Students Push for Bullet Train

In recent months CalPIRG has rallied in support of a high-speed rail system aimed to reduce dependence on oil and to ease traffic congestion in California’s freeways and airports. However, because it is unclear whether the voters will have the option to decide if the high-speed rail is constructed, student activists have begun collecting signatures in an effort to find a place for it on the November 2008 ballot.

The high-speed bullet trains could potentially provide a cost-effective, efficient method of carrying passengers at speeds up to 220 miles per hour, allowing Californians to travel from Los Angeles to the Bay Area in just over two and a half hours. Once construction is completed in 2020, the trains’ route would include stops in San Diego, Riverside County, Orange County, Los Angeles, the Central Valley, Sacramento and San Francisco. The planned voting in November will decide whether the first phase of the project will be implemented. This part of the project would propose that a $10 billion bond would be allotted for the construction of the Anaheim-San Francisco route in 2011.

Elizabeth McDuffe, the former chair of UC Irvine CalPIRG and a second-year history and international studies double-major admits that construction for the project would be costly. However, the cost of the high-speed rail would pay off in the long run.

“The initial costs are expensive, but after, it would cut down significantly on gasoline prices benefiting the average consumer,” McDuffe said.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $40 billion. The proposition of this steep price, especially when California is in the midst of an enormous budget deficit, may be justified by comparing it to other projects aimed at alleviating traffic congestion, including a proposed widening of Central Valley Highway 99, a project that would cost $25 billion for Highway 99 alone. Funds for the high-speed rail project would draw from state, federal and private investors.

McDuffe further emphasized that the high-speed rail would continuously aid the California community, while expanding road construction has its limitations.

“It would cut down traffic space, the freeway space and traffic lanes because we can’t just keep building more freeway lanes,” McDuffe said.

Bullet trains similar to those that would be used on the high-speed rail system in California have already been implemented worldwide, such as in Europe and Asia. The trains would offer passengers a wide variety of compartments, including a café car and a quiet car. The projected cost of passenger tickets is undetermined.

In March, CalPIRG sent 50 students from its campus chapters along the proposed high-speed rail route. These students, who traveled the route by car and bicycle, shared their campaign with the media and discussed why high-speed rail is important and necessary to reducing dependence on road transportation. Placing the high-speed rail initiative as its top priority, CalPIRG supports the campaign by asking for financial and moral support from California leaders.

Dewey Nguyen, a second-year biological sciences major who previously volunteered for CalPIRG, stated that, while he had not worked specifically on the high-speed rail effort, he supports the use of any environmentally friendly energy source.

“Its environmentally friendly [so] it sounds pretty good. … [It] saves a lot of gas and money and everything else,” Nguyen said.

Summer Bowie, a fourth-year dance major who regularly volunteers for CalPIRG, stressed the impact of high-speed rails on the everyday lives of Californians.

“Its going to stop at every main California city so that people can start using it … to both get to destinations and to and from work,” Bowie said.

Outside of individual consumers, bullet trains would also benefit California’s economy and save an estimated 5 million barrels of oil as well as reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. This reduction would be equivalent to removing over one million vehicles per year from the roads.

The environmentally-friendly trains would reduce dependence on foreign oil and contribute to cleaner air. The trains would also create over 600,000 permanent and temporary jobs, reducing currently rising unemployment rates. In addition to improving traffic flow, the high-speed rail system would also relieve airport congestion by reducing the volume of air passengers traveling between California metropolitan areas.

While stopping throughout various areas of California that are currently inaccessible through public transportation, the high-speed rail would have limitations. For example, although the trains would travel through protected areas of the Merced grasslands, they would not stop in this region.

The trains are a gamble for taxpayers: a chance stands for the high-speed rail system to fail to attract passengers, deepening the budget crisis. However, the risks involved may be worth the benefits as between now and 2020, rising gas prices will continue, drivers will continue to depend on automobiles and freeways will continue to devour drivers’ time and gas money.

In their efforts to put the construction of the high-speed rail in motion, CalPIRG members table on Ring Mall weekly. During this time, volunteers ask those passing by to sign postcards, signifying that they want the option to vote for the rail’s construction on the official California state-voting ballot.

“It would be great if everyone could just sign one of the postcards. Just by signing the post cards you’re giving a chance to get on the ballot for November. You’re not saying yes or no to it, but you’re just giving the voters a chance to decide,” McDuffe said.

-- Published in the New University on May 5, 2008

Battle for Wayzgoose Stage

Music graced the Student Center Terrace on Tuesday, April 15, as five UC Irvine bands vied for a spot on the Wayzgoose stage during ASUCI’s annual Battle of the Bands.

Nouveau’s unique brand of pop-rock was well-balanced and upbeat. The band opened the show with poppy tunes and delivered a characteristically strong performance. The refreshingly talented group of sophomores utilized bouncy keyboard and flute solos alongside energetic guitar riffs to create bubbly, radio-ready hits. Vocalist and keyboardist Ashley Holm’s indie, country-style voice drove the band, maintaining a danceable vibe and capturing the crowd’s attention with fun, catchy hooks. Meanwhile, the bassist and drummer laid down a solid foundation and contrasting harmonies.

San Diego-based band Fussé’s performance was characterized by dance-y jazz piano and alternative rock, as the tenor saxophonist’s bluesy solos accompanied catchy keyboard parts. The band’s indie vibe was shaped by bouncy, dynamic guitar melodies. UCI band The Sessions opened its set with an alternative rock cover of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” then shifted between indie pop-rock and hard rock for a foot-tapping, danceable beat. Electrified guitar riffs complemented the vocalist’s unique voice.

Kearsey blended a wide range of musical styles, including hip- hop, alternative rock and funk. The lead guitarist laid down Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rage Against the Machine-inspired riffs, while the DJ integrated the hip-hop technique of scratching on the turntable. The lead guitarist and the drummer eased the group’s transition between different musical styles; the drummer flaunted his musical chops as he effortlessly switched from rock to jazz to funk. The band’s bass-heavy songs steered the group toward a funk sound. Fourth-year vocalist Bentley Chang included politically inspired hip-hop lyrics, as well as more traditional hard-rock songs in his vocal repertoire.

Jebel captured the judges’ attention and the crowd’s interest with its solid performance and mostly mellow songs. The band’s style was reminiscent of The Smashing Pumpkins’ ballads, while its fast-paced songs seemed inspired by Tool and Radiohead. The band showcased its Incubus-influenced lead guitar melodies and Rufus Wainwright-style vocals in its expressive, emotive songs. Jebel’s ability to hold the judges’ attention allowed them to steal the grand prize at the Battle of the Bands, and win the opening spot in the Wayzgoose lineup on Saturday.

Rock for Darfur

Rock for Darfur, a benefit concert for refugees in the Darfur area of western Sudan, played to a sparsely populated Crystal Cove auditorium on Wednesday night. The event was organized by the Darfur Action Committee (DAC), a campus student activist organization. The DAC held a Rock for Darfur event last year and decided to host the concert again this year because they enjoyed the event last year and felt that it was a successful way to raise funds for Darfuri refugees. In the past, the DAC has donated to international refugee aid groups and has persuaded the UC Regents to withdraw aid from the Sudanese government, which supports the Darfur genocide.

Los Angeles singer-songwriter Molly Marlette opened the concert with well-crafted indie-folk-pop songs from her EP “The Allumette”. Her bluesy, folksy vocals were reminiscent of Sara Bareilles and Jenny Lewis, and her expressive lyrics transcended typical, sappy, bubblegum-pop lyrics. UCI rock band Nouveau captured the crowd with their catchy, upbeat pop-rock tunes and sense of humor. Second-year Ashley Holm’s smooth, indie-meets-country vocals and energetic keyboard melodies created catchy, dance-y songs. The event was not heavily publicized; “We heard about it through friends and members of the DAC,” says Holm. Jebel closed the show with fast-paced hard rock songs. The UCI band blended several musical styles, including metal, ‘60s hard rock, and prog rock to create a funky, Tool-meets-Smashing Pumpkins-meets-Deftones-meets-Radiohead sound. Long instrumental solos reminiscent of Incubus, squealing guitar riffs and psychedelic videos playing on a background screen characterized the band’s performance. “We joined the Darfur Action Committee when it formed a few years ago, so we’re pretty dedicated to this cause,” says UCI fourth-year and Jebel bassist Robert Petrossian. “We had a lot of fun playing this event last year, so we decided to do it again,” he says.

In 2003, two African rebel groups began fighting the Sudanese government under the claim that the government favored Arabs over non-Arabs. Sudanese government officials responded by sending an Arab militia group, the Janjaweed, into Darfur to bomb and burn the area and commit mass murder and rape of non-Arabs in the area; this ethnic cleansing is estimated that between 200,000 and 500,000 victims. Darfur refugees have set up camps across the Sudanese border in Chad, but recently the Janjaweed has infiltrated these camps, leaving thousands of refugees with no safe haven to flee to. Pastor Harun Kimani from Kenya spoke of the dire situation in Darfur and of the physical and emotional trauma the refugees are struggling to survive. “They are really, really traumatized,” Kimani says of the refugees. “Their destiny and identity have been robbed of them.”

All proceeds from the event will go toward the purchase of fuel-efficient stoves for the refugees. Currently, refugees spend countless hours in a futile search for scarce firewood; the solar stoves, which cost $30 apiece, will burn 75% less wood, allowing the wood to burn up to seven hours longer. The stoves will be assembled in Darfur, creating jobs for the impoverished refugees. Last year, Rock for Darfur raised roughly $1000; this year, the group expects to exceed that amount.

--Published in the New University on April 14, 2008

sticks and stones

The wind whips her paprika-colored hair around; she squints as strands fly across her coffee-bean-colored eyes and adhere to her lip gloss. The cold arouses the hairs on her forearms, making them stand stick-straight on top of little goosebump bases. The twang of hurt in her voice resonates like a tuning fork struck at the wrong angle. Hot, dry air circulates through the streets of Glendora, California; it is deserted and she is the only person around. It's December 31st, a date that has absolutely no effect on her mood or actions. When the clock strikes midnight, the rest of the world resolves to change their lives, to hate more and love less, to end their abusive relationships; she makes no such promise.

Glendora is a ghost town this time of day, and California Interstate 210 is five lanes of winding open road, of endless horizon. She speeds down the middle lane in her white 1994 Volkswagen Jetta towards the freedom she craves but will never have. The four lanes that cradle her car on either side beg her to emancipate herself, to rid her life of his emotional abuse, but she is trapped in his web of lies and strapped in the driver's seat, racing towards destinations she never wanted to go to in the first place.

After driving for hours on his bad directions, she arrives at his house. Even though less than twenty-four hours have passed since she saw him last, she bounds up his front steps and eagerly knocks on the door. His charming baritone voice sails from the back of the house through the door as he yells, "Come in!" She meanders past the piles of pizza bones and dirty laundry in his living room before pausing in the doorway of his bedroom, the front door slamming behind her. Peaches is playing on the stereo. He is naked, his tan, chiseled body thrusting on top of two equally tan, buxom dancers. He takes a break from his double life long enough to wipe the sweat off of his face with a T-shirt she left at his house, look up at her, and sigh exasperatedly. He walks over to where she stands, still shocked and stung, wraps his arms around her waist, and coaxes her sweetly. "Come on, baby, if you really loved me, you'd get with them."

Her almost perfect body trembles. One of the dancers shouts, "Would you fuck me? 'Cause I'd fuck me."
"You failed to mention them," she says matter-of-factly. "These porn stars make me sick, but you make me sicker." Her voice, viscous and transparent as honey, floats mellifluously through the room. His eyes plead with her and tell her that deep down, he loves her and would never hurt her. It is a lie. She sighs, strips off her dress, and joins the brunette dancers on the bed. "I'm just your sidebet," she mutters. He always takes advantage of her, and she always loves to play the victim.

She lights a Lucky Strike cigarette on his back porch, her arms wrapped around her knees. She picks up her phone and dials a number so rarely used it's almost forgotten. "Hi, Mom," she whispers, her voice small and thin. "I know, I know, I should find someone better for me... but you always said we were born this way. To be masochists." Tears stream down her face as her complaints travel past the punctures in the receiver, through the wires to the other end of the line in Las Vegas, and into the heart and mind of someone who honestly doesn't give a fuck. The salt-stained cheeks, the empty pack of cigarettes and the cheap, used feelings of worthlessness: this is all a pattern, a road she's traveled before, and she knows that, once she leaves, she will come back for more and do it all over again.

Hours later, she pulls up to his house, its familiar chipped white paint and weed-laden yard beckoning her to come up the the door. She rings the bell before noticing a note stuck in the hinges of the screen door. Scribbled in black Sharpie, it reads, "My dear Jenny: Sorry, angel, went to Reno," with two smiley faces at the end mocking the sharp tears that appear in her soft eyes and the lump of flesh that swells in her throat.

It's almost twelve, and her ivory thighs stick uncomfortably to the red vinyl booth seat in her favorite Denny's. She pulls down the skirt of her yellow minidress so it covers her knees, crosses her ankles under the table and picks at her cuticles out of mindless habit. "Another year," she sighs nervously, "I need a sundae."

--Unpublished