February 20 2020

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VOLUME 138, ISSUE 17 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

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LECTURERS AND LIBRARIANS ARE WITHOUT A CONTRACT AFTER UC-AFT CONTRACT ENDED JAN. 31

RA B IDA / AG GIE

Lecturers say contract negotiations are about more than just raises — also about working conditions, student learning

NEW SCHOLARSHIP FOR MEXICAN-AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS MADE AVAILABLE TO STUDENTS AT DAVIS, WOODLAND HIGH SCHOOLS Recently-founded scholarship offered to honor Mary Ellen Dolcini’s legacy

BY SHR ADDHA J HI NGAN city@theaggie.org

tion that helps UC Davis students access food-assistance, counseling and housing resources.

“Our mission is to help mitigate the effects of food and housing insecurity on students, while working to change policy, systems and environment that will affect long term change,” Aggie Compass’ website reads.

Leslie Kemp, the director of Aggie Compass, spoke about the necessity of programs like those offered through Aggie Compass.

“Students are a niche audience,” Kemp said.

“And they’re our only audience here on campus.”

Kemp also addressed the inherent difficulties in connecting students to food relief resources.

“There’s so many scheduling conflicts for students,” Kemp said. “There’s class, there’s study time [and] there’s work schedules on top of that.”

In 2016, UC Davis did a Student Food Access and Security Study which described how food insecurity affects students.

“Of the some 8,600 UC Davis students who responded […] 24 percent said they sometimes ran out of food before they had money to get more, and 9 percent said it happened often,” the study reads.

Kemp said that the problem of food insecurity was not the problem of any one individual or organization, but rather the problem of all involved.

“If you’re talking about sustainability or too much food waste — it’s happening everywhere — not just on campus,” Kemp said. “The more we can collaborate with people on campus and with people in the community, the better and more varied resources we can provide to students.”

The Mary Ellen Dolcini Foundation recently announced it will begin presenting “higher education scholarships for graduating high school seniors of Mexican-American heritage,” starting with the Class of 2020, according to the Mary Ellen Dolcini Foundation website.

High school seniors who are graduating from Davis and Woodland high schools will be able to apply for the scholarship. This applies to students who are graduating from one of the following schools: Martin Luther King High School, Davis Senior High School, Pioneer High School and Woodland Senior High School.

The creation of the scholarship was inspired

by Mary Ellen Dolcini, who “was a life-long resident and career educator in Davis, California,” according to the foundation’s website.

Despite having been a long-time resident of Davis, she was also able to develop a connection to the culture and people of Mexico. Val Dolcini, Mary Ellen Dolcini’s nephew, commented on the inspiration for the scholarship.

“It was inspired by my aunt who was a lifelong citizen of Davis and a lifelong educator,” Val Dolcini said. “And she started her career with the Davis School District in the 1950s and served in a variety of different functions, but she developed over the course of her life a real connection to Mexico and a love for the people of Mexico and Mexico’s culture.”

The board of directors at the Mary Ellen Dolcini Foundation will choose four students to receive the scholarship after an online application process. Val Dolcini continued to explain the details of the application process.

“The application period is open until the end of March and then the foundation board will review the applications and make awards based on what we receive,” Val Dolcini said.

“I think we’re all optimistic that this is going to be a great way for her legacy to continue in our region [and] in her hometown of Davis — the hometown of several of us, [including] my brother and I.” Val Dolcini highlighted the role that the Davis community played in Mary Ellen Dolcini’s life.

“It’s going to be a wonderful opportunity for her to continue to give to the community that gave so much to her over the course of her life,” Val Dolcini said.

Cindy Pickett, the board president for the Davis Joint Unified School District, commented on the impact that such scholarships have on students and their academic achievements leading to their college education.

“The scholarship recognizes these achievements and also sets the stage for having high expectations,” Pickett said.

According to Pickett, pursuing a college education can be promoted through exposure to role models.

Mary Ellen Dolcini was a well-known teacher in the Davis area who spent her childhood in Davis and later returned to teach.

“I’ve lived in Davis all my life,” Mary Ellen Dolcini wrote on Nov. 16, 2000. “Oh sure, I went away to college, the University of California at Berkeley, and I taught away for 5 years.

But my home and heart were in Davis, so I never really left it.”

Although this is the first year that the scholarship is offered, the foundation hopes to continue to have a positive impact on education to honor Mary Ellen Dolcini’s legacy with this scholarship in future years, according to Val Dolcini.

COOKINGCOMMUNITY on 11

INCLUSIVE on 11

Members of UC-AFT and others rally outside of Mrak Hall on Feb. 3, 2020 in Davis, California. (Photo by Janelle Salanga / Aggie)

BY JA N EL L E M A R I E SAL ANGA campus@theaggie.org The contract that covers over 6,000 UC librarians and lecturers represented by the University Council-American Federation of Teachers (UC-AFT) ended on Jan. 31. With the no-strike clause that is contained in their expired contract no longer applicable, lecturers, librarians and students gathered for a rally in front of Mrak Hall on Feb. 3.

During the rally, dozens of attendees sang a modified version of “Solidarity Forever” and chanted “Hey, hey, ho, ho, UC greed has got to go.”

Speakers at the rally included Katie Rodgers, a UWP lecturer and the president of the UCAFT Local 2023 as well as Don Palmer, the president of the Davis Faculty Association (DFA) and ASUCD Vice President Shreya Deshpande.

Palmer said the DFA stands in solidarity with UC-AFT and Deshpande said ASUCD also supports the lecturers and librarians.

“UC is treating public education as a privilege, not a public good,” Deshpande said.

At the rally, Michael Gunnarson, a first-year aerospace engineering and music composition double major, said one of his best music teachers was a lecturer on contract.

“He just graduated, and he still doesn’t have a job,” Gunnarson said. “With music, most teachers are lecturers. Tuition’s rising and the cost to hire paid faculty goes up, so people just hire lecturers — it becomes a gig economy.”

UC-AFT is a union that has represented non-tenure track faculty, or lecturers, and librarians at the UC since 1983. According to an FAQ and bargaining update on the UC-AFT website, the union’s negotiating team has been in talks with UC since April 2019 to revise the current contract, which took effect in February 2016.

The update, written by UC-AFT Chief Negotiator Mia McIver, did say going out of contract had affected negotiations “very positively.”

“Negotiations between the University of California and UC-AFT are ongoing, and the University is working hard to negotiate a fair agreement as quickly as possible,” said a statement from the UC Office of the President (UCOP) that was provided to The California Aggie.

The contract offered to the UC-AFT Unit 18 faculty, which includes lecturers, would have increased the compensation for Unit 18 members by 3% each year from 2020 to 2022, followed by 2% adjustments during 2022 to 2025, among other salary increases offered.

“We believe you deserve to vote on our offer, and to be fairly recognized and compensated for the contributions you make to the University and our students,” stated a letter written by Peter Chester, the UC’s Executive Director of Systemwide Labor Relations, sent to the UC-AFT chapters.

On Feb. 1, the day after the contract expired, the UC-AFT bargaining table team released a statement explaining why they did not accept the university’s offer, which they called “an incomplete, take-it-or-leave-it, bundle of articles with little to no movement.”

Their reasons for rejecting the contract included the UC’s use of “salary as a wedge” meant to reduce “commitment to major improvements in job security and workload,” offering other

AFTRALLY on 11

DAVIS CO-OP STARTS SERIES OF FREE COOKING CLASSES FOR THOSE IN NEED Davis relief organizations address food insecurity

The Davis Co-Op is launching a program on cooking at the community wide level, which aims to engage low income students and others who need food bank resources. (Photo by Zoë Reinhardt / Aggie)

BY RAC HEL HEL E VA city@theaggie.org Five organizations in Davis have partnered together to provide relief for those who are in need, specifically students, with a series of free instructional cooking classes. These organizations are the Yolo Food Bank, Homeless Outreach through Prevention and Education (HOPE) at UC Davis, CommuniCare, The Davis Food CoOp and Aggie Compass.

The Yolo Food Bank identifies students as a demographic within Yolo County that is “disproportionately affected” by food insecurity. The Yolo Food Bank website discusses how food insecurity affects members of Yolo County.

“Despite being known for an abundant agricultural economy, food insecurity is an everyday concern for many Yolo County residents, with as many as 17% of the overall county population affected,” the website reads.

Aggie Compass is a campus-based organiza-

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

2 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

GRANTS FOR GUN VIOLENCE RESEARCH AVAILABLE FROM UC FIREARM VIOLENCE RESEARCH CENTER

First federally funded gun-violence research initiative in 20 years

COMMITTEE, CONTROLLER CONFIRMATIONS TAKE PLACE AT FEB. 6TH ASUCD SENATE MEETING Basic Needs and Services Referendum referred to Internal Affairs Commission for review

AGG IE F IL ES

View of California State Capitol from 10th Street in Scramento, California. (Photo by Andre M. / Wikipedia Commons)

BY MA RG O ROSE NB AU M & AL LY RUSSE L L campus@theaggie.org The UC Firearm Violence Research Center (UCFC), located at UC Davis, recently launched a new round of funding for firearm violence research. This is the first round of funding to study firearm violence approved by Congress in over two decades. Proposals for grants must be submitted by May 1 and decisions will be made over the summer, said Garen Wintemute, a professor of emergency medicine and the director of UCFC. “Firearm violence is a big problem here in California and the entire country, and the state recognized that, and created a publicly-funded research center here with our program at UC Davis,” Wintemute said. “We recognize that while we can do a lot of good work here, there are plenty of smart people at other universities and part of our job as a center is to help them do the work that they can do.”

UCFC is the first publicly-funded center for firearm violence research. Committed to interdisciplinary approaches to address firearm violence and firearm-related deaths, UCFC supports researchers with backgrounds in medicine, epidemiology, statistics, criminology, law, economics and policy.

Since 2017, UCFC has researched firearm violence and has worked closely with the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program (VPRP), established in 1991. VPRP’s research and policy programs focus on the nature, causes, consequences and prevention of many forms of violence, with a particular emphasis on firearm violence research and prevention, wrote Nicole Kravitz-Wirtz, an assistant professor of emergency medicine with VPRP, via email.

The new grant program has sent out two requests for proposals, both regarding firearm violence research. One program is only open to investigators at UC campuses and will award grants of up to $75,000 to researchers. In order to increase grant accessibility, the other grant is

open to applicants from all public universities.

To be chosen for funding, proposals should have rigorous study designs and a team with relevant experience. It is up to the applicants, however, to decide what they will study and how the grant will be used. Additionally, there is no set number of grants that will be given out, Wintemute said.

“There is also far too little evidence on the effectiveness of policies and programs to prevent firearm violence,” Kravitz-Wirtz said. “Research funding from UCFC through its small and large grants programs is designed to help address this dearth of data and scientific evidence on one of the leading causes of death in this country.”

Wintemute and other supporters of the UCFC see firearm violence research as an essential step toward helping prevent future tragedies.

Pro-firearm lobbyist groups, however, have historically worked to block and minimize funding for research. Matthew Larosiere, the director of legal policy at the Firearms Policy Coalition in Sacramento, spoke out against firearm violence driving public policy.

There is an increasing prevalence of firearm violence-related deaths in the U.S. and a disproportionately high number of firearm violence incidents in the U.S. compared to other developed countries. In 2017 alone, there were 14,542 firearm homicides, another 23,854 firearm suicides and an estimated 456,269 instances of aggravated assault, robbery or rape involving firearms in the U.S. Deaths from firearm violence now exceed those from motor vehicle crashes.

There have also been more public mass shootings in the U.S. than in any other nation in the world. Additionally, firearm homicide rates are 25.2 times higher in the U.S. than in other high-income nations. Thirty-six thousand Americans are killed by firearms each year, according to Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Moreover, the frequency of firearm violence is increasing in the U.S., rising 16% from 2014 to 2017.

GUNRESEARCH on 11

BY JE SS ICA B AG G OTT campus@theaggie.org The Feb. 6 ASUCD Senate meeting was called to order at 7:13 p.m. by Senator Shondreya Landrum. President Justin Hurst, Vice President Shreya Deshpande, Senator Lylah Schmedel, Business and Finance Chair Filip Stamenkovic and Gender and Sexuality Chair Elena DeNecochea were absent.

After Senator Khalil Malik was elected interim Senate pro tempore, Landrum and Academic Affairs Commission Chairperson Naomi Reeley awarded seven students with ASUCD scholarships.

Second-year Annoushqa Bobde was confirmed as one of the new External Affairs Commision (EAC) commissioners.

“She has experience in a lot of things that our commision lacks right now,” said EAC Chair Shelby Sayler.

“As an international student, I understand how crucial it is for off-campus bodies to have a good relationship with the student body,” Bobde said. “And I want to help build those relationships and maintain those relationships.”

After Bobde’s confirmation, the Senate then moved into the Mental Health Initiative’s (MHI) quarterly report.

The report was largely focused on the recent Mental Health Conference that took place on Jan. 25 and 26. The conference featured a total of 12 workshops on topics including legal policy, human trafficking and reproducitive health, as well as student and professional panels, a resource fair and break-out caucuses.

Since the Mental Health Conference, MHI has been focusing most of its work on the upcoming Mental Health Awareness Month which will take place in May. MHI plans to have approximately 20 themed days over the course of the month, including days based around ethnicity, basic needs, LGBTQIA+ identities, incarceration and masculinity.

MHI discussed the outreach its done to get the Basic Needs and Services Fee Referendum passed, internal team growth and other ongoing projects.

After, Internal Affairs Commission (IAC) Chair Ashley Lo left the meeting, and the Senate then moved into the reconfirmation of current ASUCD Controller Kevin Rotenkolber.

Landrum gave her recommendation of Rotenkolber. “[He makes] sure that we are not making bad [financial] decisions,” Landrum said. “He’s making sure that we’re keeping ourselves accountable, and making sure that we can come back in 20 years and see what we left behind.”

In his next term as controller, Rotenkolber said he would like to completely restructure the way that ASUCD Reserves are handled, in addition to continuing other current projects.

Rotenkolber was confirmed as controller.

The Senate then moved to confirm Maya Clark as the Transfer, Reentry and Veterans Committee chair.

“She has incredible ideas for outreach, organizing of the community and ways to actively advocate for transfer, veteran, and nontraditional students,” Deshpande wrote in a letter of recommendation for Clark.

In the position, Clark hopes to focus on reestablishing the committee and collect data about the background of transfer, reentry and veteran students as to best direct the committee’s efforts.

Additionally, one of Clark’s main goals as chairperson for the committee is to increase engagement of transfer, reentry and veteran students and provide them with resources to help their transition into UC Davis.

Clark was confirmed as the Transfer, Reentry and Veterans Committee chair.

Kaelyn Tuermer-Lee, the editor-in-chief of The California Aggie, gave the unit’s quarterly report.

SENATE on 11

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020 | 3

DAVIS CITY COUNCIL OFFICIALLY ENDS USE OF GLYPHOSATE, APPROVES USE OF PRE-EMERGENT PESTICIDES AMID COMMUNITY’S CONCERN

The grass is not always greener on the other side: Council members combat increasing invasive species due to toxic pesticides

Mace Ranch Community Park in Davis will be one of various parks that will be affected by the changes made by the Davis City Council to end the use of glyphosate as a pesticide. (Photo by Markus Kaeppeli / Aggie)

BY MADELEINE PAYNE city@theaggie.org The Davis City Council voted to officially end the use of pesticides containing glyphosate, the chemical found in RoundUp, after the city successfully reduced its use in public green spac-

es over the last few years. Council members also approved the use of pesticides with more moderate toxicity to combat the increase in invasive species.

This vote comes after a 2017 decision when the Davis City Council decided to phase out glyphosate pesticides in areas of high public expo-

DAVIS CITY COUNCIL’S HANDS TIED OVER 5G WIRELESS ORDINANCE

Despite public backlash, federal law restricts Davis city government from preventing construction of 5G wireless facilities

KAIT LY N PA N G / AG GI E

BY EDEN WINIFORD city@theaggie.org The Davis City Council voted to approve an ordinance on Jan. 28 regulating the construction of new wireless facilities, which are necessary for

the rollout of 5G Internet service.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) restricts the ability of local governments to control telecommunications companies. These constraints are outlined in the Davis City Staff Report.

ASUCD OFFICIALS SHARE THEIR STORIES ABOUT UCPATH ISSUES

UCPath doesn’t work with one person’s bank, another faced missing pay for weeks

CoHo employees held a demonstration at Mrak Hall on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019 in protest of the UCPath issues resulting in paycheck delays of over two months. (Photo by Timothy Li / Aggie)

BY REBECCA BIHN-WALLACE campus@theaggie.org Over the past two weeks, The California Aggie sat down with ASUCD President Justin Hurst, Vice President Shreya Deshpande and Senator Anna Estrada to discuss the ongoing effects of UCPath, the UC-wide payroll system implemented at UC Davis in October 2019. The system — which, according to a state audit, cost approximately $942 million to implement on several UC campuses — resulted in many students receiving incomplete paychecks or missing pay altogether.

In November 2019, employees of the CoHo organized a walkout demanding that student employees who were missing pay be paid adequately. Administrative officials responded by cutting emergency checks in the weeks afterward.

On Jan. 23, the ASUCD Senate passed a resolution urging the campus administration to further acknowledge the lasting damage UCPath caused. During this meeting, Gender and Sexuality Commission (GASC) Chair Elena DeNocochea said she was unable to make credit card payments due to issues with UCPath, and Senator Mahan Carduny talked about a friend who

quit their job at the CoHo to work at Philz due to lack of payment. This friend declined to speak with The California Aggie.

Despite the emergency check measures, UCPath still poses problems, according to Deshpande.

“I am getting paid now, but my bank is not compatible with UCPath, so my checks don’t come to me at my local address and there’s no way for me to change that,” Deshpande said. “Before, when ASUCD had control over payroll, I could just pick up my paycheck at ASUCD headquarters.”

Greg Ortiz, the ASUCD business manager, said via email that there “are still ongoing issues,” despite the fact that “pay discrepancies have been dramatically reduced since fall quarter.” Dana Topousis, the chief marketing and communications officer for UC Davis, said in an email that there “may be instances where people erroneously associate any issue as a UCPath issue.”

According to Ortiz, emergency checks continue to be double and triple checked. He added that ASUCD is planning to meet with senior administrative officials, and that an audit was opened and will eventually be publicized.

“ASUCD is receiving a lot of individual atten-

sure by 2020, such as parks, greenbelts and bike paths. At a previous meeting, the council made other decisions regarding pesticide use, including banning harmful neonicotinoid pesticides and developing the Integrated Pest Management Team.

Though the official three-year deadline was in November, city staff said that glyphosate use was already eliminated in high public exposure areas when the matter was reevaluated during a city council meeting on Jan. 28, 2020. The approval of the official ban means that glyphosate can still be used in city operations that are not highly accessible by the public, like at the wastewater treatment plant.

The reduction in glyphosate has led to a substantial rise in costs for maintenance of the green spaces, with more complaints from the community about the increase in weeds, according to a presentation given by city staff during the city council meeting.

City Councillor Dan Carson described how reducing the glyphosate impacted the aesthetic effect of the green space in a video of the meeting.

“I heard and talked to other people and saw for myself that particularly on the medians like Lake and Anderson and other places — it looked horrible,” Carson said. “I’m hoping we’re able to move ahead with a pre-emergent that seems to pose a pretty low risk.”

City officials then proposed using Tier 2 pre-emergent herbicides to counteract weed growth in green spaces that are overwhelmed with invasive species. The herbicides are moderately toxic, providing a compromise between manual labor and heavy chemical use.

Several community members voiced their disapproval of the use of new pesticides during public comments. Roberta Millstein, the chair of the Open Space and Habitat Commission, spoke for better transparency between city staff and city commissions to help regulate the use of pesticides.

Male subject threw hot coffee February 6 “Heard only, loud ‘BOOM.’” “Drop box broken off wall.”

February 7 “Train arms down for the last 15 minutes with no train. Traffic backing up.”

“Open signs on business but doors are locked, dark inside, no one seen. Two new bikes with for sale signs on them.”

February 8 “Loud bass music.”

February 9 “Male subject threw hot coffee.”

February 10 “Unknown suspect using her credit card in China.”

February 11 “Chainsaw noise since 7:30 hours.”

“Possible unethical activity.”

“Juveniles smoking in the men’s restroom.”

GLYPHOSPHATE on 11

“Any regulations that the City adopts must not ‘effectively prohibit’ the provision of wireless service in the City,” the report read.

Due to these guidelines, the City Council is unable to control wireless companies seeking to build new small cell wireless facilities. City Councilmember Dan Carson commented on the city’s frustration over the law.

“The Federal Communications Commission and state law severely restrict the authority of the City of Davis,” Carson said. “We had no choice but to conform our city ordinances to go along with what the FCC specified. We’re not happy about it.”

Assistant City Manager Ashley Feeney shared similar sentiments in the city council meeting.

“In a country established on freedom and independence, when we receive federal orders saying that ‘Actually, we’re taking away local control that you previously had,’ nobody is excited about that,” Feeney said.

Carson also described the FCC ruling’s economic implications, saying it caps the amount of money that cities can charge telecom companies for implementing wireless facilities, frequently undervaluing the public infrastructure.

“The FCC rules severely limit the compensation for the taxpayers for the use of our property,” Carson said. “These multibillion-dollar telecom companies are going to make huge amounts of money off of 5G. But they’re doing so using taxpayer property and they’re not, we believe, properly compensating taxpayers.”

At the meeting, a number of individuals commented on the city’s inability to prevent the construction of new wireless facilities. They cited unease over 5G health effects and potentially declining property values. Meredith Herman, a

Davis resident, expressed her concern.

“I refuse to be part of a 5G experiment,” Herman said. “I want to live in a safe community, and I believe that’s my right.”

Despite public concerns over 5G’s health safety, the staff report describes that the Federal Telecommunications Act of 1996 prevents the city from considering health impacts when approving the construction of wireless facilities.

“The City may not regulate wireless facilities, including small wireless facilities, based on concerns regarding radio frequency emissions, including health concerns,” the staff report reads.

Davis has joined the National League of Cities in suing the FCC. Carson described the actions being taken by the city to ensure the safety and comfort of residents.

“We as a city are a part of the National League of Cities, which is legally challenging the FCC at the national level,” Carson said. “We did do what we could do within the confines of this regulation to protect our Davis citizens. At the end of the day, we’re limited in what we can do.”

Although public backlash has been considerable, several wireless providers have already applied to build small cell wireless facilities in Davis, according to Carson. Dante Williams, a representative from Verizon Wireless, spoke at the city council meeting.

“We want to partner with the city to find a clear and objective standard for the rules of the road and not be in a combative stance,” Williams said.

To achieve this partnership, Williams called to table the ordinance for the time being, echoing a similar sentiment as many Davis residents who commented. Ultimately, however, the council approved the ordinance.

tion from campus and I believe that the students not only have the attention of UCPath and UC Davis but their voices are being heard,” Ortiz wrote.

Kelly Ratliff, the vice chancellor of Finance, Operations and Administration, confirmed the audit via email, adding that it will include a survey of 200 student employees who reported having pay issues.

And recently, when The Aggie’s Editorial Board met with Chancellor Gary May, he apologized that students had been negatively impacted by the implementation and said the university tried its best to mitigate the problems by issuing emergency checks. According to May, 355 emergency checks were issued to 320 students.

Still, Hurst described the current payroll system as “extremely slow,” noting that unit directors and activity managers within ASUCD must

approve their employees’ pay. The paycheck is then sent to payroll coordinators at ASUCD and is distributed by the university’s Shared Services Organization (SSO).

“It’s very likely that someone’s pay could be overlooked [...] or their payments [might not be] processed on time,” Hurst added.

Indeed, the problems posed by UCPath had a profound effect on hourly workers in ASUCD. This was the case with Estrada, who said she was not paid a complete check for her job at the ARC until around Jan. 22 — over two months late.

The ARC is a part of Campus Recreation and Unions. Ratliff and Emily Galindo, the interim vice chancellor of Student Affairs, had sent an email to students on Nov. 7 resolving to “cut checks twice daily” R EAD FULL ARTI CLE ONLI NE

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

4 | THURSDAY, FEBUARY 20, 2020

FOOD TRUCK FEATURE: NASH AND PROPER

EVER CRAVE A SIMPLE STREET TACO IN DAVIS? HERE’S WHERE TO GO

Owner of Nash and Proper, students discuss new food truck’s popularity

A three-part criteria for success

A Nash & Proper food truck serves students at the Silo on the UC Davis campus. (Photo by Justin Han / Aggie)

A plate of tacos from Taqueria Guadalajara in Davis, California. (Photo by Justin Han / Aggie)

BY AN JI N I V E N U GO PA L features@theaggie.org There’s a new food truck in town serving UC Davis “Nashville style hot chicken with a California twist.” Nash and Proper, which has garnered attention at the Silo for its lengthy lines, is coowned by chefs Cecil Rhodes and Jake Bombard.

Rhodes is also the owner of Cecil’s Taste, which previously operated a food truck that served food at the Silo. The menu for Cecil’s Taste included smoked pork belly and burgers, but Rhodes noticed that there were a number of UC Davis students who don’t eat beef or pork.

The vegetarian burger sold well, and lots of people asked him about a chicken option. That was when Rhodes started playing around with a recipe for a chicken sandwich.

“I started [selling it] when we were at UC Davis and we started selling out,” Rhodes said.

“We were going through about 200 pounds of chicken a week between UC Davis and UC Merced. That’s kind of when the light bulb went off — this could be a concept.”

At that point, it was just a “straight-up chicken sandwich,” Rhodes said. About four years ago, he began hearing a lot about Nashville hot chicken — KFC even added a Nashville hot chicken sandwich, something Rhodes characterized as “absolutely horrible.” Rhodes continued to serve his chicken sandwich as it was, but then he heard about Howlin’ Rays, a successful Nashville hot chicken restaurant in Los Angeles that began as a food truck.

“I started studying Nashville hot chicken,” Rhodes said. “I started messing around with a recipe and came up with our hot oil that we dip our chicken in and our different levels of spices.”

Rhodes wanted a fire-hot chicken food truck that imbued the feel of a picnic, and thus, Nash and Proper was born. The truck offers chicken tenders, wings and the famous Sammich, which has amassed a huge social media presence. Cus-

tomers can choose from one of five levels of heat — naked, mild, medium, hot and cluckin’ hot.

The Sammich, which consists of crispy fried boneless thigh, slaw, fuego sauce and pickles served in a bun, is the most popular item, but at UC Davis, it faces close competition with the Quarter Bird, which includes a boneless leg and thigh served with bread and pickles — a menu item that never makes it in the top two at the truck’s other locations.

“Students may need a little bit of money to go a long way,” Rhodes said. “With the Quarter Bird, it’s a really big piece of chicken. You could probably feed yourself three times with that same [order]. It’s delicious food, I think it’s affordable.”

Natalie Sahabandu, a first-year graduate student in the biochemistry, molecular, cellular and developmental biology group, went to Nash and Proper with a friend who works in Davis and had heard the hype about the food truck from co-workers. Sahabandu ordered the Quarter Bird “cluckin’ hot,” which she said was just a little too spicy for her — she plans to order it “hot” next time.

“I think the food is really good, but in general it’s really worth the money,” Sahabandu said.

“For 10 bucks, [you get] gigantic pieces of chicken which can go for two meals — for a student, I think that is very accommodating and very attractive.”

She compared Nash and Proper’s popularity to that of Shah’s Halal, which she believes also has a good food-to-money ratio.

Second-year chemistry graduate student Winston Chow decided to return to Nash and Proper after trying it a few times and enjoying it.

“I think it tastes a lot better than a lot of the food trucks here, but that’s just personal preference,” Chow said. “I think what draws people in is that you see a really long line that you’re almost like,

FOODTRUCK on 11

BY AT H E NA AG H IG H I features@theaggie.org Since coming to Davis, I have been on a personal mission to find the best taqueria. The place you frequent every weekend, filled with welcoming mariachi music and brightly colored walls.

But more important than the decor, taquerias are home to tacos. These bundles are the most elegant type of food: meat within a warm tortilla, covered with a variety of fresh green to spice up your mouth. They are made to be effortless, an easy solution for a late night dinner. From this mission, I have devised a three-part test to determine the best street style tacos in Davis, creating a comprehensive review to inform your next Mexican-style outing, while also taking into consideration affordability.

First, the tacos have to be hot. When you get them, they need to be fresh off the grill, a representation of the ease and simplicity that tacos embody. A cold taco may often demonstrate a lack of care, both by the establishment and the server.

Second: the meat. For the purposes of this study, we will be focusing on the classic chicken taco. If the chicken is flavorful and well-seasoned, this provides a look into the quality of the meat in the rest of the dishes. If the chicken is out of this world, the steak and pork are sure to portray similar elements. The treatment of meat divides the “okay” tacos from the “amazing” ones. To truly be above the rest of the crowd, the meat has to shine in its complexity.

Last is the toppings. Onion and cilantro provide the perfect backdrop to support the intensity of the meat. Iceberg lettuce and chunks of tomato, however, are not as kind, diluting the chicken in order to create the appearance of a loaded taco.

I visited four restaurants: Taqueria Guadalajara, Davis’s Piñata, El Burrito and Tres Hermanas.

Tres Hermanas

Tres Hermanas was not the classic taqueria I thought it would be. There were no $2 tacos on the menu, yet Randall Dobkin, a second-year studying political science and economics, explained his take.

“Tres Hermanas is just a different restaurant,” Dobkin said. “It’s more of a sit down place, and a place to get drinks. You don’t come here at three in the morning to get tacos. The chicken is not the most seasoned, yet it comes out very hot, and the toppings are lettuce and tomato, elements not in the classic street taco.”

The lack of onion and cilantro, as well as the sit down nature of the restaurant, place Tres Hermanas at the bottom of the four options, more of a Saturday lunch with parents than a quick taqueria.

El Burrito El Burrito is located conveniently downtown, and embodied the classic taqueria atmosphere.

The taco was hot, covered with onion, cilantro and well-seasoned chicken. The only critique I had was the salsa — it was incredibly hot, but easily avoidable with a quick request. Henry Gardener, a second-year political science major, outlined his position.

“El Burrito is just the most bang for your buck,” Gardener said. “On Taco Tuesdays, when tacos are $1.50, it is just the best deal. There are no crazy long lines, and the pastor tacos are amazing too,” he says.

Davis’s Piñata Davis’s Piñata was the next stop, and the taco was very hot, covered with onion and cilantro, at $2.00: a classic street taco.

Dobkin, however, noticed a slight difference between the tacos of El Burrito and of Piñata.

“Although both solid tacos, El Burrito just has more flavor in its chicken itself,” Dobkin said.

“The chicken just has that extra little spice.”

TACOS on 11

MORE THAN DIVERSITY: DAVIS JOINT UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT PLANS TO IMPLEMENT ETHNIC STUDIES PROGRAM

DJUSD associate superintendent, UC Davis professor discuss benefits of the program

particularly those whose identities, cultures and communities may not be reflected in existing curriculum and content,” Boonchouy said.

According to communication and East Asian studies professor Bo Feng, recent studies have shown there is clear value in teaching ethnic studies.

“There is pretty overwhelming, consistent, empirical evidence showing that incorporating ethnic studies in school curriculum can benefit students across the board, not just students who are Hispanic or African American, but they benefit the general student body as a whole,” Feng said.

Ethnic studies can have additional benefits besides simply providing a wider educational scope, Feng said.

“It’s not uncommon for bullying to take place between students from different ethnic groups, Davis Joint Unified School District is currently working to incorporate an ethnic studies program into the curriculum of its schools. (Photo by Quinn Spooner / Aggie)

BY S O P HI E D EW E E S features@theaggie.org The discussion over ethnic studies, rooted in the late 1960s, has only grown in prominence since activist movements of the day and has become integrated into university education.

California students spearheaded the movement, calling for the establishment of ethnic studies programs in 1969. UC Davis was one of the first universities to adopt a program which celebrated its 50th anniversary this school year.

Recent state legislation proposed a further expansion of ethnic studies into high schools, making it a graduation requirement for California students. The 2019 ethnic studies bill, AB 331, however, entailed a description of a model curriculum that generated significant controversy, causing an extension of the bill by one year.

Despite these setbacks, the Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD) is beginning a discussion over how to implement ethnic studies into the curriculum with the formation of a task force.

“We, as a community, would like to move forward [...] regardless,” said Rody Boonchouy, associate superintendent of Instructional Services. “We want to work in parallel [with the state] so that we have the important dialogue and conversations with our stakeholders about the values and objectives of ethnic studies in our school district.”

Creating local change DJUSD held its first of four task force meetings on Feb. 19, signifying the beginning of a

process to determine what changes to make and how to incorporate these changes into the standing curriculum. The task force, comprised of students, parents, staff and UC Davis faculty, will focus on developing the ethnic studies program.

“We will be focusing on three driving questions for this task force,” Boonchouy said. “What problem are we trying to solve? What does the research say about ethnic studies? [And] what do we know from implementation case studies?

What have been the successes and challenges, so that we can know what the pitfalls [are] and be intentional about our own implementation.”

In June 2020, the task force will present to the board of education the findings from their meetings and a recommendation outlining future steps.

“One possible outcome for the next phase would be a working group to start building a program,” Boonchouy said.

Teaching a global narrative According to Boonchouy, the discussion of ethnic studies plays a significant role in education and representation.

“The national narrative that started [in the 1960s] around marginalized voices [functioned] so that we better understand how communities have not had a seat at the table [or] may not have had the opportunity to be represented through our curriculum and through our schools,” Boonchouy said.

Boonchouy said the inclusivity of the program could help students feel more connected to their education.

“We want a program that benefits all students,

and I think part of that causes misunderstanding and stereotypes and [...] prejudice of one group against another,” Feng said. “I’m hoping that education through ethnic studies can help bridge the gap in an understanding and appreciation of people of different colors, different origins, different ethnicities.”

Distinctions in diverse education According to Boonchouy, there is an important distinction between ethnic studies and multicultural education, although the two are not mutually exclusive.

“Multicultural education has been more [focused] around [making] sure that in schools and in classes [...] that we are reflecting diverse people and contributions,” Boonchouy said. “Ethnic studies has focused on the marginalized voices, particularly of people of color and [their] impact

ETHNICSTUDIES on 11

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020 | 5

Opinion THE

C ALIFORNIA A GGIE

E DI TOR I AL B OAR D KAELYN TUERMER-LEE Editor-in-Chief HANNAH HOLZER Managing Editor

Graduate student workers’ concerns deserve to be heard by UC Santa Cruz administration UC Santa Cruz, UC Office of the President must negotiate with, not arrest, protestors

KENTON GOLDSBY Campus News Editor STELLA TRAN City News Editor HANADI JORDAN Opinion Editor CLAIRE DODD Features Editor LIZ JACOBSON Arts & Culture Editor DOMINIC FARIA Sports Editor CECILIA MORALES Science & Tech Editor

HANNAN WALIULLAH New Media Manager JUSTIN HAN Photo Director SYDNEE RODRIGUEZ Design Director ARIANA GREEN Layout Director SABRINA HABCHI Copy Chief ISABELLA BLOOM Copy Chief ZOË REINHARDT Website Manager

In light of the 17 recent arrests of UCSC graduate student protestors, the Editorial Board feels its pertinent to announce its solidarity with the strike.

This strike, which follows months of negotiations between administrators and graduate students, concerns a cost of living adjustment of $1,412 per month. Many of these instructors say that they cannot afford to live in Santa Cruz, and they argue that this increase to their monthly salary would allow them to do so.

The UCSC administration has refused to negotiate, saying that to do so would be illegal, as the protest was not authorized by the United Auto Workers (UAW) 2865, the union representing student workers throughout the UC system.

Their contract dictates pay across the UC, meaning that “a graduate student teaching assistant in Santa Cruz or Berkeley is paid about the same as graduate students in Riverside or Merced, which have much lower housing costs,” according to The New York Times. This year, Santa Cruz, a city without rent control, ranked number one as the least affordable city in the U.S. for teachers. The median gross rent in Santa Cruz County is $1,685 — $311 more than the median gross rent in Riverside County — according to the American Community Survey.

It is unjustifiable to expect graduate instructors in Santa Cruz to afford their cost of living on a salary of $2,400 a month — the same salary that supports graduates at UCs located in drastically more affordable cities. Whether or not the strike was sanctioned by the broader union, the university has a duty to ensure a living wage to its employees, and current wages do not meet that standard.

These graduate students study and contribute research to the institution while working as part-time instructors, yet they are barely compensated enough to afford housing. This should be an immediate concern of the UCSC administration.

Rather than negotiating, however, the administration is considering disciplining protestors, and has condemned them for endangering undergraduate students. “I am extremely disappointed that some graduate students chose to do so [protest] in a way that was unsanctioned by their union and is harmful to our undergraduate students,” said UCSC Chancellor Cynthia Larive in a statement to the campus community, according to The New York Times.

But by paying its student workers unsustainable salaries, the administration puts them at risk for homelessness. This is an issue for which these graduate students are willing to put themselves on the line, as demonstrated through the 17 recent arrests during a protest last Wednesday.

If the UC Santa Cruz administration has no authority to raise salaries due to the graduate students’ labor contract being system-wide, then the entire contract should be renegotiated.

The Board urges the UCSC administration to meet with protestors and negotiate a fair contract. We encourage the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) to come up with a way to make future labor contracts with the UAW 2865 campus-specific. Graduate students should not have to strike in order to afford housing. The UCSC administration and UCOP must dialogue with graduate student workers and ensure that their concerns are heard rather than arresting and punishing them.

SYDNEY ODMAN Social Media Manager LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager

Bachelor Twitter is better than the actual show THE REVOLUTIONARY NEW WAY TO WATCH YOUR FAVORITE SHOWS (I SWEAR THIS ISN’T SATIRE)

BY C A LV I N CO F F E E cscoffee@ucdavis.edu “The Bachelor” is a show about marriage that in no way reflects the values of marriage.

Now in its 24th season, the show consistently has over 5 million viewers per episode, with a peak of 6.5 million viewers. Bachelor contestants compete against 29 other women to form any scrap of connection they can with the one and only “bachelor” before they get booted off the show (until the “women tell all” episode).

To this day, of the 23 prior seasons of the show, only one bachelor is married to the contestant who won his season — a 4.3% success rate. The show is a mess, but that’s why we all love it so much.

The top prize for the contestants is not to “win” the season and get engaged; the top prize is getting “Bachelor” fans to like you enough to become the next “Bachelorette.” That’s part of what makes Twitter and other social media platforms so valuable — they are indicators of who America roots for or tears down the most.

Just a few weeks ago, the show’s usual twohour time slot ballooned to two episodes, with five hours of content between them. This is ridiculous, but I (and millions of others) just went along with it and sacrificed all that time for this show. There should be a way for us to enjoy the “Bachelor” more time-efficiently — and there is: Bachelor Twitter.

Bachelor Twitter is easy. It reduces the show to what you actually care about. The drama and suspense you love can be experienced on your small screen in a fraction of the time. Twitter

moments, savvy culture consumers and all of your friends are in the same place to maximize your enjoyment of the show without even watching it. Of course, those of us who need both would say otherwise, but the standalone value of Bachelor Twitter cannot be denied.

Bachelor Twitter is full of all the great, overly dramatic moments without the obtuse fillers that the producers string in between. As well as cutting commentary that rivals that of your wittiest friends, Bachelor Twitter gives you post-live show commentary with wrapups and dissections from the brightest culture fiends among us.

You can avoid all of the terrible lessons the show teaches you about human beings, like valuing physical attraction and drama over the important qualities — loyalty, honesty, maturity and employment — in genuine relationships.

The best part of “The Bachelor” experience is what goes on outside of the show. It’s the podcasts, the reactions and the conversations we all have about our own speculations and theories. Rooting for our favorite contestants and debating why, say, Hannah Ann is better than every other contestant (because she stays out of the drama) is the best part. Engagement — as well as millions of viewers and money — is what Chris Harrison and ABC want.

Amid all of the dangerous, greedy and isolating aspects of social media, we cannot forget about the good that it does for so many of us.

For those of us who watch our favorite shows or sports teams by ourselves each week, these platforms make us feel like we’re not alone.

Scrolling through “#thebachelor” on Twitter

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can connect you and remind you that others think and feel exactly like you.

Realizing that we’re all just trying to enjoy the same thing and aren’t actually as divided as we may believe is one of social media’s most powerful and encouraging attributes.

Something as silly as “The Bachelor” gives us hope that we’re all in this human experience together and that we all have common interests even when our politics, backgrounds or beliefs differ. It’s unifying and it makes our personal devices a little less isolating.

“The Bachelor” is by no means a good show, but the experience and culture it culti-

vates is second to none. It’s closer to a sporting event or the Olympics than it is your average television show. And that’s why a platform like Twitter lends itself so perfectly to the experience of “The Bachelor” — loyalty, competition and heartbreak are at the core, just like all great fandoms.

Open up some time for yourself and hop on Twitter at 10 p.m. on Mondays to catch up on the action — or don’t and experience the community live. Either way, Twitter makes “The Bachelor” infinitely better than it was before and reminds us that we are not so far apart from one another.

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6 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

THE VALUE OF YOUR OWN COMPANY

I’ll have my cake and eat it alone, too.

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BY ISABELLA CHUECOS opinions@theaggie.org I’m writing this column while sitting alone in the dining hall. There are groups of friends conversing to my left and individuals quietly eating to my right. I’m sitting at the crossroads of these two experiences.

On one hand, I’m feeling self-conscious about my loneliness. Are people looking at me? Am I being judged for sitting here alone, taking up the head of a wide table meant for large groups?

On the other hand, I am at peace with my situation. If I had friends with me, I would’ve procrastinated instead of doing my homework

and writing this column. I would be idly chatting about day-to-day life in Davis. And I’d be content with that, too.

We all crash-landed in Davis with the idea that we would become truly independent individuals (aside from many of our parents funding a majority of our livelihoods). On weekends, we’re tasked with grocery shopping and cleaning out the fridge, and on weekdays, we don’t have a parent checking to see if we’re up in time for class.

It’s a freedom that is both frightening and exciting.

With all of the independence that comes with college, there’s also an overblown emphasis on the importance of friends and possessions. Yes, you should be 100% okay with being alone,

THE TOP 10 REASONS YOU SHOULD TAKE A MORAL STAND AGAINST THE IMPURE, IMPERFECT DEMOCRATS BY NOT VOTING AT ALL And why you should feel absolutely great about yourself for doing so, even if you help re-elect Trump in the process

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BY BENJAMIN PORTER humor@theaggie.org

5.

Here are the reasons:

6.

1.

7.

2.

8.

3.

9.

4.

10.

but you should also have an expansive group of friends. Oh, and don’t forget to post all of them on social media — you don’t even really have friends if they aren’t on your Instagram stories day-in and day-out.

The whole idea boils down to the spotlight effect, a psychological phenomenon which correlates almost directly with the feeling that I’m having right now: Everyone is watching me, and I am the most important person in the room.

Egocentrism is the root of this effect, according to Psychology Today. It’s completely unavoidable. There’s no way to think that you aren’t better than most people when your mind is just an echo chamber of your own experiences and opinions. Going into college with the looming spotlight effect hanging over our heads just shields us from the independence that we were promised all those months ago.

But I’ll save the unwarranted and exhausted metacognition lecture for the guy in your philosophy lecture.

I feel like we’re all getting mixed signals here: Is the universe telling us that we should be studying alone by putting up dividers at Shields Library, or is it telling us that we should make study groups per our RA’s suggestions?

I just can’t tell if any of us have actually become independent, or if we’ve just become slaves to social interactions. Our world is strife with social anxieties and “hashtag squad goals.” How are we going to be okay with being alone?

It’s important to outline the benefits of being in your own company. For starters, there is no pressure to be funny, interesting or talkative when you’re alone. You can absorb the world around you with an uncorrupted lens, free of any other opinions.

In class, there’s no pressure to be aloof about

your lecture and your class. Sitting with friends in class comes with the idea that we should be joshing around the whole time. Being alone means you can sit there and type your disgustingly thorough notes to your heart’s content.

Dining alone? Eat everything you want and talk to no one. It’s a gluttonous dream that we can all make a reality.

Loneliness is so feared because — God forbid — we have to be alone with our own thoughts.

And gosh, the mere idea of being perceived in any way besides perfect and popular is just so daunting.

I’m not saying we all have to go full Eleanor Rigby, but I think the art of being alone is often overshadowed by the idea that we should all be making oodles of friends in college. It’s practically unavoidable – many of us live in one room with two other people.

Fraternities and sororities are so attractive in part because they are friendship insurance. Socials and mixers are held throughout the year at residence halls to make sure that everyone is tightly intertwined.

To some extent, these are noble causes. We do flourish with friends and organizations. But our expectation that our future roommates, spouses, maids of honors and best men could be hidden among all of these people we’re meeting keeps us so wrapped up in everyone else.

It’s important to make connections with everyone else but to force yourself into social situations ignores the value of alone time. It also places unnecessary pressure on social scenarios — making friends should be stress-free and natural.

The best friends and soulmates will reveal themselves to you without much effort. The rest of the time should be spent on getting to know yourself.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020 | 7

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ART, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND TECHNOLOGY The muse of 21st Century art is hidden in lines of code

BY ANDR EW WI LLI AMS arts@theaggie.org

TV Show: “Succession” Coming off its second season, the HBO-produced show is on a roll, and it’s just gaining momentum. The series is set in the opulent mansions and looming skyscrapers of New York City’s financial elite. The story begins to unfold when Bryan Cox’s character Logan Roy, the cold-blooded sociopathic CEO of conservative media goliath Royco, falls into ill health. In the ensuing fallout, Roy’s four bloodthirsty children clamber to snatch whatever power they can get. Packed full of corporate backstabbing, ruthless humor and one of the most gripping casts on television today, “Succession” is downright binge-worthy.

Movie: The Departed R A B IDA / AGGIE

BY JOSH M A D RI D arts@theaggie.org The mystique of robots taking over humanity, or the notion that humans will eventually be forced to fight for their relevance among super-human robots that outgrow the need of their human creators, is a trope that has existed in artistic expression for decades. The ever-increasing discussion about artificial intelligence has fostered a sleeker, more modern incorporation of technology in art as a subject, a tool and a means of measuring the value of art.

Grimes began her latest project in November 2018 with the release of “We Appreciate Power,” a nod to the capabilities that lie in endless lines of code and an embrace of the reign of AI. It’s futuristic synth-pop with the lyrics, “Baby, plug in, upload your mind / Come on, you’re not even alive / If you’re not backed up on a drive.” This statement begins to sound more realistic as the recombinant power of innovation expands.

Artists, such as Björk, have even gone as far as giving AI some creative freedom with their work.

She and Microsoft recently partnered to create Kórsafn, meaning “choral archives” in Icelandic, which uses AI to recombine fragments of her music to react to patterns in the weather. For example, the chords sound different during sunrise and sunset. The project takes place inside the hotel Sister City in New York City. It’s a “generative lobby score powered by Microsoft AI,” according to Microsoft’s website.

Technology has historically had a large influence on music and has helped expand the array of sounds that can be incorporated into a song.

There may be some who say that technology has worsened the quality of music, but overall it contributes to music’s evolution. This reminds me of the song “Intro” on Odesza’s “Summer’s Gone,” with the lyrics, “You combine segments of magnetic tape/By these means and many others you can create sounds which no one has ever heard before.”

British artist Matthew Stone designed the album cover of FKA Twig’s “Mary Magdalene” by creating digital brushstrokes that resemble paint on canvas, creating a truly three-dimensional shape that’s arguably more believable than traditional painting. A computer-generated program always draws a perfect line, but will art created

by AI be objectively better? Or, will it begin to make human art more novel?

The incorporation of technology and AI into art are redefining who and what can be an artist.

In the case of Kórsafn, AI is doing the work for itself and isn’t created with human direction. The program is given input and recombines them based on musical rules. It’s one thing for AI and tech to be the subject of an artist’s work, but it’s another thing entirely when it doesn’t need a human artist.

Artists’ experiences and struggles, whether documented on canvas or with musical chords, hold a value unmatched by data collected to create something that is “most likely” to be liked by the masses. Good art is disinterested in what people already want and is often a catalyst that breaks the mold — a trait on which humans still have a monopoly. “Life imitates art” wouldn’t be very interesting anymore if predicted by a program.

Leonardo Dicaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg. Directed by Martin Scorsese. That’s all you need to know. Sit that tuchus down and get ready.

Book: “Slaughterhouse 5” by Kurt Vonnegut Nazis, time travel and a filthy flamingo, Kurt Vonnegut’s 1969 “Slaughterhouse-Five” is an uproarious, acutely honest journey of epic proportions to nowhere in particular. This is one of the few Advanced Placement Language books I was forced to read, but couldn’t put down. It tracks the life of U.S. Army private Billy Pilgrim, a half-hearted attempt of a human being, as he travels from the countryside of a war-torn Germany to an alien zoo’s makeshift suburban living room. “Slaughterhouse 5” is often recognized as Vonnegut’s defining work, and it’s not hard to understand why. His disarming humor and eccentric wisdom provide nonstop cackles and states of heavy contemplation. In Billy Pilgrim-like fashion, “Slaughterhouse-Five” effortlessly stumbles to the top of the satirical war novel canon. Both young and old alike can delight in the absurd genius of Vonnegut at his prime.

Album: “Sound and Color” by the Alabama Shakes “Sound and Color” is a 2015 Grammy award winner and the second album from the Athens-based artist Alabama Shakes. The arresting voice of frontwoman Brittany Howard stays front and center within the album’s 47-minute lifespan. Howard’s vocals weave between the soulful tones of Etta James and the jarring shrill of Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant.

This may not sound appealing, but give it a listen and you’ll get it. The opening title track is a delicate layering of chimes, rhythmic snare and tenderhearted vocals. Simply calling it a song does not do it justice. Meticulously timed and masterfully crafted, it bears more resemblance to a resplendent auditory sunrise. Another standout, “Gimme All Your Love,” showcases a deep rooted dichotomy in sound, between warm tenderness and uncensored anguish. When all is said and done, the Shakes manage to piece together a timeless work of sonic catharsis. So, yes, if you were wondering, it’s really good.

COMMENTARY: REDEFINING VALENTINE’S DAY There’s no rule to relationships TE SSA KO G A / AG G IE

BY A L L I E BA I L E Y arts@theaggie.org With the great holiday of Valentine’s Day recently passed, I’ve taken some time to reflect on the heteronormative and strictly defined social constructions of relationships left in its wake.

From a very young age, we are taught a specific set of ideas about love and relationships.

Whether it be from books and movies, our families or just observing the world around us, there lies a clear consensus by the time we start engaging in romantic behavior. Most of us learn the following: We are all meant to end up in a relationship. With this person, you will have a bond like no other, and you will call it “love,” and if it isn’t right the first time, you will one day find your soulmate.

That’s where Valentine’s Day comes in. Commercials are centered around love: Magazines feature gift guides “for him” and “for her,” and supermarkets are overflowing with teddy bears and pink. Every Feb. 14, we celebrate our special someone with material goods, remembering the gendered expectations of relationships on the day Saint Valentine was buried. (Note: This guy was only deemed romantically relevant some 1,400 years after he died. So it makes sense that a possibly false notion that the saint had anything to do with love upholds the socially manufactured norms imposed on us by the holiday.)

I don’t mean to say that anyone who celebrates the holiday is being fooled by capitalist interests or that we don’t need a day just to appreciate our significant others. The day itself isn’t the real problem here, but rather what it represents about the ideals we operate under during the rest of the year.

In a jewelry commercial I saw recently, a woman tells her husband that she doesn’t want anything for Valentine’s Day, and he says to himself that he knows she’ll be livid if he doesn’t actually get her anything. The notion that women aren’t communicative or are so materialistic

as to hate their partner for not buying them a gift is one of many false and disrespectful representations of the ways relationships work. These perceptions perpetuate gender roles and sexist concepts in relationships.

This day of love also highlights our obsession with monogamy. Monogamy is a concept that arose with civilization, and it’s not as innate as we tend to believe. Humans are sexual beings, and it’s normal to want to be with more than one person after a while — most animals do. It’s becoming increasingly clear that monogamy isn’t always necessary to sustain a healthy and happy connection. For some, it can even be the downfall of a relationship. Vox’s Netflix show “Explained” has an episode on this topic if you’re confused or intrigued.

Beyond the enforced interplay within romantic relationships, there is also a sentiment behind Valentine’s Day that we’re supposed to be in love.

It’s there to remind us that that is the ultimate goal.

The UC Davis Love Lab passed out condom goodie bags last week, including a strip of paper with the statement “You are a worthwhile human being, whether or not you are in a relationship.”

At first, I found this to be ridiculous. I’m pretty sure most people don’t define their self-worth on the basis of their relationship status. Upon further consideration, though, I realized that the need they felt to include this disclaimer among the condoms was representative of a bigger issue: The holiday’s aggressive push of romantic love and relationships can leave people feeling less loved than usual, even those who feel fulfilled while single. It’s kind of counterintuitive.

On the holiday of love, shouldn’t we be encouraging kindness, compassion and all types of love — romantic or otherwise? If we participate in this holiday in elementary school, before we understand what romance really is, then its basis must reach beyond just romantic relationships.

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8 | THURSDAY, FEBURAY 20, 2020

“REVERSE” SOLAR PANELS HARNESS EARTH’S HEAT TO GENERATE ENERGY Heat-radiating panels supplement solar cells meant to generate electricity at night

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BY LAUREN G L E VANIK scinece@theaggie.org A groundbreaking theoretical study from two UC Davis researchers explores the possibility of using “reverse” solar cells to generate power from Earth’s residual heat instead of from direct sunlight. The cells work based on the principles of heat flow, also known as thermal radiation. Heat naturally flows from warm areas to cool areas.

This technology aims to harness that natural process and generate usable energy.

During the day, energy heats up Earth, but that heat then dissipates back into the atmosphere once the sun sets, according to Tristan Deppe, a graduate student researcher in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the first author of the paper.

“The coldest time of day is right before sunrise because the earth has been losing energy all throughout the night,” Deppe said. “What we’re trying to do is extract some electrical power from the heat loss that is always happening from the earth.”

In their theoretical paper, the researchers outline a potential system for increasing the amount of energy harnessed from photovoltaic cells (PV) — “photo” meaning light and “voltaic” referring to the energy that is captured. They propose a design for a thermoradiative cell that generates electricity from the flow of heat. In this system, heat energy flows from the sun-warmed Earth into the cold abyss of space.

The mechanism of thermoradiative cells parallels that of traditional solar cells, but it uses different materials. Solar panel cells are made primarily of silicon, which optimizes energy captured from the sun and minimizes production costs. But sunlight and heat have different wavelengths, so the best material for thermoradiative cells is slightly different to harness the maximum amount of energy.

Solar energy, generated by PV cells, is one of the most popular sustainable energy sources in use today. However, solar cells have one major pitfall: limited daylight hours.

“The problem with solar cells is that there is no sun 24/7,” said Jerry Woodall, a distinguished

THE FALSE PROMISES OF THE WELLNESS INDUSTRY The diet industry may have been pushed out of the mainstream, but a new industry has taken its place KATH E R I N E F R A N KS / AGGI E

professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering. “To make things really attractive to move to solar energy as a primary source of energy, you’re going to need storage.

And another problem is that batteries are expensive and they wear out.”

Solar cells only generate power during the day when the power grid is under the least amount of stress, yet demand for electricity peaks in the evening hours when solar panels are the least effective. Implementing thermoradiative cells that harness heat energy could partially alleviate evening electricity demands. In theory, these cells could add up to 12% more power to the daily amount generated and at night when it is needed most.

Atmospheric conditions, such as cloud cover, are another limiting factor of both solar cells and thermoradiative panels. Solar panels are less severely affected if they are strategically placed to maximize electricity generated, according to Adam Moule, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering.

“There is a lot of sun in Arizona, not so much in Michigan,” Moule said via email. “There is lots of sun in Florida, but frequent hurricanes make investment in solar farms very risky. It doesn’t make sense to replace forest or high quality farmland with PV panels. For all of these reasons it will be necessary to put the panels on buildings, over canals, over parking lots, and anywhere that does not impact land use and the economy.”

Thermoradiative panels would most likely be constrained to the same areas, since they are most effective in areas with very little cloud cover.

Deppe suggests they may be best used in already existing solar farms in desert climates where skies are clear and infrastructure is already in place.

Creative placement of thermoradiative cells can also mitigate industrial contributions to climate change. Since the cells absorb heat that’s radiating out into space, they could also be used

in factories to generate power from heat in industrial processes. By harnessing waste heat, these cells generate energy from a previously unusable source and they reduce significant contributions to climate change.

Another practical use of these panels could be to sustain low-power appliances. One example of a large-scale application like this is streetlights.

Many are already equipped with solar panels and small batteries, but an additional source of power generated at night could revolutionize the lighting industry. Thermoradiative cells, used in conjunction with energy-efficient LED lights, could remove any need for developing batteries to store solar energy for night use.

“We need to have other sources of energy after solar cells stop working at sundown,” Deppe said. “This project is trying to allay any reliance we have on batteries to store solar energy and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels to help throughout the night.”

Sustainable energy sources even have the potential to phase out fossil fuel use entirely. In the case of PV cells, they are already a feasible alternative to fossil fuels in terms of production, installation and the amount of energy generated.

“Photovoltaic technology now costs the same as fossil fuels to install in the U.S. and is even cheaper in places that do not have centralized electricity grids already,” Moule said. “In those places, the panels can be contained in one building or town/village/city without the need to develop an extensive electricity grid. From a technical perspective, there is no need to ever install another fossil fuel electricity plant anywhere.”

Although the possibilities seem endless, thermoradiative cells are still in development. The materials engineering and design aspects are still undergoing rigorous testing. Thanks to the advancement of engineering projects like these, however, the future of sustainable energy is looking bright.

MEN AND COMPLIMENTS Traversing masculinity in the modern age I really like your pants.

They look good on you.

T ESSA KOG A / AGG IE

BY ILYA S H RAYB E R arts@theaggie.org

BY A LYSSA I L SL E Y science@theaggie.org In 2018, Weight Watchers completely rebranded its marketing as a company. It even changed its name to WW, or “Wellness That Works.” This rebranding was a result of an increase in criticism regarding “diet culture” and the practices it promotes, such as crash dieting and restrictive eating. The diet industry makes $35 billion off of Americans, and people have started to catch on.

Unsustainable diets that condemn entire food groups, such as the Atkins diet, have been pushed out of the cultural zeitgeist. An increasing number of people are pushing back against the claims made by the diet industry about the best way to care for your body. Instead, “wellness” has become a keyword in 2020 utilized by these companies, supposedly focusing on ways to boost true physical and mental health.

Just because a diet product is rebranded as wellness, however, does not mean that there is not an industry profiting behind it. Disordered and restrictive practices still prevail under their mask.

The concept of “wellness” has replaced its diet-driven predecessors and has integrated itself into our daily lives. An article in JSTOR Daily reviewed this rising trend.

“Once associated with the utopian New Age subcultures of places like Marin County and Santa Fe, wellness has gone mainstream,” the article explained. “The landscape is crowded with the business of it: juice bars, meditation retreats, detox diets, mindfulness apps, and retailers of downward-dog-friendly Lycra.”

Although these routines are not inherently dangerous, the conflation between the practices and full-fledged diet practices are becoming an issue. The act of fasting, for example, has been practiced for hundreds of years. It can have great benefits for one’s mental, physical and spiritual health. When it is coupled with a desire to lose weight, however, it can lead to detrimental mental and physical damage.

“The worst component of this industry is that it positions itself under the guise of legitimate

health, making it possibly even more damaging than the conventional diet culture,” an article for Metiza articulates.

Fasting for religious or spiritual purposes lead to intermittent fasting, which has now led us to alternate day fasting, in which people restrict calories for entire days in order to place themselves at a caloric deficit. Disordered behaviors around food and health are harder to see when they are masked by “wellness.”

Just like the condemned “diet industry” that profits off of people thinking something is wrong with themselves and their diets, the wellness industry functions in a very similar way.

An opinion piece in USA Today, written by former holistic nutritionist Denby Royal, details the falsehoods of many wellness claims and the ways in which it functions like a business.

“A meal in my home would have included only organic and non-genetically modified organisms (non-GMO) foods,” Royal writes. “I thought this was the best way to rid your diet of toxins and pesticides. In reality, this isn’t quite the case. The U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a list of synthetic substances that organic growers are permitted to use on their crops and still maintain their ‘organic’ label.”

This industry has gone beyond replacing the diet industry and has pervaded aspects of medical care as well. Certain wellness practices and “natural cures” are hailed as valid remedies for actual medical and psychological issues. This is demonstrated by trends like the anti-vaccination movement, which advises using peppermint and lavender oil instead of antiviral medication to treat influenza, with disastrous consequences, and in the case of Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop Lab company, which sells $70 “Wellness” candles and a $500 Wellness Solution vibrator. This proves that just because an ideology or product has “wellness” in the description does not mean you should buy into it.

Although there’s nothing wrong with focusing on one’s health and wellness, people should still be weary of claims that a specific product or lifestyle change will inherently better one’s life.

Odds are, there is an industry behind the claim trying to make money by selling dissatisfaction.

Five or six years ago, early in my high school career, while briskly exiting my Intro to Rabbinical Studies class, I vividly remember one of the first times a girl complimented me. She stopped me on my way to study hall, between the courtyard and the commons, and said softly, “Hey, you look, like, really good in those jeans.” I was stunned — genuinely at a loss for words. To this day, I can’t remember what I said exactly, though I’m sure it was a mix of syllables, resembling no pattern heard before in the history of human language.

If you are shocked that I would remember this, let me contextualize the story by confessing that I do not receive many genuine compliments — ones where the receiver can immediately identify the heartfelt intention of the giver. Before you utter an audible “yikes” to yourself or even stop reading, let me inform you that, in general, not many men receive compliments.

The traditional pillars of masculinity — the machismo, perpetual acts of service, exaggerated confidence and bombast — have slowly begun to be phased out. Especially on college campuses, there seems to be a shift of traditional masculine values. Through a discussion with peers and colleagues, and later, some of the male-identifying students at large, I began to explore the relationship between men and compliments. I was curi-

ous to gain a female perspective on this as well, and the insights I gleaned from our student body were fascinating.

Before attempting to understand a female perspective, I was curious about compliments from men to men. There is a long-standing stigma on complimenting male friends if you’re a guy. This may be from ill-conceived notions of heteronormativity. Although a bit dated, there was a time when the term “no-homo” was the nom de jour of male interactions, both on the internet and in-person. But there was a more serious consequence to this line of thinking: Men were afraid to genuinely express their emotions, due to a fear of being labelled a homosexual. A confusing take, but one that was believable for the internet in the 2010s.

Jared Husing, a second-year cognitive science major, commented on this cultural norm.

“There’s a cultural expectation that men are independent, to a point where they don’t expect others to reach out, or to reach out themselves, leading society to have appropriated ideas of traditional masculinity,” Husing said.

Indeed, Husing explains how, historically, men giving and receiving compliments can be a sign of some sort of weakness, no matter how unfounded.

This fear of weakness plays into the problematic nature of machismo that often permeates the male experience.

R EAD FULL ARTI CLE ONLI NE

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020 | 9

Sudoku

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

Answer to previous puzzle

10 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020 | 11

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

AFTRALLY

GUNRESEARCH

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unions “significantly higher salary increases” than those proposed to UC-AFT and a lack of UC proposals on key UC-AFT demands like middle-class salaries, more full-time teaching jobs and fair workload standards.

Rodgers also argued that the proposed contract would have taken rights away from new lecturers.

“The university’s proposal that we rejected says that lecturers are on what they call ‘self-terminated’ contracts with no option to renew,” she said. “All lecturers would have to be rehired. That’s a huge deal — it’s part of what makes someone an adjunct with no right to rehire.”

Around 30% of UC Davis’ classes are taught by lecturers, who fall into “pre-six” and “post-six” categories. Pre-six lecturers are those who are rehired quarter by quarter, then year by year — with a performance review each year — until they reach their sixth year of service. They then receive a six-year merit review, which takes a lecturer from “pre-six” to “post-six.”

“Post-six” status means that a lecturer becomes a “continuing” lecturer, a level of job security similar to gaining tenure for tenure-track faculty. If a lecturer does not pass their six-year review, they remain in limbo.

If a department wants a pre-six lecturer to return, they can reappoint them.

Under the proposed contract, however, lecturers would have to be rehired and put back into the system again — a disadvantage in terms of salary and workload.

Post-six faculty, however, still experience difficulties despite their relative job security.

Dr. Bryan Enderle, the treasurer of UCAFT Local 2023 and a continuing lecturer in the UC Davis Chemistry Department, said he still knows continuing lecturers who teach at other universities.

Though he sells his chemistry readers to students and has a YouTube channel, Enderle said the money from his readers — if there is a sizable enough amount — is donated to Doctors Without Borders and the money from his YouTube channel goes toward pizza for his TAs during their grading sessions.

“Even after you reach that level of security, the cost of living here is just so high that a lot of people don’t even live in Davis,” he said. “I’ve been lucky that I have a full appointment and my department has been accommodating, but it definitely doesn’t work for everybody.

Enderle said he went through his six-year review “totally clueless.”

“There have been folks who’ve been around for way more than six years that haven’t made it through for various reasons — maybe the department doesn’t know if there’s space or enrollment or they just don’t want you,” he said. “It depends.”

Matt Oliver is on the UC-AFT bargaining team and is a pre-six UWP lecturer at UC Davis. He described the pre-six experience as being “marked by contrasts.”

“My chair and colleagues are extremely supportive and professional,” he said via email. “Nevertheless, the larger institution reminds me every day that my job is tentative; that I can lose it at any time regardless of how well I perform.”

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He said that despite the resources and letters of support his colleagues and chair provide him each year, he has to wait — often until after his contract expires each year on July 1 — to hear if there’s room for him in the university budget.

“Last year, six of my colleagues did not find out they had lost their jobs until four days before their contracts expired,” he said.

Oliver, Enderle and Rodgers all believe their involvement with the union is not just about better compensation but also about professional courtesy, lecturers’ basic needs and improving students’ learning.

The UCOP statement provided to The Aggie states that the UC believes its “lecturers play an essential role in supporting the University’s educational mission,” adding that its “goal is to reach an agreement on a multi-year contract that includes fair pay and excellent benefits, and recognizes their contributions and is in line with other labor agreements.”

Oliver, however, implied that the UC had not yet demonstrated that belief. He said one way it could offer the lecturers a voice would be to grant them a vote during curricular development, program assessment, department meetings and committee work.

“While we do care very much about fair compensation, we also want UC to acknowledge that we are professionals and that we make a vital contribution to the fabric of the university,” he said. “As a professional courtesy, we’d appreciate if they could at least tell us whether or not we will teach again in time for us to find another job.”

Enderle said the bargaining process was an avenue for helping lecturers focus on teaching.

“The lecturers teach a huge portion of the classes on campus,” he said. “The union is part of the support that helps us do that, to fight for our rights so that we’re able to focus on the classroom. I think the things that the lecturers are asking for and bargaining for are quite reasonable — not just to get paid more, but to have basic rights, like having an office or not be questioning whether we’re going to get hired.”

UC-AFT’s student reach is large, especially because of how many courses are taught by lecturers, according to Rodgers. She said she thought it was important for students to know and understand the structures defining their education. “[Students should know they] have the right to ask questions, like ‘Why do I have to pay for my parking pass?’ or ‘Why is the university allowing workers and a union to stay out of contract for three years?’” Rodgers said.

She suggested that lecturers could encourage their students to ask the questions she posed and said she tries to remind her students to do the same.

“I think that teachers should help students to know the extent to which working conditions become learning conditions with lecturers and librarians,” Rodgers said. “We need the students to understand this, otherwise it’s all for nothing — then we’ll have no one left to teach.”

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The cooking program offered by the Co-Op specifically targets those who are experiencing financial hardship, who are beneficiaries of specific relief programs such as CalFresh or who are struggling to get adequate nutrition with the resources available to them.

Each class will focus on instructing attendees on how to make a simple meal with the ingredients that would be provided through the ASUCD Pantry. The Davis Food Co-Op holds classes in a teaching kitchen located at 537 G St. These classes will run until December 2020 and will take place every third Thursday of the month, from 5:307:30 p.m.

Madison Souja, the demonstration and

outreach coordinator of the Davis Food Coop, commented on why the program started.

“We saw the need for people and students to learn to cook with what they are given,” Souja said via email. “Cooking can be stressful if you are a student new to living on your own.”

Souja explained how attendees can benefit from these classes.

“Attendees benefit by learning some basic cooking skills,” Souja said. “The hope for this program is that by learning to cook with what they have, those who attend will be able to optimize the food that they have access to.

They are also given food from Co-op or Yolo Food Bank, and are given servings of what we prepared to take home.”

INCLUSIVE of great, talented and ambitious applicants for these scholarship awards and that we’re able [to] fulfill my aunt’s dream of leaving an important legacy for students of Mexican heritage.”

SENATE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

During the report, Tuermer-Lee spoke about The Aggie’s efforts focused on raising awareness about the Basic Needs and Services Referendum, The Aggie’s move from Lower Freeborn Hall to a house on A St., documenting the history of The Aggie and hiring new staff members.

The Senate then moved into the confirmation of the Aggie Public Arts Committee chair. The candidate was confirmed.

During the introduction of new legislation, Senate Bill #31, a bill to put the Basic Needs and Services Referendum onto the Spring Quarter Elections ballot, and Constitutional Amendment #67, an amendment to rewrite and clean up the ASUCD Constitution, were referred to the IAC. The Senate then moved into the confirmation of two students to the Elections Committee. Both of the candidates, as well as the Elections Committee chairperson and Senators, highlighted the importance of being impartial and fair. Both candidates were

confirmed.

Landrum then pushed the table back into the consideration of old legislation. Introduced by External Affairs Vice President Adam Hatefi, Senate Resolution #1 asks the Senate to endorse a previously outlined 10year plan for the association, which includes business practice reforms, best practices surrounding the legislative process and the expansion of the association.

Along with slight grammatical and format adjustments, the major change to this resolution since it had last been introduced was ASUCD’s creation of a partnership with campus council, instead of hiring a legal fellow at the legal counsel’s office, which will result in no cost for ASUCD. The resolution passed as amended. After public announcements, ex-officio reports and elected officer reports — all mainly focused on the fee referendum — the meeting adjourned at 10 p.m.

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Taqueria Guadalajara Last up was Taqueria Guadalajara. The tacos here were considered to be better than the three other Mexican restaurants — the onion and cilantro toppings were paired perfectly with flavorful, hot chicken that beat out El Burrito in terms of texture. What really set it apart, however, were the fluffy sand dollar tortillas, which were equally as hot as

Examples of previous studies include researching the frequency of deaths and injuries in California and how they vary across the state, how common firearm ownership is in California, what firearms are used for and what kinds of firearms people own.

Wintemute believes that using science to research firearms will effectively prevent violence and help researchers understand why it occurs.

“We have to understand the effectiveness of prevention measures, and that’s where science comes in — just as if we were talking about the opioid epidemic or AIDS or heart disease or cancer, which are big problems,” Wintemute said. “In order to do something, we need to understand that it’s the same for firearm violence.”

Kravitz-Wirtz said that she hopes funding scientific research on firearms will decrease the statistics of death and injury.

“Programs like these, which fund comprehensive, up-to-date research designed to answer basic questions about gun ownership and evaluate the effectiveness of firearm policies and violence prevention efforts, in combination with the wisdom of communities most impacted by violence, are thus a vital and life-saving endeavor,” Kravitz-Wirtz said.

GLYPHOSPHATE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

“It is apparent that staff is not in any position to implement a new round of pesticide usage without a trained IPM specialist on board, and without first bringing this new usage of plan to the NRC [Natural Resources Commission], Recreation and Parks and Open Space and Habitat to explain exactly what they are doing and why,” Millstein said.

Councilmember Will Arnold voiced concerns similar to Millstein’s, questioning whether city staff can make an informed decision about pesticide use without the right avenues of review.

“We don’t have the IPM specialist — and we don’t have the TAC in place — so that’s our only resource at this point: these commissions,” Arnold said. “Skipping past them [...] does give me a lot of discomfort.”

Despite objections from the public, four out of the five councilmembers, with Arnold dissenting, voted to allow the use of pre-emergent pesticide, thus passing the resolution.

With the Tier 2 pre-emergent herbicide approved, the areas that would be exposed to the new pesticide include streets such as Pole Line Road, Chiles Road, Mace Boulevard, Covell Boulevard, Anderson Road and Shasta Road, as well as some interior medians.

Some parks and larger green areas that are also subject to pesticide use include Cannery, Mace Ranch Park, John Baravetto Park, Arroyo Park, Northstar Park, Sandy Motley Park, Walnut Park and the El Macero Greenbelt.

In addition to using Tier 2 pre-emergent herbicides, city staff added future goals for pesticide use in the city, including the development of an Integrated Pest Management Technical Advisory Committee and added mapping of pesticide hazard and reduction mapping. Ultimately, the city staff is looking to respond to the public’s concerns with minimal use of pesticides.

FOODTRUCK CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

‘Oh, that must be really good, so I might as well get in line and try it out.’”

Passersby seemed to have mixed opinions on this — some students walked by and took videos of the long lines while others appeared to be considering whether or not to join the line. One student said, “People in California are either too patient or just crazy, why would you wait in such a long line?”

Second-year statistics and biochemistry double major Christine Zhou was drawn in by the long lines she saw. Zhou had never tried food from the truck, but planned to order the chicken thigh “naked,” since she’s not a “spicy person” “I’m just curious,” Zhou said. “You want to find out why there’s always a long line for this chicken.”

Rhodes said the popularity of the truck can

be attributed to the fact that the food is delicious, which is something that people gravitate toward, as well as the truck’s social media presence. They see about 300 people a day at UC Davis — and not all of them are associated with the university. Some, like Sahabandu’s friend, work in Davis, but Rhodes said there are some people who tell him they came to Davis from West Sacramento to try the food.

“We really appreciate coming out [to UC Davis] and the love from all the students and the staff,” Rhodes said. “We’re really grateful for what we have, we don’t take anything for granted. We always want to put smiles on people’s faces. We always want to deliver a delicious product. And you know, when it’s reciprocated, with people standing in line for 45 minutes, it’s really humbling.”

ETHNICSTUDIES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4

[...] and finding an opportunity to identify local community issues and take an active role in addressing them.”

Following this idea, Boonchouy believes the ethnic studies program at DJUSD should be tailored to the specific needs of their community.

“Even though you look at academia and how these programs or approaches have been defined academically, we may develop something that is unique to us and inclusive of more groups or different constructs that we believe are important,” Boonchouy said.

Ethnic studies for all walks of life The task force will discuss the age at which to implement the ethnic studies program.

“We don’t have a preconceived concept of what the outcome is going to be for the program, [...] whether it’s a single high school course or if it is an integrated experience woven all the way through

elementary school, junior high and high school,” Boonchouy said.

For Boonchouy, there is a strong case for teaching ethnic studies as early as possible.

“A lot of advocates would say ‘start young and be explicit about the role of diverse voices and ethnic groups and perspectives in our society and in our history and speak to that at a younger age so that students don’t have to unlearn their history when they get to high school,’” Boonchouy said.

Racial biases in education can have long-term impacts on children, who aren’t necessarily aware of these biases, according to Feng.

“When they grow up, [children] develop biased perceptions, perspectives, ideas and world views about people and about the world in general, which is not a good thing,” Feng said. “We want our kids to grow up with a more objective and comprehensive and fair understanding of [...] history.”’

VALENTINESDAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

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“I hope we [will] definitely get a lot of great applications this and every year,” Val Dolcini said. “This is a foundation that will award scholarships for the long-term future.

We really hope that we’re able to get a lot

Larosiere and other opponents see firearm violence research as serving a specific political agenda — Larosiere claims that it is “odd” to focus on firearm violence research.

“I’m thankful we live in a time when overall violent crime is low and decreasing, and murders are mercifully rare,” Larosiere wrote via email. “Given that, it seems odd to focus on ‘gun violence’ as opposed to violence in general, when there seems to be a great many other causes of death that are far more common and preventable without threatening the fundamental rights of our people. It seems that, when violent crime is low, directing public funds to ‘gun violence’ research seems like a move driven more by agenda than public safety.”

In a press brief, UCFC explicitly stated that it hopes that future research will help “reduce firearm violence in California.” Wintemute and others who work at VPRP and UCFC acknowledge the opposition to their research, but still believe a scientific approach will lead to better understanding of firearm violence and ways to prevent it.

“We fund research because lives are at risk,” Wintemute said. “Our goal is to save lives and prevent injuries by preventing violence, and that’s what makes it important to fund good research and to fund lots of research.”

the chicken inside.

“It just beats out El Burrito,” Dobkin said. “Although El Burrito is my eating out staple, I find Guad’s to be better in terms of meat and tortilla, separated even more from the competition in its true street taco style.”

In second-year cognitive science major Noel Fernandez’s words: “When it comes down to it, Guad’s is home.”

If it doesn’t, then we shouldn’t be celebrating it with children.

We should use this day to encourage loving friendships, too — in particular, the idea of platonic intimacy. We’re taught that romantic relationships are where you should be most emotionally and physically vulnerable with another person. There is, however, an opportunity for this with friends as well. The way you open up to a person is likely different with friends than it is with partners, but that doesn’t make one form of vulnerability more profound than the other. The bond between people is immensely stronger when we can be our authentic selves and this is supported by intimacy in both romantic and platonic settings. This type of love can be just as impactful.

My point is simple: There is no rule to relationships. Our romantic relations are just as individual and effortful as our friendships. Standards vary from person to person, but so long as all parties involved

agree on what’s expected from one another, the way you choose to engage is no one’s business but you and your partner’s.

Valentine’s Day doesn’t create this narrow definition of relationships — all of us do. But the holiday props up an idealized version of human connection that impedes the progression of a culture that should be allowed to explore the diverse interests of humans without judgement.

Humanity constantly touts our emotional intelligence and social capacity that surpasses that of most of the Animal Kingdom, but we are conforming to a dynamic that is more restrictive than what those same, emotionally inept animals practice. If we’re able to love and feel in such varying and complex ways, why don’t we celebrate it?

In the wise words of the Beatles, “All you need is love.” The only thing I would add is “Love that is equally represented and free of conventions” — and I’d like to think they would agree.

COMPLIMENTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

and he didn’t, which was a boom for us. It’s nice to have that guy because he’s basically another pitching coach on the field. He handles so much stuff that a coach normally handles and he calls his own game. He’s very studious about the game and is a great leader.”

Outside of the core of returning studs, there are many new players on this roster, including nine freshman and five sophomores. Some players, like sophomore second baseman Jalen Smith and junior third baseman Kyler Arenado, will open the season as starters and receive more playing time than they have ever had as Aggies. Elsewhere, first baseman Jonah Henrickson, a freshman from Davis High School, will be immediately thrown into the mix from the get-go.

Vaughn has stressed the importance of other less experienced players stepping up and providing much-needed depth at each position. Over the course of a 56-game schedule, it’s inevitable that injuries and cold streaks will crop up, so bench players

will have to make an impact. So far, the entire 35man roster, regardless of age or experience, has been meshing very well throughout the fall and winter.

The coaching staff is taking steps to mitigate the burdens of the long season, in hopes of keeping players fresh and avoiding injuries. Division I baseball presents one of the toughest schedules of any college sport, especially in schools on the quarter system where players actively participate for all of winter and spring quarter in addition to six weeks of fall quarter.

“This year, we’re trying to go into the season just a little bit healthier and more rested,” Vaughn said.

“We’re backing off on practices a little bit and when we do something well in practice, we move onto the next thing. We’re trying to find little mental breaks here and there during the season that help you get through it. It’s a constant, ongoing challenge for us as a coaching staff and as a program to maintain that balance for not only good physical health, but good mental health.”

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

12 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2020

ROBINSON DOMINATES, AGGIES STRUGGLE IN AGGIE CLASSIC WATER POLO

Senior utility scores seven goals, but UC Davis fall short against Bulldogs

Chloe Robinson (6) of the UC Davis Women's Water Polo team takes a shot attempt during a match against Fresno State on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020 at the Schaal Aquatics Center in Davis, California. (Photo by Justin Han / Aggie)

BY RAIN YEKIKIAN sports@theaggie.org Despite an astounding seven goal performance by senior utility Chloe Robinson, the UC Davis Women’s Water Polo team fell short in their third game of the Aggie Classic tournament.

The game remained very close throughout each quarter, but a series of turnovers and missed opportunities by UC Davis ultimately led to the Fresno State Bulldogs defeating the Aggies 12-10 in Sunday’s first game.

“Overall I thought we played pretty good defense for the most part,” said head coach Jamey

Wright, referring to his team’s ability to hold Fresno State to only three goals on 10 powerplay opportunities. In regards to the Aggies’ two for 10 powerplay performance and overall turnover rate, Wright explained, “We need to be better in the six on five, we have to score more, we have to have more patience and eliminate some of those unnecessary turnovers.”

To begin the first quarter, the Bulldogs won the sprint, but Robinson was able to steal and gain possession for UC Davis. With an assist from sophomore utility Allyson Clague, Robinson was able to score the first goal of the game less than two minutes in. Robinson then took advantage of a Fresno State turnover and exclusion,

AGGIE BASEBALL LOOKING FOR THE NEXT STEP FORWARD Questions abound for UC Davis in 2020 season

UC Davis Pitcher Jake Spillane (31,right) pitches to Brock Rudy (2,left) of Utah during a game against the University of Utah on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2020 at Dobbins Stadium in Davis, California. (Photo by Justin Han / Aggie)

BY BRENDAN OGBURN sports@theaggie.org The UC Davis baseball team is embarking on another long season in the Big West Conference with the hope of taking a step forward after a fifth-place finish last year. Although the Aggies ended with a 19-31 record, the team made some very positive strides and held its own against top competition.

Against a pair of traditional Big West powerhouses, UC Davis swept Long Beach State at home and went on the road to take a series from Cal State Fullerton. Additionally, the Aggies took down Stanford, a team that advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals, on their home field early in the season.

“These are all things that are steps forward for us as a program, but when you look at the ultimate measure, which is that record at the end of the year, we've still got work to do,” said Head Coach Matt Vaughn.

It is no secret the program has struggled to win games on a consistent basis since moving up to the Division I level in 2008. After a run to the NCAA Tournament in that inaugural season, the Aggies have enjoyed just one winning season in the past 11 years and have won under 40% of their games since Vaughn took over in 2011. This year, the team was once again selected to finish in last place in the Big West, according to the league’s preseason coaches poll.

Vaughn, a UC Davis graduate in 1992, is entering his ninth season at the helm. Despite his four-year contract extension received in late 2017, Vaughn knows that the program simply has not made enough progress under his watch.

“Our goal is to get into the top of our conference and be a competitor for a conference title every year and we haven't been there,” Vaughn admitted. “For the most part, we've performed above where everyone thinks we're going to finish, but still not good enough. We're still fighting to get there and every year there's signs of it."

Every so often, it looks like UC Davis is on the verge of turning the corner, but a breakthrough in success just hasn’t happened. It’s not as though the Aggies haven’t displayed some supreme talent across the diamond, as UC Davis players have been selected in the MLB draft for three years running, but this hasn’t translated to wins on the field.

Off the field, there have been positive developments with fundraising and facility improvements in the last year, culminating in the construction of a $1 million batting cage beyond the right field line.

"We're getting there,” Vaughn said. “We still need to do lights and some sort of clubhouse for our guys, but the batting cages have been a tremendous step forward for us. A great group of donors made that happen for us and our administration helped us get that done too.”

The skipper firmly believes he has the full backing of Director of Athletics Kevin Blue and the rest of the administration, so the only thing left to do is win ball games.

“The support and resources are here,” Vaughn said. “Are they what our opponents have? Probably not, but we're getting there and we have everything we need to win games. We just have to find ways to put it together.”

Over the years, the program has struggled from a severe deficiency of effective arms on the pitching mound. UC Davis typically scores enough runs to win, but has failed to avoid long innings in the field and stop the bleeding once things start to unravel. The pitching staff has sported a team ERA over five in three of the past four seasons.

Vaughn says some of the problems are a result of his players trying to balance the demands of such an academically prestigious university like UC Davis.

“Our guys are right in there with every other student at UC Davis and I think that makes it a little different,” Vaughn said. “I think our guys have to grind a little harder in the classroom than maybe some other programs so that presents a challenge in itself.”

Given those rigorous academic requirements and the annual struggles of the program on the field, the coaching staff has been limited in regards to which players it can lure to UC Davis recruiting. When it comes to pitching, Davis is simply not a destination for most of the young flamethrowers coming out of high school at the moment.

“We need guys that can pitch,” Vaughn stated. “If I'm being honest about it, we're not getting the 90 mile per hour guys right now. We're going to get there at some point, but we're not getting them right now so [we] have to develop them a little bit more and have guys that have an idea how to change speeds, hit their spots and stay down in the zone. Just guys that can really pitch, not guys that are just throwing hard.”

UC Davis does return two of its top-three most used pitchers from last season, including Friday starter Brett Erwin. The third-year right hander led the staff in ERA and wins in over 70 innings of work in 2019.

Overall, Vaughn believes his guys will do a better job of throwing strikes this season and give the team a chance to consistently win. He hopes a frontloaded non-conference schedule at Dobbins Stadium will allow the pitchers to get comfortable and develop confidence before the rigors of the Big West arrive in late March. The stadium is often regarded as one of the toughest places in the nation to hit home runs, due to its spacious alleyways and high fences.

In the field, UC Davis welcomes back a strong core of position players and its top four hitters from last year.

"It’s a good feeling to have that experience back and if you watch us practice, you see those

giving the Aggies a 2-0 lead with five minutes still remaining in the first quarter.

This hopeful start for the Aggies dissolved quickly, as a UC Davis turnover and exclusion allowed the Bulldogs to tie the game at two. Just 30 seconds later, another turnover by the Aggies gave Fresno State a 3-2 lead. The Aggies next possession saw a goal by junior attacker Emily Aikema, and UC Davis re-tied the game at three apiece.

A fair amount of turnovers by UC Davis allowed the Bulldogs to maintain most of the control during the second quarter, scoring two goals and taking a 5-3 lead with just under two minutes remaining. Nonetheless, two exclusions on Fresno State led to Robinson scoring her third goal of the game to end the first half with the Aggies down four goals to five.

“We’re doing a really good job at playing team defense and getting up on the counter attack,” Robinson said. “I think we can push our counters a little bit more and just keep looking for each other and looking for the right shots and right passes.”

Robinson was an especially prominent force for the Aggies in the third quarter. The start of the period saw a power play goal from each team within the first two minutes, as Robinson scored another goal with an assist from sophomore utility Julia Hartmann. Within the next minute, Robinson stole the ball and scored once again to tie the game at six goals each.

Another goal from Fresno State was followed

by Robinson’s sixth goal — her third of the quarter — assisted by senior utility Emily Byrne. The tie at seven did not last very long, as Fresno State scored twice more before the quarter ended.

After a missed powerplay shot by the Bulldogs, Clague and Hartmann, with assists from Robinson and Aikema, respectively, were able to bring the Aggies back up and tie the game for a fifth time. A steal by Clague with just under six minutes remaining allowed Robinson to score

her seventh goal of the game and give the Aggies their first lead since the early in the first quarter.

Robinson’s seventh goal was the last the Aggies were able to muster. Fresno State scored three unanswered goals, two of which were preceded

by UC Davis turnovers, in the last five minutes to hand the Aggies a 12-10 loss.

Despite the undesirable finish, Robinson remained optimistic about UC Davis’ ability to score in any situation.

“We have a lot of offensive threats and when they shut down one of us, we have a lot of other options and we really come together when our whole team steps up as outside shooters,” she explained.

Some of these offensive threats were displayed throughout the weekend tournament in the form of Robinson’s total of 11 goals, as well as ten goals from sophomore center Noelle Wijnbelt. All in all, the Aggies scored a total of 37 goals in four games.

Wright had confidence in his team following the loss, calling his group “resilient” and complimenting the leadership by the seniors. For that reason, he believes that the Aggies will “bounce back.” Robinson shared a similar sentiment.

“Trust in yourself and trust in your teammates,” she explained. “The shots aren’t always going to go in.”

This very close finish was similar to the two games that the Aggies participated in on Saturday. UC Davis lost both of its games by just one goal each, falling 8-9 in overtime to the California Golden Bears and 7-8 against San Jose State.

The Aggies were able to secure a win in their final game of the tournament, however, defeating University of the Pacific 12-7 behind a five-goal effort from Wijnbelt.

The Aggies will now head down to Irvine this weekend for the Barbara Kalbus Tournament before officially opening Big West play with a tilt against UC Irvine at home on March 7.

guys are a little more ahead, so it sets a good example and benchmark for the younger guys to strive for,” Vaughn said.

Junior shortstop Tanner Murray is a superstar in the making, having already taken home Big West Freshman Player of the Year and All-Big West First Team honors in his first two years on campus. He enjoyed a season-long hot streak in 2019, batting .364 with a .919 OPS and leading the offense in hits, runs, RBI’s and doubles.

Multiple media outlets are predicting Murray to wind up as the Big West Player of the Year in 2020 and he has drawn a lot of buzz as a draft prospect as well.

Murray recently participated in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League in Massachusetts, a summer league showcasing the top talent

in the nation. The league is renowned for hosting over 1,000 players that have ended up playing in the MLB. In the outfield, the Aggies will rely on the leadership of senior center fielder Cooper Morrison and redshirt-junior right fielder Alejandro Lara. Both players hit over .300 last season and were mainstays in the heart of the lineup along with Murray.

Behind the plate, the team is ecstatic to bring back redshirt-senior catcher Logan Denholm, who can be relied upon to produce runs as well as handle a staff of young pitchers.

"We were lucky to get him back,” Vaughn explained. “He should've gotten signed last year

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