With the introduction of open-ing statements, the U.S. Supreme Court case in Fisher v. University of Texas (UT) conducted its first trial on Oct. 10. The inclusion of race as an admissions factor is being contested by the plain-tiff, Abigail Fisher, who was denied enrollment to the Uni-versity of Texas at Austin back in 2008. Known as a more con-servative circuit, the U.S. Jus-tices displayed equally divided viewpoints over the structure of the university’s race-neutral ad-missions and whether it directly improves college diversity, in ac-cordance to constitutional law.

Based on the university accep-tance policies in compliance with state law, the top 10 percent of all high school graduates receive

automatic admission into the UT of Austin. Applicants, such as Fisher, who fell below this grad-ing bracket are considered under holistic review, which includes leadership skills, musical talent, community service, socioeco-nomic background and race--the factor being disputed. As a re-sult, Fisher argues that her liber-ties from the Equal Rights Clause of the 14th Amendment were vio-lated.

In the previous affirmative ac-tion case of Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), the US Supreme court ruled in favor of legitimate race-conscious policies in the admis-sions process. As a result, the court argued that the university should have a greater degree of autonomy in determining wheth-er race should be considered. “Grutter invokes a broad ‘tradi-

tion of giving a degree of defer-ence to a university’s academic decisions and recognizes that courts should respect the ‘edu-cational autonomy’ of universi-ties given their unique role in our society,” states an opposing brief against Fisher.

Among the areas of debate, the justices touched upon the le-gitimacy to which the selection of race on an application accu-rately portrays campus diversity. Fisher’s defense team has yet to prove that race was the decid-ing factor which denied her ac-ceptance into UT of Austin. The distinction between state enroll-ment and admissions policies has unearthed the argument over whether heightened levels of di-versity has been fulfilled through affirmative action policies.

This month, Governor Jer-ry Brown signed legislation that will affect California’s college and university stu-dents and faculty on multiple levels. The bills passed during the 2011-2012 state legisla-tive session involve: future fee increases, expansions to scholarship packages and fac-ulty tenure.

AB 970, authored by As-semblyman Paul Fong (D-Cu-pertino), seeks to ensure trans-parency and accountability for the state’s working families in the UC and CSU systems. The bill requires that admin-istrators consult with student organizations six months prior to any fee increases, while en-forcing a 60-day open public forum. Functions of the bill create greater transparency at the administrative level and a wider threshold of time for communication.

The regents and trustees will be required to post a pub-lic notice indicating how the student fee revenue will be used. Impacts on accessibility, persistence and the graduation

of historically underrepre-sented students and low-to-middle income students will be included in the notice. Sponsored by the California State Student Association and the UC Student Association (UCSA), the bill was previ-ously opposed by the CSU and UC, but they have now

developed a neutral stance on its passage.

UC spokesperson Dianne Klein said the amendments “made the bill workable and created significant ‘outs’ in the event certain actions—such as state budget reductions or midyear budget cuts—occur,” in a statement to the Daily

Californian. Klein notes that the many components of the bill may confuse students who are not familiar with them.

“It’s imperative that stu-dents are correctly informed about their tuition increases,” said third-year UCR under-graduate Cesar Toledo. He noted that many students live

on low funds, so it would be wrong for the UC and CSU to raise tuition without prior notice. “Students paying for tuition need more time to plan for future expenses,” he said.

SB 1052 and SB 1053 are two measures that will cre-ate an open source textbook library for the state’s 50 most popular undergraduate cours-es to use at the UC, CSU and community colleges, aiming to provide financial relief to students.

Second-year UCR student Tony Huo believes that this bill is beneficial to students, however it may be detrimental to textbook authors and pub-lishers. “A good part of their income comes from the roy-alties authors earn from the textbooks they publish,” Huo said. “Their work deserves recognition as well as pay-ment.”

SB 1052 specifically estab-lishes the “California Open Education Resources Coun-cil,” a group of faculty mem-bers who will determine which books and resources should be made available. The latter bill creates the California Open Source Digital Library which

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Governor Brown signs higher education legislation

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Among the criteria for selection were “standards in fleet composition, fuel and emissions, policy planning, fleet utilization, education, executive and employee involvement, and supporting programs,” according

Cr i s t i na Gr a na d o sSTAFF WRITER

Co l i n Ma r kov i C hCONTRIBUTING WRITER

MIDNIGHT MADNESS

Co u rt e s e y o f th e sa C r a m e n to Be e

Governor Jerry Brown (above), recently signed a series of state laws that will affect higher education.

sa n dy va nSENIOR STAFF WRITER

Supreme Court hears affirmative action case

SUPREME COURT CONT’D ON PAGE 4

ON PAGE 14

BROWN CONT’D ON PAGE 8

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Ca r r i e Me n GSTAFF WRITER

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Think Pink Display Wall

6 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.HUB Display Wall

Women’s Soccer vs. Cal Poly

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.UC Riverside

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Men’s Soccer vs. Cal State Fullerton

7 p.m. - 9 p.m.UC Riverside

Soccer Stadium

Tuesday Talks - Coming Out Stories

5 p.m. - 6 p.m.HUB 355

Interview Skills featuring Target

11 a.m. - noonHUB 268

STEM Career Fair10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

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CALENDAR2 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012 HIGHLANDER

Meet the Candidates7 p.m.

HUB 302

Men’s Soccer vs. Cal State Fullerton7 p.m. - 9 p.m.

UCR Soccer StadiumThe “Before the Ballot Political Speaker Series” offers

students the opportunity to meet the candidates on the upcoming November ballot. State Assembly Candidate Jose Medina, State Assembly Candidate Bill Batey, State Senate Candidate Richard Roth, Riverside County Su-pervisor Candidate Kevin Jeffries, County Supervisor Candidate Bob Buster, Congressional Candidate Mark Takano, and Mayor Candidates Rusty Bailey and Ed Adkison will all be on hand. Seating is limited.

The UC Riverside men’s soccer team (8-5-0) looks to get back on the winning train as they face their Big West Conference opponent Cal State Fullerton (4-10-1) at the UCR Soccer Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 20.

HIGHLIGHTS

Midterm Stress Break Nap Session

4 p.m. - 5 p.m.HUB 265

20

Medieval Mellon Event Professor

Yury Zaretskiy2 p.m. - 3 p.m.HMNSS 1303

Women’s Soccer vs. UC Santa

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Downtown Riverside

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16

What I Should Know Before Choosing a

Graduate School 2:10 p.m. – 3:10 p.m.

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Rivera Library Volleyball vs. CSU Bakersfield

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Male Eyes in a Female Body

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Women’s Basketball vs. Cal Baptist

(Exhibition)3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

SRC Arena

Food Day 2012noon - 1 p.m.

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ASUCR Meeting6:30 p.m.

Senate Chambers

Career Expo10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

HUB 302

SAA Medical Career Conference

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SAA Medical Career Conference8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

HUB 302Student Alumni Association’s 14th annual,

nationally-recognized Medical Career Con-ference will take place next Saturday at the HUB. The conference will feature alumni from different medical fields and there will be Q&A panels for surgery, family practice, academics, and more. The event is free for SAA members and $20 for non-members.

27

Make your voice heard. Participate in the Highlander’s Elections Poll and learn where UCR students stand on the important issues.

Visit www.highlandernews.org from October 2-27, 2012 to vote.

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2012 Elections Poll

Bearack Obama

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In early September, the UC Board of Regents, along with 70 other California institutions, filed briefs that advocated the inclusion of affirmative action in advancing a diverse learning environment. Notably, UCR Assistant Executive Vice Chan-cellor and Provost (EVCP) WIlliam Kidder co-authored a brief filed by the American Ed-ucation Research Association, which compiled signatures from over 400 U.S. social sci-entists. Since California voters effectively banned affirmative action in 1996 through Propo-sition 206, studies have shown diminishing enrollment rates for African Americans and La-tinos, especially at more selec-tive universities.

As the current foundation for

affirmative action in Texas, the Grutter case invoked the appli-cation of university admissions in accordance to state law. While in the Fisher case, Kid-der argues that “The 10 percent plan covers about 75 or 80 per-cent of their admissions deci-sions and it’s actually the other 20 or so that’s really subjected to this [race-neutral admis-sions] law,” studies have shown that the inclusion of affirmative action as an admissions factor has attributed to a more diverse campus climate. According to the 2010-2011 Impact Report at the UT of Austin, the 20 year study from 1990 to 2010 re-veals an 63 percent enrollment increase of Hispanic students, a 26 percent increase in Afri-can-American students and a 150 percent increase in Asian-

Americans. Emerging studies through

the field of social science have proven that the culmination of diverse classes tends to create a more accepting campus climate, while increasing self-awareness and acceptance among under-represented minority groups. They claim increased diversity in an academic environment leads to greater interaction with an array of ethnicities, cultures and backgrounds.

In an interview with the Highlander, Vice Provost Kid-der spoke of his involvement in co-authoring multiple briefs, which has also been used as points of references in the Fisher case. “UCR has what’s called a higher ‘critical mass,’ which means we have a much more sizable population from

different racial and ethnic groups.” In comparison to other UC schools, his studies dem-onstrated that more underrep-resented demographics among African Americans and Latino felt respected at UCR. Kidder also perceived the case in terms of expanding opportunity and fair accessibility to students, yet expressed that more needs to be done to ensure campus di-versity.

“Student body diversity is not just about helping certain students get it, it is about lever-aging admissions decisions for the benefit of everyone in the learning environment,” states Kidder, who examined the so-cial science studies of the levels of diversity needed to justify some degree of consideration.

Alternative policy options

include an income-based in-tegration, rather than giving “weight” to certain races of socioeconomic background, to determine the overall com-petitive and need-basis. Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor said affirmative action would not matter after 25 years, yet this topic has been brought up again a decade later. Since Justice Elena Kagan re-cused herself from the case, a split decision makes for a pos-sible outcome. With Chief Jus-tice Anthony Kennedy appear-ing to be the “swing vote,” the case has a high chance of end-ing in a split 4-4 or tilting 5-3 and in favor of UT Austin. Ei-ther of these results will uphold the rulings made by the lower courts, which supports the cur-rent admissions policies at the University of Texas.

NEWS4 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012 HIGHLANDER

SUPREME COURT FROM PAGE 1

In f o r m at I o n Co u rt e s y o f aD a m s stat e un I v e r s I t y / Gr a p h I C B y sI r e e n a sy

Voter registration was a ma-jor area of focus in the Oct. 11 ASUCR Senate meeting as an overwhelming number of senators discussed their plans and efforts to register students in the upcoming weeks. Other points of discussion include the revisions of two by-laws, which established a due pro-cess procedure for internal stipend increases and greater financial au-tonomy within individual student organizations. Midway through the meeting, College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) Senator Martin Maduakor abruptly announced his resignation from ASUCR.

“On behalf of the entire admin-istration, I look forward to work-ing with ASUCR and GSA as we proceed in this academic year,” stated Vice Chancellor Jim Sando-val at the onset of the public forum. Also introduced was approval for the ASUCR Chief of Staff, who is mainly tasked with managing the president’s schedule, monitoring the flow of communication among senators and carrying out any other presidential requests.

CHASS Senator Christa More-los spoke about her involvement in voter registration organizations, including the Student Organized Voter Access Committee (SO-VAC), where she is responsible for building a volunteer base as the organization’s community director. Over the summer, Senator Morelos collaborated with non-partisan and non-profit organization “Mi Fa-milia Vota,” where 3,000 Riverside citizens were registered to vote.

“We’ve been having a lot of the senators go ahead and volunteer their time,” stated Morelos. “And we’re also working directly with CALPIRG just to register as many people as possible as we can. Our goal is 5,000. Right now, so far I believe we’ve registered at least 1,400. We are nowhere near our goal so we really encourage our senators to come out and register students,” stated Senator Morelos, along with the ongoing efforts of all senators.

A campus-wide bounty pro-gram is also taking place, where student organizations compete to obtain the highest number of reg-istered voters. The philanthropic competition will award cash prizes to the top three winning organiza-tions. Applications are currently available at the ASUCR Senate of-fice.

Senator reports continued with the Legislative Review Committee (LRC), which included the revision of a crucial bylaw. “There were departments or sub-branches of ASUCR that wanted to have their stipend increased so we decided that just rather [using] student fees with their own ability, we’d rather have them go through a due pro-cess,” stated Senator Ian Cavasos. Petitions for stipend increases must obtain the sponsorship of two sena-tors, where it is sent to the LRC for constitutionality and grammatical purposes. The process concludes with a brief review by the finance committee to determine viable op-tions and final approval is made by the Senate.

“One of my goals when I came into this position was to make it easier for clubs to get funding and make them actually want to get funded with ASUCR,” stated Vice

President of Finance Crystal Kim, who included an additional altera-tion to a finance bylaw. Student organizations will now have more leeway in terms of budget auton-omy, where annual spreadsheets will record how funds are utilized. “I don’t think it’s fair to give them this money and give them these long lists of rules…I think they should be able to use their fund-raised money according to how their club wants to use it, within the rules,” stated Senator Kim.

Later in the meeting, CNAS Senator Maduakor delivered a report announcing his departure from ASUCR.

“This is also my fourth and fi-nal year and what comes with that is I have to plan out the rest of my life; going to job fairs, careers fairs because I cannot afford to wake up at graduation unemployed. I just can’t do that,” stated Senator Mad-uakor, who depicted the demand-

ing nature of his position as a resi-dent advisor and the need for future job security. “I thought it might be selfish of me to sit here as senator when I know that I cannot, in my heart, put forth the adequate time commitment toward representing my constituents. So that being said, it’s finished. I’m done as senator.”

Amidst additional revelations, Senator Maduakor requested the reinstatement of his position just the following day. Due to the na-ture of the resolution that was made during the meeting, the ex-ecutive cabinet was forced to deny his request. No specific guidelines exist for the voluntary resignation of a student senator, yet the Senate Accountability Act in the ASUCR Constitution hints at the formality of recorded resolutions made by individual senators during official Senate meetings.

Vested in the powers of the Legislative Branch, ASUCR may

fill any vacancies by allowing the highest ranking alternative from any college to succeed the posi-tion, as long as there is a minimum of two senators who already rep-resent each respective college. A two-thirds consensus among the Senate must be achieved to ap-prove the replacement in a special election, according to chapter VI of the ASUCR Elections Code, Item 13.

Other projects in the works in-clude expanding supplementary instruction for core curriculum courses, reinstating the Host pro-gram for UCR visitors, the orga-nization of a campus-wide Fear Factor competition and the pos-sibility of building a protective fence around Glen Mor fields.

ASUCR is also planning an event for Oct. 18 entitled “Meet the Senate” at the HUB Plaza, where pizza and ASUCR memo-rabilia will be provided.

sa n dy va nSENIOR STAFF WRITER

ASUCR pushes for greater voter registration; one senator resigns

lI n Ch a I/hIGhlanDerSenators discuss constitutional bylaw revisions and ongoing projects to increase student voter registration turnout.

Mi k e ri o sSTAFF WRITER

1954In Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court overturns Plessy v. Ferguson and ends racial segregation in all public schools.

1978In Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, the Supreme Court overturns medical school admissions pro-gram that allocates set seats for minority students. Allows race to be considered as a “plus” factor in admissions

1987In United States v. Paradise, the Supreme Court pinpoints five factors in evaluating whether an affirmative-action plan is narrowly tailored.

1992In United States v. Fordice, the Supreme Court approves judicially mandated race-conscious measures to remedy state-spon-sored segregation in higher education.

1997California voters ban affirmative action in the state by passing Proposition 209.

2000In Gratz v. Bollinger, a federal judge ruled that the use of race in admissions at the University of Michigan was constitutional, due to the educa-tional benefits behind a diverse student body.

2002The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals support the University of Michigan’s Law school admission policy, which reaffirmed Bakke in the case of Grutter v. Bollinger.

2012In the ongoing case of Fisher v. University of Texas, Abigail Fisher claims that she was racially-discriminated against when she was denied admission to the University of Texas at Austin in 2008.

U.S. Timeline of Affirmative Action in Higher Education

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NEWS 5TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012HIGHLANDER

NEWS IN BRIEF COMPILED BY SHADI VALENZUELA, ContributinG writer

On Sept. 24, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the Senate Bill 397, which permits Californians to register to vote through an online registration system. As a result, this system will expedite the number of voting ap-plicants and is specifically aimed at college students, who tend to live more transient life-styles compared to an older demographic of Californians.

In 2009, the California Secretary of the State announced a printable voter registration form that could be linked to various websites. This initial shift to an online presence was met with instant success, especially among the younger demographic.

Based on a study by the Public Policy In-stitute of California, results reveal that those ages 55 and up made up 44 percent of likely voters, while those between the age bracket of 18 to 34 only represent 18 percent of likely voters. Eric McGhee, a policy fellow at the institute states that the system may appeal to younger Californians who are more in tune with modern technology.

ONLINE VOTER REGISTRATION NOW AVAILABLE IN CALIFORNIA

On Oct. 3, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded UC Santa Cruz a $4.5 million grant to help fund the university’s five-year research and education program on renewable energy. This program addresses the technical, social, and economic as-pects of “community-scale renewable-energy micro grids.”

One of their goals is to learn how to integrate renewable energy sources such as bio-energy, solar energy and tidal ener-gy with existing electrical grid. The interdisciplinary research team includes faculty with a broad range of expertise, such as: electrical engineering, computer engineering, politics, sociol-ogy, environmental studies, energy technology, chemical and materials engineering, and technology management profession-als.

UC Santa Cruz is collaborating with UC Davis, Aalborg Uni-versity and Technical University of Denmark on this project in order to further research in renewable energy. UC Santa Cruz’s Green Wharf Coastal Energy Research consists of exploring renewable energy micro grid systems in a marine environment while simultaneously looking for ways to reduce green house gas. UC Davis is working on a mixed-use neighborhood project in the West Village Community designed for renewable energy to reach “zero net energy.” Other facilities in California and Denmark will be used as test beds for studying the social as-pects of small-scale micro-grid systems.

$4.5 MILLION NSF GRANT FOR FIVE-YEAR RENEWABLE ENERGY PROGRAM

With the help of engineering professors and graduate students, the UCR department of com-puter science has developed the online applica-tion, MyPageKeeper, which detects and combats cyber-crime. Researchers analyzed more than 40 million posts from 12,000 people who installed the app and managed to successfully flag 97 per-cent of spam and malware posts on Facebook.

Researchers introduced the new term “soc-ware” to describe “social malware,” which traps all parasitic behavior in online social networks. Other results concluded that 49 percent of users were exposed to at least one socware post dur-ing the last four months. The application detects socware in online posts and immediately sends an alert tothe user. Researchers determined that words such as “free,” “hurry,” “deal” and “shocked” indicate possible spam in the posts. The application operates by continuously scan-ning the walls and news feed of subscribed users.

Possible changes include further customiza-tion of the application, which will automatically remove malicious posts from a user’s online so-cial network.

UCR RESEARCHERS DEVELOP APP FOR MALWARE DETECTION

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NEWS6 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012 HIGHLANDER

The California Master Plan for Higher Education prom-ised all Californian college students access to a high-quality and affordable educa-tion. 50 years later, that prom-ise is crippled and conditional for students who have limited access to core classes, rising student loan debt and dimin-ished campus resources. A recent study by the Ameri-can Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) reveals that higher education in California is suffering in four areas: pro-viding students with a com-prehensive general education, promoting intellectual diver-sity, managing cost and effec-tiveness, and maintaining fair governance. After compiling data from the UC and CSU systems, UC Riverside fell right in the middle.

The council reported that the California education sys-tem is failing to give students a well-rounded education in the areas of composition, lit-erature, intermediate-level foreign language, U.S. gov-ernment or history, econom-ics, mathematics and natural or physical science. The core curriculum was fulfilled by a majority of the Cal State sys-tem, yet UC students came up short; UCR met just two of the seven requirements in the areas of composition and science. ACTA argues that the lack of a comprehensive edu-cation threatens the prospects of work for graduates as well, as these qualities are what employers seek in today’s

competitive job market. Additionally, the study ar-

gues that it is not a lack, but misdirection of funds from taxpayers, the government and tuition, that is responsible for the gaps in students’ educa-tion. “Over the five-year pe-riod from 2006-07 to 2011-12, tuition has risen on average 73.1 percent at UC campuses, and 83.8 percent at Cal State campuses.” UCR tuition, in particular, climbed to a stag-gering 75.8 percent change for an average of $12,924 for the 2011-2012 academic year. In addition to tuition hikes, the UC received “over $270 million more in general fund support than did the Cal state system.” However, students have seen the trend turn to-ward closing class sections and enlarging current class sizes.

Misdirection of the funds may be due in part to the lack of efficient use of most fa-cilities. The data shows, “only one school—UC-Santa Cruz—met California’s minimum standards for average weekly classroom contact of 35 hours per station per week.” UC Riverside falls somewhere in the middle, “from a low of 20.8 hours at UC Merced to 35.9 hours per week at UC Santa Cruz.” The results of the study confirm that many campus facilities are not fully maximised to ensure an open academic environment. Lim-ited accessibility to classes will impede graduation rates, which is a growing problem among California schools. Of all undergraduates at UCR, only 46 percent graduate in four years and only 68 percent

in six years.The council argues that

both students and regents have the power to make the UC an affordable and cost-ef-fective higher education sys-tem. Yet, while “The regents have ‘full powers of organi-zation and government’ over the University, [they]...play virtually no role in setting academic priorities or over-seeing academic quality.” In addition, the study shows that every campus in the UC has speech codes that either “endanger” or “substantially restrict” free speech. The UC’s speech code boasts, “...the importance of an ‘open forum policy’ on the cam-puses, of a free exchange of ideas, and of pursuit of the

truth wherever it may lead—popular or unpopular though that may be. . . .”

UC Riverside once again fares right in the middle. In a red, yellow and green light scale that measures free-dom of speech on campus, UCR was ranked with a yel-low light, which the authors have defined as “clearly en-dangered.” The study states that “both the UC and Cal State systems have published broad policy statements out-lining rights to free expres-sion,” in reference to the Response to Protest on UC Campuses report. The pro-test guidelines were released as a result of the UC Berke-ley and UC Davis incidents that occurred in 2011, which

the council attests were vio-lations of free speech in the California education system

The study warns that, “In 2013, a Cal State enrollment freeze, along with a short-age of places at UC, could turn away 25,000 students or more.” The Master Plan is the statewide standard for higher education, yet the re-port by ACTA identifies ar-eas of improvement that is deemed necessary for Cali-fornia colleges. The council encourages stronger ties for students and governance at every level, in order to cre-ate an envisioned master plan that is permanent and sustainable.

For more information, visit highlandernews.org.

lau r e n Gr e e nCONTRIBUTING WRITER

ACTA study identifies needed reform in UC and CSU system

Co u rt e s y o f o n wa r D s tat e.C o m

Anne Neal is the president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), an independent non-profit organization.

Board members of the Univer-sity of California Student Associa-tion (UCSA) recently announced that President Angelica Salceda has resigned from her position.

Citing personal and private ob-ligations, the third-year law student at UC Berkeley decided to resign on Oct 2. just two months after tak-ing office.

UCSA is a student-run organi-zation made up of UC student gov-ernment representatives that aim to increase affordability and acces-sibility of the UC system through advocacy and direct-action orga-nizing.

Since assuming office in Au-gust, Salceda’s agenda included issues that affected students across the UC system. As president, Sal-ceda was heavily involved in filling three vacant seats on the UC Board of Regents. She was also a major advocate of student voting, educat-ing new and young voters on the effects of Proposition 30—which is slated for the November ballot.

Darius L. Kemp, the organiz-ing and communications director of the UCSA, shed some light on Salceda’s recent decision to leave office.

“She believed that she could not

dutifully fulfill her term as presi-dent with the amount of personal obligations she had,” stated Kemp in a press release.

In 2007, Salceda graduated with honors from UCLA with degrees in political science and history. After graduation, Salceda briefly worked for an elected official in Sacramen-to, where she went on to attend UC Berkeley to study law.

ASUC External Affairs Vice President Shahryar Abbasi also commented on Salceda’s depar-ture.

“UCSA board members are some of the most hardworking people I’ve ever met,” said Ab-basi in a press release. “She did a good job during the time she was president, and I hope to continue to work closely with her,” he contin-ued.

Despite her resignation as presi-dent, Salceda will remain a mem-ber of the UCSA Board of Direc-tors. Salceda will continue her role as External Affairs Vice President of the UC Berkeley Graduate As-sembly.

UC Irvine representative Kat-erina Masesan temporarily as-sumed the responsibilities of the president following Salceda’s de-parture.

A few days after Salceda re-signed, the UCSA held a special

election in their meeting at UCLA on Saturday, Oct. 7, to select a new president.

Raquel Morales of UC San Di-ego was voted to become the new president of the UCSA.

Morales, a senior at UCSD pursuing a degree in international studies, formerly served on the board as a legislative liaison from UC San Diego.

In an interview with the High-lander, Morales detailed her new responsibilities as the president of UCSA.

“As a president, I’m to carry out the projects that were being worked on by the previous presi-dents,” said Morales. “As of now we’re focusing on voter registra-tion. I also carry out anything that the board wants me to do in terms of campaigns, meetings and what-ever visions the board comes up with.”

Morales went on talk about Sal-cedo and the similarities in their duties and visions for UCSA. “We both have the same goals for the board,” she said. “We both have similar visions for where we want to see the board going for this up-coming year. I’m pretty much car-rying out the same vision.”

This is Morales’ third year as a member of UCSA, her second year as a part of the board.

Mi k e ri o sSTAFF WRITER

UCSA elects Morales as new president following resignation of Salceda

Co u rt e s y o f th e Da I ly Br u I n

UCSD student Raquel Morales (above) was elected UCSA president.■H

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Join the Highlander on Mondays at 5:15 p.m. in HUB 101. Learn more about the exciting opportunities UCR’s student media organization offers students to pursue their interests and career goals.

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will house web-based material while providing students, fac-ulty and staff cheaper or even free modes of accessibility.

Written by Senator Ellen Corbett, SB 1289 helps stu-dent applicants differentiate private loans from federal loans, which are available to all students. The contents de-tail whether or not a rate is fixed or can change and deter-mines rate fluctuation of pri-vate student loans on an an-nual basis. Effective January 2013, all public, private and independent postsecondary institutions, except the Cali-fornia Community Colleges, are to outline these statements on all loan applications.

According to SB 1289, over 55 percent of students from public universities grad-uate with $22,000 in student loan debt while 66 percent of graduates from private non-profit institutions leave with an average debt of $28,100. Critics such as the California Association of Private Post-secondary Schools argue that existing federal law already enforces parts of the bill, such as new rate changes—infor-mation that is already made publicly accessible.

Although the contents of

SB 1289 apply to most uni-versities in the state, the UC system need only abide by these conditions if they are enforced by the UC Board of Regents.

Presented by Senator Ri-cardo Lara (D-South Gate), AB 2132 was vetoed by Gov-ernor Brown. If passed, the CSU Board of Trustees and UC Regents would be forced to consider and reward faculty and staff based on community impacts, especially in cases of promotion, appointment or fu-ture tenure reviews. Due to its autonomy from the state gov-ernment, the UC system would be “requested” to undergo such an administrative transi-tion, while the CSU is legally obligated to participate. Gov-ernor Brown returned the bill without his signature due to his belief that “the extent to which service is considered in such decisions should be a lo-cal, campus-based decision,” continued Brown in his writ-ten statement.

The passing of state leg-islation will influence the future students at the UC, should the regents decide to participate in this legislation. The CSU system is subjected to all state laws.

NEWS8 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012 HIGHLANDER

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Co u rt e s y o f th e re G I s t e rAB 970 recommends prior notification of up to six months before future tuition increases.

to Government Fleet, a publi-cation focusing on public-sec-tor vehicle fleets. The organi-zation gave out forty awards to qualifying organizations across the United States. The city of Riverside received the top prize, but other insti-tutions throughout Southern California were recognized as well, including the cities of Santa Ana, Long Beach, and Huntington Beach, which placed eleventh, twelfth, and thirtieth, respectively. Also recognized were the state of California’s Department of General Services and the Uni-versity of California, San Di-ego.

In addition to the achieve-ments made by the city, the county of Riverside was also recognized for its sustainable practices. The county’s Park-ing and Fleet Services earned its own spot in the Govern-ment Green Fleet category, and their director, Robert Howdyshell, was recognized as one of 40 Sustainability All-Stars. Lauren Fletcher, managing editor of Green Fleet Magazine, lauded How-dyshell and others in a press release, praising them for “[reducing] greenhouse emis-sions, [creating] green fleet and sustainable policies and [dedicating] their time and energy to ensuring the path to sustainability is clear.”

The Green Fleet Confer-ence is an annual meeting of professionals who work in the transportation sector, public or private. The conference is designed to showcase ad-vances in clean vehicles and provide attendees with strat-egies to implement transpor-tation systems that function in awareness of the environ-ment. Hundreds of people from across the United States attended the two-day confer-ence in Schaumburg, Illinois.

Riverside’s first place rank-ing among the participants in the Government Green Fleets category reflects positively on the city’s pursuit of environ-mental sustainability. Under the mayoralty of Ron Lov-eridge, the city of Riverside increased its emphasis on sus-tainable development and liv-ability. In 2001, the city first began to implement a number of new environmental poli-cies, including the installa-tion of light-emitting diodes in the city’s traffic lights to reduce electricity consump-tion. This was followed by the 2007 release of the city’s Green Action Plan, a report highlighting the most sig-nificant problems facing the city of Riverside and outlin-ing strategies to combat them. One of the largest transporta-tion-related goals included an expanded use of clean fleet vehicles.

Transportation-related is-sues alone cover nearly a fourth of the goals established in Riverside’s Green Action Plan and are some of the most

significant issues affecting southern California. Smart Growth America, an organiza-tion that protects agricultural plots, renovates communities and lowers the cost of hous-ing, states the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area as the region with the great-est level of urban sprawl out of 83 metropolitan areas sur-veyed throughout the United States.

Data from a 2002 Califor-nia Bureau of Transportation Statistics report shows an extremely high level of com-muter traffic throughout the Riverside-San Bernardino area, which racks up 32,876 daily vehicle-miles of trav-el—roughly 3,000 more than the almost equally populated city of Sacramento. In daily vehicle-miles of travel per capita, Riverside ranks sec-ond out of 37 urbanized areas in California. The Riverside-San Bernardino area has more traffic per freeway lane mile than any other urban area in the state with the exception of San Francisco and Los Ange-les.

Given the unique flow of commuter traffic, transpor-tation issues are still an im-portant focus in Riverside’s updated Green Action Plan. To decrease emissions and reduce consumer reliance on gasoline, electric vehicle chargers will be installed at public venues, along with new fueling stations, which con-sists of compressed natural gas. But some transit goals re-main on the Green Action Plan from the previous version and are apparently as of yet un-recognized. Among these are the synchronization of traf-fic signals to decrease traf-fic congestion and the imple-mentation of a transportation program between the region’s educational institutions.

In addition to Riverside’s recognition at the Green Fleet Conference, the city has also received a silver ranking from the California Green Com-munities Challenge for its sustainability programs. Riv-erside Public Utilities also earned a gold award from the International Economic De-velopment Council for lower-ing citizens’ energy costs.

Though Riverside has re-ceived accolades for its ad-vances in sustainability, proj-ects are poised to continue through a number of local partnerships. Green Riverside states that the city now gen-erates five megawatts of elec-tricity through solar power alone, as one of many ongo-ing projects. The Riverside Transit Agency (RTA), which operates natural gas-fuelled buses throughout Riverside County, has also received a $2.4 million grant from the federal government as part of the Federal Transit Adminis-tration’s Clean Fuels Grant Program, according to a re-port by Metro Magazine. The funds will be used to eventu-ally replace the entire fleet of RTA buses.

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On June 6th, the Supreme Court refused to strike down a California law that offers state residents reduced tuition rates at California colleges. The law’s opponents argue that the bill, which does not distinguish between lawful residents and illegal immigrants, violates a federal law that prohibits states from giving college benefits to illegal aliens on the basis of residence within a state. Unfortunately for the law’s detractors, the Supreme Court wouldn’t even hear their challenge. Lawyers for a conservative immigration-law group that backed the appeal claim that the law is patently unfair to the thousands of full-bred American high school graduates who apply to Cali-fornia colleges from other states each year. These students will have to pay as much as $20,00 more for college tuition than the illegal immigrants (and many other California residents) that the bill aids. Others have argued that the bill gives preferential treatment to illegal immigrants - it is just one more derivative of affirmative action, bent on taking positions away from the hard work-ing, middle-class Caucasians who really deserve http://ulife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/rick-santorum-660x320.jpg

Our justice system isn’t infallible. Since 1973, 140 people have been found innocent and released from death rows in 26 states. Nationally, at least one person is exonerated for every 10 that are executed. We cannot trust the life of a human being in the hands of an imperfect death penalty system. Nor can we trust a system that, when applied, is largely dependent on how much money a convict has, their attorney’s skill, the victim’s race and where the crime took place. In addition, the death penalty costs Californians considerably more money than sentences of life without parole. By voting yes on Proposition 34 in November, Californians should repeal the death penalty, save the state money and avoid the risk of sentencing an innocent person. As a result, convicts would instead be given life imprisonment without parole.

In a 1995 survey of police chiefs nationwide, New York Attorney Richard C. Dieter found that they rank the death penalty lowest among ways to reduce violent crime, placing it behind curbing drug abuse, more police officers on the streets, lowering the technical barriers to prosecution, longer sentences and a better economy with more jobs. And what if new evidence reveals a convict’s innocence? It’s easier to release an

inmate than revive one from the dead.

It actually costs less to keep inmates in prison than it does to enforce the death penalty. According to data from the Death Penalty Information Center, the cost of the death penalty in California has totaled over $4 billion since 1978: $1.94 billion for pretrial and trial costs, $925 million for automatic appeals and state habeas corpus petitions, $775 million for federal habeas corpus appeals and $1 billion for incarceration costs. Compare these figures to the $47,000 cost per year to incarcerate an inmate in prison.

However, it is unclear exactly how much will California save by eliminating the death penalty. Head of the California District Attorneys Association W. Scott Thorpe states that an accurate assessment of the fiscal impact is impossible, and that some costs will actually increase if the death penalty is abolished. But according to a study by U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Arthur L. Alarcon and Loyola Law School professor Paula M. Mitchell, the death penalty costs the state $184 million a year. Our state, currently mired in economic woes, would undoubtedly benefit by eliminating such a costly happening.

Prop 34 states that a fund of $100 million will be distributed to

law enforcement agencies in order to help solve more homicide and rape cases. But we may not know whether or not the money actually goes to what the bill proposes. Though $100 million is a large sum that can go to areas of the state that are in more need, it seems a better alternative to the death penalty, with its monumental costs, especially in recognizing the current amount required to execute an inmate.

In theory, the death penalty might sound attractive to some, but that’s assuming we live in a perfect world with an infallible justice system—one that never makes mistakes. But we don’t, unfortunately. The death penalty costs the state more than it does life without parole and seeing that California is already in a financial crisis, it is more plausible to repeal capital punishment. Californians are better off saving a great deal of much-needed money and avoiding the risk of murdering an innocent person than trusting our government to decide who should and shouldn’t be killed.

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HIGHLANDER EDITORIAL

Co u rt e s y o f th e sa C r a m e n to Be e

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

f ro M wi l l eC k s t e i n

Dear Mr. Aguilar, According to Investopedia the definition of Venture Capital

is: “Money provided by investors to startup firms and small

businesses with perceived long-term growth potential. This is a very important source of funding for startups that do not have ac-cess to capital markets. It typically entails high risk for the inves-tor, but it has the potential for above-average returns.”

Now with that in mind can we call Mitt Romney a venture capitalist? No, we can’t. Your article was titled “Venture Capi-talist versus Community Organizer.” This is an unfortunate and misleading title for what was otherwise a decent piece of jour-nalism. In the first sentence you say “[Mitt Romney] a venture capitalist that made his living buying and dismantling American business and lining his pockets with the misery of unemployed American workers.” WRONG. The whole point of venture capital is to invest in a venture, not liquidate or turn round [sic] a firm. Anyone who knows anything about venture capital would not dare call Romney a VC. For the record Romney was in pri-vate equity, not early stage investment. Once again I remind you that VCs invest in startups, not firms that have been in business for 103 years as you suggest with your GST steel example. A private equity firm like Bain Capital will attempt to buy out a company all ready in existence with borrowed money from bank and some money from their own fund in an attempt to make it profitable. This isn’t always the case, sometimes the company is worth more if you sell its’ assets than trying to turn it around.

Bain Capital which was started by Romney is often attacked for putting American’s out of work and bankrupting companies, the Obama campaign even suggested that is caused a woman to commit suicide. Some of the claims are obviously ludicrous; some of them may have some merit. Back to the point, Mitt Romney is not a venture capitalist, he even said “there’s a lot greater risk in a startup than there is in acquiring an existing company.” This is the essence of Bain Capital, a private equity firm that takes over existing companies through debt, not their own money, and attempts to make them more profitable, if not they sell the assets and charge a fee. Finally you suggest in your article that “venture capitalists exploit opportunity; they don’t create it.” This is wrong on so many levels. Not only have you got the definition of a VC completely backwards but you mis-represent the business that Romney was actually in which was private equity.

Finally, without venture capitalists companies like Facebook, Groupon, Zynga, or Amazon, to name a few, would not exist or at least not in the form that they do today. I put it to you that these companies have created opportunities for many people other than the Venture Capitalists who funded them.

It is unfortunate that what you wrote might cause readers to mistake a Venture Capitalist firm from a Private Equity firm, in this economy we need more people willing to invest in busi-nesses and create quality jobs. Yes sometime private equity will close down a company and take what profits it can get, but we need to consider that if a company is failing there is a reason for it. The father of value investing and mentor to Warren Buffet, always advised that if a company was trading below its’ liquida-tion value then its’ assets were worth more than the company itself and it should be sold. My point is boom or bust; it’s all part of the business cycle.

The Highlander accepts letters from the campus community. They should be 600-800 words in length and include the author’s name and contact information. Contact opinions editor Kevin Keckeisen at opinions@highlandernews.org for more information.

In response to the Oct. 9 article titled “Venture Capitalist versus Community Organizer” by Tim R. Aguilar.

OPINIONS 9HIGHLANDER TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012

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The opinions expressed in the Opinions section belong solely to their authors and do not represent the Highlander Editorial Board or the University of California, Riverside.

There were two choices: attend a four-year college straight out of high school or spend my first two years at a local community col-lege. I leaned towards the cheaper investment, but as pressure rose from my parents, I went with the university option. Because of this I probably saved myself time and frustration. For anyone who finds it difficult to be accommodated in their preferred classes here at the University of California, Riverside, just be glad that our classes are not as impacted as they are in the com-munity college system.

Over the last five years the state budget has slowly put tighter con-straints on higher education. The poor condition of the economy has led the state to take cuts at every side, and the most substantial sav-ings are coming out of the educa-tion system’s pockets, specifically from community colleges. My mother used to tell me of the days when classes at El Camino, a popu-lar campus in North Torrance, were dirt cheap, and transferring from there was no issue.

Now, there seem to be problems boiling at every edge of the sinking system. The state’s general fund has decreased by more than a third, which is problematic when realiz-

ing that the fund provides the bulk of the systems’ revenue—resulting in a jaw-dropping $1.3 billion cut last year. The slash makes it harder for students to enroll, which results in students taking longer to transfer or earn a vocational degree. Jack Scott, chancellor of California’s community college system, said that “state funding has dropped by 12 percent over the last three years.” If this trend continues, com-munity colleges will become more selective, serving the opposite pur-pose that was originally intended—to provide education for lower in-come students.

The Los Angeles Times com-mented on the reductions by veri-fying that the system is up against a state funding cut of up to 10 percent, and this will then result in 400,000 fewer students next fall—not to mention another decrease in available classes. With 2.6 mil-lion students enrolled in commu-nity college, California continues to encompass the largest higher educational system in the country. Could this then be detrimental to our state?

The purpose of the restric-tions is to provide some breathing room within the state and federal budgets. But without a place for students to receive an education, unemployment also faces an in-crease. More and more people will

settle for lower paying positions and end up contributing to a lower socioeconomic status, increasing poverty within the state.

In a study released by the Cali-fornia Community Colleges Stu-dent Success Task Force this year, only 54 percent ever achieve a de-gree, a certificate or transfer prepa-ration. Now, according to reports by the LA times, around 80 percent of firefighters and law enforcement officers and 70 percent of nurses jump start their careers in commu-nity college. By some estimates, California will need 2.3 million more community college degree and certificate holders by 2025 to meet the demands of employers. The California Master Plan for Higher Education does not seem to be doing its job, why?

Course offerings have dropped by almost a quarter since 2008, and in a survey, 78 of the system’s 112 colleges reported more than 472,300 students on wait lists for classes this fall semester—an av-erage of about 7,150 per campus. With all the frustration students are dropping out one by one because they cannot get the classes they need to graduate. A large portion of students end up transferring to colleges and universities that tend to make room for as many as they can, but with such long periods at the community college, the system

may become less valuable, leaving students who can barely afford an education in the dust.

Proposition 30 intends to put money back into the higher educa-tion system. If the proposition fails this November, the funding will fall another 7 percent. Where did the money go in the first place? Natu-rally, these savings went back into the deficit. And, according to Gov-ernor Brown’s budget report, the majority of the funds were taken from student aid and anything that is categorized under “other higher education.” Governor Brown promises to fix the education sys-tem in California, to promote class availability, and help students focus solely on major classes or ones re-quired to transfer to UC/CSU and keep state mandates to a minimum. Although, Governor Brown’s pro-posal is adding a rise to class fees, increasing the cost of a unit from $26 to $36, I do believe the fees should increase minutely, but his plan will still leave 350,000 stu-dents without funding from the state. We cannot expect the system to do more with less. Enrollment should be made more specific. Meaning, those students who are solely there for a degree and/or transferring should be given pri-ority to classes. Adults and others who attend just to take classes for fun or broadening horizons should

not be allowed admittance, for the time being. There should also be more money diverted from Cali-fornia’s prison system to the educa-tional system. Correctional facili-ties now obtain more funding than schools, receiving 3.5 percent more than higher education, according to former Governor Arnold Schwar-zenegger and the Huffington Post. This should be redirected back into education. Maybe then we would not have so many criminals. Let the prisons do more with less, not the schools.

Nick Ardecky, a transfer student now at UCSD, said that, “Mira-costa (a community college in San Diego) is funded by some of the wealthiest counties in California…no hurt there. For everyone else, I think that there is a huge problem on our hands, especially since com-munity college has become a new standard for college education.” With this in mind, any county with a surplus or wiggle room should donate funds to other, more im-pacted counties. Community col-lege has become a new standard of education, seeing as students hope for a cheaper option that can get them on track to graduate. But with the way the budget is structured to-day, something needs to be done, even if this means relocating funds, increasing taxes and fees, or chang-ing the admittance process.

A possibility for ‘idiocracy’ to come to life: a result of dwindling funds

The debate between Vice Presi-dent Joe Biden and Congressman Paul Ryan was considered a draw by CNN Political Analyst David Gergen. A CNN poll of undecided Virginia voters was split three ways: a third for Ryan, a third for Biden and a third still undecided. Political analysts from Fox News declared Congressman Ryan the clear winner and vice president material, while MSNBC felt Vice President Biden gave the young man from James-ville, Wisconsin a lesson in facts and politics. A CBS poll reported that 50 percent of registered voters felt Biden won with 31 percent fa-voring Ryan. A click of the remote here and there and I found myself in the midst of political spin.

Fact check was busy with state-ments from both candidates. Ryan claimed that 20 million people would lose their health care insur-ance under The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but this was not true. Nor was his claim that Romney’s 20 percent tax cut across the board would not reduce tax deduction to the middle class, such as mortgage interest or edu-cation, according to the Tax Policy Center. And then there were mis-represented quotes when Biden said that Romney said, “Let the US auto industry go bankrupt,” but that was not exactly what he said. Romney said he would support a managed bankruptcy for the auto industry, but he did oppose the auto industry bail out. Quotes and facts are quite dif-ferent when speaking of what a per-son said, as opposed to what a per-

son’s plans are for America, but we hear what we want to hear, as was the case for various news agencies. But I am not an employee of CNN, CBS, FOX or MSNBC. Nor am I a registered Democrat or Republican, because I do not buy into party poli-tics; I believe each and every politi-cian requires close examination.

Such as in the case of Ryan’s response to the recent killings of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Libya. Ryan claimed that the president misinformed America of the terror-ist attack on the embassy in Beng-hazi, suggesting it was a cover up and adding that President Obama should have provided embassy se-curity. He said it was the unravel-ing of Obama’s foreign policy and that we should never apologize for our values. Biden shot back and reminded the young Congressman that he voted against a $300 million appropriation for embassy security and explained that Obama reported what US intelligence had reported to him and when they, after further investigation, changed their report Obama reported the change. If you followed the story there was much speculation initially, but no solid intelligence. However, Romney, before the news of Ambassador Stevens death could be confirmed, was televised condemning Obama for the outbreak in the Middle East. This was not disputed by Ryan—he simply turned the attack back onto Obama’s failed foreign policy.

However, Ryan never supported his claim and when it came to apol-ogizing for our values he provided no specifics. It was simply another political slogan. Secretary Hillary

Clinton’s statement to the Libyan people and Muslims throughout the Middle East disassociated the US government from the production of Sam Bacile’s nefarious YouTube video, “Innocence of Muslims,” and condemned its content. She did not apologize for American values. When Ryan was asked if he con-demned the burning of the Koran he said, “Oh gosh yes.” Does this mean he opposes free speech, an American value? No, he is simply saying that we must be respectful, which is what Secretary Hillary Clinton said by condemning the video. I found this spin, by a vice presidential candidate, very disturb-ing.

Ryan claimed that the US wasn’t doing enough in Iran or Syria, but when quizzed on what exactly he would do differently he failed to of-fer substantive solutions. When dis-cussing Afghanistan he agreed on the withdraw date of 2014, but said that drawing down troops left the remaining US troops in peril. Biden responded by making it clear that the Afghans were filling these voids and were being sent into Taliban strongholds. When Ryan claimed the US should do more in Syria the only thing he offered was the en-gagement of the freedom fighters earlier. He chose not to respond to or acknowledge Biden’s comments regarding the international commu-nity’s involvement. He made it clear that the US was no longer alone in deciding the outcome of interna-tional conflicts because Obama had won back their support, and he add-ed that the US will not put American troops in harm’s way when sanc-tions, as in Iran, are working. Biden

went on to say that war should al-ways be the absolute last resort.

When I glimpsed the spin on Fox News, Ryan was touted as a foreign affairs guru, while MSNBC felt there was no substance be-hind his foreign policy attacks, but were impressed that he managed to memorize names and places. CNN and MSNBC said Biden brought energy and fight to the debate and Fox claimed Biden was rude and constantly interrupting Ryan.

The candidates were asked many interesting questions, but what caught my ear was the role their Catholic religion played on their personal views on abortion. Ryan said he believes that life began at conception because of religion, reason and science and is pro-life. He went on to say that he respects people that disagreed with him, but Romney’s administration policy op-poses abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.

Biden claimed that his Catholic faith defines who he is and he ac-cepts the church’s position on abor-tion, which is life begins at concep-tion, but he refuses to impose his religious beliefs on equally devout Christians, Muslims and Jews. He said, “I do not believe that―that we have a right to tell other people that women, they―they can’t control their body. It’s a decision between them and their doctor, in my view…I’m not going to interfere with that.”

The Romney Ryan Adminis-trative Policy on abortion fails to respect the religious beliefs of oth-ers. It contradicts Ryan’s accusa-tions of Obama’s administration for attempting to force the Catholic Church into performing abortions

at their hospitals and clinics, which was disavowed, so that religion is free from government, but govern-ment (the people) is not free from religion. The freedom of religion is central to American democracy and is enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution. It guarantees re-ligious liberty and strict separation of church and state. It states, “Con-gress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or pro-hibiting the free exercise thereof…” And while Ryan claims he respects people who disagree with him, he intends to impose his personal reli-gious beliefs on others of different faiths with legislation. There is no respect in this proposition and it is contrary to the American values regarding the freedom of religion—American values Ryan uses so often in his speech.

A thousand words will never cover 90 minutes of intense debate, but I clicked the TV off feeling that when a person does not give specif-ics and instead uses high level polit-ical rhetoric and slogans to argue a position that require specifics, it be-comes difficult to support much of what they say, regardless how well they say it. When that is coupled with fact checking that claims what they did say was false, especially as it relates to health care, taxes and the deficit, how is it possible to find val-ue in their position? The clear dif-ferences in this debate were the con-tradictions I encountered regarding respect, the freedom of religion and American values by the confident and well spoken Ryan, something I did not encounter in the words of Biden, however so abrupt they may have been; just another spin.

MY SPIN ON THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATEti M r. aG u i l a r

STAFF WRITER

Jo s h ua wa G o n b l a s tCONTRIBUTING WRITER

OPINIONS10 HIGHLANDERTUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012

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Interminable nights of working against the clock, fueled by countless cups of coffee. Whether writing a pa-per or studying mountains of material for an exam, the scene is a familiar one to many, especially undergradu-ates. The culprit, the habit of pro-crastination, is often associated with sloth, carelessness and apathy. How-ever, as discomforting as it is for stu-dents, procrastination may not actual-ly be such an unproductive approach, says UC Riverside philosophy profes-sor John Perry, author of the recently published book, “The Art of Procras-tination, A Guide to Effective Daw-dling, Lollygagging and Postponing.”

A self-described procrastinator, Perry initially felt down about his habit. But at the same time, he has had a reputation for being productive. With the intent of feeling better about his procrastination, Perry wrote the highly-acclaimed essay “How to Pro-crastinate and Still Get Things Done” in 1995. In the piece, he elucidates the paradox of his work style, offer-ing a comedic, light-hearted look at procrastination. “I noticed that I get a lot done as a way of not doing what I am supposed to be doing,” states Perry.

His approach, “structured pro-crastination,” involves completing numerous, smaller tasks to postpone more cumbersome tasks. In the essay, he suggests that it offers procrastina-tors the benefit of long-term produc-tivity by getting a lot done. He goes on to explain ways to utilize the habit effectively. However, Perry states, “The key idea is that procrastinating does not mean doing absolutely noth-ing.”

Following the essay’s publication in the Chronicle of Higher Educa-

tion, it garnered positive responses from readers who have found his work inspiring and witty. In 2011, Perry received an Ig Nobel Prize in Literature, which is a parody of the Nobel Prize intended to be humorous and satirical, but also thought pro-voking. They lauded the piece for its eccentricity and power to stimulate thought. In the plethora of emails and letters he has received over the years, Perry reflects, “A lot of people iden-tify with the trend I found: getting a lot done as a way of not doing other things, which you are really supposed to be doing. A lot of people were also relieved to have someone suggest that they ought to pat themselves on the back for what they get done, instead of feeling bad about procrastinating.”

Beyond his expertise in struc-tured procrastination, Perry is also renowned in the field of philosophy for his extensive and influential work across various philosophical issues. He has penned over 100 articles and books on the philosophy of language, the philosophy of the mind, personal identity, reflexivity and self-knowl-edge. In addition, he is a co-host on the radio program “Philosophy Talk” with fellow philosopher Kenneth Taylor, encouraging discourse on dif-ferent philosophical issues among cu-rious listeners.

After 37 years as a professor at Stanford University, he retired in 2011, but remains a Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy at the institution and is also a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at UC River-side. He has also received a number of awards and honors throughout his career, including a Jean Nicod Prize (France), a Humboldt Prize (Germa-ny), a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a

Dinkelspiel Award for undergraduate teaching from Stanford.

This past August, Perry published a self-help manual, which carries the same witty, tongue-in-cheek perspec-tive of his early essay, and delves into structured procrastination even further, discussing techniques such as task triage and self-manipulation. The latter, for example, may be lik-ened to defining one’s own path of least resistance when tackling a to-do list. Perry elaborates, “Sometimes you find that you don’t have the will power to work on what you should work on, but you can take steps to create situations in which not so much will power is required.” Best of all, “When one realizes why and how one

procrastinates, there are things you can do to minimize the bad effects of this flaw, as well as minimizing how bad one feels about it.”

Much like his early essay, Perry fo-cuses on the positives associated with the habit of procrastination, divert-ing the matter away from its nega-tive undertones. While he claims that procrastination is not a flaw, it is a common trait among many productive people. He argues, “If you went back through history and eliminated all the poems, novels, inventions and ideas that people came up with while they should have been doing something else, our culture would be greatly im-poverished. So it’s not the worst flaw in the world.”

HIGHLANDER FEATURES. . 11TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012

by Chelsea Santos, STAFF WRITER PHOTOS COURTESY OF Dr. John Perry

Consider when procrastination might be helpful for you. “Undergradu-ates tend to procrastinate. This works better for some classes than for others. In a humanities class, cramming at the last minute can produce a pretty good exam per-formance or term paper. In math and science, it’s better to keep up.”

What you’re procrastinating on may be telling you something about yourself. “Procrastination can help you figure out what you really want to be do-ing with your life. If you are putting off your biology homework to tutor kids, or read novels, or try out for parts in plays, maybe you need to rethink being a pre-med.”

Whenever you procrastinate, stop and ask yourself why. “What’s more puzzling is when we procrastinate doing something we actually enjoy doing. Lots of writers have this problem. They enjoy writing--once they get started. But they find it hard to get started. If one spots that pattern in oneself, you need to figure out what is going on. Are you afraid that by actually doing what you enjoy doing, you will prove that you aren’t as good as it as you want to be? Facing up to these issues can help deal with them.”

Procrastinating Tipsfrom Dr. John Perry:

M A S T E R I N G

~~WITH

“The Art ofProcrastination”

Dr. John Perry

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RESTAURANT REVIEW:

The first thing I noticed about In-dia Sweets and Spices was the aura of herbs and spices that embraced me as I walked in. The second, that it was not at all what I had expected.

I assumed a setting of a typical restaurant, which generally con-sists of a room of tables, a hostess and a waiter. But the lack of a con-ventional restaurant setting cre-ated a laid back, nonchalant mood. New India Sweets and Spices is es-sentially split in two— half of it is a market, and the other half is re-served for the restaurant area. The restaurant area is composed of il-luminated menus, a clear counter containing various desserts and appetizers, and long rectangular tables and chairs. New India Sweets and Spices appeared to be a restau-rant that would be great for order-ing items to go, because there is not that much seating space.

Nevertheless, I quickly grew to love the atmosphere that surround-ed me as I observed the shelves of food items on my way towards the counter. After scanning the menu

I decided to try a paneer paratha, a flat bread resembling that of pita with spices and cheese called pan-eer cooked within the bread, along with plain yogurt to dip in. For des-sert, my friend and I ordered rasma-lai, which I was very excited to taste. As an appetizer I opted for a samo-sa, something I ate often at the Lo-thian Dining Hall. For our drink we ordered a mango lassi, which quick-ly became my favorite item on the menu. My friend chose for herself a thali special which was a tray spe-cial that included a vegetarian rice and salad. My friend, who is a veg-etarian, had many options to chose from, since New India Sweets and Spices offers a menu without meat. Most surprising of all, my items to-gether only cost $9.36! As a poor college student this brought tears to my eyes and relief that there was a possibility that I would not starve to death in college.

The order took about 15 minutes to prepare so I took a little tour around the market. Not only did it hold finger foods, spices, sauces,

rice, and cooking ware, but as my friend stated, “it has everything you need to make authentic Indian food at home.” What attracted me the most to this quaint eating arena was the friendliness of the people that worked there. When I walked in initially, it was the owners that greeted me with a warm smile and welcome. It is important to me to find good company when I come to eat food, and at New India Foods and Spices they provided that.

Soon the food was prepared, and I began my meal by first eating the samosa. Not to belittle the dorm food, but I must say the samosas here were far more flavorful, and were only 99 cents. The samosa, if you have not been acquainted with it yet, is a fried triangular shaped appetizer that is filled with mashed potatoes, vegetables and spices. The paneer paratha was not as fla-vorful as the samosa, but my friend seemed to enjoy it much more than I did. What I did enjoy however was the price--the panner paratha came to only $3.99, which included the

plain yogurt for dipping. By far my favorite item was the mango lassi, which was reminiscent of a smooth-ie. Lastly, I sinfully indulged in the rasmalai, which was almost like a rice patty in sweet milk. The tex-ture was very different in that when I bit into it, it created a squeaky sound. Ironically, it made the des-sert more enjoyable and added to an exotic feel that I was encounter-ing throughout my entire meal.

My friend, who has been to India in the past, told me that my expe-rience with the market that is New India Sweets and Spices is not a unique one. She said, “If you went to India, like I did, the markets have a similar feel but are extremely more crowded.” I enjoyed not only the fact that I was taken into an un-familiar atmosphere and came out with a satisfying experience, but also because the service is kind, the the Indian food that is cooked there is authentic, delicious and does not feel even slightly Americanized.

TOP: Combo #1 with Daal (Lentil) Curry. BOTTOM: Trays full of freshly made desserts.

by Collette King, CONTRIBUTING WRITER Leena Butt, PHOTOGRAPHER

★★★★★RATING:

INDIAN E W

SWESPICES&

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21FEATURES 13TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012HIGHLANDER

On Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. in the High-lander Union Building (HUB) Room 269, do-mestic violence survivor and bilingual pre-vention education specialist Marissa Presley gave a presentation about domestic abuse. Approximately 30 students attended the event, which was put on behalf of Laura’s House, a domestic violence awareness or-ganization based in Orange County, CA. Her talk enlightened students on several types of abuse that exist within families and relation-ships, and she claimed that domestic violence exists everywhere—in upper and lower class neighborhoods, among minorities, adults, college students, even teenagers and chil-dren. She said that there is no specific demo-graphic where abuse occurs, because abuse does not discriminate.

Presley spoke of the stigma surrounding those who have faced or are currently facing any type of domestic violence. She stated, “20 years ago, no one talked about domestic violence. It was taboo.” She continued to ex-plain the common situations victims are in.

Oftentimes, those used to abusive relation-ships hear justifications such as: I only hit you because you provoked me, or I only hit you to teach you a lesson. Victims of abuse are at times judged by others, because oftentimes they begin to think that they deserve the physical or emotional torment in their lives. Presley recalled her own past with violence and the questions she would hear from oth-ers. People would ask her, “Why don’t you just leave?” or “You’re just asking for it be-cause you’re not leaving.” However, accord-ing to Presley, “most homicides occur within 72 hours after the victim leaves his or her abuser.” The violence their perpetrator un-leashes on the abused creates a fear in them that makes it difficult to walk away from the relationship.

Presley shared her personal experiences of abuse, as well as the experiences of other known survivors. Not only did Presley wit-ness her father abusing her mother during her childhood, but she was also raped by her father until she was 12 years old. Presley

emerged from a very dark and sinister world, but in response to her horrific experiences, she decided to reach out to individuals across the state who could be in the same predica-ment, and educate others in the process.

One of the many lessons Presley shared included the warning signs of potential do-mestic abuse, as well as ways to escape the horror early and safely. Presley firmly encour-ages watching out for red flags including, but not limited to: intense jealousy, blaming others for one’s own mistakes and problems, history of abuse in household and history of abuse in past relationships, as these may increase the risk of abuse within current re-lationships.

Though the dark shadows of domestic violence are cast upon hundreds of thou-sands of women, abuse often affects men as well. 95 percent of reported cases of vio-lence are geared towards women; however men experience the torture just as often. “Just turn on any TV commercial. It’s always men getting beat,” says Presley, busting the

myths regarding the stereotype. 40 percent of reported cases of domestic violence affect men, disproving the idea that only women are abused. Studies show that 98 percent of men in California prisons were witnesses of domestic violence.

Second-year global studies major Affaf Waseem spoke of the mystery surrounding abuse within college student relationships, an issue that is not often discussed. Waseem stated, “As university students, you have a lot of friends trying things out in the relationship arena. You don’t really know if they need help.”

This month marks Domestic Violence Awareness Month, but before 1987 (when Domestic Violence Awareness Month was first observed), it was not a widely discussed issue. Second-year women studies major Me-gan Awwad stated, “It needs to stop. It needs to be talked about, especially with men and minority groups.” Though Presley presented her own combat against domestic violence, she also stated, “Every single human being has a story. It’s not just me”.

ENDING THE SILENCE OF DOMESTIC ABUSEby Courtney Parker, CONTRIBUTING WRITER PHOTOS COURTESY OF, safeatschools.org & The OC Register

LEFT: Volunteer Jessica Carino, left, and education specialist Marissa Presley inside the children’s room at the Laura’s House offices in Ladera Ranch. Laura’s House mission is to prevent and reduce the incidence of domestic violence. RIGHT: Marissa Presley speaks about domestic violence.

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FEATURESTUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012 HIGHLANDER14 15

UCR’s basketball season tipped off with last Friday’s rousingly suc-cessful Midnight Madness event. Coordinated by ASPB and UCR Ath-letics, Midnight Madness was a massive pep rally designed to hype up Highlanders in anticipation of the upcoming basketball season. The stands of the SRC’s gym were packed as Scotty, the men and women’s basketball teams, staff and Hylander Hype pumped up the crowd.

ASPB Special Events Director Clara Murphy said, “Midnight Madness was a really long planning process but it was definitely worth it. We were really excited to collaborate with athletics to plan this event—they were really helpful and we all worked together well.” All of that planning paid off as the night began with performances by UCR Cheer and Highlander Girls. Decked in black shorts and spirit shirts provided by the campus bookstore, the teams garnered plenty of applause dur-ing their opening dance, but the crowd’s attention was soon stolen by the appearance of the women’s basketball team. They wore black tights and shirts, garish neon tutus and knee-high socks and took center stage as they danced along to a series of clips from popular hip-hop tracks.

Following the women’s basketball team, UCR Cheer took the stage and performed a series of lift stunts to a remixed version of Cobra Star-ship’s “You Make Me Feel.” The men’s team, who wore white t-shirts and beige shorts, soon followed with their own dance routine. The audience went wild with cheers and applause as the men tore off their shirts and ran into the crowds to bring a few ladies onto the dance floor with them. Once the participants were seated, the men danced with surpris-ing fluidity to Beyonce’s “Dance For You.”

Soon after, the women’s basketball team and coaching staff were in-troduced to the crowd. After head coach John Margaritis shared a quick message calling for support from UCR students as the team entered the

by Rebecca Paredes, CONTRIBUTING WRITERphotos by Richard Lin, Jillian Rausa

MIDNIGHT

TOP: Davin Guinn attempts a dunk with 26 seconds left. LEFT: Students danced to music played by DJ Justin Credible and DJ Inferno. RIGHT: TJ Burke crowned the dunk contest champion.

TOP: Chelsea Jacoby after winning the speed chal-lenge. MIDDLE: Students cheering. RIGHT: The women’s basketball team observes the festivities.

upcoming season, four members of the women’s team impressed the crowd with a timed layup shooting game. Freshman Chelsea Jacoby won the contest with the fastest time and was awarded for her impres-sive footwork with a tiara and plenty of cheers.

When the men’s basketball team and coaching staff entered the stage, Head Coach Jim Wooldridge made a point to thank Hylander Hype, the pep band, and the spirit squads for their dedication to “give [opposing teams] hell.” He also thanked both basketball teams for their impressive choreography during the night’s performances.

Despite the men’s basketball team’s postseason ban, any sense of negativity was notably absent from Coach Wooldridge’s speech. In-stead, he inspired hearty applause when he told the audience about UCR’s notable successes on the court against UCSB, UCI and UC Davis, and ended his speech by saying, “Let’s beat ‘em again.”

Four members of the men’s team participated in a dunk contest, which sophomore TJ Burke won following his impressive assisted and backwards toss dunks. After receiving his celebratory crown, Burke and the team left the stage and were followed by UCR Cheer, the Highland-er Girls and Hylander Hype.

Hype leaders Josh Zozaya and Alex Owens led the crowd through a series of cheers, all of which were conveniently displayed on the arena’s videoboard. The night closed with a rousing rendition of UCR’s fight song.

Clara Murphy said, “Tonight’s turnout was amazing. We would like to thank everyone for coming out and showing school spirit and I look forward to the upcoming basketball season.” The season opens for both the men’s and women’s teams on Nov. 3 with an exhibition game at the SRC. Fight on, brave Scots! ■H

A refreshing sight greeted me as I walked towards the Bell Tower this past Saturday, Oct. 13, to attend the second “Refresh Riverside! A commu-nity climate fair.” Instead of the usual scene of students rush-ing to class with their oversized backpacks, I was greeted with children laughing and running around the expansive lawns, climbing the giant UCR letters as though it were a jungle gym, eating bright blue cotton can-dy and popcorn. Nearby, moth-ers were pushing toddlers in their strollers and grandparents were strolling around, hold-ing hands, their grandchildren walking nearby. I quickly real-ized that it was more than a fair offering mindless entertain-ment and carnival food, as the bell tower was crowded with white tents— all booths that offered unique experiences to their visitors, while educating them on sustainability or cli-mate change.

Sponsored by NASA, River-side Unified School District and UCR, “Refresh Riverside!” was organized for middle school children in mind, but offered something for all ages. As they entered, participants were given a pamphlet that would guide them through their expe-rience. It was filled with infor-mation, an event map, as well as a checklist of all the booths. After visiting a booth, partici-pants had the option to get their checklist stamped. If the participant attended at least 9 of the booths and received their stamps, they were able to walk to the Rubio’s booth for a free lunch.

Each booth offered some-thing new to it’s participants. Some were informational, some were interactive, but all taught visitors something in a way that was fun and easy to grasp. The booths were run by volunteers of all ages, who were donned in light blue shirts and offered warm smiles to all visitors. I was surprised to arrive at a booth where Damien, a 10-year-old boy, eagerly taught people how to plant sprouts in a little cup for them to take home. Other booths were managed by el-ementary students volunteer-

ing through AVID or science clubs, UCR undergraduates and graduates, and environmental and science groups on campus.

First-year PhD student in geology Ian Gilbert helped run the Global Temperature booth. He shared his thoughts on the fair, “I think it’s really interest-ing, it exposes a lot of people to sustainability and global tem-perature changes that maybe people aren’t getting exposed to because they aren’t watch-ing the right kind of news, etc. We’re not giving any different sides, we are just presenting the facts.”

Robyn Dahl, a first-year PhD student in the earth sciences department was one of the head organizers of the event. She helped put together the topical booths, something that she has been planning for the past five months. She said that the main goal of the fair was to teach middle school children and their families about the science of climate change and sustainability in a very compre-hensive and fun way. She said, “I think it’s really fun to bring kids from the local school district to the campus to start learning about science, because they often don’t get to have fun sci-ence experiences.”

Dahl stressed the impor-tance about educating oneself on the issues, claiming that it is one of the biggest issues facing our society. She said, “It’s really important to break down com-plex science into concepts that the general public can under-stand, so they can be engaged with the issues.”

Other booths included Cli-mate Change Jeopardy, Sea Level Rise & Melting Ice, Plant-A-Seed, Greenhouse Gases & Carbon Footprint and many others. The booths that offered a game to play seemed to be the most popular amongst the kids. The Green McDonald’s booth allowed participants to answer a multiple choice ques-tion regarding sustainability, questions that changed in dif-ficulty depending on the age of the participant. If they got the question right, they could spin a wheel and potentially re-ceive a free coupon to desserts,

drinks or meals at McDonald’s. Another booth taught children how to make crafts out of recy-cled papers, and it was teeming with children painting frames or origami roses from old news-papers.

Helen Tarpai came to the fair with her grandchildren and loved it. She said, “I graduated from here about 37 years ago, and it is wonderful to come back and see the campus fo-cusing on the environment. Back in the ‘70s we always brought our glass and cans up here to recycle, so it is nice to see how much it has changed.” Her young granddaughter, who kept thanking Tarpai for bring-ing her, shared, “It was a very good fair because I learned a lot about science at a young age.”

Two brothers who were busy with cotton candy also had an opinion they wanted to add. While the older one explained seriously how he en-joyed learning about science, his much younger one added, “Want to know what I learned about? Cotton candy that’s all!” Clearly there was something to enjoy there for all ages.

After visiting many of the different booths I approached the Rubio’s tent that was mak-ing food for all the participants. The staff there were all incred-ibly energetic and greeted the hungry and hopeful partici-pants kindly. A sign was set up beside the tent that educated people on sustainability, and Rubio’s efforts to be sustain-able. When I mentioned to one of the workers about how nice it was for Rubio’s to give free food to those who came to seek knowledge that day, he said, “It’s all for the community.”

I was soon presented with my gourmet shrimp taco, com-plete with a slice of avocado and delicious sauce, alongside a generous helping of chips and salsa. I ate on the grass, surrounded by children and families with their plates of food as well, admiring the rush around the informative booths, the people learning, laughing, the beautiful weather, the at-mosphere that really felt like a community.

21FEATURES 17TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012HIGHLANDER

REFRESH RIVERSIDE: AN EDUCATIONAL COMMUNIT Y FAIRBy Fatima Mirza, Senior Staff Writer

Photos by Richard Lin

Clo ck wise from top: B oy approaches the cotton candy machine; Par t ic ipants enjoy playing S ea Level L imb o; Chi ldren take sur veys on iPads.

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HIGHLANDER TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

radar

Co u rt e s y o f wa r n e r Br o s. pI C t u r e s

For those skimming the pages wondering who Kaki King is—remember the movie “August Rush?” Kaki King is the living, breathing inspiration of the pecu-liar guitar-playing technique that captivated the musician in every-one.

Kaki King, also known as Katherine Elizabeth King, re-leased her sixth album, “Glow,” on Tuesday, Oct. 9. These new, strictly instrumental composi-tions incorporating a wide variety of instruments—up to 12 differ-ent guitars and a bagpipe—kept me more intrigued than her indie pop sound from her previous al-bum, “Junior.” Kaki King’s al-bums progressively create her own niche in music as a com-poser and innovative guitarist.

Though many find it hard to con-nect to music without a chorus of lyrics to sing along to, “Glow” proves capable of emoting in the intricate chord progressions of each song.

Because it is entirely instru-mental, King jokes that it “doesn’t matter what the songs are called.” The irony is that each song holds its own dimension within the 12 track album. The Asian and Celtic inspirations that pop out through the album, which gives it a different taste than what is expected in classical music, espe-cially with the background string quartet in “Great Round Burn,” kicks off the groundbreaking al-bum. I am thrilled to say the track list did not bore me for a split sec-ond; every song brought about a

new experience and introduction to music as I now know it. I can-not even fathom all the talent needed to compose such soothing and complex melodies in the al-bum and to think it was all done by one woman is mind blowing.

Without a doubt, this album proves worthy of a listen be-cause of its unique sound. De-spite popular culture classifying Kaki King’s sound as alternative, “Glow” gives unworldly vibes in “Bowen Island” and “King Pizel” which keeps me eager for what she will come up with next. If you’re not willing to pur-chase the album through iTunes or Amazon, drop by the Barn on Wednesday, Oct. 24 at 7:30 p.m. to see the progression of music for yourself.

MUSIC REVIEWS★★★☆☆RATING: BY: JILLIAN RAUSA, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

GLOW // KAKI KING

Courtesy of Velour Recordings

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 19TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012HIGHLANDER

Meetings on Mondays at

5:15 pmat HUB 101

for the HighlanderWRITE

DESIG

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT20 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012 HIGHLANDER

MOVIE REVIEWS

★★★☆☆RATING: BY: NICOLAS AUSTIN

HERE COMES THE BOOM

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

ALSO THIS WEEK:

It’s not common that you see a movie that combines comedy with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). You usually get a sports comedy film that focuses on basketball, football or baseball, but never mixed martial arts. Frank Coraci (director of “The Wedding Singer” and “The Waterboy”) comes together with Adam Sandler’s production company, Happy Madison, in order to create this heartwarm-ing comedic film. “Here Comes the Boom” delivers some punch lines, but not enough to light a real fuse of explosive laughter.

The film stars Sandler’s costars from the 2010 blockbuster hit “Grown-Ups,” Kevin James and Salma Hayek. Kevin James plays Scott Voss, a 42-year-old former collegiate wrestler, who is now a biology high school teacher trying to save the music program with the music teacher, Marty. Marty, played by the iconic Henry Winkler, is down on his luck and needs the funds not only to support the children in the music program, but also his expecting young wife. Voss pities Marty and comes up with an idea that he can raise the money through competing in MMA. Voss and Marty’s colleague, Bella (Selma Hayek), believes Voss is out of his mind and is going to get hurt fighting within the mixed martial arts arenas. She eventually comes around to his idea after realizing his dedication to raise money for Marty and the kids.

Voss has until the end of the school year to raise $48,000 and is forced to quit his second job, which consists of night school teaching to foreigners who are trying to be-come American citizens. While Voss is in the process of quitting and focusing on training for MMA, he meets Niko (played by former UFC champion Bas Rutten), one of his night school students who is desperately trying to become an American citizen. Niko, who used to be a former MMA fighter, comes to an agreement with Voss that he will help him train for MMA in return for teaching the re-quirements needed to become an American

citizen. Voss goes through some tough training

and gruesome ass whooping in order to be-come an MMA fighter. He solely relies on his former wrestling collegiate experience to help him, but is unaware that it can get him so far within mixed martial arts. Voss goes from severe beatings to throwing up on a fighter, to cuts and gashes all the way from being kicked in the balls to having his shoulder dislocated.

Many fans of James, such as myself, will enjoy “Here Comes the Boom.” Fans of MMA or just plain fans of comedy will enjoy watching this film too. Even though it doesn’t offer as much laughter as “The Hangover” or “Bridesmaids,” it still offers a plate of jokes with a moral that aims at explaining that you should fight for something that’s more than just yourself. The movie is a combination of “Nacho Libre” and “School of Rock.”

★★★★☆RATING: BY: DIANA S. HUANG, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

SINISTER

Courtesy of Summit Entertainment

Blumhouse Productions is making quite a name for itself for delivering horror hits such as “Paranormal Activity” and the well-received “Insidious.” The studio’s latest en-deavor, “Sinister,” is a welcomed relief this Halloween season—a departure away from the usual gory slasher-flick that dominates the American horror genre. One of the greatest pleasures (or terrors) of watching “Sinister” is the overwhelming sense of eeriness and creepiness that makes the whole ordeal in-credibly uncomfortable. The mood and tone of the film is well-conceived and well-execut-ed, gluing thrill seekers and horror movie vet-erans to their seats in anticipation of what’s coming next.

True-crime novelist Ellison Oswalt (Ethan Hawke) moves his family into a house that also happens to be the crime scene for the current book he’s working on. The move was also made so he can better investigate the case of the missing girl who belonged to the family that was murdered in the house in the 1970s. When moving in, Ellison discovers a black box containing home movies shot in Super 8 film. Upon watching the first video, Ellison stumbles on footage of the family be-ing shot to death. Each subsequent video is of different families from different places being murdered in their own homes while some-one watches. This investigation leads Elli-

son down a supernatural path and puts him at ends with his own family and, ultimately, their safety.

“Sinister” started off strong, with an in-tense opening scene that set the tone for the rest of the film. Director Scott Derrickson and writer C. Robert Cargill were clever in the way in which they alluded to gore and brutal-ity without ever having to show the gruesome scenes, and in many ways that makes “Sinis-ter” much more chilling and creepy to watch. At the center of the film is Ethan Hawke, who

manages to pull off an admirable and ex-tremely convincing portrayal of an obsessed writer who has finally met his match in a case he can never hope to solve. Ellison’s descent into fear, desperation and helplessness is a highlight of the film as we see the him emo-tionally and mentally tortured.

“Sinister” is a solid movie up until the very end when it blindsided audiences with a rather abrupt and very anticlimactic ending. The film has so much potential, yet it falls flat in its final moments. Many were expecting an

unusual ending like that of “Insidious,” but it seems as though “Sinister” chose a more sim-plistic path and stuck to that instead of spin-ning the web of terror any further. There were also moments in the film that didn’t seem to belong there other than for the “jump” factor, but Derrickson was able to work those into the film without exhausting the method.

Despite its flaws, “Sinister” is still a great scare, and a much-appreciated departure from overworked franchises like “Saw” and “Paranormal Activity.”

ALEX CROSS PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4 BROOKLYN CASTLE THE FIRST TIME

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Through most of film history, audiences have been attracted to films based on true stories. They want to see something that re-ally happened and feel like they were there. Though these films often exaggerate or change certain parts of events for drama, the point is usually to dramatize the plot while sticking loosely to details for better cin-ematic effect. “Argo” pays close attention to detail and exaggerates at the same time. Combined with a stellar script, excellent cinematography and superb acting, this film is one of the year’s best. Directed by Ben Affleck and written by Chris Terrio, “Argo” is the story of six American service workers who escape to the Canadian Embassy in Iran after the U.S. Embassy is attacked and taken over by revolutionaries in 1979.

The film begins on Nov. 4, 1979, with a hostile crowd outside the U.S. embassy in Iran. Tension slowly rises as long shots of the crowd are shown and closely followed by quick, shaky close-ups of the protesters. Panic slowly rises as shots switch between the angry crowd and the foreign service workers inside. The protesters eventually jump over and break the gates open to over-take the embassy and hold 55 workers hos-tage. Six escape out the back to the Cana-dian Embassy.

CIA agent Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) comes up with a plan to rescue the six es-caped Americans by teaming up with Hol-lywood producer Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin) and make-up artist John Chambers (John Goodman). They plan to rescue the six Americans under the guise of a film crew. After running the idea down with several U.S. officials, including CIA head Jack O’Donnell (Bryan Cranston), it’s deemed

that the operation is the best option they have and it is a go. After setting up an elabo-rate, realistic background for the fake film, Mendez goes to Iran, trains the Americans on their fake names, convinces them that the operation will work and attempts to escape with the hostages via a Swiss airline. Along the way, orders to cancel the operation and suspicions from Iranian officials continually build suspense.

The cinematography is particularly strong as camera movement builds suspense with many dramatic close-ups of charac-ters and hand-held style shots increase the tension, particularly as the Americans sift their way through an Iranian market and as O’Donnell rushes his way through an office to make sure the flight is set for the Ameri-cans to escape.

In addition, a dramatic and tension-filled script pinpoints how delicate the situation is as O’Donnell instills the importance of

completely memorizing fake identities into the Americans. Those in Washington con-stantly doubt the mission while Mendez and O’Donnell argue over executive decisions needed to help the Americans escape. The moments of dark humor add relief as Cham-bers and Siegel must play up their Holly-wood personalities to make the project seem believable to the public and Iranian govern-ment. Though most of the characters aren’t particularly deep, the audience still feels sympathetic because of historical context and some family background.

Affleck manages to pull off a very be-lievable, highly stressed yet cool and col-lected CIA agent while not going over the top. Cranston also shines with his charac-ter’s conflicts and shows strong physicality in some of his most tense scenes. Goodman and Arkin pull off comedic and dramatic characters with a good sense of morality and a sense of urgency to help their country. The

rest of the cast, including those portraying the Americans in the embassy, also display a considerable truth through fear and frustra-tion throughout the situation.

It is difficult to pinpoint the rating for “Argo.” Voiceovers at the beginning and end of the film display the extreme detail of parts of the film while other parts are extremely biased towards the U.S. Unfor-tunately, Canada’s side isn’t shown quite as well. The morality of the situation is also difficult to gage as the innocent U.S. work-ers are punished for the despicable actions of their superiors. What seems to be impor-tant in “Argo,” though, is a story of a man overcoming gigantic obstacles to free some of his countrymen from undeserved oppres-sion. Morality of previous leader’s actions aside, the story brings out the best of men who had nothing to do with their country’s bad decisions, but did their best to rescue others from it.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 21TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012HIGHLANDER

★★★☆☆RATING: BY: GRACE KANG, STAFF WRITER

SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS

Courtesy of CBS Films

After watching this movie, it’s a fair as-sumption that either director/screenwriter Martin McDonagh (“In Bruges”) or his marketing has some issues with basic arith-metic and vocabulary. The trailer released for “Seven Psychopaths” promised us ex-actly that—seven psychopaths. To specify: No.1 the seemingly normal one (Colin Farrell), No.2 his best friend (Sam Rock-well), No.3 the one with issues (Woody Harrelson), No.4 the hot girlfriend (Olga Kurylenko), No.5 the non-violent one (Christopher Walken), No.6 the passive-aggressive girlfriend (Abbie Cornish), and No.7 the one with the bunny (Tom Waits). The next three words are constructive to what you may expect of this movie, so read carefully: The trailer lied.

“Seven Psychopaths” kicks off in Holly-wood and narrows in on the plight of Irish screenwriter Marty Faranan (Farrell)—we see what you did there, McDonagh—who struggles through a drunken haze to finish his screenplay, titled “Seven Psychopaths.” The problem is that he hasn’t even started. Martys’ greatest supporter and aspiring co-writer in this endeavor is Billy Bickle (Rockwell), a deadbeat actor whose main source of income is reward money from grateful owners of lost-and-then-miracu-lously-found dogs that he kidnapped. Mar-ty crashes with Billy after getting kicked out by his girlfriend Kaya (Cornish), and attempts to continue working on his story. Billy peppers him with motivational pep talks about his alcoholism, and places an ad in the LA Weekly, under Marty’s name, calling all psychopaths to be interviewed for writing material. Despite these well-in-tentioned if slightly misguided efforts, Bil-ly inadvertently provides his best bud with the biggest source of inspiration when he

makes the mistake of stealing a Shih Tzu named Bonny from a dog-sitter (Gabourey Sidibe) who works for Charlie Costello (Harrelson), a violently deranged gangster who suffers no misgivings about leaving a trail of bloody, squishy bits in his dogged (pun intended) quest to recover his canine companion. At this point in the movie, the audience has been introduced to four of the seven psychopaths promised in the trailer, and Charlie’s is the only familiar face.

Dragged into the brouhaha of LA’s criminal underworld are (as expected) the morosely inebriated Marty, as well as Billy’s partner-in-crime, Hans (Walken), who is only in the dog-napping business to pay for his hospitalized wife’s medical bills. Anyone familiar with the shoot-em-up genre knows how these crime capers are supposed to end, in a gloriously gra-tuitous hail of bullets and Tarantino-style carnage, and our frantic trio of screwballs is well aware of their intended fate. Marty, however, is firm in the belief that the lead characters “should just walk away.” And so, our heroes are whisked away into the Californian desert of Joshua Tree National Park on a mission to write a story that is more than “men with guns in their hands,” a story of peace and love. But don’t worry, although the big, bad trailer aimed to lead audiences astray, the MPAA made good on their rating for “strong violence [and] bloody images.”

Let’s backtrack to the “seven psy-chopaths” problem. Zachariah (Waits), a.k.a. the one with the bunny, answers the newspaper ad, and recounts to Marty the grisly tale of how he met the love of his life (Amanda Warren), and then how they became self-proclaimed serial killers. The couple fills the slots for psychopaths No.5

and No. 6 on Marty’s trusty yellow note-pad, leaving the seventh spot open for a surprise. But here’s a little hint: neither of our starring—if we can still say that after their meager scraps of screen time—ac-tresses claim the seventh spot. Shortly af-ter each woman’s first appearance in the movie, they are hastily swept under a rug of misogynistic jokes and trodden over by the male leads. The blame for this can only be attributed to McDonagh, who likes to poke fun at the racist/sexist humor in his own script, in order to nudge audiences into seeing “Seven Psychopaths” as satiri-cal metafiction rather than another movie in the vein of post-Tarantino crime flicks. But despite his best efforts, the comedic ploy falls just short of convincing.

“Seven Psychopaths” is a great example of a movie that succeeds in spite of itself. McDonagh has proven to be fond of inces-santly reminding the audience just how clever he is. The constant references to the metafictional aspect of “Seven Psycho-paths” within “Seven Psychopaths” and all

the real and imagined psychopaths get stale fast, and the purposely redundant dialogue only jumps the hurdle to solid deadpan on account of strong delivery by the movie’s ensemble cast. If anything, the actors carry the film by making otherwise unlikable archetypes into characters with a smidgen of depth, and it’s by the merit of their top-notch performances that characters like Hans and Billy can get away with the not okay things they say.

Critics lament the unrealized potential of movies that miss the mark usually by folding under the weight of their own am-bitions, but no matter which way this mov-ie wrings itself out, there’s always going to be an inch off the top of the glass that can’t be filled. It’s a classic case of “it is what it is.” “Seven Psychopaths” fails to break its chains and revolutionize the genre, but it’s an enjoyable ride with plenty of laughs if you can get over the bumpy pacing and all the gaps in the road. If nothing else, watch it for the world’s most unflappably regal Shih Tzu.

★★★★☆RATING: BY: JAKE RICH, CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ARGO

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT22 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012 HIGHLANDER

VIDEO GAME REVIEWS★ ★ ★ ★ ☆RATING: BY: ALEX SUFFOLK, STAFF WRITER

DISHONORED

Courtesy of Bethesda Softworks

Do you like “Bioshock” and the “Assassin’s Creed” series? If you answered no, you probably don’t play a lot of video games or you aren’t a very sensible person. But if you answered yes, then I’m sure you’ll love “Dishonored.”

“Dishonored” is a first-person stealth action-ad-venture game for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 in which you play as bodyguard-turned-assassin, Corvo At-tano. Corvo starts the game as the royal protector of the Empress of Dunwall, a Victorian London-inspired metropolis currently afflicted by a plague of disease-carrying rats. But when the empress is

killed by a group of assassins, Corvo is framed for the crime (thus dishonored) and imprisoned. He is broken out and given a variety of weapons by the Loyalists, a conspiracy group that is set on putting the empress’s daughter Emily on the throne. Corvo is then visited by a mystical being known only as “The Outsider,” who brands him with his mark, al-lowing him to use a set of powerful spells. Given a badass skull mask and an incredibly large amount of ways to incapacitate opponents, Corvo is sent on missions to take out key targets and bring down the corrupt regime of Dunwall that has taken hold.

Admittedly, the plot isn’t exactly all that well thought out. Even after finishing the game, I’m still not sure why the Empress was assassinated in the first place or how “The Outsider” works in the fic-tional world. It seems like the drawing board for this was just “magic ninja running around a steam-punk city” and the writers just conceived some way to make it hold together. But this is a video game; such things can be forgiven if it is fun to play, and let me tell you, being a magic ninja running around a steampunk city is pretty damn awesome. Through

DISHONORED CONTINUED ON PAGE 23

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 23TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012HIGHLANDER

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acrobatics and spells, you can explore Dun-wall to discover records on the city’s rich history and its colorful inhabitants. Through stealth, you can get past areas teeming with bad guys without ever having to lift a finger, even in neutralizing your primary targets. And if you mess up that stealth, or if you just have an itchy trigger finger, you can fight off al-most anything with style if you know what you are doing.

“Dishonored” really shines in its simple, yet elegant and flexible mechanics. In Corvo’s right hand is essentially a switchblade katana with which you can slash, block and parry or stab, slit or choke with if you are sneaking around. In his left you hold whatever side arm or spell you like, the first of which being a flintlock pistol, for those of you who admire a Jack Sparrow, swashbuckling fighting style. You also have a crossbow for silent and long-range attacks, grenades for explosions and ra-zor wire booby traps. And then there are the spells, which include seeing through walls, teleportation, time stopping, summoning rats and even possessing animals or other people. You power up these spells with runes of “The Outsider” and you upgrade your weapons with money and trinkets, all of which are found throughout the game world. But there is only so much you can find, and so you will have to choose which categories you want to invest in. I put a heavy emphasis on my teleportation and crossbow as well as an ability that turns killed enemies into ash. This allowed me to poof up to rooftops and end the existence of baddies from afar like a magnifying glass to ants with-out anyone noticing. You can also have a slew of hilarious and satisfying moments the more creative and experimental you get. One of my favorite things to do was to stop time, walk behind a group of enemies, fire the crossbow at the back of their heads, walk back in front of them and then resume time to admire both their surprise at my sudden appearance and the exit wounds. It is the capability to have so many of these great moments that makes “Dis-honored” a game you can play over and over again, and that is a clear sign of this game’s quality.

It is also worth mentioning the great names behind this game. Harvey Smith, a developer for the classic PC masterpiece “Deus Ex,” is one of the game’s creative directors. Ricardo Bare, also of “Deus Ex,” serves as lead de-signer and Viktor Antonov, known for his ex-tensive work on the equally applauded “Half-Life 2,” serves as the visual design director. The voice-acting cast has quite a few gems, including Chloe Moretz from “Kick Ass,” John Slattery of “Mad Men,” and Lena Headey of “Game of Thrones.” Just some delightful frosting on the already delicious time-stop-ping assassin cake.

The one thing that I found interesting, but very bothersome was the game’s preference for pacifism. For a game that seems to pride it-self on multiple solutions, the non-violent one clearly has more benefits. See, with a higher kill count, there are more dangerous rat hordes and disease-ridden people scattered through-out the city. The final level goes up in diffi-culty, and the ending of the game is darker. This just seems a little cruel considering that they made the combat so much fun. It would be like if you took a starved orphan, mega glued a fork to his hand, dropped him off at a buffet, and then told him that the more he eats, the worse his adoptive parents will be. It’s supposed to be another incentive for mul-tiple playthroughs, but it almost comes off as a punishment for those who can’t resist using the cool sword that never leaves Corvo’s hand and it definitely soured my otherwise out-standing experience.

Aside from its slightly weak plot and an-noying insistence on nonviolence, “Dishon-ored” is a great game. It is one of the best I’ve played this year and one I can see myself go-ing back to frequently. It’s original, it’s inven-tive, it’s a hell of a lot of fun and you should just go play it right now.

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HIGHLANDERSPORTS. .24 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012

Highlanders lose in overtime to Cal State NorthridgeCo dy nG u y e n

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The UC Riverside men’s soccer team walked into Matador Soccer Field at CSU Northridge Saturday, Oct. 13 hoping to right the ship on their unim-pressive 1-3-0 record in Big West Con-ference play, and to end a two game losing streak in which the Highlanders dropped 1-0 decisions to UC Davis and Sacramento State.

The Highlanders also entered Sat-urday’s contest without leading scorers Aaron Long (4 goals, 1 assist) and Ru-ben Valencia (4 goals), as both were in-eligible to play due to being red carded in last week’s match.

CSU Northridge entered Saturday night’s game 4-1 at home and 3-1 in conference play, emerging victorious in seven of their last eight games, includ-ing an impressive road win against #8 ranked UC Santa Barbara last week.

The Matadors came out firing in the opening seconds of the game, playing at a high tempo on their way to racking up three shots in the first eight minutes of play.

30 minutes into the first half, a bloody head to head collision occurred between UCR forward Ulises Mosqueda and Northridge midfielder Trevor Mor-ley, which resulted in a yellow card for Mosqueda and sent Morley to the hos-pital for stitches. Both players did not return to action.

A relatively uneventful first half saw the Highlanders outshot by the Matadors 9-4 and both teams had one shot on goal. There was a one on one opportunity for UCR forward Jimmy Martinez that

was saved by Northridge goalkeeper Michael Abalos at the 13 minute mark. The Matadors enjoyed a strong perfor-mance from sophomore forward Edwin Rivas, who led both teams with six shots and was all over the field throughout the match.

The second half of the contest netted the first score of the game when the Mat-adors took a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute. The score occurred when Yuval Barack drifted a touch pass on a penalty kick to Chris Smith, whose shot curled over the wall of the net and under Khosravi for his first goal of the season.

The Highlanders answered Smith’s goal 19 minutes later on a penalty kick goal by Julio Reyes that came on a yel-low card given to Northridge defense-man Mynor Giron. Both teams were held scoreless to the end of the 90 min-utes of regulation time, as well as the first 10-minutes of the overtime period, even though the Highlanders had a chance to win the game in the closing seconds of the first overtime on a header by Leslie Hayden that just hit the goalpost.

The second overtime period seemed to have ended as quickly as it begun. Three minutes and thirteen seconds in, a corner kick by Yuval Barack found Carlos Benavides who passed to a wait-ing Rene Anguiano at the top of the box, who then lasered the ball right into the net, and through the hearts of the eleven Highlanders who fought for 103 minutes and 13 seconds only to just fall short.

The Highlanders will lick their wounds and hope that a three game home stand delivers better fortune as they prepare to face UC Irvine this Wednesday October 17.

ke n da l l Pe t e r s o nSENIOR STAFF WRITER

The UC Riverside women’s soccer team (5-9-2, 0-5) trav-eled up to Cal State Fullerton Sunday Oct. 14 and looked to break a four game losing streak in the Big West Con-ference. Cal State Fullerton played aggressive on defense as they limited the offense of the Highlanders in route to a 0-1 victory.

In the first period, UCR had four shots and two were on target, but amounted to zero goals. Fullerton had 10 shots and six of them were on target, which led to the only goal in the first half at 16:31. Fullerton Jennifer Smith looped a ball to team-mate Stacey Fox who chipped it over Goalkeeper Jessica White for her fifth goal of the season.

Riverside players Jessica Cortez and Andrea Morales were only ones on the team that had shots fired for the Highlanders offense. Goal-keeper Jessica White kept Riverside in the match with four saves of the five shots on goal. The second period the Riverside goalkeeper White was better when she only had to save three shots.

Fullerton’s offense was ag-gressive from the start and compiled 11 corner kicks. Fullerton had seven corner kicks 15 minutes into the

game and the first few cam came at 2:24, 2:46 and at 4:08. However, Riverside’s defense picked it up in the second and allowed zero corner kicks. Riverside in the first period committed six fouls to Fuller-ton’s two and committed five more in the second period.

Riverside was able to get two corner kicks in the sec-ond period but were unable to score. In the five game losing streak the Highlanders have allowed a total of 14 goals compared to their three goals.

Highlander Crystal Lo-pez leads the team in points and goals with nine and four respectively. Celina Valen-cia is second in points and goals with eight points and three goals, however, leads the team in assists with two and shots with 27. Kaitlin Anzalone, Valencia, Jessica Cortez, Andrea Morales and Crystal Lopez all have game winning goals for Riverside.

Riverside looks to better their shot percentage (.107) and their shots on goal (.450), because their opponents on average have a .125 shooting percentage and a .481 shot on goal percentage. UC Riv-erside has switched up their goalkeepers this year with Ni-cole Ragano starting in place of Jessica White. Ragano has a .704 save percentage com-pared to White’s .744 when Riverside’s opponents save percentage is .763.

Riverside women’s soccer falls short to Fullerton 0-1

WOMEN’S SOCCER STANDINGS

Team W L T PCT. W L T PCT.

Cal PolyUC IrvineLong BeachCal State Fullerton Cal State NorthridgeUC DavisUC Santa BarbaraHawaiiPacificUC Riverside

5444321100

BIG WEST GAMES ALL GAMES

0111124445

1.000.800.800.800.750.500.200.250.000.000

rI C h a r D lI n/hIGhlanDerJimmy Martinez helped the Highlanders win against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Sept. 3o.

Co u rt e s y o f uCr at h l e t I C s me D I a re l at I o n s

Midfielder Jessica Cortez launches a free kick earlier this season.

88

117684635

585746

108

109

.600

.500

.688

.500

.567

.563

.312

.438

.250

.000

1110111010

2100522212

WOMEN’S SOCCER STANDINGS

Team W L T PCT. W L T PCT.

Sacramento StateCal State Northridge UC DavisUC Santa BarbaraCal PolyUC RiversideUC IrvineCal State Fullerton

44422110

BIG WEST GAMES ALL GAMES

01122444

1.000.800.800.500.500.250.250.000

710687844

4442559

10

20431211

.615

.714

.571

.731

.577

.615

.321

.300

10011001

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SPORTS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012HIGHLANDER 25

Women’s golf finishes fourth in Wyoming Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiateke n da l l Pe t e r s o n

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

The UC Riverside women’s golf team Saturday October 13 and Sunday October 14 trav-eled to Palm Desert, California and participated in the Wyoming Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate.The women’s golf team finished the Wyoming Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate in fourth place out of 19 teams with a 916 total score.

The first round of the tourna-ment the Highlanders were tied for 11th place after a first round score of 316. Amelia Ek led the squad with a score of 73 and Savannah followed suit with 76. The second round of play on Saturday the women’s golf produced a great score of 300 and moved up into sixth place. UC Riverside was led by team-mate Ek once more as she fired another 73, Vilaubi and Hannah Lee both fired 74. Brittani Fer-raro and Christy Fogerty fired 79 and 86 respectively.

The third round for the High-landers found themselves with a score of 300 with Amelia’s Ek’s consistent play of 73-73-73 (216). Vilaubi and Fogerty both shot 75 for Riverside and Ferraro shot 77. Lee and Tiffany Koyano was the only Highlander player who did not score in the 70’s, with a score of 80 and 82 respectively.

The top player for the High-

landers was Ek as she finished fourth place overall out of 104 individuals. Ek trailed the leader, College of Charleston’s Kathy Boehm 73-68-75 (216), by three shots. Vilaubi was the only other Highlander who shot all three rounds in the 70’s and finished in 12th place with 225 (76-74-75). Freshman Lee shot 237 and tied for 45th (83-74-80) Brittani Fer-raro tied for 55th with 84-79-77 (240) and Christy Fogerty was best in the third round as she carded a 245 (84-86-75) to tie for 79th. Tiffany Koyano played as an individual and tied for 49th with a 239(79-78-82).

Fresno State had a day-one lead and led the entire tourna-ment as they were rock solid and finished in first place in the event with an 885 score (291-289-305). The second place team was

College of Charleston with an 898 (299-296-303) and Cal State Fullerton followed in third place with 899 (295-307-297).

The Highlanders were next with 916 (316-300-300) but they were the only Big West school that finished higher than the top five. The next Big West team was Hawai’i and they finished ninth place with 932; Cal Poly finished 11th with 942 and Cal State Northridge finished 15th with 953.

UC Riverside has one week off before traveling to the Santa Clara Colby Invitational on Oc-tober 22-23 in San Jose, CA.

Co u rt e s y o f uCr at h l e t I C s me D I a re l at I o n s

Sophmore Savannah Vilaubi f inished 12th in Wyoming with a consistent score of 225 (76-74-75).■H

The UC Riverside men’s golf team continued its strong start to the 2012 fall season as the team traveled to Nipomo, CA this past week to take part in the Firestone Grill Invita-tional. Led by BJ Doucett, the Highlanders had a superb per-formance all across the board as the golf team finished in third place out of 10 teams in the event.

UC Riverside started off well as the Highlanders shot a two-round total score of 287 to place third at the end of the first day.

It was Jason Semthiti who paced UC Riverside that day as he fired a 68 after the first round of play. BJ Doucett was right behind him, as he fin-ished with respectable scores of 71 and 68 after the first 36 holes of the first day.

Riding that momentum, UC Riverside continued to perform admirably on the second day. The Highlanders shot a respectable 286 in the third and final round of com-petition. That score was good enough to give Riverside a

strong third-place finish over-all at the end of the invitation-al. The Highlanders finished just 11 strokes behind the sec-ond-place Cal State Fullerton Titans and ended with a total score of 862.

The winner of the event was Cal Poly with a total score of 847. UC Riverside was just 15 strokes behind Cal Poly’s final score.

UC Riverside’s BJ Doucett remained consistent in the fi-nal round as he fired a 73 on the final day of competition. The score was good enough to move him up a few places in the final individual standings. He proved to be the Highland-ers’ top performer in the event as he shot a 212 to tie for fifth place overall.

Jason Semthiti, who started the tournament in sixth place after his great first-round start, fired higher scores thereafter. He shot scores of 78 and 74, respectively, in the follow-ing two rounds to fall the way down to 27th place after such a terrific beginning.

David Gazzolo shot con-sistent scores of 73-72-71 to finish tied for 11th with a 216,

Ryan Smith ended the day tied for 20th after shooting a 219, and rounding up UCR’s top five was Matt Fitzgerald who shot a 223, placing 31st over-all.

Jonathan Garrick from UCLA was the invitational’s best player as he fired a 201 to earn the top individual spot.

For the Highlanders, this proved to be the second straight time the team finished in third place this year. This has been one of the Highland-ers’ best starts to a season in recent memory. A year ago, the team finished no higher than eighth place in their first two events. Their best performance of the 2011 to 2012 season was a third-place finish at the Cal Poly Firestone Grill Invite last October.

Riverside will look to con-tinue its solid play as they travel to Simi Valley, CA on Oct. 22 to participate in the Bill Cullum Invitational. Last season, the Highlanders fin-ished in 10th place at that very event. With this recent hot streak, UC Riverside will look for a different result this time around.

SPORTS26 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012 HIGHLANDER

ke n da l l Pe t e r s o nSENIOR STAFF WRITER

Highlanders have solid outing in Firestone Grill Invitational

Co u rt e s y o f uCr at h l e t I C s me D I a re l at I o n s

Senior Robbie Mamo lines up a putt .

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SPORTS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012HIGHLANDER 27

VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS

Team W L PCT.

HawaiiLong BeachPacificUC Santa BarbaraCal State FullertonUC DavisCal State NorthridgeUC IrvineUC RiversideCal Poly

8544444400

BIG WEST GAMES

0333334477

Women’s volleyball falls short over weekend against Long Beach and Irvineke n da l l Pe t e r s o n

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

T h e U C R i v e r s i d e w o m e n ’s v o l l e y b a l l l o s t a t i g h t 4 t h s e t 2 2 - 2 5 a n d t h e m a t c h a g a i n s t L o n g B e a c h S t a t e 3 s e t s t o 1 . F r e s h m a n o u t s i d e h i t t e r A s h -l e y C o x l e d t h e t e a m w i t h 2 5 k i l l s . T h e f i r s t s e t w a s t i g h t w i t h t h e s c o r e 5 - 5 , w h e n L o n g B e a c h S t a t e p u l l e d a w a y w i t h a 6 - 4 r u n w i t h h e l p i n t h e m i d d l e b y T i a r a Wa l l a c e , t o w i n t h e 1 s t s e t 2 5 - 1 5 . Wa l l a c e ’s h e i g h t h e l p e d t h e 4 9 e r s d e f e n s i v e s i d e b y d e f l e c t i n g k i l l s f r o m t h e L a d y H i g h l a n d e r s . I n t h e 1 s t s e t t h e L a d y H i g h l a n d e r s c o u l d n o t e x e c u t e t h e i r s e t p i e c e s t o c r e a t e b e t t e r d i g a n d k i l l o p -p o r t u n i t i e s t o n e u t r a l i z e T i a r a Wa l l a c e .

T h e 2 n d s e t w a s a d i f f e r -e n t s t o r y. H i g h l a n d e r A s h l e y C o x l e d t h e t e a m w i t h k i l l s b u t M e g a n R e z a ’s s e r v i n g a n d e n -e r g y g a v e R i v e r s i d e l i f e i n t h e s e c o n d s e t . M e g a n h a d 7 k i l l s a n d 3 d i g s t h e e n t i r e g a m e b u t h e r v o c a l l e a d e r s h i p , e n e r g y, a n d e f f o r t s p a r k e d t h e t e a m . U C R i v e r s i d e e x e c u t e d t h e i r o f f e n s e i n t h e s e c o n d s e t t o c r e a t e k i l l o p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d c o u n t e r e d d e f e n s i v e l y o n L o n g B e a c h S t a t e ’s s c o r i n g c h a n c e s b y d e f l e c t i o n s .

U C R w o n t h e s e c o n d s e t 2 5 -2 3 . T h e 4 9 e r s d o m i n a t e d t h e 3 r d s e t w i t h g r e a t d i g s a n d k i l l s . T h e L a d y H i g h l a n d e r s p l a y e d l e t h a r g i c l e a d i n g t o s e l f i n f l i c t e d e r r o r s b y s e r v i n g t h e b a l l i n t o t h e n e t a n d s e r v i n g t h e b a l l o u t o f b o u n d s . T h e 4 t h s e t

w a s h i g h l y c o m p e t i t i v e a n d i n -t e n s e . P o i n t s w e r e b e i n g s c o r e d b a c k a n d f o r t h . U C R h a d a f i v e p o i n t l e a d w h e n t h e y w e r e u p 1 9 - 1 4 , h o w e v e r , t h e y l o s t t h e l e a d w h e n t h e y g o t c o m p l a c e n t .

T h e 4 9 e r s d e f e n d e d g r e a t w h i c h c r e a t e d h i g h p e r c e n t -a g e k i l l s a n d w o n t h e s e t 2 5 -2 2 w i n n i n g t h e m a t c h 3 s e t s t o 1 . U C R i s 0 - 6 i n B i g We s t p l a y a n d 5 - 1 4 o v e r a l l .

T h e U C R i v e r s i d e v o l l e y b a l l t e a m ( 5 - 1 5 , 0 - 7 ) , d r o p p e d a n -o t h e r B i g We s t m a t c h a g a i n s t U C I r v i n e 2 5 - 2 2 , 2 5 - 1 4 , a n d 2 5 - 2 0 a t t h e S R C A r e n a S a t -u r d a y O c t o b e r 1 3 a n d e x t e n d -e d t h e i r l o s i n g s t r e a k t o s e v e n g a m e s a n d 0 - 7 i n t h e B i g We s t C o n f e r e n c e .

A s h l e y C o x l e d t h e t e a m w i t h 11 k i l l s b u t t h e H i g h l a n d e r s a s a t e a m o n l y h i t a . 0 8 2 c o m -p a r e d t o U C I ’s . 2 2 0 . T h e H i g h -l a n d e r s i n t h e f i r s t s e t l e d e a r l y b u t t h e y a l l o w e d t h e A n t e a t e r s w e r e a b l e t o p u l l o f f a 2 5 - 2 2 f i r s t s e t w i n .

T h e s e c o n d s e t R i v e r s i d e l o s t a 2 - 1 a d v a n t a g e w h e n U C I w e n t o n a 6 - 0 r u n . R i v e r s i d e c a m e c l o s e w h e n t h e y w e r e d o w n 1 6 - 1 b u t w o u l d l o s e t h e s e t 1 4 -2 5 . T h e t h i r d s e t t h e t w o t e a m s t r a d e d p o i n t s a n d t h e H i g h l a n d -e r s u s e d a R e z a a n d Ty l e r D o r s -e y b l o c k t o t i e t h e s e t a t 1 9 . U n f o r t u n a t e l y, t h e H i g h l a n d e r s a l l o w e d f i v e s t r a i g h t p o i n t s b y t h e A n t e a t e r s t o l o s e t h e s e t 2 0 - 2 5 a n d t h e m a t c h .

U C R i v e r s i d e n o w h i t s t h e r o a d t r a v e l i n g t o C a l P o l y o n F r i d a y, O c t o b e r 1 9 f o r a 7 p m P T i n S a n L u i s O b i s p o , C A .

Ca m e r o n yo u n G/hIGhlanDerAnnishia Mckoy attempts a kil l against Cal State Long Beach.

October 11, 201249ers 3 – Highlanders 1

October 13, 2012Anteaters 3 – Highlanders 0

Jay v e e va l e n C i aCONTRIBUTING WRITER

1.000.625.571.571.571.571.500.500.000.000

VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS

Team W L PCT.

HawaiiLong BeachPacificUC Santa BarbaraCal State FullertonUC DavisCal State NorthridgeUC IrvineUC RiversideCal Poly

15101611101013951

ALL GAMES

294

1110107

121618

.882

.526

.800

.500

.500

.500

.650

.429

.250

.053

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The UC Riverside men’s cross country team finished in third place at the High-lander Invitational, hosted on the UCR’s Ag/Ops course this past weekend. Seth Tot-ten again led the way for the Highlanders as he finished first in the 6k race with an excellent time of 17:41.0. The first place team was claimed by UC Irvine who scored 30 points, edging out second place Wyoming by 11 points. The High-landers scored 63 points, as they place three out of three teams.

Totten set a new personal best and a new course record with his time of 17:41.0. Totten held off UC Irvine’s Steven Melena by four sec-onds, as Melena finished with a time of 17:45.8. Mi-chael Gauger was the second Highlander to finish with a time of 18:25.5, as he placed 14th overall. Cesar Solis placed 21st for the High-landers with a time 18:46.9. Nic Beechan finished 23rd with a time of 18:55.2, fol-lowed by Sebastian Puraci,

who placed 25th with a time of 19:07.1. Rounding out the squad was Benjamin Heck whose time of 19:17.3 was good for 28th place.

“We are young – train-ing well and competing to the best of their abil-ity. Seth Totten is having a stellar season and will be a contender at the Big West Championships for the in-dividual title. Losing Chad [Hall] and Talal [Khan] to graduation was a blow but whenever a void is left – it leaves an open spot for someone to step into” said Coach Nate Browne on the progress of the men’s team this season.

The Highlanders will next compete at the Big West Conference Championship on Saturday October 27, where they finished fourth last year. The men’s team will look to match that re-sult as they will compete on the Ag/Ops course and try to use the home course to their advantage.

“There’s always the ad-vantage of familiarity. We train there, so everyone can feel comfortable on race day” said Coach Browne.

SPORTS28 TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2012 HIGHLANDER

October baseball has been underway for couple of weeks now and it has been a show for the audi-ences. A lot has changed in the Major League Base-ball from the change in the power teams, who are automatically pre-selected into the World Series, to the retirement of Chip-per Jones for the Atlanta Braves, the phenomenon of Mike Trout for the Ana-heim Angels and the newly addition of the two Wild Card teams that go head to head for the final spot in the playoffs.

This year we had the Baltimore Orioles. They have been the surprise team all year. They may not have the best cast of people like outfielders Nate McLouth, Adam Jones, or even in-fielders Mark Reynolds or J.J Hardy but they were able to pull off wins with confidence. The Washing-ton Nationals who is the other team who is a sur-prise team in MLB. They came out of the Central conference of the National League, beating out the At-lanta Braves and their first year manager Fredi Gon-zalez. The National’s for past few years have not been that great but showed everybody this year that this is a team up in coming.

We big confusion oc-curred during the Wild Card game when the At-lanta Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals faced each other. The Braves were battling down in the eight inning and shortstop An-drelton Simmons smacked a pop up in left field and the outfield umpire called an infield fly that resulted in two outs with runners on second and third instead of one out with bases loaded.

The fans went crazy at Turner Field and they started to throw glass bot-tles, cans and whatever they had in their hands which resulted in about a half hour delay. With the playoffs winding down it looks like its going to be a crazy October.

KENDALL PETERSON

October baseball

underway

KENDALL’S FASTBALL

Seth Totten finishes first at Highlander InvitationalPr a nav bh a k ta

STAFF WRITER

Led by Damajerma Du-Bose, the UC Riverside women’s cross country team claimed first place at the Highlander Invitational this past weekend at UCR’s Ag/Ops course. The lady High-landers dominated the com-petition in this 4k race, hav-ing four runners finish in the top ten places, giving a total score of 27 points. They de-feated second place USC by 22 points, who had a total score of 49 points. Wyoming claimed the third spot with

54 points, and fourth place went to Big West rival UC Irvine, who finished with 93 points.

Dubose claimed first place with a time of 13:32.7, she finished five seconds ahead of second place finisher Holly Page of Wyoming. Du-bose’s performance was also a new course record.

Raquel Hefflin was the second Highlander to fin-ish, as she placed third with a time of 13:48.5. Alisha Brown placed fifth with a time of 13:53.0 and Katy Daly placed seventh with a

time of 13:58.4. Jzsanette Lindstrom finished in 11th place with a time of 14:08.2. Right behind Lindstrom, Brianna Simmons finished in 12th place with a time of 14:11.0. The last Highlander to score was Jaasmin Pina who place 20th with a time of 14:35.0.

“The women’s team has been performing very well. It’s a surprise from the stand-point of we didn’t know what type of shape everyone would come back in. It’s not a sur-prise because this group is so talented. Right now we’re

ranked 4th in the conference based on the regional ranking but our girls know they’re better than that” said Coach Nate Browne before the race.

The Highlander Invita-tional was the last race be-fore the Big West Conference Championships, where the lady Highlanders will look to improve from last year’s fifth place finish. The High-landers will have home court advantage just like at the Highlander Invitational. The Big West Championships will be held at the Ag/Ops course on Saturday, October 27.

Women’s cross country claims first place at Highlander Invitational

Pr a nav bh a k taSTAFF WRITER

Brya n tu t t l e/hIGhlanDerDamajerma DuBose led the Highlander women to victory with her f irst place f inish in the women’s 4k.

Brya n tu t t l e/hIGhlanDerSeth Totten f inished f irst in the men’s 6k, sett ing a new course record.■H

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