and held it all throughout the night.

The stage vibe didn’t stutter with Vic Mensa, Magic! and Dillon Francis performing all evening long. The crowd grew larger and larger until it nearly flooded the grass field between Watkins and the HUB by the time Dillon Francis climbed onto his set.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

HIGHLANDER

MUSIC REVIEW NIGHT SAFARI // POPULOUS

RATING: ★★★★☆

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BY: JOSH CONDE, STAFF WRITER

s a music lover who has listened to an endless array of albums, I frequently come across music that is fun to listen to.

However, less frequently are those moments when I find an album that reminds me why I love listening to music in the first place. They allow me to realize how much I love listening to music that not only sounds amazing and has emotion, but also tells a story. The album “Night Safari” by Popu lou s, ot her w ise known as Andrea Mangia, is just that. This album not only delivers some breathtaking tracks, but each one has its own backstory that connects to the album’s overall attempt to allow listeners to experience the foreign and exotic sounds of the world.

“Night Safari” takes listeners on a pop-synth journey around the world which includes field-recorded samples throughout the album that make this musical adventure feel authentic.

That’s right: This album is the result of an actual journey to the most remote corners of the world during which Populous recorded all kinds of sounds heard across the world and incorporated them into his music. Just waiting

to be heard in this album are sounds ranging from ritualistic cries to harmonious howls of wild animals in their natural domain. Each one of these samples are then mixed in with eccentric electronic beats and rhythms provided

by Populous. The combination is a splendid one, and will take you on a journey across the world while giving the familiar sounds of planet Earth a foreign and other worldly feel. This makes “Night Safari” stand out as an album and can only really be described as an experimental, electronicbased album that adds fresh elements to the standard cla s si f icat ion s of the genres.

Track after track, this album delivers music that is danceable, thoughtful and ref lective at the same time. Each track is an epic adventure on its own, starting with the opener, “Himalaya Reel To Reel.”

Right from the start, listeners will feel like they are actually trekking across the Himalayas, all while striding along the pulsating electronic beats and riffs. From there, listeners will be transported to a tranquil black sand beach with the track “Dead Sea” as well as a jungle safari in the albumtitled track “Night Safari.” The variety of sound on the album is remarkable and provides

Courtesy of Bad Panda Records

Track after track, this album delivers music that is danceable, thoughtful and reflective at the same time.

listeners with numerous musical experiences.

Not only does Populous deliver extraordinary music on his own, the album also has a number of featured artists such as Clap! Clap!, Lokoi and DJ Khalab. Most notably, the song “Fall,” featuring the vocals of Japanese singer Cuushe, provides one of the most memorable collaborations on the album. Cuushe provides high-pitched vocals that are eerie yet soft, beautiful and entrancing to a level where you will undoubtedly be

abusing the repeat button until your finger goes numb.

“Fall” is unquestionably the headlining track of the entire album. However, this does nothing to diminish the undeniable quality of many other noteworthy tracks. Songs such as “Honey (feat. Lokoi)” and “Brasilia (feat. Giorgio Tuma)” also contain brilliant vocal performances that add an incredible amount of depth to the songs. In many ways, these vocal performances help give listeners a visual experience while listening to

this album.

“Night Safari” truly is an album that evokes a much stronger sense of imagery than most other albums, and by doing so creates a journey just waiting to be lived out by the listener. Although it has been six years since Populous’ last full-length release, it has been well worth the wait.

It seems all that time spent gathering field samples and exotic sounds has proven to be a successful way of bringing a new form of music to any eager listener.

■H

HIGHLANDER NEWSROOM

KUCR RADIO 88.3

WEDNESDAYS @ 9AM

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

15

MOVIE REVIEW COMING OUT SOON:

ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY

THE JUDGE

DRACULA UNTOLD

ANNABELLE

RATING: ★☆☆☆☆

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BY: STASEAN WASHINGTON, STAFF WRITER

orror movies have not been the greatest as of late.

But they are still a cash cow because they are cheap to make and it is easy to make a profit from them.

So, when one does well, you can expect several more to follow. And, although they might suck, it does not stop audiences from lining up on Friday nights for utter disappointment.

“Annabelle” is a supernatural horror film directed by John R. Leonetti.

The story of the Annabelle doll started as a brief opening sequence to James Wan’s “The Conjuring.” New Line Cinema then decided to give the story a bigger platform as a spin-off following the success of Wan’s film. It tells the tale

of Mia (Annabelle Wallis) and John (Ward Horton), the previous owners of Annabelle who become plagued by supernatural occurrences after their home is invaded by satanic cultists. The film’s lack of a compelling story, an original scare factor and decent acting make the film a tedious viewing.

The plot does nothing to reinvent the wheel. It’s your typical story about a family being terrorized by some malevolent being who wants someone’s soul. The characters lack personality because they are archetypes you have seen before. Mia is the lonely housewife being plagued by the supernatural.

John is the skeptical husband.

Evelyn (Alfre Woodard) is the empathetic individual

who believes Mia because of a similar experience. Father Perez is the priest that helps the family when things get bad. Even the origins of titular character Annabelle are lazy and a blatant ripoff.

Even the origins of titular character Annabelle are lazy and a blatant ripoff.

Because the characters are cardboard cutouts, it’s hard for the audience to care.

Mia and John are the perfect American family with bland personalities, making it hard

for the audience to connect.

Star Wallis and co-star Horton only cement this disconnect with their cringe-worthy performances.

Leonetti’s directing also takes the audience off the edge of their seat. The film does not feel like a horror movie — most of the “scary” parts happen in the day — which could have been great, had it been used effectively.

The idea that midnight is the “witching hour” is something that lends to the atmosphere and it’s baffling that he chose to avoid it for most of the film.

Poor framing and overuse of handheld wide shots make it easy to predict jump scares and take the audience out of the story. The film lacks the up-close and personal look of

following a character down a long dark hall. Sequences like Mia running up a flight of stairs, with lights flashing and a shaky camera make the scene unwatchable. And Leonetti’s pacing makes the film a litany of false alarms and jump scares.

Overall, if you were hoping for the same spark that you had once seen while watching Wan’s “The Conjuring,” don’t hold your breath. “Annabelle” is a lesser version of not only its predecessor but every supernatural horror film before it. And the fact of the matter is, Wan managed to make the story of “Annabelle” more interesting in his 10-minute opening sequence than this film could have done in its total 98-minute run time.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

HIGHLANDER

Awayfrom

Sprawl:

the

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by Jake Rich, Senior Staff Writer

BitTorrent, Thom Yorke embrace new age of music consumption O

h, good old BitTorrent. How many things have you downloaded from there? No judging here. But a good deal of us have done it. It’s convenient, for one thing. Along with many other websites where entertainment is accessible in an, uh — unique, we should say — way, BitTorrent provides users the ability to get their favorite music, movies and most other downloadable things you want for free. The site, along with similarly structured websites or apps for downloading or torrenting (R.I.P. LimeWire), has been the bane of many artists and content creators, as their creations have been widely distributed over the Internet to thousands of users for free.

Recently, as you may know, Thom Yorke, almighty god and supreme ruler of Radiohead, decided to surprise-release his album, “Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes,” via BitTorrent. Seriously. The lead singer of possibly the most critically acclaimed band on the planet decided to release his album on a torrent service. Of course, this isn’t an entirely unexpected move from a member of Radiohead. The band self-released their album, “In Rainbows,” in 2007 in an unprecedented “pay-what-you-want” format. Before the album’s physical release, fans could download the album for anywhere from free to a million dollars or more if they wanted to. Though Yorke is releasing the album via a paid-only BitTorrent bundle for $6, the idea of releasing an album through a service that is primarily directed at people trying to download an album for free is a risky yet worthwhile move.

It’s because he’s going directly to the consumers.

While ignoring the spotty mechanics of the Spotify artist-pay system (which is another discussion for another time), the service has attracted many would-be torrenters that don’t want to pay for their music and created a community of free, legal music sharing. The idea is that they found the consumers who were using their product the most (whether legally or illegally), and created a way that was a convenient legal alternative, rather than shaming them for downloading free

help artists make their living: the listeners. When listeners were presented with a legal option on their favorite website for illegal activities, many chose the legal way. No doubt some of them actually bought the album instead of finding it elsewhere in order to support Yorke, but the real reason for many others? Sheer convenience.

“It’s an experiment to see if the mechanics of the system are something that the general public can get its head around … If it works well it could be an effective way of handing some control of Internet commerce back to people who are creating the work,” Yorke and producer Nigel Godrich said in a statement. “Enabling those people who make either music, video or any other kind of digital content to sell it themselves. Bypassing the self-elected gatekeepers.”

Most of the entertainment industry has been generally oblivious to the way consumption of music and other entertainment has been rapidly changing over the past 10-15 years, and have been trying to fight it instead. Bandcamp does indeed provide a similar model for artists (particularly smaller ones), but seeing an artist of this magnitude trying something new is bound to have some influence.

To see a large-scale artist go directly to the consumer and recognize how they consume and make it easier for them is a big deal. Businesswise, it makes a lot more sense — consumers consuming how they want to consume.

Of course, this system certainly isn’t perfect, and wouldn’t work for all artists. But for sheer ingenuity and ability to recognize convenience to H the consumer and listener, it’s a win for all of us. ■

...the idea of releasing an album through a service that is primarily directed at people trying to download an album for free is a risky yet worthwhile move. music. It’s not to say that you shouldn’t download illegal music for free (which again, is another discussion — artists should get paid adequately for their work). Yorke is simply taking the idea of consumer convenience to another level, while also making it more artist-friendly.

Yorke, one week into his album release, has garnered over 1 million downloads so far, including the few tracks available free for download. If Yorke decided not to hide the official sales figures from the public, the album would have likely been the number-one album on the charts — and that’s not counting vinyl sales either. And it’s because Yorke decided to go straight to the people who

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

17

GRAPHIC BY VINCENT TA

Musings of an angry nerd:

Why talk of feminism in videogames is ok

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Nathan Swift, Senior Staff Writer

o the whole “Gamergate” controversy has been going on for a while now. (Or it’s fizzled out, I’m not sure. I’m not friends with the entire Internet.) Either way, I definitely learned something out of it: Some people on the Internet really, really don’t like women.

The entire Gamergate controversy started when indie game developer Zoe Quinn’s ex-boyfriend posted on some forums about the details of their relationship, including some (false) claims that Zoe slept with several gaming journalists to garner positive reviews on her groundbreaking game “Depression Quest.” Running with this factual evidence (or lack thereof), trolls from all corners of the world descended into the darkest facets of their souls and hacked her and her friends’ and family’s personal addresses and information, and as of now continue to threaten Quinn on a daily basis, all the while blaming her for allegedly setting back women in the gaming industry (note the ironic lack of self-awareness). Many like to say that the movement has moved on from its initial misogyny to target a widespread “conspiracy” against the “unethical” relationship between game developers and journalists, because, I dunno, I guess it’s a bad thing to have to play and enjoy the games that they review? Personally, the only conspiracy I see is that people keep on spending hundreds of dollars a year on the same games from the same big companies, but that way of thinking is for another time.

Or maybe that’s the actual conspiracy that Gamergate wishes to expose and correct? In that case, sign me up as a card-carrying member! Oh wait, I remembered that the entire movement is based off of misogyny and false allegations of slut-shaming. Never mind.

So setting aside all that there is concerning Gamergate, the larger issue I wish to address is feminism, and specifically why it’s ok to apply a feminist attitude to a critique of video games.

Let’s be honest here: Human history has been,

for lack of a better word, terrible for certain people.

Certain people like women. I find it interesting that many men claim women are ruining the ideal codes of masculinity, when in actuality women are only attempting to place themselves as societal equals to men. Now am I inferring that the central core of masculinity is to treat women like secondhand citizens? Some see masculinity that way. For example, the term “slut-shaming” goes way back to the Victorian Era, where men who got around were held up as shining examples of their gender, while a woman who did the same thing would be virtually shamed out of existence. Or how the infamous “get back in the kitchen” Internet comment is a throwback to “Hamlet,” where the title character (a woman-hating jerk) tells his love, Ophelia, to “get thee to a nunnery” when they butt heads, before she later commits suicide (another type of comment that trolls love to express). Speaking of Shakespeare, did you know that women in his time didn’t act in theater because it was seen as the equivalent of prostitution? There’s a lot of examples I could pull from history both far and recent, but my point should be clear: Women have had it rough simply because of their gender.

At this point, you might be telling yourself, “Yes yes, I know where this is going. You’re going to use your historical footnotes as a segway to why feminism should be applied to video games.” This is where you think to yourself, “what a sellout of a man,” “you’re not a true gamer,” “all this talk about feminism is annoying and emasculating.” And to those critics I say: It’s ok to be both a gamer and a feminist. I don’t just want to address the different ways in which feminism could be applied to video games on a larger scale. The wonderful feminist critic Anita Sarkeesian has already done the great work of addressing sexist tropes in video games in a number of YouTube videos, and for the most part I agree with her critiques (similarly to Quinn, she too was driven out of her home by threats simply for expressing her opinion).

For example, the whole “silent, pretty damsel in

distress” that is Princess Peach from the Mario series should be changed, as to not continually present the idea of a woman as weak and in need of constant saving by a man. Or how about Samus Aran, from the “Metroid” series? Even though her games are more action-oriented, does she really need to be in a skintight suit exposing every single curve on her body when you first learn that the suit’s operator is a woman? From being a part of a game’s underdeveloped wallpaper that you can ignore to being ragdolls that you can straight-up virtually murder (looking right at you, “Grand Theft Auto”), I’m confused as to why people will get upset over other forms of entertainment and pop culture when women are misrepresented (like when “Jeopardy” recently took heat for a ‘what women want’ panel), yet that same mentality is acceptable in video games. Given that the majority of gamers are adults and almost half of them women, I’m surprised that there already isn’t a massive boycott of the gaming industry. I’m not calling for a boycott, but I am calling for change.

It’s up to you, the gamer, to bring that level of feminism to gaming on a personal scale. A good piece of advice that employers are often given is to feminize their workplace, which can definitely be applied to video games. Do you run a clan/guild/server/ some sort of collective group for a game? Ban the sort of language that ruined the lives of Sarkeesian and Quinn. Or if you’re a mod or admin for some sort of gaming forum or discussion board, ban it there as well. Somebody’s not listening? Kick them out without guilt. Do you have a child that does this sort of thing? Warn that they will be cut out of the inheritance if they don’t stop. Know a friend who does that for giggles? Tell them to knock it off.

Feminism isn’t about the idea that men are stupid and obsolete — it’s about making men and women equals in society. An improvement in our culture should be reflected through our entertainment. But sometimes the way people ignore sexism in video games makes me say “I don’t want to live on this planet anymore.”

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

. FEATURES .

HIGHLANDER

JASPERY GOH / HIGHLANDER

Scotty along with many students work tirelessly to pop rolls upon rolls of bubble wrap at the Student Recreation Center.

breaking bubbles W

hen the carillon in the Bell Tower rang out at 11 a.m. last Friday, signalling the end of classes for the hour, first-time and veteran students alike flooded out of their classrooms. Some were heading home for an early weekend. Others made their way to the HUB for an early lunch — or late breakfast. And a few unlucky souls were forced to sprint to the University Village to make it to that one class in time.

Some students had a different destination in mind, however: the Student Recreation Center. No, not the newly-opened, years-in-the-making, protest-generating one. Instead, it was the old recreation center that was the newfound target of students’ affection. And the reason? To make history, one sheet of bubble wrap at a time.

Or to put it more accurately: many sheets of bubble wrap all at the same time.

The Guinness world record for the most people popping bubble wrap simultaneously is 942, when an elementary school in Minnesota gave its students an awesome response to the eternal question, “What did you do in school today?” In celebration of the grand opening of the brand-new student recreation center, UCR set out to beat it.

“Popping bubble wrap for a minute is the same as a half-hour massage,” Dusan Stancic, a programmer for the recreation center, said of bubble wrap’s cathartic properties.

Stancic has been planning the event for a year, and said the event was chosen not just to beat a world record, but to help students de-stress and show that the recreation center was a fun place to be.

Many of the students seemed to agree.

Kara-Leigh Helmrick, a first-year chemistry major, proclaimed she was attending “for the love of bubble wrap.” Justin Schwartz, a first-year biology major, said he “wanted to be part of a record.” Standing next to him, Amber Quezada, also a first-year biology major, agreed and added that the event “brought out my inner child.”

Everybody’s eagerness to get popping was plain to see as the staff began handing out

Colin Markovich, Senior Staff Writer sheets of bubble wrap.

Perhaps the staff at the event could have used some of the bubble wrap to stress-bust themselves. As students streamed into the cramped entrance, harried coordinators prodded students over to the set-up of tables, where participants would agree to be used in promotional video. Another seemed to be handing out a promotional T-shirt every second as her compatriots did the same for Tootsie-Roll pops and raffle tickets. I asked her what the raffle tickets were for.

“It’s a gift, honey, don’t ask,” came the curt reply.

It was easy to see why stress was high for coordinators. It became readily apparent that there were simply not enough people to break the world record. Even as the crowd of students grew and grew, by around 11:30, only about 400 people were standing by and ready to pop bubble wrap — event organizers were hoping for 1,000.

As they prayed for more attendees to show, the minutes ticked by. To break the anticipation, the raffle was started and a few winners were announced. The volume of the music was amped up, and a group of cheerleaders performed acrobatic feats

to pump up the crowd. The biggest cheers were drawn when coordinators started throwing free stuff into the assembly.

Still, to break the world record, the crowd would have to double in size, and noon wasn’t coming any slower. A few stragglers trickled in, dressed in workout clothes and a sheen of sweat still covering their bodies. They looked like they had just come from the gym, and stood off to the side holding their bubble wrap with bored faces. Meanwhile, the other attendees spent the time anxiously chatting, wondering when the popping madness would start. A few, disappointed, left the event for class.

Then — finally — the sound of an air horn pierced the music. A wave of crackling erupted in the recreation center. Students were popping bubble wrap as if it was the one place they could get rid of their stress, furiously mashing the plastic circles to a pulp or twisting the wrap together with force that would shred a sponge. Others decided the best way to de-stress was to have fun with the bubble wrap and came up with inventive ways to raze their sheet, throwing the wrap to the ground and stomping on it; others danced atop it, their feet pulverizing

the sheet of plastic. One person even decided to do handstands to take out his sheet.

For two minutes, the popping, snapping cacophony filled the arena. The emcee’s voice was drowned out as students lost themselves in the sheer childhood bliss of popping bubble wrap (except those lastminute attendees from the gym, who indifferently squeezed the individual bubbles between their fingers). Even though there weren’t enough people to break the record, it seemed as if the noise and enthusiasm of the crowd should be able to topple the record all by themselves.

It wasn’t to be. The final tally of attendees: 599. The record remained unbroken.

Still, a cheer rang out after the time was complete. Students hugged each other and laughed with their friends. A few continued popping the bubble wrap while others plopped down in piles of the plastic as if they were piles of leaves. As students left behind the bubble wrap in the old recreation center and exited the building, nobody seemed to regret it. Many of them moved right next door to the new recreation center to appreciate the rock climbing wall, gaze at the pool, or use the Internet on the new treadmills. Crowds with Pop Till You Drop-emblazoned T-shirts gathered around representatives from various campus organizations as they talked about health and fitness. Numerous students decided to brave a punishing military-style workout of two minutes’ worth of push-ups and sit-ups followed by running a mile in the indoor track.

Maybe nobody ever expected UCR to break the world record, or maybe everyone rebounded from the loss quickly. But nobody seemed depressed after the result.

Whether they were content with popping massive amounts of bubble wrap, or excited to try out the new recreation center, students took it all in stride. Perhaps there will be another chance for UCR to break a world record someday. Perhaps UCR even will. For now, though, everybody seems to H be happy to have had the opportunity. ■

FEATURES

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

Freshman Fifteen fifteen bits of interest from the returners to the newcomers “if we were freshmen, we would save money by swapping...”

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Starbucks with Mr. Coffee

Subway with sandwiches from home

Ralph’s with WinCo

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Driving with walking or cycling

New textbooks with PDF searches

A new water bottle with refilling old ones

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Pentland with Aberdeen and Inverness

Human food for cup of noodless

Personal privacy for roommates

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Fresh food with frozen (veggies, fruit, meats)

Apple with Android

In-N-Out with McDonald’s Dollar Menu

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Funemployment for a job

Buying pizza for club-provided pizza ■

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Campus Bookstore with UBE or University Pride

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

FEATURES

HIGHLANDER

Restaurant Review:

The Spot Sports Bar&Grill

By Maxine Arellano, Senior Staff Writer // Photos by Aaron Lai

W

eek zero is now nothing but a memory. “It’s the second day bro, and I need a drink already,” someone muttered as they passed by the humanities building.

I think we can relate to this random stranger — to some degree at least. Getaway Cafe might be the automatic go-to decision. But maybe the brewsky and pizza are a bit tired, or you want to venture out (at least that’s how I felt). So when I heard about the new spot in the University Village, The Spot, I made my way down the street without any hesitation.

The Spot Sports Bar and Grill opened its doors mid-August and awaited the R’side heat. Cool air seeped out of the double doors and we quickly made our way inside. Loud chatter and glasses clanking against each other filled the room. Tartan blue and gold covered the walls of the restaurant with a faint glow cast by the numerous plasma screens along every wall and corner. UCR jerseys and Greek life T-shirts hung from the exterior pipes overhead. Two pool tables sat along the wall-length window next to a jukebox. (Not some 50’s diner jukebox, however — this touch screen computer had whole albums of various artists from 5 Seconds of Summer to 2 Chainz. As guests browse for the right tune, they can also snap some pictures with the built-in photo booth.)

We waited at the door to be seated as the one waitress stood at one of the busy tables. She finally peered up to tell us to sit wherever. Since only four tables were occupied, choosing a seat was not an issue.

Getting a glass of water in 100-degree heat was though: We watched the waitress for about 15 minutes pace to each table until she finally brought menus. Starters range from Cali Chicken Rolls (chicken and cheese wrapped in egg roll wrappers fried to a crisp served with sweet jalapeno syrup) to PitZaaH (pita crust, pizza sauce and mozzarella).

All starters are $6, with additional cost for

meat.

We went straight for the drinks (newly turned 21-year-olds in a sports bar, drinks were a given). Cocktails range from $8$10 from the Blue Lemon Drop Martini to the Kilt Tilter. Flip the menu over and beer fans rejoice: There’s a list of domestic beers ranging from Hangar 24 Chocolate Porter to Fat Tire Ale. Now, if you think a pitcher is how you get the party going, The Spot thinks differently.

How about a 3-foot tall tower filled with the drink of choice in the center of the table for $30? Almost resembling a bong (calm down, it isn’t that kind of place), ice fills a center tube to keep your drink chilled, as neon lights flash from the bottom. But a glass and pitcher are also available for the weaklings. I didn’t think I could polish off a tower of Angry Orchard Apple Cider by my lonesome, so I went with a cocktail, Caribbean Sunset ($8).

The table ordered the Loaded Pita Fries: seasoned pita fries topped with cheddar and jack cheese, grilled onions, garlic and herbs

The Spot Bar and Grill establishes an open atmosphere for UCR students to eat, drink and hang out.

the appetizer greeted our table, I asked the waitress if she was the only one working the floor. She sighed and revealed that it has never been this packed all at once before.

Each fry was toasted with a rich texture.

I noticed the prices resembled run-of-the-mill restaurant chains. These dishes, though, were far from ordinary. with chicken and beef shawarma available as additional toppings.

Cool and refreshing, Caribbean Sunset combines vodka and citrus to put you on the beach — a great mindset to wait another 15 minutes for the appetizer. The door soon stretched as hordes of people piled in.

However, some parties trickled out as the wait time for menus was too long. When

The Spot’s bar is well-stocked to offer drinks for whatever partying needs UCR students have, with a relaxed environment that encourages hanging out. One of the openers that The Spot offers are its unique Pita Fries.

RATING: ★★★★☆

Buttery and crisp, the bed of fries rested under cheese that looked like confetti tossed in every nook and cranny. Pico de gallo, grilled onions and parsley with garlic scattered across the plate, we decided the Loaded Pita Fries were something worth a plate-licking.

The Spot offers their own lineup of burgers, sandwiches and specials. Scotty’s favorites are highlighted to offer the guest to try the best and the Poblano burger ($9.95), Meatball sandwich ($10.95) and East “Meats” Best (12.95) are just some of the popular items. The table ordered Barbecue Rib Quesadilla ($8.95), Ricky’s Cheese Steak (9.95) and Chick N’ Mac N’ Cheese ($9.95). By this time, our original waitress cashed out and was replaced by third-year economic student, Edward Jancaitis.

I noticed the prices resembled run-of-themill restaurant chains. These dishes, though, were far from ordinary. The cheese steak oozed cheese from every corner with a steak sizzling underneath, piled high on a French roll. Hand-sized quesadilla triangles filled the basket with the barbecue rib poking out of each end with a chipotle aioli for dipping (or scooping, because that was finger-licking delicious).

And no words can describe the mac n’ cheese, with macaroni floating in warm alfredo bechamel sauce, grilled chicken with juices bursting with every bite and crisp bacon found in each spoonful. You know everyone at the table enjoys their food when the conversation completely ceases and it’s silent. When I finally picked my head up from eating my mac n’ cheese as if it was in a pig’s trough, I noticed half-devoured food and half-dead people, slouching over to regain consciousness from the food coma.

“Don’t finish it then, we need dessert!” I said, and despite the faint groans, there were no objections.

There are people who ask for the drink menu or dive straight into the entrees. I, however, skip to the back and seek out the desserts like they’re donations from sponsors in the Hunger Games. Booze-inspired sweets complete their “photo finish desserts,” with Special Brownies (I told you, it’s not that kind of place!) of dark chocolate made with Hangar 24 Chocolate Porter, amaretto caramel and chocolate drizzle, as well as the Apricot Date Kneefe, sweet ricotta cheese wrapped in phyllo dough slathered with a glaze of dates and rum apricots, to add to the list.

The Special Brownie Sundae was the winner. Their special brownie buried under vanilla and mocha ice cream, amaretto caramel and chocolate sauce, whipped cream and walnuts, was almost too much to handle (keyword: almost). Even though we were practically busting at the seams, we still dragged our spoons across the table for every drop and crumb.

I have to admit, I was a bit worried when we walked in at how the experience was going to be. But the food, portions, prices and service (for the most part) made up for it.

“It’s been fun,” Edward said as he caught his breath from the rush. “We hope it gets even better.” The Spot is definitely the spot for a night on the town, even if it’s just a couple ■H steps away from home.

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SPORTS

HIGHLANDER

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014

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HIGHLANDERS

Around The Big West Jason Ahn, Contributing Writer

Men’s soccer wins league opener

The men’s soccer team cruised by Sacramento State on Thursday, Oct. 2, with a convincing 4-0 shutout win. It was the first time since 2011 that the program won their league opener. Stephen Copley, Ricardo Ruiz, Michael Salazar and Andre Parada all scored within the first half. The defense was pivotal in the win, allowing only three shots on goal. On Saturday, however, the Highlanders dropped a 1-0 decision to UC Davis. A win would have been the first time in team history that the club opened league play 2-0.

The Aggies outshot UCR 18-14, and also were more accurate with seven shots on goal to UCR’s four. The men’s soccer team’s next game is at home against Cal Poly, this Thursday, Oct. 9.

Women’s soccer ties in double overtime

UCR’s women’s soccer tied UC Davis, 0-0, in double overtime in a Thursday night conference showdown.

The Highlanders have recorded five shutouts this season, the most since 2009. The Highlanders (5-3-3, 0-0-1) outshot the Aggies (3-7-2, 0-0-1) 16 to seven.

UCR goalie Elizabeth Silas racked up three saves versus Aggie goalie Taylor Jern’s six. The club’s next match is at home, this Thursday, Oct. 9, against UC Irvine.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS

Women’s tennis begins season

The women’s tennis team started their first tournament of the season at the Beach Tennis Fall Tournament in Long Beach last Friday, Oct. 3. The team fared well on the first day, but fell short on the second. Kassie Truong outplayed Christy Scott of Montana, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2; Sophie El-Kara defeated Devyn Billingsley of Cal State Fullerton 6-3, 6-1 and Natalie Penner defeated Alana Chaplin of Portland State, 6-1, 6-3. UCR’s Truong and El-Kara also triumphed in doubles, 8-5, over UC Irvine. On day two, Chloe Pham defeated Ellie Grossman from Loyola Marymount, but fell to Tiffany Tran of Air Force in the next round.

PHOTO COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS

Women’s volleyball Men’s golf records strong Women’s golf’s Vilaubi excites, but falls short opening day, falls short places fourth overall to UCSB and Cal Poly

The men’s golf team scored the second-lowest round of opening day at the Nick Watney Invitational, with Playing on the road, UCR recorded two losses over under par scores from Sam Gillis and David Gazzolo. the weekend with the team falling short against both The team, however, couldn’t muster a strong second UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. day, scoring 283, finishing ninth out of 10 competing On Friday, the Highlanders had a spread offense that teams. Matt Lutz tied at 38th place with 223, Brandon included five kills each from Alex Gresham, Helena Tsujimoto tied for 46th with 224 and Andre Vu placed Peric and Ashley Cox, but ultimately the Highlanders 54th with a score of 228. Pachara Sakulyong tied fell in straight sets. On Saturday night against Cal for 46th with 224. Pacific’s Byron Meth took the Poly, Cox led the team with 22 kills, while Megan individual win by beating Cal Poly’s Mitch Martin by Reza had 11. In this match, there were eight tied scores one stroke. The men’s team next competes at the Bill in the first set, which ultimately went the way of the Cullum Invitational, beginning on Oct. 20.

Mustangs. Though UCR nabbed the second set, Cal Poly would win the next two en route to a four-set victory.

On Sept. 28, the women’s golf team played in the Wyoming Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate, finishing with a three-round score of 920 to place fourth out of 16 competing teams. The Highlanders were in second place Saturday, but fell back in the third round.

Savannah Vilaubi tied for fourth out of 92 individuals, and was one stroke back of a tie for second. The winner, San Jose State’s Megan Osland, scored only eight less than Vilaubi. Freshman Hannah Facchini was second among the Highlanders, placing ninth overall with 228, while Haley Wian placed 20th at 223. Yuri Ahn was in 39th with 238, while Brittani Ferraro shot 240 and placed 49th.

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. SPORTS .

HIGHLANDER

Raquel Hefflin:

racing toward success

COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS

ALEXANDER MANZO Contributing Writer

Raquel Hefflin is not your average fifth-year. Hailing from Compton, Calif., Hefflin is the team captain of UC Riverside’s women’s crosscountry team. She is already making huge waves in the running world, especially this summer.

Starting the season at the Nevada Classic, Hefflin set a course record with a time of 14:06 for the 4-kilometer run, marking her second career individual win with a hefty lead of 23 seconds. In the team’s second race at the 34th Annual UC Riverside Invitational, Hefflin was only eight seconds behind the winner and only two seconds behind her personal best for the 8-kilometer.

The senior finished second in the 6-kilometer Stanford Invitational, trailing the winner by only eight seconds (20:39); however, she was able to break the record for the best time of a Highlander at a national-level meet.

Hefflin was not disappointed in her performance at the Stanford Invitational. Instead, she had a more optimistic outlook, mentioning that being that close only meant that she knew what she has to do to improve for next time.

Her three top finishes earned the Compton native a spot in the Sept. 15 issue of Sports Illustrated as one of six runner “Faces in the Crowd.” She even admitted that her father,

not her, has a copy of the issue.

In her five years of running cross-country in college, not to mention in high school as well, success has not gotten to Hefflin’s head and she remains a vibrant and diligent person and knows how to forge her path to where she wants to go.

With this being her final year, Hefflin said that there is “no room for error” when it comes to competing at every meet. She has a schedule that she follows to a T, which includes her morning workout, class, practice and an afternoon workout along with finding time to eat.

Hefflin has aspirations to attend graduate school for psychology to get the education she needs to become a counselor. Her plans are to take a year off once she graduates, but she plans on interning to gain proper experience. When asked if she had aspirations to head to the Olympics like UCR alumna Brenda Martinez, she mentioned it being a possibility.

However, as of now, once track ends in the spring, she does plan on hanging up the shoes.

As team captain she also makes sure that she shares her experiences with the first-year athletes to push for them to have a great season overall. Though her accomplishments are from her hard work, Hefflin knows she is a part of a team, and her success is theirs as well. For the next few months, Hefflin plans to give the university everything she has to continue H her record-breaking year. ■

CAMERON YONG / HIGHLANDER

UCR’s women’s cross-country captain Raquel Heff lin was featured in last September’s issue of Sports Illustrated.