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Cal rallies in Pac-12 tournament before falling to UCLA

Theo Wyss-Flamm/Senior Staff

Cal headed down to Scottsdale, Arizona on May 25 to play UCLA in the Pac-12 tournament, having defeated Utah to clinch its berth five days prior. The double-elimination tournament gave Cal a longshot chance of postseason play –– the unranked Bears would have had to win the tournament while up against elite foes like No. 2 Oregon State, No. 4 Stanford and No. 20 UCLA.

Despite the stiff competition, Cal got postseason conference play underway with flying colors. Junior outfielder Dylan Beavers opened the scoring against the Bruins with an inside-the-park home run in the third inning after the flight of the ball was misjudged by UCLA’s Carson Yates.  The Bears’ star freshman Rodney Green Jr. followed it up with a bomb to right field in the next frame.

The Bears scored two more runs in the fifth inning to stretch their lead to four, including another run from Beavers, who found home plate thanks to junior infielder Keshawn Ogans’ sacrifice fly.

As the Bears’ batters were hard at work, junior Josh White put in a stellar pitching performance on the other end, holding the Bruins scoreless through all seven innings that he pitched. He struck out eight batters. Junior Joseph King gave the Bears two innings of relief –– he gave up one run, but did enough to close out the Bears’ massive 4-1 win.

Following its victory over UCLA, Cal headed to the winner’s bracket of the Pac-12 tournament to play against Oregon State. Oregon State, ranked No. 2 in the nation, defeated Cal during the regular season in a late March series.

In a defensive showdown, the Bears saw history repeat itself in Scottsdale. Oregon State pitchers Cooper Hjerpe and Reid Sebby proved insurmountable for the Bears. Their ingenuity on the mound kept the Bears silent, even though the blue and gold frequently threatened to score –– Cal hit 0-7 with runners in scoring positions, including a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the fifth inning. Oregon State took the game 3-1 to force a Cal rematch against UCLA.

Sitting 1-1 in the Pac-12 tournament, the Bears played UCLA to stay alive in postseason play.  This time, both teams’ bats caught fire early –– starting with fifth-year infielder Hance Smith’s first inning homer, his tenth home run of the season. UCLA held steady against Cal’s early barrage thanks to a crucial fourth inning that saw the Bruins score three runs and take their first lead of the game. In the bottom of the same frame, the Bears loaded the bases and scored their own flurry of runs to reclaim the lead at 7-5.

But just as the game looked to descend into a slugfest, both teams’ bats went quiet, going scoreless for three innings. UCLA broke the deadlock to tie the game in the eighth frame, but the Bears had no response, so the teams headed to extra innings.

With the momentum fully in the Bruins’ favor, UCLA took the game in the tenth inning –– it scored two runs that proved insurmountable for Cal, by then devoid of hitting confidence. UCLA won the game 9-7 after ten innings to end the Bears’ 2022 campaign.

Cal’s loss to the Bruins marks the end of an up-and-down season for the Bears. Cal finally found its rhythm late into the season, putting together seven consecutive victories before its loss to Oregon State in the Pac-12 tournament. The momentum that the Bears picked up proved timely, as it fueled their postseason run, which, while brief, was one they can certainly be proud of.

For the Bears, whose success and failure were never quite clear-cut, as they frequently lurched from massive wins to sobering and frustrating losses, the bittersweet ending to the season seems fitting.

Colin Mequet covers baseball. Contact him at cmequet@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian

Brett Bonneté/The Cougar

Critical race theory is vital to society. Without it, racism and its institutional effects on society will continue to damage minorities. 

Conservatives spare no time in creating false narratives of the indoctrination of wide-eyed youth via a liberal public education system. 

This indoctrination has recently taken form in what conservatives like to call critical race theory. 

To understand the inner workings and implications of critical race theory, there needs to be an understanding of its purpose. 

The goal of critical theory is to indefinitely alter society so that the oppressed are no longer entrenched by the discriminatory methods imposed on them in a society that does not even recognize their suffering.

Some forms of critical theory posit the average person as a victim of this oppression. Societal norms have been created to keep them from living in absolute freedom and understanding the world.

Examples of critical theories that are widely known include Marxism, postmodernism, feminism, queer theory, crip theory and psychoanalytic criticism. 

There also exist many forms of critical theory that revolve around systems that oppress minorities including feminism and queer theory for instance. 

Very much like the latter, critical race theory is the approach to society that seeks to bring to light systems of oppression that are created by assumptions made by the oppressor regarding race.

In critical theory, there must be a power structure that unjustly targets a group at hand. In critical race theory, this power structure is white supremacy. 

Critical race theorists are those who seek to explain the many ways through which the intersection between race and law in America keeps minority peoples from accessing society. 

One of these explanations includes race as a cultural concept that is invented by white people to segregate against and oppress people of color.

There are many ways through which these theorists go about breaking down and naming the means through which this oppression is transgressed. Many call upon intersections between gender, race or essentialism. 

This is the definition in the most layman of terms which can seem complicated to many. 

Recently, younger generations of teachers are unafraid to approach conversations with students about the harsh truth that there weren’t two equal sides to the Civil War. 

Because of this, alt-right parents are starting to believe that their students are being taught to feel white guilt and that the United States was born of racist roots. 

This outrage was also put at the forefront of these parents’ minds when former President Donald Trump focused on the 1619 Project, a project launched by New York Times Magazine that aimed to rewrite history by changing the narrative to one that is truly reflective of its racist history.  

“Students are being subjected to a new curriculum designed to brainwash them,” said Trump. He, as well as his followers, believe that critical race theory is un-American and twisted. 

This outrage is simply a reactionary response to white supremacist ideology being pulled from history lessons across America where the colonizing actors are no longer being treated as war heroes.

Teachers should continue to teach their students about critical race theory as it is at the forefront of America’s history.

Critical race theory is necessary to build a society that can view their wrongs and face them rather than pushing them under the rug.

Without it, white supremacists will continue to pretend nothing ever happened and praise their war heroes for their senseless actions against minorities.

Brett Bonneté is a political science junior that can be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

—
“Critical race theory is important, should be taught in schools” was originally posted on The Cougar

Artist Keshi appeals to energetic Boston crowd during HELL/HEAVEN tour.

University of Utah student Samantha Simonich’s rejected parking ticket appeal and subsequent safety concerns are a firsthand account of female-identifying students experiencing the inadequacy of proper safety on campus.

On March 23, at around 9 p.m., Simonich, a student at the U since 2016, drove around campus in the dark, desperately looking for a spot to park her car in order to drop off books to her partner at the Marriott Honors College.

 “I drove around for what felt like forever,” Simonich said. “I checked the Marriott lot. I checked the Kalhert lot. I drove through the Huntsman lot.” 

Despite having a pass to park legally on campus, Simonich could find no space to do so. With a dead phone and no available parking spots, Simonich noticed it was too dark and too late to walk alone at night from a lot across campus. She decided to park her car illegally to avoid the darkness. 

Gone for only five minutes to meet her partner who was waiting at the door, Simonich returned to her car to find a $30 fine awaiting her.

“I came back out and there was parking enforcement right next to my car, having already given me a ticket,” Simonich said.

The following morning, she issued an appeal to the ticket on the basis of safety.

“If my phone hadn’t been dead I would’ve asked him [her partner] to come out and pick them [the books] up … I had no way of telling him,” Simonich wrote in her appeal. “After everything that’s happened on campus, as a woman I did not feel safe to park in the institute lot and walk over alone. I was only inside for five minutes.” 

Her appeal was rejected just two days later. 

“Responsibility for finding an authorized parking space rests with the motor vehicle operator,” the appeal judgment stated. 

The judgment went on to suggest Simonich should have called for assistance, despite her appeal stating that her cell phone had been dead. 

“Just tell the dispatcher where you are and request an escort to a particular campus location,” the judgment stated. 

Nicole Tatom, associate director of Commuter Services, said that safety is taken into consideration when considering appeals, but expressed the need for balance considering recent incidents in which cars were parked in areas marked for emergency vehicles.

 “We do try to take safety into consideration,” Tatom said. “But there’s a balance there, right?”

In response to Simonich’s phone being dead, Tatom mentioned the U’s campus emergency lines. 

“Depending on where they’re located on campus there are phones around campus for emergency use,” Tatom said. “So if someone on campus doesn’t feel safe, that is what those phones are for.” 

However, having been a student at the U for six years now, Simonich has seen many unfortunate results of being in an unsafe environment on campus. Listing several sexual assault warnings — the killing of ChenWei Guo in 2017 and Lauren McCluskey in 2018 — Simonich elaborated on why she feels a cloud of uncertainty when it comes to being a student on the U’s campus.

“I don’t think I have ever really felt safe on campus,” Simonich said. “I woke up countless mornings to alerts.” 

Regarding the suggestion to call a campus police escort despite her dead cell phone, Simonich explained her understanding of the U’s campus police based on the incidents she has witnessed unfold during her time on campus. 

“In my history here the campus police haven’t done great work,” Simonich said. “I don’t feel like I’ve ever really been given a reason to trust them because everything that I’ve heard has been bad. Just like cut and dry, it’s been bad.”

The controversy around the campus police and safety policies isn’t just gossip between students. An organization called Unsafe U even called for the dissolution of the department in 2020. A recent state audit also found issues with the campus police, including instances of delayed crime reporting.

Regarding her ticket, Simonich sees an underlying injustice in the U’s practice. 

“I did this for my own safety,” Simonich said. “After all the events, the U has been touting how important safety is to them. And then the minute I get a parking ticket … they’re like, ‘Oh well.’”

The experience has left Simonich feeling frustrated at the lack of good options to protect herself. 

“I cannot be the only person who is absolutely infuriated — my voice is just adding,” Simonich said. “No matter how many good choices I make, I’m still in danger.”

r.kloepfer@dailyutahchronicle.com

@rachelkloepfer

The post Female Student’s Parking Ticket Appeal Denied Despite Expressing Safety Concerns appeared first on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

UC joins program to improve diversity in STEM, medicine

Anthony Angel Peréz/Senior Staff

The SEA Change program is part of the UC system’s 2030 goal to improve diversity and help more students earn degrees in STEM and medicine.

University of California leaders announced May 24 the decision for all 10 campuses to join the STEMM Equity Achievement Change program, or SEA Change, an initiative to improve diversity, equity and inclusion in science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine, or STEMM, fields.

Administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, SEA Change is a program that aims to transform institutions’ STEMM programs into ones where diversity, equity and inclusion are the norm.

“We stand up separate interventions or programs to try to address some problems that we have in regards to access or opportunity,” said Shirley Malcom, senior advisor and director of SEA Change. “Why can’t we change structures and ways that it is normative to expect that we will see diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, justice.”

UC Irvine, UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz have already shown immense progress in welcoming and retaining a more diverse faculty as well as students from underrepresented groups since becoming charters for SEA Change, according to UC Office of the President spokesperson Ryan King. Due to the positive results, the university decided to participate in this program at a systemwide scale, becoming the first to do so in the United States.

King added that this will serve as one step toward achieving the UC 2030 goal, an ambitious plan established in 2019 to help more students earn degrees.

“This effort is further meant to complement, integrate, and enhance existing initiatives already underway across the University,” King said in an email. “Our newest systemwide initiative to transform the future professoriate — Growing Our Own and Diversifying Ph.D. Pathways — will benefit from universitywide participation in SEA Change and its self-assessment model.”

With the assistance of the SEA Change team, campuses will complete a self-assessment by examining current data and identifying problem areas, according to Malcom. Next, they will establish measurable goals regarding recruitment and retention and implement them over a few years. Lastly, they will measure results and participate in external review and assessment for an opportunity to earn awards from SEA Change.

While Malcom said improvements relating to diversity, equity and inclusion are necessary across all fields in all institutions, there have been particularly difficult barriers and issues within STEMM.

“If you look at physics, we have been trying for decades and decades through special projects, programs, initiatives to move the needle for women and people of color and it just hasn’t happened,” Malcom said. “It is an opportunity to take some of the more challenging areas and lead with those challenges and begin to accrue benefits across the institution.”

Contact Erica Jean at ejean@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian

UH track and field tabbed nine entries into the NCAA Championships after sending 21 contenders to the West Regional competition. | Courtesy of UH Athletics.

UH track and field had a busy weekend after taking part in the NCAA West Regional competition, tabbing nine entries into the NCAA Championships in the process after initially sending 21 total contenders.

Day one of the competition began Wednesday, where senior pole vaulter Antonio Ruiz became the first Cougar to punch his ticket to the NCAA Championships after recording a 5.39 meter clearance, making him one of 11 total qualifying participants to advance.

After the quarterfinals took place Thursday, the Cougars saw nine more entries Friday after an impressive showing from the mens track and field unit.

The team of senior Jordan Booker, sophomore Dylan Brown, senior Edward Sumler IV and sophomore Shaun Maswanganyi were the first to qualify after recording their season-best time during the men’s 4×100-meter relay with a time of 38.71.

To follow, Sumler and Maswanganyi also qualified for the 100 and 200-meter.

Sumler recorded 10.08 in the 100-meter and a personal record of 20.50 in the 200-meter and Maswanganyi recorded a 10.12 in the 100-meter and a 20.53 in the 200-meter.

Another pair of entries were punched after freshman De’Vion Wilson and graduate Quivell Jordan-Bacot took part in the 110-meter hurdles, with Wilson recording a 13.53 and Jordan-Bacot a personal best 13.64.

Jordan-Bacot continued his day in the 400-meter hurdles, setting a school record after recording the best time in the region clocking in at 48.72.

Friday was concluded with the 4×400-meter relay, where the team of junior Trey Johnson, graduate Tyrell Valentine, Booker and Jordan-Bacot were able to qualify after recording a season-best as a team with a time of 3:03:83.

Johnson and Valentine were new entries for UH, bringing the total to eight going into Saturday.

The West Regionals finished with women’s competition on Saturday and UH was able to add one last player to their running total after senior Naomi Taylor recorded the third-fastest regional time in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 12.81.

Taylors qualification brought the Cougars total to nine on the weekend, the NCAA Championships will take place at the University of Oregon from June 8-11.

sports@thedailycougar.com

—
“UH track and field qualifies nine for NCAA Championships” was originally posted on The Cougar

The United States Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court on April 7. Jackson made history as the first Black woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court.

Jasmin Clardy, the advisor for the Black Student Union at the University of Utah, said she has felt the excitement from Black students on campus in response to seeing themselves represented “in a space of prestige and power.”  

She said that although Jackson’s nomination is a small victory in the grand scheme of things, it is monumental for what it represents, which is the possibility for others to follow in her footsteps. 

“It means that change can occur,” Clardy said. “[Jackson] can only do so much but if we have one set of change at the top … once we get one foot forward, that means we can take another step.” 

The Supreme Court is the highest tribunal in the nation, made up of nine justices. When there is a vacancy in the court, the president can nominate someone to fill the position. The nominee must be confirmed by the Senate through a simple majority. Once confirmed, they hold the position for as long as they choose.

President Joe Biden had made a promise during his campaign to appoint a Black woman to the Supreme Court. When Justice Stephen G. Breyer announced his plans to retire in January 2022, President Biden was given the opportunity to fulfill that promise.

Mason Moore, president of College Democrats at the U and College Democrats of Utah, supported Biden’s promise to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court. Moore, a third-year political science student, said he felt there is a benefit to valuing the identity of a person for government roles, as it ensures the government truly represents all of its people. 

“Everyone in this country has a different background, has a different perspective on the issues and if we don’t have those backgrounds and those perspectives present at every level of government, then our government isn’t going to be as effective as it could be in its mission, serving the people,” Moore said. 

Clardy said another aspect of Jackson’s appointment that makes it so special is not only that she is a Black woman, but a Black woman of darker tone with dreads, which goes beyond the narrow representation that is usually afforded to Black people. 

“This woman having a darker tone even still brings forth an accomplishment of sorts because typically in history, fairer skin has gotten you a type of acceptance … we want to see all of us [represented], not some of us,” Clardy said. 

Jackson’s Unique Perspective

Moore said his personal reaction to Jackson’s confirmation, as well as the reaction of College Democrats at the U and across the state, was excitement. 

He said the excitement came from the historic nature of Jackson’s nomination and the “win” it represented for Democrats, but also from witnessing Jackson’s personal attitude towards her job as a justice. 

“It became pretty apparent in her confirmation hearings that she views her job less as espousing a judicial philosophy, like some justices do, and more about making fair and reasonable and sensible decisions,” Moore said. “And reasonable and sensible isn’t really something that we see a lot in modern politics. So it felt exciting, like a breath of fresh air.” 

Prior to her nomination, Jackson served as a judge in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Another part of Jackson’s background which has made her stand out is her experience practicing as a public defender, someone who represents defendants who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer.

The unbalanced representation between former prosecutors and former defense attorneys in federal judiciary positions is a well-documented phenomenon. Jackson is the first former public defender to serve on the Supreme Court and the first former criminal defense lawyer to serve in 25 years.

Political Polarization and Criticism

Justices are expected to be unbiased, but there has been a longstanding history of U.S. presidents using their power to nominate justices who align with their political beliefs. 

However, this doesn’t mean justices always vote the way people expect. Republican president Dwight D. Eisenhower would call his nomination of Chief Justice Earl Warren — who delivered the opinion on Brown v. Board of Education which made segregation of public schools illegal — “the biggest damn fool mistake I ever made.”

The confirmation of Jackson was as politically divided as ever, with three Republicans in the Senate joining Democrats to vote in favor of her nomination.

Moore was not surprised by the lack of Republican support for Jackson. He said it was not so much about the nominee and more so about the general trend of polarization across party lines. 

“Honestly I would be surprised to see a nomination fight that crossed party lines,” Moore said. 

Clardy felt the criticism political opponents directed at Judge Jackson during her confirmation hearings was unfair and came from a place of judgment rather than a place of actual concerns about whether she could do the job. 

She felt it is also part of a broader pattern in which people of color considered for a role are expected to meet higher standards of absolute perfection to be deemed fit, referencing Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama as other examples.

“You have to be a perfectionist because no one that looks like you has ever done this position so we can’t even depend on you unless you’re perfect,” Clardy said. 

Far-reaching Impacts

Moore called the appointment of Supreme Court justices “one of the most important political processes” in the U.S. 

“There is nothing that can shape the future quite like a new Supreme Court justice can,” Moore said. “They are appointed for a lifetime. Any Supreme Court nomination is absolutely critical if you’re talking politics.” 

Moore said the recent leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion in support of overturning Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision which protects the right to an abortion, highlights just how much impact the justices can have on policies.

He said justices can influence policy with their power to strike down or uphold laws on the basis of whether they are constitutional and, in cases like Roe v. Wade, set precedents for what is considered constitutional.

“In Roe v. Wade, the court upheld that we have an implicit right to privacy in the Constitution,” Moore said. “The Constitution never explicitly says that we have a right to privacy, but so many of the rights that it does outline are fundamentally predicated on privacy, that the Court said that we as Americans have a fundamental constitutional right to privacy, and that has branching effects. Their words effectively become constitutional law.” 

Clardy emphasized the lasting power of Jackson’s confirmation in giving young Black people hope that their aspirations can be achieved. 

“Understanding that a Black woman with dreads is now taking a public office … you can make statements like ‘I want to be Supreme Court justice, I want to be president, I want to be vice president,’ and it actually means something, and it can be done, instead of it being just words that we speak and never something that we can accomplish,” Clardy said. 

Jackson is set to become a justice in late June or early July, at the end of retiring Justice Stephen Breyer’s current term.

a.khatri@dailyutahchronicle.com

@a_khatri_news

The post U Community Reacts to Confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court appeared first on The Daily Utah Chronicle.

CA Gov. Gavin Newsom tests positive for COVID-19

(Photo by Gage Skidmore under CC BY-SA 2.0.) California Gov. Gavin Newsom has tested positive for COVID-19.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom tested positive for a breakthrough case of COVID-19 on Saturday morning after experiencing mild symptoms, according to a statement from his office.

The statement added that Newsom is taking the antiviral pill Paxlovid and that he is currently in isolation, where he will continue work remotely. Newsom will isolate until he tests negative for COVID-19, and at least through Thursday.

Newsom is fully vaccinated and received a second COVID-19 booster vaccine May 18, according to the statement.

Riley Cooke is a deputy news editor. Contact her at rcooke@dailycal.org, and follow her on Twitter at @rrileycooke.

The Daily Californian

USC has improved its relationship with Los Angeles County after years of disagreements regarding the management of the L.A. County-USC Medical Center. Since 2019, officials at LAC+USC have accused USC of breaching the contract between the two parties, the L.A. Times reported. Accusations include double-booking doctors at LAC+USC and Keck Hospital and understaffing in multiple departments. 

“Through open and candid communication, we have made substantial progress in addressing the highly complex financial and accounting issues that have arisen under our contract at LAC+USC Medical Center,” the University said in a statement to the Daily Trojan. “We look forward to building on our strong relationship with the county to address the medical needs of some of L.A. County’s most diverse and underserved populations.”

While USC officials have recognized staffing issues that have since been resolved, they have denied breaching the contract. They have additionally claimed L.A. County leaders have been hostile and continuously brought up past conflicts. The disagreement is documented in a series of lengthy letters exchanged between officials representing both parties.

Tensions between L.A. County and USC rose after a 2019 contract shifted doctors’ compensation to an hourly wage rate, which is not usual for doctors, Shapiro told the L.A. Times. Months after the contract went into place, LAC+USC Chief medical officer Dr. Brad Spellberg informed the University that it was failing to meet contractual expectations by not having enough doctors meet their hourly requirements. One of the departments with insufficient personnel was anesthesiology, which had a weekly deficit of 200 hours.

While L.A. County audits claim hundreds of instances of double booking and not enough physician coverage, the University denies breaching the contract. The University acknowledged some areas in which it could improve, including not booking doctors to work at LAC+USC and Keck Hospital on the same day, a practice that resulted in L.A. County accusations of simultaneous booking at both hospitals. 

Accusations of double-booking and insufficient patient care are also described in a lawsuit filed by former Keck School of Medicine of USC professor Dr. Justin Cheongsiatmoy. The lawsuit claims lives could have been saved if the University had not been negligent. Cheongsiatmoy was allegedly fired in retribution after filing a complaint detailing the issues. 

The disagreements have involved multiple individuals in USC’s leadership, including former Keck Dean Dr. Laura Mosqueda and former interim Dean Dr. Narsing Rao. Since the changes of leadership at the Keck in 2021, relationships have improved, and the University is working on addressing remaining issues and improving its relationship with L.A. County, a public affairs officer at LAC+USC said in a statement to the Daily Trojan.

“The Department of Health Services (DHS) continues to feel strongly that USC has a contractual obligation to provide the work that is specified in the [Multi-Sector Service Accountability Agreement],” the LAC+USC statement read. “Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center and DHS are working in good faith with the new leadership at Keck School of Medicine of USC to ensure that those obligations are met.” 

The post Disputes over hospital management being resolved appeared first on Daily Trojan.