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volume 131, number 7
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012
Students issued bike citations during Bike Safety week Bike safety promoted on- and off-campus By CLAIRE TAN Aggie Staff Writer
Shazib Haq / Aggie
Ralph Nuno is UC Davis’ only full-time campus bike police officer.
The Davis Police Department (DPD) and the UC Davis Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) are both advocating bicycle safety through programs designed to educate the public about bicycle laws and safety practices. The DPD conducted a Bicycle Safety Education and Enforcement Operation during the week of Jan. 9. Due to the increased patrolling around areas frequented by bicycles, numerous bike citations had been given out. In the city, a fine for running a stop sign is around $200. Likewise, UC Davis, in partnership with TAPS, has been continuing to enforce bicycle safety through its Bike Enforcement Education Program (BEEProgram) that was introduced in October 2011.
UC Regents discuss state funding, new revenue options Student protesters interrupt meeting By Hannah Strumwasser Campus Editor
On Wednesday and Thursday of last week, the UC Regents met for their January meeting at UC Riverside. The regents, who meet six times a year, discussed new revenue ideas for the UC system along with the issue of increasing state funding. “Believe me, this board is working diligently to find alternative funding strategies and creative solutions to this budget crisis,” said Chair Sherry Lansing. Thursday’s meeting was interrupted by 15 UC Occupy protesters, who began to chant during the meeting. Hundreds of students also gathered outside of the meeting in protest of tuition hikes. Two students were arrested. Reports of police brutality outside the meeting alleged that police used batons and rubber bullets. Student protests at the regents meeting come in the wake of the
Annika Hammerschlag/Daily Bruin
last regents meeting, at which students on four different campuses interrupted the meeting in protest. “The meeting was both informed and disrupted by protesters. There was some productive protesting and public comments made, but there was also a group of students that occupied the meeting and shut it down,” said UC student Regent Alfredo Mireles. “Also, the regents and UC Office of the President staff were trapped inside the building the meeting was held in at Riverside — and in a few cases inside cars — for several hours. The situation was extremely tense.” While tuition hikes were not discussed at the meeting, many
students came out to tell the regents how they felt about the potential of future tuition hikes. “Tuition has doubled over the past five years. This will continue unless we see real leadership for a long-term plan to increase state revenues to fund education. Students believe that the elimination of corporate loopholes within Prop 13 must be urgently addressed. Everyone should pay their fair share,” said UC Student Association President Claudia Magaña in a press release. In 2011, the state cut $750 million in funding to the UC system. The regents discussed Gov. Brown’s 2012-13 budget proposal and how it would affect the UC. A plan for a stable funding model from the state is being developed, however it will be dependent upon Brown’s tax initiatives passing in November. The regents also discussed increasing revenue from UC inventions. They are looking toward supporting new technology created on UC campuses and
See REGENTS, page 2
Neighborhood navigator: East Davis Residents describe area as friendly, convenient, inexpensive
By CLAIRE MALDARELLI Aggie Staff Writer
Editor’ note: The following article is part of a new series intended to give students information about various neighborhoods and apartment complexes in Davis. Formally defined as the area north of I-80, east of Pole Line and north of E. Eighth Street and east of J Street, East Davis is a short bike ride to campus, an even shorter ride to downtown and is home to a variety of apartment complexes. One apartment complex is the J Street Apartments, located at 1111 J Street between East Eighth and East Covell Boulevard. The complex offers two different floor plans — a one bedroom, one bath for $850 and a two bedroom, one bath for $999. The apartment complex includes many features such as a pool, tennis courts, an exercise room and a game room with a Ping-Pong and pool table. Jessica Cole, a senior neurobiology, physiology and behavior major who currently lives at J Street Apartments, said she chose to live at the J Street Apartments
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because she got a great deal on the apartment and she wanted to be close to downtown. “I like the neighborhood. Across the street is an elementary school and downtown is only a couple minutes away. I’ve lived at [other places] in Davis and have enjoyed living in East Davis the most,” Cole said. The complex allows all cats as well as any dog that is fewer than 25 pounds, an aspect that Cole was very happy about. “I live with my best friend and my young cat Luna. And many of the [other] residents here have small dogs and cats that are often seen in windows or being walked on sunny days,” Cole said. A few blocks down from J Street Apartments is the Pinecrest Apartment complex at 920 Cranbrook Court also situated near the corner of J Street & Covell Boulevard. Pinecrest Apartments offer a one-bedroom, one bath for $885 and a two-bedroom, two-bath for $1100. The complex is professionally managed by the Riverside Residential Group, which also owns Alder Ridge Apartments, Renaissance Park Apartments and Silverstone.
Lt. Paul Doroshov of the Davis Police said halfway through the safety week, about 115 citations were issued. “The most common violation was rolling through stop signs,” Doroshov said. “The California Vehicle code states bikes have to follow the same laws as cars. At stop signs, bikes have to cease movement completely.” Doroshov said other citations were given out due to the lack of bike lights or having headphones in both ears. Simone Levy, a senior landscape architecture major, received a ticket in 2011 while biking downtown at around 11 p.m. Levy said she had just gotten off campus after 14 hours of studio work, when she was pulled over by a police car for not completely stopping at a stop sign on F Street. “I’ve never gotten a warning before but he didn’t care about that and gave me a ticket,” Levy said. “It bothered me
EPPC Editor’s Note: The Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (EPPC) is an ASUCD commission responsible for researching environmental issues affecting the campus and its surrounding area, and providing recommendations for improvement. Upon receiving an iPad for Christmas, the eco-warrior in me was torn: could I ever take enough notes on my glamorous new device to justify the environmental costs? The obvious argument in favor of the iPad is that by switching from your typical paper notebook to an electronic one, you’re saving trees. Here at EPPC, we cannot overstate our enthusiasm for trees and forests, so seemingly sparing the trees was a strong selling point for me. However, the choice becomes less clear when we compare the realities associated with production, use, and eventual disposal: iPads are a product of an energy-intensive and socially questionable genesis, requiring coltan to be mined from politically unstable countries such as the Congo. On the other hand, the paper in your seemingly innocuous notebook is the result
Pinecrest has outdoor BBQ and picnic areas, a pool, is pet friendly and has huge walk-in closets. Becky Fu, a senior genetics major and Pinecrest resident, said price was her main reason for choosing this complex. “I chose Pinecrest because it was the least expensive apartments I could find. Anything closer to campus was just way too expensive,” Fu said. College Square apartments is located almost exactly one mile from campus at 801 J street, near the intersection of Eighth street
See APARTMENTS, page 2
Forecast After a cold and wet start to your week, plan for a warmup by the weekend. I didn’t think this could happen already but I’m just about over this winter weather business ... Alex Neigher, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team
of large-scale deforestation, which presents a host of consequent environmental and social threats such as biodiversity loss and decreased water quality. Comparing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the course of usage of both products shifts the metric in favor of the iPad, especially if you already own the device and are considering extending its use to include your schoolwork. The production of a single piece of notebook paper equates to about 0.03 pounds of GHG, which matches a full day of iPad usage (at 0.003 kilowatt-hours per hour). Unless you’re an incredibly efficient note taker with microscopic handwriting, the mighty iPad wins out. However, savvy students know that it’s wasteful to buy something you don’t need, and this sustainable shopper suggests refraining from a major electronics purchase if your only goal is “greener” notetaking. However, if you plan on exploring the full utility of your device by downloading e-books, streaming lectures and doing your homework, the iPad could go from a glorified Facebook stalking device to a green machine indeed! Ask EPPC questions or tell us how to live green every week. Submit to margaret.link@gmail.com.
Department of Agriculture to close 259 offices across nation Closures will provide $150 million annually Aggie Staff Writer
Shazib Haq / Aggie
See BIKE, page 4
Doin’ it Green: In Lecture
By CLAIRE TAN
J Street Apartments, located between East Eight and East Covell Blvd., is noted for its lenient pet policy and proximity to the E Unitrans line.
that I didn’t get that first warning. But I do feel tickets are necessary, although they could be less strict with bicycles by at least charging less for tickets.” In reaction to the bike citations given out last week, students voiced their thoughts about the trend of bicycle traffic violators. “I guess it’s good because it keeps the biking community safe,” said Jody Chiang, a sophomore biological sciences major. “When I see police, I intentionally take out my headphones or hop off my bike if I’m on the wrong side of the road.” Ralph Nuno, the only full-time campus bike police officer, said the university has been utilizing the BEEProgram so that students, faculty and staff have 14 days within the issuance of the citation to go to the TAPS website, watch a
On Jan. 9, the United States Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack introduced the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Blueprint for Stronger Service at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting. According to the USDA press release, it is a plan that helps producers continue driving American’s economy by streamlining operations and cutting costs. Vilsack believes this will be better for the challenges farmers face today as opposed to 150 years ago when the department was founded. “We must innovate, modernize and be better stewards of the taxpayers’ dollars,” Vilsack said in a statement. “We must build on the record accomplishments of farm communities in 2011 with a stronger, more effective USDA in 2012 and beyond.” The USDA plans to close 259 domestic offices, facilities and labs as well as seven foreign offices. This will impact roughly 20 agencies, with USDA headquarters in Washington and 46 states and one U.S. territory. One USDA agency, the Farm Service
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Agency (FSA), will be consolidating the most offices in the country — 131 county offices in 32 states. “We have 131 offices that qualify under a congressional mandate known as the [Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008],” said Chief of Public Affairs of FSA Kent Politsch. “If the FSA wants to consolidate offices, it could only do that under specific circumstances.” The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, also known as the 2008 Farm Bill, states that it will govern the bulk of federal agriculture and related programs for the next five years. “The offices consolidated would have to be within 20 miles of another office and have two or fewer employees,” Politsch said. The USDA expects FSA offices to close by the beginning of July and all other agencies will have closed their offices by the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30. According to Politsch, the largest numbers of offices that will be affected are in the state of Texas. There were no consolidations proposed in California. Politsch said of the 131 offices, roughly 174 employees will be affected, but will
See USDA, page 3 Yahoo! News has recently concluded that the most useless majors are, in order, Agriculture, Fashion Design, Theater, Animal Science, and Horticulture. Did anyone else notice that these are all popular majors at our dear UC Davis? Amanda Nguyen
page two
2 Monday, January 23, 2012
daily calendar dailycal@theaggie.org
TODAY Yoga/Meditation Class 10 to 11 a.m. TB-16, across from Regan Hall The House Peer Counseling Center offers a free class on yoga and meditation.
The House Peer Counseling Info Session 11 a.m. to noon Moss Room, MU Third Floor Get information about becoming a peer counselor at The House and pick up an application. Another info session will be held Tuesday from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Moss Room.
Summer Abroad Info Session: “Design in Britain: Inside and Outside Museum Walls” Noon Education Abroad Center, Third and A Streets Learn how you can study design in London, meet the instructor, and ask questions.
Biomass Potential in Turkey: Projects and Applications 12:10 to 1 p.m. 1003 Kemper Hall Dr. Turkan Aktas, professor in the biosystems engineering department at Namik Kemal University in Tekirdag, Turkey, will speak as part of the Energy Institute/BAE/Plant Sciences Winter 2012 Seminar Series.
Summer Abroad Info Session, “From Tango to Techno: Music in the Global City” 4 p.m. Education Abroad Center, Third and A Streets Learn how you can study Spanish and music in Buenos Aires; meet the instructor and ask questions.
Yolo Natural Heritage Joint Powers Agency Meeting 5:30 p.m. Yolo County Administration Building, Atrium Training Room, 625 Court St., Woodland Members of the public will have the opportunity to address the board during the meeting.
Tzu Chi Collegiate Association (TCCA) Meeting 7:10 p.m. ARC Meeting Room 1 The TCCA is a community service organization that provides an opportunity for volunteer work within the local area during college life. Upcoming community service and social events will be discussed at the meeting. To receive placement in the AGGIE DAILY CALENDAR, e-mail dailycal@theaggie.org or stop by 25 Lower Freeborn by noon the day prior to your event. Due to space constraints, all event descriptions are subject to editing, and priority will be given to events that are free of charge and geared toward the campus community.
senate briefs ASUCD Senate meetings are scheduled to begin Thursdays at 6:10 p.m. Times listed are according to the clock at the Jan. 19 meeting location, the Memorial Union’s Mee Room. The ASUCD president is not required to attend senate meetings. Meeting called to order at 6:10 p.m. Adam Thongsavat, ASUCD president, present Bree Rombi, ASUCD vice president, present Yena Bae, ASUCD senator, present Jared Crisologo-Smith, ASUCD senator, present Miguel Espinoza, ASUCD senator, present Justin Goss, ASUCD senator, present Anni Kimball, ASUCD senator, present Amy Martin, ASUCD senator, present Mayra Martín, ASUCD senator, present Erica Padgett, ASUCD senator, present Brendan Repicky, ASUCD senator, present Patrick Sheehan, ASUCD senator, present Ryan Meyerhoff, ASUCD senator, present Yara Zokaie, ASUCD senator, present
Presentations Akshar Gopal from Aggie Pack said that anything over the $ 6,000 expense for 2011-12 homecoming given from ASUCD was covered by Athletics. Aggie Pack generously received 4,000 t-shirts in donations for homecoming. He also said that those who donated the shirts had control over advertisements on the back of the shirts.
Appointments and confirmations Somitra Butalia, Aysha Pal, Nadia K. Mulji and Jennifer Nguyen were confirmed to the ethnic and cultural affairs commission (ECAC). Mymy Nguyen, Matt Remick, and Karen Lee were confirmed to the Outreach Assembly (OA). Candidates Michael Matoisch and Felisha Ong were confirmed to the External Affairs Commission (EAC) Christine Sifferman and Stephanie Johnson were confirmed to the Academic Affairs Commission. Candidates Rachael Valler and Desun Oka were confirmed to the Gender and Sexuality Commission (GASC) Jasmine Garcha was confirmed to the Internal Affairs Commission (IAC)
Unit director reports Sabastian Belser of Tipsy Taxi said that the unit is doing very well. There is now one full quarter of data on the website. He also said that the basic phone service for Tipsy Taxi now has a menu. He said that his two-year reign is coming to an end, and he will be posting the position for hire within the quarter.
Consideration of old legislation Senate Bill 38, authored by Andre Lee and co-authored by Ho, Hu, Maemura and Thongsavat, to require all ASUCD units to purchase t-shirts through Campus Copies/ Classical Notes’ garment printing service. Martin stated that she was hesitant to pass it because of confusion over if current bill was
part of the initial bill. Thongsavat stated he was more than happy to table the bill, and the bill was tabled. Senate Resolution 41, authored by Lee and co-authored by Barnett, Maemura, Martin, and Sheehan, to strengthen accountability, transparency and informed decision – making in the ASUCD Annual Operating Budget. The resolution was withdrawn by Sheehan and tabled. Senate Resolution 47, authored by Patrick Sheehan and co-authored by Lee, to extend the contribution matching period for the Campaign for ASUCD Scholarships, passed unanimously. Senate Resolution 48, authored by Patrick Sheehan, to allocate $1,496.14 from STS/ Tipsy Taxi Equipment Reserves to reimburse Unitrans for the purchase of a GPS unit, passed unanimously.
Public discussion Repicky said that the Aggie Restore has been cool so far. Goss said that news reached him that the frequent occupation outside US Bank in MU is bad and workers are starting to fear for their safety, they can’t operate and have talked about pulling out of the MU. Goss further stated that should the bank leave, UC Davis is then liable for their expenditures, and $40,000 is the cost to get them out of the building. Sheehan further stated that there is even the possibility of the campus being sued if the US Bank pulls out and that if they support the occupation of the bank, there is the possibility of hurting the students more than the bank. Losing one bank is not going to hurt US Bank at all, but could hurt ASUCD directly, Sheehan said.
Public announcements Meyerhoff said that the new coffee house in the Student Community Center , the South CoHo cafe, opened Friday. Rombi said that there will be a CalPIRG kickoff meeting today at 7p.m. in Hunt 100. There will be free pizza. CalPIRG also talked to over 7,000 students and hired over 60 students for internships in just a week. Annamarie Stone said that there is an event Thursday for the two year anniversary of Haitian earthquake. A Facebook event will be launched shortly. Espinoza said on Wednesday there will be an all day youth conference at Ali Baba. Margaret Link, chair of Environmental Policy and Planning Commission, said The Aggie is featuring a section titled Doing it Green, if you have an suggestions how to do it green, e-mail The Aggie. Meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m. Open positions within ASUCD can be found at vacancy.ucdavis.edu. ALICIA KINDRED compiles the senate briefs. She can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
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way critics are discussing Del Rey’s performance, the end may be more nigh than previously thought. The most striking thing about the critical responsDylan es to the performance — esGallagher pecially those circulating the internet — is the melodrama. People are acting like it’s the second coming of Sinead (O’Connor, who shredded a picture of Pope John Paul II during a live 1992 broadcast). “RIP Lana Del Rey’s Career, December 2011 — January 2012” reads nyone who knows me one of the more forthright understands that I find Tumblr posts; “Worst pergreat pleasure in pubformance ever?” asks a licity train wrecks, so natural- Huffington Post headline. ly I’m completely transfixed It was, of course, the very by Lana Del Rey right now. melodramatic essence of Back in November, when these headlines that piqued she was just another talentmy interest in the first place. ed YouTube sensation waitBut it was when Juliette Lewis ing to blow up, I wouldn’t and Eliza Dushku – two thrivhave known, ing emor frankbodiments Truth be told ... I’m still running on of celebrily, cared, about the orthe endorphin-rush of ... Britney ty — tweetigins of indie their negSpears’ umbrella-swinging rampage ed pop’s latest ative opingirl du jour. ions on Additionally, the perforI wouldn’t have familiarmance that I could no longer ized myself with the pompresist seeing for myself. ous term “girl du jour” specifDisappointingly, though, ically for the purpose of dewhat I saw ended up being scribing her. But after much less catastrophic than I had hype and a calamitously unpreviously hoped. I figured der-prepared “Saturday Night any girl who Eliza Dushku Live” performance, she befelt qualified to deem “Wackcame the new hipster “it girl” a-doodle” stood a chance at of my heart. being my new Heidi Montag The Jan. 14 appearance, circa 2009. But once again I which was Del Rey’s mainfound that, not unlike many stream American TV debut, of Lewis’ and Dushku’s cawas more akin to a breakreer decisions, the critiques down than a breakthrough. were misguided. When she sang “Video The performance was Games,” her biggest success bad — perhaps even territo date and a song which is ble — but it won’t fuel my ordinarily quite breathtakfire nearly as long as, say, ing, the result was a mishMel Gibson’s alcohol-inmash of husky warbling duced anti-Semitism; that and painfully discomforted kind of scandal doesn’t exswaying: obviously, I “favor- pire for at least two years. ited” it on YouTube. Of course I still have every This isn’t because I enintention of basking in the joy mocking Lana Del Rey in LDR fiasco’s afterglow for particular, even if her pillowy as long as I can; I just worupper lip and lack of condiry about what I’m going to tioned stage presence prodo if its novelty wears off vide me and every other troll before the next media-covin the internet dungeon a lot ered meltdown. of ammunition. Watching a Will I have to resort to precocious celebrity fall into reading about celebrities’ a downward spiral just re en- happiness? Comebacks? ergizes my joie de vivre in a Baby bumps (belonging way I can’t really explain. to anyone but Jamie Lynn Truth be told, even five Spears)? That isn’t nearly as years after the fact, I’m still fulfilling as watching somerunning on the endorphin- one revered by the public rush of cueballed Britney flub in a profound fashion. I Spears’ umbrella-swinging can’t make fun of that. I can’t rampage. And thank goodwrite about that. I think I’ll ness for Britney’s shears be- just have to settle for procause by ’07, I was already longing this whole Lana Del coming down from the Rey mess and hope that the high of Ashlee Simpson’s Jan. 31 release of her album “SNL” hoedown. Of course, sees a renewed sense of hate we must acknowledge that aimed in her direction. stories like these are all A small part of me might buoyed along by the omni- be sad to see this happen present flow of Lohan drato my girl du jour, but that’s ma, which, although having the price you pay for followlost some of its luster, reing juicy media drama like tains all dependability. a national pastime. Besides, It’s comforting to know something tells me that, so that even if Christina Aguilera long as nobody else steps up finds a way to stop lookto take her place in the spoting like a drag queen version light of embarrassment, I’ll of herself tomorrow, I can be happy to join in on the still rest easy knowing that mockery soon enough. Lindsay Lohan will probably be back in a SCRAM bracelet DYLAN GALLAGHER would love to hear your before the slated apocalypse. Christina Aguilera drag queen names at This is good, because the dylaaaaan@gmail.com.
Love to Hate
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apartments Cont. from front page and J street. The apartments are composed of concrete, two story buildings located right next to the train tracks. It offers one-bedroom, one-bath for $850, two-bedroom, one-bath ranging from $1100 to $1395, and two-bedroom, twobath for $1,150 to $1,295. It also has a BBQ area and pool, study rooms with many units having their own patios. Serena Carbajal, a senior mechanical engineering major who lived in College Square for two years, said the location was what she liked most about this complex. “It’s a quick bike ride to both downtown and campus. You can even walk if you wanted to,” Carbajal said. All three of these apartments, and most others in East Davis, are accessible by Unitrans buses. The E line stops in front of the J Street and Pinecrest Apartments and the P and Q Lines are
Bank in Beta
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also only a block away. College Square is on the E and L line as well. Cole said that she takes advantage of both the short bike ride and the ease of the buses for transportation. “When feeling spicy I bike ride to campus. But on a sluggish day I take the E line which stops right in front of my apartment and comes by twice an hour,” Cole said. One of the few downsides to the apartments in East Davis is the proximity to the train tracks. The tracks are just behind all three apartment complexes and can sometimes be a source of considerable noise. Fu encouraged other students to take this into account when considering Pinecrest Apartments. “I would warn them not to get the apartments near the west end. I used to live [there] and would be woken up everyday at 7 a.m. by the sound of the train,” Fu said. The stores and businesses within East Davis are also a driving force that pulls residents in. Some of the restaurants in East Davis frequently visited include Subway, Dominos
Cramer Cont. from page 4 lead to finally put things away in the last minute for a dramatic win in a rivalry game.The win moved the team to 7-1 at home this season. “I hope that the t-shirts brought them here, but the team keeps them here,” said Gross of Saturday’s attendees. “I hope the crowd enjoyed what they saw and they want to come back.” I hope so too, but with four more home games re-
ny will refund all incurred fees. Depositing cash, on the other hand, is where the company deviates from its claim to simplicity. You Nicole can deposit your money Nguyen at one of Simple’s “partner banks”, but will have to deliver special instructions to the teller in order to do so. You could also take the cash to a bank, turn it into a money order, then deposit it through Simple’s mobile app. It’s likely you’ll be charged either by the defter the tents of positing bank or the agenOccupy Wall Street cy providing the money have been packed, order. the drum circles silenced In actuality, Simple and the signs of fury disdoesn’t deal with your carded, there is at least money — its partner one thing that will carry on the movement’s leg- banks do. Simple just provides the technological acy: a new crop of startinfrastructure to manage ups that are looking to your moncapitaley, requirize on conWhat Amazon did for retail ing you sumer anger against is what Simple can do for to own a camerabanks. banking enabled One such smartcompany phone to is Simple, access it. This focus on whose name was retechnology is precisely cently reduced from BankSimple; a good thing why it will appeal to the young and the tech savvy. too, seeing as the finance Simple requires you to company isn’t really a manage your personal fibank (nor is it really that nances through the mosimple, but more on this bile app that lies at the later). core of its services. The Simple is waging a war against commercial banks application allows its users to view a map of where by improving upon exthey’ve purchased items isting standards of techand exactly how much nology, design and cusmoney they spent there. It tomer-friendliness that can even calculate a daiare, well, a bit lacking inly “Safe-to-Spend” number dustry-wide. The company doesn’t charge any fees for you that takes into account what you earn, what (not even for overdrafting you spend and what you or paying late), and runs need to save. Other feaexclusively on the web, tures include an advanced with not a single teller or search function wherebrick-and-mortar branch in you can sort transacin sight. tion history by time (lunch To be clear, this isn’t dates), type (coffee) or size a column about finance ($20 and up). (that’s what my colleague It is Web 2.0’s answer to Danny Brawer does on Tuesdays). This is a column banking. On top of it all, the beautifully designed, about the virtual vs. the minimalist user interface real. might make you (dare I The classic examsay) like doing banking on ple of virtual triumph is Amazon, who offered con- your phone. But the real question is, sumers a large selection, will it catch on with the built a reputation for exbanking population at cellent customer service large? and watched as their fol Since Simple will only lowing amassed. Slowly accept smartphone ownbut surely, they poached ers, it restricts its memcustomers from brickand-mortar shops, trump- bership to a fairly nichey crowd and excludes peoing independent bookple who could really use sellers and big box stores the service but don’t alike. What Amazon did for re- spend a lot of time checking Twitter on their iPtail is what Simple can do hones, like busy heads of for banking. Simple has shown signs households. The service is still in Beta, of promise that it, too, and interested parties can could reinvent an indusrequest an invite at simtry online. The Portlandple.com (epic domain grab, based company is creatright?). ing just the kind of new If Simple does what age product that 20- or it sets out to do, it will 30-something young professionals won’t be able to change how people manage their personal financresist. es — but it may for only a Here’s how it works: select few. Simple issues its customers a Visa debit card. Since Simple has no ATM If you’re glad Congressperson Lamar network of their own, Smith said NOPA to SOPA, let NICOLE cash can be withdrawn at NGUYEN know at niknguyen@ucdavis. edu. any ATM and the compaPizza, Nobu Hiro, Nugget Market and Taqueria Davis. There is also a CVS and the Grocery Outlet. Carbajal said that the Nugget was a little hard to get to and wished that Grocery Outlet had been there when she lived at College Square. “I didn’t have a car so it was hard to get to the grocery store. But I would have gone to Grocery Outlet had it been open when I lived there and that would have been a lot easier,” Carbajal said. East Davis is also home to Slide Hill Park, famously known by students and Davis residents alike for its enormous concrete slide. Other apartment complexes in East Davis include Alhambra Apartments, Cambride House Apartments, Cascade Apartments, Cranbrook, Pennsylvania Place Apartments, and University Village — all of whose floor plans, prices and other features can be found on their respective websites. CLAIRE MALDARELLI can be reached at features@theaggie. org.
Regents maining in the regular season, I fear it won’t be the case. And it’s a shame that a team with this much success — made up not only of excellent basketball players, but players that love the game and work hard both on and off the floor — is not receiving the attention it deserves. TREVOR CRAMER can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
and 17, and there will be a rally for state funding on May 17. Students are encouraged to attend. “If the state cuts the UC again the regents will be fine. They are all fortunate people that will not be personally affected. Many students are not as fortunate. Students are going to be the ones that will have to see tuition rise and have services cut if we don’t get more money from the state,” Mireles said.
Cont. from front page increase the rate at which inventions become economic successes. “The people who work in research do extraordinary things that often lead to new businesses and can lead to tremendous sources of revenue if we own a certain percentage of the discovery,” Lansing said. Chair Lansing also announced that the next regents meeting would be held HANNAH STRUMWASSER can be reached at in Sacramento on May 16 campus@theaggie.org.
MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2012 3
The california aggie
USDA Cont. from front page be offered reassignment. “One requirement [by the 2008 Farm Bill] is a public meeting must be held within 30 days of the initial announcement of a closure,”
said USDA Communications Coordination team member Matthew Herrick. “So we’ve put up a schedule of public meetings across the country about when they’ll take place.” Herrick said anyone can attend these public meetings to comment about the pro-
posed office closures. He said 90 days from the initial announcement, the Agriculture Secretary will make a decision and the USDA can move forward with closures. “Our secretary pointed out that this is necessary to modernize the department to ensure that we’re doing all that
we can do in the services we have to do for folks on a constrained budget,” Herrick said. “This is part of the 12 percent, or $3 billion, reduction plan.” Congress requires the USDA to operate with 12 percent less than it did in 2011. Through the decision to close and consolidate offices
around the country, $150 million will be saved annually. According to Herrick, more than 7,000 people have left the department in the last 15 months. They have either retired or taken early retirement or buyout options. “It was done mainly to provide flexibility in our budget to
provide services to folks at the same level as before with no disruption in service,” Herrick said. “We are planning for the future instead of letting budget cuts and restraints manage those decision for us.” CLAIRE TAN can be reached at city@theaggie. org.
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THE BACKSTOP 4 monday, january 23, 2012
The california Aggie
From bad to worse
Trevor Cramer
Occupy women’s basketball
T
here’s a program on the UC Davis campus that is going under-recognized and it’s getting a bit frustrating. Women’s basketball — the most consistent major sport in UC Davis’ short Division I history — goes up and down the floor in an all-too-often sparsely crowded Pavilion. The program, which made its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance last season, is averaging just 513 fans per-home game. By contrast, the UC Davis men’s basketball team (which is currently 1-17 and statistically one of the worst teams in the nation) plays in front of an average crowd of 1,646. The obvious reality is that men’s basketball is simply more popular. Most fans prefer to watch powerful dunks, long-range threes and spectacular blocks — all of which are far more prevalent in the men’s game. But if you haven’t made it to a women’s basketball game this season, you are simply missing out. While you are not likely to see Hana Asano or Kasey Riecks throw down a twohand jam, you will see a team that runs a complex and exciting offense and plays an aggressive and tenacious zone defense. Furthermore, unlike most men’s teams, the UC Davis women’s basketball team will rarely have a player break the 15-point barrier — not because they struggle to score, but because they play as a team. This group of players is at its best when it has four to six players with eight to 12 points apiece, spreading the scoring around and keeping opponents off-balance. But even with their impressive team skills, UC Davis garners a smaller crowd than even most women’s teams. The Aggies typically play in front of an average of over 1,000 fans when playing a road contest, nearly double their average home attendance — and they even draw over 800 fans per-game when they play at a neutral site. Pacific leads the Big West Conference with an average of over 1,000 fans per home game. But the lack of a rousing home crowd is something the Aggies have had to get used to. During last season’s NCAA Tournament run the Aggies averaged just 640 attendees per-contest, including a lackluster attendance of 889 when they hosted the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament — a game that was also the last home game for legendary head coach Sandy Simpson. It took a t-shirt giveaway in Saturday’s game against the Tigers for the Aggies to break the 1,000-fan barrier. The attendance number skyrocketed to over 1,400, by far the best of the season. “It was an amazing atmosphere in the Pavilion,” said head coach Jennifer Gross after the Aggies defeated Pacific. “That was definitely one of the biggest crowds we’ve had in a long time, and that crowd was a big part of the win today.” When asked what the Aggies could do to garner that type of atmosphere on a more consistent basis, Gross laughed as she responded: “I guess we’ve got to keep giving away t-shirts.” But even with the giveaway, the shirts were only enough to keep a portion of the attendees around. After the shirts were distributed at halftime a considerable number of fans made their way towards the exits — leaving the Pavilion with a noticeably diminished crowd for the second frame. Still, the Aggies put on a show, holding on to a late
See CRAMER, page 2
Aggies losing streak hits 14 men’s basketball By CAELUM SHOVE Aggie Sports Writer
The UC Davis men’s basketball team turned in another listless performance on the road this weekend, losing 64-48 at Pacific. The loss was the Aggies’ 14th in a row and drops their record to 1-17 on the season and 0-6 in the Big West Conference. Eddie Miller was the high scorer for UC Davis with 12 points, but no other Aggie scored in double digits. “Our defensive effort was much better,” head coach Jim Les said. “We changed up defenses and guys were all in tune with those changes and I think we disrupted what they wanted to do.” Junior guard Ryan Howley was injured in the second minute of the game and did not return to the contest. Les said that he and the training staff considered Howley’s return, before ultimately deciding against it. Already having lost Ryan Sypkens for the season due to injury, the Aggies could be crippled by the long-term loss of another starter. Howley is the only player to have started every game so far this season for UC Davis. “Hopefully it’s a short term thing,” Les said of the injury. Defensively the Aggies were strong against Pacific, holding them to just 36.7 percent shooting in the contest. UC Davis couldn’t get stops against Pacific’s main scorers, though, allowing three players to score 13 or more. Ross Rivera was the high scorer for Pacific with 19 points and Markus Duran made five
threes and finished with 17 points. Only six players scored for the Tigers, compared to eight for the Aggies. The Aggies were in trouble right from the opening tip. Starting center Alex Tiffin picked up his first foul just 12 seconds into the game, leading to one made free throw and an early 1-0 Pacific lead. On the following Aggie possession, their first of the game, Harrison DuPont drove into the lane and gathered to shoot before being called for traveling. The next trip down the court, Pacific made a three and just 57 seconds into the game the Tigers had a 4-0 lead. The fouls and turnovers by UC Davis continued throughout the game. Tiffin was called for his second personal foul within the first four minutes and ended up only playing 12 minutes in the contest due to foul trouble. Paolo Mancasola and Tiffin both finished with four fouls for the Aggies, while nobody on the Tiger’s roster had more than three. UC Davis forced 14 Pacific turnovers, but still lost the turnover battle as it had 15 of its own. The Aggies are last in the Big West in turnover margin, averaging nearly two lost turnovers more per-game than any other team in the conference. UC Davis never held a lead in the contest and was unable to cut the lead to single digits at any point during the second half. Tyler Les continued his outstanding threepoint shooting, making three of five from behind the arc. UC Davis ranks first in the Big West in three-point field goal percentage. After a tough three-game road stretch, the
Kristina Geddert / Aggie
Senior Eddie Miller led the Aggies with 12 points in their loss to the Tigers. Aggies return home this week, playing conference opponent UC Santa Barbara on Thursday in the Pavilion. CAELUM SHOVE can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
UC Davis trumps Tigers in thriller Shinoda nets career high 18 points women’s basketball By MATTHEW YUEN Aggie Sports Writer
In a game devoted to promoting breast cancer awareness, the UC Davis women’s basketball program found itself in a tight tussle with the Pacific Tigers. In front of easily the biggest crowd for the Aggies this year, UC Davis did not disappoint, putting away Pacific by a 59-51 score. The two teams entered the game tied for third place in the Big West Conference with identical 3-2 conference records. Add to that the rivalry UC Davis has developed with Pacific over the years, and the game had a high enough level of intensity to keep all 1,427 fans on their feet. “There’s definitely a little bit of extra buzz in the air when Pacific comes,” head coach Jennifer Gross said. The Aggies came out all guns blazing, shooting lights out and slamming the door on defense to build up an 18-6 lead seven minutes into the game. The first half was all UC Davis, and the Aggies were looking more red-hot than the shades of pink they sported on their socks. They shot 11-24 from the field and held Pacific to 28.6 shooting percentage. UC Davis would walk off the court at halftime with a 27-20 lead. The Tigers came charging back out of the locker room and put together a 6-2 run to close the gap to 29-26. Junior Hannah Stephens stopped the bleeding when she knocked down a jumper with 14:45 remaining. The game of tug-of-war reached a 53-51 score with 37 seconds remaining when Pacific scored a long three-pointer that bounced off the
Aaron Juarez / Aggie
Blair Shinoda scored a career high 18 points in UC Davis’ win over Pacific. backboard and somehow fell in the net. The Aggies took the ball back and missed an opportunity to extend their lead, and the Tigers had a chance to grab their first lead since
they went up 4-3 two minutes into the game. With the game in their hands, and the chance to seize a comeback victory, Pacific missed a wide open three-pointer that would
Aggie Digest Swimming and diving UC Davis notched its fifth-straight duel match victory against Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday by the score of 173-114. The win kept the Aggies a perfect 6-0 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation action. Senior Kayleigh Foley won both the 50 yard and 100 yard free, while sophomore Liliana Alvarez won the 100 yard and 200 yard breast. Sophomore Sabrina Cochrane won the 100 yard back with a career best time of 1:01.16. Freshman Cara Silvas took first in the 1,000 yard free, fellow freshman Sara Ramos won the 200 yard fly and sophomore Megan Leung won the 100 yard fly. UC Davis will return to action Saturday at the Schaal Aquatic Center for its final home meet of the
season. Women’s tennis UC Davis opened its season 1-1 this week, as it traveled for a pair of matches in Arizona. The Aggies opened with a dominating 7-0 victory over Northern Arizona on Friday. UC Davis took two of the three doubles matches and won five of the six singles matches in straight sets. The Aggies followed that with a narrow 4-3 loss to Arizona State. The Sun Devils took all three doubles matches, and the Aggies were only able to take three of the six singles matches. The Aggies will return to the court at Tennessee on Friday. — Trevor Cramer
bike
have all but put the Aggies away with nine seconds to go. At this point, the game took a strange series of events. Junior Blair Shinoda was fouled with four seconds remaining and went to the line for a one and one opportunity. She drained both free throws to put the Aggies up 55-51, essentially out of reach for the Tigers. Yet, the scoring would not stop there. Pacific coach Lynne Roberts got two straight technical fouls and extended the game. Shinoda drained the four ensuing freethrows to put up six points within two seconds on the game clock, and gave the Aggies a 59-51 lead. The win move the Aggies to 12-6 on the season, 4-2 in Big West play, good for third in the conference. Shinoda’s perfect 9-9 from the charity stripe helped her score a career high 18 points on the game. Stephens contributed 13 points and four steals for the Aggies. “It was just a great team win and we really focused on ourselves this week,” Shinoda said. “Everyone just came out and played hard.” Yet, this is not the area that Gross is most proud of, citing the defense that trapped the Tigers so many times and prevented them from scoring. “To hold them to 51 points, I’m very pleased,” Gross said. The UC Davis defense shut down the Pacific offense, which has averaged over 70 points per game this season and has scored over 90 points three times already. “Our defense got it done for us today without a doubt,” Gross said. “We had stretches where we struggled to score a bit but we just kept coming up with big stops.” MATTHEW YUEN can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
a ticket that’s so expensive for everybody.” With the DPD partnering with local bike shops, bicycle safety is more enforced around the City of Davis as well. “With more traffic congestion on our city streets, and more people turning to bicycles as a transportation alternative, we need to make sure that all road users understand the rules, laws and safe behavior,” said the DPD in a press release. Nuno said the challenge the police officers have every year is the 5,000 new students who have to be educated about bicycle laws and safety. He said he will be putting on a law enforcement bicycle class at the end of January to train five additional police officers. This will provide more oncampus officers on bikes to patrol every day. “Bicycle citations are justified even though they might not seem like an impact,” said Nate Bales, a junior science and technology studies major. “Due to the poor economy, I’m not surprised that citations are being handed out.”
Cont. from front page 20 minute video on bike safety, take a test and then submit a $70 fee. This applies to citations given on campus, not in the city. Nuno said this way the public will be more knowledgeable in bicycle laws and practices. Regarding on-campus bike safety, a student commented on the moderately new BEEProgram. “Before, the money [from fines] would go to Yolo County,” said Chris Wilson, a junior psychology major. “Since the proceeds don’t go to the Yolo County traffic court and go to the university, the university enforces [bicycle laws] heavily now.” According to Nuno, the $70 fines sustain the program, allowing for the university to keep it running. “Now that we can offer reduced fines, that’s probably why you’re hearing people talk about the tickets,” Nuno said. “The citations’ fines are significantly reduced because police officers struggled with justifying writing CLAIRE TAN can be reached at city@theaggie.org.