Issuu

THE HIGHLANDER

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE

est. 1954

FOR THE WEEK OF TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

VOL. 67, ISSUE 18

GOLD

P.4

“Campus parking has negatively impeded my experience as a student here at UCR.”

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NEWS 4

OPINIONS 7

FEATURES 11

RADAR 14

SPORTS 18

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

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HUMANS OF UCR

UPCOMING EVENTS: WEEK 7

INJU YI | ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER | THIRD-YEAR

Transfer Student Research Panel 12:00pm to 1:30pm HUB (Highlander Union Building), 355

Tuesday Talk - Grrrl Talk 5:00pm to 6:00pm Costo Hall , 245

Black History Month Nooner 12:00pm UCR Bell Tower

Fatima Farheen Mirza, Reading and Discussion 3:00pm to 4:00pm HUB 355

Healing Through Art & Writing: My Safe/Healing Space 12:00pm to 1:00pm Skye Hall , 334

Women’s Basketball vs Cal Poly 7:00pm SRC Arena

47th Annual Community College Day 8:30am to 2:00pm TBD

ASPB Presents - Winter SOULstice 2019 7:00pm Student Recreation Center (SRC), North

Semana de la Mujer 2019 8:30am UCR

UCRBG Winter Lecture & Reception, 2/23/19, 2-5pm 2:00pm to 5:00pm Botanic Gardens, Meeting Room

Roundtable at RAM: Eyes Wide Open—Discoveries in the IE 12:30pm to 1:30pm UCR ARTS, Culver Center of the Arts

Public Print Viewing 2:00pm to 3:00pm UCR ARTS, California Museum of Photography

My Sister’s Keeper Drive Costo Hall

Melanin Monday Festival 7:00pm to 9:30pm HUB 302N

Tuesday

COMPILED BY RYAN POON

Wednesday

Thursday

“In kendo, there’s no specific strength that you need. You don’t

Friday

have to be especially tall or bulky. It doesn’t necessarily give you an advantage, but it does have its purposes. Ultimately, it all comes down to your form, precision and speed, which is something that we can all improve.”

Saturday

24 Sunday

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ASST. OPINIONS EDITOR

Elaine Chen

opinions@highlandernews.org FEATURES EDITOR

Martha Delgado

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Marcelo Garcia

radar@highlandernews.org ASST. SPORTS EDITOR

SPORTS EDITOR

Jaryd Bongcaras

Jonathan Fermandez

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The Highlander accepts letters from the campus community. They must be 600-800 words at length and include the author’s name and contact information. Topics should be UCR-centric and/or pertain to our generation of students. Contact Opinions Editor Michael Beeli at opinions@highlandernews.org by Wednesday if interested in writing a letter and submit the completed letter by Saturday at noon. Letters can and will be rejected if it does not meet requirements. LEGAL The Highlander is published and copyrighted by the Highlander for the students, faculty and staff of UCR. All rights are reserved. Reprinting of any material in this publication without the written permission of the Highlander is strictly prohibited. Readers are allowed one free copy of the newspaper. For additional copies or for subscription information, please contact the Highlander. The Highlander fully supports the University of California’s policy on non-discrimination. The student media reserve the right to reject or modify advertising whose content discriminates on the basis of ancestry, color, national origin, race, religion, disability, age, sex or sexual orientation. The Highlander has a media grievance procedure for resolving complaints against it. All inserts that are printed in the Highlander are independently paid publications and do not reflect the views of the Editorial Board, the staff or The University of California or the Associated Students of UCR.

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News TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

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ASUCR

ASUCR updates Smooth Transition of Power Act

AMANI MAHMOUD Senior Staff Writer

The ASUCR Senate held their fifth meeting of winter quarter last Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. During roll call, CHASS Senator Jacky Chang, CNAS Senators Kenneth Thai and Kenneth Vongdi and BCOE Senator Jonathan Thai were all absent. The agenda for the meeting was approved 11-0-0 as well as the previous meeting’s minutes. Laurie Sinclair, the executive director of ASUCR, took the podium during Committee Reports and proposed to update the Smooth Transition of Power Act (STPA) which aims to let new officers meet with outgoing officers in order to ensure a smooth transition of power. Sinclair stated that she often sees that the act has so far only been in name, stating that she has noticed how new officers often do not know the components of their job and what is expected of them. She proposed that the STPA be updated because she believes that the act is “simply not happening and is often ineffective.” In the new plan, Sinclair proposed that officers meet with a professional staff partner within two weeks of taking office. These partnerships include the president of ASUCR meeting with the executive director of ASUCR; the vice president of campus internal affairs will meet with the events and media manager; the vice president of finance will meet with the organization funding specialist and financial operations manager; and so on. According to the bylaw, the profes-

sional staff members will meet with their student officer or director partners and review “job descriptions, expectations, pertinent information, and any other advice deemed important for that officer/director to be successful in their positions.” These partnerships are expected to continue throughout the academic school year and the professional staff is expected to advise and assist as necessary. The motion passed 11-0-0. CNAS Senator Abigail Cortes stated during senator reports that she is still working on an initiative to install hammocks on Pierce Lawn during finals week. CHASS Senator Julian Gonzalez stated that he intends to meet with the Academic Senate because he believes that the Academic Senate is discussing student issues without inviting students to attend these meetings. BCOE Senator Sarah Al-Khalili also shared this sentiment. She stated that ASUCR needs to be a little more aggressive with the Academic Senate in order to start getting invited to their meetings. Gonzalez also stated that his Ozzie Vending Machine initiative still has not made any headway. Gonzalez additionally proposed that ASUCR should be tabling every Wednesday along with the other clubs and organizations that table every Wednesday by the Bell Tower. He stated, “It is time that we as senators take our positions much more seriously and it is time that we become much more visible to the student body. I think tabling every Wednesday should be mandatory for all of us.” CHASS Senator Avi Idea also updated the Senate on the success of his initiative

with GCAP to implement the waste bins that are now currently stationed by the Bell Tower. During Finance Committee Reports, Julian Gonzalez reviewed a Finance Budget Hearing Meeting that occured on Feb. 12. Gonzalez recounted that organization budget hearings took place in which the Finance Budget Committee allocated and approved funding for organizations on campus. They allocated $750 to the Ears Student Group, $1,098 to the Pre-Veterinary Club, $998 to the Riverside Health Connect, $2,140 to the Mujeres Unidas, $998 to Asfana. The total number of allocations was $5,984 with an organization

MARTIN LOPEZ / HIGHLANDER

contingency closing balance of $45,830. At the conclusion of the meeting, Gonzalez and Executive Vice President Andrea Cuevas drew attention to the fact that it is Winter Quarter and it is time for all senators to take the initiative to draft more resolutions. Cuevas also stated that there is a vacant CNAS Senator position and an application for students to fill that position will be sent out soon along with an announcement sent via mass email to students. The meeting adjourned at 7:19 p.m. The next ASUCR meeting will take place next Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 6:30 p.m. in HUB 265. ■H

Congestion on Campus: the future of UCR parking and TAPS’ push for alternative transportation TAPS’ Demand Specialist, VP of Internal Affairs and students discuss UCR parking JAKEB TIVEY Staff Writer

Last November, the Highlander spoke with Andy Plumley, assistant vice chancellor of Auxiliary Services, regarding student concerns of restricted parking on campus. Three months later, new information has become available which illustrates the significance of congestion on campus and the possible solutions conveyed by the administration of UCR’s Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS). In an interview with Jose Cortez-Hernandez, ASUCR’s vice president of internal affairs, commuting students, and correspondence with TAPS’ Transportation and Demand Specialist Tara Pueschel, the future of UCR parking and possible solutions are discussed. Plumley stated last quarter that TAPS was developing a new “minimum 1200-space parking garage” in Lot 13 to alleviate the congestion caused by the development of the new DundeeGlasgow halls. The parking structure was not said to be without cost, however, as Plumley clarified that even though TAPS has already “raised permit prices the past two years a big six-plus percent,” students will now be “looking at probably a twoish percent (increase) depending on what the cost of the parking structure will be.” In an interview with TAPS Advisory Committee member Jose Cortez-Hernandez, ASUCR Vice President of Internal Affairs, the prospect of an expedited parking garage seemed less certain. “They were brainstorming building a parking garage somewhere but that’s at least three years from ever really happening.” In regards to the costs of the project, Cortez-Hernandez says that “for the expenses associated with that, we don’t really have a way to cover it right now.” Cortez-Hernandez called attention to the present issue affecting residents in Pentland Hills. “Now that they’ve closed down the Aberdeen-Inverness lot all the Gold parkers that would park there are moving to the Pentland lot.” Cortez-Hernandez calls the lot “the new Lot 30” before asking, “Why are these people paying an extra $200 for the same spaces I could get if I just got a Gold pass?” A core component of TAPS’ decision-making process is the conduction of TAPS Advisory Committee meetings, where students, faculty and administration representatives meet to review policies, prices and plans for the future of transportation and parking on campus. The issue, Cortez-Hernandez says, is that “meetings are

not as frequent as they should be,” citing that the committee is “supposed to meet bi-weekly. How many times have we actually met? I’ve been a part of two meetings this entire year.” With the lack of advisory meetings, Cortez-Hernandez says that when it comes to the pressing issues, “right now it feels like people don’t know, especially on the administrative side.” In correspondence with TAPS’ Transportation Demand Specialist Tara Pueschel, she provides an inside look at TAPS’ view of these issues. Pueschel says that her role “is to promote/educate the campus community on sustainable transportation options … develop promotions and provide transportation resources for students/staff.” Regarding the measures, TAPS is currently taking in account UCR’s increasing student population, she states that a “parking structure is currently in the development stages and we are in process of reviewing firms to plan a design build.” She goes on to say that TAPS is “estimating that the building would cost approx. $30 million to construct and are targeting a late 2020 or early 2021 opening.” The building will be paid for by “the money from the permit increases.” As reported last fall, UCR admitted 33,218 students, a seven percent increase from the previous year and with an increasing number of prospective students many have taken to social media to express their concerns. In an anonymous survey, students reported how parking has influenced their ability to study or make it to class on time: “Campus parking has negatively impeded my experience as a student here at UCR. I have frequently been late to classes when commuting from work and have had to work overtime to pay for my parking pass. If I, as a student, am paying $600 a year for a parking pass, I should at least be able to find a parking spot relatively easily. Instead, I am stuck circling the parking lot for at least 45 minutes, thus causing me to waste precious gas and study time.” Other students report that they “have to show up at least an hour earlier to class to compensate for the lack of parking, which is an hour I could have spent studying,” and “I’m late for class or skip the class in general because I’m too late due to the fact that I was looking for parking for 30+ minutes.” The concern is not exclusive to students, with many faculty members expressing their concerns in a TAPS-organized survey with comments ranging from “TAPS is very obviously a moneymaking scheme with little regard for the needs of

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students,” to “the formulas used for parking utilization are not connected to reality.” Looking at the statistics regarding TAPS’ 2016-2017 fiscal year, the overselling of permits can be quantified in addition to the demand for parking based on each lot. The most common passes on campus, the Gold Commuter passes, are 203 percent oversold, with 6,374 permits for 3,142 spaces. In a survey done by TAPS to determine how full the lots were on average, the Gold permit’s Lot 30 clocked in with an oversell ratio of 2.43 and an average utilization of nearly 90 percent. Gold passes are not the only oversold group, as Blue and Gold Plus permits had been selling with 2,728 permits for 2,576 spaces, with Lot 13 in this grouping being the most oversold at 144 percent. In addition, another 1,865 non-lot specific permits were sold during this same period, increasing the number of vehicles in each lot within the same space limit at different times. The Highlander reviewed a primary source of TAPS’ income – parking citations. In 2018, Plumley told The Highlander that TAPS is “getting no money from anywhere except from parking fees” and “parking fees pay for more than just parking. We just spent close to a million dollars on new roads.” Within the 2015-2017 fiscal years, TAPS issued 26,080 parking citations, valued at more than half a million dollars. Given the duration of each quarter within the 2016-2017 fiscal year alone, TAPS issued more than 90 parking citations each day on average. Another primary source of income is the cost of a parking pass, with Gold Permits which cost

upwards of $350 annually yielding an estimated $2.5 million in revenue and Blue Permits costing $516 annually yielding an estimated $1.4 million. TAPS has advocated for the utilization of alternative transportation instead of driving to campus lots, with Plumley stating last fall that “If you’re no further than a mile, walk, bike, do something, don’t bring your car,” and Pueschel says that “TAPS will continue to subsidize 100 percent of RTA passes to students, staff, and faculty and will further promote transit as the preferred mode of travel to campus.” Pueschel also said that TAPS “will break ground on the new Mobility Hub in spring, 2019 which will provide a new gateway to center of campus. New bus bays will offer better loading/ unloading zones and therefore will be able to increase number of buses coming to campus.” Another prospective resource cited by Pueschel is a “potential pilot carpool program for undergrads which would coincide with the construction of the new parking structure.” With the possibility of a costly large-scale parking garage within the next few years and an ever-expanding student population, transparency has become an issue for the advisory committee’s members. Pueschel assures that TAPS is “gathering data for an annual report that we can distribute to the public on our operations, projects, etc,” and that the auxiliary service wants to “increase transparency so people will know what we are doing with their money.” Cortez-Hernandez affirms that this information on parking “should be public,” with the future of parking dependent upon the H coming projects enacted by the department. ■

NEWS

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

The California “Super Bloom” and increase in wildfire devastation

COURTESY OF FLICKR

JAKEB TIVEY Staff Writer

Richard Minnich, a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at UCR, recently contributed to an LA Times article regarding California’s prospects of a “super bloom” this year given its heavy rainfall. In an interview with the Highlander, Minnich explained the probability that California will have extensive wildflower blooming this year, in addition to addressing the increasing presence of abnormally massive and costly forest fires throughout California. Minnich specializes in fire ecology and biogeography, having previously published a book titled “California’s Fading Wildflowers: an overview of California’s landscape history, fire ecology, and the importance of wildflowers.” He is currently studying vegetation “patch mosaics” within the context of ecological wildfire study. Minnich described a super bloom as “an unusual blooming of wildflowers in the flatlands of Southern California. It

usually occurs in years with unusually heavy rainfall or spread out rainfall well into the spring. In the modern era it also happens when you have a combination of heavy rainfall with the collapse of invasive European grasses.” The European grasses in question, Minnich specified, are typically bromas and oats introduced to California from San Francisco porting ships in the 19th century. Tying the vegetation to the region, Minnich explained that “we have grasses that cover the hills here around Riverside and these are all European grasses aren’t native. They suppress the wildflower bulbs to a point to where the seed doesn’t even germinate.” When it comes to warding off the invasive grasses, Minnich stated the “drought is on our side,” as the dry weather allows the dormant wildflower seeds to grow even when the European grass cannot. Minnich detailed that “just a high rainfall is not a good predictor of flower breakout. The reason I feel this year is going to be a good year is because not only has it been raining a lot but we had a strong drought last year to crash the

(European) grasses.” This optimistic take on the blooming is not without a disclaimer, however, as he went on to say that “last winter was very dry, it only rained 30-40 percent of normal and the grass barely grew on the hills that whole year. I want to emphasize that we’ve had years where we’ve had a lot of rain and everybody predicted these superblooms but no grasses came up anywhere.” Another aspect of Minnich’s expertise pertains to elevated wildfire severity in recent years, which he illustrated as only getting worse with efforts to prevent it altogether: “We did not [use to] have mega fires. We had smaller burns that self-regulated and self-organized … the more fires you had the less fires you got, what a paradox.” Minnich claims that in California’s past, fires were much smaller and easier to manage before modern methods. Minnich states that “suppression does this; it puts out all the fires as soon as possible at the ignition phase, and … it reduces the number of fires that actually put patches on the landscape” which he warns will subsequently “restrict fires to more extreme

weather than by chance.” His historical research supports his claims, reaffirming that “we didn’t have 300,000 acre fires (back) then. We had at maximum 10,000 acres and more commonly 5,000 acres or less. One watershed burned in this winter, one watershed by that one – but not a whole mountain range.” Minnich says that current fire containment measures are “a management that is in fact impossible. You cannot put fires out. It’s like saying we’re going to stop all hurricanes and floods. It’s an earth surface process that has been going on on this planet for nearly half a billion years and is never going to stop.” Minnich advises that we carefully monitor California wildfires, not prevent them completely, such that we can allow the natural cycle to keep them in check. He invites others to “play word substitution: ‘Only you can prevent hurricanes, or earthquakes!’ Nobody would reason that way, yet somehow we can just stop fires? It’s another earth-surface process … is it the snowflake that causes the avalanche?” ■H

NEWS IN BRIEF:

UCR Graduate School of Education offers “debt-free” special education degrees

MARK BERTUMEN Senior Staff Writer

Program created to address special education shortage in California

The Graduate School of Education (GSOE) created the Special Education Scholars Program (SESP) last January in the efforts to address shortages of special education teachers in the Inland Empire. According to the California Department of Education upwards of 770,000 people up to 22 years of age were given “special education services” from 2017 to 2018, the majority of which were diagnosed with a “specific learning disability,” about 297,000. Speech and language impairments were the second most common disability at around 161,000, and autism stood third at over 112,000 individuals. To address the growing necessity of special education (SE) teachers, UCR was awarded a grant from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC). $50 million worth of funding were supplied by the 20182019 state budget for the “recruitment, preparation, and support of new special education teachers,” which has contributed to CCTC’s “Local Solutions grant program” according to the

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CCTC website. According to UCR News, “the Riverside County Office of Education joined forces in 2018 with the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools” and applied for the grant at the time, directing the funds to UCR “to ensure newly trained special

education teachers enter the field with the kind of preparation and ongoing guidance” that they will need to succeed. The program will allow 15 students at maximum to participate, each of which will receive a $5,000 scholarship and a “$20,000 Service Award”

to pay off tuition and other fees. The latter will be granted to scholars after specified requirements are met: they must earn both a master’s degree in SE and an Education Specialist Credential; and the Scholar must work as an SE teacher for four years in either the San

Bernardino or Riverside County. SESP applicants will begin the program in the Fall 2019 quarter. More information on the program can be found online, as well as an RSVP link for a webinar info session Monday, Feb. 25. The deadline to apply for the program is Mar. 22, 2019. ■H

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/news

Highlander Abroad Referendum aims to make study abroad more accessible to students

COURTESY OF PIXABAY

CAMERON SADEGHI Contributing Writer

On Wed., Jan. 16 ASUCR advanced the Highlander Abroad Referendum, which will be placed on the ASUCR election ballot and voted on between April 22-26, 2019. The Highlander Abroad Referendum aims to provide more resources to students studying abroad through a $2 student fee with 50 cents going back to financial aid. According to ASUCR President Semi Cole, funding for the referendum will come solely from student fees. In an interview with the Highlander, Cole stated that a committee of students and staff will decide on how the funding will work. “It’s based on the shared governance model where we have multiple stakeholders at the table when important decisions are made,” stated Cole. He added that they plan on introducing that model into the Education Abroad Office and giving students and faculty the “au-

tonomy to really help students and give them the opportunity to seek out these experiences.” The committee will be held accountable through checks by the chief compliance officer, the chief campus counsel and the vice provost of International Affairs according to Cole. “They’re basically going to be the ones verifying their bylaws to ensure that they have transparency, to ensure that the board itself is up to code,” he stated. In an interview with the Highlander, Assistant Director and Academic Integration Liaison of the Education Abroad Office LaSharon McLean Perez stated that the education abroad program sends about one percent of students abroad every year. Perez added, “Yearly, we lose about one-third of our students because of needing additional assistance to help them get over the hump to go abroad.” Perez was a former UCR student and has worked for the education abroad office for 12 years. According to the Education

Abroad website, Perez studied abroad in Italy during her time as a student. In an interview with the Highlander, the Director of Education Abroad Karolyn Mace Andrews drew attention to the fact that about 15 percent of UCLA and UC Berkeley students study abroad while only one percent do so at UCR. Along with students facing financial struggles, one student encountered bureaucratic problems after studying abroad. Global Opportunities Abroad Leader Camille Hovsepian noted her difficulty with transferring grades: “It takes three to six months, but it took a lot longer for me. It kinda messed up my financial aid. I was only abroad for fall quarter, but I was back for winter and spring last year. They didn’t think I was a student for winter. When I applied for classes in the spring, they dropped me from all my classes and said you didn’t pay your fees on time. It was a mess.” Despite the student fees, Vice Provost for International Affairs Kelechi

Kalu does not believe the referendum provides enough student aid. “No, it is not going to be enough. My understanding is this referendum will enable students to get help for travel, help with passports; however, it does not take care of the students’ tuition or other costs that they are likely to incur. Anything you can put in the pot is always a help. No, it is not enough.” Three years ago, the initial referendum did not pass. Cole believes this revamped referendum will pass stating, “If students believe in this referendum, it will pass. If not, it won’t pass. I think that is also fine; giving students the actual choice to believe in something and vote for and support it. This is the kind of thing that has had sufficient student backing for years. I think it will pass.” The referendum will be passed if at least 20 percent of the student population votes, and a majority are in favor, in April. The Education Abroad office is located at 321 Surge Building. ■H

Costo Hall referendum seeks to secure future funding for ethnic and gender programs

LUKAS MASSEY Contributing Writer

UCR campus elections are approaching in the spring quarter, and one of the referenda up for election this spring will be the Highlander Empowerment Student Services Referendum (HESSR). This referendum was initially passed in 2015 when it provided $2 of student fees to the various ethnic and gender student programs in Costo Hall. Costo Hall houses programs like the African Student Programs, Chicano Student Programs and the Women’s Resource Center, to name a few. With there being seven programs funded, the funding from student tuition totals $14 per student. This new referendum attempting to make that $16 per student by adding $2 of funding to the Undocumented Students Program, which currently is not funded by the 2015 HESSR as it didn’t yet exist. If this referendum passes, it would also eliminate the “sunset clause” from the original HESSR, which will end the funding of these ethnic and gender student programs in 2020 if unchanged. Joaquin Malta, the chairman of the Referendum Student Advisory Committee (RSAC), presented this referendum on Jan. 16 at an ASUCR meeting. When asked why Costo Hall

needs this increase in funding, he had the following to say: “Costo Hall is a center on campus that is underfunded to begin with, and due to UCR’s claim to be among the most diverse campuses, funding the ethnic and gender programs would help the departments continue to coordinate and host the amazing events that they do.” He also emphasized that it helps students by providing resources such as free printing, blue books, scantrons, clickers, free food at events and more.” He mentioned a potential for increasing space at these student programs in order to include more people. Malta had a hopeful outlook when asked if he believes that the HESSR has a high chance of passing, stating, “I do believe that this referendum has a strong shot at passing.” Any referendum can pass with a majority in “yes” votes from students given that 20 percent of the student body votes for it. Malta added, “providing funds to the ethnic and gender programs is vital to helping the departments continue to help students get through college. Not only do they provide academic support in the ways that I mentioned previously, but they also provide a space on campus where UCR’s diversity is empowered.” For students interested in voting on any referenda, ASUCR elections will be held from April 22-26. ■H

ISURU KARUNATILLAKA / HIGHLANDER

Opinions

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OPINIONS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL

The candidate pool for 2020 shows just how unpredictable the next presidential election will be

hough the 2020 presidential election is not happening in the immediate future, there has been a recent surge in announcements pertaining to the event. Whether it’s exploratory committees or official declarations to run for president, there is a stunning amount of Democrats scrambling to get their name out for the primaries. Despite the fact that the American public is faced with a wide array of Democrats to choose from, there are a few notable favorites amongst the party already. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Senator Kamala Harris of California have definitely gained the most traction so far. Since Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are leading on a CNN/ SSRS poll but haven’t officially declared candidacy (though Sanders is speculated to launch an exploratory committee soon), the runner-ups on the polls are Harris and Warren as names that people are “very likely to support for 2020.” With many left-leaning figures bracing themselves in an attempt to unseat President Donald Trump, the biggest hurdle the Democratic Party faces right now is their lack of a clear frontrunner, despite having a disproportionate ratio of candidates compared to their counterparty. The inability of the Democratic Party to produce a strong candidate combined with the deafening silence from Republican challengers only further indicates an unpredictable election come 2020. At the same time, the Democratic Party faces the possibility of not winning the White House if the highest polling Democrats are not even officially running. This leads us to Harris and Warren. Both candidates advertise themselves

JUSTUS ROSS / HIGHLANDER

as bold progressives, yet have drawn criticism for their views and statements in the recent past. As Attorney General of California (AG), Harris caught backlash for her strong stance on incarceration at a time when public attention was being shifted towards the issue of police brutality. Though she gained support for requiring body cameras for police agents under her office, Harris didn’t support a bill that would have required attorney generals to investigate police shootings. In addition to these contradictory actions, her office didn’t follow orders to “promptly” release nonviolent prisoners due to issues of overcrowding. Her office’s defense was that reducing the prison population would hurt California’s ability to fight wildfires by shrinking the pool of forced labor. Harris, however, seemed to dodge criticism for this by maintaining she was unaware of the comments her office made in terms of backing up their lackluster decarceration efforts. Still, there are other ballot initiatives that would have given Harris the opportunity to show the public her stance on criminal justice; instead, she refused to take positions on progressive policies aimed at reducing prison populations. Trying to campaign towards the left in spite of her past actions may become a reason to give Democratic voters pause when deciding who wins the primaries. However, there are still policies she endorses that line up well with the party’s platform, such as Medicare-for-all and tax cuts for the middle class, and her Twitter following of 2.3 million and counting will undoubtedly give her the platform needed to appeal to younger audiences. Perhaps the way she’s evolved on certain issues coupled with her commanding presence on social media will be able to propel her

forward in the race, despite a few hiccups she may face when asked to address her days as attorney general. Warren follows Harris closely in the polls and has drawn widespread support among her party, but she, and many other Democratic candidates, tend to have an issue in terms of appealing to voters outside of their target demographic. Harris seems to be an outlier given that she has a more centrist background, but since she is trying to appear more progressive, many are upset at her inconsistency in policy. However, Warren, like many of her competitors, have advertised similar policies: taxing the extremely wealthy, Medicare-for-all and trying to curb climate change. The most pressing issue in publicizing such similar, left-leaning messages is the inattention to swing states, many of which cost Hillary Clinton the 2016 election. Given the overwhelming amount of Republican votes from the 2016 electoral college, trying to set more moderate and varied agendas that can capture the attention from both sides of the ideological aisle seems to be a balancing act Democrats must perform. Additionally, what seems to be plaguing Warren’s campaigning efforts is the notorious DNA test she took in attempts to quell Trump’s questioning of her alleged Native American heritage. Instead, doing so only led to outrage from the Native American community and further mockery from conservatives. Taking a closer look at the more popular Democratic candidates goes to show that the main problem with the Democrats is that many may be too far left for swing states, and the candidate who presents a more moderate approach is being scrutinized for not having a firmer stance on progressive issues. And, with so

many names to choose from, the ones who haven’t been able to make as big of a media impact as Warren and Harris will find themselves in a struggle to get their name out to voters. While up until this point there has been one possible competitor from the GOP against Trump, it’s still far too early to think about how the Republican primaries will play out. Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld has launched a presidential exploratory committee and has openly voiced opposition to Trump and his “compulsive” behavior. Formerly identified as Republican, then Libertarian, then Republican again, Weld’s stances so far have tended to run more center-right. Though he indirectly took a jab at the shifting nature of the Democratic Party by stating “we need the opposite of socialism,” he still has proclaimed the need to focus on more liberal issues such as preventing climate change. Given the way key issues have become overly politicized in today’s environment, such as abortion, immigration and climate change, it’s unsure how well Weld’s agenda will sit with members of his own party. Since the sitting president is from the Republican Party, however, Trump faces the incumbency advantage: a phenomenon in which presidents are usually voted into a second consecutive term. Yet at the same time, with a president who has faced record lows in approval ratings for their first term, it’s disappointing and frustrating to see a display of inaction from the Republican Party in terms of challengers. Despite the fact that there has even been an anonymous letter written and published about being part of the “resistance” within the Trump administration, it’s astounding to see the lack of effort from the GOP as they have yet to even

declare an official contender to take on Trump. In addition to the supposed opposition coalition within Trump’s own inner circle, we’re starting to witness an erosion in Trump’s base. This has only been spurred on by the recent national emergency declaration that was made in order to get the border wall constructed. Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, as well as about a dozen other Republican Senators, expressed concerns about the actions Trump has taken in order to get his campaign promise fulfilled. As the presidential race for 2020 kicks off, there’s already a pool of candidates that are breaking boundaries and ready to challenge Trump. But having gotten to a point of increased partisanship, there’s no telling which way the presidential pendulum will swing towards. A Democrat could be the underdog that snatches the electoral college, especially given the record-breaking midterm elections that gave the Democrats House majority. Yet at the same time, Trump has received funding for the wall, which posed as his signature campaign headliner. Although there’s an overwhelming amount of declared candidacies, Democrats might need to add a stronger candidate to the mix. And while Republicans might have the upper hand with the White House already in their grip, their facade of appearing as a unified party is crumbling fast and time is running out for a stronger Republican candidate to enter the race. What’s certain for now is H this: 2020 is anybody’s game. ■ 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.

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/opinions

OPINION POLL Compiled by Lydia Tsou Staff Photographer

“Is there a candidate running in 2020 that you support?”

Karina Rowe Electrical Engineering Fourth-year “Yes, I will most likely vote for Bernie Sanders.”

Emmanuel Chavez Biology Third-year “So far, no. There are a few I like, but I don’t have a favorite one yet.”

Emelie Jones Global Studies First Year “Just not Trump.”

Ethan Varela Biology Second-year “I’ll likely be voting for Elizabeth Warren.”

Zeinab Haider Psychology First-year “Yes, I would vote for Bernie Sanders.”

Javier Fernandez Political Science Third-year “If Beto O’Rourke runs, I would vote for him.”

Contrition and honesty are the best choice when confronting a painful, racist past

SAMIR AL-ALAMI Contributing Writer

In the past few weeks, the Commonwealth of Virginia has been ravaged by another racial controversy. On Feb. 1, 2019, a yearbook from Governor Ralph Northam was released to the mainstream media. This yearbook photo originated from a right-wing news outlet, which revealed the governor, then a medical student, wearing what appeared to be blackface. Only a few days later, another Virginian public official, Attorney General Mark Herring, declared that he too had dressed in blackface in his college days. Further adding insult to injury is the fact that this series of events occurred during Black History Month. Regardless of what time period they wore it in, blackface will always be offensive and rooted in bigotry. Because of the way by which the attorney general and the governor handled similar scandals in divergent ways, it is imperative that Northam should resign from political office, while Herring should remain in political office. Calling on Northam to resign while keeping Herring is meant to set the example of how we should reward a politician for showing genuine remorse for past failings, and punish those who seem unrepentant. Comparing the two situations may seem similar at first, until, of course, we note the specific circumstances that make Northam’s case too difficult, politically and

morally, to swallow. The first thing to note about this scandal is that at first, within a few short hours of the scandal breaking the news, Northam identified himself as the one who wore blackface in that yearbook photo, and ended up apologizing. While many had reserved comments demanding his resignation at first, he then decided to hold a bizarre press conference the next morning, with his wife by his side. There, he backtracked and stated that he was not in the photo, and in an apparent contradiction, claimed that he wore blackface in a 1984 cosplay of Michael Jackson. When asked to show his impression, Northam was prepared to do the Moonwalk, before being told not to by his wife. That performance was a direct contradiction to his own apology, and not only did this come across to the American people as a blatant display of racism, but more importantly showed his inability to apologize for his actions. Perhaps most importantly, this scenario showed his inability to have empathy with the communities that got him there: predominantly black voters. On the other hand, the situation with Herring is much simpler than Northam’s case. Herring admitted that he had in fact used blackface once before at a college party in 1980, and expressed deep regret and remorse for doing so. The willingness to be proactive and to come forward about such a thing is starkly different than that of what the governor did. To elaborate on this further, being a public servant means that when a majority of the public loses trust in

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your leadership, this calls into question your right to hold that power. In comparing both cases to an audience, it is very clear which of the two needs to go. In no way is pushing for removal of the governor whilst retaining the attorney general an endorsement of racism; by doing so, however, we reward one who has shown a clear acceptance of responsibility and attempted to regain trust, while the other shows no real ability to do so and is checkered with credibility issues. Most important in this matter is that the state is clearly split on the issue, with a nearly equal amount of people opposed as well as not opposed to keeping the governor in place.

By resigning, Northam would be showcasing a real willingness to allow the Commonwealth to heal, and to be able to put this controversy behind them. In addition, it would allow someone more mature, and more willing to admit to mistakes, like Herring, to be in office as the next governor. What is most important in a public official is to not just allow oneself to be open to being transparent of past failings, but making a concerted effort to regain the trust that would be damaged by scandal. Only one of these two individuals clearly has shown that leadership, and no amount of books, TV interviews or goodwill will quell the justifiable anger people feel towards Northam. ■H

With a chance to show genuine remorse, Ariana Grande plays victim instead DAVINA GARCIA Contributing Writer

Always somewhere in the the public eye, pop singer Ariana Grande has recently found herself once more in its center after displaying a photo of her latest tattoo online. Written in Japanese, the tattoo was meant to pay homage to her most recent single, “7 Rings;” however, according to her many followers who are fluent in Japanese, the characters inscribed onto the palm of her hand actually translated to “shichirin”, or “small charcoal grill”. Even after an attempt to correct the error, it now roughly reads as “small charcoal grill finger.” This unfortunate blunder has sparked much controversy on the internet, with many mocking Grande and others accusing her of cultural appropriation. In the thick of all this upheaval, Grande has fought back, taking to Twitter in order to defend her own name. However, her entire response to this issue has been rather childish, as she evades a true apology, choosing instead to victimize herself – showcasing her privilege and a disappointing lack of empathy. Cultural appropriation is undoubtedly a volatile subject nowadays. Everyone always has their own idea of what that phrase entails, but in general, it is defined as “the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect it.” This is supposed to differ from

the other ill-defined term, cultural appreciation, which refers to the acceptable use of another culture due to the honoring of its source. Some argued that the tattoo mishap and her self-proclaimed lack of Japanese language ability coupled with her seemingly random usage of these characters in her latest music video, promotion photos and merchandise constitute an act of appropriation. The accusations are not without reason, in that Grande is undeniably picking and choosing certain features native to Japanese culture in order to fit her aesthetic purposes, like the “kawaii” qualities of “7 Rings” or the arbitrary use of the written characters. And despite her purportedly earnest wish to learn the Japanese language, it is clear that she still has a true lack of knowledge when it comes to kanji, a fundamental part of it – thus making her self-proclaimed interest seem incredibly shallow. The situation becomes even worse when one considers her past actions concerning other Asian-interest topics such as the Kris Wu debacle. A prominent Asian actor, singer and songwriter in China, Wu released his debut solo album and subsequently, its traction overtook that of Grande’s hit single “thank u, next.” Despite the lack of solid evidence, fans of Grande were outraged, declaring him guilty of cheating and making use of bots in order to boost his music’s popularity. In turn, Ariana Grande did nothing to curb her dedicated fans’ xenophobia-tinged

disparagement of Wu, even taking it upon herself to like one of their tweets, thereby encouraging their contentious behaviour. Of course, Grande did not appreciate any such accusations being levied against her, and replied with a now-deleted series of tweets about her intentions being pure, declaring a genuine appreciation for the Japanese culture. Perhaps this would have been a bit more admissible if she had simply stopped there, but she pertinaciously continued, making statements that were plain attempts to garner pity from others. In a response to someone’s expression of disappointment for the reputed cultural appropriation, Grande tweeted “imma stop taking (Japanese) lessons too. it’s literally just something that brings me joy and that i’m passionate about. i legit wanted to move there one day. but all good. have a good one.” This is only a singular example, but all of her other tweets regarding the whole ordeal retained the same air of martyrdom. She even went as far as to mention her “crippling anxiety,” somewhat ironically claiming that no one ever actually considers feelings other than their own. This is the crux of the problem with Ariana Grande. Rather than admit that she may be at some sort of fault and simply apologizing, she decides to be sullen and paint herself as the victim, showcasing behavior that is reminiscent of a child’s: refusing to hold herself accountable and understand the criticism that is surround-

ing her. She claims that her fans from Japan always loved it when she showed interest in their language and customs, but in saying so, she is erasing the multitude who evidently do find some wrong in it, while simultaneously failing to recognize that simply expressing gratitude in their native tongue does not equate to taking certain aspects and using it for aesthetic purposes and profitable means. So while claiming a real love of Japanese culture is perfectly fine, the words become markedly empty when accompanied by clear petulance and an unwillingness to comprehend. Matters are worsened by many of her hardcore fans and their tireless devotion. As such, they encourage her, and excuse any and all potentially problematic behaviour solely because she is their favorite artist, buying into her victim gimmick; shortly after she deleted her Twitter tirade, she was seen liking some of her fans’ defensive tweets. Although it is unfortunate that she is the target of ridicule or censure, Ariana Grande has chosen to deal with it quite gracelessly. Instead of issuing a straightforward apology, or even admitting to culpability, she has captiously clung to the notion that she has been the one wronged. This displays a remarkable inability to look past herself in spite of the fact that this issue is, and should be, much larger than her own feelings. ■H

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OPINIONS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Letter to the Editor: ESTHER CHOI Contributing Writer

Students should consider studying abroad in Singapore

Research finds that about less than six percent of American students go to Singapore to study abroad. There are a lot of factors that students take into consideration when choosing a country to study abroad in, but I would say there are several key pointers that students should pay more attention to when thinking about possible options. For students who are undecided about location but want to prioritize cost-efficiency, safety and the quality of education programs, I strongly urge you to consider Singapore. Singapore is listed as one of the safest and cleanest countries in the world and the universities in Singapore are some of the best in Asia and in the world. Also important to a college student is affordability, which won’t be a problem living in Singapore given the overall low cost of items. Singapore is known to be environmentally friendly and a safe destination for people to live in and travel to, given the strict laws that help maintain low crime rates and the wellness of the environment. Singapore is ranked as the sixth safest country worldwide, with the top crimes being forms of nonviolent theft. A very impressive feat is how Singapore has kept this extremely low crime rate for 30 years. This level of crime is nothing compared to what we have here in the U.S. Compared to 2014, in 2016 the crime rates in U.S. increased by 6.8 percent and murder rate increased by 20.4 percent. In addition to this comparison, there was an experiment done in Singapore to test

its levels of security. An individual who conducted the experiment set down his valuable belongings, such as a laptop, cell phone and wallet, at a table and left the area. When the individual finally returned after two minutes, his belongings were still there. This experiment serves as a strong example into how secure Singapore really is. Despite the fact that Singapore still has bouts of petty crime, store owners in Singapore typically don’t implement forms of security around their store because they are confident that nothing will be stolen. Achieving something like this would be impossible in U.S. because if store owners don’t lock up their store properly, they probably face a higher chance of being robbed. The universities in Singapore are recognized globally by various institutions and are known to provide students with high quality education. Some of the universities in Singapore are listed in the top five best universities in Asia for their high quality of education. Singapore has two of the most qualified and recognized universities: the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University. The National University of Singapore is placed among the world’s 10 best universities for 11 different subjects. The Nanyang Technological University is ranked one of the top universities in the world for having the greatest citations in artificial intelligence, and they have connections with a lot of prominent companies such as Rolls-Royce and BMW. Therefore, students interested in subjects ranging from humanities to the sciences will definitely find their niche in

the educational programs Singapore has to offer. The quality and cost of living in Singapore is also worth taking note of. Singapore is known to be one of the most expensive cities to live in in the world, but if you look closely at individual prices of goods, this is not always the case. Although rent prices are high, nearly everything else is fairly well priced. Most college students studying abroad in Singapore will probably live in on-campus housing, but there still may be a limited amount of spaces. In such a case, many students opt to stay at an apartment. In addition to the cost of everyday items, such as food and hygienic products, being fairly cheap compared to the U.S., the transportation system built in Singapore is much more efficient and less

COMICS

TALL TAIL # 30 BY: JUSTUS ROSS

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costly compared to the U.S. Therefore, although, there are some costs of living in Singapore, such as a high rent cost, they don’t outweigh the benefits. It also really all comes down to how one budgets. Overall, students should give Singapore a chance for a thriving travel experience. Although Singapore is not a popular option to study abroad in, traveling there would check off many of the main criteria students are looking for when thinking about prospective destinations to study in. Going to Singapore will allow students to live in a secure atmosphere, experience a different, yet still strong, quality of education and the cost of living isn’t as scary as a lot of people think. Living in such a vibrant community with other foreign students H would be something to look forward to. ■

Be brave.

The Highlander Newspaper is a great way to keep up with current events and news around campus. If you are interested in the newspaperâ€™s articles or pictures, we offer opportunities in writing, photography and design. Join us every Monday at 5:15 p.m. in HUB 101 to learn more.

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FEATURES

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

42nd

Writers Week continues with a strong poetry lineup and a n n u a l thought-provoking novelists

From Feb. 11-15, UCR’s Department of Creative Writing and the LA Review of Books welcomed award-winning writers from a variety of genres to read their latest work in INTS 1128. Among the writers featured are UCR faculty members and alumni who recently debuted their work.

Trisha Thomas CHRISTINE TRAN Contributing Writer

Trisha Thomas is the award-winning author of “Nappily Ever After,” a book that follows the life of an AfricanAmerican woman named Venus Johnson who strives for the perfect life, which includes weekly visits to the salon to keep her hair long and straight. When faced with a crisis that forces her to reexamine her life, Venus’ decision to embrace her natural hair leads her on a liberating journey. “Nappily Ever After,” was a finalist for the 32nd National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction. Her work has been awarded Best New Fiction by the Black Writer’s Alliance and the Literary Lion award. Since her debut novel in 2000, Thomas has written nine more novels in the Venus Johnson series. “Nappily Ever After” was optioned by Universal Pictures and eventually

adapted into a Netflix Original film that was released Sept. 21, 2018. Thomas decided to read from her most recent novel in the Nappily series, “Postcards from Venus.” “I want my readers to start from the first book, but also I have grown so much as a writer and Venus as a character,” said Thomas. She explained that her characters’ growth mirrors her own as a writer. During the Q&A session, a student asked how Thomas chose what to write about and how to stay interested in a story. Thomas explained how important it is to believe in one’s writing and to find the genre that fits the best. “I went to a writer’s conference where the speaker said ‘it’s not complicated, just write what you know.’ I thought, I know my hair, it’s the thing in my life. So I went home that day and created Venus Johnson, who was fighting with her hair because it dictated her life,” said Thomas. Thomas lives and writes in Riverside.

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Anthonia Kalu CHRISTINE TRAN Contributing Writer

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Katie Ford MARTHA DELGADO Senior Staff Writer

Katie Ford, award-winning author of “Deposition,” “Colosseum” and “Blood Lyric,” is a creative writing professor at UCR. Her recent poetry collection “If You Have to Go” was published by Graywolf Press. Her collection “Blood Lyric” was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Rilke Prize. Her collection “Colosseum” was listed in Publisher’s Weekly “Best Books of 2008,” received a 2009 Larry Levis Prize and 2018 Lannan Literary Fellowship for Poetry. Ford’s recent poetry collection is led by a sequence of sonnets. For her reading, she read a couple of the

Anthonia Kalu is a professor in the Department of Comparative Literature and Foreign Languages at UCR, with a focus on African literature. As a fiction writer she has co-edited “Reflections: An Anthology of New Works by African Women Poets” and “Chinua Achebe: A Tribute.” Kalu read from her debut novel, “Broken Lives and Other Stories,” a collection that examines the lives of women and children during the NigeriaBiafra war. The stories in her novel are based on Kalu’s childhood in Nigeria, drawing on her own experiences to provide a personal, intimate

sonnets with no interruption between the pieces. Ford’s poems in the collection also incorporate a crown of sonnets, in which the last line of a sonnet forms the beginning of the next. In the subsequent Q&A, Ford described “If You Have to Go” as an exploration of loneliness, especially after the end of a marriage. Ford explained that her writing process involves not writing for periods of time to prepare for the next poems. “I know poets who say when they’re walking around they’re writing poems,” began Ford, “but they don’t mean (they’re) thinking of lines. They just mean the whole act of living is towards the next poem, whether you know it or not.” In accordance with her practice, Ford is not writing in preparation for her next poetry project. ■H

perspective of the war. A student asked in the Q&A section how Kalu makes the transition between fiction and the autobiographical aspects of her writing. Kalu explained that drawing on her experiences influenced her writing, including the stories she was told growing up. By synthesizing this storytelling tradition with personal anecdotes, Kalu has shaped her own perspective and style. “I find myself constantly learning more history as well, especially when I write about things I think I know, I reach the middle and I have to do a dialogue, but what do the people say? The way fiction works is that it has to be fictional but it shouldn’t be untrue. So I have to go look for the information and whatever it is I am writing has to wait,” said Kalu.

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FEATURES

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

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Michael Nava MARTHA DELGADO Senior Staff Writer

On Wednesday, Writers Week featured acclaimed Mexican-American novelist and six-time Lambda Award winner Michael Nava on campus for Writers Week. Nava is best known for his series of noir mystery novels focusing on the openly gay criminal defense attorney, Henry Rios. His work on the Henry Rios series has gained significant praise from the Latino and LGBT communities. After an introduction on Nava’s legal background in the judicial system and his literary work, Nava read a passage from his reimagined first novel, “Lay Your Sleeping Head,” which follows Rios as he investigates and searches for his lover’s killer. Following the reading, Nava took questions from the audience. After answering questions on his literary experience, Nava asked whether anyone was a writer.

With more than half of the audience’s hands going up Nava began a discussion and offered advice to aspiring authors.. Nava offered his insights on writing interesting characters, researching, the writing process and other aspects of creating an engaging story. He also spoke about his protagonist’s identity as an openly gay outsider, which embodies the trope of noir protagonists as complex figures on the fringes of society. Nava pointed to authors Walter Mosley and Sara Paretsky, who used the genre to represent outsiders of society in their novels. Following the event, audience members lined up to buy Nava’s book, “Lay Your Sleeping Head,” and came up to Nava for questions. Recently, Nava is working on a 17-episode podcast adapted from his first Henry Rios novel, “Lay Your Sleeping Head.” The fifth episode is currently available on his website michaelnavawriter.com.

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Sara Borjas

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MARTHA DELGADO Senior Staff Writer

Sara Borjas is a lecturer at UCR in the Department of Creative Writing. She received

her bachelor ’s degree in English Literature from Fresno State and her master of fine arts from UCR. Borjas is a 2017 CantoMundo Fellow, a 2016 Postgraduate Writers Conference Fellow at Vermont College of Fine Arts, a recipient of 2014 Blue Mesa Poetry Prize, a 2013 Community of Writers Workshop at Squaw Valley Fellow and a runner-up for the 2010 Larry Levis Undergraduate Memorial Prize. Borjas has also been a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee. Borjas read some poems from her collection and discussed their background as well as her background as a fourth-generation Chicana poet. One of the poems she read, “Mexican Bingo” talked about being shamed for not speaking Spanish, especially when her family would play Loteria. During her childhood, Borjas and her young relatives would not be allowed to play Loteria with the adults unless they spoke

Spanish or called the Loteria cards aloud. Borjas’ exploration of themes of immigrant identity are prevalent in her works. In another poem that Borjas read, “Pocha Cafe,” she detailed a fake cafe for pochas, a term that Borjas described as being used by Mexicans to refer to Mexican-Americans who lost or forgot their heritage. Borjas was first called a pocha during her first job waitressing at a Denny’s, where a friend of hers would use the term to deride Borjas’ separation from her family’s culture. Borjas did not find out about the term’s meaning until years later. “I never felt bad before to be called a pocha because I didn’t know what it meant,” she explained. “I don’t feel bad now. I’m just going to reclaim that.” Borjas’s debut poetry collection “Heart Like a Window, Mouth Like a Cliff” published by Noemi Press, will be released in March 2019.

Angel Garcia MARTHA DELGADO Senior Staff Writer

Angel Garcia is the award-winning author of the poetry collection “Teeth Never Sleep” published by the University of Arkansas Press and winner of the 2018 CantoMundo Poetry Prize. In addition, Garcia has received fellowships from CantoMundo, the Community of Writers-Squaw Valley and Vermont Studio Center. He co-founded the nonprofit organization, Gente Organizada, which aims “to educate, empower, and engage communities through grassroots organizing.” Garcia received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Redlands, a master of fine arts from UCR and is currently working on his dissertation as an English doctoral student at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Garcia read some poems from his collection to the audience that filled up the room. During the reading, Garcia joked that he did not have any poems in the collection that were not sad. Garcia also shared how his mother taught him how to be independent so as to never depend on a woman. In his poem, “Ablutions,” he explores this lesson through the experience of learning from his parents how to clean the house. In his work, Garcia addressed the issue of toxic masculinity and his intention to make social change through small gestures that would impact the lives of the men around him. “It’s very easy to say I’m not that person, and you might not be, but other men are,” Garcia explained. “How do we hold them accountable? For me, being a good person is a lifetime (of) work, and I’m trying to put in overtime.” ■H

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

club spotlight

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Kendo Club at UCR

UCR has a long tradition of clubs dedicated to the study of traditional martial arts. Among these is Kendo Club, first founded in 2006 to introduce the martial art of kendo to UCR, as well as promote the spirit of mutual respect and camaraderie through the practice of kendo. Kendo is a Japanese form of fencing with two-handed bamboo sword, which was originally developed as a safe form of sword training for samurai. On Sunday, Jan. 20 the club’s competition team participated in a tournament hosted by the Southern California Kendo Federation. Kendo Club at UCR competed against other universities in Southern California, including UC Irvine, USC, Cal Poly Pomona and UC San Diego, but the majority of competitors came from local dojos. Kendo Club at UCR allows any member, student or not, to compete as long as they can pass a test to prove their familiarity with the fundamentals of kendo, and enough prowess to spar with full armor in a tournament setting. This tournament, hosted by the

Jonathan Fernandez, Senior staff WRITER

Southern California Kendo Federation, featured multiple divisions but the one in which 10 of Kendo Club at UCR’s members competed in was a 64-person bracket. Kendo Club at UCR also had one member compete in a higher division, but he was knocked out by the eventual champion. Because UCR had so many competitors competing in the same bracket, they inevitably had to compete amongst each other, including in the semifinal match in which fourth-year club President Andrew Gruhn faced off and won against Vice President Reid Watanabe. “We’ve sparred each other a lot in the past,” Gruhn said. “We started the exact same time so we sort of knew what the other person was going to do. It was a little less intense than the other matches.” Gruhn ended up winning second place in the tournament with Watanabe winning third. Gruhn was very “glad (to earn second place) because we don’t

have a sensei to teach us. UCR’s kendo club is unique because it’s all studentled.” In addition to winning second and third in their division, one of Kendo Club at UCR’s first-year members, Noah Kim, impressed judges enough during his matches to earn a commendation for demonstrating fighting spirit. “I was a little surprised at first,” Kim said. “I got out in my third match, but my first couple matches were good. I definitely think there’s room for improvement, but it’s nice to have that backing that people are noticing. It’s kind of like a ‘keep at it’.” Kim is one of the more experienced members of Kendo Club at UCR despite being in his first year of college. Kim started practicing Kendo in middle school after a short stint playing baseball. “I didn’t really want to continue it, I had my run,” Kim explained. “I wanted to try something new. I just happened to stumble across Kendo and there was a dojo nearby and I’ve been doing it since then.”

According to Gruhn, Kim has been practicing Kendo for almost six years now. Gruhn on the other hand didn’t start practicing Kendo until his arrival at UCR. “I didn’t have a sport or anything and it just seemed like something that was really interesting so I decided to join the club here and I stuck with it for four years,” the fourth-year said. Both Gruhn and Kim agreed that the club’s participation in the tournament was a good thing for them going forward, especially in context with what they have coming up. Gruhn mentioned this specifically when discussing what this tournament meant for the club going forward, saying, “It was really good practice for the next tournaments that we’re doing.” The Kendo Club at UCR will have two more tournaments this year at UCLA, where they won gold last year, and at Harvard. Kim said the tournament was good for those who have never competed, saying, “It’s good experience for us, especially some of the new people who came and other first-years who haven’t had experience got to come and just watch and just be in the environment there. It’s a lot different than practice.” Kendo Club practices at the Student Recreation Center Multipurpose Room D on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8-10 p.m. ■H

RADAR

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

“Isn’t it Romantic” is a cynical yet hilarious reimagining of the romantic comedy

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SILVIA FERRER Staff Writer

“Isn’t it Romantic” features cynical, fiercely independent Natalie (Rebel Wilson), as she is transported from her harsh New York City reality into a rose-colored alternate world as she wakes up in her worst nightmare — a PG-13 romantic comedy. In an industry that churns out remakes and sequels, “Isn’t it Romantic” is a creative, meta take on the romantic comedy (rom-com). With a star-studded cast that includes Liam Hemsworth, Priyanka Chopra and Adam DeVine, the film is wholesome, intentionally cheesy and sweet. Our heroine starts her morning in a cramped, dirty apartment with a dog that won’t listen to her commands. Like her morning, her life is dark and dingy, and she is mostly ignored. The atmospheric lighting and the detailed sets work to emphasize this notion, opting for yellow, unflattering hues for the “reality” scenes and cute, filtered lighting for the “rom-com reality.” Natalie, completely disillusioned since youth with the idea of love that romantic comedies portray, rants to her assistant about the predictable tropes, foreshadowing what she will inevitably live through after she’s knocked out by a subway pillar. Although this method of storytelling can be perceived as a lazy way to give the audience the information, Wilson’s comical performance and the jaunty camera shots make it enjoyable. Many of Wilson’s deadpanned one-liners save these sorts of situations from becoming tiresome (a feeling a film filled with cliches is bound to fall into) and are instead amusing. The detail in the sets and the lighting is remarkable; the streets of New York are swapped for spotless sidewalks lined with bright pastel-colored flowers and cupcake shops. This attention to detail is commendable, but paying tribute to the rom-com in this way was excessive at times. Despite adding to the comical, sugary sweet atmosphere, the overused classic love songs and dance sequences

Verdict:

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were sometimes too cheesy to be palatable. As Natalie realizes that she is now the embodiment of the tropes she despises (cute clothes, huge apartment, fancy job, dreamy boyfriend) she tries her hardest to resist the montages, gay sidekick and predictable storyline that rom-coms frequent. The ﬁlm deﬁnitely puts its own twist on these formulaic aspects — the gay sidekick, for example, is a critique of how rom-coms make these characters one-dimensional and stereotypical. Hemsworth also does a surprisingly good job at playing the dreamy boyfriend, molding the role of the eligible bachelor into a playful, bizarre parody. Although the comical portrayal of rom-com tropes and the predictably sweet ending make for a fun watch,

the real heart of the film lies in its modern twist. Wilson, as pointed out at the beginning of the film, is an unconventional and rarely used pick for the protagonist. Her character struggles with the belief that she is not good enough. As her emotional final monologue proves, this type of representation could work to dismantle the toxic expectations and images that rom-com’s inadvertently advertise. Natalie realizes that despite what romantic comedies and her own insecurities made her believe, she is the sort of woman who deserves — and can — have it all. This modern take on the predictable plot is a refreshing reimagining of the tired and often overdone romantic comedy. ■H

“Isn’t it Romantic” is the perfect release for Valentine’s weekend. Details like the set, lighting and throwback soundtrack add all the more fun to this lighthearted movie. With good comedic performances from the entire cast, the film embodies the very thing it is parodying (the unreal romantic comedy world) with a 2019 twist.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

“Apex Legends”:

surprise drop proves that battle royales are only getting better Adam Alvernaz, Contributing writer

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“Apex Legends” is the newest video game craze to follow the battle royale formula. Made by the developers of “Titanfall,” Respawn, its future is uncertain, despite high hopes from fans. The game itself has seen massive success by gaining over 25 million unique players and 2 million concurrent players in just its first week. More than that, however, the game boasts an impressive 1.4 million followers on gaming's biggest streaming website, Twitch. Despite this success, a few questions still remain. Can it keep the momentum it has now? Does it have any hope of even comparing to the likes of “Fortnite?” And most importantly, can it meet the expectations set by its sea of fans? All battle royale games follow a pretty similar basic formula, “Apex Legends” included, but Respawn seems to have brought together a multitude of different mechanics in a way that works better than its predecessors. The game takes many of its movement mechanics from “Call of Duty Black Ops 4’”s Blackout mode. It also takes page out of “Overwatch’”s character customization and draws on the fast-paced gameplay of “Fortnite.” Alongside all of

these great features, Apex also encourages team gameplay even more by implementing a revive system even after your teammates have died. This ability to re-enter the battle rewards aggressive gameplay and promotes a strong team-oriented experience. Add well-designed physics and movement allowing tactical complexity and you have a gameplay formula on par with its more established competitors. As with any battle royale, there are many valid criticisms that turn players away from the experience. One of the biggest criticisms is the lack of diverse content currently in the game. With only eight playable characters and a relatively small map, the game can get very repetitive over time. This isn't just a criticism of “Apex Legends,” it's a criticism that many people have against battle royales as a whole. Other games in the genre have adapted and changed to mitigate this problem by adding new weapons, maps and gamemodes to make the gameplay varied and change up how the players experience the game. This standard of ever-changing and adaptive content is a tall order; Respawn, however, have proven that they have the will to support an ongoing work. As with many preexisting battle royales,

it's easy to see the trends that Respawn might choose to follow in the near future. Alongside a battle pass, Respawn has confirmed their plans to add more Legends to the current roster of eight. They've also confirmed new weapons and maps which will make for a more complete experience. A majority of battle royales have implemented a loot system with the battle pass feature that unlocks as you play and win. With the large amounts of customization that the game already features, implementing a battle pass allows Respawn to add new items with incentives for players to pay for an otherwise freeto-play game. This change would help the game’s longevity and keep gameplay flowing. I expect to see Respawn support this game for a long time if the player base keeps up with the strong numbers that the game has garnered in its week-anda-half-long run. Respawn has done this many times before with their offerings, most famously with the “Titanfall” series, despite the game having nowhere near the player base that “Apex Legends” does. Many different esports companies have also looked into the possibility of establishing a

competitive scene for the game and have already invested in fielding players in hopes of forming a team to compete in different leagues and competitions. When it comes to esports, one of the biggest services that people use to watch is through Twitch. Due to this, Twitch has already put money towards pitting well known streamers against each other in order to boost viewership and promote their brand as a whole. With the emergence of Twitch rivals, its evident that well-known esports teams will be watching closely to sponsor new players for upcoming tournaments and leagues that are inevitably becoming a feature of the game. Twitch’s involvement with Respawn promises a good future for the game as their continued support can really boost the game’s already impressive popularity. Being the hottest game on the market currently, it can be hard for “Apex Legends” to keep up with the massive expectations set by its predecessors. I feel as though this game will still be relevant and fun to play in the near future and even past 2019. Either as a game to play or an esport to watch, “Apex Legends” is a strong addition to the battle royale genre that is here to stay. ■H

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

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Winter has come and it’s time to speculate

By : Col i n Ca r n e y , Con t r i bu t i ng W r i t e r

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The nearly two-year-long wait is thankfully coming to an end as fans of “Game of Thrones” will finally get the final season to the acclaimed series this April. During that hiatus, while HBO was busy making the series’ conclusion, fans have been left to wildly speculate as to how their beloved series will come to an end and what the writers have in store for their favorite characters. With the release date approaching, speculation has ramped up as, ever since the debut of season seven, fans no longer have the books to use as guidance since the show is now officially ahead of the source material. Because of this, the internet is filled with countless

fan theories and speculations that address every single aspect of the show no matter how small they may seem. This article will speculate responsibly and focus on the fates of the three primary houses: the Lannisters, the Targaryens and the Starks. Since the beginning, the villains of the series have always been the Lannisters. Even when a literal army of the dead threatens all of Westeros, this family plots to use the crisis as an opportunity to consolidate power. With that being said, however, the family has been divided ever since Tyrion’s (Peter Dinklage) exile and recent alliance with Daenerys and recently with Jamie’s (Nikolaj Coster-

Waldau) departure after Cersei’s (Lena Headey) unwillingness to fight the army of the dead. Season eight appears to be setting up an ultimate clash between the three siblings with Cersei fighting a war for the Iron Throne against Daenerys, who already has Tyrion on her side and likely will gain Jaime as well. With regards to their ultimate fates, the safe bet is to say that Cersei will die, and likely at the hands of the kingslayer himself, Jaime Lannister. It is the only fitting end to her character and his, seeing that it was Jaime who broke his vow when he chose to kill the Mad King rather than allow him to burn his subjects alive. It would be poetic to see Jaime, both Cersei’s brother and lover, be the one forced to kill the queen in order to save Westeros as he did before. The only sibling likely to get a relatively happy ending is Tyrion who will likely find himself by the side of the eventual ruler of Westeros. The moment she emerged from the flames of her husband’s funeral pyre unscathed and swaddling three young dragons, Daenerys has been on the clear path to reclaiming the Iron Throne for House Targaryen. The safe bet, and happiest ending, would be to assume that she succeeds in her efforts and becomes Westeros’ new queen. However, “Game of Thrones” has taught us never to become too comfortable and always anticipate disappointment when it comes to character ends. Though it may be a long shot, my suspicion is that Daenerys will meet her end defending Westeros from the threat in the North. After having seen the army of the dead and witnessing the death of one of her three dragons at the hands of the Night King, Daenerys fully realizes the threat they pose as seen when making

the risky decision to visit King’s Landing and attempt a truce with Cersei in order to combat the threat. Daenerys has always been a queen of the people, as seen with her liberation of Slaver’s Bay, and it would be fitting that she makes the ultimate sacrifice to protect her subjects. Not only would her death be appropriate for her character, but more than likely it would unite the people against Cersei and lead to her eventual death. Lastly, the unluckiest family in Westeros has finally rebounded since the events of season one as the surviving Stark children are finally reuniting and have retaken Winterfell. More than any, the Starks are poised to be the big winners when season eight concludes. More than likely, especially after the revelation that he is in fact a Targaryen and a rightful heir to the throne, Jon Snow will be the one to sit on the Iron Throne when the final credits roll after I predict Daenerys will sacrifice herself to save Westeros. Additionally, Jon’s new role in King’s Landing leaves an opening at Winterfell that only Sansa can fill as the new Lady of Winterfell. That however leaves both Arya and Bran left of the Stark family. Neither of the two I can imagine being killed off, but I find it hard to believe that a family that has suffered through so much can have such a clean and happy ending, leading me to believe that the family has one more death to endure. With this all being said, it is possible, even likely that these guesses could all be proven wrong just as easily as they can be proven right. Game of Thrones prides itself in its ability to subvert expectations, and it is likely season eight will be no different. Audiences will have to wait until April 14 before they can learn these characters’ fates. ■H

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Ariana Grande’s authenticity shines through on “thank u, next” Laura Anaya-Morga, Contributing Writer Upon its initial introduction, I wasn’t particularly excited about Ariana Grande’s newest album. Listening to “sweetener” one too many times and the fact that it seemed like every radio station was blasting an Ariana Grande single through the airwaves had led to some fatigue and moderate enthusiasm for the artist’s newest project. But upon the release of “thank u, next,” my mind was quickly changed. The world knows that Ariana Grande has had her share of struggles and “thank u, next” is her response to that. On this LP, Grande covers her coping with heartbreak, finding freedom, confidence and discovering her own worth. The 12-track album opens with her last single of 2018, “imagine,” whose defining feature is its recognizable whistle notes. The song blissfully opens up the record to the wonders of being in love, but also has subtle feelings of longing. In “needy,” Grande sings about her own mistakes in past relationships. The line, “Sorry if I’m up and down a lot / Sorry that I think I’m not enough / And sorry if I say sorry way too much” reveals that Grande knows her own imperfections and blames them on past emotional baggage she carries with her. However, she quickly juxtaposes these feelings on “NASA” which is all about her creating space for herself. The song’s dreamy chorus and bass-heavy bridge easily made it one of my favorites. The next track, “fake smile,” is the first time on the

album where we get a real taste of Grande’s internal struggles after all the tragedy she has experienced. Throughout the song, she sings, “I can’t say I’m feeling fine, after what I been through I can’t lie,” covering the difficulty of being in the spotlight in the midst of very public struggles. The album takes a quick turn away from the sadness as “bad idea” and “make up” are both fun tracks about Grande’s desires while she tries to get over an ex and attempts to fix things with another, respectively. Both tracks also bring in those notable trap beats we all know and love to hear from the singer. The sadness returns in “ghostin,” which is easily the most heart-wrenching track of them all as it follows how she dealt with the loss of her ex-boyfriend, Mac Miller. The line, “Though I wish he were here instead / Don’t want that living in your head / He just comes and visits me / When I’m dreaming every now and then” absolutely tears through your heartstrings at first listen and carries all of the emotions she is feeling as she lies next to the person she is supposed to love. The song’s atmospheric and ambient sound create a very dreamlike aura. She not-so-subtly reveals the theme of wealth and riches on the albums 10th track “7 rings,” which broke records for the artist, debuting at number one in 15 countries. Followed by the smash hit and title track, “thank u, next” made waves in the music industry as the artist’s first number one single on the US Billboard

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Hot 100. From calling out her exes by name to becoming an anthem about self discovery and empowerment, Grande’s stardom shone through on this one. On her most straightforward title to date, “break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored” Grande closes the album with a scandalous song about urging a crush to, well, break up with his girlfriend because she’s bored. It was a great way to close the album playfully after the emotional investment of a full listen. Despite the usual superlatives thrown at Grande’s work, it’s not

super controversial to say that “thank u, next” is her best album yet. It is full of R&B jams and pop tunes that will surely propel it to the top of the charts. After every song, I was left wanting more and upon finishing the album I felt the same way. Grande knows what she’s doing whenever she releases something new. She’s breaking hearts, opening minds and making people either love her or hate her more than the last time. As revealed on “thank u, next,” she is totally okay with it. ■H

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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/sports

Women’s tennis lose all three matches in their Las Vegas road trip JORDAN HOM Contributing Writer

After starting the season with two losses, the Highlanders managed to win their next two games against Hope International and Westmont College. However, due to weather conditions, they saw two of their matches cancelled and their Feb. 14 match against Hawaii was postponed to a later date. Going into their Las Vegas road trip, with their record sitting at .500 (2-2), UCR went in looking to extend their win streak. However, that win streak came to an end as the Highlanders lost both of their matches against Colorado State (4-1) by a score of 4-2 and against UNLV (7-2) by a score of 4-0.

UC Riverside freshman Mahli Silpachai and Natalie Shamma lost in the No. 2 doubles set to Colorado State’s Stella Cliff and Nancy Ghanem by a score of 6-3. The Highlanders managed to win one of their three doubles sets, earning a 6-4 victory in the number one doubles set but lost the number two and number three doubles sets with a final score of 6-2. The Highlanders didn’t fare any better against the Rebels. Due to rain delays, doubles were not played and some matches were left unfinished. The Rebels were led by senior Aiwen Zhu, who is currently ranked 81st in the nation. She faced off against UCR freshman Lindsey Gelinas and won by a score of 6-0. UC Riverside lost all of their other singles matches as they were simply overmatched

women’s golf UC RIVERSIDE

T-18

JAKEISHYA LE

222

T-39

HANA FURUICHI

227

T-43

SERENA CHON

230

T-55

HAILEY WHITE

233

T-59

MACEE AGUIRRE

235

PLACE

TOTAL

against the Rebels. Ending their Las Vegas road trip on a low note, the Highlanders lost once again as they were defeated by New Mexico State 4-0. After the Aggies took an early 1-0 lead in the number two and number

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three doubles match, the Highlanders were unable to bounce back and lost the match 6-2. Up next, the Highlanders will return to Riverside to face off against UC Irvine at the SRC courts Saturday, Feb. 23. ■H

Women’s golf finishes ninth at Battle at the Rock JONATHAN FERNANDEZ Senior Staff Writer

UCR’s women’s golf team hosted 14 other teams including Cal Baptist University and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo at their annual Battle at the Rock tournament. The tournament took place from Monday, Feb. 1112. The Highlanders were as high in the leaderboard as second place before dropping to ninth at the end of tournament play. The teams were forced

to play two hours later than expected on Monday due to the weather, so teams finished their second round on Tuesday morning and then had to play the final round later that same day. The Highlanders finished the first round tied for sixth with a combined 298 score. Riverside finished with the sixth best score in round two with a combined score of 300. In the final round, UCR played their worst golf of the tournament and shot the fourth-worst score of

the round with a combined 302 score. Senior Jakeishya Le finished tied for 18th place after finishing just six over par and with a combined score of 222. Fellow senior Hana Furuichi finished tied for 39th place and was 11 strokes over par. The winner of the tournament was Grand Canyon University who the Highlanders will be visiting next for the Grand Canyon Invitational which takes place Feb. 23-24. ■H

Men’s golf finishes seventh out of 10 teams in Farms Invitational JONATHAN FERNANDEZ Senior Staff Writer

UCR’s men’s golf kicked off the Farms Invitational at the University of San Diego on Monday, Feb. 11 and played through Tuesday. The

Highlanders played their best golf of the tournament in the final round of play and finished in seventh place. In the first round, the team shot a combined 308 score. This score had Riverside tied for sixth place. In the second round, the team shot a combined 317, which tied for the

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highest score in the round. After the second round, the Highlanders moved down two spots to eighth place. They then saved their lowest score for the final round, shooting a combined 296 which placed the team in the seventh spot to finish the tournament. In that final round of play, senior

Michael Wong led the team with five birdies. Senior Andrew Spillman, sophomore Sam He and sophomore Bahram Talle all finished the round with four birdies each. The Highlanders will next hit the course Feb. 22 for the Desert Intercollegiate. ■H

men’s golf

PLACE

UC RIVERSIDE

TOTAL

T12

MICHAEL WONG

220

T40

SAM HE

231

T42

ANDREW SPILLMAN

232

T52

BAHRAM TALLE

241

T57

EDDIE YI

246

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SPORTS

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

Softball goes winless in Stacy Winsberg Tournament

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JONATHAN FERNANDEZ Senior Staff Writer

The Highlander softball team (3-6) traveled to Los Angeles to compete in the Stacy Winsberg Tournament from Feb.15-17. UCR got swept in their first doubleheader on Friday against University of Mississippi (5-1) and Boise State (3-2). The first game of the two was against Ole Miss, who scored in every inning but the fourth, on their way to a dominating 11-3 win. The opposition scored a run in each of the first two innings before four runs in the third

inning and five in the fifth. The Highlanders on the other hand only scored in two innings. Despite the lopsided scoreboard, Riverside only allowed seven hits. The main difference was Ole Miss’ patience and power, as the team drew four walks to get players on base and then capitalized with three homeruns in only five innings of play. Junior right fielder Danielle Ortega led the team with three hits while senior second baseman Britney Garcia totalled a team-high two RBI. In the second game of the doubleheader against Boise State, junior pitcher Jacy Boles pitched three

scoreless innings, which allowed the Highlanders to go ahead 1-0 after a run in the bottom of the third inning. Both teams would add a run in the fourth inning so UCR went into the fifth with a 2-1 lead. However, Boise State’s offense came alive and scored six runs to earn a 7-2 win. Riverside totaled six hits in this game that came from six different players. Garcia had the only RBI for the Highlanders. UCR was unable to capitalize on their hits and left seven runners left on base. The Highlanders were unable to bounce back on Saturday against Loyola Marymount University (5-0)

as they fell 2-0. There wasn’t a lot of offense in this game as the two teams combined for only nine hits and both runs from LMU came in the bottom of the third inning. No player on either side was able to garner more than one hit. Freshman pitcher Megan Casper got her first loss of the season, allowing five hits and two earned runs. The Highlanders were blown out in both of their games on Sunday against Fresno State and number one-ranked UCLA. UCR lost 12-0 to Fresno State and 17-3 against UCLA. UCR’s next game will be Feb. 20 against Cal Baptist. ■H

Women’s Basketball falls to top-seeded UC Davis, takes care of business against Cal Poly JARYD BONGCARAS Senior Staff Writer

The UCR women’s basketball team (1112, 5-4) made the trip up north to Davis on Thursday, Feb. 14, where they fell to the hottest team in the Big West Conference. UC Davis (17-6, 9-1) are now winners of nine straight games, with their last loss occurring just over a month ago on Jan. 12 to Hawaii. This game saw two of the conference’s top scorers hit the floor, as the Aggies’ Morgan Bertsch was averaging 24.2 points, and the Highlanders’ redshirt junior Jannon Otto was averaging 19.6 points herself. Despite these individual stats, both teams had a rough start to the game. Riverside only shot 28.6 percent from the field while Davis shot 25 percent. The home team led 12-11 after a quarter of play. Riverside kept the score within single digits throughout the second quarter, as they were down 21-19 with just over three minutes left in the first half. From here, they allowed the Aggies to go on a mini 8-2 run to head into halftime with a 29-21 lead. The Highlanders fought back with a strong third quarter, shooting 52.9 percent (9-of-17) from the field. Four different players would score and even cut the Aggies’ lead to within five early in the fourth quarter. But this would be the smallest the deficit would get for the remainder of the night. Though Bertsch started the game off cold in the first quarter, she lit the Highlander defense up and had a total of 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting. 19 of these points were allowed in the second half, and she was the only UC Davis player to reach double digits in scoring. For the Highlanders, Otto put up a

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modest stat line of 15 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Keilanei Cooper and junior Marina Ewodo put up 13 points and 11 points, respectively. Despite the loss on Thursday, the Highlanders managed to take care of business with a solid outing at home against Cal Poly (5-17, 2-9). UCR won with a score of 80-66, marking the second time this season that the team has scored 80 or more points. It also serves as the seventh time the team scored over 70. Otto revived her offense, notching 30 points on the night and senior forward Ma-

lou De Kergret poured in 22 points of her own. Four Highlanders hit double digits in scoring as Ewodo and Cooper both recorded 10 points. Riverside was forced to penetrate and take more shots within the paint, which is evident in Otto’s statline as she was able to put up that many points without even attempting a three. The home team went into halftime with a 33-31 lead and began to build upon that lead more in the third quarter. UCR shot 58.3 percent from the field for 24 points in the period. They then approached the fourth quarter with a 57-45 lead.

Like many other teams in conference, the Mustangs initiated a full court press, which allowed the Highlanders to score numerous buckets in transition. On the night, the team went 26-for-34 at the charity stripe. Riverside will travel up to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to finish off the season series on Thursday, Feb. 21. There are six games left for the Highlanders, three of which are against teams with a losing record. If Riverside can take care of business, they can still put themselves in a favorable position for the Big West Tournament. ■H

Sports TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019

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Men’s Basketball inconsistency continues despite upset victory RICARDO GARCIA Contributing Writer

Valentine’s Day will be a memorable night for many reasons for the UCR men’s basketball team. Entering the game, the Highlanders had lost four straight by an average margin of 20 points and with the second-place UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (17-7, 6-4) coming to town, they appeared destined to lose again. However, the poor play that had plagued the Highlanders in recent games was righted, as they upset the Gauchos 71-57 at home, handing UCSB back-to-back losses for the first time this season. With the win, the Highlanders matched their win total from last season (9-17, 3-7) with six games left to play. Prior to the losing streak, the Highlanders led the Big West in three-point shooting. They shot 29.9 percent over their four straight losses. However, things quickly turned around in the first half, as they were eight-for-11 from deep which helped build an early double-digit lead. The Highlanders also came alive defensively, limiting the Gauchos to just three-of-11 from distance en route to a 41-33 lead at halftime. Unlike previous games, UCR didn’t wilt in the second half. Instead, they doubled-down defensively and allowed just one three point basket in the entire second half. The Highlanders also limited UCSB to 32 percent from the field, dropping their shooting totals to 39 percent for the game and 18 percent from deep. For UCR, junior guard Dikymbe Martin led all players with 18 points, while also eclipsing the 1,000 point mark in his career, becoming only the fifth Highlander in the program’s Division I era to do so. Redshirt sophomore Dominick Pickett finished with a game-high five assists and seven rebounds. For the Gauchos, graduate guard Ar’mond Davis led the team with 14 points and

The UC Riverside baseball team opened up the 2018-2019 season at home amidst rainy conditions on Friday, Feb.15, as they began a four-game series against the University of Nebraska. Head coach Troy Percival reconnected with former Angels teammates Darin Erstad, Adam Kennedy and former manager Mike Scioscia on Saturday. The four of them were all on the 2002 Angels team that won the World Series. Erstad has been coaching the Cornhuskers since 2011 and brings his team to Riverside for the first time in the series. The two teams have played in two series before with the record between the two coaches tied at 2-2. Game 1: UC Riverside 6 - Nebraska 21 Believe it or not, this game was actually close throughout the first six innings. Nebraska piled on 18 runs over the final three innings to pull away and wallop the Highlanders to open up the first game of the series. Junior Hayden Petrovick took to the mound for his first career start for UCR after transferring from Citrus College. The lefty pitcher started the first inning well, in due part to throwing a variety of pitches to keep Nebraska hitters honest. But the Cornhuskers worked Petrovick and squeezed over 50 pitches out of him in just two innings alone. The transfer finished the game with seven strikeouts, throwing four innings and allowing three runs on four hits. Because of his early exit, Percival relied on six more pitchers to finish Friday’s contest. Senior Jared Noonan gave up three runs and recorded one out, while junior Cole Tucker allowed four runs and got two outs in the process. Riverside capitalized on some Nebraska errors in the third and fourth to take a 5-3 lead. The home team scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the third, along with three more in the fourth inning off of two Nebraska blunders. Sophomore third baseman Nathan Webb went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and sophomore right fielder Dylan Orick went 2-for-5 and an RBI. The Cornhuskers trailed 5-3 heading into the seventh and quickly erased the Highlander lead by

The Rams had a one-and-done Super Bowl season KEVIN SANCHEZ Contributing Writer

RYAN POON / HIGHLANDER

six rebounds. Sophomore guard JaQuori McLaughlin led the team with two assists. Following an uplifting victory, the Highlanders travelled to take on the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (16-9, 7-4) on Saturday, Feb. 16 in a rematch from a Jan. 19 game in which UCR picked up their first conference win. The Highlanders looked to repeat their performance from their previous game. However, their defense struggled once again, giving up 50 points in the first half while allowing the Rainbow Warriors to shoot 62 percent from the field, trailing 50-29 at halftime. UCR looked to get back into the game to start the second half, but allowed a 20-11 run over the first few minutes to curb any chance

they had to fight back. The Highlanders fell 8764 to drop to 1-6 over their last seven games. For Riverside, Martin followed up his record-making game against UCSB with a 22-point effort and a career-high six three-point field goals, while also leading the team with three assists. Senior center Menno Dijkstra led the team with four rebounds. For Hawaii, senior forward Jack Purchase finished with game-highs of 23 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Drew Buggs led all players with nine assists. Up next for the Highlanders, they return home to take on the Long Beach State 49ers (9-18, 3-8) in their first meeting of the season Saturday, Feb. 23. ■H

ushering in six runs with two outs in the inning. The runs kept piling on from here, as seven more runs were scored in the eighth and five more were added in the ninth. Nebraska’s Jaxon Hallmark recorded five RBIs and scored two runs, going 4-for-5 on a career night as 10 Huskers put up at least one hit. Game 2: UC Riverside 10 - Nebraska 9 Junior Riley Ohl got the start for the first game of a double-header on Saturday, with his team’s offense backing him greatly to start. The Highlanders put up four runs in the first inning, thanks to four straight singles that included a two-run single by senior Dean Miller. UCR ran in three more runs in the fourth inning, with two of those runs being unearned off of errors by Nebraska’s third baseman and pitcher. The visitors were in prime position to tie the ball game as they were down 7-4 in the sixth inning with runners on second and third. Nebraska’s Aaron Palensky smacked a ball into left field that appeared to be a double, but sophomore Cole Pofek showed his vertical and made a great grab at the ball to thwart any chances of scoring in the inning. But the Cornhuskers stayed in it and although they were trailing 8-7 in the eighth inning, Nebraska led off with a walk followed by a double that ricocheted off the left field wall. Noonan allowed an RBI single after a strikeout, then followed it up with a 4-6-3 double play. Contrasting Friday’s nightmare, the Highlanders were able to preserve their starter as Ohl pitched through five innings. The junior struck out four batters and walked three of them, while allowing three runs on seven hits, as Riverside walked away with a 10-9 victory. Game 3: UC Riverside 6 - Nebraska 10 Junior pitcher Shamus Lyons made his first career start for the Highlanders, pitching through 5 2/3 innings and giving up four runs on six hits. Lyons also allowed three walks but was able to strike out five batters in the loss. After four scoreless innings, Nebraska got on board with six runs scored total throughout the sixth and eighth inning. Half of these runs allowed were off

errors. Sophomore Ari Gerber went 2-for-4 on the day, as junior Nick Kafer and sophomore Nathan Webb both recorded two hits. In all, seven different Highlanders recorded at least one hit throughout. Game 4: UC Riverside 1 - Nebraska 7 With a taxed bullpen UC Riverside didn’t exactly have the numbers working in their favor for Sunday’s game. Sophomore Jeremiah Priddy earned the start for the already-taxed Highlander bullpen and pitched the longest of any starter in the series, going 6 1/3 innings and allowing four runs off seven hits. The Corona native also struck out seven batters throughout. Whether nerves kicked in or the Cornhuskers were just hot, Priddy allowed three straight singles with one out in the first inning, but he was able to recover and struck out Nebraska’s Jaxon Hallmark with two outs and runners on second and third. The Highlander offense had plenty of opportunities to score in the game, but failed to capitalize. Riverside loaded up the bases with no outs in the very first inning, but lucked out as Webb lined into a double play. They still had a chance as Kafer was sitting on third with Cole Pofek up at the plate, but Pofek also lined out to second base to end the inning. Another opportunity presented itself in the second inning with Taylor Yeager on third and after Damien Sanchez stole second base. Kafer singled in the first inning and the Highlanders were hoping to pull in at least one run that inning, but struck out swinging on a full count to end the second. The lone run for the Highlanders came in the bottom of the ninth as Orick singled up the middle and then advanced to third off a balk, eventually reaching home as freshman catcher Alec Arnone singled out to left field. On the series, the freshman started three of the four games and recorded five hits for a double and two RBIs. UCR stays at home and will host Loyola Marymount University Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. at the Riverside Sports Complex. ■H

Former Angels reconvene as UCR baseball starts season vs. Nebraska

JARYD BONGCARAS Senior Staff Writer

HIGHLANDER HOT TAKE:

Anyone who tuned in to the Super Bowl two weeks ago could see that the quarterback playing for the Rams was not ready to take on the big stage. More importantly, Jared Goff played so poorly that his chances of leading his team to another February game have diminished greatly. How often do we see teams that lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl, return or even come close to returning? The Rams secondary had no answers for the now Super Bowl MVP, Julian Edelman, despite making waves in the offseason with the acquisitions of Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib. Ultimately, the payoff was second place. Of course, making the Super Bowl in the first place is an achievement in and of itself — or is it? Many teams go into the season with a “championship mindset,” as they should. No football team would say they were happy just to make it all the way to the biggest game, but, in this instance, the Rams don’t really have a case for a “we’ll be back” motto. The bottom line is that the Rams’ offense is nowhere near a powerhouse like we thought it was, and it seemed like this was truer the deeper into the season and postseason that we got. The Rams capitalized on a blown call in the NFC Championship, but proved all the doubters right when they looked exactly like a team that got there on a blown call instead of skill. What many in the football cognoscenti have overlooked is that juggernaut defenses are incredibly vulnerable to onehit-wonder seasons, and LA’s defense is the top candidate to fall victim to that trend this year — just ask the Jaguars how their defense fared a season after a convincing AFC championship appearance. Or, ask the Atlanta Falcons, formerly referred to as Super Bowl contenders, before the season began. Currently, Ndamukong Suh’s future with LA is uncertain, as a contract renewal will take interest from both parties, according to Rams insider Myles Simmons. To make matters worse on the defensive side of the football, the rumor mill is floating around the possibility of the release of Aqib Talib. Something that sets LA apart is Sean McVay. The visionary wunderkind is a once-in-ageneration head coach, and should not be counted out in giving his team a winning chance every game. There is no doubt, however, that it will take more than a coaching effort to fix this team’s gaping wounds, especially in the passing game. ■H

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