Volume 74, Issue 22

The Highlander

ASUCR Senate Meeting

First meeting of the spring quarter.

OVI MATHIVANAN Assistant Opinions Editor

On April 1, 2026, the Associated Students of the University of California, Riverside (ASUCR) meeting began at 7 p.m. and adjourned at 8:10 p.m.

OPINIONS

During new business, Associated Students Program Board (ASPB) Vice Chairperson Ethan Davis and Marketing Chairperson Cynthia Nguyen presented the organization’s updated constitution. The amended constitution proposed greater employee retention through a more flexible hour structure and clarified positional requirements. School of Public Policy (SPP) Senator Pia Prashanth contested

that students need dedicated time for openly communicating with ASPB student officers as they are paying fees for access to these programs and services. Executive Vice President Mia Rose Tu’ifua posed further concerns about only the first 15 minutes of ASPB general meetings serving as open forum, underscoring the lack of a dedicated...

Riverside County Sheriff Bianco’s election investigation is a PR stunt

This publicity move has real consequences in a time when public trust in elections is being questioned.

CECILE DIROLL

Opinions Editor

In March 2026, Riverside County Sheriff and California gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco seized more than 65,000 ballots from elections officials for the November 2025 special election on Proposition 50.

According to Bianco, he took the ballots to start an investigation into whether votes were “fraudulently counted” after a citizen....

Tartan Tailgating: Polo Hernandez displays the Highlander inside of him under the MASL spotlight

After leading UCR to glory in 2022, Polo Hernandez is making a playoff push with the Empire Strykers in 2026.

On March 29, the Empire Strykers of the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) hosted the St. Louis Ambush on the final matchday of the MASL regular season at the Toyota Arena. Last Sunday’s contest marked my second ever experience at a Strykers game. During my first trip to the Toyota Arena during the 2024-2025 season, I met and interviewed Marco Fabián, one of my favorite soccer players of all time, after an overtime loss to the San Diego Sockers.

This year, I was set to interview former University of California, Riverside (UCR) midfielder Leopoldo “Polo” Hernandez. During his time at UCR, Polo stacked accolades. In 2021, his first season at UCR, Polo was named Second Team All-Big West. He built off that momentum in 2022 by being named First Team All-Big West....

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“I first joined Girl Gains my freshman year. It was really hard for me to make friends on campus and meet new people. I went to their general meeting [and] got to know more of the girls. I felt a sense of community there and ever since I’ve [fallen] in love with the club.

[By] my third year, I was on the board [as] open gym director. I was teaching the girls how to do the lifts and do certain workouts. This year, now I’m president, [so] just moving up the ranks. Our club is doing better than ever and I’m really proud of all my girls that I have on board. [They’ve] really helped me out and make the club what it is. So I really enjoy being president.

My Google Calendar [is] my best friend. I’m always checking it, always putting every little detail in there so I don’t forget [anything]. If I have too much downtime, I’m like wait, I need to be doing something. I have set times that I go workout. I’m not [going to] study past my bedtime. I’m kind of strict [with my calendar].

I like to grab food or matcha with my friends. Friday night, we’re [going to] get BJ’s. I don’t have a go-to [pizookie flavor], but I really want to try the new monster [pizookie. It has] blue ice cream [and] cookie chunks in it.”

ASUCR Senate Meeting

FIRST MEETING OF THE SPRING QUARTER.

On April 1, 2026, the Associated Students of the University of California, Riverside (ASUCR) meeting began at 7 p.m. and adjourned at 8:10 p.m.

During new business, Associated Students Program Board (ASPB) Vice Chairperson Ethan Davis and Marketing Chairperson Cynthia Nguyen presented the organization’s updated constitution. The amended constitution proposed greater employee retention through a more flexible hour structure and clarified positional requirements.

School of Public Policy (SPP) Senator Pia Prashanth contested that students need dedicated time for openly communicating with ASPB student officers as they are paying fees for access to these programs and services. Executive Vice President Mia Rose Tu’ifua posed further concerns about only the first 15 minutes of ASPB general meetings serving as open forum, underscoring the lack of a dedicated space for students to engage in public discourse. Following a brief closed session deliberation, the Senate decided to not approve the constitution at the time, citing ambiguity about time commitments, noting that Senators would be willing to work with ASPB to revise the constitution and

thanking the chairpeople for their thoughtful dialogue.

Afterward, Elections Director Diya Baskaran provided a brief elections update regarding candidacy numbers for 2026-27 ASUCR positions, revealing there is no First-Time College Student Director candidate.

Additionally, a special election was held for the role of International Student Director. The sole candidate, Jamil Asad, delivered a brief speech, highlighting accessibility, advocacy and community as the central points behind his work. Asad, a CalFresh Intern at the Basic Needs Center, voiced his desire to expand upon the work he already performs at the resource center, especially the Butterfly Meal Swipe Program co-operated by the Basic Needs Center and Undocumented Student Programs.

The Senate appointed Asad to the role after a brief closed session discussion.

Vice President of Sustainability Anahita Hooshyari Far presented a $12,000 large-scale Green Campus Action Plan (GCAP) grant for the upcoming Earth Day Festival, an event hosted in collaboration between GCAP and the Office of Sustainability featuring various food offerings, a dozen DIY activities from composting to

candlemaking and environmental education. The grant was approved 12-0-1.

The Senate also passed SR-S26-001, a resolution affirming ASUCR will stand in solidarity with survivors and condemn any and all forms of sexual assault in light of recent allegations against labor rights activist Cesar Chavez. The resolution passed 10-0-3.

SPP Senator Prashanth added a reminder in recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month: “Just because somebody has a lot of power, that doesn’t minimize the accountability that they should be held to.”

Meeting minutes for Finance Budget Hearing #14 were approved 12-0-1.

During public comment, fourth-year student Nayeli Dominguez, who works at Chicano Student Programs, asked for ASUCR to increase their efforts to hold conversations with the students behind the Student Resource Centers. Dominguez noted student employees at these centers are oftentimes expected to bear the burden of answering the student body’s pressing questions in situations such as the recent allegations against Chavez, generally feeling unsupported by ASUCR. ■ H

Riverside pursues new affordable housing project

KASSANDRA AGUIRRE Staff Writer

THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED A GRANT APPLICATION FOR OVER $1.44 MILLION IN STATE FUNDING TO BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING UNITS.

On March 24, the City Council adopted a resolution to apply for the Prohousing Incentive Program (PIP) Round Four grant in pursuit of up to $1.44 million to support the development of new affordable housing units. If approved, the city could soon begin the construction of lowincome housing and move towards preserving its threatened pro-housing designation.

The PIP grant is an extension of the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), a state agency that awards localities grants and other funding to localities to support their development of affordable housing.

For jurisdictions to be eligible to apply for the PIP, they need to have a Prohousing Designation through the HCD’s Prohousing Designation Program, which Riverside was awarded in 2023. Depending on the city’s status towards fulfilling the HCD’s housing development requirements as mandated through their Regional Housing Needs Allocations (RHNA), jurisdictions can be awarded excess money on top of the standard provided with the PIP.

City Spokespersons have reported that Riverside’s project, which would be funded through the PIP grant, is ready to begin construction

within the next 12 to 18 months and build anywhere from 10 to 65 affordable units, with the city already having been in contact with unspecified developers. Although the city is prepared to begin the development of this new housing, its current strained relationship with the state, following the City Council’s decision to reject the University Terrace Home project, which had up to $20.1 million in state funding approved and would have housed 114 low-income residents, has reduced the city’s credibility regarding its commitment to similar projects.

Additionally, the last round of RHNA mandates was released in 2021 and ordered that Riverside develop 4,861 very low-income units, 3,064 low-income units, 3,139 moderate units and 7,394 above moderate units by 2029.

City records reflect that the city has issued a majority of housing permits to the development of above-moderate housing units, whereas they have not issued any to the low-income division since 2023 and the very lowincome division since 2022.

A letter sent to the City Council from the Inland Counties Legal Services (ICLS) — a local legal non-profit organization — in February indicated that the city’s track

towards non-compliance threatens Riverside’s standing with the state. It specifically poses a risk to the city’s Prohousing Designation, which it has had since 2023. The letter reads “First, noncompliance will result in ineligibility or delay in receiving state funds that require a compliant housing element as a prerequisite.”

The letter also reported that the HCD has been monitoring Riverside following the project’s rejection, stating “HCD is authorized to monitor Prohousing Designations on an ongoing basis and may revoke a Prohousing Designation at any time.”

The HCD will announce PIP grant recipients in June. If Riverside is awarded the PIP grant, funding towards the pending proposed housing and any residual funding would be stored in the city’s Housing Trust Fund, and be saved until the trust accumulates sufficient funding to develop further housing.

City libraries help connect community to homeless outreach programs

THE LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR COLLABORATIVE IS SEEKING TWO MORE YEARS OF CITY FUNDING TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY.

MARIBEL HERNANDEZ Staff Writer

At Riverside city libraries, residents experiencing homelessness or housing instability can now access support directly on site, as social work interns with the Love Your Neighbor Collaborative (LYNC) connect them to outreach services.

LYNC is a “coalition of faith communities, academic institutions and non-profit organizations working together with the city to prevent and end homelessness” administered by the Path of Life Ministries. As Loma Linda University’s School of Behavioral Health states, “Social work practice has a long relationship with religiously affiliated organizations (RAOs) and Christian churches,” explaining the close ties between the Path of Life Ministries and LYNC.

LYNC first began as a Ward 7 social work internship at La Sierra University. In 2018, it was then brought under the city by former Mayor Rusty Bailey as a response to “several faith-based communities, wanting to address the homeless crisis and provide services.”

The program seeks to eradicate homelessness in the city through three main approaches: First create network congressional social work programs with help from the public and religious

organizations who seek to end homelessness. Second, establish a social work practice model that aids those who are experiencing a housing crisis.Lastly, provide social work interns within religious organizations with the opportunity to gain field experience.

The program was integrated into the city’s library system in 2024, and in 2025, it helped connect 329 residents to more than 900 services. Among the services provided includes, but is not limited to: Connecting individuals with other networks of homeless services in the city, county and state, providing housing location and navigation services, setting up clinical services at the internship sites, as well as identifying and reporting any systemic barriers to access health care in the city.

The program aids those experiencing housing challenges, but it also supports individuals with mental health challenges by providing mental health screenings. Interestingly enough, both areas tend to overlap as studies have shown that “in 2024, 22% of adults experiencing homelessness had a serious mental illness,” according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Interns are drawn from Loma Linda

University, California Baptist University and La Sierra University to name a few, and there is currently one full-time social work specialist and 15 interns providing services across the eight Riverside Public Library locations.

A 2025 report submitted by the City of Riverside Board of Library Trustees states that interns are placed and supervised at the libraries for two years. Currently, there are “nine LYNC interns to date and currently three active interns” who are managing 14 separate cases. Despite these numbers, the report states that interns have provided “222 services at the Riverside Main Library, 223 services at the Riverside Arlington Library and 112 services at the SPC Jesus S. Duran Eastside Library.”

In order to continue to provide residents with these resources, LYNC is asking for two additional years of city funding to continue through the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention grant. This grant is intended to support “local jurisdictions in their unified regional response to reduce and end homelessness,” as the Housing Authority of the County of Riverside states. The deadline is quickly approaching, as it is set to go before the City Council on April 7. ■ H

USC cancels gubernatorial debate over diversity controversy

THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CANCELED THEIR GUBERNATORIAL DEBATE AFTER CONTROVERSY ON THE LACK OF DIVERSITY, HAVING EXCLUDED ALL CANDIDATES OF COLOR.

The University of Southern California (USC) earlier this week cancelled a gubernatorial debate planned for Tuesday, March 31, 2026 after some candidates accused the school of excluding them from the debate on the basis of racial discrimination.

The candidates who had been invited to attend the debate were Democrats Tom Steyer, Katie Porter, Eric Swalwell and Matt Mahan; along with Republicans, Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco, This drew criticism from Democrats Antonio Villaraigosa, Xavier Becerra, Betty Yee and Tony Thurmond, who were all established candidates of color, but did not meet the criteria established by USC to participate in the debate.

Much of the criticism was directed to San Jose’s mayor Matt Mahan’s inclusion in the debate, having joined months after his competitors. Mahan’s inclusion was due to him outraising many competitors

while having polling lower or the same as Antonio Villaraigosa and Xavier Becerra.

Following the accusations toward the university, USC has defended their formula used to select candidates denying any allegation of bias, releasing a statement claiming that the formula to determine candidate selection was independently formulated and calculated by Professor of political science and public policy Christian Grose.

A group of 50 public policy and social science scholars defended the professor in a letter to USC President Beong-Soo Kim, urging “USC to stand firm in rejecting all efforts to apply political pressure on its faculty and its overall academic mission.”

The debate was planned to be hosted by ABC7/KABC-TV Los Angeles and the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, but was called off after USC couldn’t reach an agreement with KABC to expand the number of candidates in the

debate.

The cancellation of the debate comes at a time when there is no clear frontrunner in the race as of yet. An averaged set of five polls on 270 to win putting Steve Hilton in first with 15.6% of the vote, followed by Chad Bianco with 14.6%, Eric Swalwell with 14%, Katie Porter with 11.4%, Tom Steyer with 10.4%, Xavier Becerra with 4.2%, Antonio Villaraigosa with 3.8% and Matt Mahan with 3% as of April 2, 2026.

This puts both Republicans in the lead and due to California utilizing a top-two primary system of voting in the gubernatorial elections, the fragmented nature of the current Democratic voter base could allow the two Republican candidates to advance to the general election, locking out the possibility of a Democratic governor.

Riverside County Sheriff Bianco’s election investigation is a PR stunt

THIS PUBLICITY MOVE HAS REAL CONSEQUENCES IN A TIME WHEN PUBLIC TRUST IN ELECTIONS IS BEING QUESTIONED.

CECILE DIROLL Opinions Editor

In March 2026, Riverside County Sheriff and California gubernatorial candidate Chad Bianco seized more than 65,000 ballots from elections officials for the November 2025 special election on Proposition 50.

According to Bianco, he took the ballots to start an investigation into whether votes were “fraudulently counted” after a citizen activist group, the Riverside Election Integrity Team, alleged that 45,896 more ballots were counted than cast. Bianco secured three warrants from Riverside County Judge Jay Kiel, whom he endorsed in 2022 when he ran for the bench. The warrants remain sealed, though news organizations filed a motion to seek public access last week.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta immediately challenged Bianco’s investigation, calling it “unprecedented” and a “constitutional emergency.” His office filed a case in both Riverside County Superior Court and the state Supreme Court. Other groups, such as the UCLA Voting Rights Project, have also sought legal challenges to return the seized ballots to the county registrar.

On March 30, 2026, Bianco said that the probe was “on hold” because of “politically motivated lawsuits and court filings.”

This probably won’t be the first or last controversial move or statement from Bianco. For instance, he briefly joined the Oath Keepers militia in 2014, supports the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (an organization that believes local sheriff authority is superior to state and federal agencies) and has said he would “cooperate” with federal immigration enforcement if they came to Riverside County.

Therefore, it is no surprise that he would seize the opportunity to stage a high-profile investigation to garner publicity for his California gubernatorial campaign. However, this PR stunt has real consequences in a time when public trust in elections is being questioned.

After losing the 2020 presidential election, President Trump claimed voter fraud involving voting machines, mail-in ballots and non-citizen voting, despite a lack of evidence supporting his allegations. However, he has a history of undermining elections he loses, including when he won the 2016 presidential election but claimed he only lost the popular vote due to “wrongdoing.” Now, his administration wants to “nationalize” the 2026 midterm elections by restricting mailin ballots and creating a nationwide list of “verified eligible voters.”

Trump’s election denialism has damaged a key aspect of democracy: trust in elections, a

foundation of the U.S. democratic system. A 2024 study found that 57% of Americans said they are ‘very or somewhat confident that the votes for president will be accurately cast and counted.’ While 84% of Democrats expressed confidence, only 28% of Republicans did.

Similar to the situation at the federal level, there is no credible evidence indicating largescale fraud in Riverside County. Registrar of Voters (ROV) Art Tinoco clarified that the activist group’s audit was based on incomplete data, relying on handwritten documents derived from hand-counted ballots, which are only meant as reference guides.

Instead, the county’s Election Information Management System and the Liberty Vote System found a discrepancy of 103 ballots, which was reported to the California Secretary of State’s Office. This does not mean that citizen oversight of local governments and election officials should be discouraged. However, incorrect and unverified claims should not be promoted by public officials.

The timing of this investigation is also months after the actual election. If legitimate issues had been raised, the county could have investigated the ballots earlier through a more standard, cooperative and transparent process — not by secretly obtaining sealed warrants and seizing ballots from county offices. Bianco is just trying to stir the pot by engaging

with Trump’s election denialism, especially since approximately 56% of Riverside County residents supported Prop 50.

Additionally, the election probe is an overreach of Bianco’s authority. The sheriff’s department is responsible for law enforcement services in Riverside County, including running county jails, performing Coroner-Public Administrator functions and court services. It does not say that the county sheriff can act alone in investigating suspected election fraud months after the election. In California, these investigations are usually conducted by the county’s district attorney’s office and involve the county’s elections registrar and the California Secretary of State. County sheriffs like Bianco do not act independently.

Ultimately, Bianco is casting doubt on a system that shows no evidence of election fraud. The investigation undermines confidence in Riverside County’s elections and in the voters who supported Prop 50. This is a PR move ahead of the California gubernatorial race, where recent polls show Republican candidates Steve Hilton and Bianco are leading among primary voters.

Riverside County residents should not get involved in a campaign controversy just to give Bianco some publicity. The election investigation needs to end without delay.

Take it or Leave it: Canvas is after your life’s happiness

HERE COMES ANOTHER CANVAS NOTIFICATION, #IWOULDRATHERCHOOSEDUOLINGOOVERTHIS.

SHREYA PATEL Staff Writer

If you are a horror movie fan, you probably like to watch the scariest film that you can find on the internet. But even the toughest hearts get scared of this. Forget jump scares, forget ominous music, forget that iconic creak of the door in a dark hallway, absolutely nothing compares to the quiet buzz of your phone, followed by the notification that reads “Assignment Graded.”

Yes, you guessed it right. That is the Canvas app coming for you like how the “Nun” attacked in the “Conjuring” from the painting. Canvas is even scarier than the Duolingo owl. That creepy yet innocent green creature will definitely haunt your dreams, roast you like you don’t have any respect and motivate you to learn a new language all at the same time. It’s unsettling, yes, but not as much as the Canvas notifications. Those will derail your life at the worst possible moment, especially when you are having fun over break.

Canvas somehow knows you are not thinking about school and will deliberately enter your life, saying, “Oh, did you forget about me? Your educational responsibilities?” Duolingo will do the same, but in a lighter manner. It’s very predictable — once a day, the owl will fly into your life to remind you to complete your Spanish, keep your streak and then move on with life.

Canvas, on the other hand, is different. If Canvas had a motto, it would be “don’t let them know your next move” because you will never know when it is coming and what it will say — either a simple announcement from your professor or your midterm grades are released. You can place a bet that it’s almost never good news. There are also different versions of the tactics Canvas has to ruin your mood, from “Assignment Posted” to “Grade Changed” to “Assignment Missing” when you were very sure that you had submitted it before 11:59 p.m. last night.

You can easily skip the Duolingo owl’s threats if you want, but Canvas doesn’t provide that option. It enters with the audacity to change your grades, tank or raise your GPA and your entire quarter can hinge on what shows up on that app. You chase good grade streaks like it’s a reflex, instead of a chore that Duolingo presents. Think of Canvas as the one person you’re obsessed with but who doesn’t reciprocate. You’re trapped in a never-ending pursuit, looking at your phone all the time for an affectionate gesture that typically ends in heartbreaking bad news.

Meanwhile, Duolingo is like the guy who likes you, but you don’t like him. He will be after you all day, even in the middle of an all-girls day out, reminding you that he needs attention as if that streak can’t be broken. It’s a subtle reminder, a shot he

shoots that might work out.

At the end of the day, the Duolingo owl might be persistent and a good motivator for your language learning goals with that little threat it adds. But Canvas will always be the unpredictable, intrusive and powerful villain in life that is after one’s happiness. You can try your best to enjoy your breaks without those notifications, but you cannot escape them.

Even if the notifications are silent, once you open the app, you will be welcomed by the 109 new reminders about all the assignments being posted. But don’t be scared to ask Canvas to spare you from all assignments for a week; in my opinion, that’s what will end this pain. Forget the Canvas announcements and take motivation from the Duolingo owl while you relax over break, because that owl will be your green flag for some time.

The Iran War is more than just a US conflict

AS THE WAR IN IRAN ESCALATES, A FEW POWERFUL PARTIES ARE DRIVING THE CONFLICT FOR DIFFERING AGENDAS.

ALAN LOK Staff Writer

One big question that the architects of the war in Iran won’t and can’t answer is why the U.S. is fighting this war. The solution emerges through visualizing the convergence of various actors with conflicting agendas on a failing war.

The war in Iran isn’t being led by a single plan, but by many differing agendas that have led to this conflict being pulled in many directions. Three competing goals are at play here.

First, President Trump has called for a rapid change in leadership, shadowing his approach during the 2019 Venezuela crisis when his first administration supported opposition leader Juan Guaidó in a failed bid to oust Nicolás Maduro. Similarly, Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally and leading voice on foreign policy in Congress, has publicly advocated for a more aggressive stance toward Iran, including sanctions and potential military action. The White House’s focus is on the destruction of Iran’s weapons, such as its ballistic missile program, nuclear enrichment infrastructure and advanced drone capabilities.

In an interview after the war started, President Trump stated, “What we did in Venezuela, I think, is the perfect, the perfect scenario,” which he said meant replacing the Iranian leadership with someone who is friendlier to the U.S. This is exactly what his administration did in Venezuela. The U.S. and Venezuela have had a history of hostile relations, but then Trump launched a special forces operation to capture Venezuela’s President Maduro and his wife. This wasn’t a regime change, as Venezuela’s political system has remained unchanged. Instead, Maduro’s Vice President took over.

At the start of the conflict, President Trump claimed responsibility for the killing of Iran’s

supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and stated that he must be involved in selecting Iran’s next leader, for which he said he already had “three very good choices.” This approach echoes his earlier policy toward Venezuela, where his administration supported opposition leadership in efforts to oust Maduro. Together, these examples illustrate a consistent emphasis on promoting regime change as a central feature of his foreign policy strategy.

Second, the U.S. and Israel want to destroy Iran’s military hardware and nuclear capabilities. The desired model here for Iran seems to be the Clinton administration’s 1998 Operation Desert Fox, a bombing campaign intended to destroy Iraq’s military installations and suspected weapons of mass destruction. This explanation has been promoted by numerous White House statements of the “nuclear threat” and figures like Senator Graham, who stated that the goal of this operation is to “change the threat, not the regime.”

This form of limited warfare has precedents in American foreign policy, including Ronald Reagan’s 1986 announcement of U.S. airstrikes on Libyan military and command targets, and President Bill Clinton’s 1998 announcement of strikes on Iraqi military and strategic targets.

What is less widely known is that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman allegedly pressed Trump repeatedly to launch airstrikes against Iran to neutralize its military before it could grow stronger. The Saudis had kept their role secret as they didn’t want to risk a protracted regional war that could harm their interests. They wish to maintain regional stability, avoiding retaliation and protecting their broader economic goals, especially Vision 2030. They also want to preserve their influence over the Gulf states and

keep energy markets and trade routes predictable in such a volatile environment.

Third, Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu and his obvious agenda are at play here. In a speech given to an Israeli TV station a week into the war, Netanyahu stated he wished to liberate Iran and that he had a systemic plan to destroy or destabilize its entire political system and government. He has pushed this agenda for a long time. In 2002, while testifying to Congress, he said he wanted to “see” a regime change in Iran, followed by Iraq.

Ultimately, this war has three different kinds of goals launched to fulfill three different agendas on behalf of a few different actors, each pulling the Iranian state into a conflict. The least preferable move would be to let the conflict expand without a clear U.S. end state, since wars that begin with limited objectives often become harder to contain once allies have different goals.

If Trump’s aim is really to avoid a protracted regional war, which he promised to keep the U.S. out of, then the safer course is to withdraw the U.S. from open-ended involvement, focusing on a narrow and specific mission, and resisting being drawn into Israel’s broader intent of regime change unless there is a compelling direct threat to U.S. interests.

He should acknowledge Netanyahu’s security concerns, but certainly not outsource American strategy to them. This is because the U.S. public is unlikely to support another prolonged Middle East war — and wars in general — as President Trump’s unpopularity in the Iran war increases. The next step should be de-escalation, consistent diplomacy and a clear definition of what and how success looks like before the conflict widens further.

American DEI died long before the government came for the nation’s medical schools

ONCE TOUTED AS PROGRESS, FEDERAL DEI HAS BROKEN VIRTUALLY EVERY PROMISE.

President Donald Trump’s recent intensive review into alleged racial discrimination at three of the nation’s medical schools is far more than a federal policy at play — it’s a blatant pass over the very students that federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs once promised to protect and uplift.

On March 25, 2026, the federal government opened an investigation and mandated the medical schools at Stanford University, University of California, San Diego and Ohio State University either hand over sensitive student admissions data or risk damaging cuts to their federal funding. The demand is framed as part of the administration’s efforts to determine whether these schools have racially discriminatory admissions practices.

The requested student data extends far beyond basic demographic data, including detailed and personal information such as students’ family income, Pell Grant eligibility, grade point average, parents’ education level, high school test scores, decision type — early or regular — and other financial aid data for every student admissions file on record since 2019.

The data would provide an intimate and

violating look into students’ private lives, tracking every aspect of their lives and placing it right in the hands of the federal government in the name of a racial discrimination crackdown. The investigation is being sold to Americans as a pursuit of fair and equal opportunity in the nation’s educational institutions, but it is nothing more than a hidden political weapon that puts students’ mental, academic and professional wellbeing on the line.

one such warning that should have already been an eye-opener. Instead, Americans once again held onto their hopes and defeats alike as the federal government carried along, cautioning that any educational institutions using racial considerations in their admissions decisions will face the penalty of punitive federal funding cuts. In a follow-up Frequently Asked Questions document on March 1, 2025, came the clarification that DEI programs also cannot be used in any capacity as they supposedly show preferential treatment on a racial basis.

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On March 11, 2026, California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Trump administration over what he called a “fishing expedition,” exposing the cracks in the sociopolitical system and accentuating the ways in which federal oversight is weaponized to mute rather than amplify minority voices.

Since its introduction, DEI has carried the glaring promise of equity, protection and opportunity — seemingly a foot in the door and sustained support for those historically denied education — but these promises ring hollow in the present day. At minority-serving institutions especially, such as five of nine schools within the University of California system, the pressure on schools to hand over the data adds yet another strain to the daily struggle that minority students face relentlessly.

The Trump administration’s investigation has only served to underscore the nauseating reality that students are only numbers in the system, disposable for the next batch in the nation’s performative theater of political power plays.

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The warning signs of DEI’s rapid-fire decimation have long been apparent.

The Feb. 14, 2025, Dear Colleague letter issued by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights was

In demanding inclusion, the push for DEI has become more exclusive and restrictive, allowing the lives of real individuals to be left at the mercy of federal policymakers who launch life-changing and irreversible investigations so easily, as if deciding what to eat for breakfast.

DEI’s death started far before the government’s investigation; it began when promises for student protection and educational advancement were reduced to performative and sensationalized formalities. Now, DEI’s legacy has mutated into its own Frankenstein-esque antithesis: fostering division, exclusion and intolerance.

Features Scotty-Scopes:

Blossom into your week with some flower language.

(Sept. 23 – Oct. 22):

Everything in your life is begging for balance right about now, but to be balanced doesn’t mean you need to be neutral. Cream cups contrast with their backgrounds, light against dark. You remain soft but visible. Choose yourself this week.

(Dec. 22 – Jan. 19):

You’re at the edge of change. The Farewell-toSpring blooms right before everything changes, just as its name suggests. Don’t just push on through to the next big thing in your life, sit down for a while and take everything in during this metamorphosis.

Aries (March 21 – April 19): California Poppy

To be a California poppy is to be bold and resilient. Your unabashed presence is bright and loud — much like the poppies sprouting on hillsides now. This week everyone has their eyes on you, but be careful lest you burn yourself out, it’s important that you last beyond the season.

Cancer (June 21 – July 22): Blazing Star

Everything has been a little bit sharper lately. The blazing star stands tall in open fields. Even when it’s exposed to the elements, it chooses not to bow to their whims. There’s a lesson to be learned in its sturdiness.

Scorpio (Oct. 23 – Nov. 21):

From a distance, everything looks neat and uncontrolled, but much like tidy tips, you hold contrast in every petal, and there’s more to you than surface level. It’s time to be vulnerable and let out the parts of you that aren’t exposed to the sun often.

20 – Feb. 18): Sky

Your ideas are loftier than your reality. For now, that’s not where they should be. The sky lupine stretches outward, unconcerned about fitting into neat spaces. It’s time to be a bit more practical and lay down your roots.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20): Indian Paintbrush

It’s been a rough start to the quarter, but you’ve been holding your ground. While the Indian paintbrush thrives in tough soil, that doesn’t mean you need to struggle to reach your full potential. Make sure to enjoy what’s going on around you, you don’t always have to fight to achieve peace.

Leo (July 23 – Aug. 22): Douglas Iris

All your life, you’ve been the loudest color in the room. This week you need to learn to tone down. It’s time to learn that attention is not recognition, spend time with those who truly understand you and learn to live intentionally.

THE SIGNS AS CALIFORNIA SPRING WILDFLOWERS

MATA ELANGOVAN Editor-in-Chief

(Nov. 22 – Dec. 21):

Freedom is better when it’s not an escape from your troubles. You’re chasing something that may not be attainable right now — a feeling, an idea or even a ghost of the past. Redirect your attention. Buttercups don’t stay in one place for too long, and neither should you.

(Feb. 19 – March 20):

The phacelia draws in pollinators, creating quiet connections unseen by the naked eye. Just like it, you’ve been absorbing a lot from the people around you. Not every connection has to rely on you, you can still care deeply about others without carrying the burden by yourself.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20): Lupine

Just like a lupine, you’re never alone. You’re always juggling ideas and conversations with other people, constantly looking for answers. Don’t forget, not everything needs an answer this week, sometimes you just have to see where the wind carries you.

Virgo (Aug. 23 – Sept. 22): Owl’s Clover

There’s a lot you’ve been doing behind the scenes, and it’s slowly starting to show. Even if no one has said it out loud, those who are looking notice that just like the owl’s clover, you’re easy to miss. Keep going, but don’t shrink to maintain a facade of subtlety.

Students and supply chains — Susan Zieger’s work at UCR

SUSAN ZIEGER’S TIME AT RIVERSIDE HAS BEEN SPENT GIVING BACK TO STUDENTS AND THE COMMUNITY THAT SURROUNDS THEM.

Susan Zieger has taught at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) since 2003, and throughout her time here, she has explored the different ways our world today has been formed through the ambitions and innovations of others.

Zieger started off as an English major during her time as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley. She pursued her doctoral degree shortly after at Stanford University, wanting to enjoy student life a bit more, and there, she realized her love of academia and decided then and there that she wanted to be a professor in English. After earning her degree, she came to UCR in 2003 and has been teaching here since.

Much of Zieger’s early work focuses on media in the 19th century and how that has shaped our modern day society. She explains that while studying her specialization in graduate school, she was “really drawn to the 19th century” and that she “felt that so much of the present owed itself to what had happened then.”

Power: Supply Chains from Slavery to Space,” she explores the history of logistics, which she defines as the ability to efficiently move goods, people and information from point to point to optimize capital. Zieger starts as early as the Atlantic Slave

and militarized zone and how logistics would allow that to become a reality.

The Inland Empire is no stranger to this sort of transportation of goods as a great deal of California’s manufacturing and shipping industry occurs in Riverside itself. Zieger interviewed students working in Amazon warehouses, who described harsh labor conditions, and examined why shipping operations are concentrated in Riverside rather than somewhere else in the Inland Empire, such as San Bernardino.

Trade, emphasizing the cost of treating human beings as numbers and the modern day environmental costs of a increasingly globalized market.

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She explored how print media in spheres such as the temperance movement has impacted social movements and perceptions of drinking. In her recent work however she has shifted away from classical literature and more into hands-on research.

In her newest book “Logistics and

She shares, “I’m part of a whole host of really fantastic scholars at UCR who study logistics critically, not the practice of it. What are the human and environmental costs of it? I sort of situate myself in this area, and this has influenced the entire project, but I’m also expanding it to write an entire history of logistics.”

She even covers topics such as the idea of space becoming a commercial

When she’s not doing intensive research on the logistics industry, Zieger can be found teaching classes. Currently, as a professor of English, she is teaching “Intro to Genre and Literatures of the British Empire.”

In her classes however, Zieger encourages students to engage with each other in conversation by switching back to text-based reading, “For example, this quarter I’m restricting devices in my classes. I thought people were going to push back against that and try to get their laptops out. And nobody has, and so I hope they’re feeling the same energy that I’m feeling, like we’re just there together now.”

Zieger continues to want to deepen her connections with colleagues, students and her community and serve the people around her.

SPOTLIGHT NORM’S NOOK

The emergency call boxes

You might have seen these blue poles riddled around campus and wondered what they are. These are call boxes that might just save your life or someone else’s! They have a red emergency button that, if pushed, connects you to the University of California, Police Department. These call buttons are meant to be used only to report emergen-

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cies. These can be found around buildings on campus but also in parking lots surrounding the university. Hopefully, knowing this information can bring a sense of comfort when walking around campus at nighttime.

JOES FOODS

25. Summer, in France 28. Trader Joe’s healthy snack 33. Twice, in music 36. ____ au chocolat

Attack 38. Son of Seth

40. Prepares for a trip

43. Suvari of “American Beauty”

44. Periodic table figs

18. “How silly __ __!”

“_ ____ of robins in her hair”

En pointe, in ballet

46. Japanese noodle 48. TV color model, for short

49. 20A topping Typo: Chillicrunch

53. “___ Ramsey”: ‘70s TV Western

By K Staff

54. Popular Indian cricket league

55. Bibliophile’s collection

59. Perfect with TJ garlic naan

64. Deaf as _ ____

66. “Hey, sailor!”

67. Oil painting artist Lennar

68. “Home _____”

69. Enjoy a book

70. File format for digital books

71. Equally hot 72. Popular lunch bags 73. Party platter items DOWN

Playground comeback

French _____ soup

Influence

Two-time chess World Champion 5. China’s ____ En-lai

Twin Cities campus, informally

____ and circumstance 8. Inscribed stone markers

What the Kepler space telescope was designed to discover

“You ____?”

McLaren Solus

Marx’s “___

Bring upon oneself

Grande Beauty Brand

Volleyball venue

Words with clear or

Watermelon Popsicles

By: Brianna Galaviz-Villagomez, Contributing Writer

This is the perfect treat for hot days!

Instructions:

Cut the watermelon in half. Then, cut the watermelon into quarters so that you can cut the flesh into cubes … Make sure you have 2 cups worth of watermelon before you place it into a blender with the water. Add strawberries, lime juice and honey, if desired. Blend until smooth.

For the chamoy, mix ½ tablespoon of tajin with 2 tablespoons of apricot or strawberry marmalade.

Place the chamoy mixture in the bottom of the cup ensuring it’s an even layer. Pour the blended watermelon mixture, then place a popsicle stick in the middle.

Freeze overnight and plop the popsicle out by squeezing the cup and pulling the stick upward. Enjoy!

SUDOKU

DIFFICULTY: EASY

Prep Time: 30 minutes Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of fresh watermelon

• 1 cup of strawberries (optional)

• 1/2 cup water

• 2 tablespoons of lime juice (optional)

• 1 tablespoon of honey (optional)

• 1/2 tablespoon of tajin

• 2 tablespoons of apricot or strawberry marmalade

Find out which of these popular snacks represents you!

By: Nola Perifel, Assistant Features Editor

1. During social events, you tend to:

A. The super protective one that everyone is afraid of

B. The person turn to when they need a good listener

C. The one that knows everything

2. Your perfect birthday gift:

A. Skydiving

B. A creative pottery class

C. Taking a trip to a new place

3. What is your hobby?

A. Making music

B. Crochet or sewing

C. Reading

What Trader Joe’s Snack are you? answer key

If you got “A,” you are the Chili and Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips. With a spicy personality, you are an extroverted person who is energetic, bold and never afraid of novelty. You are the favorite of the friend group because you are effortlessly funny and always engage in exciting things. Everyone always goes to you when you need advice and you are also very protective of your close family and friends.

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If you got “B,” you are the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dunkers. As a sweet, creative, reliable and trustworthy person, you put on a tough exterior but soften after getting to know a person. Friends turn to you when they need a shoulder to cry on or someone to vent to. You can be very hands-on and you tend to like artsy things. Like dunkers did with the chocolate chip cookie, you like to reinvent classics.

If you got “C,” you are the Brioche Style Liège Waffles. You enjoy traveling and seeing the world. There’s a spark in you to try new things. Because of your tendency to always be right, you usually annoy the people around you. You like to read because books allow you to travel to imaginary places. You are just sweet enough and you are usually the one that knows everything. Don’t underestimate your wits!

Delicious coffee and tea for a good cause

EXPLORING STRAY DOGS COFFEE IN DOWNTOWN RIVERSIDE.

The sun breaks through the clouds, casting its gentle warmth over the city while the scent of flowers fills the air. Spring returns to Riverside in a riot of color and noise. It draws students in, exciting them with the possibilities of exploration. After all, a new quarter means new food places and antique stores to discover. Here, in downtown Riverside, is a delightful coffee shop and a perfect study space. This cafe is also dog-friendly, greeting your furry friend with open arms. Welcome to Stray Dogs Coffee.

When you first walk in, you are struck with how open and bright it is. Large windows line the left side of the shop, letting in sunlight. You walk further and step up to the counter to order. To the right of the register is a display case of mouth-watering pastries: apple coffee cakes, Japanese cheesecakes, custard croissants and so much more. The coffee and matcha options are even more tantalizing.

Each flavor and special sounds so good it can be difficult to decide. Stray Dogs even has noncaffeinated drinks such as lemonade and hot chocolate. It also offers ice cream and affogato as an option through the shop’s partnership with The Roosevelt Ice Cream. Thankfully, the baristas are very kind and open to providing recommendations based on your tastes.

Once you order, you can move into the shop proper. Tables are arranged next to the large windows with jars of flowers placed as centerpieces. Moving even further in, the tables transition into couches that line the back wall. Large, fluffy and comfortable, they’re perfect for groups of friends to sit and chat for hours.

There is a small nook next to these couches. Within is a mirror with beautiful filigreed words inscripted, reading “You are fearfully and wonderfully made.” The words on the mirror perfectly encapsulate the welcoming energy of the coffee shop.

Stray Dogs Coffee is owned and run by married couple Tyler and Jess. They showcase their Korean and Japanese heritage through the drinks and pastries they serve. The duo creates their syrups and cold foams in-house, with each month bringing in new recipes for customers to try.

The month of March finished off with the Honey Series. This series lets you choose either a latte or matcha flavored with honey and various types of cold foams: salted honey, pistachio or peaches & cream. Their specialty drinks are a little expensive at $8, but everything is homemade and carefully curated.

In addition, 10% of all the store’s profits go to supporting dog shelters and fostering organizations like Foster Army. I would say you are more than getting your money’s worth. Their drinks were as delicious as their names, and their pastries tasted as good as they looked.

Another One

Price: $8

Rating: 4.5/5

I had the delight of trying one of their lattes named “Another One.” I quickly found out how aptly the drink was named. It was so delicious I had to physically restrain myself from getting, well, another one. This specialty latte was a simple brown sugar cinnamon latte topped with

a vanilla cold foam. The flavors were perfectly balanced and a joy to consume. Nothing was overpowered and every ingredient served to complement the next.

Custard Croissant

Price: $4

Rating: 5/5

After intense deliberation, I tried the Custard Croissant. This pastry had a fluffy, heart-shaped crust filled with rich custard and topped with a green grape, a raspberry and a blackberry. All these flavors melted into my mouth so delightfully. A solid 5/5 for this treat. I knew I had to come back as soon as possible to try every single flavor of coffee and pastry this shop offered.

Stray Dogs Coffee was a delightful find for the start of spring quarter. It should immediately be added to every student’s rotation of Riverside coffee shops and study spaces. From the warm light that filters through the large windows to the kind staff and delicious drinks, the environment of the shop lends itself to increased productivity. It ensures that any potential stress melts from your shoulders, allowing you to stay focused. I could see myself and many other Highlanders cruising through their assignments because of the warmth that emanates from this cafe. As we enter spring quarter and the workload begins to get heavier, don’t forget Stray Dogs Coffee. The shop will wait for you everyday (except Sunday) from 7 a.m to 5 p.m. Let them draw you in with their irresistible concoctions and ease the burdens from your mind.

A step to a greener earth

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO AVOID GREENWASHING.

AMRITA ASHOK Contributing Writer

Greenwashing is the act of portraying a product, service or company as more environmentally friendly than it is. It is essentially a lie set out by companies to incentivize and promote their product, and avoid appearing destructive to the environment.

But as consumers like you and I know, there is more to it than meets the eye. While we could go on and on about the impact of business deception, it is our responsibility as consumers to pay attention to what we purchase. We are responsible for purchasing a product and using it. We have to learn how to avoid encouraging this sort of scam if we are to continue to live a more informed and environmentally friendly life, so here’s some tips on how to start!

Greenwashing starts right when the product’s labels are formed, and if we wish to avoid greenwashing, we must identify it first. You will fall victim to being greenwashed right when you purchase a product, so before doing so, there are some steps we must take.

Some things to think about are the labeling and evidence, looking at specificity, validation through thirdparty organizations and the lifecycle of the product.

Identifying greenwashing starts with conducting research about the product. This can be done by observing the label on the product, observing the company’s website and looking for specific descriptions about the product’s environmental standards, avoiding buzzwords like “eco-friendly,” “natural” and “pure.” Then, examine the presence of third-party labels from impartial organizations like Cradle to Cradle, EU Ecolabel, Nordic Swan Ecolabel and Green Seal, as they are highly trusted independent certifications. Finally, assess the lifecycle of the product from the moment its materials are extracted to the disposal of the product.

We have more power than we think. We can blame companies and businesses for their environmental damage, misuse and fraud, but as consumers, we are the ones purchasing those environmentally-harmful products and provide fraudulent businesses with the money to fund it. We have the power to choose, even when it seems like we do not. We must learn how to avoid greenwashing if we are to continue to live our lives the way that we want.

My unfailing grace

A SONNET TO MY DEAR LADY LUCK, EVER FAITHFUL.

O Lady Luck, whose beauty none compare,

More rare than all the wonders my eyes behold, Thy grace late has filled the yielding air, And crowned my days with fortune,

Life deals its cards, its dice, its cruel spin, A pain that never wholly fades away, Thou turn my losses into certain win, And guide my hand through night as well as day,

The love whose absence yet I feel, A shadow soft that time tries to undo, In thee her ghost returns, yet more is real, For thou remain, while love falls through,

Life’s beauty shines, yet sweeter joys I see, Unconditional thy favor seems to be,

When thou, my Lady Luck, are standing close by me, Please stay and break this losing streak, I beg of thee.■ H

TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2026

EVENTS THIS WEEK

4/8 4/9 4/10 4/11

MAYEYA: African Diaspora Rhythms in Latin America: An Interactive Concert Lecture (Florence Bayz Music Series) @ARTS 157 at 12 p.m.

SciComm’s Art + Science Artist Exhibition @Barn Theatre from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Visual Noise: Smog’s MFA Show (Dress Rehearsal) @ ARTS 166 at 8:00 p.m.

Spring Reception

@ARTS from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Discourse comes to life in ‘Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein: A Round Table’

“TO MOULD ME MAN? DID I SOLICIT THEE?”

IAN PALMA / JIHOON KWON Radar Editor / Staff Writer

On April 1, 2026, the English Department at UC Riverside hosted a roundtable discussion on Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” with English professor andré carrington and three English doctoral students Loren Barbour, Kris Lien and Rhiannon Rogers. carrington led the discussion by asking a set of analytical questions about the film which Barbour, Lien and Rogers responded to by applying their expertise on their respective focused area.

The panelists began the discussion by listing some expectations they each had going into the film. Given Del Toro’s penchant when it comes to depicting the relationship between humanity and monstrosity, the expectations for him to do justice for one of the most famous science fiction novels of all time were high. Lien also expected an exploration of father-son relationships between Victor Frankenstein and the creature.

Having watched the film, Lien confirmed that the film indeed paralleled del Toro’s previous works, most notably “Pinocchio.” They also mentioned a few things they did not expect that were in the film. One of the most notable detractions was how Victor’s relationship with his mother played somewhat of a central role, something not seen in previous iterations.

Lien, whose research areas include animation studies, was then asked about the role of animation in the film. Lien makes note of how the use of animation by Del Toro, at times awkward and rigid, heavily mimics Victor’s own experience bringing something as equally awkward as a monster to life. It makes sense given how animation usually involves manipulation and

control of compositions, scale, texture and other aspects the same way that Frankenstein controls life and death.The creature is unable to live up to Victor’s standards beyond a few gestures and Victor concludes that the creature might as well be killed. Lien saw this journey of the creature as del Toro raising biological and ethical questions about what it means to be fully human.

Barbour, having studied monsters extensively, was interested specifically in the casting of the creature and the ways in which people have responded to it. She pointed out that the audience members who are familiar with del Toro’s films have become increasingly used to seeing Doug Jones playing the monster and that in various adaptations of Frankenstein in the past, the audience often focuses on how the actor embodies the movement of the creature, being characterized with superhuman strength as well as disabilities.

She also saw monsters as a portrayal of otherness such as people of color imbued with fear, but also something people that identify with the representation can connect with. Barbour notes how previous roles that actors playing the monster were involved with influence how audiences see the monster as well.

The topic of faithfulness when adapting the source material was additionally touched upon within the panel. It’s no secret that the 2025 film strays far from the original source, in which diehard fans of the novel were not particularly fond about. Rogers tackled these criticisms head on, specifically bringing up the play “Presumption; or the Fate of Frankenstein.”

Performed in 1823, the play saw critical acclaim all the while further solidifying modern notions about “Frankenstein,” including the idea of the monster being a green, rigor mortisafflicted creature. Mary Shelley, who also happened to be an audience member during the play’s run, was enthralled by the adaptation. In spite of all of the liberties taken, the play was successful to the point where interest in the novel was renewed.

Although the handling of certain creative choices within Del Toro’s adaptation are open to critique, it would be absurd to call the film out on the simple basis in which it doesn’t follow source material, especially when many adaptations have also strayed to varying successes.

Along with Del Toro’s adaptation, “The Bride!” was given ample attention during the discussion. There is mention about how Shelley, who has a prominent role within the film, is given various asides akin to play, which could be a subtle nod to “Presumption; or the Fate of Frankenstein.” Panelists noted the film’s boldness when it comes to running with the legacy of “Frankenstein” as well as Mary Shelley herself, albeit with respect to both.

The panelists gave audience members a chance to ask questions such as Elizabeth’s role within the 2025 film and whether the monster would be given more grace if it were given feminine traits. All in all, the discourse on what is arguably the most influential science fiction novel of all time is alive and well, and it proves to grow stronger as another adaptation gets made.

Album Review: ‘BULLY’

HOW MENTAL HEALTH CAN CARRY OR SHATTER A LEGACY.

ANTHONY ASCENCIO-CARVAJAL Staff Writer

On March 28, 2026, rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West released his 12th studio album, “Bully.” Its rollout had a rocky start, as speculations of Artificial Intelligence (AI) use within leaked versions led to West spending more time with song revisions. Being distributed independently under the record label Gamma, its release times were met regularly with delays or setbacks, eventually releasing through YouTube first, then on other major streaming platforms soon after.

This all follows his Wall Street Journal apology letter titled “To Those I’ve Hurt.” In it, he apologizes to his family, the Jewish community and Black community due to his actions from the past couple years, and recent antisemetic remarks, that stemmed from his untreated bipolar disorder.

11/18 11/19 11/20

while having several collaborators from Don Toliver and Baby Keem to visit. For West this was supposed to be a “fresh chapter in his life.”

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This is after the many controversies that have followed West’s career. A year prior to Bully’s release, West had collaborated with Dave Blunts on an unreleased album titled “WW3,” which contained many antisemitic lyrics that were condemned. Around the same time, he had gone on another Twitter rant, doubling down on the statements that had his account suspended the first time he began his antisemitic remarks in 2022.

Arts and Letters: Susan Straight @ Palm Center Desert Auditorium, 6 p.m.

“Bully” includes guest appearances from artists CeeLo Green, Travis Scott, Don Toliver, André Troutman and Peso Pluma. The cover art features his son, Saint West, posing with a smile, while wearing a set of new titanium grills, similar to ones Kanye sported before. More footage from Saint West was included in the album rollout via the short film directed by Hype Williams and West. Where Saint takes on the “bully persona,” by fighting New Japan Pro-Wrestles with a toy mallet in the ring. The songs released on YouTube are played over these fighting scenes.

Beast,” where he acknowledges, “It’s been a long time coming. Fresh new tires, I’m still running.” In the song, “Preacher Man,” he admits he’s been needing help with lines like, “When it’s dark, you don’t know where you goin’.’ Need a lightbearer to lead you home.” The album includes more singing from Kanye, such as in, “All the Love” with Andre Troutman utilizing talkbox machinery.

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Student Performance and Composition Concert @Arts Building 157, 12 p.m.

West’s bipolar diagnosis has been public knowledge since 2016, especially with album releases like “Ye,” where the cover art states, “I hate being Bi-Polar its awesome.” He cited it as his “superpower,” that gives him the creativity to make the art that has benefited his career. The manic episodes that come with a bipolar diagnosis he feels are what make him who he is. As he’s said, “I cannot be on meds and make “Watch the Throne” level or “Dark Fantasy” level music.”

The Audacity of Failure

Other beats on the album on songs like “King” and “This a Must,” showcase the same experimental style that was seen in “VULTURES.” “Last Breath” is the track featuring Peso Pluma that discusses toxic relationships, it has a more Latin Pop vibe, with Kanye switching back and forth between English and Spanish lyrics. “Mama’s Favorite,” featuring vocals from Nine Vicious, is a dedication to Kanye’s late mother Donda, that includes audio of her from his documentary “Jeen-Yuhs.”

@CHASS Interdisciplinary South, 1128, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

BVRNT/TOUR Jakobs Castle and Strawberry Fuzz with Strange Case @The Barn, 8 p.m. to 10 a.m.

Production began in 2024, after the release of his collaborative albums, “VULTURES 1” and “VULTURES 2,”, with Ty Dolla $ign. He’d regularly work on the conceptual album in Tokyo,

In his apology letter he stated, “As I find my new baseline and new center through an effective regime of medication, therapy, exercise and clean living, I have newfound, much-needed clarity. I am pouring my energy into positive, meaningful art: music, clothing, design and other new ideas to help the world.”

Songs from Bully carry a lot of introspective views about where he’s been since his last solo album, over many soul samples reminiscent of his earlier works. This is seen on “Beauty and the

Verdict: Overall, “Bully” is a more well collected work of songs as opposed to the past few releases Kanye has been involved in since Donda. Though it doesn’t match the expectations the audience had prior to release, it shows signs of an era of Kanye returning to his roots. Hopefully, this is an era where he can find balance between taking care of his mental needs and producing music, while following through on his apology to the communities he’s hurt.

‘Marc by Sofia’ is not a fashion documentary for everyone

While Sofia Coppola is best known for a filmmaking style involving hazy cinematography and strong needle drops, she is just as well known for her taste in fashion. Reaching a peak with her film “The Bling Ring,” which centers around a group of designer fashion thieves, Coppola has become a fashion icon in the film space.

In the last three decades since becoming a filmmaker, Coppola has also become friends with many fashion designers within the industry. From Matthieu Blazy to Karl Lagerfeld, she has been dressed by many legends, but by far, her closest fashion friend is none other than Marc Jacobs.

Having accepted her Academy Award for Best Screenplay in a custom Marc Jacobs dress, her friendship with the experimental designer has blossomed greatly over the years. Appearing in photoshoots shot by Jacobs like his infamous “Sofia by Marc,” the two have been a duo for quite some time.

In this way, Coppola turning the lens back on to Jacobs after many years seems like an inevitable choice. However, that inevitably, and comfort between the two as friends, turns out to be the film’s greatest hindrance.

While the style of Sofia Coppola’s films have been attacked in the past for things like historical inaccuracy and a lack of diverse representation, an issue to many is also the lack of depth she tends to go into with characters in her films. While

this has varying to degrees of success, working in her favor on films like “The Virgin Suicides,” which focus strongly on themes of perception and identity, it can be occasionally lackluster for many. And “Marc by Sofia” is no different.

It comes across well that Marc Jacobs is a fascinating figure in the world of fashion. The film cuts back and forth between Jacobs working on a 2024 collection and clips from his past collections, showing many of the unique dresses and bags he became known for. With many recognizable actresses and models, it’s clear Jacobs is a popular designer.

The film touches on many of Jacobs’s biggest moments. From his grunge collection at Perry Ellis to working as the first Ready to Wear designer at Louis Vuitton, Coppola shows everything. Even exploring some of the most scandalous moments of his career like dressing Courtney Love and Winona Ryder for their court trials.

While the film is great for people who already have an idea about the designs of Marc Jacobs, the music of Sonic Youth, or the films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, it is not exactly accessible to those who do not instantly recognize the names “Kim Gordon” or “Bob Fosse.”

Additionally, while Coppola and Jacobs both come across as sweet likable people, mileage will vary for how enjoyable it is to listen to two very rich and privileged artists talk about how great each other are. Coppola’s talking has a valley-girl

quality to it which can definitely appear grating to some.

But none of this detracts from the strongest moments of the film. For fans of the fashion world, watching Jacobs design as a fly on the wall is deeply informative. Understanding where his references come from, how he picks fabrics and his sampling process are deeply fascinating moments.

From Barbara Streissand to Liza Minnelli, the film intercuts many moments from movies that have inspired his collections. While it’s not clear where each clip comes from, the documentary takes on a multi-media quality as it switches between the digital photography of her interviewing Jacobs, 35-millimeter film photography from old movies and DVR video from archival media. For all of its downfalls, it is still mostly a great time.

Verdict: In the end, what is ultimately apparent is that unlike her father Francis Ford Coppola who’s known for his great hubris and overly-ambitious projects, what has made Sofia Coppola such a strong voice in the film world is her effortless attitude. There are no drawn out long-take sequences, scrapped-together set-pieces, extreme performances or avant-garde cutting techniques in her movies. Instead they all have a cool nonchalant quality to them like a musician who rocks sunglasses indoors. But sometimes this nonchalance comes across as lazy. And that certainly is the case with “Marc by Sofia.”

‘Invincible’ mid-season review

Season

4 strikes the perfect balance of adaptation and originality.

JOSÉ DEL ÁNGEL News Editor

**Spoilers Ahead**

At its halfway mark, Invincible Season 4 has transitioned from not only being a subversive superhero story, but something more grounded and emotionally punishing for long-time Invincible fans. Across its first five episodes, the season delivers some of the series’ most intense highs for protagonist Mark Grayson, alongside a few frustrating interactions with characters that have seen in previous seasons resulting in a compelling yet uneven ride.

Season 4 picks up in the aftermath of the chaos left behind after the “Invincible War” and Conquest’s arrival to earth. From its opening episode, it’s clear that the stakes have escalated dramatically. Mark Grayson is no longer the wide-eyed, can-do attitude hero trying to do the right thing. He’s increasingly hardened by the emotional and psychological toll of his previous encounters with villains. He is frequently justifying taking the lives of people, sometimes innocent people, for the greater good, making it clear that he is dangerously close to losing his moral compass.

What stands out most is how the show balances scale with intimacy.

On one hand, the looming threat of the Vilturmuite Empire pushes the narrative into full blown sci-fi territory, setting up the political and looming war that is soon to occur.

On the other hand, the season remains deeply invested in Mark’s psychological unraveling, allowing the audience to sympathize with what he is struggling with, making the conflict with the Viltrumites feel personal as they get closer to Earth.

The first two episodes of the season are amongst the strongest so far. They focus a lot more on exploring Viltrumite culture and the power dynamics in said culture, which adds weight to the larger narrative, while also making it clear that Mark alone is no match against a Viltrumite army.

These first few episodes are great because they feel purposeful, as every scene pushes either the plot or a character forward. There is a sense that something big is building up, and the show immediately focuses on setting the foundation.

Episode 3 slows things down to focus on character relationships and emotional fallout. While not a bad episode by any means, it lacks the urgency that the first two

established earlier and feels more like a filler episode than a vital one.

Episode 4 is where the season becomes truly devised. It is centered around a supernatural subplot involving Damien Darkblood, which takes a sharp tonal turn that feels disconnected from the main narrative. While it adds intriguing lore to the world of Invincible, its placement in the middle of the season definitely cuts the pacing that had begun to build up. Although some viewers can find this frustrating because it’s a detour that halts the story’s momentum, it’s one of the best episodes of the whole show.

Episode 5 features a devastating rematch between Mark and Conquest. The episode delivers one of the most intense and graphic battles to have ever come out of this show. It’s not just a spectacle. The action is relentless and visceral, it’s also a defining moment for Mark as a character. The fight pushes him to his limits physically and mentally, forcing him to mature into the kind of hero he needs to be to defeat the Viltrumites.

In Episode 5, Nolan Grayson, also known as Omni-Man, finally grapples with the consequences of his past actions while attempting

to maintain his role as both Mark’s father and a Viltrumite enforcer. Nolan’s presence is deeply felt, especially after he realized how he is forced to accept that his exwife, his best friend and the whole planet will never see him the same way again after the massacre he caused in Season 1. This episode reinforces the tension between his cosmic obligations and the familial values, showcasing how Nolan’s choices continue to impact Mark’s life and the broader conflict with that is soon to come to Earth.

Verdict:

This latest season has made “Invincible” emotionally heavy while at the same time continuing the action and sci-fi themes that the show has been known for. If the final episodes can maintain the intensity and focus of Episode 5 while tying together the multiple storylines, this could become the series’ strongest season yet.

Tartan Tailgating: Polo Hernandez displays the Highlander inside of him under the MASL spotlight

AFTER LEADING UCR TO GLORY IN 2022, POLO HERNANDEZ IS MAKING A PLAYOFF PUSH WITH THE EMPIRE STRYKERS IN 2026.

On March 29, the Empire Strykers of the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) hosted the St. Louis Ambush on the final matchday of the MASL regular season at the Toyota Arena. Last Sunday’s contest marked my second ever experience at a Strykers game. During my first trip to the Toyota Arena during the 2024-2025 season, I met and interviewed Marco Fabián, one of my favorite soccer players of all time, after an overtime loss to the San Diego Sockers.

This year, I was set to interview former University of California, Riverside (UCR) midfielder Leopoldo “Polo” Hernandez. During his time at UCR, Polo stacked accolades. In 2021, his first season at UCR, Polo was named Second Team All-Big West. He built off that momentum in 2022 by being named First Team All-Big West en route to leading his squad to the 2022 Big West Regular Season and Tournament Championship.

of the net. The goal leveled the score and got the Strykers offense rolling.

Throughout the game, Polo displayed great chemistry with fellow star midfielders Marco Fabián and Justin Stinson. The build up play and link up passes between the trio were beautiful to watch and a nightmare for the Ambush to defend against.

Polo spoke very highly of both teammates and how they’re able to find success together, “When I first joined the

would score and put themselves ahead until the Strykers would respond with a goal of their own. However, belief in a Strykers win kept growing amongst the fans each time the Strykers tied the game up. With the score tied 4-4 in overtime, Strykers midfielder Dayerson Graterol scored the game-winner and Toyota Arena erupted shortly afterward.

After the game, Polo mentioned how important this win was for his squad, “Big win tonight. We wanted to put a show out for our fans. It’s been a couple games that we haven’t been able to get the dub here in front of our home crowd.”

Although almost four years removed from the 2022 season, the Big West Tournament Championship is still fresh in Polo’s mind, he noted, “I’ve always said my favorite game of my soccer career has probably been that 2022 Big West Championship. I’ll never forget that Championship. The team we had was unbelievable. [UCR head coach] Tim [Cupello] put us in a great position to win that season.”

Once it was time for the Strykers to kick off against the Ambush, I was looking forward to watching Polo perform and he did not disappoint. With his team down 1-0 in the second quarter, Polo drilled a low-driven shot into the bottom left corner

team, it’s kind of surreal knowing I’m going to play with Marco. Watching him while I was growing up and knowing I was going to play with him, I just wanted [to] pick his brain, try to learn as much as I can from him. [Just] trying to enjoy every time I’m on the field with him.”

He added, “Justin is an unbelievable player. In my opinion, he’s probably the best player I’ve seen in the league so far. In training, just trying to get chemistry, playing passing games in training, just talking to him, knowing what kind of passes he likes, so just little stuff like that, [that’s] how we build chemistry.”

For the rest of the game, the Ambush

When asked about how his time at UCR has helped him in his professional career, Polo shared, “Playing here is a little different. It’s 6v6, fast-paced, it’s taking me a while to get used to the game, but Tim preparing me with highlevel players has been good [for me] coming into the [MASL] … I got to give [Tim] credit for this. He’s always held me accountable for every mistake that I’ve made or even the good things that I’ve done.”

With the 5-4 overtime win, the Strykers secured the final spot in the MASL playoffs after finishing the regular season a three-game win streak. They enter the playoffs as the lowest seeded team, but Polo will look to bring his championship experience from UCR to this year’s MASL playoffs.

Kei Kato’s tennis journey comes full circle

KEI KATO’S JOURNEY IS ONE OF PASSION, RESILIENCE AND A LASTING IMPACT ON HER TEAM.

Kei Kato first picked up a racket at the age of six, alongside her sisters. “My dad first introduced me to the game because his love for the game is unmatched,” recalled Kato on why she first started to play tennis. She further elaborated on the support her dad has given throughout her career stating “he’s been beside me all the way.” During her middle school years, Kato would realize that tennis is something she would want to pursue past the junior level, making it a goal to reach the Division I level in California.

Kato committed to the University of California, Riverside (UCR) out of high school and joined the roster in 2022. Later that season, she was diagnosed with chronic spine injuries. The diagnosis forced her to step away from the sport for a year. Not being able to play the sport that she loved was mentally and physically difficult for Kato.

Doctors told her that she should retire from the sport entirely and that a future in tennis was unlikely. However the senior expressed that she “believed that I could come back and I wanted to come back really badly.” She became consistent with rehab, doing physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around her spine. Eventually, Kato made her return to the sport in 2024.

On March 9, 2026, Kato was named UCR Athletics Student-Athlete of the Week. The Aliso Viejo native noted she felt honored and grateful to be named Student-Athlete of the Week, and reflected, “I feel like I’m being recognized for the hard work that I put in on the court and off the court.”

Kato has taken on a leadership role within UCR women’s tennis, especially as a senior. Kato shared that she hopes to lead by example and be a good role model that underclassmen can look up to. When it comes to mentoring younger players, Kato pointed out that she likes to mentor the mental side of the sport.

She noted that unnecessary pressure can be common, so remembering why they are here at the end of the day is important. The senior added that the mental shift from playing tennis individually in the juniors to playing for a team in the college is an important one, and guiding them that way is significant.

Along with balancing school and being a Division I athlete, Kato likes to coach in her

spare time. She started out when she was younger, helping her coaches run clinics. “I like working with kids, and I like being able to be a part of their developmental stage,” remarked Kato. She went on to say that she finds fulfillment seeing the younger players improve and grow in tennis.

Looking back at her time here, Kato hopes people would remember her as someone who worked hard and was a good teammate. She also recalled her favorite moment as a Highlander being the trip the team took to the University of Oregon in the beginning of the season. Not only did they pick up a win against Seattle University, but the team was able to spend quality time with each other allowing them to grow closer.

After graduation, Kato will be attending Saint Mary’s College for her Masters of Business Administration. She will also be playing another season of tennis with the Gaels. Kato noted she is looking forward to expanding her experience playing Division I tennis as well as furthering her education. While she knows she enjoys the business world, Kato is unsure of what the future has in store for her. “I would definitely love to come back to the tennis world, maybe to pursue coaching.”

Matthew O’Brien pitches a complete game on the road versus Cal Poly

AFTER A STANDOUT PERFORMANCE, O’BRIEN CONTINUES TO LEAD UCR’S BASEBALL TEAM WITH CONFIDENCE AND CONSISTENCY MIDWAY THROUGH THE SEASON.

After delivering a commanding performance on the mound on March 28, at Cal Poly Pomona (CPP), Matthew O’Brien, a senior pitcher for the University of California, Riverside’s (UCR) baseball team, has been named the Student-Athlete of the Week.

O’Brien was given the honor following an impressive complete-game performance in UCR’s win over CPP. Not only is this a monumental performance from O’Brien, but this was also the program’s first complete game from a pitcher since 2022. Across all nine innings the left-hander maintained composure and control, shutting down CPP’s lineup, giving his team the opportunity to build momentum early.

Despite such a strong achievement,

his mindset never wavered from a typical game day.

“Every game I have the same mindset: just go one inning at a time, get out of that inning, and move onto the next,” O’Brien said. “Our offense scored a lot early, which made it easier to settle in and do my job.”

Having a steady mindset is just the approach that has brought the team to where they are at now. When asked about his goals for his senior season, O’Brien explained that it was less about individual goals and more about the early goals the team had made together.

“It was more about team goals, we want to make the Big West tournament,” commented O’Brien. More specifically, securing a top five finish in

the Big West, which would earn them a spot in the Big West Baseball Championship.

As the team enters the second half of the season, O’Brien believes that he and the team are moving in the right direction, while still acknowledging the room for growth and improvement.

“I still have work to do,” commented O’Brien. “That is something [staff and I] talked a lot about. But if we clean up a few things each game, we definitely have a shot to make the tournament.”

As the Big West standings continue to stay consistent, every game matters more and more, as they currently sit dead last in conference. Even so, the confidence within the team continues to

grow, constantly being fueled by strong leadership from the coaching staff.

“Our coaches have a lot of confidence in us, and that makes it easier to play freely,” said O’Brien.

As he reflected on his time at UCR, he noted that while his junior season had its challenges, this year’s team has shown even greater potential.

“This team is super fun, and I think we are better than we were last year, we still have a lot to play for,” explained O’Brien.

With a remarkable performance already under his belt and clear goals set ahead, Matthew O’Brien has continued to prove to be a key piece as the Highlanders continue to push into the second half of the season. ■ H

Cool things to know about the Masters Tournament

TERRY NGUYEN Sports Editor

GOLF SEASON IS OFFICIALLY HERE! THESE COURSES SHOULD BE ON YOUR RADAR.

The Masters Tournament represents a time of year when the weather becomes nicer, people go outside more and the golf season truly kicks into gear. This year is the 90th edition of the Masters Tournament and here’s a list of some unique things at a tournament that embodies tradition.

The Masters broadcast soundtrack

ESPN and CBS will return as broadcasting partners for the Masters this year with Amazon Prime Video making its debut as a broadcasting partner of the tournament. In the months leading up to the tournament, simply hearing the soundtrack of “Augusta” for 15 seconds on a commercial is enough to give people goosebumps, and it will continue to do so for generations to come. It’s like that feeling when your favorite NFL team plays its first game of the season and the game opens with a soundtrack from the broadcasting partner. The Masters Tournament has one of the best soundtracks of all time for any sports broadcast and it’s unique from virtually any other event because of the natural beauty and calmness that the event carries.

Defending champion selects the menu

The Masters host a champions dinner on Tuesday before the tournament officially begins on Thursday each year. It’s probably one of the hardest dinner tables to get a seat at in the world given that a requirement to get invited is to have won a Green Jacket. This year, it’s Rory McIlroy’s turn to create the menu for the champions dinner, and there will probably be some interesting conversations surrounding someone who won’t be attending the dinner this year — Tiger Woods. Nonetheless, the tournament is all about tradition and a gathering of golfing legends with world class food never fails to set the scene at one of the iconic courses in the world.

Device-free fan experience

We’re in 2026 and fans (or patrons as they’re called at the Masters) won’t be allowed to have phones or other devices when they watch the tournament. This has been a long standing rule at the Masters Tournament and it’ll likely continue for a long time. With phone addiction prevalent among many people of all ages, it’s probably a good thing for people to “be where their feet are” and enjoy the environment at the

Masters. It’s also a good opportunity to be fully present with the people you’re with and immerse yourself in iconic foods at Augusta National such as pimento cheese and egg salad sandwiches.

Same course each year

The Masters is the only major championship in golf that’s played on the same course each year. It gives Augusta National Golf Club a unique opportunity to showcase its impeccable playing condition while offering a brilliant challenge to the best players in the world. The bunkers are always white as snow, the fairways are always in perfect condition, the greens are always fast and slippery and the look feels classic yet modern.

Ticket exclusivity

Ok … this isn’t ideal for most fans. According to Forbes, the odds to win Masters tickets via their lottery system is close to 0.55%. But, prices are very reasonable and many people would accept the offer to attend the event if they’re lucky enough to win the ticket lottery. It’s a numbers game, so just keep applying.

Be Ludicrous.

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