Volume 8, Issue 5

THE UCSB’s Weekly Student-Run Newspaper

IV Drug Bust Uncovers Cache of Cocaine, Ecstasy

IV BeAT RePORT

A&e/ 6

The Flaming Lips Rock the SB Bowl

by Giuseppe RicapitoiV Beat rePOrter

@tblucsb / thebottomline.as.ucsb.edu

Stanley wants to know: Have you noticed a change in the Halloween festivities during your time at UCSB? Submit your answers to [email protected]

Associated Students, UC Santa Barbara | Volume 8, Issue 5 | Nov. 6 - Nov. 12, 2013

Aft er midnight on Saturday, Oct. 26, the Santa Barbara Regional Narcotic Enforcement Team (SBRNET) successfully raided an apartment located at 6631 Picasso Road Apartment #2, uncover-ing a collection of stimulants and mystery pills. Dalton Turney, a local resident and student, and Razel Tarantino, of Woodland Hills, California, both 21, were promptly detained upon returning to the apartment and arrested on charges of drug possession and conspiracy to sell. Witness accounts from the local community noted the police force occupied the investigation area for several hours, but no one was present in the residence during the time of the raid. According to a Oct. 28 press release from SBRNET, “Agents seized approximately 156 grams (approximately 5.5 ounces) of co-caine, 49 Tablets of MDMA (ecstasy), and approximately 40 pills of a yet to be identifi ed drug.” Turney and Tarantino were released on $300,000 and $20,000 bail, respectively, but an arraignment date has yet to be determined. Chris Nyvold, a commander with SBRNET, declined to com-ment on the investigation surrounding Turney and Tarantino. However, he did comment on the drug problem in Isla Vista. “Isla Vista does have a drug problem,” said Nyvold. “Isla Vista is just as serious a situation as other parts of Santa Barbara.” SBRNET is billed on the county website as a “Special Program” of the County of Santa Barbara, “a multi-jurisdictional law enforce-ment team…in narcotic suppression” which “targets, investigates and prosecutes” persons involved with explicitly “high-level drug traffi cking enterprises.” Nyvold declined to classify this particular case as “high-level,” but

See BUST | Page 2

AS BeAT RePORT

During its meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 30, Associated Students Senate reopened discussion of “A Bill To Improve the Visibility of On-Campus Senators” and passed a motion regarding the reconsideration of Finance Board funding the Non-Traditional Students Association. Josh Plotke, the association’s founder and former vice presi-dent, spoke during public forum about his concerns that the funds allocated to “Casino Night,” an event to be put on by the Non-Traditional Center, were excessive and based on mislead-ing information. He stated that the association board member who approached Finance Board did so without fi rst obtaining a vote from fellow board members and that in his request, he claimed that the association deserved the funds because three-fourths of the student body is considered “non-traditional.” “This has never been a defi nition our club has used; instead, the purpose of the club has really always been to serve a tight minority of students on campus who are older,” Plotke said. This population, Plotke said, consists of a group of about 275 students who are 25 years or older. He expressed worry that because the event’s expected attendance is in actuality lower than what was expressed to Finance Board, the funds allocated will prove to have been unnecessary. He decided to intervene in order to prevent potential distrust by Finance Board of similar requests in the future. The Senate ultimately passed a motion by On-Campus Sen. John Soriano for Senate liaisons to present the issue at the Nov. 4 Finance Board meeting. “A Bill To Improve the Visibility of On-Campus Senators,” if passed, would allow on-campus senators to table in the din-ing commons and thereby interact more regularly and directly with their constituents. Because author On-Campus Sen. An-drew Neiman was not in attendance, the Senate voted to table the bill as they had the two preceding meetings. Off-Campus Sen. Derek Wakefi eld expressed concerns that the director of the dining commons had demonstrated disap-proval of the idea in a conversation recounted to him by Nei-man. She allegedly felt uncomfortable with the idea of reserv-ing a table for such a cause, and Wakefi eld stated that it might be hasty to move forward with a plan still surrounded by such uncertainties. “I think to pass it now would be a really unwise idea, because it may end up backfi ring,” Wakefi eld said. “We [may] pass it and then not be able to actually do it.” The Senate will once again convene on the bill at its next meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

AS Senate Reconvenes on Senate Visibility and

Discusses Funding Concernsby Kelsey Knorp

aS Beat rePOrter

Photo by Diane Ng | The Bottom LineRHA President Andrew Soriano making a presentation to the AS Senate.

Opinions / 8

Battle of theFans

UCSB RESEARCHERS TO ATTEND UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON CLIMATE CHANGE

T he International Institute of Climate Action and The-ory (IICAT), a research network at University of Cali-fornia, Santa Barbara focused on climate change and

global warming, will be attending the Conference of Parties (COP) 19 from Nov. 11 to Nov. 22 in Warsaw, Poland. Co-Directors of IICAT, Professor John Foran and Pro-fessor Richard Widick of the Department of Sociology, along with six researchers from UCSB, hope to engage with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) plan of action regarding climate change and also interact with the various global climate change activists who will be attending the conference. The IICAT network focuses on the interactive relationships between climate, society, and a law, and strives to educate and inform the general population about modern climate concerns and alternatives. According to their website, they engage with various climate-science, economic history, environmental gov-ernance, the global climate justice movements, and activists “in the interest of fostering new collaborations and synthesizing new data and skills that together stand a better chance of con-tributing to the mitigation of global warming.” To this end, Foran and Widick, as offi cial delegates repre-senting the University of California, have hosted fi ve offi cial UN Press Conferences at the UNFCCC. They also maintain the IICAT website, where they publish their analyses, inter-views, and educational materials. Two of IICAT’s researchers, Emily Williams and Jenna Liddie, will be going to Warsaw two days ahead of the group

to interact with the Conference of the Youth and meet with global youth activists. IICAT hopes to engage the youth in the climate-change fi ght, as the future of the climate would affect the youth the most. At COP 19, IICAT will be interviewing climate negotiators, carbon capitalists, and climate justice movement activists. They will be publishing their analysis through blogs and videos. After the conference, the research network is planning on producing a short documentary, “At the COP: The Global Youth Climate Justice Movement,” which, according to their website, “focuses on the actions and visions of the young ac-tivists of the movement for use in schools, community settings, and in movement organizations.” They will also be publishing a free e-book, “At the COP: Global Climate Justice Youth Speak Out,” in May 2014. It will contain informational materials col-lected over the past two COPs: COP17 in Durban, South Af-rica in 2011, and COP18 in Doha, Qatar in 2012. Also in May 2014, the group will host an open conference, Reimagining Climate Justice, at UCSB. According to IICAT’s website, the conference will be “a space for envisioning ways to help make the many struggles for climate justice stronger and more creative as they scale up their efforts to force govern-ments and the corporations who control them to take the mea-sures necessary to ensure a livable planet for future generations.” To follow the group while they are in Warsaw, check out their page, http://www.iicat.org/cjp/, for upcoming news and reports. Corrie Ellis, graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in sociology at UCSB, will also be updating her website, http://agoodfuture.wordpress.com, with her daily notes from the conference.

by Pragya Parmita

Photo by John Clow | Staff Photographer Bananas on Del Playa Drive come together for a group shot.

University of California, Santa Barbara’s reputation as a great place to party draws thousands of visitors to Isla Vista each Halloween. However, as many visitors dis-

covered this weekend, there were in fact few parties to be found. Due to educational campaigns, the Festival Ordinance, and law enforcement, Halloween in Isla Vista has certainly changed since its heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s. According to a news release by the Santa Barbara County Sher-iff ’s Offi ce, the number of arrests and citations has been consis-tent with the past two Halloween weekends in Isla Vista. Th ere were 225 jail bookings (173 of which were for public intoxica-tion), 249 citations, 48 medical calls, and 20 search and rescue calls. Th e turnout from this year was estimated to be 12,000 to 15,000 people on Th ursday and Friday nights. On Saturday night, crowds decreased to 8,000. Compared to previous years, attendance was slightly lower, which could have been a result of midterms and parents weekend, in addition to various campaigns to discourage visitors. Th e numbers of arrests are declining as the years go by, but not without a cost. According to Th e Independent, authorities have vamped up eff orts to lessen damage through expenditures of hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. Security measures include increased presence of law enforcement, medical stations, communication towers, and barricades. Approximately 200 of-fi cers patrolled the streets this Halloween weekend to strictly enforce the weekend’s ordinances.

“Last year, the county spent over $200,000 on Sheriff ’s assets,” said Lieutenant Rob Plastino from the Isla Vista Foot Patrol in an interview with Th e Independent. “However, this is just a fraction of the cost to public agencies because it does not include other county resources such as fi re and medics, probation or courts.” One of the campaigns to keep Halloween local was putting advertisements in other college newspapers in California. UCSB Associate Dean for Student Life Debbie Fleming advertised in Cal State newspapers, warning students to stay away from Isla Vista during Halloween. Fleming cited the presence of hundreds of deputies and the possibility of spending the night in jail as reasons not to make the journey. According to Cal Poly SLO newspaper Th e Mustang, the advertisement also made the claim that fewer than 10 percent of the arrests made and citations given involved a UCSB student, and that the 90 percent of those ar-rested were non-UCSB students. According to Th e Independent, no offi cial tally exists that identifi es how many at the Halloween celebration come from out of town. UCSB External Vice President of Local Aff airs Alex Moore believes that Dean Fleming’s letters had a positive impact. “Even if people come aft er seeing those letters, they’re better informed when they get here, and that’s a big deal,” said Moore. “At the best, they deterred some folks from coming.” Moore’s main goal as a student representative has been to pro-vide students with the resources to make the right decisions. “I focus on educating them about the issues In Isla Vista dur-ing Halloween and also provide them with physical resources to avoid those things,” said Moore.

by Julia FrazerStaff Writer

HALLOWEEN 2013: ORDINANCES AND AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS A SUCCESS

See HALLOWEEN | Page 2

FOR THe ReCORD:Halloween in IV brings its share of crime. Here’s how 2013’s celebrations stacked up.

Jail Bookings: Citations: Medical Calls:225

173 were arrested for

public intoxication

249 95 were for

minor in possession

48 42

transported to the

hospitalSource: Santa Barbara County Sheriff ’s Offi ce

One of those resources that Moore was involved in is Take Back the Night’s safe space, which, according to the Facebook event, is “a space for people to come if they feel harassed, have been sexually assaulted or simply need a place to feel comfortable,” according to TBTN’s Facebook event. Th e safe space provided light re-freshments, restrooms, blankets, phone chargers, and most importantly, counselors from various organizations. Ultimately, the Festival Ordinance and all of the restrictions served their purpose. Th e Sher-iff ’s Offi ce reports that no major incidents were

reported, and acknowledged that the event ran smoothly because of many factors, including a strong law enforcement presence. Th ough Moore wishes the ordinance were unnecessary, he ac-knowledges that the Festival Ordinance worked well. Moore feels optimistic that this year’s fes-tivities seemed more controlled than in years past. “If we see a trend of Isla Vista Halloween becoming more and more local, it’s important for us to reconsider the Festival Ordinance and how judiciously it’s applied,” said Moore. “We could incentivize a local Halloween.”

I’ve always wanted to start an advice column. No, really; I look at you humans sometimes and I’m like, man, there are so many better ways you could be approaching your problems right now. For instance: the other day, I was hanging out in the Arbor and saw a human struggling to pay for his 89-cent muf-fi n solely in pennies. Everyone in line, as well as the cashier, was getting impatient, and the kid himself got so fl ustered that he spilled his change on the ground. You know what could have prevented this whole situation?

Worms. Worms are full of protein and delicious, especially seasoned with some olive oil and garlic, and they don’t cost a thing. You can fi nd them squirming around any grassy location on campus, making them the perfect between-lecture snack. Worms, Muffi n Man. Try them.

Executive Managing Editor | Cheyenne JohnsonExecutive Content Editor | Parisa Mirzadegan

Copy Editor | Camila Martinez-GranataNews Editor | Lily Cain

Features Editor | Katana DumontOpinions Editor | Anjali Shastry

Arts & Entertainment Editor | Deanna Kim Science & Technology Editor | Matt Mersel

Photography Editor | Magali GauthierSenior Layout Editor | Robert Wojtkiewicz

Layout Editor | Beth AskinsLayout Editor | Morey Spellman

Multimedia Editor | Brenda RamirezNational Beat Reporter | Allyson Werner

Isla Vista Beat Reporter | Giuseppe RicapitoAssociated Students Beat Reporter | Kelsey Knorp

Promotion and Distribution Director | Jordan Wolff Advertising Director | Marissa Perez

Staff Adviser | Monica Lopez

Writers this issue:Julia Frazer, Giuseppe Ricapito, Kelsey Knorp, Allyson Werner, Judy Lau, Sam Gold-

man, Cindy Chan, Robert Wojtkiewicz, Pragya Parmita, Hari Kota, Coleman Gray, Gilberto Flores, Andrea Webber

Photographers this issue:Margarita Baliyan, John Clow, Benjamin Hurst, Lorenzo Basilio, Diane Ng

illustrators this issue:Beth Askins, Hector Lizarraga, Amanda Excell

The Bottom Line is sponsored by the Associated Students of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Opinions expressed in TBL do not necessarily represent those of the staff , AS,

or UCSB. Published with support from Generation Progress/Center for American Progress (genprogress.org). All submissions, questions or comments may be directed to

[email protected] or [email protected].

The Bottom Line provides a printed and online space for student investigative journalism, culturally and socially aware

commentary, and engaging reporting that addresses the diverse concerns of our readership and community. This is your community to build, share ideas, and publicize your issues and events. We welcome your questions, comments, or concerns at [email protected], or call our offi ce phone at 805-

893-2440.

T H E B O T T O M L I N E I S A P R O U D M E M B E R O F

Our web magazine offers hard-hitting journalism, analysis, and multimedia on issues of the greatest concern to young people; gives young

writers, reporters, artists, and others the chance to publish nationally; and builds a community of progressives

interested in issues, ideas, and activism.

News

DRONE STRIKE KILLS TALIBAN LEADER IN

PAKISTAN, RENEWING DEBATE

by Allyson WernerNatiONaL Beat rePOrter

nATIOnAL BeAT RePORT

TBL 2013-2014 Staff

STAnLeY SAYS

2

Illustration by Beth Askins | Layout Editor

An American drone strike on Friday, Nov. 1, killed Hakimullah Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, a militant group that has ter-rorized Pakistan for decades. The Central Intel-ligence Agency views the death as a signifi cant victory for the covert drone program, which has been criticized by human rights groups and other organizations throughout the world for the signifi cant number of civilian casualties in previous strikes. According to the New York Times, the death has provided relief to many Pakistani citizens. The Pakistani Taliban, which is closely related to the infamous Afghani Taliban, has killed thousands of people through suicide bombings. This relentless violence has desta-bilized the entire country. Furthermore, the Taliban’s attacks are not limited to Pakistan. In 2009, the group orga-nized an attack on an American spy base in Afghanistan. The attack killed seven Ameri-can CIA employees and signifi cantly crippled American intelligence in the region. Fur-thermore, Mehsud and the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American who attempted to drive a car bomb into New York City’s Times Square. Despite the CIA’s enthusiasm, many Paki-

stani offi cials have expressed their frustration with the strike. In fact, the strike came just a week after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan met with U.S. President Barack Obama to express his disapproval of the CIA’s covert drone program. Sharif ’s plans to engage in peace talks with the Taliban have been delayed, perhaps in-defi nitely. According to NBC News, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Pakistan’s interior minister and the offi cial in charge of negotiations with the Taliban, declared that the strike was counter-productive and was detrimental to peace in the region. Similarly, Imran Khan, the chairman of Pakistan’s Movement for Justice, the party that currently rules Pakistan, threatened to halt North Atlantic Treaty Organization convoys passing through the province. Pakistan has blocked NATO convoys in the past; however, nothing has been done since the attack on Friday. Other Pakistani offi cials claim that the weak-ened Taliban will be more susceptible to peace; however, these offi cials are in the minority. Many Pakistanis also fear retaliation. The Taliban has already vowed bloody revenge. In an interview by Judy Woodruff of PBS, Declan Walsh of The New York Times ex-plained that revenge was likely. “After [Mehsud’s] predecessor was killed in 2009, it didn’t take very long for the Pakistani Taliban to bounce back and go on to a whole series of other bombings,” Walsh said. The Pakistani-American who attempted to attack New York City’s Times Square said he was primarily motivated by the United States’ deadly drone campaign. Aaron Anderson, a University of California, Santa Barbara fourth-year global studies major, weighed in on the attacks. “I believe that the U.S. should not have used drone strikes for two reasons: because it has caused the Taliban to become even more furious,” he said, “and because Prime Minis-ter Sharif of Pakistan clearly asked President Obama not to use them.” Although no civilians were killed during this attack, the strike has renewed humanitarian debate regarding the morality of drone strikes.

Photo Courtesy | http://www.fbi.gov/

–BUST Continued fr om page 1related the mandate of his team. “Th e Task Force mission is to diminish drug traffi cking throughout Santa Barbara,” Nyvold said. While this was a relatively large drug bust, in signifi cant terms of regional production, distri-bution, and consumption, it only makes a blip. For comparison, the Oct. 30 arrest of Ventura-based Hernan Lizardo Gutierrez brought in a total cache that weighed in in at 7 times greater than the one found in IV and which also fea-tured $90,000 in cash, according to the Santa

Barbara Independent. Kelly Hoover, Public Information Offi cer for the Santa Barbara Sherriff ’s Offi ce, commented generally on the directive of Santa Barbara drug-suppression authorities. “We have a very proactive Narcotics Investiga-tive team and we have many diff erent methods of investigating illegal drug activity,” Hoover said. “We do rely on citizen tips to help us fi nd individuals involved in buying and selling nar-cotics and appreciate the public’s assistance in these investigations.”

University of California President Janet Na-politano made one of her fi rst appearances in Oakland, California, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, to send a message to the local high schools about applying to college and to address the controver-sial issue of undocumented students. Napolitano claimed that she is devoting $5 million to provide fi nancial aid for students that are undocumented. In addition, according to ABC local news, Napoli-tano vows to make college within reach for all students. “If your family makes less than $80,000 dollars a year, you pay no tuition at the University of California,” she said. “Not a single dollar.” Th e former Secretary of H o m e l a n d Security announced her initiative aft er she be-came head of the 10-campus university system about a month ago. According to ABC local, she pledged $15 million for undocumented stu-dents, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows, each group receiving $5 million in funds. “UC welcomes all students who qualify aca-demically, whether they are documented or un-documented,” she said in prepared remarks re-leased by her offi ce before the speech. “Consider this a down payment — one more piece of evi-dence of our commitment to all Californians.” However, despite the great changes being made, many fear that she will bring a heavy pol-icy against immigration to the university cam-puses. Many University of California students point out the large number of immigration ar-rests and deportations that Napolitano issued as

Head of Homeland Security. A group of about 10 University of California, Berkeley students involved in the By Any Means Necessary civil rights group (BAMN) initiated a plan to picket and protest at the high school during Napolitano’s visit, according to the San Francisco Appeal. Some Oakland Technical High School BAMN members planned to go into smaller meetings of about 50 students with Napolitano in the school’s library to question how the university would fulfi ll its historic mis-

sion in serving the people in Califor-nia. “High school students are already thinking about not applying to the UC schools, just because she’s there, because they are undocu-mented, or because their families are un-documented,” UC Berkeley student Isa-mar Ochoa said. However, since her appointment as UC president, Na-

politano has put noticeable eff ort into alleviat-ing the protests that many campus activists have about her being hostile to immigrants. In her speech on Wednesday in Oakland, she stated that she wants to do more for fi rst generation students, documented or undocumented. According to the Huffi ngton Post, Napoli-tano will dedicate an extra $10 million to gradu-ate students. “Graduate students and post-docs are the essential links between teaching for California and researching for the world,” she said. “Th ey are our future faculty members. Th ey are our future innovators. Th ey are our future Nobel laureates.” Napolitano said that she believes her job ful-fi lls the mission of educating students and serv-ing as an incubator for important research.

by Judy Lau

UC President Addresses Finance, Undocumented Student Concerns

in First Speech

“UC welcomes all students who qualify academically, whether they are docu-mented or undocumented... Consider this a down pay-ment — one more piece of evidence of our commit-ment to all Californians.”— Janet Napolitano, Univer-sity of California president

[[

–HALLOWEEN Continued fr om page 1

Photo by John Clow | Staff Photographer

Ladies from 6754 Del Playa judge the Roman gladiator costumes.

Th e Bottom Line | Nov. 6 - Nov. 12

3

Features

Photo by Benjamin Hurst | The Bottom Line

Photo by John Clow | Staff Photographer

Speak Volumes: ‘We’re just a music blog’

The Special Collections Department on the third floor of Davidson Library at the University of California, Santa Bar-bara hosts a variety of rare, valuable, and unique documents, many of which can only be found there. The Special Collec-tions first opened with the Wyles Collec-tion in 1938, back when the university was still the Teacher’s College. William Wyles was a businessman and an avid collector of Civil War documents and artifacts who donated his “Lincoln Library” to the university, in part because his collections were growing so rapidly he was running out of space to store it. Wyles continued to donate throughout his life, and upon his death, he left a large endowment to ensure the collections’ future growth. There are almost 4,000 manuscript collections in the library, which are col-lections of unique documents such as the papers of a writer or the records of a local organization. For example, the Lobero Theatre’s archival collection is located within the Special Collections, and re-searchers can come in and find out about performances from years earlier. The collections contain over 250,000 volumes, 16,000 linear feet of manu-scripts, 100,000 photographs and more than 200,000 early sound recordings. Some of the major collections and col-lecting areas include The American Reli-gions Collection, The California Ethnic and Multicultural Archives, The Darwin/Evolution Collection, and The Rare Book Collection. Many of these collections, especially the old, unique volumes, are stored in a locked cold storage vault for optimal safe-keeping. David Seubert, the acting head of Spe-cial Collections, took some time out of his grant-writing to talk to us about some of the rare and unique books. He drew a distinction between “rare” and “unique,”

saying that the Collections contain both. The rare books include a first-edition copy—one of only 1,250—of “The Origin of Species” by Charles Darwin, located in the Darwin/Evolution Col-lection. Unique documents are ones that are found in the Collections and nowhere else. These include a large collection of the author Charles Bukowski’s original hand-edited typescripts, illuminated manu-scripts written on vellum, and more. Seubert was kind enough to take us through the stacks and into the cold storage vault to show us some of the col-lections firsthand. Many documents in the cold storage are collections of Art-ists’ Books—books that are works of art themselves, delicate, hand-made, and often one-of-a-kind. With the library’s expansion, there will be an entire building dedicated to keeping these Artists’ Books, historical documents, and the rest of the collections safe in cold storage. “That’s kind of the principle of special collections,” says Seubert. “We have all of the materials owned by the university that are valuable, unique, or very rare that we need to protect.” Throughout the year, the Special Col-lections puts documents on exhibit in the front of the department. The current ex-hibit is “Conjuring India: British Views of the Subcontinent, 1780-1870.” It fea-tures illustrations from British books rep-resenting colonized South Asia from the 18th and 19th Centuries. Past exhibitions included “Who Freed The Slaves? Eman-cipation as a Social Movement” and “Stars of the Opera Stage: ‘Golden Age’ Images From The William R. Moran Collection.” Between the Artists’ Books, the histori-cal documents, the unique typescripts, and more, the Special Collections is a portal to knowledge that cannot be found anywhere else. Though nothing is in cir-culation, the Special Collections can be visited by all staff, students, and the gen-eral public.

Rare and Unique

by Hari Kota Staff Writer

In a day and age where blogs persist at the fore-front of new media, one focused solely on music is making some major headway for the music scene in our very own Isla Vista. Speak Volumes, launched on April 18, 2012, delivers content that possesses impressive and authentic quality despite the site’s early stage. The jovial, tongue-in-cheek mantra of, “we’re just a music blog” encompasses the no-fluff yet juicily inventive attitude that this website rep-resents. With a laser-precise focus on quality mu-sic discussion and analysis, paired with a devotion to creating a platform for local artists to be heard, Speak Volume’s voice is boldly rising each day. Speak Volumes was born as the brainchild of two fourth-year communication majors, Dylan Chase and Johnny Lipshin, who always knew that they were going to take their love for music to the next level. With the help of web manager Jason Worden and photographer Mariah Tiffany, the site, which maintains its focus on prioritizing local artists, is al-ready going strong. The “Local Spotlight” column of the blog has featured over 20 local artists so far. “Ranging from surf rock bands to ambient music to rappers, Speak Volumes is a place for local artists seeking exposure,” said Lipshin. “What we’re doing is very much a collaborative effort.” This platform dedicated to presenting the arts in IV is one that

community members have been responding to very positively. Speak Volumes is holding a series of ongoing mu-sical events devoted to this very demand for the arts. Stationed at 6679 Trigo, the atmosphere of these events is unmatched by your typical IV rager. The ambiance, affixed with quality staging and sound, prescribes classy times and eclectic tunes. Each event provides the audience with exposure to the sounds of a diverse smattering of local artists. Speak Volumes’ Chief Editor Chase explains that an appreciation comes with being part of a com-munity that is engaged in a desire to foster this type of artistic culture. Even though some might see this creative outlet as almost “unnecessary,” Chase pushes that there is an appetite for the arts in IV, and Speak Volumes has opened a door for any-body looking for an opportunity to get involved in the arts. In addition to promoting new media, Speak Vol-umes provides tributes to old media in their latest journalistic endeavor. A mini-mag or “zine,” the Speak Volumes Quarterly is craftily presented in the format of an album booklet and tangibly represents the independent artistic movement that the group wishes to spread. The aesthetics of the zine epito-mize effortless and modern imagination, with merit

given to graphic designer Diana Mora. Distributed at concerts and events throughout the county, the zine remains consistent with the blog but also adds in recurring exclusive content. The Speak Volumes Quarterly also represents the ambition of approach-ing music journalism with a completely new creative edge. The future issues may hint at collaborations with IV artists, creating original comic strips, and presenting music-fiction pieces. Proudly DIY and built from the ground up, Speak Volumes started as just a music blog. The thirst for outlets of independent expression is only strength-ened by the site’s assertion of never-ceasing expres-sion. Speak Volumes is described by its contributors as a labor of love with no financial end game. The group is currently seeking advertisers as well as food and drink sponsors to keep up with their printing and event costs. They also call to all other student ventures to create partnerships and consciously broaden the horizons for self-started creative pur-suits. The blog is currently accepting writers, design-ers, and anyone else with an interest in the project. The music waiting to be uncovered by the blog team is unending, and there is going to be plenty more to hear from Speak Volumes. Take a listen to find a new perspective on our local arts, and if you like the sounds, leap into the movement yourself.

by Cindy Chan

Student-run music blog Speak Volumes

highlights local talent with a strong

DIY work ethic. Founders and UCSB

fourth-years Dylan Chase and Johnny Lipshin talk about their collaborative

efforts.

Dylan Chase and Jonny Lipshin created Speak Volumes in 2012.

David Seubert, the acting head of special collections talks about the items in the UCSB special collections.

CAMPUS SPOTLIGHT

The Special Collections Department houses some of UCSB’s most prized artifacts and acquisitions, including many one-of-a-kind objects. “

That’s kind of the principle of special col-lections. We have all of the materials owned by the university that are valuable, unique, or very rare that we need to protect.

“

— David Seubert, acting head of Special Collections

early sound recordings.

Special Collections contains over 250,000

volumes, 16,000 linear feet of manuscripts,

100,000 photographs, and more than 200,000

Past Exhibits at Special Collections:–“Who Freed The Slaves? Emancipation as a Social Movement”–“Stars of the Opera Stage: ‘Golden Age’ Images From The William R. Moran Collection.”

On Display at Special Collections:“Conjuring India: British Views of the Subcontinent, 1780-1870,” featuring il-lustrations from British books represent-ing colonized South Asia from the 18th and 19th Centuries

The Bottom Line | Nov. 6 - Nov. 12

4

Photography

Students and visitors from out of town crowded

the streets of Isla Vista in a celebration of

creativity, hedonism, and mischief.

Above: A bear, a mad scientist, and a Wu-Tang Clan pumpkin carving walk out of a party. Photo by John Clow | Staff Photographer

I V H A L LO W E E N 2 0 1 3

5


Above: A Native American is disgusted by her recent catch.Photo by John Clow | Staff Photographer

Right: Three women await more Halloween fun in IV on Oct. 31.Photo by Bejamin Hurst | Staff Photographer

Above: The street is never too crowded for a selfie.Photo by John Clow | Staff Photographer

Left: Darth Vader has found himself a lady. Photo by John Clow | Staff Photographer

I V H A L LO W E E N 2 0 1 3

6

Arts & Entertainment The Bottom Line | Nov. 6 - Nov. 12

ALBUM REVIEWS:

Want to read the full reviews? Check them out at thebottomline.as.ucsb.edu.

Arcade Fire’s ‘Reflektor’ is Beautifully Bizarre

Photo Courtesy | prettymuchamazing.com

For those who have followed the musical arc of Arcade Fire, their newest double album “Reflektor” is a shocker. The difference between this work and their previous ones is immediate and startling, but if you can get past that ini-tial surprise, “Reflektor” is a transcendentally bizarre and spooky album that will one day be regarded as one of the great iconoclastic rock records of our time. Most people, myself included, probably think of Ar-cade Fire as the playful indie folk band whose instruments’ names sound like they’d make more sense in a Dr. Seuss book than a band that somehow made it into the main-stream. In 2011, their album “The Suburbs” won a Gram-my for Album of the Year, and Arcade Fire inspired the commercial resurgence of their genre. But the nostalgic airiness of “The Suburbs” is strikingly absent in “Reflek-tor,” and their latest album has a captivating descent into a musical—and emotional—underworld in its stead. With the album’s narrative loosely stemming from the Greek tragedy of Orpheus, who ventured to the under-world to bring back his wife Eurydice through song, Ar-cade Fire deals with death, alienation, and loss like never before. The title track perfectly introduces the album, as it shocks the listener with its jarring blend of rock, funk-inspired electronic music, and entrancing Caribbean beat, inspiring with lyrics such as “If this is heaven, I don’t know what it’s for. If I can’t find you there, I don’t care.” The following tracks “We Exist,” and “Here Comes the Night Time” also demonstrate a more existentialist bent that the previously cocksure Arcade Fire has never displayed. Rather than romanticizing, “Reflektor” is more raw and emotional than anything they have done before, with frontman Win Butler singing every emotive lyric as if his life, and that of his love, depends on it. The rawness extends beyond the lyrics and subject...

by Coleman GrayStaff Writer

I’m Dreaming of a Bad Christmas

There aren’t many things less punk than Christmas. The cheer, the merriment, and the joy are an antithesis of the genre’s foundations of anger and rebellion. So when a punk band, let alone one as well-established and respected as Bad Religion, decides to put out a Christmas album, fans were skeptical—and reasonably so. Bad Religion has built itself a reputation of being not necessarily anti-religion, but pro-rational thought and pro-social consciousness. Their 17th studio album, “Christmas Songs,” poses an interesting question to casual listeners and longtime fans alike: Is Bad Religion playing a joke? Signs point to no. All the elements of a classic punk album are there. Clocking in at just over 19 minutes, these are fast, hard-hitting punk songs that just happen to be your grandmother’s Yuletide favorites. That being said, the album as a whole comes off as a bit cliché, but hey—it’s better than Barry Manilow. No one can knock the musical execution of “Christmas Songs,” but the songs themselves are kind of lame. Their rendition of “O come, O come Emmanuel” has the classic sounds of a Bad Religion song, and singer Greg Graffin’s voice is just as iconic, but even a casual Bad Religion fan will hear anything but that; it’s a Bad Religion song trying hard to be a Christmas song. The songs are fun the first go around, until one realize they’re Christmas songs. That’s not to say that the band was going for a real Christ-mas album. They obviously wanted to go in the harder, heavier direction, as heard in “White Christmas”—a song featuring the up-tempo drums, big guitar riffs, and stellar and haunting backing harmonies that the band is known for. “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” show off Graffin’s vocal range and...

by Robert WojtkiewiczSeNiOr LaYOUt eDitOr

THe BOTTOM LIne: 6.5/10

Photo Courtesy | noisecreep.com

THe BOTTOM LIne: 9/10

On Nov. 1, 2013, the Santa Barbara Bowl hosted an exhibit in celebration of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), followed by a spectacular and unforget-table concert. Opening band Rey Fresco enlightened the crowd with their unique mix of reggae-rock along with the sounds of a beautiful harp. Tame Impala followed with their psychedelic rock and mesmerizing visu-als from small LED lights. Headliner The Flaming Lips finished off the performance in support of their recent album, “The Terror.”

KCSB’s Picks of the WeekRATING BAND ALBUM LABEL1 Machinedrum Vapor City Ninja Tune

2 Hiatus Kaiyote Tawk Tomahawk Flying Buddha

3 Arcade Fire Reflektor Merge

4 Unknown Mortal Orchestra

Blue Record Jagjaguwar

5 William Onyeabor World Psychedelic Classics 5: Who Is William Onyeabor?

Luaka Bop

6 Deltron 3030 Event II Bulk Recordings

7 Best Coast Fade Away Jewel City

8 Cults Static Columbia

9 Yamantaka // Sonic Titan

UZU Suicide Squeeze Records

10 Boardwalk Boardwalk Stones Throw

11 Yuck Glow & Behold Virgin EMI

12 John Wizards John Wizards Planet Mu Records

13 Wild Child The Runaround The Noise Company

14 Keep Shelly in Ath-ens

AT HOME PLANCHA

15 Gregory Porter Liquid Spirit Universal Music Di-vision Classics Jazz

Photos by Lorenzo Basilio | Staff PhotographerGiant balloons and confetti started off The Flaming Lips performance at the Santa Barbara Bowl.

Tame Imapala lead singer Kevin Parker entertained the crowd before The Flaming Lips went on.

A flash mob of teenagers appeared halfway through the show in celebration of Day of the Dead.

Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips stands tall above an arrangement of colorful LED strips on stage.

The Flaming Lips Emblazon Santa Barbara Bowl

7

Science & Tech

Your average Internet user isn’t particularly invested in his or her web browser, but I am a Chrome man, and I’ll admit it: I switched from Mozilla Firefox to Google Chrome mostly because of Chrome’s “Reddit Enhancement Suite,” an ex-tension that makes browsing my favorite site that much more intuitive and rewarding. But with the team at Mozilla having released the Lightbeam add-on, I’m tempted to forge a return. Mozilla’s Lightbeam is a Firefox-specific add-on that that reveals to users which first and third par-ties are tracking them in real time. The data that Lightbeam aggregates is presented in easy-to-read visualizations, including a web-like network visual-ization full of visited and third-party sites, a hemi-spherical “clock” that shows the relationship be-tween first and third parties on a time scale, and a list view that also has a setting to block certain sites. The idea behind Lightbeam is to open users’ eyes to the amount of information that is collected from them on a given day on the web. This gave me an idea: switch to Firefox for a day, install and run Lightbeam, and have a normal day surfing the Internet. The results were startling. In the first 12 hours, I visited 31 sites, ranging from Facebook to Reddit to Buzzfeed. These are sites that I actively typed in and surfed. But the number of sites I was connected to was a staggering 117. These are services like Google Analytics and Webtype that companies pay to increase web traf-fic and target advertisements. When you visit a website, it will often store “cookies” in your browser. Cookies are bits of in-formation about you that allow websites to fill in the blanks. When you put an item in your cart on Amazon and hit the “back” button, the item stays in your cart because of a cookie. Think of the track-ing business as cookies on steroids.

When I connect The Atlantic’s website, for ex-ample, Lightbeam shows me that I am also con-nected to 22 third party sites, the names of many being as foreign to me as Sanskrit. That’s because these sites work in the background. Also, many are somewhat obscure to average users, but very well known by websites that want to track their visitors’ information. Scripts and programs working in the background are a significant aspect of how the Internet functions, but they are inherently hidden from users. That’s not to say that Big Brother is watching us on the Internet. Nothing illegal is occurring when you visit a website and a third party accesses some of your information, but Lightbeam makes the in-ner machinations of the Internet more transparent. There are many aspects of the Internet that many simply don’t know about, and tracking is an important one. Another aspect that Mozilla aims to promote is the open-sourced mentality of the Internet and the freedom that many feel should come with it. Lightbeam and other extensions like Google Chrome’s Ghostery allow users to block certain sites from accessing their information. Many of the sites that Lightbeam identifies and can block run in the background of your browser. This presented a question I’m still trying to answer: Am I okay with this? Lightbeam’s rerelease comes at an interesting time for the Internet. With the Cyber Intelli-gence Sharing and Protection Act looming again in Congress, Internet privacy is once again on our minds. For me, nothing really changed in the 24 hours I spent using Lightbeam. I never felt com-pelled to block any sites for feeling like they were encroaching on my privacy or even hindering my web browsing experience. However, the idea be-hind the add-on is interesting and should catch on not only with those that are already a bit more in-formed than your average web surfer, but also with the rest of us who have always wondered just who is watching.

Human personalities vary greatly, but why exactly is that the case? And more importantly, are some traits truly better than others? Profes-sor Michael Gurven, head of an interdisciplin-ary field of anthropology and science at Uni-versity of California, Santa Barbara, sought the answer and published his findings in the journal “Evolution and Human Behavior.” “I’ve been working with the Tsimane since 1999,” Gurven said, “I’ve built trust and learned

the language.” Gurven studies the Tsimane tribe in central Bolivia, an indigenous group of perhaps 600 people, and discovered that in men, extrover-sion was a positive trait to possess. “How do people adapt to the environment? How do people deal with the different kinds of risks of everyday life?” Gurven said of the ques-tions he wanted to answer with his research. “We take things for granted,” he said, refer-

encing health insurance, life insurance, and reli-able supplies of food. Curiously enough, to the hunter-gatherers of the Tsimane tribe, a UCSB college student would be considered the unusual one. After all, the people of the Tsimane tribe live the way hu-mans lived for thousands of years. This is pre-cisely why they are an ideal test group for this kind of research. “It’s a high fertility population – the average woman has nine births over her lifetime,” Gur-ven said, citing seventeen children as the highest number birthed to one woman. “[The Tsimane] people vary as much as they do here,” he said, which allows for personality research to be done. While humans can indeed change their re-sponses in accordance to the situation, we still tend to lean toward one personality trait for most of our lives. Within the Tsimane tribe, men who were extroverted had an advantage over their introverted peers when it came to marrying and having children. Gurven said that this is because the men in their culture actively court women they are interested in. “Over evolutionary time if extroversion is a benefit, why aren’t we all extroverts?” Gurven asked. “What maintains variation over time?” One reason could be the fact that the ideal personality traits vary over time. “We speculate that the best personality is a moving target,” Gurven said. Additionally, extroversion or introversion in

women did not seem to make much of a differ-ence – until geographic location was taken into account. Women who lived closer to the town had more resources available and had higher fer-tility rates, regardless of personality. “It’s easy to see all of the benefits [of being an extrovert], but what about the costs?” Gurven asked. He studies the Tsimane through the scientific lens of evolutionary biology, as well as with a more practical view, especially in terms of health and sickness. Extroverts seemed to be just as healthy as introverts, if not more so; however, “extroverted men were more likely to get into conflicts,” Gurven said. The research results concluded that an extro-verted personality increased fertility for men, and occasionally did so for women. “Selection pressures can change over time and space,” Gurven said, “and changing selection pressures help maintain variation.”

A 24-Hour Experiment with Mozilla’s Lightbeam

The Internet is an odd place. Those of us privileged enough

to access it are mere clicks away from the vast majority of human knowledge, yet we

mostly spend our time looking at our ex’s Facebook pictures or

exploring abysmal life-suckers like Reddit or Buzzfeed. And while we’re looking at what’s basically

nothing, others are looking at us.

One Day in the Light

UCSB Professor Studies the Evolutionary

Impacts of Personality

by Robert WojtkiewiczSeNiOr LaYOUt eDitOr

>LeT THeRe Be LIGHT:

Illustration by Amanda Excell | The Bottom Line

In a demonstration, a new laser communication system by NASA has succeeded in transmitting data from the moon to the Earth at a record-breaking speed of 622 megabits per second (Mbps). This breakthrough moves scientists much closer to a new generation of laser-based space communications. 239,000 miles away, orbiting the moon, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is on a mission to gather detailed information about the moon’s unique atmosphere. Installed on the spacecraft is the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) system developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory. This system uses a pulsed laser beam to transfer data hundreds of thousands of miles between the moon and Earth. The mission of the LLCD system is to “use a highly reliable infrared laser, similar to those used to bring high-speed data over fiber optic cables into our workplaces and homes,” according to NASA. “Data, sent in the form of hundreds of millions of short pulses of light every second, will be sent by the LADEE spacecraft

to any one of three ground telescopes in New Mexico, California, and Spain.” This laser-based space communication system is the first NASA system of two-way communication that uses lasers instead of radio frequencies. Lately, the use of radio frequencies has not been able to meet the data requirements of the agency, leading scientists to look for newer and faster ways of transferring data. If there was ever any doubt that the LLCD is fast, those doubts have now been put to rest. The LLCD system broke download speed records when a

laser transmission of data between the LADEE spacecraft and a ground station in New Mexico clocked in at 622 Mbps. To put this in perspective, the average Internet user in the United Sates has a connection speed of 8.7 Mbps, according to a report recently put out by content delivery network Akamai Technolo-gies. In addition to the fast download speed, the experiment dem-onstrated an impressive upload speed when an error-free data upload rate of 20 Mbps was transmitted from the ground station in New Mexico to the LADEE spacecraft. Badri Younes, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for space communications and navigation, said in a written state-ment that NASA is “encouraged by the results of the demonstra-tion to this point, and we are confident we are on the right path to introduce this new capability into operational service soon.” This high-speed laser communication system will allow for new innovations in space communication technology, such as better image resolution and 3D video transmission. Laser-based space communication may also lead to “the de-

velopment of more efficient and cost-effective space communica-tions equipment,” according to NASA’s website. Another longer-term demonstration mission, called Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), is currently being planned by NASA. The mission, set to launch on a commercial satellite in 2017, has the potential to demonstrate 10 to 100 times higher data rates than standard radio frequency systems and for the same amount of mass and power.

NASA Achieves a Record Download Speed of 622Mbps

—From the Moon

Illustration by Hector Lizarraga | The Bottom Line

by Gilberto Flores

Photo by Benjamin Hurst | Staff Photographer

Mimi Liu Staff Writer

Over evolutionary time if extroversion is a ben-efit, why aren’t we all ex-troverts... What maintains variation over time?

“ “

— Professor Michael Gurven, Integrative Anthropological Sciences Unit at UCSB

Lightbeam’s visually-friendly user interfaces.

>GRAPH >CLOCK


Michael Gurven, UCSB anthropology professor, has spent more than 14 years researching the Tsimane tribe.

Opinions

8

Great novels, TV shows, music, movies, and art have always invited appreciation and passion. Lately, however, there has been a rise in the prominence of fan communities, com-monly known as fandoms. While fandoms have really been around since the earliest book clubs, they have certainly become more popu-larized in the past couple of years. Social media sites such as Tumblr, Reddit, and fan-fiction websites have made communication between fans of any given work much easier while also providing a platform for the creation and dis-play of fan art. These social media sites enable the forma-tion of a community that is passionate about a particular work of art, and the community, in turn, fuels the passion its members feel for the work. Sometimes, that passion leads to the cre-ation of beautiful fan art; other times, it leads to us taking the work of fiction a little too seri-ously. Tumblr user huffleluffagus admits that Tumblr has changed the way she feels about TV shows and books. “I am more passionate about them now that I can talk about them with other obsessed people,” she said. Huffleluffagus also dedicates much of her time to running a play-by-post role-playing website that is inspired by the

work of Tamora Pierce and set in the world of Pierce’s novels. Tumblr has a large number of blogs dedi-cated specifically to one or multiple fandoms, and the majority of posts on these blogs are brilliant examples of digital fan art. Fans are willing to spend an enormous amount of time to create gif sets, digital artwork, drawings, and even fan-fiction that spans dozens of chapters and is sometimes longer than the original work itself. The driving force behind the creation of all this fan art is passion for the original work, passion that is certainly enflamed by the on-line fandom community. And, for the most part, this passion is constructive, and fan art is a creative outlet for emotions. But are those emotions always warranted? Do we sometimes forget that it’s only fiction? Through my own experience on Tumblr, I have witnessed arguments between different fandoms regarding the superiority of one over the other. I have also witnessed very heated arguments within a fandom itself when fans have contradictory opinions about characters or character relationships. I have read several (rather lengthy) posts, containing more exple-tives than sentences, immediately following a character death or a shocking event in a TV show or book. In general, I have noticed that we have started to become too personally invested

in the lives of fictional characters and that the fandom actually encourages this fascination. The question remains, however, of whether this fascination is excessive. While it makes sense that certain exemplary works of art emo-tionally affect people, and that people might want a little escape from everyday life by vicar-iously living through the characters of books and TV, the practice becomes unhealthy when we become so emotionally invested that we start abusing and bullying those who disagree with our opinions online. It is even more troubling when the opinion of a fandom starts to affect the original work. ABC’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” is essentially a revival of character Phil Coulson brought about by popular demand. Across the pond, writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss often place characters Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in situations that suggest a relation-ship between them, even though the series establishes Watson as heterosexual, to placate the fans that “ship Johnlock” in the BBC series “Sherlock.” So, while having a community to discuss TV shows, books, or movies is generally a positive thing, especially when such wonderful works of art result from these communities, we need to be careful how much power we allow these fandoms.

by Pragya Parmita

Fandoms: Too Powerful?The Art of

Perhaps no one combines art, social and political messages, and intrigue better than the enigmatic Brit-ish graffiti artist Banksy, who recently completed a headline-grabbing, month-long exhibition of some of his work in New York City. His stenciled pieces have appeared throughout England and the U.S., depicting themes like class struggle, hypocrisy, greed, anti-war, and anti-authoritarianism, and nearly all of them were done on city walls and buildings. Though many peo-ple admire the visual aspect of his work as well as the populist messages behind them, ultimately, Banksy’s work is glorified vandalism. Its look, style, and themes are not reason enough to justify defacing public and private property. It’s not just the messages of his work and his cre-ative depictions that make Banksy so popular; the utter mystery surrounding his identity, the way he has been able to produce his work without getting caught, and perhaps also his perfectly pulled-off “Screw it, I don’t care what you think of me” mentality all combine to turn him into a virtually unique and unequalled figure in society – the Batman of street art. Because of the nature of his work and character, people are often just fine with letting him go on about his business unim-peded. Many people, I’m sure, also enjoy having readily ac-cessible art. Visual art – which I believe requires skill and/or creativity and involves an attempt at depicting beauty, truth, or some other thought or feeling – is of-ten shut away in a museum where people need money, time, and transportation in order to view it. Art is ar-guably a fundamental expression of our humanity, one that Banksy unapologetically tries to reintroduce back into plain view on the street corner. While I do consider his work art, that doesn’t mean that it is immune to questions of ethics. Another art-ist, Damien Hirst, generated considerable outcry when he unveiled some work of his that involved the killing of 9,000 butterflies. The piece, from a purely aesthetic perspective, is beautiful, but the way Hirst went about producing it does not make it ethically acceptable. With an infinite number of ways to produce visual art, it is more than reasonable to expect modern society to produce it ethically. Though Banksy presumably does not go about killing anyone or anything in order to make his art, he is still defacing others’ property. Some of those whose property he uses may be perfectly fine with it, but obviously, not everyone will appreciate hav-ing their walls used as someone else’s canvas. Banksy cannot know ahead of time whether or not his targets will approve of his work, nor does he seek their permis-sion. Using others in this way for one’s own work does not really constitute ethical art. It doesn’t take much of a stretch of the imagina-tion to see that Banksy’s style of using others’ property without permission could also potentially lead to a “slippery slope” kind of situation. A few people have already popped up attempting to take credit for his work, and it’s not hard to envision others eventually trying to replicate his M.O., leaving even more graffiti and likely not doing as good or evocative of a job. Since he’s become famous, numerous graffiti artists have ap-peared in his own hometown of Bristol as well as his other locations like London, New York, and Los Ange-les. Where do we draw the line between acceptable and unacceptable graffiti art? I would probably be more sympathetic if Banksy’s work effected the social and political change in society he strives for. Though it may be a form of propaganda, the acceptability of his work would be another deal if he could actually initiate these important changes peacefully and responsibly. I’ve yet to hear, however, about the populist reforms his work seeks to generate. Sure, people talk about the messages he tries to impart, but the talk has yet to turn into meaningful action. Whether people just don’t see his objectives as impor-tant enough or their attention spans are just too short to convert momentary inspiration into action, Banksy doesn’t appear to be doing anything truly significant with his art. I greatly admire the man’s creativity and message, but there are more appropriate ways he could go about it. Hanging his own canvas on a wall may lose him some of the gritty defiance that makes him so intriguing and is so characteristic of him, but would still accomplish getting his message out and bringing art back to the masses.

by Sam Goldman

Step aside Bill Nye; your quirky antics and bow tie have sadly become outdated in our high-tech world. Educational applica-tions—you’re in. According to media intelligence firm Magna Global, with 27 per-cent of 3- to 5-year-olds and 43 percent of 6- to 8-year-olds using iPads on a daily basis, applications have become quite familiar terri-tory for young people. Applica-tions made their debut only five years ago, back in July of 2008, for iPhones and iPod Touches. Since the application introduction, the app world has exploded, and app companies are targeting younger and younger users. With an increasing number of youngsters finding themselves face to face with a screen, concern about this phenomenon is also growing. Even though these apps

are intended to improve behavior and make learning enjoyable, are kids actually learning, and is such early exposure harmful to our youth? Einstein famously said, “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” Are we in the process of raising antisocial, technology ad-dicted idiots? Although the concern is under-standable, research indicates that the answer is no. Several studies, including one published last year in the British Journal of Education Technol-ogy, found that game technol-ogy positively impacts learning. In fact, with elementary students learning math, it was found that those who used the technology-based game out-performed those who played the same paper-based version. When it came to read-ing, writing, and even tasks such

as chores, the same pattern arises. Research continues to show that children react positively to tech-nology-based games regardless of the objective, whether it be learn-ing their times-tables or cleaning their room. Dr. Callie Gibbs Black, a board-certified pediatrician with Kai-ser Permanente and tech-savvy mother of two young children, believes that the perks of edu-cational applications go beyond just teaching math and spelling. She argues that interactivity and ease of use are also great for young children, including her own. However, as with everything, proportion is key. Overexposure, inactivity, and parental overuse are drawbacks of this new tech-nology that needs to be kept in mind, according to Black. App-based activities, such as painting, are not a proper substitute for pulling out paper, brushes, and

yes, the mess. This is especially true when it comes to physical ac-tivities. Studies have shown that media overexposure can lead to inactivity, causing childhood obe-sity in older children. However, to take the spotlight off of edu-cational apps, this is the case with any sedentary activity. Another aspect to keep in mind is that these apps are not a replacement for parenting or childcare, and re-lying on them too much can hin-der your child’s interactions. It is hard to argue against the prediction that technology will continue to play a larger and larg-er role in our lives. It is a daunting thought that certain basic activi-ties may at some point be replaced by the latest and greatest gizmo or program. Perhaps Einstein’s concern is real and coming in the not too far off future. It appears, however, that we are safe from his prediction—at least for now.

The App-Brat Complex


by Andrea Webber

Vanda-lism

A few people have already popped up attempting to take credit for his work, and it’s not hard to envision others even-tually trying to repli-cate his M.O.

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From Breaking Bad to Harry Potter—TV shows, books, and movies have inspired fans to come together.

Documents

Volume 8, Issue 5