The Highlander
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
For the week of Tuesday, October 5, 2021
VOL. 70, ISSUE 01
est. 1954
RYAN POON / THE HIGHLANDER
FEATURES
CHECK OUT OUR BOBA REVIEW ON PAGE 8! NEWS
COURTESY OF NETLFIX
RADAR
How UCR plans to keep students safe
The Bizarreness of ‘Squid Game’ is ironically real and intense
WHAT COVID PROCEDURES IS UCR IMPLEMENTING TO PROTECT STUDENTS ON CAMPUS?
AMARAY ALVAREZ Assistant News Editor
After two years of online classes, UCR has finally welcomed students and faculty back to campus for in-person learning. While for the majority of students this is their first year on campus, those who previously attended in person are also still adjusting. One difference from the last time in-person instruction occurred is the inclusion of COVID-19 and the precautions that come with it. The threat of the virus remains present, and those attending classes or working on campus are required to wear a mask indoors and be fully vaccinated or have an exemption. With masks and vaccination statuses being the main defense against COVID on campus, UCR has also implemented several other precautions to help keep students safe. Students and faculty who live on or commute to UCR must fill out the Daily Wellness Survey each day they are on campus before they leave their residence or arrive. The survey only takes a few minutes to complete and asks a series of
DAVID MORENO / THE HIGHLANDER
THE SHOW’S INSANITY IS A BRILLIANT METAPHOR FOR THE WORLD’S HARSH, UNFORGIVING REALITY.
health-related questions to ensure you have not contracted the virus. The survey also tracks what residence hall or building you live or work in to assist in contact tracing if someone you came into contact with has tested positive. When returning to campus was proposed for the fall, the University of California system set a goal of having 90% of all students vaccinated. UCR was able to meet this goal, with current statistics reporting that 94.2% of students are vaccinated along with 81.6% of employees. The total combined percentage is 92.3%. Students who did not report their vaccination status were blocked from enrolling in on-campus classes. Although those living on campus are all vaccinated, students are still required to participate in regular random testing to help locate any potential outbreaks. Students who test positive on campus will be required to self-isolate in a designated on-campus room for 14 days. During this period, they may not leave their room unless they want to return home and quarantine. Students with a meal ► SEE COVID PROCEDURES PAGE 4
ABHIJIT REGE News Editor
Netflix Korea’s latest series, “Squid Game,” is taking the world by storm as a strange and violent show whose ruthless and depressing atmosphere exposes a dark reality of our society. And this was specifically the intention of the writer and director, Hwang Dong-hyuk, who stated how he “wanted to write a story that was an allegory or fable about modern capitalist society, something that depicts an extreme competition, somewhat like the extreme competition of life. But I wanted it to use the kind of characters we’ve all met in real life.” As a result, this particular motivation perfectly encapsulates why “Squid Game” has become such a phenomenon as a visceral, yet addicting series that is on its way to surpass “Bridgerton” as Netflix’s most watched series of all time. Set in a modern-day, capitalist South Korea, a group of 456 debt-ridden and impoverished players compete in a series of children’s games for millions in cash. While that may sound trivial on paper,
the intensity is raised to an extreme as the price of failure is a contestant’s horrifying and instantaneous death. The developers of “Squid Game” delivered not only gutwrenching gore and violence, but also psychological drama and warfare amongst the players. The desperate and unfortunate run parallel with murderers, thieves and psychopaths in the same hellish and torturous environment, managed behind the scenes by a ruthless staff. Despite the pasts and circumstances of each player, the audience can see throughout each game how the rising stakes reveal each character’s morality and instincts: all desperate to survive, but hungry to win. Alliances are built and destroyed within the same episode, and the blurred equality within the game will upset many in the audience as it leads to many undeserved and meaningless deaths. And in the end, the price of the game is simply accumulated in a giant piggy bank hanging above the players as their deaths and actions are all done for the entertainment of the over-privileged. The feasibility ► SEE SQUID GAME PAGE 10
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