It was a disappointing send-off for the Wave, who, despite being atop the NWSL leaderboard, have struggled at home this season. San Diego has lost three of its six home games so far and secured only 9 of 18 possible points in America’s Finest City.

San Diego started the first half on the front foot as it pushed for an opening goal. A crucial chance in the 33rd minute ended in nothing for the Wave, as midfielder Lia Godfrey was denied from point-blank range on a second-chance effort. Minutes later, Wave winger Gia Corley got a crack at goal, lining up a shot from outside the box that went straight to the hands of Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse.

Payne opened the scoring on the ensuing Pride possession. A long ball from Orlando winger Luana would get deflected to Payne outside of the box, who calmly lofted it past the hands of Wave keeper DiDi Haracic and into the net. The goal was Payne’s first of her professional career.

After halftime, the Wave struggled to get past the Pride defense in their quest to find an equalizer. In the 86th minute, a cross from defender Kristen McNabb found winger Gabi Portilho, whose header went wide left. A stoppage time free kick presented a final chance for the Wave to break through, but winger Melanie Barcenas’ attempt was scooped up by Moorhouse, and the Pride hung on for a 1-0 win.

San Diego came back to its winning ways on May 31, defeating the Chicago Stars 2-0. Heading into the June break, the Wave remain atop the NWSL leaderboard, with the Utah Royals a point behind with a game in hand.

The tournament favorites are France, Argentina, and Spain, but countries such as England, Portugal, and Brazil are also expected to be top contenders. England striker Harry Kane is going into the tournament in top form after an impressive club season with Bayern Munich. Kane netted 36 goals in the Bundesliga and 14 goals in the Champions League despite getting knocked out in the semifinals. Brazil, now led by legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti, is always dangerous in international play due to skillful talents including wingers Vinícius Júnior and Raphinha. For Portugal, striker Cristiano Ronaldo is looking to win the World Cup in his final attempt to match his eternal rival: Argentina forward Lionel Messi. This year, Ronaldo arguably has one of the best supporting casts to help him achieve his goal. Let’s break down my predictions for this year’s World Cup:

Winner: France

France is, on paper, one the best squads in the tournament. The talent it boasts up front is particularly impressive, as the potential front three — striker Kylian Mbappé, forward Ousmane Dembélé, and winger Michael Olise — have proved they’re capable of dominating games by themselves as the focal point of their club teams’ attacks. The French attack will be a nightmare to face, though the midfield could be where other teams find hope to beat France. The French midfield isn’t quite as star studded, but talented defensive midfielders N’Golo Kanté and Aurélien Tchouaméni are still capable players.

Golden Boot: Kylian Mbappé

Mbappé had a disappointing 2025-26 season with Real Madrid, but the French superstar seems to play at his best when the World Cup comes around. His performances in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups have already cemented him as a hero of French football, and with his powerful team’s help, he looks good to take home another World Cup Golden Boot this year.

Dark horse: Türkiye

Türkiye, though not traditionally a football powerhouse, is in an advantageous group for its knockout ambitions. Türkiye will be competing with the U.S., Paraguay, and Australia, which is definitely a group it can top. Individual brilliance can shine more in international play compared to structured club play, which could help Türkiye overperform in this year’s tournament. Young talents like midfielder Arda Güler and winger Kenan Yıldız will make a huge impact in Türkiye’s World Cup run.

Disappointment: Morocco

The surprise semifinalists of the 2022 World Cup, Morocco, will disappoint this year. The Moroccans are up against a strong group, with Brazil and Scotland set to put up tough competition. If Morocco makes it out of Group C, it may face a top team such as the Netherlands. The magic of 2022 will falter in the first round if Morocco is forced to confront the talented Dutch national team, leading to an unfortunate early exit.

Breakout star: Luka Vušković

Luka Vušković, the young Croatian center-back, has potential to show his talent to the world this summer. With his fellow Croatian defender Joško Gvardiol coming off a right leg fracture earlier this year, Vušković may get the opportunity to step in and become a trusted defender on a Croatia squad that often punches above its weight in international play. Vušković, while being loaned out to Hamburg, scored six goals in the Bundesliga, an especially impressive number for a defender. Though he hasn’t played much for Croatia yet, Vušković has already scored his first international goal in a friendly against Colombia. Vušković’s eye for goal makes him a flashy defender with the ability to catch the attention of many this summer. With his large frame, the young Croatian is a terrifying aerial threat on both sides of the pitch. After spending last season at a weaker Bundesliga club, Vušković’s name is not yet well known, but his talent will be on full display this summer as he makes his World Cup debut.

Isaiah Benitez, Senior Staff Writer

The New York Knickerbockers consist of proven talent, immense chemistry, fantastic leadership, and — perhaps most importantly — an insatiable hunger for an NBA Championship. However, the San Antonio Spurs have all of that to a greater degree … and more. What the Spurs might lack in an 11-game playoff winning streak, they more than make up for with their 7-foot-4-inch extraterrestrial French Catholic-blessed Shaolin-trained Wembanyama. 

Alongside “The Alien” Frenchman, San Antonio constructed a terrifyingly complete roster that has exceeded even the loftiest expectations. Moreover, with each playoff series victory, the Spurs have battled to symbolically establish their Earvin “Magic” Johnson Trophy winner’s socialist agenda in the American political climate. The country has beared witness to this group beating the Netanyahu-endorsed Avdija-lead Portland Trail Blazers, then overcoming deadbeat dad Anthony Edwards and his Minnesota Timberwolves, and lastly toppling the corrupt elites that make up the OKC Thunder.

San Antonio is just more experienced, vicious, and hungry than the Knicks could ever hope to be. The Spurs will have no mercy for the city of New York, brutalizing the Big Apple with poster dunks and half-court treballs. Gotham’s only hope is Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who just might appeal to Wembanyama’s political affirmations, so prayers up to him when New York explodes — regardless of this series’ results. Give me San Antonio in six.

Prediction: Spurs in six

Ruben Perez, Staff Writer

In the first round of the playoffs, the New York Knicks were down 2-1 to the Atlanta Hawks and all hope seemed lost. Since then, the Knicks have won 11 straight games and now find themselves on the verge of claiming their first NBA title in decades. Even with a towering French Alien standing in the way, the Big Apple will be home to the 2026 NBA champions.

Since Game 4 of the Hawks-Knicks series, New York’s offense has been flowing, amassing four wins by 30 or more points in the playoffs. Jalen “King of New York” Brunson averages 26.9 playoff points and rises to the occasion when his name is called, as evidenced by his 2025 Clutch Player of the Year award. Playing alongside Karl-Anthony Towns, who shoots 48.9% from deep, and OG Anunoby, who averaged 19.7 points in the playoffs, the Knicks have three stars who can score from anywhere. Rounding out the group with Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges, two players who have unlimited energy and give the team spark at any point in the game, the Knicks’ starting five outclass the Spurs’.

As mentioned, there is a man the size of the Eiffel Tower that no one has been able to stop all year long. For those questioning if the Knicks can contain him, I have two words for you: Mitchell Robinson. Broken finger or not, Robinson’s shot-blocking skills and agility will help him go toe-to-toe with Wembanyama in a matchup that will decide who wins the finals.

To top it off, New York only played in eight total playoff games in the month of May, while the Spurs just went a full seven games with the OKC Thunder. The last two teams to face the Knicks following a Game 7 this year were the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers. Both were swept by New York.

Prediction: Knicks in six

Jordan Mationg, Multimedia Co-Editor and third Sports Co-Editor

The Spurs and Knicks finals series will prove to be a competitive matchup. Coming into the postseason, the Spurs’ starting five had a combined seven games of playoff experience, thanks only to De’Aaron Fox. Through its successful series against the Minnesota Timberwolves and last year’s champions, the OKC Thunder, San Antonio confirmed head coach Mitch Johnson’s words: “They don’t give a damn about the word ‘experience.’” The Villanova-era Knicks, however, have been terrorizing teams on both sides of the court, with New York’s now-legend Jalen Brunson leading the charge. High-energy fans rapturously go along for the ride, whether it’s parading through the streets of Manhattan or taking over arenas at the Knicks’ away games.

While it’s expected that Brunson and Wembanyama — the All-NBA talent of each team — will continue to prosper offensively, whether their co-stars are up to the challenge will prove key to this series. For New York, Karl-Anthony Towns surprisingly had success as a secondary playmaker for the team. As a shooting threat, Towns denies the opposing team’s bigs the ability to camp the paint, making space for Brunson to finish or kick out to wings for easy threes. As long as Towns continues his 3-point efficiency, it will be difficult for the Spurs to handle such offensive pressure. For San Antonio, Stephon Castle is vital in complementing Wemby’s interior presence with his lockdown perimeter defense, as he’s been able to pressure star guards like Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into making tough shots. While Castle thrived this postseason thanks to his defense and shotmaking, his playmaking has been sporadic, averaging 6.7 assists and 3.7 turnovers in the playoffs.

Though both teams proved their worth, New York lacks the ultimate X Factor: a 7-foot-4-inch dude. In a seven-game series, the immense gravity of The Alien will be too much for the Knicks. All in all, Wemby and the Spurs will be the ones to take their NBA Cup revenge and raise the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Prediction: Spurs in seven

Lionel Liu, Staff Writer

The real NBA Finals have already ended with a seven-game series between OKC and the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. The Knicks finished third in a weak and injured Eastern Conference, unable to crack 55 wins. Now, they are walking into a matchup against a San Antonio team that already survived its real test against the reigning champs.

San Antonio has shown what this matchup will look like. Sure, the Knicks won one against the Spurs later in the season when a rusty Wembanyama was coming back from injury, but that does not move me. That is not the version of Wembanyama they are about to see in the Finals. The real preview came on Dec. 31, when the Spurs beat New York behind Wembanyama’s 31 points and 13 rebounds in just 24 minutes. With Robinson’s messed up right hand and his inability to shoot free throws, New York’s interior defense becomes baby food with Kitty KAT anchoring.

The Knicks’ path here has been soft. They went down 2-1 to a Hawks team that basically hit reset after trading away Trae Young as 34-year-old CJ McCollum gave them problems. New York beat a tired Sixers team coming off a 3-1 comeback against Boston while Joel Embiid was on 1 HP. Then the Knicks got the easiest possible conference finals against a fraudulent Cavs team with Jarrett “The Lights Were Brighter Than Expected” Allen and James “Game 7” Harden.

The Spurs win this in five. The only reason New York gets one is because San Antonio wants to close it out at home.

Prediction: Spurs in five

The tour supports her sophomore album, “Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You,” a lyrical prequel to her 2022 debut “Preacher’s Daughter.” The project follows the doomed love story between Cain and Willoughby Tucker, two characters carrying the weight of traumatic small-town upbringings. If “Perverts,” her 2025 experimental ambient studio recording, tested listeners’ patience, “Willoughby Tucker” restores the balance between accessibility and artistic depth. The album marries plainspoken aching and lyricism with sweeping character arcs. The tour, then, arrives not just as promotion, but as proof of concept. 

Emerging in denim overalls, a baseball cap, and a hoodie, Cain opened with “Sunday Morning” from her 2019 EP “Golden Age.” Her airy vocals built an immersive ambience that grounded the concert in something intimate and distinctly human — a reminder that beneath the mythmaking is a voice capable of startling vulnerability. She moved straight into the radio-friendly “American Teenager,” singing about the American Dream and the quiet devastation of loss. From there, she pivoted into “Janie,” a character study from the new album, with an understated vocal tenderness. She then settled into the emotional core of the evening: the world of “Willoughby Tucker.” “Nettles,” a centerpiece of the record, unfolded slowly, its aching progression allowing the storytelling heft of the album to take hold in real time. A shortened version of “Willoughby’s Interlude” followed, before “Dust Bowl” extended the album’s country-dusted bleakness into the open air.

The production of the stage itself could hold its own. Moss hung from above and around the performers in the center of a bed of textured grass and weeds. A steady stream of fog enveloped the stage, distorting Cain’s silhouette until she appeared less like a performer than an apparition. The lighting was a character in its own right — strobe heavy in ways that felt genuinely disorienting, at times mimicking lightning flashes or the flicker of a failing memory, reinforcing the show’s fixation on decay, loss, and revelation.

The crowd moved through a variety of emotional ranges for a single night: swaying in quiet reverence for songs like “Janie,” jumping and dancing for pieces like “American Teenager,” and moving to complete stillness for heavily charged tracks like “Vacillator.” In those moments, the boundary between performer and audience seemed to dissolve entirely — what remained was a shared immersion in grief, longing, and something almost spiritual.

However, the fan-favorite moment of the night came during Cain’s encore, “Crush.” Perhaps her most mainstream song, it may have been a predictable choice, but sometimes the obvious moments are the most effective. There is something uniquely spellbinding about jumping around to a song you know every word to, surrounded by hundreds of strangers who know them too. After a set steeped in sorrow, yearning, and emotional devastation, “Crush” felt almost euphoric — not because it abandoned those feelings, but because it transformed them into collective release. For a few minutes, the carefully constructed mythology surrounding Ethel Cain dissolved, and what remained was simpler: the thrill of live music, of catharsis, of being young and overwhelmed alongside everyone around you.

After a magical night spellbound by Cain’s narrative universe, the crowd slowly filed out of The Rady Shell, the harbor lights even more luminant. What the Willoughby Tucker Forever tour makes undeniably clear is that Ethel Cain is not just a compelling backstory or carefully curated aesthetic, but a genuinely singular artistic voice with the rare ability to make deeply personal grief feel communal. In a moment where so much of mainstream pop and touring culture can feel increasingly manufactured — dominated by interchangeable aesthetics, algorithmic branding, and performances engineered for virality — Cain offers something far more original and fully realized. Long after the final song ended, her world lingered: in the fog hanging over the bag, in the ringing silence between strangers leaving the venue, and in the uneasy feeling that, for a moment, everyone there had stepped into something far larger than a concert.

The Knights came into the playoffs fourth overall in the Western Conference and struggled coming into the postseason. Flailing against the Utah Mammoth and the Anaheim Ducks in their first two series, Vegas won both rounds in six games. The Knights then dethroned the Colorado Avalanche — which was missing its top defenseman Cale Makar for the first two games and dealing with an injured forward Nathan MacKinnon in Games 3 and 4 — in an astonishing third series. But the Knights’ luck won’t be able to match the Hurricanes’ postseason rampage, which is built on something sturdier: consistency.

Storming past their opponents in the Eastern Conference, the Hurricanes have made it clear that they are an unstoppable force that lives up to their name. They swept the Ottawa Senators and the Philadelphia Flyers in quick succession, making them the only team to go 8-0 to begin the postseason since the NHL instituted the current format in 1987. The Hurricanes had a rough start against the Montreal Canadiens, losing the first game 6-2, before winning the next four games. The Hurricanes took the Canadiens down in five for a 12-1 record going into the finals. After two decades of waiting, there is just one team left to defeat before Carolina can bring home the Cup.

The Knights also have strengths, no doubt. They play a very traditional-styled structure, boast a tight top-four defense, and possess undeniably talented forwards to the tune of star Mitch Marner, who leads the league with 21 postseason points.

However, the Knights lack the ability to adapt, instead preferring to play the way they always do. When the Hurricanes were surprised by the Canadiens’ scrappy, frantic style in Game 1, they came back in Game 2 ready to take the Canadiens on, using the Habs’ own style of play against them. The rigidity of the Knights’ style will hold them back, while the Hurricanes’ versatility will help them advance to win the Cup.

It’s not just the Hurricanes’ fluidity that makes them a mighty force to face. This is their eighth consecutive year of playoff competition, and with time comes experience. The Hurricanes have curated a robust roster capable of reproducing the favorable results that have been crucial to Carolina’s success. With an incredibly structured defense in players like defensemen Jaccob Slavin and K’Andre Miller, as well as an explosive offense with forwards Sebastian Aho, Jackson Blake, and Logan Stankoven, the Hurricanes will be quick and relentless. Their second offensive line of Blake, Stankoven, and left wing Taylor Hall has been the team’s scoring bank. Hall is currently ranked third for most postseason points with 16, three of which came on Friday in the Hurricanes’ win against Montreal.

The Hurricanes have an additional advantage with goalie Frederik Andersen, who leads the league with a .931 save percentage. Vegas’ Carter Hart, on the other hand, can’t save his reputation, much less the puck.

A storm is brewing with Carolina’s history of relentless play, adaptability, and dynamic chemistry on the ice. Once it clears, the Hurricanes will take home the Cup.

Stanley Cup prediction: Hurricanes defeat Golden Knights 4-2

There were three candidates for the 2026-27 EVP of external affairs race: Sen. and second-year Truchan, incumbent and third-year Ricardo Miranda, and third-year Aydin Yelkovan. Campaigns took place during the first two weeks of Spring Quarter, beginning March 29. On April 10, the electoral commission disqualified Truchan and Yelkovan for multiple elections code violations, resulting in Miranda winning the seat with 1,529 votes. During the voting period, Truchan received the majority of votes with 2,092 votes, while Yelkovan received 1,892 votes. 

The A.S. elections code outlines specific guidelines and laws a candidate must follow in order to be eligible to run for office. If any undergraduate student believes a candidate violated the codes, they can submit a grievance detailing the violation through the A.S. complaint portal, which opened April 6 and closed April 10. According to these codes, three formal warnings result in disqualification from the race. Each case is brought before a student-led electoral commission that reviews every grievance and issues formal warnings accordingly. 

During the campaigning period, various students filed a total of 37 grievances against all the candidates running for office, nine of which were filed against Truchan. Of those nine, the commission ruled three as violations — cases 2, 4, and 36. 

On April 4, the electoral commission issued Truchan a formal warning for the violation in case 2, which Miranda submitted. The formal warning said that a March 15 Instagram post from Truchan about his involvement in the Makerspace was classified as a campaign post and thus violated Section 42(d). This code states that candidates cannot campaign outside of the designated campaign period — Weeks 1 and 2 of Spring quarter. 

Off-Campus Senator Jack Derby submitted a complaint on Truchan, which resulted in him receiving his second formal warning on April 6 for violating Section 15(1) in case 4. The section states that candidates cannot use preexisting social media accounts for campaigning, and any accounts for campaigning must be registered with the A.S. elections manager within 24 hours of creation. This grievance refers to the Instagram account mentioned in case 2. 

Warren College Student Council Basic Needs Advocate Anvi Sapra filed a complaint on April 10, and the electoral commission issued Truchan’s third formal warning for the violation in case 36. The grievance stated that Truchan allegedly violated four sections of the elections code. The commission issued a ruling the same day, finding him in violation of Section 43(b). That section prohibits the use of A.S. resources for campaigning. 

The A.S. Judicial Board is composed of UC San Diego students Chief Justice Sofia Earley, Presiding Justice Hadia El Hallou, Justice Cameron Golbahary, Justice Shaina Sanchez, Justice Tyler Hijirida, Justice Mani Sefas-Loos, and Justice Shail Bardolia. The board is responsible for reviewing all grievances and complaints regarding violations of UCSD governing documents. On May 22, Sanchez, Golbahary, Hijirida, Sefas-Loos, and Bardolia heard an appeal Truchan submitted for case 2, filed the same day he received the violation.

All present justices voted in favor of overturning the commission’s initial ruling, which held that Truchan violated Section 42(d). The Judicial Board found that the elections code does not apply to Truchan’s Instagram post, as it was not campaigning for specific proposals for the position but rather highlighting his accomplishments in his current position as a senator. 

The Judicial Board also overturned Section 14(1) regarding the process of issuing warnings for violations of the elections code, deeming the section “unworkably and unconstitutionally vague” and that it cannot remain as it is at the moment. This decision responded to the commission’s lack of an adequate public response, saying that “the Electoral Commission did not provide a publicly available justification explaining why Truchan received a formal warning as opposed to a verbal warning or disqualification; however, even if they had, Section 14(1) cannot stand in its current form.”

Additionally, the board will nullify the legislative power of Section 14(a) in light of two formal warnings issued against Truchan’s Makerspace Instagram post. The elections code does not specifically state whether a candidate can receive multiple warnings for the same grievance — this will remain the case until the Senate specifies the guidelines on “double jeopardy” penalizations. 

Following the overturning of case 2, Truchan now has only two formal warnings instead of three and is no longer eliminated from the election. This reversal makes Truchan the winner of the EVP of external affairs race. 

Following a complete examination of the elections codes, the Judicial Board also found that Section 44(a) violated the U.S. First Amendment — though it did not specify which aspect of the amendment — and removed any penalties under this section. Currently, the section code states that “obligations of campaign Candidates, proponents of referenda positions, or representatives or agents thereof shall be obligated to: a) Campaign in a civil, decent, and respectful manner.” 

Amid the issues presented at the hearing, the Judicial Board recommended in a letter to the Senate that several changes be made to ensure that the A.S. governing documents — especially the elections codes and A.S. judicial rules — are detailed, clear, and free of ambiguity. The suggestions included the establishment of an oversight committee, regular legal reviews of governing documents, and staff advisor oversight of amendments. 

In response to The UCSD Guardian’s request for comment, Truchan shared his perspective on the changes and future aspirations as he takes on his position. 

“I want to thank everyone who supported me throughout this election and the process of overturning it, it was long and arduous,” Truchan wrote. “I am very excited to serve as YOUR next Executive VP of External Affairs and you can expect a lot coming next year. Let’s slash tuition, keep our students safe, fed, and housed. Love you Tritons!” 

At a news conference last Tuesday, NASA released information on its $20 billion plans for developing a permanent base on the moon, which will serve as an outpost for scientific research and testing new technology. 

During the “Ignition” event on March 24, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman first shared the agency’s intention to return to the moon in the current space race with China. China has not formally announced any missions to space, but aligned with timelines, goals, and roadmap arrangements, “America will no longer be the exclusive power to send humans into the lunar environment,” according to Isaacman.

“NASA is committed to achieving the near‑impossible once again: to return to the moon before the end of President Trump’s term, build a moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space,” Isaacman said.

This week, NASA released specific information about its plan to build the base, sharing the timeline of its construction and implementation. The moon’s harsh conditions — with temperatures ranging from 130 degrees Fahrenheit in sunlight to minus 334 degrees Fahrenheit at night, along with meteors and space radiation — make constructing a permanent base challenging. 

The building of the base will occur in three phases, beginning in 2026 and continuing through 2032. The first phase — “Learn, Test, Build” — will consist of robotic missions to survey the south pole of the moon, test technologies, and prepare for operating on the moon’s surface. The second phase  — “Early Habitation” — will incorporate creating semipermanent infrastructure and beginning to map out the process for living on the moon. The third phase — “Sustained Human Presence” — will include an active presence on the moon and crew rotations. 

For the first phase, NASA announced that private contractors will largely support its expeditions. Companies, including Astrobotic and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, will provide lunar landers. Similarly, Astrolab and Lunar Outpost will build and provide lunar terrain vehicles for the first officially announced Moon Base missions I, II, and III.

DOJ sues UCLA over alleged Title IV violations 

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against UCLA in its investigation of antisemitism at the university, alleging the university maintains a “hostile educational environment” for Israeli and Jewish students on campus. 

The DOJ wrote that the campus’ 2024 pro-Palestinian protests and encampments in response to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict created a heightened antisemitic presence, reporting that demonstrators physically attacked and injured Israeli and Jewish students. The lawsuit states that UCLA violated Title IV of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which promotes desegregation and stopping discrimination in schools, by failing to “fulfill its legal obligations” in responding to “reports of antisemetic incidents against students.”

In February, the DOJ sued UCLA for allegedly failing to protect Jewish and Israeli employees from antisemitic harassment. In a statement released by the DOJ Office of Public Affairs, DOJ Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon said, “Now, the Department of Justice calls UCLA to account for its toleration of the equally appalling hostile educational environment against its Jewish and Israeli students.”

In response to the current lawsuit, UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk noted in a statement to ABC News that UCLA had previously taken steps to prevent antisemitism on campus by hiring staff to strengthen law-enforcement policies.

“Let me be direct: the suggestion that UCLA has been passive in the face of antisemitism is simply wrong,” Frenk said. “Combating antisemitism is a moral imperative — one rooted, for me, in personal history that makes indifference unthinkable.” 

The Trump administration also demands that UCLA repay all federal grants from the last two years, during which the university was not in compliance with Title IV, and will prevent the introduction of new federal funds until the university complies with the act.

SDPD officer arrested for possession of child pornography 

A grand jury indicted 33-year-old San Diego Police Department officer Brandon McGibbon on May 20, charging him with five counts of child sexual abuse offenses involving three minors. On May 26, McGibbon pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. If convicted on enticement, McGibbon will face a life sentence in prison. 

According to NBC News, McGibbon, a six-year veteran of the SDPD, is accused of “engaging in the attempted receipt and production of child pornography” and “the attempted enticement and coercion of the minors to engage in obscene matter and sexual conduct” from Oct. 25, 2025, to Nov. 6, 2025. 

The FBI first became aware of McGibbon’s alleged actions in April 2025. An 18-year-old woman made a report alleging that McGibbon had reached out to her on the messaging app Telegram while she was 17 years old and requested pornographic videos and photos.

In November 2025, FBI agents searched the residence McGibbon shared with his stepbrother, his stepbrother’s wife, and their two children. The agents discovered a collection of digital child pornography and his cell phone containing messages to numerous minors, suspected minors, and women. The victims’ ages ranged from 13 years old to early 20s.

According to court documents obtained by CBS News 8 and Times of San Diego, McGibbon contacted minors on social media apps such as Snapchat, complimenting their appearance and asking if they wanted to be given “princess treatment” in exchange for sending nude photos and videos of themselves. In one case, McGibbon told a 17-year-old girl that he was a police officer and that he was going to “risk it all” to see her. Over the course of his conversations, McGibbon would send victims gift cards for Roblox, Shein, and other trending stores and gaming platforms popular among adolescents. 

The SDPD issued a response to McGibbon’s charges, stating that they suspended McGibbon when they became aware of the investigation, and stripped him of his police officer position. They added that they hold officers “to the highest standards” and that allegations against McGibbon “do not reflect the great work of the men and women of the [SDPD].”

IDF airstrikes kill dozens of Lebanese citizens

According to the BBC, the Israeli Defense Forces launched an intensive wave of airstrikes across southern and eastern Lebanon on Tuesday, killing at least 31 people.

The strikes hit nearly 50 locations in Lebanon overnight, including the Bekaa Valley village of Mashghara and the southern Lebanese village of Burj el-Shamali. In Mashghara, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said authorities pulled the bodies of 11 people from the rubble, with 15 others injured. 

Mohammed, a 7-year old survivor of the attack, was asleep when a missile struck his home and killed his father and two sisters. 

“When I woke up, I felt like I couldn’t move, and beside me was just darkness,” he said. 

The IDF struck more than 100 Hezbollah infrastructure sites overnight, including more than 90 weapons storage facilities, command centers, and observation posts across southern Lebanon. In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was “deepening [its] operation in Lebanon,” adding that Israeli forces were “fortifying the security zone” to protect communities in northern Israel. He vowed to “deal them a crushing blow” in response to Hezbollah’s escaping drone and rocket attacks, including fiber optic drones capable of evading Israeli defenses.

Hezbollah said it targeted three barracks and a military post in northern Israel, in response to what is described as Israeli violations of the ceasefire. Both Israel and Lebanon have repeatedly violated the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, in force since April 17. Israeli strikes since the conflict began on March 2 have killed at least 3,020 people, according to the Lebanese ministry. 

Plant Power Fast Food closes at UCSD

Plant Power Fast Food, a restaurant offering vegan and plant-based options at UC San Diego, closed on May 22. UCSD did not renew its contract with the establishment for the next academic year following seven years of operation.

Located inside Catalyst in Sixth College, Plant Power first opened on Aug. 6, 2021. The UCSD location was the restaurant’s seventh and only university-based spot. The vegan restaurant chain is “steering the future of fast food and making a positive impact on the perceptions of veganism worldwide,” according to its website.  

Co-founders Mitch Wallis, Zach Vouga, and Jeffrey Harris established the restaurant chain in 2016, with the first location originating in Ocean Beach, San Diego. The chain was initially known for its plant-based drive-thru concept and mission to promote a 100% vegan menu with sustainable packaging and building materials, along with clean ingredients. 

Vouga, who has pursued a vegan lifestyle since he was 18 years old, is “especially passionate about promoting a vegan lifestyle and doing his part to pave the way toward a more sustainable future,” according to the Plant Power webpage. 

Supported in 2022 through the NIH Common Fund, the FIRST program was among several canceled by the NIH in 2025 due to federal budget limitations. Its reestablishment this month created 12 tenure-track positions available for faculty to teach and conduct research in the life sciences. 

The FIRST program currently funds research positions for graduate students at the UCSD School of Medicine and aims to strengthen developmental support for its cohort. This includes providing access to a Health Sciences Grant Writing Course, faculty mentorship, and scientific education. Specifically, the program focuses on research sustainability in four key clusters: cancer, cardiovascular sciences, immunology and infectious diseases, and neuroscience. 

President Donald Trump’s federal funding cuts in 2025 targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion programming at the NIH and the National Science Foundation led UCSD to a hiring freeze, with additional layoffs and project delays. Since then, researchers have faced uncertain future conditions, including reductions in department lecturers’ hours and an estimated $150 million in funding losses. 

In a written statement to The UCSD Guardian, UCSD FIRST Principal Investigator JoAnn Trejo, who has led the program since 2022, explained the legislative process to restore funding. 

“The program was relaunched following a formal appeal process and a lawsuit brought by 17 states,” she said. “The success of this appeal is in part due to UC San Diego’s strong existing institutional infrastructure, which allowed us to better navigate the political and legal challenges.” 

The disruption in funding caused immediate setbacks for researchers already in the program. According to Trejo, the canceled funding introduced “overall uncertainty about the future of the program” and caused delays in progress for faculty in the FIRST cohort.

Trejo emphasized the importance of diversity in research at higher education institutions such as  UCSD. 

“UC San Diego is among the most enriched biomedical research environments in the world but lacks faculty diversity and effective programming to enhance inclusive excellence similar to other research-intensive institutions,” she said at the time of the program’s initial introduction in 2022. 

On its website, the NIH also articulated its commitment to diversity in science, encouraging research institutions to “diversify their student and faculty populations to enhance the participation of individuals from groups that are underrepresented in the biomedical, clinical, behavioral and social sciences.” 

Since Trejo’s launch of UCSD’s FIRST program in 2022, the support it has provided to researchers has yielded $16 million in new grant funding. 

The renewed recruitment search maintained the cross-institutional scope of its previous cycles. UCSD Health Sciences conducted searches for researchers, including stakeholders from multiple campus departments in accordance with university, state, and federal policies. Their research spans scientific projects that study the causes, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of disorders like cancer, infectious diseases, and immune dysfunction. 

“This was a truly cross-campus search,” Trejo said. “We involved faculty from across the university, including medicine, pharmacy, engineering, biology, physical and social sciences, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. This kind of interdisciplinary collaboration is a hallmark of UC San Diego, and it allowed us to identify and recruit talented faculty who can tackle complex biomedical challenges from multiple angles.”

For faculty in the cohort itself, the program’s impact has been tangible. Melissa Campbell, an assistant professor of neuroscience at the School of Medicine, said the cohort model addresses a common challenge for early-career researchers. 

“As a new faculty member, you’re often the most junior person in a department, and it’s easy to feel isolated,” Campbell said. “Because we’re all in the same phase of our careers, it’s very different from being the lone junior hire.” 

With the initial NIH grant set to conclude in 2027, Trejo has indicated her commitment to making the restoration of FIRST’s infrastructure a permanent campus feature. She and her team are currently working to institutionalize their mentorship and career development models as a lasting part of UCSD’s future faculty recruitment processes. 

“Our vision is to make these programs part of UC San Diego’s long-term identity,” Trejo stated. “FIRST has given us the foundation. Now we’re working to embed these practices into the fabric of UC San Diego so that every new faculty member has the support they need to thrive.”

The UC San Diego School of Medicine is built upon values of “respect, justice, compassion, empathy, and inclusion.” The “response” from the SOM to recent concerns raised by Medical Students Against ICE about immigration enforcement is in direct contradiction to each one of these values. 

Several students have previously expressed reasonable fears about federal authorities potentially detaining, intimidating, questioning or physically harming their family members regardless of citizenship status. Said family members were unable to attend the white coat ceremony this past August or visit their loved ones in San Diego in large part due to the lack of a proactive, preventative, and clear set of policy actions by the UCSD SOM.

Instead of directly addressing the matter, the SOM administration referred to UCSD’s official policies and statements on immigration, which Chancellor Pradeep Khosla issued via email on Jan. 16, 2026. Khosla’s response cited UCSD’s decision in Fall 2024 “not to issue statements regarding specific political or social issues that do not directly pertain to the university’s mission and operations,” a policy that brings forth a cognitive dissonance and raises more questions than answers. If an institution dedicated to training physicians cannot ensure that students and their families feel safe attending a foundational professional ceremony, then they are not upholding their values or commitments. 

The policy also explicitly affirms that Immigration and Customs Enforcement or any federal immigration agency presence is permitted on our campus for “non-enforcement activities which can include recruitment and activities related to normal nonimmigrant visa status verifications.” It is easily foreseeable from the history of state-sanctioned violence and policing — especially within the context of our nation’s current condition — that federal law enforcement can and will use any pretext to conduct their operations. CalMatters reports a nearly 1,500% increase in arrests related to civil violations of immigration law from May 2025 to October 2025 in San Diego and Imperial counties compared to the same period last year.

The International Services and Engagement Office student FAQ page details that 35 students on UCSD’s campus have had their F-1 Student and Exchange Visitor Information System record terminated, and one student was deported with no explanation of their termination as of April 21, 2025. It is further stated that of the 35 F-1 SEVIS record terminations, all 35 are in the process of reactivation with the one deportation withstanding as of April 28, 2025. Although there are updates on SEVIS record terminations and reactivations provided by the ISEO, we believe this information to not be practically accessible nor well-known to students.

Our concerns are not solely about “what is currently happening around the country,” as stated in the SOM’s response to our initial request, but also the school’s inability to address threats that have existed for years. 

The SOM and affiliated institutions have not taken appropriate action amid the reported 290 people who have died since 2004 in ICE custody and the many more thousands subject to inhumane medical treatment, often under the supervision of unqualified medical staff. From 2017 to 2024, four people have died just 27 miles away from UCSD while imprisoned in the Otay Mesa Detention Center, contributing to the 70 overall deaths in detention centers nationwide. UCSD’s Undocumented Student Services FAQ page highlights six border checkpoints that surround the county and are “unpredictable when they become active.” 

Decades have passed to appropriately address concerns all too familiar for several affected generations. What is happening now is simply a logical progression of indifference and reactive inertia. 

Evidence for this concern stems from the letter sent to Khosla and Campus Counsel Daniel Park by the UC San Diego Faculty Association on Sept. 17, 2025 titled, “Request for transparency over release of personal information to federal agencies.” In seemingly direct opposition to the approved resolution, The UCSD Guardian on Oct. 6, 2025 described how “UC San Diego’s administration sent personally identifiable information of UCSD faculty, staff, and students to the University of California Office of the President, which sent said information to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.” The Guardian confirmed later that federal investigators acquired names of the aforementioned individuals. Thus, it is clear that student information is not secure. This eerily resembles actions other institutions have taken against students exercising their first amendment rights — such as in the cases of Rumeysa Öztürk, Mahmoud Khalil, Rasha Alawieh, Leqaa Kordia, and many more.

These contradictions and lack of accessible transparency from UCSD demonstrate the need to address several concerns. The University’s plans to protect its students when faced with threats of federal funding cuts, clarify how it will respond to federal actions against students or community members on campus, and publish more accessible updates regarding these aforementioned actions are necessary to address those contradictions. 

We have proposed a student-led forum with the SOM deans to ensure our concerns are understood and addressed. The main points during the proposed forum can be found within the letter sent to the UCSD SOM deans on March 24. We have yet to hear a response or acknowledgment of receipt as of publishing this piece.

Gen Z’s traditionalism is a movement that screams, “There has to be more to life than this!” It is an open rejection of being worked to the bone and a proclamation that young people crave prosperity. Working more for less is not the future Gen Z wants. Although traditionalism has helped push back against corporatism, it is not a sustainable solution. The past has given us the wisdom that this ideology is not practical for every single person and often leads to harm of historically oppressed groups of people. Ostracizing those who do not live traditionally hurts more than it helps because it sows division and collapses a societal sense of community. 

Personal identities should not be scrutinized, and yet traditionalist politics commonly target LGBTQ+ individuals and immigrants by portraying them as threats to social stability. The real threats to social harmony are polarization and greed, which have both been festering for quite some time. Attacking and excluding specific groups is not productive because diversity will always exist in a country like the U.S. that was built by immigrants. What is actually productive is addressing the economic insecurity and isolation that has depleted young people’s quality of life. 

Traditional gender roles, which cast men as providers and women as homemakers, were once seen as necessary pillars of past American family life. Traditionalism, however, is not a one-size-fits-all ideology, as it marginalizes groups including the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, women, single parents, and others who do not fit into narrow norms. 

Social progress movements like feminism, civil rights activism, and LGBTQ+ advocacy have sought to push society toward greater individual freedom alongside social acceptance. Yet the pressure to work and contribute to the corporate world has also become gradually embedded within American culture, restricting these hard-fought freedoms and making economic success a fundamental component of modern identity. 

The traditionalist lifestyle is simply a reflection of the American Dream — a dream that is unattainable and out of reach for young people who are barely surviving in today’s economic hardship. Nonetheless, the movement is counterproductive to its goals in that it focuses more on preserving social norms and traditional roles than addressing the economic conditions that prevent people from starting families.

Compared to previous generations, Gen Z faces rising housing costs, declining economic mobility, and growing social isolation. This has created an increasing sense of economic fragility. Buying a house and starting a family, core milestones of the American Dream, are nearly unobtainable for Gen Z. These conditions did not emerge overnight but are symptoms of escalating wealth inequality and a culture obsessed with profit and productivity. 

Corporatism — the prioritization of corporate interests and economic growth — has thrown the well-being of ordinary people to the wayside. Corporations treat the working class as disposable and expendable, which in turn has placed immense pressure on individuals to work as much as possible. As wages struggle to keep up with the cost of living, many workers take on multiple jobs and work excessive hours. People no longer have the time or financial security to meaningfully contribute to their communities, pursue hobbies, or build families of their own. As these problems worsen, many members of Gen Z have turned to traditionalism in search of stability and purpose. 

Per the Public Religion Research Institute, Gen Z men are consistently religiously affiliated. In 2013, 35% of young men identified as religious. This trend continued throughout the next decade; in 2024, 36% of young men expressed religious affiliation. Male influencers such as Jordan Peterson and Matt Walsh reinforce this, endorsing traditional masculinity while volunteering religion and gender roles as answers to social decline, like stagnating pay and the erosion of community life. Their messaging resonates with many young men because it offers a clear sense of identity and direction. 

Gen Z women are generally less religious, with 40% identifying as religiously unaffiliated. Regardless, many have gravitated toward the “tradwife” trend, which romanticizes homemaking and modest fashion. Female influencers associated with the tradwife movement, such as Nara Smith and Hannah Neeleman, present housekeeping and motherhood as fulfilling experiences. Such content aestheticizes domesticity and frames it as far more gratifying than working for a neglectful corporation. 

In many ways, the trends of young people turning toward religion and domestic life challenge the contemporary expectation that people should dedicate the majority of their lives to working and making money. Since traditionalism emphasizes personal fulfillment and community, ideals lost to economic struggle, it appeals to young people who are overworked and exhausted from trying to succeed professionally. 

Gen Z should take the good from traditionalism and leave the bad. Leading a traditional life and subscribing to gender roles is not inherently oppressive when people freely choose to live that way, nor is it incompatible with social progress. Traditional or not, most people genuinely want to have thriving communities and easygoing lives. Prioritizing family and personal happiness should be values that everyone shares. At the same time, we cannot afford for social progress to move backward. Finding solutions to corporate greed is a collective issue, and we are stronger when we work together despite our differences.

In reality, Americans are eating record amounts of animal products — an annual average of 138.4 pounds of red meat and poultry per person, increasing 24% since 1975. On social media, this mindset is stimulated by a false and intentionally constructed correlation between protein consumption and masculine construals of strength, as well as the perception of vegetarian and vegan diets as effeminate. This societal overemphasis has bolstered the cattle farming industry, leading to an upward trend in protein consumption that is detrimental to both the environment and our own health.

The Trump administration recently moved forward with the Grazing Action Plan, which intends to open up to 24 million acres of federal land to cattle grazing. The administration solidified this initiative without consulting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which, under the Endangered Species Act, must review the impact of plans like these on protected species. This program would increase the unregulated hunting of predators by ranchers and rangers. Additionally, cattle strip the land of essential vegetation and pollute streams with feces, urine, sediment, and carcasses. These consequences pose a greater threat to the environment than industries often at the center of the discussion on combatting climate change like logging and mining.

The horrific consequences to the environment posed by the Trump administration’s plan are grossly disproportionate to their negligible benefits for the beef industry, as cattle grazing on public land accounts for a measly 2% of the nation’s beef supply. The alternative — densely populated, low-cost environments for raising livestock, known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations — is notorious for extreme animal cruelty and accounts for 14.5% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, among a plethora of other harmful environmental impacts. Produced by both systems, beef has become intrinsic to American culture, diet, and values, thus raising questions regarding the existence of a moral obligation to cease participating in these systems as individual consumers entirely. 

Unfortunately, environmental concerns are not widely considered by consumers blinded in their pursuit of healthy living due to social media’s temporarily trending protein fixation. The oversaturation of TikTok and Instagram with content lauding protein-centered meals is not coincidental but is incentivized by capitalistic objectives of the cattle farming industry.

Commenting on this connection in an interview with The UCSD Guardian, UC San Diego philosophy professor Karen Kovaka said, “The beef and dairy industry in the U.S. has … mounted these big public awareness campaigns to try to convince the public to eat more meat.” Consequently, this produces an inaccurate perception of red meat as directly correlated with “peak health” and what is currently regarded as the optimal physique. 

This desirable appearance, prioritizing muscle mass and leanness, is a superficial aesthetic. True health is diverse and supported by a variety of diets in different people. Conveniently disregarded in the current dietary discourse is the fact that red meat contains high concentrations of saturated fat and cholesterol, resulting in increased risk of heart disease. Where we truly fall short is fiber: 90% to 95% of Americans’ diets fall short of the recommended dietary intake and thus lack foods such as beans and leafy greens. 

It is imperative to note that cultural standards regarding our physiques and diets are subject to change and not absolute, factual conceptions of fitness or health. Factors including corporate capitalist objectives, political greed, and resulting cultural values shape this fluctuation. In the mid-1800s, German chemist Justus von Liebig regarded protein as “the only true nutrient” due to its vital role in tissue building and muscle growth. Following World War II, the American government heralded protein as a mechanism of revitalizing weakened veterans, thus forming an early correlation between red meat and masculinity. 

In today’s fitness culture, alternative food groups, including carbs and fats, have faced vilification on a scale unfamiliar to red meat. The influence of protein has even made an insidious encroachment on the sphere of political influence; many supposed “experts” behind flipping the food pyramid have economic interests in the meat industry and ties to organizations such as the Texas Beef Council and the Global Dairy Platform. 

Collectively, public perceptions and policy decisions fueling our beef obsession support the Trump administration’s fight against what they have deemed an affront to traditional masculinity and gender roles. Complementary to this view of masculinity is the portrayal of vegetarianism and veganism as effeminate. This is evident in the pejorative term “soyboy” circulating on social media, emasculating men for consuming soy-based products or pursuing plant-based diets. The term originates from the myth that consuming soy alters hormonal balance and increases estrogen levels. 

Historically, plant-based proteins, including soy, have been an integral element of healthy living in East Asian cuisine — a demographic of men which are often subject to stereotypically effeminate portrayals in Western culture. Henceforth, under President Donald Trump’s leadership, veganism and being vegetarian are the antithesis of the strong, dominant America he envisions when making us “great again,” a future with beef at its dietary center. 

“Eating red meat is so politically polarized,” Kovaka said. “It’s not about the truth at all. It’s about your tribe, and your identity, and what club you’re in.” 

Understanding the cultural and environmental underpinnings of the American obsession with red meat should lead one to question their personal involvement in the cattle-farming industry. The tragedy of the commons is a concept in which everyone knows that overconsumption of certain goods is unsustainable and produces negative externalities, yet they continue to do so anyway. This behavior is often justified by the assertion that if no one else ceases consumption, individual action seems negligible. Regardless, we have a moral obligation, within our means, not to contribute to systems that cause harm to others and our planet. 

As someone who witnessed the havoc and cruelty of this industry while growing up in Texas and voluntarily stopped eating beef at 10 years old, I often face jokes that “the cow is still dead,” whether or not I eat it. On the contrary, even a single In-N-Out burger patty harbors contexts much more sinister than simply providing macronutrients. Regardless, this article is not a call to go cold turkey — pun intended — on beef. 

In regard to the role of individual action, Kovaka maintains that, “There’s what you actually eat as an individual, and then there’s how you participate in collective action to try to change things.” 

Even if you cannot entirely eliminate red meat, you can advocate for more ethical farming practices and against the expansion of the beef industry. In doing so, you will improve both your own health and the health of our planet. 

“There’s opportunities to actually rebuild and change our institutions to be, you know, better than they are now, right?” Kovaka said. “You just have to think you can be a part of that somehow, you know? And you could be. You really, really could be.”

Hurley played a key role in transforming the campus from the one she knew 40 years ago: four colleges, 13,000 undergraduates, and a lot more parking lots. Under Capital Planning, Hurley planned major projects all over campus. Most notably, Hurley assisted in the construction of UCSD’s Central Campus Station — more commonly known as the trolley station — which was finally completed in 2021, and the Gilman Bridge over the Interstate 5 freeway that connects the East Campus Medical Center to the main campus, unveiled in 2019.

Despite proposals coming and going, she always enjoyed the process of learning something new and centering her work on serving the growing needs of the University and its students.

In an interview with The UCSD Guardian, Hurley said, “Just about every major event, or decision, or project, or what have you, always has a committee. … Those are important to make sure that all constituents are at the table. I think it is harder to collaborate the bigger you get, and the campus has been really deliberate in making sure, even if it takes a little bit longer, even if it feels a little cumbersome sometimes. The important work is making sure all those voices are heard.”

Having spent “every minute of her adult life” on campus, Hurley has always been inspired by the desire to make UCSD feel like a home for students.

In 2008, Hurley moved to Institutional Research, where she and her colleagues worked behind the scenes to support the campus by analyzing data on the student population. Institutional Research uses questionnaires such as the UC Undergraduate Experience Survey to identify student needs. For example, after student responses highlighted significant food insecurity on campus, UCSD launched The Hub Basic Needs Center to address the issue.

Institutional Research also supported academic departments through curricular analytics. Using student survey data, it identifies classes that students struggle in and advises departments on ways to improve academic success, such as offering courses more frequently or breaking a complex curriculum into a series of courses.

“There’s a phrase that I don’t like: that is ‘data driven,’” Hurley said. “No, we don’t want data driving anything. We want people driving things. We want ideas driving things. We want the data to inform those conversations and decisions. But really, the decision is made by the people.”

That people-centered philosophy has shaped Hurley’s approach to campus planning for decades.

“Not many people can walk around the place and see a physical manifestation of your work,” Hurley said. “And so, that’s really meaningful to me. … The memories that you have sitting [at Art of Espresso], or studying at the Price Center, going up to the top floor of Geisel — things like that, really, really cement a student’s connection with the campus for the rest of their lives.”

Suffice it to say, Hurley has seen UCSD through many changes, and now she is ready to take her leave. Over the next six months, she plans to travel and volunteer for political causes she is passionate about. After that, she is open to see what the future holds.

“No one grows up thinking, ‘I wanna be an institutional researcher when I grow up,’” Hurley said. “So I’m really trying to trust the process of, you don’t have to know where you think you want to end up. Just follow the path, because look at where it got you.”

Religious leaders, elected officials, advocacy organizations, and community members mourned the deaths of Mansour Kaziha — nicknamed Abuliz — Nadir Awad, and Amin Abdullah. Throughout the vigil, speakers conveyed a common message: The community will not allow violence and hatred to define its future.

The shooting occurred on May 18, the first day of Dhul Hijjah, a holy month when the first 10 days are widely regarded by Islamic scholars as the most sacred period of the Islamic lunar calendar. The month is a time to gather, give charity, and forgive. Kaziha, Awad, and Abdullah died protecting the ICSD’s students and teachers — including Awad’s wife — during the attack.

For many attendees, the vigil was not only a moment of mourning but also a reminder of the values that united the community long before the tragedy.

“When we move forward as a community, we should really focus on the love that we have between each other,” Mathias Pretet, vice president of the Muslim Student Association of UC San Diego, said in an interview with The UCSD Guardian.

Shaykha Muslema Purmul — the religious director of The Majlis, a nonprofit focused on religious education and service — spoke about the three victims during the vigil. Purmul said that the victims’ actions demonstrated their devotion to both their faith and those around them. Pretet reflected on the message in her remarks, noting that the love reflected by the community will not be vanquished.

“We don’t want hate to overcome that love,” Pretet said. “At the end of the day, the thing that is so moving for all of us with brother Amin, brother Nadir, with Abuliz, is that it’s their love for the children in that school, for the mosque, for their community, that led them to give up their lives in defending that.”

The following day, students and community members gathered at UCSD’s Silent Tree in front of Geisel Library. Representatives from the MSA UCSD, the Council on American-Islamic Relations San Diego, and ICSD Imam Taha Hassane addressed attendees.

In his remarks, Hassane emphasized the importance of confronting hatred before it escalates into violence.

“We see, every single time, that hate speech turns to be bullets,” Hassane said. “Hate speech kills.”

While both vigils focused primarily on healing and remembrance, several speakers also connected the shooting to broader concerns about rising anti-Muslim rhetoric in the United States. According to CAIR, the organization received 8,683 civil rights complaints in 2025, the highest number in its history. CAIR offers free legal assistance to those who report complaints about employment discrimination, immigration and asylum cases, and hate incidents. CAIR had the most civil right complaints submitted in those three categories in 2025.

Marwa Abdalla, who recently completed her Ph.D. in communication at UCSD with a focus on critical Muslim studies, said conversations surrounding anti-Muslim discrimination often place the burden of response on the communities most affected.

“Just for a minute, I invite all of us to reframe this question,” Abdalla said. “How much longer should it be marginalized communities’ responsibility to counter a national political discourse bent on intimidation and division?”

As Muslims around the world observe Dhul Hijjah, Pretet said the lesson he hopes people take from the tragedy is the importance of recognizing one another’s shared humanity.

“In the same way that we hope that our own community would focus on the love that we have for each other, as human beings, as people who have dignity, as people who have a right to their safety and to worship and to be with each other, we hope people focus on loving each other and strengthening each other,” Pretet said.

In February 2025, the Trump administration proposed another plan for funding cuts in the form of a 15% cap on Facilities and Administration and Indirect Cost Reimbursements for research grants. These funds are essential for maintaining lab spaces, utilities, and equipment.

Student labor unions across the UC system are fighting back. One of these unions is the United Auto Workers 4811 — an organization representing tens of thousands of academic researchers, graduate student workers, and medical professionals at all the UC campuses.

Though both federal plans to cut funding were ultimately rejected by Congress, Nathaniel Roethler, a UCSD Ph.D. student working in the elections committee for UAW 4811, said it still signals a worrisome future for science research.

“Do we just continue year after year the fight against Trump or do we figure out a way to just give California a way to pay for this research?” Roethler said in an interview with The UCSD Guardian.

As a solution, the UAW, UC system, and the Union of American Physicians and Dentists worked with California State Sen. Scott Wiener to draft Senate Bill 895, also known as California Science and Health Research Bond Act. If passed, the bill, officially co-sponsored by the UAW, would create a $12 billion state bond to fund vital scientific, biomedical, and climate research across California universities. The California Foundation for Science and Health Research, a new state-centered public entity, would distribute the bonds.

Whereas federal grants come from taxpayer money, the $12 billion would draw on bond interest from private investors. When an investor, such as a biotech company, buys a bond, the state government will pay the purchaser back the same amount they invested plus interest over time, depending on the duration of the loan. Thus, the funds would come entirely from state allocations and rely heavily on long-term private investment.

The proposed bill would impact research related to women’s health, HIV, cancer, and infectious and hereditary diseases, alongside UCSD undergraduates not actively involved in research.

Vikram Pal Singh, a post-doctoral fellow representing academic researchers for UAW 4811, explained to The UCSD Guardian, “I’ve had so many mentees who … don’t want to do research in their life; they just want to get a job. Even for them, they were in the lab doing something and then they were putting it on their CV. … All of this is possible only if there is funding for a lab. … It gives them exposure.”

The bond could also help maintain the educational quality of undergraduate classes by funding teaching assistant salaries.

“The only funding [graduate students] can get is through their [principal investigators or mentors] and essentially the only funding that [PIs] can get is through grants,” Roethler said. “So the impact we’ve seen is … less people are able to join labs, less admissions.”

Singh also explained that Senate Bill 895 is modeled after Proposition 14, a similar bill passed in 2020. California legislators created Proposition 14 in response to the federal government’s proposal to reduce stem cell research funding because it did not align with its political ideologies. Singh said Proposition 14 responded with the creation of a $5.5 billion bond measure for stem cell research. The measure currently funds the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. Legislators aim to create a similar establishment now, but for all science research.

Singh further clarified that the proposal for SB 895 stemmed from ambiguity around federal funding.

“Because more than 80% of the [scientific] research in California is funded by NIH, if [the federal government] restructures it, then it directly impacts 80% of the people, like right away,” Singh said.

The bill passed the state Senate on Wednesday and now heads to the state assembly. If it passes the assembly and is signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the measure will officially appear on the general election ballot this November.

Singh said that UAW members have been actively meeting with senators to promote the bill and gain their support. He highlighted efforts made on Jan. 26, when a few UAW members from every UC campus traveled to Sacramento and lobbied to various legislators. During this trip, they held a science fair showcasing research projects that would be otherwise difficult to conduct under the Trump administration’s proposed funding cuts.

According to Singh, UCSD as an institution has not been playing as big of a role in promoting the bond measure as the collective effort of UAW student members. To remain politically neutral, there has not been active lobbying from people in positions of power, such as the UC Board of Regents, who can speak directly with governors and leaders.

He also expressed that, if this bill passes on the ballot this November, it “sets an example” for other states that are hubs for scientific research and innovations.

“Scientists are supposed to just be sitting in their labs, wearing their lab coats, and minding their own business and just doing research,” said Singh. “It is in this moment, finally scientists are rising up and actually raising their voice and saying that, no, we want justice.”

“The library will close in 30 minutes / The lights and the elevators will be turned off in 20 minutes / Please begin to pack up your belongings and exit the building / Geisel Floor 2 East is open overnight for those with a valid UC San Diego ID / All others should exit the building by closing time.”

Geisel Library implemented the songs in early 2026. According to Dani Cook, UCSD associate university librarian for learning and user experience, the library user experience team used “various AI tools,” including Mureka, to set the library’s closing announcements to music. There are currently about a dozen songs in the library’s rotation, ranging from energetic pop tunes to slow and spooky ballads. Employees determine which tune to play when closing the library each night.

“As we close the Library each night, it’s often challenging to get users to pay attention to our closing messages and depart from the building,” Cook said in an email to The UCSD Guardian. “This challenge has increased as more individuals use noise-canceling headphones. The closing songs are intended to get people’s attention so they are aware of the Library’s closing procedures, and that our staff can safely and efficiently close the non-overnight spaces.”

On Wednesday, like most nights, Geisel Floor 2 East came alive with chatter about the song as soon as it finished playing.

To first-year student Disha Naik, the new songs are unnecessarily distracting compared to spoken closing announcements.

“They’re so loud, and they sound really obnoxious,” Naik said. “I would appreciate it if they stopped. I think it just stresses me out. Because I’m usually … trying to submit something, and that stupid song stresses me out even more.”

For students like second-years Benny Signer and Noah Weiss, the songs offer brief moments of fun and mystery in an otherwise stressful environment.

“I do want to know who is creating these songs,” Signer said. “[But] I kind of like the mystery of it all. It’s like an Easter egg.”

“It could be UCSD Darth Vader,” Weiss added. “It could be Carrot Man.”

But to students like third-year Roisin Gross, the evident use of AI in these songs is cause for concern.

“The songs that play at Geisel at closing are really contradictory to the values of the student body,” Gross said. “I think that there’s been a really strong movement within the student body in the last year against the use of AI where it is not needed, and when we use AI in a creative aspect, like music, we’re really creating a disheartening atmosphere for people who care about the arts.”

According to Cook, four undergraduate UCSD students have separately reached out to the library over the past two weeks about changing the way the songs are created. In response to these concerns, the library is looking into potential ways of changing the songs by Fall 2026.

“One suggestion is that we host a student contest to compose the songs,” Cook said. “We are looking into the feasibility of this idea.”

In the meantime, librarygoers will continue to hear the songs every night for the foreseeable future — for better or for worse.

Yet as I inch closer to graduation, the song’s greatest appeal reveals itself in a poignant self-awareness of contradiction. Some days, you’re on top of the world; other days, you can’t stop thinking about your impending doom. Butcher acknowledges his own wasted time and excuses, then goes on to proclaim unabashed confidence in the future ahead of him: “It’s funny how it all works out the same / … / And maybe it’s enough to go insane.” 

The song ends on an uncertain, tempestuous note, but somewhere in the aftershock, we remember what we’re doing it all for. “What mistake is ever to be made / When you’re following your dreams / And it’s nothing what it seemed at all?” As the youngest people alive, that’s just part of the fun. 

Listen to our Spring 2026 Jams playlist here!

Many consider the “Uncharted” series, a flagship PlayStation franchise,  among the best video games ever made. These playable blockbusters follow charming thief Nathan Drake — descendant of Sir Francis Drake — as he uncovers cities lost to the snows, seas, and sands of time. Drake must reckon with powerful secrets, villains without inside voices, and the burdens of legacy.

If that sounds formulaic, that’s because, to an extent, it is. But the formula averse should probably steer clear of treasure hunts. A characteristic of “Uncharted’s” appeal is its consistency: namely, its authentic approach to story and character. Though Drake shares similarities with the likes of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, it’s his everyman persona that has won over generations of fans. “Uncharted’s” authenticity is what has earned the series its keep. And a middling film adaptation.

“Golden Abyss,” the oft-forgotten sixth installment, hews to formula, following Drake and mentor Victor Sullivan on a search for the lost city of Quivira. Its obscurity, despite its lauded provenance and quality, is due to its platform. Where its siblings were launched on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, “Golden Abyss” has only ever been released on the unsuccessful handheld PlayStation Vita console, making the means to simply play it the prohibitive part for most. 

Having bought a Vita primarily to play “Golden Abyss,” I can attest it lives up to its predecessors in quality. Nowadays, people can most practically play the game on PC via Vita emulator.

I consider “Golden Abyss” a lasting reminder that despite the ugliness of the world and the most existential and vitriolic of our modernities, there is always meaning past that endless horizon. The infinity of the human experience, of lives past and yet to come, must entail constants innumerable, like beauty, mystery, and love. “Golden Abyss” — and by extension, “Uncharted” as a whole — reminds me why this world is worth living in.

Playing “Golden Abyss” on a Vita lets you fit all that in a pocket! Or perhaps some manner of crucible.

‘Blood & Treasure’ (2019-22)

Due to the impracticality of high budgets, location shoots, and spades of action, treasure hunt adventures don’t tend to marry well with modern TV. The few shows that do make it to air vary wildly in quality, rarely lasting multiple seasons, making those that truly embody the genre often hard to recommend. “Blood & Treasure,” while short-lived like its peers, manages to traverse this particular rickety bridge, delivering a two-season romp that will leave you wishing it had stuck around for more.

“Blood & Treasure” plays its main characters safe and lets its actors give their time-tested genre archetypes life. The leads — initially opposed, or with a history, or both — are united in goal via circumstance. By the end of the show, you can see neither heels nor head of a chance they aren’t in love. “Blood & Treasure” does not harbor ambitions of breaking this mold. Nor, necessarily, should it, especially not when what it does harbor is blistering chemistry between its leads. Matt Barr and Sofia Pernas, who play lawyer Danny McNamara and thief Lexi Vaziri respectively, are a jackpot combination. Danny and Lexi’s romantic history is nothing short of complicated — and I’d have it no other way. Their banter is enlivened with airy familiarity that blossoms into rekindled romance and provides the show with a veritable beating heart.

Wisely, “Blood & Treasure” follows the path well trod by adventures past and populates its supporting and guest roles with pitch-perfect character actors. The likes of James Callis, Michael James Shaw, and Byron Mann clap ostentatious hands to rudder, navigating treacherous waters of exposition with carefree aplomb. Such waters are a necessity of the format — it’s hard to build episodic treasure hunts toward an overarching story without a few info dumps. The production value more than makes up for this shortcoming, particularly in the second season’s stunning location shoots. Though it’s by no means perfect, among its peers on the list, “Blood & Treasure” perhaps most embodies the moral to most of these stories — that true treasure can sometimes come from the most unlikely places. In this case, CBS, originally.

And while “Blood & Treasure” spent its first few years of life languishing on various low-rent streamers, it moved with its second season to Paramount+, marking something of a happy ending for the show.

‘Armour of God II: Operation Condor’ (1991)

This relatively standalone follow-up to “Armour of God” — remembered, peculiarly, as Jackie Chan’s attempt at Indiana Jones, though this is closer in spirit and story — is a hell of a romp for people who enjoy watching other people follow old maps. Chan plays the tragically-named Asian Hawk, a daredevil treasure hunter who seems magnetized to breakable surfaces. 

Like most of Chan’s films in his prime, the plot is loose pretext meant to flavor a series of gleefully ridiculous brawls. Even without grading on that curve, there’s enough coherence here to appease fans who may not derive joy from acrobatic fits of violence; they even found a few plot twists in the budget. Hawk, too, is thinly defined, but Chan’s outrageous charisma buoys the character through his search for World War II treasure.

The film — like most of Chan’s oeuvre and the moniker of Asian Hawk — does have a few elements that certainly haven’t gotten better with age, particularly its treatment of its female characters.

With that sizable caveat, though, on thrills alone, I’m hard pressed to think of a more lockjaw-curative adventure film that doesn’t start with“Indiana Jones and the” and end with John Williams’ “Raiders March.” The third act is the age-old dopamine delivery system known as Sheer Lunacy — trust me, I’m a psychology major — in which Chan and playmates ricochet from girder to wind turbine with maniacal vim. 

You’ll be left gasping, “I can’t believe no one died!” — the bloopers over the credits will reveal that many very nearly did. They truly don’t make them like this anymore, and while that’s probably for the best, I’m beyond grateful that they once did. Just in case this wasn’t sounding on-brand enough, “Operation Condor” is best watched in its longer Hong Kong cut, if you can find it.

Fascinated by the elusive soundscapes of the underwater realm and its diverse populace, Liang and Jones brought sounds beyond human hearing into concert. They presented dynamic whale songs, dolphin clicks, and even the groaning of ice floes in concert –– all sounds that are usually well outside the 20 hertz to 20,000 hertz range of human hearing. Whales, for example, can produce sound that is both infrasonic — as low as 10 hertz — and ultrasonic — up to 150,000 hertz. This task captured me from the get-go, and I sat down in the packed concert hall excited and curious about how Liang and Jones would translate the noises of the ocean into music. 

Contrabassist Mark Dresser, percussionist Steven Schick, and pianist Cory Smythe performed the hourlong event, which was broken into seven movements all backed by real underwater recordings of ocean life captured all over the globe. The lighting and staging were both simple, drawing focus to the three musicians onstage. Each subsequent movement incorporated these audio recordings at a decelerated rate to make their nuances easier to hear over time. Dresser, Schick, and Smyth — incredibly talented musicians and longtime affiliates of UCSD’s music department — used their instruments in unconventional ways. They played below the contrabass’ bridge, modulated piano strings to intentionally sound off tune, and mimicked the percussive cetacean calls by tapping on the rivets, screws, and rims of their wooden and metallic bodies. 

As a longtime concertgoer across many genres and cultures, “The Inaudible Ocean” was one of the most experimental works I have seen to date. However, this degree of experimentation felt too avant-garde; each movement lasted for almost 10 minutes, with little melody to follow. To an ear untrained on the subtleties between whale species, the movements sounded similar to one another despite the progressively slowed-down background audio. These sentiments resonated with most of the audience that night, as palpable confusion rippled throughout the concert hall when the show ended. Since this was my first exposure to Liang and his lab’s work, I was unacquainted with the ambient nature of his repertoire. Without knowing his prior projects — which heavily focus on sound design and the Lei Lab’s audio research — I admittedly had my expectations set for something more traditional. 

Although I felt “The Inaudible Ocean” was a compelling idea on paper and had marvelous technical execution, I left the night wishing the concert included more music rather than simply a sonic environment. 

It was visually interesting to watch highly skilled professionals challenge what sounds could be produced by orthodox Western instruments, but the night seemed to linger longer on reconstructing underwater noises rather than creating melodic arrangements. These sparse moments when the instruments sang were definitely the performance’s highlights, and I wished the concept had leaned further in this direction. It could be argued that Liang and Jones’ vision was realized too literally. Despite the undeniable technical achievement of this effort, for me, “The Inaudible Ocean” is a musical project I would have preferred to have included more music.

Amid this darkness, Spielberg developed a far-reaching inclination toward the underrepresented, the unexplained, and the undisclosed. He spent most of his nomadic childhood exploring the barren desertlands of Scottsdale, Arizona. There, Spielberg joined a Boy Scouts troop to help navigate a turbulent family life — his parents were approaching divorce — by studying what lies on the outskirts of human thought. In 1958, it came time for the scouts to earn their photography badge. The young Spielberg convinced his troop leader to film a project instead.

As soon as he grazed the gears of his father’s 8-millimeter motion picture camera to direct his first film “The Last Gunfight,” a spark of joy unlocked gold within Spielberg’s chest. His life was beamed up, his mind eternally enlightened. A far-out light had captured his dilated eyes, while visions quietly whispered into his ears. They echoed the yet undisclosed question: “Who am I?”

Spielberg is arguably the best-known director in American film history. His rise to fame in the 1970s happened in good company — with the infamous “Movie Brats,” cinematic heroes Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, and Brian De Palma, all of whom bore out-of-the-ordinary ideas and an impulse toward the unusual. Invading Hollywood with this unmatched friend group, Spielberg immediately caught moviegoers in his camera’s gargantuan jaws. 

The man is credited for creating the first summer blockbuster, “Jaws,” before directing other enshrined classics such as “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” Spielberg rippled waters yet again with “Jurassic Park,” trailblazing not one but two treasured franchises. 

Heading into his career’s middle years, he took on more sensitive topics with films such as Best Picture-winner “Schindler’s List” and Best Picture-nominee “Saving Private Ryan.” Spielberg co-founded some of the most respected production firms in the business — Amblin Entertainment, Amblin Partners, and DreamWorks Pictures — and recently achieved EGOT status at the 2026 Grammys. The 79-year-old director’s next film, the highly anticipated “Disclosure Day,” hits theaters on June 13. Though Spielberg has not revealed much about the plot, recent reviews have hailed it as an awe-inspiring UFO film that supposedly illuminates the truth about what lies beyond.

Above lies 55 years of movie magic. Backed by actors-made-legends and scores standing the test of time, Spielberg’s filmography details what it takes to conceive a Hollywood classic. Whether you are a tourist treading shark-infested waters, an archaeologist fighting to preserve history, or even a child seeing something extraordinary beyond the stars, you are made to feel forever young. That’s Spielberg for you.

Not only has the director perfected the art of blocking and shooting action, he is also a master at audience immersion. Understanding the feeling of constantly being on the outside of others’ stories as a child, Spielberg possesses transportive qualities. His pacing is intentional, and he is confident in his ability to take moviegoers somewhere else because he once did himself. 

An inextinguishable joy beats deeply throughout all of Spielberg’s films, holding the viewer by the hand and walking them into the verdant forests of the visionary’s mind. His lifelong partnership with composer John Williams elevates that very effect. At every trumpet-blaring orchestral overture and peaceful piano melody, the audience is lullabied in the lunar-like light of the silver screen, cycling past the moon and into the constellation-speckled sky. 

Perhaps most salient of all is Spielberg’s childlike ambition. The director struggled at a young age because, in his quiet solitude and observance of humanity, he saw the world differently from most people. To him, there was a light that persisted within every living creature, even where it was being dimmed for fear of truly seeing what lay in the dark. Now, it’s a manifested vision that has catapulted him into greatness, a palpitating conviction underlying his every technical choice and attempt at audience outreach. Spielberg has directed icons like Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise at their finest, immortalizing their prime heroic appeal through masterful camerawork. He has made lighting choices that perfectly accentuate a character fighting for a humane cause. He has even left scenes dark so the imagination can take over and fill in the glaring gaps. There is both a hardened humor and a softheartedness in Spielberg’s works. Together, they possess a strength that only a sustained youthfulness can properly convey.

All of this and more makes Spielberg’s influence far reaching and generation spanning. He sees something miraculous within the eyes of a child — a fearless imagination, an understated wisdom, and a simple yet triumphant hope. His camera lens reaches out to the audience’s minds in an effort to disclose that light, where truth persists and miracles really can happen.

At the end of “E.T.,” the titular extraterrestrial prepares to head back home to the stars. As the audience perches below him with Spielberg’s camera, they look upon the beloved character, who is enhaloed by his glowing spaceship behind. E.T. extends his gold-tipped finger toward young Elliott’s head as the camera slowly moves in. “I’ll be right here,” the visitor whispers to the child. E.T.’s silhouette — a far-out light in the sky — then disappears into the silent night.

Spielberg’s films have all characteristically begged the question “Who are we?” by attempting to understand the world through the eyes of a child. “Disclosure Day” will surely be no different. Watch the film on June 13 under the impression of memory and with the wisdom of youth. Then, finally, “all will be disclosed.”

Directed by Curry Barker

Starring Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson

Rated R

Release Date: May 15, 2026

Editor’s note: This review contains spoilers of ‘Obsession.’

Have you ever dreamed your crush would fall in love with you — knowing deep down you two belonged together? Curry Barker’s “Obsession” is a devoted portrayal of this very wish gone wrong.

The film opens with our protagonist, Bear (Michael Johnston), trying to muster up the courage to ask out his crush, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). Bear is the quintessential “nice guy” — the kind of guy who isn’t sure of himself and doesn’t show any real aspirations beyond dating his childhood friend. Instead of confessing his feelings to Nikki, he makes a wish on a supernatural gag gift for her to love him more than anything in the world. Unfortunately for everyone involved, this wish comes true — verbatim. The movie follows Nikki as she loses her bodily autonomy and begins to show an obsessive love — which only grows more sinister as the plot progresses — toward Bear as a result of his wish.

“Obsession” is a true-to-life depiction of an incel. The initially sympathetic Bear slowly reveals himself to be an unlikable protagonist repeatedly making selfish and cowardly choices — never once attempting to undo his wish until the very end of the film. His crush on Nikki is surface level — in the loosest sense of the term, she is his manic pixie dream girl. “Obsession” walks the line between refreshing critique and commentary from a male director on an experience he can’t connect with. The media’s objectification of women — very likely — is not something Barker has personally gone through.

Though it accurately portrays Bear as a man ignorantly terrorizing a young woman, Barker’s script falls short in two main aspects. The first is that “Obsession” fails the Bechdel Test. The only female main characters, Nikki and her friend Sarah (Megan Lawless), are never shown talking to each other one-on-one, their off-screen conversations always revolving around at least one of the male characters. If this choice was intended to highlight the lack of female voices in media, it was in poor taste. Silencing women in a film directed by a man is not a powerful message to send — it is the wrong one.

The other major issue with “Obsession” is that Nikki’s point of view is largely absent, aside from one chilling but brief moment between her and Bear. The scene allows us a glimpse into Nikki’s psyche as she begs Bear to kill her and end her misery, confirming that she has been conscious without control over her actions. While omitting Nikki’s character development may have been intentional to demonstrate Bear’s self-centered nature, his flaws would have been better revealed by showing the audience just how much Nikki was suffering in her own thoughts.

Nikki is never truly defined as a character beyond her kindness and her bad relationship with her father. Her underdevelopment is contrasted with Sarah’s, who, at the very least, has aspirations to attend art school. This dichotomy compels the audience to feel more connected to Sarah’s struggles, fleshing her character out in comparison to Nikki’s.

Despite its flaws, the success of “Obsession” is easy to root for. As an indie film, it reportedly worked with only $1 million. While that figure may seem small, thanks to excellent color grading and a versatile set, this budget does not noticeably constrain the film. The lack of financial resources is balanced out by an original story, decent acting, and directorial work that does most of the heavy lifting. 

Barker’s camera work masterfully guides the viewer’s imagination, creating a terrifying immersive experience. The background is blurred throughout the movie to create an unnerving ambience, as if someone might pop out into the frame at any moment. Similarly, Nikki often hangs in the periphery of scenes, hard to see, like something out of the corner of your eye. This directorial choice allows Nikki’s presence to feel unsettling, even when she’s not actively violent — like a loose cannon.

The cinematography isn’t the only element crafting Nikki’s deranged character. Navarrette’s acting is a highlight of the piece, blending together the disturbing and the tragic. Her performance as Nikki allows the audience to sit with the fact that Nikki has completely lost her bodily autonomy while still delivering the standard terror of any good horror movie. Navarrette’s ability to move uncannily is more frightening than the movie’s bloodiest scenes. The range of the role makes Navarrette’s work stand out as the most compelling actor in the film.

Among the most anticipated releases this year, “Obsession” holds its own. The remarkable directing, original plot, and provocative theme earn it some praise. That being said, the lack of female voices and the relatively underdeveloped characters drag the film down. “Obsession” comes across as one of those artistic indie works that belong in an A24 lineup, though whether that means it’s enjoyable and thoughtfully explores its themes is an entirely different question.