2010 - Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity

conformity on violence against women through
social services and the language of law. I argue
for different coalition strategies among women
to rid their services of language that is
sometimes raced, gendered and hence exclusive
of some women in the fight against violence
against women.
Ethics: The Impossible Luxury
Jesse Driebusch, Creative Writing
Mentor: Michael Jayme
Department of Creative Writing
My project is a series of three fiction short
stories. For the first, sexuality is the theme.
Three middle-aged men go fishing at a
remote desert lake. Berry is married but has
a crush on Dale. Hugh is also married and is
having an affair with a minor. Dale isn‘t
married, albeit the only true heterosexual.
The trio is altogether self-absorbed and
oblivious to one another‘s emotional
standpoints. The second, individual-ism is the
theme. This story centers around a mid-twenties
male, residing in the Bay Area, who attempts to
redefine his humble past by weaving a
sophisticated exterior. He builds relationships in
order to substantiate this identity, and fails in
any real emotional understanding. And for the
third, class is the theme. The setting is rural.
This is the chance meeting of three individuals,
just trying to survive. An elderly yet wealthy
man recently divorced, a homeless girl, and a
fugitive teenage boy. The boy and girl, sucked
into the problematic nature of low socioeconomics,
find hope in one another. Survival is
the necessity, and the man offering means,
breaks their union. The stories‘ inclusive theme
is identity. My intention is to show truth
through fiction. Likewise, this is a commentary
on society, wherein ethics is a luxury, and
motivation is either sexual or economic;
both survival mechanisms. For the
Symposium, I will read a strong scene from
one of these stories.
Using Reclaimed Water for Irrigation
Julie Escalera, Soil Science
Mentor: Christopher Amrhein
Department of Environmental Science
Drought and water shortages are becoming an
unavoidable crisis in arid regions. As a result,
cities are considering switching agricultural
irrigation over to reclaimed water to free up
good quality ground water for municipal uses.
However, reclaimed water can decrease
hydraulic conductivity in the soil because it
contains a high concentration of dissolved salts
and sodium. Sodium reduces hydraulic
conductivity by dispersing clay particles in the
soil thus reducing the amount of pore space
available. Reduced water infiltration may cause
ponding, root rot and damage to crops. The
purpose of this experiment is to determine
whether reclaimed water will reduce hydraulic
conductivity in soils from Riverside. Soil with
horizons of clay accumulation are expected to
show a greater reduction in hydraulic
conductivity. Soil was collected from a
Riverside orange grove and varying depths were
evaluated. Three depths located between 0-20
cm, 20-40 cm and 40-60 cm were used for the
experiment. Soil from each horizon was oven
dried, 2 mm sieved and 200 g packed into 15 cm
PVC columns. Reclaimed water and a mix of
reclaimed water with high quality groundwater
were used for infiltration. Water was applied in
100 ml increments with drying cycles of 24
hours between applications to simulated field
conditions. Hydraulic conductivity was
determined using Darcy‘s Law with a constant
head model. Preliminary results show that
reclaimed water can significantly decrease
hydraulic conductivity on soil found in
Riverside orange orchards. This suggests that
farmers might have to change their irrigation
practices if they are forced to use reclaimed
water for irrigation.
Fourth Annual UCR Symposium for Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity
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