January 12, 2017

SERVING THE UC DAVIS CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY SINCE 1915

NICKI PADAR / AGGIE

VOLUME 135, ISSUE 11 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017

OFFICIAL LEWEB PHOTOS [CC BY 2.0] / FLICKR

UCs receive record-breaking number of applicants INCREASE IN APPLICATIONS BRINGS MORE DIVERSE POOL OF STUDENTS

BY JEANNA TOTAH campus@theaggie.org Of the 171,449 potential freshmen who applied to at least one of the University of California (UC) campuses this past November, UC Davis received 70,904 freshmen applicants, according to a press release. This is a 3.5 percent increase in the number of applicants from last year. There was also significant progress in diversity of the applicant pool, which included students from historically underserved groups and low-income families.

“This year’s applications affirm, once again, that Californians’ demand for a UC education keeps getting stronger,” UC President Janet Napolitano said in a press release. “This is a testament to the excellence of California’s public research university and reinforces the imperative to continue working with our state government to preserve UC’s quality and affordability, and to ensure there is a place at the university for every deserving California student.”

Walter Robinson, the UC Davis associate vice chancellor for enrollment management, said the UC seeks to create accessible education for California students by admitting 2,500 residents in 2017. UC Davis is on track to uphold the UC goal, as 72.4 percent of this year’s applicants are California residents — an increase of 4.2 percent since last year.

Robinson said that there has also been an increase in applications due to outreach and recruitment efforts in California and other areas.

“Everyone seems to understand the value proposition of a University of California [education],” RobinAPPS on 10

FAR-RIGHT CONSERVATIVE BREITBART EDITOR TO SPEAK AT UC DAVIS DAVIS COLLEGE REPUBLICANS CLUB TO HOST MILO YIANNOPOULOS

BY ALYSSA VANDENBERG campus@theaggie.org Milo Yiannopoulos, the controversial ultra-conservative Breitbart News editor, will bring “The Dangerous Faggot Tour” to UC Davis on Jan. 13 at the SciLec 123 from 6:30-9:00 p.m. The event, hosted by the Davis College Republicans (DCR) club, is free to the public.

Yiannopoulos, whose other upcoming tour stops include UC Santa Barbara and UC Berkeley, was the speaker most likely to be disinvited to colleges in 2016, according to the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. In December, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Yiannopoulos had signed a book deal for $250,000 with Threshold Editions, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

In the past, Yiannopoulos has railed against political correctness, feminism and Islam. He was famously banned from Twitter in July 2016 after a series of racist and sexist tweets aimed at African American comedian Leslie Jones.

“[Yiannopoulos] is known for discussing topics, both political or not, that may offend some people but not others,” DCR wrote on the event page. “Please be aware of this when attending. Some topics may not be suitable for youth.”

In a letter created by UC Davis graduate students, over 900 students, faculty, staff and alumni called for campus administrators and DCR to cancel the event, arguing that the hosting the event would go against UC Davis’ Principles of Community.

“Milo Yiannopoulos is well known for his espousal of racist, sexist and Islamophobic hate speech targeted towards numerous members of our campus community,” the letter read. “The use of campus facilities and resources to host and therefore legitimize a white nationalist runs completely counter to the stated goals of the University of California and serves as a direct threat toward traditionally marginalized groups on campus. If the University of California, Davis is indeed committed to ‘maintaining a climate of MILO on 10

Russell Boulevard intramural fields withdrawn from 2017-2027 Long Range Development Plan

JAY GELVEZON / AGGIE

LRDP UPDATE PRESERVES RUSSELL BOULEVARD FIELDS FOR ATHLETICS

BY AARON LISS campus@theaggie.org UC Davis has confirmed that it no longer plans to construct student housing on the Russell Boulevard intramural (IM) fields.

At a public city council meeting held on Dec. 6 to focus on the Long Range Development Plan (LRDP), Bob Seger, the assistant vice chancellor and head of Campus Planning and Environmental Stewardship, said that Toomey, Howard and Russell Fields will all be maintained as athletic fields.

After Seger announced the Russell Boulevard withdrawal at the town hall meeting, he explained the alternative plan: demolishing existing inefficient, low-density housing and building tall high-density housing to utilize acreage and ease Davis’ low vacancy rate. Construction will occur at empty West Village fields and on campus at Tercero, Orchard Park, Segundo, Solano Field and Cuarto. The map can be seen on the Campus Neighborhoods section of the LRDP draft, in which Russell Field is no longer designated for housing.

The Notice of Preparation Environmental Impact (NOP) report issued on Jan. 4 also confirmed the preservation of Russell Fields.

Davis mayor Robb Davis and the City Council of Davis signed a resolution on Dec. 20 agreed upon by Davis community members to adjust the 2017-2027 LRDP. The resolution commits Ralph Hexter, UC Davis interim chancellor, to “remov[ing] all construction from Russell, Howard and Toomey Fields and retain[ing] those fields for community and athletic use.”

This 2017-2027 LRDP seeks to “accommodate 90 percent of enrollment growth in campus housing and 40 percent of the Davisbased students in campus housing by 2027-28.” The LRDP predicts 39,000 students will be enrolled by 2027, compared to the 32,663 students from 2015-2016.

The decision to cease housing construction on these fields comes after public backlash from students, athletes and members of the Facebook group Friends of Russell Blvd. Fields, all of whom resisted the development plan to take away the fields. They protested and advocated for athletic and community use of the fields through a petition, sending comments via e-mail to the LRDP planners and calling for town hall meetings.

Advocates for both saving Russell Fields and increasing student housing encouraged the LRDP planners to consider the the Nishi Gateway as an alternate housing proposal. This proposed 45-acre mixed-use Davis district could increase student housing and provide commercial connectivity and walkability near the university, similar to the housing at West Village. The prospective development is nestled in the open space between Old Davis Road and Highway 80.

After UC Davis withdrew its plan to build on Toomey, Howard and Russell Fields, the Friends of Russell Blvd. Fields Facebook page posted a message of appreciation.

“UC Davis has come to understand that the IM fields on Russell Blvd. are greatly valued by the broad community,” the post read.

Student-athletes who play on Russell Boulevard Fields are proud that they were able to help preserve the fields.

“We are very excited that the University is preserving Russell Field,” said Harrison Morrow, a third-year wildlife, fish and conservation biology major and UC Davis’ men’s club rugby team captain.

“Not only is it important to various sport clubs at UC Davis, [but] Russell Field [also] serves as a recreation area for the entire student body.”

However, a large concern for students, the community and the university remains — a growing, low-vacancy Davis still needs more student housing. Friends of Russell Blvd. Fields have proposed a 100 percent student enrollment growth and a 50 percent in on campus

housing, higher than UC Davis’ 90/40 plan 2017-2027 plan.

“We are, however, disappointed to learn [that] UC Davis continues to resist building student housing on par with most other UC campuses,” a Friends of Russell Blvd. Fields Facebook post reads.

“The proposed ‘40 percent of the Davis-based students’ to be housed on campus pales in comparison to the 50 percent most other UCs are striving for. There is a backlog of on campus housing need that has not been provided yet by UCD, significantly impacting the Davis community. Even Interim Chancellor Hexter recently admitted to the UC Regents that UC Davis has ‘completely saturated’ the Davis housing market, leading to extremely low vacancy rates. Davis is the largest UC at 5,300 acres and unquestionably has room for both the Russell Blvd. Fields and more student housing.”

Colin Walsh, a former UC Davis athlete who graduated in 1996, is an advocate for preserving the fields. He described how the Davis community collaborated with the city council and mayor to save the fields.

“The city council last month passed a resolution and sent a letter to the university calling for the university to build more student housing,” Walsh said. “As the campus is getting so much larger, students are still living so far away. Compared to when I was a student, there are so many students coming from far parts of Davis or Woodland.”

Despite the need for increased student housing, Walsh hopes that the fields can continue to be preserved. “[I have] lived in Davis off and on my whole life,” Walsh said.

‘My father was a rugby coach in Davis in the late ‘60s, and I was a student playing on the field too. At every step of the way we simultaneously advocated for saving the fields, and building more student housing. UC Davis is the largest university, but provides less student housing than almost any other UC.”

2 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2016

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

GENESIA TING / AGGIE

UC, CSU SYSTEMS CONSIDER FIRST TUITION INCREASES AFTER FIVE-YEAR TUITION FREEZE UC tuition, fees could rise by a total of $363 per student by fall 2017

BY KENTON G O L DS BY cam p u s@ th e a ggi e .o r g

The University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems are considering tuition increases after a five-year tuition freeze.

UC tuition currently sits at $12,294 per year, and CSU tuition atis $5,472 annually. Each campus has its own fees that can increase the

cost of tuition above the baseline rate.

Tuition costs have recently remained at these levelsheld steady despite declining fiscal support from the state for higher education.

“Tuition at the University of California has remained flat for the past six years, despite the decline in state support,” said Claire Doan, a UC spokesperson, via e-mail. “The state has gone from covering 72 percent of the cost of educating a California stu-

dent in 2000 to 41 percent last year.”

Doan also stressed that any tuition increase would be covered through financial aid for 65 percent of UC students.

Although CSU tuition costs less than half of UC tuition, the CSU system could approve tuition increases of around $300, according to a Los Angeles Times article.

A UC press release also announced that the UC Regents will consider a $282 tuition increase and a $54 student service fee for mental health resources later this month. Each system would implement possible tuition increases during the 2017-2018 school year.

According to Elizabeth Chapin, a CSU spokesperson Elizabeth Chapin, a increasing tuition increase is not the system’s first option.

“There is currently not a plan to increase tuition, but it could be an option if the state does not fully fund the CSU,” Chapin said via e-mail. “As of right now, there is a $168 million gap between the CSU’s preliminary budget plan for 20172018 and the state’s funding plan.”

Apart from tuition increases, Chapin said that the CSU system might also consider budget cuts. To avoid this, CSU officials will continue working with Governor Jerry Brown to secure adequate funding.

“If the state does not fund the gap, the CSU may need to consider difficult options including significantly scaling back support budget request priorities,” Chapin said via e-mail. “CSU leaders,

MORGAN TIEU / AGGIE

THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS TOO MUCH THAI FOOD Downtown Davis offers a wide range of Thai cuisine

BY R AUL C AST EL L ANOS J R . ci ty@th ea ggi e .o r g

Sweet, salty, sour and spicy. Thai food has it all. Although Thai cuisine centers around these four main flavors, it offers an endless

range of dishes. With curries, salads, noodle plates and rice, Thai food can be go from sweet to brutally spicy.

This is especially true for local Thai establishments. Downtown Davis features six Thai restaurants and a Thai market. Peter

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students and stakeholders will work with the governor and state legislative leaders to advocate for increased funding for the CSU to ensure that the university has the resources needed to continue to provide affordable, high-quality degrees to California students.”

In November, students at UC Davis staged a walk-out protest against potential tuition hikes.

Parker Spadaro, a first-year undeclared student in the College of Letters and Sciences who helped organize the event, hopes that there will be more protests against increasing the tuition, but also acknowledged that it can be difficult for students to make the time to participate.

“That’s where we’re put in a bind as students — we have to take time for classes, we have to take time for work, we have to take time for studying, we have to take time for socializing and we have to take time for rest,” Spadaro said via e-mail.

“Finding the time to organize and participate in demonstrations against injustices like tuition raises are so limited in available time despite their necessity.”

Spadaro explained that theythey are opposed to tuition increases in principle because tuition is already at unreasonable levels.

“Well if you can’t tell by now, [my position on increases is] definitely negative,” Spadaro said via e-mail. “The [present] cost of education is classist, sexist and racist [...] Yet we still think of this country as

Sriboonreuang, manager of Thai Canteen on Second Street, could not provide an answer as to why there are a multitude Thai restaurants in town.

“There [are] so many, I honestly don’t know. Thai food just does well in Davis,” Sriboonreuang said.

Wannee Saicheur, a UC Davis alum and the former owner Thai Recipes, which closed recently, believes that food businesses fare better than other businesses in downtown Davis.

“I feel like all the retail, it’s hard to be able to survive […] That’s why people open more and more restaurants,” Saicheur said. “In the past 18 years I saw many businesses, you know, when they’re gone they turn into restaurants.”

Saicheur, better known to her customers by her nickname “Lek,” retired and closed Thai Recipes at the end of 2016. The restaurant, formerly on Second Street, opened for business in 1998. At the time, it was one of only two Thai restaurants in town.

During its 18-year run, Thai Recipes was popular with local Davis families.

It offered a peaceful environment and focused on quality and authenticity of food.

“We use all the fresh ingredients [...]

Mostly, it has to be prepped fresh [...]

We try to make it authentic the best we can,” Saicheur said. “Even though maybe it’s not the same as we have in Thailand, we try to use the most close to the thing that we use [...] We try not to put things that is not really Thai.

We don’t try to change it, and I think the customers appreciate what we do here.”

Although Thai Recipes closed over winter break, Thai food remains readily available in Davis.

From the quiet Thai Nakorn to the lively KetMoRee Restaurant and Bar, Thai restaurants in Davis range from small, family-friendly establishments to large, late-night hangouts with live music and alcohol.

Jessica Walters, a UC San Diego student visiting Davis and dining at Thai Recipes, said she likes Thai food for its comfort and simplicity.

“I like that it’s not as heavy as Chi-

MORGAN TIEU / AGGIE

Season’s Greetings Edition

LEND A HELPING HAND Homeless community in Davis relies on local facilities, resources NICKI PADAR / AGGIE

BY MARLYS JE ANE f ea tures @thea g g ie.org

BY SAM SOLO M O N ci ty @th e a ggi e .o r g

Dec. 24 “Downstairs neighbor tapping on RP’s floor” Dec. 25 Two intoxicated males “sitting in RP’s planter boxes” Dec. 25 “Motorola walkie found” Dec. 25 “Guest currently walking around naked” Dec. 26 “RP saw someone in front yard stealing plants”

Dec. 27 “Bundle of wood in the roadway” Dec. 28 “Highly intoxicated male in women’s restroom” Dec. 28 “Male subj. trying to push down a street sign” Dec. 29 “Male just stole red lantern and walked out” Dec. 29 “Female sitting at the intersection in an older Ford with missing hubcap […] RP thinks the female is stealing Wi-Fi”

Three years ago, Noor Ahmed was volunteering at a transitional housing facility for women and children when in waltzed a beaming woman to announce that she had received a promotion and had moved into an apartment with her children. This wasn’t the first time that Ahmed, a third-year psychobiology major at the time, had met this woman. Just a few months earlier, Ahmed helped her create a resume and search for and apply to jobs. After succeeding in finding her a minimum-wage job, the woman lost touch with the other volunteers that assisted her; still, Ahmed was amazed to hear such heartening news.

“She looked so happy, and her kids were doing great as well — it was amazing to see!”

Ahmed said in an e-mail interview. “They were very appreciative of what we were able to do for them in that short time. [This experience] will stick with me for the rest of my life, not for any particularly ’spectacular’ reason, but because it made me realize that simple solutions can make a significant impact if you care enough to take the initiative

the land of opportunity and the media, politicians, bourgeoisie and other working class individuals shove the idea of the American dream on us.”

Spadaro advocates for a tuition decrease rather than an increase.

“I think I’ve already made it obvious [that] tuition should actually be decreased,” Spadaro said via e-mail. “They should decrease as the university’s investments mature and start profiting until the university’s investments can completely cover tuition.”

Ralph Washington Jr., the president of the UC Student Association president and a UC Davis graduate student, Ralph Washington, Jr. recalledspoke of the a time when tuition was free.

“Originally, many years ago, tuition was free for California residents [...],” Washington said. “I think that one reason that students are requesting for a tuition decrease, a rollback, is to try and create a precedent to go back to the way the cost of education was at some point before.”

According to Washington, free tuition at universities like the UC schools would send a strong message about society’s views regarding the value of higher education.

“Free education would be an incredible thing,” Washington said. “It would be an incredible demonstration of our commitment to improving society, to providing a transformative experience for young residents of our society.”

to help someone else.”

Ahmed is the president of the campus organization known as Homeless Outreach through Prevention and Education at Davis (HOPE). The group, founded in 2009 by a pair of undergraduate students, was recently registered as a University of California, Davis campus organization in 2016. Projects are sponsored by the Sheila Kar Health Foundation and focus on educating the local homeless and low income population with the information and health knowledge they need to improve their lives.

“For me, [this experience] really drove home HOPE’s mission of using the knowledge that we the volunteers have, to provide resources to individuals in the community that will benefit from them in the long run,” Ahmed said. “Our programs are intended to encourage local homeless individuals, by educating them on the opportunities they have in order to provide them with the information that they need [...] to attain their goals, so we try as best as we can to provide skills rather than handouts.”

According to HOPE’s website, the Census Bureau cites that roughly 15 percent of Americans are living in poverty, which is

nese food but still [heavy enough to be] comfort food. I like the herbs — the Thai basil, cilantro, and spices are appealing. I like the fresh veggies […]

They have Phanaeng, it’s this peanut curry. They use coconut milk, which I’m a fan of. The ingredients are simple, but it’s still a filling and substantial comfort food,” Walters said.

Sriboonreuang likes Thai food for its endless possibilities.

“You can play with Thai food.

There’s definitely no limits when it comes to Thai food […] It’s just all the flavors. You get sweet, savory, salty, sometimes bitter. Being able to mix those together, they kind of compliment each other. Also with Thai food, it’s vegan friendly,” Sriboonreuang said.

Crunchy peanuts, savory meat, fresh vegetables, creamy sauces and chewy noodles — whatever one is in the mood for, Davis Thai restaurants have it. The next time a round of midterms leaves students battered and in need of comfort food, head downtown and try some Thai.

about 45 million people. Davis happens to sit at the junction between the big cities of San Francisco and Sacramento, right along the railroad system, and is a convenient pit stop en route both east and west between the cities, and north and south through the Central Valley.

Bill Pride, executive director of Davis Community Meals and Housing, said that there are roughly 120 to 145 homeless people in Davis at any time; these can be people living in shelters or those who are involved in programs provided by shelters and community organizations.

“Davis Community Meals and Housing started out years ago as a soup kitchen type program for low income and homeless folks,” Pride said. “Since then it has evolved into a day shelter, which [has] a range of services, like helping low income folks pay their rent that month, to having a whole range of services for folks to take showers, wash their clothes, get some food, assistance finding housing, mental health resources and substance abuse resources.”

Davis Community Meals and Housing is one of many organizations in the area that hosts a range of services for homeless and low-income people. The organization serves about 1,700 to 1,800 people on a yearly basis, with roughly 450 of those being homeless in Davis at one point in time. Some people who use shelters and programs stay in the area for only a week or two, but end up coming back in a couple years. Others come into town more regularly and stay for longer periods of time.

“The folks who are from out of town probably go to our resource centers [the most], [which is] our number one introduction to what services are available in the city of Davis,” Pride said. “For other folks, [they mostly use] our meals program.”

Despite sweltering summers that frequently reach above 100 degrees during HOMELESS on PAGE 10

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017 | 3

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Humor from cultural perspectives: Hasan Minhaj

films his first Netflix special, Homecoming King

Special UC Davis Student Ticket price!

FRI, JAN 27 • 10PM Tickets only $10!

ets k c i T still le! lab i a v a

Bassem Youssef

The Joke is Mightier than the Sword Known as “the Jon Stewart of Egypt,” surgeon-turned-satirist Bassem Youssef has charted the tumultuous political path of his homeland through humor.

WED, FEB 1 • 8PM

Your first ticket is FREE!* All UC Davis students. Limit one per student.

50% off tickets all the time!* Full-time students enrolled in current academic year.

* Mondavi Center presents and UC Davis Department of Music events only.

mondaviarts.org/uc-davis-students

Aggie DUE: Run: JAN 12, 2017 hp: 10.375x10.5

Production: Erin Kelley 530.754.5427

eekelley@ucdavis.edu

Sudoku Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row, column, and 3x3 square must contain one of each digit. Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing.

4 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

UC Davis appoints new chief of nursing and patient care services

Former interim chief of nursing and patient care services becomes new chief

BY YVONNE LEON G ci ty@th ea ggi e .o r g

Toby Marsh was appointed as the new chief of nursing and patient care services for the UC Davis Medical Center (UCD-

MC) on Dec. 14. He had served in the same role as the interim chief since April 1.

Marsh oversees more than 1,800 nurses and nurse practitioners who together provide care for more than 200,000 pa-

Petco Foundation awards $10,000 to local animal shelter A dog named Disney wins grant money for Rotts of Friends

BY KAELYN T UER M E R - L E E ci ty@ th e a ggi e .o r g

For the past four years, the Petco Foundation has held its Holiday Wishes grant campaign, in which people who have adopted pets are able to submit stories of how their pets have changed their lives. This year, the grant money amounted to $750,000, including a $100,000 grand prize.

Rotts of Friends, originally founded by Renee Lancaster in Woodland, started off rescuing rottweilers and German shepherds but expanded to rescuing dog breeds of all kinds, and now rescues cats as well. As a rescue foundation staffed by volunteers, it can apply for grants, although this was the first time the foundation had entered in the Holiday Wishes campaign.

With a total of 5,100 submissions, Rotts of Friends was one of 54 finalists in the campaign. Touching the hearts of many, its story of a rescued pit bull named Disney won the foundation $10,000.

“When guests give a donation at checkout in a Petco or Unleashed by Petco store, their contributions enable the foundation to make big investments in lifesaving animal welfare organizations across the country,” said Lisa Lane, the manager of press relations and communications at Petco.

Donations for grants like these benefit animal foundations or shelters in order to provide for their rescued pets.

Rotts of Friends was encouraged to enter in the Holiday Wishes campaign by Gina Knepp, manager of the Front Street Animal Shelter in Sacramento, whom the company closely partners with.

Disney’s story started with a homeless man in Humboldt County, who abandoned Disney as he moved on. She was then taken to the Humboldt County animal shelter, where she stayed until their funding sent her to Rotts of Friends to be trained for a future home.

“She was with us at Rotts of Friends for a long time,” said Barbara McNaughton, Community Outreach Coordinator at Rotts of Friends. “No one was even interested in looking at her because she was a pitbull, despite the fact that everyone at Rotts of Friends knew she was going to make a great companion for someone who would give her a chance. Then came Jessica who adopted Disney.”

Jessica Bishop’s story about Disney described how she, as a veteran, underwent a tough transition in her life, coming from long-term deployment and battling loneliness and depression. Bishop hoped to adopt a dog in order to fill the empty space in her life.

“Disney is more than just a dog; she is my family,” Bishop wrote. “Military life can be very lonely. Now in my mid-thirties, as a single woman who has been doing this alone for over a decade, I have found a sense of purpose and joy, thanks to Disney.”

Disney was rescued and given a home, and Bishop found that adopting Disney helped her find herself and provided her with a much-needed companion.

“Disney has been attached to my hip ever since. She’s chewed up flip flops, destroyed rolls of paper towels, but in the process has taught me patience and how great it feels to care for something other than oneself,” Bishop wrote. “She’s filled the hole in my heart and changed my life for the better. It’s not always easy to handle a strong-willed, type-A hard-headed lady, but she mirrors me, and we learn from each other every day. I’m so thankful for finding her and the changes she has brought to my life.”

This touching story was selected by the Petco Foundation team for the grant, and it is now featured on its website.

“Disney’s story is a wonderful example of how pets can help people through difficult life challenges. It’s always better to have someone in your corner through a tough time, and Disney was just that for Jessica as she transitioned back to life after deployment,” Lane said. “All of the winning stories told a story rather than simply reciting facts as they happened. Quality storytelling and excellent supporting photos or videos made Disney’s and the other winning submission stand out from all the others.”

With the $10,000 grant, Rotts of Friends plans to purchase a gently-used full-size van, which will help transport rescued animals. In addition, the shelter is building a 26,000 square-foot rescue dog sanctuary. This will help the team add to the 250 dogs and cats already rescued per year.

“We were, of course, thrilled to have been chosen as a $10,000 winner,” McNaughton said. “There are many, many very hard-working, worthwhile nonprofit organizations doing the truly important work of saving animals in our country. So to be awarded one of the 54 grants was an honor.”

DANIEL TAK / AGGIE FILE

tients every year at the 627 bed acute care hospital and affiliated primary and specialty care clinics.

Ann Madden Rice, the chief executive office of UCDMC, believes that Marsh will continue to lead just as well as he had

in his previous positions. “[Marsh] has shown exemplary leadership throughout his career, and I am confident he will continue to do the same in this important role,” Rice said in a UC Davis press release.

In 2004, Marsh joined UCDMC as a registered nurse and was promoted successively to nursing advisor, nurse manager and director of patient care services.

From 2010 to March 2016, he was director of hospital and clinics, planning and leading daily patient care procedures, clinical education and projects.

While Marsh led the nursing department, UCDMC earned Magnet recognition from the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2014. The designation is the nation’s highest form of recognition for nursing excellence and serves as a benchmark for quality of care.

Some of Marsh’s personal distinctions include serving on the board of the California Association of Healthcare Leaders, working as a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, receiving the 40 Under 40 Award from the Sacramento Business Journal in 2012 and receiving U.S. Air Force Commendation Medals in 2001 and 2004.

Marsh was a member of the U.S. Air Force from 1997 to 2004, and he considers his work as a healthcare worker to be heavily influenced by his time in the

military.

“Robert Olson, my squadron commander, was my biggest professional influence,” Marsh said in an interview with the Sacramento Bee. “He role modeled how to treat people and how to work with people. His job — and my job now — is to help facilitate other people’s greatness, to help them achieve what they showed up to do. There, it was fixing planes. Here, it’s delivering safe, quality patient care.”

Baljeet Sangha, president of California Association of Healthcare Leaders, also recognized how Marsh’s military service has influenced his current healthcare leadership.

“Toby Marsh has a strong legacy of selfless, servant leadership,” Sangha said.

“From his time in the military serving our country, to his bedside nursing career to his health administration leadership roles, Toby has focused on improving the professional development of his peers with their careers and modeled how we should keep the needs of those we serve at front of mind.”

Sangha regards Marsh as the best candidate for his appointment.

“He is humble, personable, approachable, humorous and compassionate,” Sangha said. “UC Davis could not have chosen a better chief of nursing and patient care services.”

DOGS ON DUTY Student service dog handlers share stories, experiences

BY H ANNAH H OLZE R f ea tures @thea g g ie.org

A blonde German shepherd named Memphis was dressed in booties and goggles, for safety precautions, while his handler attended her chemistry lab. This safety attire allowed Shannyn Bessoni, who graduated from UC Davis in 2014 with a degree in chemistry and animal science, to stay close to Memphis, her service dog.

“Memphis [has] kind of become known as the benchmark for how a service dog should behave,” Bessoni said. “Protocol for having [service animals] in the lab were developed because of [Memphis].

The chemistry department was really, really exceptional in accommodating him [and] they went above and beyond what would be safe for him.”

Memphis continued to be an active service dog until a cancerous lump was found in his neck. Now, Memphis has recently finished his last round of chemotherapy and has retired from his duties.

Throughout campus, a wide array of service dogs and comfort animals like Memphis are specially trained to assist those with disabilities.

“You can’t think of a service animal as an animal at all,” Bessoni said. “A service animal is considered to be medical equipment.”

Official service dogs are medical necessities to their handlers and have passed Public Access exams. Lysi Newman, a firstyear animal science major, is always with her 3-year-old German Shepherd, Missy. “[Missy] is permitted almost everywhere, including the dining commons, classrooms and places like the Silo and the Memorial Union [...and] those with service animals do have the option to meet with faculty to discuss the allowance of the animal in labs,” Newman said.

Jennifer Barnhard, a third-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior and animal science double major, has had her service dog for over two and a half years. She adopted Lupus as a companion pet but later decided to train him as her personal service dog. The change in duties was followed by a change in title, and Barnhard renamed him Spock.

“Lupus was adopted to be a pet, [but] Spock chose to break the misconception and participate in the training process, and he is now a national poster pup of service training,” Barnhard said. “Spock’s training in escalation means that if he thinks something is wrong with my vitals, or that a situation is unsafe, he will keep alerting until

NICKI PADAR / AGGIE

I listen to him, a truly life-saving quality.”

Additionally, Barnhard co-founded Starfleet Service Dogs, Inc. (SSDI), a nonprofit organization that trains service dogs.

SSDI has seven trainers in Cabin John, Maryland and nine more in Davis with a variety of specialties and knowledge, including search and rescue and K9 training.

“SSDI has rescued 100 percent of our own dogs that we train for service work,” Barnhard said. “Every dog that we graduate has a basic foundation comprised of 50 skills [and] will be in continuous training for the rest of their careers to make sure they perform better every day — and because they love to work and learn.”

Katerina, who wished only to be identified by her first name, is a first-year food science major and has no closer bond than that with her 3-year-old service dog, Lady.

Lady allows Katerina more independence because of her specialized training.

“Freedom and independence is a huge part of why service dogs are so important,” Katerina said. “A disability of any kind hinders your life in a significant enough way that you are limited and restrained. A service dog helps me [...] carry on and live life with fewer inhibitions.”

Katerina said UC Davis’ policies on service dogs make having one easily accessible. Although both Katerina and Bessoni have experienced instances of ignorance and even targeted malice toward their service dogs, they both have seen that, overall, students and faculty accept their animals on campus.

However, a situation between Newman and student housing escalated after students in Newman’s residence hall repeatedly complained that her dog Missy was “scary.” Newman was told she had 72 hours to remove Missy from student housing.

“I actually requested [...] that I be able to write up a short notice about service dogs and have it sent to all students as a general informative message [...but] I was rejected,” Newman said. “Then I requested to post said write-up on message boards in the nearby dorm buildings, so that other students nearby would at least know how to act around Missy. I was rejected again.

I finally requested to put my message up in the services center, but was denied once again. I believe [my piece] would have made a lot of difference [for] the students who were afraid of dogs; maybe it could have curbed their fear into tolerance of me and my disability.”

A petition was started by a friend of Newman’s in efforts to fight Missy’s re-

moval notice and to prove that Missy is not only a medical necessity, but also a “sweet dog.” Although the petition collected 1,286 signatures, Newman eventually decided it would be best for both Missy and herself to move out of the dorms. While a representative from Student Housing declined to speak about Newman’s case, the representative did say that a professional staff member deals with “special accommodations requests” and that issues of this kind are “taken very seriously.”

After her own serious situation involving Memphis, herself and other students, Bessoni decided to become more active in spreading information and awareness about service dogs by creating the Facebook page “Service Dog Handlers at UC Davis.” Bessoni, like Newman, thinks spreading information about service dogs is effective in eliminating ignorance. “[Students might ask] questions out of curiosity, but nobody should have a problem with that,” Bessoni said. “If anything, [it’s] an opportunity to educate and explain.”

One of the specific points Katerina would like other students to be aware of is that petting a service animal without asking is not acceptable.

“This isn’t because she is mean or unfriendly, but she has a job to do and if you pet her she gets distracted and that puts me at risk,” Katerina said. “The same goes for feeding or making noises at service dogs.”

Additionally, the seriousness of the functions that service dogs perform should not be downplayed.

“One huge misconception is that it is all fun having a service dog,” Katerina said. “Many view service dogs as just bringing your best furry friend around with you, and though I love my service dog more than anything, having her with me is a medical necessity.”

Barnhard said she is passionate about training other service dogs through SSDI because they bring independence, a freedom that is “often taken for granted.” “[SSDI is] not in the business of changing anyone, just merely helping them negotiate the world around them in the most comfortable, and enjoyable way they can,” Barnhard said. “I can enjoy the world and count on Spock to warn me and help me if things start to go wrong. I also have a new best friend! If I can give others the freedom I have granted myself from my disability, than I have put my professional training skills and love for animals to good use.”

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017 | 5

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Aggie Profiles:

Casey Davis CHARLES MIIN / AGGIE

Building a world out of patterns and fantasy

BY EMI L I E D EFAZI O featu res@ th e a ggi e .o r g

Casey Davis strode across the Quad on a chilly fall afternoon. Ignoring the mud that would stain his jeans, he decided to cut across the lawn in order to reach the flagpole as quickly as possible. His bright green cape, which was drawn over his blue polo shirt, tickled the dewy grass, while his head bent low revealing only a dark brown hat and long beard to any passersby.

Davis models his style of dress off of his lifelong love for fantasy novels. From the Oz books of his childhood to his recent affinity for The Dark is Rising series, Davis’ affection for fictional plots immerses him in a world of magic and mystique.

“The cape started off from just a childhood interest in fantasy novels [and] fairy tales — I still find myself going back to The Lord of the Rings,” Davis said. “Not all of the historical costuming [found in these worlds] is practical for every-day use, but I find the cape a pretty nice way to bring a little bit of that into [my] wardrobe. I think we can learn a lot about the way we look at the world we live in by investigating how we write about fictional other worlds.”

Though Davis is both a physics and math Specialist at the Student Academic Success Center (SASC),

as well as a member of the English Country Dance Troupe on campus, those who frequent the Memorial Union Quad in the afternoons will recognize him by his penny whistle, the sweet tones of which can be heard from yards away.

Davis usually keeps one of the small flute-like instruments, also called tin whistles, in his bag to play throughout the day. His passion for the Irish folk music he plays radiated as he described and demonstrated the differences between this unique instrument as opposed to those the average UC Davis student may recognize.

“The recorder and the penny whistle are very similar in a lot of ways, [but] the fingering is a little different,” Davis said as he played a scale. “I learned most of the tunes I know either from playing along with other people in jam sessions, or just listening to a recording of it over and over again. If every time through I can [play] one or two more notes to what I know of the song, then eventually I get the whole thing.”

Taught at a young age in his hometown of La Verne, Calif., Davis has been practicing and performing Irish folk music all his life. It was moving to Davis in 1999 that allowed him to perfect the penny whistle skills he picked up in middle school — along with the piano, the bodhrán Irish drum

and other instruments — in the English Country Dance Troupe. English country dance, as Davis explained, is similar to American line dancing, with a set of patterns and melodies easy to step to in groups of four to eight.

“I offered to join [the troupe] as a musician, and ended up getting pulled into the dances as well, and tagging along to renaissance fairs — I’ve been [a part of the troupe] for 17 years now,” Davis said. “I [also] showed up at college dead-set on [...] making an Irish band. [My wife and I] met in the dorms freshman year, [...and] she played harp, so the two of us [...made a band with] a group of my friends.

We played at Picnic Day for a couple of years, and continued playing together until we all graduated.”

Davis graduated in 2003 as a math major and philosophy minor. He then moved on to get his teaching credential, all the while connecting his love for both subjects to the world of fantasy through books like The Lord of the Rings and complicated strategy board games, of which he has a collection of 70 or 80.

“I spent a lot of time in undergrad thinking about what exactly is the difference between math and physics,” Davis said. “What I finally settled on is that they can both be thought of as games with rules.

In physics, you look at the game — the real world

Ne ighbors un ite MORGAN TIEU / AGGIE

Davis Manor Neighborhood hosts first Holiday Bazaar, opens new Little Free Library

BY DIANNA RI VER A ci ty@th ea ggi e .o r g

The Davis Manor Neighborhood (DMN) celebrated its first Holiday Bazaar on Saturday, Dec. 17, due to the efforts of the entire Davis Manor community. Residents of Davis Manor brought the community together before the business of holiday festivities.

“Neighbors appreciated seeing the [diverse] talents and services people have to offer in our neighborhood. It’s good to know who likes to bake, who is good at canning, who sews clothing, who collects antiques, who offers massage or chiropractic services, who operates photo booths for parties, because then we can go to people right in your neighborhood when we need goods, services or advice,” said Jennifer Nachmanoff, a member of the Davis Manor

Creative Action Team and the main orchestrator of the Holiday Bazaar.

Previously, DMN came together to create one of its first community street murals, which is located at the intersection of M and Duke Streets.

“There has been a big effort in our neighborhood over the past few years to find ways to bring neighbors together and create a vibrant, connected community in a neighborhood that is somewhat lacking in city amenities, common green spaces and places to gather casually,” Nachmanoff said.

The bazaar is not the first time DMN has organized community events.

“This was a sort of extension of the [monthly] Happy-ness Hours,” Nachmanoff said. “It was sunny, chilly, windy, but definitely happy. The opening of our Little Free Library in Colgate added to the community excitement and festive feeling.”

On the same afternoon as the bazaar, DMN opened a Little Free Library through community donations and inspiration drawn from the street mural around the corner from the new Little Free Library.

“Davis Manor Neighborhood had been having visioning workshops for residents to explore what our neighborhood can do to connect with each other and make it visually beautiful,” said Laurie Loving, key organizer of the Little Free Library and DMN resident.

“After a couple of meetings we had a design and began collecting donated materials. Many neighbors brought books and the corner nursery donated gardening books.”

Loving and her husband, Russell, volunteered to have the Little Free Library integrated into their property. It was placed on their garden at the end of their driveway, next to the sidewalk.

Neighbors contributed by donating the initial books that would be stored into the Little Free Library. One unique feature installed into the Little Free Library allows neighbors to interchange fruit and vegetable seeds through a seed drawer.

“Many neighbors have commented that they love the ‘parklet’ look to the area, with plants, large rocks, a bench and a path to the library,” Loving said. “They like that the library was painted with the designs used in the street mural around the corner, the flora and fauna of the neighborhood.”

— and try to figure out what the rules are. In math, you start by making up some rules, and then explore what game results from those rules. I think in a lot of ways, […] creating a fantasy setting is a little bit like that. You make up a universe, and set up rules for that universe, and see what happens.”

As an alumnus, musician and staff member, Davis has been able to find activities he is passionate about in all corners of town. The diversity of both people and interests in the City of Davis reflects on its size, as Davis finds the area to be a combination of a small town and a large city.

“The fact that it’s a small town means that one person being different is going to stand out a little more, but [...] it’s got the progressive big-city inclusiveness of having a university,” Davis said. “Davis is the place where I can build sort of this bubble of weirdness around me, and that’s okay. It’s a lot more pleasant to be in a diverse community, I think, [and] it would be a really boring world if everybody was the same — which is part of what the cape is for.”

After graduating from the UC Davis teaching credential program in 2006, Davis taught in high schools around Northern California before acquiring a tutor specialist position at his alma mater. Be CASEY DAVIS on PAGE 10

Comedian Franchesca Ramsey and transgender activist CeCe McDonald to come to campus | Discussion to focus on race, gender, sexuality

BY ALYSSA VANDENBERG c ampus@t he aggie . org

Comedian Franchesca Ramsey and transgender activist CeCe McDonald will speak on campus at free event entitled “Change the Conversation” on Friday, Jan. 13. Held in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the event will be an opportunity to discuss “race, gender, sexuality and the climate of oppression in the U.S.,” according to the Facebook event page.

“CeCe McDonald is an incredible transgender woman of color who has actively fought against transphobia and the prison industrial complex, two forms of oppression that many students on our campus have encountered or grappled; [and] Franchesca Ramsey is a YouTube and Comedy Central star who has eloquently and passionately embraced topics of race, gender, sexual violence, allyship and oppression,” said the organizer of the event, Sam Alavi, a fourth-year sociology major.

According to Alavi, this open conversation with Ramsey and McDonald comes at a time where safe spaces for marginalized communities are especially needed.

“Given the current climate on campus and across the nation around hate and bigotry towards people of color, LGBTQ identities and other marginalized communities, it’s important for us to create space for marginalized communities to feel empowered and a sense of support, as well as elevate the voices of the leaders who are working to change the world for the better,” Alavi said. “With all the dialogue and debate on our campus about identities and discrimination, we thought it would be a good idea to add to the conversation by bringing another perspective about acceptance, resistance and equity.”

Although tickets to the event are sold out, a limited number will be available at the door.

6 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Opinion the California Aggie EDITORIAL BOARD

from the editorial board

SCOTT DRESSER Editor in Chief ELLIE DIERKING Managing Editor ALYSSA VANDENBERG Campus News Editor SAMANTHA SOLOMON City News Editor ELI FLESCH Opinion Editor

MERYL STREEP’S INSPIRING WORDS ON THE PRESS Holding power accountable in the age of Trump At the 74th Annual Golden Globe Award this past weekend, Meryl Streep received the Cecil B. DeMille lifetime achievement award and, instead of reflecting upon her career, used her acceptance speech to condemn the abhorrent actions of President-elect Donald Trump.

During her time on stage, Streep focused on the profound effect Trump’s campaign had on her psyche in regard to his mockery of a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who is disabled, Serge Kovaleski .

Though we can take the time to redefine Streep’s position in critiques of her as a non-disabled woman, her speech pointed out Trump’s higher position of power and privilege over journalists, both on the campaign trail and over the next four years. With that, Streep called the audience to action to support the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), “because we’re going to need them going forward and they’ll need us to safeguard the truth.” Trump took to Twitter to respond that Streep’s speech was influenced by, yet again, the “very dishonest media.”

The CPJ, which internationally protects the freedom of the press with diplomatic and financial assis-

EMILIE DEFAZIO Features Editor AMANDA ONG Arts & Culture Editor BRYAN SYKES Sports Editor ARIEL ROBBINS Science & Tech Editor

CHIARA ALVES New Media Manager JAY GELVEZON Photo Director HANNAH LEE Design Director EMILY STACK Copy Chief OLIVIA ROCKEMAN Copy Chief VERONICA VARGO Website Manager

tance, receives about $1 million annually in donations.

The CPJ received over 700 online donations on Jan. 8 – 140 times the normal amount for a typical Sunday evening.

Streep’s presence both on the Golden Globes’ stage and as a Hollywood icon allows her message to stand out amongst others. The influx of support to the CPJ indicates that the non-media public is in search of true information and accurate depictions of events that will transpire after the inauguration on Jan. 20. The press must be supported but held accountable to produce unbiased and ethical journalism.

The Editorial Board will not ignore this call to action. In an effort “to hold power to account [and] to call them on the carpet for every outrage,” The California Aggie will do its part in reporting unbiased news and holding ourselves and our community accountable. It is our position as your campus newspaper to suppress the urge to be volatile, discriminatory or partisan in search of an audience.

In 2017, our 102nd year of publication, The California Aggie will pursue the same journalistic ethical standards upon which we were established.

ALEX GUZMÁN Social Media Mangager MADELINE ONG Newsletter Manager

Introducing the Winter Quarter columnists and humorists NEW WRITERS WILL WORK TO REFLECT THE GREAT DIVERSITY OF IDEAS AT UC DAVIS

BY ELI FLESCH ekflesch@ucdavis.edu Welcome back to school, Aggies. It’s a new year, and the challenges facing this country are profound. You may have asked yourself: what can I do to make a difference? The opinion desk will be working as hard as ever to make sure this paper fairly represents the great diversity of thought that makes this campus and community unique. We’re going to be pushing harder to find columns written by guest authors, and we need your help. If you or a group you represent are passionate about a particular topic, especially in the news, email opinion@theaggie.org to submit an op-ed or a letter for consideration. If you would like to write a weekly column for the Aggie, please let us know and we’ll send you an application. Let’s make sure the college newspaper remains democratic, essentially local and as refreshing to read as ever. Make sure you’re part of the conversation.

Tamanna Ahluwalia Coming off a successful Fall Quarter column on the persistence of gun violence in America, second-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major Tamanna Ahluwalia will be turning her attention these next ten weeks to the seemingly intractable issue of poverty in America. Paying special attention to how individuals contribute and react to destitute conditions, Tamanna hopes to better understand the underlying reasons for poverty. Columns on boredom and existentialism will help show the power of American materialism and its stark relationship to life at the bottom.

Sid Bagga Could increases in tuition actually benefit students? What does ASUCD really do to represent the students it serves? Why do conservatives on today’s campuses seem more amenable to firebrand right-wingers than before? These are among the questions Sid Bagga, a second-year economics major, hopes to answer in his column this quarter. At a time when the political and social divisions in our society are hyper-magnified on college campuses, Bagga aims to look at the issues in a way that’s opinionated but not blindly partisan — holding all sides accountable.

Taryn DeOilers After spending Fall Quarter exploring the intersections of the sciences and the humanities, second-year comparative literature and political science double major Taryn DeOilers will return to the opinion desk as an associate editor and part-time columnist. She plans on writing in response to newsworthy events in the culture, both nationally and locally — with an eye for the issues that will affect UC Davis students and the community.

Olivia Luchini If you think first-year students should be versed in meme culture, you’ve got a friend in Olivia Luchini, a second-year English and political science double major who believes there should be an entire seminar on the subject. She’ll explore doping by Picnic Day dachshunds and terrorizing turkeys. A stand-up comic from Fresno, California, Luchini has her eyes set on writing for Saturday Night Live — the less-funny version of the daily shenanigans Aggie humorists get themselves into.

Parker Nevin If you’re looking for the odd, off-brand humor that turns students into piles of dust and TAPS into a colonial power, look no further than Parker Nevin, a fourth-year computational cognitive science major. Nevin is a member of Birdstrike Theatre, an on-campus improvisational comedy troupe, which will come in handy when he needs to come up with an excuse on the fly as to why the Aggie’s humor desk just isn’t that funny.

HUMOR Extra week of winter break gives students additional time to do absolutely nothing How three UC Davis students productively wasted their winter break

BY BRIAN L ANDRY bjlandry@ucdavis.edu UC students were treated to an extra week of winter break this school year. The additional time off gave many UC Davis students the chance to accomplish a lot — a chance most of them squandered by doing absolutely nothing.

The California Aggie talked to some students about the various ways that they wasted their long break.

“I wouldn't say I did absolutely nothing with the extra time,” said Dwayne “The John” Rockson, a third-year linguistics major and pillowcase impersonator. “I bought myself a pair of socks. That’s not nothing. I mean, I lost one of the socks, but at least I put myself out

there and bought them in the first place.”

So brave.

But Rockson wasn’t the only student who failed to use their winter break productively.

“No, actually I was pretty on top of my stuff,” said Amanda Starbuck, a second-year soil science minor and human umbrella. “I walked my dog every day. I mean like, maybe I didn’t actually ‘walk’ her, but I did think about doing it almost every single day. And I’m honestly proud of myself for that.”

Inspiring.

Although these students shared some incredible stories about what they did over their breaks, one story stands out from the rest.

“I wanted to do something that was just sort of unprecedented,”

said Sharon Swallow, a fourth-year animal science major who enjoys being walked by dogs. “So I just slept. The entire break. Through everything. Christmas, New Years, the birth of my son. You name it, I was fast asleep.”

How did the people in Swallow’s life respond to her historic accomplishment?

“I know some people were going to call me lazy, including everyone in my family, who aren’t really talking to me right now. Also, my boyfriend isn’t super happy with me. Perhaps I should have been awake to, you know, have our child. But I had a goal and I stuck to it, and I think I deserve some credit for that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go see my son for the first time,” Swallow said, not realizing that she had in fact given birth to twin girls.

DISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held

by The California Aggie. Letters to the editor can be addressed to opinion@theaggie.org.

ISSUE DESIGNED BY

HANNAH LEE | AMY YE | CHRISTIE NEO | CINDY CHEUNG | JONATHAN CHEN

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THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017 | 7

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8 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017

ARTS & CULTURE FASHION TRENDS OF 2017 What new styles will be coming and going in the new year B RIANA NG O / AG G IE FILE

BY SYDNE Y ODMAN ar t s @the agg i e. org

With the arrival of a new year comes new beginnings of every form: in life, in love and, most importantly, in the world of fashion. As the trends of 2016 fade away — some we’ll miss, some we’ll be glad to see go — 2017 brings a fresh wave of different styles to try out, including bolder prints, the resurgence of stripes and the evolution of athleisure, just to name a few. Updating your wardrobe with the latest trends is a great way to revamp your closet and start feeling like your best self in the new year.

While minimalism ruled the runways and the streets for most of 2016, many are now leaning toward bolder statements, with an emphasis on more feminine looks. If the styles featured on the spring and summer 2017 runways last year are anything to go by, the 2016 trends of statement sleeves and ruffles are here to stay. Off-the-shoulder tops and statement sleeves were also huge in 2016 and are expected to stick around for the spring.

According to Elle Magazine, stripes are also back yet again this year. No matter how many times stripes go in and out of style, they continue to make comebacks. While plaid made a slight resurgence in 2016, the timelessness of stripes is expected to dominate the fashion scene in 2017 in all sorts of varieties and patterns. Additionally, bustiers, which were extremely popular in years past, are back this year, but now more as layering pieces rather than as pieces to wear all on their own.

“As soon as the weather starts heating up, I’m definitely going to be trying out fun new trends in the spring,” said Emily Whitehead, a first-year political

science major. “Spring and summer are the perfect time to experiment with your style.”

Although Blair Waldorf once stated that “tights are not pants,” she clearly did not anticipate the phenomenon of athleisure. Luckily for many college students, the obsession with athleisure is continuing in 2017, meaning that leggings and sweatpants will still be considered acceptable to wear outside and not just at the gym. With athletic-inspired pieces being designed by not only athleisure brands but also some higher-end companies and couture houses, it seems that the comfort of this ongoing trend is simply too great to pass up.

“I love wearing work out clothes to class or when I’m running errands because it’s comfortable but still cute,” said Addy Newman, a first-year global disease biology major. “It’s convenient.”

However, despite the fact that comfortable gymwear is dominating the current scene, the traditionalism of denim will always reign supreme when it comes to fall style. According to Glamour Magazine, the fashion world seems to be shying away from the old popularity of the stretchy “jegging”-type fit, and is turning back toward a more traditional, vintage feel. Boot-cut and wide-leg silhouettes are also on the rise. In the fall of 2017, denim trends are expected to include all sorts of fun embroideries and embellishments that were growing in popularity near the end of 2016. Additionally, the nostalgic love for denim miniskirts will surely continue throughout the summer and into the fall.

“In my opinion, denim will never go out of style, so I’m really looking forward to the new trends, such as the more flared, old-school looks that will be coming this year,” Newman said.

DAVIS IS BURNING FIRES UP FOR TWO PERFORMANCES

HAN N A H L E E / AGGIE

Drag show highlights range of gender expressions

BY ABI GAI L WANG arts@t heaggi e. org

From dust to side chicks, to Nikes, to big fella — introducing the year’s best albums

BY CARO L I N E RUT T E N arts@ th e ag g i e . o rg

I have a hard time looking back at 2016 — or any year — and deeming it good or bad; there are simply too many things that take place over the span of one year to reach an overall consensus. 2016 felt different, though. It wasn’t an overall kind year: numerous shootings, deaths of legendary musicians, a new president-elect. But despite the chaos of 2016, there remains an outlying bright side: empowerment and vulnerability in the music industry.

This motif remained prominent in the year’s albums. As our accessibility to music transforms, a notable example of the year’s theme can be found in our ability to stream music. By providing listeners with greater accessibility, artists had the liberty to be more personal. Certain artists became our friends, as opposed to the acquaintances they were before. As they voiced their commentary, a greater personal connection between artist and listener emerged. And they sound damn good while doing it. Here are the top three albums of 2016: 3. “Blonde” by Frank Ocean Frank Ocean is a master lyricist, and his quiet hibernation from the music scene since his debut album made me itch for his social commentary and provocative sound. What he gave us on “Blonde” was artfully simple, gooey music and lyrics that sound as if they were quoted from Ocean’s diary. He touches on the racial tension that dominated 2016, mentioning that Trayvon Martin “looks just like me” in the track “Nikes.” His voice is hushed and smooth, the instruments simple with no harsh drums to be found. He thus creates a juxtaposition between his dreamy sound and the harsh reality of his content.

He communicates directly to the listener, speaking of the drugs he took and the nostalgic, bitter-sweet simplicity of a broken love in the song “Ivy” as if the “feeling deep down is good.”

Ocean touches on it all in Blonde, understated and humble.

He doesn’t demand attention, but sits you down for an intimate conversation.

2. “Lemonade” by Beyoncé Who knew Beyoncé would make the list? It’s not just that Beyoncé is Beyoncé, but rather, she stepped out of her comfort zone and presented an album unlike anything she’s done

before. Not too long ago she sang of being drunk in love, but Lemonade offered a mature and complex account of her confronting infidelity, and artfully parallels her emotions to the national betrayal and discomfort of this year. She plays with music genres the way her emotions fluctuate — initially calling for “middle fingers up” in the song “Sorry” to ending with an open-ended reconciliation in “All Night.” She elevates herself as much as she brings herself down. Outspoken and brave, she unapologetically sings about political opinions and personal hardship, leaving no room for adversaries and calling for us to do the same.

1. “Coloring Book” by Chance the Rapper “Don’t forget the happy thoughts, all you need is happy thoughts” summarizes “Coloring Book” as a whole — a gentle reminder that optimism must remain during times of adversity, and that challenges generate progression. Playful and whimsical, Chance goes beyond his breakout mixtape, “Acid Rap”, for a mature and personal account of his newfound independence as the most famous record-less artist of our time (an accomplishment itself worth a top place on my list), as well as his faith and hopes for the future. He raps to a beat of positivity and brightness in an explicit and genuine call for a better society, and emerges as the much-needed high-pitched voice of honesty and humility. What makes him stand out, however, is his candor and ability to go beyond addressing the ills of the year. He also generates a universal mindset to attain the future he envisions. His masterful rapping paired — with smooth beats, Donnie Trumpet and a gospel choir — is an ideal remedy for 2016, and serves as the anthem of the good that is yet to come. So “are you ready for your blessings? Are you ready for your miracle?”

REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE THE AGGIE

Davis is Burning, the annual drag show hosted by the Xi Chapter of Delta Lambda Phi, an LGBTQ+ social fraternity on campus, will be held on Jan. 14 in the Wright Theater. The chapter will donate most of the proceeds to the Trevor Project, the leading organization for LGBTQ+ suicide prevention.

Matt Reese is a third-year linguistics and Chinese double major and has been performing in Davis is Burning since 2015.

“Queer youth have a very hard time in this world because oftentimes friends, family and community don’t understand the realities that we live everyday. The Trevor Project provides a lifeline for these kids, someone willing to listen to understand and to say ‘I believe you,’” Reese said.

Mason Schmidt, the vice president of the fraternity and a fourth-year international relations major, is the main planner for the event.

“I think drag culture has so much to provide for everyone [...] it’s seen as a culture that is not mainstream but to be able to bring it to campus and for it to be studentproduced is really beautiful,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt was inspired to rush Delta Lambda Phi after watching Davis is Burning.

“I come from a really small conservative town and so experiencing that was like ‘wow’ everyone is so comfortable with their gender expression and who they are, and they’re celebrating it,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt also performs in the show as Lavender Woods, his chosen stage name.

“Everyone has their own unique way of picking their name. Some people take the last name of their drag mother, the drag performer who coached them, my favorite scent is lavender and I feel it kind of fits my drag aura and then Woods just had a nice flow to it,” Schmidt said.

The name Davis is Burning has a unique connection. It comes from the 1980s documentary “Paris is Burning,” about the drag balls of New York City. The show was first performed in the living room of one the members of Delta Lambda Phi and since then the tradition has grown and moved to the stage. “[It’s] really liberating for me to be able to express myself and my gender so openly and in way that is entertaining and brings people together,” Schmidt said.

Performers start preparing for the show months in advance, and the production is a labor of love. It can take the performers up to three hours to apply their makeup before the show. During rehearsing, the performers are paired with a more experienced coach or “drag mother,” from the fraternity. Despite the intense work ethic, the performers feel that it all pays off during the show.

“My favorite part of performing is sharing my creative vision with others. I love having an idea for a song, picking out an outfit, doing my makeup, and making choreography to fit. When it all comes together others can see what I think and feel when listening to a song, what the song means to me,” Reese said.

Another aspect of preparation for the show consisted of dance rehearsals. Jerrad Senesac, a third-year gender, sexuality and women’s studies major, is the lead dance choreographer for the show.

“I think that there’s a beautiful thing to be said about how someone can make you connect with their performance on stage. It takes a tremendous amount of confidence and whimsical nature to move on stage and to captivate attention,” Senesac said.

The show aims to promote voices that have historically been marginalized and to showcase a range of gender identities and expressions.

“Drag proves that we can act, dress and be how we want regardless of what society says is ‘for boys’ or ‘for girls’, that human expression is a vast landscape which cannot and will not be confined by prescriptive heterosexism,” Reese said.

Davis is Burning is the biggest drag show in Northern California and professional queens from across California and queens from other chapters of Delta Lambda Phi will be performing.

There is a 2 p.m. matinee and 7 p.m. performance. Tickets can be purchased online. Please visit the event page for more details. Tickets are $12 online, $15 at the door and $13 at the door if attendees come in drag.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017 | 9

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

JAY GELVEZON / UC DAVIS CAMPUS RECREATION AND UNIONS

A WORKOUT PLAYLIST The California Aggie 1/4 page BW 5.125 x 10.5

The Global

Tea

SONGS TO HELP YOU FULFILL Run Dates: JAN 12, 2017 YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION JAN 19, 2017

BY AL LY OV E RBAY arts@ th e ag g i e . o rg

“Eat better,” “Work out more,” “Live healthier” — these are some of the most common New Year’s resolutions. With busy schedules and high stress levels, these resolutions are especially applicable to UC Davis students. But the hardest part of living a healthier lifestyle isn’t getting a gym membership (thank you, ARC) or even a lack of healthy foods (thank you, agriculture town); it’s getting started.

For many, music is a great motivator for exercise.

We asked UC Davis students how they use music to kickstart their exercise regime.

Courtney Lee, third-year history and sociology double major Do you listen to music when you work out?

Yes; it helps pass the time as well as get me pumped and excited to lift.

What genre do you prefer listening to?

A little of everything, but generally more aggressive or beat-heavy music. It’s easier to sync up reps with certain beats. More “angry”-sounding music can help me get in the mood to hit heavier weights.

Production: plete a set.Morissa However,Rubin when I’m doing cardio I’ll go for something lighter like R&B or EDM. The melomrrubin@ucdavis.edu dies usually530-752-0999 keep me going longer than a single set of weightlifting.

Favorite workout track?

“Flexicution” by Logic Kyle Cheung, fourth-year biological systems engineering major Do you listen to music when you work out?

No, I become too focused on my work out and my surroundings and often tune out the music.

Laura Lopeman, second-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major Do you listen to music when you work out?

Yes, it keeps me focused.

What genre do you prefer listening to?

Normally rap or EDM because it keeps me pumped up and excited. But sometimes I’ll be in the mood to listen to soft rock or R&B, for reasons unknown.

Favorite workout track?

“There It Goes (the Whistle Song)” by Juelz Santana

Emily Fehrman, second-year global disease biology major Do you listen to music when you work out?

Yes, it distracts me in a way and allows me to go faster/longer.

What genre do you prefer listening to?

I listen to pretty awful rap. It’s funny because it’s stuff I never listen to in other circumstances. I just like the background beats I guess. I need it to be catchy.

Sam Shahriary, third-year computer science major Do you listen to music when you work out?

Yes. Music usually excites me or gets me pumped up before an exercise. It also motivates me to work harder.

What genre do you listen to?

When I’m weightlifting I usually either listen to hip-hop or rock. When a song has a hard beat or rhythm it gets me more focused and amped to com-

Evan James, third-year communication major Do you listen to music when you work out?

Yes, it keeps me focused and in the zone. Without it I would be distracted by all the sounds around me.

What genre do you prefer listening to?

Hip-hop. Mainly because the fast-paced beats keep me on-tempo with my sets and reps. It’s sort of like a subconscious timer always keeping my workout fast with minimal downtime.

Favorite workout track?

“Semi On Em” by Chief Keef & Gucci Mane Check out these other tracks to up your treadmill speed: • • • •

“GLOWED UP” by KAYTRANADA ft. Anderson.Paak “California Girls” by NoMBe “BRNT (ft. The EMEFE Horns)” by Magic City Hippies “Good Friend” by Emily King

INITIATIVE

for the Study of Tea Culture and Science

TASTE, SMELL, SIGHT, HEARING, TOUCH:

THE SENSORY ASPECTS OF TEA 2nd Annual Colloquium January 19, 2017 3–7 p.m.

UC Davis Conference Center Victor Mair Chinese Language and Literature, University of Pennsylvania Tea Perceived: From a 9th-century Shipwreck to a 19th-century Snuff Bottle Selena Ahmed Sustainable Food and Bioenergy Systems, Montana State University Environmental and Management Effects on Tea Quality Mythri Jegathesan Anthropology, Santa Clara University Coolie Poesis: Plantation Sounds and Labor Heritage on Sri Lanka’s Tea Estates Kai-Hsien Chen Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, National Taiwan University A Scientific and Cultural Quest of Taiwan Tea, Aroma and Taste

Optional morning tea tasting in the Robert Mondavi Institute Sensory Theatre

RSVP: Tea2017.eventbrite.com For more information:

globaltea.ucdavis.edu facebook.com/ucdavisglobaltea

10 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

APPS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

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equity and justice demonstrated by respect for one another,’ then campus administrators at his event and condemn the presence of white supremacy on campus.”

The letter further argued that by allowing Yiannopoulos to speak on campus, UC Davis administrators would foster discrimination in the campus community.

“We demand that UC Davis administrators remove Milo Yiannopoulos’ platform for spreading hate and bigotry on our campus and issue a statement condemning white nationalist rhetoric within our community,” the authors of the letter wrote. “Now is the time for our university to take a firm stand and prove its commitment to inclusivity and egalitarianism in the face of growing exclusionist movements throughout the United States [...] the University administration is obligated to oppose discrimination and foster a safe campus climate ‘to protect all members of our community [and] ensure their continued success at the University.’ If they truly believe these words, the decision to cancel the Milo Yiannopoulos event should be an easy one to make.”

According to Deborah Porter, the DCR political director and a fourth-year biological systems engineering major, the club anticipated the campus community’s strong reaction to Yiannopoulos’ visit.

“As a campus club open to challenging our community, we decided to host [Yiannopoulos] in order to allow our people the opportunity to hear about ideas, policies and theories that may be entirely alien to their background,” Porter said via e-mail. “While the Davis College Republicans do not endorse Milo or his speaking

points, we do believe that college is a period in life where students must be aware of others’ beliefs and able to support their own values.”

Porter hopes that community members from both sides of the political spectrum will come and listen to Yiannopoulos’ talk with an open mind.

“We hope that liberals alongside conservatives attend Milo’s talk with the purpose of pondering his ideas, asking difficult questions and promoting UC Davis as a place where we challenge the ideas set before us rather than blindly accepting them,” Porter said. “As members of this community, and members of the Davis College Republicans, we invite all people to peacefully attend this event.”

However, Amara Miller, a fifth-year sociology graduate student, who helped create the petition asking the UC Davis administration to cancel the event, believes that the right to free speech does not mean that a platform for hate speech should be allowed.

“Given that UC Davis is becoming more diverse every year and is an emerging Hispanic Serving Institution, [DCR’s] choice to host [Yiannopoulos] and the UC Davis administration’s choice to do nothing about the event are particularly disturbing and indicate an unwillingness to embrace the increasing diversity of our student population or serve the needs of these diverse students,” Miller said via email.

“Free speech is not hate speech, and it’s important to recognize that the rights of free speech can still be protected without providing a broader platform for the spread of hate and bigotry that legitimates, normalizes and tactically supports oppression.”

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peak hours in the day and bitter winters that fall below freezing in the nights, homeless people can be seen in Davis all year round. Julie Harlow, a member of the Board of Directors for The Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter, pointed out that cold, damp weather creates the need for laundry facilities, considering the amount of people who only have one or two changes of clothes. This is a kind of service that is difficult for homeless people to access.

“There is only one shower in town that the homeless have access to,” Harlow said in an e-mail interview. “And most restaurants and businesses do not allow non-customers to use their restrooms [...]

The University coaches, led by Jamey Wright, have made a shower facility available one night a week.

[Restaurant owners] would rather complain about unsanitary habits of the homeless than see that they could be part of the solution. “ The cold weather can be especially hazardous for homeless people, who experience increases in health problems like colds, flus and pneumonia; it can also exacerbate existing health conditions like diabetes or hypertension.

“It’s a hard deal, being homeless,” said Eric Elton, chair of the Board of Directors for the Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter. “Even in the best of situations it’s really hard. When it’s cold, you can’t really find a safe space, which is really what gets people. Everything gets more miserable when it’s wet, you can’t get out of the rain [or] find a place to dry off.”

The Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter (IRWS)

is one organization in Davis that provides shelter and warm food for homeless and transient folk during the winter months of the year. Established in 2007 by a community group who wanted to help the homeless, the IRWS is made up of 15 different congregations that host guests or serve hot meals. This program houses about 25 to 45 individuals a night during operation and serves about 150 individuals over the course of a season.

The IRWS is completely volunteer-based and even offers an undergraduate student internship.

The majority of those who work for Davis Community Meals and Housing are also volunteers.

Homelessness is a reality that many people face in every town and city, no matter how big or small, hot or cold.

Although students are often caught up in schoolwork and day-to-day responsibilities, it is important to learn about the issues others in the community face on a regular basis — it is never too late to get involved and lend a helping hand.

“There is always something that you can do,” Ahmed said. “If it is something that you are passionate about, don’t be discouraged from looking for ways to get involved. It’s also important to note that word of mouth is extremely important in order to pass along information about resources available, because homeless individuals often don’t have access to a regular computer where they can search information for themselves. Oftentimes, the first step is to take the time to talk to someone, tell them what you know and learn more about what they need.”

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-sides finding himself having “come full circle,” he said the best part of working at SASC is helping students understand subjects that they can approach in all sorts of ways.

“Everyday, I’m working with people who are learning something new about the world that they’ve never seen before, and I get to be the one who shows it to them,” Davis said. “Getting students [at SASC] from such a wide variety of backgrounds [...] really challenges me to figure out […] how I can adapt the way I’m explaining things so that [everyone] can really understand it. The best part of that [is] the ‘aha’ moment, when the student finally understands what’s going on, and this job is ‘aha moments’ all the time.”

One defining moment of his career was receiving an evaluation form at the end of a quarter on which a student had commented that Davis “does a great job of storytelling physics.”

“I had never thought of it that way before, but on reflection, I realized that when I’m teaching physics, I use almost exactly the same voice [and] mannerisms that I use when I’m telling a story that I find exciting,” Davis said. “[This] job seems like it is tailor-made specifically to match my own teaching style. If a student comes in needing help with some branch of physics or engineering that I’ve never looked at before, but is somehow related to other stuff that I do know about, I can start looking for patterns in the equations they’re using versus similar topics that I’ve already seen, and find the similarities. [It’s about turning] it into what you already know.”

Davis’ focus has always been on discovering a career path for which he was both talented and enthusiastic, and he encourages others to do the same.

“Find something that you can do that you enjoy doing, that you’re good at or can become

really good at, and that helps other people — in a way that you can somehow also get paid for,” Davis said. “If you can find that, latch onto it, make a career out of it and never let go.”

Despite his confidence in fantasy costuming, what he teaches and the music he plays, Davis understands doubts when it comes to achievement and success, but attributes his spirit to the students who come up to him on the quad as he practices for his next renaissance fair performance.

“There’s always the imposter syndrome,” Davis said. “[There’s always] the voice in the back of one’s mind saying ‘you’re not really good at this skill, you’re just pretending you are, and everybody knows that you’re bad at it but they just don’t want to say anything,’ so it’s always nice to get the feedback that people actually do like the music. Also, I think the quad is such a nice place for a little bit of folk music here and there, [and] it’s nice to have more musicians on campus.”

To those who approach him, Davis encourages them to visit Watermelon Music if they’re interested in picking up the penny whistle, his website math.andcheese.org for math and physics help, or Davis Cards and Games if they would like to explore world-building opportunities from a fantasy perspective. But above all, he hopes that students think of him “mythologically.” “[I want to be remembered as] the ‘music-playing wizard who can make people better at understanding physics just by being in the same room,’” Davis said. “I think I’ve got a pretty good balance of mythological aspirations and being grounded in reality. That was actually the dedication my parents wrote in my high school senior yearbook — ‘keep your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground,’ and I try to live by that.”

-son said. “It would be irresponsible on our part, as a public institution especially, not to acknowledge which populations are struggling the most to keep up with the graduation and retention rates.”

The efforts toward recruitment have been successful, as the percentage of African American, American Indian and Chicano/Latino applicants have increased by 2.8, 2.2 and 7.5 percent, respectively. Through financial aid and resources such as the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), the UC aspires to make all of the campuses in the system more affordable to attend, especially for such underserved groups.

“I was nervous about applying to college because I knew it was very expensive,” said Joel Gutierrez, a first-year marine and coastal science major. “[The UC is] very considerate toward people and their incomes [and] they to want to make sure everyone has a good opportunity.”

The UC hopes to attract students who are first-generation college students, from low-income families or who are part of historically underserved groups.

As it is the UC’s ongoing mission to admit a diverse pool of students, this year’s variety of applicants

will help the campuses pursue that goal.

“Our hope is that with understanding diversity as value added, we will see a continued increase in diversity in all of its definition,” Robinson said.

Robinson mentioned that UC Davis considers students from all backgrounds and focuses on applicants who take advantage of the resources within their respective learning environments.

“We admit stories students tell us about themselves, and in doing so they give us an understanding of what each applicant could possibly bring to the intellectual, social and cultural vitality of the campus,” Robinson said. “[This] moment of introspection is probably the most mature thing a 17 or 18-year-old will ever be asked to do, [...] so students have the opportunity to put their best [selves] forward.”

Gutierrez said that the UC application process in fall 2015 was highly competitive, so he concentrated on ways to stand out from the other applicants.

“The UCs [offer] a very good education, so I thought they would be looking for students who put a lot of passion into what they do,” Gutierrez said.

“It’s not just about preparing us mentally, but also for the real world and to be active adults with an impact on the world.”

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-entists worldwide.

“As a biologist by trade, working on technology development has been a huge learning curve, but it is something that excites me daily,” said Britt Yazel, a third-year Ph.D. candidate in neuroscience.

The colleagues aimed to build robotic limbs that paraplegic patients could control with their own minds.

However, after a year of training with virtual reality and BMI, patients were able to surpass the boundaries of medical science, not only manipulating the prosthetics but moving their own paralyzed limbs.

A shocking discovery came several months into the study — patients who were never supposed to be able to move again regained movement in their own muscles.

Researchers confirmed that all the patients enrolled in this study improved significantly in the ability to control movement prior to their original state of mobility. This collaborative study is the first to describe any type of neurological recovery as a result of BMI training.

“There are many challenges in extracting the intentions of a person with limited ability to express them,” Lyons said. “Overcoming some of these challenges has the potential to transform the

lives of people with amputations, paralysis and other mobility impairments.”

Applications of technology created under RASCAL has been in use at New York Presbyterian Hospital by patients with limited mobility. Research member Ben Margolis, a graduate student at Davis has been collaborating with Columbia University Robotics Group (CURG) to develop a robotic grasping system. “[We] noninvasively measure muscle contractions using what are essentially stickers on the skin with wires attached,” Margolis said.

About 282,000 people are living with spinal cord injuries (SPI) in the United States alone, and there are about 17,000 new cases each year. The leading cause of of these injuries is vehicle crashes, and following is injury from falls and injury from violence, primarily gunshot wounds.

People living with SPI have a lower life expectancy due to increased risk of pneumonia, heart problems and metabolic diseases. Fortunately, this noninvasive research of training with BMI has the potential to be used worldwide in many therapy forms for paralyzed patients.

“It is inspiring to work with these people and learn about their clever solutions to unique challenges,” Lyons said.

DIGESTION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

unique blend of enzymes, salts and glycoproteins that simulate saliva, gastric juice and internal fluids, according to Mennah-Govela.

“We make it as solution, and we make a bottle of it,” Mennah-Govela said. “We store it in the refrigerator and we can use it within one week for different trials.”

Although the process of modelling digestion may sound simple, the enzymes that your body produces, as well as other factors, can vary drastically.

“We do sequential digestion, where we would mimic the stomach and then mimic the small intestines,” Bornhorst said. “The challenging part about that is that there are a lot of control systems: how fast [food] empties from your stomach, the secretion of acids and enzymes, and a lot of those are dependent on the food product and they’re also dependent on the individual […]

There’s some data that exists from human studies, but if you’re using a different food product, then the values may be very different.”

If digestion is so hard to recreate, it might seem counterintuitive to try to mimic the process outside of the human body. Karen Rios-Villa, a graduate student in the Food Science Department, also works in Bornhorst’s lab. According to Rios-Villa, there are a couple of reasons why the development of the HGS was necessary.

“Most of the research regarding nutrient release is related to the after-absorption process, but the transformation that the food suffers during digestion is still not clear,” Rios-Villa said in an e-mail interview. “A possible way to under-

stand this process would be using animals (“in vivo”), but there are numerous ethical, economical and methodological limitations. Therefore, the development of tools that can help us in the simulation of digestion have been built in Prof.

Gail Bornhorst Food Engineering Lab.” One of the ways the HGS is being used is to study how different ways of preparing food can change the breakdown of proteins and overall bioavailability, or the percentage of each nutrient that your body is able to absorb, of the nutrients that food contains.

For example, Bornhorst’s group did some work with sweet potatoes, preparing them in various ways, feeding them through the machine and then analyzing the broken down food. In the future, Bornhorst sees a place for models like the HGS in trying to engineer foods with specific desired properties, like a food that will make people feel fuller, or have a slower or faster release of glucose.

“All those things are related to the properties of food products and what actually happens to them when you eat the food,” Bornhorst said.

“Because the models that we’ve had in the past did not incorporate both the physical aspects and the chemical aspects, we were trying to optimize a system where we didn’t really understand what was going on. By creating these types of models, like our mechanical stomach model, what we’re really trying to do is to be able to understand, at a much more detailed level, what’s happening both to the structure as well as to the properties after you consume the food”.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017 | 11

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SCIENCE+TECH KARIN HIGGINS / UC DAVIS

HUMAN GASTRIC SIMULATOR DEVELOPED AT UC DAVIS NEW MODEL HELPS TO DEVELOP FOODS WITH CUSTOMIZABLE DIGESTIVE QUALITIES

BY M ERA L BASI T science@theaggie.org

Digestion is the process that allows the body to break down a cheeseburger into nutrients that the cells in your body can use. With the help of new technology at UC Davis, this process can now be examined outside of the body.

Gail Bornhorst, an assistant professor of food science and technology, was on the team that first built the human gastric simulator (HGS), a model that simulates human digestion.

“Our main goal was to be able to simulate both the the physical and the chemical aspects of food digestion in order to understand food breakdown processes to be able to model those processes, ultimately [designing] better food products that have the functional properties that we want,” Bornhorst said.

The HGS is unique because it models both chemical and physical digestion, two independently complicated processes.

“The physical aspect is that [the HGS] essentially has these rollers that move down a stomach reactor, and those mimic the contractions of your stomach,” Bornhorst said. “Your stomach has muscular contractions and that’s how it breaks down the food particles.”

While chewing starts the process of physical digestion, it still leaves food particles largely intact, so as the rollers are moving along the stomach reactor, the process of chemical digestion is also happening.

Yamile Mennah-Govela, a Ph.D. student of food science and technology, also works in Bornhorst’s lab. Components for chemical digestion are made in the lab using a unique blend of enzymes, salts and glycoproteins that simulate saliva, gastric juice and internal fluids, according to Mennah-Govela.

“We make it as solution, and we make a bottle of it,” Mennah-Govela said. “We store it in the refrigerator and we can use it within one week for different trials.”

Although the process of modelling digestion may sound simple, the enzymes that your body produces, as well as other factors, can vary drastically.

“We do sequential digestion, where we would mimic the stomach and then mimic the small intestines,” Bornhorst said. “The challenging part about that is that there are a lot of control systems: how fast [food] empties from your stomach, the secretion of acids and enzymes, and a lot of those are dependent on the food product and they’re also dependent on the individual […] There’s some data that exists from human studies, but if you’re using a DIGESTION on 10

SCIENTISTS HELP PARAPLEGIC PATIENTS MOVE AGAIN THROUGH MANIPULATION OF THE BRAIN

HANNAH LEE / AGGIE

ROBOTIC LIMBS POWERED BY MIND YIELD UNEXPECTED RESULTS, MOVEMENT, CONTROL RESTORED IN PATIENTS’ BODIES

BY SH IVANI KAMAL science@theaggie.org

A miraculous medical miracle was the result of an unforeseen outcome. Long-term paralyzed patients have surprisingly gained the ability to move their own limbs thanks to studies using virtual reality and robotic prosthetics.

Professor Sanjay Joshi of the UC Davis Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and one of the authors of this current study published in the Journal of Scientific Reports collaborated with scientists from Duke University, the Neurorehabilitation Center in Sao Paulo Brazil, Institute for Cognitive Systems in Munich, Germany as well as other international universities.

These scientists have found a way to make paraplegics move again by training them with a virtual reality headset. The study consisted of 8 completely paralyzed patients, each fitted with a cap containing electrodes to record brain activity.

All the patients have partial or complete paralysis of the lower half of the body, usually due to spinal cord injury or disease of the lower region of the spine.

Joshi is also the principal investigator of UC Davis Robotics, Autonomous Systems and Controls Laboratory (RASCAL). This lab has contributed to much of the research involving robotic prosthetics advancing human health.

Ph.D. student Kenneth Lyons from the De-

partment of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at UC Davis is a research member whose current project focuses on powering prosthetic arms.

“When seemingly insignificant actions like turning the page of a book or grabbing a cup become impossible to perform independently, dayto-day life as well as emotional health are negatively impacted,” Lyons said.

The technology used in the study was called brain-machine interface systems (BMIs), and allowed patients to utilize their brain activity to stimulate movements of their own legs inside a robotic exoskeleton and in a virtual reality system.

BMI creates a direct connection for the human brain to communicate and move the robotic prosthetic limb.

With the virtual reality system, patients could really see themselves move as they controlled a virtual avatar of patient walk or move while wearing the virtual reality headset.

In addition, the interface then sent signals back to the human brain, like sensations of movement, so patients could also feel themselves moving.

The experience of previously paralyzed patients being able to feel and see themselves walk was possible due to creative collaborations of sciVR on 10

12 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

A Festivity of Photos Aggie photographers reminisce on their winter break

JAY GELVEZON CHELBERT DAI

BRIANA NGO

IAN JONES

DANIEL TAK

CAT TAYLOR

DIANA LI

ANH-TRAM BUI

ALEXA FONTANILLA

MEENA RUGH

CHARLES MIIN

ASHLEY LUGO

LAURA LONG

BRIAN LANDRY

NADIA DORIS

KELSEY GREGGE

CIERA PASTUREL

VENOOS MOSHAYEDI

LUCY KNOWLES

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2016 | 13

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

CARR-LESS RAIDERS WALK HOME EMPTY-HANDED

US AIR FORCE / T.C. PERKINS JR. [CC BY-NC 2.0] / FLICKR

Oakland Raiders lose in wild-card matchup, but promise is in the air

BY DAV I D F LO R E S sports@theaggie.worg

The last time the Oakland Raiders made it to the playoffs, it was 2002. Let that sink in for a moment. Many of us weren’t even old enough to throw a football, let alone remember the days of Rich Gannon, the last Raiders quarterback to take them to the playoffs, heaving the ball downfield to Hall of Famers Tim Brown and Jerry Rice.

This past Saturday, the Raiders went on the road to face the Houston Texans without their MVP candidate quarterback and team leader, Derek Carr, at the helm. Instead, they were forced to start their rookie third string, Connor Cook, after career backup Matt McGloin went down with a shoulder injury in the last game of the regular season. Cook started his first game in the NFL in an AFC Wild Card matchup against one of the most dominant defenses on paper. Tough break.

For the Raiders, many believed that their season was all but over after Derek Carr went down in

week 16, against the Indianapolis Colts, suffering a fractured fibula that would end his incredible season. Before going down, on the lone sack that the Raiders stout offensive-line gave up, Carr was picking apart a sad Colts defense, proving what many have deemed was an MVP season and leading his team to a then 12-3 record.

He was clearly the heart and soul of this team, and it showed in his absence when the Raiders went 0-2 after his injury — losing the last regular season game in Denver that would have clinched a home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Instead, they had to go to Houston where they were beaten up on both sides of the ball — losing their first playoff game in 14 years.

Although many fans had to swallow a large pill of disappointment after such an exciting and promising 2016 season, Raider fans should not fret. Raider Nation can rest assured that this is no fluke season. The Men in Black will be back in the postseason next year if all of their key players can stay healthy and if Carr can make a 100 percent

CIE RA PAST U RE L / AG G IE FILE

comeback.

Seeing how Carr became this team’s emotional and physical leader this season, all indicators point to him following his third year, where he earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl and is still in the talks of MVP of the league, without missing a beat.

The Raiders are no longer an up-and-coming team. They are up, and they came — just

without the key contributors that helped them get to the postseason. Having been forced to thrust a rookie quarterback into play on the road, with very few reps in practice throughout the year and the added pressure of it being a playoff game, the Raiders were banking on a miracle.

That miracle was sitting at home, nursing a broken leg.

UPCOMING GAMES Women’s basketball (The ARC Pavilion): Thursday, Jan. 12 vs. Long Beach State at 7 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 14 vs. CSUN at 2 p.m.

Women’s gymnastics (The ARC Pavilion): Friday, Jan. 13 vs. Stanford/Boise State/Yale at 7 p.m.

TUMBLING INTO 2017 UC Davis women’s gymnastics team has high hopes for season

BY A L EX AREC HI G A sports@theaggie.org

As the UC Davis women’s gymnastics team prepares to commence its 2017 season, one thing is clear: slow and steady wins the race.

Even in the midst of the injuries affecting a handful of their athletes, the Aggies are determined to keep a positive and competitive outlook about the imminent season with confidence that they will capture NCAA postseason nods.

With an accumulated five Mountain Pacific Sports Federation [MPSF] conference championships in the past six years, the team has no reason to be humble, and it’s that same calm yet tenacious attitude that has been the key to the team’s success.

“We focus on our rituals,” said senior co-captain Katy Nogaki. “We keep an emphasis on the Aggie bubble, and centering [our focus] on what we need to do as a team in order to accomplish our own goals.”

This approach of fixating all competitive concern towards the team’s goals rather than outwardly during meets has proven to be successful, as its athletes look forward to another fruitful and thrilling season.

The team has accomplished impressive feats recently and hopes to use that excitement as fuel in upcoming meets. Nimble Nogaki is well on her way to becoming the first gymnast in UC Davis history to compete in four consecutive NCAA postseason meets. Junior Alexis Brown dominated the conference with All-MPSF titles in vault, bars and beam, while senior co-captain Yonni Michovska took home an All-MPSF title of her own for bars.

The list of accolades continues and serves as a

testament for the level of athleticism and contagious excitement for the sport that these Aggies possess.

Prior to the team’s first meet, the NorCal Classic, on Monday, Jan. 9, head coach John Lavallee emphasized the importance of slowly picking up steam throughout the season in order to preserve and rejuvenate the athletes for the bigger meets.

“Ultimately, we want to be our strongest at the end of season, so we want to give everybody the chance to be as healthy and strong as they can before they get out there,” Lavallee said.

Looking forward, the team takes to the mats to build its Regional Qualifying score with the hopes of qualifying for postseason competition.

“No matter what goes on around us, whatever happens, it’s all about Davis,” Nogaki said. “All eyes on Aggie.”

Despite some injuries across the team, the Aggies exceeded expectations and excelled with their performance at the NorCal Classic on Monday night.

The meet, which hosted opponents like the California Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinal, proved to be the perfect place for the Aggies to regroup and perform; they ended the night with a third-place finish after capturing an overall score of 193.875, which was comprised of a 48.700 score in both vault and bars, a 48.075 on the floor and a 48.400 on beams.

Among the many standout performances of the meet, Brown’s 9.800 on uneven bars and 9.825 on vault and Michovska’s 9.625 floor performance were sights to behold.

The Aggies will host Stanford, the Boise State Broncos and the Yale Bulldogs for their home opener on Friday, Jan. 13 at 7 p.m.

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14 | THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2016

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

BACKSTOP NFL WILD-CARD WEEKEND RECAP A roundup of NFL playoff competition

BY MI C HAEL W E X L E R sports@theaggie.org

Heavy rains throughout Northern California meant one thing for every sports fan in the region last weekend: football, football, football. Unfortunately, there was not much to get excited about this time around. The first game between Houston and Oakland didn’t garner much excitement as Oakland was unable to enforce an effective game plan without star quarterback Derek Carr to fight against the top defense in the league. The game was seemingly over by halftime. On the other side of the ball, Brock Osweiler, the recent signee of a $72 million contract in the offseason, had his most encouraging performance to date, going 14-25 for 168 yards and two TDs (one rushing), as he has had a pretty miserable 2016 campaign.

The second game between Detroit and Seattle seemed to belong to the latter the whole time. While the game was within striking distance until the fourth quarter for the Lions, quarterback Matthew Stafford was unable to get the offense moving against the Legion of Boom and the Lions continued to hurt themselves with dropped passes throughout the game.

The Steelers had a very strong showing against the Miami Dolphins in a game with frigid weath-

er conditions. Aside from the two fumbles and one interception from Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore, he looked pretty solid throughout the game. Unfortunately for the Fins, they relied too heavily on their emerging running back Jay Ajayi, who he wasn’t able to replicate his week six breakout performance against Pittsburgh — only rushing for 33 yards on 16 carries. Pittsburgh’s usual suspects, Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger, took over the game right out of the gate.

The last game between Green Bay and the New York Giants was primed to be the best game of the weekend, and it sure started off that way. Aaron Rodgers was struggling out of the gate and the Green Bay secondary looked feeble, but unfortunately the Giants’ wide receivers couldn’t take advantage. Both Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard of the Giants dropped perfect passes from quarterback Eli Manning in the first half and they had to settle for field goals two separate times in deep Green Bay territory.

The Giants defense looked fantastic in the first two quarters and it looked as if they were primed to enter halftime with a 6-0 lead, but unfortunately for the Big Blue, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers was able to rattle off 14 straight points in the final 2:20 of the first half and didn’t look back in the second, tagging on 24 more points.

The Divisional Round will hopefully provide more entertainment than this Wild Card round, which failed to produce any close games. While many expect Tom Brady and the Patriots to dismantle the Houston Texans, the other three matchups are arguably toss-ups.

UC DAVIS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL BREAKS RECORDS ON THE ROAD Bertsch leads Aggies over winter break roadshow

BY N I CO L E T T E SA R M I E N TO sports@theaggie.org

The UC Davis women’s basketball team has been busy over the winter break with a six-game road trip that included the start of league competition against UC Irvine.

UC Davis went into the break looking to improve on its 5-2 record. In the first of eight games over school vacation, the Aggies hosted the Saint Mary’s Gaels in a thrilling performance by junior guard Rachel Nagel, who led the team with 18 points and a buzzerbeater to lift UC Davis to a 68-66 victory.

The Ags then hit the road to face the Oregon State Beavers, a team to which UC Davis has lost in all 15 previous faceoffs. The Beavers took a whopping 93-52 win and sophomore forward Morgan Bertsch and junior guard Dani Nafekh led UC Davis with 15 and 12 points, respectively.

However, the Aggies bounced back from the loss to set a record against rivals Sacramento State in their 110-78 victory as seven players scored in double digits. The win marked the second-highest scoring game in UC Davis women’s basketball history.

UC Davis then went on to fight for its second straight road victory against University of San Francisco, 78-58. Bertsch set a career-high record of 27 points and junior forward Pele Gianotti tied her career-high 12 points and

B RYAN SYK E S / AG G IE FI LE

U C D AV I S M E N ’ S B A S K E T B A L L L O O K S TO B R E A K A PA R T F R O M T H E PA C K With conference play beginning, the Aggies hope to build lead atop the Big West Conference

BY BRADLE Y GE ISE R sports@theaggie.org

The UC Davis Aggies currently sit atop the Big West Conference’s men’s basketball division at 10-7, but going into the second half of the season means that they must begin to distance themselves from the rest of the competition atop the Big West standings. It has been a season of ups and downs for the men’s basketball team. What started out as a promising 5-2 season quickly turned sour after a four-game skid, but appears to be headed back in the right direction after winning five out of the last six games, four of which were won by double digits.

For head coach Jim Les and the rest of the Aggies, that change will need to start now, as nearly every game becomes

a conference matchup that will have a profound effect on the overall standings.

Having played just five of 17 games at home, all of which were victories, the Aggies must also take advantage of a friendlier schedule. In the 2017 portion of the year, the team will have eight home games and eight road games to secure its place in the standings.

On the backs of leading scorers, senior guard Brynton Lemar and junior forward Chima Moneke — who was named Big West Player of the week on January 2 after putting up back-to-back double-doubles — the team is looking to take advantage of a friendlier schedule going forward.

The team will need to keep up the dominant work not just on the scoreboard, but on rebounds and on defense as well. Brynton Lemar also received some accolades and was named Player of the Week by College Sports Madness during the same week as Moneke, in which the Aggies went 2-0 versus Seattle University and Utah Valley. He put up

19 points per game on 52 percent shooting, including 42.9 percent from threepoint range.

The team will need its leaders to keep up the great work going into conference play if they want to continue this much-needed upswing.

With the standings in their favor, as well as a much friendlier travel schedule, the Aggies are in prime position to enter the conference play with a little bit of momentum. Lemar, Moneke and the rest of the team must enter every game with the same intensity they have displayed during their better games, as well as learning from the mistakes from the others.

March will be here before they know it, and it is up to the Aggies to break out from the rest of the teams fighting for the top spot in the Big West Conference if they want to finish strong.

The team will tip off next at UC Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 8:00 p.m.

The game can be seen on ESPN 3 and heard on KSAC 105.5 FM.

IAN JO NE S / AG G IE FILE

posted her second double-double of the season with 12 rebounds.

Bertsch also earned herself the title of Big West Conference Player of the Week after her exceptional performances to help put the Aggies at an 8-3 overall record. This was the first conference award of her career and the first for UC Davis since last season.

Heading into the second half of their road trip, the Aggies kept the ball rolling even with Nagel out on injury, in a close, third straight win, 77-71, against the University of Central Florida Knights.

Bertsch led four Aggies in double digits with 20 points to move the team to an

impressive 9-4 season record. These road wins garnered attention across the nation, launching UC Davis 25 spots into the top 50 of the NCAA’s RPI ranking at No. 46.

The Aggies headed to Jacksonville in their penultimate road game. Nagel returned after her injury against the Knights with 16 points and Bertsch posted a 12-point game, but the Dolphins rallied to snap UC Davis’ win streak, 61-54.

With the best record in the league, UC Davis opened Big West Conference play at UC Irvine and dominated 89-48. Juniors Nagel and center Marly

Anderson led the Aggies with 17 and 12 points, respectively. The game marked Anderson’s first double-double, with 12 rebounds.

The Ags made their triumphant return to the Pavilion after their six-game road trip to host the Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine in a Big West Conference championship rematch.

Bertsch led the team to a 70-55 victory with the game-high 24 points to put UC Davis at 11-4 on the season and 2-0 in conference play.

UC Davis women’s basketball hosts Long Beach State at the Pavilion tonight at 7 p.m.