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TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2012
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Campus mourns loss of Coline Roche, 26
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UCR professor sworn in as California Poet Laureate
E r i c G a m b oa SENIOR STAFF WRITER
On March 28, UC Riverside student Colin Roche passed away due to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. Roche was 26-years-old and was in his first year at UC Riverside after having transferred from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge Community College and Riverside City College. “He was enrolled in the Bourns College of Engineering as a Material Science and Engineering major. Colin was doing very well both academically and as a member of the UCR community,” noted a somber Chancellor White in his weekly email. “He was known to be enthusiastic, curious about most everything, and had a strong drive to engage in research as an undergraduate.” Roche’s ashes will be dispersed in the ocean and mountains in order to reflect his love of the beach and hiking. According to an announcement by Bourns College of Engineering Dean Reza Abbaschian, memorial services will be held in Colin’s home state of Louisiana and on campus. The chancellor and dean’s emails have both highlighted the UC Riverside Counseling Center as a source for support (via telephone and in-person consolations) for those grieving. Efforts are underway to collect statements from Colin’s friends and other university acquaintances in order to be delivered during the memorial services. Individuals seeking to make donations have also been directed to a memorial fund established in H the Bourns College of Engineering. ■
C o u rt e s y
E r i c G a m b oa SENIOR STAFF WRITER
UC Riverside Professor Juan Felipe Herrera will be California’s first Hispanic Poet Laureate, upon receiving senate confirmation. On March 21, California Governor Jerry Brown appointed Herrera, whose work focuses on the Chicano experience—a subject that holds special significance to Herrera since he was the son of migrant farm workers. “No one is more worthy than Juan
Felipe Herrera, both for this distinctive honor and for the task at hand as the California Poet Laureate,” proclaimed UC Riverside Chancellor Tim White in his weekly email. Within a week of the appointment, Herrera traveled to Sacramento where the governor swore him in. Herrera currently serves as the Tomás Rivera Endowed Chair at UC Riverside’s Creative Writing Department. “I want to thank UC Riverside for such a great com-
of gov.ca.gov
munity of support. All the students here inspire me greatly. This award is for all the young writers who want to put kindness inside every word throughout the state, because kindness is the heart of creativity,” stated Herrera in an article by UCR Today. According to Herrera’s personal website, the renowned poet has published 24 volumes of work including theater, children’s books and young adult novels. Herrera, POET LAUREATE CONT’D ON PAGE 5
UCR Medical School aims for 2013 opening Carrie Meng STAFF WRITER
B rya n T u t t l e /HIGHLANDER
THIS WEEK’S EVENTS TUES 04/10
Baseball vs. Pepperdine 6:00pm - 9:00pm Riverside Sports Complex
WED 04/11
UC Riverside officials will be re-seeking accreditation for the UCR Medical School after obtaining significant financial commitments from the state and the UC Office of the President (UCOP). If the accreditation attempt is successful, the medical school would welcome its first class in August of 2013. UCR Chancellor Timothy P. White wrote in his Friday Letter of March 30, 2012 that the UC state financing office has established a $30 million, 10 year line of credit for the medical school. Additionally, UCOP will commit $2 million annually for the next 10 years in
Indigenous Choreographers: Welcome Reception 6:00pm - 7:00pm Arts 300
THUR 04/12
non-state discretionary funds. “It’s really a time to celebrate an important step to allow us to go in front of the accrediting body with confidence,” White said in an interview with the Press-Enterprise. “It feels like we’re making progress.” The School of Medicine was initially scheduled to open in the fall of 2012 but a lack of secure funding resulted in the rejection of the school’s first attempt at accreditation. Governor Jerry Brown passed a $10 million cut to the UC budget, which was the amount that had been requested for the medical school. UC officials had emphasized that the accreditation rejection stemmed only from the lack
World Water Day 2:00pm - 4:00pm Orbach Science Library 240
SAT 04/14
of funding and was not tied to the school’s curriculum, structure or any other factor that UC Riverside was responsible for. “It’s really unfortunate that there’s been a delay but what’s important is that [the School of Medicine] will open soon,” said Benjamin Nabong, a fourth-year UC Riverside student who plans on applying to medical school. “This new medical school will definitely build UCR’s reputation in the long run and it provides the opportunity to students who want to enter the medical field.” The announcement is seen as a victory for those who have long MEDICAL SCHOOL CONT’D ON PAGE 4
UCR MFA Thesis Exhibition Opening Reception 6:00pm - 9:00pm Barbara and Art Culver Center
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Volume 60
Issue 23