May 2, 2019

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VOLUME 137, ISSUE 24 | THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019

UC-AFT union bargains over new contract

Failure of police disarmament resolution reveals divided opinion

LECTURERS SEEK LONGER JOB CONTRACTS, MORE SECURITY FROM UNIVERSITY

SR #10 FAILS 6-5 IN SENATE, LEADS TO CONTINUING DISCUSSION ABOUT DISARMAMENT

BY SABR I NA HABCHI campus@theaggie.org LUI S LOPEZ / AGGIE

BY CL A I RE D O D D campus@theaggie.org The ASUCD Senate meeting on April 11 drew a larger-than-usual crowd.

The controversial topic of police disarmament was put up for debate, specifically in the form of SR #10: an ASUCD resolution urging the Administration of UC Davis to disarm campus police for the betterment of the University community and the safety of LGBTQ+, disabled and students of color, and especially those that occupy multiple positions of precarity.

The resolution was discussed for over three hours and failed to pass in a 6-5 vote.

Several senators who voted against the bill attributed their issues to the wording of the resolution, not its actual content. Authors of the resolution plan to rewrite the legislation and bring it back to the table.

Blu Buchanan, a seventh-year sociology Ph.D. candidate, authored SR #10 along with members of the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission with the hope that it would put a stop to

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police brutality and create a safe space for all students on the UC Davis campus.

“University police officers frequently do violence to people of color, folks with disabilities and queer and trans folks on our campuses,” Buchanan said. “We really tried to hone in on [...] a particular way that we could make our campuses safer.”

The solution discussed was the disarmament of campus police. Buchanan argued that instead of making students feel safer, the presence of armed police can actually have the opposite effect for a significant portion of the student body.

Buchanan cited the “Picnic Day Five” and the pepper spray incident as two main instances where the threat of lethal force was visible on or around campus.

These events occurred in 2017 and 2011, respectively. UC Davis Police Chief Joseph Farrow noted, however, that the “Picnic Day Five” incident was an issue handled by the Davis Police Department, not the UC Davis Police.

Though there haven’t been any recent newswor-

thy reports of discrimination, Buchanan continued, this does not mean it is not happening. Buchanan referenced black and brown students being removed from the 24-hour study room, saying that often times events like these will either remain unreported or not gain enough circulation.

Talking about the Senate meeting where their resolution failed, Buchanan referenced two students in the audience who openly opposed SR #10. Cody Bynes, a fourth-year political science major, was one of the individuals Buchanan named.

Bynes, a Marine Corps veteran, is passionate about safety and felt particularly compelled to attend the meeting. He feared there wouldn’t be sufficient opposition otherwise, and that the bill would have passed.

“I don’t speak up about much, but when it comes to safety, I feel particularly passionate,” Bynes said. “It’s just always been in my nature, especially from being able to see it firsthand in the military, but this really just struck a nerve. I cancelled all my plans that night just so

I could go and sit there for three, three and a half hours arguing with the opposing narratives.”

Bynes’ viewpoint contrasts sharply against Buchanan’s. He feels that the presence of armed police on campus is necessary for student safety, illustrating this need in terms of an active shooter on campus.

“Disarming the police is disarming the means to protect students in a worstcase scenario,” Bynes said.

“Following Officer Corona [...] if that shooter had wandered on campus, then the students that had been on lockdown inside of the classrooms — if we hadn’t pinpointed where the shooter was — he could’ve easily shot at students [...] it’s one of those things where if we take away the police’s means to defend students and also defend themselves, why is that productive?”

He made clear that his intention was not to discredit gun violence, but rather to speak out over concerns for students’ security.

Buchanan’s motivation for writing the bill extended beyond just their opposition against officers being

armed on campus. They also referenced the option of the 1033 program, which permits the transfer of excess supplies and equipment from the US Department of Defense to state and local law enforcement agencies.

“We realized that it was growing especially urgent to deal with the question of campus police violence when we realized that the 1033 program, a program that funnels military equipment and weaponry to local police departments, was also affecting university police as well,” Buchanan said.

This program, Buchanan claimed, is both unnecessary and also allows the police to view students and the community as enemy combatants. The best way to intervene, Buchanan insisted, is to disarm them.

Farrow, however, made it clear that he has no plans to take advantage of this program.

“The university can get surplus military stuff [...] but we don’t have any of that,” Farrow said. “We don’t have any military stuff from [the government],

The University of California American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT), a labor union that represents lecturers and librarians working at the UCs, is bargaining with the University of California Office of the President over a new contract for lecturers and other non-tenure-track faculty.

The latest bargaining session occurred last week at UC Davis, where 88 union members and supporters were present. An additional 63 members and supporters arrived at 11:30 a.m. to watch the session in a show of support.

Katie Arosteguy, a continuing University Writing Program lecturer and member of UC-AFT, expressed concern over UCOP’s demand for closed bargaining sessions — a request that isn’t new for UCOP, who insisted on closed bargaining sessions during their negotiations with the UC Student-Workers Union Local 2865, a labor union representing undergraduate tutors and graduate student workers.

“Today, we really wanted to try and show up in numbers just to demonstrate that we’re paying attention,” Arosteguy said.

“They did not want to have open bargaining sessions, so we wanted to show up to just demonstrate that we’re paying attention and that we care about getting a fair contract and that we want them to bargain in good faith with us. We were pretty disturbed to hear them say that they don’t want students to be present, or reporters or student reporters, so we pushed back on that.”

Mia McIver, the president and chief negotiator of UC-AFT and pre-continuing lecturer in Writing Programs at UCLA, described the bargaining session as positive.

POLICE on 11

UC-AFT on 11

Theta Xi submits plans to demolish Bryson, Jackson houses, build new three-story house on First Street property PLANS TO CONSOLIDATE THREE THETA XI FRAT HOUSES INTO ONE CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW BY CITY PLANNERS

BY T I M L A LON D E city@theaggie.org The UC Davis chapter of the Theta Xi fraternity has submitted plans to redevelop its headquarters on First Street, which currently spans three buildings. The plans include demolishing two of the fraternity houses and building a new three-story house, according to a notice released by the city on Feb. 25.

The properties marked for redevelopment in the report stand at 503, 509 and 515 First Street. Under the proposed plan, the structures at 503 and 509 addresses would be demolished, which includes Bryson House, Jackson House and a parking garage.

Currently, Theta Xi’s headquarters are zoned across three lots, each with its own house.

The fraternity properties span most of the block face located between D Street and the Natsoulas Gallery Art Building at First and E Streets. The

plans, however, would merge the three lots and re-divide the property into two lots of roughly equal size.

Theta Xi plans to keep its Main House intact, which is located at 515 First Street.

On the site of the demolished houses, the fraternity plans to build a new three-story building. During construction, according to the project narrative on the City of Davis website, members of the fraternity will continue to occupy the Theta Xi Main House. Once construction is completed, however, the frat will vacate the main house, making it available for new tenants or an outside redevelopment project.

The new headquarters, according to the report, will provide 35 total beds and nine bathrooms. Theta Xi also plans to consolidate its living and study areas into the new building next to a new space for bicycle storage and maintenance as well as a new off-street parking lot.

“The project would also consolidate all living and study areas into the proposed three-story building with partial basement, a detached laundry, storage building, and trash enclosure, and associated site landscaping with exterior meeting and gathering spaces,” the project description in the report reads. “There would also be a dedicated ‘Bike Barn’ with bike maintenance space and a one-to-one ratio of covered and secured bike storage to beds.”

According to the project narrative on the City of Davis website, Theta Xi hopes to address structural issues identified in the Bryson and Jackson houses, noted in a 2016 report by the construction company Pemberton Engineering. The original structures of both houses are over 100 years old, according to the Pemberton report, their construction dating back to the 1910s. Theta Xi’s Main House was built in the 1920s. The fraternity acquired the first of the three buildings

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during the 1950s.

The project will update the aesthetic of the new building to match the surrounding city architecture while retaining elements of the original “Craftsman Bungalow” style of the two buildings that will be demolished — an architectural characteristic of the early 20th century era in which they were constructed. “[Demolition] will allow for construction of a more compact, consolidated singular

fraternity building that will also create a more urban edge, consistent with city planning goals for the neighborhood,” the narrative read. “The architectural theme recalls the Craftsman Bungalow style of the houses being replaced.”

The Theta Xi redevelopment project is still in the early planning and approval stages, according to Davis city planner Ike Njoku. At the time of publication, the city was drafting environmental impact reports

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for the development. Once completed, the city will circulate the report and re-open the project for public commentary.

“The Theta Xi Fraternity redevelopment project is at the environmental impact report (EIR) drafting stage,” Njoku said via email. “We are currently drafting the EIR, which we hope would be circulated before end of next month (i.e., May 2019) for the required 45

THETA XI on 11

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2 | THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019

Changes to student basic needs services seek to broaden assistance on campus ZACHARY LACSON / AGGIE

Aggie Compass helps students in need by establishing four main pillars of support

BY GEORG E L I AO campus@theaggie.org The Aggie Compass Basic Needs Center at UC Davis is seeking ways to further help students with food and housing security, mental health referrals and financial success planning. The center, located on the first floor of the Memorial Union, has been operational for approximately two years and has expanded its services to include a fulltime Yolo County CalFresh representative working onsite to help students with applications and extended collaboration with The Pantry. In the future, the Aggie Compass seeks ways to alleviate the housing crisis in Davis.

Leslie Kemp, the director of Aggie Compass, spoke about her work with the center and how the center was created.

“I was working in communications in 2014 when the call came from Janet Napolitano and the Office of the President to all the UC’s through the Global Food Initiative,” Kemp said.

“I was fortunate to be at the table and proposed that we do some research, find out what barriers our students had for access to healthy foods and also if they knew about the resources we did have.”

During the two years that Kemp worked with the University of California Office of the President as part of the Global Food Initiative, four key areas were subsequently identified: food security, housing security, mental health wellness and financial information services.

Kemp did not initially envision the Aggie Compass as a physical space on campus.

“My proposal was to put together a website that was a portal for all the food resources we had on campus — affordable or free resources

on campus, off campus and access to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and CalFresh,” Kemp said.

From this initial work, Kemp continued developing resources for the four pillars of basic needs that the Global Food Initiative had identified. Kemp also talked about future projects Aggie Compass was considering.

“We have our most resources because of the Global Food Initiative — under food because that is what we are working on for the [past] four years,” Kemp said. “Housing we will be looking into in this coming year. We are planning some things to provide rapid housing and emergency housing programs.”

Annie Adachi, a fourth-year biological sciences major and the student unit director of the ASUCD Pantry, spoke about the recent relocation of the Pantry to the first floor of the MU and some of the unit’s plans for the future.

“The new location is much more accessible for students,” Adachi said. “When we were in the basement of Lower Freeborn, students would have trouble finding us because we were not visible [and] nobody can see the Pantry. Now that it is at the front of the MU, it is very accessible to students.”

Adachi mentioned that the new location creates a new customer experience for students coming to the Pantry.

“A lot of pantries in the University of California system have students walking in and shopping around like in a store and are retail inspired,” Adachi said. “So that is what the students had wanted for a long time. With this location, that enables us to have a more welcoming experience for students.”

With the move to the MU, the Pantry has seen a growth in the number of students using

the Pantry.

“We see about 450 students daily, Monday through Friday, on average,” Adachi said. “Now our goal is we want to identify what the students’ wants are and what they liked most about us.”

Through research, the Pantry found that students were interested in more fresh food, and the Pantry has sought ways to offer this.

“We are trying to increase our distribution of fresh produce and bread products,” Adachi said.

“We’ve seen that the students tend to come more often on days that we stock these items. So we are working now with the Yolo Food Bank to provide a greater variety of nutritious foods like that.”

Adachi explained she believes that the Pantry fills a vital emergency role when other resources are not available.

“In my [conversations] with students, they tell us how the Pantry [...] was a safety net for them, and it did rescue them when they were in need [during] certain quarters — they had emergency needs,” Adachi said. “But of course, the resources can always be expanded, and I am getting a lot of feedback from the community about different ways it can be expanded.”

The Aggie Compass also has a full-time employee of Yolo County on site to help students with the CalFresh application process.

Max Vaca, a Public Assistance specialist III for Yolo County and a former UC Davis graduate, is stationed in the Aggie Compass.

“I work for Yolo County full-time, but I am the only CalFresh representative stationed at the UC Davis campus,” Vaca said. “[This] gives me flexibility, because I am not just able to assist people in applying for CalFresh, but I am also able to complete their interviews and help them complete their applications onsite.”

Vaca said the first thing for CalFresh applicants do is set up an appointment with the Aggie Compass staff. This can be done from the Aggie Compass website or at their office. Students will be prescreened and if they appear qualified, students can then apply. Vaca said there are two processes to apply for CalFresh. The first is to apply online and the other is to meet with him at the Aggie Compass where he will provide information on the application process and conduct the application interview.

Vaca said that during the past two years, the number of students receiving CalFresh has grown.

“Obviously, the number of students who know about CalFresh and the enrollment has increased,” Vaca said. “From what I have seen on a day-to-day basis, there has been an increase in CalFresh approval due to the fact that we have partnered up with UC Davis [...] For example, with financial aid, they have included a link on their MyAwards page so students who may be eligible for CalFresh can see that, and they can click to apply online [with Yolo County] or to be sent to the Aggie Compass website where they can get more information.”

Vaca credits the increased visibility UC Davis has provided for CalFresh.

“I think [this increased visibility] is just not happening at UC Davis but all across the University of California campuses,” Vaca said. “Before

there was a stigma behind CalFresh, but now I kind of feel that stigma is going away slowly but surely.”

The Pantry is a business unit of ASUCD, and each unit has adopted senators who advocate for the unit.

Rebecca Gonzalez, a fourth-year international relations major and adoptive senator for the Pantry, spoke about her plans for the unit.

“In my personal opinion, it is the most important unit we have,” Gonzalez said. “It provides a vital service for students.”

Gonzalez then talked about what she and the Senate would like to do for the Pantry.

“We want to see if we can fix the issue for summer staffing,” Gonzalez said. “There are also some minor nuances with the budget that we want to fix, so that the Pantry can provide its services as best as possible and be sufficiently staffed. I think that is something that we want to fix internally.”

The reach of food insecurity extends beyond the Aggie Compass. The Food Recovery Network organization on campus collects unused food from the dining commons and from retail markets on campus and delivers the food to the Pantry and homeless shelters in Davis.

Lucero Morales, a third-year biotechnology major, is an executive member of the FRN and spoke about their mission.

“Our goal is to reduce food waste on campus by recovering food and distributing it to homeless shelters and the Pantry [by] reducing that food waste, which is perfectly good food,” Morales said. “We recover two different types of food. The prepackaged food from the retail markets [on campus] are all packaged sandwiches, salads and pastas that are amazing to eat right now. And we deliver that to The Pantry, where students can go and get that sandwich and eat it right then and there.”

Morales talked about large quantities of frozen food they get from the dining commons and deliver to homeless shelters.

“We get from the dining commons frozen foods [such as] cut up vegetables or cut up chicken that can’t be served to students [in the dining commons] because they just made too much,” Morales said. “That we take [...] to the homeless shelters because homeless shelters can use that to create nutritious balanced meals [...] it is a full meal for them.”

Morales identified the key issues related to the distribution of recovered food.

“There is enough food grown and harvested for people, but there is that transportation issue to get it to the right person, or all the extra food [that] is too expensive to move to a homeless shelter or to the school pantry,” Morales said.

“There is a need for a better system of distribution. I think that will happen soon. I think there is a hope that will happen soon.”

Morales said student food insecurity is a persistent problem in need of more awareness.

“I see that food insecurity for students especially in this community is going to be in the headlines,” Morales said. “I think more people will be aware of the issue. There is going to be a neccessity to address it.”

ASUCD Senate tables spending bills pending further review SHEREEN LEE / AGGIE

Senate holds Allyship training, passes resolution to support California Senate Bill 24

Watch out for boyfriends who like Taco Bell April 17 “Client left canister of marijuana.”

CAITLYN SAMPLEY / AGGIE

April 18 “Reporting party was trying to connect a device and called 911 to see if her phone was working.”

April 19 “Three bouncers smoking cigarettes in front of business. Reporting party confronted subjects about it and subjects were dismissive.”

April 20 “Female yelling that her boyfriend is on his way to her mother’s address from Taco Bell to destroy property because he is violent and disconnected.”

April 21 “Mail carrier was chased by pit bull, had to run up onto his vehicle to get away from dog.”

April 22 “Reporting party was involved in extensive road rage incident.”

April 23 “Dog barking for four hours.”

BY ALE X IS LO PE Z campus@theaggie.org The April 18 Senate meeting was called to order at 6:15 pm by Vice President Shreya Deshpande. ASUCD President Justin Hurst was absent.

The meeting began with Senate pro-tempore elections with senator Andre Spinoglio being elected.

Next was an allyship training by the Gender and Sexuality Commission. During this training the members of GASC explained to the Senate and the commission chairs how they can be allies to the LGBTQIA+ community. They went into detail on various topics such as misgendering, how to become educated on these issues and ways to ensure that individuals are always respectful to those in the community.

Then, the consideration of old legislation took place. There were a few legislative pieces that were discussed between the senate, the chair and the authors of the bills.

SR #11, which is intended to recognize the commitment of the late former ASUCD Business Manager, Janice L. Wimmer Corbett, was the first to be discussed. It passed with no objections.

SB #73, a Senate Bill to allocate $1,417.55 for the yearly supply of menstrual hygiene products in male and female CoHo Restrooms, was tabled in order to allow GASC and other commissions the time to review the bill before putting it up for a vote.

SB #76, a bill to allocate $347.30 for the ASUCD Excellence in Education award and its reception put on by the Academic Affairs Commission, was also tabled and referred to the Business and Finance Commission for further review.

There was an update on the status of previously passed legislation.

Next the floor was opened for public discussion. Members of the External Affairs Commision and the Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission gave a short presentation on Assata Shakur in response to comments made at the previous Senate meeting. After the presentation, Deshpande commented on the tensions which took place during the previous meeting. They spoke about the need for communication and the need to have difficult conversations in order to solve problems.

During the public discussion, other topics were also discussed, such as housing troubles that are plaguing students. During this time, Senator Tony Chen wanted to con-

sider his new bill as emergency legislation.

Members of the Senate, however, deemed the legislation to not be an emergency, so the new bill will be introduced next meeting.

The Committee on Committees needed a new adopted senator, and Senator Sean Kumar volunteered for the task.

After public discussion, the Senate moved to review further legislation. SR #12, a Senate resolution to support California Senate Bill 24, was discussed and passed with no objections. California Senate Bill 24 would require certain public universities to provide medical abortions on their campuses. A longer version of the resolution is planned to be presented at a future senate meeting.

Next were public announcements. The senators and the commission chairs took this time to make announcements. They spoke about various issues ranging from the upcoming 5K run to the fact that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Once the public announcements were finished, elected officer reports were given. These reports contained updates as to what the past week looked like for elected officials and what their future plans are for their offices.

The minutes for the previous meeting were approved.

The meeting adjourned at 8:28 p.m.

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019 | 3

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Housing first for LGBTQ youth

Hornet family mourns loss of student

LGBT Community Center provides shelter JEREMY DANG / AGGIE

BY ST EL L A T RA N city@theaggie.org The Sacramento LGBT Community Center will open a 90-day shelter to help young LGBTQ youths who are homeless or displaced. The shelter is intended to focus on this community’s specific needs.

Krystal Peak, the community engagement and marketing specialist for the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, elaborated on how the center came about.

“We’ve been around roughly since 1984, at least in any sort of organized capacity,” Peak said. “Then we became the Gay and Lesbian Center, and a few years ago, in 2013, we did business as the Sacramento LGBT Community Center. It’s been different names, different iterations.”

Peak added that the Sacramento LGBT Community Center developed its model after many other centers around as well, hoping to bridge gaps and provide more for the LGBTQ community.

“There are multiple LGBT centers around the country and beyond that had really has taken an interest in creating housing for youth and for those in their senior years,” Peak said. “The New York LGBT center, the LA LGBT center and a few others have either added onto their center space to create housing opportunity space or have found nearby properties

to provide that resource usually for low income or assisted living. We’ve seen larger metropolitan areas use this model so that folks are able to find more housing opportunities, especially in the LGBTQ community.”

Councilman Steve Hansen explained how housing became a primary struggle for many members of the LGBTQ community.

“The specific impacts of homelessness on LGBT youth are profound,” Hansen said to The Sacramento Bee. “As youth come out, their families kick them out, and they struggle to figure out where to go. In talking to LGBT youth of color and transgender youth, they are buffeted by multiple layers of prejudice and barriers. This is a way to empower them for a productive and happy life.”

Peak also noted that those in the LGBTQ community often face a lack of familial structure.

“There’s usually unconventional family structures or a lack of family acceptance or family resources, [and] often LGBT centers are able to step in and create a better community structure,” Peak said.

Pixie Pearl, the assistant director of housing for the Sacramento LGBT Center, explained how the center was able to fund for its housing project.

“We actually have a grant through the California government office and emer-

gency services, which is renewable for four years, and the city of Sacramento actually did a match with the support of Councilmember Hansen and Mayor Steinberg, so they matched the funds we got to support and we also have private donors,” Pearl said.

Peak indicated that tackling the housing crisis is crucial.

“In Sacramento, there is such a strong grassroots LGBT community, and what’s been lacking has been hard resources like housing,” Peak said. “Hopefully, if this program proves to be successful, we will be able to expand and offer more resources and really provide that enriching community space that a lot of folks in the area have been hoping for — it’s something we’re really excited to do, we’re really hoping that it becomes a success, and hopefully we can grow it year over year.”

Pearl also noted that there are other programs to help ease the housing transitions for youths. Some of these programs operate with harm reduction and housing first models.

“Right now, we have an up and running program transitional learning program for 18- to 24-year-olds for 18-24 months,” Pearl said. “We also have a STEP program — short term transitional housing program. We’re hoping to get that going end of May, beginning of June.

This is a low barrier — if you’re struggling with relationships or addictions, we’re approaching a harm reduction way where we can address those needs and do a housing first model.”

Pearl emphasized the importance of a low barrier program, meaning that most individuals can attain the housing they need.

“I see a lot of things, I see that having a low barrier program is going to be vital,” Pearl said. “Maybe those folks who are struggling with relationships aren’t able to get into housing. While we’re opened to everyone, we do have a focus for LGBT as we know there’s 40% of youths who are facing homelessness, who identify with our community. We hope to give specific services that are trained so that people can be validated with who they are so that they can feel safe.”

Chancellor Gary May stands against FDA’s blood donation restrictions on MSM Restrictions specifically target men who have had sex with men

JEREMY DANG / AGGIE

BY AL LY RUSSEL L campus@theaggie.org Chancellor Gary May recently released a statement to the community calling attention to federal restrictions that gay men face when donating blood. May published the letter in response to UC Davis’ regular blood drive that was held from April 16 to 18 on the Quad.

May’s letter addressed existing federal regulations that implement restrictions for men who have sex with men (MSM) when giving blood. Previously, the U.S. Federal Drug Administration enforced a lifetime deferral for MSM. In 2015 the FDA revised its regulations to limit deferment for MSM to “12 months from the most recent sexual contact,” according to the Red Cross’ website.

With regular blood donations held on campus as well as around the nation, May commented on his decision to go forward with this statement.

“I wanted to send a strong message that UC Davis is an inclusive community,” May said via email. “Some may not know about limitations that are put on some in our community, such as in this instance, and I wanted people to know that I see and hear them.”

Restrictions against MSM began in 1983 during the AIDS epidemic in an attempt to prevent the spread of the disease. Originally, the ban applied to MSM, women who have sex with women (WSW) and transgender individuals con-

sidered MSM. Today, the deferral only applies to MSM. There is no deferral for WSW or transgender women, assigned male at birth, who have sex with men. According to the Red Cross’ website, MSM in monogamous relationships must still observe the 12 month deferment.

Many believe these restrictions are outdated and discriminatory, including May. “I also want to acknowledge those in our community who would participate, were they not barred by federal restrictions on blood donations by men who have had sex with men,” May said in his statement.

“UC Davis — and I personally — stand strongly against all forms of discrimination on the basis of gender or sexual orientation. By using those traits as a proxy for risk, the FDA’s policy unnecessarily prevents some of our fellow students, staff and faculty from joining in this important and generous community effort.”

While all donated blood goes through a process of intense screening, historically there have been cases of blood containing viruses getting through screening procedures. In an attempt to decrease the likelihood of this occurring, because MSM are more likely to have HIV than the general population, the FDA previously deferred any MSM from giving blood.

Today, with tests that can detect HIV within 11 days of infection, many accuse the 12 month deferment period of being outdated and homophobic. Staff at UC Davis’ LGBTQIA+ Resource Center ac-

knowledged the importance of this issue via email, but were unable to provide a comment.

According to an article from the Los Angeles Times, today a patient’s chance of getting HIV from a blood transfusion is 1 in 1.5 million.

Vitalant, formerly Bloodsource, the company that runs UC Davis’ blood drives, is responsible for contributing to “studies that presented the scientific data and testing advances prompting the December 2015 FDA change from a permanent deferral for men who have sex with other men (MSM) to a 12-month deferral since last sexual contact,” according to their website, which May referred to in his letter.

Going forward, more scientists are working to provide evidence-based studies that support shorter deferral periods, including Vitalant.

“The goals of this research are to reduce the deferral period for gay and bisexual men even further — as has been done recently in France and the United Kingdom — and possibly also to develop a more individualized donor risk assessment process — such as is used in Italy and Spain — that ultimately may allow gay and bisexual male donors whose risk for HIV and other blood-transmitted infections has been proven as being acceptably low to donate blood for the general community,” said Chris Gresens, the senior chief medical officer at Vitalant’s North and West Divisions and a clinical professor at UC Davis’ School of Medicine.

After long history of ups and downs, Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity loses a member at Sacramento State

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BY LAUR EN TR OP I O city@theaggie.org In January 2018, Sacramento State University began addressing concerns sent to the university concerning Greek life. Among this information was a video sent from an anonymous email address of a man seizing and vomiting.

The video was traced back to the fraternity Pi Kappa Alpha and led to an investigation on the effects of alcohol and hazing in the fraternity and in general. Pi Kappa Alpha was placed on probation following the investigation. After violating later terms of probation the organization lost recognition by the university in August of 2018.

Around this time, officials found out that the released video was taken in the past and had been investigated previously, uncovering the mystery of why the email used to turn in the video did not match other emails that provided tips about PKA. Things started looking up for the Greek organization as Interfraternity Council noted PKA’s progress toward meeting the terms of probation, and the school agreed to reinstate recognition of the house in January 2019. PKA was to be placed on probation until May 31, after which Sacramento State would acknowledge the organization.

“There can be sanctions placed by IFC or their nationals on a fraternity, but it really just depends what the sanctions are, themselves,” said Nicholas Elliott-Smith, a third-year political science major and the IFC president for UC Davis. “It is a case-to-case basis of when they get off probation, and when a fraternity shows promising progress, they can become in good standing with IFC and the university, which is what PKA did.”

Given this timeline, hope was reestablished for the initiates and rushees who were either already members of PKA or were going to be. The hope lasted until a tragedy took place in mid-April.

On April 12, 2019, a member of PKA was pronounced dead from an accidental pellet gun shooting during an off-campus party.

The Sacramento Police Department responded to a call at about 3 a.m. about a man who was passed out and needed medical attention as soon as possible.

William Molina, a 21-year-old Sacramento State student who was set to graduate this May, was transported to the UC Davis Medical Center and died, in spite of the life-saving efforts that the personnel on board attempted.

This is an event that not only impacted the Sacramento area, but also the city of Davis, as a recognized chapter of PKA also exists at UC Davis.

“The brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha, Theta Omega Chapter, send our deepest condolences to Will Molina’s family, chapter brothers and school community,” said Aidan Brady, a cinema and digital media major and the president of PKA at UC Davis. “They are all in our thoughts and prayers, and we would like to offer our support to them in any way we can during this difficult time.”

Investigators were called upon once the incident was released to the public and the school through Sacramento State’s president, Robert Nelsen.

“Sac State President Robert S. Nelsen called the death a terrible tragedy that affects the entire University family,” said Brian Blomster, the director of news and communications for SSU. “He said counseling will be offered to members of the campus community.”

Neighbors came forward after the unfortunate news reached the community about the house being occupied by members of PKA. The house was located about two miles from campus, and acted as an unofficial fraternity house.

Even with complaints, the university was not allowed to do anything due to it being not on campus.

“We later responded to questions about the venue where the death occurred,” Blomster said. “It was a private residence where some Sac State students live, not an officially recognized fraternity house. Such designation requires documentation following national guidelines from the frat. We continue to wait for results of the investigation into Will’s death by Sacramento police.”

Investigations are still being conducted to find out more about that night, as Blomster concluded that the accident had no relation to hazing.

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4 | THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019

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NOT AN AFTERTHOT

Third-year communication major Daniel Rajabi shares his thoughts after interaction with woman holding “Hell is hot, don’t be a thot” sign

BY MARGO ROSENBAUM features@theaggie.org In a now-viral tweet from the first day of Spring Quarter, a short video clip recorded at the Memorial Union shows a woman holding a sign reading, “Hell is hot, don’t be a thot,” and a student next to her with his own sign reading, “I am a thot,” along with his phone number. That student is third-year communication major Daniel Rajabi.

Rajabi described the events leading up to his appearance at the MU. He said he was walking to class when he heard a lot of screaming and profanities being thrown around and noticed that one of the organizations tabling close to the woman was a sorority.

“This is what really caught my attention,” Rajabi said. “Not only were they just kind of like ‘Who is this lady?’ but they were looking off to the side, and you could tell that they were a little bit scared and a little bit worried.”

It was in part due to their reaction that Rajabi went to the bookstore and bought a poster to make his own sign, proclaiming that he was, in fact, a thot.

“I thought, you know, [screaming is] really no way to have dialogue, because it’s pretty obvious that [a dialogue] is what everybody wanted,” Rajabi said, “It was just a screaming contest for the sake of a screaming contest.”

Because his handwriting is “really bad,” he asked the members of the sorority who were tabling if anyone had good handwriting and if

they’d be willing to write his message for him.

They agreed. It was Rajabi’s idea to add his phone number to the bottom, and since the tweet of him went viral, he has been texted over 800 times and called about 50 times from people as far away as New York.

“I actually responded to every single one of them,” Rajabi said. “And I’m still in communication with about 30 or 40 of them, maybe more.”

In addition to this digital communication, people at UC Davis have stopped him and asked if he’s “that guy from Twitter” and if they could take pictures of or with him. But some of these interactions goes beyond his poster declaring that he’s a thot. “[A couple of them] started opening up to me a little bit about the kinds of stuff they’re dealing with,” Rajabi said. “Not necessarily that level of persecution, but especially the Muslim students, because I am [Muslim] myself, [they tell me] what they may be dealing with and how they were happy that they felt I stood up for people who are getting persecuted in some kind of way, shape or form.”

When Rajabi was at the MU on April 1, he said that students starting cheering, and when

the woman with the poster saw him, she took a double take.

“She goes, ‘You’re a thot?’ and just kind of screams it as an accusation,” Rajabi said. “But you know, I clearly had the sign, and I was like, ‘Yes, yes I am.’ She goes, ‘You’re going to hell,’ and I was like, ‘Yes, I am.’”

That day, Rajabi stayed at the MU for about an hour. He said that eventually, she started smiling and lightened up a little. Rajabi says that he thinks that was in part due to the students’ change in attitude as well.

“People eventually began actually talking to her,” Rajabi said. “And nobody’s mind was changed, don’t get me wrong. Nobody was like, ‘Okay, that’s why I’m going to hell’ and she wasn’t like, ‘Okay, I guess you’re not going to hell’ — that was absolutely still the case. But they were calmer, their blood pressure was lower. And it seemed like everybody was at least heard and listened to, you know, just not convinced, though.”

He described his experience with the woman as “pretty fun.” He has seen her since, and they know each other’s names and have had a few conversations. He asked her about her strategy and she told him a little bit about her motivation.

“She says, ‘Oh, I know, this is not a good thing to say. And I know it’s a sinful thing for me to do. It’s very hypocritical. However, the reason why I do it is because we’re trying to get as many eyes on us as possible, so that we can then project our image of what we think is right onto them.

And then that way, we can potentially catch more people and do more good on the overall,’” Rajabi said. “So they’re thinking big picture.”

On the content of her message, Rajabi evidently disagreed, as over 923,000 people who have viewed the tweet have seen. He adds that he disagrees with her plan, and that it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be very effective in the long run by having people look at her in a negative light.

The responses that he received inspired him to create a club, which he plans to call the Smile More Campaign.

“People are very serious when it comes to discussions about most social justice events, religious events [and] activism events,” Rajabi said.

“And what’s lacking is not necessarily […] we’ve got enough people that say, dialogue is missing, and this and that are missing and […] I feel like what’s missing [are] some smiles and laughter and happiness. Just because you’re talking about something rough, doesn’t mean that you have to feel terrible while you’re doing it.”

Rajabi hopes to help the “overall dialogue THOTBOYon 1 1

STUDENTS AID IN SPRINGTIME ANIMAL LIVESTOCK BREEDING PROGRAM

Spring brings new babies to animal facilities on campus

BY MARGO ROSENBAUM features@theaggie.org Foals, calves, piglets, lambs, kids, chicks — there’s nothing cuter than baby farm animals.

Young animals like these are taking their first breaths on campus at various animal facilities this Spring Quarter.

Breeding occurs at all of the animal facilities on campus, which include goats, horses, swine, dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep, laboratory animals and avian species.

Breeding seasons vary depending on the animal, according to animal facilities coordinator Dan Sehnert. Some, such as swine, give birth year round, but goats, sheep and horses are seasonal. Beef cattle are “calved” in either the fall or spring.

“Springtime is usually sheep and horses,” Sehnert said. “Right now, we just finished up with sheep. I think we have just a handful of goats left to kid out. We still have some horses left to foal.”

UC Davis has breeding programs because they need animals for teaching in the animal science department, doing animal agriculture outreach, holding clinics for members in the industry and completing animal agriculture research, according to Sehnert.

Students who want to become involved in the breeding process can take part in internships at the animal facilities or take animal science classes. Students can take classes in the ANS 049 series, where each class learns about a different animal at one of the various facilities, according to Sehnert.

“The class is very hands on and is a good way to expose yourself to a lot of animal facilities and animal agriculture,” Sehnert said.

At the horse barn, students can take part in a foal-management internship that lasts six months over Winter and Spring Quarter. Students put in

20 hours each week working with the foals born in the previous year. At the end of the internship in June, students put on a foal auction where the foals are sold to the public.

According to first-year animal science major Caroline Ong, who had an internship at the goat facility Winter Quarter and has an internship at the horse barn this quarter, the foals are big, playful and very enjoyable to work with.

“They’re born with the same length of legs that they are going to be,” Ong said. “They’re playful, but they don’t realize how big they are I think so they’ll get in your face. They’re really mouthy because they’re still in that stage where they are nursing so they want to bite everything.”

Before the kids are born at the goat facility, students help check their tattoos, trim their hooves, clean their pens and take inventory, according to Ong. Once the goats start “kidding,” as the goats give birth, students catch the kids in buckets, mark which dam the kid came from, cut the umbilical cord and give each kid an ID number. Then students take care of the kids by feeding the babies and marking how much each one eats.

“Feeding the baby goats was the best part,” Ong said.

At the beef facility, students help artificially inseminate the cattle to breed them. Once the calves are born, students help with cattle checks, where they see which cows have given birth or are almost ready to give birth. Students tag the calves of cows that have “calved,” give the calves vaccinations and take their birth weight, according to first-year animal science major Shelby Dunfee, who lived at the beef unit last year and has an internship at the Sierra Field Station this year. “[Calving] is such a neat thing and a special part of life we get to see happen,” Dunfee said.

“That has really made me appreciative [of ] this whole industry in general. I love to see brand new

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calves stand up for the very first time, or see when [their] mom and them finally bond and that’s just a part of mother nature that is really neat to see.”

According to Dunfee, breeding is a long process that requires a lot of hard work and effort to keep the cows healthy. The process begins in January with ensuring the breeding cows are fed enough to keep them in the best condition.

“It’s a lot of work on them to calve and so we really take pride in making sure our animals are in top shape here and that a lot of work goes into the whole process,” Dunfee said.

According to fourth-year animal science major Allie Carmickle, who has worked at the beef facility for two years, for beef cattle, most of the bull calves are kept and turned into steers, which are neutered males and eventually sent to slaughter. Females are kept as replacements of older cows to breed or are sold.

Carmickle said she loved the opportunity to see the progress of the long breeding process, from breeding then nine months later to the calf being born, to the adult cow growing up two

years later and then finally to the meat product in the end.

Depending on the type of animal, the young animals end up in different places. According to Sehnert, swine and lambs are used for teaching, research or end up in the animal science meat science laboratory.

For students interested in learning more about the baby animals without taking a class, Sehnert said anyone can visit the animal facilities. Students can go talk to the facility managers or students who live at each facility and receive information about the animals, get tours of the facility or see the babies. “[Students] are more than welcome to stop in at those animal facilities and visit if they just want to see baby animals,” Sehnert said.

“This lawsuit is impacting the students directly,” Gradeff said. “It’s impacting no one else but the students. [Lincoln40] is going to be a great environment for students to live and study, and recreate, socialize and have a wonderful community there. That’s so desperately needed in Davis.”

SAY CHEESE: CLASSIC PHOTO LOCATIONS FOR GRADUATING SENIORS

Detailing some of the most popular spots on campus to take graduation photos

BY Alyssa Hada features@theaggie.org

UC Davis Signs There are two iconic spots for students to take graduation photos that encapsulate UC Davis the UC Davis sign on A street and on Russell Boulevard. Especially for students hoping to capture a bit of the school in their photo, these spots are some of the best places to take photos. It’s also a great spot to take photos with friends, sitting on or posing near the brick signs.

The Arboretum The Arboretum spans across the entirety of UC Davis’ campus and is another one of the most iconic spots in Davis to take photos come graduation. There are a multitude of options in taking photos, whether it’s by the river, by blossoming flowers or at the gazebo. In the spring, make sure to head to the arboretum at the appropriate time to catch it in the peak of its bloom.

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The Promenade Most graduating students have trekked up and down this street profusely during their time at UC Davis. It’s one of the most iconic streets to

pass going to and from classes and is staged right by one of the most populated areas on campus, sandwiched between the Memorial Union and Wellman. In springtime, the trees arch over the promenade, making it one of the most picturesque spots on campus to grab a few photos.

Campus Eggheads It’s classic UC Davis tradition to rub an egghead for good luck, whether it’s the egghead by Shields Library, Mrak Hall, the Art Building or one of several others. It may also serve some good luck to add an Egghead to your graduation photoshoot, capturing one of the quintessential Davis oddities in your photos.

Personal Iconic Spots Understandably by the end of your college career at UC Davis, you may have a few spots in Davis that hold some sentimental value to you.

If you’ve spent hours in the library cramming before finals, all of your time at the CoHo drinking coffee or quarter after quarter in the same building for all of your major classes, consider taking some photos at one of those iconic spots that took up so much of your time at UC Davis!

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UC Davis ranks second on ‘Top Colleges Advocating for Mental Health Awareness’ College Magazine praises UC Davis’ efforts to promote wellness M IKI WAYN E features@theaggie.org On April 11, an article was published in College Magazine naming the “Top 10 Colleges

Advocating for Mental Health Awareness.” UC Davis came in at number two on the list and was described as the top of its class in combating the stigma surrounding mental health. In particular, the article stated that “UC Davis recognizes

everything wellness entails—both physical and mental.”

One organization that was mentioned several times in the article is the UC Davis branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Fifth-year linguistics major and President of UC Davis NAMI Ty Miles described some of the initiatives which were mentioned in the article.

“NAMI offers mental health first aid training free of charge to students and alumni twice a quarter,” Miles said. “This training helps you support a person in crisis until you can get them to the proper care, teaches you a little bit about different mental health conditions and helps inform you what you should do in situations when you suspect a mental health crisis or someone comes to you with one.”

While NAMI is the primary organization mentioned in the article, this is just one of the many mental health advocacy initiatives on UC Davis’ campus. Other than NAMI, there are several other organizations that strive to destigmatize mental illness such as the UC Davis Mental Health Initiative and Each Aggie Matters. Milly Judd, a fourth-year animal science major and the director of the UC Davis Mental Health Initiative (MHI), is grateful to attend a school where mental health advocacy is a priority. She described feeling a sense of improvement during her time as a student regarding mental health awareness.

“I do believe that we’ve significantly progressed in terms of mental health on our campus, even since I was a freshman, and I think a lot of it has to do with the students,” Judd said.

Judd believes that destigmatizing mental illness is a large feat that can only be accomplished through collaboration. Therefore, MHI works with other student-run organizations to host a mental health conference every January as well as mental health awareness month in May. “Mental Health Initiative collaborates with a lot of other student organizations on campus to talk to administration about mental health on campus,” Judd said. “We go to meetings about every other week to get more resources on campus as well as better access to already existing resources.”

While UC Davis has many programs and resources in place to raise awareness for mental illness, a significant aspect of mental health in college has to do with campus culture. The College Magazine article specifically mentioned that attending UC Davis gives students the opportunity to “bask in the Vitamin D that the California sun gives you almost every day.” While any student who has survived Winter Quarter knows that this isn’t always true, according to first-year communication major Kayla Confetti, on-campus wellness initiatives are in fact, an everyday

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Freshmen choose to drop out of college before completing their first year

Asian American Association Film Festival featuring Mike Bow

Students elaborate on why they chose to leave in the early stages of university or return later

VINCE NT SANCH E Z features@theaggie.org

ISABEL L A BERI STAIN features@theaggie.org For many young adults, entering college is the first time that they will be out on their own.

Being thrust into this fast paced environment with harder classes, jobs, tons of extracurriculars to join and just having to learn adult basics is stressful to say the least. Without a typical support system this process is made even harder.

Some college freshman find that this experience will become too taxing and they may proceed to drop out.

Former first-year managerial economics major Adam Sorrell explained why he decided to drop out.

“My desired career path changed and a degree isn’t necessary for it […] I don’t regret it at all but I do plan on going back when I’m older and financially independent,” Sorrell said. “If I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and if I didn’t have to worry too much about the cost, I would definitely stay in school to figure something out.”

Another reason besides the financial issues that arise with the steep cost of college tuition or major studies problems, is that individuals may not like the college environment they are in. Third-year biotechnology major Arielle Zur had a unique experience when it comes to this phenomena that surrounds university campus’ across the nation. She took a gap year after high school, attended Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, dropped out, went to community

Showcasing creativity within the Asian American community

college in California and then transferred to Davis this year.

“I decided to take a gap year because I had worked really hard in high school and I wanted to have a small break before having to work even harder,” Zur said. “I really didn’t want to return back to Tulane and all application cycles for the schools I wanted to attend were closed. I also know that if I went to a community college I could much more easily get into a UC as UCs take like 90% of their transfers from community colleges.”

Homesickness plays a large role in deciding whether to drop out of a university. Third-year pharmaceutical chemistry major Mary Westover, like Zur, attended a four-year private institution before attending Davis: Seattle University in Seattle, Washington.

“I realized at the end of my freshman year that I wanted to major in chemistry and do research,” Westover said. “Although I loved Seattle, I was a little homesick, Davis is a research school and much bigger […] I wanted to have more opportunities to explore my career interests.”

She also touched on the fact that she believes that if she attended a big public school, like Davis, in her freshman year then she might not have been able to handle everything as well as she can now, due to her past experiences.

“I think I would have been intimidated and too overwhelmed to get involved on campus,”

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The Asian American Association will host its annual film festival on May 10 featuring Mike Bow, an upcoming Asian American figure in media. The festival will highlight Bow’s personal journey through media and how he has managed to maneuver through the industry and will showcase his independent film “In Between,” directed by and starring Bow. VIP members can experience an exclusive meet-and-greet once the main attractions conclude.

With nearly 100,000 subscribers on YouTube and appearances in films such as 2014’s “The Maze Runner,” Mike Bow is steadily making waves in the media industry. His YouTube presence dates back to 2013, making independent skits and posting reaction videos to various trailers of prominent films. Bow frequently collaborates with other Asian American YouTube personalities, such as Wong Fu Productions, featured in last year’s film festival. Bow is yet another example of how hard work and determination can make all the difference for anyone looking to chase their goals, no matter their circumstances.

Kevin Ha, a third-year wildlife, fish and conservation biology major and current president of the Asian American Association, defined the club as a social and cultural club that seeks to not only promote the advancement of Asian American students but to also create a welcoming environment for all.

“Our main goal is to provide a safe space for people to come and be part of a community

with people who have similar interests and backgrounds,” Ha said. “I know for a lot of students it can be difficult to be at a large campus like Davis and make lasting connections, so we try and change that in our club and foster engagement among students.”

Ha explained how the club implements new ways to keep members interacting with each other, such as ice breaker games and discussion questions in small groups about pressing matters relevant to students.

Since starting as a freshman with the club, Ha has experienced the two previous film festivals, recalling guests like Steven Lim from Buzzfeed’s “Worth It” series and Wong Fu Productions. Ha expressed his excitement for having Mike Bow this year and explained how the event will be handled.

“There will be a Q&A session between Bow and one of our board members discussing his rise as an Asian American in media,” Ha said. “After that, we’ll open it up to the audience to ask him any questions about his film In Between, his life, anything. The VIP members will get a personal meeting with Mike Bow to talk to him, take pictures, all that stuff.”

Through this festival and Mike Bow’s appearance, Ha hopes that the students in attendance will see just how much potential they have knowing that someone like them has been able to achieve their goals and more, so long as they put their mind and passion into it.

“With Mike Bow coming to our event, I

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

6 | THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019

Opinion THE

C ALIFORNIA A GGIE

UC Merced newspaper to lose funding, shut down by the end of summer

E DI TO R I AL B OAR D EMILY STACK Editor-in-Chief

#SaveStudentNewsrooms

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

The Prodigy, UC Merced’s student-run newspaper, is set to shut down by the end of this summer after its funding request for the coming year was denied by the Associated Students of UC Merced. CC Gillespie, the incoming editor-in-chief of the paper, was recently informed in a meeting with an ASUCM representative that The Prodigy is not listed on next year’s budget release form, according to The Daily Cal. The control that ASUCM has asserted over the The Prodigy endangers the independence of student voices and the ability to keep UC Merced in check.

This isn’t the first recent instance of student governments interfering with the autonomy of campus newspapers. At the beginning of April, members of The Daily Bruin at UCLA went on strike after their choice for next year’s editor-in-chief was overruled by the student government’s Communications Board.

Student journalism is a pillar of university life for a number of reasons. Student-run newspapers keep the university and university-related organizations accountable for their actions. In the last year, reporting from The California Aggie has called attention to a lack of mental health resources on campus and accusations of hazing and misconduct within The California Marching Band. We also provide weekly coverage of the ASUCD Senate meetings, which includes how money is being spent and what legislation the student government chooses to pass.

Campus newspapers ensure that students are informed about what’s happening on and around campus. At The Aggie, our staff of over 100 reporters, photographers, editors and managers work around the clock to provide this information to our readers. On

the night of the shooting that resulted in Officer Natalie Corona’s death, for example, our city and campus news editors worked together to release a notice on social media about the active shooter situation, reaching nearly 600 students.

Moreover, none of the UC campuses have undergraduate journalism majors, which means that campus newspapers are one of the few ways that students can gain professional training in the field. Hundreds of students across the UC system work for their campus newspapers as a way of developing journalism skills and building up portfolios in preparation for real-world careers in media. Without on-campus journalism opportunities, we risk limiting the number of Californians pursuing journalism careers post-graduation — a further threat to keeping governments, companies and powerful individuals in check.

Campus newspapers like The Prodigy shouldn’t have to rely on student governments for funding. The Aggie is fortunate to have funding from student fees, which allows us to continue to operate — but it hasn’t always been this way. In 2016, we ran a fee initiative campaign to restore weekly printing after losing our main source of funding from advertising a few years prior. In a couple of years, we may have to go through this process again.

The Editorial Board resonates with The Prodigy’s efforts to sustain its presence on campus and supports its fight to continue publishing stories. We encourage our readers to help #SaveStudentNewsrooms by engaging with student journalism content online, in print or on social media, and recognize that it’s readers who keep this important aspect of university life alive.

Is vertical farming a solution for feeding our growing cities?

MORE SUSTAINABLE METHODS OF FARMING NEEDED AS POPULATIONS INCREASE, PEOPLE MIGRATE TO CITIES

BY DA N I E L O R O P E ZA daoropeza@ucdavis.edu With the world’s population estimated to reach 9.8 million people by 2050, is vertical farming a viable option for feeding our rapidly growing cities while keeping us from committing climate suicide?

City life is in demand. According to the United Nations, 3 million people all over the world are moving to cities every week, and this number is expected to keep increasing. The UN predicts that, in 15 to 30 years, two-thirds of the world will be living in cities.

The U.S. is no different — we love our cities too. Today, 82% of Americans live in medium or large-sized cities, and this percentage is expected to spike in the future as well. Where we get our food to feed these growing cities will play a major role in whether we achieve our climate goals under the Paris Agreement or not.

According to experts, up to 23% of our global greenhouse gases can be traced back to agriculture and land use. That’s almost a

fourth of our total greenhouse gas emissions.

But that only accounts for production: food then needs to be transported to the big cities, and in many cases, that means taking big diesel-emitting 18-wheelers across the country or exporting food out of the country altogether.

California’s agriculture industry is huge.

We have 77,500 farms producing more than 400 different commodities, and we produce two-thirds of the nation’s fruits and nuts. We export one-fourth of our total food production to other countries. And all this comes at a carbon price we might not be able to afford as the food demand for our hungry cities increases.

A simple solution to reduce our food mileage — the distance food travels from production to consumption — is to grow food near our cities. But an even better solution could be to grow food right inside our cities.

Vertical farming is the act of growing food in vertically-stacked layers indoors year-round by controlling light, temperature and water, often without the use of soil. Two of vertical farming’s biggest perks are its climate control mechanisms and potential to make produc-

tion more efficient.

As climate change gets worse, many places where we’ve been able to grow food for years will start experiencing unprecedented problems. Rain seasons, drought years, flash floods and irregular weather patterns can become less predictable. Habitable areas for insects will change as well, which could introduce pests and disease to new areas. The ability to grow food indoors, and without soil, gets rid of these future uncertainties.

Growing food indoors without concerns about climate or soil means extreme-weather Chicago, congested New York and even dry Las Vegas can become independently sustainable food producers, grow food year-round and feed themselves locally.

Soil-free agriculture will eliminate any use of pesticides and herbicides, which would make consuming food much healthier. It also alleviates the problem of dealing with the declining health of our soil. According to the UN, half of the soil usable for agriculture has been lost in the past 150 years, leaving us with only 60 more years of viable soil.

Vertical farming also brings potential for

solving our current and projected water issues in California. By using hydroponic system technology, water is constantly recycled and uses 98% less water per item than traditional farming. Adopting this technology would be greatly beneficial for our future, considering that California’s agricultural sector uses 40% of our water.

Vertical farming also means potential economic profit for farmers. With 3.5 million workers maintaining the fields in the U.S., labor comes at a price. But vertical farming can automate most of its production, meaning that more businesses can afford to jump into the market and bring the cost of food down.

Ecologically, vertical farming can help the land harmed by deforestation and desertification to regenerate and return to its natural state. This would allow many species to retake their natural habitats and help slow the alarming rates of extinction.

While vertical farming has the potential to solve a lot of our current and future problems, it’s still very early in its development, and

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Accessibility and conservation “ACCESSIBILITY” OFTEN FEELS LIKE AN OBVIOUS REASON TO DEVELOP ROADS ON PUBLIC LAND — BUT ISN’T QUITE AS STRAIGHTFORWARD AS WE THINK

BY A N N A KRIST INA akmoseid@ucdavis.edu Yosemite Valley is more of a small city than a wilderness these days. The seven-square-mile valley sees more than 4 million visitors annually and houses over 2,000 seasonal employees; it has five lodges and hotels, and the park website warns against hours-long waits getting around the valley by car during the summer.

The numbers alone tell a story that stands in stark contrast to John Muir’s 1899 description of the area: “Nearly all the park is a profound solitude. Yet it is full of charming company, full of God’s thoughts, a place of peace and safety amid the most exalted grandeur and eager enthusiastic action, a new song [...] with sermons in stones, storms, trees, flowers, and animals brimful of humanity.”

The writing and activism of Muir and others has brought the Valley both national protections and international fame, making it one of the most visited national parks in the U.S. and a prime example of one of the biggest dilemmas the park system faces: how to simultaneously manage, protect and share the land.

A huge part of this dilemma is the question

of access.

“Accessibility” is something of a buzzword, popping up in debates about how to use and develop public land in ways that are hard to argue with. Besides allowing companies like DNC Parks & Resorts, the hotel company that does business in Yosemite Valley, to profit, developing roads and trails allows a far wider range of people to access preserved areas than keeping the areas totally wild. This encourages people to engage with and care about our public land, and it’s intuitive that people are more willing to fight to protect land when they have a personal connection to it. Similarly, it’s ridiculous to argue that only people who are physically fit and able have the right to access public land, which is often understood as the practical outcome of not developing parks for easy viewing.

There are ways, however, to increase citizen access without building infrastructure.

Last summer, I worked for a company called Splore, which is based out of Moab, Utah, and takes people with disabilities rafting on the Colorado and Green Rivers. The company has been around since the 1970s, and some of the trips that Splore offers wind through truly remote areas. This means some-

times putting people with severely limited mobility on class three or four rapids in the backcountry, where rescue is complicated. To some people, that sounds irresponsible. Maybe it is.

But on one of the first trips I worked, there was a man with paraplegia whose favorite part of the day was the biggest rapid. His ear-to-ear grin made me wonder how much “accessibility” is wrapped up in tightly-held beliefs that people with disabilities “shouldn’t” put themselves in danger or make themselves uncomfortable. Since when was rafting supposed to be safe or comfortable for anyone?

How often does the argument that we need these things for “certain populations” really underestimate the people who fall under those labels?

One of my biggest takeaways from the experience was the realization that “accessibility” is much more nuanced than we give it credit for. People don’t need a road to walk or roll on; they need the support of people who have the knowledge, skills and sometimes technology necessary to safely navigate wild spaces.

These skills and support systems can be actively invested in and maintained to give people access, rather than relegating people without the knowledge to read a trail map or the ability

to navigate a trail in their everyday wheelchair to the sidewalk.

It’s true that some disabilities can add more discomfort or danger to backcountry endeavors than is reasonable. But when it comes to natural spaces, building infrastructure fundamentally changes what you are preserving. The idea that building infrastructure makes those quiet, remote, peaceful places “accessible” is a misrepresentation.

Rather than increasing access to remote areas, infrastructure just makes places into not the backcountry and often discourages people from stepping outside of it.

There’s a balance to be struck. I don’t think a mistake was made in developing Yosemite Valley — the role the Valley plays in our world as it is now is a good one, bringing love and publicity to the park system.

But the quiet liveliness of the Valley as Muir experienced it is gone. It’s been destroyed, if you want to be dark and honest about it. I’m not saying it’s a “bad” thing; I’m saying we have to make sure there are still quiet, profound places in the world and make sure to both protect them by not allowing them to be built over and share them as best we can with anyone who wants to see them.

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019 | 7

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HUMOR

Identity politics and the end of history NEARLY 30 YEARS AGO, FRANCIS FUKUYAMA FAMOUSLY DECLARED THAT LIBERAL DEMOCRACY WOULD BE THE FINAL STAGE IN HUMAN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT. NOW HE’S RECONSIDERING.

BY BRA N D ON J E T T E R brjetter@ucdavis.edu In 1992, Francis Fukuyama declared humanity reached its final stage in ideological development, an “end of history” moment in which the collapse of the Soviet Union and the triumph of the West had cemented liberal democracy as the final form of government.

Nearly 30 years later, Fukuyama is backtracking on this idea, seeing recent global political revolutions as a threat to the security of the traditional liberal order.

Fueled by the growth of left-wing identity politics and right-wing nationalism, Fukuyama’s prediction of the triumph of classical liberalism has disintegrated under the weight of sectarian interests. The very nature of these categorical divides ensured that the demands of these groups cannot be adequately satisfied through economic means. Instead, it requires solutions beyond traditional political appeasement. Center-left political movements, in particular, have moved away from class-based politics toward representing the interests of a variety of different — and sometimes competing — minority groups. This serves as an affront to Fukuyama’s remedy of market-based liberalism, whose solutions transcend the usual lines of identitarian politics.

If identity politics are the leftist antithesis to Fukuyama’s final frontier of liberalism, then right-wing populism, and the creeping authoritarianism that has accompanied it, is its equivalent. The last decade in particular witnessed the rise of nationalist political movements in both the United States and Europe. Countries such as Hungary, Italy and Israel have seen right-wing nationalists make significant political gains, moving from electoral irrelevance to major leadership positions in their respective governments. Much of this evolution is due to the extensive demographic transformation that occurred over the 21st century. Right-wing populism has risen, likely as a result of the influx of new populations into once-homogenous regions, whether via the European migrant crisis or through extensive immigration to the United States.

So while new global right-wing movements may not be nearly as blatant in their

endorsement of identity as their leftist counterparts, there still remains a strong element of in-group preference among them. Many of the white Americans who supported Donald Trump in the 2016 election, for example, may not think of their political priorities in an explicitly racial manner, but their voting trends have been shown to correlate with suspicion of immigration and a heightened sense of white racial identity — electoral factors that have become increasingly influential.

Fukuyama has recognized the transition away from class-based politics and toward ethnocentric interests, discussing this evolution in his 2018 work “Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment.”

In it, he identifies civic nationalism as critical to participation in liberal democracy, a stark contrast to the individual, identity-based politics that he sees as uniquely threatening to the stability of nation-states. Fukuyama claims that full citizen identification and assimilation are the only antidotes to the fault lines created by multicultural democracies, endorsing a universal civil identity based on shared values and civic service.

The fact that Fukuyama has to discuss these issues in detail in 2019 shows the fragility of his initial theory. Other prominent academics are discussing it in detail too — each with different solutions. Political scientist Eric Kaufmann’s “Whiteshift” sees assimilation and appeasement as vital in restoring normalcy to democratic politics, while conservative Israeli theorist Yoran Hazony’s “The Virtue of Nationalism” argues that nationalism is the only effective method left for protecting citizens’ freedom.

The ultimate conclusion of all these works is that liberal democracy, long heralded as the morally superior, final frontier of human governance, seems to be increasingly threatened by the advent of group-based identity. Accordingly, the response of national governments to such a development can no longer be one of ignorance and indifference. Instead, political leadership must search for viable solutions to the mounting issue of identity politics, a conundrum that is likely to grow amid a diversifying society whose desires cannot necessarily be adequately satisfied through material needs.

National Hockey League using BioBrew cookies as pucks HALF-BAKED IDEA, OR STROKE OF GENIUS?

BY MADE LINE KU MAGAI mskumagai@ucdavis.edu Ha Kee Pak, the president of the National Hockey League, shocked the hockey fandom this week with his announcement that the league would be changing its regulation pucks to something a little sweeter.

Pak, frustrated by the tendency of traditional pucks to crack after powerful slapshots, made the executive decision to switch to a different manufacturer: UC Davis’ BioBrew coffee shop, located on the first floor of the Sciences Lab Building. Why a coffee shop, you ask? It’s a fact known far and wide among Aggies that BioBrew’s cookies are the hardest material known to man, outranking even diamonds on the Mohs scale.

These cookies seem innocent at first. For $1, hungry Aggies can pick up varieties ranging from peanut butter-chocolate chip to oatmeal raisin. This is quite the deal, especially when compared to the bank-breaking prices of the nearby Silo market and food trucks.

But with these cookies, you get what you pay for. And what you’re paying for is a trip to the dentist to get a chipped tooth fixed. UC Davis fourth-year Stheven Lispsky recounts the time he got his desserts.

“I wehnt to Bio Bwew to owdew shome coffee and get a schnack befow my micwobiowogy wab,” said Lispsky. “I saw a shoogah cookie that wooked pawticulahly dewishious.

Next thing I knew, I wahs missin’ my two fwont teef! Gee, if I could onwy have my two

fwont teeth, then I could wish you ‘Mewwy Whole Earth Festival.’”

Lispsky’s heart-wrenching story caught Pak’s attention.

“If these maltodextrin monstrosities could lead to $200 of dental work, imagine what they could do in the rink!” Pak raved.

Stanley Cupinsky, a goaltender for the San Jose Sharks, already has some experience with these pyranose pucks. Cupinsky showed off the massive bruises he acquired from Friday’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.

“This one right here,” Cupinsky said, pointing to a pulsating welt, “came from a snickerdoodle! My teammates were yelling ‘Duck!’ And I said, ‘Yes, I know we’re playing the Ducks.’ That’s all I remember. I woke up in the hospital the next day. Prognosis was a concussion caused by a catastrophic confection.”

Other than this minor accident, Pak remains hopeful for the future of the NHL. “I’d like to thank BioBrew for making these rock-solid cookies. I’m looking forward to the sweet victories ahead.”

TESSA KOGA / AGGIE

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SCIENCE+TECH PU BL I C D O M A I N

EAST AFRICA PROTECTED AREAS Researchers find protected areas in East Africa do a good job of preventing human encroachment

BY P E T E R SM I T H science@theaggie.org The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania is home to some of the most incredible natural spectacles on earth. Every year in Serengeti, millions of wildebeests and zebras undertake the planet’s only remaining great migration of mammals. The park also has the largest population of lions anywhere in the world. Serengeti, alongside other protected areas in East Africa, are an important bastion of wildlife and biodiversity. Unfortunately, East African protected areas have a bad reputation.

“We hear lots of terrible conservation stories about paper parks, poaching and deforestation within park boundaries,” said Jason Riggio, a postdoctoral scholar with the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology at UC Davis who studies East African protected areas.

Despite this reputation, a study published in January tells a hopeful story about one aspect of these protected areas. Jason Riggio and other scientists from UC Davis used satellite imagery to analyze how effective East African protected areas were at prevent-

ing human encroachment.

“What we found in East Africa, at least in terms of deforestation and habitat loss, is that these countries were doing a really good job at protecting their protected areas,” Riggio said.

Safeguarding biodiversity, the variety of species on earth, is a pressing topic. Global biodiversity is rapidly declining due to a variety of factors, and biologists are concerned that the drop poses a major threat to the planet. East Africa is one of the most biodiverse regions, but also one of the most threatened. Preventing human development in the rangelands of animals is a crucial step in protecting the biodiversity of the region. As the population of East Africa grows, the pressure on the last remaining wildlands will increase which is why the effectiveness of protected areas in preventing development is important. Unfortunately, protected areas have a problematic history in East Africa.

“These protected areas were originally set up as game reserves so that colonial hunters could go there and shoot big game; big trophies,” said Andrew Jacobson, an author on the paper and assistant professor of the Environment and Sustainability at Catawba

PU BL I C D O M A I N

NEW “SNAP THE GAP” PROGRAM TO MENTOR 15,000 YOUNG GIRLS $1.1 million grant from Walt Disney Company given to UC Davis

BY K RI T I VA RG H E S E science@theaggie.org UC Davis has partnered with littleBits to create the “Snap the Gap” program. LittleBits is an educational technology company that provides hands-on learning kits to make STEM engaging for young girls. The new Snap the Gap program will provide mentorship and tools to 15,000 11-year-old girls as part of an effort to close the gender gap in STEM, where gender differences are already visible in K-8 education and become more apparent in higher levels of education.

“Girls appear to lose interest in STEM subjects with age, and lower levels of participation are already seen in advanced studies at secondary levels,” said Beth Broome, the senior advisor to the Provost. “By higher education, women represent only 35% of all students enrolled in STEM-related fields of study. Women leave STEM disciplines in disproportionate numbers during their higher education studies, in their transition to the world of work and even during their career cycle.”

UC Davis is working with schools, districts, the California Afterschool Network, STEM Hubs, Girl Scouts and other girl-serving organizations to recruit the young girls for the program. The program itself is versatile and could fit into both a traditional classroom environment as well as an informal environment.

For one of the undergraduates working on the program, the mentorship program has personal significance. Kayla Salvucci, a second-year statistics major at UC Davis working on the mentor communications side of the program believes that mentorship could change the way young girls view STEM. Her mother acted as her professional mentor and provided her with the encouragement she needed to help close the gap, instead of widening it out of fear.

“A few years ago, as I found my early interest in tech, I attended a large tech start-up accelerator event in Silicon Valley,” Salvucci said.

“I was astonished by the visible difference in attendance between the number of men and women. Considering that I was one of the youngest attendees and new to the professional tech realm, I was easily intimidated and this gender difference was initially discouraging.”

Pamela Hernandez, a fifth-year cell biology major, researched mentorship strategies to provide a foundation for digital material that mentors could easily follow.

“We learned mentorship is an effective way to influence the attitudes and perspectives of young learners,” Hernandez said. “In addition, the quality of the relationship between a mentor and a mentee positively affects the social, behavioral, emotional and academic development of youth. Therefore, in Snap the Gap, mentorship is the key aspect of the program.”

College. “Given that history, there are still some social challenges with protected areas in that region.”

Adding to concerns, East African protected areas were not necessarily designed to maximize protection of biodiversity. Modern ecological considerations, such as a focus on protecting endemic species or species found nowhere else in the world, were not used.

“Most of the protected areas weren’t set up with the goal of protecting 10% of the habitat type, or covering all these endemic species,” Riggio said. “They were really set up because someone said hey there are gorillas over here, let’s protect that, look there’s lions and elephants over there let’s protect that.”

The researchers were interested in examining the effectiveness of the protected areas because of these challenges. To investigate, they meticulously traced the edges of human development surrounding the protected areas using satellite imagery from Google maps. Then they compared the official protected area boundaries with their traced borders. Their results were encouraging.

“Roughly only 6% of the land area of protected areas in East Africa had been lost to land conversion,” Riggio said. “In strict protected areas, the most restrictive forms, like National Parks, that was less than 2%.”

The researchers also wanted to know how well the protected areas covered the ranges of endemic species. They compared their map of the protected areas with pre-existing range maps and found that, despite concerns about how the areas had been set up, they did a really good job of covering the ranges of species unique to East Africa. The research also suggested some places new protected areas could potentially be set up.

Although the study is encouraging, it only looked at one aspect of the effectiveness of protected areas. Key issues like poaching and park management were not considered. In addition, the research did not discuss the unique land needs of the animals which inhabit the protected areas. According to Douglas Kelt, a professor of Wildlife Ecology at UC Davis who was not involved in the project, the paper is a first step in a much larger effort.

“Understanding the extent to which existing protected areas actually protect the diversity of habitat types is a very important first step in understanding how well we are protecting the biodiversity in these habitats,” Kelt said. “A critical second step is “linking” the actual size of protected areas to the real needs of the associated biota.”

Kelt noted that a recent study in Science found that the human pressure at the borders of protected areas cause animals to concentrate in the center which can exacerbate severe droughts by reducing the quality of soil in the area. The study in Science demonstrates that, just because protected areas are doing a good job at keeping humans from expanding into wildlands, does not mean that the protected areas are adequately serving the animals they purport to protect, or that humans are not having a negative influence on animals in those areas. All of those issues warrant further study as researchers scramble to figure out how to best preserve the remaining biodiversity on earth.

Regardless of these limitations, the protected area boundary research provides proof that protected areas can work even in areas of the world with difficult challenges.

MELIN DA CHEN / AGGIE

RARE DISEASE? THERE MIGHT BE A MOUSE FOR IT UC Davis Mouse Biology Program embarks on gene variant projects to model rare diseases

BY FOXY RO B INS O N science@theaggie.org When children are born with a rare diseases, their families may also navigate multiple care providers in search of a diagnosis. Often, genetic testing remains healthcare’s last resort.

The UC Davis Mouse Biology Program is celebrating its 20th anniversary with the Kids First Variant Project and Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Centers Variant Project, which investigates genetic variations found in human patients using mice.

When a patient experiences symptoms of unknown causes, doctors can ultimately refer them to a clinical geneticist. From there, the clinical geneticist can analyze a patient’s whole genome in search of likely factors causing their rare disease, such as variants of unknown significance (VUS) or genes of unknown significance (GUS).

“Human genetics and the relationship to disease is complicated because there are other factors involved, including complex genetic background, diet and the environment, which adds variability between people,” said Brandon Willis, the manager of the UC Davis Mouse Biology Program’s Murine Genetic Engineering Laboratory. “Our mice are isogenic [having similar genotypes] and have standardized care, so we can look into several VUS to determine whether they may be causative for rare diseases in a robust and low variability model system.”

Clinicians and researchers nominate variants for study to the UC Davis Mouse Biology Program.

“UC Davis is one of the few places that has a consortium of resources to produce guiding diagnostics targeted to individuals,” said Kristin Grimsrud, the associate director of Vivarium and Veterinary Services at the UC Davis Mouse Biology

Program and project lead for the Human Disease Variant Modeling in Mice Project.

The Murine Genetic Engineering Laboratory searches for and identifies genes within the mouse genome matching the human gene of interest. From there, the Murine Genetic Engineering Laboratory uses CRISPR gene editing to create precise mutations within mouse embryos. CRISPR uses a guided template to pinpoint the gene of interest, cutting DNA with a protein to introduce a template containing the human variants and sealing the mouse genome with a human variant to investigate.

“Before we edit the mouse genome for the target variant using CRISPR, we also engineer silent mutations where you change the CRISPR recognition sequence,” said Taylor Ngo, a second-year genetics major. “That way, the CRISPR protein doesn’t cut the site again while only producing the desired change at the protein level.”

The Murine Vivarium Professionals superovulate female mice, harvesting their eggs for sperm fertilization.

“The Murine Targeted Genomics Laboratory can inject fertilized mouse eggs or use electroporation, which weakens the outside zone of a zygote to temporarily allow the CRISPR protein, guided template and other reagents inside to create edits,” said Joshua Wood, the Associate director of Laboratory Operations at the UC Davis Mouse Biology Program and project lead for the Kids First Variant Project. “Mouse zygotes are implanted into female mouse recipients.”

Sperm is cryogenically preserved by the Murine IVF and Cryo Laboratory to rederive mouse strains in the future.

The Murine Vivarium Professionals monitors the zygotes as they develop.

After the engineered mouse pups are born, small samples of their ears or tails are taken to verify genetic editing.

The Murine Genetic Engineering

Laboratoratory screens mouse pups for having one copy of the edited gene, then they are bred until they produce mice carrying both copies of the gene variants, modeling rare human diseases.

The Phenotyping Center monitors each engineered mouse, investigating how human genetic variants shape the health of the mouse.

“Our mice are treated like patients, we target our tests towards phenotypes that would be present in human rare diseases,” Grimsrud said. “If a little boy had difficulty gripping a fork, then we would have the engineered mouse tested for grip strength and see if the mouse could grip a bar.”

The Mouse Biology Program’s optimized engineering and phenotyping processes allow it to efficiently operate, collaborating with UC Davis faculty and researchers across the country and internationally. Over the past 13 years, the Mouse Biology Program’s Knockout Mouse Project has saved United States taxpayers approximately 570 million dollars. They strive to continue this trend in the Kids First Variant Project and Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Centers Variant Project, saving tax dollars while investigating rare genetic conditions.

“If there are developmental delays during embryonic development that could lead to global impacts,” Grimsrud said. “One of the genes we are looking into is CHAMP1, which is involved in early development. For children, it can lead to challenges in fine motor skills, speech and noise sensitivity. These children don’t interact well with others.”

At the moment, the Mouse Biology Program has successfully engineered seven mouse strains with human gene variants.

“A secondary goal is to potentially use these mice to test therapeutic interventions right away in the mouse, hopefully, to promote similar therapies based on a patient’s needs,” Willis said.

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019 | 9

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AGGIE CLASSIFIEDS Unitrans Hiring Now

JOBS ASUCD NOW HIRING Unitrans Transit Driver $14.25/hour Whole Earth Festival Unit Director $134.55/week Creative Media Graphic Designer $12.50/hour All postings and more at https://vacancy.ucdavis.edu/

The California Aggie Advertising Sales Representative $12/hr + commission Marketing and communication skills required. Time management and adherence to deadlines is critical.

Able to train/work 4 hours /week in Spring and continue in Fall 2019 at 8 hours/week.

Represent the California Aggie and manage print and online advertising sales. https://vacancy.ucdavis.edu/listings/3226/

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!

Join our team! Applications available here:

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https://davisfood.coop/sustainability/employment

ADS FREE CLASSIFIED FOR STUDENTS!

theaggie.org/classifieds

We're trying to hire as many people as we can to train during summer to get ready. If you have students who need summer jobs and work next academic year, please let them know we're hiring!

Training starts at $12/hour and then goes to $14.25/hour when you get your license. Wage increases to $15.25/hour on January 1, 2020. We offer very flexible work hours, supervisory and management opportunities, and it’s FUN to drive the buses!

Apply at vacancy.ucdavis.edu or go to https://vacancy.ucdavis.edu/listings/3170/

Optician/Optometric Assistant, P/T & F/T Optometrist office in downtown Davis.

Must be available Monday through Saturday 8am-6pm. Now filling Part time and Full time positions. Duties include: - Optical dispensary - Patient reception/front desk - Optometric technician - Patient retention - Office coordinator - Accounts receivable / Billing If applying, be sure to INCLUDE A COVER LETTER explaining why you may be a good fit for our practice!

Saturdays are required.

Previous experience in optical/eye care is not necessary, but very helpful.

Strong organizational skills, great interpersonal skills, desire to serve patients, attention to DETAIL, computer competency, and RELIABILITY are necessary.

Email djguerrieri@gmail.com Or call (530)758-4000

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Celebrating fifty years of independent radio KDV(YE)S

BY GR ACE SI MMONS arts@theaggie.org

Television: “It’s Alive! With Brad” Diverging from the norm, I recommend a Bon Appétit YouTube series instead of a television show. The love child of Tasty videos and Food Network cooking shows, this series hosted by the large personality Brad Leone explores the world of cultures, fermentation and bacteria in food. In the test kitchen, Brad semi-scientifically teaches you how to make classic fermented foods from kombucha and sourdough bread to the more unusual like pickled fermented eggs and beet kvass.

Apart from the mouth-watering creations and Brad’s charming mannerisms, these roughly ten-minute cooking shows are enhanced with comedic video editing and graphics that dance in the background. Thriving in its third season, this series is guaranteed to satisfy that millennial food lust.

Movie: “Tag”

RAUL M O R A E S / AGGI E

BY ROSI E S C HWA RZ arts@theaggie.org This past week KDVS hosted its second fundraiser of the year, called “Freeform Turns 50,” in celebration of its 50th year being broadcasted on air at 90.3 FM. The weeklong fundraiser included food and music events with different opportunities each day for fundraising at local restaurants like Panera, Panda Express, Raja’s Tandoor, Woodstock’s and Blaze. The fundraiser occurred within the KDVS station with telethons and DJ spotlights and among the community with t-shirt contests and discounted prices to their upcoming music festival “ORMF.” The KDVS Instagram page highlighted individual DJs, listing their reasons for volunteering for KDVS and the fundraising opportunities that were occuring that day.

The station’s fundraising goal of $50,000 was necessary and personal. Furthermore, the station’s weeklong fundraiser concluded with a Delta of Venus Dance Party as a final celebration of the many things that KDVS has done for the community.

There are premiums and different items available for sale at fundraiser.kdvs.org and donations are always ac-

cepted.

The money earned from the KDVS fundraiser goes directly to keeping the station running. As a completely student-run organization, KDVS requires funding for studio equipment, new vinyl and CDs and additional money to pay for the bands that play at their house shows, festivals and other events.

Francesca Iacono, a second-year gender, sexuality and women’s studies major, who has been a KDVS DJ for five quarters, expressed her appreciation for the station.

“It’s hard to keep something alive that’s freeform and completely student and community run, especially as radio stations are dying out a bit and lower freeborn is being filled with cement in the next few years,” Iacono said.

“KDVS has brought me my best friends and the dopest community of all type[s] of people that share a love for music, the DIY scene and a culture that’s missed by mainstream interests. KDVS is my favorite part about Davis, and I’m sure a lot of my fellow DJs would agree.”

The station’s website explains its humble origins from the laundry room of “the now defunct Beckett-Hughes dormitories” in 1963. It has since grown into one of the nation’s largest

freeform university-based stations.

Much like National Public Radio, KDVS receives most of its funding through on-air underwriting or sponsorship and private donations in order to remain the only 24/7 year-round live broadcasting station in the UC system.

Jacob Engel, a fourth-year political science major and general manager of KDVS, explained the history and importance of KDVS as a student radio station.

“We held something similar to an NPR telethon,” Engel said. “We had about three to four people at all times waiting to answer phones, and it turned the whole station into a little party during the week with a lot of food coming in and a lot of folks down there fundraising. We are trying to really highlight all of the history of KDVS through this fundraiser because we are moving out of Freeborn Hall.”

A lot of bands, like The Police, have gotten their big break at KDVS. “We have an autographed picture of Sting showing his appreciation for KDVS,” Engel said. “We are definitely highlighting all our history and everything we have done in the fifty years as KDVS when we go out and interact with the community this

week through our fundraiser.”

Tania Quintana, a thirdyear gender, sexuality and women’s studies, American studies and psychology triple major, shared her love for the KDVS community as a KDVS DJ. “My favorite thing about KDVS, if I had to pick one, is the infinite love for sound the KDVS community has,” Quintana said. “I love being with people when they listen to their favorite songs in the booth or discover new finds in the library. The way folx contemplate on a well done PA show, jam out at a LISA session, dance and mosh at our house shows or turn the volume up for a heated Sports broadcast is priceless.”

More than a student-run organization, KDVS is an on-campus hub for creativity, expression and alternative music. Those involved dedicate many hours to prepare their shows, which range from talk and sports shows to eclectic DJ sets.

The station’s listeners both new and old have their favorite shows and are guaranteed to hear music they have never heard before. The week-long fundraiser and DJ spotlights highlighted the individuality that KDVS fosters and encourages through its music and engagement with the community.

Senior Art Shows THE BASEMENT GALLERY FEATURES STUDENT WORK THROUGHOUT SPRING QUARTER

J U ST I N H A N / AG GI E

BY ALYSSA I L SL E Y arts@theaggie.org The first round of the spring Senior Art Shows began on April 8 in the Basement Gallery. These shows allow art studio students of senior standing to showcase their work and share it with the community.

The first round of shows featured fourth-year art studio majors David Gonzalez Silva, Charlotte Saylor, Michelle Pang and Jennifer Hua. Each artist displayed work that best highlighted their style and artistic talent.

Silva’s displayed works included sculptures made of

several different mediums including plywood, sawdust and ceramic materials. He is willing to take risks in his art in order to achieve a rustic and natural look in his pieces.

Silva’s work highlights his passion for the natural world and its ecosystems. While taking an entomology class years back, Silva discovered a passion for insects and has included aspects of this passion in his art ever since.

“I tend to gain inspiration from the insect word,” Silva said “That’s really what my recent work is about — expirimenting with materials and actual insect forms and seeing

what I can find in those structures,” Silva said.

Silva’s knowledge of entomological forms and life is evident in his style and he has mastered the use of many different materials and mediums.

UC Davis Professor of Art Robin Hill nominated Silva for the Outstanding Senior Award within the art studio major.

Silva also works as a curator for the Basement Gallery and will continue to be involved with the rest of the senior showcases.

Meanwhile, Saylor’s display included several oil paintings and mixed media portraits.

Her paintings are vibrant and expressive with strong brush

strokes. “[My style originated from] growing up, seeing painters like Van Gogh and seeing the paint rise from the canvas, so when I can I love going really thick with my brush strokes so you can really see that it’s oil paint; it’s beautiful,” Saylor said.

Saylor tends to focus on portraits and the human figure in her art.

“I love working with people,” Saylor said. “Portraits are my thing, mostly just because I love people-watching.”

One of Saylor’s favorite pieces on display was a mixed media drawing titled “Madonna with the Long Neck Re-en-

Based on a true story, “Tag” is a lighthearted tale about a group of five childhood friends who carry on an annual tradition of playing tag through their adult years. Not just any game of tag, the group designates the month of May to play — even showing up at each other’s places of work and flying across the country unannounced to continue their game, which is 23 years running. The last person to be tagged in the month loses.

This star packed comedy — Ed Helms, Jon Hamm, Isla Fisher and Jake Johnson, to name a few — is a heartfelt depiction of friendship and serves as a reminder to never ignore your childness at heart.

Novel: “Born A Crime” by Trevor Noah This memoir is a riveting account of “The Daily Show” host’s anguished upbringing. Born in South Africa under Apartheid to a Xhosa mother and Swiss-German father, Noah’s light skin — his mere existence — was criminal. Noah lead an anomalous childhood to that of his cousins and neighbors, not being allowed out in public with either of his parents for fear of incarceration. Language became his social currency, switching tongues for social acceptance. The memoir is a mind-expanding view of the world and an inspiring rags-to-riches story filled with anecdotes — both charming and outlandish — with a jaw-dropping ending. And if you are a fan of audio books, Noah narrates it himself on Audible which adds another dimension to his story — plus, hearing the accents and dialects in his voice are entertaining too.

Album: “Ventura” by Anderson .Paak With “Venice”, “Malibu”, “Oxnard” and now “Ventura,” Anderson .Paak makes his way up the SoCal coast with groovy, feel-good jams. His caramel-like voice accompanied by a strong beat and a funky horn section induces an uncontrollable foot-tapping, finger-snapping response. I’ve been a die hard Andy fan ever since his NPR Tiny Desk Concert graced the internet in 2016. With his suave smile, unique sense of style and immense talent, Anderson .Paak is the whole package. Top songs from the album include: “King James,” the hard hitter with a political message; “Make it Better,” the heart-warming love song; and “Jet Black (feat. Brandy),” the ultimate summer car jam. But the album as a whole has a wavy flow from beginning to end. Truly, you can’t go wrong with any of the infectious beats on “Ventura.”

visioned.” This 60 by 84-inch drawing was inspired by Saylor’s love of art history and the time she spent studying abroad in Italy.

“My professor knew I wanted to work really big so he encouraged me to just go for it,” Saylor said about the piece. “I put it on the wall and had to stand on a stool to make it.”

The drawing took weeks to finish but the time and effort Saylor put in is evident in the eye-catching and extravagant final product.

Pang also highlights the human form in her art and in the works she displayed. Her untitled oil painting depicted two dream-like figures in an embrace. Pang demonstrated a skillful understanding of value and contrast in this phenomenal piece.

She also had several screen prints hung up that looked remarkably professional. They depicted characters and scenes from a heist story that Pang is currently writing.

“I would say that I tend to create very illustrative art,” Pang said. “My art mostly focuses on people, and their relationships with themselves and with others.”

Pang was inspired after taking her first printmaking class at Davis.

“Something about the medium really captured me,” Pang said. “Both of the printmaking professors that I’ve had, Noah Breuer and Graham McDougal, as well as my painting professor, Shiva Ahmadi, have been a huge inspiration to me here at Davis.”

Pang said that she appre-

ciated her experience being a part of the department’s senior showcases.

“It was pretty cool to look through all the work that I’ve done since coming to Davis in preparation for putting up the show,” Pang said. “I think that I’ve developed and improved a lot as an artist since I’ve come here, and I’m happy with how the gallery came together.”

Hua had several beautiful oil paintings on display as well. She wanted to depict her growth and evolution as an artist through her displayed pieces.

“Throughout the years, I’ve made art that felt dramatic and lighthearted or whimsical,” Hua said. “I would describe my style as feeling free and unwilling to be restricted to anything.”

Hua drew a lot of inspiration from art history in her work. Her piece “Still Life Picnic” includes aspects reflective of Renaissance style artwork.

Hua was grateful and proud to be part of the senior showcase.

“I think part of me feels mostly relieved and proud that I was able to showcase some of my artwork,” Hua said. “When I found out about senior art shows three years ago as second-year student, I had been waiting and hoping I could do the same too. The senior showcase in Spring is always a great source of inspiration and motivation.”

The Basement Gallery will be holding the Senior Art Shows through June 7. The Basement Gallery is located in the Art Building.

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DISARMAMENT

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days comment period.”

Njoku could not specify as to when construction is projected to begin or end for the Theta Xi redevelopment. The California Aggie reached out to members of the Theta Xi fraternity, but did not receive any responses by the time of publication.

we aren’t going to do that. In fact, if you look at our department, we’re trying to minimize that type [of weaponry].”

He continued, expressing his hope that the UC Davis police department will someday be judged as a separate entity, away from the incidents of police brutality that happen away from Davis’ campus. It is unfair, he continued, for his police department to be criticized for these national instances because they should only be held responsible for their own actions — especially considering it has been a couple years since the department has used any type of force.

“It’s important to understand that here on this campus, we just want people to judge us,” Farrow said. “I can’t do anything about what happened in Sacramento, or in Ferguson or with Eric Garner in New York. I see these things, just like you do, but I have no control over any of that.”

When asked whether or not he was relieved the resolution failed, Farrow paused and took a moment to consider.

“I don’t know if I’m a good person to judge, you know, ‘Are you happy it failed or are you unhappy?’” Farrow said.

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A memorial was held at Sac State on April 14 in remembrance of Molina. Friends and classmates gathered for a candle-lit vigil but the Molina family did not attend the event.

Homicide detectives notified The Sacramento Bee that no one had been taken into custody in relation to Molina’s death and that they were doing everything they could to learn more information in order to bring closure to the Molina family.

Molina was embraced by family and friends as an active member in school and PKA. “Having recently lost a brother within our own chapter, my deepest condolences are extended to them, especially in a time of such tragedy,” Elliott-Smith said. “When tested, brotherhood reveals its true strengths. I am sure the brothers of PKA are grieving this terrible loss, but I know they will grow stronger.”

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of negative interactions around and even outside campus” with this club.

“We’re floating around a bunch of ideas,” Rajabi said. “We’re hoping to turn it into something great.”

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occurance.

“I’ve utilized the Therapy Fluffies, which is when dogs are brought on campus during midterms and finals week to help relieve stress,” Confetti said. “Today I was walking through the quad and I walked right past a booth that was passing out flyers and stickers for mental health awareness.

Even when I go to the gym I always see a table labeled ‘Free Nutrition Advice’ for students.”

Emilia Aguirre, a mental well-being health promotion specialist, oversees Each Aggie Matters, an organization which unites students and faculty members in order to raise awareness for and de-stigmatize mental illness. Aguirre credits student-run mental health initiative groups with fostering such a wholistic and supportive campus environment.

“I think this article speaks to the work that many of the student organizations have been doing,” Aguirre said. “Each Aggie Matters in particular strives to collectively cultivate mental health as a state of flourishing.”

For organizations fighting for mental health awareness and advocacy, this article provided a sense of appreciation. Miles is grateful for the attention that NAMI received, but believes other mental health awareness organizations deserve equal acknowledgement.

“I think it is great recognition the energy [NAMI] put into mental health awareness and education, as well as all the other mental health and wellness organizations,” Miles said.

Judd feels this article is bringing issues of mental health to the surface. She believes that UC Davis can serve as the example and hopes it will inspire other campuses to establish initiatives of their own.

“To me, it just means that all of our hard work is paying off and that we are making a positive impact in the community, which is all we really want at the end of the day,” Judd said. “Hopefully, it will also inspire other schools to put on similar programs to the ones at UC Davis in order to increase mental health awareness on their campuses as well.”

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Westover added.

First-year psychology major Maria Almaraz spoke about her choice in deciding to stay in a four-year public institution.

“I do feel like this was a more stressful choice because there’s more responsibility and financially there’s

the pressure of doing better since you’re paying for what you’re taking,” Almaraz said. “I chose a fouryear institution instead of community college because it had always been a goal of mine, and it was what I feel would make me look the best when looking for a job in the future.”

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there are many questions we don’t know the answers to. Will the food grown under LED lights be as nutritious as the food grown under the sun? Is the carbon footprint of substituting the sun’s energy with LED lights sustainable? Where will the energy to run these vertical farms come from?

Vertical farming is not the answer to all of our problems and is not a

“I don’t think that matters to me. I think what matters to me is that they engaged me in the conversation. They allowed me to be there, they were very respectful. They treated me very nice, and even though my opinion was different, it was a good, good conversation.”

Farrow stressed that regardless of the vote, the most important part of the evening was bringing awareness to all perspectives of the debate.

He posed a hypothetical — at the end of the day, would students feel safer with or without an armed police department? He framed this question in terms of an active shooter presence on campus, and left it up for the students to decide.

“We are police officers in statute,” Farrow said. “When you start talking about disarming police departments, that’s a big deal. That’s a really, really big deal, because basically what you’d be doing is disbanding a police department. We wouldn’t be police officers anymore — I guess we’d be [...] security guards. That changes the level of your protection.”

technology meant to replace conventional farming altogether. But it can allow for our growing cities to take some load off farms and become more self-sufficient.

I am optimistic that this technology will keep improving and, with innovation and the free market, create new and more sustainable methods for bringing food from our farms to our mouths.

The union presented three proposals to UCOP, while UCOP presented two proposals to the negotiators. McIver said both sides “had a good discussion about all five of those proposals.”

The union’s main goals include the reimbursement of moving expenses for new faculty who have to make extensive living adjustments and making sure non-tenured faculty, who have been terminated due to long-term illnesses or injuries, have due process rights and severance compensation.

“We also passed a proposal of academic calendars,” McIver said. “If UC admin is thinking about increasing or reducing the number of days of instruction or if they are considering adding Saturdays and Sundays as instructional days, we want to be part of that discussion before those changes go into effect. We think that’s an issue both for understanding how that’s going to affect students’ education and access to education. Also, we want to make sure we understand how that affects our own workload.”

The UCOP will respond to these proposals at the next bargaining session, scheduled to take place at UCLA on May 16.

McIver expressed disappointment over proposals submitted by UCOP, including the claim that UCOP cannot guarantee that faculty hired near the start of a term will have access to instructional resources, such as email and other technology necessary to teach classes.

“Without those things, we don’t have a roster of who’s in our class, we can’t contact students, we can’t send out a syllabus, we can’t order textbooks, we can’t upload assignments and readings, so that’s very problematic for us,” McIver said.

“It’s very disappointing to hear administrators who have power over that say that they don’t have power over that.”

Another newly proposed contract term from UCOP aims to replace in-person orientations for new faculty with online orientations.

“We think that there’s just no substitute for in-person contact that helps make faculty understand what this job is, what the resources that are available to assist with teaching, what is needed to know to work with and support students on a given campus,” McIver said. “Also, we think faculty deserve to have a conversation with their union representative and to understand what rights and responsibilities they have that are associated with our negotiated contract.”

Matt Oliver, a UWP lecturer at UC Davis and member of the UC-AFT bargaining team, stressed his desire for

equality between non-tenure-track faculty, like lecturers, and tenure-track faculty.

“The university doesn’t really acknowledge us as faculty, they’ve kind of put us in the staff category,” Oliver said. “Every year, my library card expires, and they have to confirm I’ve been rehired. Whatever resources they make available to faculty are not available to me; tenure-track faculty have access to child care. I don’t.”

Oliver also discussed the fact that many lecturers are hired as part-time workers. Part-time lecturers don’t have access to long-term disability insurance offered by the UC, cannot participate in the UC retirement system and are subject to medical separation at the university’s discretion, according to Oliver.

“I’d like to see some kind of language that indicates lecturers should be full-time unless there’s a special need to do otherwise,” Oliver said. “Typically, at places like LA and other schools, there are multiple part-time people — none of whom get the benefits — and it seems to me sort of a shady kind of backdoor move that I’d like to see addressed.

If you know you need someone to teach the classes, hire somebody and invest in that person.”

Since lecturers are often hired close to the start of a term and many of their contracts are renewed each quarter or each year, they have limited job security.

“I am in my fifth year of what we call pre-six, which means I’m on an annual contract,” Oliver said. “I don’t know if I’ll be hired again next year — I probably will, but it’s one of those things.”

Oliver said he would like the university to notify non-tenured faculty whether or not they will have a job for the coming year by February or March of the proceeding school year.

“I won’t know if I have a job next year until June at the earliest — sometimes it’s been July,” Oliver said. “It seems that that’s not very polite. I understand if I don’t do my job well, I should be discontinued, but if you let me know early enough to find another job, it seems that that would be the polite thing to do.”

In addition to earlier re-hiring notifications, Oliver also said he would like to see longer contracts offered from the UC. “We take on the expenses of moving here because the UC needs someone to teach a course, but if we don’t know one quarter later or a year later whether or not we have a job, it puts us in a dicey situation,” Oliver said.

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hope we can inspire all the audience members and show them that they can do this too,” Ha said. “For anyone trying to be successful through a creative outlet, we hope to show them that they can get there. Mike has a great following, and him talking about his experience will come from a humble background, so I think people will really latch on to that and hopefully expand their horizons too.”

This year, the festival will be a smaller production than in previous years, and Ha explained that he and his fellow officers are emphasizing building a strong community first instead of putting on a large production with only a small turnout of dedicated members.

“In addition to the guest speaker, we used to showcase other independent films throughout the week,” Ha said.

“Over the years, it’s been challenging to do that because, right now, we’re placing a bigger priority on the members first and building up. Our goal is to have a much larger community, which means toning down the film festival a bit, but in the future we feel confident that we can bring a larger film festival once again.”

Nathan Kong, a third-year psychology major and public

relations officer for the club, also joined in his first year and quickly found his place among the group.

Since becoming an officer in the club, he has taken on the responsibility of organizing the appearances of the guest speakers for the festival, a process that Kong described as enjoyable.

“I look up to these people because I watch their content, so it feels great to be able to reach out and have them come to our campus,” Kong said. “You really get to know who they are behind the camera and have genuine conversations, learning about their backstory and how they got to where they are now.”

Along with Ha, Kong said this event can be attributed to anyone that has high aspirations and for those who want to see someone that has already paved a path in their own way.

“We feel that it’s important for people to see these individuals and learn from them since they’ve been in the industry for years,” Kong said. “It’s almost like a teaching experience too. When other minority students specifically can see that one of their own has been able to break the stigma, there is a larger sense of connection.”

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Following Murray, the San Francisco 49ers selected defensive end Nick Bosa from Ohio State and the New York Jets selected defensive tackle Quinnen Williams from Alabama. The first surprise of the night came when the Oakland Raiders selected defensive end Clelin Ferrell from Clemson.

While Ferrell was a projected first-round pick, a lot of experts believed that the Raiders reached for a player who was a mid-round talent at number four. With linebacker Josh Allen and defensive tackle Ed Oliver still on the board, the Raiders caught everybody by surprise.

Along with the fourth overall pick, the Raiders also held the 24th and 27th, which they used to select Alabama running back Josh Jacobs and Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram. Jacobs was regarded as the best running back available in a draft that was thin at that position, while Abram became the second safety drafted to come off the board. There was a tremendous amount of pressure on the Raiders to get these three picks right after trading two of their stars in Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper last year, and there will be even more pressure on these players to make an immediate impact on the game.

The team that seems to have disappointed the most and a “loser” of the draft to many was the New York Giants.

With the sixth overall selection, Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins was still available. The Giants were look-

ing for a quarterback and Haskins was a lifelong fan of the team, so it seemed like a no brainer for G-men to take him.

Instead, the Giants chose Duke quarterback Daniel Jones to the dismay of fans and analysts nationwide. In the overall player rankings, Jones was ranked 59th according to ESPN. Haskins ended up going to one of the Giants’ division rivals, the Washington Redskins, at number 15. Haskins will get two chances each season to make New York pay for not selecting him. For the Giants, they’ll have to find a way to compete under tough criticism from the media and fans after this draft and the trading of superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. earlier this offseason. Jones will likely be compared to Haskins for the rest of his career and be forced to live up to the high expectations of the New York fanbase.

While these and several other picks sparked controversy, the absence of one pick in particular disappointed many in the Aggie football fanbase. Former UC Davis wide receiver Keelan Doss went undrafted, despite being projected to be picked as high as the fourth round. Doss inexplicably fell completely off the board, but signed as a free agent with his hometown team, the Oakland Raiders. Although it wasn’t necessarily the way he wanted, Doss will now get a chance to officially make an NFL roster and show the league why he should have had his name called at the draft.

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proven to be vital icons to the American major leagues, many of these players have come forward to testify to the horrors they experienced when they left their country.

Many have been forced to leave Cuba illegally, and, in a lot of cases, these players were smuggled over the border by human traffickers and “disreputable” agents, often crossing rough waters on speedboats.

Following the Trump administration’s announcement, the Chicago White Sox’s first baseman, Jose Abreu, claimed

that he is still harassed by those who smuggled him over to the U.S. Aroldis Chapman, a pitcher for the New York Yankees, expressed that he thinks it is “bad in the sense that [Cuban ballplayers] can’t come [to America] anymore in the formal, legal way that was planned.”

Earlier this April, Cuba released a list of 34 players who were authorized to sign with MLB teams under the old deal.

These players and many more will now have to find alternate routes if they hope to play professionally in the U.S.

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

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Q U I N N S P O O N E R / AGGI E

WOMEN’S LACROSSE FALLS IN MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP

Aggies lose second straight title game, but future remains bright

BY BREN DA N O GB U R N sports@theaggie.org For the second consecutive season, the UC Davis women’s lacrosse team fell to San Diego State in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship game, this time losing by a final score of 15-7 on Sunday afternoon at Aggie Stadium. The Aggies actually fired seven more shots than their opponents and created more than enough opportunities on the attacking end, but simply could not finish off these chances the way they wanted to.

“I think our effort was there, but our execution was not,” said UC Davis Head Coach Suzanne Isidor. “We played great defense, but then everytime we got the ball we didn’t handle the pressure well and had turnovers. When you outshoot a team by [seven] and lose by eight, that says a lot about where the game was.”

The Aggies started out hot in the opening minutes of action but soon fell behind and found

themselves playing catch-up for the rest of the afternoon. Following a 3-3 start to the game, San Diego State promptly pulled ahead with three goals before halftime and added another just after the intermission to take a 7-3 lead.

The pace of play started to ramp up as UC Davis, led by sophomore midfielder Mar Alvear, stormed back with a trio of goals to suddenly cut the deficit to 8-6. Alvear scored twice and assisted on another goal by junior attacker Sorana Larson, with the Aggies making long attacking runs from one end of the field to the other.

Immediately following Alvear’s score that made it at two-goal contest, junior midfielder Maddie Myers controlled the draw and made a beeline toward the San Diego State net, but her shot was denied by an excellent save from the Aztec goalkeeper. This moment marked a shift in momentum and allowed the visitors to regain their composure before scoring five unanswered goals in the ensuing eight minutes of action to

JA MIE CHEN / AGGIE

2019 NFL DRAFT RECAP Kyler Murray drafted number one overall, Doss goes undrafted

BY OM A R N AVA R R O sports@theaggie.org The NFL Draft took place from April 25 to 27 in Nashville, Ten., where 254 college players saw their dreams of becoming an NFL player come true. Usually, as the draft get closer, the public and sources around the team with the first pick have the number one pick essentially decided, but this year’s first pick was much more uncertain.

The Arizona Cardinals held the first overall pick in the draft after posting the league’s worst record last season at 3-13. After firing Head Coach Steve Wilkes after just one season at the position, the Cardinals hired former Texas Tech Head Coach Kliff Kingsbury to try and reinvigorate the franchise with a new system and a new look. In October 2018 while still at Texas Tech, Kingsbury was asked a question about Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray prior to Tech’s matchup against the Sooners.

“I’d take him with the first pick in the draft if I could,” Kingsbury told Texas Tech communications staff. “I know he’s signed up to play baseball, but he’s a dominant football player. I would take him with the first pick.”

At the time, that statement was not given much national attention. Murray however, was making headlines as he would eventually go on to win the Heisman Trophy after throwing for 42 touchdowns and running for 1,000 yards on the season. Murray, who had been selected ninth overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 2018 MLB Draft, was thought to have origi-

put the game out of reach.

Sunday’s result was a far cry from last year’s 11-10 overtime thriller, which the Aztecs claimed on their home turf, but Isidor felt that the team might be more equipped to handle the big stage after going through a learning experience last April.

Isidor has now led UC Davis to back-to-back appearances in the MPSF title game in her first two years on campus. With a final record of 9-8 in 2019, she’s also led the Aggies to a winning record for the second straight season. This is a feat that the program hadn’t previously accomplished since the 2011 season. To add to the list of backto-back accomplishments, last week Isidor was once again named MPSF Coach of the Year, an award that is only a small testament to the dramatic positive impact she’s had on this program in such a short period of time — even suffering a pair of heartbreaking championship losses won’t do much to change that.

“It’s one game and it doesn’t define our sea-

son, as much as it hurts,” Isidor said. “It doesn’t take away from anything we did this season and how well the seniors have led.”

One of those seniors, attacker Taylor Cuenin, finished her career with 151 goals, which is tied for the second-most in school history. Cuenin, who was honored last week as the MPSF Player of the Year for the second season in a row, will leave campus this Spring as one of the greatest players in UC Davis women’s lacrosse history. Her efforts, along with the four other seniors on the roster, have helped catapult the program to a completely different level than where it was at when they enrolled as freshman four years ago. At that time, UC Davis was coming off one of its worst seasons in team history, in which the team managed to win just four games.

“They’re leaving this program better than they found it and that’s what you want,” Isidor said.

“As much as this one stings, we’re going to be okay and be back here next year stronger.”

JER EMY DA N G / AGGIE

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ENDS CUBAN BASEBALL DEAL

nally planned to play one more year of college football and then return to playing baseball.

But after his dominant season on the football field, Murray had many questioning whether or not he would enter the draft. On Jan. 14, Murray announced on Twitter that he would officially declare for the NFL Draft.

Almost immediately, scouts and experts questioned whether Murray could play in the NFL due to his height and small frame. In the NFL, it is rare to see a quarterback under six feet tall, let alone 5 foot 10 inches.

At the same time, Kingsbury’s comments about Murray were brought up once again after he was hired by the Cardinals, which began speculations of whether or not the Cardinals would draft the quarterback despite having taken a quarterback just a year earlier, when they selected Josh Rosen in the first round of the 2018 draft. Rosen struggled last season and it was hard to ignore the connection between Murray and Kingsbury, which dated back to when the quarterback was recruited by Kingsbury out of high school.

After months of rumors and uncertainty, the Cardinals did, in fact, choose Kyler Murray number one overall. The next day, they traded Josh Rosen to Miami for a second-round pick. While many doubted that it was going to happen, it was inevitable given the new coach and how well Murray fit the system Kingsbury likes to run. The pressure is now on for both Kingsbury and Murray to succeed.

Obama-era deal allowing Cuban players to sign directly with MLB clubs reversed

DRAFT RECAP on 11

CUBAN BAN on 11

BY AJ S E YMO U R sports@theaggie.org Earlier this month, the Trump administration moved to terminate a deal with the Cuban Baseball Federation that allowed Cuban players to sign directly with Major League Baseball teams.

The move is a reversal of a deal drawn up by the Obama administration.

When explaining the rationale behind the decision, the Trump administration argued that the previous deal was a “violation of trade laws” due to the fact that the Cuban federation was a part of the Cuban government. Various Cuban sports corporations, including its national Olympic committee, have insisted that they are completely separate from the government of Havana; however, the President’s administration has rejected all of the sports corporations’ attempts to claim independence.

Under the Obama administration’s plan, if a major league team wished to sign a Cuban player, the team would have to pay a “posting fee” to the Cuban Baseball Federation, which legally allows the individual player to leave Cuba and return back to the country whenever they wish. This is the exact system that the United States still uses to sign South Korean and Japanese baseball players.

The now-terminated arrangement also placed a limit on which players were allowed to be

signed, citing that Cuban players over the age of 25 and with six years of playing experience were eligible to be signed by a MLB team; players younger than the age minimum were required to gain permission from the Cuban Baseball Federation in order to play for an American team.

“The U.S. does not support actions that would institutionalize a system by which a Cuban government entity garnishes the wages of hard-working athletes who simply seek to live and compete in a free society,” said Garrett Marquis of the National Security Council. “The administration looks forward to working with MLB to identify ways for Cuban players to have the individual freedom to benefit from their talents and not as property of the Cuban state.”

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton tweeted a statement that preceded the deal, saying, “Cuba wants to use baseball players as economic pawns -- selling their rights to Major League Baseball. America’s national pastime should not enable the Cuban regime’s support for Maduro in Venezuela.”

A statement defending the old deal was released by the MLB, saying that the league “stand[s] by the goal of the agreement, which is to end the human trafficking of baseball players from Cuba.”

While Cuba has produced players that have