October 8, 2020

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VOLUME 139, ISSUE 1 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020

THEAGGIE.ORG

UC MUST SUSPEND SAT AND ACT SCORES IN ADMISSIONS, SCHOLARSHIP DECISIONS, JUDGE RULES Lawsuit alleged that standardized testing requirements are “broadly biased”; UC may challenge ruling

BY REBECCA BIHN-WALLACE campus@theaggie.org The University of California must immediately suspend its SAT and ACT score requirements in its admissions and scholarship processes, Alameda County Superior Court judge Brad Seligman ruled Sept. 6, according to The LA Times.

The ruling is in response to a lawsuit which alleged that SAT and ACT requirements are “broadly biased,” particularly when it comes to disabled students attempting to access testing spaces and help amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Superior Court decision comes in the wake of significant testing reforms within the UC system: in May, the UC Board of Regents voted unanimously to remove the SAT and ACT requirements from the UC application.

The Regents concluded that the test scores were “unacceptably biased based on race, income, and parent education level.”

Therefore, the UC previously decided that SAT and ACT scores would be made optional for two years before being phased out entirely, and could continue to factor into scholarship decisions.

Seligman’s injunction, however, rules that test scores may no longer affect the admissions or scholarship process at all. “[The] UC respectfully disagrees with the Court’s ruling,” a spokesman for UC said in a Sept. 1 statement. “An injunction may interfere with the University’s efforts to implement appropriate and comprehensive admissions policies and its ability to attract and enroll students of diverse backgrounds and experiences.”

The statement indicated that the UC would also be deciding whether “further legal action” was necessary in response to the ruling, and suggested that individual campuses were better positioned to make executive decisions regarding admissions procedures.

The spokesperson also said that UC’s decision to “adopt a test-optional approach” for the applicant class of 2021 and the university’s decision to phase out SAT and ACT score requirements to become test-blind by 2023 minimized the potential academic obstacles caused by COVID-19.

Three UC campuses–UC Berkeley, UC Irvine and UC Santa Cruz–have already removed the testing requirements. The other UC campuses, including UC Davis, initially planned on considering the SAT and ACT scores if students chose to submit them.

But in the ruling, Seligman maintained that there isn’t much data to demonstrate that standardized tests are an effective barometer of future academic success in college.

The Superior Court’s ruling will be applicable to all UC campuses, meaning that SAT and ACT scores will effectively be irrelevant in the admissions process until 2025.

The UC, beginning this summer, is working on a test that more closely aligns with UC expectations for current students. If the Regents find the test unfinished or insufficient in 2025, the test score requirement will be scrapped altogether.

This article was originally published online on Sept. 7, 2020.

Standardized test form. (Wikimedia)

UC DAVIS CHAPTER OF ALPHA EPSILON PI TO OPERATE INDEPENDENTLY OF THE UNIVERSITY AFTER REGISTRATION REVOKED DUE TO HAZING Fraternity raises concerns about “lack of due process” in disciplinary process

BY REBECCA BIHN-WALLACE campus@theaggie.org

KAITLYN PANG / AGGIE

HOW TO APPROACH FLU SEASON DURING A PANDEMIC Health experts give advice on how to mitigate the effects of influenza and COVID-19

BY MICHELLE WONG science@theaggie.org Several factors will affect how this flu season will unfold, according to Dean Blumberg, the chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital. On one hand, Blumberg expects there to be an increased transmission of the coronavirus starting in the fall and extending into the winter since SARS-CoV-2 is a winter respiratory virus. With the current masking and social distancing protocols in place, however, there may be decreased transmission of influenza, meaning a milder flu season.

Blumberg explained that evidence of this was seen in several places in the southern hemisphere, like Australia, during their respective flu season. Daniel Colby, an assistant professor in the department of emergency medicine at UC Davis Health, added that although it is still important to consider other factors that influenced this phenomenon, these cases give him hope that the U.S. will also have a mild influenza season.

It is important to minimize the spread of influenza to make sure healthcare systems are not overwhelmed, Colby said. If there is a surge of both COVID-19 and the flu simultaneously, this could stress the system to its capacity.

“A big concern is that we want to make sure that healthcare systems’ capacity is available to treat everybody who needs to be treated,” Blumberg said. “So that’s why we are strongly continuing to recommend the social distancing and the mask wearing as well as everybody getting the influenza vaccine this year. If there’s a surge of either COVID or influenza patients it may fill up the ICUs and we may not have care available who need it.”

In order to minimize the influenza spread, Blumberg advises all citizens to get vaccinated as soon as possible, as it takes two weeks to develop immunity after receiving the vaccine, which lasts for six months. He explained that since the most common month for the influenza season to hit its peak is February, getting immunized now will make sure people will have immunity until then.

Although it is known that coinfections of COVID-19 and influenza are possible, Colby explained that there is not enough information about the coronavirus to determine

what will happen if a patient contracts both viruses. This is something that can only be known once the flu season hits.

“Honestly, in my opinion, no one in the world is truly a COVID expert still because the disease is too new,” Colby said.

Despite the uncertainty of this upcoming fall and winter, the Department of Public Health Sciences is setting up programs such as the Aggie Public Health Ambassadors and Healthy Davis Together to continue to help UC Davis students and the larger Davis community navigate the pandemic. Bradley Pollock, the associate dean for public health sciences explained that the student ambassadors will be helping with COVID-19 screening on campus. In addition, he hopes that they will be able to reach students living off campus by setting up testing kiosks in communities in the future. As Colby explained, distinguishing flu symptoms from COVID-19 symptoms is very difficult, so it is important that people get tested even if they experience influenza-like symptoms.

“People don’t know a lot about propagation of the virus, but one person gets infected and you have this exponential spread,” Pollock said. “You get this incredible one case turns into a huge number of people, so [we’re] trying to break the chain of that propagation.”

Pollock hopes that by properly educating the ambassadors about COVID-19, their efforts along with the city’s efforts through the Healthy Davis Together program will help control the spread of COVID-19 and incentivize others to continue practices such as social distancing and masking. Colby added that students should continue to listen to public health experts and science as we progress into uncertain circumstances.

“I know we’re all tired and would like this to be over, but I think with the change in season, it’s more important than ever for people to take scientifically proven actions that we know will decrease transmission, and that’s the social distancing and wearing a mask,” Blumberg said.

“Those are the most important things that we can do to decrease risk of transmission and keep us all healthy and so that we can eventually return to our normal way of life.”

The Davis chapter of the Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) fraternity has decided to operate independently of the university as of this school year, said Noah Stark, president of Davis AEPi, in an email statement two weeks ago.

AEPi’s registration was revoked in Spring Quarter 2020 due to incidents of hazing, Kristen Dees, director of the Center for Student Involvement (CSI), said via email. The revocation will last until 2025, and AEPi is no longer listed as a chapter on the UC Davis Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life website.

In her email, Dees said that UC Davis recommends students refrain from joining organizations with revoked or closed registration.

AEPi has since been told to cease their operations at UC Davis, Dees added.

The news, which was also posted on the fraternity’s Instagram, comes after a record number of UC Davis fraternities—Sigma Mu Delta, Delta Sigma Pi and Zeta Psi—had their registration revoked for five years due to hazing incidents in February 2020.

The hazing in those three revoked organizations, described by anonymous sources, included physical punishments like push-ups, planking and consuming “unknown [concoctions] of mixed drinks” as punishment for failing to memorize or recite certain items. One pledge referred to the “physical and mental strain” of the rushing process.

In the article, an executive board member from one of the fraternities complained about a lack of transparency in OSSJA’s investigative process, while acknowledging that they understood why the identities of those making allegations would be kept confidential.

Another pledge said they did not think they had committed any acts of misconduct, since pledges can “drop out [of the process] at any time they want” and were already aware of what it would be like.

At the time that the February article went to print, AEPi had not yet had its registration revoked, but was being investigated by OSSJA, as were the fraternities Theta Tau and Sigma Lambda Beta. Stark declined to comment on the contents of the article.

“Our multiple, wrongful dealings with OSSJA [Office of Student Support and Judicial Affairs] affirm that there are improper safeguards to protect student organizations – as we plead to OSSJA Director and Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs in appeal – and that a lack of due process and inadequate bias training has permeated throughout the school’s judicial body resulting in partisan results to the detriment of minority communities, Greek communities and student communities at large,” wrote Stark on behalf of the fraternity.

He also described OSSJA’s investigations as “unscrupulous” and asserted that AEPi was “wrongfully punished.”

AEPi’s statement said that OSSJA’s disciplinary actions mimicked a national trend of Greek organizations “being subject to uneven as well as unjust penal bodies,” adding that fraternities and sororities’ right to operate independently of universities had been legally upheld by the “highest court in the land.”

Freedom of association—first recognized in a 1958 U.S. Supreme Court Case which struck down an Alabama law requiring the release of a list of NAACP members—continues to be affirmed in judicial decisions in the United States, and is largely viewed as an extension of First Amendment rights.

The statement also highlighted the precautions that AEPi is taking during COVID-19, in accordance with university regulations.

It suggested that UC Davis assist students and community members in fighting the disease rather than “brazenly [choosing to allocate] time and money towards persecuting Greek life.”

“As always, we will continue building the next generation of Jewish leaders, which is and has been our foremost goal – and is more vital now than ever,” the statement said.

This article was originally published online on Sept. 30, 2020.

2 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

STUDENT HOUSING COUNSELOR-IN-RESIDENCE APPROVED IN BUDGET BUT PAUSED AMID PANDEMIC Current, former student employees still express concerns about communication, mental health support

Freshman students moving into the UC Davis Tercero dorms. (AGGIE FILE)

BY ANJINI VENUGOPAL campus@theaggie.org Five current and former Student Housing employees spoke to The Aggie. Employee A, Employee B and Employee C spoke on condition of anonymity to protect themselves and their employment.

Employee D and Employee E are former student staff of Student Housing who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardize professional relationships.

Students can schedule individual counseling from the SHCS by calling them at 1(530)752-0871.

The number for the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1(800)273-8255; the number for the 24/7 Crisis Text Line is 741741; the number to speak with a trained counselor through The Trevor Project, available 24/7, is 1(866)488-7386 and the number for Yolo County’s 24-hour crisis line is 1(530)756-5000 for Davis callers.

With cancellations of housing contracts

and reduced density of residence halls, Student Housing and Dining Services lost $22 million at the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year and anticipates losing the same amount in Fall Quarter 2020, according to Director of Business and Financial Services Ramona Hernandez.

Student Housing and Dining Services’ budget has been especially affected by COVID-19 and students canceling their housing contracts because it is an auxiliary operation that “count[s] on student room and board costs for [its] entire budget,” said Director of the Office of Student Development Branden Petitt.

In light of the reduced density, Petitt said that Student Housing had to reevaluate the number of positions—the model they use has one resident advisor (RA) or community advisor (CA) for every 50 residents. An email sent on Aug. 6 stated that they would “need to reduce the team by an unknown number but likely by around 50%,” sparking concern and a Change.org petition on

the same day.

On Aug. 7, Petitt sent a follow-up email, apologizing for the “confusion and worry” the communication had caused. On Aug. 14, a staff meeting was held to clarify that those who needed room and board were still guaranteed it. After that meeting, Petitt said that he heard from students who were appreciative of the flexibility. But others expressed concerns around the vagueness of their role.

“I think there has been more clarity in what next year will look like, but there are still so many questions that I don’t think will be completely answered until we actually begin our position,” Employee A said. “It’s hard to predict what next year will entail [...] All of the uncertainty is definitely stressful, but I am just glad Student Housing will not be cutting anybody from the job.”

In an interview on Aug. 17, Petitt stated that he had not seen the petition and said that the decision to provide room and board was never in question, but he understands how students came to that conclusion.

He also said that 20% of residential student staff had already resigned and added that the 50% referenced in the email came from the number of students that were registered to live on campus.

Other considerations that factored into Student Housing and Dining Services’ decisions include needing to sufficiently support living-learning and shared-interest communities, which could result in the CA number remaining the same or higher than 50%.

The CA and After Hours Assistant (AHA) positions are new for the 2020-21 year. They were introduced to provide more structure and divide the responsibilities RAs previously held. CAs can concentrate on their floors while AHAs will handle rounds and similar duties.

Regardless of how many individuals are needed as CAs, all student staff offered positions guaranteeing room and board will be housed so long as they continue to work 19.5 hours a week.

“We’re guaranteeing that they’ll have their

room and board and will be assigned work that’s within the scope of their current position,” Petitt said, explaining that the assigned work will likely be desk shifts, helping at computer centers, being an Aggie public health ambassador or mail clerk.

Student staff say miscommunication is part of a longstanding pattern According to all five Student Housing employees The Aggie spoke to, this incident speaks to a pattern of poor communication and student staff feeling that they are not sufficiently supported.

“In different times, the communication has been, unless you’re personally going out to them [Student Housing], very limited,” Employee C said. “I feel like that was the case just throughout.”

With regard to such concerns, Petitt said that often he is “at the mercy of getting the information” himself, but acknowledged that there could be ways to improve communication.

“I totally get that people want information, and they want it right away, and I will certainly provide it when I can,” Petitt said. “Now, in all fairness, maybe that’s the email that goes out: ‘I don’t have the information, and I will get it to you as soon as I can, please hang in there.’ You know, maybe just more of that recognizing and empathizing with the situation.”

Employee E, who was an RA for a year and then an assistant resident director, agreed with Employee C and spoke to feelings that stemmed from a lack of communication.

“I think when it comes down to it, student staff is very unprioritized,” Employee E said. “We’re expected to kind of just do whatever needs to be done for students, even though we are students ourselves. I just feel like that bleeds into their crises responses.”

Employee D echoed this sentiment, adding that she feels student staff are not prioritized as individuals.

This article was originally published online on Sept. 4, 2020.

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ADAPTIVE RECREATION PROGRAM OFFERS SOCIAL CONNECTION, DESPITE ONGOING PANDEMIC In-person, virtual events allow participants to build friendships while following social distancing guidelines

BY SHRADDHA JHINGAN KAITLYN PANG / AGGIE city@theaggie.org The City of Davis recently announced that its “Adaptive Recreation Team will offer programming this fall season with new virtual and socially distant options,” after a hiatus during the spring and summer due to COVID-19, according to a news statement published on Sept. 16.

Jillian LeDuc, the community services program coordinator at Adaptive Recreation and Reasonable Accomodations, explained that the program gives adults with disabilities a space to socialize and have fun.

“Adaptive Recreation is a program that provides opportunities for adults with developmental disabilities to socialize and recreate,” LeDuc said, via email. “This Fall we are offering a mix of virtual and in-person programming.”

All programs being offered are compliant with guidelines from the county and state for group gatherings. The release describes that recreation groups have a limit of 12 people, occur outdoors

with mandated masks and must maintain six feet of distance between participants.

“Due to safety guidelines and protocols, participants must be able to provide their own transportation to and from the event as the City of Davis is unable to provide transportation to participants at this time,” the press release reads.

Despite the current pandemic, the Adaptive Recreation program offers a way for people to connect with each other, both online and in person. The weekly virtual Social Hours consist of crafts, enjoyable conversations and games, according to LeDuc. “Our in-person events are local activities to meet with intention,” LeDuc said. “That intention is to do something small but mighty. With all the limitations, less is more right now.”

Examples of events that have been held so far include “a Socially Distant Ice Cream Social, bocce ball hangouts, and an afternoon stroll to enjoy the outdoors and some frozen yogurt,” according to LeDuc. RECREATION on 11

YOLO INTERFAITH IMMIGRATION NETWORK RAISES $40,000 FOR IMMIGRANT FAMILIES IN DAVIS COMMUNITY Local organizations provide resources to immigrant families, who face unique challenges during pandemic KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

BY JELENA LAPUZ city@theaggie.org While COVID-19 has widely impacted communities everywhere, immigrant communities have faced added difficulties unique to their situation.

Yolo County Supervisor Jim Provenza noted that for many farmworkers and immigrants in Yolo County, the COVID-19 pandemic may have resulted in a significant decrease of work hours or in job loss entirely. Undocumented immigrants have faced additional problems because many were unable to qualify for government aid or resources, and they also struggled with finding legal representation.

Co-chair of Yolo Interfaith Immigration Network (YIIN) Ignacio Alarcón stated via email that “COVID-19 shaped immigration broadly in many ways, such as with travel bans, border closures, asylum limits, pausing refugee resettlement, and more.”

Alarcón further explained that immigrants make up about one-sixth of the 156 million person civilian workforce, and also make up greater proportions of healthcare workers and other frontline roles such as restaurant workers, hotel workers, cleaning services, etc.

“They are faced with significantly elevated COVID-19 risk as a result,” Alarcón said. “Disastrously paired with an elevated likelihood of

lacking health insurance compared to U.S.-born peers.”

Supervisor Provenza further commented on how immigrant workers can experience less safe working conditions.

“They’re working in situations where there isn’t necessarily the same protection,” Provenza said. “Sometimes, the rules aren’t enforced at the workplace [...] and having somebody who can help them through the [reporting] process is really essential.”

The Director of the UC Davis AB540 and Undocumented Student Center, Laura M. Bohórquez García, explained that COVID-19 increased demand for grants at the center.

“We saw an increase in emergency grants because there [were] a lot of students and families who were losing their jobs,” García said. “They didn’t have the types of jobs that provided health insurance or didn’t have access to resources.”

Alarcón explained that Yolo Interfaith Immigration Network started the ApoYolo Program.

The official website described ApoYolo as “a team of culturally competent, trained bilingual volunteers to identify and work with families with undocumented members to assist them with obtaining available services from the Yolo Food Bank, Empower Yolo and local clinics.”

INTERFAITHFUNDS on 11

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8 | 3

Voting center locations announced in yolo county, following safety guidelines Des p i te p a n d e m i c , vo te r t urnout predicted to re ma in s i m i l a r to p rev i ous years KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

BY SHRAD D HA J H I N G A N city@theaggie.org In a press release published on Aug. 18, 2020, Yolo County announced “proposed Voter Assistance Centers (VACs) and Ballot Drop-off (BDB) locations to be used in the upcoming November 3, 2020 General Election” in accordance with Senate Bill SB 423 and guidance from the California Secretary of State Office.

There will be 12 VACs and BDBs in Yolo County, according to the press release. The VACS include the Davis ARC Center Ballroom, Harper Junior High School, Patwin Elementary School, the Veterans Memorial Center, as well as others in Esparto, West Sacramento, Winters and Woodland.

Additionally, the BDBs include locations in both Nuggets Markets, City Hall and Westlake Market, alongside others in Yolo County. A full list of the VAC and BDB locations and hours can be found in the press release or on the Yolo Elections website.

Yolo County Assessor/Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters Jesse Salinas explained how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted voting in an email interview.

“COVID-19 has significantly impacted our society at large and also the world of elections,” Salinas said via email. “The current pandemic has placed significant restraints and concerns on voting and how election administration will be adjusted, not only for the upcoming election but for years to come.”

UC Davis Lecturer of Political Science Dr. Isaac Hale also explained how voting may be different this year due to the impacts of COVID-19. According to political science research, states that use all-mail voting, such as California and Oregon, result in having higher turnout rates, Dr. Hale explained.

“I think that COVID-19 will absolutely affect voting,” Dr. Hale said via email. “In the U.S., election administration is largely left up to each state, so the way it plays out will vary. Here in California, voters are automatically being sent mail-in ballots. As such, turnout in California will probably not be decreased as a result of COVID-19.”

Salinas also explained the voting procedures for the upcoming election, such as being able to vote from home.

“Every active registered voter in California will be sent a Vote-by-Mail ballot in advance of the November election (Vote-by-Mail ballots will be sent Monday, Oct. 5, 2020),” Salinas said via email.

“Voters will be able to vote from the comfort and safety of their own home.”

In order for there to be “added vote-by-mail transparency,” voters can track their ballots via “Where’s My Ballot,” sign up for automated notifications or USPS Informed Delivery to know when their Vote by Mail ballot may be arriving.

Furthermore, return postage is paid for and ‘“I voted” stickers will be sent with the ballots, according to Salinas. Additionally, there will be 12 VACs from Oct. 31, 2020 to Nov. 3, 2020.

Social distancing and safety guidelines will also be implemented in VACs and BDBs to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

According to the CDC guidelines for voting, there should be measures and guidelines in place such as wearing masks, social distancing, disinfecting surfaces and crowd management.

“Containment and prevention efforts are the primary concern of all preparation activities for the upcoming November election,” Salinas said via email. “The Yolo County Election Office’s goal is to deliver a safe voting experience for all participants – employees, voters, volunteers and observers. The Elections Office has been working in direct partnership with the Yolo County Health & Human Services Agency (HHSA) and the Secretary of State’s Office to safeguard the wellbeing of all participants in the upcoming election.”

According to Salinas, there will be “rigorous sanitation practices and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to limit potential exposure and spread of COVID-19 in all VACs is a top priority.”

Voters should be prepared by checking their registration status, making a plan for in person voting or returning their ballot and staying informed through reliable sources such as the Yolo County Elections, Salinas advised.

In addition, Salinas’ message to voters is that home is the safest place to vote from.

This article was originally published Sept. 11, 2020.

VOTINGCENTERS on 11

Local Nonprofits focused on helping kids provide childcare, free lunches Nonprofit s adapt to help children during pa ndemic, receive support f ro m co mm unit y KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

BY JE LE NA LAP UZ city@theaggie.org The COVID-19 pandemic has affected numerous lives in the Davis community, resulting in an increased demand for services provided by nonprofits. Local organizations such as Yolo Crisis Nursery, Winters Farm to School and Progress Ranch have continued to provide services, but changed their models to suit shifting needs.

Yolo Crisis Nursery offers to “provide safe, temporary care for children up through age 5,” its official website reads.

Executive director of Yolo Crisis Nursery Heather Sleuter noted how the need for services like Yolo Crisis Nursery grew during the pandemic.

“We got a shift in the need of the Crisis Nursery when the pandemic hit,” Sleuter said.

“Families were losing their jobs, daycares were closing and essential workers were needing to go to work but didn’t have anywhere to put their kids.”

Yolo Crisis Nursery began to see different types of needs from families, some more extreme than before the pandemic. They took in babies born to families who had contracted COVID-19 or had other COVID-related issues. She also explained that Yolo Crisis Nursery would do anything and everything they could to support families such as “giving them resources, referrals—anything that they’re needing for security.”

Despite financial difficulties, Sleuter emphasized the importance of nonprofits to the community.

LOCAL COVID CONSCIOUS BUSINESSES RECEIVE CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE UNDER YOLO COUNTY S GREEN CHECK PROGRAM Barber shops, hair salons able to commence indoor operations while adhering to health, safety guidelines KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

BY S H RAD D HA JH I G A N city@theaggie.org Yolo County recently announced a COVID-19 Green Check Program “for local businesses to apply for that recognizes and endorses businesses that are in compliance with the Yolo County and State COVID-19 health and safety requirements and guidelines,” according to a press release from Yolo County published on Aug. 27.

The aim of the program is to keep the public informed of establishments that comply to COVID-19 guidelines, encourage people to be COVID-19 safe and “publicly recognize local businesses that are helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19 among staff and customers,” according to the press release.

Businesses will need to complete an application stating that their establishment complies with COVID-19 guidelines, such as having personnel training, measures for preventing unneeded

“We’re here for the children and the families in our community during this really hard time,” Sleuter said. “The Crisis Nursery will continue to stay open and serve all children and families in Yolo County and our community.”

Winters Farm to School is “dedicated to improving the health and long-term well-being of students in the Winters Joint Unified School District,” its official website reads.

Cathy Olsen, the treasurer of Winters Farm to School and food service director of Winters School District, explained how the Winters Farm to School program began when she took inspiration from a similar program in Davis.

“I saw that Davis has a great farm to school program and thought Winters should have one as well,” Olsen said. “We put out the call for the community if they were interested in it, and we had a great response.”

Olsen described the three main services offered by Winters Farm to School before the pandemic: locally-purchased farm produce, an open summer feeding program and a school garden that allowed for gardenbased learning.

Additionally, they partnered with Yolo Food Bank to set up a farmer’s market for kids.

This article was originally published Sept.

23, 2020 READ MORE ONLINE

contact and maintaining social distancing, having requirements for face coverings and more.

Businesses that are certified as being compliant to COVID-19 guidelines will get a certificate from Yolo County that contains the words “Certificate of Compliance” and a green check mark.

“This signage means that the County has identified the business as following the guidelines and requirements set forth by the estate of California and Yolo County to help keep the public safe during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the press release reads.

Additionally, businesses will be featured on Yolo County’s website at the Green Check Program page.

One business that received the Certificate of Compliance is Tea List.

Dalia Al Hafidh, owner and manager of Tea List, explained what measures are being followed in order to comply with COVID-19 guidelines.

Al Hafidh described that all employees take daily symptom checks, wear face masks and have gloves and instructions to change the gloves after each sale or task. Employees also disinfect payment portals, shop surfaces, pens and other frequently-touched surfaces with sanitizers.

Al Hafidh also explained what the process of applying for the program was like.

“We were recommended by someone and we applied for it and Yolo county Code inspection visited us and we were granted the approval,” Al Hafidh said via email.

The process of applying for the program is listed on the program’s website. The first step involves reviewing the “COVID-19 protocols to see if you meet all the criteria,” according to the website. Next, “fill out the 1 page application by either printing and emailing it to EOCLogistics@yolocounty.org OR completing the online application.” The application is available in four languages.

Yolo County will then review the application and email the certificate, which can be displayed “in a visible place, window, or door at your business.”

This article was originally published Sept. 22, 2020 COVIDCHECK on 11

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

4 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020

OPINION THE

C ALIFORNIA A GGIE

ED ITO R I A L B OA R D

Letter from the Editor Fro m t h e 2 02 0 – 2021 Ed ito r - in- Chief

ANJINI VENUGOPAL Editor-in-Chief MARGO ROSENBAUM Managing Editor SABRINA HABCHI Campus News Editor EDEN WINNIFORD City News Editor CALVIN COFFEE Opinion Editor SOPHIE DEWEES Features Editor ALLIE BAILEY Arts & Culture Editor OMAR NAVARRO Sports Editor MADDIE PAYNE Science & Tech Editor

Dear readers, As the first full week of classes comes to a close, I’d like to extend a warm welcome to all Aggies. Whether you are back in Davis or elsewhere, I want to express my hopes that you are staying safe and taking care of yourselves. To those of you who are now in Davis, I hope that you are glad to be in our wonderful college town. I know that I am.

Even so, every day presents a new normal, as tiring to hear as that has become.

On days with poor air quality, it becomes less safe to have socially distant gatherings with friends and family outdoors, which have been a way of meeting safely amid the current pandemic. The wildfires ravaging California are more than isolated events—they are associated with factors linked to climate change. With the upcoming presidential election, Yolo County announced Voter Assistance Centers (VACs) and Ballot Drop-off locations (BDBs), including four VACs and four BDBs in Davis.

Journalists at The California Aggie diligently reported on these stories as part of our mission to keep our community well-informed and up to date. Even though the staffers of The Aggie are working remotely, we are dedicated to journalistic integrity and will investigate and report relentlessly through this pandemic, as we did before and will continue to do so after.

SIERRA JIMENEZ New Media Manager JUSTIN HAN Photo Director KATHERINE FRANKS Design Director JOELLE TAHTA Layout Director

Although The Aggie will not continue to print physical copies this quarter, our weekly newspapers can be accessed online. Student journalism is vital, and I encourage you to engage with our content, ask questions and raise any concerns you have. If you are a UC Davis student looking to gain journalistic experience, we are currently hiring staff writers, copy editors, photographers, graphic designers and layout artists, and I encourage anyone who is interested to apply. With the exception of photographers, these positions are remote for Fall Quarter.

As we carry on with the quarter, I urge you to think about your actions and decisions. As of Oct. 6, there were over 16,000 deaths in California alone due to COVID-19. It has been a long year, but our vigilance in following public health guidelines remains as critical as ever. Stay safe, Aggies.

KAITLIN ARAGHI Copy Chief ALEX WEINSTEIN Copy Chief

Anjini Venugopal Editor-in-Chief

ANDREW LEE Website Manager BEN CHENG Social Media Manager JOSHUA GAZZANIGA Distribution Manager LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager

Meet the Editorial Board Aggie editors reflect on the value of student journalism and our personal experiences The California Aggie, as we are quick to tell family, friends and strangers around campus (who may or may not have asked), is a student-run and independent publication that is the best handson experience for students interested in reporting and aspects of newspaper design and production.

In that elevator pitch, it can be easy to understate just how crucial student journalists are on college campuses. As full-time students pursuing degrees—and often multiple degrees or minors as well— student journalists carve time out of already busy schedules to produce quality content to inform the community. Though not all plan to pursue careers in journalism after graduating, student journalists demonstrate a commitment to journalistic ethics and relentlessly tackle relevant issues skillfully and with an understanding of their role. We hold organizations, including university administration, accountable through thorough reporting and nuanced writing.

The Editorial Board consists of The Aggie’s nine editors. We produce two weekly editorials, in which we reflect on issues we think are important for the Davis community to engage with. We are honored to lead our newsroom, albeit remotely, and look forward to continuing to serve as a reliable news source during a time in which accessing trustworthy information is critical.

Anjini Venugopal, Editor-in-Chief I have always found myself attached to spaces, especially those that cultivate a strong sense of community. When I joined the staff of my high school’s newsmagazine, I would be in room A111 nearly every lunch to transcribe a lengthy interview, to finish editing a late story or just to nap. After joining The Aggie in my first quarter at UC Davis, I found myself spending Friday afternoons in Lower Freeborn after having finished my work, conversing with peers and mentors over CoHo bagels and one too many cups of cold brew. Last week, I donned a mask and grabbed hand sanitizer as I entered The Aggie’s new office for the first time since becoming the editor-in-chief. I was even given a key to my own office, the prospect of which had thrilled me initially. But more than any excitement, the silent conference room and cobwebs in the corner by the front door reminded me that this office would remain unoccupied for the foreseeable future. Since September, we have fallen into a rhythm—it is somewhat choppy, as is my internet as I log onto Zoom call after Zoom call, but it is a rhythm nonetheless. I miss working in Lower Freeborn, but even though we are not all in the office, I know how committed we are to The Aggie and I look forward to working with our entire team in the new office whenever that may be.

Margo Rosenbaum, Managing Editor Ever since I joined The Aggie, I have become more aware of the significance of student journalism—not only in educating the next generation of reporters, but also in amplifying voices and recognizing experiences in our community. We are storytellers, record keepers and, maybe most importantly, advocates for the truth. After hearing multiple personal stories of inequality while working on an article covering the experiences of students with disabilities in the animal science department, I came to understand the unique role we have in holding our university accountable. In my previous capacity as The Aggie’s assistant science editor, I gained an appreciation for reporting on research. Translating scientific works into language that all audiences can comprehend is incredibly important—especially as

speculation of science circulates our political climate. In my new role as managing editor, editing all The Aggie’s content has escalated my respect for the meticulous reporting of students; we are experts of our student body and best equipped to report upon its news.

Sabrina Habchi, Campus News Editor I am quick to tell prospective students and visitors to campus about The California Aggie when I give tours. I point out the red brick building The Aggie used to call home, some of the several newspaper stands around campus of which I have woken up at 5 a.m. to distribute newspapers to and what the organization means to me. The Aggie means I can go from having virtually no reporting experience to interviewing UC Davis Chancellor Gary May and other administrators. The Aggie means I can listen to voices that often go unheard at picket lines, union contract negotiations and survivors. It means a group of supportive people—many of whom I am lucky enough to call friends—working to inform UC Davis students and the surrounding community about stories, ideas and ongoings through well-researched articles.

Eden Winniford, City News Editor During my first quarter at The Aggie, I interviewed a homeless woman living in a tiny house community in Seattle over the phone.

She read me a poem she wrote about the hope her home brought her, and we both started crying halfway through. Since then, I’ve listened as complete strangers shared their proudest accomplishments and most difficult struggles. They trusted me with their stories and believed in my ability as a journalist to use these stories to educate and help others. To me, journalism is about relating the experiences of individual people to big issues like homelessness and immigration.

As a student journalist, my role is to present other young people with the facts that will help them decide how to cast their first votes. I believe student journalism is important because it reminds students that the news isn’t just some abstract concept—it’s the highs and lows that real people confront in their everyday lives.

Calvin Coffee, Opinion Editor I had no idea The Aggie even existed before I started seeing newspaper stands around campus three years ago. But I now know The Aggie as a place where voices are informed and honest, and where curiosity is celebrated. Working at The Aggie I’ve learned that student journalism provides an ambitiously curious perspective on the world around us. It is where I find myself surrounded by people who actually care about what happens in the hectic world and community we live in. On the Opinion Desk, I’ve discovered how important it is to challenge what you and those around you believe.

By doing so, we can better understand the nuance in the stories we hear and can decide for ourselves where reality lies. In a time when truth is obscured more than ever, The Aggie provides a platform and perspective that is shining.

Sophie Dewees, Features Editor For my staff writer interview at The Aggie, I tentatively walked into the office in Lower Freeborn and took in the room. The stacks of newspapers, the weather-beaten couches, the signatures on the walls from previous staffers and, of course, the smiling face of our former managing editor, Hannah, made me feel completely at home. Since then, I’ve met so many incredible journalists at The Aggie and have been able to interact more meaningfully with the Davis community.

As a staff writer and assistant editor last year, I covered everything from innovative art to polarized politics and was able to learn and report on issues that students care about. For me, student journalism is fundamentally about engagement like this: meeting others whom I might never have even spoken with before, sharing their stories and highlighting the uniquely diverse community that I’m lucky enough to call home.

Allie Bailey, Arts & Culture Editor Some college newspaper staffers have always known they’d write for a university publication. For me, it took a somewhat random decision to apply to The Aggie to realize the undeniable value in student journalism. Writing for the Arts Desk became the best part of my week, long desk meetings and late nights both contributing to my love for The Aggie, and soon, all forms of journalism. The urgency of topics may differ on this desk, but we care just as much as the next writer about fulfilling our goal: delivering credible, relevant information to our community. That is, to me, what journalism is, and the group of talented and hardworking students that are committed to this ideal at our student publication is one of the few things keeping me optimistic about the future of rigorous journalism and this country as whole.

Omar Navarro, Sports Editor Starting at The Aggie with zero journalism experience also came with a lot of questions. The majority of it was how my work was going to be perceived, as I was just starting out and in the field of sports, I was by far the youngest. There is a certain disadvantage that many think student journalists carry due to their inexperience, but as I learned quickly, we have a unique opportunity of doing our jobs as well as learning something new as we go. There is no better way to practice producing quality content for the community than by doing it. The point of view and writing from a student journalist is one that can only be experienced, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to do so.

Maddie Payne, Science Editor Last March, in the basement of Mrak Hall, surrounded by camera crews, local news reporters and UC Davis officials answering calls from CNN and the LA Times, I attended a press conference for the very first time. Sweaty from the ARC and surrounded by journalism professionals, I felt intimidated and a bit out of place, not sure if I had something valuable to contribute while national news organizations were covering UC Davis’ very first cases of coronavirus. But as I began taking notes and listening to the questions being asked, I realized that these journalists, though skilled and well-intentioned, didn’t know what it was like to be a student at Davis, especially during a time of fear and uncertainty when many of us were worried about the health and safety of our community. Learning from this experience, I recognized that one of the most valuable aspects of local, student-run journalism is that it provides student perspectives on issues impacting us the most. I am so grateful for The California Aggie for giving me these experiences that I can learn and grow from and teaching me how to best serve our community as a student journalist.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

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WHAT DOES FOOD DELIVERY REALLY LOOK LIKE? The other side of the screen isn’t as simple as you’d think

“I REFOCUS ENERGY INTO MYSELF”: THE TURN TO ENERGY CRYSTALS Students practice crystal healing in efforts to stay positive, supplement other religions and expand cultural understanding

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

BY LIVVY MULLEN arts@theaggie.org Deciding to order food from a delivery app is simple. You try to rationalize the extra cost and tap a few buttons to place your order.

The process is so streamlined that from the customers perspective, it seems like a quick and easy—albeit expensive—process. But the other side of the screen is more chaotic than the app would like you to believe.

As a way to earn extra money and just get out of the house more during the summer, I began Doordashing with my two sisters. We work as a three person operation, each vital to the intricate structure that makes up a Dash. One driver who stays in the car the whole time. One navigator who types in the addresses as quickly as possible.

And one app navigator/runner, who fields orders and goes into establishments to collect food.

Everything about Doordash is done through its Dasher App. To begin your Dash you have to first choose an amount of time you want to be available for. Once you have your slot, your app shows nearby hotspots. These areas will usually have a 2-3 dollar boost to their base pay. The amount might seem small, but in the long run factors largely into your overall earnings. Once an order is placed, you will get a notification.

Your screen will show you the restaurant name and the amount the dash is worth, usually in the six to ten dollar range. From the moment you accept the order, the clock is ticking.

After the order is secured there are three steps. Each of these sections is given an expected time range that is almost impossible to achieve without speeding. First, going to the restaurant and getting the food. This part normally goes smoothly. Every order has a number you can show to vendors, but if you tell them you’re from Doordash they mostly just hand it over.

Additionally, Doordash provides all of its drivers with a Dasher activation kit which normally only consists of a red hot bag to keep the food

warm and a card to pay for orders if a customer requires. Recent bags also come with custom Doordash hand sanitizer and a bright red mask that communicates to restaurant workers that you’re a Dasher better than words ever could.

Once you get the food, you confirm with the app you are onto the next portion. You aren’t able to see the customer’s home address until after you have already picked up the food.

Meaning, if you got an order from a restaurant five minutes away and the address is 20 minutes in the opposite direction, there’s nothing the driver can do about it at that point. This is how we ended up driving 35 minutes for a five dollar delivery (and a one dollar tip). After the delivery you take a photo of the food on the doorstep, confirm with the app it was delivered and drive around until you get a new order or finish driving.

From the inside, the flaws of the app-based food delivery industry are extremely apparent.

The time expectations given to drivers are very difficult to meet if anything in the process is off, even if it is at the fault of the restaurant. (This is how we ended up getting a critical error on one of our first deliveries.) The interface of the app is so confusing that even after a month of dashing, there are features I still struggle with. I dash in a group; the job alone along with the time expectations and customer service is an extreme amount of work for one person, only to be paid so little by the app.

The job relies on tips. Doordash offers the best base pay of any delivery app but that still averages out to five dollars or less depending on where you live, and gas is not paid for. Because of the simplicity of ordering, people usually forget the driver on the other end. Delivering an 80 dollar P.F Chang’s order to a small mansion to be tipped three dollars is soul crushing. Being a delivery driver is a difficult and unexpectedly high-stress job. Next time you open the app, remember the person on the other side.

Various crystals. (AGGIE FILE)

BY MARIAH VIKTORIA CANDELARIA arts@theaggie.org Healing crystals have made an impact on student culture, with their popularity steadily escalating as traditional religious practices undergo a change with college students.

Crystal stones are believed to have many different uses and are typically described as having holistic healing properties. Practicers believe that it is done through energy garnered by the energy one emits, the Earth and the greater universe.

There are many ways in which students have learned to harness the energy in this type of practice—often through meditation and prayer, or with just having the crystals’ energies in close proximity and turning to them for specific purposes when needed.

Because of the varied and often personalized uses of healing crystals, it provides both an alternative and an addition to traditional religious practices.

“My appreciation and practice with crystals, specifically jade, is rooted in how I practiced Buddhism growing up,” said Victoria Cao, a fourth-year wildlife fish conservation biology major. “Over time, I’ve learned to take what I can from traditional practices and incorporate it into my personal daily ritual.”

This is a sentiment shared by many students who have often strayed away from the practices they may have inherited from their parents or family members growing up. Cao also believes that the personalized way in which you can shape crystals’ use is important in allowing oneself to grow, and in turn, transforming the energy within oneself and the community around them.

There are also ways in which this practice

can supplement more common religions like Catholicism. A large part in why students fall out of touch with this particular religion is their increased understanding of colonized history through education in ethnic studies. Fifth-year mathematical analytics and operations research major Kyrene Gutierrez found this practice recently and has incorporated it into how she already practices religion.

“It is how I decolonize the way I pray and talk to God,” Gutierrez said. “At the same time, I refocus a lot of the energy into myself and the space around me rather than an intangible figure.”

Prior to its emergence in popular culture, this practice has been viewed as an antithesis to more common religions, when in fact, there are many ways it can be used tangentially with other practices. Yet there are many ways in which this practice can overstep indigenous uses when treated casually, and can cause harm to those who hold it sacred. Because of this, Cao has also started a small business that is foundational in sharing this practice more accessibly and wellresearched for her community through @crystals_by_sunrise on Instagram.

Crystals are important for remaining positive, especially for students living in a time when social interactions are limited and there are many details that may cause instability in their lives. Because it is often used to ward away negativity and invite cleansing energy, it is especially important in maintaining an intrinsic sense of positivity and understanding of one’s self and the natural world.

Throughout the isolation period the pandemic has ensued, students use crystals and their shared interest in this type of work to feel a sense of calm and contentedness within their communities. Its flexibility and personalized nature allows students of different cultures to adopt this practice in any way they would like to use it in their lives.

Aubrey Guevara, a recent Davis graduate in anthropology, talks about how differently the effects of crystal use manifest.

“I don’t feel any immediate physical effects like some do,” Guevara said, “But I do feel the energies coming from the crystal and after meditating with them, I feel improvements in my self-love, forgiveness and connection to my spirituality.”

She connects this to the origins of the crystal and how they come from underground.

“They’re untouched and spend so much time in the Earth that I believe it provides energy we can tap into.”

Students should be able to find comfort in all the healthiest ways they can, and through the energy of healing crystals, many have found solace and positivity during a time in which numerous uncontrollable factors can heavily impact one’s mental health.

TAYLOR SWIFT’S GENRE-HOPPING MUSIC EVOLUTION Reviewing the singer’s discography after a recent return to her country roots

BY ITZELTH GAMBOA arts@theaggie.org With Taylor Swift’s most recent performance at the Academy of Country Music Awards (ACM Awards), people might wonder “how did she get here?” In her most recent years she’s switched over to pop, baffling most of her long-term fans with the sudden switch from her usual country genre. This dive into all of her albums will show you where she started and how she found her way back home.

Taylor Swift (2006) The self titled album was released in 2008 with Big Machine records when Swift was 16.

She hand-picked songs that she wrote in the beginning of her freshman year of high school.

The album held a steady ranking on the Billboard 200 chart for 200 weeks, debuting at No. 19 and peaking at No. 5. Swift’s debut album broke charts, but didn’t gain enough traction to win many awards. It was, however, enough to light a spark that would last for her entire career. The 16-year-old singer-songwriter would move on to break multiple records and become a ten time Grammy award winning artist.

Fearless (2008) “Fearless” brings nostalgia everytime I see her curls on the cover. The 2008 studio album won the Grammy award for Album of the Year, Best Country Album and the Academy of Country Music Award for Album of the Year. Swift received her first Grammy award at the age of 20, which made her the youngest artist to be a solo winner of album of the year (now replaced

by Billie Eilish). Her second album was a stark contrast to the recognition she gained from her EP, bringing her a small taste of the fame that she would soon be receiving.

“Fearless” has classic hits that everyone seems to know, as most popular Swift singles go. But timeless songs like “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” will forever be ingrained in our generation’s memory. In this era, Swift was also working on the “Hannah Montana: The Movie” set and co-wrote “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home” and “Crazier,” both songs featured in the movie. She was slowly inching her way into the catchiest songs of our childhood and we didn’t even know it was her.

Speak Now (2010) “Speak Now” won two Grammys with Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance, both due to her song “Mean,” a song written about a music critic that wrote nasty things about Swift. As the sole writer of this album, she stuck true to her country roots, but it was the last album that fans would see Swift focus solely on country.

The enchanting lyrics and playful vibe created my favorite album of the early Swift albums.

“Speak Now” was the album where people started to realize that this 20-year-old would write songs about her past relationships and absolutely crush them. I was here for it; I sang along to “Better than Revenge” like I was the one who got cheated on and dumped over a 27 second phone call.

“Long Live” consistently brings fans to tears when she sings it in a concert, knowing it was written for them. “Innocent” was the first song that Swift wrote about the Kanye West incident, forgiving him for taking the microphone from her 19-year-old self. This era displayed her songwriting skills and brilliantly made her past experiences relatable. This era, while I didn’t fully comprehend it at the age of 11, was when I started to love her artistry and was anxiously looking up theories on who each song was about.

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE Red (2012) “Red” is categorized as Country Pop. It was the first transition where fans saw Swift dwindling away from her country roots and exploring new alternatives that still fit in with her genius songwriting. During this time Swift wrote “Safe and Sound,” a song for “The Hunger Games” soundtrack and won the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The album was the start of her transition to a pop artist—featuring a flood of pop that wasn’t exactly seen before in previous albums. While her songs normally had country with a mix of pop, “Red” songs had pop with hints of country. Despite this, Swift won the Billboard Music Award for Top Country Album and the American Music Award for Top Country Album. “Red” was robbed of all Grammy nominations and didn’t receive the recognition it deserved.

The album that invented the Fall season for Swifties will forever be a fan favorite. “Red” allowed a 14-year-old me to grieve a heartbreak that I never experienced because the lyrics were simply that powerful.

1989 (2014) “1989” is a stark contrast to Swift’s early albums. Her lead single “Shake It Off” sent fans backwards, wondering where this new Taylor came from. But this also

became a pivotal point in Swift’s career. “Shake it Off” became Swift’s second No. 1 single to hit the Billboard Hot 100. The 2014 studio album won album of the year at the Grammy’s and for good reason. Her new music featured ingenious productions such as using her heartbeat as a drum beat in her songs.

“1989” was the fun album that transitioned her from the Southern country artist we all knew and loved to pop Taylor Swift. With classic dance songs and theatrical music videos (See: “Blank Space”) it was hard to not pay attention to the young singer-songwriter. During this era Swift gained a lot of her fame. While she previously wrote about what it was like to effortlessly fall in love and dream of a playful romance, she now spoke of the pressures that the media pushed onto her and her love life, a new side of Swift that fans hadn’t seen before.

Reputation (2017) This era focused more on pop with some elements of rock, winning Swift the American Music Award for Favorite Album Pop/Rock and Billboard Music Award for Top Selling Album.

During this era Swift took the initiative to write her own articles and do her own interviews instead of someone writing them for her, taking complete control of her narrative.

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

YOUR GUIDE FOR WHERE TO BUY ECO-FRIENDLY MASKS Five options for your fashionable, yet environmentally friendly needs KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

BY ITZELTH GAMBOA arts@theaggie.org In the middle of a pandemic it may be difficult to stay focused on other life-threatening situations currently going on. Nevertheless, it is crucial to keep doing so. Pollution from the coronavirus has severely impacted the environment. Now, clean up crews are finding plastic hand sanitizer bottles, gloves and disposable masks polluting the oceans, according to The Guardian.

With issues like Target selling masks in plastic bags and disposable masks being thrown out on the street, the most environmentally friendly option is to use reusable masks. The CDC recommends the use of reusable face masks with two layers that fit snugly around the side of your face, making sure there are no gaps. The CDC also asks individuals to refrain from using N95 masks or any masks used by healthcare workers to avoid a shortage.

The best environmentally friendly option is a reusable mask, but that still does not guarantee that the masks themselves are eco-friendly. So here are five eco-friendly brands that sell masks online,

because the less face-to-face interaction, the better.

Tonlé Tonlé creates clothing and accessories through a zero-waste process. They use leftover materials from companies that have thrown them out.

Their fabrics consist of deadstock, cut-waste and textiles from remnant markets where their team visits weekly in order to find the perfect fabric for their design process. While most large factories use cutting machines, and therefore waste excess fabric in the process, Tonlé cuts most of its products by hand. All of Tonlé’s dyes are non-toxic and 80% of dyes come from ingredients like soy milk and lemon, according to their website.

Tonlé’s masks come in packs ranging from 3 to 50, with a price range of $24 to $225. Their maks have three layers of quilted cotton, including a layer for a filter. Their ear straps are now made of cloth ties instead of elastic. Masks are shipped in poly bags to ensure the sanitation of each mask.

Tentree With the slogan “Protect the planet, protect your community, protect yourself,” it’s only reasonable to expect Tentree to give back and care

for the environment as much as any tree hugger out there would. For every product you buy, Tentree plants ten trees. Every piece of apparel that a customer buys comes with a unique code for your ten trees which gives you the ability to register the code and track the trees to see where they will be planted. They have a guarantee that the trees will be planted within six months of the purchase.

They have planted over seven million trees in various countries including Mexico, Madagascar, Indonesia and Nepal.

Tentree’s masks have two layers of fabric and they include a space for a filter, though the filter is not included with purchase. Their masks come in a pack of three and are available for $20. Masks are made of eco-friendly materials such as hemp, organic cotton and recycled polyester.

United By Blue United By Blue has worked to create sustainable materials in their apparel for the past 10 years. United By Blue is a certified B corporation meaning they are legally required to consider their impact on not just on the environment, but also on the people within the company and the people that make the products. B corporations employ certified performance, are held legally accountable and partake in public transparency.

United By Blue is selling a pack of three masks for $20. For every pack purchased, one mask will be donated to Chosen 300, a ministry that aids the homeless in Philadelphia. Their masks include a double layer of fabric, with the availability for a filter, but the filter is not included. Masks are made from deadstock fabric, which includes Hemp, organic cotton and recycled polyester. The company is based in Canada, but according to their website, they produce their masks in factories around the globe in countries including China and Turkey. The company displays numerous certifications of their products being ethically made (both environment friendly and ethically sound) on their website with certifications including the Global Organic Textile Standard and Fair Wear.

For Days For Days uses sustainable materials and has a loop system with the SWAP program. Anything sent back to For Days gets recycled and for a cheaper price, shoppers can swap out anything at

any time they’d like. Every item available on For Days is 100% recyclable. This company is zero waste and all scraps are recycled into new products.

A three pack of masks are $20 and a five pack is $25. The masks are made of a double layer of 100% cotton.

Whimsy + Row Whimsy + Row uses locally sourced and upcycled materials for their products. They recycle every piece of scrap that is left over throughout their design process and use those scrap pieces for small accessories such as bandanas. With the even smaller bits left over they give the excess scrap to another company that will make use of the pieces, leaving minimal amounts in landfills. The local factories also allow the company to visit when needed ensuring that their workers are treated well and maintain an ethical work environment.

The brand also provides an eco-friendly shipping experience for their customers. They use 100% recycled materials from EcoEnclose, a source for eco-friendly packaging.

Masks range from $10 to $28 with different styles on their website. Some masks include three layers, two of which are cotton and one is a filter of polypropylene. There is also an option to add in an additional filter for the mask. The mask is made of 100% deadstock cotton and hand washing is recommended. For every mask bought from Whimsy + Row, they donate one to Los Angeles communities in need such as the Downtown Women’s Center and Union Rescue Mission.

It can be difficult to support ethical brands when the necessary resources aren’t available to do so. Products upwards of $20 plus shipping costs sometimes isn’t a viable option, especially in the middle of a pandemic. The next best option is to make a DIY mask with recyclable materials.

Creating a mask not only reduces the excess plastic and pollution produced by shipping, but it also kills some time, which tends to be immensely needed during these days.

This article was originally published online on Sept. 24, 2020.

ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS’ BOLIVIA PROJECT ADJUSTS TO REMOTE WORK How the team plans to continue their construction from a distance

The members of UC Davis’ Engineers Without Boarders gathered together for a team photo.

(COURTESY / ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS AT UC DAVIS)

BY KATIE DEBENEDETTI features@theaggie.org The coronavirus pandemic has forced much of our lives to be reimagined digitally, and in addition to classes, meetings and clubs, the members of UC Davis’ Engineers Without Borders’ Bolivia project have had to find a way to do construction from across the world.

The Bolivia Project is a branch of UC Davis’ Engineers Without Borders, which is a nonprofit student organization established to help developing areas worldwide with their engineering needs, while involving and training internationally responsible engineering students, according to their website. The project, which began in 2018, aims to improve sanitation in the Parque-Colani community in Bolivia by building sustainable latrines for households in the community. Katie Nelson, a fourth-year biotechnology student and the current co-lead of the project, explained the end goal for the Bolivia project.

“Our goal is to construct 18 latrines and repair six existing ones for the community members there,” Nelson said.

As is the structure of all Engineers Without Borders projects, the Bolivia team was planning to take five trips to the Parque-Colani community to see out this project. Their first trip, an assessment trip, took place in the summer of 2018. In the summer of 2019, they built their first sustainable

CLASS OF 2024 ADJUSTS TO COLLEGE AMIDST PANDEMIC UC Davis freshman share experiences meeting new people and starting college remotely

Two students riding their bikes around the UC Davis campus. (JUSTIN HAN / AGGIE)

BY NORA FARAHDEL features@theaggie.org Every year, the freshman class arrives on the UC Davis campus ready to take on an exploratory year in the dorms together. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the class of 2024 began their college career dispersed: residing in dorms, apartments or their hometowns. The flexibility of the new reality of remote instruction has allowed students to make their own decisions regarding where to live this quarter.

Alexandra Ochoa, a first-year biochemistry and molecular biology major, decided to move into the dorms this quarter in hopes of gaining some form of a freshman experience.

“I feel like it’s one of the things that I am not missing out on with the situation right now,” Ochoa said. “So it’s been exciting, it’s been nervewracking meeting a lot of new people, getting the hang of remote learning from the dorm, using the bathrooms that are shared. It’s definitely different, [...] but I’m really happy about it.”

In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, students reside in their own dorm rooms without any roommates. Combined with the countless other restrictions enforced to keep the students safe, freshmen are challenged to come up with creative ways to meet people in the dorms. For Ochoa, this means a quick greeting outside of

latrine in the community center.

When the pandemic hit in early 2020, the team was gearing up for their third trip, set to take place over the summer. They’ve had to re-imagine this year’s trip.

“We’re doing a remote implementation and we’ll be either one of, or the first team nationwide to hopefully complete a remote implementation,” Nelson said.

Without the possibility of being in the community this year, the team had to come up with a new implementation strategy. Luckily, the team has a contact in the area, Poncho, who was their driver throughout last year’s trip and is going to be their construction manager during remote implementation. Nelson said that the challenge, then, is going to be getting the community members to do much of the heavy lifting that project members would have done if they were on the ground in Bolivia.

“Basically, the community members are going to be the ones doing construction, [Poncho] is just going to be overseeing,” Nelson said. “He’ll be the one with the construction manual, knowing what to do, but in terms of actual building and collecting materials, [the community members will] be [working]. So it’s a challenge of how you get a group of people [...] to come together. It’s a little tricky.”

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her hallmates’ rooms, with both parties wearing masks. In addition, Ochoa makes use of social media and the occasional outdoor interaction to make new connections with her peers.

In terms of adjusting to college given the circumstances, Ochoa recognizes that this year will be different, stating that it will be more difficult than the conventional freshman year experience, but remains optimistic for the future.

“I’ve heard already from other students that for them, just adjusting to the quarter system on its own was really tough,” Ochoa said. “But I do have hope. I do think that we’re capable and more with all the resources that they’re still providing online.

I’m hopeful and I think I can do it.”

Alexis Avila, a first-year animal science and management major, chose to move into an apartment in Davis this fall. Aliva made this decision in fear of dorms being shut down because of COVID-19 concerns, and because of the potential difficulty meeting people in the dorms while living in a single.

Although the pandemic has added obstacles to defining a social circle, Avila has found ways to create connections. For example, she has also taken to social media in order to meet new people this year, particularly on her year’s Facebook group.

“The UC Davis class of 2024 group on Facebook has been a great way to meet fellow students,” Avila said. “Although many are staying home, I have been able to reach and hang out with people with similar interests or studies. Since living off campus, my roommates and I have also biked to campus to meet other freshmen living in the dorms.”

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020 | 7

CITY OFFICIAL, LOCAL EMPLOYEES PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE STATE OF SMALL BUSINESS Davis council members, business owners and employees discuss current state of small businesses and the help the city is offering

Downtown Davis (QUINN SPOONER / AGGIE FILE)

BY LYRA FARREL L features@theaggie.org

Due to decreased student patronage of small businesses in Davis over the past few months, local establishments have had to change how they interact with customers and devise ways to remain functioning. Students leaving Davis to attend school from home have created a large gap in the usual seasonal traffic. According to Davis councilmember Dan Carson, businesses haven’t needed to adjust to challenges like this in the past.

“They’re used to a lot of the students being gone over the summer,” Carson said. “What they’re not used to is the fact that things shut down for the spring, then quiet for the summer and then many people [are] gone for the fall as well. We’ve already lost some businesses. We’re really nervous that we could lose more if this persists.”

Kate Bartschat, a Three Ladies Cafe employee and recent UC Davis graduate, said that the lack of students has led to a dramatic slowing in the cafe’s activity.

“Students are a really big part of our customer base, so we’ve had a really big reduction in a lot of people coming in every day,”

From the FSM to COla: A history of labor organization at the ucs.

Former union organizers recall their experiences representing UC employees

The first TA labor union, the Association of Graduate Students Employees, established by Berkeley students in 1983. (AGGIE FILE)

BY SOPHI E D EW E E S features@theaggie.org Holding signs reading “pay us enough to live here” and “COLA 4 all,” graduate students began participating in strikes for cost of living adjustments (COLA) in Dec. 2019. The protests began with a grade strike at UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) and continued in the spring with in-person protests set to the beat of drumming and chants. The movement sparked a series of solidarity protests at other UC campuses, including UC Davis.

Referred to as “wildcat strikes,” graduate students worked outside of the student union, United Auto Workers (UAW) 2865, as striking is prohibited for graduate student employees while their UC contracts are in effect. On Feb. 28, 54 teaching assistants (TAs) were dismissed and 28 were not appointed at UCSC for withholding grades. After an escalation of the protests including a UC-wide May Day strike, the university rehired 41 students on Aug. 11.

According to Brian Malone, a former UCSC graduate student and organizer for UAW from 2008 to 2014, the discrepancy between the cost of living and salary for UCSC TAs posed problems when he was a student.

“I still live in Santa Cruz, and it is really hard to live here,” Malone said. “It was really hard to live here when I was a graduate student. What they paid me was not sufficient to really have a kind of life here.”

Anna Muraco, an organizer from 1997 to 1999 and former UC Davis graduate student, experienced issues with housing insecurity.

“When I was a graduate student, there was no way I could live off of my TA salary and any financial aid I received, so I took out loans,” Muraco said. “I’ll be paying off my graduate and undergraduate loans until I retire.”

The UC system negotiates with 14 unions that represent more than 79,000 employees. UC

Berkeley employees formed the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) in 1948. Two years later, Berkeley custodians held the first strike in UC history and achieved the first employee benefits package at the UCs. The union then expanded to include clerical and technical workers, guards and patient care workers.

AFSCME is currently the largest UC employee union, representing over 25,000 employees.

Graduate students also began organizing at Berkeley. Amid the wide-scale protests against the oppression of free speech during the Berkeley Free Speech Movement (FSM) in the 1964-1965 school year, graduate students formed the first graduate employee union.

Labor organizations for both unions spread to other UC campuses, bolstered by the passage of the Higher Education Employee-Employer Relations Act (HEERA) in 1979 that extended collective bargaining rights to state college and university employees.

Following HEERA, AFSCME members won the first statewide union contract in 1984.

HEERA also provided more opportunities for student workers, and Berkeley graduate students established the first UC TA labor union, the Association of Graduate Students Employees (AGSE), in 1983.

The first UC-wide graduate student strike occurred on Dec. 1, 1998, during finals week, after a culmination of efforts over 15 years to gain union recognition. Muraco, who was involved in the strike, stated that the UCs had not officially recognized the UAW as the representative for unionized graduate students until the 2003-2006 contract, as a result of this strike across all eight campuses.

That same year, AFSCME also became officially united when their 22 campus groups formed the statewide AFSCME Local 3299.

This article was originally published Sept. 28, 2020 READ MORE ONLINE

Bartschat said. “We have a lot of slow days.”

The City of Davis has implemented a more lenient policy for commercial tenants who aren’t able to pay rent on time by allowing them to pay rent and taxes on their own time. Additionally, the city adopted a moratorium, or legal suspension, of commercial evictions in March.

“State law, the state constitution, doesn’t allow us to waive away what people owe us for their utility bills, but it does allow us to suspend [them],” Carson said. “Basically saying, if you have to pay us late because you don’t have the money, we’re not going to impose any penalties on you for doing so, and we’re not going to set any set deadline for you to pay taxes.”

Alyssa Bulfer, owner of Let Them Eat Cake, has made adjustments such as reducing store hours and operating with a staff of just herself and one other employee. Although her business isn’t in danger, she expressed her gratitude for having a sense of security in knowing she won’t be evicted.

“We are super thankful that we have an accommodating landlord,” Bulfer said. “They have been working with us to see how they can help. But also, I don’t think, as far as my personal situation, that it would ever come to that point. But it’s comforting to know we’re not going to be evicted.”

With limited store hours, choosing a busier time of day for store operations is essential for both Bulfer and the customers.

“So on the weekends when we’re open, we’re only open Saturday and Sunday from 10-2, I feel like that is kind of a prime time and I feel like people know that’s the only time when we’re open, so both of those days we’re kind of slammed the whole day with people coming in and picking stuff up,” Bulfer said. “The nice thing is it’s a pretty short period of time. So it’s something that we can handle. It does get a little hectic with just the two of us.”

Unlike Let Them Eat Cake, some businesses aren’t allowed to operate at all. Movie theatres such as Davis Varsity Theatre haven’t been able to open their doors since the beginning of the year, and are being limited to using methods like renting out movies that can be streamed from home. The city has made special accommodations for Davis Varsity Theatre, as it has proven to be a hub of the downtown area, according to Carson.

SMALLBUSINESS on 11

Women leading covid-19 research at UC Davis: Cristina Davis, Professor and department Chair of mechanical and Space engineering In an effort to highlight the work of UC Davis’ researchers, The California Aggie is showcasing a series featuring women who have been contributing to a better understanding of COVID-19

Chair and Professor Cristina Davis (COURTESY / UC DAVIS ENGINEERING) yield faster test results in the future than the

BY MICH E LLE WONG current PCR method. According to Davis, the science@theaggie.org PCR tests used in tandem with nasal swabs are reliable, but the reagents needed to run it are in Although the current nawal swab used short supply. Since different materials are used to test for COVID-19 has proven to be for the exhaled breath diagnostic method, this effective, one might wonder if there could means there is a potential that more tests can be be a more comfortable way to detect this administered throughout the country with less virus rather than inserting a Q-tip into the restrictions on who can receive one. nasal cavity. Cristina Davis, a professor Currently, Davis and her team is collecting and department chair of mechanical and breath samples from patients at the UC Davis aerospace engineering, and her team might School of Medicine who have had the Sarsjust have the solution.

CoV-2 infection in addition to patients with Davis has proposed a device that collects other respiratory diseases as Richart Harper, metabolites—small molecules created in professor in the division of pulmonary and the process of metabolism—in the breath of critical care at the UC Davis Health, explained. patients. These metabolites can then be run In theory, patients may be able to collect their through a diagnostic platform to detect the own samples from home without medical presence of the virus, and although they are at supervision in the future. a lower concentration in the exhaled breath “The goal is to have something where you than in the bloodstream, the metabolites are don’t have to stick a swab down someone’s nose detectable to distinguish someone’s health or in their throat or do blood tests,” Harper status. said. “You could just have them breathe into a “When you’re healthy, your metabolites device and then it could tell you whether or not have one profile, and when you get sick or there’s a virus present.” if something changes about your health, Davis explained that, as they continue some of those metabolites change,” Davis to collect samples, they are creating a library said. “And so our question was, could we to compare the samples of healthy patients, try to detect what metabolites change with COVID-19 patients, patients with other COVID-19?” respiratory infections and so on.

As exhaled breath is easily collectable, this method would be less invasive and potentially DAVISRESEARCH on 11

8 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

UC Davis Health participates in research consortium to answer COVID-19 questions Teams of researchers from 12 health systems, 202 hospitals, use novel data collection methods to collaborate on research

BY MADELEINE PAYNE science@theaggie.org UC Davis Health is collaborating with many other health systems in a data consortium aimed at answering specific questions about COVID-19. Researchers, clinicians and the general public are encouraged to submit their questions to COVID19questions.org, where teams of researchers evaluate their questions and collect data to make informed responses.

The goal of the program is for researchers to have access to large amounts of data for their studies, beyond what could be obtained from one hospital or health system. The answers to these questions are then shared online so that the general public can stay informed as an understanding of COVID-19 evolves.

Katherine Kim, a UC Davis associate professor at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing and the School of Medicine, Department of Public Health, is lead investigator for the team evaluating data from the UC Davis Health system—one of the 12 health systems, or sites, participating in the study.

Each team is made up of professionals from a diverse array of backgrounds, according to Kim. “We have data analysts and programmers at each site that actually run the software and pull the data to answer the question—run the statistics,” Kim said. “Then we have several other members who may have clinical backgrounds—our doctors and nurses—or have some public health expertise, so that when we answer these questions we have the experts also verifying what we’ve done to make sure that it’s all right.”

One unique aspect of this data consortium, called Reliable Response Data Discovery (R2D2), is that it allows hospitals to maintain control and security over their data, while still sharing it with outside researchers. Kim explained that the standard method for most studies that use widespread sources is to compile the data centrally.

“The real difference is most studies have a centralized database of all this data,” Kim said. “They either asked hospitals to give it to them or they’re using data from public health sources like the CDC and they’re running analysis on data that they have put together all in one database.”

When data is collected and kept in a central location, there is an increased risk of it being compromised or hacked. Many hospitals are wary of this potential breach of privacy which can hinder

MARIO RODRIGUEZ/ AGGIE

studies requiring large amounts of data. To tackle this challenge, researchers developed another method for receiving this information which relies on every hospital utilizing the same data model, according to Kim. “Every hospital data stays at their hospital, and what we do is we send out this software packet that has what are the requirements, what kind of data do we want to include, what’s the actual analysis we need to do, how do we need to structure it,” Kim said. “That piece of software gets sent out to every hospital and they can run it against their data and return the results.”

By running the software at each individual hospital, researchers are able to compare COVID-19 cases with health data from those admitted for other illnesses, allowing for a wider breadth of analysis.

Some of the questions on the site include several patient variables; for example, one question asks “For patients with COVID-19 related hospitalizations, what is the average length of stay for those hospitalizations (in days) stratified by race, ethnic group, age group and gender?” The R2D2 network includes data from “not only academic health systems in wealthy metropolitan areas, but also small community hospitals, safety net hospitals and the VA,” which helps diversify the patient population, according to a press release.

Misty Humphries, a vascular surgeon and associate professor of surgery at the School of Medicine, Department of Surgery and the director of Research Experience in Surgery, was able to use data from R2D2 to study why COVID-19 patients were experiencing arterial thrombosis, or clotted arteries, and were unresponsive to standard treatments like blood thinners. She mentioned that R2D2 reduces exposure risk for those collecting COVID-19 data.

“Sometimes [...] drawing blood from these patients or being around these patients is dangerous because you subject the person that is taking care of them to the virus,” Humpries said. “People that come in to draw the blood are also subjected to the risk of obtaining the virus if they’re not appropriately gowned and everything, so we try and minimize interactions.”

She added that “the electronic medical record is a tool that has not been fully capitalized on in health care,” but that standardized and accessible patient records for clinicians and researchers is a step in the right direction to provide comprehensive and better care for the general public.

Women leading COVID-19 research at UC Davis: Clare Cannon, assistant profes sor in the Department of Human Ecology

Assistant Professor, Clare Cannon (COURTESY / CLARE CANNON)

In an effort to showcase the work of UC Davis’ researchers, The California Aggie will be starting a series featuring women who have been contributing to a better understanding of COVID-19

BY MICHELLE WONG science@theaggie.org When we hear the words ‘COVID-19 research,’ vaccine development and antibody testing are often the first thoughts to pop up in our minds. Yet, with everyone stuck at home with limited opportunities for social interaction, it is also important to consider the social factors affecting people’s psychological health during this ongoing pandemic.

Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Ecology Clare Cannon brings these issues to light through her recent research paper examining how people’s differing socio-demographic characteristics and perceived stress correlated with their resilience. In this paper, resiliency is defined as an individual’s ability to cope with risk, adversity and stress despite exposure to a serious stressor that could contribute to physical, behavioral, cognitive and emotional symptoms.

Having been working in disaster resilience for two decades, Regardt Ferreira, associate professor and director of the Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy, explained that it is important to identify predictors that increase resilience in order to better assist disaster recovery.

“We all have resilience in us, often we just need to be reminded what those resilience traits are,” Ferreira said via email. “Looking out for one another is important, and providing social support is so important.” When Cannon and her colleagues surveyed people in April during the first spike in U.S. cases of COVID-19, they found those with a degree in higher education or those who were older did better on the resilience tests. Alternatively, those who reported English as a second language did more poorly. In terms of perceived stress, those with a higher perceived stress were found to have less resilience.

Cannon noted that since their surveyed sample was skewed towards females and those with higher education, there is the possibility that people who are unemployed or may not have had the opportunity for higher education could be doing worse than they measured.

“One of the things we measured was the number of days in lockdown, and at that point the average was 28 days,” Cannon said. “Now we’re up to like 160, 170 [days], and so we really expect that even in this group [that] is kind of insulated because of their socioeconomic status [and] educational attainment—[they] are probably still going to be pretty bad off if we did [the test] again.”

As a social and environmental inequality researcher, Cannon and her colleagues chose to research resilience in order to determine how people can be better supported throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

They have also been studying intimate partner violence for many years, and with rates spiking as the pandemic had progressed, they began to research how social isolation affected intimate partner violence to inform those making policies and help those suffering from abuse.

Fred Buttell, professor at the Tulane School of Social Work, added that it is important to recognize that measures used to protect public health can also have negative mental health consequences.

“COVID-19 is so personal,” Cannon said. “Everyone’s affected in some way by it, and I think as a researcher and as an educator and as a scholar, I have a certain set of tools. And so it’s kind of my way of trying to do something good with this really awful, devastating situation.”

After devoting herself to religious and American studies during her undergraduate career at Scripps College, Cannon’s mentor suggested attending divinity school to continue exploring philosophy and religious studies. She attended Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University, where the school’s strong history of social justice inspired her to continue in the field. Although she had originally planned on going to medical school, she decided on pursuing a PhD, and later becoming a professor. .

“I think things happen at certain moments and junctures in our lives,” Cannon said. “And I think, for the most part, there’s no value judgement associated with that. There’s no right or wrong answer. It’s just, as your life unfolds, the choice and decisions we make, and the people we come into contact and the effects they had on our lives, I think can be really transformative.”

It was through her PhD program at the City, Culture, and Community program at Tulane University that she met Buttell and Ferreria, co-authors of this study.

“I really admire her brain and her ability to think critically,” Buttell said of Cannon via email. “I think Davis is lucky to have her. She is the future of intimate partner violence research and that means that Davis will have one of the foremost experts on their faculty.”

Cannon advised conflicted undergraduate students to follow their hearts and intuition. She suggested those pursuing research get as much experience as they can, even if it does not directly relate to their interests, as any experience will help students discern their goals. As someone with a lot of passions, she empathizes with students’ struggle to determine which one of their interests they should pursue.

“Particularly for a lot of us, the world spends a lot of it’s time telling us that what we feel [and] what we think is wrong,” Cannon said. “I would say what you feel what you think is not wrong, and to follow your intuition, which doesn’t mean that it’s going to be an easy path or there isn’t going to be conflict or sacrifice with that. In my experience, the courage and wisdom to follow one’s intuition leads them where they need to be more often than not.”

This article was originally published online on Sept. 24, 2020.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020 | 9

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

Answer to previous puzzle 06/04/20

Crossword Answer to previous puzzle 06/04/20

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

10 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020

Unhealthy air conditions due to wildfires may cause long term health effects Climate crisis induces hazardous air quality across California

Tercero dorms during a bout of poor air quality in August 2020. (QUINN SPOONER / AGGIE)

BY MARG O ROSE N B AU M science@theaggie.org As wildfires ravage California, decimating homes and habitats, smoke blankets the state.

This past month, multiple counties—including Solano and Yolo Counties—sent out alerts of unhealthy air quality. As the Air Quality Index (AQI) rose above 200, it became dangerous for everyone, not just those in sensitive groups, to go outside.

Exposure to poor air quality can have serious health consequences. Short term effects include, but are not limited to: asthma-like symptoms like eye irritation, runny nose, chest pain, sneezing, sore throat, coughing and shortness of breath, according to Nicholas Kenyon, a professor and chief of the division of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine.

While scientists continue to study the exact consequences of smoke inhalation, the shortterm effects of California’s multiple acute episodes of poor air quality may have negative long-term impacts on public health, according to Kenyon.

“We will outlive these short-term events for a few days a year,” Kenyon said. “But if you’re growing up in the Davis area and we have a

month of exposure to this wildfire smoke while your lungs are developing, it’s very possible that it affects you long term.”

Smoke inhalation provokes especially negative impacts on individuals with pre-existing health conditions such as asthma, cardiovascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Elderly people, children and pregnant women are also at high risk. These individuals can suffer from asthma attacks, acute exacerbations of their underlying illness, heart attacks or strokes, according to Kent Pinkerton, a professor in the department of anatomy, physiology and cell biology at the school of veterinary medicine and a professor in the department of pediatrics at the school of medicine.

“Our greatest concerns are for specific susceptible groups and certain ages,” Pinkerton said. “Exposure of particles and gases could exacerbate or enhance [their] conditions.”

Helene Margolis, an associate adjunct professor in the department of internal medicine at the school of medicine, said her greatest concern is the impact of poor air quality on pregnant individuals.

If these people endure prolonged exposure to smoke late in their pregnancy, they can undergo preterm birth.

Air pollution from wildfires includes both gases and particles of buried materials. Exposure to

particulate matter that is smaller than 2.5 microns (PM 2.5) has caused the most fatalities, according to Anthony Wexler, a distinguished professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of the Air Quality Research Center. These small particles can easily enter the deepest parts of the respiratory tract—the alveoli—where gas exchange occurs.

This smoke primarily contains combusted vegetative material; however, more dangerous materials like rubbers, plastics and metals are burning too, since these wildfires have swept through developed land.

“The basic composition is similar to smoking,” Wexler said. “The concentrations are not as high, but [we are] doing it 24/7, which will have long term consequences.”

During unhealthy air conditions, the best way to protect oneself is to remain indoors. If one must go outside, Kenyon does not recommend exercising; raising one’s respiratory rate increases the intake of poor quality air into their lungs.

As of Sep. 20, the air quality had improved to moderate conditions, but as California’s fire season continues through October, it is possible for the AQI to rise again.

During unhealthy conditions, individuals who leave their homes should wear N95 masks which provide a tight seal against the nose and mouth as well as proper filtration. N95 masks—which also prevent the spread of COVID-19 droplets— prevent 95-99% of particles from penetrating the mask, according to Pinkerton. Since the emergence of COVID-19, however, N95 masks have not been readily available.

“Not all the coverings we are using right now for COVID-19 would necessarily be very effective in protecting from smoke or bad air quality,” Pinkerton said. “You really need protection and to not use a facial cloth mask, which only protects from 60% of particles in the air at best.”

Earlier this summer, reducing the spread of COVID-19 prompted many individuals to spend much time outdoors, however, the widespread wildfires have presented a further complication towards attempting to safely escape one’s home.

“It’s amazing how resilient people are in terms of managing what’s going on,” Kenyon said.

“There are obviously some discrepancies in terms of recommendations that we’ve been facing with both wildfires and COVID …. we’re telling people to go outdoors for COVID to get out of closed environments, but of course, with the wildfires trying to stay indoors.”

While more research needs to be conducted before conclusions are drawn, scientists are speculating that exposure to wildfire smoke increases one’s susceptibility to infections, according to Margolis.

“One of our biggest concerns is that [exposure to] air pollution from the wildfire smoke potentially … increases susceptibility to the virus,” Margolis said.

A correlation of this type has been seen with influenza and a similar could be witnessed with COVID-19, according to Kenyon.

Additionally, there is a concern that if an individual contracts COVID-19 after being exposed to air pollution, the disease is more severe, according to Margolis.

“It’s a pretty scary picture in terms of health,” Margolis said.

California will continue to suffer from wildfires and poor air quality as the climate crisis becomes more severe. In order to combat this issue, people need to decrease their dependence on fossil fuels, according to Wexler.

“We have to vote for people who are going to take this seriously and who are going to help us transition to renewable energy sources,” Wexler said.

Margolis hopes that the youth who grow up experiencing wildfires and poor air quality will be the ones to spark change—their health and safety depend on it.

“We know not everyone has lived up to the responsibility of taking care of this planet and keeping it safe, but I think more and more people are becoming aware,” Margolis said. “Don’t give up. Join forces. You have an extraordinary voice and … you are powerful.”

This article was originally published Sept. 21, 2020

Dry conditions due to climate change contributed to wildfire spread in northern california Frequency of lightning, lack of precipitation are other factors that helped ignite some of the 700 wildfires across the state KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

BY MAD EL EI NE PAY N E science@theaggie.org In the last few weeks, Northern California has been set ablaze by nearly 14,000 lightning strikes, leading to thousands of residents being evacuated and some of the largest wildfires in California’s history. The sheer number of lightning strikes, lack of precipitation and hot and dry weather conditions — the latter which has been attributed directly to global warming and climate change — are all contributing factors in spreading these devastating wildfires that have burned over 1.38 million acres in California.

Many of the wildfires were ignited early in the week of Aug. 16, 2020, when storms passed through Northern California bringing little precipitation and lots of lightning. Erwan Monier, an associate professor who studies climate change impacts, described how this storm was formed by moisture colliding with a

high pressure system, leading to precipitation that evaporated while still in the air.

“It was so hot and so dry that the [precipitation] did not have an opportunity to actually reach the ground,” Monier said. “If it had, it [could] have given some moisture to vegetation, and it would have helped extinguish some of the fires, [at least] some of the small ones.”

Monier referred to this phenomenon as dry lightning, which can be an effective instigator for wildfires when occurring alongside other conditions, like warmer temperatures and low humidity.

Paul Ullrich, an associate professor who studies regional climate modeling, explained that this lightning storm, like many individual weather events, can not be statistically linked to climate change, although the impacts of an event may be intensified by it.

“Inevitably, when it comes to infrequent events such as this and other forms of extreme weather

events, you can say very little about climate change influences because you usually have such a small statistical sample,” Ullrich said.

“The event in question — this major lightning storm event that did move through California — was certainly an unusual event, and one with widespread effects.”

He added that the dry and hot conditions which helped spread the wildfires can be traced as a more direct connection to climate change.

“It triggered fires primarily because it had taken advantage of already dry conditions that arose from a pretty dry spring season as well as high temperatures,” Ullrich said. “The temperatures themselves we can very clearly associate with climate change. That has led to drying of vegetation that is priming the fire for these types of events.”

Besides creating conditions favorable for igniting wildfires, warmer temperatures can become especially problematic for fighting a fire at night, when firefighters cannot rely on colder temperatures to hinder the fire, according to Monier.

“The nighttime temperatures have increased as well with climate change,” Monier said.

“Generally, you have a cycle where you have cooler nights which slows down the spread of wildfires, but when you actually have nighttime temperatures that are quite warm, you lose this slowdown so wildfires expand even more.”

Another predicted impact of climate change is a shortening of the precipitation window in winter. Monier explained how California’s wet season is predicted to start later in the fall and end earlier in the spring, leading to a longer and more extreme dry season that can stoke wildfires.

“The expectation is that the window of precipitation in the winter is going to shrink,” Monier said. “That does not necessarily mean that over the entire year we’re going to get more

or less precipitation, it’s just the timing is going to be shorter, and therefore you’re going to have more intense precipitation.”

California has a Mediterranean climate which consists of very wet winters and very dry summers. Ullrich said that as climate change progresses, this extreme is only going to be exacerbated with less and less moderate years — an effect called increased variability.

“Mainly, our dry extremes are going to become more extreme, and our wet extremes are going to become more extreme and occur more often,” Ullrich said. “That middle ground of moderate climate — moderate years — is going to slowly disappear. We are going to end up always living in the extreme, per se.”

Monier said this concept of increased extremes can be a challenging concept to grasp, as California is going to experience more wet extremes and dry extremes simultaneously.

“It’s more timing than the amount [of precipitation], which is why what we’re expecting, which some people struggle with, is more intense flooding and more intense drought at the same time,” Monier said.

“Because precipitation will fall in a much shorter period, you’ll get a much longer period without rain.”

This article was originally published Sept.

21, 2020

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

RECREATION CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 Future events include a cemetery history walk in October for Halloween, a trip to the pumpkin patch, a harvest picnic in November and more bocce ball, while continuing to comply with safety rules and regulations.

LeDuc also explained how the idea for the program originated.

“Adaptive Rec has provided 45 years of programming for community members with intellectual or developmental disabilities,” LeDuc said. “In the past, the program has offered weekend trips, weekly bowling sessions and other special activities. With the addition of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the program expanded as reasonable accommodations in Parks and Community programming was legally mandated. The City of Davis has a commitment to inclusiveness and making a difference.”

Due to COVID-19, Adaptive Recreation has had to find ways to operate differently, according to LeDuc. “We are doing what we do best, adapting,” LeDuc said.

A calendar for the events can also be found on a web page for Parks and Community Services.

“The landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) expands protection and choices for individuals with disabilities,” the website reads.

INTERFAITHFUNDS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 Alarcón further described this initiative. The initiative provided basic needs to immigrants, largely due to “community donations, bilingual volunteer support, and chief stewardship of the ApoYolo initiative by Anoosh Jorjorian.” $20,000 in funds were initially raised from community contributions and grant writing. This $20,000 amount was matched by the Travis Credit Union Foundation, which resulted in a total of $40,000 for immigrant families in the Davis community.

García addressed how the center was able to further extend their help. Due to an increase in need from the immigrant community, the center was able to increase their budget on emergency grants, as well as increase one-on-one meetings with students.

“The biggest role right now for the center is to continue to build that community and share those resources,” García said. “It really is taking a larger institutional commitment for [undocumented students] to be able to graduate from UC Davis.”

Supervisor Provenza further emphasized the importance of organizations such as Yolo Interfaith Immigration Network, calling the work they do “essential.”

“If things got worse, the immigrant community would be the first to suffer—and suffer more,” Provenza said. “Having them available is really

VOTINGCENTERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 The Elections Office has 17 days after Election Day to receive the ballots, provided they are postmarked by Nov. 3. Voting procedures will also be conducted with integrity, with signatures on returned ballots being checked against voter registration signatures, and official ballots only

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020 | 11

“Many opportunities are available that may enhance the quality of life through the pursuit of leisure activities. The City of Davis is proud to offer both inclusive and separate recreational activities to ensure that community members have choices while in search of these goals.”

In addition, LeDuc also explained she hopes the program is a positive outlet for people to meet up safely. “[...]We are keeping the goals simple: Take advantage of the small things we haven’t been able to do,” LeDuc said. “The goal is to provide the opportunity for friends to get together and look forward to something each week.”

Some of the friendships span decades, and the goal of the program is to continue to grow these friendships while forming new ones, according to LeDuc. “My biggest hope is to be able to hug participants again!” LeDuc said. “Moreover, to eventually have big Friday night parties with karaoke and go on the big trips that Adaptive Recreation has been known for. That might take some time, but we hope to roll with the hurdles and obstacles.”

Despite the challenges caused by COVID-19, the program offers a way for participants to connect with each other.

“Regaining a sense of community and togetherness is crucial now more than ever,” LeDuc said via email. “Getting together has offered a connection that has been missing from our resident’s lives.”

important so that we can adjust what we do to try and help better as well.”

Alarcón commented about communitybased fundraisers that can fill in funding gaps for immigrants left by the federal government.

“YIIN is important because our Immigrant communities continue to be [under-resourced] and unacknowledged by our federal government at large: xenophobia continues to serve as foundational bedrock for the United States’ policies and resource allocation [...]” Alarcón said.

“Being able to validate the concerns and experiences of our county’s Immigrants while addressing the material injustices at play right now is vital for our community’s well-being.”

García further commented on the strength of the immigrant community, despite the pandemic and economic crisis.

“Our community is very bold and courageous— and very willing to do collaborative and collective work,” García said. “I definitely am very hopeful for all of the ways that our community has engaged so far.”

“The future will continue to be shaped by the ways our Immigrants continue to advocate with cultural wealth, community-based connections for support, and solidarity with movements prioritizing social justice,” Alarcón said. “I look forward to our continued engagement combatting systems of inequality that disproportionately affect our community.” being printed on certified paper.

Dr. Hale also noted that it is unclear whether changes to the US Postal System would affect voting-by-mail, such as mail-in-votes not being received in time.

Ultimately, despite the challenges presented

by COVID-19, voters will still be able to cast their votes, and health and safety measures will be implemented to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

Economy’ for reducing COVID-19 in the state with revised criteria for loosening and tightening CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 restrictions on activities,” the press release reads.

Yolo County is currently in the “most A complete list of all businesses that received restrictive” tier due to being on the State’s County the Certificate of Compliance can be found on the Data Monitoring List before this framework was program’s website. introduced.

Starting Aug. 31, Yolo County is also allowing Ultimately, despite the challenges presented barbershops and hair salons to carry out indoor

by COVID-19, businesses are trying their best operations while following social distancing to remain open while adhering to COVID-19 protocols, guidance from the State of California guidelines. and face covering requirements, according to “It was and still [is] very hard,” Al Hafidh another press release from Yolo County. stated via email. “We are trying our best to stay in “The State of California revealed on Aug. 28 a business.” new tiered framework titled ‘Blueprint for a Safer

COVIDCHECK

EWB CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 The other new hurdle that the team will have to jump through while working remotely is how to make the usual split-second adjustments that are so common in these types of projects, from across the world. Kathryn Tarver, a fourth-year biological systems engineering major and the construction lead, explained that even with a firm plan, the implementation is far more reliant on Poncho and the community members to make these adjustments than if the team were on the ground.

“We have a design, we have a budget, we have a timeline, all that jazz,” Tarver said. “Now can we get it so that it actually works out and be built effectively without us there?”

The team is going to start with just one latrine, and if building runs smoothly, they hope to build four or five more during this round of implementation.

Although the remote model of the project makes it more challenging in some ways, Nelson said that it has also made some aspects easier.

“It was kind of nice because we have a lot of freedom,” Nelson said. “This has never really happened before, and even now, Engineers Without Borders nationals have a lot more say on the remote implementation. When we started this back in April, there was really no direction, so it was tricky at first. But once we realized [that] we have freedom and control to do what we want, we completely redesigned our whole team, we elected all different positions and got to completely redefine our team how we saw fit.”

Even though the remote strategy has been great in giving the team freedom and flexibility, Alyssa Estrada Marquez, a fourth-year civil engineering student and the co-project lead, explained that it does limit the real-life experience that students

usually value in the Engineers Without Borders program.

“Students aren’t getting the hands-on experience that they usually have,” Estrada Marquez said. “Our team members will have to find other ways to learn how to pour concrete and learn what building the forms are for the concrete, because it just won’t happen this year.”

Tarver elaborated on this concern, mentioning that the knowledge that students gain about the specific communities, from the people there to the types of soil on the ground and materials that are available, is also imperative to the success of these projects, and much of it could be lost in the upcoming years.

“One of the challenges that we’ve encountered is that it’s probably going to be a couple of years until we are able to travel again which means that all of our seasoned travelers who have that institutional knowledge are going to be graduating out,” Tarver said. “It’s going to be a challenge just recording all of that institutional knowledge, and we’re trying to figure out how we are going to make sure that future generations of engineers are able to draw on what we already know.”

Despite all of these changes that COVID-19 has caused for the Bolivia project, according to Tarver, it has been an amazing experience to be able to spearhead this new project model, and has been a testament to the incredible things that can be accomplished remotely that they didn’t know were possible before.

“It’s kind of a perfect concept,” Tarver said. “We’re trying to demonstrate that you can implement a composting latrine remotely without any of our members being there.”

Estrada Marquez echoed Tarver’s statement.

“It’s been really fun,” Estrada Marquez said. “I think it’s cool to get to set the standards and get to make your own rules and define how you want to exactly run this project.”

TAYLORSWIFT CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 “Reputation” was truly Swift’s rise back to fame. She hid herself from the public for two years after the Kimye scandal so when fans first saw the “Look What You Made Me Do” music video with her literally rising from the dead, it was the perfect entrance to a sell-out stadium tour that critics assumed would fail. But fans were more than happy to take back this “new” Taylor, or rather, her fans never left. They stood idly by her side as she hid in luggage bags to avoid paparazzi and fell in love with the treasured Joe Alwyn. Compared to previous eras of light and airy tours, Reputation was filled with black outfits and snake-themed merchandise.

The dark themes were the beginnings of a new, fiercer Taylor and a break from her whimsical character. But of course, opening the album with “Look What You Made Me Do” and including the line “oh, she’s dead” didn’t indicate that Swift’s old songs were truly gone. With dance pop songs like “Gorgeous” and “Call it What You Want,” it became clear that while her single attested to her old self being dead, her other songs sat in the lyrical beauty of all Taylor Swift classics.

Lover (2019) The continuation of the pop genre that she previously stuck with was not a shock to fans.

This album came with many overlooked hits that deserved more attention, such as “The Man” where Swift finally writes a song that perfectly describes how the music industry would treat her if she were a man. Or songs like “Death By a Thousand Cuts” where she got her inspiration from the movie “Someone Great,” making a full 360 circle between the movie and Taylor Swift (the movie itself was inspired by Swift’s song “Clean” from “1989”).

“Lover” won the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album and the ARIA music award for Best International Artist. The album broke multiple sales records, including the pre-sale record at Target.

“Lover” was another beautiful transition and is underappreciated even among Swift’s fans. While “Reputation” was more of a cathartic era for Swift and allowed fans to revel in the bitterness that she tasted the previous two years, “Lover” showed us the light that she found at the end of the tunnel and that light is Joe Alwyn. “Lover” has pages

INCOMINGFRESHMAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 Despite the strides she has taken to meet people, Avila admits her experience thus far as a freshman has not lived up to her previous expectations.

“Before Covid, I expected to be moving into the dorms with one to two roommates, eating at the dining hall, going to class and meeting with my professors, meeting new people and more,” Avila said. “But what I am experiencing is moving into an apartment complex, going grocery shopping, cooking meals for myself, meeting new people over social media and staying cooped up in my apartment. All of which I didn’t expect to do [until] next year.”

Far from the cows of Davis, Rachel Huerta, a first-year environmental toxicology major, started her freshman year at home. Many factors contributed to Huerta’s decision, but learning that she wouldn’t have a roommate was a turning point.

“After they cancelled that option, I really didn’t want to be alone in my dorm for long periods of time, because all my classes were online anyway,” Huerta said. “So I thought it’d be really hard to socialize and just do a lot of the normal, first-year activities, and I really didn’t want to pay for a dorm

SMALLBUSINESSES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 “Just a meeting or two ago, we re-negotiated the agreement we had with the Varsity Theater downtown, which, you know, when things are good, has been a terrific anchor [...] and so we sharply reduced their rent because they are not under the shelter in place orders—they’re not allowed to operate,” Carson said. “And so rather than stick to our agreement that we had for them to pay money they didn’t have, we’ve given them new terms that we think will allow them to exit the other side of this.”

The Davis City Council has also offered help by recruiting a third party to give free counseling to businesses who seek it and free permits from the city that allow businesses who find it difficult to operate indoors to set up outdoors, in parking lots and streets.

“We have two streets where this is going Friday through Sunday and we’re thinking it’s going to go on for October and maybe even beyond, depending on how this goes,” Carson said. “It’s been fairly successful, but we’ve tried to cut through the red tape to let folks do so.”

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) act, passed in spring, is one

DAVISRESEARCH CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 Through these comparisons, she hopes that they may be able to figure out if there are any correlating factors as to why some people get more sick than others.

Michael Schivo, an associate professor of internal medicine at UC Davis Health, added that they may also be able to track the progress of patients receiving different treatments by sampling their breath.

As an engineer, Davis believes that all engineers are inspired to help humanity and become inspired by new challenges they can tackle to help others.

She also explained that oftentimes, when these big problems arise, people from different expertise need to come together, demonstrating the power of interdisciplinary research. With this current project, Davis is working closely with clinicians and clinical research scientists such as Harper,

ripped straight out of her diary. Songs like “Cruel Summer” and “Paper Rings” were created for fans to tear it apart, line by line and find the hidden meaning and backstory behind the relationship; a wonderful addition to what Swift fans are used to doing now as she frequently hides Easter eggs in everything she does. It was also beautiful to see the “Taylor Swift Productions” at the bottom of music videos after the unfortunate mess involving Scooter Braun and Swift’s long-time disappointment of a manager, Scott Borchetta.

Folklore (2020) “Folklore” is something fans have been waiting for since we heard Swift sing “Eyes Open” and “Safe and Sound” on “The Hunger Games” soundtrack.

The mystical vibes that we once received were a sort of longing for many, craving a sound from Swift we never fully got. For people that weren’t fans, the indie alternative album gave them something they never knew they needed. This album, and aesthetic, has something for everyone. “Folklore” really emphasized that Swift isn’t just a beautiful lyricist, but a storyteller. Songs like “Last Great American Dynasty” portray the story of the past owners of her Rhode Island home. She also created a teenage love triangle using the song “Betty,” “Cardigan” and “August” where each song is told from a different point of view. The whole album consists of different stories, some of which aren’t even Swift’s, compiled into a beautiful album that grabbed the attention of many.

But what got the attention of the ACM Awards is the love triangle in Swift’s story-telling.

“Betty” is a country song, something fans haven’t heard from Swift in years. While some fans craved Swift’s old sound again and others fell in love with her pop songs, “Betty” earned it’s attention for the storytelling of the undeserving James who is singing a song to his ex-girlfriend. This song brings Swift back to where she started: writing a country song and singing with an acoustic guitar. Where she once feared that fans would get sick of her, the public embraced this album in the middle of a pandemic. Swift has reinvented herself multiple times throughout her career, but fans clearly know what’s next: her re-recording her albums. The only thing left to wonder now is how she will sound on her old albums without her once adored southern accent.

if I wasn’t going to get the same experience.”

Although she is confident that the decision to stay at home was right for her, Huerta has faced difficulties meeting new people when the only option is virtual. This distance from campus life even reaches academics; Huerta shared her abnormal experience starting college classes virtually from home.

“It’s really, really surreal,” Huerta said. “I feel a little bit of a disconnect from my professors and again, from other students, just because there is an aspect to it, where it’s like,’is this actually real?’

This is so disconnected from reality that it doesn’t feel like it’s an actual thing.”

Huerta hopes to move into the dorms in the upcoming quarters, and while she hopes to gain a semblance of a freshman experience in Davis one day, Huerta acknowledges and accepts the uncertainty of life plans during a pandemic.

“I’m definitely considering moving back Winter Quarter,” Huerta said. “I really want to have some sort of experience as a college freshman living on campus. But who knows? I never thought I’d be in the situation where I am right now, so I can’t really say that it’s certain. And if winter quarter doesn’t work out, hopefully I’ll be there [in the] spring.”

of the federal programs that offers relief to workers and small businesses due to the impacts of COVID-19, but excludes cities with smaller populations. The City of Davis received some aid, but the funds have been focused on the city’s more pressing needs like emergency services. This is why free consulting provided by The Greater Sacramento Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has become one of the options the city has made available to businesses.

“Because we got left out of that federal bill, it doesn’t put us in a position to do all we would like to help folks,” Carson said. “But what we were able to do for our business partners was we helped support a program that provides business assistance, including counseling on how to get Small Business Administration [SBA] loans.

We’ve got folks who can provide free expertise and counseling to any small business that asks for it.”

According to Carson, the city has had to take action to deal with a projected 20 million dollar loss of city revenue, mainly from sales tax and hotel taxes, because of the impacts of the current recession.

“We know we still have a very important responsibility to help our businesses to survive this and of course, more directly to help those persons who become unemployed or underemployed as a result of what’s going on,” Carson said.

Schivo and Nicholas Kenyon, the division chief of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine.

“Cristina is a fantastic example of somebody who extends her knowledge, her productivity and her lab well beyond her immediate circle,” Schivo said. “She’s been a really good example of somebody who reaches out to multiple different groups representing multiple different disciplines to really create some fantastic products.”

For students interested in going into the research field, Davis advises to keep an open mind regarding the trajectory of one’s career. She stated that someone once gave her advice that one should not be working on the same problem for 20 or 30 years, but rather look towards the next problem to tackle.

“Don’t be complacent. Try new things,” Davis said. “Sometimes they don’t work out; that’s okay.

Sometimes they do work out; that’s really exciting.

But you have to always be trying new things. I think that’s a key part of success.”

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

12 | THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2020

Sports in a pandemic: The MLS The Aggie gets an inside look at the current era of sports

BY OMAR NAVARRO sports@theaggie.org Since March 2020, sports have not been the same. After a threemonth long hiatus, sports returned.

And with the NBA, MLB, NFL and many more leagues currently playing, there has been a variety of sports to watch. But, the majority of teams from all leagues currently share the same experience: no fans.

With the exception of some outdoor teams having limited fans in states like Texas, Florida and Missouri, the new reality includes noise being pumped in through the stadium speakers to avoid the awkwardness of silence in a big arena.

Major League Soccer’s approach to return took the form of an NBAtype bubble. Hosting an “MLS is Back” tournament closed off to the public, the league decided to hold the tournament inside Disney World in Orlando, Florida. After initially struggling to make it work

due to some positive tests from teams, the tournament was held and the Portland Timbers were the eventual champions.

After the tournament concluded, the MLS became the first league to go from playing in a bubble to playing in their home markets and stadiums. The league released their plan to return to an additional 18-game regular season throughout November, culminating with the playoffs and the championship game on Dec. 12. Major League Soccer was one of the few leagues that had not begun their season before the sudden pause of sports back in March. Although they will hold fewer games, the structure of their season is about the same as it would have been without the pandemic.

As for health protocols, the MLS learned from their tournament that social distancing and the commitment to wearing masks were key to a successful regular season. Working closely with the league’s infectious disease advisors, they developed a plan to ensure the health and safety of all teams. All players, coaches and staff are tested every other day as well as the day before a match. They are also

given guidelines to follow for when they are outside of the facility in order to limit the spread of COVID-19. For travel, teams take chartered flights or buses to their destinations and arrive on the day of the match. In most cases, they will also leave shortly after the match is finished.

Aside from those guidelines, there are many more that teams must follow inside their own facilities and on matchday.

The Aggie had an opportunity to witness firsthand what it was like to experience a live MLS game during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Sept. 23, the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) hosted the Vancouver Whitecaps at Banc of California Stadium in Downtown Los Angeles, California.

A section of the stadium’s parking lot was blocked off and served as a COVID-19 testing site. In the parking lot, cars were parked in every other space to avoid close contact between people getting out of their cars. As you get closer to the stadium, each media member holds a separate entrance in order to avoid a large number of people at one entrance.

Masks were a major part of the entire

experience as one had to be worn at all times except when eating.

Before one can enter, a COVID-19 questionnaire must be completed.

It included questions about possible contact with the virus and whether one has felt any symptoms recently. Upon completion, every person’s temperature is taken and if it fits the criteria, they are let in. Hand sanitizer stations can be seen at almost every turn, as it is something that LAFC and the MLS have emphasized the importance of, especially for the media members. If an elevator has to be used, it is limited to four people per trip and the designated spots of where to stand are in each far corner. Social distancing is enforced and a key part of their set up on game day.

As for the working space, since it is an empty stadium, members are given a suite usually reserved for companies or people who rent them out for a given game. The limit is two people per suite and there is much space to socially distance, inside and outside where one has a clear view of the field. While inside the stadium, the team does not allow eating of any kind but instead dedicates a section located outside that serves as a designated eating area.

The anticipation leading to the start of the game itself feels more like an amateur park league game rather than a professional football match. Since there is nothing other than music playing up until game time, the speakers play loudly in a lonely arena. To cover up the view of empty seats, large banners with the teams’ logos and sponsors are put up. Even when the players take the field ready to start the match, there is an awkward, silent feel.

As the match begins, LAFC, like many other clubs across all sports, are allowed to pump in crowd noise to drown out the silence and try to make it as normal as possible. There are instances when there is no sound and there is simply silence. The type of silence that makes you feel like you are in the stadium alone. Even though the stadium is in the middle of one of the biggest cities, the silence brought upon is one that feels like you are isolated. When goals are made, a loud sound bite is played throughout the stadium and the lights flash, similar to what you would see in a regular LAFC

game with fans in attendance. The sound is normal, but the feeling is not.

Although the field of play can’t be socially distanced, the benches and those on the sidelines are required to wear masks and sit separately. Rather than the usual ball person that gives the players the ball when it goes out of bounds, there are stands that hold the ball where the players can walk up to and get the ball themselves.

As for the game itself, LAFC won comfortably by a score of 6-0, even breaking an MLS record, scoring four goals in 14 minutes.

Coming off a brutal loss in Seattle the game before, the feeling of being at home, even with no fans, was one of comfort.

“We love playing at home,” said LAFC defender Dejan Jakovic in his postgame Zoom press conference.

“Unfortunately, we’re not able to play in front of our fans but we know they’re back home cheering us on.”

Although they are unable to play without the extra adrenaline of fans, playing in a stadium in which they are comfortable and a stadium that they know so well can work wonders, even in the current era of sports.

“It’s a special place to play,” Jakovic said. “You can tell that we’ve always been a difficult team to beat at home.”

The circumstances of playing are not ideal, but it is the current state of all sports for an indefinite amount of time. It is better than the alternative of no sports, but it still takes some getting used to. Every team can add in and simulate crowd noise, but nothing will ever beat the rush of thousands of voices cheering on their team.

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

MLB playoffs in full swing In what once looked like a disaster, the MLB looks to finish off a wild season

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

BY OMAR NAVARRO sports@theaggie.org Unable to create a bubbletype experience like the National Basketball Association (NBA) due to the large number of individuals on one team, Major League Baseball (MLB) took its chance and held its regular season in each teams’ home stadiums. There were still major changes, but having no control over the player’s actions outside of the stadium proved to be a difficult challenge that the MLB almost couldn’t overcome.

After officially announcing the return to play in July, MLB laid out their plan. Shortening the season to just 60 games compared to the normal 162 was one of the biggest changes. Other changes came later in the month, as the MLB approved the expansion of the playoffs to 16 teams compared to the normal 10. Having postponed the season

the season during their spring training back in March, the league gave players about three weeks to complete their team training in their home stadium before the July 23 start of the season. Upon arrival, they were tested for COVID-19 and would be tested every other day throughout the season. Temperature is checked twice a day and antibody testing was administered once a month. In the case of a positive test, the player or staff member must quarantine and have two negative test results before they are allowed to return.

The MLB maneuvered with an abundance of caution, as the ongoing pandemic has proved to be a dangerous time in the world. In addition to testing and making the use of masks mandatory everywhere except the field of play, the league instituted many new rules that would change a lot of longstanding baseball norms. For example, there were no celebratory fist bumps, hugs or highfives allowed under any circumstances.

This created a rather awkward scene during home runs or even walk-offs.

While they were allowed to chew gum, the chewing or spitting of sunflower seeds and/or tobacco was not allowed.

The MLB made it known that any eating of that nature was not allowed in the dugout. In addition, once a ball had been touched by multiple players, it would be thrown out and replaced with a new one.

Many saw the protocols the MLB instituted as too much, but it has to be understood that there could be no room for error on the field of play or in the team’s clubhouses. On paper, these rules seemed fine, but less than a week in, MLB would be tested.

In a roadtrip to start the season, a total of 18 players and two coaches of the Miami Marlins organization tested positive for COVID-19 and the team was forced to quarantine in a Philadelphia hotel for a week. All of their games during that week were canceled and upon return, they were missing all 18 players.

According to Marlins CEO Derek Jeter, many of the players let their guard down as were getting together in groups and not wearing masks.

The Miami Marlins was not the only team to make these errors, as the St. Louis Cardinals seemed to follow in their footsteps when 16 players tested positive for the virus but the majority remained asymptomatic. Another outbreak for MLB led to commissioner Rob Manfred telling the MLB Players Association that if players continued to let their guard down, he would have to cancel the season.

In the end, it ended up not being canceled but they were tested immensely.

The regular season felt as if it went by very fast, as the usual 162 game schedule that ranged from the end of March to the end of September was now cut to less than half. As opposed to the NBA asterisk argument, the MLB argument was one that took some more thought. The season was cut drastically, almost no ways to improve a ballclub and above all, no fans in attendance. While some can argue the legitimacy of this World Series title, seasoned veterans know that this year will be a good kind of special.

“It’s been a grind and it feels like a regular 162-game season, but we’ve just concentrated on ourselves and trying to do the best we can,” said Cardinals longtime catcher Yadier Molina. “It’s a weird year, but we hope it’s going to be a special year and we’ll be the COVID World Series champs. It would be very special, maybe more special in some ways.”

Playing at a professional level is hard enough, but that coupled with the added stress of a pandemic has been something that many players have had to endure during this abnormal season. As New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman put it, it might even be the hardest championship ever.

“You could [also] argue this might be the toughest World Championship to ever win, given the circumstances we’re dealing with—not the Yankees, I am talking about the industry,” Cashman told SiriusXM MLB Network Radio.

“And then the level of playoffs [you have to] navigate, to get there to be the last team standing, it’s going to be quite the accomplishment. Somebody’s going to be really well deserving to be proud of whoever happens to win that thing.”

As the league has now reached the final stretch of the season, the teams still alive in their postseason journey must do so on a neutral field.

The final three rounds of this year’s postseason will be held on neutral sites where the entire series will be held there. Creating a bubble-type environment, the National League will play their games in Houston and Arlington while the American League will play in San Diego and Los Angeles. The World Series will be held at the brand new Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Due to the location of the stadium in Arlington, the MLB announced that fans would be allowed for the NLCS and the World Series at a limited capacity of 28%, equaling 11,500 fans.

What once looked like a disastrous season has almost reached the finish line. There were many obstacles that MLB had to overcome and, to their credit, they did. Despite the skepticism of being able to complete the season, it seems like they are just about to do it. As for the play on the field, people will always question the legitimacy of this season, especially due to the major changes all year. Maybe one could make the argument that statistical categories could be looked at differently, as numbers may be skewed. But, whoever is crowned champion will deserve it as much as those that came before them due to the current nature of the world and the added stressors never before seen.

A championship is never easy, and this one is no different.