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VOLUME 137, ISSUE 1 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018
OLIV IA KOT L A REK / AGG IE
OL IV IA KOT L A REK / AG GIE
REGENTS VOTE TO DECREASE TUITION Budget plans approved for 201819 school year BY SABR I NA HABCHI campus@theaggie.org
HIDE YOUR LAPTOPS, HIDE YOUR CELL PHONES String of burglaries in Davis
A string of burglaries close to the UC Davis campus have occurred over the last few weeks. Students are now advised to make sure they lock their windows and doors due to these recent crimes of opportunity. “There were three burglaries on September 7 and there was a crime alert on September 15 in the morning,” said Andy Fell, the public information representative for the UC Davis Police Department. “On September 7, there had also been similar break-ins and reports. All these times involved unlocked doors or windows.
Stolen items included laptops or cell phones.” Joseph Farrow, the UC Davis police chief, noted the areas where the burglaries happened. “There’s 400 Parkway Circle — where the frat houses are — there’s Russell Park [and] there’s West Village,” Farrow said. “West Village is spread out a little bit, so they’re not in the same general area.” The crimes didn’t just happen where people lived, there was also a reported incidence in a parking structure. “Saturday (Sept. 8), someone smashed a window in a car to steal a laptop in the South Entry Parking Structure, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.,” police said, according to UC Davis News
Briefs. Currently, there are no suspects, but there has been increased patrol in the Russell Park area. Property managers will also distribute information to residents. “The only identification that we have was a possible male wearing all dark clothing, wearing a hoodie,” Farrow said. “One common thing was that they didn’t had to pry anything open — they didn’t need a key [and] they didn’t do anything. All they did was check the door and it opened. They took what they could see in the common area, and then they were gone very quickly.” As a precaution, Fell reminded students to
MOR GA N TIEU / AGGIE FILE
DISCREPANCIES IN HANDLING OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT CASES AT UC DAVIS, BERKELEY, UCLA, STATE AUDITOR SAYS UC Davis among campuses that took longer to discipline certain faculty members BY G EORG E L I AO campus@theaggie.org
A California State Audit published in June recommended steps to address problems in the handling of faculty sexual misconduct within the UC system, with specific focus on UCLA, Berkeley and Davis. The audit, prepared by State Auditor Elaine Howle, identified three key issues: a discrepancy between how investigations and discipline are handled among faculty and staff, the length of time
to complete an investigation and adjudication of faculty sexual misconduct cases. Additionally, the audit requested the statewide Title IX office standardize practices for handling sexual misconduct cases. The audit set a July 2019 deadline for the implementation of changes. A response letter issued by UC President Janet Napolitano stated that the UC accepts all the recommendations issued by the state auditor’s office. “The three campuses we reviewed — Berkeley, Davis and Los Angeles — took much longer to discipline Senate faculty than staff and non-Senate
BURGLARIES on 11
faculty,” the report stated. In its review of 23 cases, the audit reported that, on average, “staff received discipline in 43 days, nonSenate faculty in 74 days and Senate faculty in 220 days.” The audit mentions one 223-day case at UC Davis in which a respondent was placed on “involuntary leave with pay shortly after the campus office received the complaint. This involuntary leave lasted until the respondent’s separation from the campus.” UCLA, Davis and Berkeley also did not “retain adequate case files to demonstrate how they resolved cases through the informal process, with Davis and Los Angeles performing especially poorly.” According to the audit, Davis “does not retain all communications with individuals or notes from discussions because its campus coordinator believes that university policy does not require the office to do so.” Because of existing Academic Senate processes, the handling of faculty misconduct takes “longer to determine discipline as it involves many steps and does not always specify time frames for completion,” according to the audit. The report also mentioned inconsistencies in the implementation of disciplinary measures. For UC Berkeley and UCLA, cases often exceeded the 60-day time frame established by the universities and, in some cases, did not obtain the necessary approvals for extensions. The audit also said UCLA “inappropriately closed some cases.” Wendi Delmendo, UC Davis’ chief compliance officer, spoke about the cases at UC Davis where extensions had taken place. “We did pretty well at meeting the 60 day deadline, and in the two cases where we did not, we issued extensions,” Delmendo said. “We monitor the timelines very carefully at Davis. We try not to issue extensions if we do not have to. Of course, things happen. Sometimes the parties need more time. Sometimes investigator workload is such that
we need to give them a little bit more time to finish the report.” The audit also reported a systemwide lack of “a clear mission that would enable it to ensure that the university’s response to sexual harassment is coordinated and consistent. At a minimum, the systemwide office should play a central role in setting university policy, analyzing complaint data and overseeing the campus offices.” At this time, the UC campuses do not communicate about approaches to handling cases of sexual misconduct, Delmendo said. “We are very much focused on what is happening at our campuses,” she said. “We have not had a requirement or a means to look at what the other campuses are doing. So that might be some work the system will take up.” Robert May, the systemwide chairperson of the Academic Senate and a professor of philosophy and linguistics, spoke about the Academic Senate’s role in the handling of faculty sexual misconduct cases. “The process for managing cases can be time consuming and complex,” May said, adding what he says is an issue with the state’s findings. “The cases that were being investigated by the California State Auditor were done before our current guidelines were put into place,” May said. “Those contain a number of time-based milestones that needs to be met [in] various parts of the procedure which are rather more complicated than are represented in the audit.” A Title IX officer must establish probable cause before disciplinary action can be taken, May said. The Title IX officer presents the investigation to the privilege and tenure committee within the Academic Senate, who then makes their findings known to the Chancellor. “We, the [Academic] Senate, are absolutely firmly committed to ensuring that these processes will [happen] as quickly as possible while respecting due SEXUAL MISCONDUCT on 11
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On July 19, 2018, the UC Board of Regents voted to approve the 2018-19 budget plan which saw an increase in state funding. The approved plan reduced UC tuition by $60 while the student service fee, at $1,128 a year, remains unchanged. The tuition reduction is a result of the termination of a “temporary surcharge” which began in the fall of 2007, “to recoup damages from two earlier class-action lawsuits, Kashmiri v. Regents and Luquetta v. Regents. By fall 2018, nearly all of those costs will be fully recovered,” according to a press release by the UCOP. “The class-action lawsuits, one filed in 2003 and the other in 2007, stemmed from claims made by students at UC’s professional schools that the university raised their tuition without sufficient notice,” the press release stated. “The university disagreed, but lost both cases on appeal. In total, the litigation process cost the university nearly $100 million.” The UC Student Association lobbied to secure additional funding from the California legislature. According to a press release sent by the UCSA, the association said it is glad to see the funds approved by Governor Brown for the UC system. The press release also highlighted a number of issues the association believes the state budget failed to address, including “support services, counselors, and tenure track faculty integral for student success.”
2 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018
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TWO RECENTLY-APPROVED PROJECTS TACKLE DAVIS’ HOUSING CRISIS West Village expansion, Davis Live project aim to improve .2 percent vacancy rate BY G EORG E L I AO campus@theaggie.org
Two new housing projects, an expansion of West Village Student Housing by the university and the Davis Live housing project by the city, have both been approved. The projects are a collaborative effort between UC Davis and the City of Davis as part of the university’s Long Range Development Plan (LRDP). The vacancy rate in the city of Davis was at .2 percent for two-bedroom housing and .1 percent for single and three-bedroom housing, according to the 2017 student housing vacancy report. Rental prices have increased 6.2 percent since 2016 and the average rental rate per apartment rose to $1,673 per month. Davis Live will be a 71 unit, 440-bed student housing project at 525 Oxford Circle located adja-
cent to Russell Boulevard and across from campus. It is designated as a Residential High Density project from four to eight beds per unit and ranging from 1,222 to 2,052 square feet. The West Village project is an extension of the existing student housing complex. The project will add 1,122 units and an additional 3,265 beds. The West Village LRDP and the final environmental impact report were reviewed by the UC Board of Regents in mid-July and subsequently approved on July 19. “[The project] is actually one in a series of housing projects that are student-oriented housing … approved in the City of Davis,” said Dan Carson, a Davis city council member. “The others are referred to as the Sterling Project, Lincoln Forty and the Nishi Apartment, and now this one is Davis Live.” Dan Weinstein, managing partner of College Town International, partner on Davis Live with the Latigo Group and the lead developer on the project,
elaborated on the Davis Live timeline. “We are optimistic of breaking ground sometime early in 2019, and targeting an opening in Fall of 2020,” Weinstein said. Davis Live is planned to be mixed demographic housing. Carson said the project will provide low-income families a chance to live in housing for “much lower than typical rental rates.” It will have 66 beds, or 15 percent of the total, reserved as affordable housing, 22 beds, or 5 percent, targeted to low-income students, 22 beds for very low-income students and 22 beds for extremely low-income students, Weinstein explained. “As a city, we take very seriously the need to provide additional student housing in a time where there is extremely low rental unit vacancy rate within our city limits,” Carson said. “We are hoping that will inspire the campus to follow through on the plan they have offered in additional student housing.”
Carson said that the serious vacancy problem has forced students to take extraordinary measures. “I have personally observed, as a resident of Davis, a student who, [at] one point last year, was living out of his car on the street a couple of blocks from my house,” Carson said. “I have also personally experienced ‘mini-dorms,’ where a single-family house gets turned into an apartment in effect for six, eight or even more students. It does not usually work well when you have that many folks in a single house. They have noise and parking problems and conflict in the neighborhood.” Carson also spoke about the ongoing work between the city of Davis and UC Davis on the LRDP to ease the housing issue. “What we have been asking for some time is that the campus take its plans for additional housing on campus and turn them into concrete and enforceable promises that they will actually follow through [on] and build housing and sync with the growth in enrollment on campus,” Carson said. “If you don’t do that, at least in some extent, it takes that .2 percent vacancy rate we have in our town and potentially makes it worse, if that’s possible.” The LRDP is designed to grow as UC Davis expands. Michael Sheehan, the interim executive director in UC Davis Student Housing and Dining Services, said in an email that student housing will increase from the reported 9,818 students in 2016-2017 to an eventual 18,686 students on campus. “The new LRDP was developed over three years with extensive community input including open house events, town hall meetings and presentations to the Davis City Council and other groups,” Sheehan said. “Planners received extensive community feedback on the plan and made changes to it as a result.” “The Long Range Development Plan sets ambitious goals for housing and sustainability,” said Matt Dulcich, the director of environmental planning at UC Davis, in an email. “As we go forward we’ll be exploring innovative, imaginative proposals to increase density and maintain livability.” There is also continuing work on the West Village project. “We are currently working on finalizing designs for the complex and securing project financing,” said Grant Rockwell, executive director of Real Estate Services at UC Davis, in an email. “We expect to break ground later this year. Beds for approximately 1,000 students should be available in Fall 2020 and the complex should be fully complete in Fall 2021.”
S C RE E N SH OT F R O M R E GENTS M EETI NG LI VESTREAM
B RIA N L A N DRY / AG GIE
GOVERNOR APPOINTS FOUR NEW UC REGENTS
THIRD ASUCD SENATOR ELECTED LAST FALL RESIGNS
Four new regents include state finance director, union president
Jake Sedgley will take new position with OASR
BY AARON L I SS campus@theaggie.org
In a press release on August 6, Governor Jerry Brown announced the appointment of four individuals to the UC Board of Regents. The new regents are Laphonza Butler, Michael Cohen, Cecilia V. Estolano and Richard H. Leib. The California Senate must first confirm the new appointees, though they are permitted to begin serving immediately after Brown’s announcement. Regents serve 12-year terms. The four new appointees come from private, state and public sectors. Estolano and Leib are both chief executive officers, Butler is the president of a California health care employee union and Cohen serves as California’s Department of Finance director. On June 2, UC President Janet Napolitano commented on the new appointees. “Serving on the UC Board of Regents offers a powerful opportunity to shape California higher education for years to come and ensure that future students receive the same excellent UC education as did previous generations of Californians,” she said. Kathryn Lyberger, president of AFSCME Local 299, spoke about the need for union representation in the Board of Regents and the importance of Butler’s selection in a press release. “Butler has seen the struggle of working people like those that AFSCME Local 3299 represents,” Lyberger said in the release. “For years, she’s fought for justice on the side of labor and her long-standing history of sticking up for low-income women of color tells us that she understands what must be done to restore UC’s reputation for equality and justice. We know that Laphonza will be the champion of labor that UC workers sorely
needed.” Laphonza Butler is the president of Service Employees International Union Local 2015, a caretaker and health care worker union which includes 325,000 California nursing homes and home-care workers. Butler’s union helped to pass the first $15 statewide minimum wage. SEIU represents one employee group at only one university in the system, UC Irvine. Butler served as president of SEIU United Long Term Care Workers for seven years. Now, she serves as a board member for the National Children’s Defense Fund and the Bay Area Economic Council Institute and chairs the University of California African American Advisory Council. Sacramento’s Michael Cohen has been Brown’s Department of Finance director since 2013. San Diegan Richard Leib worked as a consultant for the waste management company Liquid Environmental Solutions prior to last year. He now serves as chief executive officer for Dunleer Strategies, another waste management firm. And Pasadena resident Cecilia Estolano, who has a law degree and master’s degree in urban planning, is a co-founder and executive with the public policy and urban planning firm Estolano LeSar Advisors. Estolano is also president of the California Community Colleges Board of Governors. Estolano is the third democrat on the board, with Cohen registering no party preference. There are now 26 regents, 18 of whom have been appointed by the governor. All are ex-officio members who are grandfathered in by their previous office, besides the student officer regent. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, “of the 13 regents currently serving, eight are white, three are Latino, one is black and one is Asian American.”
BY P R I YANKA SHR EEDAR campus@theaggie.org
ASUCD Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Sedgley has officially resigned from his position as of Sept. 20. A Davis local, Sedgley is a fourth-year transfer student and an environmental policy analysis and planning and economics double major. He was elected during the uncontested 2017 Fall Election. Sedgley has accepted a position as the legislative director at ASUCD’s Office of Advocacy and Student Representation (OASR), which advocates for students on various levels including the campus, state and federal level. According to its website, OASR provides opportunities “for students to learn how to lobby, campaign and talk about their needs of affordability, accessibility, safety and resources on campus.” His resignation is the third of the six senators elected last fall —Andreas Godderis and Danny Halawi also resigned before their terms ended. Both Godderis and Sedgley were endorsed by The California Aggie. Sedgley was elected pro tempore in April of 2018. During his time in Senate, he worked with numerous units, including looking into “funding issues” with the Campus Center for the Environment and Whole Earth Festival. “I initially ran for Senate because I grew up here and I saw a lot of things changing that I didn’t necessarily like,” he said. “There have been consistent efforts to silence the student voice and to stomp out student protests. It’s an issue that, in my opinion, bloomed from the
Katehi protests and has begun to get worse as we move through the years.” Sedgley authored Senate Resolution #16, which condemned the disciplinary action taken against the students who took over Mrak Hall while protesting tuition hikes. At times an outspoken member of the Senate table, Sedgley chastised his colleagues on at least one occasion for failing to attend meetings, uphold the Bylaws and write legislation. He also brought forward complaints from unit directors about the limited preparation time given for budget hearings. During his time in Senate, Sedgley said he engaged in a significant amount of local lobbying, efforts he will continue to pursue in his new position. “I went to almost every single planning and city council meeting that a housing project was going through and I had a few meetings with the Nishi developers to discuss their project,” he explained. Sedgley also said he hopes his new position with OASR will allow him to focus on an area of policy related to his studies and future plans. “The job aligns with my major, and I feel that this position will make me more useful to the students,” he said. “State and federal policies will have significant, real impacts on the students of UC Davis and I hope to make sure that those impacts are for the betterment of the student body. Additionally, we have not had much of a presence with regard to lobbying efforts in the capitol over the last few years JAKE RESIGNATION on 11
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 | 3
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SACRAMENTO REGIONAL TRANSIT TO DROP FEES Bus, light rail fares decrease after 47 years
SHEREEN LEE / AGGIE
9-1-1, a dog is barking September 12 “Reporting party attempted to sell textbooks — unknown buyer used fake PayPal to pay reporting party — loss $500.” “Reporting party saw five juveniles use dumped furniture to climb over the fence surrounding facility. They also appeared to be lifting their bikes over the fence into abandoned complex.” “On the greenbelt; reporting party’s children were walking when approached by an elderly female with walker carrying a sign that said ‘please follow me and show me your passport’ grabbed one of the children but the child was able to get away [...]” September 13 “Reporting party hears something that sounds sharp on her window.” “Vehicle driving slowly, on a cell phone and yelling at other vehicles.” September 14 “Vehicle was cutting in and out of traffic on the freeway, exited at Richards when saw reporting party take a pic of plate.” September 15 “Dead bird in front of business. Reporting party will wrap in plastic bag and place in garbage.” September 16 “Dog barking periodically all day.”
CAITLYN SAMPLEY / AGGIE
BY ST E LLA T RAN city@theaggie.org
It has been about 47 years since Sacramento Regional Transit historically took a step to lower bus and light rail fares. Now, the agency will drop base fares from $2.75 per ride to $2.50 while reducing monthly passes from $110 to $100. In addition, as part of a package, senior monthly passes will be reduced as well as single ride discount tickets. While rates were once raised, the new prices will bring the fares back to their original pricing. Henry Li, the SacRT general manager, stated that the agency was able to do this because of optimization and efficiencies. “Over the last couple of years, SacRT has greatly improved our financial outlook through business optimization and operational efficiencies,” Li said in an email. “It is now important to reinvest some of the savings in our community through reduced fares and increased service. It is truly about providing the best transit service possible for the Sacramento region.” Steve Hansen, the SacRT vice chair, believes that by reducing the fares, RT can attract new riders. “SacRT can do this because of the improvements made to the agency’s fiscal outlook over the last couple of years,” Hansen said in an email. “Coupled with the return of transfer
tickets and increased weekend light rail service, RT is working to attract new riders who have never used the system.” The discussions about lowering fares started due to the beginning of a new fiscal year for the agency according to Devra Selenis, the vice president of communications and partnerships for SacRT. “With the start of the new fiscal year, we realized there were savings achieved through operational efficiencies,” Selenis said. “We discussed how we could reinvest some of the savings in the community to give back to our riders.” Christopher Flores, the assistant to SacRT’s general manager, explained that the fares are fleeting. “We approved it as a temporary six month price drop because there are requirements on fare changes,” Flores said. “This means that what you’re doing isn’t going to be adversarially affecting certain demographics more than the other. That’s why it’s a six month pilot, but we will try to keep making it permanent.” While the fares are short term, Li envisions long term goals for the agency. “In the long-term, I believe, to grow ridership we need to prioritize our customers’ demands and provide them the service they want,” Li said in an email. “Additional headways, transfers and lower fares taken together should make it that much more convenient to ride our system. We have been hearing from customers asking for these changes and we are listening and taking action.” As a UC Davis alumni, Flores stressed the importance of student transportation and how the agency is still looking to consistently improve. “SacRT will be launching frequent electric vehicle shuttle service between UC Davis and
the UC Davis Medical Center, with a stop downtown,” Flores said. “This will directly benefit the university and foster economic growth.” Hansen further noted that SacRT has more plans to come that would expand its transit services. “The SacRT board believes that if we see lower ridership on our traditional transit service, let’s innovate,” Hansen said in an email. “SacRT recently implemented a new on-demand ride-hailing service called SmaRT Ride. It’s like Lyft, but cheaper.” There are numerous factors as to why ridership has declined. “The problem is not just here; nationwide, traditional public transit use has declined from its peak just a few years back,” Hansen said. “Ridership reflects many factors: gas prices, development patterns and a community’s employment profile.” In addition, one of the factors affected by such declines would be the environment, which has taken its toll. “Everything suffers as fewer people take transit, but our environment can take the hardest hit,” Hansen said. “The Sacramento region is ranked the 5th in the nation for the worst ozone pollution. Public transportation helps improve the air quality by reducing vehicle miles travelled. Our transportation sector is the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and toxic air pollutants. By reducing the number of conventional engines on the road — through transit use — our air and water fares a lot better.” Li suggested that there is an importance in investing at the local level. “The key message is that if we want to grow our system and get more single occupancy vehicles off the road, we need to invest in transit at the local level,” Li said in an email.
FEEDING WILDLIFE COMES WITH A COST New fines imposed on those feeding creatures in Davis
MELIN DA CHEN / AGGIE
BY LAU REN T ROP I O city@theaggie.org
Though locals have grown accustomed to the vast amount of wildlife Davis has to offer, many outsiders are unaware of how prevalent turkeys, squirrels and other populous wildlife are to the area. Yet locals and outsiders alike are too willing to share their meals with them and a lot do not know of the negative repercussions for feeding these animals. The issue was first recognized at a city council meeting in 2016, as an official means of controlling the number of growing wild turkeys. Through this decision, the council decided to minimize the amount of turkeys in the region. “The management plan identified a four-pronged management approach, including community outreach and deuce action, on problems associated with feeding turkeys, mass capture and relocation, promotion of natural predators and selective lethal removal of overly aggressive individuals,” said John McNerney, the wildlife resource specialist for the City of Davis. This was the beginning of the many steps taken at the most recent city council meeting, in August, toward a “no feeding” ordinance for the rest of the creatures that started to cause issues for commercial and residential property. The ordinance can therefore aid safety and the education of those who may be uniformed with the impact that wild turkeys, among other animals, are now having. “Living in off-campus housing for two years has helped me realize how important it is to not feed wildlife, considering the one time we fed birds they came back more aggressive and with many more of its kind,” said Claire Dodd, a third-year sociology-organizational studies major.
McNerney and the rest of the council agreed that there won’t be harsh fines given to patrons who feed wildlife. If given out, fines will range from $100 to $500, depending on if multiple offenses were committed. This law is intended to be a learning opportunity for residents and a last resort to gain compliance if other methods do not allow the person to comprehend the challenges that come with feeding wildlife. “The supplemental feeding of wildlife is well known to cause certain wildlife to habituate to humans — loose natural wariness— localizes their daily activity and artificially support population growth,” McNerney said. “All of these, in turn, increase the frequency and magnitude of human v. wildlife conflict within the community.” As these new standards are set in place and seriously considered, McNerney hopes to make a difference in safety, as feeding animals aggravates them and tends to result in dangerous situations. He is targeting bird feeders as a supplier of food for other wildlife that can reach it if suspended too low, providing sustenance for creatures besides birds. More specifically, these proposed plans are directed toward coyotes, wild turkeys, foxes, skunks, raccoons, possums, squirrels, ducks, geese, crows and gulls. “Feeding squirrels, or any species of wild animal, does way more harm and desensitization to their surroundings than it does any good,” said Colleen McVay, a second-year animal biology major. “Many human foods can cause severe health and wellness problems for these animals, as their digestive tracts are not meant to break down man-made cuisine. Additionally, they can create a bad sense of dependency towards humans, instead of their natural surroundings.”
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4 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018
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FALL QUARTER PREVIEW: EXCITING MY SUMMER ABROAD... EVENTS TO LOOK FORWARD TO Events include Sunset Festival, Involvement Fair, Internship and Career Fair BY CLARA ZHAO campus@theaggie.org
A number of exciting events are scheduled for Fall Quarter. Here are a few to make note of: Sept. 28 The quarter will kick off with ASUCD’s Sunset Festival on Sept. 28. This event will be held on the Quad to welcome new and returning students with live music and dance performances. According to the Sunset Fest website, the event will feature BAAUER, a DJ known for his EDM/Trap beats, and most famous for the viral internet sensation “Harlem Shake.” Students will also have the chance learn about ASUCD and other student organizations which will be present to answer questions. “ASUCD has been working hard to ensure that this music festival is not only successful but it enriches the college experience for all Aggies in attendance,” said ASUCD Vice President Shaniah Branson. Sept. 23 The Confucius Institute (CI) will host several engaging events throughout the quarter, including its annual Mid-Autumn Festival on Sept. 23. “The Mid-Autumn Festival is the second greatest festival in China after the Chinese New Year,” said CI instructor Kate Zhang. “The day is also known as the Moon Festival … [since] blooming flowers and full moons is a good wish often expressed by Chinese people.” According to Zhang, the event will feature music, dance, drinks and food, including the festival’s famous Moon Cakes. Sept. 27 The Manetti Shrem Museum is hosting its Fall Season Celebration with live music by Munechild, self-portrait making and two new exhibits from the artists Bruce
Nauman and Irving Marcus. The event is free for all, and snacks and refreshments will be provided. Oct. 4 For students interested in art and performance, the Mondavi Center is hosting a lineup of performances for the quarter, from string quartets to jazz, to digital and laser holographic technology. The annual Barbara K. Jackson Rising Stars of Opera event will be held on Oct. 4. Jackson, a supporter of the arts, died recently at the age of 99. Seven young singers, sponsored by Jackson, will take the stage at the October event to honor Jackson’s life. Oct. 10 The annual Involvement Fair, organized by the Center for Student Involvement, will be held on the Quad. Over 240 organizations will be tabling and providing information on how to get involved in their groups and programs. “This year it’s bigger than ever because we’re using both sides of the Quad and have double the number of tables,” said Joseph Martinez, the Student Expression & Activities coordinator for the CSI. “We’ve also never included departments before and now we get to include departments too.” Martinez was also excited to announce that the event will offer over 3,000 giveaways, including a chance for one UC Davis student to win a bike from Pepsi. Oct. 17-18 For students thinking about life after college, Grad and Law School Information day will be held on Oct. 17. Additionally, the Fall 2018 Career Fair will be held from Oct. 17-18, allowing students to discover graduate programs and job opportunities offered by a variety of schools and companies. better place for people to live triumphantly,” Holman said.
UC Davis students share their summer study abroad experiences BY EMILY NGUYEN features@theaggie.org
Summer: a glorious time made for relaxing on the beach, soaking up radiance from the warm sun and for many UC Davis students, traveling across the world and engaging in a once-in-a-lifetime study experience. Hundreds of students partake in summer study abroad trips every year, traveling anywhere from Asia to Europe to Africa. Here are the unique stories of three of those students. This summer, Megan Mekelburg, third-year sociology major, embarked on the an incredible journey as her studies brought her halfway across the world. Mekelburg traveled through the “Celtic Connections” program of UC Davis Study Abroad. “My program was during the [...] entire month of July,” Mekelburg said. “The program started in Ireland, right in Dublin in the center of the city. Then, we took a plane to Santiago, Spain, and we [were there] for a little less than a week. And then we took a plane to Rennes, France, which is on the Northwest coast of France.” Mekelburg recalled all of the unforgettable memories she made while abroad, saying that the trip not only changed her perception of the world and everything around her, but it also revealed facets of herself that she was not previously aware of. For Mekelburg, her study abroad experience was a highly introspective one. “I think I learned a lot about myself and how independent I could be and how well I knew the languages, which I hadn’t realized,” Mekelburg said. “I think [you should] go at it with an open mind. If you don’t fully immerse yourself, you’re not going to have the authentic experience that you want to have. I think that’s what I learned from the group of people that I was with.” Victoria Casas, a fourth-year theatre and dance and English double major, decided to study abroad in Spain this summer in what she feels was one of the best summers of her life. “I spent six weeks in Madrid in Spain through UCEAP, and it was a lot of fun,” Casas said. “The program itself hosted field trips for us, so they took us to the Royal Palace, they took us to Congress, they took us to Northern Spain to this area called Galicia and we did a weekend trip there, and there was a day-trip to Toledo,
which is is another main city in Spain.” Throughout her six weeks there, one of Casas’s fondest memories of her trip to Spain was traveling to Galicia with her study abroad group. “One of my favorite moments was going to Galicia,” Casas said. “They put us in a really nice hotel that was right across the street from the beach, and that was really cool. They took us to this little private island on a Saturday and we spent the day on the island. We went hiking and we went swimming and it was a lot of fun.” A huge part of why Casas decided to study in Spain had to do with her love for Spanish and her desire to have a better understanding of the language. Casas felt that her study-abroad trip undoubtedly solidified and transcended her love for the Spanish language, as well as the people of Spain. “I kind of grew up with the Spanish language, but when you don’t speak it everyday you kind of lose it,” Casas said. “I wanted to go to Spain and continue my Spanish. I got to take Spanish over there, and it helped me [...] improve my Spanish skills. It actually wasn’t that difficult. I feel like a lot of times people have this misconception that when you go to a foreign country [everyone] is going to be really rude to you. But pretty much everyone that we were talking to knew that we were students, and they tried to help us.” A strong desire to immerse herself in Latin-American culture was also what prompted Paulina Belloso, fourthyear international relations and history double-major, to study abroad this summer in Santiago, Chile. “I wanted to learn about the relationship between the US and Chile,” Belloso said. “I’ve always been interested in other countries and cultures, especially those in Latin America. Being the daughter of Mexican parents and with most of my family back in Mexico, I’ve visited Mexico a lot. I wanted to experience a different Latin American country from the one I know, and learn how they are similar and different.” Belloso started her summer in Chile with an intensive language-immersion course and will continue her studies abroad until December. “The program started on June 27 with a three week Spanish language course that refreshed my Spanish and STUDY ABROAD on 11
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 | 5
THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE
“Think Outside the Box” aims to decorate utility boxes with local artwork Nontraditional mediums to be showcased across city ZOË RIENDHARDT / AGGIE
BY H A N N A N WA L I U L L A H city@theaggie.org
The City of Davis Civic Arts Commision is aiming to enhance the city’s landscape through its newest enterprise — the “Think Outside the Box” project. These gray metal boxes, often bleeding into the background, will be transformed into pieces of art. The works of local artists will be printed on vinyl and wrapped around these boxes. In addition, each artist will receive a $500 honorarium. The utility boxes selected are scattered throughout Davis. The commission will initially select eight to 10 artists based on their past work and an optional design plan. If successful, the project will later expand to feature more artwork. These vinyls will be printed in Spring of 2019, but artists must send in their submis-
sion by Oct. 18 this year. According to Rachel Hartsough, the civic arts staff liaison, the project was inspired by similar projects in other cities — namely, the Capitol Box Art Project done in Sacramento in 2014. The commission plans on using Prowraps, the same local vinyl company that helped out with the Capitol Box Art Project. Yet this isn’t the first time in Davis that the utility boxes have been painted. In the past, the Civic Arts Commission has conducted a similar project in which they painted the utility boxes. However, paint being the only medium restricted other artists who specialize in different forms of art from applying. With the vinyl wraps, artists of any visual medium will be have a chance to feature their artwork. “It’s printed on an inkjet printer, and it’s applied with a squeegee,” said Chris Burgess, a ProWraps emGAGE SKIDMORE / FLICKR
Department of Education considers new Title IX sexual misconduct rules Potential changes could alter how colleges respond to cases of sexual assault, harassment BY KEN TON G O L DS BY campus@theaggie.org
The United States Department of Education is considering changes to sexual misconduct rules under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, according to a report released by The New York Times. The act, which protects students from gender-based discrimination, is also interpreted to protect students from cases of sexual misconduct such as harassment, assault and rape. The changes could reduce the number of misconduct cases that undergo university proceedings, saving colleges money over time, according to an additional report by The New York Times. Certain guidelines issued under President Barack Obama have been removed from the Department of Education website, and the new rules drafted under Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos are still not public. Wendi Delmendo, the chief compliance officer and Title IX officer for UC Davis and UC Davis Health, has not yet seen the proposed regulations. According to The New York Times, which has received copies of the proposed changes but has not made any public, schools would not be held accountable for investigating certain instances of sexual misconduct. For example, under the new guidelines, schools would not be required to investigate cases of sexual misconduct that occur off of school property or outside of school-sanctioned events. Although the rules would not explicitly require schools to investigate such cases, schools may still be able to do so, Delmendo said. The UC system could potentially set its own guidelines, which might be stricter than the federal requirements. “The way it’s been reported, it sounds like […] it’s saying, ‘This is what we are going to hold you responsible for, universities,’” Delmendo explained. “It’s not saying, ‘You can’t respond to conduct that happens elsewhere.’ Based on what I’ve read, the UC system would be able to set a higher standard.” Delmendo later countered the claim that the number of cases reaching adjudication could decrease under the new rules, as was reported in The Times. “I don’t think those numbers are very reliable [in our campus context],” Delmendo said. “It’s hard to see how the numbers will be reduced given what I think the University of California would do in response to the regulations. I think if we could keep our current policy and regulations in place we would do so.” Sarah Meredith, the director of the Center for Advocacy, Resources & Education (CARE), described her view of the commitment that UC Davis has toward survivors of sexual assault. She said she doesn’t think the university would prioritize saving money “over creating a safer campus community.” “I honestly don’t believe […] that there is anybody on our campus that is willing to say, ‘You know, this could save us some money if we implement these
measures,’ and prioritize that over making the campus community safer,” she said. CARE is one of a number of confidential resources on campus for individuals who have been victims of sexual misconduct or violence. Confidential resources are exempt from reporting requirements under Title IX, so a student can seek these resources without filing an official report. Other confidential resources on campus include the Women’s Resources and Research Center, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex and Asexual + Resource Center and university-run counseling services. “As a confidential resource for sexual and dating violence, the Women’s Resources and Research Center is available to help students explore their reporting options and what the process may look like,” said Cecily Nelson-Alford, the director of the WRRC, in an email. As a response to the proposed changes, Nelson-Alford pointed to one way that the UC system can support survivors of sexual misconduct and violence. “Bolstering the resources for CARE offices across UC campuses is a sign that the UC system is moving toward survivor-informed practices, even during a time when our Presidential administration is not supportive of survivors,” Nelson-Alford said in an email. Other proposed changes to Title IX rules include redefining the designation of those on-campus officials responsible for reporting incidences of sexual misconduct to a higher authority, such as the Title IX office, and using mediation as a potential tool for resolving cases. Delmendo explained that nearly all university employees are considered responsible persons under the current guidance, and that mediation would be another tool toward the resolution of a case, but could be unsuccessful in dangerous harassment cases. “Our current policy […] makes all university employees who aren’t confidential resources responsible for forwarding information that they receive about sexual harassment and sexual violence to me as Title IX coordinator,” Delmendo said. “I certainly wouldn’t think that mediation would be successful in resolving an egregious allegation of sexual harassment or sexual violence, particularly where the person who is accused could represent a potential danger to the campus community.” The largest concern for Meredith regarding these proposed changes is the current state of ambiguity surrounding the rules. “I imagine survivors on this campus reading that New York Times article and feeling like, ‘Then, why bother? I’m not going to report it, I’m not even going to talk to anybody about it,” Meredith said. “What I do really hope is that regardless of what is happening in our ever-changing federal landscape, people will at least continue to access CARE or any of the other confidential resources because that is a place where they can find [out] what is exactly happening on our campus.”
ployee. “It’s a five-year product.” Anything that can be photographed or scanned is a viable medium. This includes hand illustration, photography, collages and mixed media. According to Hartsough, the artwork does not have to feature any themes in particular. While the subject matter for the project is unspecified, Hartsough explains that the artwork should enhance the environment and be appropriate. “We may take certain images and put them in certain locations because they feel relevant to those locations [and] activities that may be taking place there,” Hartsough said. “We’re hoping to put images out that celebrate imagery or feelings that people get when looking at the art that connect with celebrating our community.” The designers are encouraged to use a single image that wraps around the box, rather than individual designs on each side. In addition, the civic arts commission is especially encouraging those who have never had their art featured in public. “It’s one of the rare instances where we can create a piece of public art using something from somebody who may not have had the experience,” Hartsough said. “So you might have somebody who is a really amazing graphic designer or photographer but [whose] work doesn’t normally lend itself to creating public art. [This project] gives us an opportunity to share artwork from a lot broader community than just people who are tradi-
tional public artists.” To go about designing a utility box, Serena Tieu, a second-year design major, explained that she would look at the guidelines and form a design based around her constraints. “The way I would approach this would be based off the community — who’s asking this of me,” Tieu said. “So I would base it off what [the civic arts commission is] looking for, take their constraints and also incorporate what [Davis] is about, like saving the environment.” However, Tieu acknowledged that she does not speak for all artists, and how other artists may approach designing the utility boxes differently. The judging will be conducted by a panel, including the civic arts commissioners, artists and city staff members. The panel will then take their recommendations and present them to the city council in November for a final selection. The artists will be notified by the end of the year as to whether their art has been selected. “We really hope that they become things that beautify different parts of the city and that people sort of come upon and are not expecting to see something and [that the boxes] add some element of surprise and beauty to an area,” Hartsough said. More information can be found on the City of Davis website.
6 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018
THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE
Opinion the California Aggie
editorial board
EDITORIAL BOARD
Not reporting doesn’t mean not true
EMILY STACK Editor-in-Chief
Kavanaugh accusations spark #WhyIDidntReport, survivors share stories
OLIVIA ROCKEMAN Managing Editor HANNAH HOLZER 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 LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager
Over the past few weeks, two women have come forward with stories accusing Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee, of sexual assault. In an account published by The Washington Post, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford detailed an incident from high school, when a drunk, then-17-yearold Kavanaugh allegedly pinned her to a bed, attempted to tear off her clothes and stifled her screams with his hand. Soon after this accusation went public, Deborah Ramirez alleged that the judge once exposed himself to her 35 years ago during a drinking game in their college dorms at Yale University. Kavanaugh has denied the allegations, calling them “smears” and vowing that he would not be withdrawing his nomination. Republican lawmakers quickly jumped to Kavanaugh’s defense, chalking the allegations up to partisan character assassination. And at the forefront of these dismissals is the same tired counterargument that often plagues victims of sexual assault who share their stories long after the fact: Why didn’t they say something sooner? This sentiment was unfortunately yet unsurprisingly echoed by President Donald Trump on Twitter: “I have no doubt that, if the attack on Dr. Ford was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed with local Law Enforcement Authorities by either her or her loving parents” — the implication being, of course, that decadesold sexual assault allegations are not to be believed because victims would’ve simply gone to the authorities then and there. This is infuriatingly untrue, and such logic completely ignores the multitude of reasons why a survivor might not come forward right away, if ever. To counter the president’s
baseless claim, the hashtag #WhyIDidntReport went viral, as hundreds of thousands of people came forward with their own stories to demonstrate the wide-ranging reasons victims might feel unable to immediately report their accounts of sexual misconduct. As experts on sexual abuse and trauma have pointed out, many victims, conflicted with feelings of confusion and shame, wrestle for years with whether what happened to them was actually assault. And some, due to widespread victim blaming borne out of rape culture, believe the violation was simply their own fault. Ramirez recounted feeling guilty and “embarrassed” about her experience because she had been intoxicated that night. Fears of disastrous repercussions for the victims and minimal punishment for the perpetrators also frequently prevent victims from speaking up. Some of the survivors participating in #WhyIDidntReport explained what happened when they did report their sexual assault. Some walked away, emotionally drained and traumatized, with ruined careers and tarnished reputations, while their abusers walked free. Ford recalled harboring the same concern when she considered going public with her allegation: “Why suffer through the annihilation if it’s not going to matter?” Regardless of the veracity of either woman’s claims, the Editorial Board stands with sexual assault survivors who wish to remain silent as well as those who decide to speak out. We recognize that this pattern of questioning survivors for not immediately coming forward is sustained by a patriarchal system that attempts to explain away victims’ accounts, perpetuates the cycle of victim shaming and serves to exonerate abusers’ behavior.
Introducing the Fall Quarter opinion desk NEW ACADEMIC YEAR, NEW OPINION WRITERS — SAME OLE DAVIS! BY TA RYN D E OI L E R S opinion@theaggie.org
Another beautiful, formative, stressful school year is upon us, Aggies. I hope your summer was filled to the brim with fun activities, friends and family, exhilarating internships and thoughtprovoking classes. Or maybe you just watched a lot of “Queer Eye” like I did. Either way, Fall Quarter is about to kick into high gear, and now is your chance to get involved and expand your interests, whether you’re a seasoned Aggie or a bright-eyed first-year getting used to sleeping in the same place you go to school. Join a club, learn a new skill, make some friends. Perhaps you’ll even become one of those people who actually reads the school newspaper in print every week. What a thought! This quarter’s opinion desk offers a balance of both fresh voices and established Aggie writers, as well as a wide range of topics and styles to stimulate discussion on campus. But what we do at The Aggie hardly matters without community
engagement — whether in the form of guest op-eds, letters to the editor or even Facebook comments. We want to hear from you, our lovely readers. Imagine becoming one of those people who actually writes letters to their school newspaper. Now we’re talking! Without further adieu, here’s The Aggie’s Fall Quarter opinion line-up: Opinion columnists Our opinion columnists this quarter will be tackling political topics ranging from the national level to what’s going on here in Davis. Secondyear political science and history major Kauser Adenwala will be looking at student activism on campus — illustrating both the accomplishments and struggles of activists. As an activist devoted to several campus organizations, Adenwala plans to use her personal experience to inform readers about a side of campus that often goes overlooked. Hanadi Jordan, a third-year political science major, will be returning to the opinion desk from last spring to focus on issues currently defining U.S. politics. Jordan plans to address such topics
as rising tuition costs, the Trump administration’s policies on education and the ongoing Colin Kaepernick debate. And lastly, after two years of writing as a columnist, fourth-year comparative literature major Nick Irvin will return this fall as The Aggie’s new associate opinion editor. Irvin will continue to contribute columns on national politics, the liberal arts and the benefits of golf — all equally important, very serious topics, of course. That being said, we’re still searching for Fall Quarter columnists. If you’ve got something to say and a penchant for writing, please email opinion@theaggie.org for more information and an application. The deadline to apply is Sunday so don’t wait. Humorists The new humor desk is brimming with both refined talent and new faces. Fourth-years Aaron Levins, an English and philosophy double major, and Conner Shaw, an English and cinema and digital media double major, will continue their satirical and often absurdist rampage through
politics, pop culture and life at UC Davis. Thirdyear environmental policy analysis and planning major Benjamin Porter is joining the humor desk after a quarter of writing opinion to poke fun at the wild, wild state of American politics. Hilary Ojinnaka, a fourth-year African American studies major, stands as the newest addition to the humor desk. Ojinnaka’s humor centers around personal experiences and her keen interest in people watching, which allows her to skillfully point out the ridiculousness of everyday life. Cartoonists This quarter, cartooning veteran and third-year English and art studio double major Diana Olivares will be joined by Rosey Morearty, a second-year design major, and Genevieve Ryan, a first-year studio art major. Championing their own unique styles and senses of humor, these three talented artists will offer their singular perspectives on the quirks, challenges and highs of college life — with some political commentary thrown into the mix, as well.
Opening Thoughts PARSING SOME OF THE TOP STORIES THIS SUMMER BY N I C K I RV I N ntirvin@ucdavis.edu
When I don’t know what to write, I like to read the news. It’s probably what everyone –– journalists and the general public alike –– should be doing anyway, but summer is just ending and the cobwebs have to be sheared off at some point. News should be read and parsed over. Here’s an attempt with a couple of the biggest stories so far. Brett Kavanaugh Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation cycle is chockfull of baggage to unpack. The Supreme Court nominee was recently accused by Christine Blasey Ford of sexual assault when they were both teenagers in the early 80’s. It’s probably wise to wait for the official testimony from both parties –– tentatively set for Thursday, Sept. 27 –– before passing judgement, but I’m having a hard time not believing Ford’s accusations. For one, she’s on record confessing Kavanaugh’s name to both her therapist and husband in 2012, well before his arrival to the foot of the Supreme Court. If Ford had a partisan axe to grind –– as some have suggested –– she wouldn’t have name-dropped Kavanaugh six years ago. It just doesn’t compute. Christine Blasey Ford’s willingness to testify and bare all in front of a national audience is also
very telling. Senate hearings can be bloodbaths that expose and tire even the most hardened politicians. They aren’t easy, and when the ideological balance of the Supreme Court is at stake, tensions run high. By agreeing to an official testimony, Ford has acknowledged her own certainty about what happened with Kavanaugh three decades ago. She’s willing to recount her experience to a group of senators who don’t have a great history of supporting women in the first place. Ford’s bravery in coming forward, as both a credible victim and a successor to the Anita Hill case of 1991, should not to be undermined –– especially within a culture that’s stacked against victims of sexual violence. Unfortunately, this has flowed up to the highest echelons of executive decision making. It’s not hard to live a life free of sexual misconduct allegations –– just don’t commit them in the first place. Clarence Thomas is one Supreme Court justice with a history of sexual harassment hanging over his head. Adding another, at a time when even the president of the United States has faced similar controversies, would sully our moral core to the bone. Serena Williams It was hard to miss Serena Williams over the summer. In the U.S. Open women’s tennis final against Naomi Osaka, Williams was issued a
code violation by chair umpire Carlos Ramos for coaching –– apparently a rarity in the sport. She was later given a second violation for smashing her racket into the ground, docking her a point. Williams demanded an apology and assured Ramos that he would “never ever, ever be on another court of mine as long as you live.” She labeled him a “liar” and a “thief ” before Ramos called a third strike against Williams for verbal abuse of an official, which carried a stiffer game penalty. Williams contended that “men do things that are much worse” and wouldn’t have been penalized in such a manner. She then lost the match. Bringing up sexism was a poor excuse for Williams’ own immature actions. It’s a dubious claim because Carlos Ramos has a history of strict rules interpretations that have affected male superstars as well. And pointing to male behavior as a reason to bully an arbiter of sport is silly. Is the worst male behavior worth emulating? Dig deeper and we find that Serena Williams has a history of verbal abuse and conflict with tennis officials of both sexes. In the 2009 U.S. Open, she threatened to “take this ball and shove it down” the line judge’s “f--king throat” after a relatively minor foot fault. Williams told another chair umpire that she was “very unattractive inside” in 2011. That’s not behavior sons and daughters should be internalizing.
After the most recent U.S. Open, we saw opinions that defended Williams’ verbal abuse as “liberat[ing] herself of constraint” or completely absolving her, instead pinning the blame on an umpire who “couldn’t take a woman speaking sharply to him.” Offering solutions based on identity politics is usually a tricky business, and it didn’t work here. Serena Williams’ history of outbursts and fines transcends these narratives and helps show her true character. She’s the best tennis player of all time, but an entitled one at that. Tiger Woods To end on a dorkier note, Tiger Woods –– the only golfer anyone’s ever heard of –– is back. Tiger mania was muted after his adultery scandal and multiple spinal surgeries. That he’s soared into the headlines again after a summer of good performances at big tournaments –– culminating with his first PGA Tour victory in more than five years this past Sunday –– is great for golf ’s image. Tiger brings excitement and passion where polite clapping and dress pants are fodder for haters (and they may have a point). No other golfer induces obnoxious shouts of “Get in the hole!” on every shot from drunk men. Golf actually feels like a sport now! Sundays used to be the NFL’s sole domain; with Tiger Woods, there may be some competition at last.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 | 7
THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE
Suppressing activism through censorship UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATORS MUST NOT ALLOW CAMPUS-WIDE SURVEILLANCE OF STUDENT ACTIVISTS BY KAUSE R A D E N WAL A ksadenwala@ucdavis.edu
On May 24, 2018, a coalition group of activists fervently gathered in the George L. Mee Room on the third floor of the Memorial Union. Activists of all backgrounds, religions and organizations huddled together before entering, with one of the student leaders leading the group into a prayer (or dua) for strength, wisdom and the right intention. The large group then entered the Senate meeting. Unbeknownst to many of the Senators, committee chairs and other members of ASUCD, this group was organized by student activists who spent nearly a month researching and accumulating information for their strategic plan to come to fruition. This plan was Senate Resolution 19, which called for the condemnation of ICE, plainclothes officers and watchlists like Canary Mission from operating on campus and to safeguard the work of
student activists at UC Davis. This activist group built relations, organized and researched before implementing action — and this, in substantial terms, is what activism is. It’s not simply protesting or attending rallies or loudly making your presence heard; it’s also underground work that no one notices, but that still extensively contributes to the end results of a goal rooted in advocacy. Although the resolution passed unanimously, a new wave caused distress among the cohort a month later. Most of the student activists who organized the resolution and engaged in activism were “coincidentally” put on a heinous watchlist, Canary Mission, which aims to blacklist students involved in Palestine solidarity activism. The purpose of the watchlist is to intimidate students by tarnishing their reputations and inhibiting their career opportunities and is deeply rooted in Islamophobic and racist dogmas. Canary Mission is a nefarious weapon and tool that the Israel
Lobby utilizes to ensure that “the public is better informed.” Yet the site –– which consists of 2,000 students and over 500 college professors –– deters students from marginalized communities from engaging in activism out of fear of humiliation and harassment. The pernicious website functions as an altright Zionist media forum that aims to suppress Palestinian free speech through the spread of fraudulent information and contentious stratagems. In fact, the Israel on Campus Coalition reported that Canary Mission was a “strong deterrent against anti-Semitism and [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] activism” in its 20162017 report. The ICC specifically targets activists involved in the BDS campaign and “anti-Israel students” who aim to expose the modus operandi of the abhorrent site. Although SR 19 was a means of ending this harassment on campus, it did not prevent student
activists in Davis from having their faces plastered onto a revolting database. It may have actually caused this — and that should scream volumes about the lack of security that student activists have when they’re advocating for their causes. And Davis isn’t the only school fighting for their students’ voices to be heard. Activists at American University formed a coalition diaspora group consisting of Students for Justice in Palestine, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Black Student Alliance, the Asian Student Organization and other groups promoting BDS, calling for their campus administrators to “divest from fossil fuels, the Israeli apartheid state and private prisons.” Holding our university administrators accountable, asking them to protect our rights and ensuring that Canary Mission cannot continue campus-wide surveillance is the least we deserve for fighting for the truth to prevail.
HUMOR
UC Davis administrators battle gladiator-style for the twisted amusement of Gary May
LET THE GAMES BEGIN
BY AA RON L E V INS adlevins@ucdavis.edu
Flames danced in his eyes. It is time for the great ceremony, the Purging of the Faculty. Tonight, blood will be spilt. They gather on the football field across from the defunct Rec Pool. It is a full moon. The only light is white rays from above and the bonfires in each end zone. Here, on this field, is where the administrative faculty will fight to see who will get paid this fiscal year, since only one person will be alive to claim their salary. Gary May, clad head-to-toe in golden armor, walks slowly to the stands, wearing a cowboy-styled Aggies hat that he won at a football game for having the best social media caption.
The staff face each other while eager alumni sit in the stands, wapping together those inflatable things that make a ton of noise, and tenured professors blow through vuvuzelas. It’s like Fight Club, kinda. May was asked to help reduce administrative bloat and create ways to free up money for financial aid. Unconventional, but effective. Yet what May concealed from even those closest to him was that he took an odd amount of satisfaction in watching the staff fight to the death. And sometimes, he was able to choose whether a person would live or die. Gary hadn’t felt a rush like that since he was professor and got to hand out failing grades to students. The Davis Police of course don’t really mind the whole arrangement since, if they don’t have to deal with it, they can just stick to herding turkeys and following around minority folks at Picnic Day. Yes, thinks Gary. It is time to spill some blood.
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COM018693_WillowCreek_CalAggie_FNL | 11.625” x 10.5” in | Run Date: 9/27 DISC L A I M ER: Th e vi ews a n d o p ini o ns ex p re ss e d by i nd i vidu al colu mn ists be lon g to th e colu mn ists alon e and do no t necessari l y i ndi cate the vi ews and o pi ni o ns hel d by The Cal i for n ia Ag g ie. Le t te rs to t he e d i to r can be addre ss e d to opin ion @ th e aggie.org. ISSUE DESIGNED BY JONATHAN CHEN | OLIVIA KOTLAREK | SHEREEN NIKZAD | TAMARA SHOUBBER | YOON RHA
8 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018
THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE
SCIENCE+TECH M A DD IS O N G U R R O L A / CO URTESY
Food waste good enough to eat A UC Davis project is turning food that would normally be thrown away into more edible and appealing products BY R AC HEL PAUL science@theaggie.org
Mocha bites, bite-sized snacks made of almond pulp and chocolate, are vegan and gluten-free. The product is not available in stores, but has showed up at San Francisco’s Fancy Food Show and was in UC Davis’ Big Bang! Business competition. There’s one little caveat though; this tasty snack is actually made from food waste. “A lot of it is consumers really understanding about food and really changing the idea, because it is termed ‘waste’ even though it’s not waste, there’s nothing wrong with the product,” said Maddison Gurrola, the creator of mocha bites. When making food products, there is often a lot of waste. For example, when almond milk is made, almonds are squeezed and the liquid is collected. However the leftover mash, termed almond pulp, is still good to eat, but it isn’t utilized. Products like this often end up in animal feed or can be thrown away. Edward Spang created an internship program in the food science department to challenge undergraduate students to
think about how to utilize this ‘food waste’. “This project [internship program] came out of a conversation with the chief executive officer of Urban Remedy, which is a juice company in Richmond, California...in the juicing process, there’s quite a bit of high quality food residue left after, you know, you juice fruit and vegetables,” Spang said. “So everyday he was looking out the loading dock and looking at all of this carrot pulp, and beet pulp and kale pulp that was heading off towards mostly animal farms as waste from their food processing system.” In fall 2016, Spang helped put together a team of five interns, and they started brainstorming. The team met with mentors, such as Lauren Shimek and Charlotte Biltekoff, who helped them figure out how to approach the challenge. “They [Shimek and Biltekoff] taught us design thinking, which is this way to approach a process with a human centered focus,” Gurrola said. “So we really wanted to make sure that the products we were making fulfilled some form of value for our target customer.” After thinking about what type of customer would be most interCLTC / U C DAVIS
A bright idea for energy conservation University of California participates in the Million Light Bulb Challenge BY KR I T I VA RG HES E science@theaggie.org
The University of California launched The Million Light Bulb Challenge to replace one million incandescent light bulbs for high-quality, energy-efficient LED light bulbs in campus buildings and residences to encourage the reduction of carbon footprints and energy usage. All UC students, staff, faculty, alumni and retirees can purchase high-quality LED light bulbs through the Community Buy program. “Lighting can make up a significant part of household energy use within California,” said Michael Siminovitch, director of the California Lighting Technology Center and professor in the Department of Design at UC Davis. “In terms of numbers, lighting can be 30 percent of the energy using a typical home so moving to high performance LED technology could easily reduce that number by 80 percent. Switching from incandescent lamps to high-performance high-quality LED can produce very large savings in lighting energy use.” An added benefit of switching to energy-efficient lighting is that it lasts longer, which means there is significantly less maintenance involved with replacement. Since the energy-efficient lamps provided through this program still offer quality color and service, it allows consumers to be ener-
gy-efficient without compromising on quality. “By selecting a high-quality light bulb, the chances that you will like the light just as much as the incandescent light increase and the chances that you will take the LED light bulb out and put your incandescent back in decrease,” said Nicole Graeber, development engineer at the California Technology Lighting Center. “This results in persistent savings over time, and that adds up.” Switching to high-quality, energy-efficient lamps could be expensive upfront, but the energy savings could help consumers save money on their monthly energy bills. “If you are currently using incandescent [over LEDs], you can save over 80 percent on your lighting energy bill [by switching to LEDs] and that can be over $100/month [in savings] for the average home,” said Jeremy Meadows, project sponsor and manager. This program involved the difficult task of getting all government agencies, including UC campuses, CSU campuses, community colleges and the California Department of General Services to agree to standardize on the specification of the lightbulbs. However, the impact of switching out one million light bulbs could be worth it. Replacing one million incandescent light bulbs with LED lights could decrease carbon dioxide emissions by 41,461 metric tons, the equivalent of removing 8,900 passenger vehicles from the road every year.
ested in this sort of product, each team member formulated a food item and helped each other improve their ideas. “We were all giving ideas,” said Lucas Baker, a former team member. “We have this pulp, let’s do something about it. Once we formulated on our own, we picked three different products that were the best ones, and then with those three different products, we went into doing sensory.” Baker had to step away from the team due to scheduling issues, but he appreciates the time he spent as an intern. In food science, sensory lab is a general term used to test different aspects of a food product, such as overall taste appeal. Other variables to consider are the ability to create large quantities of product and food safety. The top three items the team created were an earth bar, a carrot cake bar and the mocha bites. Baker created the earth bar from beet roots, carrot pulp and almond pulp and it was similar to granola bars. The carrot cake bar was made from carrot pulp and was created as a sweet refrigerated snack. In spring of 2017, the team entered the Big Bang! Contest after a special challenge award was announced, with prize money going towards the project that “did more with less”. Since the mocha bites had the fewest food safety issues and seemed the most viable product, the team worked on building a business model around the bites. They tied for first place in the contest and received funding from the Kaiser Family Foundation. In this most recent school year, Gurrola and Spang have been investigating questions they had about mocha bites. Experimenting with different flavors, getting more public feedback and showcasing the item has been at the forefront of their to-do list. According to Spang, food waste is growing in importance, and just a handful of companies right now are focused on it. Gurrola believes that transforming food waste into edible products is at the cutting edge of food trends. Recycling or repurposing waste in this way is very beneficial. It reduces energy and needs to supply food to people, and helps the environment by reducing the amount of food that is thrown away. Presently, food waste does make it into animal feed. Spang says that it would take major advancements in food upcycling to greatly affect the amount of feed farm animals get. Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency has addressed this concern with a hierarchy of what takes priority when food loss and waste is involved. “The top priority is to prevent food loss and food waste in the first place,” Spang said. “If you’re not going to prevent it, so you’re making something like juice and people want juice, there’s going to be food loss and food waste. The next important thing is to feed humans. And so directing it back into the food chain would be more important. And then the next step would be to feed animals.” There is value in making sure farm animals get fed, but it is more advantageous to use this food to feed humans. Both Spang and Gurrola hope more companies will use food waste in their products. “So if we can get people excited, it’s environmentally great, nutritionally it’s great, it’s kind of closing one of the circles in the food system,” Gurrola said. “Hopefully we will see more of it on the market.”
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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE
Fall Quarter
BY D I A N A O L I VA R E S deolivares@ucdavis.edu
Too Early
BY G EN EV I EV E RYAN geryan@ucdavis.edu
Sudoku
Enter digits from 1 to 9 into the blank spaces. Every row, column and 3x3 square must contain one of each digit. Each Sudoku has a unique solution that can be reached logically without guessing.
THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE
10 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018
ART, CULTURE FOR THE REST OF US A helpful guide to immersing oneself at UC Davis BY JOSH MADRID arts@theaggie.org
Many of us don’t have the luxury of studying the arts as a UC Davis student. If one’s respective field of study doesn’t have anything to do with arts and culture, then it can be difficult to find a suitable outlet to fill one’s creative void. However, there are several outlets at the disposal of every student on campus, and several of which are paid for by students. Here’s a list of organizations that can provide some artistic and cultural involvement. Entertainment Council (EC) Established in 1979, EC is entrusted with providing the university with live concert entertainment. Several high-profile artists have performed on campus over the years. Recently, big names such as Khalid, Chance the Rapper, BØRNS and Alt-J have taken the pavillion stage for thousands of students. Our Lower Freeborn neighbor is also student-run with a staff of nineteen students. A full list of past performers is available on their website, as well as the opportunity to vote for the next performer to visit UC Davis. KDVS This student radio station is located in Lower Freeborn and broadcasts on 90.3 FM for people in Davis to the greater Sacramento area to hear. The UC Davis radio station was officially established in 1966 when ASUCD and KCD (the original radio
name) applied and received an FM radio license; however, humble campus broadcasting began as early as 1963 in student dormitories. The alternative station has since become the most popular radio station for students at UC Davis to tune in to. California Aggie Marching Band (CAMB) The Band-Uh! embodies the quintessential image of school spirit. The CAMB is another volunteer and student-run organization that allows students to showcase their musical talents and develop their skills. Established in 1929, the organization has strong roots embedded in marching at UC Davis sporting events and leading the parade on Picnic Day. Craft Center The UC Davis Craft Center provides several hands-on creative outlets for students, and from experience, it is quite cathartic. It offers classes pertaining to glass work, ceramics, jewelry, photography, textiles and several other craft activities. Classes are small and offered every quarter. Registration for fall began on Sept 6 and instructions on how to register are available on the craft center website. Manetti Shrem Museum The $30 million Manetti Shrem Museum, which held its grand opening in November 2016, is a great place to see a variety of art. The museum houses several collections, including those from faculty and staff. For current exhibitions, programs and events, visit the museum website. The organic and modern architecture of the building itself is an amazing aspect of the museum. Also, visiting is free for all.
R ILEY SMITH / COU RTESY
GROUND AND THEATER FESTIVAL RETURNS Second annual festival culminates in weeks of intense preparation BY L I Z J A C O B S O N arts@theaggie.org
In the Della Davidson dance studio, two young sisters argue in a room scattered with pens, nail polish, a checker board and a third new sister who was created out of rage in a cauldron. Assistant
NEW, FREE SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR UC DAVIS STUDENTS Students eligible for New York Times, Kanopy online content BY L I Z J A C O B S O N arts@theaggie.org
Starting this academic year, UC Davis students are eligible for complimentary subscriptions to the New York Times and Kanopy, an on-demand video streaming service. These subscriptions were purchased by the UC Davis Library and are available on its website. Like other databases and services provided by the University, this perk only requires a UC Davis email and UCD LoginID and Kerberos password. The subscription to the New York Times includes limitless access to most of New York Times website’s content, as well as the New York Times in Education. Not included is the NYT Crossword Puzzle, the NYT Cooking app, and only a
director Charlie Lavaroni, a third-year English and human development double major, calls a break. “More voice,” Lavaroni directs Anne Homer, a second-year English and human development double major. “Make that ‘I hate you’ more genuine.” Right across the road, five actors rehearse in a living room set in the not too distant future. Full of energy, panic unfolds as the family fears for their future, an emotion that many audience members might resonate with. “It’s amazing how quickly it happens,” says one of the family members regarding a health care crisis after the U.S. Congress outlaws medicine and medical practitioners in this dystopian work. For the past month, a dedicated group of 33 UC Davis students and faculty have been limited amount of articles from 1923-1980. UC Davis is now the second UC campus to purchase and provide the subscription to students and faculty, after UC Irvine. The New York Times was previously available for UC Davis students through an aggregator and it was a text-only format with no images or graphs. Robert Heyer-Gray, the interim head of the Collection Strategies Department, was motivated to purchase the full New York Times for students and faculty. “Current events being what they are, with newspapers under attack, the press being under attack and the New York Times more broadly representing ‘America’s newspaper,’ I think, I thought it was the time to pull the trigger on this and I think was really important to do for everyone on campus,” Heyer-Gray said. Access to the New York Times became available over the summer and students have already started creating accounts. Lauren Hom, a third-year human development major, recently became aware of the Library’s new purchase and is excited to register online. “[I think] it’s really cool,” Hom said. “I always see my [articles remaining] go down.” It is important to note that if readers are
N EED PIC / AGG IE
ALLYSON KO / AGGGIE
The Mondavi Center The Mondavi Center is the hub for all performances that come to UC Davis. Music groups, speakers, comedians, theater troupes, films, dance companies, etc. all perform at this state-of-the-art venue. Ticket and event information is available on their website, and the opportunity to subscribe to their newsletter is also available. Students get their first ticket to an event at the Mondavi Center for free. A full list of clubs and organizations can be found on the UC Davis website. workshopping, rehearsing and growing as artists in a conservatory-like setting. After a successful debut last fall, the Ground and Theatre Festival returns this year to perform Mark Rigney’s “Summertime,” directed by Tom Burmester, and Sam Collier’s “Daisy Violet the Bitch Beast King,” directed by UC Davis alumna Lisa Quoresimo, for the UC Davis community. The Ground and Theatre Festival was founded in 2017 by Broadway veteran and theatre and dance professor Mindy Cooper, performance studies student Tom Burmester, assistant professor of musical theatre at Southern Utah University Lisa Quoresimo and Danika Sudik. “It is a festival that is dedicated and designed to bring new voices to the stage, new works to the stage, to cultivate new ideas,” Cooper said. “I knew that I had to make a place where works could develop. I also knew that I had a whole bevy of fantastic theatre artists [who have] very split focuses because they’re in school [...] so I knew I wanted to do a festival where we could percolate new theatre ideas and the student ensemble could really concentrate.” Over 300 submissions in all stages of development came across Cooper’s desk and seven were chosen to both workshop and perform. Ian August, a New Jersey based playwright and lyricist, had the opportunity to workshop his small and intimate play, “Brisé.” “Brisé” is a oneman piece about a 29-year-old male dancer who is dying of a rare brain disorder. Cooper chose “Brisé” because of its power to resonate with the audience.
August collaborated with Lavaroni to workshop the play and dissect it. Everyone involved had the opportunity to grow together as artists. “What I needed to do was just work with people who really cared about this script and wanted to dive deep,” August said. While seven works of theatre were chosen, only two will be performed for the Davis community, “Daisy Violet the Bitch Beast King” and “Summertime.” Also being performed are devised works by students not in the productions that are being performed. Sophie Brubaker, a second-year human development and theatre and dance double major, plays Josephine, the eldest sister in “Daisy Violet.” Oppressed by social expectations and limitations, Josephine and her polar opposite of a younger sister, Henrietta, create another sister in a cauldron to serve as their scapegoat. This new sister named Daisy Violet ends up being everything they’re not and fights against society in ways they can’t, which the actors hope will empower the audience. “I think I’ve learned how to not just act on the surface, but to really feel and embody [the character],” Brubaker said of her experience in the festival. Anne Homer, a second-year English and theatre and dance double major, plays Henrietta. “I feel like Henrietta is what I want to be,” Homer said. “She is very outgoing, she says what she feels. Later, she’s kind of like the epitome of the struggling artist. She is very expressive and I admire that a lot [about] her.” THEATER on 11
already paying for a subscription, they have the option to switch to the paid-for option without losing any saved articles. To sign up, visit AccessNYT.com while connected to the UC Davis network. If off-campus, students and faculty can still complete the process while connected to the Library’s VPN. Search for and click the listing for “University of California, Davis – Davis, CA.” Click “Create Account” and complete the registration fields. The other new service available to UC Davis students and faculty is Kanopy, which is a on-demand streaming video service that offers a range of documentaries, films and theatrical releases. As of right now, only documentaries are available through the UC Davis Library. Like the New York Times, students and faculty have already begun utilizing the service, although this subscription is more geared toward professors and faculty for instructional purposes. The purchase of Kanopy will allow professors to move away from DVDs used for lectures and lessons, which is a more sustainable option and use of campus resources. The videos can be easily embedded into websites or lecture slides. “The main reason we did it [is] we’ve always supported film in class and we’ve always bought DVDs,” Heyer-Grey explains. “Of course [now] computers don’t come with DVD drives and
DVD is not a very stable media, so we’re constantly replacing [them]. Most of the [content] that was being asked for by faculty for course instruction were documentaries, so that’s why we [purchased] the documentary segment of Kanopy. They really had the right slice of what we were trying to offer.” To access Kanopy’s collection, visit ucdavis. kanopy.com while connected to either the UC Davis network or Library’s VPN or search “Kanopy” in the Library’s Databases search option. Both resources allow students to access content for academics and leisure. Alexander Garber, a second-year undeclared life sciences major, said that he will use these resources for more than just one purpose. “[I will use it for] class mostly, but maybe like one or two articles or videos that I hear about, that people are talking about and I want to learn more about it,” he said. KAITLYN SAMPLEY / AGGIE
reduce. reuse. recycle.
The aggie
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BURGLARIES
JAKE RESIGNATION
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keep all access closed to burglars. “We remind people to keep doors and windows locked even when they are asleep to reduce access to burglars,” Fell said. The theme with these burglaries was that tenants left their homes opened for perpetrators to enter without force. “They’re all burglaries and they’re late at night,” Farrow said. “All these are unsecured doors, like Russell Park and West village — the laptops were left in the common area. They merely walk into open doors into the common area, and they take what they can. The laptops are the most expensive item and that’s what they go for.”
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Farrow also indicated that the residents were at home when the crimes happened. “They’re in the private area and the theft occurs in the common area,” Farrow said. As another general precaution, Fell wants to inform others to be more aware of entrapments. “There has been a spate of emails claiming to have obtained their contact information from the Internship and Career Center and offering to recruit students for jobs,” Fell said. “This is not true and students should not respond. These jobs are not listed with the Internship and Career Center, and UC Davis does not give out email addresses of students to third parties.”
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process,” May said, adding the audit recommendation that no more than 60 days pass before a hearing is scheduled and no more than 30 days pass before findings are reported to the chancellor. “We are currently working on implementing that and will do so as quickly as possible,” he said. “If there was an infraction, then discipline should be […] settled upon as quickly as possible. We want to make sure that process is done fairly and with appropriate due process. No one wants this process to drag on longer than it should.” In a transcript addressing the state audit taken from a teleconference call on June 21, Suzanne Taylor, the UC interim systemwide Title IX coordinator, offered the UC Office of President Title IX office’s responses to questions from an audience. One speaker asked about the inconsistent discipline imposed in similar cases at UCLA, Berkeley and Davis and whether the disciplining process should be standardized at the systemwide or the campus level. “The frameworks do require that every campus have peer review committee that advises the chancellor on faculty discipline,” Taylor said. “We also have a systemwide peer review committee that advises on cases against senior university leaders. My office, the systemwide Title IX office, was created in part so that the person in this position would have broad perspective and, that should contribute to consistency. We do have a number of measures in place at the systemwide level to actually improve consistency across the campuses throughout the system.” The speaker also asked about discrepancies in the
length of time it took to investigate and discipline. “What is prompt and equitable really depends on particular circumstances of the case,” Taylor said. “For example, in our investigation, in our … policy we have a guideline that says we expect cases would typically be resolved within 60 days, but it is always dependent on the particular circumstances. If you have, for example, a large number of witnesses, that could extend the time taken to resolve the case.” The cases involving senate faculty take longer because it is a much more complex process, UC Davis’ Delmendo explained. “In the staff world, we finish our investigation report [and] it is sent to Human Resources and the manager of the accused,” she said. “Then HR and the manager will talk about discipline, and a discipline is imposed. It is a much more streamlined process in the staff realm.” Although the UC has accepted the recommendations, Delmendo said she is not sure, at this time, what the changes will look like — “the system is still in the process of figuring it out next steps.” Delmendo spoke about the increase in the number of cases reported alleging sexual misconduct by faculty and staff. “I would speculate that increase is due to the increased outreach that the university has done,” Delmendo said. “We had a lot of changes in the Title IX arena in the past decade. We have a task force on sexual violence and sexual harassment […] and we have done a lot of communicating with our students staff and faculty.”
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taught me Chilean slang,” Belloso said. “Chilean Spanish is full of slang and words that aren’t used anywhere else, so this course was useful to understand that. I’ll be in Santiago until December 7, when the semester ends.” Belloso urged anyone with the willingness and the means and capacity to study abroad to do so, because it will give them a nuanced understanding of their surroundings.
“If you can, study abroad,” Belloso said. “It’s nice to get out of Davis [...] and see how much more is out there. You get to meet new people from around the world. You really gain a lot of perspective on your daily life – I think you appreciate what’s around you more.” For more information about studying abroad, visit the UC Davis Study Abroad website or visit the International Center located on campus.
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It’s hard for me to say that but we don’t lose often here [at home]. Unfortunately, it happened but in soccer to continue to win all the time is really difficult so I’m happy with my team and we move on.” On the defensive side of the ball, Lapsley showed why he is the starting goalkeeper for the Aggies with nine saves on the day. Lapsley was previously named Big West defensive player of the week back in August, and Shaffer explains that it is hard work that helps him shine in the net. “Wallis is a great goalkeeper,” Shaffer said. “He works his tail off and is one of those kids that we almost have to tell him to stop working and he’s put in all the hard work to become such a great goalkeeper.”
UC Davis continues their season play with one more preseason game against Sacramento State on Sept. 29 at 4 p.m. With six of the teams first nine games of the new season on the road, Shaffer is glad his team gets to rest before their next matchup. “The first thing I will take out of it [the game] is that we need to rest,” Shaffer said. “The guys need a couple days off. [Some of ] those guys have basically played every minute of nine straight games, six of them on the road. I feel like today sort of caught us a little bit so that tells me that my guys are just a little fatigued and that’s my responsibility now to get them ready to go because that’s a big part of moving forward.”
which is something I look forward to changing.” With a bright outlook on his new position, Sedgley said he is excited to work in a “healthier
work environment” with “a more consistent schedule, more applicable goals and a great opportunity to make big changes to the campus.”
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Lavaroni, who is both the assistant director to Lisa Quoresimo and workshopped “Brisé,” empathizes with the struggle faced by the two sisters — that is, the struggle of growing up, oscillating between adulthood and childhood and reconciling with your past. “It’s a strange piece of theatre unlike anything I’ve ever encountered,” Lavaroni said. “I think it was a really cool challenge that I wanted to dive into.” “Summertime,” with its subtle sci-fi feel, is just out of touch enough with reality to captivate the audience. The play engages the idea of a global catastrophe and the consequences it has on a regular family. This fast-paced unusual family dramedy is sure to take the audience on a journey as some members of the family rise to the challenge of dealing with the crisis. “In a way, I identify with all of them, but I also
THE
don’t identify with any of them,” Director Tom Burmester said of the characters. “They are a middle class American family, but they are each so deeply neurotic in their own way.” The festival itself, both on stage and in practice, has an overarching theme of sustainability. Throughout the festival, all of the artists have focused on using less paper and more technology, only recycled paper when it’s needed, and implementing other environmentally friendly practices. The theme of sustainability is only enhanced by the back and forth of history and future in the plays. To see “Daisy Violet the Bitch Beast King,” “Summertime” and the devised works, visit www. groundandfield.com. All shows are free of charge, but reservations are encouraged. The shows will run Oct. 4 to 6 at the Della Davidson Dance Studio and Wyatt Theatre.
GRACE ALIVE PRESENTS:
BIG BA NG Stephen Hawking
God and
Dr. Henry F. Schaefer III
CONFRONTING QUESTIONS OF COSMOLOGY
Dr. Schaefer, Director of the Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry at the University of Georgia, is one of the world’s most highly regarded chemists.
Wednesday, October 3 | 7:30pm Rock Hall, UC Davis All are invited to this free, public event hosted by Grace Alive. For more information, visit www.gracealive.net.
12 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018
THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE
VOLLEYBALL
FOOTBALL
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“We’re trying to be really good leaders this year, and a lot of that focus is going into allowing that space for other people to step up too,” Merlino said. “We’re trying to bring the team together so even after we leave, they have a really good foundation, so some of the juniors and sophomores can really step into that leadership role for next year.” Junior outside hitter Lauren Matias moved from her usual position on the left side of the court to the right side over the off-season, and is starting to get more comfortable in her new role. “It’s definitely hard to gain confidence, but Maddie and I have gotten our tempo really good, and it’s been challenging in the beginning,” Matias said. “We finally got a connection today, so it was good to see and I feel like onward it’s going to be great.” Matias has racked up 139 kills so far, and holds the team’s second spot in kills. Freshman middle blocker Josie Ough, who is now the tallest player in the program’s history at 6 feet 6 inches, made her debut against UVU, as did freshman setter Jane Seslar. Other freshmen who made their debuts were libero Rose Holscher, redshirt freshman opposite Leonie Strehl and redshirt freshman outside hitter Chelsea Maeglin. After the Aggie Invitational, women’s volleyball had nine consecutive road matches. The Rose City Classic in Oregon, then a quick trip over the Causeway to beat Sacramento State. After that, the Aggies competed in the Santa Clara Invitation, which brought them to the Wildcat Classic in Arizona. All in all, the Aggies finished 8-4 in
non-conference play. UC Davis started Big West Conference play with a tough opponent in No. 15 Cal Poly at Cal Poly. The Mustangs swept the Aggies in straight sets, putting them at 8-5. UC Davis played at home on Friday for the first time since the Aggie Invitational, hosting the University of Hawai’i. The Rainbow Wahine, now 5-5, won without dropping a set to the Aggies, who now fall to 8-6 with a second straight conference loss. Hawai’i outhit UC Davis, .289 to .202 and collected 51 kills to UC Davis’ 39 kills. Before the match started, sophomore outside hitter Mahalia White was honored as she continues her battle with cancer. Members of Keatons Child Cancer Alliance and UC Davis physicians who are helping White recover were also in attendance. White is currently recovering and will not play the 2018-19 season. White led the team in kills as a freshman last year. Matias lead UC Davis with 11 kills and hit an average of .321. Natasha Burns lead Hawai’i with 13 kills and hit an average of .455. The Aggie defense was overwhelmed by the Rainbow Wahine attack while the Aggie attack didn’t do enough to win at the key moments. “The reason it hurts is because we left points out there,” Conners said. “We were undisciplined on defense.” Going into the match, Conners thought the team was prepared and noted the situations they prepped for in practice. “A lot of balls fell in the middle of the court that we talked about, that we planned for,” Con-
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ners said. “The offspeed shots, the tips, the rolls A pair of late touchdowns by Idaho in the fourth quarter weren’t - we knew they were coming and we still didn’t enough to ruin the spirits in the Aggie locker room. The team will enter get them.” its by-week after four solid performances to start the year and feels that Apart from the lead the Aggies took at the end it has a lot to look forward to as its slate of conference games progresses. of the third set, the very first point of the match “I feel like the sky’s the limit and we haven’t played up to our potential and the first point of the third set, the Rainbow yet,” Gilliam said. “We can be number one in the conference soon and Wahine held the lead throughout the match. we have a lot of good things going for us right now.” UC Davis was able to gain some momentum The team will return to action on Oct. 6 with a road game at Northwhen they caught up late in the third set, 19-19, ern Colorado. after a Strehl kill put the Aggies up 22-20. This set up a close battle for the set, and Matias gave UC Davis its closest opportunity to win a set with a kill, 24-23. Hawai’i proceeded to win three straight points and close out the match, 26-24. “I think the difference is that we got tight in those moments and they played loose,” Conners said. “We have to stay loose and play loose in those moments.” For Conners, defense was the biggest factor in the loss. “We let them hit at a percentage we should never let them hit,” Conners said. Join some us at the Quad on Friday, September 28 for Sunset Fest, a As for the freshman class, Conners sees concert bright spots in Strehl and Ough, but believes thereto welcome new and returning UC Davis students with live music and dance performances—right on campus! is room for improvement. Conners maintains that playing good defense For more information, visit bit.ly/SunsetFest2018 is key for the team to be successful for their upcoming matches. UC Davis will soon start a four game road trip, facing UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State. The next UC Davis home game will be Oct. 11 against UC Irvine.
PERFORMANCES | FREE GIVEAWAYS
SUNSET FEST WITH BAAUER Join us at the Quad on Friday, September 28 for Sunset Fest, a concert to welcome new and returning UC Davis students with live music and dance performances—right on campus! For more information, visit bit.ly/SunsetFest2018
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018 | 13
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UC DAVIS ATHLETICS / COURTESY
WAYNE TILCOCK / ATHLETICS
UC Davis volleyball season recap and preview
Aggies streak into bye week with blowout win
Volleyball starts solid, shaky in conference play losing two straight
UC Davis football firing on all cylinders in Big West opener
BY BOBBY JOHN sports@theaggie.org
In his fifth year as head coach of the UC Davis volleyball program, Dan Conners is optimistic about a season which features a solid and experienced roster. At the same time, he is cautious of going into matchup with low or high expectations. That’s not to say Conners doesn’t run a tight ship; for him and the team, competition is serious, but it’s also fun. “I don’t know that I’m going into any weekend with any expectations,” Conners said of the women’s performance in the Aggie Invitational that ran from August 24 to 26. “Just trying to get us to play the best we can in each moment.” Utah Valley University, Northern Arizona University, Holy Cross and the University of Nevada, Reno all competed in the Aggie Invitational. “One strength of this team is our senior leadership,” Conners said. “They have a strong sense of purpose, direction and what they want to get accomplished this season.” Conners’s principles shine through when talking to his team. “We have a saying: Fun with a serious purpose,” senior outside hitter, Emily Allen said after the team’s final Aggie Invitational matchup against NAU –– which the Aggies lost 3-1. “We don’t want to put too much pressure on it, but at the same time, we want to get after it.” Before the NAU match, UC Davis hadn’t dropped a set to UVU, Holy Cross and UNR. Allen gathered 61 kills through the Aggie Invitational. And through the 14 matches the
Aggies have played, Allen now leads the team in kills with 203. “We want to really enjoy it, and enjoying it comes with winning and playing well as a team,” Allen said. For senior setter Maddie Merlino, her final season is about helping set the team in the right direction after she leaves UC Davis. “For me, it’s about making connections with the girls,” Merlino said. “We want to be leaders creating leaders, so as team captains we want to make the next generation better leaders than we were.” Throughout her volleyball career at UC Davis, Merlino feels the team has become closer and developed chemistry with one another. This chemistry translates into smooth play on the court. “We’ve slowly gotten closer and closer as we’ve been playing together,” Merlino said. “We just know what each other will do, we know each other’s tendencies, it’s really nice to just get into our flow. I know exactly what [Emily] is going to do, she knows exactly what I’m going to do. Being seniors and having this big class is nice because we all play.” “We have really good on-court connection,” Allen said. “As well as a good off-court connection,” Merlino added. Because the team will be graduating a good chunk of key players this coming spring, Merlino feels responsible for imparting the leadership skills and tools to the younger part of the team so that they can eventually take over that role. VOLLEYBALL on 12 GETTY IMAGES
Aggies fall short, end undefeated reign UC Davis men’s soccer loses to Saint Mary’s College, 1-0 BY RYAN BUGSCH sports@theaggie.org
It was the battle of undefeated teams on freshman move in weekend in Davis, CA as the UC Davis Aggies took on Saint Mary’s College of California in their second to last non-conference game of the 2018-19 school year. Saint Mary’s came into the game sporting an impressive 8-0 record, ranked No.17 by United Soccer Coaches and No. 27 by College Soccer News. The Aggies came into the game with a undefeated 6-0 record and were ranked the No. 13 team in the nation according to the United Soccer Coaches regional poll and No. 24 by College Soccer News. This was the first time UC Davis had been ranked by United Soccer Coaches in 10 years. “I feel like we have been able to develop players in our program that are coming into the team,” Head Coach Dwayne Shaffer said regarding the team’s success. “I was able to redshirt a great group of men in the last couple years so we are more experienced and I think that has been a big part of it.” The start of the game was a battle of possession with each team pinging the ball around the field whenever they had the chance. It wasn’t until the 16th minute in the first half that the Aggies capitalized on a missed play from Saint Mary’s when junior left midfielder Adam Mickelson received on open pass down the line, shaking the defend-
er and taking a curved shot to the post saved by Saint Mary’s diving goalkeeper. Soon after, in the 20th minute, the Aggie’s junior goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley scooped a save on a low shot near the post. UC Davis was able to deliver two more shots in the remaining half, with Saint Mary’s taking seven more. Neither team was able to convert the opportunities however, and the first half ended in a 0-0 draw. In the second half, Saint Marys brought speed and aggression to the game not seen in the first half, seeming to throw a tired UC Davis off of its game. The Aggies had two shots taken on them in the first 30 seconds of play and six more in the first 15 minutes. In the 55th minute of the second half, a free kick by Saint Marys curved back post, and a header proved dangerous for the Aggies, giving Saint Marys the 1-0 lead. Soon after, in the 60th minute, a through ball from Saint Marys down the center of the field looked to be the end of the game for UC Davis, luckily hitting the left post before bouncing back to Lapsley. The Aggies fought relentlessly throughout the remainder of the second half looking to tie the game but couldn’t find the net, ending the game with a 1-0 loss. “I don’t think anything went wrong,” Shaffer said. “I think we just ran into a really good team. They are a really good team and they deserve to win the game today at our place. SOCCER on 12
BY BRENDAN OGBURN sports@theaggie.org
The UC Davis football team cruised to its third win of the season on Saturday evening at Aggie Stadium, pounding visiting Idaho by a final score of 44-21. Even after a 20-point loss to Pac-12 power Stanford last weekend, the Aggies felt they battled hard and carried a lot of positive momentum into this week’s affair. They believed it was vital to begin Big Sky play with a win and protect their home field. “We just try to keep getting better and improve,” said UC Davis Head Coach Dan Hawkins. “Our guys are in a really good place where they’re happy to compete and win, but always thinking they can play better. That’s a really blissful place to be as a football player and a coach.” UC Davis built up a 44-7 lead after three quarters and thoroughly outplayed their competition in all three facets of the game. The offense led the way with 512 total yards, including a season-high 256 yards on the ground. The team’s ability to establish the run proved critical in opening up passes and lanes and allowing other teammates on the offense to prosper. “We can be pretty unstoppable,” said sophomore running back Tehran Thomas. “There’s just too many things to worry about and guys that can make plays. When we’re able to run the ball like this, it opens up so many opportunities for others.” The running back tandem of Thomas and redshirt freshman Ulonzo Gilliam combined to rush for 203 yards while averaging over 6.5 yards per carry. Both backs present slightly different running styles to the attack which complemented each other nicely on the night. “I think that since I’m a bigger back, I bring more of a downhill force,” Thomas said. “Ulonzo is really shifty and he makes a lot of guys miss in one-on-one opportunities. I think we all have unique skill sets that we’re able to bring to the table, that make us so diverse and hard to stop.” Through the air, junior quarterback Jake Maier was extremely efficient overall and very precise on long throws down the field, completing seven passes of 15 yards or more. Sophomore wide receiver Jared Harrell led the receiving corps with four receptions for 66 yards. The special teams unit also made a huge impact in Saturday’s victory, scoring a touchdown on a blocked punt and converting on all three field goal attempts. Early in the second quarter, sophomore linebacker Connor Airey reached his arm out and blocked an Idaho punt at the goal line, which was scooped up by senior Namane Modise to give the Aggies a 21-0 advantage at the time. Defensively, UC Davis completely dictated the flow of the Idaho offense, which was held scoreless up until the final two minutes of the first half. They came up with two turnovers inside their own five-yard line to deny the Vandals of points, including a forced fumble by sophomore linebacker Khanii Lesane at the three-yard line and an interception by senior linebacker Mason Moe at the one-yard line. Overall, the defense forced five three-and-outs and hardly seemed to be on the field in the middle of the game.
“I think it’s a credit to the coaches getting us in the right spot and to us for being here all summer gelling and meshing with the guys,” said senior cornerback Isaiah Olave, who led the team with nine tackles. “I think we’re a lot deeper and faster on the field this year. “We have about 25 guys that could start on defense,” Olave said. “Having that mindset out on the field helps a lot and the confidence that you can play with anyone out there.” In addition to the usual playmakers on offense, sophomore wide receiver Darius Livingston recorded his first career touchdown catch on a 16-yard grab late in the third quarter. This was a huge moment for Livingston, a player who has fought through a lot of adversity and overcome many obstacles to get where he is today. After making the roster two years ago as a walk-on and sitting out a season as a redshirt, he tore his ACL and was forced to miss all of last season. His performance on Saturday evening was a big milestone for how far he’s come in a difficult journey. “This spring, I showed what I can do and now all this hard work is paying off,” Livingston said. “No matter what you go through, you’ve got to keep your head up.” The Aggies received the opening kickoff and promptly marched 75 yards down the field in just over three minutes to take an early 7-0 lead. Harrell and fellow sophomore wide receiver Khris Vaughn both made long receptions to keep the chains moving, before senior wide receiver Keelan Doss streaked open down the seam for an easy 20-yard touchdown catch, his first of the season. The UC Davis offense started to assert its dominance up front and establish the run on its third possession of the game. The team leaned on Thomas, who carried the ball six times for 30 yards on the drive and capped things off with a four-yard score in the final minute of the opening quarter. After the blocked punt, the Aggies managed to tack on six more points before halftime on a pair of field goals by junior kicker Max O’Rourke. UC Davis slammed the door shut in the third quarter with 17 unanswered points, paving the way for a stress-free fourth quarter that allowed some younger backup players to see the field. “It’s fun when you can play a lot of guys,” Hawkins said. “We want to get a lot of people in the game, let them contribute, and reward them for working hard.” Idaho came out of the locker room and looked to get back into the game with a commanding 10-play drive, but the UC Davis defense came through with another big play to turn away the visitors deep in the red zone. Sophomore defensive back Isaiah Thomas tipped a pass over the middle and Moe picked it off at the one-yard line, before returning it 24 yards the other way. Soon after, UC Davis settled for another field goal from 35 yards out to push their lead to 30-7 midway through the third quarter. After another three-and-out on defense, the Aggies found the end zone on the very next play as Gilliam showed off his versatility in the backfield and took a quick dump-off 34 yards for a touchdown. FOOTBALL on 12
14 | THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018
THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE