► FEATURES, PAGE 12
A mosaic of presenters showcased an Inland Empire filled with stories, struggles and self-discovery. FOR THE WEEK OF TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2014
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ASUCR: Galvan pushes for greater student voter registration
VINCENT TA / HIGHLANDER ASUCR’s first meeting of the year started off with lively discussion on more aggresive voter registration. Clockwise from top left: Jason Ramirez, Abraham Galvan, Nafi Karim, Summer Shafer.
In the first ASUCR meeting of the school year, Vice President of External Affairs Abraham Galvan reinforced his aim to get more students to vote in the midterm elections. Also discussed were some controversial appointments to the finance office. AMY ZAHN Contributing Writer
Members of ASUCR held their first senate meeting of the new academic year last Wednesday in the Senate Chambers at 6:30 p.m. to deliver past summer reports with specific focus falling on the topic of increasing student voter registration — an ongoing initiative led by Vice President of External Affairs Abraham Galvan. Other notable
topics involved the approval of finance committee candidates, which drew up senators’ concerns about the qualifications of each candidate. Galvan has been spearheading the movement to increase student voter registration by having members of his office table at the Bear’s Den and Bell Tower, knock on doors in the residence halls and utilize social media. So far, 750 students have registered, but according to Galvan, it is not enough. He hopes to register at least 1,000 students by the Oct. 20 deadline, but describes this as a “dismal year for participation,” citing the overall lack of student enthusiasm for midterm elections throughout the United States. “I’m not sure that I will be able to reach this goal with such a short amount of time left and the conditions of this election,” Galvan says, but voter registration is “extremely important in empowering the student body to
OPINIONS
have the choice to vote on election day.” The senate passed Galvan’s motion to make participation in student voter registration efforts mandatory for all ASUCR senators. Galvan says that voter registration is important to him because “too often, elected officials do not take students seriously because we lack electoral power.” He hopes that these efforts will help reach the goal of increasing government spending for higher education. Also a topic of discussion at Wednesday’s meeting were Vice President of Finance Iris Jiang’s appointment of Shafi Karim as vice chair and Jasmine Kuo as secretary of the finance office. These appointments were met with some debate, as there was both confusion about the bylaws governing appointments to the finance office and concern about the qualifications
regents welcome students back to school.
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- President Nafi Karim delivered a presidential speech, encouraging members of ASUCR to hold mutual acknowledgment of fundamental differences that individuals may have. He hopes to reduce office bureaucracy, increase productive and open dialogue and streamline finance allocations. - Marketing and Promotions Director Ravin Rathod plans to store blankets in the Highlander Union Building information desk for the purposes of picnicking. UCR students will be able to rent them out using their identification card. - The senate unanimously passed Vice President of Internal Affairs Fernando Echeverria’s motion to approve Shaunt Oozoonian as communications director, Corey Willis as sustainability coordinator and Ranjit Nair as academic affairs personnel. - UAW 2865, the local UCR union representing readers, tutors and teaching assistants, plans to hold a protest condemning the police brutality against African Americans, specifically pertaining to a notorious incident in Ferguson, Mo. The event will take place at noon on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at the Bell Tower. - Students for Justice in Palestine will be holding a candlelight vigil to pay respects for the lives lost in Palestine by Operation Protective Edge, an Israeli bombing campaign, which left more than 2,200 people dead. The event will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at the Bell Tower.
► SEE ASUCR, PAGE 7
FEATURES
Letter to the Editor: The UC student
HIGHLIGHTS
RADAR
Paving the way, Lambda Ladies leads their sisters into a stronger future. PAGE 14
SPORTS
Daniel Baambata Marley brings reggae to Riverside. PAGE 18
Cross-country runners Raquel Hefflin and Seth Totten raced to first place at the Highlander Invitational. PAGE 23