July 6, 2023

Here’s how to make the most of your college experience

Graduating seniors share their biggest college regrets

BY CORALIE LOON arts@theaggie.org

No one wants to have regrets. At the same time, as a newly admitted freshman, the idea that you still have your entire college experience to do the things you want to do can sometimes overpower your will to do those things. And, next thing you know, you’re being handed a diploma and saying goodbye

to the world you feel like you just entered.

So what does it really mean to make the most of your college experience?

And do most students do everything they want to, or do they walk away wishing things were different?

According to one survey of recent

college graduates, most students surveyed reported having no regrets, and those with regrets most commonly mentioned student loans, areas of study or the ability to network. Another source cited common college regrets as not getting enough work experience, not making or maintaining enough friendships and not traveling or studying abroad.

Many of these examples point to regrets that aren’t tied to academic success. Few graduating seniors seem to think they didn’t study enough, but many feel they didn’t try hard enough in other areas.

Kai Uchio, a fourth-year environmental science and management major, shared his college regrets.

“I wish that I had applied for more internship and job opportunities and communicated with TAs and professors more,” Uchio said.

Work experience, in fact, is the regret Career Addict puts in the #1 slot. With school and student jobs taking up so much time, it’s no wonder careerrelated work experience is difficult to prioritize. Talking with more people and expanding social horizons, however, is something that may require less time to achieve.

Weight measurements no longer required to receive care at Student Health and Counseling Services

New “Decline to Weigh” policy and other recent body inclusivity initiatives seek to increase patient comfort during appointments and reduce weight stigma on campus

BY JADE BELL campus@theaggie.org

A patient satisfaction survey conducted by Student Health and Counseling Services (SHCS) during the summer of 2020 revealed that one of the main deterrents of students seeking out medical care at the SHCS facility was the required weight measurement at appointments. As a result, SHCS created and implemented of a new policy that allows students to decline being weighed if it is not necessary to their appointment purpose.

Shantille Connolly, a health promotion specialist at SHCS, explained the details and results of this survey. “We are tracking the number of people who have opted out of being weighed,” Connolly said. “So far, in this school year, 318 students declined to be weighed when they came in for an appointment. In fall quarter, we were using a card system [...], but now we changed it to where the MA just asks, ‘Would you like to be weighed

JOANNE SUN / AGGIE

today?’ And then the patient can say yes or no.”

Connolly said that in February, before the change was implemented, only around 15 students took advantage of the card to decline to be weighed. By comparison, when the new practice was implemented in March, 137 students declined to be weighed.

“It really shows that when you change the practices of an organization, it increases access and gives the patients more autonomy,” Connolly said.

Medically speaking, according to Connolly, it’s not always necessary to weigh a student if that’s not the main point of their appointment. However, she noted that in instances where an exact weight is necessary, it will now be recorded in a way that allows the patients to remain unaware of the number on the scale.

“Some medications are weightbased in order for them to effectively work, so we do have the option for a blind weight,” Connolly said. “[This] is where they turn their back toward the scale, so they don’t have to see the number. [The MA] would tell the patient that the medication they are in for is weight-based, so they need an accurate weight to prescribe the correct dosage.”

In addition to the measures being implemented by SHCS, Connolly said that similar steps are being taken across campus to “build and maintain a body-inclusive environment.” She attributed some of this to a response to student feedback collected via the free response survey that SHCS ran.

variety of sizes available,” Connolly said. “Keep in mind that this was in 2020, so things have changed — they have changed their clothing vendors specifically to go with clothing vendors who have a wide variety of sizes. The bookstore is trying to be more intentional about that [...] as a result of the survey.” SHCS also received feedback from students in regards to how they felt in classroom spaces, in particular, how lecture hall seating affected their mental health and academic performance.

“We just did a pilot [program] in Olson Hall,” Connolly said via email. “We wanted to know how classroom seating that was not size-inclusive was negatively impacting students’ mental health. And we found that students were really anxious and stressed about coming to class because they couldn’t find seats that fit their body [and] couldn’t focus because they were in seats that were digging into their sides or they couldn’t position their laptop or iPad to take notes appropriately. So it impacted their academic performance and just overall sense of belonging.”

Connolly addressed these issues by sharing what campus policy updates are being made to better accommodate all bodies in classroom seating.

“We did update the campus policy — all new furniture that is purchased should be at least 400 pounds in weight capacity, 22 inches wide and armless whenever possible,” Connolly said. “That policy was enacted before the Teaching and Learning Complex was complete, so all the furniture in there complies with that policy.”

“I would tell myself that professors aren’t so scary and you should get used to going out of your comfort zone to talk to people,” Uchio said when asked what advice he would give to his freshman self.

Bella Masterson, a fourth-year psychology and human development double major, shared her regrets as well.

“I think what I regret is not making more connections and putting effort into meeting new people and trying new things,” Masterson said.

While Masterson was busy studying and gaining work and internship experience, she said she wished she had participated more socially and joined on-campus clubs.

“I think I tend to stick to what I know, but college is a great time to try new things because there are so many opportunities to do that,” Masterson said.

Recent college graduate Cate Sievers also wished she had gotten out of her comfort zone more.

“I definitely regret allowing fear and anxiety to hold me back for so long,” Sievers said. “Once I learned how to overcome those obstacles it felt like a whole new part of the world was available to me. I got to meet so many

wonderful people and do things I never thought I’d be capable of doing.”

Sievers, who graduated last quarter with majors in sociology and communication, believes that college is all about embracing discomfort, something that took her a while to fully embrace.

“College is a time for major selfgrowth, and to really allow that to happen you need to really allow yourself to explore the unknown,” Sievers said.

When asked what advice they would give themselves as college freshmen, those interviewed unanimously agreed that not letting self-doubt get in the way of new experiences was the best way to conquer fears and limit regrets.

“Choose confidence and understand the power you have,” Masterson said. “It is easy to second guess yourself and what you are capable of, but that is only selling yourself short.”

Getting out of your comfort zone could be something as big as signing up for a student-led backpacking trip or as small as giving a friendly compliment to a fellow classmate.

Whatever it is, just don’t wait until you graduate to do it.

New carbon farming techniques can help mitigate climate change

City-owned farm Howat Ranch sets precedent in Yolo County area for offsetting carbon emissions

BY ZOE SMITH city@theaggie.org

In collaboration with Yolo County Resource Conservation District, the city of Davis’s Community Development and Sustainability department is working to implement carbon farming techniques that will enhance the local habitat while also drawing as much carbon from the air. Chris Gardner, the city’s open space lands manager, and Tracie Reynolds, the manager of the leases and the open space program, are heading the project for the city. This is all happening on one specific farm: Howat Ranch, a 760acre city-owned agricultural property that is the first of its kind in Davis. In 2019, the city of Davis began to use carbon farming techniques on Howat Ranch after they were approached by the Carbon Cycle Institute, a group that uses and promotes farming practices that create increased carbon capture in hopes of combating climate change.

Pelayo Alvarez worked for the Carbon Cycle Institute for over seven years and said that his team initially brought the idea of carbon farming to the city of Davis. The Carbon Cycle Institute partners with resource conservation districts, such as the Yolo County RCD, as well as landowners, farmers and forest owners to implement conservation practices using certain funding programs.

“Most of the funding is from federal programs, like Natural Resources Conservation Service, EQIP Program or Conservation Stewardship Program,” Alvarez said. “We help the landowners find the funding and then help them with technical assistance. We’re trying to promote carbon farming across the state.”

On Howat Ranch, the city is using a two-prong approach to mitigate climate change by reducing tillage

and planting hedgerows in farming practices.

One of these habitat-enhancing techniques is called “hedgerows,” which are strips of densely planted trees or shrubs that provide wind breaks on the farm. This creates better conditions for healthy soil and provides biodiversity on the farm.

Reynolds and Gardner’s team has already planted 200 trees and shrubs on Howat Ranch and plan to plant more. The city is also working on a plan to turn 200 acres of Howat’s farmland into a wetland.

To increase carbon capture, the farmers who rent Howat Ranch also uses crop rotation, which means over the span of four or five years, he plants different crops to keep the soul healthy. The crops in the rotation are alfalfa, winter wheat and either sunflowers or safflower. He has also converted all his farm equipment to Tier 4 engines, which are the cleanest in terms of emissions, and practices reduced tilling.

This means that “He tries to pass over the land once and he only goes down about six inches,” according to Reynolds.

All of these practices help to keep the carbon that’s already in the ground there while improving soil composition and health. Together, these actions limit the amount of carbon emitted from producing crops.

“The city just recently approved the climate action and adaptation plan called the CAP update,” Reynolds said. “One of the many action items is to do carbon farm plans for the other city agricultural properties. So we’ll be looking into doing a couple more in the next year or so, but right now, this is the only one that we have.”

Howat Ranch (pictured), a 760-acre city-owned farm, is being used to test new methods for offsetting carbon emissions. Chris Gardner (Courtesy)

NATALIE CHENG / AGGIE

Dogs of Davis

Meet the canine companions of students across campus

BY MIA BALTIERRA features@theaggie.org

Q: Tell me about your dog.

A: He has a closet. He has an Instagram and everything, @ louie_the_pawteenth.

Q: When did you get your dog?

A: Last year. He was a stray. I’m from SoCal, so he actually went to our house and stayed at our door so my brother decided to keep him. At the time, I had wanted to have an emotional support animal [...] so I drove him up here, and now he’s mine.

Q: What’s it like having a dog at college?

A: It’s been interesting. He comes to class with me sometimes. He’s the calmest dog ever, he doesn’t bark at anything. He’s very

Q: Tell me about your dog.

A: [It’s a] long story, but Scout isn’t my personal dog. He’s owned by my pastor, actually. My pastor runs a little chapel off campus [called The Belfry]. It’s a student chapel. I volunteer there, and I take him on therapy walks, so he can be pet and play with other students.

Q: What’s it like having a dog at college?

A: I take him out with the chapel and with my own personnel volunteering as well, to be out there, be friendly and help students feel safe and comfortable here on campus. I walk him around and the students can come say hello and play with him, and he can make them feel safe and happy. It’s just letting students know they are not alone, and I just happened to find a dog

Q: Tell me about your dog.

A: It’s my boyfriend’s dog, she’s a field golden [retriever].

Q: When did you get your dog?

A: My boyfriend moved here a year ago, and he had her before, so he didn’t get her anywhere local.

Q: What’s it like having a dog at college?

loving, and he’s helped me deal with stress. He loves people, so it’s great to have him on campus.

Q: What can you tell me about his personality?

A: He’s loving. He’s also very sassy. He loves water a little too much; he’s obsessed with water. He’s very well-mannered.

Q: Can you share any interesting or funny stories about him being on campus or in general?

A: I used to live at the dairy facility as a resident, and he tried to play with the cows because he thought they were big dogs. They would come up to him and stuff. I wouldn’t let him [get too close], but they would both pay attention to each other.

that could help with that.

Q: What can you tell me about his personality?

A: Scout is definitely a people[’s] dog. He’s definitely quiet and mellow. He’s in his retirement because he’s an older dog. [Australian cattle dogs] are often very high energy because they are bred to chase cattle. He isn’t super keen on other animals, but he loves people of all ages.

Q: Can you share any interesting or funny stories about him being on campus or in general?

A: We were just doing a therapy session with ASUCD. He has also done sessions at the Hillel House, [which is] the Jewish community center on campus. I need to take a full tally, but he has played with over a thousand students on campus.

goes on bike rides and she’ll run alongside him.

Q: What can you tell me about her personality?

A: She’s very energetic, she’s very loving, she’s very well-behaved. My boyfriend took a long time to train her, so she listens. She loves people.

neurobiology, physiology and behavior major.

A: I live walking distance from campus, so we walk here a lot. I think it’s nice because it’s an excuse to get out of the apartment. We have to take her out two to three times a day to go on walks. Campus is very dog friendly and I always see other people with dogs. My boyfriend

Q: Can you share any interesting or funny stories about her being on campus or in general?

A: She loves the Arboretum. When we walk her there, she loves chasing the ducks, but she doesn’t try to catch them. She just wants to chase them enough that they run away from her. It’s like a little game she plays.

Q: Tell me about your dog.

A: She’s a puppy; she just turned four months old last week.

Q: When did you get your dog?

A: About a month ago, we got her about half an hour away in Vacaville — me and my partner. We got her the day after Picnic Day. After the [Doxie] Derby, we were like, ‘We want a puppy,’ so we were looking around, and we got Luna.

Q: What’s it like having a dog at college?

A: In terms of productivity, it’s a bit better, just because I have to wake up so early every day. Normally, I’m used to waking up a little bit later — aside from when I have to go to work — but with her, I’m basically up at seven every day because she wakes me up. I take her on campus once a week typically.

When I have more time, I’ll bring her in during the middle of the day to get her used to people.

Q: What can you tell me about her personality?

A: She’s a little scared of dogs, but she’s great with people. She’s very playful; she likes playing with literally anything. Especially after she eats, she gets a burst of energy.

Q: Can you share any interesting or funny stories about her being on campus or in general?

A: [On] Saturday, I helped volunteer at a model UN conference they do here for high schoolers, and we had her in one of the skits. She was one of those villains in the Justice League skit that they were performing. Whenever I can, I bring her with me, and she just socializes with other people.

Q: When did you get your dog?

A: I adopted him when he was about two years old. My sister had two other dogs with her boyfriend, so she had too many dogs on hand and she was working a busy job in a tiny little apartment, so I would dogsit for them all the time, and I saw him and realized, ‘Okay, maybe if I take one of your dogs off your hands, you can be a little more relaxed at home,’ and I decided to adopt him. She was totally okay with that, so that’s how I got him, but he’s originally from Kingman, Arizona. I adopted him in Louisiana, and now he’s in California.

Q: What’s it like having a dog at college?

A: I think it’s helped with my anxiety with college classes and just deadlines. […] When I go home and pet him, it’s an easy way to get your mind off of things. It forces me to exercise. It’s really easy to stay home and work on your computer the entire time, but it was a way for me to take a step back and not be so anxious all the time. It’s helped my mental health a lot.

Q: What can you tell me about his personality?

A: He’s definitely a people’s dog. He likes to meet other students. He’s very shy but friendly. With other animals, he’ll be talkative, but with people, he’ll just give you body language, so I think it’s just a shy demeanor. He’s not a cuddle bug, but he’s lovable. His favorite things are balls; he just likes to roll on them.

Q: Can you share any interesting or funny stories about him being on campus or in general?

A: He’s very familiar with the squirrels that live by our house. One time, when he had the chance to go outside, the squirrel was caught off guard, and Yogi just kind of snuck up behind him. The squirrel didn’t have the chance to run up the tree, so Yogi had grabbed him by the tail by then. I was screaming, ‘No, don’t hurt him!’ but he didn’t know what to do. He just had him by the tail and the squirrel was trying to leave, but he let go when I said, ‘Yogi, let him go!’ He still wanted to play with him. He wasn’t aggressive; he has no killer instinct.

Arboretum project prepares campus landscape for climate change

The Texas Tree Trials, a research project created by the Urban Tree Stewardship, seeks to create a campus environment that is better suited to Davis’s changing climate

BY LILY FREEMAN campus@theaggie.org

With hotter summers and wetter winters on the horizon, the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is working toward adapting all trees on campus to Davis’s weather conditions.

The Texas Tree Trials, a research project created by the Urban Tree Stewardship internship program, is an effort to improve the resilience of the UC Davis tree canopy, according to its website.

Nurjannah Wiryadimejo, a fourth-year environmental science and management major and co-coordinator of the internship, provided more detail about the project.

“Our trees on campus are not currently prepared for the climate that is oncoming, as many can see — with the recent storm event, a lot of the trees fell down on campus,” Wiryadimejo said. “Keeping that in mind, we came up with this idea of going to Texas and getting seeds of certain trees that match the changing climate in Davis. Our team brought those trees back here, germinated them in our nursery and planted these trees all around campus, which has become our living lab.”

According to Wiryadimejo, Texas was the best place to collect seeds because the state shares a similarly expected future climate of Davis and is home to a wide range of trees that are well equipped to handle droughts, storms and certain soil types.

Sam Vitt, a fourth-year environmental science and management major and the other co-coordinator of the internship, outlined the timeline of the project. The collection of tree samples took place in 2019 and since then, the group has been planting trees across campus and monitoring them each spring.

“We [want to] see what we can take

away from these trees, asking whether or not they can survive on our campus in our future urban tree canopy,” Vitt said.

There are several plots located around campus, but the main research grove is near the Mondavi Center.

Wiryadimejo explained the difference between the trees that have previously grown across campus and the ones that have been planted as part of the project.

“Redwoods are very prevalent on our campus,” Wiryadimejo said. “If you look at our redwoods, they do not appear very healthy. If we’re being realistic, redwoods need so much water and they thrive on fog and constant irrigation, and that doesn’t work with our climate. With that, we’re leaning towards cypress [trees] that give off the feel of redwoods but are more drought tolerant and can handle acidic soils.”

Vitt described the process of planting these cypress trees, noting that they recently planted a group of Arizona cypress trees between the stumps of redwoods that were recently cut down near Meyer Hall.

“Now, there are all of these little baby trees that will hopefully one day cover up the ugly parking lot where the redwoods once stood,” Vitt said.

To allow the community to learn more about the trees, according to Vitt, the internship program created a database that describes each tree, its potential on campus, why it is important for urban forestry and why it was chosen for the Texas Tree Trials.

The Texas Tree Trials project is funded by both the Arboretum and Public Garden and The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF), according to Wiryadimejo. She said that a vast amount of the funding that has allowed

them to transform the campus tree landscape has come from TGIF, which will appear on the ballot in the 2023 spring ASUCD elections in the form of a fee referendum that would provide continued funding for the project.

The Urban Tree Stewardship, through the Texas Tree Trials, has planted over 250 trees this school year with the help of the internship team and several volunteer tree-planting events.

Mara Feldman, a second-year environmental science major, described her experience as a volunteer for Urban Tree Stewardship. “It was a super rewarding experience since the trees we were planting were picked for their drought-resistant qualities,” Feldman said. “This is super

important in the changing climate we’re experiencing. As an environmental science major, I know how critical it’s going to be in the coming years to adapt to climate change and do our best to help out where we can.”

The project is ongoing, according to Wiryadimejo, and the Urban Tree Stewardship program plans to continue to monitor the growth of these trees until their full maturation, which could take anywhere from 20 to 50 years.

“Our internship applications open up over the summer for the next school year and we will announce [them] on the Arboretum website and Instagram page,” Wiryadimejo said. “We also have a ton of community tree-planting events coming where you can volunteer

to plant trees, typically during fall and winter quarter.”

Vitt concluded by saying that her experience with the project so far has been “so rewarding,” both personally and through seeing volunteers and interns enjoy themselves and their work.

“I just really enjoy that we get to see these trees that we planted and the impact that they are making [...] both on students and for our changing campus climate,” Vitt said.

Wiryadimejo also described the joy she has in watching others get excited about the project.

“It is so cool to be able to teach people something new,” Wiryadimejo said. “I love seeing the glitter in people’s eyes when they plant their first tree.”

Three-year-old field golden retriever, Riley. Paige Karpinen, a fourth-year

Second-year animal science major Ashley Cabrera and Louie, her five-year-old shih tzu.

Elizabeth Hernandez, a thirdyear design major, and her fourmonth-old German shepherd, Luna.

Scout, a 10-year-old Australian cattle dog (red heeler). Parker Flickinger, a graduate student in community and regional development.

Yogi, a six-year-old American cocker spaniel. Natalie Jean, a recent master’s graduate in earth and planetary sciences.

Student-run software development group AggieWorks launches roommate-search app

BY SONORA SLATER campus@theaggie.org

“I like to go out, but I’m also always down for a chill movie night in. I love the outdoors, and I would love to make some memories with my friends this year by going for hikes, watching the sunset and swimming underneath waterfalls. I’m looking for someone who matches my extroverted personality, listens to Taylor Swift and believes in basic personal hygiene.”

We’ve all read Facebook posts on forums where freshmen search for a roommate that sound more or less like this — or maybe we’ve posted one ourselves. It can be a hard task to find someone to share a living space with when, often, first-year students have to choose a roommate before ever meeting anyone on campus, other than maybe a tour guide. Michelle Tran, a fourth-year economics and cognitive science double major and the product manager of UC Davis software development student group AggieWorks, said that she and others in the organization saw this problem, and wanted to create a solution.

“We all are college students, and we all have personal experience with how difficult it can be to find a roommate,” Tran said. “It’s time-consuming, it’s awkward to reach out and [...] even after you find a roommate, there can be compatibility issues. So we wanted to combat that to help students save time, save energy and save effort in a way that leads to successful roommate searches.”

Tran noted that in the past, incoming students have used a variety of platforms to connect — in addition to Facebook, there’s also Discord, the UC Davis Student Housing Portal and college roommate search app Roomsurf. These all have various benefits and downsides, according to Tran, including the quality of oneon-one chat functions, ability to verify potential roommates’ identities, gathering information about

peoples’ personalities and so on. The AggieWorks team took these varying factors into consideration as they began to plan their own roommatesearch solution.

“We wanted to incorporate all the best aspects of Facebook, Discord, UC Davis Housing and so on and put it all in one app so that students can have the best experience possible,” Tran said.

So, after months of brainstorming, planning and designing, they launched RoomU. The app’s unofficial tagline, according to Tran, is that it’s “like

Tinder for roommates.”

“Similar to Tinder, we have a matching system where [...] you can swipe through to look at other users, and you match if you both say yes to each other,” Tran said. “There’s [also] personality quizzes to hopefully lead to more compatible matches.”

Users can fill out their profile with personal information like their name, major, year pronouns, hometown, Instagram handle, interests and more. There are also options to answer logistical questions like whether they have an apartment secured or not,

How the strawberry breeding program at UC Davis is cultivating ‘the

next best strawberry’

UC Davis’s selectively bred, high-quality strawberry varieties are used in approximately 60% of the world’s strawberry production

BY LYNN CHEN features@theaggie.org

A customer visiting the supermarket most likely has no second thoughts while picking up their usual carton of strawberries. They may glance here and there for any under ripe ones, but then they move on to the next item on their list. However, getting those strawberries into a shopping cart is a surprisingly long, complex and scientific process, designed to perfectly cater to consumer taste buds. Everything begins with the development of a quality strawberry variety, an area of expertise at the Strawberry Breeding Program at UC Davis.

Researchers at the Strawberry Breeding Program have been breeding commercially useful varieties of strawberries since 1952. The program is currently housed in the Department of Plant Sciences in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and includes a teaching component for UC Davis students to learn hands-on. Varieties developed here at UC Davis constitute about 60% of the strawberries consumed worldwide.

In order to develop high-quality strawberries for growers, researchers at the program enhance different key traits of the berries, such as disease resistance, aroma, flavor and post-harvest traits like firmness, which are important for packaging and shipping.

“Disease resistance is a big one,” Dominique Pincot, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher with the program said. “There are so many different diseases that are of concern for growers.”

In recent years, a disease on growers’ radar was the Fusarium wilt, a soil-borne disease that, as the name implies, causes wilt in strawberry plants, according to Glenn Cole, a staff research associate.

“Fusarium was a disease that [took] off the last 10 years and even more rapidly in the last few years,” Cole said. “The disease started to pick up because

a lot of acres are grown with susceptible varieties.”

According to Mitchell Feldmann, Ph.D., an assistant professor of strawberry genetics at UC Davis and direct-elect of the breeding program, the spread of the Fusarium pathogen was originally combated by the fumigant methyl bromide. However, in 2005, the product was banned by California legislation.

“Methyl bromide was a huge tool that protected strawberries against a ton of pathogens,” Feldmann said.

“Unfortunately, it’s also a really bad greenhouse gas and carcinogen.”

A year after the ban on methyl bromide, Fusarium spread from the soil, causing increasing cases of wilt in strawberries. It even led to concerns that a Fusarium epidemic could destroy the strawberry crop in California. Fortunately though, in mid-April this year, UC Davis announced the release of five new strawberry varieties, or cultivars: UC Eclipse, UC Golden Gate, UC Keystone, UC Monarch and UC Surfline — the first to be resistant to the deadly fungal disease.

“It was critical for us to release this current set of varieties to address the [Fusarium],” Cole said. “There have been other products on the market with Fusarium resistance, but they’re older genetics, so they don’t yield as well. Growers have started to move away from those varieties, and so we need to have a new set of higher-yielding varieties that are more relevant for today’s market.”

Other than having high yield rates

whether they want a single, double or triple room, what their budget for housing is, if they’re going to be living in a freshman Living-Learning or Shared-Interest Community and so on. There’s also a personality quiz where users can say how clean they are, how often they plan to be home, how close they want to be with their roommate, if they snore, if they smoke, if they drink, what their study/ party preferences are and so on. Matches can message each other in-app, and the log-in process is built to verify that users are UC Davis

students.

According to Sadeed Adnan, a fourth-year computer science and economics double major and the director of product at AggieWorks, RoomU isn’t actually the only technology project that AggieWorks has designed this year. They have designed three different platforms, all geared toward addressing students’ needs.

“The first is [RoomU…],” Adnan said. “The second is Club Finder, which is a personalized platform where students can discover, organize and manage club information. The third app is a marketplace app which allows students to buy and sell products.”

Kent Williams, a fourth-year computer science and engineering major and the director of engineering for AggieWorks, said that he wanted to highlight the “by students for students” mentality of the group.

“Not only was this built with the UC Davis campus in mind, but all of this was built by UC Davis students; all of our engineers and designers and the leadership in AggieWorks are all Davis students,” Williams said. “We’re trying to do something to serve our Davis community.”

Tran expressed that she is looking forward to seeing RoomU being used by students in the coming month and said that she hopes this is just the start of a bigger change to the way roommate matching is done.

“We really think that this is the future of how roommate searching should be,” Tran said. “We don’t think it should be that difficult, or take 20+ messages to future roommates. We’re really excited to see this come alive on campus.”

RoomU is currently available on the Google Play Store for Android users and the App Store for iPhone users.

Davis’ beloved Turtle House Co-op through the eyes of its newest hatchlings

Finding community within Davis housing co-ops

and resistance to Fusarium wilt, the new varieties also have improved flavor and characteristics that enable year-round growing in California. According to Feldmann, the new varieties are tailored to grow in various regions that belong to three different market segments distinguished by temperature and daylight hours, including fall-planted, short-day varieties; fall-planted, dayneutral varieties; and summer-planted, day-neutral varieties.

Developing these strawberry cultivars was no easy task. To find plants that had the Fusarium wilt, the team at the Strawberry Breeding Program had to obtain and analyze the DNA of thousands of plants in a fiveacre strawberry selection nursery. In September, new breeding crosses are planted in the field, and these seedlings grow throughout the winter until they begin to flower and fruit in spring. It is during this time that Cole collects data on the new experimental varieties.

“When fruiting begins, I walk the fields and make phenotypic or visual observations for different trait qualities for the strawberry varieties that we’re trying to develop,” Cole said.

This process has been made faster through genetic tools such as markers.

“Instead of picking fruit from 10,000 plants, we can pick fruit from 2,000 plants because we know which ones have the traits we want,” Cole said.

Breeding strawberries does not end with the development of immunity to one disease, though.

BY YASMEEN O’BRIEN features@theaggie.org

On a morning stroll past 217 2nd St. in Davis, CA, your eyes wander before you can catch them. The bold shamelessly crane their necks while the timid sneak glimpses through calculated side-eye. As the white picket fence enclosing the front yard unexpectedly conjures an image of the 1950’s American Dream, your gaze curiously travels onward, enticed by the colors and beauty of the big blue house.

Along the edges of unkempt grass, the yard is lined with bicycles, flower beds, trash cans, art pieces, tables and chairs. Soft ukulele strumming drifts past the fence and echoes through the trees. A metal turtle hangs from the roof like the mermaid of a ship’s bow while an armless statue presides over the front gate, wearing an elf hat and a T-shirt showing a lion with dreadlocks.

Among these happenings, a small barefooted group diverse in age, ethnicity and gender stare back at you smiling and waving from their spot on the porch steps, soaking in the early sun.

This group belong to the Turtle House Co-op: currently home to 18 residents, 15 of which are UC Davis students. Housing co-ops — or democratically controlled corporations that are established to provide affordable housing for its members — are popular in Davis, with Turtle House and the Davis Tri Co-ops being notable examples.

Turtle House frequently hosts events open to the public such as live music shows, clothing swaps and open mic nights. Although a tight-knit community, they strive to welcome all with opening arms.

“We share a lot of things. I get a lot of free clothes and free opportunities,” one resident, also known as a Turtle, said. “This is so much fun, this is exactly

where I want to be.”

One evening, the aptly named Sierra Goodfriend wrapped me in a hug and enthusiastically welcomed me into the bedroom she shares with Katie Hostetler. Their door opens to the front porch where items littered across a large metal table invite images of late-night conversations, jam sessions and even play readings. An impossibly thick and slightly water-damaged copy of “William Shakespeare: The Complete Works” opened and book-marked to “Henry V” is responsible for the last image.

Goodfriend shared that while she feels close to her fellow Turtles, 14 of the 18 residents are newcomers so they are still in the process of getting to know each other deeply. Both Goodfriend and Hostetler have lived at the house for five months and praise the community of warm, artistic and open-minded people they have come to know as their family.

Draped in warmly glowing string lights, Turtle House at night resembles a person dressed up for a special occasion. Art and flowers adorn its exterior walls and yard. Hammocks sway like locks of hair over plants bursting with life.

One thing’s for sure: this house has a mysterious past, or at least a widely unknown one. And the large number of newcomers can’t help with this lack of knowledge. They’ve all heard whispers of origin stories, but no one is certain — although I heard a resident named Joe knows all.

“Apparently it used to be a boarding school for boys like a hundred years ago,” Hostetler said. “Maybe that’s wrong, I don’t know.” Goodfriend giggled, “Could be.”

The app, RoomU, is “like Tinder for roommates,” meant to help Aggies find their perfect roommate match

The RoomU application logo. (Courtesy / RoomU)

Turtle House is a housing co-op and well-known location for live music events in Davis. (Courtesy / Quinn Spooner)

HUMOR

Davis is the perfect summer vacation spot if you’re an imp from the underworld

Good morning design majors! I hope all your dreams come true <3

CHRISTINA LIU / AGGIE

“Summer vacation destination” isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Davis, CA. Most people get out of the Central Valley during the hotter months, visiting family, taking a trip to the Bay Area or perhaps even traveling below the equator. But for immortal beings damned for their sin, Davis is the perfect location for a summer getaway.

“It’s a really nice way to transition from the flames of the depths, as it’s not too much cooler,” Barbas, a minion of the underworld, said. “If we were to vacation in San Francisco, for example, I think we would just shrivel up.”

As many of us well know, Davis is something of a hellscape during the summer. From around 5 a.m.-10 p.m., it feels like you’re turning into a puddle, which makes the small college town a perfect place for the gathering of the servants of the Father of Lies.

for the residents of Davis.

BY ANNABEL MARSHALL almarshall@ucdavis.edu

Like winter quarter, this list goes from okay to terrible to worse.

Atmospheric Science : I love weatherpeople. 10/10

Physics (B.A.): Absolutely blows my mind that you can get a bachelor of arts in physics. Rails my brain. Slurps my gyri.

Animal Science: Cute.

Plant Science: Cuter.

Entomology: No longer cute.

International Relations: Half the nicest people I’ve ever met and half people I wouldn’t trust to negotiate my lunch order.

American Studies: Hilarious. What does this mean?

Global Disease Biology: To the classes of 2025 onward: I’m so glad I didn’t have to read your college essay about COVID.

Art History: Exactly what I would study if I were a nepotism baby.

Environmental Engineering: Honest to Jebus, cannot remember if this one actually exists. Seems like something we would have.

Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology: Amazed by the implication that fish are not wildlife.

Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior: How does it feel to have to use two to three sentences to explain your major to everyone you meet? Shut up.

Human Biology: I’ve met four human bio majors and none of them can explain to me why this major exists.

Aviary Sciences: I don’t trust anyone who makes birds their personality. You are defending a sentient weapon that works for the Devil, who is not a nice guy.

Classics: Just tell me what the plan is. I actually want to know.

English, Creative Emphasis: Just because you’re gay doesn’t mean you’re

good at writing poetry. For you. For me, it does.

English, Lit & Crit Emphasis: Just because you’re a non-confrontational straight man does not mean women want to sleep with you. They want to sleep with me ‘cause my poetry is so good.

Data Science: Boo. All science has data, idiot.

Material Science: We have to stop with this trend of just putting “Science” after a word and pretending it’s a career path.

Cognitive Science: See above.

Political Science: See above. Plus, this one is definitely not a science.

Food Science: See above above. Also, there is no way we need both Food Science and Nutrition.

Civil Engineering: A great way to tell people that your parents bought you too many LEGOs as a child or that you are pursuing a passionless career in the pathetic hopes of a stable future. I’m not using any bridge built by a civil engineer who graduated during the pandemic. And if building bridges is not what a civil engineer does, please, do not tell me. I do not care.

Education: Technically a minor. Whatever. How are some of you people so mean? Don’t you want to work with children? What is going on? Your pink hair is not distracting me from your disappointing personality.

Landscape Architecture: I’m just mad that no one offered this as a career option to me when I was 11. I was told to choose between doctor, lawyer, pop idol, teacher or stripper. Where was “greenery stylist?”

Philosophy: Be a nicer person. Stop making your friend’s birthday party about existentialism and glaring failures in the U.S. legal system.

Who I’d beat in a fight: UCD edition

Not literally, just metaphysically

BY CARMEL RAVIV craviv@ucdavis.edu

To be honest, I’ve been hitting the gym a lot lately and just PR’d on bench press (35 lbs), so I feel confident in my ability to take out my frustrations and show off my two months of Krav Maga practice. I’ve been eating a lot of butternut squash tacos at the DC too, and my protein intake is the highest it’s ever been. Therefore, I’ve made a list of people I feel confident I could take on in a fight in the University of California, Davis vicinity.

1. The Egghead in front of the library

2. 15 squirrels (at once)

3. ChatGPT (verbal argument)

4. A frat brother working security (they have a 20% blood alcohol level)

5. Two turkeys (at once)

6. My RA

JOANNE SUN / AGGIE

7. David Dobrik (he has no affiliation with UC Davis, he just has a stupid face)

8. Any electric scooter owner

9. Anyone from Cuarto

10. The people working the desk at the ARC (they seem low energy so I’d offer them a slurp of my Celsius but they’d get mad and post my ID on the UC Davis Snapchat story)

11. A computer science and engineering (CSE) major (too depressed to fight back)

12. Those lazy freeloaders in the hammocks on the Quad

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

It turns out that every summer, Satan, Prince of Darkness, takes his coworkers and staff for a week-long vacation in Davis to unwind from all the torturing. Some of their favorite activities include visiting Davis Creamery, seeing the cows and strolling through the Arboretum.

“This is all a part of the new teambuilding initiative the Big Guy Upstairs put into place,” Satan said. “He said that the last report He received from HR reported extremely low morale.” Unfortunately, this isn’t great news

One student, who asked to remain anonymous, said, “Yeah, last summer I was taking some summer session classes that I needed for my major. But halfway through the quarter, I just… stopped showing up to my classes. I became super prideful and envious. I was eating all the time. It’s like I was possessed or something. Maybe it was the heat.”

On the other hand, Chris Bacon, the mayor of Davis, is thankful for the added tourism income for the city. When most of the college students leave for the summer, Davis becomes much less active.

“If [the Demons] want to roam around Davis and inflict unimaginable suffering amongst the locals, I say let them,” Bacon said. “They spend an absurd amount at the Farmers Market.” The California Aggie asked God, King of Kings, for a comment, but received no response.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by The California Aggie.

How to hype up future Aggies

Incoming freshmen are the future of America. Hoorah!

BY CARMEL RAVIV craviv@ucdavis.edu

As this tumultuous school year comes to a close and we shed our prolific senior class, it is time to welcome an exciting new generation of Aggies. They will carry the torch of this great institution’s legacy and relish in the opportunities that Davis has to offer. But no one tell them about the TA strike, the atmospheric floods or dayslong power outages. Or the cow smell. But hey, other than that UC Davis is top-notch!

Here is a short list of tips and fun facts to mention when you encounter a future Aggie to get them hyped and keep them informed for the 2023-24 school year:

1. The MU is pronounced “The Moo.”

2. Make sure to buy the nicest, most expensive bike and always wear a helmet.

3. Text your potential roommates on Instagram that you are a direct descendant of Gary May and you can get into the best dorm building.

4. Cheeto is the name of the hottest girl on campus, so let everyone know you have a crush on Cheeto and they will relate!

5. Hasbullah studied the philosophy

of thermodynamics at UC Davis and worked at the Student Farm. You are walking the hallowed halls of greatness.

6. UC Davis is in California, so we are really close to LA!

7. There are crocodiles in the creek running through the Arboretum, and late at night they emerge and sing “Going Down the Bayou” and “Rap God.” They can also scat so don’t get spooked.

8. You may have heard of the super cool coffee-brewing class, but there is also a cough-knee pooing class in the School of Biological Sciences. And a toffee-chewing class. And concepts of nutrition!

9. At the beginning of every school year, we have a tradition called “Running of the Freshmen,” which is when upperclassmen select freshmen on the first day of school and ride their backs as the freshmen run to their first class. The fastest freshman wins a squirrel!

Squirrel Obession

Disclaimer:

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

My official ranking of UCD majors but only the ones I remember and some that I just made up

“It reminds me of the weather back home,” Satan said

ALEJANDRO VARGAS / AGGIE

BY OWEN RUDERMAN opinion@theaggie.org

JOANNE SUN / AGGIE

Welcome to UC Davis!

My name is Sonora Slater, and I am an incoming fourth-year managerial economics major and the editor-in-chief of The California Aggie for the 2023-24 academic year. Whether you’ve called Davis home for many years, or you’re touring campus for the first time right now, just beginning to envision yourself merging into bike circles and studying in the window seats at Shields Library, welcome to one of my favorite places in the world.

There are certain things that are essential to the unique culture of Davis: meeting friends at the farmers market on Saturdays, watching sunsets on top of Hutchinson parking garage and assigning the Doxie Derby the same level of importance as the Olympic Games, to name a few. Throughout your time at UC Davis, these traditions (and more) will shape the fabric of your college experience, permeating the stories you’ll one day tell your kids, your coworkers or the random person in line behind you at Disneyland.

But there’s one more thing that I hope you’ll make part of your college

experience because to me, it’s just as essential to this campus as the cows (bold claim, I know). And that, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, is The California Aggie — the official student-run newspaper of UC Davis, serving the student body since 1915.

Throughout the school year, we distribute print issues of the paper once a week on Thursdays, as well as post online articles every day and share updates on our Instagram @thecaliforniaaggie. For the summer, we have something a little different.

What you’re holding right now is a curated selection of articles that showcase the best of what our seven desks have to offer: from campus news to sports, and everything in between. This issue features student work that includes humor articles, a cartoon, coverage of top research being done at the university, a spotlight on campus dogs, a QR code link to our recently added Spanish article translations, book and music recommendations from our arts desk, a crossword puzzle, introductions to some of the most

Newly released “Guardians of the Galaxy 3” and “SpiderMan: Across the Spider-Verse” are cinematic triumphs

recent winners of our annual ‘Best of Davis’ awards and dozens of beautiful graphics and photos, most of which were designed or taken by Aggie staffers. It’s jam-packed with exciting, important and entertaining coverage of our very own campus community, just like we strive for every week. If you’re a student at UC Davis, new or old, I hope that you will let our stories become part of your college experience. And vice versa, I hope that our platform creates a space for all of your voices to be heard. Even if you’re just visiting for the day, I hope flipping through these pages gives you a taste of what (and who!) makes Davis the town it is, and helps you pass the time with some good-old-fashioned reading. Feel free to reach out to me at editor@theaggie.org with questions, comments or things you’d like to see The Aggie do or cover, and have a great summer!

Best, Sonora Slater Editor-in-Chief

Take advantage of intramural sports at UC Davis

Reduced anxiety and new friendships are some of the advantages to getting active

BY AUDREY BOYCE afboyce@ucdavis.edu

Finally, superhero movies are doing something right

BY MAYA KORNYEYEVA mkornyeyeva@ucdavis.edu

It is no secret that college provides a lot of new stressors for students. Living away from home for the first time, navigating new social situations and an uptick in academic responsibilities are all possible reasons why anxiety rates among college students are so high. At UC Davis, 40.7% of undergraduate students reported feelings of anxiety.

Although I am an advocate of seeking therapy or professional help if you are feeling high levels of anxiety, exercise can be one of the easiest ways to help improve mental health. It produces endorphins that assist our ability to sleep, helps to stabilize our mood, decreases tension and increases self-esteem.

I am part of the significant minority of students at UC Davis who experience anxiety, and for a large portion of my first year at college, I had no outlet to deal with it. That was until I got a text message from a friend asking my roommates and me to join his intramural soccer team. I reluctantly agreed, worried I would be judged since I had not played soccer in five years.

To my surprise, although the game was set up in a professional manner, with referees enforcing typical soccer rules, the environment felt relaxed, enjoyable and easy-going. Players could

either take it seriously or just play for fun. The rec team provided me with an outlet for my anxiety every Sunday evening and even inspired me to begin exercising more regularly to stay in shape for games.

There are two ways to get involved in intramural sports at UC Davis. The first is to find a group of friends or peers who are interested and register as a team for a league of choice. However, if you do not know people who would be interested in joining an intramural team, there are teams called “free agent teams.” You can request to join these and meet a new group of people to play a sport with. Both ways require purchasing a “Rec Sports One Pass” for $20. For first years, residence halls provide promotional codes that make this pass free.

Intramural sports also provide opportunities for those who did not get the opportunity to play a sport growing up. While many high school teams require a certain level of skill, these teams simply require that you desire to play. From my experience playing soccer, while the league only coordinates games, many teams take advantage of Dairy Field to host practices, which allows less experienced players to improve their skills.

In addition to helping me deal with anxiety, the people I met on the soccer team became the friend group I have to this day. One of the biggest challenges I had with the large student population at UC Davis is that finding a group of friends felt impossible, especially amid COVID-19 restrictions that greatly impacted social interactions earlier on in my time at Davis.

From my experience, most people find their group of friends on their residence hall floor, so when that did not work out for me, I had no hope of a “college group of friends” until I joined my soccer team. Soccer games led to team dinners which led to almostdaily get-togethers, eventually creating a tight-knit friend group.

Any student who is physically capable should take this opportunity to relieve stress, find or improve on a sport of interest or create new connections. It really is a unique opportunity that may be more challenging to find later in life.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by The California Aggie.

MAYA KORNYEYEVA / AGGIE

Earlier in the year, I wrote a column about my disappointment with the recent trend in the quality of movies produced by Marvel — every new movie seemed to lack the stunning energy and intrigue present in their earlier films.

Well, I would like to formally revise my previous statement to say that the newest Marvel movie — “Guardians of the Galaxy 3” — and another recently released and highlyanticipated superhero movie — “SpiderMan: Across the Spider-Verse” — are exceptional new additions to a long list of superhero movies. Both have outstanding storylines, rich and dynamic dialogue and a plethora of moments that made me pause and connect with my own thoughts and emotions.

First on the table, we have the third and final installment of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” series. This movie centers around an intergalactic superhero team, also known as The Guardians, working together to save their partner Rocket Raccoon, who is severely injured at the beginning of the film and whose memories and backstory appear intermittently throughout the rest of the movie, giving viewers a look into his disturbing past.

Walking into the film, I knew almost immediately that I had sat down to witness something truly special. The dark, recherché atmosphere of the opening scene, coupled with the beautifully animated mix of fear

and curiosity captured in the young Rocket Raccoon as he is selected for experimentation by the “hand of God,” was indicative of well-developed scene symbolism that was echoed throughout the entire film. The smooth transition from Rocket’s young, unmodified self to his present body was carefully and creatively animated and set the bar for overall computer-generated imagery (CGI) quality. As the movie progressed, several strong motifs were revealed in the two parallel stories of Rocket’s past and the Guardians’ efforts to go to any lengths to ensure the survival of their friend. The first was the cruelty of experimentation performed on animals for the “development of a perfect species,” and the raw emotions that come with healing from trauma and making friends. The second was the love for family: the bonding and acceptance of individuals for who they really are, not who they were created to be. Aside from deep messages, “Guardians of the Galaxy 3” contained wonderfully light humor as well as the successful introduction of new characters into the MCU that tied loose ends and created novel story arcs as bridges between the cinematic universe and the comic books. I particularly enjoyed the way the plot and central conflict differed from previous films, as well as the fitting soundtrack that featured various genres and styles of music that have me listening on repeat.

The perfect time is never coming

Stop waiting for timing that doesn’t exist

BY YASMEEN O’BRIEN yjobrien@ucdavis.edu

When I was in fourth grade, my dad got me a brand new pair of PF Flyers. They were the most pristine thing I had ever seen. They were the classics: all black with the logo in green, just like the ones Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez wore in “The Sandlot.” After staring at them for a bit, I put the shoes back in the box.

Most days after school, I would open up this box and look at them — making sure they were still there, still pristine, still Benny-like, still mine. I had begged my dad for a year to buy them for me before he finally caved, and yet all I did was stare at them. I would imagine myself wearing them on the playground and how cool I’d feel and how many compliments I’d get.

But every morning that I got ready for school felt too ordinary. And these were no ordinary shoes. I was waiting for the right time to wear them to the right place with the right outfit. To make a long story short, these perfect conditions never happened. They never existed. I made them up because I was scared of ruining them — or maybe ruining the idea of them in my head.

I grew out of them before I ever wore them and, boy, do I wish I had. I wish I could say they had been worn, loved and used, like they were supposed to. But all I can say is that they were loved.

Sometimes when we love something so much, we don’t know what to do with that love. We don’t always know how to act on it and really experience it. I believe this is similar to the way we treat our hopes and dreams. We have all these things we want to experience or accomplish, but we sabotage ourselves with this false notion of the “perfect time.” It’s an idea we create in our heads because we’re scared of failure or rejection.

Sitting around and waiting for the “perfect time” actually just wastes the time we do have. Perfection is silly. The beauty of humans is that we are imperfect. We have flaws and sometimes things don’t go according to plan, but at least we try. Things are never going to be perfect, because that’s not how life works. Life is messy and wild and nonlinear, so there’s no point in waiting. Really, there’s no time to.

Want to travel the world? Start saving up, researching and making

plans. Want to write a story? Write it now. Pick up a pen and paper or start typing. Want to apply for that big job? Go for it. You might be surprised by the fruit that is borne simply from your effort and attention. Don’t waste your time waiting.

There is no time like the present to do the things you want to do. Taking big leaps is always going to be scary, but that’s the beauty of it. There is strength in overcoming that fear. Take a chance on yourself, you’ll probably find that you’re stronger and wiser than you think.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by The California Aggie.

JOANNE SUN / AGGIE

ARTS & CULTURE

The history of Converse

Taking a look into how the iconic shoe brand changed the fashion game

The Arts Desk’s weekly picks for music, movies and more

BY OWEN RUDERMAN arts@theaggie.org

Movie: “The Emperor’s New Groove” (2000) dir.

by Mark Dindal

I’ve been watching “The Emperor’s New Groove” almost every year since its release in 2000, and let me tell you personally that no movie has aged so gracefully. This semi-hidden gem from Disney is hilarious and incredibly quotable. But it’s also incredibly well-acted, with heavy hitters like David Spade and John Goodman starring in the film. Trust me, this isn’t just a kid’s movie — there’s something in here for all ages to enjoy.

Book: “The Stories of John Cheever” by John Cheever (1978)

This book, possibly more than any other, changed the way I view everyday life. Cheever’s stories evoke a sort of universal American nostalgia, featuring unforgettable imagery, scarily realistic characters and plots that leave you thinking, “Uhm, what just happened?” The book consists of 61 short stories, making it easy to read just a chunk or two at a time. It’s a timeless book that contains some of the best stories ever written by an American author. But don’t just take it from me — in 1979, “The Stories of John Cheever” won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and in 1978, the book won the National Book Critics Circle Award.

TV Show: “Spongebob Squarepants” (19982007)

Let’s get something clear right off the bat: I’m talking only about the first five seasons of “Spongebob Squarepants.” These are the quintessential episodes I grew up with. Now, I’m not trying to discredit the neo-modern episodes — in fact, I hear they’re pretty good. But for me, nothing comes close to the first few seasons. The humor and writing are just so incredibly well done, and the art and visual gags still hold up today, even if some think otherwise. Recently, I’ve heard deplorable comments like, “Phineas and Ferb is just a better Spongebob.” First off, the shows aren’t really comparable, and it isn’t against the law to enjoy both. But also, watch the second season of “Spongebob Squarepants.” You’ll be surprised at how much it makes you laugh.

Album: “The Head on the Door” by The Cure (1985)

I know that for a lot of people, choosing a favorite album is hard. It’s difficult to pick between albums that are consistently good throughout and albums that have a few mind-blowingly good songs. For me, though, the decision has never been difficult. That’s because The Cure’s sixth album, “The Head on the Door,” consists purely of mindblowingly good songs from start to finish. Robert Smith’s legendarily ethereal, tragic and sometimes whispered lyrics are accompanied by swinging guitar, pounding drums and sinking bass. And you don’t even have to be emo or goth to enjoy the album — there’s something on it for everyone. Give this all-time classic album a chance.

Opinion: There’s room in the world to love both a book and its movie adaptations

Both artforms work together in their own unique ways to convey the intended meaning of the story

BY CLARA FISCHER arts@theaggie.org

There are certain things that are just universally agreed on — the sky is blue, the sun will rise and “Cats” (2020) was a terrible movie. However, a topic that could not be more filled with hot takes even if it tried is the age-old argument over whether a book or its cinematic counterpart is better.

One example that comes to mind as having a particularly viciously divided fanbase over this subject is the beloved YA series, “Harry Potter”, penned by its equally divisive author, J.K. Rowling. The first installment in the literary series hit shelves in 1997, almost immediately becoming a classic. After its initial success, the books were elevated from their status of bestselling series to total cultural phenomenon with the inception of their movie adaptations.

Both the books and the movies experienced immense success, and one could even go so far as to say that the “Harry Potter cinematic universe” has become a force of its own, existing independently from the books. However, many die-hard Harry Potter fans (otherwise known as “Potterheads”) maintain the firm stance that the books contain key details and elements that contribute to the Wizarding World in such a way that cinema simply cannot.

Now, this is probably a good time to confess that I hadn’t been exposed to the

BY SARAH HAN arts@theaggie.org

From tying your outfit together to working out, Converse makes some of the most timeless sneakers in the shoe industry — the classic All-Star logo, polished toe cap and numerous styles all contribute to their revolutionary design. Here is a rundown on how this versatile shoe came to be.

In 1908, Marquis Mills Converse launched the “Converse Rubber Shoe Company” in Malden, Massachusetts. The first Converse “All-Star” was an elite basketball shoe that was made with the original canvas and rubber, both materials that are still used for production today. At this time, Converse shoes were made for functionality. Thirteen years after the launch, American basketball player Chuck Taylor joined the Converse team, which revolutionized the company’s design and ultimately led to increased sales. Taylor pitched unique designs and marketing ideas, one of which centered around spreading awareness about basketball: He held basketball clinics in schools nationwide, taught basketball to kids and shared shoes and Converse yearbooks. Due to his tremendous contributions, “Chuck Taylor” was imprinted on the All-Star logo.

In 1936, the partnership with Taylor also increased the shoe’s popularity among basketball players, especially when he helped design the white hightop model with the red-and-navy rim for the USA’s 1963 Olympic basketball team. This particular design resonated with the players and the fans because of an increased sense of patriotism as a result of World War II. The white, red and navy-colored shoe was also worn by the United States Armed Forces.

After World War II, Converse designed the black-and-white hightop model, which was added to the basketball teams’ collection. Players, from the NBA to college and high school, all wore either white All-Stars or black All-Stars, making Converse one of the most popular, unique shoes in the industry.

Following the high-top’s massive popularity, Converse introduced the “Oxford” model — a low-top version

of the iconic style. This model was particularly tailored toward consumers who wanted an every day, leisurefriendly shoe. Various colors and prints also debuted with the Oxford, attracting millions of athletes and regular consumers nationwide.

In 1969, Taylor passed, and in the years that followed, Converse lost its title as one of the most popular shoe brands. Nike and similar companies began dominating the basketball shoe industry, introducing high-performance technologies and sleek designs. However, Converse poured its efforts into targeting regular consumers by characterizing the shoes as comfortable, leisure-friendly and casual.

Fortunately, this change in marketing strategy appealed to a whole new group: musicians. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, punk-rock musicians hopped on the bandwagon and started to wear Converse sneakers, which paved the way for the company to create funky and fresh colors and patterns. Soon

enough, millions were on board with the shoe’s effortless and minimalist style.

In July 2003, Nike bought Converse. It was assumed that Converse’s popularity would plummet, but it did the exact opposite. The sneakers became a fashion statement for pop artists and daily shoes for skateboarders. By 2012, the company had generated $450 million from Chuck All-Stars.

Today, Converse has made over $2.3 billion in revenue, with millions of children, teenagers, athletes and adults wearing its products. The well-known shoes also became popular among celebrities, politicians and influencers, from Michelle Obama to Millie Bobby Brown.

However, the most appealing aspect of the company is its consistency. It has been operating for over 100 years and has yet to change its timeless design. Collaboration after collaboration, the company remains true to its wardrobestaple roots.

Harry Potter series until as recently as last summer, so I may not be considered a true, original fan of Rowling’s work.

However, the movies were able to pull me in and capture my devotion from the very first viewing — which is more than I can say for the copy of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” that I picked up in the third grade. I was a huge bookworm (arguably the world’s biggest) and Rowling’s writing just didn’t manage to reach me in the same way that Danielle Radcliffe and the rest of the cinematic cast were able to.

Though I do concede that film as an art form certainly has its limitations, one of its main appeals is how it brings a magical world to life; the characters are there for you to see, hear and empathize with, which is most likely one of the reasons the films have become such a mainstay in pop culture.

Another subcategory of cinema worth considering in the fiery debate over movies or books is the popular trend of taking the classics (think along the lines of those novels likely to be found in the curriculum of an 11th grade AP English class) and putting them on the big screen.

A pair of classic Converse All Star’s which, from their creation over a century ago, have become a staple in footwear for decades now. (Alexis Perez / Aggie)

Why every vegan college student should have canned chickpeas in their cupboard

Plus some college-friendly recipes that anyone can try

BY CORALIE LOON arts@theaggie.org

The most common rumors surrounding a plant-based (or plantheavy) diet often break down to a few main points: vegan or vegetarian food is either too expensive, time-consuming or lacking in nutritional value. Of course, any diet can be any of these things, depending on your purchasing and lifestyle habits. But veggie alternatives to meat products don’t have to be expensive or inconvenient.

For college students in particular, affordability and convenience are some of the most important traits of a good diet. As someone who started their college experience as a fairly fresh vegetarian, I’ve often felt simultaneously unsatisfied with the limited on-campus options and too overwhelmed or exhausted to cook a full meal.

That is, until I discovered canned chickpeas. When it came to other types of beans such as pinto, black beans or kidney beans, I viewed them as necessary but not particularly enjoyable. For a non-bean-lover, chickpeas changed the game, tasting more like a nutty, oversized lentil than a bean.

Chickpeas, also referred to as garbanzo beans, are a high-protein legume that offer many health benefits. As well as containing 14.5 grams of protein per 1 cup serving, they also supply hearty amounts of fiber, manganese, vitamin B9, copper and iron. Having chickpeas in your diet would make it harder for veganskeptics to question whether or not you’re getting enough nutrients.

Chickpeas can be purchased either raw or pre-cooked, coming in a canned or boxed form. While cooking your own chickpeas from scratch might sound like a nice, leisurely night to some, it certainly isn’t the most practical way to go, especially if you’re a college student.

Sure, the canning process may slightly reduce the protein content of beans, but the ease and convenience of going the canned way outweighs any slight losses. A 15.5 oz can of chickpeas can be between $1 to $1.50 per can, a bargain compared to meaty alternatives. Open Nature organic ground beef, for example, is $6.99 for 84 grams of protein, which is about 12 grams of

protein per dollar. Safeway’s organic canned chickpeas, on the other hand, cost $1.69 for 24.5 grams of protein, which is about 14.5 grams of protein per dollar. Even for calories, organic chickpeas outpace organic beef with 249 calories per dollar (compared to beef’s 132). In terms of nutrition and cost, canned chickpeas check every box. They are also deliciously versatile and surprisingly easy to prepare (partially because they come ready to eat). Chickpeas, either whole or mashed, can be used as a replacement for almost any meat product in a recipe.

For those looking for specific recipes, here are a few of my favorites:

Jessica in the Kitchen’s “Curried Chickpea Salad” can be eaten alone or turned into a filling sandwich.

This Apricot, Almond & Chickpea Tagine from Hello Fresh is a delicious and flavorful dish for those with a bit more time on their hands.

Crispy toasted chickpeas (from Love & Lemons) can add spunk to any salad, wrap or rice bowl, or be eaten on their own as a crunchy snack.

On a cold day, Good Faith Fitness’ Creamy Chickpea Curry is a warm and comforting treat.

For those interested in my favorite dish, a hearty chickpea pasta sauce, keep reading for a personal recipe. While there are hundreds of chickpea recipes around the internet to try, one of my favorite things to do is create my own recipes, using chickpeas to alter the dishes I grew up eating or invent new ones. At the same time, as a college student, sometimes I need a

simple and reliable recipe that will just do the bare minimum. For both of these reasons, canned chickpeas deserve much more love and appreciation, from veggie-lovers and meat eaters alike.

Coralie’s hearty chickpea pasta sauce

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups marinara sauce

1 15-oz. can of chickpeas

½ tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning large spoonful cream cheese (or vegan alternative)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 box rotini, fusilli or gemelli pasta salt and pepper to taste chili flakes (optional)

Instructions:

Cook pasta in a medium pot using box instructions. In the meantime, heat the olive oil and minced garlic in a large skillet over medium heat until fragrant. Drain and rinse chickpeas. Add to skillet along with Italian seasoning, chili flakes or salt and pepper. Cook chickpeas over medium-high heat until lightly browned. Turn off heat on skillet and mash chickpeas with a fork until mostly crushed. Add marinara sauce and heat again. Once sauce is hot, add large spoonful of cream cheese and stir until melted. Drain pasta once done and return to pot. Mix sauce with pasta. Serve in bowls and top with cheese or nutritional yeast.

SCIENCE AND TECH

Increased exercise intensity is more beneficial to health than increased duration

Incorporating exercises with a resistance element can potentially increase lifespan by five years

BY KATIE HELLMAN science@theaggie.org

Exercise intensity has been found to be correlated more strongly with a longer lifespan than exercise duration.

Approximately 16% of deaths in the US can be attributed to physical inactivity, even in individuals who eat a balanced diet and maintain a healthy weight. Exercise promotes lower blood pressure and cholesterol, while also strengthening the heart and reducing the possibility of developing chronic diseases.

“Up to 10,000 steps per day may be associated with a lower risk of mortality and cancer and CVD (cardiovascular disease) incidence,” a study by PubMed reads. “Steps performed at a higher cadence may be associated with additional risk reduction, particularly for incident disease.”

Another similar study from Copenhagen found that the intensity of cyclists’ exercise played a much stronger role in preventing heart disease than the time they spent biking. “Men with fast intensity cycling survived 5.3 years longer, and men with average intensity 2.9 years longer than men with slow cycling intensity,” the study reads. “For women the figures were 3.9 and 2.2 years longer, respectively.”

The first studies investigating the link between exercise and health were

conducted by Jeremy Morris in the 1940s and 1950s, where he found that bus drivers and conductors in London had lower rates of coronary artery disease when their work required a

higher level of physical activity. He obtained similar results in a follow-up study that showed that mail carriers who walked and biked during their delivery jobs were healthier than those

with desk jobs in the postal industry. Keith Baar, a molecular exercise physiologist and professor in the departments of neurobiology, physiology and behavior and

physiology and membrane biology, spoke with UC Davis Health about the best type of exercise.

“I would say it has to be the one with a resistance element,” Baar said. “This type of exercise makes your heart work against a heavy load or a lot of pressure. For example, when you lift something, especially with your legs, your heart must work against a greater pressure. This makes your heart get stronger.”

Baar furthered commenting on exercise strategies directed towards those who have sedentary jobs or lack free time.

“When you’re commuting on foot or bike, make your commute fast,” Baar said. “If you’re walking, walk quickly to get a higher return on your time. If you’re riding your bike, go a little faster than you feel comfortable.”

Baar recognized that the results of the exercise studies provided a compelling reason for individuals to maximize the benefits of more intense exercise.

“The point is, we need to be physically active to help the heart work better and some of that work needs to be at a high intensity,” Baar said.

Kaila Mattera)

Taylor Swift: A pop icon, lyrical mastermind and remote plant photosynthesis sensing machine

How the new Plant Optics Lab machine “TSWIFT” could help isolate climate-resilient crops

BY SONORA SLATER science@theaggie.org

KELLIE LU / AGGIE

Studying bird flight can enhance flight maneuverability of aerial vehicles

— such as drought — in a field and see which plants perform the best in these subpar conditions.

“We’ll impose drought stress, for example, by turning off the irrigation for the rest of the season,” Magney said. “Then we’ll be able to track which of these plant genotypes is performing the best under the water-limiting conditions. If you’re trying to choose a genotype of wheat that might be the most productive under future climate change scenarios, the idea is that we simulate what the climate change scenario might be by imposing drought in the controlled field study, and then track which genotypes of wheat would perform best.”

Taylor Swift is also known for planning things out far in advance, from the perfectly curated Reputation-era social media rebrand to planting lyrics from her album Midnights in a speech she gave at NYU months before the album’s release. If plant researchers are able to do the same sort of forwardthinking planning when it comes to preparing crops for climate change, the agriculture-dependent California economy would likely benefit.

BY ARYAMAN BHATIA science@theaggie.org

Engineers at UC Davis published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that highlights how gull wings adapt to atmospheric disturbances such as air turbulence. The findings of this study can be applied to modern aerial vehicles, enhancing their ability to access dangerous and unreachable areas during emergencies.

Aerial vehicles are designed to have two categories of flight: stable and unstable. Stable flight refers to the ability of the vehicle to return to its original position when faced with disturbances. Unstable flight is when the vehicle experiences a change from its original position due to disturbances.

the forces at moments. We combined this experimental data with numerical data to check the accuracy of our numerical approach.”

By using this approach, researchers can see and verify thousands of wing shapes. In 2021, the team used this method to “validate a low order lifting line model that runs through lots of different wing shapes to confirm that it accurately estimated the lift and drag,” Harvey said. With a validated model, Harvey and the team can identify the bird’s ability to change between stable and unstable flight.

Taylor Swift isn’t a stranger to things being named after her — from the millipede species dubbed Nannaria swiftae in 2022, to the entire city of Glendale, Arizona being temporarily renamed Swift City in honor of the kick-off of her Eras Tour this year, it’s safe to say that she’s left a legacy on the world. But in spring 2023, she added a new honor to the list with the creation of the remote sensing instrument for plants known as the Tower Spectrometer on Wheels for Investigating Frequent Timeseries — or for short, TSWIFT.

Troy Magney, an assistant professor in plant sciences at UC Davis and one of the senior authors on the report about the new technology, is a wellestablished fan of both plant science and pop music. He worked at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a research scientist developing satellite imaging technology to analyze photosynthesis and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere before becoming curious about how this technology could be repurposed for plant research.

“I got interested in building some sensors [for UC Davis] that could measure similar things to satellites but at a smaller scale; that’s sort of how TSWIFT came about,” Magney said.

Magney said that the UC Davis Plant Optics Lab, which was behind the creation of TSWIFT, uses “optical techniques” to look at plants. In other words, they measure how well the plants are reflecting light, which is tied to how much photosynthesis the plant is doing.

“The ways that plants reflect light [...] can tell us about their health and their stress and their productivity,” Magney said. “We can bring [TSWIFT] out to a field and put it on a tower, and it can look down at the ecosystem and collect data throughout the day and throughout the season so that we can look at the performance of these plants [in response to stress].”

We know the toll stress can take on a person: say, Joe Jonas breaks up with you over the phone in a 27-second phone call, or the masters of your first six albums are sold without your knowledge. Maintaining your productivity and focus would understandably be difficult. But what does it mean for a plant to be “stressed?”

“Basically when I say stress, I mean anything that reduces the plant’s ability to do photosynthesis,” Magney said. “Stress from drought if there’s not enough water in an ecosystem, [...] different pathogens, [...] stresses coming from temperature, [...] bark beetles, wildfire smoke. Stress could come from any number of things [...], but normally, I would say drought is the big one in California.”

Essentially, the machine looks for any factor that might be causing an increase or reduction in photosynthesis for a plant and then the researchers try to understand why.

While it can be used to analyze real-world fields, TSWIFT is primarily meant to be used in experiments: researchers simulate stressful conditions

TSWIFT builds on previous work UC Davis researchers have done to try to preemptively adapt agriculture to changing climate conditions. The main advantage of the new technology is that it saves time, and allows for data to be collected on both a day-to-day and longterm basis.

“We can begin to see when a plant might be undergoing stress, and we can see that at a daily resolution,” Magney said. “Historically, you would assess the performance of plants just by walking out in the field every day and making some measurements of photosynthesis on the plants, which is very timeconsuming and labor intensive, and the idea with TSWIFT is that we can just deploy the instrument and monitor it all remotely.”

In future versions of the technology, Magney said that he hopes the technology will be able to take measurements at night or in cloudy conditions by using blue LEDs to shine light on the plants. Eventually, he plans to equip TSWIFT with a thermal imager to measure how much water plants are using by analyzing their temperatures.

Magney worked on the project and the paper alongside Chris Wong, Taylor Jones, Devin McHugh, Matthew Gilbert, Paul Gepts, Antonia Palkovic and Thomas N. Buckley. In a highly relatable move, he streamed ‘folklore’ on repeat while building the machine. But his true favorite Taylor song?

“Well, I’m not sure if it’s appropriate for print,” Magney said. “But it would have to be Vigilante Shit.”

“Almost all birds have the capability to switch between these two states,” according to Christina Harvey, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering. The engineers hope to learn to harness this ability and use it for manmade aerial flight.

In a 2021 study, Harvey discusses her work using low-fidelity computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models and various experiments with 3D models of gullwings in wind tunnels and measures the force they generate at certain moments. Generally, numerical CFD models are computer simulations of different fluid motions based on laws of conservation governing fluid motion. Determining the accuracy of these simulations is critical.

“The reason that’s useful is that I can use that to check the validity of numerical models,” Harvey said. “There’s a lot of aerodynamic models you can use computationally to estimate

KELLIE LU / AGGIE

Currently, stable aerial vehicles cannot be easily maneuvered, whereas unstable aerial vehicles can be more maneuverable but require more complicated control algorithms. By creating the ability to shift between these two forms of flight, aircraft may be designed that can be both easily maneuverable and reliable enough to fly in erratic airspaces, like urban areas.

The project also highlights the importance of interdisciplinary work in the field.

“Traditionally, we were told that you have to be an engineer or be a scientist or some other specific category,” Harvey, who has studied both biology and aerospace engineering, said. “I enjoy trying to think about problems from a biology perspective, and then combining that perspective [with an engineering perspective] is really helpful and fun. Developing a truly integrated interdisciplinary approach is something that I think is really valuable for the future.”

Recent studies have found that increased exercise intensity may be even more beneficial to health than increased exercise duration. (Courtesy /

Engineers hope to improve uncrewed aerial vehicles and make them more agile in the air by analyzing birds

Debate over free speech versus hate speech on college campuses raises censorship concerns

Self-censorship and fear of social retribution may be hindering conversations in the classroom

BY REBEKA ZELJKO features@theaggie.org

On Oct. 25, 2022, Turning Point USA, a student-led conservative group, organized an event hosting speaker Stephen Davis on the UC Davis campus. However, the event was canceled before it started after protests and counter-protests outside turned violent.

Protestors “fought among themselves, used pepper spray, knocked over barricades […] and beat on the glass of the UC Davis Conference Center,” according to a statement released by UC Davis.

The university’s statement also emphasized its commitment to upholding free speech on campus, saying, “We affirm the right of our students — in this instance, Turning Point USA at UC Davis — to invite speakers to our campus, just as we affirm the right of others to protest speakers whose views they find upsetting or offensive.”

A 2022 study from the Knight Foundation published findings regarding college students’ views on free speech on campus. “A growing majority believe their school’s climate stifles free expression,” according to the study. In 2021, 65% of students “strongly [or] somewhat agree that the climate at their school or on their campus prevents some people from saying things they believe because others might find it offensive.”

Joel Landis, Ph.D., a lecturer for the UC Davis Political Science Department, has been paying close attention to this issue.

“It does not feel like these are isolated incidents,” Landis said. “It does feel as if, particularly during the Trump administration, passions ran high, and things got worse. At the same time, violence against conversations we don’t like is something we have always seen. Toleration for the ideas we hate is an unnatural virtue that must be developed in every generation.”

Many students feel the virtue of toleration is hard to come by. Megan Acarregui, a fourth-year civil engineering major and chair of the UC Davis College Republicans, noted her experience at UC Davis with ideological intolerance.

“I was afraid I wouldn’t have acceptance from my peers because of

CARBONFARMING

FROM PAGE 1

The California Healthy Soil Program is a statewide program created by the California State Department of Food and Agriculture that will continue to fund writing these plans so that more private- and city-owned farms can implement carbon farming. Funding is also available through the Federal Department of Agriculture, called the National Resource Conservation Service, so that growers who don’t have a carbon farm plan with their cities can still use the grants to implement these practices.

“We are kind of special here in the city, having a carbon farm plan,” Gardner said. “We’re happy to help fund the writing of this plan and to use our publicly owned property as almost a demonstration piece where we can figure out some of the logistics of how to implement these things in partnership with the growers that farm the city-owned property, and then they can see benefits happening on our ranch and hopefully spread that throughout the community.”

STRAWBERRY

FROM PAGE 3

“There’s a very common analogy that you see pop up in plant pathology classes: There’s a constant arms race between a pathogen and the crop that you’re breeding resistance to,” Pincot said. “That’s the whole Fusarium story. We had race one in California. We found five different resistance genes that protect against that race. And now a race two has popped up, and we have to catch up finding a deliverable gene and get that into our material.”

Researchers have to be constantly wary of new pathogens, such as the destructive Macrophomina. According to Feldmann, the research program has placed a new plot of seedling nursery in Wolfskill Experimental Orchards to develop genetic resistance to future cultivars of the soil-borne disease.

Along the way, strawberry growers from different regions are heavily involved in the process of selecting strawberry varieties. Growers eventually help whittle down the advanced selections of cultivars UC Davis plans to release to commercialized farmers.

With enough time, strawberries that make the cut end up beside a person’s kitchen sink as a juicy study snack they might casually munch on. The berries they just washed represent hours of experimentation and selection by a group of people in a research facility.

While it is an endless, arduous task to develop the “perfect” strawberry, it is nevertheless rewarding to continuously improve and pursue the next variety.

my political beliefs,” Acarregui said. “I lost friends over it even though I didn’t really do anything. I mean, if someone asks my opinion I’m not going to lie about it, but it feels like they didn’t even try to understand my point of view.”

The growing concern is that this attitude of intolerance for dissenting views is trickling into the classroom.

Jonathan Dahlsten, a third-year graduate student in political science, said that he believes intolerance negatively impacts the quality of education on college campuses.

“There is an amount of freedom of speech that is required to have these discussions imperative for a robust, liberal education,” Dahlsten said. “If we can’t have these discussions here, we cannot have them anywhere. That doesn’t mean putting up with direct hate speech, but we should have discussions about hate speech and consider the arguments on both sides.”

Some students call for the regulation of “hate speech,” defined by the American Library Association as “any form of expression through which speakers intend to vilify, humiliate, or incite hatred against a group or a class of persons on the basis of race, religion, skin color sexual identity, gender identity, ethnicity, disability, or national origin.”

Maximilian Isensee, a fourthyear political science major, said that the presence of hate speech and the

negatives that come with it outweigh the positives of having diverse views in the classroom.

“Schools are a place for learning, and every student should be given the same level of safety and comfortability in that environment,” Isensee said. “But hate speech deters the learning process, and does a disservice to the students affected by it, so universities should make a point to prevent and punish those who participate in any speech that harms fellow students.”

On the other hand, some students think that labeling dissenting views as hate speech can diminish productive conversation and reduce the quality of education.

“You are here to learn how to think and speak effectively and how to think critically,” Acarregui said. “If people say you can’t even talk about it because you will spread a hateful message, you are silencing opinions and history that could be repeated.”

Acarregui said she feels that the polarized nature of our conversations is damaging and fosters more extremism.

“If you’re not allowed to talk about these things, it can become reactionary,” Acarregui said. “People should learn why we don’t tolerate certain things, not just that we shouldn’t.”

The subjectivity of the term hate speech and its varying definitions are a point of concern for some students.

“Just because someone doesn’t

agree with the majority opinion on campus doesn’t mean they are spreading hate speech,” Dahlsten said. “Deeming something as hate speech states that that’s the end of the conversation. It’s a condemnation, and it can be well-warranted, but you need to be very careful about what you deem as hate speech.”

Landis argues that the utility of hate speech laws necessarily varies from one context to the other.

“I would not apply the same rules for the classroom that I would the quad or the street corner,” Landis said. “One of the ideas behind hate speech codes is to foster an environment in which everyone can feel equal in the community. Minorities and majorities can be equal participants in discovering the truth. I don’t think the classroom is the appropriate place to say we cannot discuss the idea because it’s controversial. Every idea is subject to inquiry.” However, these stigmatized conversations that many think ought to take place in a university have been stunted in recent years, according to a Campus Expression Survey from Heterodox Academy. Student hesitancy to express political perspectives for fear of retribution has been increasing.

According to the survey, “60% of college students expressed reluctance to discuss at least one controversial topic,” the category with the highest

reluctance being politics. Additionally, “Republican and Independent students were more reluctant to discuss controversial topics compared with Democrat students.”

This self-censorship is undercutting the educational process and hindering productive conversation in appropriate settings, according to Landis. But not all students believe forms of censorship are okay.

“In my opinion, hate speech should be shunned by the general public,” Isensee said. “But it is still within a person’s right to use those words if they so choose. We cannot as a society completely ban and silence people just because we disagree with them and what they are saying.”

The social consequences of being part of an ideological minority have affected the behavior of students, both on and off campus. Acarregui said her personal experiences caused her to feel socially isolated.

“I lived in a sorority house full of girls who thought completely the opposite of me politically, which I was used to,” Acarregui said. “But it was really frustrating when they didn’t reciprocate the respect I gave them.”

Acarregui said that she felt like she was experiencing constant social retribution for her beliefs, which ultimately led to her leaving the sorority.

Landis said that self-censorship and censorship should be differentiated and that self-censorship is the “problem” we are seeing more and more in social and academic institutions.

“I would say that it has become increasingly apparent that students are self-censoring in the classroom and the ‘spiral of silence’ has gotten worse,” Landis said.

Landis suggests that the quality of classroom conversation is reduced because of this hesitancy to be a part of the dissent.

“The perceived majority becomes more and more entrenched and becomes more popular, and it’s particularly fatal for the classroom,” Landis said. “When the only students speaking are the ones speaking the orthodox opinions of the day, you destroy the classroom.”

“My favorite strawberry is the ‘next strawberry,’” Cole said. “The strawberries we’re releasing right now — I’ve looked at them for three to five years. I know their values, and I know what’s good about them, but I also know what’s coming. There are [strawberries] that are going to have better disease resistance [and] better taste. And so, I think it’s the next best strawberry. That’s my favorite strawberry.”

TURTLEHOUSE

FROM PAGE 1

Another relatively new Turtle, Ryan Foster, offered more information: “I think it was originally named ‘Music Note House’ and then someone had a turtle and they renamed it Turtle House. Not sure about that at all though.”

These sentiments unknowingly echo one of Turtle House’s most important ideals: life is about connecting and experiencing in the present moment. It’s about the beauty and fluidity of change. This is an important factor when it comes to being accepted to live at Turtle House because the process essentially measures if you hold similar values to the other Turtles. It involves a written application followed by an invitation to dinner where the main focus is to see how comfortable both the applicant and the current residents feel in the space, according to Goodfriend.

Both Goodfriend and Hostetler expressed their admiration for each Turtle’s differences and how they make the house stronger together. Goodfriend added that it brings them closer together as everyone offers something irreplaceable to the group. People are celebrated for who they are and are always welcome at Turtle House, no matter how different they appear.

“Are you the person interviewing people?” Foster chirps excitedly as he hurries up the steps to the table I’m sitting at. He has just arrived home from an outing with his friend and fellow Turtle House resident, Maya Hendrix. Before I can even respond, they are sitting across from me, beaming.

Hendrix is clad in a head scarf and racoon fur hat — complete with the tail — atop her shaved head. Her long, orange skirt had floated her onto the deck as I was greeted with a soulful and infectious smile. Ornamented in layered silver necklaces, jeweled bracelets, long hanging earrings and rings on every finger, each step she takes jingles and chimes. Her right hand displays an Apple Watch. An unapologetic modern hippie.

Foster wore blue jeans, a simple long-sleeve and a bomber jacket.

Under the string lights, Hendrix tells me that Turtle House is a place where all ideas feel welcome. She conveys that at the core of any housing co-op is democracy. Appropriately, house meetings are held in the basement

at least once a month where people are encouraged to voice their concerns and share ideas on improvement and future projects.

Interested in the power dynamics of the house, Foster shares that the two people who have lived there longest are the official communicators with the landlord, as per the lease agreement. He tells me, “They hold extra sway and are the rule-followers.” A grin starts to form on his face, “And then there are the more rebellious and rambunctious — some old people, some new people — and they say f*** the rules.” Hendrix chuckles, “We don’t say that. We just want this place to be a good time.”

GOTG3REVIEW

FROM PAGE 5

Meanwhile, the second animated Spider-Verse film created by Sony Pictures in association with Marvel Entertainment, was released in theaters on June 2. The first “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” movie rocked the Marvel fandom and introduced an animation style that mimicked comic books and street art.

This new sequel was a stunning success; I believe it is one of the best examples of fusing art with film, as well as a pioneer in terms of representation and diverse characters. This movie features people from various socioeconomic backgrounds, races and ethnicities, as well as different ages and gender and sexual orientations, effectively shining light on groups of people that are often underrepresented in media. Nothing about the characters felt forced, and the unique art style of each Spider-Man variation expertly complimented their personalities and individual characteristics.

Beyond the incredible storyline and action sequences, this movie also had some very fresh music choices. All of the songs in this movie were played on vinyl and physical media to protect the “crunchy” and “scratchy” quality of music and allow it to shine through to compliment the ambitious visual style, according to an interview of composer Daniel Pemberton.

The reworked “Prowler” theme from the first film also felt like a breath of fresh air. It was staticky, crisp and ominous, and absolutely perfect for a character that wasn’t your typical villain but rather a fusion of different motivations and identities.

Upon reflecting on both these newly released films, I can conclude that they are a must-watch in theaters. Each has a unique and refreshing angle, and both introduce new music, animation, humor and plot twists that make them perhaps even better than the movies that preceded them. I am happy to say that superhero movies seem to be turning a new page following their post-pandemic decline: I can’t wait to see what is to come.

MOVIEADAPTATIONS

FROM PAGE 6

Stories by both Jane Austen and Shakespeare have been adapted countless times for the big and small screen — so often, in fact, that there are lists ranking these versions that are in the double digits. Now, I recognize that it would be bold to say that films made in the 21st century are able to outshine their predecessors (though “Clueless” does give Austen’s “Emma” a run for its money), but there is something to be said for the ability of filmmakers to translate stories from days long past into a tale fully palatable to a modern audience. The authors wrote novels with classic themes, but it’s the work of the film’s cast and crew that keeps them pertinent to our time.

Another example of a great book with an equally fantastic movie is the children’s classic “Fantastic Mr. Fox.”

Originally created by British author Roald Dahl, the whimsical children’s tale was taken under the wing of iconic filmmaker Wes Anderson and turned into an ingenious stop-motion film. Though not necessarily a success by box office standards, the movie is a beautiful work of art that remains true to the sentimental nature of the original source material. The movie, though undoubtedly made for children, has all the trademarks of a classic Anderson film, and therefore doesn’t limit its reach to a younger audience — something which Dahl’s book might find itself inadvertently doing.

Though I will always have a special place in my heart for books — especially children’s books — as I have grown older, I’ve come to realize that there is no point in pitting books and movies against each other. Both are their own unique, thrilling art forms, and while they may be cut from the same cloth, they don’t seek to compete; rather, they act as perfect complements to each other.

BESTMBLPLAYERS

FROM PAGE 12

Yennier Cano Relief Pitcher

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles improved immensely last season, narrowly missing the playoffs with a record of 83-79. They have continued to build upon their success with the second-best record in MLB (28-15) this year. Their bullpen has the best ERA in MLB, yet Cano stands out the most, having not given up a single run through 21.2 innings. Of the 67 batters faced, only five of them managed to reach base against Cano.

Cano struggled with a 11.50 ERA last season. However, with some mechanical adjustments, he transformed

his sinker into one of the best pitches in MLB, adding an extra six inches of vertical movement from last season. As a result, his sinker has -10 run value, and he is striking out 37.3% of batters faced. With such success, Cano leads all relief pitchers in Fangraphs Wins Above Replacement (fWAR).

Alex Verdugo Outfielder Boston Red Sox

The former Dodgers’ top prospect Alex Verdugo, who was traded to the Red Sox for star outfielder Mookie Betts, is beginning to reach his potential. Through 43 games, he has 51 hits, five home runs, 18 RBI and 0.877 OPS. Red Sox fans have been waiting for this type of production since he last flashed his potential in 2019 and 2020. Verdugo has significantly improved his on-base percentage (OBP) from 0.328 in 2022 to 0.380 this season. He has also improved his defense in right field. Last season, he ranked 13th percentile in outs above average (OAA) and 43rd percentile in outfielder jump. This year, he ranks 86th percentile in OAA and 91st percentile in outfielder jump. The Red Sox need Verdugo to continue performing at this level in a competitive AL East.

It’s been a strong start for each of these under-the-radar players. If they continue to perform as expected, they can gain the recognition that they deserve as star players and lose the “underrated” label.

GYMBUDDY FROM PAGE 12

Liu and Bagale have plans to make GymBuddy available on other campuses and in other areas, in hopes of connecting more gym buddies everywhere. This expansion may be a slow process, as the app focuses on only UC Davis students right now, but it will possibly include other universities in the future. Liu and Bagale have also discussed expanding to geographical areas outside of universities by making the pairings location-based; however, that will likely occur much further in the future.

As of now, GymBuddy is a studentmade resource for UC Davis students to not only find like-minded gym goers but also people with similar recreational activity interests. Since it includes the ability to add photos to your profile, users can find others with similar workout interests outside of the gym too, such as spikeball or rowing. Bagale said that his and Liu’s main focus is to create “the best experience for the students.”

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.

Crossword

Best campus animal: Cheeto

Cheeto’s comforting presence has permanently won the hearts of animal-loving students

BY LEV FARRIS GOLDBERG features@theaggie.org

For the second year in a row, Cheeto the cat won best campus animal in The Aggie’s Best of Davis student survey. The beloved orange tabby beat out a crowded field of campus animals for the award, including the Arboretum ducks, dairy barn cows, sheepmowers and campus squirrels. Cheeto received 56.7% of the vote, beating the other candidates and claiming the highly competitive award.

Cheeto, who can be found prowling the steps of the physics building or dozing in the bushes nearby, is known for his warm personality, playful antics and winning smile.

The campus cat even has his own Instagram account, @cheetodaily, with over 9,000 followers and counting. Its creator, a fourth-year UC Davis student who has chosen to remain anonymous, knew about Cheeto before even committing to Davis. Upon coming to campus, they made it their mission to meet the friendly feline.

“He was napping in the bushes at the physics building and I was immediately so excited to meet him when I first spotted him from a distance,” the administrator of the account said. “I came up to him and [...] my day was immediately 10,000% better. From then on, I kept visiting him

throughout the quarter and grew to love him more and more.”

The account was started in 2019 during the administrator’s first quarter.

“He played a huge role in getting me through my first quarter here, and I remember seeing other people having similar stories about how his presence always brought them joy,” the administrator said. “That’s when I realized I wanted to share that same joy and happiness with others who may not be aware of Cheeto.”

Asked to comment on his award, Cheeto responded, “Meow. Meow meow, meow.”

First-year design major Helen Cordova Mendez first met Cheeto last September. Just like @cheetodaily, Mendez said that her encounters with Cheeto always leave a lasting impression on her days.

“Seeing Cheeto is like a little mental break and helps relax me if I’m ever overthinking or stressed,” Mendez said.

“When I first came to UC Davis, I was told [that] if he touches you, you will pass your classes. He came up to me during winter quarter, and I passed all my classes.”

First-year agricultural and environmental technology major

tracked down Cheeto

Clarissa Tsue

Best Student Club: Rocky Horror Picture Club

Rocky Horror Club wins 35.8% of the vote for its unique and engaging performances

BY SYDNEY AMESTOY features@theaggie.org

during her first week at Davis and said that she thinks the award is welldeserved.

“I think that Cheeto deserves the Best Campus Animal [award] because he’s friendly and likes people, unlike the ducks, squirrels and wild turkeys that are out and about,” Tsue said.

Tsue visits Cheeto three to four times a week.

“I sometimes get pet-sick missing my dog at home, so Cheeto is a nice replacement,” Tsue said. “His friendliness really helped me grow more confident in liking cats; some might even say I’m becoming a cat person!”

If you’re looking for a club on campus that will offer you a unique experience, look no further than UC Davis’s very own Rocky Horror Picture Club. The club puts on interactive screenings of the cult-classic film, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” monthly; these popular shows helped the group win best student club this year with 35.8% of the vote.

The club puts on elaborate productions with live performances alongside a screening of the movie. Members of the club can perform or work behind the curtain in the technical realm. President and thirdyear neuroscience major Natalie Pearl created the club along with another student early last year. There was a previous Rocky Horror Picture Club on campus that did not return after the pandemic.

“We play the movie on the screen,” Pearl said. “We do it in Rock Hall, and we act it out in front of the screen, and the audience yells at us and throws stuff. And it’s just such a beautiful, weird experience that you can’t really get anywhere else.”

Pearl explained more about why the film has a ‘cult-like’ following, both on and off campus.

“It’s like a parody of old horror movies,” Pearl said. “It’s like a parody and a love letter at the same time. And it’s a musical. And it’s about embracing your sexuality. And it doesn’t really have a plot. But it’s so fun.”

James Barton, a second-year biological sciences major and one of the original cast members in the club, spoke about his experience with the club over the last year.

“We love seeing people who come back every single month,” Barton said. “It’s so much fun. We love seeing people learn the lines and learn where to look and what stuff is going on. We love seeing the outfits and the creativity. We were so excited when we found out that we got voted [for Best of Davis].”

The club’s next show is on April 14 in Rock Hall at 7 p.m. Part of what keeps people coming back month after month, according to Pearl, is that each month’s showing has a different theme: months have been based around Mario, Star Wars, Pride and more. Since the club’s first performance took place on April 15 last year, this will be an anniversary show that is Davis-themed. You can find more details on Instagram at @rockyhorrorclubatucd.

Best Egghead: Bookhead

BY ADHITHI ANJALI arts@theaggie.org

For another year, UC Davis students vote for their picks of the Best of Davis, from restaurants to our iconic Eggheads. 44.4% of surveyed UC Davis students named Bookhead, the Egghead stationed right in front of Shields Library, as the best Egghead on campus.

When picking a favorite, it’s clear students are thinking about campus culture and which Egghead best represents all of us. Sure, Eye on Mrak has a gleeful, carefree aura and the Yin & Yang pair in front of Wright Hall look like they have a great relationship going on. But Bookhead speaks to students most because they know the feeling it portrays well.

“He’s literally me,” Rami Hemsi, a second-year philosophy major, said. Indeed, who hasn’t simply put their forehead to a textbook, hoping to just absorb the knowledge?

“It’s a pretty accurate representation of the reality of being a UC Davis student,” Nicodemus ColloredoMansfeld, a fourth-year international relations major, said. Art imitates life, so they say.

Bookhead’s supremacy is not unchallenged though. Second-year political science major Lucero Castañeda says that while Bookhead “represents the student population the best,” her favorite installation is See No Evil/Hear No Evil, which is found on the way to the Mondavi Center. “I appreciate a good love story,” Castañeda said.

Created by the late UC Davis professor Robert Arneson, the Eggheads were some of his final works before his death in 1992. These installations remain an integral part of campus identity and ceramic art history. Arneson, along with other California-based ceramic artists, pioneered the ceramic “Funk Art” movement. Characterized by intense expression, often vulgar humor and audience engagement, the Eggheads definitely get the art historians and laymen alike fired up all over campus.

Cheeto spends most of his time hanging out on the ramp of the Physics building. (Aggie File)

CHRISTINA LIU / AGGIE

Best Coffee: Philz Coffee

Personalize your cup of joe only at Philz Coffee in downtown Davis

BY BRANDON NGUYEN features@theaggie.org

Receiving 41.3% of students’ votes in yet another close competition against Mishka’s Café, Philz Coffee has been named the Best Coffee in this year’s Best of Davis. It’s no surprise that Philz has become a staple for UC Davis students to kickstart their mornings or fuel their afternoons, as it offers tailor-made cups of joe as well as a hub for studying.

Customers line up to try the chain’s famous blends, including the sweet and aromatic “Philtered Soul,” the bold and spicy “Jacob’s Wonderbar” and the smooth and creamy “Mint Mojito.” The store’s team of baristas, trained in Philz Coffee’s signature “Philz Way” of brewing, are ready to cater these blends to every customer’s taste and preference.

One of the managers at Philz’s Davis location is Bonovan Natoli, who offered insight into what makes Philz unique from other coffee shops in town.

“I would say the fact that we don’t do lattes, americanos or espresso-based drinks is what makes us different,” Natoli said. “Everything here is pourover, whereas other coffee shops typically have their own pre-made coffee blends. We specialize in just making the best coffee that we can. We keep it simple.”

Phil Jaber is the founder of Philz Coffee, whose mission is the principle that, “something as simple as a cup of coffee has the power to transform your everyday into something special” according to the cafe chain’s website. With this in mind, Jaber traveled around the world and visited thousands of coffee shops to taste and uncover blends that made perfect cups of coffee. The first Philz opened in 2002 in the Mission district of San Francisco, providing customers with “better days one brewed-to-order cup at a time.”

Having been a long-standing chain with its very own location just a few blocks from campus on the corner of E Street and 2nd Street, Philz is an easy choice for students looking for a caffeine boost between classes. But it’s not just the convenience that has made the coffee shop a hit among students — it’s the quality of the coffee itself.

Given its history, Philz is known for carefully crafted blends, each one made from freshly roasted beans and

brewed specifically to meet customers’ taste preferences. This attention to detail has won over many UC Davis students, like Angus Chen, a fourth-year English major.

“The service at Philz has always been something I’ve thought every restaurant or cafe should mirror, possibly even more than making the drinks themselves,” Chen said. “They always ask you whether or not the drink tastes how you like at the counter and will take it back to adjust it on the spot if you ask them to.”

In addition to its unique coffee blends, Philz Coffee also offers a variety of pastries, sandwiches and other snacks, making it the perfect spot for a quick breakfast, lunch or afternoon pick-meup. The Davis location also boasts a spacious and laid-back storefront with ample seating options both indoors and outdoors — making it the perfect place for students, like fourth-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major Gabe Deflin, to enjoy a warm cup of coffee.

“The ambiance at the Davis Philz location is what you expect a college town coffee shop to be — studious, smells like coffee and friendly,” Delfin said. “Philz might be a franchise, but

Best Sandwich: Zia’s Delicatessen

A community staple for nearly three decades, Zia’s continues to receive recognition for its excellence

BY ANTHONY W. ZAMMIKIEL features@theaggie.org

Students at UC Davis have selected Zia’s Delicatessen as the Best Sandwich in Davis, with 41.2% of survey participants selecting it for its sandwiches, which have become a Davis delicacy for nearly three decades.

Owners Kevin and Anne Marie Crilly opened the restaurant located on 3rd Street between E Street and F Street in 1995, and the restaurant has become a fixture in an ever-changing downtown scene since.

“Zia’s is like that little slice of Italian heaven here in Davis, and it is such a good thing to have such an experience like that here, and I think that it is seriously one of the best things that I have ever had,” Guglielmo said. “Moving from [San Francisco], I thought that I would have to give up that feeling of coming home to a family meal, but Zia’s is easily on par with everything that I’ve had the pleasure of eating when I was in the Bay [Area].”

it’s a lot less intimidating than other Davis coffee shops and has such a wide selection that it can even cater to those who don’t drink coffee as often.”

Echoing Deflin’s sentiments, Chen pointed to the attractive nuance that Philz adds with its welcoming environment and decorations specific to this location.

“Ultimately, what makes Philz unique is the format and service of the cafe, and somehow, the place itself encourages you to stay inside for a while and enjoy the drink or food you’ve bought from them,” Chen said. “You can see the baristas pouring your coffee over the high counter, which is not typically present in other locations. In addition to stellar service, they have decorations on the wall, like the bikes and Aggie merch that make the Davis location feel special, despite being a chain cafe. To me, Philz isn’t just a place to grab-and-go.”

So even if you may not be a coffee enthusiast, it’s recommended to experience the unique flavors and handcrafted approach of Philz Coffee at least once. The Davis location is open daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. So why not stop by and try one of Philz Coffee’s famous customized blends for yourself?

Best Date Spot: Davis Farmers Market

The local favorite once again won the vote for students’ favorite place to take that special someone

BY SUN YIE

features@theaggie.org

The Davis Farmers Market is a place where you and your partner can take a leisurely stroll through the rows of local vendors, buy groceries or simply enjoy the Saturday morning sun. Often featuring live music from local bands during Wednesday evening markets, attendees can browse or buy a variety of goodies, such as baked goods, handmade crafts, fresh flowers, vintage clothes and more.

48.2% of the survey participants chose this beloved market as their favorite date spot, which means it clearly holds a spot in many locals’’ hearts.

Angelika Garcia, a fourth-year psychology major, is one of these locals. She explained that visiting the “farmar” is her Saturday tradition.

“My partner and I love starting off the day with fresh apple juice from the farmers market and then making our way down to see all the other vendors,” she said. “We alternate in getting flowers for each other, and then we either end

our morning that way or we check out the art market down the street.”

On Saturdays, the Davis Farmers Market and the Davis Craft and Vintage Fair experience an overlap; the Davis Farmers Market hours are from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., while the Craft and Vintage Market hours are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. While the Davis Farmers Market hosts a variety of local businesses and restaurants situated in downtown Davis, the Craft and Vintage Fair presents an array of local vendors, many of which are fellow students or recent graduates.

Jasmine Prado, a fourth-year biology major, affirms that there’s nothing that beats the farmers market and Craft and Vintage Fair combination on Saturdays.

“My boyfriend and I love both of these markets and we try to go every week,” Prado said. “The Davis Farmers Market is a familiar comfort, and yet, I feel like we see something new each time, so it’s not boring either. I also love seeing crafts that my fellow students have made at the Davis [Craft and] Vintage Fair down the street.”

For those who are unable to enjoy the weekend markets or would rather unwind at the market after a hard day of classes, the Davis Farmers Market is also hosted on Wednesday evenings from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., and has expanded hours from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. starting mid-May. These Wednesday offerings are also known as “Picnics in the Park,” and they provide a great opportunity to do just that — local restaurants like Buckhorn to Raja’s often sell food at this market, although their menus can vary from week to week. Once you and your partner have grabbed a bite, you can find a spot to rest in the park, maybe enjoy live local music and watch the sun set on a perfect date.

This is the way Daniella Ramirez, a fourth-year sociology major, chooses to enjoy the Davis market.

“I love catching sunsets during dinner time with my partner on Wednesdays,” Ramirez said. “They make me feel appreciative of every day I spend with my partner.”

The Davis Farmers Market is beloved by Aggies and locals alike. If you’re searching for a fun date idea, look no further — not only will you take home fond memories of a sweet outing, you might leave with some yummy leftovers or a locally made sweater as well.

Zia’s has received community recognition, including awards from local publications such as the titles of Best Sandwich Restaurant in previous years’ Best of Davis and Editorial Consideration from The Davis Enterprise. The recognition that Zia’s has received even extends beyond Davis into the larger Sacramento food scene.

Sally Guglielmo, a Davis resident who moved to the city from San Francisco, said that she appreciates how Zia’s has maintained its traditional Italian heritage and its commitment to a positive dining experience.

Isabel Hernandez, a Davis student who is originally from Southern California, said that the restaurant reminds her of the local Italian delis that she would frequent with friends and family.

“Growing up in the valley down in [Southern California], you have all of these places that I just love, and some of my favorite places have the fondest memories for me,” Hernandez said. “And I can’t help but smile anytime I walk into Zia’s and order something. It just feels like home.”

IKE love and sandwhiches. (Quinn Spooner / Aggie)

Best Boba: iTea

iTea’s convenient location as well as its expansive drink menu and snack options make it a must-visit for Davis locals

BY ALINA ISSAKHANIAN features@theaggie.org

iTea next to UC Davis (Quinn Spooner / Aggie)

Downtown Davis has become a hotspot for boba, with a wide variety of options to choose from. Each location offers something unique, but this year students have rated iTea as having the best boba, receiving 30.7% of the votes and barely beating Lazi Cow, which received 27.7% of the votes. This conveniently located boba shop has secured its spot as a fan favorite among the people of Davis.

“iTea’s proximity to the UCD campus makes this boba place a wonderful choice for some refreshing milk tea with egg pudding or snackables like basil popcorn chicken and udon,” said first-year economics major Yuetong Zheng.

iTea is located on 3rd St. and A St. — situated between the edge of campus and downtown. With lines often extending out the door, this shop hits the spot between classes, after a long day or when hanging out with friends.

“I love iTea,” said fourth-year statistics major Jeffrey Nduka Ugochukwu. “It uses the freshest ingredients for their fruit teas and smoothies. iTea stands out more compared to other boba places by having fewer artificial ingredients for making their drinks.”

With a large menu and options for customization, customers have lots of options — from classic milk teas to their popular basil popcorn chicken.

“I like the convenience of iTea, it’s close to campus and is affordable,” said first-year genetics and genomics major Elizabeth Paul. “Other boba places are more expensive but iTea stays consistent. I always get mango fruit tea with boba, mango and mango jelly.”

iTea is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Philz Coffee is a student favorite with a cute interior and plentiful coffee options.

(Sean Vanderaa / Aggie)

SPORTS

MEN’S BASEBALL

The best baseball players you don’t know about

Vinny Pasquantino, Yandy Diaz, Mitch Keller and others among

in MLB

BY PATRICK FIGUEROA sports@theaggie.org

Each MLB season, there are a few players who perform exceptionally well, but baseball fans do not realize who they are. A quarter of the way through the 2023 season, this remains true. These under-the-radar gems have not only produced early, but their advanced numbers suggest that they will continue to produce throughout the season.

Vinnie Pasquantino First Baseman Kansas City Royals

The Royals are off to a slow start to the 2023 season — they have only won 12 of their 42 games. Yet, Vinnie Pasquantino, also known as “The Pasquatch,” has been a lone bright spot for the young team. Since his call up to the majors in 2022, Pasquantino continues to be an offensive prowess with a good on-base percentage and great bat-to-ball skills. Through 41 games this season, Pasquantino has seven home runs and 19 RBI with 42 hits. He walks more than he strikes out with a 11.4% walk rate (BB%) and 10.2% strikeout rate (K%), according to Fangraphs. He sits at a 0.848 on-base-plus-slugging (OPS) and a 134 weighted runs created plus (wRC+). When examining Statcast, he ranks 80th percentile or better in the following categories: hard-hit percentage, expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA), expected batting average (xBA), expected slugging percentage (xSLG), K% and whiff

percentage.

Yandy Diaz First Baseman Tampa Bay Rays

While the Rays do have widelyrecognized stars like shortstop Wander Franco and outfielder Randy Arozarena, Yandy Diaz has been a major contributor to the team that has the most wins in baseball (31). The once mildly powerful third-baseman has already hit 10 home runs through 39 games this season. The most home runs he had in a single season prior to this year was 14 home runs in 2019.

Diaz is striking out at a higher rate than last season (10.8% last year, 14.9% this season), yet he is producing the most he has in his entire career. In the 45 games so far, Diaz has 45 hits, 24 RBI and 1.021 OPS. He currently ranks 80th percentile in barrel percentage after ranking 20th percentile last year. His soft contact percentage decreased from 14% in 2022 to 8.6%, while his hard contact percentage increased from 35.5% to 44%.

Mitch Keller Starting Pitcher

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates had a strong start to their season after finishing April with a record of 20-9. Despite the team cooling down, Keller continues to build on his breakout season. Through nine starts, Keller has a 2.38 earned run average (ERA), 69 strikeouts and 1.024 walks plus hits per inning (WHIP). His

New GymBuddy App launches at UC Davis

Two UC Davis students introduce new app in hopes of connecting students who need workout buddies

strikeout total currently ranks fourth among active starters in MLB.

Previously ranked among the worst starting pitchers in MLB in 2021, Keller turned his career around by improving in some major statistical categories. He improved his K% from 20.1% in 2022 to 30.1% this season. Additionally, two of his most-used pitches, the four-seam fastball and sinker, have more vertical and horizontal movement than last year, generating negative run value on these pitches.

Adolis Garcia Outfielder Texas

FRISBEE

the most underrated baseball players

Rangers Coming into this season, the Rangers had higher expectations for improvement after finishing last season 68-94. They revamped their entire roster in the off-season, expecting their free agent signings to improve the team’s success. Yet, Garcia, who was already on the team for the previous three seasons, is a major contributor for the Rangers this year as they have the best record in the ALeague (AL) West through 43 games (26-17).

Garcia has 13 home runs, 46 RBI

and 0.861 OPS through 42 games this season. One area of growth most notable for Garcia is that he is making better swing decisions. He is swinging less and making more contact than previous seasons. As a result, he is also striking out less than prior seasons. Ranking 94th percentile in average exit velocity and 92nd percentile in barrel percentage, he has the third most home runs in MLB this season.

BESTMBLPLAYERS on 8

UC Davis women’s ultimate frisbee club team, Rogue, is a ‘home away from home’ for teammates

An unconventional sports club upholds athleticism, community and sportsmanship

BY LYNN CHEN features@theaggie.org

When discussing sports, basketball, soccer or football might pop into many peoples’ heads first. While not mainstream, ultimate frisbee is still a sport that prides itself on energetic athleticism, a passionate fanbase and steadfast sportsmanship. One such team that demonstrates these values is Rogue, the UC Davis women’s club ultimate frisbee team. Rogue comprises two teams, A and B, with the main difference being that A is more competitive while B is developmental. Recently, Rogue’s A team competed in the District 1 regionals in Santa Barbara, where the top three teams would qualify for nationals. Rogue did not qualify, but Margo Donahue, a fourth-year psychology and philosophy double major and one of the A-team captains, said that the team “played really well” nonetheless.

also requires time commitment from its members. Every week, the A team spends nine hours practicing and one hour doing workout training, while the B team spends six hours practicing. Members also attend regular tournaments.

According to Donahue, workout training for the A team includes running and strength building, as well as exercises focused on defensive and offensive strategies. Denio said that Rogue makes sure to build skills for the two offense positions: handlers, who pass the discs downfield, and cutters, who perform certain running routes to catch the disc. These positions work together to maneuver the disc through the other team’s defense.

Karly Thomas, a fifth-year sustainable agriculture and food systems major and captain of the B team, said the club is welcoming to all players of different skill levels and ages.

“I’ve played with 30-year-old postdoc students and 18-year-old freshmen,” Thomas said.

Despite ultimate frisbee’s current niche nature, Donahue and Denio believe that it is an “up-and-coming sport” in the athletic community. Donahue explained that the sport is growing in popularity among college, high school and even middle school communities.

BY EVA MACHADO sports@theaggie..org

Working out, especially at the gym, can be intimidating. GymBuddy is an app engineered by two UC Davis students in hopes of diminishing that fear and opening up the gym community to everyone.

GymBuddy is a new app available for all UC Davis students looking to expand their workout circles and gym experiences. Through GymBuddy, gymgoers can connect with other workout enthusiasts who may be searching for a new workout partner and friend with similar interests.

UC Davis students may ask, who are the creators of GymBuddy and what prompted them to create the app?

Eugene Liu, a third-year at UC Davis’s King Hall School of Law and Matthew Bagale, a fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in communication, created GymBuddy together at the end of winter quarter.

Liu and Bagale met after becoming roommates this past year and have formed a friendship based on their love of going to the gym. Both Liu and Bagale would often go to the gym together in their free time, solidifying not only their new friendship, but also their shared passion as gym enthusiasts.

Liu and Bagale described a predicament they found themselves in when one night, Bagale was too tired to work out, leaving Liu wishing he could find another gym-goer who would be able to work out with him. This led Liu to come up with the concept for GymBuddy.

Following Liu’s lightbulb moment, he went straight to Bagale, sharing his idea for an app that could immediately connect gym-goers looking for workout partners. Bagale loved the concept, and he and Liu began working on the app that night. Liu and Bagale created and coded the app.

“I had previous experience coding

a website that helped fashion designers raise money (as seen on WWD and CBS),” Liu said. With this experience, he was able to code the first version of GymBuddy in two weeks.

Then, GymBuddy was successfully launched through a presentation to one of Bagale’s classes at UC Davis and has taken off since.

GymBuddy is currently only directed toward UC Davis students. All UC Davis students can sign up for the app using their UC Davis email address, which ensures that they will be matched with other UC Davis students and meet people from within the Davis community.

The app has two central ways of finding gym buddies around Davis. To start, you can match with people through their profiles, which describe their interests and gym goals. Specifically, users can look at others’ uploaded pictures, level of gym experience and preferred workout times in order to find people with similar preferences. GymBuddy’s profile feature is similar to dating apps like “Tinder” in that you can choose to match with other users based on their profiles.

The second function of GymBuddy is for users looking for quick matches to workout with.

“Quick Pair” is the second and newest feature of GymBuddy, which allows users to be paired with another user looking for a gym buddy within an hour based on their profiles. This feature is key in the main concept of connecting students in immediate need of a workout partner much like Liu was the night GymBuddy was created.

So far, GymBuddy has paired over 100 UC Davis students with gym buddies and over 200 students are current users of the app.

The sport itself is a competition involving frisbee with elements from other sports. According to Donahue, ultimate frisbee is “a mix between soccer, basketball and football.” Both teams aim to score by passing the frisbee into end zones. While one team is on offense, the other team plays defense by assigning guards to each person on the offensive team. Players also have to keep in mind rules about passing discs within a certain time frame and keeping in bounds.

What’s special about frisbee is that it’s “self-officiated,” Donahue said. “Players are the ones calling fouls and turnovers, points — everything.” Emily Denio, one of the A-team captains and second-year environmental policy analysis and planning major, said that it is on players to make sure games are “fair.”

As an ultimate frisbee team, Rogue

Rogue members also often study together and attend social events outside of practice, such as formals, barbecues and “Socks and Mugs” during winter quarter — Rogue’s version of white elephant.

“I would say we are a very close team,” Donahue said. “We definitely do a lot outside of practice to help build chemistry and become closer as a team. A lot of people say that Rogue is like their ‘home away from home.’ We’re a really close community that is super supportive.” Denio furthered that Rogue facilitates a “welcoming and supportive environment,” especially to newer players.

“We make buddy groups,” Denio said. “Normally, we try to match returning players with rookies or older players with younger players. It’s really cool because younger players can have someone they go to for advice. They can ask them about classes or if they just need help in some other way.”

“Very recently, pro-leagues were created,” Donahue said. “The AUDL is the American Ultimate Disc League, which is a professional men’s ultimate league [...] while the WUL, Western Ultimate League, and PUL, Premier Ultimate League, are two professional women’s leagues.”

According to Denio, the sport is growing across the globe.

“My first three years of college, I lived with a roommate from China who had been playing ultimate since high school,” Denio said. Even as ultimate frisbee’s popularity spreads, it occupies a unique space in the athletic world.

“Frisbee is unlike any sport I’ve ever played,” Donahue said. “One aspect of frisbee is called ‘spirit of the game,’ which is the idea that everybody plays with honesty, integrity and respect. I think the frisbee community honors that all over the world. We still are going to play very competitively, and we’re gonna try our best but not at the expense of our dignity and our respect for others.”

GYM

JOANNE SUN / AGGIE

Rogue Ultimate Frisbee club’s A-team in a huddle. (Courtesy / Kori Suzuki)

NATALIE CHENG / AGGIE