Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board. Letters to the Editor reflect the view of a member of the campus community and are submitted to the publication for approval.

On Thursday, Sept. 30, the cover of The Collegian newspaper featured an illustration of a blue-haired police officer standing in front of a police vehicle, enticing readers to examine an article titled, “CSUPD mental health co-responder program launches.”

The article reports that the Colorado State University Police Department and UCHealth are partnering to send two-person teams — one behavioral health officer and one police officer — to intervene in situations the police deem capable of being de-escalated.

It should not be controversial except to the most obstinate of police supporters that such teams allow police departments to more effectively diffuse situations than sending teams of just police officers. But such an admittance requires a logical sleight of hand ignored by most, including journalists and media figures.

When journalists publish police reports verbatim, fail to report on police violence and aid in heroizing some particular cop, they are engaged in copaganda.”

Programs like these — and others instituted by the police — are still policing programs. Any de-escalation attempts by mental health professionals are still backed by the power of police officer partners to arrest, maim and kill.

The Collegian staff, in this story and in countless others that purport to report on the police, fail to (or choose not to) report with a critical perspective on actions and policies undertaken by law enforcement. This allows CSUPD and Fort Collins Police Services to portray themselves in the best possible light: This practice is called “copaganda.”

A portmanteau of cop and propaganda, copaganda seeks to legitimize or justify the police as an institution, often by uncritically highlighting the behavior of individual police officers engaging in some conduct determined to be a common good. Though police often utilize social media to do this by releasing statements on so-called criminals or posing with children at outreach events, journalists often find themselves playing the role of a “neutral” third party.

When journalists publish police reports verbatim, fail to report on police violence and aid in heroizing some particular cop, they are engaged in copaganda. 

Though the media spent much time debating the value of defunding police, they actively aided the police and all supporters of the current racist order in convincing people to stay home and to respect police and policing.”

Engaging uncritically with the words or actions of police or failing to incorporate perspectives of those harmed by police violence — as is often done by journalists and media in general — is a key element of a broader campaign by police and by benefactors in our racist system to make these institutions seem natural and discourage any critique of police action.

It is far more difficult to criticize egregious police violence when cops are treated as gods within public discourse. Further, media reluctance to be seen as biased leads to the platforming of virulent nationalists who wish for the police to be more violent.

When the media attempts to balance any sort of perceived preference against police (or any hegemonic social structure like heteropatriarchy, queerphobia or capitalism), they do so by providing a larger platform to justifications for greater social violence to be rained down upon marginalized peoples.

United States police have faced a crisis of public opinion for more than a year. After the murder of George Floyd and the subsequent rebellion that sought to abolish or defund police to prevent further violence against Black people, police departments across the country have been fighting hard to protect their role as arbiters of racist social stability.

Countless canisters of tear gas; endless rounds of pepper-balls, marker rounds and bean bags; brain-injuring flurries of baton swings; overwhelming barrages of ear-splitting long-range acoustic devices; bum rushes by riot gear-clad officers — all of this left far too many traumatized, blinded, maimed, arrested and incarcerated.

After all this pain, police departments around the world engaged in symbolic acts of “solidarity” with protestors while often attacking protesters later. This co-option was aided by the media, who condemned the righteous anger by protesters while highlighting the empty gestures by police and downplaying or justifying police violence.

Though the media spent much time debating the value of defunding police, they actively aided the police and all supporters of the current racist order in convincing people to stay home and to respect police and policing. The crisis of summer 2020 was defused thanks to media.

Police kill, torture and imprison people the world over, and media institutions fail to provide balanced coverage by accepting police propaganda at face value. The Collegian editorial staff — along with Colorado State University, Fort Collins and all levels of government power — is guilty of serving as a key propagandist for the legitimacy of police terror. This must end.

Peter Krow

CSU employee

Send letters to letters@collegian.com. When submitting letters, please abide by the guidelines listed at collegian.com.

After the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, the University of Minnesota’s College of Design launched the Design Justice Initiative, which seeks to support the retention and inclusion of Black, Indigenous and students of color through affinity spaces, policy adaptations and operational changes.

“In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, it became clear that we needed to think bigger with our commitment to anti-racism and address longer-term issues,” Carol Strohecker, dean of the College of Design, said. “The Design Justice Initiative is centered around addressing these longer-term issues.”

The College of Design plans on dedicating itself to anti-racism by using the new initiative to reevaluate its admissions practices and draw ideas and materials from social justice-involved organizations. In addition, the initiative will conduct curriculum mapping and auditing to ensure courses reflect multicultural perspectives and social justice values.

Terresa Moses is leading this initiative in her dual position as an assistant professor of graphic design and the director of the initiative. Moses said she would like to see Design Justice create a more inclusive pedagogy in the College of Design that breaks down the white supremacist and Eurocentric canon of design education.

“[Students will] have these experiences within their courses that allow them to broaden their worldview [and] understand how their own positionality will affect their outputs and designs,” Moses said.

She added she is looking to change the foundation of the College of Design’s curriculum and hopes to see more people of color and LGBTQ+ people represented in the design industry and scholarship.

This semester, the initiative started its search for faculty that demonstrate a justice-centered lens in their design discipline. The Design Justice Collective is looking to expand by doing a cluster-hire for candidates with experience in diversity, advancing inclusion and creating a welcoming climate. Candidates should also be committed to advancing design justice through scholarship, service or pedagogy, according to the website.

“The goal of the cluster hire is to recruit faculty members who will teach and conduct research, scholarship, creative work and/or service centered on design justice,” Mia Riza, director of human resources at the College of Design, said. “They’ll also contribute to the cultivation of policies and practices that exemplify the college’s commitment to design justice.”

The faculty members hired as part of the Design Justice cluster-hire will serve as a member of the Design Justice Collective for the first two years in their positions.

The collective is currently working on conducting pedagogy audits where faculty come together to discuss their syllabi and how design justice concepts can be incorporated into curriculum, Moses said.

This spring, Design Justice is launching a new special topics course titled, “Special Topics in Design Justice: Disability, Racism and the Intersection of Design Justice,” which will be taught by guest lecturer Jennifer White Johnson.

Additionally, Design Justice instated the Creative Scholars Program that will work to eliminate barriers, such as technology expenses, for students so they gain access to full educational design opportunities.

Students can get involved in the initiative in a number of ways, according to Riza. Design Justice is frequently hosting events, exhibitions and affinity group discussions that students can attend.

On Dec. 1, Design Justice is holding an LGBTQ+ affinity space called, “Queering the Tarot,” where author and tarotist Cassandra Snow will speak about how tarot affected her path to find her voice as a queer person.

Design Justice will also host an online pedagogy audit on Dec. 10 to discuss how to create more inclusive policies and practices in the College of Design curriculum.

Berkeley holiday tree disposal features composting this winter season

Momoka Sasaki/Staff

The city of Berkeley released a press release detailing what to do to mitigate tree waste this holiday season.

The city of Berkeley released a guide Nov. 24 for the renting and disposing of holiday trees, with the purpose of minimizing the negative environmental impact of the holidays.

During the 2019 and 2020 holiday seasons, the city Zero Waste Division collected 150 trees left outside residential curbsides, noted city spokesperson Matthai Chakko.

“A core goal of our Zero Waste Division is to reduce waste and tree waste is one such moment,” Chakko said in an email. “The holidays are a period where potential waste can be avoided and we wanted to proactively communicate with our community.”

Whole trees left on the street will not be collected by the city this year due to possible damage to collection trucks, according to a city press release. Instead, the release outlines various steps consumers should take to properly dispose of their holiday trees at the end of the winter season.

The press release notes that tree owners may cut their live trees for placement in green domestic compost bins. Composting at home requires the removal of all artificial decorations, including tinsel, lights, ornaments and plastic tree stands.

Residents may also drop off their compostable trees at the Transfer Station for free until Jan. 31. Trees will be accepted for a $23 fee thereafter, according to the press release.

Artificial trees will always incur a $29 fee, the press release adds.

Matteo Garbelotto, UC Berkeley environmental science, policy and management, or ESPM, adjunct professor, noted the importance of not planting or discarding the trees in outdoor spaces. He added that doing so could interfere with existing ecosystems.

“The risk is that of starting a State and National plant disease epidemic that may decimate our native flora,” Garbelotto said in an email.

Fusarium circinatum and Phytophthora cinnamomi are two pathogens that can infect holiday trees without visible signs or symptoms, making it difficult to recognize contaminated trees, Garbelotto added. Improper disposal of these trees can cause “irreparable damage” to California ecosystems.

John Battles, campus ESPM professor, noted the danger of pathogen movement in the holiday tree transportation industry.

“Buying trees at a source locally is the best way to go,” Battles said.

Composting trees can be a source of mulch, rather than burning or burying them, Battles suggested.

Daniel Sanchez, campus assistant cooperative extension specialist in the ESPM department, added that harvesting trees from overstocked forests to decrease California’s risk of wildfires is another viable option.

According to Ronald Amundson, campus ESPM professor, trees are only a minor component of the waste people produce during the holidays. He noted the importance of looking beyond tree waste when considering the environmental impact of this holiday season.

“Tree purchasing and decoration is far better (if recycled) than the consumer goods, and air travel, we all contribute to during the Holidays,” Amundson said in an email.

Contact Lily Button at lbutton@dailycal.org, and follow her on Twitter at @lilybutton27.

The Daily Californian

According to a report from Football Scoop’s Zach Barnett, Minnesota is going in a different direction at offensive coordinator and Mike Sanford Jr. is not expected to return after two seasons with the team.

Before joining P.J. Fleck’s staff in 2020, Sanford Jr. served as the offensive coordinator at Boise State and Notre Dame, until being named head coach of Western Kentucky and made his final stop as offensive coordinator at Utah State.

Since taking over at the position from Kirk Ciarrocca in 2020, the Gophers offense averaged 27.3 points per game in 2020 and 26.1 points this season with Mike Sanford Jr. as offensive coordinator and quarterback’s coach.

Quarterback Tanner Morgan told the Pioneer Press on Sunday that he plans to return to the Gophers for a sixth season. Under Sanford Jr. Morgan’s 250.2 passing yards per game and 30 touchdowns in 2019 dropped to 196.3 yards per game and seven touchdowns in 2020 and 161.3 yards per game and 10 touchdowns this season.

With current wide receivers coach Matt Simon, who is also listed as co-offensive coordinator, still on the Gophers’ staff, there is no indication on who the team plans to hire as Sanford Jr. ‘s replacement.

Emory Professor of Psychology Donna Maney and Yesenia Garcia-Sifuentes (26G), a student in Emory’s Graduate Program in Neuroscience, published a study on Nov. 2 which detailed misreporting of sex differences in biological sciences. 

According to Maney, there has been a push for all clinical and preclinical research to include males and females over the past decade. She said this push has largely come from funding agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH). 

“This is a step in the right direction because there is a long history of research being conducted on males only, particularly in neuroscience,” Maney said. “During this push, however, we are witnessing a kind of frenzy to find and report sex differences in literally everything we study. And it seems that not everyone looking for sex differences is trained on how to test for them.”

Emory Professor of Psychology Donna Maney. Photo Courtesy of Emory University

Researchers that divide their samples by sex report sex differences most of the time, Maney said. However, the study found that when a sex-specific effect of a treatment was claimed, authors failed to actually use statistical tests to determine whether males and females responded differently. Results of treatments were not compared between the sexes 70% of the time, according to the study’s results. 

“When authors failed to test for a sex-specific effect, they claimed one 88% of the time,” Maney said. “In contrast, when the authors did the appropriate statistical tests, they reported sex-specific effects only 63% of the time. Thus, sex-specific effects may be over-reported.” 

Additionally, Maney said that they encountered strategies that could mask sex differences, “such as combining data from males and females without first testing for a difference.”

When scientific papers publish sex differences, only one out of five studies analyze data by sex, according to Maney. In addition, more than half fail to back up a claim of a sex difference with statistical evidence. 

“This terrifies me because women would be particularly vulnerable,” Maney said. “It is already the case that women can’t be prescribed a full dose of some drugs in this country, despite strong evidence that small sex differences in clearance rates are not clinically meaningful.”

Maney said that it’s important to address this issue to ensure that “decisions that affect access to health care are firmly grounded in rigorous science.”

As more papers begin to publish sex differences, it’s important that the use the proper statistical analysis so that the data is not disproportionately represented, Maney argued. Sex-based treatments may actually cause more harm then good if the data is lacking, Maney said.

Studies like this reveal a scary reality about sex-based studies, Maney said. However, she said that she hopes her study can be a force of change.

“Our hope is that the study will raise awareness about how sex-specific effects are detected and reported, and that the current standard of evidence is lacking rigor,” Maney said.

The post Emory professor discovers biological studies often misinterpret sex-based data appeared first on The Emory Wheel.

What sustainability looks like at UC Berkeley

Moe Sumino/Courtesy

It’s easy to see that the students of UC Berkeley strive to be sustainable while walking around campus: The various sustainability clubs tabling on Sproul Plaza and the conscientious students sorting their waste make this obvious. At the same time, what may not be apparent to the eye is an institutional backing of sustainable practices that happens behind the scenes. To understand the many ways in which sustainability is supported by the university, here are various resources and reports created by UC Berkeley and outside organizations that provide a more holistic view of sustainability here on campus. 

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System

STARS is a comprehensive sustainability rating system for universities that accounts for environmental, social and economic dimensions. This multifaceted rating system is broken down into several categories: academics, engagement, operations and planning and administration. With further subcategories, the STARS report is an excellent resource to intimately understand the achievements and shortcomings of UC Berkeley. For example, the campus engagement category received 19.42 out of a 21 point total for UC Berkeley’s excellent student culture. On the other hand, the energy category received 2.97 out of a 10 point total for failing to adequately source renewable energy as only 1.90% of our total energy needs are from sustainable sources. Overall, the STARS rating of 85.39 points places UC Berkeley as the seventh-highest out of about 700 rated universities.

UC Berkeley Sustainability Plan

The UC Berkeley Sustainability and Carbon Solutions is another excellent resource to dig deeper into the particular sustainability initiatives and programs here on campus. The Office of Sustainability recently compiled UC Berkeley’s particular goals and strategies in the 2020 Campus Sustainability Plan. The plan is structured around five focus sections that address both traditional and intersectional topics: climate and resilience; culture and learning; built and natural environment; health and sustainability; and sustainable services. Each focus topic provides a thorough assessment with actionable goals for tackling complex sustainability issues. This sustainability report can be read in conjunction with the STARS report to help contextualize the very programs which drive our success. But, for a shorter read, the accompanying vision statements for each focus topic are a great way to understand the overarching goals of sustainability and its future here on campus.

Sustainability Curriculum & the UN Sustainable Development Goals

There are also many ways in which students directly benefit from the university’s focus on sustainability. From campus outreach programs to sustainable investment funds, UC Berkeley considers the many ways in which its focus on sustainability can directly impact students. In particular, the Sustainability Curriculum is a course mapping in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In this report, the UC Berkeley full course listing of 6,854 courses is narrowed down to 2,079 courses and linked to its applicable sustainable development goal. For example, 18.5% of these selected classes are linked to the Peace and Justice sustainable development goal. The linked spreadsheet within the report can be used to access the mapping of these courses and as a useful guide for honing in on a particular class that may be of interest. 

Without a doubt, UC Berkeley is certainly at the forefront of the environmental movement as an institution and as a collection of students. Whether it be ground-breaking research or environmental protests on Sproul, there is an undeniable commitment to sustainability that is reflected in these reports and ratings.

Contact Adrian Fontao at afontao@dailycal.org.

The Daily Californian

On the sidewalk near M.L.K. Jr. Dr., “CHOW” written in yellow chalk with an arrow forward led me to an underground restaurant. Stories below the ground-level of Atlanta, I found a diverse community gathered at folding tables and chairs sharing a meal together.

I sat at a table with a group of strangers, all with different cultures and ethnicities. We bonded over good food and being directionally challenged in Atlanta.

“Sometimes you have to get lost to find yourself,” one of my new friends said, and we laughed. 

This is Chow Club — an organization in Atlanta that features unique ethnic cuisine monthly made by immigrant and refugee chefs. The November theme was Nigerian cuisine. The club met at the bottom levels of Underground Atlanta, a shopping and entertainment district of the downtown section of Little Five Points, to eat food prepared by Nigerian immigrant and chef Wellington Onyenwe.

Chow Club gathered at Underground Atlanta. (The Emory Wheel/Xavier Stevens)

The idea for Chow Club started in 2017 when co-founder Amanda Plumb and her friends couldn’t find an Ethiopian restaurant on Buford Highway. Plumb reached out to Yohana Solomon, an Ethiopian immigrant, for recommendations elsewhere in Atlanta. Solomon recommended her own home.

Solomon shared authentic Ethiopian cuisine with Plumb and her friends but also told the stories behind the recipes. She even taught them how to eat each dish with their hands, the right way. 

Plumb and Solomon made the intimate dinners a tradition and moved to Plumb’s house to open it to the public. They co-founded Chow Club and brought in chefs of different cultures and complete strangers to bond over unique cuisine. After a year in Plumb’s house, they needed to find new venues each month to host their growing community.

“We’re a country of immigrants and different cultures,” Plumb said. “There is a sense of community to sit down with total strangers, share a meal made by an immigrant and get to know each other.” 

With Chow Club returning this fall after a brief hiatus during the height of the pandemic, Plumb and Solomon brought back an old friend to give Atlanta the Nigerian cuisine it lacks. 

Ofe okuru (right), fufu (left), and grilled Akpodim spiced beef cutlet skewer (below). (Courtesy of Chow Club)

“I wanted to do [Chow Club] again because of how inviting and warm the environment always is,” Onyenwe said. “The people are jovial and open to trying new things.”

Onyenwe’s Nigerian chow menu featured his unique cuisine that blends the traditional tastes of Nigeria with southern and Caribbean flavors. Growing up in the countryside of Imo, Nigeria, in the village of Akpodim, Onyenwe learned traditional Nigerian cooking from his grandmother. In middle school, Onyenwe moved to the United States and bounced around the south before landing in Los Angeles, where he attended high school and college. At each stop, Onyenwe picked up different flavors to add to traditional Nigerian cuisine.

And there isn’t a better crowd to try out unique food than Chow Club. Before the first course, Onyenwe introduced his version of traditional chin chin, a deep-fried dough, as a soft shortbread cookie infused with West Nigerian lemon spices. 

After the first course, the crowd gave Onyenwe a huge round of applause. “More food!” someone shouted from my table. 

For the second course, Onyenwe continued to deliver to his audience. He cooked jollof rice and chicken suya over fire, just like they do in his village, to give it a traditional smoky flavor. More applause.

Onyenwe helped the audience pronounce the names of their delicious third course. Ofe okoro, a sticky okra stew, accompanied fufu, a plantain soufflé mash meant to be eaten by hand. Onyenwe brought it home with an Akpodim, a traditional spiced beef skewer with peppery, earthy and sweet flavors.

For dessert, we bit into chocolate truffles made with garri, or cassava flakes, covered in powdered sugar, chocolate or peanuts with a strong flavor of Ògógóró, Nigerian Palm Wine.

There were no left-overs. There never is at Chow Club.

Plumb hopes to promote Chow Club to Emory University students and show them a diverse community that defines Atlanta. Chow Club has an option for students to volunteer as a server with the advantage of invaluable time with the chef and the food.

“One of the real benefits of Emory is that you’re in a city of transplants,” Plumb said. “You would miss out on something great if you didn’t take advantage of the fact that Atlanta is a gateway to the world.”

The post Chow Club: a gateway to the world in Atlanta appeared first on The Emory Wheel.

Lincoln Riley is expected to be USC’s next head football coach, according to ESPN. Riley served as the head coach of Oklahoma from 2017 to 2021 and had a 55-10 record, including three College Football Playoff appearances in five seasons. 

USC will buy out the rest of Riley’s $38.9 million contract, an extension he signed in 2020 which was set to last until 2025. Riley will join a USC team with freshman quarterback Jaxson Dart serving as the team’s signal-caller after replacing junior quarterback Kedon Slovis. 

Riley has experience developing young quarterbacks into star level talent as he showed with Baker Mayfield, Jalen Hurts and Kyler Murray, all three of which were transfer quarterbacks to Oklahoma that thrived under Riley and made the NFL. Much like when Mayfield, Hurts and Murray transferred to Oklahoma, Dart is a young quarterback who will look to flourish under Riley. 

Riley will look to bring a spark to USC’s recruitment, as Oklahoma ranks No. 7 in the nation and first in the Big 12 for its 2022 recruiting class, according to 247Sports. USC is ranked No. 67 nationally and ninth in the Pac-12. 

Reports from On3 Sports claim Riley informed his Oklahoma staff Sunday that he was leaving. Riley shut down questions about potential interest in LSU’s head coaching job Saturday, saying, “I’m not going to be the next head coach at LSU.” 

The hire will mark a new era for USC. During Riley’s tenure with Oklahoma, USC went 33-23 under Clay Helton and lost both bowls they attended during the time. Helton was dismissed this season following two games.

The post Lincoln Riley named new head football coach appeared first on Daily Trojan.

After earning a program-best 26th win as a starting quarterback in 2021, Tanner Morgan has opted to return for one final season with the Maroon & Gold.

Tanner Morgan has a 26-12 record as a starting quarterback for the Gophers. He has completed 546 passes (third-most in school history) of 890 attempts (fifth-most in school history) for 7,963 yards (second-most in school history). His career completion percentage of .613 ranks first in school history and his 56 career touchdown passes ranks second.

Following the Gophers upset victory over Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon, Morgan became the first Gophers quarterback to defeat the Badgers twice since Asad Abdul-Khaliq did so in 2001 and 2003.

Morgan joins star running back Mohamed Ibrahim as fifth-year players that have announced their intention to return to the Gophers next season. Other fifth-year players with the option to return such as Boye Mafe, Chris Autman-Bell, Esezi Otomewo, Blaise Andries and John Michael Schmitz all partook in senior day festivities against the Badgers, but have yet to announce their plans for the 2022 season.

With the return of Morgan, the Gophers’ quarterback room will look crowded. Redshirt-junior Zack Annexstad, redshirt-sophomores Cole Kramer and Jacob Clark, freshman Athan Kaliakmanis and incoming freshman Jacob Knuth makes six scholarship players at the position next season.

Pasadena punishment: UCLA pummels Cal’s postseason dreams

Antonio Martin/Staff

On a night that started with so much promise, Cal football could not finish. The Bears failed to keep pace with the Bruins as UCLA stomped Cal 42-14 in the Rose Bowl on Saturday.

“We expected to play better than we did. It’s on everybody — coaches like myself, players. This loss was on everybody in the program,” said Cal head coach Justin Wilcox.

Led by senior quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, the Bruins’ high-octane offense picked up right where it left off after putting up 106 points over its last two outings. UCLA made everything look effortless on its first drive, using the tandem of Thompson-Robinson and star running back Zach Charbonnet to march down the field for an early field goal.

And where the Bruins’ offense found success, Cal’s had no answer. A 3-and-out to start set the tone for the rest of the evening as Cal failed to turn a 58-yard kickoff return from senior receiver Nikko Remigio into any form of points. A third-down zero blitz from UCLA and a fourth-down drop by Cal freshman receiver J. Michael Sturdivant kept the Bears scoreless.

But that wasn’t the only opportunity Cal would squander. With the Bruins knocking on the door, linebackers Braxten Croteau and Nate Rutchena appeared to knock the ball free from Charbonnet. However, the Bears’ coaching staff’s hesitancy to throw the challenge flag allowed UCLA to hustle to the line and run a play — an easy pitch-and-catch to junior receiver Kyle Philips that gave the Bruins a 10-0 lead.

“We were confident, and I think we had shown great flashes over the past couple of weeks,” Remigio said. “We had executed in all three phases, and we just came up short tonight.”

It wasn’t until the Bruins made mistakes that Cal finally captured any semblance of offensive rhythm. After a touchdown run by senior running back Christopher Brooks, the Bears took advantage of a muff by UCLA’s Kazmeir Allen on the ensuing kickoff. Redshirt senior quarterback Chase Garbers called his own number, and within minutes, Cal somehow found itself holding a 14-10 lead.

Unfortunately for the Bears, that would be the last time they sniffed the end zone until the game was already out of reach. Garbers, who has posted career-high marks in passing yards, rushing yards and passing touchdowns this season, was under duress all night long. The Bruins reached home four times, and constant pressure forced Garbers into throwing two interceptions — an unusual stat for the Pac-12’s leader in total offense.

That pressure had rippling effects. With Garbers being flushed out of the pocket, he had to use his legs to extend plays. But Cal’s receivers struggled to gain separation downfield from a UCLA secondary ranked near last in the conference. The result was an offensive unit that looked like a shell of the one that lit up Stanford’s defense for 41 points just one week ago.

“Name a matchup, and they beat us most of the night. There were a number of factors. It wasn’t just one thing,” Wilcox said.

As the Bears’ offense struggled, the Bruins’ found its footing and never slipped up again. Thompson-Robinson, who finished with 266 total yards and three touchdowns, used play-action looks to dice up Cal’s secondary as UCLA roared back with 32 unanswered points. Even another big kickoff return from a fired-up Remigio couldn’t shake the Bears out of their slump. Things got so ugly that Ethan Garbers, younger brother of Chase Garbers and the Bruins’ backup quarterback, came in to finish the game.

With the clock ticking down to zero, the Bears, who needed to beat UCLA on Saturday night, saw their last hopes of bowl game eligibility extinguished. It was a familiar scene for Cal, which has now dropped six of its last seven meetings in Pasadena. But one that fans of the blue and gold certainly hoped would be different with the Bears cornered into a must-win situation.

“The mood is as expected. Guys are disappointed, but at the end of the day, we have one game left, so it’s on to the next,” Remigio said. “Everybody has to take this loss on the chin and move forward.”

For a team that has shown so much resiliency all season long, Cal football finally appeared to wave the white flag Saturday.

Kabir Rao covers football. Contact him at krao@dailycal.org, and follow him on Twitter @kabirr26.

The Daily Californian