Apr
29
2009
Although it has been a long time since any event on campus has garnered as much excitement as the visit of the Dalai Lama, his visit Friday, April 24, was noticeably absent of any sort of political controversy.
Few points of contention between China and the West cause more angst than the ongoing activities of the Dalai Lama. Although the Dalai Lama fled Tibet 50 years ago, and no government in the world recognizes the current Tibetan government-in-exile as a legitimate entity, the international recognition and respect that the Dalai Lama commands, exemplified by his receipt of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, serves as a permanent reminder to the government of the People’s Republic of China that opposition to its ongoing rule in Tibet is still strong throughout the world.
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Apr
29
2009
“Justice must be applied to these children. And by justice, I mean more than on a domestic level…but it’s not easy; this will be a long fight.”
These are the words of Bukeni T. Waruzi, the Executive Director of Ajedi-Ka, a volunteer organization focused on demobilizing and reintegrating child soldiers in the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Waruzi, who has worked on the issue of child soldiers for the past nine years, came to UCSB’s MultiCutural Center on Monday, April 27, along with former child soldier, Madeleine, to speak about his organization. He described his work as a process.
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Apr
29
2009
Embarcadero Hall housed over a hundred members of the UCSB and Santa Barbara community on Thursday, April 23, for a symposium concerning immigrant rights and reform at the local and national levels.
Eyebrows were raised, heads were shaken, and jaws nearly dropped upon hearing the hidden information many citizens of the world face. A covert issue that immigrants may soon face raises specters of the gruesome practice of segregation. California legislators are deliberating on creating two types of birth certificates: one for children born to undocumented immigrants, and one for everyone else.
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Apr
29
2009
Professor Presents Research on Video Game Violence and The Brain
by Victoria Hungerford
posted in News | 0 Comments
The Department of Communication held a special event at the SRB on Tuesday, April 21, titled “This is Your Brain…This is Your Brain on Video Games.”
During the two-hour presentation, Professor Rene Weber, who headed the event, discussed the cognitive network of the brain when playing first-person-shooter (FPS) video games, such as “Halo” and “Call of Duty,” where the screen shows the game through the character’s “eyes,” allowing the player to identify more closely with and act as that character. Although FPS games appear to make the game — and consequently, the violence — more personal, Weber’s research suggests that violent video games do not make everyone violent; results are based on the individual and cannot be generalized.
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Apr
29
2009
With the soft duduk playing in the background and the dimly lit candle illuminating the theater, the stage was set and ready to for the evening to begin, to commemorate the 1.5 million Armenians who died 94 years ago.
About 200 students, professors, and Santa Barbara residents gathered in the Isla Vista Theater on Thursday, April 23, to remember the Armenian Genocide in an event hosted by the Armenian Students’ Association (ASA) at UCSB. The evening showcased a number of performances that celebrated both modern and traditional cultural expression.
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Apr
29
2009
Calling all awesomeness to the DJ booth! I’m lookin’ for the hottest chill spots behind the epic late night venues that we often don’t remember in the mornings. Here follows a sampling of Isla Vista’s unique houses by day, venues by night:
Biko
Ever notice that multicolored lot with the two-story house, trampoline and chicken coup in the back? That’s the co-ed Biko Co-op on Sueno, named after Steven Biko, an Apartheid fighter in South Africa. This occupancy is known for its tenacious role in activism, including issues from racism to war. Food, as well, plays a vital role in the environmental activism that permeates the Biko residence.
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Apr
29
2009
Poets and Musicians Find New Home at Giovanni’s in I.V.
Trevor Westmoreland
posted in Features | 0 Comments
Thursdays in Isla Vista are now of a unique sort: home to nights of self-expression.
For the past several months, Giovanni’s of Isla Vista has hosted CYPHER, a community that promotes self-expression which is sung, played, or spoken. Expression Night, which occurs every other Thursday, is witness to a wide variety of artistic outlets. The microphone is open to anyone who wishes to be heard, with performances ranging from poetry and spoken word, to hip-hop, and self-written music. The beats are provided throughout the night by I.V. local Josh Bloom, aka DJ Ookisaifu, who samples music himself in addition to providing whatever the artist at the podium needs.
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Apr
29
2009
Students and Administration Work To Change UCSB’s Party Image
by Jillian Brown
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In spite of UCSB’s notoriety as a top party school, administrative staff and campus health programs are fighting to shake this party reputation. New and long-used programs and events are being put in motion to help educate students about binge drinking and drug abuse to promote learning over partying, and academics over shots.
Debbie Fleming, Associate Dean of Students, said that administrative staff members are hoping to find ways for students to connect socially outside of the party scene. “There are a growing number of students who are looking for alternatives and want to meet people and make friends somewhere besides I.V. parties,” she said.
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Apr
29
2009
Tibetan Sand Mandala at the University Art Museum
by Jennarose Manimtim
posted in Arts & Reviews | 0 Comments
Before you even walk through the glass doors of the UCSB Art Museum you hear a constant “chingchingchingchingchingching,” like someone running next to a wire fence with a stick in their hand. The sound only increases upon entrance and goes on to completely encompass you, as it does the room. It’s not annoying however, it feels as if the noise was meant to be there, as part of the space itself. There’s a sense that the noise should stop; all of the monks would put their hands down with the patterns in the sand incomplete, and all the atoms in the air would also stop moving.
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Apr
29
2009
USEU and Homies Unidos Screen ‘Hijos de la Guerra’
by Jennarose Manimtim
posted in Arts & Reviews | 1 Comment
Editor’s Note: This article originally incorrectly stated that the film screening was hosted by Hermanos Unidos. In fact, Homies Unidos, a non-profit gang violence and prevention oganization, presented the film, and the event was hosted by UCSB’s Salvadoran Student Union (USEU). Hermanos Unidos had nothing to do with the screening.
MS-13 is not an updated version of MSN Messenger; its Mara Salvatrucha, a gang that began in El Salvador. Yet the short acronym stands for more than a group of misfits, outcasts, and rebels in a society. Put a few guns in the hands of a group of ruffians and you still only have a minute idea of the gang. MS-13 soon penetrated the American border, taking root in Los Angeles and spreading all over the country.
UCSB’s Salvadoran Student Union (USEU) organized a screening of “Hijos de la Guerra” on Wednesday, April 22 in the MultiCultural Center by Homies Unidos, a non-profit gang violence and prevention oganization, to inform the public of gang culture. A large crowd showed up for the film and stayed for the discussion panel afterward. Both the effort put into organizing the event and the turnout it generated were immense; and likewise the movement to stop gang violence will have to be tremendous. It will take more than what is being done now by the government, by society at large and by individuals to combat MS-13. But education through the screening and the discussion panel are a start.
The gang problem is more than just bored kids causing chaos in the streets. Nor is the issue is simply about cleaning up our streets; it’s a war against gangs and Homies Unidos is taking up arms by providing after school activities for kids that are susceptible to joining gangs. In some situations with immigrant families, the parents are struggling just to make ends meet, and thus usually have to work more than one job taking valuable time away from being spent with their kids. Without attention and affection in the house, the kids look for it elsewhere, and unfortunately find it in gangs. This is where Homies Unidos comes into play. They provide an atmopshere of acceptance and emotional support that may otherwise be absent in other aspects of these childrens’ lives.
Guns and gangs might make a Hollywood thriller, but put that same camera in the real world, and the violence becomes a tragedy. Guest speaker Alex Sanchez, Executive Director of Homies Unidos was frank, yet completely correct, when he advised prior to the showing to be prepared for a “roller coaster of emotions.” The makers of the film were not hesitant to show violence and gore. Sanchez commented on the graphic quality of the documentary, saying that its function is to make us think and ask why; “Why do we let this happen?” Asking this convicting question is unavoidable when watching this documentary, because the battleground against violence and gangs is in our very own backyards.
The filmmakers also documented the measures the government took in attempts to quell the situation. For example, the Mano Duro approach featured in the film, was a situation in which the police were authorized to make arrests on the basis of stereotypes: baggy clothes, gathering in groups, shaved heads, tattoos, etc. This method proved to be counter productive and even worsened the gang problem. It all seems so hopeless.
After asking “Why?” viewers are prompted to ask “How can it be fixed, even though nothing seems to work?” One of the interviewees in the film was an ex-gang member who had been rehabilitated, and was heading in the direction of improving himself and his community, but was shot in front of his house two months after filming had wrapped. Everyone in the audience gasped in shock, reflecting the impact of the film. “What is there to live for?” the interviewees repeatedly ask the camera. All seems lost.
Homies Unidos, however, thinks differently. Something can be done, such as educating the public. Just watching this film and becoming more aware may be a minuscule step, but still a step. The gang problem is more than we think it is, and the repercussions are greater than we imagine. As the film concludes, the screen turns black and the problem seems to get darker, but the viewer is also left in a state of reflection asking, “What am I going to do about it?”