THE HIGHLANDER
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
VOL. 67, ISSUE 19
FOR THE WEEK OF TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
est. 1954
BREATHTAKING PERFORMANCES FROM ALL THREE HEADLINERS AT THEIR BEST, SOOTHING, SENSUAL HIGH NOTES AND BROKEN DOWN ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTALS WARMED UP THE COLD WINTER NIGHT AT UCR’S 2019 WINTER SOULSTICE. > PG. 18 & 19 MARTIN LOPEZ / HIGHLANDER
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HUMANS OF UCR
UPCOMING EVENTS: WEEK 8
ELKE-LYNN DAY | ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE | SECOND-YEAR
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Rooted in Love 11:00am to 1:00pm HUB (Highlander Union Building), 260
ASPB Presents: R’cade 5:00pm to 8:00pm HUB 302
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Introduction to Web Scraping 11:30am to 1:00pm Rivera Library, 140
Inka Rocks & Roads: A Visual Culture of Connectivity 4:30pm to 6:00pm College Building South, 114
The UCR Ancient and Medieval Studies Group 1:30pm to 3:00pm Huamnities and Social Sciences, 1303
ASPB Presents Soundclash 2019 6:00pm to 9:00pm HUB Plaza
The Prison to School to Work Pipeline 12:30pm to 4:00pm CHASS Inrerdisciplinary North, 4022
¡Presente! - Bitter Brown Femmes + Poesía Peligrosa 6:00pm to 9:00pm HUB, 302
Highlander Warrior OBSTACLE COURSE 9:00am to 11:00am UCR Bell Tower
Men’s Basketball vs UC Irvine 5:00pm SRC Arena
Tuesday
COMPILED BY LIZELLE ORENO
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“I’m not afraid to not sugar coat, be blunt and not spare people’s
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feelings because I think that’s quite silly and nothing good comes from beating around the bush. I think if I meet someone who is also the same way it can be a really deep friendship.”
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
ASUCR
ASUCR updates bylaws, consolidates Outreach Director position AIDAN RUTTEN Senior Staff Writer
ASUCR met last Wednesday, Feb. 20 to discuss upcoming projects, revise certain bylaws and review standard procedure. Here are some highlights from the meeting: • During committee reports, an opening day event for solar umbrellas outside the career center was discussed. • The legislative review committee was able to pass Senate Bill 005 which amends Chapter 29 of the bylaws, the section concerning awards and trophies for ASUCR members. The amendment gives the executive panel more influence in determining award recipients, though the president still has the final say. • It was determined that after this upcoming election cycle, the position of Outreach Director would fall under the purview of the Vice President of Finance and would be part of that committee. • During senate reports, several projects were discussed, including a possible
mental health week, an upcoming R’Closet fashion show, a program addressing domestic violence to be held this Monday, Feb. 25 and an upcoming meeting with Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox March 8 to discuss student representation at UC regents meetings. • During public comment Executive Vice President Andrea Cuevas stated that the vacant CNAS senatorial position will be filled at next week’s meeting after applications are reviewed. Applicants will be questioned and an internal vote will determine the outcome. • Parliamentarian Jose Gonzalez stated during public comment that ASUCR members had not been following protocol when submitting legislation such as resolutions. Senators are supposed to provide 48 hours notice for their proposals, but according to Gonzalez they had not been doing that, so he urged them to follow the guidelines in the future.
The next ASUCR meeting will take place Wednesday, Feb. 27 in HUB 221. ■H
LYDIA TSOU / HIGHLANDER
WELL Director & R’Pantry Coordinator discuss food insecurity at UCR
VP of Internal Affairs highlights new “Basic Needs and Financial Aid referendum” JAKEB TIVEY Staff Writer
Recent ASUCR senate resolutions, UCR student studies and proposed referendums have called attention to the prevalence of food insecurity at UCR. In 2015, the Nutrition Policy Institute (NPI), a UC research group which studies public health, conducted a review which affirmed that 62.5 percent of UCR students are food-insecure, with recent survey results still yielding data suggesting that rate is still over half the student population. With a high rate of food insecurity relative to other UC campuses, UCR student and staff leaders are advocating for support for the solutions their departments provide. In an interview with the Highlander, WELL Director Devon Sakamoto, R’Pantry Coordinator Grecia Marquez-Nieblas and ASUCR Vice President of Internal Affairs Jose Cortez-Hernandez shared their perspectives regarding basic needs on campus. Sakamoto first talked about the status of food insecurity on campus and within the UC-system; “When you look at food insecurity data across campuses, UCR is one of the top for undergraduates and for graduate students,” said Sakamoto. “There’s been additional data where it’s been over 53 percent – it’s still over half of our students.” With rates exceeding many other UC campuses, Cortez-Hernandez believes that “food insecurity on campus statistically speaking is the most pressing issue students face.” Cortez-Hernandez went on to state that “food insecurity is an issue that needs to be better addressed, through providing the R’Pantry / department that combats basic needs with more funds to combat this issue in the magnitude that is required to address it.” Food pantries on campus are relatively new, and the infrastructure behind them is still in development. “At UCR, food insecurity work started with students, primarily Undocumented Student and Chicano Student Programs back in 20142015,” Sakamoto said, “then partnering with ASUCR and partnering with several departments on campus opened the first R’Pantry.” Sakamoto also stated that, “at the same time, 2015-ish, system-wide all the UCs were tasked with creating emergency
food pantries. So it started at the bottom-up here at UCR as well as the top down.” Once initial funding was in place the program was developed, but UCR was still at a different position than its UC counterparts. Marquez-Nieblas said that “campuses like Santa Barbara and UCLA had, historically, already implemented different programs and different funding streams for food pantries and emergency support for students at least with food, whereas we were starting with nothing.” Sakamoto described that as a working group, Basic Needs has “been tasked with moving beyond that emergency food resource, broadening our scope to look at more basic needs stuff: financial wellness, housing, transportation and those sorts of things – trying to bring those folks into the conversation.” Cortez-Hernandez affirmed that despite recent progress, the level of necessary support is not there yet. “We as a university have made great strides in combating food insecurity but we simply do not have enough funds to further combat it and provide to the students currently,” stated CortezHernandez. As Vice President of Internal Affairs, Cortez-Hernandez announced that “in a effort to address this funding issue, I wrote the Cortez Basic Needs and Financial Aid referendum which will be on this year’s ASUCR ballot. Should the referendum pass, lack of funding will no longer be an issue for the R’Pantry and Basic Needs efforts on campus.” Cortez-Hernandez referenced the recent successes of programs such as R’Gear, which “raised roughly 5,000 pounds worth of canned food donations, which were then donated to Feeding America, Riverside which supplies our university’s R’Pantry.” Whereas the aforementioned referendum requests a $5 student fee, Sakamoto said that “currently the only thing around basic needs that’s funded by student fees are things funded out of the WELL, because the WELL is funded through student fees.” She went on to say that “the majority of our funding over the last three years has been from UCOP and from the state. Most of our funding this year is from a state senate bill that passed and money was sent to every campus.” Marquez-Nieblas agreed, stating that the budget “is a combination. There’s many different kinds of work on campus,
especially with new things.” She went on to say that funding comes from many sources: “It has been from the Office of the President historically, part of it has been the state of California and some of it has been from the division of Student Affairs.” With many varying avenues of funding which are not UCR specific, the preexisting differences between food security situations unique to each campus is an issue which the duo discusses. “Everything’s been equal across campuses, the money that comes into campuses,” Sakamoto said, “but not equitable given the different starting places.” Marquez-Nieblas asserts that “it’s always been equal funding for all campuses regardless of where the starting point was for them.” Marquez-Nieblas said that in recent years, “the funding went up as demand research showed the need.” Despite the positive trend in funding, a stable and dependable source still escapes Basic Needs according to Sakamoto. “Most of the funding is on an annual basis, so you kind of hope and advocate for funding for the next year. Where we’re standing right now is at that up-in-the-air stage,” stated Sakamoto. He also said that they are continuing to advocate system-wide at the state level, and recognizes that ASUCR efforts are advocating at the student level. The conditions with prior funding allocation, Marquez-Nieblas said, are “very specific on the kinds of things we can do and it’s very specific on what we can spend the money on. It’s never like a blank check.” When it comes to administration, Sakamoto said that “there’s definite support, there’s just not a sustainable solution yet.” Cortez-Hernandez takes on a complementary perspective, stating, “currently, the administration, aside from providing temporary funds for the R’Pantry, has not done much to further address the issue … they are not focusing on combating this specific issue as much as I believe the students would like.” Sakamoto insisted that “nobody wants to see the R’Pantry go away, nobody wants to see the staffing go away – so it’s been very supportive but the money isn’t there yet.” Summarizing the nature of funding and administrative support for student basic needs resources, Marquez-Nieblas stated that “there’s willingness to support and it’s
NICHOLAS ROH / HIGHLANDER
usually without a concrete commitment to what that looks like.” Sakamoto and Marquez-Nieblas called attention to the resources that should be utilized by students who are in need of support. “The HighlanderLink for Food Recovery is a big one,” Sakamoto said, “the other one that we’ve been working with really closely is the R’Garden … they’re a great resource to get involved (with), maybe to pick up a little extra in terms of food even if it’s not necessarily an emergency, but also to get a broader understanding of food security work in general.” Outside of food, Marquez-Nieblas referenced “The Financial Wellness Team,” which focuses on “really going through and budgeting and doing that kind of thing which can be very helpful for many students.” Students who are interested in helping their peers can try “referring them to any of the places we’ve talked about,” Sakamoto stated, “I think especially case management. Folks don’t know about case management and that’s a longer term solution.” She invites students interested in fighting food insecurity and supporting the provision of basic needs to try “joining our working group. We have students who are on the working group and they tend to be students who are doing the work directly.” ■H
HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/news
NEWS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
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UCR’s Free Speech Working Group holds first public forum, addresses student concerns JAKEB TIVEY Staff Writer
On Thursday, Feb. 20, UCR’s Free Speech Working Group, an organization on campus consisting of students, faculty and staff which promotes transparency in the enforcement of campus policy, held an open panel to explain its constituent members’ roles on campus as well as address student concerns regarding issues of free speech and how they are attempting to maintain “an environment where students and scholars can freely express ideas and pursue knowledge, while also promoting respectful dialogue.” The members sitting on the panel were Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion Mariam Lam, UCPD Chief of Police Mike Lane, Assistant Dean of Students Emilio Virata, UCPD Assistant Chief of Police John Freese, Graduate Student Representative Siddharth Agarwal and ASUCR President Semi Cole, with moderation by Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor and Dean of Students Ellen Whitehead. The forum began with Lam discussing the working group’s history, explaining that it was founded in the summer of 2017 as a response to the Berkeley protests earlier that year. She explained that the panel was the group’s “first attempt to make sure students, the campus community, staff and faculty feel like they have an opportunity to understand what happens on campus when these things happen.” Whitehead then took the podium to explain the working group’s Major Events Policy: “At UCR we had different offices like our HUB scheduling office which had policies and procedures in place … but we didn’t have a clear path for our students, student organizations, departments and off-
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campus entities on how they could host events here on campus.” She stated that it will they are “hoping to release that (policy) for public comment soon.” Each of the panelists gave an opening statement regarding their views on free speech on campus and how their roles contribute to protecting it. The first was Virata, who said that “there is no secret to building a strong, solid community. It takes working with one another, it takes sharing … to protect free speech in an environment of learning and academic inquiry.” Building off of Virata’s perspective, Agarwal explained that “universities were set up in the first place to have an open debate where
people can develop ideas, opinions on controversial topics … but it comes with a lot of conditions and this dialogue will help us determine what those conditions are.” For the remainder of the forum, the three primary concerns voiced by the audience were “hate preachers” on campus, a specific act of hate speech vandalism that was not deemed to warrant an official statement and the “MAGA hat incident” from October 2017. In response to one student’s question of “what do you think is the best response to a ‘hate preacher;’” Virata posited that “if you’ve got opinions to express, I’d advise you to express them in a positive manner as much as
possible without compromising your own principles … that being said, know your own limits as well.” The conversation shifted when a Student Affairs employee asked about those limits, asking where the boundary is between free speech and language that warrants intervention. Lane clarified, stating that “from the law enforcement perspective, the first amendment talks about free speech – it is protected … where it comes in to law enforcement is when it gets into a physical situation.” Lam quickly countered with, “when you’re on a campus, where you can be made to feel like you’re in a hostile environment or have
differential treatment – those kind of terms are actionable … conduct that doesn’t abide by UCR’s principles of community.” The following topic of threat assessment arose from the questioning of a transfer student about a previous incident where they reported the vandalism of hate speech onto a bathroom stall. The student questioned the panel as to why the event was “swept under the rug,” and asked “how do you respond to ensure we are all protected?” Freese responded, stating that “whenever we get a report of an incident like that … we investigate it. It’s a crime, vandalism, and any time there’s a crime that is directed at a ‘protected class’ there is a hate crime … I want you and all the students to know that we take it very seriously.” Shifting the conversation, another student referred to “the hat incident,” asking the panel if they could “share out the aftermath of that incident, how UCR handled it and what happened to the individuals.” Virata affirmed that during “the incident itself, a lot of other interests got involved that were not necessarily a part of the university that complicated the university’s response to it.” Lam followed, stating that “what happens when incidents like that happen is that Student Affairs kicks in and tries to protect all parties involved, both students in that case, and then the legal processes play out dependent on what the individuals want.” Cole closed the panel, urging others to seek “student leaders on campus,” and affirmed that the working group is “here to support you, we’re here to recognize issues and we’re here to build solutions on your behalf.” ■H
NEWS IN BRIEF:
BigBelly bins placed on campus to improve recycling and sustainability AMANI MAHMOUD Senior Staff Writer
The Office of Sustainability in collaboration with ASUCR and UCR’s Facilities Services recently ordered BigBelly waste bins to place in multiple locations on UCR’s campus, including the Bell Tower and various university parking lots. The Office of Sustainability first attempted to bring BigBelly waste bins onto UCR’s campus a few years ago before it was disbanded. In an interview with the Highlander, Olenka Graham, the vice president of The Green Campus Action Plan (GCAP), stated that she began pushing for BigBelly bins to be placed on campus after first learning about the initiative and its failure to be implemented. Graham said that Gerry Bomotti, the chief financial officer and vice chancellor for planning and budget, was rebuilding the Office of Sustainability and also interested in bringing BigBelly bins onto UCR’s campus. Graham claimed that once the Office of Sustainability was up and running with its own budget, the Sustainability Officer, Fortino Morales, worked with Facilities Services to order the bins and place them onto UCR’s campus. Graham believes that BigBelly bins “greatly improve
recycling on college campuses.” She believes that the bins assist with recycling on UCR’s campus because they contain waste which prevents overflows, visible waste, windblown litter, and critter access. The bins, according to Graham, also hold more trash than normal waste bins; she wrote that BigBelly bins have a compactor in them that allows them to hold five times as much as a traditional bin. They also have automated real-time collection notification which allows for more streamlined routes and less wasted time checking on bins that are not yet full, which saves Facilities Services a lot of time, according to Graham. Graham stated, “This feature also gives us much better analytics and reporting of the recycling volume and route times. They are also much more aesthetically pleasing (mainly because of the total waste containment) and help us in having a more uniform recycling program.” The bins also have a foot-operated pedal that can be used to open them in case, “your hands are full or you just don’t want touch the handle,” stated Graham. The Office of Sustainability and Facilities Services are monitoring the impact of the BigBelly bins and if they are as
successful as they imagined them to be, they will be purchasing more to place around campus. The Office of Sustainability ordered two BigBelly bins to place by the bell tower and Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) ordered, “one or two of their own for LOT 30,”
however, Graham is unsure of the exact quantity that TAPS ordered. The locations were determined by the Office of Sustainability and Facilities Services. Graham stated that the Office of Sustainability and Facilities Services went for high volume locations to begin this initiative.
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Graham stated that GCAP, the Office of Sustainability and Facilities Services hope to place more BigBelly bins in more secluded locations such as the Botanical Gardens in the future in order to continue improving sustainability and collection routes on UCR’s campus. ■H
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NEWS
HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/news
UCR astronomers design astronomy workshops for the deaf CHRISTINE TRAN Contributing Writer
In a collaboration between UCR and the California School for the Deaf, Riverside (CSDR), a workshop known as “The Vibrating Universe: Astronomy for the Deaf” was created, led by UCR astronomers Gillian Wilson, Mario De LeoWinkler and CSDR teachers Wendy Green, Lisa Chute, Elizabeth Henderson and Tammy Mitchell. The UCR astronomers have worked with CSDR representatives before to ensure American Sign Language (ASL) was available at astronomy events, but this is their first time developing an activity as hands-on as this workshop. The researchers presented their workshop through the use of Powerpoint slides and a soundstage; a soundstage is a room designed to translate sounds into vibrations and lights so the deaf can experience them. To start off, CSDR students ranging from third to eighth grade were divided into groups based on their varying levels of disabilities and hearing. From there, the students laid on top of floorboards that produced the vibrations and followed the presentation with the help of interpreters. “The main challenge was
figuring out how do you do an activity for a population that’s deaf and so we had to think of creative ways to present astronomy,” stated UCR Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development and Physics professor Gillian Wilson. The presentation was focused on taking students on a voyage through space, beginning with blasting off in a rocket from earth, to orbiting around the planets and sun and eventually flying out of the galaxy all together. Deaf students were able to feel the different vibrations and see the lights that correlated with each event. “We did it over the course of three days, with different students coming in on each day and we tried to make the workshop better each time,” said Wilson. After receiving feedback for their workshops, the astronomers and CSDR teachers worked together to compile and publish their results. From this trial run, they have evidence to believe that this method of teaching is effective for deaf students of varying hearing ability and ages. The resources they used and the outcomes of their study have been posted online in the Journal of Science Education and
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Technology as well as on the UCR astronomy website. “What we want to do by publishing it is to inspire others to do either our workshop or some variation of an astronomy workshop, in fact any other science completely works as well,” said Wilson. The “Vibrating Universe”
was awarded funding through “The GOGREEN Survey: Caring about the Environment” National Science Foundation grant. Currently, this same team is working on developing another workshop called the “Smells of the Universe,” where they using scents to interact with deaf students.
“So now instead of sounds of the universe, what other senses can engage the deaf community: smells. So we took our next workshop and tested it out last November, we’ll make some tweaks and go back, but it was another very successful workshop and kids had a lot of fun with it,” commented Wilson. ■H
UCR researchers weigh in on damage to Joshua Tree National Park due to government shutdown
ATENAS ODRIOZOLA Contributing Writer
During the 35-day government shutdown starting early December and ending mid-February, one of the divisions of the federal government affected was the National Parks Service (NPS), a federal agency in charge of managing national parks. Due to lack of funding and staff, some national parks experienced disrepair and damage. One of these parks was Joshua Tree National Park, which suffered vandalism, disrepair and some irreversible damage. Joshua Tree is located about 75 miles southeast of UCR. Within its 800,000 acres, it is known for its biodiversity, canyons and its collection of Joshua trees, a flowering plant identifiable by its contorted, prickly appearance. However, during the government shutdown, the park was not maintained. Illegal off-trail roads were made by motorists, Joshua trees were cut down and vegetation at the park’s cultural and iconic sites were irreversibly damaged. While the park was open during the shutdown, the park had to temporarily close to address the maintenance and sanitary issues, and take measures to create more protection for the park. Still, some of the destruction caused will take years to repair or cannot be repaired at all. When Cameron Barrows, an assistant research ecologist at UCR’s Center for Conservation Biology was asked how long it would take to repair the damage, he replied via email, “It all depends on what is damaged, and the scale of that damage. Desecration of cultural sites can never be repaired … Ecological damage can be repaired, but again depending of (sic) the scale, the scars can heal in years, decades or centuries.” Since Joshua Tree National Park,
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like other national parks around the country, receives federal funding from Congress, the shutdown caused funds for personnel to dry up. According to the National Parks Conservation Association, “There has been more than a 7%, or $173 million reduction in the account to operate national parks and more than a 12%, or $364 million reduction in the total budget for the National Park Service over the last five years in
today’s dollars.” The National Parks Conservation Association also states that national parks hold monetary value, as they constitute a third of the 25 highestranking major tourist destinations in the United States. Nevertheless, while national parks provide close to $30 billion in economic output, the National Parks Service budget continues to decrease. In an interview with the
Highlander, Ken Baerenklau, an associate professor in UCR’s School of Public Policy, Baerenklau explained the difficulty in proving the importance of national parks. “People will donate to save polar bears, but they may never see one in their lives,” Baerenklau said, suggesting that there is a disconnect between the importance given to national parks in practice and in theory.
“However, the difficulty of national parks is their lack of ownership. They are a collective ownership; no individual owns it solely. The question is how much do we value these things (national parks)? We need to put our money where our mouth is,” Baerenklau added. George Land, press representative for Joshua Tree National Park, was unavailable for comment. ■H
HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/news
NEWS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
UCR physics researchers produce “electron liquid,” shows potential for nanotechnological advancement
ANDY LI Contributing Writer
A research team assembled by UCR Associate Professor of Physics, Nathaniel Gabor, made a discovery after successfully creating the first “electron liquid” at room temperature. According to the ScienceDaily article “Physicists create exotic electron liquid,” the discovery allows scientists to pursue new opportunities developing technologies as diverse as cancer detection, outer space communication and weapons defense due to the electron liquid’s ability to generate and detect light at terahertz (submillimeter radiation at extremely high frequency) wavelengths. According to graduate assistant TrevorArp, terahertz technology has a diverse array of applicable uses. “In particular, it could lead to new infrared telescopes, or instruments for planetary exploration, such as the Mars Terahertz Microsatellite project,” said Arp. “Additionally, nanotechnology is being explored for a variety of diagnostic and treatment protocols which may one day involve terahertz technology, and infrared detectors could be used for night vision or satellites.” The electron hole liquid research shows that strongly-interacting electrons can be produced at room temperatures in quantum metamaterials. This discovery could potentially serve as the foundation for more research in this area, as strongly interacting electrons are a completely new subject that has previously been limited by the fact that they could only be seen at very low temperatures. “Viewing any nanotechnology up close is impossible, and
fundamentally these things are interesting because they are extremely small in some dimension, in the case of 2D material being atomically thin,” Arp explained. “Human senses and intuition are not well suited for things that size, and this is part of what makes this research so challenging and also so exciting.” To conduct the experiment, the team utilized a five megawatt (mW) laser to see the electron hole liquid, which is not much more powerful than a standard laser pointer. Part of the experiment was the constant struggle to focus the energy down to a spot with diameter of less than two micrometers (a hundredth of the width of a human hair). The team also used a pulsed laser, which concentrates the energy within a timeframe. Instead of continuously shining light, the laser releases a pulse of energy that is 150 femtoseconds long (150 quadrillionths of a second long) and does this 86 million times per second. “Our experiment sustained the electron hole liquid for, at most, approximately 30 picoseconds (30 trillionths of a second),” said Arp. “However, thanks to our ultrafast optics, it was sufficient. We are still trying to figure out the viscosity or surface tension of the liquid and whether or not it can be produced in materials other than Molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2). This discovery is just the beginning of research into the electron hole liquid in 2D heterostructures.” The physics labs on campus, located in the Materials Science and Engineering Building, are open to students wishing to contribute to future research on this topic or other experiments that are currently being conducted. ■H
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NEWS IN BRIEF: UCR study shows home and rent pricing affected by presence of colleges and hospitals MARK BERTUMEN Contributing Writer
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The findings of a UCR research study were published last Jan. 31, which discovered that colleges and hospitals will raise and drop housing price at an above-average rate. The study was led by Vagelis Hristidis, professor of computer science and engineering at UCR. According to the publication, colleges and hospitals can be considered “opportunity hubs” that attract job seekers and increase economic activity of the surrounding area. Hristidis was unavailable for comment on his research; to find further information on the study, the Highlander reached out to Ryan Rivas, a computer science doctoral student that assisted in the research. Rivas himself was involved in analyzing real estate prices within ZIP codes that contained either a university or a hospital and compared it to ZIP codes without either institution. “The main goal of the study was to determine how the presence of universities and hospitals influences local home prices and rent,” Rivas
said. He stated that the final results generally revealed that “larger, closer institutions yield higher prices,” which was in line with preresearch assumptions. However Rivas later pointed out that some results did not align with that finding: “price volatility (of homes, rather than price) and institution size in certain homes” were positively correlated; sometimes rent increased further away from a hospital, instead of closer; and “lower correlations of rent vs. distance from a university” existed when compared to “(home) price vs. distance.” The numerous outliers stand as a basis for further research on institutions’ effects on home pricing, according to Rivas; “Research building on this study may take into account many of the other factors that affect real estate prices near universities and hospitals to analyze how they interact,” he wrote, “and possible (sic) develop a machine learning model to predict changes in prices over time.” The full article on the study can be found online, under the name “The impact of colleges and hospitals to local real estate markets.” ■H
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OPINIONS
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
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HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL
Trump’s national emergency sets a dangerous precedent for partisan politics
U
nsatisfied with the bipartisan agreement to allocate roughly $1.4 billion towards new barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in order to get the full amount of funding that he requested in order to build his infamously advertised wall. This executive order overrides the powers of Congress, which served as one of the biggest blockades in the struggle for Trump to get his wall constructed. In addition to Trump forcing down the obstacles that stood in the way of getting his wall, White House officials claimed that this declaration would relocate money meant for things such as military construction projects and counternarcotics programs towards the wall as well, bringing Trump’s current budget for the wall to a whopping $8 billion. Trump has not only further devalued the foundational ideas of a democracy by using such aggressive tactics to fund a wildly unpopular border wall; the president is also setting a worrisome standard for the balance of powers that may continue even after Trump leaves office. President Trump is not the sole cause of the extremely partisan climate plaguing Capitol Hill right now, but he has done nothing but escalated this division, and in doing so, highlighted disappointing behavior from both major political parties in America. Aside from the fact that many have expressed public outrage over a seemingly nonexistent emergency, what’s also worth noting in Trump’s most recent political strategy is the concerning standard he
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could be instilling in a political environment that has already shifted to the point of hyperpartisanship. In his speech where he declared the national emergency, Trump even made the point of saying that “I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather do it much faster… I just want to get it done faster, that’s all.” The president himself confirmed that this wasn’t a legitimate emergency, but rather a means to efficiently fund his wall, which significantly undermines the importance of this executive power. This obvious abuse of power is now being challenged both in lawsuits and House resolutions, but Trump has shown no signs of bowing to any opposing forces that may come against him or his wall. Pertaining to the resolution introduced by the House to try and block the national emergency, Trump said that he would “one hundred percent” veto it. Some might say that Trump’s actions may only be representative of him and his governing style. But the way he’s choosing to behave in addition to the shifting ideologies of the Democratic and Republican parties may be indicative of a decline in the willingness to negotiate and have collaborative bipartisan efforts. It’s already shown in the Gallup polls how wide the partisan gap has grown over this past decade in relation to certain issues, some of which have been plastered all over the media for its extremely divisive debates. The biggest splits are shown in areas concerning healthcare, immigration, gun laws, abortion and taxes. Even when Trump eventually leaves office, there is a credible concern for whether the next president, regardless of the party association, is also going to weaponize national emergencies
in order to achieve personal agendas. What further drives this startling theory is the amount of issues that feature major partisan cleavages; this emphasizes how disagreement will remain resoundingly present regardless of who takes office in 2020 and beyond. It’s only a matter of whether presidents to come will also declare nonsensical national emergencies in order to push legislation past an uncooperative legislature. Despite the sitting president’s usual influence over the current –“This epitomizes what’s wrong with the divisive environment in D.C. right now — choosing to stick with party loyalty, even when fully aware that someone from their respective party is acting irrationally. Rather than having the gumption to confront the president and call him out for his wrongdoings, Republicans have shown a disappointing compliance with the declaration of a national emergency.”– political environment and ability to foster bipartisanship, Trump has opted instead to prioritize pleasing his base. As many issues are currently present in the government with vehement opinions and opposing ideas attached to them, this particular topic isn’t as partisan as one would assume it to be. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican legislators have warned the president about the cost of declaring a national emergency. However, McConnell, despite leading the Republican coalition that was urging Trump to refrain from abusing his executive powers, still told Trump he would support him if he were to follow through with declaring a national emergency. This epitomizes what’s wrong with
the divisive environment in D.C. right now — choosing to stick with party loyalty, even when fully aware that someone from their respective party is acting irrationally. Rather than having the gumption to confront the president and call him out for his wrongdoings, Republicans have shown a disappointing compliance with the declaration of a national emergency. Still, Trump has managed to secure about $3 billion more than what he requested from Congress for the wall, but at a mixed cost: on one hand, he has received backlash from a majority of people who agree that this move is unconstitutional, but Trump achieving his wall could also be interpreted as further legitimizing him in the eyes of his supporters. Trump faced a backlash when he chose to shutdown the government for a historically unprecedented amount of time for the sake of his border wall; not only did he emerge from the shutdown empty-handed, but he was hitting record lows in approval ratings. Also, when taking a closer look at where Trump sourced some of this border wall, it exposes the contradiction between the reasons for the wall and the resources Trump is sacrificing in order to get his way. Trump is pulling $2.5 billion from counternarcotics programs, which might slow down the efficiency of their projects, yet he stated that building the wall was necessary because “We have an invasion of drugs and criminals coming into our country.” Given this claim, it’s bewildering how Trump was willing to take such a sizeable amount of funding from a body that is tasked with preventing drugs from being smuggled into the country. All these unconventional tactics Trump used to finally
get his wall funds are drawing a lot of attention. One could say he kept his biggest campaign promise, but the amount of those who simply see it this way may be shrinking. The wall was moderately popular at best and the amount of livelihoods he put at stake in order to achieve this goal may undoubtedly be in the minds of voters as they evaluate whether or not they want to give Trump a second term. In addition to the dissatisfaction that has grown amongst the public towards the executive, the 2018 midterms already showed swing states such as Pennsylvania turning blue, an indicator of how Trump’s prospects for a second term may be in danger. Declaring a national emergency isn’t new, but the reason why this most recent one was ordered definitely is. It’s astounding that Trump was willing to go to these sorts of lengths in order to fund his border wall, but his stubbornness on this issue has certainly been met with disapproval. As the American public grapples with such a violation of democratic institutions, what’s worth taking away from this is that something must be done in order to repair the widening gap in partisan politics. It’s unsure whether or not we’re going to witness a further drift from compromise in the future, but blind party loyalty is at an alltime high and must be broken down if we want to preserve the spirit of debate and compromise that is so foundational to our democracy. ■H Highlander editorials reflect the majority view of the Highlander Editorial Board. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Associated Students of UCR or the University of California system.
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OPINION POLL Compiled by Lydia Tsou Staff Photographer
“What are your thoughts on the national emergency?”
Itzel Pulido Linguistics First-year “I don’t think it’s right for the president to call a national emergency on such an insignificant matter.”
Richard Romero Electrical Engineering Fourth-year “I think it’s very childish of him. He’s just bullying people and it doesn’t make sense.”
Christopher Chebat Mathematics Second-year “I respect the hustle, but I think it’s a waste of time. It’s unconstitutional because it’s abuse of his executive powers.”
Ishatpreet Kaur Neuroscience Second-year “I think it’s useless and unconstitutional. There’s no point in building the wall.”
Xyla Garcia Neuroscience Second-year “I don’t think I’m informed enough to answer the question.”
Kevin Huynh Business Third-year “I actually don’t want to get political, but he probably doesn’t know what’s going on too well regarding what’s going on at the border.”
The Yale fraternity lawsuit highlights the frayed and complex nature of Greek life
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DAVINA GARCIA Contributing Writer
Over hundreds of years, in spite of their earnest academic origins, traditional Greek letter fraternities have since become infamous for their involvement in the ongoing issue of collegiate sexual misconduct. Fraternity life has played a large role in the facilitation of the toxic culture regarding sexual harassment and assault against women for countless years. Just last week, three female students filed a class action lawsuit against Yale University and all associated fraternities under allegations of discrimination due to sex and the unlawful enablement of Greek societies, permitting them to continually foster hostile social spaces for women. The women inciting the litigation determine that the school was breaching Title IX, a federal law forbidding gender discrimination by any federally-funded institution or group, as well as violating their educational environment contract by purposefully turning a blind eye when it comes to sexual assault allegations linked to Greek life. All associated fraternities were also accused of ignoring the Fair Housing Act by providing housing solely for men, and in tandem with the university, violating the Connecticut state law concerning discrimination in places of accomodation. They demanded that the fraternities shift their policy in order to allow women within their ranks, and that the school take a more active role in regulating the activities of said organizations. The plaintiff’s aims are lofty indeed, as they desire to introduce clearly radical change into the university’s social infrastructure. Their intent is understandable: Yale University is indisputably wrong to ignore the rampant and serious problems affecting their
students. The school’s administration must address such matters themselves and work with the coeds of the school in order to take any sort of step toward mitigation of inappropriate behavior. However, the women’s simultaneous desire to dismantle the fraternity system by forcing the historically single-sex groups into coeducational bodies is somewhat unfounded; in fact, it could be interpreted as an infringement upon other rights, and is therefore unlikely to happen with any true measure of success. Yale University is only one of many schools under fire for reasons pertaining to misconduct, but they are choosing to evade responsibility rather than take any action. Their previous stance on the sexual discrimination and abuse that is so common of Greek life has been reminiscent of an inappropriately laissezfaire attitude. Last month, the dean of Yale College, Marvin Chun, sent out a message addressing the complaints respective of Greek organizations, declaring that if anyone has any qualms regarding these social events, they should simply avoid attending them; as well as adding a statement to reaffirm Yale’s alleged lack of jurisdiction over organizations that are formally unaffiliated with the university. This is the university’s plain attempt to distance themselves, claiming that because the fraternities are off-campus, it is no longer their duty to intervene in any such matters. However, this completely hands-off approach only invites more chances for these issues to repeatedly transpire, and in this way, Yale becomes an indirect accomplice in the heinous acts committed by some of their male students. In this instance, the plaintiffs are correct in saying that the university ought to institute more regulations for the fraternities in question and intervene in reported cases of sexual misconduct.
After all, in the vast majority of cases, the students committing the crimes and the unfortunate victims are a part of the Yale community and are blessed with the privilege of studying at a renowned academic establishment. It is nonsensical for such an esteemed place of learning to either directly or indirectly condone these behaviours by allowing situations to slip past without proper consequence, especially when the social groups indicted of such delinquency still represent the name of the school. Universities are considered to be the pinnacle of progression and forward-thinking, so it is certainly disappointing when these problems are met with such inaction. The other portion of the dispute is significantly less straightforward. Since the victims indicated in this suit are primarily women, it is fair for the plaintiffs to try and argue for more equal ground between genders. The sexual assault rates in coed fraternities are much lower than those of their same sex, and these chapters tend to have an august network of contacts and opportunities beyond school for both male and female members. However this is also somewhat counterintuitive, because the formation of sororities, or all female groups, were a response to fraternities and the marginalization of women, with the intention of participation and empowerment. To disassemble this is to take away this option for female and male students seeking a supportive environment in which they can grow and feel most comfortable doing so. Indeed, the forced inclusivity could also be seen as a breach of Title IX, due to the implication that there is no value in a single sex organization which could be considered discrimination against both men and women in turn, and a violation of the right
to freedom of association. Annotations to the First Amendment allude to this as an inalienable right, making it evident that for expressive purposes, every person is at perfect liberty to join or leave any group if they so wish. Nonetheless, coercing fraternities to include women is not the best way to go about taking a stand for gender equality. Solving gender disparities is not something that will occur even if same sex organizations were to be totally abolished. If the young women involved in the case are so concerned with this and with creating a safe space for all women to have fun while also benefiting academically and professionally, they ought to try becoming a member of a sorority. Sororities offer excellent opportunities for social outings as well as networking, and do provide secure places for fun to be had outside of fraternities. In fact, the plaintiffs’ radical idea is shifting the focus a bit wayward, and not facing the crux of the issue. The problem with sexual abuse and harassment has everything to do with the men themselves, the university and anyone who either intentionally or unintentionally perpetuates this toxicity. Everyone needs to be taught differently. Thus, the better solution is to build off of university involvement – the school needs to work in conjunction with its students in order to foster a safer environment for all. The women filing this suit are filled with the right intentions; the culture of sexual misconduct that has been present in colleges must be destroyed, and women are deserving of equal opportunity. Their demand that Yale take action for the multitudes of women complaining of assault is entirely justifiable, however their clamor for the expungement of single-sex associations is not, and fails to H confront the core of the issue at hand. ■
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OPINIONS
One size does not fit all: Riverside homelessness LUZ SALAZAR Contributing Writer
In 2018, “the number of homeless people in Riverside County decreased by 4 percent” compared to the year before. Clearly, this is a good sign: reducing homelessness is imperative to providing these individuals with the support and resources they need to reenter the economy and live a productive life. For these reasons and more, it is important to continue helping the current homeless individuals and families. The city of Riverside contributes to this issue, by using Housing First, a program that provides immediate shelter to the homeless population. Although this approach has helped many, in some circumstances it is better to use a different program like transitional housing, which prioritizes teaching the life skills that will set these individuals and families up for a more stable future. Housing First is a way of helping homeless families and individuals by “providing permanent housing.” This means if someone takes this approach they would get these people off the streets and immediately place them into a permanent home. The reasoning behind this method is that “people need basic necessities” before being able to work towards other higher goals. For example, if an individual needs a job, they will not be able to do that, let alone focus on that task, unless their foundational necessities like food and a home are met. By using this approach, Riverside has lowered their homelessness rate; yet, it may not be the most effective solution in the long run. Sometimes a program such as transitional housing can be more beneficial, especially for individuals needing long-term support. The transitional housing approach, rather than simply housing the homeless, placed individuals into a shelter program. In this program families and individuals learn skills that will help them lead a more sustainable life. These shelter programs help people in a wide
variety of areas, including financial help, unemployment, budgeting, mental illness support and much more. Once these people have gained these skills, they are then placed into a permanent home. This way, these individuals already have these skills in their back pocket and when they are faced with a challenge in their new home, they know exactly what to do. According to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, the main causes for homelessness are “lack of affordable housing, unemployment, poverty, mental illness accompanied by lack of needed services, and substance abuse and lack of needed services.” Additionally, typical families and individuals are barely getting by with their wages. After covering basic essentials like housing, utilities, transportation and food, people are often left with less than half of their income. As a result, they are deprived of other important things like healthcare and education. Housing First does get people off the streets, however, it does not begin to address the core problem. For example, if an individual is unemployed with the Housing First program they would get a home, but they still would not have a job. Maybe the city could help them with rent, but for how long? With the transitional housing approach, this individual would first be trained on useful tools such as how to do a good interview and maintain job competency. By the time this individual has a permanent home, they would also have a stable job. The Housing First approach does not provide the necessary support for some individuals. Substance abuse without the right support is one of the five leading causes of homelessness. If one simply placed an individual who has a substance abuse problem in a home, it is very likely they will continue to engage in this dangerous activity. Continuing on with the very thing that caused them to be homeless will put them in a perpetual cycle of homelessness. However, if we give them the help that they need while they are being supervised, then the outcome might be a better one, thus
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ending this cycle. An organization called LifeMoves uses a transitional housing approach that helps individuals and families to live a better sustainable life. They are a “nonprofit committed to ending the cycle of homelessness in Silicon Valley.” With this approach they were able to help 89 percent of families and 73 percent of individuals “successfully (return) to stable housing, equipped with life skills and competencies needed to maintain a long-term self-sufficiency.” Without the skills and support taught at these shelter programs, it is very difficult to say if people’s housing would remain stable or long-term. Most families and individuals in this situation had preset conditions that were out of their control. Maybe they have a low socioeconomic status or maybe they
went to war and are now a veteran with PTSD needing real support, but devoid of access to these resources. In reality there are a lot of “other outside factors [that are] combined to work against them before they found themselves without a place to live.” Having this in mind, having a home is great, but it may not be what some individuals need. Some individuals need support and skills before they can live up to a well-adjusted life. The leading causes of homelessness show us that most factors require longterm support, and Transitional Housing will ensure that this happens. Ultimately it is not a “one-size-fits-all solution,” but something rather more complex. Still, having a conversation about these programs for the homeless will contribute to improving and helping this ■H disadvantaged population.
Asian representation in media is rising, but it’s not enough ADRIANNE OFFRIL Contributing Writer
2018 saw a large increase in the amount of Asian and Asian-American representation in pop culture, most notably with the premiere of “Crazy Rich Asians,” Hollywood’s first movie with an all Asian cast in 25 years. In addition to this highlight, there have been other noteworthy milestones for Asians in the film industry. Pixar released the short film “Bao,” centering around a ChineseCanadian mother suffering from empty nest syndrome. Vietnamese-American actress Lana Condor made her mark as the lead in Netflix’s film “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” and John Cho starred in a lead role in the Sundance Award winning film “Searching.” Representation on screen is not the only platform where Asians have been gaining recognition; Asian artists have proven to be just as powerful in the music industry as well. During the 2019 Grammy Awards, an impressive amount of Asian artists were recognized for their work including H.E.R., a half Filipino, half Black artist who took home the award for Best R&B album. BTS, the worldwide sensation Korean Pop group was nominated for Best Recording Package, and the first female Asian American DJ; TOKiMONSTA (Jennifer Lee) was nominated for Best Dance/Electronic Album. While the story of the Asian experience becomes more recognized in mainstream media, does that mean there is enough Asian representation? Or will there ever be enough? At this point in time where there has been an upshot of Asian and Asian-American recognition in media, it
is definitely something worth celebrating. However, we still have a very long way to go for these artists to truly get the credit they deserve. For Asian-American artists, it has been hard to break into a market where they are a minority, and one that pits their identity against their art. In the past, Asian artists have had to unconsciously or consciously hide part of their identity in order to “make it” in the Western market. It isn’t a well-known fact that artists such as Bruno Mars and Darren Criss are of Asian descent because they don’t fit the typical Asian stereotype. This doesn’t invalidate their identity, but it may, unfortunately, have played a part in why they have found success. Because they don’t outwardly look like what most Western audiences perceive Asians as, they don’t get negative stereotypes attached to them, allowing them to go further in their respective industries. Photographer Bao Ngo, who worked on Grammy-nominated Japanese-American singer Mitski’s album, doesn’t think that “adhering to Western norms or seeking such representation through something as White and oppressive as Hollywood or the American music industry is the way to go about gaining recognition (it).” Instead of trying to cater to the Western standard, Asian artists and creatives need to put out work that not only speaks to them but also to something people can connect with. Gaining validation from the community you represent rather than the one that oppresses you holds much greater value at the end of the day. Being recognized as an Asian artist is something worth celebrating, but it is also important that artists are applauded
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for more than just the fact that they are Asian. Asians are still very much viewed through the Western stereotypical standard, making it hard for Asian artists to showcase their work and talent without being reduced to just another Asian artist or a “token.” For example, a study conducted by professors and scholars at six California universities found that while Asian actors have been getting more roles on screen, most of them are marginalized and reduced to the “token Asian” of the show or movie, playing on stereotypes such as the “model minority” or child prodigy. There needs to be a point in which the
work of Asian artists is celebrated for its merit and not just lauded for its visibility. It would be nice to see art that is praised for what it is without commenting on race or being tied to efforts to make it appeal to a Western audience. Commending Asian artists for the work they do and increasing its presence throughout the media is a step in the right direction. 2018 proved to be a productive shift, as artists garnered even more footing in their respective fields. As consumers of media, however, we need to be mindful that Asian representation is still insufficient and that we are still very far from where we should be. ■H
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
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UCR’s own New York Times Bestseller Fatima Mirza discusses identity, creativity and the value of following your passions ANDREAS RAUCH Senior Staff Writer
When Fatima Mirza first stepped onto UCR’s campus as a freshman, she was convinced that she would fulfill her family’s dreams, pursue a pre-med program and become a doctor. After an inspiring experience in an elective writing class uncovered her passion for literature, Mirza decided to follow her dream and now finds herself a decorated and successful novelist. Mirza, author of the New York Times best-seller “A Place for Us,” returned to UCR’s campus on Wednesday, Feb. 21 for a brief conversation at 3 p.m. and a subsequent Reading and Discussion at 5 p.m. as part of the Sixth Annual Creative Writing Reading Series. The event was sponsored by the Middle Eastern Student Center (MESC), the Department of Creative Writing, the Women’s Resource Center and HUB Programs and moderated by Professor of Creative Writing Susan Straight. After a brief introduction by MESC Program Coordinator Ali Saadat, Straight and Mirza began their discussion. The audience, consisting mainly of creative writing majors, intently followed Mirza’s story, from budding chemistry major with an eye on medical school to a talented, published author. Mirza explained that “it’s really strange to come back here, where it all began. I wrote the first sentence in the fourth floor of INTS, and so I just wanted to begin by saying thank you (UCR).” Having promised her father to become a doctor if he let her move away for college, Mirza began her writing career by taking various creative writing classes simply as a hobby. Her breakthrough came in an intermediate fiction workshop taught by professor Charmaine Craig.
“I got this writing prompt that day, and it was the first time that I wrote a character, whose name was Hadia,” said Mirza. “I hesitated, for a few reasons: one, that was the first time that I had ever thought to write a character who could’ve been me, could’ve been my sister. At some level, although I love writing, I feel like I had been mimicking the books that had been assigned to me.” Mirza felt more comfortable and compelled “writing a character that could have been my cousins, or me, someone whose journey was closer to my own.” Despite her initial hesitation, Mirza’s emphasis on South Asian Muslims, like herself, soon became a cornerstone of her writing. “Every week, Charmaine (Craig) was presenting different writing prompts, and I found that I was returning to different members in that same family, through different perspectives,” Mirza said. “The more that I was writing about (them), the more I started to feel that I loved them, that I wanted to understand them. I started to feel that this was more important than me, my wants or my needs in terms of honoring this promise that I had made to my father.” Incorporating South Asian characters and exploring the immigrant experience in America became the focus of Mirza’s project. Mirza noted that, especially in the post-9/11 world that marked her generation and resulted in mistrust of Muslim Americans, it was important to her to increase representation and portray Muslims as “complex” characters with the same concerns, feelings and lives as other Americans. She soon decided to take her writing more seriously, and recalled the moment that she changed her course. Mirza had been called into office hours by Craig, where Craig said, “Let’s discuss your future in fiction writing.” Mirza recalled that, “up
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until that point, every conversation with my dad had been, ‘this is your future’. My response had been, ‘OK, how do we make that my future.’ This was the first time that somebody said, ‘let’s discuss your future,’ as if it was a discussion.” Mirza decided that the only option was to pursue writing full-time. “I remember calling my dad crying and telling him I was dropping out of pre-med,” she said. Mirza’s path soon led her to the University of Iowa’s graduate Iowa Writers’ Workshop program (the first UCR graduate to do so), where she had the chance to cultivate her interests and hone her skills in an environment geared towards her goals. Graduate school gave her the support network to work on her writing and, importantly, offered her the opportunity to meet with publishers and other industry professionals looking to sign the next big writing talent. The regular meetings with publishers offered by the program, however, went unused by Mirza. She emphasized that, during her time there, she “kept her head down and tried to finish the book.” Her refusal to meet with agents, despite strong urging from her mentors, stemmed from her convictions about creativity. Mirza and Straight explained that the publishing process was fundamentally the opposite of the creative process; rather than patiently waiting for and cultivating story ideas and characters, publishing was about quickly creating a work, printing it and marketing it to a wider audience. Mirza felt as though she had to keep the process separate for as long as possible. Finally, she relented and met with her future agent, Jin Auh. Mirza agreed to work with Auh under the condition that she be allowed the time and peace of mind to finish her work to her satisfaction. Initially, Mirza gave herself 10 years (from age 18) to finish the novel. In year seven, the election of President Donald Trump and his controversial rhetoric about Muslims signalled the point of no return for her: the book would be published within the next year. After eight years in development, “A Place for Us” became Mirza’s debut novel, and the first title under “Sex and the City” star Sarah Jessica Parker’s new imprint, SJP for Hogarth. “A Place for Us” garnered Mirza widespread acclaim, and shot to the the top of the New York Times Best-sellers
list. Despite the positive critical reception, however, she recalled the feedback that gave her the most satisfaction. When her family finally read the piece, their reactions were priceless. Mirza’s brother called her crying, touched by the way “his sister’s soul was in the book.” More significantly, Mirza’s parents, pressured by cultural norms which traditionally didn’t look favorably on outspoken women, expressed pride at their daughter’s accomplishments. Mirza recalled that her father reassured her that they had always been proud of her; the quality and magnitude of her work, however, meant that they felt comfortable celebrating her in a lavish ceremony within her community. In an interview with the Highlander, where Mirza worked as a features writer and editor during her undergraduate years, she commented on the invaluable inspiration and support UCR offered. “(UCR) was such an amazing time to figure out who I was, it was such a transformative four years,” Mirza said, adding, “If I could go back, I would make myself take more classes, hang out with my friends a little bit longer, go to more office hours because when you look back, it is that time that you are really becoming who you are … the amazing thing about UCR was that it’s so receptive to that want.” Mirza offered advice for students: “Really take advantage of the years that you are here because everything is designed to service your education.” She added, “Maybe a class doesn’t fit your requirements … take that class, even if it’s more work. Try your best to design your courses around your interests.” Finally, Mirza advises students, “Go to office hours of the classes that you’re interested in, because so much of the learning happens outside of the classroom. Talk to (the professors) about what you loved, and you’ll have more that you’ll be learning on your own. This is your time to learn, and grow and become who you want to be, and that is just such a privilege.” Mirza concluded, “I will just say that I loved my time at UC Riverside. It isn’t just four years that exist while you’re there, it is such a crucial time and such a transformative time if you let it be. I’m just so fortunate that I could spend those four years there, and I don’t think I would have arrived at my book had I not been able to have that time to play and work and be curious about creative writing.” ■H
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4 s 7 ’ t n h o i B t i r a t t h S o f c r o a m e y m d r u e n ity a n d f th o n a b s a e t o a r o b d u e l y S ce Martha Delgado, Senior Staff Writer
“The Sub Station is as much a UCR landmark as the carillon Bell Tower, the Barn, and Scotty the Bear,” former Chancellor Tim White wrote in a 2012 letter congratulating the Sub Station and owner Richard Munio for their 40th anniversary celebration. “It’s one of those unifying memories that connects UCR graduates with alumni of ages.” Seven years later, the Sub Station celebrated their 47th Birthday on Saturday, Feb. 16 with live music and five-cent cokes all-day. The allday event featured live music from Delfino^2, an alternative band made up of UCR students including Cris Duran who has worked at the Sub Station for a year. The first time that Duran saw the Sub Station, he made up his mind to work there due to the vintage atmosphere of the place. From that moment on, he excitedly told his coworkers about his band around the same time as Munio began preparations for the celebration and brought up the idea to perform to the band. “It’s a really nice place to play at. It’s a good atmosphere here,” said Duran. Performing at the Sub Station marks the band’s second performance since they formed four months ago. Their sound could be heard from across the street attracting people to stop by. Two of the people who were enticed by the sound were roommates Adrian Cruz, fourthyear economics major, and Christian Galana, fourth-year art history major, who have been going to the Sub Station ever since they moved into Bannockburn three years ago. The morning of the 47th celebration they could hear the music of the band performing at the event which encouraged them to check the celebration. Throughout the event, Munio greeted people stopping by, which included a variety of students, alumni and community members. He remembered some of them from when
they were students at UCR years ago and had now brought their families to the place. “We are family,” Munio explained as he greeted some of his older customers from years back. Among those people are Judy and Russ Lewis, who are from the Woodcrest area and come to the Sub Station two or three times a month. Russ used to work at UCR thirty years ago and within that time he found out about the “local-owned Sub Station” as he would hear it be described. He has come back ever since. “I like the nostalgia that its been here for so long,” Judy commented. “I love the pictures they have of all the events they have. We didn’t even know it was the anniversary. We just came here because we love the Sub Station.” Decorating the walls of the restaurant are pictures from past events at the sandwich shop, some going as far back as 1972 when the Sub Station was built. Munio knows all the people in each photo by name. He points out to his former employee Andrew “Andy” Leeka, who, decades after the picture was taken, is now president of Good Samaritan Hospital in downtown Los Angeles. Leeka still calls Munio to thank him for the job and even still calls him “boss.” Often when alumni would come by to visit, they would tell Munio, “I’m so glad you’re here, and I’m glad you didn’t turn this over to somebody else.” Munio, originally from New Jersey, graduated from CSU Chico and served 12 months in Vietnam before opening Sub Station alongside his college roommate. The vintage element of the Sub Station is not just its furniture, like the tables that were built by Munio and his family, but by the people that stop by to eat and who work at the restaurant. All day long, the restaurant was packed with people stopping by to celebrate alongside each H other another year of community and food. ■
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FEATURES
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
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up vegan PLANT POWER cooks takes on your fast FAST FOOD food favorites Alejandro Meza-Aguilar, Contributing Writer
Vegan food — those two words conjure up an image of salads in the minds of most people when they hear or see them, but Plant Power Fast Food (PPFF) is changing the way that vegan food is seen. Plant Power Fast Food is a vegan restaurant chain that is expanding in Southern California, with their latest location being in Redlands. It’s one of the few vegan eateries in the Inland Empire, and offers food similar to everyday fast food items such as burgers, chicken nuggets, shakes, animal fries and cheesecake — of course, without animal products. PPFF’s goal is to shift fast food toward plant-based ingredients. This sounds far-fetched and outlandish, but, judging from PPFF’s offerings, is very possible. The ambience of PPFF is peaceful and upbeat. The postmodern decor is easy on the eyes and offers a cafe comfort that most restaurants try hard to replicate. The wall of house plants empathizes its “green” message in a homey, comforting way. Soothing music adds to the atmosphere, and offers a comfortable space to study, chat with friends or even go on a date. The typical for veggie burgers tend to focus on corn, broccoli and black beans to create burger-like patties but can’t identify as burgers such as the Habit’s veggie burger. However, PPFF’s
signature vegan burger, the Big Zac, is an imitation of the Big Mac and frankly doesn’t taste any different from its beef counterpart, with the same meaty taste and texture. It’s made in-house (made in the restaurant) and is composed of non-GMO soy. The burger is stacked and has the same three bun structure as the Big Mac. The bread has a sweet taste and makes an obvious presence throughout the burger, but compliments the more savory flavors well. The secret sauce, the pickles, the meat-style patty and the creamy vegan cheese create a really convincing veggie burger that can satisfy the pickiest of carnivores. The most impressive component is the vegan cheese which is creamy and melty and doesn’t taste like plastic as some vegan cheeses can taste. Although the Big Zac is the most expensive in their range of burgers which tend to be between $5-9, it is really filling for what it’s hefty price tag. The sides tend to be very standard for most fast-food fare such as fries and side salads, and we tested out the Voodoo fries. The consensus on the fries was that they tend to be a nice, hardy, filling take on In-N-Out’s classic animal fries. Less soggy than typical loaded fries offerings, the Voodoo fries are topped with caramelized onions, secret sauce and ‘cheese’ sauce. They’re served in
a compostable food container and are great on the go. Priced at just under $5, Voodoo fries are a delicious and affordable option in comparison to most vegan restaurants that tend to charge $8 for their sides. For those who prefer chicken instead of burgers or fries, there are also soybased ‘chicken’ tenders with a range of sauces. The “chicken” tenders are nice and crispy on the outside and tender inside. The batter is very savory and, although the tenders are delicious enough that you can eat them without the sauce, PPFF’s “honey” mustard features a satisfying and complex flavor. It’s sweet and creamy with a slight tangy taste from the mustard and is not gritty like most honey mustards. The price range for the ‘chicken’ tenders is $5-9, depending the size of the order (PPFF offers three-piece, five-piece, eightpiece, or 16-piece tenders). Dessert-wise, PPFF does not disappoint. Initially, we taste tested all of the shakes on the menu and the Kombucha Floats. The classic milkshakes flavors are chocolate, vanilla and cookies and cream, and although the milkshakes have an overpowering vanilla taste, they still are refreshing and are an overall solid offering. The chocolate shake is creamy and has the comforting taste of milk chocolate with
the mix of the vanilla flavor that is very present. The strawberry milkshake has real strawberries in the shake and when mixed, tastes as creamy as a strawberry cheesecake. Finally, the cookies and cream shake has the crunchy texture of the chocolate cookies only for the first few sips but throughout the shake, the cookie texture tends to be softer. All the shakes tend to have a slight soy aftertaste, although this doesn’t detract from the satisfying flavors and refreshing feel. The piece de resistance is the Kombucha Float, a unique take on the very traditional and somewhat forgotten food fad of Root-beer Floats. Kombucha is typically known for its somewhat sour taste and the combination of the soybased soft-serve really highlights the drink’s subtle sweetness. At some length it even is reminiscent of a creamsicle. If you are unimpressed by any of the food offerings, I would definitely recommend PPFF for their Kombucha Float alone. PPFF’s creative take on many fast food favorites and welcoming atmosphere are sure indicators that vegan food is here to stay. Their menu is definitely worth the trip and can even convince the most passionately carnivorous person to consider reducing the amount of meat or animal products they consume. ■H
RATINGS BURGERS
9/10
SIDES
9/10
DRINKS
9/10
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ATMOSPHERE
8/10
OVERALL
9/10
ALEJANDRO MEZA AGUILAR / HIGHLANDER
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5s’ Teas
underwhelming drink menu leaves much to be desired Jasmine Yamanaka, Contributing Writer
I had always been curious about 5s’ Teas. Like everyone else at UCR, I had only ever known Boba Tea House, Boba Fiend and a few other boba shops located on University Avenue (there are at least three). 5s’ Teas is on Indiana Avenue and seven miles away from UCR, whereas the closest boba place to UCR, Boba Tea House, is less than a mile away. Before visiting there, the only other thing I knew about 5s’ Teas was that it has good reviews on Yelp (4.5 out of 5 stars from 120 reviews). Would this mysterious boba place live up to these ratings? I was very confused by those 4.5 stars because the milk teas that I tried were a disappointment. The Thai milk tea, one of the most popular milk tea items, was watery and tasteless. Sometimes good milk tea becomes watery after the ice melts but 5s’ Teas’ Thai milk tea was watery upon first sip. Even more dismaying, the boba itself was soggy, overcooked and purposeless, adding no joy or chewy
delightfulness to the drink as it should. As if the drink couldn’t get any worse, there were raw tea leaves in my Thai tea that were hard, bitter and shouldn’t have been in the drink. One of their specialty milk teas, the wintermelon milk tea, was not only watery but had the flavor of a regular milk tea. Perhaps the subtle melon flavor of the wintermelon slightly enhanced the sweetness of milk tea but overall it tasted like a regular milk tea and a not very good one for that matter. Although my opinion of 5s’ was low at this point, their taro smoothie was a pleasant surprise; velvety, creamy and radiating with real taro flavor. It was smoothly blended with tiny little grains of taro being visible and had that signature taro coconut-y pudding flavor that all the best taro drinks have. The consistency was thick and satisfying. The Lychee-Me tea, which was a lychee and peach black tea with lychee jelly and peach and mango bits,
was also super flavorful and yummy. It tasted like the little Chinese jelly fruit cups that I ate as a child. The fruit tea burst with refreshing lychee and peach fruit tea and the add-ons, especially the lychee jelly, made it so fun to drink and have something fruity and soft to chew on. I rarely buy fruit drinks at boba stores, but if I ever need something fruity and cleansing, this is the kind of drink I would buy. No matter how much I enjoyed the taro smoothie and Lychee-Me smoothie, nothing could redeem the terrible milk teas and the horrible, unjustifiably high prices. All of the drinks I ordered were $4.50, which is an entire dollar more than a majority of the drinks at Ding Tea, the best boba store in Riverside. Where 5s’ Teas got these prices from I have no idea, because I would not go to 5s’ Teas’s even if it were close to campus. Maybe their high ratings are from loyal customers who are attracted to their homely ambience: cozy couches,
an Xbox free to customers and an overhead music selection with upbeat modern pop tunes. The volume at which they play their music is also respectful and relaxing, unlike many boba stores which play their music uncomfortably high. I hear that 5s’ Teas hosts regular Super Smash Brothers tournaments and karaoke contests. However, no matter how friendly the presence, there was a pungent odor, resemblant of onions or old fried food, that filled the store and distracted me, making me want to leave after just 10 minutes in the store. Despite 5s’ Teas having a good reputation online, this appraisal is not reflective of their milk tea, at least from what I tasted that day. Milk tea should be the basic, specialty item of any boba store because it is, quite literally, the signature item. No matter how good the next two items that I tried were, or how welcoming the ambience was, 5s’ Teas left me disappointed by their flavorless, disheartening drink offerings. ■H
Drinks
5.5/10
Price
$4-5.50
Ambiance
6/10
JASMINE YAMANAKA / HIGHLANDER
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FEATURES
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
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P U E RIS : E N AS O By: Martha Delgado, Senior Staff Writer
PODER’S ”COMING OUT OF THE SHADOWS” EMPOWERS AND BRINGS AWARENESS TO THE UNDOCUMENTED COMMUNITY
Monarch butterflies are known to migrate up to 3,000 miles throughout Canada to Central Mexico. Their symbolism of migration has been used by many immigration rights movements, including PODER’s Coming Out of the Shadows event at the Bell Tower. On Wednesday, Feb. 20, a monarch butterfly with the phrase “rise up as one” adorned the shirts of PODER members as they shared their stories and experiences as undocumented students. Since 2008, student-led organization PODER’s (Providing Opportunities, Dreams and Education in Riverside) mission has have been to advocate for undocumented students in the Inland Empire. In addition, they also host Immigrant Awareness Week each winter quarter to bring awareness to issues within the undocumented community. One of the programs taking place is the nationwide event Coming Out of the Shadows. Coming Out of the Shadows first started in March 2010 in Chicago, Ill. when undocumented people gathered at the Federal Plaza and declared their status as undocumented and unafraid in front of the federal office building. “Coming Out of the Shadows not only exposes the experiences and adversities of what it means to be undocumented. It brings attention to the need for the humane, comprehensive immigration reform,” said Wendy Guzman, a third-year education major and one of the co-presidents of PODER. Brenda Huerta, a fourth-year English and Spanish double major, arrived in the U.S. with her mother when she was 12 years old. Recently, Huerta’s mother suffered a life-threatening condition that almost took her life. Huerta’s mother does not have access to health care due to her status and could not afford to pay the costs out-of-pocket. Huerta’s experiences with the difficulties of having undocumented status have led her to urge people to become engaged with politics and vote in the elections. For fourth-year transfer and public policy major Katia Mejia, being undocumented had its own difficulties. Her mother wanted to take her back to Mexico after Mejia graduated high school, yet, Mejia chose to stay in the U.S. to pursue a college degree and the American dream. Mejia, however, did not qualify for DACA, and faced difficulties in entering higher education. “It felt like the doors closed on me,” she explained. Regardless, she went to community college and a counselor encouraged her to apply to UCR. Among the PODER members sharing their stories was second-year Spanish major Tania Gonzalez. “I didn’t know what my status meant until eighth grade,” said Gonzalez. “I was tutoring another student, and he said ‘why are you even trying if you are not even going to college.” From that
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moment, Gonzalez found and applied for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) on her own since her peers and counselors were unsure about the process. Gonzalez’s initiative paid off for her, a fact that became clear when, years later, Gonzalez’ younger brother was denied the same opportunity to go to college due to being undocumented. “He wasn’t going to have the same opportunity I’m having and that hurts me. I just ask please vote for someone who will actually help us, for someone who has the power to give my brother back that opportunity,” Gonzalez urged. When he arrived in the U.S. as a child, Carlos Alarcon, a second-year business major, would often be told “learn English as fast as you can, don’t tell anybody how you got here, and don’t tell anybody where you’re from.” He further explained that not all undocumented youth are eligible to apply for AB 540 or DACA. “Some of us don’t qualify (for) AB 540 and don’t qualify for DACA. That can really affect
someone mentally, working hard all your life, and then being told ‘no, you can’t do it just because you’re born over there.’” Karina Gutierrez, UCR’s resident immigration attorney, spoke at the event on the importance for people to become engaged with their local politics as a responsibility to those who can’t vote in the undocumented community. Gutierrez, herself a UCR alumna and DACA recipient, shared that DACA was not implemented until she began law school. Being undocumented and a DACA recipient motivated Gutierrez to advocate for others like her. “At the end of the day, I don’t forget (that) I am undocumented,” said Gutierrez. “I am proud to be undocumented. I will continue to use my voice to advocate for myself and those around me, and I hope we all do that moving forward.” Anyone interested in PODER, they can be reached at poderatucr@gmail.com. PODER meets every Tuesday at 5 ■H p.m. in HUB 260.
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HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/arts
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
Winter Soulstice del memorable p MARCELO GARCIA, SEN It’s 8 p.m. on Feb. 22, and students are crowding into the SRC North building after lining up for hours for a chance to get into Winter Soulstice (one of several yearly concerts held by UCR’s Associated Students Program Board). While the event was slated to begin at 7 p.m., students find themselves waiting an entire hour longer. With an extremely impressive lineup (consisting of Bruno Major, Omar Apollo and Alina Baraz), however, and the prior investment of several hours of waiting, this is not a problem.
BRUNO MAJOR
CATHERINE YONG / HIGHLANDER
Enter Omar Apollo. Onstage with a leather jacket and blue jeans and accompanied by a band, he’s the embodiment of an All-American rockstar. Dancing and tearing the mic from its stand right away, he’s a far cry from Major’s quiet, boy next door persona. The performance is driven by guitar riffs and drums rather than acoustic strings, but it captures the crowd just the same. After his initial introduction, he explains that he’s lost his voice following a show from the night before, but this doesn’t stop him at all. The much appreciated speed and edge added to a majority of the tracks (particularly Apollo’s renditions of “Ignorin” and “Hijo De Su Madre”), make this set a particularly unique one. The songs playing are fresh, dynamic takes on their album counterparts, and are far more suited to Apollo’s high-octane, on-stage energy.
RYAN POON / HIGHLANDER
As the lights go out, Bruno Major steps on stage quietly, accompanied only by his charm and distinctly red jeans. Opening with a broken down performance of “Wouldn’t Mean a Thing,” he has the crowd swooning from the start. After the first song ends he announces he’ll be playing his entire album; the ecstatic audience literally shrieks with excitement. Switching between electric guitar, acoustic guitar and keyboard himself, it’s an impressive show, but simultaneously intimate. Complete with song writing anecdotes and quips from Major, it’s more akin to a casual hangout than any kind of performance, the only difference being that all the attention in the room is focused on Major. He begins playing “Easily” and the crowd is truly immersed. “He’s so dreamy,” I hear from beside me. I laugh off the initial comment but can’t help agreeing. Major, with his soothing vocals, strings the crowd along for the duration of his entire album without missing a beat.
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OMAR APOLLO
JIMMY LAI / HIGHLANDER
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/arts
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livers chill vibes and erformances IOR STAFF WRITER
Alina Baraz It’s now past 10 p.m., the lights have gone out for the final time that night as Alina Baraz is announced on stage. The music blasts and Baraz slowly struts her way on stage. Her performance is an interesting middle ground between Apollo’s energy and Major’s charm, making for a seductive, trance-like experience. With bright lights, smokey visuals and a far more electronic sound than the previous two, it’s a solid energy to end the night on. Baraz’s aura is enticing enough to keep the crowd awake, but still encourages a vibey and relaxed feeling. It’s also important to note that despite being the last (and therefore latest) performer, Baraz receives the largest crowd enthusiasm by far. “Fantasy” is the pinnacle of the entire performance, as the crowd stands near silent from start to finish, reduced to a sea of heads and glowing cell phone screens by Baraz’s smooth harmonizing. She closes out with one more song and the main lights flash on as the crowd now trudges out of the venue.
MARTIN LOPEZ / HIGHLANDER
MARTIN LOPEZ / HIGHLANDER
The night was a long one, but it was well worth the sore legs and popped eardrums. UCR concerts tend to get a bad rap among the student body for a number of reasons, and while I won’t say that Winter Soulstice was completely exempt of those complaints, it was endearing and memorable enough of an experience that the small complications didn’t matter. Not much else can be said about that night but if it was any indicator, UCR concerts are only getting better. ■H
JIMMY LAI / HIGHLANDER
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
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“The Umbrella Academy”
Proves Netflix Doesn’t Need Marvel to Make Great Superhero Shows COLIN CARNEY Contributing Writer
Following Netflix’s recent cancellations of all Marvel series, it was uncertain what superhero properties, if any, the streaming giant would replace them with. Luckily, viewers didn’t have to wait long as, on Feb. 15, Netflix released its first season of “The Umbrella Academy”. The series takes place in an alternate universe where, on Oct. 1, 1989, 43 women around the globe gave birth simultaneously despite none of them being pregnant. Following the miraculous births, an eccentric billionaire named Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) sought out these new mothers and managed to purchase seven of the infants. Shortly thereafter, the children began to develop strange powers, motivating Hargreeves to train the children to harness their abilities and become crime fighters. Over
time, the super-powered family became celebrities through their exploits. However, as the kids grew older they also grew to resent their cold and distant foster father. Once they had grown up, all but one of the children moved out and pursued their own, vastly different careers. The family would remain apart until their father’s death in the first episode forces them to reunite at his funeral. The show, set in the present, wastes no time introducing us to the core cast of characters as we meet each family member the moment they receive the news of their father’s death. From there and over the course of the tenepisode season, the ensemble cast endears itself to the audience as they draw genuine care and laughter for their personalities and exploits. Each character is bizarre in their own way, whether it’s the wild junkie Klaus who can talk to the dead when he’s sober or the hero-turned-movie
star Allison who can make people do whatever she says. Every one of the core six family members is given their share of the spotlight, but it is when they pair up that they truly shine. The interactions between siblings are a joy to watch as they never fail to bring laughs but are equally capable of delivering emotional weight as well. In particular, any scene with Klaus or Number 5, the timetravelling old man in a 13-yearold’s body, never cease to amuse as Klaus plays the unpredictable free spirit and Number 5 the cranky old man. Even the side characters provide compelling performances. The time-travelling hitmen Hazel and Cha Cha’s playful bickering entertains as they insightfully debate the significance of their actions on history. Even the bizarre addition of a British chimpanzee lab assistant adds to the show as he explains the motivations of Sir Reginald. At its core, “The Umbrella Academy”
is a spectacular ensemble show that derives its success from the strong performance of its cast. The plot of the show is relatively straightforward for a modern-day superhero show. After being warned of an impending apocalypse by Number 5, the Umbrella Academy must come together to save the world. What the show does differently, however, is inject its own unique and bizarre sense of humor into the story, while simultaneously taking itself seriously. The only noticeable downside of the series is that the ending didn’t quite wrap up things as nicely as expected from its buildup. In fact, the ending does more to set up the inevitable second season rather than conclude the first one. With that said, the show’s plot is fun to watch unfold and combines an original soundtrack from Jeff Russo to keep energies high. The craziness of the plot and its characters makes “The Umbrella Academy” stand
out from the other superhero shows that came before it. The likeability, weirdness and humor of the cast and story makes the show stand out from an otherwise oversaturated genre. The series prides itself on its absurdity and isn’t afraid to bend the rules as every strange and weird addition to the plot feels natural. Furthermore, “The Umbrella Academy” is a clear departure from what Netflix has previously released in the way of superhero series: as the description of the plot and characters should already make clear, this show is nothing like the dark and brooding Marvel series Netflix has previously invested in. The humor and lightheartedness of “The Umbrella Academy” is a much needed breather from the dark and at times depressing street-level heroes that have dominated streaming services, and more than makes up for their absence in light of their recent cancellations. ■H
COURTESY OF NETFLIX
Verdict:
Netflix’s newest superhero show “The Umbrella Academy” is wildly enjoyable, astonishingly bizarre and well worth its 10 hour runtime. The cast of misfits is a joy to watch as they interact in fun and obscure ways.
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SPORTS
HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/sports
UCR baseball goes 1-2 through Saturday
JONATHAN FERNANDEZ Senior Staff Writer
UCR baseball (2-5) had a busy week as they played against Loyola Marymount University (4-2) on Wednesday, Feb. 20 before traveling to San Jose State (4-2) to face the Spartans in a three-game series over the weekend. The Highlanders’ first game was a 5-1 loss against LMU. LMU got on the scoreboard early and often, scoring five runs in the first four innings. UCR scored their only run of the game in the bottom of the sixth and finished with a sub-par four hits.
COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS
LMU senior Brandon Shearer and redshirt junior Steven Chavez each finished the game with three hits apiece on their way to an impressive win over Riverside. No pitcher for Riverside threw more than two innings after starter Kevin West was pulled for allowing five hits and giving up three earned runs. UCR’s second game of the week finished even more lopsidedly, with San Jose State punching the Highlanders on the chin right from the start. Riverside failed to score until the final inning where they scored only one run after allowing nine in the previous eight
innings. The Spartans scored eight runs in their final four innings at the plate. Despite the final scoreboard, San Jose finished with only two more hits than UCR. The main difference between the two offenses was that the Spartan batters were more patient and as a result drew a whopping 11 walks compared to only three from the Highlanders. Riverside did bounce back in the second of the three-game series, putting on a dominant performance of their own in a 12-3 win. Junior starting pitcher Shamus Lyons was throwing a shutout until the eighth inning when San Jose was finally able to get runs
across the plate. Lyons came out of the game in the eighth after allowing three runs, but had a great performance nonetheless. The Highlanders also found their groove offensively and scored in all but two innings, including a four-run inning in the top of the eighth. Walks again played a big part in the game, but this time UCR drew nine while the Spartans had just three. The two teams did have the same amount of hits, 12, so the disparity in walks made a big difference in getting runners on base and then capitalizing. Riverside’s next game will be on the road H Tuesday, Feb. 26 at Grand Canyon University. ■
Softball splits games with Maryland at Amy Harrison Classic
COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS
JONATHAN FERNANDEZ Senior Staff Writer
The UCR softball team hosted the Amy Harrison Classic from Friday, Feb. 22-24. The Highlanders hosted the University of Maryland, the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) and Portland State. Riverside kicked off their tournament with a disappointing 8-3 loss against Maryland (75). UCR scored a run in the bottom of the second and two in the bottom of the fourth.
The Highlanders took a commanding 3-0 lead into the final inning when the tables turned in a big way. Maryland’s bats caught fire in the final inning where they scored all eight of their runs. Junior pitcher Jacy Boles didn’t allow a run in the first six innings, but gave up two earned runs and two unearned runs in the final inning. Junior first baseman Melanie Olmos led the team with two of their three total RBI.
The Highlanders were able to bounce back in their second match against Maryland and win 7-2. UCR allowed a run in the top of the first but responded by scoring three in the bottom of the inning and led the rest of the way. Maryland added another run in the top of the third, but again Riverside had a threerun inning as a response. UCR added one more run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Freshman pitcher Megan Casper pitched four innings on the way to her first collegiate
win and Olmos finished the remaining three innings as a relief pitcher, allowing zero runs in her time on the mound. Freshman first baseman Moana Pisia totaled a team-high two hits while also scoring a run and hitting an RBI. Freshman outfielder Sami Deymon led the team in RBI with two. The Highlanders next game will be Friday, March 1 against the University of Texas at El Paso as part of the UCR Classic. ■H
SPORTS
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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
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Men’s basketball suffers close Highlander Hot Take: Siakam overtime loss vs. Long Beach State is Pascal the NBA’s Most RICARDO GARCIA Contributing Writer
It’s a big final stretch of games for the Highlanders (9-19, 3-9). They currently sit in eighth place in the Big West with five games left to play. If the season ended today, they would play the currently top-seeded UC Irvine Anteaters in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament, a team they lost to by 18 points earlier this season. Looking to improve their odds, UCR welcomed the Long Beach State 49ers (11-18, 5-8), who entered Saturday’s contest a half-game ahead of the Highlanders. Early on in the game, UCR’s defense stood out as they had several steals that turned into timely baskets on the other end. The 49ers struggled to find a rhythm early, as they shot just 33
Improved Player
JORDAN HOM Contributing Writer
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percent from the field compared to 50 percent for the Highlanders. Despite this, UCR only led 32-26 at half time. As was the case in many games earlier this season, the Highlanders could not hold onto their halftime lead. After building a nine-point advantage about seven minutes into the second half, the 49ers came rallying back, using a 13-2 run to retake
LLOYD KAO / HIGHLANDER
the lead. With the Highlanders down 59-57 with under a minute to play, sophomore guard Jordan Gilliam sank a mid-range shot to even the score. The basket would be the last either team made, sending the game into overtime. The Highlander’s hopes of stealing an overtime win were soon dashed, as they could not convert on several point-blank layups and had several lapses defensively. “I think some of those missed layups were due to fatigue,” said Head Coach David Patrick following the team’s first overtime game this year. One such lapse occurred with just under 1:45 in overtime. After the 49ers split free throws, a missed box out led to Long Beach recovering the offensive rebound, which led to another foul and a two-possession deficit. Also, after junior guard Dikymbe Martin missed a potential game-tying shot, the Highlanders fouled when there was about a five-second difference between the shot clock and game clock, ending any chance of getting a
stop and one last-ditch effort to win the game. UCR lost 71-67. For the 49ers, sophomore guard Jordan Roberts led all players with 18 points. Sophomore guard Drew Cobb finished with a game-tying five assists, and redshirt senior center Temidayo Yussuf led the team with nine rebounds. Freshman center Callum McRae led the team in scoring with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while Martin finished with a game-high tying five assists. Despite the tough loss, Patrick had words of optimism for the program’s future. “The guys in the program are the guys that work hard in the classroom and on the floor,” he said. “We’ve got a great foundation and bright spots for us moving forward.” Up next, the Highlanders travel to take on the Cal State Northridge Matadors (11-17, 5-7) Wednesday, Feb. 27. They will also host UC Irvine (23-5, 11-1) in a potential first round meeting in their final home game of the season Saturday, March 2. ■H
Men’s Tennis earns second straight sweep over Coppin State
JARYD BONGCARAS, Senior Staff Writer
The UCR Men’s Tennis team (6-7) ended their first east coast road trip on a high note by sweeping Coppin State (0-1), with a 7-0 score. Riverside dropped only one doubles match throughout the day, but senior captain Kyle McCann and freshman Andreas Whelan-Merediz snagged the doubles point with a 6-4 victory on court two. One break in each set made the difference for McCann
during singles play as the team captain defeated Jorge Rodriguez Rey 6-4, 6-4. Junior Nabil Abdallah cruised to a 6-2, 6-0 win on court two over Henrique Sada. Junior Vignesh Subramanyan issued two bagels on court four, blanking Quincy Pettis 6-0, 6-0; meanwhile, junior Gilbert Chung and Whelan-Merediz went 6-1, 6-0 and 6-0, 6-1 respectively. UCR hopes to extend their winning streak to three as they host Villanova Friday, March 1. The team visited Villanova last H season, putting up a 6-1 win. ■
COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS
COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS
Pascal Siakam, a native of Cameroon, did not start playing organized basketball until 2011. He found his way on the basketball court for the first time at Luc Mbah a Moute’s camp in Cameroon. Despite not having much basketball experience, his effort and energy on the court stood out to observers and the media alike, most notably Toronto Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri. After moving to the United States at age 16, Siakam attended God’s Academy in Texas before being recruited by New Mexico State (NMS). He played a solid two seasons at NMS where he was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year. In 2016, he declared for the NBA draft where he was selected 27th overall by the Toronto Raptors. His first season in the NBA was nothing special because Siakam only averaged 4.2 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game during his rookie season. While he did see a slight improvement during his sophomore campaign, he still was considered a role player with a limited ceiling. However, during this 20182019 NBA season, Pascal Siakam has emerged on the scene as one of the league’s breakout players. Currently, he is averaging 16.1 points per game, 7.1 rebounds per game and 2.8 assists per game while shooting a career-high 55 percent from the field. His versatility on the court makes the Raptors a dangerous team because of his ability to play multiple positions. His improvement on the court reminds me of a bit of Giannis Antetokounmpo’s jump from a skinny Greek teenager to an MVP candidate and captain of the All Star game. While it is certainly far-fetched to say he will reach the heights that Giannis has, it is certainly plausible for him to be an All-Star level player in the future. Other candidates in the running for the award include De’Aaron Fox, D’Angelo Russell and Domantas Sabonis. Fox certainly has a case for the award as he is posting career-high numbers in points and assists, but the award is seldomly given to second-year players. D’Angelo Russell has been stellar this season, earning his first All-Star nod but his improvement this season is in large part due to being healthy. Sabonis is more suited for the NBA’s Sixth Man Award rather than the Most Improved Player because most of his production has come off the bench. The Raptors can certainly make a finals run this season, having traded for Kawhi Leonard and former All-Star Marc Gasol. The Raptors also signed Jeremy Lin after he cleared waivers at the trade deadline. With Kyle Lowry at the guard spot and the new pieces surrounding him, along with the emerging Siakam, the Raptors will look to be crowned the new kings of the east and Pascal Siakam should soon have some new hardware of his own to add to his trophy case. ■H
COURTESY OF KEITH ALLISON, FLICKR
SPORTS 24
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2019
HIGHLANDER // highlandernews.org/sports
Women’s basketball extends win streak to three with back-to-back thrillers over Cal Poly and UCI JARYD BONGCARAS Senior Staff Writer
Both games for the week turned out to be thrillers for the UCR women’s basketball team (13-12, 7-4), who went the distance inin a 76-58 double overtime victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (5-18, 2-10). The Highlanders needed to adjust their game plan in the first half, as their leading scorer in redshirt junior guard Jannon Otto fouled out with 5:47 left in the second quarter. From here, Riverside slowly acclimated without Otto on the floor and maintained a 27-25 lead at the half. They even piled on to their lead by opening up a 12-2 run to begin the second half. But to make things more difficult, senior forward Malou De Kergret fouled out as well with 2:27 remaining in the third. Both De Kergret and Otto have come up big for the Highlanders as of late, especially in their previous matchup against SLO where the duo combined for 52 points. With two of the team’s offensive weapons forced to watch the game from the sideline, Head Coach John Margaritis had to do something unusual — play some bench players. Margaritis inserted freshmen guards Andriana Kasapi and Lauryn Pointer along with junior forward Jalyn Clay into the rotation, as the trio had the chance get more minutes. The two teams were neck and neck with each other, with Riverside holding a 56-55 lead towards the end of regulation. Cal Poly’s Hana Vesela drew a foul after her team grabbed an offensive rebound with 10 seconds left on the clock. Vesela had the chance to put her team up by one and force the Highlanders into holding serve, but she missed the second free throw. The Highlanders had the chance to win it but sophomore guard Keilanei Cooper misfired on a three at the buzzer. However, Cooper was given another opportunity to sink a last-minute basket in overtime and tied the game at 63 points apiece. Unfortunately, after redshirt freshman forward Daphne
Gnago forced a Cal Poly turnover, Cooper turned the ball over right back as the overtime buzzer rang. Though both teams were exhausted heading into a second overtime, the Highlanders amassed a 10-0 run in the period to put the game to bed once and for all. Cooper led her team in scoring with 24 points, while junior forward Marina Ewodo notched her sixth double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. The team then travelled to UC Irvine, who held a 7-4 record in conference play. Whichever team came out on top would be in a tie for second place in the standings with CSUN. With that in mind, it’s only fitting that a game with these stakes had a wild ending. In her first game back since suffering a broken foot against UC Davis on Jan. 5, sophomore guard Tianna Eaton couldn’t have chosen a better time to score her only basket all night, as she drained a three-pointer from the wing with 4.2 seconds left to play. The basket gave her team a 66-64 advantage, but the sophomore immediately fouled Irvine’s Jordan Sanders to send her to the line. Sanders’ second-half shooting woes continued as she missed the first free throw and made the second. UCR would escape with a 66-65 win. The game remained close throughout the 40 minutes of play, with both teams’ largest lead being six points. Overall, the matchup saw 17 lead changes as well as 10 ties. Otto finished the contest with 18 points, while Gnago scored a season-high of 17 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting night while grabbing 12 boards. De Kergret also added 14 points and 5 assists on the night. Crunch time ensues for the Highlanders who only have four conference games left to play, and after tying CSUN for second place with this win, UCR will now host the Matadors with sole possession of second place on the line. The game will take place Thursday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. in the SRC Arena. Riverside also looks to split the season series as they fell to ■H CSUN 56-69 the last time these two teams played.
UCR WOMEN’S TENNIS VS UCI
2
5
MEN’S GOLF
IN UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING DESERT INTERCOLLEGIATE (results as of Saturday, Feb. 23)
Senior Andrew Spillmanwas leading the way, tied for 52nd place at eight shots over par
Finished Round two in 19th place
WOMEN’S GOLF IN GRAND CANYON INVITATIONAL
(results as of Saturday, Feb. 23)
Senior Jakeishya Letied for 14th place at four over par
Finished Round two in 8th place
upcoming matches
Women’s basketball COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS
Track and Field team shines in MPSF Championships KEVIN SANCHEZ Contributing Writer
UC Riverside’s Track and Field team had their work cut out for them this weekend, as they travelled to Seattle Washington to participate in the MPSF (Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) Championships to face some of the best competition they’ve had all season. Junior Kenady Jackson set the tone for the Highlanders, finishing the 200m race in 24.72 seconds — good for secondbest in school history and also good for her new personal record. The time Jackson set in MPSF topped her previous personal record of 24.80 seconds. Freshman Alonna Johnson put up an impressive time in the women’s 400 meter, finishing the competition in just 56.33 seconds, good for 13th out of 46 runners. First-time indoor runner Julian Read also contributed to a successful weekend, finishing Friday at eighth place in the Heptathlon. Read also won his respective heat in the 60 meter, and logged two personal records of 6.71 meters and 1.89 meters in the high jump and long jump, respectively. Senior Emily Sanchez also had a successful day in the 5,000 meter, coming in 12th place out of 23 runners with a time of 17:21.08. On Saturday, junior throwers Jordan Davis and Natalie
Mitchell set a new personal record in the shot put event. Davis’ throw of 16.5 meters marked the fourth-longest men’s throw in school history. Mitchell’s throw travelled a distance of 13.53 meters, good for the seventh-best women’s throw in school history. The women’s Track and Field team showed much improvement in a star-studded event, and will look to continue the success as they move to outdoor competition at the H Riverside Community College Invitational Friday, March 1. ■
Thursday, Feb. 28 vs Cal State Northridge @ 7 p.m. SRC Arena
Softball doubleheader Friday, March 1. vs UTEP @ 11:30 a.m. & vs Sacramento State @ 2 p.m.
BASEBALL Friday, March 1 vs Cal Baptist University @ 6 P.M . COURTESY OF UCR ATHLETICS