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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
FOR THE WEEK OF TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2025
VOL. 73, ISSUE 24
est. 1954
NEWS
SPORTS
The dire wolf returns
Hoop and hustle: “If you want a bigger house, you have to give a bigger deposit”
COLOSSAL BIOSCIENCES INC. CLAIMS TO HAVE BROUGHT BACK THE DIRE WOLF; EXPERTS DISAGREE. THOMAS DU *VU[YPI\[PUN >YP[LY
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he dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) was a North American species of canine that went extinct approximately 13,000 years ago during the extinctions of the Late Pleistocene epoch. Popularized by HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series, the dire wolf has long been in the spotlight of popular culture. Recently, however, it has become a focal point of discussion DPRQJ WKH VFLHQWL¿F FRPPXQLW\ GXH WR WKH HIforts of researchers at Colossal Biosciences Inc. In a recent April 7, 2025, press release, American biotechnology and genetic engineering company, Colossal Biosciences, claimed that they had successfully brought the dire wolf back from extinction...
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
UCR WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH BRAD LANGSTON’S PERSPECTIVE ON THE 2024-2025 SEASON.
Ź SEE DIRE WOLF PAGE 5
ELENA VERSAGE / THE HIGHLANDER
OPINIONS
KISHNEET KAUR :[H >YP[LY
UCR students and community reflect on the impact of Earth Day WITH THE INCREASED PRESENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS AND CONTROVERSIAL CLIMATE POLICY, UCR STUDENTS WEIGH IN ON CAMPUS ACTION AND EARTH DAY. CECILE DIROLL & SPANDANA JANAPATI 6WPUPVUZ ,KP[VY (ZZPZ[HU[ 6WPUPVUZ ,KP[VY
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Since the initial demonstrations in 1970, Earth Day has served as a platform for raising awareness of environmental action and The environmental problem that worries the long-term negative impacts of human acme the most is deforestation. I think it’s tion. Sparked by the 1969 Santa Barbara oil sad to see trees gone and time lapses of spill, then Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelthe Earth changing. Even though trees son helped inspire student protests against war and ecological destruction, eventually and plants only account for one-third of leading to the establishment of the Environoxygen production, it’s still a big part. mental Protection Agency (EPA) by Former Another environmental problem that President Richard Nixon in the same year. worries me is overconsumption. With In light of recent environmental policy overpopulation and loss of habitats and shifts, such as the Trump administration’s biodiversity, these problems become more decision to withdraw the United States (U.S.) from the Paris Agreement and halt worrisome because they can compound.” clean energy projects like wind farms, public discourse around climate change and sus- fornia, Riverside (UCR) students and comWDLQDELOLW\ KDV LQWHQVL¿HG munity members to share their thoughts on To better understand how these drastic Earth Day and climate change. changes are being received, The Highlander Ź SEE EARTH DAY PAGE 7 conducted a poll asking University of Cali-
Last month, the University of California, Riverside 8&5 ZRPHQ¶V EDVNHWEDOO WHDP ¿QLVKHG DQ HYHQWIXO 2024-2025 season, going 12-8 in conference play and earning the seventh seed in the Big West Championship. They matched up against the sixth seed, California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). Despite getting swept in the season series against CSULB, the Highlanders held star guard Savannah Tucker to just seven points en route to a 54-40 victory. However, their season ended after a second round loss WR 8& 'DYLV LQ WKH %LJ :HVW TXDUWHU¿QDOV 7KH VHDVRQ ZDV /DQJVWRQ¶V ¿UVW VHDVRQ leading the Highlanders as head coach, after working as interim head coach in 2023-2024. He has worked endlessly to give the team his all and mentions that the team has grown so much in the past year. The mindset he pushes for the team is “progress over perfection” to make the Highlanders more process-oriented. This progress has shown itself over the past two years. A 20-6 Big West home record has highlighted that this team is not going to back down. The biggest challenge that Langston faced this season was having eight new players on the team. Losing veteran leadership can be hard to overcome. But team ERQGLQJ RQ DQG R൵ WKH FRXUW SOD\HG DQ HVVHQWLDO UROH in overcoming these challenges. Throughout the season, the Highlanders would occasionally have light and fun practices with the intention of getting to know each other better to improve team chemistry. Langston added, “Even though we FRPH IURP GL൵HUHQW EDFNJURXQGV Ź SEE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PAGE 21
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