Volume 63 Issue 19

guide ’ R Highlander WHAT ARE UCR’S FAVORITE THINGS? SEE THE RESULTS! University

Volume 63

of

► SPECIAL

INSERT

C a l i f o r n i a , R ive r s i d e

Serving the UCR community since 1954

Issue 19

FOR THE WEEK OF TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Fire erupts at human resources building

Thousands of freshman welcome free sweatshirts, don’t sweat the cost

AARON GRECH Senior Staff Writer

The University Human Resources (HR) building, located on University Avenue by the 215 Freeway, caught on fire at approximately 7:25 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18. The building was evacuated and no one was harmed.

According to Tim Bueller, a media relations representative of the Riverside Fire Department (RFD), the department received a call at approximately 7:30 a.m. from the building’s single occupant. In addition, the ► SEE FIRE, PAGE 6

$100,000 dedicated to scholarships for international students GUY HOCKER Contributing Writer

After a 12-day relationship-building trip to China, Dean Yunzeng Wang and Director of International Relations Steve Chen of the UCR School of Business Administration (SoBA) procured both goodwill and a $100,000 endowment from various universities. Seven other UCR affiliates, including Chancellor Kim Wilcox, also participated in the trip, which ended on Jan. 16.

Given by Xiangdong Le, chairman of Sichuan Ruixin Industrial Group and the China West International Education Foundation, the endowment, entitled the

BRI CHEW / HIGHLANDER

ASUCR volunteers give out free sweaters for all the freshmen as part of their R’Gear program.

AMY ZAHN Senior Staff Writer

Thousands of students lined up on Aberdeen Drive to receive a free UCR sweatshirt

from ASUCR on Wednesday as part of the R’Gear initiative, a program designed to bolster school pride by providing free sweatshirts for each of UCR’s 4,000 fresh-

men.

The initiative was one of ASUCR President Nafi Karim’s campaign promises last year, as he noticed a “lack of campus pride” dur-

ing his freshman year that has been on his mind ever since.

He initially had the idea for R’Gear as a senator, but de► SEE R’GEAR, PAGE 6

► SEE SCHOLARSHIP, PAGE 5

WINTER SOULSTICE Read our coverage of this year’s Winter Soulstice and the exciting performances from Kehlani, Yuna and Omarion.

p. 14

TOMÁS RIVERA CONFERENCE

Filled with singers, dancers, writers and filmmakers, the 27th Annual Tomas Rivera Conference was an inspiration to the students and community members who attended and took away messages of support, inspiration and hope.

NEWS 1 • OPINIONS 7 • FEATURES 10 • A&E 13 • SPORTS 20

p. 10

UC halts tuition hike, at least for summer SANDY VAN Senior Staff Writer

UC students taking summer school this year can breathe a little easier knowing that tuition will not increase during their upcoming sessions.

UC President Janet Napolitano announced last Wednesday that there will be no tuition hikes for the summer, as a “gesture of good faith” that her ongoing negotiations with Gov. Jerry Brown will lead to increased state appropriations for higher education.

Giving a lecture at the University of Southern California Rossier’s School of Education, Napolitano said that though tuition hikes were suspended for the summer, it is still a possibility for the fall term. ► SEE TUITION, PAGE 5

PLEASE RECYCLE

2

NEWS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org

CRIME WATCH

Nighttime crime spree occurs near campus AMY ZAHN Senior Staff Writer

SAMUEL CANTRELL / HIGHLANDER Dave Jones held a public policy seminar based off of his experience as the state’s insurance commisioner.

Insurance Commissioner discusses health care problems, reform AMY ZAHN Senior Staff Writer

mer legal aid attorney who has served as insurance commissioner since 2011, and is currently on the School of Public Policy’s advisory board.

“I invited (Jones) to speak to our students because the implementation of healthcare reform … is one of the biggest problems facing our state and nation,” said Anil Deolalikar, dean of the School of Public Policy.

Joined by an audience of about 35 eager listeners, Jones

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones spoke at UCR on Thursday as part of the School of Public Policy’s seminar series, in which well-known policymakers — including former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich — are invited to discuss major policy challenges, both regional and global.

Jones is a Democrat and for-

discussed the problems that the American health care system faces today, and how he believes the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is helping to fix them.

The overarching problem with the federal system, he explained, is insufficient access to health care and the costs associated with it.

According to Jones, the U.S. has 50 million uninsured people, ► SEE INSURANCE, PAGE 6

A series of four robberies — including two home invasions — occurred near campus on the night of Feb. 17. The first incident occurred at 7:30 p.m. near Spruce Street and Watkins Drive when a suspect approached a victim who was seated in a car, and, brandishing a handgun, demanded the victim’s money. The suspect took the money and fled toward Watkins Drive.

The second robbery occurred as the suspect was fleeing the first crime scene.

The same suspect put a firearm to a victim’s neck at the intersection of Watkins Drive and Spruce Street and took the victim’s money and cell phone.

This suspect was described as an African American adult male of medium build wearing blue medical scrubs and a Lakers jacket over a dark blue sweatshirt. He looked to be about 20 years old.

The third incident was a home invasion on Barrett Road committed by a suspect

matching the description of the previous two robberies, along with an accomplice described as a Hispanic adult male, also about 20 years old, wearing a red beanie. The suspects knocked on the door and were let into the house after pointing a gun at the individual who answered the door.

After taking multiple cell phones, wallets and a computer, they fled the scene on foot.

At around 1 a.m., two suspects matching the previous descriptions forced entry into an apartment on Canyon Crest Drive — again by pointing a gun at occupants — took property from each resident and guest, and fled. One victim was kicked in the face for not cooperating.

A total of nine victims were involved in the home invasions, and all but one female occupant had property stolen.

All victims but the first were UCR students, and neither suspect has been apprehended. The incidents were reported seven to 15 minutes after each incident and are being investigated by the Riverside Police Department.

■H

ONLINE IN NEWS 2/25: “ASUCR: Lack of warning triggers discussion about policy change PHOTO OF THE WEEK

QUOTEBOOK “Despite being one of the most affluent countries in the world, the United States has a great deal of poverty.”

- Anil Deolalikar, dean of UCR’s School of Public Policy

MULTIMEDIA

f

UCR Highlander Newspaper @ucrhighlander UCRChannelH

CAMERON YONG

KUCR 88.3 FM, Wednesdays @ 9 a.m.

ASST. PHOTO EDITOR

A customer browses a vibrant shop in Los Angeles’ Chinatown waiting for the 116th annual Golden Dragon Parade to begin.

UPCOMING EVENTS

WINTER 2015, WEEK 8

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

2/24

2/25

2/26

2/27

2/28

3/1

3/2

Conversation with NetApp 3 - 4 p.m.

HUB 260

Choosing a Major 11 a.m. - Noon HUB 268

The Global 19th Century 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

INTS 1113

PB& J: Peanut Butter and Jogging!

10 - 11 a.m.

HUB 248

Auditions: Winter/Spring Gluck Improv Troupe 9 a.m. - Noon ARTS 113

Riverside Jewish Film Festival 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Mission Grove Theater

Weekday Carillon Recitals Noon - 1p.m.

Bell Tower

Tuesday Talk - Grrl Talk 5 - 6 p.m.

Costo Hall 245

Career Station 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

HUB Mall

Protest and Desire: A Reading by Four Israeli Poets 6 - 7:30 p.m.

INTS 1111

Encuentros/Encounters: Folk and Popular Songs of Colombia 8 - 9:30 p.m.

ARTS 166

Community Conversation Series 1 - 3 p.m.

Casa Blanca Library

Leanne Hancock and Chrissy Hall Noon - 1 p.m.

Physics 2104

NEWS

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

5

COURTESY OF UCR TODAY

Chancellor Kim Wilcox, SoBA Dean Yunzeng Wang and other UCR affiliates visited China to secure $100,000 worth of scholarships for international students attending UCR. ► SCHOLARSHIP FROM PAGE 1

China West Scholarship Endowment Fund, will create scholarships for international students seeking to study at SoBA. Members of UCR also signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with the Shanghai Maritime University, affirming the universities’ desires to exchange students, faculty and staff, as well as academic material.

Furthermore, the agreements described planned collaboration in research and the intent to

hold international symposia on topics of mutual interest. One of the agreements also laid out the partnership between the Shanghai Maritime University’s Logistics Research Center and UCR’s Institute of Supply Chain Analytics and Logistics Studies.

Though MOUs are not legally binding documents, they reflect the intentions of the two parties in regards to each other. UCR currently holds over 200 international institutional agreements in over 30 countries, with varying levels of formality.

Other stops on the tour included

Sichuan University, Hubei University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the China Association of Science and Technology and China Agricultural University.

Third-year business major and SoBA ambassador Alyssa Stump commented on the international excursion, saying, “China is doing some great things and UCR should be partnered with faculty and business out there.

Nine (people) might be excessive though.”

In today’s global environment, international partnerships have

COURTESY OF UC OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT UC President Janet Napolitano promises to halt tuition hikes for at least the summer.

► TUITION FROM PAGE 1

“We’re having serious discussions both with the governor and with the legislature,” Napolitano said after the lecture.

“Those are underway so it seemed premature to go ahead and jump-start the tuition increase.”

As part of a twoperson committee, Napolitano and Brown have been meeting privately to examine the UC’s finances with the goal of agreeing on the amount of state funding that the UC should receive.

Discussions include potential costcutting measures such as increasing the number of online courses, which Brown continues to advocate. They are expected to release their findings in March.

“It is our conviction that all parties engaged in these negotiations want tuition to be as low as possible, and as predictable as possible,” Napolitano said as a way of allowing students to enroll in summer classes without being caught in the middle of an unresolved budget situation.

Back in November 2014, the UC announced plans to increase tuition up to 5 percent every year for five years unless $220 million in state funding was provided. Brown, on the other hand, only offered $120 million in his proposed 2015-16 state budget, with the funds being contingent upon the UC freezing tuition and capping outof-state enrollment.

The prices of UC summer classes vary based on length of session and the number of units a student may be taking, yet the 5 percent increase would have still impacted the prices in the same way.

Many, such as State Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins and California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, see this temporary suspension as a positive gesture.

Newsom went on to say that the UC’s decision to “U-turn on tuition hikes” was an overdue shift in the right direction.

“The reality remains that the UC is on a collision course with the future — with or without more state spending — unless and until the institution’s leadership can address

the university’s long term cost structure,” he said in a press release.

University of California Student Association President Jefferson Kuoch-Seng expressed that this was “only a first step” in a series of potentially meaningful negotiations, yet is disappointed that tuition increases are scheduled to occur in the fall for incoming freshmen and current students.

ASUCR Vice President of External Affairs Abraham Galvan held similar views, saying, “Napolitano says she is optimistic about her conversations with Governor Brown, but until students are included in these conversations in a meaningful way I don’t see how the outcomes can be as optimal as they could be for students, the university or the state.”

Though Napolitano has pumped the brakes on increasing summer tuition, many UC students have historically shied away from taking classes in the summer as it is often more expensive compared to any other ■H academic term.

quickly become important aspects of many American universities’ tactical plans to expand their influence. International students are 6 percent of UCR’s current student body, while 29.7 percent of UCR graduate students claim international status.

Improving international ties, though potentially costly, has paid off for UCR in the past. UCR’s largest donation ever came from Chinese businessman Winston Chung, whose name rests atop Chung Hall in recognition of his $10 million contribution.

The UCR Development Office

has yet to provide the actual cost of the trip, and details about the application process for the China West Scholarship have yet to be formed.

Hieu Nguyen, associate vice chancellor for development, said the trip was worth the cost. “Opportunities to develop relationships and connections overseas as well in other regions of the world are always worth the effort,” Nguyen said. “We would not have embarked on such an trip if we did not think the return on investment was there.”

■H

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

NEWS

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org

COURTESY OF ROSA PROSSER

The fire, pictured above, was reported at 7:25 a.m. Wednesday Feb. 18 at the Human Resources building. The fire extensively damaged the second floor of the building. ► FIRE FROM PAGE 1

the fire alarm alerted the RFD and the University of California Police Department (UCPD), who arrived approximately 15 minutes later.

The fire was isolated to the second floor of the attic, which had extensive damage, according to Bueller. Fire department authorities determined it was an electrical fire. ► R’GEAR FROM PAGE 1

layed making it a promise and executing it until he figured out how to implement such a large-scale project.

He hopes that the sweatshirts will “empower each incoming class” with a sense of school pride. “R’Gear is not merely a Free UCR hoodie,” Karim said. “It is something that every member of a class will share; it represents the tartan soul, Highlander pride, and a united identity.”

ASUCR senator Christian Arredondo agreed. “I don’t think that every single project that we do reaches out to as many people as this one will.”

Over 15 international manufacturers were considered, but a local vendor was chosen with what he believed to be more humane working conditions. Karim used the lower cost of the international vendors as leverage to negotiate the price from a local vendor to $7.30 per sweatshirt, a cost 48 percent lower than the initially quoted price. ASUCR did not disclose which vendor they contracted with.

Karim was unsure of the overall cost of the initiative, but estimated that sweatshirts were purchased for about 30 percent of the undergraduate population, which comes out to approximately $43,800 for about 6,000 sweatshirts. According to Karim, the funds came from existing ASUCR revenue sources, the details of which ASUCR did not disclose.

More exact information regarding the cost of the initiative could not be obtained, as

The smoke was visible from the UCR Extension Center (UNEX), according to Bei Bei Dai, an exchange student studying English at the extension center. “I was sitting outside right when it happened,” Dai said.

In response to the fire, the HUB locked a door on the far right side of the building to prevent the smoke from entering the dining facility. Christopher Fierro, a third-year media and

cultural studies major, stated that the facility closed the doors as soon as management noticed the smoke at 7:30 a.m.

“We were still prepping in the morning when it occurred.

We were then ordered to lock the door on the right side of the HUB and put up a sign to notify the students,” Fierro explained.

UCPD sent an email at approximately 8:05 a.m. which advised students to stay out of the area. They sent a

confirmation that the fire was extinguished an hour later.

Director of Media Relations Kris Lovekin sent an email to students stating that employees working in the building would be temporarily relocated or work from home until inspectors verify that the building can be reoccupied.

In a press statement, Chancellor Kim Wilcox said, “We have a plan in place to continue normal operations for

Human Resources, including protecting documents and other computers and other business materials.”

Rosa Prosser, an employee from the UNEX Center, was able to obtain a video of the fire which was in clear view from that building.

“I was kind of in shock when it occurred, you don’t really expect that to happen,” Fierro stated in response to discovering the fire.

■H

both Vice President of Finance Iris Jiang and Financial Operations Manager Theresa Perez declined to be interviewed by the Highlander on the matter.

The initiative was well received by students, who were both excited to receive a sweatshirt and unruffled by the cost.

“I think UCR students put a lot of money into going to college with tuition and fees and everything, and maybe something like this shows what our money is going toward a little bit, so I think it’s pretty nice,” said first-year liberal studies major Jocelyn Rivas.

“I think they designed (the sweatshirts) really well,” said Manika Choudhary, first-year biology major about the design that ASUCR collaborated to create. “I think it’s a very good investment.”

Karim estimates that between 2,000 and 3,000 sweatshirts were claimed at the event. Free sweatshirts will also be available to upperclassmen in the coming weeks on a first-come, first-serve basis, but as of press time, the time has not been announced. ASUCR also hopes that R’Gear will become an annual occurrence so that in four years, every student will have a sweatshirt.

Wednesday’s event was attended by Chancellor Kim Wilcox, as well as student performers such as 909 Dance Crew and singing duo Nick Carrillo and Amanda Ong. Wilcox expressed his excitement about the initiative at the event. “You’ll only be a first-year student once, but you’ll be a member of the class H of 2018 forever,” he said. ■

► INSURANCE FROM PAGE 2

ance companies can no longer refuse coverage based on a preexisting condition, and stops them from charging women much higher rates than men. It also allows single adults access to Medicaid, and offers online health insurance marketplaces where insurance and products can be compared and selected based on price and cost share, something that was difficult to do prior to the ACA. Several audience members raised questions after Jones’ talk, including Rachel Tennell, student ambassador for UCR’s School of Public Policy, who expressed concerns about the disparity in health care that communities of color experience. “We don’t have a lot of great preventative care when it comes to those communities,” she said, wondering what could be done to bridge the gap.

In response, Jones explained that simply extending health care coverage to a larger portion of the population, something the ACA is

already doing, would help to alleviate the problem.

People of color have historically been disproportionately represented among the uninsured, representing 40 percent of the U.S. population, but over half of the uninsured population. Hispanics, the group with the highest uninsured rate, represented 32 percent of nonelderly uninsured in 2013, despite making up only 19 percent of the total population.

Jones hopes to improve outreach to these communities to increase the number of people who sign up for the ACA, which he believes will lead to more and better preventative care for them.

However, despite the ACA’s best efforts, Jones believes that health care will still be a problem well into the future, citing a major political rift on the issue. “There’s very little talking between the two (sides) and a lot of arguing and a great inability to look for commonsense solutions that would H bridge those divides,” he said. ■

and spends $2.8 trillion annually on healthcare, or 18 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), figures which are much higher than other industrialized nations.

“All of this money that we’re spending isn’t getting us better health outcomes, and that makes the situation even worse,” said Jones, citing the the nation’s lagging life expectancy and relatively high rates of infant mortality and curable diseases.

Jones referred to the key ways in which the ACA is ameliorating these problems. He explained that by requiring individuals to be covered and employers to offer coverage, health care can now reach a much wider portion of the population.

“The idea is to make sure that the risks associated with disease and illness get spread across a larger population,” he said.

Also under the ACA, insur-

FOR THE write. HIGHLANDER shoot. Meetings on Mondays at 5:15 design. p.m. at HUB 101

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7

Opinions HIGHLANDER HIGHLANDEREDITORIAL EDITORIAL HIGHLANDER STAFF

CAMPUS SPACE CAN BE MADE MORE OPEN AND INVITING

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VINCENT TA / HIGHLANDER

U

CR has recently announced a series of workshops to discuss student feelings toward the overall design of the campus, intending to gauge students’ investment in the layout of the campus, as well as giving them an opportunity to air their grievances with campus architecture.

This also presents an opportunity for the campus to be improved by the very students who inhabit it.

In an effort to create a more inviting and comfortable environment to the ever-increasing student population of UCR, these workshops will empower the very students who live, work and study on the campus to make an environment where future generations of students can feel at ease. It is to this point that the editorial staff hopes to stimulate some conversation by suggesting ideas that may be a few initial steps toward the rehabilitation of certain parts of UCR in an effort to make it more agreeable to our large student body.

The first issue that can be fixed is one of the most obvious and arguably the easiest to implement. While UCR is a campus known for its lawns and citrus groves, the addition of more trees flanking the walkways around the whole of campus could easily make the somewhat arid Riverside weather much more comfortable, especially in the summer.

Any student who has had to walk the path from the Bell Tower to Olmsted would know that the trees bordering the lawn make the trek much more bearable, and provide that necessary shade to make the hot days of spring and summer endurable. Adding these same trees to the sides of the lawns by the Interdisciplinary Building and the Student Services Building could lead to better shade, and a natural umbrella during the unlikely California rain.

While there are already many

walkways that benefit from this comfortable smattering of trees, planting even more can only benefit students, as well as making a more aesthetically pleasing dichotomy between the buildings of the campus interior and the plantlife we are known for.

A second improvement toward the future of the campus could be the renovation of the Rivera Library.

Currently in its 30th year under the name of the UC’s first Latino chancellor, what better way could UCR honor its former leader than to improve the building that was named for him?

Many of the complaints levied against the building stem from the limited availability of study rooms for those CHASS majors who want to study and have access to the materials they need for research. Though not as simple or affordable as the planting of new trees, the library can add new floors both above and below ground, increasing the floor space and opening up more room for study spaces, computer carrels and regular shelf space.

Additionally, if the library were to expand, then the famed Eaton Collection for which the Rivera Library is so well known could expand, giving it a newer and larger space to occupy and enticing visitors to check out its new digs.

Like the Rivera Library, the HUB often comes under fire for not having enough seating or places for students to get together, leading to our suggestion for the creation of more communal areas and lounges for students.

UCR has recently revealed that the space which the Stacked Deli occupied will be turning into a commuter lounge, showing that the idea of expanding the leisure space in the HUB isn’t far from the minds of those who run the facility.

However, the addition of new space in the HUB designed for social gathering, public computer use and additional

seating for students eating at HUB Dining could be a wonderful extension to the services that the facility already supplies.

Allowing students a new space for seating and computer use may seem redundant in the face of the nearby Rivera Library, but this new space could also easily serve as a social hub for students to meet up with friends, classmates or study by themselves, creating a more open and comfortable space for future students.

UCR should be willing to make room in the budget for something that could be so potentially beneficial in the near future and the long run. Regardless of money constraints, the comfort of students during one of the more stressful moments should be one of the highest priorities on campus.

Expanding the campus in these ways could lead to breathing room, solving the ever-present issues of expanding into a space that has already been limited. Refiguring the space we already have with the trees and the HUB, and moving upward instead of outward with the library all represent the alleviation of the claustrophobia that threatens the student body.

None of the aforementioned improvements are likely to happen before those currently attending UCR graduate, but that isn’t what matters.

What is important is that each and every student works together to make UCR the most welcoming community it can possibly be. UCR is the most diverse UC campus, so let us also work to make it the most inviting one.

■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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Contact Opinions Editor Jameson Adame at opinions@ highlandernews.org by Wednesday if interested in writing a letter and submit completed letter by Saturday at noon. Letter can and will be rejected if it does not meet requirements.

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8

OPINIONS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org

Opinion Poll How would you improve UCR?

C ompiled

Ryan Klachko Undeclared First-Year

Lindi Ingram Art History Third-Year

Ryan Yuan Biology Fourth-Year

“I would spread out the areas of leisure. Less centralized at the HUB. More couches in different places.”

“Another lounge, ‘that one’ is always crowded and I have to sit... ‘here’.

“I would say changing the way enrolling works.

It’s harder for people with lower credits to get the classes that they need. That has always been a problem for me.”

Victor Rodriguez Undeclared First-Year “Cheaper food. broke, and I’m feeding myself.”

I’m just

by

J aspery G oh

Marina Shaker Psychology Fourth-Year

Jordan Mathew Linguistics First-Year

“As a commuting student I would make things more accessible.

It’s difficult to balance things out especially if you have a part-time job somewhere.”

“As a first-year I found it difficult to change meal plans. Specifically dropping down to the 120. Honestly I can say I have no complaints here besides that.”

► See more at Youtube.com/UCRChannelH

All about grammatical fascism QUINN MINTEN Staff Writer

I will freely admit this from the start — I am a Grammar Nazi; it is not something I am overly proud of, but is also not something I will keep hidden.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, being a Grammar Nazi has nothing to do with racism, fascism or anything else you might associate with the former German political party of the same name; instead, the term describes one who is fanatical about proper grammar, both their own and that of other people.

There is nothing inherently wrong with being a Grammar Nazi; having respect for the rules of a language is not going to directly hurt anyone. Nevertheless, I have rarely heard much good said of people who scrupulously follow the rules of grammar. Indeed, the term, insofar as it calls to mind a certain mustachioed dictator from the ‘40s, seems to be meant more as a derogatory expression than anything else. The reason this term has become an insult is the attitude that Grammar Nazis as a group tend to have when using their knowledge. If such people stopped their commentaries on language at spell-checking or proofreading important emails, then I would have nothing to write about right now. The problem is most Grammar Nazis will not be content to do just that.

I do not know whether or not it is some psychological factor that drives Grammar Nazis, and if so, just what factors, but most of the time, Grammar Nazis feel compelled to locate and note every error, no matter how small, that they find in someone’s speech, texts, emails and other communications. Every

Contractions, mispellings and other egregious grammar errors would drive any Grammar Nazi up the wall.

“who” that should be “whom,” every missing capital letter — these are indicated very pointedly, even in a very informal context. Although a Grammar Nazi might be correct as far as the rules of language go, the insistence on pointing out the errors in another’s linguistic abilities violates a more fundamental rule, that it is polite and therefore correct to ignore other people’s flaws in minor matters.

After all, considering how rude it will strike many people to be corrected on the rather trivial matter of grammar, it cannot be said that Grammar Nazis are perfect in any sense either.

There is also the issue that, most of the time, Grammar Nazis are not experts on the English language, so they really are not qualified to go around making corrections for other people.

Perhaps someone with a Ph.D. in English (or at least some level of English major) can legitimately claim expertise in the subject and thus qualification to comment on others’ grammar, but I doubt many Grammar Nazis can say that much about themselves,

myself included. However, to say that non-English majors are totally unqualified as far as the language is concerned is not fair either; one can know a thing or two about English, but that would not be regarded as any qualification for a matter requiring actual expertise.

A Grammar Nazi is ultimately just a person expressing their opinion ...

A Grammar Nazi is ultimately just a person expressing their opinion, and like any other opinion, it is not necessarily agreed on by everyone. Nevertheless, there are limits, as with any opinion, on how far someone can

express their opinion without offending others, and though it might not always be the case, in general Grammar Nazis exceed those limits. Hence, it is too difficult to truly justify the attitude behind Grammar Nazism.

Grammar Nazis are not really the most pleasant types to be around, given their propensity for correcting even minor flaws. There are, however, several qualities of such grammatical fanaticism that are beneficial in a larger (but admittedly less personal) sense. Paradoxically, Grammar Nazis can add diversity to the language, despite having an inherently conservative view of it. English has no single authority on grammar, so it is often up to the grammatically minded individual to decide what is correct in some especially ambiguous cases. Whether or not to use the Oxford comma might not be a question for most people (some might not even know what the Oxford comma is), but it remains a contentious issue every week for me because, though I was taught to use it, the comma’s use goes against

VINCENT TA / HIGHLANDER

AP style, so it gets removed much to my angst (no offense to the editors).

This seeming benevolence is due to what I believe is some twisted sense of superiority, the idea that the Grammar Nazi has the right to impose the language they believe is correct on others regardless of what they believe.

However, knowing a Grammar Nazi personally can also have its perks. For example (and I hope I am not the only one like this), a Grammar Nazi is probably quite willing to help someone get the correct spelling for a word they are unsure on, or to assist in editing any essay or other formal writing. Furthermore, you can always count on being able to understand what a Grammar Nazi writes or says, because they will be very precise and clear with how they word sentences and will check the spelling of written words.

I will conclude by saying this much: At least it is easier to read this Grammar Nazi’s opinion compared to the “grammar anarchy” of some poorly written text message.

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HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org

OPINIONS

Facebook is giving users control over how their profile is to be seen even after the users have passed.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

VINCENT TA / HIGHLANDER

Facebook’s new legacy contact: More than a way to maintain a selfie JESSICA BAKER Staff Writer

Last week, Facebook reminded me that my time on this swell Earth is short with the social network’s recent update — the legacy contact. Now, imagine this unfortunate scenario: You just died. As a ghost, you are bemoaning the fact that your Facebook profile picture will forever be an image of a baby flying squirrel. You do not want to be remembered as a baby animal, yet fortunately before your untimely passing, you utilized the legacy contact to set who will have control over your Facebook account.

Thanks to your legacy contact, your profile picture is of you standing before the ocean, staring at the waves and looking aesthetically pleasing.

Now, it may seem ridiculous that the legacy contact’s purpose was meant for the dead Facebook user, who forever wants to have the perfect selfie. Facebook created it not for the dead, but for the living who are grieving over a loved one’s death by offering comfort via technology — though the dead are always kept in consideration. It may sound odd, but the legacy contact is a needed change in the current digital age.

As Facebook states: “(By) talking to people who have experienced loss, we realized there is more we can do to support those who are grieving.”

Prior to the legacy contact, a deceased’s profile would be left memorialized and inaccessible to manage by others. For example, loved ones not friended by the deceased would be unable to view the deceased’s profile. With the legacy contact, a chosen contact would be given permission to manage the deceased’s profile by uploading pictures, friending other users and writing posts on walls. There is a need for change in Facebook’s memorializing policies, because it has inhibited how loved ones grieve, which, itself, has transformed in the past decade with increasing Internet use.

In addition to holding wakes or memorials for the deceased, the Internet has played an increasing role in grieving by allowing an ease in communication between the deceased’s loved ones. Via social media sites, like Facebook, the deceased’s funeral services can be announced to friends and family members. Loved ones can comment on the deceased’s Facebook wall with stories and condolences, no matter where they are in the world.

With the Internet coddled with oddities like Nyan Cat or I Can Has Cheezburger Cat, some may have forgotten that the original purpose of the Internet was for communication; many of the first sites were online message boards or forums. Despite improvements, the Internet has not

found an efficient way to allow a dead voice to be heard. There are cases where dead voices are memorialized in blog posts or online gaming, and the legacy contact is another step in the right direction, because it was specifically created for the living to commemorate the dead.

The legacy contact can only be established with the permission of the deceased, which not only means they have made the morbid choice to plan their death, but that they trust someone enough with their personal life on Facebook. This offers a whole new support to the grieving process, because it allows the deceased to show a sense of trust to the loved one.

Automatic messages like, “Since you know me well and I trust you, I chose you. Please let me know if you want to talk about this,” or personalized messages are sent to the legacy contact, which can help console the contact with the death prior to it happening.

By letting users choose their legacy contact anytime, Facebook’s update has allowed users to face the reality that their loved ones will die early on instead of when the event may happen; by acknowledging death early on, users can comfort each other prior to their death — an action that is not always accomplished when dying.

The legacy contact may have permission to download an archive of the deceased’s posts, pictures and profile

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to preserve the deceased’s memory, thus enabling loved ones to grieve with digital assets.

Placing an importance on digital assets may seem to be an artificial method to mourn; it does sound ridiculous to treasure the deceased’s post about seeing a good movie. Yet with the invention of social media sites, these sorts of mundane assets have garnered a sentimental value to others. Haven’t you ever just scrolled down your wall or another’s wall just to remember past events and found yourself having a nice time looking back at posts from your high school self?

Things of sentimental value can be beneficial to grieving, because it can help loved ones remember happy memories of the deceased instead of the cold and hard reality that the deceased is just a body in the ground.

The legacy contact enables not only loved ones to view their profile, which has sentimental value, but also lets their loved ones know that they understand the need to grieve and want to make it easier for them.

Should the legacy contact be the final way to grieve over a death? No, because like with every death, we must learn to accept it is reality and must learn to be happy with it. Yet no one is a cold, stone person. We all need to grieve and Facebook’s update H just makes it beneficially easier. ■

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.

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org

Features

Grammy award-winning group Quetzal encourages the audience at the annual Tomas Rivera Conference to dance in front of the stage.

Tomas Rivera Endowed Chair Tiffany Lopez gives the opening speech at the 27th Annual Tomas Rivera Conference.

27 years of admiration and inspiration

by Maxine Arellano and Colin Markovich, Senior Staff Writers || Photos by Lydia Tsou The sound of skateboard wheels grazing across the cement echoes under the arches. A cluster of students and faculty weave between one another as they hustle up the brick staircase. Doors open and Highlanders filter through the towers of books or stare at computer screens for any kind of inspiration for their work. But do they realize they sit in the biggest inspiration of UCR? Rivera Library is not only a historical staple on campus, but it stands in its six-decade glory to be a reminder of why we are all here. On Friday, Feb. 20, UCR celebrated the 27th annual Tomas Rivera Conference, in honor of former UCR Chancellor Tomas Rivera himself and the legacy he created for higher education.

Many students have heard the stories time and time again of the library — named after the youngest as well as the first minority and first Chicano Chancellor of the University of California. Tomas Rivera (1954-1984) touched countless souls throughout his work in higher education and continues to do so. Political figures, faculty and students gathered for the conference to pay homage to Rivera and his work for not only UCR as a whole, but also the members of the Hispanic community. This year’s theme, “Comunidad y Salud,” or “Community and Wellness,” focused on the intersection of wellness and awareness just in time for UCR’s recent award of the National Endowment for the Humanities with the status as a Hispanic-serving institution.

Tiffany Lopez, conference endowed chair as well as professor of theater, film and digital production, opened the conference with a warm thank you to all the participants, volunteers and guests. She credited the members of Chicano Student Programs as the driving force for the conference as they guided guests to their seats

before the first speaker, assemblymember Jose Medina, replaced Lopez on the mic.

An incredible force within the community, Medina goes beyond teaching Latin American studies and history and walks the path of civic morality, in which Rivera originally paved the way. He believes in conducting that personal responsibility of keeping education accessible and advocates how education is the foundation.

“Buenos dias!” Medina greeted the audience with a “good day” before he revealed his history with not only Lopez, the first Latina professor in UCR’s English department, but Rivera himself as well.

Meeting Rivera through his work, the impact of the Chicano struggle inspired him to further encourage more Chicano students. A great scholar, novelist and poet, Rivera would walk off the campus to meet with young Latino students. This inspired Medina’s curriculum as a professor to teach Rivera’s work, and carries on the culture throughout the creative works.

Guests and speakers moved next door to find rows of tables, vases of flowers lining each as they sat before the small stage that held the Grammy-award winning band Quetzal. The wall of HUB 302 was a backdrop to an endless row of fresh food for all. Salads, sandwiches and fresh-brewed coffee tempted everyone to indulge. The band of a violinist, drummer, bassist and acoustic guitarist tuned their instruments. Martha Gonzalez, lead singer of Quetzal, took the stage, gourd shaker in hand and tap shoes strapped.

Music boomed instantly throughout the third floor of the HUB. This inside-out maraca and Gonzalez’s tap dancing added two more powerful instruments to their already heart-pounding music.

Quetzal spreads awareness for health and wellness with their narrative lyrics of suffrage and perseverance driving home

Tales from the Mothership A discussion on Afrofuturism with Nalo Hopkinson

by Stasean Washington, Staff Writer // Photos by Richard Lin

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the theme of the conference. “You know what they say,” the hilarious Martha began, “a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips!” She encouraged everyone to stand up and dance, to fuel the energy that was already present. Students and faculty joined hand in hand on the dance floor to continue the celebration.

After the refreshments were out and everyone was out of breath, we all moved back to the previous room to find out more about the master workshops that were going to be held. Outside speakers as well as UCR professors sat before the audience to explain their workshops and purposes.

“First we are going to analyze why you chose this workshop and then we’ll go from there,” poet and theater artist Luis Alfaro joked. Each shared their own personal stories of healing from grief, struggle and depression. Actor and playwright Raquel Salinas shared her experiences with working to break the cycles of addiction. Alfaro opened up his past of his father’s hospice care and powerful lessons in playwriting and performance.

The many other speakers related to each other as they used their creativity and passion for performance to depict how anyone can overcome any obstacle.

Luis Enriquez, registered nurse and a featured subject in the film Code Black, joined the School of Medicine to discuss the physician’s perspective about the LA County Hospital Emergency Medicine Department. Enriquez brought tears to himself and everyone around as he shared his tale of the brick wall he has built himself to deal with the trauma he endures every day with his patients. “I have taught myself to have a wall, because I can’t be like this in front of them … I have to be strong for two people and it gets hard. But I teach my students to do the same,” professed Enriquez. Each workshop offered

ith Black History Month reaching its end, we’ve delved into many aspects of African American culture.

We’ve acknowledged the accomplishments of great individuals and explored the works of great African American men and women. However, the list is still growing as African Americans across the globe are still striving to make an impact on the world around us.

One of the many areas that African Americans are striving to gain recognition in is the world

so much for everyone — the choices were difficult as it is. However, once the intros were over, everyone scurried to their workshop of choice.

Although many attendees left the event after their workshops, a small group of people returned to HUB 302 to share what they learned. Some merely took the microphone and spoke about their experiences, while others displayed their finished projects, whether it was a series of comics about the difficulty some people face in simply seeing a doctor or expressing the pain of loss through song. One group took to dance, each of the four members twirling fabric — bright gold, royal purple, vivacious orange — to an upbeat tempo.

Nervousness was clear on each person’s face, but there was also a flicker of contended joyousness, with none more so than the beaming Salinas, proud to see people stepping out of their comfort zones and becoming a part of the moment.

In fact, the theme of the event seemed to be about visualizing life through different perspectives, yet sharing a common humanity. When people finished stepping up to the stage to describe what they learned, it was the cue for the crowd of white coat-adorned medical students who had been steadily filling the galley to take the floor and speak. They recited the UCR medical student oath, reaffirming their ethic-bound honor to the people they serve, no matter their origin, history or identity, and applause erupted from the audience at the students’ pledge of working toward the public good. The energy flowed to the students, who began cheering and hugging one another. When it finally died down, and the crowd began dissipating from the room, each held the promise of self-improvement and help for each other in their smiles and in their hearts.

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of science fiction and fantasy. On Thursday, Feb. 20, African Student Programs (ASP) held “Tales from the Mothership,” a discussion of Afrofuturism in the genre of science fiction and fantasy, led by creative writing professor Nalo Hopkinson. The award-winning Hopkinson has written six novels and a short story collection which focus on Afrofuturism and science fiction. During the event, Hopkinson had the pleasure of sharing her work and the work of many of her colleagues in

the Afrofuturism movement.

Eventgoers were greeted by a satirical comic strip of a young African American child going to a bookstore, where a “Colored Only” section contains books on slavery and “race stuff,” while he is holding a Harry Potter book.

ASP’s Student Affairs Officer, Rhiannon Little, took to the podium to introduce Hopkinson, who began by defining science fiction and fantasy. Through ► SEE AFROFUTURISM, PAGE 12

FEATURES

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

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restaurant review:

Dona Timo’s La Cascada

RATING ★★★★☆ LOCATION 3635 University Ave. Riverside, CA 92507 PRICE $ $ HOURS Daily: 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.

CATEGORY Mexican, Seafood CREDIT Yes WEBSITE http://www.yelp.com/biz/dona-timos la-cascada-mexican-restaurant-riverside

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Robert Lees, Staff writer // Photos by Laura Nguyen ince many scores on reviews are somewhat arbitrary, I’m always looking for ways to quantify my score, giving myself and my opinion a little more objectivity.

Luckily, I think I’ve found it: leftovers. When I go to restaurants I often find myself leaving with a foam container full of the mishmash of appetizer and entree that I wasn’t able to finish under the false pretense that I’ll heat it up and cook it later. Eventually I rediscover it, disgusted, and throw it away in hopes that

Dona Timo’s offers various types of tacos, burritos and tosta ceviche mixta (pictured top).

the ghost of meals past will haunt my kitchen no longer. After my trip to Dona Timo’s La Cascada Mexican Restaurant I once again found myself saddled with a box of beans, rice and some carne asada. However, in a break with my typical modus operandi, I reheated my leftovers excitedly, and am now eating them while writing this review. If you’re not jealous, you should be, because Dona Timo’s is damn delicious.

I found myself walking down University Avenue in Downtown Riverside, past Back to the Grind and Pixels, two of downtown’s most popular hangouts, when I finally stumbled upon Dona Timo’s. It appeared relatively lackluster at first, with a very small foyer and the only life around the building emanating from a few strings of white Christmas lights strung around the entrance. Stepping inside, I realized that the small interior was merely an illusion, as Dona Timo’s has an entire rear dining area with around a dozen booths, many filled with beaming patrons digging into impressively large plates of food.

The interior is a combination of quaint and kitsch, with the unpolished brickwork of the wall clashing with the bright, pastelcolored booths and tables, their red, blue and bright yellow surfaces reflecting the cool light of the overhead lamps. The walls were adorned with what appeared to be 10 years of garage sale merchandise: fishing poles, landscape paintings, giant nov-

elty fish and Aztec-reminiscent stone carvings. While such garishness would be out of place in an upscale establishment, it fit in with the relaxed atmosphere of the patrons and staff, their giggles and muffled conversations blending with the quiet din of mariachi music being played over the sound system.

After our server brought us menus, we ordered two large horchatas while we pondered the innumerable options listed before us. There are probably over 100 distinct entrees and combinations offered at Dona Timo’s, with prices ranging from a few dollars to “market price” for some of the seafood options, with most plates falling in the $10-12 range. I eventually settled on the carne asada plate with flour tortillas while my companion chose the enchilada and taco combination. After we ordered, our server brought us the plate of chips and salsa and our large horchatas, which were delivered in huge tumblers that held over a liter of the delicious white drink.

The horchata was cold, delicious and tasted homemade. As we ate, a steady trickle of people continued arriving, filling up the other booths.

The food arrived after about 15 minutes, still sizzling on the large plates I had seen when we walked in. There was an abundance of beans and rice on both plates, with my plate roughly half-full of sizzling carne asada.

You could easily feed two to three light eaters with one plate of food from Dona Timo’s, and since everything is offered to go it could be a viable takeout option if you ever find yourself hungry and downtown. Everything tasted fresh and authentic, including the carne asada, which was smoky and savory. Dona Timo’s went the extra mile with their quality and abundance. We spent the next 20 minutes hovering over our plates, the sound of chewing occasionally punctuated by a comment of how this and that tasted.

The bill came out to under $30 for the two of us, and our server was kind enough to offer us a handful of melt-away mints as we headed out into the dimly lit street, a pound of leftovers stored in a foam container in my hand.

While certainly not the best or worst food in Riverside, I can legitimately recommend Dona Timo’s La Cascada Mexican Restaurant for its quality and quantity. My meal was both filling and satisfying, which are key when it comes to restaurants. While some foodies may hold higher standards, I wholeheartedly recommend it to those of you whose only experience with Mexican food is Del Taco and Taco Bell: It’ll blow your mind.

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FEATURES

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

Nalo Hopkinson presents works of many authors that represent the Afrofuturism movement. ► AFROFUTURISM FROM PAGE 10

several slides containing photos of popular movies like “The Avengers,” “Monsters Inc.” and “Avatar,” and television shows like “Star Trek,” Hopkinson displayed attendees with popular conceptions of science fiction and fantasy.

She expressed that the general theme of science fiction and fantasy is dealing with beings who are different than us. Hopkinson then presented eventgoers with her own definition of science fiction and fantasy: stories dealing with how human beings always change the world around them. “Modern stories

how we change the world come from white people. Every culture has stories about changing the world,” Hopkinson stated.

With that, she quickly delved into the definition of Afrofuturism. “It is a literary and cultural aesthetic that combines elements of science fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, Afrocentricity and magical realism with non-Western cosmologies,” Hopkinson explained. Hopkinson said the goal of it all is to “critique not only the present-day dilemmas of people of color but events of the past.”

Hopkinson introduced the audience to the works of several artists in the movement. At

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org

After her presentation, Hopkinson answers questions on the themes and inspirations of her book.

one point, “you could count the black science fiction novelists on one hand,” Hopkins stated as she took us through the works of Samuel B. Delany, Octavia Butler and Nnedi Okorafor that were all put up for display. Steven Barnes’ “Lion’s Blood” told the story of a world in which the dynamics of slavery were reversed. Tananarive Due’s “My Soul to Keep” was an African take on vampires. And Jeremy Love’s “Bayou” told of an alternate-reality land of gods and monsters south of the MasonDixon Line, born from a history of slavery, civil war and hate.

But the Afrofuturism movement goes beyond just novels.

Hopkinson introduced artists of different mediums who promoted the movement. From Sun Ra of The Arkestra, a jazz musician of the ‘60s who performed under the guise of an alien, to Jean Michel Basquiat’s artworks like “Notary.” Even Dwayne McDuffie’s comic book “Static Shock” was noted. Musicians like Andre 3000 and Janelle Monae were given an honorable mention.

For students with budding interest in the subject, Hopkinson made sure to promote the Science Fiction and Technoculture Studies (SFTS) program, which explores the intersections linking science fiction, science and

technology studies.

“Sometimes people want to write a story with black people in it … And, blacks like reading science fiction but can’t find any written by us,” Hopkinson explained. The event ended with a brief discussion on popular shows like “True Blood” and “The Walking Dead.” Hopkinson discussed that many popular television shows are set in the South, but have African American characters in supporting roles, like that of Lafayette and Tara, two recurring characters on “True Blood.” “It’s vampires against everyone else, but real racism is played as a joke,” Hopkinson said.

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R adar ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

EVENTS THIS WEEK 2/25

Comedy Apocalypse @ The Barn, 8:30 p.m.

2/25

Classical Music for horn, oboe and piano @ ARTS 157, 12:10 p.m.

2/26

In-Between: Works for percussion, electronics and multimedia @ Culver Center of the Arts, 8 p.m.

2/28

The Very Best of Celtic Thunder @ Fox Performing Arts Center, 7:30 p.m.

CAMERON YONG / HIGHLANDER

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org

Headliner Omarion (left) performed at Winter Soulstice along with Yuna (center) and Kehlani (right). Fans of all the artists huddled into the HUB plaza and on the grass slopes to enjoy the evening.

WINTER SOULSTICE C h r i s t a l M i m s , S e n i o r S t a f f W r i t e r / / P h o t o s b y C a m e r o n Yo n g , S a n d y Va n a n d J a k e R i c h

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undreds made their way to the HUB Plaza Thursday night for UCR’s sixth annual “Winter Soulstice” concert. Put on by ASPB, Winter Soulstice has brought out artists such as Jhene Aiko and industry veteran Ginuwine. Attendees arrived in droves to watch performances by up-and-coming R&B artist Kehlani, Malaysian songstress Yuna and R&B crooner Omarion. The event setting was interestingly both intimate and what could be considered the typical, hectic concert atmosphere.

Before the start of the show, some surrounded the medium-sized stage, already dancing to music coming from the large speakers near the stage, while others relaxed with friends on the grass near the plaza steps. Around 7:30 p.m. two ASPB members made their way to the platform to introduce 19-year-old Kehlani to the stage.

Fresh off her tour with G-Eazy, Kehlani emerged with energy and confidence. It’s generally hard to determine how a crowd will react to a relatively unknown artist, but concertgoers fed Kehlani’s exuberance right back to her. A good amount of people were familiar with her music and she was met with a roar of approval when she brought out two female dancers and proceeded to perform one of her songs, “Get Away.” Bright and raspy, Kehlani’s voice filled the air as she continued with the girl power, hip-hop inspired track “Deserve Better.” “Who here appreciates the art of twerking?”

Kehlani asked, before allowing her two backup dancers to engage in a twerk-off that produced screams of excitement from the crowd.

Kehlani slowed things down by talking to the audience and explaining that she was proudly bisexual. “It’s 2015 and we need to be more accepting of these things,” she said before singing “1st Position,” a song that she explained was for women. She continued by treating the audience to a unreleased song and running into the crowd while she sang. People pushed forward

to get a better view of the red-headed singer before she concluded with the catchy “FWU” and thanked the crowd.

As Kehlani exited the stage, more people piled into the plaza while we were left to wait for Yuna.

A few minutes later, Yuna floated onto the stage donned in a beautiful, flowing garment while the crowd cheered and cell phones emerged.

The alt-pop artist was all smiles as she greeted the audience and sang the upbeat and soulful “Falling.” Yuna’s voice resembled that of Corinne Bailey Rae’s, jazzy and light with pangs of strength woven throughout. Her vocals translated incredibly live and her impressive vocal capabilities were proven as she continued with her song “Mountains.” “UC Riverside!” she exclaimed, generating loud screams from the continuously growing crowd. Yuna swayed from side to side and got onlookers singing along as she sang “I Want You Back” and the dreamy yet emotional “Lullabies.”

Everyone appeared to be captivated by her presence, with hardly anyone tearing their eyes away from the stage.

Yuna’s talent captured the attention of almost everyone in the audience and rightfully so. She picked up her ukulele and got everyone dancing while she performed her hit “Come Back” and tugged on our heartstrings as she sang the poignant “Lights and Camera.” She thanked the crowd before performing the self-empowering “Rescue” and ending with the upbeat “Live Your Life.” Everyone was in good spirits after Yuna’s performance, laughing and chatting with friends. Somehow, the crowd grew even larger and people resolved to simply stand on the stairs when they couldn’t find another place to view the show.

Around 9:10 p.m., Omarion danced his way onto the stage wearing a red and black checkered shirt and eliciting an ecstatic reaction from the crowd. As people raised their cell phones in the air to capture the moment, the singer sang his 2005 hit “Touch.” Although he’s most popularly known as a singer,

it was clear that Omarion takes dancing just as seriously, if not more seriously, than singing. There were several times when he allowed his DJ to play random songs while he danced along.

“Where are all my ladies?” he repeatedly yelled to a generous response from the crowd. In fact, Omarion’s entire performance seemed to be catered to the women in the audience. He taught the audience what he called sex education, which garnered giggles and hoots from people in the crowd, before performing the sensual “O.” Omarion danced and danced and danced, and while the dancing was good, it was clear that people in the audience wanted to hear him sing. Since the beginning of his set, I’d heard fans express their excitement to hear him sing his hit song “Ice Box,” and when the song began, the cheers were deafening. However, Omarion responded by singing what seemed like less than a minute of the song. “Hey, hey, let’s try to remix this,” he said, to which a girl beside me replied, “No, we want to hear you sing!” To make matters worse, Omarion told his DJ to play some music while he left to change his shirt only to return and, you guessed it, dance some more.

You could almost feel the energy dying as everyone watched in confusion while he asked the crowd if they wanted to make a song. The only saving grace was his decision to end with his newest radio hit, “Post to Be” in which he even brought out his son Megaa. The overwhelming cuteness of his child and the dance-worthy “Post to Be” allowed Omarion to exit on a better note than he might have if he’d left these elements out.

2015’s Winter Soulstice was fun and entertaining, with everyone clearing out of the HUB plaza radiating the good vibes brought by talented performers. There were certainly a few mishaps and perhaps some disappointment by the outcome of Omarion’s overall performance. However, I don’t think I’m alone in thinking that it was ■H a successfully soulful night.

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org

MUSIC REVIEWS

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

15

IMAGINE DRAGONS: “SMOKE + MIRRORS” // RATING: ★★★☆☆ KELLY DUARTE Contributing Writer

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fter phenomenal success with their hit album “Night Visions,” Imagine Dragons is back with their latest album, “Smoke + Mirrors.” This album is good news for fans of their previous work, who will recognize frontman Dan Reynolds shouting at the top of his lungs, a mix of pop and rock elements and of course, an everprominent drum line.

Imagine Dragons seem to have found their niche and don’t plan to stray from that. When they do, their songs are heavily influenced by other currently popular contemporary bands such as Coldplay, The Killers and Arcade Fire.

What we get is a mix of mostly forgettable tracks and an album

that fails to have an identity, but does produce some very catchy songs.

“Shots” is the first track and probably the best one in the album. It’s able to mix both electronic and rock elements and blend them seamlessly. It’s also one of the few songs that has a noticeable guitar riff. It’s uptempo, feels like a song you’d listen to during a road trip during the summer, and different from normal Imagine Dragons.

However, that’s short-lived as it jumps straight into some heavy percussion that leads us to “Gold,” which is a typical Imagine Dragons song.

This highlights one of the main problems of this album — it doesn’t flow at all, and you’d get the same results if you put the album on shuffle.

We do get a slow moment with “Smoke + Mirrors,” which

In the end, Imagine Dragons played it safe and got some good hits, but most of it feels like background music.

is a very good track, but sounds like it belongs in a Coldplay album rather than this one. “I’m So Sorry” borrows influence from the Black Keys with the same blues feel and even the same guitar distortions. “I Bet My Life” has been on the airwaves for months and feels like a collaboration with Mumford and Sons, Lumineers or Of Monsters and Men, complete with stomping and clapping.

This album is a rollercoaster of tempo because things slow down again for “It Comes Back To You” and we even get a bit of piano in “Dream.” “Polaroid” is also slower, but there’s nothing that makes this a unique track even if it does showcase Reynolds’ voice really well.

“Friction” does the opposite, as Reynolds sounds strained for the most part, backed by a really bad Bollywood-sounding background.

“Summer” is a mostly instrumental track and this one is also one of the best tracks of the album. We get a simple guitardriven track, but it’s refreshing to get a song that’s almost completely devoid of heavy reliance

COURTESY OF INTERSCOPE RECORDS

on electronic elements. “Hopeless Opus” is very ambient and leads into “The Fall,” the last track of this album. It’s very forgetful and a drags on for six minutes, relying on atmosphere that it doesn’t have. The song could’ve been edited down a lot,

or even cut out entirely.

In the end, Imagine Dragons played it safe and got some good hits, but most of it feels like background music. There are definitely some tracks that should be checked out, but the rest can just be forgotten.

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posed of the same basic formula: finger picking and moody vocals. Nothing is added to these songs to make them interesting and they have no outstanding aspect to them other than they sound like Jose Gonzalez songs. “Let It Carry You,” “Leaf Off/The Cave” and “After Glow” also suffer from the same problem, the only difference being that they are slightly more percussive. These songs

comprise more than half the album and all feel like padding for the only four legitimately interesting tracks on the album.

If you are a fan of Gonzalez then you will most likely enjoy this record and for those curious to listen to his music this would be as good a place as any to begin. For those who have not enjoyed his work, however, this album is most definitely not a turning point.

■H

JOSE GONZALEZ: “VESTIGES AND CLAWS” // RATING: ★★★☆☆ CARLOS BARRAGAN Contributing Writer

J

ose Gonzalez, Swedish indie folk singer, songwriter and guitarist, has released his most recent work, “Vestiges and Claws,” in a return to much of the same melancholic, spatial folk music he has released in the past.

The album is a series of 10 midtempo indie folk jams that use Gonzalez’s usual formula of layered finger-style nylon guitar playing and layered vocals. If you’ve followed Gonzalez’s solo work, it’s a sound you are familiar with and one that is unmistakably Jose Gonzalez.

The album provides some interesting guitar textures of what could potentially be a change in sound, but nothing in particular stands out too heavily.

“Stories We Build, Stories We Tell” has a great groove to it, swinging and giving life to

the song, almost giving it an improvisational feel. Lyrics in the song such as “they’ll get to you” combined with sounds appearing to be tonally influenced by artists like Django Reinhardt, gives the track a jazz vibe. “Every Age” adds a reverberating percussion sound to Gonzalez’s usual guitar tone and singing style, making the song reminiscent of older folk music, particularly that of the ‘60s. The song feels reminiscent of artists like Phil Ochs and Bob Dylan, with drums sounding like the ghosts of old protesters clapping along to songs of revolution. The drum continues throughout the song, somewhat in the background but not easily ignored.

With its beautiful simplicity, “Vissel” is comprised of a repeated guitar phrase, with melody provided by only a whistle.

This gives the track a sense of minimalist beauty, leaving it with a lot of open space that

If you are a fan of Gonzalez then you will most likely enjoy this record and for those curious to listen to his music this would be as good a place as any to begin.

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nicely fits the overall mood of the album.

One of the most interesting tracks on the album, especially to those who are fans of technical skill is “What Will.” On this song, Gonzalez truly shows off his abilities as an acoustic guitar player. Complex fingerpicking patterns played in a percussive style create a beautifully textured song that is equally impressive in both ethereal ambiance and composition.

Throughout, Gonzalez takes the main riff and shifts the way he plays it, adding extra notes, changing the tempo and rearranging the same complex guitar pattern, making this track feel very much alive.

The album has its bright moments and is a comforting piece of music to enjoy but what it ultimately lacks is diversity.

“Vestiges and Claws” is able to build a consistent mood and ambiance, as well as introducing some interesting compositional ideas. The only problem is that Gonzalez seems to be working within that pocket of sound that he has made distinctly his and here only shows hints toward some sort of progression. The songs “With the Ink of a Ghost,” “The Forest” and “Open Book” all sound interchangeable, and are com-

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MOVIE REVIEWS

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT COMING OUT SOON:

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org FOCUS THE LAZARUS EFFECT

MAPS TO THE STARS ‘71

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2 // RATING: ☆☆☆☆☆

FARAZ RIZVI Contributing Writer

exploiting their knowledge of the future. Lou Dorchund (Rob Corddry) invents “Lougle,” esanuary and February are sentially their form of Google, often poor months for Nick Webber (Craig Robinson) moviegoers: Big studios becomes a musician, profiting release tawdry films while off his knowledge of the hit most of the country is holed up music of the future, and Jain heavy rain or snows. These cob (Clark Duke), Lou’s son, movies can be so bad, one is living under his successful wishes that there was snow or father’s shadow. At a celebrasleet in Southern California so tory party, where events turn we need not put dark and Lou is up with such shot in the groin, terrible movies. the three resolve Case in point: “Hot Tub Time Machine to get back into “Hot Tub Time 2” is not even remotely the time maMachine 2.” to stop it entertaining. After chine Obscene, illogiall from happencal and riddled watching this movie, I ing, only to end with loopholes, wish could go back into up 10 years into at times even the future. At sexist, this the past and stop myself this point, they film is downfrom buying a ticket. assume that the right unfunny. time machine “Hot Tub Time sent them into Machine 2” asthe future to stop toundingly surpasses its prede- the attempted murder, because cessor in its lack of quality. the murderer is from the future.

Occurring after the events The only women to have any of the first film, “Hot Tub Time major role in the film are Lou’s Machine 2,” the main char- wife and Jacob’s wife in the acters become billionaires by future. All other women who

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make appearances do so only as hot girls the three are partying with, a situation which allows none of them to really have any characterization, nor any lines that refer to them outside of their relationships. Moreover, the film includes a crude rape scene sequence which is just abhorrent. The trio appear on a game show where celebrities are required to do what the audience votes. Nick, being the famous musician, is scheduled to make an appearance and is voted to have intercourse with a man, who just happens to be Lou (the person who suggested it). Why the writers felt the need to include this or make a joke out of this, given that it literally has nothing to do with the plot, is beyond me.

The biggest weakness the film suffers is the seeming lack of logical connections both in plot and the jokes. For example, when Jacob makes a comment that references “Fringe,” Nick and Lou look at each other and begin singing about his nerdiness. The joke falls

flat — not only are we unsure of why “Fringe” is that nerdy, but also through it being unrelated to anything in the story.

A major plot hole that I cannot get around is why they keep referring to it as Lou’s murder since he was alive in the future.

Moreover, when Lou gets shot in the groin, why not just call an ambulance? Why go through all the trouble of time travel when an ambulance could have just as easily saved him? As far as I am aware, a shot to the groin is not an instant kill.

Perhaps the more bizarre element of the film is that the writers insisted on attributing consciousness to the Hot Tub: Why does it choose to send them in the future when it was programmed to send them into the past? Why does it care about saving Lou? And what the hell is up with Chevy Chase’s character? He appears briefly right after the trio are transported into the future and offers some wisdom before evaporating. His appearance is never explained,

extensive run time saddled with a boring protagonist. Every time the film seems to flirt with the idea of showing us the plight and struggles of the teens that should be the subject of the film, as they balance school, work and training in the face of an uncaring society, Costner has to show up, furrowing his brow and speaking entirely in sports cliches. I figure that this is to make the predominantly white, middle class audience that makes up the bulk of the flyover states less uncomfortable, but a focus on the more interesting characters in the film and their arcs would have been much more satisfying, instead of the bland protagonist we’re stuck with. The students in the film learn to believe in themselves, follow their dreams and find self-actualization in a society that regards them as throwaway people. Kevin Costner learns to have less of a temper and enjoy

Mexican food. How inspiring.

With all that said, the film managed to surprise me in many ways.

The bulk of the supporting actors are all extremely talented, and the film manages to stay relatively close to the actual story that inspired it, without being too mired in dramatization. It also manages to display the two differing cultures of Jim White and his Mexican-American students without relying too heavily on stereotypes or racialization. The characters actually feel like real people, with their own distinct personalities, which gives color and atmosphere to a film that would have bored me in almost any other case.

The camerawork is superb and functional, some of the jokes made me laugh and it ends with a climax that really stuck with me. Without trying to spoil anything, the reason “McFarland, USA” is a four instead of a two or three is how the

nor does he make any other appearance in the film, despite the fact that the movie explains all of the different aspects of the Hot Tub. Is he supposed to be the Hot Tub’s personification?

Or is he a ghost? Some force in the Universe? Unexplained, illogical and pointless.

I would be remiss to pretend that the lack of originality in “Hot Tub Time Machine 2” has no saving grace. Paradoxically, the conception of the future seems startlingly precise simply because of its lack of originality. From self-driving cars to portable television screens, the vision of the future seems incredibly plausible because current technologies are taken and are given a futuristic rendering.

“Hot Tub Time Machine 2” is not even remotely entertaining. After watching this movie, I wish could go back into the past and stop myself from buying a ticket. With two hours of jokes falling flat, spare yourselves the money and headache this movie will cost.

■H

MCFARLAND, USA // RATING: ★★★★☆

ROBERT LEES Staff Writer

made me tear up at all of its quaint wholesomeness. Then again, it could have been the girl with the ometimes, a film is so for- incredibly strong cologne behind mulaic that it becomes ter- me in the theater. rible. It’s a heavy-handed, “McFarland, USA” tells the predictable mess that story of Jim White (Kevin Costplucks on your heartstrings like ner), a man who is destined to a the world’s least accomplished vi- life of absolute mediocrity after olinist. I often have to remind my- his parents gave him the least inself, in trudging through the slew teresting name in the known uniof video games, TV and movies verse. After he lets his temper get that encompass the best of him, my pop culture he must find addiction, that work in the town many formulas of McFarland, are adopted, used I was almost sure that California, a town and re-used into the film was going to p r e d o m i n a n t l y oblivion because up of Mexend with some message made they work. ican-American “McFarland, “pickers,” who along the lines of, USA” is a formu- “Thank God the white seem destined to laic film. Right afa marginalizing man showed up and life of harvesting ter Disney begun making waves in taught us to succeed. produce in the changing up their Central Valley. He classical formula He’s the best.” However, eventually discovwith movies like ers that the kids “McFarland, USA” “Frozen” and doesn’t and as a result under his tutelage “Maleficent,” are talented runit’s a fine film. they decided to ners, and he forms make “McFara cross-country land, USA,” a terrunning team. A ribly predictable few montages, and formulaic inoffensive jokes sports movie. However, while and sports tropes later, everyone other films use their formularity lives happily ever after, film done. to avoid doing any work, drawing The film’s major failing, of in hordes of mindless drones who which there aren’t many, is Kevwill shell out $8 to watch what in Costner. While “McFarland, amounts to grayish, mulchy cin- USA” succeeds in telling an inematic gruel (I’m looking at you, spirational story about the crossKevin James and Michael Bay), country team, many of whom “McFarland, USA” follows a for- don’t have aspirations at the bemula in telling an inspirational, ginning of the film, we’re forced heartwarming story that almost to spend a majority of the movie’s

S

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filmmakers handled the ending. I was almost sure that the film was going to end with some message along the lines of, “Thank God the white man showed up and taught us to succeed. He’s the best.”

However, “McFarland, USA” doesn’t and as a result it’s a fine film.

For all of its successes, I worry that “McFarland, USA” won’t make enough of an impression to stand the test of time. It’s a film surrounded on all sides by hugely budgeted, bloated beasts of films without artistic merit; monstrosities stitched together by the wretched creator that is the film industry, where artistic merit takes a back seat to generating buzz and maximizing profits. Then again, that could be the cynicism talking, as there was a massive turnout at the screening I saw. I hope the success of “McFarland, USA” contin■H ues. It truly deserves it.

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18

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

SPORTS

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org

MATT HONG / HIGHLANDER

Brittany Crain (No. 23) absorbs contact from her opponent while progressing toward the basket for a layup.

Women’s basketball upends Santa Barbara, falls short to Cal Poly MELISSA FUENTES Contributing Writer

FEB. 19, 2015

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Highlanders 71- Gauchos 65

This week the Highlanders hit the road to square off against two Big West conference foes beginning with a Thursday evening contest with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos. UC Riverside got the better of the Gauchos with a triumphant win of 71-65, moving up to 7-5 in the Big West.

Two minutes into the game, the Gauchos took the lead and took charge for the majority of the first half. With 3:37 remaining, a jump shot by Annelise Ito

put the Highlanders in the lead, 31-28. The Highlanders entered their locker room clutching onto a 33-31 lead.

With their thirst quenched and refreshed, both teams entered the second half with a newfound energy. UCSB opened the half well and led by six points, but soon enough the Highlanders took over on offense. With 12:13 remaining, a jump shot by Dynese Adams put UCR on top.

For the remainder of the game UCR controlled the ball and held on for the win, 71-65. UCR was led by the fourth-leading scorer in the nation, Brittany Crain, who tallied 24 points. The secondleading scorer of the night was

Ito, who contributed 19 points and hit six of 13 shots from the field in 40 minutes of play. Simone DeCoud handled point guard duties, dishing out a game high of nine assists, giving her a new season high and matching a career high for the third time.

FEB. 21, 2015

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Mustangs 70 - Highlanders 68

Facing the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Broncos on Saturday afternoon, the women’s basketball team put up a fight against the Mustangs but were defeated by two points, 70-68. UCR dominated the free-throw line, converting on 76.9 percent of its opportuni-

ties and Cal Poly only 52.6 percent. However, Cal Poly (47.6) topped UCR (28.6) in three-point percentage by almost 20 percent.

From the start UCR took the lead by two points, but that was their highest lead of the night.

After eight minutes into the game UCR was trailing by 17 points.

Soon enough Simone DeCoud and Michelle Curry made a couple of free throws and three pointers that cut the Broncos’ lead to eight. The Highlanders pushed through but were unable to catch up and went into the locker room trailing 33-27.

The Highlanders returned to the court and were constantly playing catch up, maintaining a

five- to six-point deficit behind the Broncos. The last 20 seconds of the game induced nervous energy into the crowd as the scores grew closer. With 11 seconds left, Mustang Rachel Koehler scored two free throws. The Highlanders had not yet given up as DeCoud sank a three-pointer in the very last second of the game, but to their dismay fell two points short, 70-68.

DeCoud was on fire offensively, finishing with a season high and game high of 23 points. Brittany Crain contributed 16 points and Curry contributed 14. After a week of traveling, the Highlanders return home on Feb. 28 to face ■H Cal State Northridge.

SPORTS

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org ► SOFTBALL FROM PAGE 20

Victoria Sanchez got the Highlanders on the board with a sacrifice fly to center that started a three-inning span that had the Highlanders scoring five runs, including a game-tying three-run home run in the sixth inning by center fielder Jenna Curtan that drove in Taylor Wright and Madeline Richard to send the game to extra innings. The home run was Curtan’s first of the season in a decisive moment the completely shifted the game’s momentum.

The shellshocked Utah State team simply could not recover, and the game ended the following inning. With Haley Harris on second, Natalie Sanchez laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Harris to third. On the very next pitch, Harris scored the game-winning run on a passed ball. Pitcher Chelsea Ponce picked up her eighth win of the season in 10 decisions, and maintained a miniscule 0.83 ERA. FEB. 22, 2015

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Highlanders 7 - Toreros 6

FEB. 22, 2015

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

19

► BASEBALL FROM PAGE 20

from second base to make it a 2-1 game. In the fifth inning, Vince Fernandez hit his first home run of the season to tie it all up.

The Aztecs tried to take the lead by loading the bases in the eighth but Gabe Gertner was able to close out the eighth on the mound and lead the Highlanders to the ninth.

Chupek grounded out to start the final inning, then SDSU brought in Jacob Erickson to close it out when UCR made a switch of their own and put in Abernathy, who smacked his first home run of the season.

Fernandez’s homer and Jordan Kron’s second save of the season combined to give UC Riverside its first win of the series and the Aztecs their first loss of the season.

FEB. 21, 2015

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Aztecs 7 - Highlanders 6

It was the Aztecs who pulled out the win in the ninth inning on Saturday afternoon with the help of a triple from freshmen Chris Calabuig, despite Riverside scoring a grand slam in the seventh inning from Alex Rubanowitz.

SDSU struck first with two RBIs in the second inning. The Highlanders responded

Dante Chupek (No. 30) anticpates the ball hurtling towards him.

AARON LAI / HIGHLANDER

in the fourth with a single from Matt Ellis to send home Drake Zarate.

The bases were loaded again in favor of the Aztecs in the seventh and with help of a balk they would score the first run, followed by a single from Calabuig, which produced two runs, to take a 5-1 lead. The seventh inning was also the Highlanders’ turn to load the bases again, this time taking full advantage with the help of Rubanowitz’s bat to send everyone home and give the Highlanders their first lead of the game.

However, once the ninth came around,

Jordan Kron gave up back-to-back singles to put two on base and was replaced by Ryan Lillie, who gave up the triple to Calabuig on the first pitch and gave the Aztecs the last lead needed.

Aztec closer CJ Saylor came in and recorded two strikeouts and a ground out to give the Aztecs the victory.

The Highlanders faltered again on Sunday afternoon, giving up 12 runs in a 12-6 loss to the Aztecs.

UCR next travels to play against Washington State beginning on Feb. 26.

■H

Jaylen Bland following his 14-point, seven-rebound and two-block performance.

“Everything’s not going to be perfect.

You’ve got to take that shot sometimes from the opponent, suck it up and get back in the game … We stuck with it and got through it.”

The excitement continues to build for the Highlanders (7-6). They entered Saturday’s night contest in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Big West standings with Cal Poly (6-7) and Hawaii (6-7). Coupled with Hawaii’s 74-67 loss to Davis, UC Riverside moved itself into position for a top-four seed in the conference with only three games remaining in the regular season.

“They are battling through every opportunity to build a foundation for the next game and the conference tournament. This was absolutely huge because it lays the

foundation for the next steps for this program. It is that exciting,” Interim Athletics Director Janet Lucas said. “It’s something that they’re continuing to build on with every effort and every practice. And you can’t ask for more from this group.”

With seven conference wins already, the Highlanders can tally their best finish in Division I school history. In 2008-2009, the program was 8-8 in conference, and in a three-way tie for fourth place.

UC Riverside has one game on the schedule this week with a Saturday night matchup against a hosting Cal State Northridge on Feb. 28.

Former UCR athletics director and USC men’s basketball coach Stan Morrison, who was on hand for the victory, summed up the entire sentiment of the night.

“No one wants to play UCR right now,” he declared.

■H

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Highlanders 10 - Toreros 2

The Highlanders won their fourth and fifth consecutive games of the weekend with 7-6 and 10-2 thumpings of San Diego University on an overcast Sunday afternoon.

After escaping the first contest with an eighth-inning unearned run, UC Riverside cruised to a dominant hittingfilled game against the Toreros. The team outhit their opponents 10-2. Pitchers Rebecca Faulkner and Tayler Misfeldt earned wins on the day.

The Highlanders are now 11-4 and perfect at home on the season, their best start since the 2006 season when they won 10 of their first 13 games.

UCR remains at home to face St. John’s University on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

■H

► M. BASKETBALL FROM PAGE 20

senior Austin Quick explained about the student support. “I talked to a couple of ‘em on campus, and they said they were going to bring guys to the game. The TV game (Hawaii on Jan. 17) started it off, and then more of them came.”

“This wasn’t a championship game, or anything like that,” Quick continued. “But to see our peers come out and congratulate us, that’s exciting.”

The crowd kept UCR energized as the Broncos, who won the Big West championship last season, turned an eight-point halftime deficit into a seven-point lead with 11:04 remaining. With the score knotted at 41 apiece, clutch free throws from Nick Gruninger and Jaylen Bland sealed the low-scoring battle, 48-44.

“Basketball’s a game of runs,” stated

20

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2015

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org

Sports

The softball team congratulates Jenna Curtan (No. 19) after sprinting to home base and scoring a run against Michigan State.

Softball wins five straight at Amy Harrison Classic CHRISTIAN MAY-SUZUKI Contributing Writer FEB. 20, 2015

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Highlanders 9 - Spartans 2

The women’s softball team rode high on the first day of the Amy S. Harrison Classic, taking both games of the Friday, Feb. 20 doubleheader to improve their record to 8-4. The first game saw the Highlanders hosting Big 10 member Michigan State, dismantling the visiting Spartans 9-2 in seven innings.

Freshman starting pitcher Chelsea Ponce picked up the win with a solid outing, allowing six hits and two runs in five innings. She also picked up five strikeouts and walked only two Michigan State batters.

First baseman and reliever Rebecca Faulkner led the Highlander offense with three runs driven in, and Jenna Curtan crossed home plate three times.

UCR struck quickly with an

early run in the bottom of the first, but an RBI double from Spartan Lea Foerster tied the game in the third, and a fifth-inning home run from Foerster gave Michigan State the lead. However, the Highlanders responded with an offensive barrage over the next two innings. In the bottom of the fifth, the Highlanders got RBI singles from Erika Campbell and Haley Harris to reclaim the lead.

The Highlanders put the game away in the sixth, kicked off by an RBI double from third baseman Taylor Wright that was stretched to a triple off of an error. This forced the Michigan State defense into multiple fielders’ choices, allowing baserunners to advance in exchange for preventing single runs. This soon backfired for the Spartans, as Faulkner crushed a three-run home run to put the game away for the Highlanders. The homer was the freshman’s first for the blue and gold. Faulkner also pitched the last two innings of the game, picking up her third save this year.

Baseball hangs tough against San Diego State ALEXANDER MANZO Contributing Writer FEB. 19, 2015

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Aztecs 6 - Highlanders 2

With both teams fighting for a continued unbeaten season, someone had to walk out with a tarnished record. Unfortunately for the Highlanders, it was them, with a 6-2 loss against a hosting San Diego State to start the series.

Kevin Sprague gave up five runs in his first three innings out, the first to Danny Sheehan after being walked with one out and reaching third from a single off Ty France, and a fielder’s choice. He was finally sent home by Ryan Muno.

In the second, Sprague gave up a home run to Brody Westmoreland over left field to double SDSU’s lead. The third started out just as hectic with a bases-loaded situation after two singles and a hit-by-pitch for the Aztecs. San Diego State’s Muno hit a single to send home two batters. Andrew Brown followed up to send home Muno with a fielder’s choice to give SDSU a 5-0 lead.

The Highlanders did manage

to get on board in the fourth with a sacrifice fly by Alex Rubanowitz to send home Robby Witt, as well as Witt’s first home run of the season in the sixth.

Sprague, whose record now stands at 1-1, lasted four innings, with three relievers Max Compton (1.1), Jared Morton (1.2) and Gabe Gertner (1.0) helping to finish the game.

FEB. 20, 2015

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Highlanders 3 - Aztecs 2

A come-from-behind victory for UCR with a pinch-hitting home run

by Jordan Abernathy in the ninth inning took the Highlanders to a 3-2 victory and SDSU’s first loss of the season.

The Aztecs quickly took the lead in the first off of starting pitcher Keaton Leach with a tworun home run from Ty France after Danny Sheehan got on base from a single.

The third inning would be the beginning for the Highlanders with an RBI for Robby Witt to bring home Dante Chupek ► SEE BASEBALL, PAGE 19

FEB. 20, 2015

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Highlanders 6 - Aggies 5

Following a brief 30-minute intermission, the team returned to action in its final game of the day and took down Utah State 6-5 in nine heated innings.

Taking the mound to start the game for the Highlanders was Tayler Misfeldt, who gave up three hits and struck out three in her 2.2 innings of work.

Despite being in the midst of a disappointing season, it was Utah State who struck first, jumping to a 3-0 lead with a string of well-hit balls. However, the Highlanders quickly responded with three runs of their own the following inning, off an RBI double from Rebecca Faulkner and a base hit from Kris DeAnda that drove in two. Middle reliever Alyssa Razo proceeded to shut down the Utah State offense, allowing no runs and only four hits over the next 3.1 innings.

The 3-3 stalemate lasted until the top of the eighth inning, when Utah State center fielder Sara Vasquez drove in a run on a base hit off of Chelsea Ponce, who had already pitched earlier in the day.

Ponce had come in to replace Razo who, despite cruising through the

previous three innings, was forced out after being hit with a line drive in the chest. Continuing the dramatic pace of the game, UCR promptly struck back with catcher Chelsea Holly’s sacrifice fly driving in Nicolette Lujan to keep the Highlanders alive and push the game to another extra inning. Yet again, Utah State drove in another run to put the game in the Highlanders’ hands.

After Stephanie Tickemyer made it to second base, Taylor Wright moved Tickemyer to third on a sacrifice bunt, who scored on a single up the middle by Jenna Curtan. Curtan then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher. With Curtan on third and Karina Romero reaching on a single to first base, right fielder Sommer Wilson, who had come into the game in the seventh, hit a walkoff single to right field that sent the Highlanders home happy.

Chelsea Ponce ended up picking up both wins on the day, moving her season record to 7-2 with a microscopic 0.87 ERA. The two RBIs from Kris DeAnda marked her second multi-RBI game of the season for the Highlanders, who remain undefeated at home on the season.

CAMERON YONG / HIGHLANDER

FEB. 21, 2015

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Highlanders 5 - Aggies 4

In the second day of hosting the Amy S. Harrison Classic, the women’s softball team extended their winning streak to three with another hotly contested affair, ending with an eight inning, 5-4 win over Utah State. The game was the second straight extrainning contest for the Highlanders, who escaped both games with onerun margins.

Freshman Kaylynn Pierce started the game for the Highlanders, striking out two and allowing three hits over 4.1 innings. On the other side, Utah State pitcher Noelle Johnson showed why she was the only pitcher on the team to have recorded a win, shutting out the UCR offense and only allowing three hits over her first five innings.

The Aggies built a gradual but noticeable lead off third and fifth inning RBIs by first baseman Hailey Froton, and an RBI triple in the fifth

by Sarah Chow that set the pieces in place for Froton. However, just as in the previous meeting the day prior, the Highlander offense responded, and responded quickly. ► SEE SOFTBALL, PAGE 19

Men’s basketball ascends past Cal Poly DARREN BUENO Senior Staff Writer

At this point in the season last year, the UC Riverside men’s basketball program battled for every win, squeezing into the Big West Conference tournament as the eighth and final seed.

After Saturday’s 48-44 victory over Cal Poly Pomona, the team picked to finish last in the standings by conference coaches and media now sits in fifth place, only a half-game back of a third seed.

It wasn’t always pretty. UC Riverside let a 30-22 lead at intermission evaporate. They endured through a two-of-12 shooting performance to begin the second half, but behind the reliable musical chants of the band and support of a raucous student-filled crowd, the Highlanders won their twelfth game out of 14 total at the Student Recreation Center Arena this season.

As the final buzzer rang in the electric atmosphere, students rushed onto the floor to celebrate the victory alongside players, coaches and anyone else in sight.

“It started out of the blue,” ► SEE M. BASKETBALL, PAGE 19

JANELLE SOTO / HIGHLANDER Steven Thornton (No. 13) is fouled on his way to the basket.