serving the uc davis campus and community since 1915
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volume 131, number 63
thursday, may 10, 2012
ASUCD faces 1.52 percent tax from University Office of the President CoHo and Unitrans among units hit hardest By DANIELLE HUDDLESTUN Aggie News Writer
The UC Office of the President recently decided to place a university-wide 1.52 percent tax on the expenses of ASUCD units. In the past, money from individual campuses was centralized at the UC Office of the President before being redistributed. This new tax, however, will allow campuses to maintain control over their individual revenues while paying the 1.52 percent tax. “It’s a 1.52 assessment from the Office of the President and is UC-wide. In the past, the Office of the President used to get all of the money, but now they are flipping it and every campus retains their own money,” said ASUCD Business Manager Brett Burns. The decision was made by UC President Mark Yudof and it has been said that it was not an easy decision. Money from the tax will go to funding the UC Office of the President. Yudof left it up to the chancellors of each campus to choose where to find the funding for the tax.
See ASUCD, page 7
Shazib Haq / Aggie
Unitrans is one of the many ASUCD units that will face a cut due to the UC Office of the President assessment.
ASUCD senators to discuss $11.8 million Association budget this weekend Some commissions, units to face cuts
News iN Brief
CSU approves executive salary hikes funded by campus foundations Taxpayers will fund executive pay raises thanks to a vote yesterday by the California State University (CSU) Board of Trustees. The board passed a measure to ask campus foundations to cover the raises for up to 10 percent of new campus presidents. The board created the proposal to lessen outrage about salary hikes. Critics said campus presidents should not be getting pay-raises during a time of increasing tuition hikes and enrollment freezes. “They seem to have an obsession with making sure executives are highly paid,” said Kevin Wehr, president of the Sacramento State University chapter of the California
By DYLAN GALLAGHER Aggie News Writer
This weekend, the Associated Students of UC Davis (ASUCD) budget hearings will be held to determine the funding of each ASUCD unit for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. From Friday through Sunday, ASUCD officials will discuss and vote on how best to distribute their budget among each of the 24 ASUCD units. Among these units are the ASUCD Coffee
House (CoHo), Unitrans, KDVS, the Entertainment Council, The California Aggie and several other notable campus organizations. The budget is proposed by the ASUCD president based on financial analysis of each unit by the Controller’s office, discussion with individual unit directors and unit tours by the president and vice president to attain qualitative and quantitative data about the needs of each unit. The proposed total operat-
ing budget for the 2012-2013 school year is $11.1 million. However, ASUCD must also account for the payment of new taxes, which as of recently have amounted to about $60,000. “Unfortunately, these taxes are not one time taxes,” ASUCD President Rebecca Sterling said in an e-mail interview. “This is just the first year we are seeing these taxes, and they are only scheduled to increase in the
See BUDGET, page 2
Doctor in your pocket Cell phone cameras diagnose diseases from blood samples Aggie Science Writer
One third of the world’s population lacks adequate access to healthcare or medicine. According to the mobile statistics company MobiThinking, nearly 90 percent of the world’s population has access to cell phones, many of which are smartphones. So how can we use the high number of cell phones to help increase the number of people with access to healthcare? Without physical access to healthcare, virtual access will become the new standard. Researchers at UCLA have recently devised a system that uses cell phone cameras to analyze blood
Today’s weather Sunny High 87 Low 55
Strip test picture
3,000 visitors — and their cars — are expected to visit UC Davis on Friday, May 11 for the Decision Day that is being held for prospective transfer students — according to a news release from the UC Davis News Service. Undergraduate Admissions and Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) warn that this will lead to added stress on campus parking. Visitors will be directed to the west entry parking garage and Lot 25 located in between the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) and the Segundo Dining Commons. Overflow parking will be directed to Lots 40 and 41 that are across from Hutchison Drive and the west entry garage, Lot 30 (behind the Recreation Pool) and Lot 47 (along
courtesy
Next Monday, the UC Davis Warn Me system will be conducting a system test to make sure that the emergency alerting service is working properly. According to a press release, the UC Davis test on Monday will send messages to students and faculty at both Davis and Sacramento campuses and loca-
Forecast
Friday
Saturday
Stay hydrated this weekend as it is going to be a hot one! If only UC Davis had a Rec Pool of some sort … Oh wait, they do! Have a great weekend!
Sunny
Sunny
High 89 Low 55
High 92 Low 56
Matthew Little, atmospheric science major Aggie Forecasting Team
La Rue Road, south of the Tercero housing area). “We realize there may be some inconvenience and we appreciate your understanding and support for this important campuswide endeavor,” said Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Fred Wood in a press release. An estimated 1,200 prospective students, who are visiting the campus along with family members and friends, have until June 1 to submit their statements of intent to register. Decision Day registration begins at 7 a.m. and the program is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at the Pavilion in the ARC. Early-bird tours start at 7:30 a.m. at Bixby Field (west of the Segundo Dining Commons). — Muna Sadek
Students encouraged to update Warn Me information before system test on Monday
By HUDSON LOFCHIE
See PHONES, page 4
— Angela Swartz
You should probably bike to school on Friday
Jeff Perry / Aggie
Budget hearing will take place this weekend. Senators will be discussing ASUCD’s budget for next year.
Faculty Association told The San Francisco Chronicle. “Foundation money could be used for more student scholarships or for student instruction.” Chancellor Charles Reed said that the CSU system needs to offer good salaries as a means of drawing in top talent to the presidents’ posts. Several students from a group of around a dozen who began a hunger strike last week to protest university policies, addressed the board to present their demands, including rolling back administrator salaries to 1999 levels.
tions. The messages will indicate that they are just a test and they will be from the UC Davis Police. To update contact info in order to ensure Warn Me messages are received, go to warnme.ucdavis.edu. The test will begin a little before noon on Monday. — Hannah Strumwasser As my third year as an underpaid employee of The California Aggie dawns, I would like to take this space to say: I need to sublet my room for July and August. I live downtown and the room costs $370 a month. You too can sleep where I once slept. Becky Peterson, managing@theaggie.org
page two
2 thursday, may 10, 2012
daily calendar dailycal@theaggie.org
TODAY Spanish Conversation 7:30 to 9 p.m. Delta of Venus Cafe Practice your Spanish with Davis Free Peoples School while sipping on tea. Contact sferrandiz@ucdavis.edu with questions.
Claudia Erreguin and Ari Polsky’s Senior Art Studio Exhibition Reception 6:30 to 8 p.m. Basement Gallery, Art Building Show will be up from May 6 to 12; check out the pieces of art majors and graduating seniors.
FRIDAY Dance Team Auditions 9 a.m. to Noon Location Upper Hickey Gym, Main Gym Try out for the UC Davis Dance team. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. for registration.
Folk Music Jam Session Noon to 1 p.m. Wyatt Deck, Old Davis Road Folk musicians are invited to play together informally during an acoustic jam session. Join your fellow musicians for a little
Budget
bluegrass, old-time, blues, Celtic, klezmer and world music over the lunch hour. All skill levels and listeners welcome. For more information, please call (530) 752-4880 or visit arboretum.ucdavis.edu.
“Facets of Earth” 4 to 9 p.m. The Wardrobe presents this event, featuring jewelry by local Davis designer Paloma Michelsen. Music will be provided by The Sound of Fashion featuring DJ Eminent Bee. This event is free and open to the public.
YoloArts’ Red Hot Fundraiser 6 to 9 p.m. Willow Oak Fire District Hall, 17535 County Road 97, Woodland Attend this fundraiser to “fuel the fire for arts education” featuring new guest artist Malaquias Montoya. The event includes buffet dinner, local wine and beer, as well as a silent auction and acoustic blues with Jimmy Pailer and Lew Fratis. 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.
crease the amount of such opportunities. “Student employment is the one area [senators] are not willing to compromise in cuts,” Bottoms said. “Our students’ employment is one of the most important parts of our association.” Beyond casting their own votes to preserve student interests, though, ASUCD senators encourage students to attend the budget hearings for themselves and make their opinions on platforms heard. Expression of the wants and needs of the public may be of such value to ASUCD senators because, according to ASUCD Controller Melanie Maemura, many of the most divisive issues are ultimately decided based on senators’ own interpretations of the ASUCD mission statement. The essence of this mission, according to the web page of President Rebecca Sterling, is “true student representation.” Student attendance and participation affords ASUCD senators an opportunity to hear the voice of the public, which, Bottoms stated, has swayed senators’ decisions on issues in the past. “The most contentious issues are philosophical ones relating to our mission statement as an Association,” Maemura said. “The biggest question is: how can we produce a budget that ensures our Association remains financially healthy and robust, but also maintains our unique range of services?” The hearings begin at 5 p.m. this Friday in the Mee Room in the Memorial Union. Budget hearings will continue in the ARC Conference Room 1 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
Cont. from front page coming years.” To accommodate for the payment of these taxes, as well as to assist in the association’s recovery from what Sterling called a “deficit year,” several units will face the risk of financial cuts this weekend. The taxes stand to possibly affect the future funding of any and all units of ASUCD. However, some of the units may be more financially secure than others. “There are certain areas that will probably be cut more,” said ASUCD Senator Bradley Bottoms. “I doubt Unitrans, the CoHo or Tipsy Taxi will be receiving many cuts.” On the other hand, Bottoms did state his belief that outside organizations and events such as general grants programs and cultural days are more likely to face cuts since they are not actual affiliates of ASUCD, but rather recipients of funding from ASUCD. Furthermore, Bottoms stated his belief that potential cuts made to organizations such as KDVS or Project Compost would likely pertain to expensive equipment rather than student positions. According to both Sterling and Bottoms, among ASUCD’s largest priorities are protecting the largest amount of student employment and leadership opportunities within ASUCD’s own units. “Units come first,” Bottoms said. “They are the base of ASUCD, what we have established in our organization, our source of student jobs.” Bottoms emphasized ASUCD’s dedication to the preservation of students’ employment and leadership positions by stating that the senators will strive DYLAN GALLAGHER can be reached at to make decisions that in- campus@theaggie.org.
accuracy The California Aggie strives to ensure that all of its facts and details are accurate. Please bring any corrections to our attention by calling (530) 752-0208.
Jason Alpert Editor in Chief
Amy Stewart Science Editor
Becky Peterson Managing Editor
Melissa Freeman Opinion Editor
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Stephanie Chon Asst. Copy Chief
Hannah Strumwasser Campus Editor Angela Swartz City Editor Elizabeth Orpina Arts Editor Erin Migdol Features Editor Trevor Cramer Sports Editor
Jasna Hodzic Photography Editor Michelle Huey Design Director Janice Pang Asst. Design Director Mimi Vo Night Editor Amanda Nguyen Asst. Night Editor Irisa Tam Art Director
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like Mac Miller. Although he wouldn’t admit it, I’m probably his exact target market. He wants me to be a fan which is perhaps why I am so repulsed. Andy It was unclear who the Verderosa Beastie Boys were for. They were respected within multiple music scenes and carved out a certain aesthetic as white MC’s existing as themselves in a seemingly black space. They weren’t trying to act black, but they didn’t shy away from the culture indam Yauch, also grained in what they did eiknown as MCA of the ther. It almost seems stupid Beastie Boys, died to talk about race with rethis weekend and since gard to the group because then I’ve been trying to figit was such a non-story in ure out how to process his respect to the band’s story death as well as the end of as a whole. Their race was the Beastie Boys. I was too budweiser, rejecting auyoung to really grow up on thority and lackadaisical any of the pantheon albums yet brilliant and self-reflexor remember specificalive rap lyrics. ly where I was when I first The Beastie Boys have repheard Ill Communication resented youth culture for for the first time. For me, the multiple generations, someBeastie Boys thing I were just don’t think He wants me to be a fan there. any oth I was very which is perhaps why I am so er artist has aware of the ever been repulsed band and able to do. their exisIf you contence. Although I had no sider that the group rose to idea what it was like to fight fame on the curtails of Run for my right to party and DMC, it’s pretty unbelievable couldn’t spot Brooklyn on that their youthful, hedonisa map of New York, I knew tic messages are still reachthat the Beastie Boys were ing a relevant audience. They a group of rappers that I were illin before I even knew liked. It’s still tough to tell how much I would love uswhether I made the deciing the term “illin.” sion to like them or if oth I think for the majority ers made it for me. of my generation, we didn’t I knew I was supposed have much of a chance but to like them, for whatevto connect with the group. er reason. And I did. By the Growing up in the Bay Area, Napster era I had the maLIVE 105 still continues to jority of the discography play at least one Beastie Boys and I knew the lyrics to the song an hour and DJs will important songs and some still drop “Intergalactic” at of the extra-illin one-liners a party if the vibes are right. from the less popular ones. I can tell you from experiI was a Beastie Boys fan first ence that there is nothing because they seemed cool better than excusing yourself then because they were from a conversation, putting similar to me and later bedown your drink and runcause they were actually ning into a venue just in time great artists. to yell, “Well, now don’t you I bring this up because tell me to smile / You stick since the news broke this around I’ll make it worth Friday, I’ve received texts your while.” from numerous childhood With the passing of Adam friends asking my opinYauch, the Beastie Boys will ion on the subject. I don’t probably cease to perform remember expressing any or create much new muout of the ordinary supsic. In their latter days, their port for the group, but for sound became more masome reason people assoture, while still remaining ciate me with MCA, Mike relevant and experimental. D and Ad-Rock. Which is It’s a bizarre feeling like, awesome, but probaknowing that a Beastie bly undeserving. Boy is dead. I realize that As a Jewish kid growing they were significantly oldup with an affinity for rap, er than me, but I sort of alrap culture and comedy, ways still envision them it’s easy to see why I would as their “Yo! MTV Raps”be the target market for selves. They were never the Beasties, but part of the algroup that I listened to evlure for me was that I nevery day, but it was comer really felt like I was the forting knowing they were target market. They didn’t there. think about marketing or how to structure a demoANDY VERDEROSA has performed graphic, and as a result one “Sabotage” at most karaoke nights structured around them. throughout the pacific northwest. Contact Their demographic was him at asverderosa@ucdavis.edu if you you themselves. Take a rapper do a good Mike D impression.
RIP Beastie Boys
A
abroad in Edinburgh then leaving Scotland for California, of course, takes guts. I seem so worldly, but Edinburgh was a safe choice; I knew Kristina the language and many Simonaityte Lithuanians study in the UK so I was familiar with all the procedures and what to expect before I even got there. Apart from hearing about occasional earthquakes and scary stories, I thought Los Angeles, California was also a safe choice. Why do other exwant to go on exchange students come to change because California? Good schools, I dream a lot. I dream of having a big fam- great climate, surfing, skiing, Hollywood, California ily, changing the world Gurls, U2’s The Joshua Tree through environmen(maybe just me for the last tal education and beone). Most people think ing loved. These are my that they have California all big dreams. However, I figured out — even withalso dream of seeing a out visiting it! In realiBroadway show, enjoying summer all year round ty, California is even more magical now that I know (at least for a year), hikhow much I don’t know ing in the Rockies, speakabout it. ing French What this everyday or I’ve had a dream of this place year taught living in a city where ever since I had first heard me, however, is that my greatabout it the world is grandfather our oyster. was born.” No more dream places — I I wrote this a year and see these now as inevitable a half ago in the applicaplans for my future. tion for my university’s in When people ask why we ternational exchange prochose UC Davis, we laugh gram. Barnard College in and say that we didn’t. New York City, University Some invisible people deof British Columbia cided for us that we will be (UBC), McGill University, going to Davis for a year University of Chicago and, and not Berkeley, San Diego of course, University of or Santa Barbara. And it California, were included in my top five destinations. turned out to be not bad at all. Needless to say, I would Davis was never my have been very excited to dream. (I didn’t even go to any of those other places had I gotten an offer know about Davis unfrom, but how come all the til a year and a half ago! Heck, my first reaction to school who accepted my this placement was no no application were in North no no!) But now I will alAmerica? In the words of my broth- ways dream about Davis. er — I wasn’t brave enough! Everyone should end up going to their Chiles and He’s now considering to go New Zealands, but they on exchange for his third should also go to their unyear. Chicago and UBC dreamed-of Davises. Even seem possible destinaif it is as close as the Bay tions, but he thinks that Area or as far as the actuthe other options of Chile and Vietnam would be sim- al New Zealand, nothing’s gonna stop us now. ply too much. Similarly, I Times have changed had my eyes set on New Zealand for a long time. But since my great-grandfather was born in Chicago when it came to filling the in 1916. Several years latapplication, I didn’t have er the family returned to courage to put NZ universities on it — it just seemed Lithuania then communists came and everything too drastic. changed. All his life my North America seemed great-grandfather wantmuch closer to home, ed to go back to the United more familiar, less uncerStates, but he was never altain. I have friends who studied here, family friends lowed to. And here I am, his great-granddaughter, living here, family histoliving under the amazing ry that was born here and California sun and telling I’ve had a dream of this his story to the world. place ever since I had first heard about it. All my cho- So, I did end up getting my all-year-round summer. sen places seemed exotic enough to justify the in- But I also got so much more — starting with a stronger ternationality of the exfaith in dreams. change (Canada!). I was more than OK with going to California. Even when she’s daydreaming, you Leaving my home coun- can catch KRISTINA SIMONAITYTE at try Lithuania to study ksimonaityte@ucdavis.edu.
World, here we come
“I
Thirsty (for knowledge) Thursdays Find Your Center For those of us who haven’t lived in the dorms for a while, it can be tough to remember what resources are available for us as students on campus. (Here’s a hint to first-year students and transfer students in the dorms: Take advantage of your dorm programming!) That said, the opening of the Student Community Center last quarter makes resources even more accessible than before. With the LGBT Resource Center (LGBTRC), the Cross Cultural Center (CCC) and the Student Retention and Recruitment Center (SRRC) in close proximity, students have no excuse not to check out their great programming and study spaces. Also, near the Memorial Union (MU) are the Women’s Research and Resource Center and the Learning Skills Center. You may have heard of these centers before if you’re like me and frequently eavesdrop on the tour groups for prospective freshmen … but here’s a refresher on the centers’ academicoriented programming. Studying at a student life center is a great alternative to Shields Library — where loud echoing floors only add to
the dismal prospect of doing schoolwork. Computers and quiet study spots are readily available at the centers. The CCC, the Women’s Center, and the LGBTRC all have fantastic collections of books and DVDs. Social sciences and humanities majors can find some of their textbooks for class at these centers. Some of the centers even offer drop-in tutoring! For instance, the Women’s Center has Math Cafe every Wednesday evening, which offers free tutoring in all levels of math and should be helpful for those overachievers who are majoring in math. The SRRC hosts The Lounge, a study hall every other Tuesday, which is a great way to study with your peers and to connect with them as well. They have both tutors and snacks — a winning combination! When you finally have enough of studying (it happens to all of us), take a study break and make some cool arts and crafts projects at the LGBTRC at each Friday’s Crafternoon event. In addition, the various centers are good places to find advising and support when you’re stressed about school or life in general. In South
Hall, the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) has peer advisers to who all students can chat with when talking to your major adviser still seems too daunting. Transfer and reentry students can find specialized resources, like workshops where students can share about their academic experiences, at both the SRRC and the Transfer Re-entry Veterans Center. As students continue to be both stressed out by school and increasingly high costs for education, it is a wise decision to take advantage of all the resources offered on campus. Unless you end up striking it rich later in life (good luck!), when else are you going to have so many resources dedicated to making your life easier? Like going to the ARC, you paid for these resources in your student fees, so go as often as you can! Only in this case, you’ll end up more mentally and socially fit. The Academic Affairs Commission (AAC) is an advisory board to the ASUCD Senate on all academic matters at UC Davis and throughout the UC system. Each week the AAC will give you tips about academic success!
Campus judicial report Caught on Tape
Overnight Success
A student was referred to Student Judicial Affairs (SJA) for stealing from the university bookstore after a security officer observed and identified the student with security cameras. The student admitted to stealing over $175 worth of merchandise over multiple days. When he met with a Judicial Officer, the student agreed to be placed on Disciplinary Probation for two years. If a student on probation violates the rules again, he or she will likely be suspended or dismissed from the University. In addition to this disciplinary sanction from SJA, the student agreed to pay $1,400 in restitution to the bookstore.
A student was referred to SJA for allegedly plagiarizing an essay in an English class. The professor noticed that the essay was significantly better than the student’s previous work and suspected that it was not the student’s own work. When the student was called into SJA, she explained that a friend of hers had proofread the paper, pointed out mistakes and corrected errors. She asserted that she did not have anyone proofread her earlier papers because she wanted to show improvement by the end of the quarter. The SJA officer in charge of the case did not find this explanation credible, but was not able to find a source that the
student had clearly plagiarized from. In the end, they agreed to resolve the case with a Censure. A Censure is a written notice that a violation has occurred — and in this case the student admitted that she had probably received more help than allowed from her friend. If the student is found in violation again, she will likely receive further disciplinary action.
Not-So-Smart Phone An economics professor referred a student for using unauthorized materials during an exam. The professor noticed that the student was looking at his cell phone, which he held between his knees during the exam.
When asked to see the phone, the professor found many pages of typed and scanned notes on the screen, containing information that the student was being tested on. The student admitted to having his cell phone out but alleged that he was not looking at the notes on the screen. However, simply having a cell phone out and on is prohibited during testing — whether or not a student intends to cheat using the phone — and constitutes as “use of unauthorized materials during an exam.” The student agreed to Deferred Separation, meaning that if he is found in violation again, he will likely be suspended or dismissed from the University.
OPINION
The california aggie
thursday, may 10, 2012 3
editorials
UCOP tax
Unfair burden on ASUCD The ASUCD budget hearings are this weekend, and along with voting on the association’s $11.8 million budget, senators will have to grapple with a new tax to be assessed on ASUCD’s expenses. Starting next year, ASUCD will work toward paying 1.52 percent of its expenses to the University of California Office of the President (UCOP). Before, each of the 10 UC campuses sent all its revenue to UCOP and UCOP would send money back to each campus while keeping a share for operating expenses. The new UCOP tax assessed on all UC campuses will change this system. All campuses will now keep revenue earned and instead pay 1.52 percent of expenses back to UCOP. UCOP gave power to each of the chancellors to determine which sectors of campus will pay the tax and as of right now, ASUCD will be one of the organizations to pay. ASUCD will be eased into the payment with only 0.5 percent levied on the Association for 2012-13 before working its way up to a full 1.52 percent by 2014-15. However, because ASUCD’s $11.8 million budget is made up of many units and commissions, it will be these organizations that face the tax burden. Therefore, the bigger the expenses, the larger the tax assessment. This means Unitrans and the ASUCD Coffee House (CoHo), ASUCD’s two biggest orga-
nizations, will have to adjust accordingly to cover the tax. The Aggie and its $200,000 expense budget will have to pay this tax as well. This could lead to cuts, price increases and loss of student jobs. Every student on this campus benefits from the services ASUCD provides, whether it’s taking the bus to school, buying lunch at the CoHo or getting their bike fixed at the Bike Barn. And that is the job of a student government — to provide cheap services to its constituents. The goal of ASUCD is to minimize costs; not to make a profit. It is unreasonable to think that a 501(c) nonprofit like ASUCD could effectively face the burden of this tax. Students give enough money to UCOP and administration as is. We shouldn’t have to suffer more through the services our student government provides. Beyond that, ASUCD will receive the same benefits as before, meaning this tax won’t add anything. When the tax is fully assessed, ASUCD will pay over $160,000 to UCOP. The administration should exempt ASUCD from this additional expense and cover the total a different way. In simpler terms, the UCOP tax is simply lost money for ASUCD. The Association will get nothing out of paying this tax and will simply struggle to continue providing affordable services to the students.
whole earth
Don’t break glass As Whole Earth approaches and the Northern Hemisphere tilts closer to the sun, The California Aggie would like to ask that members of the community refrain from breaking glass on the ground. You see, dear readers, we at The California Aggie spend such an incredible amount of time in Lower Freeborn – a windowless dungeon – that our feet can’t help but escape the constraints of shoes the minute we step outside. Our little toesies are just crazy about nature. And this weekend, we will not be alone. Whole Earth Festival will bring busses full of hippies wearing nothing but tie-dye and dreads, looking to spread their toes in the grass and be one with Mother Nature. Do not muck things up for these people. Not to mention, they will bring their children. If you are not yet convinced that throwing glass on the ground
is a bad idea, think about these baby future leaders of the world. Think about how annoying it is when they cry. We understand that this whole “glass” thing may have come out of nowhere. But sources close to the Editorial Board saw beer bottles being chucked from second-story apartments onto Third Street a couple of weekends ago. And sometimes people let their cats knock lamps over and then forget to sweep up broken bits of compact fluorescents until their roommate has to do it when she has friends over. And maybe certain members of the Editorial Board always step on glass, like always, and it just sucks, you know? Anyway... Let’s use this weekend to embrace recycling and put our containers in the right receptacles. Together we shall peacefully appreciate the environment around us — barefooted and free of glass bits.
Editorial Board Jason Alpert Editor in Chief Becky Peterson Managing Editor Melissa Freeman Opinion Editor
Hannah Strumwasser Campus Editor Angela Swartz City Editor Erin Migdol Features Editor
Elizabeth Orpina Arts Editor Trevor Cramer Sports Editor
Amy Stewart Science Editor Jasna Hodzic Photography Editor
Editorials represent the collective opinions of The California Aggie editorial board. The Opinion page appears Tuesdays and Thursdays.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
GUEST OPINIONS
The California Aggie welcomes letters from its readers. Letters must be typed and no longer than 200 words. As The Aggie attempts to represent a diversity of viewpoints on its letters page, we reserve the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Publication is not guaranteed, and letters become the property of The California Aggie. All correspondence must be signed with the author’s name and telephone number. Unsigned letters will not be considered for publication, although names may be withheld upon request.
The California Aggie welcomes guest opinions from its readers. Guest opinions must be typed with an approximate word count of 600 to 800, or character count around 3,000 to 4,000. The same standards of letters to the editor apply to guest opinions. Guest opinions may reflect a variety of viewpoints. Any member of the campus community is eligible and encouraged to highlight issues regarding UC Davis, regional or national issues. Address letters or guest opinions to the Opinion Editor, The California Aggie, 25 Lower Freeborn, UC Davis, CA 95616. Letters may also be faxed to (530) 752-0355 or sent via e-mail to opinion@theaggie.org.
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Courtesy of Newsday.com
Letters to the editor Summer Session fees The May 1 editorial on Summer Sessions costs is a serious reminder of the pressure students face with significantly rising tuition and fees. These are difficult times and, as we look for ways to continue offering a quality education with an ever-increasing budget gap, we commiserate with you. Unfortunately, UC, CSU and community college fees will likely continue to rise as the state’s
budget deficit does not appear to be reversing direction. Under this uncertain future, students may view Summer Session as a hedge against future higher tuitions and fees. Summer Sessions is developing strategies to offer more seats in the courses students need. We are collaborating with academic departments to increase the number of courses and raise enrollment caps for high demand cours-
es. We are working with Academic Technology Services toward offering at least one or two full lecture capture courses this summer, and hope to offer online and hybrid courses in the summer of 2013. Summer Sessions may play a minimal role in the education of many UC Davis students, but it can be a valuable tool to those who want to leverage their time here. Mary P. Wall Director, UC Davis Summer Sessions
guest opinion
The collapse of private student loans By GREG KUPERBERG Professor, math department
As everyone on campus knows, UC systemwide tuition has increased dramatically in the past decade, particularly in the last three years. In the face of that problem, one big topic of the month is protests that led to the closure of the U.S. Bank branch on this campus. The theory behind these protests is that banks are complicit in high tuition because they are greedy for student debt. After all, total outstanding student loan debt in the United States has reached a sobering $1 trillion. The protests and the bank closure have been controversial, mostly concerning whether they were a legitimate form of protest. The university administration does not think that the protests were legitimate, and neither does the Yolo County district attorney. Some faculty members and some students support the protesters. Whether or not the protests were legitimate, as of the past several years, the underlying theory is wrong. Private educational loans have collapsed, leaving the federal government with
a near monopoly. Private lenders still take payments on a lot of old student debt, but they make very few new educational loans. If anything, U.S. Bank would want lower tuition, because money that you don’t spend on tuition is money that you might spend with a credit card. U.S. Bank only issues Visa cards, but you can’t use Visa to pay tuition at UC Davis (or at any UC campus other than UCLA). Student debt mainly means educational student loans rather than credit card debt. Student loans and grants are surveyed annually by the College Board, which is the same organization that writes SAT and AP tests. The main base of student loans in America has always been federal loans, which last year totaled $103 billion, or about $5,000 per full-timeequivalent student. Historically, these loans were divided between direct federal loans (FDLP) and privately administered loans (FFELP). In 2010, President Obama terminated FFELP on the argument that the banks were a wasteful middle agent. (The decision was announced in 2009.) I have no particular devotion to
banks and I agree with Obama. But that story is now over. Banks also lend money to students through their own unsubsidized loans. This private loan market reached 23 percent of total student loans in 2007-08. Then it crashed. It went up and down with the mortgage market for houses. In the first half of the last decade, banks had an enormous supply of credit that supplied both home mortgages and student loans. Then the credit bubble burst and both types of loans became hazardous to the lender. In 2010-11, private loans were only 6 percent of federal loans. So that’s banks in general, but what about U.S. Bank? Besides the fact that you can’t pay tuition with their credit cards, a few weeks ago they stopped issuing student loans. That’s not just in Davis or in California, that’s for all 3,000 branches of U.S. Bank across the United States. This would have been a drastic step if the loans were highly profitable; I was told that they were not profitable. Actually, I do not know their specific motive. A business might
See GUEST, page 7
ASUCD budget hearings By JUSTIN GOSS ASUCD Senator
On Friday, ASUCD will begin the process of finalizing its budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year. On its face, the budget is an enormous and esoteric book containing numbers which correspond to financial line items most of the student body has never heard of. But once the book closes and the budget is finalized, the fiscal effects reflected in your student government’s deliberations will begin to permeate noticeable aspects of campus life. If you’re a member of a club, if you eat at the CoHo, if you have
Jordan S. Carroll
The new philistinism
R
ecently, after admitting to having earned a bachelor’s degree in English, Mitt Romney waxed pontifical on the wisdom of studying literature: “As an English major, your options are, uh, you better go to graduate school, all right? And find a job from there. You really don’t want to take out $150,000 loan to go into English because you’re not going to be able to pay it back. You might
ever received a piece of Aggie Pack swag or attended a culture day, then you will notice the impacts these numbers have. Politics is a matter of priorities. There is no such thing as a completely fair or equitable budget; thus, when the Senate debates where to allocate scarce resources, it’s a reflection of our priorities as senators and where we think the student body wants to see their hard-earned fees allocated. But senators are ignorant and, at times, completely disconnected from the tenor and feelings of the student body at large. Aristotle said that in the absence of perfect
practical knowledge, the next best thing is to aggregate as many dissenting opinions as possible and attempt to get as asymptotically close to the truth as possible. So I urge you, come, be that aggregate and tell your senators where you want your fees allocated, because those fees are yours. ASUCD is bankrolled by the students and is in turn meant to serve them. Come to budget hearings, beginning on Friday at 5 p.m., on the third floor of the Memorial Union, and ensure your fees are being used properly, because government transparency only matters if there’s someone to stare through the glass.
read and understand it, our record want to think about something of historical experience would diselse that meets your interest.” appear along with our critical un I agree that nobody should derstanding of the present. take out a student loan if they can help it (they rarely can), and I’ll We can see this in a very real, also concede that English majors material way in publishing. How aren’t as highly sought after by em- many presses would go out of ployers as nursing or mechanibusiness and how many books cal engineering majors, but I think would cease print if universities did not create a constant deRomney and English’s countless mand for them? Modernist scholar detractors are missing the point. Majors like English, philosoLawrence Rainey is correct in sugphy or history are gesting that colvaluable, not in lege is the new I think we should resurrect a patronage sysspite of the fact that they are farlong disused term for Romney: tem for daring, removed from imexperimental litHe is a philistine. mediate practical erature. Though application, but it’s certainly true because of it. As Alan Liu and oth- that many authors hold an ambivalent, if not hostile, relationship ers have argued, the humanities’ to the academy, humanities prowithdrawal from present profesgrams are critical in redistributsional concerns allows it to act as ing money to a chronically undera kind of storage mechanism, anfunded cultural sector. alyzing and archiving seemingly useless documents of the past that Humanities departments would otherwise be obliterated. Without the training required to See CARROLL, page 5
The Memorandum Tonight - tomorrow at 8 p.m., May 12 at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 17 - May 19 at 8 p.m. Wright Hall, Lab A, free
this week in davis: 4
volume
6, number 14
thursday , may
the california aggie ’ s arts and entertainment magazine
Movie review: Dark Shadows
Elizabeth Orpina
Johnny Depp earns big laughs despite lifeless plot
Whole Earth
W
hole Earth Festival starts tomorrow, and we all know what that means. Everyone in attendance will be flyin’ high — on those satisfying food and eclectic purchases from vendors and the intoxicating sound flowing through the air, of course. Like Whole Earth Festival is known for anything else … But let’s be real here. Last year I attended this weekend festival expecting one thing and left scarred, confused and intrigued. Yes, I saw more bare feet than I ever wanted to see. Yes, I encountered a mural of woman genitals depicted as the Earth. Yes, I wish I would have embraced the variety of entertainment options and vendor selections. And that’s why I’m ready this year. I’ve printed out the program and mapped out every place I need to hit up. One of my friends informed me that she scored a pair of middle-finger earrings last year — um, excuse me, why aren’t those on my earlobes? I need them and I need them now. I want to discover the music scene and immerse myself in poetry readings. I want to ignore the girls who will treat this event as Coachella 2.0. I can’t wait to enter a campus as busy as Picnic Day but with such a different atmosphere to it. If Picnic Day was too tiring, too hot and too spread out for you, then Whole Earth Festival is where it’s at. Located in the central part of campus, booths, vendors and stages occupy most of the Quad. Surrounding this area are multiple stages and sections specified for children’s entertainment. One look at the program for this weekend and I promise you’ll be overwhelmed. There are poetry workshops, yoga sessions, acoustic jam sessions, belly dancing performances, body painting opportunities and performers doin’ their thang like every five seconds on the multiple stages. If you feel guilty for spending so much time outside having fun and have a need to study, fear not. You can get your learning on through the various informative booths. If you want to learn about Engineers Without Borders, there’s a community booth for that. Want to save the frogs? There’s an Environmental booth for that. Future midwife? Women’s Health booths. Classrooms Across Cultures? Social Consciousness booths. And if you want to be stabbed and punctured with needles, there’s an acupuncture booth by the Wellness booths. Now that you’ve saved the world and basically signed up to live in the Domes, you can treat yourself to one of the service booths. I’ll most likely be spending my time getting henna tattoos, getting my palm read and having my back cracked. Right after that I’ll be spending my life’s worth in money at every single one of the zillion craft booths. So now that you know where I’ll be for the next couple of days, you’ll probably run into some crazy girl chasing after animals and stuffing her face with every food item possible. Or you’ll see me giving campus tours. Yes, folks. I am signed up to give tours most of tomorrow morning and afternoon as well as Saturday afternoon. I am missing out on prime events at Whole Earth Festival. Pity me. Actually, no. I’ll be making money to spend at WEF and you’ll probably be sleeping in. But hey, it just so happens that Decision UC Davis day for transfer students is tomorrow. What a perfect way to convince potential students that we are in fact an environmentally friendly school…I’ll just have to do my best convincing them that we don’t
See ORPINA, page 5
10, 2012
Dark Shadows
courtesy
12345 In review:
Dark Shadows Run time: 113 minutes Rated PG-13 Opens tomorrow at Regal Davis Stadium 5, 420 G St.
By ERIN MIGDOL Aggie Features Editor
In the grand scheme of cinematic vampires, Barnabas Collins is, honestly, kind of a square. He’s too gentlemanly to be scary, like Nosferatu or Dracula. His wardrobe is perpetually 200 years out of date, meaning he could never secretly live amongst the locals à la Edward Cullen. And with his stiff posture and raccoon eyes, his sex appeal is no match for Tom Cruise’s Lestat de Lioncourt (although no less than four women succumb to Barnabas’ advances throughout the course of the movie, so clearly I know nothing about vampire hotness). So, how do you turn a polite, unfashionable, decidedly unsexy vampire into the hero of a film based on an equally lame ’60s TV show? Put him in a beanbag chair and have him
wax poetic about ’70s love songs, naturally. This stranger-in-a-strange-land premise is the formula that director Tim Burton and his eight-time collaborator/muse/cash cow/ BFF Johnny Depp follow in the black comedy Dark Shadows, and it works — to an extent. There’s still that pesky thing called “plot,” and the joy of seeing an 18th century vampire thrown into the groovy ’70s doesn’t quite save the film’s snoozer of a story. It’s 1972 when Barnabas (Depp) is discovered buried alive, trapped in a coffin since 1776. A playboy of sorts, heir to a Maine fishing empire, Barnabas makes the mistake of admitting to girlfriend-of-the-month Angelique (a delightfully campy Eva Green) that he doesn’t love her, proving once and for all that hell indeed hath no fury like a woman scorned. It turns out she’s a witch, and after sending his true love Josette to her death, she curses poor Barnabas to vampire-dom and locks him in that dreaded box. But things begin to look up for Barnabas when he is finally released and, above ground for the first time in nearly 200 years, he goes in search of his former home, the grand, gothic Collinwood Manor. Inhabiting the drafty house (which looks, on the inside, suspiciously like Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion) are Barnabas’ descendants, a ragtag group of misfits includ-
ing sweet nanny Victoria (Bella Heathcote), an alcoholic groundskeeper (Jackie Earle Haley), psychedelic psychiatrist Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter, who else), matriarch Elizabeth Collins (Michelle Pfeiffer) and her daughter Carolyn (Chloe Moretz). It’s Barnabas’ interactions with the Collinwood residents and landmarks of ’70s culture (macrame and lava lamps, anyone?) where the film really shines, mainly due to Depp’s spot-on comedic timing and stately but lovable portrayal of the hopelessly outof-place Barnabas. Never has it been more abundantly clear that Depp is, despite his penchant for the bizarre, first and foremost a comedian, and most of the film’s laughs belong to him. A scene in which he asks a group of hippies for love advice is particularly amusing. But back to the plot, and where the film falls into a trap that I suspect is inevitable for many TV-to-film adaptations. How do you make a fresh two-hour movie out of a TV show that has already created new drama for its characters throughout — in the case of “Dark Shadows,” more than 1,000 episodes? Apparently, you manufacture a conflict that feels neither fresh nor new. Angelique, a member of the undead herself and still hanging around Barnabas’ old stomping grounds, is now the head of her own fishing company that has dwarfed the Collins family’s. Of course, this infuriates Barnabas, and he sets off to restore the Collins name and destroy Angelique. Shenanigans ensue. After being introduced to the wickedly wonderful Barnabas and Co., it’s pretty much a letdown. It’s a shame, because Burton creates an appropriately creepy yet silly first half that allows the viewer to glimpse what an inspired film this could have been, if only it hadn’t been saddled with such a boring plot. Having compelling characters is one thing; having them do compelling things is quite another. Only the former is accomplished. Still, I expect Dark Shadows’ broad comedy and Depp’s star power to make the film a hit at the box office, and I’m OK with that. The rather unsatisfying conclusion, which Burton has said is a nod to the never-ending nature of soap operas, leaves the possibility of a sequel open. Perhaps someday we’ll get to see Barnabas discover the magic of Cabbage Patch dolls and acid-washed jeans. That’s something I’d pay to see. ERIN MIGDOL can be reached at features@theaggie.org.
Event seasons are ending... Have you redeemed your free ticket yet? By ELIZABETH ORPINA Aggie Arts Editor
Time is running out — as the Mondavi Center, the Department of Theatre and Dance and the Department of Music seasons come to a close, so does the curtain on the opportunity for your free ticket to any show. All first-year students, whether undergraduate, graduate students or transfer students, are given the opportunity to redeem one free ticket to any event during their first year at UC Davis. This deal only applies to Mondavi Center Presents, Department of Theatre and Dance or Department of Music events.
phones Cont. from front page samples and make diagnoses based on the image. The system builds upon an existing technology called Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) which can each diagnose one disease based on a colorchanging strip. The data can then be sent over the internet to a server where the location, time and illness of the user is mapped in real time onto Google Maps. “Our technology brings in a universal RDT reader on the cellphone, which can be tailored for all possible diseases that RDTs work [for],” said Aydogan Ozcan, a professor of electrical engineering and bioengineering at UCLA and the lead researcher on the project. “Since it is flexible, we anticipate that emerging RDTs will also be read using our universal reader.” Traditional RDTs are read manually by eye and these by-eye diagnoses are prone to error, especially if the individual using them is unfa-
As soon as students are registered for their first quarter of classes, they become eligible to redeem their free ticket. “There are only a few events left for the season, so don’t miss out on using this use-it-or-loseit ticket,” said Mondavi’s Public Relations Coordinator Amanda Caraway. Tickets can be reserved either by phone or in person at the ticket office. In addition to this first-year deal, all UC Davis students save 50% on tickets for Mondavi Center Presents events. These are not to be mistaken for shows such as Florence + The Machine, though, as the Mondavi Center also serves as an entertainment venue rented
out by outside groups. To further make entertainment and tickets more accessible for students, the Mondavi Center sets aside a number of tickets for each show to be purchased before the show is sold publicly. “We have ‘on-sale’ days before every season and ‘just-added’ shows,” Caraway said. “For two to three days, we allow students to purchase tickets before the public has access.” There are additional discounts awarded for season subscribers or “choose your own package” purchases where specific shows can be picked out from a variety of series and combined for a small discount. The Mondavi Center celebrates
its ten-year anniversary next season, boasting events and shows in the new lineup. Brand-new events were just added to the Mondavi Center calendar, including Lyle Lovett on July 7, Steve Martin on August 25 and Eddie Izzard on October 26. “The upcoming shows are exciting,” Caraway said. “I would advise students not to walk, but to run, to the ticket office for Steve Martin.” For more information about the remaining shows of the season and next year’s events, visit mondaviarts.org, theatredance.ucdavis.edu and music.ucdavis.edu.
miliar with the technology. The cell phone reader has the potential to increase accuracy of a reading. The universal RDT reader improves upon an already impressive technology. According to Katharine Abba at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the malaria-detecting RDTs correctly identify malaria 19 out of 20 times. The World Health Organization estimates that malaria alone kills 700,000 people annually, particularly in developing countries without access to proper medical care, so a test that can correctly identify it will allow for early treatment can potentially save hundreds of thousands of lives. The new universal RDT reader weighs only 65 grams, about the same as three dollars in quarters, and uses a system of LED lights, a simple lens and two AAA batteries. Smartphones are able to load a program (an app) that will work with the device to analyze the data off of the RDTs. Providing this new RDT reading technology to areas devoid of healthcare is far cheaper than fly-
ing in doctors to treat patients on an individual basis. Furthermore, since the data is collected using GPS-equipped cell phones, researchers on the server end will be able to track the locations at which the diseases are centered. “The cell phone [and] Google Maps interface permits us to create a spatio-temporal map which will be a platform to track all RDT related activities worldwide,” Ozcan said. This means that the researchers will not only know the location of each diagnosis, but they can monitor the progression of the disease over an area and track the response of the patient to therapy. If the universal RDT reader is unable to make a conclusive diagnosis, the digitized sample along with patient data can be sent to their server, where the sample can be further analyzed by a healthcare professional. The universal reader is an application of ubiquitous technology set to solving a problem, but the system is not without its shortcomings. The uni-
versal RDT reader is most effective when used on smartphones due to their higher quality cameras, internet access and superior data processing capabilities. While smartphones do represent a quickly growing area of the cellphone market, they are not prevalent enough to the point where everyone in an undeveloped area will be able to take full advantage of the universal RDT reader system. “We are working towards better integration with lower-end phones that are widely being used in developing countries,” Ozcan said. Ultimately, Ozcan wants to scale up his project to work with hundreds of different RDTs and begin compiling huge datasets from all over the world. If this technology becomes available to the public, it could help prevent rampant spreading of disease and help authorities identify locations where medical care is most needed.
ELIZABETH ORPINA can be reached at arts@theaggie. org.
HUDSON LOFCHIE can be reached at science@ theaggie.org.
Tonight - Sunday, May 13 & May 17 - 20 8 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Wyatt Pavillion, $16/$14 (student)
thursday , may
Spring Quad Show Series: Oak & Gorski
ASUCD EC presents: TIPPER // KRADDY // JOE DADDY
Studio 301: RENT
Tuesday, May 15 at 12 p.m. West Quad, free
Tomorrow at 8 p.m. Freeborn Hall, $16/$12 (student)
10, 2012
5
The Aggie Arts presents Magik*Magik String Quartet San Francisco-based contemporary string quartet makes Mondavi Debut
Magik*Magik String Quartet
courtesy
By Michelle Ruan Aggie Arts Writer
In 2011, the Mondavi Center launched its Aggie Arts Internship program with a generous grant from the Andrew Mellon Foundation. Aggie Arts interns commit for three quarters and they receive the opportunity to learn from firsthand experience the intricacies of arts administration. Interns work with Mondavi Center staff in many different aspects of arts presenting such as programming, marketing and arts education. The interns also provide valuable feed-
back that goes into developing more student-specific events and programming. On Tuesday, the Mondavi Center Arts Program will be presenting its first of many student-targeted shows to come, the Magik*Magik String Quartet at 8 p.m. in the Mondavi Center. The Magik*Magik String Quartet is a subdivision of the San Franciscobased Magik*Magik String Quartet. It has performed with Death Cab for Cutie as well as with John Vanderslice at the San Francisco Noise Pop festival. Annie Phillips, the manager of the
Magik*Magik String Quartet who is also a trained clarinetist, further illuminated the Orchestra’s mission. “Magik*Magik is a modular orchestra with a focus on collaboration and a mission to attract more listeners and participants to the orchestral experience,” said Phillips. “Basically, we aim to be one-stop-orchestra shopping for any artist, no matter their background in working with ‘classical’ instruments. If a band wants, for example, a string quartet or a brass trio on their record or incorporated into their live performance, we work with that artist to create arrangements and charts of their songs.” Besides working with popular artists to incorporate orchestral sounds into their music, the Magik*Magik String Quartet has also done live shows with Sting and Chicago, among many other artists. It also participated in its first film score for a movie called Looper that will be released in September. Wendy Lu, a junior sociology and communication major who became an Aggie Arts intern because she wanted to share her love of arts with other students, expressed that Aggie Arts chose the Magik*Magik String Quartet to play at the Mondavi Center because it wanted to make classical music more accessible to students. “Magik*Magik String Quartet is really unique because it breaks off into modules that collaborate with really contemporary and modern groups,” said Lu. “Magik*Magik’s mission is to ‘attract new listeners and participants to the orchestral experience,’ and that was right in line with our vision: that people would see classical music as something that you are actively involved in and can engage with.” Megan Friel, a senior art history major and Aggie Arts intern, ex-
panded on other reasons for why Magik*Magik was a perfect fit for the Aggie Arts’ first student-specific show. “Our internship is funded by the Mellon Foundation and strives to make classical music more accessible to a younger audience. Magik*Magik String Quartet was the perfect fit because while its members are classically-trained musicians, they break the paradigm by collaborating with indie rock and pop musicians,” said Friel. TheprocessofgettingMagik*Magik to perform at the Mondavi began during Fall quarter and was something of a learning experience. The interns had to create a theme for the event, create a catalog, get sheet music, draft contracts and even market the show. The Magik*Magik String Quartet will be exploring the duality between chaos and order by performing pairings of music that exemplify contrasts in musical styles. “During their performance at the Mondavi. Center Magik*Magik String Quartet will be exploring themes and patterns that have existed in music over a huge span of time. They will be playing selections responding to the theme of chaos and order ranging from canonically classical works by Hydan to indie rock pieces by Radiohead,” said Friel about what kind of music the Quartet will be playing for its May 19 show. Lu and Friel encouraged UC Davis students to come because, besides the great music that the Quartet will be performing, there is also a postperformance reception with refreshments and student DJs. Tickets can be purchased at the Mondavi Box Office; regular $30 and students $15. Internship applications are available for next year’s internship at the Aggie Job Link: 749651 MICHELLE RUAN can be contacted at arts@theaggie.
Tipper, Kraddy, and Joe Daddy come to Freeborn for Whole Earth Freeborn DJ set replaces last year’s Wellman Pit By JAMES O’HARA Aggie Arts Writer
Last year’s Wellman DJ Pit, once a feature of Davis’ Whole Earth Festival that was canceled over growing safety concerns after reports of a rape, among other charges, will be replaced this Whole Earth Festival by a performance by Tipper, Kraddy and Joe Daddy in Freeborn Hall. The venue change from the Wellman Pit to Freeborn Hall comes less an as abolition of the “DJ pit” than as an alteration toward increased security. The pit of Wellman will be vacant and lifeless this year, but the halls of Freeborn will
be, as intended, thumping. “After hearing that the Wellman Pit would not be happening, I decided that Entertainment Council could create a safe space and hold an event in Freeborn Hall in place of the Wellman Pit,” said Entertainment Council director Henry Chatfield. “My goal is that attendees of the festival will still be able to have a place to dance and enjoy the same type of music that the Wellman Pit offered, but in a much more controlled space to make sure everyone is safe.” Chatfield went on to make it clear that the move away from the Wellman Pit is not the only change
being implemented. Entertainment Council has, he emphasized, gone the extra length to compensate for whatever loss Whole Earth fans might have felt in the wake of the Wellman Pit’s cancellation. “We are bringing in two big and very well-respected electronic DJs and a huge sound system with twelve subs that will line the front of Freeborn Hall and professional lighting with lasers and the whole nine yards,” Chatfield said. “We also have a team of art students who are collaborating with us to build a really cool installment for the stage design. Even if you’ve never heard of the artists,
able to see beyond the horizons of his or her own situation, the philistine cannot imagine the other Cont. from page 3 worlds and other systems of valtherefore play a vital role in the ar- ue that art and literature represent. While the opportunist and tistic life-support system. But for people like Mitt Romney, anything the cynic at least have scrap and strategic vision, the philistines are without market value is utterly worthless — just ask a former Bain uninspired, utterly incapable of thinking outside whatever small Capital employee. In the spirit of con they’re running at the mopreserving past culture, and with ment. From the philistine, we only no offense intended to the Iron get the interminable repetition of Age people or their descendants, the same and a few self-satisfied I think we should resurrect a long anti-utopianisms. disused term for Romney: He is a philistine. While the term “philistinism” Goethe, an outmoded humanist, has been tarnished from naive and defined the philistine as one who condescending misuse, there are “not only ignores all conditions of ideological philistines from every life which are not his own but also class and background. Romney is demands that the rest of mankind a bourgeois philistine whose evshould fashion its mode of exisery comment presupposes that we tence after his own.” Contracted share his outlook and privilege. He into an impoverished present, un- therefore imagines young people to
CARROLL
orpina Cont. from page 4 all walk barefoot, wear long skirts and save the Earth on a daily basis. So if Picnic Day was too much for you, composting and recycling are your top extracurriculars or you’re looking for some entertainment, this weekend is for you. Print out that
schedule of events. Don your tie-dye shirt and cut-off jean shorts and get ready to experience something you’ll only find in Davis…or maybe Berkeley on a normal school day. ELIZABETH ORPINA wants to know what you’re looking forward to most at Whole Earth Festival. Is it going to be the acid-tripping adults, swaying to the music, the pure celebration of the environment or the eclectic atmosphere you came to Davis for? Let her know at arts@theaggie.org.
it will be worth the $12 flat admission fee just to check out the extraordinary environment we are creating inside Freeborn Hall.” The lineup will add to the robust environment that Kraddy, a previous member of Glitch Mob and a long time electronic veteran, creates. “For anyone who likes dubstep, glitch hop or bass music in general is going to really enjoy dancing and listening to his set,” Chatfield said. The second headliner, Tipper, is someone Chatfield explained to me as a highly respected figure within the electronic community, and is widely re-
be junior plutocrats running cost benefit analyses on their majors. If you already expect to lead an entire lifetime of luxury and culture, it is easy to forego a few years of curious inquiry and self-exploration to learn Excel spreadsheets. And soon, even the sensible majors join the frivolous ones on the unemployment lines. Even professional labor is becoming increasingly automated and deskilled. When there are hundreds, if not thousands, of applicants for each remaining job, the English major at least has some good reads to show for her education. But the philistines are winning. Because most humanists choose aesthetic over exchange value and because the capitalist state can no longer pay for more than its barbarism, humanities programs are slowly being liquidated. The uni-
garded as a sound design and bass music genius/ prodigy. “. . . anyone who has heard Tipper’s music, especially live, is entranced by it. His live performances are actually pretty rare,” Chatfield said. “I was very happily surprised when we were able to work out a deal to be able to bring him to Davis and this really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see him in this setting.” The set will be this Friday in Freeborn Hall starting at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12. JAMES O’HARA can be contacted at arts@theaggie.org.
versity becomes job training for careers that won’t exist in four years and soon only the children of wealth will afford the chance to dabble in cultural studies. While the humanities preserve oppositional energy and a critical distance by maintaining their autonomy from the rest of the capitalist economy, our alienation means that we have little say in the wasting of our profession. It should come as no surprise, then, that professors and graduate students are becoming radical and turning to direct action, as they should. Our training has taught us to see past the present crisis and to know there’s something on the other side. JORDAN S. CARROLL, who would also like to point out that a graduate education in English is not a fast track to a job, can be reached at jscarroll@ucdavis.edu.
ASUCD EC presents: TIPPER // KRADDY // JOE DADDY Tomorrow at 8 p.m. Freeborn Hall, $16 (general)/$12 (student) Entertainment Council brings TIPPER, a prodigy of electronic music tracing back to the UK rave scene of the late 90’s, and KRADDY, an LA based electronic music artist who brings the sound of underground to new audiences. This will be a loud and exciting night in addition to the events during the first night of Whole Earth Festival.
Vocal Art Ensemble Saturday, May 12 at 7:30 p.m. United Methodist Church of Davis, 1620 Anderson Road Sunday, May 13 at 4 p.m. Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis, 27074 Patwin Road Suggested donations of $6 to 20 Vocal Art Ensemble, a Davis-based a cappella choral group, performs this weekend at various locations. Poems by Shakespeare, Frost and Rumi will be utilized, and poetry enactments will be directed by Russell St. Clair of Daedalus Performance Company.
Spring Quad Show Series: Oak & Gorski Tuesday, May 15 at 12 p.m. West Quad, free Entertainment Council brings Oak & Gorski, a group with the cello as the lead instrument. After creating their own unique brand of “cello rock,” Oak & Gorski have four albums under their belt and a variety of major placements on television and film. This group has self-booked 12 national and international tours and sold over 30,000 albums — notably, they’ve even shared the stage with Sara Bareilles, Mumford & Sons and Far East Movement.
Summer Solstice SUNday 2012: Call for artists & participants Tomorrow If you’re a musician or a designer or involved in the advancement of solar energy, interested in showing your art or creating sun-themed sculptures, tomorrow is the last day to get involved with Summer Solstice SUNday 2012, a festival at the East Area Water Tank. This event takes place June 24 and celebrates the shadows on the new kinetic art installation, Same Sun, falling into place for the first time. Email sofia@ lcmuralanddesign.com. More information can be found at http://davistank.blogspot. com.
Gallery 1855: Photographic Works of Pete Eckert Open House & Reception: Sunday, May 13 at 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. On display throughout May 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday Davis Cemetery District Office, 820 Pole Line Road Internationally acclaimed artist Pete Eckert, founder of the Blind Photographer’s Guild, is celebrated in an exhibition of his framed photographic works in order to both intrigue and inspire the public.
Studio 301: RENT Tonight through Sunday, May 13 & May 17 to 20 8 p.m., Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Wyatt Pavillion, $16 (general)/$14 (student) Studio 301 Productions brings the worldfamous Tony-and-Pulitzer-Prize-winning rock musical RENT to Wyatt Pavillion starting tonight. The show is directed by Mitchell VanLandingham with musical direction by Elizabeth Tremaine and stage manager Marissa Saravis.
The Memorandum Tonight to tomorrow at 8 p.m., May 12 at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 17 to May 19 at 8 p.m. Wright Hall, Lab A, free The UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance’s Institute for Exploration in Theatre, Dance and Performance presents The Memorandum, written by Vaclav Havel, translated by Vera Blackwell and directed by Alejandro Torres. The production will integrate projections, live video, wacky props, physical comedy, artificial words and the festivities of a massive office party.
Magik*Magik String Quartet Tuesday, May 15 at 8 p.m. $30 (general)/$15 (student) Vanderhoef Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center The Mondavi Center Aggie Arts Program presents the Magik*Magik String Quartet, a subset of the San Francisco based Magik*Magik Orchestra. Their mission is to attract new listeners and participants to the orchestral experience. During their Mondavi debut, this performance will explore the duality between chaos and order by performing pairings of music illustrating the contrasts that exist within musical styles.
6 thursday, may 10, 2012
The california Aggie
Aggie rally comes up short
WOMEN’S GOLF PREVIEW
UC Davis rallies in ninth, but Nevada responds for win
Brian Nguyen / Aggie
Senior Eric Johnson was part of UC Davis’ ninth inning rally against Nevada.
Baseball By RUSSELL EISENMAN Aggie Sports Writer
UC Davis came back from an 8-2 deficit in the ninth with two outs to tie the game, but Nevada claimed the 9-8 victory on a squeeze play in the bottom half of the inning. After two groundouts, freshman Tino Lipson jump started the Aggie rally that featured six runs on six hits. With the loss, UC Davis drops to 18-26 overall (6-9 in the Big West Conference). After freshman John Williams and senior Ryan Allgrove grounded out, Lipson singled to right and pinch runner sophomore Drew Lassen moved to second on a wild pitch. Senior David Popkins walked, followed by a pinch hit RBI double by sophomore Austin Logan to set up sophomore Spencer Brann’s two-RBI single up the middle and
all of a sudden the Aggies trailed just 8-5. Senior Paul Politi singled, and another wild pitch put both runners in scoring position for freshman Kevin Barker, who came through with a two-run double to left. Senior Eric Johnson followed with an infield single off the Wolf Pack pitcher’s glove, moving Barker to third. Nevada’s reliever first hit junior Mike Mazzara to load the bases, then hit Allgrove to score the tying run. Freshman Austin March struck out to end the inning. In the bottom of the ninth, sophomore Harry Stanwyck struck out the leadoff hitter, but Nevada’s Jameson Rowe then doubled down the right field line and moved to third when Barker bobbled the ball. Two intentional walks loaded the bases to set up force-outs at any base, but Nevada’s bunt converted a successful suicide squeeze to steal the 9-8 victory.
UC Davis returns home for four straight games, beginning with a Big West matchup against Long Beach State. Senior starter Dayne Quist, who missed his last start with an injury, is expected to be back on the mound this weekend. The Aggies, who have nine homers in the past 10 games, will need to keep the power stroke going when facing the Dirtbags, who are second place in the Big West and third in team pitching. “It’s late, but I think we’re finally buying in to what we’ve been trying to do all season,” said head coach Matt Vaughn, referring to the team picking up steam at the plate. “They’re starting to see the results when they do buy in and when you get results like that they take notice.” The series begins Friday at Dobbins Stadium at 2:30 p.m. RUSSELL EISENMAN can be reached at sports@ theaggie.org.
SPRING GAME PREVIEW Every year the UC Davis football team plays an intrasquad game to conclude spring practices and give the Aggie football fans something to look forward to for the next year. “The Spring Game is a culmination of the last 14 practices and a chance to display what they’ve been doing for the last five weeks,” said head coach Bob Biggs. Biggs is coming into his 20th and final year as UC Davis head coach, and this will be his last spring game. “Family and friends will be in the stands and it’s going to be a festive atmosphere,” Biggs said. The game is going to be played at Aggie Stadium on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. The team will split up and compete in a gametype situation. “The number one of-
fense will play with the number two defense on the gold team and the number one defense will play with the number two offense on the blue team,” Biggs said. There will be a few changes for the Spring Game to prevent unnecessary injuries — such as fair catching all punts — and Biggs has made it clear he is not going to take any risks. “We have a couple people banged up so we’re not going take any chances,” he said. Even with a few precautions, the Spring Game will still be full of action. “You’ll see a lot of big plays, a lot of touchdowns and hopefully the fans will get a good show,” said senior defensive end Bobby Erskine. Erskine is going to be one of the players who will sit out with an injury for
this game, but for others this game has some incentives attached to it. Junior quarterback Randy Wright and sophomore London Lacy have been in competition the entire spring for the starting quarterback position. “London and I are both playing really well and we are pushing each other which is what is best for the team,” Wright said. The Spring Game is a preview of the team that is set to redeem themselves next year after a tough 2011 season. With over 24 seniors returning, the team is ready to make a big impact in their first year in the Big Sky Conference. “We really think we can be playoff contenders this year and possibly even win the Big Sky Conference,” Erskine said. –– Jason Min
RECYCLE THE AGGIE . . . by making a pressman’s hat . . .
Begin with one full news sheet. Fold top corners down to join at center line. Then fold bottom area of top sheet up to meet lower edge of folded corners. Fold up again to form the band.
Flip to the other side. Fold side edges in to meet at center. Fold up lower corners, then fold bottom up and tuck into the band.
Fold top point down into the band. Open the hat, by pulling on the band, and flatten into a square. Fold top point down, and bottom point up, into the band. Reopen and you’ve got yourself a hat!
Event: NCAA West Regional Where: Colorado National Golf Club — Eerie, Colo. When: Thursday through Saturday, all day Who to Watch: Demi Runas has led the UC Davis women’s golf team all year and has shown no reason why that should change any time soon. The junior just picked up Big West Player of the Year accolades, making it her third straight year to be recognized on the All-Big West first team. This will be Runas’ third NCAA Regional appearance and she is still continuing to improve. “This is her second straight year as conference player of the year, but she’s still very under the radar,” coach Anne Walker said. “She can be the number one player in the conference and the country if she plays with confidence.” Did you know? Last year, the No. 22 ranked Aggies entered regionals with Demi Runas No. 8 seed — their junior highest in Division I program history — and placed third out of the 24 team field. UC Davis is treading very familiar ground this year as it brings an identical eighth seed and No. 23 ranking over to Colorado for the NCAA Division I West Regional. Yet, only three players from last year’s squad are returning and the Aggies will bring a less experienced side of their game to this year’s regional tournament. Preview: Fresh off its third Big West Conference Championship in a row, UC Davis is in full swing entering the NCAA Division I West Regional. Of the five seasons the Aggies have competed at the Division I level, they have qualified for the regional
field four times. This year’s success has been a product of contributions throughout the entire lineup. Led by Walker, who was named Coach of the Year for the third straight season, junior Amy Simanton, sophomore Jessica Chulya and freshman Beverly Vatananugulkit grabbed AllBig West first team awards to join Runas. Vatananugulkit was named Freshman of the Year, while fellow first year Blair Lewis was given honorable mention in conference. Stacked with an all-star lineup, the Aggies have proven they can perform well even out of conference competition. The young roster has shown little signs of nerves. “Everyone’s built experience and we’re going to focus on the lessons we’ve learned throughout the year and put them into play,” Walker said. “Everyone’s got the tools they need to succeed, regardless of their year.” The Aggies will not settle for simply a conference title — they are shooting for the top. Walker knows they will be facing stiff competition in Colorado. “We’re going to have to play well with full commitment and trust every swing we take,” she said. “We have good enough players that can make it to the finals.” The West Regional field features the No. 1 team in the nation — UCLA — followed by six other teams that are in the top 20 in the national rankings. Should the Aggies place in the top eight teams in the Regional round, they would advance to the national finals, which will take place at Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tennessee. — Matthew Yuen
TRACK AND FIELD PREVIEW Event: Big West Championships Where: Anteater Stadium — Irvine, Calif. When: Friday and Saturday, all day Who to watch: Freshman Raquel Lambdin posted a phenomenal performance at the Sacramento State Open. She led a close 1-2 Aggie finish in the 800-meter run, posting a season-best time of 2:11.57. It is the third fastest time for the Aggies season and allowed her to edge fellow teammate Melinda Zavala in the race. Did you know? Last year in the 2011 Big West Championships at Cal State Northridge the UC Davis men were in third after the first day while the Aggie women were in fourth. The following day, the Aggie men placed second and the women third at Big
West. The athletes post- well,” said coach Drew ed strong performances Wartenburg. “So you have as they claimed to like the perforsix individual mances that are getchampionships ting toward peak and posted nulevels at season’s merous groundend.” breaking results. The UC Davis Preview: The track and field Aggies begin their team demonquest to post high strates versatility in results in this many of the events year’s Big West that will be feaChampionship at Raquel Lambdin tured on Saturday. Anteater stadium freshman At the Payton this weekend. Jordan Cardinal Invitational, The Aggies have been consistent- Jonathon Peterson broke ly posting strong perfor- his own school record in mances at previous meets, the 5,000-meter run, while the most recent of which Alycia Cridebring had a was at Sacramento State. career-best effort in the Although the Aggies did not 1,500. come away with a victory, Following the conference the athletes’ showings ap- championships the Aggies pear to be promising in the will wait for the announcefuture. ment of the NCAA Regional “We did have some folks field. — Veena Bansal really step up and perform
SOFTBALL PREVIEW share of the league championship. Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal State Fullerton Records: Aggies, 22-27 (12-6); Titans 19-29 With a 22-27 record, UC Davis’ hopes of (7-11) competing in the NCAA tournament apWhere: Anderson Family Field — Fullerton, pear slim if it doesn’t win the conference as Calif. only one Big West team — CSU Fullerton When: Friday at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.; in 2008 — has made the tournaSaturday at noon ment with a losing record. Who to watch: Kelly Harman, Preview: The 2012 regular season a former Big West Conference has come down to three games Freshman Field Player of the for the Aggies as they travel down Year and All-Big West Honorable south to face CSU Fullerton. Mention, will possibly be playing “There’s no change at this her final games as an Aggie this point,” said head coach Karen weekend. Yoder in relation to entering the final series of the year. “It’s just a The senior from Trabuco matter of preparing…and believCanyon, Calif. has displayed her ing in what we’ve worked so hard offensive prowess all season long, Kelly Harman for.” leading the team with 18 runs senior Although the Titans have won scored and a .399 on-base perjust three out of their last 14 centage. With a team-high of 23 walks, Harman games, they come in to their home series maintains a composure at the plate and finale with some impressive seniors who stands among the best in the league. Her hope to go out on a high note. patience and leadership will be critical this Titan seniors Anissa Young, who is secweekend for the Aggies if they hope to ex- ond in the league with nine home runs, tend their chances of winning the league and Nicole Johnson, who is third with title. eight long balls, will be major threats to UC Did you know? After sweeping Cal State Davis’ championship dreams. Fullerton in resounding fashion last week- On the other side, Aggie freshman startend, Big West Conference leader Long ing pitcher Justine Vela will attempt to Beach State holds a 14-4 conference record keep the Aggies’ Big West title hopes alive and leads UC Davis by two games with with some strong performances. Vela’s 248 three remaining. strikeouts on the year leads second-place The Aggies will need some help from fel- Shelby Wisdom of UC Santa Barbara by 21. low second-place team Pacific, who plays — Doug Bonham the 49ers this weekend, in order to claim a
thursday, may 10, 2012 7
The california aggie
ASUCD
How many students employed, prices offered and hours open will be affected,” Sterling said. When the tax was first being considered, ASUCD knew it would need to bear the burden, but was upset that it would need to assume the tax. According to Sterling, ASUCD is confident that it will be funded through the first year, but is worried about what will happen once the assessment triples. “I think two years from now ASUCD will be making different decisions,” said Melanie Maemura, ASUCD Controller. As ASUCD Budget Hearings approach, ASUCD is working to adjust the budget to allow for the new tax.
Cont. from front page Specifically at UC Davis, the ASUCD Coffee House will be assessed $67,175 and Unitrans $65,721 for the 2012-13 school year. “They are phasing in ASUCD. They think that it takes off a slight burden, but it doesn’t do justice,” said ASUCD President Rebecca Sterling. Over three years, ASUCD will need to assess the full tax, rather than the one-third it is currently responsible for. For the first year ASUCD will pay one-third of the tax, for the second year two-thirds of the tax and for the third year the full 1.52 percent tax. “We are pretty scared about how it will impact things like the Coffee House and Unitrans. DANIELLE HUDDLESTUN can be reached at campus@theaggie.org.
guest Cont. from page 3 well quietly end a marginal service in response to criticism, whether or not the criticism is correct. With this backdrop of facts, I am left wondering whether the only way to make sense of the bank protests is not as resistance to privatization – since there have always been many private vendors on campus – but simply as retaliation for tuition
increases. However, UC Davis does not control systemwide tuition. Even as systemwide tuition has risen, the educational grant that tuition supports has fallen. (That’s per student, adjusted for inflation; it’s easy to tell a false story using just nominal dollars.) The bank protests were a wrecking ball of misplaced blame. They can only make UC Davis more expensive in the name of making it cheaper. Above all, for anyone who truly cares about higher education, it does not make sense to financially attack UC Davis in order to save it.
classifieds
8 thursday, may 10, 2012
The california Aggie
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Services GRADUATING Spring? Take your senior portrait at our studio in Davis now! Cap and gowns provided. www.vipportraits.com
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House for Rent 4 Bedroom 2 Bath house on Sycamore Lane. Please call 415-305-8278 for more information. HOUSE FOR LEASE FIVE BEDROOM $2600/M AVAILABLE SEPT. 1ST CALL (530)753-4770 CLOSE TO UCD. Fraternity / Sorority House for Rent Fall 2012. Please contact jeanette@ city-core.com.
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Summer Jobs
BY THE ADVERTISER following the first insertion. Errors in advertisements must be reported before 1 p.m. for correction in next issue. Credit for Publisher error(s) will only be given for the incorrect portion of the advertisement for the first publication date. All phone numbers appearing in classifieds will be in the 530 area code. Only area codes outside the 530 area will be printed. For placement or questions e-mail classifieds@theaggie.org. There are no refunds/credits for cancellations.
Wednesday’s puzzle solved
Summer REC Program Assistant Director. June 18-August 18. 3 quarter time $13/hour. Experience and reference required. email resume to daviskidsklub@aol.com (530) 220-4731
Egg Donors Needed. Healthy females ages 18-30. Donate to infertile couples some of the many eggs your body disposes monthly. Compensation $6,000. Call Reproductive Solutions (818) 832-1494 donor.eggreproductive.com. Reproductive Solutions abide by all federal and state guidelines regarding egg donation as well as all ASRM guidelines.
EXPERIMENTAL SUBJECTS participants needed for easy 60-90 min. experiment. Perform group decisionmaking task. Must be 18 years or older to participate. Register: www.experimetrix2.com/ucdesp. One time participation only. You will be compensated $10-20. Payment determined in part by individual success in task.
Sudoku
Very Hard
Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row must contain one of each digit. So must every column, as must every 3x3 square. Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing.
thursday, may 10, 2012 9
The california aggie
Nematodes: coming to an ecosystem near you Microscopic roundworms are nearly everywhere — keeping insect populations in check
Nematodes
courtesy
By BRIAN RILEY Aggie Science Writer
Nematode research is an exciting field of study in which there still remain many rich veins of research waiting to be tapped. There is a vast diversity among the world’s various nematode species, many of which have yet to be described, according to UC Davis professor and researcher Edwin Lewis. Lewis is a member of the department of nematology at UC Davis — which
is in the process of merging with the department of entomology. Recently, Lewis gave a public seminar addressed to students and faculty members of the Animal Behavior Graduate Group (ABGG). The seminar, titled “Infection Behaviors of Parasitic Nematodes: The Story of the Slithering Herd,” will be made viewable online on the entomology department webpage. “There’s a great kind of mental image,” said James Carey, a UC Davis entomology professor, referring to an image of nematodes’ prevalence in plants and trees and all over the earth. “If you took everything away and just left nematodes in place, it would outline the world.” Nematodes are often used as biological pest controls — killing crop pests such as weevils. Insect pests are more accurately targeted by nematodes compared to chemical pesticides making them an available tool for farmers. During the seminar, Lewis explained that researchers haven’t yet discovered the method by which nematodes decide to infect a particular insect. A “risk prone” type nematode will usually infect an in-
sect first and release bacteria into the insect’s system causing its immune system to be suppressed and the insect to eventually die. That insect then somehow becomes more attractive to the “risk averse” nematodes who decide, either individually or as a group, to also infect that same insect. This “leader-follower” behavior can also be found in other species, such as fish. “It’s called a ‘decision,’ but it’s not a decision in the context that we think of with humans,” Lewis explained. “It’s not like me deciding between pepperoni and sausage pizzas. It’s not like a cognitive decision.” “What is most intriguing about behavioral ecology work is that it illuminates fundamental motivations for different behaviors that can be extrapolated to larger organisms, even humans,” said Danica Maxwell, a graduate student majoring in entomology who does research with Lewis. Larissa Conradt, a professor at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom, has reported in her research that some animals are able to engage in “democratic” decision-making processes by communicating via ritualized movements, body
postures and vocalizations. In a particular situation, when animals’ “voting” signals surpass certain intensity thresholds, behavioral mechanisms are triggered and the group acts together. Such work points to the possibility that aspects of democratic behavior in humans are natural and that such behavior originated deep in our evolutionary past. “Generations are long. They’re expensive to keep. There’s a ton of regulations,” said Lewis, referring to research on larger animals. “The diversity of [nematodes] allows you to ask the same types of questions as you can with any other group of animals.” “Butterflies and zebras do the same things,” Lewis said. “They find food. They grow. They mate. They reproduce. So why have a lab full of zebras when you can have a lab full of caterpillars and find out the same thing?” Currently, Lewis is working with graduate students who are doing research on nematodes and insects that involve pistachios, citrus or bees. BRIAN RILEY can be reached at science@theaggie.org.
Back where it started: addiction on campus By Kevin Burbach
Minnesota Daily (University of Minnesota)
Bridget woke up strapped to a hospital bed after passing out on the sidewalks of Chicago. Steve, clouded by drugs and depression, tried to kill himself one summer morning. Cody’s drug was heroin. He shot it up every day in northern New Mexico. Bridget, Steve and Cody are now sober, and these once college dropouts are degreeseeking students at U. Minnesota — a university that, like most in the nation, lacks adequate resources for students recovering from addictions. They’re part of a drastic increase in the number of young adults struggling with addiction. For a long time, the typical addict in recovery was thought to be older, “but today we know the truth, that addiction strikes early,” said William Moyers, a spokesman for Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center. A 2010 report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that young adults ages 18 to 25 have the highest rates of substance abuse disorders of any group in the country. Staying sober for recovering addicts is a daily battle on the nation’s fourth largest college campus. Left to fend for themselves, Bridget, Steve, Cody and other former addicts returning to campus must ultimately confront the culture that pushed their addictions to the edge in the first place. In response, recovering students often bind together to create sober communities of their own — crucial for staying clean after treatment. Some universities have started to respond to the growing problem of addiction in young people — the fastest-growing demographic seeking treatment for substance abuse — but most provide almost nothing. The University funds a small, student-run group for recovering addicts but little else beyond that. Students and professionals at the University and around the nation say young adults in recovery need more. “I think we as a society, including higher education, have come to recognize that college students can become addicted, but that they can also recover,” Moyers said. “Sadly, the awareness of the need is far greater than the resources to support that need.” Vice Provost for Student Affairs Jerry Rinehart said the University, “at best, provides semi-adequate” resources. Recovering students would likely be better off attending other schools, he said. “If my son had a major addiction problem, I’d want to find an environment where there are those resources,” Rinehart said, “and it probably wouldn’t be the University of Minnesota.” Bridget Bridget McGuinness’ mind was blurry. She’d been drunk every day for the past month. Sobriety felt foreign. For the third time in the past week, she woke up in a strange, sterile room in Chicago after passing out on the sidewalk. Fearing she might attack another officer or bite another nurse, police handcuffed her to a hospital bed. Outside the fully windowed room, disappointed nurses who recognized McGuinness from her past visits huddled, whispering. She couldn’t hear them, but she knew what they were saying: “This poor girl’s going to die.” Today, McGuinness is a 24-year-old University junior studying psychology, four years sober, who heads Students Off Booze Enjoying Recovery (SOBER). As co-president of the group, McGuinness organizes sober events where recovering students can hang out without the pressure of drugs and alcohol. But the group struggles to bring in students. SOBER was founded by students in 2005. When McGuinness discovered the group at the start of the semester, it wasn’t doing enough. Dave Golden, director of public health and marketing at Boynton Health Service, said SOBER, which the University funds, is essentially the only resource the school provides for recovering students. “SOBER is the closest thing we have to that student focus, and it’s hit or miss,” Golden said. The University has been slow to fully support the group, McGuinness said. “I think [University officials] were kind of like, ‘We’re not used to doing all this stuff at
once for you guys; let’s take it a little bit at a time,’” McGuinness said, “which is frustrating because I know that there is a bigger community of people out there that either don’t know we exist or don’t feel comfortable reaching out yet.” Still, the University is not behind the times when it comes to recovery. Most colleges and universities offer few resources for students in recovery, researchers say, and most help comes in the form of unaffiliated 12-step programs. But there’s a recent trend among universities to mimic schools like Texas Tech University, Rutgers and Augsburg College in Minneapolis — three schools nationally recognized for their recovery resources. These schools create strong support communities by providing sober residence halls geared toward students in recovery, academic support and easy access to addiction counselors. Last summer, more than 15 colleges across the nation formed the Association for Recovery in Higher Education to promote collegiate recovery programs. In addition, two Big Ten schools, the University of Michigan and Penn State University, have recently launched recovery programs that they expect will eventually serve hundreds of students. These programs will offer counseling, recovery courses, housing and substance-free activities to help students avoid relapse. Officials from both schools said the programs are small, but they expect steady growth over the years. St. Cloud State University is establishing its own recovery program for students based on Augsburg’s StepUP program — a nationally recognized collegiate recovery program. But for now, most recovering students can’t find resources on campuses. For many, the opportunities and pressures to join the college party culture cause them to drop out. McGuinness’ story reflects that. She dropped out of two schools three times total before she successfully entered treatment. She started drinking and smoking pot at 14. But what started out as occasional fun quickly grew into a depressing circle. “It was like a switch flipped, and all of a sudden, I was blacking out all the time. I couldn’t drink and not crave more. I wanted to be high all the time,” McGuinness said. For McGuinness and many like her, the college culture perpetuated problems that had been contained while in high school. Without consequences from her parents, college allowed her to completely break free. “As soon as I was totally on my own and left to my own way of doing things, my addiction took over tenfold,” McGuinness said. “Because I’m an alcoholic, it was just going to catch up with me anyways, but I know for a fact that I sunk faster going off to college.” McGuinness’ college career, which started at Indiana University, didn’t last long. She dropped out before the semester’s end and moved back home with her parents in the spring to attend community college. She reenrolled at Indiana in the fall. Excessive, and usually violent, drinking cut that attempt short, and she dropped out again — this time before Halloween. Fed up, McGuinness’ parents cut her off. She moved to downtown Chicago to work, but instead of the independence she expected, her life unraveled. She lost her job and was soon homeless as her newfound freedom culminated in a violent and dangerous 30-day drinking binge. “I looked like a homeless person; I was dirty, bruises all over me, my skin was like yellow from like so much alcohol,” she said. “I still to this day only remember bits and pieces.” That final night in the hospital, her bloodalcohol content tested at .37. Experts say .40 is the average fatal BAC. About a week later, McGuinness checked into Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center — considered the nation’s, if not the world’s, best place to get clean. In 2010, 628 young adults ages 18 to 25 received residential treatment at the Hazelden Center for Youth and Families. Her initial days of sobriety foreshadowed the long road ahead. “I couldn’t read. My mind was so messed up from drinking that I couldn’t read when I was getting sober. I would shake and be puking all the time,” McGuiness said. McGuinness is now four years sober and confident she’ll stay that way. She said the only time she spends on campus is for class and group meetings because she’s older than
most students, and she doesn’t want to be around students talking about drinking and drugs. “It would be hard for me now if I lived on campus, and that’s why we want [SOBER] to be a social network of kids in recovery,” McGuinness said. “We want to help kids who are not sure. It is possible to have fun and be sober. I didn’t know that.” University officials said SOBER is made of a unique group of students who have built the recovery community themselves. “It’s a grassroots network here at the University for recovering students,” said Gary Christenson, the director of Boynton’s mental health clinic who has treated students facing addiction. McGuinness said she and other members will continue to push for more University resources. “I think the ultimate goal [of SOBER] would be like sober dorms” for recovering addicts, she said, or “a place for students in recovery to hang out.” At a massive University with few resources, students and professionals say organizations like SOBER, in addition to 12-step programs, are integral pieces to their ongoing recovery. “To foster recovery in a young person means to foster a culture that surrounds them,” said Hazelden’s Moyers. Steve Steve Porter liked to party. Partying, coupled with long-standing depression, nearly killed him. After a difficult break-up with a girlfriend at the end of his sophomore year, Porter lost control. He smoked pot and snorted almost five times a regular dose of Adderall every day. He blacked out nearly every night. Pushed to the edge one day in the summer of 2010, Porter tied a rope to the foothold of a telephone pole and wrapped the other end around his neck. Standing on a stool, he kicked it away. “I blacked out and wet my pants … somehow came to, and I was still hanging there,” Porter said. “I reached up and grabbed onto the foothold and pulled myself up, untied the rope and hopped down and called my mom.” His mom called 911, and Porter was taken to the psychiatric clinic at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview. There’s a strong correlation between mental illness and addiction. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 31.9 percent of adults aged 18 to 25 with mental illness had substance dependence as well — the highest rate of any age category. Porter’s parents gave him an ultimatum: an extended stay at a mental institution or 28 days of treatment. He reluctantly went to Hazelden. “It wasn’t until probably two weeks in, in my small group — they made me read my suicide note to the group and I was bawling, and that was kind of when things turned around,” said Porter, now 22. He ended up staying at Hazelden for four months before halfway and sober houses led him to the University House, a sober house in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood. Three recovering addicts founded the house in 2005. Richard Mark, a 1975 University alumnus, was one of them. “I remembered how hard it was going through the University, feeling alone and uncertain. So I just wanted to provide a place for people for students with that struggle,” said Mark, who still owns the house. The house has no formal affiliation with the University, but Mark said many of its residents have been University students that used the sober house to continue their recovery while attending classes. Even so, Mark said the University has provided almost no support, and the house hasn’t received a single referral from the University since it started in 2005. “You can’t tell me that there aren’t eight guys at the University who are recovering from addiction,” Mark said. Capable of housing up to 12 students, the house currently is home to four — the lowest since it opened. Porter drank in high school and experimented with pot, but football and a summer job kept his partying in check. Before his four-month stay, Porter had been to Hazelden once already. But he lied to counselors. “They just said I was a heavy abuser, just like a normal college student, which I might have been at the time,” Porter said. According to a 2007 study from the
National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, 22.9 percent of college students meet the medical definition for alcohol or drug abuse. “You know, a lot of young people experiment with legal and illegal substances, some of them develop consequences,” Moyers said. “But only a small percentage of those are what we would define as becoming dependent or addicted.” Steven Hermann, a Boynton psychiatrist who specializes in prescription management, said the typical Adderall prescription is 30 mg daily. The drug, commonly used to treat ADHD, is rarely prescribed higher than 60 mg per day. “After that, there are a lot of cardiovascular risks,” Hermann said. Before his suicide attempt, Porter was snorting about 140 mg daily. Now two years sober, Porter said the sober house has been essential to his recovery, especially on big partying days like St. Patrick’s Day and April 20. The toughest thing about campus is “driving through Dinkytown on a Saturday night and seeing all that,” Porter said. “Just having guys that are my age to hang out with was huge. On a night when I needed to hang out with sober friends, the University House was there.” Even though the University House played a large role in his recovery, he questions if there is much the University can offer to assist recovering students. He said with such a large student population, he doesn’t know if it’s realistic to have a sober community. Porter is set to graduate next spring and hopes to become a high school history teacher. With admitted challenges ahead, he looks forward to finishing his college career. “It’s the best thing I’ve done in my life, getting sober. Things are just so much easier.” Cody Cody Lake spends most days looking for jobs and working out. But it was only 90 days ago that he last shot up heroin — his second relapse since treatment. As one of the four residents of the University House, Lake has managed to stay sober, but his history with substance abuse is a close memory as he prepares to start classes at the University this summer. “I’m excited about it, but I’m also a little bit apprehensive,” said Lake, 23. He said being away from academics for so long — he went to two schools in New Mexico in the past — makes him especially nervous to return. The University will be the third Lake has attended since high school, where his addiction began. He drank and smoked pot, but once he started his freshman year at New Mexico State University, there was nothing holding him back. “I didn’t start taking any hard things until college,” Lake said. “Having the freedom, I didn’t have to hide things from parents anymore, and I had money, and I had the source for drugs.” Lake’s drug use progressed. By his third year he was injecting heroin. “There wasn’t any balancing after that. It was all the addiction.” Lake dropped out after his grades plummeted. He went to outpatient treatment and attended a small community college but then quickly found his way back to heroin. After an overdose, Lake moved to Minnesota and got treatment at Hazelden. He lived at a couple sober houses after he left but relapsed twice. Lake eventually found the University House, where he’s managed to stay sober with the support of fellow recovering addicts. “We all have this understanding; we’ve all been through all the shit of using, so we all kind of know what’s going on,” he said. “They’re probably one of the only things that keeps me and a lot of people sober.” Lake attends three 12-step programs a week and the sober house meetings. Still, he’s nervous to return to the college environment. “If I were living on campus I would be way worried about relapse,” he said, “but just having this place to come to after school, to study and to hang out will be [helpful].” He said he isn’t aware of other University resources but feels confident the University House will be enough to support him. “I’m going to rely on this house a lot.”
10 THURSday, MAY 10, 2012
The california Aggie
Whole Earth Festival attendees encouraged to expand their minds Workshops offered in yoga, composting, poetry
Jasna Hodzic / Aggie
Whole Earth Festival, which begins tomorrow and lasts until Sunday, features “spaces” that encourage learning and reflection.
By LANI CHAN Aggie Staff Writer
The annual Whole Earth Festival is upon us. Another Spring Quarter weekend event where there is so much to do in Davis that one could wander for hours and not see it all. But there’s so much more than what meets the eye when casually walking through the Quad, so much more than endless aisles of vendors selling crafts and delicious food. Via workshops and demonstrations run by peers and special guests, festival attendees can learn about things that resonate with the overarching emphasis of the festival: sustainability, creativity and spiritual wellness. Here’s a rundown on what can be learned and experienced at a handful of the sites this weekend. Experiential Space According to the directors, the Experiential Space welcomes everybody to learn, inspire and integrate fresh ideas into their lives. On the schedule for this area are events such as yoga workshops, a session on how to discover “supernatural love and ecstatic bliss,” composting demonstrations and ideas on how to incorporate more vegetarian meals into a regular diet.
“There’s a professor, Kathryn Dillard, running a poetry workshop on Friday at 4 p.m., where people can write something they’ll be able to take home,” said Joy Wei, junior international relations and statistics major. “A girl named Cassie will be talking about different types of herbs on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. We have all types of people speaking; anyone with experience in holding a workshop can do one. We do have some students putting on workshops.” Through a series of short workshops and lectures running from a half hour to an hour and a half, Whole Earthers can raise their awareness in the areas of wellbeing, social justice and environment. “There will be one person there to help people who were abused and show how they can grow from it,” Wei said. “We’ll have dance instructors, anyone who just wants to share knowledge. I’m really excited for the hula hoop space.” Participatory Art Space This space will provide the opportunities for people to learn and engage with each other through hands-on exhibits and activities. One such activity will be a scavenger hunt with the aim of collecting intuitive answers rather than items. “People are going to be asking questions, meaningful questions,” said
Residents to determine renewal of Parks Maintenance Tax Without tax, parks maintenance will face budget deficit of more than $1.3 million By EINAT GILBOA Aggie Staff Writer
Davis residents will have the opportunity to vote on the renewal of a Parks Maintenance Tax when it appears on the June 5 ballot. Voting in favor of Measure D would renew a tax that partially funds the upkeep of city parks and greenbelts. The tax would require a twothirds vote to pass. In the event that it doesn’t pass, the city would have to make up a parks maintenance budget deficit of $1.344 million. Currently, Davis residents pay the tax on a per parcel basis: $49 for each residential parcel or per 1,000 square foot of each nonresidential parcel up to a maximum of 10,000 square feet. This means businesses pay a parks tax proportional to their size while households have the $49 flat fee. Revenue from the tax typically goes toward the maintenance and operations of pools and parks, graffiti abatement, trees maintenance, lawn mowing and edging. Without the tax, a lot of these functions will be trimmed considerably, says Alan Pryor, member of the Davis Natural Resources Commission. “There will be no normal preventative maintenance of trees,” Pryor said. “Graffiti abatement will be done when they can get to it. They’re talking about having to eliminate 15 full-time employees.” If the tax doesn’t pass, a substantial amount of parks maintenance activity will have to be cut, as the city has no other mechanism to make up the funds. At the Davis City Council meeting on May 1, City Staff
presented
a contingency plan that would be implemented if Measure D failed to pass.
There are a couple of different ways the city can approach these cuts. “The Park Maintenance Tax is a special fund that we are legally obligated to use for parks maintenance,” Stachowitz said. “When you have those funds available to you, it frees up funds from the general fund that can be used in any way.” Without the revenue from the tax, one choice is to replace it with money from parks maintenance. The other choice is to take a disproportionate amount from parks maintenance and take the rest of the money out of the general fund. “The city manager’s recommendation is a hybrid method, where some cuts are taken from parks maintenance, but not all,” Stachowitz said. “Part of the reason is that we have more parks than a lot of other communities and this community has expressed an interest in maintaining those services and programs.” Pryor reiterated that maintaining the tax is in the best interest of the community. “Davis parks and bike pathways are the jewel of the city and really
make Davis u n i q u e ,” P r y o r s a i d . “Lots of college towns are active and vibrant, but there’s no place in the country that has the amount of parks and interconnecting bike ie p a t h w a y s Agg / m i es K that we have.” Jam Apart from giving Davis a unique look and feel, a well-maintained system of parks and greenbelts helped Davis survive downturns in the housing market, says Pryor. “Davis didn’t get hit nearly as badly when the recession hit,” Pryor said. “Prices dropped in the valley close to 50 percent, and in Davis prices only dropped 10 to 15 percent.” Charlie Russell, chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, has been involved with parks and recreation issues for almost 30 years and says that he sees the benefits of parks and recreation facilities and programs every day. “My kids all benefited from these programs,” Russell said. “Anyone who’s lived in Davis for any small amount of time knows how significant these issues are to residents. If we’ve already cut back on services and maintenance, losing this funding will have a significant negative effect on life in town.” EINAT GILBOA can be reached city@ theaggie.org.
Andre Almeida, a student at the Da Vinci Charter Academy in Davis. “The idea is to get them to interact with random people, which is something people aren’t used to, but this’ll get them to open up.” The goal is to collect enough responses to bring them together at the end in a visually comprehensive way that can be shared with those who did not participate. “We want to be able to write something about it afterwards, or make a collage of them,” Almeida said. An example of a hands-on exhibit that will be in the Participatory Art Space is a bike with a special type of rear wheel, designed and built by Almeida himself with the help of his father. “The back wheel has mirrors in the place of spokes,” he said. “When you spin it one way you’ll see the face of the person standing on the other side upside down, and when you spin it the other way you’ll see a blend of the two faces.” On Friday and Saturday, artist Danny Shieble will be coming to instruct festival-goers on the techniques of Tapagami, a method of origami that uses tape instead of paper. “I’m looking forward to it mostly just because I know how amazing the artist is, and I can’t wait to bring his work to everyone,” said Art Space director Chloe
Jones. “It’ll be really exciting because it allows us to use everyday materials and see them in a different light by making them into artwork.” Sacred Space The most spiritual of all of the Whole Earth locales, Sacred Space, is a place the directors say is a place for spontaneous conversation, sharing energy and honoring Mother Earth. Located in Young Hall, the events are catered to be shared with more people and run for a longer amount of time. “It’ll be more of a lecture format, and the workshops will take place for two hours or longer,” Wei said. “Learning is a big part of this part of Whole Earth — people who come definitely come to learn.” The day starts with yoga sessions that run for an hour every morning during the festival starting at 10 a.m., and finishes with acoustic jam sessions every night. Other events include body painting on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., a medicinal herb workshop on Saturday from 3 to 4 p.m. and a raw chocolate workshop on Sunday from 11 a.m. to noon. View the complete Whole Earth Festival program at wef.ucdavis.edu/?p=463. LANI CHAN can be reached at features@theaggie.org.