April 4, 2019

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VOLUME 137, ISSUE 21 | THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019

ACCUSATIONS OF HAZING, ASSAULT, GENERAL MISCONDUCT

WITHIN CAL AGGIE MARCHING BAND-UH! COME TO LIGHT

STEPS TOWARD JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS ARE BEING TAKEN, STARTING WITH SUSPENSION OF BAND ALUMNI

BY CL A I RE D O D D campus@theaggie.org Several accounts of hazing, assault and a generally “toxic” culture within UC Davis’ California Aggie Marching Band (Band-uh!) have recently surfaced. Current and ex-members of the band have come forward to The California Aggie, asking that their stories be told, in hopes that the student body will become aware of an allegedly darker side to the organization.

These reported incidents are thought to date back decades, reflecting miscalculated efforts by leaders within the band to keep “tradition” alive. Others feel that these perpetual injustices must be stopped and that the student body has a right to know what exactly is happening inside their marching band.

In 2008, a complaint was filed against Band-uh! by the then-director Tom Slabaugh based on sexualized comments, inappropriate behavior and an overall hostile work environment. Slabaugh, who spoke to The Aggie in an interview, declined to address the 2008 situation because he felt it had been resolved. However, the complaints that have arisen since then indicate otherwise.

Joel Gutierrez, a third-year American studies and gender, sexuality and women’s studies double major, immediately summed the band’s culture up with two specific terms: hypersexual and cult-like.

Gutierrez, more than willing to open up about their experience, painted a picture of the band’s social structures that provide a base for the so-

called toxic environment. Most members join as freshmen, they explained, which effectively “traps” them into staying in band.

“People come in right away, and they’re like, ‘These are my friends,’ and then they don’t make any other friends,” Gutierrez said. “No one ever realizes, ‘Wow, this place is awful, these people are kind of gross, this environment is toxic’ because if you leave, you won’t have any friends.”

Anyone who is new to the band, they continued, is considered inferior and in need of

proper initiation.

The initiation process can last for the majority of the school year, taking shape in a variety of odd activities. For example, in 2017, all veteran band members continually referred to an upcoming “marching test” for new members throughout the year, emphasizing its importance.

New members were asked to dress in full uniform, complete with their new hats, and report to the arboretum. Earlier in the year, senior members specifically instructed the new members to keep their hats in

perfect condition no matter what.

Instead of marching, the hats were taken from new members, rubbed in the dirt and dunked in Putah Creek.

They were asked to wear them the remainder of the day.

Gutierrez said that although this incident may sound insignificant, it actually marked a pivotal moment when they realized the band may not be as wholesome as it seemed. They recall feeling humiliated and deceived by the people who were supposedly their close friends.

JAY GALVE ZO N / AGGIE FILE

CONSTRUCTION OF UC DAVIS RECREATION POOL ON SCHEDULE

UPTE-CWA 9119 STRIKES; AFSCME 3299 ALSO STRIKES IN SOLIDARITY

REC POOL TO BE REPLACED BY TWO NEW POOLS THAT MAY NOT SUIT THE NEEDS OF CERTAIN AQUATIC CLUB TEAMS

University Professional and Technical Employees, a Communication Workers of America affiliate which represents over 13,000 University of California professional and technical employees, went on strike on March 20 across the UC System. Their mission was to return to the bargaining table with the UC administration. UPTE-CWA 9119 was joined by AFSCME 3299, another union that represents UC workers.

The goals of the strike, according to the Vice President for UPTE in Davis, Lucy Joseph, were multifold. “[We want] jobs that are good career jobs that people can raise a family on and be able to pay their rent, we want to stop outsourcing and the use of temporary workers, we want decent wages,” Joseph said.

Joseph wanted to stress to the students of UC Davis and of the UC system that while students aim to have jobs in STEM fields, the UPTE workers protesting have jobs in those same fields. She em-

M I CH AEL LEAH Y / AGGIE

phasized that “many of us have to work more than one job to make ends meet.”

Mike Schuhbauer, a staff research associate in the mouse biology program, explained why he was striking and how the current contracts from the UC have affected various workers.

He stated that the administrators had been negligent to the fact that the contracts they are offering are insufficient to meet the demands of the workers, while they give themselves five to six figure raises.

“They are telling us that they do not have the money to maintain our contracts, the reason we are here is really to protect our livelihood and protect our chance of a future,” Schuhbauer said.

Schuhbauer continued to explain the struggles that he and many of his coworkers have faced due to the financial strains their current contracts have put them under.

“A lot of members I’ve talked to — rent is a struggle for them,” Schuhbauer said. “I don’t even live in Davis. I commute an hour each way. Many of my coworkers live in Vacaville, Dixon or Sacramento.”

Schuhbauer continued,

the bondings.

They described the pressure put on new members to attend these gatherings and how new members’ uneasiness was quickly dismissed as insignificant. The bondings, they said, were incredibly sexual in nature, reflecting the band’s general culture.

At one specific bonding, new male members were blindfolded and taken to an outdoor area, dimly lit by candles. They were handed hand-carved penis candles and were instructed to describe what the candles felt like. They were all subsequently asked to describe their own genitals as well.

On the other hand there are mavericks — also known as “mavs,” that are thrown several times throughout the year.

These band-wide parties include drinking games, jugs of mysterious mixed drinks and lewd songs accompanied with inappropriate gestures.

These songs, many contained in a document called the “Hymnal,” further promote a rape culture within the band, Gutierrez noted.

“If you look deeply into it, some of these are really, really bad,” Gutierrez explained.

“Talking about rape in really not a way that you should be talking about rape, making light of it, especially in mind with the fact that sexual assault is constantly happening in the band, it’s pretty revealing. I think honestly the sexual environment of the band probably encourages sexual assault, too, because everyone’s like, ‘Well, we’re all horny and having sex

BAND-UH on 11

WORKERS ACROSS THE UC STRIKE AGAIN, INCLUDING AT UC DAVIS

BY AL EX I S LOPE Z- P E REZ campus@theaggie.org

Additionally, there are two types of parties that take place within the band’s social sphere: bondings and “mavericks.”

Bondings are smaller, more intimate gatherings that take place within specific sections of the band. Gutierrez was a part of the clarinet section, and they noted that their bondings were less intense than those of other sections.

“I don’t want to say it was necessarily intended to humiliate you, but sometimes it really did feel like that,” Gutierrez said in regards to the various activities that took place during

stating that universities and parts of the government have grown complicit in allowing workers to struggle with everyday expenses. He cited the example of a friend of his who has to sleep in her car when she travels to visit family. He explained that the government has made sleeping in cars at parking lots or community colleges legal without any fines because it is such a common occurrence.

“Does the UC expect people to camp out on their campuses to work here?” Schuhbauer asked.

Schuhbauer argued that to keep the idea of a public job open, employees should have a solid career and not be forced to work contract to contract.

“It’s hard to live like that — none of us can make plans for the future,” Schuhbauer said.

“If they are under-contracting us, underpaying us, it’s hard to build a family, it’s hard to build off the education that you got here or anywhere in the state.

I’ve been working here almost 10 years now and I have stayed stagnant. I am 33 and I am in the same position I was when I was 22.”

UPTE on 11

BY SAB RINA H AB CH I campus@theaggie.org The UC Davis Recreation Pool (Rec Pool) has been under construction since Spring 2018. The original pool will be replaced by two new pools, according to the Project Manager Michele Leong. The construction is on schedule to be completed in the middle of May. “It’s two pools instead of one,” Leong said. “One is an activity pool with a dive board.

The other pool is a lap pool, and the lap pool is available for all-year-round use versus the old pool [which] was seasonal.”

New features of the renovation that UC Davis students will be able to enjoy include new bathroom fixtures, new showers, new locker rooms, shade canopies and a new sand volleyball court. The Associate Director for Campus Recreation, Jeff Heiser, also mentioned that the changing room and restrooms will be gender inclusive.

“Students can enjoy a variety of programming space[s] including: grassy space with anticipated outdoor yoga and

Cheese March Madness

QU IN N SPOON ER / AGG IE

other group wellness classes taught through LiveWell, additional lounging areas for studying, relaxing and socializing, indoor and outdoor showers, heated locker rooms and additional day lockers,” Heiser said via email.

This new aquatic center will be open for community access beginning the summer of 2019, according to the UC Davis Campus Recreation and Union’s website. The website lists reasons for the renovation, including that “Sport Clubs, Intramural Sports, Fitness and Wellness, Aquatics, Youth Programs and Informal Recreation are often competing for space and time at other campus pools.”

Women’s Club Water Polo President Carmen Steinmeier emphasized difficulties with finding the space and time for the team to practice when the only other two pools on campus are the Schaal Aquatic Center and Hickey Pool.

The Schaal Aquatic Center is run by the ICA, making it difficult for club water polo teams and other aquatic club sports to get practice time, according to Steinmeier. The women’s club water polo team currently practices at Schaal

because Hickey Pool is not large enough for the team to play.

“The only time slot available [at Schaal] is 8 to 10 p.m. which isn’t really what we want to do,” Steinmeier said. “We even tried asking for 7 to 9 p.m. and they wouldn’t even give us that. There’s no contract between club and ICA, so we’re not even guaranteed the 8 to 10 spot.”

During Fall Quarter, however, women’s club water polo will be forced to use Hickey Pool because the men’s season is in the fall, and they will receive the 8 to 10 p.m. time slot.

“We can’t really play [at Hickey],” Steinmeier said. “We kind of just have to do circuit type things so we can fit girls into certain places, which isn’t really what we want to do.”

Although the new athletic recreation pool was intended to alleviate competition between Campus Recreation programs, the dimensions of the new pool are still not regulation size for water polo, according to Steinmeier.

“Last year, they had meetings with the board members

REC POOL on 11

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2 | THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

CA IT LY N SA MPL EY / AG GIE

ZAC H A RY L AC SO N / AGGI E

Protest in favor of dismissing Professor Joshua Clover held

Chancellor Gary May says that there will be no further university investigation into Clover’s conduct

BY DE A N A M E D I N A campus@theaggie.org In an attempt to demonstrate their belief that professor of English and comparative literature Joshua Clover should be fired over his anti-police comments, the Davis College Republicans (DCR) held a rally outside the Memorial Union with the help of ASUCD Senator Mohammad Qayum and former ASUCD President Michael Gofman on Mar. 15.

“The goal of the rally was to demonstrate to campus administration that the student body was not going to stand idly by while a murder advocate is protected by the university,” DCR Chair Ryan Gardiner said. “Advocating for violence against any group of people is unacceptable.”

Qayum started the rally with a brief statement, saying that both his presence there and the rally itself were things he wished he “didn’t need to do.” Much of the focus was on what constitutes free speech. Qayum stated Clover’s comments do not fall under this category and are instead “hate speech.” The crowd applauded, appreciative of Qayum’s determination to make something happen. “If there’s a will, there’s a way,” Qayum said.

Gofman discussed the death of officer Natalie Corona in comparison to the Clover controversy, stating both situations were a matter of “right and wrong.” For Gofman, what was inherently wrong about Clover’s comments was the lack of critique.

“It was very simple,” Gofman said. “It was calling for the murder of the people that protect. It was calling for the murder of people.”

James Gallagher (AD-3), an alumnus of UC Davis and a California State Assemblymember, was the last speaker at the rally. Gallagher advocated for a civil

dialogue and discourse in which everyone could “reach an understanding of each other.” While also introducing a resolution into California Legislature, Gallagher demanded “UC Davis administration ‘do what they think is right and make sure this rhetoric is not going to be taken anymore.’”

Gallagher’s resolution, HR-22, is a direct response to the UC Davis administration’s actions regarding Clover’s statements. The resolution states “that the Assembly urges University of California, Davis Chancellor Gary S. May, University of California President Janet Napolitano, and the Regents of the University of California to remove Professor Joshua Clover from the classroom and terminate his employment at the University.”

The resolution has not been approved by the California State Assembly at the time of publication.

Chancellor Gary May updated his statement that had previously not been changed since Mar. 4 and released a letter in response to Gallagher’s resolution.

In his statement, May said he consulted his team to see if Clover’s comments were “subject to review under the University of California’s Faculty Code of Conduct (APM 015)” which describes both a formal and informal investigation into faculty misconduct. May came to the conclusion that the “university will not proceed with review or investigation of concerns regarding Professor Clover’s public statements” due to a possible reduction in federal funding for not protecting Clover’s right to free speech. This comes on the heels of President Donald J. Trump’s recent executive order that requires universities protect free speech on campuses.

On behalf of Chief Campus Counsel Michael Sweeney, Melissa Lutz Blouin CLOVER CONTROVERSY on 11

Professor Anita Oberbauer wins prestigious university prize Oberbauer will receive $50,000 with her award

Members of Senate call for Senator Zapardiel’s resignation at Mar. 14 Senate meeting Zapardiel accused of threatening Senator Maraiyesa in a Facebook group chat

BY ALLY RU SS E LL campus@theaggie.org The Mar. 14 Senate meeting was called to order at 6:16 p.m. in the Mee Room of the Memorial Union.

The meeting began with an amendment to the agenda so the Senate could swear in Senator Sahiba Kaur. Senators Noah Pearl, Victoria Choi and Internal Affairs Commission Chair Jacob Ganz were absent.

After electing Senator Andre Spinoglio as pro-tempore, the meeting moved into confirmation of the new Academic Affairs Commission (AAC) chair, Naomi Reeley, a fourth-year political science and human development double major. Reeley was confirmed without objection.

The Ethnic and Cultural Affairs Commission ECAC Chair Rina Singh gave their quarterly report.

Singh criticized senators’ past actions and failure to show up for communities of color and called out Senator Ricky Zapardiel specifically after he commended the commission’s work in the past quarter and identified himself as an ally.

“You’ve come to ECAC’s meetings and I thank you for that, but I need to be clear about how I feel and how students of color feel,” Singh said. “I don’t think you respect the work that ECAC does or the work that any commission or person of color at the table has done. Being an ally comes from actions. Allyship is a verb, not just a noun. Allyship means showing up and being there.”

Singh referenced Zapardiel’s past action; posting of a laughing reaction on Facebook to an event created to provide space for students to mourn the loss of Stephon Clark and renounce the recent decision not to prosecute the Sacramento police officer who killed him.

Later in public discussion, the issue of Zapardiel’s actions were brought up again. External Affairs Commision Chair Nayzak Wali-Ali called for Zapardiel’s resignation.

“You said we need to hold people on this table to a certain standard and I’m holding you to that standard,” Wali-Ali said.

Singh and Gender and Sexuality Commission Chair Joelle Judeh stood in solidarity with Wali-Ali. Judeh also called for Zapardiel’s resignation.

Zapardiel maintained that the laughing reaction was a mistake. Former ASUCD President Michael Gofman also posted a laughing reaction to the same event. Gofman has not indicated that the reaction was a mistake.

“It’s because of my actions previously that you’re going to dismiss everything I said as a lie,” Zapardiel said. “When my peer showed me what I had done I changed it. I was shocked. I already knew what was going to happen. I knew people were going to call me a racist. I’m not going to sit there and laugh at an event that lets people express themselves. I’m upset that you all fail to believe me. I’m not racist.”

Wali-Ali addressed inconsistencies between Zapardiel’s rhetoric in claiming he wants to be an ally and his inaction.

“I think you need to reevaluate how you’ve been

acting as a senator,” Wali-Ali said.

Singh brought up Facebook group messages between Zapardiel and Senator Jumoke Maraiyesa about his action posting a laughing reaction. In response to asking whether Maraiyesa had informed “her constituents,” meaning people of color, about the action being a mistake, Zapardiel’s message appeared to threaten them.

The Facebook message from Zapardiel read, “Be wary of who you trust and what you say to certain people because it comes around sooner or later.”

In light of certain members of the ECAC receiving death threats for their online response to the passing of Davis Police Officer Natalie Corona, Singh perceived the Facebook message from Zapardiel as a threat. Wali-Ali and Senator Shondreya Landrum agreed that this text was perceived as threatening.

Many spoke in solidarity with Wali-Ali, including Senators Maya Barak, Sean Kumar, Spinoglio and Landrum. Commission chairs also included were Environmental Policy and Planning Chair Alice Beittel, Judeh and Singh. President Justin Hurst spoke in solidarity as well.

“That’s taking what I said completely out of context,” Zapardiel said. “Thank you all for holding me accountable and bringing me into this space to tell me the way I’m doing things aren’t right. I want to acknowledge that and I hear that, and I need to reconsider how I’m acting if this is how people see me.”

Members who ran on the same slate as Zapardiel also spoke out against his actions and words.

“I felt ashamed to be on a slate that was associated with that,” Spinoglio said.

After being prompted by Wali-Ali, Zapardiel finally addressed his threatening comments to Maraiyesa.

“What I said to Jumoke in the group chat was wrong and I should have reworded it in a way that was not threatening,” Zapardiel said. “I didn’t mean to threaten her.”

The senate then brought up old legislation and saw bills #63, #65, #68, #69, #70 and #72. All bills passed without objections.

SB #63 would give senators and ex-officio members two deferments during public discussion.

SB #65 would establish an ASUCD newsletter for senators to keep them informed about campus events and outreach hours.

SB #68 would clarify ASUCD campaign regulations. Candidates may not campaign in residence halls or libraries, but can campaign in the Coffee House.

SB #69 would extend the term limit for interim appointments from one month to cover the remainder of the term the are filling.

SB #70 would create two new student positions for the ASUCD Library Committee.

SB #72 was already passed but changed the amount allocated to purchase a stage from $27,340 to $30,000 to account for state taxes.

The Senate then moved to introduction of new legislation. SB X was introduced. The bill would establish a herbicide free committee on UC Davis’ campus to push UC Davis toward being a fully herbicide free campus. Authored by Beittel, this bill passed without objections.

KA R I N H I G G I N S / CO URTESY

BY R EBE CC A B IHN-WA L L AC E campus@theaggie.org Dr. Anita Oberbauer, an animal science professor at UC Davis, recently received the UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement.

Oberbauer joined the UC Davis faculty in 1989 and is especially commended for her research on companion and captive animals such as dogs, cats, fish, reptiles and birds.

On the afternoon of Mar. 4, Chancellor May and several other administrators delivered the prize to Oberbauer while she was teaching a class in Introductory Companion Animal Biology. The prize amount is $50,000, thanks to the philanthropic efforts at UC Davis.

Oberbauer graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology in 1980, a degree which she obtained with highest honors. She later pursued a Ph.D. in Animal Science from Cornell University. She completed postdoctoral fellowships at Loma Linda University and UCLA before joining the UC Davis faculty.

According to Chancellor May, glowing student evaluations played a role in selecting Oberbauer. “[They] are a large part of determining the winner of this prize,” May said to UC Davis Dateline. “We didn’t have to crunch the numbers too long to see that students truly love her classes.”

Oberbauer reflected on all of the people who helped her receive this award.

“In short, I can say that I am thrilled,

deeply honored, and humbled to be recognized with this amazing award,” Oberbauer said via email. “I am indebted to the instructors who taught me, the students who constantly inspire me to grow in how I teach, and my colleagues who support and value teaching.”

“I am fortunate to be a faculty member here at UC Davis which recognizes and appreciates that teaching can really come alive when it blends with our scholarly activities,” she said. “And even though teaching makes me a better scientist and communicator, seeing students engage and learn, well there just isn’t anything better than that.”

To receive this award, someone had to nominate Oberbauer. That person was Helene Dillard, the Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

“Prior to Professor Oberbauer’s hiring, the ANS major curriculum had little emphasis on the biology of companion animals,” Dillard said in her nomination, according to UC Davis Dateline. “However, the student population increasingly expressed keen interest in courses and career paths associated with companion animals.”

May commented on the specific qualities that Oberbauer brings to UC Davis that made her deserving of this honor.

“I am pleased to commend Anita Oberbauer for the passion, mentorship and expertise she has brought to our teaching and research mission in her 30 years at UC Davis,” May said via email. “I can think of no one more deserving of the UC Davis Prize for Undergraduate Teaching and Scholarly Achievement.”

How dare someone have a flashlight March 24 “Reporting party’s arm scratched by roommate during 415 over cardboard boxes that were left in common area.”

“Loud thumping music.”

March 25 “Male subject yelling at customers and is running up to their vehicles as they arrive.”

“Male subject soliciting in the area without identification. Reporting party concerned because subject is soliciting in the rain without rain gear and thinks it’s a possible scam. Request an area check.”

“For advice referencing neighbor leaving her 11-year-old son home alone and he’s cooking unsupervised.”

March 26 “Male subject standing in front of the res-

idence with a large knife. Subject is not being violent, but passerby appear scared. Subject is also looking into vehicles in the area. Request officer check on him.”

“Reporting party’s house egged twice within the past 10 minutes.”

March 27 “Flagged down referencing someone on a bike on 14th St that was seen vomiting.”

“Subject with flashlight.”

“5 people followed reporting party — reporting party unable to provide description of people following him. Advised he does not know who they are or why they are following him.”

March 28 “Male passed out behind wheel. Head down. Horn sounding.”

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019 | 3

C AITLY N SA M P L E Y / AGGI E

City explores possibility of piloting homeless respite center Mayor’s staff developing proposal, options to provide basic amenities for Davis homeless A L LYSON KO / AG GIE

BY ANNE FE Y city@theaggie.org

#Health4All battle is on Advocates urge legislators to support California Senate Bill 29

BY ST E L L A T RA N city@theaggie.org On March 20, hundreds of advocates from the Health4All Coalition urged legislators to support California Senate Bill 29, which would enable access to healthcare for all Californians, regardless of immigration status. The event started a #Health4All Day of Action, so those who could not attend could participate via hashtag.

Carolina Gamero, the senior communications specialist for the California Immigrant Policy Center and a member of the Health4All Coalition, mentioned how they have already gained a victory for undocumented children’s healthcare with SB 75, but they are still fighting for adult healthcare.

“We won a component of this for undocumented children, and that was implemented in 2016 (SB 75) called Health4AllKids, but we couldn’t just stop there,” Gamero said. “We needed to make sure that we have access for their parents, for their grandparents, for those who were locked out of care, so the main reason why we were out of Sacramento was because we wanted to show the members of the Senate Health Committee that it was super urgent — even more so, as the new governor, Gavin Newsom, has expressed his commitment to extending healthcare or medical access for undocumented young adults.”

Angelica Ramirez, the executive director of California Physicians Alliance, included that while all children have access to healthcare, there is a growing need for their caretakers to also have a healthcare plan.

“SB 29 would expand medical [access] to all undocumented individuals, regardless of immigration status,” Ramirez said. “Right now, due to the Health4All Coalition’s work, we were able to expand MediCal to all children up to age 18 regardless of immigration status, which was a huge victory. Those children that now have access to MediCal have parents who are also undocumented with health needs, and they need to take care of their families and can’t do so if they’re not healthy enough to work and live. SB 29 would expand to all undocumented individuals regardless of age, if they qualify.”

According to a Senate press release, Senator María Elena Durazo, who authored SB 29, noted how healthcare for all is crucial, as people are not able to attain preventative care.

“We have taken the first steps toward providing healthcare for all, regardless of immigration status,” Durazo said in the press release. “In spite of their integral role in our state, undocumented Californians are, for the most part, left out of our health insurance system. They can’t get preventive screenings for serious health conditions like diabetes. They rely on emergency rooms and last-minute care.”

March 20 became a day of action to continue the fight and urge legislators to support SB 29.

“We had a really great turnout,” Gamero said. “We brought advocates and community members from our coalition, so we had people from San Diego, from the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium, ranging to Oxford areas to the Inland Empire to folks in the Bay Area who represent Asian Pacific Islander communities. We had over a hundred people turnout for that day, but in addition to that, we had people who were supporting individually as well. We had this #Health4All on Twitter and Facebook that we use for folks who wanted to be there for the day but weren’t able to join. You can see from even that hashtag how passionate people are about making this a visible part about the governor’s plan and budget for that year.”

The bill is moving along for approval as the pressure continues. Gamero is urging the community to continue the discourse surrounding SB 29.

“The bill now heads to the appropriations committee, which is where the funding questions will take place and where we will have the legislators weigh in on this and talk about if this is something we will invest in,” Gamero said.

“It will be really important to mobilize our community members to make calls for their legislators and get involved and meet with them in person.”

Ramirez added how physicians had their own reasons for fighting for the cause as well.

“As physicians, we are speaking from that viewpoint where we know what it’s like to be on the frontlines,” Ramirez said. “Our physician members treat patients who are just trying to be healthy and to provide for their families. And it’s important that everyone has access to health insurance and that our system really reflects the values of California and that it’s this golden state of optimism.

We believe that SB 29 is one step forward to getting us to universal healthcare, but obviously there’s still a lot more to go, and California Physicians Alliance would really advocate for not only stopping at SB 29 and continuing until we have a single care system that’s actually equitable and accessible and high quality for everyone.”

Gamero emphasized the power of storytelling and anecdotes from those who were able to speak about their challenges and experiences “being locked out of healthcare.”

“We would hear stories about people being in a financial crisis or if they had loved ones or family members who passed away because they weren’t about to see a specialist or get the preventative or routine follow-up care needed to avoid costly and grave health outcomes,” Gamero said. “I think we were all very moved from hearing from community HEALTH4ALL on 12

When overnight shelters like Fourth and Hope in Woodland and Interfaith Rotating Winter Shelter (IRWS) close their doors each morning, and when IRWS ends its operational season in March, where can individuals experiencing homelessness go? Mayor Brett Lee hopes to open a City of Davis respite center to better serve Davis’ homeless population.

The respite center, which Lee hopes will open June 1 if approved

by City Council, is a potential oneyear demonstration project that would serve homeless individuals through two main components: a temperature-controlled day center and a small number of tent cabins or similar structures for safe and orderly camping.

On Feb. 19, City Council approved exploration of Lee’s gen-

eral idea with a budget that had an upper limit of $80,000, and it commissioned staff “to return with analysis of a potential respite center pilot project, to include locations and resource needs (funding, staffing, etc.),” according to the council meeting minutes.

Lee’s idea for the pilot’s daytime component is for the city to offer a space that is air-conditioned during the summer and heated during the winter. He said a place like the respite center is needed, as traditional shelters that close early in the morning leave individuals with 12 to 14 hours of limited places to go.

“Most of the time, [people are] just out in the cold,” Lee said, in explaining that “the idea is to create a place where people can go to watch TV or read a book or just sort of sit and not have to be worried that they’re blocking a business or someone’s private property.”

The day center would also offer

basic amenities, such as laundry facilities, showers, restrooms and television, and would also allow pets. To keep costs down, Lee’s plans for the respite center pilot have focused on trailer-based solutions like shower and laundry trailers. Lee also hopes that the center would help connect eligible people with social services.

The second component, Lee said, speaks to the fact that individuals living homeless often camp in various places such as adjacent to campus and at the edge of Davis.

“It’s supposed to rain in a couple days, and a few weeks ago, there were crazy cold, rainy storms, and people are literally living in crummy tents under the trees in ditches here in Davis,” Lee said. “These folks need something now.”

According to Lee, the respite center could help shelter people in five to 15 tent cabins, even as other RESPITE CENTER on 12

OpenGov: For a more transparent Davis Financial transparency tool discloses the city’s spending habits CA IT LY N SA MPL EY / AG GIE

BY RE NE E H O H city@theaggie.org To paint a clear picture of the city’s financial data, the City of Davis relaunched OpenGov, a platform to interactively visualize local governments’ financial records. Using graphics to portray information, OpenGov intends to be user-friendly and easily accessible for residents.

“What a government does, how we operate, where we obtain funding and how we spend that money can be complicated and overwhelming to some residents who are not intimately involved with day to day government accounting or operations,” said Nitish Sharma, the finance director for the City of Davis, via email. “When we thought about how to make our finances easier to digest and understand, we wanted to provide a tool that was intuitive to use, extremely configurable, accessible to all residents, available 24/7 and integrated to our financial system to have it updated continuously.”

On Davis’ OpenGov site, the records date from the current 20182019 fiscal year back to the 20112012 fiscal year. Users are able to filter their search by, for example, expense or revenue and the particular

department, to access information such as police department overtime or capital projects budget for the year.

The city also developed bookmarks, or saved views, based on citizens’ most frequently asked questions, which include “General Fund expenses by expense type” and “General Fund revenues by revenue type,” according to Sharma. The software also allows the option for data to be downloaded into formats such as Microsoft Excel. Moving forward, Sharma hopes to continue integrating community input into the development of the OpenGov tool.

“We want the current site to always evolve based on our residents’ needs,” Sharma said. “I encourage anyone to reach out to us to ask for anything else that they might like to be shown online as the site was designed specifically for external stakeholders. We anticipate bringing more financial and non-financial views and reports online in the future.”

With the goal of holding governments accountable when spending taxpayers’ dollars, OpenGov began as a Silicon Valley startup in 2012 during a time of growing concern for efficiency and government transparency. The company utilizes a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service to

document budgeting and spending.

Now, with more than 2,000 local, state, and federal governments and agencies using The OpenGov Cloud, OpenGov’s customer base ranges from local cities, including West Sacramento, Calif. and Palo Alto, Calif., to the District of Columbia and California State Lands Commission, according to the OpenGov website.

“The City of Davis joins a growing number of governments across the country who are leading a movement towards financial transparency,” said Zachary Bookman, the CEO and co-founder of OpenGov, to City of Davis News. “With the financial data readily available to residents and staff, the City is improving efficiencies and building trust and engagement in the community.”

The City of Davis is looking into furthering its collaboration with OpenGov to provide citizens with adequate information and transparency.

“OpenGov also has other pieces of their solution, such as budgeting and performance, that we are exploring in order to drive internal operational efficiencies,” Sharma said. “I am looking forward to leveraging these additional pieces as OpenGov has proven to be a very strategic partnership for the Davis.”

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

4 | THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019

GOOD MORNING DAVIS: STUDENTS DISCUSS THEIR MORNING ROUTINES M IC H A E L L E A H Y / AGGI E

Students share how they prepare for the day

BY ANJINI VENUGOPAL features@theaggie.org Whether awakening peacefully as the sun rises or jumping out of bed hurriedly at the sound of a fourth alarm, mornings dictate how a student will spend the rest of their day. Mornings are preparation for the rest of the day, and everyone has their own way of dealing with them.

Some people wake up early to jump-start their productivity while others sleep in after a long night of work. Some eat breakfast, while others forgo the meal in favor of caffeinated drinks.

Many people cite a morning routine as a key

component to their success — The Guardian published an article about how CEOs tend to wake up early and ruthlessly schedule their days.

Here are the routines that some students at UC Davis have established for themselves.

First-year biochemistry major Chloe Tannous typically wakes up around 6 a.m. on weekdays.

After showering and getting dressed, she has a skincare routine she typically does. After, she does her hair and makeup and eats breakfast at around 7 a.m.

“My morning routine helps me prepare for the day by waking me up,” Tannous said. “It also helps me to relax a little bit before my day starts.”

Tannous is satisfied with her schedule and

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS: SAVING DAYLIGHT, BUT AT WHAT COST?

said that there isn’t really anything she wants to change — if she wanted to make any changes, she would. She also stated that her routine has stayed pretty consistent. She recalled waking up to get ready at six even in middle school.

Routines are not exclusive to mornings, of course, and Tannous also has a routine that she follows during the night, along with routines for studying and eating.

First-year food science major Savina Bouathong generally starts her mornings at around 9:30 a.m. with a shower. Other parts of her morning routine include brushing her teeth, brushing her hair and doing her skincare routine as well. Afterwards, she goes to the Dining Commons to eat breakfast and drink tea.

Bouathong finds that her routine helps her start her day on a good note.

“My morning routine is different because now I actually have time to get ready and to eat breakfast,” Bouathong said. “Before I started college, I was always in a rush and tired because I had to wake up at 7 a.m.”

Second-year cinema and digital media major Simon Santos starts his mornings at 9 a.m. Ideally, he would like to get up at 7:30 a.m. everyday, but he’s only able to maintain that a few days a week. The first thing he does is read a few news stories on his phone and check the weather to decide what to wear.

Getting ready, which for Santos includes washing his hair, brushing his teeth and doing his daily skincare routine, takes about 30 to 45 minutes. Santos then makes his bed, takes his vitamins, drinks water and packs his bag.

Breakfast seems to be an important part of the morning, reinforced with common statements like “eat breakfast like a king” and “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Santos tries to eat eggs for breakfast every day, and while that is cooking, he makes coffee. If he has extra time, he reads more articles or watches videos before he heads to campus.

“Completing my entire morning routine without rushing feels so empowering,” Santos said. “It gives me that spark of confidence when I leave the front door. It’s such a small victory, but it sets me up for optimism for the rest of the day.”

Santos doesn’t like the inconsistency of having classes start at greatly different times and said that his wake-up time depends on his class schedule and workload from the previous night. Santos wishes he could incorporate a morning workout into his routine, but said that he is “super lethargic” in the morning and would have to wake up one to two hours earlier to make time for that.

“The days where I need to wake up earlier, I usually have less time to finish my morning routine, so I end up rushing,” Santos said. “And I hate rushing.”

Santos also talked about the difference between his mornings as a college student and his mornings when he was still living at home.

“Before college, my mom helped out with a lot of my morning routine,” Santos said. “She made my coffee, cooked my breakfast and packed my lunch. She is amazing. I just rolled out of bed and there it was all laid out for me. In college, I really have to plan and prepare every single morning independently. And my routine is definitely longer now.”

JA MIE CHEN / AGGIE

The long-standing practice of changing our clocks for daylight savings might come to an end

BY LINH NGUYEN features@theaggie.org Every spring, the clocks are turned one hour ahead to make the evening sunlight last longer.

The beginning of daylight savings is dreaded by many as an hour of sleep is also lost the night it begins. Yet, as it inches closer to summer, many appreciate the sunlight lasting until 8 p.m. so they can enjoy the light. At UC Davis, students taking evening classes appreciate the evening light in the spring for other reasons as well.

“It makes me feel safer when I go back to the dorms from class at night, especially the classes further away from my dorm,” Afshin Amiri, a first-year psychology major, said in response to the benefits of longer daylight hours.

While there are some street lights on campus, some students don’t find them sufficient enough in providing a sense of safety. There have also been multiple comments about a lack of blue

emergency call boxes on campus. One of the reasons for this shortage is the Davis Light Ordinance of 1966, which was implemented in order to limit light pollution, controls and restricts the erection of street lights or any light-emitting structures outdoors.

“In the fall, I had a class that got out at 8 p.m.,” Amiri said. “I remember that daylight savings ending was in the middle of the quarter, so for half of [fall] quarter, I got out of the class and it was still bright, and it was dark for the other half. It was a big difference.”

Amiri said his productivity is largely dictated by the sunshine.

“I feel more motivated to do stuff when the sun is out,” Amiri said. “It’s also pretty nice and warm when the sun is out, so I don’t feel like staying inside all the time.”

Many students agree they are more willing to take evening classes when they know the sun will be out when they go to and from their classes.

But in November, the clocks are turned back

one hour to restore light to the morning hours, bringing darkness back to the evening.

In recent years, some regions have opened public debates on whether or not they should end the daylight savings practice altogether. The state of California still practices daylight savings.

Some states such as Hawaii and Arizona, however, do not practice daylight savings. The European Union also recently declared that each country must decide on whether or not to abolish daylight savings by 2021.

“I don’t have much of an opinion on the issue,” said Alex Chavez, a fourth-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major. “Daylight

savings was instituted during World War II to supposedly conserve energy for the war effort.”

Since then, adjustments have been made to the clock accordingly, without anyone thinking twice about it.

“I don’t think it’s really necessary nowadays,” Chavez said. “And from what I’ve read on the subject, it seems like there are very minimal energy savings with daylight savings time.”

There are no long-term consequences to ending daylight savings. In fact, some studies suggest that there might be some benefits, including less artificial light and decreased health problems related to the time change.

CAMPUS TOUR GUIDES WORK TO REEL IN NEW AGGIES THIS APRIL A LLYSON KO/ AGGIE

Students lead admitted and prospective students and their families on campus and housing tours in hopes that they chose UC Davis as their new home

BY MARGO ROSENBAUM features@theaggie.org In their blue shirts with shiny golden pins attached, they walk backwards shouting loudly and enthusiastically, informing the group they are leading all about UC Davis. These tour guides work hard, memorizing a 20-page script and training for a whole quarter, to show prospective or admitted students and their families the best of Davis.

Student tour guide responsibilities include giving tours of the overall campus as well as of residence halls and facilities. They work at admission events like Decision Day or Equity Summit.

They also work as greeters in the Welcome Center, answering questions, providing information to visitors and celebrating students who submit a Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) on the spot after a tour with handfuls of confetti.

According to second-year human development and design major Julie Daseking, prospective student tours are usually around 15 people per tour, but they can grow up to 25 people.

Tours are especially busy right now with admissions decisions having been released on Mar. 8, as high school seniors have to submit a SIR to a university by May 1, giving them about two months to check out all of their collegiate options.

“On tours, we tell people about different halls and the majors offered, what you can do in those majors, what student life is like, why students chose to go here and opportunities for students related to housing, social events and academics,” said third-year communication and cinema and digital media double major Shubha Chakravarty, who has been a tour guide for a year.

The campus tour route starts at the Welcome Center, moves through the Arboretum towards Peter J. Shields Library, then down the quad towards the Memorial Union, then through campus towards Segundo residence halls, past the ARC, through the Biological Sciences buildings, then through the Engineering buildings and finally ending back at the Welcome Center, according to Chakravarty. This is precisely why many new tour guides were caught delivering their script in the Memorial Union to a captive audience of one

for the months of January and February.

“Tours usually last an hour to an hour and a half in length, but then we stay afterwards for about 10-15 minutes to answer one-on-one questions,” said fourth-year environmental science and management major Miroslava Munguia, who has been a tour guide for two years. “A lot of tours are pretty personalized too based off what people want to know about.”

People who take tours like to ask a variety of questions, such as how to sign up for classes, whether one can take classes outside of their major, what residence hall food is like, the cows,

Greek life and overall what student life is like.

For many prospective students, these tour guides serve as models for their own future experience.

They provide narratives of actual college students that can be more valuable for decision-making than a statistic for a student who is nervous about leaving home.

“It is important to take tours,” Chakravarty said. “You learn more than just the facts. You really can feel the vibe and energy of the school and see if it matches with you and who you are.”

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

JULIETT OLIVAS-GONZALEZ / COURTESY

UCD Agathon: Dancing for a Cause A fresh philanthropy for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to take place at the CoHo

BY S I ERRA BURGU E NO features@theaggie.org Time to get your dancing shoes on! This Saturday, April 6 from 7-11 p.m. is the UC Davis Agathon, a dance marathon happening at the CoHo. The pre-sale registration fee is $7 and all proceeds will be donated to support Children’s

Miracle Network Hospitals.

Previously called the UC Davis Dance Marathon, this is the first year that Agathon is hosting this event under its organization. Agathon is a student organization that stands for unity, compassion and community. The organization focuses on raising money for Children’s Mira-

cle Network and their partner, UC Davis Children’s Hospital. Agathon hosts many fundraisers throughout the quarters, but one of their biggest events is the annual Dance Marathon event. They strive to raise enough money to help children and their families with hospital bills and the care offered through the children’s hospital.

Students can expect to see a variety of music and performances at the event, to get the crowd dancing. There will also be Miracle children present sharing their stories, face painting and more.

This year, the event even has a glow-in-the-dark theme.

Lucero Vasquez, a third-year communication major, is the president of the Agathon organization. She is in charge of overseeing all committees in the organization such as hospital relations, finance, morale dance, sponsorship and recruitment.

“Agathon, in short, means us Aggies coming together #ForTheKids,” Vasquez said.

Yuliett Stefania Olivas-Gonzalez, a second-year human development major, is part of the sponsorship committee with the UC Davis Agathon. She works with others to reach out to the community in order to raise funds and promote events.

“It is very important to raise money to such an important cause because they help serve partnered children hospitals like our very own UC

Davis Children’s Hospital,” Olivas-Gonzalez said. “These amazing children and their families cannot afford the cost of treatments and expenses on their own, and that is why the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals should be helped out in any way possible by businesses, community and student organizations like ourselves!”

To Vasquez, the most important part of the event is the “final reveal”, when an announcement is made about how much everyone has fundraised. The total fundraised amount is kept a secret until the big reveal, so it is surprising news to everyone.

“My passion for this movement has continuously increased every time I make a smile on a child’s face,” Vasquez said.

UC Davis students are invited to join the Agathon organization regardless of year, career interests or majors. It is open to anyone wanting to join. You can check out the UC Davis Agathon on social media such as Facebook and Instagram @ucdagathon for updates, events, fundraisers and more. Those interested can also email the President at luvasquez@ucdavis.edu and/or be placed on a Listserv.

OLIVIA KOTLAREK / AGGIE

Live Music in Winters

Program enables students to unlock new interests and career goals Writing Ambassadors: exploring the intricacies of education VINCE N T SA N C H E Z features@theaggie.org College students majoring in biological sciences might not imagine themselves returning to elementary school classrooms and having to learn how to say “denominator” in Spanish for a group of bilingual children, but this is exactly what students like Estefania Jimenez are doing through a unique internship opportunity on campus.

The Writing Ambassadors Program offers students the opportunity to intern at local K-12 schools and get hands-on experience working in classrooms alongside teachers. The program is open to any major, giving students the ability to explore the discipline of teaching while still pursuing their own personal goals and achievements. The emphasis on literacy learning allows students to work in a variety of different subjects while still providing assistance and fun, engaging activities that strengthen literary skills necessary across all disciplines.

Kelly Crosby, a professor and program coordinator for Writing Ambassadors, has been involved in the program for two years and has helped students grow as educators and leaders

for the coming generations of young learners.

She shared her own excitement at having the opportunity to spread the importance of literacy across multiple grade levels.

“That idea that literacy is everywhere, even if you’re in math with Common Core Standards, numeracy and literacy really speak to each other,” Crosby said.

Joining the program involves filling out an application that shows a student’s interest in teaching and literary development. Once students have been chosen, they are enrolled in the UWP class that serves as a workshop for them to discuss their ideas for teaching and the experiences they’ve had within their own classrooms as interns.

Crosby expressed her joy in hearing the students talk to each other, sharing ideas and cultivating a space where learning and teaching are joined. She often invites guest speakers, ranging from previous students to other local teachers, which is also a huge help for those who need another perspective on what it’s like in the field of teaching.

“It’s a dynamic setting, not every week is the

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SERGIO MARAVILLA / COURTESY

Latinx Leadership Council debuts on campus to promote togetherness between leaders Young Latinx leaders step up to connect undergraduate activities at UC Davis as a Hispanic-Serving Institution ISABEL L A BERI STAIN features@theaggie.org A great perk of attending UC Davis is getting the ability to participate in one of the many clubs/organizations. With over 800 plus clubs/ organizations to choose from, each student is ensured an opportunity to become part of a community in which they can fully be themselves.

First-year neurobiology physiology and behavior major Annanya Tyagi commented on the importance of promoting diversity at UC Davis.

“I definitely think that Davis is a diverse school. This add[s] to the different ways of thinking and forms new perspectives and helps us come up with solutions to difficult problems more easily,” Tyagi said.

One of the ways this is achieved is through having clubs/organizations that embrace the many minorities on campus. A new organization that has just made headway is the Latinx Leadership Council spearheaded by second-year, community and regional development major Sergio Maravilla.

The organization’s main aim is to bring together the executive teams of the Latinx community as one to promote efficiency throughout

all the clubs involved.

“The main thing I want people to know about this new organization is that its main goal is to provide more organized unity in the Latinx community at UC Davis. We meet once a month to encourage communication and collaboration at the executive level for Latinx-based organizations to ensure everyone is aware of what is happening in the community,” Maravilla said.

Additionally, “the council brings together representative from undergraduate clubs, but we also aim to bridge undergraduate activity with outside organizations such as the Chicanx Latinx Alumni Association, Latinx staff and faculty association and many others,” Maravilla explained.

The end goal of this organization is to foster a sense of community for the Latinx/Chicanx students at Davis especially with it being a designated HSI (Hispanic-Serving Institution).

Anna Estrada, a third-year sociology and Chicano/a studies double major and newly elected ASUCD senator, stated the significance that this organization has for the community.

“Since UC Davis is becoming a federally

LLC on 12

The T Sisters, Saturday, April 27

Student tickets for most shows now just $12!

April lineup and tickets online:

palmsplayhouse.com

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

6 | THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019

Opinion THE

C ALIFORNIA A GGIE

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

College admissions scandals take spots away from deserving students Legacy, bribery are not an indication of students’ merit, capability

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 GRACE SIMMONS Newsletter Manager LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager

Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice charged 50 people with cheating the admissions process at elite universities, either by paying to cheat on standardized exams or bribing the schools’ athletic coaches to accept students as athletes despite having never played the sport. These charges included well-known actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin. Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, who paid $500,000 to have their children designated as recruits for the University of Southern California crew team. While this may have been shocking to news to some, it only served to prove what so many students already know: Wealth and privilege give prospective students an unfair advantage over other deserving students.

The scandal has since inspired other wealthy people, like rapper and producer Dr. Dre in a now-deleted Instagram post, to brag that their children were accepted to universities on their own merit. It’s naive to think that Dr. Dre’s $70 million donation in 2013 to USC to found the Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation didn’t influence his daughter’s admission decision.

And while it’s easy to focus on those that donate large sums of money or brazenly break the law, it’s also important to recognize that privilege is presented in more ways than paying to cheat on an SAT or funding a new building. The growing industry of college admissions counselors who charge thousands of dollars to supposedly ensure admissions to elite schools by essentially filling out prospective students’ applications further distance the student from the admissions process. It further privileges students whose families can afford these services. Having the opportunity to hire standardized test tutors and private admissions counselors and attend

elite secondary schools give wealthy students a considerable leg up in the world. Legacy preference at private schools also undercuts other students’ hard work.

Even having parents who read to their children when they’re young or coming from a two-parent household gives students a significant advantage in their academic pursuits. The state of California, to make education more equitable, needs to place more of an emphasis on serving historically underrepresented communities.

Even though the University of California boasts that it admits a large percentage of low-income students, many of these students graduate tens of thousands of dollars in debt because of the lack of academic and financial support they receive. This essentially traps them in the same systemic poverty that higher education is allegedly supposed to alleviate.

Although UC Berkeley and UCLA are state-funded schools and tout their commitment to diversity, both are having to investigate instances of fraud in their admissions. UC Berkeley is investigating a case of a now-graduated student who submitted false SAT scores and UCLA has placed its head men’s soccer coach Jorge Salcedo on leave.

The Editorial Board demands that both UC President Janet Napolitano and UC Admissions commission independent investigations of all instances where fraud may have been involved — not just those in the Department of Justice’s indictment. Decision makers in the higher education system need to develop stronger safeguards against many types of admissions fraud, from falsified test scores to improper athletic recruitment practices. They need to restructure their application process so not as much advantage is given to wealthy families.

Responses to column about Professor Clover showcase university values A HOSTILE PUBLIC AND A WOUNDED UNIVERSITY GO HEAD TO HEAD

BY N I C K I RV IN ntirvin@ucdavis.edu When my editors at The California Aggie gave the green light to publish my op-ed “A UC Davis professor thinks cops ‘need to be killed’” on Feb. 25 — after weeks of hard deliberating that both delayed and strengthened the final result — we hardly expected to get national attention.

We had a simple goal: to drive a conversation about faculty standards and the limits of academic freedom. But there were also inherent risks to publishing, such as suggesting that the police were potential victims, instead of offenders. The possibility of death threats against Professor Clover and those involved in the publishing process seemed real — all irony aside. Would bringing this story to light invite more closed-door responses and reinforce existing tribalisms?

Student opinions of Clover are mixed.

The story trended on the campus news app Wildfire and drew a range of comments on Facebook. The Davis College Republicans hosted a “Fire Joshua Clover” rally that drew 100 people. On the other hand, a small number held signs of support for Clover and “occasionally shouted down” student speakers, according to The Davis Enterprise.

Regardless of how students felt, the response from those beyond the borders of UC Davis showed that bringing Clover’s comments to light was a necessary exercise in transparency. First came the emails from all over the country, from police officers and lawyers to UC Davis alumni who said they wouldn’t donate to the school as long as Clover remained employed.

Next came the interviews for Sacramento TV networks and call-ins to radio stations from places including Napa, Calif. and Sioux City, Iowa. Media outlets like Newsweek, the Daily Mail and Fox News ran stories about Clover’s comments.

California Assemblyman and UC Davis alum James Gallagher, who represents California’s Third District, submitted an Aggie op-ed and personally delivered a petition with 10,000 signatures calling for Clover’s termination. (Gallagher also introduced a like-minded resolution to the State Assembly on Mar. 12.) UC President Janet Napolitano told Capital Public Radio that Clover’s comments are “repugnant to university values,” though she cited academic freedom as a reason not to fire him.

Although Chancellor Gary May eventually asked campus counsel to review Clover’s conduct, the weeklong delay in doing so — prompted only after intense public outcry — reinforced the common refrain that universities are elitist and partial to lofty, alienating behavior. The response to Clover simply underscores the disconnect between higher education and much of the public.

And while administrators are right to be skeptical of public scorn over its academic decision-making, the public too has a right to demand accountability from a university system partially funded by taxpayer dollars.

There’s been a small, and unfortunate, side-effect of bringing the Clover story to light. When Breitbart News picked it up, commenters were quick to plug their own narrative of campus “libtards” with abandon. Based on Breitbart’s account, every liberal college student and professor wants cops to die and Marxism to take over the world.

Over at National Review, my piece was criticized by David French as the “rightwing analog” of left-wing “fake outrage” seen over debates about Tucker Carlson, for example.

The problem with making Clover’s comments a distinctly political issue is that constructive dialogue rapidly deteriorates when groupthink cordons off individualism — support for law enforcement means you’re anti-black; promoting police reform means you hate all police. You either support progressive politics or conservative ones. It’s one or the other — a zero-sum game.

I received many emails from people across the political spectrum who decried Clover’s comments, not for ideological reasons, but rather for their assault against human values. One email came from a self-described liberal Democrat who recognized the importance of taking the long view for issues that breach our collective value system, whether we lean left or right.

“We can differ in our political views, we can want different systems for our country, but actively wishing for and supporting the murder of humans is not a political statement, but the ravings of an unstable person who has no business in a position of authority or power,” she wrote.

Indeed.

The Clover piece was designed to kickstart a conversation about who UC Davis is, what we represent and where our institutional values lie.

ALLYSON KO / AGGIE

THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019 | 7

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

Mutiny AMID A LACK OF RESEARCH AND FUNDING, MYALGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS REMAINS A MEDICAL MYSTERY — AND CONTINUES TO DEBILITATE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WORLDWIDE

BY TA RYN D EO IL E R S tldeoilers@ucdavis.edu When Jaleesa Nicole was nine years old, she got the flu.

At the time, the influenza virus was making its way through her school in Roseville, sending most of her classmates home for a few days to heal. But while her peers recovered in the matter of a week or two, Nicole stayed sick. And stayed sick. And stayed sick. Even when she returned to a near-healthy state months later, the illness hovered over her, never fully leaving her body.

For the next few years, Nicole’s symptoms grew increasingly more severe, prompting her to begin seeking treatment in middle school.

Years of seeking answers finally led her to the correct diagnosis: myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), more commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome.

Since then, Nicole, now a 21-year-old disability activist, has dealt with symptoms as wide-ranging as dizziness and vertigo, lightheadedness, an inability to fall asleep and feel well-rested in the morning, stomach pains, difficulty recalling words and even temporary dyslexia and “forgetting” how to read.

“I get full-body pain of all sorts,” Nicole said — something she attributes to both her ME and her fibromyalgia, which seem to exacerbate one another. “I get random travelling sorts of pains, I get muscle pains, I get — almost like a burning on my skin, is what it sort of feels like.”

Much of Nicole’s daily life is a matter of constant calculation over how much energy she expends. Dealing with her disease entails remembering her limits and making sure to rest often and fully — something Nicole learned the hard way. Last winter, she signed up for a self-defense class, despite knowing her limitations with physical exertion.

“During the class, I didn’t really recognize the signs — they were there, but I was just focusing on the class. And then afterwards, I was just like, ‘...Oh no. Things hurt,’” she said, laughing. “And the flare-up lasted over two months, and for a month of that, I was totally housebound. So I’ve had to learn to not really push myself as much and to take a break, because I realize now that everything I do comes with a price.”

But all things considered, Nicole surprisingly has a “mild” case of ME compared to others with the disease. She has a job that she goes to once a week. She can typically leave the house. She can live a relatively uninterrupted life.

Not everyone with ME is quite as fortunate.

One study published in BMC Public Health found that individuals with ME may, on average, suffer greater disability than those with congestive heart failure, type 2 diabetes, lung disease, multiple sclerosis and even cancer. And according to another study published in Chronic Illness, a staggering 25 percent of those with ME are either housebound or bedbound, while 75 percent are unable to work — and this is not solely due to fatigue.

“When people hear ‘chronic fatigue syndrome,’ they usually think, ‘Oh, you’re just tired,’” Nicole said. “But it’s way worse than fatigue. That’s a thing I definitely experience, but it’s not the whole picture.”

Whitney Dafoe, a 34-year-old freelance, award-winning photographer who spent his early twenties traveling around the 50 states and other countries, is now well-known for possessing one of the most severe cases of ME. After wrestling with various illnesses throughout college, Dafoe’s increasingly-acute sickness finally left him bedbound in 2013. Since then, he has spent his life lying completely still on his back, holed up in a dark room without any stimuli, cared for by his mother. He is unable to feed himself, speak or listen to others, as doing so leaves him utterly and excruciatingly exhausted. For the majority of the time, he requests that no one even enters his room.

“Someone in room [sic] feels like wind is blowing through me, pulling me away like I’m made of sand and getting blown away,” he wrote in a letter during a brief time of relative stability in 2016. “Draining — but it goes deeper than it should. There’s no part of me that is safe from it.”

This transition, from a healthy young adult with a promising career in photography to a bed-ridden, malnourished man imprisoned in a black room and a body that committed mutiny against itself, took just over a decade. *** Despite affecting an estimated 15 to 30 million people worldwide and at least 1 million Americans, myalgic encephalomyelitis remains somewhat of a mystery to the medical community. The disease almost always stems from a viral infection, although people have also contracted ME after surgery, chemical exposure or another major change in the immune system — essentially, experiences that are immensely taxing on the body. “[When you have ME], your cells aren’t

making energy properly, so when you exert yourself — which for different people means different things — you can set off all of these different [symptoms] because your body can’t cope with it,” Nicole explained.

Overall, however, the profound fatigue, cognitive dysfunction and plethora of other disabling symptoms surrounding ME continue to confound scientists — and the international medical community has yet to even uniformly settle on a single definition of the disease.

Although individuals with ME clearly showcase symptoms that point to a serious disease, many people’s experiences with doctors have been overwhelmingly negative. Standard medical tests can’t detect the biological abnormalities caused by ME, prompting some doctors to dismiss symptoms as merely psychological. For Nicole, it took years of shuffling through countless doctors to finally be properly diagnosed.

“My doctors — a lot of them don’t even believe I’m sick,” she said. “And before [my diagnosis], doctors would straight-up tell my parents, ‘Oh, she’s just being dramatic,’ or, ‘She’s faking for attention.’”

According to the ME Association, only about six percent of medical schools in America teach ME — and much of what they teach is based on studies widely criticized for being faulty, like the highly controversial PACE trial. Many doctors will therefore prescribe types of treatment, such as graded exercise therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy, that are now believed to make patients with ME even more sick. (Both of these treatments are still recommended on the Kaiser Permanente website.)

“Sometimes we’re even worse off going to our doctors,” Nicole said. “On that end, things are almost more depressing. There are some people and organizations that are doing some research. But it’s really stifled, and the research is slow because we don’t have enough funding.”

To adequately address the magnitude of ME — both in the number of Americans affected and the often debilitating nature of this disease — the ME Association recommends that the annual budget should be around $250 million. Yet the yearly federal research budget allotted to ME in the U.S. currently sits at a mere $13 million. What’s more, amid prevailing misconceptions that the disease is purely psychological, much of this budget over the years has gone into research on the psychological side of ME, rather than its biomedical causes and treatments.

And although a few safe, affordable drugs show potential for ME treatment, few ME specialists and other knowledgeable doctors exist to actually prescribe them.

“Right now, the only people who are getting treatment are those who have enough money and energy and resources and help to get to it,” Nicole said. “And the most everyone else can do for themselves is just try to pace themselves and watch their energy and hope things don’t get worse.”

Guest: The hidden potential of ASUCD THE OUTGOING ASUCD INTERNAL AFFAIRS COMMISSION CHAIRSPERSON SPEAKS OF THE GOOD, HARD-WORKING PEOPLE OF THE ASSOCIATION

BY JACO B G ANZ Divisive, petty, toxic: these are just some of the many acerbic words used to describe ASUCD. I have been in the Association for the past four years, and while these attributes may be accurate from time to time, it is often not the case.

For the past two years, I have been the Internal Affairs Commission Chairperson of ASUCD. This position has provided me the opportunity to see over 40 different senators, three executive offices and 200 pieces of legislation.

From my largely non-partisan perch on the Senate table, I can confidently say that all the senators, staffers and commissioners I’ve met in ASUCD are here for the right reasons.

Every senator and commission chair comes into office with platforms or goals that they aim to accomplish. From housing to safety to internal reforms, these aspirations are often fulfilled. I have seen countless new members of ASUCD learn to wield their newfound influence in order to better the overall experience for students on this campus.

It is often said that ASUCD does so much on campus yet is largely ignored. Despite the constant talk of increasing outreach, there is rarely any effort made to actually connect with students outside the Association. Even though many senators may make a profound impact on this campus, it is not always widely broadcast. I would argue that this is acceptable. As long as the job gets done, it does not matter if ASUCD gets the credit.

Our student government has an unfor-

tunate habit of publicly airing its dirty laundry. Most of my friends have only heard of ASUCD through nasty, vitriolic and personal Facebook spats. While public discussion is an important part of any major discussion, these petty arguments are not representative of ASUCD on a daily basis.

This gets me to the crux of this article: ASUCD is filled with good, hard-working people. While there are often disagreements between factions, the environment is only toxic if you make it toxic. Some people ask how I managed to survive in ASUCD’s environment for so long. My answer is that if you go to work every day with a smile on your face and the explicit goal to work with anyone and everyone, you will succeed. Openness and equality are often empty platitudes, yet in the case of ASUCD they are the best way to get things done.

As I attend an ASUCD Senate meeting for the final time this Thursday, I would like to emphasize to the student body of UC Davis that your student leaders are hard-working, passionate individuals. They represent students from all walks of life and, at their best, these student leaders will work together to make this campus better for all.

The writer is a fourth-year studying history and political science and the Internal Affairs Commission Chairperson in ASUCD. He had been on the ASUCD Senate table for the longest time of any currently active member, having served since May 2016. He is resigning on April 4.

*** Frustrated with a glaring lack of governmental funding, organizations centered around ME awareness have become increasingly vocal over the years through visibility actions, protests, and rallies. MEAction, a grassroots network, launched the global campaign #MillionsMissing to educate the public and officials on the seriousness and prevalence of the disease. One of the network’s primary goals is to achieve health equality for ME — to receive the amount of funding appropriate for such a devastating and wide-reaching illness.

Individuals have also committed themselves to discovering a cure for ME — and for some, this fight is profoundly personal. Ron Davis, an esteemed professor of biochemistry and genetics at Stanford University and the father of Whitney Dafoe, has spent the last ten years attempting to find a treatment for this mysterious illness.

But funding remains an issue. As of 2016, Davis submitted two applications for research funds to the National Institutes of Health.

Both times, his applications were rejected. Yet his son is slowly dying. So he, along with the Open Medicine Foundation and other organizations devoted to ME research, continue to push.

In addition to putting pressure on lawmakers to increase funding for ME research, Nicole wants to see more energy directed towards ME education as a whole. One common misconception, undoubtedly perpetuated by the name ‘chronic fatigue syndrome,’ which ME activists are working to phase out, is that people with ME are simply sleep-deprived — or worse, faking it.

“Right now, the story that gets told about us is, ‘Oh, we’re just crazy people who are tired all of the time and who think we’re ill when we’re not.’ And that’s what a lot of the media pushes,” Nicole said.

Consequently, the young activist dreams

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SCIENCE+TECH FROM DNA TO ALGORITHMS

DEMIN LIU A N D DA MIEN WOODS / COU RT ESY

Self-assembling DNA programmed by applying theoretical computer science to molecular engineering

BY M I C HEL L E WO N G science@theaggie.org Through the incorporation of computer science into molecular engineering, computer scientists from UC Davis and the California Institute of Technology developed DNA that can algorithmically self-assemble. Using a DNA set tile containing 355 single-stranded tiles, the scientists were able to construct 21 circuits that can execute algorithms ranging from obtaining an unbiased choice from a random biased source to stimulating cellular automata, according to a Nature article titled “Diverse and robust molecular algorithms using reprogrammable DNA self-assembly.”

“I hope that molecular engineers will understand that the best way to understand how to get their molecules to automatically do what they want is to program them, which is where computer science comes in,” said David Doty, an assistant professor of computer science at UC Davis. “At its core computer science is not about electronic computers. It’s about automation [...] how to design automatic processes that just work — we call them algorithms — without any need for people to come in and direct things by hand.”

The initial idea for this research came from Erik Winfree, a professor of computer science, computation and neural systems and bioengineering at the California Institute of Technology, who published a paper titled “The program-size complexity of self-assembled squares” that incorporated ideas on how to make these molecules perform computation from his Ph.D. thesis.

“I have long been fascinated by the conceptual connections between the mathematics of geometrical tilings, the fundamental principles

of theoretical computer science, the exquisite forms of crystals and minerals, the complexity of biological self-assembly processes and the elegant formalisms of statistical mechanics,” Winfree said. “All those threads come together here.”

Doty, who had originally been studying Algorithmic Information Theory at Iowa State University as a graduate student, was captivated by the notion that this theory could be implemented to create actual self-assembling DNA molecules which can form nanoscale structures.

Doty began working on theoretical problems in the field before joining Winfree’s lab. Damien Woods, a professor at Hamilton Institute of Maynooth University, joined Winfree’s lab after Winfree’s arguments intrigued him. Although both researchers were unfamiliar with laboratory work, instead coming from a theoretical computer science background, the two worked together to implement the theory into actual experiments.

Woods identified a major step in their research to be functionalizing an error reduction technique called “2x2 proofreading,” which allows the creation of more complex systems.

Once this technique could be implemented, they were able to design the DNA system to fully exploit proofreading.

“When we purchased our molecules and started our experiments, we knew of only three or four circuits (programs) that we could implement in the lab,” Woods said. “But because our DNA system was reprogrammable, we spent subsequent days, weeks and months figuring out a total of 21 circuits to implement experimentally. Programming at the lab bench. A wonderful experience.”

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MORE THAN A PLACE FOR GRADES School environments and climates within California schools shapes student mental health and belonging

BY FOXY ROBI N S O N science@theaggie.org Across California, students come to class to engage with topics and concepts that prepare them for their futures. But they also confront their own mental health within their schools and communities.

“According to the California Healthy Kids survey, there has been a decline in school violence, chronic victimization, being threatened or beaten

up,’” said Meagan O’Malley, an assistant professor at the California State University, Sacramento School Psychology Program. “School is not an unsafe place to be, but there is an increase in the prevalence of mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety.”

“Students have insecurities about national events and what is going on in their local communities,” said Michael Furlong, a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz Graduate School of Edu-

cation. “Students are feeling insecure about life in general, they feel jaded about support networks within society.”

Furlong serves as the principal investigator for Project CoVitality, an initiative through the UC Santa Barbara International Center for School Based Youth Development. The research effort comprehensively surveyed the social and emotional health of over 12,000 high school students across California.

“Schools that present safe, secure spaces foster positive psychosocial development within students. For high schools after Parkland, there has been turmoil within communities opening up concerns. At one high school, there was a heightened response following [a] stranger parked in the school parking lot, who removed one of the hoses from the school,” Furlong said. “Students reported this incident to the school, which responded through a lockdown. While the school responded to be a safe place for students, there hasn’t been as much planning on how to respond to trauma.

There’s no debriefing of the event. When students go through lockdown procedures, they are broadcasting their real-time reactions on social media to their parents and community, which can also cause trauma. These moments also call attention to how students and communities process these events.”

Project CoVitality found high school students between ninth and 12th grades who felt safe at school report less anxiety, worry and emotional distress than students who felt unsafe at school.

59 percent of students who felt safe at school indicated they felt community belonging within social groups, the school and their neighborhoods.

Only 29 percent of students who felt unsafe at school reported the same.

56 percent of students who felt unsafe at school reported feeling sad and down over the past month, while 30 percent of students who felt safe at school reported the same sentiment. 42 percent of students who felt unsafe at school indicated feeling scared for no good reason over the past month, compared to 17 percent of students who felt safe at school.

“Being exposed to school violence is a risk factor for mental illness, with the more intense and direct exposures being associated with higher rates of challenges, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” said Stephen Brock, a professor and coordinator of the School Psychology Program in the California State University, Sacramento’s Department of Graduate and Professional Studies in Education. “While it is expected that most people exposed to school violence will not go on to develop mental illness, like PTSD, some do, and this can seriously affect school adjustment and academic functioning.”

Mental health remains stigmatized, either being diminished by some or resulting in the profiling of individuals facing mental health diseases as violent or abnormal by others. In reality, mental health exists as a broad spectrum of experiences that every person encounters.

One productive step towards engaging mental health lies in language. By using person-first or trauma-informed language, individuals can shift from dehumanizing and ostracizing those facing mental health conditions to relating to them as people.

“For these individuals, natural support systems, like parents, teachers and friends, are important to recovery, but professional mental health treatment, such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, is also needed,” Brock said.

THE ENGINEERING CLUB HOPES TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE Engineers without Borders at UC Davis provides sustainable solutions to empower underserved communities globally

BY KRI T I VA RG HE S E science@theaggie.org Engineers without Borders applies engineering skills to provide solutions that elevate the quality of life in underprivileged communities in developing countries. The Davis chapter of the organization currently has three projects in Peru, Bolivia and Kenya and has had successful projects in both Peru and Nicaragua.

“EWB is a unique organization in that it has an impact on both the communities we partner with and on our UC Davis students,” said Professor Colleen Bronner, the faculty advisor for EWB at UC Davis. “We help communities raise the funding [...] for water and sanitation projects and provide some of the technical expertise needed for the designs.”

As members of EWB, UC Davis students learn resourceful construction techniques and create relationships with different cultures where both parties learn from each other. The hope is that, through the experience, students learn that underprivileged communities aren’t victims and instead have much to offer. They just don’t have the resources to do so.

“Many developing communities around the world have been positively impacted by the projects that EWB has completed,” said Tanisha Potnis, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major and president of EWB at UC Davis. “Projects are targeted at helping communities achieve basic human needs such as sanitation, water distribution

and construction.”

The Peru project focuses on improving the water distribution system of La Huaylla in northern Peru. The current water distribution system doesn’t provide sufficient clean drinking water for the community it’s serving. Last year, the team traveled to Peru to build a reservoir to increase the amount of water that could be stored. This year, the team is returning to install new pipes in the current distribution system to minimize leaks and ensure they’re properly sized to maximize the amount of water stored. They’re hoping that providing a sustainable solution to La Huaylla will help spread awareness to neighboring communities.

“The community is made up of 250 households,” said Valerie Yanez, a fourth-year civil engineering major at UC Davis and the co-lead for this project. “The goal is that the community of La Huaylla will have access to sufficient quantity and quality of water [...] especially during peak hours to meet demands.”

The Bolivia Project hopes to improve sanitation in the community of Parque-Colani by building sustainable latrines in every household. They will travel to Bolivia in the summer to present their designs, teach the community how to build the latrines and start the building process within the community.

“On a greater scale, we hope to educate the entire community of Parque Colani on some basic sanitation techniques that could help eliminate illness and [the] spread of disease in the community,”

TESSA KOGA / AGGIE

said Lauren Chew, a third-year civil engineering major and co-lead for this project. “In addition, we hope to be able to provide resources, such as reusable pads, and information on women’s health.”

The Kenya project is working with Mabinju, a village in southwest Kenya, where limited access to clean drinking water leads to the prevalence of waterborne illnesses. While this project is still in the early stages, the team hopes to travel to Kenya this summer to identify the community’s needs.

“With access to clean water, children will not be forced to miss school to fetch water, families will experience greater yield and income from agriculture and livestock and community members will not be exposed to harmful bacteria in water,” said Mark Susanto, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major and co-lead for this project. “In addition, our project will visit local schools to pro-

mote both STEM education and gender equality in all industries.”

EWB hopes to continue serving underprivileged communities and increase its presence on campus, diversifying the team to include members of all majors.

THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019 | 9

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

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

HellaCappella is the largest a cappella showcase in Northern California hosted

by The Spokes, the all-female a cappella group here at UC Davis!

April 5th @ 7:30pm The Mondavi Center

Students $14 (presale) $21 (door) General: $30 (presale) $35 (door) Groups are coming from all over the West Coast to perform; hope to see you there! www.mondaviarts.org

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

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

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FAQ #13

Q: Is there a limit on how many times I can use my 50% student discount?

A: No, as long as you are a currently enrolled student, you can apply your discount to as many shows as you’d like!

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS

Ballet Preljocaj La Fresque

WED, APR 10 | 7PM In La Fresque, artistic director Angelin Preljocaj continues his exploration of fairy tales, plunging the audience into the fantastical world of Pu Songling’s “The Painted Wall.” The ideas of illusion, transcendence and the place of art in today’s society are omnipresent in this contemporary adaptation for 10 dancers.

Student tickets start at $17.50

The Havana Cuba All-Stars ASERE! A Fiesta Cubana!

FRI, APR 12 | 8PM

This high-energy ensemble of exceptional Cuban musicians and dancers is dedicated to promoting the entire tapestry of Cuban music through a fresh, contemporary lens.

The American encore of the Havana Cuba All-Stars’ tour will be a spirited spectacle of song and dance, exemplifying Cuba’s greatest musical traditions. Student tickets start at $12.50

#mondavicenter

mondaviarts.org mondaviarts.org/students

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10 | THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019

HellaCappella Preview Get Hella Spoked at annual a cappella showcase

KEN JI STIN SON / COU RTESY

BY ROSI E SC HWAR Z arts@theaggie.org The first Friday of spring quarter is always exciting because school has yet to pick up, so everyone comes together to celebrate the last (and arguably best) quarter of the year. This Friday, April 5 at 7 p.m. is HellaCappella. HellaCappella is the premier a cappella showcase on the West Coast and is hosted and organized every year by the Spokes, a UC Davis female a cappella group.

For those looking for something to kick off their quarter, this show adds a whole new dimension to the activities available on Friday night.

This year is the 15th annual HellaCappella Showcase and will host six a cappella groups from University of Oregon, The Claremont Colleges, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz and, of course, UC Davis. In addition to organizing and hosting the show, the Spokes themselves will be performing.

Beyond a cappella, the show will be emceed by

the women of Birdstrike Theatre, UC Davis’ premier improv group.

Sarah Kadlec, a third-year American studies and gender, sexuality and women’s studies double major and co-president of the Spokes, explained the hard work the Spokes put into this showcase and the excitement of the approaching show.

“My favorite part of HellaCappella is getting to share what we’ve been working on all year with our friends and family that come to the show,” Kadlec said. “This year’s HellaCappella is special because it’s the first time in a really long time that the original members of the group will be coming. We have a lot of alumni coming to the show from several different graduating classes, so it is going to be such a cool moment to see us all come together as Spokes […] the two Spokes founders Jaclyn Fromer-Cohen and Camaron Ochs created the group because they felt like there should be an all female a cappella group on campus so the Spokes were born.”

Alex Grey: Art influenced by psychedelics

LSD moves the visionary art movement

CA ITLYN SA MPLEY / AGGIE

BY CL AY A L L EN R O GE R S arts@theaggie.org Alex Grey is considered an American visionary artist. He paints images to illustrate the transcendency of body, mind and soul by means of spiritual and mystical themes. A world renowned painter, author, teacher and Vajrayana practitioner, Grey is revered as the main influencer of the visionary movement.

Hailing from a middle-class family in Columbus, Ohio, Grey’s father was a graphic designer who bolstered Grey’s fascination with art by supplying him with the resources to pursue his interests. After attending two art schools and a fiveyear vocation at Harvard Medical School where he worked in the Anatomy department studying cadavers in-line for dissection, Grey’s art is nearly unexplainable. His art takes shape as a psychedelic x-ray vision into the body, highlighting the soul and mind in connection with “the light” at the end of the tunnel.

One of his most famous works, “Cosmic Christ,” is a 50 by 102-inch oil painting on carved wood. It’s a burning inferno outlining the image of Christ, and within the outline is a series of micro-paintings that depict a wide range of historical figures and events, some of them mythical.

Something wholly unique to Grey’s style is that his paintings confront the realities that surround us and the sources of light and dark within us. Much like “Cosmic Christ,” his countless works show corporeal bodies with their brainwaves and energies illustrated towards a higher power — toward a light. His paintings always have a light in the top corner or center. Is this light God, the universe or the “clear light?” As interpreted by Timothy Leary, a psychedelic visionary of the 1960s, it may represent the subtlest level of the mind — a Buddha-like nature.

Artwork such as Grey’s does not take place in a vacuum. We can attribute his immeasurable skills to his time spent studying at Columbus

Review: Us

Jordan Peele proves he’s not a one-hit-wonder with his latest film “Us”

C A I T LY N SA M P L E Y / AGGI E

BY A LYSSA I L SL E Y arts@theaggie.org Jordan Peele’s sophomore horror film “Us” premiered on March 22, earning $71.1 million in its opening weekend. Following in the success of Peele’s 2017 debut film “Get Out,” “Us” left audiences in awe, wonder and absolute horror — a recurring staple in Peele’s growing body of work.

The film follows the Wilson family on a beach trip to Santa Cruz, Calif. Wife and mother Adelaide, played by Lupita Nyong’o, is apprehensive about returning to the town where she had a traumatic experience in her youth. This experience unravels in flashbacks throughout the film and involves Adelaide meeting a clone of her childhood self in a funhouse hall of mirrors. As the trip wears on, Adelaide becomes increasingly nervous until one night, a family dressed in red

Camaron Ochs, known professionally as Cam, is now a Grammy-nominated country recording artist and songwriter.

The founding of both the Spokes and HellaCappella occurred in 2004 and since then has only grown in popularity and production as the Spokes work all year to organize and put the showcase on.

The Spokes’ website explains “just as a bicycle wheel relies on the support of all of its spokes, this group depends on the dedication of every member to achieve their goals.” Just as the Spokes themselves work hard to create a support system within their group, they foster one throughout the entire acapella community by inviting and hosting so many other groups to perform.

“The Spokes may be the all-female a cappella group at Davis, but it’s also a sisterhood of strong, independant, intelligent, and kind women who have bonded through their love of music,” said Tanya Kameswaran, a fourth-year psychology and communications double major and President of the Spokes.

Fourth-year history and psychology double major Josie Kamida, who has been to HellaCappella every year since enrolling at UC Davis, explained that her love for the show surrounds seeing the different styles of every group.

“This year I’m really excited because I always really like the Spokes’ arrangements and style,” Kamida said. “The former high school choir nerd in me loves seeing a cappella, and also the other groups [are] really cool, because I get to see all of the talent at other schools, and see the different styles too. If you haven’t been before it’s like real life ‘Pitch Perfect’ and I would really recommend it to everyone no matter what your musical background is.”

For those who have not been to HellaCapella, this year’s show will not disappoint. The show will be held in Jackson Hall of the UC Davis Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. It is a huge accomplishment for a student group to organize and arrange a show to be performed at the Mondavi Center, which seats over 1,800 people, and each year the Spokes’ commitment and passion to creating a successful

HELLACAPELLA on 12 College of Art and Design, where he subsequently dropped out to pursue a career in painting.

His skills can also be attributed to his time at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where he studied under conceptual artist Jay Jaroslav. But his art shifted with his spirit when he began to use LSD, or acid.

For roughly five years, he and his partner Allyson Grey, also a psychedelic artist, indulged in sacramental journeys on LSD that, according to Grey, transformed his agnostic existentialism to radical transcendentalism. As the story goes, the two lovers shared a spiritual experience that is entirely unexplainable by earthly logic. This experience would drive Grey to produce pious artwork that would become revered world-wide, driving bands such as Tool to commission him to create their album covers. In addition, The Chapel of the Sacred Mirrors, a New York church, was constructed to house their sacred paintings.

Besides painting multidimensional situations and detailed representations of the human body with its chakras, auras and other spiritual tessellations, Grey has contributed to the world of philosophy through his 1998 book “The Mission of Art.” In his ledger, he promoted the mystical potentialities of art, saying “the process of artistic creation can (and should) play a role in the enlightenment of the artist [...] the process of artistic creation holds the potential of transcending the limitations of the mind and more fully expressing the divine spirit.”

Grey is in touch with an inner divine spirit that can only be attributed to his five-year journey through the depths of his mind by way of psychedelic drugs. And he is not alone on this divine plane. Now resting somewhere in the void, Salvador Dalí and Hieronymus Bosch had their experiences with psychedelics, which influenced the dreamscapes of their paintings.

However, Grey’s paintings focus less on dreamlike landscapes and more on the divine spirit of the human soul and its interconnectedness with the light above and within. As a supporter of the psychedelic experience, Grey now hosts lectures on psychedelic therapy in New York with Dr. Anthony Bossis and full moon gatherings at his chapel.

His chapel gatherings revolve around guided jumpsuits appears in her driveway.

Peele’s intricate storyline depicts a failed scientific experiment that left a society of clones to live out their days underground, mirroring the lives of their aboveground counterparts. However, Adelaide’s doppelganger, named Red, has led a revolution to sever the ties between the aboveground society and their clones or their “tethered” as they are referred to in the film.

The rest of the movie follows the real Wilson family as they attempt to escape the wrath of their exact clones.

Much of the film’s subtle and nuanced terror comes from Nyong’o’s portrayal of both Adelaide and Red. Nyong’o depicts the two characters brilliantly; viewers must constantly remind themselves that they are indeed played by the same actress. From how Nyong’o carries herself in both roles to the terrifying voice she uses for the underground counterpart, Nyong’o is the sole force behind the nightmare-inducing horror of the film.

The film’s score, produced by composer Michael Abels, adds to the suspense and terror as well. From the chilling opening track “Anthem” played over the image of thousands of rabbits in cages, to the final battle scene between Adelaide and Red, to an unnerving version of “Pas De Deux,” the score works to build ominous tension. Perhaps most notably would be the terrifying remix of “I Got 5 On It” by Luniz, which was featured in the film’s trailer. The vintage hip-hop track is slowed down and turned into a chilling anthem for the film, taking something from pop culture and making it eerie, which is something Peele does very well.

Peele’s skills as a writer and filmmaker have only increased since the success of “Get Out,” proving that his creative talents have immense

CULTURE CORNER The Arts Desk’s weekly picks for televisions, movies, novels, music

BY I TZELTH GAMBOA arts@theaggie.org

Television: Delhi Crime When a couple is found at the side of a road naked and beaten, the deputy police commissioner of Delhi makes it her mission to find the six men that committed the crime. This Netflix series is based off the 2012 gang rape and murder of Jyoti Singh in India. The series kept me on edge and is binge-worthy. I never knew what was going to happen next. Despite the subject matter, the show is not graphic, but it is intense and not for the faint of heart.

Movie: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse The latest Spider-Man installment is an animated feature that follows young Miles Morales, who shortly after becoming Spider-Man meets five other Spider People from different dimensions. While I have never been able to pick a movie as my favorite, Into the Spider-Verse is definitely a contender.

Beautifully crafted, it has the appeal of both comedy and action and characters that are easily relatable — despite the whole being a superhero quirk.

Novel: I’ll Give You the Sun Jandy Nelson’s novel switches between two points of view — twins Noah and Jude, who used to be attached at the hip. The now-separated twins each navigate their separate lives, finding people to love and discovering different parts of their past they wished had stayed hidden. There are no words to describe the ending and how I felt about it being over. Despite the short read, it didn’t leave me disappointed.

This novel offers a new world for readers to get lost in and characters to fall in love with.

Album: RKS Rainbow Kitten Surprise’s “RKS” was released in 2015 and the album is a fun change of pace for fans of usual indie pop. What initially drew me in as I was cleaning on an early Sunday morning was the band name: Rainbow Kitten Surprise. What kept me listening was their odd song titles, which left me wondering what each song was truly about. Rainbow Kitten Surprise’s album is meant for those long drives with the windows down, the volume up and zero cares in the world.

meditations, lectures and art classes and provide information for its visitors to go out and seek psychedelic therapy on their own.

The Chapel of the Sacred Mirrors also features a number of modern artists who illustrate the same hallucinogenic visions in their art. From Jonathan Solter, who paints ancient pyramids in a field of colorful rays which he calls “The Halls of Creation” to Nadia Satya, who paints the

LSD on 13 staying power. “Us” is by far Peele’s most frightening film yet, but it also has more comedic moments and levity than “Get Out.” On the whole, “Us” is simply bigger; the stakes of the plot, the worldbuilding and the filmmaking budget have all grown since Peele’s directorial debut.

That is not to say that “Us” is a perfect film, however. There are some tone and pacing problems that hinder the storytelling.

In an article for the New York Post, Sara Stewart commented that the film “moves in fits and starts; its pacing isn’t that of a standard horror movie. It rarely resorts to cheap scares, but occasionally slows to a crawl.”

While “Us” does not feel as clean cut or polished as some fans may have found “Get Out” to be, it’s due to the fact that Peele is unafraid to take risks in his films. He created a bizarrely weird and challenging plot that most filmmakers besides Peele would not have been able to achieve, even if there as some bumps along the way.

As per any Peele film, the movie includes symbolism and commentary on social issues. While the commentary is more ambiguous in this film, the underground society of doppelgangers represent marginalized groups who feel as though they have been forgotten.

Richard Brody of the New York Times praised Peele’s “radical vision of inequality, of the haves and the have-nots, those who are in and those who are out.”

In the film, when Adelaide asks who the doppelganger family is, Red answers simply, “We are Americans.” The film is aiming to understand what exactly makes us human, and what the difference between the monstrous counterparts and the below ground personas truly are. “Us” is currently playing in theaters everywhere.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019 | 11

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all the time, so yeah she wants to have sex with me!’ and then sexual assaults happen. I think [the songs] really reveal that.”

Lastly, Gutierrez commented on the presence of band alumni, saying that they felt as if alumni were always somewhere — whether it be at rehearsals or parties. They attribute this to the cult-esque sense of community surrounding the organization. Gutierrez described the majority of them to be “creepy” men, recalling hearing about alumni harassing women at parties and groping them.

They left the interview off with one last remark.

“The fact is, it’s been two years and there are still rapists in the band.”

A former member of the band who wished to remain anonymous quietly expressed their desire for the story to break, feeling that there isn’t enough being done both within the band and at the university-level to correct the issue.

“I want to explain how toxic the culture is, because I don’t think the public is aware,” they said. “Traditions and mentality have been held up since the seventies and haven’t progressed since the seventies when it comes to hazing and verbal abuse.”

They reported that these ‘traditions’ — manifested in odd rituals, verbal abuse and a strict hierarchy — haven’t come close to being abolished.

This is largely due to the prominent alumni presence that keeps old traditions alive and band officials’ desire to hold power over their members.

The source went on to explain their personal experience dealing with Band-uh! and the reported power dynamics that exist within the organization. Though they were initially timid to share, as the interview progressed they opened up and became more upset and expressive about the described abuses.

They spoke of exclusive, band-only parties that took place after football games, where band members were expected to consume alcohol or else they “weren’t cool.” Members in charge don’t allow any cell phones to be out, they explained, at risk of any pictures or videos being taken.

At these gatherings, they said, freshmen were especially targeted. The hazers, or “coats,” would stand on elevated surfaces and force first years to sing inappropriate songs about beastiality and rape, among other controversial topics.

“Coats,” according to multiple sources, hold unofficial positions within the student band. The group consists of members who have been entrusted to keep the traditions of Band-uh! alive — both the good and the bad. These responsibilities are passed down as coats graduate, with only the most dedicated band members selected for the position.

Bullying and sexual abuse were two themes that were constantly referred to throughout the interview. The source also noted the difficulties

members go through when removing themselves from band.

“People who leave band and cut cold-turkey [...] don’t develop as a normal human being in college,” they said. “You become comfortable and you don’t know how to engage or make a new friend group […] it becomes like a really comfortable, comfortable place and everyone’s your friend. Then I left, and suddenly nobody wanted to be my friend.”

Audible frustration was apparent when they told The Aggie about their efforts to bring justice to the band.

“Stanford, Cal Poly and Humboldt,” they said. “They’re all marching bands that got suspended for a year because it [the hazing] got out of hand. But their stories [...] aren’t even close to what happens here, yet SJA and Campus Rec don’t do sh*t about it. And they’re aware of it.

The university is really scared about doing something because they know it’s going to be a big story.”

Jeff Heiser, the associate director of Campus Recreation, directly addressed this claim with one of his own.

“Campus Recreation takes all allegations of potential misconduct and hazing seriously,” Heiser said via email. “Reports of possible violation of our CAMB Code of Conduct were reported in the fall. In consultation with our department leadership and in conjunction with our Code of Conduct, we immediately took action to remedy the situation, including temporarily suspending students from participating in band activities and re-writing some policies to clarify expectations.”

The second source continued by addressing the reported problem of Band-uh! alumni frequenting band practices, performances and parties. The source claimed that their presence not only encourages unhealthy traditions, but also becomes problematic in the context of sexual assault.

“You know when the Band-uh! plays at basketball games?,” they said. “Alumni still go to that, too. That’s a problem because people who are sexually assaulted by alumni have no jurisdiction because they can’t tell the university, because they [the university] have no jurisdiction over the person.”

Heiser also commented on the potentially harmful presence of band alumni.

“Due to concerns brought to our attention regarding the alumni band, and in consultation with Campus Counsel and HDAPP [the Harassment and Discrimination and Prevention Program], we are currently suspending the alumni band from participating with our student band until we have some additional requirements and expectations in writing,” Heiser said via email.

“We are looking forward to the alumni band performing with us at Picnic Day.”

On Mar. 28, 2019, an email was sent out to the Cal Aggie Marching Band Alumni Association (CAMBAA) listserv. The message, obtained

by The Aggie, referenced CAMBAA’s suspension from campus activities due to a potential violation of state and Federal laws. To protect confidentiality, the email did not disclose any additional details — however, it specifically mentioned that sexual harassment training will be codified in the CAMBAA Constitution.

It is unclear whether or not the situation to be detailed below is related to the newly announced suspension. The second source believes there to be additional incidents that triggered the suspension of CAMBAA — among those, they specifically recalled a male alumnus choking a female band member.

A third source, who also wished to remain anonymous, spoke with The Aggie about a particularly troublesome event they had with a band alumnus. This source wrote out a statement detailing a first-hand experience they had at a 2018 band party.

“Mellos [Mellophones] have a no dating rule and are pretty platonically affectionate as a group, so I thought it would be cool to get on the couch with him [the alumnus] in a strictly cuddly sense,” the third source said in a statement. “I didn’t mind continued kissing there, but then he suddenly slid his hand up my shirt [...] Eventually, I quit caring about what was happening in total, because I was exhausted and basically falling asleep in the middle of this, so I lay down on the couch. He followed me and resumed sexual activity without warning nor my opinion, for or against. I felt like I couldn’t say no because of how long it had already gone on and he had responded badly to me asking for adjustments, so why would he respect me telling him to totally quit? Therefore, out of fear of how he’d react and just sheer exhaustion, I played possum, which did not discourage him.”

This third source later agreed to participate in a phone interview, where they gave further insight into the culture that allowed such an alarming incident to occur.

“I want to say something to the less obvious parts of band culture that are problematic,” they said, faltering in between sentences. “People at our age enjoy, sort of, dirty humor. And so both that and the fact that, in my section, platonic cuddling and trying to be physically affectionate is something promoted a lot [...] I was more willing to view things — sexual jokes and innuendos or wanting to be physically affectionate — as something that wasn’t inherently leading to a sexual relationship or anything like that. I feel lied to by the culture of my section, in a way, and I feel like that’s something interesting — that they would say, you know, ‘This is something that y’all just do and it doesn’t mean anything,’ and then boom, it does.”

Because their aggressor was not a current student, they were unable to seek justice through the university and opted not to bring their accusation to the police. Some sort of justice was served when the band’s party committee effectively banned the alumnus from coming back to social events.

They went deeper into explaining the long-standing party habits within the band, sharing their understanding that few members take the idea of sober consent seriously. The

source expressed their frustration that this law wasn’t emphasized in the mandatory risk management training, which takes place at the band retreat over the summer.

“People don’t take risk management seriously at all,” the third source said. “I remember, as I was walking into it this past year, I heard someone say, ‘Ugh, we have to do the rape talk,’ and I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? This would be helpful if you took it seriously.’”

On the other hand, this same risk management program was claimed to be extremely thorough and helpful by Heiser and the band director Josh Garcia.

Both Heiser and Garcia were terse during an in-person interview.

“We have a session that has two different parts — one on hazing, and then also sexual harassment and risk management,” Heiser said. “We also [...] push this concept that being a member of the California Aggie Marching Band doesn’t take any additional steps. You pay to become a member, you participate in retreat and that’s it. There are no other special hoops to jump through.”

Heiser and Garcia both emphasized that these trainings were frequent, extensive and required. Additional training is required for members who hold positions in the band.

The two university figures also implied, however, that they could only be held responsible for the band’s actions during designated band time.

“Honestly, I’m very removed from their social scene,” Garcia said. “Things that happen off of band time [...] I’m not there, so.”

The two anonymous sources both referred to issues with the band’s reporting system. They recalled times when problems within the band were not dealt with accordingly when the band director became aware of them.

Certain situations, they explained, should have been reported to SJA or Campus Recreation that weren’t. Heiser and Garcia both refuted this claim, saying that any issues that demanded to be elevated were elevated to campus partner offices.

Additionally, Garcia stressed that there is a level of discretion used when dealing with problematic situations.

“First and foremost, I would assume that students would bring it to each other, then to the officer council — because they’re kind of the governing body — and then bring it to me,” Garcia said. “At that point, Jeff and I would discuss it and decide whether it’s something we can handle under our plans or policies, or if it’s something we need to elevate at that point.”

Heiser interjected as soon as Garcia stopped talking, eager to list off campus organizations the band partners with. The Office of Student Support and Judicial Affairs (OSSJA), the Harassment & Discrimination Assistance Prevention Program (HDAPP) and Campus Counsel were all named.

The third anonymous source ended their interview with an expression of hope for the band’s future, noting that the environment may be improving.

“I have a little bit more faith in the system, knowing that it worked as much as it did for me, even if it didn’t work perfectly,” they said. “As time goes on, band gets better and better as people stand up and report and speak out.”

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At the rally for the strike, there were numerous organizations apart from the UPTE workers who wished to show their support for the union and its cause. Among these supporters was Jesse Drew, a professor of cinema and technoculture.

He began his statement by expressing that many of the professors at UC Davis support the actions that the workers are taking for an equitable and fair contract, and he believes the university should be doing more for its workers.

“We live in a nation of extreme inequality,

where a handful of individuals have more wealth than the majority of us combined,” Drew said.

“Our public university should be doing all it can to ameliorate this problem.”

Drew continued his rally speech by focusing on the idea that the university spends millions of dollars funding research that is aimed at studying poverty.

“The university likes to study poverty,” Drew said. “They just don’t want to do anything about it.”

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from club water polo and swim, and they were asking us what type of storage we would need for our equipment and stuff like that, so it was pretty official that one of the pools was being made for us to use,” Steinmeier said. “Then, they made us aware of the dimensions of the pool that we were supposed to use, and it’s still not big enough for us. Basically, they were building a pool that they said was for [us], but we aren’t even able to use it.”

After learning the new pool was not going to be large enough for club polo teams, the Women’s Club Water Polo team scheduled meetings with administrators from other sports clubs and campus recreation to voice their concerns about the plan for the pool and give their input. The team grew increasingly frustrated with the response, or lack thereof, on the part of the university.

“We were basically like ‘Why are you building this giant pool that’s going to cost billions of dollars that isn’t even big enough for all of us to use?’” Steinmeier said. “We had meetings about [it] and they basically were like ‘Well, we already have the plans, we can’t do anything about it, this is what it’s going to be.’ They basically just

brushed it off. We started a petition, and we tried to go to the chancellor, and the chancellor never got back to us and wouldn’t meet with us.

No one really replied to or acknowledged our concerns.”

Steinmeier mentioned that the Women’s Club Water Polo team has been highly successful in recent years, yet the team is unable to benefit from the renovation of the Rec Pool.

“Right now, our women’s club water polo team is back-to-back defending national champions,” Steinmeier said. “Our club is growing, and it’s not fair that we are a very successful club that competes at high levels, but we’re not able to get the facilities we need.”

The lack of a pool that fits their needs will likely have long-term effects on UC Davis club water polo teams.

“I think definitely in the future, we’re either not going to have space or we’re going to have cut girls from the team, so we can have a smaller number of people to make space, but we don’t want to do that — it’s a club team, it should be open to everyone,” Steinmeier said. “It really kind of does suck that they didn’t listen to us or what we needed.”

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of Strategic Communications said, “The procedures for responding to allegations of misconduct by faculty members are set forth in UCD Academic Personnel Manual (APM) 015.” However, APM 016 lays out forms of faculty discipline, one of which is dismissal which could be used against Clover. Other forms of discipline include written censure, reduction in salary, demotion, suspension, denial or curtailment of emeritus status and dismissal from the employ of the University.

The UC Regents have the power to make the final decision to dismiss a faculty member. If they choose to do so, Clover “may file a lawsuit to challenge a dismissal action.”

The California Aggie reached out to Clover for interview or statement. Clover provided the same response he previously sent: “On the day that police have as much to fear from literature professors as black kids do from police, I will definitely have a statement. Until then I have nothing further to add.”

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

12 | THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019

RESPITE CENTER

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groups work on more long-term solutions, such as Paul’s Place. Lee noted the achievability of short-term, immediate solutions; he cited the speed at which emergency structures and amenities were put into place in response to recent California fires.

“It would be nice to offer [those camping] a more safe and secure area,” Lee said.

Lee noted that finding the land for the tent cabins may pose a challenge.

“Most of the city land is already being used for something, so we’ll probably have to relocate, at least on a temporary basis some of some city activity,” Lee said.

Lee also acknowledged potential neighborhood concerns and teh challenges they pose to constructing the center.

“It’s reasonable for people to be concerned, but I think we can allay those concerns by showing it will be well run and done in an orderly fashion,” Lee said. “But that is one of the challenges — trying to make sure that the neighbors understand what it is versus letting their fears or imagination get the better of them.”

Before piloting either the day center or the tent cabins, the proposal still must be developed, presented and approved by the council.

Joan Planell, a social services consultant for the City of Davis, has been leading the staff team responsible for policy recommendations for the center since the Feb. 19 meeting. This staff team includes, among others, Officer Ryan Collins, the homeless outreach services coordinator, Ginger Hashimoto, an analyst with the city manager’s office and Madeline Handy, a second-year microbiology major at UC Davis and intern for Lee. Handy has been working on researching options for the center since she was hired in late September of 2018.

“When I started toward the end of September, I was just doing research and talking to members of the community about the potential

of having the project,” Handy said, adding that she’s spoken to groups like Davis Community Church and IRWS to learn about the homelessness efforts already happening in Davis and receive feedback. “Everybody has been relatively supportive. There have been some concerns about the program, but we’re still working through details.”

Handy continued by explaining her work with the team.

“Since that [Feb. 19] meeting, I’ve been meeting with members of the staff to put together a proposal that will actually go to the city council,” Handy said. “We’ve just been gathering research and looking into the best practices, and hopefully when the proposal is finished, it will get approved, but it still is in the works.”

Planell emphasized that at the moment, her team is exploring the respite center as a possibility, rather than a certainty.

“There has to be a vote of at least three [council members] are in favor of doing this before it becomes a reality, so we’re just exploring it at this point,” Planell said. “It has not been agreed that the city council is going to do this. The mayor had an idea, and the staff are researching the feasibility of it.”

Planell said that the team will present its findings in a written report for Mike Webb, the Davis city manager, by the end of April.

“I’ve been working with [Lee] as far as what’s his vision, making sure that our research is in line with his vision,” Planell said.

Handy showed support for the project while highlighting the fact that the project is still in its beginning stages.

“I think that the respite center will have a really big impact on the community and it’ll be really helpful,” Handy said. “We’re just sort of working through some details and preparing options that the city council will look at, so there’s still a lot of room for improvement and figuring out what will be best for Davis.”

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According to Daseking, she likes being a tour guide because she remembers how difficult it was for her to decide which college to attend.

“When I was going through [the] decision process, there was so many things I didn’t know,” Daseking said. “It is nice to come through the experience myself and offer wisdom to incoming students to help them see what campus is really like and how to pick a school.”

The amount of tours students give per week varies since they are only required to do six tours per quarter. Daseking said she usually does one to two tours a week, but does fewer on weeks where she is busier.

Munguia said that scheduling is very flexible because the university wants involved and well-rounded students giving tours and telling admitted and prospective students and their families about their experiences, so the hours required are relatively low for an on-campus job.

Tour guides can, however, sign up to do many more tours than this minimum if they have the time and are willing. Some tour guides even give multiple tours in a single day, walking backwards for three or more hours.

“Being a tour guide is a great experience,” Chakravarty said. “It is the most diverse group of people you will meet, and there are as large of a variety of backgrounds as possible. Tours showcase as many student experiences as possible.”

As a tour guide, Chakravarty said that she gets to meet lots of people who share her similar love for UC Davis.

“The people that I get to work with are really fun,” Daseking said. “We really are a little family. We have monthly socials and events. Everyone loves Davis and welcomes people in.”

Because tour guides must manage large groups of people, being a guide is hard and requires strong people skills.

“It was a lot more than just being able to walk backwards,” Munguia said. “It requires people skills, like managing when people are [too] chatty or really quiet groups. Our responsibility is to not just point at buildings. We want to make a comfortable environment, so people can ask questions they think are appropriate.

These students are considering applying, so it is

our responsibility to be comfortable enough to change the environment to give the best tour.”

Another difficulty includes the physical strenuousness of the job. According to Chakravarty, tour guides must be very dedicated to their work since on a tour they walk backwards almost the distance of a 5k. Tours also happen rain or shine, so many tour guides will walk the entire tour in pouring rain if guests show up and want to see the campus.

“For the two hours you are there giving the tour, you must be 100 percent present,” Chakravarty said.

Munguia likes giving tours because it reminds her why she is so happy and lucky to go to UC Davis.

“The more you get into upper division classes and the more responsibilities you get, you are always stressed, and it is hard to take time out of day and take a step back to remember why you are here,” Munguia said. “When I walk into the Welcome Center to give a tour after a bad exam or hard day, I can take a deep brief and be reminded why I’m happy to be here, and I show that to the prospective students.”

For students interested in becoming tour guides, they must go through an application process found on Aggie Job Link. During Spring Quarter, recruiting begins. Applications are posted on Aggie job link where students can submit their resumes and cover letters. Certain applicants are then selected for a group interview and then an individual interview.

Once students make it through those stages, they become a tour guide, but they undergo a training process where they learn the facts, memorize the 20-page script, give practice tours, watch others give tours and pass a certification test.

“Once you have the job, you have it for the rest of your college career,” Chakravarty said.

As for current students, faculty and members of the UC Davis community, Daseking said she likes when they talk to tour groups because the interaction completes the UC Davis experience.

“Don’t be afraid to shout out ‘Go Ags!’ or say, ‘Hi,’” Daseking said. “It is super fun to see people connecting on campus, and it is always fun to hear a hello.”

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members that day, and it just made us that much more motivated to continue the pressure

and make sure that legislators don’t stop hearing from us and that this is a top and urgent issue.”

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a cappella showcase is met with a full audience at the Mondavi Center.

Kameswaran explained how special this year’s performance is.

“The show is a culmination of all the hard work we’ve put in throughout the year and offers us a platform to show both our individual growth and our growth as a group,” Kameswaran said. “This year we’ve really harnessed all of our unique music tastes and musical backgrounds to create a diverse and dynamic sound. Fifteen years is a huge milestone to celebrate so we’re so thankful to have this opportunity to share our music with the Davis community.”

An added excitement surrounding HellaCappella is the Spokes’ choice of emcees, because the ladies of Birdstrike get a chance to emcee the show.

Hayley Chung, a fourth-year landscape architect major and member of Birdstrike, will be emceeing HellaCappella for her third time.

“It’s always super fun, a lot of energy, and a great audience,” said Chung. “There are a lot of

cool and talented groups that we get to see and meeting all of the different people from different schools and bonding with the Birdstrike femmes is my favorite thing.”

Within Davis, there are so many amazing and talented student-run groups, and beyond being one of them, the Spokes work hard to create a community and bring together women, art and performance.

HellaCappella is an incredible show, and the work and energy that the Spokes put into it is reflected in how professional and smooth it always is. It is an enjoyable and memorable time for not only those who perform in it but also for those who attend.

Those in attendance can look forward to the Spokes performing some pop numbers as well as alternative music, a couple really powerful songs and some fun throwback songs.

Tickets are $21 for students and children and $35 general admission at the door. They can be purchased beforehand or online for a reduced price. Doors open at 7 p.m.

same, and not even every quarter is the same,” Crosby said. “Interns can stay in the class for a full year, you can repeat the class for up to ten units. We had a student last year that joined in the fall, stayed with her class at Cesar Chavez Elementary School and by the end of the year, had a job in an afterschool program.”

Although the goal of the program is for students to gain teaching experience, Crosby embraces the fact that not all students leave the program wanting to become a teacher.

“Over the course of my five quarters, I’ve had a few students that said ‘Thanks for the experience, but I know I don’t want to be a teacher,’ so it is affirming in either direction,” Crosby said.

“That is critical because, as someone who taught high school for six years, if you’re knee-deep in teaching, and you have doubt, I can’t think of anything more miserable.”

Crosby stressed the idea that students should use the program to experiment with different class settings to find the best fit for them. She acknowledged the malleability of teaching and the learning curve of finding what methods work for each class. The ability to adapt to different situations and circumstances, both as a student and educator, can have profound impacts on whether students decide to follow the teaching discipline or not.

The conversations and lessons shared during class sessions are another aspect Crosby highlighted as a time where students are often vulnerable. This vulnerability allows them to learn how to address situations that they previously had only been on one side of.

“We work a lot on empathy because it’s not easy and people will make mistakes,” Crosby said. “We have students that say, ‘A kid came up to me today totally bawling, and I turned to the kid and said everything would be okay,’ but, as much as we’d like to believe that, we need to talk through other options and what to do in that situation.”

For the most part, Crosby suggested that learning how to handle emotional situations with younger students is something that comes from both practice and dedication.

“We just don’t know until we get coached or until we fail and try another way,” Crosby said.

Crosby also noted the struggles that students find when “converting into an answer-person from a question-person.” She reminds her students to stay curious and continue to find new ways to interact with their students, building respect throughout the journey.

Ryan Choi, a second-year psychology major and current Writing Ambassador intern at North Davis Elementary School, shared his experience working with his third-grade class during the school year.

“I work with Ms. Pearl Toy, and she has given me the opportunity to work in small groups with students, one-on-one tutoring and whole group lessons where I’m able to cover reading comprehension and grammar lessons,” Choi said. “I’ve been able to build meaningful relationships with

the students. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to be able to grow in a different sense since, in the past, I used to tutor for STEM subjects.”

Choi has been able to help students develop their reading skills and become stronger and more proficient with the English language, something he finds to be very rewarding. As he continues with the program, he hopes to work with other teachers in varying grade levels to get a better idea of where his teaching abilities are best suited.

“When I continue this program, I think the appropriate grades for me to work in would be a sixth-grade classroom and a first-grade classroom,” Choi said. “Sixth graders have progressed a bit more in terms of writing ability, and first graders are learning to read rather than reading to learn. Having done a lot of seventh to ninth-grade tutoring, I think that elementary school is more suited for me and my interests in helping students build strong character traits, like compassion and empathy.”

Estefania Jimenez, a fourth-year biological science major and current intern at Cesar Chavez Elementary School in a fifth-grade class, joined Writing Ambassadors initially due to her uncertainty about what she wanted to do after college. Since being in the program, she has a newfound appreciation for teaching and is more confident working with students.

“The experience has helped me grow as a person,” Jimenez said. “People always say, ‘Don’t take things personally.’ I definitely see why now.”

Jimenez described how classrooms and having students can be a flurry of emotions and stress for both parties, particularly when she’s trying incredibly hard to diffuse the troubles of her students.

“Sometimes the students may be having a bad day and you’re doing your best to help them learn and they’re not having it,” Jimenez said.

“That can be really discouraging that you’re not getting back the energy you’re putting in. At the end of the day, you have to remember you’re there to help them learn. Tomorrow will be a new day and it’ll be better.”

Jimenez has faced other obstacles such as helping students both in Spanish and English, switching between the languages throughout her day, but enjoys challenging herself in new ways and finding what works best for her and her classroom.

“They work in Spanish in the morning and in English in the afternoon, so that’s been challenging,” Jimenez said. “I’m a native Spanish speaker, but I went to school in English my whole life, so it was strange having to learn terms like numerator and denominator and having to explain things in a different language.”

Jimenez and Choi both have found great success and a new passion for education through interning with Writing Ambassadors.

As the program continues to grow and nurture more future educators, the future looks bright for education across all grade levels and subjects.

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designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), it is important to create a council where Latinx leaders unite,” Estrada said. “We have a beautiful Latinx community on campus yet we had no clear communication between all organizations.

I believe that LLC will bridge the gap and allow for all to communicate clearly. In addition, it is important to aggregate the experiences, knowledge and skills of student leaders in order to collaborate on new projects and strengthen the bonds in the community.”

Maravilla also commented on this same idea.

“My main goal is to create an organization that not only brings together the Latinx organizations on campus, but also to create an impactful organization that is sustainable for future generations,” Maravilla said. “As UC Davis becomes a Hispanic Serving Institute with more

than 25 percent of the population being Latinx, I want to ensure the incoming students that the Latinx community is well organized and can provide a good social network with countless opportunities.”

First-year, neurobiology physiology and behavior major Annanya Tyagi commented on the importance of promoting diversity at UC Davis.

“I definitely think that Davis is a diverse school. This add[s] to the different ways of thinking and forms new perspectives and helps us come up with solutions to difficult problems more easily,” Tyagi said. “It is important for minority clubs to be able to provide their input for decisions because it empowers them to give their input later in life and makes for a more productive society that works for everyone after college.”

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019 | 13

USWNT LAWSUIT

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With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer finally being confirmed as the permanent manager of the club, receiving a three-year contract last week, United has its sights set on a top-four finish in the Premier League and a return to title contention for next season. The team is starting to get healthy again just in time for the final stretch run and won’t have to worry about playing extra games in the FA Cup after being eliminated in the quarterfinals. Given the state of disarray the club was in when Solskjaer took over in December, Manchester United has already exceeded expectations and anything else it achieves this season is an added bonus.

After a surprising 0-0 draw in the first leg, Barcelona breezed past Lyon with a stress-free 5-1 win at Camp Nou, backed by two goals and two assists from Lionel Messi. In the past several weeks, Barcelona has opened up a 10-point lead over Atletico Madrid atop La Liga and should almost certainly win the league for the fourth time in five seasons.

Barcelona is the rightful favorite to win this matchup and should be able to grab an away goal or two at Old Trafford to take back to Camp Nou, where they are so difficult to take down. With the rest of the bracket already laid out in the last draw, an all-time classic Champions League Final pitting Messi versus Ronaldo seems like a realistic possibility.

Predicted Winner: Barcelona Liverpool vs Porto Liverpool delivered one of the best European road performances in recent club history with an inspired 3-1 win over Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. The Reds’ domestic form has been anything but consistent, as the team has struggled to endure the pressures of trying to win the league title for the first time in 29 years. Nevertheless, manager Jurgen Klopp and the rest of the club realized that getting three points every time out is the only thing that matters in a tight title race, regardless of how ugly the performance may be.

These teams met in the round of 16 last season and memories of an early 5-0 thumping by Liverpool in Portugal are still fresh on the minds of both fanbases. This time around, Liverpool will begin on its home turf at Anfield and could deliver an equally-destructive knockout blow in the first leg if its front three attackers start clicking. Sadio Mane has been the most consistent attacking threat on Liverpool’s squad along with Roberto Firmino, but star striker Mo Salah is still deeply entrenched in a lengthy mid-season slump. Liverpool desperately need him to get back on the scoring sheet on a regular basis if they hope to have any chance at winning a trophy this season. Klopp will be faced with the difficult decision of who to start at left back, after Andy Robertson received a late yellow card in Munich and a suspension for the first leg.

Porto was another huge beneficiary of VAR, which awarded it a game-winning penalty in the extra time period of its second leg victory over Roma last round. Porto has taken full advantage of one of the easiest paths to the quarterfinals, playing in the easy Group D and facing a struggling Roma side. Liverpool is miles ahead of any other opponent they’ve faced so far in the competition this season. Domestically, Porto is currently tied with Benfica atop Portugal’s Primeira Liga, in what promises to be a thrilling title race.

Liverpool will be focused on its critical Premier League fixture against Chelsea, which is sandwiched between the two legs, but should still have no issues dismantling Porto and making a return to the semifinals for the second year in a row. Every team left in the Champions League had Porto at the top of its wish list when the quarter final draw took place, and Liverpool just happened to receive a stroke of luck.

Predicted Winner: Liverpool Ajax vs Juventus Ajax pulled off the most shocking upset of this year’s tournament, overturning a 2-1 first leg deficit and stunning Real Madrid with a 4-1 win on the road. That legendary night at the Santiago Bernabeu will go down in history as the game that ended Real Madrid’s Champions League dynasty and potentially jump started Ajax’s return as an elite force in European football. The club has won this competition four times and most recently in 1995.

Ajax poses a dangerous threat because it has nothing to lose and isn’t going to back down from playing an exciting, attacking style of football. The team had to advance through multiple qualifying rounds last summer just to get into the group stage and has proven its resiliency on many occasions.

Juventus made the monumental summer signing of Ronaldo for one reason, and that’s to bring a Champions League title back to Turin for the first time since 1996. The club has dominated Serie A year in and year out, and is well on its way to winning the title for the eighth year in a row, but has struggled to get the job done on big European nights. Ronal-

do, arguably the greatest player in the competition’s history, was just the man they needed to overcome a 2-0 deficit to Atletico Madrid. Juventus dominated the second leg with a 62 percent possession and Ronaldo netted his eighth career Champions League hat trick, capped off by the game-winning penalty kick in the 86th minute. Juve paid the price for switching off for 15 minutes in the first leg and will be on its toes at all times from now on.

The joyful hangover from the team’s incredible comeback didn’t last long as Juventus suffered its first league loss of the season five days later, a 2-0 defeat to Genoa. While on international duty with Portugal, Ronaldo sustained an injury to his right thigh during a UEFA EURO 2020 qualifier versus Serbia last week.

Early reports indicate that he will miss the next three games but should be fit for the first leg in Amsterdam.

Juventus undoubtedly has the upper hand when it comes to experience, as opposed to a very young Ajax side that’s unfamiliar with playing on a stage of this magnitude. After overcoming a scare in the round of 16, it’s hard to imagine Ronaldo letting his team become complacent once again. The Italians should be able to get over the line in this one and inch one step closer to putting the Champions League nightmares of recent years to bed, once and for all.

Predicted Winner: Juventus Tottenham vs Manchester City Besides dismantling Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16, Tottenham has been in a tailspin in the Premier League as of late, going winless in its last four games with losses to Burnley, Chelsea and Southampton. As a result, Spurs now sit only three points ahead of fifth-place Manchester United in the race to finish in the top four and gain Champions League eligibility for next season.

After playing almost two seasons at Wembley Stadium, Tottenham will finally unveil its new 62,000-seat stadium in North London with an inaugural game against Crystal Palace this week. The first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal will be the second game at the stadium, which should deliver a special atmosphere and decided home field advantage.

Manchester City did not pull any punches in a merciless 7-0 drubbing of Schalke in the second leg of its matchup in the round of 16, advancing by an aggregate score of 10-2. City then overcame a scare in its FA Cup quarter final match against lowly Swansea two weeks ago, netting three late goals in a second half that will be remembered most for its controversial VAR decisions. As a result, the club still has a very realistic shot at winning the unprecedented quadruple by hoisting trophies of both domestic cups—the Carabao Cup and FA Cup—the Premier League and Champions League. While City would have to play an insane amount of games in the next two months to advance in each competition, there are few other clubs in Europe that have the squad depth to pull it off. The Citizens are incredibly deep at almost every position on the pitch and manager Pep Guardiola should have no shortage of options to turn to in the event that his regular starters suffer from fatigue or injury.

Manchester City is currently two points behind Liverpool in the Premier League, but has a game in hand and a significant edge in overall experience having won the league three times in the past decade. The team’s fans have typically prioritized winning the Premier League over the Champions League, but City’s ownership group seems determined to finally hoist the European cup for the first time. The club is currently under investigation by UEFA for suspected violations of the “financial fair play” rules that try to regulate teams like City who have a seemingly unlimited cash flow.

In addition to a pair of Champions League games, these two sides will also play a Premier League game on the weekend following the second leg. The squad selections and tactical battle between Guardiola and Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino will be very interesting to watch, as both competitions are critically important to each team.

Much like PSG, Manchester City has struggled mightily in its pursuit of European glory, falling short in the latter stages of the Champions League on a yearly basis. In last year’s quarterfinals, City fell asleep for the first 30 minutes against an attacking-minded Liverpool side benefitting from a raucous home environment and could not recover from a 3-0 hole.

Tottenham has been wildly inconsistent as of late but showed Dortmund what it’s capable of accomplishing when everyone in the squad comes together. If Spurs can harness the energy of playing in a new stadium in a positive way, they can realistically carry a one or two-goal advantage into the second leg at the Ethiad Stadium in Manchester. At that point, all Tottenham can wish to do is nip a crucial away goal and hope for the best.

Predicted Winner: Tottenham

There is no debate when it comes to relative success, as the men’s national team has struggled in recent years while the women have thrived.

The women play more for less pay and often in unsafe conditions. According to the lawsuit, from January 2014 to December 2017, the women played a total of 62 matches in the United States.

Of those 62, 13 were played on artificial surfaces. In that same time period, the men played 49 matches in the U.S., only one of which was hosted on an artificial surface. Playing on an artificial surface is more likely to cause serious injury, as it changes the speed and bounce of the ball as well as how players make contact with it.

This is not the first time players have taken legal action against the USSF. In March of 2016, Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn and former U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo all filed a federal complaint against the federation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). After an investigation, the EEOC found that they were in fact discriminated against by the USSF and that the Federation practiced “wage discrimination.”

After almost three years, there was no resolution but the players did receive a “right to sue” by the EEOC on February 11, leading to the lawsuit.

“During his 2017 campaign for president of the USSF, current President Carlos Cordeiro, who had been a member of the USSF’s Board of Directors since 2007 and Vice President of the USSF from 2016 to February 2018, admitted,

‘Our women’s teams should be respected and valued as much as our men’s teams, but our female players have not been treated equally.’ The USSF, however, has paid only lip service to gender equality and continues to practice gender-based discrimination against its champion female employees on the WNT in comparison to its less successful male employees on the MNT.”

Cordeiro responded to the lawsuit with a letter a week after it became public, stating, “U.S. Soccer has partnered with the USWNT in a sincere effort to listen, provide the very best resources possible to the team and its staff, and advance the women’s game on the field and in the marketplace. We were therefore surprised by the complaint filed last week by the U.S. Women’s National Team.”

According to the lawsuit, however, the players state that the USSF has “continually rejected WNT players’ requests for pay equal to the pay afforded to MNT players.”

In the end, the players are seeking change and equality, as well as payment for damages. They hope to get rid of discrimination once and for all and finally be met with action — not just words.

A favorable ruling in this lawsuit could eventually lead to other women in professional sports taking similar actions, as they continue to battle inequality. In the end, the evidence may finally lead the USWNT to achieve something they have been fighting for for a long time: equal pay for equal play.

SELF ASSEMBLY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

Doty explained that a large portion of the project was devoted to determining how to unzip the DNA in order to demonstrate that their experiment had worked. After working roughly six months to develop a method to unzip the DNA, the problem resurrected and forced the researchers to come up with new ideas.

“You take years to do an experiment, and you think the first few months will be spent knocking out the boring mundane stuff just to get the system up and running, and the next several years doing cool things with it,” Doty said. “In reality it’s the reverse: the majority of the time on the project is boring mundane stuff, mostly focused on figuring out what doesn’t work by trying things over and over again and recording that they don’t work.”

Woods stated he was pleased with the range of algorithms implemented through the experiments and the mathematically proven theoretical results from their self-assembling DNA. According to Doty, although they concentrated on DNA because there are already synthesiz-

ing methods in place and the molecule is fairly predictable, the double helix structure and the negatively charged characteristic of the molecule made some of the procedures difficult. Doty stated that their research could serve as a stepping stone to learning the general principles of automated molecule engineering.

The researchers have the opportunity to move from title growth causing the execution of an algorithm, as in their recently published paper, to exploring how algorithms can direct this growth, essentially turning around the arrow of causation. This could lead to 3D printing without a printer and growing an object controlled by algorithms.

“We are still in the early stages of exploring this jungle of ideas,” Winfree said. “Now that we’ve cut a trail to one lovely waterfall, so everyone can go there, I imagine that we’ll rest for a few days at our base camp to renew our energies and then pick up our machetes again and start hacking away at the underbrush to explore in a new direction, and see what we’ll find.”

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beauty of circles — that is, what one might see thirty minutes into a double dose of LSD. Grey paved the way for modern visionary art through his experiences with psychedelics.

By constructing the chapel, physically and digitally, he provides an outlet for other visionary artists to promote their paintings and he intends to expand this spiritual community through his lectures and classes.

Furthermore, he plans to create a social space

in upstate New York to be called the Entheon. It will be a 12,000-square foot exhibition built to house the original artwork of the Visionary Art movement.

According to the chapel’s website, it will be a place “where precious paintings, drawings, sculpture and moving image resonate with the highest states of consciousness.” For $150, visitors can lay a brick at the Entheon with a personal message inscribed.

DEOILERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

of eventually directing an educational movie or documentary to dispel misconceptions about the disease and show the general public what ME actually looks like.

“I’ve realized the power of us telling our own stories, where we can change the narrative in people’s minds, or change what people think or

say about us,” Nicole said. “Because when the public realizes all of the stuff that happens to us and the way we’re treated and just how deep and dark it gets, I think there would be more protests and advocacy and help, and we would have more of a power to demand that funding and support we need.”

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The aggie

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

14 | THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019

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

AGGIES CLAIM TWO OF THREE FROM HIGHLANDERS IN OPENING BIG WEST SERIES Sunday’s come-from-behind victory kicks off conference play for UC Davis baseball

BY A J SE YM O UR sports@theaggie.org To kick off Big West CONFERENCE play, the UC Davis baseball team faced off in a threegame weekend series against the UC Riverside Highlanders. After a rocky preseason, the Aggies looked to start conference play off on a strong note.

The Friday series opener turned out to be a very pleasing start for the Aggies, as they blew out UC Riverside 10-2. The Saturday afternoon game, however, did not end up in their favor.

UC Davis fell to the Highlanders in a tight 4-3 ballgame.

Rounding out the series on Sunday afternoon, the Aggies looked to capture their first Big West series win of the season, with senior southpaw Chris Brown taking the mound.

On the first play of the game, the Aggies committed an error that eventually resulted in an unearned run against Brown. Soon after, the Highlanders designated hitter Connor Cannon launched a two-run home run well over the

left-center field fence. Although Brown did not have an ideal opening to the game, he settled down after the first inning until he was relieved by sophomore Nick Johnson.

Behind 4-1 to begin the bottom of the sixth inning, UC Davis rebounded by scoring two runs on a string of hits into the outfield, and closed the deficit to one run.

Kicking off the bottom of the 7th inning, junior outfielder Cooper Morrison drew a tough walk that sparked a four-run inning when he was later brought home on a two-run double by junior catcher Logan Denholm. Morrison came in for senior outfielder and leadoff batter Garret Kelly, who went down with an injury. Morrison was not fazed by the moment, as he’s batted second and fourth in the previous two games. The seventh inning rally was capped by junior infielder Alejandro Lara, who hit a line drive to left center that scored a run and gave the Aggies a 7-4 lead.

Possessing a lead for the first time in the game, the eighth inning began with UC Davis

letting a runner on base. But junior pitcher Steve Ouellette ended the inning swiftly and gave up no runs. Morrison then delivered once again in the bottom of the inning with two outs, driving in senior infielder Cameron Briggs to extend the lead to 8-4.

Attempting to close out the game, Ouellette gave up a two-run shot with one out in the top of the ninth, bringing the score to 8-6. Nevertheless, the Aggies were able to finish with a 8-6 victory. The win put the Aggies at 2-1 in Big West conference play and 8-12 on the year, with Johnson earning his first win of the season.

“What I’m proud of is, this was an adversity day,” said Head Coach Matt Vaughn. “Our guys fought back after essentially giving them four runs to start the game, so that’s a good thing going forward. This conference is really good and we need to keep getting better every day.”

Sunday’s game was the only one of the series where Morrison did not start, but when he was inserted back into the lineup, he was eager to make his mark and did so, going 2-2 with an

additional walk.

“I was focused on the bench, so when my opportunity came, I felt the need to take advantage of it, and everything worked out,” Morrison added. “We came back, and [just] good vibes honestly.”

The Aggies’ next full series will start on Friday at the University of Hawaii and will continue on into the weekend.

“Hawaii is a tough place to stay focused,” Vaughn said. “You get off the plane there and it feels like you’re on vacation so hopefully we can get there and understand what we’re there for and just keep getting better.”

The next home series for UC Davis is set to start on April 12, when the Aggies will take on Cal Poly.

“The series [against UCR] went very well,” Morrison said. “It was good to win a series at home.

It was big to come back in the 6th, 7th and 8th.

Kind of carries into next week, next game — Pacific, then Hawaii — which is a lot of fun. It’s key to win games at home in conference so hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

C AIT LY N SA M P L E Y / AGGI E

JER EMY DA N G / AGGIE

EQUAL PLAY, EQUAL PAY United States Women’s National Soccer Team sues U.S. Federation for gender discrimination

BY OM A R N AVA R R O sports@theaggie.org On International Women’s Day, March 8, 2019, 28 members of the eligible player pool from the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team filed a class action gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) — three months before the start of the Women’s World Cup. “The USSF has utterly failed to promote gender equality. It has stubbornly refused to treat its female employees who are members of the WNT equally to its male employees who are members of the MNT,” the players wrote in their lawsuit.

In the 25-page filing, there are a total of 41 complaints, highlighted by claims of unequal wages, playing conditions and action from the federation. If the women’s team were to play 20 friendly games, for example, players could earn up to $99,000. On the other hand, if the men played the same amount of games, players could earn up to $263,320. As for the World

Cup, members of the MNT roster earned $55,000 in 2014. On the women’s side, players were given $15,000 for achieving the same thing in 2015.

Overall, the women have had more success than the men, winning three World Cups, four Olympic gold medals and being atop the World Rankings all but nine months in the last 10 years. The women’s World Cup final victory in July of 2015 stands as the most watched soccer game in American TV history.

“The WNT’s success on the field has translated into substantial revenue generation and profit for the USSF. In fact, during the period relevant to this case, the WNT earned more in profit and/or revenue than the MNT. For example […] the net profit for the WNT outstripped net profit for the MNT (from April 1, 2015-March 31, 2016) because the female players on the WNT were more successful in competition than the male players on the MNT – while being paid substantially less.”

USWNT LAWSUIT on 13

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RETURN PROMISES MORE DRAMA, CONTROVERSY Introduction of VAR, legendary comebacks defined crazy round of 16

BY B RE NDAN O G B U R N sports@theaggie.org It would be an understatement to say that the Champions League Round of 16 captivated fans around the world with an unimaginable amount of drama and intriguing developments. VAR technology was utilized for the first time in the competition’s history, immediately bringing an onslaught of controversy and ultimately deciding the outcome of two different matches. Real Madrid, the three-time defending champion, was humiliated on its home turf and knocked out by Ajax. Paris Saint-Germain found a way to outdo itself once again, with an unforgivable meltdown against a Manchester United side completely decimated by injuries. Last but not least, Cristiano Ronaldo furthered cemented himself in Champions League lore, rescuing Juventus with a heroic hat trick to slip past Atletico Madrid.

Overall, there is no reason to believe that the rest of this year’s competition won’t have fans on the edge of their seats all the way up until a champion is crowned at Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano

Stadium on June 1.

Manchester United vs Barcelona After losing 2-0 at Old Trafford in the first leg of the round, Manchester United appeared to be dead in the water against Paris Saint-Germain.

But as they’ve done countless times in the last decade, Les Parisiens found a way to bottle it on the biggest stage. PSG gifted Manchester United two goals in the first half on an errant pass deep in its own half and an inexcusable goalkeeping mistake from Gianluigi Buffon. Just when it seemed like PSG would survive and move on, VAR was called upon in stoppage time to award Manchester United a penalty for a hand ball in the box.

PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe attempted to turn his body in midair and deflect a shot off his back, but it was determined that his arm was not close to his body when it was struck by the ball.

Consequently, the 21-year old forward Marcus Rashford calmly slotted the penalty kick into the bottom corner of the net, sending Manchester United into the next round.

CHAMP LEAGUE QF on 13