April 11, 2019

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

@thecaliforniaaggie

SERVING THE UC DAVIS CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY SINCE 1915

the california aggie

THEAGGIE.ORG

@californiaaggie

@californiaaggie

VOLUME 137, ISSUE 22 | THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

UC DAVIS HOSTS 105TH

PICNIC DAY CELEBRATION

Community open house is one of the largest studentrun events in the nation

J ORDA N CHOW / AG GIE

UNITRANS ACQUIRES TWO NEW DOUBLEDECKER BUSES

BY A L LY RUSSE L L campus@theaggie.org Adventure awaits at UC Davis’ 105th annual Picnic Day, which will kick off at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 13. Bringing the Davis community together since 1909, Picnic Day is one of UC Davis’ longest-running traditions. This year, the event organizers are expecting crowds of more than 70,000, all eager to experience more than 200 engaging and interactive events.

Picnic Day is one of the largest events hosted by any UC school and is one of the largest student-run events in the nation. Elise Pohlhammer, a fourth-year human development and psychology double major, leads the Picnic Day Board of Directors as chair. Along with 15 other student directors, 75 assistant directors have been working for the past year to make the aspirations for Picnic Day a reality. On Saturday, Pohlhammer’s team will also be working with an additional 300 student volunteers to help oversee the day’s events.

This year’s Picnic Day

New buses allow for higher capacity, increased service

BY ALEXI S LOP EZ-P ER EZ campus@theaggie.org

P I C NI C DAY / CO URTESY

theme is Adventure Awaits.

Student directors collaborated to come up with a theme that embodies the adventure guests will embark on at Picnic Day as well as the adventure students experience while attending UC Davis. Pohlhammer and her team were drawn to the theme because of its different meanings for different people. Pohlhammer has been involved in Picnic Day organizations since her freshman year and commented on what the theme means to her now, during her final year at

UC Davis.

“Even when you leave Davis, adventure is still out there,” Polhammer said. “If leaving Davis is part of your next adventure, like it is for me, there is always more out there and Davis has been such a great part of the adventure so far.”

Over the past decades, Picnic Day has become one of the signature events that sets UC Davis and the community of Davis apart.

This day of celebration will include 100 different exhibits hosted by UC Davis

academic departments, animal events, the children’s discovery fair, the student organization fair, entertainment stages and many other attractions.

While guests will be able to revisit many of their favorite performances and events this year, some of the biggest changes made by board members will be things guests will not experience.

“This year we really want to focus on improving the logistics for the day of Picnic Day,” said Aaron Garcia, a third-year communication

and psychology double major and Picnic Day publicity chair. “We want to decrease the lines for food trucks and have more options available.”

Events will kick off in the morning with the annual parade and opening ceremony, followed by activities and performances throughout the afternoon. Many of the community’s favorite traditions are returning this year, including the battle of the marching bands, the doxie derby race, the chemistry

PICNIC DAY on 12

PAUL KIM HIRED AS NEW DIRECTOR OF UC DAVIS COUNSELING SERVICES Students, community express mixed reactions to Kim’s hiring MA R KU S KA EPELLI / AGGIE

BY R EBE CC A BIHN-WA L L AC E campus@theaggie.org Paul Kim, the previous interim director of UC Davis Counseling Services, has been hired as its permanent director. His hiring comes on the heels of the controversial firing of former SHCS Director Sarah Hahn in Feb. 2018. He had been in this interim role since July 2018.

“Dr. Kim is a passionate advocate for students, a thoughtful and trusted leader and an enthusiastic colleague to campus and community partners,” said Margaret Walter, the executive director of Student Health and Counseling Services, to UC Davis News and Media Relations.

Milly Judd, the director of the Mental Health Initiative at UC Davis, however, has expressed concern about UC Davis’s decision to hire Kim instead of Ruben Valencia, the current chief of mental health at California State Prison, Sacramento.

“To be honest, I’m pretty disappointed in the decision

to hire Paul Kim as the new Director of Counseling Services,” Judd said via email.

“In my and many other students’ opinions, Ruben Valencia was a far better choice.

In fact, we were worried that Paul Kim might be chosen mostly based on his previous ties to UC Office of the President, so the night before the final decision was made, a number of mental health organizations on UCD campus wrote letters as to why Valencia was a better choice.”

Judd, who said she participated in interviews and luncheons with both candidates, referred to Kim’s ideas and responses as “surface-level” and “short-sighted.”

A graduate of St. Mary’s College of California and UC Berkeley, Kim came to work at UC Davis in 2009.

He helped establish the Community Advising Network and, in tandem with the Cross Cultural Center and the Asian American Studies Department, worked to increase minority student access to mental health care at the university. In 2014, he began working as the direc-

tor of Multicultural Services within the counseling unit and became interim director of SHCS in July 2018.

Kim’s interest in mental health care was sparked after he created an academic retention center for Asian-Pacific Islander students as an undergraduate. Through this work, Kim became aware of the degree to which mental health issues can adversely impact students’ academic performance.

“In that role, I worked with students who were on academic probation or subject to dismissal and I realized that many of the students were having academic difficulties due to mental health concerns,” Kim said via email. “I was referring many students to the Counseling Center and I wanted to be in a position to help those students with their mental health concerns so that they could be academically successful.”

At UC Davis, Kim has had a positive experience, referring to Counseling Services staff as “diverse” and “exceptional.” In the future,

he hopes to “improve access [to services], [continue] to work on [our] cultural competency, [strengthen our] relationships with students and the campus, and [develop and implement] a strategic plan.”

“Student Health and Counseling Services [...] are working hard to reduce stigma of mental health and help seeking behaviors, especially with underserved and marginalized student communities,” Kim said.

Kim also addressed the most pressing mental health issues that college students face today, noting an increase in the demand for these types of support services on university campuses. As Kim noted, according to the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II, administered at UC Davis in 2017, the primary difficulties that students experience include anxiety, sleep problems and stress.

In the Health Assessment at UC Davis, 61.8 percent of undergraduates reported feeling that things were

Customer Appreciation

SALES

hopeless at some point within the last twelve months.

15.5 percent of undergraduates had seriously considered suicide, while 2.6 percent had attempted it.

Self-harm and depression were also significant factors in the assessment.

8.8 percent of undergraduates reported having engaged in some type of self-harm, while 49 percent of undergraduate students said that they had felt so depressed at times that they found it difficult to function.

“As the demand for services increases at UC Davis, it should be noted that some of this increase may be due to the important work that we have done around stigma reduction and having multiple points of entry through the Community Advising Network (CAN), our counselors embedded with our academic partners, and our counselors in the Behavioral Health and Psychiatry,” Kim said.

Unitrans recently acquired two new double-decker buses. With these buses, the unit is able to increase the capacity of passengers and increase services on its most used routes.

The two buses come at a time when Unitrans is looking to expand its operations and improve its efforts in having higher capacity buses. It is also working toward more environmentally sound methods of transportation, including its vision of moving to all electric buses in the future.

According to Jeffrey Flynn, the general manager of Unitrans, the two new buses were acquired through a joint contact with AC Transit based in Oakland, Calif.

The buses were manufactured by the same company that produced the modern double-decker buses that Unitrans currently has. These new buses bring the total of modern double-decker buses that Unitrans operates to four.

Weston Snyder, the operations manager for Unitrans, made it clear where the money for the buses came from.

“The money for them came from grants, no student fees,” Snyder said.

With these new buses, Unitrans is aiming for efficiency: it is looking to increase capacity on routes without having to use more buses.

“We’ll be expanding modern double-decker service to the G line and we’ll be able to more consistently operate double-decker service on the J and the V lines,” Flynn said.

These new Unitrans buses will also prevent breakdowns. Snyder explained that having four double-decker buses will allow for a more efficient rotation, where the buses that need repairs and maintenance can be pulled from the rotation while still having multiple buses running routes.

Previously, Snyder said that when double-decker buses were pulled out of operation, single-deck buses were used to compensate. This practice is incapable of meeting the demand of passengers.

“Our V and J line passengers would have days where they would have a single-deck bus when normally they have a double-decker, and the bus would fill up,” Snyder said As Unitrans looks to expand, the double-decker is continuing to stay within its sights.

“Our current growth strategy is to introduce more high-capacity buses like these as we replace older single-deck buses,” Flynn said.

Snyder also commented on how higher capacity buses would help Unitrans achieve its goal of ultimate growth.

“They will help us keep up with the expanding student body of Davis,” Snyder said. “As this will mean more people living in Davis and more Unitrans riders, we can have larger buses available to handle the passenger loads.”

Elizabeth Chavez, a second-year cognitive science major, weighed in on Unitrans’ new purchases.

“I think it’s a good thing,” Chavez

UNITRANS on 12

15% OFF OWNER COUPON

Owners, check your e-mail for info about how to claim your 15% OFF COUPON.

4/11

10% OFF GROCERY

Our one-day sale applies to all shoppers! Owners, stack your coupon with your favorite sale.

DAVIS FOOD CO-OP

OPEN DAILY 7AM—10PM 620 G ST, DAVIS • (530) 758-2667

DAVISFOOD.COOP

@DAVISFOODCOOP

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

2 | THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

Picnic Day Student Organization Fair includes a variety of clubs and oncampus student organizations

TREVOR GOODMAN / AGGIE FILE

Student organizations will be tabling throughout the quad

BY SA BRI N A HA B C H I campus@theaggie.org UC Davis’ annual Picnic Day will involve a variety of student clubs and organizations that highlight student involvement on campus. Victoria Choi, a second-year English major and the student organization fair director of Picnic Day, explained that there are a number of benefits for student organizations participating in the fair, which takes place on the quad.

“First of all, it’s great exposure — over 70,000 visitors come by the quad,” Choi said. “The names of the clubs gets out there, they’re very present and they get to expose themselves to a lot of visitors, and that’s a great way for them to

make connections. Secondly, they can also fundraise — they can host an entire food booth where they prepare their own food, and they have the potential to make a lot of money that way.”

One student organization that will be putting on a food booth is the Puerto Rican Community Association (PRCA). According to Eliacin Velazquez, a fourth-year political science major and president of the PRCA, visitors to the quad will be able to purchase tostones, Puerto Rican salad and pork chops from the booth.

The association’s goals include spreading awareness of the issues that Puerto Rico faces, particularly revitalization efforts for the island.

“We serve to unify Puerto Ricans and allies throughout the state of California, and we’re open to anyone who wishes to learn about Puerto

Initiative to make UC Davis herbicide-free gains momentum MELINDA CHEN / AGGIE

Grounds department already taking steps to minimize herbicide usage

SHEREEN LEE / AGGIE

Rico,” said Liliana Valladares, a third-year sociology major and general board member. “Our organization was created in response to Hurricane Maria, which of course, devastated the island in September 2017. The PRCA works with this organization called Casa Pueblo, which is an international[ly] renowned community organization that prioritizes social and ecological self-efficiency throughout the island.”

The organization’s fundraising and food booths will be providing money for Casa Pueblo to install solar panels throughout Puerto Rico.

The quad will be split into two separate areas, according to third-year statistics major and vice chair of Picnic Day Nicole Deacon. The East Quad will include all the food booths that certain clubs and organizations will put on, and the West Quad will primarily be utilized for information and fundraising booths for student organizations who have opted to participate in Picnic Day. Both sets of booths have the opportunity to raise significant funds for the clubs and organizations involved.

Choi emphasized the importance of Picnic Day as it relates to presenting UC Davis to the larger community.

“I think Picnic Day is really important because it’s UC Davis’ open house,” Choi said.

“We’re showcasing ourselves, and I think [Registered Student Organizations] are really crucial to that because they represent different groups and communities on campus, and we all make up this campus community together, so RSOs really play

BY CLAIRE DO DD campus@theaggie.org The ASUCD Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (EPPC) is making progress towards making UC Davis a herbicide-free campus. This initiative follows in the footsteps of the Herbicide-Free Cal campaign, which started after two UC Berkeley volleyball players discovered the use of Monsanto’s RangerPro on the field surrounding their volleyball courts in 2017.

Herbicides destroy unwanted vegetation, such as weeds, through a complex mix of chemicals, with glyphosate almost always being an essential ingredient. Glyphosate is listed under Proposition 65 as a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer. Monsanto’s RangerPro, along with many other commonly used herbicides, contains this hazardous chemical.

UC Davis uses Monsanto products all over campus, except for its athletic fields. UC Davis has had Monsanto representatives on its advisory board, according to a Food and Water Watch

a central role in making Picnic Day that community aspect.”

Deacon also stressed the important role that student clubs and organizations play in Picnic Day and how clubs continue to participate in Picnic Day year after year, despite membership and leadership change.

Mechanism Press, a recently formed student-run publishing company that is working to produce its first literary magazine called Open Ceilings in Fall 2019, is one of the student organizations that will be tabling at Picnic Day. “We’re planning to set up a photo booth with some props, like a typewriter, and we’re going to try to get as many people there as possible,” said Matthew Pimbley, a second-year English major and the co-director of the board for Mechanism Press. “It’s really an important event for us, because, as a brand new organization, it’ll be our first opportunity to gain publicity on such a large scale with the community, alumni and parents.”

The Students for Reproductive Freedom at UC Davis will also be involved with Picnic Day. The organization is an affiliate of Planned Parenthood’s Generation Action organization, which is Planned Parenthood’s collegiate-level organization. According to Emma Warshaw, a third-year global disease major and the president and co-founder of the UC Davis chapter, the organization is concerned with reproductive justice issues on campus, within the community and

report on corporate influence on university agricultural research.

Monsanto’s name is often in the news, most recently in a court case where a federal jury ordered the company to pay more than $80 million in damages. It was determined that the company’s product Roundup partially caused a California man’s cancer.

Alice Beittel, the chair of the EPPC and prominent leader of the movement, further discussed the process of transitioning UC Davis into a herbicide-free environment. She explained that this campaign is part of a larger movement of students working together to eliminate toxic herbicides from all UC campuses.

“We are partnering with other UC campuses and Food and Water Watch,” Beittel said via email. “Working with students at Herbicide-Free UC campaigns at UC Berkeley, UC Riverside, and UCLA, we are pushing for an herbicide-free UC system and calling on the University of California to join the long list of our fellow research institutions that have already reduced or eliminated the use of herbicides on

CLUB INVOLVEMENT on 12 campuses.”

According to Tyson Mantor, the superintendent of Student Housing and a key member of the grounds and landscape services team at UC Davis, these efforts have been successful. Mantor said that the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) has recognized these concerns coming from various UCs, and they are trying to create a universal policy towards reducing and potentially eradicating herbicide use for the entire system.

“We’ve been working very hard, as have all the UCs and the industry in general, to try and take a more sustainable perspective,” Mantor said. “For example, we’ve made the promise that, excluding sports turf, across campus we will only use 100% organic fertilizers [...] We have also implemented a process of applying — I think we’re almost at 1,000 yards — mulch across campus, to try and bring our herbicide or sprayed chemical use down.”

These efforts have not been mandated by the UCOP, which is still trying

HERBICIDES on 11

WiFi improvements made in Shields Library’s Main Reading Room ANH-TRAM BUI / AGGIE FILE

Move Along March 29 “Subject sleeping in middle of upstairs walkway between businesses on west side, required he be moved along.”

“Complaint of transient male smoking marijuana outside business windows and reporting party/ coworkers unable to open windows due to smell, required he be moved along.”

“Open line with female talking in high pitch voice, then disconnect.”

March 30 “Reporting party’s security lights came on, reporting party went to look outside and saw three other homes with their motion security lights on as well.

Requested officer drive through.”

“Male stating he feels bad about something.”

“Transient female sitting on the porch refusing to leave.”

“Vehicle driving erratically—stopping/slowing and crossing over the lines.”

March 31 “Male subject causing disturbance inside the store—picking up decorative items and refusing to put them down.”

April 1 “Reporting party states male subject currently crouched in the bushes outside her window with a bike and tools. Reporting party is concerned subject may have stolen the bike or trying to remove bike parts.”

April 2 “Male subject standing in the car lot yelling and disrupting business. Reporting party can’t understand what he is saying. Request he be moved along.”

“Two transients refusing to leave the property and playing loud music. Request they be moved along.”

Library and IET Staff collaborate to install additional wireless access points

BY PRIYANKA S H RE E DAR campus@theaggie.org On Tues. March 19, staff members of Shields Library and the Information and Educational Technology (IET) placed new wireless access points in the library to improve WiFi coverage. Their collaborative efforts were a response to increased reports from students regarding slow WiFi in the Main Reading Room, located on the second floor of the library. An article from IET News said that the three new wireless access points will be able to “handle more than 300 smartphones, tablets, or other wireless devices at a time [while] prior wireless coverage came from access points downstairs.”

Chris Clements, the network operations manager for IET, explained that “the funding [for the three new wireless access points] was split between Library and [...]

Information and Education Technology.”

Members of the UC Davis Library staff Jessica Nusbaum and Dale Snapp provided The Aggie with a joint email statement.

As Director of Communications and Mar-

keting for Shields Library and the Head of Information Technology Infrastructure Services, respectively, Nusbaum and Snapp described the increased influx of comments regarding slow wireless coverage.

“Those comments were gradually increasing, so it was clearly time to take action,” they said. “The drain on wireless access points increases as it becomes more common for students to carry multiple wi-fi enabled devices, each of which uses bandwidth [the amount of data that can be sent from one point to another in a certain period of time]. [...] It was important to improve the system to keep up with the way students study today.”

Since students typically carry multiple devices including phones, laptops and smartwatches, wireless coverage can be increasingly strained since each access point is treated the same and is using the same WiFi bandwidth.

Snapp gathered feedback from the student body by personally speaking with students studying in the Reading Room and using WiFi. Snapp asked students to test the new wireless access points and had positive responses, describing one interaction

in particular.

“I asked one student to test out the WiFi,” Snapp said. “He reloaded the class lecture he was streaming and told me it was the first time he was able to stream a class video without it being choppy. It’s one of the best parts of my job when we’re able to make an improvement to the library’s technology that helps students out like that.”

Because the Reading Room is not the only area of Shields that experiences slower or weaker WiFi coverage, the IET staff and library staff plan to improve these other areas soon.

“While investigating the needs in the Main Reading Room, we also discovered some weak coverage spots on the west side of the second and third floors of the library (above the main entrance),” Snapp said.

“We’ve added more study chairs in that area recently as well, and will soon be adding more wi-fi coverage to match.”

According to the article from IET News, the “IET also plans to improve other heavily used locations around campus, with a focus on providing efficient spaces

IMPROVED WIFI on 11

THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019 | 3

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Davis City Council approves Chiles development project designating housing for workers, families

Davis listed among top 50 safest cities in California

With widespread support from community members, city officials vote unanimously to begin construction on apartment complex for Davis workforce

Police, fire departments work to keep city safe

JORDAN CHOW / AGGIE

BY TI M L A LO N D E city@theaggie.org On March 19, The Davis City Council voted unanimously to give the green light to the Chiles workforce housing program.

This action effectively approved plans for an apartment complex geared toward working families rather than students.

The 3820 Chiles Rd. project is unique among recent housing proposals in Davis — unlike most of the other projects that have been presented to the council in the past few years, the development will be specifically oriented to meet the housing needs of working families and professionals. City planner Eric Lee called the proposed housing a “more traditional type of rental housing project,” contrasting the future workforce-oriented apartments with other recent projects aimed at the city’s growing student population.

“Obviously, we’ve seen a number of student-related or student-oriented projects for local projects, but we have not seen one like this for a while,” Eric Lee said.

Rather than renting out rooms or beds — as student housing typically does — the 225 new apartments in the Chiles complex will rent by 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom units. By doing so, city officials and developers hope this project will primarily

serve the needs of workers, professionals and families seeking to live in Davis, rather than students. Mayor Brett Lee noted that the Davis workforce population has been underserved by recent housing developments in the city. “[The Chiles project] fulfills a need that we haven’t really addressed recently, and that is for a more traditional configuration of the apartment complex,” Brett Lee said. “This type of configuration is available to a wider variety of folks rather than the student-oriented configuration.”

The project is also unique in its approach to the city’s affordable housing regulations. Davis municipal codes previously dictated that high-volume rental housing must include units set aside for low-income renters or contribute fees or dedicated land in lieu of affordable units.

But developers proposed an alternative to meet the city’s affordable housing requirements — instead of including the required affordable units, the new housing will donate a portion of its rental revenue to the city’s program.

According to Eric Lee, 1.65 percent of rental income from the Chiles apartments will be donated to the city’s Housing Trust Fund, with a minimum yearly payment of $100,000. The money generated by the complex would be used to fund future affordable housing projects within the city.

Before approving the Chiles project, City

Council voted to amend the city’s affordable housing code to allow for the project to move forward.

The South Davis land where the complex will be built is currently occupied by a vacant office building. During the meeting, some members of the public expressed pleasure that the new housing development would revitalize the unused property. South Davis resident Eric Johnson praised city officials redesignating the zoning of the lot from commercial to residential.

“This is an ideal site for workforce housing, compared to the current zoning, which would likely yield more freeway-based commercial business,” Johnson said. “Workforce housing is much more conducive to the neighborhood that borders the site, compared to the typical gas stations, convenience stores and fast-food chains that are typically found within the current zoning and proximity to freeways.”

Indeed, another notable aspect of the Chiles workforce housing project is the apparent lack of public resistance to it.

While the development of other Davis housing projects like the West Davis Active Adult Community and Nishi Student Apartments have been delayed by public controversy and community opposition, the Chiles project seems to enjoy widespread support among city residents.

There was no organized public opposition during the meeting or other parts of the planning phase. Linda Deos, a community member who ran for City Council in 2018, commented on the unusual lack of push-back throughout the approval process.

“I’m thrilled that there is — as far as I can tell — no organized neighborhood opposition to the project, and that’s thrilling and quite nice to see,” Deos said.

Mary Jo Bryan, a community member who said she has been involved with Davis housing issues for some time, commended the developers on their efforts to provide housing for working families.

“I believe [the development team] is building for the future of Davis,” Bryan said. “They observed and listened to the people of Davis, and they have developed a project that will provide much-needed workforce and family housing.”

JUSTIN HAN / AGGIE

BY LAUR EN TR OP I O city@theaggie.org In light of several recent events — such as school being canceled due to poor air quality from deadly fires in nearby counties, or the failure of the WarnMe system — individuals took necessary actions to ensure the safety of Davis and its residents. Police officers and firefighters alike, among others, worked around the clock while Davis was greatly tested, which led to the inclusion of Davis in a recently compiled list of the top 50 safest cities in California. Davis ranked 33rd this year.

According to a report completed by SafeWise, the size of the population and FBI uniform crimes reported were the factors taken into account when placing the cities in order of safety.

“Our rankings are based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) in each city.

If there was a tie, we also factored in the number of property crimes (burglary, arson, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft),” SafeWise staff said in a statement, according to The Daily Democrat.

The staff also commented on how particular crimes are compared to others based on, for example, severity and giving precedence to violent crimes over property ones. Violent crimes usually result in physical harm and are feared more than a crime which causes an economic impact.

Using its most recent available records, which included all crimes reported in 2017, Safewise also concurred that 60 percent of the safest cities were in southern California and 40 percent in northern California. Nonetheless, Danville was named the “safest city” in California.

“I think what helps make Davis a safe place is the fact that our campus is one of the few college campuses with both a fire and police department, along with the city of Davis departments,” said Jack Gordon, the senior resident firefighter for the UC Davis Fire Department. “This allows for fast emergency response times throughout the city and the campus, which create a safe and friendly environment.”

SAFETY on 12

Fourth annual Davis Cherry Blossom Festival held

BY ANNE FE Y city@theaggie.org

ALEXA FONTANILLA / AGGIE

Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan, Sudwerk Brewing Co. host Japanese cultural celebration with music, activities

Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan invited musicians, visual artists and performers to Sudwerk Brewing Co. for the fourth annual Davis Cherry Blossom Festival. The free festival — which took place from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 6 and from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m on Sunday, April 7 — has grown exponentially to become a full-fledged regional music festival in addition to it being a celebration of Japanese culture and spring.

The festival was founded by UC Davis third-year anthropology graduate student Gregory Wada and UC Davis alumna Kathleen Brandl. Wada is a Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan member and Brandl was the dock store manager at Sudwerk. This year, Dan Martin is the manager at Sudwerk and has continued the tradition of helping host and organize the festival.

Wada explained his and Brandl’s

vision for the festival to foster understanding between people and to show that Davis is a diverse community.

“We had this conversation just about genuine human interaction,” Wada said. “There’s so much we can do to promote justice and things in our world through making the right policy decisions and fighting those battles — you know, yes, those are all important — but I think also there’s this landscape that needs to be addressed too that is just people interacting with people and promoting that civility and just that friendliness.”

“What we’re trying to do is really get people together and let them have a good time together,” Wada said.

Wada also encouraged students to come to see musical acts they couldn’t see anywhere else. Headlining artists at this year’s festival were Tanukichan, Jessica Malone, The Brothers Reed, The Midnight Dip and Big Sticky Mess, although more than 30 musical acts were present

over the two days. The festival also featured other Taiko and cultural performances and a local artists’ gallery. Interactive educational and cultural demonstrations and games were available for kids.

In its first year, the festival acted as a fundraiser for Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan to host the Intercollegiate Invitational. Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan is a UC Davis performance drumming group that practices kumi-daiko, which Wada described as “one part tradition and one part jazz.” He explained that taiko’s history in the U.S. is one of expression and inclusion, aspects the festival aims to reflect.

“We try to get people from different walks of life and different genres of music,” Wada said. “But also, this year in particular, we have a lot of female-led bands and women artists.”

In keeping with this theme of supporting women, a percentage of proceeds from Sudwerk’s limited-edition sakura (cherry blossom)

CBF on 11

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

4 | THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE FADS PICNIC DAY FASHION SHOW

AL LYS O N KO/ AG G I E

Behind the scenes of a popular tradition

BY LINH NGUYEN features@theaggie.org While part of the world can anticipate the fashion shows of Fashion Week around the world, Picnic Day visitors can anticipate the annual fashion show hosted by UC Davis’ Fashion and Design Society. It showcases the work of students in the Fashion and Design Society and those in the class Design 179, a capstone class in the design major.

“There is a design capstone class offered winter quarter in which you come up with and create your garment, design concept and your design

statement that concisely conveys the idea behind your collection,” said Hannah Torromeo, a design major alumna with a fashion emphasis and Italian minor, who was a designer for the 2018 show.

The class is a lot of work beyond the garments. The students are expected to craft the mood of their show through media and models.

“Once that class ends, there is a lot left to do in the first three weeks of spring quarter that lead up to the show: creating music for our models to walk the runway to, tailoring the garments to make sure they fit just right (as well as any other final touches), rehearsing walking, testing out makeup techniques, choosing accessories, etc,”

Torromeo said.

There are different collections featured in the 90 minute show, presented by the students in FADS. “We have different collections showed in the Fashion Show. One of the collections focuses on women’s health. Another section is called ‘single garment’. Every student who wants to submit their own garment in the competition can get a reward for it. It’s open to every student who wants to apply for the competition,” said Agnes Lam, a third-year design major with a minor in both theatre and art and the current president of FADS. Lam noted that this year, everything will be new and everything is changing.

“This year, our theme is called ‘Seams Unreal,’” Lam said. “Each year, we have students in 179 and FADS officers choose themes, probably between four or five or more options. We tell [the students] at the beginning of 179. The signature collection class always happens in winter quarter, so students have time to complete their garments on time so they can showcase in the fashion show in the spring.”

This year, the show will showcase the fashion collections of 10 designers, which Lam said is a lot less than the past years.

“This means we only have 10 collections, and each collection has around four garments to show,” Lam said. “Some students can have extra [garments] (maybe up to five). [The collection focusing on women’s health] has about 15 or 14 dresses to showcase because it is a 10-year celebration for this collection.”

Not many students applied to the single garment portion of the show this year, but Lam is hopeful that students will gain more interest in the future.

“For the single garment part of the show, we are probably changing it to single garment pre-

sentation because not a lot of people applied for it this year compared to previous years,” Lam said. “Maybe in the following years, we’ll have more students interested in fashion design.”

The students in this class put in a lot of work and effort into the preparation and production of the show.

“To prepare for the fashion show, I have spent about 20 hours a week on garments for my collection,” said Chi Adanna Ilori, a design and managerial economics major and a designer for the show this year. “I have been designing for the [show] since winter break of 2018 when I sketched 22 ideas for my collection. From there, it was narrowed to 12, then five.”

To designers, the actual event brings many emotions. Designers can feel stressed if there is a wardrobe malfunction or if anything goes wrong.

The show can also feel very rewarding as designers watch their designs being brought to life.

“The day of the event was pretty stressful and emotional,” Torromeo said. “You want everything to be perfect so there’s a lot of running around and double/triple checking everything to make sure all goes well. It was almost like being in a dream watching the whole thing come together before my eyes. All my months of hard work had paid off.”

Torromeo described her feelings of immense pride in getting to share her art with others.

“There was also a sense of relief that came with realizing that it was all over, but also an extreme sense of pride in the work I was able to present to my family, my friends and my peers,” Torromeo said.

There are two showings for this year’s show: one in the morning at 11 a.m. and one in the afternoon at 1:30 p.m.. The second showing will be livestreamed on YouTube. Both showings will be in the ARC Ballroom. Tickets can be purchased online before the show or at the door.

GUNROCK WINS AGGIE AFFECTION AS BOTH A FRIENDLY, FURRY MASCOT AND FAVORABLE CAVALRY SIRE Gunrock isn’t only the lovable Aggie mascot – he was also a real-life champion breeding sire

BY MARGO ROSENBAUM features@theaggie.org With his white toothy grin, wide eyes and huggable navy blue fur, all UC Davis students know him well. But what is our mascot? An Aggie? A Mustang? He is actually Gunrock. His appearances are always well received at sports games and school events, as he can be seen high-fiving students, posing with children of alumni and cheering on sports teams with the Cal Aggie Marching Band-uh!

However, Gunrock is more than just the mascot all Aggies know and love. Gun Rock (yes, two words) was a real Thoroughbred stallion who lived at UC Davis from 1921 to 1931. Instead of navy blue, his coat was a golden chestnut color, matched with a white blaze on his face and white leg markings.

Born in 1914 as an offspring of the British Triple Crown winner in 1903, Rock Sand, and race mare Gunfire, Gun Rock lived his early years under the care of Clarence Mackay, his breeder who was a U.S. telegraph company mogul. With high-class breeding, Rock Sand was related to two American racing legends, as he was the grandfather of Man O’War and great-grandfather to Seabiscuit, according to Michael Mienaltowski, a professor in the animal science department. His mother Gunfire was the great-great-granddaughter of Lexington, another famous American race-

horse.

With his prestiged racehorse pedigree, Gun Rock was owned by various wealthy sporting elite. Several millionaire race enthusiasts passed his ownership around, including Standard Oil heir Herbert Pratt and financier August Belmont Jr., who bred Man O’ War and built the famous Belmont Park racetrack in Elmont, New York, according to a UC Davis Centennial Article on Gun Rock.

While he never had any big racing wins, Gun Rock became a legend for other reasons. Since Belmont was a great supporter of the U.S. military, he donated Gun Rock and many of his other prized horses to the U.S. Army’s old Remount Service, according to Mienaltowski. This branch, within the Department of Agriculture, placed hundreds of breeding horses and mules on landgrant colleges and certain private farms across the country to provide horses for the cavalry.

Stationed at UC Davis, which in the 1920s was known as the University Farm campus, Gun Rock become a valuable military stud. He was bred with 476 mares, some owned by the university and the rest from varied farms across Northern California. According to a 1930s edition of the Aggie Alumni Association bulletin, Gun Rock lived a pampered life in pastures during his 10 years spent in Davis.

The cavalry bought most of the foals sired by Gun Rock, but many others ended up being used

MEASURES TO ENSURE SAFETY ON PICNIC DAY

How the Picnic Day pledge and agreements with downtown businesses promote fun

A LEXA FON TA N ILLA / AGGIE

for other purposes, such as racing, showing, rodeos, ranch work or pleasure riding.

In 1932, Gun Rock’s time in Davis ended as he was moved to a facility in Utah. Shortly after his move, he passed away. Upon his death, a reporter at The Aggie in 1932 recalled him as “a beautiful animal with class and breeding evident in every line.”

As a sign of respect and to try and keep his legacy alive, the mascot for the university was named and modeled after him. The current mascot, named Gunrock, is a Mustang, however, not a Thoroughbred.

This week, the UC Davis campus celebrates the 105th Picnic Day, a tradition that has been ongoing since the university was first established in 1908. Each year the event is filled with numerous activities for students, families, alumni and faculty to enjoy. Although Picnic Day is officially known as the university’s open house, it is also widely known by students to be Davis’ biggest party day of the year.

On March 28, 2019 the entire UC Davis student body received an email regarding this year’s Picnic Day celebrations as well as tips and tricks to stay safe during this eventful time of year. The email contained a Picnic Day pledge, which urges students to make responsible choices during the festivities and uphold a welcoming environment for all students and visitors.

Third-year statistics major Nicole Deacon is the current vice chair for the Picnic Day. As Vice Chair, Deacon works alongside 13 other direc-

tors throughout the year to coordinate Picnic Day events with the help of campus departments and administration as well as the ASUCD Executive Office to ensure a fun and safe environment for students and visitors.

“Every year, there is a safety enhancement zone surrounding a large area north of campus,” Deacon said. “In this area, fines for various violations related to drinking are doubled to further discourage illegal and unsafe actions. We also work with both [the] UC Davis Police and the City of Davis Police Department to maintain safety off campus. We also work with the Davis Alcohol and Other Drug Advisory Group (DAODAG) that is part of Student Health and Counseling Services in promoting safe party tips and programs for students.”

In the past, students have been given citations by the Davis Police department for urinating in public, being generally noisy, having open containers of alcohol and smoking in public. Deacon explained how the PICNICDAYSAFE T Y on 11

GUNR OCK HI STORY on 1 2

DOXIE DERBY: PICNIC DAY TRADITION WITH BIG BARK

UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine hosts a family-friendly tradition with Dachsunds

DIA N A L I/ AGG IE

JA MIE CHEN / AGGIE

BY SNEHA RAMACHANDRAN features@theaggie.org

Gunrock has not always been the mascot, since Davis has gone through many different characters. But, to honor the agricultural heritage of the UC Davis campus, referring to students as the Aggies has remained a constant.

In 1924, Gun Rock, the actual horse, accompanied the men’s basketball team at games and rallies as their mascot. After Gun Rock moved away, a more traditional mascot also named Gunrock was used instead and persisted into the 1970s until Ollie the Mustang replaced him,

BY SIERRA BURGUENO features@theaggie.org It’s time to place your bets on your favorite sausage dog, because the Doxie Derby is back.

Picnic Day is right around the corner, and while there are many events planned for the day, one of the most anticipated is the Doxie Derby.

This student organized event was first introduced in 1972 at UC Davis and featured many little dachshunds racing for the win. The event is put on by the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) and is organized each year by the Vice-Presidents of the second year class. According to their website, “Judges and jumbotrons with instant replays will be present to determine who is the ‘fastest wiener’ in town!”

Peter Ellis, the Vice President Class of 2021 at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, is one of many who are involved in organizing the event. Other VP’s planning the event include Nicole Selk, Rama Ramakrishnan, Gabriella Lawrence, Bradley Whelchel, and Ferdie Gadiel

Liard-Ramirez. “[The Doxie Derby] has been around for more than 30 years and it is an event that is truly unique to the Davis community,” Ellis said.

“Each year we have thousands of spectators and 40+ competitors.”

Participating in the contest last year, there were 13 miniature dachshunds, 25 standards and 5 mutts competing. This year, the number has increased. At Picnic Day, you can expect to see 17 minis, 23 standards, and 6 mutts competing.

In 2018, the overall winner was Benson Silva who is planning on returning again this year to defend his title. In 2016, the title was given to mini Pickles, and in 2017 claimed by Maxi Franck. After 2017, however, Franck put up the fuzzy racing boots and sadly retired. But this year, Franck is coming out of retirement and is preparing to compete.

“Preparation is up to each individual contestant, but one could say that each dog prepares his DOXI EDER BY on 1 2

THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019 | 5

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

JAMIE CHEN / AGGIE

Looking Back: Picnic Day’s origins The history of the event over the years

BY A N JI N I V EN U GO PAL features@theaggie.org There are many things that make UC Davis what it is, but Picnic Day is particularly special to the entire Davis community. Cow milking?

A Chemistry show? A Frisbee dog contest? An Avengers-themed show hosted by the Physics Club? Picnic Day, UC Davis’ annual open house, described as its “crown jewel,” has it all. Although Picnic Day has significantly changed since it was first celebrated, it has transformed into one of the largest student-run events in the nation, and the spirit of the event remains.

Sarah T. Stewart: Parade Marshal for Picnic Day 2019 From advancing planetary science to leading a rich, historic Davis event VINCE N T SA N C H E Z features@theaggie.org The 105th Picnic Day, to be held on April 13, is an event filled with engaging activities and an opportunity for others outside of the Davis community to look at what the campus has to offer. While many people are working diligently to plan out the course of events for the exciting day behind the scenes, Dr. Sarah Stewart, this year’s parade marshal, has been given the grand opportunity of representing Picnic Day as well as the Davis community. Her work in planetary science has been recognized as the embodiment of this year’s theme of adventure –– Stewart was recently awarded a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant for her work on celestial collision and the formation of the Moon. Stewart shared her past experiences with Picnic Day and what it means to her to be a Parade Marshal.

While Stewart may not have been aware of the true breadth of her work, it all came to fruition once she found out that, by nomination, she was chosen as this year’s parade marshal.

“The student organizers for Picnic Day put out a call for nominations for the marshal,” Stewart said. “Someone nominated me and went through to find a good match for the theme, and they thought me and my work were a match for Adventure Awaits.”

The annual theme of Picnic Day is a celebration of one of the many aspects of UC Davis that make it a unique environment for the students and faculty. From building “Foundations for the Future” in 1960 to “Leaving a Mark” in 2007, themes have given the event a personalized feeling that brings the community together.

CAITLYN SAMPLEY / AGGIE

Speedy Creepy Crawlies Race in Briggs Hall Annual cockroach races promote Entomology de ISABEL L A BERI STAIN features@theaggie.org Things that involve pests are typically not what one associates with fun. Many people squirm at the sight or even the thought of having to be in the presence of a cockroach. Bottomline: cockroaches are not often painted in a positive light. However, each year on Picnic Day they are allowed to shine and show the world just how entertaining they can be, during the annual Cockroach Race.

Cockroaches from the order Blattodea, have made themselves quite present in Davis. Davis’ forgiving weather has allowed them to flourish and become an increasing topic of concern in recent years. A specific page has even been created to showcase the variety of cockroaches in Davis and how to combat them. This shows how much of a presence they have in and around the Davis community.

For many years, the Entomology Department has hosted the long awaited Cockroach Race. Even though some say they are grossed out by the insect, they can’t help but come back

for more. Many Youtube videos spanning over the years illustrate the fun to be had at the race.

In a video from 2009, one can hear loud cheering and the laughter of many children and adult participants as they witness this uniquely spectacular event. Through watching these videos one can observe changes that have been made to the racing procedures. In older videos, racing arenas were left unadorned and uncovered while the cockroaches themselves were marked with colorful papers. However, in newer videos, the wooden arenas are colorfully marked in Davis’ yellow and blue colors with covers holding the speedy creatures in, as the racing takes place.

Even though it is unclear how this tradition began, it sure is here to stay. Be sure to check out the races and the other creepy cool showings by the Entomology Department this Saturday at Briggs Hall from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00p.m., where these crazy crawlies might just have you in for a big surprise.

On May 22, 1909, about 2,000 people came to Davis to view the new Dairy Farm. According to Ann Scheuring’s “Abundant Harvest: The History of the University of California, Davis,” these people came by car, train and even horse and carriage. The ceremonies started at 11 a.m. and were about an hour and a half, but the attendees stayed, having brought their own picnics (and cups and spoons) to go along with the coffee provided by the university. To publicize the event, a cow named Molly was walked from Davis to Berkeley, a feat completed over a total of 97 hours.

The picnic was deemed a success, and the faculty of the University Farm planned and sponsored the event until 1912, when a student committee took over. The event has been canceled only five times: due to an outbreak of hoofand-mouth disease among the cowherds in 1924, delayed construction of the gymnasium in 1938 and from 1943 to 1945 during World War II. This year marks the 105th Picnic Day, and there is an expected attendance of over 75,000 people.

The City of Davis, ASUCD and UC Davis co-sponsor the event, and this year’s theme is Adventure Awaits. According to the UC Davis website, the Picnic Day Board chose the theme because they felt it “represents the adventure that every past, current and future UC Davis student experiences as they pursue their academic and

personal goals throughout their college years.”

This theme also epitomizes their goal for visitors’ experiences: “a day where adventure awaits.”

A list of past themes goes all the way back to 1923 (“Follow the Sign”). UC Davis’ agricultural roots are referenced in many of these early themes — “A New Day in Agriculture” was the theme in 1933, and “Agriculture Ahead” was the theme in 1935. The 1940 theme was “Agriculture, the Nation’s Foundation,” and its poster can be found on the UC Davis Picnic Day website, alongside a few others.

The event was first called “Picnic Day” in 1916, when attendance tripled from the previous year to 15,000. The following year, the parade had a float, and the year after that, floats were included on the official schedule. In 1935, the university went as far as to cancel classes the day before so students could help prepare for Picnic Day. At this time, there were 507 students enrolled in the university and 100 faculty members.

Eight of these students rode horses from Davis to Sacramento and invited Governor Frank Merriam to attend. In 1951, Governor Earl Warren, who would later be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, attended the event.

The enrollment of UC Davis has now gone up to over 35,000 and the campus hosts many more people at Picnic Day. There are an abun-

“The idea that the campus is full of adventure, and you come to Picnic Day to discover it and be surprised by everything happening on campus truly makes it a celebration of adventure,” Stewart said. “Showing up and wandering around campus in a new space, meeting new people, there’s always something to be found.”

With everything there is to see on campus, Stewart hopes to introduce a new atmosphere this year that truly lives up to the theme of adventure.

“I’m trying to encourage people to do something different,” Stewart said. “I’ll be going to events this year that I have never been to. I want students to purposefully seek out that surprise moment. That will be my call to action that morning: find something new.”

Much like the new students on campus today and the prospective students soon to come, Stewart recalled her first Picnic Day event and remembered the shock of seeing all there was to UC Davis in one day.

“I had that same experience of, ‘There is so much going on,’” Stewart said. “With my kids, the first thing we did was see all the animals since

that’s one of the main attractions on campus.

I’ve been in the parade with my daughter, so I’ve walked in the parade before with her and many other groups.”

Along with seeing the animals and dairy presentations, Stewart also enjoys exploring the chemistry show, making sure to attend that event whenever time permits her. The Battle of the Marching Bands is another highlight that Stewart encourages students to see, noting it as another of her favorite events.

In recent years, Stewart has worked with the geology department to bring new and engaging activities for students during the day.

“The dinosaur hats you might see on campus, those are from us,” Stewart said. “We spend the weeks leading up to Picnic Day making them in-house, taking time with volunteers gluing together some hats and then they’re gone in a few hours.”

Another presentation Stewart implores students to attend is the sandbox visualization, an interactive tool that allows students to see the differing water levels attributed to varying terrains.

FIRSTPICNICDAY on 11

MARSHAL on 12

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

6 | THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

Opinion THE

C ALIFORNIA A GGIE

Separating families at the border, obstructing rights is unjust

EDITO R I A L B OA R D EMILY STACK Editor-in-Chief

Resignation of high-ranking government officials does not make them martyrs

OLIVIA ROCKEMAN Managing Editor KENTON GOLDSBY Campus News Editor KAELYN TUERMER-LEE City News Editor TARYN DEOILERS Opinion Editor OLIVIA LUCHINI Features Editor LIZ JACOBSON Arts & Culture Editor DOMINIC FARIA Sports Editor HARNOOR GILL Science & Tech Editor

SYDNEY ODMAN New Media Manager BRIAN LANDRY Photo Director TREVOR GOODMAN Video Production Manager OLIVIA KOTLAREK Design Director JONATHAN CHEN Layout Director HANNA BAUBLITZ Copy Chief CECILIA MORALES Copy Chief ZOË REINHARDT Website Manager HALI ZWEIGORDON Social Media Manager GRACE SIMMONS Newsletter Manager LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager

President Donald Trump called for the resignation of former United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen on Sunday after she refused to close entry ports at the border and withhold aid from those seeking asylum. In her resignation letter, Nielsen stated: “I can say with confidence our homeland is safer today than when I joined the Administration. We have taken unprecedented action to protect Americans. We have implemented historic efforts to defend our borders, combat illegal immigration, obstruct the inflow of drugs, and uphold our laws and values.”

These efforts weren’t, in any way, historic. Despite repeatedly lying about the administration’s policy about separating families at the border, according to Business Insider, Nielsen later said that her department would “not apologize for doing our job,” also stating, “This administration has a simple message: If you cross the border illegally, we will prosecute you.” Nielsen did nothing but help Trump and his administration terrorize those seeking asylum and separate families at the border.

Nielsen’s forced resignation by Trump was so that the administration could have a “tougher” approach on immigration and likely replace her with someone who will enact even harsher immigration policies, despite the harsh immigration policies Nielsen already implemented. Nielsen is a perpetrator, and her resignation from the Department of Homeland Security does not exonerate her from the atrocities she committed against immigrants, including invoking the Migration Protection Protocols under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which forced undocumented immigrants or those without proper documentation to return to Mexico for

the duration of their immigration proceedings.

Not only is separating families and forcing them to remain in Mexico morally reprehensible and sickening — it’s also illegal. A California judge ruled on Monday that asylum seekers could not be forced to wait in Mexico while waiting for their trials in U.S. immigration courts. U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg stated that the DHS’s policy “lacks sufficient protections against aliens being returned to places where they face undue risk to their lives or freedom,” according to Bloomberg.

Other high-ranking government officials have also partaken in maltreatment against immigrants seeking refuge. Scott Lloyd, the former head of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, “abused his position of power to try to coerce pregnant minors to carry unwanted pregnancies to term by trying to prevent those who wished to pursue their constitutional right to abortion by leaving the shelter,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union. After the ACLU filed a lawsuit to challenge the Trump administration’s anti-abortion agenda toward immigrants, Lloyd was transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives.

Families trying to escape violence, poverty and seek better lives for their children should be met with open arms — not have their children torn from their arms.

The Editorial Board condemns the unjust actions and immigration policies of Nielsen and the Trump administration, and demands that justice be served. No one should have to endure the inhumane living conditions that these immigrants have been imposed by the administration.

Social media and the rise of extremism WITH INCREASED ACCESSIBILITY TO EXTREMIST IDEOLOGIES, MILLENNIALS LACK THE CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS TO DISCERN FAKE NEWS

BY HA N A D I J O R DA N hajordan@ucdavis.edu According to extensive polling and surveys, millennials possess great confidence in their ability to think critically. Recent research, however, undermines this millennial way of thinking, and recent events have exemplified the underlying danger of this deluded sense of confidence.

The internet has afforded us instant and unprecedented access to information. With the rise of social media, users are presented with information that has been filtered through an algorithm providing each individual with information consistent with their personal (and preconceived) beliefs and interests. These algorithms supply people with information affirming these preexisting beliefs, rather than challenging them. In this way, an individual with anti-immigrant viewpoints, for example, is given information that confirms their sentiments, even if that information is false, misleading or skewed.

Even more problematic is the rate at which fake news is able to spread through social media, spanning countries and continents. By preying on misled fears and beliefs, fake news

and skewed news have successfully sown discord and violence in society.

The consequences range from spreading silly conspiracy theories to skewing an election and stoking ethnic violence. Facebook, a well-known platform for fake news, was used

by Myanmar’s military personnel to incite fear and hatred of the country’s Rohingya Muslim population, culminating in genocide and mass migration. By the time Facebook had acknowledged its failure to act, 700,000 Rohingya had already fled the country.

Fake news would be benign if not for the lack of critical thinking skills present among millennials — and their dependence on social media as a news source exacerbates the problem. A study conducted by MindEdge testing critical thinking skills found that, of young professionals aged 19 to 30, only 24 percent of participants were able to answer eight of nine questions correctly — even after expressing confidence in their critical thinking skills — and 44 percent could not correctly answer more than five of these questions.

This is dangerous because 67 percent of Americans get “at least some of their news” from social media. When presented with fake news, those users likely accept it as fact, proceeding to share and spread that false informa-

tion to friends and strangers.

Extremists have found a safe haven on the web to share and organize with like-minded people and prey on unfounded fears, allowing them to fester in the most egregious forms. The most recent example of this played out in the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand. The terrorist responsible exchanged and shared his views on 8Chan, wrote a manifesto riddled with popular culture references and memes and live-streamed the massacre, which was instantaneously shared and re-shared far faster than content moderators could take it down. His manifesto was rife with anti-Muslim writings and is available online, and even White House advisor Kellyanne Conway encouraged people to read it.

Every facet of the terrorist’s actions was intended to garner publicity and incite similar violence. On March 25, a California mosque was set on fire in what has been called a “clear homage” to the New Zealand terrorist attack, with graffiti sprayed on the walls citing the Christchurch shootings. Thankfully no one was injured, but the stream of violence leaves no group safe from a future attack.

Viewpoints that would normally be discarded as conspiracy theories are now afforded legitimacy with the rise of social media and

the ability for those with similar grievances to connect, exchange and establish groups. The inherent problem within social media lies in the fact that uninformed and informed opinions are on the same plane. Unlike legitimate news sources, social media news goes unfiltered, unchecked and ultimately becomes dangerous, and even lethal, when both informed and uninformed “news” are regarded as equally factual.

Beyond holding social media platforms accountable and ensuring content moderators fulfill their duties, the real long-term and effective solution is to foster critical thinking within the education system. Education must nurture young minds to analyze the information they’re given rather than accept it unquestioningly. Terrorism is a war of ideologies, and the best way to defeat an evil one is to expose it for what it is: false.

If platforms like Facebook continually fail to act, then it’s time they be regulated. Individuals can be sued for defamation, yet a platform with an international reach that knowingly allows non-curated and incendiary information to circulate globally is not held to the same standard. Facebook should not have more immunity than a guy who falsely screams “fire” in a theater.

What we can learn from flat-earthers I WATCHED THE FLAT-EARTH DOCUMENTARY ON NETFLIX SO YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO, AND THIS IS WHAT I DISCOVERED

BY DA N I EL O R O P E ZA daoropeza@ucdavis.edu I guess the first thing I should clear up, in order to have any credibility, is that I am not a flat-earther.

But that doesn’t mean I am not willing to listen to them, and you should feel the same.

Flat-earthers are passionate people, and they have a message they won’t stop preaching until you’ve heard it: the earth is flat.

“Behind the Curve,” a 2018 documentary running on Netflix, gives a glimpse into the life of a group of people whose ideas are gaining major headlines. While many people brushed them off as crazy, or conspiracy theorists, I thought it might be interesting to hear what they had to say.

The very nature of being a flatearther is to question everything,

even the most fundamental ideas that we’ve all been taught in school.

Darwin was no different — he was heavily criticised for his work on the evolution of species, for questioning ideas that everyone took for granted.

This shared quality of doubt is something we seem to be lacking in the era of misinformation and fake news. If we were to question and find our own answers by doing our own research, we wouldn’t be such a gullible society; a lot of the fake news preachers, like Jussie Smollett — the man accused of staging his own homophobic attack for money — would think twice before spreading lies for fear of being caught.

Another important lesson I learned from watching “Behind the Curve” was that we shouldn’t challenge people’s beliefs and core values, especially when trying to persuade them about an issue.

Flat-earthers will not listen to

your science or logic because their beliefs are deeply rooted in doubt and skepticism. When confronted with opposing views, instead of processing your logic, they filter out all information given to them and think of the next counter point.

Sound familiar? This is the same tactic used by climate-change deniers, politicians and anyone who disagrees with anything you have to say.

These are the kind of people who need to see in order to believe. Instead of trying to prove them wrong, a journey into discovery together will go a longer way (maybe to the edge of the world if necessary).

Flat-earthers might be so deeply embedded in their own world that their stubborness stops being solely about belief. When people are pushed away by their friends and family, they tend to find each other and bond over feeling neglected. A

lot of flat-earthers have been discriminated against based on their beliefs alone, even from the people closest to them. So when they find a movement to be a part of, they hold on tight.

Flat-earthers have found an identity. They’ve made longtime friends, garnered fame and recognition and found a sense of community. Some flat-earthers may not care about the truth if it means losing all they’ve gained instead. So while the flatearth movement could be just another knowledge-bubble worthy of popping for you, it could mean a life-changing sense of acceptance for them.

Instead of ridiculing flat-earthers for thinking NASA photoshops every satellite picture in order to make the Earth look round, try taking them out for a drink with your friends and treating them like they’re also human.

THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019 | 7

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

HUMOR

Gunrock announces his engagement to Rainbow Dash of “My Little Pony” HERE COMES THE BRIDLE!

BY M A D E L I N E KU MAGA I mskumagai@ucdavis.edu Mazel tov! Gunrock, everyone’s favorite cobalt colt, popped the question to his longtime girlfriend, Rainbow Dash, this past weekend. Miss Dash, for those who are unfamiliar, is the star of “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,” a popular TV show for young children and men who live in their parents’ basements.

“I’m lucky to have her,” Gunrock said. “I met her when I was at a low point in my life.

This beautiful cerulean filly with a rainbow tramp stamp came up to me and said, ‘You look blue.’ And that was the beginning of a wonderful relationship.”

“For the proposal, I took her to a romantic dinner at our favorite restaurant: Golden Corral,” he neighed. “I got down on one knee — which is hard to do as a horse. We’re all knee.”

He chuckled. “I pulled out a two-carrot engagement ring. She thought it was delicious!”

“What’d she say, in regards to your proposal?” I asked.

Gunrock grinned. “She said ‘neigh.’”

“Nay? She said no?”

“No, she said ‘neigh.’ ‘Neigh’ is Horse-ish for ‘yes.’ Anyway, Rainbow Dash and I have been having a blast planning our nuptials.

We’ve got the venue picked already. Our reception will be at the Buehler Alumni Center on campus. It’s gorgeous, and it has all the

Guest: Unconditionally restore women’s rowing and men’s swimming CHANCELLOR KATEHI ELIMINATED FOUR COLLEGIATE SPORTS IN 2010 THAT NEED TO BE RESTORED

BY PAU L ME DVE D

amenities needed for our wedding. Aaaaannnnnd we’re also getting our reception comped if we give them a shoutout in this interview.

Gotta save that Aggie Cash, amirite? People kept asking us if we were going to have our reception at the equestrian center. Ugh, that place is a dump. Do I look like I was raised in a barn?”

“Where are you having the ceremony?”

Gunrock exhaled. “That was a little trickier to decide. You see, Rainbow Dash and I don’t practice the same religion. Our parents were concerned that we were gonna be unequally yoked. But we’re young, and we’re in love. We’re having a non-denominational ceremony in Davis.”

“Our family and friends will all be there,” he continued. “I’ve invited my mom, my dad and my sister, Pistolpebble. I’ve also invited Chancellor Gary May and the whole football team because AGGIE PRIDE! Rainbow Dash has invited her family, her cast members from the set of ‘My Little Pony,’ Bojack Horseman and Trolley Boy, who played Secretariat in the movie. After the reception, we’re leaving for our honeymoon in the U.K.. We’re going on a tour of the locations where ‘War Horse’ was filmed!” Tears welled up in his eyes, and his words became garbled. “Ughhh, I juust cannn’t-” “Mr. Gunrock? Are you okay? You’re sounding choked up.”

“I just can’t wait to marry her. Sorry, I’m just a little hoarse, that’s all.”

Local germaphobe/health guru dies grisly, unsanitary death after contracting infection from soap dispenser at vegan cooking retreat

By now, we’ve all heard about the recent college admissions scandal. Shocking, right?

That the rich and famous could use their wealth and privilege to slip their academically underqualified kids into top schools through a side door? Outrageous! Damnit, that door was built by those schools so they could slip “blue chip” football and basketball players in! These are imposters! Fakes! Frauds! And somebody besides the schools themselves made money off of it? Off with their heads!

Think about it people. How can we be offended by one of those scenarios and just fine with the other? What’s the difference?

Now consider this: Your UC Davis predecessors sought to ensure that that sort of side door would never exist at UC Davis. One of the ways they did that was through the Campus Expansion Initiative, which was passed by students and approved by the Regents in 2002. It was precisely the passage of the CEI that enabled the university to move its intercollegiate athletic program (ICA) from NCAA Division II to Division I. In order to collect students’ fees, the university promised to its students that it would observe seven explicit principles. One of those principles stated that, “Admissions and graduation standards must in no way be specially altered or amended for athletes.” That’s the one that was supposed to keep the side door from ever being built at UC Davis.

Pretty smart, eh? And, with a notable exception or two (dozen) during the highly regrettable Katehi years, the university has been pretty good about abiding by that principle and staying out of trouble. But before anyone feels too good, remember there were six other principles.

One of those principles claimed that, “UC Davis cannot reduce its broad-based

program but must seek to add sports.” That one was intended to protect sports from being sacrificed for the enhancement of football and basketball — a classic failure mechanism of D1 sports. That’s the one that was utterly and blatantly — even fraudulently — abused when Chancellor Katehi eliminated four intercollegiate sports in 2010. On the basis of state budget cuts, she declared a “crisis” (any of this sounding familiar?) and started tossing assets like women’s rowing and men’s swimming — two highly successful Aggie sports — overboard.

Katehi got away with it because she didn’t bother to tell anyone at the time there was no state funding in the ICA program to begin with. Moreover, the university’s own annual reports to the NCAA later revealed that the ICA budget was never actually reduced like she said it had to be. Instead, sure enough, the money that would have gone to support those four sports was instead redistributed to the remaining sports — with the lion’s share going to just two. Care to guess which two?

So, fellow Aggies, while those other schools rummage through the rubble of their own integrity, what say we take this opportunity to do a little housekeeping ourselves?

How about if you, the Aggie Editorial Board and ASUCD leadership let Chancellor May know that his administration needs to renew the university’s commitment to all seven of those CEI principles and, while they’re at it, make amends for the errors of the past by, unconditionally restoring women’s rowing and men’s swimming.

What say you?

The writer graduated from UC Davis in 1978 with a B.S. in civil engineering. He has worked in transportation engineering in the Bay Area and Asia for nearly 40 years, now serving as the project manager of the BART Warm Springs Extension project.

AVERT YOUR EYES, AND ANYTHING ELSE THAT CAN CONTRACT INFECTION

BY BEN JA M I N P O RT E R bbporter@ucdavis.edu D. Finn Kumquat was quite successful as an avocado — f***ing hell, excuse me, I’m sorry — was quite successful as an advocate of the health food movement. He spent decades serving the local community from his private practice as a “licensed” diet, health, wellness, motivation and primary personal companion plant positivity consulting professional.

It is with heavy hearts that we relay the sad news that D. Kumquat passed away this past weekend after an unlikely series of freak coincidences, none of which were preventable by his healthy lifestyle and extreme germaphobic tendencies.

For six months, D. Kumquat had been living in virtual isolation with several other health food aficionados at a vegan cooking retreat at a Freeganist grass-fed, cage-free, free-range, GMO-free, pesticide-free, certified transitional cooperative farm on the California coast.

A few Meatless Mondays ago, during an artisanal probiotic juicing class, D. Kumquat accidentally sliced his hand while cleaning the blade of his spiralizer. He lost concentration because a classmate, Annie Yocksidance, tripped over the compost bin, spilling a bowl of passion fruit, açaí berries and other superfoods all over the room while Teacher Quinua Aquafaba answered questions on differences between the Whole 30, keto, paleo, vegan, gluten-free, raw-food, vegetarian, fruitarian, flexitarian, pescatarian and pesca-pescatarian diets.

D. Kumquat immediately ran to the restroom to clean the wound, taking every precaution to prevent infection. This was his fatal mistake. Cole Estheral had just left the restroom after a mud bath, leaving grime on the soap dispenser, and out of habit D. Kumquat began furiously pumping the soap dispenser

with his injured hand, allowing germs to enter the wound. A lifetime of germaphobic habits had left him with a weak immune system that allowed the infection to fester.

For the next week, he did a detox cleanse, engaging in some much needed LTC, using essential oils for aromatherapy and maintaining his CR by eating only an AI of GRAS foods, like kombucha and ACV dressing, all while tracking his BMI, ADME, calories and CALERIE. Alas, the infection prevailed, taking a gruesome toll on his overly purified and sanitized body.

While D. Kumquat never introduced himself as “Dr. Kumquat,” most people came to believe that the “D” did indeed stand for “Dr.” and that he just went by “D” to demonstrate his great humility. Unfortunately, the secret of whether or not he actually was a qualified doctor will go with him to the grave — well, actually, to his biodegradable burial pod that will eventually turn his body into a tree (unfortunately there was a mix-up and he will instead become a persimmon tree rather than a kumquat tree, as he requested).

Nonetheless, we will always have confidence in his medical competence because of the giant inflatable carrot on his office roof, the neon “HEALTH GURU” window sign and the official-looking framed documents on his wall that were possibly diplomas from some prestigious online university. *Acronym and Abbreviation Guide for those persons actively disengaged from engagement in Earth-positive personal dietary practices: GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms); LTC (long-term care); CR (Caloric Restriction); AI (Adequate Intake); GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe); ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar); BMI (Body Mass Index); ADME (Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, Excretion); CALERIE (Comprehensive Assessment of Long-Term Effects of Reducing Intake of Energy); D (Doctor).

D ISC L A I M ER: Th e v iews a n d o p i ni o ns ex p re ss e d by i nd i vidu al colu mn ists be lon g to th e colu mn ists alon e and do no t necessari l y i ndi cate the vi ews and opi n i o n s h eld by The C al i fo rni a Ag g i e. P l e as e addre ss le tte r s to th e e ditor to opin ion @ th eaggi e.o rg.

ISSUE DESIGNED BY JONATHAN CHEN | PATTIE CHEN | ADAN JUNAID | OLIVIA KOTLAREK | SHEREEN NIKZAD | YOON RHA | TAMARA SHOUBBER | CINDY CHEUNG | AMY YE | SYDNEE RODRIGUEZ

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

8 | THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

SCIENCE+TECH PIECING TOGETHER TIPS FOR A HEALTHY CAT

M IKE L D E LG A D O / CO URTESY

Utilizing food puzzles may help increase cat welfare

BY MICH E LLE WO NG science@theaggie.org Although cats are commonly known as low maintenance pets, there are still important factors owners have to consider when taking care of their animals. According to Mikel Delgado, a postdoctoral researcher at the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis, food puzzles can allow cats to express their natural behaviors within the home environment. In her recent study conducted with other UC Davis researchers called “A survey of feeding practices and the use of food puzzles in owners of domestic cats,” 30 percent of surveyed cat owners were found to use food puzzles for feeding their pets while 18 percent no longer used them.

Since many cats are kept inside of the house, some may begin to lack the exercise and mental stimulation that they would normally acquire in the wild.

“All of their senses are very well developed to make them good hunters, and so by keeping them indoors, we’ve really restricted their abilities to engage in those natural behaviors,” Delgado said.

According to Tony Buffington, a clinical professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Medicine at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, although there are many healthy diets on the market for cats, there is less research done on how to feed cats in accordance with their natural hunting and activity needs. Delgado explained that cats’ bodies are naturally attuned to hunting small rodents and birds and are used to eating multiple small meals a day. She added that households with multiple cats should feed them in separate areas, as it is not part of their nature to share food and may increase stress.

“By providing them [a] choice in how to eat, and eat in a more natural fashion, we can positively affect their welfare by helping to decrease any stress that they may be encountering while eating,” said Melissa Bain, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at UC Davis.

In order to introduce cats to food puzzles, Buffington emphasized the importance of the cat’s feeling of safety, as they are both a prey and predator species. In addition, cats require predictability, such as a routine, as well as choices within their environment. He recommended that owners choose cat foods

that they prefer while also giving their cats a variety to choose from to satisfy both parties.

“Then [the owners] know that the cat has preferences and can show the owner what they are,” Buffington said. “So that really helps owners understand how to interact with cats.”

Once these components are established and the cat is healthy, owners can begin to introduce food puzzles to the cats. Owners can choose from a variety of different puzzles differing in mobility and difficulty. They also have the option of making their own devices such as from toilet paper rolls or plastic bottles. Delgado created a website with her friend as a resource for owners to determine what food puzzles best fit their individual cat’s needs. Buffington recommended placing these food puzzles in nonthreatening areas and making their use obvious such as leaving a trail of food coming out of the devices. He stated that when introducing food puzzles, along with improving cat welfare in general, it is best to start easy in order to prevent the cat from feeling overwhelmed. Bain added that though the eventual goal is for the cat to be able to eat all of its food through such foraging techniques, owners should gradually switch between bowl feeding and food puzzles in order to minimize stress.

“There’s no rush on these things and so I always tell people to pick the one thing they’re most interested in and start there and they’ll learn about their cat in the process,” Buffington said. “Once they get that, then every next thing that they want to try is going to be easier.”

Buffington stated that he and Delgado are actively researching how cats use food puzzles in different environments, such as when they are with a cat they get along with or a cat they do not get along with. Through utilizing videotape analysis of the cats in homes, they hope to provide more developed recommendations for how owners should proceed in these situations. Delgado also stated that their next steps would be to further understand the effects of food puzzles on cats’ behavior and health and if they truly improve their welfare.

“Cats are intriguing animals that have some unique behaviors that are not as well understood as other animals’ behaviors,” Bain said. “They are also very commonly kept as pets in the United States and we would like owners to have as much information to provide them the best welfare possible.”

AN DR E A G O N Z A L E Z / AGGI E

INVESTING IN 101 FUTURES UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center partnership with African Orphan Crop Consortium prepare underutilized crops for success

BY FOXY ROBI N S O N science@theaggie.org Crops like corn, rice or cocoa have relished in research, breeding crop varieties for high yield and disease resistance. Traditional African crops, such as spider plant, finger millet, bambara groundnut or allanblackia, remain highly nutritious in a limited set of varieties but inaccessible. They are “orphaned” into low yielding varieties and limited markets. The UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center and the African Orphan Crop Consortium aim to optimize traditional African crops for local economies and agrarian communities.

Between 30 to 40 percent of African children experience stunting, according to Kent Bradford,

TE SSA KO G A / AG GI E

the director of the UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center and professor in the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences.

One of the roots of stunting is malnutrition.

As a result, the AOCC was founded out of a partnership with Mars Incorporated, the Alliance for a Green Revolution of Africa, research institutions such as UC Davis, the African Union, the World Agroforestry Centre and biotechnology companies, to increase access to nutritious, reliable food resources.

In total, the AOCC investigates 101 commonly grown plants. Each plant had not been intensely bred for disease resistance, yield or nutrition.

“Our goal is not to transition agrarian communities out of their traditional crops or change

the flavor,” said Allen Van Deynze, the director of research of the UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center and scientific director of the AOCC. “We want to improve their crops by making them disease-resistant, retain their taste and nutrition and help them grow better.”

Crop nutrition varies among populations.

“An AOCC survey found that different populations have different vitamin outcomes for [the] spider plant, which is eaten like spinach, but is more closely related to broccoli rabe,” Bradford said. “One population received one type of vitamin, while another population received another vitamin. We need to select for spider plants that have both.”

“The biggest market for African countries is

not exporting crops to Europe but rather urban Africa,” said Allen Van Deynze, the director of research of the UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center and scientific director of the AOCC. As urban dwellings grow, rural farmers will face increased demand and challenges for efficient crop production.

“In order for traditional crops to compete with crops like maize, we need to improve them and make them more productive and stress-tolerant,” said Michael Carter, the director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Assets and Market Access and professor in the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

“Though, it’s not enough to produce modified crops, but to also have rural farmers have increased access to markets and compete with other farmers.”

Farmers also need culturally-sensitive strategies to incorporate improved and traditional crop varieties into their diets.

“Farmers selling into Nairobi markets were not eating the spider plant they were growing, but only selling this highly sought-after and nutritious leafy green to make a good living and eating rice,” Van Deynze said. “They didn’t know how to eat it. We have trained them to steam the plants to retain their nutritional value and learn to cook and enjoy them.”

Each year, the UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center recruits African doctoral researchers to intensely train in drying, seed production and breeding in three two week classes over the course of a year, building trust in African crop markets.

Currently, the Plant Breeding Academy is in its fourth cohort.

“We can build trust in agrarian communities through community seed banks, depositing traditional seeds and documenting why people like them,” Bradford said. “We can then gradually show them the value of high-quality seeds, offering them samples of new, improved varieties.”

The UC Davis Seed Biotechnology Center’s Plant Breeding Academy aims to train 150 breeders after six cohorts, connecting them to research resources and funding while empowering them to apply their knowledge to their traditional crops and communities.

THE LINK BETWEEN SCREWTAILS AND HUMAN GENETIC DISEASE UC Davis researchers find mutation in bulldogs similar to anatomical changes caused by rare genetic disease Robinow Syndrome

BY K RIT I VARG H E S E science@theaggie.org Bulldogs, French bulldogs and Boston terriers aren’t only recognizable by their wide heads and short limbs but also by their screwtails, which are caused by the lack of vertebrae that normally make up the tailbone.

Researchers at the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital sequenced the whole genome of 100 dogs from 25 breeds. Among those breeds, only the Bulldogs, French bulldogs and Boston Terriers are known to share the identifiable screwtail.

“About 12 million genetic differences were identified in the studied dog genomes,” said researcher Dr. Tamer Mansour. “Computational analysis predicted one of these changes in a gene called DISHEVELLED 2 or DVL2 to cause the shape of the tail. Searching other species for similar changes showed that this genetic change is not only responsible for the kinked tail but also vertebral deformities and a special type of brachycephaly.

Surprisingly, we found strikingly similar manifestations in a very rare human disease called Robinow syndrome caused by mutations in the related DVL1 and DVL3

genes.”

Robinow syndrome is a rare hereditary disorder that causes similar genetic changes to those of bulldogs, including a short stature, wide heads, flat face, short limbs and spinal deformities, as well as disease traits like cleft palate. By studying the DVL2 mutation in dogs, it’s possible to learn more about how DVL proteins function and how human mutations in DVL1 and DVL3 can cause Robinow syndrome.

“We can use the knowledge from studying the dog mutation to strategize means to manipulate and potentially “correct” the pathway in human Robinow patients, for example through gene therapy,” said Professor Henry Ho, of the UC Davis School of Medicine.

Understanding these mutations can help dogs as well.

“We now know that these dogs’ vertebral malformations are linked to their screwtails,” said Professor Danika Bannasch in the Department of Population Health and Reproduction in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. “This helps us to understand some of the disease predispositions in these breeds.”

These dogs could prove to be an important model for better understanding the rare Robinow syndrome.

THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019 | 9

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

AGGIE CLASSIFIEDS JOBS

SERVICES

ASUCD Hiring Now

Love Laundry

Campus employment and volunteer positions open at:

Lowest prices in town!

Best music!

Free DRY with Wash

The California Aggie The CoHo Unitrans Picnic Day Whole Earth Festival The Pantry And more!

1776 E. 8th Street, Davis 5am-12am www.lovelaundry.com

See all current jobs at https://vacancy.ucdavis.edu/

ANNOUNCEMENTS Restaurant / Bar All Positions The Davis Graduate is hiring for All Positions.

Picnic Day Open House at the California Aggie!

Saturday 4/13 from 12-2 25 Lower Freeborn Hall (basement of Memorial Union Building)

Apply in Person: The Davis Graduate 805 Russell Blvd Davis CA Email dannycee@davisgrad.com

Stop by after the parade and grab a snack and a cold drink while you peruse the Aggie museum of history!

This will be the last Picnic Day in our basement offices, so wear your Aggie apparel and stop by to visit with other Aggie staff and alums!

Davis Food Co-op is hiring!

WANT TO BE PART OF OUR TEAM? The Co-op is one of the friendliest places to work in Davis!

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

Join our team! Applications available here: https://davisfood.coop/sustainability/employment

FREE CLASSIFIED ADS FOR STUDENTS! theaggie.org/classifieds

Place YOUR Aggie classified ad (print or online) at: theaggie.org/classifieds

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

10 | THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

BY R OSI E SCHWAR Z arts@theaggie.org

Television: Bojack Horseman WATJEN B R OWN A N D R U BY B A R U TH / COU RTESY

Wake the Funk Up Granola!

Student business provides new sustainable way to snack

BY ITZ ELT H G AM BOA arts@theaggie.org Best friends Cielle Watjen Brown, a fourth-year wildlife fish conservation and biology major, and Ruby Baruth, a fourth-year environmental science and management major, created a new eco-friendly brand of granola called “Wake the Funk Up Granola.” Anyone interested can buy homemade granola from this duo by direct messaging their Instagram @wakethefunkup. Brown and Baruth charge 69 cents per ounce of granola and will fill up up any jar with the requested amount, whether it be one or 20 ounces. If a customer does not bring their own jar, they will be charged an extra dollar. Brown and Baruth personally deliver orders on campus and give customers a complimentary sticker and song recommendation, creating the perfect snack experience. This new business currently has two flavors of granola: Destiny’s Chaild and Chock Berry.

Baruth’s idea for this small business was originally envisioned as a storefront business named “Ola Granola.” But to Baruth’s disappointment, this name was trademarked in multiple countries including the United States, which lead to the name change.

“We were like, ‘rebrand, rename, wake the funk up’,” Baruth said. “Make it all based on artists and music and also, when you wake up in the

morning, what do you want?

Granola and music! Things to get you hyped for the day.”

In order to make the perfect batch of granola, the duo goes around Davis searching for the best ingredients for their customers. The process of making it — which includes making sure their cat doesn’t get in the way — takes a couple of hours.

“People think granola is mostly a morning food,” Brown said. “But people now are just eating it as a snack and eating it out of the jar. One of my friends was literally using her pencil to get the bottom little scrapings out during finals week, and she was like ‘I want it all, it’s so good!’”

They aim for an eco-friendly and sustainable business model. By using mason jars and personally delivering the granola by bicycle, they avoid the environmental repercussions that regular store-bought granola creates.

“At the grocery store if you buy granola it comes in cardboard,” Brown said. “Then inside the cardboard, there’s plastic and you don’t need that.

And also, I think you can really tell it’s fresh because it’s so much more crunchier and the flavor is just so much better.

The way we store it, in the jars, makes it stay [fresh] for a long time. It has a long shelf life.”

With the goal of promoting healthy snacks, the pair found it difficult to stay on the organic route and still keep their customers happy with the prices.

“When I originally thought of

this idea, I was like ‘I want to get all local, all organic ingredients.’ I wanted the best quality,” Baruth said. “That’s always a struggle. I feel like it’s the quality of ingredients and the price, because I could never pay $12 for granola. So I’m kind of on the same page, but I want to give the $12 quality. We try for as many ingredients as we can to have them be sourced from organic places or as local as possible, but that’s a work in progress.”

Although Baruth and Brown have shipped their homemade goods before, they found it challenging. Because shipping glass is so expensive, they had to try finding unique ways to compensate for the high price. The girls sat down and decorated the packaging and wrote thank you notes for all online orders.

“We were kind of discouraged when we were sending their granola,” Brown said. “It was more like we felt bad and frustrated that we couldn’t make it cheaper for people because we wanted to send it. It was so many of our friends and relatives that were really excited about us starting this new business, and they wanted to support us.”

Despite being full-time students, they take on this extra workload and still manage to enjoy both school and their business. They mentioned that while the granola sales barely bring in any revenue, the business is more fun than work.

“If we were getting paid,

we’re getting paid like one dollar an hour for the amount of work we put into it,” Baruth said. “Which is why it’s important that we like to do it, because it’s really fun. And it’s not really about [the money].”

As their business continues to grow, Baruth and Brown have created a loyal customer base. Maria Vollmar, a fourthyear wildlife conservation biology major, mentioned that she was one of the first in line to buy the granola when the business started and is now on the list for the next order of their sold-out batch “Destiny’s Chaild.”

“It’s really so cool to see a small local business started by two young women slowly grow and reach beyond just their friends,” Vollmar said.

Their hopes for a granola bar in the future are close to coming to fruition and their new flavor will be a fruity one.

They also plan to sell at the Whole Earth Festival in the future. Interested customers can find updates about where they will be selling their funky granola on their Instagram page.

“We’re really friendly, and we’re super accommodating to people,” Brown said. “So if they want to meet anywhere else off-campus or they have a weird jar, if they have food allergies, that’s something they can totally let us know. And we’ll make a special batch. We just want people to be happy with the product.”

“Bojack Horseman” is an animated Netflix show about a washed up ‘90s sitcom actor (who is also a horse) and his life in Hollywood. This comical sitcom is a satire of Hollywood, but beneath the surface it’s a depiction of addiction and depression. The show has five seasons with a confirmed sixth on the way in 2019. If you enjoy slightly darker comedy, this show is perfect for you.

Movie: I Heart Huckabees Written and directed by David O. Russell, who also wrote and directed “American Hustle” and “Silver Linings Playbook,” “I Heart Huckabees” has been described as an existential comedy. The cast is stacked with Dustin Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Naomi Watts and Mark Wahlberg. This 2004 movie is definitely strange, but for those who enjoy movies in the more philosophical realm, this one synthesizes complicated topics with screwball comedy. This movie has received many mixed reviews, most of them negative, but I have yet to watch such an interesting and unique comedy that also explores existential themes.

Novel: Daisy Jones & The Six Taylor Jenkins Reid’s “Daisy Jones & The Six” was published in March and has received rave reviews from Rolling Stone and the New York Times. The novel is written in interview form, switching between each character, and evokes the nostalgia of old VH1 band documentaries, as it tells the story of the eventual fall of a fictional rock band in the 70s. This book reads as a juicy exposé with elements of romance, rock ‘n’ roll and 70s culture.

Everybody tells the story a little differently, but each voice comes together to create an entertaining story. This easyto-read book is the perfect springtime read for the pool or the Quad.

Album: Some Rap Songs Earl Sweatshirt dropped “Some Rap Songs” the night after I wrote an article titled “Fall Quarter’s Music: Week

by Week” and it has become one of my favorite albums of the year. Sweatshirt’s album comes in at just under twenty-five minutes and Pitchfork credits Sweatshirt as the face of “a new sound and scene that blurs the line between avant-garde jazz and hip-hop.” Because of its unique sound, this album dynamically works both lyrically as an insight into Earl Sweatshirt’s dark and painful psyche or instrumentally as it mixes between hip-hop beats and muffled jazz.

Iron Throne. No more Seven Kingdoms and no more Tyrion Lannister one-liners — a sad and cold existence.

Though this theory seems unlikely, as it would be an all-around tragic ending, one only needs to look back to the Red Wedding and ask, is it unreasonable to entertain such an idea?

Brienne of Tarth: Queen of the Seven Kingdoms

AL LYS O N KO / AG G I E

Game of Thrones Finale Predictions Who will occupy, or break, the Iron Throne?

BY C L AY A L L E N R O GE R S arts@theaggie.org Predictions on how HBO’s “Game of Thrones” will end have been running rampant since the show’s first release — from Brienne of Tarth being the rightful heir to the Iron Throne to Jon Snow being the legendary Azor Ahai. The theories are as grand as they are endless, and luckily for show watchers, the long wait for these truths to be revealed is almost over. Sadly, the same cannot be said for fans of the books, as their lingering finale is still years off.

Despite the numerous theories that seem to hold water, it’s safe to say that the audience has no idea about what mastery David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and George RR Martin have concocted — who could’ve predicted “hold the door?” Nobody, that’s who. Therefore, audience members should presume that all hopes and expectations they have for the finale will be thrown out the sky cell for something more grandiose.

But with thirty million “Game of Thrones” viewers and counting, of course some brilliance will converge at the surface and change the tides of speculation, so without further ado, let’s dive into three of the most talked about fan theories.

Bran Stark: The Night King What if Bran, a fan favorite, is in fact responsible for the great war to come? A twist worthy of the books, the details that line up between the Night King and Bran tend to negate the denials that come from the “Game of Thrones” actors over this theory.

As we know, time exists as a closed loop in the Land of Ice and Fire — the past is the past, or as the former threeeyed raven once said, “the ink is dry.”

But that does not keep Bran from going back in time with hopes to change the present. Fans have speculated that through Bran’s ability to warg into the bodies of those around him, both in the past and present, Bran will travel back in time in an attempt to stop the

children of the forest from creating the first White Walker.

We see Bran’s attempts to change the fortune of wars to come when Bran first goes back in time and whispers into the ear of Aerys II, hoping to mitigate his genocidal tendencies.

Although the audience doesn’t know exactly what Bran told Aerys, it does explain Aerys’ complaints of voices in his head — all of which do no good to mend the suffering of Aerys’ domain.

Then, after several additional warg ceremonies that result in Bran’s edification in the history of Westeros, he travels back in time to the creation of the first White Walker. This is where the fan theory takes off. If the fans speculations come true, Bran, will make one last attempt to warg into the body of the Night King (before the ritual that turns him into a White Walker) but will fail to change the past, thus locking himself into the ancient body and driving him to conquer Westeros as the Night King.

This ending would mean the end of Westerosi life altogether. No more

This is by far the most exciting theory. Fans who would not be content with seeing Brienne sit on the Iron Throne need to take a long look inside themselves.

To condense their overgrown family tree, the Tarths claim to have royal blood ties to the Baratheons, Durradons and the Targaryens. Sir Duncan the Tall, a Kingsguard to Maekar Targaryen I, is confirmed to be the ancestor of Brienne (hence, Brienne the Tall). Though the Tarths’ descent from Sir Duncan is one of bastardy, the family still displays the coat of arms with pride, despite it not being openly recognized in Westeros.

This is where the theory builds.

Sir Duncan supposedly wedded one of King Daeron II’s daughters, either Rhae or Daella. It is not specified which sister, but it’s confirmed by none other than Maester Aemon of the Night’s Watch that a marriage took place. If this is truly the case, that would mean Brienne’s great-great grandmother is a Targaryen (hence, the silver hair). But just because Brienne might have a Targaryen grandmother, it wouldn’t mean she would get to claim the throne. There are a few hoops to jump through — it is Lord Selwyn, Brienne’s grandfather who is the rightful heir to the throne, but since Lord Selwyn has long since passed away, his only heir, and thus the rightful heir, to the Iron Throne is Brienne of Tarth.

What are the chances of this taking shape in the show? My prediction would be not likely, as that would require a lot of lineage to run through in six episodes. However, there are plenty of pages left in the books to come to highlight the complicated trial that Brienne would need to undergo to ascend the throne. Then again, Bran, the three-eyed raven, does know all;

maybe he’ll expedite the process for Brienne.

Jon Snow: Azor Ahai Although the prophecy of Azor Ahai is not nearly as prevalent in the show as it is in the books, there are still enough references to his legacy that have allowed fans to speculate that Jon is neither Targaryen nor Stark, but the Prince that was Promised: Azor Ahai, the Son of Fire.

To give a little background on the prophecy, Ahai is the spirit of a warrior that lays in wait for a vessel in the form of a dead warrior to embody before the great war— the war between the living and the dead. “Azor Ahai is to be reborn again as a champion sent

by R’hllor,” as detailed in The Wiki of Ice and Fire. “This will occur after a long summer when an evil, cold darkness descends upon the world. It is said that wielding Lightbringer once again, Azor Ahai will stand against the darkness and if he fails, the world fails with him.”

The equation has been set and now it’s up to the audience to solve it. Consider this: Jon Snow, the great warrior who has been brought back from the dead, at the end of the long summer and before the coming winter, will lead a myriad of armies into battle against the darkness. However, from the looks of it, the darkness seems to outweigh the light in the coming battle. But once Ahai takes shape, he becomes the secret weapon as a ruthless, seemingly immortal, warrior. There is a catch. For Ahai to finally take shape, he must wield lightbringer, the essence of a sword that can only be reforged once it is plunged into the heart of Ahai’s true love. If Ahai is Jon and his true love is Daenerys Targaryen, then let’s just say the happy endings will be seldom in season eight.

The final season of “Game of Thrones” is shaping up to be an epic one — a great battle is coming and the worries of the Iron Throne are left to those non-believers who will inevitably be consumed by the very thing that they deny. All of these theories may, or may not, take shape in the impending chaos we will see in the final six episodes, but one thing is certain: Valar Morghulis. All men must die.

THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019 | 11

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

CBF CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

HERBICIDE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

to figure out what kind of policies to implement and when. These actions are simply UC Davis’ independent method of taking initiative to lower their chemical usage.

Mantor noted that he had heard of the EPPC’s initiative and believes that UCOP’s newfound mission to eliminate herbicides is a direct effect of the EPPC’s proposals.

Beittel expressed her appreciation for the grounds teams’ work towards a cleaner campus. She noted several different methods they’re experimenting with, including aeration and composting.

“UC Davis groundskeeping has already been stepping up the transition off of herbicide use and to organic management practices,” Beittel said via email. “If you see large piles of much around campus, you are witnessing first hand an effort to reduce weeds and soil erosion through increased mulching. [They] are also testing out compost tea applications to increase the bioactivity of soils [...]

If you saw many small holes drilled into the main quad’s soil, this is an

effort to aerate the soil to create an environment that is a better fit for grass than weeds.”

Caroline Newell, the president of the Environmental Club at UC Davis, feels not enough students are aware of the extent of herbicide use on their campus. She suggested a few simple solutions — Davis can either hire individuals to tend to the weeds, instead of using hard chemicals to treat them, or opt for a more natural substance.

“I think maybe the better way to do herbicide treatment would be to use naturally derived, organic herbicide treatments,” Newell said.

“Personally, I’m not completely anti-chemical use. I think that when you have an invasive species, you have to do integrated pest management, which is, you use chemicals but you use them the least amount possible.”

Newell suggested that pairing integrated pest management with a hands-on weeding approach may be the best way to approach the situation.

IMPROVED WIFI CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

to study.”

Nusbaum and Snapp both encouraged students to continue vocalizing their comments and concerns to the library staff, utilizing the technical support request form on the library’s website.

PICNIC DAY SAFETY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

safety of the event has changed over the past couple of years.

“There has been a larger effort to control the off-campus party scene over the past few years,” Deacon said. “One of the big issues in the past has been in downtown because bars used to have a variety of promotions on drinks that encouraged heavy drinking. A few years ago, an agreement was reached to end these Picnic Day specials. Since then, the violations downtown have very dra-

matically decreased.”

For those who plan on hosting their own Picnic Day party, the board of directors for the event have come up with a few tips and tricks to ensure that party throwers and goers have a fun and safe time. Another resource that can be utilized is the safe party initiative which details the precautions one should take before and while drinking. As a reminder to all students, alcohol is prohibited on the UC Davis campus.

beer went to My Sister’s House. This Sacramento-based organization serves Asian and Pacific Islander women and children impacted by domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking by providing support and safe havens.

Nilda Valmores, the executive director of My Sister’s House, said it is an honor for the organization to be the charity beneficiary of the festival.

“Funds raised will be especially helpful to help us purchase culturally appropriate outreach materials and conduct efforts that can help My Sister’s House more effectively prevent and intervene on issues involving domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking, particularly for those victims / survivors that primarily speak Asian languages,” Valmores said via a written statement. “We are thankful to all the Davis Cherry Blossom Festival patrons!”

Portions of proceeds from vendors also supported My Sister’s House. Vendors included Street Cravings, Pollo Inferno, Koizora, Underdog Grill, Davis Creamery, Dumpling House, Puros Churros, Kobe Mini Mart, Korndogg Balloon and Face Art, Farm Fresh to You and SAFE Credit Union.

In addition to music and food, the festival offered: “Ikebana (flower arrangement) demonstrations by the Sacramento chapter of Ikebana International; origami demonstrations by Davis Origami Group; shibori tie-dying with Alicia Decker of the UC Davis Design Museum; mochitsuki (rice-cake making) sponsored by the Buddhist Church of Florin; shishimai (Japanese lion dance) by Miyo Uchida from the UC Davis Japanese department; and live painting

by Gregory Shilling,” as listed on the press release.

Uchida spoke about shishimai and her experience with performing.

“It is usually performed for New Year’s festivals to bring good luck and then to just get rid of bad luck, so that’s why it’s a very cheering and festive dance,” Uchida said.

Uchida said she would be happy to perform at the festival and other places in the future.

“I hope I’ll get invited again,” Uchida said. “It’s a short piece — like five to seven minutes — so I’ll go anywhere to just show this lion dance […] to spread this joy through the lion dance in this region.”

Visual artists included JYNcreations, Pielodoodles, Smada Earrings, Shigeko Fukuya, Jeremy Dang, Alex Ryo Simotake, Kimchi Kawaii, Blythe Nishi, Of the Dirt Pottery, Brad “Brakinja” Kincaide, Celeste Wong Ceramics and Bike City Woodworks.

Other musical artists included A Few Drinks In, Busy Lighthouse, Carsick, Cloud Hats, Emmet Francis, golfdads, Indigo Elephant, Katgrüvs, Killer Caribou, Lillian Frances, Lost Again, Psychedelic Dub Orchestra, Sturdy Skeptics, The Chandelier Ravens, The Modern Wild, Violet Island, Your Local Cemetery, B. Hold, Video Game Orchestra, DJ Allen Brookside and Lo & The Mix. This year, Davis Cherry Blossom Festival received support from the Yolo County Visitors Bureau and the City of Davis, which awarded the festival a recently-implemented grant from the Arts and Cultural Affairs Fund to support emerging programs and festivals in the city. This helped Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan and Sudwerk pay for the performing artists and make professional sound and staging possible.

Rachel Hartsough, the program manager with City of Davis Arts & Culture, said the city is pleased to support Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan. “The things that I’ve been really excited about are that it’s a student group who just seems to be incredibly well-organized and professional, and has been super, super on their game as far as really being open to collaborating with other community partners, and creating something that’s going to celebrate culture in the community,” Hartsough said.

UC Davis Global Affairs, the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge and the Sacramento chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League also sponsored the festival.

Joanna Regulska, the vice provost and associate chancellor of Global Affairs, commented on its support.

“Our mission in Global Affairs is to inspire global curiosity, understanding, and engagement — and local events like this that bring together so many different people for a shared celebration align so well with this mission,” Regulska said via email.

Additionally, the Japanese American Student Society, Nikkei Student Union at UC Davis and Davis Aggie Lions Club provided volunteers that helped with managing traffic, staging, leading the arts, crafts and games for kids, welcoming attendees and helping with the mochi pounding demonstration and artists’ gallery.

Allison Huang, the assistant director of the festival and a member of Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan, said that it has been rewarding to see the festival’s growth.

“I think the most exciting thing about the event is really seeing everyone come together for our cause this year,” Huang said.

FIRST PICNIC DAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

dance of events to choose from, organized into categories: animal events, exhibits, Children’s Discovery Fair, live performances and the Student Organization Fair. Expanding upon just coffee and cream (with a new bring your own cups and spoons policy), the official schedule of events has an entire page devoted to food options — over 30 food trucks will be serving food on campus starting at 10 a.m.

But despite all the new additions, many of the original traditions remain. The event welcomes students, families, alumni and members of the community to experience the UC Davis campus. As Chancellor Gary May wrote in his message on the official schedule of events, “one thing hasn’t changed: The spirit of friendship and sharing from the original 1909 picnic.”

“Dynamite!”

—Pariscope (France) on Mayumana

Mayumana Currents

SUN, APR 14 | 2PM One of Israel’s leading cultural exports, Mayumana combines custom-made musical instruments, massive video art projections and performers in constant motion. Currents is inspired by the historic “Battle of Currents” between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla in their quest to find new energy sources for the world.

Student tickets start at $12.50

Twisted Pine WED, APR 17 | 7PM THU–SAT, APR 18–20 | 8PM This multilayered ensemble that brings the enveloping sound and pop hooks of indie music to an acoustic, instrumental setting. Full of energy and surprise, wit and subtlety, Twisted Pine has quickly become one of the most acclaimed young string bands in the Northeast Student tickets start at $23.50

FAQ #6

Q: Can I buy a discounted ticket for a friend or family member?

A: Only if your friend or family member is also a current UC Davis Student.

#mondavicenter

mondaviarts.org mondaviarts.org/students

12 | THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

CLUB INVOLVEMENT

PICNIC DAY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

magic show and the cockroach races, among many others.

Third-year animal science major April Yoshihara has taken over the reigns this year as director of animal events. There will be more than 40 different animal events and booths including the Canine Medicine Club’s frisbee dog contest, chicken hatching and cow milking. Many animal events have become favorite Picnic Day traditions for guests that return every year to experience them again.

“I’m looking forward to the UC Davis Center for Equine Health to bring some of their draft horses out on Hutchinson Field,” Yoshihara said.

Each year, a community member is selected to serve as parade marshal “based on their active participation

in the community, their positive impact on others and their embodiment of the theme,” according to the Picnic Day website. This year, the board chose Sarah T. Stewart, a professor of earth and planetary sciences at UC Davis. Stewart was recently awarded the MacArthur “Genius” Fellow grant and has been applauded for her recent work where she “offers a revolutionary and innovative theory as to how the Moon was formed from the Earth.”

In addition to more than 40 campus-affiliated organizations and departments, members of Davis’ local government as well as the fire and police department have come together to support this student-run open house celebrating the legacy and future of UC Davis and the Davis community.

NEW BUSES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

said. “I like the idea of bigger buses.

You hear a lot of complaints about there not being enough space on the buses and visually seeing that Unitrans is doing something about it makes you feel like your voice is heard.”

As far as what else to expect for Unitrans going forward, there are two projects that Unitrans is currently looking to push.

“We’re working hard now to improve service and reintroduced midday 15-minute service on our most popular lines, — the D, G, J, W and V lines — add more capacity buses and reduce breakdowns in time for Fall 2019,” Flynn said.

The other push is what Flynn calls “capital related.” This push is for Unitrans to introduce electric buses.

The movement toward electric buses initially started in 2017, when Unitrans began exploring a possible transition. The reason for this is that Unitrans wishes to support the university’s and the City of Davis’ greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Based on preliminary engineering and cost estimates, the upgrade to electrical capacity will cost around $3 million, and the purchasing of 12 new electric buses would cost between $9 and $10 million. After these estimates, Unitrans began to pursue funding for this project.

Last quarter, Unitrans was awarded around $3.7 million in funding through a regional transportation funding agency called the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG).

After this initial acquisition of

electric buses in the near future, Unitrans will look to only buy electric buses.

According to Unitrans, the transportation service is continuing to pursue up to $10 million in funding for the buses and is continuing its research regarding the best electric bus technology.

“This funding will allow us to improve our facility to handle electric charging and install chargers,” Flynn said. “We hope to replace 12 old buses with new electric buses by 20222023, which accounts for 25 percent of the current bus fleet.”

The idea of electric buses is something that passengers as well as Unitrans are looking forward to. Chavez had a very clear opinion on the initiative.

“It’s honestly a step forward — there is obviously many people concerned with the environment and knowing that there are current efforts here in Davis to protect our environment while increasing the bus services is really a win-win situation for everyone,” Chavez said.

With the new double-decker buses, there are many passengers who are looking forward to a smoother commute to school or to any of their destinations.

“It would really help anyone who uses the bus to get around Davis,” Chavez said. “For me personally, it seems like it would make commuting easier, and I guess peace of mind knowing that the chances of me being late for something out of my control has decreased.”

GUNROCK HISTORY of UC Davis and Aggie athletics. The legacy of the 1920s champion breeding sire still lives on every time his fuzzy blue mascot version can been seen galloping around athletic games and community events, receiving smiles and cheers from everyone he passes.

“To put it simply, Gun Rock (and now Gunrock) represents traditions of agriculture, service and strength for UC Davis, the premier agricultural school in California and I dare say the nation and the world,” Mienaltowski said.

DOXIE DERBY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

or her entire life for the glory that Doxie Derby encompasses,” Ellis said.

Davis’ veterinary department has certainly grown since it’s first class in 1948. Today, there are about 140 students in each of the four veterinary school classes. With one of the largest and most advanced veterinary training programs in the world, Davis is #1 in the nation according to the rankings of veterinary schools according to the US News and World Report. The Doxie Derby is one event that raises money to support the veterinary programs, according to Ellis.

Sponsors for the event include Purina and Banfield Pet Hospital, as well as Aggie Ally Sponsors: Vetoquinol

and Nutramax. Additional sponsors include Royal Canin, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Merck, and Platinum Performance.

There are three esteemed judges from the SVM faculty. The first is Dr. Stephen McSorley, the Director of the Center for Comparative Medicine.

Dr. Sean Owens and Dr. Dori Borjesson, two professors of Clinical Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, are also among the judges who will be voting on the winning wiener.

Be sure to support our furry, shortlegged friends at Picnic Day during the Doxie Derby event and celebrate this ongoing tradition. It’s sure to be doggone cute!

MARSHALL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

“As you move around the sand and build mountains or lakes, a projector that controls [the] water level will fill in where water would flow in real time,” Stewart said. “The software for this was written here, and we’ve sent it all around the country as a teaching tool.”

Stewart’s newest addition has been her Shock Compression Lab, which has allowed her to give some insight to students about her work.

“In the lab, we conduct impact experiments to study what happens when planets collide,” Stewart said.

“It’s an amazing facility and it’s one of the few times that students can come and take a peek at what goes on.”

Stewart recalled the years prior to the introduction of her lab and remembered the excitement she had

Community projects that the environmental club members are involved in include Tree Davis, a local organization that plants trees in the community to increase the quality of habitats, and different restoration projects.

“We also just allow students to learn more about careers in environmental avenues,” Newell said. “We went last quarter to the Lawrence Hall of Science and got to do a career panel with people that work there, and we got behind the scenes tours of the facilities, and this weekend we’re going sea kayaking. We’re trying to increase people’s appreciation of the environment as well as raising awareness about issues that we face as a society.”

The UC Davis Zero Waste and Sustainability Club, another club dealing with environmental issues, will try to attract UC Davis students by asking them to pledge to use zero waste products, according to Malia Helms, a third-year bioengineering major and president and founder of the club. In exchange for signing the pledge, students can choose between a reusable straw, a reusable boba straw and a reusable bag.

“The club is founded to make UC Davis more sustainable,” Helms said.

“Currently, there’s a UC-wide goal for all the campuses to reach zero waste by 2020, so that’s what we’re trying to help the campus do.”

UC Davis is currently at about 75 percent waste diversion from the landfill, and the club’s goal is to reach 90 to 95 percent of their zero waste goal by 2020.

“There’s also a UC-wide goal of

zero carbon emissions by 2025, and we’d also like to help reach that goal,” Helms said. “The main way we’re doing that is involving students, which is the largest population on campus, to reach that goal.”

Students from the UC Davis Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing will also be involved with Picnic Day. They will be tabling and selling succulent plants, among other items, in an effort to fundraise for the Flower Project, according to Breanne Harris, a Master’s Entry Program in Nursing (MEPN) student and vice president of the MEPN Cohort 3 Graduate Student Association.

“Our group is comprised of students who are working towards our Master’s in Nursing, and we all have a Bachelor’s degree in something other than Nursing,” Harris said. “Ours is the third actual group of graduating students from this program — it’s only been around for three years — and our particular group is focused on providing resources for homeless and underserved women. We have a particular project that we have been working on that we call the Flower Project, which is dedicated to putting together feminine hygiene kits for women who are homeless or underserved.”

The week before Picnic Day features certain festivities to get the student body excited for the big day.

“This year we’re going to have events on Wednesday and Thursday from 12 to 3 out on the Quad,” Deacon said. “There are going to be performances by student groups, there are going to be groups tabling, it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

throughout the campus on a daily basis, which can help out in a situation [that] calls for it,” Gordon said.

Members of Davis City Council expressed why they believed Davis was included in the top 50 safest cities.

“Every city has crime to deal with, including Davis, but we are safer than most cities because of the smart and effective policing approach of our police department, and the caring and supportive nature of our community,” said councilmember Dan Carson.

“We watch out for each other and it shows.”

UC Davis Police Chief Joe Farrow gave advice on how the police department and community should work to maintain security and foster

a safer environment for students and residents in the city.

“Safety is the responsibility of everyone in the community, not just the police,” Farrow said. “In our department, we always strive to build good relationships and work with our campus community, as well as with our colleagues in the City of Davis Police Department and other local law enforcement agencies. It’s important to remember that crime happens anywhere, even in a ‘safe’ community. However, there are simple things we can all do to avoid being a victim — be aware of your surroundings, don’t leave laptops and other valuables unattended, lock your doors and windows.”

continue to evolve over a period of time. I don’t know what affect the recent problems that have popped up will have on the future of college athletics, but I am hopeful that leaders in

our field can demonstrate the leadership necessary to make sure that college athletics is on a good path going forward and hope we at UC Davis can play a role in that.”

their first-ever national championship game. Both teams appeared nervous from the jump, starting the game shooting a combined 1-10 from the field in the first five and a half minutes of play. A Jerome threepoint basket with a second left in the first half gave Virginia a 32-29 lead at halftime.

Coming out of the half, Virginia scored the first six points and extended its lead to nine. The Cavaliers seemed to be in control throughout the half, but Texas Tech then went on a 9-0 run to tie the game and eventually lead by three with 22 seconds remaining. Desperately in need of a basket, Virginia turned to sophomore guard De’Andre Hunter, who drilled a three from the right corner with 12 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

In the extra period, Red Raiders senior guard Matt Mooney gave Texas Tech a quick three-point lead.

But once again, another clutch three-pointer from Hunter gave the Cavaliers a lead with two minutes remaining. Virginia never looked back and went on to win its first ever national title by a final score of 85-77.

Overall though, in a tournament that’s known for its buzzer-beating shots and wild upsets, this year’s tournament was one that was, for the most part, predictable. For example, the record for most correctly predicted games in a row on a March Madness bracket was broken this year by 40-year old Gregg Nigl, who picked

the first 49 games in the tournament — shattering the previous record of 39.

The lowest seeded team to advance to the second round was the 13-seeded UC Irvine Anteaters out of the Big West Conference. UC Irvine beat four-seeded Kansas State in the first round but lost to 12-seeded Oregon in the second round. Oregon was then the lowest seed that made it to the Sweet 16, where its season ended in a loss to Virginia. The other 15 teams in the Sweet 16 were all between a one and five seed. Of course, there were several highly-competitive games that went down to the wire, like Duke-UCF, LSU-Maryland or Purdue-Virginia but low-scoring, slow-paced games like Oregon-Virginia and Texas Tech-Michigan reminded viewers that this still is amateur basketball.

Aside from Williamson, this tournament seemed to lack individual star power, leading some to question whether the ratings for the Final Four and National Championship will dip due to the elimination of Williamson and Duke. There is no question that the teams in the Final Four were quality programs, but they did lack the star power that can attract the casual fan. But regardless of how relatively predictable this tournament was or how many tuned in to watch, the 2019 NCAA tournament did deliver its fair share of exciting games, heroic performances and controversy.

SAFETY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

Davis utilizes students’ abilities to perform functions outside the classroom, offering a student firefighting program to allow those who are interested to be exposed to fire safety and learn what it takes to become a firefighter. Students who choose this route can become more aware of how to avoid starting a structural fire, which is more common in California than any other state.

“The UC Davis Fire Department also has a student firefighting program and an EMT program, and the police department also has a cadet program in which a lot of students participate, which allows for educated individuals in either law enforcement, fire suppression or medical emergencies to be spread out

CHEATING

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

according to a UC Davis Centennial Article on Gunrock. In 1993, the cow was adopted by students as the mascot, but the administration and alumni were not in agreement. After decades of not having an official mascot, in 2003, the mascot was officially identified as the Mustang once again. After students and community members voted in an online poll, the name Gunrock returned when it won with 98 percent percent of the votes.

Today, Gunrock continues to be the official mascot and ambassador

within the state of California.

“As a club, this is our first year; we officially launched this last fall, and we worked on canvassing campaigns — we were part of the campaign for Josh Harder in Modesto for Congress,” Warshaw said. “We do birth control workshops. Some events that we’re going to be doing this quarter are a gender pay gap bake sale. We’re hoping to do a workshop on Title X reforms that are happening, which is taking a bunch of funding away from Planned Parenthood and leaving about 4 million people without health care.”

In terms of their involvement in Picnic Day, members of the club will be marching in the Picnic Day parade and tabling at the student organization fair. They will share information about the club and current reproductive justice issues and hand out Planned Parenthood imprinted goods.

The Environmental Club will also be involved in tabling at the student organization fair, where they will be selling pins and stickers and promoting an event called the Stay Nature Challenge, according to Caroline Newell, a fifth-year wildlife, fish and conservation biology major and president of the environmental club.

“Our club is essentially just a place where people can come to our people to learn about environmental issues,” Newell said. “We are really focused on outreach and education about environmental issues, and we also provide avenues for students to get involved with the local community in environmental types of projects.”

knowing what new events were to come on Picnic Day, something she enjoys seeing again this year and hopes students will enjoy as well.

“You do see a lot of the new things being built on campus, gorgeous places like the Shrem Art Museum, and what events these places will be hosting,” Stewart said. “When you see the continual rejuvenation of the campus that occurs just by waiting a year, it’s like looking at snapshots in time.”

Although Stewart has a busy schedule ahead of her as Picnic Day draws nearer, she finds great pride in knowing she was chosen as the person to lead Picnic Day this year. With her goals and excitement for adventure, Picnic Day is aimed to be as extraordinary as ever.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

“We want to see college athletics play by the rules, and we believe in that here [at UC Davis] and want to see that everywhere,” Blue said. “I think college sports will and should

NCAA TOURNAMENT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

suffered a heartbreaking loss to Virginia in the Final Four. Up two with very little time left in the game, Auburn’s Samir Doughty fouled Virginia’s Kyle Guy as he attempted a three-pointer with 0.6 seconds left.

There was little question a foul was committed, but controversy surrounds a sequence that took place five seconds earlier, where Virginia’s Ty Jerome seemed to commit a double dribble violation that was not called.

Guy would go to the line and sink all three free throws, giving Virginia the 63-62 win and a spot in Monday’s National Championship game.

The second favorite coming into this tournament was Gonzaga, but Head Coach Mark Few’s Bulldogs failed to make the Elite Eight. The Zags have been to only one National Championship game and lost it in 2017. Outside of two years ago, they have been given a high seed yearly but repeatedly fail to secure the school’s first title.

This year, the Bulldogs lost to three-seeded Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. The Red Raiders were seeded high, but not many expected that they would make it to the National Championship game. Fueled by stellar defense and clutch shooting, Texas Tech controlled most of its Final Four showdown with Michigan State and ran away with a 61-51 win to advance to the school’s first ever National Championship game.

This was the first final since 1979 that included two teams playing in

THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019 | 13

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

logne.” As teenagers do, “bad guy” shows Eillish playing with and hyping up her power and sexuality, exerting the confidence that comes with age. The dance-worthy popular track acts as the catalyst for the more creepy songs of the album — she flips the sex appeal chased by teenage girls on its head.

“You should see me in a crown,” with a dubstep chorus, kicks off the album’s creep appeal.

She continues the power trip established in “bad guy,” yet the form is more tyrannical. With the sound of a sword scraping in the background, her power is brutal and even a little scary. She doesn’t deserve power because she’s a dominant female with sex appeal, but because she simply demands it with hushed low vocals. “Bury a friend,” a clear example of Eillish’s lucid dreaming and night terrors that inspired much of the album, is the album’s top track. Siren sounds and Eillish’s altered voice calls us to “step on the glass, staple your tongue,” creating a grotesque aura that places us in Eillish’s psyche and recurring nightmares.

While “bury a friend” places Eillish on a creative and creepy pedestal, it also ushers in the humanzing aspect of her album. What things live in our nightmares and what scares us in our

M IC A H E L L E A H Y / AGGI E

WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?

Eillish gives us power, innocence in her first album

BY CA ROL I N E RU T T E N arts@theaggie.org 17-year-old Billie Eillish emerged as a star quickly and suddenly. There seems to have been an abrupt transition between Eillish being a homeschooled teenager in L.A. and skyrocketing to fame. Eillish is not only talented, she stands as an object of fascination — authentic and silly, yet mysterious and intimidating to some.

Her hypnotic vocal range, stunning facial features and androgynous fashion sense have made her the alternative pop icon of the current era.

Crazy enough, such fame was established with only a nine-song EP. Her first full length album “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?” becomes all the more significant

as the legitimate foundations to an already established, yet adolescent, stage of her fame.

Eillish’s strategy is quite simple: she is true to herself and to her music. Afterall, she is a teenager, and the growing pains are obvious in the album. The album’s collections of songs bounce between hard-hitting creepiness, her humanizing innocence and downright goofing around.

To prove the point, the intro “!!!!!!!” is simply an ASMR-esque audio recording of her removing her Invisalign braces. She quickly transitions to the power song “bad guy.” With strong, high-pitched electronic beats and simple lyrical rhymes, Eillish sings from the perspective of a homewrecker, claiming she’s “only good at being bad” and that maybe the girlfriend is scared “because I’m wearing your [her boyfriend’s] co-

J E RE M Y DA N G / AG GI E

Review: “Queer Eye” Season three churns out more feel-good content

BY ALYSSA I L SL E Y arts@theaggie.org The third season of Netflix’s “Queer Eye” was released on March 15 with eight joyful, uplifting and unapologetically sappy episodes. The show’s stars, referred to as the “Fab Five,” returned with the same charm and chemistry as in previous seasons. The episodes are set in Kansas City, Missouri and focused on a broader spectrum of people than fans of the show have seen before.

This Netflix reboot of Bravo’s “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” premiered in 2018 and was an instant hit. The likability of the new Fab Five was infectious, from fashion expert Tan France’s posh charm to hair and grooming specialist Jonathan Van Ness’ flamboyant vocabulary and comically overdramatic reactions. Viewers of any background or political ideology can enjoy watching a group of lovable men give makeovers to equally lovable participants, called “heroes” on the show.

Season three was at its best when focusing on more diverse heroes than in the show’s previous seasons. Breaking even further from the original series’ plot premise of gay men giving makeovers to straight men, this season had its first double-feature episode centered around two women.

Hardworking sisters Deborah and Mary, who own a barbecue joint called Jones Barb-B-Q, were nominated by Deborah’s daughter so that the Fab Five could teach them how to relax and find time for self-care even with their rigorous schedule.

The highlight of the episode was when France and Van Ness took Deborah to get her missing tooth fixed. For years Deborah had been covering her mouth when she smiled, so seeing her bright and confident grin at the end of the episode was heartwarming.

The Jones sisters exemplify the magic and charm of the show — it’s about watching good, kind people learn to be good and kind to themselves. While the Fab Five is in charge of moving the story along, each episode’s new hero draws viewers back.

The other series highlight was the fifth episode of the season, titled “Black Girl Magic.” The series featured a lesbian hero for the first time, and the Fab Five handled her makeover with genuine respect and care. The episode focused on Jess, a 23-year-old who had struggled with her iden-

tity her whole life, both as a lesbian and African-American woman. By the end of the episode, Jess reflected tearfully with the Fab Five upon how she learned that it is “cute and confident to just be black, and be gay and be a woman.”

At the end of the day, the show is not trying to be anything more than it is. While some scenes may feel overly choreographed or prepared for reality TV, the show is good at sticking to its core theme: good people helping other good people.

It’s about finding confidence in what you already have and learning to love those things about yourself. The Fab Five rarely try to change people or their habits, which would be an impossible feat in a week’s time. What they do instead is try to show that small improvements can go a long way.

An IndieWire review wrote that, “So much of [the show] is about the battle against inertia, one of the greatest enemies of major life changes.”

The third season strongly emphasized this idea without forcing the heroes too far out of their bubbles or comfort zones. Many themes in the episodes included minor changes in the way one takes care of themselves that, over time, will improve their quality of life.

For example, the season’s second episode “Lost Boy” featured Joey, a program director at an outdoors camp who lacked leadership skills and basic grooming habits. Since Joey lives an active and simplistic life due to his job, the Fab Five did not try to point him in the direction of extravagant grooming or life changes that Joey would not be able to follow. France took him to REI to find outdoorsy clothing that would still look professional, instead of taking him to lavish department stores and forcing him into a suit.

In a recent interview with The Oprah Magazine, the Fab Five discussed the popularity of the show. “[Fans are] happy to see that there are still people out there that care about others,” said Bobby Berk, the interior designer of the show.

The original “Queer Eye” on Bravo was set in a time where members of the LGBTQ community were fighting for tolerance and civil rights.

Today, in a post-Trump era, the show works to bridge the gap between different communities of the country, showing that anyone can come together in the name of self-improvement.

reality? Eillish delves into topics of love and longing, another ode to her teenage mindset but with an emotional vulnerability that is universal to all ages.

“Wish you were gay” demonstrates the young artist’s impressive vocals while displaying a hope for an explanation as to why someone doesn’t love her back. Her tongue-in-cheek ultimately turns heart wrenching with “when the party’s over.” The same feeling of unequal love is expressed with emotional piano, soft cries and desperate lyrics like “I could lie and say I like it like that.” Eillish is not only a dominant female with an alternative personality, she is also equally as vulnerable as the rest of us. The eclectic nature of “WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?” mirrors Eillish’s adolescence, the intense jumble of emotions she is feeling for the first time that we can relate to in one way or another. Possibly the most exciting aspect of the album is that this level of emotional and musical maturity comes from a 17-year-old — the feelings Eillish makes us feel and the psychological places she takes us too in this album are only the beginning.

backstop

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

14 | THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 2019

NA M E / AG G I E

A LLYSON KO / AGG IE

NCAA TOURNAMENT IN REVIEW

Virginia captures first National Title in thrilling overtime win over Texas Tech

BY OM A R N AVA R R O sports@theaggie.org In what turned out to be a tournament lacking in upsets and traditional program dominance, the University of Virginia reigned supreme after pulling off an 85-77 overtime win over Texas Tech in Minneapolis on Monday night — a year after becoming the first top-seeded team to be upset by a 16 seed.

Coming into the tournament, Duke, Gonzaga, North Carolina and Virginia were all number one seeds. However, all eyes were on Duke freshman Zion Williamson, the probable number one overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft and his top-seeded Blue Devils. Williamson had a dominant season averaging 22.6 points and 8.9 rebounds a game all while shooting 68 percent from the field. Williamson also won the AP Men’s college basketball player of the year award by a landslide and joined Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis as the only players to win the Naismith Trophy as a freshman.

With a supporting cast of other potentially NBA-bound players like RJ Barrett, Cam Reddish and Tre Jones, this seemed like the Blue Devils’ tournament to lose. According to Forbes

who had odds from BetOnline.ag, Duke entered the tournament as outright favorites to win the National Title, followed by Gonzaga, Virginia and North Carolina. In ESPN’s Bracket challenge, Duke was the most popular pick to win the tournament, with 37.7 percent of brackets projecting a Blue Devil championship.

But Duke’s Achilles heel throughout the season was its three-point shooting. Shooting a mere 30.2 percent from beyond the arc, the Blue Devils ranked 328th in the nation — near the bottom of college basketball. In today’s era, not being able to shoot the three consistently can be a team’s downfall in such an offensive-minded game. After surviving very close games in the second round and the Sweet 16, Duke fell to Michigan State in the Elite Eight by a score of 68-67, most likely ending the college careers of Williamson, Barrett and Reddish as they embark on their journey to the NBA. Fellow one-seed and ACC rival North Carolina was ousted in the round before, falling in the Sweet 16 to the five seeded Auburn Tigers — a team that surprised many in the college basketball world and was the lowest-seeded team remaining in both the Elite Eight and Final Four.

Head Coach Bruce Pearl’s Auburn squad came

into the tournament as the unexpected champions of the SEC and intended to maintain that championship momentum deep into March.

The Tigers did just that, but ultimately suffered a heartbreaking loss to Virginia in the Final Four. Up two with very little time left in the game, Auburn’s Samir Doughty fouled Virginia’s Kyle Guy as he attempted a three-pointer with 0.6 seconds left. There was little question a foul was committed, but controversy surrounds a sequence that took place five seconds earlier, where Virginia’s Ty Jerome seemed to commit a double dribble violation that was not called.

Guy would go to the line and sink all three free throws, giving Virginia the 63-62 win and a spot in Monday’s National Championship game.

The second favorite coming into this tournament was Gonzaga, but Head Coach Mark Few’s Bulldogs failed to make the Elite Eight.

The Zags have been to only one National Championship game and lost it in 2017. Outside of two years ago, they have been given a high seed yearly but repeatedly fail to secure the school’s first title.

This year, the Bulldogs lost to three-seeded Texas Tech in the Elite Eight. The Red Raiders were seeded high, but not many expected that

they would make it to the National Championship game. Fueled by stellar defense and clutch shooting, Texas Tech controlled most of its Final Four showdown with Michigan State and ran away with a 61-51 win to advance to the school’s first ever National Championship game.

This was the first final since 1979 that included two teams playing in their first-ever national championship game. Both teams appeared nervous from the jump, starting the game shooting a combined 1-10 from the field in the first five and a half minutes of play. A Jerome three-point basket with a second left in the first half gave Virginia a 32-29 lead at halftime.

Coming out of the half, Virginia scored the first six points and extended its lead to nine. The Cavaliers seemed to be in control throughout the half, but Texas Tech then went on a 9-0 run to tie the game and eventually lead by three with 22 seconds remaining. Desperately in need of a basket, Virginia turned to sophomore guard De’Andre Hunter, who drilled a three from the right corner with 12 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

In the extra period, Red Raiders senior guard Matt Mooney gave Texas Tech a quick three-point lead. But once again, another clutch three-pointer from Hunter gave the Cavaliers a lead with two minutes remaining. Virginia never looked back and went on to win its first ever national title by a final score of 85-77.

Overall though, in a tournament that’s known for its buzzer-beating shots and wild upsets, this year’s tournament was one that was, for the most part, predictable. For example, the record for most correctly predicted games in a row on a March Madness bracket was broken this year by 40-year old Gregg Nigl, who picked the first 49 games in the tournament — shattering the previous record of 39.

The lowest seeded team to advance to the second round was the 13-seeded UC Irvine Anteaters out of the Big West Conference. UC Irvine beat four-seeded Kansas State in the first round but lost to 12-seeded Oregon in the second round. Oregon was then the lowest seed that made it to the Sweet 16, where its season ended in a loss to Virginia.

The other 15 teams in the Sweet 16 were all between a one and five seed. Of course, there were several highly-competitive games that went down to the wire, like Duke-UCF, LSU-Maryland or Purdue-Virginia but low-scoring, slow-paced games like Oregon-Virginia and Texas Tech-Michigan reminded viewers that this still is amateur basketball.

Aside from Williamson, this tournament seemed to lack individual star power, leading some to question whether the ratings for the Final Four and National Championship will dip due to the elimination of Williamson and Duke. There is no question that the teams in the Final Four were quality programs, but they did lack the star power that can attract the casual fan. But regardless of how relatively predictable this tournament was or how many tuned in to watch, the 2019 NCAA tournament did deliver its fair share of exciting games, heroic performances and controversy.

CA ITLYN SA MPLEY / AGGIE

B R IA N LA N DRY / AGGIE

WHAT THE RECENT CHEATING SCANDALS MEAN FOR FUTURE COLLEGIATE SPORTS

WOMEN’S TENNIS GAINING MOMENTUM AS SEASON CLOSES

A look into the recent collegiate corruption scandals

Aggies win two of three games over April weekend A L LYSON KO / AGG IE

BY RYA N BUG SCH sports@theaggie.org In 2017, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested 10 individuals including college coaches and an Adidas executive on corruption charges taking place in collegiate basketball.

Over a dozen schools, including big-name basketball programs such as Louisville and North Carolina State, were involved in the scandal.

These college coaches were accused of offering and paying high school stars upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars to get players to commit to their schools. Wiretaps placed by the FBI and played in court confirmed some of these offers to players. Two years later, some of the accused coaches are still under investigation and the NCAA is conducting their own investigation into the matter.

“I think disappointment,” said Kevin Blue, the UC Davis director of Athletics, about the recent corruption in college sports. “I think that the public should trust that the institutions it believes in are going to do things according to the rules that guide those institutions. When that trust is broken it’s very disappointing for everybody.”

Although the news of corruption in college basketball seemed to be the biggest NCAA scandal to date, nobody expected new evidence to leak unrelated to the NCAA. Within the last month, wealthy parents, including some celebrities, have been charged with not only illegally paying universities to admit their high school kids, but also paying college coaches to add their children as recruits, ensuring their entrance into the institution. In

many of these cases, the child in question never even played the sport they were supposedly being recruited for. Currently, the defendants are being tried in court for their actions, some of them accused of paying over $500,000 to institutions and collegiate coaches.

Even though UC Davis is not one of the institutions involved in the corruption scandals, Blue reassured the UC Davis community that the process for catching any corruption at the athletic level can be trusted.

“I think that we [UC Davis Athletics] are confident in our processes,” Blue said. “We are confident in the integrity of our people and obviously a situation that comes up like this at other schools will naturally cause us to reexamine our processes to make sure that they are even tighter, and we reduce the likelihood that a loophole can be exploited. We are reviewing them as a consequence of this, as any responsibly managed organization would. But that is not to say that us, as a responsibly managed organization, aren’t open to improving, and we are going through a process now to examine that.”

As far as what these current corruption scandals mean for the future of college athletics, opinions vary. While some believe that stricter rules and consequences need to be put in place by the NCAA to prevent future corruption, others believe corruption in collegiate athletics may never go away. Nevertheless, it has been made clear that collegiate sports, especially those involved with the NCAA, will continue to grow and be successful.

CHEATING on 14

BY B RE NDAN O G B U R N sports@theaggie.org The UC Davis women’s tennis team put together one of its most impressive performances of the season in a 6-1 win over visiting Northern Colorado at the Marya Welch Tennis Center on Friday afternoon. After a tough loss to a very talented Long Beach State on Saturday, the Aggies came back with their first shutout of the season on Sunday versus Montana State.

Expectations were high coming into this season, after the Aggies went 15-6 last spring and entered the Big West Conference Championship tournament as the No. 2 seed. UC Davis has struggled at times this year, with an overall record of 7-12, but has shown signs of improvement in recent weeks culminating in Friday’s win.

“We haven’t had a lot of matches that we were favored in, but I definitely think we were favored today and we came through beautifully,” said UC Davis Head Coach Bill Maze after Friday’s victory. “I think the whole team played great and that’s what I like. It turned out to be a great day all around.”

To start things off, the Aggies made it a clean sweep in doubles play by winning all three sets and claiming the first point of the afternoon.

In singles play, reigning Big West Athlete of the Week and sophomore Sara Tsukamoto thoroughly dominated her opponent at the No. 2 spot in a stunning 6-0, 6-0 victory. She is currently on a three-match winning streak and holds an 11-10 overall record in singles play.

It didn’t take long for the Aggies to extend their lead to 3-0, as sophomore Shirley Hall

quickly wrapped up her match with a 6-0, 6-3 triumph. Hall leads the Aggies in singles play, having won 13 matches so far this season.

Junior Kristina Breisacher sealed the UC Davis victory at No. 4 with a comeback effort in her second set, winning the match by a final of 6-1, 6-4.

The two victories were another step in the right direction for UC Davis, coming off a 5-2 win over Sacramento State at the end of March.

“Everyone always asks about how to get confidence,” Maze said. “Well I think you get confidence by winning, so I think we’re building some momentum and I think the team’s in a good place.”

Sunday’s win over Montana State was almost identical to the performance on Friday, with UC Davis sweeping the doubles point and then quickly wrapping things up in singles play. The match was played in the clinch format in order to speed up the pace of play, in anticipation of the men’s match against UC Santa Barbara which took place immediately after.

UC Davis has three more games remaining on the schedule before the Big West Conference Championship, which takes place in Indian Wells, Calif. at the end of the month. All three games are happening this weekend, including an 11 a.m. showdown with UC Riverside on Picnic Day. Maze would like to see his team continuing to work hard in practices during the week and show up everyday with a positive mindset.

“We just like to give ourselves the best chance to win by preparing well and having good attitudes and great efforts, because that’s what we can control,” Maze said.