June 3, 2021

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VOLUME 139, ISSUE 29 | THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021

YOLO COUNTY FOLLOWS THE STATE’S DECISION TO KEEP MASK MANDATES IN PLACE UNTIL JUNE 15 After June 15, fully-vaccinated individuals won’t have to wear masks except at lage events

BY ELLIE LEE city@theaggie.org The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on May 16 that fully vaccinated people can resume activities without social distancing or wearing a face covering. Despite these updated guidelines, California isn’t set to remove its mask mandate for fully-vaccinated individuals until June 15.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) detailed that after June 15, being vaccinated or testing negative for COVID-19 and wearing a mask will be required for everyone attending indoor Mega Events (over 5,000 attendees). Masks will also be mandatory for Outdoor Mega Events (over 10,000 attendees), but being vaccinated or testing negative will only be recommended.

On-call public information officer Frank Schneegas explained that Yolo County’s orders align with the state’s restrictions, although Yolo County has the ability to implement firmer guidelines than the state.

“We can’t be less restrictive than the state, although we can be more restrictive,” Schneegas said. “We don’t have anything in place that is more restrictive, so we’re following whatever the state does.”

Schneegas said Yolo County may see caveats to when masks are mandatory after June 15 but that the CDPH announcement is still currently applicable to Yolo County. He added that Yolo County is waiting to hear about how people would be identified as vaccinated from the state. He emphasized the importance of getting vaccinated, adding that data have shown vaccines to be effective and safe.

“We hope everyone gets vaccinated to ensure the health and safety of our residents and our broader community,” Schneegas said.

Kaiser Permanente still requires everyone entering its facilities to wear masks, including in locations outside of California where there are no current mask mandates. It also recently started administering the Pfizer vaccine to people ages 12 to 15 and offers free vaccines to members and nonmembers alike.

Kaiser Permanente Senior Public Relations Consultant Chyresse Hill emphasized the importance of wearing a mask and getting tested for fully-vaccinated individuals with COVID-19 symptoms.

“Kaiser Permanente advises everyone age 12 and older to get vaccinated as soon as possible,” Hill said via email. “Even after fully vaccinating, anyone with symptoms of illness should resume wearing a mask and get tested.”

Schneegas detailed that cloth and medical

People shopping at the Davis Farmer’s Market on Saturday, Oct. 31. (Justin Han / Aggie) masks have shown to be effective in preventing the spread of COVID-19. The CDC recommends people to find cloth masks that have a nose wire, block light when holding it up to a bright light and contain layers of breathable, woven fabric. They do not recommend masks containing exhalation vents or valves, or those made of only one layer of fabric that does not block light.

Schneegas encouraged all eligible Yolo County residents to get vaccinated, noting that getting vaccinated is free and sites are easy to find locally.

“The [vaccines] are incredibly easy to get now, and they’re very accessible,” Schneegas said. “They are absolutely free regardless of whether or not you do or don’t have health insurance.”

TENANT DIES DUE TO INJURIES SUSTAINED IN MAY 8 SOLANO PARK APARTMENT COMPLEX FIRE The California State Fire Marshal’s Office is currently conducting an investigation regarding the cause of the fire, and the investigation results will be available to the UC Davis community once completed

BY MADDIE DULEY campus@theaggie.org Counseling resources are available to students during this challenging time. Students can schedule a free video or phone appointment with counseling services at (530) 752-0871, or through Health-eMessaging. Faculty, staff and adults can contact the Academic and Staff Assistance Program by calling (530) 752-2727.

On May 8, the UC Davis Fire Department responded to a fire in the Solano Park apartment complex, a campus apartment complex located near the Arboretum.

The fire department was dispatched by the 911 center due to a heat detector activation in one of the apartment units at 11:25 p.m.

“Upon arrival, UC Davis fire crews were alerted to the possibility of a person still inside the residence and immediately began a search of the apartment,” said Nathan Trauernicht, the UC Davis fire chief. “Firefighters located one person in the apartment who was transported to the hospital. The fire was then brought under control.”

Trauernicht said that extinguishing the fire was second priority behind searching for the person still inside the apartment.

“Once the rescue was complete, the fire was under control within just a few minutes,” Trauernicht said.

The apartment unit that sustained the fire was housed by graduate student Mohamed Alkaoud and his wife Hissah Almousa.

“Hissah was in the apartment during the fire,” said Michael Sheehan, the associate vice chancellor for housing, dining and divisional operations.

“Tragically, it was announced that Hissah passed away as a result of her injuries.”

UC Davis said it is working to support Mohamed Alkaoud as much as possible during this difficult time.

“Our entire campus community mourns the tragic loss of Hissah and grieves with Mohamed and the residents of Solano Park,” Chancellor Gary May said.

Residents of the apartment complex were housed on campus and given complimentary access to the dining commons until the complex was cleared for occupancy on May 14.

“We wanted to do everything possible to assist the students and residents that were displaced by this incident,” Sheehan said. “Supporting them was and is a top priority.”

Residents affected by the move and accommodations that they have undergone may file an insurance claim through the university’s insurer or with a private insurance company,

The UC Davis Fire Department station on campus. (Quinn Spooner / Aggie) according to Sheehan. They may do so if they have renters’ insurance and would like to apply for monetary compensation.

The investigation regarding the cause of the fire in the Solano Park apartment is being conducted by the California State Fire Marshal’s Office.

UC Davis will share the results of the

investigation once it is complete. So far, the building’s electrical systems and structure have been examined and cleared.

“The California State Fire Marshal’s Office has jurisdiction for fire investigation on all UC campuses,” Trauernicht said. “The investigation is still underway regarding the cause and origin [of the fire at the Solano apartments].”

PARTICIPANTS IN UC DAVIS UNDERGRADUATE SURVEY TARGETTED BY ACCELLION CYBERATTACK Data from survey responses could be published or sold for financial gain by hackers

BY REBECCA BIHN-WALLACE campus@theaggie.org Participants in one of UC Davis’ undergraduate experience surveys were targeted by the recent Accellion cyberattack, according to a May 26 campus-wide email from Pablo Reguerín, the vice chancellor of student affairs. Accellion is an IT cybersecurity company.

The undergraduate experience survey, conducted between April 20 and July 16, 2020, asked students personal questions regarding academic performance, mental health, diversity and campus life. The data from these survey responses, which also included names, email addresses and student IDs, could potentially be published or sold by the hackers.

Targeted individuals also received an email from UC President Michael Drake regarding resources to ensure cyberdata protection.

“I strongly encourage students who receive [this email] to take it seriously and follow [Drake’s] recommendations,” said Chancellor Gary May via email. “And don’t be afraid to reach out for mental health support should you need it. Everything will be okay.”

Dana Topousis, the chief marketing and communications officer at UC Davis, urged students to check the UC site regularly for updated information about the Accellion attack.

“The UC has created a microsite with

frequently asked questions and information about how to protect yourself moving forward,” Topousis said.

According to a recent article in The California Aggie, the Accellion attack previously enabled hackers to access information including credit card and bank details, birthdays, Social Security numbers and addresses.

The recently updated UC statement had noted that some of this personal data was published on the Internet on March 21. The Accellion system was then taken offline and the vulnerability was repaired, but the UC—which is cooperating with FBI officials to investigate the matter—has said it is currently seeking a more long-term solution to the issue.

The UC has also established “free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services for former and current employees [...] and current students” through Experian IdentityWorks, a resource linked in emails to relevant individuals between May 12 and May 14.

The cyberattack affected many other institutions worldwide, from companies to government agencies to hospitals, according to Inside Higher Ed. The attack, first conducted in December 2020 and again in January 2021, also targeted institutes of higher education like the University of Colorado, Yeshiva University, the University of Miami, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the Stanford University School of

Following the hacking of Accellion, a vendor of software that UC Davis uses to transfer sensitive information, the university is offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection to UC employees. (Justin Han / Aggie) Medicine.

Cybercriminals subsequently published the data collected from these institutions on a website called C10p. Inside Higher Ed said the aforementioned information included “academic transcripts, medical records, research grants and

employment contracts.”

The individuals running the C10p website have been known to threaten people with publishing such data if they do not receive ransom money.

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Manetti Shrem Museum reopens with new exhibitions Two new exhibitions are available for visitors to experience after the museum staff’s hard work through the pandemic

BY CHRISTINE LEE campus@theaggie.org The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Museum of Art reopened on June 3 with timed tickets. New exhibits such as “Wayne Thiebaud Influencer: A New Generation” and Arnold Joseph Kemp’s exhibition “I would survive. I could survive. I should survive,” have been curated and installed to welcome visitors back.

“In ‘Wayne Thiebaud Influencer: A New Generation,’ visitors will be able to explore Professor Thiebaud’s career achievement through the works of a new generation of contemporary artists, many of whom are his former students, and who were profoundly influenced by him in a variety of ways,” said Rachel Teagle, the founding director, via email. “Ideas of identity, self-making and self-reflection are explored in Arnold Kemp’s exhibition ‘I would survive. I could survive. I should survive,’ curated by Manetti Shrem Scholar-inResidence Sampada Aranke. Both exhibits feature works made or reworked during the pandemic, which shows the vitality and promise of painting, even during the most challenging times.”

The pandemic temporarily closed the museum but the staff continued to work hard to bring art to the public. Through a number of projects that utilized online resources, the Shrem Manetti Museum staff created activities to bring the magic

of art to those at home.

“Within a few weeks of the campus closing, we started Manetti Shrem Museum At Home, a themed weekly newsletter to keep our community connected and engaged with art,” said Randy Roberts, the deputy director, via email. “It featured long-read essays from art scholars and faculty, activities such as a See & Sketch campus walk and also inspired Build it With Brandon, a YouTube tutorial series on crafts made from toiletpaper tubes.”

Their work continued to bring important perspectives and topics to light despite the circumstances.

“We also launched interACT, making our Zoom webinar platform available to amplify BIPOC voices,” Roberts said. “Through this platform, the museum hosted the Black Fall Welcome, Davis Cherry Blossom Festival, and many other important events and programs.”

In addition to collaborating on online experiences, the staff observed proper protocols to work on the exhibits in preparation for reopening.

“There were many unknowns that came with the pandemic, and timing was definitely among them,” Roberts said. “However, a subgroup of museum staff began proactively drafting reopening plans and scenarios in late 2020, covering everything from reconfiguring office space to rethinking how to safely accommodate visitors. Installing new exhibits for visitors to see

Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem museum of art. (Aggie File) was also a major challenge during lockdown, with museums closed and shipping heavily impacted.”

During the Manetti Shrem Museum Virtual Re-opening Ceremony on May 23, Teagle expressed the importance of the long-awaited reopening.

“The museum is the community that you have helped us form, and we are very hopeful that

before the end of these exhibitions, we will have an opportunity to celebrate together, and that will be the real party, but this is a great start,” Teagle said.

“It’s been a big year. There’s been loss, there’s been joy. How lucky we are to have art as part of what heals us as individuals and as a community, and we need you. We need you back in the museum to help us complete our community.”

Aggie Square offers new way for UC Davis students to experience education UC Davis is developing a new creative and hands-on learning environment on the Sacramento campus that offers unique quarterly programs for students

BY EMILY REDMAN campus@theaggie.org Aggie Square is an innovative, exploratory program on the Sacramento UC Davis Health campus where students can live, work and assist the community in quarter-long programs called “experiences.” Development and planning began in 2017 in a collaboration with Chancellor Gary May and Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, as stated on the Aggie Square website. Since then, the program has virtually launched its first quarters of the immersive learning experience, Quarter at Aggie Square (QAS).

The physical campus of Aggie Square has not yet been constructed. The plans to construct a multi-use residential structure and the Alice Waters Institute project were approved May 2021

by UC regents. The first phase of construction is set to begin mid-2021, according to the Aggie Square website.

“Phase 1 plans [are] comprised of: a lifelong learning office and classroom building; two science and technology buildings; housing, primarily for students; community serving uses; a parking structure and public spaces,” according to the website.

Aggie Square as a whole is a centralized learning environment where students, professors and community members can collaborate and have opportunities to make lasting impacts on the Sacramento community.

“It’s an innovation hub,” said Tanya Perez, the communications lead for Aggie Square. “It is where industry, university and community are supposed to come together and overlap in ways that make all three stronger.”

The programs for QAS consist of quarterly immersive learning environments where small “cohorts” work closely on topics of current social, community and political issues.

“Studying with QAS was different compared

A digital illustration shows future development at Aggie Square in Sacramento, California. (UC Davis) to my regular class experience because of the small cohort size,” said Kyerah Kyles, a third-year community regional development and African American/African studies double major. “There were less than 13 people in our cohort and we all took the same classes together so it really gave us the opportunity to connect with each other since we shared the same joys and challenges.”

Kyles participated in the Transformative Justice Studies experience, but the QAS experience has also provided cohorts in Advancing Health Care Equity and Multilingual Education for California since fall 2020.

“The Quarter at Aggie Square programs are going to change each quarter,” Perez said. “They do things with the community that are right there surrounding that area.”

Located in Sacramento, Aggie Square provides close proximity to government and medical buildings where UC Davis students can participate in hands-on learning.

“They’re encouraging faculty to come up with something that they would like to teach in an immersive sort of way,” Perez said. “All of your classes would be related to a certain subject for a quarter.”

Within the set list of classes each quarter, QAS also provides internship and community engagement opportunities “The ability for students to immediately apply what they’re learning in the classroom to current sociopolitical issues and an internship experience is not new, but it is unique in that their entire Quarter at Aggie Square quarter is dedicated to a central, multi-faceted experience,” said Angela Taylor, the program coordinator for Quarter at Aggie Square, in a blog post.

To stay in line with UC Davis’ environmental goals and policies, efforts have been made to ensure that the new constructions are beneficial to the community as well as environmentally conscious through the holding of community

and stakeholder meetings, according to the Aggie Square website.

The meetings resulted in a Community Benefits Partnership Agreement. Some of the highlights of the agreement are $50 million for affordable housing, jobs for local community members, an annual fund for neighborhood priorities and Broadway and Stockton improvements.

“Aggie Square will meet or exceed LEED Silver by incorporating measures that will result in significant energy savings, construction waste reduction, recycled material use and water conservation,” said Matt Dulcich, the director of environmental planning for the project.

Ways in which they will achieve this include all electric heating and cooling systems, as well as increasing accessibility by making safer walking and biking paths across campus and easier access to transit lines, according to Dulcich.

Senate Bill #97 passed at May 20 ASUCD Senate Meeting ASUCD senators voted to establish the Herbicide Free Committee (HFC) as a permanent committee under ASUCD

BY NICHOLAS MURPHY campus@theaggie.org On Thursday, May 20, the ASUCD Senate meeting was called to order at 6:10 p.m. by Internal Vice President Emily Barneond.

Senator Maahum Shahab, Tenzin Youedon, Michael Navarro and Annoushqa Bobde were all absent.

Adrian Lopez, the senior director of government relations, gave a presentation to showcase what the Government and Community Relations unit at UC Davis has been working on.

“The ultimate goal is to be able to secure positive legislation policy change for the university and also to be able to secure state resources and federal resources,” Lopez said.

Lopez presented a budget overview of the campus in which $15 million was allocated for student basic needs as well as $1.5 million allocated for immigrant legal services.

Another key component of the budget was the $4 billion affordable housing grant program.

Next on the agenda was the Bike Barn quarterly report presented by the business manager, Clara Ginnell.

The Bike Barn reopened during July 2020 and has remained open ever since.

Ginnell explained that bike sales have been fairly consistent, making up 83% of the annual budget.

As for bike rentals, Ginnell explained that the Bike Barn has exceeded budget expectations.

“We’ve seen an influx of rentals in the past couple of months as families and prospective new students come through to tour campus,” Ginnell said.

In preparation for the upcoming year, the Bike Barn recently went through a hiring process to aid in the transition of the next generation of Bike Barn employees.

The former generation includes five senior employees who are set to graduate this spring.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021 | 3

Yolo County residents reflect on Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Resolution that condemns anti-Asian racism passes in over ten local entities

BY JELENA LAPUZ city@theaggie.org The month of May was Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. Its official website explains that the month honors “the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success.”

Manager of downtown Davis business Kobe Mini Mart Thomas Koh described how his experience operating a small business stocked with Asian foods and merchandise during the pandemic has generally been positive.

“Davis is a small town, but it is an educated town,” Koh said. “People are more liberal and more relaxed, and they know what’s going on.”

Koh further explained that even before the pandemic, he experienced a few racist comments on occasion, but nothing as extreme as the violence recently seen in the news.

“There were a few verbal things here and there,” Koh said. “It is easy to write it off. Other

than that, there’s nothing much.”

Aileen Yang, a third-year design major, who is also of Asian descent, explained the importance of AAPI Heritage Month.

“It’s important to acknowledge and recognize the struggles that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have gone through,” Yang said. “The model minority myth makes it seem like there are no struggles, but that’s not true at all.”

Koh commended the city of Davis for its support of Asian businesses during the pandemic.

“I think Davis is a very, very good town,” Koh said. “It’s amazing. People are so supportive. I think there are more people who are supportive than people who are racist.”

Yang emphasized the importance of supporting small Asian-owned businesses in Davis.

“A lot of them are family-owned and are directly influenced by the people who come, and their earnings from that,” Yang said. “They’re not large franchises, and customers are helping out people’s livelihoods.”

KAITLYN PANG / AGGIE

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Books and TV shows that celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) heritage Members of the AAPI community share their recommendations of media that share AAPI stories

BY LIANA MAE ATIZADO features@theaggie.org In a continued effort to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) culture, community members have compiled their recommendations of books and TV shows created by and about AAPI individuals.

“The Making of Asian America” by Erika Lee Trisha Talla, a second-year biochemistry and molecular biology double major and the community service coordinator for the Filipinx Association for Health Careers (FAHC), recommended this account of Asian American history. It details how generations of Asian immigrants and their descendants have impacted Asian American life, from the arrival of the first Asians in the U.S. to the present.

“I highly recommend reading this book, as Lee examines the diverse backgrounds of a bunch of Asian Americans, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other ancestral families,” Talla said.

“She also talks about the different experiences, obstacles and types of oppression that they face in the United States.”

handle this part of her identity differently.

“I think this is so relevant to many of our experiences, as we grapple with both our Asian [or] Pasifika cultures and identities in addition to our American ones, especially in times of great difficulty,” Parpana said.

“The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” was also one of the UC Davis Campus Community Book Project (CCBP) books. The author, Lee’s sister and Lee’s former doctors came to speak at a CCBP event. Karpana noted that this book is also significant because of its setting in Merced, which is one of few ethnic enclaves of Hmong folks.

“Dear America, Notes of an Undocumented Citizen” by Jose Antonio Vargas This memoir details Antonio Vargas’s experience as an undocumented immigrant who came to the U.S. from the Philippines at the age of 12. Parpana noted the relevance of this story, as the Asian undocumented population is 1.7 million, according to a 2015 Center for Migration Studies survey, with California having the largest KATHERINE HUNG / AGGIE

“The Ocean in the School: Pacific Islander Students Transforming Their University” by Rick Bonus According to Katherine Parpana, the interim director of the API Retention Initiative, this book is a collection of stories about the experiences of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students attending university.

“This is an important record of stories if we are to understand the resources our scholars need in order to thrive in school,” Parpana said.

population.

“At its core, this is a story about keeping a family together,” Parpana said. “I believe so many of us strive to do this in so many ways and sometimes we must grapple with barriers like government paperwork in order to simply get by.”

“Joy Luck Club” by Amy Tan This novel focuses on four Chinese immigrant mothers and their four American-born daughters in San Francisco. The mothers meet to play Mahjong and form a group called the Joy Luck Club. Structured similar to a mahjong game, the book has four parts divided into four sections.

Parpana stated that “Joy Luck Club” is one of the only books centering around Asian Americans that was offered in K-12 education. It was also the first major film centering around Asian Americans, released in 1993, since the 1960s and not again until 2020 with “Minari.”

“This book is important in understanding the lack of diversity in film and media in general and our ability to tell our own stories,” Parpana said.

“In this case, stories about pain, what it means to heal and how we pass those lessons down to our children as a form of cultural wealth.”

“This Bridge Called My Back: Writings” by Radical Women of Color “This Bridge Called My Back” is a collection of poems, essays, art and other written works by women of color. It features AAPI women artists, educators, poets and practitioners. The book emphasizes the way multiple identities intersect and impact the experiences of women of color.

“I selected this book because of its intersectional and feminist approach to deconstructing the inequities women face, including Pacific Islander and Asian women.” Parpana said.

“Gameboys” (2020), dir. Ivan Andrew Payawal Elijah Punzal, an intern for the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies, recommended the web series “Gameboys,” which is available on both YouTube and Netflix. The series takes place in the Philippines during the COVID-19 pandemic and follows the growing relationship of two gamer boys, Cairo and Gavreel.

“I have never had the opportunity to really watch queer work that is from the Philippines,” Punzal said. “I think once I was able to find it, remove my sense of cultural displacement and shame and fully enjoy it, I found it super meaningful.”

“Gaya Sa Pelikula” (2020), dir. Jaime Habac Jr. This web series follows the story of Karl who is forced to live on his own and struggles to become financially independent. He seeks help from his neighbor to move in with him to pay his monthly rent, and the two develop feelings for each other.

“I think these shows are very beautiful in the way that they both address the social-political climate of queerness in the Philippines but never use queerness as a weapon,” Punzal said. “The conversations that they have are very authentic, in my opinion, compared to older incarnations of media from the Philippines that tried to accomplish a similar thing.”

“The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down”

by Anne Fadiman This true story takes a look at Western medicine through the lens of Hmong culture as it relates to childbirth and postpartum care.

A family’s daughter, Lia Lee, is diagnosed with epilepsy, and the Hmong and American cultures

The City of Davis announces Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is clear to be administered to children ages 12 and up The California Department of Public Health and the federal government have approved the administration of the Pfizer vaccine to kids ages 12-15

BY EMMANUEL FONSECA features@theaggie.org UC Davis has expanded its efforts in combating the novel COVID-19 virus by administering the first two doses of the Pfizer vaccine to a new age group. As of May 2021, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the emergency use of the Pfizer vaccine for ages 12-15. Clinical trials have proven 100% efficacy against SARSCoV-2 and a “robust” antibody response. Phase 3 of testing adolescents from ages 12-15 included 2,260 participants who demonstrated strong immunity after receiving both doses.

UC Davis Health has taken its own steps in protecting the Davis community and this developing at-risk age group. Children account for roughly 20% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S.; this is roughly three million adolescents, and the number

continues to increase. Officials recommend that children get vaccinated as soon as they are able to protect themselves and others from severe reactions.

Dr. Dean Blumberg, a professor and the chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, provided his insight on the recent announcement of vaccinations being administered to children ages 12-15. Blumberg assists in setting policies related to COVID-19 treatment, prevention of infection and clinical vaccine trials of this age group for UC Davis.

“As long as children are not vaccinated, they are still vulnerable to infection,” Blumberg said.

“We are seeing an increasing number of young people get infected because they are susceptible.

Thousands of children have been hospitalized in the U.S. due to [COVID-19] and have died.

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Vaccine Clinic at the ARC at UC Davis. (Quinn Spooner / Aggie)

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Students express anxieties about return to in-person instruction Many students have become accustomed to the remote learning norm of open-book, open-note test taking and are worried about rigor of the traditional classroom

BY REBECCA GARDNER campus@theaggie.org In late December, the university announced its plan to return to in-person instruction in fall 2021. Chancellor Gary May and Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Croughan wrote that as local and regional conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have

While some universities are no longer proctoring exams online, UC Davis is still using systems like ProctorU. (Justin Han / Aggie)

improved significantly, it is expected that students will be back to the classroom at full-occupancy come fall.

While most students are eager to return to in-person instruction, the online classroom has introduced many accommodations and perks that students are anxious to give up. For many, it will be bittersweet saying goodbye to open-note and open-book exams.

First-year students and the transfer class of 2022 have never walked into a lecture hall, pulled out a scantron and taken an exam at UC Davis.

Tayra Eidenbenz, a first-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major, said that she is moderately concerned that in-person exams will be more rigorous since all of her tests during her first year have been open-note.

“I am concerned that I won’t be in a comfortable environment,” Eidenbenz said. “I don’t need all of my resources to take the tests I am taking, but it’s definitely been reassuring. I am just afraid that if I don’t have that reassurance, I will second-guess myself rather than just confirming an answer with my notes on the exams next year.”

Alexandra Schmidt, a first-year biological sciences major, said that while most of her exams this year have also been open-note, she speculates that her instructors considered this policy when developing exams.

“It’s definitely been nice to be able to refer back to my notes during exams,” Schmidt said. “When I was taking a lot of chemistry classes, I think my professors would make the exams harder because they’re open-note.”

In an interview with the Editorial Board this past spring, May said that the administration and Academic Senate are discussing

what accomodations and flexibilities that have arisen in the pandemic should continue when in-person instruction resumes.

May also noted that the administration is devising a plan to phase out pandemic practices and return to normalcy over time, noting the mental health implications of an abrupt return to the rigorous standard of the in-person classroom.

Jeff Chen, a third-year electrical engineering major, is hopeful that the practice of recording lectures will stick around.

“I think that having recorded lectures has been really nice and helps a lot with learning,” Chen said.

Eidenbenz agreed and said that while she is nervous to return to traditional exams, she has a slew of more pressing concerns such as navigating the campus.

“For my year, class of 2024, we’ve never been to a lecture hall before,” Eidenbenz said.

“We don’t know how to get around campus. We don’t know how to bike with thousands of people to get to class on time. How does that work? Those are more concerning to me than the fact that I can’t use my notes on a test anymore.”

Eidenbenz said an in-person orientation program would be “phenomenal” to prepare incoming students who have spent their first year at UC Davis online and allow students to cultivate connections with their class.

“Class of 2024 is defined by the fact that we spent our entire first year in our dorms,” Eidenbenz said. “That wasn’t just my dorm to me. That was my lecture hall. That was the place where I ate, slept— everything. That was my whole life for a whole year.”

UC Davis professors share experiences teaching abroad Professors reflect on their favorite moments from teaching overseas

BY NORA FARAHDEL features@theaggie.org When describing their study abroad experience, a student may mention the country they studied in, the food they ate and the culture they encountered. Amidst the travel adventures and awe-inspiring moments, however, lie the academics that students participate in throughout their program. At UC Davis, many professors participate in study abroad programs and instruct students overseas.

Tim McNeil, a UC Davis professor in the Department of Design and the director of the UC Davis Design Museum, is the instructor for the Design in Europe program. Born and bred in the U.K., McNeil was excited at the prospect of sharing the places he knew so well in an academic setting. Moreover, he passionately believes in the importance of international and global experiences.

McNeil shared that his favorite experience from teaching abroad is watching the students collaborate on projects with community partners and present their work, whether they designed a project or wrote up a proposal.

“The people we work with are gaining from the experience of working with a group of students from UC Davis and any other campuses, and getting a different perspective on what they’re doing from a more international audience and from an audience that is not typically one they’re able to [...] communicate with,” McNeil said.

Additionally, McNeil said that his program offers students the opportunity to learn outside of the classroom, including in parks, cafés and even on the beach.

“There’s something about this outdoor classroom, or shall we say traveling nomadic classroom, that moves from where we go from

CHRISTINA LIU / AGGIE city to city that I like,” McNeil said. “It’s very rewarding in that sense, and offers just a different way of teaching that allows for more experimentation and a little bit more freedom.”

Mitchell Singer, a professor and the vice-chair of the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and a Biochemistry, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology advisor, served as the faculty of record for the Bio Sci 2A on the Emerald Isle study abroad program. Singer said that he jumped at the chance to participate in a study abroad program because he studied abroad in Brussels during high school.

“I think that it’s really important that all students should really have an experience where they’re out of their comfort zone, in a different environment, living with people who don’t speak the same language, who don’t look like them,” Singer said. “I think it’s really

important that people have that opportunity, and [studying] abroad is a phenomenal way of doing it.”

Singer’s favorite part about participating in a study abroad program is getting to know his students in a way that isn’t possible during his usual 500-600 person courses.

“I got to interact with 17 students in BIS2A relatively intimately,” Singer said. “We would take a bus ride up to the Cliffs of Moher, and on the bus students were asking me questions about biology. So you really get to interact with them. This is gonna sound really weird, but it was the first time I ever got to take my BIS2A class out for a beer.”

Looking forward, Singer put in a proposal for a program to teach Microbiology 102 in Brussels which was approved and will take place in Summer 2022.

Jeannette Money, a UC Davis professor in the Department of Political Science, taught in Geneva, Switzerland on the politics of global inequality from 2009 to 2018. Money shared that she loves the small learning environment that instructing study abroad courses provides.

“My favorite part about teaching abroad is my ability to interact with a small group of students in the classroom and in professional settings,” Money said.

Moreover, Money reflected on study abroad’s ability to transcend student’s societal understandings.

“The most important part about studying abroad is to gain an understanding of how people live in another society, what their preferences are and how they organize their society, in part because that helps you understand yourself and your own society better,” Money said.

UC Davis students reflect on their ‘unprecedented’ first-year experience Three freshmen share highlights, expectations and advice from their first year at Davis

BY KATIE DEBENEDETTI features@theaggie.org The 2020-2021 school year has been full of “unprecedented times,” and for first-year student Kate Boyce, phrases frequently used early in the pandemic such as the “new normal” no longer apply, as restrictions due to COVID-19 are no longer new and certainly not normal. It is, however, almost the end of this abnormal year, and UC Davis freshmen are reflecting on their first year of college—some from home, some from campus and some from other locations around the world.

The California Aggie interviewed Kate Boyce, a first-year international relations major, Katie Moreno, a first-year political science major and Carlyn Marsh, a first-year managerial economics major.

Below is a transcript of the interviewees’ responses to selected questions that has been edited for length and clarity.

How has your first year of college been different from what you thought it would look like a year ago?

Kate Boyce: Of course, it’s a lot different than I thought it was going to be. I think I just really wanted to go to college. Probably looking back a

year ago, I thought that my Fall Quarter would be normal, and I kept saying to myself, “It’s going to be fine. The pandemic will be over by then. It can’t go on that long,” and then I slowly realized that things were going to be online. I did recruitment for sororities at home. Everything that I was planning on doing, I did at home.

When I got here in Winter Quarter, I was able to meet my big, and I was ableto see people pretty minimally, but oftentimes, I just kind of spent time doing work and online activities for my sorority and extracurriculars and [my] research.

It wasn’t the greatest, but now that it’s Spring Quarter, [...] I’m able to see more people because I’m vaccinated, so now it’s kind of feeling more normal or like what I would expect. It’s kind of overwhelming, but I’m just going to have to get used to that.

Katie Moreno: I thought this year was going to be this big transition to Davis and living in the dorms, but it was really nice to have an extra year at home because I feel like I wasn’t completely ready to move out. I’ve just enjoyed this year kind of being a little slower and just spending a few extra moments with my family.

Carlyn Marsh: I’m living in the dorms, in Currant Hall, and I moved in Fall Quarter. I think I expected things to open up a little bit earlier than they did. I was kind of going along with two sets of expectations: one where everything would be pretty much shut down the entire year and another where things opened up midwinter, so I got a little mixture of both because things definitely didn’t open midwinter, but things are opening up during spring, which is great.

What have been the highlights of the school year for you?

KAITLYN PANG / AGGIE

Kate Boyce: My mom was pushing me to join

a sorority, and I kept telling her “no,” but I’m happy that she forced me to because I feel like I wouldn’t have met people and wouldn’t have felt comfortable moving to campus in January. I think that was probably the highlight because I was able to meet a lot of my friends that I have now. I was also able to take on an undergraduate research position Winter Quarter. I’m just really excited that I’m able to do something in an area that I’m interested in. It helped me understand that college is more than classes.

Carlyn Marsh: It’s been really nice meeting people, because everybody comes from such different backgrounds. Because you don’t have a roommate [that] you’re super close to [...] and because Greek life is not in person and you don’t have in-person classes, the people you’re meeting don’t come together with any type of common values or interest. The people you’re friends with are literally just people you meet, and you’re like, “They’re fun, they’re interesting.” A lot of people I’m friends with, I have nothing in common with.

You just like them for who they are, because you didn’t have access to all the ways of meeting people that are usually based on having similarities.

What have been the hardest parts of your year?

Kate Boyce: Seeing people hang out and post on Instagram, even though I knew that when I wasn’t vaccinated, I was not supposed to be doing that [...] was kind of hard because I wanted to go out and meet more people, but I just knew that it wasn’t the right time. Also adjusting to having to find coping mechanisms for myself when I’m lonely or I have anxiety about things like work or friends or my family without my mom or any of my friends was hard.

Katie Moreno: It’s just been hard because it feels like you’re doing a lot of stuff on your own.

It’s kind of a two-sided thing where it’s always hard being so isolated, but it got easier and I feel like it’s been a really good year for growth. Also, [...] everyone in my family got [COVID-19] in December, so that was a weird period because I was in class and then I kind of had to take care of everyone else because they were pretty sick.

How have you been able to connect with classmates while living at home?

Katie Moreno: For a lot of my classes I go to office hours, and there’s usually students that go to office hours consistently every week and we all ask questions and I reach out to those students, and those are the students that I study with for class. I also have an internship for PLS 21, which is a computer and technology course, and I’ve met some cool people through that internship. I’ve also been talking to people in my pledge class for my sorority, and that has been really nice, because I’m actually going to be roommates with two of them next year.

What are the biggest ways in which COVID-19 has impacted your first year experience?

Carlyn Marsh: I think of two things. The relationships you build during this really weird time are ones that I think have a very strong value because anytime you go out with your friends on the weekends, there are so few people there that the people you’re meeting and spending time with are people that you’ve spent a considerable amount of time knowing and interacting with. I feel like you have better connections with more people.

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

OPINION 2020-21 GOODBYE EDITORIAL We’re not crying, you’re crying Anjini Venugopal, Editor-in-Chief

By Margo Rosenbaum Anjini, we have come so far from our time as features writers at The Aggie. Under the mentorship of the outstanding Olivia Luchini, I watched your journalism skills blossom. Before every desk meeting, I loved waving to you as I zipped past on my bike on the way to Lower Freeborn. Who knew two years later we would go on to lead The Aggie?

I still remember your call last summer to offer me the role of managing editor. Even though my phone crackled with poor service, I could hear the warmth and excitement in your voice at the prospect of working with me, which instantly soothed my nerves about the responsibilities of this role. In the few short months before Fall Quarter, we climbed a steep learning curve together. As we became more comfortable in our roles, we asked fewer questions to our predecessors and instead turned to each other for help. By the time the school year began, I realized how grateful I was to see your face every day on my Zoom screen. I have learned so many life lessons from you this year, from how to be a thoughtful leader to the superiority of Roboto. Your ideas about outreach and engagement help me think critically about necessary change at The Aggie. Your pitches about data journalism and digital storytelling help me consider ways to keep The Aggie relevant. Your dedication to our publication, talent as an editor and skills on the pickleball court continue to amaze me. Above all, I am so lucky to call you my wonderful, smart friend.

Anjini, my fellow features baby, high school journalism star, tea lover, em dash extraordinaire and Aggie partner in crime, I can’t wait to spend another year leading this team with you—and this time, we get to do it in person! <3 Margo Rosenbaum, Managing Editor

By Omar Navarro Since this year was my first taking over the sports desk on the Editorial Board, I absolutely had no idea what to expect. Not only did I have to assume the role, but it all had to be remote—which made me 10 times more nervous than I already was. While I knew I could always still ask people whatever dumb clarification questions I had, my social awkwardness did not allow me to do so in fear of asking the wrong questions. Enter Margo, who not only had the answers to my many questions (and there were a lot), but also was very understanding in what was a wild school year for us all.

The amount of time and effort you put in as managing editor is absurd to me. Not only that, but the way you organize virtual events, look over the articles and still have the energy to thoroughly answer whatever question arose for me at the time is something that I appreciate more than you know. This school year was incredibly difficult for me for a variety of reasons, and you were always so patient and helpful with everything. Even in a remote setting where one could get extra tired or lose motivation, you still found a way to be there and somehow have the energy everyday (you have to teach me your ways). I couldn’t have asked for a better managing editor and I am incredibly grateful for that—even though I have a hard time showing it. Although this isn’t a goodbye per se, it (hopefully) is a goodbye to interacting with you and the rest of Ed Board remotely. Thank you again, and good luck in your adventures this summer. I hope to see you and everyone in person next year.

Sabrina Habchi, Campus News Editor

By Sophie Dewees Sab, I cannot even begin to tell you how thankful I am to have met you this year. From playing pickleball a minimum of 10 times a week (and hearing you yell “get it together, Dewees” every time we partner together) to listening to “Stacy’s Mom” on repeat to getting out of the car to dance to “Disco Inferno” while waiting for the train to pass, I can honestly say that my life is made better every day because you are in it. You are so KIND, hilarious and easily my favorite friendly, neighborhood polisci major. This year on Ed Board you’ve brought inspiring ideas, managed to write incredible editorials in the most unlikely of places including the top of a mountain and made every meeting and event for The Aggie better with your energy and contagious laughter (even if it is sometimes incomprehensible). You are one hound p my all-time favorite coach, and I’m so lucky to call you one of my closest friends. Even though you’ll be off in SoCal next year (well whose fault is that?) doing incredible things or whatever it is San Diegans do (wait, you’re from San Diego right?) I know that we’ll stay friends and I’ll be cooking you stir-fry, drinking fancy tea from England with you and letting you talk me into hanging out despite my mountain of schoolwork for years to come. You’re absolutely going to kill it at UCLA next year buddy (fours up!) and I cannot wait to see all that you’re going to accomplish. Your visits to Davis need to happen A$AP Rocky. Love you forever, lady.

Eden Winniford, City News Editor

By Allie Bailey The Eden I know (and love) today is not the Eden I expected to get to know when we first met over Zoom in the fall. It’s not like there was anything wrong with her—she was very sweet, and had plenty of good ideas to share, but she was a little harder to get to know on an Ed Board full of big personalities. Especially compared to the rest of us, she isn’t the loudest person in the Zoom room. But slowly but surely, Eden shined through our screens. At first, it was a clever comment in the chat, then, a snarky reply to Sabrina giving her a hard time, and now, you never know what you’re gonna get.

Eden is like fine wine and good cheese; she only gets better as time goes on. I knew I’d like her when we first met, but over the course of the year, I’ve grown genuine admiration and appreciation for her. She is bubbly and kind, but also strong-willed, bright and an integral presence at Zoom meetings and pickleball games alike.

An informed member of Ed Board, she consistently offers new ideas and insightful perspectives, and she always brings that bit of sass to keep things exciting. I am thrilled that I don’t have to end this paragraph with a goodbye. Eden, it has been an absolute blast

THE

C ALIFORNIA A GGIE

EDITO RIA L B OA RD working with you while also becoming your friend. I can’t wait to continue what we’ve started.

Calvin Coffee, Opinion Editor

By Sabrina Habchi If you’re lucky enough to know Calvin Coffee, chances are you adore and respect him. In fact, I think you’d be very hardpressed to find anyone who has anything bad to say about him. He is the definition of cool, calm and collected, his kindness knows no bounds and he is easily the funniest out of the nine of us Editorial Board members. He fearlessly leads our meetings with the frequent “alright, we’re in business” and “what are we thinking here?” and the occasional “I gotta catch a cat.”

Although his part-time job is smack talk, Calvin is just as good at taking it as he is at giving it. With that being said, it’s very important to him that you know he likes sports. I am pretty confident he won’t ever come close to speaking in a legitimate New Zealand accent (oi, gov!). His page is filled with beaver TikTok, whatever that means. And the man thinks it’s die in instead of die up, effectively causing every frat star to shudder every time he utters (well, yells very loudly) those words.

It’s going to be weird not seeing you every day, Coffee, but I’m glad that we’re both ending up on the correct side of the same state. I’m not sure I’ll ever have the pleasure of meeting anyone who uses as many sound effects, who has perfected the art of pushing my buttons or who talks as much smack (even when you’re losing) as you. Cheers to many more years of me calling you to come kill a Black Widow during an NBA playoffs game (did I mention you like sports?), hearing your iconic phrases and having to watch the TikToks you send in Safari.

I can’t think of a finer person to call my pickleball pal, you know what I’m saying?

Sophie Dewees, Features Editor

By Eden Winniford I remember meeting you during one of my last times in Lower Freeborn and thinking, “I bet we’re going to become friends.” The pandemic put that on hold, but eventually I was right—we became fast friends over socially-distanced games of pickleball and postvaccination hangouts. Our paths at The Aggie are so similar—we both started out as first-year writers, moved up as co-assistant editors of our respective desks and then became second-year editors, the two babies of the group. But we’re also different in ways that balance each other out and make us a great team. Like how I can’t cook to save my life, but you’re great at cooking and I’m happy to wash dishes (side note: when are you making me dinner?).

I always admire the energy and dedication you bring to your role as an editor. You’ve taken on so many projects this year, from podcasts to Best of Davis, and the content your desk puts out is consistently incredible. We collaborated together on a project to map out Best of Davis winners, and I was so impressed by your enthusiasm and how quickly you answered any questions. In Editorial Board meetings, you consistently bring such creative and important ideas, and you never fail to write impactful and persuasive editorials.

I’m so glad we’re both second-years, since it means we’ll be stuck with each other at UC Davis for two more years. I can’t wait to go on more hikes with you, talk with you about Spanish classes and finally get around to that movie night. I’m so lucky to be your co-worker and friend.

Allie Bailey, Arts & Culture Editor

By Madeleine Payne With all of our editorial meetings being over Zoom this year, the first time I really met Allie was through her incredible writing.

She quickly volunteered to take on one of our most challenging editorials during the first few weeks of Fall Quarter—a daunting task when you’re writing with people you don’t really know yet— and she absolutely crushed it. When someone can write so clearly and eloquently about a topic you’re passionate about but struggling to verbalize yourself, like Allie did that week, it’s the best feeling in the world. After that editing session, I remember thinking how lucky I was to be working with such an amazing writer and I couldn’t wait to read what else she would write that quarter.

As the year progressed, I learned that her writing style mirrors the grounding presence she brings to our meetings with her confident and witty contributions. She is really good at being able to take a step back and recenter us when we stray too far on tangents and I’ve always admired how she is never afraid to speak her mind if she disagrees with someone. Occasionally, you can find her joining our meetings while lounging by the pool in her mini black sunglasses, munching on a delicious looking gluten-free snack or serving looks in her many gorgeous fits that would make even the most accomplished closet connoisseur jealous.

Yet no matter how much I love that she showed up to our meetings in pearls one time, my favorite thing about Allie is how fiercely kind she is. She is never afraid to speak up when she thinks someone is being too mean or reach out to you if she can tell you’re having a bad day. I’ve absolutely loved working with her this year and I can’t wait to read more of her eds, play many more games of pickleball with her, and (finally) attend some of the couch concerts she hosts.

Omar Navarro, Sports Editor

By Calvin Coffee There’s no one I would recommend more to if you want to sit down and really talk about sports than Omar, our sports king. Not only is his mind vastly knowledgeable about classic games big and small, much like LeBron James, his thoughtful approach to the intricacies and forces at play not only in sports, but in our world and culture is unmatched.

Omar is the wise owl of our Editorial Board—always ready to drop ideas that get to the heart of what many struggle with today.

He’s also a great follow on Twitter (please give him his account

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 MADELEINE PAYNE Science & Tech Editor

CAMERON PERRY New Media Manager JUSTIN HAN Photo Director KATHERINE FRANKS Design Director JOELLE TAHTA Layout Director KAITLIN ARAGHI Copy Chief ALEX WEINSTEIN Copy Chief KESHAV AGRAWAL Website Manager BEN CHENG Social Media Manager JOSHUA GAZZANIGA Distribution Manager LAURIE PEDERSON Business Development Manager

back @jack).

I’m bummed that we couldn’t have this past year in-person because I know we probably would have caught many games downtown, but discussing and reminiscing about random sports stuff before or after Ed Board meetings were always a highlight to me.

He’s equally kind as he is driven and knowledgeable. His wealth of experience as the leader of sports for The Aggie, his world-class kindness and amazing talent as a writer make him an editor I would absolutely love to write for and one I have very much enjoyed working with. And I cannot wait to see the work he continues to do at The Aggie.

It has been an absolute pleasure working with Omar, I wish him all the happiness and success. I’m very lucky to call him a friend.

P.S. I hope the Cowboys and Eagles are actually good this year so the rivalry can really resume. Go Birds.

Madeleine Payne, Science Editor

By Anjini Venugopal Whether she’s asking a follow-up question in an endorsement interview for ASUCD senate candidates or pulling off a miraculous comeback on the pickleball courts, Maddie’s persistence never fails to impress me. As we’ve all learned over the past year, being informed about science is critical—her leadership on the science and technology desk this year has fostered a strong group of science writers and her hard work has directly allowed the entire UC Davis community to read informative, detailed articles about COVID-19 as well as topics some of us would never have even known existed.

In our daily Editorial Board Zoom meetings Monday through Thursday, Maddie, despite being an Aries, is actually quite patient when providing practical and reasonable solutions when we (OK fine, it’s usually me) get stuck on whether a word is appropriate in a given context, and it makes our editorials that much stronger.

On top of her work at The Aggie, she is a prolific contributor to our out-of-context wall quotes that spark a lot of joy when school and existing during a pandemic become particularly tiring. Maddie also has impeccable music taste, which makes it even funnier to me that we first met in a psychology of music course. I recently discovered that each time Spotify has refused to let me add a song to our collaborative Editorial Board playlist, it’s because Maddie has already added it.

Maddie, I’m still not sure why you always accidentally message me instead of the group on Zoom, but I look forward to another year of me pointing at you—not through a computer screen— and saying “women in STEM” whenever there’s something even slightly related to science. Here’s to spending time in the Aggie house with its fantastic air conditioning, walking to get coffee downtown and thinking of some better words when we next play Chameleon.

WE NEED TO DITCH ‘HUSTLE CULTURE’ ONCE AND FOR ALL You can’t out-hustle The Man

BY ISABELLA CHUECOS ifchuecos@ucdavis.edu

A stressed-out student. (Anna Tarazevich / Pexels)

As a minimum -wage- earning, slightly -overworked college student, I wouldn’t say that the term “hustler” applies to me. I’d say that the term “hustler” implies a certain level of grace to one’s hustling. As a “hustler,” you’re the person who’s taking three million phone calls on a little Bluetooth earpiece, breastfeeding a baby and signing checks all at once.

Humanity’s love for “hustle culture,” is not a new phenomenon.

The first use of the word “hustler” to characterize an individual as someone who “sells and promotes energetically or aggressively” was in 1825. Modern iterations of hustling are found in movies and print, such as the 2019 film “Hustlers” and Hustler magazine, respectively. The celebration of feminine sexuality in these examples

provide positive connotations for hustling.

On the other handIn another sense, humanity’s aversion to hustling has been around just as long. In pioneer sociologist Max Weber’s “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism,” Weber argues that society has developed into a highly work-centric environment that insists that humans make profit for profit’s sake.

In short, people make money just so they can put more money into another business to make more money.

Enter social media. In the longstanding battle between prohustle and anti-hustle, social media platforms provide the basis for a seemingly paradoxical relationship to exist in tandem. The prohustling side of the argument, however, seems to find more solace in its iInternet home, thanks to the world of influencers.

READ THE FULL STORY ONLINE

6 | THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

OPINION AMERICA NEEDS TO REINVEST IN PRO CYCLING We need to move on from Lance Armstrong

BY ALEX MOTAWI almotawi@ucdavis.edu Professional cycling is an incredible sport.

There is something about watching bike riders push themselves to their absolute limit that never gets old. As one of the most accessible and relatable sports in the Pantheon of athletics, you are missing out if you don’t give watching professional cycling a chance. Although it is not as popular as it should be in America, I recommend you get back on the wild ride that is cycling. Trust me, you don’t want to miss it. With races and personalities of all types, there is something in the professional cycling peloton for everyone.

The sport has changed dramatically since Lance Armstrong and his U.S. Postal Service days almost 15 years ago. Most importantly, the steroid era of cycling is over. The days where riders had to take performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) to even keep up with the pro-peloton are long gone.

Now cycling has extremely stringent rules on using these drugs and enough testing for them that they have largely disappeared from the minds of most cyclists and cycling fans. The days of the steroid era led by American “legend” Lance Armstrong are over for good and the users have gotten their titles struck from the record. All seven titles won

by Armstrong have been stripped—just like his reputation. What is commonly referred to as the “Dark Era” of cycling is over, making cycling a safe sport to come back to once again.

Gone are the days where riders are able to stay competitive into their late 30s with the lone exception of Alejandro Valverde. Tadej Pogacar, the most recent winner of the Tour De France (TdF), is the second-youngest rider to ever pull out a TdF win behind Henri Cornet from 1904.

Because of our constant leaps forward in training, young riders are taking over the world and, starting last year, have become the biggest stars in the sport, ushering cycling into a Golden Age. The technology used in cycling for training and racing is at an all-time high, and it is helping current riders break all the old records in cycling.

Instead of PEDs, today all the new hype is about

“aero.” Aerodynamics happens to be extremely important in a world all about traveling over 30 miles-per-hour outside with only your legs as power. So important that current riders undergo literal wind-tunnel tests to gauge how “aero” they are and correct their form to better face the wind.

Just ten years ago, only the best riders in the sport could even afford tests like the ones every rider takes today.

The actual gear used by riders is also the best it’s ever been. I swear the bikes they use now are more expensive than my current car, and a new best form of brakes comes out every other year. In fact, bicycles have gotten so light that the governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), instituted a minimum bike weight (6.8kg/15lbs) for safety reasons. People are coming up with new ways to be more aerodynamic every day with things like the “supertuck”, so much so that the UCI is starting to ban “aero” strategies due to safety reasons. Our current cyclists are going “too fast” even with best-in-class safety equipment.

If you don’t fit in with the tech nerds, you can hear the salt flow from current cycling “boomers” all the time. Cycling has reached its peak of older riders stating things like “I’m riding just as well as I’ve ever been, just now I’m losing,” or “I’ve been riding better than when I won five years ago, but now I’m not even on the podium.” Listen to the current pros or major cycling figures complain about how cycling was back in their primes in the same way MLB and NFL influencers talk about the “good old days.”

The peloton is the fastest it’s ever been and the media around it is better than ever. Spectators no longer have to slog through the first 80 miles of a race to get to the good part. If that’s not your forte, just watch the 5-minute highlights of the races with all the best moments and watch the interviews where the riders scream in celebration and cry happy tears at the finish line.

I am personally partial to the around 30-minute extended race highlight videos, but there is

U.S. cyclist Chloe Dygert. (Tim de Waele / Getty Images) something for everyone. In addition, teams and riders have been putting out more content than ever before with teams like EF-Nippo along with riders like Chris Froome and Alex Dowsett teaching the world about a great sport.

As Americans, we have been out of the scene for a while, so here are the current stars and teams to keep an eye on. The only American team in the World Tour peloton right now is Education-First Nippo. They have bright pink jerseys and are led by the lovable Hugh Carthy and Magnus Cort Nielson. They also have a YouTube channel with some interesting videos, along with collaborations with super cool brands like Rapha.

The current American hopefuls are Sepp Kuss, Brandon McNulty and Joe Dombrowski.

Sepp Kuss from Colorado is a young top-tier climber on a really solid team who could be the next big star, Dombrowski is a peloton mainstay who got his first stage win in a World Tour in this year’s Giro d’Italia, while Brandon McNulty

is a young rider with large goals. Kuss currently rides on Team Jumbo-Visma as a domestique in support of Tour de France favorite Primoz Roglic, while the duo of Dombrowski and McNulty are steady contributors to the team United Arab Emirates.

The pro-peloton is blooming and has been faster than ever since its return after COVID-19, so it’s time to put the Lance Armstrong debacle behind us and enjoy cycling for the sport it is.

Trust me—you won’t regret it.

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

HUMOR

TED CRUZ’S SUMMER/WINTER/FALL/SPRING VACATION PLANS Vacation whenever the moment strikes (Texas hard)

BY EAN KIMURA etkimura@ucdavis.edu

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) carries his luggage at the Cancun International Airport before boarding his plane back to the U.S. (REUTERS / Stringer)

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TexasX) is going to Israel! On May 15th, Cruz made comments criticizing President Joe Biden’s decisions aboutconcerningaround the violence in Israel and promised to visit in the coming days. The sSenator’s’ office has not given any concrete schedule to the press due to security reasons.

Recently, the humor section has obtained leaked information about the specific timeframe for the sSenator’s trip to Israel. The visit is set for any date in the future, under the stipulation that Texas is being hit hard by a natural disaster.

When asked for further comment on this, Cruz responded by saying that, “While any time is a good time to visit another country in order to show unwavering loyalty and support to a foreign government, the best time to do so is when your home state is being bludgeoned by an act of God.”

The senator also wanted to also make sure that this was all his daughter’s idea., “She really cares about Zionism, Hamas and Israel’s ‘right to defend itself’ but only during a time when Texas was under horrible duress,” Cruz said.. “I’ll be thinking about the people of Texas throughout my entire first-class trip, but I have to be a good dad.”

So rain (and flooding causing death and destruction throughout Texas) or shine (and a massive heatwave) or demon spawn razing the Lone Sstar State, Ted Cruz will be on the first plane to Israel ready to show his support for Bibi.

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

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUMPING INTO SOMEONE FROM HIGH SCHOOL We’re talking about some scary stuff

BY KATIE HARGES klharges@ucdavis.edu Ay, can we get Stephen King on the line? I have a feeling this concept could really inspire his next film.

You’re walking through CVS to pick up your prescription.

Bam. You see Jake Longstein from high school. Let me give you the summary. He’s living on a houseboat with a couple of buddies and is trying to get sponsored by Red Bull (says he’s shot them a few emails from beersandbabes4dayz@gmail.com). Oh, and he wants you to know that he’s gotten really into astronomy—from a 10-minute segment on the Joe Rogan podcast where they discussed alien sightings. If that doesn’t send shivers down your spine like the Grady twins do, I don’t know what will.

Now that you’ve met Jake, let me introduce Laura, who you bumped into downtown. You and Laura played soccer together and had one weak inside joke that was carried out for way too long.

But don’t you worry, Laura will carry this conversation. She wants you to know that she really “found herself” at college. She had three boyfriends throughout the school year and already has their accounts pulled up on Instagram for your viewing pleasure. They all look like they live in regularly-power-washed colonial homes with fathers in finance. She’s also going to exhaustively tell you the story of one specific night she had at college.

Chills, right? I’m covering my ears and looking away too.

Finally, I want you to meet Maia. Your mom loves her and you took P.E. together, but unfortunately, you have nothing in common.

There she is, looming at the end of Safeway’s aisle four. Between the two of you lies Lay’s new chip flavor and utter awkwardness.

Considering that we all might bump into our version of Maia this summer, let me give you some tips.

I’ve developed the Kate Conversation Code (still working on trademarking it—don’t tell, but I might contact Jake for some advice on getting sponsored). My technique consists of three stages of conversation. Stage 1 is nostalgia, stage 2 is current events and stage 3 is getting personal. As you approach this high school friend, you must prepare a discussion topic that falls into the stage 1 category. If you find yourself really hitting it off, you may advance to stage 2. Once it begins to get awkward, as it most certainly will, you must activate stage 3. Come out of left field with the most personal question, but be sure to storm away before they can answer.

Allow me to demonstrate. As you approach Maia, you remember Mr. Hopson, your tenured history teacher from sophomore year.

“Do you remember Mr. Hopson, I swear that guy had dementia.” This will last you two minutes maximum. Onto stage 2.

Politics? Too soon. Celebrity drama? That’s the money move.

“This is so random, but did you see that John Mulaney just left

his wife and is now dating Olivia Munn?” Blank stares. Oh, crap.

Think fast.

“Do you still not get along with your mom?” Stage 3 has been initiated, I repeat stage 3 has been initiated. RUN! Disclaimer: This article is humor and/or satire, and its content is purely fictional. The story and names of “sources” are fictionalized.

Angelina Jolie and Amy Pascal. (AP images)

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021 | 7

GRADUATION ISSUE 2021 A tribute to the place I call home and the people I’ve been unbelievably lucky to know

All I do is talk to or brag about the people in my life, so it should come as no surprise that my senior column is dedicated to them and the magical cowtown I’ve called home for these last four years

BY SABRINA HABCHI Campus News Editor

(Sabrina Habchi / Courtesy) Someone once told me I should look into getting a job as a filibusterer. Probably because anyone who has met me for a brief moment knows I could talk to a brick wall (not my own words, unfortunately). For once, I am speechless. I don’t know how to express my gratitude—any words I could offer don’t seem to be enough.

I suppose I’ll start with thanking Davis for giving me my family.

To my very best friend, Katie, I can’t believe I get to do my favorite things in life with my favorite person (you). I know for a fact we’ll be telling stories of living together at each other’s weddings,

just as I know for a fact we’ll be part of each other’s weddings. Cheers to many more years of tossing, playing pickleball, skiing and snowboarding, latenight phone calls and weekend trips to see one another. I truly cannot wait until we get to travel together.

To Parker, I’m so glad we’re going to end up on the same (and correct) side of the best state. I once said I’d take a plane across the country for your next birthday—that’s still true, although fingers crossed I’ll be taking one across the world instead for your 24th. I love your stubbornness, your ability to laugh at yourself and how much you’ve grown since we were toddlers in the dorms, and I’m so excited for this next phase of our lives.

Cady, I know Greg said you’ll be lucky to keep in touch with four people from college, but I’m not too worried about it. I know we’ll see each other again and I know when we do, we’ll pick up right where we left off. Keep being your spicy, quick-witted, forgiving self that everyone around you loves so much. Sarah, Washington is lucky to have you—as am I, because I know you’ll do some cleaning up before I get there (literally, your soon-to-be spotless house and figuratively, our legislation.)

To my Aggie family, you have become so much more than the people I work with. You have become the people I want to spend time with the most, the people I look up to and, yes, the people who have never failed to make me laugh uncontrollably four times a week (usually more).

In fact, I’m smiling as I write this.

I would say I’m going to miss Calvin’s sound effects (pew pew!), Eden’s snide comments (okay!), Margo’s ability to make me laugh with everything she says (well, you didn’t have anything else!), Omar’s wall-worthy quotes (Sabrina was pressing me yesterday), Allie’s athleticism (Calvin, get up!), late night walks with Sophie (I can’t while you’re

filming me!), early morning pickleball with Anjini (the only other person willing to wake up early to play) and arguing with Maddie (a great driver).

I would say I’m going to miss all of those things and more, but I know this won’t be the last time I experience any of them. In the meantime, carry on my pickleball legacy, say yes to everything because I won’t be there to convince you to have fun and don’t forget to PAY ATTENTION! As if a family is not enough, UC Davis has given me the most inspiring people to look up to.

To one of my first professors, Dr. Caitlin Patler, thank you for seeing something in me that I had not yet seen myself. It’s not always easy to find a woman mentor, but your accomplishments and compassion give me something to strive toward. I can’t wait to keep up with your groundbreaking research—I’m sure I’ll see future writers from The Aggie continue reporting on it. Also, go Bruins!

To my thesis advisor and widely beloved UC Davis faculty member, Dr. Jim Adams, I have so much to thank you for, but I think I’ll start with your humor, because I’ve never laughed quite so much in any other course I’ve taken here. Beyond that, thank you for your constant guidance, incredibly kind words and willingness to help in virtually any situation. You have the rare ability of making learning so easy, I come away from class feeling like I put no effort in at all but can still recall the imperative function of the “iron cage of party discipline” in British politics a year later. I could not have produced a thesis I was truly proud of without you, and I’m certain I’ll be contacting you to produce some kind of publication in the future.

I know I talk about being from San Diego so much that it has become a running joke in my friend groups, but Davis is and always will be one of my homes. I recently learned that senior columns are called “30s” because newspapers would send pieces through telegraphs and include

“-30-“ at the bottom to signify the end of a story.

Not to be cliché, but I’m not so sure this is the end of a story, but perhaps a chapter. I say that, because I am determined to be the 50-year-old woman still walking around in UC Davis gear, and I know I’ll keep so many of the connections I made here for years to come.

I’m going to miss late nights spent at Shields, midnight runs to Dutch Bros, sunsets on top of the Hutchinson parking structure, sunrises on Picnic Day, Arboretum runs, day trips to Lake Tahoe, somehow always running into friends at the MU, playing lacrosse on Dairy Field, frequenting the iconic Farmers Market, studying at Philz, failing to connect to the Wi-Fi at Mishka’s and spending all my money at the Co-Op. To all my friends who have said they will be visiting me at UCLA, please know I will be holding you to it. Go ags forever.

Sabrina Habchi is The California Aggie’s 20202021 campus news editor. She joined The Aggie in fall 2017 as a campus news reporter. In fall 2019, she assumed the role of copy chief and served in that position for one year before becoming the campus news editor her fourth year. She is graduating with bachelor degrees in political science and psychology and with a sociology minor.

Writing will always The perfect space A place with a whole lotta hope, heart and heroes be here The Aggie has been here for me through thick and thin

BY REBECCA BIHN-WALLACE Campus News Writer I like to think of my college experience as being bookended by two international disasters: a heartbreaking election season and a global pandemic. When I came to UC Davis in September 2017, I was deeply worried about the state of the world—and just as hopeful, as I am now, that I could do something to change it. On a more personal level, though, I was like any other college student: eager to make friends, uncertain in the bike circle, and perhaps a little naive. Within two weeks of starting college, I had badly cut my knee in said bike circle—I have the scar to prove it, —moved from one dorm to another, and gotten used to the blistering heat of the California Delta.

In spite of this rather rough landing at UC Davis, I powered through and decided to pursue my newfound fascination with politics and current events at The California Aggie in the spring of my freshman year.

The Aggie became an outlet for my nervous and creative energies, a place where I could relax, listen to entertaining conversations and feel like a part of something important. The stories I covered have been by turns hilarious, challenging and baffling; the experience I have gained has been invaluable.

When I found my heart broken and my strength being seriously tested in the middle of my second year, The Aggie was there. When the pandemic hit and life came to a standstill my third year, The Aggie was there. I missed the camaraderie of weekly in-person desk meetings and lamented the scarcity of non-COVID-19-related topics to write about;,: but still, The Aggie was there. Working on the paper remotely this past year has strengthened my commitment to journalism, my affection for

(Rebecca Bihn-Wallace / Courtesy) my fellow students and my sense of humor in spite of (and perhaps because of) incomprehensible global events.

More than anything, though, I’d like to thank my amazing editors and colleagues for all of their hard work and dedication these past four years, and I’d like to remind my future self that, while beginnings are hard, they often make us stronger in the long run.

Rebecca Bihn-Wallace joined The Aggie in spring 2018 as a columnist on the opinion desk. In fall 2018, she joined the campus news desk, where she has written for the past three years. She is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art and a double minor in German and Professional Writing.

BY CALVIN COFFEE Opinion Editor I came to UC Davis (almost) completely lost: no idea what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be, but I’m so lucky I found myself at The Aggie.

I’ll never forget walking into the Lower Freeborn office for the first time. Once I completed the maze, the old couches and customizable walls of The Aggie (and all its people) became the most welcoming place on campus.

Having the last year-plus on Zoom isn’t ideal, but the people I had the opportunity to work with every day made it more than worth it. More often than not, what anchored me through the day was knowing that I had my desk meeting to look forward to that night or that four times a week I would just hop on a Zoom call with some friends disguised as an Editorial Board meeting. I’ve enjoyed laughing at the fantastic humor pitches as they rolled in and marveling at the creative ideas my writers came up with every week.

To everyone that’s been a humorist, columnist or cartoonist for the opinion desk this year, I cannot thank you enough for your dedication.

Watching you grow as writers by tackling the issues and topics that matter to you has been a joy.

Writing isn’t easy, it’s not for everyone, but those who are dedicated can produce stories for all to enjoy, and you all did that.

Taryn and Nick, thank you for hiring and believing in me, letting me write about video games and all the “Game of Thrones” talk during its wild final season. Hanadi, thank you for believing in me as a writer and editor, making editing sessions a joy and allowing me to go on about the most trivial NFL details.

The wonderful editors on our editorial board inspire me every day—you are the best team I’ve ever been a part of. Anjini, Margo, Sabrina, Eden, Sophie, Allie, Omar and Maddie, I will always cherish how welcoming and enjoyable you made our Ed Board meetings on days when

(Calvin Coffee / Courtesy) I really needed it. It has been an absolute pleasure working with you, but more than that it has been (and continues to be) a pleasure to call you all my friends. I can’t wait to see you all on the courts— let’s keep up that trash talk.

I am endlessly grateful for all The Aggie has helped me through, I would be lost without it.

This is one of the hardest goodbyes I’ve ever had to make, my time spent with you all is one I will remember forever. So if for some reason you’re reading this and thinking about joining The Aggie, please do—you just might find the place for you.

Calvin was the 2020-2021 opinion editor. He joined The California Aggie in spring of 2019 and wrote as an opinion columnist before joining the Editorial Board. He is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in science and technology studies.

8 | THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

GRADUATION ISSUE 2021 IF THERE’S ANY KIND OF I AM A WRITER MAGIC IN THIS WORLD Accepting the undeniable truth —it must be in an attempt to understand someone who is sharing something

BY LIANA MAE ATIZADO Features Writer “I know, it’s almost impossible to succeed, but… who cares, really? The answer must be in the attempt.”

So goes my favorite quote from the movie, “Before Sunrise.” Funnily enough, I first saw this movie, which is about exploring a foreign city with a stranger, at the beginning of the pandemic when cities were shutting down and strangers had to stay six feet away from each other. This movie was all about forming new connections through genuine conversation, something that seemed impossible to achieve during quarantine. At least that’s what I thought until I started writing for The California Aggie.

The Aggie gave me a chance to sit down and have conversations with members of the UC Davis community that I would have never encountered otherwise. One thing that made me absolutely fall in love with reporting was hearing the passion in my source’s voices when they talked about causes they cared about. Their capacity for kindness and selfless devotion to serving others, especially during a time of isolation and confusion, filled me with hope. It was an honor to hear their stories and to use this platform to share them.

I was also amazed by just how many opportunities there are for students to make a difference on and off campus. After three years of attending UC Davis, I thought I had a general idea of all that the university had to offer. When I stepped into the role of a reporter for the features desk during my fourth and final year, I got to take a closer look at the different organizations and individuals that make UC Davis so unique. There are so many people who are committed to doing what they can in order to make our corner of the world better, whether that be enhancing student diversity, working on the frontlines of healthcare, providing resources to those in need or uplifting the voices of those systematically silenced.

(Liana Mae Atizado / Courtesy) As my time at The Aggie comes to an end, it feels as though I have barely scratched the surface of all there is to know about Davis. Still, I’m forever grateful for the chance to listen to the stories of those who care so deeply about what they do. The Aggie has deepened my love and understanding of the Davis community, and I hope they continue to do the same for others. While it’s almost impossible for every community member to be understood and for every story to be shared, I hope that staff members at The California Aggie never give up in the attempt.

Liana Mae Atizado is a Staff Writer for the Features Desk. She joined The Aggie during her senior year, in fall 2020. She is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Human Development.

BY ITZELTH GAMBOA Arts and Culture Writer

There is something about writing that is so painfully terrifying. Maybe it’s because we are taught with words written by grand people who actually had a story to tell. Or maybe it’s because words can be so easily misinterpreted. Or maybe, it’s because I’m so terrible at it.

When I first joined The Aggie, I was severely underqualified. I was a second-year trying to find something to do that held significance. So I looked for an organization that involved the thing I loved most—writing. Before I was a student at Davis, I invested myself in everything I wrote; writing always had a way of comforting me. But to my surprise, my writing had failed me all of my undergraduate career up to that point. I was getting low B’s on every essay I turned in and it was killing me; my saving grace throughout my life was hurting my GPA. So I joined The Aggie in hopes of meeting new people and bettering my writing. I didn’t realize that as I was working on my writing, I was piling up these great experiences along the way.

There are two things that being a writer for the Arts Desk has shown me: one, that art, in all of its forms, consumes us, and two, that I am a writer.

When we were stuck at home this past year, we watched movies to get us through the days.

When we were dying of boredom, we read fiction books to escape. When we couldn’t sleep at night, we relied on music to slow down time. These past few months we’ve clung onto art like our sanity depended on it—because for the most part, it did.

But I don’t think we take the time to appreciate all that art and artists have given us. At every period in my life, art has given me something. When I was younger, I stayed up reading until sunrise; I held onto books and characters until I unwillingly fell asleep. After I got into a car accident, the only thing that could keep me calm as I was driving was singing along to Taylor Swift’s “Lover” album.

When I had a particularly rough day, I watched Disney movies for their unwavering commitment to happy endings.

I’ve always loved art, but it wasn’t until recently that I noticed how much of my life revolved around it. Working at The Aggie, I read so many great articles from other writers on my desk. I met artists that blew me away with their

(Itzelth Gamboa / Courtesy) work. I interviewed people that turned their art into a business. All of my interactions here really settled me in my belief that art is undervalued.

We consume it in every form imaginable, but we never seem to appreciate its existence. The more I wrote, the more I realized the things I was eager to write about. I loved meeting new people who were passionate about what they were doing. I loved meeting people that took their hobby and ran with it. I loved meeting people who participated in art projects simply for the fun of it. But mostly, I loved writing about them. As horrible and difficult and exposing as writing is, I loved it.

And yet, after all of these years writing an article week after week, I never considered myself a writer. People would ask me, “What do you do?” and I would respond with “I write.” But I never said “I’m a writer.” With that said, I’d like to take these last few lines of this article to finally call myself a writer. I unashamedly got better at writing in one of the most public settings, but hey, I got better.

So here’s to The Aggie, the newspaper that never fired me despite my mistakes. But mostly, here’s to being a writer.

Itzelth Gamboa is an arts writer for the arts and culture desk at The California Aggie. She joined the desk in October of 2018 and stayed in that position throughout her undergraduate career. She is graduating with bachelor degrees in sociology and communication.

No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man On to the next…

BY REBECCA GARDNER Campus News Writer

(Rebecca Gardner / Courtesy)

As graduation approaches, I prepare to say goodbye to UC Davis as UC Davis prepares to welcome the next incoming class.

I had planned to go to college at a UC near the beach, but I wound up seduced by Davis’ charm.

When I first visited Davis and walked through the quad in the spring, I finally understood the glowing testimonials (that I didn’t believe) from alumni.

I transferred to UC Davis pretty enthused to be at the next step, studying at a prestigious fouryear university—not really understanding what being at an institution like UC really meant.

When I started attending UC Davis, we would ride our bikes to campus and freely roam without spitting in a tube. I went to giant psychology classes where we sat way too close to each other in cramped lecture halls.

Then, school became sitting on my couch and watching lectures when I pleased. Or walking around my house compulsively doing chores listening to my professors as if they were podcast hosts.

It wasn’t until the pandemic’s peak when I

took my first journalism class at UC Davis.

Journalism was refreshing and exciting. When my professor and mentor Stephen Magagnini encouraged me to apply to write for The Aggie, I only wished that I had done so sooner.

While I’ve only had the pleasure and privilege of being a reporter for two quarters, on Zoom, writing for The Aggie has certainly been a highlight of my quick time passing through UC Davis.

With little training and few credentials, I’ve been able to interview Chancellor Gary May about policing and calls for abolition on campus. I got to listen to students share how they somehow found themselves in a cult-like bible study group that preyed on their need for spiritual support at school.

Once I exit Zoom, claim my symbolic diploma from a masked and cautiously optimistic Chancellor May and leave UC Davis, there will be new stories to tell. New task forces will be assembled to impress the next student body and re-enrage the worn out staff, but I have no doubt that the push and pull of conversation and passion of protest will continue on.

My sweetest and hardest goodbye is to the members of Aggies for Recovery. Serving as the president of this organization, it has been my mission to build a community for students in recovery but thanks to a global pandemic and increased rates of substance use, the community, out of necessity, built itself.

I leave each meeting with a full heart and I am constantly in awe of your wisdom and compassion.

My hope is that you will continue to welcome and support the next student who walks into UC Davis looking for recovery and friendship like I once did.

Finally, thank you UC Davis for delivering to me the kindest and most brilliant pair of Alans: Alan Lawrence Buks and Allan Martinez. You are the best friends and roommates for someone who is bad with names.

Rebecca Gardner joined The California Aggie in winter of 2020 as a campus news reporter. She is graduating with a bachelors in psychology and double minors in professional writing and human development.

Standing on the shoulders of giants

BY BRANDON JETTER Arts and Culture Writer

(Brandon Jetter / Courtesy)

“There is no passion to be found in playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

That Nelson Mandela quote played in my head as I first applied to write for The California Aggie. Never in a million years did I think I would be writing for a campus newspaper. I was already handling countless commitments— double majoring, being on the track and field team, freelancing anywhere I got the chance—but something was still missing. l knew that I badly wanted to write for the school’s premier outlet.

“Why should I settle?” I thought.

I still vividly remember my first desk meeting, waiting anxiously outside of the basement in Lower Freeborn. I was probably more nervous in those five or so minutes than I ever was in my entire collegiate athletic career. Emphasis on the probably.

Of course, as an opinion writer, you’re bound to piss some people off. My first article had just been posted, one that I thought was a safe, boringly centrist take that couldn’t possibly raise any issues. It definitely did. That was the day when

I realized what it was like to have people actually read your work.

I was lucky that when I first wrote for the Op-Ed desk, I was immediately surrounded by a phenomenal group of open-minded intellectuals.

My first editors—head editor Taryn DeOilers and assistant editor Nick Irvin—were quick to show me the ropes, providing constructive criticism and objective feedback. My second-year editor, Hanadi Jordan, was a perfect successor to Taryn and Nick.

She phenomenally managed the desk with an impressive breadth of knowledge as we navigated the initial virtual world of the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m thankful for how easy she made things. To my present editor, Allie Bailey, thank you for welcoming me for my brief, last quarter stay in the Arts and Culture section. I only wish we had more time.

I am also forever indebted to Taryn, who spent countless hours with me editing my seeminglyendless spring 2019 feature piece on the Armenian Genocide. I’ve always been insecure as a writer, but it was after the piece’s eventual selection and publication in UC Davis’ Prized Writing collection that I thought, “Hey, maybe I can do this for real.”

I’ve been in college a long time. I’ve met a lot of people. I’ve done a lot of unique things.

I’ve accomplished a lot of goals—and failed at so many more. But one thing I will always cherish is my time at The Aggie. I’ll miss the thrills of seeing my latest article drop, obsessively reloading the Facebook page to see if anyone has commented yet. I’ll miss the angry responses from random students; I’ll miss the personal emails from curious and supportive readers even more.

In the end, The Aggie helped me determine who I really was. It showed me what I wanted to do with my life. With that came a wave of energy and enthusiasm I didn’t think I had. I hope I can find that same thrill in what comes next in life, whatever that may be.

Brandon Jetter is an Aarts and Cculture writer for The California Aggie. He joined the Aggie in fall 2018 as an opinion writer and is presently writing for the Aarts and Cculture desk. He is graduating from UC Davis with bachelor degrees in political science and history and with a professional writing minor.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021 | 9

AN ODE TO THE DRIVE-IN MOVIE Drive-ins are an ideal summer activity

BY CLARA FISCHER arts@theaggie.org Summer is fast approaching, and (thanks to increased vaccination rates and time masked up) this year promises to redeem itself of the months spent in lockdown last year.

That being said, it is still vital to stay COVID19-conscious for a little while in order to not ruin all of the hard work put in by healthcare professionals and keep that curve sailing down.

Going to a drive-in movie is already a beloved activity, but as we slowly transition into a sense of post-pandemic normality, it’s pretty much the ideal way to spend a warm summer night.

To preface this love letter to the drive-in movie: I am someone who, for some reason, feels the need to voice every thought that comes to mind when I’m watching a movie. I also laugh obnoxiously loud, get teary way too easily and can’t stifle my screams when there’s a jump scare.

Needless to say, I’m usually not the most popular person in the movie theater.

Drive-in movies alleviate all of these issues.

From the privacy of my own car, the only people subject to my annoying movie-watching habits are the other people in the car (and they usually join in). There’s no one sitting behind you, shushing you and kicking your seat every time you let out a giggle (true story). Being able to enjoy yourself free from judgment is a huge perk of choosing the drive-in over your local Cinemax.

It’s a well-known and universally loathed fact that movie theater food is overpriced. A large popcorn and Icee can easily set you back $15, which only adds injury to the already pricey ticket. Though there is something to be said for the thrill of successfully sneaking an absurd amount of snacks past the teenager working security at the theater, at a drive-in movie, there are no restrictions on the quantity of cheap food you can bring with you. So before you catch a flick, make a pit stop at your local convenience store and stock up on all the popcorn and candy your heart desires for a much cheaper price than

KATHERINE HUNG / AGGIE

you would be paying at the theater.

There’s also nothing that beats the retro ambiance of a drive-in. It feels straight out of “Grease”—you almost expect Danny and Sandy to pull up in the car next to you.

Recently, younger generations seem to be experiencing an extreme sense of nostalgia. From

Y2K fashion to Gen Z’s ‘80s obsession fueled by “Stranger Things,” going to a drive-in movie is sure to deliver on the desire for the simple times of days past.

Drive-in movies are an American staple and the perfect activity for warm summer nights.

There’s just nothing like enjoying a movie from

the privacy of your own car, with the ability to enjoy reasonably priced snacks from home and make as many stupid comments as you want without bothering the person sitting behind you.

Whether it’s with your friends, partner, mom, dad, grandma, whoever it may be, a drive-in movie is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

REVIEW: ‘PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN’ Emerald Fennell’s debut feature disappoints

Theatrical release poster for Promising Young Woman.

(Focus Features)

BY JACOB ANDERSON arts@theaggie.org “Promising Young Woman” came out on Jan. 25, 2020—more than a year ago. In that time, it’s earned at least $15.2 million and sits at a cool 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, which as the website says, denotes “universal acclaim.”

Is $15.2 million a lot of money? For an indie film, absolutely. For a blockbuster, absolutely not. But with a budget reported to be under $10 million, the film probably broke even at least. When we put all these facts together, it would appear that “Promising Young Woman” was a completely reasonable success across the board, especially when you take into account that the film came out in one of the worst years for the film industry in the last century, missing the formal beginnings of lockdown in America by a few short weeks.

What I’m saying is that the average viewer would have no reason to think “Promising Young Woman” to be anything but a modern, competent, revenge thriller—respite from the flashy corporate repetition of superhero movies, maybe even something with some art in it. This is a tall order to ask of American film, especially since the 2008 recession, which shook the industry to its core and all but killed the gambler’s spirit in financiers that had driven occasional innovation since the dawn of the motion picture.

So many movies today have what might be called “USC Gloss”—a spirit of smooth, flowchart-like polish that feels more like an alien’s imitation of a movie than anything originating in an artistic process. The “USC” part of that term originated in the rich-kid fueled film programs at universities across the nation, whose task appears to be to pump out as many coddled trust-fund alumni as possible. This saturates the industry with people who have the unconditional monetary support necessary to pursue a career as risky as filmmaking, but have no original thought or life experience beyond getting blackout drunk at frat parties five times a week and watching every David Lynch movie.

So then, knowing that director (and “Killing Eve” showrunner) Emerald Fennell read English at Oxford before becoming a highly successful actress straight out

of school, that all her characters are higher educated, stressless psychopaths with unexplained and seemingly unlimited pools of money, that such a thing is not just, in her eyes, the base state of the world—one in which everyone is a handsome, studious medical school graduate—but it is so unquestionably that it doesn’t even need to be acknowledged, does “Promising Young Woman” have said gloss?

With a film that attempts to examine a certain type of real-world evil so common and despicable as to be ubiquitous among its characters yet simultaneously appears to be ignorant of its (apparently class-based) biases, it’s only a matter of time until the viewer begins to question Fennell’s authority and dissociate from her cruel, sterile world of affluent adult-babies.

The core of “Promising Young Woman” is, unfortunately, allegorical. Details of character and visual experience are afterthoughts, conduits designed to aid the spread of a moral message, and as a result have no life of their own. Characters who repeat stock dialogue suddenly burst into the perspective and arguments of the writer, and the stylish, neon pop crust surrounding the movie—complete with gratuitous chapter title cards—is unmistakably purposeless. It feels like a fake movie, like someone has copied down the practices of popular modern filmmakers without examining the why of each, and used them to construct a shabby shell around an existent point that really, really should have just been an essay.

What is gained by making a didactic, sermonizing movie like this? If the characters don’t matter and the filmmaking doesn’t matter, why should this exist at all?

The answer appears to be that Fennell made this film for the express purpose of teaching the audience. There’s no room for exploration or examination of the central ideas, and nobody learns anything by the time the credits roll—it’s about getting one brief idea from the director’s head into the world. There is no love for the process of making movies here and apparently no value in any of its possibilities beyond the most utilitarian and cynical. All of this is meant to say that “Promising Young Woman” is, on some level, insulting. Using film as a stepping-stone to such a simple and inappropriate goal tramples the potential inherent to the medium— an unthinkable opportunity cost.

Quentin Tarantino, who American filmmakers (including Fennell, if this movie is anything to go by) worship today perhaps more than when he was at his peak, was a high school dropout who worked at a video store for half a decade. As cartoonish and hokey as his movies are, Tarantino is not ignorant of the world he lives in. His decision to retreat into the universe of exploitation films and Fellini and the French New Wave is an informed one. It’s difficult to say the same of Fennell.

“Promising Young Woman” won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay this year. Is this really it? The best screenwriting that we have to offer? An experiment in sheep-herding in which the director had to create “mood boards” mid-production to establish that her protagonist had depth because the script didn’t? If so, maybe we should just call it here, wrap it up. End of the show, folks, go home.

One of the most bizarre things I’ve heard people say about “Promising Young Woman” is that because it addresses such a horrible, so-often-ignored issue in society, it shouldn’t be treated the same as other films.

To which the most reasonable response is: wouldn’t such a terrible thing be best handled by, like, a good movie? Carey Mulligan puts forth noticeable talent in her performance, teasing emotion out of a protagonist that seems to have none, and the events come one after another in a sensible enough way, but none of it is enough to recover anything from the film’s shallow conceit. Everyone, but especially those who have actually suffered, deserve something better.

BY BRANDON JETTER arts@theaggie.org

Movie: “Chungking Express” dir. by Wong Kar-wai (1994) Director Wong Kar-wai’s “Chungking Express” is a tale of two love stories told amid the eclectic urban backdrop of Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Cinematographer Christopher Doyle’s unique manipulation of film creates a surreal world, made real by a standout performance from actress Faye Wong. Wong—who steals the show as a quirky hostess turned love interest in the film’s second half— also provides the soundtrack with a killer Cantonese remake of the melancholic hit “Dreams” by The Cranberries that will have even the most ardent Dolores O’Riordan fan listening on repeat.

Show: “The Sopranos” (1999-2007) A 20-something year old male tells you his favorite show is “The Sopranos.” Cliché, I know. But in my four years of reading Culture Corner, I’m not sure I’ve seen it listed yet, and that’s a tragedy.

Writer and producer David Chase’s contemporary portrayal of the American mafia—depicted via an ensemble cast led by the late James Gandolfini—is undeniably one of the greatest television shows of all time. As nihilistic as it is humorous, “The Sopranos” touches on everything from the Italian-American experience to mental health stigma. Watch it if you somehow haven’t yet.

Album: “Section.80” by Kendrick Lamar (2011) Unpopular opinion, but I think Kendrick’s debut studio album is his greatest. Going on a decade old, most of the songs on “Section.80” somehow remain feeling authentically deep and real while still sounding as though they wouldn’t be out of place at a house party. A hard-to-classify style with obvious influences from conscious rap, alternative hip hop and early 90’s artists, this album has aged gracefully. A retrospective listening of the masterings of lyrical flow and narrative story-telling on “Section.80” show us that Kendrick was always bound for greatness.

Book: “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic” by Sam Quinones (2015) Remember in 2016, when the ascent of former President Donald Trump left countless coastal Americans wondering why so many working-class voters had suddenly flipped to the right after serving years as a Democratic bulwark? The explanation for this perplexion seemed to lie in an endless prescription of novels and narratives surrounding the American heartland, from J.D. Vance’s Appalachian memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” to Arlie Russell’s sociological study “Strangers in Their Own Land.” But if there were one book I would say summed up life and death in Middle America, it would be Sam Quinones’ “Dreamland.” The bilingual former Los Angeles Times correspondent Quinones paints a damning image of our country’s opioid problem, and in doing so, escapes the usual cliches and patronizing tones of most of the genre. “Dreamland” is a powerful anthology that takes readers from the poppy fields of Xalisco to the “pill mill” medical clinics of rural Ohio, revealing the true horror and extent of America’s latest drug epidemic—and the thousands of lives it’s taken along with it.

10 | THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE’S 2021 LITERARY MAGAZINE LOOKING FORWARD VESPERTINE

BY AMARA PUTRI the evening hums with tenderness and sweet rain music. a water lily blooms under the purple midnight and you wish you could open yourself up the same way: free of worry, dripping in light— a body unstitching itself to become part of something bigger.

UNTITLED

BY ANNABEL MARSHALL Here’s a true story of something that happened to me.

I was once living elsewhere and also at a different time. At one point, as many people do, I turned eighteen. On that very day, I received an unmarked purple gift bag, placed on what would be my doorstep if I had a doorstep but instead was just the area immediately in front of my front door. This gift bag, of ambiguous size and weight, was crowded with equally ambiguous tissue paper. Why do we buy tissue paper, by the way? Why is that a custom we’ve adhered to as a society? Nobody’s gift experience is heightened by tissue paper to the extent that its briefly functional existence is justified.

Cut to the chase, you beg. I abide. There was a taxidermied rat in the bag. (Rat in the Bag, is coincidentally, the name of my new punk rock bank). It was a hand-taxidermied, although I do not know that there is any other kind of taxidermy.

Its fur had been bleached blonde to match my hair. Its eyes were dyed blue. This was an act of love. A lovingly stuffed and customized rat, if you will. And I hope you won’t.

Now, I happen to know exactly where to award responsibility for this present, namely the joint effort of a nineteen-year-old divorcee and a Mormon that I had met at work. I also happen to know that it was a genuine gift. However, I propose to you that apparently benign motives do not matter the slightest in a situation where you have unwillingly unwrapped a dead rodent.

Where did they get the rat? you ask. I agree.

Despite my protests, the creature was not to be disposed of. My father bravely accepted custody and placed it in his garden in an attempt to ward off more animated rats from his tomato plants.

Within a few weeks, alive rats had begun eating the dead rat, gnawing out its eye sockets and rigid underbelly. And thus my coming-of-age present met its ghastly end, a potentially unfortunate omen. The circle of life is complete. Back to dust. “Ashes to ashes,” as David Bowie would say, an original proverb of his imagination. We all return to the earth, unless you shoot your corpse into space. No questionable origin or bad hair-dye job can change that.

So I guess that’s something to look forward to.

AFTER THE AFTERLIFE

BY KACEY ZIMMERMAN nothing. a faint taste of butterscotch, the scent of lavender perfume that had long dissipated across the room. waiting, almost endless against plastic covered chairs and walls of blue and white. a pamphlet you hold, just in case. a new beginning, a path of infinite possibilities. there will be heartbreak, pain and sorrow unimaginable. but there will also be things to live for, unbridled bliss and love in the small moments where time seems to stop as you barely manage to catch the sunset, lungs out of breath. there is only so much happiness perfect can buy. when you spend forever in paradise you forget exactly what made it so heavenly. so take this leap towards chaos and imperfection, towards something new and bright and fiery as you once were. welcome back.

A TRIP TO THE DENTIST

BY SUNNY SELAK The waiting room of the Vazini dental practice was furnished in the prevailing fashion of waiting rooms everywhere, in a manner vaguely comfortable yet utterly forgettable. The seats attending the walls were a taut black vinyl which squeaked a bit when you sat in them. The floor was a dark wood paneled affair, scuffed in innumerable spots by the vicious little feet of the chairs. In the middle of the room was a dumpy little table covered with those magazines you see in waiting rooms and in line at the grocery store.

Against one wall, a fish tank, and flanking it, the dentists’ certifications hung off the wall like epaulettes.

It was, in short, hell. That was certainly the impression it seemed to have on the man sitting opposite me. He had been fidgeting nervously against his chair since I had walked in. His excitations swelled every now and then into a quick jump of a grey trousered knee before retreating into the worried wrinkles of his forehead. He was a sorry looking man of forty or so, with a slight chin hidden under a sorry set of sparse whiskers and a sagging, defeated countenance. I saw him reflected for a moment in the aquarium, entombed in algae and barnacle, his hair drifting softly to and fro with the weeds. His eye roused itself from its torturous interrogation of his shoes and alighted upon me. I looked away hurriedly, making a show of busying myself with the stack of magazines. Felt glossy. A flap of grey trouser crossed the corner of my vision and I realized with a slow dread that he had crossed the room and deposited himself next to me.

He leaned in conspiratorially. “They’re doing a big job on me today.” I did not want to encourage him further, and so I pretended not to hear him. “I hate the dentist.” He said, undeterred. “No one ever died from not going to the dentist.”

He was beating a nervous staccato with the tip of his shoe. “My wife made me come. How pathetic does that sound? God, that sounds pathetic. I’m a grown man, for chrissakes. I can do what I want.”

The flattened faces of the celebrities lounging scattered across the table regarded me with the stony judgment of the dead. I turned at last to the quivering voice next to me. Huge tears were swelling from each eye.

“Why can’t I be good?”

KIDS IN SUMMERTIME

THE EXACT MIDDLE

BY AMARA PUTRI

BY KACEY ZIMMERMAN

This is a night still blushing pink where the sun kissed it.

many love the rainbow for the pot of gold at the end. i cannot blame them. gold is bright and speaks of promises unfulfilled. but what do you sacrifice, to stare so directly ahead? forever reaching towards more, and more, and more so meet me in the middle of the rainbow. find me where the sun shines the brightest and the clouds part from the sky. dance with me across the grass dotted with daisies and covered in the dew of morning. breathe with me, as the breeze finds home inside your lungs. and look to the sky. look up at our rainbow, radiant and ready to show us all she is. meet me in the middle of the rainbow. there is no place quite as magical.

There is only one star in the sky and it burns; the same way our hearts do when we’re next to each other— the same way all souls will burn into light.

The wind does not cease: it clings onto moonlit rivers, and specks of dust, and all the spaces between our fingers.

And the rain has not softened yet: We feel the crisp stinging beneath our feet as we dance in razor-edged grass.

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

Bare skin: hands touching hands, hands touching faces— two kids draped in the mantle of summer sweat.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021 | 11

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE’S 2021 LITERARY MAGAZINE LOOKING FORWARD UNTITLED

AUREA PULLEA

BY SONORA SLATER

BY AMARA PUTRI

In a journal entry from 2009, I wrote, “Tommarow is Wensday. I’m glad. I like Wensday because it is my library day and I like to read a lot!!!”

I saw you— that one Spring morning, open-mouthed, ready to taste the sunlight.

In a journal entry from 2020, I wrote, “So this week? Kinda sucked. I know that there are good things that happened and I’m grateful and blessed to have those things but right now I’m sitting on my bed a month into quarantine and I want to cry.”

So, probably not how I, as a second-grader, was hoping my life would be going in eleven years?

There are good entries in my journal from 2020, too. Entries from days I spent with my family, an entry from when I got accepted to UC Davis, entries where I managed to spell “Wednesday” correctly.

But honestly, when we were told in elementary school to write about where we saw ourselves in 10 years, I wrote that I was going to be a chef with seven cats. And I’m not completely unmoored, I’m at college and I have a vague career plan and I have several cats, but that kind of certainty and simplicity feels far away.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? And do you feel like you’re at a job interview yet?

I actually said once at an interview that I have no real clue where my life is going—don’t necessarily recommend doing that, but I felt like ‘chef with seven cats’ would be an even less professional answer.

I’m writing this only hours before the submission deadline.

Why? I’m not under obligation to submit anything; it’s not because it took an extraordinarily long amount of time to write; it’s certainly not because writing is unenjoyable to me. It might be partially because I thought the theme was ‘moving forward’ rather than ‘looking forward’ and I planned out a whole string of Meet the Robinsons jokes that I had to scratch.

But it’s mostly because of my love for immediacy. Writing on deadline is different—other writing is a greater composite of the past and the future, the moment of ideation and the moment of drafting and the time of editing. But right now, in this moment, the words that I’m typing are a unique direct representation of how I’m currently trying to make sense of God’s plan for the future and how I’m trying to reconcile that to my plan for the future and to what’s happening now, today.

And in 2009, my journal entry was a unique direct representation of what it was, to be in second grade, and to be happy.

And in 2020, my journal entry was a unique direct representation of what it was to be a teenager in the middle of a global pandemic and to feel lost.

And right now in this moment I am a unique direct representation of who I am before the inevitability and the promise of change.

Tomorrow is Saturday, and I’m glad. I’m glad because on Saturdays, I go to the library. And honestly?

I don’t feel the need to look much further ahead than that.

UNTITLED

BY ANNABEL MARSHALL Your hands are already aloft, like a conductor.

“Stop me if you’ve heard this one before,” you say. We never do.

Whatever’s nearby becomes the boat. A salt shaker with a napkin sail. Half-empty glasses flank port and starboard. They’ll maneuver with your words until the story ends and they resume their ordinary character.

You’re stranded off the coast of Australia. Assurances of brevity. The waiter stops a moment, thumb halfway through flipping open their notepad. A tangent. A joke, then another, a scripted one-two punch. Your voice idles before the turn and I watch a woman at the table lean in, her hair hanging into her soup.

I begged you to write it down for me.

It’s too late now, though I read the letters you sent my mother overseas. I wish you’d spared no detail.

And maybe that your handwriting was a bit better.

There’s more room for me without you, but I fear now that there’s not enough of me to fill it. I walk with my toes up and wear holes in my shoes from the inside out. You did that too. I balance on one leg before the pond where you buried my goldfish seven years ago. A meticulous jack-tar funeral. I sleep beneath myself. Hands under ribs, shoulders stacked. The bed sways with the moon.

In the end, there is nothing to do except fear your growing faint. I’ve already forgotten how that story ends, the one where your ship broke down in the night. I remember that you got back to shore, but not whereby. And I fear that is the part I need the most. Not can we sail forward, but how.

MORNING TWILIGHT

BY JEANNE HALLFORD Her alarm blared beside her head, 7:50am sharp, the same time every single day. Not that she kept track of what day it was really because they all bled together. Her days were mostly distinguished by times she slept and times she decided to go to class. She knew it was a bad idea to take an 8am, but it wasn’t like she had any other choice. She needed to finish her major requirements to graduate on time, and so few classes were offered at the moment that this was her only option, despite how much she hated the topic. Not that she ever really went to class anymore either.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and groped in the dark for her phone with her left hand, stuffed frog tucked tightly under her right arm. Her phone read 7:52. Slumping back against her pillows, she took a deep breath. Would she go to class today? She could, but she already knew she wouldn’t even as she drew her laptop out from under her bed and placed it on her lap on top of the blanket. 5 more minutes, as long as she didn’t fall asleep again.

She logged on every morning at 7:58am, 2 minutes or so before she was expected to be present, and immediately muted the call. She would go back to the recording later. Maybe. If she could convince herself or her roommate told her to. Academically, she was doing fine anyway. Her grades were solid; Bs were more than good enough for present times. If they didn’t want her to cut corners, maybe they shouldn’t make it not only necessary for her to stay sane but so rewarding for the numbers everyone seemed to care about so much. Her health had been difficult before the pandemic, let alone now.

She dragged herself out of bed reluctantly. She didn’t want to be awake, but at least going through the motions kept her from completely giving up. She tied her long hair back, washed her face, and put on her glasses. The same motions at the same sink in front of the same mirror for the past year, leaving her laptop behind in the same spot on her bed while the lecture played. Oatmeal for breakfast again, rotating between 3 flavors so there was at least some novelty every once in a while. It was too hot to eat as she took it out of the microwave the second time it beeped. She’d spaced out for the first round.

It was too hot when she took it out of the microwave, she nearly dropped it, but she managed to set it on the counter before she completely lost her grip. She abandoned it to cool before heading back to the table. She didn’t feel like eating anyway. Her roommate was out somewhere, shopping maybe. With a mask she hoped. It was cold and silent in the apartment as morning light began to filter through the living room blinds. She could open them, but honestly she didn’t feel like getting up again, and the light would only hurt her eyes.

She gazed idly at her phone’s lock screen as she lay on the couch and saw that she had a huge number of notifications from the messaging app she used to keep up with friends she had made in a club last year. She sat up and unlocked her phone and was immediately greeted with her friends talking about all sorts of things late into the previous night. Games, sports, books, movies, shows, their own lives, and the struggles they were all going through to cope with the pandemic. It was all there. She lost track of time scrolling through, catching up, but it comforted her and eased the lonely anxiety. They couldn’t be together physically, but they at least had this. It wasn’t enough, but it was something. She scrolled back through hours and hours of messages and answered here and there.

None of them could solve what any of the rest were going through, but talking about it and sharing the burden made things easier.

She saw that some of them were still on a voice call from the night before. Their sleep schedules were so far beyond wrecked, she thought to herself before joining the call. They were all so happy to see her, blearily greeting her and laughing about the people who had fallen asleep on call. She smiled, genuinely, feeling the warmth spread through her chest. She chatted idly with them as she went back to her oatmeal and made herself eat, opening the blinds and letting the morning light spill into the living room. By the time she reached the bottom of her bowl, it was nearly 9am and the people remaining in the call had finally fallen asleep.

It was quiet again, but in an uplifting way. They would be together again; things couldn’t go on this way forever. Her lecture should have ended a few minutes ago, she needed to disconnect soon, but she lingered at the table a little longer. That bit of hope was exactly what she needed today, and she could always depend on her friends for that. Vaccines were coming soon, and they would finally be safe. They’d get through this together.

Your body— gold and aching, unembraced by everything but the blueness of the sky.

You were ready to float with the birds in search of nectar: sweet as sun-ripe fruit. Hands tracing love letters in the dirt, burdened by the dreams you refuse to let go. Aurea Pullea, golden girl: breathe. Every step you take is forward.

You will spend more days with berry-reddened hands, more days dancing as the earth beneath you bursts into harvest.

One day— you will be reborn, lighter than ever, and nothing will be sweeter than the faint scent or morning dew or the coincidence of you in it.

UNTITLED

BY ANNABEL MARSHALL In the morning I sit beside myself And think of you We will not speak for days In the tongue of my mother I ask you to jump over your own shadow You cannot abide After all You are shorter than me Your roots more firmly in the earth Mine have always grown above ground I can neither stay nor go now A bird with a string tied to it’s claw I am flown like a kite Moons waned hang over us Our ages have grown closer and farther again I could almost laugh My hair curls almost the same as yours Although yours was raised on barbershop compliments And mine on angry bleach and spite And hoping I would not grow into my father I miss the cold of the other country (I need not bare her name) In the summer here we bay like caged dogs I wonder if you still remember it as way I do Growing up on days in the fields Plucking wheat between forefinger and thumb I remember wandering home in the wet dark Lost and unafraid Up stone paths and down dirt roads Here, no rain falls until your birthday I miss the days when Church was ninety-four steps from the front door (One hundred and ten for you) Everything is louder here Except the clang of hourly bells So I wear a watch and think of where to go next On Sundays we’d pull on our least favorite clothes And listen to the choir sing solemn You never quite learned the words Though I held the book open for you We will not speak for days Until I hover over your name And think, with agitation Maybe the sins of the past are forgotten Only when there is enough future to shroud them When days ahead eclipse those bygone I’ll shovel my tomorrows on the pile Like sand against the tide Speak my name as a question And I will reply with yours

AGGIE FILE

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UC Davis rocks are hidden all over campus This rock painting community aims to brighten your day

BY ITZELTH GAMBOA arts@theaggie.org As my years at UC Davis come to an end, I finally decided to let others know about my favorite thing about Davis: #UCDavisRocks, a Facebook community that paints rocks and hides them around campus for others to find. Kimberly Pearson, who works in The Arts Administrative Group at UC Davis, and her colleague Martha Garrison started the Facebook page in March 2018.

“I had found a couple rocks in my hometown of Esparto and joined their local rock group,” Pearson said via email. “Martha Garrison found some painted rocks in the Arboretum and I thought it would be fun to start a rock group here on campus. The name ‘UC Davis Rocks!’ just seemed to fit.”

Pearson found that what makes the UC Davis Rocks community so enjoyable is the encouragement and excitement she receives from individuals who find the rocks and post them online. On the back of each rock, there’s a reminder to post the found stone on the Facebook page.

“It has been fun doing group rock painting parties with folks on campus,” Pearson said. “I’ve gotten to know a few of the members of our group personally as well. Everyone has been very supportive and nice.”

Anyone is welcome to participate in this community by painting rocks and hiding them in their favorite spots. People are encouraged to keep the rocks or rehide them around campus for others to find.

Nothing about this group is limited in its art, as rock designs range from beautiful flowers to uplifting quotes. “[There are] no rules for the group other than spreading kindness,” Pearson said. “I write on the back of my rocks to please share on Facebook and either keep or rehide. Sometimes I will hide a bunch of rocks but not all or very few get posted. I just like to think they are out there making people happy.”

While some people paint rocks in groups or as a family bonding activity, Pearson likes to paint rocks by herself, using Pinterest pages for inspiration.

“I’ve always enjoyed art, but I’ve never thought of myself as an artist. I tell everyone that I’m just a good copier,” Pearson said.

The Davis community is one of many rock painting communities, all of which aim to spread a little bit of joy in the everyday routine and give someone a smile. Finding rocks is half of the fun; the rest comes from painting them and knowing that someone out there found your little creation on a random day.

“I love to paint the rocks. It’s very relaxing and stress reducing,” Pearson said. “I have a section of my kitchen counter set aside with all my art supplies so I can just sit down and paint at any time.”

When big holidays roll around, painters roll out the themed rocks that range from Snoopy Valentine’s Day hearts to black cats with witch hats for Halloween. I found a few Valentine’s Day-themed ones a couple of years back as I was on my way back to my dorm.

“I do love the fall themed rocks I do with leaves, pumpkins,

Painted rocks by the UC Davis Rocks community. (Kimberly Pearson / Courtesy) scarecrows and Halloween images,” Pearson said.

There have also been instances where people specifically request rocks from Pearson and the group, which she was happy to do.

“I met one person that was a visiting student here from Brazil living with a host family here in Davis,” Pearson said. “She found a rock I believe and private messaged me about painting some rocks for her host family. I was happy to do so and actually painted some rocks for her to take back to Brazil with her. She was so appreciative and gave me flowers. We are actually friends on Facebook still.”

Both students and faculty are a part of the Facebook community that holds 984 members, all of whom look for rocks on campus. But the group is more than just a place to freely paint caring messages on

stones—it’s also a community that cares about each other and hopes to bring comfort with the messages they write.

“There was one instance where a person from campus messaged me about painting rainbow rocks for a memorial service for a friend of hers who also had worked on campus that had passed away,” Pearson said. “This person had always loved rainbows and she wanted to be able to hand out a rainbow rock to everyone that attended. We had a rock painting party in her department and invited anyone from the UC Davis Rocks group to come help paint rainbow rocks. We painted over a 100 rocks.”

An exploration into Davis’ funky bathrooms There’s no denying this school has some weird bathrooms. Let’s talk about it

BY ANGIE CUMMINGS arts@theaggie.org Some may try to tell you that the icons of UC Davis are things like cows, water towers or bikes, but I argue our most iconic feature is the other-worldly vibes emitted from some of the campus bathrooms.

We have it all, from lore to all-green tiling, and it’s high time these destinations throughout UC Davis get the appreciation they deserve.

There are entire Reddit threads dedicated to the discussion of our restrooms, and while some may be fear-inducing, they must be embraced for what they are—weird bathrooms that have their own histories that might be best left untouched.

There’s no discussion of bathrooms at this school without a mention of the highly-rated single-person restrooms in the Spanish mission-style building we know as Hart Hall. Not only do these restrooms give plenty of privacy, but there’s enough extra space in this cement room for anything you might want—if you bring a desk and chair, it would be the perfect place to set up and finish up some missing assignments, or if you have a mat with you, the room is spacious enough for an entire Chloe Ting workout. Some might not have experienced these wonderful spaces yet, and I urge you to run, not walk, into the back entrance of Hart Hall come Fall Quarter 2021. Don’t ask why you’re given enough room to throw a small kickback, just appreciate the serenity and mystery of the Hart Hall bathrooms.

Bathroom at UC Davis. (Aggie File)

Then there’s Haring Hall, home to what are likely the most infamous bathrooms on campus. While the women’s restroom here is the standard multi-stalled neutral-toned setup, the random cluster of empty lockers and the rickety-looking bed frame is an entirely different story. While the lockers have no explanation, the qualified historians of Reddit have some theories (in other words, take these with a grain of salt). There are accounts of this bed frame existing in the Haring Hall bathroom for years now, and apparently, there was once even a mattress but that has been gone for some time. One interesting theory claims the bathroom bed was due to the mystery of women’s health decades ago, “they [the men in charge?] thought women would need a bed to rest on during their menstrual cramps,” according to Reddit user “Teacreama.” Regardless of its historical or medical validity, the idea that the women of UC Davis were provided with a resting spot only a few feet away from public bathroom stalls only adds to the lore of the Haring Hall bathrooms.

Perhaps the most hair-raising restroom discovered (so far) has been the women’s restroom in the basement of Hutchinson. Here, we have what some might call a step up from the steel bed frame; this is of course an old and oddly worn-in-looking cot, complete with a few loose chains on the floor. This room definitely curates its own puzzling aura, and I personally do not understand how anyone could

use this restroom for anything other than a stop on a ghost hunt. In regards to this particular basement bathroom, every bone in my body is telling me to not look too much into its history or purpose, and just accept it exists.

As previously mentioned, another enigmatic restroom is the floor-to-ceiling emerald green tiling in the 24-hour study room of Shields Library (a peculiar place regardless of its “Wizard of Oz’’Esque bathroom). The first time I entered this bathroom I was running on minimal sleep and had just finished perhaps the worst essay of my liberal arts career—I was immediately taken aback. The lavishness of this deep emerald room compared to the fluorescent lighting and grey color scheme of the study room forced me to ask, had I been transported to a nightclub? Weeks later, I revisited this bathroom with a clear mind and got no further in my investigation.

Along with the other mysteries of UC Davis restrooms, perhaps it is for the best that the secrets of this bathroom remain unsolved, that might be what makes them all so iconic.

This is in no way a fully exhaustive list of this school’s eerie and unexplainable restrooms, but hopefully, it gets you excited to go back to campus next fall and take all the vibes in on an extended bathroom break from a yawn-inducing lecture.

THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021 | 13

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 5/27/2021

Crossword Answer to previous puzzle 5/27/2021

14 | THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 2021

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SCIENCE & TECH UC DAVIS HEALTH LAUNCHES PEDIATRIC NOVAVAX COVID-19 CLINICAL TRIAL Enrollment is open for participants ages 12-17 in the Novavax COVID-19 clinical trial

BY JUSTIN WEINER science@theaggie.org UC Davis Health is taking the next step in the fight against COVID-19 by beginning to enroll children ages 12-17 in a clinical trial to test the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine. The trial is currently in Phase 3 clinical trials with the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“The Phase 3 study is the largest of the pre-approval clinical trial phases and the goal is to evaluate the effectiveness and safety in the targeted patient population,” explained Maureen Johnson R.N., the senior vice president of consulting resources and operations at Regulatory Pathways Group INC. “Phase 3 is the last clinical trial phase completed before the Sponsor (i.e., pharmaceutical company who is studying the investigational drug or biologic) requests approval from FDA to market their investigational drug/biologic.”

Johnson continued, “The FDA’s decision ultimately hinges on benefit-risk determination, meaning the benefits of the treatment need to outweigh the risks—this is also where comparisons are made to other existing/available treatment options.”

There are currently three COVID-19 vaccines with an emergency use authorization in the U.S.: the Pfizer/BioNTech, the Moderna and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines. The Pfizer and the Moderna vaccines are both based on novel mRNA technology while the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is based on a modified inactivated adenovirus. Unlike the current emergency-use-authorized COVID-19 vaccines, the Novavax vaccine works slightly differently.

“This is more of a traditional protein based vaccine, unlike the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, or the DNA vaccine from Johnson & Johnson. The spike protein subunit is made in a moth cell system, then harvested, purified, and combined with a unique adjuvant that enhances the immune response,” said Dr. Dean Blumberg, the chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, via email.

The Novavax trial at UC Davis Health is being run locally

by Dr. Stuart Cohen, the chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases and the director of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Prevention at UC Davis Health. The hospital has been included in the adult Novavax phase III trial since December, but they are only now beginning the pediatric portion of the trial. The pediatric portion of the trial is being run by Dr. Dean Blumberg.

“The pediatric portion of the study is similar to the adult portion,” Blumberg said via email. “Study subjects keep diaries to look for any side effects. Blood is drawn to check the immune response. And swabs are taken when there are symptoms of COVID-19 to look for infection in order to determine efficacy.

It’s important to study children because their immune systems are different, and of course they are different sizes from adults. We want to make sure that the vaccine is safe and effective in different age groups, and make sure that the dose is appropriate. For some vaccines smaller doses may be sufficient in children because of their strong immune systems. And with other vaccines larger doses may be needed as their immune systems are relatively naïve compared to adults.”

As explained in an email by Dr. Nicole Glaser, a professor of pediatrics at UC Davis School of Medicine, the physiology of children is fundamentally different than that of adults.

“As we often say in Pediatrics, ‘children are not small adults,’” Glaser said via email. “Physiology in children differs from adults in several ways, and immune function is one of them. For example, many diseases are either far more severe or far more mild in children than adults. Chicken pox, for example, has minimal symptoms in children but adults can become severely ill. [COVID-19] has different complications in children and can cause a systemic inflammatory syndrome that is not seen in adults. For this reason, vaccine effects might be different in children compared to adults.”

Glaser explained the difference between adult and pediatric clinical trials.

“The structure of the trials is similar but before a trial is

KATHERINE FRANKS / AGGIE

approved in children, the investigators generally need to prove a higher anticipated level of safety compared to an adult trial,” Glaser said via email. “Since children cannot consent to a trial on their own, the investigators need to show that there is not a large risk to them.”

Novavax has publicly stated that they expect to file for an emergency use authorization (EUA) for adult patients in the 3rd quarter of this year. As for pediatric patients, Novavax currently hasn’t publicly stated when they anticipate filing for an EUA. However, according to Blumberg, he “would expect filing for emergency use authorization for 12-17 year olds will likely be at the end of the year at the earliest, more likely next year.”

Despite EUAs expected to be filed within the next 12 months, Blumberg noted that the pediatric and the adult Novavax COVID-19 vaccine trials are planned to follow the patients for the two years, until 2023.

“The study participants are followed for 2 years to look at the persistence of protection and the immune response,” Blumberg said via email.

NON-INVASIVE DEVICE DEVELOPED BY UC DAVIS ENGINEERS UTILIZES LIGHT TO MEASURE BRAIN BLOOD FLOW Engineers and neurologists collaborate to create a device that could help brain injury and stroke patients

BY MICHELLE WONG science@theaggie.org Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is essential to human brain functioning, and yet current imaging techniques are costly and usually do not provide continuous measurements for physicians.

Recognizing this problem, Vivek Srinivasan, an adjunct associate professor of biochemical engineering at UC Davis, and his team have developed a method to measure cerebral blood flow noninvasively—functional interferometric diffusing wave spectroscopy (fidWS). “fiDWS can assess optical BFI signals, driven either by neural activity or cerebrovascular reactivity, with an unmatched combination of speed and brain specificity,” said Wenjun Zhou, an assistant project scientist in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UC Davis and the first author of the study, via email. “The methodology and its variants are projected to achieve increasingly competitive cost.”

Ryan Martin, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at the UC Davis Medical Center explained that there are a number of current methods to measure CBF, such as through transcranial dopplers which measure the velocity of blood flow in the brain, or CT perfusion scans. There are also indirect methods to measure CBF, such as by subtracting the intracranial pressure measurement from the mean arterial pressure in the body. However, Martin elaborated that the main problem with current methods

New functional interferometric diffusing wave spectroscopy device allows researchers to non-invasively measure brain blood blow as pictured here. (Mingjun Zhao / Courtesy) being used is that they are not very practical—some can only be used once or twice a day or require intensive labor to perform.

In order to develop this new method, Zhou explained that their team used the knowledge that near-infrared light can propagate diffusively in the adult human brain through the scalp where it can be collected and measured. Through the use of near-infrared lightbased Diffusing Wave Spectroscopy (DWS) and Diffuse Correlation Spectroscopy (DCS), experimenters are able to derive a blood flow index (BFI) which serves as a surrogate for CBF. Zhou stated that DWS/DCS can perform continuous optical BFI monitoring of the adult human brain with relatively low instrument cost.

However, this technique also comes with a drawback—there is a limit to the signal-to-noise ratio that can be achieved, contaminating desired brain signals. According to their published paper, “Extracerebral contamination can confound results in neurosurgery if weakly regulated scalp blood flow is mistaken for dysregulated CBF, or in a brain-computer interface, where an incorrect decision

is made in response to a systemic, corrupting physiological change.”

Thus, in order to optimize their fiDWS system, Zhou explained he and his team spent multiple years engineering and developing it to ensure the final quality.

“In fiDWS, we use a strong coherent reference light to boost (interfere) weak sample light from the brain, so that the interference signal, containing sample dynamics information (i.e. BFI), can be directly measured by a non-scientific CMOS sensor,” Zhou said via email.

Martin explained that there are multiple clinical advantages to the fiDWS method, such as the increased opportunity to manipulate blood pressure and to make sure the cerebral blood flow stays within the desired range. He emphasized that such functions are necessary to make sure the brain continues to be metabolically active by having a constant blood flow.

“How we’re going to use this [device] clinically is it’s still very rudimentary, but it allows us to titrate blood pressure parameters on patients,” Martin said. “We can use it to assess reperfusion after someone’s had a stroke and they’ve gotten to remove the blood clot that’s causing the stroke. So there’s lots of practical things that the NIRS [near-infrared spectroscopy] device that we use now, or have used, doesn’t really provide.”

Martin explained that the engineers are currently looking for ways to make the device smaller and more practical to be taken into a patient’s room to use. He believes that with time, they will be able to start testing the device on patients to collect data on how well it functions. Martin added that he thinks there is certainly opportunity for the fiDWS device to be used as a treatment and diagnostic tool in neurocritical care.

“Beyond monitoring in cardiac surgery, neurotrauma, ischemic stroke and neonatal intensive care, fiDWS promises to facilitate assessing CBF at the point of care, in athletes or soldiers after head injury, and possibly even in portable devices that monitor brain activity,” Zhou said via email.

STUDY ANALYZES IMPACT OF FREQUENT WILDFIRES ON CALIFORNIA LICHEN BIODIVERSITY Chaparral shrublands, found all throughout the state, are facing increasingly frequent wildfires that may threaten the native lichen communities

BY SONORA SLATER science@theaggie.org A collaborative study that looked at the impact of wildfires on chaparral ecosystems and long-term lichen recolonization in California was published in the journal Diversity and Distributions on May 10. The paper was co-authored by Alexandra Weill, a fire ecologist and past UC Davis graduate student researcher, Jessie Miller, an ecology lecturer at Stanford University, and John Villella, a lichenologist.

According to a recent press release from UC Davis, “the study indicates that lichen communities may not receive the window of opportunity they need to return to chaparral shrublands after wildfire.”

Found all across California, chaparral ecosystems are dominated by shrubs rather than trees. Lichens are composite organisms made up of both fungi and algae that are able to grow on the side of these shrubs as well as on rocks and branches, according to Villella.

The dense population of California, among other factors, has contributed to increased fire danger in these areas.

Weill elaborated on the study’s argument about the challenge

The study surveyed lichen communities at a number of sites, including Quail Ridge, a UC Davis natural reserve. (Jessie Miller / Courtesy) posed by wildfires.

“Historically, the forests in the mountains have had sort of these low-intensity fires,” Weill said. “But the chaparral ecosystems, they’re dense, you’ve got these tall shrubs sort of edge-to-edge, and while there historically has been fire there, it was different, not these larger, high-intensity fires. Fires in the chaparral ecosystem occurred about every 45 years.”

The abstract of the study notes that the majority of chaparral lichen taxa may be lost if fire intervals shorten to 20 years or less, which has already taken place in some parts of California.

Weill went on to explain how the study began.

“I was studying fire and I was pretty far into my dissertation research,” Weill said. “I met Jessie when he was a postdoc at UC Davis, and he was like, you know, I’m teaching this class about lichens, you should take it. I knew almost nothing about lichens. I think the extent was that in my college biodiversity class there was like one day where we gathered lichens. It was like, I really should be focusing on my research, but this class seemed cool, so I decided to take it.”

According to Weill, during the class she worked on a project that was a very small-scale version of the recent study. After the class, Miller asked her if she wanted to apply with him to a grant from the California Lichen Society (CLS) and revamp her project.

“We’re very grateful to the California Lichen Society for the grant they gave us,” Miller said. “I’m not sure that we would’ve been able to do this study without it.”

As for how Villella got involved, he explained that he has known Miller for quite some time.

“I met him when he was an undergrad,” Villella said. “We worked together for several years, and we’ve just maintained a friendship since then. We’ve worked on many projects together, many of which involved lichen.”

Miller shared why he believes collaboration to have been of particular importance in this project.

“I think with fire, it’s this huge challenge we face both as scientists and as a society,” Miller said. “Problems like this are sometimes referred to as ‘wicked problems.’ They have no clear, easy answer. So with wicked problems, I think it’s really important to take sort of a holistic approach, looking at it from all these different viewpoints. So we got input from several experienced experts.”

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

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This tactic of using harmful software to block access to computer systems until ransom money is received has been used by other cybercriminal groups like Ryuk, Netwalker and DoppelPaymer using an “.onion domain.”

Melissa Lutz Blouin, the director of news and media relations at UC Davis, spoke about practical ways that students can protect their personal data. She recommended they be vigilant about phishing scams, which often contain inquiries about sensitive information or link to websites demanding such personal details.

Blouin also urged students to use Duo, a multi-factor authentication system that is designed to protect against hackers.

“For many of us, our homes are now our offices,” Blouin said via email. “Keep your devices as secure at home or on the road as you would in the office. Lock your computer screen before leaving it unattended, and take your phone and other portable items with you or lock them up.

Password protect all of your devices, using the strongest authentication available.”

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The meeting then moved into the Entertainment Council’s quarterly report presented by unit director Galit Sarai HaraSalzberg.

Hara-Salzberg explained that the Entertainment Council is looking to grow its relationship with the Mondavi Center.

“We want to give students more of a reference that the Mondavi Center can be a student space and plan on doing quarterly movie nights at the Mondavi in partnership with KDVS,” HaraSalzberg said.

For the Entertainment Council’s largest event, over 600 students attended the “Come Hang with Phoebe Bridgers” event hosted on Thursday, Feb. 25.

Looking forward, Hara-Salzberg mentioned the possibility of holding Sunset Fest in person for the upcoming school year.

Senator Kristin Mifsud questioned if there were any preliminary plans for Sunset Fest to which Hara-Salzberg replied, “We’re still trying to figure out the logistics, however, it has been accounted for in our budget.”

Commission Chair of the Environmental Policy and Planning Commission (EPPC) Sydney Cliff introduced and confirmed new commissioners to the EPPC. “These commissioners are all very motivated and passionate about improving sustainability, both on campus and within the larger community,” Cliff said.

Senator Lauren Smith motioned the meeting into confirmation of the EPPC commissioners.

Barneond then pushed the meeting into Students Sustainability Career Fair (SSCF) Committee confirmations.

The chair of SSCF, Julia Pano, introduced the soon-to-be confirmed SSCF committee members.

Senator Kabir Sahni made a motion to confirm Alana Webre, a third-year environmental policy and planning major, as the new chair of SSCF. Sahni then made a motion to confirm the committee nominees as SSCF members.

Chair of the Transfer, Reentry and Veterans Committee (TRVC) Tariq Azim presented the committee’s quarterly report.

On Monday, May 3, the TRVC held a “Fall Planning Listening Session” which discussed issues affecting all students with an emphasis on transfer students.

“Right now, freshmen and transfers have the exact same orientation which is useless for transfer students who already have a taste of the college experience,” Azim said.

For future outreach, Azim talked about TRVC collaborating with the Aggie Mentors Committee (AMC) to increase the number of transfer and reentry student mentors and mentees.

TRVC is set to be dissolved as Constitutional Amendment #70 was passed to create an ASUCD Transfer Student Representative (TSR) in the ASUCD Executive Branch.

Chairperson Julia Camilleri presented the quarterly report for the Sexual Assault Awareness and Advocacy Committee (SAAAC).

SAAAC is working to amend the existing Chapter 20 bylaw, which states ASUCD elected officials and ex-officio members receive training from the Center for Advocacy, Resources and Education (CARE).

Camilleri said that, in reality, the training does not exist and “SAAAC is working to amend the bylaw right now to make sure it is sustainable and more importantly, that it is enforced.”

Education efforts throughout April, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, included the discussion of how sexual assault should be framed as a violent act and not a sexual act.

The last major project that the SAAAC is tackling includes identifying the lack of emergency blue lights on campus, especially with Davis being poorly lit in general.

Co-chairs Arron Wright and Wanzhu Zheng presented the STEM committee quarterly report.

The interdisciplinary STEM panel is a project that the STEM committee is working on to motivate students to branch out and explore disciplines outside of their major.

“Steps that we’ve been taking include emailing professors with different research interests compared to the courses that they are currently teaching,” Zheng said.

Citlali Plaza, the unit director of the Housing Advising for Undergraduate Students (HAUS), presented HAUS’ quarterly report.

“We’ve had a lot of great meetings with different communities on campus as well as campus partners to assess the needs of certain student populations,” Plaza said.

HAUS is continuing to work on posting information about move in and move out tips and has also sent out a survey to get an updated count of how many apartments in Davis have vacancies for the fall.

Barneond moved the meeting into public discussion, during which there were no comments.

Senator Lauren Smith introduced SB #97, which would establish the Herbicide Free Committee (HFC) as a permanent committee under ASUCD as opposed to a special committee that automatically dissolves after one calendar year.

During the following discussion, Sahni voiced concern about the bill and suggested that HFC exist under EPPC as a task force instead.

“I truly do not see a value in reviving a committee with two active members into a permanent committee of the ASUCD Senate,” Sahni said.

In response, Mifsud questioned Sahni’s argument to the bill.

“This bill seems very much in tune to the same Fair Trade Committee bill that was passed last week without any problems, and shares the same exact purposes that would ensure campus officials follow through with their promises,” Mifsud said.

Smith voiced similar sentiments.

“HFC’s purpose deserves to last longer than just one year, and I think ASUCD owes that to them and to our campus,” Smith said.

Senator Amanjot Singh Gandhoke made a motion to divide the house.

Barneond motioned for a roll call to see who would vote in the affirmative to pass SB #97, to which six senators voted yes, 1 voted no and 1 abstained.

The responses given for this roll call vote to pass SB #97 are completely non-binding.

As a previous EPPC Chairperson, Hunter Ottman gave a historical rundown on why HFC was established as a committee.

“HFC is an initiative that was started in order to get the UC system to limit and/or remove their usage of certain herbicides on [the] UC Davis campus,” Ottman said.

After Ottman’s speech, Sahni clarified that he would be voting yes on SB #97.

Senate Bill #97 passed unanimously.

Barneond adjourned the meeting at 9:50 p.m.

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I think every time the age decreases for receiving the vaccine, it is a positive thing, as long as the vaccine is proven to be safe and effective among this age group.”

UC Davis Health has partnered with and is currently working on Novax’s adult trials in hopes of extending this new vaccine to adolescents in the local community. Blumberg and his colleagues have been monitoring clinical trials of this vaccine in the new age group in an effort to have more vaccinations readily available and promote COVID-19 prevention among adolescents.

UC Davis campus officials have implemented a variety of strategies to minimize the spread of COVID-19, including establishing testing and vaccination protocols. Campus partners have launched multiple projects since the start of the pandemic to reduce the risk of infection and keep the community safe. Some of these efforts include COVID-19 testing kiosks on campus which are readily available for students and community members, vaccine clinics, a contact tracing investigative team and quarantine housing.

Many workers in the frontline of these oncampus services stress the importance of getting vaccinated and the need for more vaccines to be made available, especially for those of younger age groups.

Cindy Schorzman, the medical director for Student Health and Counseling Services, leads the coordination and implementation of infrastructure to support COVID-19 prevention efforts. Schorzman hopes to address health equity considerations in the City of Davis and believes vaccination against COVID-19 is one way to do

just that.

“COVID-19 vaccination is the primary mechanism through which we are starting to be able to return to more normal activities,” Schorzman said. “It is very important for those who are able to get vaccinated to do so. COVID-19 vaccines significantly reduce the probability of contracting the virus. They are also likely to help keep you from getting seriously ill, even if you do get the virus. Getting vaccinated also may protect people around you, particularly those at greater risk for severe illness from COVID-19.”

Vaccination efforts have been implemented in many of Davis’ neighboring communities as well, contributing to the decline of COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks in Yolo County.

Vaccination clinics in Sacramento have also seen the effects vaccination has on contracting COVID-19.

Rhina Kaur, a COVID-19 vaccine and testing assistant at Sacramento Native American Health Center, works to promote preventative measures and frequent testing for the safety of her community.

“I believe it is important to get COVID-19 vaccines, as their efficacy for reducing symptoms and even reducing transmission has been scientifically proven,” Kaur said. “The vaccine has significantly reduced and even eliminated deaths caused by COVID-19. Vaccinations are important because it has lessened the strain of healthcare workers, and hospitals are no longer overwhelmed and overrun by [COVID-19] cases.

I am happy individuals 12 and up are getting the vaccine and pleased with the rate of acceleration for this reason.”

Koh emphasized the importance of community support during the pandemic.

“The community is really nice and I’m very grateful that Davis is such a diverse community,” Koh said. “People are very supportive even in this time of separation.”

Lisa Yep Salinas, a Yolo County resident and survivor of multiple anti-Asian racist incidents, explained how she was inspired by the memorandum condemning anti-Asian racism recently released by President Joe Biden. She described her own experiences with anti-Asian racism since the pandemic began.

These incidents occurred at local grocery stores or in their parking lots, in which the agitators blamed her for COVID-19, swore at her, used racial slurs and even committed physical assault with a shopping cart.

“My experience is just the tip of the iceberg,” Salinas said. “Asian Americans have been suffering big time.”

Salinas described the role she played in the passing of a resolution that condemns anti-Asian violence in numerous local entities including, but not limited to, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors, Yolo County Board of Education, Yuba Community College Board of Trustees, the City Councils of Davis, West Sacramento, Winters and Woodland and the Public School Board Trustees of Davis, West Sacramento and

Woodland. The resolution was also passed in Dublin, Irvine, Elk Grove, Roseville, Sacramento and the Sacramento County Board of Education.

“It wasn’t about me,” Salinas said. “It was about letting other people who have been brutalized know that they are not alone. This is happening to other people.”

Salinas described her dream of eliminating not just anti-Asian racism and violence but all targeted violence.

“My dream goal would be that there is no more anti-Asian violence and no violence towards any specific race or people,” Salinas said. “If we’re going to dream, let’s dream big. Let’s just get rid of racism and violence and hate.”

Salinas noted her involvement in a national rally called United Against Hate, which took place on May 15 in 14 different cities. A booth representing this event was held at the Davis Farmers Market on that day as well. She commented on the importance of education and patience in addressing and unlearning racism.

“We can all agree that this racist violence and hate is wrong,” Salinas said. “I appreciate that people have gone out of their way to learn more about AAPI history and culture and what’s going on. If we can all be patient with each other and help each other—because there’s been so much trauma—we need to unlearn things and learn more from each other.”

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With that, moving into next year, people are going to be able to know what it’s like to have nothing open and so when things are open, they’re going to really take advantage of it. For first-years, we really only have three years left and essentially 25% of our college experience was deficient, so it’s going to be about making the other 75% feel like 100%.

What advice do you have for next year’s first-year students?

Kate Boyce: Take any chance you can to meet people, because this year has been really hard to do that. Half of my class isn’t even on campus so there’s so many more people that I haven’t met yet, and I feel like since everything’s going to be normal-ish next year, and there are going to be a lot more people in Davis, take every opportunity you can to make friends, because that is what

college is about.

Katie Moreno: My advice for freshmen next year would just be to literally start over every day like it’s a new day and just enjoy it. School can be really stressful but COVID-19 showed that you have to take things day by day.

Carlyn Marsh: Don’t listen to what other people tell you about how things “used to be.” I feel like a lot of times, some of the older students try to tell you what their first year was like and you’re trying to morph it into what your year has been like, but you can’t do that because circumstances are different and times change. If you’re listening to people and trying to model your first year off of what theirs was like, you have to realize that was three years ago, so just live your own year and ignore the “helpful” advice people are trying to give you.

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Villella added his thoughts on how the three co-authors’ unique perspectives made the project work.

“I’m sort of the lichen expert, and then Jessie did sort of the statistical part, and Allie brought in the fire ecology perspective,” Villella said. “She also came up with the idea.”

Miller talked about the approach that the team took in their research.

“We’ve known for a while that lichens aren’t very tolerant of fires, but what we don’t know so much about is how much time it takes for them to grow back after disturbances like fire,” Miller said. “It’s just difficult to do such longterm studies. So we took this approach called a chronosequence approach; instead of waiting a hundred years to see what happens, we just went around and looked at areas of lichens that had burned at different times.”

According to the study, their team compared lichen communities at sites that burned 3, 13, 22, 30 and 65 years previously, among other oldgrowth chaparral sites that don’t have a recorded fire in the last century.

“We were lucky, there were a lot of sites with very different fire history, which is pretty rare in such a small geographic area so it was a really unique opportunity,” Miller said.

Villella explained why he found this study important, and why there is value in protecting lichen biodiversity.

“I think that people don’t realize that they’re really important to the ecosystem for a number of reasons,” Villella said. “First, they’re moisture sponges. They act as a filter and a gathering mechanism for moisture, which is really important in these dry areas. They’re also a home for many different vertebrates, and those in turn become food for birds.”

As far as the impact of increased fire frequency and intensity on ecosystems, Miller offered one solution.

“It might seem like the answer is to try to just stop fires from burning, but it turns out that trying to suppress fires just ends up with more severe fires when they do burn,” Miller said.

“Frequent fire keeps fuel down, and makes fires easier to control when they do burn. So funnily enough, the answer might be more prescribed fires.”

Villella said something similar.

“Prescribed fire is a really useful tool for managing landscapes, especially in California where there’s been a historic suppression of fire, although that’s starting to change,” Villella said.

“Our point was to also be careful to protect some landscape from burning to protect the lichen

diversity as a source population for the lichen to recolonize.”

However, Weills explained that the logistics of using prescribed fires in chaparral ecosystems is slightly more complex than it may first appear.

“In Southern California in particular, controlled burns are much more complicated than in other places,” Weills said. “In the forests there’s not much debate, but in chaparral there is sort of more debate.”

She went on to explain the reasoning behind this debate.

“The thing is that there’s no lack of fire, fires haven’t really stopped there,” Weill said. “So what do prescribed burns do? Well, maybe if we have a fire when we decide rather than when someone sets one, maybe it’s safer for people, maybe there’s less fuel, maybe we can do it so we’re protecting some of the older, more diverse native chaparral.

But to do it frequently enough to reduce the risk, you might be pretty much getting rid of chaparral.”

She elaborated that this doesn’t mean they shouldn’t use prescribed burns, only that doing so will require caution.

“The goal is to strike this balance very carefully,” Weill said. “It’s not just going in and burning it, It’s thinking about, ‘Do we burn some of these areas to protect others?’”

Apart from exploring fire management possibilities, Miller said that the study aimed to bring awareness to ecologically important remnant chaparral patches.

“If people even know what lichens are, that’s still above average. Most people don’t know what they are at all,” Miller said. “This whole project originated because I was teaching this class at Davis; I think that just having basic natural history education is hugely important.”

Weill cited similar thoughts, mentioning how chaparral ecosystems exist all across California, making them especially relevant to California residents who both walk through them frequently and have a disproportionate effect on the potential for wildfire.

“These systems are close to so many of us,” Weill said. “It’s really cool. I think me and Jessie both think lichens are awesome. They’re things you can sort of pass by and not appreciate them; they’re such a cool part of nature, but they’re easy to miss.

In reference to the lichenology class she took, she praised how it’s impacted her.

“I’m not exaggerating when I say it was lifechanging,” Weill said. “Once you start learning about lichens, you really start seeing them everywhere.”

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THE CALIFORNIA AGGIE

SPORTS The rollercoaster of a year for UC Davis Athletics and the sports world

From not knowing what was next to eventually having fans in attendance, the culmination of the school year fosters in a new era with hope

BY OMAR NAVARRO sports@theaggie.org The month of March 2020 will forever be remembered as the moment when it seemed like the country—and most of the world—got turned upside down. The level of uncertainty that clouded the situation of the pandemic will be a moment that will be lodged into the minds of everyone. Like with everything else, the sports world was left at a standstill when COVID-19 hit initially in the states. With the cancellation of the National Basketball Association (NBA) season, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament among many other things, executives and fans alike wondered how long it would take to recover.

UC Davis Athletics was put in an interesting position when the pandemic hit. After a successful fall season and the completion of both men’s and women’s basketball regular seasons, all that remained was each team’s respective tournaments and all other spring sports that had just begun or were preparing to begin. But, when mid-March came along, the uncertainty came as well.

“When everything went down in March, our basketball teams were just getting ready to compete in the Big West basketball tournament,” said UC Davis Director of Athletics Rocko DeLuca. “Within the span of about 48 hours, we went from preparing for a basketball tournament to shutting things down and we didn’t know until how long. It’s been a pretty crazy 14 months.”

The summer was long and although the NBA and other leagues began to slowly come back, fans got to experience what it was like to watch their favorite teams with no fans in the stands. As the collegiate athletic season approached, universities across the country began to prepare and tried to find ways to make it work. For UC Davis after the Big West Conference canceled fall sports, they were left in a situation where they had to figure out what they were going to do next—without assurance that they would be competing.

“The overwhelming majority of our student-athletes wanted to compete, practice and be around their teammates.” DeLuca said.

“A lot of the hard work was from our sports medicine facilities, strength and conditioning and equipment offices just to try and make sure we were providing a safe environment for practices.”

The tide began to turn a little in fall despite the postponements and cancellations. Like most of the collegiate world, UC Davis was able to get clearance to prepare for their basketball season in late November. With teams able to finally be together and practice as a team, the school prepared with some hope. Yet, like we saw around the country, the rise of COVID-19 cases around the holidays made its way to Davis and Yolo County as well—bringing again more restrictions.

After all the work done to get to that point, this Regardless of where UC Davis will stand are now approaching a time where we are getting period around fall brought some discouragement come the new school year, this past year was closer to what life used to be. Still, even after this among a lot of people. memorable for something other than the play is all in the rearview mirror, it is important for “Those were some pretty dark days because we on the field. The amount that has changed in everyone alike to take deeper appreciation for the felt really positive about how we were positioned the last 14 months and the level of planning that things we often otherwise took for granted—and with all our protocols and everything,” said was required to make these sports even happen only that way will we be able to look back at this DeLuca, regarding the pause in the late months this past year was massive. All sports leagues and year in its true nature. of 2020. “In between that period of time, we teams around the country also fall under this, as we had to take a week-long pause department wide just as people came back to campus. Some of the numbers were skewing more positively than what we anticipated.”

Still, after being able to get past those moments and since mid-January, things began to pick up once again. Basketball was able to resume, teams began to practice in groups and as time went on, teams began their seasons within county guidelines. Soon after, the school received the green light to begin hosting fans at limited capacity—something that really gave athletics the extra boost they needed.

“April was the first month we were able to have fans,” DeLuca said. “Just being able to see the family members, friends of the studentathletes be able to show up and see them compete again in person was awesome.”

Being able to experience a lot of the sport’s senior days, UC Davis Women’s Lacrosse winning the MPSF Championship and many other moments with fans in the stands gave the university and its student-athletes a time to reflect about the reality of what they had just experienced in previous months. Between the months of April and May when fans were allowed in, DeLuca estimates that there were around 9,000 total fans that were able to safely experience UC Davis sporting events—a number that was difficult to fathom back in late 2020.

As the UC Davis Athletic season has wrapped up, all eyes are on next school year. The NBA has begun their playoffs with teams hosting thousands of fans in the stands depending on their location and they expect to be back at full capacity when the 2021-22 season tips off. The NFL is on a similar boat, as they expect that the majority of the teams will have their stadiums available at full capacity when the new season rolls around. With concerts, UFC and many other events now being held at full capacity, there is a sense of normalcy creeping back into the social life of the country.

But, although UC Davis is expected to reopen at a full capacity as well come this fall, where athletics lands on attendance remains to be seen.

“Attendance wise, I’m going to be working with campus on what our capacity will be this fall,” DeLuca said. “I would love for it to be 100%. The [Sacramento] Rivercats announced that they would be at 100% capacity, but I’m going to take my lead from campus and the UC Davis forward Cierra Hall (32) playing defense during a home game against UC Riverside county health folks.” during 2019. (Justin Han / Aggie File)

Club Life During the Pandemic—UC Davis Tennis Club UC Davis tennis club describes what activities are like during COVID-19

BY JUSTIN YU-HSUN CHU sports@theaggie.org As COVID-19 struck and social distancing became the norm, professional sports have taken major hits in both viewership and actual competition since March 2020. To make matters worse, people no longer had the freedom to safely and enthusiastically gather and play sports with social distancing in practice. As the UC Davis Tennis Club learned, it was no different in facing these struggles.

The UC Davis Tennis Club is home to players of various skill levels and occasionally visits other UC campuses for competitions. The club thinks of its members as family and, pre-COVID, apart from weekly practice sessions, they also spent time with each other often. Like many other UC Davis sport clubs, the tennis club was a channel for people to meet new friends and enjoy a mutually loved sport. COVID-19, however, forced the club to make some changes to its activities that its members less than enjoyed.

“The pandemic initially made club activities less fun because we were separated into groups of nine,” said Chandani Madan, the president of the UC Davis Tennis Club. “Though, later on club activities began to resume in a more normal manner.”

The groups of nine rule made club activities less appealing to its members, as stringent restrictions made participating in entertaining club activities seem tedious. A lot of the experience in clubs is the camaraderie, and removing that by lowering the number of people together among other things was an adjustment that took time.

“It was harder, and I was less willing to partake in club activities because we had to sign up to reserve a spot to play, since there were limited people allowed to play at a time,” said Sofi Liz, a member of the tennis club and a third-year animal science major. “Because of [COVID-19] we had to cancel practice and hit around.

Normally during that time we would be able to meet new people to hit tennis outside of practice and to make friends.”

Besides the groups of nine rule, members were also required to keep their masks on at all times, even during practice. Over time, these masks got a bit annoying and when it was sunny during the day, it made these practices even

harder.

“The pandemic inhibited more competitive activities because masks would become stuffy in the heat,” Madan said. “The competitive players played on Sunday mornings making this less of an issue as it was cooler.”

The discomfort of wearing masks didn’t just end with tennis practice, however. Members expressed their concerns about how club activities were less effective for bonding and obtaining social energy from friends. Meeting together and bonding with the club were crucial experiences that make these clubs entertaining.

“It is now much harder to bond with club members because it is a lot harder to hangout with people after club practices—since we don’t want to hangout with people from different households,” said Yasser Abdul Bagi, the upcoming president of the club for the next

school year. “Even during practice, it’s harder to bond with people because everyone is wearing masks, so you don’t really see anyone’s facial expressions.”

“Having to play with masks on makes it harder to breathe and run around the court,” Liz said.

The future looks much brighter however, as recent trends make the next school year filled with a lot of potential for the club. With more and more people getting vaccinated by the day, the UC Davis Tennis club looks forward to continuing their club activities as is.

“Future club activities will likely remain as they are right now. We don’t practice in the summer, so heat won’t be as big of an issue when wearing masks. I hope pandemic conditions get better and the mask requirement gets removed,” Madan said. “Social distancing violations never

happened, but should a member test positive, the tennis club will follow any guidance provided by sports club and student health. We will cooperate with both to the fullest extent to help in contact tracing.”

COVID-19 certainly placed a lot of obstacles between the club members and their activities.

Normalcy was lost this year but its members are now optimistic as things are looking up and they hope to have overcome the hardest times of the pandemic.

“During the fall when sports clubs were relegated to Zoom, I lost all motivation to be in the tennis club. I had always loved being with my friends in the club, but Zoom made it way different, and not in a fun way,” Bagi said. “Once we got back in person during Winter Quarter, I regained my motivation for the club.”

Members of the tennis club, who get tested for COVID-19 twice a week, after a day of practice. (UCD Club Tennis / Courtesy)