November 10, 2022

NEW 360-DEGREE MULTISENSORY ROOM LAUNCHED FOR FOOD PRODUCT RESEARCH AT UC DAVIS

BY KAYA DO-KHANH campus@theaggie.org

The Department of Food Science and Technology at UC Davis has launched a new multisensory immersive room for testing sensory science and consumer behavior research, according to a recent press release.

The 360-degree real-life environment experience is located in the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science’s Sensory Building. The room has six video projectors that, according to the release, display highdefinition videos on the walls featuring diverse environments like hiking trails and restaurants. The scenery can be changed using an electronic tablet.

The immersive room appeals to the senses in different ways. Controlled heating lamps, misters and fans can adjust the room’s temperature, a variety of scents can be released to alter the smell and sounds that produce spatialized audio can be played through mounted speakers.

Julien Delarue, an associate professor in sensory and consumer science, started working on the project to redesign a pre-existing sensory lab that consisted of standard sensory booths around a year and a half ago. He said that it took almost a full year to complete the remodeling.

Delarue is currently planning to use the room to test how different environmental cues affect consumers’ reactions to food products. His first experiments in the multisensory room will be conducted with energy bars, and he said that he hopes there will be different reactions to the product in a more real-life setting than in a standard lab.

“It’s nothing like a lab, and for me, that’s very important, because that was the goal,” Delarue said. ”It’s really not what you expect. They’re coming to a lab, and then they’re immersed in that environment.”

In regards to the future of the 360-degree multisensory immersive room, Delarue said there is a possibility of installing the same sensory immersive rooms in other locations around campus and even across California. He also said that the immersive room could be used for other departments, such as for

creative purposes in design.

“In terms of research, it’s an extremely powerful tool,” Delarue said. “There could be different usage for creativity, design or education.”

Christopher Simmons, the chair of the Food Science and Technology Department, said that this ability to

UC DAVIS’S LOVE LAB IS HERE TO REMIND STUDENTS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF SEXUAL WELL-BEING

BY UMAIMA EJAZ features@theaggie.org

The UC Davis Love Lab, founded in 2007 and located on the third floor of the Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) building, is a mobile cart that offers educational materials, rapid testing kits for sexuallytransmitted infections, safe sex products such as condoms and birth control and merchandise for students. But the Love Lab does much more than supply students with condoms and coveted stickers, according to Blake Flaugher, a sexual well-being specialist in the Health Education and Promotion (HEP) Department at SHCS.

“Our work is about life and death and not just throwing condoms at people,” said Flaugher.

It’s true, Flaugher’s work is a lot more than just selling students commonly available products — it involves frequent collaboration with other student groups to create awareness around sexual health initiatives for students. This includes educating students about reproductive health, consent, communication, sexual violence prevention and safer sex.

Flaugher has been working at UC Davis SHCS for six years and said that he thinks sex education is “more important than ever” since Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court case that legalized abortion nationwide in the United States, was overturned in 2022,

according to Planned Parenthood. But despite the importance of the topic, he thinks that because of the stigma surrounding sex, many people undermine the seriousness of sexual and reproductive health work.

Stephanie Ha, a fourth-year human development major and student coordinator with the sexual wellbeing team of the HEP, said that while presenting at residence halls, the team sometimes faces behavior from students that is disrespectful or otherwise conveys a lack of interest in the presentation.

“Educating them is our goal,” Ha said. “If they ask us something that they think is funny or disrespectful, we answer it very seriously to give them the best care that we can provide. And that usually that kind of makes them and the people around them realize that we are a resource, and we are here to support them. [Student coordinators] make sure that, if anything does get a bit too out of hand at the forefront, they handle it, and we only deliver a presentation if we are comfortable.”

Allyson Kahn, who, like Ha, is a fourth-year human development major and student coordinator with the sexual well-being team, said that talking about sex can be difficult. She said that because sexual activity is such a personal matter, tackling a project centered around sexual health in a respectful way can be challenging.

Every quarter, the students involved

Love Lab read books and articles and discuss different aspects of sexual health in order to become better equipped to provide information to students.

“We are in charge of reading ‘Sexual Citizens: A Landmark Study of Sex, Power, and Assault on Campus,’ [which is] a book by Jennifer S. Hirsch and Shamus Khan,” Kahn said. “It’s a chapter a week. Then, we discuss it at the end of the week at our weekly meeting. In the past, […] we were each in charge of bringing in an article to the meeting […] It definitely changes quarter to quarter, but we’re making sure that we have some way of taking in material about sexual health while we’re doing the work.”

The Love Lab team also gets a lot of feedback and information from the students that they serve.

“We’re always doing a survey, a focus group, putting polls on our Instagram stories,” Flaughter said. “We really try to get a lot of student feedback so that it is student-centered, and so that we can tailor information and resources that way.”

But it isn’t all serious conversations. The Love Lab acknowledges that sex is supposed to be fun. They hold Kahoot game nights at residential halls to engage with students and educate them on sexual health and safety in fun ways as well.

depict life-size environments could be a new way of teaching other food science concepts, such as the inspection of food processing and service facilities or creating virtual tours of industrial facilities and agricultural field sites.

“Going forward, the multisensory immersion room will transform how

many food products are evaluated by enabling research related to the interactions between consumers, food, and their surroundings,” Simmons said via email.

CITY OF DAVIS APPROVES NEW WINTER SHELTER PLAN, PARTNERSHIP WITH DOWNTOWN STREETS TEAM

BY LA RISSA VASQUEZ city@theaggie.org

On Oct. 18, at their weekly meeting, Davis City Council passed two proposals aimed to better support people experiencing homelessness in Davis: creating a 2022-2023 Emergency Winter Shelter and piloting a Downtown Streets Team (DST) program. The Council unanimously voted for both.

According to Chris Richardson, the Chief Program Officer of the Downtown Streets Team, the program will employ a 15-member team of unhoused people in the Davis community to clean areas around the city. In exchange, each team member will receive a stipend for basic needs and a case management representative to help them establish more permanent housing and employment.

“When we launch, we want to be a vital part of the community’s fight against homelessness and to build partnerships with other service providers that are long lasting,” Richardson said.

“A big part of the goal is to provide a low barrier entry point for unhoused

individuals to meet their basic needs to go from survival mode to goal setting mode.”

Case managers work extensively — 20 hours or more a week on average — according to Richardson. Each team member develops employment and interpersonal skills, receives assistance with building their resumes, preparing for interviews, increasing financial literacy, and applying to federal and state resources, according to the DST website.

“We provide a low barrier way for folks to start addressing their basic needs and engage with community resources, including affordable housing to put them on a path to long term selfsufficiency and housing,” Richardson said.

Although the DST program cannot provide physical shelter, the city of Davis will be contracting with the Davis Community Meals and Housing (DCMH) organization to operate an emergency winter shelter from November to the end of March 2023 for up to 10 individuals on a first come, first served basis.

Through comprehensive education, the Love Lab is advocating for sexual health on campus

The Love Lab is located at the HEP office on the third floor of the Health and Wellness Center. (Kazim Jafri / Aggie)

Downtown Streets Team to work with City of Davis to set up winter shelter, offer pay and support for unhoused community

The Department of Food Science and Technology launches their new sensory immersive room which will be used for more authentic product testing. (Christine Minarik / Aggie)

with the

SENATE ANSWERS PUBLIC QUESTIONS DURING QUARTERLY TOWN HALL MEETING

UC DAVIS STUDENTS ADVOCATE FOR BUYING CLOTHING SECOND-HAND

According to students, thrifting is a more sustainable and affordable alternative to fast fashion

BY REBEKA ZELJKO features@theaggie.org

BY SYDNEY AMESTOY campus@theaggie.org

Vice President JT Eden called the Nov. 3 Town Hall meeting to order at 6:35 p.m. in the CoHo inside of the Memorial Union. He then recited the UC Davis Land Acknowledgement.

The format of the hour-long Town Hall meeting consisted of members of the public asking the Senate questions, both in-person and over Zoom. Answers from the Senate were two-to-three minutes long.

The first question asked for the Senate’s thoughts on June’s canceled commencement ceremony, and their ideas for how to improve future graduation celebrations.

President Radhika Gawde was in attendance at the canceled commencement and provided her answer to the question.

“As of right now, [next year’s] ceremony will not be outside,” Gawde said. “No one wants to do that again. But the questions right now being considered are, should it be in Sacramento or should it be in Davis? Should they be scheduled ceremonies, or should it be [divided] by major?”

Another speaker in the crowd asked the Senate about ASUCD’s stance on recent antisemitic incidents and about what should be done by campus administration in response.

Senator Francisco Ojeda spoke on his recent meetings with Aggies for Israel, a Jewish student organization on campus, about the rise in antisemitism.

“[Administration] has not handled the antisemitism on campus very well, which is really disheartening to me,” Senator Zeph Schnelbach said. “However, beyond meetings with [administration], there’s not much we can really do, because our association only represents the student body and we can only act with the student body in our own capacity.”

Another member of the public brought attention to delays in pay for specific student workers who were women of color.

According to Eden, there are more incidents of this happening to a variety of other student-workers.

“I’ll take personal accountability that some of these instances are basically poor communication,” Eden said. “But overall, it has to do with how payroll is processed.”

Gawde also responded to the question, elaborating on Eden’s answer by explaining how pay is processed.

“They’re all very unsatisfying answers that I have to give,” Gawde said. “A lot of it is because of the transition to UCPath. Their one little office does hiring and onboarding for the entire UC system.”

Next in the discussion was the question of what ASUCD has done besides holding meetings with the administration following the Turning Point USA (TPUSA) protest.

“Hypothetically, if there was a [Registered Student Organization] on campus that espoused what I thought to be bigoted speech and I wanted to get rid of them, [there isn’t a way to do so],” Gawde said. “I’ve looked into every ethical way possible.”

Gawde went on to say that supporting the Student Community Center and continuing to hold meetings with administrators are the two ways that ASUCD plans to move forward.

Each senator and chairperson in attendance, by the request of a member of the public, then reported on the legislation they’ve contributed to or actions they’ve taken to serve the student body this quarter.

Senator Aarushi Raghunathan said that she has been working on reducing rent at The Green at West Village.

Senator Celeste Palmer said that she has been collaborating with various ASUCD units and committees, as well as working on student sustainability efforts.

Senator Alexis Reyes said that she has been working with The Pantry and on numerous mental health directives on campus.

Senator Vaneza Gonzaga said that she has been working alongside the Student Health and Wellness Committee.

Senator Julia Shurman said that she has been meeting with the Disability Rights Advocacy Committee and working on making Senate meetings more accessible to members of the public with disabilities.

Senator Ojeda said that he has been working with Senator Stephen Fujimoto regarding the rules for collecting a certain number of signatures for elections.

Senator Gaius Ilupeju said that he has been talking with, and trying to secure more funding for, immigrant centers on campus.

Chloe Harmon, a second-year global disease biology major, is one of many who believes buying second-hand is economically and environmentally important. As an organizer for Aggie Trading Post, a student-run free clothing exchange, Harmon contributes to the effort to make second-hand, sustainable clothing more easily available in the Davis community.

“There are many things we can do as consumers: care, repair and rewear,” Harmon said. “It’s important to upcycle, buy from second-hand retailers and to take care of the clothing you already own to make it last, and buy only what you really need.”

But Harmon is not the only one working to make an impact. In recent years, thrifting, online clothing resale apps and vintage stores have become increasingly popular. The global secondhand apparel market is expected to grow three times faster than the overall global apparel market, according to the ThredUp resale report.

“Buying second-hand forces you to develop a personal style,” Harmon said. “It’s all about using what you have and cultivating your own closet […] you don’t really have the option to do that with fast fashion where the trends are chosen for you.”

The appeal of buying second-hand and creating a unique style is prevalent in Davis. Olivia Hurley, a third-year design major, focuses on students’ expression and second-hand fashion through the popular Instagram profile, @ucdfits.

What began as a hand-me-down tradition with her mom turned into a good eye for style and thrifting, a forte

Hurley uses to co-run the account.

“A lot of it started with my mom,” Hurley said. “Most of the time I’m wearing a piece from my mom […] she saved a lot of her clothes from when she was younger and she has always been a second-hand shopper.”

Hurley helps run this account to capture the unique and often thrifted pieces students wear on campus.

“I would always see people wearing their cool outfits and unique pieces so me and my friends thought, let’s just start hyping them up,” Hurley said.

The account is one of many on social media that advocates for shopping second-hand and turning towards sustainable alternatives in fashion. Odinaka Okegbe, a fourthyear biological sciences major, said social media originally convinced him to begin thrifting and buying pre-owned clothing.

“[Thrifting] was really getting popular to the point where I wasn’t just seeing people thrift on YouTube or Instagram, but also some of my close friends were doing it as well,” Okegbe said. “So I decided to try it, and I’ve been doing so ever since.”

Beyond aesthetics, there is an urgent environmental reason to buy secondhand. Just 15% of the world’s discarded clothing gets donated or recycled, while 85% of it goes to landfills, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). That is 21 billion pounds of textile waste going to landfills every year. The EPA also estimates that the United States generates an average of 25 billion pounds of textiles per year, which is about 82 pounds of textiles per US resident.

The overproduction, waste and

overconsumption within the fast fashion industry are detrimental to the environment, according to Kenny Gagni, the owner of Treehouse Vintage in Davis.

“Sustainability is important to us at Treehouse Vintage,” Gagni said in an Instagram Direct Message. “We believe in our anti-fast fashion mantra because fast fashion causes excess in landfills, destructive carbon emissions, as well as questions in ethics [at] factories.”

Second-hand shopping offers a solution and is oftentimes even more affordable than buying from fast fashion retailers, according to Maryah Gilbert, a third-year political science major.

“I think clothing is a really easy way for people to consciously do better at being less wasteful and promoting sustainable habits,” Gilbert said. “I just recently got a dress from the art market, and everyone there is a student or a community member which is great to keep things circulating in the community. It’s a really nice thing.”

In addition to its environmental benefits, Harmon believes secondhand clothing is better quality than fast fashion clothing.

“Clothing items from Shein are so poorly made,” Harmon said. “You’re going to throw it out immediately. That’s why I like vintage clothing; I can imagine these clothing items pretty much lasting me my whole life. It’s an investment to buy second-hand.”

Similarly, Okegbe also refrains from buying fast fashion because of its lack of longevity.

THE DAVIS FIRE DEPARTMENT HOSTS OPEN HOUSE AS PART OF FIRE PREVENTION MONTH

Station 31 opened its doors to the public to teach about fire prevention, fire safety

BY ANTHONY W. ZAMMIKIEL city@theaggie.org

On Oct. 29, the Davis Fire Department (DFD) commemorated Fire Prevention Month by hosting an open house at Station 31, located at 530 5th St. Starting at 10 a.m., firefighters operating the 5th Street station hosted demonstrations and activities for adults and children alike to learn more about fire prevention and safety. The DFD also had a barbecue outside the station, providing free hot dogs for the families attending the event.

At the open house, there were five separate demonstrations. During one, firefighters showed attendees how technological advantages assist them with carrying heavier weights. They also allowed children to try on the attire that station members wear while responding to emergency events. During the main demonstration of the day, which occurred on a blockedoff section of E Street between 4th and 5th Streets, firefighters set up an inflatable room in which they showed children how to prevent fires from starting as well as how to respond if a fire does start.

According to Patrick Sandholt, the fire marshal for Station 31, the event was meant to be both positive and informative. He said that it was mainly intended to educate younger members of the public about what to do in the case of a fire-related emergency.

“Really, the purpose of the event is to educate the public on fire safety, to teach kids fire safety and to be comfortable with being around the fire department,” Sandholt said. “The main message here is to teach kids to stop, drop and roll, to call 9-1-1 in case of an emergency and to not play with matches.”

Sandholt said that throughout the month of October, the DFD also visited all the public elementary schools in Davis to hold assemblies for

Though the open house concluded

the official DFD

Davis’s Fire Prevention Month

has been observed by the city ever since former City Council Member and former Davis Mayor Brett Lee formalized the event on behalf of city council on Oct. 7, 2014.

“In recognition of Fire Prevention Month, October 2014, the city of Davis, California is committed to ensure the safety and security of all those living and visiting Davis,” Lee

The Yolo County SPCA Thrift Store raises money and awareness for their animal rescue programs and shelter. (Christine Minarik / Aggie)

During Nov. 3 meeting, senators answered questions about June’s canceled commencement ceremony and ASUCD’s response to the TPUSA protest

The Davis Fire Department holds a BBQ for the community and students at Fire Station 31 on 5th Street. (Anthony Zammikiel / Aggie) first-grade classes during which they taught students how to stay safe and prevent fires from starting.

the activities that

hosted for Fire Prevention Month, Sandholt said that Station 31 is always open for the public to come and tour during normal business hours.

STUDENT CENTERS

CELEBRATE DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS WITH COMMUNITY ALTARS

Día de Los Muertos altars and celebrations on campus foster a home away from home for Latinx students

BY MARIA MARTINEZ CASTRO features@theaggie.org

Nov. 1 and 2 mark a celebration of remembrance, community and love for many people of Mexican heritage all over the world and Latinx communities in the United States. Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is an opportunity for people to celebrate and honor the lives of loved ones who have passed. Many people celebrate by curating beautiful and colorful “altares” (altars) with “ofrendas” (offerings) in the form of a loved one’s photograph, favorite food or another representation of their character and lived experiences.

This year, student resource centers on campus celebrated the holiday by organizing community altares.

The Center for Chicanx and Latinx Academic Student Success (CCLASS or El Centro) has continued its annual tradition of organizing a community altar since its opening in 2017. Roxanne Flores, Office Coordinator of El Centro, shares that the center’s altar is meant to garner a sense of community on campus and beyond.

“We invite all,” Flores said. “It doesn’t matter [if it’s] students, faculty, staff, community members, people who live in Davis. We just want everyone to contribute to our altar to build a sense of community [and] belonging and help our students feel at home if this is something that they do in their homes too.”

In organizing culturally relevant programming for Latinx students, student centers allow students to thrive by creating safe spaces that recognize their identities and culture. Flores

views the curating of the altar as an opportunity to connect with students and uplift them in their journey throughout higher education.

“I think first and foremost it’s because [the altar] really helps us to retain our students,” Flores said. “So when our community has a sense of a home away from home, which is what we try to provide here at El Centro, they feel more empowered to do well. They feel more supported to reach out, to ask for help.”

Karla Carranza and Penny Diaz, who are community leaders at the Women’s Resources and Research Center (WRRC), took the opportunity to celebrate community on campus and honor lives lost to gendered violence.

Carranza, a second-year political science major, shared the importance of honoring and celebrating the lives of people who are not recognized properly.

“We have all these different altares going on around campus, but one component we wanted to remember is that there are a lot of victims to gendered violence, and I feel like their stories often go unheard and untold,” Carranza said. “One of the big things of Día de Los Muertos is remembering all these people and their lives, and we wanted to make sure we’re keeping their memories alive, all while reminding people that there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done.”

Diaz, a third-year English major, emphasized the importance of seeing victims of gendered violence through their humanity rather than through

their suffering.

“Unfortunately, a lot of victims of gender-based violence are just turned into statistics,” Diaz said. “They’re defined by the very gruesome aftermath of their death and are painted as victims and only remembered in the ways that they died or in the ways they suffered or [were] persecuted. But our focus for Día de Los Muertos is to remember that they were people first and not defined by what other people did to them.”

Beyond honoring lives lost to gendered violence, Carranza and Diaz organized the Día de Los Muertos altar to create a sense of community and belonging for Chicanx and Latinx students on campus and in the WRRC.

“With Día de Los Muertos, at least as a Latinx student, I feel like oftentimes it’s hard to find representation on campus,” Carranza said. “Like, I don’t want to say the altar is just meant for Latinx students, but it’s nice to see more of our culture be represented in these spaces. We’re trying to get more Latinx students to come into the center and interact with us and understand that these spaces are meant for you as well, not just for other people. It’s meant for everyone to enjoy and participate.”

While UC Davis is a campus committed to diversity and inclusion according to its Principles of Community, Carranza explained that there are times when some students feel that they and their celebrations and traditions are not represented.

NO NEED TO PRY, MATE: NONINVASIVE TESTING OF MOUNTAIN GORILLA SALIVA

Researchers at UC Davis use chewed plants to test gorillas for human viruses

BY LILLY ACKERMAN science@theaggie.org

A recent study by faculty at the One Health Institute of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has found no evidence of human herpesviruses (human HSV-1) in mountain gorilla populations. The study involved a noninvasive sampling technique, the first of its kind used to definitively test for disease in mountain gorilla saliva.

The saliva sampling technique was introduced by Dr. Tierra Smiley Evans, a Ph.D. veterinarian researcher at the One Health Institute and the Wildlife Health Center (WHC) at UC Davis and the lead author of the study. This involves extracting the saliva contained in mouthfuls of chewed up plants that gorillas discard and testing for a variety of diseases. In this case, Evans and her team tested the samples for human herpesviruses, which pose concerns to wild gorilla populations.

“I think what’s really exciting about this method is that it can be done entirely noninvasively, and you don’t need to interrupt [the gorillas’] daily activities at all,” Evans said.

The saliva in chewed plants is

collected without direct gorilla contact, as opposed to a blood or saliva sample taken directly from the animal after anesthesia. This keeps transmission risk and disruption by humans to a minimum.

Since 2009, UC Davis’ WHC has been partnered with the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, an organization dedicated to the conservation of mountain gorillas in Central Africa. Their collaboration is known as Gorilla Doctors, which was created with the goal of monitoring and providing veterinary care to mountain gorillas.

Remaining mountain gorilla populations are small, and they are habituated to human presence due to research, ecotourism and gorilla trekking. This allows for individualized care and close monitoring of the populations for diseases by the veterinarians in the Gorilla Doctors.

“We know the individual, and we have a biospecimen from them, which is really unique for a lot of endangered species. [It] allows us to do some pretty cool stuff,” Evans said.

MEET UC DAVIS’S VERY OWN ‘STORM CHASER,’ COLIN MCCARTHY

The UC Davis student behind popular weather Twitter account @US_Stormwatch discusses weather reporting, climate change concerns and family bonding

BY UMAIMA EJAZ features@theaggie.org

For as long as he can remember, Colin McCarthy has been chasing thunderstorms. The UC Davis firstyear atmospheric science major covers extreme weather all over the world on his Twitter page, @US_Stormwatch. He started the account when he was in eighth grade, looking to learn more about weather, and today, he has over 64,000 followers. Most recently, his coverage of Hurricane Ian attracted over 30 million views in a week on Twitter.

“I knew there was a great presence of meteorologists and climatologists on Twitter that I could learn a lot more from,” Colin said. “But after joining Twitter, I started doing my own updates. I originally stuck to California, and then over the last

couple years, I’ve expanded out to national and then international.”

From a very early age, Colin said he would backpack in mountain regions with his family and discuss weather conditions with his father, Kevin McCarthy, who is a UC Davis alumnus. In 1988, Kevin was in the first environmental policy and planning class that the university ever offered.

Colin said that he and his father have developed a strong bond through their shared interest in weather. They’ve been through a lot together, from reading weather patterns on top of mountains to running away from a hail storm during their trip to Yosemite in 2015.

“I’d never seen such dark clouds in my life,” Colin said. “We’re all like, ‘We’ve got to outrun the storm,’ but just then, all of a sudden, this big piece of hail falls down on the back

of my dad’s shirt. And after that, hail just starts pounding the ground. This didn’t stop for multiple hours. There was heavy rain, hail and lightning. And I still remember when there was one flash, one strike so close that it struck right behind me. My whole vision went white for half a second. I had never experienced something so wild.”

The year after their Yosemite trip, Colin got a weather station for Christmas, which allowed him to stay up-to-date on the weather through his own observations.

“After he got the weather station, he would track the data,” said Kathleen Gallagher, Colin’s mother. “He would watch highs and lows and study the wind patterns. As a mother, it was quite incredible to watch.”

Colin’s brother, Jack McCarthy, recalls that spending time together was always about “chasing storms.” He said his younger brother’s fame wasn’t unexpected.

“As a brother, I’m so proud of him,” Jack said. “I knew this was his passion, and that he would do something great with it, but to experience all of this with him seems surreal.”

This year, weather conditions have been severe globally. In addition to Hurricane Ian, Colin has reported on floods in Pakistan, heatwaves in Europe and a record-breaking heatwave in China. These events and other weather-related crises have been linked to climate change and global warming, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Colin expressed his specific concerns for California as the world experiences severe weather.

“My biggest concern at the moment is ‘climate whiplash,’” Colin said. “It’s about average precipitation risk in the future in California. [Precipitation is] not really supposed

to decrease or increase significantly, but we will have these huge periods of drought and floods — a huge kind of whiplash between these really wet years and then these really dry years. It’s very hard to tackle from a water storage standpoint.”

Water reservoirs like the Colorado River are suffering due to an ongoing drought, according to CalMatters.org. Floods may seem impossible when California is seeing so little rain and extreme water shortages, but historical patterns say otherwise. Colin said that, while the earthquakes predicted to occur at the San Andreas fault are concerning, he is more worried about a potential mega-flood in the future.

“We don’t exactly know when, but very likely, in the next several decades, we’ll see the biggest flood in centuries,” Colin said. “It’s happening

every 150 to 200 years in California on average. But with climate change, there’s more water in the atmosphere. The last mega-flood that happened was around the 1860s, and it was such a severe flood that the Central Valley actually became an inland sea for a certain period of time.”

Colin said he never expected he would discover his career interests at a young age or find fame through social media reporting, but he said he hopes to continue on this path.

“I didn’t imagine getting verified or seeing this amazing, amazing growth,” Colin said. “It’s hard to know where I see myself in the future, but I’d like to think I could be anywhere across the world, honestly. Weather and climate applies to anyone on Earth, so I expect to be traveling a lot and hopefully have a job that I love.”

Gorilla in Central Africa snacking on vegetation (Dr. Tierra Smiley Evans / Courtesy)

The ofrenda for Día de los Muertos that the Center for Chicanx and Latinx Academic Student Success put up in celebration. (Claire Diepenbrock / Aggie)

Colin McCarthy with his family. (from left to right: father Kevin McCarthy, brother Jack McCarthy, mother Kathleen Gallagher, Colin McCarthy) (Colin McCarthy / Courtesy)

Colin McCarthy’s at-home weather station. (Colin McCarthy / Courtesy)

ARTS & CULTURE

COMMENTARY: WHY YOU SHOULD EMBRACE YOUR BAD WRITING

Start treating writing as a process, not a singular race to perfection

BY ADHITHI ANJALI arts@theaggie.org

We’ve all been there — in the only seat you could find, hunched over your laptop, convincing yourself that now you’re going to get it together. If you could just sit down, maybe in the library — or no, the atmosphere of the coffee shop will definitely get you going — the essay will spill out from your head. But it doesn’t. Instead, you’re writing a word, deleting, rewriting, rewording and searching up Thesaurus.com as you trap yourself in the perpetual loop between writer and editor.

You desperately try to lay down each syllable with enough precision that your future self won’t regret it, but maybe it’s okay if they do. Now might not be the time when you establish yourself as the perfect writer, whether in personal or academic works. But, you can work towards being the disciplined essayist you need to be by learning to embrace your bad writing.

Learning to shut down your inner critic, the voice that is convinced you do not have enough research, enough

knowledge or enough skill to get your work done, is the first step. The fact is, you do not know if this criticism is warranted until you actually start writing.

The goal has to shift from trying to fulfill an ideal breadth of knowledge to just getting started. If you find yourself struggling more than usual, try stepping back and simply writing out your thoughts. Empty all the ideas from your mind, no matter how tangled or unfinished, onto the page.

Whether it comes to essays, fiction or poetry, the intention of throwing your mind at the wall is to unravel your own insecurities when it comes to filling a page. It is about treating writing as a creative exercise, a way for you to reorder ideas in your brain. This is a game won with all your cards on the table, so there is no need to hide ideas from your own paper.

READ MORE AT THEAGGIE.ORG

‘THE MACABRE: A HARPSICHORD HALLOWEEN’ DISPLAYED THE HARPSICHORD’S VERSATILITY

Harpsichordist Faythe Vollrath performs a wide selection of pieces, from classical fugues to popular Halloween music

BY SARAH HAN arts@theaggie.org

On Oct. 27, harpsichordist and UC Davis lecturer in music Faythe Vollrath gave a performance at the Recital Hall in Ann E. Pitzer Center in honor of Halloween. From pieces by Bach to Rorem, she demonstrated the various capabilities of the harpsichord.

The performance began with “Prelude in B minor, BWV 923” by Johann Sebastian Bach. The piece immediately started with quick, successive notes, which gave the illusion of dynamics, even though the harpsichord can’t actually produce them. Vollrath utilized a lot of facial expressions, which helped establish the intense, dramatic and subtle sections of the piece. The piece itself consisted of variations of the main theme, which was unexpected but engaging.

Vollrath then played Domenico Scarlatti’s “Sonata in G minor, K. 31” and “Fuga in G minor ‘Cat Fugue’ K.30.” The sonata had a choppy beginning, with short spurts of chords that grabbed the audience’s attention. A falling set of notes followed these chords, creating a nice contrast. The Fuga, on the other hand, was distinctively fluid. The last note was particularly dissonant, and Vollrath did a great job in making the usual harpsichord sound, which is quite choppy and detached, sound connected and streamlined.

The next piece was “Carnival of the Souls” by Verne Langon. What stood out to me the most was the bassline, which was structured yet different with every phrase. This established the typical creepy mood of Halloween, which was a nice change from more classical pieces. The audience seemed to notice the Halloween aspects in the piece, which created a light-hearted atmosphere in the hall.

Following that piece was “Larghetto in G minor, Inspired by Mozart” by Rosemary Brown. Contrary to “Carnival of the Souls,” this piece was

far more melancholic and empathetic. Vollrath played in such an emotional way that I felt as though I understood the composer’s thoughts when writing the music.

Vollrath played “Jekyll and Hyde” by James Dorsa next, which was the complete opposite pace of the previous song; there were dramatic pauses in the beginning, unexpected, almost rampage-like spurts of notes in the middle and pleasant running notes sprinkled throughout the piece. This is one aspect I noticed and enjoyed about Vollrath’s performance — she ordered songs of different tones and pace to create a contrast and keep the performance engaging.

Fraçois Couperin’s “Les ombre errantes from the twenty-fifth ordre” came next. I noticed that the entire piece consisted of similar variations of a single melody. The tone was despondent yet accepting because of the mixture of major and minor sections. This was definitely my favorite piece out of the entire performance.

Changing the pace, Vollrath performed “Danse Macabre” by Camille Saint-Saëns next. In this piece particularly, the harpsichord resembled the harp, especially in the beginning.

Whether Vollrath did that intentionally or not, I enjoyed listening to a different sound from the harpsichord. The piece itself had a Halloween feel, with a progressively fast rhythm that sounded like someone creeping up on you. The audience also joined in by snapping every beat, which was entertaining.

The performance ended with “Spiders” by Ned Rorem; indeed, the individual notes sounded like spiders speedily creeping around. In honor of Halloween, I thought that this piece was not only appropriate but also a spirited way to end the performance.

BY VIVI KIM arts@theaggie.org

Album: “Tradition” by Monsune (2019)

Marking the R&B singer-songwriter Monsune’s debut EP and latest release, this album is filled with an eclectic set of sounds ranging from soft acoustic to psychedelic guitar arrangements. It uses a variety of samples and draws inspiration from artists of several genres, including hip hop and alternative pop. “Mountain,” one of my favorite tracks from the five, is an interesting blend of both soft, subdued vocals and a vibrant, distorted guitar instrumental, abruptly switching between the two throughout the song. In an interview with Ones to Watch, Monsune describes the album as embodying the chaotic transition from adolescence to adulthood, where just about anything can be pieced into a confusing yet novel combination of ideas. If you are looking for a versatile and collectively soulful set of indie tracks, I recommend giving this album a listen.

Book: “The Time Machine” by H. G. Wells (1895)

Considered a pioneering work of science fiction, H. G. Wells’ novel “The Time Machine” is a must read for sci-fi enthusiasts and casual book lovers alike. The story is both an inspiring time travel classic and a social commentary on emerging concepts of Wells’ own time period. An anonymous scientist sends himself to the year 802,701 A.D., where he discovers two evolved species living in what was once 19th century London. The Upperworld society of Eloi are depicted as a gentle and frail group of creatures, preyed upon by the grossly inhuman Underworld society of Morlocks. Wells uses these unique depictions to illustrate his views on class division, social degeneration, a world refined by natural selection and the impending dangers of human civilization. Despite the heavy themes, I’d say the novel is a fairly short read and definitely worthwhile.

TV Show: “Hellbound” (2021)

Endlessly thought-provoking, cynical and verging on philosophical, the fantasy horror drama “Hellbound” is perfect for those unafraid to explore darker genres. It takes a strong jab at themes of mortality, religion, justice and corruption through two compelling story arcs. To sum up the brutal exposition of this series in a single question: What would you do if death literally came knocking on your door or, rather, stampeding from the depths of hell and vigorously pummeling down your door? It’s a horrifying reality to imagine but entertaining nonetheless. What truly marveled me about the show is how it took this seemingly outlandish plot and formulated a narrative that was complex and full of conviction, speaking to audiences about the power of mass manipulation. Following the first episode is a disturbing plot twist and a tear-jerking cliffhanger as the season finale, both making the series worth a watch.

Movie: “Weathering With You” by Makoto Shinkai (2019)

In honor and anticipation of Makoto Shinkai’s upcoming film, I recommend watching one of his past celebrated works, “Weathering With You,” a visually astounding animated fantasy that truly lives up to the name of the distinguished Japanese director. The film tells the story of Hodaka Morishima, a poor high school runaway, and Hina Amano, an orphan girl with the miraculous ability to manipulate the weather. As Tokyo is flooded with unceasing rain and in desperate need of a clear sky, the two meet and turn Hina’s gift into a traveling weather service. Shinkai builds an engaging story while also incorporating themes of old Japanese myth, culture and geography. Melancholic yet spirited and overall beautifully illustrated, this film is equally worth watching now or saving for a rainy day.

ASUCD’S ENTERTAINMENT COUNCIL’S SUNSET FEST BRINGS TOGETHER UC DAVIS COMMUNITY

Directors, volunteers and performers share what makes the cost-free concert so memorable

BY ANA BACH AND RUMA POUDELL arts@theaggie.org

Last week, ASUCD’s Entertainment Council hosted Sunset Fest, an immersive concert for students that featured Remi Wolf, student performances and fun activities.

The event is one of many actions taken by ASUCD in an attempt to nurture the student community and promote a diversity of arts and culture on campus. The main goal is for students to have an outlet to create new connections and instill relationships within the school’s community.

Remi Wolf was the featured artist for this event. Her music borders indie pop and a modernized alternative R&B sound.

When she performed her most wellknown song, “Photo ID,” the crowd responded enthusiastically. For one song, she switched with her drummer to play the percussion while they covered vocals. She absolutely nailed the drum set, while the drummer performed an anthem of affirmations centered around Dua Lipa. It was amazing to see how her versatility shines in every song of her set.

Beyond the music, Wolf and her band ensured that the crowd on the Quad was in good spirits. In honor of Halloween, her band came dressed in costumes and encouraged the crowd to dress up as well. This energy was a huge factor in the overall experience of the concert and what really made everyone have as much fun as they did.

Performers, directors and volunteers of the event shared remarks with us about Sunset Fest and how it has positively impacted both community health and individual development.

Alyssa Landis and Cassidy Farm, who are both a part of the Polynesian Dance Group on campus, spoke about

“Getting to share our culture, or the culture of our clubs, like Polynesian dance, is just really exciting,” Farms said. “As soon as I am on stage, I feel inspired to perform.”

why they wanted to be involved in the student production.

Alyssa Labdis continues on about the community ideals within the club that work towards creating a nurturing environment and has provided them with a support system in multiple areas of their lives.

Local talent groups and headliner Remi Wolf performed at SunsetFest hosted by

ASUCD, kicking off the Halloween Weekend. (Isabella Smithsuvan

THE EDITORIAL BOARD ENCOURAGES YOU TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE OF THE AROMANTIC AND ASEXUAL COMMUNITIES

Become a better ally by educating yourself and including ace and aro people in your conversations

Asexual Awareness Week, or “Ace Week,” started on Oct. 23 and ended on Oct. 29. Ace Week aimed to educate the public on the many different asexual (ace) and aromantic (aro) identities that exist. While Ace Week has come to an end, The Editorial Board recognizes the continued importance of understanding this diverse spectrum on college campuses.

While living in a college town like Davis, it’s not uncommon to hear your friends talk about hookup culture, discuss their sex lives or even ask you

about your own. It is important for people to have healthy discussions about sex and sexuality, and the progress here should not be undermined, but it can be a very isolating experience for those on the ace spectrum, also known as the acespec.

According to the Asexual Visibility and Education network, approximately only 1% of the population identifies as asexual, but this number is generally debated by the ace community. While it is possible that only 1% of the population is ace, this low percentage could also be explained by a lack of common knowledge about the ace spectrum.

In recent years, education about the LGBTQIA+ community has improved. However, society still has a long way to go, including increasing representation of the ace and aro communities, as some people hold false stereotypes such as assuming that being asexual just means “not liking sex.”

However, in the same way sexuality is a spectrum, asexuality is also a spectrum. The generally accepted definition for asexuality is “little to no sexual attraction.” Ace people can chose to have or not to have sex. Identities like demisexuality include people who only feel sexual attraction to someone they have a deep personal relationship with. Other identities such as gray-asexuality, graysexuality or gray-ace are ace people

who feel little sexual attraction. As the label suggests, there is a gray area between asexuality and sexuality.

Ace people generally fall into one of three categories regarding their attitudes towards sex. They can be sex-repulsed, meaning they are disinterested in sex, sex-neutral or sex-indifferent, meaning not minding sex but not desiring it, or sex-positive or sex-favorable, meaning they can enjoy sex without feeling sexual attraction to others. This might come off as confusing to those who aren’t acespec, but it’s important to understand that someone’s libido is different from sexual attraction.

While asexuality describes an identity on the spectrum of sexual attraction, aromantic is an identity on the spectrum of romantic attraction, and these identities are not mutually exclusive. Some aro people are grayromantic, which means that they rarely experience romantic attraction, while others feel little to none at all.

We encourage you to be aware that there are people who may feel differently about sexual and romantic relationships and to use more inclusive language in your conversations about these topics. Understanding these definitions is a good first step in doing so.

WRITTEN BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT TO HAVE HOBBIES

Partaking in extracurriculars is essential for a balanced life

BY JENA TUFAIL jjtufail@theaggie.org

Looking back on my first year at UC Davis, I realize that, besides doing school work, hanging out with friends and just surviving, I did absolutely nothing. My life revolved around college and nothing else.

A big reason why it’s harder to commit to something “fun” is because we are still emerging from online instruction. For me, it has become increasingly difficult to separate my academics from the rest of my daily life, and as a result, I haven’t taken up any hobbies.

I remember being in elementary school and having an immense amount of hobbies. From horseback riding, to school clubs, to reading and more, I pretty much had the time to pick up and do anything I wanted when I was younger. However, when I entered high school and then college, it became much more difficult to fit hobbies into my schedule — and sometimes I don’t even feel like I have the energy to do something fun through all the stress.

However, I never realized how important hobbies can be when you’re in college. Hobbies are a great way to relieve stress by taking your mind off of school work. They also help break up work and daily life by creating time to do something that you enjoy.

Not only are hobbies a great way to relieve stress but, depending on the hobby, they can help you develop new skills, improve your efficiency, enhance your creativity, better your time management, patience and so much more!

The lucky few can integrate their hobbies directly into their work or major, but it’s a little different for most of us. We need to find unrelated hobbies that we can use to break up our days and make life a little sweeter. It is important to experiment and try new things out until you find something you truly enjoy.

This past year I have tried to revert back to hobbies I used to like when I was younger, specifically seasonal hobbies. When I was a kid, I found that it was sometimes hard to commit to a hobby for a long time. Because of this, I would try a new activity for a few months and then switch it up. I have been adhering to this pattern over the last year as well. For example, in winter and spring I taught myself to crochet and knit again, whereas in the summer I read books and drew.

The amount of potential hobbies are endless. Just remember, it’s just as important to avoid burnout from your hobbies as it is to not get burnt out

can

ENGLISH CLASSES CAN BE FUFULLING FOR ANY MAJOR

BY OWEN RUDERMAN opinion@theaggie.org

It’s no secret that the humanities are being deprioritized by the workforce and, consequently, by students. The end of 2021 marked the eighth consecutive year that college graduates in the humanities have been declining. STEM fields like computer science, on the other hand, have grown tremendously. According to one study, computer science bachelor’s degrees rose by 74% between 2009 and 2015, compared to a 16% growth rate across other fields. However, even though the job market seems to be prioritizing STEM and STEM-related fields, that doesn’t mean that other majors are useless. The skills I’ve learned as an English major, for example, have helped me tremendously in my daily and professional life — it turns out that being able to critically think through an argument and then synthesize a coherent response is a useful skill.

I strongly believe that a well-rounded curriculum makes for a well-rounded person. That’s why I recommend that students take English classes regardless of their major. After all, no matter what career you secure after school, having to write professionally is inevitable.

For example, many companies may require you to fill out paperwork or draft memos. At the very least, you’ll be sending emails or using something like Slack to communicate with coworkers. Learning how to properly express yourself and present information through the written word is an invaluable skill in these situations.

Because skills like these are so universally important, taking an English class is never a waste of time. You will be able to take these skills and apply them in a number of different situations, including your daily life. For example, after learning to write clearly, your

emails to professors will become more persuasive and writing a synopsis of a lab report, for example, might get easier.

Now, I know that you’re probably thinking something like, “This guy’s an English major, of course he’s going to tell me to take these classes.” But I actually started my college career as a computer science major, and I’ve taken a variety of STEM courses in my time. I can confidently tell you that the skills you gain from an English class are beneficial to any career.

But don’t take my word for it. According to Yale University, experience in English gives you “tools that never lose value,” “the ability to write intelligently, beautifully, and persuasively” and “the potential to become a holistic person” to name a few.

It seems like, in many cases, skills in English are falling to the wayside. Humanities and liberal arts are being

deprioritized in favor of majors that promise bigger paychecks. But the truth is that universal skills, like proficiency in writing, are always going to be useful. It’s important to use your time in college to mold yourself into a well-rounded and capable person. After all, who do you think is going to get the job; the person

who has the slightly more impressive grades in school but composes the worst emails of all time, or the person who has decent grades but crafts the most persuasive job application of the decade? Trust me when I tell you that it’s the latter.

from your classes. You shouldn’t have to be forcing yourself to partake in your hobbies.

It

be tough working non-stop towards your goals in college, so it’s important to have a way to take a step

back and relieve your stress through a hobby. We don’t want all our days to go through the same routines for the rest of our time at Davis; it’s not only boring, but it can add even more stress to your daily life. Break up your days by

including a hobby and see how much more productive you get when you’re not just focused on your academic and social life.

Flaughter said students are often so under-educated about sexual health on campus that they have no idea what is covered by their insurance and what is not. According to Kahn, this is when SCHS jumps in.

“The services that the Student Health and Wellness Center provide are covered by UC SHIP for students who have it, so they don’t pay anything when they come to the Student Health Center,” Kahn said. “But then we have more than half of the students we see not having UC SHIP, and they have to pay a $15 visit fee, plus $10 per test. It’d be great to provide free testing.”

Everyone has a different relationship with sex and approaches it in a different manner. Flaughter said that while some people will accept new information provided by sexual education organizations, others may outright reject the information based on their own views and beliefs or deflect from their own discomfort with humor and irreverence. The Love Lab tries to meet these students where they are in a respectful manner, toeing the line

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The shelter will be located in a city-owned house near the Davis Fire Department headquarters in Downtown Davis. Bill Pride, the executive director of DCMH, discussed some of the challenges that the shelter could face in the coming year.

“Getting the right staff and volunteers has been the biggest challenge for us the past few years due to [COVID-19] and other issues,” Pride said. “Our shelter will be collaborating with HEART Davis, the city of Davis and others to support the shelter with food for residents, services and necessary supplies.”

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“I’m not a fan of fast fashion whatsoever,” Okegbe said. “I never liked the idea of buying a clothing piece that wasn’t going to last me at least two years. It’s just wasteful and honestly pointless,” Okegbe said.

On the other hand, thrift stores can be inconvenient for people to buy all their clothes from. Okegbe said that not everyone has the time to sift through racks of clothing, and not everyone is guaranteed to find the exact size or item they are looking for.

“While I do endorse thrifting and stuff akin to it, it has its downsides,” Okegbe said. “For people like me with larger builds, it’s difficult to find second-hand clothes that actually fit you, especially bottoms.”

Additionally, Gilbert said buying second-hand, especially from curated vintage stores or online resellers, is not an affordable option for some people.

“It’s definitely important to me that cheap and sustainable clothing is accessible to me and something that

between providing serious information and having fun with the work they do.

“I do think it is important for us to recognize no matter your beliefs, everyone needs sexual health support,” Flaugher said. “There are always going to be challenges in the work. I definitely think stigma is always going to exist in some form because everyone’s different — unanimous approval does not exist. That’s one reason why we try to focus so much on policy work, organizational development and campus-wide initiatives — we want to try to change the culture, not just educate stigma out of people. We want to really change policies, to make our work and discussions about sexual health more normal and approachable.”

Ha said it is vital to make sure you and your sexual partners are safe, but it can be a daunting task to learn how to acquire those skills. Thankfully, students don’t have to do this alone. Even when it may be uncomfortable to open up about specific concerns, the Love Lab is a safe place to do so.

Mountain gorillas are an endangered species, limited to only small ranges in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to Evans. They live in biodiverse forests, so they have a wide variety of vegetation to try in search of a tasty bite. Most of their day is spent eating the fleshy parts of plants and discarding chewed-up piles of remains that they dislike.

One gorilla’s trash is a researcher’s treasure — Evans and the Gorilla Doctors team would wait nearby for these piles to be dropped as the gorillas continued their quests for food. When a gorilla had moved on to another plant and the coast was clear, the veterinarians collected the discarded mouthful and recorded the identity of the gorilla.

Using this technique, Evans and staff at Gorilla Doctors tested both remaining populations of mountain gorillas for human herpesviruses. Fortunately, the study found no evidence of human HSV-1 in mountain gorillas.

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“Our results indicate that wild mountain gorilla populations were not infected with human HSV-1 at the time of sample collection, despite known frequent direct contact between mountain gorillas and humans,” the study reads.

Dr. Kirsten Gilardi, the executive director of Gorilla Doctors, director of UC Davis’ WHC and co-author on the study, discussed the value of the chewed plant method for future use in gorilla research and conservation.

“We don’t need any more evidence to know that this is a perfectly viable method for us to use,” Gilardi said. “I anticipate that it’s now going to be a standard tool that we can use going forward.”

While even the most common viruses to humans, such as some herpesviruses, may not be a threat to the human population, they can be lethal to gorillas. Due to the problems that could ensue if a mountain gorilla were infected with a human virus, close monitoring and testing is not the only

measure in place.

“Recognizing that habituating great apes puts them uniquely at risk for potentially getting a disease from a human, great ape sites around the world have adopted best practices around being near [them],” Gilardi said.

These practices include keeping a minimum distance away from gorillas, designating specific eating areas within visitation sites and wearing masks near gorillas, which has been more widely enforced since the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the Gorilla Doctors’ efforts and the chewed plant technique, wild mountain gorillas already have a brighter future.

“As a result of Gorilla Doctors’ work, mountain gorillas have actually increased in numbers,” Evans said. “The most exciting thing for me is probably seeing the positive impacts of conservation and this kind of work. The mountain gorillas really are a positive story.”

The DCMH can only house 10 residents, but according to the 2022 Yolo County Homelessness Count survey, there are approximately 181 people experiencing homelessness in Davis, about 114 of them are living unsheltered.

“Specific to California, we have some of the highest wealth disparity in the country, if not the world, and that is reflected in our housing,” Richardson said. “We have a critical lack of affordable housing throughout the state of California which manifests itself in homelessness.”

This kind of writing technique might look like just writing down every sentence, phrase or word that crosses your mind within a certain timeframe. Be warned, the result might be rather disappointing — you probably will not end with a magically in-depth and surprisingly intelligent masterpiece. Rather, the accomplishment will be in the fact that you actually committed to writing. Change the purpose of writing from a method of flaunting your intelligence to a method of communicating the frenzy of your mind. The bonus, after all this, is that you will have generated the foundations of your work.

By embracing your terrible writing, you can turn something paralyzingly difficult into something mindlessly easy. Your first draft will highlight the ingenuity of your mind, producing a visual representation of your ability to build connections and generate exciting ideas on your own. But, how do you refine this messy draft into the work you initially sat down to make?

Now, you bring that critical scholar back in. Yes, the one who stalled you for so long. But at this stage, they actually have material to mold and tinker with — something to critique. This is the stage where you find the holes in your analysis or your story that would have

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really bothers me is when [online resellers] buy and resell thrifted clothing for a billion dollars,” Gilbert said. “It takes away from the people who need it.”

For these reasons, many people turn to fast fashion when purchasing their clothes. However, many resources are available throughout Davis that accommodate these difficulties, like the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) thrift store, Treehouse Vintage, Aggie Reuse and Aggie Trading Post.

According to Harmon, Aggie Trading Post has a “three for free” policy, which means that you can donate one item and take three home for free in return.

These and many other members of the Davis community think it’s important to shop consciously when you can. Not only can you develop a unique, personal style, but you can do your part in reducing the textile waste that is growing each year.

The Aggies are now on a four-game win streak going into the last two games of the season.

“It’s fun; I enjoy it. We take everyone seriously since that’s what yields results, and it makes football really enjoyable,” said fourth-year left-tackle Nick Amoah of UC Davis’ winning streak.

The offensive lineman said the team’s perspective on this streak is that preparation yields progress.

“I’m happy for the guys, and they’ve put us in a position where we can do

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With Fuller’s absence, adding defensive players to the backcourt is a necessity for Les. Johnson, a transfer from Loyola Chicago, will hopefully provide much-needed support on the defensive end.

some things,” said UC Davis Head Coach Dan Hawkins.

After starting the season 1-4, the Aggies have won four straight games. They now sit at 5-4 on the season and 4-2 in conference play. The Aggies are in fifth place in the Big Sky Conference and need to win their two remaining games if they hope to get into the playoffs.

However, the road will be tough as they face third-place University of Idaho next. The Vandals are 6-3 overall

stumped you if you tried to write and edit simultaneously, as we all have tried to do. Separate and organize your ideas, add in those transitional phrases your professor will love so much and focus on fluency rather than content.

Ultimately, it is just a matter of breaking the writing process into multiple jobs and allowing yourself to create a bad piece of work for the sake of creating. You will need to churn out something, but you can make the journey a bit more bearable when you give in to the rambling creative inside of you.

and 5-1 in conference play. The Aggies will travel to Moscow to face off with the Vandals on Nov. 12 and end then the season against rival Sacramento State Hornets on Nov. 19. The Hornets are in first place in the conference and boast a record of 9-0 overall. The road to the postseason goes through Idaho and Sacramento, and it will be a tough mountain to climb, but the Aggies just might have the firepower on offense to overcome the final two opponents on the schedule.

their second-best scorer on the team last season. Beasley III’s ability to consistently put the ball in the basket could help fill the hole that Manjon left.

Other notable signings are first-year forwards Joaquin Strong and Jac Mani.

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“I think also, at least I can speak from my experience, it is very hard to find community in college,” Carranza said. “It’s so hard to relate to other people because, regardless of anything, Davis is a predominantly white institution. It’s so hard to embrace your culture. I feel like I lose touch a lot. So, I think that’s why it’s important to have these culturally based programs so that students know that Davis can still be their home away from home. We need to make adequate steps for that.”

Diaz commented on the importance for Chicanx and Latinx students to continue cultural celebrations beyond their home space. As people move away

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Overall, I enjoyed “The Macabre: A Harpsichord Halloween” very much. Although I wasn’t a fan of the harpsichord’s sound initially, after this performance, I grew to enjoy it a lot

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“It’s kind of like having a piece of home, even just besides dance — I just love it so much,” Labdis said.

Nyla Hinston, the director of Entertainment Council, spoke about the benefits the event brings the UC Davis community.

“It’s welcoming, especially for freshmen— to get them engaged, actually want to be on campus, and make friends and connections,” Hinston said.

“We’re all broke college students,” said Chloe Peterson, a new volunteer for Entertainment Council. “Sunset Fest gives us a way to have fun and relieve stress for little to no cost. Not a lot of college students can say they have this.”

For those interested in gaining hands-on experience in the field of entertainment, Sunset Fest and Entertainment Council could be a first step on that journey according to

from home, they act as vessels of their culture and celebrations.

“I think especially for Chicanx and Latinx students, so much of our cultural identity is family- and communitybased,” Diaz said. “I remember I went to a Día de Los Muertos festival over the weekend in Woodland, and I was crying in the crowd because I miss that sense of community or being able to reminisce about the memories of my loved ones with my own family. I think part of the celebration of those that we have lost is held in the ritual of setting up the altar. We’re in communion with the people you are remembering and then also the people that are still with you.”

Last season, UC Davis was relatively a small team size-wise. For that reason, the Aggies acquired Henry, who is 6-foot-7, from Nevada. He appeared in 33 games in two seasons with Nevada, scoring 17 points and grabbing 21 rebounds in 15 games last season.

Les also signed 6-foot-7 forward Manu from the College of San Mateo. Last season, Manu averaged an outstanding 16.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. Size is what the Aggies lacked, but these two players will immediately boost their frontcourt.

The last transfer to be added is Beasley III from the University of Montana. He averaged 11.8 points per game with the Grizzlies and was

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Although the Aggies have a relatively young roster with these new additions, familiar faces that are essential to Les’s system are returning. Third-year guard Elijah Pepper, who is taking over as the leader of the team, was elected to the All-Big West Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Team. Pepper was phenomenal last season, posting big numbers for the Aggies with 15.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. He was fifth in scoring in the conference and ranked second in steals. Pepper is also able to score three-point shots off the dribble, making 119 three-pointers last season.

If the Aggies want to compete for a championship, Pepper is key.

Another important player who

is returning from last year’s team is defensive standout Ade Adebayo. The third year is the Aggies’ best defender and he often guards the best offensive players from the opposing team. With so many new players, UC Davis has a tough task at hand. Les will rely on the established players on the roster to set the tone for the newcomers and push for a spot in the postseason.

The journey began on Nov. 7. as UC Davis traveled to Berkeley for the season opener. The Aggies beat the Golden Bears 75-65 to start the season 1-0. Two days later, on Nov. 9, the Aggies will host Cal Maritime in the first home game of the season. Then, UC Davis will travel to Southern California to play LMU on Nov. 12. The team will return home to host Arkansas State on Nov. 18, and four days later, the Aggies wrap up their California games against crosstown rivals Sacramento State in the Causeway Cup on Nov. 22.

more. Vollrath showcased her talents through various pieces of music and I definitely recommend attending her concerts, as well as other performances hosted by the Ann E. Pitzer Center.

Prior to 2022, the Seahawks’ offensive line was a major concern — they gave up 46 sacks in 2021, ranking 25th in the NFL. Needing to rejuvenate their offensive line with young talent, the Seahawks drafted offensive tackle Charles Cross ninth overall and offensive tackle Abraham Lucas in the third round. Both Cross and Lucas have looked promising so far, but maybe even more importantly, they have provided stability for the Seahawks’ offensive line by starting every game this season.

rating when targeting Woolen (50.8). Other NFL teams probably regret not selecting Woolen sooner.

There are a few other rookies worth mentioning. Houston Texans’ fourthround pick, running back Dameon Pierce, has 121 carries for 539 yards and four touchdowns in seven games.

Hinston.

“You could come here and enjoy the show, then actually want to be a part of it like I did,” Hinston said.

“It’s cool,” Peterson said. “I was able to learn how to manage a live stage and get hands-on experience.”

Entertainment Council, as well as the other ASUCD units, provide students with learning opportunities for different career fields in addition to networking opportunities with others who are working on the production.

This year, Sunset Fest cemented its ongoing legacy as an annual concert which brings together the UC Davis community amidst the academic challenge of midterms, giving students a way to relieve stress in a healthy manner and make lasting memories, all while providing a space for creatives to share their practice.

The Seahawks lost starting running back Rashaad Penny for the season in week five when he suffered multiple lower leg injuries. Luckily, they drafted Kenneth Walker in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft. In the three games that Walker has started since Penny’s injury, he has 62 carries for 315 yards and four touchdowns. In addition, Pro Football Focus tracked Walker as having the highest missed tackle rate (minimum 40 carries) among running backs so far.

Possibly the biggest steal the Seahawks acquired during the 2022 NFL draft was cornerback Tariq Woolen, who they drafted in the fifth round. Woolen showcased elite athleticism and phenomenal physical upside at the NFL combine after running the 40-yard dash in 4.28 seconds and showcasing a 42inch vertical. Woolen earned a starting job and looks like he could be a star cornerback for the team. Through eight games, Woolen is tied for the most interceptions in the NFL (four) and has allowed just 278 yards. Quarterbacks have also had a below-average passer

Pittsburgh Steelers’ second-round pick, wide receiver George Pickens, is a fan favorite with arguably the two most impressive catches so far this season during weeks three and seven. The Jets’ second-round pick, running back

Breece Hall, looked very promising before he tore his ACL during week seven and Jacksonville Jaguars’ firstround pick, linebacker Devin Lloyd, has 68 tackles and two interceptions through eight games.

Going forward, all of these rookies will need to continue to perform at a high level to help their respective teams during the second half of the season. While it is still early in many of the mentioned players’ careers, the 2022 NFL draft class looks like it could produce multiple superstar players.

SUDOKU

CROSSWORD

THE AGGIES TAKE DOWN IDAHO STATE IN FINAL HOME GAME OF THE SEASON

win

BY GABRIEL CARABALLO sports@theaggie.org

On Nov. 5, the UC Davis football team entered UC Davis Health Stadium pitted against the Idaho State Bengals for their last home game of the season.

Idaho State started the game with possession of the football and put together an emphatic first drive featuring a 19-yard run from secondyear Benjamin Omayebu and a pinpoint pass from second-year quarterback Hunter Hays to second-year wide receiver Christian Fredrickson for 23 yards. The Bengals’ offense put pressure on the UC Davis defense and entered the red zone, but the Aggies’ defense responded, forcing a fourth-and-goal situation. Idaho State took the safe route and attempted a 35-yard field goal. First-year kicker Ian Hershey successfully converted the attempt and gave Idaho State the early 3-0 lead.

In a surprising move, Idaho State decided to go for an onside kick but the team was unable to recover the attempt.

This failed sequence gave UC Davis incredible field position. On their first drive after the kick, the Aggies gained a first down via a 19-yard pass from second-year quarterback Miles Hastings to third-year tight end McCallan Castles before being halted by the Bengals’ defense. The Bengals caused a fourthand-long, prompting UC Davis to attempt a field goal. Fourth-year kicker Isiah Gomez stepped up and made a 45-yard field goal to tie the game 3-3.

The Bengals’ next drive was cut short by a quick four and out, courtesy of the Aggies’ second-year safety Kavir Bains. This was Idaho State’s first punt of the game, but it wouldn’t be their last in the game. On UC Davis’s next possession, their offense put together a five-play, 65-yard series. Hastings threw a 22-yard pass to second-year receiver Justin Poerio and a 15-yard pass to second-year halfback Lan Larison. Second-year halfback Matteo Perez also had an impressive 15-yard run to get them into scoring position. The series was capped off by a direct snap to second-year Trent Tompkins, who

rushed for a seven-yard touchdown to make the score 9-3. UC Davis went for a two-point conversion but unfortunately failed to convert.

The first quarter ended with UC Davis in possession of the ball, which carried over to start the second quarter. However, the Aggies’ offense was stopped by the Bengals’ defense early in the quarter, and UC Davis was forced to punt. Idaho State received the punt, but special teams graduate student Cole Hansen forced a fumble on the Bengals’ returner. Second-year Abe Del Real recovered the football for the Aggies, giving them incredible field position. On UC Davis’s next drive, they would convert a third-and-long after a holding penalty with a 22-yard pass from Hastings to Poerio. However, the Bengals held the Aggies, forcing a 34-yard field goal attempt. Gomez hit his second field goal of the game and added three more points to the team’s lead.

The successful field goal made the score 12-3 with Idaho State back in charge of the football. Hays started their

UC DAVIS MEN’S BASKETBALL 2022-23 SEASON PREVIEW

UC Davis Head Coach Jim Les and a new Aggies’ roster seek a return to the NCAA Tournament

BY MARLON ROLON sports@theaggie.org

After losing to Cal State Fullerton in the quarterfinals of the Big West Conference Tournament in Henderson, Nevada last season, the UC Davis men’s basketball team also lost prominent players in the transfer portal, leaving many who follow the team wondering how they would look at the start of the 2022-23 season.

In the 2021-22 season, the Aggies posted a 13-11 overall record (5-6 in conference play) and advanced to their sixth straight quarterfinal round of the Big West Conference Tournament. Despite the team being eliminated from the conference tournament in the quarterfinal round, last season could be deemed a success due to the team’s improvement as the year progressed.

Throughout the season, the Aggies’ dealt with COVID-19-related issues. The team had to cancel eight games due to the outbreak of COVID-19 — the most of any team in the Big West. The lack of continuity played a role in the team’s lack of rhythm and consistency during the season.

“It was a factor throughout the year,” UC Davis Head Coach Jim Les said following the team’s exit from the Big West quarterfinals. “The stop, the starts and not getting as many game opportunities. Maybe developing rhythm and being able to experience 30-plus games at this point is really helpful because you tend to grow.”

Despite playing the least amount of games in the conference, the Aggies came together at the end of the season when many thought they wouldn’t even make the postseason.

“When we look back at it, we’ll appreciate what was accomplished and what was done despite the fact that we had a lot of adversity that this group went through, and we still kept a great attitude and continued to work really hard,” Les said.

Following the season’s end, a few players departed from the roster,

most notably Ezra Manjon, one of the Big West’s best players. Manjon, a senior point guard, left Davis to join Vanderbilt University, who play in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Last season, Manjon averaged 15 points per game, ranking sixth in scoring in the Big West. During his three seasons at UC Davis, Manjon was selected as Freshman of the Year in 2019-20 in the Big West, All-Big West second team in 2020 and 2021 and All-Big West first team in 2022. His departure from the team leaves an offensive hole on the roster, as his scoring and passing abilities are a big part of what made UC Davis a contender in the conference year in and year out.

Another notable player who left the program via the transfer portal is graduate student Caleb Fuller, who joined Montana State in the Big Sky Conference. Fuller spent four years under Les, averaging 7.8 points per game, shooting 46% from the field and 35% from the three-point line. However, last season was Fuller’s best season under the Aggies’ emblem, posting 12.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. Fuller’s versatility

and leadership qualities are what the Aggies will miss the most, as he is a strong rebounder, three-point shooter and defensive specialist. His toughness and grit will certainly be missed at the University Credit Union Center.

“If I could go four years back, I would make the exact same decision,” Fuller said in tears after UC Davis’ postseason exit in the Big West Tournament last season. “I loved playing under Coach Les. I’ve grown as a basketball player but more importantly as a man. I’m getting a little emotional speaking about it, but he knows I love playing for this team.”

The loss of these two players is significant, so much so that the Big West Preseason Poll has predicted that UC Davis will finish as the sixth seed this season. However, with so many new players on the roster, the team’s potential remains a mystery. The list of new players recruited to the program includes second-year guard Ty Johnson, third-year guard Robby Beasley III, third-year forward DeAndre Henry, third-year forward Sam Manu and second-year forward Niko Rocak.

However, shortly after the turnover, the Bengals’ defense retaliated with an interception of their own. Bengals second-year safety Quantraill MorrisWalker intercepted Hastings’ pass and returned possession to Idaho State. Unfortunately, in the following play, Idaho State would waste possession with another fumble.

Second-year linebacker Teddye Buchanan recovered the football for the Aggies and ended the lively turnover battle. This led to UC Davis having optimal field position but the Bengals’ defense held the Aggies to another field goal attempt. Gomez stepped up for his third field goal of the game and extended the Aggies’ lead to 15-3.

Idaho State was down by 12 points and had four minutes left in the second quarter to make a stride for the endzone, but the Aggies forced the Bengals to

FOOTBALL

punt the football once more. Idaho State only used up one minute on that drive and gave the Aggies the ball back with three minutes left in the half.

UC Davis started with a 22-yard run from fourth-year running back Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. to give them momentum; he continued to run the football to wind down the clock. After a strategic timeout with 45 seconds left in the half, Hastings threw a 20-yard pass to Larison and entered the red zone. With no timeouts left, the Aggies’ offense hurried to the ball to save time and get in another play. Hastings then threw a quick pass to second-year wide receiver CJ Hutton, who stepped out of bounds to stop the clock. Immediately after, Hastings targeted Hutton once more, ending their drive and the half with a touchdown. UC Davis put together a tactical 11-play, 71-yard scoring drive and made the score 22-3 at the end of the first half.

Idaho State was down 19 points at the half and Davis retained possession of the football to start the third quarter. Things seemed bleak for the Bengals, but Idaho State’s defense refused to give up. Second-year defensive tackle David Rowe delivered an eight-yard sack and forced UC Davis to punt, giving Idaho State another opportunity to put points on the scoreboard. However, the Bengals’ offense couldn’t capitalize on the play and punted again.

In the following sequence, UC Davis marched down the field on a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive with a 29-yard reception from Tompkins and a four-yard touchdown run from Gilliam Jr. to make the score 29-3.

Idaho State, down by 26 points, continued their offensive slump and punted for the fifth time in their next offensive series. This gave the Aggies another opportunity to put points up on the board, and so they did, with a conservative 12-play, 52-yard scoring drive that took the remainder of the third quarter and concluded with Gilliam Jr.’s second rushing touchdown of the game.

As the fourth quarter began, the score was 36-3 with UC Davis in the lead. The Aggies would go on to score one more time with a passing touchdown from Hastings to Tompkins to make the score 43-3. The Bengals couldn’t get past the Aggies’ defense and were forced to punt until the final seconds of the game. The Aggies, down by three at the start of the first quarter, would score 43 unanswered points to end the game.

STANDOUT NFL ROOKIES HALFWAY THROUGH THE 2022 SEASON HALF OF THE SEASON

BY PATRICK FIGUEROA sports@theaggie.org

In the NFL, it is essential that teams replenish their rosters with young talent from the draft each season. While not all rookie players’ first-year performances determine their future success, there are often a few rookies who immediately contribute on the field for their respective teams, leading them to become superstars. Some of the rookies from the 2022 draft class who are doing so are New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave, New York Jets’ cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and multiple players for the Seattle Seahawks.

When the Saints lost their star wide receiver, Michael Thomas, during week three of the 2022 season, they needed another wide receiver to step up, and rookie Chris Olave did so. Through seven games, Olave has 37 receptions, 547 yards and two touchdowns. His best performance came during the previously mentioned week three game versus the Carolina Panthers, in which he racked up nine catches for 147 yards. Olave has also made multiple highlightworthy plays, including a catch in traffic to get the Saints near field goal range in the last 30 seconds of their game against the Minnesota Vikings. With Thomas expected to miss the rest of the season, Olave will be the Saints’ primary wide receiver.

The Jets badly needed secondary help after the 2021 season — during which they gave up the third-most

passing yards in the NFL. To address this issue, they drafted cornerback Ahmad Gardner with the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NFL draft. Through eight games, Gardner has only allowed 197 yards on 46 targets. He also got his first interception against the Dolphins in week five. Wide receivers have certainly been lost in the “sauce” when playing against Gardner and the Jets.

After trading away their franchise quarterback Russell Wilson for multiple draft picks during the offseason, the Seahawks entered a rebuild — or phase during which teams trade older talent and search for younger talent so that they can win in the future. With all of the contributions they are getting from their 2022 rookies, the Seahawks’ rebuild is progressing quickly. These rookies include offensive tackles Charles Cross and Abraham Lucas, running back Kenneth Walker and cornerback Tariq Woolen.

UC Davis extends their winning streak with a 43-3

The UC Davis Aggies defeat the Idaho State Bengals at their last home game of the season. (Kayla Bruckman / Aggie)

UC Davis Aggies face off against Sacramento Hornets during their 2021 basketball season. (Aggie File)

Chris Olave, Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and other rookies are making an immediate impact for their teams

MIRANDA LEE / AGGIE

next drive with a patient 15-yard pass to second-year wide receiver Shane Dailey Jr. to convert a third-and-long. On Idaho State’s next play, Aggies’ fourthyear cornerback Devon King made an athletic play to pick off Hays’ pass.