Volume 67 Issue 05

The Highlander

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE

VOL. 67, ISSUE 05

For the week of Tuesday, October 23 , 2018

est. 1954

MIDTERM ELECTION 2018

everything you need to know Your guide to ucr: classes, professors, food and more

R’GUIDE page 17

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org

HUMANS OF UCR

UPCOMING EVENTS: WEEK 4

KOBY KHAUV, BUSINESS ACCOUNTING, THIRD-YEAR COMPILED BY RYAN POON

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Tuesday

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Wednesday

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Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Job Fair (STEM Job Fair) 11:00am to 3pm HUB (Highalnder Union Building), 302

Aqua Bootcamp 4QS: 4th Quarter MFA Dance Showing 8:00pm to 9:30pm 6:30pm to 7:30pm Performance Lab, ARTS 166 Student Recreation Center (SRC), Pool

Free Group Fitness Classes 6:30am to 9:30pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), MPR A, B, C, D, and E

Adult Swim Lessons 5:30pm to 6:30pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), Pool

Friday

Top Rope Belay Lesson 5:00pm to 6:00pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), The Rock

Film: Harlan County USA 7:00pm to 8:30pm UCR ARTS, Culver Center of the Arts

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Floating Pumpkin Patch 10:00am to 1:00pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), Pool

Women’s Volleyball vs CSU Fullerton 4pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), Arena

Sunday

Everest Club 6:00am to 11:59pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), Treadwall

Scream Week at UCRSRC 7:00pm to 10:00pm Student Recreation Center (SRC)

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Adult Lap Swim & Stay Fit Class 12:00pm to 2:00pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), Pool

Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) 6:30pm to 8:30pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), Pool

Thursday

“I’m a first generation college student. My parents immigrated here

Climbing Training & Technique 7:00pm to 8:00pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), The Rock

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from Cambodia and Mexico. I’ve seen all the sacrifices they’ve given to me and how hard they’ve worked from minimum wage jobs. I wanna pursue more to hopefully one day take care of them in the future so I’ve become really passionate in what I do in school.”

Saturday

28 CONTACT US

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Monday

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News TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

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ASUCR

ASUCR passes resolution to make Election Day a holiday

AMANI MAHMOUD Senior Staff Writer

ASUCR is working on creating Student Democracy Day, a day aimed to institutionalize Midterm Election Day as an official school holiday of civic service, ensuring UCR students a day off on the day of the Midterm Election, allowing students at UC Riverside the opportunity to exercise their right to vote by utilizing on-campus class and work time.

Speaking to the Highlander, ASUCR President Semi Cole claimed that ASUCR believes that with the upcoming 2018 midterm election, “it is crucial for students’ voices to be heard especially with ballot initiatives that directly impact the Riverside community.”

ASUCR is applying direct pressure to campus administrators by working with impassioned students, community leaders and faculty. Cole wrote, “As conversations continue taking place with the chancellor and other members of the administration, we hope to persistently raise support and awareness of our initiative via our student petition and faculty endorsements.”

The resolution recently passed in the ASUCR Senate on Oct. 17. Cole hopes to champion student support into securing more support from faculty across different departments. These efforts also coexist with voter education and registration led by the external staff of ASUCR. “I believe the goal that ASUCR is striving to achieve is to push the level of civic engagement on our campus and

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UC system by extension. With a strong part of the UC’s mission tied to public education as a means of public service, we believe this is a vital initiative towards ensuring the mobilization of a politicallyengaged student body,” stated Cole. Even if ASUCR does not succeed in ensuring this upcoming midterm election day as a day off for UC students, they hope to

continue this movement through advocacy and grassroots activism to make UCR’s campus and the UC system realize that a change is necessary. ASUCR believes that students not only on UCR’s campus but in the state of California are “hungry and ready for change.”

Cole stated, “With current institutional barriers at play, we

recognize the difficulty for students with multiple classes and more than one job in actually making it to the polls. With students not having the time or energy to participate in the political process, we hope to empower our constituency with the promise of making an impact with freedom from class and on-campus work obligations to do so.”

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Ivan’s at Hinderaker reopens, offers expanded menu

MARTIN LOPEZ/ HIGHLANDER

MARK BERTUMEN Senior Staff Writer

On Monday, Oct. 15, Ivan’s at Hinderaker, once a walk-up window cafe in front of Hinderaker Hall, was reopened as a barista-style kiosk inside of the building.

Ivan’s manager, Julie Ann Zeno, spoke with the Highlander about the process and goals of the renovation. Zeno explained that the choice was made “a few years

back” after UCR first decided to remodel the Barn. Ben Eisenstein, strategic marketing and communications manager, specified the development timeline in an email, explaining that “the idea for upgrading Ivan’s began in 2014 and the thought of expansion and relocation to inside Hinderaker Hall began in 2017.”

Knowing the Barn would be closed for remodeling, Zeno says “it was decided that instead of just serving salads and

other grab-and-go items, Ivan’s would be renovated to serve food like what’s over at Chung Hall,” Zeno responded, referring to Bytes. “We wanted to add more options on that side of the campus because the Barn would be under construction for some years.”

Zeno said that Ivan’s was moved indoors to allow the business to “grow” and include more food concepts than it initially had, mentioning “mac and cheese bowls, bread

bowls, flatbreads and warmable items” as some of the new options now on offer.

She also states that it is likely for Ivan’s to remain the only restaurant of its name.

Construction is said to have taken about three months and the area that Ivan’s was first located in was closed. Zeno added that, starting on Oct. 19, the area would be further renovated to become Ivan’s new storage area for products, an ice machine and a dishwasher. The revamp would be finished by the third week of November.

Zeno states that the construction is not anticipated to disrupt business.

In terms of feedback, the new Ivan’s has received positive remarks according to Zeno. “I received a couple (positive) emails from people that work in the building, and the first couple of days we opened I talked with staff outside of the hall, and they were like ‘Wow, it’s inside!’ I got personal feedback from guests that came in at the time,” Zeno said.

Additional seating is planned in front of Hinderaker Hall. Zeno commented that this further plan for renovation, alongside the creation of the storage room, is why Ivan’s had a soft opening on Monday, Oct. 15, in order to lessen foot traffic and “prevent people working in the building to be overwhelmed right away.”

Eisenstein also provided history on the original establishment of Ivan’s. “It started out as a coffee cart in the late 90’s and was designed to be a satellite operation of Johnathan’s Coffee, which opened in 1995 in the Commons Food Court,” Eisenstein said. “As such, it was named Johnathan’s West. In 2005 the kiosk was built to replace the coffee cart.” The cafe was named Ivan’s in honor of Ivan Hinderaker, UCR’s chancellor from 1964 to 1979.

The new Ivan’s can be found inside of Hinderaker Hall, near the Humanities and Social Sciences building. Regular hours are Monday to Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/news

NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

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ASUCR

ASUCR approves new Judicial Council, dorm additions in the works AIDAN RUTTEN Senior Staff Writer

The fourth ASUCR senate meeting of the quarter took place on Wednesday, Oct. 17 in HUB 221 at 6:30 p.m. in order to discuss current affairs and vote on the three nominations to fill the Judicial Council.

Large scale building projects on campus were also discussed.

All except CNAS senator Josiah Davis were in attendance.

After approval of the agenda, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Housing Services Andy Plumley presented to the senate about the UCR Long Range Development Plan Team’s new housing projects.

The UC Riverside Dundee Residence Hall and Glasgow Dining Project, which will begin construction this year, aims to provide 820 new beds for freshmen as well as new dining options for students.

The project will be built where Lot 22 is currently located, and will also provide new seminar and multi-purpose rooms. The new dining hall will have 830 seats across two floors, and will replace the A&I dining hall which will be closed. The space formerly devoted to dining at A&I will be refitted to host programs for dining hall residents.

Plumley further discussed the North District Development Project, which includes the new residential facilities. This

project involves redeveloping approximately 50 acres of land on UCR’s North District.

The project’s goal is to expand facilities to accommodate increased enrollment over the next few years, as well as existing housing needs.

According to Plumley, the new projects will not impact traffic by providing additional parking as well as drop off and pick up zones. Housing Services also implemented a “no freshman parking policy” last year to help with traffic in general as well. The project is set to open in 2021.

Next on the agenda, the senate heard brief speeches from judicial nominees.

Third-year political science major Sarai Fuentes, a former judicial fellow, spoke about her experience in the judicial branch and her goals of ensuring that decisions “best reflect not only the constitution but also ... the interest of the community.”

Second-year political science and administrative studies major Heidi Awada then spoke about her experience in student government and goals, which included “upholding the constitution more,” suggesting that it should be amended more regularly.

Finally, third-year business administration major Richard Huang, the former secretary of the court, spoke of his experience as a Nordstrom sales representative and the

MARTIN LOPEZ/ HIGHLANDER

communication skills he gained because of that. His goals included ensuring the “proper interpretation of our constitution,” and that “all branches are upholding it to the best of (their) ability.” All three nominees were elected unanimously.

Resolution SR-F18-001, or the Student Democracy Day Resolution, was then passed unanimously. This resolution ensures that there will be no school on Nov. 6 to allow students to vote in the midterm elections.

Next the UC Student Association (UCSA) gave its annual presentation in which

Salih Muhammad, UCSA’s Statewide Organizing Director, covered the purpose of the UCSA as a way for students to mobilize and have their voice heard within the UC system. Some of the campaigns talked about included support for Racial Justice Now, increasing support for undocumented students and promoting UCweVote, which helps provide students with information about voting and encourages registration.

During senate reports it was announced that there will be an open house on Oct. 25 to give the student body an opportunity to get to know the student

government and its functions better. Senator Kenneth Thai briefly discussed plans to reach out to former senators about hosting a research expo, which he hopes to have in early spring. Senator Sara Al-Khalili met with the organization Period to discuss its goals of providing more access to menstrual products on campus, and mentioned that the Student Voice Committee would like to hear from students about the amount that these products would be used.

The meeting concluded at 7:47 p.m. ASUCR meets every Wednesday at 6:30 pm in HUB 221.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/news

UC system awarded 2018 Green Power Leadership Award

UCR aims to be the f irst carbon-neutral major research institution by 2025 JAKEB TIVEY Contributing Writer

On Oct. 10, 2018, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded the UC system with the 2018 Green Power Leadership Award in the direct project engagement category for sustainability efforts such as the Carbon-Neutral initiative and Clean Energy missive to be completed by 2025. The achievement follows the system’s 2017 Excellence in Green Power award and joins a growing list of accolades recognizing the 10-campus body for outstanding conservation efforts.

UC President Janet Napolitano was also awarded the Green Power Leader of the Year award, echoing the systemwide environmentally conscious initiatives announced as early as 2013.

Affirming the UC’s commitment to its ambitions and in response to the award granted at the Renewable Energy Markets Conference, President Napolitano stated, “We need to be bold and ambitious with our solutions to climate change. For its part, the University of California has set a goal to become carbon-neutral by 2025.

Together, we can multiply the effect of our individual efforts.”

The achievements follow an accelerated timeline of systemwide energy use investigations and clean energy projects. In November of 2013, Napolitano announced the aforementioned Carbon-Neutral Initiative, pledging that by 2025 every building and vehicle owned by the UC system will produce zero greenhouse gas emissions.

To aid this effort, the TomKat UC Carbon Neutrality Project was announced June 2, 2016. Launched by a $300,000 donation from the TomKat Foundation, the project was spearheaded by UC Santa Barbara

faculty in their investigation into provisions that were required to accomplish the task. By June 2018, two reports were published regarding the future of energy use and a step-bystep advisory calling for a replacement of natural gas and a reduction of fossil fuel use.

Earlier this season, California Gov. Jerry Brown organized the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, of which many UC representatives attended in mid Sept.

One of these representatives was UCSD atmospheric scientist Veerabhadran Ramanathan, who said in a remark to the UC Regents Newsroom that the purpose of his attendance was to “educate and empower young people that climate change is not a hopeless

problem. It can be solved … we need to provide tools and education for the next generation.”

The announcement of 100 percent carbon neutrality has since been followed by a commitment from UC Vice President of Energy and Sustainability David Phillips to have the UC system be completely reliant on renewable energy such as solar, wind and water generation. In a statement from the UC Office of the President, in a Sept. 4 press release, Philips states that “UC’s system-wide commitment to carbon neutrality and sustainability originated from students asking the University to practice what it teaches … and their leadership has encouraged us to take a major step by committing to buy 100 percent clean

COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

electricity by 2025.”

Philips’ citation of student leadership comes in response to the activism of many CALPIRG student groups operating within the UC system, including the UC Riverside chapter. In an ASUCR meeting in February earlier this year, CALPIRG UCR representative Jess commented to CHASS Senator Martin Cuenca that the student organization was “going up to Sacramento to … be lobbying our assembly members on a bill that pushes California to get all of its energy from renewable energy companies.” Since then, the bill in question (SB 100) has since been signed into law, committing the entire state to 100 percent clean energy by 2045.

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Inland Empire Poverty Summit examines local economic hardship AIDAN RUTTEN Senior Staff Writer

The Inland Empire Poverty Summit was a conference held jointly by the UCR Blum Initiative on Global and Regional Poverty, a research program dedicated to understanding and combating regional poverty, and CalEITC4Me, a partnership between public and private entities with the goal of spreading awareness about the EITC. The event was held on Monday, Oct. 15, and featured notable speaker Gene Sperling, the head of the national economic council under both the Clinton and Obama administrations.

The summit focused on various research and efforts to combat poverty in the Inland Empire.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a refundable tax credit typically provided to low-income individuals and families, was a major focus. EITC is considered a tool to help alleviate the effects of poverty and has helped many, according to the House Committee on Ways and Means’ report which states that over $57 billion was returned to taxpayers in 2013. Sperling played a major role in expanding the EITC under President Bill Clinton and explained why it was popular at the time.

“This was a proposal to increase the federal earned income tax credit.

At the time ... it would hardly go to anybody making over 20,000,” said Sperling, “And yet because it looped in through this basic value that was broader than any group — the idea that if you worked, if you tried — that you should be able to raise your family and live with a degree of dignity, had such a power to it, that I believe that

it was among the top one or two most popular things we said.”

After Sperling recounted his political career and addressed poverty on a larger, more general scale, researchers from universities such as UCLA and UC Davis dove deeper into the causes and effects of poverty.

Presentations focused on a variety of issues, including circumstances which affect poverty and what measures can be taken to combat poverty. Research from the Blum Initiative suggests that poverty rates in the Inland Empire are higher than in the U.S. and California.

However, the report also suggests that poverty rates declined overall between 2001 and 2015.

Marianne Page, UC Davis professor of economics and director of the Center for Poverty Research, discussed child poverty in California. “California has the dubious honor of having the highest child poverty rate in the country,” said Page. Her research suggests that programs such as the EITC and CalFresh can help improve a child’s odds of escaping poverty later in life.

“The benefits (these projects) project way into the future may also actually increase tax revenues, reduce medical expenses, making them a much more valuable investment then we might have originally thought.”

Abel Valenzuela, UCLA professor of urban planning and Chicano studies and director of the UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, also presented at the summit. He talked about how labor students’ narratives and engagement with their community can help with “providing different sorts of opportunities to build and create community-based organizations that perhaps ... provide more agency

AIDAN RUTTEN/ HIGHLANDER

to the workers themselves who reflect the student body who engage with us in these classrooms.”

The presentations were aimed at informing the community and local groups and policymakers about the causes and effects of, as well as potential solutions for, poverty in the Inland Empire. The EITC was promoted as an important tool in combating economic insecurity.

The audience consisted of various non-profits, community leaders, policymakers and others, all of whom try to either help people dealing with poverty or promote and enact policies which target the issue of poverty in

the region. Some groups in attendance included No Kid Hungry and the County of Riverside Community Action Partnership.

As part of UCR’s School of Public Policy, the Blum Initiative seeks to inform new generations of policymakers about various social and environmental issues. They use evidence-based research to better understand the issues on which they craft policy, and also look at both local and global issues. The Initiative’s next event, which will be held in HUB 355 on Wednesday, Oct. 24, aims to educate STEM students about advocacy.

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HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/news

NEWS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

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CALPIRG successfully lobbies for cleaner energy in California UCR’s CALPIRG chapter celebrates achievements at 100 percent renewable energy press conference MARK BERTUMEN Senior Staff Writer

Over the course of 2017, the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), a student-led activist group that addresses issues such as “environmental (and) consumer protection, and hunger and homelessness,” worked to garner support towards Senate Bill 100 (SB 100). If passed the following September, SB 100 would “require California to obtain 100% of its power from clean sources by 2045,” making California the second state after Hawaii to work towards complete reliance on renewable energy.

A press release by CALPIRG states that the chapters at its eight associated UCs “collected 20,000 (student) petitions and generated calls phone calls (sic) in support of SB 100, signed on 200 student organizations and leaders in support, held educational events like solar-powered concerts to build a buzz on campus, and brought over 100 students to Sacramento several times to lobby elected officials.” California Gov. Jerry Brown signed the bill into effect on Sept. 10, and was thanked by CALPIRG on the organization’s website.

On Thursday, Oct. 18, UCR’s CALPIRG chapter tabled at the Bell Tower to celebrate their victory in lobbying for clean energy.

The event began at 11:19 a.m. with Miguel Ramirez, a third-year anthropology major and vice chair of UCR’s CALPIRG chapter, speaking about the origins of CALPIRG.

Ramirez called it the “largest and oldest student-run and student-funded organization” in the state since 1972, and highlighted the organization’s aims of creating a better future by getting involved in local, state and national politics and allowing students to “make a difference” before graduation.

Samuel Harrison, a thirdyear psychology major and the chapter’s vice chair, thanked the UCs for the 20,000 student petitions signed towards clean energy, alongside the other leadership groups listed in CALPIRG’s press release.

He also outlined some of the goals that SB 100 sets up for California, such as the reduction of fossil fuels.

On Sept. 4, the UC system committed itself to use only renewable electricity sources by 2025, and Harrison addressed the commitment alongside SB 100, segueing from the former to the latter by pledging that “CALPIRG at UCR will continue to run (its) renewable energy campaign to make UCR the first campus to commit to 100% clean energy by 2050,” in part by working with the office of the chancellor and UCR students.

He also stated that CALPIRG’s “partners at the Environment America Research and Policy Center (EARPC)” released “Renewables on the Rise” on Oct. 16, a collection of eleven fact-sheets to be used in reference “for students, faculty and administrators interested in moving their campuses towards 100 percent clean renewable energy,” according to his speech.

Guest speaker Fortino

MARTIN LOPEZ / HIGHLANDER

Morales, sustainability officer at UCR, attributed the success of lobbying to the “energy of students” working towards cleaner energy and discussed the planned environmental “revampings” to be made in UCR, such as waste and water plants.

The event ended as Professor Brian Siana, new associate director of sustainability, gave his thoughts about the progress towards renewable energy, calling it a “really big deal” for two reasons: the first is that SB 100 pushes California to “electrify transportation” to lower greenhouse gas emissions; the second is that because “the older generations

reap the benefits of fossil fuels while the younger ones suffer the consequences,” the passing of SB 100 is a milestone in recognizing the voice students have in choosing their future.

The event was concluded by Harrison at 11:36 a.m. Former Dean of Students Joe Virata was invited to the event, but could not attend due to other obligations. He was contacted instead by email and stated that he is “happy to continue the role I’ve played and assist students in accessing the University leaders who are engaged in this work.”

Vice Chancellor of Planning and Budget Gerry Bomotti explained that “(UCR has)

met recently with CALPIRG reps and have talked about the UC carbon neutrality, and now electric renewable, goals,” Bomotti wrote. He noted that the campus currently has “about 8MW” of solar power and that they are “looking at additional rooftop solar in the near future.” Bomotti added that UCR is working with the university’s electricity supplier Riverside Public Utilities (RPU) in establishing renewable energy, and that, “between RPU and the campus solar,” about 51 percent of campus electricity is from non-carbon sources.

CALPIRG meets every Tuesday at 7 p.m.

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Chinese consulate phone scam hits UCR

COURTESY OF PEXELS

LUKAS MASSEY Contributing Writer

Scammers claiming to be from the Chinese consulate targeted UCR faculty and staff with phone calls during during the week of Oct. 1. This situation was originally publicized through a schoolwide email sent b y J o h n Vi r d e n , c h i e f information security officer of Information Te c h n o l o g y Solutions (ITS).

“The message suggests a critical parcel is available at

the consulate that can a f f e c t a p e r s o n ’s a b i l i t y to remain in the United States,” according to the e m a i l s e n t b y Vi r d e n .

In an interview with t h e H i g h l a n d e r , Vi r d e n revealed some of the specifics of the scam.

According to reports, a victim would first receive a call from an unknown number and, if answered, a scammer would relay the following message, “This is the consulate; we have an important document that needs to be picked up; it may

affect your status in the U.S.; press a button to speak with a specialist.”

If a target of the scam happened to press the button to proceed, they were connected to another scammer describing a situation of a parcel associated with a police investigation of money laundering. The victim would eventually be connected to a fraudulent law enforcement officer claiming that said victim would have to transfer a sum of money to a bank in Hong

Kong in order to have the money laundering charges dropped.

The exact amount of money required is unknown.

When asked about the whereabouts of these c a l l e r s Vi r d e n s t a t e d , “ S a d l y, because of the spoofing of phone numbers, the identities and exact locations are currently unknown.

H o w e v e r, there are ongoing investigations.”

The term “spoofing” describes the method of deceptively changing the shown location of a call

to mask the true location o f t h e c a l l ’s o r i g i n . W h i l e the location isn’t known, a c c o r d i n g t o Vi r d e n , i t is “highly likely” that the calls originate from China due to the request of the scammers to transfer money to a bank in Hong Kong.

One anonymous student claims that his roommate received one of these calls. Realizing the call was a scam, the roommate set his phone on speaker so that he and his roommates could be entertained by the call.

This is not recommended

by ITS. These calls are not limited to the UCR campus, as a large series of scam calls have occurred throughout the U.S., United Kingdom a n d A u s t r a l i a . Vi r d e n urges students and faculty alike to immediately hang up if the scam call is received. If a scam finds its way to a student through email, the email should be deleted. If students or faculty have any further questions, or if they would like to report a scam phone call, they’re urged to contact ITS at (951) 827-IT4U ( 4 8 4 8 ) o r B e a r H e l p @ u c r. edu.

If a student or faculty member happens to comply with the scam, they are urged to contact UCPD at (951) 827-5222.

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

2018

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/news

Midterm

Primer: Elections California Propositions

Proposition 1:

Proposition 1 authorizes $4 million in bonds to fund existing affordable housing programs, loans, grants and projects specifically for low-income residents, veterans, farmworkers, manufactured and mobile homes, infill and transit-oriented housing. The measure would distribute the bond revenue with $1 billion for the CalVet Home Loan Program, $1.5 billion for the Multifamily Housing Program (MHP), $150 million for the Transit-Oriented Development Implementation Fund, $300 million for the Regional Planning, Housing, and Infill Incentive Account, $150 million for the Home Purchase Assistance Program, $300 million for the Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant Fund, $300 million for the Local Housing Trust Matching Grant Program and $300 million for the Self-Help Housing Fund.

Proposition 2: Ratifies an existing law establishing the No Place Like Home Program, which finances permanent housing for individuals with mental illness who are homeless or at risk for chronic homelessness. It also ratifies an issuance of up to $2 billion in previously authorized bonds to finance the No Place Like Home Program. This proposition also amends the Mental Health Services Act to authorize transfers of up to $140 million annually from the existing Mental Health Services Fund to the No Place Like Home Program, with no increase in taxes. This also allows the state to use up to $140 million per year of county mental health funds to repay up to $2 billion in bonds. These bonds would fund housing for homeless people with mental illness.

Proposition 3: Issues $8.877 billion in bonds towards water-related systems and environmental projects. The largest cut of $2.355 billion will be directed towards water-based conservation areas and state parks for the restoration and maintenance of watersheds, which direct water that falls into them to a common outlet, such as reservoirs or the ocean. The money would also be used for the implementation of groundwater sustainability plans and the improvement of public drinking water infrastructure. $1.398 billion would benefit state-defined “disadvantaged communities” where the median household income is under $51,026.

Proposition 6: Repeals the gas tax established by Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), with calculated revenues of $5.1 billion. Passing this measure would mean less funding aimed towards the maintenance and repair of highways and roadways as well as transit programs. Future tax plans put forward by the California Legislature would need voter approval before being put into effect. It would also result in lower gas prices.

Proposition 7: Establishes the time zone “Pacific Standard Time” as the standard time within California. This proposition provides that California daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March and ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November, which is consistent with the federal law. This also allows the Legislature to vote to make future changes to California’s daylight saving time period, if those changes are consistent with federal law. This measure has no direct fiscal effect.

Proposition 8: Kidney dialysis clinics would have their revenues limited by a formula and could be required to pay rebates to certain groups, mainly health insurance companies, that pay for dialysis treatment. It limits the charges to 115 percent of the costs for direct patient care and quality improvement costs, including training, patient education and technology support. This proposition requires rebates and penalties if charges exceed the limit as well as annual reporting to the state regarding clinic costs, patient charges and revenue.

It prohibits clinics from refusing to treat patients based on the source of payment for care. State administrative costs of around $1 million annually to be covered by increases in license fees on chronic dialysis clinics. State and local government savings largely associated with reduced government employee and retiree health benefits spending on dialysis treatment.

Proposition 10: Proposition 10 is a state statute that would repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act which limits the use of rent control in California and also says that landlords have a right to increase rent prices to market rates when a tenant moves out. This would allow counties and cities to adopt rent control ordinances that regulate how much landlords can charge tenants for any type of rental housing. Proposition 10 also states that a local government’s rent control ordinance cannot cut fair return rates for landlords.

■H

Opinions 10

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/opinions

HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL

The midterm elections will surely change America – and young people must take part

N

ov. 6, 2018 is the date of the first midterm elections since 2014, where California voters will have a say in local, statewide and national issues ranging from our city councilmembers to the prices of our rent, to whether we as a nation decide it is necessary to hold Donald Trump accountable for the chaos and corruption he has inflamed in American politics. The scope, timing and urgency of these elections all coincide to make this election the most important one American voters have faced in the past 50 years.

Residents of Riverside, like every single other eligible voting American, find themselves in the middle of an incredibly high-stakes race where the issues on the ballot, from the senate to the school board, are simply too important for UC Riverside students to sit out.

Every single eligible voter should vote in every single election that they have the ability to, regardless of the perceived stakes, glamour of the candidates, hassle of voting or difficulty of registering. While a number of these commonly cited impediments to voting do require serious solutions, the risks and potential consequences of sitting out an election are greater than any inconvenience the path to voting may pose. The 2018 elections may possibly be the most important elections this country has seen at the federal level in memory. But while the consequences of the election are of paramount significance, the challenge posed by these elections provides valuable insight into why voting is so fundamentally important to the fabric of our country in the first place.

–“The composition of the federal government is determined by the entire eligible-to-vote subset of the United States of America’s population of 323 million different people, a brazen and beautiful proposition, upon which the fate of the entire country rests.”– Voters near the UCR area have a say in two races that will select critical voting members of our federal government, in the House of Representatives, where incumbent Mark Takano (D-41) is running against challenger Aja Smith (R), and in the United States Senate, where voters can choose between longtime Democrat incumbent Diane Feinstein or her other Democratic challenger Kevin De Leon. While Takano is expected to defeat Smith in the election, democratic elections are not a binary split that gives all power to the victorious agenda and absolutely none to the losing one. Much of Mark Takano’s mandate fundamentally depends on his margin of victory, as does the degree to which he will vote

JUSTUS ROSS / HIGHLANDER

like a Democrat rather than acting more like a moderate. If Mark Takano wins the district with 90 percent of the votes, he will vote quite differently as opposed to if he won with 70 percent, and much differently than a scenario in which he wins just over 50 percent.

As (hopefully) registered voters in this district, readers will likely have to do some research on the two candidates, but the decision ultimately comes down to a simple question: which candidate do you prefer to see as your representative?

After making that decision, it does not matter if that candidate is going to win or not in a general election with two candidates — you are the only one that can represent which of the two candidates is more fit to be your representative. Your vote is the only way you can indicate that relationship, and otherwise, your representative is missing data that is essential to their mission.

The question in the Senate is no different. Feinstein is widely expected to win over De Leon, yet the two candidates espouse different goals, approaches and philosophies — they tell different stories. Feinstein is a hardened Democratic warrior with relationships and experience, De Leon is a savvy, courageous challenger with a compelling story and record. There are clear and important differences between the two candidates; failing to cast a ballot silences you for six years — stifles your influence on the just 100 men and women who determine how much you pay in taxes, the accessibility of your health care, the price of housing, how much you pay for your education or even the future of the planet itself.

Democracy is an experiment of epic scope and scale — one voter ultimately has just as much input as any other (with a few caveats) single voter in the country. The composition of the federal government is determined by the entire eligible-to-vote subset of the United States’ population of 323 million different people, a brazen and beautiful proposition, upon which the fate of the entire country rests.

When one person stays out of the public discourse, that very discourse loses a voice, a perspective, an additional nuance. Instead, those that choose to stay become inflated, and increasingly so with every single voice that is welcomed, but could not be bothered.

–“You wouldn’t let your crazy uncle make your most important life decisions, so why would you let them choose your government?”– Voter turnout in the last midterm election, 2014, was an astonishingly low 36.4 percent, the lowest turnout number since 1942, in the midst of the Second World War. For reference,

with a number as abysmally low as that, a mere 18.3 percent of the voting age population in the United States could have elected majorities in the House of Representatives.

To make matters even worse, turnout rates are anything but evenly distributed among age groups. The youngest age groups vote the least often, and every age group votes at a rate more frequently than the one below. The effect is so strong that while eligible voters aged between 18 and 27 voted at a rate of 19.9 percent, voters 65 and older voted at a rate of 59.4 percent, nearly triple the rate. It does not take complicated mathematical or reasoning skills to then infer from this, that assuming the size is similar between the two age groups, people aged 65 and older control our government at a level approximately three times as influential and impactful than people aged 18 to 27.

This disparity is striking – no group should have even close to the three times the representation to another of similar size in a democracy.

The issue is compounded, and drastically exacerbated, however, by the fundamental fact that younger people will fundamentally have to live much longer with the decisions made by their fellow citizens aged 65 and older. Older populations gravitate toward more traditional political views that aren’t as informed by new developments in the world or are outdated to newer generations that will inherit the country and planet as older generations have chosen to leave it to them.

The failure of young people to vote, while our oldest citizens consistently do, runs directly counter to their interests, ranging from the immediate months after the election to as far as decades in which the legacies or effects of policies will still be reminiscent. It is not inaccurate to say that by not voting, young people are essentially handing over their vote — that is, likely the most powerful tool the average United States citizen has — to senior citizens, thereby allowing them to make some of the most critical decisions that will affect their lives upwards of a century.

Barack and Michelle Obama have been spreading awareness of this voting dynamic in recent months, and to employ the same logic — you wouldn’t let your crazy uncle make your most important life decisions, so why would you let them choose your government?

The more abstract or big picture arguments for voting are incredibly compelling; however, California itself faces an array of difficult questions on the ballot in 2018. Questions that, unequivocally, will determine how much students on this campus will pay for their transportation, their

healthcare, their housing, how many homeless will remain on California streets and where the state gets its energy, among numerous others.

–“Knowing what is at stake in the 2018 midterm elections is absolutely critical for anyone that wants to know how to effectively plan their own future and vote their interests.”– The chief determinants to the answers of these questions lie in the California ballot propositions, specifically Proposition 6’s proposed repeal of the gas tax increase, Proposition 10’s reopening of localized rent control regulations, Proposition 1’s authorization of bonds for veteran housing assistance and Proposition 3’s issuing of bonds for a number of infrastructural and environmental projects.

Proposition 6 is a profound question that truly has compelling arguments on both sides. The gas tax is important not only to pick up the necessary revenue to fund our infrastructure programs, but also to discourage use of gasoline as much as possible and make cleaner or renewable sources of energy and transportation more attractive. At the same time however, the burden of Proposition 6 is likely to fall largely on lower income individuals and communities, and due to the utter lack of public transportation infrastructure in the state, it’s very possible the tax will collect revenue primarily from lower income individuals without actually changing their behavior. The implications of either side of this dilemma are too important to ignore; whatever side you land on, make sure you vote that way.

Propositions 1 and 2 ($4 and $2 billion) both mandate the issuing of bonds for public housing projects in a state that has too many bonds and too few affordable housing units. If you believe taxpayers should pay a little bit more so that the state can bring down the cost of housing, or find this notion detestable, don’t skip this one either. Proposition 3 is the issuing of a much larger bond ($8.9 million) aimed specifically at issues of water infrastructure in the Imperial Valley, ranging from watershed protection to wastewater treatment and habitat protection. These issues are of tremendous importance to the valley area and would bring serious benefits, yet nearly $9 billion in bonds for a local project is a bit unusual, especially when the changes have been shown as unlikely to improve water or scarcity issues in other parts of the state.

Proposition 10 may end up being the most important for most voters.

It would repeal a law that prohibits cities from establishing rent control regulations in apartments built after

1995. The ballot measure would likely do little more than grant cities increased flexibility in formulating solutions to high rents in their own limits, which could mean many more rent controlled apartments for prospective renters that wouldn’t normally be able to afford the prices, but at the same time, would likely decrease returns for landlords and property owners.

Additionally, advertising about Proposition 10 on both sides appears to be largely overblown while the core tenet of the Proposition is little more than a technocratic change that grants more flexibility to individual cities.

That being said, this subtle change could have a significant impact for renters, meaning no UCR student should leave this ballot blank.

There’s a number of potentially very impactful local candidate races on the ballot as well; gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom is promising to run on what he describes as California values, including commitments to “expanding health care for all, closing the pay and defending reproductive rights and protecting immigrant families and defending our sanctuary status,” centering his campaign as an opposition to Donald Trump’s federal government. Newsom’s opponent, John Cox is instead running on a message of change for the solidly blue California, promising a repeal of the gas tax, keeping healthcare solidly privatized and slashing taxes and regulations that he claims contribute to California’s troubling housing shortage. Assemblymember Medina, a UCR alumnus who represents eastern Riverside (D-61), faces a new challenge from Republican Mohammad-Ali Mazarei. Nearby Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, who represents western Riverside and Corona, is in a very difficult spot against challenger Bill Essayli.

Additionally, the outcome of that seat could be critical in the balance of Democrats versus Republicans in the state legislature. Essayli has centered his campaign on repealing the gas tax increase, while Cervantes voted for it after receiving assurance of increased infrastructure and transportation funding for her district.

With all things, but regarding elections especially, knowledge is power. Knowing what is at stake in the 2018 midterm elections is absolutely critical for anyone that wants to know how to effectively plan their own future and vote their interests.

■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.

OPINIONS

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/opinions

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

11

OPINION POLL Compiled by Lizelle Oreno Contributing Photographer

“Are you registered to vote?”

Ria Ancheta Biochemistry Second-year

Gabby Alvelais Pre-Business Second-year

Maya Gortarez English First-year

Dennis Nguyen Biochemistry Second-year

Dakota Whelchel Computer Science Fourth-year

Diego Garcilazo Computer Science Third-year

“I can’t register to vote, but I hope anyone who does makes the right decision.”

“Yes I did, I reregistered a couple weeks ago. It’s a fairly simple process and it’s really easy for anyone to do.”

“Yes I registered to vote as soon as I turned 18 and I did it because every vote counts!”

“Yeah I really did register to vote, it was super easy.

You guys should really do it. Real good stuff here in UCR. We’re all democratic. I love democracy!”

“I am registered to vote. I just think that voting is very important because the future of our government is in our hands, so I think it’s really important for everybody to get out there and vote.”

“No I’m not eligible, but if I could I would.

I really hope everyone goes as long as they have the chance to.

It doesn’t matter the affiliation, just vote.”

Letter to the Editor:

Democracy is NOT a spectator sport

BY KRISTIN SOUTHALL

Voting is one of the things that make a democracy, fair and free elections evoke visions of what America stands for. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness aren’t just words; they are what we do every day. But being an American citizen does not stop at voting.

Democracy is not a passive activity that just happens while you go about your life. We have been leaving the highest level of decisions in the hands of our representatives, and when we do not hold them accountable with our voices, we have little control.

Today, there are politicians that have become complacent in their jobs without being challenged by the electorate. That electorate that is you and me.

The people we elect are supposed to represent us.

Do you feel like your needs are being addressed? Do you think that the elected officials are making decisions on your behalf, that they understand what you want? Have you ever been contacted by your representative and asked how you would want them to vote on a piece of legislation? I am sure that hasn’t happened.

How can you make your voice heard? How can you make sure that you are exercising your democratic right? There are a number of ways to influence local politics. Being a busy college student doesn’t leave a lot of room to save democracy, but with an hour or two, a busy college student can make a real impact in a close race.

You can make an impact.

You can help, not by giving money, but by giving your time.

Canvassing is the most direct way to engage in your civic right, and make an impact. Things like phone banking and text banking can be done from anywhere, as long as you have a phone and computer with internet access. That isn’t slacktivism, it’s something that you can do from your sofa that actually has a direct impact in your community.

I am sure everyone has seen social media rants about politics, people that

are outraged at the current political climate voice their disdain and shout into the void.

Internet comments only go so far.

Real change comes from civic engagement. That is how you exercise democracy.

Real conversations with people of every political party, because we are all on the same side.

We are all in America and we are all a part of the 99 percent.

We do not have to be divided, we can find common ground and still disagree on issues. A healthy discussion with opposing viewpoints is beneficial to cognitive growth. It employs critical thinking and empathy, which are two things that have fallen to the wayside these last few decades. It’s called civil discourse.

You can engage in civics and civil discourse

right here and right now.

There is a district nearby that has been ignored and written off by the political establishment, as well as by its own representative.

The 42nd district does not include our UCR campus, but it is a part of Riverside. The neighboring Congressional districts can have positive impacts on each other, and it isn’t a far leap to suggest that helping in a district that you don’t reside in can be beneficial to all the people living nearby. You can have an impact as a student, as a voter, as a person that lives in this community you can make an actual difference.

The issues you care about go beyond political party and to the heart of who we are as a nation. A government “of the people, by the people and for the people” does not ignore the people; yet the

current representative for the 42nd district has remained absent and often outright antagonistic toward his own constituents.

I urge everyone who wants to be civically engaged to try helping Julia Peacock.

She is running against the incumbent in the 42nd district. It’s a small way to have a large impact and have a conversation with voters.

Reach out to your fellow American voter and talk about things that are important restore faith in the system and become engaged with your democratic right.

The majority of Congress is made up of millionaires like Julia’s opponent. Is it any wonder that they’ve consistently voted for policies that serve the wealthy, at the expense of middle-class and struggling Americans? Julia’s campaign is not trying to

change people’s minds, they are merely saying that there are options other than politicians that make decisions based on how it enriches them and their donors. We can support an educator that is trying to represent all voters.

As you read this, you should know that you belong to the group (gen X, millennial, and post millennial) that makes up almost 60 percent of the electorate; you can have a tremendous impact on who is elected to represent all of us. When we stay home, the status quo wins. Take back representation and put it in the hands of the people that care about what happens to us.

■H Editor’s note: Kristin Southall is a Canvassing Director for Congressional Candidate (CA-42) Julia Peacock’s Campaign

COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

2018

12

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

OPINIONS

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/opinions

MIDTERM what ELECTIONS: WE think

The band aid props that are Propositions 1, 2, & 10: certainly better than nothing

California is in a housing crisis. While the state is home to some of the country’s richest as well as poorest counties, the average rent for a California studio apartment is $1,680 a month, $618 higher than the national average. In Riverside, the average rent for a 2-bedroom apartment is $1,431 — slightly lower than the statewide average; however, that price still requires an income of over $61,000 a year. A worker earning the minimum wage of $10.50 an hour, 40 hours a week, in Riverside earns just $21,840 a year, hardly more than a third of the required income.

Furthermore, the National Low-income Coalition has reported that the minimum income a worker has to earn in order to rent a two-bedroom home in California without paying more than the recommended 30 percent of their income is an astonishing $30.92 an hour, nearly three times as high as well.

Workers subsisting on minimum wage have few, if any, reasonable options for housing in California.

For individuals that rely on low-wage work, the exorbitantly high costs of housing will absorb any leftover money that would normally be left for investing, saving for retirement

or education or preparing for a medical emergency.

And while most workers in California obviously do not earn the minimum wage, an analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office of California has indicated that 30-35 percent of all workers in Riverside county earn less than $12.50 an hour. The state of California has a disproportionately high number of low-wage earning individuals and a disproportionately high average cost

veteran housing programs.

The specific pathways of the money would be toward the construction or renovation of general housing, housing communities near transportation sites, assisting in down payments for low-income homeowners and loan assistance to veterans for their housing.

Proposition 2 would authorize the state to issue a $2 billion bond for the state’s No Place Like Home program, which

return into law. The effect of repealing the CostaHawkins Rental Act would be simply to allow city governments to enact rent control regulations on residences that were built after 1995, allow rent control on single-family homes and condominiums and cities to impose vacancy control, in which the rent for a unit remains capped after a tenant moves out. These three actions are currently prohibited by the law.

Granting cities in-

“A serious f ix to California’s housing crisis needs to come sooner or later, but meanwhile, voting yes on propositions 1, 2 and 10 can certainly help patch up some of the crisis’ biggest scars.” of housing. As a result, the state has to take steps to improve conditions and opportunities for these individuals.

Three very similar answers to this crisis come from California propositions 1, 2 and 10. Proposition 1 would authorize the state to seek a $4 billion bond (financed through the state’s general fund) to fund housing programs, with $1 billion of the total going specifically towards

Proposition 7:

Everyone hates “spring forward”, when we all lose an hour of sleep in early March every single year because back in March 1918, during the First World War, the government decided fiddling with the clocks could help save energy needed for the war effort.

Well, spoiler alert, but its been over an entire century since the U.S. first began to observe daylight savings time and a lot has changed since then. The

question of conserving energy during nighttime versus daytime has obscured, and the amount of energy that is conserved is now no longer known, with many studies claiming it actually increases our energy consumption.

What we do know about this vicious “fall

creased flexibility to come up with local solutions and regulations to their own rental and housing challenges is a smart move, especially in a state where wealth and housing costs vary so widely. Modest rent control regulations, tailored by individual cities to tackle their own challenges, can go a long ways in protect vulnerable renters, especially against sudden surge in rent pricing in a state where housing

Let’s save some daylight by keeping our clocks consistent year-round back”, “spring forward” pendulum however, is that having to switch between the two twice every year

lost in spring, causes sleep deprivation, takes a toll on mental health, increases workplace injuries and car accidents and decreases productivity at work, among other things. It does however, increase how much money we spend shopping during the spring and summer.

Nobody enjoys daylight savings

“Even if you’re a college student who cares nothing about politics but likes sleep, this proposition is for you.”

Proposition 8:

Proposition 8 would use the authority of the state of California to limit the revenues of all kidney dialysis clinics in the state and open up requirements to pay rebates to groups like health insurance companies. The revenue cap for kidney dialysis clinics would be 115 percent of “direct care patient service costs” and “health care quality improvement costs,” essentially meaning most general costs excluding administrative budgets

builds and renovates housing for individuals with mental illnesses that are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The proposition also clearly outlines that the funds for the bond would come out of the state’s mental health budget.

Proposition 10 would repeal a 1995 law known as the Costa-Hawkins Rental Act, and codify state court precedent that landlords must receive a fair rate of

costs continue to grow so much faster than incomes.

And although the economics of rent control indicate that a price ceiling will decrease the supply of newer housing units, research has shown moderate rent control to have a negligible effect on the construction of new housing.

Neither propositions 1, 2 or 10 will fix the endemic problems of California’s housing crisis. Demand to live in California, especially metropolitan areas, is overwhelming, and a shortage of space leads to exorbitantly high costs, even for individuals who need to live nearby just to get to work. That being said, propositions 1 and 2 will directly increase the supply of housing in the state, particularly to the most vulnerable, thereby lowering costs.

Proposition 10 won’t do much to change the supply of housing, but it will keep the state’s renting environment more stable and will give working, lower and middle-income individuals and families a much better shot at being able to afford the next month’s rent. A serious fix to California’s housing crisis needs to come sooner or later, but meanwhile, voting yes on propositions 1, 2 and 10 can certainly help patch up some of the crisis’ biggest scars.

is miserable. Furthermore, studies have shown that the constant switching, especially when an hour is

time and it actually has serious, proven negative consequences.

Proposition 7, thankfully means that we would express our statewide desire to not push the clocks forward an hour in the spring, or ever push our clocks back or forward again. Even if you’re a college student who cares nothing about politics but likes sleep, this proposition is for you. Vote yes on Proposition 7.

An arbitrary and punishing measure that does not look promising

and related spending. medicare are excluded as insurance company, not The proposition would potential beneficiaries of the patient. mandate that when the the rebate, and the payIf the measure sounds revenues confusing, that of these “ The measure is opposed by nearly every single appears to be clinics exthe intention. advocacy group for kidney dialysis patients, ceeds the An in-the-weeds including the National Kidney Foundation. designated analysis of propThis is quite strange, especially when kidney osition 8 is conrevenue cap, they dialysis patients are supposed to be the primary fusing and mudwould be died. Something r e q u i r e d benef iciaries of the ‘Fair Pricing for Dialysis else that is clear Act.’’’ to pay rehowever, is that bates to the measure is customers. Some critical ments will go to the source opposed by nearly every caveats, however, are that that paid for the treatment, single advocacy group for firstly, governments and which is almost always the kidney dialysis patients,

including the National Kidney Foundation. This is quite strange, especially when kidney dialysis patients are supposed to be the primary beneficiaries of the “Fair Pricing for Dialysis Act.” Proposition 8 carries a lot of reasons indicating that a “no” vote is the way to go. The measure is based on an arbitrary cap and could end up being incredibly punishing, even to the supposed beneficiaries.

Vote “no”.

OPINIONS

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/opinions

Proposition Proposition 3 is what Californians hate about our state government and ballot proposition process. $9 billion in bonds towards water fixes, environmental projects and infrastructure assistance for the struggling Imperial Valley sound too good be ignored, but the proposition would fail to provide a meaningful fix to our water shortages, lacks even the most cursory levels of financial oversight and essentially asks taxpayers to subsidize private, local and federal projects that have no business receiving specific statewide public funds.

The largest amount, $2.5 billion, would go towards watershed projects that likely are needed in

Under other circumstances, a yes vote 3: would be tempting

the valley, yet those projects and the restoration of those areas is managed by the farmers that work there in addition to a federal government irrigation

overpumping of aquifers.

Most Californians can probably agree that these repairs are necessary; however, it also goes that most Californians would expect

tion of the proposition is the dedication of an additional $750 million toward safe drinking water and wastewater treatment programs for smaller towns in

“ The narrow benef it of this project is perhaps best reflected by the fact that nearly every major editorial board of major newspapers in the state has urged a “no” vote on Proposition 3, while the Fresno Bee is the only one to recommend a “yes” vote.”

program. $750 million would be dedicated to repairing the Friant-Kern Canal in the San Joaquin Valley, which has been damaged by the

the beneficiaries of the project to finance it, or at least the very agencies and operations that are responsible for it.

The most tempting por-

Proposition 6:

Proposition 6 is one of the most divisive California election decisions in decades. It calls for the repeal of 2017’s Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), which increased the base gasoline product excise tax rate by 12 cents a gallon and increased the diesel sales tax by 4 percent. It also attached a transportation improvement fee ranging from $25 to $175 a year for all vehicles, with the exception of zero-emission vehicles, which instead will pay a $100 fee each year.

The bill is expected to raise $4.6 billion in 2018, and roughly $5.1 billion within two years. Under state constitution requirements, at least two-thirds of the revenue will go directly toward highway and road repairs, and the rest will go to other transportation programs like public transit.

Essentially, the primary function and purpose of SB 1 is to improve, repair and maintain our transportation infrastructure, financed through gasoline and vehicle taxes that essentially serve as user fees.

The process seems fair, as those that drive more will be required to pay more toward restoration efforts for statewide infrastructure.

That same principle of fairness, however, also

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

backfires with a further analysis of the tax. The gas tax is, fundamentally, a regressive tax (a tax that is levied equally across all-income groups, meaning the tax absorbs a larger part of incomes from less wealthy groups). The tax as regressive by itself is problematic, but the issue is compounded by the fact that lower-income individuals typically consume more gasoline in the first place and tend to have less flexibility to turn to other forms of transportation.

the Central Valley, whose residents primarily earn lower-incomes. This benefit’s attachment to the rest of the proposition however, more than cancels out

A loss for taxpayers means a win for California

The imposition of the gas tax isn’t likely to change their behavior or discourage them from buying gasoline since they fundamentally need to make the long drive to their work, and usually can only afford houses out in the area much further away.

In economic terms, gasoline is highly inelastic for these less wealthy individuals, and regardless of how many taxes are imposed on gasoline, they don’t have many alternatives to simply buying it and bearing

commute to work.

The total missing funds for the costs of bringing California’s bridges, roads and transits to A-levels, according to the Society of Civil Engineers, is $238.2 billion. That is an astonishingly high number that very well may be unreachable; however, it clearly illustrates the fundamental state of disarray California roads and infrastructure currently find themselves in.

If California wants to get anywhere close to

“Voting no on Proposition 6 is one of the diff icult choices and painful sacrif ices we simply have to make.”

Many higher-income individuals have the ability, or luxury, to live close to their work, live in a bicycle-friendly community, purchase electric or low-emissions vehicles or generally just be more selective with their transportation and commute options. Lower or even middle-income individuals, by comparison, don’t enjoy these same luxuries.

Many residents of Riverside county, for example, live in Corona or Riverside, but have to drive into the Los Angeles or Orange County areas for work.

any positive effects to be found in the proposition as a whole.

Proposition 3 is essentially little more than a request for a bond for and by Central Valley special interests, both public and private. While many of the effects may be desirable, the proposition puts money in the wrong places. The narrow benefit of this project is perhaps best reflected by the fact that nearly every major editorial board of major newspapers in the state has urged a “no” vote on Proposition 3, while the Fresno Bee is the only one to recommend a “yes” vote. The Highlander News board is adding its name to the first list.

the burden of the tax.

At the same time, however, California’s infrastructure is crumbling. The American Society of Civil Engineers rated California bridges and transit a C-, and roads a D. Citing general findings, 6.2% of California’s bridges are structurally deficient, with deficiencies in California roads are estimated to cost Californians $61 billion annually due to added congestion, collision and related problems. Finally, just a shockingly small number, 5.3% of Californians, use public transit to

reaching more acceptable marks on our infrastructure, and save lives, time, money and our air in the process, this state is going to truly need every penny it can get. In the grand scheme of things, SB 1 is a regressive tax, but a minor one at that, and a critical piece of a much larger puzzle.

In addition to bringing desperately needed funding towards our decaying infrastructure, Proposition 6 also effectively acts as a carbon tax on gasoline products, which, according to 2018 Nobel Prize Win-

ner in Economics William Nordhaus, is the single most effective means of combating the existential risk climate change poses to our planet.

Nordhaus is right, a tax will make gasoline less attractive, and creates incentives for producers to develop models that can avoid or reduce gasoline consumption, while also incentivizing consumers to buy these new models.

This effect may take a lot more for many Californians before we all begin purchasing electric vehicles; however, it represents an important step, and more importantly, commitment to getting serious about climate change, one of the greatest threats ever posed to human civilization.

Voting “no” on Proposition 6 is one of the difficult choices and painful sacrifices we simply have to make.

The state of California absolutely needs to do a better job of improving access and use of our incredibly weak public transportation systems to help offset the negative effects on lower-income earners. Regardless of that necessity, however, Proposition 6 is too dangerous for our state and H our planet. Vote “no.” ■

ballot propositions affect your financial future

Go vote!

13

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Features

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/features

15

spotlight: Burke Reeves: the award-winning chef bringing passion and creativity to UCR’s kitchens

THOMAS HOLGUIN / HIGHLANDER

MARTHA DELGADO Senior Staff Writer

Inside Lothian’s Residential Restaurant, Executive Chef Burke Reeves sings oldies while he cooks. Sometimes when he cooks an omelette, he hears the plate sizzle and begins “vibing” to it. “Culinary Rhythm” is the term he uses for this simple act that lightens the atmosphere in the kitchen.

Reeves attributes his showmanship to his past experience as a reggae-style rapper.

In June 2018, he brought that energy with him to the National Association of College and University Food Services’ Culinary Challenge where he flipped pans during the competition.

Executive Chef Burke Reeves won gold at the National Association of College and University Food Services’ Culinary Challenge becoming the first person from UCR to do so. Previously, he won in the regional competition which allowed him to move to the national level. “The national recognition, the gold medal means a lot to me because it shows a level of excellence of UCR Dining,” he elaborated. “This shows our culinary team. I got a great crew here and they inspire me.” October marks five years since Reeves began working at UCR. Reeves attributes his early love for cooking to his grandmother, Susan Burke, who he was named after.

Reeves would join his grandmother in the kitchen, who was a fan of Julia Child, Alice Waters and French cuisine. Reeves would go on to dedicate his desire to go to culinary school to her. “She would be proud of that,” he

added.

Before attending culinary school, Reeves worked in a catering company where he worked on many prominent events, including one of Madonna’s album release parties. “I’m always glad I worked before I went to culinary school, so I had an idea of what it would be like,” he commented. Reeves fell in love with a career as a chef after traveling to Europe after culinary school where he worked with chefs from Italy, Germany and Greece. After coming back to California, he worked in the Cheesecake Factory at San Diego.

While he worked at Cheesecake Factory, Reeves shared the kitchen with a chef from Hawaii who came to assist. Reeves and the chef saw a manager yelling at the dishwasher employee. “This dishwasher is not working good, so I don’t think he’s going to amount to anything,” Reeves recalled the manager said. The chef from Hawaii pulled Reeves aside and told him, “You see that? That’s what you don’t do. Did (the manager) work with that dishwasher? Did he take his effort and his time to actually work with that person to see if they need help or to see if there’s something that he can teach them?”

Reeves noticed this chef was a great leader due to his mentorship. The chef from Hawaii did not have attendance problems from his staff. “That really inspired me, and it took my management skill to the next level.”

Reeves incorporates these lessons into his leadership skills. “I first look in the mirror and see if the problem’s there before I point my finger to anyone else. I learned that from those

THOMAS HOLGUIN / HIGHLANDER

great mentors,” he explained.

During the national competition, Reeves utilized every part of the food items he had available. From carrot tops, to oyster shells, to matcha green tea powder, the only item Reeves disposed of was the squid ink. Many of the old school chefs Reeves looks up to also utilize every aspect of the food.

“A true chef respects food. To be a chef is (similar to) an artist. If an artist has a paintbrush, you’re not going to beat up your paint brush.”

When Reeves cooked, something “clicked” within him. It was his love for cooking, art and creativity. Within the UCR Dining team, Reeves is known

to push the boundaries by taking his food to the next level through wideranging menus and eclectic ideas. The diversity and savviness of the student population motivates Reeves to explore diverse menu items. These range from noodles with seaweed to poke bowls and ceviches which create the diverse menu students want with the eclectic twists the chefs in the Dining team seek. “I hate an ordinary boring world,” he added.

This was Reeves’ first time competing in a culinary competition, but it will not be his last. “It was exciting.

Now I’m addicted. I’m sprung, so I ■H want to keep doing them.”

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/features

Ian Eastwood shares his experiences and knowledge of dance with UCR students By: Christine Tran , Contributing Writer

ERICA HAAS / HIGHLANDER

Last Thursday, Oct. 18, a long line wrapped around the corner near The Well on the second floor of the HUB. Students had begun lining up half an hour early, all for a chance to meet one of their favorite dancers.

In a event presented by ASPB from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., at HUB 302, dancing legend Ian Eastwood paid UCR students a visit to talk about his experiences with professional dance and the entertainment industry.

Eastwood, a dancer and choreographer by trade, began dancing at the age of 10. His career started with him uploading his dances to Youtube in order to exchange critiques with other Youtube dancers. Over the next few years, his videos accumulated views and Eastwood was given the opportunity to travel around the country and teach dance.

“I’ve been watching his dance videos from the very beginning and he has honestly inspired me so much and it gave me hope to see someone young like me succeed,” said first-year business major Alex Silaphet.

Eventually Eastwood settled in Los Angeles and now, at the age of 25, his resume includes working with and choreographing routines for popular artists like Justin Bieber, Childish Gambino, Chance the Rapper, Zendaya, Tori Kelly and many more. He has also showcased his talents on TV shows such as America’s Best Dance Crew, Dancing with the Stars and World of Dance.

For the first two hours of the event, Eastwood

talked about his experience with the dance industry and his struggle with staying creative and inspired. He spoke about how his choreography process changed over the years after feeling too much pressure and restriction with his previous routines. Eastwood’s goals for his career now are to live in the moment with his dancing, reach out to young dancers and pass down the knowledge he has accumulated.

“I started last year throwing more jams and more opportunities to bring the dance community together and just have a lot of positivity for anyone who wants to dance,” stated Eastwood.

After the moderated Q&A finished, students were allowed to line up and ask Eastwood questions directly. One of the highlights of the Q&A was Eastwood’s advice to students interested in pursuing dance. He suggested that students not let their personal experiences and what other people say to change the way they feel about dance. Eastwood expressed that the drama should not distract from the love of dance.

“I wasted a lot of time feeling bad about certain things in dance, but letting those affect my love and passion and overall enjoyment is where I think I’ve fallen short,” said Eastwood, “Because compared to the lowest moments that dance has made me feel not good, it’s made me feel so much better times a million.”

To people who are dance enthusiasts or looking to get into dancing, Eastwood had two further pieces of

ERICA HAAS / HIGHLANDER

advice. One, to have the right mindset and two, to find the aspects of dance that interests you the most. “Start with types of dance that you’re most excited about and this way you’ll feel that you are growing faster because it is important to you,” said Eastwood.

As an added bonus before the event, APSB hosted a special competition for UCR students. The requirements were that students film and post a 30 second clip of themselves showcasing their best moves, with the hashtag #IanEastwoodUCR. If selected, the lucky students were able to partake in a dance session taught by Eastwood himself.

The contest ended on Monday, Oct. 15 at 5 p.m. and four winners were selected. While Eastwood could not provide a dance lesson due to an injury, the winners, students Katheryn Valle, Frances Abalos, Brennen Brixey and Kyle Christer Hamada, were able to sit down with him and ask him any questions they had about dancing.

“I asked him what’s the best way to get back into the dancing industry if you have been on hiatus for a few years and how do you jump back into after being discouraged by other people,” commented wValle, a fourth-year philosophy/law and society major. Valle added that, “He told me that if I loved it enough that I would keep going. He gave me the motivation to go back and pursue a passion I thought I couldn’t pursue anymore.”

■H

ERICA HAAS / HIGHLANDER

R HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/features

’guide

What are ucr’s favorite things?

2018

17

HIGHLANDER TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

See the results

18

R’ GUIDE

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/features

Academics Which COllege do you belong to?

Favorite proffessor, chass 1. Joab Corey

2. Jennifer Simmonsrey 3.Jaclyn Vasquez

Favorite proffessor, CNAS 1. Stephanie Dingwall 2. Jack Eichler 3. David Hill

Favorite breadth class 1. CS 008: Introdution to computing 2. TFDP 050: Public Speaking 3. ECON 003: Microeconomics

Favorite Study Spot

(besides the library)

1. HUB 2. Glen Mor Market 3. Coffee Bean

Favorite proffessor, SOBA

1. Kyle Ingram 2. Elaine Wong 3. Sean Jasso

Favorite proffessor, BCOE 1. David Cocker 2. William Grover 3. Toby Gustafson

R’ GUIDE

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/features

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

Leisure

Most Useful Resource Center

19

Favorite Place to eat in Riverside

1. Manna Grill

1. Academic Resource Center (ARC)

2. Ten Ren’s Tea

2. The Well

3. Cha20

3. Chicano Student Programs

Favorite SRC FitWell class

Favorite Riverside location 1. Downtown Riverside Arts Center

1. Zumba

2. Mission Inn

2. Cycling

3. Tyler Mall

3. Yoga

Best Place to Park for School

Favorite Restaurant on campus

1. Lot 30

1. The Habit

2. Lot 13

2. Panda Express 3. Subway

Favorite Club

3. Lot 1

Dream vacation spot

1. Mujeres Unidas

1. Europe

2. Cru

2. Hawaii

3. Highlander Chefs

3. Thailand

Radar

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/arts

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

21

More than just a game: the intricate and subtle beauty of JRPGs

MARCELO GARCIA Senior Staff Writer

The realm of Japanese roleplaying video games (JRPGs) is a vast one. The genre, whose most iconic traits would be its anime-esque aesthetic alongside occasionally absurd elements, is so expansive that from an outside lense one could find it hard to believe that series like “Yakuza” and “Nier: Automata” (the former allowing one to explore Tokyo’s streets by night, and the latter offering players a somber and serious adventure that follows two androids exploring a post-machine apocalypse Earth) can be grouped into the same category. With a seeming lack of general themes or consistent settings, it’s reasonable to question just what the appeal of the genre is.

Like most American children growing up in the early 2000s, my introduction to JRPGs was “Pokémon” (Gen III to be exact).

The series (while admittedly being a very streamlined and watered down take on the genre) contained some hardcore elements that

memorization or pinpoint reactions (like many popular platformers and first person shooters at the time), the game actually encouraged slow and careful play.

While you can fairly easily navigate the region of Hoenn, aside from the occasional storybased roadblock, it was never particularly wise to do so. Going too far ahead before ample grinding would lead you to threats that were far too overleveled to even consider battling. However, the beauty of this design lied in the freedom of choice. While it was nearly impossible to succeed going off the game’s set path, there was nothing stopping a player from at least trying to do so.

Enter “Fire Emblem,” a tactical role-playing game that strips away this freedom of exploration in favor of choice in a different matter, life and death. One of this series’ trademarks is permadeath, meaning that once a unit falls in battle they would be removed from the player’s playable roster with no means of reviving them.

But there’s more to each of these characters than the stat

loop of continuously replaying battles to ensure that none of your precious companions die in the process. Ignoring this mechanic gives you a less-than-satisfying conclusion that encourages you to restart from the beginning and strive for a flawless run. And what creates this desire to continue playing and get that perfect ending are the characters themselves.

Going through the events of the war, one would be hard pressed to not get attached to at least one unit.

Playing through “Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon,” you want Marth to reclaim his kingdom and you want his love, Caeda (as well as the rest of the friends he makes along the way) to be right there beside him in the end.

The reason this works, when most of the time the characters in this world are relatively mute walking pixels that usually only speak dialogue during their battle sequences, is the capability of the genre to create an unparalleled sense of world and atmosphere through beautifully composed soundtracks (OSTs). Take one of the most recently released

“Rather than limiting players with an extremely restrictive story JRPGs encourage players to go out and find their own adventure.” allowed it to serve as an entry level game for anyone as inexperienced as my six-year-old self. The turnbased combat, random encounters and experience point grinding all offered an experience that was very unique compared other genres in that, rather than focusing on

benefits they offer your army; each of them are a part of the story and bring their own motivations and personalities to the plot. Let anyone die and any potential role they play in the plot is removed, leading to an imperfect story ending. This introduces an addictive gameplay

JRPGs, “Octopath Traveler”, as an example. The game’s main criticism (for the most part) was a lack of an overarching or connecting story. And while this is a completely valid and warranted complaint, quite frankly, that isn’t what “Octopath” was trying to

do. The game’s main goal was to capitalize on one of its genre’s aforementioned biggest strengths, and create a sense of adventure.

The world of “Octopath Traveler” feels so vast and mystical that it welcomes exploration. Rather than limiting the player with an extremely restrictive story, the game encouraged players to go out and find their own adventure.

Whether it was finding ancient shrines throughout the land or helping fellow travelers along the way, the game always had something to offer.

That’s what really brings JRPGs together to make them greater than the sum of their parts. Addictive

COURTESY OF NINTENDO

gameplay loops, exploration, memorable OSTs; these are all just aspects of what makes these games so beloved and appreciated. The main appeal of this genre is its ability to immerse the player in the worlds it presents. Not just because of some gameplay aspect, or a story that tends to only last a few hours, but as a part of these worlds that feel alive. And while this article barely scratches the surface of the genre that I’ve spent my entire life playing, the best way for one to truly understand the beauty of it all is to dive in and explore those worlds for themselves.

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COURTESY OF NINTENDO

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/arts

“Happy Together” proves why the network sitcom formula needs to change

COURTESY OF CBS

SUMAYA KHANDOKER Contributing Writer

Who would have thought that after the critical and box office success that was “Dunkirk”, Harry Styles’ next project was executive-producing a TV series that’s so unimaginative that we’ll all collectively add it to the very long list of failed fall sitcoms and forget about? Starring Damon Wayans, Jr. and Amber Stevens West, “Happy Together” is an attempted comedy about Jake and Claire Davis, another perky TV couple who try to convince us that they’re fun and relatable. But their life gets turned on its head with the arrival of Jake’s client and famous pop star, Cooper James, whose presence promises to bring some much needed excitement to the Davises.

COURTESY OF CBS

Spoiler alert: it doesn’t, and not because their only friends seem to be Claire’s retired parents. In fact, the Davises are a pair of married lovers in their thirties living bubbly, oblivious lives in a large house that they’re suspiciously able to afford. Rather than throwing parties or backpacking through Europe like other young millenials, Jake and Claire are perfectly comfortable with their small vacations from the food pantry to the couch. Of course, the only way this show works is if it offers audiences a premise to get behind because no one wants to watch a show about an accountant and his wife living in a grey house. Hence, we’re introduced to Cooper, our third main character, whose life intertwines with theirs when he shows up at their doorstep in need of a mundane place to hide from the paparazzi.

Following the introduction of our main cast, these characters say and do such senseless things that it contradicts almost everything that we’re told about them. Rather than evoking laughter, their actions elicit confusion. Adding insult to injury, with the exception of a surprisingly humorous joke or two, the comedy found in the writing is nothing less than banal. With characters as generic as Cooper’s snooty and ignorant celebrity girlfriend, it’s hard to find any signs of life in the series. As opposed to injecting every minute of the show with meaningless hits-and-misses, the writers could have concentrated on wit that adds volume to the storyline and further amplifies the characters. Flying past several missed opportunities, Jake, Claire and Cooper remain two-dimensional and are alternatively mocked.

“Happy Together” is marketed as a

lighthearted comedy. While I wasn’t feeling amused, I realized that there was a larger issue at hand. For years, TV executives have been playing it safe with cookie-cutter shows for the sake of filling up time slots.

Frankly, I have no interest in meeting the Johnsons, the Yangs, the Changs and most definitely not the Davises. In the era of Netflix bingeing, as storylines are becoming predictable and dreary at an escalating rate, audiences simply won’t be satisfied with anything short of creative content. Rather than utilizing an expired formula, writers, especially comedic ones, need to construct enthralling storylines in addition to characters that gradually develop. In other words, viewers at home need to be given a reason to give up four hours of their time to watch a series.

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COURTESY OF CBS

Verdict:

“Happy Together” disguises itself as a comedy when it becomes palpable by the middle of the episode that it is all but hilarious. Perspectives change, however, and after the arrival of the next unexceptional TV series, spending Monday nights at 8:30 with the Davises might not be so miserable after all.

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/sports

SPORTS

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

23

Women’s soccer earns crucial 1-0 Volleyvictory over Long Beach on Senior Night ball gets swept 3-0 by Hawai’i JARYD BONGCARAS Senior Staff Writer

The UC Riverside women’s soccer team (11-2-3, 2-2-2) earned a much needed 1-0 win over Long Beach State (8-5-2, 3-1-1) on Thursday night. The win came as seven seniors were honored for Senior Night.

After going 9-0-1 throughout their 10 non-conference games, the Highlanders hit a wall in conference play as they entered Thursday’s match with a 1-2-2 record in Big West play. The win couldn’t have come at a better time as the team understood just how important a victory would’ve been against Long Beach State, who was second in conference.

Both teams struggled to find the back of the net all night as Long Beach’s 4 out of 10 shot attempts were on goal, and UCR only had 4 out of their 13 shot attempts test the keeper. The game featured a trade-off of missed opportunities from both teams, as the Highlanders came close in the 35th minute when senior midfielder Maddie Feist fired her only shot on goal that hit the crossbar. Feist attempted four shots on the night.

Then in the 65th minute, senior midfielder Quinley Quezada kicked in a rebound off of a header by junior Amanda Roy to score the game’s lone goal.

JARYD BONGCARAS Senior Staff Writer

COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS

Quezada told gohighlanders. com, “After we scored, [the intensity] seemed to pick up even more. Long Beach did a good job of attacking, I got nervous — but I had faith in our defense and that we would pull through in the end.”

The goal came while the team’s largest turnout of the season watched as Quezada and her senior teammates were

honored for their contributions during their time at UCR. Allyssa Troy, Madeline Feist, Kyra Taylor, Nerisse Bugho, Darielle O’Brien and Christina Tucker all bid their farewells in their last regular season home game.

“The win seems fitting,” head coach Nat Gonzalez said via gohighlanders.com. “The seniors have moved the needle since January and have moved it further

along than any other team I have coached. They deserve this.”

Redshirt junior Annie Bailey put up a stellar night with four saves at the net, including a save in the 13th minute that she deflected off the side post.

The team will wrap up Big West play by travelling to Hawai’i on Thursday, Oct. 25, and to UC Davis on Sunday, Oct. 28 to close out the regular season.

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HIGHLANDER Fixing the NBA Playoffs

HOT TAKES RICARDO GARCIA Contributing Writer

Over the past few years, we have all heard rumblings about NBA Commissioner Adam Silver considering tweaking the NBA Playoffs. The WNBA already features a format without conferences, and it’s been successful thus far. The NBA, however, shouldn’t have to go as far as eliminating conferences altogether. Instead, the association should allow above-.500 teams to replace that conference’s sub.500 teams in the playoffs.

To better explain my proposed format, let’s go back to the 2015 playoffs. Here were the standings for the 6-9 seeds in the West and East that year.

Western Conference 6. San Antonio Spurs (56-26) 7. Dallas Mavericks (50-32) 8. New Orleans Pelicans (45-37) 9. Oklahoma City Thunder (45-37) Eastern Conference 6. Milwaukee Bucks (41-41) 7. Boston Celtics (40-42) 8. Brooklyn Nets (38-44) 9. Indiana Pacers (38-44) As you can see, the Eastern Conference was quite weak that year. Several teams at .500

COURTESY OF NBA

or worse snuck in, while the Thunder, who were well over .500, missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker. This brought up the debate as to whether the playoffs needed to eliminate conferences to ensure quality matchups and leave out bad teams.

The issue was brought up again last season, when the Eastern Conference number one seed Toronto Raptors were swept in the second round by the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the hobbled Boston Celtics ended the

“What the association should do is allow teams on the outside that would have made it over the weaker teams in the other conference to have a chance to compete in the other conference’s playoffs.”

Philadelphia 76ers’ season in five games. After it became apparent that the Celtics or Cavaliers were likely to meet a quick end to their season at the hands of the Houston Rockets or Golden State Warriors, the idea of eliminating conferences was brought up yet again.

The NBA should revamp the playoff format, but they should not eliminate conferences entirely. What the association should do is allow teams on the outside that would have made it over the weaker teams in the other conference to have a chance to compete in the other conference’s playoffs.

Using 2015 as an example, the Thunder would petition the NBA to compete in the East postseason, and would be seeded as high as sixth, pushing the Bucks down to seventh, the Celtics to eighth and the Nets out of the postseason altogether. The Thunder would have faced the Chicago Bulls, the Bucks would have faced the Cavaliers and the Celtics would

have faced the Atlanta Hawks as a result.

Of course, travel and strength of schedule would be a consideration. Travel would be tricky to maneuver because there would be extra mileage for a team such as the Thunder that would have to travel to Chicago instead of traveling to a city within their conference, such as Golden State.

Competitive equity would also be a factor as Western Conference teams only have two games per year against each Eastern Conference team compared to the three to four games they play against other inter-conference foes.

However, if the NBA wants to keep tradition by maintaining conferences, while also making the postseason competitive, they should consider this format to ensure teams who are above-.500 have a chance at a championship.

On the contrary, teams that finish at .500 or sub-.500 do not deserve a chance at the postseason or a championship.

■H

Though the Highlanders (6-13, 1-7) fell 3-0 to Hawai’i (12-6, 8-1), the second-placed team in the Big West standings right now, the game score doesn’t accurately portray how competitive each set was.

With the score tied up at 10 points apiece in the first set, the Rainbow Wahine found separation by going on three separate runs of scoring three or more points in a row, taking the opening set 25-16. The second set was almost the exact same story with both teams iced at 9-9 before Hawai’i took off on a 10-3 run. The visiting squad wrapped up the second set with a score of 25-17 over the Highlanders.

UCR seemingly saved their best play for the last set, as the team led Hawai’i on eight different occasions. After rallying back and forth, the Rainbow Wahine eventually led the home team at 24-18. The Highlanders clawed back, scoring four consecutive points in a row to try and force at least a fourth set, but Hawai’i put the game away at 25-22 to win in straight sets.

Freshmen Marissa Holt and Nailah Jones led the punch, putting up nine and eight kills each, as the duo was consistently set up by senior Chelsea Doyle, who put up a game-high of 24 assists.

On the defensive side, sophomore libero Nicole Rodriguez recorded a team-high of 14 digs on the night.

UCR will take a short break from Big West play and visit neighboring Cal Baptist University for the first-ever Division 1 meeting between the schools.

The game starts at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 23.

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COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS

24

SPORTS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2018

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/sports

Men’s soccer

has officially flipped the switch

Highlanders earn another clean sheet in 1-0 win over Northridge JONATHAN FERNANDEZ Senior Staff Writer

The Highlanders (5-91, 3-2-0) continued to roll in conference play with another win, this time over Cal State Northridge (86 - 1 , 2 - 2 - 1 ) o n We d n e s d a y, Oct. 17. This win marks t h e t e a m ’s t h i r d i n t h e i r last four matches. The H i g h l a n d e r ’s d e f e n s e h a s been at the forefront of their remarkable play throughout their conference season as they’ve allowed zero goals in their last three wins.

Riverside got on the scoreboard early on in the match after redshirt senior midfielder Edward Benito found the back of the net for his third goal of the season i n t h e n i n t h m i n u t e o f p l a y.

T h e g o a l c a m e o ff o f a long pass from sophomore midfielder Daniel Aguirre which Benito was able to finish to put UCR up 1-0. This would put the Highlanders up for good, d u e i n l a rg e p a r t t o t h e i r stifling defense.

Although UCR won the game, Northridge was the more aggressive team throughout the match. The Matadors finished with eight more shots than Riverside and five more shots on goal.

CSUN might have been able to keep attacking at a highlevel, but the Highlanders

SOCCER

2

0

Goals from Roberto Garcia (3) in the 51st minute

Antonio Lokossou (2) in the 79th minute

MEN’S

COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS

had an equalizing force in Edwyn Gutierrez. The junior goalkeeper ended the match with a total of eight saves compared to the opposing keeper who only e n d e d w i t h t w o . G u t i e r r e z ’s performance is without a doubt a huge reason why Riverside was able to win this game and why they’ve been able to win three c o n f e r e n c e g a m e s t h u s f a r.

Wi t h the win over Northridge, UCR has moved into second place of the B i g We s t C o n f e r e n c e w i t h nine points and only trails UC Irvine, who is still undefeated in conference p l a y.

Riverside will play its final conference game of the season at home on Oct. 27 against Cal State Fullerton H (6-4-6, 2-2-1) at 7 p.m. ■

men’s golf

shoot their way to sixth place finish at Bill Cullum Invitational JONATHAN FERNANDEZ Senior Staff Writer

COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS

Head Coach Rick Todd preached that it would take time for his team to come together following two sub-par tournament finishes, and things finally started clicking for the Highlanders at the Bill Cullum Invitational, which took place from Oct.15-16. Todd, who is also a basketball fan, compared it to Thursday night’s Lakers game saying, “For instance last night, the Lakers game.

Everyone thinks ‘oh LeBron is here, they’re going to win.’ Well, it takes time. He’s going to make those other guys play harder and it’s the same on our team.”

MEN’S

UCR was able to finish in sixth place out of 17 competing teams which is their best finish of the year. The Highlanders showcased their best performance of the year despite playing in 40 mile-perhour winds.

Todd said that the wind forced his team to be more focused than they’ve been in past tournaments.

“They were more target oriented than result oriented,” Todd explained. “When it’s perfect weather you kind of go through the motions. It was more mental preparation before each shot than anything physical.”

The Highlanders have played through harsh conditions in a couple of tournaments now and both times they were able to perform at a higher level in those conditions. The previous tournament that UCR was forced to play in rough conditions was the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, where Todd said they were able to make up ground due to those conditions.

One player Todd noticed was especially dialed in was senior Michael Wong, who finished tied for 10th place and shot a score of 214 in the tournament. “After the second round he shot four under par and I asked him ‘how’d you play?’” Todd said. “He looked at me and says I really don’t know because I was so committed to each shot. He didn’t think about his score and that’s what you have to do.”

Wong wasn’t the only player who played well in Simi Valley as fellow senior Andrew Spillman finished tied for 17th place, finishing only two shots behind Wong. The team’s overall depth was on display as four out of their five players finished in the top 50 and every player finished less than five shots behind the teammate that finished ahead of them.

The Highlanders will participate in their final tournament of the fall season, the Pacific Invitational, on Thursday, Oct. 25.

■H

CROSS COUNTRY AT THE HIGHLANDER INVITATIONAL: Finished 4th out of 20 teams

Top Runners: 15th place Jonathan Lee 25:04.7 16th place Jack Frimodig 25:04.8

WOMEN’S

CROSS COUNTRY AT THE HIGHLANDER INVITATIONAL: Finished 6th out of 22 teams

Top Runners: 19th place Vanessa Gracian 17:54.9 33rd place Kiley Atwood 18:13.4

upcoming matches

Men’s soccer Saturday, Oct. 27 against Cal State Fullerton 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 31 Big West Conference Tournament Quarterfinal.