February 8, 2024

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VOLUME 147, ISSUE 15 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

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Chinese student nonprofit seeks to spread cultural awareness through Lunar New Year celebration in Central Park UC Davis’ Chinese Union hosts the “Dragon’s Market” for all

BY LYNN CHEN features@theaggie.org Lunar New Year celebrations are just around the corner for many students at UC Davis.

One particular student-run organization is committed to celebrating in a unique and memorable way.

The Chinese Union (CU) is a 501-(c)(3) non-profit organization split across many college campuses around the country, including UC Davis.

It was founded at UC San Diego with the purpose of providing assistance and support to Chinese international students in the U.S. On campus, CU regularly hosts social events and extracurricular opportunities that integrate students’ academic, lifestyle and entertainment interests.

“It’s a great place to meet friends who have a similar background to [you],” said Yi Zhu, an executive member for the Project Management Department of CU and secondyear psychology and theatre and dance double major, via WeChat text messaging.

To observe the arrival of the

Flyer for the “Dragon’s Market” put on by UC Davis’ Chinese Union.

(Courtesy / Chinese Union)

Senate hears anti-Indigeneity presentation, Mental Health Initiative quarterly report at Feb. 1 meeting

The Senate held their first meeting since being on hiatus due to vacancies in the Judicial Council via Zoom

BY AALIYAH ESPAÑOL-RIVAS campus@theaggie.org Vice President Aarushi Raghunathan called the Feb.1 Senate meeting to order at 6:12 p.m. After roll call, she read the UC Davis Land Acknowledgement.

The first item on the agenda was an anti-Indigeneity presentation given by Zach Schnelbach, a thirdyear political science, public service and Native American studies double major. The presentation highlighted Indigenous justice, the history of Indigenous erasure in the United States and how the community can be allies to Indigenous and Native American students.

“We cannot erase the connection between environmental justice, racial justice, immigration, voting rights and reproductive justice to that of Indigenous people,” Schnelbach said.

The next item on the agenda was the Mental Health Initiative (MHI) quarterly report. The initiative has been working toward their annual Mental Health Conference, according to Adithi Sumitran, the secretary for

MHI and a second-year statistics and political science double major.

Slated to be held from Feb. 17 to 18, Sumitran shared updates on the conference including the workshops, resources and the speakers confirmed.

Sumitran then called upon the Senate’s support to help with getting the word out about the conference, in both advertisements and attendee outreach. This includes tabling and posting on social media. Other updates from the initiative included upcoming events, team training and socials.

The meeting then went into public comments. Senator Chasa Monica urged senators to begin thinking about possible locations for the upcoming town hall meeting, due to the Mee Room in the Memorial Union building being under construction.

After discussing town hall, the Senate moved into an open forum.

Senator Trinity Chow announced that the Senate meeting should most likely be in person next week as interviews for the vacancies in the Judicial Council would be finalized.

The meeting was then adjourned at 7:25 p.m.

Lunar New Year, the nonprofit will be hosting the “CU Dragon’s Market” in Central Park on Feb. 18 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. A variety of booths showcasing traditional food, games and artwork, as well as music and dance performances of various Asian cultures for guests’ perusal and participation.

“We will showcase activities such as traditional Chinese paper cutting and embroidery during the event,” said Xiniy Tong, an executive board member of CU, second-year communications major and deputy chief planner and financial director for the event.

“Through our fair, we hope that [non-Chinese] people can learn more about our culture,” Tong said.

According to Tong, attendees can also expect Lion Dance performances, long rope skipping games, writing calligraphy blessings on red parchment paper and the opportunity to dress in traditional Han-style clothing.

Additionally, many of the goods and materials provided or sold at the Dragon’s Market will be imported directly from China, in the hopes that it will create a more welcoming and homely environment for those who grew up there.

While these are all traditional Chinese activities and recreational pursuits, CU also hopes to be inclusive of other cultures that celebrate the Lunar New Year with its event.

“In the past few years, we’ve only hosted events for international students

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from China,” Justin Han, president of CU and third-year managerial economics student, said. “This year we wanted to change this fact through the market fair, because everybody should be able to enjoy our cultural event.”

Han stated that the fair will also be showcasing traditional Vietnamese performances.

First of all, hosting a fair to celebrate Lunar New Year was a relatively new idea for CU to bring to life. Other similar Chinese student associations to CU and the nonprofit itself had no experience organizing something at such a large scale under such a short amount of time. As such, the Union placed a substantial amount of effort into planning the event.

“The Dragon’s Market has been a very creative and challenging project for us,” Tong said. “It’s something that has never been done before in Davis.”

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UC Davis Student Housing and Dining Services holds student focus groups for ‘Dining Reimagined’ project

Students shared feedback on the current state of dining and possible improvements

BY AALIYAH ESPAÑOL-RIVAS campus@theaggie.org On Jan. 26, the UC Davis Student Housing and Dining Services hosted three student focus groups for the first phase of their “Dining Reimagined” project. Held in the Segundo Dining Commons, students across different years and housing locations — onand off-campus living — were invited to give feedback on what the dining commons could be doing to improve the student dining experience.

“Dining Reimagined” has been in the works for the past two years, created after student input was given to create the Latitude restaurant, according to Richard Ronquillo, head of marketing for Housing and Dining Services at UC Davis.

“Latitude was our first real facility that was really designed to meet a specific need from our students,” Ronquillo said. “Students really expressed that they wanted to have more international cuisine [...] For some students, they wanted the experience, [...] and for some, they wanted a taste of home.”

Kraig Brady, the executive director of Dining at UC Davis, said that “Dining Reimagined” looks to the future of dining on campus, with the help of student input to implement both short and long-term changes to improve the dining hall experience.

The facade of Tercero Services Center and Dining Commons.

(Summer Sueki / Aggie) “[‘Dining Reimagined’] is a collaboration with the campus and student community,” Brady said. “We want to [bring forth] a service provider program that is totally cohesive and collaborative with the community.”

For Maya Leonard, a first-year communications and fashion design double major, attending the focus group was important to her because she wanted to get more involved in the community.

“I came to this group because I had ideas [to improve dining on campus],” Leonard said. “I’m trying to make people get involved and put their ideas out there, because if it’s not out in the world, it’s not going to happen.”

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READ MORE

Chef Martin Yan visits campus on Jan. 26 to give cooking demonstrations in celebration of the Lunar New Year

At the event, a world-renowned chef and UC Davis alumnus engaged students in cooking demonstrations and prepared limited-edition recipes for dining commons menus SEE PAGE 3

UC Davis Students for Justice in Palestine hold protest in response to arrests at UC Board of Regents meeting The protest was organized in response to the 13 students and faculty members arrested during a sit-in for Palestine at the UC Regents meeting on Jan. 24

BY RIVERS STOUT campus@theaggie.org Content warning: This contains discussions of violence.

article

On Feb. 1, UC Davis Students for Justice in Palestine held a protest following the arrests and misdemeanor charges on 13 UC and CSU students and staff who participated in a sit-in gathering in support of Palestine at the UC Board of Regents meeting.

Students and community members at the graduate and undergraduate levels gathered on the Memorial Union’s south patio to demand that UC Regents drop the charges on those arrested.

Throughout the protest, speakers acknowledged the fact that they were being filmed by individuals outside of the protest.

“We are very clearly being

harassed, [and] we are very clearly being surveilled,” an anonymous protestor said toward an individual who had been making fun of their chants, as well as for dancing along to their rhythm throughout the protest.

Another speaker then recalled the arrests at the UC Regents meeting on Jan. 24.

“The UC regents and chancellors were too cowardly to listen to our demands,” the anonymous speaker said. “They remain too uncomfortable with the bloody truths we called them out on, ones that they try to justify so hard and escape from. Instead of listening to us [...] they [...] chose the dirty pig-cops to handle us, to ‘handle the situation.’”

Next, a different anonymous speaker protested the UC’s involvement with companies that support Israel. “[While] the UC refuses to affirm that the killing of Palestinian students

is wrong, we protest,” they said. “Our very own chancellor Gary May sits on the board of one of these companies, Leidos. We will never sit idly by as our tuition money, and more broadly our tax dollars, are sent in the billions to fund Israeli life, on what is stolen land.”

Speakers continued to express their frustration toward the UC system for supporting war industry companies that develop weapons used against Palestinians.

“I hope the UC Regents and Gary May feel good about themselves knowing that they pump billions of dollars into the complete destruction of Gaza and Palestine as a whole,” the anonymous speaker said. “That the weapons manufacturing companies that they send billions of dollars to that create weaponry that slices human beings apart into beats until they are pieces of flesh on the ground [...] We can not let them continue

living their lives with such ignorance and compliance with this genocide.”

Stanford McConnehey, a law student at the UC Davis School of Law and organizer for the UC Davis Graduate, Medical, Veterinary and Law Students for Palestine, was one of the 13 protestors escorted out of the UC Regents meeting and arrested.

“Last week when students, faculty, staff and alumni from around the state mobilized to participate and demonstrate at the UC Regents meeting, [the UC Regents] showed the people of California how they really feel,” McConnehey said at the protest. “They spat in the faces of undocumented students by suspending Opportunity for All, a policy which allowed the UC system to hire undocumented students, after stringing [them] along and telling them how much they care.”

McConnehey then talked about the arrests at the meeting.

“They arrested a group of students, alumni and staff, including myself, from multiple UC campuses for holding a sit-in and demanding the regents direct the UC chief investment officers to divest the UC’s investment portfolios from military-industrial companies involved in the zionist colonization of Palestine and genocide of Palestinian people,” McConnehey said.

The UC Police Department’s decision to arrest the 13 individuals at the sit-in was completely optional, according to McConnehey.

“The regents and the UCSF [UC San Francisco] administration did not have to have us arrested,” McConnehey said. “Their treatment of peaceful protestors is a perfect example of the anti-Palestinian racism that animates this institution.”

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UC Davis evolutionary biology professor Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra awarded National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences

Ross-Ibarra’s research on maize is recognized for its contributions to the evolutionary genetics of maize and related crops

Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, professor of evolution and ecology, examines dried maize stalks underneath the bright sun. (Courtesy of Sasha Bakhter and UC Davis / fair use)

BY RODRIGO VILLEGAS city@theaggie.org The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) recently awarded the 2024 NAS Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences to Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, a UC Davis professor in the Department of Evolution and Ecology.

“I was pleasantly surprised and happy,” Ross-Ibarra said. “I’d like to think [the award recognizes] that some

of the more basic evolutionary biology we’re doing is recognized as being useful.”

According to the NAS website, the award is given to a “mid-career scientist at a U.S. institution” whose research contributes to agriculture or the understanding of the biology of a species important to agriculture or food production. In the case of Ross-Ibarra, the award recognizes his research on maize.

Ross-Ibarra’s lab uses maize as a

“model system” to research a variety of topics. Some of these pursued topics include a better understanding of adaptation among other plants, work on genome evolution, as well as how crops have adapted to modern breeding and have coevolved with humans.

Though Ross-Ibarra received the award, he recognized that his research was a collaboration between both his lab and other teams within the maize community.

“I also felt quite a bit of gratitude

because it’s certainly not a one-man show,” Ross-Ibarra said. “We wouldn’t be here without the collaborators, so it’s a nice recognition of their efforts as well.”

Ross-Ibarra also mentioned that his team currently works with 25 different labs in locations such as Mexico, Finland and Germany to grow corn and understand how it adapts to their environment. His lab primarily functions as a computational biology lab, but the partnerships provided opportunities to share resources and data from specialized techniques that they couldn’t do as a single lab.

Rubén Rellán Álvarez, assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry at North Carolina State University, and his team were one of several groups that collaborated with Ross-Ibarra. Rellán Álvarez’s team evaluated samples for physiological and metabolic changes.

“You are combining techniques and approaches that are very specialized, so it’s hard to have a single lab that can do all those different approaches well,” Rellán Álvarez said. “All of those [specialized approaches] combined can give you a better overall picture of the evolutionary and physiological processes that you are interested in.”

He further spoke about Ross-Ibarra’s ability to establish thriving partnerships with teams around the world to enhance each other’s research. “[Ross-Ibarra] has been very successful at building fruitful and productive collaborations with colleagues all over the U.S. and around

KELLY GUAN / AGGIE the world,” Rellán Álvarez said. “When you see a group like [Ross-Ibarra’s] that has been able to collaborate with folks from different universities, across different fields and across different countries — that tells you that it’s not a coincidence.”

Sherry Flint-Garcia, research geneticist for the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, agreed with the sentiment. She commended Ross-Ibarra’s talent for bringing people together, citing it as one of the many reasons why he won the award.

“One of the cool things about working with Dr. Ross-Ibarra is that he’s a really cool person,” Flint-Garcia said. “He’s got a good sense of humor, he treats his people well — he is a good collaborator both scientifically and as a person. That’s not an extremely common characteristic.”

She described Ross-Ibarra as someone who knows when to approach his work with earnestness, yet possesses a lighthearted personality that shines through his puns and quirks.

“Remember, for every corny joke, there’s always a kernel of truth,” FlintGarcia said. “[Ross-Ibarra] has these hilarious jokes and puns about corn.

He has this ability to keep things light, but at the same time he gets very serious and down to the science.”

Though she considers Ross-Ibarra to be a very fun person, she also acknowledged his extensive knowledge of evolutionary biology and his ability to analyze data.

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Davis City Council, Brews and bikes: Have fun in the sun with the Davis Brewery Davis Joint Unified School District discuss Bike Loop Davis Bike Collective and Sudwerk Brewing Co. hosted their first regular brewery bike crawl

BY EMMA CONDIT city@theaggie.org On Sunday, Jan. 28, Davis Bike Collective and Sudwerk Brewing Co. hosted a bike loop across four Davis breweries. As they enjoyed the journey from spot to spot, participants bonded over their love of bikes, beer and unseasonably warm January weather.

Davis Bike Collective is a “volunteer-run nonprofit community bicycle organization,” as written on their website. Alex Fisher-Wagner, Sudwerk’s event planner, explained the intention behind the event.

“You don’t have to drink,” FisherWagner said. “But if you are into beer and haven’t had an excuse to go try the different breweries and you want to burn it off at the same time, this is a really great opportunity.”

Jordan Blandino, a first-year graduate student at UC Davis and participant in the event, offered his thoughts on biking in Davis.

“I did lots of biking before I came to Davis, and that’s actually one of the reasons I came here,” Blandino said.

“I was thinking, ‘maybe I could put some of the bike background into the education.’”

Blandino, who is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in design, hopes to integrate his biking background into urban design.

“With design, for example, there are a lot of opportunities around sustainable transportation and sustainable product design,” Blandino said. “I want to focus on wellbeing for people in American cities [...]. [In Davis] we don’t have any

school updates​​at 2x2 meeting

School board officials discussed challenges facing the district and ways the city can help

BY KATELIN PANG city@theaggie.org

Bikers start the Brewery Bike Loop at the Davis Bike Collective. The event was hosted by the Collective and Sudwerk Brewing Co. (Jenna Lee / Aggie) mountains, and the county roads are long and straight. But there is a lot of support for cycling here.”

The 10-mile loop took participants to 3-Mile Brewing, Dunloe Brewing and Super Owl Brewing and ended at Sudwerk Brewing Co., where a small market was happening simultaneously.

Marina and Brandon Aria, who sold cookies at the market during the event, spoke about their journey as bakers.

“I’ve been doing it since I was a little girl, baking with my Oma,” Marina Aria said. “Then I hurt my spine when I was 22, so I would bake to relax because I couldn’t really do anything else. [...] Then the pandemic

hit and my aunt asked me to bake a cake because everything else was closed, and I realized, ‘Hey, I love this’ and dove head first into it.”

Brandon Aria then spoke about his experience selling in local markets and supporting Marina Aria.

“I enjoy supporting her,” Brandon Aria said. “The biggest thing, other than that, is connecting with the community.

I didn’t think that would be a big thing for me, but it’s really cool; it’s very rewarding. We have a reason to leave the house. So let’s do it.”

Davis Bike Collective and Sudwerk Brewing Co. plan to host this free event on the last Sunday of each month.

On Jan. 17, the Davis City Council and Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD) 2x2 meeting took place at 5 p.m. At the meeting, officials talked about a new safety measure, road work updates, new learning strategies and questions regarding funds.

This monthly meeting invites two city council members to join with two DJUSD board members in order to discuss schedules, projects and progress about plans happening in the city of Davis and DJUSD. Mayor Josh Chapman was accompanied by Davis City Council Member Donna Neville. The school board presented Cecilia EscamillaGreenwald, from the DJUSD Board of Education, and Superintendent Matt Best. Best brought many items of interest including a proposal for new street transformations, new teaching techniques to be implemented and plans to build more affordable housing in Davis.

Best also discussed the test teaching strategies that have been in the works for a little less than a year.

“One of our main focuses is universal design for learning. This is a certain learning pedagogy where teachers design a lesson to meet the needs of all students,” Best said. “It makes meeting their needs easier in

a classroom and makes the targeted interventions more effective for the students that need them.”

Best talked about the Legislative Analysis Office and the governor’s news that introduces budget deficits for the state of California, spanning over the next three years. This will result in a heavy decrease in overall revenue for the district in the coming year. This loss is caused by a decrease in enrollment after the pandemic and reduced costs related to falling attendance.

Best reported that the funding they receive from the state government is heavily apportioned through attendance records in each school.

“Pre-pandemic attendance was at 96% and today, we’re sitting at a little less than 93% — and that’s a loss of over three million [in] ongoing revenue,” Best said. “We are encouraging students to attend when they are well and take advantage of short-term independent study.”

This three percent can be attributed to multiple factors: one being parents deciding to keep their children home longer when having symptoms of illness and with online learning options being readily available, according to Best. The superintendent said that even after the pandemic, parents don’t see a need to send their children to school sick when work can be done at home, preventing them from falling behind.

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The Artery celebrates its 50th anniversary commemorating local artists within the Davis community The artists’ cooperative was established in 1974 and has continued to provide the city with opportunities to engage in local artmaking

BY ANTHONY W. ZAMMIKIEL city@theaggie.org The Artery, the local artist’s cooperative in Davis, celebrated their 50th anniversary with celebrations continuing to commemorate the Northern Californian artists who have contributed to The Artery over the last 50 years. First established on Dec. 17, 1974, The Artery has since allowed more than 250 local artists throughout Northern California to display their artistic creations for Davis community members to view and enjoy.

Among the oldest cooperative artmaking organizations in California, The Artery has 58 active members who regularly contribute to the local gallery currently located at 205 G St. Following

The Artery’s move from its previous location at 231 G Street, local artists and community members alike have been able to engage with each other at monthly member exhibitions — selling and purchasing crafts and handmade goods, including projects made by UC Davis students.

Brigitte Chertok, the acting manager at The Artery, shared a piece that was written by an active member of over 50 years, beginning when the establishment was first opening its doors to the Davis community.

“Bare feet sunk into olive green shag, bell bottom jeans, psychedelic tops, and headbands,” Chertok said. “A group of young Davis artists and crafts persons met monthly; exchanging ideas about the creative process, wanting a venue for selling their work, they raised money with an art auction, which included

KELLY GUAN / AGGIE donated works from Wayne Theirbaud and Robert Arneson.”

Chertok shared that The Artery has remained committed to being as engaged with the Davis community as possible, including hosting monthly opportunities for community members to converse with local artists, and to even create pieces of art themselves.

“This year, as we celebrate our 50th [anniversary], we have monthly planned events. We are inviting the public to ‘Meet the artist’ [on] the last Saturday of every month for technique demonstrations,” Chertok said. “As

the weather warms, these events will be outside, in front of the store, where the public is invited to ‘Make art’ with the artist after the demonstration. These events are free to the public. A few of the events planned are clay sculpture, community painting, glass melting, painting, drawing, wood carving and more.”

Chertok said that The Artery has experienced challenges with maintaining the business over the previous four years when the COVID-19 pandemic impacted retail sellers, especially smaller, local businesses.

“Not unlike many retail stores, we have met some challenges in the past several years,” Chertok said. “We are grateful to all our members and customers over the years and especially to our community for continuing to support us and cherish the art that we put forth every day. Our membership is open to anyone who can commit to volunteering to work in the store 6 hours each month. Many times, because of the work requirement, the artist base is fairly local from the surrounding areas. We have a screening process to accept new members twice a year.”

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024 | 3

At the event, a world-renowned chef and UC Davis alumnus engaged students in cooking demonstrations and prepared limited-edition recipes for dining commons menus

New exhibit at UC Davis’ Design Museum documents history of racial issues in the United States

BY MADISON PETERS campus@theaggie.org On Friday, Jan. 26, from 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., world-famous chef Martin Yan came to UC Davis to celebrate his Aggie heritage and kick off the Lunar New Year by sharing recipes with students.

The event was hosted in collaboration with the Cross Cultural Center and held at Latitude Restaurant on campus. During the event, Yan conducted multiple cooking demonstrations and answered questions from both students and the press.

Latitude diners were able to enjoy a menu that both Yan and the Latitude culinary team prepared beforehand, according to the Director of Dining Services Kraig Brady. Some dishes featured on the menu included Mapo Tofu, walnut shrimp and various traditional Lunar New Year desserts such as egg tarts.

During one of his cooking demonstrations, Chef Yan invited multiple students up to the stage to learn how to make hand-pulled noodles, a dish that he said is very important to Chinese culture.

All of the students who participated in the demonstration were given signed cookbooks from Yan. Additionally, Yan taught a group of students how to cook some of his favorite dishes, including Kung Pao Shrimp.

Brady reflected on the demonstrations that Yan performed and his engagement with the community. “[Yan] was really into being more a part of the community than being a celebrity here,” Brady said. “He wasn’t really looking for celebrity fame, he wanted to be here for the students and have fun with [them] — which showed.”

Afterwards, Yan demonstrated the breaking down of a chicken in under 20 seconds, a skill that he holds a world record for. Yan was able to fully deconstruct a chicken in about 19 seconds.

Earlier in the event, Yan announced the publication of his newest cookbook: “Best of Yan Can Cook” and said that it will become available in early March. In 2022, Yan and his wife Susan donated their collection of 3,000 cookbooks, photographs and cooking paraphernalia, along with $20,000 to the UC Davis library for the new Chef Martin Yan Legacy Archive.

The recipes that Chef Yan created

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Chef Martin Yan visits campus on Jan. 26 to give cooking demonstrations in celebration of the Lunar New Year

Artist Barbara Brandon-Croft discusses her cartoons and recent exhibition

World famous chef, Martin Yan, gives cooking demonstrations to students at the Latitude Restaurant on Jan. 26. (Madison Peters / Aggie) himself will continue to be featured for a couple more weeks to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and any student can go to any dining hall on campus to try the different dishes offered, according to Brady.

Recipes that will be featured include Creamy Pumpkin Chowder on Feb. 5, Lo Hei Salad with seasonal melons on Feb. 6 and Sizzling Firecracker Dragon Shrimp on Feb. 9.

Brady spoke on the process of working with Yan and his expectations for this new menu.

“He taught us to do a bunch of different style foods, he gave us a bunch of stuff we could work with and move forward and I’m excited to see how that turns out in the next couple of weeks,” Brady said. “Come taste Chef Yan’s food in our dining commons made by our culinary team.”

Many other notable chefs have been able to visit campus and help introduce more culturally diverse foods to the dining halls, including Native Chef Freddie Bitsoie, according to Brady.

Flavors From Home, a program that has been around for more than 25 years, is a part of an effort to try and diversify the food found at the dining commons and also allow students to submit their favorite recipes from home.

Any student can submit a recipe

that is meaningful to them and their culture, and the chefs at the dining commons will recreate it to their liking and possibly feature it on the menu, according to Brady.

Brady expanded on the successes of the program and its impact on students.

“We have dishes that we currently serve today that came from that program 15 to 20 years ago,” Brady said.

“Our version of something may not hit the mark, and [someone might say], ‘Hey this doesn’t taste like my mom’s recipe.’ We say give us your mom’s recipe, and we’ll make it. And then we try it and have the student taste it.”

Bringing more diverse chefs to campus is something that Brady wants to continue, but he says it depends on the funds that the university is willing to spend.

Brady spoke on the importance of these events for the future of UC Davis Dining.

“I’m trying to look for these opportunities where we can celebrate different food cultures and bring in food experts from that culture to come and demonstrate how to look at it through more of a traditional lens than maybe what we are used to seeing,” Brady said. “[The goal is to] put ourselves out there a bit and learn some things ourselves.”

Sign for the ‘Still: Racism in America, A Retrospective in Cartoons’ art exhibit at Cruess Hall. (Summer Sueki / Aggie)

BY LAILA AZHAR features@theaggie.org In the late 1960s, Brumsic Brandon Jr. began publishing “Luther,” a comic strip focusing on the lives of young Black children living in a fictional inner-city neighborhood.

About 20 years later, his daughter, Barbara Brandon-Croft, became the first Black female cartoonist to be nationally syndicated. Her comic strip, “Where I’m Coming From,” details the vast experiences of a group of Black women. Her cartoons cover a wide variety of topics, from relationships to motherhood to workplace discrimination.

“STILL: Racism in America, A Retrospective in Cartoons,” an exhibit featuring the work of both Brandon

Jr. and Brandon-Croft, is on display in the UC Davis Design Museum from Jan. 23 to April 23, 2024.

Presenting the artists’ work together documents a story of racial issues in the United States that spans decades.

A 1971 cartoon by Brandon Jr. reads, “I just met a cute little girl who just moved here yesterday, and before I could find out her address, she had been urban renewed!”

A 2001 cartoon by Brandon-Croft reads, “Urban renewal? Why not call it what it is: Black folk removal.”

“I think it’s pretty profound when you can sit there and look at a strip that was done in 1967, and then he may have covered the same thing in 1987, and then me in 1997 and 2017,” Brandon-Croft said. “That’s why [the exhibit is] called ‘STILL.’” MUSEUM on 11

Davis Odd Fellows Tackling foreign language host sold-out Davis courses as a college student Chocolate Festival A guide on how to succeed in language courses at UC Davis The organization held its first festival back since the pandemic downtown at the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge

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Sweet moments from the Davis Chocolate Festival. (Jersain Medina / Aggie)

BY HANNAH SCHRADER city@theaggie.org On Sunday, Feb. 4, at the Davis Odd Fellows Lodge, the Davis Chocolate Festival was hosted by the Davis Odd Fellows from 2 to 5 p.m. There were 400 tickets originally available online, but the festival sold out of all online tickets shortly before the event.

As the event was underway, more tickets were made available at the door for a discounted rate.

A total of 12 local vendors were at the event and booths filled both the upstairs and downstairs levels of the lodge. This chocolate-themed event featured items for samples from chocolate baguettes to chocolate almond toffee.

Local residents were encouraged to enter the cookie bakeoff held at the Chocolate Festival and the judge panel included Davis Enterprise Columnist Shelley Dunning, Assistant Publisher at the Davis Enterprise Debbie Davis and Noah Stromberg, a local Davis resident.

Shortly after the event began, Dave Rosenberg, master of ceremonies, welcomed guests to the event with a light-

hearted quip.

“Welcome to the chocolate festival, are you having a good time?” Rosenberg asked the crowd. “You getting enough chocolate? We’re talking about starting a vanilla festival next year.

What do you think? There cannot be enough enthusiasm here.”

The member briefly went over some of the history behind Odd Fellows and what the aims of the organization are.

“Odd Fellows [is] the oldest organization in the city of Davis,” Rosenbergsaid. “We do a lot of fun things and raise a lot of money primarily for children, disadvantaged [children] and children in need, so thank you for being here. You’ve contributed to helping children.”

Vida Gupta, a Davis local business owner who attended the festival, spoke about her experience at the festival. “[I] like the samples, it’s nice to try all the different types of chocolate people are making,” Gupta said. “There’s a chocolate fountain around here theoretically so that’ll be fun, and [I will] just [be] trying and maybe buying some chocolate.”

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BY ZOEY MORRTAZAVI features@theaggie.org There are many reasons to take foreign language courses while in college. At UC Davis and beyond, many take language courses to study abroad. Others try to learn new languages for cultural reasons, general interest or just to fulfill major requirements — particularly for students within the College of Letters and Science here at UC Davis.

Regardless of why students enroll in foreign language courses, countless studies show that learning multiple languages can be incredibly beneficial. Fluency, or even partial fluency, of multiple languages can aid with cognitive development and cultural competency, as well as act as a generally useful skill. Despite the fact that enrollment in language courses is at an extreme low, many students still hope to learn multiple languages during their time in college.

UC Davis PhD student and Associate French Instructor Calista Pettit said students can benefit a lot from taking language courses.

“I believe that if you truly put energy into your studies, even if you find that foreign languages don’t come naturally to you, you’ll get a lot out of the class,” Pettit said. “If you come to

class prepared and willing to try, you’ll make great strides in your language development.”

For many students, taking courses in a foreign language is simply another requirement to check off their lists.

Many resources and materials are available to help students succeed in language courses; however, even those who are academically successful in these courses often reflect low retention rates of the languages being studied.

That being said, many students who opt to take these courses are serious about learning the language they’re enrolled in, but it can be intimidating and challenging to get started.

Language courses at UC Davis are five units, and they take place every day of the week. Students should expect to put the amount of effort into the class that they hope to get out of it, according to local language professors.

In other words, students have the capacity to succeed and retain the language if they work on it regularly and consistently — outside of the classroom just as much as in it.

Although it may be intimidating, Pettit said students can increase their learning capabilities by participating in class.

“Many people don’t volunteer in class because they’re afraid to say

the wrong answer or look silly, but the people who are constantly raising their hands, stepping outside their comfort zones and asking for help are the students who are making the most progress,” Pettit said. “Learning a new language can be scary, but if you have a positive attitude and you’re open to new ideas, you’ll find you’re taking in a lot just by being present and participating.”

However, in terms of specific work and study habits for these courses, many students don’t know where to start. Everyday practice can be hard to maintain, and the 50-minute class periods every weekday don’t necessarily provide enough time to retain everything being taught.

There is a way, according to language specialists at Davis, that a balance can be found: exposure and entertainment in the chosen language while still maintaining regular practice.

Jay Grossi, a professor who has taught Italian at UC Davis since 1994, offered advice to students. His advice is geared specifically towards the activities that language courses at UC Davis entail.

“Before coming to class, the students should thoroughly review all materials and completely do all exercises found in the textbook and on the online platform,” Grossi said.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

4 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

Notorious Cat Burglar finally apprehended

BY EMMA LAPIDUS eblapidus@ucdavis.edu

Disclaimer: (This cartoon is humor and/or satire, and its content is purely fictional. The story and names of “sources” are fictionalized.)

A love letter to spring training

Why Major League Baseball’s preseason is a baseball fan’s paradise

BY CLAIRE SCHAD cfschad@ucdavis.edu Most years, in October, shortly after the San Francisco Giants finish their season, I receive a message from my dad. It usually reads something along the lines of “130 days until pitchers and catchers report” or “130 days until spring training.”

For my baseball-loving family, spring training marks the end of a dark and damp winter, but most importantly, it signals the beginning of a new major league baseball season.

Each February, thousands of professional baseball players and coaches converge in Arizona for spring training. The athletes typically spend about two months preparing for the upcoming season, with pitchers and catchers reporting a couple of weeks early — hence my dad’s comment. While at camp, the players participate in workouts, attend meetings and faceoff against other teams.

My love for spring training started when I was 13: my younger brother and I had woken up Christmas morning to two large but suspiciously light boxes covered in red and green wrapping paper, addressed to each of us.

After my parents told us that we must each open these specific boxes at the same time, we quickly tore off the paper and found a stack of about 10 pages of paper stapled together. Atop the front page were the words, “You’re going to spring training!” We were ecstatic, quickly flipping through the pages detailing our trip scheduled for that March.

The months between Christmas and March were long and many of the days cold and rainy, but my brother and I were counting down the days until we left for our vacation. When the day finally came, we all loaded into the car and started the 12-hour drive to Phoenix, Arizona.

Once we arrived, I knew that this vacation would soon be one of my favorites. Each day was filled with baseball: from the early mornings to the late evenings, we were at the ballpark in some capacity. As a baseball fanatic, this felt like heaven.

So what makes spring training so special, you may ask? Firstly, the energy is different — you can feel the excitement in the air. Each team gets a fresh start, and everyone recognizes this gift. No matter whether your team

is coming off a World Series win or a last-place season, there is a sense of hope for what is to come. This energy is palpable as soon as you step foot in the stadium; it radiates from the fans and players alike. This shared sense of hope is what makes the environment so special.

Additionally, spring training allows fans to see major league stars up close and personal. The Arizona stadiums are smaller, about a quarter of the size of major league ballparks, ensuring close proximity to the action. Many teams also hold open workouts, giving fans an even closer look into the training process at their state-of-theart training facilities. Being in such close proximity to my favorite players humanized them and made me even more excited about the upcoming season.

Another aspect of spring training that I fell in love with was the relaxed environment, far different from a high-stakes regular season game.

While many minor leaguers spend the spring fighting for a spot on the major league roster, veteran players are often relaxed and more engaged with their fans. I remember my brother and I spending hours standing on the edge of the field anxiously anticipating the next autograph we would receive.

In a further dedication to a top-tier fan experience, after each spring training game, most teams allow fans to wait outside the clubhouse to talk with players and coaches as they are leaving. One afternoon, after watching the Giants play at Scottsdale Stadium, my family and I stuck around after the game with hopes of getting an autograph or two. After about an hour, my parents were ready to leave but my brother and I were determined to wait a bit longer. Sure enough, not even minutes later, World Series-winning shortstop Brandon Crawford comes out and invites my brother and I, along with a few younger fans, into the clubhouse to meet him and sign autographs. As a lifelong Giants fan, this quickly became one of my favorite memories.

Since 2015, I have gone back to spring training a few times, and each time I fall more and more in love with it. From the long drive through the desert with my family to the days that we spent basking in the warm Arizona sun at the ballpark, I have created memories that I will cherish forever.

Student housing kind of sucks Your student ID and all of your savings, please

BY ANDIE TARABZOONI rmtarabzooni@ucdavis.edu

myself feel like this is all normal. I’ve heard with financial aid it’s a lot more affordable — same with Orchard Park.

But what if you don’t have access to that. What then? Accept the bargain of $2500 a month? Or try to work around student-based housing?

I have scoured the Internet to see what the case is at other UCs…

When I was first deciding on a college at the ripe young age of 17, I had taken into account the fact that no matter where I went, I refused to live in a place similar to my sister’s $2,000 a month 300-square-foot apartment in Boston, Massachusetts.

My top three school options were in three different locations: Boston, Los Angeles and — well, you guessed it — Davis.

Y e t despite me going for the relatively cheapest area cost-of-living wise, I still find myself in awe at the housing crisis in KELLY GUAN / AGGIE Davis. it’s really not looking great During my first year at Davis, I lived in student housing. There were anywhere. Perhaps we aren’t the worst many great memories, but my favorite case, but God, does it get bad. Someone has to be the amount of times they had recently told me that when they told me to live at The Green. Part of visited UCSB, the apartments were me considered it. But then I saw the not only double the price they’d be in $22,000 price tag that comes with a Davis but felt like shoe boxes. This is a now nine-to-10 month lease and went, prominently student-filled apartment “Maybe not.” Nothing against The complex so it seems like the market Green; it’s not them, it’s me. But I just for students is worse than ever. When feel a little deluded for trying to make it comes to other schools like UCLA

and UC Berkeley, I can only imagine how much you have to pay as someone trying to live there as a regular tenant, let alone a student.

So, do students tend to pay more?

I could not find any data to follow this up, so we’re using opinion and observation here. The first lease I signed at Davis required me to send over a lot of schoolingrelated documents since I didn’t have a social security number.

But this was a similar protocol for places close to campus with jacked-up prices.

Prove you’re a student, and you somehow end up paying $3k for a studio.

But, that’s not necessarily the truth. Maybe they just want you to prove you’re a student to prove you need somewhere to live.

But a lot of the time, I feel tempted to ask how much Davis residents pay for rent. Nonetheless, if you want more affordable housing it feels like a nightmare.

One of my very good friends recently documented their experience trying to sign a lease in North Davis.

They camped from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. the next morning to sign a lease.

Academic environments during election cycles

Every four years, the environment at school gets really weird…I wonder why NOVA MAI / AGGIE

BY JOAQUIN WATERS jwat@ucdavis.edu The first time I recall being vaguely interested in the goings-on of American politics was in 2012. I was nine years old, and all I really understood with any clarity was that former President Obama was being challenged by a rich guy named Mitt Romney. I had a nebulous understanding of the American political system (history was one of my favorite topics in school), but at that age, none of my peers or I really grasped what was going on in Washington, DC. Terms like “Super PAC,” “Republican primary” and “electoral college” might as well have been some other language spoken by news anchors and grown-ups at dinner.

That was in another world, one far more complicated than the one most American schoolchildren inhabited.

Four years had passed before the next election cycle, and when you’re a kid, quite a lot changes in four years.

At that point, I was thirteen, and as my peers and I now had one foot in the adult world, we were starting to understand the mysterious language of politics.

We were expected to, after all. So, as the race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton began to heat up, my school staged a mock election. Certain eighth-graders who volunteered would play the roles of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates (third-party as well as Democrat and Republican) and post little flyers all over the school.

On election day (which coincided with the real date), the student body was encouraged to go to the cafeteria and vote for whichever “candidate” we liked the most. We were also encouraged not to necessarily be influenced by what we had seen in the news or by our parents’ political affiliations.

It was a noble goal — they simultaneously tried to teach us about critical thinking and the electoral process. But, even in an academic setting, it was impossible not to be influenced by the ever-growing cacophony of propaganda we were bombarded with from every possible

angle. As election day 2016 grew closer, the environment at school began to change drastically. I remember two kids who walked around campus with “InfoWars” stickers on their backpacks, declaring their allegiance to one of the foremost right-wing conspiracist cults of our time. I remember many more who wore Bernie Sanders stickers well after the candidate in question lost the Democratic primary. In addition to the ever-present memes and video game playthroughs, our YouTube viewing now included sermons from (depending on the viewer) John Oliver or Alex Jones. A few weeks before the election, I had a falling out with a friend who, seemingly overnight, had become a virulent racist who regularly mocked my Latino heritage while insisting he was “joking.”

Then election day came around, and everything really changed. Half of the student body walked around as if in mourning, the other half with disturbingly genuine victorious grins.

One of my friends (like myself, no older than thirteen) greeted me that morning with a grim proclamation: “RIP America.” Beyond that, nobody wanted to talk about any of it, including the staff. That afternoon, an announcement from the principal went out telling us

to refrain from bullying on account of political beliefs. That did not happen — on either side — but there were no further announcements on the subject.

School, which was allegedly meant to be a non-judgmental place of learning, had transformed into an ideological warzone nearly as potent as the one in Washington itself, yet post-election day, the staff did not seem interested in engaging with that change in the slightest.

Fast forward four years later, and another election cycle was underway.

Once again, we held a mock election.

Naturally, it was over Zoom (which meant no more printed-out flyers all over campus), but that was far from the only difference. In 2016, there was a naive enthusiasm for our mock election cycle. We were faux-intellectual tweens then, proudly waving our flags because they made us feel more educated, less like children. In 2020, we really were more educated. None of the words drifting from the news channels in our locked-down homes sounded like gibberish anymore. We were painfully aware of the seriousness of the coming election. And nobody wanted to playact it anymore.

ELECTIONCYCLES on 11

You should go on a walk

Daily walks benefit both your psychological and physiological well-being

BY MAYA KORNYEYEVA cfschad@ucdavis.edu Imagine you are sitting at your desk in the apartment, taking notes on a particularly difficult passage in your architecture textbook. There is a diagram depicting a wide range of lines and circles, converging into a layout of a residential structure; you sigh, feeling your focus drift away and the sneaking sense of anxiety permeate your thoughts. You start to feel overwhelmed: this chapter is just the top of your mountain of work that must be completed within the next few days.

Or perhaps you have been engrossed in a television show for nearly four hours when your eyes start to droop and your brain goes blissfully blank. It’s the afternoon, and you have an essay to write, but

MAYA KONYEYEVA / AGGIE

you have absolutely no creative ideas and no motivation to write anything substantial. You gaze blurredly back at the screen, wondering how you will ever get yourself up and out of bed.

The solution to these feelings of being stressed or burnt out can be found in an activity as simple as stepping outside for a walk and some fresh air.

Here’s why.

Throughout my life, I have prioritized daily walks. Whether it’s a onehour stroll through a nearby park, a 20-minute walk in my neighborhood or a two-to-three-hour hike on a forest trail, these excursions into the outside world have been incredibly helpful in allowing me to restore my inner balance: to feel refreshed and have time away with my thoughts.

No matter what I’m feeling — and often, I can’t pinpoint the tur-

moil of emotions I experience at any given moment — stepping out of the immediate environment allows me to attune to myself and understand what is going on. Whether I’m feeling gloomy, tired of staring at a screen or simply needing to get up and move around, walking has been a reliable outlet for me.

On a psychological level, just being outside is incredibly beneficial. Healthline, a public health and wellness website, says being within the natural world can increase the senses and clear the mind, allowing us to notice things we never would have considered before. It can also help alleviate unwanted or painful emotions such as fear, worry or sadness.

On a physiological level, fresh air, vitamin D from the sun and the abundance of life within the

surroundings rejuvenate the body.

Light therapy, in particular (simply being in the sun), can help reduce symptoms associated with depression, such as low mood and fatigue, as well as improve sleep. Fresh air is helpful in clearing the lungs and promoting better breathing, along with boosting your immune system.

Pair being outside with walking, and you get what I like to call the golden combination: physical, outdoor exercise, which has incredible benefits for your cardiovascular system and isn’t particularly strenuous or tiring. In fact, walking can be just as good as running since it lowers your blood pressure, decreases the risk of getting type 2 diabetes mellitus, burns fat and strengthens bone and muscle structure — just like running does.

DAILYWALKS on 9

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024 | 5

OPINION EDITORIAL

We are once again asking you to pay attention to student government In light of ASUCD impeachments, we urge students to be invested in the actions and elections of campus leaders

WRITTEN BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD Fun fact: In December, UC Davis’ student government impeached both their elected president and internal vice president. If you’re a regular reader of The California Aggie, you probably know this, as we’ve covered the process extensively over the past few weeks. But otherwise, questions about what the ASUCD Senate is doing probably cross your mind far less than questions like, “When is it going to stop raining?”

This lack of general knowledge about the impeachments is partially because the Senate didn’t do all that much to make sure the public knew the hearings were happening, or that students knew they were invited: No emails announcing the time and location of the hearings were sent out to students, except one for the first hearing that ASUCD personnel and The California Aggie received six hours before the hearing began. Information about the hearings was shared on the

SEE ONLINE Scan to read our online editorial about Antartica Tourism

Judicial Council Instagram account, which has 150 followers, but the official ASUCD Instagram account (5,000 followers) never posted about the hearings at all.

Ultimately, the Judicial Council decided that both President Francisco Ojeda and Internal Vice President Aarushi Raghunathan will remain in office. You can read more about the hearings and the Judicial Council’s decisions by looking under the ‘Campus News’ tab on The California Aggie website. Again, the resolution explaining and announcing the decision was not shared on the official ASUCD social media.

We’re not here to say Ojeda or Raghunathan should or should not have been impeached; we haven’t memorized the ASUCD bylaws, and we know that we’re far from qualified to make that decision. But we are here to say that regardless of the outcome, you should be aware this happened at all — and a lot of students just aren’t.

This isn’t a new problem. In the spring 2023 ASUCD election, only 15.96% percent of undergraduates voted, and even that was the highest percentage since 2020. It’s not that ASUCD hasn’t tried: between increased social media engagement and campaigns like earning a free cookie from the CoHo if you vote, one of ASUCD Senate’s big goals in recent years has been to get people to know they exist. As a part of ASUCD ourselves, The California Aggie has faced the same problems with trying to get more recognition by the general public. This incident is just a reminder of a larger problem with lack of engagement in many campus programs and services post-pandemic.

It can feel silly to get too invested in student government when we’re already overwhelmed by all the incredibly important things happening in state, national and global politics.

But ASUCD has a $19 million dollar budget, funding things like Picnic Day, Unitrans, Lawntopia and The Pantry.

The Senate oversees this budget, as well as regularly meeting with the administration to talk about issues important to students such as parking fees and the cost of student housing.

And a lot of this is done with your student fees.

Hyper-local governments and elections like these are one of the most direct ways you can affect the environment you live and work in. It’s also pretty easy for us to keep elected officials accountable when their offices are located above the CoHo — visit them during their office hours and ask them about the progress they’ve made on the platforms they originally ran on.

Attend a Senate meeting for an exciting Thursday night activity. Vote in this spring’s elections (and be on the lookout for The Aggie’s endorsements!). Make sure that the people who were put in charge of millions of dollars — a fund that you contribute to — are truly using the money in the best interest of students, and not getting paid for hours they spend arguing over what to get for dinner instead of passing important resolutions.

NATALIE CHENG / AGGIE

UC Davis ‘Chopped’: It’s just college students cooking in their first apartment

Does a fire alarm mean the food is ready?

HEIDI TEJEDA / AGGIE

BY CARMEL RAVIV craviv@ucdavis.edu Slightly brown romaine lettuce.

Crusty teriyaki sauce. Honey glazed deli ham. Milk. Everclear vodka.

Even the most experienced chefs that graced the televised kitchen of “Chopped” couldn’t think of a way these miscellaneous ingredients could have blended together to make an edible meal. But the might of a second-year college student too lazy to go to Trader Joe’s, wired from a 6 p.m. midterm,

could make something somewhat almost edible — but that is also probably gonna take two years off their life.

“Hey, how are they supposed to know what vegetables to buy if the salad kits are right there? Also, my mom isn’t here — why should I pretend to eat salad? Why would I buy an onion?

What can I even do with an onion?

Wait, parsley and cilantro are different things? They’re not just tiny leaves?”

I’ve seen it all. I know what you do when you think no one is watching.

I know you made pasta three times

this week and then posted it on your story captioned “Cheffing it up” or “Someone come wife me up.” I know you think frozen Trader Joe’s food is a fully balanced meal. I know you just wash the same plate over and over again. I know you never use your oven.

If you’re a boy, you think you make the best chicken ever. You don’t. It’s dry. Cry. Last year in the DC I saw some guy eat four cups of curly fries, apple juice and two snickerdoodle cookies and said it was his lunch. I thought that was the strangest food combination I’d ever seen. Then you give 20-year-olds free rein in the kitchen. I saw a different guy eat two cans of tuna and cottage cheese the day after his move-in. You’re paying over $30k in tuition, why eat like we’re in the Cold War? The things Davis students are making in their kitchens never cease to amaze me. Not because it shows they’re ready for adulthood, but more so ready to take on any expired/radioactive substance they ingest.

Disclaimer: (This article is humor and/or satire, and its content is purely fictional. The story and the names of “sources” are fictionalized.)

Which major is secretly full of vampires

I know what you are — say it!

BY AUDREY ZHANG aurzhang@ucdavis.edu For those afraid of the creatures that stalk the night, I have composed a surefire list to figure out whether you are actually talking to Edward Cullen –– except, unlike Bella, you don’t smell good and are probably just dinner.

On a scale of one to 10, I have ranked how likely you need Van Helsing on call depending on the suspected vampire’s major.

10/10.

Communications: A lot of athletes take this so they can focus on the thing they actually care about. Vampires would stay away from dinners that can fight back. 4/10.

Statistics: You’ve seen Sesame Street right? Count Dracula is a full-grown man who takes five minutes every episode trying to figure out what a single number means. 1/10, and even then, I doubt vampires can count that high.

Clinical Nutrition: Why are they so interested in what we eat, huh? I bet NOVA MAI / AGGIE they want to figure out what meal combo makes Political us the tastiest.

10/10.

Science: Everyone knows that it’s lizard Engineering: They never seem to sleep. 10/10.

people who secretly run the world, not vampires. 5/10.

NPB: That’s a fake major if I’ve ever heard of one, it’s just a bunch of random letters. The perfect cover for someone whose only purpose is to get closer to college-aged dinners. 10/10.

Religious Studies: 1/10. No vampire worth their salt would go anywhere near that many crosses.

Disregard the ranking if they’re a Buddhist or Hindu vampire. Then it’s

Design: Vampires are a bunch of artistic, flamboyant drama queens.

10/10.

Theater and Dance: Drama.

Queens. 10/10.

Sustainability: Dracula literally shipped 50 coffins full of soil halfway across the world for no reason. Vampires are obsessed with dirt. 10/10.

VAMPIREMAJORS on 11

HUMOR

Season 17 of ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ to be filmed in Davis This season’s queens will be earning their Ph.D.s in Public Servevice at the Motherversity of Yassssifornia, Slayvis

BY GEETIKA MAHAJAN giamahajan@ucdavis.edu After successful runs in Canada, Mexico and the UK, the RuPaul’s Drag Race (RPDR) franchise has decided on its newest expansion venture: “Drag Race” is coming to Davis.

If you’re reading this and thinking, “There’s no way an Emmy-awardwinning franchise that’s worth millions of dollars would come here, there has to be some kind of mistake” — you’re actually right! Rupaul wasn’t wearing his glasses and misread “Davis” as “Divas.”

By the time anyone realized the error, it was too late. Preparations had already been made for the season 17 queens to lip-sync for the crown in the Mondavi Center for the Arts.

“I would call it more of a happy accident than a mistake, though,” a producer said. Viewership for the original show has been in decline, and the resulting budget cuts have been

GEETIKA MAHAJAN / AGGIE nothing short of excruciating for the main cast.

“They took away the Botox budget,” Ru hyperventilated in an exclusive interview with The California Aggie.

When asked to elaborate, he just kept gasping and saying “Botox budget — Botox budget — Botox budget —” over

and over again.

He seemed quite distressed, though nobody could really tell for sure because all the muscles in his face are permanently frozen. Luckily, Ru won’t have to suffer like this for long.

The show is reportedly saving up to 45 million dollars by simply not filming

in Los Angeles, where all reality shows must provide on-call eyebrow detail for their staff and pay an elusive “Erewhon tax.”

Despite initially being a mistake, the cast and crew of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” are excited to broaden their audience and introduce the show to

students at UC Davis.

“Our success lies not in an audience base that is intimately familiar with the art of drag, but one that can incite and participate in needless drama and tweet things like ‘omg who let her serve bob,’” RuPaul said. “I think that the population at Davis is perfect for that.”

Perfect or not, Ru reportedly stated off the record that he “will not be staying in a town that smells like cow****.” The upcoming season will be hosted by Gary May in a blonde wig.

When asked if they were worried about adapting the show for a setting so removed from Los Angeles, both cast and crew waved away any concerns.

“If we survived Shangela coming back three times, we can get through anything,” Rupaul said.

Disclaimer: (This article is humor and/or satire, and its content is purely fictional. The story and the names of “sources” are fictionalized.)

6 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY, 8, 2024

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

ARTS & CULTURE English majors, professors share their favorite book recommendations

Who better to recommend you a book than someone who has read, well, hundreds?

BY FAITH DEMEULENAERE features@theaggie.org

BY CHARLIE MCBRIAN arts@theaggie.org

Album: “#1 Record / Radio City” by Big Star (1974)

NATALIE CHENG / AGGIE In the halls of UC Davis, the English department serves as a sanctuary for those who find solace in the written word. Beyond the rigors of academia, a group of literary experts, both students and professors alike, share a collective passion for storytelling that transcends the boundaries of the classroom.

From the pages of classic literature to the contemporary world of undiscovered new voices, these authors extend their influence, offering students a curated roadmap to navigate the vast and enchanting realms of literature.

If you’re in a drought of good reads this rainy winter, fear not. These seasoned English majors and professors have read a plethora of books, and some might be to your taste.

Theodore Sprague, a fourth-year English major, recommends Kurt Vonnegut’s “Galapagos.”

“It’s a sci-fi novel set in the notso-distant past that unpacks questions about fate, thought and human nature in a darkly comedic way,” Sprague said. “I would recommend it to those who struggle to rationalize the rough edges and inconsistencies of mankind or maybe to those who want to read something that’s poetically unhinged.”

English Professor Matthew Vernon likes classics that never get old.

“The book I return to most often is Ralph Ellison’s ‘Invisible Man.’ It’s one of those books that changes with you over time,” Vernon said. “When I first read it as a teenager, it was a book about growing up and aspiring to make it in a big city. As I entered my 20s, it was a book about disillusionment and having to find yourself. Still, later, it became a book about trying to make yourself visible in a world that often wants you to resemble it.”

Vernon continued by describing what the book offers to the reader.

“The point is that if I had to recommend a book to someone I

didn’t know, it would be one that could meet them where they were,” Vernon said. “‘Invisible Man’ is one of those books that contains multitudes inside of it, and I could imagine that most people would find some part of the book to speak to them.”

English Professor Chip Badley recommended a story that lingers and sticks with you for a long time.

“I’d have to recommend Rachel Cusk’s ‘Outline,’ which taught me that literature, like love, offers a crash course in how to pay attention,” Badley said. “I inhaled the trilogy during the COVID pandemic and haven’t stopped thinking about it since.”

Jeff Solomon, a fellow UC Davis English professor, couldn’t help but recommend two.

“For someone younger than me, reading in English, living in Davis right now who’s looking for a book that would suck them in and hold their attention in a delightful way — and relieve a book drought — I’d recommend Gabrielle Zevin’s ‘Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,’” Solomon said. “Jennifer Egan’s ‘A Visit from the Goon Squad​’ would be my very close second choice, for mostly the same reasons. Both are technically playful, but not in a taxing way that requires tons of attention; both offer great moments of surprise and delight. Fun reads, thoughtprovoking, good payoff at the end.

Five stars.”

Even though the books listed above are the stars of this literary stage, some honorable mentions the people above also recommended were Haruki Murakami’s “Hard Boiled Wonderland,” Christina Sharpe’s “Ordinary Notes” and Susanna Kaysen’s “Girl, Interrupted.”

Hopefully, these top-tier recommendations stir up some curiosity, and you can find your new favorite novel. Stay well-read, Aggies.

This double album from 1978 combines 1972’s “#1 Record” and 1974’s “Radio City” which, due to poor distribution, had gone unnoticed up to that point.

This re-release, however, introduced a more receptive punk rock generation to Big Star’s music and became massively influential as a result. Acolytes include Teenage Fanclub, The Lemonheads, The Replacements, Elliott Smith and R.E.M. Big Star serves as the bridge between 60s pop rock and 90s alt-rock.

Unlike other alt-rock forefathers, there’s nothing too revolutionary about their approach at first glance. Contextually, however, Big Star’s contemporaries — Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Slayer — eschewed the fey and “feminine” songcraft of 60s soft-pop for heavier riffs to reflect the development of a more sexually aggressive and thoroughly cynical rock-n-roll mythos for “serious adults.”

Big Star, on the other hand, fused the latent melancholy of 60s Beatles-inspired soft-pop with blasting rock riffs to effortlessly convey a complex swirl of emotions. The bright jangle-y guitars, the melodic efficiency and the wounded yelps courtesy of Alex Chilton all laid the groundwork for alternative styles like power pop, college rock, jangle pop, indie pop and paisley pop. But beyond its importance, “#1 Record / Radio City” is just a solid record, featuring standouts such as “O, My Soul” with its punchy groove. “Back of a Car” introduces riffs that make desire feel cosmically large, and the heartbreakingly tender “Thirteen,” famously covered by Elliott Smith. I would recommend this for fans of the sweeter, hookier side of rock and pop.

TV Show: “Community” (2009-2015) While only moderately successful in its time, one can still see reverberations of “Community” today. Showrunner Dan Harmon, who went on to co-create “Rick and Morty,” Ludwig Goransson, composer of the Oppenheimer score, and Donald Glover are just a few significant figures who got their start on “Community.” Although inconsistent — yes, even during its good seasons — at its best, “Community” combines the jumbled anarchy of shows like “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and the pop culture cutaway humor of “Family Guy.” The show refines these elements to make for intra-episode webs of effective setups and payoffs. “Community” constantly toys with the fourth wall, simultaneously critiquing and celebrating the limitations of the sitcom format while remaining playful and digestible. With a new movie on the horizon, it’s clear that “Community” continues to captivate audiences nearly a decade after its original run ended. I would recommend this for fans of sitcoms who want a fresh take on the format.

Movie: “The Holdovers” (2023) dir. Alexander Payne Sometimes, less is more. In a content-first media landscape, films are constantly upping audiovisual noise to drive up engagement. “The Holdovers” consciously counters this, focusing largely on the relationship between its two leads: Paul Hunhan played by Paul Giamatti and Angus Tully played by newcomer Dominic Sessa. Set in a 1970s New England boarding school, a series of misfortunes make it so that the antisocial teenager Angus and an abrasive curmudgeonly teacher, Paul, are the only two left at the boarding school over the break. Despite its limited nature — or perhaps because of it — “The Holdovers” is able to remain consistently engaging through a convincing script and characters that naturally unfold throughout the film. Its visuals are similarly refined, having a grainy look reminiscent of films from the period in which this movie takes place. “The Holdovers” has all of this and more and serves as a great reprieve for anyone looking to escape the overexposure present within modern media.

Singers coming to Sacramento in 2024

An overview of concerts that may make your school year more enjoyable

BY LORENA ALVAREZ arts@theaggie.org With January behind us, the start of a new year means an empty calendar waiting to be filled with new events to make the winter quarter fly by. For those wanting to get away for the weekend, concerts are the perfect event to enjoy some of your favorite artists nearby. If you are drawn to this year’s lineup, the following is a brief overview of some of the concerts you can attend this year in Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center.

Madonna: Feb. 24 Madonna, the American singer, songwriter and actress rescheduled her “Celebration Tour” after being hospitalized for a bacterial infection.

Her previously planned Golden 1 Center appearance was moved from Feb. 13 to Feb. 24, 2024. While you may not be able to see the “queen of pop” just in time for Valentine’s Day, tickets to this concert are still the perfect Valentine’s gift for Madonna fans, or simply, an excellent event to look forward to this February.

Madonna’s tickets are currently selling for as little as 130 dollars, some tickets falling just below the threshold of 1000 dollars on StubHub. Marca Mp: March 1 Pedro Vargas, Esteban Salcedo, Cristian Daniel and Jesús Tizoc are members of the Mexican regional band, Marca Mp. They are known for singles like “Ya Acabo,” banda

and mariachi contributions to the music industry. Marca Mp is bringing their regional songs to Sacramento on March 1, 2024. The most affordable ticket costs 55 dollars on Vivid Seats, with prices going as high as 200 dollars on average per ticket.

Fall Out Boy: March 3 The American rock band, Fall Out Boy, has a long history in the music industry. They were formed in Illinois in 2001, consisting of Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Joe Torhman and Andy Hurley, a drummer who later joined the group after the previous drummers left. They are known for their album, “Take This to Your Grave” (2003), their defining debut and their mainstream release: “Under the Cork Tree.” They are currently touring their eighth studio album “So Much (for) Stardust.” Tickets for their Golden 1 Center concert are selling for as little as 30 dollars for nosebleed sections and about 500 to 600 dollars for closer seats.

Bad Bunny: March 5 Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican reggaeton and trap artist, who began his career on SoundCloud, gained popularity after he was signed with a record label and released “Soy Peor.”

He is currently touring his new album, “Nadie Sabe lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana.” His new album may have been met with mixed reactions from listeners, but Nadie Sabe is one of three of his albums to lead Billboard’s top all-Spanish-language albums. Fans

in Davis can see Bad Bunny perform just next door (Sacramento) on March 5, for about 200 dollars and up.

Tim McGraw: June 29 Country fans can look forward to seeing Tim McGraw, a popular American country artist. He is known for his single, “I Like It, I Love It” and Grammy winner, “Live Like You Were Dying.” His wife, Faith Hill, is also a country superstar, who has joined him on three tours. While she is not joining him on his “Standing Room Only” tour, fans can still see Tim McGraw live in Sacramento on June 29.

for his spontaneous single releases. But they do not have to wait much longer to hear Playboi Carti’s music: fans can see him in concert at Golden 1 Center sometime this year. While his concert was rescheduled to be on Feb. 25, his North American tour was postponed for an undisclosed reason. Although it is a sad turn of events for those looking forward to the concert, fans may find comfort in seeing that the concerts say

Los Temerarios: Aug. 24 This year is (possibly) the last time fans can see Los Temerarios on tour.

Brothers Adolfo and Gustavo Ángel and their cousin Fernando Ángel are an iconic Mexican group known for their contributions to “balada romantica” (Latin ballad). They are separating after being together as a band for more than 40 years, making Aug. 24 fans’ last chance to see them live in Sacramento. Tickets for their “Hasta Siempre” Sacramento concert are currently selling for 60 to 100 dollars each on Vivid Seats.

Playboi Carti: TBD Jordan Terrell Carter, or Playboi Carti, is an American rapper and songwriter known for singles like “Magnolia” (2017) and Travis Scott’s “Fe!n feat. Playboi Carti.” Despite his release schedule, or lack thereof, fans excitedly keep an eye on his Instagram

HEIDI TEJEDA / AGGIE

“TBD” instead of canceled.

There are many artists coming to Sacramento between February and August; this is just a small selection that aims to include a few artists from each genre that appeared in my search for concerts. For a full list of artists and festivals near you, you can visit Fox40 and TicketMaster’s event list.

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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024 | 7

Davis MoMA: Aggies Horses

Original: “Pharaoh’s Horses” by John Frederick Herring Sr. hooked on this unexpected adventure

Biking in the rain

BY LANHUI ZHEN lazhen@ucdavis.edu

BY NIMRA FARHAN nfarhan@ucdavis.edu

Disclaimer: (This cartoon is humor and/or satire, and its content is purely fictional. The story and names of “sources” are fictionalized.)

Disclaimer: (This cartoon is humor and/or satire, and its content is purely fictional.

The story and names of “sources” are fictionalized.)

How “Baldur’s Gate 3” revolutionizes the video game industry The tabletop fantasy role-playing system has fans hooked on this unexpected adventure

Released in 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3 a role-playing video game set in the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy univerise. (Courtesy of Steam / Fair Use)

BY NATALIE SALTER ncsalter@theaggie.org In December of 2023, one of the gaming industry’s most anxiously anticipated events of the year, The Game Awards, aired live to an audience of around 118 million viewers. The show’s most prestigious award — Game of the Year, a worthy brag for any game company that has snagged it — sat at the end of the show’s three-hour run.

However, a frontrunner had already established itself throughout the event’s duration: “Baldur’s Gate 3,” a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) developed by Larian Studios that, up to that point, had earned nine nominations and five wins — including for Best Performance.

It was “Baldur’s Gate” that came out triumphant here as well, crowned Game

of the Year over video game industry juggernauts such as “The Legend of Zelda,” “Super Mario” and “Resident Evil.” “Baldur’s Gate” would go on to receive a number of accolades from various other awards shows, as well as overwhelming acclaim from the most reputable game review sites.

This monumental success was the culmination of six years of effort on the part of Larian Studios and a massive voice-acting and motion-capture cast.

Preceded by two other “Baldur’s Gate” games, released in 1998 and 2000 respectively, and under the purview of BioWare and Black Isle Studios, it was the Belgium game company Larian Studios that shouldered the responsibility of creating the series’ next installment.

After successfully earning permission to develop the game from

Wizards of the Coast, development launched in 2017. Six years later, after a short early access release, “Baldur’s Gate 3” had a massive global launch on both PC and console gaming systems. It was from here that the game’s initial success snowballed into international acclaim.

Set in the fictionalized realm of Faerûn, the protagonist — either personalized to the user’s choice of class, race, appearance and statistics, or a pre-made character provided by the game — is infected with a parasitic tadpole that transforms them into a tentacled monster if left unchecked. The player finds themself making unlikely allies out of a number of fellow infected individuals, including a vampire and a worshipper of the goddess of darkness.

Across hidden groves, underground caverns and sprawling cities, the player and their party are free to explore Faerûn and create their own story.

“Baldur’s Gate” is based on the popular fantasy tabletop RPG “Dungeons and Dragons” (D&D), which Wizards of the Coast also owns.

Like “Baldur’s Gate 3,” the expansive universe of “Dungeons and Dragons” is completely open to the whims of the players, who can find endless solutions to puzzles, fights and interactions with other characters. To adapt this sort of free-reign gameplay into one video game, able to be personalized to the player’s own desires, would be a massive undertaking. Open-world games are one genre, choice-based games another and any intersection of the two opens an unimaginable amount of possibilities for gameplay that requires hundreds of voice-acting performances and carefully

designed environments.

On top of this challenge, “Baldur’s Gate 3” sought to assume a hyperrealistic graphic style popular among many other successful video games.

This demanded extra care and effort to create detailed surroundings that hold up under close scrutiny, as well as welltranslated motion capture performances that appear just as human as the actors portraying them. If one removes the story and characters of “Baldur’s Gate” from the equation entirely, this alone is such an incredible achievement for a single game that its slew of awards should come as no surprise.

Just as any passionate fan of “D&D” might hope, “Baldur’s Gate 3” delivers on the freedom of choice that made its source material so widely beloved. At the game’s start, players are given the ability to personally craft a character with a variety of races, classes, backgrounds and skill sets that directly affect their dialogue interactions and combat choices throughout the game.

Hair color, tattoos, scars and a variety of unique faces are just a few of the character creation options provided to players in this game.

Furthermore, the game is equipped with an expansive dialogue system within which players can pursue romances, challenge enemies and generally approach each situation in any way they want. The sheer massive amount of dialogue options available during each and every interaction means that every single player’s experience with “Baldur’s Gate 3” will be unique and personalized to their own wishes and worldviews.

This freedom expands to the gameplay as well. While fighting your way through a horde of enemies is always an option, players can use their skills of charisma or intimidation to talk their way out of a battle or can use trickery and clever traps that are limited only to the user’s imagination. While “Baldur’s Gate” has a set overarching story, the way this story progresses in both large and small ways is entirely in the hands of the player.

The video game industry is ever-changing, with huge progress being made regularly as game studios push the boundaries of what is possible for a single game. Gaming experiences are becoming progressively more and more immersive and interactive with each major release. If “Baldur’s Gate 3” is any sign of the future of the industry, video games will only continue to become more yes expensive than ever. And if you’re looking for a story and a universe to lose yourself in, pick up the controller and enter the world of “Baldur’s Gate” — there are a million stories inside, waiting for you to tell them.

KELLY GUAN / AGGIE

Review: ‘Snap Judgment Backpacks of UCD Presents: Spooked’ — a mustlisten horror story podcast

BY SANDHYA PFILE sbpfile@ucdavis.edu

True-life supernatural encounters told by the people who experienced them

BY SAVANNAH BURGER arts@theaggie.org Looking for something to listen to in your downtime that will keep you on your toes? I have the perfect podcast to satisfy your spooky content-deprived soul. Snap Judgment, a one-of-a-kind, award-winning radio show and podcast, combines original music and riveting true-life storytelling to create a nextlevel audio narrative experience. The show, created by its host and executive producer, Glynn Washington, is produced in Oakland and was first aired in partnership with the Public Radio Exchange and KQED in July 2010. 24 years later, the program is now downloaded more than two million times every month and is broadcast on over 500 radio stations across the United States.

Starting in 2017 around Halloween, Snap Judgement decided to record people’s personal supernatural stories to fall in line with the spooky season and give listeners a scare. The show’s audience quickly became hooked to how their cinematic medium meshed with horror content.

There was such an influx in demand

Disclaimer: (This cartoon is humor and/or satire, and its content is purely fictional.

The story and names of “sources” are fictionalized.)

Spooked, available on all podcast streaming platforms, tells stories aabout the supernatural and “dares listeners to confront the unknown,” with the intent of listeners questioning their own reality. (Courtesy of Snap Judgement / fair use) for more special horror episodes, that Snap Judgement Presents: Spooked, the sister podcast to Snap Judgement, was established under Snap Judgement Studios and Luminary.

Spooked, which is also hosted

by Washington, is the best audio production of supernatural stories I have come across in media thus far.

HORRORPODCAST on 11

8 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY, 8, 2024

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SCIENCE AND TECH Social isolation can have negative health impacts, but affected individuals may not seek help

Studies have shown that in geriatric populations specifically, those reporting higher levels of loneliness were also less likely to use telehealth for medical care

By KATIE HELLMAN science@theaggie.org

Social isolation and loneliness for prolonged periods of time are linked to health issues like heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that one in three adults in the United States aged 45 and older struggle with loneliness, and investing time in personal relationships can increase overall health.

“When you feel like you belong and have the support and care you need, as well as the number, quality, and diversity of relationships you want — this is what’s known as social connectedness,” their website reads. “People with meaningful social connections have less stress and better sleep, better overall health that can lead to a longer life, healthier habits and behaviors, and better quality of life and a sense of belonging.”

Last year, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy raised concerns about the “loneliness epidemic.”

“Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health,” Murthy said. “Our relationships are a source of healing and well-being

hiding in plain sight — one that can help us live healthier, more fulfilled, and more productive lives.”

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically increased social isolation around the world and also caused an increase in telehealth appointments, or online doctor visits. For instance, a UC Davis Health study in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that telehealth usage increased from 6% to 24% during the pandemic.

“Telehealth is both acceptable to older adults and associated with improvements in healthcare quality,” the study reads. “We found that socially isolated older adults were less likely to use telehealth during the first wave of the pandemic. This is concerning, as limited access to care may compound risk for poor health outcomes in an already at-risk group.”

Rebecca Howe, lead author of the study, used the Berkman-Syme Social Network Index — a questionnaire designed to assess a study participant’s social network — to see how isolation affected telehealth use during the pandemic. The survey asked the respondents how often they felt lonely.

“We found that [the] people who were [the] most socially isolated were less likely to use telehealth,” Howe said in an interview with UC Davis Health. “And that’s a big problem,

HEIDI TEJEDA / AGGIE

right? Because these are the folks who don’t have caregivers and maybe live alone.”

As healthcare continues to evolve,

more attention is being paid to the mental health needs of patients and the resources that might benefit them.

In older adults specifically, there is a

focus on increasing quality of life by addressing the four Ms: mobility, mentation, medication and what matters.

UC Davis Integrative Center for Alternative Meats and Proteins launches on Jan. 17

The center is a collaboration between multiple departments and institutions that will lead innovation and research in sustainably producing alternative proteins

By MADISON PETERS campus@theaggie.org

On Jan. 17, UC Davis launched the Integrative Center for Alternative Meats and Proteins (iCAMP), a new program designated to accelerate the research and commercialization of cultivated meat as well as plant and fungal-based proteins.

According to iCAMP’s Executive Director, Kara Leong, the center is a project that grew out of the established Cultivated Meat Consortium on campus. It is also the first of its kind to be both federally and state-funded.

The center will not only be dedicated to researching alternative proteins but will also delve into the fields of consumer acceptance, product development, commercialization, entrepreneurship and even policy and law.

Leong spoke on the successes of the center thus far.

“Already one company, [Optimized Foods], has spun out of a graduate student doing research in one of the labs,” Leong said. “There are a lot of potential innovation startups that could spin out of this space.” iCAMP’s Education and Workforce Lead as well as Director of the Biotechnology Program on campus, Denneal Jamison-McClung, Ph.D., explained that all of the products being developed rely on bioprocess engineering and the fermentation of cells. “[Cultivated meat] is when you take a biopsy or sample of animal cells from an animal and you grow more of

those cells to recreate what a slice of meat from an animal the traditional way would be like: in terms of how it tastes, how it feels in your mouth [and] what it looks like,” JamisonMcClung said.

The creation of plant and fungalbased proteins is a process that has been researched and developed more than cell-based meat, according to Jamison-McClung. For cultivated meat to reach the consumer level, it will need adequate funding and scaling, which will be a much longer process.

The center is a collaboration between multiple campus departments, student organizations and businesses who are striving to fulfill their mission statement of “sustainably filling all global needs by 2050,” according to the iCAMP website.

The Davis Alternative Protein Project is just one on-campus organization that works broadly with the Cultivated Meat Consortium and iCAMP. Nick Johnson, President of the Davi Alternative Protein Project, said that the group works with their partner, the Good Foods Institute, to raise awareness around alternative proteins and create a community of students who are interested in working in the field.

Johnson spoke on the significance of the alternative protein industry.

“The way that [the agricultural system] is currently operating is not sustainable to feed a growing population,” Johnson said. “The way that a lot of the alternative

protein industry has grown is really to supplement conventional animal agriculture techniques with alternative sources that can provide nutrition in a sustainable way.”

Many other sectors on campus, such as UC Davis Dining Services, are working with iCAMP through the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science to create more plant-forward protein alternatives.

According to the Director of Dining Services, Kraig Brady, many recipes that the dining commons employ have tested the extent to which plant-based foods will be accepted on a consumer level. One example of this is found in dining commons’ beef burgers, where 30% of the patty is composed of mushrooms in order to decrease the amount of meat consumption on campus.

Brady said that the dining commons can provide valuable information about consumer feedback on alternative proteins. “iCAMP now has an opportunity as they move forward with developing alternative meat proteins to have a captive audience [that can] try some new products,” Brady said. “So the dining commons could be an outlet for some of these companies that are involved in iCAMP to put forth some of their products in front of our students and actually get some real feedback from the students [and] our culinary team.”

Leong said that in the future, there could be iCAMP cafes on campus aimed at testing student responses to alternative proteins.

Brady commented on this

KELLIE LU / AGGIE

possibility by saying that it’s more likely that iCAMP menus will be featured in pre-existing dining service spaces.

Vice President of the Davis Alternative Protein Project Jules Madigan commented on the hurdles of incorporating alternative meat into mainstream diets and said that she hopes consumers will look past their initial biases.

“Technology and science [are] usually [things] people don’t want in their food,” Madigan said. “But it’s something that is already in their food all the time. We’re using science and technology to solve some really pressing environmental and animal welfare and nutrition issues within our food system right now. I think what

history has shown us is that adding more science to food ultimately makes it safer. And we can potentially make foods that people love to eat in a way that can ensure accessibility to them for the foreseeable future, given that traditional agriculture is really at risk within the current climate conditions of our environment.”

Leong furthered on the trajectory of iCAMP and its impact on the future of alternative foods.

“We’ve never seen so much student interest in a particular area,” Leong said. “It’s more than science; it’s food and it’s culture. Food is integral to our art, our being and our enjoyment and just who we are as humans. Seeing so much excitement and interest [has] so much promise.”

Contact tracing underway as member of Davis community contracts contagious tuberculosis UC Davis Student Health Services and Yolo County Public Health collaborated on notifying individuals who were potentially exposed

By SYDNEY AMESTOY campus@theaggie.org The Davis community, including the UC Davis campus, recently conducted contact tracing after a member of the UC Davis community was diagnosed with contagious tuberculosis in November.

A press release by UC Davis Student Health Services, who conducted the contact tracing with Yolo County Public Health, was released on Dec. 20 to notify students.

Dr. Aimee Simson, public health officer and tuberculosis controller for Yolo County, explained the process and collaboration with UC Davis after notification of the infection.

“We at Yolo County Public Health became aware of the case of active tuberculosis in a member of the UC Davis community in December,” Simson said. “The individual was diagnosed in November, and as soon as we became aware of the case, we

contacted UC Davis Student Health as well as occupational health and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a case on campus.

Let’s collaborate and initiate contact tracing.’”

Contact tracing in this case involved finding out which individuals may have had exposed contact with the infected individual and notifying them to take a tuberculosis test, according to Dr. Simson.

Dr. Cindy Schorzman, medical director for UC Davis Student Health, spoke on their involvement in the follow-up with potentially exposed or concerned members of the university.

“As we were reaching out to students, we gave them opportunities to speak with our public health nurses if they had medical questions,” Schorzman said. “In many cases, we connected them with provider visits, either by phone, HIPAA-protected Zoom or sometimes in person, depending on their needs. We want to make sure that everyone out there has gotten their questions answered, especially in the context of their own

concerns, their medical history and everything.”

However, this was not the first time that UC Davis Student Health and Yolo County Public Health collaborated on contact tracing — the two groups worked together during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We set up a contact tracing team here at Student Health and Counseling Services in response to the pandemic when we knew the county resources would be stretched,” Schorzman said.

“We [also] had personnel who were very interested in and capable of being trained to assist in those efforts.”

Dr. Shorzman said that in response to the efforts, multiple UC Davis employees from different departments were re-trained to be involved in the testing and tracing for campus.

However, contact tracing for COVID-19 became increasingly difficult due to the Omicron variant, and contact tracing ceased, according to Dr. Simson and Dr. Schorzman.

“There wasn’t really a benefit to the

contact tracing [when Omicron hit], because by the time we’re learning about cases, we’re already one or two generations of spread away,” Simson said. “It used to be that it might take 14 days after somebody was exposed to Covid with the early strain to develop infection. Now, with Omicron, it averages two days after exposure. So you can imagine if you don’t hear about a case until a week after they were sick, they’ve already spread it to people who have spread it to people.”

Yolo Public Health is only continuing contact tracing for COVID-19 in high-risk areas such as long-term nursing facilities — not including the UC Davis Campus, according to Dr. Simson. Wastewater testing is still ongoing to see trends for COVID-19, RSV and Influenza in Yolo County.

Both Simson and Schorzman said that the best way to avoid these respiratory illnesses is through washing hands, wearing a mask and getting vaccinated.

“We have [COVID-19 vaccines] here at student health, [and] we would love to give you a Covid vaccine,” Schorzman said. “So come on down.

We’ve got them available. I can give people one tomorrow.”

The risk for tuberculosis, which can only be spread through the air, on campus is low, according to Dr. Simson.

“The reassuring message is the fact that the county and the university have collaborated on the contact tracing and we’ve identified the individuals who were in close contact for an extended period of time [with] the person with tuberculosis and notified them,” Simson said.

“The risk to anyone who didn’t hear directly from the county or from the university that they were exposed is very low. Hopefully, that reassures people who are worried they were exposed to tuberculosis. If they had an exposure greater than eight hours while this person was infectious, we have [already] let them know.”

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024 | 9

Sudoku

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

Answer to previous puzzle 02/01/24

Crossword

KELLY GUAN / AGGIE

CUSU FROM FRONT COVER The group had to flesh out detailed plans for the event and design its marketing campaign to appeal to the UC Davis community. At the same time, CU communicated tirelessly with Davis city officials to obtain food, health and venue permits for the fair.

“This was definitely a very risky and adventurous decision to undertake.

Normally, we would have a few months to a year to prepare for a big event like this, but we only had less than two months to design the whole thing,” Han said.

Thankfully, the city was quite supportive of the student organization’s endeavors, which eased the process according to Han. Furthermore, members of the Chinese Union team themselves were active in contributing to making the project work.

“I’m really grateful for everyone’s help so far,” Han said. “Even though the fair hasn’t started yet, it’s really hard not to see success in our future.”

DCFOCUSGROUP FROM FRONT COVER Leonard’s main concern was to voice against the recent change of operating days for both the Cuarto and Tercero Dining Commons, leaving Segundo as the only open

dining commons on the weekend.

“I feel so bad for people who don’t live in Segundo because they have to walk or bike so far to come here on the weekends,” Leonard said. “It’s not sustainable to be able to eat three meals a day and be healthy.”

However, the focus groups are only one small part of the overarching project. Ronquillo has also reached out to the Cross Cultural Center to discuss how the dining commons can better represent the needs of cultural groups. With these conversations, many events have since been hosted to support cultural groups.

“If there is feedback that we could incorporate from some of the cultural groups, we’ve tried to do it if we could,” Ronquillo said. “To support Native American programming, we brought in Chef Freddy, a Navajo chef, [...] and [on Jan. 26] in conjunction with the Cross Cultural Center, we’re bringing in Chef Martin Yan for Lunar New Year.”

Looking towards the future, Ronquillo hopes the feedback gained from the focus groups will help guide strategies to meet students’ needs.

“The goal is to try and condense and look at what the core feedback is, and start developing short-term and long-term strategies to help meet those particular needs,” Ronquillo said. “We know we’re going to stumble, we know that not everything is always going to be perfect, but we’re striving to be better.”

Furthermore, Ronquillo hopes students will continue to give their thoughts to further help the dining commons evolve and decrease stress surrounding food.

“We hope to come up with the process by which we could continue to get student feedback so that long term, we can always evolve with our students, because that is our biggest challenge,” Ronquillo said. “‘Dining Reimagined’ is all about evolving with our students so that we can make dining the least stressful part of their day.”

While upcoming events have yet

to be announced following the focus groups, Leonard is hopeful that change will come from the conversations.

“UC Davis really wants to make sure students are getting the [best] experience we can,” Leonard said.

“Even if change doesn’t happen tomorrow, it’ll happen next week, or next month or next year, and you can improve the experience for the people coming after you.”

SJPPROTEST FROM FRONT COVER After the protest, McConnehey discussed his experience at the sitin in an interview. First, he said that protestors at the sit-in sat behind a tarp-covered street barricade. They were unable to see the meeting and were not visible in the YouTube video of the event. Briefly after public comment at the meeting, the protestors began to chant.

“The regents left the room and the police came into the room,” McConnehey said. “There were people who were in the audience who were not part of our demonstration who were live streaming. When the police came into the room, they crowded and pushed whoever was filming out of the room.”

The police escorting the public out of the room is not available on the UC Regent’s YouTube video. The camera cuts shortly after UC Regent Richard Leib calls for a declaration of unlawful assembly, where there was a view of the regents and others at the event beginning to stand up, and the first words of a UC San Francisco Police Department officer calling an unlawful assembly.

“If there were 13 of us that were arrested, there were at least 26 [police officers] in our immediate vicinity,” McConnehey said. “They grabbed us by the arms and unlinked us, because we had our arms linked, we stood up with them and they walked us out one by one. They took us [out a

different door] than they’d just pushed the people out of. They led us out to this space outside where there were a bunch more cops, they had a giant white tent set up, they had a police van there. They lined us up against a wall and put us in flex cuffs.”

McConnehey then talked about what he believes the arrest represents.

“To me, the arrests themselves and the treatment by police signifies the racialized nature of this issue,” McConnehey said. “[This is] completely in the character of how our current UC system operates, but I think it’s shameful.”

At the moment, the students who participated in the protest are not at risk of academic disciplinary action.

“The UC holds itself out as a world-class institution that values speech and controversial speech and political speech,” McConnehey said.

“Disruption is historically a part of that, especially at the UC system.

[Academic disciplinary action] would be heavy-handed and unnecessary.”

NASPRIZE FROM PAGE 2 “He goes back in and he is able to take that data set and do a lot more, squeezing more information and more results out of data sets,” Flint-Garcia said. “He has done a lot of really nice science, a lot of high-caliber papers, and [has pushed] a lot of the evolutionary genomics.”

Ross-Ibarra hopes that his research provides valuable insights into plant adaptation for the future and the understanding of humans’ coevolution with crops that we interact with.

“I’ve long thought that evolutionary biology can contribute to thinking about agriculture,” Ross-Ibarra said.

“This [award], at least for me, is some validation of that.”

FESTIVAL FROM PAGE 3 Cheryl Randell, a traffic manager at Capital Public Radio in Sacramento who attended the festival, spoke about her favorite part of the festival.

“The chocolate fountain,” Randell said. “This is my first time [at the Davis Chocolate Festival].”

To close out the festival, one of the Odd Fellow members thanked the sponsors of the event and reminded guests of the cookie bakeoff.

“We want to thank all our sponsors and committee members [...] check out the bake sale in the lower hall,” they said. “And we’re gonna have the cookie bakeoff starting around about what 3:30 p.m.? Stay tuned for that.”

DAILYWALKS FROM PAGE 4 Finally, walking is even more rewarding with a friend, partner or companion. When you have someone to share your journey and engage in conversation with, time flies faster and your walk is much more enjoyable. Especially if you haven’t seen someone close in a long time, walking can be a perfect way to reconnect without spending money going out for dinner or coffee.

So, if you’re feeling stuck or unmotivated, drop everything and take a short walk outside. Chances are that when you return to your desk and start doing your homework again, you will be refreshed and ready to take on the challenge of tackling whatever is on your to-do list.

10 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

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Leasing and Tours Starts February 1st

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

DJUSD FROM PAGE 2 After Best shared this information, Assistant City Manager Kelly Stachowicz provided updates on major roadway projects.

“We have finished most of our major road work projects for the winter and won’t start anything else until later in the spring,” Stachowicz said.

This will limit the amount of downtown traffic that has been taking hours to clear at the end of the day when commuters are trying to get home.

Regarding the before and afterschool traffic around Hamel St. in front of Pioneer Elementary School, the school is hoping to change it into a one-way street westbound in order to minimize road blockage. They have sent out a survey to the neighboring houses and intend to make adjustments with their input.

Chapman mentioned how they aren’t the only school prioritizing pickup and drop-off safety and that he is happy to help the movement.

“However I can assist or facilitate through the city side, I am happy to be engaged in that conversation,” Chapman said.

Best brought up the topic of workforce housing projects, which has been a district-wide conversation about building more affordable living for teachers and staff. Escamilla-Greenwald said she was excited to hear about the future project.

“It’s a shame to lose such good teachers because they aren’t able to live here affordably, and they can’t continue to commute an hour or so back and forth,” Escamilla-Greenwald said.

Other challenges during the school year have been multiple bomb threats, violent damage to school property and even racial slurs written on classes with POC teachers, which forced stronger security standards like camera pilot systems being installed in each facility.

“We have had quite a tumultuous year with regards to school safety,” Best said. “Starting the year off with a litany of bomb threats and in Oct. and Nov., we started to experience vandalism particularly focused on our elementary sites. Many broken windows [...] one of our Black teachers was targeted with the [N-word] on the back of her classroom. So as a result, we have taken an unprecedented step as a school district and initiated a camera pilot.”

MUSEUM FROM PAGE 2 The exhibit was originally displayed in the Medalia Gallery in New York City and later, the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum at Ohio State University.

As it made its way to Davis,

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY, 8, 2024 | 11

Brandon-Croft stressed the importance of including the year each cartoon was published, in order to highlight the exhibition’s message of the continuity of struggle.

“It’s very complicated to move works,” Brandon-Croft said. “But the main thing is, we had to have the years there. That’s the whole point, so you can see that things haven’t changed.”

Initially, Brandon-Croft had conceptualized the project as a book.

She credited curator Tara Nakashima Donahue with the idea to put together an exhibit.

This iteration of the exhibition is the first one to be accompanied by music. Brandon-Croft curated a Spotify playlist to accompany the artwork, which visitors are given access to through a QR code.

“I tried to shape it so that it reflected what we were talking about — all the themes, including the hopeful ones,” Brandon-Croft said.

Both Brandon Jr. and BrandonCroft’s work has been met with backlash. In 1976, a reader upset by the inclusion of Black cartoonists in the newspaper tore out Brandon Jr.’s cartoon and mailed it back to him with a racially charged message written across it.

“That’s the kind of things we got,” Brandon-Croft said. “I like it when I get that reaction, because it makes me feel like I hit the mark. I got you that upset? Really? This is a cartoon!”

She carries that same approach to criticisms of her art style. BrandonCroft’s cartoons include her character’s faces, and occasionally hands, but not the rest of their body. She omits backgrounds and speech bubbles from her work as well, leading to a very minimalist look that draws attention to the character’s expressions and words.

“Some people say they don’t like how it looks. It’s okay; it’s me,” Brandon-Croft said.

Her unique style serves a purpose.

By solely displaying her characters’ faces, Brandon-Croft hopes to counter oversexualized depictions of women in the media.

“I just liked the idea of women being thought of and heard,” BrandonCroft said.

As a child, she never would have guessed she’d follow in her father’s footsteps as a cartoonist.

“I was always told I could draw when I was a kid,” Brandon-Croft said. “My dad wanted me to help him, and I did. Who knew I was in training to be a cartoonist?”

Growing up, she was surrounded by her father’s art. “Seven Deadly Sins,” a piece currently on display as part of “STILL,” used to be on the walls of her dining room. She also credited her father’s artistry as having influenced her own.

“I learned from my dad that you have to get things done quickly,” Brandon-Croft said. “You have to make your point in the amount of

time somebody is willing to read it.”

Brandon-Croft attended Syracuse University’s art program where she felt that people often undervalued her intelligence “I feel like people thought, ‘Oh, Barbara. She draws. How did she get in here?’ I was like, I had to be smart too,” Brandon-Croft said.

She recalled receiving a card one Valentine’s Day that said, “You’re pretty smart for someone who’s not in the school of business.”

Despite this, she looks back at her time in college with an appreciation for the skills it taught her.

“There’s something about all being the same age, living in the same place, bouncing ideas off of each other, forming these bonds — all of that,” Brandon-Croft said.

Ultimately, Brandon-Croft did not earn a degree during her time at Syracuse, yet feels she gained skills that helped her immensely.

“What I got out of school was coming out of my shell,” BrandonCroft said. “Socially, it helped me immensely.”

For current college students, she stressed the importance of finding a mentor.

“People who are older know the deal. Especially the people on your own campus can really help you,” Brandon-Croft said.

During its time in the UC Davis Design Museum, Brandon-Croft hopes the exhibition “serves as an education” for college students.

And it seems to be accomplishing just that. First-year political science and design double major, Temo Martinez, described the exhibit as “thought-provoking.”

“The comics managed to be funny, while still discussing serious topics,” Martinez said. “The humor makes you realize how ridiculous it is that these issues have stayed topical for so long.”

Brandon Nguyen, a first-year managerial economics major, agreed.

“Even the comics from the ‘60s still feel relevant,” Nguyen said.

Brandon-Croft also commented on the longevity of both her and her father’s work.

“I hope it’s seen as an authentic look at history,” Brandon-Croft said.

“It’s something that’s trying to be erased by so many people, and it has to stand. It has to be remembered.”

ELECTIONCYCLE FROM PAGE 4 Nobody wanted to pretend to be Donald Trump or Joe Biden. And there was a sense that the teachers and staff didn’t particularly want to discuss the election either. We were all of us walking on eggshells. We proceeded with it only out of obligation, but it cast quite a pall over the already-hampered academic environment our teachers were trying to cultivate.

Now here I am, about to enter my senior year at UC Davis, and another election cycle is underway. Perhaps the most important election in our lifetime is on the horizon. Global fascism is on the rise, conservative lawmakers continue to strip people of their rights and the United States is at an ideological crossroads not seen since the onset of the Civil War. This time, there will be no mock election for us. We’ll cast our votes for real. And even here, in college, I feel that old wariness and hesitation to broach the subject begin to set in.

In many ways, it’s good that my generation became so politically aware at such a relatively young age. We know where we stand, and we’re willing to fight for it. And I believe that we must not let the unpleasantness of the current political environment further hamper academic spaces. Schools are becoming complacent toward politics, and the more volatile they become, the more complacent they become.

The American education system must find a way to positively engage with the subject outside of meaningless mockelection cycles that teach kids nothing and, if anything, actively further the negative attitude toward politics among student bodies. I don’t have an answer for this; I don’t think there is an easy one. But apathy begets apathy, and there should be no place for it in educational environments.

VAMPIREMAJORS FROM PAGE 5 Cognitive Science: You’re relatively safe; vampires think the common human is quite stupid and there’s nothing in our brains worth studying.

2/10. Do watch out for zombies though.

Economics: The major’s full of bloodsuckers. 10/10.

Computer Science: They’re pale, stay indoors all day and don’t speak unless spoken to first. Vampire out of 10.

Biological Sciences: They’re obsessed with what we’re made of, and you know what we’re made of? Blood.

I rest my case. 10/10.

Italian: 2/10. You’re unlikely to find one here, due to the unusually high amount of garlic and crosses amongst the Italian population. Though any vampires here would be the smart ones who’ve decided to study their natural enemies for any weaknesses. Approach every Italian with caution.

Every episode has an analogous layout — the episode begins with a warm-up abstract story narrated by Washington that sets the listener in the mood for that particular episode.

The theme song, which was masterfully created by Oakland-based, audio producer and sound designer Pat MesitiMiller, plays and is followed by a brief context for the story.

The stories presented on the podcast themselves are narrated by the same people who experienced them, so they feel intimate and all the more authentic. There’s a new voice every episode for each new experience, and on some episodes, multiple members of the same family will each recant their individual perspectives on the same haunting encounter. While all are supernatural, every story has a different takeaway. Some episodes, such as “The Deer Stand” and “Dead End,” have very poignant elements that reflect on the passing of close ones. Others, like episodes, “Take Me Home” and “Skinwalker,” will leave you regretting you ever listened to them because you’ll be losing sleep.

As the show makes a point to spotlight stories from non-American cultures and stories told by people of color, there are many episodes that have stories that are deeply rooted in different world cultures told by the people who belong to them. Thus far, there have been stories featuring entities from Montserrat, Russia, Hawai’i, Oaxaca, South Africa, the Philippines and so many others. This is another terrific element of the podcast, as you can learn about folklore from a variety of cultures while creeping yourself out at the same time.

The stories are coupled with originally produced scores of music, sound effects and surround sounds that amplify the scariness and atmosphere.

While listening, you have the possibility of hearing the repeated knocking of a ghost coming from the ceiling, footsteps circling around a tent, the growling of a demonic spirit and eery music that will put you on the edge of your seat.

These auditory effects work in tandem with the content of the stories to create a horror experience masterpiece.

Spooked is in its seventh season— episodes dating back to 2017 are available on every podcast platform. It releases a new episode every Friday. Because the podcast features true-life stories told by the experiencers themselves, the podcast is always looking for new voices! If you have an unforgettable supernatural encounter that needs to be heard by the masses, email your story to spooked@ snapjudgment.org.

Disclaimer: (This article is humor and/or satire, and its content is purely fictional. The story and the names of “sources” are fictionalized.)

HORRORPODCAST FROM PAGE 7 NOVA MAI / AGGIE

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

12 | THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2024

SPORTS MENS BASKETBALL

UC Davis men’s basketball suffers tough loss at the hands of UC San Diego

Aggies break winning streak with the first loss in four games

BY MI’ZAUNI REESE sports@theaggie.org With an overall successful season so far, the UC Davis men’s basketball team has secured a 9-2 record and numerous Big West Conference acknowledgments. With an average score of 72 points per game, it is clear that the Aggies are here to make a name for themselves in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) league. However, after last season’s 76-66 win against UC San Diego in 2023, the Tridents came back with a vengeance.

Held at the University Credit Union Center, the game proved to be a fierce matchup between the Aggies and the Tridents. A few minutes into the first half, the Tridents held a small seven-point lead but, not letting the rough start discourage them, the Aggies came back fighting.

Their defense was consistently aggressive, with numerous blocks and steals in an attempt to avoid giving up more points in the first half, and has proven to be one of the strongest parts of the team — contrasting significantly from last season’s defense that lacked a strong, united front.

For the majority of the game, the Aggies were biting at the ankles of the Tridents as they remained only a few points behind the lead. The end of the first half resulted in a 36-38 score, making it anyone’s game. Trying to start the second half off with a bang, Elijah Pepper, a fifth-year sociology

KELLIE LU / AGGIE

Guard Ty Johnson (2) scores for the Aggies, closing the lead with the UC San Diego Tritons. (Jenna Lee / Aggie) major with an emphasis in law and society, immediately scored a threepointer at the start of the clock, setting a resilient tone for the Aggies.

However, the Aggies weren’t the only team set on leaving the U Center with a win. UC San Diego’s defense was revived following halftime as they held their ground firmly against all UC Davis attacks. As the second half progressed, UC Davis’ energy waned as UC San Diego continued to score multiple points back to back. The once-resilient Aggies started to see the win disappear. In the end, the final score was 92-59: a win for the Tridents, and a tough home-court loss for the Aggies.

Nonetheless, the game was not without success. Ty Johnson, a thirdyear communications major, was not only an offensive star in the game but a defensive anchor as well. Johnson scored a little under half of the total points against the Tridents with his ability to get to the other side of the court in a mere second. Additionally, Elijah Pepper, who was recently awarded Athlete of the Week by the Big West Conference, was the team’s second-highest scorer.

“The greatest improvement since last season is our defensive gameplay for sure,” Pepper said. “It allows us to hold up much better against other Division I teams because of our team

chemistry and unity. It has improved our overall performance.”

Following the match, Pepper reminisced on the team’s performance as well as his own this season.

“Last year we had nine new guys,” Pepper said. “Playing [together] for the first time, really, ever in a season was really difficult. Lots of ups and downs. But, after last season, as well as the summer session, the team was able to bond and we now know exactly what we want to do compared to last year. It has helped everything from defense, to winning, to even just knowing how a guy feels about certain things and being able to assist him on and off the court.”

As a fifth-year student, Pepper wanted to stay for one last season due to his commitment to what he sees as a winning team.

“I want to be a part of a team that I feel is capable of winning a championship, which would be forever remembered in the UC Davis men’s basketball legacy,” Pepper said.

After winning both of their Big West Conference games earlier this year, Pepper was recognized as Player of the Week for his strong performance among his fellow athletes. Not only has this award meant publicity for himself, but it has also drawn the public’s attention to his team, as they are now known as a force to be

BASEBALL

Pioneer Baseball League announces new Yolo County High Wheelers team

The first Davis professional sports team will play at Dobbins Stadium

BY LUCIENNE BROOKER sports@theaggie.org Professional baseball is coming to Davis: with the addition of the Yolo County High Wheelers to the Pioneer Baseball League (PBL), Yolo County gains its first-ever professional sports team. The High Wheelers are the second PBL West Coast expansion team, following the addition of their new rivals, the Oakland Ballers.

In an unprecedented partnership with UC Davis, the High Wheelers will play games at the UC Davis Phil Swimley Field at Dobbins Stadium, and their first home game is set for May 21, 2024.

Rocko DeLuca, director of athletics at UC Davis, offered insight on the partnership.

“We are thrilled to announce our exciting partnership with the Yolo High Wheelers, Davis’ newest baseball team,” DeLuca said. “This collaboration represents a significant stride in fostering community engagement and promoting the spirit of baseball within our university […]

We look forward to a successful and mutually beneficial partnership.”

The High Wheeler ownership plans to not only collaborate with the university over stadium scheduling and resources but also aims to involve the students in many aspects of their day-to-day experience.

Through a Community Benefits and memorable experience.”

Agreement between the PBL, UC The name High Wheelers honors Davis and Yolo County, the High the city’s deep dedication and love Wheelers are looking to benefit the for bicycling. Often considered the community as much as they can. One of their goals is to ALLISON VO / AGGIE provide internships and career advice for students looking to go into the sports world.

Additionally, they plan to support the community of Yolo County by committing to yearly renovations of baseball facilities in the county, partnering with local businesses, donating tickets and much more.

Davis Mayor Josh Chapman already sees the partnership as both a celebration of Davis culture and an acknowledgment of the potential to continue expanding the appeal of the city. Chapman expressed this at the announcement press conference on Jan. 23, 2024.

“Today’s announcement showcases a desire for our city to have a professional sports team that celebrates everything that makes our community a fantastic place to call home,” Chapman said. “I am excited to root “biking capital of California” and for the Yolo High Wheelers and throw home to the U.S. Bicycling Hall of the first pitch at the season opener in Fame, Davis is notorious for being May. I look forward to seeing the Yolo a bike-friendly city. The Yolo High High Wheelers provide our residents, Wheelers are named for a vintage communities and visitors with a fun bike, the high wheel. High wheelers

were popular in the 1900s for their comfortable design featuring a disproportionately large front wheel.

Although opening day is still s e v e r a l months away for the High Wheelers, they’ve been busy hiring their coaching staff and beginning to build their roster.

Cofounders Paul Freedman and Bryan Carmel first brought in Troy Laparco as general manager and have since expanded their staff.

G a r y Davenport will take the role of bench coach, while Jerome Williams has been named pitching coach; Billy Horton has been hired as the team manager.

Horton shared his excitement at the Jan. 23 press conference.

“I am extremely excited for the

opportunity to lead the Yolo High Wheelers in our inaugural season,” Horton said. “It’s been an awesome challenge over the past three months helping build this club, and I am very excited about the foundation we have created. I believe the players we are bringing in will represent the City of Davis and Yolo County well both on and off the field.”

Freedman and Carmel shared the same sentiment as they want their players to not only play baseball in Yolo County but also to get involved with the community. So far, the team has signed Jack Zalasky, a recent Sacramento State graduate, and is looking to further expand their roster before opening day.

PBL President Michael Shapiro shared his thoughts and excitement regarding the new team.

“On behalf of the Pioneer Baseball League, we welcome the Yolo High Wheelers and the broader Yolo and Solano County baseball fans to the historic Pioneer League,” Shapiro said.

“We’re excited to bring professional baseball to more California fans, [...] while building a partnership with the local community that puts the fans first.”

Fans can catch the Yolo High Wheelers in action for the first time and see for themselves what the team can bring to the community on May 21 at Dobbins Stadium.