May 25, 2023 by The California Aggie

UC Davis’s beverage pouring rights contract with Pepsi set to expire in August

The ASUCD Environmental Policy and Planning Commission urges that the university refrain from entering another contract as they believe it goes against the campus’ environmental standards

BY KAYA DO-KHANH campus@theaggie.org

UC Davis’s 10-year deal with Pepsi Beverages and Co. is expiring on August 31, 2024. The agreement brought approximately $10 million for student scholarships and other support programs for students. It also gave Pepsi nearexclusive rights to sell, advertise and promote its soft drinks and other products on campus, including in the dining commons and for athletic concessions. The university previously signed a 10-year contract in January 2004 with Coca-Cola, which guaranteed $1.5 million in addition to vending commissions to the university.

According to the Assistant Director of the UC Davis Preferred Partnership Program (UP3) Ethan Shawlee, there have not been any potential partners identified for a new contract, nor has a Request for Proposal been drafted yet. Once a Request for Proposal is provided, potential partners could respond and then be evaluated.

“There are ongoing discussions within the workgroup of risks and benefits of a variety of options going forward, one of which includes not entering into another beverage pouring rights contract,” Shawlee said via email.

The mission of UP3 is to secure and manage campuswide, collaborative and strategic partnerships with preferred business partners that line up with the university’s values. The UP3 Advisory Committee is made up of voting and non-voting members from the campus student body, faculty and administration. The committee reviews partnership category working group recommendations and votes on the opportunities for partnership,

which are then sent to the Chancellor’s Leadership Council for final approval.

According to Shawlee, the pouring rights contract provides a number of benefits to the campus, such as the inclusion of contractual limits on price increases, funding for student scholarships and activities, disadvantaged youth programs, sustainability and athletics.

“The primary limitation of the contract is an exclusivity clause, requiring UC Davis to purchase beverages from Pepsi for specific commodity areas,” Shawlee said via email. “The current contract requires 90% exclusivity in this area, meaning that 10% of UC Davis beverage purchasing can be from other suppliers.”

On March 3, the ASUCD Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (EPPC) wrote a letter to the Pouring Rights Committee, stressing their concerns over the current contract and requesting that the university not sign another pouring rights contract.

“As the environmental leaders of the #1 Most Sustainable University in North America in 2022, UC Davis’ association with PepsiCo is in contradiction with our campus’ environmental standards,” the letter from EPPC states. “Promoting the sale of beverages in single-use containers on campus directly undermines UC Davis’ waste reduction and carbon footprint goals. For example, the Pouring Rights Contract contributed to UC Davis not reaching its zero waste goal by 2020.” Shawlee said that sustainability is one aspect of the conversation in regards to the selection of a preferred partnership.

“Sustainability is an important consideration in aligning with campus priorities and objectives for preferred partners on campus,” Shawlee said. “This is a component of the ongoing conversations with regard to pouring rights and the Office of Sustainability is represented on the Beverage Pouring Rights Industry Working Group.”

The EPPC also partnered with ASUCD Senators to develop SR #6, which calls on the UC Davis Beverage Pouring Rights Industry Working Group to refrain from entering into a new Pouring Rights Contract, and it passed at the May 18 Senate meeting.

“I am in support [of the resolution] because I have learned that the pouring rights contract will undermine our campus’ ability to reduce the use of single-use plastics, and because many students have personally told me that they oppose this contract,” ASUCD Senator Stephen Fujimoto and co-sponsor of the resolution said.

Third-year Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning major and commissioner of EPPC Leo Hecht, is planning a demonstration for Thursday, June 1 at 12 p.m. in the quad. The tagline for the demonstration is Pepsi Off Campus UC Davis.

“The idea was to get student interest and

put it at the forefront of students’ minds,” Hecht said. “I think that if more people were aware of [the contract], they would be against it, and I think we need to show the administration and the decision makers that there is a mass of student support around not having a new contract with Pepsi.”

Mackenzie Field, author of SR #6 and EPPC commissioner, said that EPPC is planning to make students more aware of the expiration of the beverage Pouring Rights Contract.

“They really haven’t been soliciting enough student feedback, which I feel like is the biggest problem here, because students can go on drinking the sugary drinks that are affecting their health — they have no choice,” Field said.

At The California Aggie’s spring quarter editorial board meeting with Chancellor Gary May and other members of the administration, May and Vice Chancellor for Finance, Operations and Administration Clare Shinnerl responded to a question about the pouring rights contract.

“Like everything else we do, there’s a process,” May said. “There’s a group committee of experts who are gathering input and having discussions, and they’re going to make a recommendation to the administration on what we should do.”

Shinnerl elaborated on the composition of the committee.

“The committee is very diverse,” Shinnerl said. “It includes students, it includes staff and faculty, people who are against it and for it. So it’s not just a single viewpoint on this committee. They’re talking to many of you, so we’re waiting to see what their recommendations are.”

What’s

next for Davis’s Unsheltered Community Plan?

Following the Unsheltered Community Plan created in response to the recent stabbings, Davis intends to provide more support for the unhoused community

BY ALMA CULVERWELL city@theaggie.org

The city of Davis and Davis Community Meals and Housing created and implemented an unhoused community shelter plan in response to the recent stabbings. Dana Bailey, social services and housing director for the city of Davis, described the process that went into developing the plan.

“The process came together very quickly,” Bailey said. “Once we realized, or once [the police department] informed us that the [third] attack that occurred was a member of our unhoused community, what the city did was to reach back out to the folks that helped us to manage our emergency winter shelter. We had a plan in place that we used for the emergency winter shelter that we operated between November and March of this year.”

Bailey talked about the process of working with Davis Community Meals and Housing throughout the process to address the issue as soon as possible.

“So we reached back out to Davis Community Meals and Housing and said, we’ve got this new emergency, [...] can we reactivate?” Bailey said. “So we developed the work plan to address specific areas. We talked about where we would do this and then what the hours of operations would be, what kind of staffing we needed, what kind of supplies we needed. We had a strategy for meals and for safety and for a health mitigation plan because we still have to make sure that if we’re still on the downside of COVID.”

The city provided approximately two dozen emergency beds as well as meals for people in need in response to the stabbings. The emergency beds are typically a limited seasonal resource offered in winter but they reopened them due to the emergency. Davis Community Meals and Housing is offering shelter at Paul’s Place and the 5th Street Location. Bill Pride, the executive director of Davis Community Meals and Housing, described the support Davis Community and Meals provided during a time of need.

“Well, we opened up a small shelter for a couple of nights before [...] the perpetrator of the stabbings was arrested

UC Davis students, union members hold on-campus protest calling for minimumwage increase

The AFSCME 3299 protesters are demanding a $25 minimum wage for all UC student workers

BY JADE BELL campus@theaggie.org

On Wednesday, May 17, AFSCME 3299 members protested at the Hutchison Intramural Field to demand an increase in University of California (UC) student-worker wages to $25 per hour.

unhoused community

on that Thursday,” Pride said. “So we opened up for three nights, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. And during those three nights, between the Fifth Street location and another location we had at Paul’s Place, we were housing up to 24 people a night.”

Several other local organizations are also assisting with the plan. Davis CAN will aid with donations, HEART of Davis plans to provide meals and the Daytime Respite Center is increasing staff size in hopes of giving more resources and assistance to unsheltered people.

Bailey shared the most important way that community members can help unsheltered people moving forward.

“Right now, because we’ve got a really good system in place with our direct service providers, the best way that the community can help is to support those direct service providers. That’s Community Meals and Housing and our Daytime Respite Center that’s operated by community care,” Bailey said.“They are working directly with our unhoused community. They’ve already developed trusting relationships with folks. They know that those are the places that they can come to get services to get laundry done, to get materials like tents and gloves and whatever they need. Those are the two places that they go where they feel safest.”

This protest was advertised as being in response to planned pay increases for certain UC staff employees, as well as a recent $500,000 raise for UCSD Chancellor Pradeep Khosla. According to an article by the San Diego UnionTribune, the raise was put in place to keep Khosla from leaving UCSD for a position at a private university and is being covered entirely by private donations.

Emily Wong, a fourth-year sociology major and a member of AFSCME 3299, shared the general goals of AFSCME and their belief in the importance of the minimum wage increase.

“We are asking the university to raise the base minimum wage to $25 an hour because inflation is insanely high in California,” Wong said. “It’s getting really expensive to meet our basic needs to be able to afford our groceries, afford our rent [and] to afford gas. The UC is just not supporting workers.”

Brett Pelletier, a third-year psychology major, said that he works two jobs in order to help him afford to live on campus.

“I work at the Arts Administration as a student assistant, and I work at the UC Davis Bookstore as a rush cashier,” Pelletier said. “I work two jobs because one job doesn’t give enough hours. The student assistant job is only six hours per week. The rush cashier job, [...] I think it ranges from 10 hours to 20 hours a week. I have to work two jobs because, if not, I wouldn’t be able to afford living on campus because it’s expensive.”

Sophia Sarieva, a wildlife, fish, and conservation biology major, shared their experience as a student worker at the CoHo and said that they hope other students will join the AFSCME cause.

“I’m a supervisor in the kitchen, [and] it really helps to see everyone feel like, ‘Okay, yeah, we all feel the same way,’” Sarieva said. “I hope that some more of my coworkers come out here too, [but] I worry that they don’t think actual change is possible. I hope that I can find more ways to be able to support them and know that they are supported.”

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Pepsi products and dispensers can be found throughout campus in places such as the Coho and the Dining Commons. (Kazim Jafri / Aggie)

Field by Russell Blvd. on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019. (Aggie file)

AFSCME protestors demonstrate on Toomey Paul’s Place, located on H street, continues to support the following recent crimes. (Cruz Martinez / Aggie)

Regal Cinema 5, one of three movie theaters in Davis, closes its doors

Earlier this month, the Regal location on G Street unexpectedly closed

BY HANNAH SCHRADER city@theaggie.org

The Regal Cinema 5 at 420 G St. closed on May 4 with little notice to patrons. Regal announced the closing of the theater on their website, and a note was left on the door.

“Thank you! It has been our pleasure to serve you at this theater. Regal Davis is now closed,” the note read. “We invite you to visit Regal Davis Holiday or any of our other area locations.”

The now unoccupied building is left vacant with no update on what is going to replace the Regal 5. According to Eric Lee, the senior planner at the Davis Department of Community Development and Sustainability, it was confirmed the department does not have any application or request related to this site at the time.

Regal 5 is one of three movie theaters in Davis, and since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had lasting effects on all locations. During the pandemic, the city of Davis offered financial assistance, but this predominantly went to small businesses that were most in threat of closure. Davis Varsity Theatre received assistance from the city and residents of Davis alike during the pandemic, but due to the larger scale of operations of Regal Cinemas, the Regal theaters did not.

One of the managers at Varsity Theatre, Whitney Martinez, talked about the effects of the recent closure on the business.

“So we’re definitely slowly getting back to where we were; we’re not quite there yet,” Martinez said. “But the city was super helpful while we were shut down in making sure that we were ready to reopen safely when possible. We’re just slowly trying to build back that customer base to make sure people feel comfortable coming in.”

Martinez said that Varsity Theatre has not yet seen an increase in customers since the closing of the Regal Theater. But Martinez stated that due to the closure, Varsity will be showing the latest “Fast and Furious” movie, which is a larger-budget film that the location normally wouldn’t feature.

“[‘Fast and Furious’ is] normally something we wouldn’t play, but with Regal being closed, we figured

we would scoop it up and see what business we could get out of it,” Martinez said.

Martinez also talked about future procedures being considered to maintain business in uncertain times for movie theaters at large.

“I feel like we’re lucky here with the community that we have,” Martinez said. “We have our core supporters of customers that come in. People feel comfortable in there. You’re not forced

to sit next to anyone, [...] so that we feel as comfortable as possible so we can get back to where we were before COVID.”

Regal closed down all of their theaters for a period of four months during the pandemic. Despite having re-opened quickly though, they have still struggled financially, leading to the closure of 39 theaters since the start of 2023. With this trend, Regal Unlimited

Subscription Program members are uncertain about the future of their memberships. The Regal Unlimited Subscription is the member program Regal offers for anywhere from $227.88 to $287.88 a year, contingent on how many locations members wish to access. For this fee, members can see unlimited movies at Regal locations. Regal does not offer refunds on their unlimited subscription program, which has an annual fee, so if a

customer were to cancel, they would still be required to pay for the time period originally agreed upon when the subscription was purchased. Now, Davis residents still have a few movie theater options; The Regal Davis Holiday located at 101 F St. as well as the Davis Varsity Theatre located at 616 2nd St. are still open for operation.

UC students fight to reduce barriers to accessing care for sexual assault survivors

AB 1138 would provide free and safe transportation to and from sexual assault forensic exams at California colleges and universities

BY KAYA DO-KHANH campus@theaggie.org

Assemblymember Akilah Weber (D-La Mesa) and undergraduate students from across the University of California wrote AB 1138, which would require UCs and California State Universities (CSUs) to provide free and safe transportation in a way that protects student anonymity to and from sexual assault forensic exams. The organization that created the bill is Generation Up (GENup), a student-led social justice organization and student-activist coalition. According to fourth-year UCLA student and GenUP’s Collegiate Chief of Staff Allyson Chan, GENup came up with the idea for the bill because of the limited access to forensic exams that it saw on its members’ own college campuses.

“You’re just surviving one of the most traumatic things that can happen to a person, and you’re being met with logistical and administrative issues,” Julianne Lempert, a UCLA student and policy chair for Ignite National, a young women’s political leadership organization, told the Los Angeles Times. “It discourages survivors from starting their healing journey.”

Chan said that due to the distance most UC or CSU campuses are from sexual assault forensic examination kit locations, the services are often difficult or impossible to get to via public transportation. In addition, not all students have access to safe personal vehicles, which affects the safety of survivors and restricts reporting options.

“To reduce barriers to receiving care, AB 1138 would mandate that all students have equal access to forensic services, thus increasing the reporting options of sexual assaults and fostering an environment of support for survivors,” Chan said via email.

On April 17, GENup representatives partnered with Ignite National at the Capitol to lobby for AB 1138. There were a number of student speakers from both organizations, and Assemblymember Weber’s legislative staffer Trent Garrett spoke alongside them.

“The press conference was truly powerful to see students mobilized in solidarity for survivors of sexual assault,” Chan said via email.

The bill was introduced by Assemblymember Weber on Feb. 15 and passed through the Assembly’s Higher Education Committee with

a unanimous 12-0 vote. The bill is currently in the Appropriations Committee’s suspense file. GENup is working to get the bill out of suspense and heard in the committee for a vote by gathering additional support. There is an AB 1138 letter of support template for organizational support, and individuals or organizations can join the Sexual Assault Forensic Exam Transportation for Youth Coalition with this link: http://tinyurl. com/AB1138SAFETYCoalition.

Fourth-year economics major and chairperson of the ASUCD Student Health and Wellness Committee Hibah Shafi said that the committee, which promotes and advocates for student health and wellness, including mental, physical and sexual health, is working on several projects that pertain to the topic of the bill.

One of the projects that it is working on is an attempt to combat electronic stalking through air tagging on campus.

“It has happened to a lot of people on campus, including me,” Shafi said. “I heard that a lot of people, including my own friends, had air tags slipped into their bags at the library. Even under cars — that’s where mine was, right on the bumper of my car. It’s so scary to have your sense of safety and security be stripped from you, and unfortunately, the police are not really equipped to deal with this new form of electronic stalking.”

Shafi said the committee is working on speaking with the city council, and they have obtained stalking data from UC police departments. The committee wants to work more with city officials to create a safer space for students, and it hopes to create a city ordinance.

It is also working on launching a project this fall quarter that communicates and educates students attending organizational events about the three pillars of consent. The committee specifically wants to work with fraternities, and the end goal is that at any fraternity event, students are told the three pillars of consent before entrance.

On April 26, the committee helped the Sexual Assault Awareness Advocacy Committee with their Denim Day painting event and had a bystander intervention training that was presented by the UCD Center for Advocacy, Resources and Education.

2 | THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

The now empty and abandoned Regal Davis on G street. (Alexis Perez / Aggie)

Community members discuss mental health crisis at UC Davis

Students and staff say providing adequate mental health services is essential, requires supporting counselors and mental health professionals

BY FAITH DEMEULENAERE and DANIELA DULA MEJIA features@theaggie.org

AGGIE FILE

Content warning: This article discusses sensitive topics such as mental health, suicide, violence substance abuse and homicide which may be disturbing to some readers

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and the Davis community continues to mourn the recent losses of David Henry Breaux, affectionately known throughout Davis as “the compassion guy,” and UC Davis student Karim Abou Najim.

Following the second homicide, classes were canceled at the discretion of professors, who are not required to have mental health or trauma training. While many professors gave students leniency during difficult times, some professors’ responses left students, such as recent alumnus Tina Phoung, feeling uncared for and uncertain about UC Davis’s capacity to protect students, and feeling that academics at UC Davis are more valued than students’ physical and mental well-being.

UC Davis is not the only UC whose students are struggling from a community loss. UC Santa Barbara is also dealing with the deaths of two students, one of which was due to an accidental fentanyl overdose. For many students, college is often the first time they experience issues such as loss and grief on their own.

The University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE), which

represents many of the mental health providers who work for UCs, recently started a campaign speaking out against the UC system’s growing mental health crisis. In a virtual town hall that UPTE hosted on April 26, workers and students across the UC system came together to discuss the increasing demand for mental health support and ways to better services for students. During the town hall, UPTE cited that, “at UC, the number of students seeking mental health services rose 78% between 2007 and 2018,” and that UC Davis Health lists suicide as the second leading cause of death among people ages 10-24.

UC Davis has made efforts to provide students and staff with muchneeded support. On May 8, Chancellor Gary May released a video with Dr. Paul Kim, the director of UC Davis Counseling Services, about the mental health services available to students. Kim highlighted that there are currently 39 staff counselors, four post-docs, five clinicals and seven additional staff positions opening up to help meet the growing need for care.

“Student Health and Counseling Services [SHCS] made recent updates on May 10, 2023 to the online scheduling system Health-e-Messaging, expanding options for care to help students identify the type of counseling service they need,” Kim said via email.

Students who log into the system can also now view up to 15 available

appointments with options to schedule on the same day and the next day.

Furthermore, starting in fall 2023, students will be able to call a team of trained providers for free mental health and health care services as a part of the UC Davis Fire Department’s Health 34 program. However, there is concern from current mental health practitioners about how this support is going to be retained. During the April 26 town hall, UC behavioral therapists across the UC system reported that they are currently being paid below market rate for their services. The lower starting pay leads many of these trained professionals to leave or decline to work for the university.

“This is a university, a college,” said Jon De Paul Dunbar, a staff member with UC Davis Counseling Services and member of UPTE, during the town hall. “Our primary goal should be the students and the scholars. […] If [the university] cared about taking care of the students, it wouldn’t be offering staff roles and positions and new hires where they would have to take a $5,000 to $15,000 pay cut in order to come work for UC Davis. Many of our recruitments end with staff saying ‘no thank you’ to working at UC Davis because they don’t want to take a pay cut. They don’t want to have to move [to make] less money [and put] less food on the table for their families.”

Marlene Velasquez, a behavioral health counselor (BHC) at UC Davis and a member of UPTE, spoke about the importance of providing adequate mental health services to students from different backgrounds. Velasquez said many of her students have found comfort in being able to meet with a mental health provider with a similar identity. She is also a UC Davis alumna and wants to give back to the UC Davis community by providing adequate mental health services to students who are in need.

Velasquez was originally hired over a year and a half ago, along with three other BHCs as part of the Community Advising Network (CAN) initiative to help reach the mental health needs of students from different ethnic and racial identities at Davis. Out of the four hires, Velasquez is the only one who has stayed with the university. In the town hall, it was said that the other three BHCs left for better-paying positions outside of

Yolo County District Attorney’s Office discusses mental illness in the criminal justice system

The district attorney’s office met with the Yolo County Mental Health Diversion Collaboration Court Team to discuss how they are serving the community

BY MADELEINE YOUNG city@theaggie.org

On May 9, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office held a virtual commons town hall meeting that discussed how to help individuals who have committed crimes as a result of mental illness. The meeting featured members from the Yolo County Mental Health Diversion (MHDIV) Collaborate Court Team.

Current Woodland City Council Member Rich Lansburgh was one of the speakers at the meeting. Prior to serving on the council, Lansburgh served as a criminal defense attorney for Woodland and Yolo County for over 50 years following his career as a police officer. He explained why programs like MHDIV are so important for the community.

“As a police officer and a member of the community, I have seen the devastating effects of unchecked and untreated individuals who suffer from one form of mental health disease or another,” Lansburgh said. “We see it every day in our environment as well as our professions. As a city council member, it is my duty to do what we can to help these folks get into programs that can address their individual needs, mostly because the individual will be successful and the individual will succeed in their future, but it also has a tremendous positive effect on our community. Programs like MHDIV are truly needed in order to have an impact on the individual as well as our community.”

Mental Health Diversion Court was launched in February 2022 as a collaborative effort to solve issues that were found in Yolo County Mental Health Court (MHC) and Addiction Intervention Court (AIC). Martha Wais, Yolo County Deputy District Attorney, noted these issues largely stemmed from a lack of eligibility for residents outside of Yolo County, individuals with smaller charges and individuals who suffer from mental illnesses outside the range of what qualifies for MHC.

“One of the first differences is the eligibility,” Wais said. “For either MHC or AIC, it has to be felony conduct, a

client must have a serious mental illness — schizophrenia, schizoaffective or bipolar [disorder] — and/or substance abuse disorder. Because of the funding for those two courts, it must be a Yolo County resident for Health and Human Services to provide resources and treatment. [...] We started thinking, what about that underserved population that doesn’t make these kinds of higher requirements? So Jonathan Raven, my chief deputy district attorney, and Tracey Olsen, the public defender, asked […] what do you do for … maybe someone with anxiety or depression, PTSD or maybe a less severe substance use disorder? What if the conduct was a little less severe, lower-level felonies or misdemeanors? And what if they just don’t live in Yolo County? They came up with an answer, and that answer was Mental Health Diversion Court.”

Wais, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Raven and public defender Tracie Olson, among others, proposed a grant to the Community

Corrections Partnership that would provide funding for a district attorney, public defender, probation officer, clinician, case manager, peer support worker and a contract with a community-based organization for MHDIV. The grant was accepted.

Romney Sears, the case manager for MHDIV who has been working in the county for almost five years as a drug and alcohol counselor for a residential facility, shared his experiences in assisting in the program.

“If I could use one word to describe what it’s like to be a part of this program, I would say supportive,” Sears said. “Not just for the clients but also for the staff. When we have a client that may have slipped up and we’re trying to find ways to support them, it’s great to have people that wear dual hats to where we can come up with creative ideas to address whatever the need is when the traditional way doesn’t always work. We found that being creative has worked a lot better for our court system.”

the UC system.

In a meeting with The California Aggie’s Editorial Board on March 17, Chancellor May and UC Davis administrators discussed counselor staffing.

“The problem is not the funding,” May said during the meeting. “The problem is finding the people that can do it, as [they’re] a really scarce resource; particularly to find therapists and counselors who reflect the student body in terms of ethnicity and background. Those are just hard people to find.”

However, May also noted that public universities are not able to offer a competitive salary for counselors compared to private practice. In addition, according to Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Croughan, the burnout rate for mental health professionals in higher education is higher than it is in other environments.

Kim and other administrators are attempting to address the staffing issues and growing demand for services.

“We initiated the UC Mutual Aid process, which means that other UC Counseling Centers’ staff are temporarily providing counseling sessions for UC Davis students to help increase access,” Kim said in an email.

Velasquez said that the UC mutual aid support has been much appreciated by the Davis staff and is helping her and her team address students’ needs, but that once this support is gone, they will continue to be overworked and spread thin.

While efforts are being made to improve UC Davis’s mental health services, the UCs are in danger of losing mental health staff who care about their students. In response, the UPTE union is launching an open letter to urge the UC system to start prioritizing students’ mental health and adequately supporting counseling staff. In their letter, UPTE members are asking for equal pay for BHCs and psychiatric professionals and their colleagues in comparable roles. They are also calling on the UC to fully staff UC mental health services, including restoring any vacant positions and expanding positions, among other demands.

“That is unacceptable to have a world-class university system unable to fill a role because it refuses to pay staff market-level pay,” Dunbar said during the town hall. “The best university

BESTMLBPLAYERS

FROM PAGE 12

Mitch Keller, starting pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates had a strong start to their season after finishing April with a record of 20-9. Despite the team cooling down, Keller continues to build on his breakout season. Through nine starts, Keller has a 2.38 earned run average (ERA), 69 strikeouts and 1.024 walks-plus-hits-per-inning (WHIP). His strikeout total currently ranks fourth among active starters in MLB.

Previously ranked among the worst starting pitchers in MLB in 2021, Keller turned his career around by improving in some major statistical categories. He improved his K% from 20.1% in 2022 to 30.1% this season. Additionally, two of his most-used pitches, the four-seam fastball and sinker, have more vertical and horizontal movement than last year, generating negative run value on these pitches.

Adolis Garcia, outfielder, Texas Rangers

Coming into this season, the Rangers had high expectations for improvement after finishing last season 68-94. They revamped their entire roster in the off-season, expecting their free-agent signings to improve the team’s success. They might not have expected Garcia, who was already on the team for the previous three seasons, to be as major a contributor for the Rangers this year as he has been though. The team currently has the best record in the American League (AL) West through 43 games (26-17).

Garcia has 13 home runs, 46 RBI and 0.861 OPS through 42 games this season. One area of growth most notable for Garcia is that he is making better swing decisions. He is swinging less and making more contact than during previous seasons. As a result, he is also striking out less than in prior seasons. Ranking 94th percentile in average exit velocity and 92nd percentile in barrel percentage, he has the third most home runs in MLB this season.

system should be paying the best to keep the best so you can get the best help and best support for the best students in the world. But we’re just basically asking for market-value equal pay.”

While UC Davis and the UPTE work on addressing staffing issues, students are struggling to get the support they need. Emma Miller, a third-year psychology major, has Student Disability Center (SDC) accommodations for dyslexia and mental health issues but is unable to get assistance from the SDC.

She said the SDC is “very overrun and is not staffed adequately to accommodate all students equally or even fairly,” and feels that staff are not adequately trained to deal with students’ needs.

Issues with mental health services go beyond staffing. Miller said she has experienced even more hurdles when accessing mental health services through campus because she is not covered under UC SHIP.

“I also feel the mental health support is not adequate because I found it utterly impossible to get any help with mental health resources because I am not covered under the school’s insurance, which I believe is very unfair,” Miller said.

Phoung also had SDC accommodations for mental health reasons but said her mental health needs were never fully met because she did not have SHIP.

“I can’t access the mental health counselors without paying out of pocket,” Phoung said.

According to the SHIP website, SHIP annual prices increased from $2,760 to $3,117 this year for undergraduate students. Kim stated in his address with Chancellor May that access to short-term counseling is free for students.

If you or someone you know is seeking immediate emergency mental health services, you can call or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for crisis counseling. According to Kim, students who feel that they are in crisis or cannot wait for an appointment are encouraged to access Mental Health Crisis Services located at 930 Blue Ridge Rd. open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. For more resources, students can visit the SHCS office at North Hall, call (530) 752-0871 or visit their website at shcs.ucdavis.edu.

Yennier Cano, relief pitcher, Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles improved immensely last season, narrowly missing the playoffs with a record of 83-79. They have continued to build upon their success with the second-best record in MLB (28-15) this year. Their bullpen has the best ERA in MLB, yet Cano stands out the most, having not given up a single run through 21.2 innings. Of the 67 batters he’s faced, only five of them have managed to reach base. Cano struggled with a 11.50 ERA last season. However, with some mechanical adjustments, he transformed his sinker into one of the best pitches in MLB, adding an extra six inches of vertical movement from last season. As a result, his sinker has -10 run value, and he is striking out 37.3% of batters faced. With such success, Cano leads all relief pitchers in Fangraph’s Wins Above Replacement (fWAR).

Alex Verdugo, outfielder, Boston Red Sox

The former Dodgers’ top-prospect Alex Verdugo, who was traded to the Red Sox for star outfielder Mookie Betts, is beginning to reach his potential. Through 43 games, he has 51 hits, five home runs, 18 RBI and 0.877 OPS. Red Sox fans have been waiting for this type of production since he last flashed his potential in 2019 and 2020. Verdugo has significantly improved his on-base percentage (OBP) from 0.328 in 2022 to 0.380 this season. He has also improved his defense in right field. Last season, he ranked 13th percentile in outs above average (OAA) and 43rd percentile in outfielder jump. This year, he ranks 86th percentile in OAA and 91st percentile in outfielder jump. The Red Sox needs Verdugo to continue performing at this level in a competitive AL East.

It’s been a strong start for each of these under-the-radar players. If they continue to perform as expected, they can gain the recognition that they deserve as star players and lose the “underrated” label.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 | 3

KELLIE LU / AGGIE

ADHD diagnoses need to be reworked for girls

Hyperactivity is only one

BY AUDREY BOYCE afboyce@ucdavis.edu

Contrary to common belief, ADHD is not just limited to disruptive young boys who cannot sit still in their seats. The ADHD diagnosis for females doubled from 1997 to 2016. However, there is still a significant gender gap between diagnoses. As of 2019, 11.7% of males have been diagnosed as opposed to only 5.7% of females.

From my experiences in grade school, it seemed like many girls were described as “polite” and more likely to sit in their chairs and be still. Being rambunctious and disruptive was more typical of young boys. Although there are many exceptions, this was often the case. If a girl struggles with her grades or scores lower on standardized tests, ADHD was not considered the cause of this because “she is mellow and quiet.”

It often is not until females reach puberty that they show more clear symptoms of ADHD. They may be referred to as “spacey” and may struggle to pay attention, constantly lose things or continuously forget to do daily tasks. However, because they were not hyperactive as children, often nobody suspects ADHD is the cause.

In my experience, the best way to describe the way the ADHD mind works is like a movie being made without a director. All the actors, the camera crew and the writers have the skills and capabilities to do their jobs, but there is nobody to organize all the moving parts, so the result is chaos. The actors, camera crew and writers represent different parts of a brain that function director-less.

According to Medical News Today, female symptoms include

more inattentiveness, depression and anxiety, whereas men are more likely to have higher rates of impulsivity and hyperactivity. Since women display these more internal symptoms in comparison to external ones, they are highly underdiagnosed.

Even though ADHD is often most noticed in females when they reach puberty, for males, it can be quickly detected in childhood. According to the DSM-5 (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), a requirement in order to be diagnosed is “several inattentive or hyperactiveimpulsive symptoms to be present before age 12 years.” Clearly, the DSM-5 targets the behaviors most often associated with males with ADHD for diagnostic criteria.

In addition to outdated diagnostic criteria, societal expectations for girls and boys can affect their tendency to express the same amount of hyperactivity. While young girls are often expected to play quietly, many young boys are

UC Davis merch needs an overhaul

Aggies deserve classic and creative official merchandise

BY OWEN RUDERMAN opinion@theaggie.org

Regrettably, my time in Davis is approaching its end. And even though I’ve only been here for a couple of years, it’s come to feel like my home. I’ve cherished (almost) every moment here, and, as a result, it’s only natural that I would want to snag some UC Davis merchandise from the campus store before I’m no longer a student. Unfortunately, I’ve found that the merch selection is not particularly compelling or representative of the school. It just feels bland.

outside learning how to tackle each other in football. I believe the developmental norms of play may affect the degree to which symptoms are outwardly visible for girls versus boys. Professionals are not the only ones contributing to girls being underdiagnosed. Because of these stereotypes about ADHD, parents and teachers often do not think about having their child tested for the disorder. For any mental disorder, having a diagnosis provides clarity on whether or not someone decides to take medication or seek out therapy. It is essential that the stereotypes surrounding ADHD are broken and that girls and women can get the treatment and clarity they may need.

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.

Secrets from a Starbucks barista

Drinks and customizations that are sure to improve your next coffee run

And it doesn’t seem like I’m the only one who holds this opinion. Recently, a TikTok on UC Davis’s disappointing merch went viral. In the video, a UC Davis alumnus returned to campus to try to replace the hoodie he purchased when he graduated eight years ago, but was disappointed to find that all the designs had been updated. He proceeded to use AI-generated art to make his own hoodie design.

Let me be the first to say that the AI design in said TikTok is… horrendous, to say the least. The new hoodie features a “cow who is also a student, riding a bike,” and it looks like it crawled straight out of the uncanny valley. But the TikToker’s main point still stands — UC Davis needs to overhaul its merch.

In the video, the alumnus showed off his original hoodie, and the design is, in my opinion, much better than anything we have now. In fact, even a quick Google search for “UC Davis 90s sweatshirts” brings up images of tons of different pieces of clothing that I wish we had at the official UC Davis store.

I think that the reason why this current iteration of the merchandise rubs me the wrong way is because it doesn’t seem to have any soul. Sure, it features the school colors (which are nearly identical to every other UC, by the way), but the chosen logo communicates almost nothing. All that most of the clothing says is “UCD” in big capital letters. If you look at some of the older designs, you see a design that screams “Davis,” a design that seems more classically college-y or both. I think we should return to our funky design roots and move away from the boring, minimalist merchandise that lines the walls of the campus bookstore. UC Davis needs to address its bland merchandise options, and quickly. But in the meantime, perhaps it’s a good idea to pick up some Davis-themed clothing from the local Art Market, or maybe get a shirt from the club you’re in. The students here at UC Davis have a lot of creativity, and the Davis-themed clothes you can get from them are pretty cool. If you want my advice, though, stay away from the campus store unless it’s your last resort, at least until UC Davis gets some better merch.

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.

Talk to your neighbor

Reflections on meaningful interactions with strangers

BY YASMEEN O’BRIEN yjobrien@ucdavis.edu

I am often the person who will spark up a conversation with the person next to me, whether I’m waiting in line, sitting at a crowded café, at a music festival or even just walking down the street. For the most part, I enjoy talking to strangers. Sometimes it’s not even about starting the conversation but about being open to it. People can be quite talkative if you let them be.

You may hear stories about interesting experiences that broaden your perspective. Or learn things about the world and other points of view. It can also create a feeling of closeness and camaraderie among your community.

Maybe you make a friend, maybe you learn something, maybe you get told to “mind your own business” (which can be valuable in its own right) or maybe you are simply entertained for a moment. You never know what could happen. And I think it’s worth it to find out.

broadened my way of thinking and expanded my knowledge of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. I practiced my listening skills, and I learned so much. A big part of getting something out of these experiences is to spend a bit of time reflecting on them. It’s an important step toward understanding how valuable it can be to get to know a stranger.

Similarly, one afternoon a few months ago on the corner of 3rd and C Streets in Davis, I met a very cute old woman who had some wisdom to share. After I picked up something she had dropped, she asked me how old I was. When I said 21, she smiled, reminiscing about her youth. She paused for a second, then asked if she could give me some advice, to which I said yes (I am in no position to turn down free advice).

The first thing she told me was, “Take many lovers.” In quite a commanding tone, might I add. I laughed, but she only raised her eyebrows sternly, peering into my soul with her blue-gray eyes. I nodded.

BY MAYA KORNYEYEVA mkornyeyeva@ucdavis.edu

To some, Starbucks can seem slightly overwhelming, with their special beverage size names and dozens of modifications for their constantly expanding drink options. Many just stick to one or two drinks every time they visit their nearest cafe for fear of spending money on something they will not like.

Having worked as a Starbucks barista for nearly two years, I have not only become addicted to coffee but also developed a roster of the very best options that Starbucks has to offer. Trying every coffee available and taste testing all the syrups, milk alternatives and refreshers, and then trying random combinations of them all, has provided me with some insight into the best Starbucks has to offer.

Here are a few of my top choices for beverages and customizations to make on your next trip to Starbucks a little bit more of an adventure.

Blonde Espresso

This is probably the oldest one in the books. Ask any Starbucks barista that enjoys a spot of espresso and every single one will confirm that blonde is the way to go. Blonde espresso is a light roast, which makes it brighter and creamier than the regular, dark roast espresso. Because of this, it pairs amazingly with syrups. That is why Starbucks’ shaken espressos have mainly transitioned to featuring blonde espresso, as customers and baristas alike are championing this coffee blend. Some of my favorite ways to drink blonde espresso are with a few pumps of white mocha and cream, or in a dirty chai: a medium iced blonde ristretto latte with a few pumps of chai syrup.

Soy Milk Starbucks uses vanilla-flavored soy milk, which makes this the perfect alternative milk if you want a drink that is subtly sweet without adding a lot of additional sweetener. Soy is my personal favorite, with oat milk taking a close second place, and it is a great addition to any cold brew or iced coffee. While Starbucks does charge $0.80 to swap in alternative milk for the entire drink, a “splash” or half an inch addition to any beverage is free.

Cold Brew

Starbucks cold brew and nitro cold brew are strong, silky smooth black coffees poured straight from the tap. Even though I was not a fan of coffee when I first started working at Starbucks, cold brew won me over slowly but surely. The key is to sweeten the brew with cream and syrup. Having tried all the cold brew varieties, salted caramel cream cold brew has come out on top with its deliciously complex flavor palette. For something a little more simple, vanilla sweet cream nitro cold brew also hits just right. An important thing to know is that if you order any cold brew, iced coffee, black coffee or tea, you are able to get a free refill the same day with the Starbucks app, or pay a mere $0.50 instore. This trick has gotten me through many long days of studying these past few quarters.

Milk tea

While Starbucks does have its tea lattes — such as the Royal English Breakfast tea latte or the London Fog — these are the bane of a barista’s existence. Preparing these drinks iced can be a hassle as you have to wait 5 minutes for the tea to steep before shaking it with the rest of the ingredients. As a bubble tea addict, here is an easy and absolutely delicious milk tea recipe that I have created while at Starbucks. Order a black iced tea, no water with half vanilla syrup and half brown sugar syrup and

a splash of your favorite milk or cream. Add a dash of sweet cream as an optional final touch.

Tropical Refresher If you’re tired of the current refreshers and want something a little more jazzy, order a mango dragon fruit lemonade without the berry inclusions, and with a splash of passion tango tea on top. If you ask the barista to add the passion tea as the final touch (without shaking!), the beverage will have two beautiful layers and probably get a few passersby to ask what drink it is. It tastes sharp and sweet, and is especially nice on a hot summer day.

Coffee blends

Out of the 10 Starbucks wholebean coffee blends that I have brewed to sample, two stood out to me as exceptional. While perhaps no match for Philz or other specialty pour-over blends, Starbucks’ dark roast Cafe Verona and light roast Veranda Blend both have unique flavor notes that make them quality options for making coffee at home. Cafe Verona is naturally sweet with notes of dark chocolate, making it enjoyable to drink even without milk or sugar, and Veranda has a soft, floral complexion that brightens the palette and tastes delicious when sweetened.

I hope I have given you a few solid recommendations that make ordering at Starbucks a little more fun and daring. Who knows? Perhaps you will also discover a simple non-menu item that gives your morning coffee more bang for your buck.

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.

A few weeks ago, I was in San Francisco visiting my boyfriend, and I stepped out one morning to get us some breakfast. While I was waiting for bagels, I sat down at a table next to an older man who introduced himself as Big Johnny. I complimented his black leather jacket and before I knew it we were enthralled in conversation. When I told him I was from Berkeley, he smiled and told me he had just been in Berkeley the day before. He had been showing his friend’s son, a 14-year-old Ukrainian refugee, around the UC Berkeley campus “to plant the seed” and “show him what his life could be,” since the young boy wanted to go back to Ukraine to fight for his country as soon as he graduated high school. I listened to him as he told me more about the Ukraine crisis and began to think about how this young boy must believe it is a valiant choice to fight, that it could make him a hero. But when you’re young, you don’t really understand the complexities or the tragedy of war.

As I walked away, a large pit formed in my stomach. I was looking at this all wrong. Who was I to say this young boy doesn’t understand the tragedy of war? He had experienced it in a way that I had never. He had been closer to it than I ever was. I didn’t have any right to say he was wrong in what he felt, I had no idea what he felt. Both my perspective and the young boy’s could be valid. Maybe if we had talked we would come to an entirely different conclusion altogether.

I was thankful for my conversation with Big Johnny. It challenged and

She told stories about her life as a young woman (she had taken many lovers), and a little further into our conversation, she asked me if I had good friends in my life. I said yes and she smiled, “In 20 years, if your friend crosses your mind, give them a call. Even if you haven’t talked to them in God knows how long. Pick up the phone and call them.”

For reasons I won’t get into, her timing in my life was almost mystical. It was good advice. And when I turned around after crossing the street, she was gone, as if she had vanished into thin air.

I hadn’t been having a great day, and she turned it around just by having a simple conversation with me. I thought about our chat for a long time. You just never know what wisdom or stories or perspectives people hold, or how they will impact you. I think that connecting with others and learning about our differences as well as similarities can enrich our lives

I’ve never seen or talked to either of these people again, but I still learned something from each of them. Both of them made my day in one way or another. These experiences became stories to tell my friends and family. I felt closer to my community and my perspective was broadened. It was worth it, and I think it will be worth it for you, too.

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.

4 | THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE OPINION

of many symptoms of the disorder, and it doesn’t manifest itself as often in girls

AGGIE FILE

KELLIE LU / AGGIE MAYA KORNYEYEVA / AGGIE JOANNE SUN / AGGIE

The Editorial Board meets with Chancellor Gary May, UC Davis administrators

The California Aggie’s Editorial Board met with Chancellor Gary May, Provost and Executive Vice

Chancellor Mary Croughan, Associate Chancellor and Chief of Staff Karl Engelbach, Vice Chancellor for Finance, Operations and Administration Clare Shinnerl, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Dana Topousis, Academic Senate Chair Ahmet Palazoglu, Faculty Advisor to the Chancellor and Provost Ari Kelman, Chief Campus Counsel Mike Sweeney, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Pablo Reguerín and Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Renetta Tull.

Below is a transcript of the meeting that has been edited for length and clarity.

Question: UC Davis just sent out admission decisions to new freshman and transfer students for Fall 2023. What are you most looking forward to for welcoming the new admits? What, if anything, will be different from last year in terms of events, freshman and transfer orientation and the transition schedule this summer?

May: A couple things I’ll mention.

We were just below the number of applications that we got in our record year [which was] the previous year. So we almost had another record in applications, which is encouraging given what’s going on nationally with college applications. We expect this to be the most diverse class in our university’s history, which we’re very much proud of and looking forward to. I will let people who know more about orientation talk about orientation. But as you know, we now have a week-long orientation program which has been in existence for the last two years. Bike safety is another thing that is going to be covered during orientation.

Reguerín: I can talk a little bit more about orientation. So there’s a new design of orientation. During the week of orientation, we’ve traditionally had about 9,000 incoming students and their families all come at the same time for about four and a half days prior to or just as they move in. It’s really impacted, last year we had some lines for food. We also have to get ready for the heat and all the different things. And we’ve been looking at how, in that four day experience, the number of students who participate 100% diminishes after day two. So we’re trying something new this year, which is going to be where we bring the transfer students first for two and a half days, and it’s just transfer students. So it’s a couple thousand — roughly 3,000 or so students — with a lot of focus on the transfer-specific programs. And then as they finish out that half day, the freshmen come in that second half day and then they get two more days. So that’s going to be around 6,000 students. The experience is going to be much more personalized. We’re still going to do all the cohort building and we’re actually not losing very many of what I call “instructional minutes,” or the actual programming. We think that because if you take those four days, on day four, we only had like 20-25% of people showing up for their groups. So we think we can actually increase the integrity and consistency [of student participation] because they’re just having a more brief experience. It will also help our students who work a lot and some of our incoming transfer students that have to take time off to participate. Everyone’s working to save up money for the academic year, right? Our students with dependents have to have childcare, and this way they don’t have to find it for four days, just for the two and a half days. So we actually think this will work. It’s going to be a more express experience in terms of it not being as long. Our biggest complaint about orientation from the past from students is they’re tired, and it’s long. Also, we’ve been hearing that this is going to result in a reduction in cost. So it’s pretty significant. I think it’s usually around close to $475 or something to that effect, and it’s going to go below $300. So it’s a significant cost reduction that we’re passing on to students. We are continuing to refine the program so that there’s a strong sense of connection for students. I can say, very confidently, we took the [student] evaluations very seriously in the redesign, so we’re excited. Hopefully, it’ll work. And if it doesn’t, we’ll go back to the drawing board.

Q: You touched a bit on the class size and admission rates, but does the university have enough space to accommodate new students? And do you plan to make any changes to instruction or construct any new facilities, for example, the construction project happening near The Domes on Russell Boulevard?

May: Yes, that is Orchard Park family housing that we plan to finish in August. So to answer the question, we do have the necessary space to accommodate the new students that are coming. We actually have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the city

of Davis that specifies that we can accommodate all new growth in our enrollment with respect to housing, and we will be in compliance with that MOU. We recently were asked by the President’s office to add a few more students to the class. They asked us for 600 more, but we ended up accommodating around 440. So they will be a little bit more than we had originally planned. But we made sure that we could accommodate those students both in terms of housing as well as their curriculum, curricular needs and other service needs.

Croughan: So we literally, Pablo’s team counted exactly, they call it pillows, I call it beds, but so everybody has a place to lay their head at night in like that literal term. And when we had to add more people based on the President’s office request, we specifically and directly avoided classes that tend to end up with waitlists, like BIS 002, chem, physics, you know, some of those, so we went more heavily into the humanities and classes and classrooms that could accommodate the difference. So we won’t adversely impact the students we’d already admitted. And we won’t make it hard on the additional 400 where we landed in the end. With the additional group it is 440. What happens is [when] students don’t take a full load, they only get counted for the total units they take. So as far as the president’s office is concerned, we’ll be adding 400 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE), it’s called. But it’s 440 people full time, majority California residents.

May: Total class size is about 9,700 including transfers.

Q: While Davis has always been thought of as a very safe city, and still is, has the university learned from the events of the past few weeks in regards to campus safety and emergency response? Is there anything different that the university will do to ensure students’ safety on campus and in the city of Davis?

May: Well, I think Davis still is, by and large, very safe. I think it was a little jarring because we’re so used to having a certain culture and an environment of safety, with the exception of things like bike theft and things like that that happen regularly. If we were a campus in a more metropolitan area, this would not have been as jarring as it was. And to answer the question, though, we will continue to have extended Safe Rides and lighting, patrolling, all those sorts of things will continue through the end of the year, and maybe longer depending on the assessment. I want everyone to keep in mind the rarity of these kinds of things. You always have to be careful, but this event is such a one-off that I don’t want people to start thinking that we’re under siege or we have to be overly concerned. You always have to be careful and conscious of your surroundings, all those sorts of things we told you to do, but at the same time I don’t think there’s been a severe change in the environment that we have to be concerned about.

How can we make improvements? What can we do on behalf of the students? And so it wasn’t just that there was a situation that happened and then that’s it, let’s just go about our business. And I think that that’s a very unique thing for a university to care so much — that is one of the reasons that I’m here at UC Davis because of that thought process.

Engelbach: I’ll probably just add that since Chancellor May arrived here, our relations with the city of Davis have significantly improved. We have very clear open lines of communication with leadership in the city and the county — throughout this [we received] strong support from them. We understood what was happening, and we were able to communicate and plan accordingly and that hasn’t always been the case in the past.

Reguerín: Just to add one other thing, Health 34 is going to launch on Sept.

1. So in this discussion we’ve had before around safety, and what it means to feel safe on a college campus here at UC Davis, I think [this program is] going to really add another layer of safety. Having a team responding to nonemergency situations also, participating in developing relationships around campus. I think we’re always revisiting safety, but I think that will be a very noticeable shift in our culture and our experience so I’m excited to see that come to fruition and develop.

Tull: I just want to say that there’s also an atmosphere of observation and continuous improvement. So there are a lot of people on campus who are still meeting regularly to look and see: are there things that we can continue to do? How can we make improvements? What can we do on behalf of the students? And so it wasn’t just that there was a situation that happened and then that’s it, let’s just go about our business. And I think that that’s a very unique thing for a university to care so much — that is one of the reasons that I’m here at UC Davis because of that thought process.

Reguerín: Just to add one other thing, Health 34 is going to launch on Sept. 1. So in this discussion we’ve had before around safety, and what it means to feel safe on a college campus here at UC Davis, I think [this program is] going to really add another layer of safety. Having a team responding to nonemergency situations also, participating in developing relationships around campus. I think we’re always revisiting safety, but I think that will be a very noticeable shift in our culture and our experience, so I’m excited to see that come to fruition and develop.

Q: You touched on this briefly, but just to elaborate, a lot of students have also expressed a desire for better lighting on campus. Are there any plans to add more lighting so the campus is brighter at night?

May: First, let’s say the additional lighting that we added during the crisis is going to continue indefinitely to the end of the quarter, maybe longer. And we have mentioned the blue light call boxes are available — 21 of them across the campus, including the Arboretum. Students are aware of how to use them. [Shinnerl] and I were just talking about this in our one-on-one meeting. We do have a safety walk that the chief of police does with probably a couple dozen people in February of every year. We did that this year, and light is one of the main things that gets evaluated on the safety walk in addition to building access and other stuff. So we did actually pretty well on that safety walk in February and fixed all the gaps, light bulbs burned out, etc. But there’s now a committee there.

Shinnerl: I would say this falls into the continuous improvement category where we’ve had this lighting walk every year and we will continue that way. But given not just this situation, but just this effort to get better and better, we do this walk a little bit more often with this committee. I was getting a chance to maybe examine the bulbs that are out here at Mrak Hall year-round. And all the light goes to the top, but if we just replace the bulb out with an LED — by the way, this would also be more sustainable — the light should be going down. So just making some really small changes to very old infrastructure. But yes, there is a committee of experts who work in lighting. I guess the plea is also for us to follow paths that are well lit. This is an enormous campus and there’s no way to light every little oddball path, but if we can just encourage our community to stay in the well lit areas, that will help to solve some behavior changes.

EDITORIAL on 6

WRITTEN BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD

AARON POTTER

HUMOR

ASUCD hosts doover ‘Whole Earth-er Festival’

The event invites students to open their hearts, mind and wallets (but mostly their wallets)

BY CARMEL RAVIV craviv@ucdavis.edu

If you came by the MU Quad a week ago, then you must have experienced the toe ring booth, soothing sounds of the wind catchers, tie-dye everything and a bunch of walking advertisements for Depop as part of the annual Whole Earth Festival.

What was supposed to be the pinnacle of UC Davis’s indie-granola lifestyle, unfortunately, fell short, according to the report given at a recent ASUCD Senate meeting. They described the Whole Earth Festival as just not “Earthy” enough. “We were smelling too much deodorant,” one senator said.

That is why ASUCD is hosting the “Whole Earth-er Festival,” a do-over festival that seeks to delve deeper into the Earth. This festival will even feature a 10-foot pit dug in the middle of the Quad to host the event.

Shoes will be banned from the festival (even Birkenstocks!), and so will plastic cups. In order to reduce waste, people can drink out of their bare hands or old bike helmets. Attendees are also encouraged to refrain

from using their bikes to travel to the event, as bikes themselves eventually create waste. UCD will provide an organic, sustainable and biodegradable alternative by renting the dairy cows to be ridden through campus.

New vendors will be in attendance, such as a friendship-bracelet-making booth that makes bracelets out of hair. There will also be a medium that will tell you how you die based on the cake you ate on your birthday.

There will also be new musical entertainment, such as a Stockholmbased ska band that sings about geopolitical conflicts. They’re a riot!

So don’t miss out, come to the Whole Earth-er Festival next weekend, but look where you’re going and don’t fall face first into the 10-foot pit. We will have healing crystals, two shamans and a vegan to heal whoever does.

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.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 | 5

EDITORIAL

MARY ANN LEM KELLIE LU JOANNE SUN AGGIE FILE

ARTS & CULTURE

Sold Out to Love: This year’s Whole Earth Festival highlighted art, community and whimsy

BY ANA BACH and CLARA FISCHER arts@theaggie.org

FoodieLand brought good eats and entertainment to Sacramento

Some of the night market’s vendors discuss the annual event

BY LORENA ALVAREZ arts@theaggie.org

FoodieLand Night Market is a festival featuring over 170 vendors whose food varies from Mexican to Korean to Salvadorian and Filipino cuisines.

Vendors such as Birrieria San Marcos, who specialize in birria de res, a beef dish from Jalisco, Mexico, as well as drink, dessert and retail vendors, make up this three-day outdoor event that takes place in Berkeley, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, San Jose and San Mateo.

FoodieLand takes place over 15 times annually in various locations, which are announced each year on its website. While it is too soon to see what vendors will be attending the following locations, the festival will be visiting these locations in the next couple of months. San Jose can expect the festival to come to Santa Clara County Fairgrounds on June 9-11 and Sept. 8-10. FoodieLand will visit Berkeley at the Golden Gate Fields on Aug. 4-6, 11-12 and Oct. 6-8. The festival will also be held at Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego on Sep. 22-24.

Attendees can enjoy Egghausted — a tamagoyaki vendor that makes omelets with cartoon characters designed on them — at San Mateo’s County Event Center on May 26-28 and June 30 to July 2.

Those attending Los Angeles’s nights can look forward to trying Bonanza Bakery & Cafe, a bakery known for its animalshaped mousse cakes, at the Rose Bowl Stadium on June 23 to June 25.

Although the festival has already passed in Sacramento, having taken place on May 12-14 at Cal Expo, attendees can enjoy the festival again later this year on Sept. 1-3 and Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.

One of the vendors at the most recent market in Sacramento was Ember + Clay Handcrafted Goods. According to the owner of the small business Alyssa Wirick, Ember + Clay candles are made with soy and beeswax, which are “naturally derived waxes,” as well as with essential oils that are phthalate and paraben (toxins) free.

Wirick noted that her candles are made with toxin-free products because she wanted a candle that would not harm our “developing lungs,” like “typical candles on the market” made from trillium-derived ingredients.

Tania Shahvali, a third-year UC Davis pharmaceutical chemistry major who bought a candle named “Caramel Corn Stand” from Ember + Clay, commented in an interview on the price of the candle she purchased and the company’s refill policy which incentivizes recycling.

“It was only $18 for 10oz, which is really good. It makes my whole room smell like caramel, and the company refills your candle at a discounted price if you take the jar the original candle came in so they can refill it,” Shahvali said.

Another popular stand was LobsterHaus, a grilled lobster vendor.

Amanda Kim, a UC Davis alumnus who is now a special education teacher, shared her favorite food from the stand.

“Their lobster was delicious and juicy,” Kim said. “The ramen was meh so I’d opt out next time.”

However, Kim also commented on some of the less successful aspects of the event.

“Prices were way too high,” Kim said. “The lobster meal was $40 to 45. Bone marrow for just one piece was $22 to 25. Even water was $4 for a bottle.”

Despite this, Kim said she had an overall positive experience.

“Luckily, lines were relatively short for

being so crowded. Wait time was maybe five to ten minutes at best,” Kim said.

“[...] I’d recommend FoodieLand just for the fun atmosphere and different types of food to try.”

Another vendor in attendance was Krafttee, a crochet business that handcrafts “a limited number of each item.” At their pop-up stand, they had a variety of crocheted animals and flowers. The vendor’s stand was surrounded by crowds drawn in by how vibrant and professionally crocheted each piece looked. They had flower buckets filled with pastel-colored lilies, large sunflowers, bellflowers, tulips and many more flowers varying from $7 to $20.

Luis Ortiz, a first-year at Santa Rosa Junior College, commented on the vendor’s decision to go a step further and arrange the flowers into small bouquets.

“If you bought more than one flower, the vendor would arrange the flowers you purchased into a bouquet,” Ortiz said.

“[The vendor] wrapped them in clear plastic [and tied] a pink ribbon around the stems.”

He commented on the price of the bouquet and its quality.

“It was a bit expensive,” Ortiz said.

“The flowers were $38, but they are nice. The [vendor] arranged them into a bouquet and made them look real. They were made very professionally. The flowers look clean — I would recommend Krafttee and buy from them again.”

While the event can quickly become pricey, with the least expensive items on food menus being at least $13-15, FoodieLand has a wide variety of food and retail vendors for attendees to explore. The market can be a fun experience where you can try many different foods, listen to live music and enjoy free-refill drinks — just be sure to attend on a relatively cool night.

place

From May 12 to May 14, the Whole Earth Festival took place on the UC Davis Quad. Nicknamed “WEF,” the annual event has been happening over Mother’s Day Weekend for more than fifty years, though only making the change from a “small art class project” to the WEF of today when the United Nations formally recognized Earth Day in 1970.

The theme of this year’s festival was “Sell Out to Love” — a perfect fit for the event, as it strives to be 100% wastefree and centers around sustainability, acceptance, expression and community. WEF is run entirely by students, from the organization to the volunteers cleaning dishes during the festival.

There was high energy from attendees for the extent of WEF. Along with plenty of food and vendor booths to explore, the event featured many entertainment acts, including musicians and dancers. Each day had something unique for visitors of all ages, so there was no chance of getting bored. Along with the numerous vendors selling handmade woodwork, bracelets, tie-dye and more, WEF also had tents with activities specially catered to younger guests. These included facepainting booths and other hands-on activities, and though presumably intended for children, guests of all ages participated in the crafting.

Other features of the festival included information booths manned by various campus organizations and a “Festival Dome” that served as an information booth located in the middle of the action. The dome has been a longstanding emblem of WEF that serves as a definite sign that the festival is up and running.

There was a wide variety of food served throughout the weekend, including Davis favorites like Dumpling

EDITORIAL

FROM PAGE 5

Croughan: I have one more that’s not related to lighting but it’s something that causes problems for us around theft: not propping doors open. Because a lot of people think, “Well, I’ve opened it up, my friend is going to be here in 10 minutes, or they’re going to come back with two cups of coffee.” Our biggest cause of people coming in and stealing equipment and laptops and things from laboratories is one of our own, as somebody entered the building and propped the door open.

Shinnerl: 85% of our thefts are related to open doors and open windows. There’s very few physical break-ins [where] somebody breaks a window or breaks a lock.

House and Niknek Lemonade, which offered a wide selection of vegetarian snacks, meals and drinks at varied price points.

Brianna, a third-year psychology major, was one of the vendors at WEF. She is an owner of and maker for the Davis-based clothing brand we2cow, which offers custom embroidered apparel. She noted that some of the food she tried was on the more affordable side, especially for vendors who were stationed on the Quad for the entirety of the weekend.

“We got street corn, which was reasonably priced and really good, but that was [about] all the food we got here,” she said. “We either brought food from home or [got food from] downtown.” An installation new to WEF was the multi-sided bulletin board structure that had prompts surrounding compassion — an unmistakable tribute to the late David Henry Breaux, otherwise known as “Compassion Guy.” Each side of the 3D board had a piece of paper with different prompts on it, such as “What does compassion mean to you?” There were dozens of responses taped up around the central paper, as anyone passing by could use the markers, paper and tape provided to write and post their own thoughts on the matter.

The closing ceremony featured remarks from some of the volunteers and facilitators that made WEF happen, including a shoutout to past staff and — in true WEF fashion — a call for any help from the crowd to clean the last of the dishes and pick up any leftover trash. WEF embodies the best of UC Davis, from its conception to its core values, and the turnout from students, alumni and community members alike attests to its place as a staple in our campus culture.

Q: The extended Safe Rides hours have been met with a lot of positive support. How often is Safe Rides used by students? Are the extended hours being taken advantage of? Are there any plans to add additional staff in order to maintain the extended hours?

May: Safe Rides usage was up 40% over the last two weeks. I don’t know what the baseline was. We encourage students to take advantage of that. It’s a pretty easy service to access. Sometimes there’s some waiting involved when there’s heavy traffic. It is a door-to-door service. And if you wait a few minutes longer, I think that’s worth the wait. We will continue to hire additional staff, many student staff to support the program. We’re working with our security teams to assess that need. Obviously there’s a cost. So, we have to make that part of the assessment as well, but safety is the highest priority.

6 | THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

annual event

went on for three days in mid-May.

The

transformed the UC Davis Quad into a joyful gathering

The Whole Earth festival

(Shanna Punzalan / Aggie) Held at the Memorial Union quad, the Davis community enjoys food, music, and crafts at the Whole Earth festival. (Shanna Punzalan / Aggie)

VARGAS / AGGIE

ALEJANDRO

Commentary: The importance of setting realistic goals

How to set yourself up to actually achieve the things you set your mind to

BY RUMA POUDELL arts@theaggie.org

The Arts Desk’s weekly picks for music, movies and more

BY CORALIE LOON arts@theaggie.org

Movie: “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”

dir. by Michel Gondry (2004)

Another philosophical wandering, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” takes place in an altered reality in which a newly split-up couple, played by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, decide to participate in a procedure that will erase their memories of one another. The film is a beautiful, bizarre and bittersweet journey through the highs and lows of human relationships, all while these moments are disintegrating. Its combination of dry humor and dream-like sequences won me over the first time I watched it — and don’t worry if you’re confused. It’ll all make sense in the end.

Song: “PPP” by Beach House (2015)

Somewhere between sleeping and waking, you hear a distant guitar playing. “PPP” by Beach House is more of a journey than a song and feels like a long drive through an orange sunset that makes you think, “it won’t last forever, or maybe it will.” Nothing quite takes the words out of my mouth like a six-minute Beach House masterpiece. Psychedelic, emotional, velvety and breathtaking, it might be best to give it a listen yourself, along with the entirety of their 2015 album “Depression Cherry.”

TV Show: “Next in Fashion” (2020-2023)

Self-esteem is something that many struggle with, but is it possible to believe in yourself too much?

When you recognize your own worth and potential, placing that faith into the right directions may be crucial to making sure you live up to your potential without having a falsified view of your capabilities. Despite the fact that many people are at different places in their lives and therefore have different aspirations, maintaining a realistic approach to setting goals can help set everyone up for success.

Liz Chen, a second-year international relations and sociology double major, touched on how to set realistic goals.

“I think it’s really important to think about if a goal is right for you or if it’s just something someone else is achieving that you think you want to do too,” Chen said. “Knowing your limits and yourself, [...] planning ahead, [...] measuring progress along the way, [...] that’s all part of figuring out what works for you.”

Some factors you can take into consideration when setting your goals include the amount of time it’ll take to achieve said goals, the amount of

effort you need to put in and specific outcomes you hope to see.

Joga Singh, a college graduate working on medical school applications, also spoke on the importance of recognizing where you are in your professional and personal life when setting aspirations.

“Placing yourself in situations with a standardized metric so you can know where you stand — whether it’s a physical sports tryout or medical exam — that [can be] the first step,” Singh said. “After that, it has to do with putting in genuine effort and seeing how quickly or slowly you’re making progress. Having this understanding of your capabilities and how that fits in with where you want to be makes it a lot easier to get to where you want to be.”

Seshnag Regoti, a second-year biomedical engineering major, pointed out that sometimes, self criticism gets in the way of goal setting.

“I try to be optimistic with my passions despite any hardships I experience [due to] not living up to my goals,” he said.

Chen supported Regoti’s stance.

“It’s okay to adjust [your goals] and make it realistic for you along

the way,” Chen said. “It’s important to remember if you aren’t addressing your goal you’re not failing. Meeting a goal in any capacity is still better than not meeting it at all.”

In the grand scheme of our lives, making goals and setting forth to achieve them is not supposed to wear us down; rather, it is a way for us to build ourselves up and serve as a driving force for good.

“Seeing the long term of how becoming a physician is going to bring more enjoyment and more satisfaction into my personal life and [knowing] I can give service to others and leverage the experience I have — I tend to look at that,” Singh said. “That’s a big factor in how I set goals and build discipline for them.” As we all venture on, setting realistic goals is not a way for you to demean your capabilities. It’s about knowing where you’re at, being okay with it and moving forward from there. Take it easy, as your goals do not dictate your accomplishments in life. Rather, they serve as a way for you to see improvement within yourself.

If you’re anything like me, you’ll love reality TV shows that highlight talent, artistic visions and, most importantly, fashion. While the show’s debut season on Netflix seemed to fall a little harshly into runway fashion stereotypes, the second season felt like a fresh break into uncharted waters, giving love and attention to more maximalist designers such as Megan O’Cain and Nigel Xavier. It’s always fun to see how artists and designers with their own individual personalities take the same competition prompts and twist them into unique visions of wearable art. This colorful and playful show is the perfect thing to watch when looking for a little creative inspiration.

Book: “Sea of Tranquility” by Emily St. John Mandel (2022)

This book is a poetic and mind-bending journey through time that slowly questions the reality of the physical world. It follows multiple characters but centers around the investigation of an anomaly, a glitch that could potentially prove reality is a simulation. But framing this book as a timetravel novel completely overlooks its quiet beauty, its philosophical ruminations and its successful attempt at weaving a tapestry of time and space as effortlessly interconnected. Drenched in beautiful prose and imagery, “Sea of Tranquility” is bound to take you on a journey you won’t be able to forget.

Commentary: Analyzing the controversial theme of this year’s MET Gala

A look into the public opinion on Karl Lagerfeld’s association with the annual fashion event

BY SARAH HAN arts@theaggie.org

On Sep. 30, 2022, Anna Wintour announced the 2023 MET Gala theme as “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty” to honor one of the most successful fashion designers of all time. However, the theme was not met with unanimous approval: some thought Karl Lagerfeld’s discriminatory past should not be celebrated.

Lagerfeld debuted when he revived the infamous brand Chanel in the 20th century. Additionally, he made genius designs for various brands including Balmain, Valentino, Chloé and Fendi. He introduced Fendi’s fur line, which used the skin of moles, rabbits and squirrels to create different silhouettes. Lagerfeld also dove into the land of photography, publishing his work in British Vogue and Chanel’s advertisements.

However, Lagerfeld received a fair amount of criticism for being fatphobic, racist and misogynistic throughout his career. In his book “The Karl Lagerfeld Diet,” he commented on women’s bodies, making remarks about specific individuals’ weight. Moreover, he publicly spoke against body positivity movements and promoted unhealthy eating habits. His comments persisted when he criticized magazines for publishing curvy women and claimed that fashion and modeling were all about beautiful clothing, dreams and illusions.

Lagerfeld also tolerated repeated accusations of sexual abuse from his colleague Karl Temper, a distinguished stylist. During the Me Too movement, he stated that he was “fed up with it” and said that female models are supposed to go beyond comfort on the runway.

In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, he attacked the feminist movement by stating that Coco Chanel was “not ugly enough to be a feminist.” In addition to fatphobic comments, Lagerfeld was accused of racist and

Islamophobic comments. Lagerfeld put German model Claudia Schiffer in blackface and yellowface for a campaign; meanwhile, he opposed prior German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s calls to provide asylum for refugees.

Despite Lagerfeld’s remarks, many fashion designers and models recognize him for his revolutionary accomplishments in the fashion industry — even some who oppose his opinions. Others disapprove of

him being the theme for an event that historically celebrates diversity, originality and inclusivity.

For example, actress Jameela Jamil, who starred in “The Good Place,” criticized how “famous feminists chose to celebrate a man who was cruel to women, fat people, immigrants and sexual assault survivors.” Jamil also noted that cancel culture is selective when it comes to those who hold power in the industry.

However, not all agree with Jamil’s comments. American television host Sarah Haines felt that there was a distinction between honoring Lagerfeld as a person and honoring his work. She felt that the latter better aligned with the MET’s goal. Likewise, actress Whoopi Goldberg expressed her hate for Lagerfeld’s beliefs yet still loved his artistic creativity and fashion advancements.

Many regular attendees were absent for this year’s MET Gala, including Blake Lively, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus and more. Although this massive absence might not be directly related to the event’s theme, there is some speculation that these notable figures simply did not want to be involved with the controversy.

Nonetheless, the MET Gala had a high turnout with several Kardashians, Jared Leto, Anne Hathaway, Jennie from Blackpink and many others attending the event. Although a dear friend of Anna Wintour, Lagerfeld’s association with the event undoubtedly sparked controversy among celebrities and fans.

THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 | 7

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Karl Lagerfeld, German-born fashion designer and artist, at the Volkswagen People’s Night in 2008. (Courtesy of Siebbi / Creative Commons Attribution 3.0) JOANNE SUN / AGGIE

Senate answers questions at quarterly Town Hall, passes resolution against new PepsiCo contract at

May 18 meeting

The Aggie Compass Basic Needs presented the new AggieEats food truck and the Environmental Policy Planning Commission shared the results of the Cool Campus Challenge

BY LILY FREEMAN campus@theaggie.org

Vice President JT Eden called the May 18 town hall meeting to order at 6:20 p.m. in the CoHo. He read the UC Davis Land Acknowledgement.

The town hall meeting provided members of the public with the opportunity to ask the Senate questions and senators volunteered to answer them.

Several people asked about the senators’ thoughts regarding the upcoming 2023 ASUCD budget hearings, which were set to take place the weekend of May 20-21.

Another question referenced a disconnect between the student body and ASUCD, highlighting the low voter turnouts in recent elections and asking the senators about how they plan to alleviate this issue.

Senator Jacob Klein responded.

“That is a really great question and is a project that I have been working on with Senator Alamilla and a few others,” Klein said. “We are working on proposing a bill that will create a requirement for senators to table in person, on the ground. My goal is to have this bill passed by the end of this quarter so that students have this inperson outreach for students to learn more about ASUCD.”

Following the town hall, the senators moved to the Mee Room inside of the Memorial Union to have their Senate meeting. After roll call, Leslie Kemp, the director of the Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center, gave a presentation outlining the organization’s accomplishments and goals for the future.

Kemp specifically dicussed a new program created by the organization: the AggieEats food truck.

“It is a pay-what-you-can food truck, where the food comes from the dining commons fresh, students come up to the truck, scan the QR code and decide what they are going to pay,” Kemp said. “Nobody sees what you pay.

and tell them what you want. They’ll give you as much as you want, regardless of how much you were able to pay.”

Kemp explained that the truck is available to all students.

“If you have money today, pay,” Kemp said. “If you don’t have money next week, don’t pay.”

They went on to explain their goals of partnering with organizations around campus to include the AggieEats food truck in on-campus events. The senators then discussed the potential for partnerships between ASUCD and the food truck in the future.

Following this presentation,

Daphne Crother, a third-year political science major, was confirmed as the Vice Chair of the Environmental Policy and Planning Commission.

Next, Senator Erek Leshyn presented the Aggie Mentors Committee (AMC) quarterly report. Leshyn highlighted recent accomplishments of the AMC, such as hiring four new staff members to the committee. Leshyn also said that their primary goal for the upcoming year is increasing membership in the AggieMentors program through improving its social media strategies.

Annette Gutierrez, the unit director of the Housing Advising for Undergraduate Students Committee

(HAUS), then presented the committee’s quarterly report.

Gutierrez first outlined recent HAUS accomplishments, such as a successful Housing Week, Housing Fair and increase of its social media presence. She then went on to discuss goals for HAUS in the future, such as improving their Housing Week in terms of student involvement and creating regular workshops and social events throughout the year.

Following HAUS, Ashley Chan, the chair of the Gender and Sexuality Commission (GASC) presented the GASC quarterly report.

Chan said that recent accomplishments of GASC include its

recently held “Know Your Rights and Options: Title IX and Sexual Violence,” event, explaining the success of the panels and activities that were involved. Chan said that one challenge GASC faces is a lack of senator involvement with the committee, emphasizing that there is still time this quarter for the senators to attend a GASC meeting.

The Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (EPPC) gave the final quarterly report of the meeting. Kelly Abey, the chair of the committee, presented it.

A recent accomplishment of the EPPC was the Cool Campus Challenge, which Abey said was a sustainability challenge between UC Davis and UC Berkeley. “UC Davis won by an absolute landslide,” Abey said. “We had 145 participants on the UC Davis side and 40 participants on the UC Berkeley side.”

Following quarterly reports, the Senate moved on to consider legislation.

Emergency SB #108, which allocates $9,950 to the Aggie Aid program for grants and housing subsidies, was passed unanimously.

Emergency SB #109, which allocates $1,700 to the ASUCD Senate for purchasing food for the 2023 budget hearings and week 8-10 meetings, was passed with ten voting in favor, one voting in opposition and one abstaining.

SB #107, which allocates $349.50 to the Office of ASUCD Senator Gaius Ilupeju for the purchase of thirty pepper spray armband alarms that will be donated to the Davis Community Meals and Housing, was tabled.

Senate Resolution #6, which is a resolution to oppose UC Davis signing a new pouring rights contract with PepsiCo, was passed unanimously. The senators then approved past meeting minutes, and Eden adjourned the meeting at 11:23 p.m.

Being sober in college affects social experiences, according to students

College students share their experiences with sobriety

BY LILI ARMSTRONG features@theaggie.org

In a sea of red cups and beer pong tables, most don’t associate college years with sobriety. Drinking is a huge part of social life for many college students. Fresh out of the nest, it’s a common theme for college students to go wild with their newfound freedom and independence. That being said, plenty of people choose not to take this path. Whether it be for personal, health or lifestyle reasons, there are a number of university students who abstain from drinking.

One of these individuals is Jon Bunting, a third-year psychology major at UC Davis. Bunting has abstained from drinking and substances for the entirety of his college career due to health reasons. He received a liver transplant in 2018, and his doctors told

him to refrain from consuming alcohol.

Sobriety hasn’t stopped him from continuing to socialize and have fun with friends, but it has come with its fair share of ups and downs.

“At first, there’s a huge sense of alienation that I had with some of my friends, where all of a sudden, it was really difficult for me to go into a lot of spaces,” Bunting said. “I didn’t seem as fun or as lively, especially with all these substances around.”

College students who don’t drink may often find themselves in a room where nobody else is sober as alcohol is a substance commonly used as a means of increasing sociability. According to a study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, the most commonly cited motive for alcohol consumption amongst college students is “social camaraderie.”

“When you lose that feature of alcohol, you know, that relaxed social state, I think there is a certain level of

needing to fill that gap,” Bunting said. “Since you can’t get a little buzz on from drinking, you find a way to get comfortable quickly, so I think there is some level of getting to know yourself better because you can’t dodge that social anxiety as easily.”

Micah Organ, who graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in sociology, abstained from drinking and substances during college due to negative experiences with alcohol abuse among family members. Organ said being sober impacted her social life as a college student.

“I largely did not engage with the traditional party scene on my campus because I knew that I would not fit in as someone who did not drink or do drugs,” Organ said. “When I first started college and was trying to establish my friend group, people definitely judged me when I told them that I did not drink. I always felt like I needed to explain the details of my family’s negative relationship with drinking in order to justify why I didn’t do it myself.”

There are ups and downs to practicing sobriety in college, and a common theme among experiences is uncertainty in social situations.

Organ said she often felt pressured to drink, which discouraged her from participating in more traditional social settings.

A family history of substance abuse is a common reason for college students to remain sober. Ash Phommasa, a fourth-year psychological and brain sciences and applied psychology double major at UC Santa Barbara, didn’t feel comfortable drinking until her 22nd birthday. Due to her family’s relationship with alcoholism, she went into college with a mindset of full sobriety.

Phommasa said she is often met with surprise, and sometimes envy, when telling her peers she doesn’t drink.

“It was always like they found a diamond in the rough or some completely innocent, pure little human being,” Phommasa said. “I would always get the typical reaction of, ‘Wow! Could not be me, but it should be. I wish I was like you. I wish I could stop waking up with insane hangovers.’”

Phommasa also expressed that sobriety has shone a light on who her real friends are.

“These super understanding, super respectful people would carry on with the night, never pressuring me to drink or sticking up for me when people try forcing me into taking a shot, which makes me very, very anxious and panicky,” Phommasa said. “My friends always accommodate and get me juice, too. It’s really heartwarming to have people like this and my sobriety has been a way of figuring people out.”

Recent UC Davis graduate Ernest Walker has had varying experiences with a sober social life throughout college.

“Sobriety allowed me to be the caretaker when I went out with friends,” Walker said. “I also had to find healthy ways to deal with problems that arose in my life.”

Through sobriety, Walker discovered the escapism that went hand-in-hand with drinking and drug use.

“People tend to use those as a crutch, which opens the pathway to addiction,” Walker said. “There were also some situations where, if I decided not to be sober in those situations, things would’ve been dangerous for me.”

According to Organ and Bunting, although it might feel isolating at times, those who abstain from drinking or drug use are not alone.

“Remind yourself of why you are adhering to this lifestyle when times get hard,” Organ said. “I think that doing this may help you feel more confident in yourself and your decisions. The drinking culture in college is so extreme and is not representative of what life outside of college looks like in terms of social situations. So while things may be hard now, it won’t be like this forever.”

8 | THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

AGGIE FILE

Once you pay, go up to the window and show them that you paid

KELLIE LU / AGGIE

Sudoku

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

THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 | 9 THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Answer to previous puzzle 5/18/23 r edu c e . r eu s e . r e cycl e . T h e a gg i e Answer to previous puzzle 5/18/23 Scan to upload your completed crossword for the chance to win a prize!

Crossword

UC Davis student inspiring queer athletes on his trek to the secondhighest mountain in the world

Aidan Hyman will travel to the base camp of Pakistan’s K2 in June to raise funds in partnership with the Human Rights Campaign

BY MIA BALTIERRA features@theaggie.org

When offered the chance to climb one of the most dangerous mountains in the world, second-year biological systems engineering major Aidan Hyman jumped to join the expedition. Through a mutual friend, Hyman learned about Lucy Westlake, a college student who would be traveling to Pakistan to summit the famous K2 mountain.

“She’s the youngest American woman to have climbed Everest, and I was like, ‘That’s the coolest thing that I’ve ever heard ever,’ so I connected with her,” Hyman said, “She was telling me how she was going on a mountaineering expedition to Pakistan to climb K2, and I was like, ‘Oh wow, I’m super interested’ […] so we kind of set that up.”

Hyman has been running marathons since he was 15 and recently joined the UC Davis triathlon team. He also recently got into climbing and said he is excited for the opportunity to take on a trek at such a large scale. Hyman said his recent research about climbers and mountaineers motivated him to join the expedition.

“As I was reading more about it, I realized […] like only 3% of professional mountaineers are queer which is [...] not enough,” Hyman said. “So I was doing more research, and I was like, ‘Wow, I’m gonna be like one of the youngest [...], like the youngest queer mountaineer to get to basecamp.’”

Hyman also said he wants to use this experience to inspire other queer athletes. He is also raising funds in partnership with the Human Rights Campaign and said he wants to directly give to an organization that helps

marginalized communities.

“I mean, this is an experience for myself,” Hyman said, “but at the same time [...] I was kind of like, ‘Why don’t I use this leverage to promote an organization that’s actually making meaningful change?’ I hope I can inspire others to kind of see a space for them in the world of climbing.”

Along with other college students, Hyman will travel to Pakistan on June 15 and start the ascent of K2 guided by a sherpa, who is a local guide, on June 17. Hyman said the group expects the trek to take about two weeks. While Hyman is only going to the basecamp, it remains a difficult trek at 16,400 feet of elevation on the mountainous terrain.

“[K2 is] one of the most deadly mountains in the world just because a lot of the paths aren’t as well defined,” Hyman said. “Once you get to base camp, you need a lot of technical experience. While I have some mountaineering experience, I’m just going to basecamp because I don’t feel like I’m at quite the level of Lucy to summit it, but I do hope to one day.”

In preparation for the journey, Hyman said he has been rigorously training every day and keeping in contact with Westlake.

“I’ve been training for the past couple months for various pursuits like marathons and whatnot, but a lot of the training has overlapped with climbing training,” Hyman said. “There’s technical climbing stuff I’m doing for that, but also a lot of it is strength training, surprisingly, and cardio and whatnot, endurance stuff.”

Other aspects of training include gathering specialized mountaineering

gear. With the advice of Westlake and others going on the trip, Hyman said he feels confident his group will be prepared for their journey.

“In terms of gear, there’s a lot of stuff you have to prep,” Hyman said. “The expedition is being sponsored by two companies, but one of them is providing us with specialty mountaineering boots and the other one with, like, mountaineering backpacks, but you need stuff like below-freezing thermal sleeping bags and mountaineering tents.”

Preparation for the expedition also includes receiving a slew of vaccines.

“I’m getting, like, six vaccines before the [trip] because polio is going around Pakistan right now, so that’s kind of intense,” Hyman said. “I think as long as you’re cautious and make all the necessary preparations and training for it, I think experienced climbers can totally do this climb with a reasonable amount of safety.”

With less than a month until his journey, Hyman remains steadfast in his training and said the impact his journey could have is what motivates him to keep going.

“I want to make space in the climbing world for queer folks,” Hyman said. “I think every person deserves to have a space, have a voice in athletic pursuits and I want to be that voice for our generation of climbers. This climb is bigger than I am.”

You can follow Hyman’s upcoming journey to Pakistan on his personal website and social media, as well as donate to his page on the Human Rights Campaign website.

UC Davis cultural drumming ensemble finds passion in making music and social change

Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan club celebrates Asian American art forms through explosive performances

BY LYNN CHEN features@theaggie.org

Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan is a studentrun Japanese cultural drumming group at UC Davis founded in 2001. Taiko is the art of using traditional Japanese percussion instruments for performances. The group’s name is derived from the club’s enthusiastic playing style: “bakuhatsu,” meaning “explosion” in Japanese.

“That’s a stylistic choice,” said Madeline Do, a third-year Japanese and environmental science and management double major and co-president and practice director for the group. “Other groups can be flowy and graceful, but we are sharp and explosive. I think that’s just been passed down through the years.”

According to Vesper Marchant, third-year design major and practice director for the club, even in the collegiate taiko community, Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan is known for its high energy.

“We want to have explosive, energetic, memorable performances,” Marchant said. “Because whatever point we’re trying to get across, if we don’t do it with a lot of energy, it doesn’t come across as sincere.”

Each performance that Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan does is also completely original and an amalgamation of different taiko styles.

“The repertoires are made by members of the club,” Do said. “They make these songs with our style in mind.”

Members who join usually bring in experiences from training with other taiko organizations or their own musical backgrounds to create the performances. According to Do, the group draws their main inspiration from San Jose Taiko and San Francisco Taiko Dojo. Additionally, the group learns from the playing styles of other collegiate taiko

groups.

Specific taiko figures also impact the club; for example, Do says that Tiffany Tamaribuchi, a well-known taiko performer in Sacramento, has an “aesthetic” the club is influenced by.

Members who’ve workshopped with these organizations then combine their experiences with “four principles” the club follows to create Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan’s unique style, according to Do. The principles, referenced from San Jose Taiko, include attitude, approaching playing taiko always with a beginner’s mindset; ki, balancing a player’s energy with the “soul” of their drum; kata, establishing the form and posture of drumming; and musicality, being attuned with the music of drumming itself.

Nearly all the drums the club uses are handmade, relying on materials such as cow hides, strands and hollowed-out

trees.

“[Members] from the past made them and passed them down to us,” Isabelle Woodruff-Madeira, copresident of the club and third-year Japanese and environmental science and management double major, said.

Included in each performance are the odaiko, chu-daiko and shime-daiko drums, different sizes for playing various parts of the main melody. There are also “auxiliary instruments,” or narimono, that accompany the main song, such as shakers and bells, according to Marchant.

“Everyone has a part,” Marchant said. “Some of them are written; sometimes it’s improvised, but everybody kind of has a part that adds to the song.”

Students

and Coffee House staff share favorite drinks

The staff also explains Coffee House history to reveal customers’ favorite handcrafted drinks

BY ELIZABETH WOODHALL features@theaggie.org

The UC Davis Coffee House brings in a lot of customers because of its location and price point. It serves more than 7,000 customers every day and has over 250 student employees, remaining the most popular UC Davis facility, according to the Coffee House website.

The Coffee House — often referred to as the CoHo — was founded in 1968 and began as a Bohemian-style café located in East Hall, where Dutton Hall is now located. According to the Coffee House website, it was established by ASUCD with the concept of having a small eatery with high-quality food and a relaxing environment for students. The Coffee House moved locations twice, initially to the east side of the Memorial Union in 1973, then reaching its final location in 1991 at the west side of the Memorial Union.

At Swirlz Bakery, where the handcrafted drinks are served, several adjustments have been made since its opening. It has changed with the customers’ needs, said Dustie Hincks, the front-of-house manager at the Coffee House, who has been an employee for the past three years. According to Hincks, student concerns with prices, quality of coffee and sustainability are most important to Swirlz.

One of the main changes to the Swirlz CoHo menu has been introducing the “drink of the month,” and staff has created a detailed process for adding drinks as temporary menu items. Many of the “drink of the month” items are beloved by the staff, including Hincks.

“Right now, the drink of the month is our lavender latte, and that’s my personal favorite one,” Hincks said. “It’s something I’m trying to put on our menu board for, you know, a standard drink.”

After 55 years on campus, the menu has met frequent changes. Now labeled as a “sustainable operation” according to their website, the CoHo selects organic and fair-trade coffee from the local community, a decision that Darin Schluep, the director for Associate Student Dining Services, said was made regardless of cost because students requested the switch.

Schluep has been employed for 27 years and started as a student employee at the Coffee House. He said that both students and staff have a great say over the adjustments made at the CoHo, which includes the menu’s temporary items, like the “drink of the month” staying longer than the intended time.

“We have strived to adjust as needed based on the feedback that we get from the student customers, our staff and faculty customers as well as our student employees,” Schluep said. “Our baristas kind of get some input on those drinks, and […] that’s another opportunity where we give our students some kind of input on what they think would be popular and what would be good for our menu. So we always appreciate when we get positive feedback on those drinks as well.”

Schluep said among his favorite drinks are the sparkling waters, which he said are great for hydrating throughout the day. He also included the white chocolate mocha as his favorite handcrafted coffee drink from Swirlz.

“Those are kind of my guilty pleasure, so every couple of weeks, I try to have one of those,” Schluep said. “We’ve had several of our drinks of the month that have just been delicious. In fact, last month’s honey bee latte was a delicious drink.”

Lindsey Kurtz, a third-year biotechnology major, said that she goes to the CoHo a couple of times per quarter. She said that the location is convenient because she works on campus, and it is also close by when she needs coffee after class.

Kurtz said that her favorite drink does not vary often, but she is open to trying a few items that seem fun.

“I think I get the caramel macchiato the most often, just because I think it’s good hot or iced, which is nice for, like, the winter and the summer,” Kurtz said. “I have tried their tuxedo one just because I never heard of it before, and that was pretty good too. I know one time I went, and they had, like, a honey bee latte or something like that, which was drink of the month. I think those are cool. Sometimes, when I feel

adventurous, I’ll try those, but I think it’s kind of just fun to see.”

Kyley Linn, a third-year biochemistry major, said that she goes to the Coffee House once a week to study but doesn’t always get a drink. She said her favorite drinks vary, but that she thinks the selection is usually cheaper and higher quality than Peet’s Coffee on campus. “They are cheaper,” Linn said. “But also for some of the drinks, I think they are honestly better. Like the chai, I think, is better than Peet’s. Also, the cold brew I think is better. I used to get the latte a lot, but then recently, I got the creamy cold brew, and that is my favorite right now. I love that so much.”

For other students, simple drinks are the way to go. Ashwin Singh, a fourth-year philosophy and political science double major, goes to the CoHo every other day.

“Iced coffee [is my favorite drink]. It’s quick to get, and I hate sugar,” Singh said.

Sandra Rodriguez, a first-year communication major, goes to the CoHo about twice a month. She prefers Swirlz because they have more options for tea.

“I don’t remember the name of the tea, but I mixed it with lemonade, and it was really good,” Rodriguez said. “This is my go-to when I’m cold.”

Smoothies are other students’ go-to. Sheamain Khan Kakar, a second-year international relations major, goes to the CoHo once a week, specifically because of its location and smoothie selection.

“It’s close when you go to class, and it’s literally right next to you, so you don’t have to walk all the way downtown,” Kakar said. “[The] beets smoothie [is my favorite drink], but it hasn’t changed because I don’t like anything else there. I’m a smoothie person in general.”

Aly Guansing, a fourth-year molecular and microbiology major, said that she goes to the CoHo three times a week because even if it isn’t her favorite option, it is a “quick go-to place.”

“My current favorite drink is a strawberry mango smoothie,” Guansing said. “This has changed because I think in the past, like when I was about a freshman, I would go and drink their vanilla latte, [but] after drinking from other coffee places, I decided that I liked other coffee places more than the CoHo.”

Hallie Wong, a second-year communication major, said that she does not go often — once every two to three weeks — but gravitates toward the CoHo because it is the center of campus. She said her favorite drink is a “simple” latte, which has remained the same since freshman year.

Alana Eng, a fourth-year English major, said that they go to the Coffee House once every two weeks. When asked about their favorite drink from Swirlz, they said that it has remained the same.

“It will always be the iced matcha latte with oat milk,” Eng said. “I feel like it’s much smoother, it’s sweeter, it’s a nice little boost for my day and it’s at a reasonable price point. I’m really a fan. I think the CoHo already does a really good job of knowing their audience, given that the people who […] work there are already students, so they know what’s going on.”

Marisol Osorio, a third-year economics major and a cashier supervisor at the Coffee House who has been working there since February 2022, said recent changes for Swirlz have included providing more milk alternatives, like oat and almond milk, and the “drink of the month,” which she said can be seen as a collaborative project for the CoHo Swirlz staff, specifically for the baristas.

She said that her favorite drink is a caramel macchiato.

“It’s really great because I always ask for my caramel macchiato to be made just a little bit differently than, like, a typical one would be made, and not as in, like, I change the ingredients or anything,” Osorio said. “But I think the great thing about CoHo is that if you just ask, we just do it for you. So if you want an extra pump, like a syrup, or if you want more caramel on it, or if you want it stirred or shaken, [you can ask for that].”

10 | THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Located inside the Memorial Union, the Coho is a student run cafe serving a variety of drinks and pastries. (Maia Zhu / Aggie) Aidan Hyman competes in triathlon for UC Davis (Aidan Hyman / Courtesy) Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan Japanese drumming group 12th annual showcase. (Jersain Medina / Aggie)

DRUMGROUP on 11

Aidan Hyman displays LGBTQ+ pride flag while hiking (Aidan Hyman / Courtesy)

Increased bone biomarkers are associated with lower prostate cancer survival

UC Davis Health study finds that more bone breakdown predicts shorter lifespan in patients

BY LILLY ACKERMAN science@theaggie.org

A new study from researchers at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center has shown that increased bone biomarkers are significantly associated with lowered survival for patients with hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (HSPC).

Bone biomarkers are substances that can be seen in urine or blood that indicate the health and activity of bone cells. In the case of prostate cancer, biomarkers can also show signs that the cancer is disrupting bone mass — a common feature of advanced prostate cancer — or that it has spread into a patient’s bones. This makes them a promising area of study within prostate cancer treatment research.

Dr. Primo “Lucky” Lara Jr., the director of the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center and lead author on the study, said that the prevalence and deadliness of prostate cancer is high compared to other cancer types for males in the United States.

“Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in men in the United States, accounting for over 288,000 incident cases per year,” Lara Jr. said via email. “It is also the second most common cause of cancer death in men, estimated to account for over 34,000 deaths in the U.S. in 2023.”

Due to the impact that this cancer can have on a patient’s bones, biomarkers for bone breakdown have been previously studied for their ability to assess prognosis (a disease’s likely progression and outcome), and they have been examined in correlation with responses to therapy.

“Bone metastasis is an extremely common event in patients with advanced prostate cancer,” Lara Jr. said. “More than 90% of patients with metastatic prostate cancer will have evidence of skeletal involvement.”

This study focused specifically on biomarkers for bone formation and

DRUMGROUP

FROM PAGE 10

The club’s most recent projects include its annual showcase, “Tabidachi:

To Embark On a Journey,” and its performance at the Davis Cherry Blossom Festival, a nonprofit event founded and produced by the Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan group. One of the main goals of the festival is to use music as a “powerful force for social change,” a core message the club seeks to communicate to its members and audience.

TRACKANDFIELD

FROM PAGE 12

Atkins, who had never raced in the 10,000 meter at a collegiate level before, ran a 33-minute-and-52.59-second race that broke the previous school record. The Santa Rosa native had a historic meet and set a record that will be hard to beat for the upcoming years.

The long jump competition wasn’t the only jumping event to see an outstanding performance by the Aggies. Second-year Lauren Spellman jumped 5 feet and 5.25 inches, or 1.66 meters, which earned her third place. Her teammates third-year Sierra Meier and first-year Elizabeth Churchil also performed well. Meier tied for fourth place with another competitor, and Churchil, who actually tied Spellman’s distance at 5 feet and 5.25 inches,

BSBVSUCI

FROM PAGE 12

The Aggies’ first run of the game came in the bottom of the fifth inning after third-year infielder/outfielder Nick Iverson was walked and then able to get to third base, following first-year infielder Joey Wright single to right field. Then, despite no hit after Wright for the rest of the inning, Iverson was able to use his speed to get home after a wild pitch was thrown.

The best offensive performance by the Aggies came in the bottom of the sixth inning, where the Aggies scored their second and final run. Starting it off was third-year infielder/catcher Jack Gallagher, who singled to left field. Then, directly following, second-year infielder Nick Leehey singled to third, giving the Aggies two runners on base. After Gallagher was able to advance to third following a flyout by fourth-year infielder James Williams III, first-year outfielder Leighton Helfrick was able to bring Gallagher home with his hit down the middle of the field.

Out of the entire team, Helfrick

resorption in advanced or metastatic HSPC patients, looking to see a potential association between disrupted bone turnover and patients’ lifespan.

The HSPC cancer type refers specifically to patients who have recently been diagnosed with advanced or metastatic prostate cancer but have not yet begun treatment. This is an important classification because further bone imbalances are often caused by the typical treatment for HSPC patients, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).

HSPC survival had not been previously researched for a link with bone biomarkers, unlike castrationresistant prostate cancer (CRPC), for which an association has already been found. CRPC is a form of prostate cancer that continues progressing even after treatment with ADT.

The study analyzed results from a phase III clinical trial for ADT. The researchers looked for four different biomarkers in the HSPC patients: two biomarkers for bone loss, and two for bone formation.

The researchers found that higher levels of the four circulating bone turnover biomarkers were associated with

NBAPLAYOFFS

FROM PAGE 12

. The Heat had an advantage as the Bucks did not have their best player due to an injury in game one, power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is also debatably one of the best players in the league. The Heat had their best player, small forward Jimmy Butler, who was a high scorer in this series, especially in game five when he scored 42 points.

lowered survival rates in the patients they studied.

“Elevated levels of each of the four bone biomarkers [...] showed statistically significant association with worse survival outcomes, independent of traditional clinical risk factors,” the study reads.

Due to this strong association between a shorter lifespan and high levels of bone biomarkers in HSPC patients, it could be helpful to know the number of biomarkers in patients. Lara Jr. thinks this knowledge might enhance prognosis and counseling during patient visits, as well as offer important value for future trials. If a patient shows more bone biomarker activity, for instance, they can be prioritized so that a trial is completed faster or so they are treated more effectively for their needs.

“In the future, clinicians and researchers could use bone biomarkers to guide patient counseling and direct future research efforts,” Lara Jr. said. “For example, future early-phase clinical trials can employ this information to identify high-risk groups to screen for new drugs by identifying those with worse prognosis in order to increase the pace of the trial and complete study accrual sooner.”

The No. 2 seed Boston Celtics played the No. 7 seed Atlanta Hawks which lasted six games. Still, the last four games of this series were decided by single digits, making this a very close series. The Celtics were predicted to blow out the Hawks, but after the first two games, it was clear that would not be the case. Point guard Trae Young played well for the Hawks, especially in game three of the series, during which he tallied 32 points. But Young’s performance alone was not enough to beat the Celtics.

The No. 3 seed Philadelphia 76ers took down the No. 6 seed Brooklyn Nets easily in a short four-game series. The best part about this series was not necessarily the basketball but the drama. The 76ers’ shooting guard James Harden played against his former team, and the player who replaced Harden, point guard Ben Simmons, was absent. MVP winner Joel Embiid led the 76ers in the first three games but was on the sidelines for the last game because of a sprained knee injury, but that was no issue for the 76ers. The last first-round game in the Eastern Conference was between the No. 4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers and the No. 5 seed New York Knicks. The Knicks won this series 4-1, marking the first time the team has won a playoff series since 2013 and only the second time in 23 years. Point guard Jalen Brunson was a standout for the Knicks as he was a high scorer in these games. Shooting guard Donovan Mitchell for the Cavaliers put up a fight against the Knicks, especially in game two, and also acted as a strong team leader as he helped his teammate point guard Darius Garland get out of an early playoffs slump.

Round Two Round two in the Western Conference started off between the Nuggets and the Suns. The Nuggets

defeated the Suns 4-2. The Suns were expected to make a deep run, especially with the duo of Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, who scored 72 points combined in game four. Star center Nikola Jokic was the player of this series for the Nuggets as he shot the ball well and played outstanding defense in the perimeter by swatting down big shot attempts by the Suns. The Nuggets’ depth helped them to advance to the Western Conference finals to play the Lakers. The Warriors and the Lakers competed for the other spot in the Western Conference semifinals, which was a series everyone was looking forward to because of the history between James and the Warriors. The unstoppable player for this series was the Lakers’ power forward Anthony Davis, who played aggressively on both offense and defense. Davis’s dominance was on full display every time he took the ball to the paint effectively. The defending champions fell to the Lakers 4-2 with a brutal loss in game six.

The Celtics and the 76ers played a great series, as all the games were close, and they went to seven games.

The Celtics narrowly won the series in the seventh, securing their place in the Eastern Conference finals. In game five, the Celtics were at a 3-2 deficit, but Tatum and Brown woke up in the back half of this series. Jayson Tatum had a slow start but ended the series strong with 51 points in game seven, which was hard for the 76ers to compete with.

Joel Embiid put up a good fight for the 76ers, but his defense was not enough to combat the Celtics’ strong shooters.

The Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, for the second straight year.

The Knicks and the Heat competed in the other Eastern Conference semis. The Heat did well, remaining confident with their plays when the games got tight and sticking to the basics to defeat the Knicks. Both teams have very similar star shooters, Butler and Brunson, so both were focused on shutting the other down. However, with Brunson shut out, the Knicks had little to no offense, which was the deciding factor in the Heat winning the series.

The Heat will go on to play the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals. The Lakers and the Nuggets are currently playing in the Western Conference finals. With only four teams left, NBA fans are gearing up for the main event: the NBA finals.

“Taiko in North America has roots in social justice,” Do said. “I would like people to take away that history.”

Do hopes her members can reflect on performing an Asian American art form and gain more political consciousness after playing with the group.

Additionally, both co-presidents hope that the club has been able to foster confidence and a sense of community in its members.

“I think playing really helps people grow their confidence in themselves,” Woodruff-Madeira said. “People know how to work together in a group and how to be a leader.”

placed sixth due to using more attempts at previous heights. Other important performances came from third-years Joseph Monti and Corey Moore in the men’s 400-meter hurdles and men’s discus throw respectively. Monti ran an astounding 53.45-second race in the preliminaries, beating his previous personal record of 53.72 seconds. This earned him a spot in the final, where he ran a 53.95 which resulted in sixth place overall.

Moore, like Monti, also beat his previous personal record at the championship by throwing 181 feet and 10 inches, or 55.43 meters. This earned Moore 3rd place in the event and established him as a prominent athlete to look out for in future competitions.

Overall, the Aggies had a very successful meet, producing many wins and accomplishments. UC Davis will look to replicate their success going into next season as the program looks to continue the upward trend.

was the best offensive player for the Aggies, going two-for-four with an RBI.

Unfortunately for the Aggies, the reason why UC Irvine is ranked second and UC Davis is ranked last in batting in the Big West became prevalent on Saturday. When comparing the offensive stats alone, the Aggies had an overall hitting average of 0.171, while the Anteaters had an overall hitting average of 0.410. Very few Aggies were able to make connections with the ball, leading to fewer chances on-base when compared to the Anteaters which was a major cause of their 13-2 loss.

The following day UC Davis fell to the Anteaters 2-9 as UC Irvine completed the sweep. The Aggies were unable to figure out a way to hit or pitch against the Anteaters, resulting in their biggest loss in the conference yet.

The Aggies now sit at a 17-34 record for the season and have a 7-20 conference record.

On Sunday, at their last home game of the season at Dobbins Stadium, the Aggies celebrated their three graduating seniors: infielder/catcher James Williams III, pitcher Nate Freeman and pitcher/catcher Nathan Peng.

New UC Davis Health research center established to investigate correlation between chronic stress

and heart health

The center will focus on analyzing societal, environmental and biological factors that impact individuals in underserved communities

BY KATIE HELLMAN science@theaggie.org

UC Davis Health is establishing a research center geared toward studying the correlation between stress and heart health in underserved communities.

The PRECISE (Psychosocial stRessors and Exposomics on Cardiovascular health In underServed multiEthnic populations) Center is being funded by the American Heart Association as part of a $13 million initiative.

Chronic stress has been closely linked to cardiovascular issues including atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease and sudden cardiac death.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated stress levels profoundly, which is having harmful effects on mental health, according to the 2020 Stress in America survey from the American Psychological Association.

“These compounding stressors are having real consequences on our minds and bodies,” the survey report reads. “We are facing a national mental health crisis that could yield serious health and social consequences for years to come.”

The study will consist of multiple projects, each with a different goal in mind. Project One will recruit participants from various backgrounds with different psychosocial stress levels and socioeconomic statuses, aiming to establish the relationship between heart health and societal, environmental and biological factors.

Nipavan Chiamvimonvat, the associate chief for research in cardiovascular medicine and the codirector of the UC Davis Cardiovascular Research Institute, provided insight into the main objectives of the study.

“UC Davis Health has one of the most diverse patient populations in the country…,” Chiamvimonvat said via email. “Therefore, the overarching goal of our study is to determine the effects of chronic psychosocial stress and its consequences on cardiovascular disease development among underserved multiethnic populations.”

Chao-Yin Chen, a professor of pharmacology at UC Davis, is one of the researchers leading Projects

Two and Three, in which she will use animal models to study how stressors like overcrowding, noise and sleep disruption affect heart health.

“Stress can cause heart issues by activating many proteins that are very harmful and cause damage, triggering cardiac events such as arrhythmias by changing how the brain regulates heat and contributing to the development of cardiovascular diseases that increase the risk for heart issues,” Chen said.

The researchers will also aim to discover signaling pathway patterns using advanced omics analyses, which are comprehensive approaches for the analysis of a large set of data.

“The mental health crisis is expected to have negative impacts on heart health, as chronic psychosocial stress has been shown to be a significant risk factor for cardiovascular diseases,” Chen said. “Minimizing stressors and staying active can reduce overall stress levels and the impacts of the stress on the heart.”

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 | 11 SCIENCE

TECH

AND

ALEJANDRO VARGAS / AGGIE

NATALIE CHENG / AGGIE

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

UC Davis sets new records and claims medals at the Big West Championships

Chelsea Daye and Brianna Weidler win first place in respective events at conference meet

BY MEGAN JOSEPH sports@theaggie.org

One of the largest championship meets in the season came to an end on May 13. This year’s Big West track and field Championships meet consisted of two weekends of competition, May 5-6 and May 12-13. The first weekend of the championship consisted of the heptathlon (seven-event race) and decathlon (10-event race) multi-event contests that included highlights from Aggie second-years Ryan Ishibashi and Jayme Henderickson.

Ishibashi was a strong competitor in all of the events in the men’s decathlon but showed his true abilities in the pole vaulting portion. Ishibashi vaulted 4.61 meters or 15 feet and 1.5 inches, earning him second place among all of the male decathlon pole vaulters. Henderickson, who competed in all seven of the women’s heptathlon events, jumped an astonishing 1.61 meters, or 5 feet and 3.25 inches, in the highjump event. The UC Davis’s track and field team left the meet with many new records, awards and stats.

One of the largest and strongest wins from the meet came during the second weekend, from fourth-year

BASEBALL

Chelsea Daye. Daye was producing strong stats all season in her events, but more importantly, she had one of her best performances over the weekend, taking the win in the women’s long jump competition. Daye jumped 19 feet and 11.50 inches, or 6.08 meters, which was the longest jump of the day. The jump was her second attempt of the day and was a personal record for the senior. The new record gives Daye the title for the fourth-longest jump of all time in the UC Davis track and field program. On top of that, Daye was named “Student-Athlete of the Week” by UC Davis for her incredible performance.

Daye became the first Aggie to take home the gold in the tournament. She was followed later in the competition by second-year Brianna Weidler, who ran a 16-minute-and-9.74-second 5000-meter race. Right behind her was third-year Sierra Atkins, who ran a 16-minute-and-16.45-second race that earned her the silver medal. Atkins was the previous reigning 5000-meter champion with the school record for the indoor 5,000-meter she obtained earlier this season, but her best event of the day came in the women’s 10,000-meter run.

TRACKANDFIELD on 11

UC Davis gets swept by UC Irvine in the series

UC Davis was unable to figure out a consistent rhythm during Saturday’s game, resulting in a 13-2 loss

BY CAROLYN (CARI) FENN sports@theaggie.org

After a tough loss of 5-10 the day prior at Phil Swimley Field at Dobbins Stadium on Saturday, May 20, the Aggies once again could not outscore UC Irvine, losing the game 13-2. Saturday’s loss marks their seventh consecutive loss, with their last win being May 7 against Cal Poly. Right off the bat, the Aggies began to struggle offensively, as many

BASKETBALL

of UC Davis’s pitchers were unable to find a consistent rhythm on the mound. Starting the game was thirdyear pitcher Kaden Hogan, who could not finish out the first inning after allowing two runs, hitting two batters and throwing a wild pitch that unfortunately caused the second of the two runs scored against him. This was the third time that Hogan started the game for the Aggies, with the first resulting in an 8-0 shutout against Cal Poly and the second resulting in a 3-11 loss against the University of Hawai’i.

By the end of the first inning, the Aggies had given up five runs to the Anteaters, making it a rough start to the matchup. Taking over for Hogan on the mound was first-year pitcher Alejandro Huezo. Pitching the most innings in the game out of all the Aggie pitchers, he pitched from the first through the fourth inning where he allowed three more runs in the first inning and two in the second but then only allowed a single hit in the third and fourth inning combined.

2023 NBA playoff recap

The 2023 NBA playoffs have featured many ups and downs between the top teams within each conference

Following Huezo, the Aggies began to switch out their pitchers every inning, sometimes even twice in one inning, for the rest of the game. The Aggies’ pitching was able to finish off strong, with third-year pitcher Andrew LaCour only allowing one walk in the eighth inning and thirdyear pitcher Ian Torpey allowing one hit in the ninth inning. Torpey had the strongest pitching performance out of all the Aggies on Saturday, only allowing one hit, zero runs and striking out two batters.

Their unfortunate inability to find a rhythm is shown when looking at the teams’ overall defensive stats. The UC Davis pitchers combined to throw a total of 198 pitches with 106 of those being strikes and 92 of those being balls. With all these stats, their strike-out percentage came to be a low

53.5%, compared to the Anteaters 75%. Considering these stats with the 16 hits and 13 runs by UC Irvine, it’s clear UC Davis was struggling to figure out how to beat UC Irvine’s offense, which is ranked second in the Big West for batting. Unfortunately, for the Aggies, they were unable to compensate for their challenges defensively, as they struggled to hit against the Anteaters’ pitching duo, third-year Nick Pinto and second-year Davis Vizcaino. Pinto pitched seven innings against the Aggies, allowing six hits, two runs and throwing six strikeouts. Vizcaino then came in and finished off the game for UC Irvine, not allowing UC Davis to try and shorten the massive lead they had, as he allowed zero runs and hits.

BSBVSUCI on 11

The best baseball players you don’t know about BASEBALL

Vinny Pasquantino, Yandy Diaz, Mitch Keller and others among the

most underrated baseball players in MLB

BY ELOISE ENGS sports@theaggie.org

The NBA playoffs are nearing the conference finals, with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets playing in the Western Conference finals and the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics playing in the Eastern Conference finals.

We have seen a lot of quality playoff games in the first and second rounds, resulting in some top-seeded teams getting eliminated while the number-one-seeded teams have won comfortably. Here’s a recap of the playoffs thus far.

Western Conference Round One

The NBA playoffs kicked off between the No. 3 seed, Sacramento Kings, and the No. 6 seed, Golden State Warriors, in the first round. The Warriors took this series in seven games, winning 4-3. The matchup was competitive, as it featured a newly developed team who has not been in a playoff game since 2006 and the defending NBA champions who have won four recent titles. Two of the

games were decided in the final minute, making this a nail-biter of a series.

Point guard Stephen Curry even hit 50 points in game seven, making history in the NBA playoffs. The Kings’ point guard De’Aaron Fox was a factor on offense for most of the series as well.

We also saw great games out of powerforward Domantas Sabonis, two-way guard Klay Thompson and powerforward Draymond Green, who got suspended for game three of the series.

The No. 4-seeded Phoenix Suns played the No. 5-seeded Los Angeles Clippers, which was projected to be a tight matchup, but ended up being an easy win for the Suns, who took the series 4-1. Before the playoffs schedule was final, teams wanted to avoid a matchup with the Suns due to the potent duo between Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.

The first major upset in the Western Conference was between the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies and the No. 7 seed Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers took this series with a 4-2 win. The Lakers won the first game by 16 points, and then the Grizzlies fired back with a 10-point win in game two. The series

went back and forth until the Lakers dominated in game six, with a final score of 125-85 — a 40-point game. Small forward Dillon Brooks and small forward LeBron James battled it out on the court, but James proved untouchable in the back half of the series.

The last Western Conference game was between the No.1 seed Denver Nuggets and the No. 8 seed Minnesota Timberwolves. This series was also a blowout besides the Timberwolves’ only win, which was in overtime.

For the most part, the Nuggets won games easily, but shooting guard Anthony Edwards was a star for the Timberwolves, averaging 35 points a game. Overall, this series was a great warmup round for the Nuggets.

Eastern Conference Round One

The biggest upset of the first round was the final game between the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks and the No. 8 seed Miami Heat. The Heat won this series 4-1 and escaped overtime in game five by a margin of two points.

BY PATRICK FIGUEROA sports@theaggie.org

Each MLB season, there are a few players who perform exceptionally well, but baseball fans do not realize who they are. A quarter of the way through the 2023 season, this remains true. These under-the-radar gems have not only done well thus far, but their advanced numbers suggest that they will continue to produce throughout the season.

Vinnie Pasquantino, first baseman, Kansas City Royals

The Royals are off to a slow start to the 2023 season — they have only won 12 of their 42 games. Yet, Vinnie Pasquantino, also known as “The Pasquatch,” has been a lone bright spot for the young team. Since his call up to the majors in 2022, Pasquantino has been an offensive asset with a good on-base percentage and great bat-to-ball skills.

Through 41 games this season, Pasquantino has seven home runs, 19 RBI and 42 hits. He walks more than he strikes out with an 11.4% walk rate

(BB%) and 10.2% strikeout rate (K%), according to Fangraphs. He sits at a 0.848 on-base-plus-slugging (OPS) and 134 weighted runs created plus (wRC+). When examining Statcast, he ranks 80th percentile or better in the following categories: hard-hit percentage, expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA), expected batting average (xBA), expected slugging percentage (xSLG), K% and whiff percentage.

Yandy Diaz, first baseman, Tampa Bay Rays

While the Rays do have widelyrecognized stars like shortstop Wander Franco and outfielder Randy Arozarena, Yandy Diaz has been a major contributor to the team that has the most wins in baseball (31) so far this year. The once mildly powerful third baseman has already hit 10 home runs through 39 games this season. The most home runs he had in a single season prior to this year was 14 home runs in 2019. Diaz is striking out at a higher rate than last season (10.8% last year compared to 14.9% this year), but he is producing the most he has in his entire career, according to Fangraphs. So far, Diaz has had 45 hits, 24 RBI and 1.021 OPS. He currently ranks 80th percentile in barrel percentage after ranking 20th percentile last year. His soft-contact percentage decreased from 14% in 2022 to 8.6%, while his hard-contact percentage increased from 35.5% to 44%.

12 | THURSDAY, MAY 25, 2023 THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE SPORTS

The UC Davis track and field team traveled to Fullerton for the first weekend of the Big West Conference Championships. (UC Davis Athletics / Courtesy) Mark Wolbert gets a hit when he is at bat at the bottom of the first inning. (Kayla Bruckman / Aggie)

NBAPLAYOFFS on 11

BESTMLBPLAYERS on 3

ALLISON VO / AGGIE NATALIE CHENG / AGGIE Kaden Hogan starts the game on the mound pitching for UC Davis against UC Irvine. (Kayla Bruckman / Aggie)