Honors OutlookVolume3 Issue 2

A Place ofpromise

The excitement over UCR’s School of Medicine fi rst ever Open House on Feb. 1 was posi vely electrifying as the school used its fi rst opportunity to show people from all over the community what it had to off er. Esteemed speakers, such as Dean of UCR School of Medicine Dr. Olds and Senior Associate Dean of Student Aff airs Dr. Schiller, welcomed the

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large group of people who came. Bianca Freeman, the 3rd year Honors cohort representa ve, organized a group of pre-med Honors students to par cipate in the day’s ac vi es. People of all ages eagerly explored the school’s Medical Educa on building, listening in on research presenta ons from medical faculty and “oohing” and “ahhing” over the lifelike robots

medical students use for s mula ons. Several outreach programs aimed at kids to college students were also prominently featured. All in all, the open house was a smashing success and showed that UCR’s medical school is certainly living up to its promise of training physicians rooted in the Inland Empire.

As college students facing the compet-i veness of the real world, many of us are contempla ng important decisions that come with las ng consequenc-es. We are faced with the dilemma of choosing a career path for monetary gain versus choosing a path that we are genuinely interested in. I would like to assess the ques on: should economics be the dominant factor in determining a major? The most obvious answer to this ques- on is that majoring in something that

you do not like may land you a job that you do not enjoy. Ul mately, what is the purpose of it all if you are not happy at your job, and the only happiness comes from the material spending of your hard-earned salary? As “mushy” as this may sound, happiness does ma er. On another note, let us think about

the example that we would be se ng for someone who looks up to us–like a child or a sibling, for instance. Doing something simply for economic gain sends a message that it is okay to be greedy, and that we do not always have to stay true to our hearts. If we choose to work solely for economic gain, we are not striving to achieve our dreams and pu ng forth the eff ort to achieve; we are instead dismantling them and con-struc ng false goals in their place. Perhaps economics should not be the dominant factor in determining a major, but it should certainly be con-sidered. It is important to be prac cal about job prospects, because blindly following one’s passions can lead to an uncertain future. Moreover, it is becom-ing increasingly diffi cult to scrape by with li le earnings. In today’s consum-er-dependent economy, all of our basic

needs come with a price tag a ached to them. It is diffi cult to fi nd a clear-cut an-swer to the ques on of majoring for the job or majoring for your passion and risking the stability of a good job—but perhaps what this all comes down to is fi guring out the kind of life you want to have. Some individuals prefer to sacrifi ce their passions for a job that will help them become be er provid-ers—whether that is for themselves or their family. Yet there are others who would be happier searching for success in the fi eld they are passionate about, even if that might mean barely scraping by with poor earnings. There also exist those who are lucky enough to make a good salary while working a job they absolutely love. It is a ma er of sort-ing out priori es and what values are important to us.

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There is a common myth that crime cannot be controlled by scien fi c study and quan fying it would be useless in its preven on. However, Dr. Robert Nash Parker, Professor of Sociology and University Honors faculty, rejected and dispelled this myth at a recent symposium at UCR. Presen ng his new book en tled Alcohol and Violence, the book explores the role that alcohol plays in violent communi es. Hypothesizing that “if people intervene in their communi es, we ought to expect a decline of violence,” he explained how he and a team of researchers conducted a series of longitudinal experiments of interven on across the country, where they helped facilitate alcohol regula on laws in various communi es. These methods included enforcing Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) licenses to bartenders, establishing DUI checkpoints, and employing underage “decoy s nks” (people who were above the drinking age limit, but did not look like it) to expose and prevent the sale of alcohol to minors. A er linking the communi es’ alcohol sales to their rates of violence, he found that the more that the sale of alcohol was regulated, the rate of violence decreased. Ending his presenta on on a hopeful note, Dr. Parker concluded that as a community, “we can intervene, and we can see reduc ons in violence no ma er what else is going on…it can be done, so everyone should do it.”

BY J ac q u e l i n e Wo n g

On March 3 at 6 pm, the Middle Eastern Student Center hosted a panel to discuss and elaborate on what sharia (Islamic Law) exactly is, and what women’s rights are within sharia with the help of four panelists, Noha Al Shugairi (M.S. Licensed Marriage Therapist), Shaykh Ja-mal Diwaan (Scholar from Irvine) and Dr. Jeff rey Sacks (UCR professor of Arabic Literature). While it is common belief that sharia is an oppressive and exploi ve system, the panel-ists discussed the ways in which sharia actu-ally serves to protect and empower women. Research revealed that, historically, the role of women in Islamic Law has protected them in case of divorce, death, business, and mar-riage, as well as protected their rights to vote and speak out. Faculty panelists also discussed current research and modern approaches to the role of women in Sharia and contrasted this with the nega ve media interpreta ons of sharia that have led to an -sharia laws in the United States. I myself had the chance to speak at this event as a co-founder of the Middle Eastern Student Center and was overjoyed to hear and see new students come forward to ask ques ons that ordinarily would have been too diffi cult to ask in public; ques ons ranged from the headscarf to whether or not domes- c violence was permi ed within Islam. By the

end of the Q&A session, students had gathered even a er the event to speak with the schol-ars, many of whom told the speakers that such an event had opened their eyes to the amount of media misinterpreta on and generaliza on that has been made even today. I myself spoke to Noha Al Shugairi who com-mented, “Such events are so necessary given the amount of Islamophobia today. It’s impor-tant to open the doors to these conversa ons because society o en deems it improper to ask but, [this] also constantly perpetuates these images in the media of what a ‘Muslim woman’ is.” The success of the event clearly highlighted that more events such as this will be present at UC Riverside next year. To get involved, please contact the Middle Eastern Student Center through Merima Tricic at mtric001@ucr.edu.

The inside of UNLH buzzed with the excited voices of Honors stu-dents on Wednesday Feb. 24 as they enjoyed the acts of the talented par cipants of University Honors’ fi rst annual talent show. The brain-child of Jericha Viduya, a second year biology major, the show was also facilitated by Honors’ Cohort and Social Commi ees. Honors Leader-ship Commi ee (HLC) Vice President Luke Hatch was MC for the event, interac ng with the audience in a jovial manner and introducing the acts, which included singing, piano-playing masters, a magic show, and a tradi onal Tahi an dance. These impressive acts highlighted the other skills Honors students are involved in at a high level outside of schoolwork. Even faculty joined the fun. Dr. Perring’s guitar and vocal talents were featured during his duet performance with Jericha, covering Phillip Phillip’s “Home.” Viduya praised her duet partner, saying “He is quite talented! I emailed him a song, he learned it on the guitar, and we prac ced in his offi ce for 30 minutes to an hour. Then we just jammed a er. Being able to duet with your professor is, for a lack of a be er word, so cool and rare! You start to see more of who they are and what they’re capable of beyond the tradi onal classroom se ng.” On the impact of the showcase, Viduya says that “events like these change your perspec ve about how Honors is just about research and GPA requirements. It reveals a dynamic that truly showcased the Honors community as a whole, and I believe that it is important to provide students the opportunity to express them-selves.” True to her statement, Honors students are already looking forward to holding these showcases in the future.

THE H FACTORBY j ac q u e l i n e wo n g

On March 6, the Women’s Resource Center honored three undergraduate and three graduate women students who have demonstrated exemplary work in leader-ship, civic engagement, and social jus ce in addi on to overcoming adversity. This sixth annual Celebra on for a Day of Ap-precia on and Recogni on of Women Students commemorates Women’s History Month and The Leadership Community for Women Ini a ve by awarding UCR women students for their remarkable impact in the community and greater society. Univer-sity Honors is pleased to have one of our students selected for this admirable award. Katherine Tsai, a fourth year Biology major and Donald Strauss Founda on Scholarship recipient, has been awarded the under-graduate Leadership and Civic Engagement Award for her outstanding academic and community engagement. Katherine has devoted extraordinary eff orts to community leadership and civic engagement projects while achieving academic excellence to pursue an M.D. She is President of Flying Samaritans, an organiza on that provides free medical care and support to the rural community

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of El Hongo, Mexico. She has also been awarded a $10,000 Donald Strauss Scholar-ship to fund her Mini-Medical School pub-lic service program. These projects serve underrepresented communi es in an eff ort to prevent chronic illnesses and provide valuable medical informa on to the local community. Katherine’s excep onal dedica- on towards these projects has strongly

impacted and benefi ted underprivileged communi es. In order to posi vely infl uence fellow students as well, Katherine Tsai works with many on-campus academic support orga-niza ons. As a Supplementary Instructor at the Academic Resource Center, Tsai assists fellow students in subjects including Chem-istry and Biology. She also supports and guides students in their pursuits of a medi-cal related profession as a Health Profes-sions Advising Center Peer Mentor. Kather-ine has wholeheartedly devoted countless hours and put in an immense eff ort to help others through her passion for the health fi eld. Thus, Katherine’s experiences and achievements exemplify a strong female voice that con nues to inspire many UCR students and community members.

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In the spirit of Valen ne’s Day, Dr. Nunley sought out to ques on stu-dents’ assump ons about love during his Lunch and Chat. He began by pro-posing diff erent ideas about love that would challenge our preexis ng ideas. For example, he claimed that, “the silli-est no ons of love are that people dis-appear in the rela onship.” We can see this no on is pervasive throughout the media, such as in movies where the guy or the girl will do anything so they can end up with their “soul mate,” as well as the music we listen to, in which the musician croons on about how he

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or she cannot live without his or her partner. Dr. Nunley described how this approach to love is fl awed, analogizing it humorously with the 7-Eleven on his street. He said that if it closes, “I will be heartbroken, but I’m just going to go to another 7-Eleven.” Rather than saying

that one’s partner is easily replaced, Dr. Nunley pointed out that love and rela onships are all about sharing, and that you need to know yourself before you can extend yourself to and for the other person. In other words, it is not all about the other person, but both par es in the rela onship. He said that “rela onships press all insecurity but-tons, and the more you learn about yourself, the more self-regard you have for yourself,” and the less likely you will get consumed within the rela onship. By emphasizing the sharing aspect of rela onships, Dr. Nunley made us re-think about what loving another per-son actually means. It does not just stop at “happily ever a er,” rather, it is a process of growth and evolu on that you share with your partner.

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path of life

On Feb. 27, the University Hon-ors Community Service Commi ee held a fun and interac ve workshop to de-stress students before fi nals week. Beginning with an informa- ve presenta on on iden fying and

addressing high levels of stress in our lives, the talk included educa ve facts and simple day-to-day exercises to recharge our brain and relax our ten-sion. It is highly recommended for col-lege students to take me from their hec c days to breathe, stretch, and laugh their pain away. Furthermore, students off ered sincere support and learned diff erent coping methods by sharing personal stories and experi-ences with one another. Through these exercises, we realized that as college students, stressors will always

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be around; however, we must not let them disorient our future prospects. A er the presenta on, all students par cipated in a soulful exercise that benefi ted both themselves and the community. Students were given oranges and instructed to write down their current stressors on the back of the peels, which were then collected. These peels are to be planted in Riv-erside to sustain the growth of trees and plants. Although we all had many stressors in our life at the me, this ac v-ity symbolizes the fact that they will not live forever but can de-velop into something beau ful.

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On Feb. 4, the University Honors Service Commit-tee held an event at the Path of Life Center called “Kids

of Promise.” This event was organized in order to interact and connect with families residing in an emergency shelter. There, the

Honors students volunteered themselves to play with and serve ice cream to the children, ranging from three to fourteen years olds. Service Commit-

tee chair, Keely Smith, said of the event that “all of the volunteers that I spoke with really enjoyed the event. It was fun to interact with the children because we could tell that they genuinely wanted us there. The students were touched that they could make such a posi ve yet simple impact on these kids’ lives.” She said that the state of the families’ living situa on was sad to see, and that the event made the volunteers realize how privileged they were. Yet the comfortable and easygoing atmosphere between the students and families helped create a warm and welcoming environment where everyone just enjoyed each other’s company. This event was an important way

to show support for these families amidst their unfortunate circumstances. Smith said that “it allowed us to understand what it is like to be a child in the situa ons that they found themselves in. We were also able to connect with the chil-dren and make them feel important because these college students wanted to interact with them.” Overall, Smith and the other volunteers agreed that this was an enriching experience to help out the Riverside Community.

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what is what is stressing you today stressing you today

will not be stressing you will not be stressing you out ten years from now.out ten years from now.However, what you learnHowever, what you learnfrom your stress todayfrom your stress today

will help you become the will help you become the person you will be then.person you will be then.

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Carefree laughter spilled over in the room where University Honors students gathered at Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour from 6 - 9 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20. Put on by the UH Social Commi ee, this Foodies event proved to be one of the most popular events of the quarter. University Honors students were able to unwind and spend some me ge ng to know each other as well as enjoying delicious ice cream. Addi onally, the restaurant off ered up family-friendly environment with enthusias c and welcoming

staff . The turnout was spectacular, with over 35 students a ending. The students enjoyed a pleasant evening full of relax-a on and even a few birthday celebra ons over some delicious desserts.

On Wednesday Jan. 22, hungry University Honors students clambered into Koreana Grill as a part of Social Commit-tees’ beloved Foodies events. The place, though decep vely plain from the outside, was fragrant with delicious smells. Although the Honors group had the challenge of pu ng together a couple of tables to fi t their large group, every-thing came together in the end for the sake of good food and discourse. “It was very fun,” said Alyssa Stump, “I met new people.” This is really the point of the Foodies events: com-munica ng with fellow honors students and forming new connec ons. It doesn’t hurt, however, that this place is All You Can Eat! This is the second Foodies Event at Koreana Grill and hopefully the con nua on of a yearly tradi on of intel-ligent discourse and Korean barbecue.

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skyzone A group of University Honors students spent the night of Jan. 30 literally reaching for the stars in Sky Zone, an indoors trampoline park. From 6:30-9:00 p.m., students bounced their cares away, taking advantage of discounted prices thanks to Sky Zone’s College Night. And once students had jumped to their heart’s content, they could catch their breath in Sky Zone’s built-in arcade to play. All in all the night proved to be the best kind of stress reliever from the daily grind of class and work for this group of hardworking Honors students. The event allowed them to let all their cares go and spend the evening ge ng to know each other while jumping on trampolines, shoo ng hoops, or diving into ball pits.

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FARRELL,S ICECREAM PARLOUR

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Stress! Andovercoming

it It is inevitable for college students to stress during their four years in college. Midterms, term papers, and fi nals are all stressors that may nega vely aff ect students’ health due to sleep depri-va on and malnutri on. Although the workload may be overwhelming at mes, I have no ced a trend that only worsens this condi on. Ironically, many students (myself included) stress over stress. We may not be able to control the amount of work we receive in a given quarter, but there are ways to rid the murky clouds of anxiety in order to maintain healthy living habits. First of all, it is important to dis nguish between two diff erent types of stress. Stress can either be a reac on to a s mulus or the harmful s mu-lus itself. As an example of the former, stress can be our mo va on to get work done. For instance, although I may stress about having two midterms on the same day, it can also mo vate me to study and not slack off . Other interpreta ons, however, antagonize stress as the s mulus that should be avoided due to its harmful nature (Medical News Today). For example, if I have a midterm each week of the quarter, the thought of how distressing studying will be can disorient me before I even start on any work. This type of stress is not only regressive, but harmful to the quality of the work. As we roll into a new quarter, it is important to understand how diff er-ent s muli aff ect our individual bodies. This involves key me manage-ment. Any exam or paper will cause some level of stress but sleep depriva- on, hyperven la on, and mental fa gue will not make them any easier.

Although it is easier said than done, eff ec ve control over our tasks can be achieved with me. Personally, I have found that comple ng small tasks fi rst is most helpful. Sending important e-mails and fi nishing a short ar cle fi rst gives a sense of progress that mo vates me to con nue crossing things off my list. Furthermore, iden fying our values and long-term goals early in the quarter can guide the priori za on of our work. For instance, if a student looks forward to their Honors Thesis, they should improve their wri ng and research skills early since they are vital for scholarly and

professional success. Although students do not have the same long-term goals, it is important to keep our driving force in the back of our mind.

When it comes to stress, remember, you’re not alone! Talk to friends, counselors, and/or family. I truly believe that they are the best medicine.

“Well, I think those equa ons are defi nitely going to show up on the exam.” “--just what Obama thinks he’s do-ing with the Aff ordable Care Act.” “--are actually a delicacy hearken-ing back to the World War II era.” This is my third year but I’m ashamed to say I never spent much me in the University Honors (UH)

lounge before this quarter. This quarter, driven by the lure of the new Honors laptops and the slow, anguish-ing death of my own laptop, I spent a lot of my breaks eavesdropping on amazing conversa ons like the ones sampled above. I’ve always regarded eavesdrop-ping as sort of an art form: it alerts you to concerning truths about your roommates and gives great fodder for blackmail. Usually, though, listening in on other people’s conversa on is either boring or just plain demoral-izing. This is not the case with the UH lounge. This place provides the most consistently vibrant and well-informed discourse of almost any other place I’ve ever been. Fox News could take a few pointers. Over the course of the quarter, I found the UH Lounge not just a great place for has ly scribbling out some homework, but also a great place to reenergize. Visi ng the lounge is like taking a brief opportunity to remem-ber: This is why I go to college. It seems like everyone in Honors passes by the lounge at some point or another. It’s a great place to run into someone and have a brief, heated debate. My goal for next quarter is to be less of an eavesdropper and more of a contributor.

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discoverday

The en re campus came alive on Saturday, March 8, to welcome poten al UCR freshmen as they came in droves to explore what UCR had to off er. In one of the biggest recrui ng days of the year, Discover Day, University Honors (UH) had a smashing success in reaching out to dozens of poten al Honors Students. Discover Day started off with a bang, as Dr. Perring and a few students spoke about UH and its advantages at breakfasts for scholarship recipients put on by the four colleges within UCR. Mean-while, in the UH offi ce, volunteers were busy preparing for tours to effi ciently showcase two of UH’s biggest benefi ts: community and research opportuni es. In the computer lab, the leaders of the UH commi ees waited to give a small explana on of their commi ee, while in the confer-ence room, a few students assembled presenta ons based on their research. Out by the Bell Tower, Honors staff and students set up a booth where they gave informa on about University Honors and led tours to the UH offi ce and housing. With this coordina on, tens of hundreds of poten al Honors freshmen and their parents eagerly explored the UH offi ce, with most, if not all, leaving with an impressed look on their face. By the end of the day, Honors staff and volunteers were exhausted but thoroughly pleased by the huge turnout of students. Many volunteers, including myself, were renewed in our commit-ment to University Honors by the sheer excitement of the students and their parents. All in all, Discover Day proved to be one of the most rewarding days of the year for the Honors community.

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On Feb. 24, Profes-sor Jasso hosted a TED Talk en tled “The Voic-es of China’s Workers” and framed it with his recent experiences in China. The talk, given by Leslie T. Chang, was in-solently triumphant - it derided the pity Ameri-cans o en feel for facto-ry workers earning small wages and asserted these factory workers’ new found economic mobility. Essen ally, this talk argued that the factory workers did not need the developed worlds’ useless empa-thy because their jobs were providing them with new opportuni es. Jasso took themes from

On Feb. 7, Honors fac-ulty Dr. Connie Nugent held a Lunch and Chat for students in the Honors Conference Room. As an Art History major, I felt ner-vous approaching a profes-sor of molecular biology for advice on narrowing down a research ques on. However, Dr. Nugent was happy to help. She created a laid back environment that generated topics from research to living abroad. In this friendly environ-ment, students led the dis-cussion while Dr. Nugent

shared her own thoughts. This was a valuable learn-ing experience since I was able to ‘chat’ with a pro-fessor from a diff erent dis-cipline about subjects that interested us both. Univer-sity Honors faculty are tru-ly open with students and Lunch and Chats are ad-vantageous opportuni es to network with professors in various fi elds. Thus, stu-dents are highly encour-aged to use the resources that University Honors provides. One never knows what they will learn next.

this talk and shaped them into one provoca- ve ques on: Do Ameri-

cans have a similar work ethic to these factory workers? No one was able to fi nd any consen-sus. Certainly it is diffi -cult to imagine working twelve hours a day on a factory fl oor--but the uni ng characteris cs these workers shared was despera on for knowledge and be er-ing their quality of lives. And these characteris- cs, gratefully, are not

unique to Chinese facto-ry workers. They exist in every struggling diverse student in universi es like UC Riverside.

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COMMITTEEshonors

Honors Leadership CouncilThe HLC President, Vice President, and Secretary work

with all of the Honors commi ee chairs and the cohort representa ves. This council serves as the liaison between

the Honors student body and the Honors staff and adminis-tra on. HLC’s main objec ve is to establish a strong community

founda on by coordina ng several types of Honors events.For more info, contact Nina: NBokh001For more info, contact Nina: NBokh001@ucr.eduucr.edu

Cohort Representatives

Co-CurriculaR

Community ServicE

Media & Communications

Outreach & Recruitment

Social

represent the student cohorts in each year and act as the liaison to HLC.

promotes student involvement with faculty through cultural and academic events.

connects students with volunteer opportuni es in the area.

writers, photographers, and designers that maintain social media and thisvery newsle er!

promotes University Honors to prospec ve students.

encourages students to meet new people, develop rela onships, and try new things.

contact Jack : IWang003contact Jack : IWang003@ucr.edu , Jody: Jgoto001ucr.edu , Jody: Jgoto001@ucr.eduucr.edu

contact Keely : ksmit013contact Keely : ksmit013@ucr.edu , sneha: sshar016ucr.edu , sneha: sshar016@ucr.eduucr.edu

Jessica: JSori007Jessica: JSori007@ucr.edu , David: DRome005ucr.edu , David: DRome005@ucr.eduucr.edu

contact Colin : mmark003contact Colin : mmark003@ucr.eduucr.edu

contact Mia : Mmont019contact Mia : Mmont019@ucr.edu , Kara: KHomo001ucr.edu , Kara: KHomo001@ucr.eduucr.edu

Find more of Honors Outlook at mccucr.wix.com/honors-outlook

facebook.com/universityhonorsucr

For more info, contact Nina: NBokh001For more info, contact Nina: NBokh001@ucr.eduucr.edu

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