Vigil held to mourn the loss of life in Israel
The local temple, Bet Haverim, gathered the community for song, prayer and moving speeches in Central Park
BY HANNAH SCHRADER city@theaggie.org
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement, launched an attack on Israel resulting in the death of over a thousand people, largely Israeli citizens. This attack sparked the currently ongoing Israel-Palestine confict which recently surpassed a year in length.
To mourn the loss of life and heal as a community, Bet Haverim, the local temple, organized a vigil that was held in Davis’ Central Park. The vigil consisted of prayer, song and music.
Members of the board of Hillel House Davis, an organization that aims to provide a community for Jewish students, gave speeches at the vigil.
Barry Klein, the president of Hillel House for the Davis and Sacramento region, refected on hearing of the attacks for the frst time on Oct. 7, 2023, which coincides with his birthday.
“I woke up on Oct. 7 at 3 a.m. for various reasons, but I always check my email to see if one of my children had sent me a happy birthday,” Klein said.
“And I saw the attack by Hamas on Israel, probably before most people in the U.S. had seen it, so that’s burned in my memory as the most horrible birthday I’ve had.”
Klein then discussed his responsibility as a leader in the Jewish community to help students through this painful time.
“[I’m] currently the president of the board of Hillel [House] at Davis and Sacramento, and so that immediately opened the door to lots of things we needed to take care of to make sure that students on campus were safe and secure and able to pursue their studies in a stress-free environment,” Klein said.
“And we do a lot of grieving for all the loss of life in Israel, and my prayer is that the evil people who perpetrated
those attacks would disappear so this would never happen again.”
Klein then discussed the aspect of the vigil most moving to him, and the impact of the Davis community.
“So Israelis took it particularly hard because there are Israelis at UC Davis, the students, faculty and [others just] visiting,” Klein said. “I just took it particularly hard because everybody was touched personally by what happened and it took us out.”
OSSJA case for alleged student vandalism postponed
A student was arrested for vandalism, and a UCDPD officer fired their service pistol in the process of the arrest
BY RIVERS STOUT campus@theaggie.org
On May 24 at roughly 1:40 a.m., a UC Davis Police Department (UCDPD) ofcer fred their service pistol while chasing and arresting three suspected vandals. One of the three individuals was Cheyenne Xiong, a UC Davis student who has since been charged with a felony for the alleged act of vandalism. Alongside this, she faces trial from the Ofce of Student Support and Judicial Afairs (OSSJA) that could threaten her ability to remain a student.
Te National Lawyers Guild (NLG) at UC Davis has since begun to support Xiong in her OSSJA case and created a petition that demanded her case be dropped and that the university instead focus on investigating the UCDPD ofcer who discharged their service weapon.
Shasun Sulur, a graduate law
student and spokesperson for NLG, highlighted the organization’s objectives.
“Te National Lawyers Guild here at UC Davis is a group of students who are interested in progressive movement lawyering,” Sulur said. “We organize here at King Hall around issues of accessibility, divesting from Palestine and pushing administration [alongside] other groups on campus to get divestment on a larger scale.”
Many public faces and organizers of last year’s pro-Palestine movement were King Hall students, including members of the NLG.
Sulur expanded on the petition’s goals.
Te OSSJA is the student conduct division of the UC Davis administration,” Sulur said. “Tey handle all sorts of issues like academic dishonesty and cheating, to any sort of violation of the UC Davis Code of [Academic] Conduct for students. It’s a panel of members who investigate [possible violations]. What we’re
asking for is full transparency around this process and also for them to drop the charges entirely and investigate the ofcer instead.”
Xiong’s hearing has been postponed three times, and Sulur speculated that the last postponement was due to the petition. As of the date of publication, the OSSJA case has been postponed to December.
Sulur further critiqued the actions of the OSSJA and expanded on what their fndings could mean for the trial.
“We’re glad as of right now, because [Xiong] is also facing criminal charges in the county of Yolo and anything the OSSJA fnds and publishes in their report can be used in the criminal trial against [Xiong], which can carry a term of up to three years for felony vandalism,” Sulur said. “Again, this is a member of the UCD community — she’s a 20-year-old student here on campus. Te OSSJA instead of protecting her life, safety and well-being, is possibly putting her at risk of up to three years in prison.”
Sulur explained that Xiong’s ffth amendment rights could be potentially infringed upon in this trial. Under the ffth amendment, Xiong has a right against self-incrimination and a presumption of innocence which Sulur argues the OSSJA trial may violate.
Tere could be a question of constitutional protections for [Xiong] in criminal trials,” Sulur said. “What this OSSJA investigation does is already make an assumption and decision about her conduct and basically deems her guilty or not guilty before she gets a fair trial in front of a jury.”
Te university has yet to publicly investigate the ofcer’s use of their frearm, or make a statement, but the UCDPD police chief has submitted the instance to the Independent Police Accountability Board.
Rabbi Jeremy Simons, the co-rabbi of the Bet Haverim congregation in Davis, discussed the intent behind organizing the vigil.
“In the Jewish faith, we mark the anniversaries of deaths,” Simons said.
“It’s called a Yarhzeit and Oct. 7, in addition to being the the anniversary of the terrorist attack, is also the anniversary of the deaths of well over 1,000 people. And so it was a chance to say the traditional memorial prayers and
also just to mark how we’re all feeling, because this has been a very difcult year in the Jewish community, a very upside-down year. And it was a chance for the community to come together and to mourn and grieve.”
Simons then talked about the signifcance of the attack to him and the Jewish community at large.
“I don’t think it was in my imagination that those things [attacks] could even be possible, or something that I worried about or thought about,” Simons said. “Just reading the reports on that day was, I have no words to describe it [...] A lot of other people I ran into that day were just crying, crying, crying, so yeah, it was a deep shock to the Jewish community. It’s not that big all things considered, so there are a lot of connections, like we have people here who have connections to people who were taken hostage, to people who were killed and people who are serving in the military.”
Simons then reflected on the outcome of the vigil and how it served the Davis community.
“[The vigil] provided a space for people to be able to come together, to be with other people and not feel alone, and to just mark what was otherwise a really, really hard day,” Simons said. “I know a lot of folks just told me they took Oct. 7 of from work or didn’t go to class, just because it just hits that hard.”
The Coffee House Marketplace opens new vendor: The Chickpea
The Chickpea is a Mediterranean platform serving a variety of bowls and shawarma wraps
BY JESSICA YUNG campus@theaggie.org
Tis fall quarter, Te Cofee House (CoHo) introduced Te Chickpea, a Mediterranean platform located in the spot that formerly housed the salad platform Croutons.
Te menu includes wraps, bowls and salads that feature chicken shawarma or falafel, pita bread, chickpeas, turmeric rice, sauces, vegetables and multiple types of hummus. Customers can customize the bowl, salad or wrap with chicken shawarma or falafel. Te chicken options are priced at 8.95 dollars and the falafel options at 7.25 dollars, according to the menu. Te CoHo’s website states the platform’s hours of operation: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Megan Li, a fourth-year philosophy major and student manager of the front of house staf at Te CoHo, said that Te Chickpea is gaining in popularity.
“It’s good [and] it’s healthy,” Li said.
“You can get your fber intake, carbs [and] protein and it’s delicious. I think that’s probably why people have been responding to it so well.” Te CoHo also makes most of the ingredients that Te Chickpea serves.
“We make almost all the ingredients in house,” Li said. “We pickle our own onions, we make all the sauces ourselves, the chickpea salad [and] the chicken [we make] ourselves as well. We make all of these things for it, and they’re all really good.”
Additionally, Te Chickpea ofers halal chicken, a new switch that the entirety of Te CoHo made earlier this quarter. On Oct. 7, ASUCD President Gaius Ilupeju, Internal Vice President Aaminah Mohammad and the Muslim Student Association released a joint statement on Instagram about the inclusion of halal chicken at Te CoHo.
CHICKPEA on 9
A UC Davis Police Department vehicle patrols the campus area. (Aggie file)
Speakers join together on Oct. 7 vigil. (Hillel House / Courtesy)
Students order food from The Chickpea, a new Mediterranean vendor at the Memorial Union. (Sacha Chickering / Aggie)
Davis Media Access celebrates anniversary after 20 years of local radio broadcasting
Sudwerk Brewing Co. hosted a party for KDRT’s anniversary
BY OLIVIA HOKR city@theaggie.org
Davis Media Access (DMA) is a non-proft that began in 1988 with a singular local cable access channel known as Davis Community Television (DCTV). After more than 35 years of business, DMA has since incorporated an additional cable access channel as well as a radio station, KDRT-LP 95.7 FM. Tis year marks the 20th anniversary of KDRT’s addition to DMA.
“Our mission is to enrich and strengthen the community by providing alternatives to commercial media for local voices, opinions and creative endeavors,” the Davis Media Access website reads. “DMA carries out that mission by partnering with and providing support to a broad range of other local nonprofts, public-sector entities and community-based groups. Local election coverage, youth media, and capacity building are hallmarks of our community engagement work.”
On Oct. 18, KDRT celebrated its anniversary with music from DJs and local bands at Sudwerk Brewing Co. Jef Shaw, the production manager at Davis Media Access, expressed the importance of supporting the upbringing of local media programs in our community.
“Local media channels and local media programs are more important today than ever before,” Shaw said. “We want to be broadcasting local content on every channel we can: radio, cable television, print and online. We want local media to be an essential part of your media diet. We want to use local media to make local connections that build community health. Connections with your neighbors, council members, musicians, store owners, teachers and other citizens. For those connections to grow, we need local media, in all forms.”
KDRT was the f rst low-power
FM radio station in the U.S., making it stand out from other stations. Tey run on 100 watts or less and emphasize the need to fll the media hole at a local level. KDRT is volunteer-produced, educational and focused on local listeners, but they have also drawn in global listeners through their podcasts and website, according to Shaw.
Because KDRT is low power and their signal only reaches a small distance, they have experienced struggles, such as being forced to change station numbers from 101.5 FM to 95.7 FM.
Despite encountering a few obstacles, Shaw said that KDRT has become a vital part of the Davis community and brings people closer together in ways that only a local media program could.
“We’ve had too many high points to list,” Shaw said. “From hosting touring musicians, helping local music venues sprout, doing live broadcasts from Davis Music Fest, Pride and Martin Luther King [Jr.] Day, to smaller moments like getting kids and teenagers on the air for the frst time, broadcasting a live radio theater class or just last weekend broadcasting during Davis Neighbors Night Out. Every broadcast week brings some moment of magic that is unique to community radio.”
To commemorate the history and impact of local broadcasting, the anniversary celebration brought current and past DJs from KDRT and rising bands like Cowboys After Dark together to continue providing the Davis community with local music. Davis Mayor Josh Chapman made an appearance to congratulate Davis Media Access on the ongoing success of their media projects. Supporting the nonproft organization that is dedicated to spreading music and stories in the city of Davis is an important part of community building and can be done by tuning in at KDRT-LP 95.7 FM or online at kdrt.org.
Peregrine School hosts Multicultural Arts & Music Festival
The event brought together local musicians, dancers and students
BY RORY CONLON city@theaggie.org
Peregrine School, a Davis preschool and elementary school, hosted the Multicultural Arts & Music Festival on Oct. 12. Te event featured student artwork and performances from local Davis musicians, dancers and Taiko drummers.
Peregrine School students, who range from 12 months to 12 years old, hung their paintings and drawings along the back fence of the campus. Chris Erickson, the head of Peregrine School for two years, said students created artwork based on the theme: “What is your favorite food to eat with your family?”
“Beginning with our 12-montholds, they create something based on the prompt and they also give a narrative, which at the 12-month, one-year, two-years and [three-years-old stage] is quite simple and straightforward,” Erickson said. “But as we work our way up, you begin to see kind of how human development works. Te stories get more personal and certainly more elaborate.”
Rayne Kanpp, a third and ffth grade teacher at the school, said the stories on the wall also refect students’ relationships with their families.
“Early on, it’s ‘I like this food,’ and then as you get higher [in age], it’s like, ‘I help make this food,’” Kanpp said. “‘On the weekends with my mom, I pour the syrup on the pancakes.’ It gets more developed and detailed, and it’s really nice and cute.”
After students and parents viewed the artwork, they were invited to watch local musicians, dancers and
Taiko drummers perform on stage. Monika Frymus, the program and events coordinator for the school, said everyone who performed at the event was connected to the school.
“David [Campos] is the grandfather of one of our students,” Frymus said. Te dance group we have are actually alumni, and for the last performance, one of our staf members is part of the group.” Before David Campos performed four songs, including a cover of “Freight Trains” by Elizabeth Cotton, Erickson introduced his wide range of musical infuences to the audience.
“[Campos’] multicultural infuences come from various chapters of his life, including his early childhood in Mexico, which exposed him to Norteño Mariachi and the regional traditional music of Mexico,” Erickson said. “At the age of seven, he immigrated to the United States and experienced the urban sounds of country, Motown and R&B. He then spent some time in Appalachia, where he added a love of early American music.”
Afterward, the Red Maple Dance Group took the stage to perform two numbers: “Te Story of Mulan” and “Water Dragon Chant.” Emily Li, a third-year student at Davis Senior High School, said the group learns, teaches and performs dances in the Davis community.
“We teach Chinese dance to spread awareness of our culture in the community,” Li said. “A lot of people don’t know about the diferent forms of Chinese dance. I think it’s really cool for them to see how diverse it is.”
19 members from the Koyasan Spirit of Children Taiko group also performed at the event. Kaori KubotaSakauye, who has been a member for
27 years, said they were invited to the festival by one of their members to showcase Taiko drumming to a young audience.
“Taiko is a traditional performing art from Japan, and it’s been very popular in the U.S. for the last 50 years,” Kubota-Sakauye said. “Our purpose is to go to diferent places in the Sacramento, Davis area and show kids what it is about.”
In addition to featuring local performers from diferent backgrounds, the event also served as a fundraiser. Erickson said that parent donations for food, drinks and artwork at the event would be invested back into the school. Te fundraiser money just goes back into our annual fund, which helps us as a non-proft independent school,” Erickson said. “We make our money from tuition, fundraising and grants. Sometimes, we have specifc fundraisers for specifc things, but our annual fund helps us in many diferent ways: paying staf, power and water bills, materials for the kids, materials for the teachers and our rent.”
Dave Zavatson, who sold drinks to adults at the festival in exchange for donations, said he became a member of the Peregrine Board of Directors to stay involved in his children’s education. He described the appeal of the event as “multifaceted.”
“We get to showcase the school to the community, but then we also get to showcase multiple different cultures,” Zavatson said. “It’s just exposure to diferent cultures, which is valuable, even if you’re not directly paying attention to it. It’s there, it’s subliminal, it’s in the background and you’re exposed to it. I think there’s tremendous value in that.”
Davis Ditch Non-Test Skate competition returns for a fourth yearleading
Talented skaters shred the ramps, rails and refrigerators of the Davis Ditch at an event put on by the N-Men skate group
BY MATTHEW MCELDOWNEY
city@theaggie.org
Te N-Men, a Sacramento skate group that has been skating since 1974, hosted their annual Non-Test skating competition on Oct. 13. Skaters of all ages gathered at the Davis Ditch to land tricks, have a good time and share their passion for the sport with other skaters from all over California.
A Davis Ditch local, Matt Wieland, is a skater who began skating and building up the Davis Ditch since its discovery in the ‘90s. His documentary work on some of Northern California’s well-known skaters and skate groups would eventually lead to weekly skate sessions and larger community events at this Davis skate spot.
“Tere are people coming from UC Davis, all over Sacramento, Winters, Vacaville, Dixon and the Bay Area, even Tracy,” Wieland said. “We are building community, that is our biggest purpose when we are out here.”
Te Davis Ditch was once a quaint and remote ditch that sat beside Highway 80. Te location allowed skaters to create their own scene when suitable facilities to skate were, and to some extent still are, unavailable in Davis. It has been a long time since the skaters that frst discovered this spot began dropping in, and through the gradual additions made by skaters over the years, the Davis Ditch has become a testament to the craftiness and passion inherent to skating culture itself. In anticipation of the Non-Test competition, Weiland, members of N-Men and other locals made further alterations to the Davis Ditch. Among these alterations, a refrigerator was added as an additional skate feature.
“We put in more curbs to the side, an additional ramp and the refrigerator on top,” Weiland said.
Tis refrigerator would have its time in the limelight as one
competitor, Santos, dropped into the Davis Ditch from the height of both the ramp and fridge. Another skater, Nicholas, would win the best trick prize by landing a trick of of the fridge. So, as much as this year’s Non-Test was meant to promote community, equally so were each of the skaters able to put their own creativity and individuality on full display. In the frst round, skaters were given three runs to impress the judges with as many of their best tricks within that time. Te fve fnalists chosen out of two heats of skateboarders would then be pitted against one another with two remaining runs to make a lasting impression. An additional prize would be awarded to whoever landed the best trick while the judges tallied up the points. Without age or gender categories, teachers competed against
students, rising stars against veterans and even dancers and journalists were skating together. Hayden Gutierrez, a thirdyear environmental science and management major, explained how it felt to skate in this year’s competition.
“It was very challenging to skate because it is all [Do it Yourself],” Gutierrez said. “Now [the ditch] has been made for skating, but it was not originally made for it. Nothing here is perfect. Tere are bumps and cracks, some things are falling apart. It is very challenging to skate, but that is why it makes skating the course so much fun.”
Competing in Non-Test allowed Gutierrez to meet many skaters in the area, and as a transfer student at UC Davis, skateboarding overall helped him settle into student life.
“At home, I have a great sense of
community through skateboarding,” Gutierrez said. “So, this has made me really happy to have that in Davis.” Gutierrez speaks for many skaters when he describes the way skateboarding allows for overcoming adversity while bringing people together. Tis much is also true for Luke Turner, also known as the “Impaler,” a photography teacher and the frst-place winner of Non-Test.
“Skating is not really about competition,” Turner said. “I am happy about it, but there are so many great skaters here. So, to be recognized in this way is a great honor, but I am defnitely not the gnarliest skater here, there were some real rippers here.”
As a 53-year-old skater and Davis local, Turner began skating in the Davis Ditch four years ago after rediscovering his love for skating at an older age. He was happy to be
skating in the Davis Ditch with so many skateboarders and hopes more will be able to appreciate this skatermade space in the future at their skate sessions, which happen weekly on Sundays at 11 a.m.
Tis was especially important for Turner as the Davis Ditch, in particular, aptly showcases the adversity in the history and culture of skateboarding as a whole. As public spaces were regulated and designed to exclude their sport, Turner described the necessity for skateboarders to transform places not designed for skateboarding into places where they could. And through their ingenuity, tenacity and fun-loving passion for skateboarding, they did.
“Like they say in skateboarding, the best skater is the one having the most fun,” Turner said. “And, I had a hell of a lot of fun!”
Musicians perform at Sudwerk Brewing Company for the 20-year celebration of KDRT. (Sacha Chickering / Aggie)
Skaters from the Sacramento-based N-Men skate group perform tricks at the Davis Ditch. (Courtesy / Mileyna Soo)
The Peregrine School hosts the Multicultural Arts & Music Festival, with arts & crafts booths, international food options and performances by music groups. (Sacha Chickering / Aggie)
Statements made by Chancellor Gary May, Senate Bill #4 passes as emergency legislation for budget
Chancellor Gary May addressed concerns regarding the new UC protest policies
BY RAGAVI GOYAL campus@theaggie.org
Te meeting was called to order at 6:05 p.m. by ASUCD Vice President Aaminah Mohammad, followed by a roll call and reading of the UC Davis Land Acknowledgement.
Tis was followed by a speech from Chancellor Gary May addressing the ASUCD Senate and others present in the room. He talked about UC Davis’ growth in the academic feld, as well as increased recognition on public forums.
May also talked about the recent publication of UC Davis’ rankings.
“Wall Street Journal just named us the No. 3 public university in the country,” May said. “We’ve got a bronze medal this year.” May also thanked ASUCD for their role in this success as the student leadership on campus by bridging the gap between the student body and the university administration. He then went on to address concerns regarding the implementation of the UC policies on free speech and free expression on campus.
May emphasized that freedom of expression remains a “bedrock principle” at UC Davis but mentioned that it comes with a corollary obligation to listen to the viewpoint of others and respect their rights to speak freely.
Additionally, May addressed specifc misconceptions starting with the masking provision that some argued violates the right to peaceful practice of religion and/or cultural norms.
“Students, faculty and staff
following policy can mask for any reason, including health or cultural or religious practices,” May said. “Tis policy does not afect these protections. [Te] policy only restricts masking when it’s done in violation of [other] policies or to intimidate others.”
He also talked about the new identifcation policy which states that only those expressly designated by the university administration, including campus safety personnel, may ask for identifcation or removal of masks.
May expanded on the identifcation policy.
“Just as no person on campus can refuse to identify themselves following such a legitimate request, individuals may request that the university employee provide their identifcation when they’re making such a request,” May said.
He ended his speech by appreciating input from ASUCD and welcoming questions or concerns from the student body in general.
This was followed by several questions being asked by the ASUCD student body as well as some public members present in the room. The questions ranged from the collaboration of ASUCD with university administration to the protests and reported sexual and verbal assault reported on Oct. 7 on campus. Other questions about UC Davis policies and administrative plans for upcoming year were asked as well.
After a short break, the meeting proceeded with elected ofcer and exofcio reports.
This was followed by an
introduction of SB #4 on the senate foor as emergency legislation in the meeting. Tis bill aims to reintroduce a previous senate bill (SB #99) in eforts to smoothen the process of implementing the 2024 to 2025 ASUCD Operational Budget.
ASUCD President Gaius Ilupeju explained the provisions of this bill.
“Basically part of this bill is putting the [Housing and Transportation Advocacy Council (HTAC)] and the [Disability Justice Committee (DJC)] committees into the executive branch of ASUCD,” Ilupeju said. “So instead of being committee chairs, they’d be associate vice presidents.”
Some senators raised concerns regarding the language of the bill as well as the limited amount of time they were provided to review it. Te president and internal vice president emphasized the need to pass this bill as soon as possible as otherwise it will “set the senate back with their quarterly goals.”
The meeting broke off into an unmoderated caucus for fve minutes due to a lack of consensus amongst the senators.
Te bill was then voted on, and SB #4 passed by a vote of 7-3. Internal Afairs Chair Amanda Clark voiced concerns regarding SB #4 not being addressed completely to which some of the senators replied apologetically.
The meeting concluded with a presentation from the University of California Student Association (UCSA) and approval of the past meeting minutes.
Te meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.
Meet two of ASUCD’s new Interim Senators
Luis Leonardo Garcia and Max Gouvalaris are filling two of the five seats open for fall quarter
BY VINCE BASADA campus@theaggie.org
Among the new faces that have joined the ASUCD Senate are Interim Senators Luis Leonardo Garcia and Max Gouvalaris. Tey, along with their fellow temporary ofceholders, were hired by the Executive Branch for fall quarter. Both sat down with Te California Aggie to talk about their experience, priorities and plans for what they hope will be impactful, if short, terms.
Luis Leonardo Garcia Second-Year, Political Science Major
“I really hope to be the people’s senator, to really help other communities, whether that be the Latinx community or just really anyone that wants to open up and talk to me about any ideas,” Garcia said. Garcia is currently the president of UC Davis’ Puente Club and also works with the Early Academic Outreach Program. He has not been involved with ASUCD student government before but was motivated to take on the temporary position after observing “gaps” between ASUCD and the Latinx community. He also cited a strong desire to have a senate table that better refected the diversity of the student population.
Additionally, Garcia wants to focus on hosting professional development events, with which he has some prior experience. In a similar tandem, he plans to work on improving outreach and awareness of ASUCD causes and university-sponsored activities.
“I really want to know the students’ needs, and I plan on hopefully soon having ways to reach out to students, seeing what’s needed and what they think could make this campus better,” Garcia said.
Fourth-Year, Philosophy and History
double Major
“I wanted to try my hand at a broader role within UC Davis,” Gouvalaris said. “I played my part in my little corners and pockets, but trying to represent student needs on a broader, more generalized front is a way that I could really help people.”
Gouvalaris is also new to the senate, though he’s worked in ASUCD/UC Davis-adjacent programs before. He is currently a DJ at KDVS, a manager of the Suad Joseph Lab and has done work with Aggie House and the Davis Journal of Legal Studies.
Motivated and curious, Gouvalaris takes on the position hoping to improve ASUCD relations with ethnic organizations, enhance mental health services and provide support for transfer students. He also indicated plans to introduce legislation on disability justice.
“I hope to advance ASUCD in the most profcient, conscientious and empathetic way possible,” Gouvalaris said. “It serves such a vital role on campus, and to really achieve the goals of the student body and to accelerate the achieving of those goals is something we really need to do — something that we should always be aiming to do.”
Garcia and Gouvalaris are joined as interim senators for this quarter by Noblejot Singh, a fourth-year political science major, and Sabahat Nabiha, a fourth-year political science-public service major. Neither Singh nor Nabiha participated in this piece.
As of time of publication, the ffth interim seat remains unflled. Full-term senators will be elected later this quarter and are scheduled to be sworn in before the Winter Holiday.
UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education
program
The course allows insight from industry professionals and takes 12 to 18 months to complete BY
JORDAN POLTORAK
campus@theaggie.org
UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education has ofcially been ofering a winemaking certifcate program for 11 years. Te course lasts 12 to 18 months and costs $8,810 in addition to textbooks. It focuses on the scientifc framework and production of winemaking and can be completed entirely online.
The program emphasizes the chemical and microbiological processes that go into winemaking. These include recognising faults in wine like imbalance, oxidation and microbial spoilage.
One of the professionals instructing this program is Jennifer Rohrs. Her research focuses on grapevine physiology, crop water use and irrigation management. She is now an independent consultant and contractor for Vine Ecology in Napa County as well as an instructor for the winemaking certifcate program.
Rohr shared her thoughts and some insights into the program on the Continuing and Professional Education website.
“It’s important to have some basic training and academic exposure to these areas, so when a real-world issue arises, you have a background to build on,” Rohrs said. “Ultimately, the key is in the combination of academic exposure and hands-on vineyard and winemaking experience.”
Some benefits of the program include one-on-one instruction,
networking opportunities and technical knowledge that can be applied immediately after completion of the course. The knowledge gained from the program can be used to pursue careers in wine production as well as sales, marketing and operations in the industry.
Larry Schaffer, the owner
and
winemaker of tercero wines in Santa Barbara, shared his goals for the program in his instructor spotlight.
“I hope my students take away a greater joy for the subject matter and a broader understanding of the material than when they started [as well as] a desire to learn more,” Schafer said.
Schafer specifcally teaches a class called “Wine Production” within the program. He earned his master’s degree in viticulture and enology from UC Davis and has over 20 years in winemaking experience.
Te instructors each specialize in their own areas and aid students in a well-rounded wine education. Nichola Hall, for example, is the technical director of fermentation and enology for Scott Laboratories in Petaluma as well as a member of the American Society for Enology and Viticulture. Hall expanded on the inner workings of winemaking in her instructor spotlight.
“Winemaking is a little bit of art and a whole lot of science,” Hall said. “By having a solid foundation and understanding of what is happening and why, you can adapt to the vintage and make quality-based decisions.”
Te application is open year round, and once submitted, applicants will be notifed within seven to 10 days. With the exception of some mandatory prerequisites, the application is open to everyone. Tose who wish to fnd out more about the program can visit the Winemaking Certifcation Program’s website.
Max Gouvalaris
Luis Leonardo Garcia, a second-year political science major, joins the senate as one of ASUCD’s newest interim senators. (Vince Basada / Aggie)
Max Gouvalaris, a fourth-year philosophy and history double major, is among the newest ASUCD Interim Senators. (Vince Basada / Aggie)
The Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science is home to UC Davis’ winemaking programs.
(Sacha Chickering / Aggie)
Gary May speaks to ASUCD about protest policies and UC rankings at recent senate meeting. ( Jenna Lee / Aggie)
Inktober: a month-long drawing challenge for the struggling artist
BY MAYA KORNYEYEVA mkornyeyeva@ucdavis.edu
Ah, the universally feared art block. It creeps up on the best of us, looming over even the most profcient artists and slowly draining away any and all creative ideas. Art block is stubborn and not easily deterred — extending its stay for days, weeks, months and, in some of the worst cases, for years.
In the darkest moment (two weeks into fall quarter), October rolls around, and with it arrives a knight in shining armor, ready to take a stand against art block. You may have guessed it: the hero of this story is none other than Inktober.
Inktober is a yearly tradition for many artists, founded by American illustrator Jake Parker in 2009. Each October, a brand new set of 31 words is posted to the Inktober website, featuring prompts from “grungy” to “scarecrow” (2024). Te goal is to take each word and create one drawing per day, whether it’s a tiny doodle, a 20-minute sketch or a full piece.
Many artists, like myself, prefer a specifc medium or muse (focusing only on a single genre or style of art), and Inktober’s diverse list of prompts directs artists out of their comfort zone and to tune in to their imagination in a novel way. While Inktober, as per the name, signals ink or pen as the medium of choice, the daily prompts are truly up for interpretation. Many recent entries are digital rather than traditional, and artists use everything from paint to charcoal to pencil to create their drawings.
In this way, Inktober functions as a challenge for artists to consistently practice their skills while encouraging them to think outside the box. Te limit is your imagination — there is no “one right answer” when it comes to Inktober.
Inktober is also perfectly curated for fans of the spooky side of October, those who adore sketching ghouls, fantastical creatures and creepy little goblins. It’s a Halloween lover’s paradise, but the prompt ambiguity also works to make it easily accessible and enjoyable by artists from all backgrounds and creative passions.
For instance, one artist may take the prompt “Gargoyle” (2022) and interpret the word as the typical frightening stone creature, drawing from the lens of horror and mystery. Another artist from a diferent
background (for instance, architecture) may illustrate the gargoyle from a mathematical, sculptural point of view.
A third artist in the fashion industry could take a diferent approach entirely, creating a costume design that emulates “gargoyle” elements by sampling gray colors, stone textures and carved patterns. With all this being said, no art challenge is entirely devoid of controversy. Parker recently faced severe backlash from the artist community. In a bid to protect his intellectual property, Parker copyrighted the “Inktober” challenge
Professors on Week 1 (and every week after that)
BY SANDHYA PFILE
sbpfile@ucdavis.edu
in 2019, urging artists to refrain from using the logo and only including the term “Inktober” as a subtitle. A year later, in 2020, Parker became the center of yet another scandal, this time concerning his alleged plagiarism of Alphonso Dunn’s instructional art book. While Parker denied plagiarizing, artists worldwide took a step back from Inktober and its controversial founder. Despite Inktober’s loss in popularity, the original spirit of the challenge is still present and very much alive. Since 2020, each October has been widely celebrated as a
month of diligent art practice, with infuential artists developing their own themed prompts and posting them on social media for their followers to explore. Tese new themes include “Witchtober,” “Drawtober” and “SpookTober” (to name a few), and they all function in a very similar fashion to Inktober. If you, like me, are fghting a losing battle against art block, don’t fear: all you need is to equip yourself with an arsenal of art challenges to practice with. You can take your prompts from Inktober, or choose any other themed list that sparks your creativity. Needless
Campus Tours is locking students into cages for the enjoyment of prospective Aggies
Can I have a bathroom break please?
BY ALLISON KELEHER adkeleher@ucdavis.edu
I’m really popular, so I have a lot of friends roaming around campus. Specifcally, I have many friends in the Campus Tours ofce, who have recently let me in on some shocking information. Soon, a campus job will be released on Handshake — this position will require you to remain seated in a cage for up to four hours at a time.
At frst glance, this sounds really freaky and weird. Who is locking up students? So, here’s the punchline: you are required to study for every hour that you are in the cage, pretty much like every other campus job.
Basically, the consensus from the Campus Tours administrators is that UC Davis students aren’t spending enough time actually studying. Tey’re not wrong. Take one loop around Shields Library and you can see people doing everything but studying. Tis refects poorly on UC Davis, because we don’t look serious enough about our academics.
So, here’s the idea. Several students will be employed by Campus Tours to study during their shifts for minimum wage. Tese employees will be kept in cages so that potential Aggies can envision themselves studying.
“Te purpose of the cages is so that everyone can get a good view of the subject,” one of my many friends said.
Te cage will be cylindrical in shape with a small desk in the center so that prospective Aggies can get a 360-degree view of what their life will be like.
Unfortunately, California has labor laws, which means that the subject will be released for 10 minutes during their four hour shift. Tis will allow the subject to visit the restroom and maybe the trough. Wait, my mistake, the subject could get something to eat.
In order to ensure that the subjects are following their job description, there will be another job posting entitled “cage-keeper” which will be the supervisors to the cage dwellers. The cage-keeper will roam around in khaki shorts and a button-up top, monitoring the subjects in their cages. If the employees aren’t studying enough, the cage-keeper will report them and they will be terminated. In
other words, the cage-keeper position requires some leadership skills, making the compensation slightly higher.
Tis proposal made its way through the Campus Tours administration, and the result is that these cages will be placed in various locations around the campus to act as crucial stops in the Campus Tours. When tour guides are at work, you can see them regularly stopping to give some inspiring monologue about key locations on campus. At each of these stops, there will be several cages nearby with students studying within.
Tis way, prospective Aggies will be able to get a good look at each attraction. I have a feeling that the cages by Shields Library will be most popular. My very secret source informed me that this proposal has been tested by current Campus Tours employees.
Tey say that in one of their back ofces, there’s a room with multiple prototypes of cages that haven’t made
the cut for the fnal product. Some Campus Tours employees were asked to test each one out, and they didn’t approve of several of them. Something to do with claustrophobia. Apparently tour guides don’t like being caged up. Tis problem will be fxed by hiring specifc cage dwellers of of Handshake so that they know what type of job they are getting into.
In my opinion, this idea is still kind of freaky and weird, but maybe I just don’t see the vision. Campus Tours has already surveyed the alumni network and they love the idea. Apparently, they used to study in cages too. Anyways, I’m currently drafting a resume so that I can be the frst to apply. I need to be locked in to lock in.
Disclaimer: (Tis article is humor and/or satire, and its content is purely fctional. Te story and the names of “sources” are fctionalized.)
MAYA KORNYEYEVA / AGGIE
SAVANNAH BURGER / AGGIE
EDITORIAL
The Editorial Board encourages you to be a responsible AI user
Learn to utilize artificial intelligence in a way that benefits your learning, not replaces it
WRITTEN BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD
In recent years, it seems as though everywhere you look there’s artifcial intelligence (AI). It exists as a “friend” for you to talk to on social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. It’s the frst thing that pops up when you perform a Google Search. It’s all those incredibly wellversed suggestions on Grammarly.
Despite AI’s increasing prevalence in our everyday lives, it remains shrouded in complex ethical implications. Te diverse and infnite uses of AI allow it to exist on a spectrum; one may utilize it for the betterment of society, and another could abuse its technology to target others or commit fraud. Te complexities of AI, as well as its availability to virtually all online users, makes it difcult to supervise.
Te conficting views on AI can make forming impressions on this technology rather disconcerting — while AI is actively being celebrated by researchers for its transformative capabilities and revolutionary design, it is also being criminalized in the feld of education. To understand
Read the Editorial Board’s guide to success for this fall quarter! SEE ONLINE
the mechanics and intention behind artifcial intelligence, it is crucial to examine its underlying technology. AI is based on two types of learning — machine learning and deep learning. Machine learning involves using a large database to train algorithms, which develop models for making decisions and predictions in a “supervised” way. Deep learning, on the other hand, uses systems that aim to replicate the neural networks in the brain, with many layers that allow AI to perform “unsupervised” learning — without human intervention. Te most proliferated GenAI models today use deep learning to generate original content, including video footage, photos, graphics, illustrations, songs, written content and even voices.
Within the feld of higher education, AI use is both stigmatized and encouraged. Some professors decree an absolute ban on generative AI use, enforcing Turnitin detection systems and banning Grammarly, which has been widely accepted for years as a tool for editing your written work. Other professors embrace the use of AI, actively integrating it into their coursework and encouraging students to use it conscientiously. However, many are still vague about AI use, afraid of the best way to approach the conversation.
We on the Editorial Board urge you to be a responsible AI user — to avoid over-relying on its capabilities and to approach the technology with care. AI should be, frst and foremost, a tool to help you succeed and learn. When used appropriately, and without undermining your own intelligence, it can help you increase your productivity and allow you to generate new ideas on ways to approach projects.
Some responsible functions of AI include summarizing lengthy passages, explaining complex problems and brainstorming ideas. In other words, prompts that don’t involve “copy -pasting” the AI response into your own assignment. In this way, AI
is best used as a stepping stone, freeing yourself up to explore greater possibilities.
AI is also helpful in generating lists, from suggestions for daily routines to outlines for assignments to lists of synonyms. It is also wonderful at telling stories: just ask ChatGPT to write you a “day in the life” of a potential future career for yourself and see what it comes up with.
Beyond being a responsible user, now more than ever we need to learn to optimize our use of artifcial intelligence. Tis comes down to learning how to be a good prompter; what words, phrases and symbols to use when asking a question or making a request from AI. Learning to refne your prompt and asking the chat bot to regenerate a response is fundamental to getting the answer that best refects what you are looking for.
With all this being said, we must remember that AI, especially GenAI, is constantly changing and evolving. Tis means that it can often provide inaccurate information, so simply trusting the technology to tell you the truth is ill-advised. It’s important to treat any response AI gives you as a “frst draft” that needs to be completely fact-checked, restructured and refned.
It is no secret that artifcial intelligence continues to expand in reach and infuence. Moving forward, academic institutions must form a standard for its use, removing ambiguity and creating clear defnitions for appropriate and inappropriate usage. As for the student, it is easy to become overly dependent on AI. However, this dependency is both a disservice to yourself and your education. You are spending so much of your time, money and energy to be here, so don’t rely on AI to “get by” your classes — use it as a tool to speed up your thought process, in a way that is ethical and responsible.
Editorial Board
CHRIS PONCE Editor-in-Chief
ALYSSA CREVOISERAT Managing Editor
MADISON PETERS Campus News Editor
HANNAH SCHRADER City News Editor
MAYA KORNYEYEVA Opinion Editor
ZOEY MORTAZAVI Features Editor
ANA BACH Arts & Culture Editor
MEGAN JOSEPH Sports Editor
KATIE HELLMAN Science Editor
JENNA LEE Photo Director
ARIANA NOBLE Layout Director
LANHUI ZHEN Design Director
JOANNE SUN Social Media Manager
AARON POTTER Website Manager
CASSIDY GILLIS Distribution & Outreach Director
TIFFANY HE Copy Chief
JENNY DYE Copy Chief
SAMUEL RUIZ Translation Director
ILEANA MERAZ Translation Director
LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager
Lessons from beyond the lecture hall
BY MOLLY THOMPSON
I was apprehensive about living of
I loved my dorm, I loved my roommates, I loved being on campus and not having to bike more than seven minutes to any of my classes, I loved the mischief and tomfoolery that occurs in dorm halls and I loved not having to clean the bathroom. Turns out, I love my apartment even more. Having couches and a TV is so nice, I’m so glad I don’t have to wear shower shoes or carry my shampoo into the bathroom every night, I like being able to cook my own food and buy my own groceries, my roommates make every day feel like an episode of “New Girl” and the 10-minute bike ride to campus is way easier than I thought it would be. But living in the dorms is a little simpler for a few reasons: it’s similar to a stepping stone between living at home with your parents and living alone at your own place. With the dining hall at your fngertips, you don’t have to worry about planning and sourcing meals or budgeting grocery money. You also don’t have to think about rationing your gas and electricity usage, splitting rent in a way that makes sense for your household or paying rent on time. Granted, in a dorm you still have to source your own snacks and often meals on the weekend, but moving into an apartment or a rental house comes with a lot more responsibilities than most of us have ever had to juggle before.
It’s commonly acknowledged that our elementary education system does a pretty insufcient job of teaching us how to manage our fnances, but that is truly evident when we’re suddenly faced with a whole avalanche of new monetary hurdles to jump over. Of course, this isn’t true for everyone, but I can at least speak for myself when I say that I’ve been incredibly intimidated by the task of organizing all of my bills for the frst time — it’s hard to know how to line everything up so it falls properly into place.
I think what gets me the most is not having a clear model to base my strategies of of. Everytime I feel unsure about my approach, I end up wishing there was a clear norm or outline for me to follow. But the thing about fnances is that it’s incredibly individual; no single plan is going to work for everyone. I can’t follow what works for someone else because it’s likely not going to work for me. We all
have diferent starting points, diferent sources of income, diferent needs and diferent values, so we’re all going to need diferent monetary plans. Money is such a taboo in our society that it’s no wonder that a lot of us struggle to fgure out exactly how to organize our bank accounts. We don’t discuss it very often, so, naturally, we
the thread and miscalculate. I try to compartmentalize everything I have to cover, but it shifts and sometimes I forget to account for one thing or another. Some weeks I spend more than I want to, and some weeks I learn that I actually do need something I tried to skip out on for the sake of my budget. Like everything in life, this is a work in progress — there’s always a learning curve. Disclaimer: Te views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by Te California Aggie
JASON XIE / AGGIE
ARTS & CULTURE
BY ZOEY MORTAZAVI arts@theaggie.org
Song: “Oh! No Darling” by Sarah Kinsley (2023)
Sarah Kinsley is an up-and-coming singer-songwriter who began releasing singles in 2019. Her song, “Oh! No Darling,” came up in my Spotify Discover Weekly, and I am beyond glad that I discovered Kinsley. “Oh! No Darling” is a song that builds, with an upbeat melody and intricate, layered harmonies that contrast with the lyrics, which touch on loss and nostalgia for “the sweeter days” that she seems to have lost while “running with her head / for the sake of living on the edge.” Kinsley recently released her frst full studio album, “Escaper,” on Sept. 6, 2024. Her lyrics are relatable, her voice is ethereal and unique and her instrumentals create a listening experience that I can’t recommend enough.
Book: “Te Mill on the Floss” by George Eliot (1860)
In Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of “Little Women,” Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) reads an excerpt of Mary Ann Evans’ novel, “Te Mill on the Floss,” while sitting on the beach with her sister, Beth March. Te quote, which delved into the value of childhood and the innocence of youth, stuck with me long after the flm ended. I looked up the quote and immediately ordered the book — Evans was known throughout her life by the pen name George Eliot in order to disguise her gender. “Te Mill on the Floss” tells the story of Maggie and Tom Tulliver, who grow up at Dorlcote Mill along the River Floss in St. Ogg’s, England. Te Tulliver family struggles fnancially after a lawsuit, and the novel parallels the downfall of the family with the exploration of individual characters’ dreams and desires. Evans skillfully employs psychological prose as she delves into the intricacies of relationships, particularly while Maggie seeks to fnd her identity outside of who she is within her family. Her descriptions are stunning, deeply empathetic and hone in on character development and a desire for freedom juxtaposed with a deep nostalgia for the past.
TV Show: “Sharp Objects” dir. Jean-Marc Vallée (2018)
As a redhead, I couldn’t not watch a show that had Amy Adams and Eliza Scanlen as its thumbnail. So, I watched “Sharp Objects” for the frst time on a road trip home from Utah with absolutely no context in mind. I watched the whole show (over eight hours) in one sitting. Tough this show is a limited series, I was completely hooked while watching. Te show tells the story of journalist Camille Preaker (Amy Adams) as she is sent back to her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri, to report on the murders of several little girls. As she discovers the truth about the murders and about the history of her hometown, she also undergoes a journey of self-discovery when she is exposed to the dark history of her hometown and even her own family’s past, including her mother (Patricia Clarkson) and her younger half-sister (Eliza Scanlen). Te mystery, character development and fashback sequences in every episode make this series a watch that will have you on the edge of your seat. Te ending — featuring a plot twist that I was thinking about for weeks — convinced me to read Gillian Flynn’s novel of the same name which inspired the series, which I also highly recommend.
Album: “Shelter” by Alice Phoebe Lou (2023)
I discovered this album one song at a time across a span of several months. Once I pieced it together on about six of my monthly playlists, I discovered Alice Phoebe Lou — a South African singer-songwriter with a stunning voice and beautiful, sentimental lyrics. She’s rapidly climbed up in the ranks of my top artists for 2024, and I cannot recommend her album “Shelter” enough. Lou has released fve self-funded studio albums to date with “Shelter” being her newest. Te album delves into themes of introspection and vulnerability in love and is melancholic yet hopeful and sweet. Many of the songs are slow, blending elements of jazz, folk and indie music to show of her elegant vocals.
A neutral approach
Far from being basic, neutral colors carry a vibrance and meaning of their own
BY JULIE HUANG
arts@theaggie.org
Autumn is a picture-perfect study of the best that neutral colors have to ofer, as students don on creamcolored sweaters and black leather jackets while crispy brown leaves foat off their branches. Far from being associated with any one period of time or place, neutrals are known for being everywhere, in everything! From clothing to home decor to web design, neutral colors are always a safe bet.
Due to their ubiquitous nature, colors like white, brown, black and gray are often perceived as the basic choices — default options chosen when one wants to shy away from any strong feelings or messages. Tough there’s some truth to these perceptions, neutral hues can be so much more than a blank slate, with the potential to convey unique feelings and moods (apart from an obvious sense of neutrality).
To begin, black and white hues will never be irrelevant in daily life due to the universal efects of their ability to symbolize a vast range of meanings, especially when discussed as a pair of colors. Although often viewed as opposites, black and white carry similar associations of simplicity, formality, mystery and spirituality — all broad and expansive concepts that cover the color duo’s extreme range.
Black and white on their own each convey the image of visual purity, either the absence or the totality of all colors. Together, these pristine colors have become representative of the concept of duality, discussed alongside long standing binaries of human fascination such as life and death or good and evil.
Gray is known as black’s less-intense counterpart, but its subdued nature does not make it any less useful in daily life. When it comes to everyday objects like personal technology, kitchen appliances and automobiles, the color gray is easier than pure black to keep clean of dust and fngerprints. Tis practicality has also contributed to gray’s aesthetic reputation as a staple color whenever a brand identity or marketing requires a sense of unpretentious professionalism. Similarly to gray’s relationship with black, ofshoots of white such as cream, ivory and tan may also be classifed as neutrals. Tere is a slight variation from the ever-versatile white, making them applicable to every aspect and setting of human life. Tese hues are hallmarks of exterior and interior design, from walls to furniture to rugs and lampshades.
Of-white shades suit both formal and casual types of clothing, imbuing those pieces with a less intimidating version of the elegance and purity that white conveys. Due to the susceptibility of being stained or dirtied, there is a sort of daring in using of-white shades in clothing and personal items like
Fall back in love with four classic romantic comedies
As temperatures cool down, here are four feel-good films to watch to keep you warm this autumn
BY AALIYAH ESPAÑOL-RIVAS arts@theaggie.org
While there are plenty of flms to watch as you cozy up next to a fre, the rom-coms for the season of falling leaves are very few and far between. However, the ones that do take place in the fall capture the season incredibly well. As you trade your sundresses for sweaters, turn to these four flms for some extra autumn comfort.
“When Harry Met Sally…” dir. Rob Reiner (1985) Te all-time classic fall rom-com is “When Harry Met Sally.…” Taking place in beautiful New York City, the flm follows Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) as two strangers who eventually form a complicated friendship on their road trip from Chicago to New York. Despite the undeniable chemistry between the two, fate and fear step in the way every moment they get close. From relationships, late-night calls to blind dates, the movie asks the question: can men and women really just be friends? Tis flm captures scenic orange and red shots of New York City, a jazzy soundtrack and Meg Ryan’s to-die-for autumnal closet, making it just the right thing to watch as the leaves start to turn.
“Notting Hill” dir. Roger Mitchell (1999)
bedding and rugs. Making that choice subtly asserts a sense of sophistication and serenity, making the space all the more comfortable. Last but not least of the neutrals, brown is the warmest in hue and in associated meanings. Linked to earthiness, stability and humility, the color brown covers the span of all that is warm and comforting. Consciously invoking these associations in personal life by choosing brown hues enhances any welcoming feelings already present, supplemented by the color’s connection to the strength and dependability of durable materials like wood and leather. Although not as iconic as black, white and their related shades, brown in its many forms is just as timeless a neutral, owing to the fact that stability, comfort and security will always be sought after and valued. When all is said and done, the versatility and timelessness of neutral colors may end up contributing to the popular perception that they are default choices to fall back on. However, it cannot be denied that neutrals have strong, recognizable identities of their own. Tey can, in fact, function as the frst and best choices when it comes to creating certain moods and atmospheres. Whether standing on their own or seamlessly interacting with other colors, neutrals have the ability to bring their unique feel into any situation, time and place in a way that is anything but basic.
“Notting Hill” was the original Wattpad-fanfction-turned-romance flm. Te flm follows William Tatcher (Hugh Grant), a bookstore owner in London who had recently gone through a divorce. Seemingly uninterested in the prospect of new love, big time movie star Anna Scott (Julia Roberts) enters his store. With late-night walks in London, tabloid scandals, countless references to novels and stunning shots spanning multiple seasons, it’s the breathtaking flm that makes you want to hop on a plane straight to the real life
“Notting Hill” bookstore. Picturesque, whimsical and quaint, this rom-com is undoubtedly understated
and a charming fall flm.
“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” dir. Susan Johnson (2018)
A newer rom-com, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” encapsulates modern teenage love at its fnest. Te flm, which is an adaptation of the book by Jenny Han, follows a hopeless romantic teenage girl named Lara Jean (Lana Condor), who adores being in love but never goes beyond just writing love letters. Unbeknownst to her, the letters somehow make their way to the doorsteps of all of her past crushes, including her sister’s boyfriend. Despite all of this madness, an opportunity presents itself when star lacrosse player Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) ofers to fake-date her to get the attention of of her and to make his ex-girlfriend jealous. But as seasons change, Lara Jean wonders, are her feelings changing for Peter? Stream this flm on Netfix and you might just fnd out.
“French Kiss” dir. Lawrence Kasdan (1995)
“French Kiss” follows Kate (Meg Ryan) who has an intense fear of fying on an airplane, but when her fancé, Charlie (Timothy Hutton), fies to Paris and falls in love with a French girl, Kate immediately hops on a plane to win back the love of her life. Tis plan is suddenly derailed after Kate befriends Luc (Kevin Kline), a criminal who uses Kate to smuggle in his product. Kate’s bag is eventually stolen, losing all of Luc’s precious cargo. As the two are taken on a tumultuous journey through the beautiful scenery of Paris and Cannes, they learn their deepest secrets and vulnerabilities. While the flm is a deeper cut amongst romance flms, it is not one to miss out on.
While most fall flms lean toward the horror genre, there is no doubt these flms will give your heart the warmth it needs this fall season. From fake dating to will they won’t they, grab a blanket, a warm drink, fuzzy socks and get cozy for a movie night in as the seasons change.
Movie poster for When Harry Met Sally..., starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. (Courtesy of MGM / fair use)
CRYSTAL
Q&A with ‘Tomb Sweeping’ author Alexandra Chang kicks off Department of English’s 2024-25 Creative Writing Series
The Davis native discussed the writing process, the meaning behind the novel and her experience as an Asian American writer
BY SAVANNAH ANNO arts@theaggie.org
Published in August 2023, Alexandra Chang’s second book, “Tomb Sweeping,” is an amalgamation of voices: including tales of grocery store workers, 11-year-old girls, college graduates and even gamblers. Praised by publications like Te San Francisco Chronicle, the short story collection has solidifed Chang as a compelling, character-driven writer.
On Oct. 17, the UC Davis Department of English hosted Chang at the frst installment of their annual Creative Writing Series, in which diferent authors are invited to read from their newest books and answer questions from audience members.
Chang began the talk by reading an excerpt from “Flies,” a short story that details an 11-year-old girl’s experience growing up in an immigrant family with fghting parents. Before reading, Chang confrmed that despite not being explicitly stated, “Flies” actually takes place in Davis. Having grown up in the city herself, the story allowed Chang to refect on some of her own experiences in adolescence.
“I have a couple of stories that are told from the perspective of children, which I think has been a perspective I’ve been drawn to because there’s an ironic distance that’s oftentimes built in,” Chang said. “Te reader typically knows a little bit more than the character does, because the character is a child.”
Moderated by Assistant Professor of English Cindy Juyoung Ok, Chang went on to answer questions on various aspects of “Tomb Sweeping,” including the meaning behind its title, what the writing process was like and the book’s overall themes.
“I took the title of ‘Tomb Sweeping’ from one of the stories,” Chang said. “It comes from the Qingming Festival, which is a traditional Chinese celebration where people go and pay respects to their ancestors. Tat story and that sentiment felt like it resonated with the novel’s general themes of loss and how to continue living with it.”
Following the success of “Tomb Sweeping,” the short story collection has gone on to be taught in various Asian American Studies courses for its honest portrayal of generational divides, immigrant families and feelings of loss. Chang explained that while the themes can be received as universal by readers, the stories themselves don’t start out that way.
“When I’m writing, I’m not thinking theoretically,” Chang said. “I’m not thinking, ‘I want to address the collective Asian American experience.’ Instead, I tend to go at it through very specifc characters, who maybe have doubts brewing in their minds [in relation to their identity] and are afected by them on a day-to-day basis.”
Consisting of 15 diferent stories, “Tomb Sweeping,” showed the full extent of Chang’s range. Moving between diferent perspectives, various settings and even ages of characters, Chang also discussed what the process was like to arrange such a wide variety of tales.
“It was the first time I had to arrange a collection, so I was thinking a lot about tone and how one story
moves into the other,” Chang said. “I actually don’t read story collections front to back, but I was arranging it in a way for readers who would. I didn’t want fve frst-person stories in a row or fve third-person stories in a row, and had to think about them all in relation to each other.”
Originally writing them as standalone stories, Chang fleshed out “Tomb Sweeping,” over a multiyear period. Before reaching its fnal form, the collection had to go through multiple rounds of editing.
“I cut four or fve stories,” Chang said. “I think cuts are good, and some stories just weren’t as solid. I actually pushed the fnal draft submission back a year, and so at that point I had to meet the deadline, release it and realize
writing is a process.” Chang also explained how she goes about structuring — or sometimes purposefully not structuring — stories before she begins writing them out.
“I don’t outline,” Chang said. “I very much lean into writing as a discovery process, I like not knowing and seeing where a sentence is going to take me. Do whatever works for you in the moment that you’re writing, and whatever gives you energy.”
Letting her sentences take the lead in uncovering her stories has led Chang to pieces of writing like “Li Fan,” which relays the events of the tale to the reader in reverse. Beginning with the end, the story opens with the death of a woman the neighborhood knows as “the Asian recycling lady.”
Sometimes heartbreaking and always thought-provoking, Chang’s “Tomb Sweeping” speaks to the complexity of relationships in the various contexts of culture, place and generation.
A little over a year since its publication, and three years since the debut of her frst novel, “Days of Distraction,” Chang lastly refected on making peace with fnishing both and looking forward to working on her next book.
Tese books, they don’t have to be perfect representations of who I am as a writer,” Chang said. “Tey’re just one example of who I was at that time in my life, and hopefully I’ll have other books in the future that show the evolution of who I am.”
Oktoberfest returns to Davis
BY ELIZABETH BUNT arts@theaggie.org
Grab your steins and bratwursts because Oktoberfest is coming to town.
On Oct. 26 from 6 to 9 p.m., the Davis Sunrise Rotary Club will be hosting their 18th annual festival downtown at Central Park.
This year’s entertainment will include performances by the Grand Isle Fire Brigade, a German oompah street band, as well as axe-throwing and steinholding competitions. Te event will also host a silent auction with prizes announced at the conclusion of the festival. Auction items have been donated by the Pacifc Auction Company and local Rotary Club members. Proceeds from the auction and ticket sales will go to the Yolo Crisis Nursery, a non-proft organization that
hosts 18th annual biergarten in Central Park
provides free childcare to children up to the age of fve. Tickets are available on the Davis Sunrise Rotary Club website until Oct. 23. General admission is $40 online and $45 at the door; student tickets are discounted to $30 online and $35 at the door. Ticket prices include a provided dinner: bratwursts, potato salad and sauerkraut, as well as a vegetarian version of the same meal. Each ticket purchase also includes a beverage.
Attendees are encouraged to sample and purchase beers on tap, which have been handpicked from eight diferent local breweries. Tere will also be wines, pretzels, desserts and non-alcoholic beverages available at many of the booths throughout the venue. In past years, this event has raised up to $30,000 to give back to the community, making it one of the Davis Sunrise Rotary Club’s biggest and most
successful yearly events.
Aside from Oktoberfest, the Davis Sunrise Rotary Club hosts weekly meetings for sunrise biking, which is how the “Sunrise” chapter earned its name. Every week, over 80 members meet at 7 a.m. at the University Park Inn at 1111 Richard Blvd. Te club prides itself on being a force of improvement in the Davis community. When not handing out beers and sauerkraut at Oktoberfest, you might fnd club members planting fowers in the UC Davis Arboretum, working locally for Meals on Wheels and Yolo County Food Bank or hosting a trivia challenge fundraiser.
Te Sunrise Rotary Club makes a particular effort to give back to youth in the wider Yolo County area by promoting literacy as well as supporting many high school clubs and organizations in the community.
Additionally, they also ofer a Student of the Month award, celebrating students from Davis Senior High School, Da Vinci Charter School, King High School and the Davis School for Independent Study who have been nominated by their teachers for their work ethic and good citizenship.
Te Yolo Crisis Nursery is the chosen
recipient of this year’s Oktoberfest proceeds. Te funds raised will aid victims of child abuse and provide safe and nurturing childcare for families that would not otherwise be able to aford it. Reign in this fall season on a positive note and purchase your tickets for Oktoberfest if you haven’t already!
Author Alexandra Chang answers questions about her book, “Tomb Sweeping,” at the English department’s first Creative Writing Series event. (Sacha Chickering / Aggie)
The annual Oktoberfest is returning to Central Park for its 18th year. (Courtesy)
Groups of students combat mental health struggles on campus
Looking into a mission by the Aggie Mental Health Ambassadors
BY NOAH HARRIS features@theaggie.org
Mental health is a subject that has become increasingly discussed in the public sphere in recent years. UC Davis has many mental health services available to all of its undergraduate students. However, many students do not have knowledge about the mental health resources ofered on campus. One group that aims to improve mental health knowledge on campus is the Aggie Mental Health Ambassadors (AMHA).
While many students might not know about them, the AMHA can be extremely important in being the frst step in getting help with mental health for students. Tey are not the largest on-campus organization — having about 30 paid workers — but they can be found at Shields Library, the farmers market, the Silo, the Memorial Union and other locations.
Shiela Tolentino, the health educator for the AMHA program, described why they table at the specifc locations they do.
“We do try our best to be in areas where there’s high trafc, so that they are visible and accessible, and anyone can approach our ambassadors whenever they have a question,” Tolentino said.
Te job for these ambassadors is essentially to direct students to campus resources to help them if and when those services are needed. Tolentino continued to explain the logistics of the job in more detail.
“For the most part, ambassadors are trained to answer basically general questions,” Tolentino said. “If a student is looking for a certain resource they identify with, they can point out which centers can help. Some of the things they also help out with [are] navigating through healthy messaging, just scheduling an appointment or
fltering through appointments. In terms of any sort of counseling, they don’t provide that, but the resource connection is [defnitely] there.”
One part of their job is to initiate conversations by going up to individuals and groups near their tabling locations, according to Tolentino. Many students hesitate to ask for help when struggling with their mental health, and this outreach and initiation is an efort to combat that.
Kyle Tseng, a fourth-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major, works as an Aggie Ambassador. Tseng mentioned that to aid in combating mental health struggles, AMHA promotes community building within identity groups.
“We follow the public health model, and one of the models is community partnerships,” Tseng said. “By promoting events [like LatinX Heritage Month], we can help students connect to their community.”
AMHA members have three diferent tenets — to educate,
Roblox’s ‘Dress to Impress’ soars in usage and helps friends connect
Student users discuss why they play the game, what makes it special
encourage and build community on campus — that they follow, according to Tolentino. However, Tseng said the ambassador program did not always revolve around mental health.
“Originally, our program was the Aggie Public Health Ambassadors, so they were the ones that were checking the approved status [of students],” Tseng said.
An earlier article from Te California Aggie described the tasks these ambassadors held which included checking student and staf symptoms, ensuring social distancing and mask rules.
Students held these jobs during the 2021-22 academic year. Tis program eventually became a well-being and mental health-focused organization for UC Davis students, according to Tolentino.
It’s not just these ambassadors that are working to improve mental health on campus, however. Sophie Lance, a fourth-year psychology major, is a member of the Mental Health
Initiative Club.
“[We are] a club that focuses on raising awareness around mental health and breaking down mental health stigmas,” Lance said. Lance also referenced Health 34, a mental health asset on campus. Tis resource is operated through the UC Davis Fire Department; Trough it, frst responders will come to assist if a student is experiencing a mental health crisis. Health 34 is a 24/7 service that deals with crisis recovery as well as substance abuse problems. Lance also shared an issue that she would like to see addressed by faculty at UC Davis.
“I think it’s important for professors to understand that students have a lot on their plate, not only just with academics, but socially, mentally [and] physically,” Lance said. “So I think it’s important that within the community there is a basic understanding that sometimes people need mental health days or reset days in order to feel 100%.”
Tere are other options for students experiencing mental health issues. One option for UC Davis students is to sign up for shortterm counseling through Health-eMessaging. Appointments take place in North Hall — students will typically have to pay small fees for most services provided, according to Student Health and Counseling Services. Tere are also insurance waivers and options for students with fnancial need. If longer term counseling is needed, a referral will be given for a professional outside of UC Davis.
Other 24/7 options for students who are in need of urgent help include texting “RELATE” to 741741, which provides immediate and confdential texting service for students in crisis. Another option is by texting 988, the national crisis and suicide hotline. Aggie Mental Health also has an Instagram account with over 4,400 followers that provides students information about mental health resources that are available to them. At UC Davis, one out of three students have reported experiencing psychological distress, according to a recent assessment by the American College Health Association. In addition, 58.1% of students reported experiencing loneliness and 30.6% have reported having thoughts of suicide. To that end, it can serve as an important reminder to yourself and others that you are not alone — and UC Davis has many resources available to help you combat any mental health struggles you might be facing. Mental health can be a scary situation, and asking for help can be very difcult and feel vulnerable for those who are struggling. To try to help UC Davis students grappling with their mental well-being, the Aggie Mental Health Ambassadors work to improve and inform students that they have people in their corner to support them.
Indulge in tea this fall quarter
A cozy mug of tea has countless benefits aside from being a lovely treat by itself
BY NATALIE SALTER arts@theaggie.org
As the last hot days of the year pass and the colder months take hold, it is the perfect time to indulge in all the best parts of autumn and winter. One little way to enjoy chillier days is by drinking a warm beverage, and you can’t go wrong with a mug of tea. But when there are so many diferent favors and types of tea to choose from, where do you start? Each tea has its own benefts for the body, mind and soul. Some may help you relax before bed, while others can give you energy to push through another day of classes. If you’re not sure which to try, this article can help you fnd the right tea for you. Late October is midterms season, which can bring about no small amount of stress for students here at UC Davis. Making a mug of tea isn’t just a nice way to take your mind of of academic matters for a little while but can also
positively afect your mental health. Both chamomile and lavender tea have soothing efects which help to ease nerves and soften your anxieties. Pour in a bit of honey for additional sweetness, and you’ll have a comforting treat that will keep you calm during an otherwise fraught time in the quarter.
Feeling a bit down in the dumps? A lighter and brighter tea such as safron or green tea can generate feelings of happiness and positivity to combat your gloomy thoughts. Not only do the vibrant favors of these teas make for a delightful drinking experience, but they have the added beneft of improving one’s overall mood. It’s hard to be too unhappy with a mug of one of these teas in hand. Even beyond midterm season, it’s just as important to focus on your studies, and green tea has also been said to increase one’s focus and cognition. At the very least, having a delicious drink with you while you work is sure to make the experience more pleasant. Or, if you
VERONICA
THEN / AGGIE
BY GRACIELA TIU features@theaggie.org
“Dress to Impress,” a fashion game that is a part of the online game platform Roblox, has been continuously growing in popularity, especially among younger generations. Ofcially released on Nov. 11, 2023, the game has had over 2.6 billion users.
“Dress to Impress” user Nicole Miquilarena, a second-year psychology major, described the premise of the game.
“It’s a dress-up fashion game on Roblox, a platform that has many games,” Miquilarena said. “You can play with your friends or with other people; basically, you’re a model. It gives you a theme and you have to dress up to that theme with the outfts that are available.”
Te game’s fun features and intricate details make it even more enjoyable to play, users like Amelia Lipcsei, a second-year mechanical and aerospace engineering major, have reported.
“You can pick the color of the hair, nails, the color of all of the clothes, everything — and then you fnish your avatar,” Lipcsei said. “You only get a certain amount of time, and then you go on the runway, where it shows every single person’s avatar and you get to do little ‘emotes’ with your character. Ten everyone votes; at the end, whoever has the most votes gets frst, second or third place — or you don’t place at all.”
Users of the game have described that “Dress to Impress” is a fun bonding activity among friends.
“I feel like it’s more fun because you’re competing against each other,” Lipcsei said. “And also you can work together because they have [a feature] where you can team up and be a duo. I feel like that’s more fun because you get to actually work with them to build the outft. But I also feel like it is fun getting to compete against them and
trying to sabotage each other.”
Others admit that they only choose to participate in the game when playing with friends.
“I would say I only really play when
I’m with my friends,” Liesl Stefenson, a fourth-year animal science major, said.
“It’s really funny, and it’s just like a good bonding experience. It’s always fun to make outfts together and joke around.”
“Dress to Impress,” as UC Davis students have reported, can end up being a fun activity that gives players an opportunity to bring out their fashionable side.
“It’s a fun thing to do on a girl’s night, or when I’m hanging out with my friends,” Stefenson said. “It’s very fun to just be creative and come up with the stupidest stuf you can, or the best outft you can. It defnitely brings fun times and bonding with people and brings my friend group together because we’re all addicted to [playing] it.”
Te game also gives users the chance to expand on their own style and create looks that may not be part of their everyday wardrobe.
“I feel like it probably refects my personal style a little bit, but it allows me to make outfts that I personally would never wear in public but I still think are cute,” Lipcsei said. “I just don’t have the confdence to wear those outfts out, but I feel like it allows me to know that I can build outfts that I like that I just wouldn’t go out and wear.”
Aside from the basics of the game, players also have access to features like a paid VIP option, where players can have access to diferent outfts, looks and more.
“Tere’s a VIP room that you can go in, and there are always way more [options] in there, so people make it work with the theme,” Lipcsei said. “It just gives you access to better things — they have teddy bears, little accessories and more interesting stuf like that.”
have a hard time trying not to doze of during your studies, try black tea for a burst of energy. Imbued with natural cafeine, this beverage may substitute for cofee if you’re not a fan. Have some in the morning before you set of to class, or if you’re starting to get sleepy before an afternoon study session. You can also let your creativity run wild when it comes to making your tea. Try combining diferent favors together to create more robust and memorable flavors. My personal favorite is a combination of licorice and caramel tea with a bit of honey — what results from this blend is a warm and cozy beverage that is especially good at soothing your mind before bed. If honey isn’t your favorite, a lemon slice will add a bright pop of citrus to your drink. Even then, there are countless other types of tea beyond these options that are worth trying. Life is too short to limit yourself to one type of tea, so try them all.
The Student Health & Wellness Center provides wellness, illness and injury services to students. (Jenna Lee / Aggie)
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 10/17/24
Crossword
STUDENTARREST FROM FRONT COVER
When asked if there’s a minimum amount of signatures needed to dismiss the case, Sulur said the following. “We’re hoping for overwhelming pressure,” Sulur said. “Te OSSJA is not a democratic institution, it is a part of the administration that will conduct its own investigation and release its own fndings. We want to show them the overwhelming amount of students and community members who believe these charges should be dropped. Te OSSJA has not told us what it will take to drop these charges to clear [Xiong’s] name [...] Tey’re not being transparent enough, not only to the community but [to Xiong] herself. Tese decisions are made
CHICKPEA FROM FRONT COVER
“All chicken served at the Memorial Union including TXMX Grill, [Te] Chickpea and Fickle Pickle Deli is 100% halal,” the statement reads. “[Tis change] makes delicious, inclusive dining options more accessible on campus.”
Li afrmed their statement and further explained Te CoHo’s intentions behind the switch.
“[The Coffee House] definitely [wants] to be more inclusive and make it so that more people can enjoy [Te] Chickpea with whatever background they’re coming from,” Li said.
Li went on to explain how Te Chickpea was a passion project by one of the kitchen staf members.
“One of the kitchen student managers had a passion for this kind of cuisine and created the entire menu, and it was distinctly diferent enough from the other platforms for it to be feasible [and] for it to be a separate platform,” Li said.
Te Chickpea currently occupies the space where the previous platform, Croutons, once stood. Li said that one of the reasons why Croutons has
DRESSTOIMPRESS FROM PAGE8 8
Part of the game’s allure comes from its viral presence on TikTok and other social media platforms, with many creators posting about their fun experiences with the game. “Dress to Impress” has incorporated this online culture into its updates, with a notable summer update that excited many players. “Tey had a collab with Charlie XCX and they changed the game to be “brat”-themed,” Miquilarena said. Tey put new outft pieces that go with the brand that Charlie XCX is trying to cultivate right now. You could also do diferent poses that Charlie XCX does, there was “brat” music in the background and diferent “brat” colors
behind closed doors.” Sulur commented on the behavior of the OSSJA and University of California as a whole, believing that their ongoing support for the University of California Police Department (UCPD) is afecting the ability of students, especially students of color, to feel safe on campus. Tis is really emblematic of a larger trend of the [University of California] supporting and funding the UCPD on this campus,” Sulur said. “Tis UCDPD ofcer needs to be investigated and held accountable [...] Te UC is prioritizing UCDPD on campus, harming students both in terms of the ofcer fring their gun during the arrest, as well as how this can be used in [Xiong’s] criminal trial.” Xiong was unavailable for an interview due to her ongoing criminal trial.
been transformed into Te Chickpea is because it was less popular.
Sean Aralar, a student worker at Te CoHo, ofered his opinion on why Croutons did not succeed.
“I’m not a salad person,” Aralar said. “But the thing is, Te Coho already [has] pre-made, assembled salads that you could get there, so having Croutons with the pre-made salads [would] be pretty redundant, honestly.”
Aralar acknowledged that The Chickpea’s presence in The CoHo introduces something different for their patrons.
“I think [The] Chickpea [...] introduces a much-needed [...] expansion in food variety for The CoHo,” Aralar said. “So, I’d say we defnitely fulfll a very certain niche.” Students are becoming increasingly interested in The Chickpea’s Mediterranean oferings.
Bethany Qamer, a UC Davis alum, spoke about her experiences eating at Te Chickpea.
“It’s important that I’m getting more of a variety of nutrients in my body, and these bowls help provide that,” Qamer said. “Chickpeas, falafel, rice, greens [...] It’s a good mix of carbs, proteins and important nutrients that makes for good fuel for your body.”
that you could use.”
Although “brat summer” has come to a close, the game recently released its Halloween update on Oct. 19. Te update includes spooky revamps to the lobby, runway and dressing room, as well as new poses, items and cosmetic looks. In addition, the update features a quest following the viral “Lana Lore,” which features an eerie hidden backstory about one of the fgures in the game.
“Lana is the nail lady in ‘Dress to Impress,’ since when you’re playing, you can also do your hair and your nails,” Miquilarena said. “Apparently, there are Easter eggs in the game that hint at Lana’s backstory.” Whether you play alone, with friends or for the sole purpose of investigating Lana’s backstory, “Dress to Impress” might be a fun pastime to help you connect with friends and tap into your inner creative side.
UC Davis School of Law Professor Mary Ziegler discusses how history informs the contemporary abortion debate
With the election coming up, a legal historian provides insight on abortion access in the U.S.
BY LAILA AZHAR features@theaggie.org
When Professor Mary Ziegler speaks, she speaks with precision. Widely referred to as an expert on the law as it relates to abortion and reproductive rights, she details legal facts and history of the top of her head, with her voice never losing its sharp clarity.
Ziegler, who teaches at the UC Davis School of Law, uses her knowledge as a legal historian to elucidate abortionrelated issues. She has consulted with governors and members of Congress, submitted Amicus curiae (friend-of-thecourt) briefs and spoken to a dizzying amount of reporters — more than one a day, on average, and on some days as many as 12.
Her keen insights are likely a predominant reason as to why she’s such a coveted voice. But as she describes it, she’s in the unique position of understanding the decades-long story of how we ended up in the current state of abortion access — a story that isn’t often told.
“Historical questions wind up having a lot of present-day signifcance,” Ziegler said. “Tere are tons of people who do amazing work in this space, but a lot of it wasn’t about the history, particularly. So when people are trying to make sense of what’s happening now and why it’s happening, or where certain things began or came from, I wind up having to help with a lot of that.”
It is precisely this gap in research that frst got her involved in this line of work. As a second-year law student attending Harvard Law School, she took a course in legal history. Many of the books she read for this class were about the question of whether the law can be used to change society, and if so — how.
“History is very helpful for addressing that,” Ziegler said. “You can’t know that in the abstract. You have to look at past examples that have worked or failed.”
She expected to read about Roe v. Wade in this class. Judicial decisions and media discussion constantly referred to the case as a cautionary tale about backlash and the limits of courts. Yet, the case never came up.
Ziegler asked her professor about the case’s exclusion during ofce hours. His answer was simple — there weren’t any books that ft the criteria. Te scholarship on Roe focused primarily on what led to the case, not what came after.
Filled with curiosity, she turned to the library archives, sifting through historical newspapers to fnd the answers she was looking for. Her research turned into discoveries, which turned into writing, which turned into publications.
Today, Ziegler has written several books on abortion: “After Roe: Te Lost History of the Abortion Debate,” published in 2015, details the cultural and political responses to the landmark case; “Dollars for Life: The AntiAbortion Movement and the Fall of the Republican Establishment,” published in 2022, details the intersection of the pro-life movement and changes in campaign spending policy.
Her upcoming book, “Personhood: Te New Civil War Over Reproduction,” set to be published in April 2025, discusses how the end goal for the antiabortion movement was never the fall of Roe; Rather, the goal has always been to have an established fetal personhood amendment.
Fetal personhood laws — which would grant fetuses and embryos the same legal rights as a person — have sprung up in the public consciousness and media discussion in recent years, notably this February when the Alabama Supreme Court held that under state law, embryos are children.
Te book helps make sense of what’s really behind that, and where it’s going next,” Ziegler said. “If you think of the last 50 years as being about the fall of Roe v. Wade, I think the next 50 years, for Conservatives, are going to be about fetal personhood.”
Te future of abortion access is murky. A future Trump administration, Ziegler predicts, could potentially see a rightward shift of an already far-right Supreme Court, or an executive act using the Comstock Act — an 1873 law that criminalizes the mailing of anything related to procuring abortion — to prosecute those who send or receive abortion-related materials.
In a best-case scenario, according to Ziegler, a future Harris administration could push to end the flibuster in order to advance a bill codifying abortion access. However, considering that Democrats are predicted to lose the Senate, this is unlikely to happen in the upcoming term.
More likely, Harris would serve as what Ziegler referred to as a “frewall.”
The Supreme Court can restrict abortion access regardless of who is president. Ultimately, however, it is up to the Food and Drug Administration and Justice Department to enforce these restrictions. A Harris administration, Ziegler noted, likely wouldn’t emphasize enforcing stringent abortion restrictions.
As the election draws near, the issue of abortion is on the minds of UC Davis students.
“When it comes to matters such as abortion, being able to make my vote count includes being as educated as possible,” Cuahtemoc Martinez Marquez, a second-year international relations and psychology double major, said. “All voters should be educating themselves on what matters not just to them but to their own children, mothers and sisters.”
Students view reproductive rights as a factor in their decision, regardless of California’s reputation as an abortion safe haven.
“Our vote has the power to afect the lives of people across the country, including those in states where access to abortion is restricted,” Layla Abedini, a second-year biological sciences major, said. “Even though we live in California, it’s an important issue to be thinking about.”
For Ziegler, this sentiment is a crucial one for discussion, especially when in a recent case, a hospital in California turned away a patient in need of an emergency abortion because fetal cardiac activity was detected.
“[California] is not a place that afords you the ability not to care about this,” Ziegler said. “Tere are people you know who could be prosecuted for things depending on what happens in the election — and also, California isn’t perfect.”
Te future of abortion access is unclear. But Ziegler’s understanding of the historical and legal landscape surrounding abortion and reproductive rights will continue to provide clarity on the issue. Her research serves to remind us that history is more than a record of the past — it’s a lens through which we can navigate the present.
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The 15th annual Art of Painting Conference united artists at John
Natsoulas Gallery
Celebrating four decades of artistic innovation, the event brings together renowned painters for dialogue, reflection and creative exchange in Davis
BY ALMA CULVERWELL city@theaggie.org
Te John Natsoulas Gallery hosted its 15th annual Art of Painting in the 21st Century Conference on Saturday, Oct. 12. This event has become a signifcant part of the gallery’s longstanding role in the Davis community since its founding in 1986. John Natsoulas, after working with Amnesty International in East and North Africa, returned to Davis to merge his passion for humanitarian work and the arts, launching the gallery as a cultural hub for artistic exchange.
Troughout the years, the gallery has hosted numerous events, including exhibitions, festivals and conferences that highlight West Coast art, where
pivotal Davis artists like Roy de Forest, Roland Petersen, Wayne Tiebaud and Robert Arneson played key roles in defning the West Coast art style. Te Art of Painting Conference provides an engaging and interactive environment for artists to explore and share their experiences in a traditionally individual feld.
“Many painters work alone, an isolated process that deprives the artist of thriving debate until the work is shown,” their website states. Tis conference provides a unique opportunity and intimate setting to interact with top artists.”
T is year’s conference provided programming from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and included lectures with artists Ian Harvey, Danielle Muzina and Jerad Silva as well as a panel discussion
moderated by William Maul, featuring artists Patrick Siler, Maija PeeplesBright, Laurelin Gilmore and Nimah Gobir. Te event concluded with an opening reception with live music and refreshments.
The exhibition, co-curated by Natsoulas and John Seed, will be open from Oct. 2 to Nov. 2. Teir exhibition gathers artists at diferent stages of their lives and careers, brought together by their devotion and commitment to painting. The exhibit celebrates diversity in artistic practice, ensuring the display of dynamic, thought-provoking work from all participants. Tis mix of emerging and established artists demonstrates the gallery’s dedication to fostering a broad spectrum of creative talent.
UC Davis Law Professor Mary Ziegler discusses the history of reproductive healthcare in the United States. (Mary Ziegler / Couresty)
Entrance to the John Natsoulas Gallery. The gallery hosts a conference with artists featured in the their annual exhibition. (Jenna Lee / Aggie)
Brain-computer interface enables speakingimpaired patients to talk again
Innovation offers introduces a new method of communication
BY ARYAMAN BHATIA science@theaggie.org
UC Davis researchers have published a study explaining their groundbreaking brain-computer interface that enables Casey Harrell — a man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a nervous system disease that impairs physical functioning — to communicate efectively. Tis marks a signifcant advancement in the feld of neuroprosthetics.
David Brandman, the co-director of the UC Davis Neuroprosthetics Lab, explained the scientifc basis
behind the invention. “A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a device that records brain signals in people who are paralyzed and then translates those brain signals to allow people to communicate,” Brandman said. Te research team utilized a multiple-unit recording machine to capture neural signals from the brain’s motor cortex. Tese signals were then translated into phonemes — the smallest unit of sound. Sergey Stavisky, the co-director of the UC Davis Neuroprosthetics Lab and assistant professor in the Department of Neurological Surgery, explained how the BCI works in people with
impaired speech. “In essence, what we’re doing is we’re bypassing the injury,” Stavisky said. “We are recording from the source — from this part of the brain that’s trying to send these commands to the muscle — and we’re translating those patterns of brain activity into the phonemes.”
As the participant in the clinical trial, Harrell had his thoughts converted into speech using a textto-speech algorithm that utilized past recordings to resemble his actual voice.
Nicholas Scott Card, the lead author of the study, commented on the efects of the technology.
“We were able to predict the words
that he was trying to say correctly about 97.5% of the time, and he could even use [the technology] in his day-to-day life to communicate with friends or families,” Card said. Te BCI works through a complex pipeline. An array of tiny electrodes records brain signals from 256 sites within the motor cortex, and these signals are processed by a recurrent neural network, which outputs a series of phoneme probabilities.
A sophisticated language model is then applied, correcting potential errors and using the structure of the English language to predict the most likely words or sentences. Tis language model flls in potential gaps
where the neural network might have misclassifed a phoneme.
Tis innovation ofers hope not only for ALS patients but for a wide range of people with communication impairments. Te team’s eforts were supported by Harrell whose dedication contributed signifcantly to the success of the project.
“I want to give as much credit as I can to Casey [Harrell] and to his family for deciding to be part of this in the frst place, and beyond that, for putting so much time, efort, blood, sweat and tears into this to help make everything possible,” Card said.
Computer based technology aids people who are diagnosed with ALS to effectively communicate. ( ALS Association/ Courtesy)
The Aggies dominate the Mustangs in the battle for the golden horseshoe
UC Davis football improves to 6-1 in a 46-point victory over Cal Poly, San
BY DIEGO CERNA sports@theaggie.org
On Oct. 12, No. 6-ranked UC Davis football team faced California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO) Mustangs in an afternoon game at the UC Davis Health Stadium. As the Aggies climbed up in the rankings with a fve-game win streak, they looked to improve against a lower-seeded Cal Poly team.
Te game marked the 50th annual battle for the golden horseshoe where UC Davis and Cal Poly SLO competed for the title. Te Aggies have defended their reign of the horseshoe for the past seven years for UC Davis’ homecoming, where alumni were allowed to storm the feld before the game started.
Te Aggies immediately set the tone for the game in the frst quarter. On the Aggies’ frst drive of the game, Miles Hastings, a fourth-year quarterback and communications major, threw Chaz Davis, a fourthyear wide receiver and psychology major, a 73-yard pass and run up the middle for feld position inside the 20-yard line. UC Davis capped the play of with another 14-yard catch from Hastings to score the frst Aggie touchdown.
Te Mustangs responded with an explosive 42-yard pass, which set them up for a feld goal. Tis would be Cal Poly SLO’s last points of the quarter.
Te Aggies went on to score 21 unanswered points with touchdowns coming from a run by Lan Larison, a fourth-year running back and managerial economics major, a pick six interception by Rex Connors, a third-year defensive back and human development major, and 44-yard touchdown catch by Samuel Gbatu, Jr., a third-year wide receiver and undeclared major. Te Aggies ended the frst quarter with a strong lead of 28-3. In the second quarter, Larison
WOMEN’S TENNIS
scored his second touchdown by hurdling over a defender into the endzone which electrifed the already-thrilled crowd. Te Mustangs responded with a quarterback run touchdown — which would be their last points of the game. Right after the Mustangs’ touchdown, Larison responded with another incredible play by running 41 yards to the endzone.
Te Mustangs did drive the ball within the 15-yard line for a chance at a lastminute score but got shut down in the red zone by the Aggie defense, keeping the Aggie lead at 32 points at halftime.
Te Aggies fnished the game with
two more touchdowns from a 25-yard pass by Hastings to Trent Tompkins, a fourth-year wide receiver and communications major, and the frstever collegiate touchdown run-in by Jordan Fisher, a second-year running back and managerial economics major. Te Aggie defense allowed zero points scored in the second half. Te fnal score was 56-10. Hastings fnished with an outstanding pass completion rate of 27 out of his 30 pass attempts, throwing for 458 yards and four touchdowns. His performance ranks as the ffth most passing yards in a single game
in UC Davis football history. Te UC Davis ofense has 671 total yards. Larison had 82 rushing yards and 90 receiving yards. Davis receivers contributed immensely to an amazing ofensive performance. Davis recorded 102 yards, Tompkins recorded 83 yards and Stacy Dobbins, a frst-year wide receiver and undeclared major, recorded 91 yards. Te UC Davis defense has also gotten at least one interception in their seven games this year. In a post-game press conference, Hastings praised Head Coach Tim
Plough and the rest of his teammates for having confdence in him.
“I’ve gotten a lot of like, ‘Why’d you come back?’” Hastings said. “Tis is why I came back.” Following the win against California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, the UC Davis football team looks to continue their six-game win streak and get their frst-ever program win against Eastern Washington University at their next game on Oct. 19.
UC Davis women’s tennis team takes a loss at their regional championships
Despite the loss, the team looks to finish their season on a high note
BY KRISTA HAJJAR sports@theaggie.org
On Oct. 11, the UC Davis women’s tennis team traveled to Berkeley to compete in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division I Northwest Regional Championships.
Te frst round of match-ups left the UC Davis Aggies with some highs and lows as two out of the fve players advanced to the second round. Daisy Maunupau, a fourthyear cognitive science major, went up against the UC Berkeley California Golden Bears’ Mao Mushika in her frst round. Maunupau put up a good fght, winning one game against
her opponent. However, Mushika wouldn’t let up and won six games, taking the frst set. Te second set was an even tougher fght for Maunupau, who lost to Mushika again with a score of 0-6. Similar results came about for Maya Youssef, a third-year undeclared major, who also competed during the invitational. She played against UC Berkeley’s Tiziana-Marie Schomburg, who took the win from Youssef. Schomburg took the frst set, winning six games against Youssef’s one. Youssef didn’t quit in the second set as she went head to head with Schomburg again, but the second set ended with Schomburg winning six games to Youssef’s four.
Te last loss for the Aggies in the
frst round was Isabella Bringas, a frst-year undeclared major, up against Stanford University’s Valerie Glozman. Bringas faced her frst loss against Glozman in the frst set with a score of 0-6. She came back in the second set winning one game but ultimately lost to Glozman.
Not all of the UC Davis team members struck out in the frst round — Mika Ikemori, a second-year psychology major, advanced to the second round after playing against the Eastern Washington University Eagles’ Isabella Foshee. Ikemori and Foshee were neck in neck in the frst set until Ikemor broke the tie and took the frst point. Te win of the frst set was short-lived as Foshee came back and snatched the second set, but Ikemori
came back stronger in the third set and won with a score of 6-2.
Entering the second round, Ikemori went up against UC Berkeley’s Tiziana Marie Schomburg. She played a strong frst set but ultimately lost the frst with a score of 4-6. Te second set didn’t work in her favor either as she lost to Schomburg again with a score of 6-0, knocking her out of the draw.
Te last UC Davis player to play in the singles division and advance past the frst round was Sofa Valentine, a frst-year undeclared major, who went up against the University of Oregon’s Candela Aparisi. Valentine provided a strong performance and took the frst set with a score of 6-0. Aparisi attempted a comeback to win the second set, but Valentine ultimately
won again with a score of 6-0 and advanced to the next round.
Te Aggies focused their attention on Valentine, their fnal player to play her second round. She went up against UC Berkeley’s Lan Mi and ultimately lost both sets with a score of 6-1 and 6-2, cutting her of from the draw as well.
While the Northwest Regional Championships didn’t go as planned, the UC Davis women’s tennis team is set to play again at the San José State University Hidden Duals, starting on Oct. 25. Despite their loss at this invitational, the UC Davis Aggies will aim to turn things around and come back with a victory.
Luis Obispo
The UC Davis women’s tennis team loses in regional championships in Berkeley. (Aggie File)
The UC Davis football team wins victory against Cal Poly, winning the golden horseshoe trophy. (Aggie File)