Suspect arrested on suspicion of sexual assault

Berkeley Police Department arrested Berkeley resident Alphonso Lamont McInnis around 2:12 p.m. Thursday on suspicion of sexual assault, according to a Nixle alert.

Police apprehended McInnis on the 1900 block of University Avenue. McInnis was taken to Berkeley City Jail, where he was booked on several charges of sexual assault and a parole violation.

On April 19, a high school girl was sexually assaulted near the 1500 block of Addison Avenue between 11:00 and 11:30 a.m. BPD was notified of the incident afterward and commenced an investigation into the suspect.

On April 28, an unknown suspect attacked a UC Berkeley student near the intersection of Channing Way and College Avenue at approximately 4:30 a.m. The victim was able to escape into Slottman Hall of Unit 1. The incident was initially reported to UCPD as an attempted robbery, and security footage was shared with the community. After reviewing the footage, detectives determined that the suspect was McInnis.

BPD asks that residents of the 1500 block of Addison Avenue with surveillance cameras review their camera footage. If they have any information, they are requested to contact the Berkeley Sex Crimes Detail at (510) 981-5716.

Revati Thatte is an assistant news editor. Contact her at rthatte@dailycal.org and follow her on Twitter at @revati_thatte.

The Daily Californian

“Where I was born, Cinco de Mayo wasn’t celebrated. It’s not celebrated because it’s a war we actually lost,” said Manuel Mejia Gonzalez, UO student and Ethnic Studies major who was born in Mexico. “The only place that really celebrates it is the city of Puebla, where the battle was actually fought.”

On its surface, Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexico’s victory over the French Empire in 1862, although it has since found new meaning in the United States as a broader celebration of Mexican-American culture. Gonzales says that what originally began as a way for people with Latin American roots to celebrate their own heritage has morphed into an ugly display of negative stereotypes.

Gonzalez is currently the Political Director for UO MEChA, a student organization that focuses on the educational rights of Latinx students. Latinx is a gender-neutral way of referring to people with Latin American descent.

Gonzalez moved to Springfield, Oregon during middle-school. His family in America doesn’t celebrate Cinco de Mayo the way we’ve come to know it in the US.

“We drink on the 16th of September, which is the actual Independence Day of Mexico,” Gonzales said.  

(Image from Facebook)

“I think it would be a little weird if a student wanted to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, considering MEChA doesn’t want to celebrate Cinco de Mayo,” Gonzales said. “And I’m not opposed to having fun. But if you’re going to celebrate something, I would consider having a little context. I’m not asking for an essay or review of the holiday, but think about the images being promoted with this day. It doesn’t benefit the Latinx community.”

On Wednesday, about 80 students and community members learned about the history of Cinco de Mayo and how it has morphed in the US while attending an event at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History.

In 2015, MEChA wrote a letter to the Editor in the Emerald asking that the UO community not appropriate their culture. The letter begins on a light note saying it’s great to celebrate, but it becomes a problem when it’s taken out of context and is offensive.

Maria Gallegos, ASUO president-elect and the external director for UO’s Multicultural Center, compared the celebration of Cinco de Mayo with the Trump Administration’s efforts to deport mexican immigrants.

“You degrade those people and deport those people, but you really enjoy Cinco de Mayo?” Gallegos said. “It’s a strange dynamic,”

Several of the largest student-housing complexes around UO, Including 13th & Olive and Duck’s Village, are hosting events to celebrate the holiday.

Last year, students at Baylor University took appropriating Mexican culture to an extreme and received backlash after dressing in overtly racist costumes. The Emerald reported on it and offered alternative ways to celebrate and support the Latinx community.

—

Edited by Braedon Kwiecien

The post Cinco de Mayo has all but lost its roots in Latinx heritage appeared first on Emerald Media.

For the next two weeks, award-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao will be here in Eugene guest-teaching a cinema studies course on directing. Zhao recently won the inaugural Bonnie Award, which honors a mid-career woman director, at the 2018 Film Independent Spirit Awards. A glowing introduction from filmmaker Ava Duvernay preceded Zhao’s acceptance speech.

Last Tuesday, she participated in a discussion and Q&A on campus at Gerlinger Hall, moderated by Cinema Studies associate department head Priscilla Ovalle, that touched on topics of realist cinema, working with non-actors (both humans and horses) and her own personal history.

Born in Beijing, China, Zhao moved to London for high school, studied American Political Science in college, and eventually earned her graduate’s degree in film at NYU. Her debut feature, “Songs My Brothers Taught Me,” had a microbudget, a crew of only eight people, and took three years to make, but it was still met with acclaim when it premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. Zhao’s latest film, “The Rider,” nabbed four Spirit Award nominations and a win at Cannes Film Festival, and is garnering heaps of critical acclaim, currently holding a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.

During the Q&A, Zhao discussed how she comes from the “Terrence Malick school of filmmaking,” often employing realist techniques to produce documentary-like films that feel poignant and true to life. Instead of creating wholly original scripts, Zhao opts to find real people and build a story around them and their experiences. This often means working with non-professional actors, such as “The Rider” star Brady Jandreau, a cowboy living on the South Dakota Pinewood Indian Reservation. The film explores his tragic experience after a riding accident threatens to end his rodeo career.

“They’re giving you their real lives and their very personal struggles but they’re hiding behind a character that has a different last name,” Zhao said. “To see your story play out from a different character is a really powerful thing.”

Zhao also admitted that she initially harbored romanticized ideas of these Native Americans’ lives, and she had to unlearn the false labels that mainstream media had given them. In doing so, she became close with her actors — Jandreau even chose Zhao to be his daughter’s godmother.  

“I was much more interested in portraying them as human beings rather than issues,” Zhao said. “The connection with them was like, ‘These are my kids. These are my friends.’ And they struggle with the same things that my friends back in China do.”

Zhao’s upcoming work includes directing and writing a biopic on Bass Reeves, the first Black U.S. marshall, and a Western historical epic centering on Native American territories of the 1800s. She has also been in talks to direct Marvel films — during the Q&A she said that her first passion was manga comics — but the indie filmmaker is more at home when working with realism rather than spectacle.

There will be a free screening of “The Rider” next Wednesday, May 9 at 7 p.m. in the EMU Redwood Auditorium, followed by a Q&A with Zhao. Seating is limited and first come first served.

The post Filmmaker Chloé Zhao visits UO to teach directing and discuss her new film ‘The Rider,’ realist cinema, and more appeared first on Emerald Media.

Characters inspired by Yoruban gods will layer with the gritty realism of an impoverished Louisiana town to create the mythical world of the upcoming play, “In the Red and Brown Water.”

Jayongela Wilder, graduate student in directing and the play’s director, said the duality of magic and realism was one of the many ways that the show works to subvert the limited and stereotypical representation of women and people of color in conventional theater. Conscious of the melancholy tone that often pervades work about impoverished communities, Wilder said the characters based on African deities juxtapose harsh realities with a mystical sense of wonder, and in turn, provide a more nuanced and optimistic representation of women and people of color in the show.

“It’s showing in the midst of the grimness … this other America that is usually not in cinema, that’s not normally in theater,” Wilder said. “In the midst of all of the ugliness, as people would say, there is still beauty.”

Graduate student in directing and director Jayongela Wilder stood in for an actress at a rehearsal for "In the Red and Brown Water." (Isa Saalabi/Daily Bruin)

The story focuses on a young student named Oya, inspired by a goddess of the same name, who turns down a college track and field scholarship to care for her dying mother. When Wilder first pitched the idea of directing “In the Red and Brown Water” as her thesis project, she was drawn to Oya’s strength and wanted her directorial choices to highlight Oya’s agency. Despite her circumstances, Oya makes conscious choices and is an active participant in her own story – a deliberate contrast to the typical narrative of a person of color attempting to escape from poverty, Wilder said. For example, when Oya’s track scholarship falls through, she autonomously decides to have a baby as her way of leaving her mark on the world.

“It’s not about, ‘Oh here’s another black female, here’s another person of color in an impoverished neighborhood who tries to make it out of the hood,’” Wilder said. “I want to show that there is agency in all decisions she makes and that she is definitely strong in her decision-making and she’s not a character who’s weak.”

Second-year theater student Aliyah Turner focused on avoiding stereotypes as she prepared her portrayal of Oya. Turner said she initially felt that Oya was being objectified, the same way that black women are objectified by society, when she interacted with her male love interests Shango and Ogun. While rehearsing, Turner said she and the other actors focused on their body movement, and changed the way in which their characters were supposed to interact, shifting the choreography so that her body movements drove the action instead.

“We had a discussion about her having her own agency … how her body reacts to both of them instead of them coming to her and objectifying her,” Turner said. “We had to figure out … what (the playwright) is trying to say with this, is it purposefully stereotypical or can we fight against that and tell the story in a different way?”

Derrick Kemp, a fourth-year African American studies student, plays Shango in the production – one of the love interests for Oya, the protagonist. During interactions with Kemp, Aliyah Turner said she tried to keep her character from being objectified by the male character. (Isa Saalabi/Daily Bruin)

Graduate student in acting Ulato Sam plays one of Oya’s love interests, Ogun. It was through his role as the show’s choreographer that Sam worked to avoid reductive portrayals of African-Americans onstage in the dances that happen organically throughout the show, he said. He drew from a myriad of dance styles that originated from regions of West Africa, East Africa, the Caribbean and America rather than resorting to stereotypes of African-American culture, he said.

“The dances here in the States are way more dynamic and way more interesting than just twerking, but it seems as though (Africans and African-Americans have) been reduced to that,” Sam said. “So for me as a choreographer, finding all these styles, … it’s exposing (audiences) to aspects of the art that they may not have been aware of before.”

Turner said the inclusivity of the show also helps deviates from conventional theater standards since it features a cast comprising predominantly actors of color. The onstage diversity is so integral to the production that it even extends to elements like the set design: The floor of the set is painted with the skin colors of every cast member, she said.

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen this many brown bodies on the stage, … we complete the architecture,” Turner said. “It’s … a feeling of belonging on this stage like I’ve never ever really had before.”

Although the show focuses on the inclusion of women and people of color, Wilder said it is important and accessible for anyone, particularly because of the focus on universal themes such as loss, love and betrayal. By telling a universal story that centers on women and people of color, Wilder hopes to pave the way for more representative stories.

“It’s important for our generation and generations along the line to be able to connect to those stories as well because those stories are included in the human race, they’re included in the world,” Wilder said. “The world is a mixture of everybody – all races, denominations, religions, types of people, genders, age, classes, so it’s like, why not have all of that in the theater?”

Courtesy of Emory

Former Emeritus Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Economics Richard Muth, a pioneer in the field of urban economics, died on April 10 at 90-years-old after battling gallbladder cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cardiovascular problems, according to his wife Helene. Muth is survived by his wife and their two daughters.

Muth taught in Emory’s Economics Department for almost 27 years. His work as chair of the department in the 1980s helped revitalize the department, according to Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Economics Paul Rubin.

Born in Chicago, Muth moved to St. Louis at the age of 14. He served in the United States Coast Guard during his first two years as an undergraduate student at Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.), where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1949. The following year, he received his master’s degree in 1950.  He went on to obtain a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago in 1958.

After earning his doctorate, Muth taught at several universities including Vanderbilt University (Tenn.), University of California, Berkeley, University of Chicago and Stanford University (Calif.) before coming to Emory. Muth served on four different U.S. presidential commissions, including the Presidential Task Forces on Urban Affairs and on Housing from 1980 to 1981 and the President’s Commission on Housing from 1981 to 1982. In 1983, Muth left Stanford for Emory, where he served as chair of the economics department for seven years.

As chair, he oversaw the turbulent department transition from the Goizueta Business School to the College of Arts and Sciences. During the shift, several economics professors were forced to occupy trailers as office space until they could be relocated.

“He tried to keep morale up,” Associate Professor of Economics Leonard Carlson said about Muth during the transitional period. “He tried to rally troops [and] had [the department] over for a party at his house.”

Carlson added that Muth was instrumental in organizing the economics doctoral program at Emory.

“I don’t think [a doctorate program] would have gotten off the ground without a person of that stature,” Carlson said.

Some economists consider Muth to be one of the founders of urban economics, an area of economics that studies city structure, housing and local government finance, according to Rubin. Muth’s book “Cities and Housing: The Spatial Pattern of Urban Residential Land Use” is a classic in the field, Rubin also said.

“He was probably one of the better economists who has ever been at Emory,” Rubin said.

Later in life, Muth spent more time focusing on his spirituality, according to family members and colleagues. At 68, Muth earned his master’s degree in divinity from the Candler School of Theology and taught adult Sunday school.

Outside of academic study, Muth was a football enthusiast and avid traveler, spending time in Italy and Northern Europe with his wife Helene to whom he was married for 62 years.

Even after his retirement in 2002, Muth taught “Economics of Sports” and other courses voluntarily, according department chair and Goodrich C. White Professor Hashem Dezhbakhsh.

Several of his colleagues remember opera music emanating from his office throughout his tenure at Emory.

“He was always studying. Relaxing for him was coming up with football plans or doing equations,” Muth’s daughter Laurie Love said. “Say we were waiting … in a restaurant or something and he’d take out his language flashcards.”

In 2012, Muth published his fifth and final book, “Heretical Economics: An Unconventional Look at Current Economic Problems,” which shifted from a theoretical perspective of economics to a more pragmatic look at the current economic climate, according to his second daughter Lisa Muth.

Lisa Muth said that in the later years of his life, her father’s interests shifted to more practical economic issues plaguing the world.

“Towards the end of his life … he thought we should maybe use our gifts more to contribute to [and] better society instead of … staying in this academic realm and bubble,” she said.

Above all, department colleagues and family members remembered his strong moral compass, exemplary character and dry sense of humor.

“He was just a good guy,” Associate Professor of Economics Christopher Curran said. “Academics are not always good guys, and he was.”

The post Former Economics Professor Dies at 90 Years Old appeared first on The Emory Wheel.

Unfortunately, there’s no getting around those pesky assignments that require a deep analysis of the text your teacher expects you to read.  As a professional on writing B to A range essays without reading every page, here are five tips on how to examine a text, pull out the evidence and write your essay so good, it fools the professor. 

Spotlight on UC Berkeley’s all women theater group, Golden Women

From immigrant identity to murderous mayhem, Golden Women covered a host of topics in their semester showcase last weekend

The Daily Californian

Provost Michael Quick announced the implementation of a two-day break during the Fall semester in a memorandum sent to the USC community Wednesday. The break will take place in October around the eighth week of the semester starting in 2019.

In his memo, Provost Quick acknowledged the Academic Calendar Committee for working to create the new recess, and thanked the Undergraduate Student Government for their advocacy in creating the fall break. He said that while classes will be suspended, USC facilities will remain open.

Last fall, a proposal to implement a fall break was approved by the USG Senate, the Graduate Student Government Senate, the Academic Senate and the Faculty Senate.

USG Vice President Blake Ackerman said the fall break proposal has been a USG initiative for the past few years, and has benefitted from the work of past USG officials, including former presidents Rini Sampath and Austin Dunn.

“It was really about getting all the right campus partners to get on board with it,” Ackerman said. “It’s been a long time in the making.”

The faculty senate previously didn’t approve the break because it believed students would take advantage of the break rather than focus on their mental health. However, USG collaborated with the Engemann Student Health Center to compile data that showed a significant increase in demand for counseling around the eighth week of the fall semester, the Daily Trojan previously reported.

“The problem we face as USC students is that during the stretch from Labor Day to Thanksgiving break, USC students have 56 instructional days without any break,” Dunn said to the Daily Trojan last October. “Without a consolidated midterm schedule and the absence of a break, students soon begin to feel overwhelmed.”

Ackerman said that the fall break is important for students’ mental health.

“The culture around campus becomes very toxic around midterms and finals,” Ackerman said. “We need that time to destress, and its a step in the right direction for the culture we’re trying to create around prioritizing mental health.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This post has been updated to include statements from USG Vice President Blake Ackerman.

The post Provost Quick announces break starting Fall 2019 appeared first on Daily Trojan.

You made it to the end of another year of college, and now you are faced with the gauntlet of tests and presentations.

To help you get through those tedious objectives, here is a playlist to both inspire you to not procrastinate — because we know you are — and to get you hyped to take on those tests and head into summer.

editor@thedailycougar.com

—
“Finals playlist: Make it to Summer” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar

Throughout Oregon’s history, people of color have been systematically excluded. Even in recent decades, the hip-hop community in Portland, mostly comprising of people of color, has had to endure unfair police interventions at their gatherings and shows, the closing of significant venues and general discrimination towards the scene. As the conditions have improved, Oregon’s hip-hop community and history has grown into something to celebrate. This Thursday, Mind Elevations Network, WOW Hall and the Oregon Historical Society will be hosting the Oregon Hip-Hop History Tour to honor Oregon’s largely underappreciated hip-hop scene.

The evening begins at 8 p.m. with multiple events dedicated to remembering, acknowledging and celebrating hip-hop’s impassioned presence in the Beaver State.The purpose of the event is to expose the scene to the many uninformed citizens of Oregon, hoping that it’ll broaden Oregon hip-hop’s audience, according to Michael T. Agnew.  Agnew has dedicated much of his life towards promoting, producing and managing a large portion of the scene.

He is the director of the acclaimed documentary “Lifting As We Climb.” Agnew told the Emerald: “I think many people only listen to mainstream hip-hop and often miss out on great talent right here in their own backyard…if Oregon people knew more about the talent around them maybe they would learn to appreciate our own hip-hop scene here.”

The event begins with a panel discussion with individuals that have been pivotal to the growth and sustainment of the Portland hip-hop scene: Mic Crenshaw, an Oregon hip-hop legend and social activist; Meezilini Tha Messenger, a veteran Christian rapper in the Oregon community; and Agnew. The panel will discuss the four main concepts of hip-hop — emceeing, graffiti art, breakdancing and DJing — in the context of our state. They’ll also discuss the past, the present and the future of hip-hop in Oregon.

After discussing the ins-and-outs of Oregon hip-hop, Crenshaw and Meezilini will give the audience a taste of their music. Crenshaw is one of the most respected rappers and spoken word poets in the Pacific Northwest: He’s won the Portland Poetry Slam Championship and was named the Best Portland Hip-Hop Artist in 2016 by Willamette Week. Meezilini The Messenger is a passionate rapper who combines the 808s and hi-hats of conventional hip-hop with themes of religion and faith. The two performances will likely be many audience members’ first taste of Oregon hip-hop, and it’ll be two of Portland’s finest offering the first impression.

A preview of Agnew’s film, “Lifting As We Climb,” will be shown after the performances. The documentary attempts to explore the ambitions, struggles and dreams of Oregon hip-hop artists, producers, promoters and industry professionals. It delves into Oregon hip-hop history, and offers insight for what’s to come. It took Agnew 10 years to produce the film, and 80 individuals were interviewed in the filmmaking process.

“History is important, so I made this movie to show Oregon and the masses that hip-hop culture is real,” Agnew said.

After the musical performances and movie preview, Agnew will answer the audience’s questions in a Q&A session. “Lifting As We Climb” will be available on the Oregon Historical Society’s website soon after the night is over. Once Agnew gives his final answer, the night will be done, hopefully giving Oregonians enough of their own hip-hop to keep them coming back for more.

Doors open at WOW Hall at 7 p.m. There will be a $5 suggested donation.

Follow Jordan on Twitter @montero_jor.

The post Preview: The Oregon Hip-Hop History Tour is a celebration of culture appeared first on Emerald Media.