Volume 70 Issue 15

The Highlander

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE

For the week of Tuesday, February 8, 2022

VOL. 70, ISSUE 15

NEWS

est. 1954

STUDENTS FROM THE R’GARDEN PROPOSE A LESSER REFERENDUM THAT WOULD EXPAND THEIR REACH IN PROVIDING FOOD SECURITY.

ASUCR senators oppose a student referendum increase for athletics during their 13th meeting.

AMARAY ALVAREZ Assistant News Editor

by stating that the legislative branch plans to create a community outreach program that would meet on and off of campus and target pre-law or other judicial students.

Christian Valdez, a UCR graduate student with the R’Garden, spoke next to propose a student referendum of $10 to provide more funding and food security for students.

Valdez stated that when meeting with UCR administrators in 2021, they were not interested in adding a referendum. A current referendum increase for athletics is on the agenda, and the R’Garden members feel that it is unfair to ask students for that payment when athletics does not provide assistance to the overall student population. Valdez noted that the UCR R’Garden is a model garden for other UC’s and many on-campus students, demonstrating how food insecurity could be solved. The R’Garden currently collects no fees, as they are funded by the Basic Needs Grant.

On Wednesday, Feb. 2, the 13th Associated Students of UCR meeting took place in person at the ASUCR Senate Chambers. All senators were present, excluding CHASS senator Lauren Garcia, BCOE senator David Kiroloss and CNASS senators Tammar Akel, Catelin La and Ridwan Syed.

Motions to approve the current meeting’s agenda were called for by Executive Vice President Mufida Assaf with the addition of finance hearing minutes eight. The previous meeting minutes were then opened and approved with a count of 11-0-0.

Public forum followed with ASUCR Chief Justice Mohamad Almouazzen reporting that the legislative branch has created a new Legislative and Financial Committee. They are also working with the elections director to combat any issues that may arise surrounding the upcoming senate elections. Almouazzen concluded

COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS

SPORTS UCR men’s basketball upsets the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in a tight match up PATREACE ESPIRITU Contributing Writer

The Highlanders hosted the game against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at the SRC Arena on Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022. Not only was the visiting team the No. 1 seed in the Big West Conference Standings, they were also undefeated — until they stepped foot on Highlander territory.

Defeating them with a final score of 64-59, the men’s basketball team is now 6-3 in their conference and 12-7 overall.

The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement as the bleachers filled up and Scotty greeted everyone at the white out game. As the buzzer echoed off the walls, the Rainbow Warriors got the first possession, but a steal by graduate

THEY WENT IN AS UNDERDOGS BUT EMERGED VICTORIOUS AGAINST THE NO. 1 SEED IN THE BIG WEST CONFERENCE STANDINGS.

student guard Dominick Pickett allowed sophomore guard Wil Tattersall to cut through the opponent’s defense for a smooth layup to score the first point. The visiting team responded almost immediately with a 3-pointer, but the home team showed no signs of intimidation as Pickett and redshirt junior guard Flynn Cameron shot back-to-back threes from downtown.

Not only did they chip the opponent’s lead to 7-14, but they also got Scotty to throw two white out shirts to the crowd to celebrate the 3-pointers.

OPINIONS Editorial

► SEE ASUCR PAGE 4

THOUGH THE PROMISE OF SUCH A LARGE SUM OF MONEY IS TANTALIZING, THE PROPOSAL NEEDS SOME SOLID FLESHING OUT BEFORE IT BECOMES A REALITY.

A $5 billion investment in California university housing will be a blessing, but only with a rigid plan in place THE EDITORIAL BOARD

From San Marcos to Berkeley and beyond, it’s common knowledge that there is a student housing crisis in California. From apartments and dorms that are quite literally falling apart, to incredibly expensive new buildings or to limited off-campus housing, universities are struggling to accommodate students. A new proposal has been raised, offering $5 billion across all of California’s universities should it pass. Though such a huge amount of money sounds like it will be the solution to all the housing problems, this proposal doesn’t have a chance to make it through the government if there are no boundaries placed around how these funds are spent.

Though the student housing crisis certainly warrants a large sum of funds, some simple critical thinking into the matter raises plenty of questions very quickly. For example, the fact that there are more than 280 universities in California means that the distribution of $5 billion dollars works out to approximately $18 million dollars per university if this bill makes its way through to law.

Though $18 million has the potential to make great change if it were used right, the money is meant to go toward “affordable housing” first and foremost. ► SEE EDITORIAL PAGE 5

► SEE MEN’S BASKETBALL PAGE 12

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UCR Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Jennifer Brown leaves lasting impact on student education

COURTESY OF UCR

ANTONIO VELAOCHAGA Contributing Writer

Last Tuesday, it was announced that Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Jennifer Brown will retire from her duties at UCR on March 18, 2022 as she was named the new provost of Cal Poly Pomona. Throughout her four years at UCR, Brown’s office has developed an array of resource programs in response to the worldwide pandemic, which began inhibiting student learning and the college experience in 2019.

In a collaborative effort with Information Technology Solutions, Brown’s office designed the RISE Initiative. Her office led this program that would look to provide 110 general assignment classrooms with

new video and audio equipment in order to support in-person, remote or hybrid learning.

“I’ve always thought of the RISE Classroom Initiative as a way to help different segments of students who have different needs but to try to find a way to give them equal access,” said Brown. The Exploration Center for Innovative Teaching and Engagement, or XCITE, and the ScottyBot chatbot are two other major resources that came out of the RISE initiative. XCITE was created in late 2019 as a UCR instructional design program that provides resources and consultation.

XCITE develops these courses for instructors to accommodate remote, hybrid or in-person learning environments.

Brown recalled her position as UCR’s liaison in the University Innovation Alliance, a national institution of public research universities with the aim to give rise to the number and diversity of graduating students across the country. UIA’s work extends to proactive advising, completion grants, predictive analytics and new career services practices throughout the member institutions.

They created the chatbot initiative that produced Scottybot. The initiative looked to enhance student’s access to information while also reducing communication obstacles.

Brown stated that she was proud of the UIA for not only their work in the development of Scottybot, but for working with her to implement completion grants that gave aid to UCR students that were close to graduating.

She said, “During the pandemic we were able to advocate for $500,000 dollars from the Higher Education Emergency and Relief

Funds.”

Brown said she was highly vocal over the challenges that students face outside of campus, whether it’s health, financial or social. “We have to understand that students’ situations and lives have changed during the pandemic,” stated Brown. In regards to these issues that hinder the learning of students, Brown stated that students should be helped in such a way that even though they are facing these obstacles, they would be able to attend classes at UCR. The School of Undergraduate Office’s work on the Rise Initiative and XCITE is what spearheaded UCR’s shift to emergency remote teaching during the pandemic. In response to the criticism regarding the effectiveness of remote learning at UCR, Brown said, “I understand that not everyone learns in the same way. I’m advocating for finding ways to have more access for folks ... I advocate more for the flexibility and the understanding that not every student who comes to UCR can be here the way that we see traditionally.” Brown said she recognized one of the hardest things about remote instruction for students is that they are separated from their learning environment, and therefore, student engagement was heavily reduced. Brown said the Campus Collective Program allowed for students to feel connected to UCR with their mentorship program that grouped younger students with graduates.

According to Brown, UCR’s current online education system could be the tip of a possibly broader picture of alternative

JENNIFER BROWN REFLECTS ON HER PAST ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS VICE PROVOST AND DEAN OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION. education as different modes of teaching are created. Innovation and experimenting with forms of teaching and learning is what Brown pushes for as she makes her transition to Cal Poly Pomona. Brown said she was frustrated by the thoughts that the current online system of education is inferior. She said, “A lot of folks think that what we did in emergency remote teaching is online education. It is not.” Brown called for there to be “robust conversations about what it takes to build a true digital infrastructure,” so that the next time a possible event like the pandemic happens, UCR will be prepared with different ways of educating students.

“Given where we are now as a society, there should be multiple ways for students to engage, and there should be multiple ways for faculty to engage,” stated Brown.

As Brown makes her departure for Cal Poly Pomona, she said she hopes UCR continues “to utilize XCITE for it’s pedagogical knowledge, and as we continue to navigate the pandemic, that we continue to think about innovative ways to provide flexibility and still be able to hold the teaching and expertise to a standard.”

Brown said, “I still hope to be engaged and be invited to UCR events … And we’re so close that I hope to continue to hear about the great things UCR is doing.” ■ H

The return to in-person classes sees a mixed reaction from students STUDENTS HOPED TO HAVE THE ABILITY TO ATTEND CLASSES IN-PERSON AND ONLINE ABHIJIT REGE News Editor

The transition back to in-person instruction this winter quarter has seen a return to a campus unlike any other in the past months. But the reaction to this return has been quite mixed as students have increasingly identified a number of issues with how this transition is being handled.

Bryce Hill, a UCR student, organizer and administrator of a Discord server established in opposition to the return, provided an interview that details what students and professors have said so far.

Several reasons have been cited for the opposition to the return on campus. Recently, ASUCR passed a senate resolution SRW22-008 Resolution in Support of Remote Learning Options that outlined many of the concerns. Hill wanted to thank ASUCR, including Senator Victoria Nguyen, for the support they provided and for allowing students to have a place where their voices can be heard.

Though cases may appear to be dropping, a spike may recur with the return to a large, crowded campus. A new subvariant has been located in California, and increased exposure could lead to further mutations.

“Students should not be expected to return to crowded lectures of over 200 people and then to bring that right home to their family members that may be immunocompromised or unvaccinated for one reason or another,” stated Hill in his interview. “How is one

expected to stay safe and to social distance in a crowded indoor environment for hours at a time?” The daily wellness check has students skeptical of accuracies as well as accountability as answers to the surveys have been limited, considering the lack of enforcement. In addition, determining whether someone should stay home or return to campus is vague.

Obtaining a test, as required by UC mandates, can be difficult to acquire due to the lack of testing kits available and the limited number of testing sites on campus. This combined with the length of time required to get your test results back causes many to attend classes without actually knowing whether or not they are COVID-19 positive.

Hill described, “The current measures are minimal, and in my opinion, only provide a thin veneer of safety for students.”

The inconsistency in communication and lack of time provided for students to transition back are other issues cited, especially for commuters and students who live out of state or the country. Students feel that they are being pressured to secure housing, transportation, financial support and much more in a short span of time.

Hill described this concern held by many, detailing, “Being provided with seven days notice of what decision was set in stone is not a realistic situation for anyone to find themselves in. Securing housing, work and transportation in that amount of time, when everything before was already so uncertain, is not something that should be expected of us just to continue our education.”

Certain classes remain online or are delivered in a hybrid format allowing for

both remote and in-person instruction.

Students have voiced their appreciation for the professors and teaching assistants that have implemented a hybrid format.

Hills referred to the RISE program for the UCR campus, which details that all general education classrooms are equipped with cameras and other equipment for streaming or recording classes.

Hill, a psychology major, explained that three of his four classes kept online or hybrid instruction, noting the dedication certain professors and TA’s have to manage the hybrid format. He also voiced some of his frustrations with the administration. “This is why the decision by the administration to push their responsibilities onto the professors and TAs is so sad to see. These situations are not something that should be individually handled by each professor. They already teach multiple different classes and have to deal with life outside of school as well. The administration could have made a better decision in preparing the campus and each department for this situation, but instead they chose to push off their responsibilities to people who already have too much to worry about.” This movement, as stated by Hillww, “is about securing a safe option for students who need it.”

However, it should be made clear that this opposition does not translate to advocacy for UCR students to be forced to return to online or remote instruction. Rather, students hope that the administration can implement a system that allows for both remote and inperson learning. Certain students may benefit from one form of learning in comparison to the other as for some in person instruction

COURTESY OF ARAM AGHAJANIAN

allows for material to be relayed better while others may be dealing with issues that prevent their attendance.

The cause has currently received substantial support. 350+ students have joined the Discord to support the cause and a change.org petition advocating for this option has been signed by almost 6,900 people. You can join the discord or sign the H petition to show your support. ■

4 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

NEWS

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ASUCR ► FROM ASUCR

Executive Office reports continued with Ethnic and Gender Program Liaison Jeanine Nassar stating that E&G programs will be postponing tabling for transfer and non-traditional week. The event will mainly be virtual as many of the speakers prefer to present online.

Nassar also plans to create legislation on more awareness and assistance for CAPS resources.

Vice President Assaf introduced a new parlentation, Carl Semolin, to be ratified. Assaf spoke on behalf of Semolin, and the senate ratified them with a count of 11-0-0.

The senate then discussed a proposed referendum titled, Referendum: Student Fee Increase Needed to Support The Continuation of an NCAA Division I Athletics Program at UCR and Ensure Equity with Other UC Campuses.

The referendum was presented by the ASUCR Elections Director, Tricia Sarmiento. The proposed referendum would increase the current student athletics fees from $35 a quarter to $125 a quarter, a $90 increase. The referendum has not been increased in about 20 years and would help the athletics department from losing their division 1 standing. Several of the senators spoke in disagreement of the proposed referendum stating that no one from the athletics department even showed up to the meeting to explain or present the referendum themselves.

President Pro Tempore Orlando Cabalo thanked the R’Garden members for attending the meeting expressing their views on the athletics referendum.

Cabalo then stated that this is an unreasonable amount of money for athletics to be requesting from students when we are still in a pandemic. ASUCR Executive Director Laurie Sinclair stated that this was a preliminary vote and that athletics would potentially rediscuss terms if the referendum was rejected. Senator Lizbeth Torres then

stated that ASUCR is not discrediting the athletics department by not approving this referendum, the senators would instead like more transparency and communication. Senator Cabalo then opened the vote to reject the referendum. It was rejected with a vote of 12-0-1.

Committee reports then continued with the Finance Committee opening finance hearing minutes number seven.

Senator Christian Martinez reported that the Muslim Student Association was allocated $1,500 with $660 for temporary judicial council stipends.

The proposed stipend will be $990 next year. Finance hearing minutes number eight were then opened and read, stating that the La Familia UCR club did not show up for their meeting.

The Elections Director asked for funds of $660 that were given. Both hearing minutes were passed.

Three legislations were then presented to be approved by the senate.

SR-W22-006 Senate Resolution: In support of Underground Scholars Initiative was presented by Greg Sanchez, a UCR student and member of the USI. This legislation would provide more funds and support for USI, a club for formerly incarcerated students or people who have been affected by the system. UCR currently allocates $0 funds to this club, and there is a chapter at every UC. Other chapters have a physical meeting place, and Sanchez would like a safe space for UCR members to gather. Senator Victoria Nguyen spoke in favor of the club and agreed that they need their own space on campus. The legislation was passed 13-0-0.

SR-W22-007 In Support of Advocating for Expanding Student Accomodations was read next by senator Cabelo. This legislation advocates to expand student accomodations in regards to COVID-19. A survey put out

by ASUCR found that many students

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are residing at home despite having housing on campus. Senator Nguyen reiterated that this resolution isn’t Zoom specific, but would provide overall accommodations for problems arising from COVID-19. The legislation was passed 13-0-0.

SR-W22-008 Resolution in Support of Remote Learning was presented last.

This legislation would support more hybrid and online classes for students.

Senator Nguyen spoke on behalf of student Bryce Hill who created a Discord with students opposed to full in-person instruction. The students in the Discord would like hybrid options along with in-person options due to the alarming number of cases on campus. Riverside Community College and College of the Desert have hybrid options available and if they can accommodate students then UCR should as well.

There is also a Change petition with more than 6,800 signatures in favor of hybrid and online options. The legislation was passed 13-0-0.

GCAP then followed with the presentation of Green Grant - Entry ID 39 and Green Grant - Entry ID 40 by

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senator Christopher Kent. The funding would help the Aerospace Systems at UCR build a rocket for a competition they are entering and to attend a conference. Both passed with a count of 13-0-0.

During Public Comment First Time College Student Director, Lily Romero spoke in favor of the senate supporting USI and students who are still being affected by the pandemic. Chief Justice Almouazzen also spoke stating that Judicial in the past was not active but will be this year.

Senator Reports followed with senator Blanca Alba assisting with legislations, and senator Kent stated that he has met with his interns.

Roundtable and Announcements concluded with senator Arleth Aparicio stating that they are working on legislation to have narcan training.

Senator Nguyen reminded the senators of the Winter CHASS Town Hall on Feb. 8.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:09 p.m. ■ H

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

THE HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL

ILLUSTRATION COURTESTY OF STORIES @FREEPIK

► FROM EDITORIAL

However, $18 million is hardly anything to build a new building. For reference, the Dundee-Glasgow project at UCR cost $300 million. To hire contractors, set up building sites and pay workers to make these buildings would render this $5 billion proposal almost meaningless across all universities if money were to be distributed equally among all universities.

A slew of other questions with nebulous answers follow when considering what could even constitute “affordable housing” at universities in the first place. Since universities run as businesses, it is unfortunately quite likely that “affordable housing” would mean cheap housing — little more than a bed, a desk and a ceiling light. It doesn’t help that because of supply chain issues caused by the pandemic, building materials have gone up in price, further rendering the potential $18 million even more useless.

All of this, of course, is operating on the assumption that it would be distributed evenly in the first place. Another likely scenario could be that the money is given to universities that are big names in California, leaving lesspopular universities out in the cold. Colleges like UC Berkeley would more than likely receive more cash to help their housing cause

“

than smaller CSU’s or state universities not tied to a state-wide program.

No matter how you cut it, even distribution or not, the proposal is not as rosy as it seems.

”

Furthermore, although the money is meant to go toward affordable housing, it could just as easily go toward somewhat fixing up the current housing situations on campus so current students don’t have to suffer without heating or air conditioning in their units while they try to learn. And yet, renovating current housing won’t solve the crisis of housing the many more students who come to California campuses every year.

Some universities have partnered with retirement homes and even hotels to try to deal with the housing crisis. And although it hardly seems ideal, if universities are going to continue to struggle with housing issues,

they may as well partner up with local hotels, especially those that might be smaller than the usual chain hotels. A relationship like this has the potential to be mutually beneficial if both parties play the cards right: universities will have a place to house students, and hotel owners will get paid fairly to accommodate them. And, most importantly, students have a roof over their heads.

The situation has a lot of nuance, and unfortunately, most of it is negative. And though it seems wonderful, a massive sum of money isn’t going to magically solve the housing crisis that California universities have been barrelling toward for decades. The universities in the state need to put their heads together and find a way to solve this issue before it escalates even more than it already has. Students are already paying out the nose for an education and stressing because of classes — they shouldn’t have to worry about H having a place to stay on top of everything else. ■

The 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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Bloodshed and the absence of mother figures Poaching and selective slaughters, or culls, have deprived baby elephants of their mothers and crucial social structure, signaling the precipitous collapse of elephant culture.

CHLOE AU Contributing Writer

In 2002, 63 mutilated rhino carcasses were found splayed across South Africa’s Pilanesberg Park.

With gaping gashes scored from the shoulders to the back, park rangers hurried to find the violent perpetrators. The injuries were suspected to be caused by elephant tusks, as clashes between elephants and rhinos aren’t unheard of, but slaughters in this quantity were abnormal. And indeed, the culprit was a group of adolescent male elephants who embarked on a murderous rampage, brutally tusking the endangered rare rhinos that the park spent years protecting.

The vagaries of the young elephants were caused by their isolation from elders. Elephants have a complex social structure, distinguished by their close family ties and intense mother-offspring bond.

At the core of elephant society are mothers with their calves, alongside sisters, aunts, grandmothers — caregivers whose relationships last a lifetime.

The clan is led by a matriarch, the bedrock of elephant society, who is a well-respected repository of social and ecological knowledge. Until calves leave the herd around 15-years-old, elephants depend on their mothers and constellations of allomothers for social and emotional support. In adolescence, male elephants gradually transition out of their natal family and join an older allmale group. Culls and poaching have fragmented elephants’ crucial social structure, depriving them of maternal bonds and familial support. This particular situation was incited 20 years ago, when one of South Africa’s parks culled the adult elephants to contract the overpopulation, orphaning the elephant calves and transporting them to another park. These actions created a generation of traumatized calves with no elders to teach them social interactions or pass their wisdom and expertise. Dropped from the intricate web of tight-knit elephant kinship, the baby elephants were left to fend on their own, with no mother figures to instill their social roles and no bulls to de-escalate their hyper aggression.

As a result, the three elephants that killed rhinos in Pilanesberg Park bonded over their mutual sorrow and wreaked vengeance. In retaliation, to stop the rhino killings, the park rangers hunted down and shot the gang of adolescent elephants, nicknamed juvenile delinquents.

Human hubris has decimated animal populations via poaching, culling and habitat eradication. This has further assisted the disintegration of the natural social structure. This generational genocide has inflicted a scar of trauma, pain and grief, a life that began with and ended in bloodshed. Humans depriving teen elephants of their intricate social hierarchies resulted in their bellicose behavior, signaling the precipitous collapse of elephant culture. Since the mid-’90s, the percentage of male elephant deaths perpetrated by other male elephants has shot up from 6% in stable elephant communities, to 90% in South Africa’s parks. This virulent trend of elephant on elephant violence is now diagnosed as a chronic stress, a species-wide trauma.

In a study simulating social threats, the undisturbed elephant herd banded together while the culling survivors were unable to coordinate a defensive formation in response to a threat. Human disturbances have driven aberrant behaviors among animals following extreme trauma, impeding their communication and cognitive aptitudes in the wild.

Childhood trauma has lasting psychophysiological effects on the brain and behavior. Deprived of the intimacies of multigenerational herd life and with violence embedded into their earliest memories, elephants have displayed depressive, erratic and violent behavior parallel to human PTSD. Current conservation programs fail to preserve elephant social systems.

Conservations should consider the effects of psycho-biological trauma and promote preserving social systems by ensuring the presence of older herd members. All mammals share a ubiquitous dependency on developmental sociality.

Our knowledge of the effects of human PTSD can instruct how violence permanently disrupts elephant culture, provoking a cycle of violence and

COURTESY OF PEXELS

behavioral dysfunction. Anthropogenic effects are more pervasive than dwindling demography; it’s actually altering elephants’ natural social structure and their ability to socialize and reproduce.

Neuroscience can map the snapped synaptic bridges from abuse and neglect, ecology can show the population near extinction from systematic culling and crime statistics harbor a new statistical category to document elephant attacks as it has become so commonplace.

Conservation efforts should instill this crossdisciplinary knowledge and focus on expanding elephant territory to its historical breadth/scope and eliminating culling and translocation as conservation tools. Equipped with this knowledge, preserving their natural structure is the least we can do to aid their survival. We must reject our anthropocentric views to engage in the truest sense of interspecies empathy, cohabitating with wild animals like H humans always have. ■

Biden’s Supreme Court nomination has the chance to make history, despite detractors

PRESIDENT BIDEN IS HIT WITH A SURPRISING WAVE OF APPROVAL FOR POSSIBLE SUPREME COURT CANDIDATES, INDICATING THAT HIS NOMINATION COULD BE A UNIFYING FORCE.

YSABEL NAKASONE Contributing Writer

Justice Stephen G. Breyer has announced his retirement from the Supreme Court, leading to the much hoped for opportunity for President Biden to nominate a new Justice. There has been a lot of focus on the president’s reiteration that he will nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court. This is a campaign promise the president has been presented with the chance to fulfill. With a simple majority held by Democrats in the Senate, confirmation is a possibility — although a precarious one.

The announcement that Biden would nominate a Black woman as a candidate was met with much attention. Biden’s statement was both lauded and condemned. Most notably, Republican Senator Ted Cruz said, “The fact that he’s willing to make a promise at the outset, that it must be a Black woman, I got to say that’s offensive. You know, Black women are what, 6% of the U.S. population? He’s saying to 94% of Americans, ‘I don’t give a damn about you, you are ineligible.’” This statement is ironic as eligibility for the Supreme Court historically meant that one had to be a white male. Altogether, the senator’s comments are an echo of most Republican opinions on Biden’s commitment.

Focusing on possible candidates, there are three major contenders that the media has speculated on or that the White House has been confirmed to be looking into. Ketanji Brown Jackson, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and Leondra R. Kruger, a justice on the California Supreme Court, are both the considered top candidates for the nomination.

Additionally, J. Michelle Childs, a Federal District Court judge in South Carolina, was confirmed as under consideration by the White House. Nonetheless, if Biden manages to pull every Democratic senator together, Republican support would not be necessary.

This nomination could go through along party lines as Justice Amy Coney Barret’s confirmation did.

Furthermore, while Republicans are against Biden’s promise to nominate a Black woman, they are not necessarily opposed to the candidates themselves.

The pick will not change the overall makeup of the Supreme Court as Justice Breyer was a liberal-minded judge and will be replaced with another liberal-minded judge. Some are concerned that the Supreme Court is becoming more of a political entity than a judicial and nonpartisan one. With the growing polarization in America, this is not an unfounded concern as is the concept of packing the courts, which has been very concerning to politicians on both sides of the aisle. A report released in December by a bipartisan commission looking into possible packing of the court indicated that there was “profound disagreement” and that they were unable to come to a singular conclusion.

This issue is far from settled and being completely eliminated, so further deliberation and debate on this issue can be considered a certainty. As politics presently appears to be fundamentally adherent to party divides and the imbalance of conservative and liberal judges on the bench, there is no end in sight for H this controversy. ■ COURTESY OF JOE BIDEN VIA FLICKR UNDER CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

OPINIONS

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

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PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS THINK THAT WE’VE PASSED THE WORST OF THE OMICRON SURGE, BUT A NEW SUBVARIANT MIGHT CAUSE ISSUES.

COURTESY OF PEXELS

We’ve passed the main omicron surge, but we need to watch out for an extended wave HARRY STOLTZ Contributing Writer

As California recovers from the recent wave of omicron cases, public health officials are warning about a newer, more infectious subvariant. Early data from the Netherlands suggest that the variant, BA.2, might be over 1.5 times as infectious as the original omicron variant. While officials do not think that BA.2 will have worse health effects than the original omicron strain, this higher rate of infection could potentially extend the current wave of infections that have hit the country. We need to be mindful of this threat, continue to remain cautious, wear masks and get vaccinated to prevent excess COVID-19 infections in a potentially extended omicron wave.

The omicron variant has completely dwarfed other COVID-19 variants in recent months. According to Nextstrain.org, roughly 98% of COVID-19 cases in North America are currently omicron. Due to

its already high infection rate, this has led to more COVID-19 cases than ever before, leading to an alltime high of 1.35 million cases in a single day in the United States. Despite record-high COVID infections, the death rate of COVID-19-infected people is much lower than previously, partially because of the widelydistributed COVID-19 vaccines. Roughly a year since COVID vaccines have become available to the public, only 68% of the US population is fully vaccinated.

Continuing to push vaccinations will help a great deal in the fight against further COVID waves.

Now that omicron has peaked, the recent downswing in cases has many excited. Barbara Ferrer, who is the LA county public health director, said, “This downward trend is encouraging, and it signals that we’re likely to have passed the peak of omicron transmission and are beginning to see a real decline in the number of newly infected individuals.” With BA.2 emerging in places like Denmark, which has the highest number of

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BA.2 cases so far, some health officials are warning of a longer-than-expected omicron wave. “Its increased transmissibility will prolong the omicron wave in many places,” said Eric Topol, who is the founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. Topol also urges continued vaccination against the COVID. BA.2 also might create a possible risk of reinfection for individuals who have recovered from the original omicron variant. According to disease expert Trevor Bedford, “It may be possible to see some re-infections of individuals recovered from 21K by 21L” (21K refers to the original BA.1 omicron variant, while 21L refers to BA.2). This has yet to happen, however, and future research will reveal how likely this could be — or if it is even possible. As newer variants emerge, and the pandemic draws on, it’s important to remember to continue preventative measures like vaccination and H social distancing to combat COVID. ■

WEEKLY EPISODES @thehighlanderucr

8 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2021

Features

FEATURES

Campus Cope:

THE HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/features

HAVE TOO MUCH TO DO IN ONE DAY? HERE ARE A FEW MULTITASKING TIPS TO HELP YOU GET THROUGH YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE!

5 Multitasking tips every college student needs to know ASHLEY CHEN Features Editor

Now that a lot of us are back to inperson classes, our schedules are suddenly packed with different activities throughout the day. Here are a few multitasking tips that will help you get through a stressful and busy day whether you’re doing remote or in-person learning.

Never leave empty handed There’s always something you can put away when you’re walking into another room. If you’re rushing to your next lecture but need to finish organizing your area, plan what you are going to put away on your way out. You can make a list of all the things you need to put in another room or put everything you need in one pile so you can pick it up on your way out.

Listen to a podcast while driving Whether you’re driving to school or back home, listening to the same song or playlist can sometimes be a bit boring. Try switching it up and listen to a podcast! Spotify has a bunch of different podcasts available for you to listen to on a short or long drive. You can also listen to your recorded lecture or discussion during your drive so that you won’t have to listen to it later in the day.

Quickly check emails or messages while walking to class Walking around campus can be a bit boring, especially if your class is on the opposite side of campus.

You can quickly check your emails or notifications during your walk for any important messages from professors, job interviews, advisors or school events. It takes a few minutes to go over your emails and messages, and by the time you arrive at your destination, you’ve completed a task.

Clean your room while being in a Zoom meeting Although the university has announced that we will be back to in-person learning, many of our professors have announced that they plan to remain online until the end of the quarter. While you’re in a Zoom meeting, take the time to clean your workspace and room. Wash the dirty laundry that has been sitting in your room since the beginning of the quarter. Hang your clothes that have been on “that chair.” Make your bed, and vacuum your floor so that you can wake up the next morning to a nice, clean room.

Eat a snack while stretching to take a break Many of us have become used to walking to our kitchen to grab a quick snack or meal during remote instruction. While watching your lecture or discussion, take the time to stretch and grab a snack. Do some lunges, walk around your living room or do a few rounds of arm circles. This will help your body relax a H bit after sitting in one spot all day. ■

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FEATURES

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

9

Zooming through lot 30 with ASPB and the Rides at UCR

LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE CAR CULTURE AND ENJOYING GOOD FOOD AND MUSIC WITH THE UCR RIDES CLUB.

ASHLEY CHEN & SENNA OMAR Features Editor / Assistant Features Editor

On Saturday, Feb. 6, 2022, ASPB and Rides at UCR, previously known as Drives UCR, hosted a car meet event in lot 30. The club is a newly formed one that began in October, and it hopes to teach people more and make it easier to break into car culture.

Rides at UCR hope to provide a safe space and enforce inclusivity for everyone interested in cars. Secondyear Evelyn Gonzalez, the president of the club, stated “You don’t even have to own a car to participate in the club life.”

Since its founding in October, the club has exponentially grown and amassed over 900 followers on Instagram. The vice president, first-year MBA student Joe Wu, stated that “Rides club is the official UCR car club, and we plan to host many more car meets and events in the future.”

Wu feels that “car meets are the perfect way to bring the community together; you don’t have to like or know anything about cars to join the club.

The goal is to educate people about cars by hosting weekly events to encourage education within the car community.”

During COVID, Wu feels that it is imperative to encourage collaboration between communities, and he wishes to bridge the gap between car lovers and everyday people, creating a big supportive community.

President Gonzalez believes that the best part of Rides club is its members; they foster a sense of inclusivity within the community and provide a safe space for people to learn about and admire cars.

Vegan cookies never tasted so good By: Senna Omar, assistant features editor Finding the perfect vegan cookie recipe is almost impossible. Vegan cookies are usually hit or miss; they are either the best cookie you will ever taste or the absolute worst. These vegan brown sugar chai cookies will have you begging for more and questioning if they’re vegan because of how delicious they are.

The process of planning the event was a bit difficult because they “had to contact the transportation and parking services and SPB special events to get authorization to use the UCR parking lot.”

For those who wanted to showcase their car for this event, “You had to register your car and get approved to come rather than the usual meets where it’s open to anyone.”

ASPB and Gonzalez managed the approval process. “We try to prioritize the Rides club members before regular students, and then we approve graduate students. And we base it on how many spaces we have to work with and how many we can accept.”

“We’re enforcing safety. Six feet apart and masks. We’re trying to keep everyone as safe as possible while outside. Even though we want to bring people together, we want them to be safe as well,” said Wu. The event also only admitted attendees who took the Daily Wellness Survey.

When asked about his hopes for the future of Rides at UCR, Wu states, “We want to participate and collaborate with more schools across Southern California. So far, we’ve collaborated with Cal Poly Pomona, Fullerton, and mostly UC Irvine that we work with.

Eventually, we want to post maybe a more significant event that includes not only schools but maybe even to the public.”

To hear more about Rides at UCR and their upcoming events, visit their Instagram page @ridesucr, and join their discord to learn more about the H community. ■

GRAYSON YOUNG / THE HIGHLANDER

GRAYSON YOUNG / THE HIGHLANDER

Preparation time: 1 hour and 30 min Servings: 10 cookies Ingredients: ½ cup of vegan butter ⅔ cup of dark brown sugar ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon of ground dried cardamom ¼ teaspoon of ground dried ginger ⅛ teaspoon of ground star anise ⅛ teaspoon of black pepper 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tablespoon of water) 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 1 cup of all purpose flour ¼ teaspoon of salt ¼ teaspoon of baking powder ¼ teaspoon of baking soda 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar First, in a mixing bowl, cream together the vegan butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, anise and black pepper. Add flax egg and vanilla to the bowl and whip together.

Then, sift in all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the bowl.

Once sifted, mix everything together until a thick cookie dough forms. The dough should be slightly sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and fill a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar. Remove the dough from the fridge, and roll it into about 10-12 small balls. Roll the balls into the granulated sugar until the dough is completely coated.

Place each cookie 2 inches apart on the tray, but do not flatten them. Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes until the bottoms are lightly browned and until the cookies are cooked all the way through with a soft center.

Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes. The cookies should be H soft and puffy out the oven and will naturally deflate over time. Serve and enjoy! ■

COURTESY OF PEXELS

10 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2021

Radar

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

‘The Fallout’ is an evocative masterpiece BRENDA JOVEL Assistant Radar Editor

Director Megan Park outlines the anxiety and fear that our society has gone through in her directorial debut, “The Fallout.” The movie centers around Vada (Jenna Ortega), a 16-year-old student who undergoes the trauma of a school shooting. Her emotional journey is seen throughout the film as she forms new friendships while also struggling to settle back into everyday life as a high school student.

The first ten minutes will leave you feeling uneasy, even though the actual massacre is never shown explicitly. The scene where Vada is hiding in the bathroom with Mia (Maddie Ziegler) is enough to leave an entire audience in deafening silence. The fear that the two girls experience in those two minutes highlights the reality of our world. As the movie progresses, it’s hard not to feel a heavy sensation in your throat. We are immediately immersed in this tragic world and into Vada’s perspective. It’s difficult to see her character endure all of the troubling emotions she withholds. Her endearing friendship with Mia appears to lessen the pain and the numbness Vada feels, but nothing can ever really wipe away that incident for her. She feels stuck, and toward the end of the movie, there is a moment where we can see the sun shining brightly for Vada.

Hope and joy flood us. We think, “Yes, there is a happy ending to this.” Unfortunately, the ending continues the chilling and unsettling feeling of misfortune.

The artistic choices that Park makes are phenomenal. The ethereal close-ups to Vada and Mia’s faces represent the intimate and

VERDICT:

THE HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/ae

THE TEEN DRAMA ILLUSTRATES THE DEPTHS OF TRAGEDY AND HOW TERRIFYING OUR MODERN WORLD CAN BE.

vulnerable state their characters are in. A slow montage of Vada storing away the funeral cards of every student who passed away is gut-wrenching. The scenes where Vada is seen trembling in fear in complete darkness, either in the bathtub or lying on her bed, show the effect of what one event can do to a person’s mental health. Vada attempts to deal with her trauma in tumultuous ways, such as taking drugs at school to forget her existence in the world or isolating herself from her family. These moments that Vada undergoes are meant to show that people handle trauma differently.

“The film captures the essence of bad decisions and the desire to feel some sort of happiness for a few minutes.”

Jenna Ortega and Maddie Ziegler manifest the simple awkwardness when new friendships arise. Their acting overall feels so natural that it’s easy to imagine their characters as real people. Niles Fitch, who plays Quinton, and Will Ropp as Nick also make their characters feel like a second skin to the actors. The simplicity of their mannerisms as awkward teenagers does not overshadow the ways they combat their inner demons. It is unfortunate and infuriating that young teenagers are faced with death in mere seconds, especially in school where their most important developmental years are occurring.

We live in an age where high school kids, whether freshman to senior, can bring a gun to school, and as Vada puts it, “F— up so many lives.”

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The intense emotion throughout the film isn’t the only thing that will keep viewers glued to their screens. These characters are representing our modern society, especially those who are from Generation Z. The film does an incredible job at capturing what Gen Z kids are like, from the way they dress to how they talk. Pop culture references such as TikTok, Juice WRLD and more hit so close to home that it’s impossible not to immerse yourself into Vada and her friends’ world. Details like these help the film feel relatable, which can also be scary. The premise focuses on a school shooting, a heavy and uncomfortable subject that many viewers could find disturbing.

But this is the kind of content that should be brought up more in Hollywood films. We consume media on a daily basis, and when we have the opportunity to understand the tragedy that many people have undergone in real life, our perspective on the world is broadened. We, unfortunately, do not live in a perfect world, and “The Fallout’’ reflects that.

It shows a person’s most vulnerable moments and the frustration they feel. It focuses on how unfair life can be at times and the little control we have in certain moments. The film isn’t meant to frighten people or create paranoia; it is meant to depict how a traumatic event can H hinder the lives of so many people. ■

“The Fallout” is relevant in today’s age. Its depiction of trauma and tragedy leaves little to the imagination as young teenagers try to jump back into their past selves. The film contains heavy material, and viewers should watch it at their own discretion.

The Chainsmokers make a return with new single, ‘High’

THE CHAINSMOKERS ARE MAKING THEIR RETURN KNOWN WITH A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STYLE OF EDM THAN WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO MAKE IN THE PAST. SAMUEL LAO Radar Editor

COURTESY OF THE CHAINSMOKERS

VERDICT:

With a new era of Chainsmokers music on the horizon, fans should be excited as it seems like there will be a completely new vibe with the upcoming album. As more singles are surely on the way, fans of The Chainsmokers should be getting amazing music that they have been waiting two years for.

The Chainsmoker have always been known as one of the biggest EDM duos, and now fans can rest easy knowing that their newest chapter, “TCS4” has begun. With the release of their latest single, “High,” fans got introduced to a completely new vibe with sounds that have never been associated with The Chainsmokers’ music. With their most notable releases like, “Roses,” “Don’t Let Me Down,” “Closer” and “Something Just Like This” fans heard heavily pop-infused music with repeating chords throughout. Looking at their new music, there is most definitely a different vibe present with heavy uses of guitar and drums, which could be a hint that The Chainsmokers are trying to reinvent their sound into a rock-heavy EDM. In this single, The Chainsmokers bring back their relatable lyrics, with lines like, “You only say you love me when you’re high,” and “It’s like we go through the same sh— every night. Oh why?” They have always been able to tell a story through their music, relating to everyday problems like relationships where two people may not know where they stand with each other. Along with very melodical drops, it’s exciting to see The Chainsmokers bringing in a completely different vibe with this song.

With all the time that has passed since their last release, The Chainsmokers definitely made headlines when announcing their latest single by hiring two actors to post over all of their social media feeds. These posts were the first any fans had seen in over two years, and many people were sent into a wild frenzy, with some theories even claiming that The Chainsmokers had a crazy plastic surgery job done.

This type of buzz is exactly what the group intended for, and once they finally came in front of the camera themselves, they also launched a short film explaining the direction that they would be heading in the future. In this interview, they explained how they needed to find new inspiration, to really sit down and find a sound that didn’t feel like the repetitive motion of releasing hit singles.

As a fan, it did seem obvious that their music was becoming a repeated cycle of “what was working” and the works they were releasing were beginning to become a bit stale.

Drew, the lead vocalist for The Chainsmokers, also explains how they have always felt the pressure to release their music as fast as they make it, and though they do have albums out, this would be the first time they feel like they had the time to sit down and perfect their H music. ■

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

11

The Highlander

Be Lively.

LEO YUE & RYAN POON / THE HIGHLANDER

12

Sports TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2022

SPORTS

THE HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/sports

UC Riverside men’s FURIOUS COMEBACK FROM DOWN 16 POINTS FALLS SHORT FOR THE HIGHLANDERS. basketball team suffers a nail-biting loss to UC Davis HANSEL CHU Assistant Sports Editor

COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS

► FROM MEN’S BASKETBALL

The first half progressed with tension as both challengers locked in on the basket any chance they got. Redshirt junior center Callum Mcrae became a crowd favorite as he drew out cheers from the bleachers every time he scored from inside the paint. His towering frame made him unstoppable as he went to the rim and performed back-to-back layups to put the score 21-27. His presence on and off the court was prominent as head coach Mike Magpayo recalled that he “challenged us and our team to find him down low and our guys responded!

Callum is as smart as they come so he is also self-aware and made adjustments to have a great game.” He eventually scored a season high of 19 points, with 12 of them made during the first half to lead the team.

The Rainbow Warriors led for most of the first half, but the Highlanders were relentless until the final buzzer.

Junior guard Zyon Pullin slithered his way through the opponent’s defense just in time to end the first half with 3032. They were down by as much as 11 points, but the home team managed to cut their lead to 2 points as they went into the second half of the game.

With the game underway, the crowd went wild as Pickett started the half with an explosive three to change the lead in their favor. They had an amazing defense to start as they thwarted the visiting team from scoring in the first 5 minutes.

The Rainbow Warriors eventually ended their 7-0 run, but the Highlanders kept the momentum going as they did not let the lead extend for too long. Cameron shot two free throws to eventually tie the

The UC Riverside men’s basketball team suffered a tough 6560 defeat to UC Davis on Tuesday night. For the first time since December, fans and students were allowed back into the SRC Arena to watch the Highlanders. UCR fell down in the scoreboard by as much as 16 points, but a furious comeback saw the Highlanders bring the deficit to as close as 3 points. However, the Aggies were able to hit big-time shots to close out the game.

UC Riverside found themselves down early in the scoreboard to start the game, as UC Davis got out to a quick 7-0 run. The Highlanders settled themselves into the game and quickly tied the game up 9-9 just five minutes in. The Aggies continued to score at will against the UCR defense led by sophomore guard Ezra Manjon, but junior point guard Zyon Pullin kept the Highlanders afloat by getting to the free-throw line and converting free throws.

With just under eight minutes left in the first half, UC Davis went on a huge 9-0 run to extend their lead into the double digits, 28-16, forcing Head Coach Mike Magpayo to call a timeout. The Aggies’

game with 49 all. His teammates took advantage of the tide as Pullin performed a jumper to extend their lead to 60-57, finishing the game with 19 points under his name. Redshirt sophomore guard Quinton Ford scored his first points and the final ones for the game as he shot two free throws to secure the win for the Highlanders.

Their win against the Rainbow Warriors was the cherry on top of an amazing night for the Highlanders. They had an amazing performance, with the starting lineup scoring a majority of the points for the team, with only 2 out of the 64 points from the bench. The team scored 44 points in the paint, double of what the opponents had. They also had a 49% field goal percentage and an incredible 91.7% on the free-throw line, sinking 11 out of the 12 shots. They were at the top of their game against the favored No. 1 seed in the Big West Conference and their win was proof of that.

Head Coach Magpayo expressed his pride and admiration for his team as they “truly believe they can compete with anybody. They love challenges and seem to rise to the challenge as shown all season.” He also conveyed his gratitude toward the fans that came in to support the team, stating that “the crowd was truly fantastic tonight and absolutely helped us get over the hump and provided the extra energy we needed.”

The UCR men’s basketball will be going up against UC Irvine on Feb. 10, 2022 at Bren Events Center. They are hoping to improve their record and log more wins to move up in the Big West H Conference. ■

defensive intensity was high as the Highlanders struggled to get quality shots and turned the ball over seven times in the first half. With time winding down on the game clock, redshirt freshman center Jhaylon Martinez cleaned up a missed layup from Pullin to bring the score to 3222 going into the half. UC Davis limited the Highlanders to 25% from the field in the first, making it tough for the UCR offense to get clean, open looks.

UC Riverside opened up the second half on a quick 4-0 run to bring the score to 32-26. However, the Aggies went on a 6-0 run to push their lead into the doubledigits, 38-26. Throughout much of the second half, UCR looked lost and was unable to keep up with the intensity of UC Davis. The Aggies seemed to have their way with the Highlanders as they made it difficult for UC Riverside to get good shots and moved the ball with ease on the offensive end. A 3-pointer from sophomore guard Kane Milling gave UC Davis their largest lead of the game, 50-34 with 10:02 left in the game.

In what seemed like a defeating loss for the Highlanders, UC Riverside flipped a switch and

started to come back into the game.

A layup from sophomore Wil Tattersal cut the deficit into single digits, 51-43, and a putback layup from Martinez closed the margin to 6 points, 51-45, with 6:36 left in the game. A couple minutes later, in which both teams exchanged buckets after buckets, junior center Callum McRae converted a 3-point play to bring the score to 56-50 with 3:03 left. After a missed layup on the other end by Manjon, graduate student Dominick Pickett hit a triple from the top of the key to bring it to a 3-point game with 2:35 on the game clock. However, UC Davis responded with a 3-pointer from junior guard Caleb Fuller to extend the lead back to 6 points. With a minute left in the game, Fuller hit a one-legged floater near the 3-point line at the shot clock buzzer to ice the game away, and the Highlanders suffered a tough loss 65-60.

Pickett and Pullin led the Highlanders in scoring with 12 points each. Tattersal also contributed with 11 points and nine rebounds.

The Highlanders drop to 12-7 (63) inthe season and will take on UC Irvine in Irvine on Thursday, Feb. H 10, at 7 p.m. ■

COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS